WRENSHALL — The Wrenshall and Carlton school districts already have four sports cooperatives going, and the Wrenshall School Board discussed interest in forming a subcommittee with Carlton to discuss possibilities for the future during its committee of the whole meeting April 6.
Superintendent Kimberly Belcastro said the idea was brought up on a call between the two districts' superintendents and athletic directors.
Belcastro said the committee would talk about the remaining sports that are not under any cooperative agreement.
The four current agreements for sports have been good for students, according to Belcastro, as they have been able to play sports and appreciated bringing the districts together.
Board member Nicole Krisak said she was interested in being a part of the committee along with members Ben Johnson and Debra Washenesky.
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One concern Washenesky had was the financial issues Carlton has faced, the added costs of new uniforms and equipment and if it is needed for the remaining programs in the district.
Krisak, who is also a coach in the district, said each year brings changes to the numbers in each team as it is hard to predict what students will be interested in certain sports.
One thought Krisak brought up was the possibility of a district after-school van to shuttle athletes after practice or games.
She said getting home is a factor for some out-of-district students not being interested in joining sports teams.
"I'm driving people home because I want them to play," she said.
Belcastro said the next steps for the committee would be informing Carlton of the board's decision and moving forward with scheduling between the two districts, which will happen April 8.
In other district business, the district heard a proposal to add a support teacher to its fourth grade.
Belcastro said the teacher would only last until the end of the school year, and would help with some difficulties that grade has been seeing.
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The district can afford to hire the support teacher and Belcastro said the district will evaluate the possibility of hiring them on again next year if the needs arise.
Johnson, who is also a substitute in the district, said he has seen the learning gap from students after distanced learning was employed during the pandemic.
"Hopefully this will bring everyone back up to speed," he said.
The school board will vote on the proposal during its regular meeting on April 11.
