By Patrick Tepoorten

The North Branch school board will get a ìgrillingî of sorts from representatives of Springsted Inc., at the Oct. 26 meeting, as a part of the districtís efforts to improve communication with district residents.

Acting on a desire by the board to improve communication in a variety of ways, expressed at the Sept. 28 meeting, district Superintendent Rodney Reisnouer and Community Relations Coordinator Sara Thompson met with representatives of Springsted, which serves as an advisor to the district on public relations, and reported progress to the board on Oct. 12.

According to Reisnouer, the meeting was spent discussing the districtís communication goals and shortcomings. Now, Springsted would like to query the school board as to where it would like to see improvement and offer suggestions to that end.

Although it has been mentioned at times by Reisnouer that seeking a more open relationship with the community could work to the districtís benefit for future operating levy requests, it is by no means the only reason.

ìWe want to bring the community into the decision-making process,î he said last Thursday, expressing a desire to have community input on such subjects as curriculum and overall goals for the district.

In other school news:

ï The board approved seniority lists for various district unions, including support staff, bus drivers, custodians and schoolkeepers, and the North Branch Education Association.

ï Policy 1210.1, pertaining to the use of school facilities, was approved.

ï Employment terms for various administrative positions were approved.

ï It was reported that the district remains in compliance with the Local Government Pay Equity Act.