Battle Lake School Board January 12, 2026 Minutes

The school board of ISD #542, Battle Lake, met in regular session on Monday, January 12, 2026 in the media center. The meeting was called to order by Chair Paul Ness at 5:30 p.m. Members present: Jonathan Hartman, Sheila Newark, Ashley Altstadt, Sean Belmont, Bennet Stich and Paul Ness. Members absent: None. Others in attendance were: Rob Nudell, Ryan Severson, Pete Amundson, Connor Wicklund, Abigail Vondal, Janell Kraemer, Amy Wicklund, Dr. Misty Wilkie, Bret Setterholm, Jenny Mills and Elizabeth Klintworth. All in attendance recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Motion to adopt the agenda as presented. (Altstadt/Stich) UC. Motion to approve the minutes of the truth and taxation hearing and the regular December meeting as printed. (Newark/Hartman) UC. Motion to accept the following donations as specified: 1st Lutheran WELCA $300 – Students’ needs. 1st National Bank of Battle Lake $408 – Mock Trial. Anonymous $100 – Christmas Project. Bell Bank/Ashley Hoff $400 – Special Ed. (Hartman/Newark) UC Member Sheila Newark moved to nominate Jonathan Hartman as board chair. With no more nominations from the floor, a unanimous ballot was cast for Jonathan Hartman. Member Paul Ness moved to nominate Sean Belmont as Vice Chair. With no more nominations from the floor, a unanimous ballot was cast for Sean Belmont. Member Ashley Altstadt moved to nominate Sheila Newark as clerk. With no more nominations from the floor, a unanimous ballot was cast for Sheila Newark. Member Sheila Newark moved to nominate Ashley Altstadt as treasurer. With no more nominations from the floor, a unanimous ballot was cast for Ashley Altstadt. Motion to set the meeting date, time and location of the regular monthly meetings as the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the media center. (Altstadt/Ness) UC. Motion to designate the First National Bank of Battle Lake and any other institution that meets MN Statutory requirements as the official depository for the district. (Newark/ Stich) UC. Motion to authorize the Superintendent and Business manager as persons to transfer funds between approved bank depositories. (Stich/Altstadt) UC. Motion to have signatures on all computer district checks to be updated to the new board officers of Jonathan Hartman, Sheila Newark and Ashley Altstadt. (Ness/Newark) UC. Motion to designate the Battle Lake Review as the official newspaper for the district. (Ness/Altstadt) UC. Motion to set the board stipends per meeting and the annual salaries for board chair, clerk and treasurer as follows: $500 for Chair, $150 for Clerk and Treasurer and $100 per meeting. Meetings that are 4 hours or more will be paid at $150 and to set the mileage reimbursement rate to follow the IRS guidelines. Currently that rate is $0.725 per mile. (Ness/Stich) UC. Motion to set the standing committee assignments as follows: Special Ed Coop: Sheila Newark MSHSL: Ashley Altstadt Policy: Sheila Newark, Bennet Stich, Jonathan Hartman Community Ed Advisory:Paul Ness or Jonathan Hartman Negotiations: Paul Ness, Sheila Newark, Sean Belmont Systems Accountability/Curriculum: Sean Belmont Legislative Liaison: Ashley Altstadt Staff Development; Sheila Newark, Jonathan Hartman, Bennet Stich BL Community Liaison: Paul Ness, Jonathan Hartman OTC Family Collaborative: Ashley Altstadt Fine Arts: Paul Ness, Jonathan Hartman Strategic Plan Review/District Advisory Committee: Jonathan Hartman, Sean Belmont, Bennet Stich Battle Lake 542 Ed. Foundation: Ashley Altstadt Meet and Confer: Sheila Newark, Ashley Altstadt, Bennet Stich Neighboring Schools Collaborative: Paul Ness, Sean Belmont Transportation: Jonathan Hartman, Sheila Newark Wellness: Ashley Altstadt Facilities: Paul Ness, Bennet Stich, Jonathan Hartman Health and Safety: Jonathan Hartman (Belmont/Newark) UC. Motion to approve the following consent agenda items: Policy series 700 as a first reading. Pay Equity report as presented. Letter of resignation from Deb Broughton as van driver. Letter of resignation from Ashlee Hersch as Title I paraprofessional. Hire of Steve Stachowski as van driver. Hire of Anna Miltich as Title I paraprofessional (Ness/Altstadt) UC. Connor Wicklund gave the student representative report. Pete Amundson gave an update on the building project. Mr. Severson gave his Principal’s report. Mr. Nudell gave the Superintendent’s report. Visitors were acknowledged and given a time to present to the board. Abigail Vondal was present and addressed the board. Janell Kramer presented on the Social Media Analytics & Initiatives. Board members gave updates on committee meetings, conversations and encounters with residents and community members that they had in the past month. Motion to approve the payment of bills including checks #61048-#61134 in the amount of $287,611.57; electronic fund transfers in the amount of $3,486,999.88 and payroll checks #21977-#21980 in the amount of $2497.82; acceptance of Treasurer’s Report; and acknowledgement of enrollments per grade. Current enrollment for K – 12th grade is 397. (Ness/Newark) UC. Motion to adopt the Policy 600 series as presented. (Newark/Ness) UC. Next regular meetings are set for February 9 and March 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the media center. With no more items of business on the agenda the meeting was adjourned by Chair Jonathan Hartman at 7:10 p.m. Sheila Newark, Clerk (This publication constitutes the legal printing February 25, 2026 of the official minutes of this meeting.)