Newbill, Petersen Sworn In As School Trustees
The Culbertson School Board met in regular session on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. Trustees present were Chair Chris Petersen, Amber Fox, Chris Newbill, Lisa Steppler and Verlin Steppler. Representatives were Nicole Simonsen, Mike Solem, Janessa Parenteau, Dave Solem and Lora Finnicum. Visitors were recognized.
Reports were presented. Students attended the state music festival May 1-2 with 13 superior ratings. Indoor field day was held for grades K-4 in the elementary gym.
Jeff Nickoloff presented a proposal to reposition the discus ring to face southeast instead of east with additional fencing around the baseball minor’s field. His proposal included about 40 loads of dirt to fill in and grade the old skating rink to allow for a practice field for flag and junior high football. He requested the board consider installing sprinklers next year.
Nickoloff said the baseball program would cover the cost of the discus pad but requested the school pay for the fence surrounding the new discus area. A quote from Dakota Fence for $4,874 was provided. A motion was passed to approve the proposal with a $5,000 outlay from the district for fencing, when available.
A motion was passed to hire 2026-2027 coaches as recommended: Milt Apple for head high school boys’ basketball, Brian Manning for assistant high school boys’ basketball, David Anderson for head high school girls’ basketball, Jenna Bowker for assistant high school girls’ basketball, Ron Shanks for head junior high girls’ basketball, Holly Nickoloff for assistant junior high girls’ basketball, Holly Nickoloff as head elementary girls’ basketball, Jeri Gustafson for head speech and drama, Patrick Kjelshus for assistant speech and drama and Tiffany Nielsen for high school cheer.
Summer custodial employees Heather Harrison, Russell Pfeifer, Gerald Happ, Jonas York and Kenneth Harrison were approved for hire.
A motion was approved to accept the resignations of Katie Clausen and Ryan Acson.
Maria Wind was approved for hire as full-time custodian starting June 1.
A motion was approved to hire Wendy Nickoloff and Theresa McDonald for summer computer cleaning.
Lora Finnicum was approved for renewal for 2026-2029 at $70,000.
Meetings of the ad hoc transportation committee and technology committee were also held in May.
Trustee election results from the May 19 election were canvassed. For three-year trustee position. Chris Petersen received 180 votes. Chris Newbill saw 137, Wendy Becker, 113 and Erin Rhodes had 49. Verlin Steppler made motion to validate the election results, which carried unanimously. Newly elected trustees Petersen and Newbill were sworn in.
The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m.
