Special school election set for July 9

Plans have been finalized for the upcoming Carrington School District special election on July 9.

That day, voters will return to the polls to decide whether to give the Carrington School Board the authority to increase the building fund levy from 5 mills to 10 mills.

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 11, board members decided to take information about the proposal out into the community as the campaign enters its final month.

A presentation to the Kiwanis Club generated good discussion and positive feedback from community members, Superintendent Janelle Helm said. She sees the benefit of doing more community outreach to provide information, gather feedback and answer questions patrons may have about the proposal.

Board members agreed, noting that the two community meetings they hosted only brought a handful of people to the school. Therefore, they will instead take their message to the community rather than ask residents to give up a summer evening to attend another meeting and tour the building.

This has been a topic of discussion for months, as the district has also unveiled plans to make improvements to the high school built in the 1960s.

Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9.

Taxpayers looking for more information on the project can expect to find a video on the school's Facebook page. The full plans, as well as details about the impact on taxpayers, are available on the Independent's website, http://www.fosterconews.com. The plans have been posted to the school's Facebook page as well.

As of May 31, the district's general fund balance totaled more than $4 million. The actual total, $4,022,895, is lower than one month ago, when the balance had ballooned to nearly $4.7 million. With one month of bills yet to come in and all revenue received for the fiscal year, the general fund balance is expected to be approximately $300,000 less than the July 1, 2023 balance of $2.98 million. This is right in line with what the school board anticipated when the decision was made to deficit spend in 2023-24 in order to reduce the general fund balance.

The new playground equipment has been installed, just in time for summer school students to enjoy.

"It's been a long time coming, and it's really exciting that it's here," Elementary Principal Jenna Helseth noted.

Helseth also presented the state assessment results to the board, highlighting the fact that Carrington Elementary is above the state average for proficiency in both math and English Language Arts (ELA) for all grades tested (3-6) for the first time during her tenure as principal. The average raw scores exceeded the state average by as much as 28 points in ELA and 25 points in math.

Board members acted upon a recommendation from High School Principal Connor Weber to amend the schedule for the last day of school. Beginning in 2025, students will be released at 1:30 p.m. on the last day of school and there will be a final test scheduled in the morning for the high school grades. This will not only encourage student attendance on the last day of school but also allow the teachers time to finish some of their work at the end of the day. As the last day of the 2024-25 school year is a Friday, locker clean out will be scheduled for earlier in the week.

In his report, Weber also highlighted some new courses that will be available next fall. The healthcare cooperative experience program will be back, with plans to have both Garr Dental and Golden Acres host a student. In addition, Mayville State has free dual credit courses available for students interested in pursuing teaching as a career. Intro to Teaching and Intro to Special Education will be offered to high school students at CHS next year.

In the Transportation Committee report, board member Tonia Erickson brought forth the committee's recommendation to purchase another route bus, due to the long lead times to procure buses.

Helm will seek proposals from Harlow's, I-State and Hartley's and expects to bring them to the board for review at the election canvassing meeting on Monday, June 17.

Longtime district route bus driver Jim Eversvik has retired. Helm said she has a couple of applicants to consider for his replacement.

The board also approved the transportation report for the 2023-24 school year, and Erickson said that the transportation committee will be evaluating all routes to make sure the distances are equitable.