Good evening. The regular meeting of the Independent School District 279 School Board is called to order at 6:02 p.m. on August 25th, 2026. This regular business meeting of the Osio School Board is being conducted in the boardroom of the Educational Service Center. The meeting can be monitored electronically by streaming online from the district website. An archived recording of tonight's meeting will also be available on the district website. Seated in front of you this evening from my left in your right are director Kelsey Dawson, director Erica Foster, director Thomas Brooks, myself, board chair Tanya Prince, director Keith Tate will be arriving shortly, and director Sarah Mitchell. Also present in the boardroom are Superintendent Dr. Kim Hy and members of the superintendent's cabinet. Those of you who can please stand and join me in 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. >> Board members, are there any additions to the agenda? Is there a motion to accept the agenda as presented? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Director Mitchell. >> Is there any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion passes 5 to zero. >> Our presentation this evening is building a better future elementary magnet schools. John Morstead, executive director of finance and operations will lead the presentation. John is Um, well, we're going to make this work, so not a problem. Um, thank you. Good evening, Chair Prince, Superintendent Hy, board members, and the community. Uh, tonight we're actually going to be asking the board in consent to approve um the bid award for Birch Grove School for the Arts. Um like we've done with other projects um with prior BR bid awards, we wanted to take the opportunity to show the board and the community what renovations will look like. Tonight we'll be showing you renovations for all three of our elementary magnet schools. The other two being Weaver Lake and Zaynwood um will come up for board approval um at the the September board regular board meeting. We actually took the Weaver Lake bids today and uh had a good day. So glad about that. So we're uh we have two done and one to go. All right. Um, as I mentioned, Birch Grove is part of tonight's consent. And in each of these buildings, our primary focus was on um the media center, making renovations to the media centers, adding flex room class spaces with some additions um specific for magnet school programming. This I'll just scroll here. We can still see it. Um so starting with Birch Grove, you'll see a much more prominent entrance with a lot more color to be a lot more reflective of the arts magnet that it is. Um here is a view of the media center. including the teaching wall on the far side. And then if we look from the other angle, you have more of your circulation book stacks and the maker space is is on the back end of that. Um the music wing also is being renovated to tie into the same theme from the front entry and other improvements on this site will include an outdoor classroom. As we move to Weaver Lake, they chose a theme that ties nature into STEM. So, here's what the entrance of their media center will look like. Um, inside the media center, they've had some fun seating and natural um colors that were tied in. There's actually a river that's built into the carpet that flows through the entire building to help kind of tie the themes together. And here's a new view of of their maker space. and then a rendering of their newly designed science lab. Again, other improvements at this site will also include an outdoor classroom. And finally, Zaynwood Community Steam School. Here is a look at their media center. And um again, they their focus was really adding a lot of color and and bringing kind of geometry in to try to tie some of the stained components in. So, as you're looking here at a um the first shot was into their media center. This is their engineering lab. Um and and a good example of what learning on display looks like. The site also chose to make the entrance to their steam classrooms much more vibrant and inviting. And again, tying it into the same theme. Um the district did not have to add an outdoor classroom to this site since this school has not one, not two, but three outdoor classrooms already. Um that are excellent spaces. And a quick thanks to our existing community partners for helping put those all together for us. So these projects are all slated to begin construction in June of 2027 and be ready for students this time next fall. Thank you very much. >> Thank you [clears throat] for that presentation, John. Um, is there any uh questions or comments from the board members on that presentation? >> I just think it's I this is so exciting like all of our renovations in our buildings and um and you know as a student I mean it has to feel good walking into a a building that's been re revamped and revitalized and um and that you know their input was heard too and how it shaped. So, >> yeah, just echo that. Um, just over the years of all of the different improvements that have been made and sometimes it can be hard with some of our older buildings to understand everything that's happening inside. So, I know we're working on some ways to in the future um provide some opportunity for the community to be able to see the improvements that we're making across the district. So, um I know that's in the future uh a board interest and and we're partnering with um our team on that. Okay. So with that, thank you so much, John. >> The next action item is audience a top opportunity to address the school board. Tonight we do not have any speakers um who have signed up to speak. So we'll move on to the next item, the superintendence report. Dr. H. >> All right. Good evening, Chair Prince, Vice Chair, school board members, and our stakeholders. So, as we prepare to welcome our students and families for the 2026 27 school year, I want to begin with something that is easily to easy to overlook. And just a reminder, school does not stop when our students leave our buildings in June. While our hallways may have been quieter and our classrooms may have looked a little different, the work of certain serving our students never stopped. Across our district, hundreds of staff members have spent the summer preparing, supporting, building, cleaning, planning, hiring, communicating, and creating conditions for [clears throat] another successful school year. And today, I would like to say thank you to everyone. To our kids stop staff, thank you for providing safe, engaging, and caring spaces for our students throughout the summer. Your work reminds us that supporting children and families extend well beyond a traditional school day and school calendar. Thank you to our targeted services team for creating opportunities for students to learn, grow, and experience enrichment during the summer months. Your work helps to ensure that learning, curiosity, and connections continue throughout the year. To our nutritional services team, thank you for making our students and families have access to nutritious meals, not only within our district programs, but also through food provided at parks throughout our communities. This is what it means to see the whole child and to understand that learning and well-being are connected to our custodial and facilities teams. Wow. Thank you for the incredible work you've done to prepare our buildings for our students and staff. You have cleaned, repaired, organized, and refreshed our spaces. And you have done much of this while navigating construction, renovation, and many complexities of our build a better future projects. Your work is often behind the scenes, but the impact is front and center when our students walk through the doors. To our enrollment uh services team and student services teams, thank you for the important work that continued throughout the summer to welcome new families to support [clears throat] student transitions, answer questions, and ensure students were ready for the start of the school year. and to the many many other departments that continue their work throughout the summer. Human resources and hiring, finances, transportation, teaching and learning, communications, technology, student services, operations, and so many more. Thank you. You have been working in fill positions, prepare bus routes and uh manage resources, support technology, develop curriculum, communicate with families, prepare professional learning, process enrollment, support buildings and programs, and solve countless challenges that most people will never see. So all of this is the work behind the welcome. We are grateful for your work. A strong school district is not built by one department, one school or one person. is built through a collective work of people who understand that every role matters because every role ultimately connects back to our students. So, as we begin this new school year, let us carry that same spirit forward. We have important work ahead of us. We will continue to celebrate what is working, examine what needs to improve, and cons and be consistent with our work around finding the barriers to excellence. to have the courage to identify what may be getting in the way of our students, staff, and schools reaching their full potential. But before we move forward, I just want to take time and pause and recognize how much that has already been accomplished. I want to thank them for your care, professionalism, and commitment you have shown throughout the summer. So, it's now it's time for us to open our doors, welcome our students back, time to reconnect with our families. And so just remember we are one community for all where we are intentional to ensure that all are valued and heard. Points of pride. A regular part of superintendent's report is to share points of pride in our district. By sharing points of pride we are taking time to recognize and celebrate the scholars, our staff and community members who are contributing to our mission. So I have this evening members of our district cabinet here to assist in sharing some examples from this summer. In the area of contributing to community, AIO area schools began offering a varsity letter program in community service last spring, which recognizes dedicated students who volunteer a minimum of 120 verified hours. CCX Media recently featured one of the district's first letter earners, Park Center Senior High School's Logan Corwin. Key Sorenson, Park C Center's activities coordinator, said the community service varsity letter creates another space for students to be safe and find their joy and find their passion and also learn things and build connections. I definitely saw that in Logan. He was really excited, really passionate about what he did and also really humbled about the hours he put in. [clears throat] AIO area schools food truck had a busy summer season visiting various sites from the Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center Recre on the go program to provide free lunches to youth ages 18 and under through the federally funded summer food service program. Thanks to a generous donation from a local publisher and coordination efforts from the district's nutrition services department, the food truck stops also included free books for children and teens to bring home. IO area schools teamed up with the city of Brooklyn Park to obtain safe routes to school grant funding for the addition of sidewalks on several streets around Parkbrook Elementary School, increasing safety for students who walk to or from the school. Sidewalks are being installed from the school up Hamshshire Avenue to Brooklyn Boulevard, from the school to Kentucky Avenue, and up to Brooklyn Boulevard and along 73rd Avenue North. Sidewalks will be plowed by the city of Brooklyn Park, ensuring a safe and clear route for families. In the area of achieving dreams, six schools from OIO area schools were recently included in a list of 97 schools statewide to receive recognition from the Minnesota Department of Education for their sustained commitment to positive behavior interventions and supports or PBIS. The schools include Basswood, Cedar Island, and Weaver Lake, a science, math, and technology school at the elementary level, along with 279 online, Northview Middle School, and the OIO area learning center at the secondary level. And PBIS is an intervention-based tiered framework for supporting students behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. >> And as we heard earlier, nine schools are currently undergoing construction thanks to the community support of building a better future. referendum with projects wrapping up in time for the new school year at the new Aspen Ridge Elementary, Fernbrook and Edinburgh elementary schools, AIO and Maple Grove Middle School and AIO Senior High. Ongoing projects will continue into the school year at Maple Grove and Park Center Senior High and the former Crestview Elementary site, which will begin a naming process this fall. Construction work at all sites continue to remain on budget and on time with the exception of a couple minor delays at AIO Middle School and Maple Grove Senior High. In the area of missiondriven employees, Debmooyer, a transportation router for AIO area schools with 24 years in the industry, recently won the 2026 Holly Hogland Klein Memorial Award given by the Minnesota Association for Pupil Transportation. The award honors outstanding women who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, leadership, and commitment to student safety in school transportation. Jim Greley, assistant director of transportation, said that Deb has consistently demonstrated a dual commitment to fiscal responsibility and student welfare, designing routes that maximize efficiency without ever compromising the care and safety of the children that she serves. Her routing decisions reflect not just logistical expertise, but a genuine understanding of what it means to be trusted with the transportation of thousands of students each day. Ocio area schools extends a warm welcome to two new assistant superintendent Dr. Jason Bod and Amy Toliffson. Bod and Tiffson join Dr. Brian Bass and Dr. Steve Flisk in supporting core district goals for highquality educational experiences for every learner. The district also welcomes four new lead principles for the 2627 school year, including Patrick Smith at the newly opened Aspen Ridge Elementary School, Robert Wear at Brooklyn Middle Steam School, Lindseay Patterson at Rush Creek Elementary School, and Kim Berling, who served as interim principal at OIO Senior High School last year and now has officially been named the school's lead principal. Please join us in offering a warm welcome to these educational leaders in the area of lifelong learning. This summer, students of all ages engaged in community education summer programming across the district at multiple school locations. More than 2,200 students registered for Camp Rocks. Many camps throughout the 8week span of hands-on learning and fun at Rice Lake Elementary School. Nearly 350 middle school students took part in five weeks of academics and enrichment activities through the district's game on and OMG middle school programs. Over,450 students took part in the summer kids stop school age child care at four elementary schools across the district. Adult basic edge adult basic education AB partnered with nutrition services department with a focus on preparing students for a full food safety certification exam that can help them advance their careers. >> We have a few final notes and reminders for tonight. The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 8th, and it will be for Maple Grove Senior High School as well. All you need to know this back to school season is at aioschools.org/backto. org/backtoschool. One important reminder to bring to the forefront though is that new attendance boundaries will be taking effect at that time. We are truly looking forward to welcoming everyone back on September 8th. So much has gone on constructionwise over our summer, so a lot was shared on our district social media channels the last several weeks. You can continue to stay tuned at aioschools.org better backfuture. Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat] Our next agenda item is schoolboard reports. Uh we'll start with Director Dawson, do you have a reporter update? >> I do not. >> Director Foster, do you have a reporter update? >> I do not. >> Director Brooks, do you have a reporter update? >> Nothing yet. >> Okay. Director Tate, do you have a reporter update? >> I do not. >> Director Mitchell, do you have a reporter update? >> No, but I know you do. So, [laughter] >> okay. So, yeah, a lot of our committees aren't meeting over the summer, but I serve on the joint powers board. and I will also be providing a update on the superintendent's evaluation. So, um, for the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth, I did, um, forward everybody the packet. Um, and one of the kind of exciting things was their summer programming. And so, there was a lot of information shared about, um, their the success of their youth programming, um, the number of weeks and just like the incredible value thinking about if, um, youth were going to participate in like a six-w week program, what the cost of that might be in a summer. So just being able to provide that opportunity um was just incredible and they had some good um feedback as far as the student participation in that. So they're hoping to grow that next year. Um there's also some really interesting information shared about like their continuous improvement and their quality assessments to ensure high quality youth programming. So that was another thing I thought that there is value in us kind of understanding and continuing to learn from. And the youthto youth survey took place over the summer. So they'll begin data crunching that. Um that's always a huge benefit for us to see um what are young people in the Brooklyns and often that's a trend that reflects um beyond just the Brooklyn and across our entire district. One of the interesting insights from that was the degree of participation in the surveying if a um if a young person asked another young person to participate in the survey versus an adult um kind of soliciting that feedback and that uh that survey input. So they were kind of all over outdoors and that different places where youth were to engage um in that survey. And so I thought that was al also a meaningful insight when we think about how we're getting feedback from young people in our district and is there an opportunity better engage peer-to-peer feedback versus um adult administration of some of that. So those are some insights. Um it's always it's quarterly so there's always so much rich um content that comes from that. So that's the BBY update. Uh and then I'm going to move into the superintendent's evaluation. So the board met in closed session on August 18th, 2020 six last week. And I'm going to read our summary from um uh from the outcomes. So the board has assigned the superintendent an overall rating of highly effective this year. Each goal resulted in measurable outcomes against the action plans and overall achievement of the goals. For goal one, Dr. Hy made strong progress in advancing K12 literacy curriculum implementation through professional development and learning walks improving leaders ability to support highquality instruction. While student achievement results have not yet fully been yet fully reflected in this work the board recognizes external challenges and expects continued implementation to lead to improved student outcomes next year. For goal two, Dr. H exceeded expectations by fostering strong board and stakeholder engagement resulting in meaningful feedback, responsive actions, and a transparent process for continuous improvement. This work increased community involvement and established clear accountability for district action. For goal two, Dr. Hy has set conditions for a system and culture of continuous improvement. Sorry, that's for goal three. um has set conditions for it system uh and cultural a culture of continuous improvement by providing the board with clear visibility into the district's strategic work. The approach successfully aligned actions with measurable outcomes, increasing board confidence that these efforts will lead to improved student achievement. While the board recognizes that student achievement outcomes have not yet been fully realized, the foundational work and outcomes for from 2025 to 2026 give the board confidence that achieving these goals has benefited and will continue to benefit students as we work towards shared accountability for student outcomes. Um so uh so again uh the board assigned the rating of highly effective uh to superintendent uh Dr. H. Thank you. Okay. Um, I will move on if unless there is >> Do we have a moment to make a comment about that, Tanya? Um, well, you guys know I always say that I love to find things we all agree about and find unity on and doing the, um, report for Dr. Hy is one of them on our previous board and also with this board. So, um, thank you for that, Dr. Hy. Um, and I just want to take a moment to recognize Dr. Hile's exceptional leadership. Just like when we interviewed her in this in this room, um she said she was a listening leader and I believe that you have lived that out daily as you lead with um integrity and a genuine heart for every single student and staff member. We see the way when we go on site visits with you and you greet every staff member um and student as well. And as a board, I think it's been really encouraging to witness together. Um there's a stronger and higher staff morale in our district. there is much greater family and community engagement and ultimately all of this work leads to an environment and a culture where our students can thrive and and grow and succeed. So, I'm really grateful for Dr. Hy leadership and for our board um coming to that consensus together. And I sorry I just would also like to say that um echoing Sarah and Tanya but you know I think it's really rare to have a leader that has so many um strong um traits that can actually um hold space like you talk about a lot for with a lot of different perspectives a lot many stakeholder groups um externally but then internally um you know leaders and people at all levels including the board um and your ability to listen and be very intentional um in your follow through um just is it just exudes trust that that we all have and that um you know and and you're very student centered um which is really what why we're here um and and really meeting the mission um and delivering that for our community. Um I think through the the last there could be a lot of mishaps. I mean, we have we've done a lot construction and boundaries and I mean, we've done a lot of changes and um to be able to be able to to listen to feedback and and have people see that their feedback made a difference is it's huge. It's huge for all of us. It's it's about the reputation of our district and we're just very fortunate to have you um leading this district. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Dr. H, for all you do for our district. We appreciate you. Uh we will move on to our consent agenda. Board members, the our consent agenda items this evening include meeting minutes, financial reports, grants, personnel items, a bid award for Birch Grove Elementary, and contracts for buildings and district services. Board members, are there any items you would like to remove for separate consideration? Seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as printed? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Foster. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by Director Dawson. Is there any discussion? >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. Motion passes six to zero. >> All right, moving into our action items. Our first action item is approval granting abatement. information will be shared by John Morset, executive director um of this says human resources of finance and operations. >> That is not a rule. [laughter] I think you >> Thank you. Um so a week ago we we held what was called an abatement hearing which is um one of the requirements of of seeking a tax abatement is um there's a few steps we have to publish that we're going to hold a hearing ultimately have that hearing and invite public comment which we did last week and had a couple people um take part in. Um so at this point what we're really requesting the board is um the district would recommend that you grant the abatement and I'll just turn it back to you for that part and then pending the result we'll we'll move to the next item. >> Okay. And um this uh as John mentioned we did um have a public hearing last week and in your packet is uh the additional detail. Uh so is there a motion to approve the abatement as presented? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? Second >> seconded by director Foster. Is there any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion all post say nay. Motion passes six to zero. Our next action. Uh yeah. Our next action item is the resolution relating to the proposed property tax abatement for parking lot uh improvement projects granting the abatement and authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation tax abatement bonds. John Morsid will be presenting with Shelby McQuay from Ellers Incorporated. >> Thank you Chair Prince and I'm going to go ahead and just hand over right to Shelby who is our expert in this and she will walk us through the process. Shelby. >> Good evening madam chair, members of the board, Dr. Hy, members of the cabinet. Thank you for having me here again tonight. Um the action item in front of you is a resolution uh from prepared um from your attorney and prepared by your attorney, but I am going to actually walk through um anformational document uh that will just uh um shed a little more light on what we're entering into tonight with that resolution. So um the final step as part of this building a better future um is to issue the third um trunch of the authority that was granted to you by the voters. We've also included for some efficiency sake the portion the 15 million um of abatement authority that you just um took a motion on uh as well. And so that um together is approximately a $77 million issue. I'll get into the numbers a little bit more. Um, but that ends the then the author the the total authority that was granted to you by the voters and I probably wouldn't come to a board meeting um since 2024 without an update but it was very fitting that you got an update on a building the better future and just like you're continuing to approve those projects. It wouldn't have made sense to issue all of the debt um right away at the start because you didn't need all of that money right away. So you then didn't impose all that interest on your taxpayers. So um that's why we've spread this out a little bit. Um overall this being the the last of those. So the pre-sale report is much like you've seen before u before with any other issuance of debt. You have um both voter approved and non- voter approved board approved um debt out there. This is both board approved um with the abatement portion, voter approved with the um school building bond um and then the authorities and purposes are also listed as part of this. The term of this particular issuance is 20 years um and that's three years after the issuance and as presented to the voters it was going to be a total of 23 years. So we're right in that that um uh range in what we presented to the voters. So, as part of this issuance, the district will go out for a rating again. So, um at sale day, we'll present um the new results of that rating, which we don't expect um any changes on there. Um I just want to go a little bit into the timeline overall, which [clears throat] is a little bit further in the document. So, uh, a couple extra pieces of this just because you did, um, incorporate the abatement bond. The call for the public hearing and then the authorization for the school building bond portion was done at your June meeting. Um, the, uh, public hearing was held on the 18th. The authorization um, for granting the abatement and the issuance of that, which you cannot do until you authorize the the abatement, um, is at tonight's meeting. will continue um to prep for that sale of th those bonds at the September during September with a due diligence call and a conference call with the rating agency which is Moody's. Then that'll go to market um and we'll receive bids on the 20 uh second be back at your meeting on that night um to present the award and the funds will be available um for you and for you to invest those beginning October 15th. Uh the sale overall um the numbers here just uh 63.225 million is the amount remaining from the school building authority and to generate $15 million of abatement funds with the current market conditions we estimate $14 million will be what's um actually issued 14.075. So um that number you have the authority to go up to 15 million but we'll work within the numbers there. Um the the present or the schedules are just presented on the next several pages. 20 um a term of 20 years for the school building portion and 10 years for the abatement portion. most importantly just um referencing the overall capital plan like I had mentioned with the building the better future you have both voter approved and non- voterapproved portions included and uh that um in total the voters um authorized the uh capital plan uh tax increase to be $7 a month um for a $300,000 home. And even with the inclusion of this $15 million, we're staying right at that level of what was presented to the taxpayers at the time of the election. So all of that being fit um ending the overall term at what was presented to the taxpayers with a final year in 2026, that yellow portion. Um and uh uh we'll have final numbers that that uh interest rate will be locked in um as of uh September 22nd when we sell the bonds. And what we're currently estimating is 4.52 on the school building portion and 3.7% on the abatement portion. So the action in action item in front of you is to authorize the um grant the a formal step to grant the abatement which comes with the authorization of the um up to 15 million of the um abatement uh bonds. So happy to answer any questions. That was a lot. Thank you for having me. Um and happy to answer any questions. >> Okay, we'll start with the motion. Is there a motion to approve the resolution relating to the proposed property tax abatement for parking lot improvements projects granting the abatement and authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation tax abatement bonds? >> So moved. >> Moved by director Tate. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by director Brooks. All right. Is there any discussion? Um I just wanted to say a big thank you to the finance team for making this all work out. Um the history of what the abatement bonds came from and why it came up as a a comment came up in our last meeting. So that's why I'm following it up. Um when Crest View was initially looked at to be renovated, you when you renovate an old building, you find a lot of crazy stuff. Um and so we found existing conditions were not favorable to um renovate. So having a new building on the site is going to be such a big positive for our district and that location will be amazing for the early childhood. Um and then we asked now you have to get creative with the financing for that. So I think the story behind this is really impressive about how our finance team has worked what the levers that are available to our district and really um made it possible for us to have the best facilities that are available for our students. So, I want to say a big thank you for that. Thank you for being creative and um just the wisdom and how you've laid this all out. And to our taxpayers, I think the big thing is when you say it's flat, like we're not increasing taxes. Um and that's a big thing. As a taxpayer, I want to hear that. Um and I know a lot of people want to make sure that we are being responsible with their money and I think this is such a responsible move. Um so I really appreciate this effort that's gone into this. Yeah, thank you for providing that additional context, Director Foster. Um, and and also, as you mentioned in the presentation, phasing this out so that we wouldn't be placing that um interest on our taxpayers too early. >> Any other discussion or questions or comments? Okay. Uh, so we have the motion. It's been seconded. Uh, all in favor say I. I. >> Oppose. Nate. Motion passes six to zero. Thank you. The next action items are two employee contracts. The first recommendation for contract approval is directors. Information will be shared by Yavon Schwarz Lind, executive director of human resources. >> Thank you, Sheriff Prince. [clears throat] I did plan to um well summarize both of these together. Um we uh uh recommend the approval of the agreements um of the director's contract and the confidential managers contract. The director's unit is comprised of directors and assistant directors and the confidential managers is comprised of um those employees that are defined as confidential managers under state law. And I I will summarize them together because they jointly negotiated um and the terms are the same. So um from a compensation standpoint the uh wage enhancement increases are 2% and 2% in to the base salary and years one year one and year two of the contracts. Um the retirement contributions were increased annually. Um last in this last employment um contract negotiation cycles we aligned all of the employer contributions and so that was done with these contracts as well. [clears throat] And um one of the other uh changes that we've made are of course compliance updates to the contract. So language that would reflect updates to Minnesota paid leave um sick and safe time and so forth. Um the final contract is consistent with the financial parameters established by the board. the total um uh compensation package is 4.72% um over the term the two-year term of the agreement for a total of $331,512. So again, that's collectively um across both contracts. And so with the ratification of the contract, HR and payroll will implement the contract with board approval. >> Okay. Thank you. So, we'll um uh take the two motions individually um and we won't need to come back and ask for more information between. Is there a motion to approve the agreement on the terms and conditions of employment between the ISD 279 school board and directors July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2027? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Mitchell. Is there a [clears throat] second? >> Second. >> Second by director Brooks. Is there any discussion? All in favor say I. I >> oppose. Nay. Motion passes six to zero. Then with the second contract, is there a motion to approve the agreement on the terms and conditions of employment between the ISD 279 school board and confidential management personnel July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2027. >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Foster. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by director Dawson. Any discussion? Um I'll just uh you know express appreciation on on both contracts and for um all of our personnel and um you know every single role as mentioned earlier in this district plays an important part to our success at every level. So um I'm glad we were able to come to um an agreement. So all in favor say I. >> I oppose. Nay. >> Motion passes six to zero. Our final action item this evening is gifts to the district. Uh is there a motion to approve gifts to the district totaling 858,27750? >> So move >> moved by Director Tate. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Director Foster. Any discussion. And again um thank you to everybody who supports our district. Um this there's this is itemized in our packet that's available to the public. It includes everything at every level, every incind donation. Um, so we really appreciate all of the extra support by our community and our teachers and our staff. Um, it does, it really comes from everywhere. It comes from our from our whole village. So all in favor say I. I >> oppose. Nay. Motion passes. Six to zero. All right. We now we have a set offormational items. Ourformational item this evening evening is the first reading of many policies and procedures. Um the policies are policy 101 racial equity and educational achievement. Policy 102 equal opportunity and prohibition against discrimination, harassment and violence. Policy 503 attendance and absences. Policy 510 school activities. Policy 511, student fundraising. Policy 542, extended educational field trips. Policy 545, student fees. Policy 558, enrollment options program. Policy 807, health and safety uh procedure B, cardiac emergency response plan. Information will be shared by Amy Moore, general counsel. Amy, >> thank you. So, um yes, we have a few policies, but what this represents is we have gone through all of our policies um at least one time now over the past three years with the exception of policy 508, which we're waiting for um judicial um input from the United States Supreme Court. Um so, congratulations. So, first policy, policy 101, racial equity in educational achievement. Um, this was reviewed by our student reps in addition uh to our policy committee. And um the only changes that you'll see both in the policy and then in the procedure is just clarifying that um we don't make hiring decisions based on race. We recruit, we retain, uh provide support, but we don't hire or fire on the basis of of race. So those adjustments were made to both the policy and the procedure. Uh the next policy which our student representatives also gave feedback on policy 102, our equal opportunity and prohibition against discrimination, harassment, violence. We added retaliation to that as well. And so what you will see is um making sure all the protected categories um are consistent and named consistently throughout the policy and the procedures. Um and then also adding retaliation um what that means, what that looks like. Um the other addition that you'll see to that policy is calling out that um there may be offduty or off-campus conduct that may also fall under this policy which we would have to uh investigate and address in the procedure 102A. Um the focus of this was really trying to um make it a little more readable. So you'll see we took out some definition definitions as it related to protected categories and instead put in definitions related to the specific actions that are uh prohibited by this policy. So what does what does violence mean? What does sexual violence mean? Um sexual harassment. The other thing um that we wanted to do um with the input of the of the students is um as well as um staff is the communication that uh would be received if you were participating in the investigation. So you'll see that come um on page five of nine. you'll start think seeing about individuals involved in the investigation will be provided updates on the status of the investigation and it talks about uh what some of that investigate or feedback will include. Um on section five, if you look at page six of nine of this uh procedure, it talks about students can report concerns verbally, but they can also use our stop it app report. Uh wanted to call that out specifically. And um over on the following page when it talks about timelines and notifications to parents guardians um this is to uh targets as well as alleged offenders. We wanted to call out um what parents should expect if their students are involved in these investigations. That includes being notified within one school day. um we updated that um and that they will receive status updates as well. And then you'll see at the very end of that long procedure the addition of what retaliation means um and that it's not allowed by um by our policy. The following procedure, procedure 102B, is specific to Title N sex non-discrimination grievance procedures. This is very procedure-based for um acts that fall under this particular procedure. There wasn't a lot to update other than um changing the district designate to the executive director of human resources and then removing the word formal that was throughout the pol this particular procedure calling out formal complaints. It's just complaints. So we just um took out the word formal. When these policies and procedures are passed, we will be working on a vector training module so that all employees will be updated on the policy. Um, we'll work with our assistant superintendent on how this gets out to our students as well. That was an important thing with our students is um getting that information out. lots of pages. Okay. Policy 503, attendances and absences. Um for this policy and procedure, um what you will see that we did was focus the policy on the higher level and then moved a lot of the language from the policy to the procedure. Um and it's all varied based on statute. So the procedure you will see is really more about what does an excused absence mean? What is an unexcused absence? What do tardies mean? Versus the policy providing kind of that statutory framework and including um what it means if you're an openen enrolled student um and you're habitually truent um that you would um receive notice that of going back to your home school district. There was a question in our policy committee about how many students does this affect. Um last year it affected 122 students. And so while it says you know um under statute it's once you hit 12 days this process can happen. When we looked at the students that it impacted it was really students who were having experiencing you know 25 35 repeated um significant absences. Uh so there is um one mention there is a group that are developing best practices um for implementing the policy and procedure um guidance that will help schools become more consistent hopefully across the district. So there is a group that is working on um that document policy 510. >> Oh sorry. >> Yep. Um I just wanted to offer a consideration about policy 503. Um I just um I think when it comes to attendance is so closely connected to student engagement and if you look at the policy um and some of the procedures I know some of that was changed to procedural you know there are some safeguards for students that are engaged like in activities you know you have to be you know you can't participate if you don't do this um there is call outs for um students who are traveling with families and you you know, there's, you know, excused absences. Um, and even when we're talking about the 122 students and they're missing 25 plus days, I mean, my question more is why, um, why what's going on there? Um, because we know that we we talk a lot about students having a sense of belonging, having a trusted adult in the building. Um, we look at our illiteracy rates, our achievement, our be, you know, our discipline data. And I can't help but wonder, um, what is that student experience for students that are missing school? Um, and what is it? [clears throat] What's going on? Is it something in their home? Is it something that they're dealing with? We talk a lot about mental health. We always have that on our legislative platform. And so my consideration and then also I'm sorry um I would be remiss to say there's been many disruptions over the last several years from COVID to the murder of George Floyd to Metro Surge. Um and I believe strongly that this policy um warrants some student voice. Um and I don't know I know somebody may ask you know is that going to change the policy? I don't think we know cuz I think that we need to do I believe as a board member to do due diligence like just like we did with policy 101 and 102 um which did impact the policy right um you said that it was um you know students felt like it was important to get this info out to you know think uh to their to to the other student body um and so I um and and I know that we've had policies in the past on this board that um some board members have asked for um other um input from community and and we do have a student schoolboard rep and and I know there's so many policies that they can't possibly look at every single policy, but I believe very very strongly that this is a policy that warrants um some student voice, some student experience and especially if this group is has been is is starting to meet. Um I think the statute you can run a hole through it. I think that it's really open for interpretation. and all the statutes around attendance at the state level. There's there's significant uh working groups um dedicated to a seven-year strategy to address attendance. Um so I would like our board and I understand this is just the first reading. I'm not trying to hold anything up. Um but um I would advocate and as a board member would like to have some student voice into this before we move on. And I don't know if there's a certain I know usually wait for another board cycle to look at the second reading um to have that opportunity. I don't know if that would um if that's something that we have to do if we have some leniency in in in that um as our student board reps if we go that route kind of start to um you know attend our meetings and and we ask them for input. >> Could they informally give us input as a board? we seek it out and then they give us feedback. >> I will also look to the superintendent. >> Yeah, that's not a problem whatsoever. We'll make sure our students on a school board review it before the second reading. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And gather their input. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Policy 510, school activities. Um both the policy and the procedure were in pretty good shape. um for the policy. Um I we did take out in uh section two convenience funds of staff members. That was something that maybe existed quite some time ago and does not exist today or should exist. So making sure we take that out. Um the procedure um yeah just not many updates. Um there was a reference to three-act plays and so I just took out three-act just some just some updating from some old language really for those two. Um they're in good shape really follow um um what's required in statute. Um the one uh bigger change was for um extracurricular activities. It talked about teachers and students using the district logo. Um, and we added um only with permission or when approved by the school principal or site leader as well as our executive director of communications. One thing to call out um that is um not known by a lot is that um we do have student uh accident insurance that is available um that can be uh purchased uh through our um operations department. Um and so that's it's not been utilized a lot, but if insurance continues to go up, that's something that remains available and is in our um procedure there. will continue um policy 511 student fundraising. Um what we the big change that we did to section uh 3B there was instead of the school board approving school sponsored fundraising, we've changed that to the superintendent or designate um approving those. This more of a operational day-to-day activity. Um, and then we also included under the method of fundraising that door-to-door fundraising activities will be of a limited nature and with adult supervision or oversight. Wanted to call that out specifically. Um, for the procedure u for student fundraising, you will see some kind of minor clarifying uh updates there as well. about the sponsoring employer department will complete particular forms um and then it calls out the uniform financial accounting and reporting standards later in the policy. Overall that was in uh good shape. We um there's a form that staff need to fill out and make sure gets approved by the principal and assistant superintendent. And so we updated that with our new logo policy 504 542 extended field trips. Um with the policy, but even more so than with the procedure. Um the updates that we that we did were really about um first with the policy. We wanted to recognize that there are some extended field trips that cross multiple schools that are run by district departments. Typically, we don't pay for staff travel for these extended field trips, but we wanted to recognize that sometimes that might create an unequitable result and so there may be times with assistant superintendent approval that we would pay for staff travel. So, wanted to call that out so we didn't create inequities. And then with the uh procedure for extended field trips, wanted to make sure that we include a better process um for folks to follow in regards to if there's an extended field trip somebody wants to take that they are making sure they get get their um principal's approval that our school nurse is notified. if there is often with these trips there's some sort of contract that our procurement department is involved and reviews it um and then um ultimately getting approved by our assistant superintendent and on our and before it re comes to our board agenda all of that is happened [snorts] policy 545 student fees um the uh policy and the procedure really uh are in good shape. [snorts] Um they are uh follow uh statute pretty closely and um the statute hasn't really changed much. We felt like there were no real updates that needed to happen for that. For policy 558 enrollment um it used to be called enrollment options. Um we updated this policy and procedure quite a bit. Um and the reason was is that there was confusion between uh open enrollment options and maybe what we would do as interd district transfers and so that's what was reflected and we wanted to make this simply about open enrollment. So that's what you'll see with a lot of the red is it will follow a lot of what you will see in statute. Um in particular with the procedure of the process you have to follow for open enrollment whether you want to open enroll or whether we as a school district want to limit open enrollment. Then um our last item is um we are adding a cardiac emergency response plan to procedure 807 health and safety. In the procedure on page three, you'll see we dropped um that we'll develop and implement a written AED management plan and this cardiac emergency response plan. This was a new statutory requirement. our lead um nurse worked on this with our um health and safety um folks as well as our assistant director of security and emergency management. Um it goes through um the training that we'll we will do um who will be responsible. There will be kind of teams at each site that will get more training. Um there's the opportunity to become a certified instructor. Um there were some questions about what that looked like. Um people can become certified at no cost. There's uh different um times where they could they can uh access that training. Um there was also question about how this um how the students um are educated on this and apparently it is uh in seventh grade health class and then it happens later in high school as well. So, those are my updates. Any questions? Board members, any other questions? Okay. So, as always, we do have the opportunity for public input um uh also via the website. So, for any of the policies discussed tonight or any policy in general, um you can fill out that form online and share that with the board and we collect that as well. Um and we'll get that student uh input on attendance. Um and just overall, I think um the work to just clean these up is really nice and particularly on uh policy 102 uh with the procedures and clarity on the process and to everybody involved. I think that will help with a lot of the feedback we get about um u when there are incidents in our schools. I think that I'll just get more transparency and clarity to everyone. >> Okay. So, we will then um for the set that we're able to move forward with depending on the timeline of getting additional input um we'll come take those back for the second reading and we take action at that time. Uh at this time uh so that concludes our agenda and at this time the board will take a brief recess and then reconvene in the forum room for a closed session. The session will be closed pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D.03 in regard to the following bargaining groups. Custodians, school nutrition, ESPs, OAPS, nurses, and kids stop instructors. Uh, I will make the motion to recess the regular meeting for 10 minutes and reconvene in the forum room. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by director Brooks. Any discussion? >> All in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. Motion passes six to zero. Uh, the meeting is recessed at 7:04 p.m. The school board meeting will adjourn at the conclusion of the closed session.