Carlton, Wrenshall deal won't happen

Consolidation between the Carlton and Wrenshall school districts is no longer on pause. It's dead. The Carlton school board on Monday voted to remove consolidation from its list of future options for the foundering district. Left on the list are two expensive options for district residents: turning the South Terrace elementary into a preK-8 school and releasing high schoolers to another district, or creating a new preK-12 school at South Terrace.

While the Carlton board plans to conduct a $10,000 survey of residents about preferences for the future, consolidation will not be mentioned in the survey.

The board went through the three scenarios in separate votes. Consolidation with Wrenshall came up first, with Ann Gustafson making a motion to keep it in the list of options. The motion failed to get a second and failed. The other two district configurations passed with just Gustafson objecting to each one.

In essence, the vote on Monday all but assured that the future for Carlton students won't include attending high school there. Creating a pre-K-12 school would cost more than $34 million with taxpayers with a home valued at $150,000 paying more than $500 a year.

That likely wouldn't pass in a referendum, Gustafson said, and a majority of board members agreed in a discussion of the options last week before the votes.

"It's not viable," Gustafson said.

That leaves the preK-8 option with a release of high schoolers to a neighboring district. Superintendent John Engstrom and board chairwoman Julianne Emerson are continuing talks with officials in Barnum and Cloquet. It remains the likely most palatable option now that consolidation, which had support through a survey in 2020 of residents in Carlton and Wrenshall, is off the table.

The pre-K-8 option would require more than $23 million in updates at South Terrace, with about a $300 tax bill to residents with a $150,000 home.

Consolidation was dropped for a passel of reasons, Gustafson said in recalling the discussion at a committee of the whole meeting on June 14. Some said if consolidation was meant to be, it would have happened by now, Gustafson said, more than 60 years after the idea first sprouted between the districts. Others simply said it just wouldn't work or that school board members in Wrenshall had moved on or were being too obstinate in the details of a consolidation.

The Wrenshall board hadn't moved on but has made some significant building improvements at the school, even with the prospect of a referendum and eventual consolidation bringing modifications to the school anyway. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said she's thankful the district didn't wait for Carlton to make up its mind before doing the air quality and classroom space work.

Late last year, both sides agreed to put a pause on consolidation talks as new board members were being placed in January and the districts were still dealing with pandemic-related issues.

"It's just so strange," Belcastro said when hearing about the Monday vote that ended consolidation. "We've come so close."

Wrenshall is in the second of three phases of work at the school building. The first dealt with air handling in older portions and shoring up offices and classrooms. The current, second phase involves improvements in the gymnasium and cafeteria, and converting the former pool space into education space. Another phase will convert the old recreation building on the school grounds into a technical education space.

"I'm so glad we didn't wait to do our projects," Belcastro said.

Wrenshall school board chairwoman Michelle Blanchard agreed. "We didn't have time to wait." She called the decision by the Carlton board somewhat expected. "It's not a shocker," she said. She hopes the two districts can continue to collaborate in sports and education programs despite the latest rift.

And if Carlton ends up going without a high school, perhaps Wrenshall can benefit, Blanchard said. "Maybe we'll get some of their students."

It isn't clear what the next steps are for the Carlton board. There was no discussion about the votes Monday. Emerson told members they would get updates on tuition agreement talks.

Budgets

The two school boards approved deficit budgets for the next school year, much like other districts in the state.

Carlton's difference between revenues and expenditures in the general fund is a whopping $809,456 in the red. Business manager Norman Nelis said, like other district number crunchers, that it's all a bit of a guessing game without enrollment figures, teacher contracts or the state funding formula figured out. Enrollment is expected to slip again, he said, and despite many cuts to the budget made by the board in past years, spending levels are back to that of several years ago due to rising costs and salaries.

Revenue for the district is down $450,000 from two years ago, Nelis said.

Carlton's projected operating revenue, when including all debt service, is at $6.6 million against expenditures of $7.5 million, a more than $900,000 shortfall.

"Everybody take a deep breath," board member Tim Hagenah told members Monday. He said the fall audit tells the real financial story and the deficit will settle out under the current prediction.

"But it's not something we can sustain," Gustafson replied.

"No, it's not," Hagenah said.

Wrenshall approved a deficit general fund budget of $242,860. Its revenues through the general fund are expected to be $4.2 million with expenditures of $4.5 million.

Belcastro said the budget numbers look OK and enrollment is expected to remain high relative to district history. "We're sitting pretty well," she said.