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The Chisago Lakes School Board voted to begin the process of separating from Technology and Information Educational Services (TIES) at the Thursday, January 4 school board meeting.

Ken Orwoll, the district’s Director of Technology, was on hand to explain that due to a change in TIES, the organization no longer offered many viable programs for the district to use. TIES is a Minnesota-based educational technology solutions collaborative owned by 48 member districts. They provide software systems, professional development, technology integration training for teachers, transportation out-scouring, technical consulting, hardware and software support, and ISP services.

There will be a vote among the 38 TIES members on January 24 to determine the future of the company. Member schools can either vote to dissolve TIES or to restructure. But Orwoll and the board were in favor of a vote to dissolve, and if the remaining member schools vote to restructure, the district was going to inform TIES that they would be pulling out of the agreement.

The district would be financially liable for some long term contracts, but Orwoll explained that it was going to be painful either way. “Pulling out will cost us some money in the short term, but sticking with them will cost us extra money as long as we are a part of it,” Orwoll said. “They just couldn’t keep up with what schools need.”

Orwoll noted that the district could go with Region One Education Service Center, and they would fit many more needs than TIES, and it would cost them less annually to be a part of.

Taylors Falls Elementary and the High School will be getting new roofs, and they’ll be supplied by BL Dalsin, a roofing contractor out of Minneapolis. They were the low bid after an open budding process and they came in at $771,117 to replace the roofs at those respective buildings.

The district, in conjunction with the Chisago City Fire Department, will be conducting a controlled house burn of the house that is on the Karmel Property where the new elementary school will go. The cost will be $3,300 according to Director of Building and Grounds Steve Mikutowski, and they will also have to test for asbestos before the burn takes place.

The  middle school trip to Washington D.C. was approved by the board. The presentation was made by Andrea McKinnon and Ed Wakefield, to take a four-day guided trip through the city in conjunction with MEA week in October 2018.

Since this was the first meeting of the new year, board appointments needed to be set, and everyone kept the same positions. Mark Leigh remained the board chairman, and Lori Berg remained vice chair. Dani Strenke remained the clerk and Tom Lawlor the treasurer.

Representatives from Wold Architects and ICS Consulting were also on hand to discuss progress being made on the community center. They came with an updated timeline as well as renderings of the addition. The current timeline has the community center being completed and ready for occupancy on March 15, 2019.

In the meantime, the district will be meeting about the temporary parking once that part of the lot shuts down. They also noted that the community pool would have to be shut down this summer, so from May 11 to August 10, there will be no access to the pool.

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