Lakeville Area Public Schools — Transcript
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Administrative Restructuring and Hiring Policies
Facility Use Management and Fee Structure
Fiscal Year 2026 Preliminary Budget
Votes (6)
Addition to Agenda: Hiring Policies and Guidelines
Moved by Director Baker [1:00] · Seconded by Director Thompson [1:03]
Director Thompson requested adding 'hiring policies and discussion items' to the agenda under reports and discussions. This prompted a brief discussion on the importance of transparency and review of such critical district operations.
Consent Agenda Item 4B: Employment Recommendations (Assistant Superintendent Role & Hiring Practices)
Moved by Director Anderson [18:06] · Seconded by Director Baker [18:10]
Director Nicholson requested pulling this item to discuss the change in Assistant Superintendent Emily McDonald's role to Chief of Staff. Superintendent Bowman detailed the Chief of Staff's responsibilities, emphasizing system-wide operational cohesion, budget input, and a new quarterly business review system. He highlighted Dr. McDonald's qualifications and the role's strategic importance, also clarifying that new administrative positions were budget-neutral. The discussion then broadened to general teacher hiring policies, with Director Thompson raising concerns about the district's high average teacher salary and the need for guard rails to optimize the budget. HR clarified that previous hiring caps were temporary and that current hiring balances experience with difficulty in filling specialized roles, while also adhering to union contracts and state licensing laws.
Consent Agenda Item 4F: Minnesota State High School League Renewal Membership
Moved by Director Thompson [19:54] · Seconded by Director Baker [20:00]
Director Thompson requested pulling this item to clarify the purpose and implications of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) membership renewal. It was confirmed that membership is essential for students to participate in state-level activities and athletics. No instances of the district not renewing membership were known, highlighting its importance for student engagement.
Reports and Discussion: Facility Use Update
Devon Reyes presented an annual update on facility use, outlining classifications (district-sponsored vs. non-district, and three non-district classes based on local/non-profit/for-profit status) and associated fees. The report highlighted a historical deficit in facility operations, with proposed fee increases aimed at achieving cost neutrality by FY26. Discussion included the application of fees to student-led events like senior parties, the challenge of custodial overtime costs (time-and-a-half to double-time), union contract limitations against outsourcing, and comparisons to other districts' lower facility rental fees. Board members raised questions about the fairness of fee increases for local Class 1 groups and the feasibility of alternative staffing models to reduce labor costs.
Board Discussion: Hiring Policy and Guidelines (Continued)
Continuing the earlier discussion, Director Thompson reiterated concerns about the district's average teacher salary being significantly above the median, potentially costing millions and limiting resources for other needs like smaller class sizes or additional support staff. Directors debated the feasibility and nature of board guidance on hiring mix (e.g., policy, resolution, or goal), considering the challenges of applicant pools, state licensing requirements, and union contracts. Superintendent Bowman suggested exploring 'requisition control management' methods. There was consensus on broadening the discussion to include all bargaining units for equitable consideration.
Superintendent Report: LTFM Plan and 2026 Preliminary Budget
Director Hongren presented the preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budget, noting stable enrollment projections and updated revenue forecasts. State aid increased by 3.3%, while property tax revenue decreased slightly. Expenditures showed a 5.7% increase in salaries/wages and a more significant rise in benefits, including a new paid family medical act tax. The budget also highlighted a decrease in purchased services due to internal sourcing of special education contractors and mentioned increased counselor support at high school levels funded by new state money. Overall, 82% of expenditures are directly allocated to student services, with a goal to achieve budget stability.
Notable Quotes (12)
Let's uh I'd like to add to the agenda the the the school district's hiring guidelines and hiring approach as an agenda topic for discussion.
what I'd like to just share about this is we are diligently working and trying to uh develop our commitment to strengthening our systemwide leadership and the operational cohesion um of our school district. I think it's an element uh that is not optimally functioning across our school system. I'd like to share just an overview of the chief of staff role if that's okay with you.
But I do want us to make sure that we think through um the allocation mix so that we've got the right optimal uh you know staffing folks for the budget that we have for the experience that we're looking for for the culture that we want here in our district and the academic levels that we're that we're looking for.
So, typically a teacher who is coming in at the highest step they typically are going to be older than a first year teacher. Not always but generally. So then you you need to look at other circumstances such as protected class, someone who is over 40, someone who may be female, uh a number of protected classes when you're looking at hiring.
But currently, what is in place is because of how the monies are done, how the liabilities are done, how the decision of what and how security is done for those events because it isn't overnight. So, there's a lot of layers of planning that go in that the district has no there's no staff person a part of that committee.
We cannot outsource um outside of a job description that is already in a union. Otherwise, you will have issues with union in grievances and probably arbitration.
I just want to say I think um with what you're proposing it seems like an ex excellent proposal just in terms of looking at these numbers and kind of right sizing us in terms of the quality of our facilities while also keeping us very competitive with other um just districts that are probably pricier than our facilities.
And our average when you look at all of our salary totals, divide that by the FTE count is 86,000. Again, going going back to what are we leaving$10,000 $10 million on the table to bolster um our elementary staff, our middle staff, lowest class sizes.
I I mean I I understand what you're saying that there's not parameters around some of these hiring principles, but um when I work with principles within the buildings, like we're looking at like our teams and if we have like a second grade teacher position open and we maybe have 10 applicants, right? But we know that every single teacher that we have in that grade is a new teacher, we're probably not going to hire another new teacher because we really need the experience to help round that team out.
I think that with when we talk about guidelines, which I welcome that conversation, we have to any guidelines we have, and I think everybody can agree to this, uh, has to be in compliance with labor law in the state of Minnesota. Has to honor our agreed labor contract, however, that is uh, codified.
So, again, just as a reminder so the public can see, I mean, when we talk about I think a lot of people think when they pay their taxes, they're paying the whole budget and they really are not. Most of the funds that we receive come from the state of Minnesota, but you can see that our budget from the community is about 25% of the funds that we receive.
So 82% of all of our expenditures are directly correlated to our students which is a fantastic number in my opinion.
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
District-wide plan guiding staff operations and tasks.
Fiscal Year 2026 preliminary budget document, including administrative costs visualization.
Annual renewal of membership allowing students to compete at the state high school level.
Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan, heavily influencing equipment expenditures.
Preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal year, subject to updates after audit and hiring.
Compilation of documents for the board meeting, including the preliminary budget and proposed facility rates.