Wrenshall board considers full-time superintendent

Jana Peterson

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Wrenshall School Board members have been busy, with greater insights as a result of all their efforts. In addition to nearly weekly meetings to study school issues and finances, different board members climbed on the school roof Saturday and/or traveled to St. Paul for a "day at the capitol," arriving back in Wrenshall in time for Monday's regular school board meeting.

The various excursions provided some vital information to the board:

1. Although Saturday's group made good headway, the roof requires professional clearing, including ice around the new air handler unit and ductwork that will likely require steaming.

2. The board may be able to slow down the breakneck speed of its budget cuts, as they await news coming April 4 out of the legislature, which could impact revenues for the next school year.

3. With only one application so far for part-time school superintendent, they might want to rethink and advertise the position as full-time, in order to attract high quality and a higher number of candidates.

At the Capitol

Board members Ben Johnson, Mary Carlson and Eric Ankrum attended the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) and Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) Day at the Capitol Monday.

In the morning they networked with school administrators and other board members. In particular, the three sought feedback on the superintendent job posting, which has garnered only one response so far and was supposed to close at the end of the month.

Johnson said the superintendent he spoke with said advertising the job at .5 or .6 "made it clear to him that we were looking for the cheapest option," Johnson said.

"I heard from other board members that in this competitive market with superintendents, we need to be asking for a full-time superintendent," Carlson said.

"I think the future of this district is really really important," she added. "We need a strong leader. We've got a great board, rowing the same direction. ... We cannot miss on this superintendent."

Board members seemed inclined to agree, and also wanted to post the job in more online locations. Retiring superintendent Kim Belcastro advised the board that full-time would mean a significant budget increase. She estimated with salary and benefits, it could cost the district as much as $200,000 total.

The trio of board members met with state senator Jason Rarick and state representative Jeff Dotseth in the afternoon before hurrying back for the Monday night board meeting, which lasted nearly four hours and included two closed meetings: one for an employee evaluation and another to discuss security issues.

Budget talks

Board members had planned to hold a special meeting March 29, but postponed that until they get a forecast from the state legislature detailing the targeted amount of money they are hoping to direct to school funding in the first week of April.

"That's what we should base our numbers off of," Carlson said.

"I feel very strongly that we do not want to rush this," she added. "What I want everyone to hear is we do not want to make any more cuts."

Board members said they can add future special meetings if they need to.

Snow troubles

Last weekend, board members Johnson and Ankrum joined two custodians and board member Carlson's husband, Cole, to check the status of the roof, which had been leaking in at least one spot.

"We found way too much snow for the crew we had, so we prioritized the roof drain system," Ankrum told board members Monday. "All 18 drains are cleared of snow and the majority are working."

On Tuesday, workers from The Jamar Company in Duluth commenced clearing snow and ice. Because Jamar is also working on the Miller Hill Mall roof collapse, staff and equipment are in short supply. Additionally, Wrenshall isn't the only school district in the area with concerns about snow loads on various roofs.

"The district has spent more on snow removal this year than I can remember," Belcastro said.