Ahoy Minnotonka. [music] I'm Jackie Getty, executive director of communications for Minnotonka schools and your host of Ahoy Minnotonka season 3. [music] I'm joined today by Superintendent of Schools David Law for a midschool year update. Superintendent Law, thank you for being here. Always great to have you. Lots going on, lots to talk about. The last time that we caught up here on the podcast was before the November election. We had a $85 million building bond referendum on the ballot and it passed. Big thank you to our community uh who supported that and investing in the future of our students who will fill the halls and classrooms in our schools. But what happens next? What what are the first projects and how does how does everything go from here? >> Great question and yes, a huge thank you to our community for that support. Almost 70% of our community voting for that. Um the first thing that has to happen is we well two things happen at once. one, we are working with our uh architect and contractor to start with the formal plans and the permitting process through the cities that we're building with and that includes MMW and MME, the first two projects out of the gate. And then the next part is actually borrowing the money uh and that will happen at a board meeting. The board will approve the bonding process and we'll have the money in hand to start paying for the planning, paying for the peritting process, paying for the construction. Those two sites, MMW and MME are going to have groundbreings. It's probably in August. And those are big projects. Additional gym spaces, additional science classrooms, additional bathrooms, and at MME, additional parking, uh getting cars up the road, parking for big events. Those are probably 15-month projects. So, they'll start this August hopefully and run through November, about two years from now. >> Very exciting to get those going. And uh and in addition the parking at MME, I know we have some neighbors that are going to be very excited about that. >> Right. Right. >> Um recently the US government moved forward with plans to dismantle the US Department of Education. What does that mean? What does it mean for school districts? What does it mean for us? >> You know, I think that's a great question and people have been asking that. Um the short answer if you looked at the US Department of Education's public release is that they are shifting various responsibilities to other agencies. The most recent release shared a lot of the title grants, title one, title two, title three going to the Department of Labor. And if you read the release, it said uh concerns about academic performance for fourth and eighth grade reading and math and wanting to create better career preparedness. And so those grants are going to go to the Department of Labor to manage. And how that plays out remains to be seen. you know, initially probably this next week there, we won't notice a change, but what happens in that process, Title One is is one of the biggest grants that goes to education, one of the biggest federal grants in general. >> What is it? >> Um, it supports it's based on poverty rates within communities and is geared to support equalizing educational experiences for families living in poverty. So in a district like Minam Tonka where that is only about two or two and a half% of our funding federal money is we use that to support our highest elementary schools that have levels of poverty under 10% but those schools get additional teaching support for kids that need help with reading and that's one of the biggest areas that we use. In other districts in Minnesota, it can range from six million to $25 million for those districts. That goes directly into schools to support family engagement, student uh support and literacy and math, English language learner uh supports, potentially social work and emotional support for families in crisis. Those are the biggest buckets under title funding. And what happens is the federal government has played a role in technical support because it's a grant on an annual basis. you write and say, "Here's what we plan to use this money for next year." And there's typically a back and forth either with the Department of Education for Minnesota or the US Department of Education over are my intentions for this funding appropriate and then there's a back and forth. It remains to be seen probably, you know, in that May to September time frame as those grants are submitted and feedback is provided how a new department giving that feedback is going to work. On one hand, maybe the same staff at the Department of Education are going to transfer the Department of Labor and it's just a different oversight. On on the other hand, I if they're truly wanting to get new eyes on that process, it could be clunky. >> So, is all the leadership transferring to other national entities or is some of it coming to the state? And if it's coming to the state, is funding following? >> Um, the funding is supposed to flow through. One of the things that the administration has promised is that they're going to get rid of some of the red tape. You know, one of the things my colleagues and I have wondered about is adding an agency into the approval process feels like another layer of red tape, not a a reduction in red tape, but it remains to be seen. I I assume good intentions. You know, the Department of Education has only been around since the late 70s, and there has been discussions about dismantling it from as early as the early 80s under the Reagan administration. Um, there's this balance of uh wanting all states to have high quality outcomes for students. That's a federal mindset. And yet making education and local decision, that's that state mindset. There's that constant wrestling between those two ideas. uh the federal department of education uh has given lots of lots of guidance under both Democratic and Republican administrations. There's always backlash locally and people say, "Hey, let us make these decisions locally." So, this is not new. Um but the shifting of responsibilities to other agencies is new and it remains to be seen how it impacts us. >> What are the other areas that the US Department of Education has overseen? Probably the biggest three for K12s are the title funds uh IDEA the laws that govern students who receive special education services and uh post-secary we do a lot with that and career in teched and so the US department of education has been sort of the one-stop shop to connect all those things together and it'll be interesting as those are farmed out you know my personal apprehension is if health and human services or some other agency picks up IDEA and overseas sees it and the title funding is in the department of labor. There are a lot of students who fall into both of those categories. And so the technical guidance on how they interact um it'll be it'll be interesting to see if two agencies can be more aligned than just a single department. There is about 74 million students across the country that receive K12 education. And for me, it's important. it it's such a big part of who we are as a country that one cabinet member position would be connected to the president representing education that that has been for the American Association of School Administrators that has been that association's message this is too important not to have a cabinet representative so that is still the position and there still is a department of education the dismantling is different parts of it are going to other agencies >> so that'll be interesting to see how that alles out. >> Um, when we started off the school year, >> uh, switching gears here, the school board had launched a pilot program to have student representation on the board. So, I thought this would be a good time to check in. How is it going? What do you meet with the students before they come to the meetings or the study sessions? And there's usually two that come to each meeting or study session. What's their feedback been like? Are they enjoying it? Is it overwhelming? Is it exciting? Is it boring? you know, um, for me it's really fun to connect with students and these students are sincerely curious like what happens at a board meeting and so going through the process of running through a board agenda, explaining all the parts of what's on the board agenda, helping them understand what when might they gather feedback from their peers. You know, what they're learning is a surprising amount of the work of the school board isn't very exciting. uh policy pieces, detailed policy pieces, budgeting, bonding, approving bids for long-term facility maintenance. There there are a handful of interesting topics like when they were participating in the course approvals or getting feedback on the middle school programming, it was relevant to them and they were engaged. But generally after each board meeting, I ask the students, "Were you well prepared?" And did you understand the topics? And they they're very affirmative that they're well prepared. And then I when they go back to the group, the next time we meet as a group to prepare for the next board meeting, I say, "Well, how was it?" And they their feedback's great. Like, I really liked it. I was sitting at the table. I got a chance to weigh in on things. So, I think they're appreciating it. I think it does show their classmates that the board values student input. And I'm sure there'll be things where they'll be more engaged and connected than others. You know, how will the board measure this? It's, you know, many districts across the state have included students on the board as a representative. This is really a very representative model. They're elected by their peers. They're recommended by teachers. They have the opportunity well ahead of a board meeting to gather feedback on interesting topics. So, we'll see in the spring um if the board who had this as a desire feels like it's meeting their expectations. From my perspective, we are moving in the right direction in terms of student engagement and involvement >> and they're non- voting members. >> They are not um they statutory only the community can elect voting members and I cover that with them all the time. I'm a non- voting member of the school board also. I can present information but the board votes on it. >> Right. The school board began its goal setting for the school year already in November for next year. What is the cadence of goal setting and when does the public hear an early draft and can provide input? Why is it important to start this early? >> That's a great question. The board sets goals based on a lot of data. Community community feedback, staff feedback, student outcomes, a lot of different student measures. So, uh the the feedback that the board uses is really what does the community say is important? Like one of the things the community will notice this year is after parents uh provided feedback about screen time and monitoring technology and AI that came up in board planning. You'll notice in the 2627 board goals there's a separate goal that we're going to be monitoring. How should AI be used in school and how should technology be used intentionally to be instructionally focused and not just more screen time. That's a that's a feedback loop the community I think would appreciate. Generally speaking, we have overarching goals about literacy at the elementary level and teaching students how to be well, how to interact and be healthy, address bullying at the elementary level, a new middle school program, giving students more elective options, and really giving students more time if we have to to intervene or accelerate student learning. And at the high school, you're going to see a new goal about experiential learning. Currently about 65% of our students are engaged in high quality experiential learning whether it be through Vantage or Momentum or Tonka Research or other advanced coursework and the the board is considering well what would it look like if 100% of our graduates had that high quality experiential learning opportunity. So we'll be studying that over the next year that comes from feedback from our graduates saying this was one of the most powerful things that happened to me at Minnetonka High School. So the board is considering how do we make sure that that's a reality for every student. Um the timing of it it is really related to our budgeting planning process. We start staffing and are required to staff by the end of March for all of our teachers which means if we have any shifts related to a board goal those have to be solidified in you know February. >> That means we need to be knowing what the long-term goals are. The board won't formally approve these goals probably till June. But we plan in November thinking about what does all the feedback we have now tell us we should be thinking about moving forward. Many of these goals are multi-year goals. You know, bullying prevention, literacy, middle school programming. Also in there are long-term financial stability or uh facilities improvements that certainly were two years in the process and now are going to be three or four years in construction. Those are all included in the board goals. The community will get a chance to hear them in January when they're read publicly. I think you'll be reading those goals publicly at the January meeting. >> Yes. >> Then we'll probably do a survey of community members and staff students in the spring. Give that feedback back to the board before they formally accept those goals in June. And then you know we everything we do sometimes people say well how do you get agenda items on the school board? They are almost all of them either required by statute or directly related to the schoolboard goals. Well, from a staff perspective, it's been really valuable to have the goals ahead of time as we start the year. We know what we're tracking toward. We know what we're working on, how to get our teams organized toward achieving our part of those goals. So, um, I appreciate that as a staff member. At a recent board meeting, we had a presentation on screen time. It referenced a national study, talked about trends, um, and it really dug into our we dug into our approach to screen time and how we use technology as an accelerator for learning. From your viewpoint, what are some top takeaways and is that work evolving? >> So, not all screen time, I think, is equal. The the the background for that report was a national organization called the Consortium of School Networks studies on an annual basis, things related to technology or or how technology is using in school. And technology has been around for a long time. a technology, something as simple as a smartboard, probably people don't think of that. Or a a whiteboard. I can remember going from blackboards to whiteboards in the classroom and just a lot less dusty, a lot cleaner feeling, multiple colors, easier to clean, and then every student had a whiteboard so students could work independently and not waste paper. That was a step forward in technology. Now, so much of what we do is digital because that's how materials are delivered to us digitally. they can be much more relevant. If you think of textbook, it's outdated the minute it's published because information is constantly changing. With technology, um we have the ability that if we purchase a set of materials, next year can be upgraded for statutory changes or current events and that can all be embedded in uh the materials. But clearly parents and students tell us I I can't be just looking at a screen all day long. And so there's this balance of what what is screen time and the report covers that. Screen time can be anything from sitting at home watching the television to playing video games to being on my phone looking at social media to working collaboratively in a classroom on a document using my iPad to to organize or to collaborate or to innovate. You know, there's technology applications on an iPad that you couldn't possibly do paper and pencil, whether it be 3D diagrams, but there's still a role for paper and pencil. I was just in a classroom, honors geometry out at Minnotonka West this morning, and they were going over a paper and pencil test because you could do it, you had to do it independently, and there's a time and place for that. There was no AI involved in that test. Students had to generate thought and put it on paper. We still do that across our system. >> So, that was another one of my questions. What about AI? How do we approach it as a district? How do we use it and allow it for staff and teachers? And what about for students? Where are we at with that right now? >> Everyone has been impacted by AI. If you create and send an email and it makes suggestions about the spelling in your email, that's AI that's been around for a long time. Generative AI helping you organize your thoughts, helping you communicate it. Um the reality is we have to prepare students to enter a world where it exists in every field. I was just talking to the mayor of Excels here and he talked to me about the role AI plays in auto repair and you can't use it only. You have to have some intuitive knowledge about auto repair but it can be really handy if you're going to take something apart and put it back together. It can tell you you know these are the steps to put something back together in case you're going to miss something. So, even in the trades, in hands-on fields, there's a role that AI can play. And so, our job in schools is to one, talk with students about here's how AI could impact this lesson, this assignment, this project. And here's my expectations for how you're going to interact with it. Here's what you're going to have to be able to do independently, and here's where you're allowed to be able to work with some technology. I was a math teacher. I I taught algebra 2 as we were graphing. When graphing calculators came out, we allowed students to use a graphing calculator to check things on a test that was advanced technology that allowed them to experience learning at a completely different level. I had colleagues who were very concerned that they were losing something in the process and yet my experience was kid kids who struggled to with the concept of graphing quickly could see coefficients and powers and the impact on graphing. So if you understand it, if you're considering it when you're writing lessons, if you're communicating with students, there's a chance it there's always been a risk for not having ethics or integrity in student assignments and there still is probably now more than ever. But there's also been a opportunity to expand learning to use AI to help teachers. You know, teaching is a lot of work. If we can find ways to streamline it so that teachers can focus on relationship building and true instruction that that's awesome and that will be a work in progress. I none of us know today where we're going to be next September, but we're conscious about it. We're monitoring it and as I said earlier, there's a board goal in that area about communicating with the community. I have mentioned it in community updates several times over the last two years that we're aware of it. We're using it intentionally. We don't have the final answer. Nobody does. But we know that if AI doesn't replace the job you do, someone who uses AI might. So, please be aware of it. >> Yeah. I think the more that I've learned about different aspects of AI and been able to apply it to different parts of the role that communications does in the school district, the less um fear and unknown there is, you know, the better of a prompt you can give, the better result that you get. And then really personalizing whatever it is you do. It doesn't replace a lot of what we do, but it certainly can enhance it and and gives us more hands to get more things done. >> Absolutely. >> Uh, okay. So, recently our executive director of finance and operations presented our adjusted annual budget for the school year and for next year. It was reassuring to see that budgets appeared to be balanced both years, but then as we look into the years past that, we do see a deficit. What are the levers that we use to keep our budgets balanced? And what are some of our current efforts to work on ensuring that budgets down the line will stay balanced? >> Well, um, as Paul Bourgeois, who you're referencing, says frequently, there's a handful of things that are the engines for driving financial stability. One of them is the state approved budget, the general fund that we get and also some supplementary funds from the state. We of the 330 school districts in the state, we are in the bottom 10 10, not 10%, the bottom 10 in the state. and how much we receive in supplemental funding from the state. Only because our community is so generous are we an averaged funded district. One of the biggest misconceptions I have with community members when I talk with them is they say, "How could you be in financial hard times when we're one of the wealthiest districts in the state? We are just looking at our funds we receive from this state well below average. We're well below the metro average." >> Why is that? um because a lot of the state funding streams are directly related to concentrations of poverty and as a system we don't have those concentrations. So the average amount of money a district might get for those other funding streams might be a thousand2 or $1,300 per pupil and we're down in the several hundred. We're a thousand behind the state. If we had that funding it would be another 11 or 12 million a year and we would have smooth sailing for the next decade. we don't. And so we need our community to invest. And in 2015, um, our district hit the cap that you can ask your community. And that cap grows slightly with inflation, but it it has an inflationary increase, but it doesn't keep up with the true cost of running a school system. So there's a a schoolboard approved levy and a voter approved levy. We hit the cap on both of those almost a decade ago. For a decade, we've been asking the legislature to say, you know, this really hasn't kept up with our true needs. And the state funding formulas of 4% or 2% hasn't kept kept up with our needs. We we need to close that gap. That's why if you go back and look at every budget presentation going back to 2015, you're going to see really hard times in the late 2020s. We're there. We cut $8 million. That's how we got to a balanced budget for the next school year. We also grew a little bit in our K12 enrollment or E12 enrollment. We are bumping up against that board target of 11 11,250. We hit that this year. That gave us a little bit of wiggle room. But again, long-term we need to match our expenses with the revenue we generate either from the state or locally. And that if you look at that, the revenue we generate grows about 2% a year and our expenses are grown at about 4% a year. And so, you know, either we somehow figure out how to get all of our expenses, whether it be utilities or transportation or, you know, snow plowing, all those things down to 2% or we have to find a way to generate revenue to match it. >> So, explain about the you were talking about the cap and I assume that's about the operating levy uh or local optional revenue or both. Why is there a cap and what would be a complication or an argument against the legislature raising the cap? >> So, uh it's interesting because for the voters, we recently approved a bonding bill, >> right? >> That can only go to buildings. Now, there was no cap on bonding. We asked for 85 million. We could have asked for 80 850 million. There's no cap on that. And we we didn't. We asked for something that cost our voters zero in new money. Extended. It was a tax increase because it extended our current obligation, but it didn't increase. Um, there's no cap on that for building bonds, but there is a cap on instructional expenses. And there's a cap because the state has an interest in trying to keep the the language is general and uniform. All educational systems across the state, general and uniform, meaning similar. And some districts have a very hard time passing any voter approved levellies. There are levels, levies, excuse me. There are many districts around the state that have zero. We have $2,200 per pupil in voter approved levy. There are districts that have zero. And for any number of reasons, their community uh property value is so low or even uh passing a thousand dollars rolls up a significantly higher percentage onto their local tax base. So when the state sets those caps, they're committing to try to equalize the taxpayer burden in the community. Um and the state would have to kick in >> the state would have to kick in to help other places if our cap goes up which would cost the state more money and our current outy years budget you know this is not a funding session in 2026 it's a it's a bonding session the next funding session is 2027 but the forecast for that which is going to come out here probably this week the forecast for the 27 and 28 sessions are already have a deficit so there's not new money to put back into education It has the an inflationary increase up to 2 and a.5% for education built in there, but not more to catch up. So the there isn't money to raise the cap and then help other districts. So that that is the challenge. >> That is a challenge. And I know that we had about a hundred parents, students, teachers, staff, administrators, schoolboard members involved last year in advocating for more school funding at the capital from the community action for student education or case committee. Um we're still looking for anyone who wants to be a part of that. Even though it is a bonding year, that's still you can have a voice and be influential. We'll have a day at the capital. Why is it valuable to go this year and talk if if things don't change on a bonding year? Or do they? >> Well, it has happened that there's been supplemental money given to education even in a bonding year. It's rare, but it happens. It's happened during my time as a superintendent over the last 12 years. But it also legislation sometimes takes years of m momentum to make change. And this will be the second year. We had a really strong presence. Actually, up until the last mediated agreement, there was additional money for education, $50, I think, in the local optional revenue that would have helped out per student, and it got it got negotiated out at the very end. But it takes a period of time to get those things in, and really elected officials appreciate hearing from constituents with real stories. So, >> so you don't have to know a lot about this stuff to get involved. >> No. And people who are involved have been surprised. First of all, I think the people there have been people who think, well, I go down there and now it's going to change. And then, you know, this is a marathon. It's not a sprint. It for the bits and pieces of change we've made over time. It's taken years of activist activism, years of lobbying. So, I I keep that in mind and I talk to people and they say, "How do you stay optimistic?" Every once in a while something wonderful happens for our kids. So, we have to stay at it. >> That's awesome. As we come up on the holiday season, I know that you've shared some tips for managing stress and supporting well-being, and my next guests are really going to dig into that. But for you and your family, what are some things you do together to make the holidays special? Any special traditions or, >> you know, um, for me it's about being in the moment, whatever, you know, you know, we have a large family. We have six children. Um, they're all out of the house right now. getting time with them is great, but doing things that they want to do, whatever it is, and just trying to be in the moment of that. We certainly enjoy games around the table. We enjoy going out and doing outdoor activities, whether it be ice fishing or bowling. Um, the activity isn't as much as the opportunity to uh be with family and engage with them. And I think, you know, my advice for people is always um slow down and truly appreciate the things you're doing rather than keeping up with trying to get to the next thing because that's kind of where we find peace. >> Has it been fun to have littles now with your grandkids? We're at a time in our family where it's a lot of the kids have grown up and there aren't a lot of the next generation. So, the grandkids are older, too. But the littles are this is a special magical time around the holidays. There is uh we have three granddaughters and there's a different kind of excitement and energy about family traditions. They they sense it. They're excited about it. They're seeing some things for the first time or even if they're not seeing it for the first time, they're they're like acknowledging what's happening for the first time. So, yes, that adds a whole another flavor and another thing to look forward to over the holidays. >> Just fun. And I would be remiss if I didn't ask about fall and winter activities. I know you try your hardest to get to as many as you can, whether it's sporting events or concerts or plays. What are a couple of your top favorites that you've seen or or been at recently? And what are you looking forward to? >> So, one of my favorite things, our kids are awesome. Like, if I get to an event, it's rare where they don't come and seek me out and say, "Thank you so much for coming." That makes it worthwhile. um seeing seeing our students having fun, finding success, whether it be, you know, I just saw the musical Oliver blown away. I'm always blown away. And and one of those students in the musical came up to me before the musical and said, "I'm going to do theater in college. It's so awesome." And she was excited about it. And I for me, how fun that she cares to tell the superintendent that kind of thing or a swim meet or you know certainly we we found success across all areas in soccer, in cross country, in tennis and I get a chance to see students thrive in those areas. That that's what this is about. Co-curriculars play a role in creating well-rounded students. I want every student to have that one thing outside the school day that they love doing that they they grow. uh our choir singing and those kids, you know, just having them beam at getting chosen to perform at the American Coral Director's concert in Madameai a month ago. Those are highlights. And now we enter into the winter season. We're kicking off our winter activities. I kind of map out where where can I try to get to one sport during this season again once at the end of this season and then the shows. Again, I love holiday concerts. So, >> thank you, Superintendent Law. And thank you to those listening and watching. Please send us your questions, suggestions, and ideas for podcast episodes. You can send those to communications@minitaschools.org. See you next time [music] here on AOY Minnetonka.