Watertown-Mayer Public Schools — Transcript
Sunday, February 1, 2026
School Board Policy 209 Code of Ethics Review
Superintendent Mid-Year Goal Review
Votes (6)
Election of 2026 School Board Officers
Dissent: None
Moved by None (nominations made individually) · Seconded by None
The board proceeded with the annual election of officers. Due to single nominations for each position (Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Clerk, and Treasurer), all candidates were elected by acclamation without a roll call vote.
Approval of 2026 School Board Meeting Calendar and Times
Dissent: None
Moved by Mr. Burns [Timestamp] · Seconded by Miss Nathan [Timestamp]
The board approved the calendar dates and meeting times for regular 2026 school board meetings, noting the standard 6:00 p.m. start at Watertown City Hall. Exceptions include the April 27th meeting at Mayor City Hall and specific third Mondays for May and December.
Approval of 2026 Official District Designations
Dissent: None
Moved by Miss Danielson [Timestamp] · Seconded by Mr. O'Neal [Timestamp]
Official designations for the district's newspaper (The Herald Journal), bank depositories (Old National, MN Trust PMA Financial Network), legal advisers (Kennedy and Graven Chartered), and financial advisers (Public Treasury Management and Advisory Financial Solutions - PTMA) were approved. It was noted that Baker Tilly was removed from the financial advisors designation.
Authorization for Superintendent to Invest Funds and Administrative Assistant to Perform Clerk Duties
Dissent: None
Moved by Miss Schultz [Timestamp] · Seconded by Mr. Burns [Timestamp]
The board approved authorizing Superintendent Darren Schuler, in conjunction with contracted finance and payroll processor SMS, to invest and manage district funds and transfers for fiscal year 2026. Additionally, Administrative Assistant Heather Huan was authorized to perform certain duties of the clerk.
Approval of 2026 School Board Compensation
Dissent: None
Moved by Mr. Burns [Timestamp] · Seconded by Miss Danielson [Timestamp]
The school board compensation for fiscal year 2026 was approved. The compensation has remained unchanged since 2021 and is considered in line with other districts in Minnesota, based on an MSBA survey, though smaller than larger neighboring districts like Waconia.
Approval of 2026 School Board Committee Assignments
Dissent: None
Moved by Mr. O'Neal [Timestamp] · Seconded by Miss Gatsco [Timestamp]
The board approved the proposed committee chart for 2026, which included minor reassignments. Notable changes were Miss Gatskco's move off Teaching and Learning (replaced by Mr. O'Neal) and Miss Nathan's move from Ed Foundation to Technology, with the Ed Foundation board representation reduced from two members to one, a decision made in consultation with the Superintendent.
Notable Quotes (6)
Um, since we only do this once a year, if there's only one nomination, they're going to be uh elected by acclamation. If there's more than one nomination for any of the roles, there will be a roll call vote just to ensure that um all votes are properly recorded.
Um, with that being said, the April 27th date would be at the mayor city hall. Um, so just trying to to share some love with with with mayor and I believe that um there's only a couple dates that are not that fourth Monday. I believe it is May and December. I believe are the third um Mondays for those board meetings.
PTMA is different. ... Well, they were on it last year as well as Baker Tilly. So, we just kind of have removed Baker Tilly from that.
Um FYI, it has not been it was last updated in 2021 has remained consistent across the board. Um MSBA did conduct a survey across all districts in the state of Minnesota and I feel that we are in line with our neighbors for the most part.
Those are uh dictated up there in the yellow. Uh so uh Miss Gatskco, I kind of took you off of the uh teaching and learning committee and added Mr. O'Neal. And um Miss Nathan, I took you off of the ed foundation and put you on technology and we're only having one person on... And and the only other real change is the Ed Foundation board went from two folks down to one.
Yeah, they um a lot of their foundation meetings have been on the same nights as we're here. Yeah. So, we haven't really had a strong role there, but... And I know in the summer you have softball, so you you were not able to make it regardless.
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
School Board Code of Ethics.
State document guiding preschool and kindergarten alignment.
Planned report summarizing the effectiveness of SMS.
District promotional video in final stages.
Promotional video featuring local families and generational teaching.
Tool for kindergarten and preschool teachers to record observations.