Photo by Wanda Hanson
At the regular board meeting on May 19, Superintendent Gary Kuphal announced that a groundbreaking ceremony was set for May 22 for the new referendum sponsored construction. Speakers will include representatives from both the construction and architectural firms as well as Supt. Kuphal. The senior class and kindergarten classes were invited to attend the short ceremony, and Kraus-Anderson supplied hard hats for the kindergarteners. KTTC was set to cover the event.
Kraus-Anderson will use SPARKS on their website to document the progress of the building project. The site will be updated as progress continues.
Kuphal shared that, although it appears nothing is happening on the project, a lot has been going on. Weekly meetings are being conducted with the construction company as well as every other week meetings with the architects. Kuphal had gone appliance shopping so exact measurements could be shared with the cabinetmaker. Locker room demolition is set to begin next week.
Winona Controls will come in next week to do preliminary work on heating and cooling systems. Necessary asbestos removal will begin next week as well. Some of the classes at the school have helped with removing and moving items in the FACS room in preparation for construction. Items have been given away or sent to the dumpster as the school readies for the construction. Sealed bids have been requested for some more valuable items,
A new transformer will be needed outside the CTE room. Kuphal informed the board that it will cost over $20,000 to bring electrical lines to the transformer. Specs for the build called for a 500 KVa transformer, but MIEnergy has recommended that a 300 KVa would be sufficient. The city has a used 300 KVa transformer that they might sell the school.
Kuphal asked whether he should pursue the idea. Jason Marquardt asked if the 300 KVa would be big enough in the future and wondered about warranties on it. Ultimately, the board asked Kuphal to check into it. Kuphal does have the authority to make changes up to $50,000 on the project, but he plans on bringing information back to the board for a decision.
Coach Hired
Lonnie Morken attended the meeting to explain the process used to interview and hire coaches. A committee of five people interview potential head coaches, For the girls’ varsity basketball coach, the committee received applications from two candidates. Each was asked the same 12 questions; committee members ranked their answers and the rankings were then added up. In this case, the committee unanimously chose to offer the position to Jon Wangsness. The head coach usually is involved in hiring other coaches.
Kuphal explained this had been the established procedure for years. He also clarified that the school board’s responsibility is to only hire one person – the superintendent. He checked again with MSBA and found that they strongly recommend that school board members not be involved in such interviews.
After the discussion, the board approved the hiring of Jon Wangsness as the coach.
New Business Manager
Mabel-Canton has historically used School Management Services (SMS) for their business manager. With the retirement of the former manager, Jackson Marine has been chosen to replace her at the three schools she served. SMS has recently been taken over by a larger company so nothing is firm at this time as schools decide whether they will continue with the new company.
Marine has worked at SMS for four years; his father is a senior employee at SMS. Marine introduced himself to the board and presented the 2025-2026 budget to them. Marine commented, “You have one of the best fund balances I’ve seen!”
The board approved the budget as well as the facility and capital outlay recommendations.
Other Business
In other business the board:
•Set fees for Pre-K and preschool for 2026-2027; the two-day a week preschool program will go from $75 to $90/month; the three-day a week Pre-K will go from $225 to $240/month;
•Approved a mandatory cardiac emergency response plan;
•Discussed the possibility of using either Red Rover or Smart program to track staff absences and time for non-certified; since the school already uses Smart for other services and the cost from Smart is much less, Kuphal is considering using it with a cost of $675;
•Heard that $440,643 in scholarships had been awarded by the community to seniors at the recent scholarship night;
•Learned that enrollment at this time is higher than it was at the start of the year; 19 seniors will be graduating and 25 kindergarteners will enter school next fall; several new families are planning to move into the district as well.
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