ëWe are using closets to teach the kids,í NB Supt. tells Harris Council

Posted 3/7/01

ëWe are using closets to teach the kids,í NB Supt. tells Harris Council

By Danielle Strenke

Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak spoke with the Harris City Council and Mayor Richard Hanson Monday, March 5, explaining the upcoming school district referendum.

Dr. Stepaniak briefly discussed the space and technology needs being faced by the North Branch School District, which includes the city of Harris. A $23.5 million referendum for a new elementary school, along with a $2.5 million technology referendum, will both be posed to voters in a mailed ballot vote in May.

He told the council that some people are concerned that the district is not asking for enough, and fear the new school will be at capacity too soon after it is built. ìSome people have accused us of not asking for enough, but weíre afraid of asking for too big of a project and setting ourselves up for a failed referendum,î he said.

By law, the district must use the mailed in ballot method to conduct the referendum, because it is not being done in conjunction with a regular November election. ìI think the mail-in ballot is open to a lot of fraud, and should be banned,î councilmember David Christianson said. ìBut Iím going to vote for it, and Iíll urge others to vote for it as well.î
Mayor Hanson asked what the districtís answer was to people who wanted to tear down the Main Street School.

ìWeíve been told itís structurally sound, except for the original building, which was built in the 1930ís,î Stepaniak said.

He explained that the building would still be used for kindergarten classes, and house the district and community education offices, and ECFE.

Stepaniak said there have been several options discussed to alleviate space issues. Construction of a new elementary school, he said, would be $7-$8 million less than construction of a new middle school or high school. Others had also asked whether or not a pool should be put on the referendum. ìWe wanted to address our critical needs, and those are space issues,î he said.

The ballots will be mailed out to registered voters in the district, who must then answer the two referendum questions, sign the ballot with a witness present, and mail the ballot into the district.

The district is also required to have a polling place open on that day, for those who choose not to mail in their ballot. The Main Street School will serve as a polling place the day of the referendum.

ìNow how do you know that they wonít vote twice,î councilmember Wayne Buisman asked. Stepaniak told him the mailed ballots come with the voters signature on the outside, which is then removed and tallied separately from the vote, so the votes remain anonymous as if they had gone to a polling place.

He told the council, regardless of whether the referendum passes, the district will face more space problems in the future, if growth projections hold true. ìAll you have to do is drive around to see the growth. I tell anyone who doesnít believe me to come and visit the buildings,î Stepaniak said. ìWe are using closets to teach the kids.î

He said more detailed information concerning the referendum will be mailed out to voters in the next several weeks.

In a letter from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the council was notified that the Harris Bottle Shop failed during a recent alcohol compliance check, conducted through the Chisago County Sheriffís Department. The establishment sold alcohol to a minor during a recent ìstingî operation conducted throughout the county. Several other liquor stores also failed.

Because the city does not have a specific ordinance and fine schedule for these type of offenses, the state will collect the penalty. Mayor Hanson said the city would work on establishing an ordinance to be able to impose penalties and fines themselves.

In his report to the council, Mayor Hanson said Lindberg Ekola had recommended the name of a person to work in the city office, through a grant the city had received from the East Central Redevelopment Cor-poration.

The $7,200 grant is earmarked to pay one or two people to work on mapping the city water and sewer lines, and parcel maps, and input all the information into the computer.

The council recommended that they also ask for a list of names of possible candidates from the League of Minnesota Cities, and not simply accept the recommendation of only one candidate.

In other business, the council:

ï Will review and vote to approve the cityís new subdivision ordinance at its next regular meeting.

ï Held a closed meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to discuss a personnel issue. At which time, the council also authorized the payment of bills after postponing payment of all bills at the council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 21.