April 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting of the School Board

Discussion:  The Board of Education of Hermantown Independent School District No. 700 met in regular session on April 28, 2025. Chair, David Hokanson, called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.
 

Discussion:  Members Present: Eric Griffith, David Hokanson, Jodi McShane, Ashley McFarland, Matthew Munger (virtual), Tim Peterson, Wayne Whitwam, Superintendent, Lance Takkunen, Director of Business Services (absent)

Visitors: Sarah Turcotte, Jason Wilcox, Bill Wietman, Lori Sinnott, Lindsey Beier, John Muenich, Gretchen Appelwick, Brent Chouanard-Nguyen, Ginger Flohaug, Kristal Berg

Discussion:  Muenich. Three members of the High School Speech Team competed at the State Tournament and did very well. Elyana Hewitt placed second at the event in Great Speeches. Thank you to Laurissa Mickelson for all of her work in putting together Prom that was last weekend. 
Wietman. Congratulations to Mary Ellen Ludwig on her retirement. She has been teaching in the District since 1995 and was a paraprofessional for 2 years before that.
Appelwick. Thank you to Holly Martin and Ashley Braun for their wok in putting together Military Kids Day. Thanks to John for organizing MCA testing and to the teachers, paras and support staff for helping out with the logistics of the testing.  
Kristal. Recognized After-School Professionals Week. Thanked those staff members for being a huge resource for the Hermantown community and staff. 
Whitwam. Recognized the Dean of Students in each building for Assistant Principals Week. 

Discussion:  No Visitor Business.

Discussion:  Members of the Board received correspondence regarding the cancellation of baseball games. Superintendent Whitwam put cancellation policies in place for the Activities Director to follow moving forward. 

Discussion:  We are down three students at the elementary school. Enrollment numbers will continue to be updated throughout the summer. We will revisit Open Enrollment again in August. 

Discussion:  The shed that is next to the bus garage will be moved next week approximately 100ft to the west. Then, curb and gutter will be put in front of the existing lot to the arena. 

Discussion:  The Insurance Committee met and opened the bids that we had at the time. The lowest bid we have is an 18.2% increase from PEIP, while self insured is at a 20% increase and fully insured is a 30% increase. These numbers could change prior to our next meeting. 

Discussion:  Superintendent Whitwam invited Board members to the graduation ceremony on June 8 to hand out diplomas. A decision came back today that the Board's decision was reversed regarding a current legal case. Depending on what decision is made, we would possibly need to cut a current employee prior to July 1. Appeal would need to be made to the Supreme Court. The District lawyer will be speaking with his legal team to come up with options. The food service employees will be voting on their contract on May 1. 

Discussion:  McFarland. The Activities Liaison Committee met. Everything was kept status quo as far as activity tiers. 
Peterson. The Facilities Committee met. We will have a special meeting regarding the Elementary Facility Plan to workshop with the entire Board. LHB will be presenting more possible options.