ELY- The Ely School Board faced the somber task on Monday of replacing its longtime chair Raymond Marsnik, age 83, who passed away after a brief illness on Sept. 28.
Marsnik, a retired teacher, had served on the school board since 2001, virtually all of that time as board chair. Marsnik had planned to step down from the school board at the end of this year when his current term expired.
Marsnik’s seat was set up at the board table, with his picture and some flowers in his honor.
The Ely School Board voted to appoint school board member Rochelle Sjoberg as its interim chair for the remainder of 2024. Sjoberg will vacate her position as the board’s clerk, as the board appointed Hollee Coombe to fill the clerk’s position until the end of the year.
“These are some very large shoes that will be impossible to fill, but I will do my best,” Sjoberg said.
The board is not required to reappoint a new member with the general election only three weeks away and only two regular business meetings and one study session left before a new school board convenes in 2025.
Out of the remaining school board members, Jennifer Westlund will fill Marsnik’s seat on the grievance committee, Tony Colarich will fill his seat on the quality compensation governing board, and Sjoberg will fill his seat on the facilities committee for the remainder of the year.
In other business, the school board:
• Scheduled a special meeting for next Monday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., to select the winning bid for the needed structural repair to the Ely Ice Arena. Requests for quotes were sent out on Oct. 10 with the requirement that bids for the work must be submitted within seven days. Work on the arena must begin immediately as soon as a bid is accepted and be completed before Nov. 26.
• Approved the 2024-2025 budget for the alternative teacher professional pay system, better known as Q Comp, which allows teacher compensation based on set quality criteria and practices. ISD 696 is one of the 111 public school districts and 71 charter schools with Q Comp funding. Approved programs can receive up to $260 per student and $3,000 per teacher in state aid. Q Comp programs serve approximately half of the students in Minnesota public schools. There are an additional 27 school districts, charter schools, and education districts on the waiting list for Q Comp funding.
• Heard from Superintendent Anne Oelke that 28 children are currently being homeschooled in ISD 696.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ely School District and Arrowhead Head Start for services from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
• Approved the hire of Jeff MacKenzie as the head softball coach for the 2024-2025 season.
• Approved the renewal of the following coaching positions for the Winter 2024-2025 season: Duane Lossing, assistant hockey coach; Tom Omerza, assistant girls basketball coach; Tim Omerza, assistant boys basketball coach; Tyler Fish, assistant Nordic skiing coach. The measure passed 4-0, with Tom Omerza abstaining.
• Approved the following winter assistant coaches: Megan Sisson, junior high skiing coach (stipend paid by Nordic ski club); Myles Trachtenberg, junior high skiing coach (stipend paid by Nordic ski club); Paula Anderson, Heather Hohenstein, Sarah Sponholz, and Carl Skustad, volunteer assistant Nordic skiing coaches.
• Approved the following extra-curricular assignment: Karin Schmidt - musical director; Chelsea Blomberg, Youth in Action; Amanda Faulkner, school patrol advisor.
• Approved the revised consulting agreement with National Insurance Services effective Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2026.
• Heard a report from Oelke that the Phase II Construction Project is almost finished. “We’re down to the last things (which are) the remaining windows, the door fobs, the (door fob) software, and the blinds.”
• Approved a resolution authorizing ISD 696 to apply for and accept $250,000 in grant funds from Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board revenue bonds. The Minnesota Legislature allocated the money for the baseball field renovation as a Minerals Article line item in May 2024. The district must now submit a proposal to IRRR to receive the allocated money. The money can only be used for the baseball field and must be spent within three years.
• Approved the READ Act memorandum of understanding between the district and the Ely Educational Association. The agreement is for teacher compensation for READ Act-related training mandated by the Legislature during its 2023 and 2024 sessions.
• Approved the senior class trip to Washington, D.C., for March 26-31, 2025.
• Approved the placement of the 2024 Section 7A winners banner in the Memorial High School building for the joint Ely-Northeast Range girls golf team.
• Accepted the following donations: from the Ely Educational Foundation, $174 for general purposes, $1,000 for a 2024-25 health food stipend, $5,000 for the 2024-25 Knowledge Bowl, and $25,000 as the first installment of the foundation’s fine arts elective commitment; $400 from Eric Melhorn for the football program; $1,500 from the TD Club, $2,600 from the Ely Hoop Club, and $1,300 from the Ely Net Club, all for the HUDL sports analysis program.