North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District — Transcript
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Bilingual Seals Recognition Program
Student School Board Representative Report
Finance Audit Report for FY25
Superintendent's Update and Upcoming Events
Board Communications and Community Engagement
Votes (9)
Acknowledgement of Contributions
Dissent: None
Moved by Swore [00:42:07] · Seconded by Livingston [00:42:08]
The board formally accepted several contributions to the district, including LED lighting equipment for Polar Arena from the Maplewood Figure Skating Club and a charitable award from the City of Maplewood for picnic tables at Justice Page Elementary. These contributions will enhance facilities and outdoor learning spaces.
Resolution Accepting the Audit Report for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025
Dissent: None
Moved by Swore [00:43:08] · Seconded by Rosemark [00:43:09]
The board discussed the FY25 audit report, focusing on the five material weaknesses in internal controls and three legal compliance findings, particularly regarding the timeliness of submissions and reconciliations. Finance Director Josh explained that adjustments were made at the start of FY26 to address these issues, with an expectation of improvement in the next audit. The superintendent highlighted the importance of a healthy fund balance due to external economic variables and emphasized the district's commitment to addressing audit findings and building staff capacity.
Adoption of the 2026-2027 Community Education Budget
Dissent: None
Moved by Livingston [00:45:33] · Seconded by Jenner [00:45:34]
The proposed FY27 budget for Fund Four (Community Education) was presented for adoption, having already been approved by the Community Education Advisory Council. The budget includes planned deficit spending from a healthy 24% fund balance to make intentional investments supporting program growth, equitable access, and expanding offerings, particularly in school readiness, ECFE, youth services, and adventure connection.
Ratification of the 2025-2027 Educational Assistant Agreement
Dissent: None
Moved by Rosemark [00:46:58] · Seconded by Livingston [00:46:59]
The district sought ratification for a tentative agreement with SEIU, representing educational assistants, for the contract period of July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027. The agreement includes a 3% salary schedule increase for both contract years, a 25-cent increase in longevity pay, and an increase in district contributions for health benefits for high-deductible plans in year two.
Student Transportation Contract Renewal
Dissent: None
Moved by Swor [00:48:07] · Seconded by Rothman [00:48:08]
The board reviewed the district's transportation services, which involve transporting over 9,000 students daily through a combination of district-owned fleet and contracted vendors. Following a formal bid process in 2024, the administration recommended renewing existing contracts with five current vendors for two additional years (July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028). Projections indicate a 10% cost increase for school buses and 3% for vans next year, mainly due to fuel costs, driver shortages, and increased wages.
Adoption of Proposed Policy Revisions (Third Reading)
Dissent: None
Moved by Livingston [00:48:33] · Seconded by Yunker [00:48:33]
The board considered the third and final reading of recommended revisions for 20 district policies. These revisions incorporate updates based on Minnesota paid leave language, ESST, statutory changes, FERPA regulations, alternative MCA requirements, auditor recommendations, and general alignment with current laws and resources. The Assistant Superintendent provided a brief summary of changes for each policy.
Approval of 2026-2027 School Board Meeting Dates
Dissent: None
Moved by Yanez [00:49:50] · Seconded by Rosemark [00:50:00]
The proposed calendar for the 2026-2027 school year, outlining dates for business meetings, work study sessions, and the annual board retreat (date to be determined), was presented and approved by the board. This sets the formal schedule for governance activities for the upcoming academic year.
Setting Date, Time, Location, and Agenda for June 9th Work Study Session
Dissent: None
Moved by Yanez [00:50:50] · Seconded by Rosemark [00:50:52]
The board approved the specifics for the June 9th, 2026, work study session. It will commence at 5:00 p.m. in conference room 202 of the District 622 Education Center, with an agenda to include a budget overview, activities and attendance committee updates, the FY28 LTFM 10-year plan, an overview of upcoming property agreements, and superintendent/board check-ins.
Setting Closed Session to Evaluate Superintendent
Dissent: None
Moved by Yenter [00:51:41] · Seconded by Livingston [00:51:42]
A closed session was set for June 23rd, 2026, immediately following the 5:00 p.m. board business meeting at the district education center. This session is scheduled to evaluate the superintendent's performance, in accordance with Minnesota statute 13D.05 subdivision 3A, which permits public bodies to close meetings for individual performance evaluations.
Notable Quotes (5)
I mean, you want to get your audits filed timely. You know, the impact of not having the federal audit filed timely is you're considered a high-risk entity, so there's more testing that goes on as part of the audit process.
the reason fund balance is so important... is because the world is throwing us curveballs, right? I mean, when you think about the pandemic, nobody expected that... The war in Iran right now is having enormous impacts on on gas and diesel. And you've got to remember all energy costs, but remember all of the food that we purchase for students, all the school supplies we purchase, all those things are shipped through various means.
July 1st of '25 is when we we I believe that we've made a lot of these adjustments, so these should But that would have been in FY26, so we might see them again. Again. [clears throat] No, July 1st, '25 was the start of the new fiscal year, which is the FY26 audit. So, we made we made adjustments starting the fiscal year '26.
I think everyone just wants some reassurance that you didn't uncover any nefarious activity, criminal activity, none of those types of things. Yeah, just internal control weakness.
They do... have a about a 24% fund balance in Community Education and so they they are doing some planned deficit spending. Um, they're intentional investments to support their programming, respond to growth, and to main uh, to maintain equitable access to services across the district.
Ordinances & Resolutions (32)
State program allowing schools to award seals to students demonstrating proficiency in a language other than English.
Document containing the audited financial statements of the district.
Document summarizing the audit opinions, including the single audit.
Plan required by the Department of Education to address audit findings.
LB Carlson document summarizing audit results from compliance and financial standpoints.
New standard implemented in 2025 related to compensated absences reporting.
Released annually by the Office of the State Auditor, outlining specific statutes for auditors to test.
Part of the single audit, summarizing federal awards expenditures.
Revisions to update language reflecting Minnesota paid leave and ESST coordination.
Updates and additions based on statutory changes and revised definition of habitual truant.
Changes related to allowability of sharing immunization information as it pertains to FERPA.
Changes related to sharing data due to FERPA.
Aligns policy language to the transition to alternative MCA requirements.
Revisions based on alignment to statute and recommendations from auditors.
Changes based on auditor recommendations and reference updates.
Update to a cross-reference.
Adds additional language aligning with statutory provisions.
Updates related to statutory revisions from 2025.
Correction and added language due to statutory revisions.
Adds an additional statutory language requirement.
Adds a resource.
Updates to definition.
Aligns with current law and adds an additional resource.
Legal reference added.
Updates to references and removal of outdated notes.
Updates to statutory language and references.
Aligns definition with current Minnesota law.
Legal reference update.
Proposed budget for Fund Four, including planned deficit spending for intentional investments.
Tentative agreement reached and ratified with SEIU representing educational assistants.
Statute governing contractor procurement for student transportation, requiring formal bids every 10 years.
Permits public bodies to close meetings for evaluating individual performance.