Fridley Public Schools — Transcript
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Custodial Negotiations and Agreement
District Population Estimate and Revenue
2026-2027 Calendar Adjustment
Superintendent's Report: Academic and Innovation Updates
Relaunch of Fidley Online Academy
Special Oversight District (SOD) and Financial Health
Transportation Budget Challenges
US Department of Education Changes
Construction Project Updates
Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Approval
Votes (6)
Approval of 2026 to 2028 Custodial Agreement
Dissent: None
Moved by Stark [00:03:59] · Seconded by Shriner [00:04:06]
Dr. Lewis introduced the custodial negotiation team and the newly approved agreement, highlighting its focus on recruiting and retaining staff through improved career trajectories and additional licensing opportunities. Mark McLaren, representing the custodial team, expressed gratitude for the professional negotiation process. The board chair emphasized the custodians' critical role as the 'backbone' of the schools. The motion was moved up in the agenda to allow Mark McLaren to be present for the vote.
Certification of Updated District Population Estimate
Dissent: None
Moved by Jones [00:54:57] · Seconded by Shriner [00:55:04]
Nate Chapman, the new Senior Officer of Communications, Enrollment, Community Education, and Early Childhood, explained that the state demographer updates population estimates every 10 years, and school districts can choose to adopt these updates. Certifying the updated estimate for Fidley Public Schools will add 707 residents to their official count, leading to an estimated $7,000 in additional revenue for youth service programs, adults with disabilities, and school age care levies. This directly impacts funding levels.
Approval for Change in the 2026-2027 Calendar Year
Dissent: None
Moved by Jones [00:53:32] · Seconded by Shriner [00:53:39]
Dr. Amy Cochran explained that an error was made in calculating teacher work days for the 2026-2027 calendar year, similar to an error in the current year (23-24). The error stemmed from adding two extra staff development days, allowed by newly passed legislation, without subtracting student days. To correct this, the recommendation was to move the end of the school year forward by two days for students, making June 7th the last student day, while preserving the two teacher work days following.
Approval for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Adopted Budget
Dissent: None
Moved by Yang [00:54:15] · Seconded by Stark [00:54:21]
The approval of the budget followed extensive discussion on the district's financial state, its SOD status, ongoing audit challenges, and efforts to rebuild financial systems. Lori and Dr. Lewis provided context on the budget's fluidity due to factors like enrollment. The budget incorporates current recovery efforts and addresses known issues like the lack of robust financial processes and historical coding errors in special education funding.
Resolution for Accepting Gifts
Dissent: None
Moved by Yang [00:56:06] · Seconded by Jones [00:56:12]
The chair presented a list of individuals who made donations to support the eighth-grade sendoff event. The board acknowledged and thanked these community members for their contributions.
Approval of Consent Agenda
Dissent: None
Moved by Shiner [00:57:04] · Seconded by Jones [00:57:11]
Standard approval of items grouped together without individual discussion, indicating routine administrative matters.
Notable Quotes (4)
the bargaining team came forward with exceptionally reasonable proposals and the proposals that our custodial team brought forward really centered on um recruiting and retaining staff.
the custodian team in in our schools, you guys are the backbone, right? You keep the lights on, you keep the place clean. If kids are not walking into a welcoming, clean environment, right, that's just a really bad start for the day.
In our case, we're going to pick up about 700 residents. 707 is the exact number. um which is just extra revenue based on some of the formulas that they use in community education. um if I remember right, cuz I also did it for my outgoing district. I think for here it's about an extra $7,000. Um it's monies that can be used for our youth service programs, our adults with disabilities. Um it helps with our school age care levy. So ultimately comes helps bring in extra money into lots of different areas. Um and really it just it's an opportunity to fund us at the correct levels levels that we should be getting.
Just a reminder of the reason that um error was made during the 23 24 school year was when these calendars were developed and the redact was newly passed at the time which allowed for two extra staff development days. Those were added into the calendar without subtracting out the student days and so essentially teacher calculations were off by two days.
Ordinances & Resolutions (11)
Approved agreement with the custodial staff focusing on recruitment, retention, and career trajectories.
Resolution to adopt the state demographer's updated population estimate to increase revenue.
Adjustment to the school year calendar to correct an error in teacher work day calculations.
Relaunched program offering K-12 flexible online learning options to retain students and revenue.
Plan submitted to MDE addressing the district's financial oversight issues.
Document tracking district's compliance and progress with MDE requirements.
State and federal law mandating transportation for homeless children and youth.
Special education reporting mechanism to MDE for enrollment, staffing, and revenue calculation.
Tax abatement bond series of $7 million used to finance repairs for the community center and other projects.
The approved financial plan for the upcoming school year, crucial for the district's operational and fiscal recovery.
Proposed constitutional amendment by Senator Kunish aiming to increase funding for schools.