After an overwhelming “no” vote in October on the latest teacher contract offer and a cooling-off period that resembles this week’s nose-numbing temps, the International Falls School Board and teachers just set a date to resume talks early next month.

Back-to-back school board meetings begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday, because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, in the Falls High School library. The board’s Labor Management Committee will kick off the night followed an hour later by the first regular meeting of the new-look school board, said district Administrative Assistant Susan Karsnia

The evening includes a report from the board’s newly-re-formed Local 331 Negotiations Committee, which is made up of returning member Willi Kostiuk, new member Gordon Dault and re-elected member Michelle Hebner. Member Michael Holden, who joined the school board with former principal Dault in November’s general election, will be an alternate.

Local 331 and the administration should start negotiations again at 4 p.m. Feb. 5 in the high school’s Room 130.

“I believe this meeting is about getting the process back going again,” said Holden, who is president of the Koochiching County Labor Assembly. “(Superintendent) Nordy (Nelson) set this up. That was a big goal of mine, so I think it’s great.

“It’s been what, about a year and half that the teachers have been working without a contract (The district’s roughly 70 teachers’ contract expired in June 2011.),” he said. “It’s almost time for them for to begin negotiations for their next two-year contract. It’s rare to go on so long. They need a morale boost. We need to get this resolved and the contract sealed.”

One of the board’s first big decisions is to settle on a chairperson and vice chairperson. At the swearing-in ceremony Jan. 7, members tied on those votes. Holden, though, was unanimously selected as clerk, and member Dena Wenberg was picked as treasurer 6-0.

Another major item on the agenda is whether to officially approve the 2013-2014 Annual Facilities Plan. It calls on spending $784,750 on capital outlay facility expenditures at Bronco Arena, the bus garage, Falls Elementary and Falls High School using a combination of state aid, local levies, bonds and other funding sources.

Most of the money would be devoted to improving indoor air quality, energy efficient and safety as well as some minor remodeling and mechanical replacements, according to the report.

Labor Management Committee meetings are intended to be open forum for employees to discuss concerns about a broad range of workplace issues, school officials said.