NYM School to offer new option for school board information
News | Published on October 7, 2026 at 10:05pm GMT+0000 | Author: Kendall Koenen
0By Chad Koenen
Publisher
The New York Mills School District will soon have a new look and way to access information regarding the school board meetings and publications.
During its regularly scheduled meeting last week the school board approved, on a 6-1 vote with Kristina Ehnert voting in dissent, a proposal from Boardbook to provide easier access for things like the school board agendas, minutes and publications for school board members, staff and the community.
NY Mills School Superintendent Adam Johnson said the program comes at a cost of approximately $3,200 to the school district, but will increase transparency for the public in regards to accessing information concerning the school board and school district. Johnson said the program will allow the administrative staff to offer additional resources to the public, all-while cutting down on administrative staff time in providing the information.
“We would cut down on time in the office (and it) would promote transparency, but it does come at a cost,” said Johnson.
Several other school districts in the region use Boardbook, including Frazee and Detroit Lakes.
Board chair Amy Ann Mursu said she was in favor of proceeding with the program as a way to provide additional information to the public for things like the administrative reports that are not currently available online.
While she felt the office staff could use additional tools like Boardbook, and wasn’t against providing additional transparency and resources to the public, Ehnert said she wasn’t in favor of adding additional recurring costs at a time of budget cuts at NY Mills School.
“I feel conscious (about) all the cuts we have been asking of teachers, paras, staff and custodians and then we are investing in recurring (expenses)…in a time of when we are taking away…I would love to see it down the road, but today I am a little concerned about approving a recurring expense. Who knows, the price could go up down the road,” said Ehnert. “I want to give the teachers as much as I can give them. I want to give office administration and administration as much as I can, but I am concerned about incurring additional expenses at a time when we are pulling back.”
The school board approved adding Boardbook at a cost of approximately $3,200 by a vote of 6-1 with Ehnert voting in dissent.
In other news
• Approved the following appointments: Kate Schanning as elementary cross country coach, Shiloh Cooper as trapshooting coach and Serena Ness as elementary paraprofessional.
• Approved the following resignations: Jason Boe as mock trial coach and Kelsey Aho as paraprofessional.
• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Education Minnesota New York Mills and the New York Mills School District regarding English Language Learners. The MOU was necessary because there are students who are English Language Learners and require an ELL teacher.
• Approved the adoption of the proposed levy at the maximum which would increase the total district levy by 3.03 percent. The amount can change and can be reduced when the final levy is certified in December. The school board will host a truth in taxation meeting on Monday, Dec. 21 at 6:01 p.m.
• Accepted a donation from East Otter Tail County Ag Society for $334 to the FFA program.
• Approved a contract with Boardbook to place all school board agendas, minutes and publications in one place on the school district website. The goal of the new Boardbook program was to increase transparency and accessibility for the public and to provide easy access to school board agendas, minutes and publications for members, staff and the community.
• Approved the review and comment on the proposed referendum from the Minnesota Department of Education. Johnson said MDE gave the school district a positive response regarding the proposed levy.