It was good news, but not quite what United South Central School District officials wanted to hear.
Superintendent Jerry Jensen told School Board members the district has been recommended to receive a grant to build a new school.
However, the amount would be for $5 million, not the $20 million district officials had hoped for.
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Kathy Krebsbach
"It's better than nothing. Steve and I will try to lobby hard," Jensen told the board.
The superintendent and board member Steve Navara were planning to make a trip to the State Capitol on Wednesday.
Jensen says two other districts - Rushford-Peterson and Red Lake - also were being considered for funding in the House bonding bill.
Rushford-Peterson would get $7.5 million and Red Lake, $7.9 million.
On Thursday, Jensen had even more disappointing news.
He says none of the three school building projects were in the bonding bill.
"We're disappointed. But, I talked to some legislators and they said the projects could still be added," he says. "We're still hopeful, but it is not looking quite as good to us."
Jensen says a lot can happen before the legislative session ends. So, districts officials will just have to wait and see.
Cost of building a new schoool to house grades K-12 is estimated at $28 million, while remodeling and upgrades at the current school campus would be around $20 million.
Jensen says the district is still planning to hold a bonding referendum on Aug. 14, the day primary elections will be held.
In other business, the board approved a one-year conrtact for Jensen.
His three-year contract ends this year.
In his annual job performance evaluation, Jensen received an overall average score of 4.784, based on a 5.0 point scale.
He was rated on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being considered outstanding performance.
"His performance is much better than very good, and a scooch down from outstanding," says board chair Kathy Krebsbach.
Jensen's job appraisal involved 10 different areas with four to six sub-categories in each.
With the approval of the one-year agreement, Jensen's salary will increase $1,000 to $78,500.
The superintendent's contract calls for a three-day work week and his pay is based on 156 days annually.