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   Several teachers attended the regular board meeting on Wed., Oct. 25 to show appreciation to the board for fair negotiations thus far and request the board settle with a fair and competitive contract. Board Chair Marc Ruyak then recognized gifts from the following: dirt and dirt work from Ruyak Enterprises; dirt work from Tyler Seifert; $1000 from the Outing Chamber of Commerce for “Grad Blast”; $5,000 from the Outing Chamber of Commerce for the football program; an Armstrong 104N flute and Bundy clarinet from Ted Frick of Ice Cube Antiques; a Bundy Selmer - 1400 clarinet donated anonymous; Gemeinhardt 4RSH piccolo, Gemeinhardt 22SP flute and Slemer open-hole flute from Sarah Valtinson and hats, mittens and gloves from Salem Lutheran Church.

   Elementary Principal/Athletic Director Janessa Green then shared with the board that once again she was going to highlight a different grade each month. This month Green highlighted sixth grade due to all of the fun activities they have participated in. The end of September the class completed their firearm safety training, they learned how to safely handle a gun, climb a tree stand, board and disembark a boat and the ability to recognize a safe zone of fire in the field.

   Sixth grade also attended their annual overnight at Deep Portage Oct. 12 - 13 where they learned about leadership skills while overcoming obstacles and playing group games. Some of the activities Green highlighted were orienteering and compass skills by having them navigate through an eight point course in the woods with only a compass, map and radio; playing night games followed by fireside s’mores, stories and songs; climbing several leveled courses on a 30 foot rock wall and canoe skills with a trip around the pond.

   Green then shared behavioral data for elementary student during the month of September. It was noted there are 168 elementary students and a total of 51 referrals. The percentages for the three tiers are 92% of students having zero to one referral, 6.5% having two to five referrals and 1% having over six. It was stated that five elementary students account for 21 out of the 51 referrals.

   During the athletic director portion of Green’s report she shared end-of-season statistics for volleyball, football and cross country. Volleyball ended the regular season 4-20 and lost their first playoff game at Upsala on Thurs., Oct. 26; football ended the regular season 3-5 and lost their playoff game to Littlefork/Big Falls and cross country competed in the conference tournament on Tues., Oct. 17 and Sections on Oct. 24 with results being unknown at the time of the meeting. Green then informed the board an update regarding the baseball field. It was stated with grass just being planted this fall, the company recommends not practicing or playing on the field until spring of 2025. Therefore, Green asked the board if she should discuss the practice and game schedule with Hill City. It was recommended by the board that all indoor practices still be split between the two locations, while outdoor practices all be held in Hill City. For games, the board suggested on waiting to see what the spring looked like with moisture to make the decision on whether to play on the field or not.

   High School Principal/Superintendent Mary Yakibchuk updated the board on various projects needing completion. A proposal was received from Widseth for their professional services which would only include the overseeing and organization of the project, but not the completion of the project. It was further discussed to move forward with the projects, but not to hire Widseth for the project but rather have a board member organize the projects. 

   In other Board action:

   • Approved a request from Lake Country Power to put an underground cable on school property, with a requirement that Lake Country Power pay if the line needed to be relocated in the future.

   • Accepted a bid from Green Again Lawn Landscaping Service for the football field project.

   • Approved an updated Teacher Development Plan approved by NREM on Oct. 4, 2023.

   • Approve changing the pre-tax administrator to Medsurity, due to lack of customer service, at an increased cost from $500 per year to $1,480 per year.

   • Approved the hire of Jeremy Schwarz as Boys Basketball Head Coach, effective 2023-24 season; Steve Kovall as Boys Basketball Assistant Coach, effective 2023-24 season and Howard Hagemaster as Junior High Girls Basketball Coach, effective 2023-24 season.

   • Accepted the resignation of Angela Lewandowski as Girls Basketball Assistant Coach, effective immediately.

   The board has scheduled the following meetings: work session, Wed., Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m., regular meeting, Wed., Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. and policy meeting Fri., Nov. 17 all meetings are held at Northland High School.

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