[Music] everyone and welcome to our regularly scheduled board meeting. At this time, please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance as you are able. Um, after the pledge, please remain standing for a brief moment of silence. >> I pledge allegiance 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. At this time, I would like us to share a moment of silence for rising 11th grade Egan High School student Jacob Berdict, who passed away on July 20th, and a rising fifth grade Diamond Park student, Jacob Stephenson, who passed away on July 31st. Thank you. All right. Good evening, board. Our first item of business is the approval of the agenda tonight. There are no additions or deletions to the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as outlined? >> So moved. Second. >> Motion by Jackie, seconded by Robin. All those in favor of approving the agenda say I. I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 50 vote. That brings us to our recognition portion of the agenda tonight. And I would like to welcome Rob Franchino um to the podium uh to introduce us to our Egan High School Families Career and Community Leaders of America National Leadership Conference. First through third place finishers, >> East View High School. >> Did I say the wrong one? I'm sorry. It's okay. We know what you meant. Thank you. Um, Mia Battis is on the agenda, but I am not Mia Battis. She is on route in a flight and didn't make it. So, I'm here and happy to be here. So, greetings, uh, board members, chairperson Johnson, Superintendent Balsone. Um, as I said, I'm stepping in for Mia, but I I want to make a couple comments about Mia as our family and consumer consumer science teacher at Eastview and also our FCCLA coordinator and leader. FCCLA, for those who don't know, it stands for Family, Career, Community, and Leaders of America. And she's we're very, very fortunate to have her at our school in both capacities. I know she's been recognized here before, but I'd be remissed if I didn't say it again as we're talking about some of the students she leads. She was a 2025 National Teacher of the Year in Family Consumer Sciences. She's the Minnesota Teacher of the Year in Family Consumer Sciences in 2025. In 2425, she was the president of the Family Consumer Science Association. And in 2024, she was a runner up for adviser of the year for FCCLA. So obviously very fortunate as are our students. Uh Mia asked me to share her message with you. So she states, "I am privileged to advise FCCLA and lead the family consumer science department at Eastview. Although we are the only chapter in district 196, we are very proud to be the largest chapter in Minnesota, consistently being recognized for our state and national projects and receive top honors in competitions and many awards. Our chapter strives to help with the needs of our school and community by participating in leading community service projects throughout the year and in competitive events. Students taking action recognition which are called star events are competitive events in which members compete at the regional, state and national level. At our state conference in the in this past March, we qualified 15 members for the national leadership conference in Orlando, Florida from July 5th through the 10th and Mia took them to this conference where many excelled in their star events, challenge test, skill development and national level recognition. This year we had some special celebrations on the main stage as Hamani Mandal participated in the say yes for f family consumer science recognition event where she committed to being a family and consumer science teacher and received a prestigious FCCLA memorial scholarship. Abby Ward was selected to showcase the outfit she made at her star event in the FCCLA National Fashion Show. In addition, we in addition to those two, we are proud to recognize more awards for those two and the following members of our our accomplishments. When I say your name, if you can step forward. Hammani Mandal, as I said, the FCCLA memorial scholarship. She was first place in FCCLA knowledge challenge test. Third place at Teach FC Family and Consumer Science Silver Medal top 10 chapter website winner. Amy Wyn, who's not here tonight, she's a third place principles of food science challenge test. Abby Ward, who's here, was selected for the National Leadership Conference fashion show, was a silver medalist in fashion and construction. And Emily Ward and Abacati, who is not here, uh they won bronze in fashion design. I know some parents are here, so if you'd like to stand and together we'll recognize the accomplishments of these students for FCCLA at Eastview High School. Amazing. Congratulations. >> Amazing job. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Proud of you. Congratulations. Amazing. All right, that brings us to the end of our recognition for this evening. Um, we do not have any superintendent or special comm superintendent recognition or special communication request tonight. So, that brings us to our consent agenda. Board members, we have 18 items on the consent agenda for this evening. They include the minutes of the July 14th, 2025 special school board meeting, the minutes of the July 14th, 2025 Regular school board meeting. The minutes of the July 28th, 2025 for special school board meeting. Schedule of investments for June 2025 gifts inter agency early intervention committee joint powers agreement 202526 school budget purchase. Request to hire non-licensed administrator agreement with YMCA for north of of the north for 202526 school age care program. Policy 405 employee rights. Policy 503 student rights and responsibilities. Appointments to the budget advisory council. Rosemont High School addition and renovation alternatives. personnel employment agreion employment agreement probationary employment agreement additional FTE amend police leaison services agreements with the city of Apple Valley and agreement for student teaching with Winona State University. Are there any items on the consent agenda that board members would like to remove tonight? Seeing none, is there a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Robin, seconded by Leah. All those in favor of approving the consent, please say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries on a 50 vote. That brings us to our reports item of the agenda. And I would like to welcome Rachel Hughes to the podium to go over our assessment updates. Good evening, Chair Johnson, members of the board, and the superintendent Bosonei. I'm Rachel Hughes, the director of instruction achievement, and I'm here tonight to update you on assessments. The research, assessment, and analytics department worked over the past two years to restructure our district's assessments to create an aligned model that minimizes the amount of time students are taking local assessments. They work closely with leaders in the instruction and achievement department to make sure the model and the data it produces align with key district priorities, especially MTSS and the readact. I'm here to present updates to their work and there is no board action tonight. Our district's assessment model aligns with three of our district strategic priorities. First achievement assess assessments measure the effectiveness of our curriculum and instructional practices in order to improve student outcomes. The use of assessment results in the decision-making process is a key component for educators to increase their efficacy. Second, assessments are one way we can measure the inequities of our educational system. By identifying the inequities, district and building leaders can adjust structures, resources, or staffing to address those gaps. And finally, I want to highlight resource strategic priority. The restructuring of the district's assessment model allowed us to identify redundancies and the data we are collecting, hence reducing both cost and time spent on testing our students. Before diving into the district assessment model, I want to highlight the work and learning that brought us to this point. In the 232 24 school year, the research assessment and analytics team, otherwise known as the raw department, which is a lot easier to say, um, completed a Minnesota Department of Education professional learning course titled Minnesota data and assessment literacy. One key takeaway was the importance of understanding the different types of assessments. universal screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome assessments. Equally important is knowing how to use each type effectively, enabling both leaders and educators to analyze results to make informed decisions. Today, data and assessment literacy is embedded in professional learning led by the instruction and achievement team. The course also guided raw department to closely examine their current model by asking critical questions such as how are the results of each assessment being used? Do the results reveal any new information? What information is missing as we build an aligned assessment model? Through this process, redundancies and data gaps were identified. Over the past year, the RAW team has worked to develop a new, more aligned assessment model, gathering feedback from leaders across the district along the way. Before I share highlights of the adjustments, I want to emphasize how closely this work aligns with the implementation of MN MTSS in our district. Two of the five core components of Minnesota MTSS are assessments and database decision-making. The structured assessment model developed by the RAW department directly supports and strengthens these critical elements of our work. Here are three There we go. Here are three key highlights from the district's assessment model. First, we have significantly reduced testing time for our students. Students in district 1996 now spend less than eight hours per year on local assessments, which is well below the state's maximum limits of 10 hours for grades K through 6 and 11 hours grades 7 through 12. This reduction is the result of streaming lining assessments by removing older timeintensive tools such as MWA, MAP, AVMR, and BASS. eliminating less impactful assessments, including the algebra prognosis and math benchmark tests. Implementing FastBridge as our new screening tool for literacy and math, which takes approximately 20 minutes per student to complete, far less time than our previous screeners. Overall, students now spend 60 to 75 fewer minutes on testing per year compared to prior years. This shift means at the elementary level, for example, we've reduced teacher testing hours from nearly 27 to 46 hours per class to about 5 to 6 hours, freeing up substantial instructional time. At the middle school level, we cut roughly 30 to 50 minutes per student off of testing time. Second, we have established an aligned district assessment model that brings consistency and clarity. Universal screening and FastBridge now occurs in grades K through 10th, giving students, families, and educators a consistent assessment experience across schools and grade levels. Families will receive clear, consistent reports on their students progress through FRABridge, making it easier to understand strengths and areas of growth. Educators receive aligned training on using assessments data effectively, which supports better instructional decisions tailored to student needs. Assessment windows are now coordinated across all schools, allowing for dedicated data analysis days immediately after testing. This scheduling provides teachers with timely access to results and valuable planning time for student supports. And finally, all assessments are now administered digitally wherever possible. Thanks to our onetoone student devices, assessments are completed efficiently and teachers receive results quickly. This eliminates time spent grading papers and waiting for external scoring. Enable teachers to analyze data and respond to students needs promptly. Paperbased testing is still available to students who need accommodations. In conclusion, our updated assessment model combined with onetoone technology access significantly reduces unnecessary testing time, maximizes educators instructional time, ensure families receive clear, timely information information on student progress. Before wrapping up, here's a quick snapshot from the elementary and middle model, which outlines the district's assessments for the school year aligned to the data analysis day. The graphic is meant to illustrate how these assessments fit into the larger system. To be clear, most of these assessments you see here are formative assessments intended to intended to monitor student learning throughout the learning process and not summitive assessments. At the elementary level, the only large-scale summit of assessment is the spring MCA in reading and math administrative to students in grades three through five and the MCA science assessment administrated to students in grade five. Our high school students complete several summitive assessments in the spring, including MCAs, preACTS, ACT, as well as the biingual seals and AP exams for some students. Shortly, Dr. of each will provide a detailed report on AP performance and updates. All of these assessments are administered digitally which significantly accelerates the turnaround time for delivering results to both students and staff. To minimize instructional disruptions, we strategically utilize the e-learning day in April to administrative administer the preACT, ACT, and bilingual seal assessments. The thoughtful scheduling ensures students can participate in these assessments without missing regular class time. In fact, more than half of our high school students intend school on e-learning day specifically to take one or more of these assessments. The district's assessment model also provides a glance at an assessment cycle. The cycle clearly outlines how different assessments fit into the larger system. FastBridge is our universal screener for literacy and math. Screeners quickly evaluate the effectiveness of instructional practices and identify students who may be at risk. Screening is the first step in the instructional design making process. Then students are administered a diagnostic test which identifies specific areas of need so educators can tailor instruction and invent and intervention. This year we'll be rolling out CAPD read basics as our literacy diagnostic. CAPI is aligned with the science of reading and approved under the read act. Educators will have both of these results available to them in preparation for the first data analysis day in September. Thank you. Thank you for letting me share about the updates of 196 assessment model. We look forward to sharing you FastBridge results with later this fall. At this time, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. >> And thank you very much. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members. Jackie, go ahead. >> I just want to thank you for all the work that the committee that you've done on this and the committee has done on this and when you look at this makes so much sense when you when you see it all lined out where the things are, where the data days are. And also, thank you for bringing it to the um community or the curriculum advisory council. >> Yeah. because we've look they've looked at that. So that's parents and teachers looking at it going, "Yeah, this makes sense. This and it gives them empowerment and gives you a lot of information." So thank you. This is really I like how we're working through this and it's been a big change. It's been a huge change. >> Yes. Thank you. >> You do you have a question, Anna? >> I have a comment actually. >> Go ahead. >> Sorry. >> Sorry. Um, if I didn't go to district 196, so I apologize if my math is off. Um, but it looks like if the reduction for elementary school, it the actual hours that kids gain back in the classroom um or days are actually between four to seven class days back in the classroom because we've gone to this model, >> which is amazing. That is so amazing for our students and for the teachers. They're doing what they want to be doing, what they love doing, and not spending so much time assessing. So that's great. Yeah. And I say the 101 iPads is the integral part of that. >> Fantastic. >> Okay. >> I liked your little joke, too, by the way. >> Oh, wasn't it wasn't a joke. >> I thought I It took a second for a second, but it >> it wasn't a joke. >> Getting better. >> And I love the comment about the iPads because I think we're going to talk about technology levy coming up here. I did have one quick kind of quick question. I'm curious. So, every once in a while, even still, I might hear about from a parent or a teacher or a student who's like, "We spend too much time testing." And I I still hear that. And I'm curious, you did a great job. It was so awesome to see like to Anna's comment, how much, you know, time we're putting back in the classroom away from testing. I'm curious, switching to the new models, what are you seeing with the data and the indicators we're getting? Since we are spending less time, is the data going down or are we actually getting better indicators? >> We're getting more accurate indicators. Um, it's more norm data that's more quick and efficient. Um we are still this is our first year rolling out some of the these um assessments in some of these places. So I think we're just going to get even more efficient. Um and teachers will too. More comfortable proctoring and facilitating the assessments. >> Excellent. >> So more time in the classroom and better indicators. Sounds like a good return on investment. >> Yes, it is. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um, next on the agenda, I would like to welcome Eric Hansen and Todd Beach to the podium to go over our advanced placement AP results. Okay. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, members of the school board, and Superintendent Balsani. Tonight, Dr. Beachch, our district lead for social studies and a social studies teacher at East View High School, will provide an informational presentation on our advanced placement exam participation and performance, including a notable milestone from last school year, our first cohort of 9th grade students participating in our advanced placement world history course exam. No action is required. This presentation is simplyformational. Tonight's report will provide information on what advanced placement courses are, what is the impact of advanced placement courses on student achievement, who has the opportunities in district 196 to enroll in advanced placement courses, what is new and relevant around advanced placement courses as it relates to district 196. And lastly, what are the implications and student impacts around advanced placement courses and enrollment? In alignment with our strategic roadmap, advanced placement or otherwise called AP courses demonstrate our commitment to the strategic priorities of achieve achievement, equity, and resource allocation. At this time, I'd like to introduce Dr. Todd Beachch, who will share detailed information around advanced placement courses in District 196, specifically World History 9. Thanks. Good evening. Thank you, Eric. I just want to start with a little bit of background. What is AP? So, advanced placement or AP is started in 1955 with College Board. Um, and its idea was it came out of Princeton, New Jersey near Princeton University. And the idea was they really wanted they had a group of students they had many students across the country that they wanted to pursue college level studies. They were not feeling challenged in 1955. Some of these students in their their high school level coursework and so AP was born. Um some of the things you need to understand about advanced placement is that it gives ch students then all across the country internationally actually to do college level studies and the curriculum is all peer-reviewed as well as the exams um and there's quite a process that goes into scoring these exams. So, it's very norm referenced and norm based. Gives students a chance to an opportunity to earn college credit and we also have many more district 196 students from more diverse backgrounds that are succeeding in our AP courses. So, by the numbers just this year, this is the numbers from this year that I have for you. We offer 28 subjects in 196 and we had over about 28 well 2872 students that took an AP course this year. Over 5,500 exams were taken this year and across the whole pallet of exams our pass rate across all of our schools was at 83%. So it's that's I'm just going to tell you that those are pretty good scores. It's really really impressive. So, who can take AP? Sorry, we'll get on the right thing here. Want to say that there are no barriers to registration. So, one of the things I was when I'm talking to adults about advanced placement, especially if they took AP in high school, is that not to bring your own kind of experiences and AP context that you had into what's happening now in the schools because there's always changes taking place. And one of the biggest changes we have that uh that has changed over the last I would say generation of AP courses is there are no barriers to registration. There are no fill out you need to get a recommendation. You need to fill out this form. There are no barriers. If a student wants to take an AP course, they can take an AP course. And part of the reason I'm here tonight is that we for the first time are now offering we offered this past year an AP course to 9th graders. So all information about AP courses included in the high school. Each high school has their own set of registration materials and all the information about AP courses appear in those materials. I also want to talk about what does taking AP mean for college readiness and this is all evidence-based researchbased. So there's a significant evidence that participation in AP courses strongly correlates with student achievement, college readiness, college completion. This is an older study done by the University of Texas University or the US Department of Ed of education, but we have more studies that show even stronger um data evidence about taking a rigorous advanced placement course and how those students do post high school when they go to college. So students who take AP courses in high school are much more likely to graduate from college within four years. They earn higher college GPA than their peers who did not take AP courses. That's really significant because if we can get done in four years in college, obviously there's a significant cost savings. You're not paying tuition, but it also increases your lifetime earnings because you're out earning rather than sitting in school for another fifth year. The course rigor matters. So the rigor of high school coursework is more important than parent education level, then family income, then race or ethnicity in predicting postsecary success. So putting something challenging in front of students, having them strive and work through that with support from a well-aring educator, all of that really matters. And passing AP exams then correlates with higher ACT and SAT scores. And this tracks, but they did a study as well. Students who take and pass AP exams earned higher ACT and SAT scores than their peers who did not take and pass the exam. So let's think about when our students leave us and they're going many of our students go on to to a college career. What are the factors in admissions? Top five factors and these have been roughly the same for at least a generation. So the first factor is actually the academic performance and course rigor college preparatory courses. So if you're going to be going to a school, the school's going to look first of first and foremost what have you done in high school that would prepare you for this experience? How independent are you? And so they look at that course transcript and they want to see that kind of college rigor on the transcript. The test scores, strong test scores still play a role. There was a time u most recently when there were many schools that were being much more test optional, but now we're seeing that trending back. They're starting to see a want and a need to see test scores from students as they're making these really difficult decisions about who gets admitted to their school. I'm going very quickly here. There we go. Extracurricular involvement and leadership. What are you doing outside of the school? Um, this also tracks because if you're coming to our college or university, we want you involved. We want you to make an impact. We want you to make our community better. So, what are you doing currently to make your community better? the personal essays and student voice. Schools want to hear a student's story. They want to know about their identity, their resilience, their perspective. And um my daughter is going to be going to college this fall. And so last summer I was spending a lot of time at different college admissions things around the country. And yes, the student essay, the student voice, there was a lot of of emphasis on that. And finally, letters of recommendation to highlight a student's strong academic potential, their character, their growth, strong relationships, personalized letters. I'm always when I'm writing letters, I'm always thinking about instances where my students struggled and what did they do to get through that struggle and show that in the letter. So, I want to continue and talk about the impact on college completion. And this was from a five-year study. And it's a really heavy slide. So I'm going to unveil it a little bit slow at a time. So if we just take a look at these different backgrounds, these different groups, it's not clear to me why on the study, I didn't look into the methodology about why these were the specific groups, but these are the different groups that they did in the study. So if we look at just students who took the course but they chose not to take the exam, how likely are they to succeed and finish within a five years and graduate compared to their peers? And so we take a look at that first set of data and you can see that all of the data tracks that it's higher in every different category. What happens then if they took the AP exam? So they took the course, they took the exam. Please know that when you take an exam, scores of three, four, and five are considered passing. Scores of one and two are not passing. But the student stepped up. They took the exam. And you can see that that data tracks as well that students who took a course, took the exam, put themselves out there, tried to do their best, it shows that they have developed some resilience, some grit, um those kinds of things that they're going to need when they have this independent experience in college. And finally, it would make sense then if you took the course, took the exam, how much more likely are you to graduate uh faster than your peers? And you can see the data there. It's pretty significant. In 196, you can see our students, how they're doing compared to statewide. And so that green bar graph shows district 196 students compared to the rest of the state. in that dark blue bar graph. Significantly more of our students take AP courses. 47% almost half of our students will take an AP course in high school. These are the a demographic of the registrations that's representative of our student body. In some of our categories, we're overperforming and we have a couple categories we'd like to do just a little bit better in. But I can tell you all of it is trending upward. And so this really brings me to why I was here today and that is to talk about AP world history 9. So world history on level and AP world history were offered in 9th grade this past year for the first time. This is because in 2023, a statute was passed by the legislature that said government or civics must be taught in either 11th or 12th grade. In district 196, as long as I've been here, we have taught civics in 9th grade. And so, this is going to represent a significant shift for all of our high schools and for our social studies educators. And I can tell you having spent a lot of time with them and working through that process is a very emotional process um because teachers then had to make some decisions. Am I um am I tied to this ninth grader, this young end, this 14-year-old that's developing and that's the kind of in individual I want to work with or am I tied to this love of civics and this passion for government that's now shifting to, you know, a 16 and 17 year old. And so some of our educators are really working hard through those kinds of changes. Nonetheless, we teaching we made the switch. We basically swapped 11th grade and 9th grade and now uh we're teaching world history in 9th grade. And so for this past year, for the first time, we taught AP in a nth grade class. So this course AP world history, the content is from 1200 to the present day. And so again, I'm reminding adults, maybe you took world history in high school, but that world history was prehistory to the present. the entire history of that we know that's a long scope to try and teach and get any depth and reasoning and thinking to but the AP course is 1200 it's late it's middle ages to the present day and the AP course is highly focused on historical thinking and reasoning skills think about discipline disciplinary literacy reading writing thinking that's what the course is really centered around the exam format it's really it's pretty popularly known that the three histories world, US and European, they use the same exam format and that exam format is the it creates the longest exam of all the AP courses and it's rigorous. So students begin they have 55 multiple choice questions and they have to complete that in 55 minutes. These are not like multiple choice questions that perhaps you and I took when we were kids where it's a stem and then four responses. Every multiple choice question on an AP exam comes with a piece of stimulus or source, a primary source, an image, a graph, um a secondary source by a historian, a small excerpt that has to be read and then these questions are built in sets of three or four multiple choice questions built around that particular source or the historical context of that source. Students have 55 minutes to complete that. It exam it accounts for 40% of the exam score. Then they move on and write three short answer questions again around a stimulus. A secondary source is the first one. And each think of a short answer question is a paragraph. And so each short answer question has three prompts. An A, B, and C prompt. That's one short answer. And it all is based around a secondary source for uh SAQ1. SAQ2 is based around a primary source. So it's generally a visual, a graph or it could be a primary piece of text. Then the students get choice of a question between three and four where there's no stimulus just what do you know about this or what do you know about this and that is 20% of their exam score. After that students get a break they get to use the restroom grab a drink of water and then sit back down for the second half which is called the free response section which begins with the DBQ. This is a signature piece of the exam because in the DBQ this is most like what a historian would do. Historians would make claims about history and then they use pieces of evidence to support or refute the claims that they're making. And that's what the DBQ does. Students have seven um sources, a prompt, they have one hour to write and respond to that. And then they follow up because that wasn't enough. They need to do a long essay question, which is there are three different questions. Choose which period of history you want to write about. you got 30 basically 354 minutes to complete that. All is to say it's a very rigorous exam. Okay. So, how will our students do? So, going in we're nervous. We're anxious. We have a lot of cognitive dissonance about is this something our nth graders should be doing. It is the first time that we've had nth graders enrolled in any AP class in district 196 in our history. And so, there was a lot of discussion. There was a lot of resistance due to the unknowns. Are we offering this because we can? Are we offering it because students need this? Who will teach this? Um, yeah, lots of how would we communicate this with our with our families? Globally, 11% of nth graders take the AP World exam. Globally, the largest percentage of students that take AP World are sophomores. That's all going to bas be based on different states and how states have the legislation where they place AP or place world history. And then finally there was I don't know if it was really shared in a lot of the discussions but it was a worry I had and that is like okay what if a young takes this doesn't perform very well doesn't have a good experience will that impact their decision to take other APS in the future and it was something I was really concerned about. So the course preparation 6 through 12 were focused very much on disciplinary literacies. We have ongoing professional learning with our teachers. There was some discussion by our middle school teachers or worry I should say gosh well we have to do preap and I said no I I think we've been doing the disciplinary literacies for a few years now. We've had a big focus in middle school on that and let's trust that what we've been doing is going to work. So, lots of ongoing professional learning with our teachers, lots of dialogue and decisions about course sequencing, which I alluded to earlier, and then communications with our students and and the families. So, this is a demographic of this of the breakdown of the students who did take AP World this year. Again, these are just ninth graders, so I can tell you that it tracks pretty close to our overall demographic. Um, I'm really actually pleased with this uh because we're overperforming in a couple areas. Couple areas we want to do a little bit better, but it's better than the first graphic I showed you. And I think our students are very curious about these opportunities. So, how'd we do? Our students took operational exam form two. So, this is the exam. This is an international exam. Form two is generally speaking the east coast central time zone exam. So we have about 415,000 students who take AP World. This particular form is going to be well over 200,000 students. So globally the pass rate for form 2 was 64.3%. In Minnesota for form two that pass rate was 75.8%. But our 9th graders in district 196 were at 81.75%. And that is really a testament to the students, their parents, and our teachers. These are results worth celebrating. We have eager learners that had the opportunity to challenge themselves in a rigorous college level course. They rose to meet that challenge. Our teachers, I cannot say enough about our teachers. They were incredibly thoughtful in meeting students where they were. We have four high schools, six middle schools feeding into four high schools. And where they were, they met them there, worked with them with deep care and commitment, build their reasoning and thinking skills to prepare for this exam. And it reflects the dedication of all the stakeholders, opens the door to continued growth for our students, our schools, and our community. Happy to take any questions myself or Eric. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members. Anna, >> um I have a ton of questions, but I am only going to pick one or two. >> Okay. >> Uh and send them to Michael, so you'll have time. Um I do want to say that uh having had uh two kids who went through AP history um and world history, uh it was very rigorous. Um it really did prepare them in so many ways uh for college. Um I'm impressed by the uh level of knowledge that our AP teachers have. Um one question I had uh and maybe this will be interesting for the audience as well who's listening. Um what's the typical educational background of AP teachers in district 186? >> Um you know I don't have the data. I would just the teachers I know most of them would have master's degrees. >> Okay. Sure. >> I wanted to make I I thought so as well. Um, I think I might have heard that someplace, but that makes sense. So, I I appreciate that. Um, the other thing is that I'm wondering, uh, when we're talking about increasing our proficiency and literacy rates, which you get to critical thinking, I'm hoping that, um, our passing of those exams will increase um, as our uh, new curriculum roles and we've had more um, opportunities to improve uh, those proficiency and in in students and that will then have an impact. So, it might take a few years for that to happen, but I'm looking forward to tracking that and see how that does. Um, and then the last thing that I wanted to Oh, the last thing that I wanted to um have a question about that I did have a question about was um on one of your slides you talked about that the rigor of the high school coursework is more important than socioeconomics and parent education. And then I was thinking about there is no barriers to registration. One of the things that um when listening to Apple Valley High School, what they did a really good job of was encouraging. So um registering might not be when you talk about those backgrounds or those demographics, but curiosity or understanding what the benefits are th that particular background does matter. And so even though we offer something, the invitation and the encouragement that this is for you, sometimes can be a disconnect. And so I'm curious to understand, and maybe Eric, that's in the future. What are what are other schools doing? Are we replicating what Apple Valley was doing? because we did see an increase across racial and income demographics um including white students that they did start doing more AP classes and I would love at some point to to understand that. So I'll connect with you later maybe through via Michael. >> I think it's a great observation. I will say that we did put out a one pager if you will to that all of our schools were to give out like this is kind of information about AP Wool. wanted some consistent language on that. Um, and I think each school kind of used that and tailored their message around that. But I agree with your observation that there should be some reach out, some invitations, we'd love to have you kind of thing in there. >> That's a huge thing. Um, even in uh the corporate space, invitation to participate and someone saying which our teachers do do a great job of, I know you can do this. I see you being able to do this. And that is a barrier that often might not be necessarily understood. Um, but consistency across that I think would be fantastic. And I think schools are doing it. I I'm assuming they are. Um, and just like how are we tracking the efficacy of that? >> Anyway, that's it. >> Jackie, >> I was going to follow up on your question. And I know they do that when students are in the high school, but this would be reaching out for our ninth graders, having middle school teachers do that ask and make that ask of those students. We should really thank you, Dr. Beach, for all that you have done. I know you were on that state committee and talk about emotional processing to make all these changes of where civics is going to be, where world is, we're going to where and then the changes. So that's the statewide changes and there wasn't a whole lot of always agreement across the state of where that should be. So, but thank you for because it felt like with you there we had inside information and at least we knew somebody that was levelheaded and knew what was going on. Um and the other thing was having the change of of all of our teachers. what are they going to if they've always taught, you know, European history at the end and they loved their their seniors and they got it. Now you're the whole thing was kind of >> upset, >> right? >> So, we've had lots of change in that. >> Um, did you find when we're looking at the numbers for the incoming students for ninth graders for next for this coming year? Now, did the number go did the number increase as people kind of word of mouth go, well, my kid did this. >> Yeah. So, the sections are about the same at every school. Um, I'm trying to remember these conversations we had back in May, so I don't have the numbers off the top of my head. Um, but I know that we were having email conversations after the results came out and like, oh my gosh, our numbers are going to go up. Yeah, we're feeling very confident that the next set of round registration based on these numbers is going to increase. So, >> good. >> It's amazing. I mean to have the Minnesota average 75 and district 196 81.75 that's just shows the dedication of our of our teachers and the the impact that they make on students in student choice of doing that and then putting in the work for that. Congratulations to everybody. This is just a huge win. Thank you. >> Thank you. Other questions or comments from the board? >> I have a question. Um thank you for this presentation. Um, I was looking at the one slide where it talked broadly about students who took an AP course but did not take the exam. And from my students who have taken it, I know there's a fee involved and I know at their school like you can apply to have that fee waved, but I just wondered are we tracking how many of our students are not taking the exam and why? >> This a great question. So, this is something I think that for Eric to talk with high school principal about. So, I can just speak for Eastview where I'm located. At Eastview, we have a policy that if you take the course, you also are taking the exam. So, it's a full commitment. Um, College Board did a study a few years back that's not on the slides, but um used to register for course or excuse me, the exam in the spring. Come March, we'd be registering students for the exam. We collecting money then. Um but college board did a long study and that long study basically said no that kind of you're allin commitment from the beginning that mattered and students performed that students who who made the claim I'm going to take the exam when they took the course they did that study and those students outperformed those who were waiting and waiting to make their decision later. So now it is college board um policy. We collect fees in the fall and students um have to register for the exam in the fall. Um but school by school, I'm not sure what that process is. I can tell you at Eastview, you take the course, you're taking the exam. It's that kind of you're all in, we're all in this together, team commitment kind of thing. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much um for coming and for providing these amazing results especially on that very horrendous exam you described. It sounded awful. Thank you very much. All right. Next, I would like to welcome Jeremy Sorenson and Chad Ryurn to the podium to talk about our opening of elementary school number 20 Emerald Trail. We've got props. You don't get to see that till later, right? >> All right. Good evening, uh, Chair Johnson, Superintendent Bullone, members of the school board and community. My name is Jeremy Sasonson. I'm the director of elementary education, and I'm here with Chad Ryurn, who is principal of elementary number 20 or Emerald Trail Elementary. We're excited to report tonight on the completion and opening of the 20th elementary school in district 196. Um, this presentation isformational only. There is no action needed by the board this evening. All right. So, as a school board and a district, we are charged with ensuring adequate resources for student learning in a rapidly changing world. We're also charged with ensuring fiscal responsibility and engaging our community as responsible owners of community assets. Since 2021, our district has been planning for rapid growth that we see in the southern portion of our district. And over the last four years, we've worked to ensure adequate space in our schools. As of August 1st, I'm excited to report we took ownership of the 20th elementary school to relieve overcrowding in the Rosemount community. So, we have a bit of a timeline here. So, opening a new elementary school has been a four-year process. It started with a facility study steering committee in 2021. That group determined we had three needs across the district. Address rapid growth in the southern portion of the district, enhance safety and security, and provide consistent learning experiences for all students across the district. At that time, the school board called for a referendum in January 2023, and voters approved that referendum in May 2023 with 69% support. By replicating East Lake Elementary design, we were able to save time and cost in the design phase, and construction started in 2024 for the anticipated 18-month construction period or project. In fall of 2024, we engaged our community in plans to adjust elementary attendance areas in the southern portion of the district. Elementary number 20 attendance boundaries were created taking a portion of existing boundaries of Rosemount Elementary and Red Pine Elementary and also picked up Coats and Empire. In November, we went through a hiring process and named Chad Ryurn as principal breaking bringing decades of experience as an elementary principal known for his care, his kindness, and ability to build community. In winter of 2025, we invited our community to suggest names for the school. And in February 2025, the board approved the name Emerald Trail Elementary. Since that time, Principal Ryurn has been busy working with the construction oversight teams, hiring staff, building schedules, and supporting the establishment of a PTO or a parent teacher organization while still serving as principal at Highland Elementary. During the last week of July, the building passed all inspections and Kudson handed over the keys on August 1st. We're pleased to report the project was completed on time and within budget. So, let's take a look. So, if I could have them click on that I symbol All right. So, at this time, it's my pleasure to introduce a very proud principal, Chad Ryber, the inaugural principal of Emerald Trail Elementary School, to share more about this building. All right, here it is. Emerald Trail Elementary from Above. What started out as a vision is now a reality. This building represents more than just brick and walls. It's a space designed with intention, heart, and purpose to welcome, inspire, and grow alongside the students and families who will soon be calling it home. Emert Trail Elementary was thoughtfully designed as a replica of East Lake Elementary, allowing us to build on a proven and effective layout for learning. The vision was brought to life by Wool Architects who tailored the design with both functionality and warmth in mind. And thanks to the outstanding work of Canudson Construction, the project moved forward with care and precision. officially breaking ground in 2024. What you see today is a result of intentional planning, collaboration, and a deep commitment to creating a school where students will thrive for years to come. All right, this moment was unforgettable. It was our very first hard hat tour of Emerald Trail. So, what we're seeing is the building coming to life for the first time, and the excitement was real. You can see here was our Emerald Trail jump. Yes, we made it a thing. It was so special to share with our founding staff along with Mr. Sorenson, and school board members Jackie Magnuson, Robin Serio, who joined us for the tour. This photo captured more than just a building. It captured the spirit, energy, and joy we're bringing into the school together. More than 600 names were submitted to our new school, a reflection of just how engaged and excited our community was. A wonderful group of parents volunteered to serve on the naming committee, helping us narrow those 600 names down to six. and then ultimately two finalists, Clover Fields Elementary and Emerald Ridge or Emerald Hill Elementary. We had thoughtful and passionate conversations, especially around balancing our connection to one Rosemont with creating a strong unique identity for our school. It was during one of those conversations that a parent suggested the name Emerald Trail, a name that resonated with a group and honored the location. The word trail reflects the city and county trail systems that connect our neighborhoods, promote walkability, and foster a strong sense of community. So, we voted a second time and this time it was unanimous. Every p parent and community member supported the name Emerald Trail Elementary and it was truly a collaborative and meaningful process. It was an absolute pleasure to partner with CL Marketing who supported us in gathering input from both the Emerald Trail community and staff. Their guidance was instrumental in developing our branding language and visuals. We were especially excited to include students from Rosemont Elementary and Red Pine Elementary in the process. These students along with our broader community voted on the final logo, symbol, and mascot that will represent Emerald Trail Elementary. This process ensured the that our brand reflects not only our new building, but the heart of a connected community. It celebrates our roots one rose mont while allowing Emerald Trail to shine in our own unique identity. At Emerald Trail Elementary, our brand and messaging reflect our shared values and to our staff, families, and district. Our tagline, curious, kind, ready to shine, captures the heart of who we are. Guided by key messages, we're committed to creating a welcoming space, building a community of kindness and lighting the way with curiosity rooted in district's 196 principles and lined with Rosemont's partner schools. These values help shape and connect the foundation for every student's journey. At Emmertrail, we believe our identity should grow alongside the students and the staff and the families. Our mission is not just words on a slide. It's a reflection of conversations, ideas, and values that we've built together through open dialogue, collaboration, and commitment to both academic excellence and student well-being. We've shaped the vision that is authentic, meaningful, and future focused. So, our mission, nurturing bright minds, kind hearts, and a love for learning that lasts a lifetime, captures what we strive for every day. It reflects who we are as a school community and the kind of environment we're committed to creating for every learner. At Emerald Trail, we shine our shine values reflect the heart of who we are and who we stand for. These values were developed through staff and parent focus groups grounded in district priorities and built on best practices and character education. Our PBIS team, fresh off from training last week, took that foundation and shaped it into something more meaningful and memorable for our students. They're designed to live out every day in our classrooms, in our hallways, and our playgrounds. They align with PBS and District 196 character education frameworks, helping us create a positive, inclusive, and student centered environment from day one. And most importantly, shine is something our school community can connect with and grow alongside. This slide highlights some of the key future key features at Emerald Trail and the intentional design. Our school was built with purpose and care centered around what's best for student learning and well-being. We prioritize the natural light throughout the building to create a welcoming, energizing space for both students and staff. Our collaborative learning spaces are designed to support flexible instruction, smallroup work, and project-based learning. The building is both inclusive and secure with thoughtful design elements that ensure accessibility and safety for all. We're also proud to share that we have 440 geothermal wells beneath our school, making Emerald Trail one of the most sustainable and energy efficient buildings in the state. From the foundation up, Emerald Trail reflects our community to innovation, equity, and sustainability. These next few slides highlight some of the incredible moments that we've shared with the staff, the students, and the families over the past several months. From early community events to team building activities, these photos capture the energy, connection, and excitement that have been building as we prepare to open Emerald Trail. One of our favorite memories was making Dutch oven meals for a construction crew. a small but meaningful way to show appreciation for the hardworking team bring our school to life. These photos capture meaningful events that helped build Emerald Trail culture from the start. The first picture there is our Emerald Trail staff picnic uh that gave us a chance to come together as a new team, fostering relationships, sharing excitement, and laying the foundation for a strong collaborative culture. And the second photo there is appreciation barbecue and meals for the Kudson construction team to thank them for their partnership and the care they put into building a school that reflects our values and uh priorities. We recently hosted our first PTO meet and greet at Emerald Trail and the turnout was outstanding with over 400 families and students in attendance and I should say it was at Flint Hills Refinery. We couldn't get an Emerald Trail yet um uh complex right Kitty Corner, but the students had the opportunity to meet their teachers and the staff and connect with future classmates. Most are coming from Rosemont and Red Pine Elementary. It was a strong first step in building a community and creating a welcoming transition to our new families. Now, let's take a quick look at the current staffing and enrollment Emerald Trail, followed by a snapshot of our student demographics. These numbers reflect the work we've done to build a strong and diverse school community. And sure, we're well prepared to meet the needs of all students we we open our doors to this fall. I think this video is of our FIAD teacher during the hard hat tour. He already came up with a little jingle, so we had to put this in here, too. >> Hi, little fireflies. I'm Mr. Atlan, and this is going to be our space where we're going to be curious, kind, ready to shine. We're going to move our bodies and shine all over the place. Can't wait to meet you. >> So, our enrollment, this is of two weeks ago, and I know it's up from there. 640 students as of July 31st. Uh we have 26 early childhood students. Uh right now, we're at 53 licensed staff and 23 support staff. This slide provides a snapshot of our current student population at Emerald Trail. We're proud to serve a diverse community with students representing a wide range of racial and cultural backgrounds. We also support a s significant number of students receiving English learner services, special education, and educational benefits, highlighting the importance of equity access in everything that we do. So, we're excited to share two special upcoming events and we'd like to extend a warm welcome to all of our board members. We're going to be having our ribbon cutting ceremony uh Wednesday, August 20th at 8:00. We hope you can join us. And then later in the year in September, we're going to have a dedication ceremony and an open house for the community. Um it's going to we're going to have a performance by the Rosemont band will be joining us. We're going to have a special highlight video capturing our journey of opening. Um, we're going to talk about it here in a second. We're going to do the closing of our Emerald Trail Time Capsule and we'll also have the debut of our Emerald Trail School song. So, we hope you can join us with these meaningful celebrations. Mr. Sorenson has it here, but we created a time capsule, a fun and meaningful activity for 2025 Emerald Trail students. So, we plan to seal it during the dedication ceremony in September, and we're going to keep it open-ended with the students. They can write notes or letters to each either their future selves or kids in the future. Uh, it'll be open in 2075. Each class will also contribute a small item that represents something popular and meaningful for them today. So, just a special shout out. I want to do a a special thank you to Marta, Rebecca, and Beth in her district 196 print shop for the beautifully designed and decorated time capsule. Their creativity was and care really brought this idea to life. So, I also have some cards here. I want to encourage the board to write a short note um to students of the future 2075 um of students of Emerald Trail. And this will be a great team building activity and and a memorable way to mark the beginning of our school's history. Just this last photo is of our grade level teachers at our PTO event um dressed in different themed outfits and colors uh during the PTO meet and greet. So last slide here. We just want to thank our district 196 voters and community for supporting the 2023 bond referendum to build Emerald Trail. We also want to thank the families, the school board and the district leaders and of course our partners at W Architects and Canudson Construction and the many subcontractors who built this joyful, safe and sustainable building for our community. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? >> Seeing none questions or comments from board members. >> I have a quick question. Um, excuse me. You said that there were about 640 students that would be going this fall. Um, I just wondered what is the capacity of Emerald Trail and are we getting near it with our first year? >> We are. We just talked about that day. I think we're at six. Was it six4? >> So, yeah. capacity is around 650 to 700. Okay. Um we knew we'd be open opening up uh with a full building based on where the building was. So it's a it's meeting what we're we're expecting. I think right now um you're about 24 under what the projection is. We anticipate that we'll get to the projection before October 1st. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you very much and thank you for a great presentation. It's super exciting. >> Other questions or comments, Jackie? I just have to say, Principal Ryurn, how much fun have you had since you took this job? I mean, my gosh, so exciting. And as a Rosemont resident, you anywhere you go, people are talking about the new school or the new principal or I got this teacher or this and that and just tremendous. I love your PBIS. All of the the things with that we're going to shine these and this is the way we shine. PBS PBIS is here's the here's how we work. Here's how we do things. Here's how we do things at school and here's how we're going to shine. Those were just wonderful and curious, kind, ready to shine. >> I don't know. We might have I you have just had way too much fun on this and I I we just can't thank you enough because I sit here almost want to cry because knowing where we started, knowing what we did, knowing that I was one of the jumpers and how much this is means to that community and how much of you and your presence that you put in and this is Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you for saying. So I would say this because Chad won't say this about himself, but those pictures of the construction crew the meal. Yeah. Chad did that entirely himself. made that, facilitated that, funded that, did that is building community in a way that's really, really exciting. So, >> and you are just building community and that's just tremendous. Thank you so much. >> Yes. >> Um, I just wanted to So, by happen stance, I actually found myself in the neighborhood Emerald Trail just this past weekend. So, of course, I had to swing by and see it um not under construction. It is just an amazing, beautiful school. It is just phenomenal. The first thing I noticed was all the walking trails that connects the community for the students that will be walking. Um, we must have had some support from the city and county right off the bat because they were already doing constructions to make those paths um safe to cross the roads. Um, very very safe, amazing spot. And as a um parent who has an elementary school child right now, I was incredibly jealous of the student drop off. Oh, that has got to be the most efficient, safest student drop off line I've ever seen in an elementary school. So, uh, really, really happy to open that school up and for you to be at the helm. >> Oh, Anna, sorry. >> No, no, that's I just wanted to say I I'm sitting here looking at you and then I realized I did have a chance to meet you at Highland Elementary uh for the spring family event. Um, and I just want to say that uh, Emerald Elementary is very fortunate to have you. I saw in just one event the under your leadership and the cooperation and collaboration with the teachers, the culture you built, um, how much community, strong community, uh, was at Highland Elementary from that one event. Um, and I just know that, uh, Rosemount is is very lucky to have you. Um, and I'm excited to see uh how that's going to end up too. Um, so yeah. So, thank you. I'm so I'm so happy to see that. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Well, and we're all going to be there. >> I can't commit to you then, but >> I know I won't be here. >> Thank you. >> This is unbelievable. >> All right. All right. Well, that brings us to our old business portion of the agenda. So, I would like to welcome Ed Hire, Rob Franchino, and Adam Watenburgger to the podium to go over a resolution calling for a referendum to renew the 2015 capital projects technology levy. >> Thank you, uh, Chairperson Johnson, members of the board, Superintendent Bossani, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you again tonight about the expiring technology levy. Uh presenting with me tonight are Rob Franchino uh assistant principal at Eastview High School and Adam Watenberger deputy uh deputy general counsel. So in 2015 uh our community made community made a commitment to technology in our schools by passing a technology levy. That support guided by our district 186 learning and technology framework allowed us to personalize learning tools or put personalized learning tools in the the hands of students, support our staff with the right tech resources, and build the digital foundation our schools rely on. The 2015 technology levy is set to expire this year unless our voters uh approve it at in the November election. Without that renewal, we risk losing more than $9.1 million per year in funding that supports student devices, digital tools, network access, and mobile tech support across our schools. So, tonight in your packet for a second reading, the board is being asked to call for a referendum to renew and increase the technology levy. This is an action item for the board tonight. Technology has changed a lot in the last decade. Today, there are more digital curriculum and assessment tools available, more cyber security threats, and careers in computer science and technical education rely more on everchanging technologies. In District 186, our mission is to educate, develop, and inspire students for lifelong success. And in a rapidly changing world, our district is striving to produce students who can step out of the school system and be an active, productive contributor to an increasingly digital world. Technology tools are essential to personalizing education, and they are deeply integrated into learning and inspiring critical thinking, collaboration, and career readiness. We want to keep moving forward and preparing students for a future that's increasingly digital, connected, and fastm moving. So, what is a technology levy? In district 196, our technology levy, which is also called the capital projects levy for technology, is a 10-year commitment. It's not general funding. It's specifically dedicated to instructional technology. And that means every dollar goes towards tools and systems that support student learning, teacher instruction, and digital safety in our schools. This includes things like student devices, classroom hardware and software, secure internet access, network infrastructure, and cyber security tools. Everything that's needed to ensure our students can learn in a in a modern uh connected environment. The current levy generates about 9.1 million in funding for the 2526 school year. So tonight we're going to talk a lot about numbers, but remember the student experience is the reason we're here. The tech levy was first approved in 2015, as I had indicated previously, to fund our 1:1 program and support digital learning. This year, it will provide 9.1 million to fund uh technology. If not renewed, we'll need to reduce our budget by $9.1 million annually. And since the internet and technology are not going away, if not approved, we would have to reallocate resources from other areas, resulting in a $9.1 million cut just to maintain what we're doing today. So, rounding out the graphic, uh we currently are supporting or purchasing over 30,000 devices for students and staff. And that's just laptops and iPads. Uh that if you include lots of other devices, it's way beyond that number. um uh which I'll address in just a second. Um it also provides 14 and a half full-time positions for uh tech support. 12 of those are directly in the buildings with our staff and students and then two and a half are at the district level. However, I want to be sure to point out that this is about more than just devices. This is about access, equity, and opportunity. So how have we spent the funds so far over these past nine years? The largest single cost we have is for the devices and most of that is for onetoone devices for our students which are iPads. It also provides instructional devices for our staff, uh, teacher laptops and iPads, uh, projectors and TVs for our classrooms and other instructional spaces, classroom audio systems, and then ancillary devices, uh, depending on the classroom needs, uh, such as document cameras, 3D printers, science probes, um, or labs of many robots, uh, for STEM, uh, related classes. Um, it also provides various instructional software including uh online databases that students can use for for research projects. The network infrastructure was recently upgraded uh using these funds that allows us to make sure we've got a a network that uh provides the reliable speed and and bandwidth that that is needed for all these devices. In the past few years, cyber security has become a focal point for us. So, we've used some of these funds to provide a a better uh to improve our security posture as best we can. And then finally, mobile de uh tech support personnel, which I mentioned on the previous slide, um is is coming out of these funds. So, and I'm going to turn it over to Rob Franchino. Thank you, Ed. I always appreciate the opportunity uh to talk about technology and that lens of appreciation comes through two places. Uh one as a parent of three graduates of district 196. I had a 2013 grad, a 2017 grad, and just recently a 2025 grad. And yes, if you do the math, I had a senior and a kindergartener at the same time. And it's been wonderful. Um, and the thing I appreciate most is they have had a wonderful experience in 196 and their education was phenomenal. And I think a lot of that is to do that it's been augmented by technology which we appreciate so much. The second lens that I like to talk about what I appreciate about technology in our district is that of a lens of an employee of district 196. I've been an employee for 29 years. We were talking about today. It's hard to believe where the time went. 29 years. uh two years uh a year two years as a technology teacher at East High School. Then I transitioned to a technology coordinator at Eastu High School and now for the past 25 years I've been assistant principal at Eastview High School and one of my areas of responsibility is technology and over those years I've spent lots of times on various different planning committees whether in technology or other and the thing I value most about my tenure in 196 and planning is it's always purpose-based. We always make purpose-based decisions and we involve stakeholders. I always say a good process creates a good product and that's a thing we do really well in district 196. We process things very very thoroughly. We first define the need and let that need define the initiative. And I know a lot of organizations they start with an initiative and you just don't get the traction and followership that you do if you first start with the need and purpose and then look at the initiative. And that's what we've done here. Good technology planning doesn't start with iPads and laptops and keyboards and devices. It starts with the notion of what the purpose is. And I'm going to share a little bit about the purpose that we talked about in 2013 and 14 when we first got our 2015 levy approved that now needs to be uh reapproved. With the upcoming levy and the and the the upcoming renewal of the levy, we have equally have had an intentional purpose-based approach. I'm just going to give you a little bit of a timeline here. Uh the funding is critical. We have been planning for this for over a year. In August of 2024, we informed the community via the spotlight about the upcoming renewal. In November of 24, we formed a levy renewal committee, which myself, Ed, and Adam are on and others. And then we talked about we reviewed the impact. We reviewed assessment of future needs and we also looked at any gaps that we may have that we may need to fill in a renewal. Um, in April 20 uh 2025, we conducted a random sample with the Morris Leatherman Company of 500 residents. What I'll share with you a little bit those results today and those results were presented in June by Peter Leatherman to the board. In January, the budget advisory council and legislative advisory council discussed the renewal needs. And in May of this year, the budget advisory council recommended both the renew and with a modest increase on the upcoming levy. I get my right slide here. Here we go. I talked about purpose-based and we first started with the purpose back in 2013 and 2014 when we were talking about a technology levy. And again, it wasn't about devices. It was about teaching and learning. And we created this framework that you see here. And there were four categories of framework for teaching and learning. Communicate. We wanted our students to communicate and collaborate. We wanted them to access and analyze information. We wanted them to create and innovate. And we also wanted them to be digital citizens as they're processing these four quadrants. To do that, we then talked about what and how technology would be used to support those four quadrants. Again, a very purpose-based approach to ask for the levy in 2015 that we are now renewing. In Minnesota, school funding is a shared responsibility. Some funds come from local resources. The largest portion of about 75% comes from uh the state aid and a small portion comes from federal sources. School funding can be complicated. So I want to take a little bit of time now to ground our thinking and compare the difference between different ways a community is supporting our schools currently. The technology levy which we are discussing tonight is a v voter approved funding source that we need to renew this year because it's going to expire. I want to say that again. We need to renew it this year because the funds are going to expire. That's different from a bond referendum which voters approved in May of 2023 for two schools and many renovations and additions in our district. We often say leveies are for learning and bonds are for building. You don't have to drive too far around 196 to see the benefits of that bond that's being was approved in 2023. As a resident and an employee, so fortunate and appreciative of how our community supports the good work that we do. Every time I drive into East View, our activity center is growing and it gives me a warm feeling knowing how well our community supports the work that we do. We also have an annual operating levy that was approved in 2019 and goes through 2029. It approves funding for day-to-day operations like more teachers to get class size down, supporting student mental health, and funding to maintain a broad range of programs and activities that we have that our community has expected and and love in district 196. Tonight and this fall we are focused on the first column funding throughout through the technology levy and digital learning technology tools for the next 10 years. I think we can all agree technology is not going away and the local technology levy is the best resource of revenue to support the learning that we need and the funding that we need for our students. I mentioned before about the Morris Leatherman survey and in April they conducted a survey asking our community questions to see how we are operating and making the financial decisions in our schools. On June 6, Peter Leatherman was here at this podium and he presented uh the findings of that. And as I listened to that on uh his presentation, a lot of it I connected with some of the statistics, but there was one portion there that resonated with me about our our school that he said. He said, "It's extraordinarily positive report on the key points, one of the strongest results from dozens and dozens of surveys I've conducted over the past two years. the reservoir of goodwill in the community and the trust in the financial management is at the top of the range of schools that he surveyed. I want to read that last part again. The reservoir of goodwill in the community and the trust in the financial management is at the top of the range of schools that he surveyed. That's really rewarding for me as both a resident of our community and an employee of this district. How our community feels about the great work that we do with our students. Let's talk a little bit about There we go. Let's talk a little bit about the numbers. Being fiscally conservative and responsible are important priorities in our district and our community sees that. In the survey, 80% of the respondents stated that they trust that spending of our recent facilities improvement bond are on the right track and in line with what we promised. Thinking specifically about technology and capital projects levy, 85% of our community supports renewing the technology levy and 64% also support the increased funds that we're looking for. Our budget advisory council council also agrees. At the last meeting in May, they recommended renewing the technology funding with a modest increase. At the same time, our community community is highly engaged and sees challenges that lie ahead, particularly in the state as it faces deficits and educational policy and landscape is changing at the federal level. To that point, 71% of the respondents are concerned about the possibility of future cuts at the state and federal level that could affect our district. With that high level of uncertainty, we want to focus on what we can do in district 196 to continue to support technology in our district and the outstanding opportunities that we have for our students. There is also a high level of trust from our community on the right slide here. Jump to ahead. There we go. There's also a high level of trust from our community in our school district leadership and decision-making. And that is because we involve our community in meaningful ways. Our residents tell us in the survey that they are well informed about decisions and they trust that our teachers, our leaders, and our elected officials are making decisions that are in the best interest of our learners and our community. To that point, 93% rate our schools as good or excellent. 83% have a favorable rating of the school board's performance. Thank you for your work, school board. That's incredible. Thank you. 94% have a positive rating for district 196 teachers and 91% trust the district to do the right thing and it is always in the best interest of our students. I'd be remissed if I didn't comment on uh bullet point one and three. Thank you to our teachers. 93% rating for excellent schools and 94% positive rating for our teachers. Thank you to our teachers for the work they do every single day in our classroom with our learners. Those are incredible numbers and they do incredible work and we are so appreciative of the great work that they do with our learners. Our mission is to educate, develop and inspire students for lifelong success. Technology is part of lifelong success and we are living through a rapid era of technology innovation. I've been involved. I'm on our AI committee and our AI committee has been meeting all throughout last year in this summer on preparing our students and our teachers for AI as we roll out the fall workshops having them prepared for a changing dynamic and future as just as it relates to AI as one point. We are proud of the work we have done over the past 10 years. It stood it has stood the test of time and our community sees the results. To that point, 82% surveyed believe technology tools we provide are excellent or good and there is still more work for us to do. 72% believe technology is very important and essential for learning. As you can see, our purpose-based technology planning and trust and transparency in how we operate and serve us has served us well by our community survey. Again, to quote Peter Leatherman, the trust in financial management is at the top of the range. I'm now going to turn it over to Adam and he's going to share some information about next process and steps. All right. Good evening. So, before the board tonight is a resolution calling for a technology levy referendum to be held at the November election. Um if the board approves the resolution tonight, the proposal is that we would be asking to renew and increase our technology levy. Um the we'd recommend and would be presenting to the voters an increase of the tax rate from 3.015% to 5.015%. So three or 3% was the number that we were at before. We'd be increasing that by two percentage points. Um that will raise approximately $15.5 million annually. that will fluctuate um as property values fluctuate, but that's kind of the baseline we would be starting at. Um the tax impact would be approximately $7 per month on a $400,000 home. Um these funds will be used um to support a lot of the things that we just talked about to sustain school district technology including the onetoone devices for students uh classroom and school technology including audio and video uh systems related to safety and cyber security digital curriculum technology support and maintenance network infrastructure and expanding our computer science education and career technical education opportunities for students. Um, so to talk through the resolution itself, it's several pages long, but it contains the ballot language, the specific language that will be used, um, which reflects the amount of the levy, um, and the purposes that those funds will be used for. Um, it also contains a sample legal notice that will go in the newspaper to, uh, officially, um, announce that the election is happening. Uh there's a preamble that kind of describes a lot of what we talked about tonight. Captures, you know, the history with respect to our tech levy, the importance of technology and the services we provide and the ways in which that technology has expanded and changed over the years. Um and then the remainder of the resolution is a lot of election administration language that's uh pretty similar and consistent with what we already have in place for our school board election. So, uh, if the board does approve moving forward with, uh, presenting this to voters, I want to quickly talk through the ways that people will have to vote. There are really three main methods. Uh, first is voting early by mail. This begins September 19th. Um, often thought often referred to as absentee voting. Uh, but no one needs a reason. You don't have to be absent. Anyone can vote early by mail. Uh many people may have requested uh last year to be put on the permanent uh absentee voter list. If that's the case, they should receive a ballot in the mail that they can uh fill out automatically. Um if not, the applications are available online. Um district196.org/vote. You can access it there. Um mnvotes.gov also has those resources available. That application can be mailed or emailed in and then a ballot will be sent to your house to complete. um and put it in some envelopes and send it away. Um I'm told there is an online tool for requesting an absentee ballot that's supposed to go live in early September, I'm told. So, there's going to be an even easier way to um apply for that coming up in the next few weeks. Uh we also have early in-person voting available also on September 19th. Uh similar process to the mail, but you get it all done um in person. Um there's three locations that that will be offered. our uh district office in Rosemount will be offering that during our business hours. Um the Dakota County Western service center in Apple Valley over on 140th in Galaxy will also be offering that. And then the main Dakota County Administration Center in Hastings, um that's available as well. Um and then finally, election day is November 4th, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Um we are the only election happening uh this fall in our communities. So, the school district will be uh running those uh polling places, which means that we use our combined polling places. So, there's 14 different polling places that we have in place. Um that means that for many voters, it'll be a different uh polling place than you used last year. So, encourage people to double check where their polling place is. Again, mnvotes.gov has access to all of that. um also a good resource for um looking up your voter registration, um checking sample ballots, all sorts of good information there and that's also going to be available on our website. Um so that is the voting options. Um that's going to bring us to the end of our presentation. We want to again thank our community for their unending support of our students and our schools. We're happy to answer any questions or meet with any residents or groups who want more information throughout this process. Um, all anyone has to do is contact the superintendent's office or they can email elections at district196.org. Um, this is an action item. We're seeking approval of the resolution in your packet tonight. And that will conclude my remarks. >> Excellent. Thank you very much board. This is an action item for us tonight. So before we move into questions, is there a motion to approve the resolution as outlined? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Jackie, second by Robin. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members? Anna. >> So um thank you so much for uh the presentation. It was incredibly informative. Um, as I was looking at the Leatherman, I think that's who it was, uh, results from the survey, um, the 72% who support our technology, um, and the importance of it in the schools. I was that, uh, 28% 10 years ago who were very skeptical about whether or not we should have iPads in the classroom at Dearwood Elementary. I remember being on site council. um I didn't understand and I didn't have the vision or could see the possibilities of why it was going to be important in the classroom. I think uh it hit home for me 10 years later with Rachel talking about how you know 82% of um of the money from the technology levy goes to her onetoone iPads in the classroom. And I think about uh her presentation on how we've been able to add an additional four to seven days uh for students by each year uh in elementary school. I did the quick math again. I did not go to math here at district 186. I did have the benefit of the amazing math teachers here. Um, but over the course of of each student who starts in kindergarten and ends in district 186, uh, for their fifth grade, so K through five, because of the iPads and how we're able to utilize them, there's an additional 24 to 42 days they're getting um, in their career here in elementary school because we use iPads, because we have uh, different systems in place and we're able to utilize it in ways that I would never have understood or could perceive. And so I really really appreciated this uh uh um uh presentation. Um and I will be voting yes on this. I I really it's phenomenal. So thank you. >> You other questions or comments from board members? >> Jackie, >> I will be supporting this. Also, I like the phrase and we used this before, good tech plans don't start with tools, they start with purpose. I don't think that the purpose has changed in district 196 than 10 years ago when we started this. And I when we're talking about student learning and devices, classroom and building technology, cyber security, all technology support, maintenance, all of the things that we do, I don't think that our community wants us to stray from that. So I will be supporting this. >> You other questions or comments? >> Actually, I do have a comment. Um so my kids um were at a charter school before they came to district 196 schools. And that charter school was very focused on pento paper with no technology including through the high school career. And one of the many reasons why we came to 196 was because technology was integrated and we came right at the beginning of the onetoone iPad um initiative. And um it really does prepare them. Even if your kids if your kids going to college or a trade school, technology is everywhere. And my kids friends who stayed at that particular school when they went to college, they struggled because they needed to do powerpoints. They needed to do all of this research and they just didn't have the skills um to do that easily. It was a whole learning curve and our kids are prepared for that. My kids just do so much naturally through technology and I'm very grateful for it. >> Thank you. All right, we have a motion to approve the resolution by Jackie, seconded by Robin. Excuse me. All those in favor of approval, please say I. >> I. >> I. Those opposed. >> Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. >> All right. Next on the agenda, I would like to call up Jill Coyle to the podium to go over the second reading of regulation 703.5.8 AR, admission charges to school events. >> Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, members of the board, and Superintendent Balsone. I am before you tonight with proposed changes to district regulation 703.5.8R, admission charges to school events. Um, this regulation details the admission charges that we charge for various school events, including plays, musical productions, and athletic events. The administration is before you tonight asking for modest increases in these charges. Um, specifically, the administration recommends a $1 increase in the admission cost of middle school plays and a $2 increase in the admission cost for plays, musical productions, and certain athletic events at the high school level. Um, I will note that senior adults will continue to enjoy athletic events free of charge. Yes. Um, district one, we can all appreciate that, Jackie. Yes. Um, District 196 has not increased admission charges since the 20101 school district school year and before that it was the 20034 school year, I believe. Um, so it's been a while and the administration is looking for an increase to respond to increased costs associated with putting on these events. Uh, this is an old business item tonight and so the administration seeks your approval. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Um, as was presented, this is an action item for the board tonight. So, before we move into questions, is there a motion to approve? >> So, moved. >> Motion by Robin, second by Leah. At this time, are there any questions or comments from the audience? >> Seeing none, questions or comments from board members. I think we asked all our questions at the first reading. Thank you very much. Uh, motion by Robin, seconded by Leah. All those in favor of approval say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries on a 5-0 vote. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> We have no new business or other action items tonight. So, that brings us to our school board and superintendent updates. And I'll turn it over to Superintendent Baloney for his updates. >> All right. Thank you, Chair Johnson. I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer months and getting some time outside. It's hard to believe, but this is our last regularly scheduled schoolboard meeting before the start of the new school year. We look forward to welcoming our students and our staff back for another year of learning in District 196. and we're excited to live out our mission each day, educating, developing, and inspiring our students for lifelong success. Today, many of our high school sports and activities started practicing, and our high schools are now buzzing with activity with our strong AAA philosophy, academics, arts, and athletics. We encourage all students to find a club, a sport, a co-curricular activity that sparks their interest. As we heard in June from our own principles, when students are actively engaged in activities, athletics, arts, they do better and perform better in school and experience a greater sense of belonging in their community. We believe there is something for everyone in our schools. Tomorrow, our district, school, and department leaders will be meeting to engage in collaborative work for the start of the school year. And next week, we welcome back our new we welcome back our returning teachers and our new teachers um back to school. Finally, on August 27th, this is our first day of school for our secondary schools. And on September 2nd, we that will be our first day for our elementary schools. We encourage everyone to visit our back to school hub on the district website for important dates and information about the start of the school year. And that concludes my report. Awesome. >> Thank you, Superintendent Bolzone. At this time, are there any updates board members would like to share? Seeing none, that brings us to the end of our agenda tonight. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> Move to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Motion by Anna, seconded by Jackie. All those in favor of adjournment it, please say I. >> I. >> Those opposed, >> we stand adjourn. Our next regular meeting will be Monday, September 15th. [Music]