South Washington County Schools has new board officers, following a board meeting Jan. 2 at the District Service Center.
“At this time we will elect school board officers for 2025,” board member Katie Schwartz said after roll call, pledge, and approval of the agenda. “Starting with Chair, Vice Chair, Clerk and Treasurer.”
Nominated in turn with a motion by board member Van Leer seconded by Simi Patnaik, the following board officers were elected: Katie Schwartz as board chair, Simi Patnaik as vice chair, Melinda Dols as board clerk, and Sharon Van Leer as board treasurer.
Also covered at the Jan. 2 school board meeting, the school board passed several organizational items, motion to approve made by board member Van Leer seconded by Patnaik.
Included in the list of organizational items was readopting of school board policies and regulations, designation of the District Service Center as the board’s meeting site, appointment of the district business manager as associate treasurer, and passage of a resolution to designate school district depositories as follows:
US Bank Minneapolis/Minnesota School District Liquid Asset Fund, US Bank, Well Fargo, Old National Bank, Commerce Bank RBC, Zions Bank, and Merchants Bank.
Also passed in organizational items for 2025, the school board adopted a resolution to authorize the assistant treasurer to invest available funds for the district from time to time, authorized the director of business services and account specialist to initiate electronic funds transfers and sign petty cash checks to the finance office account, and authorized the director of business services or designee to pay appropriate claims in advance of school board authorizations in order to expedite vendor payments and utilities discount privileges, with such claims reported to the school board at school meetings.
Lastly from Jan. 2 organization items, the school board authorized the use of chairman, clerk, and treasurer signatures for finance, student activity, and payroll checks via digitized signature software, designated the Pioneer Press as the official newspaper, authorized the superintendent or director of business services to execute contracts and purchase orders for goods and services contained in the board approved budget and contracts pertaining to student activities, designated Rupp, Anderson, Squires and Waldspurger, PA, Knutson, Flynn, and Deans, PA, and Dorsey and Whitney as the District’s law firms, also setting school board member compensation at $833.33 per month.
From there it was into the board workshop, starting at 6:04 p.m. immediately following the business meeting.
The District 833 School Board next meets Jan. 16 at 6:00 p.m. at the District Service Center on East Point Douglas Road, a workshop meeting scheduled for Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. Meetings are livestreamed on the district YouTube channel, SoWashCoSchools.