The Crookston School Board met on Monday evening in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room. The meeting recap is below –
WEIGHT ROOM THANK YOU’S
The meeting started with several guests thanking the board for their investment in the locker room with new equipment and new paint on the walls. Nate 
Lubarski (pictured right) works with the kids in the mornings before school. He said the new weight room means a lot to the student-athletes. “The number of kids using the weight room on a consistent basis has increased over the past several months. We look forward to carrying that into the summer and every season to follow,” said Lubarski. “They are learning the importance of preparing themselves physically for the sports they play, working on mental toughness, and building a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie. The list of attendees has grown to over 50 in the morning, that have been to the weight room at least once. We consistently have between 36 to 40 kids each morning during my time slot.”
Lubarski added that the new equipment is the reason why people are showing up. “It has provided the students the proper techniques to build strength through our physical education program,” said Lubarski. “This new equipment has the capability to touch all of our students in some way.”
Crookston High School sophomore Libby Salentine also thanked the board. “The weight room is a huge deal for us because, at practice, you get stronger, but the extra time you put in really helps,” said Salentine. “With the new equipment, it is really easy, and having the ability to lift with a lot of help of a lot of people, it is really nice to be able to use.”
Jenna Coauette also thanked the board. “I use the weight room five days a week,” said Coauette. “I am looking forward to advancing my athletic career starting in the weight room….so thank you.”
Crookston High School Activities Director Greg Garmen also thanked the board for their investment in the weight room on behalf of the athletic department. “One of the kids said what we had compared to what we used to have are night and day,” said Garmen. “Nate Lubarski is helping us, especially with the younger kids. Nate Rooney also helps with the wrestlers and some other kids at 6:00 a.m., and it is wonderful to see.”
Garmen added the kids are having fun. “Kids are having fun in the weight room, and some of the coaches are getting their teams in there before or after practice,” said Garmen. “As the athletic representative, I thank you.”
TENNIS COURT FENCE REPAIR AND COURT RESURFACING
The fencing around the Crookston High School tennis courts was damaged in high winds last summer, and the district is looking at fixing the fencing. The fencing will also be changed as the fencing in the middle of the courts will be taken out to create a big open area to put bleachers, similar to Alexandria High School’s setup 
(pictured right). The fencing would be covered by insurance, minus a $10,000 deductible, and would cost around $39,925. But board member Mike Theis asked why they wouldn’t look at going with the higher bid of over $80,000 for all new fencing and some areas reinforced. The rest of the board agreed to look into it if the insurance premiums wouldn’t be affected. Superintendent Jeremy Olson will look into it.
The Crookston High School tennis courts also need to be resurfaced, and the board approved the quote from JB Surfaces for $81,110, including armor crack repair. The courts will look slightly different with a blue playing area and grey around the playing area instead of the green they currently have. JB Surfaces is the same company working on the Highland (Ray Eckland complex) courts. “We want to take care of our facilities,” said Superintendent Olson. “We need to be good stewards of what we have been given, so we will resurface the court and take care of the fencing that was damaged during a storm.”
OLD BUS GARAGE FUEL TANK REMOVAL
The board approved a bid from Valley Petroleum to take out the old bus garage fuel tank. The bid was $1,500 less than the other bid. Superintendent Olson warned the cost could go up if they find out the old tank leaked and contaminated the ground around it. The district had a choice of removing the tank or fill it with sand, and the board thought it would be best to remove the tank. “The prudent long-term fix was to remove it,” said Superintendent Olson. “Then you want have unforeseen issued with it down the road if we remove it now.”
HIGH SCHOOL AND HIGHLAND PARKING LOT SEAL COAT
The board approved a bid for seal coating the Crookston High School and Highland Elementary School parking lots. They approved the bid of $51,000 for the high school and $26,000 for Highland School from Asphalt Preservation Company. They will chip seal, which will cost more but save the district money in the long run with a better product. “It is hard to convince me to go the more expensive route, but when we talked about it internally, it was better to go this route,” said Superintendent Olson. “Due to the wear coat, the projective life span, going this direction was the better solution.”
EFIS REPAIR AT THE HIGH SCHOOL
The board approved a $9,530 bid from Sig Olson and Sons of Moorhead to fix the EFIS (foam insulation with stucco on it instead of brick) at the high school. It is the same company that will be working at RiverView Health this summer. “We are hiring a company to come in and repair it, so it isn’t leaking water,” said Superintendent Olson.
All of the projects will be funded with Long Term Facilities Maintenance dollars. “They are dollars the state gives the district to help with building maintenance,” said Superintendent Olson. “It is for repairing roofs, heat pumps, and other big-ticket items.”
MISC ITEMS
The board accepted donations from the Crookston Baseball Association for $3,000 to pay for assistant coaches and from Titan Machinery for $500 for the Ag program.
The board approved employment with Nicole Martinez as High School Principal. They accepted the resignation of Tim Moe as Head Girls Hockey Coach, Tayler Christenson as Assistant Volleyball Coach, Marlys Plencner as an aide at Washington Elementary School (WES), Sandy Seregin as a paraprofessional at Highland Elementary School (HES), the resignation of Janelle Swanson as business education teacher.
The board also approved the hire of Heidi Achartz as an elementary music teacher.
Crookston High School Principal Eric Bubna thanked Linda Morgan for her hard work with prom and the parent group for their work with the after-prom party.
Superintendent Olson reminded everyone of the bus garage open house on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
