Edina Public Schools - School Board Regular Meeting March 3rd, 2025
Edina Schools approves new literacy curriculum, defers budget action
K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Revisions and FY 2027-2028 Budget Parameters
Policy Review: Four Policies for Discussion
Elementary Literacy Curriculum Adoption: Benchmark Advance
Edina School Board Approves Multi-Year Academic Calendars with Key Elementary Schedule Adjustment
Achievement and Integration Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
American Indian Education Program: Vote of Concurrence
Policy Approval: Eight Policies for Action
Board Leadership and Superintendent Updates
Full Document Analysis
Votes (16)
Agenda Approval
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Opening] · Seconded by Unknown [Opening]
Chair Gabler called the meeting to order and requested motion to approve the agenda. The agenda included Excellence in Action presentation, consent agenda items, social studies curriculum adoption, budget parameters, policy reviews, and multiple action items.
Excellence in Action: STEAM Education and Coding at Normandale Media Center
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Lana West, Normandale media specialist, presented LEGO robotics and coding projects with second and third-grade student participants (Vivian Putz, Alicia Vermani, Max Dixon, Wilder Laase, Jack Papa John, Mercy). The presentation emphasized design thinking, computational thinking, and the connection between LEGO building, coding, and literacy development. Students demonstrated how coding blocks work and discussed their creative processes. Board member Ellenberg shared that her daughter participated in similar robotics programs and is now on a high school robotics team.
Consent Agenda Approval
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Consent Agenda] · Seconded by Unknown [Consent Agenda]
Chair Gabler asked if any board members wished to remove items from the consent agenda. No items were removed. The consent agenda included social studies curriculum adoption discussion, budget parameters, and several policies for review.
K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Discussion Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Discussion Item]
Bethany van Ael and Jamie Hackinson presented the K-12 social studies curriculum adoption recommendation. The design team process began in 2022 and involved comprehensive review of resources aligned to both current 2021 standards and legacy 2012 standards. For K-5, Studies Weekly was recommended for adoption, featuring print and online components with Spanish and French language overlays. The team emphasized that resources align with the district's strategic plan (personalized learning and educational excellence) and implementation science processes. Early implementation for K-5 is planned for 2026-2027 with a small group of teachers, while secondary grades (7-8) will have eight teachers implementing together. The presentation included discussion of potential legislative changes to standards and confirmation that recommended resources would remain aligned regardless of standard reversion.
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Revisions and FY 2027-2028 Budget Parameters
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Discussion Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Discussion Item]
Director of Finance and Operations Mert Wooder presented budget revisions across five main operating funds. General Fund: enrollment higher than projected (8,670 vs. 8,630 ADM) adds $540,000 revenue; school-term unemployment aid reimbursement adds $312,000; READ Act funding adds $654,000; 2024A bond proceeds for bus purchases add $1.5 million to Capital Fund. Special education revenue reduced by 5% due to state proration but district's conservative budgeting mitigates impact. Total additional revenue: $3.6 million; additional expenditures: $2.6 million (including used diesel bus purchases, licensed salary adjustments, collective bargaining agreements for custodians, bus drivers, PA professionals, and principals). Food Service Fund: participation in universal free meals increased, adding $830,000 revenue and $690,000 expenditures, with $228,000 added to fund balance. Building and Construction Fund: $6.6 million in bonded debt for deferred maintenance; $100 million refinancing of 2014A and 2015A bonds at lower interest rates. Overall fund balance increase: $1 million. District maintains conservative fiscal approach with budget reductions anticipated in FY 2027-2028.
Policy Review: Policy 534 (Emergency Health Situations and District Insurance Limitations)
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Board Member Ellenberg, as Policy Committee chair, presented Policy 534. No substantive changes were proposed; only the correct supervisor was updated. The policy addresses non-personnel injury or liability on school district premises, establishing that injured parties' insurance is primary unless the district is proven negligent.
Policy Review: Policy 535 (Education of Homeless Children)
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Board Member Ellenberg presented Policy 535, which mirrors federal statute. No substantive changes were proposed. Director of Student Support Services Jody Remsing confirmed that Joanne Kach, Assistant Director in the Student Support Services office, serves as the district's homeless liaison. Discussion included how families experiencing homelessness are referred to building social workers, who then connect them to the liaison. Board members asked about public awareness of the liaison and whether the district would be required to revise policy if federal standards change. Director Remsing confirmed that federal law supersedes district policy.
Policy Review: Policy 517 (Student Recruiting)
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Board Member Ellenberg presented Policy 517, which mirrors Minnesota High School League language and MSBA model policy. The policy addresses recruiting of student athletes and participants. Discussion focused on whether the policy should be retained given that it does not measurably impact district operations. The committee decided to retain the policy for community clarification and to send a message that recruiting is taken seriously. Changes included elimination of redundant language about 'capacity of programs and classes.' Board members discussed whether the policy applies to private schools and charters (confirmed: any school) and whether it extends beyond athletics to other student recruitment (e.g., marketing successful programs like the robotics team). Director of Communications Staffan Edwards confirmed that the policy is most often applied in conversations with Athletics Director Troy Stein but is broader in scope.
Policy Review: Policy 519 (Student Interviews by Outside Agencies)
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Board Member Ellenberg presented Policy 519, which was reviewed by Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson and building leadership. The substantive change added language addressing exigent circumstances that would supersede standard protocol. Example: law enforcement responding to a suspected threat with imminent danger would be allowed to intervene without following standard procedures. Additional updates aligned the policy with the Maltreatment of Minors Act. The policy was part of the normal annual review cycle, not a reaction to a specific incident.
Elementary Literacy Curriculum Adoption: Benchmark Advance
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Action Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Action Item]
The board voted to approve the adoption of Benchmark Advance as the elementary literacy curriculum, replacing Making Meaning, Being a Reader, and Being a Writer. Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning Bethany van Ael presented the three-year selection process involving six programs reviewed using the Reading League rubric and culture proficiency tools. Benchmark was chosen unanimously by staff for its comprehensive approach to the science of reading, integration of STEAM components, and strong early implementation results. The curriculum includes Spanish dual-language support through the Adelante companion program. French immersion implementation requires further planning. Early implementation data shows strong student engagement and writing development. The total cost is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over 8 years, paid annually as a license for consumables and materials. Board members emphasized the importance of Benchmark's approval by the Minnesota Department of Education (partial approval on the second tier) and the distinction between tier one (classroom instruction) and intervention (Sunday 1 and 2 remain unchanged).
Academic Calendars for 2025-2026, 2026-2027, and 2027-2028
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Action Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Action Item]
The board approved proposed academic calendars with modifications to the 2025-2026 calendar. Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson and Executive Director of Human Resources Sonia Sailor presented the calendars. Changes to 2025-2026 include moving elementary Connect and Assess days from Monday-Tuesday of the first week of school to Friday (August 22) and Monday (August 25), with Tuesday reserved for elementary teachers to review assessment data before students arrive Wednesday. A clerical error (September 30 appearing on both September and October calendars) was corrected, moving the last student day to Friday, May 29, 2026, and the last teacher data day to Monday, June 1, 2026. The district continues to start before Labor Day due to construction projects exceeding the $400,000 threshold required by Minnesota statute. Board members thanked the calendar committee for balancing stakeholder needs.
Achievement and Integration Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Action Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Action Item]
Dr. Franny Beair, Director of Achievement, Equity, and Multilingual Learning Programming, presented the FY 2026 Achievement and Integration budget. No substantive changes were made from previous presentations. The budget was reformatted to comply with Minnesota Department of Education submission requirements (moving from spreadsheet to MDE form with multiple tabs). A small budget update was made based on refined estimates from January. Board members appreciated the intentional alignment between the budget plan and the district's metrics plan for measuring student success.
American Indian Education Program: Vote of Concurrence
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Action Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Action Item]
The board approved a vote of concurrence for the American Indian Education Program, moving from the previous year's non-concurrent vote. Dr. Erica Piper presented the report. The American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (APAC) voted concurrent, acknowledging significant progress on the 15 recommendations from the prior year. Key achievements include the hiring of Dwayne as a full-time American Indian Culture Liaison, who developed robust elementary and middle school programming. High school programming was newly established this year. The committee is in a rebuilding phase and seeking new members. Board members emphasized continued commitment to the program and asked about progress measurement on specific goals (e.g., 80% FastBridge benchmark). Dr. Piper noted that an article about Dwayne was published in the Edina Sun Current, written by a non-native student inspired by his presentation to her English language arts class. The article highlighted the depth and authenticity of the programming.
Policy Approval: Eight Policies for Action (513, 521, 524, 604, 617, 619, 623, 632)
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Action Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Action Item]
Board Member Ellenberg presented eight policies for approval: Policy 513 (Student Promotion, Acceleration, Retention, and Early Childhood Admission) - updated with current administrator names; Policy 521 (Student Disability Non-Discrimination) - name change only; Policy 524 (Electronic Technology Acceptable Use) - updated with current cell phone and electronic device use parameters by grade level; Policy 604 (Grade Level Configuration and Enrollment at School Sites) - updated to include Spanish dual-language programming; Policy 617 (Class Size and Staffing) - updated with current procedures and class size parameters; Policy 619 (Student Assignments to Teachers and Classes) - no significant changes; Policy 623 (Summer School Instruction) - updated to align with current practice; Policy 632 (Chemical Use and Abuse) - updated with current practices and procedures. No board members raised questions or concerns.
Board Leadership and Committee Updates
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Board members provided updates on upcoming events and initiatives. Board Member Arum announced Day at the Capital on March 24, 2025, inviting community members to advocate for public education. The Legislative Affairs Committee will have students, staff, and community members present. Chair Gabler announced that the interim superintendent search process includes finalist interviews scheduled for Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 5:00 PM in Room 350 (open to public and live-streamed). Superintendent Stanley acknowledged the girls' hockey team's performance in a recent game that went to double overtime, highlighting the quality of athletic programming. She also mentioned ongoing swimming and boys' hockey programs (boys' hockey tickets sold out). Stanley noted the second and final day of the budget community task force meeting scheduled for the following evening, with 65 task force members reviewing comparable districts. She highlighted Southview Middle School art teachers (Samantha Jacobson, Michaela Herer, Dylan Welch, Samuel Sule) displaying student artwork in visual and media arts, including sixth-grade narrative paintings, seventh-grade mixed media, and eighth-grade photography and pottery. Stanley encouraged attendance at the library art show in May.
Meeting Adjournment
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Adjournment] · Seconded by Unknown [Adjournment]
Chair Gabler called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Notable Quotes (31)
I like Legos because I can use my imagination to code and if I make a mistake when I'm doing a build I can easily fix it and learn from it.
I like building something that I think looks good and making a story about it sometimes I have a story and build something that goes with it.
I like to figure things out and... I just put a coding block up and I press go to see what it does before I make a code.
Libraries are the heart and soul of a school for literacy development and that means that we grow great readers... we are a hub also for things like creativity and Innovation.
I have more of a comment first of all I'm very impressed that all of you came tonight to to share your stories in front of us and the community of Edina and I just wanted to let you guys know that my daughter started coding and doing Legos about your age and she just came back from the regional Edina robotics tournament um for the high school.
We've been doing some deep work um looking at the resources that are being recommended in this report and looking to see if standards would revert back to Old standards so 2012 standards still aligned if updated still aligned.
We found that there was a very big energy around connection to literacy um K5 alignment across all six sites accommodations for multiple levels of learning styles and increased opportunities for those depths of knowledge in the content and common assessments.
The print to put print in front of our Learners thinking about the literacy aspect to that and having them have it in their hands having something they could write on they could cut apart they could take home they could share um in their learning.
The standards really will the interpretation of the standards is really what guides our our work in terms of that component of it... our curriculum then is complementary of that right that's kind of we I I like to use the language it's like our vehicle right it's like our vehicle of delivering that.
I think I've said that with Ela also um so I think that really getting to the essence of what those standards truly do drill down to what guides usk you for that clarification so I it's just I'm trying to inform myself and anyone else for that matter so it's really the standards right that are then promoted and and dictated by the legislature and mde in terms of what will then come from that um and so any questions or challenges or changes to those standards that then don't reflect maybe what we all might want to value and put as for what we think is appropriate again using an example of US History um that's really where the argument needs to be made as opposed to in what you guys are doing in your interpretation is that fair to say.
As good as the administration might think it is at at budgeting as new and better information does come along we do like to continually revise those so that we have the most accurate information available for both decision- making at the board level as well as informing our public.
Luckily um our Revenue estimates were quite conservative we budgeted in a very conservative Manner and so even with that pration we're still likely going to exceed actual Revenue in terms of or against what we budgeted so that's good news and kind of why we maintain that conservative approach.
The financial position of the district continues to be stable in the short term with um budget reductions looming in fiscal year 27 or fiscal year 2028 at the latest this additional one million does not change that trajectory at all.
I don't have a question director Woodard I just wanted to thank you and the rest of the finance team for um being fiscally conservative especially in the times that we have right now where there's so many unknowns and um being so spoton with your um assumption that you've made and I just really appreciate your diligence to our finances so thank you.
The policy is um very well written quite vague which is I think the intent um anytime a non-personnel injury or liability occurs on School District premises the um injured party I guess their insurance is always primary unless the district could be proven to be negligent and I think this policy achieves that General um sentiment.
The federal law would supersede our our um District policy so we would go and revise it so that it would be an alignment.
We were having some discussion like could you read into this right sending out Facebook post so um and again we landed on the the policy itself does not change or confuse administrators in in any way and that was the concern the committee had and since there wasn't any um concern about us having the policy or conflicting with um any advice from any other um League that we wanted to keep it there just to make for clarification for parents and we also didn't want to send a message by removing it that where it's open season for recruiting in Idina.
I think it's most often applied just in conversations with um activities an Athletics director Troy Stein um that it's often applied in the the realm of Athletics and given our leadership of Athletics became another reason why we wouldn't want to remove any kind of protection if you will or any message that this is something that we take very seriously.
The one substantive change that was added is um in relation to an exigent circumstance existing that that would essentially supersede the requirements of this policy so as a tangible example our um if law enforcement were to come to the school because of a suspected um threat where there is imminent danger um that they would be allowed to take the steps necessary to intervene um without following the standard protocol of this procedure so it's a very narrow um circumstance that would allow that to happen.
Benchmark Rose to the surface was many reasons mostly it was a comprehensive um program which meant that they had components of all of the reading rope that were already baked into the system... the is program atalante was that companion program that helped fill that need um so those were all of those were some of many that had it just kind of rise to the top and again unanimously across the board with all of our teachers on that committee Benchmark was the number one choice.
I'm going to say as we've been early implementing so that team has been implementing it this year the feedback on the program continues to get stronger as we go which is really incredible not only that but we're seeing impact on kids already um and so kidss are engaged the writing is so rigorous kids are writing more um writing more um deeply than they have in the past and teachers are very excited with that.
I want to make sure people understand that this curriculum is going to be used for tier one instruction which is for all students in the classroom and we've been talking so much about our literacy plan I do not want community members to think that we're changing materials in our literacy plan for intervention that this is a new curriculum to replace our existing tier one curriculum.
I did take a peek at winter data and it's looking really strong so I think we feel really confident well we have to adjust on purpose sure but that's an incredibly great rating from mde even though it's not the highest rating and it's a good fit for our students which is what we're looking for.
We're making a change to our connect and assess days at the elementary level to rather than have those be the Monday and Tuesday of the first week of school to actually have them be on the pre preceding Friday the Friday of teacher Workshop week and the Monday of um the first week of school with Tuesday being a day for our elementary teachers to be able to spend time really assessing um and reviewing the data that they've collected over the course of those two days before elementary students arrive on Wednesday.
In the state of Minnesota um you can start before Labor Day if you have construction projects that total a minimum of $400,000 or more so in um in accordance with the board's guiding change document um and this has been going on I believe for at least five years at this point um there there the long-term maintenance plan within our school district that that occurs to our buildings to our facilities every summer far exceeds that amount of money.
I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the intentionality of how you've built this plan and how it links directly to the district's um metrics plan um I just I really appreciate that I appreciate how we're measuring students measuring their success um and um it's a job well done so thank you.
They thought very hard about it and what they felt and wanted to they were unfortunately not able to be here tonight but what they did want shared with the board was they feel that we have made a very good effort and progress towards the 15 recommendations that were made last year and they would like us to keep making progress that we were towards then so they um decided to vote concurrent because of the work that is in place and a lot of the work they are extremely happy with the work that Dwayne is doing in the elementaries.
Because I think for a non-native student to be so moved by a presentation to then want to write an article and share his story with everyone so a lot about our commitment to the programming and our native students in the district.
I want to make sure that you have what you need in order to be successful with that and so not that this is a rhetorical question at the moment but it's more I want to make sure that you feel empowered that okay as you continue to work through this process and even though we did the budget just now do we still have what we need to do to continue to deliver on the commitment that Erica was talking about we have to make sure that we're supportive in that in that regard to you and your team so I just want to make sure that you know that.
I really want to acknowledge um the girls hocky team for any of you who were at that game it was a nailbiter it was some of the best hockey that I personally have ever watched and that's including the wild um I could not have been more proud of the girls and I know they were so dis disappointed but um to go into double overtime like that was pretty incredible so I am incredibly proud of our our um girls hockey team and hold your head up high because um you've made all of us proud.
It just never ceases to amaze me just the amazing opportunities their kids kids have and just the great work that they do.
Ordinances & Resolutions (18)
Emergency Health Situations and District Insurance Limitations - addresses non-personnel injury or liability on school district premises and insurance primary coverage.
Education of Homeless Children - mirrors federal statute; designates Joanne Kach as district homeless liaison.
Student Recruiting - aligns with Minnesota High School League policy; addresses undue influence in recruiting student athletes and participants.
Student Interviews by Outside Agencies - updated to address exigent circumstances (e.g., law enforcement response to imminent threats) and alignment with Maltreatment of Minors Act.
Student Promotion, Acceleration, Retention, and Early Childhood Admission - updated with current administrator decision-making roles.
Student Disability Non-Discrimination - updated with current administrator names.
Electronic Technology Acceptable Use - updated with current cell phone and electronic device use parameters by grade level.
Grade Level Configuration and Enrollment at School Sites - updated to include Spanish dual-language programming.
Class Size and Staffing - updated with current procedures and class size parameters.
Student Assignments to Teachers and Classes - minor updates to align with current practice.
Summer School Instruction - updated to ensure alignment with current practice.
Chemical Use and Abuse - updated with current practices and procedures.
Bond issuance for capital projects including $1.5 million for bus purchases and $6.6 million for long-term facilities maintenance; refinancing of 2014A and 2015A bonds.
State legislation requiring science of reading alignment; provides READ Literacy Aid and READ Teacher Compensation Fund ($654,000 for Edina).
K-5 social studies curriculum resource recommended for adoption; includes print and online components with Spanish and French language overlays.
Elementary literacy curriculum adopted for K-5; comprehensive program aligned with science of reading; includes Adelante companion program for Spanish dual-language support.
Budget plan for achievement, equity, and multilingual learning programming; aligned with district metrics plan for measuring student success.
Five district goals and five APAC goals for American Indian education; includes 80% FastBridge benchmark target and programming at elementary, middle, and high school levels.