Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools — Transcript
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Recognition of Outstanding Staff
Superintendent's General Updates and Recognitions
Student Attendance Data Report
Cultural Family Advocate (CFA) Negotiations Update
Superintendent's Closing Updates
School Board Member Shares
Votes (9)
Annual Election of School Board Officers for 2025
Dissent: None
Moved by Not applicable · Seconded by Not applicable
The board conducted its annual election of officers for the 2025 year, nominating and voting on positions for Chairperson, Vice Chair, Clerk, and Treasurer. All positions were filled by acclamation without contest.
Approval of Consent Agenda (27 items)
Dissent: None
Moved by Jackie [0:23:19] · Seconded by Sowen [0:23:19]
The board approved a comprehensive consent agenda consisting of 27 items, including various committee assignments, policy handbooks, meeting minutes, financial reports, inter-university agreements for student teaching/clinical experience, union agreements, and property designations. There was no discussion or removal of any items from the consent agenda.
Proposed Change to Graduation Credit Requirements (Personal Finance & Safety Education)
Dissent: None
Moved by Jackie [0:51:27] · Seconded by Sowen [0:51:27]
The administration recommended maintaining 66 graduation credits by moving the Safety Education course from a required course to an elective, while adding the new state-mandated Personal Finance course as a graduation requirement for 9th graders beginning in the 2024-25 school year. This aligns with state legislation and strategic priorities.
Connections Preschool Fees for 2025-26 (Second Reading)
Dissent: None
Moved by Anna Williams [0:53:35] · Seconded by Jackie [0:53:35]
Community Education presented a tuition adjustment proposal for the 2025-26 Connections preschool program. The fees are based on federal poverty guidelines and a sliding scale, reflecting a market study showing current fees are significantly lower than competitors and addressing a budget deficit from the 2023-24 school year.
2024-25 Budget (Second Reading)
Dissent: None
Moved by Sowen [0:54:55] · Seconded by Leah Gardner [0:54:55]
Christopher Anango Robot, Director of Finance, presented the proposed final budget for fiscal year 2024-25, noting no substantial changes since its initial review in December. The final budget book will be published on the district's website following board action.
2025 District 196 Legislative Platform (Second Reading)
Dissent: None
Moved by Leah Gardner [0:56:56] · Seconded by Sowen [0:56:56]
Janet Switowski presented the district's 2025 legislative platform for approval, which had been refined based on engagement with legislators. The platform focuses on critical areas such as funding to address inflation, equalization, and compensatory needs, fully funding employment laws, and maintaining increased local control for the district.
Language Access Plan
Dissent: None
Moved by Sowen [1:29:10] · Seconded by Leah Gardner [1:29:10]
Jenette Canino and Janet Switowski presented the district’s Language Access Plan, which formalizes existing efforts to provide comprehensive language support for multilingual families, including interpretation and translation services. School administrators shared examples of how these services are effectively implemented at various school levels to foster inclusion and improve communication, ahead of a state statutory deadline.
Staffing Allocation Guidelines for Fiscal Year 2026
Dissent: None
Moved by Jackie [1:31:00] · Seconded by Sowen [1:31:00]
Shelley Munson presented the Staffing Allocation Guidelines for Fiscal Year 2026, which are crucial for determining staff numbers per school and department and establishing the annual budget. The guidelines include minor modifications to align systems and resources, as well as adjustments to plan for the new elementary school.
New Name Recommendation for Elementary School Number 20
Dissent: None
Moved by Anna Williams [1:34:39] · Seconded by Jackie [1:34:39]
Jeremy Sorenson presented the recommended name for the new Elementary School Number 20: Emerald Trail Elementary School. The name was selected through a community input process and reflects distinctness, community pride in Rosemount, a focus on sustainability (Net Zero ready, geothermal, natural landscaping), and connectivity to local trail systems, with no trademark conflicts identified.
Notable Quotes (10)
Legislation now requires our 2024-25 ninth graders and thereafter to successfully complete a personal finance course in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in compliance with the Minnesota Department of Education.
In collaboration with District leaders, building administrators, and the school board, we recommend moving safety education from a required course to an elective choice and remain at 66 credits for graduation.
The findings reveal that our current fees are significantly lower than the average rates in these comparisons, even when excluding non-public preschool programs.
This is a perfect perfect example of why we do two readings on a lot of times because we had great opportunity for feedback and I saw a few changes and I was wondering where that some of those changes came from now I know and I loved them I thought they were great so thank you so much for for incorporating those.
Our language access plan also helps us achieve our vision of developing the whole student by honoring diverse needs and cultures to advance this work.
One thing about our staff is no matter what information we're sending out whether it's a newsletter whether we're communicating with families about student rec student scores or anything of that nature the first thing any member of our staff member will say is is this translated and if the answer is no the next question they ask is when will it be translated it's not a if it's always a whenn and that just shows our commitment to to ensuring that all of our families have equal access to communication.
One of the great things about the video interpretation services is that we can provide interpretation services in a number of home languages and make sure that we are just providing more access to more families all the time.
I kept thinking we are missing diversity of thought and experiences because we are we're just missing things and so I love the fact that we are becoming more accessible because there is talk about this all the time but we don't get Innovation unless everyone has access and and is included.
It is not lost on me that the reason you're here so much before the due date is because we've been we've seen this as a problem we've been doing this and we want to get better every single day.
The final recommendation for naming Elementary 20 is Emerald Trail Elementary School. The name reflects the following: a desire to be distinct from other schools, a sense of community and pride in being part of the Rosemount Community, it's also represents sustainability focus that supports being a green School.
Ordinances & Resolutions (19)
Item approved on the consent agenda.
Financial report approved on the consent agenda.
Financial report approved on the consent agenda.
Financial report approved on the consent agenda.
Financial report approved on the consent agenda.
Agreements with St. Thomas University approved on consent agenda.
Agreements with St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Wisconsin River Falls approved on consent agenda.
Approved on consent agenda.
Approved on consent agenda.
Approved on consent agenda.
Called out for public education as foundation of democracy.
Defined as student attending school more than 90% of days.
Current district policy on graduation requirements.
Outlines the sliding fee structure for preschool programs based on federal poverty guidelines.
Budget presented for approval, with no substantial changes since initial review.
Outlines the district's legislative priorities, including funding, employment laws, and local control.
A comprehensive plan to ensure all families can access information and stay involved in their child's education, formalized ahead of state statutory requirements.
Requires all districts to implement a Language Access Plan by September 2025.
Guidelines used to determine staff numbers for each school and department, and for establishing the next year's budget.