Why is that a school board work session for January 26, 2026? I I started it and then I realized that you hadn't sent it. So, Good afternoon. The time is now 4:00. The Wisetta Public Schools Board of Education work session for Monday, January 26, 2026 will please come to order. Let's go around the table for introduction. We'll start from my right. >> Sheila Prior, >> Dan Janestra, >> Alicia Little, >> Paris, Mende, >> Valentina, Heidi Kedar, >> Chase Anderson, >> and I am Bill Sony. Thank you everyone for joining. Uh we'll start with the first item on the agenda which is the superintendent reports. Um as as many of you know there is a referendum bond referendum coming up on April 14th this year and Dr. Anderson will share the community presentation for the board uh for the bond referendum in April. Dr. Anderson. >> Thank you Mr. Chair, members of the board, thanks for giving me an opportunity to uh present here today. We've been out uh beginning our preliminary rounds with PTA groups and staff meetings and showing a PowerPoint presentation that provides an overview of the uh upcoming referendum. And I think you'll find that the detail in here is helpful to give you pretty good comprehensive picture about what the three questions on the ballot will be on April 14th. and uh also some uh early voting time prior to that and I'll speak a little bit about that. There is also a packet of information that's been provided to you I think at uh your seats and then uh when I finish up with my presentation I think Amy Parnell will uh provide brief overview of what's in the folder and the packet that has been uh provided to you. So hopefully that information will be helpful to you. Hopefully the presentation will be helpful. I know some of you have seen this and uh may see it some additional times along the way depending on uh which committees or advisory groups that I present to. But I just wanted to make sure that the entire board had the opportunity to see the slides and also to have this as part of our uh video and audio recording of uh today's meeting so that uh this information is made available to the broader public. So, you'll notice on this first slide, the introductory slide, that uh there's the official vote date of April 14th. That's uh coming up here in a less than four months. And we'll be uh also uh beginning in a uh in those documents that were handed out, it indicates when early voting begins, how our community uh can uh vote early if they choose to do so. Um but the the official election day is on Tuesday, April 14th. One of the things that we've done over the years uh in advance of doing a referendum for facilities andor uh other uh types of of levies and bond questions that might be coming to the community is to do a community survey. And we've also done a general community survey over the years about every three years probably during the 18 years that I've been here in the district. And a couple of the uh points that were uh taken from the most recent survey that we did is that 92% of those who uh were part of this random sample, I think it was of about 400 uh individuals within the community and they uh uh the firm that we work with, the Morris Leatherman firm, looks for a broad base of constituency from across the community. And a pretty consistent ranking that we've enjoyed over the years when we've done these surveys is that 92% of our cons of our constituents, our respondents to the survey indicated that the quality of our schools is excellent or good, that our schools are a good value for their investment and that the quality of our schools increases home values. So, uh, this is information that was, uh, very helpful to us. And as you might recall, uh, Peter Leatherman came and gave a presentation at, uh, board work session, I think in November. I don't know for sure, but I think it was either the regular meeting or the work session in November, um, where, uh, he gave that overview to the full board. Uh we submitted and uh you'll recall taking action as a school board uh to authorize the administration to submit to the Minnesota Department of Education what's called a review and comment document and that went to uh uh the uh MDE I believe in uh late mid to late November and we uh heard back from them a couple weeks ago and they gave us a positive review and comment without any questions. So, it's pretty unusual to get a feedback or get feedback from MDE on a review and comment document without a request for any follow-up questions or uh additional information. So, we felt supported in that regard from the state and uh that is an important step in being able to move forward in the process. So, I wanted to just make sure that our community was aware of that as well. Uh, one of the things that we've spoken about frequently for about 18 years now, we've had a AAA bond rating within the uh, school district. Uh, that's uh, a great indicator for a couple things. One is that it's just a good indicator of uh, quality uh, financial management and a good financial standing and financial status uh, for the school district. And also when uh taking out loans for uh facilities and bonds like we're going to be doing uh we get uh assuming a passage of the uh the three questions we will um get a lower interest rate for that. So um that's a really helpful thing and saves our taxpayers money and uh provides us with the adequate funding that we need in order to move forward with the facilities that have been proposed. So I like to report on that. That's a real positive thing. We're one of three school districts within the state of Minnesota that has the AAA bond rating and I've been told one of about a hundred across the nation that have a AAA bond rating for public schools. This chart shows a an enrollment historical perspective going back to the 2012 2013 school year. So you can see that uh in that fall of 2012 we had about 10,500 K12 students and this fall for the 2526 school year we have right at 13,000 students. So, uh, we've had that, uh, pretty significant increase. On the chart, you'll notice one dip. And I've mentioned this before when we've presented slides. It looks similar to this. Of course, that's the couple of COVID years where uh, in that 2020 2020 2021 school year, we actually decreased 200 students in the fall. and we didn't grow obviously that year by the 200 to 250 students that we had been growing uh pretty consistently in the the past several years. Um so we took quite a dip there but you can see now that uh starting with the 202122 school year uh there's that upward trend again and that has brought us up to that 13,000 mark for the current year. I've been sharing uh PTA meetings and other groups that I presented to. Um my uh perspective and reflections on the the footprint of the community and its full buildout which um I don't know exactly when that would be probably in a 10 to 20 year range would be somewhere around that 14,500 to 15,000 mark. And there's some slides coming up that I think will demonstrate that and I think will probably carry us uh pretty close to being at that equilibrium point where um the facility capacities that we have to accommodate that 145 to 15,000 students um I think will be pretty adequate going into the future. But anyway, I just wanted to to highlight this and and let you see the the 12 or 15 year 12 or 13 year trend line. Uh for the past several years, we have been very busy in the entire 18 years that I've been here focusing on facilities, building new schools, adding on to existing schools, and improving the facilities of our current schools. And these are a few of the key uh benchmarks that uh we've been a part of over that couple of decade time period going back about 12 years, 12 or 13 years. In 2013, we built additions to Greenwood, Oakwood, and Sunset Hill to help accommodate uh increasing capacity. In 2016, we opened Metal Ridge Elementary School and in addition to the high school. 2018 the voters approved the purchase of land and we'll talk a little bit more about that and I've referenced this numerous times and and in PTA meetings probably since 2018 or 2019 since we purchased that property. It's about 85 acres out in Madina and uh that whole time through when I've been speaking to that and since we purchased it, I've been saying that it is large enough to accommodate both an elementary school and a middle school. In the event the school board uh uh needs to move forward in the future to expand capacity and and now we're at that point. In 2019, we opened Northwoods Elementary School. In 2020, we opened the new Early Learning School. And uh for those of you that aren't familiar, which I think all the board members are, but early learning school is was constructed as an addition onto Oakwood Elementary School or the on the Oakwood campus. And at that time, we had enough funds to uh finish the first floor, but not enough to finish the uh second floor. So, uh, part of what's in the recommended, uh, facilities, uh, uh, proposal for this referendum includes the finishing of that upper level of the early learning school. And I'll speak a little bit more about that when I get to it. If we look at our K12 enrollment projections for the next 10 years, you can see the baseline, that blue uh, horizontal line is uh, at right at that 13,000 mark. So that indicates not only the uh current enrollment of the district but also the estimated capacity for the district uh for K12 students. And if you look at the trend line uh of that gold uh line that's uh in included on the graph, you can see that that carries up well beyond 14,000 probably in this diagram at about the 14,250. And you might recall what I mentioned earlier that I have uh been uh communicating to families for quite some time in my PTA presentations etc. that that 14,500 to 15,000 mark uh seems to be a realistic number that when we hit that full uh buildout of the district in 10 to 20 years from uh the time frame now I think we'll be at that equilibrium point. You might also remember when we met with Hazel Reinhardt, she indicated that as uh community school communities uh become more mature in regard to their available buildout space and deeper into getting closer to hitting that equilibrium point, there will be a flattening of the growth rate. And I think this line probably suggests that. It's also important to keep in mind that as you go out further uh into the future um it becomes a little more challenging to fully predict um exactly what enrollment numbers are going to do. But this is the same thing that we would have done in advance of building and and Northwoods elementary schools and expanding the high school. And we currently have about 1,600 students in Meidge and Northwoods in grades K12. and uh we're at that uh 4,000 mark at the high school, which is what we were planning for at the time when we uh built that last addition. So, it's helpful, I think, to to see this. And then I put together a couple of other slides that'll come up here uh momentarily that demonstrate what uh it might look like if we were to experience the same levels of growth annual growth in the next uh 10 years uh as compared to what we've experienced in the last 18 to 20 years. So a s along the way there will be a few summary slides uh like this one and and this just really uh reinforces that point of the capacity each level for elementary, middle school and high school and we'll be beyond uh that uh projected capacity. We're kind of at it frankly right now but by the 2728 school year. So, just a couple years out, we're going to be at that um um maximum capacity level for high school, which we're kind of already there this year with that 4,000 mark um at our middle schools and also for our elementary. So, this proposal does include expansion of capacity for elementary, middle school, and high school as well as our prek learners as well. This is a projected enrollment growth for the high school. So again, that blue line, the horizontal line indicates a capacity of around 4,000 students, which is about right where we're at this year. So you can see that uh gold line starts just slightly below the capacity level of 4,69 students and then uh it goes up to about 4,900 students in a 10-year time period. So, um, the high school projections are a little bit easier to project than would be, uh, the lower levels, particularly for, uh, elementary when you go 10 years out, because these kids are already in our system, so we have a pretty good idea of what we're projecting. I happened to pull up a presentation that we did in advance of building Metal Ridge Elementary and the projections for the high school at that time were about 4,000 uh students by the 2425 school year which is exactly where uh we ended up with the high school. So um we envision that uh you know this number of about 1150 to 1200 students per grade level right now we're at about a thousand students per grade level on average I think that 1150 to 1200 is going to take us up to that uh upper cap and um I would uh project that this proposal of facilities would accommodate pretty well that level of growth and get us close to the finish line in regard to what we might need to prepare for in the district for uh total capacity. Um there are always, you know, intangibles that are uh hard to fully predict, but in the event the state ever moved to uh uh required four-year-old programming. There's been some conversation about that, not so much recently. um that would really uh drive a need again for that elementary capacity, but that would be speculation at this point, but it was uh under pretty serious consideration for a while. And we do accommodate a lot of four-year-olds currently in our um um through our community uh why a kids programming and there's a lot of unmet demand for prek uh learning within the community. So, I don't know what in the long haul the state is going to do in regard to uh providing resources andor expectations for public school districts to provide that, but that's speculative and and hard to know. But for the high school, um we've we've got a a pretty good read on on where uh those numbers are going to go. middle school. Um you can see it continues to grow for several years and then it uh demonstrates here that it it might kind of level off and uh that's at about the 3,400 mark. Um I've spoken about um the current capacities for our three middle schools and the projected capacity for a fourth middle school. Were we to uh be able to move forward and build that? And if we were to look at an upper number into the future of about 1,200 students, that would get right at that 3,600 student mark into the future. And I would anticipate that um we are going to continue to grow not only at the high school but the middle school level as well as the elementary school level. Um once you uh indicate that you're going to be building new schools, our experience has been that new home growth accelerates and we know that there's quite a lot of space available uh within the general vicinity of our property that we own in Madina and where we're proposing to build an elementary and a middle school. So um again that 1150 to 2000 or 1,200 mark per grade level um I think would would eventually after you know a 10-year period maybe even by 10 years um elevate that even further above that 3400 mark. Elementary school projections become increasingly more difficult especially when you go out beyond uh five years because uh in that shaded area represented there and there's a notation of a very conservative number of projected births. Um that shaded area represents all the uh future elementary students that have yet to be born. So we're really projecting out into the future. Um we have general awareness about uh the 25 26 through the 2930 school year because they would be our prek uh age students. And um what this doesn't take into account when you get further out is what the uh birth rates will be. And we've heard uh some speculation that the birth rates within the state of Minnesota and probably nationally are declining a little bit, but for us I think as much if not more and probably way more than the birth rates for our particular growth uh scenarios that we've been seeing over the last uh 15 to 20 years, it's been the movein rate and the uh new home construction rate. And uh the thing that hasn't fully popped yet is what we call the turnover rate. So, uh, we know that there are a number of homes. We have about 30% of our homes that currently have, uh, K12 students, uh, currently residing in them. And with time, uh, some of those homes, we're anticipating, particularly maybe on the eastern, uh, most part of our school district are going to start uh, turning over and, uh, new, uh, residents will move in with school age children. And we think that that will continue to fuel it as well. So I I like to uh just highlight the challenge with uh predicting K5 enrollment. But in the same token, I would uh suggest that back before building Metal Ridge and Northwoods, there would have been similar trend lines. You know, one difference being there was more open land and and probably a higher projection of new homes. But we know that the city of Madina has about 600 new single family homes on the radar anticipated over a relatively modest rollout time. Um, but at some point those homes are are going to be there and we're going to need that capacity for those buildings. I wanted to demonstrate uh the whatifs. So I uh worked with our communications department to put this graph together and on the next slide I'll interject what the enrollment projection growth looks like when compared to this. But to describe what this uh depicts, you can notice that horizontal line again. The blue line indicates the K12 capacity of around 13,000 students. I wanted to draw a projection line uh in the event in that gold line that takes us up to just under that 15,000 mark in 10 years is what it would look like if we grew on average in the next 10 years by the same amount that we've grown for the last 18 years which is I think about 185 to 200 students per year has been sort of the average over that 18-year period. So if we were to grow at the 100% of that same rate in the next 10 years, we'd be just under that 15,000 student mark. The green line represents what would happen if we grew at 75% of that average rate for the next 10 years. And you'll see that it takes us to right under that 14,500 mark. I also included a line that demonstrates what would happen if we grew at 50% of the rate in the next 10 years as we have in the last 18 years. And that would be represented by that blue line that's just under 14,000 students or about a thousand students more than we currently have. And then finally, I wanted to see what would happen if we projected uh just a 25% of that growth rate uh for the next 10 years. And it brings us up to about that 13,500 mark. So regardless of any one of those uh four scenarios, you can see that it's well above what our current capacity is. there is a need for more space um at all levels and uh now is a good time to to start planning for that. If you inter uh interject the uh the projected number of stu K12 students for the next 10 years, you can see where that trend line falls uh on that gradient when you get 10 years out. So, it's it's demonstrating here with the uh again not fully knowing when you get those five years out what the um total number of new homes might be built and the movein rate into the the school district which has been a very significant variable for us for the last 18 years. And um I can't think of a good reason why we would anticipate that all of a sudden that number would plummet to zero um which um I would not anticipate would happen. I think this demonstrates a reasonable model and again each year you go out the more difficult it becomes to uh project it perfectly but I think that uh indicator of it being around that 75% mark somewhere between that 50 and 75% mark would not be realistic from my perspective. I don't know that it'll go all the way up to that gold line 100% to that uh 14,500 uh or 700 mark. Um but this is what the uh numbers would suggest given uh the recent work that we've done. So clearly a need clearly well above that blue horizontal line and uh as you know it takes a while to get schools online. We can't wait until 5 years out or 10 years out start making plans just like we couldn't with Meadow Ridge and Northwoods. Um but we need to be prepared for when these students uh are here with us so that we can accommodate them. And many of our buildings currently are quite tight and we have very little agility within the buildings to accommodate for year-to-year fluctuations and and uh responding to the unique needs of our students. So um I think we've uh definitely demonstrated a need for additional capacity into the future. I've referenced that uh the uh official election date is Tuesday, April 14th, and uh there will be an opportunity to to vote uh prior to that as well. But that's the official date when uh the final tally will be taken and and we'll be able to uh learn from uh what our uh community uh move forward with in regard to uh responding to the facilities. As you would know and as you're aware, there's a lot of work that goes into getting to this point. Um, we I mean, frankly, we've worked on facilities and it's been an annual process for the last 18 or 20 years where we've been taking a close look at our current facility capacity. We've done all kinds of things over the years to accommodate in the short term until such time when we were able to expand and add classrooms to existing buildings or build new schools. Um, but we've been uh really in an uh ongoing continuous review and evaluation of this. We also do a lot of long-term facilities maintenance with our facilities. Um, all of the uh annual uh improvements that are made to parking lots, roofs, sidewalks, uh lighting, windows, um uh HVAC systems, all of those types of things. We've really uh done a great job I think of in the last couple of decades really upgrading all of our buildings and ensuring that they all function well uh create a comfortable learning space and and uh have a a nice uh aesthetic uh presence as well so that it's a great place for our students to attend school and a great place for our staff uh to work with their students as well. So, we've been working on this for a long time, creating uh great learning experiences for our students and doing our best to plan as we move forward. We also have uh facilities teams. There's a facility committee of the board and our leadership team, our strategy leadership team and our larger leadership council uh do a lot of work discussing and talking about facilities. Principles are in regular communication with our district staff speaking about the needs that they have. We've made some smaller scale renovations within many of our buildings uh over the years to accommodate additional unique learning spaces that might be necessary uh for some of our students etc. And uh we also had a community task force that came together and I think we met uh I don't know maybe five times to uh discuss and work in tandem with our uh construction managers, our architects and engineers really to lead up to uh responses to the the growth capacity, safety and and learning space design as indicated by this slide which really was a uh an important step in this process of leading up to the proposal that we're uh bringing to the community. So, the resident student enrollment is growing. We have been for quite some time. As I said, I think we've grown by about 185 to 200 students average per year. And that's even making a some corrections for that anomaly of the COVID couple of years where we declined or leveled off. And we've been preparing for resident student growth. Uh the great majority of our students are resident students currently. Uh, as you're aware, the state of Minnesota does have a open enrollment uh uh law that requires each school district allow up to 1% of uh each grade level's enrollment. So for us, if it's a thousand students, that would be about 10 students per grade level. When I came here and started in 2008, I think we had about 9,700 students and I think we had about 1350 open enrollment students. So, we were at about 17% open enrollment students when I came. Now, we have 13,000 K12 students and we have about 225 or 50 open enrollment students. So, it's about 1 and a.5%. So, you uh recently as a school board, I think in October, authorized us to move forward and take up to an additional 1% uh based on administrative uh decision making. So, uh, that would still cap us out at about 20 students, uh, maximum per grade level that we would take in for open enrollment. So, the main point I'm making is that we've been building for, uh, resident growth and, uh, this proposal is in response to anticipated well, current uh, tightness and and crowding in our buildings that we're experiencing with more to come here in the next few years. and uh being responsive to what we're anticipating the growth is going to be out uh primarily in Madina, but uh Corkran still has quite a lot of land with some large developments that are coming on board yet. Plymouth and Maple Grove have uh some additional growth that's going to happen, but not what I would call at that exponential rate that we've experienced in the last several years, but um we're accommodating that growth currently and uh are anticipating and expecting that we're going to need these additional uh facilities and expanded capacity. Some of the things that uh will be accomplished with uh the proposal that we have put in place is I've spoken quite a lot about adequate capacity. I've spoken about elementary, middle and high school uh anticipated growth and uh reference the land that we have out in Madina. I'll speak a little bit more about that uh in a little bit. The remodel of the early learning school will create I think at least three additional classrooms on the second floor. We currently have finished classrooms there for our adult basic education programs in our community ed department and then part of that upper level is going to be needed for some of the staff office areas for the uh staff members that work at the early learning school. So that's uh those are a couple of key areas, safety and security um enhancements across the district. That would include updating and uh replacing some of our current safety, security, technology, equipment, and ensuring that we have uh warm and welcoming and secure environments uh for our students to attend school in. expanding up during updated learning spaces uh particularly with uh being able to be responsive to the unique needs of our learners whether they're receiving uh special services with us or just accommodating uh the wide array of instructional approaches that our teachers and principles implement uh within our schools. We want to make sure we have high quality learning environments that are designed uh to be responsive to what the student needs are. Upgraded kitchens and cafeterias. I'm going to speak a little bit more about this. I won't go into great detail with it here, but uh we want to make sure that our students have consistent experiences across the district. And uh right now there are some inconsistencies that we can uh improve on. And also new activities and athletic spaces to support our physical education classes, our high school co-curricular athletic uh program, uh specifically our swimming and diving programs. And that would be accomplished with these proposals for new gym at Sunset Hill, a new gym at West Middle School and a new competitive eight-lane pool at Weisetta High School to accommodate our approximate 200 student athletes at the high school that uh I'll speak a little bit more about that in a future slide. So I'll move on from that at the current time. So there will be three questions on the ballot. The first one is a renewal of one of our two technology levies. As you're aware, uh, uh, we approved one of those, I think two or three years ago, and the other one has a couple of years of, uh, time left on it, but this would be to extend that for an additional 10-year time period. And you'll notice that it states on there, no new tax, no tax increase. Uh, that is accurate in the fact that this is a renewal of an existing levy. So there would be no additional increase uh from the current levels that are being collected to fund that uh $6.5 million per year, which is about half of the total technology dollars that uh come into the district. And it's important to keep in mind that that funds not just technology systems, not just student devices, but it funds uh software, it funds all of the uh hardware uh for our staff and for students as well. and uh provides a lot of professional development and support staff to ensure that our technology uh continues working well in the district. So, it's a lot more than just student devices and really is essential and important to helping us um uh deliver our instructional uh content through the available technology systems includes all the smartboards apparatus like this that are in the classrooms etc. So, it's a it's a a really essential package for our district. Uh, question two is that total of about $465 million um that would fund the new elementary, the new middle school, the addition to the high school, and then make a number of improvements, which I'll speak to a little more in detail in a moment. Across the district, the increase uh monthly increase in in uh taxes would be $29. And keep in mind, if you look at the footnote there at the bottom right, those tax impacts are based on the average priced home within the footprint of the school district, which is about $650,000. That was determined by Allers, the consultant that we work with. And I don't know exactly how they do that, but they're very good at it. And that would be a very accurate uh portrayal of what the average priced home is within the footprint of the district. So, for a home of $850,000, it would be some proportionally higher than that. And a home of $450,000 uh uh cost or or price would be uh proportionally lower than that $29 per month. And then question three would be for that eight lane swimming pool. Um we separated that out. So, it gave us a unique opportunity to speak in more in detail on that specific project. Uh we currently have a lease with Lifetime Fitness and we signed that for a 40-year lease. There's about 10 years left on that lease. And uh some of the challenges when you lease a space like this that you have is you don't really have control over the facility. You don't have control of all the times that you're able to use it. And uh it can create challenges with supervising facilities that aren't uh on our campuses and that are open to general public. Uh you might recall back in November we had one of our high school swimmers come and speak about uh utilization of a pool that is off-campus and some of the challenges and uh feelings that she shared with us and I thought that it was a really helpful perspective to hear directly from one of our users in that program. So, uh, this, uh, would be for a total of $31 million. And again, uh, the an or the the monthly increase in property taxes with that project on a $650,000 home would be $4 per month. So, the total of those two added up would or of the three actually would be uh $33 additional uh in uh property taxes per month. And I'll speak a little bit more about that in some future slides as well. So I gave pretty much the detail on this uh when I showed the the summary slide, but as a re review request number one is that renewal of our technology levy. Uh one of two levies and I think the repetition is kind of helpful because I know you will be getting some questions out in the community. So if you hear some of these things two or three times and then maybe another two or three times if you're in my presentations at some of the other meetings that I'll be at, it can be really helpful. So, as a reminder, no additional tax increase uh for a renewal of this technology. Levy, the technology provides, and I alluded to this a little bit earlier, but a lot of the safety security hardware and software that we count on and rely on to help bring safety and security to our schools is part of this. Uh supporting learning with dependable devices, the software required, internet access, and the technical support from our uh tech team. maintaining up-to-date tools uh with planned replacement cycles for those devices that students use in the classroom and and staff technology and then preparing students for the future uh by developing those digital skills that are going to be needed for uh not only their post high school uh college university experiences but uh in the workforce as well. So, we want to do our part uh with that. And uh also want to emphasize, we know that there's at our last board meeting, we had some constituents, parents come and speak to us just about finding that right balance. So, we've heard that and we feel that ourselves even in advance of of having uh hearing, you know, having heard from some of our families. So, we're committed to and we and I think you're going to hear kind of a quick overview of that here tonight in a different presentation, but we're committed to finding good ways to prioritize that instructional purpose of of usage of screen time, supporting developmentally appropriate use. We know that the needs at the elementary and the time on devices is going to be different for elementary than it might be for high school students. But we really want to uh find that balance of utilizing a a wide range of instructional approaches and not losing sight of that really important humanto human interaction between teacher and student and uh students with their peers and finding that healthy balance. request two um is that what I call or refer to oftentimes as the comprehensive facilities package. Um some of the the key areas that are incorporated into this uh uh proposal for question number two again the capacity I think I've hit on that uh quite extensively. the safety and security. Um I brought forth uh in the last slide and spoke about that as well and I think uh we'll have that opportunity in a a future slide uh in addition. And then just really creating those consistent student experiences. So when you design and build a new building, it's going to be designed differently than schools of 50, 60 or 70 years ago. So we want to the best of our ability uh build in this flexible learning space capacity and capability in all of our schools regardless of uh their seniority and uh making sure that our students get comparable experiences uh within those buildings regardless of which one they uh attend. uh districtwide safety and security. Again, it's that combination pack of hardware and software systems and uh uh security and and safety uh apparatus that's important within our buildings and and all of our facilities across the district. Again, just reinforcing that point that we need more space at all grade levels. Uh that's been true for us uh I think every year I've been here frankly and uh sometimes we've been able to accommodate it in short-term uh uh approaches knowing that we would soon outgrow those short-term approaches and sometimes the challenges with that are first of all finding space that would be conducive. Second of all it almost always requires retrofits. Uh third, you're uh subject to somebody else owning the property and changing what they might want to uh use it for or that they might need it for. And um when you exit those properties that you don't own, any dollars that you might put into it to retrofit it to make it work well for uh instructional delivery um or dollars that you uh can't really recoup. So um we've had uh those challenges for a long time. This is a schematic of the 85 acres of land that we own out in Madina. So, a couple of uh markers that might help you envision a little bit uh where this is at. But if you look in the upper right hand corner, you'll see the fourlane highway 55 and then that other gray area just to the south of it is the uh railroad tracks. And if you uh drive from um our facility that's on Highway 55 where we currently uh have a number of of functions occurring uh in regard to storage and uh we used to have our welcome center located in that uh Highway 55 warehouse building. And if you go about I would say a mile and a half or two straight west on Highway 55 on the left hand side of of Highway 55 is where this property lies. And that uh uh curvy road to the on the lower part of the slide is Hamill Road. So if you drive through downtown Hamill and continue driving west, you'll drive right by our property. and uh it's uh uh perfectly located or very well located. I don't know if anything's ever perfect, but it's located very nicely as to where we're anticipating the growth to be uh within our school district into the next decade or two. Um those schematics of the buildings are probably not what those buildings will actually look like uh from an aerial view, but it it gives them a model of what it could look like. And you'll notice that there are some athletic fields. There are some wetlands that we have to navigate around uh adequate parking. And uh uh that, you know, again, just kind of gives a feel general feel for where the property is and what it could look like uh when the the schools are added there. Um or if they're added there. The high school edition is uh shown here in the dark blue shaded area. Uh the the white shaded area is the existing building where the blue attaches if you're familiar and I think most of you probably are pretty well familiar with the high school down by the gyms and the athletic areas where that blue addition would uh hook into. You'll notice a new perimeter road demonstrated there by the gray shaded area uh that would uh navigate around the new perimeter of the building. It would be uh built if you're familiar with the site and where the tennis courts are. uh we would utilize that space and recommission that into part of this addition. And you'll notice uh reconstructed tennis courts in the green area that you can see partial and then some additional parking as well. You might notice on that one uh part of that, and you've probably heard this before already, but I'll share for the general public who might be listening or watching the tape. I think it says storm shelter area. We're squinting to try and read from this far away, but I think that's the wording on it. That doesn't mean that we're going to build a space that big just in the event that we have a storm, but that will be an additionally reinforced part of the building that could accommodate students in case we have a high wind event or something that uh is uh approaching the the campus. uh new codes came into place recently and that you need to create a space that accommodates uh some specification of uh wind speed and I can't remember exactly what it was but in the event there were a tornado or high straight line winds or something uh we needed to have a space that would accommodate that. So I just wanted to clarify on that that that's not only used for storm shelter. It'll be regular classrooms. No one in those spaces will even know that's what it is. It'll just be designed that way. In the event that we're able to move forward with a swimming pool, it would be incorporated right within that footprint that's outlined there in the blue and adjacent to our locker rooms and the other FIAD uh uh athletics area. So, it would really be a wonderful amenity that um would uh fit nicely in the addition. This is another view of what it could look like. Again, I don't think these are uh highly detailed uh specifications or exactly what the footprint of the building might look like, but that white uh shaded area built out uh there on the upper left corner of the building uh demonstrates what you know that area would look like and kind of gives you some dimensions when you consider the full building and uh how much additional space would be uh incorporated within that. One of the concepts that we've talked quite a lot about, and I can't remember if that comes up in a future slide or not, is incorporated within this expansion at the high school would be a CTE uh set of classrooms that would really, which stands for career tech education would uh really be responsive to future employment opportunities. Uh an example currently is uh we started a CNA program, a certified nursing assistant program at the high school a couple years ago. I think we had 150 or 200 kids that registered for it in year one. So within this building there would be an opportunity or in this addition to create a uh clinic like classroom space or setting that would have appropriate specifications and plan for equipment that would really help train uh our high school students interested in the health sciences to uh get that preliminary training and hopefully help foster the the future employment pipeline for all of our uh medical health care uh organizations throughout the the metro and I know the CNA program can be very conducive to uh future employment not only for high school kids who get that certification but maybe in their college as well uh for local hospitals or clinics right within the community where they're attending college. So that's the type of applicability that we're looking for and responsiveness to what the job markets in Minnesota and and beyond are going to be looking for in the future. You might also be aware that each year we do a CTE fair, career tech education fair, and it's really well attended. We create opportunities for all of our students to meet with the vendors. I can't remember an exact number of how many we have, but it's in the triple digits. It's over a hundred I think that show up and and maybe closer tound 150 opportunities for kids to engage and interact with um those who are working in the trades and who gain the benefit of these CTE type programs and it will help us accommodate that additional 8 to 900 students that we're anticipating at the high school as well. Getting a bit horsearo I think I've been doing a lot of presentations here so bear with me. Um, I had spoken about the early learning school. It's the first time I've seen this slide. Actually, I like it. I know that this was a a new addition. Thank you for whoever helped uh put that together for us. But uh this uh outlines the addition of three classrooms on that second floor at the early learning school. So, it only shows one segment of that upper level, but that would be reflective of what's immediately below. Um those there's probably three classrooms very similar to those above. And then uh if you're familiar with the upper level of the early learning school and where the adult basic education classrooms are, there are two classrooms that would be hooked on to that lower left and that's where those classrooms would be. And then as you continue up and go around the corner, it's kind of an L-shaped building. That's where those staff uh areas would be for uh the early learning school staff and the uh to some degree also the adult basic education staff members uh that would be there. So, we're excited to get this done. When we designed this building, we knew that there would be a second phase to it or a second chapter. So, all the plumbing uh is already uh I don't know, placed, I guess, is you know, the the sewage drainage and the water supply lines and all those things are just ready to be tagged into. So, that'll be a great efficiency now as we finish those off. So, we had the foresight knowing someday we'll hopefully have the funding to finish this off. We didn't have enough at the time with available ways of of uh collecting uh funding for these types of projects, but we thought in the future when we do, we just want to make sure we do everything we can to uh minimize uh things we have to undo in order to uh finish these spaces. We're also interested in uh this continued concept of creating consistent student experiences across the district and particularly although not exclusively at the middle school level. This is a really important uh feature that we want to be able to build into uh not only our new middle school but uh respond in ways that will help replicate some of these expanded uh flexible learning spaces in our other three middle schools as well. I spoke earlier about the fact that we have four schools that don't have fully functional kitchens. So over my time here, I've heard about that probably at least annually uh if not only at the PTA meetings and uh other casual uh conversations that I've had with parents uh of students who are in these buildings. I don't hear so much from students about it, I guess, at the elementary level or even the middle school, but their parents are uh seeing some inequities with that. and I oftenimes hear that when I'm working with PTAs or or have those conversations. So, this proposal would include uh creating fully functional kitchens at Burview, Greenwood, and Sunset Hill, which have not had th that feature, nor has East Middle School. And uh if you've been in the East Middle School cafeteria and or seen the serving kitchen there, it's really tight and very inadequately sized for uh currently about 800 students that are likely to continue attending at East Middle School. So the proposal would include the construction, I believe, of a new uh cafeteria and a new uh fully functioning kitchen. So that'll be a wonderful improvement in the district that I know a lot of the families that attend those buildings or have kids attending in those buildings will be very appreciative of. Sunset Hill is currently our only elementary school that doesn't have a an appropriately sized gymnasium. So this would create a new gym at Sunset Hill. We could then repurpose the current space utilized for FIAD and other gymnasium related activities. And uh with the increase of students with Oakwood going to West Middle School, um there is a need for some additional uh gymnasium space there for the physical education programs. I'd like to make this point because I oftentimes get questions when I'm uh uh speaking to PTA groups. there is invariably somebody who works with the youth sports programs and uh in pre-referendum times they might ask if we can throw in a couple extra gyms uh that the youth programs could use and we really aren't able to uh construct facilities uh that aren't intended to be used for our own programs. So I always have to politely say well we can't really do that. However, anything we build we for sure want to make available to the community. So, I know that a lot of youth programming would be thrilled to know that there are two more gyms that would be available and two really converts into probably four, maybe five because you can divide up some of the bigger gyms for some of the youth basketball times and it would really be a a wonderful community feature. We've also over the last several years put a lot of time, energy, and resources into rerouting traffic flow around buildings. Um, I think most of our buildings are in pretty good uh shape with that right now. There are always challenges with it and it's hard to design the perfect layout uh for buses and cars and and pedestrian traffic. What we try to do is separate buses from cars to the best of our ability and uh because of the fact that we now own this property that we're meeting on the the creekide property. Um, you'll notice that there's a a large green space to the west of this and and uh some parking area as well that it gives us the flexibility now that we can take a look at how do we get buses into and out of Plymouth Creek and the same for uh car drop off. They're currently using I think the bus drop off is you see that road that loops around um on the south side of the building and then comes out on the west side of the building. really not uh a great uh way for our uh buses to to make their way around, but um it it it would certainly be an opportunity for us to make some significant improvements. This breaks out the total the comprehensive package of that $465 million total. Uh the upper uh segment in the light blue shading demonstrates where the great majority of those funds are and that would be for the construction of the elementary school, the middle school, and the expansion of the high school. Um and then uh the $10 million allocation for district-wide safety and security is itemized there as well. And then all the other projects that I spoke about, whether it's the Plymouth Creek uh traffic flow, the gymnasiums at Sunset Hill and West, the u uh cafeteria uh lunchroom expansions at the elementarymentaries, and then the other things that are listed there uh comprise about 115 million of that total package. And then uh the cost for financing the projects, bond sales, insurance, etc. all what are sometimes called I think the soft costs or peripheral costs associated with getting all the work done and and constructing the facilities is included there. So that's the uh breakout of the total of that $465 million uh proposal for that comprehensive package. And then question three, the swimming pool. I've given quite a lot of background on this. I won't elaborate uh further on that, but again that would be uh estimated at about 31 million. Keep in mind all of these projects go through public bidding and a very thorough process that's well defined. We've done plenty and lots of this in our past as have our strategic partners of Krauss Anderson and W Architects and Engineers. And uh we'll keep the board uh prised of all of that. In the event that we're fortunate to be able to move forward with these projects, um the board will have a deep involvement in in all of that and we'll be spending a lot of time keeping you up to date on all the happenings associated with that. And again, uh for this project on that $650,000 home, it would be $4 additional in taxes per month. So, in summary, the three questions include again that uh $6.5 million per year existing levy. Uh it's a renewal for a 10-year period, and that would not result in additional uh tax increase. Request number two is that comprehensive package that I just spoke about. And again, on a $650,000 home, uh the monthly uh increase for tax on that would be $29. And for request number three is the swimming pool. Um, if that uh passes uh from the voters, that would be an additional $4 dollar uh per month. I should mention too that that would be on a 25-year loan. So much like when we purchase a new home, we have a designated number of years for payback. That would be on a a 25-y year uh payback schedule. So what happens if the funding is not approved? I think these are all fairly intuitive. school buildings will exceed capacity. We already again have some buildings that are at that point. Some that are still managing uh comfortably but tightening and they're starting to feel it. Uh learning spaces will become increasingly crowded. The quality of experiences for students would be compromised over time for sure if we're uh uh overfilled with students in any one of our uh schools. safety and security improvements wouldn't happen on the time schedule that we think is important to make sure that we're staying up to date with that and uh improving or updating our technology systems um would continue to be challenged and difficult for us. So I would encourage uh all of our listeners, our residents, our community members, constituents to go to our website. There's a lot of really great information there. I think all the documents that were provided to you in the folder are available for download and review on our website and uh uh in printable form if uh our constituents are so inclined. Uh there's a phone number there to call with questions and then a specific website that provides uh uh the information that uh will be helpful for a community. Again, the official election date is April 14th and uh the early voting date, timelines and locations and other ways to vote via mail, etc. are included on those documents that are on our website. And uh I think that's my final slide. So with that, I rambled for just about 55 minutes, but that's about what it takes to do a thorough uh overview. And this one I particularly probably shared a little more detail because hopefully this can serve as the community reference point for anybody who has an hour where they don't have any television shows they're interested in. They could pull this up if they were so inclined and and learn a lot about our facilities. So with that, I'll turn it back over to you, Mr. Chair, and field any questions and invite my colleagues to Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Amy was going to give an update of what's in your packet. >> I'll just quickly go through the packet. Good afternoon, everyone. Um if you look at your packet on the right side is a is a four page um fact sheet or flyer and we consider this to be the main um piece to share all of the information about the referendum. All of the information um is basically on the front cover. If you go to the inside, you're going to get more detail the charts, uh, the enrollment charts, and on the back, you will see the three, uh, funding funding requests in more detail. So, this is kind of the main piece that we're using throughout the campaign. And then on the left side of the packet, the first piece you have is what we call our bookmark. Um, these will really be used at our schools throughout the campaign, at conferences, and other events that are happening in the buildings. And I would think of this as your elevator speech. It kind of gives you the main talking points and on the back again a summary of the funding requests and then um there's a QR code that um goes right to our website and would share information about early voting and other ways to vote. Uh then the next piece is um for someone who would want more information about the proposed um addition at um Weisetta High School talking a lot about our career and technical education. Uh the next flyer is to provide more information about the proposed swimming pool provides an overview of that. Uh the next one is just a list of all of our um election day polling locations and information about if someone doesn't know where to vote, where to go, as well as times. Uh the next flyer, I won't go into detail, but it is um the technology in our schools flyer that we just recently created and uh WDE Phillips will provide some more information about that in his presentation. Um the next one is the special election ballot information and we always find that it's very helpful. Um ballot um question um language that needs to be used is very complicated complicated and confusing. So we use callouts to hopefully make that a little um easier to understand and clear. And then finally um I put in your packet. This is something that we will share with all staff, but it is a Q&A that kind of talks about the rules, uh, the dos and don'ts for staff in a referendum campaign, and they would apply to board members as well. So, hope you find those helpful. Um, so just a couple other things. Um, the official referendum campaign launches uh the first weekend in or the first week in February. Um but we've already had a a soft launch, have done a number of presentations. The website um is functional and we keep adding to it. Um as Chase said, all these pieces are available electronically on our website. Um we've started doing presentations. I think we'll be well over 50 before the time that we're done, which will include PTO, PTA meetings, our district advisory committees, all of our staff, city council, rotaries, chambers of commerce, um as well as a March 4th community um session that I know you as board members will be at and it'll be here at Creekide from 7 to 9:00. Uh so we'll be doing that as well. Um as I said, we do have the web page. on the web page. In addition to all the information we've talked about, there's um a tax calculator and there will be an FAQ. So, as we get questions from the community, we will continue to add to that FAQ. Um there's a series of videos that we're working on that are very near completion and we'll be ready um next week. There will be a social media campaign um two uh community direct mailers um a comprehensive email campaign will really will use those videos. We'll use the videos in the social media as well. Um what am I forgetting? And really those those email campaigns will target um all families, all staff, all high school students of voting age and a list that we call our key communicator network. And that includes all of um kind of the influential people in the eight communities that make up the school district, city council members, chamber of commerce members. Really, it's a it's a list that's probably around 500 that we've um collected over a number of years that we use to keep people connected to our schools. That would include our media as well. We will um you know have outreach with the Sun Sailor and CCX and other media as well. So, if you have any questions, Chase, I'll turn it back to you. >> Thanks, Amy. I appreciate all the work you and your team and all my other team members have contributed to get us to this point. So, I'll turn it over to you. >> Okay. Thank you, Chase. Uh, and thank you, Amy. Um, I'm just thinking of our last community relations committee meeting where Amy had handed out a two-page spreadsheet with your presentations about how how far have you completed that? Those were a lot of meetings, right, for you >> in regard to total number of presentations. >> Yeah. Right. You >> I think this is maybe number seven at this point. So >> long way to go. Okay. >> 43 to go. >> Yeah. >> Pardon? >> 40 to go. >> Yep. >> 40 to go. Oh my god. Okay. >> Click them off two or three a day at a time, I guess, here. But that'll be, you know, a big big part of my role here in this. >> I hope they're not all each one hour long. Are they are they that long? >> You know, I can compress it. I can do as quick as 30 minutes. Wow. Um I tended again to give you uh the whole loaf rather than >> Yeah. >> you know slices. So >> we also will like if we're only given 15 minutes like at a city council meeting then we'll use our video which will be about four minutes and then you know have the fact sheet and then open it for questions and answers. >> Yeah. Okay. Good luck with that. I don't envy you. So thank you. Thank you for that. >> Any comments questions? >> Mill just one comment. Um Trevor did a good job in terms of presenting this in our last SEFAC uh committee meeting and SEFAC representation is really great because we have some of the members who are on the committee for long period of time. they've been engaged with school district and you said that u in your presentation but I wanted to reiterate the feedback that we received from Minnesota Department of Education that was with zero findings for referendum of this size um that's very unusual so I know you called it out but I wanted to reiterate that because that came up in our CFAC meeting so again just wanted to congratulate everyone who was engaged um something of this size going to state and not having a single finding is a great accomplishment. It shows how due diligent the team was and how it was put together in perfect way. So again kudos to you all and again Peter Trevor really great job in CPAC committee. Thank you. >> Thanks Paris. >> Yeah. >> Thanks for the presentation. Um we have been talking about a lot of these things for a long time. Um and yeah, it's you know to see it finally come to fruition is it's great to see. Um so I I I thank you for speaking to the fact that this is this is for resident students. Um, probably one of the biggest things I heard from the community when they start when they first heard about this was, you know, why are we building schools for, you know, open enrollment and we are not. And so I think that's just worth emphasizing that families are moving into our district. We have to educate the students that live in our district and pretty soon we're going to run out of room. So, I appreciated that um that you know that slide. Um and yeah, I just I hope voters will come out and tell us what they think. >> Thank you. >> I have some questions. Um help me to understand uh with numbers. Looks like within 10 years we're going to be the numbers are looking if I did math if if I did math correctly 1,250 students kind of over the numbers what we have right now but what we are proposing um with additional to high school uh new middle school and uh elementary school total will be 2,600. So the difference is 1,3 tuck 350 students. So I mean that much space will be left. What are we planning to do with that space? >> Well, I think it's important for the school board and the community to keep in mind that uh the district will exist beyond 10 years. So we're positioning for the future beyond that as well. So I would anticipate that the community will continue growing beyond that point. And we currently have buildings that are crowded. And part of the challenge we have in buildings that are filled to or near capacity is that there isn't really a lot of flexibility. So in the event that for a period of time there uh are fewer students than we might have rated capacity for, it will only contribute to a more positive ability to uh respond with highquality instruction that's flexible and responsive to the unique needs of the the students. I referenced agility and I uh use that terminology not to reference any physical capabilities of our principles but agility to be responsive in the uh buildings to find space when unique needs crop up and that would uh provide some opportunity for that as well. There's also um if we find ourselves with uh the uh some additional space, there is a a high unmet demand within the footprint of the school district for uh prek early learning four-year-old programming. And uh in the time frame while we're building up to that full buildout of 14,500 to 15,000 students, uh we would have no issue being able to accommodate and make really good use of that space to help our uh community with those interests in prek learning as well. So, I think it would be an okay thing uh to have an experience different than we had at Meadow Ridge in Northwoods where within two years they were at or near capacity and to have a little bit of flexibility to grow into these spaces. It's a new chapter for our school district where we were uh moving quickly to respond to very rapid growth and now I think we're at that point where long-term rapid growth is going to start slowing down. We heard that from Hazel Reinhardt when she presented that that's a normal thing and I think it actually would be a good thing if we found ourselves in a position to have a little bit of flexibility where we weren't working as hard as we currently are to find, you know, any kind of available space that we can convert into a classroom or you know currently we have one of our elementaryaries that we needed to use the technology uh room for a standard classroom space. So, we have our technology on a cart and that staff member uh rotates around the building with a a cart of computers. So, we want to minimize needing to default into those types of reactions or responses within the building. But, I'm confident that with time, we're going to need uh all the space we are planning for currently and beyond. And it would also create that agility that I think could be really helpful for us because we aren't accustomed to that. We've been scrambling to, you know, find spaces in many of our facilities to accommodate the the growth that we've had. And um we I I'll have couple questions about high school as uh some will be to be honest what was addressed by one of a parent and I didn't know I didn't want to take responsibility just to answer myself because I cannot um parent was asking uh why we are continuing building um I mean enlarging the building uh why don't we have uh like eighth graders or ninth graders in separate buildings. Such way everybody will be in adequate I mean in adequate place and at the same time you are not removing um what I'm hearing from communities some parents are not excited about um how big is high school is getting uh so help me to answer to that. >> Sure. Thank you. >> Yeah, that's a great question and I've gotten that one frequently. So I came to the district in 2008, 18 years ago and uh the new high school as we still refer to it I think sometimes I think opened in 1996 or first graduating class was 1997. Is that right Heidi? And uh at that time it was built for a capacity of about 3,200 students. And I remember when I was interviewing that there was a feeling in the community at that time that it was felt that that probably is of adequate size to accommodate what we might expect for high school age students. Well, as we've learned, uh we've grown and it expanded at a rate differently than uh what they were able to project at that time. So there was a commitment in the early 90s when all the planning for the the new high school was uh uh underway to be a school district with a single large high school. Now I don't know what the conversations might have been in 1992 or 93 um in the event that they would have known that we're probably going to grow to a total of 5,000 students uh high school uh students grades 9 through 12. if they would have made a different decision at that time or not, I don't know. Um, but we are in and and we spoke about this when we did the last uh addition at the high school too, which I think was in 2015. That question came up and and we had it even more frequently than we did this time about why not build a second high school or, you know, find a way to create a second high school within the community. So, there's there there are multiple right answers on this. Those are always the most difficult decisions to make, I think, where you can choose A, B, or C. And either one of them could be uh good decisions. I think the decision for the Weisetto public schools to have two high schools was a decision not made in the early 90s and um the commitment to a single large high school uh was made at that time. So even at that point when we were building on last time we uh did a review um and I just looked at the PowerPoint that we used uh back at that time over a 20-year period uh the efficiencies of a single large high school were estimated to be about $12 million. So it is a more efficient model. It creates an opportunity for us to provide the unique programming that we have there. And one of the the nice things about a single large high school is you have a critical mass of students that have common interests. So almost with any topic or thing that they might be interested in, uh you could start a group or we have all kinds of academic and and uh other types of interest area groups at the high school that I think you can do more easily with a single large high school. And we do large high school pretty well. I think uh it works well for us. Our high school principal is working with u uh a number of high school principles across the nation that have current enrollments of five to 6,000 students and they meet two or three times a year and just talk about the unique attributes and challenges associated with large high schools like Wisetta High School and uh they've learned a lot from each other and um I think that we really provide an outstanding academic program. There are wonderful activities and opportunities and uh we we're simply not going to be a school district that can meet the need for a family that might want a small high school experience. I just don't see that we're going to be able to provide that. >> I just want to clarify that parent was not meaning uh building second high school was is saying just why not separate 8th and 9th graders into it's and it's going to be like a feeder to high school building. such way that uh capacity will be I mean you will be able to put students in the same kind of position and then once let's say eighth graders or ninth graders they will be all in high school we'll have all these um uh courses available for all students but such way it will kind of solve I I was thinking that parent had a unique interesting thinking >> uh it it might have solved both problems Thank you for the clarification. I gave you lots of answers you didn't ask the question for. So, no extra charge on those, by the way. Um, so I'm not sure I understand exactly, but are are you suggesting like have a separate building just for eighth graders? She was suggesting to um yeah put them into depending I guess at quantity eight or even eight and nine graders into one building all of them >> and then uh such way you solve kind of both problems at the same time high school uh print is not as big as is not as big as is not as scary for some >> yeah I kind of I don't know and we've had that question before too and I know there are some districts that have had like a ninth grade center or building and and uh in a previous district I worked in the middle schools were aligned with the six through nine uh configuration. Um I believe and this is based on having been a middle school principal, high school principal and prek and elementary as well in my career. I think we have the ideal alignment of grade levels right now. I really like the K5, the 68, and the 912. Um, if you have a building that has only one grade level in it. One challenge I would see, and something that I don't think is the best idea, sometimes districts might make that decision to accommodate for space needs, etc. for a short time period. Um, it creates more transitions for students. And I think uh even more so than uh a relatively larger school experience, those transitions where you're in a building only for one year, you don't really get a lot of allegiance or time in that facility. And I think those transitions can be challenging uh for kids that uh you know, they accommodate them well and they manage it well. But it's just one the the you know the longevity within a building is is really kind of a nice thing if if you can manage it. So and developmentally um ninth grade kids even though they're quite a lot different from seniors are more like seniors than sixth grade kids are like ninth graders. So I always felt a little bit disconnected in that tub building where we had that uh configuration. I share all that uh only because I think we have the ideal uh pro uh package of of grade levels in the same building. I think developmentally it really works well. So I don't know if that was helpful. I could probably help you reshape better answers for that parent or the parent could feel free to call me too. I'd be happy to talk with with him or her. Thank you. So I I have a question you know related to what uh Valentina asked about the high school being so big. So after 5,000 I think that's the capacity we are looking at right after 5,000 we have more room there at the current location to expand the high school if there are more students or then we have to go to another location another >> my prediction is 5,000 will accommodate what the district is going to yield for high school age kids in grades 9 through 12. >> Okay. And you know in 101 15 years when maybe that gets fully occupied it's hard to know what uh additional types of high school learning experiences might be created off campus or you know with we have some students that participate in the PSO programs at our universities. >> I'm talking about space space requirements after that. Do we have additional space where we are right now for another addition or or do we have to go to another site >> if we needed to build onto the high school again? >> Right. >> Yeah. I don't think we'll need to. Um I think if we get to this 5,000 mark >> that brings us to that uh I mean 12 1,200 plus per grade level. >> I think the 1,200 mark is sort of going to be that high water mark per grade level. Now in 10 to 15 years when that prove when I could be proven wrong I can say that more easily now probably I won't be the superintendent 12 to 15 years but I've been saying it for 10 or 15 years and you know I'm using it just based on what I've seen what I know about the footprint of our district how much available space is uh out there yet to be built out and I think if we get to that 1 1200 mark district-wide that positions us around that 15,000 mark and I think that's going to be real close to that high water mark in the district and then we're going to be built out and then I think we'll hit an equilibrium which will be kind of nice because uh that might suggest no more boundary changes, no more uh you know building of of of new uh buildings etc. I spent 16 years in my previous district. who never once changed boundaries because it was at that equilibrium point and we could predict within a dozen students at every grade level pretty much exactly who was going to be there but we just haven't been in that uh mode in the last uh 15 to 20 years. >> Okay. You've spoken a lot already. I just had one more question. I know you already talked about the you know the kitchen and cafeteria expansion. you didn't want to elaborate a lot but I think the new school middle school new uh elementary school expansion of the high school technology changes and all that those are pretty evident but so that the viewers understand how much off we are far off we are in terms of recommended kitchen and cafeteria capacity to what MD recommends if I remember correctly we way short of what they recommend right so if you can just quickly summarize you know that part then the viewers will understand why we are actually doing that >> yeah I won't be able to site specific numbers I don't know if any of my colleagues will be able to or not but I I remember really being taken when I saw particularly the east middle school numbers it was woefully inadequate like >> I almost want to say it was like onethird of the recommended size based on the MDE guidelines and I think for uh Birch View, uh Greenwood and and Oakwood, a similar thing would be true. I don't know that it was quite as dramatic with the size of the uh dining or cafeteria space, but the fact that we can't prepare fully prepare meals in those buildings is I think where a real challenge lies. And we want to, you know, have adequate space for kids to spread out, >> okay, >> when they eat their lunch as well or or uh you know, those spaces get used for other things as well, but the lunch times are the high volume time for sure. But >> so I don't know the exact numbers. I could get that for you. >> No, that's okay. At least you people have an idea now. Yeah. Okay. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Chase. Any other questions, comments? You have one, Alicia? No. Okay. >> Thank you so much, Chase. Appreciate that. >> You're welcome. Thanks. >> All right. So, moving on to the next item on the agenda. We have executive director of uh is that's HR, right? Yeah. Dave Woods. uh he will provide an overview of the 2026 27 staffing process. Dave >> Thank you, Chair Sony, members of the board, Superintendent Anderson. Um, so this evening I'm going to run you through um a staffing process overview. And so uh the purpose of this is to kind of uh help the board understand the process that we use each year, particularly when it pertains to to license staff, but we'll cover um kind of a general overview um and how we work with our our sites and different district leaders to come up with um our plans for the upcoming school year. So, uh, I'm a teacher, uh, by trade, right? So, we're going to start with learning targets. Um, so really the the purpose of this presentation is to to help the board gain a greater understanding of the process utilized by district leadership and the HR team to anticipate, allocate, hire, and make adjustments to staffing levels for the upcoming school year. Um, we're going to learn about uh continuous improvement that's been applied to our process for uh the 2627 school year. Um, and then identify uh possible K12 staffing changes which would be reflected uh in the 2627 proposed budget and then there'll be an opportunity to ask questions. Um so um when we look at uh anticipated staffing levels for the upcoming year there are a number of factors and this is only a few of them that we have to consider um in in our planning. So projected enrollment, uh changes to student needs, site needs, programming needs, uh current or anticipated financial sanding of the district, future funding and expenditure implications, uh changes in state or federal requirements. So if there's new requirements, uh that require position changes, etc. Program or structural staffing changes, the availability of of our various facilities. Um and then uh when we look at projected enrollment, there's always revisions to projected enrollment. So as we're monitoring enrollment on a regular basis, um those the the enrollments change with with what we're seeing with with student registrations, etc. That's not an exhaustive list. Uh but it's just a little bit of uh categories of of things that we focus on and and pay attention to as we get closer to finalizing our staffing plans for the upcoming school year. Uh this graphic just helps kind of visualize what January, February, March, and April look like um as we head into these are some of our busiest planning months. Um so we've already started uh plans for staffing for next year. Um, one thing that's coming up here is a deadline for all of our uh, staff to let us know if they plan on returning next year. And so that could come with retirement. So upcoming board meetings, we'll have a number of retirements listed for staff who've let us know, hey, um, I'm going to be retiring at the end of the current school year. And also leaves. So we have a variety of leaves that that uh, staff apply for. It could be a child care leave for the next year. Um, it could be a sbatical leave. Um, it could be something called an extended leave of absence, which is a 3 to 5year leave um that in the state of Minnesota teachers can take to pursue something outside the the field of education while kind of holding their spot in the district. Um, so we have these leave uh deadlines that come up and and those are due uh February 1st along with uh submitting retirements and and notice for people uh who may not be planning on coming back for next year. Um with that we also start to develop enrollment projections. So that process has definitely already started. Um we take um a variety of of different factors and we'll talk about that in greater uh depth in a future slide. Uh from there about midFebruary is when we start to look at establishing staffing guidelines. So with what we know we think is coming with enrollment, how would that translate into our staffing plan for the upcoming school year? Um those guidelines typically are given to our sites and department leaders in early March uh to start planning the process of okay, if this is what we're looking at for next year, how does that align with our current staff? do we need to increase in our staff? Do we need to decrease in our staffing? Um and how does all of those leaves and retirements, etc. play into that as well? So, we're planning through March. Um spring break tends to be our timeline. Um when we communicate, our renewals and non-renewals for licensed staff um right up until that that spring break timeline. And then we try to post and begin to fill. We post all of our known available positions for licensed staff over spring break. We like to have staff kind of get a good look at the majority of the positions that we have uh over spring break for licensed staff. For known non-licensed staff positions, those are posted and hired closer to the fall. Uh usually the uh individuals that are seeking uh non-licensed positions might look a little bit closer to the start of the position. And so if you post those too early, it can be uh dis uh you can be at a disadvantage for that. And then our you know different administrative positions, all of those kind of have their own cycle as well. But this is what our typical spring license staffing timeline is. Um, so as a uh executive leadership team and and with Superintendent Anderson and and uh our our strategy leadership team as well, um we've really looked at this area recently this year as what is what are opportunities for improvement in our staffing process. And so if you look at our strategic directions, uh direction seven, uh says we're going to align internal district processes and procedures to improve communication, decision-m, accountability, and collaboration resulting in operational excellence. And so that's the goal with with looking at uh this procedure. Um and by doing that, by capitalizing on seven, um I believe one through six are going to be delivered upon uh if we have uh you know a staffing plan that that really is uh aligned and and reflects operational excellence. So that's the goal um with looking at our process. Um so I believe it it might have been the new guy Trevor who came up with this idea. Initially I told them I wouldn't take credit for it but um it started a discussion with with executives um where typically when we look back at our prior process you know we get our enrollment number we work through at the district level these staffing guidelines and then we kind of give those guidelines to our sites and then the the process goes from there. And so the question kind of came up, well, what if we do a little bit more early engagement um with our sites and and department leaders and and try to uh have it be more conversational through those first months of January and February. What might we learn from that process? Uh how might we change our process uh with with uh staffing? Um and uh we did engage in that this year. So, uh myself, uh uh Dana and Trevor, um along with members of of each of our departments, uh engaged in site visits to visit each of our our principles at their buildings, um and really started talking about um enrollment projections um and and different staffing concepts with them. And through those conversations, we've we've really started to refine a process uh and and come up with kind of a new process that's reflective of of that again collaborative approach. So, we have early enrollment projections which we've been engaged in far earlier in the the cycle than we have before. That's been a really good good exercise, especially knowing the growth that's coming. the more we wrestle with those numbers and and look at different cohort trends, the better off we'll be when it comes time to roll with them uh in the spring. Um we've also looked at again those those site visits in the month of January, which we've completed all those with with each of our schools. Um we also re re-engaged in an enhancement request process, and we'll talk a little bit about that. Um, back when I was a new principal in the district, we had a little bit more formal process. Um, and after cost containment, that got a little bit less formal because again, we're we didn't necessarily have have the ability to support many enhancements. Um, we're looking kind of the other way. Um, and now with with some more again stable uh financial picture, we've been looking at re-engaging in that process and we'll talk about that. We still have the same leave and retirement deadline. Um that will be coming up here in February. And then we will look at you know January to February really refining our enrollment projections. So it's not just a one-time thing. It's kind of wrestling with with it for a little while. Um and and reooking at the numbers. We did that again this morning as an executive leadership team with Superintendent Anderson. Um and then from that we'll be able to refine our staffing guidelines and be able to launch staffing guidelines in March that again are reflective of of this collaborative process. And so the rest is is the same there. Um so with with human resources uh finance uh and and operations teaching and learning site visits um we really had great early discussion around timelines and processes for different facilities and equipment requests. Um, so there's quite a bit that goes into planning for the upcoming school year. Um, when it comes to different, you know, long-term facility maintenance projects you have, different equipment needs that you have. We heard a lot about copy machines. That was one of the the concepts that kept coming up. Uh, making sure that that we have uh those fixed and working, etc. Um we looked at uh tenative enrollment with our site leaders um and and really had had deep discussion there about about uh different numbers and things that they might see. Um looked at a tenative license staff allocation based on that enrollment. Uh formalized an enhancement request process again and then looked at building allocations. So each of our sites get supply and capital allocations. Um, so we discussed the nature of of those and then reviewed some important finance and HR timelines. Uh, so I'm going to stay kind of big picture with this because we are still working on each of these things and and so we're not going to be looking at numbers uh for anticipated enrollment uh tonight uh this evening. Um, but I can talk about just those conversations and and what we've benefited from digging into those conversations. So we do anticipate that we'll see student enrollment growth at each level in our system. Um and again we've utilized a combination of local models. So we have various models that we use in Weisetta where we look at what cohorts of students have done historically in each of our sites um and applied that logic to the students and and uh you know looking at at the growth that we've seen historically. But then we also have several several demographer models um that we've been utilizing uh just like we have with the study for for our facilities needs as well. So with putting all that data together um we're able to come up with some early enrollment projections um and also bringing that information to our principles and our building staff. They know their communities well, right? And so having the conversation about, hey, do you see this number of kindergarteners, kindergarten students enrolling? You know, do you feel like that capture rate is is on par with what you'd expect or not? Let's talk about some of the, you know, prospective enrollments, the discussions you're having with families, what are some new developments that are going on around around your school, etc. And so really looking at that being an early conversational piece um because you know there's been several staffing meetings where in previous years I've come to principles and said well here's a number of sections you'll have in K and and an elementary principal might tell me ah I don't think we'll hit that number right so there's there's some information there at our sites where they can they can see the trends and patterns uh pretty well and have some really good insights for us into those numbers. So after those conversations, we're going back and reworking our projections again with the end goal that we're going to be as close as possible to uh accuracy so that we can be staffed accordingly and and uh start the year strong. Uh in addition to that, not only looking at where we're going to start the year, but how are these schools grown throughout the year, right? So just because we're starting with enough staff, does that mean that we'll have enough staff in October, November, December, right? And so there's some of our schools that have growth after the start of the year that we have to anticipate and staff for um right away. Um and then we do anticipate increased needs in special services. Um when you increase your enrollment growth, you're likely going to increase uh your needs in special services as well. So there's a a relationship there. Um so for our licensed staff allocation preview discussion, some things I want to bring to the board's attention. Um, so we will be implementing uh class- size target reductions to be included in the budget assumptions for 2627. Okay. So those are typically approved the budgets approved by the board uh in June. And so these are some of the assumptions that we'll be building into that proposed budget. Um so a change of of one so reducing the student per teacher staffing ratio in K5 classrooms. uh change of one overall with an additional four FTE and hotspots uh added to our our K5 staffing. And so hotspots are FTE that that don't follow a formula but allow uh myself and our principles to look for different spots in our staffing puzzle where it's really, you know, going to be challenging. Maybe it's because of um a high section in a really small classroom or maybe it's a really high section in an area where there's you know some some again like I said uh that class might start here but they historically grow over the course of the year etc. So those hotspot FD really help us account for uh some of the things that may may not line up with a straight formula. um and then a change of 0.5 a reduction in the ratio for 612 classrooms. Okay. So what the reality of that is um is that it will likely result in a similar staffing level for the current year in K5. And the reason why it's going to be pretty similar is because not all of the elementary students that we anticipated and and you've heard this from me before that we anticipated uh for the current year um we didn't see all of those enrollments. Um we are in ant in Oops, I hit the wrong button. Amy, can you get it back up? Sorry. There you go. Um we are we are anticipating some growth as well. So, between the the um the enrollments that we didn't see this year with the growth next year, we actually anticipate being at a pretty similar staffing level uh for this next year in K5. Um that means and and we've heard feedback from this year that that our staffing levels felt uh good overall in buildings. Now, we know that there will be always peaks and valleys, right? So, there'll be times where sections are are low and it's great and there's going to be different port parts in where we have spike sections uh for for students and that's just going to happen. But overall um uh we've heard that we've had some really good uh class sizes in our elementarymentaries. Um so reducing that by by one and then adding the four hotspots puts us at a similar staffing level. K5 the reduction by 0.5 will result in an increase in staffing levels in 612 um a little bit at the middle level a couple teachers at the middle level and then um the difference of about three teachers at the high school um by bringing their targets down by that.5. So we've reviewed that with our all each of our building leaders. We've discussed that concept with them um and it feels good. It feels like we're heading in the right direction. um and it feels reflective of of again what we can do uh for for the upcoming school year. So the the approach is is agreeable. Um it's a manageable but meaningful staffing increase, right? So we want to make sure that that we're not proposing something that is not sustainable over time. Um but we also want to make a a meaningful uh change in in our uh our class size. And so that's the the piece that we're looking at for the upcoming uh school year um given the the current financial standing of the district. Um and then we did talk about the enhancement request process. Um and so it's a again a a formalized process where requests are made uh via a common process and timeline. So our different buildings and programs will be requesting uh hey this is something I'd like to look at a staffing concept or a different structure. It might be no cost. It might it might be something where it's like hey I just want to think about how to do this a little bit differently and restructure things here. Um it could be low cost. It could be mid to high cost. Um even if requests aren't approved, um the we the process is still something we want to support. Engaging in that dialogue with our building leaders and department leaders around what are they thinking about their organization and and what do they think um might best move the needle for students in their buildings, etc. That's all a really healthy activity that we want to encourage. that ideiation is really good for an organization. And I always use kind of my through these I've used my own example when I was a principal at West Middle School. One of the first things uh the only enhancement that I remember writing is an enhancement for an additional counselor, right? And I built the case for why I felt like we needed a counselor uh in addition to the one that we had at West. Um, and so you'll know that this last year we had a big addition of counselors to our elementarymentaries and then an addition of a counselor to east and and a counselor to west. So it took a while, right, a number of years and I didn't get a yes right away when I asked for that. Um, but it it it's a really good uh process to have these ask, you know, made and and thought about and discussed. And even if it isn't a yes, um it might be a yes another year, you know, it might be, you know, in 5 years or whatever it might be. But I think it's a really healthy activity for us to continue to look at what are our buildings, you know, looking at what are some of their creative ideas um and how might that fit within the the scope of our organization. And then also if they all come in at the same time, um, we're able to value them, you know, as we look at all of them versus, oh, they got me a request first or they asked louder, right? None of none of that stuff is is then at play. It's all reviewing all these requests um as they as they as they come in uh in a group. So, we're going to look at that enhancement uh request process. Again, it could change nothing, but it's going to be a really good uh discussion for us as we look at um what our leaders are are thinking around um changes to their their schools and programs. Um and then uh again, it was just a really good opportunity to help provide some support. We always talk about job embedded professional development, and that's what this resembled was job embedded professional development. um you know, the this group of of district departments kind of coming into these sites and and really having some one-on-one time um with our principles and making sure they had opportunities to ask questions, you know, ask questions about different uh funding sources about uh the nature of capitals and supply allocations and how do they go about requesting things etc. Um, and so we want we want our principles to be really, you know, understand each of these processes, understand the staffing process. Um, and so being able to to meet them and have those discussions. We've already had really good feedback from our principles that this seems like these early site visits feel worthwhile and like something we should continue. Um, and it's also resulted in several practice changes for us. So, we're already implementing some new ideas into our staffing process just having had these conversations um with principles um recently. And then again, we're trying to align the work of our departments with the schools that are designed to support, right? So, when when we go in and and uh as as uh leaders in the district, our executives are listening to our principles about what they need and and what they see as potential solutions to problems. Um that's what we're here for. We're here to help um support our schools so that our students can be successful. So, oops, wrong button. There you go. So, we'll uh finish with our targets as well. That's always a look for when I'm going in to observe a teacher. Did they come back to their learning targets? So, again, our goal was to gain a greater understanding of the process utilized by district leadership and the HR team to anticipate, allocate, hire, and make adjustments to staffing levels for the upcoming school year. um learn about some of the continuous improvement uh to our process and some of those enhancements we made um and then give you a a heads up on some of those uh staffing changes that would be reflected in the 2627 proposed budget. So that's my presentation and I'll open it up for questions from the board. >> Thank you Dave. Uh any comments, questions? Yeah, >> I have couple of questions but I can wait if anybody else wants to go first. >> You want to go first? Yeah, go ahead Sheila. Yeah, >> thank you Dave. Um, I'm on the, you know, HR committee and it's been very useful to hear, you know, how staffing decisions are made. Um, clearly there's an art to it. Um, but it also sounds like you've got, you know, a process in place and that's very responsive and thoughtful and, you know, sounds like the the principles are that the feedback you got was, you know, good. So, yay. Um, thank you for the, you know, procedures that you've been implementing to to do that. My, um, I guess I wanted a clarification. I just want to make sure I understand correctly that the class sizes this year were lower than they have been. Um, and that the board when we vote for our budget, um, that the class size targets will be made more official. So, while this year like we still have the same targets, >> our class sizes were actually lower than the targets. Yep. >> That that will become more official when we vote for the budget. >> Yep. So, that would be true in K through five. So, in our elementaryaries, because again, we we didn't hit exactly what we were projecting for enrollment. The natural outcome was that class sizes were lowered from there. Um and so it to a level that I feel like you know again is worked really well. We got good feedback on and so the recommended changes at the elementary would keep class sizes at a similar level uh both with reducing by one and then adding those four hotspots which would be deployed into classroom teacher position. Those hotspots are for classroom teacher positions. Um at the secondary level you'd realize an actual reduction of of class size. Um again it it's not a a huge amount of FTE um but our secondary principles would say any FTE is helpful um it helps them solve problems uh be able to open up different sections um etc. So in our conversations with with both middle and high school principles again uh happy to to have that additional FTE built into their staffing allocations. >> Thank you. Just want to make it clear to everyone that >> yes the the class size ratios the targets are decreasing officially. We got a little bit lost I think in the presentation that like yes we've already been at these levels but like anyway >> yep. So yeah because we were under our targets this year we're going to pull our targets down for K5 to to a similar level to where we staffed. >> All right. Um this is a great topic. I'm glad we put it on the work session. So we touched upon it uh a little bit on it in our finance meeting when we were looking at projections and um Trevor gave us a preview into how the highle modeling is done. So it was fascinating to see by building by class what is the expected student count versus you know teacher student count and where we need to fill the gap. So we kind of got view into it. So that's one thing. Um I'm also going back to some of our SEFAC meetings that happened last year. So it's sort of coming back to me now. Um and the third point you elaborated is again when you look at staffing you look at the local level right. So individual building individ individual class the demographics and so on. So that's great. So the question that was coming up even last year in some of the CFAC conversations and we were trying to kind of get there in that finance meeting is when you talk about getting feedback from the buildings to what level do we go and the the reason I'm asking this is and I'm trying to remember which what was the context either it was the the classroom uh you know the ratio or technology use but when we were talking to some some of the parents and concern you know parties it became very apparent that teachers know what the impact is whether they know what kind of students are in the class where they need more help how that class is going to grow in next grade so do you go all the way to the classroom teachers and because I think the numbers we saw they were at the classroom level so do we show that to teachers and PLC's and then get their feedback and fine-tune or to >> staffing. >> Yeah. >> So, it depends on the level. Um potentially, you know, there there there is some discussion and feedback. I used to be a high school principal, so the high school staffing process is a little bit different. They might work a little bit with their department chairs, etc. Uh for elementary and and and middle as well, it's really again through the the principal. So that that is a major job of the principal. Probably one of the more important jobs of the principal is deciding how and and who they're going to staff their building with etc. Um and so that really is again work with human resources and and our principles uh from you know when from March all the way up to the fall I am in regular conversation with our principles uh multiple you know meetings, phone calls, etc. were friends through that time, right? And so, um, I think where where teacher feedback can come in is is teachers provide feedback, you know, on a regular basis to their principles. And again, that is the the role of the principal is making some of those those staffing decisions for their buildings based on what they're learning. Um, what do they know about their their different student cohorts? What do they know about, you know, their different grade levels, etc. And so that really is uh you know the some of those staffing decisions are made at at the principal level. Now I will say at at uh the district level we also have a a part in some of those conversations too and so it's it's really dialogue with us. I would say that the the teacher level feedback kind of comes its way through the principal. >> Okay. And I like the way again we are shifting left. Right. So we had our typical process and now we are trying to move things to the left so we can be more proactive and planning >> on that uh diagram that I provided. >> Is there any chance we can gather that feedback early? I think and again I'm trying to remember which conversation was it but I think the the concern was by the time teachers feedback goes to principles we are already in the cycle. the schools have opened. By the time you gather feedback, assess capacity, hire new you know teachers, year is done, right? Next year again it's a new class, new demographics and it becomes sort of >> that you know never ending cycle. So is there any opportunity any value I mean definitely there is value but is there any opportunity for us to get that teacher feedback earlier? Yeah. So really the the timeline for gathering teacher feedback also has to be synchronized with kind our our renewal non-renewal process. So while we want to engage in in conversations around staffing with our teachers, we also have to be respectful that you know we do have probationary staff who don't know yet you know if if they're going to be renewed for the next year. And so those conversations really need to happen at kind of all at the same time and timeline. If we engage too much in numbers, which is again one of the reasons why we're not digging into numbers tonight, because then assumptions will be made about different sections, etc. And so I'm really careful to do that in a coordinated fashion with our building leaders so that individuals, you know, aren't finding out secondhand about, you know, the the their status for next year. We want our principles to be able to have those discussions with our teachers. Um, and so we we do, you know, again, engage in in regular discussions with teachers around, you know, different student needs and cohort needs, etc. And I think we have to be careful about not getting out ahead of our other processes with with discussing >> sections etc. Now once we know those sections absolutely and I'll say our principles do a really really good job of making sure that they're again communicating directly with our teams and and through some of those transitions. We have a very big communication plan that we put together for that time every year. um and trying to minimize the the amount of you know uh not minimize but but make sure that we're having those personal conversations with impacted staff. >> Okay. >> So >> sorry. And so to your point is this happening today meaning we are getting teachers feedback or you think as a part of shift left we will start getting that teacher feedback earlier so we are all synced. >> So tell me so I'm a believer in gathering feedback. >> Okay. when you intend to utilize it, right? And so if you can help clarify what type of feedback you're inquiring about. >> Yeah. >> And the reason why I ask is because if you ask a teacher, right, Dave, former teacher, hey, should we lower class size? Yes. Right. That's that's going to be the response you get. So I don't really need to to ask a lot about, hey, should we lower class size? Um I do think the regular engagements in PLC's um with staff etc happening from now through the staffing season. I get that information from our principles. I I see that regularly in our staffing conversations and and so that's happening I think at the the street level the ground level that collection of data. Um, I also wonder what type of feedback specifically you think. >> Yeah. And I think the the concern, at least what I heard or how I interpreted was when the feedback is gathered, it doesn't go all the way to individual rooms if you will or teachers. So by the time the decisions are made, decisions are made, hiring decisions are made. So it's already late. So when the school year starts, you're pretty much stuck with whatever is the approved budget, approved staffing. So you don't have a way to provide your feedback ahead. Now there are several things, right? Again, as >> as Sheila mentioned, the budget has been approved all of a sudden now, hey, we have to increase the budget. >> We have to go through the process, right? So it's not an open checkbook. >> Yeah. But at the same time I think the concern moreover was we don't get opportunity to share our feedback >> and that's where again I didn't know to what level we go and gather that feedback and like I said we can't make everyone happy it can't be the case all the time >> but do we even have a way like do we do surveys with teachers and that goes to principal or principal talks to whoever the the PLC leadership or teachers and then they understand are these levels look good. Are we slightly off or are we totally off? >> Yeah. So, once we have that staffing, we do have a plan where our our principles go in and talk about the different section, the different staffing. Again, it's different for what level you're looking at, but that all has to be timed in a certain way that we're being respectful of of other individuals that need to be communicated with. So, it's it's a yes and and I'll also say that this is why we hire great principles in our district, right? This is their job to to to really handle staffing their buildings well and understanding how to collect that information and how to make those hard decisions and okay, do I support this or this? Um, that really is, uh, again, when I was a principal in the district, I knew that was one of my most important jobs was staffing the building for the upcoming school year. >> Okay. >> Um, so one last question or you have one. >> Oh, sorry, just one. So, uh, again going back to Sheila's comment on the budget, right? So, let's say we approve the budget, you look at the staffing and as you receive feedback, let's say you need 10 more teachers. So there is a need for increased budget. >> Mhm. >> Will that come back to the board um saying like hey this is the right thing to do increase the budget or we just going to go with whatever the last approved budget is and then try and stick to that budget. How how would that work? >> Yeah. So this is a question I might ask Trevor to comment on. I will say that the board approves a budget that reflects what we anticipate our staffing costs to be. There are times where through a hiring season, we might be hiring if we get out early and we advertise our jobs well and we're able to make some some solid hires, we could be positioned in a pos in a spot where, you know, maybe we're hiring under the average that we thought. And so we might be able to go out and and get a few more positions without having to change the budget that the board approved, right? Um so it's it's maybe um maybe we'd have to come back with a revised budget that's that's higher on the staffing piece. The alternate could be true, too, right? So, if for whatever reason the positions that were vacated that year happen to be positions that are really hard to staff at a at a low level, um we might have, you know, positions in special education where individuals are coming in with more experience and and uh smaller pools and all that type of stuff. And so, I would say that that it it could be that we, you know, have a a revised bud budget situation where we have a staffing need. Um, but it also could be that that >> sure >> we're able to find ways because of of uh, you know, efficiencies and how we've been staffing up to this point to be able to get more positions under that level. Does that sound right, Trevor? >> Yeah, that's about it. And and it also depends too on the timing of it cuz you know, if we have to have an approved budget by June, um, and I think we all know that there's going to be a lot of changes from the June budget. School hasn't even started yet. We haven't even hired staff. So, um, all of those things are true. Um, and then typically when we do the revised budget in the middle of the year, you know, that might be March, Aprilish or whatever. So, um, and depending on all of those changes, um, we'd make it very clear upon the presentation to the board as to here is the revised budget, here are some of the things that differ from the preliminary budget and lay that out pretty clearly. Um if it doesn't if it doesn't allow us to get something into revised budget then maybe that's something that gets um communicated during a audit review. It's like hey you know >> expend or salaries and benefits were a little bit higher due from budget due to this. So um it gets communed one in one way or the other. No, thank you. And that's what I wanted to confirm because again if there is truly a need to have that impact on educational outcome and there is a need for additional budget, let's have conversation even if the budget is approved. So perfect. Thank you. >> First of all, thank you for the presentation. That was very informative. Um, and I I just want to lift up that there there are these new processes that you're putting in place, the enhancement request process and the budget management process and the support for school, you know, leaders. What I hear when I when I see that is that these are new and increased pathways for communication. Y >> for feedback for and ways for the district to hear what's going on um at at building levels. And so I really appreciate these increased pathways. >> Um when we talk and this might help pars your questions too when we're talking about peaks and valleys, right? So >> y >> we're going to have some staffing and there might be some class sizes that are bigger than others within a grade, right? >> Um teachers as a team come together when that happens and when so like if you have a staffing model of like three classrooms, right? and they're deciding which which students go into which class and how to those conversations are happening alongside the principal, right? As principles and teachers are deciding who's in a class because sometimes you could have a class that's 30 students and it's humming along and they are great together and everything is simple and you could have another class that's 21 students that is not as easy to manage. And so I just want to talk a little bit about what that looks like when it's when everything is staffed. >> We're about to start school, everybody's getting their, you know, I know which class my kid is in. What does that look like? >> Yeah. So I can broadly talk about that. I don't know if if Dana has some stuff to add to that one. I just looked over it, but um again, that can can vary slightly from building to building. from the district level. I I you know don't get as involved in those conversations, but I know from my role as a principal absolutely um having those conversations. Again, I talk about teams. Uh when you're at the elementary level, your grade level teams, having some of those discussions, um making sure you understand that like you said, a student's not a student's not a student, right? So various needs can change the the dynamics of a classroom significantly. Um, that's also something that as a district we want to we want to pay attention to at the larger level too and and really start looking at, okay, you know, patterns of student need and how are we meeting those needs with our staffing allocations, etc. Um, is there anything else to add to that, Dana? >> I don't know. You're starting to get it. Just, you know, you're trainable. No. >> Um, I think one thing that we're working really hard on is we know a basic math, right? We know from an HR standpoint that we have staffing ratios and we apply that. But then one thing that we're really working on is that's an equalizing staffing and then to look at equitable staffing as well. So once we have that staffing ratio in place um when Dave speaks of these four hotspots or additional spaces we're going to look at student need for that point because a kid is not a kid is not a kid and maybe our building data is showing certain things in certain grades and we want to be responsive to that. I also think pars to your question as well that gets to that is we have staffing ratios and so if it's 23 to1 and there are four sections if only they came in you know what is that 82 92 whatever that would be I don't remember what numbers I said but um they just don't come in that nice packages so an individual teacher may have a classroom that's above that 23 because that's not the ratios they showed up in right and then to your point we could have a class of of 21 but it has a lot higher or it has students that have more needs and so we want to staff it appropriately. So that's something that we've been working really closely together and listening to our principles and we'll be working on how to best do that. >> Thanks for that explanation. One last thing I just want to say thank you for your commitment to lowering class sizes. We did it this year and it and it was a happy accident and it worked. Um and so and so it's good to see that we were able to make good on that. Thank you. I just need clarification about four FTE. Does it mean for all nine elementary school buildings? >> Four overall >> four hotspots. >> Yeah, four total that that those hotspots did uh I look at with our uh principles across our entire uh nine buildings. So >> we have four currently that we use. And so we're looking at in again to to what uh Dana had spoken about to help us with being able to stay uh you know flexible where we see needs or or you know see projections that we think midyear they're going to be really higher than they are now. Those hotspots help us deploy some extra staff into different areas. >> Okay. Thank you for >> Yes. >> Okay. I have a couple of I had a couple of questions. One of them you answered between you and Trevor. You did. I was going to ask you a question about the the elementary f you know classroom size minus one and then you saw the happy happy coincidence this year and therefore you did not you decided not to add staff right other than the four hotspots. And so my question was going to be what if we don't have a happy coincidence and we actually go up in class size then we have a revised budget then we hire more teachers correct. >> Oh so if our uh enrollment exceeds our projections yes then we would respond with adding teachers. Okay. Um, and so we try to get as close as possible because we know that, you know, early in the season or when, you know, many teachers are available, but I know for a fact we will be hiring right up to and through the start of the school year. So if we do have late additions or something's, you know, more kindergarteners came than we anticipated in certain spots, we're we're always hiring. >> Second question was about the new process. This is a new model kind of, right? So do you expect this to help not just efficiency but also help you help you do your staffing plan earlier than we have always done >> is that >> yeah this is this is really helpful again it helps getting engaged in the numbers earlier and then staying in them and and monitoring them until you know we have to kind of in that spring break is when we have to hit go um and just kind of live with what we have and adjust it a little bit from there, but we try to get as close as we can by that date. Um, and I think again just the the con the regular dialogue and conversation with our building and department leaders is really healthy. Um, and so it's it like I said in in the presentation, it's already we've already figured out some refinements. Um, and I'm excited to hear again from those enhancement requests as well. what are some of those ideas that are out there um that can that can you know move the needle with with students moving forward. Um so yeah, it's been a healthy process and one that I think our principles have had a good experience with, we've had a good experience with. So I assume it will continue. >> Okay. >> All right. Oh, you have a question? >> One more question I forgot to ask. with uh Minnesota uh using FML uh yes uh implementing paid leave. What do you anticipate? To be honest, we started experience it at charter school, the heavy lifting schools have to do it because some staff um decided to take advantage but then school has to find another staff and which means you're spending twice more. What is your anticipation how it will affect? >> Yeah. Um our department's busy so human resources has been busy um with with uh implementing that new policy. uh from the state. Um yeah, it will likely increase our costs uh for uh substitutes. Um because again, we have to have teachers in front of students. Um it's really early to be able to tell how much of an increase it will be. Um but it will be an increase. So, yep, we're seeing we're seeing it increasing. >> All right. Thank you, Dave. Appreciate that. No other question, right? Okay. Thanks a lot. >> Okay. Um, next item on the agenda is the teaching and learning reports and executive director of teaching and learning, Dana Miller, will talk about technology. Oh, and B Phillips as well. Technology use in our schools. Good evening, members of the board. Superintendent Anderson, um WDE Phillips, director of technology, and I are here tonight um in work that we've been doing the last couple of years um in response to questions around technology use and some changes in our curriculum and learning and really kind of the postcoid or post-pandemic realities that hopefully we're now well into. timing seems to be appropriate as well as you are well aware that we've had some parent feedback on this piece which we appreciate greatly and we've had the opportunity to connect with some of those parents and um so after presenting to the committee teaching learning committee of the board um it was suggested that we come to the full board with a presentation and an update so that you are armed with more response around this area so with that I'm going to turn it over to team Wade here and the two of us will tackle this together. >> All right. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Anderson, and thank you, Dana, for uh that handoff. So, yeah, so we're really here today to um be responsive, I think, to the feedback that we've heard u both from the committee as a whole and then from the school board. Um this is not a new conversation. I think balancing technology in schools has kind of always been around, but we're really hearing and feeling a little bit more of of these um concerns come up. So, we're here to share a little bit of information about that. It's always a a good idea in situations like this to um kind of level set back to our our mission, our vision, our values, and and really our commitment to excellence for each and every here in the district. And we really want to ensure that each student has um just an exceptional educational experience as they go through Wisetta and as they graduate that they graduate prepared for their future. So think uh thinking just kind of big picture um and and kind of the headline here as again that we're getting some of the feedback in around balancing technology uh in our schools. Um ultimately what we want to share is is that we hear those concerns. We hear the concerns and we're taking those seriously. Uh and we do recognize that there's a need for us to really uh look at reccalibrating our our experience here. And that re that recalibration has probably always happened. Uh if you kind of look back through uh when technology was first introduced into schools and then where we were through COVID and where we are today, it's just kind of continuous improvement cycle of of trying to make sure that it's the right balance of use. And ultimately, we believe that technology should enhance the student experience here in Weisetta and and not dominate it. And we believe um that we need to stay mission focused. So what you'll see is a lot of the things that we speak to is is us coming back to um this this idea of delivering highquality instruction um and high quality daily experiences for our students and really driving academic excellence through that human um that human part. But the technology part is really here to be in service to that overall mission. It's not technology just for technology sake. Um and again we're here to really understand and validate some of those concerns. So, we're hearing some of that feedback. Uh, we're talking to our community. Again, we just came from a a committee of the board meeting around teaching and learning, how this all impacts our organization. And our work now is really uh towards developing a framework um kind of this balanced guard rail framework as we go forward uh for the upcoming school year to really um think about how do we ensure the purposeful and balanceful and balanced use of technology in our schools. So as we take a look at that, we we are starting to dig into what would be our areas of focus to kind of recalibrate or to recalibrate um as I was saying to get back on track maybe as we had veered off necessarily in response to the pandemic. So our four areas of focus will really be to look at that um what we're calling passive versus active use. So technology is here. It is not a bad thing. students using technology is not inherently bad but what is the purpose of its use and so it should not be simply technology as as waited said for technology sake or just replacing something I could do elsewhere it's really to deepen our learning problem solving decision making research um so to extend learning so we want to get back to look at that um area of passive and active listening um second area would be around comprehension barriers um we've recently had um uh a book or a piece of information shared with us and they referred to this as the screening inferiority effect meaning that oftent times the research is pretty clear that some things that are on our screen versus on paper we do better with it when it's on paper especially if we think about dense reading um that that that appears better to us if we can have that um on paper and we see uh data is showing us that we lower our comprehension rates around that um we tend to want to scan materials more quickly during that or multitasking interruptions when it's right there on a screen rather than on paper. And if you think about your own experience with reading on a screen versus in paper, you probably have experienced the screen inferiority effect. Um, a third area of recalibration would be at our middle level. we're having conversations and again this is largely I think based on parent feedback and and from our middle school teachers and uh principles that that transition to fifth to sixth grade is a large jump for us and that we need to rethink how we move in that transition. So that's something we'll be working with the middle level on for this next year. And then another area of recalibration is what we're referring to is the attention gap or that screen time. So, similar to screen inferiority, um a continuous partial attention is there's a lot of research that would show that when I'm on a screen and there are multiple things going on, it's beyond multitasking, right? Like I get a high stress if I'm and if you think about yourself at working, if I'm working on something and I hear my email ding, I have a tendency to want to go here and a tendency to want to go here. And our students have even a harder time um managing that. And so when we can put that on paper and really refocus um or put it someplace else rather than on a screen, we can get that um piece of focus more deeply. So those are the four areas we want to be looked at. As Wade referred to, we really want to look at balance guard rails. So again, it's not an all or nothing, but it's how do we use technology in a way to enhance our learning. So again through balance we'd be looking at where can we replace our handwriting or paper um textbooks um to enhance that memory piece. Again device free zones as well. So one of the things we've talked about um especially at the elementary level and at the middle level is making sure that we have time that that our iPads or our technology is not used in gaps. So if we have a transition in learning from from activities in the middle level for example that we just aren't automatically filling that with with screen time. We also are continuing to do professional development with our teachers um on getting back to ways to choose low tech options or no tech options. um as we had shared at the teaching learning committee of the board um especially K5 and also 68 most of our curriculums are not technology based and in fact K5 we have no curriculum that is technologybased so part of our learning work has been to try to ascertain from our principles and folks where where are we using all this technology that we're hearing of at the elementary level and where have things creeped in. So, we want to be able to work with our teachers to find alternatives to the need they're solving potentially with um technology and then also making sure that we just continue to have that balanced use in the classroom. >> So, looking at it from a digital ecosystem point of view, that's very much the instructional part. And then there's like what are the tools, what is the ecosystem and what do we have out there from a device point of view. We're also looking at that as an area of improvement. So again, um, for our youngest learners down at the elementary kind of prek to K2, a lot of these things are going to be kind of maintaining the same thing that we're already doing, but again, having an attention on it. So maintaining low device ratios, um, having shared devices, very purposeful or infrequent use at that area will continue to be one of our focal points. Um, and as as we look at elementary as they kind of age up into third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, again, just having a very uh defined uh use case for the for the technology or the device in the room and not just go digital by default. And that sometimes seems to be what happens. So, make sure that it's aligned to curriculum, make sure that we have um a clear understanding about we're using it for and then that we have some uh clear screen time um expectations at both those levels. thinking about the uh sixth grade pivot and that middle school area. That's again one of those areas that we're looking at at to improve as we go forward. We've heard that the technology use really does ramp up in this area. As as you can imagine and probably know as you go through a middle school um that the schedule's a little bit different. You may have multiple teachers throughout the day who are not all on uh the same page with what is the device being used for in that in that whole experience. and we want to make sure that we balance that out and make sure that we're all talking about that and really thinking about how does our our fifth to sixth grade transition look. Uh we currently do go from our fifth grade to sixth grade and go home and maybe look at maybe something different for that and and try to delay that a little bit. We'll continue to go through our applications and do an audit, make sure that we're really clear on what are the uh what are the uh apps that we have out there. Is there anything that should be removed? And this is something that we currently do, but just kind of continue that process and if we identify things, remove those from the system. And then uh we've heard some feedback just around platform standardization. So especially again in that middle school area, the use of Canvas and grading and providing like really good academic clarity for where's my my child today, how are they doing, and just helping our our parents through that process again, especially in that middle school area. So yeah, next steps. Um and this is really what we're trying to build from this balance uh guardrail framework is is trying to have a understanding about what we do and when we do it. So this is going to be a high level of the what maybe not all the hows. Um it's really about engagement and implementation. So we're we're kind of phasing this first part and again this is a little bit of like first draft second draft thinking for us begin because again we're just hearing u more details about the feedback. we're getting some really good resources about what are the things that others are doing around us and trying to work those into um clear next steps. So, this is current reality and looking into the fall of 2026. Um first and foremost is continuing to get feedback. So, we don't want to over correct uh overcorrect or underrespond to any of the feedback we're getting. So, going out holding some engagement sessions, connecting with um other community groups, uh possibly following Dr. Anderson as we go through our presentations with the the levy and the referendum and just making sure that we're making really good connection points with our broader community. Also looking to build some survey feedback options. So um talking with our educators and our parents and guardians from a technical or or survey point of view and get that information into how we adjust. uh parent uh parent education would be an area that I think we've heard a little bit about as well just to help them understand what they can do um at home for setting device limits and and monitoring and managing the schoolisssued device. So that will be a next step for us here before we enter into the fall of 2026. And again just really looking at our our tech inventory. So what is our equipment again? What are our applications? Um what are the services that we're offering? Does any of those things need to be phased out over the process? and and and remove them from the system. >> And then as as WDE was saying, we're Whoops. As Wade was saying, we um are just kind of thinking these things through. So, this will lack some some specific details, but we know we've been here to talk about the fact that we have adopted the 5D plus rubric um through cell for our teacher evaluation. And there's specific areas in that that refer to um teaching pedagogy, specifically to the use of technology. So, um we're working in teaching and learning to continue to build out some of those, um skills and training so we can offer that professional development to our teachers. Um working to collaborate with um everybody on are there some non-technology digital free supplemental resources that you need because again we're finding that um oftent times some of the tech being introduced to students are things that are being used as supplements and not necessarily part of the specific curriculum. And so there's obviously a need there, but what is another way that we could fill that need that doesn't involve a screen? Um, and that re gets at that balanced teaching methods as well. So again, there's a use for technology, but how do we balance that within the classroom and especially at the um younger grades. We also want to iterate that it's not just the use of our iPads, but it's really screen time. So we want to be looking in the classroom at how much time are we spending in front of the smartboards. um not you know and how do we raise up our teaching strategy so we're not as dependent on that board piece there and then also we have began begun to implement a digital citizenship class with the our curriculum with the help of the tech associates and we will continue to do that. Um, interestingly enough, I think some of our struggle at the middle level is directly related to the discontinuation of cell phones. Um, and talking to middle school principles, it is amazing how creative. So, again, if we think about problem solving, our middle schoolers are deeply illustrating what it looks like to problem solve. That if I can't text my friends, I will email them. Oh, you shut down email, then I will create a Google doc. you take away the Google Docs, they're now doing it in photos. So, um, in my day, we folded up little paper footballs and flung our notes at people, right? And so, um, giving away my age, but they will find a way in middle level to communicate with each other because that's their nature of their being. And so, we do have to figure out a way maybe rather than a and a prohibition on how are we giving students enough time to interact with each other as part of our classroom experiences. So there's not quite as big of a a need, but they are finding a lot of workarounds for us. And so we'll continue to work on that through our digital citizenship and then also really that engagement um and implementation. So we've talked about the 5D plus um we want to look at other resources um balance those teaching methods and um really talk about that. And then lastly, how will we implement this? Um we are looking at our printed textbooks. However, we shared with the teaching and learning committee of the board. There's a real shift there um out in the curriculum world. So, there was a day not that far long ago where you bought textbooks and then you might get a supplemental digital. That's not how it works anymore. You buy digital subscriptions and they might throw a textbook in. It's not an automatic. And so, our our textbooks are um largely digital. Um so, we have to figure that into the equation. And again, the pendulum swings. parents were really happy when we went to digital textbooks because of the backachches and chiropractor bills they were getting from backpacks that weighed 300 lb with all of our books in it. So trying to find that balance. Um again wanting to make sure that the technology we are using is approved and so we need to partner with our building principles and our PTAs and all those who help support our schools but to make sure that we're really thinking about ways to support that doesn't involve technology. Wade has talked about balanced guard rails. So, we just want to renorm all of this. And again, it's a reset um we believe from the pandemic time. Uh looking at screen time guidelines across B um grade bands. There are some recommendations from the state. Um again, not just all iPads. We're working on that 5D alignment. Um we are talking about again getting a little bit stricter. We kind of eb and flow with this, but um technology and teaching and learning look work really closely together when a a request comes for new technology to make sure it comes in both of our doors, but to make sure that the other one is in um collaboration and alignment with that so that we know that it's happening and that it's approved technology. um and that has a way to creep away from us and so we want to pull that back in and then we'll continue to um monitor and refine what we're deploying and what we're using. >> Okay, that was like a three-phase plan and again this is being built um with the feedback from the community. A big part of uh some of the work that we're going to have to do is go back building leaders, work with our teachers, work with uh just a broader part of the community to continue to refine that plan to make sure that there's really some um good next steps for that. I thought it's also important um and I know Dr. Anderson brought this up earlier, we're not here necessarily talking about this because of the tech levy on the ballot, but the tech levy is also on the ballot. So, we're here talking about this and we really do again know that this is an important conversation to have uh with regards to balancing the use. Um but I also want to speak a little bit and this will be a little bit repetitive about what the technology levy goes to. Uh so again that we're all on the same um page here. So again as a reminder um question number one renewal of the uh the technology levy um is about $6.5 million per year. that is about 53% or so of the actual total technology uh uh budget for the entire district. So what that goes to provide again this is a just a little bit of reminder from earlier this evening uh it goes to help our uh keep our schools safe um through secure building access through through cyber security and other physical security protections and helps us to deliver reliable emergency communications if needed. It also goes to help us support uh learning every day with dependable uh dependable devices um software that we spoke to already a little bit and things like our internet access throughout the district and technical support. So our people who are helping other people within the district. Um it goes to maintaining updated uh technology uh through planned replacement cycles and we really want to have those planned replacement cycles. We don't want devices that are going five, six, seven years out and we're not able to update them, manage them, control them um or frankly use them. So just having a a a good plan replacement cycle for our students and that would be those iPads that we spoke about and also our classroom technology where some of those um cycles are around um you know 7 to 10 years or staff technology replacement cycles is already also a part of this. And finally ultimately just trying to prepare our students for the future by building um digital skills and analog skills frankly that they need to be successful in learning in work and in life. Um just again high level uh we're committed to you know operational excellence from a technology point of view and providing high tech um infrastructure throughout the district and that's what the tech levy goes to help us do and we're also here to support that balanced use of technology in the classroom and with our student use. Uh again to get that give you that perspective of the budget. So the the levy uh for 2026 is out uh up for renewal here in April. plus about 50 uh 53% of the total operating budget in the district for all technology and about 10% of that um just so you kind of know where that lands does go to support the student iPad replacement cycle. So that's 10% of the budget as a whole and that goes um for a fourth grade cycle, a seventh grade cycle, and a 10th grade cycle. And that helps us stay within a three-year period or so depending on the year. So we're not outdated with any of the technology at that level. The rest of it kind of goes to that digital nervous system. It's that invisible and maybe visible uh technology pieces that we have throughout the district that just keeps our school district running on any given day. And again, just kind of that key message u for the board and for the community listening that renewing the tech levy helps us to maintain safety and security. big picture from a cyber and physical point of view, our our total technology infrastructure in the district and also these new instructional practices that we know that are important to help us balance the use of technology through our school. Ultimately, again, we're we're committed to balance use of technology and you heard Dr. Anderson speak to this and he'll he'll do that another 47 times or so and we'll be following him as well. But that really means that we're prioritizing instructional purpose again over screen time. And that's the work that we're going to be doing as we're going forward in partnership with our schools, with our teachers, with our leadership in the community. And we support developmentally appropriate use. So especially for that younger uh learner, really making sure that we have good ideas about what is that screen time, what is the balance, and how do we implement that throughout the system. And then really ensuring that students have um a good experience of balance of digital and non-digital learning throughout the day. This was shared already before, but again, if you need more information about the the tech levy and or the referendum, here's some great materials by our communication team for you all to check out. And again, just kind of wrapping everything up and really appreciate the time today just to talk about our commitment to excellence for each and every um and really these um you know, thinking about implementing these balanced guard rails throughout the system that we want to ensure that technology um serves a purposeful uh as a purposeful learning tool and that aligns with like these developmental milestones for our our learners and it honors the feedback of our community as we go forward. >> Thank you for your time. >> Yes, >> thank you. and we we'll open it up for questions. >> Thank you Dana. Thank you Dave. Uh you know when you said uh kids are very smart you know take the cell phone away they start sending emails and then they do this and do that. First thought that came to my mind was this is like anti virus developers. They have to be one step ahead of those who develop the malware the viruses right and if you are not then they will go ahead and make your life miserable. But but thank you for sharing that. Uh any comments, any questions? >> Yeah, Alicia, >> just really want to say thank you. I mean, it's kind of wild that just two weeks ago, we heard from, you know, the community and I know I've personally been able to speak to you guys a handful of times and actually when I was reviewing this before the meeting, one of my kiddos walked in and thought I was like looking at a funny meme and came over to like cuz I was smiling so big. So, I'm happy to see this looks like a really thoughtful plan. Um, especially I know that limited thoughtful use in the K5 and you know I think especially the sixth grade adjustment. Um, that's what I've been hearing most in the community about and I had to laugh. My sophomore just came home with a textbook today and was like, "Oh my gosh, this is so big." And I had to kind of say, "We used to do seven of those at a time." So, um, it was kind of exciting to see a textbook in the house for the first time in a minute. Um, but yeah, I do want to just highlight I really like the idea of, you know, we're going to be getting all this collaboration, making sure we're not making any pendulum swing decisions before next year. But yeah, that idea of trying to come up with any assistance that we can give to families yet this school year about some of the monitoring or the limits that could be set at home or, you know, just kind of a really easy um just something for parents to feel like they can get their arms around it. I mean, I think some families probably aren't as impacted, but for those of us that are, it is just helpful to kind of feel like we've got you guys who are the specialists letting us know what we can do at home. So, thank you very much. This is a really helpful presentation. >> Thank you. >> Um, since this is really critical and it literally one concern that is coming from every parent like we hear it at hockey ring, lacrosse practice, everywhere. Um, and again, I know we are still in the planning. Is there any way we can get help from Amy and then you all can start publishing you know either the data points improvements those type of things I think that will go a long way because I I'm positive we will get more and more emails and concerns but if we were to proactively get it out and again Wade as you mentioned when you look at parent teacher surveys right what did we find from surveys how are we taking actions I think some kind of communication will help um so everyone can be appraised of you know what's going on. So again something to think about otherwise I'm positive we're going to hear a lot. So >> I'll I'll start then and hand it off to you. That's a really good question and we had we had a similar conversation internally today just on how to get it out internally. So again what we're also trying to be mindful of our our teachers do a fantastic job and and we've been in a lot of different recalibration points with the use of technology and education. We want to make sure that they also understand what are these changes going to be, how is it going to impact them, what do they need to prep for as we're thinking about like PD for the summer and for next year. And we want to be able to be responsive to you and the community and be able to move things all at the same time. So, I think we yeah, we need a a thoughtful communication process just about we hear you. That's kind of number one. We're trying to build a framework that that really respects and honors what's being said and here's what we're thinking and getting feedback on it. So I think yes and well if you have something to add to that. >> No I think you did a great job on that that answer. Um I think just um we're wanting to be very intentional so we're not overwhelming anybody and being responsive at the same time. And so um yeah really thoughtful engagement. This we're starting in teaching learning just trying to get um with our teaching coordinators is just a list on what is all the technology that we're seeing in classrooms. Is it technology we've approved? Like really doing that audit right now and then that audit will help inform our next moves. Um so I think there are some things we can do more quickly as far as learning is concerned >> but um other things will take a little bit longer for us to accomplish. Our bottom line is we really want our parent community to to hear >> um that we recognize our principles recognize um we've heard it from teachers. So everybody is aware and we are going to be working to um put that balance back in. >> You did see as part of Dr. Anderson's presentation and ours, we have worked a little bit of that communication process into I think the technology levy piece. Again, I know that's what's driving some of the conversation, but we also want to continue this conversation beyond that levy. So I think that's where it'll be helpful for us to begin to build out that communication plan. >> Yeah. And I'm sure you'll also explore PTA PTO routes to give them updates. But yeah, the and need not be every week or every other week, right? Again, it's it's a big topic. It's a process, but as long as we keep everyone updated, I mean, they'll also hear and they'll feel good that there are changes being made. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Yeah. And we will be following up with uh layers on committee, I think, upcoming here in February, and then we'll be following PTO. So, I think that might help a little bit with getting the feedback, building a plan, having, you know, real face to face conversations before we just go broad with, hey, this is what we're going to do. >> Makes sense. Thank you. >> I have a quick question. So, this might be nitty-gritty. So, excuse me if it's too nitty-gritty, but I as you were talking about textbooks versus digital copies. So, I used to teach and and all of my textbooks were digital except for the books that I specifically found that were not digital. And so, I'm wondering is there are you hearing because we can't be the only district who's kind of going through this process of okay, we need to recalibrate and all that. You know, I think this is this is a widespread thing across middle school especially. Are you hearing or seeing from textbook writers or publishers that they are making that pathway back or are there different ways? I mean it there's there are other ways that you can do textbooks, right? And so I'm just curious, is there some other pathway that's opening up? I died. >> Speaking of technology. >> Speaking of technology. So, do you want to start that one? >> Yeah. Um, good question. Um, it is a balance because the one thing about buying textbooks, for example, we've been involved in our social studies review and that textbook is what we call dead on arrival, right? And so you buy a textbook and in social studies and a year later it's not re I mean it's not and so you're supplementing all the time. So the nice thing about our digital subscriptions is all of our publishers update that each year. So it it's more current. Um so there's there's a a give and take with this. I would say right now just meeting with the math team today and looking at our middle school specifically curriculum I think we're seeing um in more um desire to add some more supplemental material that is paper um that comes with a cost right because they're um um what is the word I'm looking for not disposable but there we have to replenish that each year right and so um it'll >> consumables >> what was that word >> consumables thank you every now and and then he comes through for me. But >> um yeah, so that is increasing where we're seeing more of those. We are in our in our English language arts, you know, having been an English teacher, that textbook was never super helpful uh because it's very um it's much you want the novels and so forth. So those we're still doing by paper. We're also reminded by special education and some of our needs that we do have students that need the technology to engage in the learning. So, it is when we talk about balanced, it really is balanced. I think you're still going to continue to see um our textbook companies do this digitally. And I really think that makes our curriculum more u mobile and agile to use Chase's word. And we have ways that we can supplement um with paper pencil. We can do our responses in that. We don't have to submit everything. So, I don't know that the engagement in the textbook so much because we don't teach from that is is where our biggest rub is, if that makes sense. >> Thank you. >> I'm trying to think if I can add anything to I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. I I think thinking back to the previous presentation, I think balance here is going to be an art. I mean, I don't I don't think there's going to be a science necessarily to this. And I mean, we live in a digital world and there are digital products and we're a product of that. So, I think we're really going to have to be thoughtful about what that actually means. >> Well, thank you for the outstanding presentation. I think this really responds well to a pronounced need we're hearing um from the community. Um I did have one question um which was I know like for me personally as I'm um going through a master's program, there's the digital option I can opt into through Senko courseworks and I can also get the textbook via paper. Are there some opt-in options or, you know, chances students have to get the paper versus the digital? >> Yeah, it depends on the curriculum, but some of our um our publishers do offer like again looking at at math, we tend to buy classroom sets. So, there's a textbook in the classroom and then students are taking home the digital with them. And so, we definitely have students that um for whatever the need is need that um bound textbook and we can supply it for those. We're just not buying a one one of the textbook. >> Excellent. Thank you. >> Just followup question. Um would parents would will they have ability to print it or it has to be through school only? >> Yeah, it's a really good question. I was thinking about printing as maybe a next possible question. And to be frank, we we have a lot of different ways to print out material in the in the district and that has not really gone down. And I think even through co postco in digital printing is usually an option. It's a it's a little bit harder with a textbook because a textbook material isn't always printable. So that that's where I think we get into are there materials we can get out of there? Are there other things that we can do that supplement that there are copyright considerations >> textbooks involved. So we have to be a little bit careful and we provide a lot of opportunities to print out to write to do paper and do uh via analog as well. But we it's not up to parents right meaning they have to get permission from school it's not like there is a there is a digital version but if I want my kid to use handwritten textbook or can I just print it and on at my own cost and give it to my kid it >> I don't know that you would print the whole textbook per se but you might like some of our textbook have then when it's on the digital downloadables so it will say you can download this section and then if that's what you want to do you could certainly download it >> download Okay, fine. >> Yeah, that'd usually be like in a PDF format that you could perhaps print from there. >> Uh I I was excited to see uh that enough parents and uh educators are coming and talking about it because as a parent, I'll be honest, I had been begging for years uh because uh digital version might work for some students, for some it might be musthave. I have to admit it. But uh for some it is distraction and it um as I already talked to teaching and learning it becomes a almost like parents have constantly supervise uh kid versus if you have a paper you have nothing else to do. You have to produce something on paper. And um to be honest after uh reading anxious generation and then uh listening to um for it's I would say podcast it's called the most compelling argument against tech in schools by Sophi Winkkelman. Uh what was interesting what she was saying that um many especially Scandinavian u uh first of all Australia is the first one uh which ban using uh social media uh till age 16 because they saw how detrimental it is to um mental health of of students and then also Scandinavian countries is um uh Denmark and Sweden. uh the first ones uh which I also saw that uh um technology it's not u impairing uh rather than it's not actually enhancing uh learning it's actually impair and they decided to go to move to uh textbooks and pen um because they saw how much um there is a disengagement of students And uh you can go online and uh listen to that. Uh some of them are very short like 5 minute. It's it's explaining and I like how she used uh someone's um educational psychologist uh quote uh saying the question isn't what's the best way to take arsenic but should we be taking the arsenic uh in the first place. uh what is the push in many obviously countries uh this one happened in England is uh we and uh she's recognizing that it is need to be done on adult level uh so um because when we are talking about uh iPads it's not only iPads it's even smartboards it's also it's still screen time and when we are going to pediatrics pediatrics are saying you need to have one-2 hours. But in reality, our students are uh according to her um 7 and 1/2 hours on technology per day uh which is detrimental for their health and for their sleep cycle. And um what I liked also she uh and uh she pointed out about uh what textbooks is doing uh text reading books is um decompressing and absorbing. Uh handwriting is harder uh but uh and requires some friction and struggle but it is a necessary part of learning process. uh she's saying uh well sometimes it's um you don't need to feed uh pureie to uh 10 years old uh because it's not uh good for uh 10 years old. So the same way um handwriting is far better than uh cutting and pasting from iPads. And uh what she's bringing up is that it should be parental re uh revolution and government cooperation asking that we need to employ uh tech as our slave not as a master. Uh number two transparency about how much is being spent on edtech compared to uh being spent on teachers that uh it rather need to be spent on teachers. teachers are the most um who can change the outcomes for a student. Number three, reduce usage uh drastically on cell phones. And number four, empower parents uh with a right to opt out from edtech to paper and pen. So my final question would be uh would we will have an opportunity for families to be able to opt out into paper and pen. Um I just think before I answer that I just want to be careful um in the words we choose in a public setting. And so anytime we're referring to things, I just want to not be using words like slave and master just as part of our learning, we always um we want to model that as teaching and learning to lean into that that work. So I'm going to take this opportunity just to caution us and and lean into that learning and model my my own learning. Um to your question on whether or not we'd be able to opt out, I think um I think again we come up with that balanced in. We do our best with parents if there is something that they really need to meet those needs and we would continue to lean into to a parent that that needs that. >> Okay. So I have I have I have a comment then I'm going to share something and then I'm going to ask a question. So the comment relates to after I got elected on the school board, people used to ask me who do you report to and my my constant answer used to be to the community. And this is a classic example of how the community has come to us in big numbers and we are you know responding to that not just as a school board but as also as a district leadership. So that that's what I wanted to share um or comment on. Then I want to share something that that I think will help people understand that this is not just a Wisetta problem. This is not just a Minnesota problem. It's a worldwide problem. And thanks to Valentina, she I don't she didn't mention the the the podcast that she had shared with me. It's called Chalk and Talk and it featured Dr. Jared Cooney Harwat uh from the University of Melbourne, a cognitive neur neuroscientist, educator, and best-selling author. His new book, Digital Delusion, examines the impact of classroom technology on learning and raises serious questions about whether screens in schools may be harming learning. He's a best-selling author of in the New York Times, BBC, Wired, and I think the PBS with data to back him up. Dr. Harwat explains why more technology often leads to less learning. He also discussed when technology may be helpful. One glaring conclusion he makes is that our children, this is from data, this is his his research and his conclusion is that our children are less cognitively capable than we were at their age. Gen Z, he says a cohort between 1997 and 2012 is less healthy, less happy, and less knowledgeable than previous generations. That is one thing that really struck out to me when I listened to the one and a half hour podcast. So the question I have to you I either Diana or Wade is does MDE have any guidelines on this these things? Uh are we looking at best practices by other school districts or are we going to be the gold standard? >> I'll start because I think the answer is we don't know for sure. So, I I appreciate the reference of the digital delusion book. That's uh I believe that was published here in late December. It's actually a book that I've read. Uh we have it. I think you've read it as well. And you'll actually see through some of the implementation pieces of our framework. Those are things directly taken from the research in the book. And and it's great. It's um I think his phrasing is he's pro-learning, not anti-tech. We really need to find balanced guardrails. So, you're seeing some of the I think themes of of that research and that understanding. um MDE specifically, I haven't seen anything necessarily that's come out that says you should do X Y and Z or here's a framework you should follow. Um I I do agree and I think we see this as well. We know it's not just a YZ issue. Um it's it is global. There are frameworks out there and again we're trying to pull from those to build our plan and I think we want to be a gold standard because we do have um an expectation for excellence here. So we'll we'll continue to work towards that. >> Yeah, I think that's a good answer. MDE does have I'd have to go look it up specifically or in legislation. There is some um recommended age guidelines. I off the top of my head I'm not going to pull those up. Um I think you know to provide clarity we we believe we're well below those because we again it's not in the curriculum. We're not setting though every day in every teacher's classroom. So that's the piece where we really need to ramp up our professional learning to make sure those guard rails in place. Um, I think when Val and Tina referred to 7 and a half hours a day, we don't believe we see that in any of our students here, um, that would not be an acceptable piece. So, um, we too have taken from the book. I didn't know there was a podcast, so that would have saved me some time. But um uh I I passed the book on to Chaseo and we bought about a dozen copies for our two teams as well because I think there's a real balanced approach in that and that's really what we'll be looking for um in that is how does it help ultimately student learning. >> My gut feeling is that this will probably and I'm willing to bet on it too. I bet I'll bet $1 that MDE and the legislature will basically do what they did with the cell phones, right? they'll come out with some kind of guidance and then say that the districts have to decide what they want to do. So any any other comments, questions or not? Thank you so much both of you. Appreciate that. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> All right. Our final agenda item for today is a school board report and Heidi Kedar will update us on the board development process. Heidi. >> Okay. Well, I know that we are well past the end of our meeting, so I will be as speedy as I can. Um, I just want to give an update to board colleagues on where we are on on our board development. So, um, to me, it's and I'm sure for all of us, it's become ever increasingly obvious that um, local government and boards need to work together to develop strong and effective relationships that are respectful. um in our case um to truly be a high functioning board that will help us meet the needs of our students and our school community. So as we work to lead a learning organization, we should also be committed to having a culture of continuous improvement through learning just like we do for our students. Um board development is not new. We have a whole committee that is committed to superintendent evaluation contract and board development. So in 2025 last year, the superintendent evaluation and board development committee discussed training needs based on the findings of a board survey that's a little bit older at this point. Okay. Um we had a huge shift um that needed that we needed to prepare for in hiring a new superintendent. And so 2025 we met our board development training in the superintendent search training that we did with MSBA. Um, now we have some new needs that have crept up that are kind of lingering from past years. And so, um, the the committee is going to be meeting later this week to identify hopefully, um, a a third party who will come in, do a training for us, help us do some board development, bring us together, um, and to make us just more efficient, more effective, and bind us together as a group. So, if you have any questions, any feedback, any input that you would like to give to the committee prior to our meeting on Thursday, I would encourage you to reach out to me, Melind, or Valentina, and I'd be happy to take those. If there's any questions, too, right now, it's a little late, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. >> Yeah, go for it. >> Um, would we would we have our own goals? >> Microphone. Would we have our own goals um for board members as a board or individual board members just like you know we have goals for superintendent every department? Yeah. >> You know so previously we had done a um board self-evaluation um and I would encourage us to do the same thing again and really I think the cadence and we can we'll we can discuss this also as as board development but um I think it's it's definitely worthwhile. something that all the professional organizations recommend. Um and um it would be nice to have it on a cadence along with the superintendent evaluation so that we all of our goals are aligned to kind of trickle down into our system. >> Okay. No, that that would be really helpful because we have our own goals again just like everybody else. It's to track. >> So I think can I can I make make a quick comment? I think yeah I think that will also come during the board development process. So we hire a consultant. What we had seen in the last board development process or board self- evaluation process two two years ago two and a half years ago was that the consultant was able to figure out what our goals were where we were lacking etc. So that will come out of that also. Okay. >> And then obviously we can give feedback you know before that happens. >> Okay. Sounds good. Thank you. any other correct Valentina has >> Alicia has come. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> I've just I mean I jokingly I'm saying I'm bringing new kid energy but after I did the phase three training last week in person um through MSBA and I will say I don't know the level of what has been done in the past. I hear a lot about like goals and you know maybe evaluating one another, but I found the breakout session that we did talking about your personality type, whether you're a natural promoter or a supporter or a controller or an analyzer was actually my favorite part of the entire situation and just helps put into perspective like we all were very confident in what we were and I think when you first see like you know you're a controller you're like who's going to say they're in a controller but they are. I mean, and it's good to learn how to understand that about one another so we can come to each other in maybe a different dynamic than we would want to be approached. It was really helpful to hear different groups say, "If you come to me, I need you to be direct." Or, "If you come to me, I really would prefer an email so I can fix my face before I respond to you." And things like that. So, I would just put a vote in for making sure we're broadly looking at some of that stuff, too. >> I totally agree with that. And Chase or Dave, remind me what the little blocks are called. What the >> insights? >> Yep. Insights is a great one that we um that we've done previously and actually we did it along with the administration and we all kind of came together around that. So, it was a way for all of us to get to know each other as well. And you know, Chase is on his way out. But maybe um but I think it would be worthwhile especially with some new um team members to to do that again. Yeah. Thank you. >> All right. If there are no other questions, I just wanted Oh, I'm sorry. >> Okay. >> Oh, I didn't raise my my hand. Sorry. I just wanted to clarify. I was thinking last time when we met as a committee, the discussion was um obviously last year that we need to at least the arrangement was that we need to have several uh companies uh first of all find out what are they uh good at, how much are they charging, and um I'll be honest, I didn't hear uh any feedback about that. And I totally agree. It looks like we need it. It's just we I want to know I want to get that kind of information and another one is uh what what exactly we are working we will be working on uh what are we looking to accomplish uh with that uh that I would like to know. >> So if you'll recall I had reached out to somebody and and through my conversation with him he determined that this wasn't a good fit and so it has to be a good fit for both us and for the person who's coming in. Um, and in the course of that time things shifted within our district and so we needed to recalibrate and we went with MSBA as somebody who was going to be able to fit our needs for that training for 2025. So um, what we're going to be working towards I think is a better discussion for us to have at the committee table. >> Um, and we can we can discuss more of those details there. But we are going to have information at least from several companies just not from I mean not one person is going to be choosing who is going to be uh providing that training. Am I right? That's what >> there will be a committee decision after >> let yeah let me let me jump in on that. So I believe you have you have seen the email. I'm the chair of this the committee this year. Valentina, Heidi and I am on the committee uh the superintendent evaluation and board development committee and we will have our first meeting on Thursday. So far we have three candidates that Heidi and myself have brought forward. If you have more you can bring those and then we will talk as a committee. We'll try to make you know have a consensus on who to select based on number of factors like you said cost what they can do what kind of references they bring all those things. So as a committee we'll decide and we'll make a recommendation to the board and then the board says yes or no. Okay I think that's that's the way we go and then we will have that uh board development session with that consultant. And one more thing since it is a work session I we can't discuss. I would like to ask uh you I mean each uh of you what about timing? Do you think that it is it is a good timing right now because we are going to have a quite busy uh time soon. >> That's those are the things I think we should talk on Thursday in the committee meeting. Let's let's hold off on that. Let's discuss that's why the committee meets on Thursday and we'll talk about timing, how to select, what the process will be, who we think is the best fit. Okay. >> Okay. Okay. >> Make sense? >> Okay. >> Okay. >> If there are no other questions, this completes our agenda for this evening. It is now 7:02. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education work session for January 26, 2026 is adjourned.