ELY- The Ely School Board addressed two notable agenda items during their April 10 session— the gifted and talented program and damage to the high school gymnasium floor from the recent water leak.
Director of facilities Tim Leeson expanded further about the extensive water damage to the gymnasium floor, caused by a leaking water pipe, as reported in the March 31 Timberjay.
Leeson reported that an insurance adjuster had visited on April 6 and he gave the board a more detailed description of the extent of the damage. He said approximately a quarter of the top level of the 70-year-old wood floor has already been removed as unsalvageable. He hoped the two wood layers underneath could be dried out and saved, but said that won’t be known until the wood dries, a process he predicted could take a month.
It was apparent from the discussion that much of the floor on the west side of the gym will need to be replaced. The damaged floor has taken the gym out of commission, impacting spring sports which traditionally have used it for indoor activities like pitching, hitting and track practices. Outdoor practice has been largely limited so far this season due to field conditions.
The gifted and talented program
Concerns over the future of the school’s gifted and talented program were clarified by Superintendent John Klarich after school board member Rochelle Sjoberg, for the second meeting in a row, tried to have the item removed from the agenda.
At the March 27 meeting, it had appeared from the wording of the agenda, that the school district’s involvement in the Northeast Area Gifted and Talented program could be terminated as of the end of the school year. But in later discussion on Monday, Klarich revealed that he wanted to restructure the program, not discontinue it.
The gifted and talented program and its coordinator are shared by several Arrowhead area school districts including Ely. When Klarich realized that Ely was contributing more to the program than it was getting out of it, he had resolved to obtain better terms for Ely through restructuring.
“I was looking just for formal action (from the board) since I did get it on the superintendents’ meeting agenda for April 19,” Klarich told the board. Ahead of that meeting, Klarich said he placed the item on the March 27 agenda for the board’s approval, because he wanted to be transparent and inform the board of his plan to restructure Ely’s role in the shared program.
“(The agenda item was) to say we were looking at going in a different direction,” Klarich clarified. “We still support gifted and talented we supported regionally but we’re going to do it locally with our instructor.”
Sjoberg made the motion to drop the matter from the April 10 meeting because she felt it fell under Klarich’s powers and responsibilities to structure the curriculum for the district. Therefore, board approval was not necessary for Klarich to do something that was already part of his job description.
Reviewing what happened at the March 27 meeting, Sjoberg explained, “There was just not a lot of understanding behind what (the agenda item) was … The public were concerned and thinking (that) we were doing away with the program.”
Agreeing with Sjoberg that restructuring the program was entirely under Klarich’s authority, the board approved dropping the gifted and talented program from the agenda.
Regarding other items on the meeting agenda, the district’s school board:
• Received the unsurprising report from athletic director Tim Coombe that because there was “no sign of an early spring,” the schedules for softball and baseball required revision. Coombe released the revised schedules on April 11.
• Approved March 2023 receipts in the amount of $1,131,405 and disbursements in the amount of $877,238.
• Approved the March 2023 financial report.
• Approved hiring Suzanna Kelley for the Cafeteria Aide position (2.75 hrs./day, 5 days/week, student contact days) effective April 3. The position is for 2.75 hours every day that students are in session at school.
• Accepted the resignation of Amrita Peterson from her paraprofessional position effective June 2, 2023.
• Accepted the retirement of Kirt Hartshorn from his Maintenance Engineer position effective on or before July 10, 2023.