ISD #2142 School District News, Dec. 9, 2010

ISD 2142 News, Dec. 9th, 2010
Article from the Cook News Herald: http://www.cooknewsherald.com/page1.html
School Board adopts 'Plan B' for Tower-Soudan SchoolAt a special meeting of the Board of Education of Independent School District 2142, held Tuesday, Nov. 30, the future of the Tower-Soudan School was further sealed when the board voted to adopt Plan B for the Tower-Soudan School. The motion passed 4-2 with Andrew Larson of Tower-Soudan and Gary Rantala of Embarrass casting the dissenting votes. The meeting lasted nine minutes.

Plan B consists of the complete demolition of the 1917 section of the school building (which contains the boiler), the demolition of the second story of the 1935 addition and the demolition of the William E. Noyes Natatorium (swimming pool).
Tim Kotzian was present at the meeting to explain the history of the Multi-Purpose Room, which was built by the City of Tower through an Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board grant and was then deeded to Independent School District 708 (the TowerSoudan School District). He hoped that the Multi-Purpose Room would continue to serve in the same capacity as it is at the present time. He suggested that the formal entry into the school building, following demolition and remodeling, be on the west end of the building, with administrative offices near the entrance.
Troy Swanson, also present at the session, suggested an alternative plan for the remodeling and demolition and asked that the board reconsider its plans for the demolition of the natatorium.

Recent Board Meeting Minutes & Upcoming Agenda:

Nov. 22nd, 2010 Minutes:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~babbittcs/School%20District%202142%20%20Leader%20In%20Education/10%20November%2022%20Minutes.pdf

Nov. 30th, 2010 Special Meeting Minutes:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~babbittcs/School%20District%202142%20%20Leader%20In%20Education/10%20November%2030%20Special%20Mtg%20Min.pdf

Dec. 13th, 2010 Agenda:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~babbittcs/School%20District%202142%20%20Leader%20In%20Education/10%20December%2013%20Agenda.pdf

New Construction Photos Online:

New South Ridge photos:
http://www.choose2142schools.com/photos/south-campus/#December-2010-Progress

New Cherry tuckpoint update photo:http://www.choose2142schools.com/photos/central-campus/#September-2010

St. Louis County North School moves ahead

ISD 2142 News: Dec. 2, 2010
Article From The Cook News Herald: Dec. 2, 2010

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=68030627294&topic=27834

Web Link: http://www.cooknewsherald.com/page1.html

The new St. Louis County North School that will be built north of Cook and south of Orr on Olson Road is quietly moving ahead. Opposition to the school is falling apart despite efforts from a small "No" Group led by the HAK Triad of Tower.

The ISD 2142 voters first approved a $78.8 million bond referendum to pay for the school by a 51 to 49 percent margin. This happened despite a one-sided crusade by one publisher from Tower.

The next roadblock was approval from St. Louis County Planning and Zoning over the plans for the new school, including wastewater handling. This was passed by a 7-1 margin after an initial tabling of it. The next roadblock was a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) hearing. The CUP was approved 7-1. All that remains is a variance. The rules for the property in question say it can't have buildings covering more than 2 percent of the land. This includes parking lots. Parking lots can be built with new materials that allow water to go through. Otherwise, the district could purchase additional land adjoining the property to handle this. In many parts of the county, this 5 percent rule goes up to 25 percent. This property, by the way, could get a license for items such as a hog feeding lot or even a nuclear power lot.

The opposition group recently held a meeting at the Crescent in Cook. They wanted the district to wait for them to come up with an alternative plan. This was their same request that they asked for six months ago. They were informed that plans are going ahead for this project.

The opposition group has wanted to have a Charter School in Tower. Their request was recently shot down by the Minnesota Department of Education. In their papers, they were asked for the names of two teachers and apparently the two they named weren't licensed and hadn't been for about four years. Since this group doesn't inform area newspapers of their meetings, the reports on them appear to be one sided.

ISD 2142 is going ahead as planned. Last week the student councils of Cook and Orr schools met to discuss the name for the new school, the team mascot and the colors. They will not make the final decision, but will bring their recommendations back to their schools for the students to decide. Whether this decision will be put up for a vote by the entire Cook and Orr enrollment areas is not known.

In the meantime, the new south school, the South Ridge Panthers, is going up fast. Walls, footings, etc. are all up. It will be in operation for the start of the 2011 school year. 

Barring any expensive roadblocks by the "No" Group, the new St. Louis County North School could be in operation starting with the 2012 school year. For the 2011-2012 year, sports from the two schools will be merged into one, though.

ISD 2142 News: Nov. 25, 2010 : Q-Comp a reality for ISD 2142 and its teachers

Q-Comp a reality for ISD 2142 and its teachers
Article from the Cook News Herald:

Full Article Links Below:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=106326302567&topic=14622
http://www.cooknewsherald.com/page1.html

Summary Highlights: 

Q-Comp, the process where teachers are rewarded for their accomplishments, became a reality for St. Louis County, ISD 2142 Schools after the regular board meeting Monday at 5 p.m. in the District Office in Virginia.Evaluation is a big part of this program. So far, only the International Falls and Proctor school districts in northeastern Minnesota use this program. It appears to be the wave of the future.

Study session coming up on Babbitt-Embarrass and Tower-Soudan remodels, Nov. 30, 2010 at 3:15 p.m.

Construction Manager John Henry gave his regular report on the new construction. Everything is under control, with walls going up for the new South School.

A long discussion came up next when it came to naming the Cherry School. The residents and students had voted 452 to 26 to keep it the Cherry Tigers. Apparently, the new South School has been voting on names and the name South Panthers was the big winner. There was talk of the new Babbitt-Embarrass-Tower-Soudan School changing their name to the Golden Knights. Finally, the vote was called for and the name change failed 4-2, so they will remain the Cherry Tigers.