The Crookston School Board met Monday evening and approved a cell phone policy, the three-year contract for the School Resource Officer, and the addition of another preschool class. The meeting summary is below.

At the beginning of the meeting, the board removed two items from the agenda and added one to the main agenda. The first item was Kent Erickson’s resignation as high school janitor, which will be discussed at the September meeting. The other item that was removed was Paige Erickson’s employment as a high school teacher’s aide, as she had already resigned. The item added to the main agenda was preschool enrollment.

MOBILE PHONE GUIDELINES APPROVED
The board unanimously approved the cell phone policy for the district. The policy remains the same for grades K-8, where no cell phones are allowed. Grades 9-12 are allowed to have cell phones before school, during recess, at lunch and after school. The high school provides bags for students to attach their cell phones to the back of each classroom door during class. “The kids are required to put their cell phones in the bags at the beginning of class and are allowed to take them out at the end of class,” said Superintendent Randy Bergquist. “Students are not allowed to use their cell phones in the classroom unless there is an academic component to the curriculum or class content. For medical purposes of all kinds, we allow the kids to have their cell phones. We know about diabetes. There are so many gadgets on cell phones that help with medical issues and we will definitely get students to have those.”

The cell phone penalties in middle school will be very similar to those in high school. They are listed below –
– For the first violation, the student will be asked to return the device to his locker.
-If the violation occurs a second time, the device will be confiscated and taken to the office, where the student can pick it up at the end of the day.
– On the third violation, the phone will be confiscated, taken to the office and left there until a parent/guardian picks it up.
– On the fourth offense, the phone will be confiscated and the student must either leave it at home or turn it in to the office upon arrival and may pick it up after dismissal for the remainder of the school year.
-The fifth violation is grounds for suspension.

SCHOOL RESOURCES OFFICE CONTRACT APPROVED
The board unanimously approved a three-year contract for a School Resource Officer (SRO) with no significant changes to the contract. The Crookston Police Officers Union is currently in contract negotiations with the City of Crookston, and any percentage increase they receive will be honored by the district. The SRO will also receive a free lunch from the district so they can eat with the students. “We will have our School Resource Officer there at lunchtime when it’s a little more unstable. The kids can use their phones, but we will have our School Resource Officer eat with the kids,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “Maybe one day at one table and the next day at another. I’m looking forward to that because I think it’s good to have a School Resource Officer in the Crookston schools.”

PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT, HIRING ANOTHER TEACHER
The Crookston School District currently has four full-time preschool classes and two part-time preschool classes, with many three- and four-year-olds currently on the waiting list. The board voted unanimously to hire another preschool teacher to be able to offer five full-time preschool classes with 16 children per class. “I think this is great news,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “I think one of the ideas to keep the Washington School was to increase our preschool numbers, and that’s been accomplished. We’ve increased our numbers and we’re going to add another preschool section. If we bring them in, hopefully they’ll stay with us through 12th grade. We’re excited about that and hope we can find a preschool teacher.”

Renting a Family Resource Center at Washington School
The school board unanimously approved leasing part of the south side of the Washington School, the Family Resource Center. “We look forward to working with the Family Resource Center and Victoria Ramirez. They will be located in the south part of the Washington Preschool and will have an area where parents can find different options for themselves or their children,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “It’s an opportunity to have a space in the school so parents can get used to the school environment no matter what grade their child is in.” There will be a separate entrance for the Family Resource Center.

Goals and core values ​​of the school board
The Crookston School Board has established two goals and four core values ​​for Crookston School District #593.

GOALS
Goal 1 – You will conscientiously implement the core values.
Goal 2 – Close the achievement gap for all students

Core values ​​–
1. Communication – Crookston Public Schools excels in communication with students, parents, staff and the community.
2. High expectations – Crookston Public Schools is a place where high expectations are placed on our students and staff.
3. Relationships – Crookston Public Schools places great emphasis on building strong relationships with students, families, staff and the community.
4. Support systems – Crookston Public Schools provides students and families with a strong system of mental health and academic support.

UPDATED GUIDELINES ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION
The Board unanimously approved the second reading and adoption of Policy 506 – Student Discipline, Policy 507 – Corporal Punishment and Prone Restraints, Policy 507.5 – School Security Officers, and Policy 514 – Prohibition of Bullying Policy. The issue was raised and the school security officer may use prone restraints when necessary.

Date set for hearing on “Truth in Taxation”
The Crookston School District will hold its Truth in Taxation hearing on December 9, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room. The regular school board meeting will be moved from December 23 to December 9 at 5:00 p.m. State law requires all Truth in Taxation hearings to be held at 6:00 p.m. or later.

PARAPROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT CONTRACTS APPROVED
The Board has approved a contract with the teaching assistants and the academic support staff for the 2024-27 school year.

MISCELLANEOUS
The Board unanimously approved the participation of Crookston FFA students in the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 23-26, 2024.

The board has appointed Superintendent Randy Bergquist as the official with authority for the district, an action required by the state each school year.

The board approved the following hires: Brittany Rassett as a German teacher, Kira Johnson as a middle school science teacher, Marianne Isaacs and Kabie Weisert as full-time substitute teachers. In addition, Mark Ecklund and Shannon Zavala were moved to high school kitchen aides, Diane Seddon as high school head cook, and Wanda Proulx was moved from kitchen aid to assistant cook. The board also approved Kari Sinks and Lori Wagner as aides at Highland School, Barb Holweger as instructional assistant at Highland, a transfer of Sara Pester from elementary school teacher to Title 1 teacher at Highland,
The board has approved the coaching staff for the fall and the requests for track improvements.

The board approved the following donations: $600 from the National FFA Foundations and $416.50 from the Crookston Eagles Auxiliary for the FFA program. $500 from HN Quality Plumbing, $100 from Widman’s Candy, $100 from Crookston Fuel Company and $500 from Crookston Eye Clinic for the Highland School playground. The board is asked to approve the following donations for the Girls Golf program: $200 from Mark Jacobson, $200 from Jaclyn Martin, $200 from Jeff and Debbie Dufault, $500 from Mike and Jenny Nelson and $500 from Gary and Lori Hoerner. And an anonymous donation of $10,000 for the Crookston High School scoreboard/athletic complex.

The board approved the resignations of Brad Hubred as middle school science teacher, Mariah Christian and Gabriela Ostgaard as high school resource teachers, and Emily Meyer as high school success coach.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 23rd.