MH all right I'd like to call to order the September 24th meeting of the Columbia height school board and we'll start with the Pledge of Allegiance is missing thanks Mary Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all great thanks everybody um Can Michelle will you do the roll call please yes pway here granin here maderas here Palmer here W here Mueller here superintendent sck here thank you Michelle y 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 we will start with our agenda approval adjustments and announcements may I please have a a motion to approve the agenda move Michelle in a second second second by Jessica any discussion hearing none we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I I oppos abstain motion carries um next we have our announcements on October 1st at 5:00 P p.m. we have a subcommittee on policy here in the community room on October 1st at 7 p.m. we have a special called meeting in the community room October 4th um is homecoming football game with fireworks at the end October 8th at 5:00 P p.m. is a subcommittee on community engagement in the training room October 8th at 6 p.m. is a regular school board meeting in the community room October 10th is a flex learning day October 11th 17th and 18th there is no school October 15th at 5:30 p.m. is a school board work session here in the community room and October 18th the district is closed next we have our communication to the board 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 request that the administration follow up the board will not take action at this meeting on request presented at this time and time is limited to three minutes per speaker do we have anybody who wishes to address the board all right um next we will move on on to our consent agenda the consent agenda consists of the Personnel report from September 24th 2024 the Schoolboard minutes from the September 17th work session and the employee handbook as presented at the SE September 10th board meeting can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved Laura in a second second second by Michelle any discussion hearing n we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed aain motion carries um next we have our acknowledgement of contributions this is a resolution so I will read this and it's on my screen but I read better on paper acknowledgement of contributions resolution Minnesota statute 123 b.2 permits School boards to receive for the benefit of the district request donations or gift for any proper purpose and apply the same for the purpose designated on that behalf the board may act as Trustee of any trust created for the benefit of the district and for the benefit of pupils thereof therefore the school board of Columbia Heights Public Schools Independent School District number 13 resolves to accept with appreciation the contributions detailed in the background uh the detailed background includes monetary uh Columbia Heights athletic boosters donated $4,000 to girls soccer $1,000 to girl swimming $2,000 to football and $2,000 to Highland Elementary for a total of $9,000 in August and Columbia Heights VFW donated $1,000 to support boys volleyball in kind Neil granin donated 25 schools of cool filament for 3D printing for tech class usage estimated value of $4,500 an anonymous donator donated donor donated bins for classrooms and the library at Valley View estimated value of $130 Mr and Mrs Bond facilitated the collection of school supplies for Columbia Heights public schools with a support of community members and local businesses including fixed coffee the VFW Subway and Columbia Market the school supplies and backpacks were delivered to the placement center for distribution total fiscal year 2024 2025 monetary contributions to date $1 1,575 um can I please get a motion um to for this resolution to pass this resolution so moved Mary in a second second second by Julie any discussion Mary uh thank you to the community um and also you know we're we're so incredibly lucky like we say a lot um and to see the the community come together in all these ways and support our students is absolutely fantastic um my husband did donate the filament to our 3D um printing uh lab and it's specific to the high school and now I know that those ones are particularly expensive and hard to come by so um I just want to pass along his um his appreciation that he's able to bring it and to know that our kids are going to be able to use it um because 3D printing is definitely something the way of the future and it's great to be able to support our students that way so thanks Mary any other discussion all right as this is a resolution we'll do a roll call vote Michelle do the role please yes gry I I mad I Mueller I Palmer I pedway I resolution passes thank you Michelle um next we have our discussion reports and information items starting with our reports from members of the board and we will start with Laura I get start okay um I not a ton to report um I was at the um work study session um last week um I attended the tail end of the pride festival right um I was and ended up being really quite a beautiful day so that was that was really nice to be able to walk around and see everybody engaging and the singers were a lot of fun so um that was great um I also attended the um open house over at the high school um that was supposed to be of course outside but the rain again threatened it seemed to be kind of an ongoing issue um with rain and open houses but it ended up being a very nice event they pulled it all together I really like that we weren't all crammed inside the gym that was nice to be able to just walk around and I think that should pretty much cover things thank you Michelle yeah I attended last week's work session as well um I also attended the Peace Day celebration and the color run over at North Park um and I attended Pride as well this past weekend which was indeed a lot of fun um they always have great activities in Vendor so it's always nice to meet people at the City events and thanks to Heights next for putting that on for us thank you Mary um so I attended the work session last week uh as well as the candidate Forum so if people were unable to attend that recording is available online I know we were supposed to be able to live stream it and there were some technical problems but it's all up now um so people can feel free to watch that uh I also attended Pride last weekend um just this last Saturday again it started out very rainy and um I was glad to see that it cleared up to be a quite beautiful day um I also had several meetings with mayor Marquez Simla members pway and maderas and then I had several phone calls with chair Mueller members pet way maderas superintendent stck several students and families and staff over the last two weeks so thank you so much thank you Jessica oh unexpected thought you're gonna Zig you Z okay keep on it's all right I got my cheat sheet here so um it has been a busy couple of weeks um since the last Schoolboard meeting I attended the Highland PTO meeting and at that first meeting of the year uh P principal jeny went over the title one plans for the school um including academic goals as well as uh family involvement goals for the year um and then they also talked about upcoming events including uh turkey Bingo which is happening on November 15th at 5:30 at Highland I know it's also on the list of events that the subcommittee on community engagement uh presented to us um but it's a very fun event it's Highland's biggest fundraiser of the year so it's a while till November 15th but not that long so I'm starting to help promote that um I also attended the Safe Streets meeting uh with the county and the city of Columbia Heights uh and School District Representatives uh last week um I also uh attended the uh friends of cord Park meeting that was held last week and with our County Commissioner our mayor representatives from the police department um and the county talking about the renovation plans for the park um which is very impactful for our district um based on its proximity have a lot of classes um and programs that utilize the park um and so I was happy to hear about those new renovation plans um including uh a new Pavilion which they got some grant funding for so that will be going up um uh in the spring so that's exciting for our for our community um like all of you I attended the school board work session last Friday um I did attend the um School law conference that was hosted Ed by Squire wallberg and mace um and that was just a really full day of a lot of information um but some highlights for me were uh there was a session on case law updates so really hearing how the law is evolving um in our state um right now and how that might impact some of our policies and the way that we operate um also talked a lot about evolving law in social media um how we handle AI I know that's something we've talked about in our policy committee a little bit here in the district uh labor issues and then um a really an area of law that's quickly changing across the country in balancing First Amendment rights and 14th Amendment rights equal protection so um lots to learn and uh I'm glad I was able to attend that um and then like many of you I was also able to attend the Columbia Heights Pride event with my family this weekend it's exciting to see our students there um tbling with the GSA um and um meet a lot of community members so that's my report thank you great thanks Jessica Julie um I also attended the work session and had a discussion with chair Mueller um I did review expenses for June and July and so um I just kind of want to give an update there I did review the bank reconciliations and the support for our general bank account with most activity goes through and um there were no exceptions um the reconciliation was well prepared the the only thing is we still have some checks that are outstanding pre 2023 that has gone down so management has been reducing that list and working it downwards so that um we don't have to have an a sheet issue um I also looked at expenses for June and July and didn't find anything unusual um and that is it so there you go um for my report um due to my work travels it was a a little bit limited Limited in what I was able to participate in the last couple weeks but um as Julie mentioned we had dinner together and um had a really nice conversation for a couple hours um so thank you for your time um I enjoyed that um also attended the work session last week and thank you for Mary for um covering the end of that as I rushed off to the airport to a delayed flight um I also had conversations with Mary granin um and with superintendent stck so that was it for me thank you um next on is our superintendent superintendent report and correspondence superintendent seic thank you on Monday the metro area superintendents and finance directors met together to discuss the widespread education funding shortfalls um this group will meet periodically to share resources and collaborate on a legislative level potentially to ensure that lawmakers clearly understand the shortfalls in areas such as the cross subsidies and also local optional Revenue um Columbia Heights we've had to cut you know significantly over the last seven eight years that's a newer process for some districts and now that it's other districts are having to cut as well um people are more people seem to be paying attention I also met with mayor Marcus simula along with the previous mayor and who's a current city council member for our sister city wanki in Poland um they were able to take a brief tour of a school as part of their visit uh we are keeping a close eye on the enrollment at Columbia Heights High School as they are nearing capacity um if the enrollment holds and the board will receive the weekly enrollment report of course um I will likely come to the board on October 8th seeking to close to open enrollment we'll watch the enrollment uh last week I participated um along with member madas with the inoka county and city of Columbia Heights regarding Safe Streets I really appreciated the County engineer taking the time to truly listen to our needs of both the city and the school officials and there were some really interesting ideas generated about the Valley View pickup and drop off um so we'll continue to work on improving that process I attended the Schoolboard candidate Forum on September 11th and just want to thank again local 710 for hosting that Forum um lastly a huge thank you to metronics wishes for Wheels program um for donating bikes to both Highland and Valley View students I did have conversations with chair Mueller Vice chair granin and came close to meeting with member H but our paths crossed to the district Center thank you thank you very much um next on our agenda is the Columbia Heights Citywide safety plan um I would like to welcome uh suan and Conor Cox from the city of Columbia Heights just give me a second I'm going to get go ahead and uh get uh PowerPoint that I have uh up on the screen here okay I forgot what I really appreciate that Brian's here yeah Brian's like just you're almost there yeah just in case all right I got it all right screen Brian I know you showed me this too you sat down too soon there go oops yep that's no it's not not switching you're just GNA have to scroll okay sounds good members of the board thank you so much uh for having us today uh my name is Salman K I'm the assistant city engineer uh with Columbia So today we're here to talk about our Citywide Safety Action Plan um I know a couple of you uh did attend a meeting um with us and along witha County to talk about safety along 49th year which is uh under the County's jurisdiction it's a county roadway our plan is a city-wide plan so we're looking at all the streets uh that are within the city here um and so we really wanted to you know connect with the school board um they're definitely a a stakeholder here uh within the city so definitely a group that we wanted to reach out to engage with and um get some feedback um uh for our plan so just uh a brief overview of our agenda I'll I'll talk a little bit about uh the plan overview just to get everybody a better uh understanding of what the plan is all about what our our goal is um what we're trying to accomplish with that and you know how uh you all um can help us out uh with developing that plan um I'll pass it off to uh to talk more about the community engagement U that we have done and we're still continuing to do um right now um and he'll also talk about the Citywide um crash data and safety analysis um that they're working on um as well as next steps uh for the plan and we'll open it up for any questions and discussion uh to to end so just uh a brief um overview of the plan so safe streets for all it's a federal uh initiative so uh city of Columbia Heights we were awarded um federal dollars in order to put together a Citywide uh Safety Action Plan and so the goal of the program is to take a look at um um safety across the nation's roadway with the goal of reducing uh both fatal and serious injury crashes uh that happen um on our roadways and so there's kind of two um components of the Safe Streets for all program um there is a planning component and there's also an implementation so right now the city uh we received uh funding in order to do a safety action plan so that's the planning uh part of it so we're doing a comprehensive look um at our city um looking at crash data figuring out where the problem areas are um also connecting with the community um getting feedback um and uh you know bringing forward Solutions or strategies or counter measures in order to increase safety on our roadways so again um really the the the the goal of it or the main intent of it is to prevent or reduce um death and serious injuries on our roads so 2023 is when the city received um the grant funding um from fhwa or the federal government um we started we kicked off this project in June in the spring uh of this year and we're we'll conclude we'll wrap it up U by next summer um and so right now um just to kind of uh um expand on on kind of our our schedule and scope so right now we're still in the beginning stages where we're going out we're collecting feedback engaging with the community um in the background we have bolt and M who's our consultant um that we've hired uh to help us develop the Safety Action Plan they're doing uh a comprehensive safety analysis so they're looking at crash data um to figure out where are again the the problem areas um throughout Town um and what are you know some of the contributing factors that are contributing to these crashes from happening um and with that we can you know create a a High inury um Network and prioritize safety interventions interventions or Solutions um to help us uh um increase safety or reduce um those crashes from happening on our roadways um so safety I mean just to provide a little bit more um background on on kind of safety um Traffic Safety so I I used to work for the Minnesota Department of Transportation I have a traffic safety background um Traffic Safety really I mean I would say previously um prior to the the early 2000s a lot of the traffic safety that happened or the funding that would go towards Traffic Safety was more reactive where you know you would kind of wait until a bad crash happens at a certain location and then you would try to you know find funding to try to improve that specific intersection or or uh stretch of roadway um right now I mean the new approach is really to be proactive and so we're kind of taking a look at it and and uh um you know figuring out what are some of the risks that we have on our roadways and can we proactively Implement safety strategies across the system um in order to prevent those crashes from happening in the first place and so that's one of the goals I would say of this of of this comprehensive look um at our roadways uh in order to figure out what is it that we can do to prevent you know these crashes from happening in the first place um in the winter so we'll we'll get into after we're kind of um have have gotten through the um engagement and uh um comprehensive safety analysis we'll start to develop the Design Concepts based on the information that we have collected we'll also be taking a look at city-wide speed limits so um that's a question that has come up uh a number of times um there are other cities um that uh have reduced their speed limits on their City roadways um Citywide um that is something that we are looking at and uh um that'll be a part of this plan as well um the final deliverable will be a uh integrated action plan and Report um so that will be developed and put together for us um we will then you know have that information to then set us up for future funding so um the other piece of the Safe Streets for all program as I mentioned is the implementation and so once we have an idea of where our problem areas are and what are some potential solutions that will help us uh get set up for um going after uh Federal funding through Safe Streets for all as well as other there's other Federal programs the highway safety Improvement program there's other State dollars um that we can potentially go after as well so that's really the goal is to help us um um set ourselves up to uh go after those fundings for for a future implementation and so again that will kind of wrap up in the spring and summer of 2025 and so with that I'm going to pass it over to Connor he'll talk more about our community engagement thank you all right thank you so just a quick introduction my name is Connor Cox I'm a a senior Transportation planner with Bolton M as Salon mentioned we're the consulting firm that the city's hired to to lead the study um thanks again for having us here that the opportunity to speak with you I'm just going to give a quick overview of what we've been doing in terms of our community and stakeholder engagement um so we have a dedicated project web page which has a lot of background information about the study as well as where people can provide feedback we have done a couple of popup events which essentially means we go to an existing event and table add it and just try to speak to as many community members as possible um we have been in the city's newsletter as well as the E newsletter we have a online interactive map um that is live right now we've had live for um I think a month and a half or so we've got a ton of feedback on that um then we also have some informational boards that are set up at the city hall and the library just again trying to get the word out on the study and and generate traffic to uh the website a couple weeks ago we attended a work session with the city council and uh got there engagement got them involved um of course we're here at the school board meeting tonight and then we have our first open house for the study coming up here in a couple weeks on October 10th so um really what are we doing with with Community engagement the core question is we're trying to get the community members uh feedback on where they feel unsafe traveling so regardless of mode whether they uh feel unsafe when they get off the bus or when they're driving or walking or biking um we're we're trying to really pinpoint locations across the city um I'll talk a little bit more about some of the data analysis that we've done um but we kind of like to balance both the community members opinions and perspectives with what the actual data tell us and then kind of merge those two things uh I referenced that online map a little bit earlier so um this is just a quick screen grab of it um we've had over 350 comments from community members which is really outstanding engagement um you can see the different colored icons that kind of uh symbolize a different type of comment whether it's referring to a walk Walking issue a driving issue a bus issue something like that um and then in terms of our Citywide crash data so this is really kind of I guess more the technical side of things um what we what we've done is we've looked at the most recent 5-year crash data that is available and really dug into that data to try to understand where are we seeing the issues with crashes are we seeing clusters of crashes are we seeing certain areas that are particularly Troublesome and we have a a an increase focused on crashes that involve pedestrians or bicyclists because they are you know the most vulnerable users of our roadway system um and then of course in the uh unfortunate circumstance where there is a fatality or a serious injury that obviously indicates to us that that is a a major um you know problem spot and something that should never happen so we pay close attention to those types of things when we're going through this analysis and ultimately we're kind of trying to identify hotspot locations so are there certain areas that really jump out in the community where it's like that that is a big issue we should focus our attention there when we get to that next phase and start to design Solutions um and with that I guess the sort of the the big Next Step from that is we start to identify what we call a high a high Injury Network so again it's kind of filtering the roadway system down to maybe about 20% of the roadway that actually account for like 80% of the crashes so you know again it's kind of trying to figure out if we have limited resources to invest on certain safety um interventions we want to make sure that we're doing that in the places that that have the the biggest need so this is just a a again a quick figure of five-year crash data so the the map here shows all those little dots represent an individual crash that has happened at some point in the Last 5 Years the uh the orange dots represent a serious injury crash so that's when you know someone maybe broke their arm or something serious happened um unfortunately the red dots are where there's a fatality on our roadway system and then the other colored dots are more of what we call a minor injury um crash where someone you know did get hurt but it wasn't a serious injury so we take all these things into account when we're sort of evaluating the uh the crash data Citywide so I just wanted to Overlay the location of uh you know the schools in the community with this map obviously this group is familiar with these locations but um that's also telling you know something we we think about a lot is is students walking to school as I mentioned pedestrians are a vulnerable user and particularly young kids um walking so thinking about the infrastructure around schools are there things that can be improved um that could help reduce crashes so just uh briefly about our next steps for the project so I already mentioned that we have an open house public open house that's coming up here in a couple weeks at the city hall um after that we sort of I guess wrap up the initial engagement phase we're really trying to reflect as much information from community members as possible then after that we kind of go back and and really start to Workshop through things so where what what did we learn from community members what did we hear what are some of those locations that we should really start to focus on and then we start thinking about different uh design interventions how can we design a certain intersection a way that reduces crashes or is there a policy at the city level that we can tweak that would also help improve safety so we kind of get into the Design Concepts and then wrap it all up up with a a draft plan a Safety Action Plan uh and we hope to finish the project in in the spring of next year so um that's a pretty quick overview but we're happy to to take any questions or have any further discussion right thank you very much questions Julie um so I noticed that you know we have you mentioned 49th is a County Road versus a city road and of course then 65 or Central I think is a state so do we have does the city of Columbia Heights have authority over how to um change those streets even though you're you know the the county or state owned yeah thank you for the question um so uh we um work in coordination uh with both the county and the state uh we do not have jurisdiction over those roadways so we don't have the authority um to to kind of do whatever we want um but our goal is to really you know study it um bring forward the information and the data um and try to figure out um a solution and and you know we most likely would have to um you know figure out funding for it um so there are there are things that the city does on both the county um system as well as the state system um you know one example is the the safe routes to school project that we just got done uh doing um here and uh that was led uh by the city but you know a lot of the work was on 49th which is a county roadway um so so to answer your question and we don't have the full Authority so we can't just do anything without their blessings um but we do work very closely with them and the goal of this plan again is to you know put together a comprehensive look um at all of our roadways um and figure out uh the next steps thank you thank you Mary uh thank you so much um member maderas and director henkins and superintendent svic um and Cher Mueller um and actually and uh director Palmer we were all worked together for many years on uh changing 44th and working to get that um designated down by Valley View and Columbia Academy to be a um a school route so that it would have the light and help inform uh drivers to slow down I know one of the things that's complicating uh that sort of area down there where on your 5-year CR history that number one is that there's just not a lot of room to like spread it out or to add other lanes or things like that um and also I know that on your on another map you had listed 44th was another um area where there was a lot of uh comments and things about traffic there because that is also a county maintained um road if I remember correctly I think 49th 44th and 40th are all 40 44th is not um 40th is a county roadway okay yep 40th 44th is not though oh good okay um so I know a lot of the things that we talked about historically for 49th were um reducing the landan size so people weren't zooming through adding those sorts of um sidewalks and and bump outs and those sorts of things all things that are used to reduce traffic um and to slow it down is there any discussion about doing those things or um has there been any talk about the impact of that either on Central or um looking at additional changes for 49th to make that area safer yeah so um there's there's actually um a number of uh efforts U that are currently going on um one um so I'll start with uh Central Avenue so U mindat is currently right now they've gone through they they went through if you're familiar they did a p it's called the pel study um that uh took a few years they're currently right now um in in kind of the um concept design phase uh for Central Avenue um mindat is uh found funding um to do a big project on Central Avenue in 2028 um and so right now they're in the process again of going through some um Concept Designs um that have come through from the study that they did with with the with the pel study um so safety is certainly one of the one of the things that was was kind of a a high priority um for that um and so there are a number of changes um that they are proposing um as part of that project um there definitely is more more to come with that um I know mindat is planning to do their own um engagement in open houses in order to present um the vision that they have uh for for the stretch of roadway um and so a lot of I'll give you kind of a teaser I mean know a lot of what they're talking about right now is kind of narrowing down the roadway to slow cars down um and also putting in you know more pet and bike infrastructure um along Central Avenue um again that's still in the very concept or preliminary phase um so there's nothing um that's been finalized as of yet but um that's uh some of the ideas um that they have brought forward um 49th and now I know um 49th we we did meet with the county um just you know very recently to to talk more about 49th um and they did collect our feedback um Anoka County is also in the process of they're also doing a comprehensive Safety Action plans themselves um so that's also in the works and um I did attend a last week they did have a workshop um where they invited uh various loal local agencies to come attend to talk about um their safety action plan and for for the local agencies to bring forward um you know areas where where we're having problems you know within um any individual City I definitely mentioned 49th I was there I mentioned 49 so that was one uh that was brought up and um that they're aware of that they are aware of um so again um that's uh that's also um in discussion and um we're trying to figure out um you know that uh that roadway as well well um 44th you mentioned as well um 44th is having so the old we call the Rainbow site between 43rd and 44th on the west side of central um that's a large Redevelopment project that's going to be coming up um in the very near future um so with that um um Redevelopment on that site there is some work we're going to have to do on 44th um one is that um the sanitary um sewer lines that are there we're going to have to um upgrade those in order to serve on that site um So currently right now they're proposing I can't remember the number it was 6 or 700 units um on that site and so um there is some work we need to do and so with that we're going to have to rip up the entire roadway in order to um kind of redo those sanitary sewer um service lines and so we are um in the process of also figuring out well you know if we're going to Riv up the roadway what is it going to look like when we put it back we don't have plans to put it back exactly the way it is right now um but I mean that is uh um something that uh um you know we're we're figuring out right now and um planning for um for the future and so safety um improvements um will definitely be a part of of kind of what we are um considering and looking at and um we will I'm sure you know come back uh you know in front of you all again you know once we're at that point um to figure out you know what 44th should look like wonderful thank you so much I just want to say um chair Mueller lives close to where I live off 44th and it is also part of um there's a lot of kids that have to walk to school that way and Where the Sidewalk Ends is literally my neighbors sure um it stops right before it gets to my house and so thinking about um even Beyond just 49th that Corridor like all of the spaces in between that our students have to walk that is um that as your data shows not entirely safe always for our our students and our families that have to Traverse it so thank you so much for this information it's really helpful absolutely um I actually I have a specific question about um 40th between Reservoir and Central um uh coming down out of that hill with circle Terrace right there is a really dangerous intersection and we've been very fortunate I've seen buses school buses stuck there on that on that in that little section right there um I don't know if there's any consideration on maybe not having traffic coming out on the 40th off of that Hill yeah so um Circle Terrace is two ways but it's you can't you can't see really well right there and there's no way to stop sure win um if you haven't done so already I would um submit that comment on I put that in my notes we're taking some notes here today too yeah so yeah that's uh that's I I was um a couple of years back when we had all that ice there was a school bus stuck right there and and I called the police I said you better C shut this road down because somebody's going to because they're just sliding down Road and I'm frankly my kid gets on that bus so sure yep I appreciate that for youed back out we'll we'll definitely take that in consideration thank you Michelle um so you said are federal dollars going towards this like is it covering fully or just a part of it yeah so um good question so um the we actually have a um we also we have majority of it is federal funds um but we also did get um funding from the state um as well in order to cover our match so with the Safe Streets for all um program it's a 8020 split um between Federal and local um but there was also so a program um from the state level which provided funding for the local match of it so we were basically covered Almost 100% um with both Federal and State dollars uh for the project thank you other questions or comments Jessica just as we're talking about the community engagement efforts here um because we do have community members that uh may not have seen all of the ways that that that those opportunities have been distributed and we are recording this so this would be a good opportunity too if you could tell us where uh folks could go to to find those opportunities to make comments and if you have any of the details about the October 10th open house I'd love to hear that as well yeah sure so again the the open house is in the evening on October 10th and it's at City Hall plan is for it to be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. um you can easily find the project web page I think probably the easiest way is just to search it uh Columbia Heights safy the action plan and that'll pop up and um it's it's one of those sort of interactive web pages where you can scroll down and then the the map will actually pop up kind of just right on the web page so it's pretty easy to to leave comments and you can also sign up for email updates to get notifications about future events or engagement opportunities so great thank you thanks thank you other comments um just real quick for me um I want to thank you both for coming um I think it's great to have this presentation and and it just shows the commitment um of the partnership between the city and the schools I really appreciate um that you've identified on the map kind of where our schools are um within the city and that you're paying attention to that so thank you um and also just thank you for your continued partnership and for your support with the new walkways and curbs um as part of the safe rout to school um that's that's huge for us so um as as M granin said I'm like hugely passionate about sidewalks um so I am going to go on your website and Mark all the roads in Columbia Heights that don't have sidewalks um I'm just passionate about that and making sure our kids get to school safe safely um and the the walkways and the curbs that recently happened is just a great step forward so thank you for that and really thank you for your time today absolutely I'm glad to hear it thank you so much yeah thank you you great wonderful thank you both thank you thank you thanks and you um don't think you have to stay for the rest of the meeting unless you really really want you're welcome to stay you're very welcome to stay you're not obligated no adult ever says just things that you will hear at a Schoolboard meeting and also in a classroom just stuff stuff sharing thank you both thank you both I'm ask director henkins is working on that that I will um move on to our next um item which is our American Indian overnight field trip with um superintendent stenvik and with Yolanda um slowy that was not the right one there we go and I believe Yolanda is joining us hi afterno good evening thank you for coming good evening chair Mueller members of the board uh this evening Yolanda dorso our American Indian Mentor is and I are here um to share some information about an upcoming um overnight field trip with our American Indian education program um of course our mission in Columbia Heights is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed and this um field trip overnight field trip really aligns with all of our core values including the Columbia Heights Schoolboard education Equity statement um we will be back seeking approval for the overnight field trip on October 8th so as the board knows there's a variety of different types of field trips this would be an instructional field trip the board may remember that in June uh Yolanda and I took students uh to maax in June um and this is a photo of the Four Seasons room um at the Museum we were really fortunate because um one of Yolanda's family members um works as a dosent at the Museum and was able to get us back into the archives so these are not on public display um artifacts um but following this process is part of Schoolboard policy and seeking approval so Yolanda did you want to share yeah so hi Max we we have name this uh field trip Aqua Mizan which means Heights at Max um I I really love the the way that we say this um and that we have a place there our students um really appreciate the cultural immersion that they get while they are on this program or this field trip and I have learned that this has been a bond in experience between these students that have been there before so the purpose of this cultural trip to M Lake area is to bring a source of connection with the Earth while learning of the original caretakers of the land through a experiment experiential there we go lessons about the Minesota ojibway migration and the traditional stories of the Dakota people in addition to building community and connection to our own cultural their own cultural identity students will engage in academic activities aliance to science social studies and language art standards um so while we were on this trip and and while will we be on this new trip uh starting October 18th to the 2th we will be doing a hiking presentation with the Minnesota DNR and that will be linked to what they learned last year um with our Minnesota tribal DNR um Todd I cannot remember his last name I'm so very sorry about that um we also tour the max Lake Museum um we would be wanting to do that also again um to have it you know more time they had a lot of questions they wanted to go through it more I think that would be a really good experience for them to build on visiting the maax lake Trading Post which was opened in 1867 um and that still has historical reference and also U modern contemporary art that children our students can learn from we will also be doing presentations with the maax lake officials and having other cultural experiences that will gain Community Building connection and bond in through our students bringing them a good um Community within our Heights um schools so so that will be October go ahead I was gonna say our inaugural trip was last June and we debriefed with the students it was a wonderful and amazing experience um but you know we always are continually learning and um um June was was a Troublesome in some ways because of so many mosquitoes um were not fun yes there were mosquitoes there were even a tick or two um and so really looking towards October the dates here are the Friday Saturday and Sunday of mea weekend so returning that Sunday so students would not miss school um a couple of the students would might be like repeat students and so the trip would be designed designed to do to go deeper with some of the same but also different experiences that they would have um um and again there would be no cost to the qualifying students and this would be students who are part of the American Indian education program at Columbia Heights High School and with that I will stop sharing we'll take any questions we'll be back October 8th any questions yeah goe um I'm confused by the dates 8th or 18th you're going on the 18th through the 20th is the yep so we'll be back at the next board meeting which is October 8th seeking a vote of approval from the board okay that's where I was confused I was hearing 8th and then I was hearing 18th and hoping to travel uh over mea weekend which I know it has a different name now but that's we still ref as sorry that's fine thank you yeah Laura I just have a quick comment and I I just love how this program and everything that's being that's being done just how much it's grown since the time I've been on this board and um I'm I'm hoping that we're really um we're we're really moving towards the um the reason for being able to support the uh this this additional um cultural and educational and being able to help to um maintain you know the people of the First Nation being able to have these experiences um outside of what we've created here you know and being able to enjoy I it's just been it's just such a it's grown so much more than just simple you know uh handicrafts and stuff like that being able to bring in and and get out there and I really wish I could be on some of these trips because they literally look amazing thank you the thank you so much to everybody who donated so much of their time to making this a great program the um we had really strong feedback from the student groups that they want as Yolanda mentioned they want to be more connected and that was another rationale of moving this excursion to the beginning of the school year so students that you know form that bond in the beginning of the year and it lasts throughout the years um that was really important I know not to speak for you Yolanda but to you Yolanda as well yes that's very true um I do have a comment I you know one of our area goals is ask the question of does family feels supported by staff and you know their mentor and I think that um I I feel personally supported by this school board and by our superintendent and the whole administration at Columbia Heights and for us to be able to do this kind of trip and not only just this trip but our buffalo trip and all of the other events that we are able to do shows the commitment that you all have to our program and I really do appreciate that thank you other comments or questions I I have two one did I miss the slide where you said that the board chair needed to attend no because it was vice chair sorry kind of really would like to attend this trip as well um and then can you just talk a little bit about where the funding um comes from for this yep room and in fact at the next board meeting Yolanda and I will be back uh because we're meeting with the parent committee on the this year's goals and budget and so that will be coming to the board as well on October 8th um but there's two funding streams one is federal which is a much smaller po of funding and then one is State funding so it's funding dedicated um to support our American Indian students and families thank you anything else all right we'll see you guys back on the eth for that as well as the um action item of the the trip M thank you you thank you yeah thank you guys right um our next item is the teacher on call rates and we have uh director Henkin in the room and director Bennett on Zoom all right I will get this started I know it's on the wrong thing right now but fix that it's just a teaser for what's to come that's right my floating controls blocking me and hopefully this starts since we were having problems with this starting before so we'll just get started and we'll see what happens all right thank you chair Miller members of the board and superintendent senic um so this evening um we talk about as an information item our teachers on call um rates so that's our uh organization that work with substitute um teachers our mission Columbia Heights Public Schools creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed and our core values of community Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation aligning with um chps Board of Education equity statement so uh this is an information it presentation this evening we'll follow by an action item uh back to the board on October 8th um so uh teachers on call rates um typically we don't fluctuate a lot um and uh but through the pandemic um we had to make some changes um to those rates um to fluctuate uh to ensure that we could compete for the available substitute pool which was very challenging uh actually continues to be challenging um during that um time our elementary rates we did ra increase higher than our secondary rates because that we had an easier time at the secondary level covering um for classrooms with um other teachers on their prep and paying them for that at the elementary level that was much more difficult and we so had a harder time getting um those covered um so we did increase those and we did look at Metro comparable District rates um both in during the pandemic and continue to look at them now and uh and they do fall our current rates that have adjusted through the pandemic do fall within that that comparable range um so what uh this or this evening we're we're presenting the rates um as they are right now as they have adjusted during the pandemic and we're seeking at the next board meeting board approval of those rates moving forward um so uh making them a permanent change so the Teacher full day non-elementary um schools so the secondary schools $175 per day um full day teacher at elementary schools $200 per day um teacher retiree full day $180 per day um pair of professional clerical and Food Service $15 a day teacher long-term full day um so long-term sub $180 a day and then custodian $15 per day that's it um can you so that's $15 per day for custodian uh sorry hour sorry I was like why I was not sure if that's legal that's pretty cheap so the PA professional clerical food service and codan are 50 just magically changed to per hour yeah perfect look at that it's like magic I was wondering if that was just a Fe tacted On In addition to what we were paying so that's sorry about that so to clarify these are our current rates that they are adjusted that were adjusted kind of during Co and that what you're seeking board approval for next at our next meeting is to memorialize these rates as the current rates moving forward correct Mary um thank you so much for this I really appreciate it um when we say $200 per day or 175 hours per day how many hours are we expecting the subs to be um working for uh like for a custodian if if they're filling in for a custodial shift at eight hours um for the teachers they're filling in for a teacher contract day of seven and a qu hours right um so that's what we're looking at um you know sometimes that that is decreases um just because they cover the class um are the classes during the day so they show up um for the start of the day and then leave at the as the students are rolling out the door so it's a little bit less um than that so Bell to Bell right is that okay thank you so much other questions Jessica um I'm just wondering if we could back up a little bit and you could just explain a little bit about what teachers on call is I know for people who aren't familiar with how the substitute operational process works it's maybe very different from what people remember or grew up with and so I feel like that would be helpful for this conversation I'll let uh director Bennett start with that maybe yes so teachers on call it is a substitute agency and it used to be called kelly Services probably six or seven years ago so we've used them for since I've been here so about 18 years plus time before I was here um but it's an agency where if a teacher let's take teachers for example or absent they can call on their absence then teachers on call um will try to fill that um absence for the day and that's the primary way that we utilize substitutes external to the district correct yes it goes through teachers on call okay so it's not like there's a substitute pool that the school district has I think that that's something that not a lot of uh community members might might understand yeah um there's some districts that do it in-house but those are usually very large districts that have staff to do it we do have um three Elementary building Subs that we've hired on as our own employees we're working on hiring one for Valley View but um we do have one at Highland right now one at North Park that are our staff at that do serve as Subs in the buildings but those are the only three so then kind of in this nature you know if it's good to have a competitive rate because we want when we need a sub we you know and they call the pool we want the pool to say yes to us um and that you know they of course like any of us would do we'd look at you know I'm getting a call probably lots of calls every day and I'm getting a call from this school and they're going to pay $150 a day and I'm going to call from this school and pay $ 175 chances are they're going to go to $175 school so and thank you for doing the analysis of how we fit with with other districts other questions Jessica how often um are we doing this analysis and adjusting rates historically um I know teachers on call the contact I have there every once in a while will say your she might say like your daily full-time rate at the elementary school is low you know and here are some comparable so usually teachers on call can tell us like we're falling behind they've been very good at doing that for us too and I I would just say that I mean the pandemic really shifted this a lot um because districts across the Metro were reacting to the shortage and to the need and so there was a lot of movement during that time prior to that don't there was not a lot of movement I mean it you know 3 to five years maybe there would rates would change um but um now it's yes we're we're definitely in a different era and I guess that's what I'm wondering is do we have a a larger challenge now in this new environment where you know we're not the only School Board that's looking at our rates and determining what's comparable so are we are we in an environment that's more prone to sort of rate chasing right like we're um not something to really discuss or solve tonight but I do I do worry about that did you that's exactly what's happening because each teachers on call doesn't set the rate each School District provides the rate to teachers on call and so as chair Mueller said it's it's like a menu of options for any of the substitutes within the pool um and so it is a a kind of a game of keeping up um and really determining what we can afford um and but also being right there in that pocket um additionally teachers on call provides an annual report like a fill rate report for all of the different job categories and so we review that as an admin team um and often times that report will come to our Labor Management with like when we meet with our our teacher Union leadership or our other units as well their leadership so that information is discussed in terms of fill rates and um they've been a really great organization to work with um we just had a a time there where there were it was almost impossible to get subs during the pandemic so it was really challenging Julie so um superintendent steni do we get a report from teachers on call that says if they like or dislike our school in a way that you know from activities in the school so um some schools might have um more challenges in discipline or other things like that do we get some sort of report that says hey they like to come to our school school because not only the rat's competitive but because we have a safe school because we have I was I would ask director Bennett if we receive that type of feedback um I know I think they can fill out an end of the day report um that goes back to teachers on call and then if there's any issues they would notify the district um our main contact would we do get some staff or some teachers on call that live in the community so they'll come to our school um more regularly than a different District um but I guess I I usually only hear if there's a big complaint or something okay thank you Jessica um I just thinking about the the rates again and kind of shopping around are there instances like are there instances where a sub were to commit to us and they another opportunity pops up before the day starts and they take that instead there's a time frame um and I'm not exactly sure of the times but teach on call has it where like if you cancel at a certain point for so many times then you get excluded or you get um talked to so they're not really allowed to like skip out an hour before their assignment so I know teachers on call has guidelines on all that okay and then another question and um this is maybe like agenda topic adjacent but I just in the cases where we can't find a substitute for a position on a given day can you talk a little bit about how we manage those absences in our buildings yes so I guess a really great example is the high school and um they have really they step up over their prep time and cover for each other I mean we had one time in Co I think we had like 15 staff out and they all stepped up and every position was covered and so we pay them over their prep time to step up so the high school really fills that Duty um Columbia Academy also has that opportunity to um step up and help out during a prep time if we can't fill the position um elementaries it's trickier because um the prep time doesn't line up with the whole day so they'll sometimes split classes um or in some cases the principals had to go in and cover um and then in other cases um District staff that have a teaching license have gotten to help out too so really the elementaries those building Subs help out on that dayto day um when you can't get a sub thank you good very I also remember um our former executive assistant Dawn had to go in and uh help serve lunch on a number of occasions director Bennett does it every every year still um and that it I just have one more question so if you look at the the rate chart on the second slide so am I reading this right that if we have a a teacher for a full day at an elementary school they're paid $200 a day but if they're a retiree we pay them $180 a day by virtue of being a retiree that's correct correct a lot of districts give preference to because the the the typical rate had been 175 or less and then um so the retirees get a little bit more than um non Elementary and then during covid Elementary was really challenging to cover and so the rate went up and that's kind of comparable to the other districts sure so that's what I would expect but I'm looking here and the I guess a direct reflection of that we had to up that rate because we were not getting Subs at the elementary so um we upped the rate and I guess we never went back and looked at the teacher retiree rate okay it just seems odd to me that we would pay a retire we would pay someone less because they happen to be a retiree of this District I mean I think that's that's opposite of what we wanted to achieve right I mean is is I'm assuming or is it something that you can look at that the teacher full day at elementary that's 200 that the retiree if they're teaching at elementary would at least be 200 wouldn't they be the yeah I mean we can we can talk about it internally I mean obviously traditionally the um we've always paid the the teacher rate was the same districtwide um and it wasn't until Co that it had changed um so um yeah we can go back and look at that and talk about what that looks like it just seems to me that it's a benefit to have a [Music] Mary um so I know this happened at uh the middle school this last year that we had um teachers out and we had a long-term sub in I believe um and because they were bell-to-bell they did not end up doing a lot of grading or anything else um I know that we traditionally offer them more money like if they're covering that I think or a different no sorry okay I don't know what can you talk a little bit about what happens in that instance when we have a long-term sub but they are not um they are not doing any of the grading for those for that yep typically another teacher in that same Department let's say math for example would get paid to correct the papers because oftentimes they may be teaching the same course maybe not but within the same realm yes wonderful um what happens in those instances like how are we um being proactive on that if we know ahead of time um and we aren't getting any teachers wanting to step up to do that what are we doing um about that is there anything that can be done within this um this framework or is that additional it's a Case byc Case basis in terms of incentivizing but we follow the teacher contract and all of that is outlined in the contract wonderful thank you so much other questions great thank you very much we'll see you next meeting thank thank you um next on our informational items is the policy first reading um the first one is a legislative change and that is 503 student attendance um what that means is that there are just some changes made um due to legislative requirement so there's no substantive changes to this policy so this will be posted on the website and available for comment um the next y we did have a an addition to the to the list of EXC used absences however that was not a statutory change oh you're correct thank you so we did add um drivers uh test appointments as a excused absence in our district policy y great thank you very much I appreciate that any questions on the legislative changes uh part uh 503 um next we have the policy first reading um which has a substit change um and this is policy 704 development and maintenance of an inventory or fixed assets and fixed asset accounting system um it's a very long title for a short policy um and this one does have a substantive change there was a section that was added to the policy um section for capitalization and this polic this part of the policy was added after conversations um and director henin's working with our new auditing company um as it relates to physical um or intangible assets acquired with a unit cost of $10,000 or more um and so I would I'm not going to go through the whole thing but it basically has to do with um the assets again of $10,000 or more or an aggregate of excess of um $50,000 um and how those are categorized um so that um whole section four was added to this policy um again something that the policy committee reviewed um we gave director Henkin run for his money with um somebody who does capitalization asset management and um CPA on the um subcommittee so and you know our attorney over there so we had a had a great conversation on that um so take time to to look at that that one um is also um on our website for review and comment chair Mueller yes um I noticed that there are two section fours on here so um we might want to have that you are correct we would need to update section F uh four four to five yes report to number report to section five thank you any questions on that all right that brings us to our action item um action items and um our first action item is our insurance removal with director Henkin and our insurance extraordinaire um Steve McCalvin thank you for um joining us for the last hour and 15 minutes um for the presentation today all right we'll see if uh it actually will go into presentation mode this time third times the charm right I tried each and every one before and I probably shouldn't have I jinxed it and said oh they're all working okay it's partially because we're in the web view versus local copy so next time we won't do that um let's just give it a shot look at that all right thank you chair Mueller members of the board and superintendent sck um again this evening um for Action uh just a short presentation on property liability insurance R uh renewal um our Mission columb Heights Public Schools creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all suc Ed and our core values of community uh Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation um good thing I remember them because this is covering up part of it um focusing on Excellence integrity and Innovation on this presentation aligning with our chps Board of equity education Equity statement um governance uh again this uh was presented as an informational item at the last uh board meeting uh the work session and this evening uh seeking approval so our insurance plans again our property and liability package business Auto umbrella um boiler machinery and cyber liability um our renewal process uh June July August I start having uh conversations with with Steve um and uh what's what we're going to do for this year for the renewal process and and um start filling out lots of questionnaires um and uh and then August early September we start to receive renewal from existing providers and potential other biders um and then in September we bring it as an information item because this is an October one renewal um and I really need to move this window this time okay so um where we landed this year and um I think uh uh Steve has talked about this before um that we maybe don't traditionally go out every year and seek bids um but you know through the previous years in climate and the increases that we've seen on the property liability and how fast they've been increasing um we've been shopping every year trying to find the best rate that we can find um and so this is a comparison of our um ex or existing policy that will be exiting and and then uh renewal premium so as you can see I won't go through each item but at the bottom the total premium moving from $324,400 for total premium to $ 31,36 for total premium just over 8% increase um I mentioned this before that you know if you go back in time a little bit pre pandemic um this would be a very high renewal um or would feel like a very high renewal um in the current in the last few years it is not um it is a very good renewal um giving everything that's been going on um and uh so we feel very good about it we've had renewals in the teens we've had renewals over 20% in recent history here um year-over-year so um we feel very good about this um and with this renewal we are making a change um so in moving from Liberty Mutual to um uh chub and hand over um as the main package and then um our cyber liability standing with Travelers I'm going to go through these quick um and then uh if uh Mr melin has anything else to add or and if we have any questions um available for answer so um you know we've seen the market insurance rates increasing in average 10 to 25% um cyber reliability Insurance actually has planed off um and we actually seen saw a decrease this year in our cyber liability which is fantastic um wind hail very tough um and so that's an area where it was incredibly challenging and um we're very you know even though that our our um deductible has gone up quite a bit um it's not as as much as it what the market is showing so um we feel very good about that not having just that flat 1% um uh deductible um that we actually have it lower than that solidified so for this site um um separate from from the other sites um so a half million 250,000 so um you know very fortunate there um again saving on premium and saving on cost potential for any wind hail damage um you know Insurance well globally is is uh reinsurance rates continue to increase um double digit increases again this year and so um don't know that that trend's going to change uh in the near future we'll see what happens um so uh obviously we've had inflationary pressure recently um the you know you look at the blanket property limit for all five schools you know that increased about 12% um there has been decrease um competition in this this Market space um so when you're shopping it um there's only a few players in the game to shop it too um so you hope you catch them on a good day I'll just say um so again we had Liberty Mutual um other um companies looked at are AIG EMC um so obviously chub and and Handover um as those are the companies that we moving towards so I think with that um I mean if Steve has anything to add to it otherwise uh seeking approval from the board on our insurance renewal for a 101 thanks Brian chair Mueller superintendent denig members of the board I appreciate the opportunity to visit with you again and uh yeah it's it's just been a tremendous opportunity over the years and good partnership and uh it's much appreciated and fortunately for you I don't have anything else to add we had an opportunity to yet get into the weeds and discuss this in detail last Tuesday so but I'm obviously available to answer any additional questions thank you very much Julie I just have a quick question um so I noticed we we were with Liberty Mutual previously do we ever break these things up and try to bid it out separately so that our property and liability package is separate from the business Auto Etc to see if we can get some sort of package or you know create our own yeah that's an excellent question Julie and uh yeah coincidentally this year uh yeah we were basically forced to do that again property insurance is extremely challenging that Marketplace is incredibly tough for all Industries but especially uh you know with in the educational Marketplace so yeah so in the past we you we've been able to break up some of the boiler and Equipment you the Cyber liability because there's specialty companies that have a certain Niche with that Travelers being one of them so we we we broke up the Cyber for the past five years and Liberty Mutual did a phenomenal job year after year with a bundled package however fast forward to 2024 and yeah we we approach several companies all all the players in the market that we could approach and the the best plan going forward was to do exactly what you're questioning so we we're splitting up the property insurance and chub insurance is one of the largest if not the largest writer of property insurance in the states so they're they're writing the property the liability professional liability Etc that's Landing with Handover insurance and then thirdly we've got Travelers doing a phenomenal job still dropping the rates almost 20% on the Cyber liability and then and then they were able to you know wrap you know wrap up or wrap in the bundle that crime coverage so excellent question and we did exactly that and obviously it's Market driven thank you other questions um I have one question um so for the renewal premium of 351,000 all right hearing none we will move on to a vote um can I please get um a a motion to approve the insurance coverage package as presented B moved Mary and a second second second by Julie any discussion hearing none we proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you both thank you thank you again good to see you all thank you for your continued service um next we have director Henkin uh gets to hang out with us a little bit more for the 2024 payable 2025 preliminary Levy okay we're going to do this one more time and it's going to work again oops okay thank you chair Mueller members of the board and superintendent stck um this evening for Action um I have the preliminary Levy uh 2024 payable 2025 um our mission uh Columbia Heights Public School is creating worlds of opportunity for each and every learner all belong all succeed I got to get this thing out of my way here um and our core values of community Excellence collaboration Integrity respect courage and Innovation aligning with the chps Board of Education equity statement um this was presented to the board on September 17th as an informational presentation and before you as an action uh this evening um so I wanted to start um with something that we've uh put forward before and and our conversations with school funding um and uh the state really highly regulates how um schools are funded they're setting formulas um they're setting the tax policies um and in this case um also they're setting the maximum Authority for property Levy uh and then the only other way to increase that uh beyond what the authority that they've given us uh and in the formulas that they've given us is through voter approval um so we have again the general fund um which we've talked about a lot that's our main um uh funding stream for operating our schools and um it's made up of aid from the state and Levy from the local taxpayers majority of that is aid from the state um and then the smaller portion of that is Levy from local taxpayers per the state formula some um categories um are Aid and Levy items um this window is just in my way all over the place um and uh uh you know so as in some cases as a state aid increases then that um de increases the levy or vice versa if the levy of the state aid decreases then the levy will increase um to maintain that that funding level and so examples of that relationship between Aid and Levy um we've talked about before um in the work session but um Community Education um General educ General funding and long-term facility maintenance are one of those categories where you see that that back and forth um so the what is a levy um you know it's a levy is a property tax again to the community um and the district uh it's a direct tax to the community from the district so we're receiving Revenue um in multiple funds we have our general operations General designated General operating and we'll see that in a chart in a little bit um to help that and that's a fund one so that's the main general fund um and we have our community service which is fund four which is a much smaller fund we have our building fund which is fund six which is our capital projects Levy which was voter approved and then we have our Debt Service um again uh bonds um that have been voter approved over time so um when I say what uh Levy 2024 payable 2025 what does that mean um so this is the 2024 Levy approving and certifying in 2024 we're collecting and uh payment in 2025 we receiving the funding in fiscal year 2026 or the 2526 School school year so they make that as confusing as possible um and so in the preliminary Levy process we are approving we're we are always seeking to approve the maximum approving the maximum it's it's language that um the state sets for us um allows the district to capture any changes made by the state prior to the final Levy certification in December changes happen for a variety of reasons um one of the biggest typically is that leveling between state aid and uh and lab V calculations um errors are always a potential um within the formulas uh that they find as they're doing uploads into the system and they like hey wait a minute this doesn't look right um they go back and they look at it usually it's the district that says hey wait a minute my numbers don't look right um and then they they address it um so approving the preliminary Levy in September allows the county the time needed to estimate the property owner's property taxes so so um that helps kind of with that timeline of why we're doing the preliminary Levy now um and then if as we're approving the maximum then going forward as anything shifts in that um then um you know the they're increasing the aid it's decreasing the levy or which means it's a less Levy tax to the community or if they're increasing the aid we just want to make sure that we're capturing everything as it's flowing up and down it doesn't it does um so the levy timeline is again September 2024 um we bring the levy to the board the preliminary Levy um seeking um to be approved at the maximum October through December there's a ly adjusts again that naturally are happening so like I and again I mentioned the state need uh Levy calculation adjustments and error adjustments and then in December we're certifying it um and once it's certified it's set for that next year so before I so I'm going to stop sharing for a second and reshare here [Music] um oh they closed out my that sounds really amazing in the background there's some students uh cheering outside there it is okay I was like wait a minute closed out um we're going to increase this size here okay so what does that look like for our 24 payable 2025 Levy um and again I talked about the categories um General funds so our general operations so equity revenue that comes in that's really student um enrollment driven um so um you'll see there's not much change there I'm going to kind of focus on mostly the larger changes that we have so in this first category um really the largest changes you're typically going to see is you can see number three is a referendum so if we had any new V new voter approve referendum um and here um we pre in the previous year we did have a new voter approved referendum um and now we see a $ 205,000 um doll adjustment so with our voter approve referendum the operating Levy um there's a inflationary adjustment so there's two things within that number we see an inflationary adjustment now so it went from 827 to 84710 and then we also see that uh some um adjustment due to enrollment so um over the last two years we've seen increas enrollment in this District which is fantastic um and so we we see those uh we see that positive adjustment so if enrollment goes down um then in all likelihood we'll see some negative adjustments um one of the tough things in this area is is um you know a couple months ago here now um I've predicted the enrollment for the ne not this school year but next school year and those are the enrollment numbers that they're using in this Levy um so that can also affect um so you can imagine that I didn't anticipate a year and a half into the future that we were going to have a large immigrant population moving into the district so there's where you see positive adjustments um so then um uh moving down uh so batement adjustments back taxes um so integration um so there's the designated area within um uh the levy system and um integration is one of those also um with Aid and Levy adjustments so um we didn't lose integration dollars or increase in integration dollars um as much as there was just an adjustment there re-employment is another one that so there's two different types of unemployment we have the old unemployment law very traditional we Levy that expense to the community so we're guessing again what our expense is going to be and then when the actual expenses happen then there's an adjustment so that's where that um adjustment comes into play and we've sted big swings in our unemployment um in that category over the last few years uh pandemic obviously one of the biggest reasons for that um and then there's the other category of unemployment which is newer which is the summer unemployment for hourly workers and so that's not included here I wanted to make sure that I pointed that out um and um right now that's funded through the state and then going forward we'll see what happens but that doesn't show up here we are unable to Levy for that unemployment um so not a lot of other adjustments there in the other categories again there they little adjustments mostly due to enrollment and they're positive um so then moving down to the capital designated so we have operating Capital again not not a lot of change there so you know buying equipment operating Capital um and it's both a Levi in and a state aid um and we have the facility Bond adjustment so this is just accounting for uh there was some improvements that were made to Columbia Academy um a handful of years ago so we're seeing it here and then we're seeing the um adjusting down below that matches that um down here in the capital facility Bond payment so that's just adjusting down to make that payment um for that um so ltfm again long-term facility maintenance we did not see a loss in long-term facility maintenance dollars even though it looks like we saw a loss of long-term facility maintenance again it was just an adjustment between State a and Levy um our lease Levy so um you know we can lease Levy for improvements to our buildings um we've done that for the Highlander Center and Valley View that's what that lease Levy is um so um that's where that um line item comes into play and also District 916 so we're are members of District 9 916 and in order for them to do um facility improvements this is a mechanism for them to do that because they don't have a local community to go to so they go to the member District's local community and it's proportionate to how many students that we have at District 916 um so then we have a community ad um so Community ad uh is um over the years it's looked like we've lost funding in community ed and to a degree we have but um we've also picked up state aid in certain categories so um one of the biggest changes there um is the basic Levy of community ed it's part Levy part Aid um as I said in the beginning is one of my examples so uh we didn't lose any funding there it's just that there's more Aid and a little bit less Levy in that category um and then we have school Age Care which um is again uh an adjustment but um in a negative one but it's that's based off of actual expenses um in school age care so again School Age Care is something that I'm I'm projecting um what the expense is going to be and uh and then we get adjusted based on the actual expenses um so then we have our capital projects Levy the capital projects Levy is based off of the net tax capacity um so as the net tax capacity the community goes up so it's almost like an inflationary adjustment but as that net tax capacity goes up our Revenue goes up um so we have seen that go up um almost every year um that we've had the capital projects Levy um so we continue to see a little bit of uh increase there which again is very helpful for our buildings as they are not getting younger um so we have that cost there and then our debt service um and you know our bonding that we have um out there debt that we have um so we see that fluctuate a little bit based on payments um and uh we haven't our debt actually when we get comments on it often is very low um as a percent um and um if you look at other communities um so um and because you know we've had a um some bonding that's happened since 1996 but 1996 was the last time we had something really major um as far as bonding goes um so I think it was 40 some million um in 1996 and so that's why our debt is lower because that actually has dropped off um it dropped off in 2023 um so and again um abatement adjustments pretty minor um back taxes stuff so all told um about a 3.8% increase um so and again across the board um that's attributed to the positive enrollment mostly um and then also that inflationary adjustment on our referendum so that's where that is coming from thank you director henkins um before I ask for questions I'll just comment to that this was presented to us in detail at our work session on Tuesday um so lots of conversation and questions happened at that time um I don't think we need to re askk those questions um but just communicating out um that we did have a quite extensive convers ation um but with that I will open up for anybody who has questions actually don't have a question um but I have a comment thank you for putting in the um the the the fluctuations and what can cause that um because that's a a pretty big reminder on why this fluctuates so much and um the limitations that you have with being able to put this together what is it did you say it was an 80 page document to begin with uh no it it starts off 40 um 40 okay I'm sorry it's okay um but yes it's a very long document and um and uh but it's important to have the whole thing and so you can synthesize it down to the one pager so that we try to make it uh as understandable as possible for what they provide and it is it is it is a battle to get this to be understood so you are doing a fabulous job so thank you Michelle um yeah think the information you provided kind of covered a lot of the questions that we did have at the work session so thanks um really quickly and it may not matter but there's two safe schools and I just wanted to ask why they were separated uh yes sorry I should label that the second one is 916 okay yes cuz the levy the lease Levy is the same so okay y thank you um I'll make sure I do that thank you thanks um and the other question I had was is um why do we do a preliminary when in December it may change like most times it'll change anyway and be adjusted so like why why do we have to have this first layer of it so the county can estimate taxes for people um so we have to have a preliminary and improve that preliminary either at a number at the maximum um so then the county can take that information um and um do the preliminary on the taxes for the for the county um so um if they don't have that then they don't have any information until um concrete information until the end so it sets it sets that timeline for them so any other questions Jessica um I just Echo some of the comments of other board members about um the work that you did in getting this presentation together we did have that extensive discussion at the work session this is a very at least I'll speak for myself a very difficult uh topic to understand the language that the statutes use uh does not make it any easier to understand for um anyone uh even us at the board table that are having these conversations more often so I really appreciate those preliminary slides and kind of walking everybody through what this means um I know you talked about uh sort of what it means when we're approving the maximum um and that's that language piece that I think is really difficult for people so I'm just wondering if you can talk about that a little bit more when we say we're approving the maximum does that mean that as a board we're we are approving um the maximum possible increase in property taxes for our residents no uh it just means that as um as changes happen it just means that we're we're we can capture those changes so the maximum could be less than what I just presented you right now um so it could go down as they are working through the levy process and so you know Aid could go up in certain categories and they could have missed it in the formula or something could happen and so then the levy goes down and they could actually go down so maximum doesn't mean more all the time it could mean less so instead of a 3.8% it could be a 1 .79 I mean it it's the the maximum is just their language that allows the the US to to have those changes throughout so um and and that's really all it's doing I mean it's confusing but um it's just the language that the legislature the state gives us well and I think we brought up in the meeting like do we have to say you know to proove as the maximum could we say you know can we approve at like the after F you know final adjustments or whatever and it it is statutorily like required that that's the language we use in order to capture any of the adjustments that are made between now and December so good question Jessica oh I was just going to say I just have a comment I guess being on the board for so long is I have seen the the levy decrease through through these adjustments um and I've seen them increase and I've very rarely seen them stay exactly where they were predicted so it will change um because that's what history tells me that it'll change thank you Jessica I just had two more questions along the same line of discussion so um when we talk about the adjustment between Aid and Levy um is that that adjustment um something like a decision is that our discretion is that a decision we're making or is that adjustment coming from the state it comes from the state um so unless I directly ask the question of where that came from so if it adjusted by um like in the last run um there was one category that adjusted by $438 I didn't go ask him why did it adjust by $438 um there was just an adjustment of eight up and Levy down and um but so that's directed by the state I mean I have no control over those those adjustments then my last question was just around the word capture because that's something we've been talking about at the end of this uh Levy cycle right in December um when it's finalized um we're we're hoping to to capture those adjustments um so what what are we when we say capture those adjustments like what what is the outcome of approving a preliminary Levy at something less than maximum so if you improve the preliminary Levy at less than maximum we are choosing a number um and in each category and we're saying this is what it is and um and so that's that's um which basically just doesn't allow for any of the fluctuations that were to happen in any formula changes that happen throughout the next two months so is it fair to say we're sort of we'd be if we choose a number we're sort of rolling the dice to see yeah I I honestly I I don't know anybody that does that um so um there's not one director um in my um conversation Circle um in the metro area that um approves nothing but the maximum um you it might be somebody out State somewhere that doesn't but um I don't know of anybody that doesn't I asked because again that word maximum has different meanings for different people and I think just making it having some clarity around what it really means to if if we didn't do that right if we went sort of outside of what the um the best well not even the best practice the practice right of of districts is what impact that could have um on us come December yeah I mean I think if we don't if we don't approve if we if we set it let me rephrase that if we select a set number so it's either approving as the maximum or it's a set number dollar amount that we are going to approve if it there are adjustments that are made and you know let's say the the aid goes down our our Levy can't go up to accommodate that and then we have a shortfall and then we're then we have a have short yep yep thank you Julie so I think where the public gets confused where I think I get confused is when we say the levy could go up we already voted in a levy and people pay a tax so how does how does this relate to how much people pay in property taxes because we set a levy at a $800 and some dollars per pupil plus plus inflation so how does that when we say we're now approving the max does that mean somebody's taxes would go up further than the 800 plus inflation that we could you explain that a little bit because I think that's where it gets confusing is how does it impact the homeowner um you know in that direct way no um so I mean but you have to also remember that the you know every every item that I kind of Ste through has a different formula to it there's a different way of calculating some of them have involveed the net tax capacity most of them don't um and you know most of them are reliant on student enrollment some of them are reliant on the age of buildings um so there's a lot of factors there's Equalization factors in a lot of these so you know the wealth of the community versus the our community versus the wealth of Mountains View Community um so that's kind of where the state aid versus Levy comes into play so if if we're less of a wealthy community we have more state aid available to us in those categories if we are more wealthy then we would it would be more Levy to the community because they're determining that your community can afford it um so um those are there so there's it's that's why it's a 40-page document because there's a lot of factors in those formulas now when we say the maximum we're not saying that we can increase that $847 in 10 we can't that's it's $847 and it's and it's and that formula specifically is what's that number times our pupil units so that's that's one of the simpler formulas that that just doesn't change um so um I think um um Jessica said it very well and in the fact that you know we could have an aid adjustment and and that Aid adjustment could decrease the levy you know let's argue a decrease the levy in this category by $40,000 I would like to the community not to pay that $440,000 but I just certified a number that said I'm going to Levy the community that $40,000 um so I may have to do an adjustment in a prior year but now I just tax them at $440,000 when it could have come in state aid but I didn't take that state a so um we want to make sure that we can I guess capture those changes um so that you know the levy truly reflects what it's supposed to it's reflecting this is what we're supposed to receive in long-term facility maintenance dollars this is the formula they've made adjustments to Aid and Levy but this is what it is um and that we're not missing anything but for the district but we're also not missing anything anything as far as what the community is because the community could be missing something too we could be lowering the levy by getting more state aid but we said no to it because we didn't say the maximum so and and one comment with that I think it's important to note is that the operating Levy that Julie you're talking about that you know was $839 per pup unit which has now been you know adjusted to inflation is a part of this but it's not all of this there's additional dollars that taxpayers pay in support of the schools on you know their local tax statements that's included in this but that that operating Levy that we just voted on and you know that the voters passed is a part of this but there is in addition to that that is also appearing on their tax bills Michelle that's to make it more confusing if that's possible um so I guess the question that we might be asking too is like how so how how does it work so are we saying that as these dollars come in it's going to go towards this this and this like so it's not like charging people extra for things that we need it's just saying as you are paying this is what we're putting it to and then if it's not covered here then aid helps and then you like we're just dispersing the dollars that we're already going to already going to get or like the dollars are coming in specifically for those categories so like safe schools I mean those those are very specific dollars there's legislative um language around those dollars and they can be spent for something very specific it's only Levy that provides those dollars to US um so security um you know is one of those things um paying for security guards is another one of those things so um that's but that's very specific and I can only spend it it's a restricted way um now with the referendum it's there's you know it's a specific dollar amount but that's operating costs or operating funds for the district so that's not restricted that goes sitting right in our on a sign that gives us the flexibility to spend it um for our operational costs in within the district um which the biggest being teacher salaries um but that's that's so that's much more flexible um so it just depends but they're all you know they're all very mostly very specific on how like vocational is is really CTE career and Tech and so that career in Tech is you know very specific and that one it's based on um past year cost so what were our cost so how many teachers do we have teaching career and Tech how many hour or how many um class periods did they teach career and Tech that was our expenses in career and Tech that's what we're you know leving so it just each one is unique right as they come in like as we get them we're not saying hey we need this now so now we need more like everyone's still going to be paying the same yeah and I don't control any of those we don't we don't control those those formulas um we don't set those rules to those those are all directed to us um by the legislature by the state thanks other questions all right um can I please get a motion to approve the preliminary 2024 payable 2025 Levy as Max at the maximum so moved Jessica in a second okay second by Michelle any other discussion gu we maybe jumped ahead a little bit I think we did yeah I should have done the motion first but it was a good conversation all right um hearing n we'll proceed to vote all those in favor signify by saying I I I opposed abstain motion carries thank you director hin um next you have board topics does anybody have any board topics Mary I have two um first of all uh it's it's Hispanic Heritage Month and um we have a lot of wonderful uh things up on our through our social media um that involves our students uh so please um make sure you would check that out and also you know shout out to our to our students families and staff uh the second thing I have is it is read band books week by the American Library Association um it's a really wonderful um opportunity to go and see the different books that are um have been quote unquote banned uh in a variety of different areas um as well as reminding everybody uh the importance of reading and expanding your worldview so that's what I have great thank you any other board topics um I just have one um just remember um that we do have a special call meeting next week at 7 pm Tuesday October 1st um please let Stephanie know if you're not able to make it we need to make sure that we have Quorum and thank you all for taking the extra time next week for that meeting it it's going to be at 7 not at 6 yes it'll be at 7 p.m. okay yep the subcommittee on PO has a special subcommittee um policy meeting from 5: to 7: um already scheduled so it'll be at off time I know we are just shaking things up I just I just wanted to make sure that it will be correct at 7 p.m. um on Tuesday the 1st okay and we are at the policy subcommittee is at 5 not 4:45 correct Y and and then it's extend it's the 2hour extended meeting right okay I know we just really just confused used everybody with time changes Sor and that was not you can that's all on me I picked those times so you can you can blame me um any other others that was for Mary thank you y you're welcome all right hearing n will'll adjourn at 7:55