Northland School Board: Motherway accepts position as Northland High School Principal

   Board Chair Marc Ruyak opened the regular school board meeting on Thurs., July 21 with the approval of the consent items, which included many current school year bids.

   Early Childhood Coordinator Brandon Otway shared with the board that the four week preschool summer school has just been completed. The program has been offered the past couple of summers due to a grant through the State of Minnesota, unfortunately the grant has ended so this will be the final year unless new funding can be secured. This summer the program was held Monday through Friday for the four weeks with students going on a field trip every Friday to end the week. Otway also updated the board on the construction of the preschool playground, with the board approving the quote for concrete work later in the meeting.

   Superintendent Mary Yakibchuk gave her first report as superintendent by sharing information concerning the updated Safe Return to Learning all schools must update every six months. The changes made to this policy were primarily language changes to reflect policies the school has already implemented. Yakibchuk also shared that the district had seven applicants for the High School Principal with five of them being interviewed. Mark Motherway was chosen; offered the position, contingent on a successful background check, and has accepted the offer. The board approved the hire of Motherway with a start date of Aug. 1.

   Yakibchuk also covered in her report:

   • An update on the planned construction for the new bus training facility, stating they are waiting on permits to be issued by the State.

   • An update on the landscaping for the front of the building, sharing Bloomers Landscaping is a week behind schedule.

   • Pricing on a secure door from the office to the commons, saying the quote came in around $3,900.

   • Informed the board of her research on financial service companies to help with filling the business manager position, stating her recommendation would be to use Arrowhead Regional Computing Consortium (ARCC) as we already work with them and they were the only company that would agree to capping the fees at $60,000. The board approved the agreement with ARCC later in the meeting to include wording that it would not exceed $60,000.

   In other business, the school board:

   • Approved meal prices for 2022-23, which increased $.10 for lunch with Yakibchuk mentioning this year there will be no free lunches for all students. Therefore, it will be important for families to fill out the paperwork to apply for free and reduced lunches.

   • Approved contracts with Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. for 2022-25 and AD Management/Brett Schimek for 2022-23.

   • Approved the 2022-23 Parent Student Handbook, Extra Curricular Activities Handbook and Coaches Handbook.

   • Approved Sam Sparen as Junior High Football Coach for 2022-23 season.

   • Approved the hire of Sara Bodin as K-12 Art teacher with a start date of Aug. 26, Johnathan Gowell as Junior High Football Coach for the 2022-23 season and Jerome Olivar as full-time Science teacher with a start date of Aug. 26, pending successful licensure and visa.

   The board has scheduled the following meetings: work session, Thurs., Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m. and the regular meeting, Thurs., Aug. 18 at 5:30 p.m., all meetings are held at Northland High School.