[Music] Good evening and welcome to our regularly scheduled April 14th school board meeting at this time. Please stand if you are able and join us in the pledge of allegiance. 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. Good evening, fellow board members. Our first order of business today is the approval of the agenda. Sorry. Um there are no additions or deletions to the agenda today. Um is there a motion to approve the agenda as outlined? Move approval and second. Okay. Motion by uh uh Jackie and seconded by Robin. Um all those in favor? I I. All those opposed? Motion carries on a three to zero vote. It passes. 4 Z 4. That counts me. You will notice there is someone different at the at the head here today. Uh our chair Corey could not be here today. So I am stepping in and this is my first time. So thank you in advance for the grace that you are all giving me. So um so second on our agenda today is recognition by the board. Um I'd like to uh I'd like to welcome uh Will Finley um Rosemont High School swim and dive coach. He will introduce Lucas Girtton who was first place in the one meter dive during the state swim and dive tournament. Uh thank you. Good evening vice pres vice chairperson Williams superintendent Balsone and school board members. As you've been heard my name is Will Finley, assistant principal athletic director at Rose Mount High School. In the realm of student athletes, we often witness individuals who possess the essential drive for excellence. A relentless spirit, uncanny focus, and a positive character that propels them towards greatness. Tonight, it is my absolute honor to present you to present to you Lucas Girtton, who exemplifies the forementioned characteristics of an extraordinary district 196 athlete. Lucas bolsters a 3.996 cumulative GPA while taking highlevel core content courses at Rose Mount High School. Lucas is a shining example of dedication and prowess in the sport of swim and dive. Emphasis on dive. This was not by chance. His parents, Teresa and Henry Girtton, Mr. Mr. Girtton, a teacher at Rose Mount Middle School, have been allin since day one, loving and parenting this young man that you see in front of you today. They tried different sports growing up and eventually landed in the world of diving. Head coach Jake Kima and diving coach Daniel Monahan have been meticulous in ensuring the most minor diving details are addressed as there as this has been nothing short of an amazing experience for our coaches and Lucas's teammates. Lucas has been a six-year varsity letter winner, fivetime all south suburban conference, fourtime section champion, fivetime state qualifier, fourtime state champion, threetime all-American, team record holder, section record holder, all-time state record holder, team captain, team MVP, and a great son. [Applause] Lucas will be graduating this spring and will be headed to the US Air Force Academy where he will continue diving and pursue a future as a drone pilot. Lucas has solidified his place in Minnesota and District 196 history, becoming one of only three divers to win four consecutive class state diving championships and the first in over 60 60 years. It is with immense pride and excitement that I invite you to join me again in celebrating the epitome of District 196 excellence, the unstoppable force that is student athlete Lucas Girtton. [Applause] Incredible. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Um, you will have noticed that Lucas went first. We actually had to do that because he is off to a swim meet right now. Um, so we made accommodations for him. Sorry if that was out of order. We have seven more recognitions tonight. So, thank you for being patient and allowing him to go first. Uh the second on on this recognition list, we'll go back to our regularly scheduled program, which is um welcoming um Apple Valley High School wrestling coach Andy Spritz. Spritz, I think I got that right. Spritz, to the podium to introduce Apple Valley's first and second place finishers in the state wrestling tournament. Uh, thank you, Vice Chairperson Williams, Superintendent Balsson, and the rest of the school board members for having me here tonight. Uh, my name is Andy Spratz. I'm one of the wrestling coaches at Apple Valley High School. Um, and also a math teacher at Apple Valley High School. Um, this season, uh, we had plenty of highlights to celebrate. Uh, we had nine wrestlers in our entire program qualify for the state tournament, four girls and five boys. But honoring tonight, we're going to talk about the four uh, girls earning all state honors this evening. Our girls team was recognized at the end of the season by the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association as the 2025 uh state individual tournament champions uh for the third consecutive season in the four years that the tournament's been held as well as being ranked as high as 13th um in the nation for girls overall teams in the nation. Uh though tonight I'm here to recognize our outstanding accomplishment of four student athletes. Andrea Quinones, ninth grader. Cassandra Gonzalez, 11th grader. Espironza Cavillo, 11th grader. And another 11th grader from Apple Valley High School, Mila Carneahan. Um, now a little bit about each of those young ladies. Andrea Kinones uh placed third at the state this year at 124 pounds and finished the season with a 42 and or 41-2 record. This is the most single or most wins in a single season um in program history. Andrea is now a threetime uh state entrant, three-time all state and a state finalist last year and has been ranked in the nation this year. Um Andrea sets an example great example for her teammates on the mat and in the classroom. Even though she is only a ninth grader, she solidified herself as an anchor in our lineup for now and for years to come. We're proud of her and uh what she has accomplished this year and know that there's a lot more to come from Andrea. Next, Cassie Gonzalez. Cassie completed her junior season by winning the 142 pound weight class at the state championships this year. She won her state champion all of her state champion matches by fall this this year at the state tournament. Cassie is now a threetime state champion and holds the overall and holds an overall high school record of 68 and zero yet to lose in high school to lose a high school match. Uh she's currently ranked in the nation and continues to uh challenge herself and um own her craft as she competes um not only in the state of Minnesota but nationally as well. Uh, Espironza Cavillo, 11th grader from Apple Valley High School, finished her season in a second place finish this year at the state tournament uh and recording a 37 and one record. She's a three-time state entrant, three-time all state, and her 91 career wins places her second in program history. Espie is a fierce competitor and a great leader, always looking to wrestle the best competition. Having start only started wrestling three years ago, she has evolved into one of the best wrestlers in the state and as well as becoming ranked nationally. Our final wrestler that we uh had placed high at the state tournament this year was Mila Carneahan. She placed third at the state this year at the 235 pound weight class. Mila finished the season with a 22 and 16 record. Mila's was one of our most improved athletes this season. um coming from being new to the sport last last season, watching her grow and succeed this season was a true highlight um of the season. We when we when we start anything in life, there's always growing pains. But Mila took every bump in the road and turned it into a learning opportunity. As her confidence grew each week, so did her number of wins. Multiple times at the end of the season, she avenged earlier season losses to simil to the same wrestlers she had lost to earlier in the year. um including at the state tournament, solidifying her place as as an all-state wrestler and bringing home valuable points uh for the team to s to secure her team success. These four standout female athletes have played a pivotal role in the continued success of the Apple Valley women's wrestling team consistent or consistently delivering dominant performances on the mat and inspiring younger wrestlers with their leadership. Their dedication, skill, and teamwork have helped build a legacy of excellence and elevated the team to new competitive heights. Thank you again for having us and congratulations to all these Apple Valley athletes here tonight. Um, thank you. [Applause] Okay, thank you. Next, I'd like to welcome Eric Strauss, Apple Valley High School's mock trial adviser to introduce the state championship team. All right. Good evening, board members, Vice Chairperson Williams, and Superintendent Balsone. My name is Eric Strauss and I am the mock trial coach at Appal High School. I've been doing it since 2012 and last month we won the 2025 state championship. Uh this is our second state championship in school history and it put a cap on a pretty dominant season. We went 16 and0 overall and we won every single ballot in every single round. So we could not have had a better Minnesota season than we did. As a result of winning the state tournament, we get to represent Minnesota in Arizona uh next month. Uh we just came from practice. We've been prepping that case pretty hard and we're very excited to get the chance to compete it next month. I'll introduce the students who are with me. So I'll start with Saraphina Garcia. Saraphina has been on our team for four seasons. She joined as a seventh grader and she was a witness in our state championship team. Next is sophomore Sawyer Dilla. This is his second year on the team. He was a witness in the championships round as well. And the next two students I have are seniors. First is Wyatt Candela. He joined the team as a freshman and has been part of many of our our competitive teams including the one in Chicago that won a national tournament last fall. uh he's been just a great member of the team and uh has been prepping very hard for the Arizona case already. He was a attorney in our state championship team who did the opening. And finally, we have Shannon Riley who's also a senior. She was on the team for four years and she is the closer on our state championship team, also part of many of those championship teams. and she's also been hard at work prepping for the the Arizona case. Finally, I'm joined by Diana Bender, who is one of my assistant coaches, and I mentioned earlier that we won, this is our second state championship. Diana Diana was actually a member as a student of that first state championship. So, she won as a student and now she's won as a coach. So, thank you so much to the board for recognizing us today and we hope to do very well in Arizona. [Applause] Wow, fantastic. Congratulations. Well done. Thanks for everything. Congratulations. All right. Thank you. Um, please welcome Bob Deetur, East View High School chess team adviser, who will introduce the state championship chess team. Thank you very much. Uh, good evening board members, vice chairperson Williams, Superintendent Bolone. Thank you for the privilege of being here tonight to recognize the state champion Eastview chess team. Uh as mentioned, my name is Bob Deetur. I've taught at Eastview uh English for the last 26 years and also served as the chess adviser for the last 24. All four of my children are Eastview graduates and I'm a proud to be a teacher and resident of District 196. Before I uh talk about the chess team, I want to just have a couple quick thank yous. In order for any program to be successful, you need support from both parents and administration. And I'm grateful to have both. Uh the parents are the ones who read emails, remind their son or daughter where to be, what to bring, where to go, like tonight. They're also the ones dropping them off and picking them up after each after school and weekend event. So, thank you to the parents that are here tonight. Let's give a round of applause for parents. [Applause] Also want to say a big thank you to Rob Franchino, our activities director. He's back there somewhere. Thank you for your support. He's always there for me. So I appreciate Rob. Our team motto this year was talent wins matches, teamwork wins championships. So to that end, I've invited the entire team for the ones who could make it because all of them played a key role in our success. A couple words about these young men. Many of these young men are juggling rigorous honors AP classes, a plethora of other sports and activities throughout the year. They are learning how to budget their time and communicate with coaches. They are respectful. They're hardworking. They're fun. They're motivated. And they also like each other. A special shout out to our captains. I'm going to have them raise their hand. Karthik Ner of Suas and Madav. Um although everybody is important, these young men have played a tremendous role in our team success with their leadership skill and toughness. A little bit about chess. At the state tournament, there are seven rounds over two days with each round lasting about two hours. That means each of these players spent anywhere from 10 to 14 hours staring silently at a chessboard while managing their clock, considering their best move, and changing their strategy based on the moves of their opponent. It is a long weekend that demands focus, skill, and stamina. You can play great, make one careless move, and have nothing to show for two hours of effort. So to be effective, you must keep your poise, learn from your mistakes, and reset your emotions after before the next match. There's a lot of quality teams at the state chess tournament and an abundance of talented players. Winning a championship or a state title, whether it's the Mast's golf tournament or any high school sport or activity, is really hard. You need talent, grit, endurance, and a little bit of luck. Winning two state titles in a row is a daunting task because everybody wants to beat you. But winning three consecutive state titles like this team did just last month is a remarkable and rare achievement. Let's give it up for this [Applause] team. The young men, the young men standing to my left might look normal, but don't be fooled. They have consistently played high level chess against the best competition and have proven themselves to be the best team in Minnesota. I'm so proud of their effort, their attitude, and I am blessed to work with a fun, talented group of guys. This team school board is the epitome of what we strive to be in district 196. A place where students can challenge themselves with academics, athletics, and activities to build their knowledge, shape their character, hone their leadership skills, and work with other people toward a common goal. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize this team and to showcase the undeniable talent and achievements of District 196. Thank you. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you so much for coming to me. Congratulations. That's amazing. I know they are hard to win. Nice to see you. Unbelievable. Great job. Really well done. Congratulations. All right. Next, we'd like to welcome Molly Casper to the podium. Molly is the East View High School girls basketball coach and will introduce the girls basketball state third place finishers. Good evening board members, vice chairperson Williams, and superintendent Bosone. I'm Molly Casper and I'm the head coach of East View girls basketball team. I also teach at Eastview High School. We had an exhilarating year as we started the year unranked and unseen and we ended up finishing 27 and4 overall and won the South Suburban Conference with an impressive 17-0 record. We advanced to the state tournament for the 13th time in school history. And while at the state tournament, we capped off the season with a thrilling 6343 win over Lakeville North to secure third place. Throughout the season, this team exemplified hard work, unselfish teamwork, and grit. Their positive attitude and determination inspired students, staff, and alumni alike, creating a sense of school pride that extends far beyond the basketball court. I'm so proud of how they represented East View High School and District 196. I would like to now present you the members of the 2024 2025 ECU girls basketball team. Number three, Tessa Goodman. Number four, Nvea Gross. Number five, Breaatory. Number 10, Lexi Matthews. Number 11, Kendall Purcell. Number 12, Clara Goodman. Number 13, April Vukulich. Number 20, Alexa Hansen. Number 21, Jada Wilson. Number 22, Kennedy Flemens. 23, Maya Maul. 24, Obatari Hunt. 25, Maya Jenkins. 31, Bin White, and 34, Emma Ericson. Thank you for recognizing us and our accomplishments this year. We appreciate your support. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. Well done. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Generations. Congratulations. Takes a village. Good evening, board members, vice chairperson Williams, and superintendent Balsson. My name is Lisa Jensen, and I've had the pleasure of coaching Egan High School's girls wrestling team for the last two seasons. I'm really thrilled to be here tonight to to introduce you to an exceptional athlete and leader, our team captain, sophomore Ellie Westerman. This year, Ellie finished her season with an incredible second place finish at the Minnesota High School Girls Wrestling Tournament. Not only is this an outstanding personal achievement, but it also marks a historic milestone for Egan High School. For the first time ever, we had not one but three of our female athletes place at the state competition with Ellie leading the way with a silver medal. Ellie led by example, encouraging, teaching, showing no fear, never turning down the opportunity to compete. On the mat, she finished her season with an impressive 29 and5 record. And in the classroom, she maintains a 3.8 GPA, truly defining what it is what it means to be a student athlete. Ellie began wrestling in the early elementary school, primarily competing against boys. After taking a brief break, she returned to wrestling in middle school like she had never left. Her athleticism, determination, and competitive spirits shines every time she steps on the mat. And honestly, she's a big part of why more girls have felt encouraged to give wrestling a try. It's because of athletes like Ellie and the others here tonight that I want to say thank you to the district along with the boys coaching staff for your continued support of girls wrestling. Your investment has not only created opportunities for fair and competitive play, but also help build confidence, athleticism, and lifelong friendships among among these young women. Well, girls wrestling is still in its early stages with trailblazers like Ellie Westerman. It's already making history and the future looks bright. I also want to extend a sincere thank you to Ellie's parents, Bert and Naomi Westerman. Their ongoing support and dedication have played a huge role in both Ellie's journey and the development of our program. from the youth level all the way up to high school. Whether it's they're serving on the board, volunteering at events, or welcoming new families into the sport, they've been there every step of the way. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] Okay, let me just introduce you. Um, next, please welcome Zach Hansen, Egan High School wrestling coach, who will introduce Egan's first and second place state finishers. Good evening, Vice uh, Chairperson Williams, members of the board, and Superintendent Bosani. My name is Zach Hansen, the head wrestling coach at Egan High School. It is my honor and pleasure to introduce to you Egan High School seniors Dylan St. Germaine and Cole Will. This year, Dylan and Cole ended their careers as state champions at the Minnesota State High School League wrestling tournament. These two young men made history by becoming Egan's second and third state champions in school history and the first ever two in the same night. Um, these two young men have been leading the Egan wrestling team as captains for the past three seasons. Pursuing excellence in every aspect of their lives are one of the biggest reasons why they stand here tonight as champions. For those that don't know, wrestling is a very challenging sport both physically and mentally. And like all sports and activities, to accomplish your goals, it takes determination, effort, perseverance, dedication, hard work, and sacrifice. Cole and Dylan are perfect examples of that. They put in the time and the effort. They battled through adversity and they did the little things right. We at Egan are so proud of the legacy that both Cole and Dylan have established. They are the best role models for what we at Egan want our wrestlers to be, not only on the mat, but off. They excel in the classroom, are great leaders, but most importantly, Cole and Dylan are great people. We thank them for all that they have done for Egan and Egan wrestling. We would also like to recognize and thank Cole and Dylan's parents for all their support and encouragement throughout the years. Dylan's parents, AJ and Elizabeth Hatch, who are in attendance tonight, as well as uh his father, Brent St. Germaine, and Cole's parents, Josh and Lakota Will, who have served on our booster club for the um entirety of these fine young men's careers. Finally, we would like to thank the board for providing the opportunity for these fine young men to uh pursue excellence in these activities and um accomplish the goals that they have set out to achieve. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. All right. Please welcome Carrie Williams and Hashida Nandio. Nandia Nandiela. Thank you. I got a thumbs up to the podium. They are advisers for the Egan High School and Dakota Hills Middle School Science Olympia teams. The high school won first place in the state championship or state competition and the middle school won second place. Good evening board members, vice chairperson Williams and superintendent Balsson. My name is Carrie Williams and this is my fifth year as the Egan High School Science Olympiad head coach. I have brought with me Betsy Lungquist. Um she is one of our assistant coaches. This is her second year. And I've also brought with me Harshida Nandiala. This is her first year as assistant coach and she's actually a 2020 2023 alumni who is a former captain. Many ask us what Science Olympiad is and trust me it's not a science fair as many think. Um it was founded in 1984 and Science Olympiad is the premier STEM competition in the nation providing students the opportunity to pick from 23 events in a variety of science fields. The competitions which are run like a track meet can be virtual or in person. The events are done with teammates and can be written tests, labs, or engineering builds. The event results are added together for a team score. There are 6,300 schools that participate in Science Olympiad across the country. And there are 200,000 students in Science Olympiad in the nation. Science Olympiad is not just about competition, but about teamwork, cooperation, and the spirit of science, which we have won the spirit of science a couple times. The team started training for their events in September, two times a week and sometimes build up to five days a week prior to competitions. We competed in 10 competitions this season. And we are the fourth consecutive we won our fourth consecutive uh conference title and our fourth consecutive regional title at the varsity and the JV levels. At the state competition on March 1st, we be we became the 2025 state team champions for the first time in Egan history. We will now represent Minnesota at the national competition in Nebraska May 24th. And if you count those numbers, these students will have been participating for nine months on top of all of their classes and the other activities they do throughout the season. So now I'm going to ask Betsy Lungquist to come up and she will introduce our high school students. All right, we have Captain Neo Manavalin, first place in optics, third place in wind power. Co- Captain Jonathan Rubin, first place in optics, disease detectives ecology, and second place in geologic mapping. Uh, co- captain Eleanor Kim, first place in disease detectives and ecology. An Kaine, second place in Write It, Do It. Arian Kaine, second place in Write It, Do It. Gavin Yang, first place in helicopter, second place in experimental design. Shrenavas Ayer second place in robot tour. Harshett Sharma second place in geologic mapping. Pratey second place in robot tour, fifth place in electric vehicle. And Ana McNeel JV regional first place in air trajectory and material science. We also have team alternates Quinn Trang, Haley Craigy, Raj Aravindon, and Mason Anderson. Uh we want to say thank you to their family and parents, many of who came tonight to support them. a lot of time and a lot of energy that they put forth all season long to support these students as well. Um, and thank you board members for this opportunity. We plan to represent Egan and District 196 well when we travel to nationals next month. [Applause] Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Good luck. Congratulations. Well done. Well done. So, now I have the the honor of introducing our first ever Dakota Hills Middle School Science Olympiad team. If it wasn't enough for our high schoolers, this year we started our middle school team at Dakota Hills by recruiting eighth graders interested in science olympiad. This pilot program was formed to compete against other middle schools in our state. There are separate teams. There's a high school league and a middle school. And actually, a bunch of our high schoolers went and volunteered their time this weekend at an elementary school tournament. That's one time a year. So, we are excited that we had 12 students register for this new team. and our high school coaches and students mentored the middle school team in their spare time because there's plenty of spare time to prepare them for their regional and state competitions. And Harshida was a key component to working with this team. So, I'm going to let her tell you about their accomplishments and introduce the team members. Sorry, you know, short people problems. Um, now I'll be introducing our state team and their accomplishments. First we have Isa Shake who took first place in Helicopters and second place in Codebusters. Then Asher Danielson second place in fossils, fifth place in road scholar and fifth place in wind power. Avi Sha in first who took first place in disease detectives and fifth place in wind power. Ayon Ahmad who took second place in meteorology, third place in dynamic planet and fifth place in air trajectory. Ernest Sai who took first place in disease detectives, second place in Tower and third place in Micro Mission. Heron Faha who took fifth place in Potions and Poisons and fifth place in Road Scholar. Lillian Berley who took fifth place in Potions and Poisons. Muhammad Zohib who took second place in meteorology, third place in dynamic planet and fifth place in air trajectory. Then we have Sanjin Amadan who took first place in helicopters and second place in code busters. Trion Swashishta who took third place in micro miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss mission S Sedart Nelagal who took second place in tower and finally Taneshkama who took second place in code busters and second place in fossils finally I request any family members in attendance to please stand without your support these students would not have been able to achieve these amazing accomplishments [Applause] And I want to also add that these students competed against teams that have been together for years and on top of their hard schedule, they came in when they could, which was very tough for them. So, we can't wait to see what middle school team could do in the future and can't wait to have these eighth graders on our high school team next year. I think uh that'll be a really great time to have them with us. So, all right. And finally, thank you board members for recognizing our Dakota Hills Middle School Science and Olympia team tonight. Yeah. [Applause] Thank you for amazing. Is it fun? Oh, my kids are signing so bad. So, I knew all about it. It's not looking too much. Congratulations. I would love it. The second time you stay with us, we'll see you again. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Well done. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congrats. You're welcome. Okay, last but not least, we welcome Dakota United Hawks coach Jake Whip Whipsenski. Very good. To the podium to introduce the ADAP adapted floor hockey team in the PI division. and I will introduce the team here in a little bit, but I'm gonna have co-head coach Josh Sedic say a few little words about the team and the program itself. So, take it away, Josh. Thank you. Good evening, board members, Vice Chair Person Williams, and Superintendent Balsone. I'm Josh Sedic, one of the coaches for the Dakota United PI adaptive floor hockey team. I'd like to start with a few quick thank yous. First to Matt Perl, uh, and the East View High School office staff. Also to the Hope Fieldhouse staff, I'd like to give a huge thanks to the bus drivers who take such great care of our kids. And finally, to the parents and families of our players. Thank you for sharing these great kids with us. The 2024 25 Hawks had a successful season and finished with an overall record of 11 and four. We earned the number two seed at the state tournament and advanced to the state championship game. Of our four losses, three came against the evil empire Brainard. Losing to them in overtime for the second time in three years no doubt stung a bit, but our kids handled it with the sportsmanship that we've come to expect from our players. This year's team graduates seven seniors, which includes several outconference and all state selections. To say we're going to miss them is an understatement. Together, those seven players combined for 275 career goals, 215 assists, and 431 saves. Needless to say that this team will look a bit different moving forward, but we are excited with the players and leadership that we have returning. On one final note, earlier this season, we hosted a game where we honored my older brother, Brett, and his incredible run of coaching this team for the past 32 seasons. And though he couldn't be here, I'd like to take the opportunity again to congratulate him and wish him the very best. Now, Coach Jake Whipazinski will speak and introduce the team. Awesome. It's my uh honor and privilege to definitely announce those that are in attendance, but I also say the names of those that didn't quite be able to make it. What is one cool thing about and unique thing about our program is that we pull from all different schools within 196 and even co-op with some of the schools outside of our own school district. So, I'm going to say where uh school they attend, grade and name. So, first we have Bryce Andrews, 8th grade Rosemont Middle School. We have Chloe Shabbat, 11th grade East View High School. Bennett Herman, ninth grade at Rosemont High School. Samantha Jordtheim, 11th grade, East View High School. Livia Gbower, senior, Egan High School. We have Kaden Nam, senior at Egan High School. We have Dylan Burns, eighth grader at Valley View Middle School. We have Ben Schustler, senior at Egan High School. And then we have Reese Martin, senior at Rosemont High School as well. Those not in attendance that should be recognized as well is other captain Jay Bama. He's a junior at East View High School. Other fellow captain Will Ward, senior at East View High School. Then we also have Dominic Albus, senior at Egan High School. Nick Smok, who is a junior at Two Rivers High School. Jose Colado Bayaz, which is an eighth grader at Blackhawk Middle School. We have other captain Tommy Jabberian, who is a senior at Burnsville High School. And last, we have Shawn Wilson in eighth grade at Nicollet Middle School in Burnsville as well. That is our 2024 2025 Dakota Hawks PI floor hockey [Applause] team. Congratulations. Good job. Great job. Congratulations. Great job. Great job. That was great. Thank you. Well done. Congratulations. Congrats. Congratulations. Okay. Okay. Um, next on our agenda is the superintendent's recognition. I'll turn it over now to Superintendent Bossani for recognition of students and staff. Okay. Thank you, Vice Chairperson Williams. I've got to say I'm a little in awe. That was a very impressive uh showing of our students and all the things that they do. Uh I'm going to talk a little bit about our uh recognition of some additional students and staff. As you know, earlier this year, the Magnet Schools of America recognized two of our schools as magnet schools of excellence. The board recognized both Echo Park Elementary and Glacier Hills Elementary in March for this accomplishment. However, the celebration didn't stop there. Last week, the Magnet Schools of America Conference uh at the America uh sorry, last week at the Magnet Schools of America Conference, Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering, and Technology earned the President's Award, recognizing it as one of the nation's top three magnet schools. [Applause] This recognition was for excellence in academics, innovation, and community engagement. The Magnet Schools of America received 586 applications from schools nationwide. Echo Park was placed in the top tier category from this pool and ultimately earned a site visit, one of only nine schools nationwide. So, finishing in the top three after this rigorous process is an exciting accomplishment. We congratulate Principal Logan Schultz and the entire Echo Park Elementary School community and look forward to inviting them back to a board meeting. Congratulations also to 8 district 196 students with aspirations for computer science and technology careers who earned recognition from the Minnesota Technology Foundation, an affiliate of the National Center for Women in Information Technology aspirations in computing program. Minnesota's aspirations in computer programming brings together corporate, community, and educational partners to fuel student interest in STEM fields. We look forward to seeing our students thrive in computer science. Tonight, I'd also like to recognize our district 196 volunteers. Thousands of volunteers provide valuable support to the teachers and students in our school district. Volunteers uh come in all different walks of life from parents, senior citizens, community leaders, business professionals, students, and retired educators. National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 21st through 25th, and we look forward to celebrating our District 196 volunteers at that time. Also, National Teacher and School Nurses Appreciation Week is May 5th through the 9th. Teachers are more than experts in their content. Our teachers serve as role models for the youth and our community, helping students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become successful contributing members of society. Many of our teachers are recognized as leaders in their fields as evidenced by the number of teachers who hold leadership positions who have or who have earned state or national recognition from their professional organizations. District 196. Uh, in District 186, we also have more than 50 full-time and part-time school nurses, a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and lifelong achievement of students. Our school nurses promote health and safety and provide care for students when health issues arise. They play an essential role in ensuring our students are healthy and ready to learn and in partnering with parents, teachers, and administrators as a vital part of the district 196 team. Please join us in celebrating these outstanding professionals during the 196 teachers and school nurses appreciation week this upcoming May 5th through 9th in 2025. And at this time, I'd like to bring up to the podium our director of elementary education, Jeremy Sorenson, to introduce two new principles selected to lead both Green Leaf and also Highland Elementary starting next year. All right. Good evening, Vice Chairperson Williams, members of the board, and Superintendent Bullone. Um, like Mr. BSON said, "I'm going to introduce two of our newest elementary principles." Uh we're talking about Green Leaf and Highland. Uh earlier this spring, we did a a search at both of these buildings for new elementary principles. We have Sally Sol who is an interim principal at Greenleaf this year and has been doing an amazing job of supporting us this year. And then at Highland, Chad Ryurn, who will now be transitioning to Emerald Trail, the new building. So that's why those openings were there. I'm going to start with Green Leaf in Mandy Hill. So Mandy Hill is currently an assistant administrator at Diamond Path Elementary. She's been in this role since 2020. Mandy will be transitioning to the role of principal of Green Leaf Elementary starting July 1st, 2025. Mrs. Hill started her career teaching fifth grade at Oakidge Elementary School here in District 196. Mandy has been engaged in a variety of ways in our district, including as a grade level math lead, MCA science review committee, magnet school leadership team, Oakidge core leadership team, student rights and responsibilities handbook working group, elementary curriculum review, and as a vertical team lead for our district learning leaders council. She's trained in a variety of practices focused on student safety, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. I am excited to introduce Mandy Hill as the next principal of Green Leaf Elementary. [Applause] Good evening everybody. Thank you and thank you Jeremy for not only your kind words but always believing in me and in supporting me. It's been an honor to be a part of uh district 196 for the last 15 years and to continue my journey at Green Leaf is just extremely exciting. We have a lot of good things and a lot of um exciting things to come up in 196 especially at the elementary level. And so I'm super excited to think about our students every day and the experience and opportunity that they get in 196 and especially at Greenleaf. So it's going to be fun. Thank you. All right. Now, Highland and Mark Aronson. Mark is currently the assistant administrator at Highland Elementary and will be entering the role of principal at Highland starting July 1st, 2025. Mark Aronson started his career teaching fifth grade in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Minnesota. He joined District 196 as a fifth grade teacher at Diamond Path Elementary where he worked for 5 years. Taking on district-wide roles, his career path has included lead teacher for gifted and talented development, elementary math coach, digital resource teacher, and teaching and learning specialist for technology, overseeing the implementation of the learning and technology framework, preK12. He also served as an interim elementary assistant administrator at Diamond Path Elementary. His passion for technology, social emotional learning, human well-being, digital citizenship are grounded in care for people and relationships. I'm excited to introduce Mark Aronson as the next principal of Highland [Applause] Elementary. Thank you, Jeremy, for the kind words and thank you school board members. Uh, you know, to to say that I'm excited would be an understatement. Um, I'm fortunate enough to have been in district 196 since 2012. Um, as Jeremy was kind of talking about my journey. And it it only took me about a year before I knew that I needed to to actually find my own home and and raise my own family there. And I do have three boys that attend schools in District 196. Um, I'm humbled and I'm honored to continue my journey at Highland Elementary where I've been fortunate enough to be for the last two years as the assistant administrator. We have the best students, staff, and families around as as as we do in the entire district. Um, and I truly look forward to continue bolstering the relationships that I've been fortunate enough to have, creating a culture of community and educating, developing, and inspiring all of our students at Highland and across district 196. So, I thank you. [Applause] I'd also like to welcome some SCS students. Is that who is over here in this corner? Um visiting studying uh government and public participation. So, we appreciate uh you being here tonight as well. Um and with that, that ends my report. Okay, thank you. Um okay, we no longer have a special communications request on the agenda, so I will move on to the consent agenda. Uh we have 28 items on the agenda for consent. They are the minutes of the March 10th, 2025 regular school board meeting. District 196 Volunteers Appreciation Week of April 21 to 25, 2025. District 186 Teachers Appreciation Week, May 5th through the 9th, 202025. District 196 School Nurses Appreciation Week, May 5-9, 2025. Gifts, grants, schedule of investments for February 2025. Summary of claims for February 2025. Revenue and expenditures report for February 2025. Treasurers report for February 202025. Personnel termination and non-renewal of probationary teachers. Intent to place continuing contract teachers on unrequested leaves of absence. Agreement for student teaching with Bethl University. Storm water easement. Subdivision agreement with City of Rosemount. Temporary license agreement with Metropolitan Council. Joint powers agreement with city of Egan 2025 heartscape rehabilitation. Additional services assignment for project management coordinator. 2020 202526 tuition rates for foreign students. Care Solace agreement. Revision of previously approved schoolboard meeting dates for January 2025 through June 2026. East View High School Activity Center Edition bid package number two. Apple Valley High School Activity Center addition and renovation. Scott Highlands Middle School addition and renovation. Highland Elementary School ceiling and lighting replacement. And Cedar Valley Learning Center renovations. Are there any items that board members would like to remove from the consent agenda tonight? Seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second. Okay. Motion to approve by Robin, seconded by Christine and Catherine. Okay. Um, sorry. Uh, so all those in favor? I I All those opposed. Okay. Uh the motion uh carries on a four to zero vote. Okay. Uh next on the agenda is reports. Um and first up is the attendance matters data and course completion data K through 12 second trimester presented by Jeremy Sorenson, director of elementary education and Eric Hansen, director of secondary education. Good evening, Vice Chairperson Williams, members of the school board, and superintendent Balsson. Tonight, Director Sorenson and I will provide an update on our trimester 2 attendance data as well as well as provide data around our secondary course completion data for secondary schools. In alignment with our strategic roadmap, we focus on promoting and maintaining positive students attendance and ensuring successful course completion. This supports our strategic priorities related to well-being, achievement, equity, and resources. As you may recall from the previous attendance report, consistently attending is defined by the Minnesota Department of Education as a student attending school more than 90% of the school days. We know that consistently attending school offers our students the opportunity to achieve higher academically, participate in collaborative learning, as well as access academic resources and support in a timely manner. We certainly recognize that our students are absent for a multitude of reasons. We also know that in a full school year, students that miss less than 17 total school days will be considered consistently attending. To support our students in their attendance, our school teams continue to meet individually with students and families to provide support when improvement in attendance is needed. Because our students will have unique stories as to why they're absent, learning and understanding why absences occur will help our school teams partner with students and families in creating specific plans for improved attendance. The chart on the screen shows that during trimester 2 of last school year, 83.5% of our middle school students consistently attended school. During trimester 2 of this current school year, we held steady with a slight shift and 83% of our middle school students consistently attended. It's important to know that our district data for students consistently attending is well above all uh the all students state average at 74.5%. Our high school data shows that during trimester 2 of last school year, 79% of our students in high school consistently attended. And for trimester 2 this school year, our percentage of students consistently attending remains similar at approximately 79%. Again, our consistently attending data continues to remain above the state average of 74.5% for all students. Within this highle attendance data, our principles and school staff continue to analyze our student attendance across our demographic groups. I'd like to direct your attention to the handout we provided, which outlines our current school year trimester 2 attendance data broken down by demographics. Our data shows that in elementary schools, the percentage of students who consistently attended during trimester 2 ranges by demographics from 77.2% to 91.6%. For our middle school students, this range is 71.8% to 89%. And for high school, it ranges from 58.5% to 88.3%. Going back to 2021, trimester 2 is where we see our elementary and secondary schools show a slight decrease in students consistently attending data. As an example, for this school year, we had about a 3% point decrease in our students consistently attending from this year's trimester 1 to this year's trimester 2 at our elementary, middle, and high school level. Director Sorenson will speak to this in more detail later in this presentation. I'd like to shift our focus to our middle school and high school course completion data for this school year. For course completion data, we look at this year's data and compare trimester 1 to trimester 2. Course completion data or course completion is defined as successfully finishing a course with a passing grade and for high school students earning a credit towards graduation. Like our high schools, all of our middle schools closely monitor course completion rates as it can have an impact on our students future academic success in high school. For instance, the article titled Five Key findings for middle grades states that students who are chronically absent or receiving failing grades in middle school are at a higher risk of being off track for graduation by 9th grade. Additionally, another article titled, "Why is nth grade a critical time for students?" explains that two failing grades in nth grade can decrease decrease the probability of graduating by over 50 percentage points. On the current slide that is showing, we see that 86% of our middle school students successfully passed all of their trimester 1 courses this school year. This means 86% of our middle school students did not receive one failing grade trimester 1. In comparison, in trimester 2 this school year, where we know our students will experience increased academic rigor and increased expectations, the percentage of middle school students passing all of their classes increased to 88.8%, which was a 2.8 percentage point increase from trimester 1 to trimester 2. This is a result of our teachers intentional efforts to support students and intervene early when they see students falling behind. Let's take a look at our high school students course completion data for trimester 1 to trimester 2. On the current slide that is showing, we see that 85% of our high school students pass each of their classes during trimester 1 this school year. During trimester 2 this school year, the percentage of high school students passing all of their trimester 2 courses increased to 90% which resulted in a 5 percentage point increase. Within this data, we can break down the data by demographic groups as provided in the handout on your table. You will notice that the percentage of middle school students by demographics who received a passing grade in all of their trimester 1 classes ranged from 72% to 92%. And in trimester 2, this range was from 76% to 93%. The percentage of students passing each of their courses increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 in all demographic groups for middle school students. When looking at the course completion data for our high school students by demographic groups in trimester 1, our range was 68% to 92%. And in trimester 2, our percentage ranged for students passing all their classes from 76% to 95%. The percentage of students passing each of their courses increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 in all demographic groups for high school as well. This data is useful to identify students who are in need of additional academic support as well as to celebrate our students making overall improvement and achievement. Our overall growth in the percentage of our courses of our course completion data can in part be credited to advisory grade checks, sending automated grade reports to students and families, after study after school study sessions, peer tutoring, afterchool credit recovery programs, and much more. I am grateful for the work our teachers do in order to keep our students on track and supported. Our teachers have systems in place to help students to stay on track when they are absent or in need of additional support. I would like to highlight tonight that since 2021 for all middle school and high school students, we have traditionally seen a decrease in our p percentage of students passing all of their classes from trimester 1 to trimester 2. Again, the expectations rise u more responsibility in the rigor. I'm pleased to report that this year our data is showing different and as you've seen in the previous slides, our students passing all of their classes has increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2. As we progress forward, we will continue to collaborate and work together to grow our systems to support students in their academic achievement. I'd like to now turn it over to Director Sorenson for his elementary attendance report. All right. Thank you, Director Hansen. We are going to talk briefly about elementary attendance. So, we're shifting back to attendance. Um, this slide shows the percentage of students who are considered consistently attending, those attending 90% or more of school days to this point in the year at the elementary level. Our trimester 2 percentage for the current school year is 86.9%. This is an increase in the percentage of students consistently attending from last year's trimester 2 by 1.3%. The first two trimesters this year have followed a similar pattern as previous years. The percentage of students who are considered consistently attending typically dips during the winter months or the second trimester. This decline is often due to seasonal illness, inclement weather, or other factors that impact student attendance. Historically, with this pattern, by the spring trimester, attendance rates begin to recover, and we see an increase in students meeting the consistently attending threshold by the end of the year. At this point in the year, building teams have enough data to analyze individual student attendance patterns. This allows us to move beyond general trends and develop situation specific strategies to support students and families by identifying the root causes of absenteeism, whether it's health rellated transportation uh challenges or other barriers. We can collaborate with families to implement targeted interventions that encourage consistent attendance. And then we know attendance is important part of being successful at school. A student's attendance has impacts on both their academic achievement and their social development. Regular attendance help students stay on track with their learning, build strong connections with peers and teachers, and develop consistent routines and habits that are essential for lifelong success. Consistent and intentional monitoring of student attendance is crucial for identifying patterns, addressing barriers, and implementing strategies to improve student engagement and achievement. Proactive attendance practices foster a supportive learning environment. And as we move through the remainder of the school year, we will continue to provide updates on attendance. At this time, we'd be happy to take any questions you may have. Okay, thank you. Um, first, are there any questions or comments from the audience? Casey, not are there any questions or comments from the board? Jackie, not so much a question, but I'm really impressed with what we've seen here. Um, I think the big star is the is two words that you used, intentional intervention. And we now know what those intent I mean there could be a million of intentional interventions done by principles, done by staff, done by classroom teachers, done by other kinds of support people that touch those students lives. And I love that you talked about growing our systems of support that it's not just one piece of support, it's all of those systems. When you look at this, and I know that we've talked about this before, that T2 sometimes moves down. And when you see that going consistently in the middle school, in the elementary schools, and high school that they're moving up in T2, you know that you now have those you've grown those systems. grown those systems that teachers know what how to reach kids the office knows what's important and as we keep on moving towards that system and getting more comfortable with that it's the growth has still got to I mean it's just got to continue because we've still got a few kids that are good attenders but congratulations and thank you so much that's literally amazing I I had a question. Um, thank you for all of this data. It's really very helpful. One question is maybe a yes or no question and that is the ninth grade monitoring. Is that helped with the bar system that Apple Valley is using and that will be rolled out to all the other schools? I think soon. Uh, yeah. So, that'll be for next fall. The uh other three comprehensive high schools will be on that. We have an a standing agenda, a ball bar at every one of our high school meetings to talk through use as a resource to help us with that. I will say this right now our pivotal years of sixth grade and eighth grade with those transition years we're seeing the highest percentage of students completing all their courses passing all their courses in sixth for middle school and in ninth for high school. We also see the highest attendance rates in terms of consistently attending in sixth grade and nth grade as well. So that's positive data right there especially all the resources that we put in for our transitions for students from one level to the next. Okay, thank you. And then one other question. Um I know as a parent when my child has to be absent, I have to fill out that form and I believe it's the Qualrix system that is used to fill out that attendance form and I always have to select a reason why they're absent and I'm sure we're collecting that data somewhere. Are we triangulating that data with student absence rates and kind of trying to see um if that can help us understand student absence? Yeah. Yeah. So, our unified insights uh program that our our uh building administrators use can pull that down uh and see days of the week that our highest absences are happening and what the reasons are, months that are highest. And so, we do have that data down um to the weeds to correlate it. It would be interesting with trimester 2. We started that conversation at a district level um with our infinite campus people to see if we can start pulling that data as well. Thank you. And then I just have one question. Thank you. This was just amazing. Um I know there's a correlation between attendance and outcomes which I can appreciate. Um you're talking about other systems and so I know for um you know we have we have other information that we've had we've been privy to in some of our work sessions. And so if you could just kind of give us an example or just give us a summary of some of the other systems like what's changed um systematically that um some of our constituents or our parents may not be aware of that has made this possible that there has been outside of just some of our attendance systems that has made this possible where we're seeing these increases or this improvement in in outcomes. What's changed? Are you talking about our course completion? Yes. Yeah. So I don't know what exactly has changed. I couldn't put my finger on it right now, but I do know that we take time to collaborate on ideas that are happening, share best practices um to help with those um ideas really to help recover students from from grades that aren't where we want them. Um I think our systems are getting tighter and that's part of the work that we're doing in our district. What is our response when we have a student that hits this threshold and what is our response when they hit this threshold? We want that to be continuous and consistent. So, we're working through that. It's part of our work right now. Um, but I would just give a lot of credit to the response of of teachers when a student is absent, um, when a student isn't understanding to be able to spiral back, um, get them caught up and so that they're proficient by the end of the trimester. Go ahead, Katherine. I have a similar question about attendance rates and just that it is I so just looking at the presentation I did not realize what a great leap that was because on the slides it didn't show that usually those numbers go down and the fact that these numbers are um you know steady is impressive um between the trimesters. what is happening um to change that with attendance? Like how are how are we getting kids to continue to come to school more often? Again, I don't I I don't know if we can pinpoint a singular thing, but it's part of that student and family experience, too. Excuse me. We're trying to be very intentional about having consistency um around those those general pieces. when we're talking attendance specifically elementary we do have teams that work and um we do triangulate the data and look at it generally but at this time in year we can look at specific students and families and see patterns there so we can work with families specifically about how to support them and how important attendance is. So I think um like Eric said a lot of hard work from our building teams. You know this is our office staff, our social workers, our teachers, um our administrators who are working as a team to support um enter into that conversation as a partner and and you know and not a a consequence thing and I think that's a lot of that work happening. To add one thing, one clarifying piece from trimester 2 last year to trimester 2 this year we stay consistent. I will say though and traditionally in this follow suits in terms of attendance consistently attendance we do drop from trimester 1 to tr we saw that again this year three percentage points and so then we hope to pick that back up in the May which is our traditional pattern as well. Okay thank you appreciate that. Okay, next is on our reports is technology for learning. Um, presented by Julie Beers, learning and technology specialist, Eric Davis, Shannon Park, elementary school principal, and Tabitha Centi, high school computer science teacher. Good evening, Vice Vice Chairperson Williams, school board members and superintendent Bony. Um I am Julie Bersack, learning technology specialist K through 12 for our district. Um I also have with me as you said um Eric Davis, principal at Shannon Park and Tabitha Centi. She teaches at Rosemont High School and Apple Valley um teaching with our information technology courses. Thank you for the opportunity this evening to update you on our district-wide work embracing technology for learning. 10 years ago, our community invested in a dream of increasing access to instructional technology and devices for students. At the time, we hoped to move from a 1:3 ratio of devices per students to a one:1 ratio while also investing in the infrastructure and support to transform teaching and learning. We're here tonight to provide the community with an update around this work. When I do this work, um, in my role, there's two things that constantly guide my work. One is our strategic roadmap that helps create the foundation of why we're doing what we're doing. So, the two priorities that we're going to be talking about today really work around achievement and resources. The other piece that guides my work is the learning and technology framework. This was created in 2013 as we started to think around how can we become a onetoone district with with iPad devices. And so we thought about and brought so many voices together on what do we truly believe. Although this was created 10 years ago, you might notice technology has drastically changed in these years and this is still a strong foundation that guides all of the work I do. And so here we believe that learning drives deci decisionmaking. When teachers are thinking around what their students are learning and the projects that they've been working on, they come and they say, "Hey, the students are working on this awesome project, what how can the iPad enhance that?" They don't just come and say, "Hey, I learned about this cool app. How can we use it?" We constantly think of what is the learning, what are our objectives here, and how can the iPad enhance that? We also know that curiosity, that creativity sparks curiosity. We intentionally chose the iPad over other devices like the Chromebook because of the creativity option where students can add voice and drawing and all of those other pieces to their work. We also believe that communication and collaboration are vital. And so we don't expect our students to be heads down in their devices. Our students have their are sitting next to each other. They're talking. They're working. They're collaborating. Whether that's collaborating in an app or utilizing it as a tool and talking to each other, all constant collaboration is happening and a chance to rise up student voices. And most importantly, the foundation of it all. It's one piece of the puzzle, but we really think it's the foundation holding it all up is the idea of digital citizenship. We believe that we our students are conscious consumers and positive contributors in a digital world. Constantly, what are they taking in from the device? thoughtfully making sure that we have vetted databases that our students are using and also how are they thinking about what they're putting out with this technology. And so what benefits have we seen from this? Well, we've seen a lot of different things come about that we never imagined possible. One is the opportunity for all students. Some ways could be that our devices are now onetoone. Instead of I was a second grade classroom teacher at Oakidge. Instead of having a student come up to the board and share what they had learned on the board, now I could have all 23 of my students writing and drawing on their device and sharing that piece. It's also an opportunity for all learners to fe to look around and feel the same in a way. My own child is a first grader here at Dearwood. He has a vision disability and he has a lot of amazing tools and resources that his vision teacher provides, but the one tool that he constantly goes back to is his iPad. The district provided that in his pre preschool program and he feels just like everybody else when he uses it. He uses it in a more variety of ways, but it's really important to him that when he is using this tool, he can look around and see others using it as well. We also know that this helps amplify student voice. And so while we thought that maybe some might think that's not the case when you think of this technology device, we have seen students who have been quiet for so long have a chance to share their voice in a variety of ways. One way is I think of a second grader in my classroom. Uh this was our hybrid year and in our classroom not many students had ever heard her voice. She was a very quiet learner, very timid. her best friends usually maybe heard her talks really softly at recess and I had heard her whispers but one day we were learning and she had the chance to share she had a chance to do some learning on the iPad and she came up to me and she whispered Miss B can I share my learning at the class today I record it on Seessaw and I tried not to sound too excited to like scare her or anything but I was like I think that's a fantastic idea and she pushed play by the microphone and for the first time like students jaws like actually dropped some of them had never heard her voice before and that opened up an opportunity for others to hear her voice and for her to share her voice in other ways. Moving on, it kind of just became the door that opened up. That was a really huge win for her. I've also seen students, you know, the the the quiet students in the back that have really brilliant ideas. I know I was here last year and I shared a video of um some fifth graders that create that had a chance to take some learning um about balance and motion and they had an idea and they said, "Can we do this?" And so the teacher created parameters and they had a chance to share about balance in motion creating a video and they had and everyone got to hear their amazing ideas and hear their excitement and they got a standing ovation at the end from those classmates. It's really been an o awesome opportunity to amplify student voice. We also know that this is just one tool in our ecosystem. We have multiple tools in our ecosystem. You know we just embraced a lot of new curriculum in elementary. You when we ordered that our students still have pencil and paper. They still have those crayons on their desk. They still have the markers. They still have the math manipulatives and they're using them daily. The iPad is one tool that they use. I always I joke around a little bit with my teachers, but I say when I'm in the schools and I'm walking around, that's great when I see the iPads used intentionally and thoughtfully, and it's great, too, when the iPads are away. We want to see both happening throughout the district. One of the things that um really give me an aha moment is we think about right now our kindergarteners. they are the graduating class of 2037. It's kind of wild. Um, and we think about how how are we preparing them for the 2037 world. And so that's a really big thing that's always on my mind. Um, I don't know if you've heard of it, but generative AI chat GBT kind of blew up in the last year and a half. And so we think about how we weren't even we didn't even think what was possible a year ago. Our learning technology framework still holds the foundation that's leading our AI guidance for the district. And we think about preparing our students for the role they're graduating into. And those kindergarters, they're graduating into 2037, but they're going to be working 2050, 2060, all these years as technology is changing and how are we creating a solid foundation for them going back to that digital citizenship where they have a safe place to practice to be conscious consumers and positive contributors. And finally, learners want to create. Um, I think about in my own role now, I get to see that happening across the district K through 12 and our learners are creating things that I could have never imagined and I could have never helped support and they advocate for themselves and they're like, "Hey, can we try this?" And it's a really great way to see um them thrive in that setting. So, um, I do I would love to welcome Eric Davis to share a little bit about what he's seen as well from his perspective. Thank you, Julie. Good evening everybody. It's a pleasure to be here. My name is Eric Davis. I'm the principal of Shaina Park Elementary School in Rosemount. And I'm going to talk just very briefly about what technology looks like in an elementary school. As a former second and third grade teacher and current principal, I know that one of the hardest things to do as a teacher is to differentiate your instruction. You have a class of 23 to 25 to 27 students all at different levels and our job is to meet them all where they are at. This cannot be done as successfully or efficiently without technology. Secondly, as we enter an area where we seem to be assessing frequently to get more data for our teachers to drive their instruction, we have found that the use of the onetoone iPads have really created our efficiency. Before we had these purchases in the hands of our students, we would have to go to computer labs and spend literally weeks assessing students to get the data we needed before teachers could even look at them to make their instructional decisions. With oneto ones, this can be done quickly, efficiently, and accurately. and we can teach right away. Thirdly, most of our elementary school teachers are in the process of implementing up to three different curricula. It's a very difficult task and one of the tools we use to make that more efficient is technology. And finally, when you think about an elementary school, we have our very first learners um getting used to their digital citizenship with their iPads up to our fifth graders who are using these tools to collaborate with each other using the Google suite and work on projects together. All this together makes for an engaging efficient process and our teachers are better able to efficiently engage our students and meet their needs, every single one of them. Thank you. So as our students move from an elementary to a secondary level, we think about how does that change in the perspective of how they use this tool. One is I think about digital hygiene. That's a word that I that has not been used a lot before this, but think about when you are gathering all of your papers and all of the information. Maybe you were in high school and we had the really cool big trap trapper keepers and we thought about how are we putting that all into folders. Now students have all of that information in their iPad. And so we're encouraging them to think about how are they thinking about where are they putting that information so they can find it again. How are they making folders in their digital tools? Also we think about this device is like a bookshelf that you can only put so much on it before the bookshelf breaks or stops, you know, can't fit anymore. An iPad is the same when it comes to how much it can fit, right? And so thinking about teaching students how we do that um that conversation comes up a lot around state testing time and so we have a chance to share with them um how do we how do we take care of this device we also think about as a tool for learning really that core um in those core subjects right our students are using this tool when it comes to research and and analysis we have all of these different uh vetted databases that students can go to a safe place that they know this information comes from a safe place as they think around that piece Um recently I've been working with computer science pathways. We work with the state and MDE and we've had multiple trainings as we think about how are we preparing our students with a K through 12 pathway as we think about these tools. Um and it's not just for students that might want to go into computer science someday but all of these skills that are vital as we think about how these tools work. The tools that are in our hands, how do they actually work? How did these come to be? How do how are they doing coding? how are they doing different pieces? The conversation of keyboarding comes up again too as we prepare our learners that way as well. Um and so all of these things we're thinking and we're talking about with our resources that we have and um preparing our students so that when they do graduate they have that pathway and they have that experience and success in our career and technology education. I know Tabitha has done so much work in that area. Um a couple things to think about as we as we think about those programs. the conversations have come up of how is technology impacting those programs. So if we think of our aviation class, if you go uh to our high school that has our aviation CTE class, how our students are using technology for simulations and other absolutely phenomenal things that I would have never imagined possible in high school. We think about welding and how technology impacts that area. These are conversation that conversations that all of our CTE teachers are having that technology has this impact in every single area. And so, um, I could talk all night about this. It really excites me. Um, but I also, we had an opportunity recently to, um, have, uh, videos with high school, which you'll see a brief snippet of, as well as middle school. And so, I wanted an opportunity for you to hear from teachers and families. Um, and so this is a little bit of a the a longer video and we're showing you a clip from that. So, enjoy. I think that it helps me as a teacher really engage every learner. All learners learn in different manners and so I have the audio, the visual, you know, the kinesthetic learners and it really helps us embrace all of those learning styles in one. My seventh grader loves film and loves making movies and he has used that iPad to figure out how to do stopotion animation, how to add soundtracks to videos he's filmed to create games really using coding that he's learning through school and it's really provided him a springboard into his passion. So it's been really cool to see. It's important that we are helping mold students into becoming model citizens and digital literacy, digital citizenship is just as important. And so the way that we really embed it into our daily practice, teach them the etiquette of using the devices in a proper and respectful manner is all something that continues to help them learn and understand what that looks like moving forward. Collaboration through tech for our students today is a useful tool in it allows them to share their voice, share their creativity, share their learning and understanding in a real time way. So, we're doing a map of Europe in 1950, and we're using the iPad to like figure out which countries were NATO and which countries were part of the Warsaw Pact. And we're using it to like label our countries in our capitals. I'm going to invite Tabitha up to speak a little bit more on our high school experience. Good evening. Tabitha Centi, career development teacher. Um, I teach information technology courses. Um, and just a little caveat, my daughter, who is now a going to be senior um, at NDSU, um, was a Woodland Elementary iPad test class. So, she was the first fifth grade class to get her iPad. For a tiny bit more information, I also have a kindergartener coming up this school year. So, she will be a graduating class of 2038. So, it is I do have the technology realm in that world. Um so at the elementary and middle schools we have laid the foundation for technology use they have mentioned that allowing us at the high school level to use technology as a tool for learning and focus on that career pathways that we will open the doors for our kids' future. We also in today's classrooms technology fosters more than just academic achievement. It unlocks collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking. When students work together on digital projects, analyze real world data, or create multimedia presentations, they're not just learning the content, they're learning how to think. They're learning how to adapt and they're learning how to lead. These are the skills our students will need most. It's not just the technology. In fact, Dell Technologies published a report titled The Next Era of Human Machine Partnerships. I'm the data geek, right? I like to read this stuff. Um, it offers insight on how consumers and businesses can prepare for society in flux. The report forecasts that emerging technologies supported by massive advancements in software, big data, and processing power will we words are tough reshape our lives. Here's an eye-opening statistic that I don't think any of you thought about. 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not been invented yet. 85%. In 2030. That's the world our 2031 and 2032 graduates will be entering. Technology helps prepare students by encouraging curiosity, resilience, because nothing works when you want it to. We all know that. Um, and hands-on learning experiences that mirror real life challenges. I have my kids who competed in a ECTF competition, which is an embedded capture the flag. They worked on protecting insulin pumps so that people can't hack into them. And it may seem small, like who would want to hack into an insulin pump? Think of a public figure that's diabetic. And if somebody wants to really harm this public figure, it's an easy hack. And so we had students work on the security measures for those insulin pumps. So real life scenarios. I've had seven students just in the past couple of months reach out to me and tell me that they were offered a job or a promotion based upon the skills that our district helped them build. It was either with course content with the technology use in the classrooms or even just contacts they make on field trips, guest speakers, people that come into the classrooms and and just meet our students. These students were more prepared than the colleagues or individuals that applied for these jobs due to the technology use in our classrooms. If you haven't noticed, I'm a little passionate about this technology use. Um, they have a large number of skills and more confidence. I think that's the biggest piece. We allow our students to grow their confidence level touching the technological tools. And that, if you've ever gotten a brand new cell phone, is huge because it never works when we need to. We have to try to play with that. Yeah. Um, our technology levy isn't just about equipment. It's about opportunity and it ensures every student has access to the tools and experiences that foster lifelong learning and prepares them for the unknown careers of tomorrow. It's an investment in their future, not ours. Let's give them the confidence to build it. I would like to Do you have that little video? I just wanted to seal up um that statement with the end of the career and technical high school video. So, and I don't have a clicker. Produce students that can step out of the school system and be productive. When they step outside of our doors, no matter where they go, they're going into a digital world. We teach lifelong learning. And that piece is like go look for something, go find it. That skill when they get in the field allows their technology education to grow. I think the skills, the tools that they've learned will launch them into the future. Thanks, Tabitha. Recently, she collaborated with one of our music teachers to create um these amazing music. What was the songs about again? Oh, um yeah. So, I had they created songs using chat GPT and social engineering. fishing those little fishing emails you get those kind of things and we did a collaboration using AI and a music production class and the kids created an album and a digital cover and so they have now an album that's associated with music the music and the beat was pretty phenomenal so very catchy so we'll pass this along so thanks all right so let me go back just one we want to thank our community 10 years ago we asked our community to invest in an idea that technology could enhance learning for all students. At that time, we had a ratio of three students per device and our goal was to get to 1:1. We have achieved that goal and we want to continue our 1:1 program. We were very thoughtful about the rollout. We put it in an intentional deployment and maintenance schedule. We have a four-year life cycle for student devices and a 10-year replacement cycle for switches, routers, and hardware. We have also directed all funds to specifically support instruction providing students and teachers with mobile devices anywhere and any for anytime learning. As we look to the future, we'll need to renew this funding after this year and we can only imagine where technology will be 10 years from now. So, thank you. Thank you. Um, at this time are Hello. At this time, are there any questions from the audience or comments? Seeing none, are there any questions or comments from the board? Okay, thank you so much. That was very informative. Thank you. It was fun to be in your classroom. You were always welcome anytime. It was great. We visited her classroom the other day. We did. Amazing. Yeah, that was great. Thank you. Okay. And now we are moving on to old business. On the agenda, we have uh the 202526 capital expenditure budget presented by Danny Duchain, coordinator of finance. I don't know what to do without the computer. There we go. There we go. There we go. All right. Good evening, Vice Chair Williams, Superintendent Bos Sony, members of the school board, and our district 186 community. My name is Danny Duching, coordinator of finance for district 186. Tonight, district administration presents the 2526 capital expenditure budget for second reading and recommended approval. The 2526 capital budget will presented to the board for an initial review at the February 10th school board meeting. Included in your board packet tonight is the completed capital expenditure budget book. The capital budget book includes financial summaries for each of the funding sources as well as an itemized listing for all planned capital expenditures for the 2026 fiscal year. The capital budget focuses on the resources strategic priority within the district's strategic road map connecting our staff stu and students with the proper facilities, equipment, software and curriculum resources to execute everything else on that roadmap. Our capital budget focuses on three main separate capital related funding sources. the operating capital, the long-term facilities maintenance or LTFM budget, and the capital projects levy. Additionally, the nutrition services and transportation departments have capital expenditures for which we are requesting approval tonight along with these three main capital budgets. As mentioned at the February board meeting, the current building bond construction projects are not included in tonight's content as those projects are approved on a separate on their own separate schedules. The capital budget is approved on an earlier timeline than the rest of the preliminary budget, which will present it for the board's approval in June. The earlier approval timeline allows the district to move forward through longer procurement cycles and consequently maximize our time over the summer months when applicable for a lot of our building construction projects when our buildings aren't running at full capacity. Since the February 10th meeting, district staff has worked to develop the itemized budget book. In general, the budgets presented tonight align with the summary presented at that February meeting. There are a few variations in the broad categories and totals. These changes are result of updated or adjusted variables, such as new pricing estimates that we may have received, rep prioritization of projects, and some slight adjustments based on the bond construction timelines at various buildings throughout the district. Now, let's take a quick look at each of the capital expenditure budgets. The operating capital is the main capital expenditure budget of the district. This restricted funding source includes both state aids and property tax levy revenue components. Expenditure areas focus on areas such as building leases, curriculum, materials, technology needs, equipment, and building and site renovations. For the 2526 fiscal year, district administration projects total resources available of about $16.8 million against planned expenditures of $14.4 4 million for a projected fiscal year 26 ending fund balance of $2.4 million. The LTFM budget is the district's primary budget for building and site maintenance. Similar to the operating capital budget, the LTFM budget is a restricted funding source that includes both state aids and property tax levy components. Expenditure categories include health and safety, mechanical systems, roofing, and site projects such as parking lot renovations, and roofing rehabilitations, just to name a few examples. For the 2526 fiscal year, the district estimates total resources available of 14.9 million against planned expenditures of $12.0 million for a projected ending fiscal year 26 fund balance of $2.9 million. The capital project levy is a little bit different from the operating capital and the LTFM budgets. The capital projects levy does not include a state aids component and is funded nearly 100% from the property tax levy. The district's current capital projects levy is entering entering its 10th year in 2526. Examples of expenditures included in the capital products levy are, as you heard earlier, our student iPads that are part of our 1:1 program, district-wide technology hardware and software, and instructional technology devices and equipment that are used in our classrooms throughout the district. This budget does include a small percentage of miscellaneous revenue from the sale of the iPads and from -ate reimbursements. For the 2526 fiscal year, district administr administration estimates total resources available of nearly $16.0 0 million against plan expenditures of $9.4 million for an ending projected fund balance of $6.6 million. The additional capital expenditures requested for approval tonight include nearly $1.5 million in the nutrition services department for kitchen equipment, refrigeration update upgrades, service line equipment, and vehicles. Transportation requests approval of $3.9 million for 24 buses, eight of which are 65 passenger buses equipped with a passenger lift. These specific requests include either a long procurement process or a specific installation window and approval tonight will allow those processes to begin along with the rest of the capital expenditure budget. Respectfully, district administration requests approval of the 2526 capital expenditure budgets. The budgets presented tonight will also be included in the preliminary budget, which I mentioned will be presented to the board for review and approval in June. And at this time, I'd like to I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Okay. This um this does have a an action item, a motion to a recommendation to approve. But before we do that, um I'd like to ask if there are any questions or comments from the audience. Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? Okay. Um, so is there a motion to I'll move approval. I'll second. Thank you. Uh, there was a motion to uh approve by Jackie and a second by Katherine. Um, all those in favor to approve say I. I. I. All those opposed say nay. Okay. The motion carries. Uh, four to zero. Um, motion passes. Uh, next. Thank you. Uh, next uh on the agenda is new business. Uh the board would like to see on the agenda is administrative regulation 801.5 the community use of district facilities presented by Kaia Bruce director of community education. Good evening vice chairperson Williams members of the board and superintendent Bolson. Community education is proposing an increase in facility use fees for indoor spaces at elementary and secondary schools in class 2, class three, and class 4 effective July 1st of 2025. To ensure our rates remain competitive and equitable, we conducted a market fee study in March comparing our facility rental rates to those of neighboring districts. The results indicated that our current fees are generally aligned with and in some cases lower than the average rates across these districts. The proposed adjustments for the 202526 school year are intended to account for increased costs associated with facility scheduling, building supervision, and collaborative purchases of athletic equipment used by the community. These changes will also help us keep pace with inflation. In addition, we are proposing a re revision to the due dates for community use applications for fields and grounds. This adjustment aims to better align the application process with a district-wide scheduling timeline. These proposals are being presented as new business this evening. I will return on May 12th to request your approval, but in the meantime, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Okay. Thank you. Um, at this time I will uh ask if there are any questions or comments from the audience. Seeing none, are there any questions or comments from the board? All right. Thank you. We will invite you back. This item will come back as old business at the May excuse me. Yes, at the May 12th regular school board meeting for approval. Thank you, Ka. Thank you. All right. There are no other actions. We will move on to um school board and superintendent updates. I will turn it over to uh Superintendent Bossani for those superintendent updates. Thank you very much, Vice Chair Williams. Uh for my superintendent report, I'd like to encourage everyone to attend a high school theater performance this month. All four of our comprehensive high schools have shows during the week of April 21st. East View High School is having its annual variety show, Bravo. Apple Valley High School is performing the Song Book Experience Live. Egan High School is having its annual variety show, Encore. and Rosemont High School presents OnStage Journey to the Past. Visit the high school websites for more information about Showtimes and tickets. We are excited to announce that today work started on our activity center at East View High School. In preparation for construction, we will also be rerouting traffic patterns at the school. The construction will take 12 to 18 months to complete. And we want to thank voters in district 196 for supporting the May 2023 bond referendum that will provide these new facilities. We also want to thank everyone in the East View community for their patience and cooperation with any disruptions during this construction period. Next, I want to invite parents, guardians, and other residents and students to consider applying for an for an opening on one of our district's citizen and staff advisory councils. We have nine advisory councils and all will be accepting applications this spring. For more information, visit the district website at district196.org. Lastly, I want to report that our district 196 day at the capital on March 25th had 20 members of our leadership team and legislative advisory council meet with 11 local legislators, plus additional legislative leaders. We want to thank our legislators for working with us on behalf of our students in our community. And that concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you. Any updates from the board, Jackie? If you work it right, you can go to all four of those high school plays or musicals if you work your tickets right. Like Michael said, we got East View, Apple Valley, Egan, and Rosemont High School. And they are all wonderful. Um, special thing this year at Rosemont High School. This is Steve Aba's 25th show, and he is real excited. And May 4th, Rosemont High School is having in combination with their um foundation, Rosemont High School Foundation, they're having a fundraiser and the concert at 2 PM is a ticketed concert. They're all ticketed concerts, but this is a little bit little bit more. They are having at least a hundred alumni students come back and sing with with the group. And from 5 to 9ine they're having a benefit at the Omni and with the Rosemont Foundation. So that should be a great day. They're really excited. So make sure that you get you got four high schools, four places to go. Make sure you get your tickets and enjoy all of the works that our students do. Yes, Robin. Um I just want to second what Superintendent Balsone said about our advisory councils. They're an excellent way to be involved in your community. um and have a voice with what goes on in our district. So, you can absolutely find one that fits your interest area and it's a great way to be involved. Thank you. All right. Um uh that uh that brings us to the end of our agenda. Is there a motion to adjurnn? Second. Okay. So, uh, motion by Katherine, seconded by Jackie. All those in favor of adjournment, I I Any opposed? If you oppose. Motion carries at a four to zero. We are adjourned. [Music]