Meetings are now open to public

For the first time since spring 2020, Monday’s Cloquet school board meeting was open to the public. No one came, but they could have.

The change arose from a ruling on open meeting law by the Minnesota Commissioner of Administration, detailed in last week’s Pine Knot News story, “State ruling causes alarm.” The advisory opinion requires that boards allow members of the public to physically attend a meeting at which there is at least a quorum of board members (four, in the case of the Cloquet board) also physically present.

“After this month there are almost no remaining restrictions other than masking indoors,” Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary said, adding that even the mask requirement will go away after July 1, which means board meetings will likely continue in the boardroom at Garfield School.

Cary suggested discontinuing the livestreaming of the meetings now that the public can physically attend, to save paying technician William Bauer. Bauer said the number of viewers on the YouTube stream varies from the mid-teens to the mid-20s.

Board member Nate Sandman suggested the district continue to stream the meetings at least through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Hockey negotiations loom

Cary warned board members that the district and the city of Cloquet will be renegotiating the lease for the use of the Northwoods Credit Union hockey arena for varsity and junior varsity teams.

The current lease ends June 30. The high cost is a sore spot for board chair Ted Lammi, who pointed out the city renegotiated the leases with the Cloquet Amateur Hockey Association and the Minnesota Wilderness when it took over control of the hockey arenas from CAHA, but not with the school district.

According to figures from 2019, the school district paid the city $125,000 that year to use both “the Barn” and the Northwoods Credit Union hockey arenas for its girls and boys varsity and junior varsity teams.

“I hope they’re willing to negotiate. Last time it was ‘my way or the highway,’” said board member Hawk Huard.

Cary said the high school is considering raising hockey participation fees, noting that families will pay around $1,200 per child to play on a Bantam team, but the school charges only $250 per player per season and the school district also provides transportation.

“I think we could recoup some of our costs if we increase [the participation fee] over time,” Cary said in what was essentially a brainstorming session. Other board members wondered what would happen to the maximum fee per family if hockey fees were increased, and whether Cloquet needs to renegotiate co-op fees with Carlton and Esko, which also participate in the boys and girls Lumberjacks hockey teams.

Cary also noted it would be interesting to compare the district’s costs of operating and maintaining the school gymnasium with the costs of renting space at the hockey arenas.