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Dorman elected vice chair

The Albert Lea school board on Monday selected its new leadership for the year, with board member Dave Klatt elected chairman and newly elected board member Mary Jo Dorman as vice chair.

“It’s going to be an interesting year as we all know — and a busy year — but it should be a fun year,” Klatt said after winning the seat.

School board member Davy Villarreal nominated Klatt for the seat, and board member Neal Skaar nominated Gary Schindler. Schindler said he did not accept the nomination.

The vote went to a paper ballot, and Klatt was elected 7-0.

Klatt was first elected to the school board in 2014 and was elected in 2023 to the Minnesota School Boards Association Board of Directors.

For the vice chair position, board member Kim Nelson nominated Schindler again, and board member Angie Hoffman nominated Dorman. Schindler again withdrew the nomination.

Before the position came to a vote, Nelson asked if there was anything that said a new school board member couldn’t be in the leadership position without having fully completed training yet.

Klatt said he had not come across it before and said he thought a board member would have to have the full phase one and two training if reappointed.

After a paper ballot, Dorman was elected 7-0.

Hoffman was elected board clerk, and Schindler was elected treasurer.

The board also approved the appointments to various standing committees, including ones for finance, policies, facilities and others, as well as a series of other organizational items, including setting the board meeting schedule and naming banks to use as depositories for school district funds.

They approved CCF Bank, Home Federal Savings Bank, Associated Bank and Trust, Minnesota Bank and Trust as depositories for school district funds.

The board designated Paul Durbahn, executive director of finance, operations and safety to serve as deputy board treasurer, and Darci Rasmussen, executive assistant to the Office of the Superintendent/School Board, to serve as deputy board clerk.

They authorized the acting superintendent and Durbahn to lease, purchase and contract for goods within the budget as approved by the board.

They also designated Sheila Riebe as school district special education, federal programs and ESEA authority and delegated Durbahn and Business Services Coordinator Kaley Grisim and others assigned under Durbahn the authority to make electronic transfers with appropriate documentation.

The Albert Lea Tribune was approved as the official newspaper of the district for purposes of providing legal notices.