Board sticks to one-site demand with Wrenshall

After considerable debate and public input, the Carlton School Board resolved to begin talks with Wrenshall about consolidation, with the condition a new district would have only one location — at the South Terrace Elementary School site in Carlton.

Currently, Carlton has both a secondary and elementary school while Wrenshall serves grades K-12 in one building. According to numbers provided earlier this month, Carlton projects 295 students this year, with Wrenshall budgeting for 325.

Monday’s meeting began with a Truth in Taxation Hearing for renewal of the existing operating levy. A healthy crowd — 25 adults and one infant — attended and several spoke.

No one voiced outright opposition to the levy renewal. Instead, people wanted to know how the money was to be spent, share ideas for efficient use, and the prospect of consolidation.

Tom Jacobson expressed concern about the financial condition of the school system.

“I’m about this close to open-enrolling my kids in another program, so I would love to hear more information concerning what really the plans are,” Jacobson said. “And not just for right now, but long term.”

Dan Solarz and his wife already open-enroll their children into Wrenshall.

“What is your plan for that $300,000?” he asked, referring to the annual proceeds from the operating levy. As for consolidation, he shared: “I have a personal interest in it. I’d love to see it happen.”

“Two sites are not feasible for small towns,” opined resident Andy Tuttle. “That’s double janitors, double the office staff, double the gas … everything doubles.”

The only solution for consolidation, according to Tuttle, was a one-site system at South Terrace which has 88 acres available. He admitted taxes would go up, but reminded others that taxes will also go up if what is now Carlton ends up in the Esko or Cloquet school district.

During the regular meeting which followed, board members weighed in. Board chair Julianne Emerson reminded the board they made a decision in March to stay with a kindergarten through grade 12 district for now.

“We have worked so hard on the strategic plan … and we wanted to give that time to work until 2027,” she said. However, she added she believed a merger with Wrenshall could work if it was based on a single campus situated at South Terrace.

Sam Ojibway, Sue Karp, and Erin Szymczak all declared agreement with Emerson. Szymczak and Ojibway raised the debt issue, recognizing that a new school district would own the liabilities of both school districts and the possible inequalities in money owed.

Laura Nilsen had a different view from the other board members.

“It is a valuable conversation to have,” she said. “I also think it’s important to have that meeting before we say it’s only on a one-site basis. …There’s some brilliant minds over there and I think we just need to take that into consideration and just attend the meeting with open minds and listen to each other.

“I’d prefer to be Carlton-Wrenshall than Cloquet and no Carlton at all,” she added.

Emerson declared that Wrenshall deserved an answer, and moved that the board direct the superintendent to draft a letter offering to enter into discussions based on the one-site concept at South Terrace. The board approved unanimously.

After the meeting, Nilsen emphasized that she was still in favor of talking to Wrenshall without preconditions. She is a strong proponent of the strategic plan, but consolidation, if it happens, would be years down the road, she said.

Another unanimous vote decided the levy issue which extends Carlton’s current operating levy another seven years, starting next year.

Jodie Zesbaugh of Ehlers Public Finance Advisors displayed a graph that showed that per-pupil state aid has not kept pace with inflation, thus forcing school districts to ask for operating levies from the voters. For the first time ever, the Minnesota Legislature allowed districts to renew operating levies with only board approval. Carlton’s current levy is $813 per student.

“It has saved us a tremendous amount of work and cost by not having a special election,” Emerson said.

Repairs needed

Also on Monday, Carlton hired ICS as project manager for the boiler replacement in the secondary school, and assessment of the roofs on both district buildings. According to Mike Dosan, project development specialist for ICS, the failed boiler was over 70 years old.

The secondary school has a two-boiler system, each of which can take up most of the load if the other fails, but no school wants to go into the winter season with just one boiler and risk having none. Cost of Phase One of the project is somewhere around $39,000 which covers planning and design, the roof assessment, help with financing options and procurement, and plan submission to the state. The cost of Phase Two (the actual replacement) depends upon what is discovered in Phase One.

During the public comment portion of the regular meeting, some citizens questioned the price tag and whether it was necessary to have a project manager.

“So, we’re paying them to tell us that the roof is bad and we already know the roof is bad,” said one person. “I think we should consider how we spend our money. Maybe do a little bit more asking around and reaching out to people before we just jump on to one company.”

Emerson and Nilsen both responded later on, pointing out the district had made an RFP (Request for Proposal), and that only one company had bid, ICS. A project manager is critical here because supervision of multiple contractors would otherwise be the responsibility of the superintendent. In holding two positions, superintendent and elementary principal, Donita Stepan is already stretched pretty thin, they explained.

Interim member

Ryan Leonzal is the newest member of the Carlton School Board. He and Steven Schmidt applied for the seat vacated by Tim Hagenah. Leonzal takes office Sept. 21 and stays until the winner of the special election in November takes over.

The board member could be him, since he is also running in that contest, against, coincidentally, Steven Schmidt. Both candidates were invited to make a short speech and Emerson read a letter from each. She said it was a hard decision. People, she said, “should not construe any decision tonight to be anything other than having to make a very difficult decision between two excellent candidates.”

The vote was three to two in favor of Leonzal. Emerson said the former board member she mentioned previously as a possible interim person was Anne Gustafson, but Gustafson changed her mind about serving.