Agenda Approval
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Early in meeting] · Seconded by Unknown [Early in meeting]
Standard agenda approval with no substantive discussion. Chair Gabler called for motion to approve the agenda for the May 5, 2025 board meeting.
Be a Hornet Day Presentation
No vote required
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational presentation · Seconded by None - informational presentation
Kathy Rendleman, Executive Director of Edina Education Fund, presented the inaugural Be a Hornet Day (May 2, 2025), a community engagement initiative designed to promote school spirit and raise funds for education programming. The event achieved significant success with over $12,000 raised, 88,000 social media viewers, and 1,456 interactions. The presentation included analysis of social media platform engagement, noting that Facebook was most effective for alumni engagement while Instagram drove highest interaction on the event day itself. The event featured a mayor's proclamation and widespread community participation. Board members expressed enthusiasm and appreciation for the initiative.
Edina Give and Go Presentation
No vote required
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational presentation · Seconded by None - informational presentation
Stephanie Francis Jones (Executive Director), Dr. Amarie Leland, and Claire Damon (student ambassador) presented Edina Give and Go's mission to provide equitable access to enrichment opportunities for students facing financial barriers. The organization has provided over $1.6 million in scholarships to nearly 3,000 students since becoming independent 11 years ago. Currently reaching approximately 30% of eligible students (1 in 5 Edina students qualify for scholarships). The presentation highlighted the organization's role as a bridge between families needing support and community resources. Recent successes include the Gift Girl Gala (raising $130,000, exceeding goal by 30%) and the Gear Swap event (90 volunteers, 360 families donating, 460 families shopping, $18,000 raised). Board members praised the work and asked about expansion to pre-kindergarten programming. Discussion revealed that while the organization is exploring early learning support, current focus remains on K-12 with $500 school-year and $500 summer funding per student, with goals to increase over time.
Consent Agenda Approval
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [During consent agenda] · Seconded by Unknown [During consent agenda]
The consent agenda included personnel recommendations, memorandum of understanding with Educa Virtual Pathways, non-renewal of probationary employees, electronic fund transfers, check requests, Q Comp annual report, food service management contract for fiscal year 2026, board letter thanking staff, routine business around leases, and iPad refresh proposal. No items were removed from the consent agenda.
Superintendent Leadership Plan for 15-Month Interim Period
No vote required
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational presentation · Seconded by None - informational presentation
Dr. Daniel Bitman presented a comprehensive 15-month leadership plan developed collaboratively with board members and administrative team. The plan is organized into three phases: (1) April-June 2025: Establishing credibility and trust through community engagement, school visits, one-on-one meetings with leadership, and responsive feedback; (2) July-December 2025: Communicating improvements, analyzing data, and planning summer leadership retreat; (3) January-June 2026: Assessing and refining key initiatives, maintaining community trust, ensuring sustainability, and developing transition plan. Key themes include innovation, community and family engagement, responsive leadership, and measurable progress toward student achievement. Dr. Bitman emphasized the importance of trust, collaboration, transparency, and honoring the work already done by previous leadership. Board members expressed confidence in Dr. Bitman's approach and his demonstrated listening and observation skills in his first three weeks.
2025-2026 Assessment Plan and Calendar
No vote required; will come up for action at June meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational presentation · Seconded by None - informational presentation
Greg Guser (Teaching and Learning Data Programming Analyst) and Jody D. Hubert (Director of Teaching and Learning) presented a revised assessment plan that separates the statutory assessment calendar from a comprehensive narrative document. The narrative includes detailed descriptions of each assessment, its benefits, why it is used, when results are available, and how to access them. The plan addresses concerns about assessment load on students and includes specific provisions for Spanish and French language programming. Discussion highlighted the intentionality around balancing assessment needs with instructional time and student stress. Board members praised the clarity of the document and asked about educator understanding of assessment data. Staff reported confidence in educator capacity to use data, particularly with FastBridge literacy assessments (3-4 years into implementation) and with support from literacy coaches. The plan will come up for action at the June meeting.
Policy 515: Protection and Privacy of Student Records
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson presented revisions to Policy 515, which is a lengthy policy with limited substantive changes. Main changes include: (1) adding definitions around who district officials are; (2) clarifying what data can and cannot be released to military recruitment officers; (3) revising language around securing student records to reflect current electronic data management practices rather than outdated physical security measures. The policy committee emphasized that the revisions ensure the policy reflects current times and technology while not lessening security. The policy was reviewed on cycle (approximately one year after previous review).
Policy 503: Student Attendance
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson presented significant revisions to Policy 503, which was reviewed by school administrators, student support services, health services, enrollment, district attorney, and district leaders. Key changes include: (1) moving request for modified learning experience provision from Policy 503 to Policy 605 for better alignment; (2) adding language clarifying that the board delegates implementation responsibility to administration (rather than implying board approves individual absences); (3) significant revisions to align definitions of excused, unexcused, and exempt absences with Department of Education expectations, narrowing exempt absence use; (4) moving tardiness from appendix to policy body with new language requiring each secondary site to develop and maintain a site-specific tardiness plan with clear procedures; (5) striking language about three-hour activities provision that cannot be monitored. Board members discussed the importance of attendance enforcement and staff support in implementing tardiness plans. Director Ellenburg raised concerns about whether staff would feel supported in enforcing tardiness policies and asked about additional measures. Assistant Superintendent Swenson explained that the new language requiring site-specific tardiness plans addresses this concern by ensuring consistency across the district rather than leaving it to individual teacher discretion.
Policy 605: Alternative Education Services
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented Policy 605, which was updated to incorporate language regarding requests for modified learning experiences, moved from Policy 503 for better alignment. The language defines when modified learning experiences can and cannot be requested. No other changes were made to the policy.
Policy 529: Staff Notification of Violent Behavior of Students
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson presented revisions to Policy 529, which was reviewed by principals and administrative personnel. The policy was revised to align with statute by narrowing the definition of reportable incidents to specifically address student violence toward staff members. Previously, the policy language was overly broad and did not reflect the actual intent of the policy. The revision changes the definition of violent behavior to: 'willful conduct in which a student endangers or causes physical injury to a district employee.' This means that student-to-student violence will no longer trigger automatic staff notification under this policy. Board members raised concerns about staff safety and whether staff would have information about student-to-student violence. Assistant Superintendent Swenson clarified that the policy revision aligns with state statute and MSBA recommendations, and that while this specific policy does not require notification of student-to-student incidents, practice may differ from policy and staff may receive information through other channels. Chair Gabler emphasized the importance of ensuring staff have information needed for their personal safety.
Policy 531: Pledge of Allegiance
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented Policy 531, which had no substantive changes, only formatting updates.
Policy 611: Homeschooling Policy
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented Policy 611, which had no substantive changes, only formatting updates.
Policy 610: Student Homework
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented Policy 610, noting that this is a unique policy held by only a few districts in the state. The board discussed whether the policy is necessary and concluded it does no harm and could be helpful for site administrators and families with questions about homework expectations. The policy was clarified to acknowledge that not all students learn the same way and to ensure the policy is not applied punitively to students with learning disabilities or barriers to learning. Added language emphasizes parent-teacher communication and support for individual student needs. Director Jody D. Hubert added that the policy is grounded in the purpose of homework and includes clarification for parents that they are to support and facilitate homework at home, with open communication with teachers and principals as needed.
Policy 609: Religion and Religious Exemptions
No vote taken; will come up for action at future meeting
Dissent: None
Moved by None - discussion item · Seconded by None - discussion item
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented Policy 609, which had no substantive changes to the main policy but included an important addition to the appendix. The addition provides clear, defined steps for families and students to opt out of assignments or activities due to religious reasons. This addition was developed in collaboration with high school staff, particularly Principal Pillean and the science department, where religious exemption requests most commonly arise (particularly in physical earth science). The appendix addition ensures clarity for both families and teachers about the process and expectations. Board member Director Ellenburg raised a question about whether the policy aligns with recent Minnesota legislation regarding reading textbooks and religious exemptions. Policy Chair Allenberg agreed to follow up before the policy comes up for action to ensure alignment with the legislation.
K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Early in action items] · Seconded by Unknown [Early in action items]
Director Jody D. Hubert, Assistant Director Bethany Van Oel, and Administrative Dean Jamie Hawinson presented the K-12 social studies curriculum adoption for board approval. The presentation emphasized the extensive work of curriculum committees and teachers who volunteered for the process. The adoption addresses teacher requests for updated materials and improved vertical and horizontal alignment, rigor, and student-centered learning. The proposal includes resources that align with both the 2011 standards and the proposed ethnic studies standards (currently on pause at the state level). The curriculum companies have confirmed that their resources work with both sets of standards, so the district will not need to overhaul materials regardless of which standards are ultimately adopted. Implementation will be phased: early adopters will begin in 2025-2026, with full K-5 rollout in 2026-2027 to avoid curriculum overload alongside the new ELA (Benchmark Advance) adoption. The K-5 teachers will receive new reading/literacy curriculum in 2025-2026, which includes three units aligned to social studies standards, providing some social studies content support while they wait for the full social studies curriculum. Board members praised the work and asked about the timeline for K-5 materials. Staff explained that the phased approach is intentional to manage teacher capacity and allow early implementers to work through implementation and alignment with the new ELA curriculum before full rollout.
Intermediate School District 287 Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Proportionate Share for Fiscal Year 2027
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [During action items] · Seconded by Unknown [During action items]
Director of Finance and Operations Mert Woodard presented Edina's proportionate share of ISD 287 long-term facilities maintenance revenue for fiscal year 2027 (taxes payable 2026). Minnesota law allows intermediate school districts and special education cooperatives without their own taxing jurisdiction to access the tax base of member school districts to generate long-term facilities maintenance revenue. ISD 287 is proposing total long-term facilities revenue of $1,722,120 to be levied across member districts. Edina's proportionate share is $143,737, representing a 75% increase over taxes payable in 2025. However, this increase is directly offset by a reduction in lease levy revenue for the same year, resulting in a minimal net impact of approximately $995 from pay 2025 to pay 2026. Board member Michael Bergman, who serves as Edina's representative on ISD 287's board, reviewed the proposal and voted in concurrence to pass it on.
Approval of Policies 509, 510, 527, 528, 538, and 612
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [During action items] · Seconded by Unknown [During action items]
Policy Chair Eric Allenberg presented six policies for approval. Most policies had no substantive changes other than formatting updates. Policy 510 (Open Enrollment) received clarification regarding student tuition fee charging authority. Allenberg noted that language was moved from the purpose section to Roman numeral 4 at the end of the policy to clarify when the district can charge student tuition fees based on feedback from the previous board meeting.
Leadership and Committee Updates
No vote required
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational update · Seconded by None - informational update
Director Arum provided an update on the Legislative Action Committee (LAC) work. With the Minnesota legislative session approaching the May 19 closing date, there are numerous education bills under negotiation that could have significant impacts on public schools statewide. The LAC is calling for action to contact legislators on the Senate and House education finance committees to preserve funding mechanisms established in the 2023 session and address other out-year funding issues. Board members are encouraged to contact their legislators directly or through the LAC page.
Superintendent Update
No vote required
Dissent: None
Moved by None - informational update · Seconded by None - informational update
Dr. Daniel Bitman provided a brief superintendent update noting the busy time of year in April and May for students, families, and staff. He highlighted several accomplishments and initiatives: (1) The district received a Certificate of Excellence for its financial program from the National Association (credit to Director Woodard and his team); (2) New artwork from the Art of Edina collection (previously displayed at Southville Mall since 2019) is now displayed in the boardroom, featuring work by high school and other district students in partnership with the Art of Edina organization, which promotes community art in public spaces; (3) Upcoming graduations will celebrate the culmination of student work from K-12. Dr. Bitman invited community members to attend graduation celebrations.
Meeting Adjournment
Approved unanimously
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [End of meeting] · Seconded by Unknown [End of meeting]
Chair Gabler called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.