The Crookston School Board met on Monday and discussed several topics, including hiring new co-principals at Highland Elementary School, cooperative sponsor agreements with Riverside Christian School for girls’ and boys’ sports, and policy updates.
NEW HIGHLAND CO-PRINCIPALS
The school board voted unanimously to approve employment contracts for Dave Kuehn and Greg Garmen as co-principals at Highland Elementary School. The position was previously held by Chris Trostad, who submitted his retirement letter earlier this month. The contracts for Kuehn and Garmen are for one year with a salary of $50,000 each.
Superintendent Todd Selk reported to the board that a committee of Highland staff and district officials conducted four interviews for the Highland principal position, but they could not reach a consensus on the best fit for the school. Selk reached out to Kuehn and Garmen, who are both former Crookston educators, and asked if they would lead the school together as a source of veteran leadership for a school that is adding students and staff from the now-closed Washington School, among other transitions. “I’m sincerely pleased to be able to bring this idea that I had together and to get the cooperation of these two individuals to come back and give of their time,” said Selk. “Mr. Kuehn has been retired for a number of years. Mr. Garmen has been retired for a number of years. Yet they continue to support and look for ways they can help the Crookston Public Schools, and they’re excited. It’s not just doing it just to do it. They’re excited to come and provide the leadership that will be needed at that building. I’m very excited about the response that I’ve received from the staff at Highland. They’re very supportive of the decision, and very pleased tonight that the board approved it as well.”
RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN COOPERATIVE SPORTS PROGRAMS
The school board heard further information from Activities Director Evan Pederson on the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) applications for cooperative sponsorship with Riverside Christian School of East Grand Forks for boys and girls tennis and boys and girls soccer. The topic was discussed at the June 22 meeting, but Pederson was asked to get additional information on the number of student-athletes who would be involved in the programs. Pederson told the board that the current count of students Riverside would contribute under the agreement is seven boys soccer players, one girls soccer player, one boys tennis player, and two girls tennis players. Pederson has worked closely with Riverside Christian Athletics Director Eric Morrow to give the school board as much information as possible, including telling them that there are no current students at Riverside Christian who live in Crookston who are in the sports programs included in the co-op agreement, addressing a concern that board member Mike Theis had at the June meeting.
The board approved the co-op agreement, which will help add student-athletes to the Crookston sports program and give them the opportunity to compete that they may not have otherwise had due to low participation. “We’re excited to have them,” said Pederson. “They’ll bring good assets to our team and increase the numbers that we need. Soccer is low, tennis is low, so giving those kids an opportunity to be a part of our program and be successful programs this season.”
Another topic addressed by Pederson was Impact testing for athletes in the school district. Currently, there is no required policy for Crookston School regarding Impact testing, which is a test taken by athletes to establish a baseline of brain function for comparison in the event of a concussion or head injury. The test can help diagnose concussions and determine treatment options. RiverView Health provides baseline testing free of charge to all Crookston athletes, with the goal of prioritizing students’ health by increasing participation in the program. “Right now, it’s not a requirement by the district, but RiverView and myself would like that to be a standard that we have more for player safety,” said Pederson. “Concussions are serious. The long-term effects that they have on kids, on athletes is serious, and we need to take it serious. So getting this baseline data that we can track students’ brain activity pre and post-concussions, if they are unfortunate to have one, gives us a better timeline for them to return to play, and that’ ultimately what we want.”
The board took the information about Impact testing into consideration and is considering putting the topic up for a special meeting in August.
LONG-TERM FACILITIES MAINTENANCE PLAN
Business Manager Blake Stoltman presented the annual update of the district’s Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan (LTFM) to the board for review and approval. The LTFM update is required annually by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and is due by July 31. Stoltman told the board that MDE now requires a resolution to approve the LTFM, rather than a motion vote. A revenue statement of assurances is also required and was provided to the board as part of the review. To calculate revenue estimates for the ten-year plan, Stoltman uses the formula: average daily membership (ADM) × 180. For expenditures, MDE requires precise updates on every cent spent from the LTFM fund. Stoltman calculated that the district will have a few LTFM projects after the next five years, including a new roof for Highland and other mechanical and electrical projects. Selk endorsed the update and reminded the board that, even with approval at Monday’s meeting, the LTFM can be brought back at any meeting during the year and revised if needed. “It’s simply stating that this school district will abide by the laws and rules of LTFM funding and how we can spend that money,” explained Selk. “Certainly, that is something that we expect to do, that we have done, and we will continue to do. As for how we spend that money, we have some latitude, but there are criteria that must be met to spend it. It is not general fund money; it is earmarked for facilities, and so therefore we have to follow some guidelines there. But again, it’s really almost a symbolic once a year approval of the process and of the plan to be altered every year after,”
POLICY UPDATES
The board approved several policy updates that were reviewed at the July 14 policy committee meeting. The policies include development & implementation of policies, disability nondiscrimination policy, employee-student relationships, school resource officers, enrollment of nonresident students, student disability nondiscrimination, internet, technology, & cell phone use policy, graduation standards, literacy & the READ Act, student transportation safety policy, procurement policy, and public data & data subject requests. Selk explained that these changes were recommendations from the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA), but the policy committee made slight revisions without altering the policies’ intent. “Some wordsmithing, just some up-to-date language around a few things, a couple of things that statute mandates, and as I’ve stated in the meeting tonight, you know, any statute supersedes any local policy,” Selk said. “So some of the policies were adjusted a little bit to align with statute, but really the intent or the spirit of the policies that we approved tonight have not changed, and we take the strong guidance from MSBA in regards to our policies.”
Other resolutions approved by the board include the new adult and a la carte lunch prices for the 2026-27 school year, as Food Service Director Emily Scheresky mentioned that adult second meal prices were increasing from $5 to $6 due to a pricing update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the fall coaches list. The coaches’ list vote was four to one, with Marcia Meine voting against the measure due to the boys’ junior varsity soccer coach, Makoti Webber, and her concerns about his age. Meine told the board that Webber graduated from Crookston High in 2026, and some parents may not be comfortable with someone that young coaching their kids. Selk spoke against Meine, telling the board that other new staff members are recent graduates from Crookston, and it is unfair to single out one person based on their age.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
During his first superintendent’s report, Selk spoke about his first 18 days on the job and how he is still adjusting to his new role as he returns to Crookston. While he mentioned that the meetings and summer activities have been manageable, he is ready to get the kids back into the schools and establish a routine with the new school year. “I’m trying to create a little routine for myself, but the real routine will happen when staff and students are back in the buildings here at the end of August,” said Selk. “Just trying to get a feel for kind of some of the processes and the protocols that have been in place in this district for a number of years. Some I can remember from my first go around here in Crookston. Obviously, many of them are different, and just trying to to kind of create a routine for Marilyn and me, my administrative assistant, on how we’re doing things and how she’s calendaring for me, and scheduling meetings, and just some routines that are important, so that we’re moving along and being as efficient as we can be with our time.”
The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 24, at 5:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School choir/orchestra room.
