Even though we flew there and back, it still still feels like I'm tired. We didn't drive there this time. We flew. It's still tiring. >> Yeah. It's the same same time zone and everything, right? >> Yeah. Yeah. In spite of that, right? Because probably because it was so quick and we were so busy all day Saturday, all day Sunday. >> Yeah. Good evening. The time is now 7:00. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education regular meeting for Monday, October 13, 2025 will please come to order. Will the clerk please call the role? >> Heidi Kedar >> here. >> Sheila Prior here. Sarah Johansson >> here. >> Paris Bende >> here. >> Valentina Ays >> here. >> Dan Janestra >> here. >> Milan Sahonyi >> present. >> Chase Anderson >> here. Thank you. We have a quum. Let's rise to recite the pledge of allegiance, please. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Well, thank you all for coming today. We honor Indigenous People's Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of native peoples who have lived on the land since time immemorial. All right. So if you wish to speak during the audience opportunity to address the board tonight, please fill out a form placed at the back of the room room and hand over hand it over to our district district administrative assistant Amy sitting to my right there on the way back. The first item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda and the consent agenda items. Consent agenda items are dis are considered routine in nature and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member or a citizen so requests in which event the item will be removed as a consent agenda item and addressed. The consent agenda items are listed in the materials. The recommended action is to approve the agenda and the consent agenda items. Is there a motion? >> So moved. Second moved and seconded. Will the club please call the role? >> Valentina Ays, >> yes. >> Dan Janestra, >> yes. >> Sarah Johansson, >> yes. >> Harris Bend, >> yes. >> Sheila Prior, >> yes. Heidi Kedar, >> yes. >> Milan Sahony, >> yes. Thank you. We have an agenda. The next item on our agenda is reports from organizations. And I would like to invite Rachel Lynn, student council vice president from Visetta High School to please come forward. >> Welcome Rachel. Good evening, Superintendent Anderson, members of the board, and everybody else gathered here tonight. I hope you all are having a great start to your week. My name is Rachel Yin. I am the Weisetta High School student body vice president, and here is October's monthly report. Firstly, here's a brief rundown as to how homecoming went. The Duckathon committee hid 1,000 ducks all over the high school for students to gather and collect for points. For the pepfest, which is our annual pep rally, students filled the bleachers wearing hundreds of lays and glow sticks as seniors Castina Bedric, Henry Park, and the MC of the Timberwolves served as announcement announcers for the event. This year's homecoming game was a bit of a tough one, but the fuzzy spirit and tradition of chanting Sweet Caroline during halftime more than made up for it. The homecoming royal was our very own student body president, Scott Loda. As for the dance, this year we sold, quiet drum roll please, over 1,600 tickets, which is roughly half of our student body. Last Sunday, the National Honor Society and Student Council jointly hosted the Tackle Cancer Flag Football Tournament. More than 180 students and 18 teams participated in the tournament, and we raised over a staggering $5,000 to fight cancer. As for other happenings, our girls cross country team is top 10 in the entire nation. Varsity girls tennis won their first section match. Our marching band is preparing to go to Orlando for their tour. Wise at a theater presents Anything Goes and a visit in November. And the Trojan Tribune has released their first issue of the year, racking up over 1,800 views. Finally, earlier today, hundreds of students at our school took the PISA/NSMQT in which high scores can qualify for national scholarships. In fact, 32 Weisetta students who took the PAT last year qualified as National Merit Semi-finalists or the top 1% of scores in the nation. What's more remarkable is that Weisetta makes up 1 in 10 national merit semi-finalists from Minnesota. A testament to the students and also the quality of our education. Some of the semi-finalists are gathered here today to be to be recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. Thank you. Have a great evening and see you all next month. But before I depart, I'm now open to any questions the board may have. >> Thank you, Rachel. Any questions, comments? Oh, Heidi. Yeah. >> Well, it sounds like a very very busy month and um I know that our students are are busy studying as well. Um I was at the tackle football the tackle cancer football games on um on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and I was really impressed at the organization and just how many opportunities are available to our students to really lead and do things that matter to their community. So, thank you for having me. >> Of course. Yeah, I think that's one of the best attributes of Weisetta's education is just the numerous resources we have here and also the encouragement to really pursue those leadership positions and organize fun things for our high school. >> Okay. All right. Um yeah, some of the board members were at the homecoming what we call the football toss that the school board has. We have a table and we have this big thing with a little hole in the middle where the kids come and toss football through it. And if the kids toss the football through that hole, they get candies, they get stickers and all that. So, it was a lot of fun. And this year, I'm sure you you went there before, but this year in my four years on the school board, I had the pleasure of having Dr. Anderson be there for almost an hour. So, thank you for coming. Yes. Yes, he did. He did. So, thank you for whatever you do and uh you know, hope to see you next next month. >> See you next month. Thank you. All right, the next item on the agenda is recognitions and I will now join Dr. Anderson at the podium this evening. Good evening everybody and welcome to our school board meeting tonight. Um, as Dr. Sony indicated I was part of the football toss and even though I played guard and linebacker in high school. I know it's kind of hard to believe when you look at my stature perhaps, but uh anyway, I can still zing pretty decent spiral when I need to. Um anyway, it's great to see you all here tonight. Thank you so much. Congratulations to our students that are here and we look forward to uh recognizing you this evening. Um I am uh always fortunate at our school board meetings to be the person that convenes the recognitions portion of the school board meetings. And uh with that we will go ahead and get started. So our first recognition for the evening is for our national merit scholarship semi finalists and esteemed teachers. And I'm going to read a little script but uh first uh we'll invite uh Amy to please come forward. Amy Swanson and uh share the following. Weisetta is proud to recognize 32 Weisetta High School students who have been named semi- finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Congratulations to these amazing students for being named among only 16,000 semi- finalists from across the country and among 288 from Minnesota. High school juniors entered the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 preliminary SAT National Merit Scholarship qualifying test, which served as an initial screen of program entrance. The nationwide pool of semi-finalists representing less than 1% of US high school seniors includes the highest scoring entrance in each state. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 national merit scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. Amy Swanson, gifted talent and coordinator at Weisetta High School, will introduce each of the National Merit semi-finalists and share the names of the teachers being recognized by these students. Again, congratulations. And at this time, I'll turn it over to Amy. Thank you. I'm just thrilled to be able to be here and and um give some accolades to the students that will be called up just shortly. When I call your name, if you can come forward and then kind of shake hands and then just stay up in the front, we'll take a picture at the end. Okay. So first up we have Moan Aduri, Rahul Bilicanti, Noah Carpenter, Felix Chung, Sord Justado, Dar James Iris, Jasper Fun, Dylan Kim, Sniggda Catharetti, Sneha Kundu, Daniel Kuan, Angela Leang, Sophie Litwalk, Andreas Lopez, Gonzalez, Oakshath Mahish, Ria Ma, Arachika Mandal, Adichia Nare Chu Park, Kevin Q, Sanjie, Rutnham, Prrenav, Salapaka, Chloe Sergeant, Tavisha Tal, Tanish Timisani, Selena Wang, Warren Wang, Louie Wyak, Lu Yang, Rachel Yin, Yuklam Zang, Erin Zo, If you'll join me in a round of applause for these individuals. [Applause] I'm going to keep them up front here while I read read the um esteemed teachers that they've identified. It's a long-standing tradition at Weisetta High School that our National Merit semi-finalists identify a significant K8 staff member and a significant 912 staff member who have played an important role in their learning. This year's semi-finalist selected the following individuals as their esteemed staff nominees. Each staff member identified will be presented with a lapel pin in recognition as well as the words that these students wrote about them. The K8 esteemed staff for this year include Rachel Anderson, Chip Broofford, Kim Dunford, Shauna Fairchild, Dave Jackson, Clarice Jornby, Charles Kitzer, Danielle Miller, Robert Olsen, Amy Parr Olsen, Sarah Pinsky Czech, Nicole Ringate, Matt Row, Robert Schultz, Michelle Thomas, Tracy Vernon, Rebecca Wilkins, and our 912 esteemed staff members include Lauren Campbell Clet, Mick Cypra, Cody Dbor, Dan Dobson, Alana Ericson, Seth Frink, Abigail Janice, Mark Gitch, Jod Grock, Mark Johnston, Katherine Cockkey, Donald Krypsac, Amanda Leaden, Tony Leland, Alyssa McIntyre, Jeff Pranzinski, and Colleen Reneer. Wisetta is filled with amazing staff as evidenced by a summary of the words and thoughts of our National Merit semi-finalists who had these things to say about why this group of staff members was important to them. She was always there for me emotionally as a confidant and friend doing more than her job description entailed. She was one of my biggest support systems throughout middle school. She was always kind and caring towards her students, working to make them the best versions of themselves. He fostered my love for learning and helped me develop the work ethic I needed for life. Because of him, I am the person I am today. You saw me as an individual, not just another student. You gave me a space to explore on my own, to dive into projects that were tailored just for my strengths, but also my weaknesses, all because you wanted to see me grow. She invests time into getting to know the people in her classes. She records specific information about each of her students just in case they may need a letter of recommendation someday. She sent me the kindest email thanking me for the work I did in her class with specific successes that I'd had. I was so touched by the time she'd taken to notice and recognize me. She's one of the best teachers I've ever had, both because of her teaching expertise and the way she connects with her students. She was my biggest cheerleader in every aspect of my high school journey. Her constant support has helped me grow more than I ever could have imagined. He didn't just teach a class. He taught me to believe in myself, to take risks, and enjoy the journey of learning. Those lessons will stay with me long after high school. And I'll always be grateful for the confidence and sense of belonging he gave me. There were times when I didn't understand why you wanted to challenge me, but I see it now. You were holding a higher standard, and you knew I could reach it. You helped me discover a work ethic and a sense of discipline that I carry with me today in everything I do. When things in class weren't going the best that they could have been, you were always there to help me sort them out. You showed me that a challenge wasn't a sign of failure, but a chance to grow. Even as I write this, I know that no words could fully capture the impact that she's had on me. I just hope she knows how profoundly she has changed not only my life but the lives of so many other students that she's taught over the years. And for that, I could never thank her enough. Congratulations again to this year's National Merit Semi-finalists and their esteemed staff members. You make a difference and your efforts are deeply appreciated. Thank you. [Applause] right there. Just one, two, Again, [Applause] congratulations and and best wishes. Our next recognition this evening is for our employee of the month and I would like to invite Sarah Kleinite to please come forward. Congratulations. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] That's quite a cheering crowd. I have to say I would like to share the following and then I'll turn it over to Sarah to share a few thoughts if she would like to do so. Are you anxiously awaiting that? It is our honor to recognize Sarah Kleinite as Weisetta Public Schools October employee of the month on behalf of the staff at East Middle School. All of whom are here tonight. Sarah is our student services administrative professional, the heart of our student services team. She is organized and dependable, always keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes. But what truly sets her apart is her kindness. The way she welcomes every student with warmth and understanding. The way she gets to know each and every student. When students are seeking support, Sarah listens with compassion to ensure they feel valued, seen, and supported. She works tirelessly to make sure every student gets what they need at school to feel a true sense of belonging and support. from finding their locker combination yet one more time again helping them with activities forms making an appointment with a counselor or providing a listening ear Sarah is consistently there for each student at East in fact students widely refer to the student services office as Miss Kleinite's office or refer to Miss Kleinite as the school mom since she is the welcoming face they see first when entering and they know she will support them in any way she can. She's quick to lend a hand to any teacher, respond to staff and administration needs, and truly do whatever is needed to make East a place where every staff and student feels supported. On a personal note, Sarah brightens our day with thoughtful book recommendations, stories about her own children and soontobe grandchild, always taking a moment out of her busy day to connect. Our school is certainly better because of Sarah. And I'll add one other thing is that once in a while I'll be zipping by the window on the hallway and all of a sudden Sarah will say, "Oh, hey, Chase." And then it's like, "Oh, okay. Better swing in and say hello." So, I've always appreciated. I don't think you've missed once unless you're tending to students or whatever. But anyway, please join me in congratulating Sarah Kleinet as the October employee of the month. Congratulations, [Applause] Thank you. >> Thank you. [Music] again. Congratulations, Sarah. Well done. Keep up the great work. And I'll just kind of start zipping right in there from now on and saying hello. Our final recognition for this evening is it's our tradition at each regular school board meeting to announce the names of those who have indicated their intent to retire since uh the last school board meeting. We have three on the list tonight. Two of which uh I'll share and one of which Miland has requested to share. And the two that I'll mention are Suzanne Schmidz, prayer professional, Central Middle School, 11 years, and Kathy Statima, custodian Northwoods, 21 years. Congratulations to them. >> Thank you, Dr. Anderson. I think he's too humble to honor himself. So, there you go. So, as you might have heard, Superintendent Anderson has announced his uh plan to retire at the end of the school year on June 30th, 2026. This makes uh this marks a special milestone in his service to Weisetta public schools. His leadership has played a key role in making Weisetta one of the top schools school districts in Minnesota and his impact will be felt for years to come. We are deeply grateful for his dedication and vision and are excited to continue working alongside him throughout this school year as we celebrate his many contributions. Thank you and congratulations again Dr. Anderson. [Applause] Well, thank you for that, Dr. Sony and members of the board. Thank you for uh giving me a moment at the mic here, and I'm going to try to keep it uh uh brief and to the point. I should have taken the lead from Sarah and said nothing probably, but uh that didn't stick with me, I guess, for all that long. Anyway, in all sincerity, I won't spend too much time, but I do want to just say thank you, and it's kind of surreal. That's the word that I've been using um because it's been a wonderful 17 years in counting here in Weisetta. I started in July 1 of 2008. Uh my daughter Emily was heading into fourth grade at Kimberly Lane and our son Paul uh was heading into 8th grade at Central Middle School. And they're 31 and 27 now. So they're uh well beyond their time here in the district, but for the first nine years, I really enjoyed being a parent in the district um as well as doing my professional role as well. So it was a a great way for me to get immersed into the uh three levels of schools really within a couple of years. We had experienced all three levels with our two kids and it was really uh great for me to get an upfront and center view of all the great things that happen in the classroom. Um, all of this started 42 years ago in counting way back in the fall of 1983 when I started out as a seventh grade life science teacher and eighth grade earth science teacher, an assistant uh varsity uh football coach uh and assistant track coach in Belleview, Nebraska. And uh with every move, I continued uh blowing a little bit further north, I guess, and landed in this wonderful community of Weisetta and have just really greatly appreciated uh all the wonderful opportunities that my family and I have had here and all the great career opportunities that I've had. And uh I did some quick math this afternoon and I calculated that by the time I wrap up my 18th year, I probably will have been at about 500 schoolboard meetings or more. Uh if I counted all the regular meetings, the work sessions, and uh all the other special meetings that come up during the the course of a year, but uh it's really been fantastic and I know we have a at least a few students here tonight. You might want to put a lobby in with the school board tonight to Could you please hire a superintendent that would give us more snow days? >> Because I'm the snow day guy. For any students out there listening, sometimes I'll go visit classrooms and the teachers will be kind to introduce me as the superintendent and they kind of look, you know, depending on the age, hm, I wonder what that is and then I just say I'm the snow day guy and they get it right away. But anyway, um enough on that. I just want to again say thank you not only to those here tonight, to the board, but to the whole community and the staff. And um I'm thankful. Thank you. 500 schoolboard meetings. Wow, that's a lot. >> Yes, it is. >> Yes. Oh. Um, where are we? We are on item number uh five. We just finished five, right? Yes. Um, again, congratulations to the honories and thank you, Dr. Anderson. Okay, now we have the highlight of our regular meetings, the school spotlight presentation. Tonight, the spotlight is on the East Middle School. And I'll turn it over to executive director of teaching and learning, Dana Miller, to make the introductions. Dana, >> thank you. That's a tough act to follow, Dr. Anderson. So, I know we're all very grateful here. You And with that, then tonight, it's my privilege to introduce Principal Meg Bennett and her team tonight. um they're here to talk to us why we know academic excellence is important that doesn't happen unless our students feel like they belong and are cared for and respected in our buildings. And so tonight, the East staff are here to talk about how they ensure a high quality daily experience and some special um experiences that we got to get back to today um or this year with the help of the Weisetta Education Association. So, with that, I'm going to turn it over to Principal Bennett and her team. Thank you. >> I won't. No, I'm plenty loud. Alrighty. Are the slides going to come up? Awesome. Good evening, board. Thank you for allowing us the time to spotlight a lot that we're proud of at East Middle School. Dr. Anderson, congratulations to you. Um, we are here tonight to speak to what we value at East, which is the experience of our students each and every day. Um, it was so fun to be able to see the National Merit Scholars and hear about how they speak to their experience and their connection with their educators. And our core purpose at Weisetta Schools is to ensure a world-class education that prepares each and every student to thrive today and excel tomorrow in what we can describe as certainly an everchanging world and society. Our purpose at East is to really align with our core purpose. So we look at our district's vision, what we intend to create and experience every day. We model excellence where students of all ages we work to discover their unique talents and certainly develop their love of learning and we do that through many different ways. We are going to talk today about exceptional student experiences at East. At East, we really have been focusing on the district priorities and strategic execution of that vision. Tonight, as I said, we're going to highlight how we ensure a high quality daily experience for each and every student and how we use that vision to drive each and every decision and every action that we do at East. We really focus on building awareness of the health and well-being of our students. As we know, as middle school students, there's a lot of changes that they're experiencing and we are there to support them each and every step of the way. Uh, Miss Kleinite is certainly an exemplar example of that and how she ensures that each of our students come into our office. She knows them by name. She knows what their interests are. She has little interactions uniquely with each of them. And that carries through our entire building and really drives what we want each students to feel in every interaction at our school. Lastly, we're going to highlight how we have learned to um improve our engagement with community through a highlight of our partnership with with Weisetta Education Fund. So, when I started at East, we worked to collectively create our vision, what we were hoping to see in our student experience, and that is what drives our day-to-day. So, at East, we believe every student deserves to feel a sense of belonging, that they are cared for, valued, and treated with respect. We believe in high functioning relationships between our students and staff that allow each of our students to find joy in learning to embrace challenge with courage and curiosity and that we empower our students to have a voice in our school and that we remain responsive and innovative to that voice and their feedback. You will see how we're highlighting that in a few different ways. I could give you a hundred ways in which we highlight our vision and we're going to find three ways to try to highlight that tonight um with a group of our staff and our students. So, first I want to talk to how the goals that we've created for our professional learning and for ultimately our outcomes um have been created this year as I said driven by the vision for student experience. The first we really focus on literacy as our foundation for academic excellence. We have been working really hard at the start of the school year to develop and implement a schoolwide vocabulary plan as we have found in our data that vocabulary is really an area of need that we believe will boost each and every student's performance in literacy this year. In addition, we are honing in on our tier three reading intervention, assuring that we are providing individualized intervention with fidelity to ensure that our students that are demonstrating the highest level of need and literacy is getting high level of intervention and support. You can see the actions we've identified on the right hand side. That's to start the school year. We have been really focused to put action to our instructional practice focus areas to ensure we can measure implementation with fidelity and get feedback to one another to ensure we remain collectively committed to our goals. Our second goal is around commitment to the PLC process. That's our professional learning community where teachers come together and support one another to review the data in their classes and identify instructional shifts that they're committed to make to improve the outcomes for our students. So you'll see again the actions that we have outlined as we start the school year really focusing on using data protocol and bringing common data forward so that professional learning communities can support one another on strategies that were more effective with groups of students and work collaboratively to improve our student outcomes. And lastly, this is the area where we're focusing tonight is that we will improve the student experience. Um, I have a student leadership team at East of about 75 students this year and they have supported us to collectively identify what would be the best middle school in the nation. And how they would measure that is for students to be able to answer yes to three questions. Do you have a supportive adult at school? Are you happy at school? And are you proud of the learning that you're doing? So, we use those three questions to guide our experience with students. Um you will hear one of our student leaders speak to her experience and how we responded. Um last year in the spring we learned that feeling happy at East was the area we needed to focus on the most. And so that is what is driving many of the actions that you see on the right hand side. Our students will take the survey again in November to give us baseline data on their experience as we start the school year and then they'll take it again in May to give us progress report on how we have done with our student experience at East. So again, we're going to highlight three ways in which we have ensured a high quality daily experience for each of our students at East. The first is working to continually create experiences that cultivate joy, high functioning relationships between our staff and students, and ultimately improve the health and well-being of our community both in and out of the classroom. We have been doing learning at East around Generation Alpha, the students that we are working with right now, and about how the technology that they have grown up with in their hand has impacted their learning and ultimately their well-being. And we have taken that learning to really focus in on the importance of play and joy as strategies to ensure that we're supporting the well-being of our students. So you will hear of a very incredible experience where they got to play in nature in a little bit. Secondly, we're going to highlight with one of our student leaders how she has felt we are responsive to student voice and remain innovative in our thinking. And lastly, Mr. one of our incredible teachers in eighth grade is going to speak to his commitment as an example on how we take that vision for our student experience and work to deliberately ensure our instructional practices meet that vision. So at this time I am going to invite our Eagle Bluff team up. Welcome Eagle Bluff team and they are going to speak about an experience at Eagle Bluff that we had this year that aligns with our student experience vision. Christian, would you like to go first? >> Sure. >> All right. >> I'm Christian Bharin. Uh been teaching at East for 14 years here. I helped with the the prep with the the trip. And in the leadup to the trip, one of the things that I talked about was this is an opportunity for our kids to be brave. And what that looks like for all of them is going to be pretty different. For some kids, it's going to be, you know, up on the high ropes. That'll be a time where things are scary and they have they're going to do it anyways. Uh, for some of them it's building a shelter, going on a hike or getting sweaty and dirty, getting bit by bugs, you know, things that they're not accustomed to. And for some of them it was stepping foot on that bus at 6:30 in the morning, right? We know that those are all opportunities for them to overcome something that they think that they can't do. The other part of another way that kids can be brave is, you know, maybe the high ropes course is a piece of cake for them, but how can they show up for people who are struggling? Can they support somebody who's a friend or maybe not even a friend? Can they help them get through all of that and have their back? Right? If we can bring that back, bravery and empathy, if we can have our students bring those things back into our building, that really sets the tone for our school year. Now, one trip isn't going to make wholesale change. Um, but again, setting the tone. This is how we show up for each other. This is what we expect from each other at East. Um, and we I always come back to this. There's no growth in comfort, no comfort in growth. And you heard it from one of the merit scholars. I I wrote it down, the phrase, a chance to grow, right? I think I mean humans, but also our our 11 and 12 year olds, they have these lists in their head. This is what I can do and this is what I can't. And it's opportunities like this where they get to cross that line and say, "Wait a second. This is something I can do." And then we can bring that back. And once once you do that once, every time after that is easier. And that's how we want to show up for each other here at East. I'm going to be there. I'm going to support you. And you dang well know I am going to push you. I am going to challenge you. But you got a family here at East. And this trip is just a little piece of that. [Laughter] Uh, thanks for having us. Uh, my name's Kevin Pot. Uh, this is my 20th year at East. I'm the other sixth grade math teacher. And I'm going to kind of piggyback a lot of the things uh, Christian had to say. Um, I really want to share my thoughts on how invaluable environmental learning trips are to our sixth graders in the Wise School District. Uh, I I can't remiss not acknowledging the Wise Education Fund and our middle school principles for making this happen. Um, it was amazing and I like to connect it to Wolfridge where we used to go my first 14 years and I'm going to kind of share a lot of the same things Christian said. Um, it it was it's been some of the fondest memories of teaching at East is connecting what we've done in these environmental trips and when the kids come back and the leverage we have connecting with them. Um the core memories these kids share have been in the district like they have immediate flashbacks and it's just we it just it's it's just the best years of their lives. Um this year seniors are sadly the last ones to go. Um I remember always asking eighth graders what was their highlight of middle school and 99% would say going to Wolfridge. Um a few anecdotal things. Um, even this year at the parent chaperone meeting, uh, one of the moms happened to go and I randomly said, "Who are your roommates?" And she literally rattled them off like within 5 seconds. And she went to Wolfridge 22 years ago. Um, I was lucky to coach girls hockey in Wisetta. And I always remember the week I had to tell them I was going to be gone next week. They're like, "Why?" Like, "What do you mean?" Like, "I'm going to Wolfers." You're like, "What?" Like like the flashback on their faces and the memories they had instantly. And these were girls that probably hadn't been there in five or six years and like were like sad like that I got to go back and they they really missed out on it. Um but the real reason why I wanted to be here is like the life lessons they get from that that we bring back to the classroom as teachers is kind of what to make all worthwhile. Um we were asked by some of our um our admin like how do you quantify Wolfridge? Like you can't you can't get a grade at Wolfridge. Um Christian mentioned a lot of the same things. you can do hard things and we put these kids in situations that they're not even ready for, but the life lessons they get out of it, it's impactful. Um, yeah, they do incredibly hard and challenging adventures on these trips. They take risks. It requires grit, endurance, perseverance. They rely on others. They have to help and encourage others. That's just listing a very, very few of the things. But it's those life qualities and character traits that we bring back to the classroom. These are things I've thought of over the years that I know I can help them teach math and they can learn math if they can literally be away from home for a week. Travel 5 hours up north of 240 people they really don't know. Live and get along with them for a week. Eat magna magnanimous food. Climb up a 20 foot rock wall. Get your group of 13 kids up on a four eight feet above your head. Snowshoe for two to three miles. Go on a night hike when it's 10 degrees below zero. cross country for the first time, dissect an owl pellet, um clean up after 20 300 people in KP, and then to come down and leap off a zipline that's 25 ft high in the air. So, we come back to the classroom at East like, please don't tell me you can't figure out an equivalent fraction or do a one-step problem. I've seen you do things much harder than that. And these are things you're going to do way way down the road. Um, and then I'd like to wrap up last thing. We did get to go to Eagle Bluff in September and Meg was in my group and we got to go on the ropes course and this student was not having it. It was a struggle. Everything I've just kind of talked about, they were not having it. Were they kind of holding up the line? They were, but they did it. People down below were encouraging them. She felt it in her heart. She could do it. She got through the finale and she got to come down the zipline. And I was on a post and back. So, I wish I'd seen her come down the fa come down and didn't see her face as she came down the zipline. It's like when we kind of see now we kind of connect like she knows there's nothing she can't do and I think these trips are just kind of part of it. So, uh, keep it up. We love it. And, uh, let's keep bringing it back. I thank you for your time. >> I was able to go to Eagle Bluff this year, which was a really fun experience. I was able to learn in nature, make forts, go to the go in the river, and go on the ropes course. I love daring things. So, the ropes course was really fun for me. I think field trips are important because I get to know students and it's really fun to have fun. I am really hoping that there are more field trips in seventh and eighth grade. Uh field trips are important part of the school experience for me. [Applause] Hi everyone. My name is Sarah Griffin and I am the chair of the Wisetta Education Fund. I would like to thank the staff at East for inviting me here this evening to contribute to their presentation. I don't know about you, but I'm extremely inspired by all of the testimony I just heard from staff and Zachary. Um, right, please. For a second I was like, "Oh my gosh." No, I remember um about their experience at Eagle Bluff and Kevin's story about Wolfridge. And that was the entire reason why the Wisetta Education Fund wanted to partner with Meg, with Ryan, and Marian to provide this experience to bring back a timehonored tradition that existed in Weisetta and that we needed to reimagine for today in 2025. It is clear that taking students and staff out into the environment helps them cultivate joy, build connection, inspire them, build resilience, and that translates back into the classroom. That is why the Wisetta Education Fund exists. It is a strategic partner as exemplified in strategic priority number five. We fund raise to help enhance the experience for each and every student here in Weisetta. And what the Wisetta Education Fund wanted to do this year and moving forward is expand our impact beyond the teacher grant program to take strategic priority number four, improving the health and well-being of each and every community member within the Weisetta public schools ecosystem and think bigger about that priority. And through conversation with principles and other community members, we landed on Eagle Bluff as a great opportunity to to try out. And it's super inspiring and exciting to see the impact that it had this year that it will have on West students in two weeks and on central students in December. And I'm really excited about the opportunity to have the Weisetta Education Fund continue to partner with the district uh with Weisetta Public Schools prek through transition to build these experiences to continue building these experiences for students to partner with Weisetta Public Schools to meet the needs of each and every student and to enhance the opportunities also for stu for teachers and staff. So I'll leave you with one story. I was um feel very honored to have attended one of the days with East and I'm very moved by the staff members at East. They know every student's name. Um even if they aren't the teacher or, you know, directly with that group of students all day and I'm very in tune to that. I think that I saw students um trying new things, you know, overcoming fears. There's one student in particular, I'm not going to mention her name, but she has stuck with me. I even mentioned her to Meg tonight. Um, so creative, took the solo, unstructured time in the cafeteria to create a crown out of a lunch bag. Like, that is moving to me because this was a full day without tech to just have autonomy over your time and learn something new. and sixth graders. One of my just I don't know reflections on the day is sixth graders are so young. I have a 9-year-old and a three-year-old. When I see a sixth grader alongside my old my own children, I think, "Wow, they're so old." And then I see them in a group of 160 playing just playing and I'm like, "Okay, this is no different than my three-year-old actually." Like, and we It's really hard to remember that. And so it I felt really honored to have a window into that at Eagle Bluff. So, thank you for having me and I look forward to continuing the partnership. [Applause] >> So, I cannot thank Wisette Education Fund enough for partnering with us. And Sarah and Karina are way more than just financial support. They were there every step of the way to help us organize and get this off the ground in two weeks of the school year starting. Um, and a special thanks to Kevin Pot as coordinator and Christian Bharin because it it is a giant lift um to get all of those students on a bus and ready to go in the first two weeks of school. Um, but we are so very grateful to have had that experience with our students and it is carrying through as we start the year and the relationships that we have built. So now I have the privilege of welcoming Ella Badard, an eighth grade student um up to the podium. Um she has been a student leader at East in her time. And I told her, I said, "Okay, I'll introduce you Ella Bernard, seventh grade." And she's like, "Miss Bennett," I'm like, "I'm sorry. I want you to stay here. I can't imagine that you're going to be at the high school next year." So we just recently had our first student leadership meeting at East and I was getting the students feedback on our vision. So I bring our vision up. Um we read the vision together and I ask them where have we hit this so far? Like where have we started the school year and we have it and where have we not yet and what solutions do you have for us moving forward? And Ella spoke so eloquently about her experience and how we're responsive to her voice and how we've been innovative in her thinking. So I'm excited for you to be able to hear that from Ella. Come on up, Ella. Do you want to stand? >> Yeah, sure. >> Okay. Okay. Is this good? >> Yeah, that's good. >> Okay. >> Hi. >> Let me just put this down a little bit. >> Oh, thank you. >> Okay. Ready? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Hello. Okay. So, I'm here to speak about two main ways that East has been responsive to student feedback. One was our new schedule. And as a sixth grade student, I think I and my peers were really interested in pursuing more classes that kind of suited our interests. And East was really responsive to that. And after the first year of our new schedule, East again listened to our feedback about what we liked and didn't like. One of the things that we were requesting was more of the classes that we enjoyed and like forensics and theater for example. We also were requesting more time for those classes. So for 8th grade it's been increased from a half block to a block and that was fantastic. Where am I? Okay. Um, one of the classes that I really enjoyed this year is musical theater. Last year I took theater and that was fantastic and musical theater this year is like even better. It's just our teacher is fantastic. She really listens to us and encourages us to pursue our interests and kind of cultivate our learning I guess as well. And for I took forensics last year and my friends this year get more time for forensics and they've been really enjoying that. One thing I liked from forensics last year was our fire forensics part of the unit where we had professionals come in and teach us about how a fire starts, how we figure out where a fire starts, how it started, and tracing some of that evidence back which was really interesting. Another way east has been responsive to student feedback are changes in the classroom and we used our student survey that we took last December and I think we had our meeting as well in December and we had the main questions are you happy at East? Are you proud of the learning you're doing at East? And do you have at least one supportive adult at East? And as Miss Bennett kind of already said, our um area where we needed help was at our happiness on at East. And one thing we as a student leadership group talked about was the use of iPads and how we thought that we were on them a lot. And so I really appreciate how this year it seems everybody's been more intentional about cutting back on that and using more paper and other devices in instead of iPads which has been really helpful I think especially to our mental and physical health staring at a screen all day. So that's been really helpful. Thank you. I think I got everything. You got it. You did great. Thank you, Ella. Good job. All righty. Lastly, we're going to focus on our commitment to deliberate instructional practice to ensure that our vision for student experience, you can see on the pyramid, is guiding our vision for student learning. So we have had um last spring we had a group of staff engage in an action research cycle really working to dive deep into research around best practice get regular feedback from their students and engage in high levels of learning with a collective group of staff around our instructional practice and this year we're bringing that forward to all of our staff. So, we're really focusing on creating goals with vision for student experience guiding our instructional practice and working to move and reflect on what is our current state and how will we get feedback to take actionable next steps to meet our ideal state in the classroom. So, Matt Stika, one of our eighth grade teachers, is going to come speak to his experience with action research. Thanks, Matt. >> Um, hi everybody. Um like said, I was um fortunate enough to be part of that group. We um started last spring in action research and really kind of reflecting on our practices. Um I'm fairly young in my career. This is my fourth year only. So, it was a a lot of fun to be part of um and really find some growth within my classroom and um really work towards that ideal state um and really taking in my students voice getting feedback from them things I'm doing that they really love and things that they I'm doing that maybe they aren't as fond of. Um and I was really working towards um uh as a math teacher finding success in the classroom. Um, I always ask my students day one whose favorite subject is math and I maybe get five hands out of all 120 of my students. Um, so that's always my goal to get a few more each year. Um, but to really work towards success in the classroom, both academically and just their feeling of it each day. And um, as Christian was kind of talking earlier, um, that's kind of different for every student we have. Um, some of them it may be um, we're working towards already what's what are you going to do in ninth grade? Um, and some were really building those base blocks so they can feel that success in the classroom that maybe they haven't felt before. Um, and I worked with this idea of bringing back um, and answering the question of how a small group teacherled intervention during class impacts students academic success but also feeling of success. Um, and throughout class giving them the opportunity to self assess kind of where they're at. Um, I use the kind of fist to five idea a lot. Um, where if you're a five, you're a teacher, you can teach somebody else how to do that. And if we're a fist, we're working towards that five. We're not there yet. But it's not that I don't know anything. It's I'm going to work towards that piece that I know I can do. Um, I always tell them mistakes are opportunities for us to learn. Um, and there's never a chance where I'm going to get mad at you for making a mistake. Um, it's all a chance to kind of move forward. um and really looking at that impact of confidence that it can have. I had students at the beginning when I give them feedback um or opportunity for it that no, I don't like this, Mr. Stiko. What are you doing? Let's go back to you walk around the room and get help when I need it. Um and then I had other students by the end of it. When's the next day we're going to do this? When's the next day we're going to do that? um and really pulling that small group to a side, working through some of the activities they're already doing in class, but also then giving them notetakers on how to organize things or practicing setting up their operations so when they're on their own um or I'm not available to them right away, they have the opportunity and the tools to be successful. Um and talking with my students at the end of the year, a lot of them really love that idea. And I've um and starting it in spring last year, it was successful. um where I'm seeing increase in test scores, students confidence from a student who may be turning in a blank test at the beginning of the year to filling out the full thing, getting a passing score um which is so exciting to see and now starting it in the beginning of the year. Um students are already asking for it. They're seeing that increase in students who maybe in past years haven't been engaged in math class are participating. They're engaged the full class period, helping out other students and really um getting to thrive. And um that only not helps me see that those actionable steps are working but um that that in student experience is so important and they're working towards that ideal state. Um and they continue to have choice. I don't force anybody to come to the table and work with me. Um but it really helps them work towards kind of the next steps as they move into high school as eighth graders. Um making successful choices, making choices that fit best for them and maybe not their best friend that's sitting next to them. um what works what works best for them so they can continue to grow in a subject where some of them haven't felt that success before um in working towards their voice being heard um and that feeling of success. So we as teachers know that um the feedback and the coaching we get to receive um really works towards something that we see success in our students which I think helps us each day um to continue to want to come back even on those tough days. Thank you for having me. [Applause] Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to spotlight a lot of special things of our school at East. We have a very proud East family, many of them here tonight. Um, and we're proud for so many reasons, but primarily for the experience um that we create for our students that results in um really high academic outcomes for each of our students. So, if you have any questions for any of the members, we would be happy to answer any questions about our incredible school. >> Okay. Thank you, Principal Bennett. Uh, greatly appreciate it. Any questions, comments? Yeah. You want to go first? >> Hi. Um, no questions, but I just wanted to thank you um you Sarah and all of your teams to make Eagle Puff happen. I remember when Sarah first time brought it up in YZ education fund meeting it was a tall order. I mean something that beats Wolffridge it's not an easy task. >> Yeah. >> And our older daughter she went through that experience and that was wonderful. So everything that you said completely resonated and I still remember her best memory was lying down on the frozen lake and just when they realized they have already packed so they weren't like enough you know warm clothes if you will out but they still did that and they enjoyed it. So I really wish my second daughter could have done it. She's in eighth grade so she's going to miss it. But the point is again when Sarah brought it up, I know there were a lot of discussions, brainstorming uh Miss Bennett with you and your leadership team. So just wanted to acknowledge it, it it's not something that you know some of you just organized it on the fly. It's been like months in you know work in progress. So just wanted to appreciate everything that you guys have put together behind the scene and now we are here and again I'm I'm hoping we'll continue it you know years to come. So again just wanted to thank both teams education fund as well as uh east. So thank you. >> Thank you. Well at least uh I would say once every three days when I'm in the halls I hear from a seventh or eighth grader. So Miss Bennett and they wink what's our field trip coming up? So they're they're feeling like something's something's in the works and they want it to be their turn because they are very sad that they messed up. So >> we we'll go left right. >> I just wanted to hear um a little bit of history about how did we uh go from um Wolfridge to Eagle Bluff and um if you can give a little bit history. Yeah, I can Kevin might be able to share more history than I can, but my understanding is that um Wolfridge just was discontinued during CO and that there was some question and some wondering about after CO how we might bring that experience back for students. Um and so we were working through some of those questions and wonderings um and came to at least a extended day experience so that we can kind of get that um experience back for students and not some of the concern potentially of having students gone for an extended day that we were hearing some from some families um because that was something maybe their children hadn't experienced yet. Um and so we are taking one step in um with hopes that we can continue to consider what that experience is for students. Um but I think Wolfridge was >> I mean to be honest it's just proximity. >> I mean central always went up north. West has always got Eagle Bluff. I mean to get this experience started like where we wanted to we have to start somewhere and it was just about two hours away. So I love going back to Wolfers but I understand right now Eagle Bluff is just it's still logistical. So that's why everybody is going to Eagle, but it's only it's only one hour south near the Rochester area. The everything's the exact same. The the layout's the same. But it was kind of weird for us because we had no context. >> It was first step. >> I'll bring back to Eagle, but it's Eagle or Wolf Eagle for now. It's okay. >> I can personally attest that Wolfridge was a big deal. And in my family, my two oldest ones are behind each other. So unfortunately in my case though uh my oldest one had the best experience. It was interesting that when he came back I never seen him doing cross country skin but he knew that I had that experience and he volunteered to go with me around our culdeac. I was interesting. Um but my next my middle one right now he was anticipating it and to be honest unfortunately because of a co it it never arrived. Mhm. >> So I'm very thankful that there are adults who thought through that this is this was actually I think at least I remember how I was surprised. I think it after that experience my son came I felt a little bit that he was I saw responsibility sense of responsibility in him sense of also taking challenges like uh I will try without you know sometimes you try other things and uh things it was completely different so I'm a little bit u that my middle one didn't get that but he's going to Orlando I guess maybe it will cover cover uh that uh that part of but I would like to um uh say the words of appreciations that adults realize that it is how big it is and um to be honest also back in my country we had I mean back in Russia we did a little bit different things and I did it as a student and when I did similar things as a teacher it was interesting you will learn about students uh some completely different things >> you might see some students I mean excellent at school but then during lifetime it's they're completely a little bit different so you have to teach them that there are some things uh need to be done differently it was it's interesting so you might see students different uh way too and students might have a connection to teach uh to teachers also and one more thing I would like to uh comment I'm so pleased that children are voicing for themselves that iPads it is way too much time I'm so proud of you because I totally agree with you. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much for the excellent presentation. It's a real I think speaking piece of the transformative partnerships we have with the boys education fund, East Middle School, the wonderful students, teachers, staff are we. Um I was thinking back actually to when I went to Wolfridge as a sixth grader. That was a little while ago. um and really how special it is from the snowshoeing to the ropes course and remembering the last day where uh we did some geocaching and we would go up to this you know top you know peak and we could look out and see for miles and miles it was very um memorable to say the least so I'm thankful for the dedication to hearing out students experiences and um you know making a transform in every way so thank you so much >> yeah thank you >> I need a microphone first shout out to East. Um if we looked at the esteemed teachers that we saw in our list of our National Merit Scholarship, there were quite a few of you that were back on the list again this year. So, um thank you for all the things that you do for our students um as they as they go through East and beyond. Um second, I a shout out and I think we saw this in a variety of ways and Wolfridge is one of those, right? Like I feel like East isn't just a spot for students when you talk about all the things that you do for students, but it's really also what you do for families. um and and bringing families along. And I think that that was integrated through a number of the things. We're all telling our Wolfridge stories because they were amazing. Um I feel like I learned to be a middle school parent when I chaperoned at Wolfridge and uh right um I I had lots of um little eye opening moments and it was and it was amazing and then I sent my husband the next year and that was really so thank you for raising both of us as parents in in this journey. Um, and then third and lastly, the thing that I think is so amazing is so you started with um, as you think about some of your goals, vocabulary, right? And that vocabulary and I don't know, like going back to my middle school, like hearing vocabulary that doesn't necessarily translate to fun, right? As we're leaning in yet, uh, what we're hearing all along is from our students is how much east is fun and how much it's there. Um, how it's really important to have that. It's so fun to have fun. Isn't that what you said? Right. Really amazing. So, thank you for coming tonight to teach us and remind us about bringing in joy um and how that's um sort of the pillar of excellence that we need to talk about more. Megan, I just want to say thank you for coming and showcasing the the amazing partnerships and um teaching staff and students and all of it is just it's incredibly inspiring. As Sarah has said, Sarah, I know that this has been a huge project in the making for years and fundraising doesn't really um get to the core of how the community has supported this. We were in the room when that was happening at the uh uh Ed Fund gala and it was just a sense of absolute excitement and everybody wanted to get back to that feeling of going to Wolfridge and having that outdoor experience and that connection in middle school because that middle school time there's something very unique about that experience in the developmental brain of a middle schooler. So, thank you for that and thank you for ushering it and thank you for pushing it forward even when it was hard. Um, I want to connect just a bit with Matt and the math that you talked about because it's interesting to me when we talk about academics and it being, you know, math, reading, and writing, how you connected having a place in school and being connected in school and how that really impacts a student's ability to learn. and hearing that there are students who might give you a blank sheet at the beginning of the school year and then fill it out and have a passing grade, that is incredible aggressive growth for that student. And so sometimes the test scores, what I see and what I'm hearing is sometimes the test scores may not be reflective of the actual growth that has happened, but maybe it's it's getting that student there in their journey. So, thank you for bringing that up. It was really important for me to hear that. Thank you guys all for coming. Okay. >> I I have I have a comment about the few words that I heard from one of the teachers. Um and this extends what Heidi just said about not learning things, not learning everything in class. You can you can quantify reading scores, you can quantify math scores, you can quantify all these science scores and everything else. But somebody mentioned three words bravery, empathy and trust. Right? Those are the things you not that I know of. I don't think you can quantify those. You cannot learn that typically in the classroom. Right? So going outdoors to a place like Woolridge and what I have learned today is that there is a new equation at least for me bravery plus empathy equal to trust. >> Okay. And that is something I think uh I'm getting out of this presentation. So, thank you so much for doing that. Our two children were very fortunate to be able to go to Wolfridge a few years ago and I I wish I wish I could go back to those years and be a chaperon. I was not able to do it. I was too busy with work and stuff like that. So, but they do remember Woolridge even now after about 20 years after having been to those camps. I do have a question. >> Yeah. So in one of the slides uh number three, four or five, I don't remember the number but in the action item the PLC's come up with five vocabulary words. >> I'm just curious. Okay, if this is a going to be a long explanation, forget about it. I want to know if if you can explain very simply, very quickly, I would like to know how they come up with those words. >> Yeah, good question. So we talk about high lever words and this learning is new for many of our staff at East. So, we're still early in the learning process, but we're learning that some students, for example, a teacher met with me yesterday and said the student didn't know what the word assessment meant. And so, high leverage words of not necessarily content specific, they could be, but high academic vocabulary to ensure that we're building that academic vocabulary for our students. So, again, we're early in the learning of identifying. In fact, our literacy um kind of professional learning series is starting next week. Um so our reading specialist will help guide our teams um in that learning. >> Okay, thank you for that explanation. I appreciate it. Um any other comments, questions? If not, thank you everybody. >> Thank you. [Applause] >> There's a there's a giant check there. >> Somebody take a picture. How much is it? Do you know how much is it? How much? You know how much? How many thousand? >> I think you want to. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. [Music] How much is it buckets? [Music] [Applause] Thank you again. >> Thank you. >> I know. >> Okay. Next item on the agenda is the audience opportunity to address the board. Do we have anybody? Amy? >> No. >> No. Okay. Looks like we don't. No. Okay. Thank you. Okay, moving on to the next one which is the administrative reports and recommendations. First, Dr. Anderson will present two policies for approval. >> Mr. Chair and members of the board, in your board package tonight, there are two policies. I'll share the following and then highlight which policies are before you for review. Uh the policies and regulations were reviewed as part of the regular review cycle and using the Minnesota schoolboard association model policy were available by district administration and other district stakeholders were necessary. A final review was completed by the policy committee of the school board. The policy approvals uh before you this evening are policy 415 mandated reporting of child neglect or physical or sexual abuse for and policy 428 mandated reporting of vulnerable adults. Uh the recommended action is uh before you and I'll let you state that and uh move forward as you see appropriate. >> Thank you Dr. Anderson. The recommended action there then is to approve the policies as presented. Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. Did you wave the second reading? >> Wait a second. Okay. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? You going to say something? >> Okay. Okay. So, hearing none. This is a roll call vote. Sheila >> Heidi Kedar. >> Yes. >> Valentina Ays. >> Yes. >> Dan Janestra. Yes. >> Sarah Johansson. >> Yes. >> Harris Bend. >> Yes. >> Sheila Prior. Yes. Milan Sahony. >> Yes. The motion passes. Thank you. All right. So, this next item is is connected with the election for the Wisetta School Board on November 4th. District uh election clerk Amy Guys will present a resolution relating to the appointment of election judges for the general election on November 4th, 2025. Amy, >> good evening school board and Superintendent Anersonson. Uh before you is the um resolution appointing election judges for election day. Last month you did approve the um absentee judges which are hard at work um at the district office. Um but this is for the judges specifically serving on election day. They're qualified through the city of Plymouth. Um they'll do refresher training with me on October 28th. Um, and we've worked with most of them before in previous years. They're excellent election judges. >> Thank you, Amy. So, colleagues, the recommended action is to adopt as presented the resolution relating to the appointment of election judges for the general election on November 4th, 2025. Is there a motion to approve? >> I move and ask that we wave the reading of the resolution. >> Second. Moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? I would like to say something just as a reminder to anybody, you know, here now or listening at home that um when we do move our elections to even years, we will no longer have to pay the election judges. >> Oh, thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Okay. So, I'm going to read the recommended action again is to adopt adopt as presented the resolution uh relating to the appointment of election judges for the general election on November 4th, 2025. Uh this is a roll call vote. >> Dan Janestra, >> yes. >> Sarah Johansson, >> yes. >> Harris Bend, >> yes. >> Sheila Prior, yes. Heidi Kedar, >> yes. >> Valentina Ays, >> yes. Milan Sahonyi. >> Yes. Thank you. The motion passes. Okay. There is no teaching and learning report this evening. And the next item on the agenda is the finance report. Executive director of finance and operations Trevor Peterson will present the combined financial report for the month ending August 31st, 2025. Trevor. >> Yeah, thank you. Good evening, Chairperson Sahony, Dr. Anderson, members of the board. Um, as mentioned tonight, we're bringing forth the, uh, financial statements through August 31st, uh, 2025. Um, which happens to be only two fiscal two months within the fiscal year. So, it's a little bit harder to, um, continue to have comparisons from prior years, but, um, you can see the majority of both our revenues and expenditures, um, are very consistent from prior years. Um the revenue looks a little bit goofy yet just because we have a um larger line item of property tax revenue that um has zero at this point. Uh we get those um metered out. Um half of our November payment comes in October with the rest of it coming in November and then we get another um split payment in the following May and u June. So um you won't see those yet for a couple of months. Uh state aids are starting to trickle in. Um, and similar with our federal aids, um, like the property taxes, we typically don't get those at the beginning of the year as our draws, um, usually occur later on in the year. So, uh, you'll see that, um, reflected to as, um, those percentages, um, reflect from prior years as well. So some of the things to uh point out um on the expenditures uh you might look at our salaries and benefits and say 2 months in we should have about 212s or um 16% of our salaries and benefits paid by now. Um the majority of our staff are paid um through through the months of September through May and not in July and August. Uh we do have quite a few or a few year round salar or employees that get paid year round. So uh there are some but certainly not to the uh extent that you might see um equal to 212. So that's why those percentages are a little bit um lower. Um all in all again it is pretty early in the year to be um monitoring too closely. Um but we do like to look at that bottom line when you look at total expenditures um of all funds where they can um where they sit compared to prior years and if something looks a little a miss u we might do a little more digging. um but knowing that there are generally a lot of things that are dependent on the timing of um expenditures, timing of projects, uh timing of purchase of supplies, those kind of things. So all in all um nothing too uh unique to report in the uh revenue and expenditure report. I did take the liberty based on a question last month. Um if you focus on the general fund only and see that our revenue um is projected to be about 23 231.7 million um and our expenditures are about $237 million. So about a $5.5 million um expenditures over revenue. Um I think that's a pretty easy thing to look at that and say um that doesn't look very good. That looks upside down. Um, but if you remember back to when the preliminary budget was presented in June, um, and I also talked about this when the LTFM um, was approved in July as well. Um I did um redo or did have the the finance team redo the financial report analysis that excludes the LTFM uh just because we did have that one year um of that negative adjustment um for through our levy um from a from about 3 years prior um where we did not spend all of our LTFM revenue. Um so that negative adjustment is kind of throwing off our revenue a little bit. So when you exclude um both the revenue as well as the expenditures for LTFM, you can see that our general fund revenue um is budgeted to be about 225 million and our expenditures at about 222 million. So again, that that report that additional report was just in in response to a question that came up uh not only last month at the the board meeting, but also at our most recent finance committee of the board, too. So, um, this is not an action item, but I'll certainly be happy to try and answer any questions that you might have. >> Okay. Thank you, Trevor. Any questions? All right. Hearing none, we can go on to the next item. Uh, so Trevor will now present to the board the open enrollment non-resident agreement for fiscal year 2026 27. Yeah, it's been pretty typical for um the district to bring forward to the board a resolution um October of each year for the following year open enrollment um agreement, our non-resident agreement. Um so in this case, we're looking at the 2627 school year. Um there are a few changes in this resolution compared to what we approved last um October for 2526. So I will call those out a little bit. In our um in last year's resolution or the current year resolution, we did say um we do have to take the minimum up to 1% um our minimum 1% for each grade level um uh for for open enrollment for open enrolled students in um and we did have language in there too that should we have um children of staff members or siblings of open enrolled students in uh that we would allow up to five of each of those categories in a certain grade level depending on capacity within a building. Um, this resolution for 2627 um has similar language, but we're we're adding a little flexibility in that um where it's basically saying we will go up to or we might go up to we would consider going up to 2% at any grade level um with priority given to um the staff children as well as siblings. Um, and that's just gives us an opportunity to look at certain grade levels if we might have capacity um that we could um we could allow up to 2% at any grade level um even if they are not um children of staff or siblings um should we so choose. So similar language, similar number, but just a little bit more flexibility um in this uh resolution. Um the recommend action is listed there. So, I'll uh certainly allow you to uh read that and answer any questions you might have about the resolution. >> Okay. Thank you, Trevor. So, the uh recommended action is to approve the resolution provide for open enrollment non-resident agreement for 2026 27. Is there a motion to approve? >> I so move and ask we wave the reading of the resolution. >> Thank you. Second. Moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? >> I have a quick question. Can you tell me, Trevor, do you have an idea of where we're at right now when as so I I understand that we're at we have a max of 1% at each grade level. Do you know where we're at for grade levels? >> Yes. So other than grades Oh, you might have to help me out here, Chase. 11th and 12th grade. I think a couple years ago, we allowed more than the 1%. >> Correct. >> Um at that time, 9th and 10th graders. >> Yep. um which I believe now in this school year are juniors and seniors. So um other than those two years where we had that anonymally, we we are right at the 1%. Um we were less than 1% in kindergarten up until a few weeks ago. Um and then we held a lottery um that per the language to see um to ask the next set of families if they would like to open enroll as kindergarteners. um school had already started. Uh so we did have to get a little further down the list than we might uh normally get, but we did find uh two families to agree to do that. So we are at 1% or near that 1% for every grade level excluding those uh 11th and 12th graders. >> Okay. And then I have one more question. >> Y >> uh do we have anticipation that we would meet that 2% >> um >> within and I guess I'm thinking about first of our staff and teachers. >> Yeah. So a as of this day for this year it would not have um it is not something that we would have had to apply um to fulfill for staff and siblings. Um but I I think this is um mostly in response to this year's kindergarteners where we probably could have allowed more than the 1% um just based on what we have for capacity and where the where the projection we came in a little bit shy of what we were projecting. Um but other than that, every um staff and sibling that have uh requested open enrollment have been granted open enrollment in to our district. >> Thank you. >> Y >> I would like to hear also clarification. You said we came a little bit shy. Can you tell the numbers? >> Uh yes. I think I br Let me just look through this. They pulling it up, Amy. [Music] >> I don't remember for sure off the top of my head. I'm sorry. Um, but I I know we were about 100 kids short of where we were thinking our kindergarten enrollment would be. Um, I can certainly get the exact numbers and u report back to the board on that. >> And one more clarification. So this year it allows uh that we can do up to 2%. Correct. >> This year we can do up um a minimum of 1% and then additional five um for staff and five for siblings. >> So it still will be for I mean if it happened to be that staff would like and all it'll be max 2%. Correct. >> Correct. And it just so happens that our average grades are right around a thousand students. So the the 10 the 1% is about 10 students and the additional five for staff and siblings happened to be another uh 1% if those were all granted. So um it is currently up to 2% but again that was pretty rigid in the fact that it had to be staff or siblings um where this language would allow it really to be um anybody. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Y and we do have that now here. So, if I'm looking at this right, 872, we were projecting, this is so small, you need uh we were projecting 968 students and we currently have 872. So, 96 students short of what we're projecting in kindergarten. Of course, there are other grade levels that exceeded our projections, but um definitely the the kindergarten ones is um why we had a discussion about maybe tweaking the the resolution a little bit to accommodate that. >> Thank you. >> You have a question, Sheena? >> Oh, yeah. I was um I needed a clarification with the 1% required by law then we're setting up more flexibility so that if we have another 1% that is you know historically was preference given to siblings and um district employees but now that you know 1% is more flexible and it could be anyone just >> correct yes with priority given to staff >> with priority given yeah to staff But that if if those aren't filled, then we have flexibility to open it up. >> Yeah. And and an example might be if we fulfilled our 1% and we have three additional open open enrollment requests that are not staff and siblings. Um might it be an opportunity to allow those three students in whatever grade level they might be at um with anticipated capacity within a building to do so. >> Right. We're not y have the room correct to it. Um, and then just to clarify, I believe that the the high school classes that we opened enrolled last time were there are now sophomores and juniors. Just not that it really matters, but in case anybody's listening and they're like, "Wait, I don't >> Yeah, I heard a couple yeses over here." So, >> yeah. Okay. It was Yeah. Just in case anybody was wondering. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I have a question, Trevor. So other than the demand and supply thing, what was the log what was the logic in raising that 1% to 2%. >> I I think it allows us to um in the case that I gave um be able to say yes to two or three additional students and families um along the way that um should we have space to do so would would be a good thing. Um, so I I again I think it's just a matter of allowing us to um maybe start trending to being a little bit more open to um those grade levels, looking at those grade levels that should we maybe be short of um projections or um want to um allow those families in, we can do so where before we would not have had that opportunity to do so. Yeah. >> And the state does not have a ceiling on how how high you can go. Correct. >> Correct. >> So this is mostly a goodwill kind of thing. Correct. Yeah. All right. Thank you so much. >> Anyone else? All right. If not, I'm going to read the recommended action again. Approve the resolution providing for open enrollment non-resident agreement for 2026 27. Uh this is a roll call vote. >> Paris Bendy. >> Yes. >> Sheila Prior. >> Yes. >> Heidi Kedar. >> Yes. >> Valentina Ays. >> Yes. >> Dan Janestra. >> Yes. Sarah Johansson, >> yes. >> Milan Sahonyi, >> yes. Thank you. The motion carries. Okay. So, there is no human resource services report tonight and no other board action. Um, the final item on the agenda is board reports. This section of the agenda provides an opportunity for board members to update school board members on schoolboard related work or or to make announcements of interest to the public. So, I have a very brief board report tonight. Um, we know that Dr. Anderson has announced his retirement as of June 30, 2026, and the community is wondering what the board will be doing about a search for the new superintendent. Uh, so I would like to report that the process for selecting our next superintendent has begun. Uh we have sought the services of our executive director of human resources Dave Leds and we with his help we have sent out requests for proposals submitted to search firms and in the months ahead details will be shared to ensure a smooth thoughtful and most importantly transparent transition. Right. Okay. The next board work session is on Monday, October 27th at 5:00 p.m. Please note the change in start time. Is that right, Amy? 5 p.m. Right. Okay. Okay. This concludes the Visetta Public Schools regular board meeting. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. The time is now 8:30. The Wisetta Public Schools Board of Education regular meeting for Monday, October 13, 2025 is adjourned.