Districts work out consolidation kinks

If one had stumbled upon the library at Carlton High School on Monday, you would have gotten the impression you were eavesdropping on some sort of couples therapy.

There was talk about doing the right thing for the kids. Talk about trauma. About threats perceived and then called misconstrued. Talk about taking a breath and letting cooler heads prevail. There were demands made and demands denied.

There was talk of impasses rebutted with carrying on, keeping the dialogue going.

To someone who knew what was going on, the first "consolidation team" meeting between members of the Carlton and Wrenshall school boards this week may have looked like history. Or maybe, in moments, just an ugly repeating of history. The history that has sunk past consolidation efforts between the districts for six decades or more.

The nearly two-hour session Monday was relegated mostly to getting communication and information sharing between the districts squared up. It was an exchange of emails last month that gave rise to a cancellation of the first planned meeting between the full school boards this month.

Some board members wanted to meet in the smaller group to prevent things from "sliding off the tracks," as Carlton chairwoman Julianne Emerson said she feared.

After finding the board room in the district office too crammed with people, the committee meeting was moved to the library. There, Emerson arranged two small tables in a tight formation, so the six people involved in the consolidation talk could face each other - two superintendents and two members from each school board.

Emerson was certainly ready to face her counterpart on the Wrenshall board, chairwoman Mary Carlson.

"We're not going to do board business by email," Emerson said flatly.

Carlton officials were apparently put off by an email from Carlson asking for contract and budget information.

Carlson said her board was simply trying to gather information to be as effective as they could in meetings about consolidation. She said she considered the request to be a simple ask for public data on the Carlton district. "When I get a 'no' on public data, the red flags go up," she said.

The exact contents of the emails isn't yet known, and the Pine Knot is anticipating results of a public data request filed to obtain the emails.

Emerson stressed that after the success of the Raptors sports cooperative, plus a consolidation process that is further along than at any time in decades, the boards needed to "present as a unified district."

Nice to meet you

If nothing else, the meeting was a chance for some board members and even the top leadership to see each other in person for the first time.

Emerson and Carlson admitted they hardly knew each other. And the meeting was the first time the superintendents from the schools had met, despite working just 6 miles from each other.

After much back and forth, with both sides explaining the ways their districts do business, things crescendoed. There was obvious discomfort in the audience as Emerson hammered away on the "threat" she felt from Wrenshall's approach, and that there was "trauma" all around for those dealing with consolidation in the past.

She said that while it may be uncomfortable, "let's just bring it to the table."

"Stop using the word 'threat,'" Carlson pleaded.

Emerson said the Carlton board has the same high standards as Wrenshall when it comes to process. "That's why I'm not fond of the emails," she said.

Carlson said she was confused as to why the emails led Emerson to suggest pulling back and canceling the planned meeting for the full boards.

"Your action sounded unilateral to me," Carlson said.

Then both chairpersons agreed that the consolidation process shouldn't be put in jeopardy over emails. Emerson pleaded for others to talk.

"Everybody take a breath," said Carlton's Sam Ojibway, taking on the therapist role. He said the recent misunderstandings were not a hurdle, but a "hiccup."

Carlson was able to wedge in some procedural requests from Wrenshall, based on being "equal partners" and remembering to deal in "good faith" and share information.

Third party

Both sides agreed that the districts should put out a request for proposals in seeking a consolidation consultant. It would alleviate some of the ticky-tack things that can become hangups, board members said.

Wrenshall's Eric Ankrum, after about an hour of the back-and-forth, said a consultant couldn't be hired soon enough. "We're here," he said of being so close to the consolidation finish line. "This is for my kids. Our kids."

A consultant might be able to help with another sticking point between the districts, allowing a new unified school board to make hiring decisions. As of now, Carlton superintendent Donita Stepan is in a contract that extends past the planned 2025 consolidation start date. Wrenshall superintendent Jeff Pesta's contract ends at the end of this school year.

Carlson said it would be good for both communities if a new joint board were able to make hiring decisions, especially on the top job in a new district.

"We don't want this to be the thing," Carlson said.

Emerson said a third-party consultant would certainly help in such disagreements, and cautioned against drawing any lines in the sand.

With that, two hours had sailed by. Another meeting was set. This time at 5 p.m. Monday in Wrenshall.

Carlson said after the meeting that she was looking forward to moving on in the process.

"Ultimately, it was a productive meeting," she said. "We move forward for the kids."

"I have great respect for Julianne," Carlson said. "She has great experience as a board chair. I really like her."

As people quit the meeting and casual talk amplified, Emerson could be heard putting out an olive branch. "I feel like I should shake your hand," she said to Carlson.

They shook hands.