good evening and welcome foreign tell us when you're ready Aaron microphones are way too high okay are we better we are better I think it's better okay good evening uh let's call this meeting to order it is 703 on Monday December 5th and I call to order this regular meeting of the Ridgefield School Board attending this evening's board meeting live and in the world room are crystal bracky Eric Carter Allegra shmichek I'm more chair for today Paula Cole and we're joined by our student Representatives we have Elsie Cruz para we have shim shimdul U sorry and we also have Paola and Andes suniga with us along as superintendent yunowski our board secretary Cassandra quam and we also have our members from our district cabinet and educators let's say thank you to everyone joining us here live and in the boardroom and also if you're watching at home tonight welcome uh thank you for being with us with that the first business tonight is to approve the agenda I'll move the agenda as presented I'll second all right we have a first motion by Miss mitchek and a second bike Miss bracky any questions comments all in favor please say aye aye anyone nay the war votes yes and the agenda is approved uh we will now move to information and proposals uh and these are known action items this evening and we pass the mic to superintendent yonowski all right three things on the agenda tonight we are acknowledging a very generous donation to Richfield High School we have our truth and Taxation hearing um and we have a presentation from Centennial Elementary School and I'm going to look to Mr holgy to see if I'm able to switch around the truth and Taxation Centennial presentation or do we need to do uh he is saying no so I'm going to apologize to our Centennial delegation who's going to be a little later than we had hoped um all right so I'm going to begin by acknowledging a donation Ridgefield High School I received a donation in the amount of 25 000 uh and 69 additional dollars and 77 cents from Lillian Yamamoto of Edina Minnesota this Yamamoto is a parent of multiple students who attended Richfield public schools in the past Miss Yamamoto shared that she was always impressed with the teachers and staff of Richfield as an appreciative of the opportunities available to her children so we often um at the end of our meeting and will also formally accept in our donation segment but we also wanted to make this in the superintendent report because much like the Spartan Foundation when they make large donations to Richfield we we note that publicly and so we want to publicly and acknowledge the extreme generosity of Miss Lillian Yamamoto so thank you very much and we are honored to receive your gifts okay thanks and many thanks on behalf of our students and our staff so thank you thank you with that we are going to turn things to Mr Craig hoji for truth and Taxation very good thank you very much uh tonight we have our public hearing for taxes which is often referred to as the truth in taxation hearing um as we move to the next slide you'll see this presentation is part of the Minnesota state requirement to ensure governmental budget transparency and autographies for public comment much of the information is required by Statute but it also provides us an opportunity to share with our community our financial status and operations following this presentation the board is able to act on the final Levy for the coming calendar and fiscal years and as we move on tonight we will share information about the background of school funding go over the current your budget present the proposed tax levy for taxes available in 2023 and then provide the opportunity for public comments it's important to note that the Minnesota state constitution requires the legislature to provide for funding through a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state local taxes are one opportunity along with other funding that comes through the state to provide this program in-school funding is your school funding is highly regulated in any taxing Authority if the school board must be within guidelines identified by the state most are rep most of our revenue is specified on a per pupil or per student basis the state authorizes a maximum Levy each School District can Levy both local boards can authorize less than this amount they are not able to operate more school boards are also also authorized to submit referendums for operating in capital needs but those also must be within state required clinics hmm one of richfield's largest funding sources is through a state allocated formula for general education Revenue this is State funding generated on a per-pupil basis for 22-23 school year this formula allowance is 6863 dollars per student which was a two percent increase from our previous year of 6728 the level of State funding for 2324 is not yet set and that will be determined by the state legislature in the coming upcoming session this spring the next slide illustrates how the state funding has not kept up with inflation since 2002-2003 and it would take an 18.4 percent increase or one thousand two hundred sixty three dollars more per student per year to make up that difference and the next slide just shows that illustration with the blue line being the inflationary increases off of that base year of 2003 and the dotted Orange Line being the actual formula allowances and with that you can see the net impact of that funding differential over the last couple years specifically with those inflationary factors special education is another area that's been Inc that has seen increased cost per specific programs serving students with identified needs while programming in this area is specialized and often within certain required services to make sure all students are served this programming comes with additional costs that are not fully covered by the funding specified for these Services as such districts are required to bridge this Gap with other funding sources such as local revenue or general education funding and because school funding is complex a change in the tax levy does not always correlate directly with the dollar for dollar increase in the school budget tax levies are based on many different formulas and some increases in tax levies are actually offset by reductions in state aid so they um have a neutral Factor an expenditure budget is impacted by overall changes in state formulas voter approval levies and the use of fund balance or Reserve dollars and the next slide highlights the advanced planning that's required for school funding which is a little different from cities and other municipalities our budget year begins on July 1 and coincides with the school year the taxes authorized by the levy being presented this evening will be collected from Property Owners between January 1 and December 31 2023 but will be used to fund the school district from July 1 2023 to June 30 2024 and our preparation for this Levy actually began this past summer in July of 2022 with the preliminary Levy authorized in September so property owners could receive information from the county about their proposed taxes in November tonight we'll also be sharing information about our current year 22 2022-2023 budget because the budget funded by the proposed Levy is still being developed and will not go into effect until July 1 2023. School District budgets are broken up into multiple funds with the general fund being the one that provides most of our regular education programming each year the budget is authorized by the school board in June for the budget year beginning July 1. this slide has a lot of numbers and a lot of columns on it shows an overview of the fiscal year 22 and fiscal 23 budgets it highlights the revenues and expenditures for each of the funds as well as the fund balance overall you can see our fund balances declining because of our building construction project which was funded initially through bonds the general restricted fund is funding that can only be used for specific purposes with our general operating programs and you'll notice that most funds are relatively stable with revenues and expenditures over the past few years we have seen an increase in our general fund Reserve associated with additional federal dollars and contained expenditures but you'll notice that we're starting to experience a projected to experience and project a slight decline in these reserves this coming year and if you're wondering why the revenues and expenditures are shaded for the internal service fund this is because these funds come in and out of the other funds in our budget and Reporting those funds in this format would inflate the overall revenues and expenditures in the district specifically next we're going to examine our revenues our general fund accounts for 83.6 percent of our overall revenue of just over 87.9 million our debt service which accounts for the funding associate with our construction project and other post-employment benefits is the next high highest category and food service and Community Education each represent about two to three percent of our overall Revenue and focusing on our general fund specifically 62.4 of that Revenue comes from the state 26.1 percent comes from local property taxes and 11.5 percent comes from the federal government so you can see the impact of that Levy um in that general fund Revenue next looking at the general fund expenditures because we are a highly human capital-based organization 77.5 percent of our expenditures go to pay salaries and benefits for staff 12.3 percent of our budget goes to purchase services for things like specialized transportation and fees to other schools and when we look at those expenditures by program 43 or 32 million dollars is spent on regular instruction 18.7 percent is spent on special education instruction 11.2 percent is spent on on sites and buildings um 11.2 percent is spent on pupil support services such as transportation and counseling and 6.7 on instructional support such as technology media curriculum and staff development just under four percent is spent each on licensed Administration and support services next we'll review the property tax levy process proposed levies and the impact on taxpayers each owner of taxable property pays taxes to various municipalities city and county specifically along with school districts each jurisdiction sets its own tax levy within the limit set by the state and this Levy is facilitated by the county which sends the tax statements collects the funds and distributes them to the appropriate jurisdiction in November of each year Property Owners receive the notice of proposed taxes from the county Hennepin County is responsible for Distributing these statements for Richfield Public School District residents and has identified earlier school levies are very complex and are calculated by Minnesota Department of Education the levy is based on various categories and limited by state law and voter approval the next slide highlights the steps in the process and you'll note as we look at this only one of these steps is actually controlled by the school district as you can see the city and county determine the estimated Market values the legislature legislature sets formulas of how various properties are taxed including residential versus commercial the county auditor calculates the tax impact for each parcel based on these formulas the legislature sets maximum Levy limits for school districts the Minnesota Department of Education calculates those detailed Levy limits the school board adopts the proposal and final levies and the county auditor then takes the final Levy information to finalize the tax for the individual properties um the next slide articulates the process that results in the levy being recommended this evening and you can see that really started September 8th with MD preparing that and ends following this tax hearing with the board certifying the final Levy uh looking next at the proposed Levy for this evening there's a proposed increase of three percent in the local Revenue however we'll illustrate later that this actually results in a net impact on the typical owner that is relatively flat or neutral with a decline for some for the same property value and only a slight increase when average property values are average property value increases are considered we'll also illustrate the reasons for major changes in the levy uh this slide illustrates some of the various aspects of the levy and the various funds in the general fund you will note increases in the capital projects or technology referendum operating Capital as well as the voter approved Debt Service account and there are also decreases in the voter approved referendum local optional Revenue long-term facilities maintenance and the prior year adjustments and just to pull out a couple of those larger changes first of all in the voter approved referendum there's a decrease of 154 328 dollars this is primarily the result of a projected reduction in enrollment uh next in the general fund we have a voter approved capital projects or technology Levy this is an increase of 383 601 this year and this is primarily resulting in the increased tax base much of which is aligned with commercial property in the Richfield School District and then finally in The Debt Service fund there is an increase of 765 580 dollars this is primarily the result of increased statutory Authority related to the 2017 voter approved school facilities referendum that allowed the district to issue additional bonds for construction projects uh next we can take a look and there are many factors that result in a change in taxpayer school taxes including change in value of an individual property changing all property values in the district and changes in Levy amounts due to formula changes or voter approved referendums and the following slides will show some examples of changes in the school district portion of property taxes from 2020 to 2023. they are looking only at our school district taxes and will illustrate the impact with no change in property evaluation so somebody who has a four-year continuous 250 000 property value as well as 17 17.3 percent increase in property values over that four-year period of time which is the average increase in property values in the district actual changes will vary from partial to parcel with estimates having been prepared by ehlers who is the district's Municipal advisor uh the first slide here provides an overview of various property values in Richfield school district for residential commercial and apartments it illustrates the tax impact on various property values holding the value constantly from 2020. despite the overall increases in revenue from the proposed Levy there is still anticipated to be a net reduction in the impact to the average property owner in all areas from 2022 to 2023 and this net reduction is even larger when you look at the change from 2020 to 2023 looking specifically at the last two columns in that um in that slide you'll see those differences from 2020 as well as from the last year pretty much across the board showing reductions uh illustrations the average single-family residential property in Richfield is about three hundred thousand dollars this slide shows the year-over-year school tax change of a couple of property values in this range and you can see that 275 000 had a slight increase of about twenty two dollars this year but had a net reduction from one thousand two hundred and sixty six dollars to one thousand twenty seven dollars this year from 2020 to 2023 and a similar line for the property value at 325 000. and again looking at valuations of commercial and apartment properties similarly you can see that decline in the commercial property tax rates or taxes over that same period of time inclusive of typical market value and then the next two slides are going to account for changes in property value with the increases that most homeowners have seen in Richfield over the last few years this slide shows the year-over-year school tax change for residential Homestead Property when the increase in market value is included I'm looking specifically you can see that that really is a small amount with that 325 thousand dollar home this year seen essentially a 31 dollar increase in property values and yet I'm still lower than where it was in 2020. and then the next slide shows that commercial and non-residential apartment with similar impacts with those increases and values factored in and then we would like to finally conclude with um highlighting a couple of tax savings opportunities for property owners the first is the homestead credit refund or circuit breaker program that's available to homesick Property Owners or renters within income guidelines generally about 119 790 or less this refund requires completion of the m1pr state tax form there's also a specialty property tax refund for Homestead Property Owners with higher gross tax increases this also requires completion of the m1pr tax form and finally there's a senior citizen property tax deferral that allows people over age 65 with income less than sixty thousand to defer a portion of their property taxes until the home is sold or the homeowner dies and then finally looking at next steps the next steps the board will accept public comments this evening on the proposed Levy and we're also requesting that the board certify the proposed Levy later this evening during the action items on the board agenda so with that we would open up for public comments if there are any or questions public comment uh anyone here have any questions or comments I have one question um which is just refreshing my memory do outside of this hearing do we do anything to directly communicate with taxpayers about these numbers and I think specifically to help explain what the Richfield Public Schools portion of these numbers are amid all of the other numbers that they get from the county So and I've I've actually had a couple calls from the property tax statements that went out in November so the November Hennepin County sends out a detail of here's the County taxes here's the city taxes here's the school district taxes and it breaks down with what's the voter approved and what are the other levies that are associated with that I've actually had two calls regarding that so that's more than I had last year one was specifically inquiring about the difference between voter approved and the other levies um the voter approved are those specifically that are voter approved they include our capital projects technology referendum our building voter approved referendum are operating our operating referendum that were passed so those are in that voter approved category and then all of the other levies that is are provided by statutory Authority our local optional Rev Avenue ltfm achievement and integration and some of those other levies are ones that are funded that way so that's the primary the form of communication that drills down for specific taxes and individual homeowners can see that impact on their or individual Property Owners can see that impact on their property that they own we also have multiple points that we're reporting to the board on on the budget so the budget's approved in June there's a revised budget that usually occurs early on in the new calendar year January February March and then the board also receives kind of a year-to-date accounting on each one of those as well but it sounds like no no we don't and the reason I'm asking is just to connect to if we are going to be having conversations about potentially uh you know renewing our technology Levy and looking at our operating dollars like I think I think you know I I just want us to be thinking proactively about how we are communicating with people and being able to put in understandable terms like this reality that actually the increases um that people might be seeing on their property taxes that are tied to Richfield public schools are actually very very responsible in my opinion and very small and I just I worry that that gets lost and that we might not be doing enough to actually make that come through clearly that's awesome thank you thank you thank you sorry thank you for the presentation super fast and I guess I'll start Chris with your comment I mean to that end there's so much data and like obviously you've done this more than once you know thinking about how we communicate to the public I was like because I sit here it's like tons of information going how can you boil it down to like a handful of slides to explain it to somebody because you're only going to get them for a tweet right it's like and so how do we kind of sell what we're doing here um you know one of my questions on page 23 and 20 20 22 and 23. um do we track our expenditures against other districts I mean you kind of had a great pie chart of showing here's kind of where we spend money are we so what other districts are we different right do we care um we're very similar but we also find with some of this districts are in different situations so we've just gone through a larger um building project and so we will be spending more money on construction than what maybe some other school districts are doing and then they will start to spend more money so um we haven't done any recent baselining in those areas um we do know that our voter approved operating referendum per pupil tends to be lower than most of our neighboring districts um so that's kind of the voter approved taxes piece um but the detail around um the expenditure categories and things like that we haven't done anything recently it looks at those in a baseline area Okay um and I guess to that end you know does the state do that like does the state compile the information and go oh here's how like school districts across the state are spending money um so we all school districts are required to report to um the state using the various funding categories so salaries benefits wages and things like that and so we're able to gather that information and take a look at it and see what we often don't have is what is that narrative about what are the different programs that school districts are prioritizing and things like that but we have the ability to look at that through some analytics and information that's available on state websites but they don't do it easy comparison that looks at that specifically that I'm aware of okay um and then I guess the last question and I'm not sure well I turned to YouTube put you on the spot um the the public comments did we announce it at our last meeting and I just forgot because it's two weeks ago yes and then doing the agenda and then yes it is out there also on this agenda within last last meeting and it's also in the proposed tax statements that identify the fact that there's a truth in taxation hearing that's occurring this evening with that opportunity for public comment maybe I guess just more procedurally so I understand is the Newbie is the or are the public comments the same as the Normal public comments or is it more of a oh I want to talk [Music] I still have truth and Taxation always as an extra public comment specific to truth second meeting of the month second meeting of the month yes thank you that's why I can't remember we set this hearing several months ago so that the public comment aspect of it could also be reflected in the information that went out and in the agenda and so is it the same kind of I get a three minutes to go ahead and talk versus um questions so they're they're with the truth taxation I don't believe there's the same requirement for signing up in advance so if somebody were here they would have that opportunity to present um quite honestly um I don't remember the last time anybody over 15 20 17 years I don't think anybody's ever commented other maybe in 2005 2006 when I first started but the information is available um one of the calls I had today had some questions and said I know there's um I know there's a hearing tonight and an opportunity for public comments so that information is out on that that property tax proposed statement um with that information if they have the right to show up here so if somebody hadn't signed up but still came tonight to share information they would have that opportunity great I'm just more Curious it just kind of how this all works and how are people able to kind of chime in it because again got it back to Crystal's question of how can people participate and get engaged thank you appreciate it all right now thank you thanks Craig it's a great question all right and now uh without further Ado our lovely and wonderful team from Centennial so I'm excited to call up to the microphone literacy coach Amy sabroski and literacy interventionist and formerly the literacy coach at Centennial Patty Finland uh principal Colleen Mahoney was not able to be here with us tonight um and so Amy and Patty have graciously agreed to present as our teacher leaders so take it away Pete so here we are um that was my introduction thank you for doing that for me I like that um yeah thank you for having us here tonight we're here to talk um a little bit about what's going on at Centennial regarding literacy as Dr yanowski mentioned I was the literacy coach for the past two years I'm actually math intervention this year and um Amy sabroski is our new literacy coach and I don't want to embarrass her but I have to say she's doing an absolutely beautiful job so it's really really nice to um have her on board as our literacy coach and um we have some time that we can talk things over and and it's really a lovely setup so again thank you for having us here we have a combined teaching experience if I'm the math person right so I should get this right um of 41 years at the in the district so we have been here some time and we love our jobs we love Centennial so here is the MCA data and if you see if you look in 2001 it took a dip and we really we relate that to covet it was just really hard for our students to learn online and there were a lot of struggles and that showed in the data and we're working really hard on making accelerated growth now and recognizing that debt and we use Baseline gather some baseline data and diagnostic data to know where we can reach the students and help them make that accelerated growth okay oh I'm not sure that everything okay um so one of the ways that we measure our students success in literacy is by looking at how they're doing with their fluency and it is um our goal at Centennial that Centennial students gain at least one word per week when they are being progress monitored on a grade level text Amy's going to talk a little bit more about using the data and how we collect data for fluency I do think there is a there's something on here about um I have it in Finland we teach at their reading level and then we assess at grade level so if a child is not at grade level they're doing their clock and I'm going to take it away from you but anyway um you know they're they're practicing at their independent or instructional level during the week with repeated readings but then when they're assessed they are assessed at grade level and we're still looking for that gain of at least one word per week so using data effectively classroom teachers are collecting fluency data weekly or bi-monthly at least two times a month and if students were are not at grade level either with their fluency or we do a phonics blending assessment then we dug a little deeper with using a press diagnostic so knowing their foundational skills what they're strong in and what they're lacking in and how we can give explicit instruction towards those foundational skills and so teachers have been working on in teams to group students across the grade level and kind of share especially third and fourth grade they've been sharing the um sharing the like the instructions so one teacher will teach a student a group of students that need work on CBC words and another teacher will teach the students who need practice on their fluency and so they're getting That explicit instruction of what they really need to to show growth so that's the wind groups that um that we're talking about with the foundational skills in the direct phonics instruction when they're doing fluency instruction they're doing purposeful repeated readings the teacher is modeling and that the students Coral read often with the teacher reading a little bit louder so they can practice with their voice how that sounds and once students are at or above grade level they're working as explicitly on read alouds and the comprehension piece and they also get that different times during the day in different contents and through Interactive read-alouds and students know what their group is working on and how it's going to improve their reading so that's really important at Centennial is they know the why of why they're doing something and what they're working towards I wanted to mention and you most likely know this but the win is um it stands for what I need and so students are grouped across the grade level with whatever it is that they need right now and of course during our coveted time we had we had to keep our kids in pods and so doing that kind of grouping wasn't possible but it's been really working well especially in our third third third grade really great and fourth grade is starting it now too um and that is it's it's for a short time of the day maybe 25 minutes or a half an hour but it's really a model of intervention that has been proven to work and it is working so the next slide is showing what the progress monitoring looks like weekly or bi-monthly um what's your goal for this week [Music] and then the second video is showing um how how the student reads and the teacher listens and then they discuss the progress and if you see on the left the the progress monitoring chart that's the really important part for us the students track their growth and they know as you can see they know what they read and what they're working towards really motivates them [Music] it wasn't that he didn't like sports he really did he did but he was better at tripping and crashing into things than he will not make it and you can see uh with that student the fluency isn't just speed reading that's not what we're looking for we want them to read with expression and to be fully comprehending what they're reading so and um so we've been Gathering and monitoring data from every student uh one through five and so the first set of data is from the the fall Baseline assessment and then the second set is where students were at the end of quarter one so after eight weeks of instruction we've seen so much growth when we've been able to really Target what they need and we were looking at this earlier talking about how we noticed that fourth grade students had made the most significant gains and we talked about how many of those students according to their Baseline and the the diagnostic assessments have those strong foundational skills so the teachers have been able to work on more fluency practice versus revisiting the foundational skills that might be missing so family involvement we know that covid presented quite a challenge when it came to family involvement because our families weren't allowed in the schools and there was a time where kids weren't allowed in the schools either and so family involvement while always very very important really really took a hit um last year we attempted to involve families with something called one school one book and you might recall that Colleen Mahoney and Betsy Midas and I presented to the school board we were reading the book The Miraculous adventure adventure journey journey sorry sorry oh then we're too late thank you and um every um adult in our building every staff member um the students families everybody read the book every child got their own book to take home and read with their family and it was a lot of fun um and we're planning to do it again this year with a book called Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies let you talk about the rest of it and we've through the clsd grant we've ordered Multicultural books so every classroom teacher has a really beautiful selection of classroom books for their library or a classroom library for their classrooms our media has just an abundance of books now that have recently been purchased that we just our students see themselves in the books and that's what's really important to us we had a successful book fair at Centennial over the conferences of the ptso donated more books to the media and as well as teachers are going to get funds to purchase more books so we're all about books and then Amy put together a literacy Bingo night that was yeah in early October which was very well attended yeah we weren't sure what what to expect being the first um in-person event really since covet and the whole lunchroom was full we didn't have enough seats for everyone so it was really well attended and people were so excited to be back in the building and staff came it was so it was such a great Community Building event so we have to do many more of those yeah if you would okay so uh here are some things that some supports that we've been doing and some of them are new and some of them we've been doing for a while but Patty has been the literacy coach for the past two years and this is my first year and so we work with teachers in the past they did two coaching Cycles this year they're each their each teacher signs up for one coaching cycle that lasts a quarter and then many times I continue to work with if they if they still want my support which has been the case we continue to work and set goals and as well as teachers that aren't on a coaching cycle we reach out and set goals and find resources and work together to get our students to be the best readers they can be and then I think it's a real positive tool that teachers are teachers who are not on a coaching cycle are asking for help asking for support um sometimes coaching has been seen as a phone more thing I have to do but what it indicates to me is that we have a really talented literacy coach right here who is making it feel like it's not one more thing I have to do this is something that's really helping me with my practice and we're seeing results the students are making growth and I think that's just a really important thing to acknowledge so I'm very excited about that um the other thing I just wanted to mention is the at the very bottom on my on my sheet of paper here it talks about students tracking their own progress and um and we had a picture of one of the graphs the fluency graphs students are tracking their own progress in other areas of their day too and we just feel that it's really important that you know the students know what the learning Target for the day what what you know the learning Target is for the unit what's going on here what what is it and why do I need to know this what's the relevancy and how and how am I going to show that I do know this material so that's really really important and one of the things that is very motivating to students is when they're able to track their progress they're able to fill in their graph and they are seeing their growth and I don't know if you were able to hear that um students say that her um her goal had been 40 40 words in a minute and well and Amy said well what's your goal going to be for this week she said 50. and I don't know if she made it or not but you know what she she was believing in herself she had a positive attitude and um you know this is what we need from from our students and so it's it's really fun um as a teacher to see that excitement about learning yeah and so it's kind of just highlight the things and then here's the end of the quarter celebration we started this year we just wanted a fun way for everybody in the school to get to celebrate their hard work so at the at the last day of the quarter and we did it for quarter one and we're going to continue to do it all the classes stood in the hallway all the staff was in the hallway Miss Mahoney made an announcement just congratulating all the students on their hard work um if you play the video you get to see the fun [Music] [Music] and this was done obviously at the end of the day which was probably a really good idea that's why they have their their coats on their boots on it and such um and then I just learned today from Colleen that a student that I know really well said this was the best day of my life you know celebrations we think of Rewards or we think of oh celebrating with food or a pizza party or whatever and those are all great things but we have to you know we have a budget and we have to keep everything in mind and really I think for the kids to all be together at the end of the quarter knowing what they were celebrating they were they were um really thrilled to be there and I think it was it was fun for them yeah it didn't cost anything yep there were lots of smiles at the end of the day so well that's our presentation and we're happy to try to answer any questions you might have and if there's something we can't answer we will um we'll be happy to get back to you thank you very much uh it's wonderful let's see open floor for questions uh let's just chat literacy any one of my colleagues who would like to go first sure um thank you so much for the presentation I loved the um the fluency chart and the progress monitoring I just think that's incredible student ownership of learning and increases agency and engagement so I was really excited to see that um I also wanted to congratulate you on the clsd Grant I know that was a highly competitive Grant and one of the things you mentioned was that it funded Multicultural books I was curious what other ways at Centennial it impacted like did it fund some of the coaching positions what impact has that had yeah Dr yunowski might be able to know like the exact Logistics but um yeah Daniels is coming yeah Dr Daniels candles yesd Grant um and funding the coaching positions and good evening everybody yes clsd um funded um all of our literacy coaches it also funded um our um literally literacy family interventions at our um Early Learning ages and so we are leveraging that Grant to push in literacy support across all of our buildings and padding I'm also used to work um in math with um no not no actually with um we have two also we have two math coaches that work to support the four elementaries as well but clsds support all of our literacy coaches at each building in at the early learning sites as well thank you um we used some of the clsd money to buy the books for the one school one book last year and again we'll be doing that this year and the and we use some of the funds for the literacy Bingo night there are some tangible things that we could we've asked there's a a budget that we can use when for literacy related needs at our school so I think one of the perhaps most appreciated things that we were able to purchase were the classroom libraries for teachers and um you know if you've been in education for any length of time you remember especially K-5 education you know spending lots and lots of your own money to have a library for kids and everybody has done that and it's okay but um we haven't always had the books that have the windows and mirrors and um and so now we do and it's really high quality literature and one of the things that we also helped our teachers do was kind of call their classroom libraries so they don't have to have every book they've ever owned out and and there are some books that probably shouldn't maybe be out in the classroom they could be your favorites at your home but as far as classroom maybe they don't belong there for a number of reasons and so we were able to help teachers decide which books should stay and which books not and um it's giving I think it's giving our kids a higher quality experience with the books that they have in their hands um one last question I had uh podcast that has grown in popularity you saw the story it's very compelling regarding literacy we're beginning to have some questions from our community yes regarding our literacy instruction you did mention in the presentation a few things but I was just hoping you would re-emphasize that in Ridgefield we do phonics instruction based on research and our our literacy program is research based yeah and um like I've I've been listening to that too and it's um I think it's important to acknowledge also um data that comes out but wait so as part of the clsd grant we also get to meet with um some coaches from the uh at the state level and so as a coach I do a lot of professional development myself so I've been learning so much about explicit phonics direct instruction to to like go along with our current curriculum also um and we just had a meeting with Rachel Jens in with the clsd funds we talked about purchasing maybe some more decodable readers so we are acknowledging that and um also acknowledging that we have a research-based curriculum that we're currently using too so we we just need to meet the students where they are we need to know what they're able to do and then how we can get them at grade level and successful readers that can comprehend what they're reading so thank you to add to that is in our curriculum review cycle uh language arts actually is a literacy curriculum is up for review over the next year um and so the team will be beginning to examine that the likelihood of determining if we're remaining with the same curriculum or moving to a different curriculum and it would probably I think it's in the year 2024-25 is when that launch would occur after all the voice and and research and review occurs about that I won't add anything specifically about that but just in general we we will dig more into the details about this um at our next presentation on the 19th when we present world's best Workforce and I'm bringing our elementary and secondary directors to talk even more about the work that we're doing academically to address our achievement disparities thank you okay who else who else has questions that's a good question all right I just wanna I'll just go right up yours uh you might as well see I know I mean what I did about that pull the third chair I got a question for all of you and maybe I mean I think you're over here the uh you're coming back in you know in two weeks of giving us some more answers might be great as well because some of the questions might not be able to be answered tonight um I do have some specific ones if you could go back to side 46 please it's the one with the big Arrow oh I'm sorry I understand uh side three it's the MCA did it's the second slide of the presentation I mean maybe I missed it but what was the intent of the arrow um Miss Mahoney created this slide so I think she was just oh pointing out that that from 2021 to 2022 we are seeing it uh more growth where it dipped down but now we're starting to see gains again so I think she was highlighted yeah and working on this with principal Mahoney she wanted to make sure that we were clearly looking at reading because literacy was the point um we had been making consistent progress through 2019 um it had been slowly grinding our way forward not results that we want to have in the end but they were always moving in a positive direction and then covet came and obviously we struggled and then we made a small step forward after that so those numbers those numbers 35 36 percent 24 26. what is that telling me that is the percentage of students proficient and those are the number of students proficient in the parentheses it gets presented more in depth this was just an illustration of where we are in overall efficiency from the MCA so one in four are proficient 45 percent sorry 26 25.6 of Centennial students on the MCA test last year were professionals correct and the presentation in two weeks will give you much more in-depth data in the world's best Workforce reports okay um two slides later um the how many so talk about the diagnostic test so if they're not a grade level so then the three out of four students are they taking this press test yes so we we are using two assessments so um well three three to really um pinpoint what we need so the first would be just a baseline grade level fluency like are they able to fluently read because we know if they're decoding or not able to decode those words they're not going to be able to understand what they're reading so the first is um a baseline fluency and then we do a it's called a phonics blending assessment and for the younger grades it's very foundational skills and then at in the older grades third fourth and fifth it's students reading multi-syllabic words and do they have the skills to decode bigger words and then if they aren't able to do both of those then we give a press because something else is going on so the and the Press diagnostic comes from the University of Minnesota and it starts with letter sounds do they know all of their letter sounds and then the next step is can they read CVC or short vowel words and then after that the next skill they work on is Digraph so it's the two letters that make one sound like th s-h-c-h and then Blends so it's very Progressive and very explicit in in teaching skills that build upon each other and then after the Blends long vowels and then variant vowels so we work through that progression if we notice that that students don't have the skills they need and decoding the words and that's just one like small but so so important part of reading is being able to lift the words off the page um so Steve you mentioned curriculum change or reviewing the curriculum uh when we make the change how long does it change last for because it sounds like I mean if we're reviewing making the change we're still a year out from a potential change being made right we're on curriculum review cycle I believe every seven years um in the state um examine the state standards on a seven year cycle reviews and overhauls and so we're in the midst of that process as a state um and then our calendar which is guided also by board policy is to review our curriculum and in line with the state standard check so the curriculum advisory in a team of staff and family involvement will examine our overall curriculum make a determination if they want to continue with what we are using if they want to make a different selection there's a whole process outline there's a procedure component in the district curriculum advisory and then there's a policy component with the board policy uh the reason why I said I'm just trying to get my head around if the change if we're slow-making improvements right or we're seeing the numbers move up slowly is there a way for us to be more Nimble and I get it's a slippery slope right because you can't just willy-nilly and not be an educator right you can't really really make changes on the flip side to think of like my children's experience I think of some of the accounts that we've we've had as a family and as a business as the school you have to give time for employees to work things out as an example and in that right it's like my kid can't wait that long and so that then my question too is like if our kids are if maybe I'm misunderstanding the data but if our kids are not able to read how are we able to Pivot to help them learn faster and I also get what you're saying too of like if it's we're doing a different way and we're trying a different style and they're learning a different level I also that's great but I don't want them to be at a disadvantage from other kids at their age group right so the curriculum that we're using is actually a very common well utilized curriculum and so it's not um it's not as simple as oh if we were to switch curriculum we would begin seeing different levels of achievement there are there are five components of balanced literacy um the science of reading that is now sort of the hot button topic is really focused on Phonics and phonemic awareness which is sounds letters letter sounds and sounding Out words and the sounds that they make um with the addition of our curriculum so when I began in Richfield about well now almost almost nine years ago we actually had multiple curriculums and there wasn't an agreed upon set of of reading Direction at that time in Richfield Public Schools about two years later we analyzed implemented and agreed on a literacy rollout and then it takes a couple of years and I'm trying to figure out just the right speed and noise um and so we agreed on a rollout and it takes a couple of years to create a strong implementation and then the revision to that curriculum actually added a phonics component and so then we were actually just in the beginning processes of adding systemic phonics across the district and the pandemic end um and so as we think about where our results are we know from a scientific perspective we needed more phonics and female awareness instruction we were making those changes and then covet occurs and we're basically in two two and a half years of sort of a strange instructional path we are now back we are now making gains we are seeing progress like you heard about tonight at Centennial we anticipate some different gains to bounce ourselves even further forward at this point um again looking at results that are not where we want them to be but we believe at least this year with continued implementation as we move ourselves forward we're not actually hampering ourselves um by continuing on and doing what we know how to do effectively and then it's also important to share that there is typically an implementation dip and so when we think about oh we might change and have a different curriculum and and first year it's actually going to go the wrong direction and most likely um and research shows that that's generally what occurs in the first year of an implementation because teachers are more mechanical as they're figuring out how to use a curriculum rather than being able to use the full repertoire skills that they have um and so that's something that's being worked on again within that time frame if that makes sense and we know that is curriculum and instruction and so it's not just resting on the curriculum that we choose which is very important this is why we engage many stakeholder voices in selecting the appropriate curriculum but it's also the instruction this is where Amy's role is so important because professional development days that are three times per year do not provide the appropriate support that teachers need to truly execute and implement the curriculum at a high level and so with coaching we have job embedded professional development job embedded support in order to identify the skills that teachers may be may need additional support in to more fully Implement and execute the curriculum so it's a blending it's a perfect blending whatever perfect is of curriculum and instruction to help our students continue to move forward in proficiency thank you two more slides forward please detail oriented I didn't say anything [Music] um which is uh perfect thank you um so on on this slide uh and so this is quarter one growth I think it's interesting and I guess my request and maybe this is not just a request for you guys and this is maybe a request for other presenters if we're getting them once a year right can we get data for all for the year or you know whether you want to go backwards reports however you want to do it to give us a more of a window of data um because I'm curious about this of again so we're seeing growth it's looking good um you know do we get another update unfortunately I guess fortunately unfortunately in two weeks but then but we get another one towards the end of the year to understand how we're improving or do we wait again for a year from now do you hear this data I mean I think this is as we continue to have our discussion about um like people staying in our district right how are we addressing this how are we working and how are we making sure that it gets ready right we're here because we believe that this is the best district and we want to make sure that that's the case right so how do we show the metrics how do we show the data and say hey right things are getting better and and also I do understand covid was tough right it's like again watching my kids at home they struggle and as as a community as people we just try to get along now we need to get back on track we need to get back in school we need to start doing something and so how does it get better so in terms of Centennial um they aren't coming back this year um this is actually in their presentation because they chose um as part of their hosting this meeting or hosting um to talk about uh literacy and their literacy instruction middle school when they came they were talking about social emotional learning High School talked about a counseling redesign and so as our schools come they present General some of the exciting things happening at their school and they're very excited about what's happening in literacy at Centennial for us we look at data several times a year you're going to hear a lot about our data in the world's best Workforce two weeks from now we do repeatedly review certain points of data in my goals presentations but then also in our vision cards we have a completely comprehensive overhaul of most of the major data of Ridgefield public schools and student achievement and that is looked at at different points of the year but the main presentations come in in the spring and so I'd say world's best Workforce from a December perspective and then vision card presentations in May and June give that then broad-based overhaul but we continue to keep this data too like throughout the whole year and that's something that we I feel like is a it's so important at Centennial is we're really focusing on knowing where each and every student is and if and the students that at all of our are above grade level we're not continuing asking them to just read quickly we're then we're being thoughtful about their instruction on comprehension and vocabulary so um I just think that that's something that Centennial we've really have a good hold on right now I don't want to put you in the spot but I kind of um um is it every quarter that you would report this the the growth I mean you I know you asked teachers I used to ask teachers for their fluency scores yeah the teachers have a spreadsheet that they share with me and then I made an Excel sheet that has each grade level on the bottom and then it's so you we obviously can sort it different ways and I update that monthly it I guess my last comments not into a question it's worth a common I think as I kind of reflect about the feedback that I've heard kind of from the community it and we talked about some previous board meetings I feel like it comes back to reading right maybe reading is the first one that people see and it's like and if our kids fail or stumbling it's the most visible one right and it's like and then then that throws up they're like well they can't read they can't do anything else and so therefore they're failing as a whole so maybe that's what I'm so cognizant about it and why I'm asking my question so thank you for your patience I appreciate the information um I'll just briefly share I mean to go off of what you said um I'm also the uh Richfield board representative for District 287 and over at the South education center their staff t-shirts this year stay in the back literacy and justice for all which I think really sums up what we're talking about here right like literacy is foundational we know that we know that it creates opportunities and opens doors for our young people which is why we're so passionate about it and why um I just appreciate what you're doing and what you've shared and you know you said you're all about books so am I so just all of this was wonderful and I think we're in a broader context where the conversations about what does it actually mean to teach kids to read and what supports do our teachers and staff need to be able to do that well is really popping in a way that is important and good and I think it just means we need to be having these conversations over the next year to two years about what we're going to do with um all that we're learning and all the expertise that lives within our district as well so thank you daddy you have any questions or comments no questions just a lot of comments because I miss elementary school and I'm really happy you guys are progressing um thank you so much especially for the book fair I remember the book fair when I was in elementary school and I think that opened a door of me loving to read and like Miss Barack he said um literacy is Justice because as we grow we get to know oh who are we and how do we as human beings like stand in not only the world but in America in general um I also love the fact that um we're viewing farther away from Reading fast to fluency because I feel like when I was in elementary school I feel like a lot of us were like oh we need to read so fast like but it doesn't matter if we read fast because if we don't understand it then what's the point so just thank you and thank you so much and please let us know if you have any volunteer options for the book fair because I would love to be there again so thank you me too oh welcome thank you Paola um so I just want to say thank you for that presentation and that for me it like really connected to me because I remember when I was in Centennial and when I used to be a student like an incoming kindergartner I didn't know English at all so when I had these teachers just like teach me English it was really cool to see my progress from going and pronouncing a simple four-letter word to pronouncing like a whole sentence in English it was such a cool way to like track my progress and even tiny little celebrations it didn't have to be a pizza party it didn't have to be like a new book it just was simply like a compliment from a teacher and just talking to my teachers being like Paula did a great job she pronounced like she read a whole book in English was it made me feel really good so having that little celebration even if it's not a pizza party it just looks like all the kids are having such a great time and I do agree with Tim and Miss brackey's comment that literacy is such so fundamental within a child's education by educating them to not read quickly but read fluently because it's obviously a lot better to consistently read better than it is to go super fast because I know for me that was like a very like important Target for me to read good not faster so I think it's really important that we are teaching kids that so thank you thank you Elsie yeah I just say first of all that your brother presentation it was really informative um yeah I really like the example of the video of how you guys are teaching the kids because I think that's something I should probably teach my brother instead because I like I also struggled uh reading with reading um I I think I didn't know English until I was like in the fourth grade like properly um but I think seeing past what I kind of struggled with reading I should probably implement this with my younger brother um so thank you thank you um I have a couple of questions uh number one I like to get a better picture of what the literacy block looks like for everyone else so when you are meeting with these kids uh what does it look like are students are reading independently are they reading in groups what's what's going on so our curriculum is set up to have a mini lesson which teaches a strategy or a standard and so the mini lesson is for all students and that's a grade level content and then after the mini lesson there is some modeling of how to practice this strategy and then I T students go off and work on their practice with independently or and they have different ways to practice it they use technology a lot to practice reading and then as students are working independently teachers are working with small groups of students on what the the what they need the strategies that they need and it could be a strategy group or a guided reading group conferring with students so talking with them about the comprehension piece understanding deeper level thinking and understanding and then after the the guided reading and the in the strategy groups and the the independent practice they come together for a closure so making sure that they understand what was the goal for the day and during the the mini lesson the goal the learning Target is shared and and then there's success criteria of how we're going to meet that goal and then the closure kind of ties it all together did we meet that goal do we need to revisit it thank you that's that's very helpful in uh let me Envision what they what the block looks like uh I'm about Community engagement I am wondering you have quite a large population of Hispanic students and generally speaking English Learners and a lot of those literacy skills are transferable from one language to another so I'm wondering if there's opportunity to speak to families about reading at home in any language in hopes that I thought that comprehension the fluency can be then you know kind of translated itself when they get to the the part of the English where they can actually understand all of the vocabulary words yeah do you want me to speak to that yeah I I would say as teachers um I was before this year I was a classroom teacher and I always spoke with my families and I think the teachers at Centennial we encouraged them to speak and communicate and read and grow in their in their native their home language because it does support the language that they're learning as well it transfers and it might feel a little bit bumpy in the early years but eventually it all comes together so we have really wonderful Outreach out out to reach workers and during conferences we have translators that help us communicate with the families so I feel like the teachers do a really great job of encouraging yeah we have some reading interventionists as well who attend conferences and our ESL teachers too and I think the message from all the teachers at Centennial to parents and families is it's so important that you are fostering literacy at home reading with your child asking your child did you bring a book home today to read and of course um yes reading in whatever language you choose at home is great one of the things that we did with the one school one book is we only looked at titles that were available in English and Spanish and then we gave our students and families a choice do you want to be reading at home in English or Spanish and unfortunately one school one book is not really ready to have books in every language that we have at Centennial but you know hopefully that's that will come along but um it was I I think it I think our families felt honored they they felt like their language was honored and with having that choice it's the same for this year yeah we made sure that the book was available in Spanish for those families that needed that and yeah I just think that I think the message is is uh United in clear one that the work that you do with your child at home couldn't be done in any language and it's just important that it's happening to the extent that it can be happening at home [Music] um I know that I think of when I was a teacher and thinking of the summer slide and then thinking about go of it and what kind of long slide that was I remember that children were expected to come back I mean this is first grade and second grade but they were expected to come back in September behind two reading levels from the year before and I I really empathize with everyone working to ensure that all of the I think of coveted a lot of like learning laws and anything that we can do to just move on is amazing and I think that what I what I want to celebrate in all of you and for Centennial and they're still and the students over there is that they know where they're going because they know their goals and when you know where you're going you'll know what it looks like when you get there and so uh if we don't have that investment from them then it didn't matter what you did they will get stuck be bored and so it's very encouraging to see that they're really interested they know where they are they know where they have to go they celebrate their wins with all of you and and the staff so thank you all right no more questions then you can all right just thank you thank you thank you to the team from Centennial so we appreciate you taking the time and being with us great work we have one Commendation um and so Richfield Public Schools would like to command Early Learning coordinator Janelle Bullen for promoting a positive view of RPS and our district mission and vision I will received this communication from an RPS parent of a preschooler at Central yesterday I was lucky to see a presentation by Janelle Bowen Early Learning coordinator I wanted to share that she did an excellent job and left me with such positive feelings about the district's Early Childhood programs she displayed passion for her job and a strong commitment to equity thank you so thank you out to Janelle Bullen we're proud of your work congratulations thank you that's uh wonderful to hear from the community and celebrate a wonderful staff we're moving now to the consent agenda and this is a collection of routine items that we consent to pass in bulk with our individual discussion however I will pause for a moment just to see if there are any questions or requests before we proceed or if there's any one item that anyone here in the world wishes to take out for a separate discussion I will move the consent agenda as presented secondly you have a motion by Miss bracky and a second by Mr Carter all in favor please say aye aye opposite name and the consent agenda is approved we will now move to all business and these are policies before us this evening for continue review and possible action uh for the world today and we have the first one up is policy policy evaluation or the superintendent and admission administrator guidelines sorry sorry charcoal we're trying to figure out that dance as you're standing in that spot back and forth so uh certainly amusing the people in the room so for those of you streaming yes they're laughing that with but at and me not that that's Jericho so um absolutely so evaluation of the superintendent um and administrative guidelines um so this is a third read and we are presenting this to you today for recommended passage um most of the changes are in regard to our style format but then also some updates to make sure that both the timeline and the specific details in relation to uh when we do things like board chair collecting feedback from my direct reports which occurs um June and and leads to that overall evaluation in July with Public public uh call out event in August I'm just making sure that each of these components aligns with the actual process and so we we have finalized those changes and updated and had that for you tonight for recommended Passage all right there any questions is there anyone willing to detain I will move we approve policy 303 as revised oh second yeah uh first motion by Miss bracky and a second by Miss mishek all in favor please say aye aye aye travel tie and policy 303 evaluation of the superintendent and administrative guidelines 0.1 and 0.2 have been approved we now move on to policy 304. um closely related evaluation of Administrators and administrative like line 304.1 for a second read I'm not recommended for passage at this time but has been updated to align the district branding and Style Guidelines some of those components of capital letters using the same terminology as in other policies but then also again reviewing and updating to make sure that these align to both the language and process of of what we follow in Richfield public schools and so we have this Four review with those updates and we'll bring it back again at our next meeting for uh proposed proposed approval does anyone have recommended its questions to be answered no okay so we'll check back on this one next time and now we move on to a new business and this is when we bring new stuff um and the first one is related to the board also about evaluation so it's policy 209 more self-evaluation and administrative guideline 201.1 uh yes and so this is a we'll call it a first second read and so we had this approximately six months ago and then uh board member bracky did an in-depth study of what was occurring in other districts including bringing us the guidelines from a neighboring district and so we have that in front of us with some red line changes and then also an example of what is occurring in Hopkins public schools with that I'll turn it over to director brackey yes I like that this is a first read of our second attempt um and I think the the way that I would describe it is being very underwhelmed at the other models that were out there around board um self-evaluation and uh Allegra gets credit for sharing um what Hopkins has done and so that is um in the board packet as a model and I think just to highlight what feels really different to me about the Hopkins approach is that they're actually setting goals as a board and I think that is what has felt missing for me is in our current um approach to board self-evaluation it's really just like how are we doing at being a board it's not organized around a central focus of what do we want to be really doing this year as a board and I think it's that switch from passive to active that is really appealing to me in the Hopkins example instead of it just sort of being a very passive table that we would fill out about just like generally how we're doing so that's the shift that I would like to see us uh go towards but I understand that it is a shift and so that's why it's it's coming back to see if that philosophically is appealing to folks and I'm also mindful of the fact that we don't have our full board here tonight and so um you know if it's just sort of General initial reactions I think even that will be helpful and then we'll figure out how to come back together as a flow group and have a discussion about whether we want to move into this direction of like picking one or two big goals to focus on as a board and then rooting our self-evaluation around the degree to which we have achieved and worked towards those goals so open to any initial reactions feel free to also um get in touch with me directly and then we'll certainly need to make sure that we can have more conversation when all six of us are I like the idea I was unclear when I looked at the packet right right why we had Hopkins in here I was like did somebody have a real bad misprint copy paste mistakes right we don't do that in schools that plagiarism is bad all right okay good helpful thank you yeah great idea and I shared them because I really liked the format uh that the Hopkins board took this year for all the reasons you said I also liked um what might not be clear is the three goal areas are um the three areas that are across are district-wide district goals and School uh cycles and so we have a lot of Frameworks within our strategic plan that we could also pull from so I liked that like everyone's rowing in the same direction but specific to the role of the board in supporting that work I I didn't say that but it could happen should have that alignment with the Strategic plan is compelling to me as well so thinking about for us Community equity and Excellence being the pillars that we would organize ours around okay so we will continue to look at this I know that we discussed in the past also seeing how how these goals school have an impact on the schools that we support where we are assigned and to be more intentional about all of the things that that we do so inside it thank you Miss Rocky for your research and your support Miss music yeah with sourcing for information I will say I share an awful lot of Richfield documents as well it goes both ways public okay any other things before we move on to the next item no okay so we have today uh next item is a superintendent contract for years 2023 through 2026 those are renewed every three years and I will be I like to share a little bit of information about what we need to get to reviewing this contract as you may know uh Mr direct Mr chair police is quite a the wizard with all of the numbers and the research and he did a wonderful job researching uh contracts and comparable districts there were several meetings that he and Dr yunowski and I had in evaluating different components and also performance and checking previous records and all of that so following this survey of comparable Regional districts and their respective contracts we match our compensation packages and get against theirs in all of the usual areas informed by our own past practices the current market rates are the longevity the worst belief in the superintendent's performance and we landed at an increase of approximately 4.9 percent in salary for year one and the rest is as presented in the introduction and can be read from here the adjustments allowing greater accrual and then sell back over new sick time is fairly standard with regional superintendent contracts and also want to add that we also consider contracts for other bargaining groups uh in the district to uh for because we we have been as a very very intentional to keep things also holistically um so best again do we have any questions comments about the con the proposed contract I thought you were about to speak I was just gonna say thank you for the work that has gone into this um and obviously um you know we as individual board members have spent a lot of time looking at this and really thinking about the decisions that we get to make as a board and I am proud and excited to support this [Music] texture cutter you have any questions or comments no ma'am okay I don't speak any questions are coming okay well I don't have any questions or comments um I like crystals say that a proof uh you know with enthusiasm I've been very uh been thinking deeply about this of course us and we do all of the things but really seeing what we've done in the past uh seven years what I've seen in the seven of the nine years as superintendent yonowski has been here uh it's always been encouraging and also thank you to Mr holiday for all of the uh also research and providing informations that a team and I requested and also supporting every time we came over for a little meeting here at the district office so is anyone ready to move uh and make a motion for approval of this contract I move that we approve the contract I'll second we have a motion by Mr Carter and a second by Miss mishak um all in favor please say aye aye any opposite name the chair boss I and the contract for superintendent yonowski years to 2023-26 is approved thank you okay and then we have ah quite the chief of Gears here we have a draft for our 2023 legislative platform that is correct and so we took a look at a first draft this will go through three reads um with our board um because there is a legislative session coming up and obviously we needed to wait until after the election um not knowing uh what would occur um and trying to align um past practice to where we are going in the future and so we did look at the association of metropolitan school district's platform which was just passed this past Friday we have examined the proposed platform of Minnesota Association of school administrators and also Minnesota school boards Association and then we also looked at our past platform to come back with many of the same things that we have looked at in the past but these are the things for our board to look at that I will review Once now but I won't read through them and again in the future just to give a little context so really looking at fully funding special education and English learner programs um and so just to put in perspective um approximately six million dollars of the special education program is What's called the cross subsidy or the amount that is not funded by the state of Minnesota and so there are needs of our students that we are morally and legally obligated to fulfill through special education and those just aren't funded from the state and so across subsidy is is when you take money from other areas to utilize in that area or underfunded is another way of looking at it and then the English language learner program is approximately one and a half million dollars per year underfunded and so those are things that if the state met its obligations would be a wonderful thing for Richfield public schools and our students um increasing the basic funding formula so platforms across the Met across the state are asking for five percent in the first year and five percent in the second year uh we historically have asked for two percent increase I mean there is a significant inflation and so that's one of the things we project us having a conversation about um and then also allowing locally elected school boards to renew an existing operating referendum so it takes significant time and effort to go out and ask for the same money that has already been approved by voters um and so it wouldn't be asking for more money but it would be to allow School boards to approve that without going out to vote uh continuing to remove barriers in providing incentives for the shortage of substitute school bus drivers paraprofessionals and other staff because all of us know our students have experienced it and we all have experienced it as a staff shortage I'm across not just our system but in basically the entire education system in the state of Minnesota and then continuing to expand programs and incentives to attract develop and retain teachers of color through all of the efforts that have been made over the past five years the state has gone from approximately four percent teachers of color to still under five percent teachers of color Richfield at the same time has gone up to approximately 20 to 22 percent teachers of color and so we have been very successful but our colleagues across the state have struggled and so we want to continue our momentum and we also want to provide those options across the state uh funding existing mandates and opposing new unfunded mandates and so just reminding that um expectations for school districts that come without finances are actually a burden um and so just reminding of that we repeatedly asked to replace the high school MCA exam so the nationally recognized college entrance exams and the state statute requires an exam but we could look at switching one of the things we had in our last meeting was to change or last year was to change open meeting law well school boards are one of the only groups that don't typically allow for hybrid board meetings as an option the same way that others provide are provided that option we all have to actually publish physically the location and have the ability for people to access us publicly and that isn't required of the state legislature that isn't required of the city council that is only required of school boards um and then um addressing disparities exploring new application and eligibility processes for free and reduced lunch and then specifically pointing out um that if Universal free meals are a supported initiative which it has been free meals across the state for the last couple of years I'm ensuring that compensatory education and title one dollars are held harmless for districts so just as a reminder to us a compensatory education is funding for students who live in poverty we receive approximately six million dollars per year in in years pre-covered that reduced with universal free meals to almost four million dollars or two million dollars in funding for things like social workers Outreach workers literacy intervention and math intervention those finances disappeared and a significant part of that was the identification process for free and reduced lunch so if we do decide to do that and have that across the state making sure that federal poverty qualification is determined using a new methodology that doesn't impact the same way that that it did um and then also uh we have every two years had to re-up for voluntary Pre-K and so four-year-old programming is always at risk so making that funding permanent and so those are things that we are suggesting we discuss or suggesting we very seriously look at as being our uh our legislative platform thank you we have any questions about the agenda the platform I should say not the agenda that is his latest platform God I I have some too you go first um thank you the uh I I think the first thing um fully funding special education and English learner programs would have a significantly larger effect on us as a district than the funding formula and so I think it's just important to be clear that like this is this is what we start with but we also need to make clear you know what are the order of priority for us and and I think as a district I would assume our position is fully funding special education and English learner programs would be significantly more beneficial for us for our students for our community um than that you know formula at five instead of at two for example um the the the one thing that like really struck me as odd as I read it um is the if Universal free meals are supported initiative language um because I feel like they should be so maybe that should be part of our platform instead of just saying if they are then we need to make sure that the compensatory challenges are addressed um so I think something in the language just made me feel like we're skipping the important thing of saying like whether or not we actually believe meals for kids should be free and I personally feel very strongly that they should yeah I read it with perhaps an Arab sarcasm oh if you're saying Universal meals should be free then but I that would probably uh allow for more clarity uh to add it specifically um I don't think I have anything else to add I've been there's a few things that I personally really uh care about but I think that our priorities are captured our Collective priorities are captured care to share um gifted and talented identification and metrics for that uh if you if we were ever to consider identifying all students as gifted or no students as gifted there aren't much allowances for that currently in statute and um I was able to attend the amsd uh meeting last week and there was some compelling suggestions around innovation and um ways to incentivize that but I have found in Richfield that we are innovating Within current statute like we've found ways to do that so that's more of like a Statewide thing I care about than Ridgefield specific if that makes sense so I would agree with Crystal's comments I mean I think the and I guess it's okay your sarcasm commented right I mean it's like I think we should be saying we want free launcher rather than we want for lunch and if it's given right it's like then we want this time to ding us yeah so we are certainly will certainly change the platform I just want to spell out again um and I'll give a couple details to funding so pre-covet we received six million dollars in combed and Universal free lunch was non-existent when Universal lunch became existent we went down to four million dollars and everyone received a free lunch so essentially and ironically free lunch cost the district about two million dollars and so without a larger discussion about priorities or where money should go uh two million dollars essentially went from reading math intervention Outreach workers social workers into free lunch now we now no longer have free lunch and we are up to 5.9 million dollars in competitive and so it is literally bounced all the way back up and the money has come back the biggest worry I would have based on how government functions is yes I believe 100 that Universal free lunch should occur um and I'm not sure our government would then figure out how to make the compensatory dollars not disappear um and so without those hooked together in some way I'm concerned that we would be taking money from one area serving students all right disturbing student needs and moving it to another serving other student needs the only thing I would say is missing from the picture you just described is that now we are billing our students and their families and that is correct from The Narrative correct and then to double down on Miss brackey's point about five percent well five percent sounds like a very large amount of money five percent on the formula for students is about a million and a half dollars to Richfield Public Schools um whereas the special ed cross subsidy is six million dollars to Richfield Public Schools and so there is a larger Gap in what the state's unfunded obligations are then a what would be a historically large inflationary increase to the funding formula um and so special like cross subsidy or special ed unfunded um is very important to Richfield Public Schools as a financial priority there is a there has been a working group since last spring studying the alternatives to measure poverty in absence of free and reduce price meals there are some things I have been discussing such as using enrollment to Medicaid or being able to receive support with meals food stamps and different things but again that's just the task force that's starting last spring so we interested interesting to see this year where the group is at with this investigation because it isn't I mean I don't think it should be uh up to the families to just have to fill out that form you know a lot of it just feels it just feels weird um to me as a parent and in this idea like knowing that the government has the the the the the systems to just pull that information uh at least in great part so that will be something you know good to to push forward it's like we need we need the problem in our legislative platform I mean or um no what we'll do is we'll look at the input given by the board members um and try to reword based in alignment that's why we do the multiple reads and so we will miss Quan has been furiously taking notes of both words and intentions and so we'll try to translate that into proposals for for our next uh next week of the legislative platform and see if we catch it better um you know one of the things that you said um like we try to have a limited scope in our platform in that that's a dangerous question but do we prioritize it I mean I I think it like you know again uh historical evaluations right almost doing like a Ladder ranking of saying here's our priority from number one to number 12. of like which of these is most important to us and if we have to say we have to draw a line and we say we only want 10 then the last two drop off was I know it's a painful discussion but if we're trying to keep it tight right have we gone through that exercise as to what's most important to us as a district I think one thing that matters is what what year in the legislative session you're in if it's a if it's a budget year then the focus is going to be more on these items that are tied to dollars if it's a non-budget year then the focus is more on the policy items so that is one way that this gets divided fairly naturally that really really makes sense what are we in now what's that which one are we in now yeah okay I I like the idea of the priority taxation of this because we are gonna have a meeting soon with our legislators right our local January or early February I believe and so and and like I know we've we've shared this information this platform is not new um they're aware I think they can be very supportive and I'm wondering what our role is to you know in the advocacy side of things to be more like not just share but like can we get some commitments I mean if they like when they come and talk to us because they these are the three top most important things you take away on a list of ten that's still not all of them right and so there's poop or thought we don't need an answer now I want to put it out there and I do have one more thing um so we've gotten some feedback and being the I.T guy that I am right it uh if we're the interesting the lowest in the U.S when it comes to computer science literacy um I would be interested to see how we kept that on here in some way shape or form and I'm not sure exactly what that means right and Mr Carter's referring to uh Matt Caruso one of our high school teachers as part of a group about computer science and computer science education and he believes that the state of Minnesota should work to put more focus and Improvement into Computer Science Education and so he shared with us a proposal and shared that with a couple of board members and so we can certainly look at what that would look like language-wise integrating in here as a as a possible addition for us to discuss also at our next meeting it's also I mean just as well I heard from Matt Matt brought it up to my brought it up to our attention um and some of the groups that I'm involved in real world career perspective our groups have been advocating this as well so I thought it was definitely interesting all right I think we have enough information to draft track number two I'll bring it back in two weeks uh question about um for replacing the high school MCA exams with um recognized college so is this like a proposition or is this like something that's like actually like going to happen and then also like how would we replace that with uh high school students be enrolled in AP classes or like how how is that gonna go oh got it so what happens with our legislative platform is each year we talk about our priorities and we push our elected officials to have that conversation at the Capitol this has been on our priority list for five years and it hasn't passed um and it came from students yeah this originated actually in 2017 with reimagine Ridgefield and our students shared this what this would look like is you all end up taking the act as part of high school that would then count and you wouldn't have to take the MCA and so that's the proposal that was basically made by our students now the act or the SAT are no longer required everywhere but the state of Minnesota is still expects it and so we could just have students take the ACT and be done so that's how ideally it would work is that something you're particularly interested in the legislature disagrees is why it hasn't happened no because I was wondering because I know uh for like um for sure in 11th grade we take the math MCA and then we also have the act so I was wondering like okay like which one is more important like which one do we take like do is the math MCA like are we still taking it so like I was wondering like is this for upperclassmen and lower classmate or is this just like an upper class so this would If This Were to pass that would mean that the high school MC would Disappear Completely um and the only test of that nature would be the ACT I mean well I won't tell you which test is more important what I'll say is is that the ACT um can be used to get you into college and the high school MCA can be used for nothing so do with that um what information you would like I know sorry to be more fair the MCA is aware that the schools aren't judged based theoretically on their effectiveness so one of the challenges from school administrators and Educators wow is that trying to get students to put their best foot forward on a test that from a student perspective this has no impact on your life and from a school's perspective this is how the world might look at our schools effective so is that better I'm in trouble now [Laughter] we're looking at MCA Sports which it's a complex task now and ironically wasn't even designed to determine student achievement we're just going to keep on going on all right I'm done wait sorry I have a question too to add that um would that mean more like preparation for the acts because I know like for the MCAS I remember like a week before it we would be like rushing to like oh this is what everything is you guys have to learn everything in a week will that mean like more preparation for the acts beforehand yes okay as always I feel like the students should be the ones going to the legislature to testify about this organizing them in my head it's I know it's it's uh it's a fight at the legislative level of whether or not we should do this and we keep saying this is what our students are telling us and our students are pretty eyes wide open about um what the tests are and are not but there's there's a disconnect at the Capitol any other questions so we will see this again in two weeks see how we look what it looks like and we can now move on to the final Levy certification for 2022. that is correct so this is a resolution so we're going to ask uh to ask for a poll of the board so this is the 2022 payable 2023 uh Levy limitation and certification which was shared out earlier tonight to meet truth and Taxation uh hearing and the backup data is in the next slide but we are asking the board to resolve that's the total Levy to be levied in 2022 collected 2023 is set at 28 million 556 211.55 and so with a resolution that would authorize us to uh move forward so this is the second part the next steps from Mr holdy's earlier presentation and we have conversations about this in the last couple of meetings at least are there any questions is anyone ready to make a motion to approve this certification I won't move to approve the final Levy certification for uh 22 payable 23. I'll second we have a motion by Miss mishik and a second by miss brackey this is a resolution so I will pull the board Mr Carter Miss mishak hi Miss bracky hi hi and the resolution carries thank you very much and we move on now to resolution designating polling places for 2023. all right so we are on a roll of resolutions um so each year we have to uh set our polling places in December and so generally we set those and those are available for caucuses primaries and all the way through November they can be changed with a 90-day motion but we do not anticipate that these are these same polling places that were there for vote in 2022 and so we are sending this to the board to recommend so that the city may move forward in organizing their election and if the question is about not being in schools yes that that was a collaborative decision made with the city um in regard to student safety because they're typically during the school day and it these are very effective sites as determined from this last election in the city of Bridgeview all right so my one question so The New Normal is there will not be elections held in schools that's what it says we do not anticipate uh elections to be held in schools um in any time in the near future correct right we have a motion to uh passage resolution designating polling places for next year I moved the resolution designating polling places for 2023. a second of emotion my means Bracken is mishic any questions Mr cutter I'm looking at you you look like you have a question I'm just I'm thinking about what you said and I'm just um processing I guess the so we're doing in churches for school safety which is great and the only question I have is does it put any undue pressure on our constituents but that's and it's more of a hypothetical question I guess I the so I have been an election judge several times um in the last three three years in Richfield um both in a school setting and in a non-school setting um and I think while there were great benefits uh for election days being in time for people can actually come inside our schools and see our schools in a way that many often don't get a chance to our schools are not well set up to be polling places because you have to navigate the building to get to the gym to get to whatever room is large enough whereas in these other spaces like the community center where I was an election judge just a couple weeks ago it is far more accessible it is far more immediate and far more obvious where you're supposed to be in my experience than when it is being held in one of our school buildings so I I might not be understanding what you mean though when you're asking about accessibility yeah I mean it they're they're open the same hours right and it's um yeah and uh you see we in concert with the city council make the decision so is that our Administration their Administration um we've worked together with the city manager in the the head of Elections for the area yes okay I think when I was an elementary teacher before the country started you know things started happening the way they do now I looked forward to election day being in the building because we will take the kids to go and watch the process they were generally at the gym there was a stage I will participate and it just made a lot of sense uh what it has come down now is that it becomes it's become a a safety issue as you can imagine you know just anyone who wants to has access to that building to go to you know even if you might say like let's secure this area like people go someone needs to go to the restroom uh and just so if there are other options like we do have in the city of Ridgefield then it just makes sense I think if we had a lack of venues then we can read you know uh revisit that but right now I think in the last couple of election Cycles we have been you know I think we've been getting our you know changing of poll inside the public school uh they're certainly voting happening there's the absentee values no you know no excuse and yeah I think at this point the bigger challenge is actually if they keep changing right the number of people who are going to a different polling place every time is a lot and that is the frustrating experience so I would actually be more concerned if we were like flip-flopping back and forth between schools and not schools yeah that's a great point I think the only other question I have is and I think about my specific Plumbing place is parking right and the granted we're not in a presidential year but it's I'm curious if that will change it and how parking and traffic like I look at some of these locations of like right on France uh Xerxes or Penn or Nicollet right they're all on kind of major roads and I was like what does their parking look like and does that create problems for again the people of Richfield so as long as we're continuing to evaluate it and again I appreciate a comment Crystal but you know we don't want to clip them up we don't want to continue to change it because it's a mess trying to communicate that out I'm fine so thank you for my for the patience and if I'm not mistaken we started this when we started doing construction right so this was a while ago and then we just kept it that way correct and I've continued to continue to finalize locations as we know that these other sites are are effective um from a city perspective all right so which does include parking yeah so to step back we had a motion by this brackets me check is a resolution I will pull the board Miss bracket aye Mr Potter Miss meshek aye in the chair of roadside in the resolution carries for polling places for 2023 and this is a last resolution for the evening to approve Cooperative sponsorship agreement swimming girls synchronized swimming sometimes when we are a partner school or an area school don't have enough students to feel the full team we go into Cooperative partnership uh Richfield and Minnehaha Academy would like to form a co-op with synchronized swimming Richfield will only have 10 swimmers mini haha actually has one girl who is interested in participating and wouldn't be able to participate if we didn't offer that opportunity and so we don't think this would impact our competitive level or our conference and our conferences in support of the opportunity and so we come to you tonight with this as a Cooperative sponsorship I have one question and I apologize that I just honestly didn't catch it until now um Holy Angels is listed on the form and so I'm wondering why Holy Angels is on the form but not in the description we already have a Cooperative sponsorship so it is three schools coming together okay okay thank you and when we continue a co-op we don't have to bring it back um it just continues on without conversation or we can move them forward um then I will gladly move the resolution so that Minnehaha Academy can join our Cooperative um with us and Holy Angels why do we have a motion by Miss Bracken a second by Mr Carter say resolution again aye aye Mr Carter aye Miss bracky aye Mr voltai and the resolution carries and we have arrived to a beautiful part of our meeting which is to accept donations of all the thoughtful people who invest in our kiddos absolutely so it's recommended the Board of Education except the following donations with gratitude and we talked about the first one earlier Richfield High School received a donation in the amount of 25 069.77 from Lillian Yamamoto of Edina so thank you Lillian Yamamoto the RPS Sunshine lunch account received a donation of 50 from Sue kinneberg of Richfield thank you sue cantenberg Richfield dual Language School received a donation of 500 from Mississippi Park connection for field trip bus transportation so thank you to Mississippi Park connection and then Richfield Middle School received a donation of Technology supplies valued at 350 for stem classes from Jessica kanowski of Richfield thank you Jessica kanowski all right so we have a motion to work receive these donations I moved to accept the donations with gratitude second you have a motion by Miss mishak and a second by Mr Carter all in favor please say aye aye any opposed say nay and the chair outside and the donations are approved and we are so very grateful for your support of Richfield students we are now in this side of our agenda about Advanced planning legislative update is at the top it feels like we may be like half of the conversation on that one but let's see what a lot of days are out here I will just invite and honestly I don't remember if I did this at the last meeting did I talk about the session preview happening for the association of metropolitan school districts okay perfect thank you for the nods um but yeah January 6th 8 A.M virtual and in person and it's a bunch of legislators um superintendents and board members from all around the Metro School District so um I will I'll share the invitation especially the zoom link if it would be easier to attend from the comfort of your home and pajamas please do I will be in my pajamas I will be there in person trying to look professional anything else we have any yeah okay well I have a random comment oh please do yes or not and I have a question I guess too in case well enough questions um so having been the pizza delivery guy for the middle school dance right I just wanted to share a couple quick comments because it's pretty cool right it's like I got dragged into it I wasn't so thrilled about it and then I was very happy that I was part of it and kind of around to see it and so I thought I'd share with you guys a couple quotes that were heard that night so the kids were super excited and they're like this is epic like right this is the best party I've ever been to oh uh this is the best night of my life right and I was like how does that not warm your heart um and then I just want to give a shout out and a thanks to the pad group and then uh over 80 parents staff and community members were volunteers that night I mean it's just crazy amount of people pulled together and it doesn't do a gazillion amount of students uh and then like watching them do the drawings and uh they had so many awards and again the kids loved it and had a great time so I wanted to share that because it was great being a part of it I'm glad I stayed to help clean up and I do want to send just a special note too to just all the faculty and staff um and I hope they understand how important and how much of an impact they have when they're involved in these events you could just like watching my kids right it's like just the way they glow um specifically actually had a couple staff members even show up to their basketball games and it was like just the they saw it like several students saw the teachers show up and they're just like I mean you know like they're like looking away for the game like try to wave right and it's like it's cute to just see that and so again I really appreciate our staff and her right right just faculty Administration coming and spending their time their evenings to participate so thank you all thank you so much for sharing and that is a great start to information and questions sorry jumped ahead no no you well and then that was another question did anybody go to the Kindergarten Roundup because I looked and I was like I should go and I was like I was tired from the night before no one yeah sorry I didn't mean I mean it's a good example of how it's both wonderful to go to things it was fun I don't know about middle schoolers but I think Young Elementary students they're always surprised to hear that teachers have parents in houses and go places did that ever happen to anyone here teaching early grades yeah it's amazing it's like why you have a mom those are actual quotes from Steve okay I do have one thing um Tim our board chair hi Tim who can't be here tonight but um is is watching just asked um for a reminder to think about our organizational meeting which will be the very first thing that we do in January around board rules for the coming year so he's thinking about it and it's gonna just make sure that it's on the top of our minds and so we might talk about it at our next meeting just so that we are fully prepared for that first organizational meeting in January isn't it something but if you don't trip you get volunteered for a position I don't think we try to operate that way since he's watching um thank you Crystal and Tim uh I wanted to put in a plug to everybody but especially our student board members the city of Richfield is looking for youth Commissioners on all the city commissions but especially the Human Rights Commission um so if you or anybody you know is interested in the leadership position within the city it's a great opportunity to advocate for human rights in Richfield and specifically how they impact youth so if you can reach out to me or just go to the city website um and they would love to receive some applications so you heard the call if you have friends you want to go we'll definitely take you up on that yeah all right I will I will wonderful hey any other information questions right so then we have our future meeting dates our December 19 at seven o'clock right here at the board meeting there will be an opportunity for public comment that evening and following that we will have our first meeting of the year on January 3rd 2023 that will be it Tuesday from not mistaken and like Crystal Cherry will be the organizational meeting where we will elect a chair by share treasure clear positions for the upcoming calendar year any suggested uh or future agenda items going once twice all right well then uh we can just adjourn this this meeting thank you everyone for your attention and happy birthday Eric again happy birthday thing