Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, November 20, 2025. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
Roofing company representatives attended the Feb. 6 Kingsland school board workshop to outline for the board the details of the condition of the school building’s existing roof and elaborate on the work that will be done this summer to reroof the main school structure. The voters of the Kingsland district authorized the roofing project through a referendum held during the Nov. 5 general election. The ballot included two questions – one for re-roofing the school and making various repairs to it and auxiliary structures on the grounds, and a second for the construction of a new gymnasium to ease the district’s physical education classes’ schedules as they attempt to use the district’s only gymnasium each school day. Voters approved the first question but not the second.
Kingsland used Garland Company, a roofing materials manufacturer, to install a new roof over the gymnasium two years ago after severe weather caused damage, and the administration chose to seek the company’s service as a contractor for the rest of the building for consistency and assurance of continuity in project oversight. The representative brought with him a sample of the roofing materials’ layers to allow board members to see how the materials would be laid down and mitigate water entering the building. Kingsland Superintendent Scott Klavetter informed the board that Garland brings with its work a 30-year warranty that will cover the district’s literal overhead liability if any need arises – 2053 is the next time a school board should have to consider re-roofing the school if it’s still in place. Facilities business listed later on the agenda involved the roofing and maintenance projects, and it was then that he spoke of how re-roofing is set for this summer and any further work will be done next summer. The board voted to approve low bidder Jackson & Associates as the subcontractor that Garland will use to carry out the roofing work.
A resident of the district raised concerns during the district public comments, expressing frustration that the board had decided to pursue a May facilities referendum to poll voters for a new gymnasium shortly after the general election vote showed that taxpayers were not willing to support such an expenditure as part of the initial referendum. He stated that he felt that the board is “sneaking this in under the radar” because he and others with whom he had conversed did not feel that they had been offered a community outreach opportunity. “It’s just three months ago that we voted this down by two-thirds. It wasn’t even close…the TV station was in the locker rooms the other night, and they showed pictures of the rusty registers over the showers at least three times. That tells me that you can’t take care of what you’ve got, so why should you build new?” He went on to suggest that the district focus on academics, on hiring or further educating teachers. “I think we’re looking at the wrong thing – none of this is because of the gymnasium space. And if you’re going to hold a vote, why not have a polling place in Wykoff? The thing that makes this look suspicious is that it was (begun) before the new board members we voted on were in place.”
Kingsland’s school board did return to posing a referendum to build a new gymnasium within months of the first proposal’s failure, but the consensus that led to the decision was that if the community were to be willing to reconsider, it would be best to bring the matter back to them before the costs of materials and labor rose significantly. New board member Ann Oeltjen acknowledged that the timing might appear suspicious, but she countered that she is in favor of the action. “Just so you know, I am okay with it.” Board member Brady Wolfgram said, “There’s nothing underhanded. It was the timeline. We had to come back with it so that the cost is the same amount.” The visitor commented, “Maybe you can use the money to pay teachers a little better.” Klavetter stated that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) sets guidelines for teacher pay, meaning that Kingsland has no large authority to raise teacher pay even if the board were to wish to do so. Wolfgram cited, “On Facebook…everybody thinks we’re trying to sneak this through, but it’s not the intent. We’re trying to get this out to people. My daughter comes home and says that the high school students have to stand around for 10 minutes to wait for half of the gym.” Klavetter contributed, “We have had two different high school and elementary physical education teachers use the gym with the curtain down the middle, but they all said that it’s not rigid enough to stop balls going through the curtain into the other side, and if a middle school teacher is trying to teach a lesson, the kids can’t hear.” And Wolfgram relayed his opinion on the gymnasium and replacing the circa-1950s locker rooms. “For me, I don’t feel that we’re asking for what we don’t need. At what point are we not going to be able to use the locker rooms? When they talked to us about it, they said that the cost would be the same to build new as it is to repair them, and if we had (new locker rooms), we could park all of the buses in the bus shed instead of storing things in the bus shed.”
Board chairman Kyle Rader rounded out the exchange between the board and the visitor, thanking him for his time and input while Rader and Klavetter recounted that the board has delegated its membership to attend township and local government meetings to provide information and hosted numerous open house events before each facilities referendum proposal is forwarded to a vote, and typically, only one – or no one – attends. Rader advised, “It’s frustrating trying to reach people these days. We went to all the town hall meetings, held open houses. Sometimes you have to engage with your community to know what’s going on the community, because I can’t do all of that (for everyone).”
Klavetter’s superintendent’s report involved a preview of planning the 2025-2026 aca[1]demic calendar. He wrote, “We developed a draft calendar for next school year. I will be meeting with administrators from the other SMEC schools in February to compare draft calendars and create as much consistency as possible for our shared programs. The goal will be to have a final draft ready for school board approval in March.”
He then outlined, “Governor Walz recently released the first version of his proposed state budget for 2025-2027. The governor’s proposed budget includes minimal funding increases in a few specific areas and some funding reductions in other areas…the December minimal budget surplus for the current legislative cycle (fiscal year 2026-2027) and a $3.5 billion deficit for the next (fiscal year 2028-2029). It is, however, a development that we will need to monitor and plan for accordingly. One upside is that inflationary increases for education were written into statute during the last legislative session, meaning school districts will see a 2 percent increase in the per pupil funding formula each year.”
He continued, “Among the governor’s proposed spending reductions, special education funding is particularly concerning locally. Special education transportation is currently fully funded by the state. The governor’s proposed budget would re[1]duce this to 95 percent for school year 2025-2026 and 90 percent for school year 2026-2027, meaning local districts would need to begin funding a portion of this expense out of the local general fund. This relatively small percentage would add up quickly for rural school districts like Kingsland that transport students across multiple school districts to attend shared special education programs.”
Klavetter included that “the Spring Valley-Wykoff FFA will be hosting its annual pancake breakfast Tuesday, February 18 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the ag shop…community members are welcome to attend,” as “this is one of many activities that will be held throughout the week of February 18-21 to celebrate National FFA Week.”
High school principal Dana Simmons relayed in her written report that the Kingsland One Act Play team placed second at the sub-section competition and is advancing to sections at Kasson; that the seventh grade ag class is meeting with kindergarten monthly to cooperate on an art project; “the FFA wildlife team placed sixth in their most recent competition and will advance to state…Carson Wolfgram came in first place overall,” and in spelling bee news, “Emmalyn Rader won first place, and Blaze Haddad came in second…these students will advance to the regional spelling bee on February 4.”
Important dates for students and parents to note include that there is no school this Friday, Feb. 14 due to teacher in-service and professional development, but Snow Week coronation is slated for that evening following the 6:00 girls’ basketball game. There is also no school on Feb. 17, in observance of Presidents’ Day. Snow Week is Feb. 18 to Feb. 21 – the FFA pancake breakfast is included.
The consent agenda included reviewing the minutes of the Jan. 22 meeting and February bills.
Kingsland’s school board holds two meetings each month. The first is a workshop held on the first Monday at 6:00 p.m., and the second is the regular meeting on the third Monday at 6:00 p.m., each in the Kingsland elementary conference room.
The public is welcome to attend.
For more information, log onto the Kingsland website at www.kingsland.k12.mn.us, call the district office at 507-346- 7276, or join the gallery at the next meeting. The February board meeting is set for Wednesday, Feb. 19 in observance of the Monday, Feb. 17 Presidents’ Day holiday.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
