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Brewster Board votes to poll community on continuing sports cooperative with Winona
Summary
At a May 27 special meeting, the Brewster Board of Education voted 7-0 to ask the community whether Brewster should continue its sports cooperative with the Winona schools after the 2025–26 school year or keep athletics solely within Brewster. The Winona board left the meeting before a brief recess; the motion was made by Nicolas Schroeder and seconded by BJ Stephens.
The Brewster Board of Education on May 27 voted unanimously to ask the Brewster community whether the district should continue its cooperative sports agreement with neighboring Winona after the 2025–26 school year or return athletic programs solely to Brewster. The special meeting was held in the school library with a simultaneous Zoom connection and was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
The question will be posed as a community poll after board approval. Member Nicolas Schroeder made the motion to put out the poll; it was seconded by member BJ Stephens and carried 7-0. The board’s roll call earlier in the meeting listed Heather McDonald, Jance McKee, Mike Palmer, Nicolas Schroeder, Kassie Selby (vice president), Sarah Starns (president) and BJ Stephens as present.
Officials from Winona attended the meeting and took part in discussion about the cooperative sports arrangement but left the meeting at 7:40 p.m. President Sarah Starns declared a two-minute recess at 7:42 p.m.; the board returned to open session at 7:44 p.m. No formal statement or vote from the Winona Board regarding the poll was recorded after their departure.
The discussion focused on whether to continue the existing cooperative that currently combines some athletic programs between the two districts or to have Brewster run its own sports programs starting in the 2026–27 school year. The motion recorded in the minutes directs district leaders to put a poll to the Brewster community asking which option residents prefer; the minutes do not specify the poll format, timeline, or the threshold required to change the cooperative arrangement.
Superintendent/Principal Jessica McCoy and board clerk Tarra Baumfalk were listed as present, along with Winona superintendent/principal Lamar Bergsten, Winona board members and other district staff and patrons. The meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
Next steps: the board’s motion authorizes the community poll; the minutes do not specify who will design or administer the poll, when results will be reported, or whether the outcome will create a binding change in interdistrict agreements.
