Wrenshall schools levy set within $4K of last year

The Wrenshall school board approved a 2024 levy nearly identical to its previous figure, $1,513,112 — some $4,557 less than the current levy.

Superintendent Jeff Pesta called it a “negligible reduction,” during Monday’s Truth in Taxation hearing conducted at the school.

“It’s very small when you are considering it on a half-a-million dollars,” Pesta said.

The district’s budget for 2024 is $6.5 million, made up of mostly per-pupil state aid funding, along with levy and federal dollars.

No community members spoke during the hearing.

A third of the levy, some $500,000, will be used for operation of the school, while the remaining $1 million will go toward debt service to pay down bonds remaining from facility improvements, amounting to $13.2 million remaining on unpaid balance.

Outstanding bonds are related to the renovation of the Career and Technical Education building. Other completed work included replacement of the heating and air conditioning system, and new lighting and windows in the main school building. The three bonds associated with the renovations are scheduled to be paid off in 2032, 2037 and 2041.

Levy-based documents prepared by the Twin Cities office of PMA Securities showed that, on a $196,000 home, Wrenshall’s per-property annual levy responsibility of $606 landed in the middle of the pack in the region, including Carlton ($403), Willow River ($428), Barnum ($470), Moose Lake ($509), Esko ($522), Cromwell-Wright ($590), Proctor ($784), East Central ($811), and Cloquet ($921). Wrenshall’s figure amounted to almost exactly the $605 average of all regional public schools.

Among those schools, only Carlton had passed, via referendum, a voter-approved operating levy. Pesta explained that operating referendums, above and beyond the levy, are widely used in metropolitan areas, and going without puts districts at a disadvantage.

Pesta called it an “equity issue” and “kids will not get equal education,” when comparing districts with operating referendums to those without.

“It’s very common to have a voter-approved operating levy,” Pesta noted, while declining to speculate why it's an uncommon practice in surrounding rural areas.

With no public comment and no objections from the board, the levy passed unanimously.

Consolidation update

Also Monday, the Wrenshall school board briefly addressed consolidation with Carlton — a topic that has captured regional attention following the Carlton board agreeing this month to move forward with a two-site consolidation plan.

Wrenshall restarted on-again, off-again consolidation talks last summer by requesting Carlton join in exploring new options. A tour of each district’s facilities in November served to bring Carlton further on board with consolidation. A proposed plan would put combined secondary students into the Wrenshall school, with combined elementary students going to South Terrace in Carlton.

The Wrenshall board asked Pesta to come back in January with next steps in a consolidation process. Board member Mary Carlson asked that Pesta deliver “a road map” to consolidation.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 3 for its annual reorganization meeting, at which the board will set dates for its monthly meetings and declare new officers and the makeup of committees. Pesta recommended the board meet again later in January to act on regular business, and the board agreed, meaning consolidation will come up again at a second January meeting yet to be determined.

In the meantime, the two districts’ sports and activities cooperative committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday. Board members agreed that the sports cooperative between the schools has been an overwhelming success, citing a rousing start to the boys basketball campaign.

Also Monday:

-An annual audit of the 2023 fiscal year, which ended June 30, was unanimously accepted by the board.

“It went very good; we were very happy with it and it went very quickly,” said accountant Michelle R. Swoboda, a partner at Duluth-based Wipfli accounting firm. Documents associated with both the levy and audit are linked at the district’s website, under the BoardBook Agenda tab.

-Using federal emergency relief funds gained during the pandemic, current teachers at the school will be performing tutoring for high school students twice a week, as well as tutoring in reading for students in kindergarten through third grade. Also, school literacy and art/literature clubs will be created in the new year, starting Jan. 4.

-Enrollment continues to hold above 330 students, at 332, with nominally more students expected to enroll in the new year. One to three new students is expected, though it’s unclear if any are leaving. The board’s projected enrollment of 325 puts the district on pace to finish with a budget surplus, based on per-pupil state financial aid, as it continues to work its way out of financial difficulties associated with its overall declining enrollment.

-Finally, the district is launching a new website Jan. 1, aimed at simplifying the user experience, utilizing fewer tabs and six main buttons that feature the site’s most used tabs, including the updated school calendar.