Boards lean toward consolidation

A new dawn for Carlton and Wrenshall schools appears closer than ever before, after Carlton school board members on Monday talked about moving ahead with consolidation.

Carlton board members softened their position on a one-site-only plan Monday, agreeing to start with two facilities — a merged high school at Wrenshall and combined elementary at South Terrace in Carlton. The board left open a vision for construction of a combined one-site school down the line.

News of Carlton’s willingness to proceed in earnest with consolidation was met positively in Wrenshall.

“Personally, I am very excited and I look forward to moving forward,” Wrenshall board chair Nicole Krisak said. “[It’s] win-win for both districts.”

The Wrenshall board has now added the topic to its agenda for its

6 p.m. Dec. 18 regular meeting.

First on the agenda of the Committee of the Whole in Carlton was a recap of the walk-through of all the facilities of both school districts by both school boards last month.

Board members were impressed by what they saw at Wrenshall.

“I was really impressed with the CTE (Career and Technical Education) building,” said board member Laura Nilsen.

Board member Ryan Leonzal agreed.

“It far exceeded my expectations,” he said.

Leonzal was also very positive about the cooperative spirit of both school boards.

“[It] was a really good first step,” he said. “They did a good job showing us their place. Everybody was smiling and getting along and it was cool.”

Board members Sue Karp and Erin Szymczak expressed reservations about architectural barriers at Wrenshall, but Leonzal pointed out there is a fully functioning elevator there.

There was praise for the South Terrace facility, but no disagreement that the Carlton secondary school had to go.

Leonzal called it “obsolete,” and a “ticking time bomb.”

Following the building tours Nov. 13, Wrenshall superintendent Jeff Pesta debriefed with board members, which reinforced Wrenshall’s pro-consolidation stance.

“The consensus was that the Wrenshall board found the tours to be rewarding and informative,” Pesta said. “They continue to be interested in exploring all possible sharing, pairing, and consolidation options that improve the educational opportunities for area students.”

The board examined a document from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) that aided decision making about consolidation. The first topic recommended for discussion involved population and enrollment decline. There was broad agreement that the issue was critical for Carlton.

“Our district in particular is facing a larger decline … than average,” Nilsen said.

Board chair Julianne Emerson echoed that.

“The number of resident students going to Cloquet … has probably increased,” she said.

The document then suggested test scores, attendance and graduation rates should be examined. The board did not think these things were an issue, but Nilsen acknowledged dissatisfaction expressed to her by some parents, even though there are advantages to being in a small school district.

Eventually, the discussion moved toward the obvious need for consolidation and Leonzal articulated the option finally being considered by most members.

“Send the elementary-aged kids to South Terrace,” he said. “We use the Wrenshall building … that becomes the consolidated high school.”

Later, consideration could be made to convert to just one site, Leonzal said.

“Maybe [later] we revisit a conversation down the road for a different location,” he said.

At its work session earlier this month, the Wrenshall board originally decided it would not address consolidation any further until January. Carlton’s decision changed Wrenshall’s plans, and the matter will now be on the agenda later this month.

Pesta said he believes the chair will inquire as to whether the board would like to task Pesta to prepare information about practical next steps for their Jan. 8 regular meeting. The Wrenshall board will have its organizational meeting on Jan. 3, but there are no plans to have any other agenda items that evening.

The Wrenshall board first addressed its own willingness to consolidate last summer and later approached Carlton about renewing discussions. Consolidation talks between the districts had been on again, off again for decades. Both districts are faced with declining enrollment and the financial issues that come with lower per-student state financial aid.

A full merger of sports and other activities between the districts started this school year and has been regarded as a rousing success.

A cooperative committee between the districts has been working together smoothly on details of the sports merger for more than a year. Momentum that started with sports and activities continued through consolidation talks, and peaked in November with a joint meeting of the boards, during which school board members toured each of the districts’ facilities.

In a discussion after the Carlton meeting, superintendent Donita Stepan said there was a good chance South Terrace would have the capacity to house all the elementary students of the combined district and the Wrenshall building could contain all the upper grades without more construction.

Board members Ojibway and Szymczak clung to the idea expressed last summer that consolidation should proceed only if the new school district were housed entirely in one campus in one location. If only one school closes, observed Ojibway, the new school district will still have “double the bills,” from having two locations.

Szymczak was equally adamant.

“I don’t think either district can afford to wait three to five years for one site,” she said. “Imagine [owning] two houses. Two payments.”

Emerson disagreed.

“I don’t see us being able to just get into one facility right out of the gate,” she said.

After community pride develops in the new school district, an attempt to move to one site could be contemplated, she added.

Emerson stated that the time had come to crunch the numbers and see what revenues and expenses would result from a consolidation.

This being a committee of the whole, no vote was taken, but Emerson declared that she saw consensus around two concepts: having superintendent Stepan reach out to Wrenshall for further discussions, and contacting the Ehlers public finance advisors firm of Roseville, Minnesota, to ask for help in sorting out financial considerations.

In a Facebook post Tuesday on the Wrenshall/Carlton Better Together feed, a moderator announced the Carlton position, saying, “Rest assured, this consolidation is a positive step for our students, our community, and our collective future.”