ELY- The Ely School Board quietly approved the class schedules for the next school year, without the unhappy commentary they experienced last month.
Teachers and parents both had a handful of days to react to the proposed schedule presented at the May 22 meeting and it contained several surprises. The changes included a self-contained sixth grade, which appeared to be a change from the current departmental teaching model. Other surprises included trimming both the gifted program and the number of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes.
At the June 12 meeting, the middle and high school principal, Jeff Carey, and the superintendent, Anne Oelke, explained to the board how they worked to resolve the issues brought up at the previous meeting, mostly through meetings and information sent home to parents to explain the district’s goals and concerns for the sixth grade, STEM, and gifted classes.
“We sat down with those concerned with the sixth grade and worked out a good compromise,” Carey said. “We met goals and people appear to be happy with what we worked out. Our core academics are all in the morning.”
Oelke added, “We’re moving in the right direction, and I believe we achieved a better transition (from elementary to higher grades) for sixth grade … We sent home a better explanation of what we were trying to accomplish and what is all means.
Oelke discussed how “not having (better information) left people upset” and that short lead times for communication left district stakeholders surprised by topics that appeared on the school board agenda. Oelke remarked that from an administrative and school board member perspective, “If it’s on the agenda, it’s already been talked about.” While that may have sufficed for the board and administrators, it left others concerned with the upcoming school year.
The resolution of the scheduling and curriculum concerns led Oelke to segue to the district’s efforts to prevent future misunderstandings and miscommunications. “We are working on the district’s communication plan,” Oelke explained, “and are gathering names for the committee (to create the plan), so that we hit the ground running in July,” when it first meets.

2023-2024 budget
The school board approved the budget for the upcoming school year, with projected revenues across all funds of $10,132,171, an increase of 6.3 percent, and projected expenditures across all funds of $9,959,197, an increase of 4.7 percent. Approximately four-fifths of the budget is allocated to the general fund, out of which most operating expenses like teacher salaries, are paid. A tenth of the budget is taken up by the district’s debt service fund, which is just over $1 million per year. The rest of the budget is allocated to the capital assets/expenditure, food service, community education, building and construction, and scholarship funds.
The budget was assembled assuming 20 incoming kindergarten students and a total enrollment of 515 K-12 students, which is an increase of five students from the 2022-23 budgeted enrollment. The budget made reasonable expenditure estimates over increases in salaries, benefits, state-mandated unemployment expenditures, inflation in utilities and fuel costs, the purchase of a new van, and staffing reductions of two full-time teachers.
In a pre-recorded presentation, district business manager Spencer Aune noted that the food service budget is still unclear given the new state requirement for free school lunches for all students. “We still don’t know how this will work,” Aune remarked.
Revenue estimates were based on a four-percent increase in basic state aid, now at $7,138 per pupil, plus $205,000 in additional special education funds, an increase in basic skills revenue, and $270,567 for the last year of federal ESSER III funds.
The projected fund balance at the end of the 2023-24 school is estimated to be $1,258,959, which is 15.2 percent of the district’s general operating expenses.
“Frankly, with the changes made by the Legislature, I expected a lot of things to come up in the red,” commented school board member Tony Colarich. “I think it says a lot about our (business) staff that it did not.”

Other business
In other business, the school board:
• Will send a letter of congratulations to Kaylin Visser for her achievements with discus.
• Granted tenure upon the completion to Jeff Carey, 6-12 Principal; Elyssa Erickson, teacher; and Heidi Omerza, teacher.
• Approved the quote from Pan-O-Gold Baking Co. of St. Cloud for the district’s bread products for the 2023-2024 school year and the quote from Prairie Farms of Woodbury, for the district’s milk products for the 2023-2024 school year.
• Approved the quote submitted by Superior Fuel for tanker propane supply for the period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, of $1.0225/gallon.
• Approved the quote submitted by Superior Fuel for bobtail propane supply for the period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, of $1.599/gallon.
• Approved the quote from Phil Hegfors & Sons Construction for the district’s snowplowing and snow removal needs for the 2023-2024 school year. This was the only quote received.
• Approved Minnesota School Boards Association fees for July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, of $6,294; Minnesota Rural Education Association dues for 2023-2024 in the amount of $1,652; and 2023-2024 annual premiums submitted by Vaaler Insurance in the amount of $158,439.
• Approved the revised Washington Elementary schedule for the 2023-2024 school year.
• Hired Warren Carlson for the full-time Special Maintenance position, effective May 8.
• Accepted the resignations of Kaycee Gantt and Cathy Braun from their paraprofessional positions and the resignation of Amy Kingsley as junior class advisor, which includes advising on the junior banquet, effective June 5.
• Cancelled the June 26 study session for the school board.
• Accepted a $100 donation from the Kiwanis Club for the fourth and fifth grade play, a $350 donation from the Kiwanis Club for the science club, a $500 donation from the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for ECFE (sic), a $3,600 donation from the PTO for elementary school field trips, and a $200 donation from Jayne and Daniel Dusich for the weight room. In addition, the board accepted $1,000 donations for the weight room from: the Touch Down Club, the Ely Hockey Boosters, the Ely Hoop Club, the Ely Basketball Association, the Ely Track Club, and the Ely Net Club.