Carlton, Wrenshall students find harmony

While the Carlton and Wrenshall school boards continue slow-moving consolidation talks, some students in the neighboring school districts say they want to be one school district already.

“The kids said they won’t play the Jug game,” Community Ed director Julie Jacobson told the Wrenshall board Monday. “They’re done competing against each other.”

Senior Randy Wimmer said that’s been a discussion point among his teammates. A football player on the inaugural Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors football team this fall, Wimmer is transitioning to basketball for winter and said the annual Brown Jug game between the two schools won’t feel like it used to, even if they do play it (which is likely, since it’s on the schedule).

“Now that we’ve practiced and played with each other 2-3 hours a day for months, it will be hard to revert back to that classic rivalry,” Wimmer said.

While Wimmer talked about how smoothly the co-op football team came together — how much fun, how there were no arguments about earning spots — the Wrenshall school board struggled to stay positive about its consolidation talks with Carlton.

Still, sitting in schools only a few miles away from each other, both boards took another step forward in the consolidation talks Monday, by approving money for a community survey and passing identical resolutions that committed to further steps in exploring a two-site consolidated school district … at least for now.

Wrenshall school board members vented about changes to the language in the resolution negotiated by Carlton after the last joint meeting on Nov. 12. Wrenshall board members thought they’d gotten a firm commitment from the Carlton board that it was moving ahead on consolidation of the districts with two sites. What the final negotiated resolution said — completed only about 30 minutes before Wrenshall’s meeting started at 6 p.m. — said wasn’t exactly that.

The sixth paragraph had been changed and now read: “Be it further resolved, that the [Wrenshall/Carlton] School District commits to information gathering only regarding alternative long-range facility options for the District, and will not actively move forward with other facility plan options beyond a 2-site plan until such time that either the Carlton or Wrenshall District formally notify the other of intent not to proceed with consolidation planning.”

Wrenshall board member Janaki Fisher-Merritt said his issue all along has been that Carlton won’t commit to anything, even when it initially appears they do.

“The information gathering is everything we’ve done so far, so this (resolution) means they can hire an architect, they can get consultants, they can continue to talk with every other district except us about consolidating,” Fisher-Merritt said. “In no way is it setting aside any other options.

It’s like, ‘Well, I’ll let you know in February if I’m going to marry you and I promise I won’t marry anyone else before February,’” he added, to roars of laughter from the board and about 10 audience members. “Setting aside other options really means ‘I’m not gonna go on any dates with anyone else.’”

Four miles away, Carlton school board chairwoman LaRae Lehto said the back-and-forth between her and Wrenshall chairman Laveau to modify the original resolution was “respectful and collaborative. We felt good about this.”

There was little discussion during the Carlton school board meeting about the resolution, save for some questions on how defined the limitations would be on exploring other scenarios that did not include a school presence in each city, which is the only consolidation option the Wrenshall board said it would discuss all along.

Lehto said the resolution is a “framework” around the two-site option “but not restrictive.”

Longtime Carlton board member Tim Hagenah said he didn’t want to be “handcuffed” if a district resident wanted to know more about other consolidation scenarios.

The entire resolution was passed unanimously by both boards, and additional points laid out a plan to survey both communities: follow the recommendations of the survey authors in moving forward with the long-range facility planning and a potential facilities referendum: and begin program, curriculum and budget planning for a two-site consolidation, as well as take steps to lobby the Minnesota Legislature to lobby for money to help with the consolidation costs.

If all of the proposed items come to fruition — survey, state funding, referendum — the final paragraph of the resolution noted that the districts would consolidate effective July 1, 2020.

Wrenshall board member Jack Eudy said he hopes community members won’t get mad and just give up on the idea.

“People don’t realize the things we can get done together,” he said. “I have a fellow willing to help us get foundation money, but the only way you can get it is with consolidation.”

Consolidation could bring more than outside money from the state and Eudy’s mystery foundation.

Wrenshall sophomore Jordyn Harvey is excited about the opportunities for more extracurricular activities, more competitive sports teams and more academic offerings that would come with a combined student body. The volleyball player said that after the Wrens lost their first playoff game, the team went to cheer on Carlton … dressed in Carlton colors and facepaint. It was fun, she said.

“It’s been neat to watch,” Belcastro said. “The hope that people making the decisions for both districts can be there to continue with the positive work that’s going on. I can’t say enough good about what we’ve been able to do so far.”

She added that the two districts are discussing combining their track and field teams in the spring.

In other matters Monday:

• The Wrenshall vote on the survey was not unanimous Monday, although a motion by board member Warren Weiderman to make Carlton pay all the costs for the survey died for a lack of a second after some lively discussion.

“I’m all for consolidation,” Weiderman said. “They need to do it or get off the pot. I say let them foot the bill. We’re being used as an ATM machine here.”

A motion by Eudy to split the costs of developing the survey and each district pay its own mailing costs passed, with Weiderman the only “nay” vote.

• The Carlton board closed its regular meeting Monday to discuss an appraisal it received on the high school site. It is being eyed by Carlton County for expansion of the next-door county jail. The county wanted to hear from the school district in December on when it might make a decision on the property. Because of the ongoing consolidation process, the county likely won’t get a solid answer until the proposed referendum in August on paying for improvements at South Terrace and the Wrenshall school. Passage of a nearly $40 million bond would allow Carlton to vacate its high school site because students would be attending an expanded school in Wrenshall.

• Wrenshall is still moving forward with its $9.3 million nonvoter-approved referendum, to make health and safety and air quality improvements at the school there.

“We are still doing that and we really need to, I clarified that with (Carlton superintendent) Gwen Carman today,” Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro explained after the meeting. “We really have significant facility needs that it’s important to move forward with, because we aren’t totally confident that consolidation will be agreed upon by both districts.”

Laveau said the improvements — to indoor air quality, asbestos removal, boiler update — are also part of the two-site plan. Carlton made similar improvements at South Terrace Elementary School through a $5.5 million nonvoter- approved levy passed in 2017.

Pine Knot News reporter Mike Creger contributed to this story.