Regular School
Board Meeting
Monday, January 12, 2026
7 p.m. BOARDROOM
200 Highway 55 E
Maple Lake,
Minnesota 55358
Natalie Anderson:
Present
Kaitlyn Helmbrecht:
Present
Liz Lind:
Present
Scott Mavencamp:
Present
Joe Paumen:
Present
Jen Rasset:
Present
Branson Thomas:
Present
Present: 7.
1. Election of School Board Chair (See Exhibit 1.1)
Motion to approve Kaitlyn Helmbrecht as the 2026 School Board Chair. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
2. Election of Vice Chair (See Exhibit 1.1)
Motion to approve Liz Lind as the 2026 Vice School Board Chair. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
3. Election of Clerk (See Exhibit 1.1)
Motion to approve Branson Thomas as the 2026 School Board Clerk. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
4. Election of Treasurer (See Exhibit 1.1.)
Motion to approve Natalie Anderson as the 2026 School Board Treasurer. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
5. “District #881 is Proud of”
“Proud of Exhibit”
Excel Award Winner: Abigail Gindele
Triple AAA Award Winners: Emily Larson and Ethan Paumen
Mathison Motors for the extremely generous donation of winter clothing. We received bags filled with brand new name brand winter coats, snow pants, boots, hats and gloves for kids in the elementary school. They donate year after year.
Maple Lake Lions for the financial contribution that allows us fill 30 Christmas baskets with food, household goods, and craft activities.
Anonymous donation from a FAMILY in the Maple Lake community in the amount of $9,000 that paid for 30 Target gift cards in the amount of $300 per card. Those gift cards were added to 30 Christmas baskets that went out right before Christmas break.
Riverside Church….donated ten $100 gift cards to Walmart to share with families in need.
Holy Cross Lutheran Church for donating a bike for the Christmas basket program.
Over the holiday break, the Irish Girls’ Basketball program and a few of the boys helped prepare 40,000 meals. This is the 4th consecutive year they have assisted Feed My Starving Children. Thank you to all our athletes who served!
6. (INFORMATIONAL) Recognition of visitors
Visitors:
• Mike Rowe
• Amelia Gapinski
• Dave Hansen
• Lisa Rademacher
• Mikayla Sutter
• Tanya Malwitz
• Anna Reedy
• Jennifer Blair
• Ethan Paumen
• Ernie Puncochar
• State Senetor Mike Holmstrom
7. (ACTION) Approve the agenda for the regular school board meeting held on Monday, January 12, 2026. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
8. (ACTION) Approve the consent agenda for the regular school board meeting held on Monday, January 12, 2026 Yea: 7, Nay: 0
9. (7:10) Unfinished Business
9.A. Enrollment Update – Enrollment remains steady with no changes.
9.B. School Board Organizational Items
Motion to approve organizational items effective January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
Section B: School Board Appointments. This motion, made by Branson Thomas and seconded by Natalie Anderson, Passed.
Section C: Designations. This motion, made by Natalie Anderson and seconded by Jen Rasset, Passed.
Section D: Salaries and Allowances. This motion, made by Joe Paumen and seconded by Branson Thomas, Passed.
Section E: Meeting Dates, Times and Places. This motion, made by Natalie Anderson and seconded by Jen Rasset, Passed.
9.C. Food Service Update – 77% participation
9.D. 2026-2027 School Calendar
Motion to approve the 2026-2027 school calendar. This motion, made by Branson Thomas and seconded by Jen Rasset, Passed. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
10. (7:20) New Business
10.A. Resolution for Making Reductions
Resolution for Directing the Administration to Make Recommendations for Reductions in Programs and Position and Reasons. This motion, made by Joe Paumen and seconded by Kaitlyn Helmbrecht, Passed. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
10.B. Language Access Plan
Motion to approve the Language Access Plan for Maple Lake Public Schools. This motion, made by Branson Thomas and seconded by Liz Lind, Passed. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
11. (7:45) Representative Reports
11.A. District Leadership Team – Natalie Anderson
• Talked about the 26-27 calendar for the school board meeting.
• Q-comp goals to finish out the school year.
• Workshop dates to coincide with higher attendance.
11.D. Meeker and Wright Special Ed Co-Op – Jen Rasset
• Looked into legislation while working on SPED.
• Working through the contracts with the Supervisors.
11.E. Minnesota State High School League – Liz Lind
• 2-year average for classes (AA/AAA) — to start 28–29 school year.
• Trying to make it more stable in standings.
11.H. Wright Technical Center – Joe Paumen
• Resignation of lead custodian
• Approved legislation and policies for new year.
11.I. Elementary School – Anna Reedy
• We have begun our winter round of Fastbridge testing. The latest results of these will be shared with families at winter conferences on January 27 and 29.
• Our first and second grade classes will have the opportunity to learn about dental/oral health from Health Educators from Community Dental Care in Buffalo and dental hygiene students from St. Cloud Technical & Community College. The lessons began today in some of the classrooms and will continue through the month of January.
• There were 124 entries for the Ceiling Tile Design Contest that was held through Mrs. Thomas in the library. Winners from each grade level were announced today.
• The district spelling bee is scheduled for Wednesday this week. We have approximately 25 participants from grades 5-8. The bee will be held in the auditorium beginning at 1:15pm.
• On Saturday, we will have about 30 people from MLE at Feed My Starving Children in Coon Rapids. Special “thank you’ to Tim Staloch for putting this together.
• It’s almost “I Love to Read Month”!! We have had very generous donations from Northstar Search and Rescue and Irish Buddies toward our month’s festivities. We are excited to welcome Dan Gruhlke as a storyteller for our primary grades on Monday, Feb. 2, and we are looking forward to Rise & Read on Tuesday, Feb. 3 (7:30-8:15am).
11.J. High School – Dave Hansen
1. End of the Semester – Thursday, January 22 nd
a. Students in grades 9-12 have received their schedules for Semester 2. Final
schedule changes for 2 nd semester took place prior to Christmas break.
b. Balancing of course sections may still take place prior to the start of 2 nd Semester
2. Registration
a. Preparations are underway
b. Students in grades 10 – 11 will register in February and grades 7 – 9 will register
during the end of February or first part of March.
c. Parent Registration Presentation will be held on Feb. 24 – HS Parent-Teacher
Conferences evening
3. Irish Adventures – Feb. 4
4. Snocoming
a. Student Council is working on plans
b. Will take place Feb. 17-20
12. (7:55) Committee Reports
15.F. Support Staff Committee – Anderson, Lind, Mavencamp
The next meeting is set for 01/13/2026.
13. (8:40) Adjourn
Motion to adjourn the School Board meeting held on 01/12/2026 at 7:38PM. This motion, made by Branson Thomas and seconded by Liz Lind, Passed. Yea: 7, Nay: 0
(22c)