by Dave DeMars
news@thenewsleaders.com
The Sartell–St. Stephen School Board met on Jan. 8 for a brief re-organization meeting. Michelle Meyer was elected to chair the board; Jason Nies was selected as the vice chair; Pam Raden was chosen as the board’s clerk; and Patrick Marushin was chosen as treasurer. All positions ran unopposed.
US Bank was selected as the bank for depository. The board authorized facsimile signatures of the chairperson, the clerk and the treasurer for payment of board-authorized expenditures.
The board approved a meeting calendar for 2017. Meeting times were changed to 6 p.m. during the school year and 5 p.m. during the summer. One exception was the Monday, Dec. 18 meeting when a Truth-in-Taxation meeting must be held prior to a regular meeting. By state law, the taxation meeting cannot be held before 6 p.m..
The board set salaries for its members at $3,400 for the chair and treasurer and $3,000 for the clerk and other school-board directors. Stipends for special and other designated meetings were set at $50 for meetings up to two hours in length, $100 for meetings up to four hours in length, $150 for meetings up to six hours in length and $400 for meetings longer than six hours.
The board authorized the business-services director or his designee to pay claims that can not be deferred until after board meetings for purposes of securing discount privileges. The business-services director was also authorized to transact electronic transfers for investment purposes, and payment of bond principal and interest.
The board discussed committee assignments and chose the Sartell-St. Stephen Newsleader as the official board paper for publication.
Finally, the board chose to continue its policy of choosing legal representation dependent upon the type of legal business in which the board might become involved. It should be noted District 748 is a member of the Minnesota School Boards Association and thus receives day-to-day operational advice when needed through MSBA.

Members of the Sartell–St. Stephen School Board selected officers for the 2017 business year. Left to right are Jason Nies, vice chair; Michelle Meyer, chair; and Pam Raden, clerk. Not shown is Patrick Marushin, who will serve as treasurer.