Building fund levy may be back on the ballot

The Carrington school board fully intends to ask voters a second time to permanently increase the building fund levy from 5 to 10 mills. Members took steps at their Tuesday, Oct. 8 regular meeting to set a date for the special election and authorize Business Manager Kim Edland to secure poll workers and produce ballots.

The plan they laid out, however, will not be put into motion until after the Nov. 5 general election, when North Dakota voters decide whether or not to eliminate valuation-based property taxes in the state.

At the meeting, the board unanimously decided to set a special election for Tuesday, Nov. 26, just two days before Thanksgiving. The election will not be held if Measure 4 passes.

Should the election be held, polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 26 in the school's West Commons (Door 11). District residents can request an absentee ballot if they are not able to vote at the polls.

The ballot will have one question, which asks whether or not the Carrington School District should be authorized to increase their building fund levy from 5 to 10 mills. All funds would be earmarked for facility repairs, improvements and new construction.

Also on Nov. 26, the board plans to begin a deep dive into the school district's policy manual. With 38 policies required by the state in need of updates, Superintendent Janelle Helm said they need to start working on them.

The policies currently in place that they plan to update were all formally rescinded at a meeting on March 12, 2024, and the work to reinstate new policies has been slow. Although the current policies remain in effect until the new ones are adopted, Helm said her goal is to get it done so that the district is up to date and aligned with the North Dakota School Board Association's update schedule.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Helm said.

School district officials and board representatives will work through approximately 10 of those policies and circulate them to the board for review in the coming month. Then, the board will hold a special meeting to review and act upon those policies starting at 5 p.m. on Nov. 26. The board will meet in the middle school library. This will be the first of likely several meetings needed to update all the required policies.

Helm reported that Dallas Braaten has moved on, and so Linda Duursma has moved from kitchen staff to custodian. John Erickson is the new dishwasher, and he has also offered to do some groundskeeping. They are currently hiring a kitchen assistant.

Aishlee Hardy is the new assistant coach for the Cardinaires dance team. Their competition season begins in November.

Staff are paying to wear jeans to raise funds for new staff member Shanna Barone, who is battling cancer. Meanwhile, school board member Tonia Erickson has helped organize a community fundraiser for Barone, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Armory. The event will run from 3 to 8 p.m. with food, silent auction, raffles, a bake sale, wine pull and other activities to help raise funds for Barone, as she is unable to work for the foreseeable future.

Helm reported that enrollment in grades pre-K to 12 totaled 610 students as of Oct. 3. That is an increase of 21 students compared to May 2024.

The board also approved 10 open enrollment applications and two no-tuition agreements for students from area districts to attend school in Carrington. Once approved, the open enrollment applications remain in effect for the students throughout their school years, whereas the no tuition agreements must be filed annually.

The next regular meeting is set for Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.