All right, I call this regular meeting to order. It's 6:30. Uh, please rise for the pledge of >> alge 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. >> [laughter and clears throat] >> Thank you >> and happy new year fellow school board members, district staff and community members. >> As a reminder to us all, the mission of St. Francis schools is to equip all students with the knowledge and skills to empower them to achieve their dreams and full potential while becoming responsible citizens in a dynamic world. Our first item for tonight's agenda is adoption of the agenda. Are there any questions prior to a motion being made on the agenda? >> All right, I see no questions there. Call the motion for the January 5th, 2026 meeting agenda. So second, thank you, Mr. Jordan. Any discussion on that motion? I see no discussion. Actually, I got one thing. We do not have a uh student council report tonight. So when we get to that, we'll go over it. We do not have a report tonight. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I motion prevails 7 to zero. Thank you. >> Our next agenda item uh and part of our organizational meeting and per Minnesota State Statute 123B.14, we will now elect the positions of chair, vice chair, clerk, and treasurer. At this time, I call for nominations for chair. put in a motion that we just stay in our same seats. I feel like we got a good dynamic. I've talked to a lot of us and I feel like this is working well. >> Yep. So, um we can do the unanimous ballot on certain positions, but we can't do a blanket. Okay. Individual positions. >> Second for Nathan. Okay, second. Any other nominations? Okay. Uh, so either we can do a motion to vote or we can do an unanimous ballot. Um, is there a motion for unanimous ballot? >> Unanimous. >> Thank you, Mr. Humphrey. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Orman. Uh, any discussion? Thank you for the support. I appreciate it. All in favor of appointing myself as chair signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I >> motion prevails. Thank you. >> Mr. Just a clarification. What's the difference between us just voting and a unanimous ballot? >> Unanimous ballot just means we don't have to do a roll call like if there was multiple if there was two people. Uh you wouldn't have to say who you're voting for. We can just do a mass ballot which is the motion just covers the election of the person. All right. At this time I call for nominations for vice chair. Mr. Shock Jill Anderson West. Any other nominations? All right. Is there a motion to close nominations? Thank you, Mr. A second. Any discussion on that motion? >> Do we get a second to speak? >> Is this time? Um, so I've thought a lot about this and wanted to um take the vice chair position from a passive role in the board to a more active role. As vice chair, I would support effective governance by emphasizing board development, continu continuity of leadership and a strong respectful board culture. I'm interested in making the vice chair role more active and supportive positions and strengthens the board overall effectiveness. If elected, I will work in close partnership with the board chair to ensure alignment on priorities and expectations and to provide consistent support to him in carrying out all the responsibilities of the chair. My intent would be to complement the chair's leadership while helping ensure stability and continuity with the board. With several board member positions up for election this fall, I see particular opportunity to strengthen onboarding, mentorship, and training for both new and returning board members. I would help coordinate and on board an ongoing professional development, supporting preparedness and continuity during periods of transition or crisis and reinforce agreed upon board norms so meetings remain respectful, productive, and focused on student outcomes. In [clears throat] partnership with the chair, I would step in as needed to maintain continuity of government's best practices, facilitate communication among board members, and support the board in fulfilling its collective responsibilities to the district and community. I really think we could have an active vice chair and I really would like to have that role and be more active on board in that role. >> That's everything. >> Thank you. Any other discussion? >> I can say something. Um I asked for the vote. I'd be okay if Jill held the seat as well, but I think I agree with what Chad said. we we have had a really good year um with the uh setting that we have um and I'd like to continue to move forward that with that um but again I would support the board majority in the decision. Thank you. Any other discussion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, is there already called for the close? We did the discussion. So, we are going to do a roll call vote. Um, so say who you're supporting. So, either member West or member Anderson. We'll start with Mr. Humphrey. >> West. >> Mr. Shrock. >> Anderson. Miss >> West. Miss West. >> West. >> Mr. Working. >> West. >> Miss Anderson. >> And Henderson. >> I will go west. >> Motion prevails. Member West. Vice Chair. >> At this time, I call for nominations for clerk. [clears throat] Mr. Second. Any other nominations? All right. Seeing no other nominations, is there a motion for unanimous ballot to be cast for Mr. Shro? >> Thank you, Mr. Working. Any second? Is there a second? Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Humphrey. Any discussion on that motion? [clears throat] All right. I see no discussion. All in favor of the unanimous ballot for Mr. Shrock as clerk signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I motion prevails. Thank you, Mr. Shrock. Congratulations. Thank you. At this time, I call for nominations for treasurer. Miss >> Ch Mr. Working. >> Any other nominations? See no other nominations. Is there a motion uh for unanimous ballot to be cast for Mr. Working for treasure? Thank you, Mr. Humphrey. Is there a >> second myself? [clears throat] [laughter] >> Yeah. And really, we don't even need a second. So, [laughter] >> any discussion on that motion? >> See no discussion. All in favor of unanimous ballot, Mr. working for treasurer. Signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I prevails. Congratulations, Mr. Working. >> All right, moving forward. Again, I would like to say thank you for the support uh to be the chair. Once again, uh it's absolutely an honor to be here. I love working with this team and I'm excited for 2026 and where we're going to continue to build. With that, let's continue on. Uh agenda item 3.2 to schoolboard member compensation first day statute rule of our compensation levels for the next year. In the board packet, you'll see the rates for St. Francis area schools for the last five years and as well as some surrounding areas or as many as we could get through MSBA what those rates are. We will need a motion uh for annual compensation negotiation meeting rates as well as mileage reimbursement. We can split those up or I'll make it one. That's up to the board. Are there any questions prior to a motion being made? [clears throat] See no questions. Is there a motion um for school board member compensation? >> Number. >> I make a motion that we remain at what we have been for 2025. No change. >> Is there a second? Second. [clears throat] Any discussion on the motion to remain at the compensation levels as previously approved. Any discussion? See no discussion. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I >> I >> No, >> you're okay. So all oppose signify by saying nay. Raise your hand. Motion prevails 6 to one. Thank you. Agenda item 3.3 schoolboard meeting dates. Again we must give proper notice to the public on a regular special meeting or emergency meetings. In the board packet you will see a list of all of our planned regular meetings as well as a list from MSBA of the dates that restrict us from having meetings. Are there any questions prior to the motion being made? Seeing no questions, is there a call motion for the 2026 school board meeting schedule? >> Thank you, Mr. W. Is there? >> Thank you, M. Anderson. Any discussion on that motion? All right, seeing no discussion, we'll move on to a vote. Uh, all in favor of the motion to approve the 2026 schoolboard meeting schedule as posted, signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I as well. Motion prevails. Thank you. Uh, next item, school board committee assignments and dates. As you can see on the document in the board book, uh, we have 19 committees or lees on assignments for us as school members. The listed assignments are always able to change. If there are conflicts or a need, uh, just bring that to me and then we'll discuss it at a board meeting to make those changes. Are there any questions prior to a motion debate? Again, seeing no questions, there motion to the 2026 school board committee and less on. Thank you, Anderson. Is there a second? >> Second. Thank you, Mr. Any discussion on that motion? I see no discussion. Uh all in favor of the motion to approve the school board committee lays on assignment 3206 raise your hand and signify by saying >> I motion prevails 7 through zero. Thank you. Agenda item 3.5 annual designations and other annual routine authorizations and actions. The list of authorizations and actions is in the board book. If you have any questions, Super Anderson is here to answer any. Are there any questions prior to what should be made? >> Memberwise, >> what um so I I ask this every year. Have we done comparisons and price shopped to make sure that we're getting um the best bang for the buck here? Because I know that prices change, fees change, um new companies come aboard and offer different pricing. And what have we done as far as research for >> We did not do that this year. Um so uh and we have not received the notice from Kennedy and Graven that their prices are changing. So the recommendation is to remain with Kennedy and graven >> and then the bond count council same thing. >> Uh correct. >> Okay. official newspaper. Did we >> We only received one um request this year and last year we had two, but the um the Anoka, let me get the the right name here. The Anoka County Union Herald was, you know, significantly less last year and they're the only ones who submitted the proposal this year. So that's why the recommendation is to stay the same. They did go up by uh 25 cents per inch. >> So, do you feel like we've done our due diligence in shopping the best price and the best deal? And >> I believe so >> for our public and >> Mhm. >> Okay. [clears throat] >> Yeah. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. Is there a call to motion for the annual designation and other annual routine authorization and action? [snorts] Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. W. Any discussion on that motion discussion? All in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I motion prevails. 7 to zero. Thank you. Uh, next item, item four, consideration of visitors. Do we have one individual requesting speak tonight? We will allow up to 25 minutes. [laughter] I ask that you that once your time is reached that you make your final statement quickly and be respectful of everyone else's time >> 25 minutes >> 25 minutes. No thank you. Uh no thank you all the new year 2026 and not to be redundant because now you do remember and you state you state what the purpose is for being here um with the with the mission. So, we have these core values and sometimes we don't look at those real close or many people don't, but I take them quite seriously. And one that stands out for 2026 to me is the second one. We believe our community flourishes when individuals, families, and organizations collaborate. So, there's a couple things. Collaboration comes with serving. And you all are serving as representatives for our community, which is wonderful. and and it's fantastic and it sets an example for uh students, children, and everybody in the community. So when you're positive serving as a cooperative board that sends you might maybe you do realize it maybe not but when that example of there as serving that hits spreads out in the community just like a vine underground that many times you don't see your roots underground but that spreads out. So that's serving in 2026 when everyone not everyone when many people seem to be digging a foot here or digging a foot there or arguing about this or thinking I'm right here I'm right here you're when we have that if we come back to why are we here to serve students staff and it's serving so anything this year my request I guess could say and to to all the board is remembering that core value and that that serving underlines and leads to that core value being able to be played out in the community. It might not be seen every day, but that filter of an attitude of service then leads to the kids wanting to serve more, which sets an example. The kids come home and say, "Oh, we did this service thing." They come home, they tell their parents that it sets a culture of serving that begins with you the leadership and all of us in the community we can we participate but it's very it it has a way larger impact I think than than maybe maybe most some of you realize that but so serving brings cooperation which leads to then families and then organizations collaborate better. There's a better attitude at the chamber of commerce meetings at most city council meetings can be collaborative except when it's time for uh truth to taxation but uh otherwise there is I see this I see people trying to serve and be more collaborative and that's something important to hold on to at a time when the world is spinning we can hold on to working together, serving each other and collaborating. So, happy 2026. Thank you. And we might not always agree, but we can still collaborate. That's all. Not 25. Thank you, Barb. All right. Our next item uh is item five, consent agenda. We have four items in tonight's consent agenda. Any questions or requests to remove an item from the consent agenda prior to a motion being made? [clears throat] Okay, seeing none, I do want to make one comment before we have a motion. Uh, I want to highlight 5.4, our list of donations and gifts uh to the district and specifically Mr. Shrock. Uh, the complete list of items and projects that were donated by Mr. show over the last year can be found in his schoolboard member report. But it's not a a small thing. It was a large thing and we appreciate that. We will have some discussion on in the admin report about some ways going forward with that, but just wanted to highlight specifically you uh and thank you for what you've done for this district to help us as well as the long list of donations from this year already. Um, it's a great way to start 2026 and the middle school track program is going to do very well. >> Yes. >> With their donation. So, thank you very much, Barb and John, for that donation. >> All right. Is there a call motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Thank you, member Anderson. Is there a second? >> Any discussion on that motion? All right. Seeing no discussion. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I I motion prevails 7 to zero. Thank you. All right. Moving on to item six, information reports. I did say that we do not have a student council report tonight. So we'll move right to 6.2, our administrative report. Superintendent Anderson, >> I'll just highlight a few issues. Uh first of all, Don Duval uh is here tonight. She is our new director of business services. I introduced her at a previous meeting, but today is her first official day. And just to let you know, uh reminder that she is an employee of the district. In the past, we contracted with CISO uh to provide that service uh but now Don is an employee of St. Francis Area Schools. So, welcome again. And uh I know she has um an open door policy so please feel free to reach out to her if you have questions uh or comments about any school related issue. I want to congratulate Nate Berg uh who attained the director's award for completing MSBA's director's award for completing 100 or more hours of attendance at MSBA sponsored meetings and activities within a four-year period. So I know that's a huge time commitment and want to thank you Nate for uh your commitment to uh service and the the school district. Uh there is a rough draft of a procedure related to con contracting with public officers which would include board members. I know the issue was brought up maybe a month or two ago and um and so I I did consult with legal counsel to make sure we had the right reference and the right terminology and essentially copied what was recommended there. I added some some specifics as far as what needs to be included when, but it's it's based on the state statute that's referenced in the procedure. uh special meeting is scheduled tenatively for February 4th uh for a presentation by the community engagement task force. It is a tenative um meeting so we'll we'll make sure that they're ready to present and that we have enough board members uh able to attend. Uh we did issue uh the updated procedural manual uh earlier today and attached as a document to the board agenda is a list of some of the more significant uh changes in that document. So anytime doesn't have to be tonight but if you have questions about it please let me know. Uh it's also always a work in progress. we want to make improvements and you know in other districts you know I've done similar work and it's kind of follows the same process where you know there's an initial thrust uh and um manual and then there are lots of additions and changes and then that will go on for a period of time maybe after a year or two things kind of settle in and uh becomes kind of standard practice. So, we're kind of in that initial stage where you we added a whole bunch of different things and more more to come. Uh and then finally, uh negotiations update. Uh we do have a close session uh later today or after this meeting to discuss negotiations and so I don't want to go through the update now. We'll discuss that in close session. >> Any questions for superintendent mention? Mr. Sh. >> Yeah. Just thank you for going through and figuring out the contracting I say issue, but coming up with a resolution. I'm still probably going to donate everything, but it's just if projects come up that do need to be bid out or whatever, it's just nice to know that it's an option. >> Yeah. Yeah. And uh I want to echo what Chair Burr said. Um, you know, I've seen the work that you've done and it's amazing. You see it in the hallways at the elementary schools and in the entrance and right there entrance to high school and you know, the emblem back there, my office, you know, it's really astounding and uh I know that costs a lot of time and effort and uh so I think it would be appropriate, you know, if we go through that that process to to pay um as needed. Uh, and of course we'll we'll go through the the process as required by state law and get approval for from any budget decision maker before doing the work. Um, but I'm glad that we have that procedure in place. >> Any other questions or comments? >> Thank you, Mr. Anderson. Thank you for the updated uh SOP as well. Uh with that, the [snorts] long awaited schoolboard handbook uh is being bounced off of that to ensure there's nothing that contradicts and then that will be uh published for us as well moving forward. All right. Uh agenda item seven, upcoming meetings and preliminary topics. Superintendent Anderson did talk about the tenative special meeting on February 4th. Please have that on your calendars and as soon as we hear from the task force, we'll let you know if that's a go or not. Um, any questions or comments about the upcoming meetings or topics? Okay. I miss >> um I am not seeing anything and maybe I'm just not seeing it updates on behaviors in in the district. >> Thank you for bringing that up. uh because um I would like to present something in February or March uh regarding discipline related data and tracking. >> Yeah. I'd like to make sure that what we're doing is working and if not we need to make changes. >> Yeah. >> And just so everyone's aware, uh continue to send me uh topics that you want to have discussed. I know not all of them have made it onto agenda yet, but there's things that are working to get them to the board level. uh data that's getting provided, data that's getting uh produced uh in order for us to have that discussion. So, continue to send that. I still have the list uh from everyone, but if you have future topics you want, please send that and we'll continue to work those. Some of them have been handled outside of the board meeting and answers, but uh we do have some that will still come to the board level for discussion. All right, moving on. Agenda item eight, school board member reports. had negotiations for EAS. Um, let's continue to move into negotiations for >> Thank you, member. >> Uh, I had the mechanics mediation last week. Um, this close session coming up there otherwise [clears throat] not much more to report. We got MSBA conference coming up next week. Looking forward to going to going to that. It's nice seeing other school board members and touching base with them and seeing what's going on across the state. And that's it. >> Thank you. >> Member Humphrey. >> I got nothing. >> No update. working. >> I'm I'm good tonight, too. Remember what? >> Um I Yeah, I don't have anything except we have negotiations, I believe, for the custodians coming up this week, and that's all I have. >> Thank you. Um like member Anderson said, we had negotiations. Um our first meeting was the mediator right after the start of break. Uh the community engagement task force has resumed and they have a really uh important meeting tonight or presentation tonight. It's the Hazel Reinhardt demographic study. Uh that will be posted on our uh facilities management website page after the meeting. I highly encourage all of us to watch that because it's not a presentation to the board, but all of that information in there is extremely important to all of us. So, uh, it's probably happening right now as we speak, but they will have it posted, uh, most likely, uh, by the end of the week, uh, on our site. So, take the time to watch that before our next meeting. Again, really good information about the demographics of our community. That'll be coming up and will help us with future decision making. You let us know in that way. So, I will I'll shoot a message out to everybody. Uh, [snorts] MSBA conference, excited to go to that next week as well. And we talked that piece already. Great. Any other comments? Member West. >> Just a quick question. I know we've been talking about updating the owl to something a little bit better. Yes. >> So that we can hear the meetings when we go online and listen to them. Can you give us an update on that? >> I can. Hannah was just in here, but she has had I think three companies now come back and review this space and give us a bid. I think we've received one bid back. I'm not sure if it's fully. >> Yeah. >> But however, she is working at the first company that came did not provide what we wanted back. So, she has a couple other companies coming in to look at that and we're looking at options to improve on what we have. >> And the reason we're looking at this is because we get a lot of feedback from people who go online and do watch the videos on YouTube and or stream them and they're they're not able to hear. >> So, we're trying to address that problem. We're trying to address the uh to ensure that our public can see everything as well as can hear and see us and our recordings all work better as we go forward. >> And until we get there, I would just remind people that close captioning is an option on YouTube as well, so they can have subtitles >> if they have trouble. >> Thank you. [clears throat] >> Okay. Uh, next agenda item is close session for labor negotiations. [clears throat] Uh, do you guys need the We'll take this like a two minute recess to get the room set up. Uh, two minute recess starting at 7:01. So hopefully at 7:03 we'll start back up.