all right welcome um it is the March 11th regular school board meeting uh please stand if you are able for 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 indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right thank you Michelle would you do roll call please I sure will Petway here madaras here um sorry I didn't write it down today and I should have um anoir Roode here Smith here H granin here Palmer superintendent here wonderful all right well Columbia Heights Public Schools our mission statement 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 all right so we have the agenda as presented um can I get a motion to approve the agenda so moved Jessica second second Smith or Karina Smith yes uh any discussion all those in favor say I I I opposed abstained motion carries all right announcements so March 18th uh we have our 5:30 work session here in the community room the 25th we have our regular Schoolboard meeting at 6 pm here in the community room and as a reminder March 31st through April 7th is spring break we will not have school on those days okay communication to the board this is the time where citizens and employee Representatives can address the school board make brief remarks ask clarifying questions and if desired request the administration followup is there any communication there is none okay thank you so much all right moving into the consent agenda our consent agenda includes the Personnel report treasury report policy second reading of the 204 Schoolboard meeting minutes and 428 remote work those can be found on our website um oh I scrolled up and moved on and the minutes for the and the minutes that's the one thank you minutes from February 25th meeting can I have a motion to approve the agenda the consent agenda thank you mve Michelle can I get a second second Jessica this is gonna be fun yeah yeah um any discussion all right uh we'll proceed to a vote all those in favor of approving the consent agenda say I I I opposed abstained MO carries okay moving into discussion reports and information items we'll start first with reports from members of the board um we'll start with Karina would you like to go first happy to you thank you the thing um let's see since the last board meeting I did attend the business meeting um that was over at Freddy fredley Sunday Hall um that was a great meeting also had other members of the school administration there um and made some connections around the upcoming care career fair which was wonderful um did attend the North Park tour um that was also really great to see students and some of the programs and um some of the things that make that school really special um I did also towards the end of February attended the Cottage Grove black history um Step show which um had a former Columbia Heights alumni there um leading the step team for preo Academy so that was really cool um and then on Monday was Repro laab day as well as the msba legislative day and so it was at the capital and there are many things happening and going on so that's what I've been up to all right thank you Michelle yeah um really short I attended the um ECFE Winter Carnival um here at the family center uh it was a lot of fun I enjoyed watching my 11-year-old do all of the preschool activities um but she was she was a great sport about and it was just a fun event to to come be a part of and I attended cohon put on by Heights next which was awesome I got to judge a cosplay contest and see the winners be so excited to have their certificates and prizes um and we sang karaoke and enjoyed the night so it was great and that's all I have thank you thanks Jessica sure um yesterday I had the opportunity to attend um msba and Mass's joint dat at the capital along with chair gramin and super intended svic uh we met with all of our Representatives um alongside our partner school districts and we had a lot of conversation in support of um fixing the compensatory Aid model um and uh other bills that are out there but primarily um funding related um uh initiatives um I also uh just this morning um submitted some written testimony um on a bill in the senate senate file 787 um that proposes to make uh changes to open meeting law that would allow for more flexibility for remote participation uh in um state and local government meetings um so I submitted some testimony about my experience as a new mom with a baby in the NICU when I first started as a board member here and the importance of um opening up uh more remote participation uh to allow for more accessible um and inclusive opportunities for public service um so I submitted that earlier today um and then I also attended the policy subcommittee meeting prior to this board meeting thanks wonderful thank you um I too attended kohon um and it was great we got to see families and students coming in and learning how to play different games and just be really connected with the community um so it was pretty fantastic uh enjoyed the snow day that we kind of got last week um there were snowmen built in my yard uh but it was really great and it was wonderful to see that students were still able to connect and get online and get some work done and then also have time to go outside and play in the snow which I know is something that is really um top of mind for superintendent stenick yes um I also attended the tour of North Park which is as always pretty fantastic um and as was already stated I also attended the msba slasa day um and it was really great to be able to um to show our legislators that all of the school districts that they are um representing are aligned for the same purposes and really a lot of us no matter where we fall are really worried about compensatory Aid um I've had several conversations with uh the with other chairs of districts that are going to be most impacted by compensatory Aid um that change coming up and really connecting with our legislators in particular about that um and so tomorrow I'll be joining another um chair and going back to the legislature to talk about not only how negative it will how negatively it'll impact our school district but also show that um we have strong support from other school districts too and we are not the only ones we may just be very loud and we may be have legislators that can hear us but um being able to show that we have the numbers of people who are impacted and we are a strong Coalition so I'm grateful for that lots of conversations with staff and students and superintendent St Vic and members of the board which I think that is all of mine um I'll pass it over to you superintendent stvi thank you since our last board meeting I was able to attend a girls basketball game and a boys basketball game both of them uh they had the senior athlete recognition day which is really amazing that the the younger athletes honor and recognize the outgoing you know the 12th graders on the team um and I'll say the girls basketball team has just been incredible it's been really fun to watch them this year um and their tenacity and their just persistence and we narrowly beat uh beat it was just such a riveting game uh Bloomington Kennedy so that was really fun to be there um the district professional development was last week was a strange week we had the snow day and we also had the e-learning day excuse me uh and the um professional development day on Friday so on the professional development day I was able to attend an special education session that was really fascinating and um great and then um assistant superintendent nambo and I met with the English learner program coordinator and members of our teachers union um to discuss the how our English learner program is going this year and um of course over the last few years we've increased in staff to try and keep up with our increase in students but it's pretty clear that um you know they're there it's still challenging the volume of of of of need um is challenging and there is a request for more Staffing in that area so I do really appreciate the discussion and also their advocacy um and then of course the day at the capital yesterday hosted by msba and Masa um really was an incredible day to hear from all the different legislators see a senate hearing um hear the presentations on compensatory Aid and then the connections with other districts was was great so thanks thank you so much all right then we'll move on to our student Representatives ASA you are here would you like to talk about what you've been up to Yes um on February 27th I competed in Tri Metro for speech at Fridley um I also competed at Fridley for a regular speech tournament on March 1st I started synchronized swimming on March 3rd I met with the assistant superintendent for on um policy 512 on March 5th um I competed in the South St Paul speech tournament on March 8th and I attended the subcommittee on policy just before this wonderful thank you all right moving on to our activities update I see director H Henderson see now we're even Jake welcome well I don't know I been started yet so that's what I want to hear right there we go all right uh thank you chair granin members of the board uh superintendent senent thank you for having me tonight um our mission in Columbia Heights is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong and all succeed our presentation this evening is going to touch on all of our core values um and tonight's presentation um our short presentation is just an informational meeting um for you all right so in activities we continue to to focus um on these these four um values Community being comp as competitive as possible creating a positive culture and just Wellness in general physical and mental Wellness oops moving a little bit too fast for you um and it's been really fun to see we've really challenged our teams and our groups this uh fall and then this winter just to be intentional about what they can do surrounding these uh four focuses and so it's been really fun to see like I said we've had some high school teams that have gone down to ca and just in the vibe of community uh attended practices and attended games and our CA students get really excited when they see our High School coaches and our high school athletes down at at their events um so that's been uh really exciting and fun several of our teams uh this fall in this winter have also gone to college matches or games and uh just as a team bonding experience and so um it's been really cool to see our coaches and advisers really take that on be intentional with um these things things that they're generally doing already um but maybe taking it up one level um and so that's been really great and I think is is going to pay dividends down the road just in terms of our team and our positive culture and an overall Community too uh you can see on the screen here as I usually do for our updates these are our winter participation numbers and uh I believe it was last fall maybe it was last spring I can't remember now um you asked me to split it into uh CA and high school and so I've done that here for the 2425 um Seasons uh of activities and Athletics and you can see uh we're say staying relatively stable in terms of what our our numbers are across the board there's a couple of things that we'd like to see a handful of uh more participants and and some of them were sitting at uh capacity probably which is which is a really good thing and and some of those things that we would like to see a handful more um we we have those conversations with coaches advisers afterwards and and we uh talk about how are we going to uh first of all let the kids know and hopefully get them involved and and some of those things are happening tonight I don't think there's a ton of kids down there but wrestling we've got um we've put out for some youth wrestling on the next few Tuesdays and some of our high school athletes and coaches are just down there with some elementary kids um just introducing them to the sport of wrestling and so it's a long-term game but um excited that uh our our coaches and and kids are are on that and and working towards growing those numbers too so I'll give you just a half second to to look at those for a little bit longer or I can come back to it thank you um a handful more highlights um it was a really good winter season and we've got a lot of highlights some of them are even stretching back to late fall just to update you but uh I'll just run through them really quickly our our Shrek musical received 11 honors I think most of you know this uh Christen cine carello and Victor Alvarez um cine carello was our section for AA coach of the year and Victor was here previously a couple months ago um uh being honored for that State coach of the year for girls soccer so exciting there uh we have our announced our AAA Award winners I hope I don't mess this up it's Athletics activities and uh academics um from the high school league and so they have to participate in both an activity such as speech um and an athletic event in the Minnesota State High School league and then their GPA has to be um high as well and so kolina uh baldovinos Miranda and Daniel abiba are our nominees or sorry our award winners from Columbia Heights High School for that um our science Bowl again received the civility award um the pep band from CA and the high school was really really fun uh playing way up in the uh top portion of our stands for one of our basketball games uh it's always a great event lots and lots of kids um and really uh a ton of noise in there and it makes the event like really exciting so it was fun um and and it it draws like a different crowd there's a lot lot of uh Youth and elementary kids in there and it's really fun that way too um we had SE uh four high school kids um qualify for the brain bee contest at the U ofm not technically a part of ours but it was pretty pretty neat too um Daniel Abba again is on here he was at the Allstate band concert um at Orchestra Hall which was really exciting uh he actually qualified for that last year but he got to compete or not compete but part participate in that this year so really exciting our dance team placs third um and they received honors for their team GPA which is awesome too and our speech team plays second in the tri Metro conference um as well and their season is is still going here um and we've got uh sections coming up for that and hopefully we'll get some participants at State um we generally do and then uh we have Annie Jr this weekend um Friday Saturday and Sunday at the PAC so come on out it' be great to see you I was just in there I sat in there for I don't know 30 minutes and just was typing emails and um it I'm I'm excited so it was really fun all right moving on uh I can't give you a ton of spring numbers right now because those are just rolling in and they are starting right now we had track and baseball and softball start this past uh Monday yesterday and then we had Synchro start previously um we had girls flag football start at the middle school so we've got several of our spring Sports and activities starting here our high school play will be the uh um actors and actresses will be announced here shortly um and so excited about the spring there's uh a lot happening anything in particular new happening oh yeah boys volleyball will be starting on Monday as well oh oh I don't know who might be excited about that but um yeah so exciting uh we already have a lot of kids signed up for boys volleyball so um really excited to bring that new sport our kids have been asking for that for a while and the police department has really helped us out with um opportunities for um funding that for this school year so um great partnership we have with them and um excited to see that in our gym so and I think there will be some invites going out for on Friday for our inaugural uh season and and for one of our upcoming matches so hope to see you there wonderful uh just one more thing before I get to the the fun part of the slideshow uh we have received several grants this year so we're always looking for uh ways to increase our funding in the activities Department uh so you see some of the grants that we we just found out y yesterday actually that we received a ship grant for our um weit room so excited for that um we did as well as and I'll throw it out there to uh Megan Nelson one of our PE teachers so um also receed that Grant to update and get some new equipment in the weight room so excited for that uh but we have yeah lots of Grants and then we've been working tirelessly on this 21 cclc Grant opportunity um that is due I believe next week and so I'm hopeful and uh we're yeah we're working hard on that and just see that uh that could be really great for our community and we've had funding for that in the past and um how much uh fantastic program programming we can do after school or outside school hours with that Grant and so um we are working really hard on that several of us on um in the in the district are working on that all right my favorite part and hopefully yours too uh I actually get the you all have said some events that you've been to um I go to a lot of events I don't go to all of the events um but that is the best part of the job that you just get to see Kids In Action doing their thing and it's it's really fun to see so there's not maybe a ton of there's some action shots but um this is this is uh this is hopefully your favorite part just getting to see a handful of our our kids um throughout the winter participating in their activities so hopefully this works I don't think there's music to it this time you could sing yeah ah no one wants that quick that one that's an action shot how many girls on the wrestling team on the wrestling five or six um there's a solid yeah nice they did well at sections it was really fun I bet yeah a we hosted a lot of uh four actually robotics meets to at the um um at the middle school this year for the first time in a long time so that was really exciting and um great Community event opportunities for them to see I saw you in there a lot of positive look awesome yeah love all their musical yeah we also hosted the tri Metro music uh Festival um at least the first time since I've been around and that's that was really fun too I think that's it y'all awesome um again favorite part of my job is I I get to see a lot of that stuff in action um and seeing those students uh just participate and something that they're passionate about and and generally pretty good at so um that's all I've got for you all thank you um sorry for your time so this is not not a governance question this is just a presentation so there was no vote after this um spoiler alert other board members so are there any questions for director Henderson Jessica thank you for the presentation um not really a question just a comment I think it's really gratifying to see um all of the work that you and your team do to chase down all of these grants and funding opportunities to provide more activities for our students um when it comes to the board level as action items we see it as like approving Foundation Grant a and Foundation Grant B um but to see what that actually means in terms of impact um for our students in the district um and be able to see them participating and learning new things and enjoying themselves is just really wonderful to see it puts like um a student face on the governance work so thank you very much I appreciate it thank you I have a question this seems like smiling so um superintendent seic did briefly bring up volleball and you talked about that so I actually got a question from a student at the middle school um last week uh inquiring about volleyball and wanting to know if um there was if we were going to be uh having having any space in volleyball at the high school for middle school students if they were interested there's always that opportunity for seventh and eighth graders to play up at a continuation school so like our Middle School um so that is an opportunity I fully anticipate that it would be difficult um because I think we're going to have too many high schoolers come out for our team that not all of them are going to even be able to participate and so yes if they're um at that level that that would be great um I think it is going to be difficult I fully hope that down the line we're able to build it out into the middle school um and have uh even more teams up here at the high school like our girls team has four levels um and so they've growing significantly we've got 40 45 uh girls coming out at the high school and then we've got 35 girls coming out at the middle school and so I'm hopeful you know we'll be able to do that at the uh on the boys side of things too we will have times uh for summer camps and things like that um and those are all open 6 through 12 and even a um intermal League that we're uh having um all open 6 through 12 boys and girls um don't know if that's going to be uh mixed or uh co-ed teams um right now but it uh it just depends um what the numbers look like for those uh summer programming awesome aome um what so you know part of this work obviously you know the student asked me so what should I direct them yeah yep or Scott oads too down there at the middle school okay sounds good I will do that thank you any other questions or comments thank you very much for this you're right the slides shows amazing it's really wonderful and um I will just say something that I heard from a student during the winter activities was one of the things that they really love about Heights in our activities um is that if they were in a larger District they they would feel like they could only be in the in the art group of students and only do art relating related activities or only be um be a jock is the word that they used and one thing that they really love about our community and our school in particular is that they don't have to choose they can they can be super artsy and also still participate in our activities and I think that the activities that you shared and all of the things that we are supporting our students in like that comes out so I wanted to make sure that I shared that with you too because I think that that's really neat thanks I think it is unique um and it's pretty cool and you see those kids like together during the school day too it's not just like in their activity and and they might be in their activity here uh playing a sport but they're sitting with the kids that generally do theater or Rob you know like it's it's it's pretty neat so yeah wonderful well thank you so much thank you all have a good night all right next up we have the draft calendar oh I'm sorry we have the calendar for 2025 2026 and the draft calendar for 2026 and 2027 director Bennett thank you so much yes chair granin members of the board superintendent stenvik um in your board packet there was two calendars one is the 2025 2026 calendar which was developed last year as part of the committee and in draft form and that calendar was reviewed by our new committee or the current committee and one change was made just to switch an in service and a flex learning day um so besides that that's a similar calendar to what was presented last spring um that calendar will be on the March 25th consent agenda for final approval and then starting last year we started working on two calendars at once for each year similar to other districts so we also developed a 2026 2027 calendar um some highlights of this one which is a little bit different we are looking to start school before Labor Day it's a late start to labor day um we will have to apply for a waiver due to construction which we should have um the committee some parents said it was just fine they want their kids to go back to school they're fine with it um there wasn't a lot of push back um from anybody to go earlier so we don't go so late into um June um again having the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off parent staff feedback and student attendance um plays a factor in that surprisingly people really enjoyed the two weeks at winter break it's um shocking shocking it is shocking because we were like oh it's only going to be a couple years and now everybody really did enjoy the two weeks I think it gave a chance to get through some of the holidays and then actually have time at the end to relax or travel if they wanted to do that um we're looking at having spring break the first full week in April and two Flex learning days so um on the March 25th consent agenda there will be the final 2025 2026 calendar and the draft 2026 2027 calendar for approval wonderful okay are there any questions or comments yeah an enormous amount of work goes into this so I appreciate all of the work that everybody did to come together to come to an agreement on on this calendar so thank you for making sure that that happened thank you um I think oh go ahead I'm just going to say since um member Palmer uh is contributing to discussion just point of order to officially uh recognize uh member Palmer is present thank you duly noted okay um so we'll have the record reflect that member Palmer has joined got it okay um welcome Laura uh I just want to say um I think it's really great to have the calendar for like two years even though it's a draft it's really helpful for planning and I'm I'm hearing that from families and I'm imagining you are hearing positive feedback from staff on that yes I'm surprised there was not more push back for starting um before Labor Day that's usually kind of a big thing but that's great I always say there's no perfect calendar um and there's some people that wasn't the top they didn't want to start before some did some didn't so it was the committee came to consensus that um for that 26 27 we will plan to start before Labor day but again we'll review the calendar next spring too so if a change has to be made we can do that I was just I also appreciate that your committee was able to put a draft calendar out for 205 26 and I think U I'm sorry 26 27 and I think um the fact that we are able to do that is what makes that conversation about starting before Labor Day a much easier one because they have so much time to plan so yeah thank you yeah all right well no other questions or comments so thank you very much welcome okay now we will move into action items we have one action item here tonight and I will so the our action item is um regarding the termination of probationary teacher contracts resolution number one um so I'm going to read the resolution and ask for a motion and then we will discuss so resolution relating to the termination and non-renewal of the teaching contracts of probationary teachers whereas the following persons are probationary teachers in Independent School District number 13 see list below be it resolved by the school board of Independent School District number 13 that pursuant to Minnesota's statutes 122 a.40 subdivision 5 the teaching contracts of those persons listed on page two of this resolution probationary teachers in Independent School District number 13 are hereby terminated and not renewed at the close of the current 2024 2025 school year be it further resolved that written notice be sent to said teachers regarding termination and non-renewal of their contract as provided by law and that said notice shall be in substantially the following form notice of termination and non-renewal dear blank you are hereby notified that at a regular meeting of the school board of Independent School District number 13 held on March 11th 2025 a resolution was adopted to to terminate your contract effective at the end of the current school year and to not renew your contract for the 2025 2026 school year set action of the board is taken pursuant to Minnesota statute 122 a.40 subdivision 5 I will not be reading the names of our teachers can I get a motion to approve this resolution so moved by Laura can I get a second second second by Michelle discussion so I will say that this is something that we have to do um this is the first of two which is again something that different that we've been doing the last few years we do probationary and the ones that we're required to um can you speak a little bit to that director Bennett since this is more this is your your uh thing thank you so I would say for about the last five years we've done in two rounds so the first round um with the teachers listed on here are for performance or if they have a lure um long-term Subs so if you're on a tier tier one it's only good for a year so we automatically have to non-renew you um tier two is good for two years so some staff their tier two is expiring and some staff it is um just not the right fit for them um so it gives them a chance to look for other employment um and I guess another nice thing too is today I started posting some of these positions that people are non-renewed for a license so they can reapply and get them back in before they find something else so it helps to have a little bit earlier the second resolution be staff that we don't have a position for right okay thank you for that so this is something we have to do every year like you said um any any other questions or comments go ahead um just want to confirm that the teachers um that are proposed to be non-renewed have been um spoken with at their buildings yes we had um principls or directors whoever was responsible they could have started last Friday Monday Tuesday so this isn't a surprise no no and a majority of them are lure related so they know it's that's the reason yeah well anybody else no well thank you very much this is a resolution so there's a roll call vote Michelle would you absolutely uh Palmer here yes pway I sorry you just look at her go I was so waiting for you madus hi Smith I and a grandma I and J oh sorry who it's been a long Tuesday guys all right all those in favor say I oh no we all did I oh my gosh look it see this is a thing it's a short one um the resolution passes thank you thank you I'm gonna blame it on the time change okay y'all totally it definitely is okay well we'll move on to board topics I have won Annie Junior's this week and um for folks in the community who may just go oh it's a middle school play not here we we do great work even our middle schoolers this is pretty pretty fantastic um student actors directors uh on top of all of the things that make it U make a play run are pretty great here so um if anybody's on the fence about whether or not they should come just come students and staff get in for free so and they are Friday Saturday Sunday or Thursday Friday no Friday Saturday and Sunday so Friday and Saturday are 7 and then Sunday is 2 normal Friday is 700 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are 2:00 oh that's different yay yep so that was a change I think that started uh this last fall was they went away from the Saturday evening performance in lie of a Saturday afternoon as well so please come everybody is welcome it's such a great time um it's over in the high school P it is in the PAC up here at the high school yes so my my eighth grad has been singing a lot of Annie songs un ironically so and they are they are always they always do a wonderful job there I know I I wish I could go but I'm not going to be in the state ohmer Y is there any talk of well we can't because of copyright stuff right we can't record right nope nope I remembered after well I had already said it and I was like no remember all right are there yes however um typically at the um art Expressions art show at Silverwood in the spring oftentimes they'll perform a song or two that's another opportunity we'll have to keep that on the radar for folks yes are there any other board topics is there something in Highland no oh I mean there's always something in Highland but that was not you were surprised oh actually yeah um I just wanted to mention to the board that uh we received from superintendent stenvik the letter that um she wrote uh jointly with uh the local 710 president uh regarding compensatory Aid and the real need for timely resolution on that issue this spring um considering that uh we as a district stand to lose $3.7 million under the compensatory aid changes um and so uh I one idea I had was uh perhaps considering um passing resolution as a board um in support of um the ask in that letter so I am going to be working on some language um that I hope to bring to the board in the future for us to consider yeah thank you very much for that uh go ahead oh I would actually like to picky back that that can be very effective especially if a lot of school districts are also doing that as well um that um was extremely uh a number of years back we did that with special education funding and although we didn't get all the big ask we eventually did get some of it so it does make an impact whenever uh we can act collectively as a board yeah I appreciate that and I know um Tre grin you mentioned you've been in in discussion with other board chairs uh of districts who um stand to lose significate funding um so that might be something we're able to to organize more broadly too yeah it's the 10 districts that are looking at losing the most financially um but even at that level um the two that are the top are is our school district and oio the differen is that our school district will be hit significantly harder than um any other District in the state on a per puple basis per pupil basis yep um and it is it's really scary and we are very lucky to have legislators who are supportive of our school and one of the things that we really have to do is make sure that everybody knows so thank you for bringing that up I appreciate it um superintendent St in our Friday packet can you please also um add in the date for the amsd uh day at the capital I think there's another one later this month is that March 24th yeah yeah because I can go I can go to that one that was actually my other board topic was mention that no that's great um but it is also that one is also a joint day so it's amsd and then it's also Masa region 9 specifically um participating in that as well so um I think that'd be a great idea if we can kind of organize who we might know who knows that they may be able to attend yes um that was something that we discussed a little bit yesterday um in passing and I'm something we can discuss more next week as well but thinking about the power of having a lot of um board members uh who are able to come to those things and to be able to Advocate and also connect with the other districts that are impacted so um look more we can discuss that more at our work session but just wanted to make sure that everybody had that date in a timely fashion so that they can if they need to rearrange things to attend that's just fine so all right any other others I love that I get to do that now my brain just won't let me rest unless I say it so um I forgot that during our reports to mention that I attended the amsd um oh board meeting which is great um where superintendent also brought up the compensatory uh questions and I also attended the subcommittee on community engagement meeting before this along with board members Smith oh thank you I can sleep tonight now wake up in the night I forgot to say all right well if there are no other topics then we will adjourn this meeting at 6:44