Good evening all school board. I am going to call our regular school board meeting for April 13th to order. At this time, please rise if you are able and join me for the pledge of allegiance. Please remain standing after the pledge 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 brief moment of silence for Ahmed Ibrahim, a cultural family advocate at Greenleaf Rosemont and Emerald Trail Elementary School who passed away on March 29th. Thank you. All right. Good evening, board. First item of business on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. There are no additions or deletions to our agenda tonight. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as outlined? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Robin, seconded by Katherine. All those in favor of approving the agenda say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 50 vote. All right. Next is our recognition portion. And first up, I'd like to welcome director of elementary education Jeremy Sorenson to the podium to introduce us to Kathy Kindum, principal at Oakidge Elementary School, who's been recognized as a magnet school of distinction. All right, there we go. All right. Good evening, Chair Johnson, members of the school board, and Superintendent Bulone. It's my pleasure to introduce Dr. Kathy Kingdom, principal of Oakidge Elementary School of Leadership, Environmental, and Health Sciences. Oakidge has recently been recognized as school of distinction by the magnet schools of America, the organization's second highest honor. This recognition is awarded to a select group of schools across the country that demonstrate excellence across all areas of the rigorous merit application process. Notably, Oakidge is the only school in Minnesota to receive receive this distinction designation this year. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Kingdom and the entire Oakidge elementary community on this outstanding achievement. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, members of the school board, and Superintendent Balsson. It is an honor to be here tonight to accept this national recognition on behalf of Oakidge Elementary Community. This award is the reflection of collective work of our students, staff, families, and community who live out our mission every day. live, learn, and lead at Oakidge every day. Most importantly, it celebrates our students who show us daily what it means to be curious, compassionate, and capable leaders now and into the future. On behalf of Oakidge Elementary, thank you for this recognition. We are proud of this honor and even more proud of the ongoing work it represents as we continue to leave, learn, and lead every day. Thank you. Such a great recognition. >> Great. Next, I'd like to welcome Katie Rivers from Valley Middle School, who will introduce her future city team. along here. >> Good evening, chairperson Johnson, board members, and superintendent Balsone. My name is Katie Rivers. I'm a seventh grade communications teacher, eighth grade English language arts teacher, and one of the coaches for future cities at Valley Middle School STEM. The theme for future cities this year was farm-to-table. Teams were challenged to design a city that eliminates food waste and keeps citizens safe and healthy. The future city competition is a national STEM program that challenges middle school students to imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future. Teams present detailed scale models, write research essays, and define their ideas before the panels of engineers and community leaders. The competition emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and problem solving, and real world application of science, technology, engineering, and math. Valley Middle School had a small but mighty team this year. We spent countless hours after school preparing and envisioning our city. In addition to meeting at least once a week, the team spent hours on Zoom or physically building their city. This was taken directly from their essay. Sybel Valley is founded 157 years in the future. With a population of 57,836 people, this utopia with rolling hills and raging rivers is located in New Zealand. Our city focuses on day-to-day innovation technology and makes our city a safer, more sustainable, and more prosperous place for all citizens. The history is rich. A city incorporating immigrants from all continents who came together and created cultures, economics, and ways of life. Our city has multiple different sections called districts, one for each focusing on the main part of the city. At the competition in January, judges and spectators were amazed at the inclusivity, new technology, and overall vision. The team received many compliments and intriguing questions about their main transportation hyperloops and pedal x pedal electric cycles. Their energy and enthusiasm in addition to the extensive knowledge and preparation allowed them to receive second place in the competition and receive the people first special award. This award recognizes a team's whose future best reflects and to prioritize the public's health, safety, and welfare. It celebrates thoughtful design choice that improved the mental and physical well-being, safety, and overall quality of life for the individuals and community. It was truly a great season, but our success wouldn't have been possible without the support of our administration, guardians, high school helpers, and Heidi Hamilton, our amazing engineer mentor. To our high school helpers, Finley, Tamina, and Penny, we are so thankful and appreciative of your guidance and support this season. Your encouragement and words of wisdom for both the team and the new coaches were deeply appreciated. You not only stepped into the role, but stepped up. To the guardians, we are so grateful for letting us use your space, particularly basements, and making messes along the way. Your grace and patience is much appreciated because we had big shoes to fill this season. And lastly, to my team, you did amazing. Your vision and your ideas were realistic. The hours you spent perfecting your city was truly shown in January. You worked tirelessly, and we could not be more proud. The future is bright with you ladies leading it. Thank you. Awesome job. Congratulations. >> Fantastic. Congratulations. Sounds like an amazing competition. Great job. >> Such an amazing city. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. You're very welcome. >> So much congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Lisa Jensen to the podium. She's going to introduce our Egan High School girls wrestling top finishers. Thank you, Chairperson Johnson, board members, and superintendent Bulsani, and for this opportunity to highlight the continued success of our Egan girls wrestling program. My name is Lisa Jensen. I have been the head coach now for three years. Today, we're proud to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our Egan High School wrestling program. This year, Egan sent five individual boys and four individual girls to the 2026 state tournament. It's a true testament to the strength and dedication of this team. I'd like to take a moment to highlight two outstanding individuals from our girls team, captains Taniah Borie and Ellie Westerman. Tania is a two-time state entrant who this season made history as Egan's first girls state champion. Entering the tournament, ranked ninth in the state, Tanaya set a personal goal, not to prove anything to anyone else, but to prove to herself what she was capable of. With a strong mental focus, focus and relentless, excuse me, relentless determination, she rose to the challenge and pinned her opponent in the first period of the championship match, finishing her season with a 25-9 record. Beyond the mat, Tanaya reflects what it means to be a true student athlete, being involved in a variety of extracurriculars and earning the MWCA academic award with a 3.87 GPA. Ellie Westerman, also a two-time state entrant, is a leader in every sense of the word. As a team captain, she represents Egan with pride both on and off the mat. Ellie is also an MWCA academic award recipient with a 3.71 GPA, allconerence wrestler, set a new team state team season record with 35 wins and a state runnerup, finishing second at this year's tournament. She competed in the finals with incredible determination, sportsmanship, and grace. Tayianne Ellie's natural competitive spirit and leadership continue to elevate not only the wrestling program, but also our community of supporters. Snan Ellie, your hard work, leadership, and achievement have set a powerful example for those who follow. You've made your school and community incredibly proud. Congratulations to both of you. Thank you to the board for your continued support for girls wrestling. We are only at the beginning of this sport and the opportunities we are providing for the young women in our district. In the last four years since girls wrestling was sanctioned in Minnesota, participation has grown from just 250 athletes in the first season to over 1,900 this past year. Opportunities for these athletes beyond high school is also expanding. With the NCAA adding women's wrestling as a championship sport, there are now now more than 120 colleges offering programs. That number will continue to grow each year. Lastly, I want to say a special thank you to the parents of these young ladies. If you would please stand for a moment. Tania's mom, Jesse, and Ellie's parents, Bert and Naomi. You are the driving force behind their success. Without your support and encouragement, they could not have accomplished what they have and continue to achieve in the future. Not only do you wear the parent role exceptionally well, but you have also been pivotal in growing our program. Your commitment through volunteering your time on the booster club, supporting fundraisers, and representing Egan in the stands with positivity and encouragement. That means more than we can express. Thank you. >> Amazing. Congratulations. You're very welcome. >> Such an incredible achievement. Congratulations. Thank you for being here. Right. Next, I'd like to welcome Josh Barish to the podium to introduce the Apple Valley High School top finishers in boys and girls wrestling. >> Uh thank you and good evening. Uh first of all, I'd like to thank Chairperson Johnson, Superintendent Balsone, and the rest of the school board members for having us here tonight. Uh my name is Josh Barlage and I'm the head wrestling coach at Apple Valley High School. Uh this season was filled with several highlights. Uh as a team we once again qualified for the class AAA state wrestling tournament, our state leading 40th appearance in school history. Uh we also qualified 13 wrestlers for state, seven boys and six girls with six of those athletes earning all state honors. Our team continues to excel in the classroom as well, earning the gold academic award for the 13th consecutive year with the team GPA of 3.68. Uh, and our girls team was recognized by the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches estate association as the 2026 state individual team champions for the fourth consecutive year. Uh, as well as be being ranked as one of the nation's top high school girls programs in the country. Uh but tonight I'm here to recognize outstanding accomp accomplishments of four student athletes. Andrea Kionz, Cassie Gonzalez, Espie Cavillo, and Riley Clark. Uh parents of these student athletes, if you're here tonight, please stand up and be recognized. Uh Manny and Nancy Konz, Ronnie and Jerry Gonzalez, Gabby Sanchez, and Martin Cavillo, Rich and Julie Culler. Thank you for your continued support. Uh now I'll talk a little bit about our student athletes. Two of them were not able to be here tonight, but uh still like to recognize their accomplishment. Uh Andrea Kionis. Andrea finished third in the state at 124 pounds uh dropping a razor thin semifinal match uh to the eventual state champion and then storming her way back to a third place finish uh by pinning the remainder of her opponents. Andrea is now a four-time state entrant, a four-time state place winner, state finalist. Uh, and I should mention that she's only a sophomore, so she has a lot lot more winning in her future, and we're very proud of her. Uh, Cassie Gonzalez. Cassie finished her se senior season on a high note, winning the 155 pound state championship uh by defeating undefeated 25-0 CC Rock of Lever in an overtime thriller. Uh during her four seasons of high school wrestling, Cassie was a four-time state champion with a career record of 92 and 0, never losing a high school match. Uh off the mat, Cassie was recognized as a 2026 Star Tribune Female Wrestler of the Year uh and Apple Valley's Athena Award winner. Just a few of her many accomplishments. Uh Cassie is still undecided as to what college she will attend next year. Uh SB Cavillo is here with us today. Uh, SP was this year's 170 lb state champion where she defeated Janette Demanu of White Bear Lake by a score of 13 to4 major decision. ESP finished up her career at Apple Valley as a four-time state place winner, a two-time state finalist, and ranked number seven in the nation. Not bad for a girl who was a member of the Apple Valley High School basketball team her freshman year of high school. Uh Esby plans to major in the field of medicine next year and is still undecided as to what college she will attend. Uh next, Riley Clark. Riley finished his senior season with a record of 46 wins and six losses and a third place finish at the state tournament at 172 pounds. Uh Riley entered the state tournament as a number seven seed, but outplaced that seed going five- one throughout the tournament with his only loss coming in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion. Uh Riley ended his career with 164 varsity wins and earned both team and individual section championships, all while maintaining a 3.95 GPA. Uh so we look forward to him achieving great things at the next level. Um, again, thank you for having us, school board members. Uh, congratulations to the AVHS athletes here today for your incredible accomplishments this season. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Amazing job. All right. Next, I'd like to welcome head coach Casey Odell to the podium. She will introduce Egan High School's weightlifting champions. >> Right. Uh, good evening, Chairperson Johnson, board members, and Superintendent Balsani. Uh, my name is Casey Odell, and I am the head Olympic weightlifting coach and PE teacher at Egan High School. Um, our team has faced numerous challenges and great accomplishments throughout our years. Uh, we just got started in 2023. And one of the first questions I always get asked every year is, "We have a team." Like, "Yes, yes, we do actually have a team." Um, since our first year, we have grown from three participants all the way up to 17 to 20 participants every single year. So, it's great to see the growth along with the growth in our female lifters where we are now a 50-50 split between amount of boy lifters and girl lifters on this team. I do also want to give some special recognition to the parents that are here tonight and the parents that are not here. Uh we have the Hegeland family, the Granboy family, Sodoko family, and the Velo family. If you would please rise for recognition. I will say it is not an easy sport when you consider that well for parents when you consider the fact that we practice at 6 a.m. 4 days a week. So I appreciate all of you for not only being so supportive in this team but also just waking up your children to go to practice. So that is greatly appreciated. Um, this year we had tons of success as a team with our most amount of medals won in our four meets with 35 total medals won. Uh, three national qualifiers, uh, four state records, uh, four medalists that are here today along with two other participants that did not place, but they had a great season nonetheless. Um, we have first Tate Sabulka, who is our lone JV medalist from state. She finished second place in her weight class. This is her first year competing and she has seen massive amounts of growth going all the way from a beginner all the way to a state second place finish and a national qualifier all in her first year. Uh we have Peyton Graham who finished third place in the 110 plus category for varsity boys and also saw the most improvement by a boy this season with over 50 pounds lifted increased from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. We have Sawyer Hegeland who finished second place at state, qualified for nationals, and also set the state record for snatch within his weight class where he lifted a total of 216 pounds for a snatch. And then finally, we have Laya Veloc, who finished first place at state for the second year in a row, qualified for nationals, and set a state record for snatch with 154 pounds lifted, clean and jerk with 180 pounds lifted, and a total record of 334 pounds as a junior in high school. So we are very excited to see her grow in next year. This sport often come often comes with question marks because a lot of people don't understand what the sport is. We have two lifts that we compete in. The snatch and the cleaning jerk. The two lifts where you have to throw the bar over your head like the Olympians do. Um oftent times this comes with a lot of technique work and a lot of grit and a lot of willpower. um as at competitions the lifters are by themselves on an 13 by13 platform in front of three judges and fans in the stands. So the ability for all them to overcome adversity, overcome the nerves and overcome just being even new to this sport is a huge accomplishment on their part. Um so I'm very excited for their futures for all the seniors. I'm very excited for the future of this team as we have a lot of incoming freshman, sophomore, and juniors next year. Um, so I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that I'm appreciative of you4 along with all of our lifters that are competing this year. Um, so thank you again to the board for this opportunity. Thank you very much for helping me get this team started all those years ago. And I'm very excited to see where this can grow within the district. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Awesome job. >> Congratulations. You're very welcome. >> Congratulations. All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Will Finley, athletic director and assistant principal at Rosemont High School to the podium. He will introduce us to Rick Sainty, who has been named Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association head coach of the year. Y'all would have thought I shot a pug. Uh, good evening, Chairperson Johnson, esteemed school board members, and superintendent Balsson. My name is Will Finley, assistant principal and athletic director at Rose Mount High School. It's an honor to recognize a leader who exemplifies commitment, character, and excellence in educationbased athletics. Ricky Saint, now in his ninth season leading the Rose Mount boys hockey program, has been named the Class AAA head coach of the year by the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association. This recognition reflects not only his success on the ice, but his unwavering dedication to developing young men of character within district 196 and the city of Rosemount. Coach Sainty is quick to credit those around him, especially his wife Chelsea, his outstanding coaching staff and supporting uh supportive parents and committed student athletes, demonstrating the team first mindset he instills in our hockey program. Under his leadership, the Irish compiled an impressive 255 and one record this season, battled through two overtimes in the state tournaments, threw three teams with a combined 76 state tournament appearances, and secured a 4-2 victory over a team with 15 state championships in the Class AAA third place game, making just the second state tournament appearance in program history. Coach Santi has built a program where athletes represent their families, our school, and the city of Rosemount with integrity and class. Coach Santi embodies what it means to lead, to serve, and to put students first. One more time for our class doubleA big school head coach of the year, Ricky Sainty. job. Amazing season. It's fun to watch. >> All right. and our head coach of the year can't go too far because he's got to introduce us to the hockey team. I will say seeing the hockey team up here. I have a pee-wee hockey player at home and now I know where he gets his hair color from. I hold you guys responsible. So good. Uh good evening chairperson Johnson board members and the superintendent Bone RHS and myself appreciate you recognizing and inviting our team to this meeting this evening. I'm Ricky Santi, the head boys hockey coach here at Rosemont. I would like to first thank anyone and everyone that made it possible for us to get be up here tonight. So many people played a role in our success. The season was quite one to remember and one to never forget. Prior to the season, Rosemont boys hockey had not been to the state tournament 34 years. Many sacrifices, tough decisions, extra time, and a whole bunch of other things all made it worthwhile. Many voices said we couldn't win the big game or we couldn't beat the private schools. And we did. Our team was a family, which we have on the back of our jerseys in the locker room and stuck together and won it more than anything. And that's a tribute to you gentlemen here. When we pulled into downtown St. Paul outside of Grand Casino Arena, you could feel the energy from the town of Rosemount. My favorite memory is seeing our youth players run around West 7th and Kellogg with Rosemont jerseys and Rosemont jackets and Rosemont hats. This is something that I will never forget and neither will our kids. Earning third place in the Minnesota Boyce High School tournament is quite the feat. Oh, and by the way, congratulations for being section 3A section or section 3A academic champions with a GPA of 3.76. A giant thank you to our community, our school, Rosemont Area Hockey Association, our city, our district, our student body, our teachers, our admin for ongoing support for our players, coaches, and families. Lastly, you guys that are here, I'm so proud of you guys. Standing here before these people in this city, in this district is is so special. And you guys played with resilience, resolve, a great repres representation of our school and city. You battled and overcame adversity when it hit you. You did something all kids, coaches, and hockey fans alike across the state dream of. At this time, I would like to acknowledge our assistant coaches, managers, players for these and and those responsible for all these members that we created, not only for ourselves, but our community in a time when we need it most. If we could wait till the end to applause, that would be great. Assistant coaches Rick Sainty senior, Nate Percy, Ryan Foley, Jaylen Long, Anthony Dress, Carson Libert, Cory Lkey, Scott Makco, and Zack Ritter. Players, a lot of them were unable to attend tonight, but we have sophomores Ryan Bartle, Avery Hinowski, Jack Lanke, Drew Sherman, and Bower Sullivan. Juniors, Heath Ericson, who's here tonight, Channing Goodwin, who's here tonight, Mason Henderson and Connor Schubert. Seniors, Graham Clapton, here tonight. Uh Sam Clemens, Peter Degrroot, Aiden Finn, who's here tonight. Zack Grove, Oliver Goran, Jack Lenmark, Gavin McNeel, Kade Sherman, Sam Schmucker, and Quinton Vapo. Awesome job. Lastly, thank you again to our parents, families, student athletes, districts, community school admin, Mr. Robeck, Mr. Finley, Miss Ariano, Miss Keesling or Mr. Keies, sorry, uh Dr. Conboy, and the RHS student body. Thank you again, Chairperson Johnson and members of the school board and Superintendent Balsone. Go Irish. >> Gosh, you guys were fun to watch this year. Congratulations. >> Great job this year. Congratulations. Congratulations. You guys did absolutely amazing this year. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Absolutely. >> So great. So great. I know. >> I love it. >> All right, we got some more recognition left. Please welcome Will Finley from Rosemont High School back to the podium to introduce Chris our who's been named Minnesota Prep Girls Hoops Head Coach of the Year and Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association head coach of the year. >> Good evening for a second time, Chairperson Johnson, esteemed school board members, and Superintendent Balsone. My name is Will Finley, assistant principal and athletic director at Rose Mount High School. Coaching is challenging and it takes a special person. We got a special one here. It's an honor to recognize a figurehead of girls basketball, not only in Rosemount, but the state of Minnesota. One who pushes high character, grit, and a duty to excellence in education-based athletics. Coach Ore along with his wife Amber have dedicated nearly 20 years to district 196 and the city of Rosemount. The Ore family is allin for the city of Rosemount. Coach Orur spends countless hours studying film, building schedules, ensuring that his family is part of the journey. He knows that we, and I mean we, parents, sponsors, players, college coaches, colleagues, media, school administration, boosters, assistant coaches, alumni, and even fans ask a great deal from coach or and he responds every time. He's hired a great staff and is highly organized to manage all these competing requests. He finds a way to get the best out of our student athletes. He takes care of our athletes from the past and those performing in the present. If you have played for a court or you will always have a home at Irish gym. Coach Ore and his staff compiled a 29 and3 record while playing in one of the toughest schedules in the state for the regular season. Coach Ore has embodied what it means to create tradition, a student centered approach to coaching, and a brand that the entire city of Rosemount can stand on. The city of Rosemount and District 196 are proud to recognize our head girls basketball coach Chris or on being named the prep girls hoop coach of the year. Minnesota girls basketball coaches association class 4A state head coach of the year. and our 2025 big school class 4A state champion coach of the year. We are Rose Mount. Go Irish. Thank you. >> Love the enthusiasm. All right. And our co coach can't go too far, so I'd like to welcome him back to the podium to introduce uh assistant coach Stephanie Johnson. >> All right. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, board members, and Superintendent Bosone. Uh it truly takes a team effort for everything that we accomplished this year. Um, and I couldn't be enough without the person next to me, uh, who was also honored as class 4A assistant coach of the year for the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association, and that is Coach Stephanie Johnson. Um, with that, I'm going to go in also right into our team uh, presentation here. So, it's the Irish who are royal. We appreciate you recognizing the Rosemont Irish girls basketball team and 2026 Class 4A state champions at your meeting tonight. I'm Chris Ore and I'm honored to serve as the head coach. This season, what a ride, what a journey, what a lasting memory we all now have. The journey was historic. Winning the South Suburban Conference Championship, our first conference championship in 35 years as a program. Uh winning the section 34A championship for the fourth time in the last six years, finishing with a school and program record for number of wins in a season with a final record of 29 and three. and then capturing our program's first ever state title along with Rosemont High School's first ever winter team sport state championship in the 100 plus year history of Rosemont High School. Beyond the numbers and the historic achievements was a team of student athletes who fostered selfless team first culture where all student athletes bought into team involvement over personal spotlight by embracing a rigorous schedule, supporting teammates during trials and celebrating the successes of all players on and off the court. This team prioritized the collective journey over the individual glory and were a great representation of what high school athletics is about. The journey from conference and section champions to state title holders sets a new benchmark for excellence within the district and serves as an inspiring example of resilience and teamwork for all student athletes that will follow in their footsteps. It was an absolute blessing to come to the gym every day with this group and watch them come together as one, lead together as one, and play and compete together in practice and games. A huge thank you to our amazing fans, our student body, teachers, administration, many of who are here tonight for their support at RHS and districtwide. It was amazing to feel and see all the support behind us. Thank you to the local businesses who showed their support through signs on the buildings, social media postings, streaming our playoff games so customers could come and watch, and pro providing meals for our team. Thank you to the first responders of the Rosemont Police Department and Rosemont Fire Department who escorted our team to our first state quarterfinal game and then a state championship game. At this time, I would like to recognize our assistant coaches and players that were responsible for all these memories that we created, not only for ourselves, but our school and community. If we could wait until the end to hold applause, that would be greatly appreciated. Assistant coaches Stephanie Johnson, Joe Early, Liz Carpenter are all here tonight. And then coach Eric Osland was unable to make it tonight. Players, uh, we have a few that were unable to attend tonight. There are some of our many multiport athletes that we have, but senior Livawusu and sophomores Hannah Tyrell and Dakota Johnson are unable to make it tonight. Those that are here, if just give a short wave. Sophomores Greta Keming, Kaylee Dillier, Nvea Martin, Kenzie Krulich, Amelia Costvakan, Marin Powell, and Ashna Raml. Juniors, Captain Amisha Ramlaw, Isa Silk, Olivia Danner, Arsha Ramlaw, Giana Carpenter, Addie Callahan, Lacy Forester, and seniors, Captain Harper Shapi, Captain Riley Yang, Hannah Churnney, and Hannah Churnney, sorry. I would also at this time like to thank and recognize uh one other very important group and person and that's these girls parents, coaches, families um for their amazing support they showed these girls and our coaching staff through our entire season and all the extra time they put into making our state championship run that much more special and along with our volunteer assistant coach Chase Johnson. So all those in attendance if in the back there anywhere else if you could stand please so we could give you a nice applause. There's more of you than Chase. Um thank you again chairperson Johnson board members and superintendent Bosone. Go Irish. Amazing. Congratulations. Welcome. Congratulations. Congratulations. Great season. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Amazing. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Amazing. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Awesome job. Great job. Absolutely. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thanks so much. You bet. Congratulations. Awesome job. You bet. Thank you. >> One more time. Congratulations. >> All right. All right. And finally, for recognition tonight, I'd like to welcome Apple Valley High School Bose boys basketball head coach David Collier to the podium to introduce the boys basketball team that won second place in state. All right. So, before David introduces the team, my name is Corey Hansen. I'm the athletic director at Apple Valley, and I'm going to introduce David. Uh, so, good evening, Chair uh, Chair Johnson, member of the board, and Superintendent Balsone. Uh, it's my privilege to recognize Coach David Collier, who has been named the class 4A coach of the year by the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association. Uh, so when I first heard the news that David won this award, I text him and I just said, I can't think of anybody more deserving. And when you think about a great coach, David just checks every box. Uh, and as athletic director, I think about great coaching a lot. And, uh, I mean that. Uh, cares about his players deeply. um finds a way to always push kids and motivate them to be the best they can be. Uh brings a sense of character and a sense of leadership and a role model to the team that reflects his players. Um sees the big picture. He really understands that we're teaching life lessons through the game of sport. He brings that every day and you see it in the way his team plays. Uh invested in the community. Uh he lives in Apple Valley. He cares deeply about Apple Valley. Uh he bleeds brown and gold. Uh and just so proud of the way he shows up every day as our head coach of the program. Um and the the best way I can say I have three kids and David's the type of coach you want your kid to play for. Um I know I do. Uh and don't let just me speak for it. Let the results speak for themselves. Uh when David first got here, uh he inherited a program that was fractured. It it was in a tough spot. uh his first season they won four games uh in and that was generous. Like that was probably maybe one of his better coaching jobs. Um the next year they made it to double digit wins. Third season, Coach Collier and a lot of these young men behind him won the section and made it to the state tournament in the first time in a decade at Apple Valley. Uh eventually losing in the first round to Maple Grove. Uh this year they come back, they win the section again and make a historic run entering the tournament as a seven seed. They beat the number one team in the state, Weisetta. Then in the semifinals, we get our rematch verse Maple Grove and beat them handedly and then we make it to the state finals and finish as runnerup in the second place state uh qualifiers in the tournament. Um, and what stands out to me the most is not only the success on the court, uh, but it's the belief that he's instilled in his players, uh, and the belief they have in him. Um, it's just when you think about how important relationships are in sports and is everything we do, uh, he's able just to coach a team that just believes in each other and they've created that team cohesion. Uh, that's really allowed them to have the success they've had. Um, and Coach Collier, we're proud of you. We're grateful for your leadership and we're excited for the future of Apple Valley basketball under your guidance. Congratulations on this award. It's welld deserved. All right. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, school board members, Superintendent Bossani. Let me grab my notes here momentarily. Um, I also have to thank my boss, my wife who uh makes all of this possible. So, yes. Um, you know, also special thanks to, you know, uh, Principal Mons at Apple Valley High School as well as, uh, Corey Hansen for just giving me opportunity and and seeing the vision years ago. uh when we had moved out here to Apple Valley um I joke with my wife I was at uh Dale High School for 16 years experienced a lot of success there that was also my alma mater so I love that school and what it's done for me but we moved out here at Apple Valley with our uh growing family and I joke you know if this job opens up I'm going to throw my name in the hat you know because I love basketball I love this community and you know at the end of the day if I get opportunity to to help build something that that's had a lot of rich tradition in history. I'm going to do that. And you know, the rest is history. I was able to get that opportunity. So, so thankful to them for giving me the opportunity. Um, okay. I'm these guys joking me because I I can't hold it together a lot of times. So, I'm going to do my best to hold it together. So, you know, on behalf of the Apple Valley boys basketball program, I want to sincerely thank you for this recognition. Um, it means a great deal to our players, our staff who couldn't be here tonight. Um, all of our players couldn't be here tonight either, but our entire Apple Valley community uh means a lot to us. Uh, this season was special as a lot of you got a chance to witness. Um, not just because of the wins um or the championship run, but because of what it represented. Apple Valley basketball has a rich history, one built on excellence, discipline, and pride. Uh, and we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. And this group of young men honored that tradition each and every day. Um, one of my players wanted me to point out, you know, coach, you have to mention that we had 5 a.m. practices sometimes and we ran a mile at those 5 a.m. practices. So, shout out to uh, Tyler Moore Jr. for reminding me about that uh, this this evening. But these kids were dedicated no matter what we threw in front of them. And we always said that you have to be different if you want to stand out, right? Um, and to beat the best, you have to be the best, right? So, or to be the best, you have to beat the best. So, you know, we took on all challenges all year. Um, to our players, you know, thank you. You represented this school and this community with toughness, humility, oh man, I can't even see. Okay. And heart. Um, you showed what it means to be a student athlete. Uh we have about an average GPA of 3.5. Um we have a couple guys that you know are still working on it. So we'll we'll get up there to the 36 37 range next year. But um we we we're just so proud of you and what you've represented. Um you know your commitment in the classroom, accountable to each other and relentless in pursuit of something bigger than yourselves. Uh to my coaching staff who can't be here, um I just want to give them all a shout out. Uh we have uh CJ Halman who's my associate head coach, been with me since day one. Uh Nicholas Grrew, who is our lead um assistant. Uh Walter Franklin, who is my lead scouting assistant uh at the varsity level. And then we have uh Rob Stive who's a volunteer coach as well as Kyle Hugger who's a volunteer coach. Um, all of those coaches were at me in some capacity at Dasal High School. Uh, either as a former teammate, um, someone that I've coached with or someone that, you know, I just respected and revered. And so when I got this job a few years ago, I just said, "Are y'all ready to do something?" And and they all looked at me and said, "Let's go. Let's make it happen." And so I'm just so proud and thankful that they believed in me. And came out here to execute uh what we're we're doing and striving towards each and every day. All right. You know, this journey doesn't happen without more than me, okay? and and people who are committed to the to the journey of building young men, not just strong basketball players. And all of my staff exhibit that at a high level. They're all family men. They're all um they're all husbands. They're all, you know, committed to the bigger picture. You know, I just want to thank them all for their sacrifice. You know, and that's why I have to start with my wife. Being a coach's wife is not easy and it is something that is next to godly, right? You have to be committed to late nights, early mornings, um, and things that, you know, most people just would say no to. So, I appreciate my wife for for allowing me the opportunity to do this, and I can't thank her enough. All right, I'll get through. Uh to Superintendent Bossani, Principal MSA Director Hansen, thank you for your support of our program and for creating an environment where students can thrive not just athletically but as leaders and young people. Uh we had the privilege of being supported by uh the top 20 program this year under the leadership of Tom Cody and Mara Shane uh Shanefield and they did a great job of just focusing on what's between the ears with our young fellows this year as well and building stronger mental capabilities and just dynamic young people. You know who's not here tonight are our cheerleaders. Uh, I would say they are the heartbeat of our program. If you ever came to a game or watched us during the state run, you know, no matter how many people are in the gym, you can always hear our cheerleaders uh supporting our players very loud, bringing the energy, but just really bringing it if no one else was bringing it. Our cheerleaders were so supportive. So, I want to thank them um for bringing that energy and spirit and lifting us up no matter who was there cheering us on. Uh they fueled us every day. Um and they also represented Apple Valley with pride. and to our fans, you know, thank you for showing up night after night, home and away, uh, bringing that noise and reminding the players that they're not by themselves. Um, you know, it was a up and down season for us. You know, we went on our runs off uh in in wins. We also had some losses and they stayed with us through thick and thin. So, we appreciate that. Um, and and you know, to our parents, you know, thank you. You talk about the sacrifices, uh, getting kids up, you know, at 4:30 in the morning some days, um, Saturday practices in the morning, you know, and just the demanding toll of being a high school student athlete is not easy with balancing priorities. We know that it's difficult, so we thank you for being there for us and supporting us through it all. Uh, we we don't take it lightly either. You know, we understand that your kids are your number one priority and those are your investments, you know, outside of what we want to build and grow with them. So, we thank you for trusting us with your children and giving us the opportunity to coach and lead them. Okay. Yes, we came up short in the the state championship, but what we built along the way um was that this team competed no matter what. uh we grew closer together and connected and we represented this community and that's something no scoreboard can define or take away. Uh in a time where young people face so many challenges, you know, outside of school and in school, social media, whatever uh you're talking about, this group chose discipline. Uh they chose interconnectivity. They chose to represent something positive. and they did this in a way that brought people together, brought community together, and something that you all can be proud of. Um, as a coach, again, I don't take that lightly, and and it's truly an honor to lead and mentor such an incredible group of young men and to represent a community that cares so deeply about its students. This run may go down in history, but what will last even longer is the impact that these young men have made on the school and on each other and on me personally. Thank you again for the recognition from the board for your continued support and for allowing us the opportunity to represent Apple Valley and District 196 the right way. We're proud of what we accomplished and even more proud of who we are. At Apple Valley, it's not just about how far you go. It's about how you respond, who you become, and how you carry the valley with you everywhere you go. Go Eagles. All right. Congratulations. Amazing job. Congratulations. Great job. You're welcome. Congratulations. Great job. You're welcome. >> Great job. Congratulations. >> Great job. >> I try to warn you. >> All right. Next, I'll turn the meeting over to Superintendent Bosone for recognitions of students and staff. >> Okay. Thank you, Chair Johnson. Uh we often talk about being a AAA district, valuing and celebrating our achievements in academics, arts, and athletics. As we see on the agenda tonight, uh this winter, we had amazing postseason success across several sports and activities. I'd like to congratulate congratulate all of our student athletes and competitors and coaches. Also recognized as some of the best in the state this year. Our students also had success at DECA, Business Professionals of America, and HOSA, which represents health occupations. We will recognize those students in upcoming meeting in May. Tonight, I'd like to also take a moment to recognize several employee groups across District 196. April 20th through 24th is clerical and secretarial appreciation week. Our clerical and office staff are the backbone of our schools. They welcome families, support staff and students, and keep daily operations running efficiently. Their work is essential, and we are grateful for all they do. That same week, we will also recognize our district and school volunteers. Each year, thousands of volunteers give their time and talents to support our students and staff. They include parents, community members, students, retirees, and professionals from many different fields. Their involvement strengthens our schools and enriches our student experiences. We look forward to celebrating our volunteer appreciation week uh during that time. Looking ahead, we also have teacher and school nurses appreciation week and that will be May 4th through May 8th. This includes all educators represented by DQ, Dakota County United Educators, including classroom teachers, specialists, counselors, social workers, and school nurses across District 196. These team members build strong relationships, support student growth, and help create safe, welcoming learning environments. They bring expertise, care, and commitment to their work each day. And their impact is seen in our classrooms and throughout our schools. We are grateful for the many ways they support our students, families, and staff. We are also excited to honor our district 196 outstanding service award recipients. This recognition is essentially the hall of fame for district 196 employees. We honored six honores who will be recognized along with our retirees at the partners in education banquet coming up in May. And finally, I want to thank the families and staff members in the audience tonight, especially those who are here for our transportation report and recommendations. This has been a difficult year with transportation cancellations. We transport more than 22,000 students each day on 220 district-owned buses and we know how important reliable transportation is for both our students and our families. We saw a spike in bus cancellations uh this January through March ranging from 5 to 8% of our routes being cancelled creating disruptions that needed to be addressed urgently. We've been actively recruiting drivers, increased wages, and on March 3rd, we held a special board meeting to outline the complex challenges, possible solutions, and a commitment to return with recommendations before the end of the school year. Tonight, we are here presenting these recommendations. Reliable transportation affects not only students access to school, but also families work schedules, child care, and daily routines. We are acting with a sense of urgency to give families as much time as possible to plan knowing how difficult changes to family schedules can be. We thank you again for being here tonight and for those who have been communicating with us on this topic. Our commitment is to get each school each child to school every day. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you, Superintendent Bosone. Next on our agenda is special communication requests. We have three speakers signed up for special communication request portion of our agenda tonight. Um there are three ways that we have in um practice that members of the community can address the school board. The first is special communication requests which you have need to sign up for in advance. Speakers are given four minutes to address the board on a variety of topics. The board also holds holds listening sessions and we allow speakers to address any item for action on the agenda. Um as a reminder for our speakers tonight, um as a general rule for special communication requests, the board is uh does not respond to our special communication request speakers. rather it's a time for the board to listen. Any questions that are brought up to the board during the special communication request portion will be followed up with on a later date. Also, just a logistics um note for our speakers tonight. Um when I call you up to the podium, um we have a little timer. You'll be given four minutes. When you start speaking, the little uh the light will turn green. When you have 30 seconds remaining, it'll turn amber. Um when your time is up, it'll turn red and make a a beep noise. Um, at that time, please conclude your comments. Um, our first speaker tonight, I'd like to welcome to the podium is Jessica Isabella. Good evening, chair pair Johnson, school board members, and superintendent Pulson. My name is Jessica Isabella, and I'm a parent to three students in district 196. I grew up in this district and it is the only school district our kids have ever known. As a parent, I believe it is my job to ensure that the district always serves my children effectively and has their safety as a top priority. I am here tonight to address the inconsistencies families are experiencing in how the district views and manages student safety. In the past, I feel the district prioritized sa student safety when creating bus stops. My oldest child was in second grade when we began using transportation services to our neighborhood elementary school. He was set to begin riding in February 2023. When I called transportation, his bus stop popped up as our neighbor's address. He was going to be asked to walk about a quarter mile stretch of narrow gravel road with bodies of water on both sides of the road to reach his proposed bus stop. This was a stretch of road that has no street lighting or traffic controls. Allow me to share transportation's response to this walking route. They considered his age and the walking path he would be taking to get to the bus stop. They asked me if transportation staff could make his bus stop at our address instead as it was a much safer option. That was February 2023, just three years ago. It has become clear to me that the district no longer considers the safety of the walking path our students need to take to arrive at a propo proposed bus stop. The district will only prioritize student safety when legally required to do so. When the student is on the bus or standing at the designated bus stop, the minute our children step out of the safety zone, the district no longer needs to care about their safety. I am disheartened to know something has shifted in the district. Our road is over a mile long. It is gravel. It has no street lights or sidewalks. It has sections with steep embankments leading to bodies of water on each side. We have been told that our road is currently the only road on the district map that fits this description. We have also been told that the district has not in the past nor does it plan to evaluate roads for these types of characteristics. However, the account of how my children ended up with a safe bus stop at our address clearly shows that the district considered these hazards in the past and effect effectively found safe solutions for all students. These types of safety inconsistencies for are what become concerning to parents across the district. It is my understanding that the district is working to make sure that students and families can count on a reliable ride to school if they are eligible for transportation services. Across the district, parents are not just looking for a reliable ride. We are looking for a safe route to and from school. We are looking for safe bus stops as well as safe routes to access these bus stops. We are asking you to help keep students off hazardous roads districtwide. I ask you to please resume prioritizing all student safety when you are making decisions on transportation policies. I urge you to oppose the changes to policy 3.1.4. Thank you. timer. I'd like to welcome our next speaker, Andrew Urban, to the podium. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, board members, and Superintendent Bone. My name is Andrew Irvin. I'm speaking tonight as a parent of three children in the district. I would like to talk about transportation and student safety. Over the past few months, I have reviewed district policy, school transportation guidance, and the MDOT Highway 3 corridor study. I would like to speak on one straightforward principle. If a roadway, intersection, or highway corridor is already known for elevated crash concern, a school district should avoid routing buses there whenever a safer, reasonable alternative exists. That should not be controversial, and that is what families expect. This is one of those danger zones, Highway 3, 120th Street, and Biscane Avenue North. This is identified by MINDOT as an area of concern based on historical crash data with at least 27 crashes in this specific study zone since 2016, many at high speeds. In this zone, we see 50 plus mile traffic, turning conflicts. There are three staggered entrances here. Adjacent railroad crossings that create further confusion. A blind curve coming in from the north with limited sight lines. The blind curve may be the greatest concern right here. Southbound drivers come off the lights at Diffly Cliff Redpine all accelerating back to highway speed. They do not expect to round this curve with barely 300 ft of sight line at 65 mph and suddenly encounter a school bus entering or crossing that highway at low speed. Just north of that curve, semi-trailers are dispatched daily from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Just Freight Lines told us this intersection is already a significant safety concern for their drivers. They express concern about potentially adding more buses to that area. The stopping distance for a semi or a gravel truck at 60 mph is 500 ft. Way beyond the bl way beyond the blind curve. There are no turn or bypass lanes creating a compounded risk at this three-stage staggered intersection. When a bus stops, traffic stops. When a bus slows to turn, traffic stacks up behind it. When the student filled bus enters or crosses Highway 3, every surrounding vehicle must react immediately. This is exactly why Mandot identified this zone as one of Highway 3's top five areas of concern from 494 all the way to County Road 46. These are not abstract concerns. They're not hypothetical whatifs. So the question is not whether a bus can be routed here. The responsible question is whether it should be routed there when a safer alternative exists. So I respectfully ask you to consider this. Would the school board vote to increase bus traffic in a corridor already identified for high-speed crash concerns when a safer route may exist? That principle should help guide your vote on revision to 7073.1.4. Thank you. Um, I'd like to welcome our last speaker, Callie Urban, to the podium. >> Good evening, Chairperson Johnson and school board members, as well as Superintendent Bone. My name is Cali Urban and I am a Rose Mount resident and parent of three 196 students. I am also a district employee, but I'm talking here tonight as a parent. Access to transportation is a prerequisite for education. Our current transportation system is not equitable. If a student lives within a designated boundary of school, the district evaluates their walk for hazards. If the walk is hazardous, they provide a bus. If a student lives outside that boundary, the district provides a bus stop, but doesn't evaluate accessibility to the stop. Safety hazards don't disappear just because a student lives further away. A road deemed too dangerous for a child living near the school is just as dangerous for a child walking to a bus stop. The primary goal of the district is to improve transportation reliability and efficiency. But we need to be clear, efficiency is a convenience. Safety is a necessity. If you ask any parent in this room to choose between a route that is 5 minutes faster or a route that is safe and accessible for students, they will choose safety and accessibility every single time. Prioritizing efficiency should not create a system where public transportation requires private transportation to reach a bus stop. Every student should have a safe option to walk to their bus stop. The district is currently telling working families that accessibility is not a district concern and if they cannot flex their work schedules to provide a private shuttle service to an inaccessible stop. Their child's safety is their problem, not the districts. Our district is large but very developed. There are very few areas that do not have pedestrian pathways. This district has the resources and personnel to identify these concern areas and service them safely. When we talk about resources, it's important to remember that the district already utilizes a diverse fleet, including small buses. These smaller vehicles are a vital resource designed specifically for the flexibility of navigating areas where larger buses cannot safely or efficiently go. Using the right tool for the job, like a small bus in a high hazardous area, ensures that safety isn't sacrificed for the sake of efficiency. Parents will always choose safety and accessibility over efficiency. I am asking the board to do the same. As you strive to improve transportation challenges, prioritize bus stop accessibility, ensure our students have safe pathways, and use the resources we already have, like a small bus fleet, to ensure that our district's transportation remains truly public and safe for all students districtwide. Thank you. EIGHT. All right, board members, that brings us to our consent portion of our agenda tonight. We have 24 items on our consent agenda. Those items include the minutes of the March 9th, 2026 regular schoolboard meeting, the minutes of the March 30th, 2026 policy review committee meeting, clerical and secretaries employees appreciation week. April 20th to 24th, 2026, District 196 volunteers appreciation week. April 20th, 24th, 2026. District 196 school nurses appreciation week. May 4th through the 8th, 2026. District 196 teachers appreciation week. May 4th through the 8th, 2026. Gifts, grants, schedule investments for February 2026. Schedule of claims for February 2026. Revenue and expenditures report for February 2026. Treasures report for February 2026. Personnel termination and non-renewal of probationary teachers. Intent to place continuing contract teachers on ULA. Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County for immunization clinics. Apple Valley High School boiler replacement. Rosemont Elementary School loading and receiving dock. Transition plus restroom renovation. Personal injury settlement agreement. Wells Fargo Wells Fargo OPED irrevocable trust certificate of incumbency pay rates for substitute temporary and part-time community education employees. K7 iPad charging cards and school of environmental studies renovation. 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? >> So moved. Second. >> Heard Katherine followed by Anna. All those all those in favor of approving the consent agenda say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 6 vote. Excellent. All right. That brings us to our report schedule of the agenda tonight. And I'd like to welcome Rachel Hughes, Alyssa Bartage, Kathy Kingdom, and Bruce Miller to the podium to go over our standards of effective education practice. Um, while they're getting set up, just a quick note, um, to anyone if this is your first board meeting, District 196 school boards allows up to seven speakers to address items on uh, for action on the agenda, which includes our report section, which we're going to hear from. Um, if there is an item that you'd like to address or speak to, you can put your name in over here at the table. If we have more than seven speakers who'd like to speak, um, we will draw it randomly. So, you don't all have to rush there right now if you want to speak to one of the items, but we will draw items random or we will draw the first seven speakers randomly. So, >> all right. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, Superintendent Bosone, and the members of the school board. I am Rachel Hughes, the director of instruction and achievement. We are here to share an update on the standards of effective practices which will be referenced as SEPs. Ongoing collaboration between the instruction and achievement department, peer leaders, and the equity and inclusion department has resulted in a strategic alignment across district 196. Tonight with me, I have the privilege to have an amazing team showcasing our work with SEPs. Alyssa Bartach, the coordinator of equity and inclusion, Kathy Kindum, principal of Oakidge Elementary School, and Bruce Miller from East View High School. All right. At this time, I'd like to invite our communications team to please present the slide deck. Thank you very much. Okay. All right. To provide context, it's important to define the standards of effective practice. The SCPs adopted in the summer of two in by the state in 2023 outline the essential skills of knowledge required for a teacher to be effective from day one in the classroom. Our local local teacher evaluation model has been updated with performance rubrics that meet the following new requirements. These rubrics one are based on professional teaching standards established in Minnesota statute. two, include culturally responsive methodologies, and three, provide common descriptors of effectiveness using at least three levels of performance measurement. We officially moved into the implementation phase this past July. When we look at how the SCPs live within our district, we see intersectionality in multiple areas. The first is with our strategic roadmap. Specifically, they align with achievement, equity, and resources. The second area where we see alignment is the Minnesota Equity and Action Framework, a focus area for the equity and inclusion team that's currently in the learning phase of our operational plan. While the framework includes five priorities, the standards of effective practice correlates most directly with ensuring systemwide culturally responsive educational practices. The third layer of alignment with SEPs is the Minnesota multi-tered systems of support or MNMTSS. This framework ensures that we provide a systemic continuous improvement model for every student through regular databased decision cycles and coordinated action plans. Now, let's explore how we reached this point. Our journey began in 2024 when we partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education to deepen our understanding of the standards of effective practice. That initial learning led to the formation of a dedicated SEP focus group that worked throughout that year. By the fall of 2025, we turn transition to building level meet and create sessions where peer leaders and principles introduced the SEPs and shared their specific cultural proficiency component priorities. Since then, we have continued to refine our tools, including introducing a culturally responsive observation guide and cultural proficiency look fors, as well as provide ongoing training to our district learning leaders and our peer leaders. Now, as you've heard, collaboration was vital to launching the standards of effective practice. To ensure we considered our district needs, a rigorous crosswalk between the Danielson framework, which is our current evaluation model, and the SCPs was conducted. This process included extensive feedback from focus groups that included building administrators, peer leaders, the DQ president, and the equity advisory council to ensure our rubrics were both impactful and responsive. This collective effort culminated in the selection of five prioritized cultural proficiency components which received cabinet approval in the summer of 2025. Now, as you saw in our timeline, our training efforts began last summer. We brought together all administrators who conduct teacher evaluations to ground them in what the standards of effective practice are. Gain a deeper understanding of the five prioritized CP components and review the rubrics together. Then determine an action plan for choosing a site goal and set the stage for implementation. Moving to building level implementation, each building collaboratively selected one prioritized component for formal evaluation. This allowed schools to align their professional growth directly with their unique site goals. While the four remaining components served as a continuous framework for coaching, self-reflection, and professional dialogue throughout the year. Let's look at the data behind the school choices for prioritized cultural proficiency components. The most frequently chosen CP component is 1 CP, which prioritizes knowledge and the use of achievement data across demographic groups and 2 CP centering on culturally responsive classroom relationships and expectations. While our administrators focus on formal evaluations, our peer leaders provide an important layer of non-evaluative support. This year, we have maintained an ongoing partnership and training. In August, peer leaders learned about the new SEPs and most recently in January, they focused on cultural proficiency component data exploration. This assisted in preparing for facilitating coaching conversations that are directly aligned with the prioritized components. I'll now invite Principal Kind to the podium. Our site's core instructional focus this year is component 3CB, cultural proficiency differentiation. Our teaching staff voted to make this our priority. They recognized the importance of honoring our students diverse backgrounds and using those assets to drive academic growth. Because this focus is staffdriven, buyin is high. We have embedded it into all our daily systems during data days, professional development sessions, and weekly PLC's. Our teachers aren't just looking at scores. they are actively collaborating and how to adapt upcoming lessons to reach specific student needs and profiles. This focus has also served as a foundational framework during teacher evaluation meetings to guide coaching and instructional goals. Ultimately, this work transforms the classroom by making culturally proficient differentiation our standard of practice. We are maintaining high expectations for everyone while providing strong core instruction each child needs to succeed. Already this year, we are seeing increased growth rates and we look forward to seeing continued increases in student achievement. At this time, I'll welcome Principal Miller. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this report tonight and to share a secondary school perspective. The faculty at Eastview High School selected the use of achievement data across demographic groups as our prioritized cultural proficiency component. We frequently review data together as a faculty and within our learning teams from a variety of assessments. One of our learning teams is evaluating data from our FastBridge screener administr administered in the fall and winter to determine the influence literacy skills have on student learning. We confirmed that literacy skills are strong indicators for student learning in biology. Students with low literacy skills are achieving biology grades more than one and a half letter grades lower than students with high literacy skills. That's low C's compared to high B's and A's. The power of data is revealed when we use it to determine root causes and implement differentiated supports students need to improve their learning outcomes. Our learning team determine the best strategies to help our students improve. What are the little things that make a big difference? Because we focused on achievement data across demographic groups, we have an avenue to view data differently to modify and plan differentiated instruction. For example, we learned that two different student groups with nearly the same literacy skills as determined by their fast bridge results do not have the same achievement outcomes in biology. Now we will work to identify the root causes for this difference to help us develop and implement strategies to differentiate our instruction for these students. This focus on data from different demographic groups has helped us to identify specific learning needs for specific students. Our teachers are looking forward to the spring administration of the fast bridge to further analyze new data and evaluate the impact of these strategies on our student outcomes. Thank you, Principal Kind and Principal Miller. We would now like to share the next steps for the standards of effective practice. As we look ahead, we will prioritize ongoing collaboration with the instruction and achievement department focusing on training staff on unified insights data and the five prioritized cultural proficiency components. We will also strengthen the use of culturally responsive observation tools and look fors through continued training. And finally, strategic site site level collaboration in choosing their 202627 prioritized components to address alignment with schoolwide schoolwide goals will occur. Thank you for your time tonight. This concludes our presentation. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Um Erin, at this time, did anyone sign up to speak on this agenda item? Anyone in the audience? those questions or comments on this agenda item? >> Questions or comments from board members? >> Jackie, >> I just want to thank you. There's a lot of information here and you made it look succinct and short and that's amazing because we're talking about things that we've started in 2024 and are going continue on to 2026. But the things that grab me and pique my interest and it and is that we know how what we know and how we know and that we're using effective practices using the fast in the biology class. Go figure. Kids can't function as highly. If they can't read as well, I was a family consumer science teacher. If you don't know the language that we're doing when we're cooking, you're still looking for how much cream you're going to put in the cookie rather than creaming the butter and the sugar together. So, it's a language barrier. Not that they didn't know how to do it. So, I'm amazed at this. I love the word power of data because we finally have data that we can use that is helpful on site. So congratulations. This is we've talked about this before, but this is really getting powerful as it starts rolling down the hill and the momentum picks up. So thank you so much. >> Thank you Robin. >> Um thank you for all of that information. And this one might be a little bit more focused on Eastw rather than Oakidge, but as you were talking, um, I loved how you were able to figure out that when they had the same literacy skills, there might be a different root issue. And so I'm wondering, um, some of our high schools are using bar um, to help their students. And so is that going to intersect with this at all? >> Well, right now bar is we're focusing bar in our ninth grades with our nth grade students. Biology is in our tth grade students. However, in for next year especially, we're already having conversations about how we can use that bar data as we inform teachers who will be with those students next year to be able to help them in that way. I haven't really made the connection between that our sophomores and bar and fastbridge yet. Uh but we there will be some connections going forward next year. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Other questions or comments from board members? >> Thank you. Excellent presentation. All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Janet Switchikowski to the podium to go over web accessibility compliance. >> Perfect. >> Good evening, Chair Johnson, schoolboard members, and superintendent Mals. We have a important deadline coming forward um and that is with web accessibility compliance. Uh while that may in the past just think about our website or how people are able to um access digital information, it goes much further when we lay overlay uh title 2 requirements that are coming to all governmental entities and particularly school districts effective this April. Um, tonight we're going to talk about um why accessibility matters uh and the federal law that we need to comply with. It will have an impact across our entire system. Uh so this is a preview of some of those changes coming forward. Um, web accessibility is really about technology talking to technology and it provides the opportunity for screen readers and assisted technology, keyboard navigation, people with low vision and families using mobile devices to access all the information that you maybe access every day across not only our websites but also all of our digital content in the district. Accessibility is about clarity and usability in all of our digital content, making it easy to navigate so it can benefit families, students, staff, and community members. It also, as I said, goes beyond our public website. Uh we've talked about accessibility in the web world for a long time. It now affects all of our learning management systems and all of the digital tools that our students use and that our families may access. So when we're talking about student access, we actually have a great advantage in this district um because long ago we made a decision to go with iPads and Apple is one of the leading leaders in accessibility and uh for disabilities. Um so it has a number in our student iPads as we've presented at previous um board meetings. uh our student iPads are sometimes the leveling playing field for students that may have hearing impairments or sight impairments or other disabilities. It may be in some cases their communications device. So certainly all of our learning platforms need to be accessible to all of our students. So we will um be looking at all of the platforms beyond our website. The federal standard means that we'll be updating our purchasing guidelines and contracting guidelines with all of our technology providers and all vendors that we use will need to agree to compliance with web accessibility guidelines 2.1A level as the school district is required because we are a large district and a large community. this is uh hitting us or our deadline is sooner than many districts in Minnesota. Um ours is this year and the rest of the school districts in Minnesota. Um if you're 50,000 or smaller in your population will come on next April of 27. Let's look at why accessibility matters. If information isn't available, um we've got scenario one here. A parent might miss an IEP planning deadline because the notifications were posted on a calendar that wasn't screen readable. Or a mother with low vision might be unable to participate in PTA decisions because meeting minutes are sent in a nonreadable scanned PDF. or perhaps a family who only speaks another language other than English. Um maybe submitted an application to be part of a program, but because the content was not translatable and not readable by other technology tools, it could not be easily translated. If information isn't accessible, whether it's a calendar that screen readers can't read or a scanned PDF, it presents a barrier and families might miss important opportunities to participate in their child's decision. Accessibility design helps ensure that all families have equal access to their child's education. On the public side, the most visible thing probably for our general public will be that our website navigation is changing a little bit. um we have had very long menus and that is not user friendly and it is not web accessible. So just on our district and our school levels um we'll be cutting our navigation items and grouping them together a little more um concisely uh and we'll be cutting those navigations down by probably a third and that work has already started. Uh the benefits are that it will be uh clearer pathways for people, fewer dropdowns um and easier navigation, particularly with assist of technology. There are four principles that we look at when we're thinking about web accessibility. Uh one is that content should be perceivable, meaning users can see or hear the information regardless of their ability to um physically see or hear. when assisted with technology. It should be operable, meaning they can navigate using a keyboard and not necessarily a mouse. It should be understandable, meaning the information should be clear and concise and predictable. And it should be robust, meaning that content works well with screen readers. So the benefits will be as we move forward with this web accessibility project um will be improved accessibility, better user experience, and stronger communication among all of our families and students and staff that may also need assistive technology. It's important to know that accessibility isn't just the law. It's the right thing to do. We want all families actively engaged in their child's education. And we want all community members actively engaged with our school district. If accessib accessibility isn't extra work, it is really that if we're not accessible, the work is incomplete and we need to keep going those few extra step so that we can be accessible to all. We are making great strides. Accessibility is a big jump. Um, and technology is rapidly evolving. You may notice that on your Google Chrome um you might be able to change languages or you might use accessibility tools because all tech companies across the United States are scurrying right now um to meet these accessibility guidelines that are now as of April in place the end of this month for all government entities and school districts that serve more than 50,000 people. We're making great strides with accessibility and we have every intent to become fully compliant with the federal title 2 guidelines in accordance with the requirements and I would be happy to take any questions. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. Erin, do we have anyone signed up to speak on this item? Anyone from the audience with questions or comments on this agenda item? Seeing none, questions or comments from board members. Robin, >> um, just one quick question. Um, I loved how you put in there that it was important for family members to be able to read things from the PTA, for example, because that's a huge way to get families involved. And having been on a variety of booster clubs, site councils, and other school clubs, I also recognize that our district has a lot of them. So, I'm wondering how are you going to make all of those assess because it's just a lot. I mean, our district's super involved. It's great, but that's a lot. It's a heavy lift. >> Yeah. So, we start with the information that goes in a school newsletter. >> Okay. >> Or the information that goes on a school website because the school district is compliant is the um has the obligation of compliance. Uh PTO's and PTAs are independent organizations and they're not yet held to that higher standard. But when we send out their information, it needs to be. The greatest challenge really that we're going to have, and I'm sure many of the parents in this room have seen them, is the many flyers that we put out that have lots of pretty graphics on them, um, but generally are not screen readable or accessible. Um, so we are doing a lot of training with our all of our school staff, starting with our school office staff, all of our web editors across the district, um, to be able to look at that and make things more accessible. and we will be tightening up those guidelines in the coming particularly going into next school year. We're starting right now at the district level with the um required materials, making sure that all of our policies and everything are fully accessible in our website. Um, parent square has been a gift to us because it is fully accessible and it does not allow us to send sometimes if we don't have proper alt tags, if we don't have um proper um color contrast, font sizes, it handles a lot of that on the platform itself and will give us a flag. Um but it will be a big lift um because we are very used to putting out calendars and pictures that communicate words but the words are not actually readable. Um we are thankful though that with the rapid advances in AI and technology that uh AI and our web browsers and our platforms across the world are learning to read those things better. uh and machines are learning to talk to each other. Uh and that is the real goal that machines can talk to machines so they can interpret it to the people that are trying to use the information. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Other questions or comments from board members? >> We've we've already we've already passed the audience portion. I'm so sorry. But um uh just one uh final comment was this is something that um if you don't have barriers to access, you don't pay a lot of attention to. Um but if you are someone who's challenged to barriers to access, this means an awful lot that we're taking this initiative. So I appreciate everything you and your department's doing to add these accessibility standards to our website, to our communications, to our emails. Um, it's it's again something that a lot of people don't even think about, but means an awful lot to the people that need it and rely on it. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um, next I'd like to welcome Christopher and Yango Robshaw, Jeremy Sorenson, Janet Fman to the podium to go over our transportation transportation changes and communication plan. As a reminder, if anyone from the audience would like to have a question or comment on any of the agenda items we have left, um you can put your name in with Aaron and if we have more than seven speakers, we'll randomly select those first seven names. Uh good evening, Chair Johnson, members of the boards, Britain Bulsani, and our public stakeholders. I am Christopher Nangar, director of finance and operations. I am joined this evening by director Janet Fman, special education, and Jeremy Senson of elementary ed. Uh we're here this evening to present an update on our work uh following the March 3D special school board meeting. Uh this surrounding the challenges we've been experiencing with transportation, providing services for our students to and from school. Our goal is to provide reliable and predictable transportation services to our families. This is a resource provided to ensure equitable access to learning and achievement for all our students. District 196 provides transportation to 22,000 students on a daily basis on 220 district-owned buses. Uh this is the largest fleet of its kind in the state. Our purpose this evening is to provide a review of our current reality. uh review actions we've taken since the previous uh board meeting uh to address the cancellations and propose structural changes needed to ensure long-term sustainability and transportation reliability to our families. This report previews two schoolboard action related items on tonight's agenda. Uh, under all business, the second reading of policy 707, student transportation, and under other action, transportation recommendations. As we shared during the special school board meeting, our route demands have increased. We opened our 20th elementary school, which added nine daily routes to our system. We implemented boundary changes and with that allowed fourth and fifth graders to remain at the prior schools. Our magnet school transportations continue to require more complex routing and increase in the number of buses to provide services to a decreasing number of students magnet students at certain schools. We have also seen growth in student needing early childhood and center-based special education services. Rather than serving these students within the attendance areas, sometimes we place them where space is available. As a result, our routes and the complexity of those routes has increased while driver availability has decreased. Last month, we held two meetings specifically related to District 196 transportation. At the time, we explained the structural challenges our transportation services along with the short-term and long-term corrections we needed. To summarize the situation, we are overcommitted. Uh, and as you heard, we provide a more personalized services than required by state law, although we can reasonably sustain. The proposed changes fall into three categories. One, driver recruitment and retention. two, policy adjustments to realign our services delivery model and three reducing system complexity while improving route efficiency. As we shared in March, the settle contract with our bus drivers and chaperons has increased wages. Since then, we have intensified our driver recruitment efforts um hiring and streamlining our hiring and training process. While this is not enough to solve the long-term problem, we are pleased to report that we have not had a bus cancellation since March 13. I would like this to stay on for as long as we still have kids coming to our district and we keep serving them. So, that's our our main goal. In the past 3 months, we received more than 100 applications uh demonstrating an effective and improved um recruiting effort. Nine candidates are currently in training and that's a blue bar you can see on the graph. Well, 23 drivers have started driving for us since January 1, and that's a blue bar on the chart you're seeing. We have five substitute and standby drivers currently in the training pipeline, and these individuals will help cover daily absences uh that we may experience from time to time. Our goal is to start the upcoming school year with 230 drivers, and we are on track to achieve that goal. Staffing is one part of the solution. uh we also need to address policy and other the complex nature of our system. We're recommending three items. Changes to four items sorry changes to policy 707 uh including requiring families to opt in for transportation services, changes to magnet transportation services, uh location changes for early childhood and centerbased programs, and adjustments to some school start times. Uh the following slides will in more detail explain these changes. To ensure long-term stability for our student transportation, we have proposed revisions to policy 707, student transportation. If approved tonight, these changes will take place or take effect in the fall, giving our families time to prepare. First, we're moving to an optin model. Instead of automatically assigning seats to all students, eligible families will need to affirmatively request transportation. Uh this shift allows us to have a clear and accurate count of the students we need to serve. We will also be restrict ensuring that the timelines for fee for service uh uh we will also establish timelines and adhere to them for the fee for service transportation. uh this will help minimize uh the late registrations which tend to uh put a lot of strain to our routing process. Secondly, we're proposing setting a maximum of two addresses per student. We know many families rely on multiple stops uh for families with split households or daycare and this policy helps to protect those needs. However, it also prevents students to have three or four addresses uh on different buses, which creates complexity within our system and strains it. Director Sorenson will discuss the changes to magnet schools and their impact on busing. Right. Thank you, Christopher. My name is Jeremy Sasonson, director of elementary ed. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this topic tonight. I'll be talking about magnet transportation and our recommendations. I'm going to start by defining magnet transportation and that is busing provided by a school district to help students attend a magnet school that is outside of their normal attendance area. As you can see on the map, our transportation for magnet programming is very complex with students being busted from all areas of the district. Magnet schools were introduced in the district more than 15 years ago with a goal of racial integration. Over the last 15 years, our communities have become more diverse and our schools are more racially balanced, allowing us opportunities to make changes. We want to save bus routes and reduce student ride times by making the system less complicated. We considered eliminating magnet transportation altogether and also reviewed options for targeted reductions of magnet transportation while considering racially identifiable schools and the impact on enrollment. After studying these options, we are me recommending targeted reductions by creating north south zones for two of our schools and removing transportation service beyond the attendance area as an option for other magnet schools. Taking a look at Cedar Park ele Cedar Park Elementary first, nearly half of the students are magnet students. It's also labeled by the state as our only racially identifiable school. Because of this, it's very important that we provide stable transportation to ensure students have access to this school. Without any magnet transportation for Cedar Park, the school risk losing up to 40% of its student population, which would lead to an imbalance in the percentage of students qualifying for educational benefits. To improve efficiency while maintaining access, we recommend a more targeted transportation approach, focusing support on students in the southern portion of the district. This would help shorten route times and increase the number of students served per bus. As we look at Glacier Hills Elementary, you can see it's also has a very complex bus routes. Although this school is not currently classified as racially identifiable by the state, eliminating magnet transportation would cause it to lose about 50% of students, approximately 250 to 300 students because of its small attendance area. Due to the loss of enrollment, it would then be reclassified as a racially identifiable school. Because of these factors, we are recommending targeted transportation support to Glacier Hills for students in the northern portion of the district. By creating a north south magnet zone, instead of busing students from anywhere in the district, we would have a north zone and a south zone divider for Glacier Hills in Cedar Park with McAndrews Road as the general divider where families living north of McAndrews Road could get a bus to Glacier Hills and families living south of McAndrews Road could get a bus to Cedar Park. These changes are needed to create shorter rides. Instead of kids being on a bus for 50 minutes, most rides would drop to about 20 or 30 minutes. It would save resources. This plan could save eight to 10 bus routes, which helps make the whole system more sustainable. We want families to know the main change is that the district will only provide a bus if you live in the correct zone for that school. If you live in the south zone, but want to go to Glacier Hills Elementary, you will have to provide your own ride for your student and vice versa. This change would affect up to 50 students at Cedar Park and up to about 90 90 students at Glacier Hills. Echo Park Elementary currently has 44 students or 7% of the student population who receive magnet school transportation. Because the majority of students attending Echo Park live within the school's attendance area, we are recommending eliminating magnet transportation while continuing to support the existing program. This will help us reduce bus route complexities while maintaining balanced enrollment. Oakidge Elementary is similar to Echo Park. The majority of students attending Oakidge live within the school's attendance area. 88 students or 17% of the school student population receive magnet school transportation. Similar to Echo Park, we recommend eliminating magnet transportation to Oakidge as part of a more efficient transportation model while continuing to support the school's programming and ensure enrollment. For Valley Middle School of STEM and Apple Valley High School, the majority of their student population is living within their attendance area. 13% of students attending Valley Middle School STEM of STEM receive magnet transportation while 6% of students at Apple Valley High School receive magnet transportation. Between the two schools, 137 students request magnet shuttle transportation. However, the actual ridership of those shuttles on a daily basis is 18 students for Apple Valley and 31 students for Valley Valley Middle School of STEM. Most of those students endure long bus rides as well. Many shuttling from buses and buildings for up to 60 minutes each way. For this reason, many students and families opt to find their own transportation to school. We are recommending ending magnet transportation for a Valley High School and Valley Middle School of STEM, which would save eight shuttle buses between the middle and high school routes. Here is a summary of magnet school recommendations. We rem we we remain committed to STEM programming and the academic pro programs are not changing. We propose eliminating transportation beyond the school attendance area while maintaining the strong magnet school learning. Students daily experiences will not look different. We also study the demographic impact of these changes. We will maintain racial balance within each school and the students impacted by these changes are representative of the student population maintaining our commitment to equity. I'm now going to pass it off to Director Fman. Thank you, Jeremy. As we shared last month, only 35% of our elementary students in center-based programs attend their neighborhood school. Rapid growth and space constraints on the south side of the district caused us to place students where building buildings have room that provides adequate space for for our students. We shared this bus map for Dearwood, which currently draws students needing center-based support from 13 different elementary attendance areas. With six centerbased classrooms at Deerwood, only seven students receiving center-based support reside in Dearwood attendance area. Because it had capacity, we placed a larger number of center-based programs at that school. We have started to shift how we determine placements, including intentional discussions about locations of current programs and student placements relative to neighborhood schools. We are increasing our use of projected student data to support overall district capacity, all while balancing a need to maintain highquality programming while also considering individual student needs. Historically, specialized standard-based programs have been concentrated in specific buildings regardless of where students live. This has resulted in our youngest learners with long bus rides traveling across the district away from their neighborhoods. Last month, we completed a comprehensive space audit of all 20 elementary buildings. We evaluated all spaces to distinguish between staff use and instructional space to prioritize student needs. We have established, as you can see on the screen, a fourzone framework to ensure every specialized program type is represented within each geographic zone of our district. By placing programs like connect in schools such as e as in schools such as Echo Park, we ensure students in the southwest region can attend school in or near their own community. Year 1, next year 2627, we are focusing on targeted K2 students who currently endure the longest daily commutes. Our team will reach out to each of these families to discuss how a move closer to home can improve their child's school experience and family schedule. This framework isn't a quick fix. It is a multi-year roadmap designed to make our district more efficient and our programs more accessible. Every transition will be student centered and family focused. We are committed to a thoughtful phased implementation that ensures stability for our students and staff. At our last meeting, we discussed the possibility of a centralized early childhood center in the north zone as a way to free up elementary space for our centerbased students programs. Excuse me. After further study, we have determined that this is not a viable option for the upcoming school year. However, our commitment to creating space remains. During the comprehensive space audit of our 20 elementary buildings, we identified alternative opportunities to house both early childhood and center-based classrooms within the four quadrant framework I just shared. By utilizing our existing buildings more strategically, we can meet our primary goal of placing students closer to their neighborhood schools. While we will continue to study long-term options for early childhood expansion at a later date, our immediate focus is on implementing this quadrant-based model to provide relief and proximity for our families next year. I will turn it back over to Christopher to discuss additional changes and close the presentation. Thank you, Director Fman. Start times are a critical component of our transportation puzzle. Uh our transportation system is built on three tiers. Uh drive a typical driver will run an high school or an early elementary start and then a middle school route and then end with a late start elementary school to maximize bus efficiency. We are we've also identified a need to adjust start times to some of our schools. Uh we currently currently require drivers for the third tier. We we currently require more drivers for the third tier than we do for the first two. Therefore, we need to shift at least two schools from the late start elementary to the early start. This would mean going from four early start to six early start elementary schools in the district. This is perhaps the biggest change our families are going to experience and we recognize the hardship this change might create. Woodland and East Lake elementary schools would change to an early start an early start time of 7:45. Woodland and elementary schools were selected to balance our transportation routes. These two schools allow us to add one early start school on the north end of the district and one on the south end of the district. Both of these are large schools which require more routes and bus drivers than the smaller schools uh that will be neighbors to them. This will bal will help us balance the total number of drivers we needed across the three tiers. We have received questions about the impact to early start times on elementary school students. It is important to note that four of our 20 elementary schools currently are early start schools. Our attendance and achievement data shows no discrepancy between early start or late start schools. In fact, many early start families and staff do love their schedules. Valley Middle School of STEM start time will also be changed to align with the other five middle schools at 8:20. We're also making slight adjustments of 10 to 15 minutes to the start times for the School of Environmental Studies and the area learning center. To summarize the proposed changes, all families who are eligible for transportation will be needed to request transportation annually by completing a form by the last day of school. They will be limited to two addresses per student. We recommend removing magnet transportation for Ali Apo Valley High School, Valley Middle School of STEM, Echopak Elementary, and Oakidge Elementary School. changing to a north south elementary magnet zone for Glacier Hills Elementary serving students generally north of the district and Cedar Park Elementary serving students generally on the south side of the district. And finally, we're recommending changing start times for Woodland and East Lake Elementary Schools and Valley Middle School of STEM SCES and the area learning center. We understand these changes will impact families There are about 1,500 students impacted by the early elementary time change, about 400 students impacted by the magnet transportation, and 38 students attending centerbased programs. It is a difficult trade-off. These changes are needed to ensure that all students have reliable transportation to school every day. We want to acknowledge the additional feedback we received over the weekend. Um, as I mentioned at the March 3rd board meeting, there's been feedback provided when we cancel routes and some of those stories when you hear them from the parents has been disheartening and I and I hear that and the feedback that we've also received over the weekend based on the proposed changes, we're taking all those to heart. We recognize that some for some families the reduction in transportation will mean a need to change schools. We believe all our schools are equally excellent across the district. Our start time changes will mean for some families they will need after school child care when they did not previously. For other families the earlier time may work better for their work schedules. We made this decision on the school start times strictly on the data based on the number of buses and the services we were delivering this year. Our primary goal is to restore reliable transportation to all families. Bus cancellations negatively impacted families last year. We're not going back to that. We are committed to communicating these changes early, consistently, and transparently so every family knows what to expect. We will personalize communication for all impacted families. We have lists of families impacted by changes due to start times or magnet programming reductions, magnet transportation reductions, and we will continue to communicate via phone, email, and text messages to these families. We will use parent square as our primary hub for reaching families uh to ensure one no one misses deadlines. We will send reminders frequent reminders to in a family's preferred language in whatever format is available to them either via email or text message or by phone message. Information will be visible everywhere from school digital signage and social media to physical posters and flyers. We will provide hands-on help at schools and at events for families who may struggle with technology to complete their forms. I will just know that this is something we currently do uh when families come to the district office. Uh we walk them through the registration process and we we're not looking to change any of that. We want to make sure that all families get the assistance and the help that they need. The plan my ride form will open on April 16. Our goal is for 98% of families to complete the form by the last day of school. We're also adding transportation registration to our new student enrollment process and will focus on inperson meetings at apartment buildings this summer and to assist with new enrollments and trans transportation registration. Families will receive new bus routes two weeks before school starts in August. And transportation information will also be available on Infinite Campus. As I stated earlier, dependable, predictable transportation services are a resource we provide to ensure equitable access to learning and achievement for our students. The changes proposed affirm our commitment to our district's strategic values of well-being, achievement, equity, and resources. This year has been difficult with bus cancellations and other upheavalss in the in the community. We act with a sense of urgency to address the systemic challenges that have been presented to us. The changes we're proposing will impact families. However, they are necessary to ensure long-term sustainability and reliability in our transportation services. Our goal is to rebuild a transportation system our families can count on every single day. We will now pause and provide any clarification to the material that we have presented this evening. >> Excellent. Thank you very much for the presentation. Erin, how many speakers do we have signed up? >> Perfect. Excellent. So, if you could call the first speaker and then maybe the second speaker as well, just so they know who's going to be next. >> Say that one more. Could you This is just about magnet school. >> Put magnet schools on F3. >> Got it. start times on I1 so that we could accommodate the maximum number of speakers. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. So, just as uh um to summarize for the board and for anyone else. So, we had there's a lot that we're talking about tonight around transportation. This was this uh presentation that you got was the overall summary kind of weaving all the changes together. However, the board will be taking action on specific items at different parts of the agenda tonight. So, what I heard is that the speakers that were going to call up tonight, right now for this agenda item or ones who wanted to speak on magnet schools, if you signed up to speak on another topic, we'll call you in at different times. And that was just so we could accommodate the max amount of speakers because we only allow seven per agenda item. That makes sense to everyone. All right. >> Yes. So, I'll I'll address that in a sec. So, our first speaker, >> uh, Ariel Triangle. >> Ariel. And then who's our next speaker, just so they're ready? >> Ashley McNary. Perfect. And just for our speakers tonight, if you signed up to speak on an agenda item, um if you can just start by saying your name in connection to the district, speakers that sign up to speak on agenda items are given two minutes to address with any questions or comments. We'll do our best to respond if there's a question, but sometimes we may need to defer and follow up after. Um similarly to special communications, that light will turn amber when you have 30 seconds left and when it turns red, you'll hear a beep and if you could conclude your comments at that time. So, start by your name and connection to the district and then we'll start your time. >> Good evening. My name is Ariel and I'm a parent of three students um in the district. All three attend Woodland and we be will be attending there in the fall. Um I'm here to implore the board to vote no on changing the school start time. Um there are several issues with this. First, the manner of notification. I received an email Friday, three days um three days ago about the school's start time changing. It's April 13th and the intra district um request to change schools, the magnet lotteryies, all my options are closed for this for the upcoming school year. These changes will have a massive detrimental effect on students and families. Um the ability we chose uh our home and our school based on the hours and the school. So changing the hours will mean very likely I will have to resign my job. sack often has weight lists and is expensive. So that's the first reason this will have a huge devastating impact. Second, I live on an extremely busy road, North View Park Road, where there are lots of teenagers driving to and from the high school. Um, and it would be a safety issue having kids wait and walk in the dark. Um, I appreciate all the other options that the school the school district has looked into, but this seems like the trade-offs for changing the school's start times is simply not worth it. Thank you for considering this perspective. >> Thank you. Next speaker. >> Ashley, if you just want to start by saying your name, connection to the district, and then we'll start your time >> there. Okay. I just want to make sure the clock is going to update. All right. So, my name is Ashley McNary. I live in Egan. Uh my son is a third grader at Oakidge Elementary. Um but we are districted for Thomas Lake. Uh, we chose Oakidge for its exceptional education. You heard tonight. They're a nationally awarded magnet school. Why wouldn't you want to go there, right? I also really like that it had an environmental focus, a STEM focus, and it's just a great school. We felt that Oakidge would fit our son and his learning ability better than our district school. Now, for us, there are three buses that come through our neighborhood in the morning for elementary. We have Oakidge, we have Glacier Hills, and we have Thomas Lake. Uh the Oakidge bus, I don't know, at most 10 kids are on it. Fiscally, it makes sense to cancel it. I understand. If this was a business decision, I would be cancelling that bus. But it's not. Um so what I'm really wondering and the question I have for you, the question I have for everyone who put this report together, have you considered other options? So like I said, there are three buses. Could we combine routes at all? Could my son get on the bus for Thomas Lake, which is quarter mile away from Oakidge? Right. Could he get on that? Could that bus come maybe five minutes earlier, drop him and the other, I want to say like six kids off at Oakidge, then head over to Thomas Lake and drop those kids off. Could he get on the Glacier Hills, which also comes through our neighborhood, drop off kids at Oakidge, and then head over to Glacier Hills? So, I'm just wondering if these options were considered. Uh, by going straight to elimination, I feel like we're going to see some negative effects. So, first, yes, our bus was canceled all the time last year. Uh, there were terribly long wait lines at Oakidge. Uh, I was missing probably up to an hour of work each day, giving giving my kid back and forth to school. I think we're going to have what, an additional 88 cars at Oakidge, and that's not really great. Um, and my time's about up, but uh, I just want to make sure you're thinking about those effects on us. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um, so we could probably talk about all the other options that were considered for hours, but I don't know if Christopher, if you wanted to wing in quick, it's we do allow responses to questions during this portion. Um, otherwise, we can follow up with you last, but the one question I wrote down was did we consider other options? Correct. All right. Um, so thank you for the question. I appreciate it. And we do, like Christopher said earlier, we do know this is going to have individual impacts and individual families. So I just want to acknowledge that. Um, we did look at a variety of options. Uh, um, a whole list of options and we were including our routers and transportation department in this. So we looked at a variety of things. Uh, having a bus stop at multiple schools and drop off at multiple schools with start times. Uh again that tiered piece where we have drivers driving an early start, a middle start and a late start is really difficult. Um additionally it is 88 students at Oakidge. We have looked at those families already and about a third of them already drive. So that number is even less. So, we really looked at those numbers and demographics and um you know, I just want to acknowledge I know it's going to impact some families really really big individually, but we looked at we looked at a variety of options um including all those types of things, different kind of shuttle stops and and and all of those and what would be the most efficient. >> Thank you. All right, next speaker. And again, if you could just start by saying your name, connection to the district and then we'll start your time. My name is Emily Fry and my children I have two children in district 196. So I am here to talk about your transportation lines that you were talking about changing. My daughter is an African-American and Native American child. That is that is a very good school for her. She recently lost her dad last year in 2025, April 30th of 2025. I am now a single parent working two jobs and would not be able to physically drive my daughter to and from school because you guys are going to stop two blocks from our house. You're going to stop at Highway 3. We're two blocks west of Highway 3. So now her support system that she has gotten to rely on at school, she will no longer have. I will have to change that which will be tragic on all of us. The only other option is for her to go to Red Pine. My son attended Red Pine. When he was in Red Pine, he was an IEP student. Co hit. My son went half grade level in reading and math during his six years at that school. One. That is it. The middle school has done more to get him further in the school district. That is not an option for me to send my daughter there. It's not an option to take all this support system away from her, her teachers, her students, her other classmates, the other parents that have now gotten involved since she's gone through this tragedy of loss. All that would be taken from her and that would just compile on top of the loss of her father. Thank you. >> Chad Cro Cwick would be next. Thank you. If you just again want to start by your name, connection to the district, and then we'll start. Uh >> my name is Seth Winter. I have three children that currently attend Glacier Hills um elementary school and a 2-year-old daughter who hopefully will have the chance of attending that school in the future. Um you know, we heard this proposal came very quickly at the end of last week and now I'm sure we'd be represented by many more families if they were given time and not just a weekend to approach. The proposal has an immediate and significant consequence on my family. If busing is removed, we're looking at additional $360 per week in child care costs, just under 13 grand uh for the entire school year with no guarantees that there's space in the afterchool programs. It's tough to get into. The opening up happens very shortly. I have one child who is remaining and another so one child with two years left, one child graduating this year and another child with four years left. The support system is huge at these schools. The proposal does not address what happens to the current students who are already enrolled and depend on transportation. There's no transportation plan and the timeline that gave families no realistic ability to adjust. Families were notified on April 9th and 10th about the proposal about today. District 196 own strategic roadmap states that equity is a core value and that decisions should be student centered and foster inclusivity and belonging. The district's achievement and integration plan specifically identifies magnet schools as a way to bring together students and of different backgrounds and across the attendance area. But access is not meaningful if families cannot realistically get their children to school. It would be an extra two hours of driving a day to get our kids to and from school. When transportation is removed, access to these programs becomes dependent on a family's ability to absorb thousands of dollars of cost and hours of daily driving. That shifts access away from equity and towards circumstance. As an educator of 18 years, I find it troubling that a change with this level of significance and impact is moving forward without a clear transportation plan without clarity on how it aligns to the district's stated commitment to equity and opportunity integration. I'm asking the board to pause this decision until there is a realistic defined transition plan for current students and clear communication to families and realistic alternatives in place. Thank you. those pieces are missing. >> Uh Chad will be next and then our uh last person will be Peter Swanson. >> Excellent. And similar if you could just start by stating your name and connection to the district and we'll start your time. >> Um thank you. Uh my name is Chad Kraick and I'm a parent of two students in Oakidge Elementary. um one is uh one is currently in third grade and one went through Oakidge and she's in sixth grade now. Um my wife Katie is also a graduate of 196 schools. So we chose this because of our roots here. Um I'm here to strongly encourage you urge you to continue providing transportation for the Magna School students who live within the district boundaries even if they are outside the attendance zone. My family has been a part of Oakidge community since 2018. My sixth grader has grown up there. My third grader has never known another experience. Um, his friendships, his sense of belonging, his daily stability are rooted in that school. Um, and with the transportation provided by 196, without it, he would likely be forced to leave that school. And we choose this school because it's obviously an award-winning school. It's stands out in our district. It stands out in the state. It stands out in the nation. Um, and we have stayed there because of the experience we've had. Um it is troubling that the families have not given been given a meaningful opportunity to provide the input. Um we have not received surveys nor have we been asked whether we need the transportation or not. Um gathering that information seems like a basic and necessary step before making the decisions of this magnitude. Um, we sincerely hope that there's no fast decisions being made at this time and that appropriate surveys, questionnaires or any other method of gathering our information and maybe have some other creative problem solving is still in store to find some solutions. Um, this issue is not not also just about transportation. It affects our children's stability, their relationships, their ability to succeed in school. Our son would be devastated to be lose his friends and lose his access to the school. Um, we also asked for clarification how this decision aligns with the purpose of the magnet schools. These programs are designed to attract students from across the boundaries and transportation has always been essential to ensuring equitable access to schools. If transportation is removed, the equable equitable access and the choice is also removed. So, and that undermines the model itself to us. Um, finally, busing challenges are not new to this district. Changes of the scale deserve a measured, transparent process that includes the voices of the families most affected. We strongly urge you to pause, ensure the families are heard, and prioritize the continuity of the students that are already enrolled. Thank you. >> And similar, if you could start by your stating your name and connection to the district. >> Yep. Absolutely. I'm Peter Swanson. I have two children in district 196, a fifth grader at Falcon Ridge and also a second grader at Glacier Hills. And my second grader is in the magnet program at Glacier Hills. She was at Diamond Path originally and unfortunately Diamond Path lost its magnet status and we went through the application process on the good faith measure that transportation was not going to be an issue and unfortunately that has reared its head at this point in time. It's a bit disappointing given the fact that we went through a change and we went through the application process appropriately and unfortunately we are in the situation now where all of this couldn't have been done at once. Um at this point it would be a situation of potential student churn, student mobility as we are in a predicament where even though as the gentleman had stated all of the schools here are great schools. Um basically it is a situation where when you don't have the continuity of this then you run into the situations of social well-being having a stability to rely on and at this point I understand that we would be moving forward with the zones nobody wants their buses buses canled everyone Everyone wants the continuity and things to depend on, but in this situation, I would just ask if there are hardship cases or someone that we can talk to um that would be, you know, great on just the local school level if possible. So, thank you very much. >> Absolutely. That was our last speaker. Correct. All right. So, moving to questions or comments from board members. Just board members. Um, just as a FYI, uh, we are going to be discussing this is the reports portion of the agenda. We're going to be talking the actual action portion of our agenda and a lot of these later on in the agenda. So, I would just ask if you have maybe general comments or questions. Um, now would be the time. Otherwise, you can hold it until we just to organize the the discussions around the different items. We could hold it until it's we get to that action portion of the agenda, too. Questions or comments from board? I'm sure there are, but we'll probably hold them until the the other portion of the agenda is up. Thank you very much. All right. Next, I'd like to welcome where are we? There we are. Daniel Duchene to the podium to go over 202526 capital expenditure budget. Good evening, Chair Johnson, Superintendent Bosone, members of the school board, and their district 196 community. My name is Danny Duchain, coordinator of finance for District 196. Tonight, district administration presents the 2026 27 capital budget for a second reading and recommended approval. Included in tonight's board packet is the 202627 capital expenditure budget book. The capital budget book includes updated financial summaries for each of the funding sources as well as an itemized listing of planned capital expenditures as of today. The capital budget focuses on the resources strategic priority within the district strategic roadmap connecting our staff and students with the facilities, equipment, and technology needs to achieve all the other goals outlined in the road map. The capital budget focuses on three main funding sources: operating capital, long-term facilities maintenance, and the capital projects levy. The budget book also includes capital purchases for the nutrition services department which is its own self-supporting fund. The building bond projects are not included in the capital budget books as these projects for these construction um for the construction in the district are approved and executed on a separate process and timeline. Tonight's second reading follows a summary presentation which occurred at the March board meeting. Approval tonight affords district staff the opportunity to begin the various procurement processes as many of these projects and purchases have an extended procurement process timeline, long production time, or require specific timelines to complete projects and minimize the disruption to school buildings and programs primarily over the summer months. The operating capital budget is the main capital expenditure budget for the district. This restricted funding source includes both state aids and property tax revenue components. Expenditures focus on areas such as building leases, building and site renovations, band instruments, vehicle and bus purchases, and a variety of other equipment types used throughout our district. For the 2627 fiscal year, district administration projects total resources available of $19.2 2 million against planned expenditures of $14.9 million for a projected ending fund balance in June 2027 of $4.3 million. Since the March 9th board meeting, district staff has been working to prioritize and finalize the projects within the operating capital budget. Given the limited construction windows during the summer months and throughout the school year, a more compressed list of projects was scheduled for the 2627 fiscal year. These are projects the district can reasonably initiate and complete without negatively impacting buildings, students, staff, and programming along with our school schedule. The higher the higher projected ending fund balance presented tonight reflects this deliberate plan to schedule products over over a more feasible and manageable timeline. The long-term facilities maintenance budget is the district's primary budget for building and site maintenance of existing infrastructure. Similar to the operating capital budget, the LTFM budget is a restricted funding source that includes both state aids and property tax levy revenue components. Expenditure categories include health and safety, mechanical systems, roofing, and site projects such as parking lot maintenance, just to name a few examples. For the 2627 fiscal year, administration projects total resources available of $15.2 million against planned expenditures of $12 million for projected ending fund balance in June 2027 of $2.7 million. Since the March board meeting, the facilities team has updated the listing of plan projects for the 2627 fiscal year, taking into account construction timelines for other projects occurring in the district, building availability over the summer months, summer programming, and updating updated pricing and bid packages. The category amounts on the previous slide reflect these categorical changes. The capital projects levy is a little bit different from the operating operating capital and LTFM budgets. The capital projects levy does not include a state aids component and is funding funded nearly 100% from pro from the property tax levy. District 186 voters approved a new 10-year capital projects levy this past November which begins in the 2627 fiscal year. For the 2627 fiscal year, administration projects total resources within the capital projects levy of nearly $22.5 million against $17.5 million of planned expenditures for a projected ending fund balance of just over $5 million in June of 27. As I mentioned at the March meeting, with the capital projects levy approved by November by voters just this past November, district staff has been working to assess and analyze what this new capital projects levy looks like across the district, which has which results in an evolving list of expenditures and initiatives since the March meeting. Primary reasons for the increase in expenditures include an increase in technology support staff districtwide which will be expended to the capital projects levy. New technology components of curriculum adoptions either current existing curriculum or curriculum that will be adopted next school year. Updated inventory counts on equipment needing replacement and a new new initiatives for the program scheduled to begin next fiscal year. The capital budget book also includes a list of nutrition services, equipment, purchases. These are items with considerable and specific procurement, delivery, and installation timelines or windows. Approval approval of these expenditures now allows the nutrition services team to begin those processes and capitalize on delivery and installation windows during the summer months so kitchens are ready for the start of school in the fall. Respectfully, district administration requests approval of the 2627 capital expenditure budget. After approval, assuming approval, the capital budget book will be published on the finance page of the district's website for public consumption. And at this time, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. >> Thank you very much. This is an action item for the board tonight. So, before I move into questions, is there a motion to approve the 202627 capital expendit expenditure budget as presented? >> So moved. I heard Robin, seconded by Jackie. >> It out. >> Perfect. Um, did we have anyone sign up to speak on this agenda item? >> I'm sorry, Danny, you weren't the popular one tonight, but it's okay. >> Uh, questions or comments from board members? Yes, Robin. Um, since we have a large audience tonight, I just want to say the board book or excuse me, the budget book um that uh the finance department puts out is a wealth of information filled with student art. It is very informative on how the district spends our money and so if you ever have any questions um they do an excellent job. So I would encourage you to look at it and thank you for all the work that you do. And the only thing I'll add on to that um to piggyback off of Janet's presentation earlier is we are currently working with the communications department on getting all of our budget books up to date. Um so they fulfill all of the accessibility requirements. So that's something we'll be working on as we get through this next set of budget books. >> That's wonderful. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments from board members? >> Perfect. I have a motion to approve by Robin, seconded by Jackie. All those in favor of approval say I. I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 6 vote. Thank you very much. >> All right. Next, I'd like to welcome Adam Wadenberger to the PO podium to go over the second reading of policy 7 707 transportation. >> All right. Good evening, Chairperson Johnson, school board members, and superintendent Bolson. Um here tonight with the second part of tonight's transportation trilogy. Um, this is specifically focused on the proposed changes to policy 707. Um, there will be another action item later tonight related to the other transportation related changes that we're proposing, but this one specifically relates to those changes to that policy that I will be talking about now. This is a second reading after these changes were introduced uh at last month's board meeting. So the biggest change here to the policy that affects the most people um and was discussed in the earlier presentation is that we're moving to an optin model where families must affirmatively request transportation. So the specific policy language just adds an upon request clause that authorizes us to use that model. Um we talked about the communications plan that will be in place. That's something that will be um sent out a variety of different ways to make sure that families are all aware of this optin requirement moving forward. Um we are also limiting transportation to two addresses per student to help reduce the strain of reserving space on more than two buses for individual students. Um, and then while we're working in this policy, a couple other smaller changes we were proposing include removing the option for occasional requests to use other destinations um for the bus routes. Um, and confirming that in addition to a principal's approval, the transportation department must approve if anyone other than um a normal student who's scheduled on a bus is going to be riding for some reason or another. Um, these are just to help ensure consistency and remove extra variables so that drivers always know who's expected to be on their bus at any given time. Finally, we are proposing a change to a clause that currently addresses culde-sacs. This is the 3.1.4 that you heard a little bit about earlier. Um, current language does say that we generally don't route down culde-sacs due to safety concerns associated with buses having to back up to turn around. Um, and then there's an exception in there that says we we'll do it if the road is longer than a mile. Um, the first part of our proposed change is to apply that clause to deadend roads as well as culde-sacs. This is just based on these safety concerns uh with turning buses around in these tight spaces. State regulations and guidance from other agencies consistently say that buses should not back up if they can be avoided. So, we're trying to avoid that concern with these changes. Um we are also proposing to eliminate the onem exception. Um the safety concerns still apply regardless of the length of the road. We want to apply those uh factors consistently and ensure that we have um a safe route um available. We will still provide bus stops for these students. Um we'll certainly continue to take into consideration the safety of the stop, the route itself. Um any other feedback on routes that would be um ideal there. Um but this change will uh affect um going down those uh dead-end roads themselves. Um let me see here. We certainly understand the concerns about walking paths, but we do also have to consider the safety of the bus itself, other students who are on the bus and other children and obstacles that could interfere with the safe turnaround. Now, there's been a lot of feedback on this particular issue. We've certainly considered that. Uh but the administration's position remains that this proposal will address an identified safety concern and it is a change we are recommending. So that summarizes the policy 707 changes for tonight. Happy to take any questions. >> Excellent. Thank you so much board members. This is another action item for the board tonight. So before I move into questions, is there a motion to approve policy 7707 transportation as presented? >> So moved. >> Second. Um I heard a motion by Katherine and I heard um Leah first seconded. Right. Um did we have anyone signed up to speak on this agenda item? >> Yes. >> Go ahead. >> Um our first speaker would be Cali Urban and second would be Andrew Urban. >> Excellent. >> And again, if you just want to start by stating your name, connection to the district, and then we'll start your time. Um just as a reminder for everyone, this is two minutes and you'll get your little amber light at 30 seconds remaining. >> Hello, my name is Cali Urban. I'm a parent. I'm a district employee in this district as well, but I'm speaking as a parent. I'm here to address the proposed revisions to section 3.1.4. While I presented as a cleanup, these changes represent a shift from solving safety issues to simply avoiding them. The cabinet recently confirmed that the current policy already avoids culde-sacs. Therefore, this revision appears specifically designed to justify a service ban for one road in the entire district that meets the onem language in the policy to allow for busing. Please reference the March 11th email. This road is unique. It has no pedestrian pathway for students to walk, forcing them in the direct line of oncoming traffic. Before we strike through long-standing safety protections, I have two questions. One, what mitigation has been attempted? We don't deny students an education because a building lacks a ramp. We build a ramp. If a full-size bus is the hurdle, despite 60 years of safe service down this road, that is data. The solution is a smaller vehicle, not a policy change that excludes students from attending their neighborhood school. In the ongoing question number two, is the ongoing safety study accounting for driver behavior. GPS tracking has shown buses traveling 15 to 20 m an hour over the 30 mph speed limit on 120th Street. If safety is the priority, we should address speeding before we address policy. We cannot claim a road is too dangerous for a bus while our own drivers are speeding on it. Policy changes should be a last resort for operational hurdles. I urge the board to pause this revision and request a formal report on these mitigation efforts. >> Um I heard two questions. What mitigation measures have been um presented? And help me with the second one. I can't read my own. >> Ongoing safety behavior by driver >> ongoing safety behavior by drivers being possessed. Um I will kind of take a just a little bit on this one as just you know the district doesn't have purview of the other drivers. That's something we have to we'd have to get the city, the state, the highway patrol involved. So it's not something I think we could answer. Um >> if it's our bus driver, >> if it's Oh, yeah. It's our bus drivers. Our bus drivers. We can definitely address that. Sorry, I missed that part. >> We will address that >> and that will I see superintendent Bony taking notes. Um and then I can just say I we won't have time to get into multiple mitigation, but I have been in received multiple emails. The board's been really informed of this situation, seen all the studies, so there's just a lot of information that went into this and I know that the board has all reviewed it. >> Next speaker. Next speaker is Andrew Urban and then Jessica Isabella. >> And Similar, if you could just start with your name and connection to the district and then we'll start your time. >> Board members, Superintendent Bone, my name is Andrew Urban, parent of three students in District 196. A few moments ago, I talked about the Mandot area of concern at Highway 3. Wait, could you pause for one minute? We just got to >> Didn't want the timer to cut you off right away. That one. Go ahead. >> No problem. I talked about the MIDOT area of concern at Highway 3. Uh here is the current safe route on 120th Street. If the revision is approved tonight, the intersection at three is a required part of the new routing. There's no way out of Dodd Boulevard without reversing the bus. District leadership has likely faced this question before. Policy 7073.1.4 as written reflects that historical judgment. It preserves a route on 120th Street West that has operated for 60 years without safety related incidents. That is decades of real world data. Let's look at the current policy. It already says buses will generally not be routed into culde-sacs. That was the reason for all this change initially. The risk used to justify this revision bypasses state and national guidance to consider the safety of the walking path to the bus stop. The danger at Highway 3 and 120th Street West, that's not hypothetical. The danger of a student walking up to 1.5 miles to reach a bus is not hypothetical. District bus stop guidelines reference a stop about every three blocks if they can. This revision proposes a 30 block uh hike through an isolated rural setting. Tonight, you have two options. Keep policy 3.1.4 as it is, the safe and time-t tested option. Uh if you approve the change, you shift risk on to students where an elementary child who mistakenly boards the bus on the wrong day could be dropped off alone and left to navigate up to 1.5 miles of 120th Street. at three city blocks. That's one thing. Where we live, it is an entirely different adventure. I respectfully urge you to vote no on 3.1.4 and send it back for review. >> Do we have another speaker? >> Yep. Our next speaker is uh Jessica Isabella and then Ben Hess. >> And Jessica, similar, if you could start by stating your name again in connection to the district, we'll start your time. Hello, my name is Jessica Isabella. I am a parent to three district students. At the March 9th board meeting, you stated that the board can deliberate and approve or oppose specific sections of policy 707. There is an ongoing safety study regarding 120th Street West, the only street impacted impacted by this change to section 3.1.4. Voting on this section today could void this safety study before it is complete. Is this the intent of the board? By voting on this today, you are sending the message that the board does not care about this safety study and essentially does not care about the safety of our students. Thank you. >> Next speaker. >> Last speaker is Ben Hess. You can start by Good evening. Ben Hess from Rosemount. Uh I have two kids who go to Rosemount schools and they are not involved uh with this. I'm here on the behalf of uh of a neighborhood to which I do not belong. You've heard four members speak already. I'm one of several dozen members who have concerns about changing this policy. Um buses have been turning around in this neighborhood for decades. Despite the growing length of buses, they still turn around. Now, no other district has identified this risk. As others have stated, transportation has shorter vehicles capable of navigating that space to reduce that risk. If it was mentioned that safety agencies recommend these changes, which ones? Minnesota standards and national guidance from NHTSA emphasize total student safety, including how children safely reach the bus stop, not just bus maneuvering safety. Let's see these recommendations. Why not involve the community? Let us quantify the administr administration's risk, which seems low. The low history of safety incidents attaches low plausibility to the risk and evokes a strong sense of pretext. If there are other reasons, let's hear them with opportunity for community feedback. Let us balance the risk of low maneuverability with another risk. Forcing a six-year-old to walk 25 city blocks on a dark, icy, dirt road with no sidewalks, thin ice on both sides is an actual unacceptable risk. These are not students worried about changing schools, or dealing with time changes. These are students who want a safe bus to go to a school. Student safety must come first, not timid drivers, efficiency or cost savings. Thank you. >> Great. And that was our last speaker, correct? Excellent. Um, questions or comments from board members? >> Do you want Oh, go ahead, Anna. >> I have a question first and then I have a comment. >> Sure. Um, Michael, can you walk me through maybe the process when did this first come to attention and can you kind of walk me through um how engaged this particular community has been regarding 120th Street and um the level of uh attention and care and discussion and conversation um we've put into this particular topic and the amount of hours um and uh so on we put into this particular topic and the community itself and how many students and uh families we are talking about first and foremost because I I would like there's a very um specific specific side that I think has had a tremendous amount of attention and which is important but I also think that it's important to have the full spectrum that is often not heard and I think it's important for the community um to hear that other side and I would like to be fully transparent. >> Yeah. So please, >> thanks Hannah. And I might have Christopher come up just to fact check me here. He's been our um he's our >> without any inflammatory language. Please, I'd like to just present the facts. >> Sure. So I know that this fall we did a safety review of all of our routes. This was an audit we did um across our entire district. Uh and we sent letters as a result of that to seven different bus routes um that were going to be changed, not canceled, but the stops changed due to safety risks uh that were inherent into the in those routes. Um we did stop, if I'm right, Christopher, six out of those seven routes. Um we did change those stops. We did have additional questions that came from uh residents on this specific road um claiming unique circumstances and wanting additional study. And so with that, we actually held and we delayed um the transportation stopping stopping the transportation on that particular route. So while the other six that had safety concerns, we did change those stops, we did continue to provide transportation. Um while we continued to study that route, um we had two transportation coordinators during that time. Both have studied this extensively. Um we reached out to the state highway patrol that uh helps guide this. They don't actually um give guidance on specific stops, but they do provide a lot of guidelines for us as well. Um and we looked at safety studies. In addition to that, we also looked at past history of this road. Um if it's, you know, just just how it operated, what it looked like, what kind of buses went through. Um there have been changes to this road over the years. So when we think about 60 years of um bus routing um it's our understanding this road um was a through road at one point as well. Um we've also had several situations um where a bus had to be towed. Um if any um anybody's parked on that road and there can be people who park on this road. There's other trucks that drive down this road. Uh it makes a very narrow passage um for our bus. Um, this does provide a safety risk for students who are already on this bus. It does provide a safety risk for our driver as well. And so, we've been really clear that we're not trying to end service to getting students to school, but rather changing the route and the bus stop and trying to work um with the families, of course, and continue to work with the families to make sure that we put that stop at a spot that is um the most accessible, but also the most safe so that bus does not have to make that turnaround. Now, I've been down that road personally because I was curious. Um, can you tell me a little bit about the condition? I can tell I can describe the conditions of that road, but um it's it is a long road. I can confirm that. I've been down that road. Uh it's a gravel road. Um it's a dark road. Uh it struck me when I went down there. It was also icy. Um, I understand that Rosemount does not maintain that road. Nope, they do retain that road. So, they ice it. >> I'm sorry, you can't ask questions. I'm sorry. My apologies. Thank you for reminding me. Um, I recall that when we were in a meeting, um, that maybe sometimes it's iced, maybe it's not. um in the meeting I recall that >> there are different times depending on the weather where that road is in different conditions where the city may get to plow it uh or deise it or not. Families have said that they've helped as well >> um to do that in certain situations. Um although helpful, that's not something that we necessarily want to put a bus on with other people's children um down a road that may or may not be sanded, salted. Um correct. >> So we do have to really watch the conditions of that road for safety. >> Right. And so um thank you. So I wanted to provide some context here because you know as we've received more and more communications um and I understand that um as a parent um my my goal as a parent is my child. I'm very focused on my child and my child's education and my safety, my child's safety. And I understand that these are your children. you are focused on your child's safety and your child's education and that's all you get to that's all you have to focus on. I understand that completely. Our job or at least my job as a school board member is to focus on every child's safety. And so when I hear language around our students, what I understand you speaking about is your particular student. And I don't When I make decisions, I'm I'm trying to make the decision on everyone's student, but not at the expense of somebody else's child or other people's children. Um, and and I'm hearing some hyperbolic language that's making me really uncomfortable when we're talking about language, when we're talking about safety. That's making me uncomfortable. I'm not going to speak on behalf of other people here on the board. Um so I just wanted to give people some context here because you may not understand the whole story. Um but I myself um take my role very seriously and um as we are getting lots of studies um that are given to us um we do read the studies or at least I try to read the studies but I also am taking into consideration a bigger picture and sending other kids down a road that may or may not be safe even though past data has proven maybe that there haven't been any accidents. I'm not comfortable necessarily saying that that that is the best indicator of future performance that there hasn't been an accident yet. That's me. So that's all I have to say. >> Questions or comments from board members? Robin. >> Um I also have driven down the road uh several times um to be more informed about this decision we're making to see what the conditions are to um understand what might be going on just to picture it better. Um I think a lot about all of the families in our district and all of the conditions that they have to get their kids to the bus stop. There are many neighborhoods without sidewalks, my own included. There are many neighborhoods with minimal lights, mine included, uh minimal to no lights. Um and families across our district are getting their kids to their bus stop in the way that feels best for them. Um and um it just feels like a little bit of a disservice to all of the families in our district where we're not recognizing that everybody's doing what they can to get their kids to the bus stop safely in the way that's best for their family. They're teaching them how to navigate those spaces. They're walking them to it. They're driving them to it. Um and I recognize the challenges of that road. Um, but a lot of the challenges also reflect the challenges of sending a bus down that road. Um, so it's any decision I am making as a board member has come with a lot of thought, a lot of consideration. Um, and it was it's my decision was not an easy one. Um, so I don't want people to think that these decisions are coming quickly or without thought. >> Thank you. you know, and I can add on to that. I similar thoughts I was going to add Robin, but you know, when I looked at the lot of transportation studies we've had, a lot of correspondents, um, advocacy maps, um, one, I can wholeheartedly appreciate the advocacy, um, for, um, children and giving us a perspective. I think that's needed. We appreciate it. Um when I boiled the when I boiled the entire policy argument down to is we have a road that um might have safety challenges for students to walk on that same for the same reasons like you said Robin has the same reasons why it is unsafe to drive a bus on. um we should not I fully believe this as somebody who has driven large um not buses but other very large 5-tonon vehicles that you cannot we cannot have a route every day where a bus might have to back up that has a whole lot of other safety implications um so when we do have to think about um the other students on the bus we have to think about the bus driver the staff and um the condition of that road um I would love to be in a position where we have the resources to offer driveway pickup service to all the students in the district. It's just not something that we can sustain. Um so we'll have to have a bus stop close within walking distance that is safe for the the bus to go down. My thoughts. Any other questions or comments, Jackie? >> Um thank you. We've looked at a lot of maps and I've been down that road. I live not too far from there. Um when we've one thing that I'm not sure that we've looked at or maybe we have with the county and the state looking at improvements on Robert Street and I don't know if they're down into 120th if that they're kind of doing a whole study of all of those things. Does that at all inform have you heard anything from that and does that at all inform would be soon but does that give us some hope that this will be fixed because Robert Street is really bad. It's getting better now as people are learning to go around the roundabout and they're slowing down. Um I just was wondering if you've heard anything. >> Yeah, maybe Christopher if I could have you address that and then maybe where the proposed bus stop is. because that gets to be the issue of where the bus stop is. >> Yeah, thank you. Uh the proposed bus stop would be on Dodd and at the intersection of Dodd and 120th. Uh it'd be about a quarter of a mile away from Highway 3. So it is not um within the vicinity as far as like traffic on Highway 3 will not be impacted in any way by the proposed bus stop. >> Thank you. Is it other questions or comments from board members? All right, still seeing none. Seeing none, um we have a motion to approve policy 707 transportation as presented. All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Those opposed? >> Motion carries on a 6-0 vote. Thank you very much. All right, that brings us to our new business portion of our agenda. I would like to welcome Adam back to the podium to discuss policy 508 wellness. >> All right, good evening again. Um I'm here now with a quick first reading of some proposed changes to policy 508. Uh this is what everyone was here to see, I think, but uh we'll try to move through it quickly. Um these are relatively minor changes that are being proposed um in consultation with nutrition services coordinator Spencer Fischer based on some recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Education to ensur that our nutrition services policy is compliant with all state and federal regulations. Um primarily this involves clarifying that all food sold in our schools will be compliant with the USDA smart snacks and school nutrition standards. That includes food sold in vending machines for example. Um, it also adds a three-year evaluation cycle for the district to ensure that we are in compliance with these standards. Um, and it has some updates to statutory references. These are things that we were already doing in terms of being compliant with these nutrition standards, but um, our policy needed to get beefed up a little bit to include some of those references. So, we are proposing to make that change now. Um, happy to take any questions and I'll be back with a second reading for approval in May. >> Excellent. Thank you very much, Erin. Do we have anyone signed up to speak on this agenda item? Excellent. Since we don't have anyone, I'll just give it anyone questions or comments from the audience on policy 508. Seeing none, questions or comments from board members? Seems like a straightforward change based on uh legislation in our audit. So, we will see you back next month for the second reading. >> Good. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. That brings us to the other action portion of our agenda. I'd like to welcome Christopher and Yango Rabcha back to the podium to discuss transportation recommendations. Good evening again, Chair Johnson, members of the board, Superintendent Bosonei, and our public stakeholders. Uh, in addition to 7 policy 707 adjustments, the administration recommends approval of the proposed transportation changes as we had presented earlier. To summarize, the items include adjustments for magnet transportation, adjustment for specialized and central centerbased pro program transportation, an adjustment to school start times at Woodland Elementary, East Lake Elementary, Valley Middle School of STEM, Upper Valley High School, School of Environmental Studies, and the Area Learning Center. Uh we presented an in-depth presentation earlier and request action this evening. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Uh first I'm assuming we have people signed up for this one. Uh if you want to give the first two speakers so I know who's coming and who's next after that. >> Um our >> Oh wait, you know what? Thank you. Can I just wait for a minute because I'm breaking my own Robert's rules of orders. Jumping to speakers. Is there a motion? Um, since this is an action item for the board, is there a motion to accept the transportation recommendations as presented? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Robin, seconded by Anna. Thank you. All right. Sorry for jumping the gun. Go ahead with our first couple speakers. >> Uh, first speaker is Kate Wilson and second will be Kelsey Stal. >> And Similar, if you could just start by your stating your name, connection to the district, and then we'll start your time. Well, >> you might need to I'm a little shorter than everyone. Good evening or good night members of the board and superintendent Bulani. I my name is Kate Wilson. I am a parent of two students at East Lake Elementary, a second grade and fourth grader and we've been part of the Eastlake community for the past five years, part of the Minnesota community for the past five years and we've loved our time there. Um to provide context for the East Lake community's concerns with the proposed early start time, East Lake community members recently took it upon themselves to conduct a community survey across the East Lake neighborhood. East Lake parents, like you've heard from the Magnet School parents, were notified via Parent Square app Friday evening. This survey was sent out on Sunday morning. Since Sunday, in those just those few days, we have received an overwhelming response. 171 members of our East Lake community responded. These were parents and guardians of current students. A few of them were also um incoming students who would be affected by this change. The the results are definitive. 78.4 of our families oppose the transition to an early start time. >> 78.4% >> 78.4 4% correct of that 171 number. I appreciate that. You've each been emailed a specific qualitative data from this survey. These aren't just numbers. They are the documented voices of a significant portion of your constituency and their message is clear. This change is not sustainable for our community. Our primary concern stems from the sheer scale of East Lake. As the largest elementary school in the district with over 700 students, a shift to an early dismissal of 2:00 2:05 p.m. creates a significant child care deficit that the current infrastructure cannot support. Our SAC program is consistently weight listed. By moving the dismissal time nearly two hours earlier, the district is effectively creating an exponential demand for afterchool care that simply does not exist. This places families and an undue financial and logistical burden on hundreds of families who've built their professional lives around the current 350 p.m. dismissal time. At our scale, this isn't a minor inconvenience. It's community ridewide crisis. I just have one more quick point and I'll >> You got to wrap up your comments. Yep. If you're >> furthermore, East Lake is a community of bikers and walkers. It's unreal. We have 16 bike racks. The district just paid for a new pad. Our East Ace Lake students are elementary students. They're young. They'll be walking in the dark at between November and February. Sunrises at 7:30. Our our students walk paths through our neighborhood through underpasses through Cobblestone and East Lake. These are unlit. These students would be unsafe. I understand. I'm sorry. public respect the rules of the the feedback. So, thank you so much for the for the feedback. Sorry for cutting you off. >> So, I I'd love to give just for everyone coming up to speak, I'd love to give as much leeway as possible, but it's district policy that we stick to two minutes. So, I try to let people >> I've timed my comments. We'll be good. >> Okay. Okay. Perfect. My name is We won't start your time until you say your name and connection to the district. >> I appreciate it. Um, my name is Kelsey Stal. I have a son at East Lake Elementary and a daughter who will be there in a few years. Um, and I was given a letter by a parent at East Lake Elementary and I'd like to share some of her thoughts along with my own thoughts. Um, her primary concern is children's health and learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 9 to 12 hours of sleep for children ages 6 to 12. Schools starting at 7:45 a.m. means a wake up time of between 5:45 and 6:15. As pediatricians recommend 60 to 90 minutes before departure for a calm morning routine. To get the recommended 9 to 12 hours of sleep for elementary aed children, bedtime would need to start between 4:45 and 7:45 p.m. approximately 1 hour before desired sleep time. For many families, this means a bedtime routine starting before dinner is even finished. This is simply not realistic. Early school start times are well documented to reduce sleep duration in children, which directly impacts attention, behavior, and academic performance. The very outcomes this district says it is committed to supporting. For myself, I think it's also important to recognize the impact on the overall health of the families. I have bipolar disorder. Getting enough sleep is paramount to the maintenance of my mental health and the mental health of anyone dealing with mental health issues. This change would be significantly detrimental to my health and therefore the well-being of my family. I imagine we are not the only family impacted in this way. Though given the stigma around mental health issues, many will not speak out. So I offer my voice as that of anyone as as that of anyone struggling with their mental health. Many of us who do who take the bus do so out of convenience u many of us at Eastlake specifically um and are more than willing to find alternate transportation if that if it means keeping our schedule as is. In fact, in the survey we created over the weekend, the one Kate referenced, um, only approximately 18% who responded said they would require a bus regardless of the start time. We would be happy to collaborate with you to figure out what busing numbers need to be make need to be to make maintaining our current schedule work. Thank you. >> Get the ne next two speakers. Next speaker would be Megan G and then Elizabeth Brown. >> Perfect. If >> you could just start by stating your name, connection you to the district, and then we'll start your time. >> Hi, my name is Megan Jens and I am a mom of three students, two who attend East Lake and one at Scott Highlands. So, I have also had the opportunity for my child to attend a Minneapolis school with a 7:30 a.m. start time. So I I have ha had those effects both on waking up early. My children get up at 8 o'clock as well as the impacts of afterchool care. So I am a digital strategist by day. I come at these approaches with analysis and really looking at the pros and cons of each and I understand that the district may have evaluated. I think there's been a lack of transparency in the data. So I have some questions around the methodology and the data behind the proposal for an earlier school start time and specifically around East Lake and the other school that was chosen. So you know how were these schools evaluated? Was it sheer purely the size? What was the criteria? I'd like to understand what the percentage of writership from each school and the quadrant per tier is. I understand you're trying to go through a three- tier uh wrership. Have you evaluated the number of bikers and walkers that we have? We have a very large community of walkers and bikers at East Lake. I live two blocks away. My kids will walk or bike rain or shine. I had a email from this uh school last year. My kids's bike was in the bike rack on one of the, you know, most winterest day. They go rain or shine. We've had 5 to 8% of cancellations this year. And I'd like to understand what the average cancellation was year-over-year. This was a weird year. We had ma Minnesota paid leave that went into effect which from your graph and data from the March 3rd presentation was a huge impact. Are we expecting that this is going to continue year-over-year? We also had influenza going through this time and finally we had ICE occupying our whole state, whole metro area. Was any of this impacted drivers willingness to drive during this time? And I'm speculating here, but it's an open question that I have. Not to burden another school, but we also had Emerald Trail open. So, if this was a persistent issue, why wasn't it proposed that Emerald started early? New school, new year. Finally, I just want to I need you to wrap up your comments. >> Why is East Lake the default scapegoal issues simply because our size offers the biggest impact on a spreadsheet? A solution for the district's transportation needs to be distributed. If you could please and end your comments. I have to respect the two-minute time >> by selecting a smaller midsize school. >> Sorry, I need to respect the two minutes, but I appreciate your comment. Thank you. >> Next two speakers. >> Uh, next would be Elizabeth Brown and then Chris Rody. Hi, my name is Elizabeth Brown and I'm a parent of two Lakers and one future Laker. My children are right back here with suckers in their mouths at 9:00 so I could be here to share my feedback. Uh good evening uh and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. Um again, my name is Elizabeth and I'm a parent at East Lake Elementary. I'm also a single working mom of three children, a future preschooler, a first grader, and a third grader. and I'm here to strongly appro oppose the proposed change to East Lakes's elementary start time. I want to start by saying that I do understand that the transportation is a real challenge and I respect the work that's being done to improve reliability. But this proposed solution creates a different kind of problem, one that directly impacts famil family's ability to function dayto-day. I'm not in a bus zone. I live too close to the school. So, I'm responsible for 100% of my children's dropoffs and pickups. Right now, our schedule works. It allows me to coordinate work, school, and child care in a way that is stable and manageable. Under the proposed schedule, I would be trying to manage a 7:45 elementary start, a 9:30 and noon preschool start, which I just signed that contract for the day I found out about this proposed change. Um, and a 205 elementary dismissal. It's not just difficult. It's a schedule that is physically impossible to manage while I try to maintain full-time employment. And this isn't just my situation. I've spoken with multiple families, including one who has an afternoon preschooler starting next year, where the pickup time would overlap with their preschool pickup or preschool drop off. Multiple other families on site have on-site core work hours until 3 p.m. where they are already cutting it close to commuting back to East Lake to pick up their child by 3:45. But it does work. They would literally be expected to be in two places at once, which is not uncommon for parents. Unfortunately, it's not a scheduling inconvenience. It creates a near impossible scenario. This change would also create significant financial burden for families. It would force me into afterchool care for my two ch my two boys, which would cost roughly $800 a month. Very quickly, if that turned into all three of my kids and before and after school care, that 800 turns into 2400 per month. So with that, I ask you to consider these things uh before making your vote. How families are expected to manage overlapping schedules. How will the district ensure the child care is affordable and available for the influx of everyone who will suddenly need it? I respectfully ask that you pause, reconsider, and explore alternative solutions that do not create an unmanageable situation for families like mine. Thank you. Our next two speakers, >> our next speaker is Chris Rody and then Julie Johnson. >> Hi, good evening. Uh Chris Rody, I have two children currently enrolled at Woodland Elementary. Um so to me, this problem boils down to we're trying to solve one thing and that's these canceled bus routes. Tonight we heard that the last canceled routes were March 13th. So the last month we have been operating successfully and the um we we also heard positive outlooks for driver staffing for the remainder of this year as well as the 2627 school year. So to me, those two things tell me that our current structure, it's possible to operate successfully and that we're now um setting ourselves up with the the staffing for these drivers that we can do this going into the future without whole wholesale sweeping changes um to our entire transportation system, school start times, everything that's been talked about tonight. Um, my my ask is that the board take these sweeping changes, table these sweeping changes, implement the new opt-in clause, and take a year to gather data and see if this is uh truly a problem or like the last speaker alluded to, that there was a a confluence of things that all happened in January and February that caused this that let's take some time and really evaluate this problem and what needs to um happen in the future without making quick rash decisions at this time. >> Last speaker is Julie Johnson. >> Similar with your state your name and connection to district and we'll start your time. >> Okay. Um, so I'm Julie Johnson. I uh have a kindergartener that's starting at Woodland this fall. I have nothing prepared because to be honest, I found out about this proposal through Facebook. I got zero communication um about a huge change that would impact my family drastically. Um and I feel like the fact that this was sent out to families Friday evening, no kindergarteners, you know, that don't have other students there were notified and that the feedback forms were open today, I don't feel like that's enough time for families to really have an opportunity to weigh the impacts on their lives, provide the feedback to make a a good decision. like this feels really rushed and I understand that you may have been talking about it previously for a while but to give notice to families and then have 3 days to what if people missed it the email you know things happen this is life you're not really giving people an opportunity to to give the feedback so thank you that was our last speaker correct okay um board members before I go open questions or comments to the board. I was thinking about the best way to handle this discussion and it seems to me that we have um right now there's a motion to approve the transportation recommendations. But it seems to me we have three main things in this motion which all have different talking points. First is magnet schools, second is centerbased schools, and the third is start times. Um would anyone be opposed um if I move to divide those motions so we can talk about them separately? >> Great. >> And vote on them separately. >> I think that's a great idea. >> Okay. So I will formally make the motion to divide the pending motion um into those three categories I mentioned. That motion would need a second. >> Second. >> All right. And then there needs to be a vote. So all those in favor of dividing the motion say I. I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries. We are now going to be voting on divided motions. So we still need to have a motion um to discuss. So is there a motion to approve the magnet school's recommendations? uh making school changes as uh discussed in the transportation recommendations. >> So moved. Second. >> All right. I heard Robin and who was second? >> Anna. >> Or I'm sorry, Anna made the motion. >> Robin. >> Robin made the second. Okay. >> I am really making Aaron mad at me tonight keeping track of these. Sorry. >> All right. So, questions, comments from the board regarding the magnet schools. >> I have a question, but I have to think about it. Uh I just didn't want us to move on. So if anybody else has a question, go. >> I have a clarifying question. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> So just when we were talking about magnet schools and for example Echo Park, I wrote down so the majority live in the attendance area. So those who live in the attendance area are still provided a bus. It is. We are just talking about students that live outside of the like zone around the school. >> Yes. Outside of the attendance area that would normally not receive a bus. >> Okay. >> Uh similar to what our intra district transfer students um the opportunities they have for a bus are limited. It would follow the same. >> Can you say that again for me? >> Yep. So students who live um for elementary it's one mile for secondary it's one and a half miles from the school in the attendance zone >> in the attendance area receive busing >> but students outside of the attendance area um for example a student in school A wants to go to school who lives in >> school A but wants to go to B they can apply through an intra district transfer process it's based on capacity >> um but students families have to provide their own transportation Okay. So, they choose to attend a different school in their neighborhood school and they are then responsible for their bus. Yes. Or their transportation. >> That is correct. There there is a clause uh in our policies that allow students to apply to take a bus if there's capacity at the nearest stop, but the bus doesn't go out of that attendance area to pick them up or anything like that. >> Got it. Okay. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Um who >> Robin? >> Sorry. Go ahead. Um, if someone is outside of that, you know, they want to go to Oakidge and they're at Thomas Lake, that was a person, could they, is there fee for busing? Could they pay to get a bus route? I've heard that mentioned and so I just wanted to check the >> Yeah, Christopher, have you explained the current fee for bus and how that works? >> Right. So the fee for bus says if I am an elementary student and I live within a mile to the school and I would like transportation that's a piece that we would be charging a fee for >> but it's not for going to another school. >> Correct. >> Thank you for clarifying that. and then a comment. I wanted to just sort of um take inspiration from Anna and say ask Corey and Michael um there's been a lot of concern about the quickness with which this came to the board and could you explain why it came so quickly? >> Can I actually just do one point of that and I'm going to hand I hand it off to you for the because I just like being very very transparent too. Um so the board as a whole just about well the board as a whole um just so everyone's aware too told the superintendent administration your number one priority is zero cancellations for bus service next year. So that did prompt a lot of this. I just want to make sure knows that this wasn't willy-nilly. The board set a goal for you of zero bus cancellations. Um, I also I don't think my neighbors believe me, but two board members up here are affected by the time change. We're talking about magnet schools right now, but I just think this to go to a few. I found out it was my school the same time the email went out. So, um, we knew that there were that was under consideration. But, >> um, and that's because I think that's actually I applaud the administration for doing that, not because they were holding anything back, but just because >> it shows that we weren't having undue influence. they approached it with a level of scientific diligence um when they made those recommendations. So, I'll let you actually talk about the magnet school piece that Yes. I just wanted to make sure that the community knew you were charged with zero cancellations for next month, next year. >> Absolutely. Thank you, Chair Johnson. So, being charged with no cancellations. I'll just back up to say the cancellations have been extremely painful. Um I understand that that that any change we consider um has impacts on families and we definitely feel that as well and um and that means something to us and and that is the truth. Uh but the cancellations that we had this year um we received a lot of feedback, hundreds of calls and communications. Um people lost work hours. Um people had to adjust um their employment. Um part of the problem with it is that it wasn't predictable. Um and so on any given day, students and families may not have known if they had to transport their own students. And frankly, we had students who didn't come to school on certain days. And that's simply not acceptable. And so our goal is to get every student to school every single day um to which school and how far can we transport them. Those became questions as we started to study this. When we looked at the peak of our cancellations, they really started after January 1. They peaked at the end of January into February. Um actually all through February, we were at 5 to 8% of routes. Um with 220 buses with two two,000 students, that could be over a thousand students without a bus on a given day. So um we did feel that and we had listening sessions, we had families show up and so that pain is there as well and so that became the impetus to um take action quickly and we were charged with what what can we do to solve this problem. So these are recommendations we're bringing back. There are a lot of different ways we could look at this problem. We knew very clearly that we were understaffed and and um certainly some comments here are absolutely correct. We have um started to become more staffed but we're still running very thin. um we don't have full drivers uh in place. Our mechanics and office staff are driving if certain um bus drivers get sick or call in or take leaves. So, we're still very vulnerable to this. So, so it's very it's still not sustainable, not to the extent that we could guarantee to our public that next year our busing is sustainable. And so, we really had to look at uncovering um what some of our um less sustainable or more complicated routes were and could we serve our families differently? um could we envision a better future? Um and you see some of that in the magnet schools, although it may not feel that way right now. When we look at our um achievement integration programs and what they were intended for, which was closing achievement gaps and serving those students, we can still do that and we can do that in a lot of really positive ways and reduce busing um costs and other things might actually give us additional opportunities um to close those gaps and provide opportunities for students. Um the changing of the bus times I know felt quick. Um when we had that meeting in March, uh I think it was March 3rd that we were here if that's right. Um talking about this um the goal was to come back to the community before the end of the school year. And as we started thinking about that, that was that would have been too late. Um the next board meeting was only a couple weeks away and then this is the following meeting. So we're really trying our goal was to try to get back to the board with some possible solutions um that we could weigh and I and I appreciate you breaking them into three things because they're not all, you know, connected. This is a very complicated problem with a lot of factors as some people already mentioned tonight and um untangling those um can be a little tricky. So we really tried to look at um what all the factors were um to get the most gains uh in the most ways. When we looked at East Lake and I know that was a question about being um big and that did certainly help but it also was geographic. It also connects to what other classrooms are there in other programs. So when we started studying other schools and thinking okay you know looking at all of our schools what would the tales be as well? And there's other tales to different programs that moving it earlier um could affect um special ed transportation or other things and it just got um you know complicated in different ways. So um we absolutely did our best to study um all aspects of this to the best that we could um with the goal of solving this problem. If um you know the board's going to discuss this and it's a real discussion which is going to be you know very healthy and and good. um the idea of not getting a lot of feedback um wasn't necessarily intentional, but we were working as quickly as we could. We also know that any school that we would change start times to, we would get a lot of negative feedback um or a lot of change feedback and we've had both positive and negative for all of the changes uh as far as start times that we've had. Um but most of the time the change um processing that change can be negative and we understand that. So um we are passing this along. We are hearing that. We anticipated that. Um, but coming to the board, it was really about what can we do to make sure that we are getting every student to school and if we want to take more time to do that. Normally, we would probably take a year. If we didn't have a an urgent problem like this, we'd take more time. Um, we don't have the time. Um, we had to address this urgently. So, I'll stop there if that helps. >> Thank you. And that was a good overall overview of how the recommendations got presented. I would just add to that the district has done a good job at least of communicating there would have to be impacts to magnet schools since we've been communicating this transportation which is I mean just the current motion so I wanted to make sure to give you >> we have we have tried in many ways we've also been out to staff meetings we've worked with our administrators um we've worked with our labor um collective bargaining groups um it's a big district there's a lot of people to communicate with and two and look for blind spots and so um we've been spending the last month doing that Anna, >> magnet schools, >> your question motions on magnet schools right now. Just want to make sure. >> Wait a second. >> Okay. >> So, if I can summarize, I'm not asking a question. If I can summarize what Robin asked and then what how you responded. The board asked you uh if you could come up with some solutions with some recommendations to solve the problem futurep proof >> this challenge that we have with transportation. >> Yes. >> And this is what you came up with is the solutions and presented to it presented these recommendations to us at the board this board meeting and that's where we are today. Just wanted to clarify that. >> That's a good perspective. Thank you. >> That's all I wanted to >> No, that's good. Um, just for community members who might not be aware of how a board has to operate, we're bound by the open meeting law. We can't discuss this outside of an open publicly posted board meeting. So, if something feels Thank you. That was really good. I just wanted to expand on that for you. But, so if something feels like it was just released to the community, it's because that's also legally how we have to do it and have the discussion in an open forum. So yes, Jackie, >> just a reminder too that what you said, Anna, is very true, but also we told the board or we told the superintendent to make it sustainable, to make it thoughtful, and to make it long-term so it has long-term options. So we're looking at, you're going to hear about this next year because as we look at special ed, where are our special ed people? Where are our special ed programs? Can we make that more efficient instead of looking at a a map that looks like you threw four strands of spaghetti down there and they're all over the place? So, this won't be the first pass at making this our transportation long-term inappropriate and special, you know, and sustainable. So, just a reminder, >> did you have a >> I have another clarifying question overall. So we've we've chunked this into three. Each can make an improvement. We don't need all three to solve the problem or >> so it's more like a point of order. I think what you're asking so I will address it. So we have now broken the the the motion we that passed to divide the motion means that we are now voting on three separate categories, right? >> So the board can discuss each. That's why I keep saying let's make the conversation about the muscles which is the current pending motion. But there's a lot of background that I think is helpful. >> I guess the question though is each each of those buckets will have an impact. So we can also discuss which might have the greatest impact. Is that a fair thing to ask? >> The Yep. So when we get to those portions we can have the board. >> All three don't need to pass in order for us to make an improvement. They each make an improvement. We are going to talk about >> the board will have to decide that tonight. Yeah. Questions. Yep. >> Um I can't tell if you want to say something. You want to wait for me? Okay. Go ahead. I can't tell if you want. >> Yeah. I have a general question so I just wanted to try to get in on the front end and Michael you started to answer it but just I'm failing to remember everything and so I think probably Christopher can best answer but can you map out it has been a really unusual few months um in a lot of ways but can you map out a little bit of a longer term um of this year how can what I I know like you said the 5 to 8% of routes canceled in February felt a lot better actually to me. So can you say a little bit of going back a little further what percent cancellations have we been dealing with throughout and especially how what was March overall? Like if we're starting to turn a corner. >> Um so I'll start with something that's probably wrong. um most statistics are made up. So, so when we say 5%. I also let's take a step back and figure ask a different question. Which buses were impacted with those 5%? When it's 8%, which buses were being impacted? So, the first item on the agenda, well, first item that you're taking action on based on how we've broken it up is um magnet. And so most of the buses that we had to pull back were those magnet buses. And so it how many students are impacted when we cancel say route 216 that serves uh Glacia. uh it may be a few number of students but then the next tier where that bus is supposed to go you have more middle schools and more high schools that are getting impacted because of that route. So 5% number that we give you is a is a the routes. If you dig deeper into that and you ask which individual buses were then being cancelceled, that's when you start looking at well how many students does that 5% represent? And I will say the number is bigger. Um yeah 5% is small but if you layer it out and find how many students it's it's actually a lot more students. So a thousand students are being impacted on a daily basis. So when we send a message out and we say we are cancelling four routes, think elementary, at least at elementary, middle school and high school. If the bus has 60 students on each one of those, you had 180. I have five buses a thousand kids. Now all of those are missing out on some aspect of learning. And then you add the other things that were happening in our community in January and February and it's just an additional stressor. Uh these were times when we needed families to have a sense of comfort that their kids are in a safe place and removing that avenue access for them to get from home to school adds an additional layer of um stressor which you know now that we don't have a metro surge happening things have have shifted um I don't I don't know that there was a correlation between the surge and the number of students or the number of buses or drivers that were uh being available uh to drive during that that period of time. Uh so some of this is anecdotal, there's layered things, but then it's how many students are we okay saying you do not have a right to school today? And to me that number is zero. >> Can I follow? >> Yeah, of course. >> So and I understand the complexity. I still don't have enough information to understand fully the trend and where we're at in it. So, I know a thousand in February. I know it felt really bad like back into the first half of the school year. Um, I just I wish I could. So, maybe the better question is how many students were impacted by a cancellation approximately over the course of the last several months. But I just don't understand how like have we seen the worst of it, how much better is it just complete roller coaster up and down or are we seeing progress? >> I would say we are seeing progress. The current situation is we we have um we've contracted out some routes. Uh we still have our mechanics and our routers um they're driving. So they can't if if a bus is not canceled, it's not because all sometimes it's because all the drivers are in and sometimes it's because all the drivers who are available are in and then I have office and vehicle technicians on the road. And so if I'm thinking of what else should they be doing, the routing work is on hold, the maintenance of the vehicles, that work is on hold. And sometimes they still have to come back and take care of it. And that's a piece where we think about wellness uh for our employees. It's that whole mental state. I think there are some board members who are at the bus garage in um during driver appreciation and one of the main thing they talked about is we need those in the shop and those in the office to stay and do their jobs because they're getting burnt out working 80our weeks, 40 in the office and then out on the road as well. Thank you. I have a quick comment because I want to bring this also back to the motion around magnet schools so we can go through them too. But um so regarding magnet schools when all the research um I think by the way the district did thank you by the way for listening to the board and prioritizing because this is the number one priority for the board with zero bus cancellations regarding magnet schools. Just when you look at those maps, you can see how unsustainable that model is, right? I mean, you can you can see it's just not sustainable. Um, and as a district, we I should say this, as the school board, we need to make decisions based in those transportation systems. Um, so I'll be supporting the Magnus School. That said, I think we have heard even through our email, even tonight, a couple of very oneoff situations. Um, one of our last speakers talked about having to move from diamond path and I loved how they phrased it. He's right there. Sorry, I'll look at you. But even phrased it like if there's anyone who I can reach out to to help, I'm going to point. Raise your hand Jeremy. It's him. So, I will ask too like when those are those one-off situations where someone's has a much greater impact that the district work with them to find a solution, whether it's, you know, white glove service at their new school or for something creative, whatever it is, I would just ask that they do that in those really highly impacted situations. But as a system, um I think we need to support this so we can better stabilize the transportation. It's my thoughts. >> Robin, >> um magnet schools have a special place in my heart. Um my kid went to Glacier Hills. Well, my youngest went to Glacier Hills. Um you know, and we just had an exceptional experience there. Um I do see this as a a great solution to a problem creating these zones or Yeah, a good solution to the problem. Sorry, I misspoke. I thought I misspoke. Um, I just am a little concerned about timing in giving families time to prepare. Um, as one speaker said, you know, applications for other schools are closed. You know, I and now I'm kind of left trying to maybe figure something out for next year. Um, and I I really want to be aware of that because that is a hardship for families, especially I think it was the single parent. Um, you know, and that's just a lot of extra work. Um, and so while I do support this, I also wonder if there can be a phased approach, uh, you know, a delay. Um, I don't know what would be best, you know, because I certainly don't want more bus cancellations. I want to be really aware of that, but could we just, you know, yeah, I don't know what the answer is. >> So, I'll address it from the board perspective. I think if we if the board wants to take an action to delay I mean this is what the administration came back with as their best option around magnet schools right of what the the um >> going back to our first meeting in >> help me March when we did the big March 3rd um there was even talk about cancelling all magnet schools and I think the right so I mean we did there was that was one of the options that was presented we established the recommendation of zones so >> um I don't think the board I don't think the board can be in a position to change the recommendation. Um, we could be in a position to delay it. That said, that's going to have a big impact on the model next year, which and the board had said Michael's greatest the district's number one priority is >> zero bus cancellations. So, um, I don't think I'd be able to support a delay just because I mean it's it's a good discussion point. I'm just being my perspective. >> Can I add answer that to that? something that we did look at and um to be to be honest to working with our routers, the magnet transportation was identified as one of the contributing factors, one of the biggest contributing factors to the complexity of our routing. Um and it's really hard to keep routers on those those long long routes. Um as we were having discussions and coming up with ideas, we did propose what would it look like if we phase this in. Um and sustainability is a word that our routers and our transportation people used a lot. It's just not sustainable. And phasing it in would make it even worse. >> Jeremy, sorry. Could you just move the mic a little closer? >> Sorry. >> Phasing in would make it not sustainable. And it would also the amount of work to reroute like if we phased out different parts and then reroute again the following year. It's just not a sustainable uh piece particularly because they're driving a lot right now. >> Yeah. >> So, we did look at that and we chose to give the recommendation we did because of those reasons. >> Okay. Thank you, Jackie. I saw your hand up. One of the things that we look at is ex opening the other schools so that they're not closed right now. If so that if somebody wants to move from a magnet school to another school, they have that opportunity >> because we've opened up our own drop dead date. >> Yeah. Do you want to talk about the >> Yeah. So, you know, our plan is if this passes, we know all the individuals who are impacted by this. We will send them specific communications about their specific situation with some options. So what options would be if you can transport you could continue to do that on your own. Um options would be looking at your home school. Uh other options would be potentially the other magnets if you're at north north south zone. What we are going to do is with our our magnet kind of tosses or specialists that run the um application process and with our principles. We'll have weekly meetings um for the foreseeable future and looking at what families are choosing to do and if there are questions like that we'll look and see if there's capacity. So, we're going to do our best to meet the needs of families and give them the those choices um knowing that there's still going to be hardship. >> Yeah. >> But our plan is to look at the the numbers of of students and families and based on what they're able to do and what questions come up, we're going to try to make make things work the best we can. >> That's good information. >> Any other questions or comments from board? Seeing none, we have a motion by Anna, seconded um by Leah. Memory serves. I didn't actually write that down. >> It was not Leah, was it Robin? Who wanted to give that second? I forgot. >> I'll second. I'll take it. >> Oh, wait. Sorry. >> It was Robin. Thank you. >> There we go. >> I just realized I didn't write your name down. So, we had a motion by Anna, seconded by Robin to approve the magnet school transportation recommendations as presented. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. >> Motion carries on a 6 vote. >> Next, we'll move to um the centerbased um we're so I just have to keep order in the meeting, but we're that vote was only for the magnet school recommendations right now. So um okay so the next uh one was centerbased. So is there a motion to approve the centerbased transportation recommendations as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> So motion by Jackie seconded by Robin. Questions or comments from the board? >> Question. >> Yes. Um, so with centerbased students, what I heard was that many go to schools that are not in their neighborhood, not the closest. >> Um, is part of this plan moving students who are currently at a school that's not near their neighborhood to their neighborhood school? So, will this be a a reshuffleling of students and the future goal of being able to ex uh have students, new students attend schools that are close to their neighbor in their neighborhood? >> Both are correct. I we are targeting first on our primary students that potentially could move closer to their neighborhood schools. We've identified roughly between 30 and 35 students that that would impact. So, we would make personal reachouts to all of those families to talk about the benefits of being closer to your neighborhood. A benefit and I talked to a parent today on the way to the cap about her experience with a center-based placement and now her child is in fourth grade moving on to middle school. And because he was placed outside of the track of elementary, middle, and high school, he will go to a middle school, not knowing, >> right, >> many of his peers he grew up in elementary with. So really thinking about long-term um you know, options for kids that are going to be beneficial. That said, we're going to work with families and we're going to um do everything to make sure that their experience is is positive. >> Right? >> That was the first part of your question. The second part of your question, um, >> it was just that I answered it. It's that we are going to moving forward, we will have people go to their neighborhood school. >> Correct. And a specific example I can give is, and I think I mentioned this in my remarks is Echo Park, for example, doesn't have a connect classroom. We looked at the students coming into early or from early childhood into kindergarten and we have several students in that attendance area andor zone. Therefore, we're opening a connect classroom at Echo Park. Oh, great. >> Versus asking where there's space and placing students where there's space. So, that's that's going to take some time to rightsize into the four quadrants, but that's the work we're doing. >> Uh, can I ask a follow? And so with that, I know um I just know Woodland because that's where my kids go. Um and they don't have a a centerbased learning right now. So are are we going They do. >> They do. >> Oh, they do. They do. >> Well, there you go. >> A certain type of centerbased programs. They currently have achieve centerbased. Okay. >> But we are trying to expand the continuum within each of the quadrants and within some buildings. So they they have an achieve classroom but they don't have a connect classroom or they don't have other >> maybe that's what I was thinking. So we're going to look at all the schools to also expand the programming at each of the schools. So there's more options. >> There'll be some shifting. Yeah. Great. And that like I said will take several years to accomplish because we don't want to >> interrupt third, fourth, and fifth grade for obvious reasons. >> Right. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. >> Jackie, did you have a question or was it answered? Nope. I just think that this is one of the best things that's come out of this whole discussion because now we have students in the least restrictive environment. They're in their home neighborhood. They're they're working with a with kids that are their own age, their own people. And I think just think this is a great way to go. >> Yeah. I'm excited. Yeah, >> just to add on to that, Jackie, this I was really happy with this, too. Especially when I saw how, you know, I think about our centerbased special education kids and going traveling across the district just to receive services, getting them those services closer to home. I think it's just >> I wonder if they're in the same building with their brother or their sister, the neighborhood kids. >> And so this is this is the best thing that's come out of this. So, thank you. >> Agreed. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jackie. >> Other questions? >> We would agree. I would agree, >> Robin. >> I've got a couple. So, um I think you were just saying to Katherine that you're looking at more older elementary that the younger kids are going to kind of stay where they're at for now. Am I understanding that correctly? Okay, >> that's correct. >> That sort of goes off of my question. I know from my time on the special education advisory council that um a lot of our younger learners really need some continuity and consistency. And so, um, for those fourth and fifth graders, how will we be accommodating or how will we be helping them transition >> to their new potential new school? How will we help them do that? >> We are actually focusing on a primary, >> okay, >> versus intermediate. So, we're focusing our K. They they haven't been placed yet, but we're placing them. >> Okay. >> First and second. >> Okay. >> So, that's what we're focusing on initially. >> Thank you. I was misunderstanding that. So, I appreciate that. You also said you're going to talk with the families. Um, is this a conversation where they get to say yes or no, or is this an informative thing where we're telling them where they're going? Like, is there a choice? >> At this point, we would like to highly encourage that transition. That said, we're going to take handle it with care and we understand the ch, you know, all of the things that come with a transition of to a new school given, you know, their challenges that they already exist. So, um, we'll likely work with families. >> Yes. Okay. Thank you. And then my final question was um earlier in our agenda, we approved um some construction projects happening at Apple Valley and at Falcon Ridge for our special education populations. And so I'm wondering how um these moves might affect those construction projects or if you even know that >> um the secondary this is not what we're talking about relative to elementary centerbased placements is not a concern at secondary because we have the full continuum in most of our secondary buildings. I I believe I shared this data point earlier in March. 98% of our students needing center-based support at our secondary buildings are in their home schools. >> Wonderful. >> So, it it's just not the same. >> I don't know if that answered your question about facilities. >> Thank you very much. >> Other questions or comments from board members? >> All right, we have a motion to approve the centerbased Hold on. I want to get this right. the specialized and centerbased program recommendations, transportation recommendations as presented, made by Jackie, seconded by Robin. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries on a 6 vote. That's going to bring us to our third uh piece. Um before we go into discussion, is there a motion to approve the school start time adjustment transportation recommendations as presented? >> So moved. Second. >> Motion by Anna, seconded by Robin. Correct. >> Yes. >> Thank you. All right. Questions or comments from the board? >> Catherine. >> Okay. Um, as was disclosed, I am a parent at Woodland. Um, I guess my the the thing that I hear a lot about when we when we fully just talk about solutions-based discussions. So talking to parents about like okay if this happens what do we do? Um the biggest thing that comes up I know just at Woodland um is after school needs and I've heard it from many parents about um after school and so I guess my concern is and a question is about have we done an assessment of can we take care of these kids on this new schedule when they're home at 2 o'lock. that's still really early for parents to get home from work, their little kids. Um, you know, do we have do we have plans or do we know what plans we need to have to make sure that they're safe and cared for um with after school? And I know it'll shift because some parents who need after school now might not need it because of the early start. So, I just I I worry that we haven't really seen the impact or or assessed the full impact of what this early start might have. Um, >> and if we can I saw Kaia Bruce, our director of community ed come to the podium, so she might is probably mo best skilled to answer that question. >> Help answer that question. I've been in communication with the YMCA who provides her before and after school program and they have not done registration for next school year yet. So that will be coming up in the next couple weeks. And from there, what they do >> this week? >> It's this week. >> Oh, three days. >> Is it three days? Okay. >> Excuse me. >> Um, >> elementary parents have that on their calendar. Okay. >> Clearly. >> Yeah. >> Um, but what they do is they take all the registrations and from there they look at their numbers and determine how many staff that they need based on those numbers. Currently for the space that is provided for them they can only take up to 120 students um in the morning and the afternoon per day. That being said if there is large weight lists and they are able to find additional staff we will work with them to provide additional space so that they can expand beyond 120. So I guess that just I mean and it just hasn't been my experience with them and so I would love to just have reassurance that if there is a need if there is a wait list we will work to meet that weight list because at Woodland I know they've had a wait list a notoriously long wait list and it's been very difficult to get in. So, I just I just want like assurance because I they say they will. What do we do if they don't? What do we do if there isn't actually space? >> It's kind of like um transportation staffing. There's you do what you can. Um but there is no guarantee that you're going to have the number of staff for the number of people that you're going to have. I will say too that in talking with them, I learned that their 120 was restricted because of the space that we are providing for them. I did not realize that if they were provided additional space, they could expand beyond that. So that was new learning for me today. And so like I said, we'll be in we'll continue to be in conversation to know what their numbers look like. If they are able to hire staff, then we will provide the additional space for them to be able to serve their families. But what they're looking at is the numbers based off of the registration and then working in June and July to hire staff for next school year based off of numbers. >> I guess and I appreciate and I totally I understand all of the pushes and and pulls on it. I ju I would just like to make it known that July finding out that you have after school care is too late for >> I know >> I'm just gonna jump in. I know this is a a issue a lot of the family pan members care about. I know I I do I >> I have waited up at 1:00 a.m. to hit the button on the YMC website, too. I know it's terrible. Um but I do just have to as the board charter to keep decorum in the meeting. So, if we could limit our shouts and comments, I' I'd appreciate it. Thank you. Um and I just based on one thing you just said, I just wanted to voice a little bit of support. Um, so if just if the if I'm assuming if we're able to provide more space and then that will go back to the Y. So that would increase capacity. I'm just going with a lot of ifs so that you understand where I'm coming from and then we're able to provide more capacity um for the Y those contracts would need to come back before the board again. I'm just bringing up like correct if >> if we need to relook at the rates like they the the YMCA has to charge a slightly higher rate to in to get better staff or more staff to fill that. I think that's something I would be open to discussing as as a as a board as well to fill in this need. Do you understand what I'm saying? >> Yes, I do. Yeah, we would need to come back to the board to amend that contract. >> Yes. And just also the the rate piece like so for instance, we charge them a fee to use our building. Correct. The parents charge them. That's what they base the staffing model. we had to reook at how we do the rates so that they could afford better wages for their child carees. I mean that's something I'm very open to creative solutions to solve this problem because I know a lot of parents deal with it including myself. So I think you were next. >> Yes. Um so >> I'm sorry I keep looking here but I would know you're next. >> I was next Leah. I was I was Anywh who um so my kids went to Early Start at Dearwood. Um and uh I didn't know that Southview and Highland went to Early Start. When did that happen? Was that five years ago? >> No, >> for a very long time. Um for at least the last 10 or 15 years or more. >> So I thought it was only two schools. >> The only No, there's four elementaryaries. Uh that the the most recent change, Northview Elementary used to be an early start. Um but because of some circumstances around the the road there, Pinewood and North View changed from early start to late start. But Dearwood, Highland, South View have and have been early starts for a very long time. >> So did what did So which is the newest one that went to early start? >> Say that again. >> Which school is the newest school that went to early start? >> Pinewood. And how when did they get what was how much notification did they get to go to to an early start? >> To be honest, I don't remember that that that process. It was in the last five years. I'm not sure the timing of that. >> Okay. >> I'm a >> Jeremy. Is it Northview that was the most recent? >> No, Pinewood. >> Pine Pinewood. >> Northview went to late. >> Northview and Pinewood flipped about 5 years ago. >> Pinewood went to early. Thank you for >> You don't remember. >> Thank you. >> Um, you know, I uh I do have cons some concerns about this tight this tight timeline here uh for families to make some of these decisions uh to try to find child care um to make changes with their schedules. Um, you know, I had the I had the benefit of being a stay-at-home parent. Um, and my child's school was I mean, I lived a block away from Dearwood. And, uh, so it was not a hardship on our family. I could walk my kids to school. I could pick my schools up. And so I had that my kids had that privilege. I'm not going to say I had that privilege. My kids had that privilege because it was not a privilege for me. Um um and so I am I I'm I'm feeling the reading through all of the all of the uh uh messages and and everything else. I do understand that it's an inconvenience. I get that. I understand there's a financial cost to it. I do think it's an inev inevitability at some point. It's going to be. We're going to have to make that change. But I do want to give people enough time to adjust their schedules to do that and I don't think five months is enough time given what's going on. Um so that's the position I'm taking today. Um I will probably personally um I will want to not what am I trying to say? What I'm trying to say is I would probably want to postpone this for next year. Um, that's what I'm thinking today. That's where my thoughts are. Um, but it is inevitable. I believe based on what we know today, it probably will happen, but not for the this is what I'm hoping or what I'm saying that I don't think it'll be for the school year for me. Um, that's what I'll say. >> So, before I go into Thank you, by the way, good commentary. Before I go into actually changing motions, maybe we can hear I think what I've summarized is you would feel more comfortable with it taking giving another year for families to react feedback and understanding. And that's what I got from that. >> I'm just not going to amend the motion right now or go for that. I want to hear from >> Yes. Yeah. I was just going to make sure that yes, >> Leah, >> you're next. >> I actually appreciate following you, Anna. Sometimes it's hard, but that was helpful cuz I can >> You always need to follow me, Leah. Um, no, I mean I I share a lot of the sentiment that that you did and um believe me know the struggle and there was one mistake on signing my kid up for sack and like I literally fell to my knees. It was just like, "No, I you know that it can't um >> it it's life or death or you know, it feels do or die for a for families that are needing that care. Um fully get it. Um still have a Y membership as a result to try to be on the preference list even though can probably let that go now. Um but uh I guess and I I just had a a real quick question um because I understand there's a significant weight list or has been traditionally a significant weight list um for for one school but do you know for East Lake is has there been a wait list? >> Let Kaia answer but I think I know what she's going to say >> apparently. Um yes. Uh, however, when I talked with the Y, they did say that the enrollment in the afternoons at East Lake isn't as high as it is at Woodland. Sorry. >> Is it at capa? It's not at capacity. >> It's maybe at capacity, but their daily attendance isn't at 120 where they're maybe daily attendance is around 80 or 80 to 100. >> Okay. >> Good clarification. >> And just I mean, I got >> you got the floor now. Keep going. No. Um, just just to more clearly second and whether it's time for a motion or not, I I do feel like the I mean I got a gym membership for I don't use it very much. Um, and never have, but you know, for the for sack, right? Um, and just I I realize it's really it it takes a lot of time and planning to figure out how to balance these things. So, I I just also um think on this one, having a longer runway into this decision could make a lot of sense. If it's not absolutely critical that we do each piece of the recommendation this year, they're all hard. >> Um but I would love to see this one wait a year. >> I will Yes. Thank you. >> I'll be quick. I can't I can't not do a shameless self-promotion because if you are really interested in the sack process, community ed advisory council is currently seeking applications right now. So you could sit with Kaia and we can really go into it. So Robin, >> and I'll just second that. I was on the community ed advisory council as a parent and it's awesome and I get to be on it as a board member again. So I'm just saying it's great. My comment about this is um at one point I want to I want to just recognize that some families have a lot of pickups and drop offs. There are some families here that spoke about that and at one point I was dropping off at elementary and middle and high school and it took up a huge part of my day and if those would have shifted I it would have just um it would have been a very very big struggle. And so with that, I would um agree with both Leah and Anna that while this needs to happen, I um would be in favor of delaying it. Um not delaying the decision, but just delaying its implementation. >> Okay. Um so couple things. I'll make a motion here in a minute, but two things I want to just speak on. Um, I as a woodland parent myself, I will out myself. My youngest is a fifth grader, so this wouldn't actually affect me, but all my neighbors have talked to me, trust me. Um, I it's it's it's tough to see the change, especially an almost 2-hour change. Um, to Anna's point, I do think this will have to happen at some time if we're going to sustain transportation districtwide. Um, I do also agree with a lot of the points brought up. I will definitely support our proposal to delay this one year to give enough families time to react, plan, prepare. This has been really work out all the kinks with the YMCA. Um, get those contracts settled. Um, understand what those needs are. I think that would be nice. My one caveat I'm going to say, and this is for the board, not the community, is that the board did direct the administration and superintendents, their number one priority was zero cancellations next school year for the school buses. So, I will just say should we end up having cancellations probably because of we we delayed one of the recommendations, the board's going to have to we're we're trading a risk for another risk. So, I'm just bringing it up that the board's going to have to weigh that um especially when it comes time to giving the superintendent feedback and responding to community concerns if we end up canceling routes next year. Um so, just bringing it up because I think it's the board's responsibility to take responsibility. It's the board's obligation to take responsibility for this decision and also um back up the administration. They came with the recommendation and we're choosing to delay it. So, we're just we we'll have to accept that if that's the action the board takes. So, just because I've heard a lot of support, I'm going to go ahead and um make the motion to amend the motion to um approve Hold on. I have to make the motion. You can't >> That's right. Sorry, Robert's rules. >> I'm going to make the motion to amend the pending motion um to approve the school start time recommendations with a um uh not going into effect until not next school year, the next one after that. 2728 >> 2728 school year. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by Robin. Any questions on or any questions or comments on the amendment? >> Seeing >> Nope. Sorry. This has to be a board discussion. Um, seeing >> I do have a I have a question, but I don't know if it's technically about the amendment. >> So, I'll tell you I'll tell just Robert's rules because it sounds like point of order. So, um, uh, we'll vote on the amendment, then the motion will go back to the table and we'll talk about the amended motion. So, you'll have another time to ask a question. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Got it. >> All right. All those in favor of the amendment say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. >> Motion carries on a 6 vote. Now, we're speaking to the amended motion to approve the recommendations um, but delaying one year later from the original recommendation. Go ahead. >> So, I had a question. Um, how many All right, I had it written down, but I don't think I can say it the way I want to say it in my brain. Um, I think Christopher or somebody said that was it up to a at the peak we had a thousand students per day that were impacted by cancellations at its peak. >> Was that Michael? >> Yeah, I don't know. Chris, you want to hold them to give an estimate because I know they don't like giving >> an estimate like >> ballpark. I >> I think when we talked at the highest we canled 12% of the routes. So out of 220 I think when the example I was giving was uh five buses at a 5% how many was that? But the highest number on a single day that was cut was at 12%. Out of 220 we're looking at about math is escaping me. It's 10:00. Um, so >> how about a range of people? Buses don't mean anything to me. >> What did you say? >> A range of people, >> not buses. So how like give me a range of people who had >> 26 buses. >> 26. Yeah. >> So then >> if you have the three routes, then I am looking at between a,000 to 4,000 kiddos. >> 1,000 to 4,000 kiddos at its peak on one day. >> At its peak. So it'll vary depending on how many students are impacted. If it's a morning route, there were some times when we were cancelling routes in the morning and then additional routes in the afternoon. So there's a variance in there. So if it's a total day, I'm counting the AM cancellations as an impact to students and then I have to count the PM as an impact to students if the parents drop them off in the in the morning. >> And then Michael I think this is an important story to share if you could um because I do think it's you know for those who are here and I I do want I do want to sh for people to share in the understanding of the impact because it's not like I'm listening to the impact of those people who are at East Lake and and Woodland but we heard some really compelling stories too of of people who had their routes consistently >> Mhm. >> consistently um cancelled and for single parents who had uh hourly jobs. And there was one particular person at a listening session who came and was very emotional. And uh I don't know if you remember, she was sitting to the left of us. Robin, you were there too and talked about how um she had recently gotten a promotion and um and was if you could kind of tell us if you recall. I just think it's important to share that particular story too because we have that in the back of our minds as well. This was just one of >> over a thousand stories, but I think it's important to hear that as well. >> Yeah, I mean Christopher's right. It's hard to know exactly how many students would be on a bus on a given day and how many buses. But we we were impacting hundreds to thousands of students a day, many of which communicated to us directly. Um the hardship of that day, that week, um when there were patterns, I think frustrations really rose. uh and that resulted in those listening sessions and and we did have people who um weren't able to sustain a promotion or keep their jobs in the way that they wanted or created a lot of stress um with their employer um which had impacts on them as well and u and that was very difficult to listen to and know that um that was because we were not able to get their students to school and so the timing on this is not good and I totally understand that if these cancellations were coming in in September and we were here and it was November I think this would be a different discussion. Um, we still came back with the solutions that we would have brought, you know, in September to a December time frame. Um, I know they're hitting differently now. And so, I'm glad the board's recognizing that. But, um, we're working as quickly as we can to put these things in place. Every solution we have um, has both a cost and an impact. And I think, you know, it is okay to separate these a little bit because each one will impact the system in a different way. They do all work together though as well and so you know these are internal issues that we'll work through but when those tiers aren't equal sometimes we lose the gains of what we're doing in the other tiers u and we'll work through that. So, we're committed to um we're still committed to no cancellations to the best of our ability next year, no matter what happens tonight. That's every day. And we continue to look for solutions. We get input. We study this. Um that will continue, you know, to the best of our ability. Um but Anna, you're right. This the current situation um really hurt people as well um economically with our schedules and and some learning loss in addition to that. >> Thank you. I just wanted to I just wanted to share that because um we are an ecosystem and um we're an ecosystem and so there are costs associated you know when one group loses another group gains and vice versa. Um, and as Corey mentioned, you know, we we ultimately are responsible for those decisions. And so, >> yeah, I'm just going to leave it at that. >> Other questions or comments? Katherine? >> Um, yes. And I think that that weighs very heavily, I think, understanding that this is this is actually going to impact lives. It's going to impact students. it's going to impact parents. Um, and I was going to basically say the same thing of, you know, I think switching the school time to earlier runs the risk of of people needing to switch jobs or lose their positions as well. So, I I think that this isn't done lightly by any means. And I think the amount of work that has been put into this really does show that that this has been incredibly detailed work going through so many different scenarios and different options to come to these recommendations. And so I do fully understand that this was this is a very wellthoughtout plan. >> Um I'm I'm going to bring back my one of my initial questions of when we took these apart. Are there certain decisions that will have a bigger impact than others? And especially because this one we're landing on, it seems more of a possibility that's in our heads of possibly pausing. Is this decision one of the larger game changers compared to the others? or is this possibly going to have a smaller impact so that we can't predict what's going to happen. But by pause by slowing this one decision down, are we at a significantly greater risk of uh canceled bus routes versus another one? Sorry, my daughter's calling because it's 10:00 and we're all still here like I want to go to bed. Yeah. No, >> we'll see how long people can stay. Uh, I'll try to answer that, but I might need a little help, too. So, I think when we were thinking about this and and I want to just be really careful. If something affects one child, that affects them and their family, and that's meaningful um to them and to us. And so, we had a a difficult time saying this only affects this many people, so do that instead. Um, but when we really looked at affecting the least amount of people, even though it matters, with the most amount of gain, I think that's where we landed on our magnet school recommendations. We had a lot of routes there. I think we had about 440 students or so, less than 500 students affected. Um, but we do gain a lot of routes. >> Um, the time changes, I want to say 1,600 families or so or more would be affected by this. Um, there are gains there and we can continue to study what those would be. Um but the gains there are the gap in those um discrepancies between the tiers. And so we've got a lot of complicated factors um contributing to what those tiers will be. The opt-in is a great example. We we need to route that and figure that out. So it's a little harder to get to exactly how many routes um this would save or not. But we do know that they're unbalanced and balancing those tiers will help um again to the goal of zero cancellations. That will certainly contribute. but how much to the most amount of people. I think the magnet is where we landed in terms of affecting the least amount but getting the most gain. Okay. >> Still respecting those families and the impact on those families. >> Yeah. >> Christopher, do you want to add to that? >> That was accurate. Yeah. Good summary. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Other questions or comments before we call the question? >> All right. The motion is to The motion is to approve the school's start time adjustment recommendations to take effect the 2027 2028 school year. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 6 vote. >> Corey, just one technical thing. We did have Apple Valley, I'm sorry, SCS, ALC, and Valley Middle School. >> Thank you for bringing that up. And I I don't think they're included in this discussion necessarily in the same way, but we could talk. >> You know what? Technically, they would be how we worded that motion. But you know what I will do is I'll make a motion. Give me the schools again. >> Um Valley Middle School. We'll have an adjustment because their bus times will align to middle schools. SCS and ALC will have a very small adjustment, 15 minutes or so based on the different um >> shuttle buses. So, I'll make a motion to approve the start time recommendations for Valley Middle SES and ALC starting this next following school year. >> Second. >> I heard a second by Jackie. >> Any qu any discussion? >> I don't think anyone wants to talk about this anymore. Um, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? >> Motion carries on 860 vote. Thank you for bringing that up, Michael. So, we didn't weren't talking about this again next month. >> Um, >> Superintendent Bone, you have any updates you'd like to share? Keep in mind it is almost 10:30 at night. >> Really quickly, we brought we brought this up uh earlier. Uh but we do encourage parent, guardians, and community members to consider applying for for an opening on one of our district citizen uh advisory councils. Uh we have nine advisory councils and all will be accepting applications this spring. For more information, you can go to our website. Also, earlier today, we had 18 members of our leadership team and members of our legislative advisory and budget advisory. Um, these are citizens, uh, employees, administrators meeting at the capital. We met with 12 local legislators for the 196 day at the capital. We want to thank our legislators for their service, their partnership, and for supporting the students and families in our community. We had a great day in St. Paul. >> Thank you. Are there any board members with items they'd like to share? Yes, Robin. >> I just want to really acknowledge all of the members of the 196 staff who were at the Capitol all day and then have been here all night. It is a very long day for members of our community and I appreciate it. >> And I would just also end by saying thank you very much for all the community engagement tonight and staying so late. Um and thank you again for the staff for doing that as well. >> Um is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. Second. Second. >> Robin seconded by Anna. All those in favor all those in favor of adjournment. It's way too late to talk anymore say I. >> I. >> Those opposed. Motion carries on a 6-0 vote. Our next regular meeting will be Monday, May 11th. We stand adjourned.