The special school board meeting forForest Lake Area Schools Monday, April 20th, back to order.Uh please join us while we recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of theUnited States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nationunder God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.All right, welcome back on uh Wednesday, April 22nd as we continue ourMonday, April 20th meeting. Member Corkran, please take the roll call ofattendance. Yes. All right, member Rebolline. Here.Member Antonson is here. Member Castle. >> Here. Member Corkran. Here. MemberTyson. Here. >> And member Christensen. Here.Everybody's here. All right, we will now reconvene ourrecess uh recess meeting from last uh a couple of days ago.And we will move directly to the deliberation of candidates. Before doingso, I will turn it over to Dr. Bittman. Mr. Chair, Madam Vice Chair, members ofthe board and those in the audience. Thanks for having me back. Uh excited,the moment many have been waiting for. And so, I'll just give a quick summaryand then we'll certainly turn it over for some discussion amongst the boardmembers. It's been a great process. We've hadnearly a thousand different people involved in providing feedback indifferent ways. We had applicants from numerous states throughout the UnitedStates. We had one of the largest pools ofcandidates that put their name in and applied to be the superintendent here inForest Lake. We've had opportunities to get to know them uh on multiple stages.The semi-finalist round would be one example, the finalist round. We gavethose in the attend in the um meetings an opportunity to provide feedbackdirectly when they got to know the candidates. You learned from yourcommunity that they're hoping that we can unite as the school board and findnot a temporary solution, but a permanent solution that will be able toprovide some stability for the district uh moving forward.Also, someone who can uh meet the criteria that the community put forward,which was used to screen the candidates and select the candidates along the way.We have two really solid candidates to talk about tonight. And so, I'm excitedto hear the conversation. Uh once that happens, the board will beexpected and asked to make a motion, approve a motion to enterinto negotiations with the candidate of the board's choice.That then uh we will work collaboratively. Typically, we would dothat with the board chair and the vice chair together uh and working with uheach of you and or whoever the board would want to do that in working withthe candidate that you that you choose. And so, on behalf of our firm, just aquick shout out to say thank you for trusting in in us to to guide throughthat process. And we're really excited to hear the conversation tonight.With that, I'll turn it back. All right, thank you. Umwith that, we can enter our deliberation of candidates. Umwe're not taking motions at this point in time. Just having some discussion tosee if there's a uh potential consensus around a singlecandidate or get kind of our thoughts out on the table. Is there anybody whowould like to kick that process off? Just discussing the candidates ingeneral? >> Yeah, just discussing the candidates ingeneral. If I could, Mr. Chair, before we start,I would encourage the board, since this is a public meeting, uh to to thinkabout the positives, the things that we really enjoyed about each of thecandidates. And rather than identify things that we weren't excited about acandidate, um pose that as something you'd want to know more about or beinterested in learning about. All right, thank you, Dr. Bittman. I can I mean, I can Yeah.And I wasn't going to do that, but thank you. [laughter]Um well, it's been a veryintense process. Um nerve-wracking at times.I think you're right, we had two excellent candidates. UmI can't I I I can't really possibly think of, you know, negativethings in general to say. So, umI appreciate it and and when I started this and saw the community feedback andyou know, some people were saying they wanted someone from within thecommunity, that's very important. I understand that.Um some people are concerned about somebody that'syou know, already here or whatever. I mean, I getthe concerns that came in and all the positives, too. UmSo, that just makes it super hard at some point and thenum when I started it, I was going to saythat I was looking for sure that we wanted somebody thathad enough experience to do it. Umand that so, when we came up with the three finalists, I was not surprised atthat list because evenwith maybe not prior superintending experience, you know, you can't takeaway that longevity of being here for that many years and helping build whatis what is right here right now.So, it's been interesting and stressful and kind of fun.That's all I'm going to say right now. >> [clears throat]>> All right, thank you, member Antonson. Anybody else like to make some comments? Member Castle.So, I've similar to uh uh Miss member Antonson, um it's beenit's interesting and somewhat challenging. I don't know aboutdifficult, but um uh looking at all the information, umcomparing the two candidates, and one witha lot of experience um in theas the superintendent. Um one who's had um administrative experience, but notsuperintendent. But uh with theposition umall of the folks that the superintendent would be conversing with,those have already been happening in the current role. So, that brings alot of that almost like a superintendent becausethat collaboration between all all the folks.>> [clears throat] >> And um I believe that uhboth candidates would do a fine job. So, it it is a it is a challenge to select one fromfrom the two. For sure. Thank you. I'd uhI think I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Raue Associates and Dr. Bittman um Dr.Bittman's team for all the work they put into this effort.I think of the countless hours that uh myself and otherboard members have spent both reviewing the applicants, even looking through theuh the full litany of ap- applicants. We wehad a good umgood selection. And uhuh I remember Raue Associates had recommendeduh 10 that ended up being nine, but we I believe all of us still reviewed all twodozen of the applicants or more uh to arrive at this choice this evening. Andthen uh the amount of time that board membersspent uh agonizing over um the questions andthe process, the procedure, just trying to learn through this. And uhuh being able to lean on Dr. Bittman and his team wasinstrumental in getting to this point. Uhthis was certainly a very rigorous process. Um we are obviously hiring avery high-ranking, intelligent executive forour district. And I think this search has been very representative of that.Um it's been thorough and we have two finalists that uhI believe are both prepared. Um they have the background, theexperience, andthe wherewithal to lead the district um in the years tocome and to be successful.Um I also want to recognize the community and the support that they'vegiven the board and all of the feedback. It's helpful,especially when we have uh a board with some division on it that uhwe hear from the community about how important it is that we come togetherand we make this selection this evening. And one of the other things I heard fromthe community is how important it is to bring our board back to that fullstrength with the seventh member and reestablish some of that trust. AndI think that will help us get off to the on the right foot with the nextsuperintendent as well. Um so, that's been definitely been inthe forefront of my mind as I've worked through this process, too, is that uhum we need to be able to deliveron the things that the community is asking us to deliver on and and that'sbeen heard. And I certainly appreciate the feedback,the enthusiasm, the uh encouragement, and the time thatall of you have invested in this process as well. Anduh the phone calls and and the emails, they've been uhum incredibly helpful. But as member Antonson and member Castle uh stated,uh it's challenging working through thatamount of feedback, too. So, umI think at at the end of though, we're going to come to a gooddecision uh regardless of which way we go.So, thank you to Raue Associates and thank you to the community.Um Any additional discussion? Did you wantto um Wait, uhI second thanking Ra and Associates, but um member Anderson and member Castlemade some comments about the candidates. Did you Yeah, cuz on our agenda it saysI must A's first. Is that correct, board chair? No, that was the interview. Uhwe're on We're on item number eight. >> making general comments. Correct. Yep.Yep, and you We're welcome to to speak about the candidates directly. Umto show support for one candidate or another, as Dr. Bittman mentioned, uhwe definitely want to keep this positive. There's so much positive aboutboth candidates. There's no reason to uh address concerns right now. Those arelearning opportunities. >> about concerns. I just asked abouthow you wanted to do it. Oh. Yeah, open discussion at the moment.>> Okay. Thank you.I guess I can go next. Um yeah, the process has been challenging.It was great that we did have a lot of candidates from all over. It's prettyimpressive, all over the country, actually.Um so, this is my third uh superintendent search. So, I've beenthrough this multiple times. Um and you know, people say you shouldn't always gointernal. Well, we went internal because [clears throat] he at the time that wasthe best candidate amongst the pool. I mean,we hired Linda Matson, she was internal, but she went against many differentpeople. Same thing with Dr. Massie. Should I say Dr. Dr. Matson and Dr.Massie? UmSo, it wasn't they were just chosen cuz they were internal. We did do a rigoroustest, and we went through a lot of candidates, and they were always thepremier choice. They just were We were very fortunate that they were already inour district. I mean, they had all that knowledge, the background, they livedhere. I mean, it was like we were blessed, I was going to say, toget the right candidate at the right time for our district. Um you know,it is good. You don't realize how until you compare and contrast between othercandidates who is the best choice. Becauseif you just give someone a job, you're like, "Well, what if there was someonebetter out there that you didn't even know about?" Well, clearly we did ourhomework, and we did do it. We looked We looked all over the country and foundbest candidates. So, umthey were both strong candidates. I do agree.Tim, I like he was warm, personable,knowledgeable. You know, he was a a very You could see the warmth in him. Hetruly was a very good person to talk to, and I felt like, you know, I reallyliked him immediately. Um so, he was one of my top choices. Umhe had really good reviews from the community.Um he had support from White Bear Lake. I mean, he he really had a lot of a lotof good things. Um my So, that's This is my positive things about Tim. Um JP, Iyou know, I've worked with him a long time.Um the community input about him was amazing. The people that were here,top-notch, like almost all exceptional. If if if good or exceptional, most ofit. Um >> [clears throat]>> I mean, I know member Tyson might be saying more about some of the umcomments, but um so, I just believe his presentation Imean, I was really at an open mind for the whole process, and and I was to thepoint when they came to do their presentation and the interview questionsat the end. UmDirector Jacobson just I don't know, he just shined. I believe he reallyum his expertise, his knowledge of thedistrict, his compassion for the students. I mean,he's going He's going through a lot of steps in our district. I mean, mergingthe two junior highs, I did almost forget about that, and I was part ofthat, and that was really stressful. He becamejunior high principal for both both of them in the transition. That is not aneasy task to bring two and all the staff together. That was a huge undertaking.And now the sixth grade moving to the I mean, all the things he's kind of beenpart of since he's been in our district. He's grown. When he interviewed againstDr. Matson uh Dr. Linda Matson, I mean, I mean, I'm sorry, Dr. Massie. Thosetwo, the the growth that I've seen in hisprofessional career since since nine years ago,it just blew me away. It truly did, because I was part of those interviews,and um at the time, Dr. Massie was thechoice at that time in his career because of his just because of where hewas in his career. JP has put his time in. He's He's workedin our schools. He has He He's just been there. He's umHe's kind of been growing his career and and doing the best he could to bring ourschools to the next level. And I believe he's he's the right choice at the righttime for us now to bring the rest of the I mean, he's justHow to say it? He um He's just someone I feel I could trustto bring us to the next level, and his compassion and caring for our studentsreally shined in his interview. Um I'm just thankful he applied, andthat um that was like I said, his presentationwas phenomenal. And that if any if any doubts before that, those were takenaway after his presentation. Thank you, member Courtney.Anybody else have comments? All right. Did you want to go withmember Christianson? So, yeah. You know, and for me, we talk about, you know,we're board of six, but we're a fully functioning board of six.And we have interviewed candidates, so we have been doing what we need to do,and good candidates have been turned away. So, we're here in thepresent, and this is our work for now. And you know, hiring a superintendent isthe one hire that we do, and it's such a vast importancethat I agree, there's a lot of weight on our shoulders right now, and we need tofollow through for our community. So, I do want to thank Ra andAssociates. It's been a great experience with them. It's given me confidence andmade me comfortable through the process. I also wanted to just thank ourcommunity, because overwhelmingly the support, the data that Ra andAssociates collected from all the focus groups, the 700 678 that filled out thesurveys, um and just the support we had on thevoting and the QR code information was just overwhelming. Can't thank any buteverybody enough, and reaching out with phone calls and emails has been just sosupportive as well. Umwe are here, and we did have so many good candidates. Um it was reallysomething to just go through those high-levelOh, just the requirements and the degrees and the experiences and alltheir dedication to public school systems was just so umwarming my heart, cuz we we do such good things in public school systems. Um Uh Tim Schackow Meier,immediately I wanted to go to their website and see what he was all about,because I think that he has um a genuineum authentic self about him, and I did see that there were some similaritiesfrom our school district and his. You know, Iknow that it's small. Um 950 versus ours is 7,000, and we'remore of a northeast metro district, so but I just felt like his genuineauthentic self, I wrote in my original notes that he just came in with a bigsmile, great energy. Um you know, and very prideful of what hehas done in his district. I mean, they did some amazing things. UmJust the pride that he had and uh you know, knowing that he got the MASAaward, that is impressive, too. How special edis very near and dear to his heart. Um but I did have some common threads inlooking back over my notes, so I can address those later, but umgoing to JP Jacobson, our director of teaching and learning, um he hasjust brought our curriculum, teaching and learning department out of thedepths of despair. Diane Georgie, his predecessor, startedit, but JP has just kept his nose down and has worked to just increaseum all of our programming and bring bring good programming. I mean, theimpacts are numerous. Um he's an integral partof bringing it back to bare bones, bringing our curriculum and teaching andlearning department back. And then through budget cuts, he went through andfine-tuned cuts that he could make in his own department years later. That wasreally tough to do, but he did it. Just shows that he can do that, and he's gotthe skills. One thing that I think is really important to note about JP thatI've learned from listening to him over many years,is he is very adept at explaining complexinformation to groups of people, and I think that is a skill that is soimportant. Um But other things that I want to note ishe revamped the achievement and integration programum that we have, our plan, and it it met the met the needs of some of the peoplearound this table, things that they wanted, but it was to save the 880,000that we use for funding our students in certain programs.Um he shows a lot of empathy and understanding. I hear this from parentsoften umthat interact with him, that he's got a very thoughtful approach. I'veexperienced that myself. I think that's very important. I think,excuse me, lots of our data shows, too, that people want some of those skills tocontinue from um Dr. Massie, that good communication skill, that willingness tosit down and have a talk and to clarify things. Um that is so important. Butjust his ability and his communication skills, his empathy, all those thingsjust put him at the top. His experientialin our district, the historical experiences he has with our financialdisparities. I just think the depththe breadth and the pace of our district and the scope just umpoints in that direction of keeping us on this trajectory and theimportance of that. Um but it is a tough decision. It's a verytough decision. Umso I'll just leave that there andUm I just feel in my heart the right person is got the experience in ourdistrict and that's what we need to go forward with.All right. Thank you, member Tyson. Anybody else want toI have a question for Dr. Bittman. So, >> [clears throat]>> when we started um when we narrowed it down from the 10 to thefour or whatever and the four to the three, we started the evening withjust the ratings and the data. Are we able And tonight we're just sort oftalking about discussing that. So, I'm wondering if we canYeah, I would leave that up to both the vice chair and chair if they would liketo do the matrix. You do have something in front of you uh in your packet thathas both names listed and if it's the if the board would like to go thatdirection and uh choose their candidate, I'd be happy to take those right now andthen provide that information to the full board for further discussion.But are we talking just the choice between two? Right. Oh, that'sYeah. So, really you would just circle if you choose to to go that route as aboard, uh you would just circle the candidate that you would like to make amotion to move into negotiations with. Is that what you're requesting here,member Christensen? Um well, actually I mean that is a fine idea. Uh we can dothat certainly. Otherwise, I was referring to thethe community information from the QR code that the information that we have.Are we able to discuss that Absolutely. Okay. I didn't I wasn't sure. I didn'tclarify that as well. >> So, can I follow up then and Mhm.finish? Sure. Okay. I just did I'll be brief. Yep. I would just uh I would justwarn all board members here if there is anything confidential in those comments.I don't recall anything, but if there is, just refrain from mentioning that.But yeah. Otherwise, please. So, I just want to mention that from umTim Schockenmeier his feedback had 36 participantsand JP's had 27. So, there was kind of a group that musthave exited. So, that puts some things different, but overwhelminglyin some areas there's just a lot of um high confidenceand strongly agree for JP Jacobson. In some areas there is some question marks.Um like I had question marks about Mr. Schockenmeier's presentationand some of his answers. I needed clarity. I needed more depth.Um some of those were around certain areasthat were addressed in our criteria here.So, I won't go into any more detail, but umI just wanted to comment on some of my observations from the data. All right. Thank you. Uh memberChristensen. I would like to talk about the data a little bit, too, because Ithink as I said before that is kind of what started all this. We didn't reallyeven talk about the candidates before. We just looked at the data. So, um againto member Tyson's point uh for Mr. Schockenmeier, there were 36 people andso I'm sure everyone's aware, but after the interview there was a QR code andyou could fill that out. For the people that were here, you couldn't do itlater, obviously. But for Mr. Schockenmeier, there were 36 people[clears throat] and I would just like to say if someone is thinking, well, youknow, the um you know, it was all certain group orwhatever, zero students, seven identified as teachers, 13 identified asnon-parent community members, two support staff, 10 parents, fouradministrators for a total of 36.And for Mr. Jacobson, um zero students, six teachers, ninenon-parent community members, one staff or excuse me, one support staff, 10students and one administrator for a total of 27.So, I would like to just run down these um percentages just for data uh purposeshere and keep in mind that Mr. Schockenmeier had nineuh more ants people answering than Mr. Jacobson.Um So, uh I can say these numbers, right? So, inuh on question number two regarding the professionalism, Mr. Schockenmeier had97. Mr. Jacobson had 100. Interpersonalskills, 97 to 96. Educational experience, 94 to 100. Administrativeexperience, 97 96. Ability to motivate and connect, 89 93.Communication skills, 83 96. Comfort ease with stakeholders, 92 100.Confidence to lead the district, 89 100. Knowledge of curriculum and instruction,81 to 100. Commitment to equity and inclusion, 78to 96. Overall, 83% positive for Mr.Schockenmeier, 93 positive uh for Mr. Jacobson. So, I think keepingin um line with all the data that we've been working with, I think that that isvery important data uh that we can uh just kind of think about and kind ofnoodle on that while we're discussing these other things. Keeping in mindagain, Mr. Schockenmeier had nine more people answerthan Mr. Jacobson. UmAlso, um uh a few other things. Mr.Schockenmeier, um he was one of my top three. Um I Ithought he was very personable, very warm. I liked that he was a veteran.Um uh his school is actually right nearwhere I grew up, so I'm very familiar with that area.Um I did uh speaking of data points, um Idid look up his district just for some comparison. Um he has umone middle or excuse me, one elementary school with 415 students K5.And he has a secondary school, middle school high school togetheruh and that is I didn't do my maths. Uh just under 600 students.Uh 6 through 12. He has two principals. We have nine.Um He has approximately 100 and108 staff total in his district.Um II um acknowledge and again could hear his pride of the work that he has donein his district. But I do think again it is a good data point these numbers thatwe should realize that Forest Lake is approximatelyhe would be scaling up from Central Publicto Forest Lake approximately six to nine times more. We're that we're that muchbigger. Basically, I think his district that he is superintendentof is approximately the size of our high school.And so, um that is being able to scale upuh is a concern um of mine. Um just wondering if he's able to scale upthat leadership shifting. He he mentioned uh direct oversight. I thinkhe mentioned something about HR having a HR hat on or something like that. And Iget many hats. And you've got umyou know, so a question I have too is he is he going to be able to shift fromsort of direct involvement in those lots of types of things to a bigger systemoversight, the bigger uh system that we have. Um and going from sort of asmaller team leadership to large organizational leadership. Um is hequalified? For sure. Is he a sitting superintendent? Yes, heis. Is Mr. Jacobson a sitting superintendent? No, he is not.Um So, that's all the things to thinkabout, but um umyeah, just some more uh data points for us to be considering. All right. Thank you, memberChristensen. else have anything to add here? Well, I do.If anybody else does not right now.So, some of my questions that you know, kind of left mehanging a bit even though I really enjoyedhis personality hisgenuine self, all of his great energy. Things were around, you know,he talked about letters, which is a wonderful program, came with the scienceof reading, which were on board and ahead of it with that. Andwe have 500 teachers that we're training for letters, whereas he's got40, I believe he told me. But I was listening for more educationinitiatives and things surrounding our high school because that is where JPJacobson has kind of shown with his being director of teaching and learning.He's brought forward so many courses. Um we have so many certifications now,26. Um increases to our college in the schools and advanced placement. As wellas he's had a distinct hand on our diverse learners. And I didn't I neededto hear more of that about diverse learners. I heard about special ed, butI wanted to hear more about um you know, diverse learners. And we have a lot moreum diversity in our district overall thanhis district, quite a significant amount more. So, I would have liked to havehear more about that as well. Umand then a few of the answers about the legislative issues, I would haveyou know, we all know that the cross subsidy has to come down. Um he didmention that and that is so incredibly true.But I was looking to hear maybe more about things that umlike ESST and the summer unemployment, how that funding is running out and howhow would a district such as our size what what what could we do? I wanted tohear more about that. I didn't um hear too much on that and I wanted to hearmore. Umso I just kind of felt that some of thequestions the they didn't go full circle for me isthe best way I can put it that I was kind of just left hanging going, "Hmm."I I need that to go full circle and close the loop on that. It just didn'thave enough depth or substance and it kind of left me wanting to ask morequestions. So, umthe flip side of that um I think Director Jacobson just answeredthings very thoroughly. UmI think that he um with all of his experience in ourdistrict, it was probably just a natural innate thing for him to cover with moredepth, but like I said, he has done so many things um in terms ofrevamping the budget, the A&I plan, creating the course alignment, thecareer wheel between the four-year middle school and the high school,adding the gateway courses. So, um you know, we all have shared thatwe're on an upward trajectory in our school district and we need to maintainthat. I've been on the board 15 years and I've worked hardwith all of the administration, with our teachers, with everybody I canto help move that dial and that's important tome and we've kind of arrived and um I I just don't want to go backward.All right, thank you, Member Tyson. I would uhalso like to remind board members here that we're we're nottrying to compare and contrast. And we just want to focus on the positiveattributes of each candidate and leave questions and concerns for futurediscussion. Um those are all important uh data points,but uh um I know myself, I wouldI would much prefer to hear what everybody got to meet to the candidatesin a uh on the positive side of things. It'seasy to express the concerns, but I I'd like to hear why this is the right fitfor our district and why uh not why something might not be the right fit. Iwas just saying what I needed more information on. I I understand. I just Iwant to keep us focused. I wasn't saying that any any of your comments were uhwere not appropriate. That that wasn't I I just I don't want to see it devolve.Um so, I just did just a reminder to the full board on that.>> Thank you for clarifying that. >> Of course. Yeah, that that was not Yeah.Um Member Corcoran. >> No, I just wanted to say um I mean as aboard, of course, we are making the final decisions, but I do appreci-appreciate the community and staff input that we've gotten. I mean, that has beenreally helpful cuz that is a huge part of our decision-making process cuz we doI mean, they're a part of our community. So, I I think the comments that we'vereceived uh during the interview process were very powerful for me and greatcompliments for JP and also some great ones for Tim, but I believethere was a lot more depth even to the responses for JP's knowledge andbackground than Tim's because he is more known in the district.Um so, and also just the interviews themselves. So, I just appreciate allthe time and energy that people put in to the community. And I just want tothank everybody for that cuz that does really matter how they feel and I reallytake that to heart and I think in our decision-making we need to make surethat we recognize that as being part of our decision. So, just want to thankeverybody for their time and energy in the process. Means a lot.All right, thank you. Anybody else have comments?I can share a a few of mine if not Member Castle. Um so, [clears throat]with uh Mr. Schockenmaier uh being in a smallschool umhe had to wear many hats and I've done that at a small company and you get toknow many things about the organization thatyou might not um just as one of the players whereyou're you're you're playing many positionsand that brings a lot of knowledge into the workings of of howthings are. Um and Mr. Jacobsonhas had [clears throat] that as well, onlywith a larger system. So, in his positions that he's been inthe school um even though he doesn't have directuh superintendent workthere's a lot of the hats that uh Mr. Schockenmaiercurrently wears in his position he's worn those hatsnot at the same time butand I don't know if he's done the HR part, but umhe's he's already worn a lot of those hats, so he knows where those thingsare. So, it's it's uhit it's very good for a person to have all this informationum as they areattempting to be in the position of managing the wholethe whole group. >> For sure.All right, thank you, Member Castle. I'd like to add I think I think from thevery beginning of this entire process, I'vebeen pretty open about we need we need a leader witha rich depth of experience and um who's seen a lot of different things andreally worked in the trenches. Especially when I look at the thecurrent makeup of the board. Umit's going to be a really challenging roleand it's going to be a really challenging to get clear direction andthat's going to take a really strong personality that can come in and andreally serve our our students and our community in the best way possible.And it's going to be a challenge and when I look at the two candidates, Ithink it's going to be a challenge for either one of them for a myriad myriadof reasons, there's a lot of positives from fromboth of them. Um Obviously, with Mr. Schockenmaier, II didn't know Mr. Schockenmaier prior uh prior to this process. He was in theWhite Bear School District uh I think maybe about the time I mighthave lived in the White Bear School District, but uh I didn't have studentsin the district at the time. And he's proven himself in multipledifferent systems and uh um to uh Member Christensen's point, scaledoes matter. Umbut he has been in large systems before, so I don't feel that that'sinsurmountable. Umbut it is certainly a challenge and it it is a challenge in any system itand the same challenge will be true for a first-time superintendent to come inand learn that job at this scale. So,uh I don't know if that's anything that sets one candidate apart from the other.Um Mr. Schockenmaier has certainly got uha a good repu-Excuse me, a good reputation in the communityand he's known as a strong leader. Now,Mr. Jacobson on the other hand umhe either has the benefit or the detriment, depending on how youlook at it, of um I've known him for a long time.He came into the district uh 11 years ago and I think I may have methim uh 10 or 11 years, so I I may have been on this journey with him all along.My daughter was one of his first students. I remember thejunior high unification process into the middle schooland I remember when that first came aboutI had some concerns about uh having that one principal handle thatintegration. It made sense to me, I understood it,but uh what my biggest concern was is mydaughter, who was in one of those two schools at the time, was she going toget the support she needed uh when the principal needed to beinvolved. AndI've got to say, in hindsight, I was impressed with the work that Mr.Jacobson did. I felt he handled that really well.And I think that experience lends itselfwell to the situation we're in today where we have awe have a challenging board. I mean it I've I've said it before, it's prettyeasy to preside over a seven-member board where everybody is in unified andon the same team. It's a little bit more challenging todivide over a a board that's perceived to be a 4-3 split.It's a whole different job altogether topreside over a board that's perceived to be a 3-3 split knowing that uhyour vote is one of the pivotal votes and you try tomaintain some level of impartiality as youproceed over it uh um Mr. Jacobson's done that work beforein the unification of the umjunior highs. Uh II believe I'm and I I could be wrong on this, but I do believe he was at Centuryprior to taking the role of the unification andto the students that and then the staff at Southwesthe was viewed as the outsider coming to take over and especially since the thephysical location of the middle school was moving to the Century campus andum I don't I don't know firsthand what that was like for him, but I can'timagine it was easy. But our middle school isincredibly successful uh today and I I think we'rewe're better off because of work that Mr. Jacobson did for us at that stage.And I think you know, the past performance is a predictor of futureresults and um that prepared him well to enter thisworld um as a superintendent.And another thing I I remember one of my very first one-on-one discussions withMr. Jacobson and it was a problem I had with my son andum it was asomething to do with a test and reviewingI sat down with him and I was able to have a very direct and logicaldiscussion with him and the the thing that impressed me the mostis he had a dad in there complaining aboutthe process in a classroom or a staff member andwe didn't hyper-focus on the process. We didn't hyper-focus on the staff member.We didn't fight hyper-focus on what I perceived to be wrong.We focused on what um Mr. Jacobson perceived to be the bestsolution for my son.And we pivoted immediately and our conversation turned intowhat is going to drive the best academic outcome for the student?And that's critical.And I've seen him continuallygo back to that standard and to continuallyask that question of what is best for ourstudents. Uh member Tyson brought up the the rewrite of the A&I plan. I I assumeshe was talking about the one approximately a year year and a half agoand not the one that we just adopted. And all of those discussions werecentered on not onwhat are we adding? What are we taking away? What are we changing? But how arewe impacting students and does this serve the student in the best waypossible? And that was wonderful because we werelooking at the plan and trying to find a way to make it bring benefit to thedistrict, to bring the most benefit to the students, and to recognize that thefunds that come from the state through the achievement integration plan, theycome with strings attached. So what is the best way to utilize thosestrings to benefit the core of our student body and todeliver the best academic uh results that we can for our community.And Mr. Jacobson saw that in the questions that we wereasking and he saw that motivation and he was able to distillthat that those goals or those changes down tohow do we best benefit students?And the other thing that I've I found withMr. Jacobson and and this this is why I I feel like it's aum kind of a difficult spot for Mr.Schoeckmeier to come from is you know, a a decade of experience with someone thathe has uh He's not only a strong leaderbut uh he's a very honest manand he lives by ethics and you can see that in everything that hedoes and I can respect that.We don't agree on everything. Wewe certainly don't uh we certainly don't always see eye to eyeon this is the best path to get from A to Bbut there's never a situation that I can think of where I've ever sat down withuh Mr. Jacobson and been unable to find that paththat satisfies the need for the student and really makesall or the vast majority of the stakeholders happy to be along for thatride. And that's uhit's a strong leadership attribute and that's not something you can learn. It'snot something that you can train but it's something that you develop overtime and and working through those conversations and being in thosesituations. So um I wasimpressed and I spent more time on Mr. Jacobson than I did than I did with Mr.Schoeckmeier, but that's mainly due to myexperience with Mr. Jacobson. But I I think both arestrong. They're proven leaders and uhI think they would both serve us well moving forward. Okay. Any other comments?>> Well, I I will add and um member Tyson talked earlier about theletters training and how we have 500 teachers here that areI believe soon to be wrapping that all up, right? UmOne of the things that stood out to me you know, of many with Mr. Schoeckmeieris that he has had double-digit gains in the MCAs and I know that's noteverybody's favorite level of or you know, metric to look at, but it isthe one thing that the state does consistently across districts. SoI think that was um incredibly impressive and I and I Iwould hope that within our school because we are also doing these thingsthat the teachers are doing these things that umyou know, over time we will start seeing things shift that way as well. UmSo while it was impressive, it also gaveme, you know, someexcitement for that we are doing that same work, albeit a little bit maybebehind their time frame and more large scale.So I was um impressed with that. I was all you know, Mr. Schoeckmeierboth times he gave us a handout and I and I loved I think member Tyson alsomentioned his big smile and enthusiasm. That was certainly a plus in my book,the energy that he brought to the interview process itself.Um I I personally just I thinkhe and JP as the other candidate, they're just differenttypes of people. I I I'm I've seen JP smile and laugh plenty oftimes, too. So I mean and um Yeah, I I I I I I mean I don't know if Ineed to go on, but I think we all recognize the100% capacity and capability of both candidates to dothis work. It's whatever one's challenge, they're goingto both be challenged in in ex you know, would be both challenged taking it on.But um I mean, who wouldn't bein a new position such as a superintendent?Um I know I wanted to say something else.Now I forgot what it was. Um One thing I do want to say, too, is whenI first came on the board, I remember distinctly going the first time intoJP's office and he just said, "Tessa, you can comein my office anytime. I have anytime you want, just come on in here." And I waslike "Okay."And it was very welcoming and um it meant a lot to me. All right, do we have any othercomments? I just have a couple things I want tofollow up on. Um member Cherry, you talked about umthe achievement integration plan and I justwant to uh refresh ourselves that that's howI've been involved with that plan many times in my my over my terms. Um it's ona three-year cycle and we actually Mr. Jacobson redid it for us before it wasdone because we were worried We the fundingcould maybe be lost. So he redid that early before the cycle was up. We we didwe amended it due to the middle school migration of the sixth graders. That'scorrect. But it it could have waited. But anyway, I'm talking right now.Um one thing I want to note based on another comment that you made, memberCherry, that was positive, how you talked about howum JP when he's principal, he just was always focused on academic achievement.And one thing that we had an issue with in our district and my daughters werethere at the Century Middle School was thatparents would go on SchoolView, they'd panic, there'd be all this missing work,and it was just created anxiety and fear, and JP changed that.He said, "You know what? We want them to learn the material. We're going to havea second chance option."And I remember when I heard that, I felt like this isa man who really cares how students learn.And he wants them to engage and get the highest level ofacademic achievement that they can. And so, to your point, Member Chair, youcommented on how he's committed and wants students tolearn. And I think that wasum life-changing for middle school parents.And um one thing I want to mention about theMCAs, um you know, we've recovered a lot in ourdistrict with our academic and have improved vastly since COVID.Um and also, MCAs have an opt-out. And so, it's been a struggle for alldistricts to get that 100% participation because when you don't have it, yourMCAs are skewed because you don't have students thataren't taking it because they opt out of it.So, that's why we have FastBridge, and we do that on a regular basisthroughout the school year. And um just to note that MCAs, there's they'reproblematic in terms of kind of skewing what yourachievement is in your district as far as your reading and math gains.Um I do want to say that and I I just wantto repeat that um Tim Schockenmaier was so prideful ofhis district, and that's what you always need in a leader. Someone that's goingto be full of pride and carry that pride throughout the community and be able toconnect with the various people in your community, your Rotary,your chamber, all the things that we have inForest Lake. Going out to all of our different cities, going to Linwood,Wyoming, Scandia, getting to know all those mayors and city councils. It's abig job. Geographically, we're the third largest district in the state. Um soagain, I just want to say that so much positive about both candidates,and it is a difficult decision. But, the breadth and the depth and the pace ofour Northeast Metro School District with 7,000 students,I think is a big difference, and that's kind of the difference makerfor me. That Member Christensen Christensen talkedabout scaling up, and I think that would bea difficult task right now. So.All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Any additional comments?Yeah, Member Christensen. Um I would just like to say um that I thinkum Mr. Schockenmaier, if he would have been if it would have been two externalcandidates, I'm thinking if, you know, another one in our pool, two externalcandidates, I mean, I think umthat might have been a different scenario for Mr. Schockenmaier. But, togo up against umJP with his history in the district, I mean, to talkto Member Chair's point about how he hassuch a strong moral compass. I mean, he the Forest Lake District has been hisyou know, identity, or I mean, you know, his family. But, like, you know, I Imean, he's he's proud of it. He he's proud I I go to different stuff, andhe's there, and you know, I just feel likehe he is you know, he is ready for thismoment. I think the question that we should be thinking about is, you know,not who could grow into this role, but who is the most ready to lead thedistrict right now. You know, who who is ready to go on dayone, familiarity with the district, you know, to Member Antonson's point, ofcourse, a new job is difficult for anyone gettingto learn um those kinds of things. But, I believe thatyou know, JP has such a deep familiarity with our district. He has provenleadership in this district. I mean, he ishe's just a good person. I mean, he's super kindand takes time to talk to board members um or anyone, really. I mean, just theother night a a a someone was here at the meeting andwas here to speak about something, and uhthat the person wasn't able to do it just because of our agenda, and I sawMr. Jacobson take that person and say, "Hey, I can help you in the hallway."And he literally like left the meeting and helped that parent right in thehallway with questions that the parent had. So,I mean, like I said, I think Mr. Schockenmaieris is is a is a really good person umwith a lot of strengths, but I just I just feel likeyou know, compared to Mr. Jacobson, it is it isquite uh um quite a easy decision, frankly. I mean,um for me, anyway. So. I could go on more, but I wonder if weshould just um >> [clears throat]>> Yeah, what's the next step? >> We should vote and pass. Why don't whydon't I why don't I go ahead and move us to the next step here? Okay. Um andunless Yeah, unless there unless somebody else would like I did have onemore thing to add, but it's maybe a question first for Dr. Bittman. Can weread any of the comments off of our data?Or no? I think for this for the sake of this particular meeting, the board coulddecide to to move that forward from a, you know, put it on the website, etc.But, I think folks have as long as long as you've had an opportunity to do that.This is really for you. It's really for your discussion, so I would I wouldencourage us not to. Okay. That makes perfect sense. Thank you.All right. Well, if I think I think we're going to we'llwe'll pivot here, so um at this time, having completed our comprehensive andrigorous review process, which included surveys,community listening sessions, stakeholder feedback, and multiplerounds of public interviews, the board is prepared to take action onour next leader. Um as board chair, not hearing aa majority consensus, um however, I'd like to offer thefollowing motion. I move that the Forest Lake Area SchoolBoard select Mr. John Paul Jacobson as the finalist for the position ofsuperintendent, and authorize the board chair, in conjunction with the boardvice chair, to enter into contract negotiations with the candidate to begintheir new role on July 1st, 2026. Um is there a second? Second.All right. A motion has been made and seconded to discuss uh to select Mr.John Paul Jacobson as our superintendent finalist and to enter into contractnegotiations. Prior to moving into discussion, we willrecess briefly um to contact Mr. Jacobson to ensurethat he is still interested in moving forward in the role.Therefore, without objection, we will recess for approximately 5 minutes, anduh we will reconvene when myself, the vice chair Corcoran, and Dr. Bittman areable to return. With that, we are in recess. >> Okay, I now call the continuation of thespecial school board meeting for Forest Lake Area Schools, Monday, April 20th,roll over into Wednesday, April 22nd, back to order. Member Clerk, will youplease take the roll call? Okay, Member Tyson.>> Here. Member Revelline. >> Here. Member Christensen.>> Here. Member Castle. Here. Member Corcoran. Here. And Member Antonson ishere, everybody's here. All right, just as a reminder toeverybody in the room here, there is a motion on the table to authorize theboard chair and vice chair to enter into contract negotiations with Mr. John PaulJacobson for the role of our next superintendent.Uh we were able to get a hold of Mr. Jacobson after a number of failed calls.You You have to love cell phones these days.And um I'm happy to report that Mr. Jacobson is still interested in the roleand would like to enter into negotiations.So, at this point in the process, we'll go to discussion on the motion and thenwe'll have a final vote on the motion. Can I ask a question? Yes.>> Um So, the only thing that's been changedin the motion, I was reading along while you were doing it. It said>> Yes. authorize the board chair and vice chair.>> Yes, I >> That's changed. Correct. I I addedthat we would add a Member Christensen to that. I I Member Corcoran. Or MemberCorcoran to that. I'm I'm sorry. I was speaking of Member Christensen. Yep, Iadded that I I would I would like to have Member Corcoran as part of thatprocess. And can I ask another question? Is Mr. Bitman involved? I know earlieron you had said something about you can help us with that. Will Mr. Bitman behelping us with that? Yes. Yes. Yep, that is one of the services with uhRauner Associates. Yep. Do we add anything there?>> Um I don't believe we need to add it to the motion, but uh yeah, RaunerAssociates will be part of that process. Could you speak if if this is the righttime to do it, could you speak to it? >> to the discussion, absolutely.>> process looks like? Could you speak to that?>> Sure. Typically in Minnesota, we would run um information we wouldCurrently, MSBA, the Minnesota School Board Association, as well as MASA, hasa model contract. So, typically what we would do is we would take that, we wouldtake the salary range and information that you had in your posting that youadvertised for everyone, and then we would take the current contract of thesuperintendent, and then we would work, I in this case, someone from the firm,it would be me, uh would work with both the vice chairand the chair to better understand what the parameters are, if there are thingsthat the two of them would recommend that we change or think aboutdifferently in the contract. Once that's then negotiated with uh both thecandidates, typically the firm or uh someone at the district office wouldthen talk with the candidate and say, "Are there things that are important toyou?" So, typically the district would send a proposal to them. They would havea chance to react to that saying, "You know, I wonder if you might consider A,B, and C." And there's some level of negotiation for which the firm couldserve as the mediator or someone in the district office here at Forest Lakecould do it. Once there's an agreement, a tentative agreement between thatcandidate, the vice chair, and the chair, then that will be brought to thefull board for consideration, and then it would require a majority of the fullboard to approve that, which would then take place on JulyAnd And I would add one one other piece to that, uh Mr. Bitman, of course, orDr. Bitman, I'm sorry. Of course, myself and Member Corcoran would not be workingunilaterally in that. We would be taking input from other board members um asappropriate, of course, with uh open meeting law in mind, but uhum all six of us would have input on that initial stage, and then shouldum just like with our uh various other contracts withteachers, directors, principals, once that comes to the full board, the fullboard does have the opportunity to make amendments. There's always risk withthat cuz then it has to go back to the the candidate, but uhthat that opportunity would be there.And again, Dr. Bitman, um is this This is generally like a formality usuallyonce the board chooses their candidate, I mean, is is there It would be unusualfor the vice chair chair and chair and the candidate to come to an agreementand for the board not to approve that. Becauseboth the chair and the vice chair are working directly with that candidatewithin the parameters that the whole board has set in terms of salary andposted on the advertisement. So, it would be It would be unusual for thatnot to >> So, it sounds like we've cleared thedifficult hurdle. Is that in your umOne would One would hope. >> [laughter]>> It would be unusual not to pass a contract at this point because you'vealready set the parameters and you have a template between MSBA and MASA that'sthe state model, and you have a current contract with the superintendent.I think so. Okay. And you said the majority doesn't haveto be unanimous. It does not have to be unanimous. It just has to be themajority of the board. Um I would say from a firm perspective, as well as froma superintendent standpoint, it's always better when there's a unanimous votebecause it signals to that candidate that there is unanimous support to movethe work forward collaboratively. And to the community. And with this. And>> to the community. Correct. Yeah, thank you.I have one clarifying question. So, we talked you have this matrix here for us,and the chair referred to it. Are we not we're not this we're not using this, orwe might later, or what is It's a good question. You do not you've you're aboutto take a vote Okay. to select J.P. Jacobson as your next superintendent.So, you had a motion and a second, so you don't have to use that paper. Justwanted to clarify that. >> as the majority of the board approvesthat, you will be entering negotiations with that candidate.Perfect. Thank you so much. Okay. All right, is there any furtherdiscussion on the motion before us? All right, I do have oneone thing I'd like to mention before we go to a to a full vote here, and Ium for the the stake sake of clarity as member Christensen asked, is this thefinal step? It it is not. We do need to approve the contract at the end of theentire process, and that we does require another majority vote.Um so that uh that does have to to happen.I do have a lot of concerns about bringing in an individual who doesn'thave experience in the superintendency with aa split board. Um I think it's difficult to set a good directionwith a split board, especially when uh there are times that we disagree overthings as simple as appointing a lawyer. Um therefore, at this point unlesssomething were to change drastically, um I'm highly unlikely to support a finalcontract approval without getting a seventh member appointed.Um and I I want to make that very clear from the onset. I do supportMr. Jacobson in this role, but I do not want to set him up forfailure. It is very difficult once you achieveyour first executive role, if you are to fail in that role even fora reason that is not your own and comes from a governance or from a directive umfrom a board, it's very difficult to get your shoeback into that door, and I do not want that to occur with Mr. Jacobson. He'ssimply too good a person, he's too good of an educator,and his potential upside as a superintendent is too greatto have the failures of the board affect his career trajectory.Um so, that is a concern of mine. Fortunately, it's something that weshould be able to handle in the next couple of weeks.So. So, I'll comment when you're done. Absolutely, member Tyson. So, I findthat talking about us in that way kind of concerning and a little disturbing. Ithink we've been a high-functioning board of six.Um I believe when we were seven, I didn'thave a voice, and I can go back and point out all those meetings where Ididn't have a voice. So, we're committed, and we've had goodcandidates for our vacancy for the board seat. So, we have been doing our duediligence with that, and I think I find it disheartening to hear you saythat kind of this only comes with that.Um that that just doesn't feel good to me after we've gone through this longarduous process. We've all done our research, our due diligence, and we getto this point, and I just find that comment very disheartening. I Iunderstand your perspective. I spent 2 years as ain a in a minority when I could barely get a word in edgewise in a meeting, soI I understand your concern. But uhI feel it's my duty if I feel this way to beforthright and honest with you, with the rest of the board, and with thecommunity about my feelings moving forward. So,I wasn't going to hide that. Member Christensen.I just I you know, we're up here, excited, unanimous. Nowwe're Mhm. back down. I just think that to me that felt this feels like a like a bait and switch, or like a like a a blackmail's too strong of a word, Iwon't say that, but it it you know, we just all agreed, and we all had reallygood things to say about Mr. Jacobson. And I also think that this is completelyunfair to Mr. Jacobson. Completely unfair to say, "Sure, hey, come on, comeget the job. Yeah, he's super excited. Oh, wait a minute,we're going to hang this over your head in the contract." I I mean,I just this seems very umdisingenuous and uh concerning. It's it's it's a bait andswitch. We're happy to have you, but wait a minute, we got to have this otherthing, and um honestly,you keep saying that, you know, we're this divided board. We we are not adivided board, I don't think when we are voting onthe work of the school, passing the bills, you know, whatever. When we'reworking on the business of the school, I don't feel like we are a dividedboard. When we talk about other things that are sort of maybeoutside the scope or more uh you know, not the business of theschool kinds of things, yeah, then I would agree that we are we are notuh cohesive on all these things, but I justthis is this uh I just think it's super unfair to Mr.Jacobson. And I would also say that he starts July 1st, there is an election inNovember, and then and possibly new members, different members, possibly thesame, who knows, could be seated in January.So, he would have from July to Januaryworking with potentially a six-member board, and then come January, he wouldwork with a seven-member board. So, I thinkto say that we're you know, we're not going to approve this all the way,you know, for 6 months is just really reallyI'm I mean, just super super disingenuous anddisappointing, and you know, I was very excited that wewere all together. That that was very exciting to me. I was proud of us,happy. Look at we were you know, we agreed on something, and we wereunanimous. It was great. And now bam, here you know, here comesthe other shoe. I I don't know. Well,are you going to Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, we definitely have been trying tofind that seventh board member. It's not like we haven't tried, and there's justgoing to be more people to apply, and more interviews to but to have a timelimit on that, that's that's stressful, and and we you can't make people votejust to get the results of having a superintendent. I mean, you can't tiethem together. They just are not meant to be that way. So, if we find the rightperson, I'm more than happy to appoint them. I think it'd be fabulous. We wecould have more of a cohesive board like you want, but we can't be forced intodoing something that isn't going to be right for each and every one of us. So,and it's not fair to offer a job to someone and to say, "Well, no, we're notgoing to hire." I mean, that's just not Is that even legal?I mean, how do you do that? Is that Is that That's just not It seemslike it's illegal to me. You It's like making false promises and making a falsecontract, and then taking it away from someone. Yeah, from a from a legalstandpoint, the the motion and the second would need to pass, and the votewould need to be majority pass. Okay. Um Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Oh.Yeah. That'sMember Tyson. So, I just want to add that I feel like it's reallycounterintuitive. Um we all know J.P. Jacobson. We've beenworking with him. I've been on the board for 15 years, and he's been here for 11.You guys have been on the board, member chair's been on the board listening,and admiring his good work. Member Antonson talked about how I keep it's anopen-door policy with him. And member chair, I remember when umour current superintendent, who is leavingus, you told me that Mr. Jacobson um andyour wife, you were just so impressed by his work with you at themiddle school. Yep. That you were very all about In the possibility of himbecoming the next superintendent. You were checking into who had licensure inour district as far as internals. So, itseems counterintuitive that there's just this I would be happy to share with theboard and the community as a whole that Mr. Jacobson was one of the very firstphone calls that I made when I knew we needed to make to find a newsuperintendent. Mhm. And uh I took an active recruiting role with him, andencouraged him to apply for the job, and I I told them that I was veryoptimistic that he would make it to this point, but uhuh And what's member Christensen, nothing nothing's changed. MemberChristensen member mentions that it feels like a bait and switch, which iswhy I disclosed that to the board this evening. That is a very big concern ofmine. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Jacobson. I want him to be successful,and I want to make sure that he's put in a positionthat will guarantee that success. And I have major concerns about uhum his ability to thrive in an environment uhwith with indecision.And that's counterintuitive too, because he knows all of us. Yep. And has workedwith us for many years. I'm just being forthright with you, member Tyson. Okay,and I just one last thing I want us to comment on is thatwas there a conversation today between you two about None None of this isgermane to the motion. No, none of this. >> up that vacancy to the board when we'reworking on the vacancy for the superintendent. We are not talking aboutthe board vacancy at this time now. We do that at other>> None. None of this is germane to the motion on the table concerning theentering negotiations. >> I'm commenting on it. You made itgermane because you talked about it first.Is there any other discussion on the motion on the table? Can I just clarify?Has the motion itself changed? Is your comment a part of the motion? You So themotion has not changed. You are just making a comment. Yeah, I was justinforming the board of my feelings moving forward.Your personal feelings. Yeah, I I am one vote at this table.I wonder if you know member Antonson and member Castle do you feel the same? Imean, is that something you guys share? I I would sayWell, I can't exactly remember how you phrased what you said. I'm I think sometimes it can be hard[clears throat] for someone to take on this next level ofresponsibility from, you know, from within and and then have this kind ofthing to contend with. Um I think he has made it clear he's up tothat challenge. So, and I didn't hear any amendments tothis, so I guess I I don't understand what it's such aIt's it's member chair voicing his thoughts aroundit. I mean, I I I would doubt that he's the onlyperson in the district that has the same concern, but I like I said, I thinkum JP has made it clear just in the keeping on going with this process andbeing willing that he's he's ready for it. So,member Castle. I certainly would like to have a seventh[clears throat] member appointed. Oh, I would just agree.You would hold up a superintendency for it?You have no superintendent? >> I don't know that any of this is germaneto the the motion on the table.You brought it up, member chair. I mean, it's pretty scary.>> I think I think this is germane because you brought it up and secondly, it isgermane because if here we are voting I to give Mr. Jacobson a contract and itsounds like we have a stipulation to the contract that a certain thing musthappen before this contract is executed. UmI That's what I'm I simply expressed expressed my concern. I did not ask anyother board member to agree with that concern and I did not state whether ornot I was going to vote in a certain fashiononce we we get to the contract resolution. Okay. Okay. I'llget Just one last comment. I just find it ironic thatyou had plenty of time to make that comment.I had >> And thenwe go and offer the contract No, I >> come back with that I have beenI have been very that member Antonson wants to justify and it's like>> I have been very consistent with this since October.Oh, okay. That isn't my experience.>> Is there any discussion on the motion that's on the table?All right, seeing no additional discussion, um member clerk, please take>> to say one ask a question for member Tyson. What do you mean that I want tojustify? I don't know what you're saying.>> You said that he had every every, you know, he just made a comment. He's justsaying how he We went around and had lots of time to make comments, right?Right. And so then we do the motion.They make the phone call. Yeah.They make the phone call to Mr. Jacobson. Okay, I understand what you'resaying. Okay. Thank you for trying to justify by anything, just hopingCan I just clarify one more time? The motion has not changed.>> The motion has not changed. >> has not changed. Those were Mr. ChairKlein's personal comments. Let me Let me repeat the motion so it's very clearbefore we go to the vote. My motion was that Forest Lake Area School Boardselect John Paul Jacobson as the finalist for the position ofsuperintendent and authorize the board chairin conjunction with the board vice chair to enter into contract negotiations withMr. Jacobson to begin their new role on July 1st, 2026.That is the entirety of the motion. Okay.Okay. And we had already a second. We did. Wetook a break. Now we're back. Yep. Did we do We did a roll call?>> in the discussion. So we are ready to do the roll call.This is a roll call vote on the motion that I just repeated.Is that clear? Yes. Okay, member clerk.>> Just clarify what an I vote is and a no vote. An I vote is that we enternegotiations with Mr. Jacobson. A no vote is that we do not move forward.Thank you. Okay. Member clerk. All right, member Antonsonvotes I. Member Christiansen. I. Member Corcoran. I. Member Rebeline. I. MemberTyson. I. Member Castle. I. And the eyes have it.All right. With that,tonight marks a significant milestone for the Forest Lake Area Schools.After a comprehensive and rigorous review process that began months ago,the school board has reached reached a decision regarding the next leader ofour district. From the very beginning of the search,we were impressed by the exceptionally high caliber of applicants who expressedtheir interest in serving our community. This pool of candidates was a directreflection of the high standards and clear priorities set by our parents,staff, and community members. We want to acknowledge all thesemi-finalists and finalists who participated. Their professionalexpertise and dedication to education made this difficult but rewardingdecision for the board. Our goal was to find a leader whoembodies the qualities of our community identified as essential. A strongcommunicator, a strategic thinker, a collaborative leader capable ofnavigating the complex needs of our geographically large and diversecommunity of communities. At this time, I'm proud to announce thatthe board has voted to move forward with Mr. Mr. John Paul Jacobson as ourfinalist to become the next superintendent of Forest Lake AreaSchools. Mr. Jacobson's 11 years of dedicatedleadership within our district and his intimate understanding of our people andour systems make him uniquely prepared to lead us forward.His proven ability to foster relational trust across our 11 municipalities haveshown us that he is the right person for this next chapter.And I for one am very much looking forward to bringing on Mr. John PaulJacobson as our next superintendent. With that, I would entertain a motion toadjourn. So moved. Second.All right, a motion and a second. Is there any discussion?Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I.Those opposed, we are adjourned.