Wrenshall, Carlton home in on state aid

Wrenshall and Carlton school district officials continue to prepare for a possible consolidation vote this year. Last Friday, the two superintendents and board members met with local legislators to kick off what is hoped to be a successful lobbying effort when the Minnesota Legislature opens Feb. 11.

That’s the same day the districts will release the results of a survey put out last month to ask residents and parents of students about their support for a consolidated district and the costs associated with it to shore up district campuses.

Rep. Mike Sundin, DFL-Esko, and Sen. Jason Rarick, R-Brook Park, told the school representatives that they would only go to bat for consolidation money only if they know the community supports the idea.

“The good news is that we will know what the community thinks through the survey,” Superintendent Kim Belcastro said this week. She said she’s heard good things from people since the survey went out and a good response is expected.

Representatives from Ehlers, a financial advisory group that has been hired to assist the districts in planning and managing the consolidation, were also at last week’s meeting.

The districts are trying to leverage about 46 percent of its consolidation costs through a bill in the legislature that would allow what was designed as emergency funding for disaster to apply for consolidation as well. Fixes and additions at the elementary school at South Terrace and the Wrenshall school are expected to run from $32 million to $40 million.

The options for district residents were spelled out in detail in the survey, including the possibility that state funding could be used to ease the tax burden.

The boards will review the results at regular meetings Feb. 10 and at a joint meeting Feb. 11. If residents back the two-site plan and estimated costs, the districts will seek the funding from the state.

Carlton Superintendent Gwen Carmen said the “aid is critical.” The consolidation process would halt if state funding doesn’t come.

It’s all an intricate dance right now with many moving parts, but clarity should come soon, Belcastro said.

Sundin added another piece to the puzzle by asking audience member Mark Thell, a county board member, if the consolidation timeline was feasible in Carlton County’s plans to acquire Carlton High School for new facilities, including a jail. The county also has to go through the legislature to fund a new jail and the board announced this week that it projects breaking ground in 2022. That would squeeze into the consolidation plan, allowing the schools a year of construction to accommodate students at South Terrace and Wrenshall.

Sundin suggested that the school boards hire a lobbyist to present their plan to legislators in the upcoming session. The superintendents plans to visit St. Paul, and Ehlers will also represent the districts there. Rarick offered assistance in guiding members toward key committee chairs and members.

“Bonding is key,” Sundin said. “This is going to be driven by the people. What do you want?”

The survey should answer the question. That’s what Belcastro is hoping. She wants to be armed with data to convince lawmakers to allow consolidation funding. “If we can be there with positive survey results, that will weigh heavily,” she said.

The deadline to complete the survey was Monday.

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Carlton principal charged with DWI

The middle and high school principal for the Carlton school district was due in a county court this morning (Jan. 31) facing a driving while impaired charge after a traffic stop in December. Barry Wolff faces two DWI charges in Sherburne County after he was stopped by a deputy on Dec. 27. The arrest complaint says Wolff crossed the centerline and was making wide turns as he drove in Becker Township. He was booked into county jail that night and charged with a fourth-degree DWI, a misdemeanor.

Wolff has continued to work for the school district. Superintendent Gwen Carman said in a statement: “We are looking into the available information and determining whether, given the timing and location of the incident, it impacts his employment with the school district.”

— Pine Knot News