MACCRAY School Board approves contracts, wellness policy, revised budget and calendar; tables write-in resolution

The MACCRAY School Board voted Thursday to approve a set of routine personnel and policy items and to accept donated funds to offset recent water‑damage costs, while delaying a contested resolution about how the district records write‑in election votes.

The board approved continuing contracts for staff who completed probationary periods, adopted an update to Policy 533 (the wellness policy) to satisfy food‑service audit requirements, and passed a revised fiscal‑year 2024 budget. The board also approved the 2024–25 school calendar, which adds several professional‑development days spread across the school year to accommodate cohort literacy training. Chair (S1) conducted the motions and each motion passed by voice vote; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally for the routine votes.

Why this matters: The calendar changes shift some staff development into the regular school day and alter the district’s built‑in snow‑day planning; the wellness‑policy update specifies roles required by the food‑service audit. These administrative changes affect staff scheduling and compliance with state reporting and audit expectations.

On the contested elections item, the board considered a proposed resolution that would direct the district to individually record write‑in votes for an office only when the total number of write‑in votes met or exceeded the number received by a valid candidate. Board members raised concerns about transparency and how an unrecorded write‑in candidate would learn or challenge their vote totals. "If it's not recorded, perhaps that person might wanna challenge the accuracy. How would they know that?" said board member Brandon (S8), pressing whether district or county procedures would allow a candidate to verify results. District presenter Josh (S2) said the intent was to avoid publishing numerous trivial tallies for county reports but acknowledged the need for procedural clarity. The board voted to table the resolution pending legal and administrative clarification.

The board also accepted a set of donor commitments intended to help cover an insurance deductible for water damage; donors and amounts were read into the record and the resolution was approved by voice vote.

What the board decided (at a glance):
- Continuing contracts: Approved (voice vote; no roll call recorded).
- Policy 533 (Wellness): Approved (voice vote).
- FY 2024 revised budget: Approved (voice vote).
- School year 2024–25 calendar: Approved (voice vote).
- Resolution on recording write‑in votes: Tabled for clarification.
- Acceptance of donated funds to offset insurance deductible: Approved (voice vote; roll‑call sequence recorded in the transcript as members voting 'Yes').

The board ended the meeting after confirming summer meeting dates. The write‑in vote resolution will return after staff obtain legal/administrative guidance on what the district vs. county can and should record.