Lake Superior School District approves layoffs, hires, and $6.7 million in bills

Lake Superior School District moved to eliminate all educational assistant positions while approving more than $6.7 million in bills and electronic transfers, a sign that staffing pressure and cash flow remain central issues as the year winds down.

The School Board took up the matter April 14 at 5 p.m. in the Two Harbors High School Community Room, with Jeff Radle absent. Members Dean Korri, Norbert Norman, Al Ringer, Cyndi Ryder, Tracy Tiboni and Steve VanHouse were present for a meeting that also included consent agenda items, personnel changes and the prior meeting minutes.

The most consequential vote came when the board unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the layoff of all educational assistants and the termination of those positions. That decision lands on a district that serves Two Harbors and Silver Bay and relies on instructional support staff to keep classrooms and services running day to day.

Alongside the layoff vote, the board approved new hires and coaching assignments. Nate Gens and Eric Mortinson were named THHS baseball coaches, Casey Mattson was approved as a para, and Bryan Carpenter was hired as head football coach at William Kelley High School. The board also accepted multiple resignations, underscoring the churn in district staffing heading into next school year. Retirements included longtime employee Karen Lodin, along with others who are leaving after years of service.

The money side of the meeting was just as stark. Trustees approved February and March bills totaling $1,719,043.24 and electronic fund transfers totaling $5,038,000.00. Together, those payments point to the size of the district’s payroll and vendor commitments, and to the amount of financial movement required to keep operations afloat across two campuses and a monthly board cycle.

Lake Superior Public School District is listed by NCES as a rural, distant district with 1,286 students, 86.52 classroom teachers, 186.90 total staff and 28.90 instructional aides. NCES also lists total expenditures at $28.77 million, including $20.304 million in current expenditures. In that context, a category-wide layoff of educational assistants is not a routine personnel action; it is a structural cut that could reshape support for students next fall.

The April vote built on action taken at the March 10 board meeting, when directors already approved a resolution directing administrators to recommend reductions in programs and positions. That broader pattern suggests the district is still working through the consequences of budget pressure, even as it continues to manage its long-running building needs. In 2021, voters approved a $44.1 million investment in the schools after nearly a year of discussion, with William Kelley School and Minnehaha Elementary at the center of that plan.