At the January 14, 2026 school board meeting, board members David Sowinski, Katie Priebe, Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad and Mark Johnsrud were present. Board member Josh Thompson was not present. Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris, elementary principal Shane McBroom and high school principal Eric Nelson. Student senate representatives Owen Schwanke and Mason Sulu-Mehus and were also present.
Organizational Meeting
During the organizational portion of the meeting the board nominated and approved officers for 2026. The board nominated and approved the nominations as follows: Katie Priebe, chair; Tom Keefe, vice chair; Josh Thompson, clerk and Jill Harstad, treasurer. These were the same as last year’s officers. Board committee assignments will stay the same and the monthly meeting will stay the same; the second Wednesday of the month.
Reports
Owen Schwanke reported that the Christmas donut sales were a success and that there will be an upcoming cookie sale. He also said that Snow Week will be the first week in March and that a dance is planned for this week. Principal Nelson explained that the high school teachers spent last Friday afternoon working with Katie Wohlfiel, an instructional literacy trainer from the Southeast Service Cooperative, developing instructional strategies for teaching students Tier 2 vocabulary. Tier 2 vocabulary or “academic terminology” are words that are cross-disciplinary and typically more challenging and abstract than the words that most students are using in their daily speech or Tier 1 words. Tier 3 words are discipline specific words. Understanding the meaning of Tier 2 words is essential for higher-order thinking skills. Tier 2 words have specific academic meaning and are more abstract than Tier 1 terms. Students are unlikely to be able to apply these words or perform their specific action if they do not have a strong grasp on their meaning. Teachers will now take this information back to their PLC teams to determine how to incorporate Tier 2 words into their curriculum. Nelson is going to partner with the United Way to bring the United Way’s Community Service Lettering Program to the high school. This program offers students a CHS letter for volunteering at least 100 hours for a non-profit organization. The program requires that at least sixty hours of the total, must take place in southeastern Minnesota and that some of the hours must include service to the school. Research from the AASA (a national organization of superintendents) indicates that engaging in a least 25 hours of volunteer service is a huge indicator of a student’s career readiness.
Elementary principal McBroom reported that there was a lot of excitement before Christmas break with fun and games for the students. The 5th and 6th grade band played, welcoming students and staff into the gym. Students were able to get into the holiday spirit with singing, awards and a competition with the staff. All school bingo was held during Gophers Time during the week.
Superintendent Harris related that three quotes came in for the track resurfacing. The best quote from Upper Midwest Athletic Construction (Andover, MN) was very cost effective at $136,000. Their references were very good. The next closest quote was $158,000. He thanked the CEF (Chatfield Education Foundation) for approving a request to help 8th grade students pay for their Washington D.C. trip, which was $500 per student. The district is working with Hiawatha Valley Mental Health to procure on-site services at the high school, which has been previously unavailable due to staffing shortages. It is extremely low cost and he’s hoping to get at least one day at the high school.
Consent Items
The following consent items were approved by the board.
- Minutes of the December 10, 2025 minutes
- Resignations: Jesse Finley, trap coach
Discussion
Superintendent Harris brought to the board a proposal from the VFW/Legion and the city of Chatfield. These entities have been looking at various spots around the city for a Veterans’ Memorial with little success. They now are proposing a site on school grounds that would be north of the small parking lot next to the football field. Because the site is very accessible and has high visibility from Highway 52, they feel this would be an excellent site. They would gift the memorial to the school district and establish a fund for ongoing maintenance. Some of the questions from the board involved liability and precedence. Gary Eisenman and Wayne Halvorson representing the VFW/Legion idea were present to answer any questions the board might have. Eisenman presented examples of what the memorial would look like and gave Superintendent Harris a list of what could possibly be engraved on the stones in the memorial. The board did not act on the proposal and will make a decision at the next board meeting. If the proposed memorial is accepted, Eisenman said they would like to have it completed by July 4, 2026.
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