All right, it is 7 p.m. still. Yep. on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. And I call to order this regular meeting of the Richfield School Board. Intending this meetings uh this evening's board meeting live and in the boardroom are board members Director Cali Dennis, treasurer Ha Haley Tommpkins, clerk Kendall, Vice Chair Kirk Spencer, and I'm board chair Eric Carter. Also at the table we have super uh superintendent Steve Yunowski and assistant to Superintendent Cassander Quam. Apparently my scrolls are working. Uh other members of the district's leadership team are in attendance and may be participating throughout the meeting as well. Richfield Public School's mission is to inspire and empower each individual to learn, grow, and excel. And we aim to keep that focus at the heart of our discussions this evening. Thanks to all of you joining us here live and in the boardroom, all of you. We also want to thank those of you streaming the meeting or watching after the fact via YouTube. We appreciate when people bear witness to our meetings where we conduct the necessary official business of the district. Since tonight is our first meeting of the school year, I'd like to read our land acknowledgement. Uh, I'd like to start by acknowledging that we are located on the ancestral land of the Dakota people who have lived on and cared for the land since time memorial. Indigenous nations have a long history of stewardship and preservation of the local area. We're grateful for the guardianship of the lands which hold historical, spiritual, and personal significance to the Dakota people. To read our district's full land acknowledgement statement, please visit the district's website or take time to view the display at any of our buildings entrances. With that, our first item of business this evening is to approve the agenda before us. As approval of the agenda is a routine business item, I'll briefly pause to see if there are any questions or comments related to the agenda. Hearing and seeing none, is there anybody prepared to move the agenda as presented? >> I'll move the agenda as presented. >> Seconded. >> We have a motion by Treasurer Tomkins and a second by Director Dennis for a second there. you. I saw you trying to raise your hand. I was like not going to accept a motion from you. All in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> All post, please say nay. The chair votes I. And we have an approved agenda. Next brings us to information and proposals, non-action on the section of the agenda. Uh before we move into the topics this evening, just a reminder, the next opportunity for public comment will be at our board meeting on September 21st at 7 p.m. It's a regular board meeting and information can be found online. Now over to Superintendent Yowski for our superintendent updates. >> All right, two items today. Uh we'll be starting with an overview of our summer programs and a look forward to our extended learning. Um and then I will provide an update on back to school which actually started a week ago. So with that I'm going to turn things over to executive director of special programs Dr. Quesa Wilhight and our central coordinator Aubrey Yunker. >> Uh thank you superintendent Dr. Yunowski, esteemed board members and everyone here in the audience as well as at home. Um, my colleague and I are excited to bring you a little overview of summer programming and also what is coming with extended learning after school. Um, so I'm going to do the summer programming portion and then Aubrey is going to talk about the upcoming targeted services after school programming. Um, so here's just a little snapshot also with our site coordinators. There were technically seven programs. Um some of them are kind of bundled together. So we had ESY, um preK12 plus, we have credit recovery at the high school, Spartan Camp for those incoming 9th graders, uh middle school, middle school programming, elementary programming, and then we did some newcomer programming that was housed both in elementary and at the middle school. It was an increase of five weeks this year as well as last year. Previously to that, it had been four weeks long. Um, additionally, we wanted just to say thank you to all of the different um staff members, some returning and some who were new. Um, it takes a lot of work to keep all those programs going. They were had a lot of dedication. Um, and then Aubrey and myself were new, so we just relied heavily on the people that kind of kept it together. So, thank you if you were out there watching. Overall, um we saw an increase in all of the programming alto together. A couple programs um had a couple uh small number decrease, but overall we had about a 92 student increase in overall enrollment. Um so extended school year served about 153 students and the purpose of ESY is to help students uh maintain their skills for the summer so they can continue progress they've made during the school year without losing that learning um and they are determined and uh eligible by their IEP teams at the end of the school year. uh credit recovery. Uh this was at the high school. They saw a really nice increase of 30 credits overall from last year. A lot of individualized attention from their teachers as well as a lot of communication home actually was on a weekly basis from their site coordinator. Uh Spartan Camp. So we all know 9th grade is a transition year. So, this affords the opportunity for incoming uh students to get to know one another a little differently in some fun spaces. They also get a preview of some of those elective classes at the high school. They get a chance to get to know some of the high school staff as well as the connection to Beacons site coordinator and the Beacons uh student youth leaders and just kind of have some some fun as well as get to know what high school might bring. and then they also earn a half a credit. Uh middle school programming. One thing you'll notice is all of our programs really focus on that social emotional learning as well as the academic side. So in middle school there is the focus of course on social emotional learning but also then math looking at the priority math skills looking a little bit ahead as well so that students get a little picture of what's coming and will feel a little more confident. And then in language arts we know that text complexity and reading becomes quite a bit uh more difficult. And so there's a lot of focus on reading and writing skills as well as on their fluency and comprehension. uh language enrichment academy like I said was uh housed in the middle school as well as in the elementary school. Um there were a total of five sections overall. This is for new to country students. A lot of the focuses focuses on uh English language development in the sciences and again it's a little bit of a preview that's more hands-on learning and then some a field trip as well. elementary, it's building that classroom community with a large focus on reading, writing, and math. And then offering enrichment activities embedded in the day as well. And then the enrichment activities at the elementary were provided by Dolores Works. We also had some of our own uh Ridgefield staff um also offering some enrichment activities, but Dolores Works does a lot of that lift. They offered uh coding and robotics, some soccer, basketball, movement and music, and [clears throat] softball classes. And they have been a really good partner over the years for summer programming. At the middle school, we partner with Beacons. And this summer, they did some things on uh building um not building, business design, and forensic science. They do some field trips in the Teen Tech Center. And then we also have a connection at the high school with Beacons and with Spartan Camp and again with those youth leaders and then our site coordinator from Beacons at the high school. Um you can see the students took a bike trip to the ice arena and did some skating. They're doing some arts and crafts and just exploring the Beacon space. Um, and then also in the kind of lower left you can see students doing some planning of different activities and kind of just learning about themselves and what their strengths are. Um at the end of the summer, uh Aubrey and I did a little bit of um we had some meetings with some of the site coordinators just to hear from them what usually goes well and what are some recommendations they would have for us to think about in the future. Um we did decide to use uh the acronym rise um to go with our theme of richfield rising. Um so we came up with four kind of areas. So reflecting on past enrollment and attendance processes to increase both of those in the future. We also would like to continue to find some innovative learning materials and different pathways to meet student needs. Also supporting our own Richfield staff as well as our partner organization staff based on the feedback feedback we received on at the end of the summer program. Um there's a lot of um partnership, but also we'd like to kind of do a little more cross-pollinization between our staff and our partner organizations and then also to evaluate the impact of our summer programming and we'll move into the extended learning and targeted services part of the presentation. So targeted services is partnering with the 21st century grant this year. Um and it is a collaboration amongst many different partnerships um or different community member community partners. So it would be a collaboration between Richfield Public Schools, Richfield Community Ed, the city of Richfield, the Beacons Network, Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and the Y of the North. And so all of these community partnerships together are going to make a great program for us this year. So Richfield is not new to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant. We did have this grant as a first round for six years and it expired in the spring of 2025. And our new grant started just last week on September 1st. And so we will have this grant again for another three years with another option or opportunity to renew for another additional three years. And we are in the redevelopment program or pro process right now. what is this going to look like with all these great partners? And our hope is that um mid October is when we will launch our targeted services part of um the programming. And so the plan is to have targeted services and the the partnership with the 21st century grant at our elementary, middle school, and high school. And our elementary plan is we are going to roll out a super center where at our STEM where all four of our elementary schools will come together. Um and this will have a combination of enrichment and targeted services and um the targeted services part will be led by RPS staff and then the enrichment pieces will be led by beacons and some of our other outside partners possibly some of our own teachers and then community education as well. And then our middle and high school plan is to run very similar programs that we've had in the past with those community partners as well to make it a robust um program. So all of these students have someplace to go after school where they are continuing their learning and have some enrichment opportunities. >> What questions might you have? >> Thank you for that and welcome questions. be a really quiet night tonight. >> I have a couple. Um, did I miss the day that Shaq was at the middle school? Because he's in the picture. >> Yes. I when that picture was sent to me, too, I said the same thing back. I said, "Wait, is that Shaq in that picture?" And what they said was it was some type of a writing contest. And then Shaq came or they went, >> I don't remember which way. >> They went to it. >> Yeah. Um but they got to meet him. That was pretty exciting. >> Um I know in past um years part of the grant that we got around beacons was busing for the middle school. Is that something that's coming back? >> We believe so. >> Okay. [laughter] >> Yeah, mentioned that before when we spoke. >> Yes. So there is some transportation and we're trying to figure out um basically we're planning to launch in the middle of October and we're trying to figure out how much to dedicate to programming, how much to dedicate to transportation, how to do this most effectively. There's already some transportation built in in busing the elementary kids over to STEM and the super center which was uh you have to do something significantly different to retain the grant. So we had to do that and so we are definitely looking at how we can make that all work. >> Great. It's all ahead. Thank you. >> And I'll just say y'all are feel figuring it out great since you lost just a dynamo who was doing the planning before. I mean, shout out to y'all for for figuring it all out. Um, I don't really have a question. Just fantastic. Keep going. I think um oh I wanted to mention too this summer the Boys and Girls Club also took them to one of the Boys and Girls Clubs where they got to meet a bunch of WWE wrestlers. Like Boys and Girls Club has all these wacky plugs. Like you'll get to meet Shaq. You'll get to it's it's cool. You stick around, you're going to see some pretty wild stuff you'd be like, "Wow, I never knew." Um, so yeah, and I'm I'm encouraged to see two working more in partnership at the middle school. I think there's a lot of opportunity to really stitch that together into one solid piece for kids and families so that it's just people know their kids got somewhere to go and they're getting, you know, a lot kind of in that package and a lot of options and stuff like that. So great. >> All I heard was I missed out on both Shaq and Pro Wrestling Superstar. >> Yeah. Right. >> You need to be hanging out. You need to Yeah. Go hang out at the middle school program. [laughter] >> Is that an option? >> Not at my age. No, unless I'm working. >> More questions, comments? >> No, just a comment that um I appreciate the summer programs because I know when my kids were younger um it really helped to keep them out of trouble off the streets and and and they're learning at the same time. So, thank you for that. We appreciate all the hard work. I'll add to sorry I just keep chiming in but to yes and what uh what you're saying that families in Richfield really benefit from this right that there's not a lot of other out of school time options right there's fun club but my son was on the wait list at fun club for all of elementary school you know so there's uh it's nice to have more options for kids and families especially free options uh for programs. So, it makes a big difference for kids and families. We saw that in surveys. We saw, you know, there's a lot more kids in Richville that are going to have stuff to do, which is great. >> I guess I'll jump in. Um, you know, I'm excited about the Super Center. That's fun to call it that. We're going to brand it. >> There be a big sign that says, "Welcome to the super center." >> I think is planning on wearing a giant S. >> Yes. With a cape. >> With a cape. >> Well, I don't know. Super Steveape. >> Super Steve. Superintendent Super Center. I'm on it. >> And Shaq. >> I mean, >> who's a Superman nut, apparently. >> Michelle Obama. >> All right. If she shows up and I'm not invited, I will be very upset. >> [laughter] >> I can live with Shaq and I can live with the wrestlers, but uh >> but not Michelle Shaq. >> I love that. >> It's going to be one of those nights tonight. Uh I think really I mean it's just thanks for all the good work and way to step up and step in. Appreciate it. >> Anything else from the board? Okay, >> then thank you. >> Thank you all for your leadership. >> All right, so this next one's slightly unique. Typically, our back to school update is at the end of the first day of school because this board meeting, the first one in September, usually happens the day after Labor Day and which is today, but we are on day six. And so, uh, this is a summary of the things to have happened so far because August is when schools really start. Um, we really start with professional development and you can just see how it rolls out. We start with management team. Uh, then we work with our administrative assistants to make sure that they are ready to welcome everybody back. Uh then we welcome back our new teachers. We have our workshop week. Um we obviously have our theme for this year, Richfield Rising, which is also our strategic plan. Um and we really are doing some of those components that make sure that we have everything in place. So we're talking about what does our strategic plan look like? We're really looking at those top academic priorities to really try to accelerate achievement. Um, and then we have mandatory health, safety, and policy trainings for all of our staff to make sure that we are aligned on some of those technical expectations to make sure that we are working and functioning as a high functioning system. And so that is what sort of that August is as we roll ourselves forward to when the kids began to arrive. Uh, which begins with connect and assess. It shows our investment in elementary. And so each of our students has a meeting with their family and their teacher. um and they uh take time to get some of those early assessments done so that we can really hit the ground running with instruction. So our elementary kids start with connect and assess uh and we start uh the first day of secondary. We started on August 31st this year. Um and the first day of school for elementary is September 1st. We're going to have that same conversation because uh for next year as we look at the calendar, we'll do some outreach to gather some feedback about how it has gone. uh we'll have a decision to start on September 1st, to start on August 30th even uh with the late Labor Day which would be similar to this year or to start after Labor Day. And so the calendar committee will be looking at that and we'll be gathering some feedback about how it has gone. Um, new this year we have a number of new things. Just to make sure, and you have heard most of these, our strategic plan 26 to 32 Richfield Rising, which came to the board. Um, and there will be actions throughout the course of this year to really get everything tightened up and running. Uh, educ. We look at our data um, social, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically to see how our students are doing, and we use that tool to monitor. Uh we are looking at the implementation of new social studies curriculum and so that is across um our grades. Um and then we move from phase one of the readact training to phase two which is our secondary staff and some of our special education staff. Uh so we're working on that and that will be one of the secondary initiatives for the next couple of years. Launched a partnership as we already know from our feedback of the strategic plan that college and career readiness um acronymed as CCR. Uh we are partnering with Achieve Twin Cities to really expand and deepen uh the work that we are doing and then that ongoing focus on racial equity PD um our assessment and progress monitoring. How do we manage how our students are doing and support them? How do we use that data to improve their outcomes? And how do we also elevate student voice and value bilingualism? And so these are things that are um across our district from new and also continued focal points. This is a look at our enrollment, uh, our current openings, our current staffing, um, which you'll have a full where we are in enrollment report that breaks down demographics, long-term patterns, um, a wide range of things, um, going into January is when that comes back to us. Uh, but this is our early look and some of the early work that we do to balance our class sizes. Um, as a reminder, we're looking for elementary class sizes. Um, which would be if you read K12, 33, four, five, AVG. AVG is the building average. We're looking for a building average at RDLS Sheridan at STEM of 25. Um, all three of those are lower. Centennial, we're looking for 23 and they are slightly higher. Um, and what happens over this next week as we are finalizing enrollments in those classrooms. So, those numbers are going to change. um typically downward in this first week as we have a lot of students who uh have started our schools which we have and then students who have started other schools who still might be on our lists and those get cleaned up over the next week or two. Uh if you look at where we are um versus projection um across our district we are sitting over 200 students above our projection and so we had some data points that shifted unexpectedly. Uh we have more students that we had than we had anticipated. We actually projected based on data a little bit larger than 100 students fewer and then we anticipated metro surge on top of that. Right now at this time we're not really seeing that and so our data pattern has changed significantly and we'll wait a couple weeks before we draw any conclusions but then we'll begin to try to gather some information as to why and what is going on and how do we look at that moving forward. You'll also see there open positions as of September 2nd. So we have zero teacher spot open, six pair of professionals, uh facilities, transportation, nutritious and office spots, seven and management zero. And so that's a very strong position to be in um at this point in time. And several of those have been filled in the meanwhile. Um and so we're doing very well from a staffing perspective. Um and like I said, working with more students than we had anticipated yet maintaining class sizes at or below uh the averages that we were looking for. Couple of big fun upcoming events. We have Penfest September 20th, um 1 to 5:00 pm. We also have our homecoming parade October 3rd, 10:00 a.m. Uh so those are a couple things to make sure we have on calendars to have some fun and positive presence as we move through the fall. And then um as you heard in our kickoff, Richfield Rising is not just our six-year strategic plan. It is also our theme for the year. Um and people are hearing me say again and again, Richfield Rising. And the rising really stands for student achievement, student outcomes. And we're really going to be focused this year as we moved out of COVID and that really tight focus on social emotional learning. Now we are looking at a really tight focus on academic and academic growth for our students and really trying to leverage all that strong culture climate data. We've seen all those strong behavioral improvements. Now we want to see equalized large jumps in academic outcomes for our kids. So with that, I will stop. We'll obviously hear about the school year off and on as we continue on. Uh, but that was just our update from the start of the year. >> Thank you for that super fast update. >> Questions, comments? >> Um, maybe a clarification on the social studies curriculum. Are we evaluating this year or implementing this year? >> Uh, we are in implementation this year. Yeah, >> that's what I thought. Thank you. Okay, we are currently evaluating math and math curriculum for next year. Other questions or comments? If not, hear none. Moving right along then that brings us to the consent agenda which >> oh commendations commendations because I know principal Collins that's one uh who didn't want her name said on the microphone so that is principal Thine Collins not to be confused with elementary principal Andrew Collins principal Stacy Thin Collins that's three uh was embarrassed that she was commended because she gave up part of her weekend for the RHS class of 66 meaning a 60th year reunion. Uh they took the time to call out Principal Stacy Thine Collins uh for how impressed they were. Um how much the school has progressed over the years. Um and what impressed them most was that's right, Principal Stacy Thine Collins. Uh that we're lucky to have her. Pride in her school and her passion for the students was apparent. Um and they just wanted to make a specific shout out not just to Richfield Public Schools, but to principal Stacy Thine Collins. So congratulations, Principal Stacy Thine Collins. Ah, we'd also like to commend RPS bus drivers. I received a commendation um from a staff member at STEM who wanted to reach out to express their sincere thanks to the drivers for their work. Uh they took time to double check rosters, made sure students were on the right bus, getting off at the correct stops. And while I know those extra checks took time, these few weeks are especially stressful and I appreciate their commitment to student safety. So, thank you to those bus drivers. Our bus drivers do a great job making sure everyone feels safe and accounted for. So, thank you to the RPS bus drivers. Then, uh, RPS would like to commend our school board members. So, congratulations and thank you to our schoolboard members. September is Minnesota schoolboard recognition month, and so schoolboard members volunteer countless hours to fulfill one of community's most important responsibilities, which is providing our students with a strong public education and preparing them for their futures. So, your leadership helps create environments where students are challenged, supported, and inspired to learn, grow, and excel. So, thank you to all of our RPS board members. Uh, your dedication to our students, public education Minnesota, and so thank you to the Richfield Public Schools board members. >> How can I miss those important accommodations? >> I mean, in your humility, you didn't want me calling out RPS board members in the same way that Principal Stacy Vine Collins didn't want me calling her out. So, >> that was like a setup, right? >> Yep. >> Yeah. >> Well teed, Mr. Clark. >> I got you. And I got her. Thank you, Principal Collins. Sorry, Principal Dean Collins. Okay, the next item is approval of the consent agenda, which contains a collection of routine or fairly routine business items that we consent to pass in bulk without individual discussion. I'll pause for a moment to see if there's any questions or requests before we proceed. Hearing and seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? >> I move to accept the consent agenda as presented. >> Second. We have a motion by clerk Liss and a second by treasure dumpkins. It's so fun to see everybody's title. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> All post please say nay. Chair votes I. And we have an approved consent agenda. Brings us to our one item for old business. It is policy 901 community education. It's a third read. >> That is correct. And so we are hoping for passage. you're not going to see major changes. Um there has been uh feedback from the community ed department. Uh but you'll see most of those changes. Um and again none since the last meeting are really around branding. Um and so we have this which defines how our community ed department works and the purpose of community in Richfield public schools. Since there's so much discussion, is anybody going to move to approve? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> We have a motion by Vice Chair Spencer and a second by Director Dennis. Looking around, see if there's any discussion. [clears throat] No [snorts] eye contact tells me we're ready for a vote. All in favor, please say I. >> I. All post we please say nay. Chair votes eye. And we have an approved policy 901 community education brings us to new business. We're just moving right along. And our first item is fun stuff. A resolution to limit the enrollment of non-resident pupils. >> Yes. So this will be only the second time I've brought this forth to the board. Um I brought this forth two years ago in another scenario where our enrollment was an increase and our enrollment was beating projection. And so I'm going to talk to you a little bit about the rules and regulations, explain what we are requesting today, um, and then answer any questions. And so within the school district, I am able to, as the superintendent close a particular building or close a particular grade level, but I am not able to close anything across the district. Um, that is actually a board action. Um, and the board, um, and Richfield Public Schools has to and will always welcome in all residents of Richfield. We are legally obligated and excited to serve them all. We are also excited to serve students who come to us from across the metro. Um and um at a certain point um by the way, did you notice my powers of the air conditioning that came on? Mr. Carter, I just wanted to mention that. Actually, that was Craig, but [laughter] >> I wasn't sure if a plane was flying over, but yes, >> I actually think Craig took care of that for us because he's Mr. Holy. Thank you, Craig. uh the state laws allow us to cap open enrollment at 1% or any number higher of our overall enrollment. Um and so given that we are well above our current enrollment targets um and given that it is very challenging to find teachers in September and October at this point uh one of the strategies we have is to close open enrollment um at either a grade level or at multiple grade levels. Um and so right now our secondaries are um over a hundred students above what we had anticipated between the two of them about 50 extra at ele or at middle and over 50 extra at high school. Um what we want to do is close at this time to open enrollment. Uh we also if we think back to that chart our current fifth grade class sizes are relatively large. We have 30 students in our fifth grades in both Sheridan and at STEM. And so while I can close those classrooms, we cannot close to open or I cannot close to open enrollment without board action. So tonight I'm asking us to close to grades 5 through 12. Um if you look at um if you look at the caps we have suggested, we have suggested a cap at 5% of our overall enrollment. And so that is an I'll call it a relatively low number. Um what that means is is that unless grade five, for example, dropped below 14 open enrolled students, we would remain closed unless I came back to the board and asked you to resend. Um and so we set targets to make sure that I would have to take a deliberate action to come back to you all um to ask you to open um otherwise we would remain closed to open enrolled students for the remainder of the school year 512 and then this would expire for students rolling into next year. Um and so what we be what I'm asking the board to do today um is to take the action to close us to open enrolled or non-resident Richfield students um in grades 5 through 12. questions, comments, or a motion. >> I move to limit the enrollment of non-residential and pupils. >> Second. We have a motion by clerk list and a second by treasure Tom Hopkins. Uh discussion. >> We didn't do this last year, right? It was year before. >> We didn't do it last year. We did it two years ago. >> Two years ago. >> Yes. So that the conditions historically have been, since we're in the discussion, have been above um our enrollment targets. Um I was asked in a I had a couple conversations. I was asked, is this something we should consider on a yearly basis? And so we began a leadership conversation to say, do we want to think about this um just as a common practice? There are a lot of districts who in middle of August or early September do close their open enrollment temporarily. Um will they get a handle on things and figure out how many students and their staffing situation? Um and so we're going to have some reflection on do we want to consider this as a practice? I don't have an answer whether we do or do not, but we wouldn't need to make this decision until August, September of next year. And we'll have a lot of conversation to see is that something we want to reflect on or consider. >> And the state says you have flexibility up to what again? >> So I can close I can close a classroom or a building. >> I cannot close the district. I cannot close a grade level. So, if a Richfield resident comes into and wants to go to, we'll say, Sheridan right now who has 30 in their fifth grade classes, we I can say no, we're not open there. You would need to go to a different one of our elementarymentaries. That's a decision empowered to the superintendent. What I can't say is no, you can't come to Richfield schools um if they are external. >> And our level is is just Richfield schools as a whole is not saying we're going to cap Sheridan at a certain level. Correct. >> Yeah. >> Correct. >> The the other question so um your comment about should there be a standing approach or stance to it from a board perspective. Could we say we're going to cap it at 5% open enrollment across the board and that's our going forward policy? >> Not that that I want to. I'm just more trying to understand. >> Could we do that? Yes, the board could make that decision. Um we wouldn't administratively suggest we do that. Mhm. >> Um it would more be a do we want to make that decision on a yearly basis in August or September? Is that a good decision to make? Um why would we make that decision? Why would we not make that decision? And there there are different reasons for it. If you make the decision, it allows you to know how many kids you have coming in more effectively. Um if you don't make that decision, it grows your enrollment. You know, when we closed open enrollment K12, uh Mr. Holy and I, we did some digging and analysis. We found there were about 20 to 30 students who might have continued on with us. And so that has cost us 20 to 30 students who will not be Richfield public school students long term. >> Um and so there are positives and negatives to that decision. And so we'd want to weigh in and take a lot a pretty significant analysis before we decided do we want that as a regular practice or do we want to just examine it on a yearly basis. Um, the other thing that has changed over my time is it used to be you could find teachers because there was not a teacher shortage. Um, now as the teacher shortage has continued on, um, what we find in Richfield, it is I'm not going to say it's easy, but we do not struggle to find teachers in February, March, April, May, and June for the next year. And then it gets a lot harder in July and August. And when we get to September, um it's extremely hard. Um and so you'll notice we added a kindergarten teacher in the middle of August um at Sheridan. Um there was not a very large pool of applicants anymore. Um and so it just gets harder and harder the further along we get. And so if we have classrooms of students and we need to add teachers, that becomes a pretty significant challenge for the system. Um, and so that's the other component is we're not always able to staff our classrooms at the level we would like when we are looking at very late hires or very late inability to hires for lack of a better description. Um, which is why the state has done things like allow for short-term sublicenses or people who don't have a traditional teaching license, who don't have traditional teacher training are now allowed with a bachelor's degree to apply for a sub license and come and sub in our classrooms. I I don't think it's controversial for me to say that is probably not the same quality of instruction that is occurring um with a highly trained, experienced, effective teacher. Uh we appreciate those people and it's just a different level of what we're able to serve with our kids. And so there's there's a lot to reflect on in that in the larger picture. >> Thank you for that. >> More questions or comments or are we ready to bring it to a vote? a special vote because it's a resolution. Okay, no more discussion. Sounds like we will bring it to a vote. Director Dennis >> I. >> Treasure Tomkins >> I. >> Clerk Liss >> I. >> Vice Chair Spencer >> I. >> The chair votes I and the resolution to limit the enrollment of non-residential pupil non-resident pupils has passed. Brings us to administrative guidelines 651.2. two school activity fees. It's a single read. >> Yes. Uh we are just updating this to bring it in line uh because there have been some changes and things that have been double checked and clarified. Uh we did have this back at the board when we did the policy 651, but we also did uh we did this on February. Uh we have changed some things. Um there's some clarification about how student activity fees works for our co-ops because we don't actually fully decide what those fees are. We don't actually fully decide if they are going to wave some of those fees. We do work to support that. Uh but we don't have full decision-making and so that is outlined in here. Uh we are uh we changed parking um where everybody will be registering for parking but there is zero dollars being charged for parking and we have come to an agreement with Oakrove Church to have some overlap um a block and a half away. And we are so appreciative of our partners at Oakrove Church um for their strong partnership with us. Um and so you'll see some updates. One of the things the board always likes us to do is make sure double check and triple check that these align to policy. And so what you're going to see is on page two, uh, homeschool students do not receive discounted fees in the same way. We are clarifying that competitive activities operated through a co-op are hosted by another district and so they end up determining fees and they end up determining the method. So you'll see fees set by the co-op host in a number of places. You'll see the $95 fees that are there for middle school added in a number of places. Uh you'll see the $100 instrument maintenance charge. Again, um Misswa and team um worked very hard to gather all this information. And then you'll also see the clarification of $0 uh charged for parking. And so with that, we have it before you um for a recommended one read passage to just have realigned it to practice. questions, comments, or as always a motion. Um, just one comment [clears throat] on the the parking changes at the high school. More of a curiosity is I think it's a pretty big change. I know that there's a there's very limited parking I think for students and so I'm I'm very curious how it ends up working out over time. I'm sure they did a analysis of how many they've sold in the past and how many parking spots they think the students need. Um >> they did the biggest couple of changes they actually don't believe they have significantly dropped the number of parking spots. Um what has occurred is there is clear central parking and RSP parking that has been delineated which is helping the parking lot. Um when you add in the Oak Grove Church there are actually a significant number of additional parking spots. Um what we found is is that even when people were paying for parking in the past, we weren't able to provide an effective patrol of the lot to ensure that people who paid were getting spots. Um and so that was a headache. Uh people were parking in the lot and we couldn't track who they were or were not necessarily because cars were showing up. And so far, and again we are a week in, uh given the extra overflow, um we're seeing it going pretty well. Um >> um for students that maybe don't need to drive every day, they've got a doctor's appointment or something along those lines, >> is it are they recommending that all students get a parking pass so that they know what cars are theirs or do they are they recommended to do street parking a couple blocks away or what? >> They have recommended and communicated that anybody wanting to park in our lot must register >> um because they are going to be able to then tell by the tags that that park car belongs or does not belong. Um be it here or at Oakrove. >> Okro. Yep. Okay. >> Street parking is also challenging. So >> yeah. >> Yes. >> We'd rather have them just get that permit. >> Yeah. >> On behalf of the high school, of course. >> So with that comment, >> I will move that we pass the student activities fee um administrative guidelines 651.2. Second. >> We have a motion by Vice Chair Spencer and a second by Director Treasurer Tomkins. Sorry. Any more discussion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. Oppose, please. Excuse me, [clears throat] please say nay. Chairs I. And administrative guidelines 651.2 activities school activity fees is approved. Brings us to policy 455 reserve teacher pay scale and it is also a single read. >> All right. So, we are also coming back to you with an update of policy 455. Um, our HR team, Michelle Axel, um, and Craig Holi have examined our market data um, examining to make sure we remain competitive in regard to our substitute teachers. Um, and so we're asking this to uh, be implemented effective September 1st. Uh recommended rate increase is $5 a day, a 2% increase rounded to the nearest $5 for full days, and then also $5 per half day for harder to fill half day assignments. So the goal is for um our HR team to support our ability to attract, retain, and maintain sub positions that are full. Um and so you'll see that going from 200 to 205, 205 to 210, 210 to 215. Um and similar for those half days. So we're asking the board to support that so we can make sure that beginning at the start of this year, we're paying our subs in that regard. and um we can move forward with that to make sure that we are out in the game. >> Do I need to recuse? >> Uh do you need to? No, but it would make sense given that there are five members. You can certainly feel comfortable to not vote. >> I want you to send this to the superintendent in St. Paul. >> I'm not going to send this to the superintendent in St. Paul. [laughter] >> No, they get paid more than me. >> Not going to start no stuff. >> Rumble grumble. No, that was a joke. Questions or comments about it. Guess my one question might be is why why now versus why not a month or two ago? >> All right. So, I'm going to call Miss Michelle Axel up to help me with that. And so, our team does a deep dive into the analysis. I don't have the answer to that question. I think it's only fair because you waved her off. Did you answer this yourself? >> I was just trying to take work off Director Axel, but you asked such a deep question and she has such deep knowledge that I'm tagging her in because you want the brains of the operation. >> I'd rather hear from the expert. >> See, there you go. >> Peres worthwhile. Every year um a part of our HR across the state of Minnesota, we complete a survey as to what our substitute rates are for the upcoming year. And so as they were being gathered early in July, early in August, there weren't a large number of substitute rates coming in from different districts. And I wanted to do we wanted to do a comparison from last year as well as this year to ensure that we're we're aligned and and still competitive. >> Do we publish that data out to anybody else? >> Say >> are we so so you're gathering it or other HR groups are gathering it together? >> Yeah, they're we're gathering it together. >> Okay. Um so then so for next year we could do this in June rather than July. I'm just because there are subs. >> I mean, I think the challenges are people make these decisions as they see who is competitive and the challenge of doing this in June um strategically is we do this in June, somebody jumps us in July and so I'd say most of the districts coordinate at the start of the year to do this >> um to make sure that we are most competitive um and yet doing it in a way that doesn't create this jumping of each other month in month out. >> Is it retroactive? Um, we've determined that it would be best uh to have it effective September 1. >> So, yes, >> exactly. >> Thank you. More questions or of course. >> Oh, you can't you don't want to you mute a motion? I so move that we accept the reserve teacher pay scale as presented. >> Second. >> Thank you, Director Dennis and Clerk Spencer. Not clerk Spencer, Vice [laughter] Spencer. Any more discussion? Bring it to a vote. Uh, all in favor of approving the policy 455 reserve teacher base skill say I. >> I. I'll post say a chair votes I and it's approved >> and then just for clarification Mr. list did not vote. So there are four yeses and one abstension. I'm just saying that out loud >> just to make sure we cop that. Yep. Thank you for that. >> Brings us to paraprofessional and outreach out. >> Yeah, I'm not going to try this one. Director Axel. Yeah. >> Paraprofessionals and outreach workers collected bargaining agreement 2026 to 2028. >> Good evening. I'm here to present the proposed paraprofessional and outreach worker collective bargaining agreement for 26 2026 to 2028. The recommendation is for the board to approve the tenative agreement reached with SEIU local 284 and ratified by the bargaining unit. The agreement um brings two bargaining units together under one unified agreement and salary structure. The two bargaining units mer came together effective June 6, 2026 and this agreement establishes the terms for the combined unit through June 2028. Some of the highlights is uh a 2.75 increase in each year of the agreement across all salary schedule cells. The district family medical insurance contribution increases by a 100 per month to,700 in year one with an additional 200 per month increase in year two to hit 1,900 for the district contribution. The annual VIBA contribution also increases by 250. Longevity pay was increased at each tier to better align with the market based on our review. It also establishes earlier eligibility by one year at each level for the district matching contribution for a 403b. The agreement also aligns and clarifi clarifies provisions across the two groups to create to create greater consistency including the vacation benefits for 12 month par professionals and outreach workers are now aligned. We have district inservice training requirements and scheduling that align for both groups. We have it now a single salary schedule combining with the existing class levels and job categories for the pairs and outreach workers. We've clarified seniority and layoff procedures. We've also added bereavement leave for employees who do not have vacation leave which is separate from other paid leave. And we added a special leave of absence without pay provision which defines approval procedures. the benefit continuation and return to work requirements. Overall, this agreement provides competitive compensation and benefit improvements while establishing a consistent structure for the newly combined bargaining unit. Do you have any questions? >> I don't know if other board members do. And I'll clarify for those who may be watching that we have talked about this a bunch whenever we go into close session. So our lack of questions is not because we've not asked questions is because we've asked them all. And with that background does anybody want to make a motion? I move that we accept the paraprofessionals outreach workers collective bargaining agreement. >> Second. >> We have a motion by clerkless and a second by treasurer Tomkins. Any discussion? >> People are scared to make eye contact. We'll bring it to a vote. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> All post, please say nay. The chair votes I. And the pair of professionals and outreach workers collective bargaining agreement for 2026 2028 is approved. brings us policy 704 annual audit first read. >> Yep. So just as a reminder, our first read just reminds us of the policy for that recommended review. So this is governed mostly by statute and uh MSBA model policy. This indicates how and what we do in regard to audit and that audits are required on a yearly basis and the board is expecting the administration to follow through and adequately and effectively audit our finances and be able to report that publicly. So that is laid out in this policy. So this is a first read just to refamiliarize ourselves. >> Any questions on it? >> Um just one question and maybe I should have brought this up before. There's been news of other districts in the area discovering that they have large shortfalls of money or mismanagement of money. And I'm I'm curious in those in I don't want to bring up specific examples, but in my opinion, it seems like the annual audit should cover us and should have covered those districts in that. And I just want to make sure that the language that we have in here and the annual audit that we do protects us above and beyond what we're seeing happen once in a while in the news. >> Um, I think the audit provides some protection. And I think our practice of having multiple lenses, look at things from multiple different angles is our largest um protection. Uh what we do is in our finance department, our finance team does a lot of work. Craig does a significant review of that. I do a significant review of that. Um with Dr. Clarkson leaving with her special ed lens, we have gathered some additional cabinet members to take review of that. Uh what I think you are referring to um is non-reimbursement of special ed transportation that occurred in one of the districts. Uh we have multiple checks on that. If you recall, we did some work beyond what the state auditors do um in that area and Craig dug down into our bills in a way that um actually it appears permanently altered the level of bills that we are being charged. Uh but we are looking at those very closely. Uh similarly uh in special ed and special ed reimbursement there are ways you can look at these things um and if there are not anomalies or big changes in what we are seeing um that is very helpful um we have done >> year over year >> year over year yeah we've done some pretty in-depth forensic audits of what can we get reimbursed >> uh thankfully we have I mean we worked with Dr. Clarkson for many years who is an expert in that area. Um we also partner with 287 Marcy Dow their superintendent is an expert in special ed finance. Um and so we have a lot of people with a lot of deep background knowledge that we make sure are looking at those details. >> I feel like your question's a little bit different though. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it. >> The auditors don't find that. So if we were overlooking areas that we could be getting additional funding, that's >> Craig's job. my job, the cabinet team's job. That's our job. >> Yeah. >> The auditors find if we have fiscal anomalies in the things that we're doing, if we don't have effective safeguards in what we are doing, but the auditor's job is not to check and see if we are maximizing our special ed reimbursement methodologies um or if we are making sure of those things. That's not what they look for. >> And and the auditors will say, "Hey, we think we're going to be a 2020 $20 million deficit either." Right? I mean that's something that we're doing along the way throughout the year when we're reviewing the budget, when we're approving the budget. >> Correct. We are seeing the budget on a monthly basis in our um we're seeing it multiple times a year. We are looking at where we are expenditures versus projections. And then when there are things that don't make sense, there are multiple people looking at it, asking a bunch of, for lack of better description, irritating questions like why is this pot here? Why is this more? Why is this less? What is going on? Um and so the biggest safeguard we can have is multiple lenses always looking at our finances. Um >> so this is just more of a policy to safeguard bigger picture what our process is for managing our money. >> Um this one is about the requirement of an audit. >> Um and then unfortunately Kirk's question is is much deeper about how do we make sure that there is effective fiscal management um beyond just the auditing procedures. Um, >> it's an interesting question. I guess maybe maybe the question is is what other policies do we have around fiscal management? >> Yeah. And I did just look up the example and it was the special education >> Yeah. >> issue. Y >> So yes, he anticipated the right question that I did not have and I confirmed it. Yeah. >> More questions, comments or next policy? Sounds like next policy it is brings us policy 705 insurance >> uh similar to audit this is a first read of insurance basically saying uh against statute that says we will have adequate insurance coverage and keep appropriate records as you know we have an insurance advisory uh it's a very short policy um it is one of those things to make sure that we have it and we are reporting that repeatedly publicly to the board again a first read it shall return to us. Any questions or comments? William go through puberty >> question. Just curious, what is the indemnity um amount? Do we have that? >> Mr. Holgi, I'm going to give you the indemnity amount question. Uh we have a range of different insuranceances. Please, while I'm stalling and stumbling through the question, of which I can do the clown answer or we can get the real answer. Yeah. So, in general, um, we look at $2 million and $5 million. >> Sorry. Um, in general, I believe it's 2 million and 5 million. We actually have, um, at the next meeting, we'll be coming up the renewal for the per, uh, for the liability, employers liability, and a number of those different categories. So, >> thank you, sir. >> Y, >> any more questions? >> If not, that brings us to donations. >> All right. Centennial Elementary School received a donation of school supplies valued at $410 from Tech Systems of Bloomington, Minnesota. So, thank you to Tech Systems. RHS girls basketball team received a donation of $428.92 for training equipment from the Richfield Spartan Foundation. So, thank you to the Spartan Foundation. And RHS Spartan Food Shelf received a donation of $2,000 from the Richfield High School class of 76. So, thank you, class of 76. With that, >> I move that we accept these donations with the utmost gratitude. >> Second. We have a motion [laughter] by Treasurer Tomkins and a second by Vice Chair Spencer to expect accept the donations with the utmost gratitude. All in favor, please say I. >> I. All post a chair votes eye and we accept these donations with the utmost gratitude. Thank you for that. Brings us into the advanced planning section of our agenda which is all which always begins with the legislative update. All right. So, uh primaries have passed. So now we have ballots prepared for election. Um I just want to remind board members and we will have some communications coming out from our district about this about the constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot. Um and so there is um a constitutional amendment to support um the permanent school fund um and changing the calculation methodology which would send more money to schools. It doesn't raise taxes. It creates no burden on any other humans. Um and it is a way to provide with no extra effort funding to schools. Uh so we as a school system are not allowed to tell people to vote yes or no. uh we will just be very clear in distributing that this is a way to raise funds without raising taxes and there is only positive impact that we are able to figure out. Um and as a reminder constitutional amendments if you do not vote it counts as a no. Um and so people who are seeing their ballot should make sure they are reading every possible thing make sure that they are voting for every possible thing that they can vote for. And so that will be in short what our public message is that we will shout multiple times in in that last month rolling up to the election. >> Will we be talking about an atfest? >> Uh great question. I will have that conversation with Laura Harat tomorrow. Just never too early, right? >> Never too early. Does um as board members does it like right so the school district staff can't you know kind of urge people around what types of votes to make? Can board members do that? >> Members can 100% tell people who they believe they should vote for and what they believe they should vote for. Okay. As school members, we have not typically spoken about particularly candidates. >> Sure. >> Um at least publicly as a board member. So, if you support a candidate, um, we would hope that you are not crossing your school board member role to say, "Vote for this person." Um, however, as a human, you certainly can tell people to vote for this person. Um, it just would not be you acting in your board member role, which has some complexity to it. At the same time, things like this, or if there were a referendum, we 100% have board members um, helping out very strongly in those types of things. So, we certainly can have board members do that. Any other comments, questions about legislative update brings us to information and questions from the board and as what we're starting to do new again upcoming we have on th it's like announcements right on Thursday September 10th there's an open house at RHS from 5:30 to 7:00 and Sunday the 20th since we talked about already is penfest from noon to 5 which I'm sure you'll see some all of us wonderful board members there. Uh, if you haven't signed up, >> maybe in new shirts, >> maybe in new shirts. And [laughter] if you haven't signed up, make sure you sign up because Sandra >> Steve up from Laura. >> Yeah, Laura Laura sent something out, so you should have that in your email. >> She She wants shirt sizes. >> She wants us to sign up for >> I think people already signed up for their shirt sizes. I believe she also sent out a spreadsheet for people to sign up for slots. Um, if you can't sign up for a slot, you'll see that many of those are filled, but you can come at any point. You are always welcome. >> Um, and yes, there could be >> could be shirts available since I believe you all uh gave your shirt size. And who knows, maybe there'll be arrows pointing to your head or a sash. You just never know. Although she didn't ask for arrow size or sash size, so no promises. >> I think the as of this afternoon, the last shift of the day still needed some help. >> I'm looking at it right now. 315 to 5:30. >> Take a look at >> spots. >> Really? >> Check. So, we'll have to do some followup action items on the uh penfest sign up. Any other information or questions from the board? >> One thing um we have a call out for new student members to the board. We've talked to the co the counselors here along with a couple other boards that we're involved with. So, we're on top of that right now. >> How would a student apply to join the board? >> Uh there's a Do you want to >> No, you please. >> Okay. Uh the high school reaches out uh to all of their junior class um or senior class dependent. Uh since ours have graduated, they are looking for two to three new board members and so juniors and seniors are getting a reach out. If that doesn't work, then they will go down to sophomores if needed. Um and they're basically encouraged to apply. >> Okay. >> Um and the process is laid out to them and usually this yields to us board member or board members uh starting in October. >> And just so you know, if you're doing any recruiting, they do get a stipend. you know, they can choose a stipend or volunteer hours. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Um I had two um items. Uh the first one uh with Paula's departure, there's partnerships and committees that she had signed up for. Um and I'm curious if we can bring those forward at Tim's first board meeting and maybe even send that out to him ahead of time because he might just say, "Sure, I'll take hers." But there's opportunities for partnerships and committees. So if we could just add that to the >> we can bring that up to the agenda for our October meeting. And then just as a reminder, these all come up again in January. So anybody asking or willing to support some of the PAOA um components um all of that gets relooked in January. >> Yep. >> Thank you. >> Um and then the other one was related to um a notification I got as a parent of high schoolers um that that we've got a new partnership with Achieve Twin Cities. And when um I mean Stacy Thines Collins really wanted her name said one more time. Yeah. >> But my thought is maybe when she comes she could tell us about that new partnership and what that means for our juniors and seniors. >> Sounds good. So, I'll make sure that uh principal Collins who texted me her displeasure with me repeatedly [laughter] saying Stacy Collins principal uh that in her presentation to the board she does share about uh college and career readiness and the continuation of our programming and some of our um expanded supports we might be able to offer and we will be doing through achieve twin cities. >> She is the best. Um, okay. Suggested future agenda items. Then that brings us to future meeting dates. Like I said before, September 21st at 7 p.m. is a regular board meeting, which will be a opportunity where we have public comment. And then October 5th will be our next board meeting after that. Um, in into October already. I'm just checking just to make sure. Um, since we had this nice little note, this is more internal. I guess this is is uh information and questions for the board. Is a reminder that we have a study session on November 2nd as well. Make sure you guys put that on your calendars. With that, final item business on the agenda is to adjourn. As the meeting does not require a full board vote, I will officially join the meeting at 8:06 Come.