Good evening. The regular meeting of the Independent School District 279 School Board is called to order at 6 PM on January 20th, 2026. The regular business meeting of the AIO 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 and your right are director Kelsey Dawson, director Erica Foster, director Thomas Brooks, myself for Tanya Prince, director Keith Tate, director Sarah Mitchell. Also present in the boardroom is Superintendent Dr. Kim Hy, and members of the superintendent's cabinet. Those of you who can please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Director Dawson, will you please lead the pledge? 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 Dawson. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by Director Foster. Is there any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppos. Nay. >> Motion passes six to zero. Our next standing agenda item is recognitions. And we are very happy to recognize one [clears throat] of our amazing students this evening. Uh board members and Dr. Hy will be stepping down to the dis to offer our congratulations. After the recognition, we'd like to get a group photo. Uh, Coach Natalie Strauss, will you please get ready at the microphone to introduce uh, Ellis Landry, who placed second in the dive competition at the state tournament as soon as we're all uh, set in front. [snorts] All right. Hello. Uh, my name is not Natalie. Natalie is the head Natalie is the head swimming coach. Um, I am the diving coach. Uh, my name is Mitchley. And I'm here to recognize Ellis Landry. Uh, for the past four years, I've had the privilege to watch Ellis grow into the phenomenal student athlete she has become today. from her first year on the team um getting sixth at the section meet to the following year getting sixth at the state meet um her progression was faster than anyone could have expected. Uh she followed it up with a fourth place finish and then a second place finish her senior year. Um as a three-time all-state athlete and a two-time all-American has Ellis has accomplished so much outside the pool as in the pool as a 4.0 4.0 0 student athlete um and applying to colleges like Stanford and Calpali and other colleges are I could ever dream of. Um no, she's really incredible. Um we are all so proud of her and all her accomplishments. This recognition will be the cherry on top to her remarkable career. Um, with that, Alice [applause] [applause] [applause] Say hi. >> [applause] >> Next on the agenda is a targeted services uh a presentation on targeted services at North View Middle School. The introduction of the presentation and presenters will be done by Brian Severson Hall, executive director of community engagement. Brian, >> thank you. >> All right. Well, good evening, Chair Prince, school board members, Dr. Hy, and audience members. As um Chair Prince said, my name is Brian Severson Hall, executive director of community engagement, and we're excited uh to be here tonight to talk to you a little bit about our school year targeted services programs, which um in community ed we tend to call that they fall under the umbrella of out of schooltime programs, which are exactly what they sound like, programs that take place before school, after school, uh and in the summer. And I know you've heard some about our summer programs, but all of these programs uh which include youth enrichment, kids stop, summer targeted services, all of them have the same kind of overarching goal. And that is that we want to make sure that young people have positive places, caring people, and creative opportunities to go to in their non-school hours. And that's what we do uh in these programs. And tonight, we can have two focus areas. Number one, we want to make sure that you have a general understanding of what targeted [snorts] services is and isn't. And then we also want you to get a little bit of the site experience from our partners at North View uh this year and what the good work that they're doing. And I think by the end of this presentation, you'll see that uh the collaboration and partnership between community ed and the school sites in regards to targeted services is an is an excellent thing and we're very proud of it. and Carrie Cabe is gonna kick us off. >> Good evening, Chair Prince, Vice Chair Brooks, Superintendent Highland, and board members. I'm super excited to be here this evening just to share with you. Melissa Carson's was supposed to be presenting. She's our targeted services coordinator, but unfortunately couldn't be here. So, um, she sends her apologies with a really long text uh last night hoping to explain. um I love her excitement for what she gets to do, but I'm super excited to share with you as well. So, thanks for having us. Um so, as we progress forward, um targeted services, um there's a bunch of things it should look like. So, targeted services is defined in state statute. That's really what drives a lot of our decisions on how we support students through targeted services funding. Um with that, there's lots of things that it can and cannot be, but I'm going to focus on some of the stuff that it should look like um here to start. Um, so key points for this one, um, it's really supposed to be different than a traditional school day. So thinking ways to capture kids learning in a unique way. Um, it's also supposed to be activity based or hands-on learning that is available for them. Um, it is supported through licensed staff. There must be licensed staff teaching the um, activities. Um, and we are to address academic, social, and emotional goals with the students um, that are engaged in that learning opportunity. Um there's a couple things that are important to keep in mind that it cannot be it cannot be a drop-in program. So students do need to be enrolled. They have to have paperwork um in process to be in the class and some goals to be in the classroom. And as well it can't just be for homework help. A lot of times we'll get that question. Can't students just show up and do homework? That's not what the funding is for. Um up on the screen you'll see the sites for this current school year that we currently have some targeted services programming. This list varies year from year. Um but for the most part, all four of our middle schools especially have had a really strong and robust targeted services program for many years, which is super exciting for those um sixth through eighth graders. Um and then our elementaryaries vary um by sight because again it has to be licensed teachers and um having teachers being willing. There's many familiar faces that I got to see in the hallway tonight, which is great. Um that have taught targeted services or are teaching targeted services right now. Um Melissa did pull numbers for this current school year which is kind of fun to see in the slides as well. So over um 1,800 students right now are engaged in some sort of targeted services learning and that's just this current school year, right? So that doesn't include the over a thousand plus that engage in summer learning as well. Um and then 181 staff which is amazing because it takes that staff to put on all those programs from our facilitators to our licensed teachers and then we do have support staff working in those um classes at times as well. and almost 80 classes being offered of different capacity and there's a whole list if we um if you're ever interested we can share that list with you as well. It's pretty robust offering um of unique opportunities for our students. Um some of the other things that we'd like to call out are just the great things that targeted services provides and as Brian alluded to kind of that out of school time model. So really it's about positive and nurturing relationships. That's the first and foremost thing. when I get to walk into a site, you can see the relationships that the staff have with students that are just a little bit different than, hey, did you turn in your math in for third hour or different things along those kind of things. So, it's fun to kind of really see that relationship with the staff. Um, learning in a alternative way. one of the classes they're going to be sharing is amazing to walk in and see um different things that happen when students are cooking or doing a craft project or working even on basketball and seeing how they can do some statistics or different things along those different lines as they get to play a game they love. It's just kind of fun to see the students light up and then the staff are always choosing interests that they have as well, right? So, they get to share some of their passions, too. Um it's also a great place for belonging and where students really get to feel valued in the building that they're in. um an extra space for them to be before or after school. Um build that confidence to be successful in the classroom and then continue to maybe have a relationship with a staff person that they normally wouldn't have during their typical schedule as well. I'm going to toss it over to Northview and let them share a little bit about the amazing work that they do. [snorts] >> Thank you, Miss Cab. appreciate that introduction. Thank you everybody for coming out to hear about target services at Northview Middle School. I'm glad you're so as excited as I am to talk about it. I think Miss Cave said it best um earlier when she said it's really about engaging kids, providing with a a place to belong and also about supporting them and their passions. The quote that I put up there is there's a place for everyone where everybody has their place. And that's what we try to do at Northview Middle School, whether it's the school day or out of the school day, is making sure that kids feel like they belong, they're accepted, and they're having a great time just being themselves in our school, whether that's during the school day or after school. Now, I could stand up here and talk about Northview Middle School all day. If you have time, feel free to stay after the board meeting and I'll do that for you. However, I'm going to hand it over to a few people here. Miss Nighton, Mr. Gaston, and Miss Anderson. They're the real stars of the afterchool programming in the sense of facilitating the programming, working with the students, and then sharing student perspectives as well. So, I'll ask Miss Knight to come up here and talk about her role as a facilitator. Good evening everyone. My name is Deandra Nighton. Um, by day I'm the special education building coordinator at Northview Middle School, but by night I am the facilitator for targeted services at Northview. Um, just some of the things that I do as a targeted services facilitator. Um, I've had the pleasure of doing this job for about eight years now. Um, it could be more, but it's starting all to mesh together. Uh but some of the things that I do, I deal with the program compliance, making sure that we are doing everything that we're supposed to to stay compliant. I take care of attendance. I take care of our snack counts, ordering supplies, recruiting staff and teachers um to participate in our afterchool programs. And then the most important, right, being a resource and support for everyone. making sure that our staff and students have everything that they need so that we can um run the uh program effectively. Make sure we have students in the seats because that is what keeps the program going and just making sure that everyone has everything so that we can continue to be the best targeted services at Northview. Right. Haven't been behind a microphone in front of this many people since I DJed in college. [laughter] Let's go. I am Mr. Gaston and I am the cooking teacher at North View Middle School in the uh after school program. What I like about teaching is I get a chance to create teachable moments. Not only am I teaching the students, but they're teaching me. Um, I had a student one time tell me his grandma was the Polish queen of perogis. I never heard of a perogi. And so I said, "Can you call your grandma on the phone and tell me how to make a perogi?" He called his grandma on the phone and she gave us directions and we made them. Um, it wasn't my favorite, but I asked was it okay to add my little spice to it and she said fine. We did it and it worked out uh pretty well. But a big part of my Tuesdays and Thursdays is the cultural exchange. He was com comfortable enough to talk about, you know, being Polish, about the food that he eats with his family. Um I've learned about empanadas. Um, I've learned about various different foods from the students at North View and in the district, uh, BMS as well in the summer and during the school year. Um, [clears throat] but I also get to teach. So, I got to teach them about gumbo, which was gumbo and uh, okra. So, okra is called gumbo and it's a thickener can be used in jumbolaya, gumbo, and many other dishes. And I had a student who didn't know about that. Gumbo was not um not not gumbo, excuse me. Um okra was not native to the US. It was brought here. Um now he grows okra in his garden. So when I say it's a cultural exchange, it really is. We get to talk. I teach them things. They teach me things. I have taught students that garlic powder and onion powder will not burn your mouth. it is not extra spicy. Um, but the students also get a chance to learn kitchen safety responsibility. Um, one of the things that I say to the students all the time is cooking is art, but baking is science. And I'll tell you before I wrap it up, our one of our last dishes was tacos. And [clears throat] we started with tacos, but we ended with burritos. We ended with fried tacos. We um ended up making queso dips. We just stopped at chopping up the tortillas and frying them to make our own chips just because we [clears throat] only get an hour and a half. So, the students are engaged. They participate fully and they have a great time when they're in there. So, um, again, remember, cooking is art, baking is science, and thank you for allowing me to speak. [applause] >> I'm even shorter. I'm Randy Anderson. I'm the assistant principal over at Northview. And with Targeted Services, I am really just a support to our amazing team that runs Targeted Services. And I get to be taste tester sometimes, which is a very serious job. Um, but what I get to do tonight is to share with you some of our student perspectives, which I think can be some of the most fun is hearing from the kiddos about what they enjoy about targeted services. So, that's what we'll end with here. And I'm not a pro uh Oh, wait. There are some pictures. Um, I'm not a pro video editor, so if there's some blips, just pretend like they're not there. Okay. >> I'm in IT and Poops. And I like IT because >> he's got it. >> All right. One more time. >> I'm in IT and PM Hoops. And I like IT because they're like respectful and it's like a good after school program. >> Uh I like about PM Hoots because um I play basketball a lot. I've been playing since I was um five and like I just get I'm I do a lot of stuff in PM hoots. I'm really good at that type of sport. Oh, >> I like cooking because like basically you learn how to cook and make new foods and experience like seasonings and everything like that and it kind of helps you with your cooking skills. >> What we both like about PM Hoops is that PM hoops that we work hard that we are a team together. We both do great and things. What do you got, bro? And it helps you like clear your mind and most things you do know you have bad like stuff on your mind and yeah like it just help you like get better of what you need what you learn and that's why you should do pianos. >> What I like about after school soccer is that it helps me with my techniques on to get better on soccer and my older brother always did soccer and I always watched and I was always so fascinated about it. So, I love that we have after school at this school because I never have that at any other school. So, that's why I'm grateful to have soccer after school. >> A round of applause for the kids. [applause] >> Well, that's that's the end. I think I can't get it to the thank you slide in questions, but I hopefully um we do have time for questions. Any of us are happy to answer any questions. Um I hope you noticed a few things. Um well, number one, why wouldn't you come to an out of school time program with this staff, right? you can see uh the purpose of of engaging and uh I hope also maybe you did some quick math on our uh the numbers slide but depending on the school um you know some of our schools have about 20% of the kids uh who attend the school go to our targeted services out of school time programs and some have 50% of the students who participate um so we're really proud that uh we've created systems and programs that young people want to be at. I think a lot of that is also due to the fact that um teachers and instructors in the class have some discretion on creating a class that's of interest to them. So you're already excited about the topic as you could see in some of these presentations. So you get that that mix of personal excitement around something combined with new exploration of an idea along with things that was mentioned like statistics or measuring and different math skills that come up while you're doing these activities. So we wanted to at least just give you a short glimpse into a program that we think is just fantastic and is serving a number of students throughout our district. And uh we're happy to take comments or questions at this time. Board members, do you have any questions or comments? >> I was just wondering if um what is your name that spoke about the Oh, sorry. About the teachable moments. >> Yeah. >> What is your name, sir? >> G. >> Can you come and speak every school meeting and make us laugh and smile? I appreciate it. I just love that you talk about the teachable moments. That's it's all about that with the kids. So, thank you for bringing your perspective. >> Bring John Ballayia. [laughter] Yeah, >> you know, I you know, I think that my colleagues know I'm really passionate about ensuring that our young people have a full educational experience that's beyond I mean there's academics are one thing, but that's not when you think about what happened during COVID and and and one of the things that our young our students talked about is just being part of something greater than themselves. And I think that, you know, DeAndre Kel, like what you're what you're doing. Um, and just listening to what our kids what our students are interested in and passionate about and excited about. I mean, that's what creates the fire to just keep going. Um, and to stay connected, have a trusted adult, to have that positive connection is just critical for our young people. And, um, I love learning about what you're doing. I, um, see some of it on social media and I'm like, well, that looks good, you [laughter] know, like to stop by. But um this is just this is just part of you know our district and kind of the fabric of where we really want to go to provide opportunities to each and every one of our students um to make those connections and to really thrive and and to meet our mission and our vision in our in our district. So and I love the partnership between I talked to you about that a lot Brian. We talk about um community ed and and how we um can really maximize uh that partnership. I think I was really struck by the number of students participating and often we get the question um regarding community education and like what are all of the offerings? Are we offering um everything across the district? But this will never appear in the community brochure. And this is such a significant portion of um our student population participating um with that, you know, that higher level of um of uh instruction um in fun uh and variety. So um so nearly 2,000 students. Um so just kind of wanted to point that out as well. Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. And we were we were excited to highlight Northview as well. This is my this is kind of Brian's OpEd. Um, I think we do an amazing job in schools of serving elementary age kids and I think we also do an amazing job of providing extracurricular activities for high school students and I often think middle school students u miss out and so I think targeted services has been a great addition for that. They're they're of course getting a wonderful school day at their middle school but this uh kind of this afterchool summer hours sometimes is a tough one for this age group. So, it's fun to have uh some exceptional uh teaching staff and administrators who um are partners and make this happen. So, something you said reminded me of that uh chair Prince. So, thank you. >> And one more question. The middle school program is that's been building up, right? Or have we always had this size of middle school? >> So, when I came in 2015, we had a grant and targeted services. Um so we had 21st century funding to do programming a little different but um our middle schools have always had pretty strong um afterchool programs. We've just kind of ebbed and flowed with the how we pay for it really to be honestly right. Um the staff have always made it amazing. Every year there's a huge sampling and there's a lot of staff that have done it the 10 years I've been here in AIO2. So um we have new staff that come in every year and we have staff that have been doing it for years which is amazing. So, um it's a solid program within our system and um uh probably the last five or six years all four of our middle schools have had offerings now. >> That's great. >> All right. Any other questions or comments? >> Right. Thank you so much. >> Yeah. Thank you. [applause] Our second presentation this evening is the Park Center senior high school renovations and Crest View Rebuild shared by John Morstead, executive director of finance and operations. John All right, we're good. All right. Thank you, Chair Prince, Superintendent Hy, board members, and the all-star teacher cast today. Thank you all for coming this evening. I'm pleased to provide a progress update on the two most recent Build a Better Future projects, Park Center Senior High School and the reconstruction of Crest View. The bid awards for both initiatives are included in tonight's consent agenda. Beginning with Park Center, our primary aim is to revitalize existing spaces and introduced facilities to support the new career and technical education CTE programs. In the cafeteria you're looking at here, we've enhanced the environment by increasing natural light through skylights and introducing a variety of seating options to create a more inviting atmosphere within the CTE area. Additional display spaces and examples of learning on display have been implemented. Outdated locker banks have been replaced with benches to further encourage a welcoming setting. Upgrades are also planned for the culinary and family and consumer sciences or fax laboratories. I think this is the Yep, there we go. As well as with all district projects, these enhancements are accompanied by additional security measures to ensure safety and security of students and staff at all times. The renovations at the Park Center media center are extensive. This space will be entirely reconfigured to support multiple learning and collaboration areas. A prominent feature will be the two-story learning stair, which links the second floor with a flexible third floor area, offers the convenience of circulation, an amphitheater style teaching zone, or an informal gathering place for small groups or students to use as they choose. All renovated classrooms will also feature some updated aesthetics as well as new furnishings. Additionally, a new maker space is highlighted as part of the improvements. Each senior high school with the um within building a better future will also receive a new school store that they did not have um some did not have in the past designed to foster school spirit and offer merchandise for sale at Crest View. Rebuilding project is also on up for the bid award. Initially, Crest View was designed for repurposing into a preK and community education multi-use facility. However, significant engineering challenges emerged during planning, sharply increasing remodeling costs. Consequently, at the direction of the board, it was determined that constructing a new building would best serve um both the district and the taxpayers's use of of funding. Key features of the new Crestview construction include a heritage prek program offering culturally focused options with an emphasis on m indigenous African and Spanish traditions. American Indian Education Cultural Center encomp encompassing a museum, classrooms, maker space and administrative offices. A permanent location for our family and community engagement better known as the face team who will utilize all the spaces within the facility to help engage our community. Dedicated early child family ed or ECF areas. um a community kitchen, a production kitchen for district use, and professional development areas capable of accommodating up to 200 participants. We're just kind of taking a quick walk around the building to show you um aesthetically. This is going to be a a flagship building for us. It is a two-story site. Um sits right on Zane Avenue. We're actually bringing the building up to the front of Zayn so you can see it. and it will be surrounded by gardens and green spaces and walking paths and things that we can use um to really try to create a good community feel that the community can use at their leisure. Um extensive research and community focus groups inform the building's design, ensuring alignment with stakeholders needs. The objective is to establish Crest View as a central community resource for a range of programs while maintaining a strong educational presence. You can see a lot of glass. Um, the second floor here is the professional development wing. We'll jump into and I will note that as as you're seeing the grass and green areas, a lot of these have planned gardens, but the renderings focus on what the building looks like. So, um, you're not really getting the full detail of those, but call it a surprise to come later. Um, as we walk into the buildings, um, there's going to be the options for either a fully secure or open access with both featuring a reception area. The main welcome area is designed to resemble a hotel lobby with diverse seating arrangements to accommodate groups of varying sizes. The space alo also provides direct access to the American Indian Ed Museum and includes a play area for young children or families who may be waiting for service. Further highlights include a detailed view of the museum and library area. Uh we're moving here into the early childhood family ed common area and classroom spaces. The prekwing remains a fully secure area during operational hours much like a a traditional school. Um it features its own entrance, six classrooms, dedicated common spaces, and multiple displays to celebrate the different cultures. On the upper level, the professional development suite compromises two full-size classrooms, uh, two additional smaller meeting rooms, hoteling workspaces, large conference area that can be configured into up to 200 individuals. So, this is looking at it as half of the large area for about 100 individuals, and here's a view of the full-size area. So, the district's um, professional development needs have really been focused predominantly at this building or in rented spaces. So, we're going to be able to have a central home to be able to host the larger events and then obviously still use our other facilities, but um we'll save us and provide great tools for the future and that is what will be up on consent and uh I will pass it back to Chair Prince for the next steps. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Um board members any well I mean should we wait for the action item? Okay. All right. Thank you. >> This was just for presentation so everyone can see it. So thank you. >> Okay. Thanks. Uh, okay. The next agenda item is audience opportunity to address the school board. I'll review a few of the guidelines for those who wish to speak to the board. Uh, and they're also on the table in um, full. So, as a board, we welcome all voices and strive for public engagement and transparency in our board work. Audience opportunity to address the board is one of many avenues to achieve this. To ensure all voices are heard, welcomed and respected in the boardroom, we ask that audience members withhold applause and verbal response to all speakers. Uh speakers will be called to the podium in this order. Student, parent, staff, community members, and others. Please keep your comments to three minutes. Comments should be directed to the entire board, not to any individual board member. If you have a handout for the board, please place it on the information table or hand it to the board secretary, Sherry. The board secretary will provide copies to board members. The board and audience will listen and not respond back at this time. If you would like someone to find to individuals in the following order, building principal, executive director for human resources, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and finally in writing to the school board. Complete guidelines for public participation are provided on the meeting materials table and on the schoolboard section of the district website. When I call your name, please come to the microphone and state your name and your topic and whether or not you are a district resident. So we will start. We do have a student with us this evening. Uh Sebastian um Basarto. >> Hello. Um I'm here to talk about some of the impacts of on students of um the presence of ICE in our community. My name is Sebastian Porerto. I'm a proud cho from the Midwest with immigrant with immigrant parents and family. And I'm currently a freshman at Maple Grove Senior High. Fear and anxiety are currently embedding a presence into the psyche of families all throughout our country, state, and community. Many people without the privilege that is the fair skin are now hesitant about going to work or just outright not. And many are now dreadful about sending their children to school. I believe terrorism is the best word to describe these these actions behest of the entity of ICE. Students of color, regardless of where they were born, should not feel the need to quite literally hide themselves in their home in the fear that their future could be taken away from men that mask themselves up to enforce inhumane agendas and ideologies. Men have a men that have a quota and see human lives as numbers. No child deserves this. When ISIS is incompetent enough to hire a detention officer that on duty continuously raped a woman within the custody of their own facil at their own facility, why would anyone want them in their community? let alone let alone in one with much children of co of color. How do we know that they won't do the same to any of my peers? ICS is demented enough to tear gas a six-month-old who by the way wasn't part of any protest just trying to enter their home. If anyone in the room is thinking that ICS is demented enough to murder innocent civilians, separate families, deport citizens, uh citizens born here and born not. And yet people still think they belong belong in our state. I beg not. The operation of im immigrant enforcement in this country has not been about the legality of how immigrants arrive here. It has never been. If that were the case, MAGA would have not voted for a felon. It's about ethnic cleansing and establishing white supremist ideals. The bourgeoisi pushes narratives for their blind supporters to believe narratives that that claim people like me are dirty and that we're criminals and that we bring all of our problems from under from our underdeveloped countries with us. If you've read some history, you'll find that we do not come from underdeveloped countries. We come from overexploited ones overexloited by none other none other than the United States. Immigrants and their children are a strong force in our country's proletariat and we deserve right to tranquility in the United States. My parents were born in Mexico and we are just as American as you are. This is our homeland. Quoting Ernesto Raphael, in the homeland or death, we will prevail. Thank you. [applause] OUR [applause] next speaker, uh, Mayan Queasley almost 40. My eyes can't do the cell phone. Hi, I Mongigulay. I'm a parent in the district and a resident as well. Chair, members, board um and superintendent. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Mimon Quiglay. I'm a parent of two kiddos in the district and also a product of this district K12. My comment today focuses on school-based health centers and wraparound services such as primary care, dental, vision, and mental and behavioral health services. Highlighting family, staff, community have expressed that there is a need for school-based health centers. And I'm aware that you as the board are familiar with data via your school nurses MDE and district data and zip codes such as 55429, 5543, and 55428. Minnesota currently has 42 school-based health centers um concentrated largely in Henipin County, Ramsey County, and rural Minnesota. These centers are typically operated through partnerships with districts um local public health departments, FQC's and hospital systems such as Henipin Healthcare, Park Nicola, and North Point. They offer coll-located wraparound services often at no cost to students. School-based health centers have improven cost-effective investments in the that support student health while generating um direct and indirect cost savings for public schools. School linked um behavioral health services have actually proven particularly effective in reaching children who have never accessed mental health services and results include um coordination of care with services delivered to where kids are increased access and sustained engagement and treatment and evidence-based services from highly trained behavioral health professionals regardless of students insurance status. Minnesota is actually experiencing a wellocumented dental workforce shortage. The number of dental professionals is not keeping pace with the need and this particularly includes again rural regions in large urban counties including Henipin. As a result, children particularly those who relied on Medicaid face weight times and have fewer available clinics and are at greater risk for untreated dental disease highlighting the need for community- based solutions. School-based health centers vision problems are among the most common and are the most easily treatable um barriers to learning. Yet many families face cost, transportation or insurance challenges that delay care. Providing on-site or colloccated vision services, especially those available at low cost or no cost removes these barriers directly supports and directly supports academic success. Um, organizations just such as Portico Health Net is a critical community partner. Expanding access to care for uninsured and underinsured families in Minnesota. Portico is often utilized in school-based health centers, reducing the burden of school staff by shifting complex insurance navigation training to community experts and supporting families and applying for keeping um applying and keeping health insurance. On July 24th, President um signed the new law, also known as the Big Beautiful Bill Act, sweeping changes to Medicaid, which will require Medicaid expansion enrolles to undergo eligibility requirements every six months instead of the current annual renewal. When parents lose coverage due to administrative return, children also lose coverage too. even though they remain eligible. Organizations such as portico help ensure families um to continue enrollment deadlines and support. Schoolbased health centers are not experimental. They are evidence-based and cost-effective and strongly support national um and is strongly supported by national research. I manage a school-based clinic for three years and students learn how to navigate health systems and advocate for their well-being. Um they provide care to meet students needs who have historically been underserved and also decreases Medicaid costs in those communities. So, in closing, our students cannot learn if they cannot see, and they cannot learn if they are in pain from untreated dental issues. These are all lowcost, nocost um services to students. And I'm hoping that our board can support our staff who have done the amazing work trying to stand up our schoolbased health center again, which is a lowcost, no cost clinic, and get services straight from Medicaid or even students private insurancees. Thank you. [applause] All right. Um, we we do want to remind uh the audience that we asked um not to um respond to the speakers um just to keep us moving along. Uh our next speaker, Nikki Heman. Hello. Thank you for having me. My name is Nikki Heman and I am a parent and resident district of two kiddos in our school district and a fellow parent of a DHH kiddo with disabilities. I'm here tonight as someone that has already spent years navigating what it means to have a child with disabilities, not just as paperwork, but as a lived experience. For students with disabilities, access depends on consistency, stable staffing, predictable routines, trusted relationships with the professionals here who support them. Right now, many of the people responsible for that consistency, whether it be the teachers, the school workers, the speech therapists, the student life staff, are all working without an active contract. That matters. As an HR professional myself, I know better than most how health care and benefit costs continue to rise and most likely has impacted this population. The costs went up this year nationally, and while the raises these staff were expecting months ago, have not yet taken effect. This means that the people supporting our most vulnerable students are absorbing higher costs while continuing to carry demanding workloads. At the same time, schools are navigating larger sizes and rising case loads. For students with disabilities, those conditions have a disproportionate impact. When consistency is strained, access is what at risk. We often talk about wanting to be a top school district, one that attracts and retains strong educators and delivers high quality outcomes. It's hard to reconcile that goal with prolonged uncertainty for the professionals carrying out our most complex responsibilities. This isn't about politics or it's about access and sustainability and it's about taking care of the people who our students rely on every day because when we don't the impact shows up first and most clearly for students with disabilities. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, our next speaker is Ann Marie Martin. Good evening, members of the school board and Superintendent Hy. My name is Amarie Martin and I'm a teacher at Park Center Senior High. My husband is dying and I don't know how I'm going to pay for it. Before teaching at Park Center, I taught for many years at OIO Senior High. I'm also the parent of an OIOH High graduate. I've been your daughter's Girl Scout troop leader. My daughter may have babysat your children. In short, I am your neighbor. I am the primary provider for my family. And part of that responsibility is maintaining our health insurance through my employer. When my daughter became seriously ill with an infection that attacked her inner ear, we spent five days in the hospital and my focus was on what the doctors were saying, on what my daughter needed, and on the prayers you make when somebody you love is in danger. I never once worried about how I was going to pay for it. When I was the victim of a dog bite that sent me to the emergency room and required 28 stitches to my face and countless follow-up visits, my focus was on healing. My family focused on caring for me. I never once worried about how I was going to pay for it. Now my husband is battling stage four cancer that has spread to his bones and lymph nodes. We are responsible people. We have savings accounts. I have a health savings account. We have insurance. and all of it was gone within the first six months of his diagnosis. Under our current plan, even meeting our out-ofpocket maximum yearly, sorry, early in the year, we are now charged additional co-pays that used to be covered and premiums are rising dramatically. In my neighborhood, just a couple blocks north of here, when someone is struggling, we show up. We make meals. We drive car pools. We shovel snow. We mow the lawns. I am your neighbor and I need help paying for the health insurance my family depends on. My situation is not unique. Many of my colleagues are facing similar realities. You, the school board, are in a position to help. You have the resources to help your neighbors. My husband is dying. I should not have to worry about how I'm going to pay for it. Thank you. [applause] >> Our next speaker is uh Heather Kale. >> Good evening, members of the school board, superintendent Dr. Hy. My name is Heather Kale and I am a social worker in the OIO area schools. cuz I'm also a resident of this district. I ask you to take a moment and look around this room. The faces you see here in the EMO AIO gear that I took off cuz I was hot are your neighbors, your friends, your family members. They may one day be your own children, adults who have chosen careers dedicated to shaping the future of this community. I want to share a brief snapshot of a day in the life of a school social worker in the buildings you are entrusted to lead. My role includes supporting students mental health, managing resources, completing special education evaluations, providing IEP services, crisis intervention, running groups, supporting teachers, and working directly with families. On an average day, I have 8 to 12 students scheduled to see me. That's about 4 to 6 hours of face-to-face meetings alone. That's not even a busy day for a social worker. What you don't see on my schedule are the crisis that cannot be scheduled. A parent calling because their family is facing eviction. A student dealing with traumatic medical diagnosis. A family suddenly caring for a child that they didn't know existed. A student who arrives at school after a traumatic event and ends up tearing apart our classrooms. Students who injure staff or peers when there aren't enough adults to support them. [clears throat] Home visits that require police reports. A child who looks at you and says they don't want to live anymore. These are not rare events. These are realities we face regularly. And I'm not alone in this work. We're being asked to carry more, to do more, to care more, with less staff, less time, fewer resources, and less take-home pay. And yet, we continue to show up. But dedication has limits. We deserve respect that matches the work that we do. Beautiful buildings and new furniture do not teach children. Educators do. We ask you to show up for us, even a fraction of the way we show up for our students and families. Come to the bargaining table with the proposals that reflect the respect for the professionals you employ and recognize us as human beings worthy of fair pay, reasonable workloads, and dignity. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. [applause] Our next speaker is Kathy Kaufman. Good evening members of the school board and superintendent Hy. My name is Kathy Kaufman and I am a full-ervice special education teacher at Parkbrook Elementary. I'm speaking tonight as an educator who is completely overworked, overwhelmed, and frankly overlooked. When I began with this district in 2018, a typical resource room case load was 12 to 15 students. Pending evaluations, my case load will be 25 students with no end in sight. This is not sustainable and at times it is not safe. Due to insufficient ESP and licensed staff, conditions can be unsafe for both students and adults. While I understand some buildings have vacancies, that cannot be an excuse for failing to allocate enough staff to meet students needs. Student progress suffers when I'm teaching groups of eight, 10, and even 12 students at once across multiple grade levels and subjects. I le plan for roughly 25 sections of my day. And that's just teaching. As a case manager, I also run IEP meetings that take as long as families need without compensation or time built into my workday. For each student, I write evaluation reports that can exceed 30 pages, IEPs that run 12 to 15 pages, behavior plans, prior written notices, agendas, progress reports, and ongoing progress monitoring, often across 10 or more goals per student. All of this happens while I am teaching groups all day. Even today, trying to catch up on all this work during my prep time. I had two students in my room needing support with nowhere else for them to go. Saying no would have caused disruption throughout the building. So, like always, I gave up my prep time. I am doing two and a half jobs. full-time teaching, full-time paperwork and evaluation, and half-time meetings. There is zero chance this works, this work fits into contract hours. Zero chance of work life balance and zero chance of long-term retention even for dedicated teachers like me. I care deeply about my students. I will not leave work undone or pass the burden to the next person. But the district treats this workload as if it is mine to carry alone. I hope the district chooses to do better not just in words but in staffing workload and investment because I want to stay and because our student deserve better than this. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] Our next speaker is Monica Byron. >> Good evening, school board members and superintendent. My name is Monica Byron and I'm the president of Education Minnesota and I'm here with and on behalf of your AIO educators. We know that these are unprecedented times for our community and our state. That is exactly why educators need a fair contract, one that reflects what students need and what educators are being asked to carry. We are asking educators to do this work in a moment of growing uncertainty and stress in our communities. Students cannot learn and educators cannot teach effectively when schools feel anything less than safe, stable, and focused on learning. And that brings us to this moment. This moment is about choices and whether this board's decision reflects the reality in Osio's classrooms right now. AIO educators are facing three pressures right now. At the same time, rising health care costs, wages that are not keeping up, and workloads that continue to grow. Without real salary movement, any raise is quickly erased by inflation and insurance increases. At the same time, larger class sizes and heavier case loads are stretch stretching educators beyond what's sustainable. Educators are showing up every day for students academically, emotionally, and physically because they are deeply committed to this community. You are being watched across the state. You can be a beacon for what it can be for every unsettled local in this state at this time. But when wages fall behind and workloads become unmanageable, educators leave. And when they leave, students lose stability, relationships, and consistency. Workload is not a perk, it's a learning condition. And when these class sizes and case loads are overwhelming, our students get less individual attention. Let's be clear about the financial reality. Next, AIO schools is not facing a financial crisis. This district has one of the strongest fund balances in Minnesota and you have described it as such. It has exceeded recommended levels for years and Minnesota and the Minnesota Schoolboard Association recommends fund balances of about 10%. AIO is above that. This district has the resources and educators have been clear. >> They're not asking for more. They're asking for fairness. So leadership is not about protect protecting reserves while classrooms absorb the strain. It's about using your tools and what you have to protect learning conditions and keeping schools functioning. We're asking you to act. We're asking you to invest and we're asking you to settle a fair contract. Now, thank you. [applause] Our next speaker, our next speaker, [applause] Our next speaker is Max Mayor. >> Hello, I am District President Max Maher and I'm addressing the immigration enforcement resolution on tonight's agenda. I want to begin by saying this. I sincerely hope this resolution receives a unanimous yes vote uh tonight. Not because unonymity looks good, but because the principles in this resolution are timely, necessary, and should not be controversial in this moment. This is not a radical document. It does not defy federal law. It does not instruct staff to obstruct law enforcement. It does not change who we educate or how we educate them. What it does is clarify clearly and calmly how a school district responds when students are afraid and adults need guidance. Of course, I don't know how the board intends to vote. What I hope is that the arguments offered tonight withstand clear moral scrutiny because some justifications, once stated plainly, reveal consequences that are deeply troubling. For example, it may be said that this resolution is unnecessary because the law already exists. But if the law already exists, then this resolution simply affirms it. And in affirming if affirming the law at a moment when families are afraid is viewed as unnecessary, then we should be honest about what that reluctance reflects. Laws on paper do not comfort students. Silence does not guide staff. Leadership does. I hope uh no one says this resolution injects politics into schools. Protecting children from fear is not political. Trauma is not political. Attendance drops are not political. Mental health is not political. Children should never be afraid that going to school could cost them their family. I hope no one invokes legal risk risk without pointing to an actual legal flaw. This resolution does the most legally conservative thing possible. It requires staff to defer to counsel and follow the law. Exactly. Rejecting clarity under the banner of caution is not prudence, it's avoidance. I hope no one suggests this interferes with law enforcement. Schools are not law enforcement agencies. They are places of learning. Drawing that boundary is not obstruction. It is fidelity to purpose. I hope no one says this is outside the scope of a school board. If protecting students ability to attend school without fear is beyond your scope, then we need to be honest about how narrowly this board defines its responsibility. This resolution does not ask you to take sides in a national debate. It asks you to affirm something very simple that schools remain safe, predictable, and lawful spaces for every child. >> A unanimous yes vote tonight would send a powerful message not about politics but about values. It would tell students and families that when fear enters our community, this board does not look away. It responds nimly with clarity, lawfulness, and care. I hope that's the message we leave with tonight. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Okay, our final speaker, our final speaker is Jess Kabim. Hello, my name is Jessica Bame and I'm a district resident and parent. I'm here today simply with a brief plea for professionalism and civility from our district leaders. I'd like to start by recognizing that overall I think board meetings, work sessions, committee meetings, and other activities open to public observation are generally conducted in a respectful and professional manner. And that doesn't mean withholding opinions or shying away from areas of disagreement. The individuals leading this district come from different backgrounds and have diverse perspectives, and we should encourage an environment where different ideas are offered, challenged, and refined. Indeed, proposals and positions forged through a process of robust debate and deep consideration are likely to be better than those that aren't questioned at all. That said, it's critical that the focus of such challenges and debate be centered around the substance of the ideas and proposals themselves and not the presumed motives or flaws of the individual sharing them. One can disagree with something quite vehemently and passionately without needing to jump to insults or accusations about how or why someone might see things differently. personal attacks simply shouldn't be part of the dialogue. Not only would that be disrespectful and set a poor example for the community, but it also presents two other problems. First, such attacks would simply be untrue. Any accusation that anyone up here has any malicious intent towards the community you all serve just seems entirely implausible. Every piece of evidence we have suggests that the opposite is true and that each person here is here because of a deep commitment to upholding the mission written on the wall above you. I've observed from a distance just a small portion of what it takes to run for and execute the responsibilities of school board. And candidly, it it doesn't look easy or fun. It just doesn't make any sense that someone will go through all that effort with a goal of harming scholars or the broader community. You're obviously all here because you genuinely care about this community. Second, from a purely pragmatic perspective, personal attacks are simply inefficient. Rare is the occasion that two parties have found themselves disagreeing with each other about something, but then party A successfully convinces party B to take a different perspective by declaring how ignorant or awful they believe party B to be. It's not an effective tool for persuading or building consensus, but it's a great tool for building division and distrust. For all of these reasons, I reiterate my sincere request that this body continue to work towards being an example of good faith, robust debate and exchange of ideas without the counterproductive addition of applying labels or attacks to the parties sharing those ideas. Thank you. Okay, so uh that concludes the audience opportunity to address the school board. Um and we'll move on to our superintendence report. Dr. Hy. >> Thank you. Good evening, Chair Prince, uh, Vice Chair Brooks, board members, staff, family, and community partners. Um, at this time, it's important that we come together as a district. So, in our educational institutions, our students must feel safe, our staff must feel safe, and our parents and caregivers must know without hesitation that their children are safe in our schools. It's clear some of our families, staff, and community members are being impacted differently by our current events, and we must lead with grace and awareness of those differences. Each person's lived experience shapes how they are feeling in this moment, and it is our responsibility to acknowledge that reality with care and compassion. Our schools serve as a safe spaces and islands of calm for our community. They are places of learning, stability, and connection. Especially during these times of uncertainty, our focus will continue to be on educating and caring for our students and families while supporting the adults who serve them each and every day. Like other school districts across the state and the region, Acer schools has adapted and will continue to adapt as conditions evolve. We remain committed to thoughtful decision making, clear communication, and keeping the well-being of our students, our staff, and our families at the center of everything that we do. So together we will continue to show up for one another and move forward with purpose, unity, and care. Thank you. This evening uh regular part of the superintendent's update is points of pride. And by sharing these points of pride is our chance to celebrate our students, our staff, our scholars and community members who are contributing to the accomplishments of our mission. So this evening I have members of our district cabinet to assist in sharing some examples from the last month. In the area of achieving dreams, last winter, Park Center Senior High School formed a new sideline cheer team for students interested in a cheer program geared toward cheering at Park Center athletic events rather than cheer competitions. And the program has seen huge success in its first full year. Though competition is not the focus of sideline cheer, the team did participate in a competition among other local sideline cheer teams in December where they showed off their self-core dance and cheers. They walked away with the first place prizes in both the showcase dance performance and the cheer battles sections. Students in Maple Grove Senior High School teched teacher Scott Casten's residential construction class recently completed construction of a shed, which they designed to fit a variety of possible uses such as a tiny house, guest house, she-shed, man cave, or garden shed. The school then sold the shed in a public surplus auction with the proceeds going back into the program. Zaynwood Community Steam School had a packed library media center the afternoon of December 23rd when it hosted a fourth grade poetry slam to share the students poetic verses with families. Leading up to the event, students spent time learning about poetry in their classrooms, then creating their own poems based on an anchor poem of the day. The unit also included a visit from a published poet and an exploration of digital idioms, metaphors, and simileies that brought art and technology into the exploration in the area of contributing to community. Students at AIO Middle School worked with American Indian education, culture, and language specialist Jill Lindle to learn about how many how in many indigenous cultures, including Ojiway and Dakota, blankets are given to honor someone so that they may feel the collective warmth and embrace of their family, friends, and community. Students at MS worked together to make 14 fleece tie blankets that were donated to a shelter that serves the indigenous community so that the unsheltered relatives may feel the warmth and embrace of their native community at MS. In the area of lifelong learning, on December 9th, students and families at Basswood Elementary School braved the snow to attend the math and science night, where students and their families could participate in various STEM activities. In the gym, students participated in a variety of games and activities sponsored by Mathnasium, including Connect for Chess, Giant Jenga, Moncala, Flashmath, and other brain teasers. and math games. Students could also participate in STEM activities in the cafeteria, including linkage puppets, circuit play with switchers, and connects tops. At one table, students had the opportunity to hold a real pig heart. In the days leading up to winter break, many schools hosted fun events to bring school communities together and to celebrate the many winter holidays, including Moonlight Bowling at Basswood Elementary, a holiday shop at Elm Creek Elementary, a holiday festival at OIO Education Center, Woodland Elementary's choir concert at the district office, and Gingerbread Houses at Fair Oaks Elementary, Oak View Elementary, Rush Creek Kids Stop, and AIO Middle School's Unified Advisory. Over the winter break, students in pre kindergarten through fifth grade spent time at Rush Creek Elementary School for Kids Stop's non-school day school age care. Students participate in a variety of winter activities including winter bingo, a frozen singalong, art projects using hot chocolate, and creating mini igloos, an indoor snowball fight, a costume party, and science experiments. In the area of missiondriven employees, it has become an annual tradition for ESPs from around AIO area schools to come together near the end of each year to gather supplies for and assemble blessing bags, which are handed out to students in need before the winter break begins. ESP union members fill the bags with different food items for students and their families to eat throughout the break. The group had a goal of filling 400 bags and they exceeded that goal this year with 420 bags donated. >> We have a few final notes and reminders for this evening. This school year, three community conversations are going to be held to better understand from family and community members what's going well and what needs improvement as well as ensuring all feel valued and heard. District leadership and school board members will host the event. Our next one, the second event is planned for February 3rd at 4 PM at OIO Middle School. So to learn more and to learn more, visit aioschools.org/ community conversations. Then the big dance is coming up. Join us February 6. I guess it's not a dance, it's a Cerson Hall. [laughter] >> If you want, >> I may dance. I dance all the time. So join us on February 6 for the District 279 Foundation, a night out winter wonderland. Tickets are now on sale on the District 279 Allen Foundation website and are expected to sell out quickly. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next agenda item is schoolboard reports. Director Dawson, do you have a report or update? >> I do. Um, okay. So, Association of Metropolitan School Districts um just a lot of conversation around ICE enforcement at our schools and our um places of worship and hospitals and just ensure you know a lot of absenteeism and just kind of um there's just a lot of the professional organizations around education are coming together just ensure ensuring that we're um just protecting our students. Um and then um the the big thing really is the legislative preview February 6 as we go into this legislative kind of session focused really on policy. Um and then um for um the American Indian parent advisory committee. Sorry I'm pulling that up right now. Um so they're right now um they're actually meeting at this moment right now but they're sending a jiu-jit language students to the Ju language symposium at Fondelac um tribal college this month um and the American Indian Education Department has also been providing professional development to our staff um student services team um as well as our talented and gifted teachers in February around culturally um relevant pedagogy pedagogy and uh content alignment to state standards. Um, APEC tonight is holding their vote for the resolution of concurrence, um, which will be presented to our board in February. And that is my report. >> Director Foster, do you have a reporter update? >> Um, we had a DPAC meeting last week and that was uh on a very cold, snowy night, I believe, but we had a good showing and a really great discussion. So, it's just a process as we get to the point of recommendation that they bring before us. >> Director Brooks, do you have a report update? >> No reports. Director Tate, do you have a report or update? >> Uh, no reports. >> Director Mitchell, do you have a report update? >> I do not tonight. Thank >> and I do not have a report or update. >> The next agenda item is the consent agenda. Board members, our consent agenda items this evening include meeting minutes, financial reports, extended educational trips, approval of property insurance carrier, personnel items, a grant, contract approvals for park center senior high school renovations, and the Crest View rebuild award. Are there any items that you would like to remove for separate consideration? >> Yes. Um, I'd like to remove item K from the consent agenda. >> Okay. Director Dawson has requested to remove Agenda item K from the consent agenda prior to our action on it. Any other uh items requested for removal? Okay. Um that will uh so at this time uh we'll approve the consent agenda with the exception of item K. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda uh excluding item K? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by Director Dawson. >> All in favor say I. >> I. I >> oppose. Nay. >> Motion passes six to zero. Okay. So, we will move then directly to item K. Um, is there a motion to approve item K which was removed from the consent agenda? >> So, move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. Uh, so there's a motion and a second. Um, is there any discussion? >> Yes. I'd like to move to amend item K of um uh on the consent agenda of Park Center uh senior high school renovations to include the construction of a health clinic. Okay. Is there a second on the motion to amend item K, Park Center senior high school renovations award of the consent agenda to include the construction of a health clinic? >> Second. >> Okay. Seconded by Director Tate. Okay. Um so uh we have a motion and a second. So is there discussion on this topic by board members? So um when we look at item uh K we've got a number of bids and details about the construction award. Um one question I have um and uh John thank you for coming up. There might be questions from the board members um that are in regard to this. So, um, Director Morset, one question I have is item K lists out quite a bit of detail right now under item K. Does that already afford in in those items dollars for use for the clinic if the board provides direction to do so? >> So, the budget that the district has established includes all the bid items and a contingency. That contingency is about $2.5 million. So it more than covers any additional costs that would be needed. >> Okay. So um is a motion necessary in order for the costs for the clinic to be allocated? >> If you're asking my opinion, I would say no. I I I personally my interpretation is no. That can be added at any time. >> Okay. Thank you. So I didn't mean to put you on the spot for an opinion. Um okay. So um our last work session we just we had this um a very robust discussion on it and um what while we kind of had a little muddied waters at the end as we were kind of running short on time um there was uh the proposal that we would bring it back to the next work session and complete that conversation. um knowing that um our understanding was that we could simply provide direction. The dollars are already allocated. There's not a vote necessary from the board to proceed forward after that direction. Um so I I'm I'm desiring to honor what we said at the work session, which was we'd come back um because we did have some board discussion and questions. Board members submitted additional questions after the work session. I believe we got the um responses to those questions on Thursday or Friday. Um so so there has been a lot of information about it. So um so I'm inclined to say that we should kind of stick with what we said, but what other discussion might there be? You know, I would say that, you know, we did have a we had a we did have a a discussion with other agenda items on that work session and there really wasn't a resolve except the fact that we heard from building leaders. [clears throat] Um we heard that um one of our committees DPAC had recommended um this um a health clinic. Um we've had um it looked like different communications um throughout the last few years around this and you know when our community passed this referendum um we committed to our community um not to just new buildings but to meeting the real needs of our students and their families. Um this park center renovation uh is beautiful you know and it also gives us a chance to do more than update the space. Um, it's a chance to add a school-based health clinic. Um, these are not it's not an extra. Um, they're proven to reduce disparities and health care and support students well-being. And access to healthcare has never been guaranteed. In fact, it seems to be a privilege. um especially for black and brown families, families experiencing um financial insecurities and which has often been denied generation after generation after generation after generation. Um I often think of my own family, my my own um family, my my children lost their grandfather because care wasn't available and he he could be here right now. Um and that story I think is all too common, especially in communities of color. Um, and we can't separate learning from well-being. Uh, student with untreated con health issues like vision, um, dental, mental health is not going to thrive in schools. I'm sure many of our teachers and staff here see that every single day. This clinic comes from careful planning. It comes from community input. Um, we have school leaders who sat before us in that meeting, that work session with tears in their eyes over 30 years, knowing the need of each and every one of our students in this particular community. Um, and this is our chance for excellence to go beyond academics to build trust, support, health, and help students thrive for life. And while I understand maybe it's not necessary, it means something um to me, to our community, to our staff, to our students. And I can't um support a park center renovation that doesn't include a clinic. And to me, this is about living up to our mission and our promises to our community. And our students and our families deserve nothing less than that. other discussion. >> Yeah. So again, um we did have a pretty lengthy discussion at the last work session in January. Um much of which was covered in that meeting. Um you heard a lot about school school-based health centers um or clinics in the community comment earlier today as well. Um I too uh don't feel comfortable supporting this uh without the schoolbased health clinic included um in those renovation plans. Um we talked a lot at that meeting. Um we were able to hear real stories from educators on how important access is to um vision care, primary care and medical and and dental care. um particularly for students um at Park Center in Brooklyn Middle. Uh while this could potentially impact uh students at other schools as well, we know um this board has always talked about the importance of supporting mental health, the mental health needs of our students. Um as long as I've been on this board, uh we've always talked about the importance of partnering with the community um and leveraging as many resources as we can to support the needs of our scholars. Um and so for me um I am struggling to understand why there is a limit um to providing that support. Um when we've heard from not only our principles, we've heard from our nurses from a number of years about the needs that they have as it relates to um the number of students and the the workload that they have um in each of our schools as well. Um we know that our students are struggling. Um whether it is um remaining focused um whether it is uh dental issues, whether it's chronic absenteeism, um whether it's the rise in anxiety um that our students are facing. Um all of these that can be um addressed um through this clinic um that would be added to Park Center. For me, um, when I look at the cost, uh, which is pretty minimal to our district, uh, it's about 250K is what was quoted at the work session. Um, and that's without a grant. Um, to me, the long-term value that we get from that space, um, far outweighs that one time, um, upfront investment. Um, so for me, like this is pretty clear. Um, it's important. Um, we have talked about the importance of equity. It's one of our values. um and the fact that um we have an opportunity now to um put a solution in place. Um it may not be the only solution that we need, but a solution in place that um directly impacts the disproportionate um health and educational needs of our students on the east side of our district. Um the fact that we have that in front of us and uh we are a barrier to that um I struggle with that. So again, I will not be supporting um item K without the schoolbased health clinic included. >> Other discussion? >> Well, um Kelsey and Thomas took all my talking points, but uh I was already on the record, I think, during the work session that I was a no. Um unless the Yeah, the health clinic was included. I mean, it seems like um we're talking about, you know, in perpetuity, we'd have a free to the district mental health resource on property. We have uh, you know, it's shown to improve attendance, reduce absenteeism, improve graduation rates, and I mean, it aligns so much with what we're trying to do as a district. Um, you know, I also think about kind of like uh as we're talking about um, you know, not only mental health, but uh, you know, the way we teach and the way we learn. Um, you know, we've already kind of wrapped up health and medicine together, right? For ADHD, you need a medical diagnosis. For dyslexia, you need a medical diagnosis. For anxiety, you need a medical diagnosis. So why are we pretending that these different ways people learn is somehow separate from medicine itself? So >> other discussion? >> Yeah, I'll weigh in. I um I have thought so much about this this last week and it has weighed heavy on my heart as I have thought through because this is such a nuanced topic. Um, and I was hoping we would have more time to process it and talk to staff about it. Um, the main struggles I have with this is what is the role of the school district and is providing healthcare services um, our duty? Um, so I understand there is funding for the construction of it. We're looking at a health care environment in Minnesota where health care companies are struggling in general and to expect that we will get a grant to cover operational costs is my concern and I have major concerns about how the operational costs will be covered. We as a district cannot cover that. Um and so I think these are very fair concerns to have and struggles to have. Um don't misunderstand me. I hear the heart and the concern and it was a very powerful presentation that was provided. Um, but there's still practical things that I believe need to be worked out. >> Is there other discussion? >> Yeah, I have a comment and I just want to clarify. I know I had previously asked John and just to clarify, chair Prince, so are we voting on this tonight? I had thought we were going to have more time. So, we are voting on the >> So, the motion is to amend it. Um and right now three board members have expressed that um they won't support the overall construction um process which would be the next vote. >> So I think it's you know just kind of to level set. So um right now from what I'm hearing from the discussion is that if the motion to amend it to include in uh the clinic uh doesn't pass then the next vote will be um a motion um to approve the overall construction which will not have three uh will not have a majority vote >> um which means that that the entire construction would be not passed tonight. Mhm. >> So, um, so by effect, um, that's kind of where we're at. >> Okay. Yeah, that caught me by surprise, but, um, just thinking about it too, I I think, um, again, like, um, director Foster said, it definitely tugs at my heart and I respect, um, the other director's comments and perspectives, and I will always listen first. I've done that for the past three years. From my perspective, we each have an equal vote in saying this. Many questions are still unanswered and vague at best. I feel it would be irresponsible to rush forward with a school-based health clinic at this time. This is not a time to allow room for any oversight or mistrust between our community and our district. There's currently not a clear scope for the clinic services that would be potentially provided and every aspect of parent parental consent and services provided to minors at the clinics would need to be very transparent for all families and taxpayers. >> Okay. So back um at the work session the primary kind of way that we um had identified was that there was that some board members were still asking questions and needed more time. So um is that is more does any board member still have a feeling of needing you would like more time or do you feel like you have the information that you need? >> I would like more time but I also don't want to hold up the construction process and the bid award. I think that is very concerning to hold something like that hostage. >> Uh, Director Morstead, can you please um share with us? So, if the um if the bid if the if item K does not pass at all this evening, can you um advise us as to what implications that might have? >> Sure. So implications if this isn't passed um the right where we stand right now all of our um contracts are prepped set and ready to be signed. So assuming we don't have authority to do that um what you tend to have is we either have to go rebid which takes uh probably six weeks um many of the contractors will opt to other options. So, one of the reasons we number one started early was to capture typically we wanted to get ahead. We wanted to get the contractors um we wanted to be their first choice. So, we're locking them in for three summers. Um so that we we potentially can lose them and and the the potential I'll give you was so far to date we've lost two. So, two of our lowest biders have opted to withdraw um because they for whatever reasons they have they whether they took other business or they just decided not to do it. it's their option. Um, so we'll incur a little additional cost to that that just puts a little bit of pressure on that contingency that I mentioned earlier. Um, the biggest issue is time. It's it's the purchasing of supplies to get done what we said we would get done the first summer. Um, our primary concern is in the fax and culinary labs. The ordering of stainless steel right now is between six and seven months out and a delay of a month will mean we will not have the ability to open those classrooms for school come the start of in September. >> How long were our contractors required to hold their bids for? >> I don't know that off the top of my head. I believe it's no more than 30 days. So it's pretty >> Where are we at right now? >> Uh we bid this in the first week we were back from in so I want to say the 8th. >> Okay. So we're already 12 days in to that. So yes, by the time we got to the next school board meeting, they don't have to hold that number. >> So we don't really have time to hold this vote to next. Like we don't if this didn't pass tonight, we really don't have time to wait until the next month. >> I would say that's a fair statement. I know one of the contractors has demolition planned to begin on February 16th, which is eight days ahead of the next board meeting. >> Okay. >> Is there any reconsideration of the motion to amend? >> No. Okay. Um so we did have a very uh robust discussion. Um while we have uh had updates on the exploration and had approved grants and approved the exploration of the health clinic, um the work session was the first time that we really got into a lot of the details and la asked a lot of the questions. Um we did have the opportunity to request more questions and receive those answers um by email. So that was pretty thorough. Uh I think um I guess we're essentially making a position statement on the clinic at at this point in time. Um so from my point of view uh we we know that we have uh significant pressure on our nursing staff. Um, we know that we've heard from our nurses repeatedly that [clears throat] uh that they're overwhelmed. Um, that the severity of what they're treating is um really [clears throat] not uh not the scope of what we ever expected school nurses to do. Um, so that's a significant aspect of this as I process it. Um, we did have our leaders of our middle school and high school come in and share um pretty empathe uh emphatically um what they felt the benefits of the uh clinic would be uh for students uh that they serve and for their outcomes. Um we also had uh robust discussion as to what do what does um parental consent look like? What concerns might there be when you um colllocate a facility where there are services that don't require parental consent? Does that um pose any conflict or concerns for us as we want to ensure that um parents and caregivers are are always um the first um the always connected, engaged, and supportive of um their young person's their minors healthcare choices. So um so there's a lot of factors and and we did get a lot of uh legal information regarding uh what what students can consent to on their own, what parental consent must be required. Um and there's still flexibility in what that arrangement looks like with the partner that's ch that is chosen. Uh additionally, there will still be a vote on the lease um as we select that partner. So, I think there's still well we um with the choice to say yes, we want the capital, we want that built in to the construction, there's still opportunity to ensure that we're very well aligned as a board on the final implementation plan leading up to the to the lease. Um, so, um, so from my point of view, um, I I certainly will, uh, I do not want us to have to wait until next month and lose our bids and not complete our projects on time. I think we just need to consider that when we set a direction at a work session and then don't follow that, that can have implications for trust and for how we work together. And um I think that's just something to be mindful as we keep going forward. So um with that uh let me make sure I know how to do this. Uh okay. So um is there uh so we've had the discussion and we will um call for the vote um to vote on item K as amended to include uh the healthc care clinic. All in favor say I. I chair >> Prince. >> Sorry. First, you want to vote on the motion to amend? >> Okay. Okay. Sorry. >> Okay. Is there um is there a motion to amend item K to include the construction of the park senate uh parks center senior high school renovations? Uh to include Sorry, let me restate this. Uh we are voting on We've had the motion, we've had the second. Um all in favor of the amended motion item K. All in favor to accept the motion to amend item K. Uh say I. >> I. >> Opposed. >> Nay. >> No. >> Okay. So um for two to uh accept the motion to amend it. So now uh we will vote on the amended motion. Um so uh we just have to vote. We don't have to. >> So now you vote on item K as amended. >> Okay. So we will call for a vote on item K as amended. Uh all in favor say I. >> I [clears throat] opposed. >> Nay. >> Uh the motion carries 5 to one and uh the item K will explicitly include the construction of the health clinic. Okay. Thank you everybody for a um for good conversation and discussion. Okay. We are going to move on to action uh items. Uh number 11. Uh our first action item is a resolution relating to the authorization of the issuance and sale of general obligation school building and refunding bonds. Information will be shared by John Morsed and Shelby McQuay of Ellers's Inc. John. >> Thank you. Chair Prince, school superintendent Hy and school board members. As part of the building a better future bond referendum in 2023, uh we were authorized to go ahead and sell bonds up to 223 million dollars and change. Um tonight we are asking for the second of three planned bond issuances. With me is Shelby McCoy, senior m municipal adviser and managing director at Ellers's public finance adviserss, and she is going to walk us through the pre-sale report. Shelby. Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Hyle, thanks for having others here tonight. And um uh I'll just present the pre-sale report, which just uh lays out where we are at in the process tonight today um with the sale of these bonds. So the bonds include two purposes. Uh as Mr. Moradstead stated it's the second part of the authority granted to you by voters in the 2023 election. So 60 um million there. And then we're also refunding the um facilities maintenance bonds that were previously issued for savings. So those savings um that we estimate to be about 400,000 will be savings to the overall interest and the levy. Um those cannot be used in the general fund. So, um the term of the bond overall is uh about 20 years, which is consistent with the overall plan that was communicated to voters at the time. So, we're still within that uh that consistency there and um in the framework of that term and structure. uh as part of the issuance will uh receive a rating or the district will receive a rating and we'll work with the business services office to um to get that rating through Moody's uh Moody's analytics. So you currently have an underlying rating of AA1 and then a credit enhanced rating also of that same caliber uh which comes with the states uh states rating. So, um that is puts puts yourself out in the uh competitive marketplace in a pretty well positioned uh situation to uh get some pretty good interest rates. So, um that competitive issue will happen in the following month. Um as part of the overall issuance, you will be issuing tax exempt. Uh and so we'll be um following the same continuing disclosure and arbitrage uh rules that are currently a part of what you do as part of your overall existing debt. Um and we do with this issue anticipate a um premium price. So when you put this out in the competitive marketplace, uh there is demand for this type of debt and new money. So, uh, they we anticipate that the underwriters will pay more than the face value of their bonds, lowering your borrowing amount overall. So, that's why you see a little bit of a discrepancy between what you're authorizing as part of the intent resolution and then what we're estimating now as part of your um the issuance and what we expect. So, then on a couple um pages later, I just want to lay out the overall process and what we um the calendar there tonight. Um this is the presentation of where we think we're at. And then your action item will be uh the approval um of the uh the intent resolution for the bonds, both the school building bond portion and the uh refunding of the facilities maintenance. We'll follow a few steps um to get the due diligence and the um official statement in the uh position that we needed to take it out to market. We'll get that rating. Um we anticipate being back. Ellers will be back at the February 24th meeting to [clears throat] present the award for the sale and what we actually received um for bids on that day and we'll close March 19th and then you'll actually redeem those refunded bonds then uh on April 23rd. So we have a series of attachments included. They lay out the sources and uses, the principal and interest, the savings that we expect to receive at that $400,000 level. And that all culminates into that last page there um in terms of where we expect the um the overall capital debt and capital plan to be. And what we aim for here is just that consistency in the tax rate, a nice level structure overall. Uh the vote or at the time of the vote, we estimated an interest rate of 5% as part of the school building bond. Uh our current estimates are 4.2 two and then the overall issue um which includes the refunding portion which is a little shorter making that the overall issuance um estimate about 3.9%. So I'm happy to answer any questions on this presentation or uh your action item tonight as the um part of the authorizing resolution for the 2026A bonds. Okay, we will start with the motion and then discussion which there may be questions. So, is there a motion to approve the resolution relating to $12 million485,000 uh 100 sorry me second 102,485,000 and general obligation school building and refunding bonds series 2026A authorizing the issuance and sale thereof providing for credit enhancement with respect thereto and establishing compliance with reimbursement bond bond regulations under the Internal Revenue Code. >> So moved. >> So moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by Director Tate. Is there any discussion? Thank you for the um thorough presentation. All in favor say I. I. >> I. Oppose. Nay. Motion passes six to zero. Thank you so much. Our next action item is the proposed approval of the 2026 legislative platform. Information will be shared by John Morstead. John, >> I understand if you're sick of seeing me, but [laughter] thank you again. Uh just going to go kind of quickly over this, but the uh 2026 legislative pri priorities are before the board for approval. There are four main priorities that we're focusing on this year. It is important to note this is not a funding year for the Minnesota legislature. So typically there's not a ton of movement in that area. Nonetheless, we still set our priorities and do our best to advocate for them on an annual basis. Uh priority one is provide stable predictable funding. Um, maintaining current funding to include the annual inflation index on the general formula, fully fund summer unemployment insurance, and increase local optional revenue to $979 per pupil, and link it to the basic formula. The second priority is enhance school safety and support mental health. Increase safe schools funding to $18 per pupil to support safety and mental health needs of scholars and staff. Expand the allowable uses of long-term facility maintenance funding to include cyber security and technology infrastructure and hardware and modification of buildings to enhance safety and security. Priority three, address workforce shortages, expand programs and incentives to attract de develop and retain teachers of color and remove barriers and provide incentives to address staffing shortages of teachers, ESPs, and other positions. The final um priority is the reduction of mandates um by fully funding or repealing all existing unfunded mandates, refraining from adding any new mandates, and review and repeal any obsolete requirements in current law. I'll turn it back to Chair Prince for a motion. Thank you. >> Is there a motion to approve the 2026 legislative platform as presented? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Foster. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by Director Mitchell. Is there any discussion? So, this our platform's been pretty stable over time. Um, you know, I think that demonstrates that there hasn't been a lot of movement to solve some of the problems that we're concerned about, but at the same time, it's um it is um our primary document that we use with our legislators. We share our legislative breakfast um opportunities to um uh to connect with legislators. There's a MSBA day at the capital. So, this is a very important document um that shares our most important pri priorities and needs um with those that uh make the decisions that can affect that change. Any other discussion? All in favor say I. >> I oppose. Nay. Motion passes six to zero. Our next action item is a proposed resolution affirming student safety, legal compliance, and access to education in response to recent immigration related events. Information will be shared by board member Kelsey Dawson. Kelsey, >> do you can I just ask are you wanting me to read it or >> um you don't have to read it. We have it. If there's um you just introduce it and explain it. Um, you know, resolutions um like this really allow our board to formally express our values and provide clear guidance to our school district um staff and and of course our families um to reinforce our position um and our responsibilities. And it's more than words. It's a commitment to our student safety and their well-being and their ability to to thrive both um academically and and and personally. And um what's happened in our community um over the last month, couple weeks has really incited fear. Um and we um this resolution is about affirming student safety um along with our legal compliance and access to education in response to these events that have happened in our community. And our schools must commit to and remain um to be safe and welcoming and inclusive for each and every one of our students regardless of status um immigration status. Um, and this res resolution ensures that students and families can access education, the education that they're entitled to under the law without fear and that our district remains fully compliant in that with state and federal protections. And I just would add as a community, I mean, I don't know, this keeps happening in in in Minnesota where we're really become we're at the crossroads of of um kind of the heart and the soul of our of our nation and um our kids living in fear is not okay. Um our staff living in fear is not okay and it's really unprecedented time. So again, this resolution is to just reaffirm um as a O AIO school board and one of the most diverse, largest districts in the state that we take a stand for our kids. Other discussion or um sorry. Okay. So um okay, so you've introduced it. Uh we'll go ahead and move. Is there a motion to the resolution? Is there a motion to the resolution affirming student safety, legal compliance, and access to education in response to recent immigration related events? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by Director Foster. Okay. And is there a discussion? >> Yeah. I wanted to just add my thoughts to this resolution. Um, we were able to have a closed session last week that was a kind of a security briefing, safety briefing, which was super valuable. Um and that highlight that brought to light a lot of um my response and reasoning for my my vote will be yes tonight sneak peek. Um and my main question was what is our legal obligation? And I think we have to center what we do on what sometimes we forget what are we supposed to be doing in this role? What am I supposed to be protecting? Um and it the resolution very clearly outlines that our district is required to provide um or what our district is required to provide and it reaffirms my commitment to those responsibilities. Um given recent events, this serves as an important reminder both to myself and our community that our duty as a school board is to provide public education to all residents regardless of immigration status. Um, I have full confidence and have been really proud of the actions in our district by our district leadership that they've taken to ensure students continue to have access to education. Our district leadership has done an excellent job supporting students during this time and will continue to do so. >> Yeah. I also have a statement I'd like to read. Um, every student and every member of this community has inherent dignity and deserves to be treated with respect. The safety of our students is always our top priority. Our district leadership and safety team have assured us that they are working on this issue 247 along with our local police departments, SRO's. Our superintendent has clearly communicated multiple times in multiple ways to ensure the commitment to the safety of all of our students is her priority and our district's priority. Dr. Hy's letter district as a listening leader holding space to allow for families, students, and staff to share real fears. There's no disagreement that the students of district 279 have needs and that we all care for them. My concern and issue with this resolution regards the leadership principle of process. I did not receive this resolution until late Friday afternoon. The late notice of this resol of this initiative did not allow time for appropriate board collaboration, alignment, and engagement. Why is it necessary to pass a resolution to communicate that we will all adhere to the state and federal government regarding immigration laws? Why is it necessary to pass a resolution that we will ensure the safety of all of our students regardless of immigration status? With this short amount of time to review the information included in the resolution, I have not found any actionable items included in this resolution that would add any beneficial safety measures for our students and families. If there would be an actionable step that we could take as a district to make our schools safer in every way for every student, regardless of immigration status, if we could have an action step that would make a way for every student to safely attend school, I would be very hopeful that the six of us board members could agree upon that. But I do not want to set the precedent of rushing resolutions through this board in this manner. It is our duty as board members to lead without bias, not with emotions, but with a principle-based leadership, and with transparency. I appreciated what Maple Grove Police Chief Warner's message of encouragement was to us in our closed session on Thursday night. He challenged us to use our role of leadership and our words to bring calm. Thank you. other discussion. >> Yeah. Um so >> uh so yeah, a couple things. Uh one, I just wanted to thank uh Director Dawson for uh bringing forth this resolution. Uh this resolution was actually recently passed um a very close version of it in a neighboring school district. Um, and one of the things I love most about this resolution is it does um provide some affirmation and clear direction um of how we should be serving our students. Um, this is not um a lot of times when we talk about resolutions um some of the challenges that are brought forth are operational challenges. Um and this is a resolution that actually speaks to the work that um our district admin um and our site leaders um our educators u work that they've already been uh focused on um in order to protect our students. Um in terms of process um yes this resolution was sent out on Friday um but so was the rest of the agenda um which we typically get u the Friday before our meeting. Um, so in terms of process and timing, it's uh pretty consistent. Um, for me, um, you know, this really comes back to, uh, the fear, um, that's across our district right now. Um, I can't remember the last time that we've had so many emails and so much social media action um, related to a topic um, impacting our students. Uh we um you know recent immigration enforcement actions um it was highlighted um it's been highlighted by our police chiefs. There was um a press conference even today that um really spoke at a lot of what we talked about in the close session last week um about the um the increase um and aggression um the the tactics that uh federal um immigration enforcement officers have been using um on our community um including um American citizens. Um this fear is impacting our students. Um we've seen um our students speak up um in protests um at all grade levels. Um we've seen and heard of families across our district that have been impacted whether it's students um whether it's their parents, whether it's their family members or neighbors. Um we've seen businesses close in our district um that we rely on. [clears throat] Um so we know that this fear um does not stop um once a student steps foot um in a school building. um they are taking this into a classroom um and it's with them when they leave. Um it impacts their ability to learn um and us not having clear direction um and clear affirmation of um how we should approach um immigration enforcement in our district I think just undermines the trust that we've worked so hard to build um in our district. Um again this resolution doesn't interfere with federal law enforcement. Um instead it just clearly states um that our schools are places of learning um not enforcement and that our role is to educate uh protect our students and ensure equal access to education regardless of immigration status. Um so by adopting this resolution uh we're sending a message that um every student belongs here. Um that families should be able to engage with our schools without fear. Um and we know that there are barriers to that now. um and that our district remains focused on its mission um educating students in a safe and welcoming environment. Um so I um am excited to support this resolution. Um if any of my colleagues have additional action items they'd like to include um I'd love to consider those as well. So, um really everything has, uh been said, but for me, um you know, we've had a fantastic uh leadership team um led by Dr. Hy taking quick action um reaffirming policy and protocol um and communicating. But to me this is important um for us as a board to be clear that it's not just our administration um who is uh you carrying this out but it's under board direction and authority as well that this is um our direction this is our mandate these are our legal obligations these are our values um and this is what we will stand by to serve our students so I think it is essential that we have this clarity that comes directly from the board um and the accountability on this board to ensure that we meet um every obligation and take every action possible um to ensure our students continue to be safe in our schools. Uh it also does recognize um as has been pointed out the very real impact that this issue has to our students uh to our families and to our community members. Um, we've seen it in our attendance numbers. We've seen it in requests from our families and the options that we're providing for online learning. Um, we've heard it from our uh uh local police departments um who uh were uh a part of that uh press conference today. Um if you haven't seen it, I'd strongly encourage that you take a look at what they've communicated. Um and I one of the things that I often um somebody in my life often um quotes is that um when we look at our community and the way that we communicate um in our families, our words should be as medicine. What does that mean? Our words should be words that um that help people um that cause healing, that cause community, that encourage community, um that affirm one another and our values and our intrinsic value. Um and right now that's not happening um when we look at social media, when we um look at what's just taking place in the rhetoric. So I think as leaders as um director Mitchell pointed out that it's our role to establish um these values and to live um them out clearly and to be mindful of the words that we say and to encourage our community um to really be as Dr. Hallow says one house and that our words can be as medicine to each other um and lift up and encourage each other. So, I think this is important and I'll be supporting it. >> Any other final words? >> No, other than that, um, you know, so I was I was reading um, you know, Dr. King's um, I don't know why I'm getting upset. Um, uh, you know, um, where do we go from here? you know, community or chaos. And it's just it just strikes me like how little we've come since that book was written. And you know, how much further we have to go. Um I'm I'm I'm glad we can do this, but you know, as I was uh watching all the school walkouts and stuff over the past week, right, the kids the kids beat us to it, right? They made their statement before we got our stuff together and made our statement. So, um I hope we can do better in the future and and lead rather than have kids lead us. Although it's it's lovely they're leading us, right? So, >> um one last comment uh on process. Um as chair I did we do have um ways of working and um and things like that but as chair I thought time of was of the essence and um did um did approve this resolution coming on to our agenda um outside our kind of formal processes. So okay with that uh let's vote. All in favor say I. I >> oppose. Nay mot uh motion passes 5 to one. Okay, our final action item is gifts to the district. Um, is there a motion to approve gifts to the districts totaling 128,597.77? >> So moved. >> Moved by Director Brooks. Uh, is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by Director Mitchell. All in favor say I. >> I. Name. Any uh anyone opposed? Name. Motion passes six to zero. Um, okay. Uh, there's a whole another page. [laughter] Um, okay. We have someformational items. Um, uh, theformational items this evening is the first reading of policies shared by Amy Moore, general counsel. Amy, >> thank you. Um so this will be the first reading from our board policy committee in December of the policies we went through. It's not the policies we did in the work session. Those will be going to the policy committee in March and then will come to the board in April. So these are are separate uh policies that we went through in December. The first policy, policy 104, school district mission statement. We are proposing that that policy be repealed because you the board does a tremendous amount of work on um its mission statement and um rather than trying to keep this policy up with that wanted the board wanted to uh focus just on that work and it was duplicative. So it's being proposed for repeal for that reason. Policy 515, protection and privacy of education records and data. Um there is one part of this that uh we discussed in policy. Um board members wanting to see on the last page. Let's see that's page 469 in your packet. Um section C. um eliminating email addresses of parents may be provided under these particular circumstances. [snorts] Basically going to community organizations if requested um for certain reasons. Um wanting to eliminate that as an opportunity just seemed to be too broad for folks uh for parent email addresses to go out. So that's being proposed for the elimination um for the policy. And next is policy 516, student medication. This one we also discussed um not so much the policy the policy is is pretty straightforward. So, no changes to that. But in the procedure 516, which you'll find following, um, we had, let's see, on page 474 of your packet, uh, discussion regarding item J, nonprescription pain medication, and this is where a secondary student has the ability to carry Tylenol or aspirin, right? Um it talked about though that we need to receive written authorization uh from parents. Um we since we wanted to recognize uh and not make it difficult and I struggled a little bit talking with our lead um nurse on uh how to word it. So right now what I've included is um or verbal [snorts] authorization that is confirmed in an email to staff. We had also talked about is there a way that this can go out maybe at the beginning of the school year when you get all the information as parents. Um that's something that I'm still looking into. Wasn't ready to affirm that here in the process but wanted to let you know. Um we are looking at additional ways that we could make that more accessible uh for parents. Um, we also talked about could it be expanded beyond pain medication and um, in discussing it with our lead nurse, I we couldn't come up with like cough syret sometimes has things that you don't want in there, you know, just being carried around. Um, so that's why we've left it. Um, fellow board policy members of I we weren't able to come with anything beyond uh, nonprescription pain medication. Um the other changes that you'll see here are just um [clears throat] there was changes in the statute related to epinephrine administration there below. Um rather than referencing auto injectors uh they now just call it delivery systems. So that's just more of a technical update there. Then um we discussed policy 518 DNR DNI orders. This is the do not resuscitate, do not intubate orders. Um this is a difficult uh policy to discuss. Um we this doesn't come up often fortunately. you know, it is less than a handful, oftentimes maybe one or two times a year. Um, where parents may uh due to very complicated, difficult medical situations have a do not resuscitate, do not intubate medical order on their student um and whether the school district would basically enforce um honor those uh DNR, DNI orders. We included a purpose statement to basically call out uh that difficult situation and to state that this policy is to provide some direction and basically the policy we aren't um updating to change um the district because it's such a complicated medical decision that parents have with their doctors. We aren't the ones who are going to be implementing it. We want that to go to the medical professionals. So, um we would not uh accept a DNR DNI um at school. The next policy is policy 533 wellness. The policy itself um was still good. Uh no proposed revisions on that. Um but a couple of revisions in the procedure for that. Um you will see on page 480 of your packet um clarifying uh regarding new school meals that the programs includes uh but is not limited to the lunch and uh breakfast program. And then on the following page uh physical activity is where we had our most discussion. Um you'll see that we in number one we cross out with dis students with disabilities or special needs just that the school district will provide opportunities for physical activity during the school day to students right every student. And then um kind of clarifying their physical education uh classes and ongoing development. um that there will be daily recess for all grades in elementary and that teachers will not use physical activity as a punishment. We did want to clarify that doesn't include the use of phys physical activity for self-regulation or as an accommodation for a student. >> Did we get that clarified for that section if this how this applies to coaches? >> Say that. I'm sorry. >> How this applies to coaches? That was brought up and I was curious if that got resolved. >> I'm sorry. I coaches kind of fall under the realm of teachers, but um I guess not. That would be after school. We'll make sure to include coaches then. >> Um >> well, because it's if they're the whole conversation was, >> yeah, you're right. >> You're allowed to like when I would be talking in swim practice, go swim some laps. So, it's that's not necessarily a punishment in the terms of how it's perceived in this narrative here. Um, so some clarification might be needed there. >> Yep. I will It will be teachers and coaches. Is that >> cover what you're saying? >> No. >> No. I'm sorry. >> No. I think we probably need to talk to the athletic departments and see if this needs to be clarified for them and pulled out because are you limiting coach's ability to make people run laps or something? Does this limit us in any way um for our coaching staff? Um, I will talk with our athletic coordinators. Sorry, I wasn't quite understanding. Um, >> I'll have to clarify that the way that I interpret punishment. >> Okay. >> Um, and maybe that's it. Maybe we could better define punishment. >> Thank you. >> Uh, the next policy, policy 546, academic share time. Again, uh fairly straightforward uh policy on um when we have academic share time uh with students uh who are who attend non-public or home schools. The policy still looks good. So, we're not proposing any revisions in the procedure. We did have a couple of clarification updates um that we forward applications uh for district 287 secondary programs to career and tech ed programs. um we took out college level courses for Henipin Technical College and then dropped the clarification that we will provide information to parents and guardians regarding how they can apply to post-secary institutions and attend those post-secondary courses. So it was a switch of maybe in the past we did that for parents but if you're homeschooled or non-public the parent does that. Um the other clarification on the next page was just to um for school uh computer and science laboratories when those shared time students come uh that'll be within the guidelines and expectations established at that school. It's not just come anytime and and go there. Um we want those schools to be able to have some uh process around that. And then policy 549, age of entrance. Um you'll see there in uh the last section that we included um examples of what documentation um parents can bring for the age including passports, hospital birth records, etc. So wanted to provide that clarity. And then in the procedure um ju again a clarification academic shared time. Sorry I already talked about that um on the academic sorry and that is it. >> Okay. So these will be posted for the next month and will be brought to the board for a uh vote at the next month and I will >> well then I have another question for you. So the prescription meds do we need to hold that policy or non-prescription medications do we need to hold that till we have resolution on the question or >> right it will be posted and we will taking comments um you know and if there are changes then I will be communicating with the board on that and if it's it's significant we could >> have another discussion about it or bring it back to policy. Yeah. So >> I should know if we needed to pause. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Perfect. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Amy, for those exciting policy updates. So, [laughter] >> no, it it really is. I really appreciate that we're thorough and that we have a good policy of revision and make the adjustments that are sometimes minor, sometimes more major. It's actually a best practice that um that we're very thorough on this. So, thank you. Okay, before we adjourn, I do um want to recognize that we had um a very large presence of our educators this evening. So, thank you so much for coming and for being here and just want to continue to express on behalf of the full board um um for our appreciation for everything that you do and thank you for speaking tonight and um thank you for emailing us. Um again, thank you. We really appreciate and value the impact that you have on our scholars. So, our final agenda item is adjournment. Do we have a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 p.m. >> Second? Moved by Director Brooks. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Second by Director Tate. Uh is there any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. >> Motion passes six to zero. We're adjourned.