August’s meeting was a final check-in before the start of the 2026/2027 school year, which will begin Tuesday, September 8. With less than a month to go, staff and other employees were clearly hard at work preparing to meet that deadline, as Two Harbors High School’s entry hall was piled with chairs due to the flooring overhaul underway at the time of the meeting. Since the usual room was awaiting new carpets, this round the meeting was held in the choir’s chambers.
Part of prep for the new year was the annual review and acceptance of the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA)’s policies, with no notable changes.
Several staff roles were confirmed, including two teachers: A special education teacher for Two Harbors High School and a math teacher for William Kelley Schools. Elizabeth Smith was also approved as Two Harbors High School Dean of Students. Smith is not new to the role as she was already operating as Dean during the final portion of the 2025/2026 school year. This is a Teacher on Special Assignment, or TOSA, position intended to be a temporary replacement for the Two Harbors Assistant Principal, who is slated to be on leave for the entirety of the 2026/2027 school year.
Because of the logistics of the role being filled, this TOSA position will include 8 additional calendar days at the beginning and end of the year. As a TOSA position, this contract will be for two years but will be reevaluated next spring to consider whether the contract can be ended early or should continue on for the second year. Tiboni confirmed that the replacement of a Dean for the coming year will not cost the school district more money and is, in fact, a reduction in expenses compared to the assistant principal position.
The Board also considered and approved an update to School District policy #506, which covers handling of student discipline. Though originally meant to undergo several readings, it was changed at the start of the session to be a one-time reading and approval during this meeting. Board Chair Tracy Tiboni explained this was due to there being no substantial changes; rather, according to District Superintendent Gina Kleive, “there was information that was missing specific to our district” within the existing policy. They further noted that approving the policy during this month’s meeting will allow it to be ready before the beginning of the upcoming school year.
Kleive took a moment to go over a few details of Policy #506, which must be reviewed on an annual basis. After concerns from district parents voiced at School Board meetings earlier this year, the policy underwent more thorough review, and it was discovered that the policy was incomplete, with a section for District-specific augmentations left blank. The missing portion was added along with input from the School District’s Principals in order to ensure that “our processes and procedures are consistent no matter whether you are at William Kelley High or Two Harbors High, or Minnehaha or William Kelley Elementary,” said Kleive.
Kleive elaborated that although the policy update wouldn’t change the way schools have handled students in practice, it would solidify the District policy that has already been in use. Kleive and the principals reviewed other school district policies in northern Minnesota for comparison to help refine what they wanted out of their own #506 policy. District #7 Boardmember Dean Korri confirmed that, if further updates were requested, the policy could be updated further throughout the year rather than having to wait until next August for a change. District #1 Boardmember Steve VanHouse expressed hope the new version of the policy would find parents, staff, and the Board “on the same page” regarding student discipline.
The new #506 policy will be added to this upcoming year’s Lake Superior School District Student & Family Handbook. The newly approved district handbook includes updates from a new version of the Minnesota School Board Association’s model handbook received this June. A digital copy of the Handbook will be provided via a link to all student families and can be seen by the public on the School District’s website. A paper copy can also be requested.
District Reports began with Minnehaha Elementary Principal Shane Johnson, who will be starting her second year at the school as principal. “There’s so much under my belt now,” Johnson said regarding her experiences over the past year. Two new practices for this upcoming year will be teachers using a master schedule to coordinate what students are learning when and a morning meeting time for socialization. The school will also be taking care to improve attendance by “working on incentives and motivation”. She complimented Lake County’s partnership with the school so far, calling County staff “rock stars”.
William Kelley Schools Principal Dan Johnson was thankful for the hiring of a math teacher but pointed out the school is still seeking several positions, such as head cook. He also thanked custodial staff for improvements to the school thanks to deep cleaning over the summer. Little Mariners Summer Camp will be wrapping up shortly and is shaping up to have had another good year. Fall sports are starting this week, including volleyball, football, and cross country. This past spring, WKS received a Cardiac Emergency Response Team grant, which will help provide training for school staff as well as updated equipment for handling cardiac emergencies at the schools. The updated bus garage is almost ready for the new school year as well, a great improvement over its previous iteration.
Two Harbors High School Principal Mike Emerson has had some staff shuffling this summer, and still ongoing. Staffing and substitute teacher coverage will also be changing this year to try to improve issues from last year involving coverage for missing teachers. Study hall will be used more often in lieu of transferring students to other classes or having other staff, including Principal Emerson, step in when their teacher or sub is out. The school’s safety and emergency procedures will also receive an update this year, with copies going in classrooms for handy reference.
Community Education Director Brett Archer is hoping to pick up a few more applicants for Little Agates Preschool and Little Mariners Child Care, particularly infants and those of preschool age. Kids & Co. had a great summer with several field trips.
Last week prior to the meeting, Superintendent Gina Kleive, along with the District Principals, participated in a Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Minnesota School Safety Center (MnSCC) training for ‘Behavior Threat Assessment and Reporting’, intended to educate school officials. The training was hosted at Two Harbors High School and, according to Kleive, “focused on reducing violence; that violence is preventable,” with ideas on how to be proactive and improve communications, a mock threat assessment, and resources to form a threat assessment protocol. Kleive noted that none of the school districts taking part in the training, including Lake Superior, have adopted a threat assessment protocol yet. Kleive felt the training provided good groundwork for more improvements in the District, affirming the work done so far while giving a lot of information on what still needs to be done.
The training also gave a reminder of a new state policy requiring school districts to provide a system to make anonymous reports by July 2028. The system must be available and monitored 24/7 via phone, text, online, and physical letter. Lake Superior School District is currently working on a policy for its version of this system, though details are to be determined as the state is currently working on a service to help districts meet the stringent requirements for these systems.
In other news, the principals recently participated in labor management training with the Bureau of Mediation Services and labor representatives. Kleive also gave a nudge about the permanent school fund measure that will be on November’s election ballot. The measure will add additional funding to public schools across the state while having zero impact on taxes, as it would use the already available money from the school fund account. Lake Superior School District Business Manager Tanner Spawn went over details on the school fund, which is currently sitting healthy at about $2.3 billion and increasing yearly. The only money being taken out at present is the yearly interest, which equates to about 3 to 3.5% of the total funds. The measure on the ballot would increase the amount taken yearly to roughly 4.5%, which would be equivalent to just under $100 more per student. Not voting at all counts as a no on the measure, so Kleive emphasized again that those in support of school funding should vote Yes.
An open house is being planned for later this fall. Along with other polishing up needed prior to the open house, Spawn mentioned plans to renovate a storage shed near the Two Harbors bus garage, “to keep it from falling apart.” The shed is used to store equipment for the garage and is nearing the end of its lifespan.
