Tri-County School District ISD #2358 Proceedings Tuesday August 13, 2025

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Murray at 6:00 p.m. A quorum was determined.  

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Members Present were M Koland, S Murray, and, D Olson, R Hanson, 

Members Absent were: A Anderson, K Helling, K Oliver

Also Present was Superintendent McKeever and Principal Dalia Englund

We are Proud: 

Justina Pietruszewski: 

We Are Proud of TC FCCLA for presenting and representing well at the National Leadership Conference in Orlando! We attended conference sessions, STAR Events competitions and also did a few fun things including Universal Studios, Cocoa Beach, swimming and some shopping. 

7th graders Eri Housey and Sophia Novacek earned Gold in Repurpose and Redesign, level 1. 

8th graders Elijah Sollund and Noah Kraulik earned Silver in Sports Nutrition, level 1. 

Hadley Reese and Elin Reese, 8th grade, also earned Silver with their project in Event Management, level 1. 

Two more 8th graders, Ella Strozyk and Piper Olson scored for a silver in Focus on Children, level 1. 

Our last two 8th graders, Christine Hanson and Jillian Duray earned silver as well in Interior Design, level 1. Jillian and Christy placed in the top ten in the nation in their event and level and were honored on the big stage at the finalist awards session in their event! What an exciting accomplishment! 

9th grader Greta Rominski earned silver in Focus on Children, level 2. 

And finally, we have three seniors who have competed in STAR Events since 7th grade. They advanced to the National level 5 out of 6 years. This is their 3rd NLC trip, having declined one trip and having competed virtually during Covid for another. Ada Pearson, Katie Clark and Brynlee Reese earned Silver this year in Sports Nutrition, level 3. Their leadership in our chapter will be missed! Congratulations to all FCCLA members who competed at NLC! 

I am also super proud of our amazing parent chaperones—Erica Reese, Sarah Novacek and Paul Hanson. It was a big undertaking to manage 14 kids on this trip and there were so many times we would need to divide and conquer as kids needed to go in different directions. I could NOT have done it without them. They were positive, engaged, responsible and extremely helpful! Supt. 

Kevin McKeever: 

We are proud of all the hard work our custodial staff have done to ready our building and grounds for another exciting school year! The floors are shiny and all the rooms are ready for staff and kids. The building looks great!! Thank you for all you do!

Motion by member R Hanson second by member D Olson to approve the agenda as Amended. UC

Citizen Comments: None

Motion by S Murray, second by R Hanson to approve the minutes of the July 9, 2025 Special meeting as presented. UC

Pay Claims

Audit Committee: Murray/Koland

Motion by S Murray, seconded by M Koland to authorize payment for August, 2025 claims in the funds as presented in the total amount of $ 120,546.76. UC

FUND THIS YEAR             PREVIOUS YR

01 GENERAL $116,726.95 $39,741.74

02 FOOD SERVICE $3,331.14 $4,634.45

04 COMMUNITY SERVICE $0.00 $0.00

07 DEBT REDEMPTION $0.00 $0.00

21 STUDENT ACTIVITIES $488.67         $160.47

TOTAL $120,546.76          $44,536.66

Boards & Committee Report

1. NWRIC

2. Sports Co-Op 

3. MSBA

4. GMRTC Joint Powers Board

5. School Board Committees

Tri-County Superintendent Report 

August 13, 2025 

1) Reminder of the listening session prior to the board meeting on Wednesday beginning at 5:00 p.m. Representatives from ICS will be there to conduct a listening session with the school board and administration. 

2) I finally managed to locate a concrete guy to do the front entrance of the elementary. It was in really bad shape and a trip and slip hazard. This is an expenditure that will go under LTFM. I have also located someone to level the slabs in front of the main gym entrance as this is a major trip hazard as a major slab has risen substantially higher than the others. 

3) I want to commend the custodial staff on the great work they have done on the building as we prepare it for the new school year. Great job and huge thanks to the entire staff for the pride you put into the building and grounds. 

4) Vandalism: There was some vandalism a couple weeks ago on the exterior wall on the 2nd floor of the building. Dalia was able to locate and identify the juveniles and we are working with the sheriff’s office and the family to have the offenders clean the wall. 

5) Bread and milk bids have been extremely difficult to come by as Prairie Farms notified us that they would no longer be able to deliver milk to us and other schools. Bimbo bakery has also told us that they will not be able to deliver the whole wheat products we need for compliance with the food standards. The NW Service coop has awarded the food bid to Sysco, who will also be able to get us milk and bread products. 

6) We advertised for almost 3 months for a licensed social studies teacher but were unable to get any applicants. You will once again be asked to approve the hiring of Out of Field Placement of Mara Gust as Social Studies teacher for the coming school year. Mara has done a great job in this position, and we are looking forward to having her back!! 

7) Negotiations: To date I have not been able to get either group to give me a written proposal or dates to meet. I will keep working on it. 

8) Cyber Security Grant: I am going to pursue a Cyber security grant that could possibly cover the cost of a new camera system as well as cover our insurance costs for cyber security (about $4,000). I will be applying this month in hopes of getting the funds to cover both expenses. A new camera system would be about $33,000. 

9) Workshop days for staff are scheduled for August 25-28. We will again be having an Open House on Wednesday, August 27. I have again secured donations so we can have Welcome Back grill out for students, staff, and parents! 

Motion by M Koland, second by D Olson to accept $400.00 in donations listed below. UC

$400.00 from Karlstad Eagles for Back to School Picnic

Motion by R Hanson second by D Olson, to approve the Out of Field Placement hiring of Mara Gust as Social Studies Teacher for the 2025-2026 school year. UC

Motion by S Murray second by M Koland, to approve the Memorandum of Agreement with Online College in the High School (OCHS) for the 2025-2026 school year. UC

Motion by M Koland second by D Olson to approve the resignation of Morgan Hams as paraprofessional. UC

Motion by R Hanson second by D Olson to approve the resignation of Shari Knutson as co-advisor of the Close Up program. UC

Motion by R Hanson, second by D Olson to hire Tara Larson as Junior Class Advisor. UC

Motion by R Hanson, second by D Olson to hire McKenzie Schultz as assistant Volleyball coach. UC

Motion by R Hanson, second by D Olson to hire Hunter Gullickson as assistant Football coach. UC

Motion by R Hanson, second by D Olson to hire Isabel Pearson as c-team Volleyball coach. UC

Motion by M Koland, second by D Olson to adjourn. UC

Respectfully Submitted,

Mark Koland, Board Clerk

Steve Murray, Board Chair

(January 1, 2026)