Welcome everybody. Today, um, I'd like to call to order the May 12th, 2026 Columbia Heights Public Schools, uh, school district meeting. Um, if you are able, please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Wonderful. Laura, if you could call roll. >> P here. Fodnness Bondis >> here. Maderas >> here. >> Palmer here. Pwife >> here. Granland >> here. And superintendent Sanvic >> here. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Thank you. >> Columbia Heights Public Schools. Our mission statement is uh creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner. All belong, all succeed. Core values are community, excellence, collaboration, integrity, respect, courage, and innovation. All right. First up, we have our Highlander highlight. So, can we please have Miss Man, Mr. Hollerman, and uh Danny come and join us. Um, just want to say first off, congratulations to Columbia Heights High School senior Daffhany Klein Schmidt who competed on Friday, April 24th in the Minnesota State High School League's Class DA State Speech Tournament in the drama category and placed third. Go ahead and pass it on over to you. >> Um, well, thank you for having us here. We're really excited uh to share this and celebrate this win that we got. uh with third place. Uh this is DAP's third time that she went to state um and the second time she finaled and then got to place third this year. And it was it's been fun to just watch her grow. She's been on the speech team for four years. Uh and so it's been fun to see her grow and she's had tons of success. Um she also was the all uh trimetro conference champion this year in drama as well. So just all great things and so it was a fun way to uh finish out her speech career. And Daffhany is also one of our senior captains on the team. Um, and this is not her only season being a leader for her peers. She's definitely been a leader with her positivity and her dedication um, all throughout her time on the speech team. I don't think I know anyone who practices nearly as much as you do um, to achieve that excellence with your piece. And so coming from us and also passing on from our assistant coaches who couldn't be here tonight, but we are so proud of you and everything that you've accomplished. Um, and we're definitely going to miss you next year on the team because you've been such a big part of growing it and of everything the speech team stands for. >> Wonderful. Deafany, is there anything you want to say? Thank you. Yeah, my speech journey has just been so monumental for me just like as a person and I wouldn't have grown and like been third in the state without my coaches. So, I'm really grateful for them and yeah, for this opportunity. So, thank you. >> Awesome. Wonderful. Congratulations. Uh members of the board, does anybody have anything? Go ahead, Julie. >> Deafany, we're really proud of you. um you represent us well and so I just you know I just want to from an older woman to you I just want to say this is one of the biggest preparations you could do for your life speech is an excellent way to learn how to just speak publicly um share your thoughts and even be able to put that straight face on when you know underneath you're laughing like crazy you know it's things like that where you can learn to hold that emotion and everything. So, I just want to congratulate you and encourage you in your future and and keep going if you can. If you're off to college, jump in there and join the speech and debate teams maybe. >> Awesome. Anybody else? >> I just want to echo that. It's been really um absolutely amazing to see your journey and um yeah, thank you so much for all of your hard work and we definitely noticed it and yeah, couldn't have said it better. We're really proud of you. So, well, with that, I have something for you. So, we'll meet back here and then the rest of the board would like to shake your hand after we're done taking pictures for Kristen. So, come on up. If you would like to come up, >> you like a picture with your parents >> as well. Congratulations. >> I wanted to say this before. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> I know it's awkward. It's okay. >> After the third person, you're probably like, "All right, >> so you are always welcome to stay. You don't have to, but we won't hold it against you if you want to take off early." And congrats again. >> Thank you. >> You are welcome. All right, moving on. We have our agenda approval, adjustments, and announcements. Can I get a Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Jessica. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> By Michelle. Any discussion? All right. All those in favor say I. >> I. I >> opposed. Motion carries. All right. So, next up we have the announcements. On May 19th at 5:30, we have our work session here in the community room. On May 26th at 6 PM, we have our schoolboard meeting here again in the community room. June 16th at 5:00, we have a subcommittee on policy superintendent conference room. Um, >> Chair Granland. >> Yep. I Yep. Yep. I would just like to say um in our previous before we go on um in our previous meeting right before this in the subcommittee on policy, we discussed moving that time back to 4:45 >> for the policy >> for the for the policy. Yeah. So, that is an adjustment. Uh, however, June 16th at 5:00 pm, the subcommittee on community engagement slashthe legislative action committee, I do believe still remains at 5:00 here in the community room. And then June 16th, we at 6, we will have our schoolboard meeting here in the community room. Uh, communication to the board. At this time, any citizen or employee may briefly address the school board. The board will listen to the brief remarks, ask clarifying questions, and if desired, request that the administration follow up. The board will not take action at this meeting on requests presented at this time, and time will be limited to three minutes per speaker. There's nobody who has uh prepared to address the school board at this time. So, we will move on to the consent agenda. The consent agenda includes the minutes from our April 28th, 2026 board meeting policy first reading of um number 602 organization of school calendar and school day and 621 literacy in the read act and the personnel report. Um can I get a motion to ch the personnel report is not on the cons. >> Oh I'm sorry. Thank you. Yes, the minutes and the policy. Thank you very much. Can I get a motion to accept the consent agenda as >> so moved? >> Thank you, Janna. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Julie. Any discussion? >> All right. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Next up, the personnel report. Um, can I get a motion to accept the personnel report as presented? >> So, moved. >> Thank you, Laura. Can I get a second? >> Second. I will second it. Uh, discussion. Go ahead, Jessica. >> Chair Granland, I plan to abstain from this vote um as my spouse is included on the personnel report. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Yeah. All right. Any other discussion? All right. Can I get a mot or I'm sorry. All those in favor of accepting the personnel report say I >> I >> opposed. Abstained. >> Jessica. All right. Motion carries. Next up, we have discussion reports and information items. And we will start with reports from members of the board. And we will start with Michelle. >> Awesome. Um so I attended the gratitude event um at Valley View and um CA. It was a lot of fun. Got to see a lot of families and um you know kind of like all of our events. It just felt good. Um especially now having everybody attend a little bit more. Um so that was great. Um I did attend the Play That Goes Wrong which was phenomenal. Um, I have a 12-year-old who isn't really interested in a lot, but like she got into it and like I could tell that she just like let all the cool go and she was just like, "Okay, yeah, this is hilarious." Um, and so that was a that was a big testament to the greatness of of the play. Um, and and I mean it never stopped. It was from the time you walk in the door until it's time to go, there was just always some interaction with the crowd. And so that was really fun and it was really well done. Um, I also participated in a letterw writing event. Excuse me, uh, regarding compensatory aid, um, you know, where we got together and and wrote letters to, um, our legislators who are, um, on those boards at the capital making decisions for us. Um, that was a really nice event to go to and I'm glad that people came out. Um, and there is another letter online still that people can go and uh, send on their own behalf. Um and I also attended the subcommittee on community engagement legislative action committee meeting before this. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Thanks >> Laura. >> Um well um I attended the uh the monthly 916 board meeting. Um I guess probably the one major update is uh we had the first cohort of the ITRA um uh teacher apprentice program um actually graduated is graduating this month. So um that is the first um apprentice program for training teachers in the state and um all seven of the cohort um that um that applied um were supported and graduated. So it was 100% graduation rate. Uh the second um cohort is actually going into their second year here in June. And the third one um is actually we're adding we're rolling on and adding um more districts um to this program as we start to build some capacity. So so far it's been extremely successful and it is the first apprentice program in the state and it's been very successful so far. So that's kind of what I have to um report on. Um and then just prior to this I attended the subcommittee um policy. >> Wonderful. Thank you, Jessica. >> Thank you. Um, as I think we're all feeling right now, it's an exceedingly busy time across the district. So, there's a lot that's been going on. Um, I want to start out by thanking our legislative action committee. um and all of the community members that were involved in our letterw writing campaign. Um both the in-person event and um as uh as as director Pway mentioned the um electronic letter that's out there. So legislative session is ending next Monday. Um, and so I just want to take this opportunity to continue to encourage everyone in the community to um, draw attention and to uh, what a drastic cut in compensatory aid next year really means for our district and for our kids. Um, and I also want to thank Superintendent Stenvik for um, being out there and talking to the media about the impact of that in our district. Um and then um lots of events happening as we close out the year. I was also able to attend the play and I would say that um it may be the play that went wrong but the comedy went right. Should I say that? Um my kids I brought my kids with me and they were laughing the entire time. Um so kudos to everybody involved. Our kids were just so so so talented. It was very very funny and very well done. Um, coming off the heels of our discussion on junior achievement at the last board meeting, I was able to volunteer for both Finance Park and Biztown in the last couple of weeks. So, I got to see um how the junior achievement um events and curriculum play out with both our elementary schoolers and our middle schoolers. So, that was really really cool to see. Um, so we'll get the trifecta and learn more about the personal finance curriculum at the high school and then I'll have a whole much better understanding of the whole universe of of junior achievement. So that's great. Um, I was also able to attend the gratitude event at Valley View. Um it was great to see so many members of our um school district and our greater community um at that event and celebrating all of our students and our families um and our the strength of our community. Um, in addition to that, um, I attended both, uh, PTO meetings at Columbia Academy and Highland as they are busy, uh, getting their end of year events together, working on teacher appreciation, um, and electing officers for next year. Um, prior to the letterw writing event, I was also able to pop over here to the family center event that was um, put on jointly with their PTO. And I just want to say kudos to everybody involved in putting that event on. It was um a really great event full of lots of different activity stations and um opportunities for fundraising and games. Um my three-year-old would not leave the bubble area uh for anything, so that was really fun. Um, I was able to attend the uh scholarship ceremony at the high school, which is always one of the best events of the year to see our community come together to support our kids financially as they prepare for the next step after high school. So, thank you very much to all of the donors and everyone involved um in making those scholarship decisions. Um, and then I also attended the sixth grade open house at the middle school just this last week. I think that was last week. I can't keep it all straight anymore. Um, and they did such a tremendous job as they're um working on um transitioning into the new schedule next year and explaining that to families. It was a very wellorganized event. Um, and they had lots of eighth grade students helping lead tours, which was really fun to see, and then also had student panels um to talk about their own middle school experience and answer questions. And then lastly, I promise lastly, I attended the subcommittee on policy just prior to this meeting. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Uh yes, I helped uh organize and attend the letterw writing event which um Jessica mentioned um where we wrote letters to representatives asking for them to extend that holdarmless for the compensatory aid issue that we're facing. Um I was very happy to see so many um staff, so many community members and students, h high school students came out and wrote personalized letters to representatives about why why the school matters to them um and how it would impact them, which I thought was very powerful. Um we managed to get over a hundred letters written and sent out that that day and the next day. So that was great and I want to thank everybody who helped and I I thought that it was also great just to converse about the issue. A lot of people had questions about the um the compensatory aid issue. So it was a good a good way to engage with the community. I also attended the scholarship night at the high school which was so much fun, so much energy and it was great to see how supportive the staff is and how enthusiastic the students were. So that was a very positive event and I attended the final PTO meeting with Jessica at Highland where they planned they're working on planning their endofear events and set up their board for next year. Um they will have a endofear bash on May 27th at Highland Elementary. Thank you. >> Thank you. Go ahead, Julie. >> Yeah. Um I also attended the letterw writing event and um I was so grateful that people showed up and and really trying to understand the the issue. I mean, the issue is serious and we are, you know, at the end of the legislative session and really, if you do, if you're watching this by video or whatever, um, if you do have have, um, a little bit of time, just go out on the website and pull up that letter and write your own letter to the legislators. We really would appreciate it. Um, losing that kind of money is is just heartbreaking. Um and just before this meeting I attended the um subcommittee on community engagement and legislative action committee. So thank you um for my report. I was able to volunteer both days for the junior achievement. Um it was a lot of fun to be there and to watch um kids sort of uh get an idea of what things actually cost and sort of real time and um and that was really fun to be able to see that and to to be able to see so many kids um come through uh both days. I attended all three of the spring play. Um, you know, my kid was in it, but also it was so much fun and honestly it was a much different play depending on which day you went. >> Um, and it was just such a lot of fun. They our kids are so talented. Um, and it was also wonderful to see uh students that had graduated last year come back and also be co-directors and to watch that journey and to know that they continue to um hold that, you know, the things that they learned here and to continue to give back. Um, I also in that spirit attended the scholarship ceremony. Um, and it it's always such an amazing uh time to see how much people like that the continued growth and investment in our community. We had somebody who graduated uh 50 years ago that came back and spoke and they gave scholarships. Um, I think our community, you know, lots of times we read all of the the things that people like donations and and all of those things that we get and we're completely blown away. But our community uh invested in our kids and scholarships to them. They we gave away almost 300 our our students accepted almost $300,000 in scholarships and that's before >> the Gates >> the Gates Foundation scholarship which is um only 300 students across the nation have access to that and it is a full ride and also sets you up fully in your profession once you graduate. So, it's a very supportive and you can't put a price tag on that. And the fact that this is not the first time and not the second time that our students have received that, I think speaks volumes for the education and the support that we're giving here. And so, I'm incredibly appreciative of all of that. Um, and it was just such an honor to be there and to to see the so much support um and that continued reinvestment. students that you know once a Highlander always a Highlander and that was very evident. Um and you know it was it's just such a fun time. Uh I also uh had an opportunity with Superintendent Stenic to meet with Amnesty International again um and talk a little bit more about what our school district uh how we were able to support the community and staff and students um our you know our school community during the surge and after. um it continues to be something that that is going to be um brought up in our we're going to see that in our students in our community, our school community as a whole for a long time. Um and just because they say it's done doesn't mean that those effects are gone. So, um continuing to share those things and making sure that people, you know, it doesn't get lost. Uh remains important. Um, I also had an opportunity to meet with Jenna and uh just do a quick check-in about um joining the board, especially since it is a weird time where we don't have a lot of access to the the typical onboarding classes that we would have through MSBA. Um, and we had prom this last weekend, which is also a lot of fun to see everybody dressed up and enjoying the night. Um, and prior to this, I had both the chair meeting and the subcommittee on policy. And with that, I will pass it over to Superintendent Steenbeck. >> Uh, thank you. I would just want to echo some of the things that have already been stated by thanking U. Member Fodn Bondis in particular and the rest of the legislative action committee for hosting and um, participating and working on the letterw writing event. Um um I think it was impactful and um yeah we're nearing the end of the session so here we go. I too attended the scholarship event. Um it was you know a record amount of money that was donated um and provided for our students. And I think one of the most important things of that about that event is that the students get to hear um people come back from many many years ago and really describe the impact that um being a Highlander has had on their life. So I think that's really impactful. Um and member Fodnispandis and I have started our uh tours of the school. So, we've we've gotten through just two, you know, the early the family center and the high school, and we're going to make our way to the other schools so that she can uh familiar familiarize herself with the entire district. Thank you. >> Wonderful. All right. Um, next up, just uh we have a policy first reading. Those policies are 517 student recruiting, 533 wellness, 605 alternative educational services, and 611 homeschooling. Can I get a motion to accept the policy first readings as um listed? >> So move. >> Thank you, Laura. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Julie. Discussion. Uh, as always, these policies are available on our website. So, folks are encouraged to go there and read them um and submit any questions. All right. If there's no other discussion, we will vote. All those in favor of accepting the policy first reading, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> Did something happen? >> Did something happen? Sorry, we have a we do have a motion on the floor, but it is a first reading. >> Oh. Oh, yes. >> So, >> oh, so we don't need to Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. >> So, I will rescend my request for Can I rescend it? >> If the the mover of the motion >> I withdraw motion. >> Yeah. >> All right. It's with Thank you. Laura's withdrawn her motion. What else do I need to do? Nothing. We good to move on parliamentarian? >> I can't remember. We need to vote on the withdraw motion. We >> can just to be on the safe side. >> Should we just Okay. Uh so we vote to So can >> the author of the motion has >> I've moved to withdraw my motion. >> Correct. So we'll vote on the withdrawal. >> Okay. All those in favor of withdrawing the motion say I. I opposed. Motion carries. Woo. There we go, guys. I've got it out of the way now early by my mess up. So, we'll just move straight on into the action items, federal ESSA grants, and that is um uh director Tucker and um teaching and learning coordinator, Miss Gardner. Thank you very much. Welcome. >> Thank you. All right. Good evening, Chair Granland, members of the board, Superintendent Stenbick. Uh we are here this evening seeking approval of the preliminary ESSA grants for FY27 as presented by Director Tuckerrell on April 28th, 2026. All right. Thank you very much. So, as was stated, this was presented at our last board meeting on the 28th um of April. Are there any Can I get a motion to accept the uh federal ESSA grant as presented? >> So move. >> Thank you. Michelle, can I get a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Jessica. Discussion. >> Were there any changes to the numbers um from last time? >> Sorry. >> No, that's a great question. >> Good question. Good evening, Chair Granley, members of the board, Superintendent Stenic. There has been no changes to the allocations. The final allocation will be given usually in October, November time. So, at that point, there could be a change. >> Okay. >> And it would only go up. It wouldn't go down. >> Oh, yes. Good to know. Great clarification. Thank you, >> Jessica. >> Chair Grand, I just you you noted that we had discussion at the last meeting about this, which is true. Um but if anyone is interested in more detail about this action item, there's a slideshow that we were presented with um that is available um online. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. No, thank you. Appreciate that. >> Okay. If there's no other discussion, we'll go ahead and vote. All those in favor of accepting the federal ESSA grant say I. I. I. opposed. Motion carries. All right. So, next up we have board topics. You'll notice that typically we have board topics at the end, but we are going into a closed session following this. So, we'll do board topics first. Does anybody have any board topics? >> You don't have any board topics? >> No. >> I don't I don't necessarily have a topic, but um but one of the things that um that we had in the past and I thought maybe I just kind of put it out there just because it occurred to me is when you were talking about tours of the the various schools is is that um I can also we can also get some tours of some of the 916 programs and I don't know if we want to be able to maybe consider doing that as a board or if if anybody's interested in individual tours I'm sure that we can reach out to to Zena to be able to get tours of our like um Carer Blue or um Panko or um over at the for a education center. Um also there is uh um some opportunities for Century College that we can we can also go because our students have access to those to that as well. Um, so if anybody is interested, I really think that it's it's great to be able to get out and and see the more that we get from that collaboration because even though they're they're they're there's they're they're outside of our actual boundaries of our school district, we do own those programs as well. Um, and our students are a part of them. So, they are an extension. They're an and for and an added value, I believe, for the school district. and just seeing the great work that's done over there and how it's benefiting our students um I I do think is worthwhile. So, I'm just kind of putting that out there if anybody is interested. >> Thank you. >> Jessica, >> I just I just second that that I've I've toured several of the 916 sites that I have found it to be really informative. So, um I would definitely like to continue additional tours and if other board members were interested in doing something together, I would attend. >> Yeah. In the p in the past, we actually did go as a board one time, you know, way back in the >> the stone ages. >> Way back in the before times. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Don't they have a time of year where they usually um extend that to us? Well, there there is, but if we wanted to if we wanted to do like tour like for example um Carer Blue be that geographically either Carer Blue or Quora is the closest to us, they would accommodate the board to be able to go out there as a standalone. >> Yeah. So wonderful. Thank you very much. >> As well as staff. Staff could join us as well. >> Any other board topics? Okay. All right. Next up, in accordance with Minnesota statute 13D.03, the board will meet in close session for the purpose of discussing labor negotiations. Before I call for the closed meeting, I will just note for those folks that are possibly streaming this at home, we will not return to streaming um following the closed session. However, we will return um to uh record the end of the meeting um where whereupon we return from close session. >> So with that, can I get a motion to uh close call for a closed meeting for the purpose of discuss discussing labor negotiations? >> So moved. >> Jenna, can I get a second? >> Second. Julie. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. All right. Motion carries. We will move into close session. Uh >> can I ask if I could just go? >> All right. Okay. So, we uh just had our closed session to discuss uh labor negotiations. We've returned and now uh can I get a motion to adjurnn? >> So move. >> Awesome. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> Second by Jenna. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Opposed. Cool. We are adjourned at 653.