Merton Community School District Board of Education Minutes

Merton Community School District Board of Education Minutes MERTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of Education Monday, January 26, 2026 6:00 p.m. Merton Intermediate School Little Theater President Imes called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance followed. Imes announced the meeting was properly posted. Board members in attendance were Nicole Cotton, Dean Dobbertin, Rebecca Imes, John LaFleur and Patrick Griffin. District Administrator Russ was in attendance. There were no reporters and six citizens in person. Approval of Agenda Motion by Dobbertin second by Griffin to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0. Community Forum Steve Newcomer introduced the student showcase. The fifth grade students presented their Community Service Projects. After their presentation the floor was opened up for commentary/questions. Dr. Russ thanked the families and students and closed out the student showcase. Presentation of 2024-25 Audit Review/Findings from Riley, Penner and Benton Katie Riley presented. The audit process started in June. Reports are issued mid-November and presented to the State DPI. Independent auditors report: they issued an unmodified opinion, which is the highest attainable (A+ equivalent). Overall, the total fund balance was up for the year. Budget results: nothing concerning. Everything was within 7% of what was budgeted. Debt: one outstanding promissory note of $182,000. Internal Control over Financial Reportings: 3 findings: financial statement preparation: District relies on the firm. This is not unusual . Segregation of duties: we don't have enough people to truly segregate duties but the best is done with the amount of people we have. This is usual for this size of District. Audit adjusting journal entries: some coding needed to be changed, but nothing concerning. Overall, this was a very clean audit. Approval of Consent Agenda Items Motion by Dobbertin to approve consent agenda items, removing item C to go through separately. Second by LaFleur to approve the consent agenda items as presented, with item C done separately. (Approval of Minutes, Approval of Financial Report, Bill Listing and Donations). Motion carried 5-0. A. Approval of Minutes Approved Board Meeting Minutes from Monday, December 15, 2025, at 6:00 PM. B. Approval of Financial Report, Bill Listings, and Donations Approved Direct Deposits #900067140-900067261 in the amount of $234,815.12. #900067262-900067380 in the amount of $177,227.32, #900067381-900067498 in the amount of $191,257.85. Payroll Wire Transfers #202500186-202500206 in the amount of $389,373.07. Total Payroll in the amount of $992,673.36. Accounts Payable Checks #57377-57422 in the amount of $233,095.08. AP Wire Transfers #202500168-202500201 in the amount of $18,450.33, Credit Card transactions #123125 in the amount of $14,780.95. ACH/Direct Deposit #252600045-252600049 in the amount of $637.13. Total Accounts Payable of $266,963.49. Total Disbursements in the amount of $1,259,636.85. C. Personnel Actions (Action)-addressed separately from other agenda items. Motion by Dobbertin to approve Natalie Nielsen's letter of resignation. Second by Griffin. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Dobbertin to approve Julie Smurawa's letter of resignation. Second by Cotton. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Dobbertin to approve Kelly Muenkel's letter of resignation. Second by Griffin. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Dobbertin to approve Dan Hanrahan's retirement letter. Second by LaFleur. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Dobbertin to approve Lauren Harlos's letter of appointment. Second by Cotton. Motion carried 5-0. Delegations to be Heard There were no delegations to be heard. District Administrator's Report/Principal's Report Our Principal Reports this month has Mr. Newcomer reviewing the Student Survey conducted in November with the Board and Community. Donations Jay Hoppenworth in the amount of $100.00 to go towards soccer fields. Open Records Requests There was one open record request this month. Committee Reports Dr. Russ addressed the board about the Finance Committee meeting held on January 20, 2026. Discussed was the 2024-2025 July-December budget update. We are halfway through our fiscal year. We are right on track with both revenue and expenses. Also discussed was the 2026-2027 Budget Calendar. It keeps us on track to make sure we meet all of our deadlines. It's a standard, straightforward calendar. Lastly, the 2026-27 Current/Preliminary Budget assumptions were discussed. In-district enrollment is the biggest unknown variable. It is estimated that the 3 year rolling average will be up 16 FTE, which will allow for some new money coming in. Dr. Russ discussed budget projects falling off and being added to this budget. An 8% property value increase is anticipated. New Business A. First Draft of the 2026-27 District Calendar The administration is presenting two options we are considering as Arrowhead has not set their calendar yet. B. Approve 2025-26 Open Enrollment Seat Allocation Motion by Cotton, second by Griffin to approve the 2026-27 Open Enrollment Seat Allocations for students without an expulsion order as follows: 4K -8: Unlimited Cross Categorical Special Education - 0 Speech Only IEP's - Unlimited Motion carried 5-0. C. Approve Administrative Contracts Motion to approve administrative contracts for Maria Kucharski, Steve Newcomer, Robert Blessington, Lori Viola Larsen, and Jim Binney by Cotton. Seconded by Griffin. Motion carried 4-0 with John LaFleur abstaining. Motion to approve Dr. Ron Russ's contract by Dobbertin and seconded by Imes. Motion carried 5-0. D. Continued Discussion of adding a Human Resource Position The Board discussed whether a part time Human Resource Specialist should be considered. After reviewing staff data, the Board asked to have Dr. Russ post and recruit for a part time position. E. Discuss and potentially take action on Intermediate School Library and classroom renovations As the project continued to be planned, it was found that there was a $100-125K increase in what originally was thought due to needing to relocate/redo HVAC, etc. This was a very large increase. An option was discussed to simply refresh the current space (carpet, paint, ceiling, etc) rather than move the location. Another option would be to pursue the original footprint and tweak within the current library space to see how we could add a classroom or two and create a smaller library. The Board asked the administration to go with the complete refreshening of the current area. The administration will go and begin gathering bids for this project. Future Agenda Items and Meetings 1. February 23, 2026 @ 6:00 PM (Open Session) a. Monthly Meeting w/Community Forum to begin the meeting 2. March 23, 2026 @ 6:00 PM (Open Session) a. Monthly Meeting w/Community Forum to begin the meeting 3. April 27, 2026 @ 6:00 PM (Open Session) a. Monthly Meeting w/Community Forum to begin the meeting Motion by Dobbertin, second by Cotton to adjourn at 8:04 p.m. Motion carried 5-0 . Respectfully submitted, Nicole Cotton District Clerk WNAXLP March 18 2026 LWIX0475494