Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools — Transcript
Monday, September 28, 2026
Community Education Services Budget
Flexible Learning Year Calendar 2027-2030
Board Self-Evaluation Results and Goals
Votes (3)
Community Ed Services Budget Discussion
Director Joel Dah presented the community education budget, emphasizing the restriction of '04 funds to community education purposes. He detailed allocations for renovations at Greenwood ($500,000 budget, $89,650 spent) and Edgewood ($35,000 budget, $33,941 spent), highlighting benefits like expanded AB services and family spaces. The discussion also covered challenges in integrating fee-based community education programs with general fund activities (e.g., athletics, transportation) and the rationale behind program fees like KidsCo, which covers significant 1-to-1 special education support.
Flexible Learning Year 2027-2030
Jim presented a plan for the school board to seek state permission to start the school year before Labor Day for 2027-2030. The primary rationale is to gain additional instructional days prior to state-mandated testing in late March/April and AP testing in May, aiming to improve student scores and mitigate disruptions from winter weather. The proposal seeks to increase instructional days from the state minimum of 165 to 170-172. Board members inquired about childcare implications for families and potential operational costs (e.g., AC), though the presenter stated it has zero cost impact on test scores.
Review of the Board's Self-Evaluation Results and Goals Discussion
The board analyzed its MSBA self-evaluation, noting significant declines in performance related to conduct and ethics (Standard 1), accountability (Standard 4), and advocacy and communication (Standard 5). Board members expressed a desire for clearer guidelines on respectful conduct, effective accountability for district goals, and improved community engagement. The superintendent advised on fostering team trust and maintaining high expectations regardless of individual board members. The board achieved consensus on two proposed goals: a focused, sectional review of the board handbook in conjunction with Policy 209, specifically to address conduct and violation procedures through quarterly retreats, and the implementation of two board-led community listening sessions per school year to enhance advocacy and communication. Both goals aim for improved scores on the next self-evaluation.
Notable Quotes (10)
Fund 4 is reserved and is restricted for community education purposes only. As a result, 04 funds cannot simply be transferred to or used to support general district expenditures in the 01 fund.
Most importantly, it'll help serve as a location for our AB services, our adult basic education programs, which currently students here have to go to either Shakapei or Eastern Carver or take them online because we don't have the space to be able to pro uh provide them in person. And this will allow us to do that.
KidsCo, we did raise I think it was two years ago we ra was the last time we raised our fees in KidsCo. And we typically don't raise it unless we see that there's a need, right? Like we don't just say every year we're gonna add on another two, three, four bucks to make sure we're keeping up with inflation, we try to keep it as low as we can and then if we see where we're struggling a little bit and the reason we raised it two years ago is we've had to hire a lot of additional onetoone supports.
My job is to make sure our students are getting educated and getting what they need to be ready and prepared. If the state were to change a testing dates, so anybody who knows anybody at the state level and you want to tell them to change us to make more sense with our school calendar, that'd be great. Until they do that, we have to figure out how we can help our kids. Starting early and helping our kids test scores cost us zero dollars.
my ask maybe would be to consider through community ed um just childcare options. If we are, for example, starting or ending two, three weeks earlier than other districts surrounding us, that makes it very challenging for um parents that work in other districts or parents that are working and don't have child care.
our calendar has a major impact on other surrounding schools because we use the same, everybody uses the same busing services.
the standard for accountability one um I would love to see a goal that says like we will review student achievement data and other relevant indicators to monitor progress toward district goals. um progress would be measured through quarterly...data reviews in annual summary demonstrating whether targets would were met.
if we're only doing these things some of the time, well that means some of the time we're not doing our job.
I've had more emails about board members doing things in the last three months than I have in 30 [clears throat] years. So from that perspective, I think that you know, yeah, to your point, yeah, I mean, you can say you didn't vote for whatever, that's fine. Then just speak for yourself.
Minnesota is the only state where a board can actually vote a board member off of a board, which is crazy to think, right? And that's not the intent. I think we have to think positive intent. I think we have to think about how are we going to better work together and the intent of the meeting is to figure that out versus looking for oh you did this wrong or you did that wrong or you know this is not a I gotcha or a look at you you did something wrong. I think the intent of the meeting has to be with the best the best intent of how do we work better together.
Ordinances & Resolutions (10)
Community education allocated $500,000 from its '04 fund balance for improvements.
Separate fund for community education, restricted to its purposes.
The general fund, separate from community education funds.
Strategic document guiding the use of resources for expanded programming and community partnerships.
Overarching plan that the Community Education Department Improvement Plan aligns with.
Minnesota School Boards Association, provides self-evaluation tools and guidance for board operations.
Board policy related to conduct and ethics, to be reviewed in conjunction with the board handbook.
Document outlining board procedures, conduct, and roles, proposed for focused review.
Plans developed by school administrators, proposed for board review to monitor district goal progress.
State of Minnesota rule requiring no less than 165 instructional days.