Good evening, everyone. I now call this March 23rd meeting of the Prior Lake Savage Area Schools Board of Education to order. Please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance of allegiance as you are able. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All board members are present tonight and I will move to entertain a motion and a second to approve the agenda. So moved. Second. By Director Olstad and second by Director France. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Director Olstad. Opposed? >> Sorry, Director Bullion. Um, discussion on that? Absolutely. Thank you. I will open it up for discussion. >> Thank you. I would like to make a motion to amend the agenda by moving for E, the transportation RFP from the business item section to a study session as like an informational item only with no action to be taken tonight. Um, I feel like we have not received any of the RFP proposal responses and um Just excuse me a second. Sorry, can we move the public forum up? Amend. Um I'm happy to make a motion for that. >> Yeah, but let's do hers first. >> Let's start. Let's start again. Thank you. >> Sure, yeah. I'd like to make a motion to amend the agenda to move 4A transportation RFP to the um from the business items to the study sessions that we can um have it as an informational item only with no action to be taken tonight. Um I feel like we have not received the proposal information and um just given some concerns raised recently in regard to conflict of interest, I think it's worth discussion and more time. Is there a second to amend that? Second. All in favor for amending the agenda. I I Nay. Okay, let's let's do this in a roll call. Uh I'll start with you, Director Atkinson. I Director Johnson. >> I Director Mason. I Director Olstad. Nay. Uh Director France. Nay. Director Smith. Nay. And I am nay. So that that motion fails four or three to four. Um I'd like to make a motion to move the public forum up um to under three. Um Is there a second for that motion? Second. Uh all in favor to amend the agenda by putting the um public forum up to under um under three. Say I. I >> I And opposed, say nay. Nay. Okay, that passes six one. Moving forward with um public forum. moment All right. Um public forum. This time is set aside to receive uh citizen input. Citizen input is important to our governance role in serving our students, staff, and community. We thank you for your engagement with the board and ask that the speakers respect the 3-minute time limit and that you please speak in a manner that you prefer being spoken to. Um Our first uh public speaker will be Michael Gillis on the choir. Good evening, Chairwoman Bullion, board directors, student representative Osuji, and Dr. Thomas. My name is Michael Gillis and I am president of the Prior Lake Choir Boosters. I'm also a parent of two high schoolers who are choir students themselves. I am here tonight to ask two things of you. Tonight you'll be reviewing the budget for the 2026-2027 school year. The current plan will reduce staffing at the high school from two choir directors to only one. Our high school choir directors, Mr. Hahn and Mrs. Zerlinden, or Hahn and E as they are affectionately and efficiently known, are educators of immeasurable value. Because of their dedication, expertise, and genuine care for their students, Prior Lake is a well-recognized and respected member of the arts community, not just here in Minnesota, but in the United States and worldwide. Every year, Hahn and E's Laker Choir students, many of whom you can see tonight, serve as ambassadors for the city of Prior Lake and for Prior Lake schools. >> [clears throat] >> Our singers consistently earn membership in statewide honor choirs at record-high [snorts] numbers. Our students collaborate and perform with professional musicians from across the country and internationally, Laker Choir students, perhaps your own children or those of your friends or neighbors, have performed at such unique and prestigious venues >> [clears throat] >> as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the largest church in the entire world. And next week, they will be performing with nationally recognized musicians from the Republic of Ireland. In addition to all these accomplishments, numerous PLHS graduates who've been part of the choir's program are awarded scholarships every year to continue their musical education. Finally, and perhaps most impressively, some graduates who aren't even entering the field of music earn scholarships simply in recognition of their musical accomplishments as members of one or more of the Laker Choirs. None of these achievements would have been possible without the combined leadership of Hahn and E. You may have already been contacted and tonight you will likely hear from students, alumni, or parents about the impact Hahn and E have had on their lives. I hope all of these testimonials reach you with the greatest clarity. I know the money is tight and devastating cuts are happening all across our district. If the proposed changes to choir happen next year, the damage to our students' futures will be incalculable. My first ask tonight is that somehow you will find a way to work with building administration to preserve this invaluable partnership at the high school of Hahn and E. As board directors, you took an oath to fulfill your duties, which includes prioritizing the needs of students. The needs of students. None of this would be happening if we had the funding for our schools. My final ask tonight is that when the time comes to present another levy to voters, that each of you remembers your oath and fulfills it faithfully. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> OUR NEXT SPEAKER UH IS Adrian Hendrick. Good evening. My name is Adria Hedrick. I was a concert choir and choral section leader, all-state choir member, two-year anthem team captain, and received the choir Christopherson award when I graduated in 2023. After graduating college in May, I have since returned to the PLSAS community and now help coach the Prior Lake speech team. I was someone who loved choir so much, I found a way to be in every ensemble avail- available to me. That's 4 hours of choir every day. For me, Prior Lake choir was incredibly transformative. It was a massive part of why I fell in love with this community and why I came back to this community at all. For over a decade, Rob and Randy as a pair have fostered an environment of top-notch musicianship, growth, and collaboration. The Prior Lake choir community is one that's hard to describe. Singing with others is scientifically proven to bond and fulfill, but it's a beautiful thing to experience. From rehearsal to concert, students of all backgrounds, passions, and strengths work together to make beautiful, moving music. Celebrate, the masterwork, the awards concert, whether you've been to one or many, they are hard to forget. As someone who has seen what gets put into these concerts year after year, I can tell you it will be near impossible to achieve the same result with only one teacher and one conductor. Beyond the concerts, the level of choral education taught at Prior Lake, thanks to Hahn and E, is off the charts. I'm not sure you know, but in the Minnesota high school choir community, Prior Lake is where it's at. We are the school that sends in too many auditions to state honor choirs just to have more students than allowed make it in because we are just that good. Consistently recognized by the best collegiate choirs in the nation, Luther, Concordia, St. Olaf, often Prior Lake alumni audition as freshmen and make it into the top upperclassmen choirs at their universities. The level of musicianship Hahn and E create is an impressive one, one that would be greatly hit without this collective duo. In splitting these two up, you'll be sacrificing not only one of the most impressive programs at our school, but an incredible community that these two have built in tandem. I can't begin to imagine what my choir journey would have looked at would have looked like without Hahn or without E. I know this, the experience, knowledge, and impact would not be at the level I received with those two in my corner. It's a journey that I've been so luckily so lucky to watch my two younger siblings flourish in since I've left. For hundreds of students, learning from Randy and Rob is a bright spot amidst the uncertainty and turmoil that high school brings. I know that on your side of the table, there are hard decisions to make, but I hope today I could give you a glimpse of the Hahn and E-powered magic that takes place in the high school choir room and what it would mean for this program and the high school to lose an invaluable choir educator. I humbly thank you for your time. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> NEXT UP IS GRACE GALBUS. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Grace Galbus and I'm a current member of the Prior Lake High School Choir program and I'm also a senior this year. I first want to acknowledge that the decisions being made on your behalf on your behalf are by no means taken lightly and instead require extensive thought and consideration. However, as the lead singer of Foreigner mentioned this past summer at the Lakefront stage, the first programs to take a hit during tight budgeting situations are the arts, and this simply must change. Thinking of this from another perspective, take any single department at the high school, such as English or math, and imagine the impact of cutting one teacher out of a department of around 15 other staff members. I'm sure each one of you can agree that it would definitely impact the class sizes for next year, but it wouldn't affect the classes being offered or the curriculum being taught. Now, back to the choir program. Moving one teacher down to the middle schools would take away half of the department, leaving not only a change in class sizes, but a change in the classes themselves, as we currently have six ensembles, and that would no longer be possible next year. This would also leave a devastating hit to our curriculum, such as the variety of performances of the choral masterwork and celebrate. Shows long awaited by all ages of the community, such as celebrate, would no longer be possible with only one director. In fact, the work currently being done to keep up with the excellence of our current program is by far enough work for three or even four people, but it's being done by only two. I encourage each of you to think creatively and consider what other areas of our diverse district you could choose to evenly spread the repercussions of the situation to. And as the very same diversity of the school district prides itself on can no longer be valid or truthful without a functioning and superior choral program, like the one we have today, all because of our two amazing directors, Mr. Han and Mrs. Erlandson. As you can see behind me, this is just a small sliver of the amount of community members in favor of preserving a program that has meant so much to so many. In fact, a petition that was started just 3 days ago has just shy of 1,000 signatures of people standing alongside us to fight the good fight. With that, I ask, how can we change the way we think, and at the very least make it possible for these two colleagues to work together for at least half the time next year by sending one of them to the middle school and allowing them to share that time equally between the high school as well. Thank you. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> OUR NEXT SPEAKER UH IS Gisela Dager. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, all. My name is Gisela, and I'm a ninth grader at the high school. This is my 10th year in Spanish immersion, and I'm here because this program truly matters to me and to many other students. Through immersion, I've learned so much more than just a language. I can communicate with different people from different backgrounds, and I've gained a deeper understanding of the Latino culture. It has opened my eyes to the world in a way that a regular class simply cannot. Language is something you build over time. Even after summer break, we need time to get back into it. Taking away an entire year of Spanish would set back students significantly. It doesn't make sense to pause something like this and expect it to restart successfully a year later. It would undo years of progress. I also want to speak about Senora Guzman. Before her, our program struggled with constant turnover. In sixth and seventh grade, I had multiple long-term and short-term substitutes, many of whom did not speak Spanish. This has made learning very difficult, and Senora Guzman is the first consistent teacher we've had in years. She brings stability, structure, and real learning to the classroom. She is in her third year now, and students, including my younger brothers, benefit from having her. She's an important part of this program. This program has also impacted my life outside of school. This summer, I went on my first mission trip to Peru, and I was able to translate for my group and connect with local people. They were surprised and honored that someone from my age from the United States could speak Spanish. That was an experience that would not been possible without this program. This immersion program also creates a strong sense of community. We grow up together, learning and supporting each other. It feels like a family, and we gain knowledge about the world that many other students just don't have. I'm here today to respectfully ask you to reconsider the cuts to the Spanish immersion program. In my family, we are taught to finish what we start. This district made a commitment to the program, to students, and to family. I'm asking you to honor that commitment and allow us to continue what we started. Thank you for your time. THANK YOU. >> [applause] [applause] >> OUR LAST SPEAKER FOR THIS EVENING IS Rebecca and Richard Charts. Hola, me llamo Rebecca Charts. So, we're here today to ask you to maintain funding for the secondary emotion immersion program at PLSAS for 2026-2027. I understand the difficult position that the district is in given how the community has decided to support the schools. While cuts need to be done, the board has consistently said that the focus should be on continued classroom experiences. This is direct Excuse me, continued classroom experiences instead of nice-to-haves. I suggest that other than until other options are fiscally available and financially available and feasible, the district continues to focus on cutting activities as much as possible to keep class options open. This is directly in line with the stated budget priorities of the board. And I say this fully knowing that our family is participating in activities that may have to be among those cuts that are both on the short list that we're expecting to see today, as well as others that I believe are probably coming in the future. This includes choir, swimming, and others. While we want all of these things, I will give up the activities to support the classroom opportunities that have brought the district to PLSAS in the first place. We have weathered so much put We have put so much effort into building the secondary portion of the immersion program, and we've weathered through it to get to a strong place. If these cuts are made now, we are likely accepting that we're there will be additional ones, and the program will not con- will not recover for years in the best case. Finding quality qualified teachers is one of the biggest obstacles to establishing the secondary immersion program. And currently, both the middle schools and high school have qualified, dedicated teachers experienced in working with immersion students who are committed to the success of their program. My wife and I are so grateful to the opportunities our children have received and the people they have met as part of the immersion program. We are happy to see happy to see that La La La La Lago has continued for over 10 years now, and we hope it continues. We are about to see our first graduating class of those kindergarteners next year being seniors, and we'd like to be able to get my son, who's a current ninth grader, uh my daughter, who's a sixth grader, all the way through this program. Thank you for your time. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP ON THE AGENDA ARE OUR business items. Uh the first item being the transportation uh recommendation, uh recommendation resulting from the transportation RFPs. [clears throat] Um Director Powers. Thank you. Well, I I will entertain >> I will I will entertain a first in a second um to approve uh this transportation recommendation. So moved. By Director France. Second. Second by Director Johnson. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed. Aye. I I think we need to vote after we have the discussion. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. That is very true. Thank you. Now, I will open it up for discussion. >> Oh. It's It's one of those nights. I understand. >> [laughter] >> Well, it's Robert's Rules of Order. Good evening, everyone. Madam Chair, members of the board, Superintendent Thomas. Um tonight, we're bringing forward um the first part um of our transportation RFP recommendation. Um we've had uh we've been reviewing um three different proposals for routing and six different proposals for the transportation side of this. Um we did not bring forward, as a couple of members have been requesting, the actual RFP um responses themselves because we're in the negotiation process right now, and we wouldn't um it would be un- or not typical to bring forward the results of those RFPs before before finish the negotiations. Um but we did have uh one recommendation for uh the routing services and two separate recommendations for the transportation services uh that we would like to move forward with negotiations on. Um any [clears throat] questions on any of that stuff? Directors, opening up for discussion and questions. Yeah, I have Oh, sorry. Um yeah. >> Director Atkinson. Yeah, thank you. Um so, I have a couple couple questions on the routing piece of it. Um so, my first Can you clarify, are we currently paying for routing with our current contract? And that might be a hard question to answer. And if if like how can you quantify like what does routing look like separating it out from the current contract? Uh it's a very good question. So, we are currently the routing services are included in our in our um contract with uh Prior Lake Bus Association. Most districts I I I want to say not most. Many districts separate those services. They have the routing service completely separate from the transportation side. Um what that allows a lot of these school districts to do is actually have um some accountability for um how the services are used. Um if the routing service is recommending that we have 50 different routes for gen ed and 30 different routes for special education, then we'd work with our transportation to make sure that we can fulfill those route requirements. Um but when the uh routing is done by the bus company, that takes that step away from us. Um it puts a lot more control in the bus company. And a lot of these other districts are looking at keeping that control themselves or with a contractor having that control on it. So, how do you see that being a cost savings? As we've discussed with other districts and with CESO, um there are inefficiencies that they could think they can help us find. Um we wouldn't be guaranteed to find any of those inefficiencies, but um we can't find them at all if we don't have somebody that's going to be auditing that with us. Okay. Any other questions? Um I I mean, just as I guess statement more just again given we haven't seen any of these, it's very difficult to feel comfortable um with any like due diligence and being transparent to our community. So, I mean, I have no idea what companies or what proposals were >> [snorts] >> uh were reviewed. Um I know there was also a concern uh raised to the board around um just potential conflict of interest for CESO. And And given that they were um involved, I believe, in the RFP process as well as then a a respondent to that. Is that Is that correct? Or can you comment on that? I've seen the letter that was brought forward. Um a couple of comments that I can bring on top of that. The RFP was cre- It's kind of the RFP is kind of a boiler boiler plate one. Mostly created by me Okay. by borrowing from the Burnsville transportation contract and the Lakeville contract. So, I was the one that took a good chunk of those things and put them together. We did um before we were going to move forward with the contract or for the RFP, we had talked with uh CESO about doing the routing services. They presented something to us that had all of the basics, the the bullet points that they wanted to make sure and and let us know that they were going to give us that service involved around those things. I took those bullet points and incorporated some of them, not all of them, into our current RFP so that that way everyone would be bidding apples to apples across the entire part for the routing portion of of it alone. That way there was no miscommunication on this is what CESO's bidding and this is what somebody else is bidding. I wanted to make sure that they were all bidding on the same basic framework. But from what I understood, um the concern also that potentially these companies could not respond to both. It was one or the other. Is that correct? That's what we had in the RFP, correct. >> couldn't even like split out the contract even if it was the same vendor. Um could they have created a separate company inside of themselves to do routing services? They could have. Any other questions? Comments? Director Olson? Yes, thank you. How is that common for companies to do? With CESO with their parent company, they have CST and they've got a couple other companies as well. I can't say how uncommon or common it is, but I know that there's at least one different company that does it. Any other Director France? Um first of all, um I just want to say thank you for coming to the [snorts] board for approval to go forward with the negotiations. We're not signing anything at this point, but we are going forward with the negotiations. And I believe you did talk about this at the last study session, talk about the separation of the routing, also talked about um the uh transportation for special education uh and some of the proposals that came back for that. Um so, I appreciate your thorough vetting. I know that this RFP process has been long. And I do recommend that the that I hope the board moves forward uh so that we can actually move forward with this and also determine potential cost savings over our current transportation contract. Thank you for that. Um that actually brought up I didn't quite mention this as diligently as I should have. This is just the proposal to negotiate. If we found the negotiations were not favorable or if something came came across us to where we could not proceed, by all means, we could throw everything out and start over with the entire process. This is is just one step of the as a part of the process. And I want to make sure that we're doing the best that we can for the school district. If that is also the best that we can for the our current vendor, that would be awesome. Um but I just want to make sure that we are doing everything that I everything that we can to make sure and get that done. Clarify that. You're asking to negotiate with two of the three proposals for routing and two of the six proposals for transportation. >> Currently, we're looking at one of the ones for routing and two of them for the transportation. So, one of three. Okay. Correct. Yeah. And I I mean, again, I just um I know sometimes negotiations can be taken to close sessions for us to review or things like that. Having not seen those proposals, it's it's really hard for me to Most definitely. And I expect to bring all of the numbers to you. We'll have a complete spreadsheet of of every bid that was put in. And at that time, I can provide the copies of those RFPs that were submitted. And at that point, we can show what the negotiations have turned out and what our recommendation is, if we have one at that time. Chair Bolin. Director Thomas. Yeah, if I can just add a couple more points. So, >> [clears throat and cough] >> as [snorts] we did our initial review of all the proposals that came in, um we interviewed all the the submitters. And what we learned through that process, um couple of things. One, some people interpreted the RFP um differently than what was intended. And so, what they submitted in terms of numbers actually weren't necessarily accurate. Or sometimes they didn't have a costing factor listed in a certain type of service. And we said, "Do you not provide this service? Um or is this something that um you you know, omitted?" So, that we found a lot of through that conversation, "Yes, that is something that we can provide. Um and based upon what we charge for regular routes, we could do this, you know, modify for sped routes or um extracurricular routes, etc." So, what we also want to make sure of is that and we've heard this from many of the providers as well is what they submitted is negotiable. So, so again, without without putting everything out there, cuz we're still evaluating these numbers right now, um and nothing has been finalized in terms of yes, this is what um our official contract with you would look like, we want to make sure that we are being objective on our side to um ensure that we can negotiate the best rates across the board for um you know, routing services, wheels on the ground services for both gen ed, special ed, as well as our extracurricular routes as well. So, the fact that we're not we're not sealing a deal, we're not approving contracts, we are just telling the board we're going to entertain deeper conversations to vet out official numbers that we would then bring back to the board um that are 100% solid. Again, through our interviews and learnings about the the proposals, there was a lot of give and take in those conversations. So, I anticipate we're going to get even more refined in terms of what those true numbers will be um by several of them saying, "Yep, that's something that we're open to talking about, you know, if we are chosen, you know, to work, you know, go through the next phase of the process." So. Thank you for that. [snorts] Any other Any other questions? >> Yes. Director Johnson. Um I appreciate the insight, Director Thomas, and Director Powers. So, I kind of lean on Director Mason's point that you're making the decision to not Um, how can I say this properly? Um, not give us all the the ones that you are are not choosing, right? I think I would be much better in favor of this if we were to see, "Hey, here's the reason why with the numbers, right? Why you are choosing those right? The one the one individual for routing and the two for the actual services. That's Maybe that's just me, but I I'm I would rather at least see the information because you're telling me what you saw and I appreciate your insight and so are you. And I appreciate that. But, in the end, we're the ones that have to make the decision and we're not seeing anything. We're just given No, like >> You you you got you got this many, I'm choosing to cut it down to this. I I appreciate that statement very much. And I I want to make sure that we share all of that with you. As we look at when we're recommending these ones, these ones that we find the most likely. If when we go to bring our recommendations to you, I'm going to have to make sure and justify it at every level. If you question any of those things or if you think that you or if you see anything that that necessarily we didn't see or um, something that you really don't want us to proceed with, then you then we would make sure and look then you would let us know at that point. Until we get to that point, there are certain numbers that I don't want to share with the general public. I mean, if we had a a closed session, I would say, "Here are the numbers. I want to share these things with you because I'm hoping that we can use some of those in our negotiations." But, until we get to the negotiations, that would to me kind of like be showing my poker hands without actually being able to bet on it. You would also be violating the the general premise of sharing the numbers of contracts that are competing with each other in public, which is would be violating the non-disclosure aspect of it until the contract comes to fruition. Okay, board members. Um, I think to given if we could first of all, if we could be recognized when we're being spoke. Thank you. I appreciate that. This helps with the flow. Um, and then also I think I appreciate the comments and the questions. Um, and we have to remember too that the district is tasked with bringing forth the recommendations. Um, you know, and then the the board um, acts on those recommendations. They're not um, you know, there's there's many things that you know, don't come to the board in making decisions. They they they do their due diligence to bring forward their recommendations and this is just the start of the RFP process. So, that being said, um, Director Atkinson. Sorry, I have one last question. Given the letter that we received, can you provide any insight? Are we Did we meet the statutory requirements of the RFP process or the like There's a lot of There's a lot of legal language in this letter and I don't want to get into it, but my concern as being a member of the board who is legally responsible for the decisions that are made in this district, I want to make sure that in your opinion, I don't know if this is run by legal, Yep. but did we follow the statutory requirements of the process? >> Great question, Director Atkinson. And yes, be this RFP was reviewed by our legal counsel before it went public. Um, so it followed that protocol. Um, the the concerns or the things noted in that letter um, have also been discussed with legal. Um, there are there are some different perspectives on how that the [clears throat] contents of that letter from our vantage point. Um, but yes, in terms of our counsel, um, we we will continue in this process, you know, further guidance. Um, that there's nothing that they have shared with us that says that we have done anything wrong. So. Are there any board members that haven't had a that haven't spoke that would like to before I move us forward? >> I'll just say one thing. Um, >> Director Smith. Thank you. Um, yeah, so looking at the board budget priorities here, under optimized resources, streamline transportation operations and evaluate partnerships to maximize cost savings and operational efficiency, enabling the district to allocate more resources directly to the classroom instruction and student learning. And given what we heard from uh, folks in the public forums tonight and the emails that we've received, it sounds like that is exactly what the district is doing here. If there are RFPs or if there are submissions to the RFP that did not meet the criteria or didn't understand what they were being asked, I don't think we need to waste the board's time evaluating those because they're irrelevant. If if they don't match what we were asking, then it's not something that we need to be digging into. So, I'm all for recommending that we move forward into negotiations and I look forward to hearing what those numbers are so that we can see if we're making an impact. Thank you. All right. So, if no one has any other discussion, I will um, go move forward we'll move forward with the vote uh, on this transportation recommendation. All in favor say I. I. I. Uh, opposed say nay. Nay. And is that Director Mason and Director Johnson? Director Atkinson, what was your vote? >> I. It was I. Okay. So, that passes 5-2. Our next item of business um, is the PLSEA 2025 through 2027 collective bargaining uh, >> [snorts] >> tentative agreement. I will entertain a uh, um, motion and a second to approve that. So moved. Second. By Director Smith and a second by Director France. And now I will open it up for discussion before taking a vote. Uh, Director Cothran. Good evening, Chair, Directors, and Superintendent. Uh, I'd like to start just to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to both the PLSEA and the district negotiations teams. Uh, it was a pleasure to see this agreement move forward for approval tonight. Reaching this tentative agreement is the result of months of hard work, transparency, and a shared commitment to our students and staff. Negotiations are rarely easy, but the spirit of mutual respect shown throughout this process has been outstanding. We have reached an agreement that supports our educators and ensures the stability of our district and we look forward to continue this positive momentum into the future. I want to thank everyone involved for staying at the table and working towards a solution that strengthens strengthens our entire school community. So, let's take a look at some of the highlights in the contract that you have in the in the board packet. Uh, first of all, being on the salary schedule for 25-26, there was step and lane movement as well as salary enhancements to steps 1 through 14 for $300 and we created a new step 16 for $700. And then for 26-27, once again, step and lane movement and steps 1 through 15 would see a $1,500 increase while step 16 would be a $2,500 increase. Uh, schedule C and D both had a 5% increase to 25-26 as well as 26-27. And both medical and dental insurance increases for 25-26 and 26-27 per the contract language. We did move the emergency closing memorandum of understanding into contract language. We reestablished our meet and We allowed the usage of two more personal leave days per year for a maximum of seven days to be used. We also established a memorandum of agreement for 26-27 school year that will modify the 26-27 school calendar to adjust full student contact days as well as teacher contract days and I will speak to that in just a minute. As well as some additional language clean up items. The total percentage increase using the MSBA costing model equated to 5.15%. So, now I'd like to discuss a little more detail the details of the MOA around the changes to the 26-27 calendar. And in the board packet is what the new proposed 26-27 school calendar would look like. So, the MOA, it's going to kind of change a few dates throughout the calendar. So, starting with October 14th, which is the Wednesday of MEA, that is going to convert to a non-work day. Uh, so October 14th was previously designated as an instructional duty day or in-service day for 6 through 8. And now that should be converted to a non-work day for all teachers um, and a non-student contact day district-wide as well. Moving to January 4th, uh, that was previously designated as a teacher work day or a non-student contact day. And this shall now be converted to a student contact day. So, that would be the Monday right after winter break will now become a student contact day. Moving into third quarter with a spring break adjustment, um, so third quarter shall now conclude on Wednesday, March 31st of 2027. Thursday, April 1st, which was previously designated as student contact day, shall be converted to a teacher work day. So, that would make it a non-student contact day. And Friday, April 2nd, which was previously designated as a teacher workday shall be converted to a non-work day and shall serve as the start for the teachers of the spring break. When we're looking at the impact basically at elementary and high school, the student contact days shall be reduced by a net total of one day for the 26-27 school year. Uh the teacher contract shall be reduced by two days from 185 days down to 183 days for the 26-27 school year. As well as we did have uh two self-directed work days, which are September 3rd and January 18th. September 3rd of 2026 and January 18th of 2027. Those shall recruit uh include a remote self-directed professional development option. One of the things that I do want to um bring up is also clarification under the inclement weather. Um and due to the reduction of one elementary student contact day, the district's uh calendar for 26-27 school year shall be set at 165 student contact days, which per state statute puts us right at the minimum roughly requirement for student contact days um uh to to meet that uh hour requirement. You need about 165. Um so based on this, that's for 26-27, we will move to if there is an inclement weather day, that first inclement weather day would be an e-learning day and every inclement weather day from uh moving forward would also be an an e-learning day uh in in regards to in order for us to uh maintain that as a student contact day. Once again, this is a one-year MOA. This is only for the 26-27 school year. So, I will open it up for any questions. Thank you, Director Cothern. Uh board members, is there any questions or discussion on this prior to us taking a vote? I Director Mason. But just wanted to say thank you for Director Cothern and Director Ryder especially. I think everyone really in administration this process was um went very smoothly and for all of your help and information along the way. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Anyone else? Director France. I would second that. I think you did an incredible job. Um and I I appreciate also the um membership coming to the table and negotiating in such a fair uh and direct way um by both parties. So, thank you very much to both. Director Elstad. I'll third it. Um if that's a thing. Um thank you very much for your work and thank you to our teachers as well. Yeah. Anyone else? I will >> I [clears throat] just have Director Akins. Sorry. >> [laughter] >> So, thank you for all the hard work. This um process went a lot smoother than it has in the past. So, thank you for um even coming in late to the process. Um I just want to share, you know, a couple of things of feedback that I heard from our teachers. Um one, when it takes us 9 months to negotiate a contract, it's really hard on teacher morale. And so, hopefully now that we've gone through this process and you're in on board and I know you came on late on board, um that this process will go smoother and we'll get this settled faster. Um my only concern with less student contact days is that seems to be a complete conflict of interest of or not a conflict of interest, but it goes against our strategic plan of academic excellence. And so, as we continue to struggle with proficiency scores, reading, and we we talk about this at the table here. Now, we're down one less student contact day. And so, I just think that I understand this is only for 1 year. Um but and I would also encourage our calendar committee um to be the the scope of who's on the calendar committee and who's involved in the calendar committee process to be widened to in include our community members and perhaps um some non-teacher union um members as well. Um so that we can get more voices involved in that process as well. So, um I appreciate your hard work and I think it's um it's it's a fair contract. Um but I just wanted to be sure to voice those concerns that I heard. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Well, I will fourth or fifth the grat- the extension of my gratitude um for the whole process and the the the teams. It it was a collective effort and so we really appreciate um the work that was done to to uh get us to this TA. So, with that all being said, I will um uh entertain the vote for uh this agreement. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, say nay. That passes 7-0. All right. The next item um is the Five Hawks Elementary principal uh recommendation. >> [snorts] >> Um Director Cothern. Thank you, Chair and directors and superintendent. After receiving feedback from the Five Hawks community on what they would like to see in their next principal, as well as two rounds of interviews with multiple different stakeholders, the district would like to recommend recommend the hiring of Lisa Manders as the principal for Five Hawks Elementary. Lisa has served as the interim principal of Westwood Elementary since 2024. She began her career in Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools as a teacher at Westwood. She has also served as a peer coach, a district Q Comp coordinator, and Dean of students, as well as an elementary principal in neighboring Tri-City United Public Schools. We are confident that Lisa will bring strong leadership, dedication, and a continued commitment to student success in her new role at Five Hawks. The role would officially begin on July 1st of 2026. Ms. Manders will succeed Katie Sherman, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Open it up for any questions. [snorts] Wonderful. Let me I will take a uh motion and a second to approve that recommendation. So made. By Director France. Do I have a second? Second. By Director Johnson. And and any discussion or questions for uh Director Cothern? I want to say congratulations. Mhm. Yes. Well deserved. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. We'll take a vote on that. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, say nay. That passes 7-0. Um one more staffing item. The next item is uh additional staffing for um elementary building substitute teacher. I will uh take a motion and a second for that. So made. By Director Johnson. Second? Second. By Director Smith. Uh Director Cothern. Yes, thank you, Chair and directors and superintendent. So, currently all of our buildings have a building sub. Um Edgewood does not. And this is simply to help with the daily absences that they experience just like any other building would as well. Um so the district requests staffing for uh 0.9375 uh FT elementary building substitute teacher at Edgewood. This association cost includes benefits and will be covered by the 04 community services fund and continue into subsequent years. Any questions or comments from the board members? All right. Hearing none, we'll take a vote. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, say nay. And that passes 7-0. And now I'll take a a motion and a second to adjourn the business portion of this meeting. So made. Second. By Director Mason and a second by Director Johnson. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, say nay. And that passes 7-0. We are adjourned and we will take a a 5-minute break um before we come back for the study session. Thank you, everyone.