Q-Comp, a state initiative that raises teacher pay and brings instructors together to work toward student achievement goals, will continue in the Ely district following board approval this week of a 2025-26 budget.
School board members approved a recommended budget of just over $123,000 for the school year, which includes $2,700 stipends for 36 district teachers.
Q-Comp, which was launched more than a decade ago to provide additional compensation for teachers, brings teachers together in various learning teams.
Teachers set a series of goals to improve student learning, and plans this year include the continuation of work that was done in 202425 as well as further review of the district’s math standards and curriculum.
“The overall goal is to improve student learning,” elementary teacher Kelly Noble told board members. “We meet and have time to discuss best practices. The goals for Q-Comp are similar every year. It’s the specific strategies that change. Last year it was reading. This year it’s math.”
A combination of state and local funding pays for the program.
Specific site goals for this year include a push to improve both elementary and middle/high school scores in FAST Math standardized assessments.
In Ely, Q-Comp has led to the formation of several professional learning communities, or teams of teachers who work in a particular subject area. Each team works together, elects a team leader and meets regularly.
Board member Tom Omerza spoke in support of the proposed budget and cited his experience “sitting in” on a Q-Comp meeting with district teachers.
“I was very impressed with you guys, just with the investment, and how invested you feel in the program and how you want to help the kids,” said Omerza. “I don’t see that every day. I’m not at the school. It was really good to see and makes me feel like, yeah, this is a good program to work to continue to help the kids at all levels.”
“Your hard work and dedication is awesome,” added board member Erin Moravitz.
O merza said he felt that students who are utilizing other options for education, such as online, homeschool, or PSEO, are missing out.”
In other business, the board:
• Accepted the resignation of bus driver John Mills, effective Oct. 31.
• Approved the hire of several assistant coaches, including Tim Omerza (boys basketball), Tyler Fish (Nordic skiing), Cam Brown (hockey), Tom Omerza (girls basketball) and Eva Peterson (dance team), as well as numerous volunteer and junior high coaches for the various winter sports.
• Approved salary lane change requests from teachers Tim Hogan, Amanda Nelson and Kristi Marshall.
• Heard from facilities director Tim Leeson that preliminary estimates from SEH Engineering for proposed improvements of $5.25 million to district athletic facilities are within budget.
The district’s facilities team was scheduled to meet Wednesday with SEH representatives to go over both estimates and drawings, and a presentation to the board will follow at a Nov. 24 study session.
If all goes as planned, the project will be presented for board approval in December, with bids to follow in January, and construction to begin in 2026.
• Received an updated enrollment report that shows the district has 488 students currently in grades K-12, including 182 in the elementary (K-5 levels) and 306 in the Memorial (grades 6-12).
• Accepted donations from the Ely Educational Foundation including $5,500 for the robotics team, $4,800 for the eighth grade field trip transportation and $1,027 for sensory resources special education. Donations of $500 and $200 for the eighth-grade field trip were received from Steger Designs and Mather Recycling.
• Approved leave requests for Autumn Boedeker and Kayci Zorman-Muhvich.
• Received an updated seniority list from Ely teachers. The longest-tenured teachers are Tom McDonald (35 years), Jim Lah (32) and Tim Omerza (32).
• Received encouragement from Omerza to attend the annual dinner of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, set for Dec. 9 at Virginia.
Omerza represents the school on the RAMS Board and said he was impressed both with the organization and executive director Paul Peltier, and the work the group does on behalf of Iron Range school districts.
• Noted that teacher Karl Kubiak was granted tenure at the completion of the 202425 school year.
• Adopted various model policies related to school meals, overdose medication, student disability nondiscrimination, student promotion, retention and program design, and Title IX nondiscrimination, grievance procedure and process.
