at the last meeting uh during the green card session, we had a member that was um upset that Forest Lake PD was here in the audience and felt that it was uh expenditure of public funds and hard to see that the school that the police department is coming to our schoolboard meetings. And if that member of the community had paid attention to the agenda, they would have recognized that we're going into a close session as we annually do for um the school board or the school officer SRO to give us the school board an update. And so with that said, you know, for those who are in attendance now or maybe have never been to a schoolboard meeting, would you mind just refreshing everybody's uh memory or informing people why we're here? like what the school board's purpose of the school purposes. Yes, thank you.

In in summarization here, um the Minnesota school boards are responsible for the governance, care, management, and control of their local public school districts under state law. Their purpose is to superintend and manage the schools by adopting rules and policies, setting curriculum, establishing budgets, maintaining oversight of financial transactions, negotiating labor trans uh negotiating labor contracts, hiring the superintendent, and ensuring the proper implementation of district operations. And that is a summarization of Minnesota State Statute 123B.09.

I would just like the board to look at that policy again and either give more reason for it. Certainly can't be to save time because while we had it in place, the meeting went three hours. So, um, I would like to know other reasons why that policy was put in and to know that the person I voted for would have the right as an elected official to represent the people that have voted for them numerous times unless they, you know, sabotage and and want to vote for or want to make up the whole meeting, you know, that that would be different. But I've not seen that happening yet. I think all of you have good ideas and should be allowed to share them as many times as you want. Thank you.

So, there in that social emotional, there's data right there where I can start thinking what my first day, what my first week, what my first month is going to look at. And then thinking about what tools will help everyone, but know it's going to really help these kiddos such as like our star breathing. There are some kiddos that, "Yep, I already know how to breathe through a situation." But reminding them, "Yep, you have this tool." Because even though you maybe know how to breathe through when brother knocks down your tower, you're in a new setting, a new space, new expectations, I might need a reminder how to utilize that skill I have.

I mean that think about how reassuring that is for our parents our families if they know they're sending their kids off and there's trusted adults. I mean that that is as big to me as you know and some of these other a tests and all this other thing. I mean, these these this says that we're really doing a good job and our parents are feeling good about the work that we're doing and it speaks to the quality of our staff from everybody from the bus driver to the people in the lunchroom to the parents to the teachers.

Director Jacobson, do do you mind if I stop you right there? Just back up one one slide. I I hate to cut you off here, but one thing that I noticed with both Scandia and Lynwood is the progress scores are extremely high and so is the proficiency. And I would assume and and I'm hoping you can clarify this that the higher your proficiency, the more difficult it is to increase that progress score. Would that be correct? That is precisely correct.

What got me out of bed was football and sports. We didn't have these when I was in school. We engage every one of our high school students and through the gateway courses at the middle school in a process of helping them figure out what is it I want to be. Do I want to go into business and accounting or marketing or nursing or medicine or engineering or the trades those are our career pathways and there's nothing more powerful than a student who finds their purpose. Now we have a engaged kid who has a mean a purpose for coming to school. I think that is a really critical component over these five years that has influenced the success around graduation.

In my mind, this is one of the most important questions. Do the people there believe that your kid can learn or are they just saying this one's hopeless? Doesn't look like we're doing that. We have big numbers here. Lots of people agree and strongly agree on this one.

I do think it's curious with the like you talked about the lower numbers with the connected to my community and if that's just a reflection of how we're the third largest district in the state geographically and we are very spread out and you know putting your thinking cap on what can we do? In that area.