ISD 166 school district hires architectural firm and adapts to legislative earned safe and sick time change

In recent months, the ISD 166 school board hired ICS, a project management firm, to conduct a complete facility and grounds assessment as the school undergoes a strategic planning process. As part of the process, ICS and Superintendent Chris Lindholm hosted two public input meetings in the school cafeteria in Nov. 2023. 

After compiling and reviewing the public input, ICS and the school board moved forward with hiring an architectural firm during the recent Jan. 18 school board meeting to carry out the identified areas of improvement. 

Some identified improvements included the addition of co-curricular facilities such as a track field, creating a commons area for students, and upgrading locker rooms, bathrooms, and classrooms. Find the complete ICS – Cook County Listening and Educational Space Adequacy Summary here. 

During the Jan. 18 meeting, the school board approved hiring the architectural firm DSGW, a Minnesota-based company specializing in hand-crafting healthcare, education, commercial, and indigenous architecture.

Superintendent of ISD 166 Chris Lindholm said DSGW stood out among the other architectural firm applicants because DSGW had a lot of experience working with Tribal Nations. “They have an indigenous architecture that facilitates community input processes that really embraces native communities and the whole school district,” he said. “And that really made the decision for the group.”

Following the approval, Lindholm said that the school district hosted a kick-off meeting on Friday, Jan. 26, with ICS and DSGW to start project mapping and putting together a cadence of meetings, deadlines, and a work plan. 

A work plan component is identifying whether the school will go out for a referendum in May. Lindholm said the next couple of months will entail identifying solutions to the needed facility, grounds improvements, and if a referendum is needed this spring. 

In the meantime, ICS will help the school district launch a mini website that will serve as a resource for the public to access information analysis and assessment reports. 

HRA/School Property

After nearly ten months of conversations and discussions regarding using school property for a housing development project, Lindholm said further talks will be put on hold as the school district focuses on the current facility updates and needs with ICS and DSGW. 

The recent results of the wetland delineation report show that less than half of the 27-acre property is buildable. While discussions are currently on pause, Lindholm said, “We’ll come back to it after we’ve gone through this referendum planning process and the decision-making process regarding facility improvements.”

Earned Sick and Safe Time 

On Jan. 1, 2024, Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law took effect and has created a significant amount of work for many small businesses, nonprofits, and school districts to prepare and adapt to the change. 

“It’s one of the results of the legislative session that has resulted in an incredible amount of work for anybody who works in HR and payroll and negotiating with contracts and unions,” Lindholm said. “I need to give a lot of credit to our business manager, Theresa Oberg.”

The change allows employees to be eligible for sick and safe time if they work at least 80 hours a year for a Minnesota employer. An employee can earn one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked and a maximum of 48 hours each year unless the employer agrees to a higher amount, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.  

Lindholm said the school district has “three official unions and other unions that we bargain with for work agreements.” Oberg and Lindholm have dedicated much time to understanding how the legislative change impacts each of the individual and union contracts the school district has. 

During the Jan. 18 meeting, the school board approved the 2023-25 Cook County Education Association (CCEA) Contracts, which included the change for sick and safe leave. “That’s a celebration and something we’re excited to have agreement on and be able to move forward with that.”

The following significant change launching in 2026 is the paid leave program. Lindholm said there will be things in the contracts that must be undone to align with the paid leave program. “So we’ve got a couple of years here to work through this,” he said. “I think that is a challenge that not only the school district but all employers are gonna have to figure out over the next couple of years.”

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Superintendent Chris Lindholm for a January update from the ISD 166 school district. Audio from the interview is below. 

Kalli Hawkins January 27, 2024