Good evening and welcome to our February 9th regularly scheduled school board meeting. At this time, please stand as you are able to join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge algiance 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. All right. Good evening, school board. As usual, the first item of business on our agenda is to approve the agenda. There is no additions or deletions to the agenda today. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as outlined? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Robin. And I think I heard Sakowen first. Sorry, Anna. >> All those in favor of approval say I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 6-0 vote. That brings us to our favorite portion of the agenda and that is recognition by the school board. And at this time, I'd like to welcome Apple Valley High School assistant debate coach Sophia Ishall to the podium to introduce state debate top finisher Jackson Hilddrth. Good evening, chairperson Johnson, school board members, and superintendent Balsone. Like said, my name is Sophia Shaw. Uh to the left here of me is Zubar Muhammad and we are both the assistant coaches of the Apple Valley debate team and I am absolutely honored to be here this evening to recognize Jackson Hilddrth and his remarkable accomplishments in Lincoln Douglas debate in the 2026 MSHSL championship tournament. For a little background, I met Jackson when he was a sophomore at Apple Valley, which also happened to be my very first year coaching. It did not take long for Nick Smith, our head coach, who sadly couldn't be here this evening, to recognize that Jackson was exceptionally talented. From the beginning, he demonstrated not only an extraordinary intelligence, but also a rare level of articulation and thoughtfulness. His grasp of the activity was clear and immediately evident, and it was it was clear to both of us that Jackson was someone who would leave a meaningful mark on the activity. During his novice year, Jackson remained undefeated until the Mini Apple Debate Tournament, which for context is the fourth tournament our noviceses compete at during their year. His second year of the activity was marked by his qualification to the National Speech and Debate Tournament in De Moine, Iowa, an impressive and uncommon accomplishment for any junior varsity debater. Most recently, Jackson has not only placed second at the state tournament, he has also once again qualified to the national tournament in Richmond, Virginia for this year. Jackson has also served as one of our team captains this year, giving guidance and sharing his wisdom to our noviceses. Jackson's second place finish is a culmination of years of hard work, an exceptional depth of knowledge, and most importantly, his ability to be a good person who speaks well. I am confident that no matter what path he chooses for his future, he is going to continue to excel and make those around him proud. I know he's already made me and the rest of the coaches. Thank you for your time. Great presentation. Thanks for coming, coach. >> Thank you so much. >> Thanks, coach. >> Congratulations. What a great accomplishment. All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Egan High School debate coach Chris McDonald to the podium to introduce the EHS state debate top finishers. Well, good evening, Chairperson Johnson, the rest of the board, and of course, Mr. Superintendent Michael Bosone. We thank you again for taking the time, energy, and effort to welcome the students in the world of speech and debate. And tonight we're honoring debate. It is always an amazing thing to not only see the accomplishments of the students of Egan High School, but it's the accomplishments of all of the students across District 196 year in and year out in the discipline of debate. a discipline that teaches them how to analyze and synthesize evidence, how to persuade an audience, how to look at arguments on both sides of the fence, and to come to a conclusion as to where truth may or may not lie. A lot of this accomplishment could not be possible without the support of the school board and the district office and all of the administrators and teachers across the district. So, it is to them that we thank again for all of that support. Tonight, I have with me several of my students, one of whom is not with us thanks to her Delta flight from New York today being delayed, but uh we will honor her nonetheless in her absence. Like I said, it is always a pleasure to present my students. I am Chris McDonald. As you know, I have been the debate coach at Egan High School for 24 years. I have done this act. I've coached this activity for 37 years. That is mind-blowing. So much so that the other day when I was at practice with one of my students and I had said that I had started debating when Jimmy Carter was still president in 1979, she then informed me that her parents were born in 1979. And and well, you know, that pretty much told you right where life was at. Um, I do so enjoy this activity, but I am starting to feel the uh age creeping up as it were. Tonight, we honor um six of our students from Egan High School. This year, we honor with me beside me policy debate semi- finalist Josiah Schoffzen and Tristan Wyn, his partner, who not only being policy semi-finalists this year, have qualified for the national tournament in Richmond, Virginia this summer. Also next to me are public forum semi- finalists, senior Kira Schumacher and junior Hoffsa Amed, who had just an outstanding not only section tournament, uh, having a winning record, but going getting to state and having a winning record and advancing all the way to the top four at the state tournament. And finally with me is Nvieha Kashv, a congressional debate finalist, third place finisher, also qualified for the NSDA nationals and not with us as her partner in crime, Sanvi Seth, whose flight was delayed and did not get in until just a little bit ago. She also finished in fifth place this year at the state tournament and has also qualified for the NSDA national tournament. And for Sanvi, this will be her fourth trip to the national tournament. a very rare accomplishment. Very few high school students have. In my career, I've had four students make the four times to the national tournament. So, it is quite the accomplishment. So, I ask you to join me in congratulating them on all of their endeavors. >> Amazing job. Congratulations. Congratulations. Great job. Amazing job. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Amazing job. Congratulations. >> Yeah. Don't even care about it. >> And you don't even tell me. >> Yeah, it's true. >> All right. All right. Um, next I'd like to welcome East View High School assistant principal Rob Franchino, who will introduce Greta Thomas, the 2026 Minnesota Debate Association Coach of the Year. >> Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, Superintendent Bone, and members of the board. Thank you for the continued opportunity to recognize the success of our students, teachers, and coaches. I think it's a wonderful opportunity that we continue to do this. So, thank you for that. And thank you for everyone who's being uh and congratulations to everyone who's being recognized this evening. It's my honor to recognize Greta Thompson as the 2026 Minnesota Debate Association Coach of the Year. This award recognizes individuals who have made truly an astonishing accomplishments and contributions to the field of debate in Minnesota. Greta is a 2012 graduate of East View High School uh where she competed in our debate uh team for three years. After she graduated, she came back soon after. we were just talking about it in 2013 and started working with our debate program right after she graduated. She's an English teacher uh in our district. She started in 2017 at Scott Highlands Middle School and then we were extraordinarily fortunate to have her come over to Eastview High School as an English teacher and also work with our debate uh program. She's currently the co-head coach of our Eastview debate team, including her focuses on classic and public debate public forum divisions. Her team has had strong competitive success with back-to-back state championships and classic debate along with appearances in public forum and elimination rounds at both the state and national level. At ECU, Greta has been an invaluable part of our debate program. She has been recognized as a coach who excels with all students. All students who she works with excel at a high level. She has been instrumental in making Eastview's debate and speech. She's also part of our speech coaching staff, one of the programs that is competitive and also recognized at the state and national level. There's so many different ways to recognize the success of of students and and coaches by the accolades and the awards that they win. But I think one of the best metrics to determine that with a coach or a teacher is a legacy that you live you leave with those who you influenced. I was able to reach out to some of our students and ask them that question of the impact that Miss Thomas has had on her from her students that she coaches. Miss Thomas is an excellent coach who has pushed me to be my very best. I learned the importance of self-confidence and that she really truly believes in me. She instilled in success in me and taught me the importance of being a good person with strong character. Regardless of the score that I get in debate, Miss Thomas taught me that the experience and growth in the program was equally as important to make me a better person. And not only is she a phenomenal person in the area of coaching, speech and debate, and forensics, she's an absolutely phenomenal teacher. She's in our ninth grade core, teaches our nth grade students, and she also teaches our honors American lit. Some of her students from her perspective as a teacher. Miss Thomas has such a kind person with a loving heart and personality. She makes me feel safe, cared, and heard as a student. She has taught me to stay true to myself. She pushes us to learn and provides us details to take our work to the next level. Miss Thompson is out absolutely outstanding. She should be the definition of what a great teacher should be. Her colleague Todd Herring, Greta coaches with heart, fosters inclusive culture where community, student well-being, leadership skills, and ethics are at the center of her core value. Most importantly, I've worked with Greta for a long time. Words like warm, kind, caring, and hardworking are words that describe her. She's an outstanding educator, and an outstanding coach. District 196 Eastview High School in our community is so fortunate to have her working with our learners. Please help me in congratulating Greta Thomas as the 2026 Minnesota Debate Association Coach of the Year. Thank you. >> Absolutely amazing. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Kelly Semoan Scales to the podium to recognize East View High School student magazine Iridesence for earning distinction in the recognizing excellence in art and literacy magazine contest. >> Thank you. >> Uh good evening uh Chairman Johnson, Superintendent Balsone, and our school board members. Uh my name is Kelly Sagmon Scales and I am the literary arts magazine advisor at East View High School. Um I'm so pleased to introduce some of the staff that we had from last year's magazines who are with us tonight. We have um Swanthana Suda Lacaraju, Faith Brown, we have our lead editor, Caroline Choy, and our editor and chief uh Ava Nuin who is currently a freshman at the U of M. Uh and uh just a few notes about uh what we do for our our student magazine. Prior to that, I should clarify that my role this last year consisted of three things. I uh made sure that the computer lab was unlocked and kids could log on. Uh I provided snacks every single day that we had layout and I drove them to Hastings to meet with the print company. That was it. This is truly a student-led organization and in truth it is led by AAN in particular. And so just a few I um pieces of information about that. We did receive the superior rating from the NCTTE which is the national um center for teachers of English and uh it was within the realm division and that's one of the um ways in which student publications can be um scored and awarded. We received a superior rating. Uh, and this is truly uh has to do with Aan's leadership in our uh literary arts magazine. Aan was an editor for three of his four years here at Eastview. Um, and decided that this last year's magazine was going to focus on breaking expectations and the traditional approach to layout and design by creating a unique identity iridescence uh for our magazine. And really we thought of that as using a lens through which to look at art and to read literature. Uh Aan's leadership guided our staff in selecting pieces, in choosing a print company, in helping with layout and design for the entire staff. And without his meticulous eye throughout this process, I guarantee that our magazine would not have scored as well. I'm so very proud of our students uh and the staff and this past year's magazine. Thank you very much for honoring us tonight. >> Can you even trip over my words? >> Thanks, Kelly. What a team we got. Impressive. >> Such amazing recognition. Congratulations. Fantastic. Congratulations. Superior rating. Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Um, last but certainly not least, I'd like to welcome Director of Elementary Education, Jeremy Sorenson, into the podium who will introduce Logan Schultz, Echo Park Elementary School for Echo because Echo Park has been named a magnet school of excellence. All right. Good evening, Chair Johnson, Superintendent Bullone, and school board members. My name is Jeremy Sasonson. I'm the director of elementary ed. Tonight is my it is my honor to recognize Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering, and Technology, and its principal, Logan Schultz. Echo Park has been named the Magnet Schools of America School of Excellence for the second year in a row, the highest national recognition for magnet schools. This award reflects Echo Park's strong academic outcomes and meaningful partnerships with families and community. Echo Park will formally will be formally recognized at Magnet Schools of America's national conference in April. This recognition represents the collective work of students, staff, and families. And tonight, we want to acknowledge Principal Schultz and the entire Echo Park staff in supporting and sustaining this work. So, please join me in congratulating Logan Schultz and the Echo Park community in this well-earned honor. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, school board members, and superintendent Bosone. I am Logan Schultz, proud principal of Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering, and Technology. I'm excited to share, like Director Sorenson mentioned, that we've been named a magnet schools of excellence, the only school in Minnesota to receive this high award. This means that for the second year in a row, we are the top K12 maintenance school in Minnesota. This recognition reflects what's happening every day in our classrooms. Increasing student achievement, closing achievement and opportunity gaps, and creating a school where every learner is known, challenged, and supported. It also reflects our strong family and community partnerships and how we deeply integrate our magnet themes, leadership, engineering, and technology into rigorous, engaging learning experiences. And this is not a one-time moment. It's clear sustained momentum that should be noticed. Last year, Echo Park earned the President's Award, which named us as the third best K through2 magnet school in the nation along with a top school of excellence award. We are no longer emerging at Echo Park. We have established success in our community and the momentum continues. Thank you for your continued support of our staff, families, and students and magnet programming. It makes a difference and you do not need to look beyond Echo Park to see that this award belongs to our entire entire Echo Park community and we're just getting started. And by just getting started, our next step in our recognition is Mr. Brian Hurley, who is a key part of our magnet programming at Echo Park. This is exciting news. Mr. Hurley has been named the regional six magnet schools of America teacher of the year and is a finalist for the national teacher of the year award. And if you want an uplifting moment, check out our social media and the moment that he found out in a surprise in our school. it it will make a bright spot in your day. It's worth the 60 seconds. Region 6 encompasses many states in the Midwest and being named the teacher of the year in this region is a huge honor. This award goes to a teacher who is outstanding, dedicated, and promotes student achievement and equity through innovative programming. There is no one who better fits these requirements than Mr. Hurley, who is also fondly known as Mr. Magnet in our school. Brian's belief in equity, diversity, and access is deeply embedded in how he puts the philosophy into practice. He designs learning environments where students cultural, linguistic, and personal identities are viewed as assets. Whether whether students are multilingual learners, receive special education services, or communicate using alternative devices, Brian ensures that they have meaningful entry points into engineering, design, and other computer science experiences. His philosophy is visible in every learner in every classroom he touches. He creates learning spaces where students are known, challenged, supported, and inspired where diversity fuels innovation. Through his leadership at Echo Park, our stu our students truly learn to wonder, explore, create, and lead. And I want to give a huge congratulations to Mr. Hurley and this well-deserved honor. Come on over, Mr. Hurley. Thank you, chair and members of the board for recognizing this award and for your continued support at Echo Park. I'm truly honored and I want to be clear, this award and recognition reflects the work of our entire school community. When I accepted my job as the magnettosa at Echo Park, I did so because I firmly believe magnet schools can offer highquality innovative instruction to every single child, no matter their zip code or which classroom they're placed into. At Echo Park, we believe all students can learn, grow, and achieve. Our staff works to bring our magnet themes of leadership, engineering, and technology to life every single day through engaging real world learning while stay staying relentlessly focused on equity, strong instruction, and closing opportunity gaps. This award also represents the strength of our partnerships with our families at our school, our community organizations, and supporters who make learning bigger than our school building. I'm grateful to be a part of a school with this kind of momentum and I'm excited for what's next. Thank you again for investing in our students and our community. Thank you. >> Fantastic recognition. Congratulations. >> What an honor. >> Thanks so much. Thanks for being here. Congratulations. We'll see you later. >> All right. Next, I will turn the meeting over to Superintendent Bosone for recognition of students and staff. >> Okay. Thank you, Chair Johnson. I'd like to begin by recognizing a teacher who has been honored here many times before. Mia Battis, a family and consumer sciences teacher, fax teacher at East View High School. Mia has been nominated for the National Life Group's 202526 Life Changer of the Year Award. This national recognition honors K12 educators who make a lasting positive impact on students through excellence and leadership. Congratulations to Mia on another well-deserved honor. Next, I'd like to recognize Zach Pra, a social studies teacher at Eastview High School. In December, Zach was named Minnesota's outstanding speech and debate educator of the year. He now has also been named the section 5 outstanding speech and debate educator of the year, making him one of just eight finalists nationwide. Section 5 includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. And the national award will be announced in January 2027. Congratulations to Zach on this outstanding achievement. Also, I'd like to congratulate the School of Environmental Studies students and staff for being selected as one of only 60 winning teams nationwide in the 2526 NASA Tech Rise Student Challenge led by science teacher Era Kulkin. The SCES team will design and build a student created science experiment that will fly on a NASA sponsored mission this summer. This is an extraordinary honor and a great example of real world hands-on scientific learning taking place at SCES. Next, I'd like to recognize students from district 196 who advanced to the state level of the Excel Award program, which stands for excellence in community education and leadership. This statewide recognition honors Minnesota high school juniors who demonstrate leadership, strong involvement in school activities, and a commitment to community service. Three district 196 students advanced to the state level. Gavin Yang and Maya Roth from E from Egan High School and Jacob Stats from Rosemont High School. Congratulations to all the nominees from our four district high schools. These students will be recognized during halftime of the class AAA girls basketball state championship game. Congratulations also and best of luck to the district 196 student athletes competing at tomorrow's state alpine ski meet and the state Nordic skiing meet on February 11th and 12th at Giants Ridge. Finally, I'd like to recognize Michael Sheridan of Eastview High School. Michael is known by many as the mayor of East View and is the manager of the East View girls basketball team. In recognition of long-standing service to the team of 17 years and the positive influence he continues to have on students, staff, and the community, Eastview named February 6th, Michael Sheridan Knight. It was a powerful reminder of how one person's presence can shape a community in lasting ways. The Eastview Rosemont girls basketball game included a special celebration. Family, friends, and former players and coaches traveled from across the country to be part of the evening. >> Yep. And thank you. That concludes my comments for tonight. >> Excellent. Thank you, Superintendent Bosone. We don't have anyone signed up for special communication requests tonight. So, that brings us to our consent agenda. We have 19 items on our consent agenda tonight for the board. Those items include the minutes of the January 12th, 2026 regular school board meeting, the minutes of the January 28th, 2026 special school board meeting, advertising revenue, gifts, grants, treasures reports for December 2025, summary of claims for December 2025, schedule of investments for December 31st, 2025, revenues and expenditures report for December 2025. personnel memorandum of understanding with the Kota County United Educators for summer 2026 activity center strength and performance equipment bond RFB for networking equipment bond RFB for infrastructure cabling bond RFB for retired iPad laptop sale joint powers agreement with Dakota County Collaborative for legal services joint powers agreement for SHIP school wellness between the county of Dakota and ISD 196 South Elementary HVAC equipment and supplemental student transport Transportation. Are there any items on the consent agenda that board members would like to remove tonight? Seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Move. >> Second. >> Motion by Sakin, seconded by Leah. All those in favor of approval say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 70 vote. All right, that brings us to our old business portion of I'd like to welcome Logan Schultz back to the podium, principal of Echo Park Elementary School and legislative advisory council member and Wyatt Miller, Rosemill High School student and LACE member to the podium. >> Good evening again, Chairperson Johnson, schoolboard members, and superintendent BSON. Um, we are here tonight for a second reading and board approval for our district 196 legislative platform for the 2026 session. I'm Logan Schultz, principal of Echo Park Elementary School and a member of the legislative advisory council for the last five years. First off, in any work that we do here in our district, especially with our community groups, but also internally, we utilize our strategic roadmap, and this grounds our decision-making process and all of our stakeholders that are part of this process. Our legislative advisory council um provides people from across our district um both employees, but also community members. And our work with the legislature is a legislature is essential to supporting this roadmap. Particularly this year, it's a policy year which could impact any area of our district. We are also dependent on the legislature for 75% of our funding. And with a looming state deficit projected in 2028, we will advocate to protect some of the important legislative gains put in place in 2023. Last week, we had the opportunity at Rosemont Elementary School to meet with local legislators to discuss the upcoming session with bipartisan involvement and support. Our legislators value public education and support our schools. We want to continue their efforts and support their efforts and we are just happy and enthused that we have these open dialogue and conversations with members of our legislative community in our area. and a thank you to Rosewan Elementary for hosting the location of the platform. The legislative advisory council um as a group came up with these three key areas as legislative priorities for this upcoming session. So the three that we'll cover today is stable predictable funding, teacher lensure, and safe and supportive schools. And as mentioned, um I'm happy to be joined up here by Wyatt, um a student in our district. And that's always a great piece of input to have when we're working through our legislative priorities. The first area that we'll cover is stable and predictable funding. So, one key piece that we're asking for is to protect the basic formula for inflationary index. And this is also in line with other organizations and groups such as AMSD, MASA, and MSBA. Also, we're asking that we hold that uh the state holds districts harmless and compensatory revenue um as those revenue changes and improve how students in need are identified and served. And thank you. Another factor in the budget that is looming right now is the $250 million cut to special education cross subsidy reduction. And we're asking that that contingency is repealed. Um if that would not be repealed, those monies would have to come from somewhere which could impact different parts um across the state and all educational areas. But that is a key component that we're asking to be repealed. and then also continue full ongoing state funding or repeal summer unemployment for non-licensed school staff. Another piece that um is a priority for us is teacher lensure. So over the past couple years, our district has been working hard to stay ahead of the game in factors related to the readact and so we're asking that the readact training rec requirements are in all teacher preparation and lensure programs. Right now we're thankful the support of our school district and school board as last year we were able to get a huge lift in our elementary teachers trained in that and this year it's shifting to the secondary. looking forward having the redact training provided at the teacher prep programs would be a huge support to districts across the state. So that is one of our priorities and also with that continuing to invest in our teacher recruitment and preparation programs as well teachers that come to us um they just transition well and that also helps us as a district especially if there's readact training that are in those teacher prep programs. Also another priority of our legislative advisory council is to revise child protection laws to extend the statute of limitations for victims and also we want to streamline the reporting that's associated between MDE and Pelby. Um, right now there's disconnect or there's a communication gap with that and we want to work with our legislators to eliminate that so we can streamline that process. And that was the topic of conversation at our legislative advisory council meeting last week in Rosemont Elementary. All right, I'm going to turn it over to a proud 196 student, Wyatt Johnson. >> Hello. Good evening. I'd like to first thank Mr. Balson for the opportunity to be a part of the LACE as well as to be here tonight. My name is Wy Miller. I am a junior at Rose Mau High School and member of the legislative advisory council. First of all, the issue of greatest importance to the student members of the LAC and the wider student body across the district as a whole is the continued creation of safe and supportive schools. This constitutes sustained investment in youth mental health services as well as in school safety measures that reflect the realities that students face every day. Firstly, on mental health, mental health support is not a peripheral concern and is foundational to learning, attendance, and the very well-being of students. Therefore, therefore, our council has articulated the need to strengthen state pipeline programs for social workers, counselors, and educators who are uniquely positioned to recognize distress early and respond effectively to student needs. We have also discussed access to primary health care as an essential component of student well-being since untreated physical and mental health concerns often compound and spill into the classroom. Secondly, school safety remains at the front of students minds. more so now than any point in recent memory. Before anything though, we are grateful for the community's investments in through the 2015, 2019, and 2023 referendums. These referendums have enabled uh facility upgrades, added security measures, and enabled continued access to support services for students. These commitments matter, and students recognize them as a whole. However, at the same time, the environment students navigate has changed in ways that existing frameworks do not fully address. Gun violence remains at a as a constant background fear. Social media amplifies threats, harassment, and enables panic to spread at a speed administrators are struggling to follow. And for many, the presence and actions of federal law enforcement agents have become a source of significant fear. All these realities hang over students on a daily basis. It is for these reasons that students and the LACE support raising the cap on school safety levies to give districts both the ability to hire more SRO's as well as the flexibility to address local safety needs in ways that align with the best practices and community expectations. This also aligns with the MSBA uh platform. This includes sustaining and expanding the role of school resource officers where appropriate while ensuring their presence supports students rather than intimidates them. These are the proposals of the LC for the safe and supportive schools. Thank you very much for this opportunity. >> Another piece that we want to take time is thanking our legislators. Um when we have forums like we did last week, they show up, they listen, and they're looking for ways to support. We want to continue that partnership, and that's a unique partnership that we have. Um, we do lobby day at the capital and we have those strong partnerships with legislators and we want to continue that. Um, we have a highly active and engaged council. We have 14 community members, nine staff members, three board members, and three high school students with Wyatt being one of them. We enjoy deep discussions about educational policy, employment law, tax law, and health and human services, all of which impact our students and families. And like I mentioned earlier this month, we hosted 11 of our legislators at Rosemont Elementary School to discuss the upcoming session and potential legislation. It was an energetic and productive visit. We are expecting a difficult session due to the upcoming election cycle, state budget pressures, and challenges at the federal level. We know that only bills with bipartisan support will pass. We appreciate our local legislators and their bipartisan efforts to protect public education. Members of the board, Superintendent Bosone, do you have any questions for our legislative advisory council? >> Thank you very much for the presentation tonight. This is an action item for the board. So before we go into questions, is there a motion to approve the 2026 District 196 legislative platform as presented? >> Still moved. >> Second. Motion by Saken. Was that Leah? Seconded by Leah. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members. So, I just had one comment. I love the entire platform. I love that it ties in with AMSD, MSBA, and other um things. And I really appreciate you both being here, but Logan, I'm sorry. I appreciate Wyatt a little bit more. are. And let me tell you why. >> No offense, sake. >> I have I love that we were uh Thank you, by the way, for serving on the LACE. And the reason I wanted to single you out a little bit is because um I've talked with legislators a lot. I've been at the capital a lot and when I talk to them about things that are important, a lot of them they go, "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh." And then they just kind of go on, right? But when students talk to our legislators and when students talk about how it impacts them at schools, they listen and they do something about it. So I really really wanted to highlight how important it is to have these student representatives on the LAC and thank you for being a part of it and for being here tonight as well does make a difference. >> Thank you. >> All right, we have a motion to approve by Sakoden, seconded by Leah. All those in favor of approval say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries on a 70 vote. Thank you very much. All right. Um, next up, we're moving to other action items and I would like to welcome Virgil Jones, director of equity inclusion, Lisa Turjan, American Indian Education Program Coordinator, and Nicole Lonree Brovald to the podium, NAPAC chairperson. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, school board members, and Superintendent Balsone. My name is Virgil Jones. I'm the director of equity and inclusion. I'm I have the honor of supporting the district's American Indian Education Program. Joining me this evening is Native American parent advisory chairperson Nicole Lryree Brovald as well as Monica Sanavval who serves as vice chair and the secretary of the NAPAC board Sienna Mal. Lisa Turjan is also here the coordinator of American Indian education. Lisa and Nicole Lryree Broald are here tonight to provide you with an overview and an update on the American Indian Education Program in District 196. We are here to ask for board approval as we present the resolution on the vote of concurrence from the Native American Parent Advisory Council. I'll invite Lisa to the podium. Okay. Hello everyone. Lisa Turjan. I'm District 196's American Indian Ed program coordinator. Um, I'm here today to share an update on American Indian program goals and and some of the activities and events that we uh did to uh meet those goals. Okay. So, we're going to start our presentation tonight uh with a our district 196 Dakota land acknowledgement. Dakota land acknowledgements are used to serve as a reminder that we are operating on indigenous lands um specifically the Dakota people's lands and also serves um to encourage our community to um reach out and to maintain strong relationships with local tribal nations and to support their sovereignty. And so I'll read our land acknowledgement. We want to acknowledge that district 196 resides within Minnesota Makoce, a Dakota place that this land has been the homeland of the Dakota people in the Oetti Shakaween or seven council fire for every generation since their creation at Bedote. Minnesota Makoce, the land where waters reflect the skies, is Dakota land. Minnesota is also the homeland of the Inishab and many other indigenous peoples who have and do reside and contribute to the overall foundation of this region. We encourage all members of District 196 community to join us in learning more about the people contributions, sovereignty, and treaty rights of the Dakota and the Anishab people. District 196 will continue to strengthen our relationship with M Minnesota's 11 sovereign nations and indigenous communities, families, and students. Um, so I wanted to bring up uh the district strategic roadmap and specifically the vision on honoring diverse needs and cultures. I think it's very important that we honor the diverse needs and cultures of our students. It's important because it affirms our students identities and creates a sense of belonging, respect, and safety. Okay. And just an introduction of um who serves on the Indian education program. Um I'm very proud to work alongside five cultural family advocates who uh make up our program. Uh we have uh Georgia Valandra, Rachel thes, Katie Smith, and two new staff members that started this school year, uh Melissa Lockach and Miranda Bartlett. And those CFAs um do a variety of work in in many ways. Uh they promote provide direct academic, cultural and social emotional supports to our students by building strong partnerships with our school buildings and school staff and create and facilitate cultural and academically focused uh learning um opportunities for our students in school, out of school, on the weekends, in the evenings. So many opportunities to work with our students. Um our staff also facilitate a variety of family engagement nights. Uh we have a literacy night, math night, and STEM night. And then also we end the school year with a great um celebration honoring our graduates of the school year. And I'm really happy that members of the school board attend that event. It's a really great way to end and honor our students um at the end of the school year. So I I also want to highlight the many other people that contribute to our program. And we um we have a variety of different casual employees that support um our program. Um mainly we we partner with community elders, we hire former students of ours, we hire current students of ours, we hire academic coaches, cultural consultants, and we also partner with a variety of uh current teachers and other staff members that support our programs. uh these uh community members strengthens the relationships that we have with our with our schools and with our families and helps us helps students feel seen, supported, connected with their heritage while navigating their pathway to graduation. Okay, so a little bit a snapshot of our student enrollment data. We have um roughly about 579 uh students uh prek to 12th grade across the district. Out of those students, we know that uh they represent 67 different tribal nations. A majority of the students in our program are Ojiway and Dakota. I just did the math the other day. We know this because they fill out a 506 form um which is a title 6 form that lets us know what tribal nation their um that student is from. Um and so 46% of the students that we know are Ojiway and 24% are Dakota. Every year as part of our that title six um uh application is we are asked to do a parent survey to um ac uh figure out like some of the things that our parents think are important uh and that our program should focus on. Um some of the highlights and takeaways from that survey are that 100% strongly agree or agree that our program supports student success and uh um in their child's school. The top priority among our families is our family engagement nights. So like our indigenous people's day celebration, our math night, STEM night, and then that graduation honoring. Uh, another top priority is language learning opportunities, which I'm happy to say that we have been expanding that um those efforts across the district um with a Dakota language club at our elementary schools at all 20 elementary schools. Um before that, we only um did language programming in five of those elementary schools. So we expanded to every single one of those school sites and we are currently working on developing a Dakota language course for our high school as a world language elective for high school credit. Um so that is um has been shared from our parents that that is a top priority that they see as very important for us to be focused on. So happy that we are we're continuing to do that important work. Um the other important highlight that I took out of the surveys that that our families um have a had a strong reaction in terms of when we provide services to students and they think a majority of the parents said during the school day um having our CFAs and our team at school sites consistently each week at each building is important to to their child's um needs. And so I'm happy that our our CF CFA team has grown so much that we do have capacity to have those um team members at every one of our school sites. And then the the remainder of those responses were pretty spread across evenly for evening programming, afterchool programming and weekend programming which we continue to do as well. Okay. So a little bit about the mission of the Indian education program. Our mission is to meet the unique linguistic, academic, and cultural needs of American Indian students. And we accomplish this by facilitating culturally responsive learning opportunities that positively impact um educational outcomes among our students. The program is funded by two um by two primary sources and that is through the Minnesota Department of Education's American Indian Education Aid Grant that we apply for every year and then title six Indian education which is federal funding that we receive and we have a rolling like four-year grant um that rolls over every four years and we have nine objectives or nine goals that we um that we work towards uh for those funding sources and some of them do overlap. So the main focus that or main takeaways that I take out of those goals is that we want to make sure that we're focused on the academic achievement of our students and making sure that our students are being seen and that their culture identity is being validated. And so I'll share a little bit by grade level on how we do that. So, uh, first we, um, I'm very honored that we have a very strong relationship with our early childhood family education folks and we partner with them and we have been partnering with them for many years to develop, um, unique learning opportunities to get our youngest learners ready for kindergarten. Uh and so uh we have a sixe evening program focused on the early childhood early childhood indicators of progress um using the Minnesota early learning standards. And this year we decided to focus on the introduction to ma of mathematics with the our preschool students. And so what we did was we blended their early learning standards for mathematics that domain of mathematics and we blended that with Dakota and Inishab ways of knowing mathematics. And so on on the um slide deck you could see we have six um of those academic teachings and we paired that with six uh of the cultural language teachings. Um and so things have been going really great this year. I think it's probably one of my funnest like things to do is work with our youngest ones in those preschool classrooms. I'm happy to share that my daughter is started um the ECF class this year and she's the the grumpy looking one that I'm holding on my lap in in the back of that picture. Uh but she is loving and she's thriving in that class and learning a lot and and so I'm really happy to um that we continue to have family um early childhood family education programming. Okay. Next in elementary program for students and families includes academic and cultural enrichment including um monthly book clubs. We want to make sure that our students are reading texts with uh voices and faces that are familiar with them and and familiar to their cultures. We also launched our the Dakota language club and we continue to have our family engagement um events. And I also wanted to mention that prek to 12th grade, all our students are also invited to um come to a bimonthly drum and dance class where they can learn how to um dance or sing um in anticipation of that salt of the river pow that we host every year. And then elementary um we also honor our graduating kindergarteners and fifth graders at that graduation honoring at the end of the school year. middle school. Our middle school program supports students through leadership groups, afterchool homework help, and cultural learning activities such as um just this week we have students um learning about um spreading awareness about the missing and murdered indigenous women's and relatives campaign which happens every year around uh February 14th. Um and so they're spreading those teachings to their um school communities, but they're also um in those leadership groups are also learning other a variety of other cultural teachings. Um and many of them are things that they want to learn about too. So we want to make sure that the our students are are getting the knowledge that they're seeking. Uh our middle school students also have participated in the um in field trip opportunities including this year we took them to the American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference. It's a national conference that they hold post um throughout the nation every year and this year it was in Minneapolis. So, uh they had a free STEM day um at this conference which we took our students to um and it was just filled with a very robust learning opportunity that blended STEM with um cultural traditions um related to science, technology and engineering and math. And of course, our eighth grade graduates are honored in that graduation honoring too. High school. High school. Our high school program offers academic support in college and career readiness opportunities including our ACT prep classes, homework help, academic coaching, fast uh we host a FASA night, assistance with college application and scholarship writing. Um and we have a variety of field trip opportunities where we tour um college campuses. This week we're going to go check out St. Olaf. So we're excited about that. Uh we've also taken our high school students uh just a few weeks ago to the Walker Art Center to see the Diani White Hawk exhibit which is incredible. It was highly recommended and we are really excited that our students got to um to see that exhibit. It's a Lakota artist. Um incredible. I highly recommend everyone go check that out. Um, our high school graduates are also honored at the graduation honoring, but they're also honored at the south of the river pow each school year. The other thing that we the Indian program offers is supports for our teachers and then we buil we have built strong partnerships with staff in the instruction and achievement department. Um, with the help with the equity department, we have developed three sets of Dakota and Ojiway learning trunks that teachers are able to check out every year for a couple weeks. And those trunks are um filled with a variety of artifacts, books, and other resources that they can use um in their classrooms when they're teaching about the Dakota and the Anishab people. um our CFA team is also prepared to partner with classroom teachers um for supports in in in classroom learning around those same subjects. Um and then we have like I said we partner with the INA department specifically with regards to the indigenous people's day lesson planning. Um, as we know, our our all districts are asked uh or there's a state statute that all schools must teach one hour of instruction related to indigenous studies. And I'd like to thank our Native American parent advisory committee because they've also partner with our secondary ed teachers every year um with Todd Beach on how um classrooms are going to be using that time for instruction. Last, I would like to invite all of you to our south of the river powo. It is going to be on May 2nd at Burnsville High School. This is a collaborative effort around the South Metro Indian education program. So, we partner with Farmington, Lakeville, Burnsville, Shakapei, and others to put on a very um very fun community event. Um POWs are a vibrant celebration of indigenous culture, community, and traditions. They provide an opportunity to honor language, music, dance, regalia, and storytelling. And we warmly invite our schoolboard members and district 186 community to join us at this annual celebration uh to experience firsthand the meaningful ways POWs can support cultural learning and community connection. Next, I am going to invite up the chairperson of our Native American parent advisory committee. Um, our NAPAC board serves as a vital link between families, the community, and our district. They provide guidance and input on programs and policies as it relates to Native American students. Uh, the board advocates for family perspectives, help shape culturally responsive initiatives, and works collaboratively with American Indian Ed and school leadership to strengthen to strengthen student and family engagement. And with that, I'd like to invite Nicole Lonery Bro. It's the green button. I heard I got it. BJU. I'm Nicole Lree Brovald. I'm the chairperson of our NAPAC committee. As you heard, I am an enrolled citizen of the Ho Chunk Nation and I have three children in the district, a sophomore, a fifth grader, and a second grader. Um, and Virgil introduced Monica and Sienna. We also have a couple other board members who could not be here tonight. Um, Mandy is our MDE representative and Katie Coulson is our teacher representative. And then we also have a small but mighty group of student representatives um that come and support and contribute a lot to our NAPAC meetings. So they are listed right there. Um so every year we have our votes of concurrence or nonconcurrence and we review a couple different things. We review the parent guardian survey results. Um we look at the recommendations that we had asked for in the previous year and then we also look at our American Indian education program measurable goals. And it's really nice because Lisa brings in a lot of different people to come and talk to us about what they're doing for our native kids in the district. Um, so when we have recommendations like she brought up the Dakota language course, I think that was a recommendation that we started three years ago and it's taken this long to get to this final exciting place of actually having this high school class offered. So we know that when we make these recommendations each year like just as long as there keeps the progress keeps going in the right direction towards these goals that's what we're asking for. Um so a couple we have four recommendations for this year. So the first one is to strengthen district 196 American Indian curriculum across all grade levels and subject areas um through ongoing implementation and support. and we have been working closely with Todd Beach, um, some literacy folks, science, math, elementary, middle school, high school. It's kind of across all grade levels, which is really nice to continue to make sure our students see themselves in the curriculum that they're learning from. Um, so we want to just keep that relationship going this year. um conduct a district-wide inventory of authentic native authored books in classrooms in media centers across grade level levels and subject areas. It means so much to our students when they walk into those libraries or those classrooms and they're like oh my gosh look here's you know Jojo Mun or here's you know I don't even know Pow Pow like they get so excited when they see those native authored books. So we just want to make sure that that continues to keep happening. we can keep building our school libraries up in media centers. Um we also would like to see um district 186 teachers to continue to be trained in proficient and culturally responsive instruct instruction to strengthen their ability to teach Dakota and Ojiway um culture and perspectives across the grade levels. I know that we've had a couple different learning opportunities and PD days and so we want to just continue that work and make sure that our teachers are proficient and confident and comfortable teaching about indigenous culture. And then we also meet um two times a year with the tribal nations education committee and every year they're asking us to show data on how our district is supporting our students and specifically meeting those academic and cultural needs of our students. So, we had talked about this last year and we want to kind of get this one more in motion this year, but to have a needs assessment for our title one schools um to determine if there are barriers that are impacting achievement for our native students and to gather community input on best practices and strategies to meet the needs of our students at these schools. We want to see an evaluation of how the funding is specifically meeting the needs of native students. And that will also help us work with the state and with TAC and to try to like tie it all together. That is it. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you very much. This is an action item for our board tonight. So before we move into questions, is there a um motion to accept the resolution of concurrence as presented? So approval. >> I heard a bunch, but I'll say I heard the motion by Jackie, seconded by Robin. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none questions or comments from board members. Thank you. Thank you. I just want to say thank you very much for the excellent presentation. It's one of my It's one thing I look forward to every year. um seeing all the things happening in our schools around um Native American education. I have um my son is best friends with a student who is very active um in um in uh a lot of the education opportunities we offer in District 196. So, every time I see him, I get to ask him a little bit more. In fact, I saw him on the slideshow, too. um and he and his family just rave about the opportunities and um that they have everything that they attend they absolutely love and they're just very very appreciative for it which always makes me feel good and and I know that uh Nate PAC and the committee is doing an absolutely wonderful job. So thank you so much. >> Thank you. Corey, can I ask a question actually? >> Sure. We do have one more question. Wait, >> sorry. >> Right when you thought you were done. Sorry >> if you don't know that's fine. But um you mentioned that we're um that we have a four-year rolling process of getting I think it's title six. >> Title six. Yep. >> Do you know where we're at in the four-year role? >> I think we're currently in year one of four this year. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Which makes it a lot easy because we don't have to think of new goals year after year. Um the MDE1 is the same goals, but it's like kind of looking at the measurables and if we're meeting those measurable goals. Um but yeah, yeah, the four-year plan is makes things a little bit easier. >> Okay, thank you. >> All right, we have a motion to approve the resolution of concurrence um by Jackie, seconded by Robin. All those in favor of approval say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries on a 70 vote. Right. Next, I'd like to welcome Christopher Anyongo Robshaw and Jod Zespa to the podium to go over our general obligation school building bonds series 2026A and refunding series 2016A. >> Good evening, Chair Johnson, members of the board and um Superintendent Bullzone. I'm Christopher Angaria, director of finance and operations. Um on July 15th 14th rather 2020 uh 5 the school board adopted a resolution authorizing the district's financial advisors elas and associates uh to solicit written proposals for the sale of general obligation facilities and maintenance and school building bonds. As the year progressed, the district and administration uh is has consulted with the financial advisors, reviewed additional data, including clarified construction schedule, uh the district's cash position, visa vis the building projects, uh market conditions, and these factors have contributed to a slight modification to the schedule of our bond sales. So this evening, I'm joined by Jodi Zesper from Ellis. They are our financial municipal financial adviserss. uh Jodi will walk us through theformational material related to the bond issuance following which the administration requests the approval of the resolution of sale of general obligation school building bonds and referring bonds for series 2026A. So I will jod. >> Thank you Christopher. Good evening chairperson Johnson, Superintendent Balsone and members of the school board. Um, so I am going to just cover a few highlights related to the bond issue and I'm gonna see if I Oh, good. I can make that happen. Um, so a little background information. So, this is related to the bond referendum that voters approved in May of 2020 2023. And um we did issue some of that authority September 14th. And then last year, as Christopher mentioned, the board approved a resolution moving forward with the remaining authority, but we are making a slight change to that to issue a portion of the authority along with some refunding bonds. So, the bond issue is um expected to still have two components. I'll talk a little bit about the first component. So the school building on bond portion is financing projects authorized by the voters in 2023. We'll have a 20-year term and an important provision whenever we issue bonds is to determine the call date. So that is the date when you can prepay and refund or refinance the bonds. So this uh school building bond issue will have a call date of this overall issue will have a call date of February 1st of 2034 with the maturities 2035 and later eligible for prepayment. We're expecting to issue the remaining authority then that the voters approved um early in calendar year 2027. So that will happen next fiscal year along with some facilities maintenance bonds that were also contemplated at the time that the voter approved bonds were issued. So a little bit about the second portion then the refunding bond portion. So uh this is an opportunity to reduce future debt service payments and tax levies. So, similar to refinancing a mortgage, basically we're issuing new refunding bonds at lower interest rates and using those proceeds to pay off the existing bonds. Different than a home mortgage, you're not able to keep the savings for the district's budget. So, you are required to pass those savings on to the taxpayers in the form of reduced debt service levies. A little bit more about that. These bonds are call callable or eligible to prepaid were eligible to be prepaid starting February 1st of 2026. So we are in um the call period now. The callable bonds total a little over 48 million with principal payments due February 1st of 2027 through 2030. They have uh coupon rates of 3 to 5% and we're estimating the true interest cost rate on the new bonds would be just slightly under 2 and a.5% which would result in estimated savings of about a million dollars and that is net of all costs associated with the refunding. So next steps in the process. So tonight you would adopt the amending resolution allowing us to move forward with um the refunding bond component which we weren't sure we would be able to um capture some savings when we were looking at interest rates last summer but interest the market has cooperated rates have come down so we are at a point where we think we can capture about a million dollars in savings. We will then move forward with preparing the official statement soliciting competitive bids on your behalf. We'll have a um call with Moody's rating agency, which Christopher always does a fabulous job of preparing for. So, you're in good hands with that. And then um we'll receive the proposals on the day of your regular meeting in March. Um the board then will be presented with a resolution to award the sale that night. Um the closing date is scheduled for April 2nd and then we're required to give at least 30 days notice once we call the bonds. So, we're giving 35 days notice, which would then have a call date of May 7th of 2026. And then just to take a look at um we're always taking a look at um your existing debt and capital levies to make sure that we're maintaining a level or lower tax rate unless your voters approve an increase. So, this is where we bring all the details of your debt and capital levies together to make sure that that's happening. You'll see your existing debt in the gray there. And then um the capital lease levy primarily was used to fund the turf fields which I know are getting lots of use at the facilities um future facilities maintenance bonds, your general fund facilities maintenance levy, the voter approved building bonds then from this issue and the remaining authority that we still have is all factored into this plan along with your voter approved capital project levy. put that at the top of the chart just to demonstrate that that w that is a change between taxes payable 25 and 26. Your voters approved the increase the renewal and the increase to your technology levy. So that is reflected in the chart. Um and then as you can see we have uh level tax rates going forward with a couple step downs to allow for some f future capacity for additional capital investment. So, we just kind of like you to see that um long-term picture so that you can see how all of these uh payments and levies will come together to keep that nice level or declining tax rate. >> Excellent. Um this is an Are you done? >> That's it. Yes. >> Perfect. All right. Just want to make sure. Um this is an action item for our board tonight. So before we move into questions and comments, is there a motion to approve the resol resolution as presented authorizing the district's financial adviserss and associates incorporated to solicit written proposals for the sale of general obligation facilities maintenance and school building bonds? >> Motion by Robin, seconded by Jackie. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members? Jackie, I would just like to thank everyone who's involved in this. Christopher, Jody, um you guys help us keep an eye on our debt so it is that constant leveling of debt. It's not going up. People aren't going to say, "Oh, my taxes went way up. We're keeping the debt at at a at a ceiling." Um you said the million dollars we're not going to get to spend. >> That goes back that goes back to taxpayers. Yes. As in the form of you're not we're not collecting it. we have that factored into the long-term plan. So effectively what we do then is to move some of the payments on your school building bonds up so we're paying less interest on those then too. So it all kind of goes into the mix of that long-term plan. Yeah, >> I think that's just really important for for the community to know that we watch this really closely and thank you all. I've got >> Thank you very much. Um I agree any opportunity to um refund money to taxpayers I think is a good opportunity. That's what we're here for. I did have one question though. You said we're estimating a 2 and a half% um interest rate on that refinance and um as much as I um would love to be able to predict the market, I don't think anyone wants to do that. So, I'm just curious at what point come March rolls around, um I'm just saying if the market if the percentage rates um go up and we're getting a lot more than 2 and a half%, is there going to be at what point is the decision made whether or not we're going to actually um go and bid on these or not? >> Yeah. So, so thank you for that question. We will absolutely continue to monitor the market. Um, since uh uh the time we put these estimates together, rates have actually continued to tick down a little bit and every little bit helps a lot for that refunding savings. It's very sensitive to changes in interest rates. If we get to the point where interest rates go back up, we will definitely be in communication with Christopher and we will either um remove that portion of the bond sale. We'll still likely move forward with the school building bonds or we can delay because we have a little flexibility in terms of when you need the school building bond money. We're just trying to capture the refunding money as quickly as we can while rates are in a good place. So those would be our two option is that we could just move forward with the school building bond portion or again we could delay the sale and hope that rates come back down again. >> Excellent. So in March we'll definitely see you for at least the building bond portion and hopefully knock on wood if rates remain lower continue to low we'll see that refinance as well. >> Yes. And in on March 9th, you will not see me. I will be on a family vacation. Um, but you will see Aaron Bushberger from our team. So, he will be here with hopefully good results and hopefully a little more than a million dollars in savings would be fantastic. So, that's what we'll hope for. >> I always like more than savings. So, for sure. Anna, >> I just have a question. Um, how do we communicate that to our constituents? I know that I mean that savings to them. How do we do that? Um because this is complicated. So how do we how do we communicate that? I mean yes we have this >> Janet I think does that she's >> I know she does that but how I mean does that >> as once the bonds are sold in March and it comes back if it's favorable. So we do have a press release that we were thinking we were going to release tomorrow. Then I >> paused on that until we have the actual bond sale. So there will be a press release that'll go out in March. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. >> You any other questions or comments from the board? All right. We have a motion to approve by Robin, seconded by Jackie. All those in favor of approval, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Those opposed. >> Motion carries on a 70 vote. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you very much. Glad to >> uh Next, I'd like to welcome Joel Miltier to the podium to go over and uh review our collective bargaining agreement with school service employees SEIU Local 284. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, members of the school board, and superintendent Bolson. Tonight, I'm pleased to be presenting the working agreement between the school district and our bus drivers, chaperones, crossing guards, who are represented by services, employees, International Union Local 284. The bargaining unit approved this two-year agreement on February 5th. I'll briefly highlight the key terms of this agreement for you. Salary schedule. Effective January 1, 2026, each step on the salary schedule increases by 75 cents per hour in the first year. And effective July 1st of 2026, each step on the salary schedule will increase by 90 cents per hour in the second year. For longevity pay, effective January 1st, 2026, each step on the longevity schedule will increase by 10 cents for the first year of the contract. There is no increase to longevity pay in the second year of the contract. For health insurance, the district contribution increases by 15% in the first year and 9% in the second year. For retirement, there is no increase to the district contribution to the matching 403b plan during the term of this agreement. However, the years of service required for eligibility was reduced from six years down to three years. So, employees are eligible for the matching contribution earlier in their career. Calendar committee. The district and union agreed to a letter of understanding regarding transportation employee representation on the district calendar committee and there were other minor changes in the contract for modifications and clarifications. The total cost of this agreement falls within the financial parameters pre previously established by the school board. I would like to recognize the efforts of both bargaining teams who met over the course of these negotiations to reach agreement. And I would also like to recognize all of our drivers, chaperones, and crossing guards who are the support of our students on a daily basis in the school district. On behalf of administration, I recommend approval of the collective bargaining agreement as summarized, and I would be happy to answer any questions you have. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. This is another action item for the board tonight. So before we move into questions or comments, is there a motion to approve the collecting bar collective bargaining agreement as presented? >> So moved. >> Second. Motion by Katherine, seconded by Anna. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Was that not Katherine? >> Oh, no, it was. >> Okay. Well, you were laughing like I missed. >> All right. Questions or comments from the audience? >> Seeing none questions or comments from the board. >> All right. Thank you and your team for the efforts um that you put into um uh coming up with this agreement. uh is much appreciated. >> Thank you. >> Right. We have a motion to approve by Katherine, seconded by Anna. All those in favor of approval, say I. >> I. >> All those opposed. Motion carries on a 70 vote. Thank you very much. >> All right, that brings us to almost the end of our agenda tonight. I'm going to turn the meeting over to Superintendent Bosone for district updates. >> Okay. Thank you, Chair Johnson. I want to start with an update on transportation. We transport more than 22,000 students each day on 220 district-owned buses. And we know how important reliable transportation is for students and families. Like school districts across the country and state, District 196 continues to face a shortage of bus drivers. An aging workforce, illness, winter weather, and other factors have made staffing more challenging. When we do not have enough drivers to cover all routes, some routes and some buses have been delayed or cancelled. We recognize how disruptive this is for families. Reliable transportation affects not only students access to school, but also famil family's work schedules, child care, and daily routines. Last week, between 94 and 98% of our buses ran according to schedule. Improving reliability remains a top priority for district leaders and we continue to look at both short-term and long-term solutions. To help keep families informed, we have added an updated have added updated information and an FAQ section to our transportation page on our district website. That information explains what is happening currently, what steps we're taking now, and changes we may need to consider for the future. Moving on, I want to remind families that there will be no school on Monday in honor of President's Day. And last week, our elementary and middle schools held parent guardian teacher conferences. We want to thank all the families who attended for taking time to connect with our teachers. This partnership is an important element to student achievement and well-being. And we encourage families who were not able to attend to still reach out to their teacher or school if they have any questions or needs. Finally, we are in the middle of a busy month for the performing arts across our district. Our high schools are hosting a variety of theater, music, and dance performances. We encourage families and community members to check the school websites for more information and tickets. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Excellent. Thank you very much, Superintendent Bosone. Um for board member updates, I just have one item to share. Um the board met on January 27th um for the purposes of evaluating the superintendent's mid-year review in a closed meeting. Overall, the board um uh rated Superintendent Bosson's overall meeting expectations for his mid-year review performance. Um items of items noted going well includes the reports being brought up to the board and the PL and uh the timeline and how they are aligned to our strategic plan. Um, areas the board noted could be improved and worked on for the remainder of the year include the transportation issues our district is um, currently experiencing. Any questions or comments regarding this can be brought to my attention um, at Corey Johnson. Corey Johnson at district196.org. Are there any other updates board members would like to share tonight? Um, before we adjourn, I'd like to let everyone know that the board members are going to be signing some appreciation cards to present to our school administrators. We will not be discussing school district business, but members of the public are still welcome to stay um and observe while we complete that task. At this time, is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Robin, seconded by Sakoden. All those in favor of adjournment, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Our next regular school board meeting is Monday, March 9th. We stand adjourned.