Board approves Belcastro request to drop duties

The Wrenshall school board approved a major administrative shift for the district Wednesday night in a special meeting. The move was precipitated by superintendent Kim Belcastro’s request to reduce her duties by nearly half, primarily giving up dual work as the school principal.

The board approved moving Belcastro to a 0.6 superintendent position and hiring a full-time principal. It will eliminate a dean position.

Overall, the district expects to save a few thousand dollars with the changes. Belcastro’s current salary would shift to about $72,000 from the current $117,000 per year in her contract, which expires in July of 2023. The dean position, which was part time at 0.8, eliminates $47,000 in salary, but the principal job is expected to take as much as $80,000 to fill.

The board set the hiring process in motion at its meeting Wednesday. Belcastro said there has already been a high amount of interest in the principal job.

Wrenshall does not have a student population that can support two full-time administrators, Belcastro said. She told the board this week that she wants to focus on the superintendent duties as the district comes out of pandemic mode while undergoing significant construction projects.

If the school hits a student population of 400, the board could consider a fuller administration. Belcastro said she expects enrollment to hit about 370 this fall.

“I really think it is time to share the load of and have more support on site for staff,” Belcastro told the Pine Knot News before the board made the move official. “It is a very busy busy time,” she said.

Belcastro said she would serve as a mentor for a new principal, who would be on the job as the new school year starts in July.

Covid surging

As Wednesday’s meeting shifted into a committee of the whole discussion, Belcastro provided some Covid-19 updates. As of the middle of the week, there were six confirmed cases, mainly at the fourth-grade level. About 70 students are in quarantine protocol due to the case outbreak.

Belcastro said she is keeping in close contact with the Minnesota Department of Health, since it has shut down some schools to in-person learning because of similar outbreaks, which are occurring so quickly that the state believes it is the variant strain of the Covid-19 virus that is spreading.

Wrenshall isn’t alone. In regular calls with district leaders in the region, Belcastro said she has heard similar case numbers and quarantines across Carlton County. She said the most concerning news from the state is that health experts expect at least 10 percent of the students coming down with Covid-19 will have “complications.”