Welcome and good evening. I would like to call the Monday, December 8th, 2025 school board meeting to order. Lisa, will you please call the role? >> Director Weber >> here. >> W. Felton >> here. >> Claflin >> here. >> Cummings >> here. >> T. Felton >> here. >> Chair human here. >> And director Duffy's absence at 6 present at 6 pm. >> Perfect. Thank you. And now I'm going to ask all who are able to please stand up for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Well, now I just want to say welcome to everyone's here. It's always exciting to have people. I'm just leave it at that. It's exciting to have people and to have extraordinary people at that. And welcome to everyone watching on Towns Square television or YouTube later. Okay, first up, approval of our meeting agenda and minutes. I am looking for a motion to approve the regular board meeting agenda for this evening as well as the minutes for November 24th, 2025's work session and November 24th, 2025's business meeting. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. Thank you. All those uh any discussion? Thank you. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. 6o. Okay. Quality and action. The best part of our meeting. And I would like to invite our student board reps up. You got a full house. [laughter] The podium is yours. [laughter] All right. So, first, um, sports have officially started up. Boys basketball has started out 2 and 0. A few weeks ago, they had their orange out game to stand up against gun violence. Um, boys hockey 5- one. Their upcoming games are Thursday and Saturday at Wuga Woo Arena. Girls wrestling has a super duper busy week with four meets, which is insane, but they're training really hard, so hopefully they're they'll kick some butt. Um then girls basketball, their upcoming games are Tuesday at Apple Valley High School, tip off at 7 and Friday will be at home at 7 again. Girls hockey also Tuesday and Saturday at Wugarina Saturday for youth hockey day. Woo! >> Let's go. >> All right, it's student council is hosting a food drive for the uh members of the community and it's upper classmen versus lowerassmen to see who donates the most. All right. And then just an update for our Packer debate. Uh I just want to give a huge shout out. We had the uh class Minnesota Classic debate festival at Two Rivers High School over the weekend. So Friday and Saturday. Uh we had a pretty some pretty big wins. Uh so we had Juan and Joelle in the novice division make advance into the state bracket which is really awesome. And then we had Sydney and Olive receive all state honors for their performance throughout the season. So it was a pretty big win for us this weekend. We just got a team picture right here for those who are interested. >> Looking sharp. >> Nice. Thank you. >> Looking sharp, Monty. And >> that's the gist. >> All right. Thank you so much, guys. >> Thank you. >> All right. And now for why we have so many people still coming in. Even very exciting. I would like to invite up our activities director, Brady Krueger, to help um our fall student athletes and activity participants, coaches, and adviserss highlight their season. All right. Thank you for uh inviting us back to share updates on our fall activity season. Um I'd like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Zambino, school board members, and then school principal uh high school principal Mr. Oaki and middle school principal Miss Borg. [snorts] Uh for their ongoing support of Packer Athletics and Activities. Uh we truly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and highlight the outstanding work that our coaches, adviserss, and students of our students and programs. South St. Paul, we offer over differentif over 50 different uh clubs and activities for our students with roughly 65% of our student body participating in any school affiliated club activity or sport. This level of engagement speaks volumes about the commitment of our students have to their school, their community, and as well as the meaningful opportunities that our programs provide. I also want to recognize the uh dedication of our coaches and advisers who work tire tirelessly um with our students each day. Their efforts to ensure that our students not only have positive experiences but also grow as leaders, teammates and responsible young adults. Athletics and activities play an essential role in supporting the whole student, promoting teamwork, time management, resilience, school pride, academic success, as well as connections that help students feel valued and supported. But without further delay, I'm going to turn it over to our coaches to talk about their their seasons. And we're going to start with volleyball in head coach Tyler LaRose. >> Hi everyone. I am our girls volleyball coach, Tyler Lar Rose. And this is >> Sorry, Chris. >> I'm sorry Chris. >> Siri's a sophomore. Siri was a captain for us this year and has done a great job. Uh so we have we started off the year with again increasing and setting another record for numbers in our program. We had 55 girls make a high school team in the fall and then we had another 15 or so on our middle school team. So, we ended the year with almost 70 girls making a volleyball roster in grades 7 through 12. And that's something that that we're really just proud of to see that number steadily grow every year. And then on the um the varsity front, uh we had a pretty successful 11 and 14 season. Not quite the record we had hoped to have, but but we were a really young program. I mean, last year we had a lot of seniors here that were really impactful players and were going to be hard to replace in one year's time, but we still had a lot to celebrate from the season. Um, our pinkout night, I think a lot of us helped fund raise. A lot of people in this room were a big part of that night. We raised a really fun chunk of money for the Serta family who lost their 10-year-old daughter Maya to pediatric cancer back in July. And that was just a really special night. We actually were featured by an organization called Team Up for Community that partners with the Minnesota State High School League. And you can find that if you follow us on social media, you can find that story that Team Up for Community wrote about our program. And in the four years that we've had the Pinkout Night now, we've raised over $18,000 for local families battling cancer. Uh so something that we're eternally proud of. [applause] Um we also had our senior setter, Hayden Michaelelsson, who couldn't be here tonight. She broke two school records and she actually did it in the same match on a cold Saturday in Cottage Grove. She uh set the school record for career aces and career assists against Farabo. So, um Towns Square TV came out and our last one of our last practices of the year and did a really cool profile on Hayden and her five years on varsity and all the records that she set. You can find that story on Town Square or on our socials, too. Um and then Siri's going to talk about our allconerence players. >> Um Yeah, we had four allconerence nominees. We had two honorable mentions, Avi Mig Goodwin Balmirez and Abby Erlic. Abby Erlick is a freshman. She's a rising star. Um Avi is a senior. She was incredible out at the net. Um and then we had two um actual uh all conference. >> All conference um Hayden Michaelelsson and me myself. So yeah, >> that's awesome. >> Yeah. And we're looking forward to another great year in 2020 uh 2026 of South St. Paul volleyball. So thank you for your continued support. Go Packers. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] >> All right. Thanks, Tyler. Uh, next up, we're gonna have, uh, Tom Hart with our girls soccer program. >> Hi. Uh, thank you. Uh, the girls soccer team. I have, uh, Haley Roar and Sarah Willie with me. Uh, two my captains, uh, of the four that I had, and they're also all conference this year. Um, girls soccer team had a fun and successful season this past fall, full of great memories and moments. Um, our regular season went really well, and I'm really proud of what the team accomplished this fall. Our record overall was 88-1. In those 17 games, we scored 46 goals and had seven shutouts during the season, which was the most we've had in eight years. Um, one of our most notable accomplishments this season was beating the uh at the time number one ranked Academy of Holy Angels uh two nothing at home and we had not beaten them in eight years also. So, couple big accomplishments for our team. Um, the girls soccer team uh was awarded our Minnesota Soccer Coaches Association team academic gold award by having a team average GPA of 3.87 87 uh which was an increase from last year and uh just an incredible group of girls that get it done in the classroom and um individually we had two allconerence uh Sarah Willie and Haley Roar and Sarah was also named to the second team all state um and I'll let these two speak about some of their favorite moments from the season. >> Um hi I'm Haley. My favorite memory, like he mentioned, we beat Holy Angels to they were the number one seed at the time at our home at our home field. So that was fun. We got to pour water on heart and celebrate at Applebee's afterwards. And other than that, we had a really good group of girls and we all were close and had a great year and I'm excited for next year. So yeah. >> Um I would say one of my favorite memories was just celebrating everybody's goals in general. And I think one of my favorites was our sections game against CDH. Um Katie Bockan scored a goal that tied the game up and kind of gave the team hope. So I think that was my favorite. >> Good. >> That's what I have. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [applause] >> All right. Next up, I'm going to bring up Mr. Holen to talk about our fall musical Brightar. >> All right. I brought a few friends, too. Thank you. [clears throat] >> All right. So, our final musical is a a pretty newish musical called Brightar. I think a lot of people who came to see the show uh got uh got to see a show that they haven't seen before. Um and uh it's very powerful show. It's a show that's uh for those you many of you probably already know, but it's written by Steve Martin and Edie Burkel. Um and it tells a really powerful story set in the South. Uh we have our we got our spotlight uh awards uh notifications. Uh overall we got honorable mentions for the entire group uh for overall performance, ensemble performance, ensemble acting performance, ensemble vocal performance and overall technical um team. We also had a bunch of individual honors, some of whom are behind me here uh and some of whom are frankly over at choke choir rehearsal right now. Um, but Natalie Clay as Alice B won outstanding in the leading role and Wyatt Ren, who's who's at uh rehearsal right now, won an honorable mention in a leading role uh for his role of Jimmy Ray. Uh, we also had an honorable mention in technical leadership for Koi Anderson who is our deck captain and an honorable mentions in supporting roles for Grayson Fmstead who played Daryl Ames, Norah Hashalt who played Lucy Grant and Harrison Schilly here uh who played Mayor Dobs, the guy everybody hated by intermission. [snorts] [laughter] >> Sorry guys. >> Um, we also had a number of evaluator shoutouts. Tessa Genrich, who played Alice A, got an evaluator shout out, as did Leilani Tumbaga, uh, who played Margot B. She's probably at wrestling practice right now. Uh, Rachel Reynolds, uh, got a shout out in her role as Edna. And Tori Baker in her role as Mama Murphy. Where's Tori? There's Tori. Yep. Um, I also have with me here Natalie Reynolds, who uh, played Stanford and is also, by the way, our thespian president. And Tori is our >> secretary. >> Secretary. Yep. Um, did I get everybody here? >> And Tessa is our vice president. >> And Tessa is our vice president. Yeah. Okay. [laughter] Yeah. Um, we had 32 actors in Brightar, uh, 19 backstage crew and a total of 62 students, uh, involved in the production, uh, including production crew. Uh, and we just, it was a very powerful show. A lot of the, uh, spotlight judges commented it's a show that they were kind of impressed that a high school group would take on. So, we're pretty proud of this group. >> Next up, by the way, for if you're looking for some entertainment in January, we'll have our one-act performances coming up in January 17th at 7:00 p.m. and January 18th at 2 p.m. And we're going to have uh six short plays there, about two hours of entertainment. [laughter] Uh that'll include our competition play, which all of these people are in, [laughter] >> right? >> Yeah. and uh our middle school play, our middle school one act and then also four student written and student directed skits. So looking forward to that. So thank you all for your support and uh we look forward to seeing you over at the auditorium again. >> It was very good. Very good. [applause] >> Natalie, can you come back up here [clears throat] quick? She she didn't know I'm going to do this, but this is one of the things that I love about South St. Paul is not only was Natalie an awesome uh did an awesome job in the lead of the fall play uh fall musical, sorry, but she was also on our swim team where she earned all conference honorable mention there. She's also in the show choir. So an incredibly talented, incredibly busy kid that is able to do all kinds of things, wonderful things. So congrats Natalie. You had one heck of a fall. [applause] Uh next up, I'm going to bring up our new boys soccer coach. We're really excited to have him here, Mr. James Derek. Good evening board. My name is James Derek, uh, the boys soccer coach. And, um, I'm going to let these guys introduce themselves real quickly. >> I'm Walton Joek. >> Uh, Oliverga Mendoza. >> I'm Alex Fuentes. >> Walton was our senior captain. Alex Fuentes Beckman was our first team allconerence selection. And then Oliver 6 Mendoza was academic allconerence carrying I think a 4.0 GPA correct. Uh something we're real proud of. Um but we set out to have three goals. Better players, better team, uh develop better young men. Developing better young men is hard because I inherited an incredible group of young men already. Uh the future of South St. Paul's in excellent hands looking at these three and and all of them truthfully. I think we thought we were going to take a little while to get to have a good season, but I I think a good season is very quickly in our future, our near future. Uh just how much these guys have developed and gotten better in the last year, but we're all really proud of them and excited for where we're going from here. They're all going to share just a little something about this season and uh just thank you guys for everything. Uh, I'd have to say my favorite part of the season was probably our game against Johnson cuz we I think played our best that game and went all out and I saw really >> I don't even know. [laughter] >> Uh, I would have to say my favorite memory of the season was probably our game against North St. Paul. Even though we did come out losing, I feel like it was just a very energetic game cuz we just kept going back and forth goal for goal. And so that's why I would say it's my favorite. If >> I could share one one of my favorite moments throughout the season was our first victory against um Trinity. Uh we did come out with the win. And also what Alex did say before uh our back and forth energy was just really uh really entertaining against North. Even though we did come out with the loss, I think as a team we played as a whole and like we put all of our hard work into it. And uh I just want to wrap up by saying um we had as I said Alex got all conference for team all conference Ali um and then Owen Shepard was selected for academic all conference and um we had quite a few other players that received honorable mentions for that too. So thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] >> All right. [snorts] Uh next we're we're going to go in order here with our boys football program. and head coach Manny Spargel. >> Hi everyone. Uh I'm Manuel Spragel and I'm here with some uh some great Packers. I would have loved to brought some more people, but these guys again, like I say every single time, these guys have some stuff that are really worth highlighting and really really awesome. Uh I thought our season was really great in the sense that uh spent a lot of time um just being together doing different things. One of the hallmarks what I try to say is is is service and I these guys all did a great job of of doing those things throughout the year. So things that have nothing to do with football, but understanding to have a good team, you got to, you know, everyone's got to contribute and make it work just like in a city. And these guys all did uh different stuff, you know. So like last last year, we went to the John Carroll building and and hung out there with some of our our residents. And when we were there, we uh had two two bingo callers uh who did some work uh doing there and that was great. And then in addition to that, we have uh youth camps and other times when we go and do things where these guys are all there up helping just being a part of community and kind of finding that like I said, there's more to the world than what's going on on your phone. Um in terms of the inseason stuff, that was also really great. Uh these guys were all staples of our team and were really really dominant. They were they were fantastic. Um Dan Fitzgerald right here, senior, he was our district's MVP from linebacker and he received a lot of praise. I I've been coaching football for a long time and it was probably one of my favorite things to listen to is hear how much the coaches dislike Daniel. Like they respect him, they love him, they just they do not want to play him. Uh sincere, he was our district's uh MVP. You know, he played both offense and defense and he was instrumental in our success this year. He did a great job on O and he did a great job on defense lighting people up and that's the type of uh football that we like to play in South St. Paul. Uh Jackson, he played uh the entire season. He was always out on the field pretty much. uh long snap, offense, defense, kick return, whatever we needed Jackson to do, he always did it and he he did it just masterfully. And so it was great to to be a part of that. And then Ben uh Ben carried the carried the rock for us a lot of times and uh he was just, you know, he talks as much as he is right now. He was just out there and worked really hard and was uh fantastic. So uh I really love these guys and it was great to be around them. Just wanted to have them practice their public speaking skills and and also reflect because there's so many things to say. I just have him say one thing and then we can move on with the night. [laughter] >> What do we say? >> Maybe just [clears throat] introduce yourself. Hey, something was awesome. Was block >> um Ben Thron and uh one one memory from the season had to be beaten Simley at their field on after a long rain delay and just felt good to beat him because we haven't beaten him in a while. Uh, [clears throat] my name is Jackson and my favorite memory of the year was kind of like the continuity we built and especially with my friend Nick Dwelli who earned the nickname Blood Bath. I thought that was really fun. >> Um, my name is Sincere Mccell. Uh, probably one of my favorite moments was beating Simley because the rain delay and just being in the locker room having fun playing games. Uh, I'm Daniel Fitzgerald and one of my favorite memories was winning every game at home. Felt good. >> Great guys, great Packers. >> Thanks a lot. >> Thank you. [applause] >> All right, we'll keep it in the family. We'll bring up uh Miss Rebecca Spragel in the girls tennis program. >> Hello everybody. I am gonna introduce my fab five as I like to call them. These are um five juniors who make up a huge part of our program. So we have Mera Gross, Libby Meyer, Liberty Felton, Grace Spraggle, and Annie Spragel. And uh all five of these girls were instrumental in our success this season uh along with their teammates. So, they hear me say it all the time, but we I emphasize with them the three things that we can control most at tennis, and that is our positive attitude, our full effort, and our good sportsmanship. And um they get sick of me saying that to them, but um at the end of the day, I really think that that's kind of what the heart of our program is about. Um we had a really successful season with a overall record of 14-8. Um we found ourselves in a new section this year and we finished uh we made it to the semi-finals in that section losing to um the team that ultimately finished second in the state. Um that would be Hill Murray. So we we were in a tough section um but we we played really well and we're we're a small team um but we compete and beat a lot of awfully big schools. So it's really fun to see um these girls and their growth. Most of them have been a part of the program since they were about I don't know four or five years old. So um it's [clears throat] pretty special to have them. They were all members of the Metro East allconference team and they all also competed in the section individual tournament um for us this year. and four of them um Hy Grace, Livby and Liberty had to play against each other um for the third place match which was not a highlight of the season for me but um they handled themselves with absolute grace and class and it was um just really amazing to watch them take on something like that and do it in such a a beautiful way. So um they're all back next year along we only had one senior so we're looking forward to a really great season next year as well. Oh, good. Good. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. And then I'm gonna bring up our cross country coach, Mr. Chris Bachan. >> Hi, Chris Bachan. Uh, cross country coach. I love this job. It's so much fun. If I were to talk for a long time or talk more than these two captains right now, it'd be very disingenuous because every practice, they do more than I do. They run the practice, they run the stretches, they lead kids, and so I'm going to let them talk, uh, my two captains, because they'll tell you what it's like to be in cross country. I just ride the bike behind them and try to keep up with them. So, >> okay. Um, hi, I'm Julia Bibbo. Um, this season was one of my favorite seasons because, well, we don't have a huge team, so it's easier for us to like get along, if that makes sense, cuz when you have less people, you get closer and it just works. So, one of my favorite parts of the season was honestly we were going to our pre-conference meet and it got rained out and we sat on the bus for about an hour and we just talked and it was fun. Like, it's just the little things that happen during the season that make up um the team. Um, let's see. We do a lot of fun things. We do pasta dinners. We do um runs by the river. We really go all out and um it's hard to get up every day and be like, "Yeah, let's go run." Like it's not easy, especially after school when it's hot out and it's rainy and but you push through it and yeah, you always had a team to look back on. So that's what it was to me. So yeah. Hello, my name is Caleb Schlimmer and as Julia was saying, yes, we do have a very small team, but we all get to know each other. We all make good friends and cross country is more of a family and we all have a lot of great memories and a lot of hard workouts, especially hill workouts when it's 90° outside and Bakan still says no running into school unless [laughter] it's unless it's thunderstorming. So those are one of the highlights of cross country. >> Uh these two captains are special. Uh we had a kid who came out who was brand new to us. Had never really done much running. And to watch Caleb work with him. These two, they don't worry so much about themselves. It's how is everyone else feeling and how are they learning and and are they doing what needs to be right? Whether it's technique, how to warm up, how to finish a race. I mean, literally, we did a relay one time and these guys carried him because they wanted to win and they wanted to get to that next spot. Um, there's a lot of things that they do that are special. The mileage is incredible. The things we do, uh, 15, 20, 25 miles sometimes a week where we're just pounding it and they come out every day and they maintain enthusiasm and never complain, never say, "Ah, again, you know, if they're thinking it, I don't hear it." because they just smile and they say, "Okay, you know, Paul, you were there at a meet. What's what did you see or what's your perspective on cross country from what you gained? You came all the way down to Canon Falls to watch us run." >> I Well, I I just love to see the team spirit. Uh you guys did such a phenomenal job. You guys were so positive and it just uh it emanated from the whole vibe. Um was also great to see you guys supporting each other, which was it was just great to see as a as a school board member. Um, it was great to see student athletes compete, but it was way way better to see you guys um, support each other. So, >> it's important because it's a 712 group and the youngest need to feel as if they're as much a part of the team as the senior or the one who's a veteran and I think they did a really good job of that. So, we had a great season. These two were uh, honorable mention all conference. So that's great for them that uh they worked it hard and and for Julia especially coming back from two years ago she she had two years ago some really good times and then a year ago had some times that she wasn't as happy with but she came all the way back and and became faster two years later which is pretty incredible and uh it's so it's nice to have some of my best runners be some of my best people as well. So I enjoy this team. I love these kids and I really enjoy the cross country program. So thanks for supporting us. Have a great night. >> Thank you. [applause] All right, before we go, I do want to talk about our uh loons uh swim and dive program. It's a co-op that we have with South St. Paul many haha academy and Crystal Ray. Um our head coach could not be here tonight because she does have other commitments, but um she did want to talk about the successful season that they had. Uh this is the second year of the co-op. Uh she wanted to highlight specifically Natalie Natalie Clay who was here earlier with our theater program. Um earned all conference honorable mention and the hardest worker award. Um, Adam Mari Roes, she's a South St. Paul freshman. She was the team MVP, earning the most points in meets over the course of the season. Um, she was also all conference honorable mention. And then Joel Gilfoil, who you saw earlier, um, featured um, when Monty was talking about our debate team's performance. Um, she earned the young talent award by dropping the most time um, in a single event um, as a seventh through 9th grader. So, she's excited about the young swimmers swimming great and she's excited for the coming years with the growth and talent for our program. That's all I have for tonight. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate your continued support. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Brady. [applause] >> Well, I just feel amazed like hearing about all the accomplishments of our kids and to know like this is a tiny snapshot if we have 65% of our kids engaged in these extracurricular activities and they're all just turning into amazing leaders and teammates and it's um it's just fabulous. All right, now we go to the boring parts of the meeting. Right. Uh, next up is item 3C, stakeholder comments to the board. As a reminder to the community, there are two ways to make comment to the board. You may either submit an online form or appear before the board in person. If you would like to speak in person, the board has set aside time on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. during our regular extended work session meetings. The next in-person stakeholder comment to the board session is scheduled for January 12, 2026 at 6:30m. Um, since our last on camera meeting, we have not received any comments to the board. All right, I will now thing turn things over to Vice Chair Claflin for an update on our work sessions. Thank you. Uh previous to this meeting, we had our work session and discussed some of the planning around the bonding requests that we'll be bringing to voters. There's a few things that have to happen in uh so as it was described to us sort of a reverse order where first we have to get the approval for the financing and funding and then we'll develop the specific plans. So, at this point, we've um gone through um a facilities study. We've had a community task force working on uh figuring out what the top priorities are for us to address. We have quite a bit in maintenance that needs to be done for our buildings. and uh figuring out what those priorities are has been uh the result of a lot of conversations and also um using a survey of our community. We have planned to go forward with a bonding request right now. That information is going to be reviewed by Department of Education and then they will make their decision on if this is a um educational and economic advisable educationally and economically advisable plan for us. So, um we will be moving forward with this and um we certainly have the needs within our school district and we'll be um bringing all of the this information out to our community over the next few months. Also discussed our plan for how to um share this information and make sure that everyone understands that we really do have strong needs for maintenance. It might not be the things that we see all the time. Uh the tennis courts are certainly on our list, but so is stuff like the HVAC systems. So, we have been working on this for quite a while, and you'll see all of this rolling out soon. And uh discussed all the other events that we uh attend. A lot of the senior social uh events were highlighted. >> Thank you. All right, I'll hand things over to Dr. Amino. >> All right. Well, thank you, Chair Hume. What a fun night to see. I just I know we all love it when they're here, but I say it all the time. We have the best kids and the best staff, and these nights just show that. And shout out to uh Brady Kger over there for all the late nights he puts in. I I told him I could take his agenda item, but he's like, "I'll stay." So, he's just a trooper over there. So, appreciate that work. I know sometimes um we only hear the bad things, but I know he does great work with that. So, I just appreciate all of our coaches and uh athletes and everybody for a great start to the year. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Clearly, fall is done and winter has come. So, um if you see me with bags under my eyes walking around the district, that's because I'm anticipating a lot of sleepless nights seeing if it's snowing or not. And we got our first forecast that says somewhere between 1 and 9 in maybe. So, that's that's the life of the superintendent and communications people trying to figure out. Uh but we will work really hard to let folks know. We did share information with staff about closures and families, but uh we work really hard to get it out. I just acknowledge it can be challenging. A lot of times we do go to it seems like every night we go to bed with a big forecast and we don't know until we wake up. And we would much rather let people know the night of but uh it's a little bit challenging. But I know uh I love working here. our our city does a fantastic job with the streets and I wish my city would follow suit in that uh great job that they do. Uh but yeah, as far as some updates going on, lots of great things. Not as many just cuz we just met a couple weeks ago, but um we are very excited to engage our some of our youngest learners and so uh a team of us have been meeting our principal communications team and tech and others to kind of figure out how we can make a smooth onboarding for our our incoming kindergarters. I love that picture there. Um, you know, once a packer, always a packer. Great to see it starting at a young age. Uh, but we do want to make sure families have good information. We know it's a big uh big uh transition, a big change sometimes in a home. Uh, so we do have open houses at both of our schools. So, Lincoln Center is going to have theirs on January 27th at 6 and then the next night, Caposia will have theirs on Wednesday the 28th at 6:00. Um, enrollment is open. You can certainly go on our website and find out more information and enroll, but we definitely encourage you to come to that. There'll be other opportunities for open houses and things, but uh we really want to make sure we make that connection and help our our families and our kiddos feel really comfortable and welcome with that transition. Um also in terms of support, we really work hard to, you know, like I said, be as creative as we can and meet our families where they are and help. Um so excited to share that we have a vaccination clinic that we're hosting. It's going to be on Thursday the 22nd from 4 to 8 at the secondary. Uh we do encourage you to register, but we don't want that to be a barrier. So if you can get on our website, go to the news section, uh you'll find out information about the clinic and and be able to sign up. Um you know, it is a requirement within the state. So we always work hard to support our families and and providing the best service we can. All right. Educating through community. So I love uh again we talk about that work that we do when we work with our youngest learners all all the way to some of our oldest learners as you see on our on our picture and we believe in that lifelong learning that's our goal. We are um aspiring to always be a learning organization that's kids and adults together. So uh excited to share the community education catalog is out so you can um see what's going on there as well as early learning and those should have been in your mailbox but you can always go on our website at communityed.sppps.org or um again I just we have the the best staff. So Jean Zender and her team at Central Square uh they really take on a lot of things that people don't even see. And so I just want to acknowledge the work they do. Uh but the community had offerings like tons and tons of offerings that range from hobbies to crafts to cooking to life skills, all kinds of things. So please be sure to check out the catalog uh and sign up for something similar to what we had last time I was here. we had a something at Caposia and now our Lincoln kids are um getting to enjoy the Bacan museum and so what they do is they bring the field trip to the school so that there's no barriers and each grade gets to spend a day uh exploring their mobile museum so learning about STEM topics of science, tech, engineering um you know learning about magnetism and the and force and different things that they get to do hands-on learning. Love the look on the little guy's face there. I'm not quite sure what that is that a Mentos thing or something. What's going on there? Um, but you know, every grade level, and this is what I appreciate about them, having worked in an elementary building, it's really hard to plan something that works for kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade. So, always in awe of our specialists and others and the Bakan Museum for stepping into that space and making it meaningful for our kids. Our student rep shared some good dates, but a few more just to be aware of. We got winter break right around the corner. So, that's coming up from the 24th of December to January 2nd. And the 16th is no school for Martin Luther, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And then we have um at elementary we have a PTA meeting at Caposia at 6 on the 6th and at Lincoln at 7 on the 12th. And then for secondary, we've got conferences coming up on January 22nd, uh 22nd, excuse me. And then uh the Sprawic week from January 26th to 30th. There's still some school spirit. And then January 17th to 18th, the theater one act plays are just right around the corner. We just had the great musical and now we're gearing up for the one act. So it's uh fun to see our kids be able to express themselves artistically. Those are all student le and student design. So super fun to see. As always, you can uh follow us online and learn what the board's doing and access all our materials on our website. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Zambrino. >> Absolutely. >> All right, moving along. Uh yes, >> question. Um, Superintendent Zambbrino, I am I maybe I should know this, but what is a sprawl? >> It's a sports frolic. >> Am I Am I right? Am I >> sprawlic? >> I think so. Usually it's leading up to the um the winter pep fest that we do. And usually that's the b a big basketball game. Boys basketball specifically usually. >> Yeah. It it dates way back. So, somebody who's graduated from here, like it's been going on for a long time, hasn't it? >> Mhm. >> Yeah. >> Used to be a little bit more in the spring. I think that's what I thought it was. >> This is winter, but Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Like a winter prom. It used to be. >> Yeah. Well, >> okay. >> So, school spirit, fun, celebrate, right? Be proud to be a Packer. [laughter] >> Yeah. We'll have a bunch of fun themes that you guys can >> be involved in if you want. >> I sense a challenge [laughter] from the student reps. All right. Well, thank you for more information on what Sprawlic is. I I'm excited. All right. Next, I am looking for a motion to approve the consent items on tonight's agenda, which include the financial claims, bills payable, and staffing as presented. Do I have a motion? >> Some moved. >> Second. Thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say I. I. Opposed. uh carries 6. Uh now moving on to policies. This evening we have two policies on our agenda for their third and final reading and approval. District policies play a critical role in the governance work of the school board. All district policies are available on our website under the about us tab located within the schoolboard section under SSPs policies. At this time, I am seeking a motion to approve the policies listed on our agenda this evening. >> So moved. Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. All right. The policies for approval tonight are policy 516, student medication and teleaalth, and policy 208, development, adoption, and implementation of policies. These two policies were initially reviewed by the policy committee at the November 17th meeting. They received their second reading at the board's November 24th meeting and tonight we vote to approve them. Is there any further discussion on these? All right. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposed? >> Motions carry 60. Okay. It's officially after 6:30, so we can move on to our next item. It's uh I'm looking for a motion for approval for the South St. Paul School Board to certify the payable 2026 levy at $15,228,617.98. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. All right. I'd like to invite our finance and operations executive director Raj Hoth up to present so that we satisfy the requirement for our public hearing for taxes payable in 2026 and then we can open the door to any public comment on this topic. >> We're riveted, >> right? Will the tech work? >> Yay. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, Madame Vice Chair, members of the board. Once again, my name is Raj Choff. I'm the finance and operation executive director for South St. Paul Public Schools. Tonight's agenda will be uh tailored on our public hearing for taxes payable in 2026, also known as Truth and Taxation, uh also known as TNT for short. Having said that, uh, Minnesota state law requires us to hold this in a public setting, which this is, um, must be between November 25th and November 29th, which it is, um, 6 p.m. or later, which it is, as well, may be part of the regularly scheduled meeting, must allow for public comments, and we may adopt this final levy at the same meeting. I am pleased to announce that based on my observation here of these bullet points here in the state law requirement, we do meet these requirement. And with that being said, I can go on to the hearing agenda here. Um, it's going to be focused in tonight's presentation will be on the background information of school funding. It's it's complex. You know, there's 39 pages of the levy report and the last calculation that I saw was 5,029. Um, I'm also going to go uh and review the district budget with everybody here and the district proposed tax levy and also allow for public comment as well. Um, just laying the groundworks. You know, we are a public government entity. We are a public school. Because we are a public schools, we are bound by Minnesota legislature for funding for Minnesota public schools. Just uh a highlight of of this verbatim here. It says the legislature shall make such provision by taxation or otherwise as well as secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state. Because of this, our funding is highly regulated. The states actually help sets the formula which determines revenue. Uh most of our revenues are based on per pupil also known as enrollment. Um the tax policy is also regulated and also there's a maximum authorized property tax levy that a lot of districts tonight are going through this motion as well. Um districts can levy less um based on their financial circumstances and also the states authorized the board to submit referendum for operating and capital needs to voters for approval. We have been very fortunate that we have a very very caring supported community here that have helped pass referendum. Um the states actually set the formula we get per pupil 74.81 81. Um in prior years um state has been giving us roughly around 1% 1 and a.5% um most recently the floor is actually at 2% and the ceiling is at three. So, it's makes it a little bit easier for budgeting compared to past decades. But even that, the Gen 8 uh formal allowance has not kept up with inflation for the last 22 years going back to 2003. As you can see in this illustration here, um if we were going to be um at 2% 2.5% constantly, we would had roughly 1420 extra to our per pupil of 74.81 totaling 8901. It'll sure make our fund balance looks good. But because we have not kept up with inflation, we have gone out to the voter and we have a very supportive community here that has allowed us to help maintain our programs. Inflation is just one category. Um, another category that the state has under fund has been special education, also known as a cross subsidy for South St. Paul public schools. Um, just to give groundwork here, our cross subsidy for South St. Paul Public Schools is roughly about $3 million here. That means that even we go on in the next couple years here, the state's going to still be underfunded in totality by $524 million statewide. Our portion will be roughly around $3 million, might be $2.5 million because of the inflationary factor. the voter approved a referendum authority per pupil here. Uh this illustration here again where we stack with our surrounding communities here. We're in the middle of the pack here because uh we passed the voter approved referendum. We are at 238 roughly the middle pack. Um roughly around that $2,000 baseline compared to Farmington which is at $740 here. for budget uh information here. School districts are divided according to Gatsby, the government accounting standard board, the separate funds. Our district funds are the general fund. Think of it as the day-to-day operation checking fund, our food service fund, our community service fund. We also have a debt service fund because we issue bonds and and we we pay the principles and interest off of the depth service fund. Uh we are self-insured which is our internal service fund and also we have an OPAP trust. [cough] According to all funds all revenue our budget for 2526 is roughly $60.7 million. Out of that $60.7 million the general fund makes the bulk of this at 86.3% roughly $52.4 million. >> [cough] >> The second largest is our DEP service fund because we have issued bonds. Also, uh our community service fund which uh in in my line of work is also known as fund for and our food service fund is roughly at $2.2 million. Taking a little deeper dive into the general fund revenue here. Um contrary to some belief the federal government because it's a pass through we get approximately 2.3%. Um our largest funding stream is actually from the state coming in at 72.6% or roughly 38.1 million. And also our uh next largest category would be our local revenue coming in at 25% or roughly $13.1 million. So what's the other side? We we get the revenue now but because we are in a very very serviceoriented industry what we provide is quality education back to the kids because of that our human capital is very centric. Uh with that we spend a roughly um about 79% in salaries and wages for our general fund expenditures. And then the other category that is high here is our purchase services and also our supplies and material and our capital expenditure. Going back to the classrooms here on a programmic level here, what makes the bulk of our $52.4 million general fund expenditure is our regular instruction. We also spend a lot for special ed education at 10.8 which is the second highest category. Also, we have our our pupil support services, our instructional support. We just don't provide an education, but we transport kids as well. So, it it gives a holistic picture of what we do here for our district. Uh total school property taxes payable on 25 home. Um this is our U partner with Ellers here that has helped provide this illustration here. If you just take a look at this graph here, again, we're middle of the pack here, but because we have more property property um private property than commercial property, our share of the pie >> is a little bit more compared to um our neighbors at West Paul, for example. Also, um we we do work uh with our partners with the city and county. As a school district, our budget year begins on a fiscal year, July 1st to June 30th. Uh the counties are on a calendar year January 1st to December 31st. So, our 2026 taxes provided revenue here will be for fiscal year 27. So we're working in different cycles even though we're partners. Many tax property taxpayer across Minnesota have seen this mailing here. This is just an example and illustration here that of the proposed tax um document that a lot of homeowners has has gotten here. Each taxing jurisdiction has set their own levy. Um our leverage tonight is actually a decrease of negative.4 which is a little bit less than 1%. Um the county I believe has raised their by 9.9%. And I believe the city was at 8 and something%. So it it it actually is pretty good news that the school district has not um raise any taxes here for tonight. Each school district has limited authority to levy taxes. Um again we work with MDE. MDE has the calculations the formulas to calculate the levy amounts for the various category set by state law and also the voters. Having said that it is a multi-prong process here. We are in step five of this process, but we work closely with the city and county assessor, also the legislature, um the county auditors, of course, MDE, and also going back after tonight's meeting, um I'm going to need a signed document by Wendy. I'm going to have to give it back to the county auditor and also MDE. So, it's it's multi-stages. Um we started out um September 8th we prepared um the actual draft for our levy limit. Um December 22nd the school board approved a proposed levy. Uh mid November there was tax document has been sent and December 8th which is today is the public hearing on the proposed levy and then following this um again Wendy there's a document for you to sign. So, uh just just very high level overview of the district proposed tax levy. Our um proposed final payable 26 tax levy, excuse me, is uh a decrease from 2025 of approximately in dollars term $63,000 or.4%. Now, the changes to the category here are in this illustration here. Again, uh behind the scene, there's been a lot of work. It's 39 pages and 5,029 calculation that goes here. I didn't bring the whole packet for you, but uh if anybody has time, I'm more than welcome in my office. [laughter] Um just taking a look at this at on a net basis, you see this illustration at the total at the bottom here. Our actual levy that was payable in 2025 was actually 15.292. Our proposed levy payable for 2026 is 15.228. So roughly $63,000. Um I I took a line by line analysis here working with Ellers here and the only increase here um which you're going to see the other offset is the general fund voter approved capital project levy. Um that's because of the voter approved tax rate that was applied to the tax base. That's why you see that $100,000 there. But on the flip side of this here, our debt service fund, which was voter approved, um it's structured and we've been paying off our depths, our principal and interest. So we saw a net change of $102,000. So in totality on a net basis, it was $63,000 decrease from the prior year. Having said that, um factors that can impact individuals um taxpayers school taxes are of course the change in value of individual property, the change in total value of all property within the district, whether it is commercial or homeowners. Um increase and decrease in levy amounts caused by state funding formulas, local needs, cost, voter approved referendums, and other factors. I always liked um this illustration here. Um it's actually the impact of property valuation. You know, no two homes are alike. Um in this illustration here, we have the orange home at 100,000, the blue home at also at $100,000, and the total levy is $500. Each property will pay $250 in simple terms. But what happens is that the orange home increased by 10%. And the blue home increased by 25%. The school will generate the same revenue, but the blue house will pay a little bit more at 266 and the orange house at 234 just based off of that appreciation. Um just to give a a quick rundown analysis of four-year school levy comparison. Um I was working with Ellers here to give an example of what it looks like if there was no uh property appreciation [clears throat] versus some property appreciation. So in the next following slides I will show you the impact of it. In this table here, um it is based on no changes in property value. But as you know, in the last couple years, home prices have appreciated. So this is just for illustration only, you will see a lot of these residential or commercial, we'll see decreases. But because we and um this this also this bar graph here shows the stagnant amount based on no changes in property value. just for illustration. For example, one on a $200,000 residential homestead, uh $300,000, $400 and a $500,000 commercial property. But realistically, there has been appreciation. And with the appreciation on a 4-year cumulative change, uh we see some slight increases here to the resident homestead property at 200,000. Also a slight increase at 300,000 there about $7 there from 25 to 26. Um again another illustration here for $400,000 residential homestead property slight increase again uh 500,000 commercial again it's actually a slight decrease here but that is not uh the all and all there's some state programs out there to help property owners based on your income I would uh suggest people go to the Minnesota Department of Revenue revenue website, contact the county or city assessor for some of these program here if you qualify. So on a net basis, some homeowners might be paying a little bit less depending on your income. Uh next step, I would recommend that the board accept public comments here. I'm going to go back to Chair Hume for this and certify the 2026 property tax levy. >> Thank you, Ra. At this point, I invite anyone from the public who would like to comment on the 2026 proposed tax levy or if there are any questions or comments from the board for Rob before we vote on this might matter. >> I would like to ask our student school board reps, have any of you sat through a truth and taxation hearing before? I don't know. >> Is there any finance majors here? By the way, [laughter] >> no. >> Is this your first one? >> Congratulations. Mark your calendar. Every year we do it. >> If I was planning on going to finance, [snorts] that dream is cute. [laughter] >> I was just making sure the pie charts made sense and added up to 100. [laughter] >> They did. >> So, >> thank you for double-checking the work. Can we add that to the 530 calculation now? Okay. >> Happy to help. >> All right. If there is no um >> Did you want to say something? >> I just want to say I respect all the work you do, man. But I don't know any I don't [laughter] >> I'm impressed that you know all of it. >> All the formulas and stuff. That's impressive. I barely can remember the quadratic formula. [laughter] >> Well, I think I should point out that RA is not only like proposing next year's stuff, he just finished auditing last year's stuff and is currently dealing with this year's stuff. So, he's he's juggling all the stuff. >> Yes. [laughter] Good work. >> All right. I would like to um mention since the camera doesn't show that no one has stepped up to the podium to make public comment. So, um we will move on. If there is any other discussion from the board, no. Then um what we are voting on I will just reiterate is adoption of the uh payable levy for 2026 at 15,228,617.98. All those in favor please say I I >> opposed. It carries 6. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> You will definitely get the thing signed by Wendy. Good. >> We'll get on to the next step. All right, moving on to our business items. >> We have three [laughter] business items before us this evening. Ra, don't run away. You're next. Next up, [laughter] I'm looking for a motion for the South St. Paul School Board to approve the acceptance of gifts report. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Thank you. [clears throat] >> Second. >> Excellent. and welcome back up RA to share uh to share with us the donation that's before us tonight. Yes, Madam Chair, Madame Vice Chair, members of board, thank you for um allowing me again to acknowledge the donation from Rakota um credit union. Even though we had a a ceremony to honor though the donation with that big check and and photo op and everything, I just want to take time here to officially acknowledge that we did receive the check when we did make the deposit and it we know it's a great caring community, a great partnership and you know looking for more and more partnerships down the road. Also, I just want to take uh a little bit of uh time here to acknowledge some of our donors that wanted to remain anonymous um throughout the months um throughout the calendar year here. We're still really really honored and grateful that we have such amazing community members here. >> Thank you. Well, I um will open it up to any questions, comments, or discussion, but I would like to also thank Wakakota Credit Union. I think this is a fabulous partnership. Um, for people who didn't hear about it from our last meeting, um, the money this year is going to our entrepreneurship students and they have exciting big plans and, uh, I actually was at Wakakota this afternoon and opened up an account because I would like to further support this partnership and our schools and it was super easy. Uh, so I just want to encourage if you're thinking about it, it was very easy. I walked in and they got me all set up and I look forward to getting my card in 7 to 10 days. >> There you go. Okay, [laughter] >> thank you so much. >> If there are no questions or comments, um then all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Opposed. >> We accept this gift 6. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I am looking for a motion for approval for the South St. Paul School Board to approve the Boys and Girls Nordic skiing cooperative agreement with Two Rivers and Simley beginning of the 202526 school year. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. And I invite Brady Creger back up. >> And they have snow. >> This year we do have snow. Let's [laughter] Let's hope the snow sticks around because that has been a uh it's been a bummer for the past two uh Nordic scenes uh skiing seasons and alpine season. Um so basically South St. Paul um as long as I have been here, we have had a small number of kids that have competed in Nordic skiing. And when they have competed in Nordic skiing, they have basically gone and practiced with Simley. um but then competed under the South St. Paul like name. Um and so the ads of the the schools um simly South St. Paul and Two Rivers decided it was probably in the best interest of all schools to combine resources because again limited opportunities um and then just numbers with the that we're seeing with Nordic programs across the board. So this is uh an opportunity that would give kids in South St. Paul that are interested in Nordic skiing an opportunity to compete with a program um that has a steady uh stream of coaches um healthy number of kids and so on. >> Uh [clears throat] curious do they still compete then as South St. Paul but part of this or are they now just one unified team? >> It would be one unified team. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Do you know about how many of our students will be on the team? We currently don't have any students that are interested in Nordic. Um, we've had I think we've had two or three kids that have done Nordic since I've been here. >> Oh, thank you. >> All right. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Six. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, Brady. >> Brady. >> I am now looking for a motion for approval for the South St. Paul School Board to approve the 2026 2027 district calendar. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. >> Thank you. Second. Thank you. And I'd like to invite our educational services executive director Amy Winter up to speak to the process of how we got this calendar and what it is. Good evening everyone. Yes, I am excited to bring before you a proposal for our calendar for the 2627 school year. Um and I'm just going to give you just a quick little um summary of just some of the steps that we've taken to get to this uh point. So number one um we as a collective uh use the guiding change document which really outlines um what is our current reality? What did we really strive for in our previous uh calendars? What are we hoping and for in the future? And then what are some of those non-negotiables that are kind of outside of our scope um and decision-m uh abilities. Once we kind of had that, what we did is we took that guiding question which is how do we provide an academic calendar in South St. Paul that supports the learning of students and adults along with supporting our greater family community and we really um had identified three kind of buckets of priorities. Number one is the teaching and learning uh needs especially around like our relicure opportunities. Um, also just being thoughtful about uh the different timing of those needs and when to schedule them, our assessment considerations around like our assessment windows, especially with our state testing, um, our MCA, our access. Um, we don't want to have disruptions in the calendar. And then finally, our student family considerations. Um, previously we've done a rolling start to be able to get some of our newest learners into spaces um, in a more protected space. We also um one of the big asks I heard from our family advisory committee was aligning our days off. So it was really hard on families when um our elementary was out of school but our high school was in school and so the ask was really to align our days off for our families. And then also um our spring break because we are part of the tri district doing some alignment with our spring break because some of our students are intersecting between two districts and so then it's almost two weeks of instruction that is being impacted if we don't line up our spring breaks. So whoa was all a part of this process. Um all of our bargaining units were invited to the table and that includes our teachers, ESPs, clerical, independent and buildings and grounds. Um we also had site representatives from each site. Um we had department representatives and then we had family representatives. The process that we took, I will tell you we went through at least four versions. Um and I do want to thank the comm's department because they um had very fast turnaround times to get the visuals ready because it was just easier to communicate that with each um group of individuals. Uh we had at least three family advisory meetings um where we revisited this uh these drafts. We had four staff advisory meetings um and then our executive leadership team and different departments. I will tell you in between each of these meetings um representatives were asked to go back to their departments and their sites. Many of our sites did surveys um to the whole building so that everyone was able to kind of give their two cents and then those representatives would come back. Um, one of the really neat things was to be able to have everyone in space and talk about how the calendar impacts um, at the different levels. And so like the high school would come up with a really great idea, they'd bring it to the space and then the elementary be like, "Well, hold on a minute. This is how this lands for us. Have you thought about this?" And so then, um, it was some really good dialogue to kind of just see, um, you know, how to make the best decision for everybody in the organization, not just about one party. So I think just uh again you have a copy of the uh calendar but just a couple highlights that I think will impact our families. Number one, the first day of school is landing before Labor Day this upcoming year. Um Labor Day is very late and so the state did give permission uh for districts to start um September 1st and so we are uh making that proposal. Number two, uh, spring break is scheduled for March 29th through April 2nd, which does align with our tri- district partnership. And then, um, the last day of school would then be June 3rd. >> So early. >> So, I am, uh, open for any questions or comments. Thank you for um, wrangling all of the threads that it takes to make the calendar. I've sat as a parent on that um advisory council before for the calendar and it's amazing how many different concerns you don't know or realize because it just doesn't seem to apply to you. So to pull that all together is really impressive. Um any other questions or comments from the rest of the board? >> Okay. >> How does the winter break fall for next year? >> Yeah, on the calendar right now, let me pull my copy out. It is landing that uh the last day of school would be December 22nd and then uh students would come back January 4th. [snorts] All right. Um no further questions or discussion. Um all those in favor of approving the calendar, please say I. >> I opposed. >> Motion carries 60. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> All right. Our final business item of the night. I am looking for a motion for approval for the South St. Paul School Board to approve the agreement with the South St. Paul Educational Support Professionals Local 7312 for the contract period of July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2027. And I'd like to invite up our executive director of human resources, Charlie Cook. Thank you, Chair Hume, Superintendent Zamrino. Uh, the South St. Paul School District has reached a tenative agreement with the South St. Paul Educational Support Professionals local number 7312 or the ESP unit for the contract period of July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2027. The ESP unit voted in favor of the proposed contract on Friday, December 5th, 2025. The proposed agreement is within the parameters of the that are established uh by the board of education. The components of the settlement have been provided to the school board. The agreement includes the increases to the salary schedules of 2% in year 1, 2% in year two along with a major focus on professional development. >> Thank you. Any questions or comments? All right. Can >> I just I just want to, you know, thank our negotiating teams both on the district side and our staff. It's been all I've heard is positive things, collaboration, and and and teamwork on that. And that's really um not something to take for granted. And so appreciate the work of everybody who's contributed on that. And love that we're able to build some more professional development time in for our ESPs because they often are just when the students are there and don't always get developed in the way they deserve. So, it's pretty exciting to see that. >> All right. >> Yes. Good contract. Thank you. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Opposed. Contract carry 6. Thanks, Charlie. >> All right. Our final item of the evening. I'm going to ask our school board members to share um updates on committees that they serve on or highlight any uh recent district activities or events that they've participated in. And I'm going to start with Wendy. I always start on this side. I'm going to start with you. No, that's fine. [laughter] >> First, I want to say [clears throat] a major thank you to all of our our coaches, advisors, and all of our students that came to our to our program here earlier. It's just it's always so wonderful. And for me personally, it's so exciting when when we do this for all of the students by each season when they come and they get a lot of good credit. And it's so nice too that when the students themselves speak and give us their happiness information and what they truly liked and have enjoyed. So I want to say a huge thank you to the coaches, advisers, advisors, students. So we welcome them every year. That's so nice to have them come. And I just want to mention one thing that uh our senior center, it has been mentioned already a little bit, our regular senior center meeting is this Wednesday morning. And then coming up, one of the exciting things for the year is our potluck lunchon which will be held on Thursday starting at 11:30 in the morning. And we are asked to bring an item to share to all of the members that come to the lunchon. It's it's a wonderful event. I've been to it several times. So please, we ask everyone to bring a food share. And also last week with our senior center, I did go to one of our programs that that was held was it was a tour. Went to the orchestra hall. That was the first time I had ever been there to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and got to see the Minnesota Orchestra play and it was a a very nice show, very good program. Looking forward to that. And my personal next thing will be coming up in February when we go to Chanhassen Dinner Theater to the Guy and Dolls program which is coming up on February 18th. So, anyone who wants to attend these events as senior center age, [laughter] uh, we encourage you to to register as soon as possible because all of all of these different bus trips, tours that we do, they are a combination of Inenver Grove, South St. Paul, and West St. Paul organizations. We are a tri district group thing. So if anybody is interested to any of those things as they're in they're in their booklet that we see receive in the mail, we encourage you to sign up and register if you are truly interested. And then last but not least, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and we will see you next year on TV. So, thank you. >> Thank you, director. >> Have a good holiday, >> Director Weber. >> Oh, now we're going all the way down here. >> All the way down. >> Keep me on my toes. Um, I don't have much tonight. Um just [clears throat] again um grateful for everyone in this community, all the different events um that people are able to participate in. Um I had a great time kind of chatting with the student reps earlier about um memories and school activities that you will remember far far far after um you have completed them. And I just think that those are memories that people carry with them um for a very long time and people can remember, you know, a shot they made or a speech they gave. And um I always just think that's a great in addition to the education they receive um in the classroom. So, also just want to wish everyone um a great Christmas season um and a happy new year and be careful for all the people who are now walking on like what might be dangerous sidewalks or roads or things, you know, take it easy, slow down and, you know, let the pedestrians go first. [laughter] >> Thank you, Director Weber. Director Cummings. Um well, I was pleased to go to the border battle to end hunger between West St. Paul and South St. Paul. And I um I'm sad to report that West St. Paul did beat South St. Paul. But I have to say that um one of the reasons was is that there was a component that needed to be added to the meals that was cinnamon. And apparently the cinnamon ran out in much more many more of the South St. Paul teams than it did in the West St. Paul team. So I feel like there's like cinnamon gate, [laughter] you know. Um so we are coming back next year if if um in order to um ensure that our heritage of packing and in South St. Paul can uh we can live up to that. But um the people who really won were u many of uh neighbors and other people um in need across our area. 55,000 meals were packed that day, which is um uh which is something that's really great. So, um so many people won in that effort. And I did want to just reiterate what um Director Weber, Director Felton said, which is uh merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy new year, or however your family gathers this time of year. Um and so have a great rest of the year. We'll see you next year. Thank you, Director Felton. >> Nothing. Thank you. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Laughlin. >> Thanks. I had a really awesome opportunity today where I was invited to visit the fifth grade art class at Caposia. They've been studying weaving as an art form, and that's one of my hobbies. So, I got to show them how you can continue doing this way after you leave elementary and high school. And you say we have the best kids, but I saw it absolutely on display. These kids were so curious. They asked great questions. They were so respectful. and um they they really wanted to figure out how to apply things that they were learning to their own projects. And I could see those wheels turning. [laughter] They were asking the teacher for different supplies and oh, can we try this? And I I think we could change how we're doing this part over here. It was so much fun to see them. Uh I wish that we could get more people to have that interaction with students and we'll just have to report back on our own interactions um because they really are awesome kids. >> Thank you. >> Well, I similarly had like we have awesome kids as a story. I had the opportunity to go to the uh wrestling home opener last week >> and all of the kids I think displayed really great sportsmanship, but I would specifically like to say our girls wrestling team, you know, grappling and wrestling is so physical and you can get so in it. And afterwards, not only are they shaking hands, some of them are hugging their opponents and the sportsmanship was amazing to see. And um I also want to shout out, we have amazing staff. We've had so many different events, concerts, and the plays and things, and I have seen teachers everywhere. And in fact, this weekend I saw a teacher at Doug Woo for like a hockey association tournament. So, not even a school related sporting event, but there to watch some kids that she knew. Um, just amazing. I just, um, let's end on that positive. And since there is no second board meeting this month due to the winter break, I know it's early, but everyone have a restful and cozy winter break and a happy new year. And I will entertain a motion to adjourn our Monday, December 8th, 2025 schoolboard meeting. >> So moved. Thank you. >> Second. >> Excellent. Any discussion? All right. All those in favor, please say I. >> I opposed. We adjourn 6. The school board meeting is adjourned at 7:21.