Wrenshall, Carlton to hire lobbyist

After initially voting against paying a professional lobbyist to help persuade the Minnesota Legislature to make school consolidations eligible for greater state aid, the Wrenshall school board met early Monday morning and reversed that decision.

Wrenshall and Carlton school districts will each pay half of the $25,000 cost of hiring lobbyist Reid LeBeau.

A successful effort in St. Paul could lead to state funding that would pay 40 percent of the estimated $38 million in school improvements. Both districts agreed they will not continue consolidation efforts if the Legislature does not approve the changes.

Local representatives Rep. Mike Sundin and Sen. Jason Rarick introduced bills last month in their respective bodies calling for an expansion of the law that allows enhanced debt equalization from the state for school districts that consolidate.