Okay, I now call the Forest Lake Area Schools regular school board meeting for Thursday, March 19th back to order again. Member clerk, will you please take the roll call? Sure. Okay, member Christensen. Here. Member Tyson. Here. Member Reboline. >> Here. Member Corcoran. Here. Member Antonson is here and member Castle. >> Here. Everybody's here. Okay, just as a reminder, we were discussing action item 7.1, the school board self-evaluation survey. Understand for those of you who are streaming that part of that wasn't recorded and streamed. For that, we apologize. We discontinued discussion as soon as we noticed it and we are back [snorts] now. I don't recall exactly who had the floor at the time that we recessed. I think it was member Tyson. Yes, I did. Yes. Member Tyson, did you have anything to add or do we just open discussion against the rest of the board? I was just going to clarify a couple of things. So, [clears throat] just simply the school board self-evaluation tool is a 72 question evaluation conducted online and complete on personal or the school district computer. Takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes. It's 100% confidential. So, then the evaluation you get the invitation, you do the SurveyMonkey, which is the evaluation. [snorts] Then there's the evaluation response automated and report created and then evaluation is distributed. That's what we could do for the lower dollar amount. >> For now. For now. And then I see incredible value in in doing that sooner rather than later as as you suggested. But I do see massive upside to the full report having the new superintendent once [snorts] we bring them on participating and getting that full report. So, I'm curious if we could again ask member Corcoran to reach out to MSBA and maybe clarify [snorts] this for us. Could we do the full package, but to do it in two parts where we do the the first part ourselves, we get the those initial results, maybe help us build a little bit more cohesive board, a little little team building there, understand kind of the direction we're going. That may even help us with the superintendent hire. And then once the new superintendent starts, complete the process and get the full report. But I think that has some open questions with MSBA. Member Castle. My understanding of this is that >> [clears throat] >> the 72 questions are the data input. The two reports, [clears throat] one's a brief one and one's a full one, take all that same data. So, that's the two steps. So, it's not like there's two different sets of questions. It's the one input by everyone and then you either have the summary the overview report, which is this only works on the standards, works on the five standards, but tells us our strengths, growth areas, and divergent perspectives. The full report takes [snorts] a deeper dive into the overview report and full report last two to three hours or longer if needed. MSBA fee for facilitated workshop. Receive a 72-page color report of your district's results. Review results with the board superintendent team. Used to determine board superintendent team goals. Both of these reports are off of that same data. Okay, so that So, if we do the data now, we do the data now and then the report looking at the data is our two different reports. It does It does sound like something that we could maybe segment into two two functions there. >> [clears throat] >> Yeah. So, I'll reach out to Gail Gilman at MSBA and just explain that we'd like to do the you know, the the actual questions first and then kind of come up with timing and we'd like to do the report. And then the second part is is definitely how to It's supposed to be a board superintendent team workshop. And that's kind of how it all works together. And that part we would do in July. >> Yeah, after we hire the superintendent and then we can come with them and then they can they can also have, you know, get their reports and see how our reporting how we work together and they can meet I don't know if they have to if they have to answer the questions or not, I'm not sure. Okay, that's what I was just going to ask you. >> exactly sure. And maybe and Gail can obviously tell you. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not sure, but we can [clears throat] I'm sure bring them up. beneficial. And once we see once we do the 72 questions, then we can say, "Oh, yeah, this we want them to do it or Mhm. Doesn't matter. Yeah, sounds good. But I'll reach out and I will get more information for next time. Okay. And then I assume you'll share that with the board like you have um Yep. previous information and we will have an additional discussion on April 7th. Okay. Sounds great. All right. Sounds good. Do we have anything else we'd like to discuss on this topic or do we want to move to the next action item? Next item? Move to the next item. All right, we will move to 7.2 school board vacant seat. Um I had emailed board members earlier once we closed the applications. I'd like to share with the public that we did get two applications. They're both well known to the district uh um Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Morehead. Um the proposal I'd like to bring to the board this evening is that we bring both Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Morehead forward. We allow them to make an opening statement. And then we do a round robin questioning with both candidates where we um ask the same question um to both candidates and they answer um kind of back and forth and we just have uh more of a more of a discussion than anything and then from there uh we can dismiss the candidates and uh talk amongst ourselves and and decide how we'd like to proceed. Do we have a proposed time frame for these questions? And I don't have a list of questions, so we're just coming up with one cuz I just remember last time. Yeah. You know, we tried to keep it fairly similar between each person, so All right. Yeah, I think just ask the same question of both candidates. >> Okay. I think that's fair. Okay. And then and I would propose that they just alternate back and forth as we ask the questions and um I guess my personal preference is that we don't time box it. I think it'll go relatively quickly. We we know these individuals well. Mhm. Um so I don't see it going on for hours and then if it if it does, we can certainly stop that as a board should we see a need. Okay. So, just to clarify >> Correct. the whole process is open-ended as far as time. That makes me a little nervous. >> [laughter] >> Like really nervous. I don't blame you. Would Would you like to propose a a time limit on it? >> think it's only fair to the two that have come. We don't want them to be here forever. I don't know. Make you a lot three second or Three second? >> [laughter] >> Three second? I like three second last time. Yeah, so we could do three minutes on each on each question. I don't know that that will be much of a problem, but uh I I guess I would propose maybe we we put a time box on it and say if we still have the candidates up here and we're still asking questions at 9:00 p.m. that we discontinue Yeah, then at 9:00 o'clock. That sounds perfect. >> That's Okay. All right, if that proposal I hope it doesn't go that long. pleases the board, which it sounds as if it does, I'll invite Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Morehead please to come forward and take a seat in the the hot seat as it >> [laughter] >> Welcome. Um I believe that uh Mike will pick the two of you up in the spots that you're seated. And uh um I think we'll start with opening statements. So, hopefully you're you're ready and prepared for something along those lines and if not, a lot of the board action is dynamic, so um welcome to that. So, uh former board member Morehead, if you'd like to kick us off. I certainly will and I really appreciate the opportunity to have another round of people who may like myself really really want to help the school district that I've fallen in love with years ago and haven't changed my mind once since. So, they say with age comes wisdom. >> [laughter] >> So, if you want the wisest person here, the day is over, but I'm being a little facetious about that, but yet I'm asking for your support with wisdom in not in mind. As with wisdom also comes the ability to learn from others and to treat everyone with respect. With wisdom comes the ability to compromise in order to get things done. With wisdom comes the ability to ask questions and realize we're not always having the right answer. That brings me to the idea of a different role that we play in life. As my role as a citizen and using the green card, I'm passionate about what I'm seeing in my my school district and my community. And yes, my passion is often over the top. You've also been witness to that. There I'm voicing my concerns as a citizen and asking the school board to listen. My role on the Forest Lake School Board is quite different. My role then is to listen to the superintendent, my fellow board members, and the community. And while I've worked with all three of those, I have determined that only working as a team does anything get done. My latest observation of myself is shown in a picture that I'm going to pass around. I don't know which way it goes here and it's a little embarrassing for me, so it's not hot on the press. It's off the press. But it does tell a little bit about me. Many of you've seen it because I'm old and and it happened a long time ago. But when I first got on the board, I had some concerns. As I said before, I'm conservative and I had some concerns. But one of my main objective was to work with everyone to fix the things that I thought might have been a problem. And so shortly after I was elected, I and my fellow board members, I talked them into doing a skit. They have a big meeting right before school starts. It's a whole staff, so you're there in front of God and everybody. And I decided that, you know, a school board is not sitting up here not caring about them down here. And so if I could think of a way to make it a team effort that they would understand that we're just human like everybody else and we're trying to do a good job. I think they thoroughly enjoyed it. And this picture is has really a good one for today cuz it was at a time when we were looking for a school board our superintendent. And yeah, I so I came up with the idea of dressing like a chicken, looking like an idiot. Um and I ran through the auditorium like Chicken Little. The sky is falling. The sky is falling. We've lost our leader. We don't have on our team. We don't have a leader and I'm going through the auditorium dressed like that. And then went up to the stage [clears throat] and the present superintendent was standing there. "Don't worry, Chicken Little. I've taken the job." We have a leader and we had our team back. Ever since then, that's how I believe I play the game. We have leaders, but we're all on the same page and we're all working for the same end. And so I'm hoping that if I'm chosen to fill the seven hours the seven months that um my last 20 some and my working with four superintendents and three business people and two bus garage people and I don't know how many board members in between that. And then pretty active in the community. So, I'm hoping that you'll see some value in that and understand that after seeing that picture, I do believe we should be a team. Thank you. Thanks, Karen. Thank you, Karen. Thank you, Mrs. Morehead. Great picture. Don't show the Then don't open your eyes. >> [laughter] >> Good evening. Um Thank you. chair members and Forest Lake community. Thank you for having me here tonight. Um A lot of people have asked me whether I was going to run again, why I'm running again. And I spent a lot of time thinking about it and very much like Karen here, I care very very deeply for our children and our teachers who support them, our staff, our faculty, and our community. And I believe that we have an opportunity right now. I believe that the board has an opportunity before it. There's a lot at play. Um there's more agreement than disagreement, I truly believe. And I feel that there's an opportunity to kind of lean into that at this time. Um Over the past number of months, there've been a lot of challenging things that have faced the board and at times there's been division. And frankly, that's okay. That happens in governance. It's the way it's supposed to be. Um but our community also needs the board to be able to work together through the differences and continue to make progress for the students. Fundamental to me, my true north compass, it comes back to the kids in our community and that they're relying on the adults here to do right by them and to support them. Um the seven-member board, as you know, was designed to function fully. And I think what's been challenging for you and the community is that we haven't been able to embrace that as much as it could be yet. And I really believe that I can serve as a tool to try to help bring that together. As um Chair Reblin had said, "You do know me." And with that, you've also seen a lot of support from others about me. And some of the characteristics about me are that I'm known for working very hard, researching very thoroughly. Um I listen. I really really listen. I brainstorm for solutions and I work toward building consensus. And when you've spoken of what you aspire to in another member to appoint to the board for a short term, it's those traits, and I really feel that I can bring them to you. As a teacher, a parent, and a community member, I understand the impact of the board decisions immediately on the classrooms, the families, and staff. And so, I'm I'm ready to work with each of you. I know and admire each of you. I know I can work with all of you. And so, I would ask you, you know, what questions you have for me about working together. I believe in a vision for Forest Lake where we're not defined by division, but by our ability to listen, to collaborate, and to move forward together. If selected, my focus is simple. We're going to support the spectacular work that's being done. There have been so many There's so much going on, and I want our time and I want our media to be focused on those accomplishments, to excel in the things that we need to praise, to help the board to function effectively, and to keep students at the center of every decision. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. All right, we'll move to questions now. Uh would somebody like to volunteer to kick us off? Mhm. I'm trying to remember what my question was last time. Um I guess I guess I can. Okay, so the the questions will will both You'll both have an opportunity to ask answer the questions. We'll start with the Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Morhead. >> Sorry, go ahead. >> And then uh um for the next question, we'll we'll flip the script. Okay. Okay. All right. Well, first of all, thank you for applying. It's It's hard to be in that hot seat, so we do appreciate you guys being here. >> [laughter] >> And also, I you know, all the great letters and emails I received on both of your behalfs of how great you are and what a great addition you'd be to our board. So, thank you for the people that sent the emails, and thank you for being here tonight. Um my question is, which you I'm sure you're going to answer it well, is what steps would you take to bring the board together? How would you do it? Like, do you have certain ways that you deal with you know, conflict? And And what steps would you take to kind of bring the board together? Like, in your personal life, I'm sure you have your certain ways, but as a board, as a board member. And you She said you're starting. All right. >> [laughter] >> Thank you member with that. Yeah. The way I would want to start is I would want everybody to think about some of their short-term goals and to try to brainstorm them and talk about them. I think we need to bring to the community a demonstration of progress and some wins. And I think that there again, when I look around the table, I see more agreement than disagreement. And so, we need to find some of those activities where we can focus our time and energy, make some progress, and it has to be around the table. Every member has a voice, every member has visions and goals, and we need to talk about those. And when there is disagreement, I focus on what is our goal? What are we trying to achieve? Because sometimes it seems that when disagreement arises, it's because we drift off topic. And if we can sometimes focus back on what ultimately we're trying to get to, that sometimes can bring us back to better concurrence. And so, that's the way I would approach it. Let's start having some wins around the table. Let's build trust. Let's build the bridges back. Um because that's Everybody at the table has such heart for the community. We can see that. So, let's let that take the stage again together. Thank you. Thanks. Well, and I've proven time and time again, being on a board with so many different kinds of board members, that the trick is not determining that you have the right answer all the time, and that you listen to your fellow board members, you take an awful lot of credit from the superintendent, and then there's no reason to fight at the board table if you're all here for the very same reason. You can have your disagreements outside, and when you come to the board, you know that you have to compromise, as I said, with wisdom. You have to realize you're not always right. And so, what you do is you you try to create a family feeling, and that's why even with the silly skits and the things that we did, it brought us together. And once you you learn that everybody's there for the same reason, they may look at it differently, but you can always count on them to treat you with respect, to listen what you have to say, especially listen to to the uh superintendent, come together as a group. And when I wasn't being silly when Kessa and I were at the FFA, and that young lady was asked that same question, and she said, "Well, I don't react right away. I sit and I listen." And I thought, "She's taught me something today. Don't react right away. Sit, ponder the situation, maybe go out and have a cup of coffee, if it's something you you know, you're having trouble straightening out, but become friends um at least for the school district. And that's what I like to do. I like people of all kinds, so I just try to be friendly with all of them. Thanks, Kessa. Thank you. Who would like to go next? Member Castle. Uh-uh. Okay, so we like to focus on the positive happenings. Yep. When there are negative things that need to be dealt with, how would you go about doing that? I think it's pretty much the same, only it's probably more intense. I do appreciate all the positive happenings that are brought before the board. And if there's a time when it's something that's a little tougher, you have to go back and think of the students that you've had before you. They've given their opinions, they've shown you what they can do. There's no reason in my book that there's anything so hard that trying to work it out together, praying for a solution, not always being right, ready to allow somebody else to be right, knowing that we're all on the same page. There's no one on a seven board that means anything more to anybody than one vote. And And that's [clears throat] good because um you have to compromise, and you have to be fair to people. You have to treat them as you'd want to be treated. And so, if it's a difficult situation, I wouldn't want someone hammering at me all the time that I'm wrong or whatever, but I just think it's all together working together, trying to keep focus on what you're here for. Member Castle, I mean, any organization, this is a large school district. You're going to have things that are running well, and we're going to have things that are constantly evolving. That's just the process. And so, I think part of it, too, is just accepting that change and needs and opportunities are inevitable, and we're always looking at that. Um and so, in my package that I presented to the board, one of the things that I touched on was my experience in education where we did dramatic changes in our science curriculum over multiple grades. That's not easy to do. That's hard to do. And so, the way I approached that with my faculty was sitting down and looking at the opportunities we were trying to get at, the pros [snorts] and cons, wins and losses, looking at it together, and then seeking to say, "All right, so then how do we align these things?" When you can start getting behind common goals, and also just talking about it transparently, openly, you know, early, those things help. I also think that a lot of times when people understand, have trust with those with whom they're working, it's easier to work through those change times, because change always happens. Um needs to go back and look at things are opportunities. Can it be a hard discussion? Yes. I mean, that's the fundamental part is sometimes things don't come to the before the board because they're easy. The board doesn't exist to handle easy. The board exists to handle what is, and sometimes that's harder. But if we have our priorities straight, our goals straight, and can have trust to work through it, we can get there. We just have to have that clarity of vision. And it's not easy. I I often talk with my students about growth, and I challenge them over the year that I really want them to grow and stretch themselves. It's like a muscle, you know? And then I say that the first thing I'm going to do is I'm never going to ask you to do something I won't do myself. And so, learning to lean in to some of that is just part of the human experience. So. Thank you. All right, thank you. Thanks. I can go next. Member Castle. Uh-uh. >> [laughter] >> So, anyway, in this time around in where I'm at at the board on the board right now, in filling this vacancy, I just want to preface it with these things that I'm looking for. Somebody who's had some work in Strengthfinders, or some type of relationship building in a prior in a church or setting, wherever. I'm also looking for someone who has had governance roles. And I'm also looking for someone that's perhaps been on an executive search for a an executive of an association, or a pastor of their church, or whatever. And also that's got experience in public school advocacy. But the question I want to start with, because I think it's a little bit They become buzzwords, and I really like concrete examples. What do you bring to a team? You've both been on committees, you've both served in different capacities, you have a lot of science things that you've done in your past, and congratulations on your science award, but just individually as far as collaboration and communication, what concrete things did you bring to a group that you thought were important? My turn to go first. >> [laughter] >> Um I think without being too bold about it, I think I bring a leadership role. I was involved with the board when we put two or three new superintendents in. And that's the hardest role you're going to ever have as a board, to make sure you've picked the the the leader of the district, the team player for all of you. All of the things I do in the city I I have a lot of leadership skills there. I did take strength thing finders. And that was very healthy because what we think is our our our strengths sometimes don't turn out to be that way, and it's a good healthy look at yourself. Um as far as school I've been on the I'm old, see, like I said in the beginning. That's why I'm so wise cuz I'm so old. But it has been I've had so many jobs in the city. I've so many jobs on the school board. And I guess it might sound pompous to say that, but I can honestly say that if you ask any of the former board members or school people or groups that I'm in that they'll say I bring leadership I bring humor I try to to make people come together. You know, I'm never I got married at 19, so I'm not, you know, building skyscrapers or have a huge job. But I did daycare for 25 years, and let me tell you, that's a lot of skills that you need to raise on someone else's children, and I've just had so many happy days in Forest Lake that I just love the town. I just love the school district. I think we are so fortunate to have the staff that we have. And I remember telling one of the board members that sitting here now you're going to have a cush job because when you go in there, this district is run the way it's run. well. And all we can do as conservatives or as members of the board is make sure it stays that way, and then fix the few things that need to be fixed, but we're not here to run the run the school. And so my leadership, I hope, would would entail working with the people that run the school, going into the buildings. That was my favorite time. Talking to the custodians, talking to the kitchen help, talking I love the bus drivers. And you get so much knowledge from doing that. I go to almost all the events when I was there. Again, you see the results of good decision making that the board has made and the school has made. So, I don't know of one particular great thing that I've done, but I've tried to do many smaller things, and I think Mother Teresa said it best, do smaller things with lots of love. Thank you, Karen. All right, member Tyson. So, I took notes cuz you asked a few different varied things there. I've had at least three different experiences working with strength finder or other aspects like that, um in state government, in school, and with my students. And so, very much like Karen, I see the value of understanding our differences and our similarities, and understanding how it takes all approaches to be able to work together. And so, I have experience with that. >> you remember what they were called? Oh, we did a few different ones. >> Okay. And so, um I was part of an emerging leaders institute within the state government. It was more of a colors based thing, you know, some of those others. There've been a number of different I think I've probably done it four times now. And so, um again, understanding there's a lot of aha moments. It's an opportunity that brings people together. It also helps you to see why people find themselves naturally in different places. You know, it's our our tendencies, the things that call us. You also asked about um hiring opportunities. No, I haven't done a superintendent search, but I was involved with hiring faculty at the University of Minnesota. I was involved with hiring a principal, and then when I was head of a science department, preschool through 12th grade, I hired a number of both staff and teachers myself. And where did you hire a principal? At Breck School. Okay. And what year did you work there again? It was during the period from 2015 to 2018. >> Okay. Great, thank you. And then, um going back to some of the other traits in the leadership, one of the things that you'll see very much in the package is I lead by example. I never ask anybody to do anything I wouldn't do myself. And I really try to be very creative in finding ways to bring people together and to come out at the other end where we've been brought together through unity, through a common mission, through a common goal again. Thank you. Thank you. That brings us to the next round of questions. Did you go Remember Christensen? Yeah, I did. Yeah, thank you both for being here. Appreciate it. Um I have the list of questions we asked the last um group. Um but I have a question of my own. Um so, um and this is to um Mrs. Hansen first, I believe, right? So Um just talk a little bit about how you visualize these next 7 months cuz that's what this is. And then, what do you want to accomplish? And then, um just because some of the other folks that we interviewed talked about whether they would be running in the fall or not. I'm just I'm just curious. Some peop- some people mentioned that before. So, uh yeah, how do you visualize the next 7 months? What do you want to accomplish- or accomplish, and do you plan uh on running in the fall? All right, member Christensen. When I look to the next 7 months, what I aspire to is what do we want for our community? That's the real reason that I applied again. I want our community to value our education to really focus on our students and their needs. They're children. They want the adults in their world to figure it out. And so, just as we want our community to work together I want the board to grapple with looking at things differently, but to have a healthy dialogue. I would simply want to serve as a bridge to ensure that the important things that are before the board the next 7 months can happen. You know, over the last number of months, I'm sure it's been frustrating for you just as it's been frustrating for the community where there've been times that things have stalled from where you'd wanted it to be. So, my goal would be to help the board to accomplish what you desire to accomplish. In terms of running in the fall I don't know right now. I've really struggled with it because of where I'm at in life. You know, I've thought about running the last couple of years, and what's most important to me is my family first, and the community, the children second, and I love all the coaching I do. And Thursday nights, man, you know, our community and other things, it's a sports night. And so, I've grappled with that compromise. I don't have an answer for you. That is not my motive at all. My motive is simply to try to build a bridge in the board and help the board to lead the community to also building a bridge together so we can do the important things before us so we can put the students and support the teachers who are doing great and amazing things. Thank you. Easy for me, I'm not going to be running in the fall. But I'm grateful for the time that I had for the reelections that I had, the confidence that people gave to me. And in one particular part of my tenure, I don't know which particular, I was also asked to apply for a vacancy, which I did and which I was able to do. And when this whole situation came up with the when you needed someone, my mind right away goes to someone who sat in those chairs before. It's 7 months especially someone who is not going to run again because I don't like giving people a heads up that this is a start to their election campaign. So, I appreciate the people that have the skills and the time to do the hard work and then leave it go after 7 months and be grateful that you had the time to help. And help you're going to need. I I I go again, that superintendent search is is tough. And you really have to know the community well how they're going to relate to the community cuz we are a partnership. You know, I do a lot on the schools, but I also do a lot in the community, and I see all of the times that we're working together. And the district that always had a really good relationship and really good press all of a sudden took a turn, and I don't want that to continue. I want them, and I think we can all do that to work together to find a new leader, sadly that we have to, but that we will find one that will work with our community. They really support us in big ways. And so I I'm not going to run, but I do know I'm qualified to sit at any one of those chairs, work together with the people that are there, listen to the superintendent and the staff and the community and come up with a superintendent that we'll all be very happy with. Thank you. Thank you. Member Anderson. Okay. Okay. So, because we do have very big shoes to fill, um a lot of success in the last decade or so, uh how do we What do you think the most important quality is to the most important or just what to look for in this superintendent search in a in this person that's going to make them a good fit? What do you think the top quality, one, two, or three of them is? I lost track of my notes. >> [laughter] >> Yes, I I started writing it down cuz I think we might have gotten it backwards once, so I just started to try. The same thing that you've been doing all along. You're going to be looking for someone who has the qualities of being open, has an open door. There's nothing worse than having a district where parents aren't allowed to come in and ask questions. So, I would be looking for someone on the board and in finding a superintendent that believes that others in the community might have really good ideas, and we want to encourage the openness that we've always had. I don't know of a director that over the years I couldn't go and say, "Can I have a minute?" Sometimes it's more than a minute, but I will ask for a minute. But that's true, and it's not true in every district. And so, when I was first on the board, I did have some concerns, as I said, and I put them to rest by working with the people that supposedly I was supposed to be afraid of, and liberals. But I soon found out that no matter what you are, you're people, and that you're here for the same reason. So, I brag to I I use still brag, you know, we're not perfect, but we're 99% there. And part of that is the fact that we have an open door, whether it be finance. When you have a question, some of those bills look really crazy, and you think, "What are How can I tell people we're doing that?" But we all have three three finance people, all different personalities, but boy, all had their fingers right on the tail, and they didn't spend any extra money. They were watchdogs all the time. But they also were very open. >> [snorts] >> Human relations. I mean, I can go through the whole list. Dr. Massey. JP, you know, the Who was he still back of the principal? >> [laughter] >> And you know, I could go back to my friends then that kind of sent me in there to really fix things, that you know what? I'm here to support them now because they're already going on, and we have to have an open mind about that. We can't go in and pretend that we're going to fix things that aren't broken. I think the whole world needs that right now, but questions are all kind of the same, and I think they all come down to we got to really love one another and and pay attention to people's feelings and and what the job really is here for. It's not for our personalities, it's not for our our sake. It's for the students, the staff, the community. We're only just a small part of it. Thank you. Member Antonson. I think what we're looking for is somebody who has a passion and a vision, you know, a fire for this for education and for kids, an ability to listen to diverse ideas, but also offer innovative ideas for us. Um it's that leadership that's so critical to empower everybody to go behind it, and the ability to hear the ideas, the diverse perspectives, and find creative solutions to strategize, you know. Being in education is hard. Um and it's exciting, and it's awesome. And so, somebody who can understand that, to provide the support where necessary, to be direct and clear, trusting and transparent as needed, and to innovate because the financial challenges, the technological challenges, the social challenges, they don't go away. They stay with us. And so, there's so many great things to build on, and to continue to provide support for the teachers in the classroom every day working with our students to build a bridge with the community, with parents, to facilitate that interaction of all the different players. Thank you. Thank you. And according to my notes here, we'll start with Mrs. Hanson on this one, and unless Dr. Massey has something, I'll take my turn. Nope. >> [laughter] >> Oh, boy. Thought I'd make the offer. Um okay, could could the two of you spoke speak a little bit to your current connections to the district, and how you see um those connections helping you kind of build your future vision for what comes next for the district? And maybe expand upon that a little bit on what what is your future vision for the district? What what would you inspire uh for the district to to kind of represent next? Thank you, Chairwoman. Um so, currently I'm in this, you know, I teach, I have my students in my classroom and their families, and I hear their ideas, I hear their hopes, their dreams. I help them through their challenges, and it's different than when I first started teaching, you know, things do evolve and change. And so, I'm really connected in that manner. And then I'm a parent of a fifth grader and seventh grader. So, I'm in two different I'm in three different schools, my school, their schools. And so, with that, you know, I've done so much coaching, um scouts, girl scouts. Um and so, I'm constantly talking with people about their children, about their goals, about their needs. And so, I feel really tight. And many people in my group know that I'm active um with the school board, with committees, you know, with different activities, and they ask me a lot of questions. And so, I believe that our community really seeks that we go our own way, that we don't have to be like the rest of the world. Right now, our students want We've had a lot of disruption. Like, my kids were young when COVID hit, and then we had a lot of changes. And it's different. We've got two older kids that didn't go through that. And it it is different what it is today. And so, I feel having two younger kids, two older kids, that I have that wider perspective, and I can see some of the changes and that are before us today that weren't there 10 or 12 years ago in some ways as well. Um our community wants us to put our students and our education first, to not have the noise around that. We want to look at opportunities for them. I love what you guys did with the recent um budget and so on in finding good increases for our teachers, cuz our teachers work so hard. You see it. They get They're excited to show up. They're excited to be there for their students. And I the desire is that our teachers don't have to make any sacrifice to choose for us, like that they can stay where they love, that they're empowered and they're supported. And I like the progress that's been made toward that. And there's a lot of talk about what the future holds. I think it has, again, a different level of ambiguity today than it did for our older two kids, because there's so much talk of, "What are we training our kids for? Will those jobs exist when they graduate?" You know, my son's 10. So, how do we help plan and strategize for what it looks like at 18? Those are the questions I hear. Those [clears throat] are the things that families ask me about. And so, that's where when I look to leadership within Forest Lake, we need innovation, we need connections. We have a lot of those things, but we also need to keep leveraging that. And then with it, finances are that and look for opportunities and bridges um to make sure that we don't put ourselves in a challenging situation. Great choices have been made. We need to continue to have those conversations to do that. Okay, and just for clarity, you do not teach in Forest Lake. I do not teach in Forest Lake, no. Okay, and so, those of us at the table knew, but I wanted to make sure that the public that was watching understood that. Mrs. Martin. And that's fine. She's talking about innovative. I was on the board when we were trying to convince people that the computer was necessary, that blackboard was kind of out. >> [laughter] >> So, you know, there's always changes that you have to uh be able to explain. I think, you know, the biggest help I can be, I believe, is not only my time on the board here, my involvement with the school, going all with the teachers, classrooms, and talking to them, and going to all the parent groups, and being involved with that. But it's really the connection to the community that That's where the questions are asked. That's where the people are pushing you to do this, do that, you know, say this, do And so, as I said before, the role changes because on one side of my life, I was there to to bring the issues to the board and hope that they would listen. And then the other side, you change completely. You're there to listen to the people that have a concern. And like I said, for so many years, this board ran well, community was happy. We passed a levy, thanks to Dr. Massey, who said we should go out to community events and talk to the community and tell them exactly what we're doing and why. And I even said, "You know, they don't maybe come." Well, he proved me wrong. They came out in droves because we had it in their community. And so we were able to listen to them and to believe it. And so when I would tell people about why I I vote for spending some time, it's not what we ask for, it's how do we spend it? And when you have a district like ours that have people like ours that I can go to them honestly and say, you know what? Been there, done that. You can trust these people. They think like you and I do. They're they're more conservative than maybe like to know, but I think [cough] just being truthful to the to the teachers, to the staff, to the community, there's so much good to say. And it just broke my heart when we had that little time period where things seemed to be falling apart. And I just want that to go back because I know all of us here, including the staff and the community wants us to give every child, what do we say? Every child opportunity. And we're pretty amazing. So I like to go out and spread all the good things that we're doing and then gain the trust of them so that we can work together. All right. Thank you. Anybody want to kick us off around here? Member Tyson? Did you want to go next, Joe? Go ahead. I'll go after you. I did not. Oh, you didn't? Okay. Well, I'm just just to just to be clear, it is 8:40. >> Mhm. Correct. I mean, we have about 22-ish minutes left. >> up till 9:00 then? Is that unless unless nobody has any additional questions. >> I do. Okay. Member Tyson. So can each one of you, when it's your turn, speak to the important role that public schools play in society and then talk about any public school advocacy you've done? Mrs. Morehead, that question goes to you first. That's pretty interesting for me since my son is the principal of a private school. Mhm. Um they're all necessary. You know, I'm very much for parents' choice. And I'm very glad that we have public schools that take care of tons and tons of kids from all different races and different kinds and and we can we teach them all. When you have a private school, it's a little tougher. That first of all, the expense. And so parents can home school. My daughter-in-law, the wife of the principal at St. Peter's, was home schooling. And someone said to me once, how can you be on the public school board and your daughter-in-law has home schooled? I said, well, is every single teacher in our district made for teaching? Well, most all of them. I said, well, that's the the thing with home schooling. Most all of them are. And there may be some that that's not a good choice for their family, but it's their choice. And so I think we have to honor the rights of the parents to put the children in the type of school that they want, whether it be home school, public school, or anything in between. Um So I I don't know your question if I really answered it, but um it's just a matter >> how public schools, what their Well, their role is different, you know. Their their role is different and it there's a lot of a lot of people that believe in in public education as the thing to do. My kids kid we're in public education. Myself, I was in a um private institution. Mhm. So again, I think you talk about the assets of both all of them and let people choose where they want their children to go. I know it's not wide open yet in our country, but I hope someday it will be. Yeah, it wasn't so much about choice. It was more about what is the important role that public schools have in serving all students, but I think you you hit that. So and the other part was just kind of twofold that they go together was have you done any public school advocacy? All the time. All the time. I'm out there talking about this public school all the time. And it never gets old because we offer so much more. And you know, a public school and a public school, they can be two different public schools. Mhm. And I could advocate for one and I maybe wouldn't want to advocate for another. It's all how they treat the people that are coming into their buildings, whether or not they listen, whether or not they they let the parents have some say in in what's going on in a public school as well as as non-public. And I guess I meant to clarify and I apologize cuz you had a lot of questions at the capital with legislators. >> Oh, did go down there, yes. And advocated very heavily um because that we rely on the the the money from the legislature and we oftentimes were on the short end of the stick. And so I went to every MSBA thing they had. I went down to the capital. I never tire of fighting for this for this district. And I think it's important for board members to do that, to go outside of the chairs and into the public and into the capital to tell about what what we have here. And the growing enrollment we have, I just am so happy about that because for so many years we kind of struggled. And so I'm a very big advocate for public education, but I understand the parents should have a choice to private, home school, whatever they choose. That's what's best for their kids. Thank you, Karen. Member Tyson, I believe wholeheartedly and passionately in public school. I don't think there's anything more important for our children than public school. I've been teaching in public school for 17 years. Um and while I agree with Karen that I think people have a choice, we fundamentally are I never ever want a student to feel that they don't have opportunities in a public school. It is just fundamental what we can give them that foundation as they grow in those opportunities. I believe so many amazing things happen in public school. Um in terms of advocacy, I've done a multitude of things. Um from starting off levels of taking a number of students to different school board meetings and other functions and helping to advocate about the work they're doing, their programs and their needs. I've also been very active with the Minnesota Academy of Science and at the legislature and doing advocacy there, too. I've actually spent hundreds of hours at the capital in a variety of different roles, engaging with legislators, working on finance, and even getting into statutory proposals and drafting statutory Sorry, I meant to say public school advocacy advocacy for finance. Yes. Um through the Minnesota Academy of Science, which has been a conduit to get funding into STEM programs for students. >> But anything like broadly related to, you know, legislative work like at the capital in terms of special education, um principal funding, transportation sparsity, any of those things that kind of affect Forest Lake schools? So very much STEM funding to Forest Lake is huge. We have a very strong science program. We do. And so yes, I would say probably definitely I know more than the average person. I have so many connections at the capital and spend so much time there in understanding the process and those aspects of things. Not to mention also within schools, programs, and other boards about bringing those ideas forward to support others in those efforts. Great. Thank you. All right. Anybody else have another question? Okay, I I have one more and I believe this goes to Mrs. Hanson first. Um gosh, we talked a lot about how do you handle conflict, how do you handle disagreement, all that stuff. One thing we haven't talked a whole lot about is success. So let's let's look at the last year. I'm time boxing it. Let's talk about success. What what stands out to you as success in the district, success in the board, success where are we moving in the right direction, where do we need to focus on that momentum? Absolutely, member or Chairwoman. There have been So first of all, when it comes to success, I'm a huge proponent of doing a good job of making sure people know. And anybody who knows me within Forest Lake and Dr. Maslow probably laugh at me, the number of times I've talked about opportunities to communicate things out, add things to newsletters, share information, even just a conversation that I had earlier today. That's a big part of what I believe in terms of transparency, support, and promotion. Now, in terms of the district, I know I'm going to miss a lot, but so much has been done in the last couple of years. There have been great strides that have been made financially, for teachers and teacher support, and working in collaboration with the unions. Everything that's been done in terms of the transition of moving the sixth graders to Forest Lake Area Middle School and how that's been done, you can see it there this year. It's going well. It is going so well. But you know, you know the people that are taking on the challenges, you know the workload that's increased, but the staff are doing it and it's working and students are being supported. And talking to sixth graders, I know sixth graders. Like Karen, I had a period of time I had daycare, too. And some of them are now in sixth grade and they are loving it. You know, and so you can see so how things are going with the districting, you know, I was helping as with traveling basketball this season. And some of the families are affected, but the way they've talked about it is that they feel that they understand it even if it affects them where they're going to be bussing a child, you know, to a different school for a year, they feel like they were part of the process, they were heard, it made sense, and it provided for the long-term continuity of the district. I mean, what's been gone and going on in terms of buildings and grounds and other considerations, the list is long and I'm missing like 85% of it. But I think that you're also right that sometimes the good can get lost in the other noise. And um this board has worked very hard on doing a number of great things. Just like within the district, the teachers, the staff, and others are doing great things. And so I believe continuing to do that. I do believe communication's an area which is hard, but as um was discussed earlier today, there're things we can do electronically, other mechanisms. You know, I've shared ideas of how to even tap in on some of our high school students or others to promote some of these things. I'm chaperoning [clears throat] the Wilfrid trip, the first trip for FLAMS coming up April 1st through 3rd. And one of the things I volunteered for the teacher coordinator is that I'm going to be the camera person. I don't know how to make the video yet, but we're going to try to make a video and do some other things because when they were sharing it with families this year, we had a Wayzata Central Middle School, and I'm like, "No, no, no. We don't want to be showing kids a video of Wayzata Central Middle School. We need to be showing kids next year our video." So I volunteered to do that. And so there's so many opportunities we have to continue to promote the good, fun things here. I can't disagree with any of that, of course, other than I'm not going to chaperone anybody. >> [laughter] >> But it's so [clears throat] important and you know, I'm a little bit active in in politics as well. And it's really you know, it gets down to not so much what I do, but what others are doing, and my role is just to help those people understand how they can help and why they should help. And it's not so much of me and what I'm going to do, it's so much of we and what we can do. And sometimes I think we lose that when we talk about what I can do, um which I probably do too much as well, but we lose the we. And it's the we that is so important, whether it be here, whether it be in politics, whether it be in the community. We just all have to learn to get along because otherwise the end of the road is not looking good. And the more we can tell people Dr. Massey when he made some boundary changes, that can be really hard, really difficult, but because of the honesty that he always showed and the honesty of the board working together, we we accomplished that. What's the most exciting thing? I think it's the the middle school success, the working with the change of the two schools. You cannot look at that as a small thing. Those are big things. And they were accomplished without a lot of community anger. You know, they could they could see everybody was trying to do what was right. So while there's a lot of things, when you mention it brings me back a lot to my younger years. >> [laughter] >> And and that's good because some of the daycare kids I had are doctors now. So, you know, I I did daycare for teachers, and why did I do that? First of all, it's a pretty good thing. You get your weekends off and and you get But on the other hand, I really got to know what a public education was all about and how I could help because they were all teachers in this district. And so by working together, I just want to take the I out of it and put the we back in it. And I think if we do that collectively, there's nothing but success ahead. And I would like to be a part of that success. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have a couple of minutes left here if anybody else has any other questions? Otherwise uh one of the things I like to finish up pretty much any interview that I do, and this one it's it's kind of a unique one, but uh um we'll start with Mrs. Morhead here. I I I think a lot can be gained from the insight of this question, and that is uh what questions do you have for us? We can't answer everything, obviously, but we can certainly try. What questions do I have to you? Well, three of you I know very well, and other three I'm getting to know. And so a question would be, do you think it's possible for a we to to occur? Do you think it's possible that this particular board, whether you take Mrs. Hanson or myself, do you see the public opening up and saying, "You know what? 4-3 wasn't bad." I mean, 2-4-3 was bad. 3-3 is bad. Can we look to a board, can I look to a board that can say, "We're done with that. We're going to all now be one, and we're going to be a we working together." So that would be my question. Do you Do you people think this is possible? A lot of questions about, you know, what we think we do if there was difficult situations, but do you think it's possible? Does anybody want to answer it? Well, I think anything's possible, right? I mean, sometimes when there's broken trust that takes time to rebuild. I think there's you know, yes is the answer, but it's it's not just an easy yes, you know, and both sides it's not easy. >> Yeah. So I would be hopeful that the full answer is a hearty yes, and I would do my part to work towards that. I'll throw my two cents in on this cuz I get this question a lot. As as board chair, when you preside over a 3-3 board, you hear about it all the time. I always challenge that question with uh we're not a 3-3 board if we look at the board as a whole. As it was pointed out by both of you this evening, we agree on 95% of the things we want to do. Even when we have contentious meetings, we leave it approving more items on the agenda than we uh we don't approve. And if you surveyed each of us independently and uh I know this just in in in discussions with with Dr. Pittman on how the superintendent surveys and searches and stuff have gone, and that some of the questions I've asked him, we all want the same thing. We want success for our Forest Lake Area Schools. We want success of every single one of our students. So I challenge the 3-3 premise because uh on 95% of the issues, we're a 6-0 board that cares deeply about our students, our staff, our district, and the future. Um do we have our challenges? Absolutely. Um every govern- every governing body does. So And I think all the public is looking for is independent voices. They want to know that each one is thinking about what they can do to make things better. And I hope for the day that that happens, that we can all independently speak our mind and work together so that it's >> the question because it's on a lot of minds right now. Does anybody else want to address Mrs. Morhead's question? Or Mr. Nevercastle? Independent thought typically means that you're not going to have 7-0 votes. You're going to have three and four. You're going to have two and five. This this is what's going to happen with independent thought. Can I answer to that? Um because I I I think you may be right, but if it's an independent voice that's looking for the best of the district, and they're listening to the staff and the superintendent, I don't think that you'd find that very often because just because of the world we live in, if you're trying to do what's right and you're listening to the person who's supposed to make the district great, we're only supposed to make sure it stays great. Um I think when I was on the board, and like I say, I was came in as a conservative, it was pretty pretty scary to me, and I didn't often times have a lot of broken votes, and they'd say, "Well, how come you're just such a rubber stamp?" Well, you know why? I became interested in the district, I learned how it ran, I I talked to all the people, and I had this trust that what was going on was great, and my job was not to fix it because it wasn't broken. And so yes, a lot of times we were all united for what's best for the district, and we had great leaders. All four of the superintendents, they had different personalities, but we had great leaders. And when you have great leaders and you listen to them, more often than not, you're not going to come up with those kind of numbers. You're going to come up with more of a a board that votes together. That's just my thought on it. Mr. Tyson? Well, I just want to add quickly cuz it's almost 9:00. Yep. That you know, I'm looking for that with this vacancy is to find somebody that doesn't have that hidden agenda, that doesn't have their own personal agenda of things they want to do for this district, that they come on and they want to work with all of us. Mhm. And we do have a lot of trust to restore. So I'm hoping that whoever comes on to this seat that we have open can help us do that and can help us all become a we like you talked about. Thank you. So necessary. The trust factor is so necessary. And by getting to know Al just and I'm talking way too much and too long, but I stay up late, remember? Um Abe Lincoln said, "I don't like those people very well. Maybe I should get to know them better." And I think that is so true than putting someone in a spot that you don't care for. You don't even know them. And that's why I think getting together on a more social basis, talking to one another, you're going to realize that we're all pretty much the same and that trust issue will happen automatically, I think. Thank you. Okay, so I I want to No, I was I was just going to say member Tyson said true, it's true. I mean, we all come with our own personal who we are as people, right? But what our goals are as a board is to do what's best for our students and our staff and and our community. So, I think we're all on the same page with that. We just come we just need to kind of come to that consensus and that's what our main role is as board members. And having independent thinkers is good because you might see things different and that's what discussion is for and that's why we should be in discussion and come to a consensus. And I think we all have that ability. We just struggle to kind of get there at times. So, that's why this this is such an important, you know, uh chance for one of you and I think um that's what we're looking for and I think that that person's going to be a bridge like you had mentioned in the past. Both of you did. That that person would be a good bridge to try to get us to come together more as a board. >> Right. So, but yeah. My idea. Thank you. I I have my eye on the clock here, but I think we give this is Hanson the same opportunity here and then I'll try to keep it short. >> and forth and >> [laughter] >> we we end the the discussion at that point in time. So, So, I would just invite you to pause and think about the next 7 months and your vision for it and whether there's any risk in proceeding without being a seven member. You know, my vision for the next 7 months is that the board leads the community by example in showing how to have that dialogue, that discussion and to achieve solid outcomes um with no impasse. Um you have a challenge in terms of finding somebody who can step right in, but I think that either of us have enough experience in understanding school, the community, the players, the members and the process to be able to do that. I know that I am absolutely committed to trying to work together to find those wins, to restore that trust, to have the tough conversations, whatever they need to be, um and with that I feel an obligation as if I were on the board to also bring the voices that I hear from the basketball court, from the baseball field, from the Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin, from wherever it is I'm hearing it, the conversations with students and parents or I teach and sometimes I sub in the district because I want to help the teachers here. I want them to have support, too. I hear voices. I hear ideas. I hear opportunities. And so, I feel like I very much, known as a hardworking consensus builder, feel I could step into this to help empower that board to function well, to serve as a small for the community. So, my ask to you is, what's your vision for the next 7 months? What does it look like? Can we get there together? Thank you. Would either of you like to address? Okay. In that case, I would like to thank both of you. Do we have a closing statement? Closing minute? Um I don't have an objection to that. Does anybody else? I don't. I just want to thank the people that have supported me politically with letters, um past board members, citizens, the groups that I'm in. I really appreciate all the support that I get from them and I hope that I bring that forward on the board level because there's a lot of good people in our community and they're they all want to help. And they want someone who's just going to sit here for the 7 months, no aspirations, been there before, know how to behave on that side much better than on the other side sometimes, but but seriously, I just appreciate the fact that I have an opportunity to again take some of my time to support a great district and to support a board that I think will work together very well if they just we all put a little work into it and have a little fun besides. Thank you. Thanks, Karen. Did you have anything? I just want to say thank you to each of you because I see in each of you that it hasn't been easy, but you roll up your sleeves, you do the work, you put in the time, you listen, you're thoughtful, you ask great questions and you have a heart for our community and our students. So, I just want to say thank you to each of you and for the opportunity to talk to you tonight. Thank you both very much. Thank you for accommodating us and sitting in the hot seat and um I very much enjoyed this dialogue and I think the other board members did as well. Yeah. I think it's a little more comfortable than other ways, so it's nice. Thank you both. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> All right. Do we want to kick off discussion immediately? I I hate to even suggest the possibility of another recess. What would we How would we like to proceed? I think we can proceed. We've already had two recesses. Yeah, I agree. All right. Um member Christiansen, would you like to kick it off? How are we going about this? Um open discussion and and we don't we we don't have anything on the agenda tonight that we're really taking any action, but we can take action. Um I I thought we were just going to have a discussion and then see where it went. Um well, since I'm going first, I have a few things to say, but I would also like to say I think that we should vote this evening and just keep moving it forward. I know this has been a prolonged um process anyway, so I we know the candidates like we mentioned. I don't think there's any reason why we should not vote this evening and move forward. And I would also like to say when we do vote this evening, I would like to request a roll call um by our clerk with the sheet that Joy has provided. So, I would like to um request a roll call. Um so, I guess uh since I'm going first, I'm not entirely sure how we're all going to do this, but I would just like to uh speak to um three or four things. Um Karen Moorhead, um long-time community member, former school board member, Forest Lake Parks and Recreation uh commission member, Rotary Club, Chamber, inducted into the Forest Lake Hall of Fame 2019 under these words, "Recognized as a tireless advocate for children and youth." She has also tested and has won several elections, been chosen by the community. She won her elections with solid support. Uh she's active in local government, uh lots of Forest Lake area connections. I would argue there really isn't anywhere you could go in Forest Lake that you don't run into Karen Moorhead or Mike Hennan. Um Not together, but uh >> [laughter] >> very uh you know, you're out and about at all kinds of things. So, that is sort of number one. Number two, uh her reference letters, uh Mrs. Moorhead's reference letters were from former superintendent Linda Madsen, Nanette LaNasa, if I'm saying that right, from the Chamber, and repre uh rep Republican Senator Karin Housley. Those are pretty awesome references, I would say. So, that's number two. Uh number three, I think a key um a key thing and this this for me is the hands-down reason why we would select Mrs. Moorhead. Um when member Hegland stepped down, there was a lot of talk about filling his position with someone like-minded. We heard that over and over and we received emails about that and how important it was because the people selected member Hegland and he was a um ran on the conservative I don't how I don't know how to say it, conservative slate, that type of um let lean that way if I want to say that. Mrs. Moorhead has identified herself as a conservative many times this evening. She's known that way in the community. Um so, if it is true that we want to fill or that that there was a lot I remember um I think is it Dean Erickson spoke on a green card, many spoke on a green card wanting um uh member Hegland's seat filled with someone who is like-minded. Um if that is true, if that is what people wanted, if that is what the community wanted in the emails that they sent and we all received as board members, then I think um Mrs. Moorhead is the is the obvious choice. Um Um I think that is it for right now. Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Well, I'll I'll go ahead and say a little something here. Um No, I I don't know either uh one of these ladies super well, but I have met with both of them. Um probably talked with both of them on the phone about an equal amount of times. Um and and my hands-down vote tonight would be for Princesa, not um because Ms. Morehead lacks any credibility or experience or anything like that, just because uh Princesa works. She is a teacher. She has coached. She has raised two different generations of students in this district, attended multiple different elementary schools with those children. She uh has We received, I believe, it's 16 letters of support for her. Um mostly from parents and people that have worked as, you know, with their kids working with her and how much uh support and aid she has brought to their children and encouraged them academically to succeed. Um She subs in our district. She herself is an educator. She's a good listener from my experience with her and when we did come across in the discussion having something that we didn't quite agree on, she was a good problem-solver and a collaborator on like, "Well, okay, what can we do to fix that?" And I appreciate that about um the interactions with her that I've had. And I think she would make an excellent school board candidate. All right. Member Castle. Well, I would hope that if we bring Princesa on, that she would eventually like to run for the position and take it down for 4 years. Maybe not this next time. But that would give her good experience on the board besides all the experience that she's had with the students and the teachers in the district and other districts. And lots lots of experience in the education. All very well-rounded. I can go next. Yeah, member Tyson. So, you know, this is like giving somebody a gift. I take filling this vacancy very seriously. I've ran in four campaigns. I've spent time away from my family. I've been out putting up signs in the rain and the wind, going back, running till you're drop dead at all the wonderful activities and events to learn and integrate and mesh with your community and all of our outlying elementary schools and all of our booster clubs, PTAs. So, this is like giving somebody a gift and I take it very seriously. Um they're not going to have to do any of those things. So, anyway, you know, getting an email from Senator Karen Housley about member Morehead's service, respectful of fellow board members, understands responsibilities and challenges, mindset of representing all community uh everyone in her community. Um I could go on and on at all the positive things, but Karen has the governance experience. Karen has taken the trainings over and over. Karen understands advocacy, which we need in our district. She understands the per pupil formula, transportation sparsity. She can speak to all those things. That's important for Forest Lake Area schools. And I also think that Karen brings that, as somebody said, a common sense approach, where she wants everybody to be part of the group. She has that respect. I've gone to a lot of events with Karen and you won't see her because she's off talking to all the parents, hearing about how the students are doing. She understands the breadth and the scope of what it takes to be a board member. And so, when I look at the two candidates, I feel like the one I've already considered. And although I feel a lot of passion from Princesa, I feel like there's not a lot of concrete answers for me, for me myself and I. Might not be for you or you, but for me, I need more concrete answers. We all can talk in, you know, things that we want to do, but what have you done and how will you get us there? So, and I also feel like, you know, I worked with Northeast Metro 916 through Teachers On Call for many, many years. Would I consider soliciting them to write me letters? No. I would want them from people in my own district. And we did get a few. I agree. But that didn't sit well with me. That's not playing fair in my mind. And so, I see the passion, but we have a lot of teachers. Are they running for school board? There's more to it. There's the whole governance piece. There's that experience piece. That's that ability to communicate and meet everybody where they're at, to be out in your district and really understanding what's going on, representing everyone, not just sports, not just this. It's everyone. It's a big umbrella. So, you know, I think that we would be remiss in not appointing Karen Morehead. She has been has so much historical knowledge of the district. She's helped hire past superintendents and that's what we're going to do right now. So, I just think there's a lot of passion in Ms. Hansen, but I I don't think she's ready for this role and that's why I didn't vote for her before and I won't be voting for her now. But I do I would vote for member Morehead to become on the board and fill our vacancy and bring us together. Thank you, member Tyson. Anybody else have any comments to add, member Porter? Well, after you you guys said a lot of great things. I mean, it it was so great for them both to be here tonight. Uh Princesa very strong um a very passionate person that really would like to be on the school board. Um a lot of great letters. I mean, it was very, you know, very powerful, a very um nice thing to get. Um Karen on on the other hand, um I've known Karen a long time. Uh I served on the board with her many years. Actually took when I decided to run, she I actually took her seat. She'd say she felt good knowing that I was there filling that role cuz I um she knew she could trust me with how important this role is. It's a very trusted role in our community. Um she knew that I would always try to fight for what's best for kids and and do the right thing. So, um Karen is just I mean, I still call her, you know, she's so well-known in the community. And I reading those letters, too, were very powerful for me, reading Karen and and Linda Matson, two people I respect um in this in this political world. I mean, Linda Matson was a a supreme superintendent. Um the role we have ahead of us picking a superintendent is a very, very difficult role and she's done it, I believe, four times. I've done it three. >> [laughter] >> So, I get it. It's it's a very hard thing to do and it takes a lot of work and have to know our district as well as she does. She by far knows it much more than I do. So, I take her her um her knowledge as as a very powerful weapon I mean, not just say weapon, powerful thing for our community. And and it's really guided me with her knowledge. So, as far as I know, they're both strong strong um advocates for our schools. Um I just feel like this is at this time the short district hit the ground running and know what's expected, know what we need to do and get the job done. I feel like that's what we need and someone that's going to be a conservative voice, which I know Karen is very conservative. Um we do go battle at times, but but she is very respectful and she does listen. I think that is such an important role that she has taken over the many years I've known her. We don't always agree, but she always, you know, says, "Well, I guess we just agree to disagree." And that's just fine with me. And I need someone like that, that voice of reason to kind of, you know, bring us together, look at all the sides and be that middle person. And I believe Karen is that choice. So, I would love to support Karen Morehead for this role if if um if we decide to do that. All right. Does anybody else have any anything to add to the discussion? Well, does anybody have a motion they'd like to make? I would just Member Kurshan-Spencer. I would like to I mean, we've all spoken. I would like to hear your thoughts, member chair. Sure. Yeah, I I think both candidates are incredibly qualified. I think they both would bring in incredible value to the board. And uh I think I'll leave it at that. I mean Okay. Yeah, member Corcoran. >> a motion to nominate Karen Morehead for the school board vacancy. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second to appoint Mrs. Morehead by a resolution to the board. Is there any discussion? No discussion? Um >> [clears throat] >> Well, I would I would revisit the, you know, when Ms. Morehead was up here talking and she said she knew three board members very well and three of them she didn't know as well and she was hoping that she would get the chance to know them better. And a lot of talk about having an open mind and respectful communication and um prime a lot of listening to, you know, superintendent and leadership, which I think is important. Um But I mean the respectful communication, and I don't like saying this publicly, but hasn't always been my experience there. And for that reason I won't be supporting her appointment to the seat. Are there any other discussion? All right, so seeing none, member clerk, please take the roll call. All right. Member Tyson? Aye. Member Reboline? No. Member Corcoran? Aye. Member Antonsen votes no. Member Castle? No. Member Christensen? Aye. Motion fails. Yeah, motion fails. Okay. Do we have any other motion? Do we want to uh I move to appoint Francine Antonsen. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second to appoint Mrs. Antonsen by a resolution this evening. Is there any discussion on that? Seeing none, um member clerk, please take the roll call. Member Reboline? Aye. Member Corcoran? No. Member Antonsen votes aye. Member Castle? Aye. Member Christensen? No. And member Tyson? No. Okay. I believe that uh settles item 7.2, which brings us to new business 8.1 first reading. Recommendation to approve Spanish immersion 6 and Spanish immersion 7 courses. Dr. Massey. Uh thank you. We've had a lot of conversation with our administrative team, um knowing that we have had a robust immersion immersion plus program at the elementary level carrying into content courses and continued learning at the middle school and high school. And like most things, things evolve and shift and we're a moment [snorts] of shift with enrollment and what we believe is uh an effort and a path to continue to offer a strong program in our immersion program. So, I would ask director Jacobson to provide a proposal for a shift in in the program at the middle level. Yeah, thank you. Uh member chair, member board, Dr. Massey. So, um yes, as we shifted sixth grade over to the middle school this year, we've got a three-year grade band opportunity to really re-look at our immersion program there. If just so everybody watching tonight and everybody here as a reminder is at the elementary level we have immersion programs at Lana Lakes Elementary and Forest View that's shifting to Forest View next year. Uh immersion programming is primarily primarily provided in both math and science at the elementary level. Um when students shift to the middle school this year, we offer immersion instruction in social studies in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. And then the first opportunity students can take a conversational everyday uh Spanish immersion uh course would be in eighth grade. And the team at the middle school, including the world language team teachers there, have seen an opportunity to lean into some feedback that we're seeing from families in terms of them wanting more conversational um everyday Spanish instruction for their students um as as well as some trends that we're tracking in registrations. Students registering for either the immersion eight course or uh social studies taught in Spanish. And more interest in the traditional immersion classes. So, what we would be proposing here tonight are two uh courses. Uh one in immersion six course that would be new and an immersion seventh grade seven course that would be new. These would be equivalent to a semester length in time. Uh where students could take um their Spanish they'd be able to continue their Spanish instruction from fifth grade uh into sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, but in a Spanish for immersion students course. So, essentially this would not be equivalent to a Spanish one. This would be Spanish for students who have been speaking or learning Spanish uh in elementary school. That connects well with our immersion eight courses and then our program moving into the high school. Uh and these would be courses that we would put into our schedule next year. This is a first reading tonight. Uh so, no action is being asked of of the board, but I would certainly make myself available for any questions related to either of the courses, uh what we've done in the past, or what we would be proposing to do going forward. All right, thank you. Does anybody have any questions there? Yeah, what what do they currently do now? Like so, Spanish immersion goes till used to be go to sixth, now it's through fifth. Yeah, so there's a lot of moving parts, so it's a fair question. >> So, what did they do? Yeah, so this year uh sixth graders, their their continuation of their immersion program is to take social studies, Minnesota history, taught in Spanish. Uh seventh graders, it is US history taught in Spanish. And then eighth grade, they can take global studies taught in Spanish. And an immersion course. And the immersion course is in addition to the social studies course, but that's where they learn more about the culture, the everyday language. In the social studies course, it's social studies taught in Spanish. And what we would be looking to do in sixth and seventh grade would be shifting it from social studies taught in in Spanish to an immersion an immersion class for a Spanish class for immersion students. Essentially is the idea. So, it's a continuation. It's going to help them have Spanish a lot more than Yes. Okay, perfect. All right, thank you. Member Castle. So, there would be a prerequisite that they're already in immersion? You know, that is an interesting question member Castle. I think if we had a that would I would say 95% of the time that would be the case. If we had an interested student uh who came in with some Spanish proficiency already, I we we would probably consider them through a um we in the fifth grade we do a test at the end of fifth grade to help guide families on to make a decision on whether the rigor of the sixth or seventh grade course was right for them. Uh whether their Spanish has progressed to that point, we'd probably use that same tool. So, for a student who maybe traditionally speaks Spanish at home or comes from another immersion program, we might consider something like that, but I would say by and large uh the the immersion Spanish course in sixth grade would not be what it would be an entry level course for somebody first [snorts] learning Spanish. That's probably more of what we would consider our Spanish one course. So, then you were also talking about the other courses being taught in Spanish. Yeah, so in the past uh social studies up until even right now, today, uh students in the immersion program at at the middle school in sixth and seventh grade, their world language instruc- instruction happens in social studies. And we what we would do is we'd move away from that and instead students would have a essentially a stand-alone Spanish course. So, then how would how does that work with their credits? So, they'd get a credit for the Spanish in in both of the courses? So, they'd get three or just Uh we don't they would they would um how can I So, in middle school uh at middle school credits are really more at the high school level than at the middle school level. Um and we would we would fill out their schedule with just uh so, they would still have the four core classes, math, science, English, and social studies taught in English. And then they would have some elective classes and within that suite of elective classes, they would have a semester-long Spanish class. Is that am I getting at the core of your question? Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any additional questions? Okay, the the only ask what was the information was great. Looking at course descriptions and stuff. I know member Anderson had sent an email asking about some enrollment data, some perhaps some financial data, just helping the board understand that. So, when you gather that information, if you would share that out to the board, that would be very helpful. >> What was the information being requested? Um some data on enrollment, anticipated enrollment, the current enrollment of students in the emergent courses, how that might carry over into this board. >> I don't need that when you get it. Oh. Thank you, though. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, thank you. That was That was all I had. So, if there's no additional questions, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Motion seconded, any discussion? >> Thank you, JP. Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Those opposed? All right, we are adjourned. Thank you.