Minnetonka Public Schools — Transcript
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Middle School Program Reforms
High School Cell Phone Policy
Student Representation on the School Board
School Board Goal Setting & District Budgeting
District Funding Challenges and State Advocacy
Building Bond Referendum for Facility Upgrades
Impact of National Government Shutdown
Superintendent's AASA Presidency
Votes (4)
Middle School Programming Changes and Block Schedule Implementation
Dissent: Not applicable - podcast discussion
Moved by Not applicable - podcast discussion · Seconded by Not applicable - podcast discussion
The discussion centered on the significant changes to middle school programming, moving from a 2007 model to a block schedule. The primary drivers for this change included improving access to advisory programming for immersion students, closing the gap between middle and high school experiential learning, and enabling better acceleration or intervention for students. The new schedule, inspired by neighboring districts, involved considerable work for teachers in developing new coursework. Funding for supplies for new electives was supported by the district foundation. Initial feedback indicates students, particularly sixth graders, enjoy the longer periods and varied homework schedule, and parents are generally positive, though staff are still in an adjustment phase.
High School Student Cell Phone Use Approach
Dissent: Not applicable - podcast discussion
Moved by Not applicable - podcast discussion · Seconded by Not applicable - podcast discussion
The district implemented a new cell phone policy at the high school, requiring students to store phones during class. This decision followed a national conversation, Minnesota's local control approach, and surveys of staff, students, and parents. While students initially expressed reluctance, the policy has led to increased engagement and conversations in class, and teachers report spending less time on policing. Seniors raised a valid point about the need for independent technology monitoring skills for college, which the district is considering. Parent feedback via email has been overwhelmingly positive.
Student Led Vantage Project on Education Funding
Dissent: Not applicable - podcast discussion
Moved by Not applicable - podcast discussion · Seconded by Not applicable - podcast discussion
The public policy group within the student-led Vantage program is undertaking a complex project to analyze education funding. Students received presentations from a Minnesota House researcher and a tax tolerance survey expert. Their goal is to develop recommendations for state funding adjustments to account for varying tax bases and ensure equitable resources. The superintendent notes the challenging nature of the topic but emphasizes that students are gaining a deep understanding of the intricacies of education finance.
$85 Million Building Bond Referendum
Dissent: Not applicable - podcast discussion
Moved by Not applicable - podcast discussion · Seconded by Not applicable - podcast discussion
An $85 million building bond referendum will be on the November 4th ballot. This initiative stems from a community task force, formed in spring 2024, which identified and prioritized critical facility needs. The initial list of needs was $200 million but was narrowed down to $85 million, focusing heavily on middle school improvements (e.g., performance/gym space, science classrooms, more bathrooms) which have not seen significant investment since 1996. The bond is structured financially so that the building bond portion of property taxes will not increase year-over-year, as new debt payments replace expiring ones, similar to a 'second mortgage' concept. There's also a possibility for taxes to decrease if interest rates drop.
Notable Quotes (11)
our middle schools in their previous state were uh that program was created in 2007 and the district really implemented immersion programming at that point in time and there were some challenges at implementation that we had uh carried through just our immersion students not being able to fully access their advisory programming.
Some people ask uh is it more expensive to offer additional courses and it's really a shift of where students are attending for these elective options and our foundation did a great job donating to pay for the supplies for those new electives.
students perspectives, especially our sixth graders I've heard from, they love it. They love these longer periods. They love that there's homework that's not due for every two days. And parents response has been pretty positive.
Minnesota took the approach that we want every district to really study it and implement what makes sense in their local community. local control in Minnesota and across the country is is powerful.
We visited with students uh early in the process and we sort of got this reluctant. This is working better than I thought. They said kids are more engaged in class. Kids are having more conversations in class.
The most valid points our seniors have said to me is when I go to college, they're not going to have a shoe tree to store my phone. I'm going to need to learn these independent skills for monitoring my technology.
Their end goal is to make recommendations for how state funding might be different in the future to account for some of these changes in different tax bases from one district to the next or state. I mean certainly the easiest solution is well the state should just give us all they have but the state has limited budget.
But now we have, you know, 50 students who understand it probably as well as most elected officials and more than most of our community members that can be at least thinking about what do we do about it.
In Minnetonka, the last time our district did that was in 1996.
What that community task force found out is that our middle schools had gone the longest without a significant investment. So about 50 million of that $85 million is going into our middle schools.
our finance department found a way to structure that debt. So, as things are paid off over the next few years, payments for these new uh investments are coming on. So, year-over-year, the building bond portion of taxes won't increase.
Ordinances & Resolutions (1)
A document from the National Association of Superintendents (AASA) outlining the future direction and key pillars of public education.