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Monday night’s long-running, well-attended school board meeting featured celebrations of Two Rivers High School students in the first half and a review of the district’s 2026 budget projections in the second half. School Board Chair Sarah Larsen mentioned that this was one of the most heavily-attended meetings in her memory, with the standing-room only crowd spilling out into the hall. Most of the attendees were present to honor the achievements of Two Rivers High School students.
Honoring Students
Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog led the board in recognizing participants in several spring activities at Two Rivers.
- CAPS: Annabelle and Malea, two recently-graduated seniors who went through Two Rivers’ CAPS healthcare program, encountered someone in cardiac arrest while working DoorDash, and used their healthcare training to resolve the situation. One student performed CPR while the other called 911.
- Athletes of the Year:
- Claire Stein, Two Rivers’ female athlete of the year, was a three-sport Varsity athlete, lettering in soccer, Nordic skiing, and track and field, where she set a school record in the triple jump. She also participated in several other extracurriculars and earned a 4.187 GPA.
- Quinn Keyes, Two Rivers’ male athlete of the year, was an All-Conference athlete in cross country, Nordic skiing, and track and field, and also maintained a 3.89 GPA.
- Lightning Turtles: The Two Rivers High School’s robotics team, the Lightning Turtles, was honored for their participation in the first-ever robotics world championships in Houston, Texas earlier this spring. The team’s coach described it as an amazing experience and a chance for the students to connect with like-minded people.
- Mean Girls: The board honored the cast and crew of Two Rivers’ spring musical, Mean Girls. Largely thanks to this play, the department earned an Achievement in Theatre award from the Hennepin Theatre Trust, the highest award they have to offer. The cast will also be performing in the Spotlight Showcase at the State Theatre on June 9.
- Speech and Debate: Three students, Andrea Carreras, Patrick Bombach, and Amelia Elgstuen, participated in the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions for speech and debate this spring. Elgstuen finished 54th of 213 competitors in informative speaking, Bohmbach finished ninth in Original Oratory, and Carreras won the national championship for Impromptu Speaking.
- Spring State Athletes: The board honored members of the school’s Golf and Track and Field teams, which will be participating in their respective state competitions later this month.
- Exchange Students: The board honored Two Rivers’ three foreign exchange students: Matie Pollex from Germany, Ahmad Rasheed from Palestine, and Mariana Semenuik from Ukraine.
Budget Review
- Scott LeSage, the district’s new director of finance, presented a review of the district’s 2026 budget.
- The district’s projections over-estimated incoming revenue, but also over-estimated expenses, resulting in a mixed financial outlook.
- The school board took a “wait and see” approach to budgeting starting in 2020. They avoided making big cuts despite projected funding shortfalls. This has paid off. The state budget and some other cost savings have resulted in a projected budget surplus for fiscal year 2026, meaning the district will be able to start refilling their rainy day fund. They plan to do this over the next three years, or even beyond. This will mean keeping cost growth low in order to have a surplus.
- Any cost cuts have come in non-student-focused areas like office supplies and heating and cooling efficiency.
- One issue facing the district is the cutbacks of COVID-related funds, especially for special education.
- No formal action was taken on the budget tonight; this was an initial overview. The school board is legally required to have a budget approved by June 30.
Other Items on the Agenda
- Superintendent’s Report: During his regular report, Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog reflected on this year’s high school graduation ceremony, highlighted Senior Success Day, where graduating seniors pay visits to their former elementary schools, mentioned a social event for the district’s interpreters and cultural liaisons, and honored June as Pride month.
- Facilities Maintenance: The board unanimously approved the long-term facility maintenance budget for District 917, which is a combined district that multiple schools can use to share maintenance costs.
- Sustainability: District staff gave an update on the Live Green program, the district’s long-running sustainability initiative.
- The initiative focuses on energy efficiency, student engagement, waste reduction, responsible land management, and partnerships with community and government organizations.
- The district provides 14% of its own electricity through use of solar panels. They also subscribe to solar gardens provided through Xcel Energy, which prioritizes power generation from solar facilities. This results in energy credits for the district, which helps their financial situation as well as the environment.
- The district also makes heavy use of automation to remotely control heating, cooling, and water usage in the district and keep consumption down.
- They highlighted the importance of student and community engagement in efforts like the community gardens and the Garlough school forest.
- Tri-District Community Education: Lisa Grathen of the Tri-District Advisory Council gave an update on the council’s activities.The tri-district community education programs focus on providing community education and recreation activities for people of all ages. The focus in the past year has been on making meetings more engaging and well-organized. They’ve added more emphasis on relationship-building, more meetings of local districts, and a focus on consensus-based decision-making.
The rain didn’t keep people away from this celebratory meeting, and people who stayed for the business-focused second half were rewarded with a rainbow on their way out.
Engage
- More: Agendas and minutes for ISD 197 School Board meetings are available online.
- Watch: You can watch this meeting online and watch the video recap from Board Member Jon Vaupel and Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog.
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