September’s School Board meeting coincided with the first day of school for the district, full of excitement but also exhaustion from the hustle and bustle accompanying a fresh start to a new school year. Everyone reported back on successful and well-attended open houses and an enthusiastic first day. The two elementary schools will be beginning full use of Fishtank, an already well-regarded reading curriculum. All schools will also be using more strategies provided by Minnesota’s Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, which the board voted to continue using this summer.
Teacher matters began with an acknowledgement of tenured William Kelley teacher Leilani Peterson, who District Superintendent Gina Kleive described as having “filled many shoes” in her teaching a variety of topics including Career Readiness, Foods For Life, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR), and as a substitute for Social Studies. Kleive and Board Chair Tracy Tiboni thanked Peterson for her work so far and expressed appreciation for having a teacher of her talents working in their District. Peterson was given an award from Kleive for the occasion. Two new teacher hires were approved as well: Katie Pearson, who will be at William Kelley Elementary, and Isabelle Erhard, who will be a special education teacher at Two Harbors High School.
A more divisive staffing topic was at hand this session; however, first brought up by Tiboni’s moving of a consent agenda item regarding a new clerical staff position to business for discussion. During one of the public comments, Tina Goutermont, who has taught in the district for 17 years, brought up deep concerns with a recent change to the clerical staffing role at William Kelley Schools. After the retirement of the previous secretary, Michelle Ketola, the position had its hours per day cut from nine to six, with the new hours ending at 2:00 pm. “Parents are arriving, phones are ringing, transportation issues come up, students need assistance, and unexpected situations happen all the time,” Goutermont described of the gap of an hour and forty minutes to the school day ending at 3:40 pm, stating it is one of the busiest times of day. With the new reduced hours, the school would have only one clerical staff member to handle that time frame. In the inevitable cases where there was too much for a single person to manage, other members of the staff would be forced to step in to keep the school running smoothly.
Goutermont brought up the May Board meeting about MTSS, where one of the given goals for the coming year had been improving the district’s somewhat weak ‘Family and Community Engagement’ score. This would be difficult, she cautioned, if the district did not prioritize “staffing and hours in one of the areas that is at the center of that engagement,” explaining how the clerical staff is often “the first place that a parent calls, the first place that a visitor goes, and one of the primary places where communication between school and home happens.” She further stated that “Morale in our district is declining,” due in part to a number of recent budget cuts made without greater input from staff. “We need support, and right now many of us do not feel that support,” she explained.
Later in the meeting, Tiboni shared many similar sentiments, noting her earlier push for discussion on the clerical staff position was due to not agreeing with the reduced hours. She clarified that although the Board has the final authority over budget expenditures and reductions, the change was not reviewed or approved by the Board beforehand. She shared concerns that the reduction in hours would only result in the workload falling on other staff members and push the clerical staff to stay longer to get work done. Furthermore, having only one clerical member on duty during an emergency could hinder the safety of all at the school. After calculating the money saved by the role’s new hours, she concluded by saying, “While I understand that every dollar is of importance, I feel the overall impact to our schools, students, families, and community in making this reduction is not worth the $19,000 savings.”
Tiboni’s stance was backed by Board Vice Chair Steve VanHouse, who pointed to safety issues as his biggest concern and one that was shared by others. Board Clerk Dean Korri had also heard from constituents, and it was clear that the community feedback supports more hours. The Board did clarify that Two Harbors High School and William Kelley Schools both have two clerical support roles. But although Two Harbors High School has roughly twice the students of William Kelley, William Kelley’s operations are further complicated not only by the wide age range of students but also by the number of extra programs using the school grounds, such as the daycare and preschool.
A motion to reinstate the clerical staff position to 9 hours was approved, all in favor with the exception of Alan Ringer. With hours reworked, it did bring an additional problem: the clerical position set to be filled at this meeting would have to go back a step for another round of job applications. The Board had some discussion on how to give the least amount of trouble for the internal candidate at hand, eventually resurfaced since 2013, “and they show it,” she added. Repairs and other improvements would cost an estimated 60-70 thousand, and the Recreation Department is currently searching for grants to help alleviate some of the expenses. The tennis courts are widely used by the community as well as William Kelley students during gym classes. VanHouse noted that restoration of the tennis courts has been part of the City’s Parks and Rec Board five-year plan for many years and requested the School Board give a response in a future session, even if making a choice not to help. Tiboni agreed, pointing out other facilities where the school district has successfully partnered with Silver Bay, such as the hockey arena and baseball fields, and adding that the tennis courts will need repairs to stay usable for much longer.
Lake Superior School District’s 2026 Pay 2027 Levy, which will be applicable for fiscal year 2028, had its preliminary certification this session. The Board began by giving a formal acknowledgement that the final budget and levy are set to be approved or not on Tuesday, December 8th, at 5:00 pm in the THHS Community Room during December’s School Board meeting. Members of the public with concerns or questions are encouraged to attend. The district’s Business Manager Tanner Spawn gave a brief recap of what the preliminary levy means and the timeline between now and December. The levy process for the school district begins in the summer, and a preliminary levy must be certified by the Board before the end of September. October through November will involve reviewing levy categories with ARCC (Regional Computing Consortium) / PMA (Municipal Advisors). Then on December 8th, final numbers must be given for the Truth-in-Taxation hearing and the final levy certification and adoption.
School boards traditionally adopt the maximum amount allowable for their preliminary levy, then adjust down in December. There are a few reasons why, but most importantly, according to Spawn is that “it is a one-way door,” as the amount can go down for the final levy in December but cannot go up from the preliminary levy, making it important not to just “take whatever number’s out there.” The levy amount allowed each school district by the state is based on enrollment, state aid, and categorical programs such as long-term facilities maintenance (LTFM), Community Education, Safe Schools, and Debt.
After discussing the ongoing levy, Spawn brought up the future possibility of the district using the state’s new seasonal recreation property adjustment, passed in May of this year, to gain more funds for the school district at a “net zero” cost to local taxpayers. If the Board decides to eventually move forward on this, it would first require the approval of a vote by taxpayers in an election as early as November of next year.
In other business, the district’s financial reports for August included a grant used to cover the cost of receiving automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to help with incidents of cardiac arrest. Kleive noted that there would be more information about the devices in October. The Board also approved a trip on the Ecology of the Florida Keys to be taken by students next March from the 12th to the 19th. Kleive added that students would not miss school days as it is during the March break and that none of the funds for the trip are through district accounts.
Some highlights from the school principals’ reports included Minnehaha Elementary Principal Shane Johnson placing a display of mums in front of the school and complimenting the school’s culture, calling the start of this school year “joyful.” William Kelley Schools Principal Dan Johnson was happy with 6th grade orientation and the school’s sports already underway. His school was chosen as one of two sites in the state to host a National Voter Registration Day on September 15th. He also sees “lots of opportunity for growth” in the training of staff and new programs being integrated into the schools. Two Harbors High School Principal Mike Emerson’s highlight was after the football team played in North Branch and won, then received a positive message for the team and coach’s classy presence from the Minnesota State High School League.
Community Education Director Brett Archer followed up by speaking on the success of Kids & Company and a new test summer camp program in Silver Bay, which was well received. Driver’s Education will not hold in-person classes for the foreseeable future due to staffing, but is instead going through A+ Driving School.
Finally, Superintendent Gina Kleive briefly covered a letter from the IRRR on how its funds aid the school district. The District is also adopting a new Standard Response Protocol (SRP) for emergencies from the “I Love U Guys” Foundation. This will include training for students, staff, teachers, and first responders. Kleive explained that in today’s world, with the number of emergency situations that arise, ‘lockdown’ is becoming a trigger word for many kids, causing more panic and stress than necessary. This new SRP has a more nuanced take with a variety of directives depending on the type of emergency, for example, using ‘Hold’ for when students should stay in classrooms and out of halls, or ‘Secure’ if there is a bear meandering around outside. The training will include a variety of methods to accommodate all ages, including a picture book for very young children.
Kleive wrapped the meeting with the acknowledgement of School Board Appreciation Month by handing out cookies to the board members, noting the cookies were within the legal dollar range for gifts.
