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   Northland School Board members met Wednesday, Sept. 10 for their regular meeting. With school only having been in session for one and a half weeks there wasn’t a great deal to report from administrators. 

   Elementary Principal Janessa Green stated the beginning of the year has been a whirlwind and everyone is excited to be back in the building. It was mentioned currently the support room isn’t officially open therefore, if a behavior arises that needs attention the support room para will go to the classroom and watch the class so the teacher can work with the student one on one. Green also mentioned they will be introducing a weekly Facebook post every Friday highlighting the amazing things going on in PreK - Fifth grade. 

   High School Principal Mary Yakibchuk also shared the beginning of the year has started great and staff has not wasted time jumping into academics. Yakibchuk shared she has been visiting various classrooms and has found new places to read emails in order to keep students in check with their hall passes. An update on the no phones during school hours was given saying last spring the policy was put into place to pave the way for a smooth beginning of the year and so far everyone has obeyed the policy and not been caught with an electronic device. However, they have conducted locker searches to confiscate a couple of phones. Yakibchuk also stated she feels there has been a decrease in drama so far with students not having access to their phones.

   Superintendent Mark Morrison shared his report mentioning there was a steady stream of students and families for Open House, however with this being his first year he didn’t know if that was better than normal or not. Morrison also informed the board he has been in talks with Essentia Health in regards of possibly setting up a virtual health clinic to allow students to have doctor visits on-site rather than always leaving school for appointments. They are in the early stages of discussion and Morrison will bring more to the board at a later date.

   In other Board action:

   • Heard from citizen Conrad Johnson in regards to a letter he received stating the school was no longer bussing students to the Church he is associated with for religious release. Johnson requested the reasoning and that the board reconsider their decision. 

   • Approved setting the 2026 levy at the maximum.

   • Set the Truth in Taxation meeting for Wed., Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m.

   • Accepted donations from Ronald and Wanda Barchus in the amount of $200 for the trap team and $750 from Hill City Thrift Shop for PBIS.

   • Held the second reading and approval of various policies.

   • Approved various contracts and agreements.

   • Approved the hire of the following individuals: Waylon Bastian as Paraprofessional; Kristen Panchyshyn as High School Special Education teacher and Assistant Activities Director; Dan Rogers as Science teacher; Jeremy Schwarz as Junior High Football Coach; Erika Snakenberg as Paraprofessional and Bruce Schear as Paraprofessional.

   The board has scheduled the following meetings: the regular meeting, Wed., Oct. 8 at 5:30 p.m. and a work session, Wed., Oct. 22 at 5:30 p.m. All meetings are held at Northland High School.

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