Boards convene for building tours

Exploration of a merger between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts left the board rooms behind on Monday, as the two school boards convened to tour facilities between the districts.

The two groups visited Carlton High School, South Terrace Elementary School, and the three-story K-12 Wrenshall school and its Career and Technical Education building.

The tours were limited to 20 minutes each, allowing board members to peek into classrooms, gymnasiums, offices and specialty areas, such as libraries, cafeterias, boiler rooms, and early childhood rooms.

There was limited discussion and no negotiation of any sort.

"It was very cordial and informative, and we'll just wait and see," Carlton board chair Julianne Emerson said. "We'll probably have some board discussion at our committee of the whole meeting [in December], where we can really get into it."

Emerson's counterpart at Wrenshall, board chair Nicole Krisak, concurred.

"It was definitely effective to see both sides," Krisak said. "A lot of us have not been to both schools, so it's good to see a different perspective and what both schools have to offer. It was the right step in the right direction to keep us moving forward."

The boards were expected to share written questions following the tours, with answers to be shared in the coming days.

"Cute," said Wrenshall board member Mary Carlson, upon walking into a South Terrace kindergarten classroom.

This summer, the Carlton board had stipulated it would agree to renewed consolidation discussions, provided a one-site option at South Terrace was the focal point.

But it was Wrenshall's building that showed itself to be objectively more refined, having undergone a more recent multimillion dollar renovation. During the tour, the school's motion-sensitive lighting system was featured, triggered by the group's movements. The atrium at the center of the school also stood out as unique between the collective buildings. The shop classroom in Carlton was cramped compared to the sprawling new shop in the Wrenshall CTE building. Classrooms throughout Carlton appeared smaller with desks packed tightly, while Wrenshall's space appeared to afford more room for students of all grades.

Board members on both sides kept their comments mostly to themselves, though Wrenshall principal Michelle Blanchard was taken aback by the condition of one Carlton classroom.

"What the heck is this?" she said. "It looks like the 1960s."

Because the tours amounted to a public meeting, a handful of community members trailed along, including Katie Beck, a substitute teacher for Carlton whose children go to Wrenshall.

"It's time to build a new bridge between Carlton and Wrenshall districts," she said. "It's clear that between these three schools we have more than enough to give all our kids better. ... We know what is right, the boards of both districts need to do what's right for all of these kids."

Cale Carlson is a concerned Wrenshall community member who said he presently favored consolidation.

"I want to do my due diligence - to continue to see if that's my position or not," he said of taking the tours.

During the tour, Carlton showcased a sensory room at its elementary school.

"We could use one of these," Blanchard said of the rooms that feature activities to activate young students' sensory skills.

The preschool classrooms at Wrenshall featured in-room bathrooms. That wasn't the case at South Terrace.

"So the preschoolers have to leave the room to go to the bathroom," Carlson said. "That's a huge perk for our own space."

Carlton board member Laura Nilsen marveled when she saw the auxiliary gym at Wrenshall. When she attended the school, the community pool was still in that space.

"I feel like I can still smell the pool," she said.

The Carlton board will meet again at 6 p.m. Dec. 11 for its committee of the whole meeting. Wrenshall will next convene for a work session at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5.