Carlton hires former Wrenshall business manager

The Carlton school district hired Angela Lind to fill the open business manager position, after the previous business manager, Norm Nelis, took a job at the Hermantown school district. Lind formerly worked just up the road at Wrenshall, but was laid off there in a cost-saving measure.

“She’s been a fantastic addition,” said Carlton superintendent Donita Stepan during Monday’s board meeting.

Under Lind’s new contract, she will earn a salary of $61,000 in her first year with regular longevity increases of $1,000 per year for the next 8 years. In addition, there will be a full benefits package including health insurance, 403(b) with match, paid holidays, 16 days vacation and three personal leave days per year.

Stepan was excited about getting Lind, who she said will be “making a tiny little bit more [including the benefits]” in Carlton. Lind worked five years in Wrenshall, which estimated it saved more than $85,000 in its annual budget, including benefits, by letting Lind go.

In her first regular report to the Carlton board, Lind found some good news. Although Carlton is running a deficit, “wages are under budget,” she said.

In other personnel matters, Carlton is still looking for an Indian Education coordinator, and has had no applicants. Stepan was nevertheless upbeat about the overall hiring picture with only a building substitute teacher and a few paraprofessionals still to hire for the coming school year.

“Carlton Schools are a great place to work, and we’re moving forward!” she said.

In her superintendent’s report, Stepan talked about $200,000 in extra federal funding for special education that was coming to Carlton, half of which must be spent by September. Current plans are to use it for special ed meeting rooms, a sensory room, reading and writing curriculum, and a fence between the playground and parking lot at South Terrace, among other things. Superintendents around the region, and Stepan in particular, have talked about the huge volume of changes enacted by the legislature this year that are going to result in more than 30 policy updates at Carlton. Everything from discipline to food service is affected.

It’s hard to quantify right now, Stepan said, but the consensus among superintendents is that costs are going up, mostly without funding or with incomplete funding.

Aaron Fischer from Esko gave as an example the requirement for free lunches for everyone. Although there will be reimbursement for the extra food required, the greater volume of meals served will probably necessitate hiring more staff, something not provided for in the funding. Fischer even noted that more garbage service would be required because many students eat only a portion of the meals offered, and there would be more of them.

Even some of the new funding can end up costing the district more. Stepan mentioned after the meeting that $40,000 is available from the state for a school psychologist or another counselor, but in reality such a professional would cost the district more than $60,000, so unless there is another way of using the money (uncertain at this point), the extra funding would actually drive up the deficit if accepted.

And speaking of costs, Stepan warned the board throughout the meeting of some unexpected items, including an election to fill the seat vacated by Tim Hagenah, who resigned in June. Since this is an off-year election, the costs cannot be shared with any other agency. Ballots must be printed, advertising secured, and judges and clerks hired and trained. Stepan could not predict how much it would be, but was sure it would be over $10,000. Other expenses coming up include a new plow or perhaps new plow truck, and a new server for the district Wi-Fi.