every ready ready all right I like to call to order the October 8th 2024 meeting of the Columbia height school board and we'll start with the pledge of allegiance plg to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all Michelle you do the roll call please yes granin here pway here Palmer here mad here P here Mueller here superintendent stvi here thank you Michelle um before we continue on with the meeting I would like to take um a moment um and have a moment of silence for Mr jurgenson art former art teacher at Highland Elementary who passed away unexpectedly this last week you take a moment of silence with me please thank you our thoughts are with his family and with his Highlander family next we have our mission statement our mission is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed our core values are Community Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation um very excited tonight we get to have a Highlander highlight um and so we have Ella Anderson aora a student at Columbia Academy who has received the cook Young Scholars Program scholarship the Cook young uh schol the cook Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year pre-ol scholarship for exceptionally promising seventh grade students with financial need it provides comprehensive academic and College advising as well as financial support for school cook sponsored summer programs internships and other learning enrichment opportunities I would like to welcome up Ella and I believe Jenny Brad um is going to talk with us as well come on up so I'm Jenny Brad I am the Avid teacher at CA and even though is not an avid Ella is very near and dear to my heart um she's very close with most of the Abid students in the e8th grade and so a couple of years ago when we heard about this scholarship um we started writing essays Ella was a sixth grader at the time um and last year we had a a scholarship a winner uh Kieran kurs and this year we got our Ella and that's the first time that two students from the same school have received this incredible incredible award and I just want to say a little something about Ella's personality and who Ella is um I'm a Community member and um Ella's very close with my son and my seven-year-old was having a birthday party and it happened that a lot of his friends were not able to come and Ella and another student uh came to to the party to liven it up and make sure that my seven-year-old was having a wonderful time and they all jumped on the trampoline and it was just it was such a testament to who Ella is as a person um making sure that Theo felt loved on his birthday at his birthday party um I I made like a little statement or a little like speech so I want to read it um okay this is like background information on it you guys already said the background information so I'm just going to say um the scholarship it's a pretty big deal not too many people like me get to do things like this and I'm grateful for a mentor to guide me through it all like Miss Brad for the past couple years I've found my way into her room not being a part of avid like she said but learning through friends in her classes and eventually finding my way into the classroom myself I often make connections with teachers that I don't already have I learn and grow from them in the spring of this year she approached me with the opportunity to apply for this scholarship she thought I would be a good fit and I felt honored to be given this challenge she always has been a cheerleader for all her students and sees the sparks in us whether we can or not I admire her hard work and dedication in helping me succeed the application process was really challenging it involved essay questions that required complex responses but it was worth it in the end I'd also like to thank the two people who submit recommendations for me and although they're not here I'd like to thank Miss Mac and miss a or as you guys know her by Miss hun she's our Spanish teacher we call her miss a which is H in Spanish as much as they may not think they are a big reason I'm here today not just for being some of my favorite teachers but for pushing me and helping me become a better student in general I feel so lucky to be able to build relationships with these three individuals beyond the classroom it's truly Priceless I also want to give a shout out to all my past teachers obviously I won't name them all but they all hold a special place in my heart they molded me into the person I am today they saw my potential and push me so I exceeded it finally I want to thank my mom she truly has been my biggest Che leader since day one she's one of the most humble people I know and raised me to be the same this program will give me additional guidance resources enrich my learning and help me to improve my future when I first started my application I was struggling and I thought about giving up but I want my story to help people see that believing in yourself really does change your life thanks congratulations Ella congratulations on this very prestigious award and obviously very well deserved he worked very hard for that um and to to be considered and then to win um just congratulations kudos to you and of course to your support network um that got you here but you put a lot of work in for this so congratulations thank you is anybody else on the board wish to say anything I mean yeah go ahead um I have had the pleasure of getting to see you learn and grow over the years um and I cannot imagine a better person to have um received this I know how hard you work on things and I know how much you put into it um and I could not be more proud of you Jessica Ella I just want to Echo their comments and just let you know that I'm personally just so thrilled for you and I'm just so excited about the recognition of your accomplishments um like director glenland I've had the opportunity to see you grow over the years and first met you as one of the Val view PTO kids so it's very exciting to see you um coming into your own uh as an eighth grader and just really killing it so I'm I'm very excited Michelle um yeah congratulations um I also have gotten to know you a little bit and um I I love that you're doing something that you know the younger kids who look up to you like Anita um you know they have a good representation and a model of like what they could be doing and what they can look forward to and that there are opportunities there for them too so thank you for um putting in that hard work it doesn't go unnoticed by um the people who are coming after you uh who see you as you know kind of that guide um not to put any more pressure on you that than already there um we're looking at you but um no I means a lot and you know I know that when I tell her about it she'll be like Oh yay and she'll like you know love it so you'll hear about that when you see her next but congratulations you deserve it well congratulations Ella um we have a certificate for you um so I'm going to have you come up we're going to take pictures and then the board memb is all line up here and you get to like Shake everybody's hands and um kind of cuz you're you're a big deal so we've got to recognize that absolutely everyone always fight for second you so proud of youat and then come back this yep y you get to come back [Laughter] this one one day we'll get this figured out Yeah right Honest table for everybody round another round of applause for Ella um also thank you to miss Brad uh for your dedication and your hard work I think it also speaks um volumes to the work that you're doing and um how much you are supporting our students and providing an environment for which they can grow and succeed too thank you thank you now Ella you are more than welcome to stay for the rest of the board meeting um I know you have joined us for board meetings in the past um you are also more than welcome to not stay um so totally up to you we we won't be offended if you turn around and walk out and all of you who came to support Ella as well so all right next we have our agenda approval adjustments and announcements um can I please get a motion to approve the agenda so moved Laura and a second second second by Michelle any discussion a none will proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion passes um next we have our announcements um on October 10th is a flex learning day October 11th there is no school October 15th at 5:30 p.m. we have our work session here in the community room October 17th and 18th there is no school October 18th the district is closed and October 22nd at 6 PM is our regular school board meeting here in the community room um next we have our communication to the board uh at at this time any citizen or employee May briefly address the school board the board will listen to brief remarks ask clarifying questions and if desired requests 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 all right and we are back online um thank you we had um somebody address the board to give us information and updates um from the student GSA organization thank you for that um next we have our consent agenda the consent agenda includes the Personnel report from October uh excuse me October 8th the Schoolboard minutes from the September 17th meeting the September 24th meeting and the sep the October 1st special called meeting um it also includes the policy second reading for student for policy 503 student attendance and policy 704 development and maintenance of an inventory of fixed assets and a fixed asset accounting system and our policy first reading um these are the uh policies were reviewed at the October 1st policy meeting um and consist of legislative changes that can be approved in one meeting 516 student medication and telea health notably this policy includes an additional section related to providing a space for secondary students to receive mental health to participate in in mental health teleah health appointments um 521 students with disabilities non-discrimination 535 service animals in schools 608 instructional Services 707 transportation of public school students 78 transportation of non-public school students 709 student transportation 802 disposition of obsolete equipment and material and 806 crisis management I get a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved Mary and a second second second second by Jessica any discussion just I just wanted to note for folks watching that we have made some changes at the last meeting in this meeting to how we um how we review or talk about the policies that are up for uh approval and that we um are splitting them as as chair Mueller mentioned into um more substantive changes and legislative changes um but I also just want everyone to know that um even with the legislative changes to policy that our policy subcommittee is looking at the entirety of the policy um and making appropriate changes for inclusive language um fixing errors things like that as we're going through the policies so they are getting a full review even though um what that results in is largely the legislative required changes so thank you thank you Jessica any other discussion he none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries next we have our discussion reports information item um and we'll start with reports from members of the board and we will start with Jessica oh delightful I started on this side last time that's fine I I I am prepared I should know to be prepared it's been a very busy couple of weeks um since the last regular board meeting I attended uh leap night that was a a family event uh held at Valley View but was uh hosted by both uh the leap classes at uh Highland and Valley View um I've attended that night in the past and what was unique about this year is that the leap teachers actually had the leap students um present about the program to families and so they lined up and one by one each of the students talked about different components of the elite program what they were learning what their favorite experiences have been in the program um so that was really fun to hear that in the students own words um I also like uh some of you attended uh a a lengthy subcommittee on policy meeting uh last week where we were able to uh get through numerous legislative changes that needed to be made in our two-hour meeting um and then after that I attended the special call meeting like all of you um I was able to attend the homecoming game last weekend last Friday uh glad that the Highlanders had a victory very exciting um I was able to visit with a lot of community members uh and families at the game in between chasing my one-year-old up and down every single picture um slept well that night yes yes we all slept well yes um and then I also attended the Highland PTO meeting last week um just another reminder of the turkey Bingo event at Highland on November 15th I'll continue to remind everyone at nauseum because it's a great event um and we had great participation at this last PTO meeting we had uh more families in attendance than we've had um since uh Co so it was really exciting to um hear from a lot of new families to the district and get their ideas they were very enthusiastic had lots of feedback so that was really really great so that's my report thank you great thank you so much Julie um on September 25th I attended the Minnesota State High School league meeting with activities director Henderson and um there was a couple of things to note um the ninth grade governance um superintendent Sten will have the opportunity to votes beginning October 4th so she may already have voted not yet not yet okay um on whether or not the 9th grade athletes should be covered by the mshsl and so there's just kind of some some um things to consider around that which director Henderson would probably explain um but one of the things is that um we have to be careful about who's on what teams what grades are on what what teams so that we're properly covering all our ninth graders when they're in activities so um that's really important um there's also a together partnership it's called together 3.0 on November 21st at the Minneapolis Marriott which mshsl is hosting for high school student leaders and um who have a passion to make a positive impact and we can send I think up to 12 students to this and it's free so they get free lunch as well so um I thought that would be a really good opportunity for our students to participate um they had some bylaw updates um updated Behavior expectations and um both director Henderson and I wanton an insulated mug from the raffle perf so um it was actually a really great meeting to go to um I learned a lot about what mshsl does a lot of training and insurance basically they Ure us for catastrophic injuries that maybe could happen on you know maybe a football field or something like that so um I also participated in the special called meeting of the policy committee and special cult board meeting on 101 Mary okay um it has been a busy few weeks so I attended the chair meeting prior to this as well as the subcommittee on community engagement uh I was also here for the uh second special call meeting not the two-hour one but the twom minute one um I attended homecoming and it was delightful um and it was really fun to see not only uh our team win but also to be able to stay and celebrate with the fireworks uh on the field that was delightful so much fun um so well attended and you know congratulations to our wonderful football team um on their win I also attended the amsd meeting last week Friday morning where they talked about um there was a presentation uh uh from Elevate teaching and they also talked about legislative advocacy I exchanged some messages with superintendent stenvik um on some ideas for once the legislative season starts back up ways that we can different ways that we can engage with our uh legislators here um as a as a school board and as a district and I thought that they were really wonderful ideas um in terms of just just come and have coffee um uh with us uh no presentations no presentations that also for director henkins no presentations um other than that I had lots of conversations with community members um with students with staff with superintendent steni with chair lauan uh Mueller with uh discussions with director maderis and director Pat way it's been a very busy couple of weeks so I think think that I'm sure I left something out but we can assume that it was busy so thank you perfect thank you Michelle yeah so um I um helped to parent facilitate our first bipac um advisory committee meeting at North Park for the year um which was a lot of fun just like the PTO meeting over at Highland there were a lot of new families there and everyone was so excited to kind of get together and build community there were great ideas flying around um we had uh food from Big Marina um so it was it was an allaround good time and I was very excited to have more than like five people there um so we're going to keep trying to grow that um I attended the um sea fundraiser and fashion show that was hosted um by Central mix or fix coffee um over up on Central and of course my little one had to be in the fashion show um there was a three outfit change and I was exhausted and I was not even in it so um it was a lot of fun though for her and sea is awesome I had never been there um we we got a bike for like $35 her clothes were extra cute and they they weren't worn they were really nice and um we got them for great prices so shout out to sea and um Central mix for that event um I did a candidate meet and greet over at Crestview um senior community which was very nice to just talk to people I don't get in those spaces a whole lot so this time kind of gives me that opportunity to just talk to people who I haven't met or be in parts of the community I haven't been in um I also did a tour of Bella Hall which is located in the old unique building off of like I think it's 37th in Stenson um very beautiful high-end um hall for weddings or ceremonies um and Gatherings like that I mean theyve they've been working really hard the owner um Muhammad gave us a tour um I went with um mayor Marcus simila and um planning commission's member um Laurel Denine and that was a great experience it was a really nice space it's very quiet huge parking lot and they're still building other things in that building so um I guess more to come on that um I also attended the special called meeting yes the two-minute one not the two-hour one um sorry guys but thank you for all that you do um and I attended the boosters annual award ceremony uh which was great getting to see um people be awarded for their hard work U we love our boosters and I attended the homecoming game um where we did win so good job football team and I also attended the subcommittee on community engagement meeting before this one and I am done thank you thanks so much Michelle Laura oh I just have to a comment did you get any sleep um here and there okay I was just wondering about five minutes here five minutes okay just just check in um well I mean I I obviously had a couple of busy weeks too but most of it was um done outside of the this district with uh 916 um we had our school board kind Retreat over there um which was a lot of fun um they actually made um they made actually playing cards trading cards of all the board members and and all all the uh the cabinet members and we had to go around and trade cards and you know it was all on timer and stuff so that was kind of cool so I have my own little Trading Card my my daughter actually thought it was pretty awesome can we find those on eBay anyway can we find those on eBay huh can we find those can we find them on eBay like I don't know maybe you know there are there are 23 cars out there so it's AED collection so um so that that was kind of fun um I also um attended the uh regular 916 board meeting now um the 9116 um has it in their budget to send two board members from um uh one of the the um of of the districts that are on this on this uh board um to one of the national conferences now this year um there's actually been two additional conferences that have been offered to the board members um in addition to nsba um you um they also will um uh send a board member to either kaspa or there is a a special education conference actually in December as well that they will that um that has been added to this list unfortunately it falls on the delegate assembly weekend so um that is uh presently a no-o um but I will will be going to kaspa in um Atlanta in March um so I look forward to at least finding out um how that organization is able to serve our needs um being so used to nsba so this is a brand new organization and we'll we'll get a little bit of a background on that so um I also attended the uh special call meeting last week and I think that's it thank you Laura all looks like everybody's been been busy um I also attended the um extra subcommittee on policy meeting um again I want to thank our subcommittee members Julie and Jessica um and superintendent syic and the admin team who um joined us um for a non-regularly scheduled subcommittee on policy as we've got a lot of policies to go through with a lot of the legislative changes um also attended the special called meeting last week as well and again thank you all for your time um attending that special called meeting um after that I still had a little bit of time left so um I got to watch the end of the women's Varsity soccer game um so that was a lot of fun uh to see they did win that game as well um so kudos to them um I also did attend the homecoming football game so congratulations to our football team for that homecoming win um I do have to say that I also had a fantastic time at that game watching the cheer squad oh my go um they were fantastic so um that's just such a fun thing to see now at the games they did such a great job and their halftime performance was phenomenal um I really enjoyed that um and you guys know I'm a bandgeek so also had a really good time listening to the pep band it's always fun um it's such there's just so much things that are going on so many students participating in so many different ways at at some of these events so it was really great to see um and I want to thank the Columbia boosters for their sponsorship of the fireworks show um I I I know that fireworks are challenging for some people in our community um so I appreciate the um just the the patience um with that I love fireworks and it was such a good show like really good it was really probably one of the best Fireworks shows I've seen in a really long time so um that was a lot of fun and the students really love um that experience so thank you to the boosters for that um as uh Mary said I had conversation with Vice chair granin um and was at the chair meeting just prior to this uh next we'll move to the superintendent report in correspondence with superintendent stck uh thank you last weekend I had the opportunity to represent the metro area which is region n at the Minnesota Association of um School administrators at their board meeting and then fall conference um some of the sessions I attended included a presentation from msba on hot top topics that included uh Fair labor standards act among other topics ESS and the like um I also attended a really interesting uh presentation from the Detroit Lakes High School principal um about how they've streamlined systems and improved the school culture um as member H mentioned the executive director of the Minnesota high school league Eric Martin spoke to everyone at the conference and explained that not all nth graders are actually included in um in the League's catastrophic and concussion cover coverage um so the Statewide vote is underway um which will hopefully Rectify that issue uh as mentioned last week was filled with homecoming festivities the high school does a really good job of including the elementary schools and the middle schools by holding a pep Fest at each school um on that day um additionally crowds came to see the soccer games and the high school held a door decorating contest honorable mentioned to someone in the audience this evening and um also a massive student volleyball tournament um which was the first you know first of its kind so really looking forward to um our spring our new spring boys volleyball season um so all of that included as homecoming um I also met with Father Quail this morning who's new to Immaculate Conception he started last year um many required and state state federal funds flow through Columbia Heights Public Schools to our local non-public schools um I requested the meeting so that we could continue to collaborate and be in compliance um with the many requirements given that the leadership at the school is um both the principal and the um clergy are new um so it was a really good conversation there um in terms of board members I had conversations with chair Mueller Vice chair granin and member pway thank you for your time thank you so much um next we'll move on to the American Indian program update and we have Yolanda dors sloy who is joining us via Zoom yes and I'm going to share my screen for this one good evening everyone good evening we got a lot going on do you want to start sure I'll start our mission in Columbia Heights Public Schools is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed and this presentation encompasses all of our core Val values of community Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation which are all aligned um to the Columbia Heights Board of Education Equity statement this is an informational update for the board there is no governance to follow the governance actually falls on our American Indian parent committee um that's what uh Yolanda will be sharing with you all so with that I'll pass it over to Yolanda yeah so our paring committee meeted met on the second six to eight every every Wednesday first Wednesday of the month um we got a couple fluctuations on that date but we do a pretty good solid job of making sure that our meetings um highlight what we want from our programs we got a strong parent advisory committee this year we have a new pack chair and a new co-chair which is really exciting for us um our Elder that is on our committee took that role and she is very vocal and guides our program uh through cultural and and um very steadfast learning on her part that she feels our our program needs so the American Indian parent advisory committee guides both the federal and state American Indian education program they set our goals and our metrics we plan our activities and set our priorities for our budgets our state budget funding is $64,000 and our federal funding is $1,042 um which is you know well used and um double almost double what we had previously so you know State funding is going up our a first area um support support postsecondary preparation for American Indian pupils which is our number one priority um our goal for our pack is um the American Indian students for Columbia Heights public schools are prepared for postsecondary opportunities we measure this goal by making sure that we maintain a 100% graduation rate for American Indian students for 2025 which we have met our goal um that goal for the last almost 10 years I think I believe it's 10 years correct we do a really great job here um area two support our academic achievement of our American Indian students uh our goal uh we are aggressive on our goals American Indian students at Columbia Heights Public Schools will show a typical to aggressive growth in liter skills at a rate of 50% or higher in every assess grade K through 10 that we use our FR Bridge as me me measurement of that assessment and we um we exceeded that goal this year so that was really great on our children's part too area three make curriculum relevant to the needs and interest and cultural heritage of our American Indian pupils our goal for this area is that Columbia Heights Public Schools language arts curriculum is relevant to the needs interests and cultural heritage of American Indian students we have conducted a review of The American or while we are continuing conduct the a review of The American or sorry English Language Art standards relevant to our pupils and how they are being implemented at Columbia Heights Public Schools this is a multi-year goal the committee has reviewed K through 12 social studies and nine through 12 Ela curriculum we measure this by the satisfa satisfaction surveys of our parents our students with feedback in and input from the review area four provide positive reinforcement and self-image of our American Indian pupils our goal is that each student is given the opportunity to participate in at least three Native American cultural activities including connections and community building with our American Indian peers we measure this by documentation we use sign and sheets and we collect student feedback I think Yolanda exceeded that goal in the first few months last year yes and you know we don't even have to collect feedback those kids give us feedback in very happy um area five development of Intercultural awareness among pupils parents and staff uh we want 100% of our American Indian students at Columbia Heights Public Schools and their family members to report that they feel culturally supported by the school staff and interconnected to their Heritage and local American Community we also like evaluation tools at each event um so for our direct support for American Indian education program our elementary students receive small group support academic literacy and cultural activities Columbia Academy our Middle School they also got small suit small group support AC uh academic literacy and grade checks and cultural activities and our high school students they receive indiv individual academic support scholarship support applications for college uh credit monit and cultural support as well as Comm peer Community Building um I really find that the community building has really um went beyond what we could have possibly imagined for our student students here at the high school they started out as a bunch of individual little kids coming into my office or students excuse me not little kids I just see them as this you know they're still growing and they they they open up in a way that is just it they want this they want to have peer support and they want to have good grades and they you know the cultural part of it makes so much sense to them and connects it connects our our school system to what they're doing in their lives and it it has been phenomenal I I I see them grow every day and it it's just it's it's beautiful so for our family cultural events this year 2024 2025 um we'll kick off with our student trip to MAA um which you guys will vote on tonight October 18th 19th and 20th which is Mea weekend um so they will not be missing anything school for this trip uh our Native American month Heritage night will be a round dance November 13th and that is open to all of our American Indian families districtwide uh regalia M will start in December our students are very adamant that they want those classes and they want them they wanted them to start today but um you know with all of the other stuff that we're doing we're like hey let's let's let's wait till December and it'll it'll go great um our sacred Traditions teachings what will be um addition to our four sacred medicine teachings that we did last year will just be adding on to what they already know and um really bring them uh additional benefits to what our Traditions are and helping them grow into good human beings strong anash shab people our Sugar Bush is back on this year um we have found a new place to go and bring our kids and that will be a cultural event it is on a shab Sugar Bush and so that will be a wonderful thing to add to this year um since we missed out last year and that was been a wonderful tradition that Z and uh superintendent Dand have kept for our kids we want to bring back um our jakota culture CHP trip and buffalo trip um will be in May or April uh depending how warm it gets how fast it it gets warm and then our poow is set for May 31st where we will honor honor our graduates and our academic achievement of our um younger students lots to do it's beautiful thanks Yolanda so with that um again there's no governance for the school board um informational I think I could see some of the regalia examples behind Yolanda um they turn this boardroom into a sewing room on the weekends um and it's they're very busy and make incredible incredible things so with that I'll turn it over to you chair thank you thank you Yolanda um thank you and I just have to say every time you present to the board thank you for your passion um you can tell this is very important to you um and it's showing in the success of our students so thank you for your support um that you provide our students and I'm so glad you're so passionate about that yeah I love my I love my job good it shows um any questions for members of the board Mary no question just a statement um Yolanda I want to Echo what chair Mueller said um it does your passion does show and I see it and I hear it from students independently who talk excitedly about the things that they get to do um especially with you and the regalia making and I know last year um I heard from a number of students how wonderful it was and how um how much they got from that uh spiritually I think you know holistically and just feeling that passion and that love so thank you so much for what you have done to also continue to create that space for these students and families thank you thank you for that yeah I I I feel like when our students have um just that time to be who they are doing something that their ancestors have wanted them to do and and use their hands in a way that creates um lased memories and items that they can hold on to it it's especially for our graduates that graduated last year I know they have been to powow this summer and um they it really connected them in a way that they didn't feel so um shy about it anymore or unsure about who they were and that I I just I love that we have the space to do this so I really do appreciate all of you and the work that you guys do um we I wouldn't be able to do the job that I have if I didn't have the support from um superintendent sandic and our school board and as well as our principles and teachers and that that has been phenomenal um in a and enabled me to do what I do best which is support students in a way that they can grow as human beans which is the long run for me I just want to add that goodness to them as anywhere I can so thank you right thank you very much elanda have a wonderful evening you too thank you um next we have our Minnesota State High School league grants with um activities director Henderson all right uh we'll cheer Mueller members of the board superintendent senic thank you all again for having me back uh our mission in Columbia Heights I'll read it right behind you chair Mueller uh creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong and all succeed uh this informational update is uh going to touch on all of our core values um with the Minnesota State High School league foundation and uh again this is just informational tonight and you will be taking action uh at a future board meeting uh so the Minnesota State High School league similar to what I presented last year uh was created in 2007 and its purpose is really just sorry the Minnesota State High School league foundation not the Minnesota State High School league um was created in 2007 and its purpose is is really just to support youth participation in athletics and Fine Arts uh so there's two grants that we can apply for right now the first grant is uh form Grant a and this grant is given each year uh by the foundation just to help support all of Minnesota State High School league Athletics and activities uh it can be used for support with uniforms equipment Transportation Etc uh the second form uh sorry the second Grant is Form B and it's also available to apply for right now uh this grant can be used for some more specific things uh like leadership initiatives uh and health and safety uh last year we did receive both grants um and specifically what we would like to apply for these monies for uh is just to assist with the cost of specific uh equipment purchases continue our partnership uh with the Positive coaching Alliance which gives opportunities for training to both our coaches and to our student athletes and student leaders um supplement the cost of our impact concussion testing that we do for all of our athletes that might have any impact tax um and then uh purchase another transportable AED so uh again this is just an informational item today and uh you will be taking action at a later meeting thank you for your time thank you board members the uh two resolutions are included in the in board book um as I think we were all on the board last year when we passed those so we would pass the resolutions which would then allow the grant applications to move forward so any questions for activi director Henderson let go thank you you mentioned um receiving the grants last year both A and B and I'm just wondering if you can give us a sense of scale of what the general not dollar amount but not specific but general dollar amount of those grants yeah the specifics would be tough right now but uh thank you for the question uh I think we received roughly four or5 th000 on uh Grant a um and $3500 roughly on Grant b um so they're sizable and they're um they're obviously really helpful uh monies that we can uh access through the Minnesota State High School league um thank you and is that comparable to previous years as well yeah it it it does fluctuate a little bit um I'm wondering if I do have my numbers in front of me so the the form Grant a is really based on how many students you have participating and uh your free and reduced numbers and so there's $700,000 allocated this year for that so that dep is really dependent on what the uh postseason uh ticket sales are so my understanding is it's a a tax that's on these postseason uh tickets and that goes into instead of to the state it goes into this uh foundation and so dependent on those sales um it fluctuates and so there's $700,000 to be split among the schools for form a and $340,000 to be uh split among Form B thank you that's very helpful thank you any other questions all right we will have this as an action item on an upcoming meeting thank you sir thank you next we are going to move into close session I realize that I don't have the statute on here but um statutorily we're permitted to move into um close session for the purpose of negotiation strategy um can I please get a motion to um move into Clos session so moved Mary in a second second second by Jessica any discussion here now we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries all right um we will um clear out and move into Clos session we are back up all right we are going to return to open session the board was in closed session for the purpose of contract contract negotiations now that we're back into Open Session um we'll move on to our action items the first item um is the extracurricular Schedule D so we've got director henkins um Jac Henderson um Mr honig and Mr shuck all right um thank you chair Mueller members of the board and superintendent stck um I'll just kick it off and and kind of give a brief overview of our process and and how we came with the schedule D that um we have uh in front of the board um that's attached and the board packet um so coming out of negotiations with the teachers uh Union or Local 71 um we had a memorandum of an understanding um that outlined um to form a committee and uh that committee was uh formed which is included two members of local 710 and then uh two members of the school from the school district um one being the activities director um and then it outlined that we would meet four times um to discuss Schedule D and changes um necessary for Schedule D or that um to negotiate the changes in Schedule D that would include um increasing any stiens decreasing any stiens removing um uh any activities or Athletics that are listed in Schedule D that were no longer being um or we were no longer doing um or any ads to the schedule of programs that um our activities are Athletics that we wanted to add to the schedule and then um from this committee um we would uh put a recommendation for Schedule D to the school board um for approval and so um we did that um and we did meet an additional time uh this past Monday um to discuss uh Schedule D further um and the recommendation from those now five meetings um is in front of the school board uh this evening um so we did have um several changes to schedule D both in um reductions in both um uh um percentages to the total of formerly was $6,000 um the proposed now is $624 um as the top that would be the 100% and uh um on both the activity side and on the athletic side we saw reductions and changes we had increases in um coaches um or assistant coaches I mean in certain Athletics and decreases in certain ones again based on participation numbers um director or um our activities director uh Jake Henderson can talk more about that but um and then also on the activity side decreasing in percentage increasing in percentage and removing of of um um some um activities that we're no longer running and uh then also we did increase um or add in boy volleyball that would start this spring um which I think everybody's um excited about um so that was our process again and um then thus the recommendation to the school board from this committee and I'll just kind of um pass it over because I'm sure some others would like just to me say a few words sure you want me to go yeah okay um I think you know this was a a good process and and that Schedule D needed to be cleaned up um a little bit based on what we were doing since I've been in activities I think this is my seventh or my eighth year um there were a lot of things that were not running Etc um and so that was definitely a part of our process I think uh when I went into this um process uh I I stated a couple of things to like the entire team that I know that I'm always going to Advocate that our our coaches and our uh advisers and our directors get paid more even though I'm on the other side of this thing a little bit um I also you know advocated that or said just stated that it's really you know what our coaches advisors and directors do is a labor of love um and no one is paid what they are worth um and so it's lots and lots of hours that they put in and it's a labor of love not only of that activity specifically but also of just our kids in our community too and so um those are a couple of the things that I wanted to uh you know make sure that we knew that when we're going into this thing like that is that is the reality I coached um I know a lot of people that have coached and uh been activity advisers um and and yeah it's it's a lot of time it's a lot of effort um and they love it and I don't coach anymore because I've got a young family and that happens too CU you can't you got to balance those things and so um I guess you know just adding on to what director Henri kin said that those were kind of the things that were stated out front and and things that we knew um going into this process too so um from a the Union's perspective on this um a couple of things that we'd like to note and I think Dan will chime in on something um I think we in the future uh coming up to our next round we'd like to start the discussions on Schedule D earlier um we'd like to have those start almost uh right with all the other negotiations having this afterwards I think was um not the best process um so there was some of that going on um I think also we need to have a more comprehensive um look at the number of hours put in um I think as uh good intentioned as uh Jake was on this um maybe some of our data was a little old um a little inaccurate um so I think also coupling a lot of this is the fact that um some of the activities um are under the supervision the purview of the building principal the high school principal While others are underneath the activities director um thus um Jake you know put out uh questions to all the people that are under his supervision but we didn't necessarily gather information from those that were up underneath the uh High School principal um the high school principal wasn't a part of any of this process so I'm not saying anything negative about he he just wasn't and maybe probably should have been uh and maybe we had done a little bit more expansive on asking the the questions and get a little more breakdown of how many hours each coach each advisor spends um then we would have a little more accurate information I think we need to do that the next time around be a lot more comprehensive on that and I think uh obviously we're we're here today um because uh that caused some controversy and some confusion uh in the process from stakeholders um so uh I know that uh Dan shuck here is dying to tell you his part uh so I'm not going to steal a thunder from them so uh go ahead Dan I know dying is the right word but I'm here hi I'm Dan shuck um just I started my coaching career here back in 1988 I've been coaching here a long time and I love it wouldn't want to coach anywhere else um but every I've been part of the negotiation process too for about 25 years and every time we get the scheduled D it's like pulling teeth to get a few bucks to support our coaches and our programs and I think we we talked earlier in the process I thought we figured about 15 to $20,000 increase in that budget area would have covered new coaches you know I know what soccer is building and they need more coaches and we agree 100% but it wasn't that much money so I I I hope there's a way going forward that we can find that little extra for this area of our contract like uh like we said earlier coaches they they do this because they love to do it um and and it's it's not an hourly I have never once figured out my hourly rate I don't want to but it doesn't I don't need to I I I we coach because we love to coach and um just a a little support a little extra support financially in those areas where we need we need coaches and need good leaders I'd hope that we could find some some way to find a few extra bucks there I think that's all thank you um anything else from you guys I I just have one quick question um when we are for sports for example co-oping with another um School how does that work in terms of compensation for the stien like is our district sharing in that cost we go to another oh sure yeah thank you chairman for the question uh yeah so it's a uh proportional type of thing so sometimes we host those co-ops and and in that we generally cover all the costs UPF front and then proportionally afterwards we charge those uh districts or schools that we co-op with for that portion of every single expense essentially um and so uh it's proportional to the number of student athletes that they would have in their programs um and then that's vice versa the same once we go somewhere else and the other school may be a host for that Co-op thank you all right um since this is an action item we will do a motion and then we will have discussion after that um can I please get a motion to approve the um extracurricular Schedule D as presented so moved Julie and a second second second by Michelle any discussion thank you all for being here tonight I appreciate it um I did have a couple of questions oh sure um thank you for being here I appreciate it I'm just wondering this is probably a question for director henkins but can you tell us um what the cost difference is between this schedule and the previous schedule if any based on these changes um I don't have an exact number um in front of me um but uh based on what we had in the schedule previously um um versus what we're going to have in the schedule now um with the increases their costs are going up um as they would normally go up um but uh um it's uh because you know inherently everything does go up um you know when we're looking at it obviously there was several things that weren't running um and um but we had had to increase in other areas and add assistant coaches based on participation like soccer um soccer is a big one where it's been growing Leaps and Bounds and we've added assistant coaches to that so um it's uh I don't have an exact number but um we can definitely pull numbers together um so is the cost to the district of the schedule cost to the distri this schedule will be higher okay but you're not sure by how much yeah thank you well from our discussions the amount of money once the 4% increase was applied to everybody um our Endeavor according to to Brian was to make sure that we kept everything else pretty much even that it was a set pot of money so I don't know if we actually did add some other things in there that so if if we gave to one thing we took away from something else we balanced things we looked at hours and stuff we did try to do that yeah and so we tried to make that even however there was a 4% across the board that we gave to be comparable to what was in the teachers contract for this year so the intent was that the overall cost of the activity schedule would be more or less 4% higher than the previous year schedu correct I don't know if we kept to that completely but it should be rather close in my estimation based on what we were doing so yeah we looked for things that weren't running and hopefully those things would then we'd be able to take from that pot and go for things like soccer or I know it's grant money for right now for the boys volleyball so that's not considered but it should have been push and pull in there and it should all come out even except for the 4% increase across the board and I know the board is voting on this today but I would be interested in getting that just so we have the comparison year toe overall I think that would be helpful um and then I also just had a question around like when we're reading the activity schedule because this is not how a lot of other um schedules like in our contracts look with the percentages so when we're looking at this when it's based on a 100% base what does that mean like what when you're looking at a 100% what does that mean $624 yeah it's been this way forever and I don't know who set this up originally but yeah 100% was uh there was some high level sports that went a long season High Impact Sports football hockey basketball I think it was only a three or four that were considered at that 100% because of how long their season was and you know tennis traditionally shorter shorter season would get less than 100% 80% I don't even know what the numbers are fewer participants so that was set up the schedule's been set that way for many many years long before I was here and sorry um yeah so the percentages are arbitrary really when you think about it there's I don't think there's ever been a formula saying that okay here's soccer for example we need to PL plug in how many weeks their season is how many kids they have how many games they have what pract and so they so it's always been a little bit arbitrary to be honest with you but I'm also hearing you say that historically the considerations have been participants and like length of season or I think length of season has been the biggest factor from uh from the past thank you that's helpful I have a question um where does the base come from that's 6250 or 40 where does that come from is that that's something that's negotiated it's a number that's negotiated yep that's where um uh Daniel's talking about the 4% increase so it was 6,000 we put a 4% increase on that um and then everything else um just filters down to the percentages of what that new new base is um and U Mr shuck was saying that um it's been here for a long time many many districts um follow the same methodology for that um I I don't know I don't have an example of a district in the compes that I've been looking at that does it differently than um you know some kind of percentage they exist I know they do um but it is a very common method for this and and this is the first time in recent history past 10 to 15 20 years where there's been a percent increase applied to that top amount before it's just been like a set amount added on it's like well was 5,000 let's make it 5,500 because it's a nice round amount but we just kind of went with the percent increase because that's what the teacher's contract was paid so we figured that sounded right and it was a $240 increase which is kind of yeah that's not overall for the top paying coach everybody else is getting less obviously so that's really not a huge increase to people's stens but when you call it a 4% increase you're like oh well that's what the teachers got it sounded Fair it really did as far as what are you getting it's like um I know it's not lot of money so people are kind of going yeah can't you give me $500 ,000 more that sounds better but what kind of a percent increase is that 20 25 it's like no that's a little ridiculous so 4% increase made sense this time other questions I did just have one more question um so one of the activities or activity stiens that's eliminated in the new schedule is around 9th and 10th grade class advisors and I'm but the 11th and 12th grade advisers are still a line item so I'm I'm curious how those advising activities will be impacted or have been absorbed so I can speak to that because the history uh things have changed uh at Columbia Heights as far as uh involvement and spirit activities other things that homecoming uh because I was around I was um one of those advisers and and actually it used to be that we went with the class so I was the Class of 2004 advisor so I was the 9th grade adviser when years in 10th 11th 12th and so on and one of the things that we started doing in 9th grade was fundraising like you wouldn't believe in order to pay for prom to help offset the cost of prom so it wouldn't be ex uh exorbitant for our students right so we could charge them less and less and less um but some of that fundraising stuff just uh isn't working with our our change in population and so on um so rather the nth and 10th grade um most of what goes on there is really done by student council and in order to get spirit activities and other things and kids involved the 11th and 12th grade that's uh putting on Prom itself and the 12th grade obviously is doing everything for graduation and and all that kind of stuff and you know so there's a lot more for the 11 12 it just kind of trickled it became irrelevant it became uh obsolete to some extent and so we really didn't have ninth and 10th grade advisors so we I mean noticing that we hadn't had them for years they're eliminated because we're just not using them the school has changed so we're not what we were in the 1980s right thank you I appreciate that any other discussion Laura oh just a comment um I mean I've been on the board for a couple of years few weeks anyway um I've never seen this broken down schedule like this this must be an enormous amount of work to go through um I I actually hope to be able to see um see the breakdown like this and and to be able to make sure that that the time spent is is adequately in this schedule you know so because it does take a lot um a lot of accounting if if you haven't been doing it over and over again and like I said this the first time I've ever seen it I'm maybe it was buried in the contract somewhere but I didn't notice such a complete overhaul I I don't think that we pulled it out separately right I think that when we negotiate the contract it was in there before it was just in there yeah so this time around we set it as a a separate committee to discuss and then build Anouk you any other discussion right here and then we'll proceed to vote all those in favor oh I'm sorry Mary oh that's okay um I was just going to say I think one thing that I would find helpful um would be just an understanding of how the percentages are are um gotten to like how do you get to those um and how is that defined I know you said it was really it was tricky because um it's you know length of uh length of season it's participation it's all those things but um just from an equity lens for our staff I think it would be really helpful um just to have a better understanding um for for us too so that we know what are these things that we are we're having our teachers do and what are our expectations just so it's Equitable across the board if that makes sense Jake did you want to he's got a massive spreadsheet with all sorts stuff um and that that we've been looking at for quite a while when we had all of our discussions I'm pretty sure that he could forward that on to the board I don't know if the superintendent has access to it or not but it's it's there so we he's got hours and everything and just point of clarification yes is that a member request or are you saying in the future when when the next contract comes that there's more clarity because this is included in every contract yes it is it's it I mean yes if it's available great I don't I mean there's already been a a lot of work done on this um I think for in future um in the future for sure I would hope that that would come thanks yeah thank you for clarifying that's just before the vote I want to just note that I'll be abstaining from this particular vote as my spouse is covered by the um the contract in question so thank you any other discuss oh Laura and this this does um does comply with our district Equity statement okay just want to make sure I would say that the whole if if I may I would say that this restructure as mentioned previously really hadn't been looked into or changed much so there were many things that were list on the list that we hadn't run in many years other new things so I really appreciate that the committee came together with that Equity lens to look at what are we actually running like this was the first time in a long time correct me if I'm wrong that the schedule D was cracked wide open and kind of everything was on the table with the four committee members so thank you for your extra time and putting that together and your collaboration working together we want you to note that we are all on the same side of the table it it's important I mean we are we're all working together we're all on the same side of the table two different tables technically figurative table because when we had our fifth meeting uh it was literally we met and we had we were projecting on his board and it was are we going to sit on the same side of the table I said yes we are we're on the same side of the table we have a common purpose so although we were sitting in desks I thought the student desks were more than comfortable so high quality we're all getting Punchy tonight y thank you all thank you all right any other discussion all right now we'll proceed to vote all those in fit for signify by saying I I opposed abstain yes abstain I almost missed it yeah I wouldn't let you miss it motion carries just dead falling asleep thank you thank you all your time and thanks for sticking around thank all right um our next item is the um clerical contract and I'm assuming for these next several um action items we'll have both director Bennett and director Henkin at the table um so we will start with the clerical contract um do would you like to would you like to say something prior to me asking for a motion that'd be great okay it's getting late though um chair Mueller members of the board superintendent stenvik we presented I think it back in August at the 14th meeting a Clos session on the clerical custodial and Food Service negotiations all three contracts have been ratified by the unions and we're just working on getting signatures right now but they all have been ratified and so starting with the clerical some of their changes include an increase to longevity um three days of bement leave not deducted from sick leave it used to be deducted from sick leave paid holiday for juneth for staff that does work over that day in June um an increase inrease to the bilingual hourly differential a 4% increase in year 1 and a 2.5% increase in year two and then a memorandum of understanding on earned sick and safe time which we legally have to do and pelra um which is just Union access to employees thank you um can I please get a motion to approve the clerical contract as presented so moved Mar in a second second second by Laura any discussion hearing none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstained motion carries thank you um next we have the custodial contract and very similar to the clerical contract um increased longevity um against some bement leave not deducted from sick leave um this contract did have some Market adjustments to their salary schedule as we looked at comparisons with a 4% in year 1 and a 2 and a half% in year two um changing the language for the uniform allowance some lure differentials um change to reimbursement amounts and we added a locksmith differential um one thing we did look at was we increased their personal leave from two days to three days which is in line with a yearround staff member and again they have Theus for earn sick and safe time and pelra thank you um can I please get a motion to approve the custodial contract as presented so moved Jessica and a second second second by Julie any discussion right hearing none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you next we have our food service contract the last contract tonight is the food service contract um again very similar um increased longevity again looking at the bement not deducted from sick leave we also did some Market adjustments to their salary schedule to get more in line with comparison districts with the 4% then in a 2.5 re revised language for staff that Subs in a different class um increased to level two three and four certification stiens and the same mlus as the other groups thank you can I please get a motion to approve the food service contract as presented so move Laura and a second second second by Michelle any discussion hearing none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you and thank you all um for you and your negotiations team and for all of our staff on the negotiations team um for working so hard on these contracts thank you all right and next hey you guys are here again um for the teachers on call rates want me to start there are you good um chair mu and members of the board superintendent stenvik um we presented the last board meeting on teachers on call sub rates and we wanted to get um a board approved document that does have the exact rates on it um we were a little bit behind because of covid and just having to be keep up with the market and um needing more subs so tonight it's to finalize um the rates and they were in the packet and we did have a question last time about um retired Subs so we did change that number so does reflect a higher amount than just somebody doing a daily sub thank you um can I please get a motion to approve the teachers on call um substitute rates for the 2024 2025 school year so moved Julie in a second second second by Mary any discussion J I just want to thank you for making that revision um to the schedule for uh retired teachers I think it's important to restore that incentive and that was our intention so thank you for that thank you any other discussion right here and I'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you you director Bennett before you leave just really quick with the other contract um motions that that we passed I did not I mean I just said as presented I didn't specify the dates of the contract that's fine right like for the 2024 2026 school years that's as presented but I just want to make sure okay there's the suggested motions at the bottom of my page that I didn't use so just making sure okay okay thank you all right director Henkin um flying solo here for the Columbia Academy roof all right um I was making a change on here while we were talking because the zoom is no longer functioning so I'm all set up over here for the zoom and now I have to be here because there is no Zoom so apologize for that but I was trying to be ready you're good um okay so uh thank you chair Mueller members of the board and superintendent stck um uh just because this is an action item that um this evening I had something update into the board on the Friday packet so I have a couple slides just to kind of show you this is um Columbia Academy rof bid authorization to post um um our mission Columbia Heights Public School is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed with our core values of community Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation aligning with our chps Board of uh education Equity statement um so Columbia Academy um we originally wasn't identified as one of our um buildings that had roofs that were um in phase one which is our replacement phase of our roof study um and uh so that was five years ago um and and almost going five going into six years ago and during that time um we've done some additional evaluation of the building and found that there's three sections of rough um that um no longer meet those requirements um for uh you know a replace not a um for refurbishing and are into that phase one or continuing that phase one into replacement um so you know we checked insulation and and um you there's a lot more wet insulation in areas and and so deemed no longer viable for just refurbishing the roof um and uh are resurfacing the roof and so um this evening what I'm asking for is authorization to post for bid for these three sections so it's just approving um us to post in the paper for um to accept the bids um and then once we receive those bids I'll bring that back to the school board as an information item and uh and then we can move forward to the action item of actually approving uh doing the project um so we're just starting with the the bid authorization right now thank you very much um can I please get a motion to authorize the publishing of legal notice on solicitation of the bids for the replacement of sections of roof on Columbia Academy no Laura and a second second second by Julie any discussion Julie so we obviously have had a major disaster out on the east coast and I'm concerned about our pricing for this are we going to I mean this could be a 50% increase in materials and um it could be more than that who knows but my biggest concern is if we don't get it done this year because that pricing is going to be too high for us um what is I mean our our roof isn't falling apart right I mean we how long can we last with that roof uh no it's not um but we would have to further evaluate um I mean it is you know it's in that replacement phase and um so we would deem that it's a '90s 19990s rough um so we're deeming that as a you know fairly critical um you know we should be replacing this as soon as we can um so that's why we're extending our you know fiveyear replacement of roofs to six um to get it done um I would say that you know yes there's there's you know a hurricane coming into Florida again Category 5 right now and um yes that's going to be a Major Impact to that area and yes there's going to be a lot um of hit to um you know supply of of product uh for all sorts of things I'm sure in construction World um you know I think the fact that we're we're moving now is to our benefit um and getting out as fast as we can get out um and if they come back too high um we will have to um you know work with garland work with a Ruff company we usually use Peterson Brothers for repairs to roughs um and uh just evaluate how we can um sustain um moving forward I don't necessarily predict that to be an immediate impact to us um in that way um but if it continues of course there's a future impact that is not pretty so thank you thanks Julie it is a good question thank you any other discussion hearing n we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you thank you thanks director hunkins um next we have our American Indian overnight field trip superintendent snic thank you uh chair mu members of of the board on September 24th the board was presented with information on a proposed overnight field trip as part of the American Indian education program um the field trip would be over mea weekend so Friday October 18th returning Sunday October 20th um the trip would be to the maax band of ojibway um in Onamia and um the trip would be comprised of up to 10 um American Canadian identifying high school students um and there is no cost to the students this is covered by our American Indian education funding so seeking approval for the field trip sorry super um can I please get a motion to approve the overnight American Indian education program field trip to maax taking place October 18th to the 20th so moved Laura in a second second second by Mary any discussion hearing none will proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you um next we have building capacity superintendent symic thank you chair Mueller members of the board um this is an ongoing discussion with the school board um looking at our enrollment numbers along with our enrollment patterns um so at this time working in collaboration with Highland Elementary principal um this evening I'm seeking that grade three at Highland Elementary be reopened to open enrollment um also looking at the um grade levels at CL Heights High School um seeking that Columbia Heights High School be closed to open enrollment due to capacity and again this would be for the remainder of the school year unless uh the numbers change such that we would need to either open or close thank you um I'm looking at the recommended motion here and I just got to reward it a little bit so so um can I please get a motion to approve the reopening of Highland Elementary grade three to open enrollment and close Columbia Heights High School to open enrollment during the 2024 2025 school year or unless enrollment numbers change so moved Julie in a second second second by Michelle any discussion just to clarify again in your recommendation for the high school closure it is not 9th 10th 11th and 12th correct all yep all grades all grades transition anchor all programs as well thank you good question and that it's only to open enrollment our our community students still have a place to come to school correct thank you any other discussion Julie does this mean Colombia Heights is growing from a internally perspective I mean isn't that what that says is that we're get getting more and more students from inside our district which I that seems to be a really good thing it not I mean I would say it's not necessarily from inside our district because any grade that isn't closed to open enrollment is accepting open enrollment but as a whole our enrollment is in is higher than it has been in the past we we have not for the last eight years that I've been on the board we have not closed this many grades um to open enrollment so and we've never closed the high school in the entire time I've been on here wow and I do like anecdotally I do know um several people that have been told that they were not eligible for open enrollment and then have sought um housing here within our school district so we do have people that are moving to our district to attend our schools I just wanted to make a point for the public to see AB we are growing this is a good district and um it's it's exciting to see people want to come to school here yeah yep absolutely great thank you any other discussion right here none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you thank you um next moving on to board topics do we have any board topics this evening Mary I have one um so just wanted to note that our robotics team team um as was earlier discussed has massively grown and this year for the first time uh Columbia H Public Schools will be hosting all of the tournaments so that means um we are going to have a lot of people coming in a lot of students and that also means that we're going to have a lot of opportunities for um for volunteering to support uh all of the all of the influx of people um um please feel free to reach out I'm gonna say to director um oh my gosh why am I blinking on it's late guys uh Mr Henderson thank you Henderson I was Henkin and I'm like I know that that's not it it's late everybody um please feel free to reach out to him or to uh our robotics coach Ariel orcut um and please come and and watch it it's fantastic it changes it's Dynamic and it is really really amazing to see uh how hard our students work on this we may have a robotics class in some way shape or form or Engineering in one one way shape or form but it is vastly different from the things that they are doing in that robotics um team so that is the the scoop on that our very first uh match zero is the October 24th so um I will be down at Columbia Academy and welcome everybody else who's able to come join us there thank you thank you Jessica um I would just add to that that actually a robotics tournament that was hosted at Columbia Academy was my family's first introduction to this District we took our then three-year-old um just to check it out as community members when we first moved to Columbia Heights um and that was our first introduction to Columbia Academy and the district as a whole so um it is something that community members can also attend and see the really cool things that our students are doing so yeah story time from me I love it any other board topics I just have I just have one thing I would like to share um I was talking earlier about uh the conference um uh that's that um that was one of the ones that were offered through 9916 um uh about special education is that they're actually going to be 9116 is actually going to be uh presenting at this particular conference about the teacher Apprentice program um so which is extremely exciting because it is funded uh for a number of years and that is where educational assistants can actually become teachers while they work at no cost including certification in those in those specific in the EBD they can but 916 can actually certify these teaches now and that is a benefit to our district and it is um it is a grow your own program and it actually has um increased the level of satisfaction of our educational assistance in 9116 and those are really incredibly hard positions to find because they have the opportunity now to be able to to continue their education even at a lower wage because they don't have to stop working while they earn their stuff so I I love that kind of innovation and being part of the collaboration that we have and I'm really hopeful that the that the success of this program can actually expand maybe even out of specialized field maybe we can maybe we can look at doing something for regular teachers too um maybe in the future this is successful just keep an keep an eye out for it because this is really exciting oh and I and I got the cards here and this I I was thinking this would be a fun activity for um for a teacher induction I can't wait to see them closer yeah I I thought it was a lot of fun yeah I did whisper to Zena earlier if we could get um somehow get a copy of the Laura Palmer trading cards so you don't have to I've got I've got the dist taking a peek all the districts isn't that fun no we just need Laura you we can all have that not a good picture sorry um I've got a I've got a couple um board topics one is that um uh for our subcommittee meetings starting next month we're going to do a room swap um and since you know I can't talk to all of you guys unless we're here in a public meeting but the subcommittee on policy is going to meet in the training room and the sub sub commmittee on community engagement it's going to meet in this room um we've got a lot of policies that we're still trying to get through and we've actually had a little bit of trouble hearing each other and kind of working in this large space um for those conversations so we're going to give that a try so just be aware of why that's happening I have made that request um also um if you um choose not to attend the robotics tournament on the 24th um please note that that is the um scholarship found um there's ofing that day but both of those are available to you so if you are interested in going to the foundation dinner um please RSVP um the link was in our update and then also um just a reminder as Trunk or Treat is coming up um on the 26th to let Stephanie know if you are able to volunteer for that event um it's been cold some days it's been not but we have we we've always had a great time um interacting with our students and families um in the community for that great event so it's really a fun thing for board members to do so if you have an opportunity do we have to dress up do we have to dress up you do not have to dress up I'm not a strongly encouraged I'm not a dress rapper Julie and so I don't dress up but I've had a great time but I love seeing my fellow board members who have dressed up um it's not my Shick but I do go and and play games with the kids and um have a great time so will there be Plinko again or are we looking at a different they love that that's an option well it was so it was that's why I'm ask needed to be lower so we we that is an option we're we're exploring other opportunities excellent but will there be candy pres serve our backs Mary you knew that we knew where that was going yes the city provides candy not the school district good answer yes so you can eat more than5 dollar worth yeah any other board topics tonight all right thank you all for your time we'll Jour the meeting at 826