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East Grand Forks school board approves hires, preschool curriculum and 2025–26 fees as administrators give back-to-school updates
Summary
At a regular meeting, the East Grand Forks Public School District board approved a special-education hire, two preschool positions, a preschool curriculum purchase and multiple routine fiscal items while administrators described curriculum alignment, facility assessments and grant work.
The East Grand Forks Public School District board approved personnel hires, a preschool curriculum purchase and the district's 2025'26 fee schedule during a regular meeting, while administrators reported on back-to-school preparations, curriculum alignment and facilities work.
The board voted to approve a recommendation to hire Scott Brecki for a special-education position and to add another preschool teacher, actions the superintendent said would fill openings if the board approved them that night. The board also approved purchase of the preschool curriculum for $17,150.04 as presented in the meeting packet.
Those approvals came as Superintendent Kevin Grover (identified in the meeting materials and later in a separate agenda item) reported several district initiatives: an application for a $500,000 solar grant, a smaller state grant request of about $60,000 to cover cyber liability insurance and possible camera upgrades, and the start of a facilities assessment by a firm the district calls Nexus. Grover said arbitration is set for Sept. 25 and that contract negotiations continue with a planned meeting on Aug. 25.
Board members approved a series of routine fiscal and administrative items on the consent and district business agendas. The actions included approving the bus driver master agreement, adopting a resolution authorizing the district to hire short-term (casual) substitute teachers from an established list without individual board approval (the board approved the resolution by roll call, 5'0'00), appointing Kevin Grover as the hearing official for free- and reduced-price meal eligibility hearings, continuing the offer-vs-serve hot-lunch program for all K'12 students for 2025'26, and adopting the 2025'26 fee schedule as presented. The board set the Truth in Taxation public meeting for Dec. 8, 2025, at 6 p.m. in Room 195 at East Grand Forks Senior High. The board also approved payment of K'12 bills and electronic fund transfers totaling $687,327.75.
Principals and program leaders gave operational updates. Melissa Croach, principal at Southpointe, said the building is preparing for students and that the school will implement assigned K'5 seating on buses for safety; she said handbooks with the expectations will be distributed to families. Matt Torgerson, principal at Central, said the middle school has adopted a new science curriculum and that staff will pursue onboarding for digital components; he described ongoing work to align science standards K'12. Laura Thorvaldson, community education director and school readiness coordinator, said approval of the two new preschool teachers would expand school-readiness sections and that the board was also being asked to approve literacy curriculum tied to early reading work.
District staff described curriculum alignment efforts underway: teachers and administrators reported aligning adopted Mystery Science lessons with Minnesota standards and filling four missing lessons for kindergarten and first grade with supplemental materials so pacing is consistent across elementary grades. Multiple administrators also reported on districtwide MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) work, AVID implementation at the secondary level and upcoming Responsive Classroom training for K'5 staff.
Finance and program updates included a summary of Medicaid (MA) billing work. Staff said work over the summer to clean and align MA billing processes has raised collections to nearly $200,000 so far this fiscal year, an increase the superintendent and staff said will support special education and related services. The district reported an achievement integration grant review with the Minnesota Department of Education that staff are clarifying with the department.
Board members offered brief comments of support and appreciation for staff preparing buildings and programming for the new school year. The board's next regular meeting was announced for Aug. 25, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.
Ending: The meeting concluded after approving the consent agenda and district business items; no members of the public spoke during the opportunity for citizens segment at this session.
