Boards fine-tune school site plans

A joint committee made up of school board members from Carlton and Wrenshall districts is chipping away at site plans for a consolidated district. The boards have to submit a plan to the Minnesota Department of Education next week on what it will be asking voters for in a planned referendum in August. But that hinges on the current state legislature passing a measure in its bonding bill allocating money to schools seeking consolidation — and the legislature needs to finish its work by May 18.

The joint facilities commission decided late last month to follow most of the changes allowing for an influx of students at South Terrace in Carlton for an elementary school and in Wrenshall for a middle and high school.

Notable revisions were nixing a sports complex of football, baseball and softball fields at South Terrace in favor of just a new football field and track at the high school in Wrenshall. The move shaved $1 million off the total cost of adding gyms, classrooms and other spaces at the two sites.

A survey over the winter showed that residents had an appetite for a project of around $39 million. The committee’s reworked site plans come in at $37.9 million. It also changed the building of new auditorium in favor of converting the Wrenshall gym into performance space.

The commission also suggested adding a question on the referendum about refurbishing the pool in Wrenshall, something the survey showed most residents didn’t have a taste for. Committee members said voters could always say no to the separate item, but felt swimming was an important skill to teach students and the pool could serve the community as well.

The Carlton board met last week and some members balked at the direction of the committee. They asked members to meet again knowing some Carlton board members weren’t happy with losing varsity sports fields at South Terrace and asking about a pool the survey already provided an answer on.

The committee met again Wednesday to reiterate its points.

The survey of residents showed a referendum tolerance at about $38.4 million and the committee agreed that it met the goal of coming in under that number. The current site plan increases spending at South Terrace, from $9.9 million to $10.5 million. On Wednesday, the committee said it will work to provide details on how improvements will be made to the green space around the elementary to serve physical education needs as well as community space.

The plans in Wrenshall were trimmed from $38.4 million to $37.9 million. Planners had thought the current main gym there would need to be converted into classroom space. When it was discovered the extra classroom space wasn’t needed, the committee moved to convert the gym to an auditorium.

The school boards will meet next week to vote on the plan they will send to the state.

Candidate search

The Carlton board has already submitted a job description and is seeking candidates for its interim superintendent opening after Superintendent Gwen Carman announced last month that she was leaving for a job in southeastern Minnesota. The board will try to conduct interviews and come to a decision on a hire by the end of the month.