Carlton/Wrenshall commitment clash clouds consolidation

The results of what at times was a contentious meeting of school board members from Wrenshall and Carlton Tuesday will be seen at each board's regular meetings next week. There should be two identical resolutions on the respective agendas.

They will be worded the same, but judging from the conversation at the joint meeting Tuesday, they're being crafted by two clashing mindsets.

Wrenshall board members were expecting a firm commitment from the Carlton board that it was moving ahead on consolidation of the districts using facilities from both cities. They didn't exactly get it.

"We're not united as a board," said Carlton board chairwoman Larae Lehto. What her board did agree on is that there should be a community survey done to better gauge what residents in both districts - and those with

students from outside the districts - think about consolidation, the $38 million facilities plan, and the overall benefits of pairing the schools.

Lehto said the four community input meetings conducted in the past month gave a mottled impression. There seems to be a consensus on the value of consolidation, but mixed views on what it looks like, she said.

Obviously frustrated Wrenshall board members saw the request for a survey as more indecision on the part of Carlton, especially since they were told going into the current negotiations that a two-site option was all that Wrenshall members would accept.

Wrenshall's Janaki Fisher-Merritt said he wanted to stay on a timeline that had both boards passing a resolution of support for the two-site option at their regular November meetings.

"It's important that we get a yes or a no," he said. While he believes a survey would be a good tool in judging the appetite of voters in an inevitable referendum vote, he wants the Carlton board to make it clear that there will be schools in each district.

Lehto said the best her board could do was promise to keep moving forward, adding that there could be a resolution stating as much, that the board would "put aside any other plans."

"It doesn't feel like moving forward," Fisher-Merritt said. "It feels like not moving backwards. Are you really in this with us?"

Carlton board members said they really didn't know if there is support for the cost of the two-site option. "What good does it do to consolidate if taxpayers won't provide money to build the buildings," Carlton's Sue Karp said.

Carlton's Tim Hagenah said, "I don't know when this board agreed to a two-site option. We agreed to look into it."

Hagenah's comment drew withering glances from Wrenshall board members.

"You guys came to us," Wrenshall's Warren Weiderman said. "It was two-site to begin with."

"You know what we think," Fisher-Merritt said. He said the serious business of asking people to raise their taxes deserves a strong stance from the school boards. He said that if the public perceives that the Carlton board doesn't agree on what voters will go to the polls on, "it will not pass."

"I know what Tim thinks," Fisher-Merritt said. "He doesn't think it's a good idea."

Fisher-Merritt pleaded that despite individual opinions, the Carlton board was bound to make a firm commitment to the two-site option. He said the boards can always change directions as community consensus firms up. "We need to know what you think."

The comments drew applause from the audience of about 60 people, the first of a few such interruptions.

Jack Eudy said he feels animosity coming from the Carlton side. "I don't know where it comes from," he said. He said he was disappointed that Carlton appointed Hagenah to the committee that explored the two-site option when he didn't even back the idea. He said Carlton members need to ask themselves if they are "part of the problem or part of the solution."

Lehto said forcing the Carlton board to support the two-site option through a resolution would "only be divisive." She repeated that the board would approve a resolution seeking a survey and one offering general support for consolidation and no other talks other than the two-site option.

The survey would be rushed, superintendents for both districts said. It would go out to residents and parents of students outside the districts in January and results could come back in early February.

Knowing what the public thinks would be another tool in the two districts' efforts to lobby the State Legislature for state aid for consolidation based on aid sent to schools in emergency situations like the flood in Moose Lake. District advisors have said state aid could pay for nearly half of the $40 million needed to add and refurbish spaces at South Terrace and the Wrenshall school.

"We have to listen to it," Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro said of the survey. The districts would split the $10,000 cost to have the firm School Perceptions run the survey. It touts a high success rate in using survey results to tailor questions that referendum voters will accept.

Carlton's Sam Ojibway said the districts should focus on the consolidation and worry about the site options later. "We are going to cooperate," he said. "We need to get off the two-site discussion."

Wrenshall chairman Matt Laveau said he's seen consolidation talks in past go to a certain point and then fizzle. "It comes down to facilities," he said. "Time after time we say we're committed ... then walk away. I'm not doing that again. [Two sites] needs to stay a part of the discussion."

Wrenshall's Michelle Blanchard is a dean at Denfeld High School in Duluth and said she dreams of offering programs for students in Wrenshall that she sees in use at the larger school.

She's also wary of consolidation history.

"If this doesn't happen again, I don't think I can ever talk about consolidation again," she said.

In the final comments, after two hours of discussion, Hagenah said he has no "dis-ill (sic) for Wrenshall" but the public is still split on the two-site option versus one site in either city. He said there has to be consideration about how consolidation will impact enrollment and improve education.

Hagenah said he knows he's "talking to a dead wall" because Wrenshall has insisted on schools in both cities. "Let's look at everything, all options," he said.

Janaki-Fisher said the burden on Wrenshall has been large since Belcastro has had extra duties concerning the past two months of consolidation flurry. She is the sole administrator at the school and the burdens cascade down the ranks, Janaki-Fisher said. The whole process "cost money and time," he said. "We're on a timeline."

He said Carlton's Jennifer Chmielewski was right in saying that Carlton's indecision was "disrespectful" to the process.

Laveau said the Wrenshall side would have to accept where Carlton is at and hope the survey will pin members down. "It's worth the wait if we can come out and be successful," he said. "I'd love to have a firm answer. I'm willing to wait."

Lehto said that if the community was unanimous, the school board would be as well. "We don't have a united voice."

The Wrenshall board will open its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday. The Carlton meeting begins at 7 p.m.