Thank you everyone for coming tonight. We're going to start with public comment. We have one speaker. If the speaker wants to come to the table, >> um recognition recognition first. >> Oh, I thought Oh, I'm sorry. We're gonna do recognition first. Okay. I'm sorry. Sorry. My bad. [laughter] >> Okay. Recognition first. Um I am sorry. So, I'm gonna turn it over to Dr. front to have um to facilitate. >> Sure. Could I have Moses Long, Joe Kundai, and Joe Bradshaw come on up to the table here to the three chairs. [applause] [applause] >> So, we'll go from uh my right to left. Here we've got Joe Kundai from Lake Elmo Elementary. He's representing his team of uh custodians. We've got Moses Long here from Bayport Elementary. I was going to say Anderson for a second there. >> We'll all be doing [laughter] We'll all be doing that >> from from Bayport. And we have Joe Bradshaw who not only brought his wife but his own cheering team in the back [laughter] >> from from Oakland Middle School. And so what we really wanted to do is take a moment to, you know, we always recognize our our custodial staff at our our back to school event in the uh at the when we have all staff together, but we especially wanted to recognize the three of you tonight and your teams. um for the hard work and everything that we have put you through um particularly this last summer and these last few weeks before we we got school done. You know um the buildings uh particularly the two new elementary schools look amazing. Um and Joe, what you have done at Oakland has been nothing but incredible. Um, I don't know if the the folks realize it, but uh, at Oakland Middle School, um, we had a local steel contractor that went out of business um, sometime in the middle of last year, and that's who was our our steel was coming from. So, we got delayed scrambling to try another in another contractor, and that pushed back parts of the the Oakland Middle School project. And so, you know, we're still opening on time and we still have some class all the classrooms are ready for our kids, but the the new classrooms will not open for another couple months yet. The media center is going to be opening in a few weeks. And so, uh, you know, not only did we have the start of school, but we had construction people, um, you know, putting in new areas for lockers and new wood cabinets and kicking up dust every single day. And you know, Joe has been instrumental in uh cleaning that dust um and preparing for staff and then they come back in in the evenings and they give us some more dust and then he him and his team. So uh just really appreciate your flexibility and uh you know both Bayport and and Lake Elmo have also had their unique challenges as we've uh we've opened the schools. Um, but it's really through all your tireless efforts, your ability to change on the fly when people come in and say, "Okay, well, we have to put a new hole in the wall or we have to take these doors down and you guys got to help clean up when we get it done." Um, has just been uh fantastic. And so, um, just for myself and on behalf of the board and the school district, I just want to thank all of you for your efforts and your team's efforts. and I'll just turn over to you guys if you guys have anything you want to say or what kind of stress we've put you through or or anything like that. [laughter] So, turn over to you guys. >> Thanks for having us here tonight. It's it is nice to be recognized. I think we all did a good job. Our team's behind us all the way. Our family comes with sometimes and uh looks at us and likes us to do the impossible. And >> so [laughter] do we. and and and we and we pulled it off. I think >> I think we did a nice job. >> Uh like you said, just clean up and clean up and clean up again. >> Uh the one point I wanted to make on tonight is the steps. I count my steps during the day and [laughter] my highest step count was 34,200. >> Wow. Wow. >> For one day at work. >> Wow. >> Wow. >> That's that's running Disneyland. [laughter] Moses or Joel, any any comments? >> Just thank my crew for doing all the heavy lifting and sticking with Lake Elmo and they're doing a great job. A >> little bit bigger building, huh? For you to >> much better. [laughter] >> Just again, thank you as well for the opportunity to open a brand new school. Um, and I appreciate the recognition as well. you know, most most districts get to open a school, one school on their own, and now here we're opening two and making a significant addition to a middle school. And it's through your efforts that uh um this has been as seamless as possible. So, thank you. >> Yeah. And um I just have to say this is like the first time that there is a cheering section and they're quite rowdy. [laughter] So, >> if you notice, we have a deputy back there. So, [laughter] >> so you can tell you guys are beloved by not only just everyone in everywhere you go. So, and we're just very fortunate. I was saying earlier to Joe that there isn't a building in our district that just isn't immaculate. No matter the age, whether it's new or older, it's just the care of you, you and your team and many, many people that aren't here tonight. and we are just so grateful and so thankful for all that you do and and the kids love you and just your relationship with the kids and the families and the staff. Um you are an invaluable part of the team and so we're just glad that you could come tonight and let us give you a little recognition. So um anyone else on the board of questions or >> I have a question for him. Um if you guys wouldn't mind, can I get a little more information on like what brought you guys to Still Water, how long you've been here? Um, and maybe any highlights that you've had while you've been here. >> I'll go first. Uh, I retired as a diesel mechanic. >> Uh, when I was 53, still knew I couldn't retire retire. So, I had my boilers license and looked at Stillwater Schools. It was close to my home. >> It uh had an opening. So, I applied and they they took me on. They said, "Well, have you ever cleaned things?" Well, a little lacking on that, but I can fix things. [laughter] Like that I could fix things and >> Yeah. >> Uh, yep. We just keep fixing. >> Awesome. Great. >> Eight years I've been >> eight. Great. >> I'm fairly new to the district. 10 months now. Um, I come from the South Washington County Schools. >> Um, I came over to Stillwater to have my own building. The opportunity to uh work at Lily Lake as a head engineer. >> Nice. >> And then the opportunity um at Bayport came about. So, >> wait. Welcome. >> I grew up in the district. Uh, I attended Stillwater High School. Um, I started working for the district in 99. So, I've been here 27 years. >> Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. >> I'm with Lake Almo. I think this is my 16th year now. >> Crazy. >> Great. >> Awesome. Glad you guys chose us. Any [laughter] other questions or comments? >> Yes. >> I'll just say that thank you for everything you do. Obviously, this is very highprofile with the opening of new schools or renovations. Um, but I know that work happens every day, each and every day, every night, every morning. Um, so yeah, really appreciate everything you do for our kids and keeping our schools, you know, clean and safe and all ready for them to go every day. So, big thank you to to you and your teams for all the work that you do. And Joe, for what it sounds like, we might need to get you guys some like a pony branded golf cart to drive around in. [laughter] >> Those are so big. >> You did. I think I saw it on the uh consent agenda. [laughter] >> Oh, so cool. >> Thank you. Oh, obviously crucial work. Um, so through all this the the the all this the new buildings and and the renovations to Oakland, anything that that was put in front of you that you thought, >> "No way. You can't get [laughter] that done. >> Is there anything? >> I'm still thinking. >> I know. I was >> it. They they amaze me at the last minute. The construction guys can pull it together, get things done. Of course, they could give us a little bit more time to clean up after them. But [laughter] they do pull it together and it you're looking at like how you going to finish this and it somehow they get it finished. >> They pull enough guys in. >> Very cool. Anyone else? I guess it's the same for me overall. I didn't think the school would be finished on time, but it [laughter] was >> they pulled it together. >> You guys did it. >> It's a little bit of a work in progress, but we're getting there. >> Yeah. Awesome. >> Settling in trying to figure out how things are going to operate, but >> Right. Oh, that's great. >> And I would like to recognize this is really where the power lies in a school district because when I work for another school district, I know the only thing that could shut me down when I was running the pools was the custodians because they're the ones that could make sure that pool was working. And the same thing in a building. So unless it's a snowstorm, it could be the power going out, the heat not working, the pipes bursting or something like that. You are the one guys that can keep the uh that can make a building have to cancel. So, and we don't have to do that. So, you're doing something right. We appreciate that. >> Well, then um a plug. I think we're always hiring. So, um, if you want to work, if anyone at home's watching and wants to work with the fun crowd here, this, [laughter] go to our website and check out the opportunities. So, um, thank you all so much for coming. >> Um, we really appreciate having you and just have, I mean, it's been long days, so thank you for making some time to come in. >> Absolutely. >> Great. Have a great [applause] day. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Okay, now public comment. Um, so we have one speaker tonight, Nate Coswell. Hope I'm pronouncing that right. And Nate can come sit at the same table here. And I'll go ahead and read the public comment expectations real quick. The school board encourages community input. While comments and questions are welcome, law prohibits the board from discussing concerns about individual employees or students in a public meeting. The board will not deliberate, discuss, or engage in conversation with speakers. However, the board may ask administration to review the concerns presented. Speakers must present their testimony in a respectful manner. Vulgarity, character attacks, malice, or specific complaints identifying staff or students by name or implication will not be permitted. We will stop the proceedings immediately if employee or student privacy issues are raised and direct the speaker to forward their comments regarding individual employees or students to the superintendent. So, with that mouthful, welcome. >> Thank you. Uh, good evening board members. >> And I should say really quick, there's three minutes and Katie is here just to help with the time. >> Got it. Thank you. Um, good evening. My name is Nate Caswell. I'm speaking here tonight not only as a parent of two first grade students attending St. Croy Prep, uh, but also a member of the greater Stillwater community. Well, I understand the district as a whole is facing a large budget shortfall this year. It appears the change is being made to the to close the budget gap is having a ripple effect across the district. I understand that no transportation system uh or school schedule will satisfy everyone. I also understand that balancing district-wide logistics is difficult. However, the transportation changes being made at the district level have had a disproportionately negative effect on nearly all Sincare Prep students and families we've talked to regarding this issue. The changes implemented asked our young students and families to absorb an unreasonable amount of the burden while appearing to dismiss their concerns. My daughters just started first grade and what used to be a 6-minute bus ride to school has now turned into 54 minutes in the morning and over 30 minutes in the afternoon. What if it were what if you were in their shoes? Imagine your employer said you now have your new office is now 54 minutes away instead of six. Would you rethink continuing to work for them? Would you wonder how much respect your company had for you as an employee and if they actually cared about the impact this would have on you and your family? That's how we feel as parents of students who now must choose between sending their children on a bus for an hour and a half to two hours a day or rearranging work schedules, coordinating car pool days with other families, and bringing in extra help just to avoid this disaster of a transportation plan altogether. Under this year's transportation plan, our kids are expected to ride four different buses between two different transfer stations. A six-year-old should not be expected to independently navigate buses bus transfers. Young children become distracted. They make mistakes. They become frightened. And they need adults who know their names and are responsible for ensuring their safe they arrive safely and where they belong. Parents have been given very little reassurance about what safeguards are actually in place to prevent children from boarding the wrong bus, being left behind, or becoming separated during these transfers. While I'm not naive to the fact that something needs to give in order to balance the budget, it's obvious that St. incorrect prep students and families are subsidizing the district's transport transportation deficit while simultaneously getting a significantly less efficient, less safe and worse service. I urge a board to reconsider the current transportation model before asking students and families to endure years of assistance that places a disproportionate burden on our young students. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay. Um that concludes public comment. So with that, we'll call the meeting to order. Joan, roll call. >> Director Gerspitch >> here. >> Director Hawkert >> here. >> Director Kelzenberg >> here. >> Director Lowour >> here. >> Dr. Parker >> here. >> Director Theelander >> here. >> Chair Sherman >> here. You have a quorum. Great. Let's stand for the pledge. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Uh, first up is an approval of our agenda. I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve. Can I get a second? >> I'll second. >> Great. Um, was that Theelander? Is that you? >> Okay. Correct. >> Uh, Director Theelander with the second. All those in favor of approving tonight's agenda, raise your hand and say I. >> I. I. >> Opposed. Agenda passes. With that, we'll go to the superintendent report. I'll defer my comments till later when in the presentation tonight. >> Okay. Um I do not have anything this evening and we will go to our consent agenda. Joan has items A through F on the screen. Is there a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda? >> I'll move to approve consent. >> Director Hawker. Second. >> I see you out of the corner of my eye. We got Lowour with the second. All those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda, raise your hand and say I. I >> I >> opposed. Consent agenda passes. Okay. Uh now we're going to have I think Chris and Marie come up. Under strategic direction C. Utilize systems and align resources in an efficient manner to support learning. We have an action item tonight. It's the 2628 St. Croy Parrofessional Association master contract. Welcome. >> Thank you. Good evening, directors. Chair Sherman. Um, we're just waiting for the presentation to come up here. >> Stretch. Stretch. >> Tell us a little bit about yourself. >> Tell us a little bit about yourself. [laughter] >> Um, so um, we started meeting um, with the Perez. Um, I'm just going to say that it was really nice to hear that the Paris were interested in negotiating over the summer. Um so that was a big change for us and that allowed us to get this done um you know in a much more um expedient time frame. Um we met uh we met five times um and so uh the paras were very motivated as well. Um so these are the highlights of of the agreement that we came to. Um there were language updates um around the probationary period, the insurance language uh that is consistent among other contracts. Um health exams um that is a removal of those. Um and then we made changes to the spring postings process in order to streamline that. Um and then just added um like a a date for um giving retirement notice. Um the short-term disability benefit was eliminated um that we have done that across the board with the other groups. um extended the LT or sorry shorten the time period for LTD um and then um increased longevity pay as you can see the 403b um 3.65 65 is a little bit different than what we have in others. Um and then um wage increases that reflect um two and two 2% in year one and 2% in year two. >> Um >> just comment on that. >> So that is not a 2% across the board. That's 2% maybe averages to 2% across the board but it is not necessarily 2% for every person. >> Right. >> It's a little bit different. So, it's >> it's it's not just a flat 2%. It it changes within the schedule, but that's what it equates to. But I think it's important for the board to hear that uh that we're not just adding the 2% on top of everything else. >> Thank you. Yep. Any questions about any of the >> No. Um um so the settlement of this agreement does um represent um staying within board parameters um as we agreed to and so um our recommendation uh that we bring forward to you today is that you would approve um this contract settlement. >> Great. Um I'll go ahead and make the motion to approve. Is there a second? >> Great. Director Kellenberg with the second. Any questions for Chris or Marie? I just want to say um this has been uh helpful and I know it's just a ton of work on your end and also from our pair of professionals and so this is like the first time we've had something settle so early so that commitment is super appreciated. So I know that's a lot of work for you guys. Um also I have to say like I find myself even um steering people towards our website for all the updates and so I know that that also is falling on staff and it's very appreciated. I think it helps give the community more information on um these important items. So >> um and if I can just add one other thing too, um working with this group of of para negotiators is uh you know is just a pleasure. They are um they always come in in good spirits. They're always um you know very direct. They're willing to you know talk back and forth and consider other feedback and and you know big picture things. Um they're just wonderful to work with. >> Awesome. Good to hear. >> Great. >> Great. Seeing no questions, um we have a motion in a second. So raise your uh we'll ask everyone if you're in favor, raise your hand and say I >> opposed. >> Great. Contract passes unanimously. Thank you so much. >> Actually, Chris, you're staying around. I don't know if Marie. [laughter] Um okay, so our next item is an action item. Uh teacher retirement association part-time teacher program approval. Yeah. So, this is just something that came up. It's a little bit different. Um, we haven't really seen it before. Um, at least obviously not in my short tenure. Um, and so this is a requirement that TRA has established and this will allow um a part-time teacher um to continue to collect full-time TRA. Um, so the district will pay the portion of the of the teacher's TRA up to their current FTE and then they will pay um for their TRA contributions beyond that. So it doesn't it doesn't cost the district anything to do this. However, TRA does require that either we have a policy in place or we have a resolution consenting our agreement to in support of this program and this person's participation. >> Great. Um before we let any questions kind of come your way, I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve. Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> Okay. And this will be a roll call vote, but if anyone has any questions for Chris. >> Great. and appreciate your um email to to the board. So, appreciate that. Okay, Joan, roll call. >> Dr. Gersovich, >> yes. >> Director Hawker, >> yes. >> Director Kelsenberg, >> yes. >> Dr. Law, >> yes. >> Dr. Parker, >> yes. >> Director Theelander, >> yes. >> Chair Sherman, >> yes. >> You have a quorum. Great. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. Our next >> motion motion passes with your unit. [laughter] >> Um, okay. So, now we're going to go to Dr. Funk for his report. >> It's true. We do. >> So, we're putting uh put this together tonight and I'm going to be talking for quite a bit here. That's why I didn't talk about my my other report. um really took a lot of the work that we've been doing as an administrative team and tried to synthesize a lot of what we learned in the retreat with uh Dennis Cheese broke a few weeks ago and put this together to really provide focus for us for the for the upcoming school year. So within it, I'm going to talk about various initiatives and things we're we're working on and we're working towards. And then at the end of this presentation, um we kind of have a calendar laid out for potential um work session or study session topics. Um certainly listen to your your feedback on that. And those are could be partial topics. We could add we could always add as things come up to those to those working sessions. So really, you know, as I look at it, uh this is my fifth year I believe in the district now. You know, when I got here initially, we put a strategic plan together and we we had a lot of things that we were going to try and get done. And so we've got a lot of building blocks in place and this is what I would call the delivery year. Okay? And this year we're we're not necessarily focusing on future change. It's it to use a football analogy, it's the blocking and tackling. Okay, it is all right, we've got the the systems in place. Um now, can we execute with discipline and consistency? And so that that's really going to be the focus for our admin team um and and the board, I would hope, uh for the 26 27th school year. Slide. So, um, you've just going back a couple years, you know, we had the bond approved, so we were getting the planning done. Um, we really implemented priority based budgeting in the 2425 school year. We've been talking about a high school schedule for a number of years now. Um, and then, uh, other choices within the the organization were clarified and that really was, you know, related to calendar, start times, things like that. um 2526 uh the other thing in 24-25 we had reductions in 2526 we had you know total of 5.7 million in in change 4.6 Six of it was ongoing reductions. We introduced the new K5 literacy model to go with the science model that we had introduced two years earlier, but the delivery of science had changed. That was new for 2526. We've had to reorganize um as part of the budget cuts for on the leadership team and we also prepared new boundaries and a reset in the transportation plan. So he which gets us to 2627. We've opened two new schools. Uh today is the second day of the actual block at Stillwater Area High School. Um we are in the process of modernizing our core business systems and we're really a lot of the the administrative team this year is focusing on the experience, our student experience, our employee experience, our family experience. >> Um just a quick question um for people watching at home. when you say modernized core systems um I believe can you just explain what those are? >> Yep. So I mean a quick example for us is our phone system. Okay. So easy one is over the summer we transition to a new phone system. So now we actually can get voicemail delivered to our inboxes for email. It can be forwarded to our cell phones. um we were really working on a um kind of an analog based system for I don't know how many years the district had it and so and and the nice part about that system is it's more inexpensive because it's a digital system. Um so that's one piece and we'll get more into it here in a little bit but we're also going to have to update our business and HR systems which I believe are going to be obsolete in a year or two. Um so that's how old that they have been and antiquated. Um so again those are some really um a lot of heavy lifting internally for a lean team when we um are going to be transferring data and information and how we do things to a new system and then teaching um the team who's currently operating with the old system how to use the new system. So a lot of behind thescenes work going on there. And is that funded through the technology levy for the most part or >> it's technology level and and ongoing operations. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Um so we again we've got a strong base. Uh we've got the facilities that are online now. We've been able to maintain our balance operating budget during my time here. Um though it's been very tight. Um, we have some instructional momentum and we are continuously developing leadership capacity throughout the district. Um, what pressures do we have? Okay, so we have a good solid base, but we also have some real pressures coming at us as a school district. Enrollment. All right. As I drive around, you know, I was driving through Woodbury yesterday and I passed the leadership academy and I passed I don't know how many new preschools that uh that we have within the community. Um which are, you know, closer part of our district. Um so we are, you know, in addition to the traditional peer competitors that we've had. Um so that that is something that um and that's just at the school level and you know at the high school level we're talking post-secary and we're talking online. Um so we've done some things with the new schedule to address both of those. Uh continuing cost and mandates. You know one of the pressures coming at us is we still have a a state mandate to reduce $250 million statewide in special education. All right. What is that going to mean for our school district? We'll have an opportunity to take a look at that here in a few months at one of our our work sessions. Um implementation capacity. So we are asking our staff who just adopted reading to now now we are aligned to the new reading standards but we are looking at adopting new math curriculum which hasn't been you know I think it's been close to 15 years since we've we've changed anything with math. So we're piloting math this year. Okay. how what what kind of pressure does that put on our staff and and do we have capacity for that? And then um you know discipline and and trust and and discipline is a um couple different things. We could talk student discipline um and how we are being consistent in that and and how you know our community can trust us. Um but it's also the discipline of maintaining and sticking to these systems in a in a consistent manner which we're adopting. So um those are real world pressures that we're we're looking at as a school district. And feel free to ask questions as I'm going along here. So again, so as as we look at 2627, we're opening the schools. Um we'll we'll have an update on how where that's at here in in sometime in the next few weeks. Um we're going to continue to strengthen teaching and learning. And I'll go through each one of these as we go through the slides. And we were really looking at the the the student, the family, and the and the employee experience. Um modernize operations, continuing to sustain the district, and then building capacity throughout. >> Uh Dr. Funk, I just had one and I I'm, you know, I'm thinking we talk a lot about enrollment and we've talked a lot about that this year at the board table. Um, so we have the welcome center, right? We we're calling families when they opt for a different option to kind of delve into that information. We've got the high school schedule to try to kind of better compete with um with competitors that we have. Um, is there anything else that you have on your radar that your staff that I'm >> attention? >> Okay. >> Okay. So if we have parents, one of one of the areas of focus for us, if somebody wants to transfer their student out of the district because of an experience they're having within their buildings, um we are reaching out above the building level because they may be upset with what happened in the classroom and they may not like how the principal responded. Okay, if we get if it gets to somebody within the central office, which we have somebody dedicated to now that they can talk to and are the things we can work to through together and if we can't, we want to leave them with a good feeling that they're always welcome to come back, but um being proactive in retaining um our students. >> Perfect. Thank you for that. So, uh, really we're looking at who's responsible for what, what what are the what's the evidence we're looking at? Are we gonna how are we going to check in mid year throughout the year? And then if we have to make adjustments, we will do so. Uh, okay. We've heard me say this at nauseium, but we've opened Lake Lake Elmo and Bayport. Um, I didn't want to give a superintendent report because we've only been in school a week, but in a few weeks, we're going to be able to have an in-depth discussion on what we're seeing as far as experience from families, um, feedback from, uh, from staff. um and and what's happening with that um high school schedule. Um we will have some data I would say probably not in a couple weeks but probably in October um on impact on if we're seeing any sort of change in post-secary options. I'm not expecting to see a lot right now. Um where I'm more curious is how is our new online school impacting um online enrollment elsewhere. I think you if we're going to move the needle someplace that might be an early indicator right there at least initially >> and getting that baseline data is so important I think I mean I know this is just the first year but >> um so again what what are families looking for what are people looking for access flexibility um how can we support and how do we retain >> yes >> um thank you for that when you're talking about the retention to the question that Allison, sorry, Chair Sherman asked. >> Um, with the district staff being able to potentially intervene above at the school level, how do we balance that with also the principal autonomy or school autonomy? Like, how do we balance that as a as a district? >> And I wouldn't [clears throat] call it an intervention. It's an awareness. is so we cuz sometimes somebody may shut down. They don't want to talk to the principal about it. I I haven't been helped, whatever. So then like they they're maybe more willing to share with somebody else who's not in the situation and you know and we can explore different options. Um, so it's it's just recognizing that sometimes there's personal conflict and is there something we can do to try to um, you know, problem solve the situation? >> And so, yep, >> I would imagine too that maybe if they maybe one of their issues is something they don't understand, maybe there's another school that could better meet their needs based on what they're looking for. having someone that can troubleshoot like would be helpful, you know, instead of just leave instead of there's alternatives other than just leaving the district. >> Correct. Um yeah, that's that is what that is the intent of that or part of the intent of it. >> Thank you. >> Um so again, after the first 30 days, you'll hear us talk about openings. You'll hear concerns about, you know, the transportation model, uh, challenges we've had with it, opportunities with it. Um, and you, you know, you heard some feedback tonight on on some of the feedback on the two-tier model, um, that we're we're hearing. Um, but we can have a, I think, a pretty candid discussion as a, as a collective group around that. Um, you know, over the n 90 days. Um you'll hear more data as we are further into it. um you know particularly around have the transportation issue settled down as I said we'll have better data on what we're seeing as far as PSO and online enrollment that we can share with the board and then really the triggers for you as a board are okay do we have any significant safety issues occurring um or you know later on in the year as we start looking at transitioning some of these systems um which I don't think are going to happen really till probably spring um Okay, what's our risk as we do the changeover and how do we mitigate that risk? And and I mentioned payroll in particular because payroll continues throughout the school year for [snorts] you know a number of our employees two times a month and so we have to make sure that you know that's a major trigger something's going on um and people aren't getting paid because of a change in system. So, u I can tell you that our tech team and our our finance and and HR folks um are already meeting having discussions. Okay, what are we going to need to do uh as as we work through this transition? Um um teaching and learning. So, reading has improved according to our FastBridge data. You'll get a deeper dive into all of our scores in reading and math and science from the MCA level um in October. Uh math has been pretty stable over time, but we are looking at uh adopting a new K12 curriculum um for math and we have piloting going on throughout the district right now. Um baseline data for high school failures um as we talked to you a few months ago, we're down 41% in failures since 2022. And then you can see that uh um that's our percentage of Fs that we we we receive at the uh high school level that our students get at 1.9%. Um so we are looking at um big focus for us is how are we improving or impacting student learning. Can I ask a question just because the um curriculum I know was a major focus when you first started kind of looking at some of our outdated curriculum >> and you mentioned I'm glad you're thinking about that balance where what's the tipping point with some of this knowing that we need to be more serious and intentional about what we update. Um can you talk a little bit about that balance that you mentioned in this presentation? And then also just really quick is the math going to go through the same thing where the community can come in >> um like similar to literacy? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> It will um so that the per the the community the math committee will do the similar and when we when we decide on different math curriculum they will be able to come in and review it. >> Okay. I like I really think that that's helpful for the community. So I I regarding the uh implementation fatigue and I'm going to talk about that here in a little bit. I can I can touch on it now when we are asking staff to here's a great scenario. All right. You're teaching in a new building. Your new building has open spaces where you can now teach in addition to your classroom. You now have a teaching assistant. um because this is the model we are going to you are in year two of your literacy adoption and by the way some of you are piloting math. Okay. So that is a clear example of initiative fatigue within some of our buildings. Not all of them and and again we're only piloting at certain grade levels in certain buildings throughout the district. But when we hear staff that they feel stressed um this is what you know the real world we're feeling feeling that they're having you know at the uh at at the secondary level the fatigue is all right you are now asking me to teach in a new manner that I have not taught when I have to teach 85 minutes how am I going to do that and we can train and and provide different u concepts and ideas to to to do it, but it's different. And then, oh, and besides that, yep, some of you are going to be doing math piloting at the secondary level as well. Um, so those are some real world challenges that we're we're facing. The other thing I think that is just, you know, and we talked about it a few meetings ago is this this whole idea of guaranteed and viable curriculum. And that is for a long long time schools and Still Water is no different. Teachers were okay here's the curriculum go do it. And there wasn't necessarily district level expectations aligned to the standards. And so that is uh implementation fatigue for some people. You mean I have to teach to these standards? What if I want to teach something else? Okay, that's how you deliver the standards is the is the art of what you're doing. Um, but there there's that tension of, you know, I want to do this. Well, fine, but we have this is what we have to, you know, our our guarantee to our community. So, that is a stress um that is felt within the system as well. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Generally speaking, for when those issues kind of come up, you know, of stress or fatigue, what are kind of the supports that are in place for dealing with them? >> Yeah, we have um one example would be uh we have instructional coaches >> that that they can reach out to. Um we also have um teams of teachers that meet in in uh CAT teams or professional learning communities on a weekly basis where they can share okay I'm struggling with this what are you you know how can we work together they're not the key here is our our folks are our staff is not alone okay they have other people within the district who can help support them uh either at the collegial field level or with coaches or or with their principles. Um but in the in the fact that um I think it's important to know that we do recognize this that these are some some pretty significant lives that you know have been occurring over time. You know, one of the things that we tried to do um you know, was with science in particular, and this is feedback I received last year from from my visits in the buildings was if we were still having to teach science and having to adopt the new literacy, we would be we would be drowning. So that was just a district level adjustment to the um you know reduce some of the stress um from from that because again a lot of staff I I had an interesting discussion uh a week ago couple weeks ago with some staff members in one of our buildings and they were so worried about having to teach about to the test and I I said I'm not worried about the test and they just kind of looked at me. I said, "If we are adopting our curriculum and it's aligned with the standards, this test is going to take care of itself. >> It's not worrying about a test. It's okay. Are we, you know, are we teaching the right material that's aligned to what the state's requiring us?" Um, so that's just a different uh view of uh um you know, as because they're worried about the test. No, I'm not worried about test. I'm worried about our students learning what they need to learn to to be successful in school. >> And I I think it's helpful that and I'm glad that you're continuing that superintendent and residents because it's something I think all that feedback is really valuable to hear so that you can bring it back to your team, too. So, I appreciate you having an eye on that fatigue. >> Okay. Next, um, one of the real areas of focus, and I've heard this a lot from from, uh, our our admin team, um, you know, this has been on our strategic plan since uh, the 23 school year, and that is student engagement. Okay, are our kids engaged in in in class? And this was a significant concern that came up last spring when we were meeting with our student advisory group at the high school. All right, we are not universally engaged at the high school and that is part of the reason we want to look at other options. So what are we doing to measure student engagement? Um and so we are looking at some tools that we can utilize for this for this year that we can measure student engagement and then we can report that back to the to the admin team and and share that information with the board. Um as you me as I mentioned we've got the pilot going on. Um we're continuing continuously moving towards improving our literacy delivery. Um and then we are trying to align coaching feedback to what our teacher needs are not just somebody I want somebody who to come into my room because I want them to see me. It's okay. Principal working with coaches can we help improve somebody who's struggling who may not want you to come in? >> Yeah. I had a question back on student engagement. What what are we looking what what is student engagement? >> We have currently we have what we call a sense of belonging survey. Okay. Do I feel do I belong in here? And so you know if I'm in a social studies class do we do different activities or does the teacher sit up and >> Okay. So within the classroom not in decision making. >> No no within the classroom. >> Okay. Thanks. Um and so this is really um again focus on student learning and the student experience. Um name, see, support, act and adjust. Uh student experience. Um we want belonging and trusted. Do all of our kids have somebody that they trust in every one of their buildings? um whether that's a teacher, whether it's a custodian, whether it's a pair professional, is there somebody that they can go to? Um they're challenged and supported at their level, whatever that level may be. Um we'll review attendance and discipline. You know, we're seeing attendance is is starting to come back up. Discipline is kind of a uh up and down. Um and we think part of that is because we're we're we're um reporting it in a different manner. Um as so we're going to try to get a consistent baseline for that um for families. Okay. When they communicate with us or when we provide communication, are we clear? Are we timely in our response to families when there's concerns at at the district level, at the building level? okay, they're being listened to um when they when they bring a concern to our to our attention. Um if they bring an issue to us um what's our response time? You know, I always try to respond to an email um within 24 hours um from a community member and um so they know, okay, the district's looking at it and then oftentimes I'm not the person who brings it to closure, it's somebody who works for me, but then we the team is responsive to that. Um and so again I think if families feel that uh um they bring an issue and we we address it, they may not always agree with us um but they they appreciate the you know if we have a positive uh professional interaction with them um you know employees uh you know identifying what the role is. I I think one of the things that I have uh you know when an organization has a lot of chaos and a lot of turnover um over time role clarity becomes mixed as far as who's responsible for what and so I I think by providing uh um a stabilizing team that that helps with clarity clarity um access to support and feedback um and that's really at the at the building level Um, of course, you know, they can certainly reach out to us as well, but but the expectation is it's addressed at the building level. And then what are we doing for employee retention and not only for teacher retention, which I think we're we are very our retention level is very high there. Um but our you know our our support folks um what can we do you know because we're we're competing in a lot of ways with with different industries for for money for for salaries for benefits but what about the experience and so one of the things real area of focus for us um as I have talked about for the uh the last couple years is our onboarding okay when when person comes in to the or all right, what's their experience and that's what they're going to remember that initial experience. Um so so being aware of these things, welcoming, following through with the delivery, um and communicating. And I know this, um really quick because we talk about like the new standards and curriculums and all these updates that create fatigue with teachers, but I mean we all were here and I want to be um tuned in to our principles express some of that same fatigue as well. And I'm sure um our pair of professionals, our custod, I mean it's it's not isolated to you know just one employee group. So um I just I think that's important for everyone to kind of keep in mind and I know that's your and your team's job to kind of address and it's hard for that fatigue is also on your team. I mean the budget [clears throat] cuts have impacted your team and um who's available to respond and how fast that can respond. So, I just want to acknowledge that when you're talking making 12.6 million in cuts or whatever the total has been in three years, it's across the organization. And so, I appreciate all everyone's efforts, I guess, and I know the board does as well. And you know, so >> thank you. Um, again, here's the modernize operations. mapping, what it's going to look like, data validation, controls, training, and then what if what if the transition goes wrong? Um, phones we've already talked about. Um, trans transportation we're still working through. You know, I will say that I think we've got one transfer site that continues to be a challenge with the amount of time. It's an after after school um Oakland Middle School. We we're having I think I've been there five of the last seven days. Um making sure when kids are getting off the bus and members of our directors have all been there um that they're transferring to the proper buses. Um you know, we're looking at, you know, one of the things we're looking at right now is the footprint of Oakland Middle School. All right? Because that parking lot is tight for for families. It's tight for buses on the other side. Are there some things that we can do to alleviate um some of the not only bus transportation but parent pickup issues? Um because again parents line up on on Manning Avenue to pick up kids. So we're looking at um we we've Mark has talked to our architecture team and we are looking at how we can potentially redesign uh those parking lots. um on more space um in the limited space that we've got there. >> Um tech. >> Yes. >> Mhm. >> First, thank you for the boots on the ground approach there. I really appreciate between the superintendent and residents and this is a great example as well of bringing administrative leadership to where there is something that needs to be addressed and and addressing it. So, I I really appreciate that. Thank you for that. and and and not just that but as a a as a trend and as a a practice um with the business system transition thinking about how stakeholders are engaged how will you guys think about engaging the board to deliver to our needs or to things that we may interface with that transition. >> Yep. So, I would imagine sometime this winter, um, as we start to lay out the model, um, we will sit down and have a a discussion with the board on what that is and what that looks like. Um, because again, that's a great point. You're going to have to be aware, just, you know, not only aware from a implementation angle, but okay, what if and why are we doing this? and you know what are some potential um you know gotchas that could come out of it >> and we're a stakeholder we're we're a user of it we're a consumer of the data so >> thank you >> any other questions >> uh you know again we have to operate within the board approved budget um you know we are continuing to look at how we can imp do things from a variance angle um and I think Marie and her team have been hodge podgeing something together that uh um we hopefully will be rolling out here fairly soon. I can also tell you that once we go to a modern system, some of these reporting things um I I'm anticipating they will be simpler for us um when we're you know here's a question for you. I mean is part this is probably for Marie but I mean is part of this still like on an old IBM like green screen system? Yeah, that's how old we are. >> [snorts] >> Um, so >> and I do think like sometimes people think that they don't understand that that when you have resources that they even people on your team, the first place people want those resources to go are to our students and in the classroom and um yeah, so I'm excited that this is going to get updated for our folks. um fund balance. Um we will continue to uh strive to to get to that uh in these tight fiscal times. Um you know it's going to be challenging with a murky state picture coming at us. Um, we will, I would imagine, well, I'm not not imagining, my proposal here is actually, I believe in January, start talking about a potential levy for the school district for probably the fall of 2027. Um, we will provide a budget projection here. You'll see the I think our auditors are going to probably present in November. Um you'll so you'll see um a an update on our fund balance there um at the earliest and then quarterly is you won't see much change throughout the year but you should see it at the audit and you'll see it again I think as we are projecting for the 26 20 or 2728 school year um next June um structural realignment you know we are we doing TAS now we have reduced some folks at the central level. We've reduced some folks at the building level administratively um and um we are going to see what how that impacts us budget-wise moving forward. >> Can I ask really quick from a budget standpoint? One of the main things we talk a lot about is the special ed cuts that are coming statewide. Mhm. >> Um I know that those blue ribbon commissions for both um the compensatory and the sped are October, I think, is when they're due. Do you know when information would ever trickle down to what that cut would mean for us or to I mean when would that come to you? >> Yeah, I will have it. I mean, I've got a pretty good idea of what they're looking at right now, but that's their recommendation. That doesn't mean the legislaturator is going to do it, >> right? >> Okay. So, so I believe in November on the calendar here, we're going to be talking about that. Um, what that looks like for the district based upon their recommendations. >> Okay. Because that's I still haven't found what that would I mean they it seems like they have their proposal like you said >> that will be finalized and put forth in October, but I'm unclear with you know how that's all going to balance and what that would look like. So, because it's for the next school year. Yes. So I mean it's going to make budgeting challenging >> but it's always challenging in a legislative funding. >> Yeah. >> So but it's just that it compounds to it though, >> right? Because it could be significant, right? Thank you. >> Uh go back just a second. [sighs] Yeah. Okay. Next slide. Um enrollment and staffing. So, one example of that is very we are in a very this time of year is very challenging for staffing because we get kids rolling in over the summer and then we know they're enrolling but we have kids leaving that have not necessarily told us they're leaving yet. And so we have staffing that is determined on a it's an insecure number. We don't know if it's a, you know, because we have students who are leaving. We know we have kids in, but we don't know how many students are going out yet. So, that really does not balance until about one October, the first few weeks of the the year. Um, and so one of the things we're able to do now with the TA model is I mean, did we add a section? I added a first grade teacher a few weeks ago and but we've also been able to add a couple of TAs that won't cost us a whole section. Um which is provides more agility and flexibility within staffing. So I think that feels better. Um, you know, my horror story is, I think two or three years ago, we added staff who had been saying, "We need staff, we need staff, we need staff all summer long, and we told the principal, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." We finally added a teacher and then within days, uh, we lost like 10 kids from that from that grade level. >> Um, and so they had small small class sizes. So, we're able to to shift that better this year. The other thing is fifth grade at one of our buildings last year, we had 10 kids moved in mid year. All right? And without the flexibility of the TA model, they had some very large class sizes that um you know that were not planned for. Um so with TAs, we will be able to have that flexibility to adjust. So that that's a um a positive for us. But you should be able to see FTE updates not only for teaching staff but we're looking at um for our uh for our TAs um as the year progresses here. The other thing is um I've been talking pretty much regular education, special education, you know, I think we're at I believe eight CIP classrooms. um within the district. And I think we started last year with five or six. Um so we we have a it's kind of a double-edged um statement here that I'm going to make. We are getting very good positive um reputation for some of our special ed programming. So then people want to move into the district for our special ed programming and the special ed program I am talking about is very expensive when you have a maybe a teacher and two pairs for 10 students. Um so and and particularly when special education is not fully funded. >> Um so that is a again an FTE impact um impacted by a certain type of enrollment. Um, we've talked long range. Uh, Marie and I have talked about that. I believe in January. We're going to come and present a model um to the board on on what we believe is a an effective tool for for long range planning. um that will be we'll share that tool with you particularly in January because um it's January February because it's before we make some recommendations on priority based budgeting and it's as we roll into the uh negotiations year you know I believe all of our regular bargaining units where we actually bargain at the table um are now complete um so Chris and Marie and their teams can relax for a little at uh this [laughter] this year um on that side of their jobs. Uh but yeah, and and again, kudos to them for the PAR um contract. I I believe that's the earliest in in the recent history of Still Water Area Schools to get a contract on that soon. Um so um but we'll have some of that data for you to take a look at as we're we're setting parameters um as you're as we are working with you to set parameters for us um as a uh um as we enter go into negotiations um building leadership capacity. So this is new this year. Uh some of you were at the back to school thing heard me talk about it. We have a superintendent employee advisory council. You know I've got a community advisory council. We've got this the the financial community task force or committee that meets. I've got a student advisory council, but we don't have an employee one. >> You know, we've got different employee groups we may meet with for insurance or for meet and confer. Um but we don't necessarily have one where we talk about maybe some of these issues and how things are being um impactful. And this is all employees, okay? This isn't just one group. This is our, you know, our cooks, custodians, teachers, pair of professionals, support, admin, support folks. Um, so we're going to meet six times a year and, you know, I will report back to you this spring on what I'm hearing from those groups. I mean, we'll we'll have some action items that probably come out of it um when I meet with the group. Um, but as a board, you'll hear some trends. Same thing with superintendent residents. you know, you've heard me talk over the years and I talked about it over last year. Here's some feedback I'm hearing on testing or here's what I'm hearing on this. Um, so it's a good opportunity um for me to provide the board themes on that um leadership development. Um, we have done a really remarkable job. I think I am working with I think four individuals in the district right now who are working on getting their superintendent license. Um who are currently somewhere in the pipeline. Um so I'm working with the University of Minnesota, St. Thomas uh and I believe uh St. Mary's and then St. Cloud State. Um, so they all have different professors that um I meet with um with the the candidates to get their superintendent license, but this prepares us um pipeline of people, you know, when you're looking at longer term secession planning for the district. Same thing's going on at the at the principal level. Um we have people who are interested in beingcoming leaders in the district and um they're going back to school and they're working with at you know at the building level um on uh um you know so we can kind of uh continue to grow our own um and then uh um the other piece here is and is this piece called crossd district collaboration and we did this in a previous district that I was in But an example I can give you is maybe some during some of our uh professional development days we have okay in Sarah you asked this question earlier if people are struggling um say I'm teaching third grade math and it's just not clicking and I'm struggling with it. So we can not only collaborate at the you know building level but okay host let's have a third grade meeting in the district and then we can talk okay we got seven schools of third grade teachers here what are challenges that you're seeing and and they can really um problem solve that way and and the other thing is and we don't know how we're going to do this but you know all of our buildings are doing great things and they all feel different stresses and nobody's working as hard as we are. You know, that's that's what they're feeling. And so one of the things we have talked about as a as a administrative team is can we do a transfer of fourth grade teachers. Okay. So, we want you to go teach in this building for two or three days, and then that fourth grade teacher will come and teach in this building for two or three days. And then they can hear, okay, this is how this building is doing it. So, they're not feeling quite so isolated um in, you know, their their team within their building. So, these are some some different ideas that we've been talking about to uh um to address that issue. Um so active risk if I were to take a look this comes from my military background. We we have uh um a risk assessments we do all the time. Okay. So current active risk is opening complexity. All right. Buildings are looking good. The two of the three are um we still have some challenges we're working through at at Oakland Middle School. An example, last week, uh the board is aware of the new holes we had to put in some of the classrooms to due to some code issues with the city of Lake Elmo. Well, with those new holes, um, they are those rooms are now exposed to the new addition that's on the outside, which has plastic barrier for for the uh it's not it's not keeping the heat out. So, I had a half dozen students on uh Friday in one of the classrooms email me at, you know, 2:20, 2:30 saying, "Hey, our room is hot. Can you fix it?" >> The students. >> The students [laughter] I don't know how all of them got together, but they were all very polite. >> So, it just happened to be, as I say to the board, I've been at Oakland Middle School almost every day. So, about 3:00, I walked into their classroom. I said, "I hear your your classroom is hot." [laughter] >> And I went and I talked to the principal and I talked with Mark and on Monday, they got portable air conditionings in all those building. They'd already planned it because they'd already been hearing it. But I mean that is a okay that's a opening issue. We have hot kids and uh um now we've got portable units in there to to address the issue. But that's just you know but yeah so they kids reached out and that was um financial pressure. I mean you know this is I wish I were here to say that this is going to get easier. Um I I think we're going to be operating in a tight environment. Um, you know, I think we're I I want to put a uh a special message out to our communications [clears throat] team. Um, I think the the communications that have gone on at the beginning of the school this year have been phenomenal. Um, very positive for the district and I I think, you know, the more we can positively promote the district, the more uh that that is going to help us on the enrollment side, which in turn will help us on the finance side. But I I would be um disingenuous if I said I'm not super worried about finances with what's happening at the state level. >> Um so again, we we need to keep an awareness there. We need, you know, we're going to talk legislative here um in sometime in the next few months. Um but you our worry is okay are we seeing a material variance that Marie will bring to our attention um that we are going to you know is the fund balance as small as is are we are we going to be going the wrong way and that's something you would need to know about um for sure as a school board and then we've talked systems transition uh a number of times already but those are the the big risk that I see as we're as we're moving forward um there's the imple implementation fatigue. We talked about um you know, are we asking staff for too much? Um you know, do we have to delay maybe some some uh um implementation if if that's the case? Um and there's what we're talking about um the uh the discipline piece. Are we being consistent in how we approach discipline? you know, we've got the uh um the the matrix, the discipline matrix that we follow. Are we consistent about that? Um I think we have been over the last couple years, which I think is impacting some folks that because we are being consistent in our follow-through, and I don't think we always were. Um are we do we have intervention supports in place for our students? Um and then you know what uh are we seeing a lot of uh incidents and and by that and not not only overt incidents but you know what happened during ice the ice thing this year? Okay kids not coming to school um because of other factors. Um so those are all um things that uh can rise to your awareness as as a board. Um there's the baseline for learning. You know, that's where we're at. Reading is improving. Um math has been stable. High school failures down. Um again, one of the things that I'm trying to be sensitive to is we we have done a decent job of slowly moving the lead needle up incrementally within literacy. Uh I I don't like the word stable. We should be moving the needle up in math and and science as well. And the next evidence you're going to see on that will be, you know, our MCA data in the fall and you'll see some more FastBridge data in the spring. Um Sabers is our, you know, students were at risk for uh um mental health issues. Um and then student engagement is something we haven't established the baseline on yet, but uh that is what we're going to adopt a tool. We'll have a meeting with the teacher leadership on that and then we will roll that out. >> Um can >> I ask really quick on the student because I know you also meet with student leadership. >> Yes. >> Teams. Can is that an opportunity to get some of their insight on how to measure engagement or is that something you would actually include them in? or is that >> I think we could include them in some gen baseline district level results to get what their thoughts are. >> Okay. Just I'm just thinking of like they might have a good idea >> say whether it's consistent or not with what they feel or what their their peers feel, >> right? or even and I guess I'm just thinking more of like their ideas on what metrics to look at like how can they tell because I know um yeah I just I mean I even know like after we had the personal device policy it was interesting for our kids that were at the board table our students that they noted like people were going to dances more people were engaged more I mean all of that is a form that we want to be able to Yeah. >> Not just in the classroom. >> Exactly. um enrollment, you know, we need to meet or exceed the projection and then improve our retention. Um you will we are doing a deep dive in enrollment sometime in the spring. Um as far as the uh the work sessions next uh you know we balance the budget we've 5.7 offset 5.7 million offset um quarterly update will occur like I said probably November. Um operations we've rolled out the two schools they're on budget. uh the two-tier transportation model. Um we are still, you know, when we get capital dollars, one of the things we're looking at is purchasing more vans to help us out with some of the midday transportation pressure and cost. Um and you'll hear within 30 days. Uh what we're looking at as far as the school openings and and what we're seeing with transportation. Um so basically help us stay student focused. Uh ask questions related to risk. Do we need to fix do we need to adjust something now? Um you know avoid initiative drift. I mean you you heard me talk about the implementation fatigue. um and then you know build trust um with within the district and in the wider community. Um so when we provide you these updates and the first one will be you know coming up here in September what evidence has changed are we seeing any risk emerging or is it or is it being mitigated? Uh are we having to fix anything? And then do we need to make any decisions here? So here's kind of the roadmap and and again feel free I'm just curious uh you know I shared this with the board leadership uh the chair and the vice chair last week uh you know I think first 30 days is we're going to really sit down and okay what are we hearing from families what what what's the experience so far um what are we hearing at the high school um October we're going to look at um couple different things you're going to see your MC CA data where we can have a good discussion. Um we can talk about course offerings at the high school, new courses coming on board and okay what's been the impact of the new offerings on our online and PSO competition. Um November we will have the the blue ribbon task force the special education task force the compensatory and their recommendations and what would that mean for the school district. We will also hopefully get our information back from MSBA about what this proposed health insurance plan for employees and schools statewide, how that would impact us here locally in Still Water and then really start to have a discussion on okay, what are our priorities as the legislation um you know especially if compensatory task force says we want to do this >> and the special education task force says, "Well, we want to do this and we don't necessarily agree as a school district how that because that may impact us." Um, so but but really we can have that discussion in November. Um, January, we would take a looking at at uh fiscal forecast, levy discussion. Um, you know, if we make some decisions or here's the forecast, what does this mean for us? what are the future imple implications of this? Uh February is really our first time with the board when we're looking at okay, here's what we're projecting as a budget. Um here's what we are thinking as far as priority based budgeting. Um part of this will be probably a a close session discussion on what we feel comfortable with for for parameters for um our employee groups moving forward. Um so that we are clear rolling into that. Um in March we are looking at student data, student experience data, uh student engagement, Sabers data. We're also going to take a look at where we are at fastbridgeidge-wise um with our students um seeing that we will have at that point the uh the fall and the winter results. Um in April we are looking at enrollment and there's a couple of different pieces there. Um you know I think the we have not had a demographic study in the district since 2022. I think the board is going to want to take a look at okay you know we are making some assumptions that are about future enrollment that are now four years old. Um so the cost I am from what I can gather the cost of a demographic study would be between 30 and $50,000 um for the district. Something the board can weigh as we as we roll into into that. But we will do a deeper dive into what we're seeing in enrollment. And by that I mean we can show you who our who our competitors are, where most of our students outside district go to school, what students go from one school in the district to another. Um so there there's a lot of uh um our choice offerings, what we're seeing there as far as AU and uh um our um gifted program. Um >> can I ask a quick question before you go any further? Um when you're mentioning the demographic study, will there be any demographic studies that we if we have a levy discussion as well, will they be part of that discussion or will it be >> Yeah, kind of like the >> Yeah, so the levy discussion is Yeah, this great question. So we plan on doing the levy discussion initially in January. >> Historically, Cararissa helped me out here sometime. Is it in the spring we roll out with the >> Yes. >> Morris Leatherman survey and >> then a brush fire kind of later. There's a 20ome thousand survey. I know they're probably 25 now. Um to get what they do is they get you provide the board a feel for what the community threshold is. Okay. If my taxes are going to go up x amount, what's the how will that impact the level of support within the community? They will also do a survey probably six weeks before the election to just give you if anything has shifted since the survey in the spring um for an awareness for the board. Um so that would be um yes something that we would take a look at as well. Um >> that would be separate from a demographic. demographic is is is looking at your student trends, your your birth rates, your um >> yeah um in in what the your your housing units, how many housing units, you know, if you have an apartment that brings in X amount point whatever kids versus this house and Yep. So that's totally different study. >> And sorry to continue on that route and maybe this is more for Mark. Um we've got all of these new apartments coming in in the southern part of the district. Will they be open by that point? Like would they be part of the demographic study? >> We have one of the one of the two if not both, just one of them is open. So, one of the two the the two that are across from each other by the Amazon warehouse. There's two of them. >> We're already getting kids from one of them. >> Um the other one's going to be coming online fairly shortly. And then it won't be until the spring I think of 27 that the one that is on Manning a little south of the >> the other thing is um and again Carissa and Mark have heard me um talk about this quite a bit um we have apartments that they close this elementary school I mean there's huge apartment buildings going up in uh Lake Elmo that are not in our district But the closest elementary school is Lake Elmo. Um, so what we're going to have to weigh there is how much do we I mean because Lake Elmo is already over 800 students and we built it for,00 um so I mean yes we need enrollment. Um, so anyhow, we think that we could, you know, market to those those new apartment complexes that are and and town homes that are really popping up right there. The other thing for the board's awareness is the city of Lake Elmo has given uh what's what's the they like some level of approval for a new 600 some housing multi- multi-ousing unit um across from the Holiday Station just north of 94 um >> so that it's just south of Oakland Middle School So they have given I can't remember the term they use but basically it's preliminary approval for the for the building to happen. Um so we are yeah we're going to see some pretty significant growth in the in the southern part of the district. >> Okay. Thank you. Um so then uh again in uh in May um we are looking at I will provide you feedback on from the different groups that uh I've been working with throughout the year um as far as experience thoughts fatigue. Um and then really at the end of June we'll kind of go to the next slide kind of look at this. Okay. What does success look like? How is it defined? All right. Are we gonna continue to achieve trending upward? Um what's the impact of our new course opportunities? Um Lake Elmo and Bayport stabilize. We have a consistent experience not only at Lake Elmo and Bayport but across the district. um you know, budget discipline. Um continuing to work uh on our enrollment and our retention and uh you know, the community sees competence. We're transparent and we follow through. Uh so it's going to be measured by outcomes, confidence, and trust. But we're intentional about what we do. Um, you know, I think we're if we're transparent about how we measure ourselves, um, I think that speaks well to the community. So, that's my thoughts on a quite a bit of time. Um, >> I think this has been incredibly helpful. Thank you. I mean, I think it's time well spent. Um, is this meant to be sort of or become a new strategic plan? What basically what this has done is it's taken pieces of our old plan. It's taken some of what we learned with Dennis over the last month and try to kind of meld them together. >> Um >> and so in my experience um probably in schools and in the military too often we create these lovely plans that look really good but >> they're not measurable. >> Yeah. And so what we're trying to do here is >> I mean I I I mean this is to me a seems like a really solid foundation. >> It's not perfect, but I mean it's >> for for a strategic plan. >> One thing I noticed that I just because a few of us have been here at the table um when we talk about fatigue from staff taking on a levy is a huge lift um people in this room and people outside this room. So, I don't know if that's factored in here, but um but it's a lot for a lot of people. So, >> that's fatigue for 2728. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> Yep. >> Oh, yes. >> Um thank you. And just to build on that, I also want to acknowledge a couple things. uh first acknowledge the uh while we may not have the the effort of the lefty potentially this year, we are basically blowing up everything that finance and HR touches in the next year with every system and every piece of work. So that recognize that they they have uh while resources are changing for them um that is a double extra hard lift that they have coming up. So, first acknowledging that. Um, second, just a a follow up on uh Sarah's comment. This um super responsive to what I saw in our um offsite. What do we >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Third reporter retreat. >> Thank you. Um super responsive to that. Uh even down to having slide numbers, which is a personal uh thing for me. So, thank you. >> Really? I didn't [laughter] >> You should take credit for it. Uh but you know so many things that that were brought up that that you know were key for me are demonstrated here u from a content perspective long-term model quarterly um slide numbers the structure of the document and just overall I think a and a calendar of of content for us to to discuss so we have some way to think about that and start to plan for that for board members. Um, so I just wanted to acknowledge that this is a number of things that were came out of that of that meeting and and other work and I'm I'm super excited about this and I'm I'm very impressed with what was delivered here. >> I'm sure I'll have questions as they as we go. >> I'm sure. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Yeah. know, as I mentioned at the um board leadership meeting, you know, I um when Allison, me and you, and Chrissa, I mean, well done. I think this did a really great document >> did a great job of pointing pointing it up much >> um No, it looks really good and I think it's just provides a um a really good kind of almost like a living breathing document for us to work from. Yep. you know, and I think this is going to be so important as we continue to find ways to, um, you know, pivot and adapt and figure out what's the new normal with whatever the sandbox that the district has to play with. And so, um, yeah, well done and and thank you. I think it's just going to be a great tool for us to continue to use and, um, helps provide clarity, um, moving forward. So, well done. >> Thanks. Yeah. >> And and I would say just adding on to that, you know, it's it's winning the expectations game at a certain level to be able to say here's here's here's what we are going to try to achieve and here here's a time frame >> around which we're going to do it because some so oftentimes it's like did we talk about that? How are we going to talk about that? Does it, you know, this gives us, you know, something certainly for us to go off of >> and for the community to, >> right? And things change, but we can talk about those as they happen because there'll always be developments and it's a dynamic situation with the legislative situation that we're going to have coming up. So there may be needs to pivot and you know if we do go out for what we're talking about if we do start talking levy that does add a layer of conversations by the board and through you and starting in the winter and spring and great any other questions or comments. Okay, thank you very much. >> All right um our [clears throat] next item is um we just have a couple policy items on tonight's agenda. Our first is a second reading for policy 610. >> I'll take it. >> Okay. >> So, as we talked about two meetings ago, our current policy um is from 2003. >> Yes. >> Um >> for field trips. >> Yes. And um so it doesn't align. Um we've looked at the policy committee met looked at this in July. Um, we've had no changes recommended from the board since the first reading and I am recommending that we approve it um at this point in time. >> And again, this is um for the board's just refreshing people that principles look at this. We've had staff that are on the ground kind of boots on the ground in our schools look at this. So that's always a part of um Dr. Funk and Carissa and Jones process. So um >> could you highlight any issues or topics that came up in the policy meeting discussing discussing this? >> Yeah, the the biggest change from MSBA is letter C there school sponsored celebratory or recognition trips. Okay. So we do have trips for example I think the eighth grade goes on a river cruise as their event. So we we added that language, the celebratory language. That was the biggest change from uh um the MSBA one. >> Thank you. Sorry, I think that question was asked before. I apologize. Now I'm remembering the answer. I apologize. >> Great. >> Um seeing that we didn't get any um feedback and we kind of reviewed it last time. Um I think we could just go ahead. I feel comfortable making a motion to approve. Is there a second? >> Great. Director Kelzenberg with the second. Um so all those in favor of approving uh policy 610 activities and programs away from school campus raise your hand and say I >> opposed. That policy passes unanimously. Thank you. And then we have our next report which is a first reading for policy 506 student discipline and code of conduct. So the big the big concern back to the policy committee meeting was the concept of procedure. >> All right. So within this policy, you know, we talk student code of conduct, this has a lot of procedures within it. All right. Most of the time when we're adopting policies, it has a separate procedure addendum that it may relate to. Uh we we had conversations with legal on this and they said for this part of policy in particular since it is dealing with student discipline and code of conduct we are recommending is section 11 C through N um that keep on going >> long policies >> that was a long policy. [laughter] >> There you go. Oh, so yeah, removal of students from class. So, so it gets into procedures on how you do it. Go ahead and go to the next page. Uh procedures [clears throat] for the removal of student from class. C u specify procedures. Um so it's it's got procedures that you are well we are specifying but it's within the policy and legal says keep that in there. >> Yep. Usually we've as a policy group we've tried to kind of keep them separate. Correct. Um because policy shouldn't be procedure. >> Um but this is an exception. >> And the other one on that is 12 which deals with expulsion and exclusion. And those really expulsion and exclusion are oftentimes not not in some districts they can come to the board quite a bit to expel students. So in this case, we should have prescriptive procedures in place for expelling. Um so that's what they're recommending we keep those procedures as part of the policy. Those are the two big um that was the discussion point we had at um policy and >> and again staff has looked at um at this. And then the only other thing is we just talked about and Carrissa and her team already kind of do this but just how to make sure that we're connecting information and that this is all really reflective in our handbook and stuff too. So um >> yeah your hands parents are seeing it multiple times your handbooks you know it's it's interesting and there there's two schools of thoughts on handbooks. There's one school of thought that handbooks are based upon board policy. So the board doesn't have to approve handbooks because everything within the handbook relates to board policy. >> There's other that say no, you should do it. And so that's what we do here is we approve the the handbooks um prior to the start of the year for the students, but they are all consistent with what >> exactly. So we just kind of discuss that a little bit in general at the >> Y. >> Um you mentioned the behavior matrix. Is that in alignment with this particular policy then? all these procedures that delineated in there or is that >> we know feedback from the principles didn't raise a flag but but this is something >> typically what we've had done not every year but we have somebody from our legal firm come in and give the principles an update on the behavior matrix and current law um we can do that at some point this year um as things change um we haven't updated um we have not um done that like I said for a couple years, but um yes, as far as principal feedback, we're fine on it. Um but I I think it would be a good idea to have somebody from uh the legal team um check in with our principles at some point on this. >> Okay, thanks. >> Great. This is a first read. So as you kind of are looking at it, we will um take any feedback the policy committee we can kind of look at it and discuss it at a future meeting. All right. Uh with that we are adjourned. Thank you very much.