The Crookston School Board met Monday evening in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room and unanimously voted to drop the K-6 facemask requirement and to stop quarantining on December 22 (the last day of school before Christmas break) and received outstanding news that Moody’s upgraded their rating from A2 to A1 which helped them save over $500,000 on refinancing of bonds from 2014.
FACEMASK/QUARANTINE TO BE DROPPED
The school board had a proposal from Superintendent Jeremy Olson to move from level 3 down to level 2, which would mean no facemasks would be required on any students. The second part of his proposal was stopping the close contact and quarantine rules effective after December 22. The school board had a discussion and board Chair Frank Fee made the proposal to do both suggestions starting December 22, meaning the first day of school it would be in effect would be January 4, 2022. The board unanimously approved Fee’s recommendation to drop facemasks for K-6 and to have the last day of close contacts and quarantines effective after the school day on December 22, 2021. It was stressed that facemasks will be strongly recommended, but not required. Superintendent Jeremy Olson said they will be ready to move forward with the recommendation, but if the numbers skyrocket they will change it back. “I was really proud of the school board. It is hard to come to a unanimous decision when you deal with anything as controversial as COVID-19 and how to deal with it,” said Olson. “They said December 22 will be the final day to require masking and quarantining. We will still recommend masking, but that will be turned over as a parental choice and not a school district choice. Having kids 5 to 12 being able to get vaccinated is a game-changer.”
The Federal requirement to have facemasks on busses will end on January 18.
MOODY’S CREDIT RATING UPGRADE
Jodie Zesbaugh of Ehlers told the board that the Crookston School District’s credit rating was upgraded from A2 to A1. The upgrade reflects the District’s strong and improving financial profile that will remain solid for several years. Additionally noted are the voter-approved operating levy that supports financial stability over the near term and the District’s healthy full value per capita, and moderate overall leverage.
Because of the upgrade, it helped the district get a refinance interest rate at 1.43% from Piper Sadler which will save over $500,000 when refinancing bonds from 2014. It will save the district taxpayers about $41,000 per year. “It is great news and great news for taxpayers,” said Superintendent Olson. “I think this is a good thing for Crookston Public Schools.”
2022-2023 ACADEMIC SCHEDULE CHANGE –
The 2022-23 Crookston School District academic calendar had to be changed because they were scheduled to have school on January 2, 2023. A state statute won’t allow school on a Monday after New Years Day, so they will have a half-day of school on December 22, 2022.
HIGHLAND SCHOOL READ-A-THON LEADERS
Highland Elementary School recently held a read-a-thon fundraiser and they had 16 kids read over 1,000 hours and several of them were honored at the meeting. Eva Gosse, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Garmen’s class, read 2,020 minutes to lead all students. Ella Capistran, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Davidson’s class, was second with 1,615 minutes. Lyla Oman, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Garmen’s class, was third with 1,565 minutes. Others that were recognized at the meeting were Reason Barton, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Heppner’s class, with 1,455 minutes; Brigit Groven, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Davidson’s class, with 1,075 minutes; Sydnee Overgaard, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Nesvig’s class, with 1,035 minutes, Cohen Luckow, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Heppner’s class, with 1,015 minutes; and Elsie Mathews, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Nesvig’s class, with 1,005 minutes. The students are pictured below with the school board.
WINDOW DECALS FOR HIGHLAND SCHOOL –
The board gave unanimous approval for decals for the Highland School office. The decals will serve two purposes, to put some Pirate decals on along with all the activities offered at the high school so kids can see what is offered. The second reason is to allow those in the office to see out, but people won’t be able to see in the office.
MISC –
The board approved Minnesota State High School League membership. They also approved the consent agenda that included accepting a letter of resignation from Melissa Palomo as a paraprofessional at Crookston High School, and Katya Zepeda de Obisakin as Hispanic/Latinx liaison.
The next meeting will be on December 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.
