Resignation, sports pairing, joint confab with Building Committee
A variety of issues were on the agenda as the Mountain Lake Public School (MLPS) School Board met in a special meeting tonight (Monday, January 30). These ranged from the resignation of Mountain Lake Public Elementary School (MLES) Principal Karl Wassman, sports pairing with Comfrey and Mountain Lake Christian and joint confab with the Building Committee.
Accept resignation of MLES principal
Board members accepted the resignation of MLES Principal Karl Wassman, effective at the close of the this school year and his current contract.
Wassman was thanked for his nine years of service, a time period during which he led the elementary school to recognition as a Reward School.
Following discussion, the board decided to post for the vacancy.
MLPS Superintendent Bill Strom, in presenting the agenda bullet point for posting for the vacancy, said in a statement, “. . . I believe the School Board should continue to employ a full-time elementary principal. Why? There is a need for this position. The principal supervises nearly all of the birth-to-grade six programs. Success in the b-6 program builds a solid foundation for grades 7-12. Support for a full-time elementary principal comes from the elementary teachers, outgoing MLES Principal Karl Wassman, Mountain Lake Public High School Principal Michelle Larson and Amy Hartzler, the school’s social worker. Finally, as our auditor has shown us, the district spends less on administrative services than do other schools our size . . .”
Board members did weigh different options, including a Dean of Students or combining positions, along with district financial considerations.
Large contingent on hand for Open Forum on sports pairing
A large contingent of interested persons were on hand to discuss sports pairing with Comfrey Public School (CPS), in addition to MLC, during Open Forum.
Under consideration was a draft agreement for sports pairing this spring between MLPS, MLC AND CPS for softball, baseball and golf.
When the floor was opened for comments, both Head Softball Coach Brian Hopwood and Head Baseball Coach Tim Snyder voiced support for the union.
Hopwood’s lone question dealt with the reasoning for two home games this spring in Comfrey. The current draft agreement calls for practices and games at the MLPS facilities, with practices possibly occurring at the pairing member site with prior permission sought from the administration. It does call for at least two home softball games and two home baseball games to be played at the Comfrey athletic complex, however it is not designated whether those games are seventh/eighth grade, Junior Varsity or Varsity. It is also under the discretion of the coaching staff if a practice is held at Comfrey the day before a game played on the diamond. The option could also be used if heavy rains made the MLPS diamonds unplayable, while perhaps rain did not fall in Comfrey, making that field available.
Snyder noted that baseball numbers in the senior and junior classes are soft, with the bulk of players coming from the sophomores and freshmen. He stated that last spring he had to rush younger players into varsity play, which shortens their development time. He also shared that the combined numbers from the trio of schools would be good for a Junior Varsity team, giving players the chance to develop, as well as getting them more time in the field. He closed by stating that he had spoken with his senior team members, and they are ready to welcome Comfey players with “open arms.”
In response to a question on the duration of the pairing agreement, Strom replied that, “the agreement is forever until one party says, ‘Stop.’ This year, it is for three sports.”
In attendance at the meeting was Comfrey Public School Superintendent/Principal Kirsten Hutchison. She relayed information on an Open Forum held in that school district, as well as a survey that was conducted. At the Open Forum, “There was a good turnout of kids and parents,” Superintendent/Principal Hutchison commented. “And, it was 100% to pursue this.” Survey comments were in a similar vein, with those returning the questionnaire having a favorable view of the Mountain Lake Public School District, recognizing it as, “a welcoming district ready to work with Comfrey.”
MLPS District Secretary Lois Herrig read into the record of the meeting’s minutes a letter from Tim Boldt, who has two children involved in the spring sports of baseball and softball, and who has served as a baseball and softball coach. In the letter, Boldt reflected on the decline in the number of local participants in the two sports over the years. “This means that there is no depth, and kids are moved up before they are ready. We want kids to develop skills at the right level.” His only reservation was concern about the combined numbers, with a question if, in the future, adding another school to the pairing would be needed.
Assistant Softball Coach Shawn Naas added that, “There is an interest to try this.” He presented a recommendation that the three schools involved set a date to review the pairing as soon as the spring sports season comes to a close. This review would include discussion between student participants, parents and school boards or respective Pairing Committees in a reflection on “the good and the bad.”
MLC Administrator Mike James, also in attendance at the meeting, shared that comments from players and parents at the school are all supportive.
MLPS Board Member Doug Standerwick called this potential sports pairing, “an exciting opportunity for the three schools. There will be difficulties, of course, but there will be a lot of positives. I look forward to the possibilities.”
Hutchison closed this portion of the meeting sharing that, “There have been times that the kids have not always felt welcome in our current pairing relationship,” reiterating the different connection the Comfrey student athletes and parents feel is the possibility with Mountain Lake.
The draft agreement additionally states that the team name and mascot will be Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey (MLAC) Wolverines, with the team colors maroon-and-silver and the team son, “Across the Field” (The Ohio State fight song). Team uniforms will bear the mascot name.
MLPS Board Chair Chad Pedersen expressed his view to move forward quickly on the pairing, and called for a special meeting to be held next week on a consensus date arranged with other board members.
MLPS School Board, Building Committee meet in joint meeting for reset
The final agenda item was a joint meeting between the School Board and the Building Committee (Chair Tim Swoboda and Vice-Chair Tom Appel, along with Cheri Hanson, Jerry Haberman, Bruce Swanson, Bryan Bargen, Vern Peterson, Shawn Naas and John Carrison) that was termed a “reset” or “restart” for building plans.
At the January regular monthly meeting of the MLPS School Board, members expressed interest in a meeting with the Building Committee, architect Paul Youngquist of Architects Rego + Younquist (ARY) and the school’s financial advisor, Mike Hoheisel of the Baird Financial Group.
On Thursday, January 26, Strom attended a meeting in St. Louis Park at the ARY architectural offices with Paul Youngquist. According to Strom, the meeting was suggested by Youngquist as a first step in restarting the school district’s building planning work. Also attending the meeting were Hoheisel and his assistant, Matt Rantapaa. Also attending briefly by speaker phone were MLPS School Board Member and Building Committee Chair Tim Swoboda and MLPS School Board Chair Chad Pedersen.
A report of the meeting by Strom noted that most of the 2½-hour meeting was devoted to financial matters.
Items covered included progress of the School Board and Building Committee, revisions to the current floor plan, adjusted costs, timeline of significant activities, Ag2School legislation (see below), bonding with or without a vote, financing the plan, survey of the public, local tax burden, ag producers tax burden, revisions to the current MLPS tax chart and long-term facilities maintenance revenue.
(Under Ag2School Debt Service Credit, the general school debt service tax rate would be the same as under current law, so there would be no change in debt service property taxes relative to current law for all classes of property with the exception of agricultural land and timber. For agricultural and timber land, a percentage of the school debt service property tax will be paid through a state school debt service credit. This credit will be funded through a direct state appropriation.)
Since the last joint meeting of the two groups, the School Board has permanently closed the district’s indoor swimming pool, which, according to Strom, will result in a net savings of $50,000.
Discussion surrounded earmarking those funds on a project that would demonstrate to the public what those savings “got them,” as expressed by Committee Member Shawn Naas, as well as the most beneficial use of the former swimming pool space.
Also impressed by Strom was the potential for the district with the effective use of long-term maintenance revenue.
Building Committee members admitted that their discussions had stalled as the future of the pool loomed over extensive work on building plans. Chair Swoboda shared that the last separate committee meeting was in October 2016, adding that, “We need to get Paul (Youngquist) back on board, get priorities set and get financial direction from Hoheisel.”
Committee Member Tom Appel echoed those comments, “We need to pick up from where we left off last May or June, look at the numbers and prioritize projects. When we figure out what the dollars are, we can decide what we can do.”
The Building Committee will meet with Youngquist, Hoheisel and Rantapaa on Wednesday, February 1, at 5:30 p.m., in Room 1 of Mountain Lake Public High School.