Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is Independent School District 8:32. It is Monday, December 15, 2025, 7 o'clock p.m. And this is a regular meeting for the Madameai School Board. Please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I aliance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for it standy. >> Thank you. Roll call of attendance. >> Okay. Thank you. Approval of the agenda. Can I get a motion? So moved >> by Director Donna, seconded by Director Witson. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Those opposed. Motion carries. Approval of the consent agenda. Moved by Director Peterson. Second, seconded by Director Rean. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. Any. >> Those opposed? Motion carries. Too fast. Okay. Presentations. Uh, we have Justin Han. Welcome. >> Totally up to you. All right. Can I just say Okay. All right. Good evening, everyone. Um, thank you to our school board and Miss Duffren for having me here tonight. Um, I am here to recognize one of our outstanding educators at Mameidi High School. It is my pleasure to introduce Anne Gary whom you all know well and to celebrate her exceptional service as an educator to our school district. Um, Ann is embedded in our Mameidi community. She grew up here and has been back for 20 plus years serving and supporting students um in Mameidi. She embodies the phrase and I know that this has been said in an earlier school board meeting like back in September October but um she embodies the phrase once a zephr always a zephr and so as we look at um the presentation here um she's taught in a few other places including Eden Prairie Mount West Tanka in Long Island, New York um she had explained to me her favorite part of teaching Spanish is that it's not just the language. It is about students discovering the culture and developing a deeper understanding of people from 21 different Spanish-speaking countries across the world. And I think it's also hard, the other thing you should know about Anna is I think it's hard for her to maybe be here tonight um because she is so humble and so this might be a little bit nerve-wracking for her tonight. So I told I was told I had 10 minutes to do this. So I'm going to keep it under 10 minutes. Ann, don't worry. Um, as we continue the presentation, I know it's really difficult to see, but this on the right hand side is our district mission statement. And if you just peruse those bullet point items there, um, I think about those five bullet point items there and what I see in Ann's classroom on a daily basis. Whenever I've stopped up in there, what students say and what teachers say is really reflective of our strategic plan at the district level and the school and the building level. Um I see high levels of rigor across all levels of Spanish and culminating with her teaching that um CSI CSI or CIS Spanish 5. And um I think about connections with students, the things I hear from students and I'll share some of these things um a little bit more in detail as we go through the presentation here. Um I also see that continuous work to engage students in the learning and to make it attainable for all kids and that comes from that second bullet point building those connections or those intentional connections and relationship with with kids helping to get them through the difficult work of attaining a language and then um just providing those learning experiences that extend beyond the walls of MHS too and a love of culture. Um the first thing and I think that for for me too and I think for a lot of the educators um in Madameidi that foundational piece to education is really about building connections with kids to start instilling that confidence that you have in them so that they can get to that more difficult learning. And so I think that an first and foremost builds those strong relationships with students that boosts their confidence by structuring learning activities that support their Spanish language development. students interact with one another and are willing to step out of their comfort zone because of the culture that she creates in her classroom. I'm going to just share a couple quotes here from students. Um these both come from students that had selected an as her as their um their selected teacher during the celebration of excellence. And so that's one part of the process that happens very early on in that. I know many of the board members you've attended one of those celebrations. And so, um, from Hannah Johnson who graduated in 2024, she stated, "Despite only knowing Senora Gary for two years, I immediately knew that I wanted to pair with her. Throughout junior year, she never failed to wake us first hour students up with her bright smile, passionate lessons, and opportunities to grow our sticker collections. She changed one of the most dreaded subjects to one I now plan to pursue in college." And then from Betsy Boland, who graduated last year, um, throughout all three years of being Miss Mrs. Gary student. She helped me grow academically and personally. She creates a welcoming environment that makes learning enjoyable, not just in Spanish, but in all aspects. She has taught me to persevere even when times get tough. She is always willing to offer support, whether it's coming in for extra help or asking a question in class. She wants to help her students succeed. And if you listen to these quotes, she's teaching more than just Spanish. I'll just I'll explain this photo here. This is from a CIS Spanish 5 class a couple years ago and um Ann had invited me up to her classroom to see some of these presentations. I would say that in you know 28 years of education and being in a lot of different classrooms, this was probably at least a top two or three um event to see. But students are studying adventure travel and they can sell their trip essentially to their classmates using photos and music and other things. And so at the end it comes down to a competition and this was one of two of the finalists that have to sell their trip to a Spanish-sp speakaking country. And so what happened is that they ended up doing a rap all in Spanish. And it was probably one of the greatest things I've ever seen in class because it just culminated um you know with with them um selling this with that Spanish wrap and they ended up ultimately winning the competition. But just that joy of learning that they were able to display at a very high level. Again, bringing that rigor in the classroom was a lot of fun. Um, and those are the kind of experiences that an sets up to help engage students in their learning. Um, the other part that you see up there is that at the end of that sequence of Spanish that happens throughout public schools is that typically we've got two sections of CIS Spanish 5 and they ultimately take the Spanish language profic proficiency exam at the end of that progression. And we've often had students score very well or, you know, be able to demonstrate their Spanish um very well um in that in that test. Um Whoops. A few years ago, Ann, and I know that Ann, you've done this over the course of um of other years as well, but some real world applications. So, these are former students coming back to share their um travels abroad or studying abroad with our current students. And so one of the things that um an provides for students is that experience about going to another country, experiencing the culture, getting a chance to use the language there. And um then students come back and share those experiences. And I'll just one of the students in the photos here shared this quote at the time um in a in an article in one of our publications, but it just says, "Senor Gary changed the trajectory of my life. Without her incredible teaching style and push to always seek culture, I never would have studied abroad, which truly changed my life. Her passion for Spanish was shared with us and made us enjoy every day in class. I have never felt more confident in my Spanish than when I was in her class. You think about quotes like that and the impact, you don't always know the impact that you make being a teacher in the classroom. And that's why I'm sharing some of those things um today um to know to let Ann know the impact that she has at Mameida High School. In 2019, she was our uh public school teacher, Monidai public school teacher of the year. And I just share a quote that um I think Alice, you probably took this in an interview with um with an but um I'll just read it very quickly here. I have a desire to bring the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures to life with powerful enthusiasm and a deep knowledge of the subject matter. And again, as a teacher leader um here during our homecoming parade with um the union and um walking the new teacher of the year um through that parade process, but I think of all the different committees that Ann is on from the district level with her strategic plan um being the union president, the building level, I can't name all the committees that you've been a part of, but um and I could go on and on about all the extras that she's involved in, but I think what it really comes down to is that um it speaks to Ann wanting to have an impact in the entire district and community. And she does that by supporting teachers, which trickles down obviously to our kids. And then a couple quotes and I'll let you go ahead and read those. These are from our families and these are just from uh one from the beginning of the school year and one from more recently in November. And again, what I think this speaks to is just setting up that culture of support in her room and getting to know kids at a deeper level, not just as students, but as people as well, and giving that confidence that they need to continue in Spanish because it is difficult and it is rigorous, right? And then one of our last slides here. So what colleagues say and we've got Mr. Gary or Senor Gary here as well but um on the lefth hand side an's relationships with her students a perfect mix of challenge inspiration motivation expectation and compassion and I'm just going to share one more quote that I have from um from Mr. Gary, she epitomizes community, lifelong learning, and the pride we associate with the teaching profession. And then when Annie Doll has been in the district for seven years, too. When she first began, she was a Spanish teacher, and now she teaches business. Um, but when she first came, Ann was her mentor. And I'll just read her full quote. I have part of it up there on the screen, but it says, "Ann is the most hardworking professional I've ever had the pleasure of working with. She has been a tremendous mentor to me during my time at Mameidai." And then the last part is up there. She connects with students in an all-ins inspiring way and leads them to excellence. So as we wrap up, we also have a student here who's going to say a couple words about Miss Gary. If Ruby Stanbridge would come on up. Hi everyone. My name is Ruby Stebridge and I'm a Spanish 5 student and a senior at Mameidi. I've had Mrs. Gary as a Spanish teacher twice. Once in 10th grade and again this year in 12th. Both times, Mrs. Gary has fostered a space that makes everyone excited to come to class and where students feel comfortable being themselves. Walking into her class, you immediately feel welcome, supported, and encouraged to try even when you're not confident yet. Now, I'm someone who always deals out the right answer if I think I'm this is very creative environment where making mistakes isn't something to fear, but a necessary part of learning. In Spanish 5, we focus a lot on the cultures of Spanish speaking countries, not just the language itself. We learn about art, history, and social issues, and why the language is important, how it reflects the lives and experiences of people around the world. In her class, we have gained a better understanding of not only the Spanish language, but Latin American cultures. Mrs. Their makes a huge effort to immerse us in these cultures, whether it's real world issues. One memory that sticks out is when we watched a movie about the Aztec chocolate legend that we learned about that week. She told us she was going to have a special treat for us the next day. None of us really knew what to expect, but we walk in and see her at a table with like a million ingredients and she's like stirring a giant pot over like a portable stove top. And she was making us all the super elaborate homemade Mexican hot chocolate for the movie. And this is just one example of how she goes above and beyond for us students to help us collect with connect with the materials we learn about. Her love of the school and teaching Spanish is evident in everything she does. And that passion is something her students feel every day in the classroom. She is always willing to help, always believes in us, and always pushes us to do our best. Lately, she's been very adamant that we only speak Spanish in class. And while that was difficult at first, I can already tell how this extra practice has improved everyone's abilities. It's so fun to have conversations with my friends, compliment people's outfits, and talk about what's for lunch all in Spanish. This growth wouldn't have been possible without Mrs. Gary's persistence and dedication. I've had to speak Spanish with a customer multiple times at my job, and I know other kids who have done the same, showing how the confidence and skills she helps us build extend far outside the classroom. In Mrs. Gary's class, Spanish isn't just a subject. It's a way to connect with other cultures and with each other. She brings energy, patience, and genuine care into every lesson, making even the hardest concepts feel possible. Because of her, many of us have gained immense confidence in Spanish, myself included. My confidence and love of Spanish has grown so much through my years in Miss Gary's class that I now plan to minor in it in college. Mrs. Gary's passion for teaching is clear, and the impact she has made with us will stay long after we leave her classroom. real una grand thanks so much um and for all the work that you do and the contribution to the high school and the district as a whole through everything you do. >> Yeah, it's good you weren't up there. You looked very uncomfortable hearing all those nice things about you as was good you were saying up there. I could see it all. I could see it all. Um I Well, I'm going to chime in. Um you had mentioned that um Ann does a lot of things for all sorts of people and and you know um supporting teachers is trickles down to the kids. Well, supporting the superintendent is also very helpful. So when I first started here, I'd go to go to events and Ann was at all of them of course because she's involved in everything and she would show up to all sorts of community events and she would walk me around and introduce me to people as I you know I'd show up stand there awkwardly and you know smile as the new superintendent and she would have me want you know come scoop me up and wander around and introduce me to people. So, she helped me tremendously um when I first started, but also just I mean I think it goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway that um an you know is involved in absolutely everything um in the district and is a huge champion for kids and for our school district throughout the community and um she volunteers just tirelessly for the referendum. She was out there constantly. Um she's a real leader in all areas in our community. So, this is a very well-deserved recognition. Yeah, >> I want to echo that. I think it's want to say congratulations and thank you. Um, not only I I know from my own student having you how much of a beloved teacher you are and also I really appreciated all the because you are in all so many meetings and so many activities. Um, I've had the um opportunity to work with you and learn from you and I always value your input. So I just want to say thank you so much. Sure. >> Yes. >> Well, I don't know where to start because um Ann and I live on the same street and so I know her not only as a teacher of Mameidi but as a neighbor down the street and first of all, she's an amazing human. Second of all, an amazing educator. She her impact is so far reaching across the school district and community. Um the way that she has modeled for how kids to learn to be who they are going to be high school and give them those lifelong learning opportunities. Um, I just think that 32 years, we hope that that's just the beginning and you just are interested in continuing on in Marameida because there's just been so many students you've impacted and again, you were a connector for me when I moved into the neighborhood into the school district and not only with academics, athletics, activities, and everyone is right that you are everywhere. You're volunteering everywhere and thank you for all the time and dedication over the years in Madameai and I am grateful for you. So well deserved. I'll just I'll just add that you know we've known each other for a long time and really appreciate you know your leadership beyond the wall. Um Ann was one of the first people reached out to me when I was running for school board and put help put things in perspective for me. And you can add another college minor. >> Not me, but someone else. >> Okay, picture time. All right, >> Justin, you too. >> Yubie, how about you join us, too? You want to come join us? It is. Yeah. Okay. So, Drew in the back. like Thank you. So, I think we're gonna move in. All right. Now we will move on to our student representative report. You're up. >> Um I just wanted to share some quick fun events that I was fortunate enough to take part of um since our last meeting. And to start um through NHS I volunteered at Wildwood for movie night. There's tons of kids there. There was popcorn. There was coloring. And we watched The Bad Guys Too. Um we had a bag of popcorn probably about the size of this table and it was just huge when we started. And last year that same size bag just had tons of leftovers. And this year we were we ran out and kids kept coming back asking for more. So there was definitely more people there. So it was a big success. I also took part in the winter's parent night out which I volunteered through SLC who puts it on. It was a Candyland theme. We had arts and crafts and movies and also gym games for the kids to take part in. That went well as well. We had um I know there's turkey bingo in multiple schools. Uh at the high school I know there was just tons of donations that was really appreciated because There's so much participation and anticipation at the end of each class because they call out the numbers over the loudspeaker and everyone gets out their bingo cards and their pens and everyone either um you know yells in excitement or there's lots of a so um and I want to I want to cheese ball contain >> congratulations. >> Um something I'm also fortunate to take part in is tutoring of middle schoolers. I know it's um become kind of a challenge uh for enough volunteers with high schoolers. Um a lot of people are in winter sports and that's right after school for most and they just can't get to the middle school which is when a lot of kids need it right after school. But I work with a sixth grader named Miles and uh I help him with whatever he needs. I learned things as well like I was learning things about rocks that I had never known before when I was working >> and u it's an opportunity I wish I had when I was in issues and I think there's also the Zephr service project which I know was asking for donations for quite a while um but we will be wrapping gifts me and many other SLC members on Wednesday um last year there was presents pro uh provided for over just dozens of families So, it's great impact and it's not just toys um that can brighten a kid's day, but it's winter essentials like hats and gloves, so it's necessary. And um the high school students that take part in the ramping appreciate too because they get the day off at school. Um something cool that happened at the high school recently was Mr. Lane did sort of a day in the life of a sophomore student. So, um, kids were walking around and you look to your left and there was a, you know, six foot three guy with sideburns all the way down here towering over you and he had a backpack and supplies and he took, um, so I think about six classes um that a 10th grader would take. So, he did the whole school day. He did lunch too. Um, I wrote a Zephr Press article and it'll be coming out this Thursday. So, for look for that in the e-news. That was a good thing. And then finally, I'd just like to thank Swiffer and Nora for writing. There was an article uh shared on Instagram and maybe some other platforms. >> Oh, so we got >> very good. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. Thank you. >> All right. Now for your superintendent. >> Yeah, we'll pull that up. Um do I have one? So, one of the features that uh Matt has brought to our board is for um when we do recognitions, he finds instead of instead of Matt talking, he finds a student who could do who could go more in depth on behalf of the teacher. So, I do appreciate that because I I think I've said this before, one of the things you talked about when you first started was that you wanted to get more students involved and more student voice here. So, that's one way he's been doing that. So, thanks for for finding Ruby for us. Um, okay. So, as always, some things that are happening around the district, awards and new noteworthy news, and some upcoming events. So, one of the things we've done recently as we've gotten started on doing a deeper dive with our portrait of a graduate, we had uh a student focused group. A lot of the there were some of the members that were part of um my superintendent cabinet and then some other students uh who came and and joined us from the high school who helped really talk about what we are doing well and where we need to focus on some of those areas of portrait of a graduate. Then we brought that student input to a workshop with um some high school and middle school teachers to work to work through the portrait of a graduate um and tie that to some of the AVID skills that they've been teaching and try to to pull forward some of the things they're already doing to support students to prepare for that post-secary experience and then what can take it to another level with portrait of a graduate. So, so we've got that, we have gotten that started. Um, was it it was just last week, I think. Uh, Matt already mentioned the Zephr service project, but I'll just point out the middle school hit a record in donations this year, collecting over $8,000. So, uh, we do have over 65 families and 140 students that we're going to be supporting with gift assistance. Uh, I don't know about you, but I got my community ed catalog um at home and so you should be looking for that if you haven't seen it. It's coming soon, but you should you should have it already. Take a look at um what we have available. We had a number of students who are recognized for choir awards and they are here ninth and tth grade choir um honor choir and then also um a couple of students who are performing in uh one in Milwaukee, the other in Minneapolis and some regional um and all state honor choirs. So that's quite a few students to be recognized. We also had some great news from um the spotlight education program. This is kind of like I don't know it's kind of like state competition for theater spotlight is. And so they saw um into the woods. I don't know how many people got to see Into the Woods. It was it was fabulous. And we did have some state level honors there. Achievement in musical theater. And then that outstanding technical production is a really huge honor and one that I don't believe we've seen in recent years um for our technical um the students who are doing the technical background. Um so that's a that's a pretty big honor. And so there will be a video because they can't come and really perform their technology their all their lights and sound and such. Um, but they can they are going to be doing a video that will be shown in June when they do the spotlight awards. So, congratulations to all those students. Um, I think we talked about this a little bit. It's always fun that uh the Madameai City Council likes to recognize our um state winners um who win the state championship, but then we also they also were with Karen How'sley as well. And uh so it's been nice to recognize our students with that accomplishment. Um some upcoming events which are mostly um days that we will not be in school, but also take note of the kindergarten open house on January 22nd as well. And that is everything. >> I have a question on the kindergarten open house. Do you do you feel like that you get everybody in years past? I know it used to be a challenge, but but we've moved the timing up quite a bit now. Do you feel like we get a better handle on how many we'll have? >> Um, do we get a better handle? I would I I don't know. Compared to years past, we always have the challenge of tracking students down. So, um, kindergarten is always the one that's, um, we have to wait the longest to determine whether or not we can accept open enrollment, for example. Um, because >> what our staff will do at at the at Wildwood, but also here, just continually call families until we get an answer about whether or not they're coming and trying to track down the families. We have in census to find out if they're coming here. Some have moved, some haven't answered. you know, it just takes a while to figure that out. Um, so I don't know by comparison, but it is always a bit of a challenge for us for a few months to figure out who's coming. Yeah. Comments or questions? Okay. Thank you. Now we will move to action items. >> We do have a just the board member calendar. I don't know if you want know. So, but you know, >> uh, yes. Does anyone have anything to point on on the calendar? I don't have it. >> Um I don't know just that we have the organizational meeting on January 5th. Um and then there is the if I don't know if it's too late to sign up for MSBA leadership conference. >> Oh, it's not too late. Okay. >> Not too late if you want. Do you heard from everybody for our organization? Okay, great. Does anyone have anything they want to call out? Okay, great. Now we will move on to action items. Uh first action will be approval of donations and grants for October 2025 totaling $36,96124 and November 2025 totaling $100,734.13. Do I have a motion? Moved by Director Peterson. >> Second. >> Second by Director Domen. Uh any discussion? All donations and grants are greatly appreciated. The use of these funds will be to further the mission of the school district and are used towards the wishes of their donor. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Those opposed. Motion carries. >> Okay. Truth and taxation presentation hearing. Oh, here. Well, good evening everybody. This on good. All right. So, tonight is our truth and taxation hearing and uh it's an opportunity uh to present to the public uh the tax levy information and a little bit about our budget and uh then there's a portion of the meeting that will go into public comment if there are any and then the board will vote on the levy. So, that's a very brief u synopsis of what we're going to be doing tonight. So, our proposed tax levy tonight uh is for taxes payable in 2026 and uh uh we are funding the 20 2026 2027 school year. So, it's the next year out that we're funding. Um when we look at levy process and deadlines up here, we look at our levy process and deadlines. Uh districts uh again got a couple couple of check marks and a couple of open points on this one. So districts must notify the Department of Education of any general election referendum results. And that's been done already, of course. Uh and then after November 24th and before final adoption, we're required to discuss the payable 26 levies and the 2526 fiscal year budget uh at a regularly scheduled board meeting. So that's tonight. And then uh the deadline for school boards to adopt a final property tax levy and certifi certification uh to the home county auditor is December 29th. So we have all sorts of deadlines that we we kind of live by with this. And then we final thing we have to do is submit a certificate of truth and taxation compliance to the department of revenue. And we do that at the end of the month. So I'll give you a little bit of a rundown on our timelines. So when we talk about the levy, uh the levy really consists of a of a couple of different categories of levy. So of course a voter approved levies which uh most people uh members of the public are probably very familiar with and those will be things like the operating referendum. Um, we also have a capital projects levy in place that uh is primarily for technology that was uh that was put in place by voters approved that a few years ago. And then we have building improvement which is bonded debt. So just uh exactly what we're one of the things we'll be talking a little bit about tonight. Uh discretionary levies are things where um I will tell you there's a there's a 39page levy document. It is full of formulas for funding and not all of the formulas are the same. Uh but discretionary levies are going to fall in some of mostly those smaller levies. Uh but we have things like long-term facilities maintenance, safe school levies and lease levies. And a lot of those come with a mix of aid and levy. So uh if you don't levy for something, you don't get the aid. But that gets that kind of gets uh kind of summarizes the two different types of levies that we have. So of course on November 4th uh voters approved an operating referendum and a building bond referendum. So many thanks to the public for that. That is really fantastic. Uh the approval of the $575 per pupil operating referendum uh will raise about uh $2 million for the district and that will help to cover inflationary costs and keep our programs in place, keep class sizes in place, all the things that that we really talked about during the referendum. Um the building bond will fund a number of different things across the district. We'll be hitting every build, every building with safety and security uh upgrades. Um we'll be hitting at the high school, we we will be doing HVAC improvements, which is heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Uh safer circulation and expanding that handprint hallway that is too small to accommodate the number of students. flexible learning space, improved accessibility and acoustics uh in our performing arts spaces and a larger weight room at the high school. So, a lot a lot of most of the work will be done at the high school, but uh every every uh place will get improvements. Uh also be doing some renovation at the middle school entry as well. Uh and then the last thing we're doing is installation, purchase and installation of turf and lighting on field one. So a lot of different different projects that are hitting a lot of different areas. So a lot of a lot of variety. So when we talk about changes to our levy from one year to the next or from beginning of a preliminary levy at the board level to a final levy, there's a lot of different things that can make that levy change. and the estimated enrollment data. We're looking at preliminary levies. We're looking at uh LA the the last year. We're trying to predict enrollment changes because of course this is for 2627. So we've got a number uh we've got quite a bit of time out futuristic to try to figure out and do our best estimates and projections for enrollment uh as well as other expenses. So when we put that budget together uh that's what we're doing. Um when we look at actual revenues and expenditures as compared to budgets again uh those are updated and finalized with the department of education when the fiscal year is closed and our independent audit is substantially complete. Uh so that also includes a we'll do a normally uh early to mid winter we will do a budget revision uh as we get closer as we settle uh labor agreements as we look at some of our cost trends that type of thing. So u we'll do a we'll normally do a budget revision that time of year. We'll bring that back to the board. uh the Department of Education um during that process from September that preliminary approval to the final approval uh will correct errors in uh preliminary levy levy reports leading up to the district's adoption of the final levy. And I don't know if you recall this, but when we had our preliminary levy back in September, uh the state did have a have some missing data in there of roughly about $440,000 of of cost that was missing. Uh so those things are they're corrected now and uh it's important to note you know I I think when we levy preliminarily uh we normally do the maximum what's quoted as a maximum levy. Uh the reason we do that is to protect the district because in this case even though it was a dis it was a department of ed error or missing information uh the department of ed will not allow a school board to go back and levy uh those additional dollars. So, uh, even though the maximum levy may have that, uh, negative connotation, um, we still have it still really protects the district. So, that's that's pretty important. Um, with passage of the operating referendum, the board has reduced levies, um, as we've talked about before. And so when we look at what those reductions in levies do, uh when we look at a $500,000 residence, it's approximately just under $100 uh of tax relief, direct tax relief. So $97 to be exact. When we look at our property tax levy comparison, this is taking the what's called the final pay 25. So that was the uh final levy that was approved back in 2025. And then we look at those different categories and those are different funds uh that to receive levy revenue. And then we compare that to tonight's levy. Um there's a lot of changes. This one uh is this one has a lot of changes compared to a normal year and that's because we've got that operating referendum and we also have the building bonds. So we look at the general fund. Uh last year pay 25 was 11.3 million and this year it's 13.8 million. So the majority of that is going to be the $2 million of operating referendum. Uh the correction to the levy preliminary re levy report to the current final levy report. Uh that correction that was in there and then some other variations of changes. When we look at community service fund, uh that is actually going down and there is there's some programming there that uh will not be done. Uh that came with some levy ability. So there's a slight there's a decrease there. And then debt service of course that's for that's to pay building bonds. Um and that one is going up by 715,000 and again a large part due to the uh the issuance of bonds for the building project. So uh the levy totals 17.2 million and going to 20.4 million. So again large jump but there the reasons for it essentially are mainly uh driven by the the approved referendums. Okay. Washington County puts out a tax calculator and we also had one on our on our website when we were going through the referendum process. So people could go out to our website and look at a tax calculator, plug in values and get estimates of what the tax increases would be for the referendum. Th this this uh chart that they have is a little bit different than what we had in that it really shows a uh price appreciation. It includes price appreciation and then it goes through an attempt to give an estimate uh when you look at values and I'm just going to focus on I'll focus on the $520,000 home uh in the pay 2025 uh mark that's a median value and values went up 1.4%. So if you look at down at the next box that 527 be that increase of the 1.4% on market value and then uh there are a couple of different calculations to arrive at tax taxes. So there's a u home there's also a homestead market value exclusion which applies to properties that are under now that that amount is under I think it's I believe it's 517,000 of market value. If it's above that uh it does not qualify for that homestead market value exclusion. Uh but then going across we get to a taxable market value. You can see each one of those categories of homes. If you have a uh home value at 394, you get that a market value exclusion of $11,000. So, it knocks down that market value. Uh we get to tax capacity. Um and then we get to taxing the portion of of tax that's related to the school district. And that very far column H is where I'll concentrate the rest of the discussion. So when we look at u the comparison from the pay 26 that's proposed uh to the to last year look at that $527,000 home for market value of 2026. So the proposed taxes will go up $475. So what this doesn't include this does not include a reduction uh in our in our u debt service levy. So that would that would change that a little bit. Um when we look at uh the other things there's another there's another slide I'll show you which is uh one that Ellers have put together for us and this particular chart shows a $500,000 residential property and it is is based on no change in property value. So it's a level value over the past few year over the past uh few years from 2023 uh to 20 2025 is are the actual taxes on that property. So, you can see how they've kind of been been fairly level, right? And then we get to 2026 and those will go up to 2761. The 387 represents the amount of impact on the two levies or the two referendums that were passed. So, $387 and that's just so close to what was being projected. uh was within a few dollars. Uh so we're really right on as far as the impact on the levy uh for those referendums. And so you can see that uh for 26 that estimate there. So and then as part of the truth and taxation presentation, we present the 2526 budget. And again, this is familiar to you because this is what you passed uh and you've seen it a couple of different times in between uh uh the levy approval process in June and now. So, um no, none of those numbers have changed, but uh we will be very very close to our projected estimated beginning balances as we finalize the bud the the final audit report. We're going through that. Just received that. So we're going through that and kind of auditing the auditor's report a bit to make sure that things are accurate in there. So then uh what we have uh for tonight after the hearing and the public input is uh we have the uh approval the board would approve the 2026 final levy and uh that is authorized subsequent of course to the tax hearing and that final levy would be approved at 20,413 and 4 20,413,12012 $20 and I don't want to forget about the 81 cents. So, so with that, I think we would open it up to any public. >> Do we have any public comment? >> Questions? >> And can you go back to the slides comparing Washington County calculator versus the one that we put together or we put out? So, they're showing a four $475 increase essentially on a $527,000 home. And that compares to the next slide of 387 >> and that's on a 52761. So, there's about $170 difference >> and that is because of what? >> Well, it's so there's a couple of things. So when you look at this one, this is not um taking into account the price appreciation where Washington counties is. It's starting from a price appreciation level. So and I you know so that's that would be one of the things really probably the biggest one. >> The other part is that this is 500,000 whereas the Washington County one was 520,000. >> So when we started talking about um our average home value it was at 500,000. Then Then it changed to 520 and now with the appreciation it's 5.7. So we are comparing slightly different numbers. >> But we can safely say between these two it's it's between 400 and 475. >> Yes. >> On a 500 $500,000 home. And that's including both our levy and bond. >> Yeah. Correct. Yep. >> Yeah. There's not they're not an apples to apples comparison, but again I think this chart was important just to show how close um we were with that impact >> or how close. >> Well, and I think if we if somebody asks us, we can then say we have two very different reports that show it's it's somewhere close to this if they're asking, you know, if they want an idea of what the impact to not very different. So, I just want to like we are being I just want to make sure we're really consistent. So, throughout our levy, um what we were talking about was on a $500,000 home, we estimated $32 a month. We're very close. We're like slightly over $32. 32 exactly 32. And was there like 10 cents or something? I mean, like it was like that. It was That's all I'm saying. It was almost exactly on. So what we said is actually what's happening here. This is how we've talked about it. We never talked about changing um we had said it was at approximately $500,000 was our average home value or median home value. Washington County's report says our average home value is 520,000. So, if we had plugged in 520,000 to the Ellers's um uh calculator that we have on our website, we would have had something consistent with 520,000, but we were plugging in 500 >> price appreciation >> on the second one. Yeah. Yeah. So, I'm just >> Yeah. So, it is actually what we said was going to happen did happen. >> Okay. >> I just didn't want you to think it's very different reports. It just was a different starting. They put different variables in. Got it. >> Okay. Yeah. Yeah. questions, comments. >> Thank you, Tim. >> Yeah. >> All right. So, now we have to we take two motions, right? >> Just the approval. >> Now, we just have to approve the >> And do we have to have a roll call vote or >> I don't know. Is there a voice vote? Okay. So, can I get a motion? >> I'll make a motion. >> Okay. Director Domen, >> second by Director Witson to approve to certify pay levy 2025 2026. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries. >> Thank you. >> Now we have another approval. of the resolution stating the intention of the school district to issue general obligation school bond building bond series 2026A. >> Yes. >> I have to read the whole I'll read it when we take the vote. >> Yes. Perfect. Yes. Yeah. So, so Jody uh Zesba from Ellers is here. Jod's a senior municipal adviser and I think everybody knows Jod. So, uh I'm going to have her come up and she's going to talk a little bit about the the bond bond issuing and uh that type of thing and answer any other questions that you've got. Good evening. Well, first of all, congratulations on the passage of both questions. So great to see that level of support from your community. So very exciting to finally be moving forward. It was a long process leading up to it and we're just thrilled with the results. So I am going to walk through the pre-sale report which I hope you have in front of you. It's um in board book. Perfect. Everyone has you mean just look on You want to look on with me? >> What's that? Oh, do you have it up there, too? >> Perfect. Might not have the Perfect. So, if you want to go to the first page, that would be great. So, just as an overview, this will provide a summary of the proposed bond issue timing and next steps and then updated financial schedules. So, on page one, you'll see the proposed issue is uh uh shows the amount of the voter approved authority at the 28,535. We are recommending splitting the authority into two issues. So, uh, $14 million would be early in calendar year 2026 and then the remaining 14,535,000 at a later date. And for background information, we received a draw schedule from Wold at the end of November and that showed that the majority of the funds would be needed in calendar year 27. So once we saw that, we thought it would make sense to analyze whether we would want to issue all of the authority at once, which is kind which is how the schedules were set up when we submitted everything to the state or if it would make sense to split the authority into two issues and had some conversations with Tim after we completed the analysis and a couple of the finance committee member members um today. So overall with a split issue, you're not issuing that entire authority and you're not paying interest on that entire authority right off the bat. So we are um estimating the savings with that split issue uh in interest cost to your taxpayers at about $500,000. Um that allows us to pay off principal more quickly and also provide more capacity for your phase two. So we know that the district has a long list of things that they'd like to accomplish. We know that you have some capacity built into your plan later on and that will just allow us to be able to address some more projects at that point in time. We did prepare a sensitivity analysis because we know interest rates won't stay the same between now and 2027 and our analysis shows that rates would have to increase by 100 basis points or a full percentage point to eliminate that um interest cost savings. uh we'll have a few other considerations related to that split versus the uh issuing all the authority as once and I'll kind of point those out as we go through. So the purpose is listed there and it's really to issue the bonds related to the voter approved uh vote on November 4th and there are a number of projects described in that. Um the next uh opt the next uh section there is the authority and um school building bonds are general obligation debt that provides a lot of security to investors. So we generally enjoy a nice low interest rate when we're issuing general obligation debt. Um the term and call feature is listed. We are planning on a 20-year term which is what was planned at the start and we have an 8-year call date for prepayment or the ability to refinance those bonds. So on uh February 1st of 2034, we would be able to call and prepay the the maturities um starting with the 35 maturity and later. The next section describes the state credit enhancement program. The resolution that has been drafted for you tonight includes that language. Um there's no cost to participate in that state program and it provides additional security to investors because the state guarantees the payment of your debt should you not be able to make a payment. And if you'll scroll to the next page, then you'll see under the state credit enhancement program, standard employers or S&P assigns their highest rating category then to your debt when it's issued at a AAA. And that's based upon the state's current rating. You also have an underlying rating that is at a double A minus. That's the fourth highest rating category. So nice high rating for your underlying rating. And we have the rating call already scheduled and we'll talk about that in a minute. method of sale. We um uh solicit competitive bids for the district. So that is described there. And then you'll see a description of the premium pricing structure. I'll point that out when we get to the sources and uses schedule. At the bottom there, you'll see that your resolution tonight has param parameters included. So similar to your refunding bonds, we've included a not to exceed true interest cost rate at 4.5%. Our current estimate of the true interest cost rate is 4.28%. 28% and that has about 50 basis points of cushion. So that will give us about 72 basis points then of cushion as compared to current market. That provides flexibility with the state with the sale date should the board want to uh have that and allows us to reject bids if you get bids that are higher than expected and if rates spike out spike up for just a short period of time. So it kind of provides protection from being locked into a rate that isn't indicative of the market in the long term. Uh next there's a section on review of your existing debt. There are not any refunding opportunities for a while. You'll recall that early in calendar year 2025 we rented we refunded your 2014 A bonds and saved 1.5 just a little over 1.5 million. So that was very exciting. That's certainly helping out with the structure that we have list uh prepared and before you today too. Next are some regulatory requirements on continuing disclosure, arbitrage, and then you'll see a section on investment of bond proceeds. Once you issue the debt, you're able to earn interest until the funds are needed to pay interest costs. And we are going to be talking with Tim. We have a meeting with him on Thursday to go through investment strategies. Uh finally, in the next section on the next page, you'll see the list of other service providers that we'll be working with. So bond council is Kennedy and Graven disclosure council Dorsy and Whitney paying agent bond trust services and the rating agency is standard and pores and those are all consistent with recent issues also. So, next is the schedule and next steps in the process. And you'll see that um we have the date today for your board meeting with presenting the pre-sale report and then considering the resolution authorizing the sale of bonds including the parameters that we just discussed. We have the due diligence call scheduled for later this week. We have the conference with the rating agency scheduled for next Monday. We're planning to distribute the official statement in advance of the holiday so that underwriters have plenty of time to look at look at it. Um at this point in time, we have the sale scheduled for Monday, January 5th. We had some conversations about that today. If we stick with that date, then the board would approve the resolution ratifying the award of sale at your at your organizational meeting that evening. If we decide to switch to a different day that week, um then we would um need the board to have a special meeting the week of January 12th. And then we're scheduled to close on January 29th. So that is when the uh when the funds would be available for the district. And we have a series of attachments. So we'll take a look at that. Uh the first one is our sources and uses schedule. These are the exact same schedules that we needed to include in our submission to MDE for the review and comment process. So that first schedule there, you'll see the orange heading of the column shows the estimates that we included in the review and comment schedule. And I'll just point out the par amount. Um the amount approved by the voters is listed assuming a split issue. You can see how we have that scheduled right now at 14 million for the first issue and then the remaining authority um likely in spring of 2027 is if that's when the funds are needed. We certainly would have flexibility to change that date if we wanted to. Often we do get really great bids in the month of January for interest rates. So we could certainly move that up if we needed to. or if the spend is going more slowly, which is often the case on construction projects, we could hold off and hopefully hopefully save more on interest costs even than the $500,000 that I mentioned earlier. You'll see the uh next amount there is the investment earnings. We have a very conservative estimate included for investment earnings. We talked about that earlier today. Um, but you will definitely earn less under a split option than you would under a under issuing the full authority at once because you're not going to have them funds invested for as long. So, that is a consideration. In this schedule, we're showing that being about 125,000. Uh, that premium amount was not factored into the sizing of the bond because we can't count on that. In fact, those amounts that we have listed there will likely not be what we get on the day of sale. That would be very coincidental. So those are our best estimates right now of what we think the premium will be. But likely in this market we will get a premium amount in excess of the par amount of the bonds that can be used for project costs. In the uh uses of fund section we think the underwriters discount would be pretty similar under both the split or the um single authority. So we have that total listed identical. Importantly, that capitalized interest amount that we planned on using some bond proceeds to cover interest costs to keep your tax rate nice and level. You might remember the little dotted line that we had on your chart and kept taking a look at that amount. That would be eliminated under the split issue option because we're not going to um have that level of interest cost right off the bat with a with a larger bond issue. So, we would be able to use that towards project costs. So that 450,000 would be available for you to use for project costs rather than paying the a portion of the first interest payment which is very helpful. The legal and fiscal costs of course under the split issue are going to be higher by about 94,000 because you're issuing debt twice. So, um, we've got the, uh, uh, 450,000 that we're eliminating from capitalized interest, but offset by about 125,000 less in, uh, interest earnings and about 94,000 more of, um, cost of issuance. Um, and then, as you can see, we've got a pretty sizable premium built into both of them. So, overall, we're showing net available for project costs of about 29.2 two million. In the preliminary schedules prior to the election, we had 27.6. So, if everything turned out exactly as estimated on this schedule, we'd have about $1.6 million more for project costs, which would be great. And hopefully more from interest earnings as um as that plays out over time. Questions on the sources and uses schedule. I'll just pause there because that's a lot of different numbers and a lot of components and some um certainly some differences with respect to a single issue versus split issue. All right, we'll move on then to the debt schedule and this um just shows what we expect the interest principal and interest payments to be over time. Um, I'm not expecting you to remember that on these schedules that we put together for the prior to the election, we did not have any principal payments at all until uh fiscal year 34. So, your existing debt is scheduled to be is scheduled to be paid off in fiscal year 2033, and that's when we had the the principal payments kicking in. So, under this split issue, because we free up some of that capacity, we're able to start paying off principal right away, which we think is great. Um, and then in the bottom in the yield statistics, you'll see that uh true interest cost rate that I mentioned earlier at the 4.28. And again, that includes about 50 basis points of cushion. So the next page shows the detailed debt plan that we put together and talked about many times as part of your referendum process with the right now it has the split issue at the top there um in the top lefthand corner. Um and then your tax base we think we have very conservative estimates built in for any growth in your tax base. Um we have your existing commitments laid out. Those are the bond payments that go through fiscal year 2033. Then we show your some other capital levies. We have your uh we have the first issue and the second issue. And then finally the totals with the tax rates in the far right hand column. And if you go to the next page, you'll see how this plays out in terms of the tax rates. So uh scroll down just a little bit more. Yep. We'll see taxes payable in 25 and then the increase as approved by the voters for taxes payable in 26. That blue portion of the bar and then um we have the the blue portion is really the first issue. Uh the see here get it in front of me so I can see it a little bit better. And then um again we have that nice dropdown that is planned for phase two and um dealing with uh all of the additional improvements that we talked about as part of your process. So the gray is your existing debt. The green is the voter approved capital project levy that Tim mentioned in the truth and taxation process. Um the blue hashtag is the proposed uh $14 million issue. The uh orange or red kind of hashtag would be then that issue that would be sometime in 2027. And then finally we thought it would be helpful to see the trend in municipal bond indices over time. So this is a chart that's commonly used. It's called the BBI chart, bond buyer index part chart. And you'll see that there have been a couple of points in time when there's been quite a bit of volatility. So, uh, back in, uh, 2008 when interest rates spiked to, you'll see that high there. That's the high point at 6.01. This is on a 20-year bond with a group of uh of municipal securities that have a rating of double A2 under Moody's or double A under standard. So, at that point in time, rates spiked up quite a bit. You'll see that we had historic lows during the pandemic at 2.02% for a 20-year maturity in August of 2020. Certainly, if we were at that level, and when we were at that level, we were telling districts, issue all of the authority that your voters have provided to you because likely rates are not going to be any lower. You can see where we're at right now. We're above the average over the 20-year term. So, right now, we're uh the average is 3.6% and we're at 4.81%. So that is one of the reasons that we think it um it makes a little more sense to split the authority too because interest rates certainly aren't at those historic low levels. Um and we know that we have a full basis point or full uh percentage point of of cushion that we could um that would give us some protection against interest rate volatility going into the 2027 year. it's not that far out as we think about the um the recommended time frame for the second issue. So, uh with that, that is all of the information that we have prepared for you tonight. I know it's a lot, but um happy to answer questions that you have or take a look at different options. I think we kind of want to talk about that sale date and um the resolution that you have before you allows you to issue up to the maximum amount that the voters approve. So we can certainly talk about the split versus single issue too, but that uh resolution provides you with all the flexibility you need. that last part again. >> The resolution that you have before you tonight allows you to issue up to the maximum amount that the voters approved. So you have flexibility then to move forward however you want with the approval of that resolution. >> And when do we >> the resolution does not just delineate between the single >> No, it doesn't. >> And when do we next take action? >> So you will take action when we bring the bids back to you on January 5th. So we are planning to um issue the official statement on December 23rd. So certainly want to be locked into the sale date and the um and the uh mi the mix, you know, whether it's single or split bond issue as soon as possible. We're scheduled to send that out to uh bond council and disclosure council tomorrow. >> And you had mentioned January 12th, but that was only if we didn't get the bids by January 5th. So the week of January 12th is if you decide not to sell on January 5th. So there were some conversations about that earlier today. So if you want to move that sale to a different day, then that you wouldn't be able to award sale because your board meeting will have passed. So you would need another date to take action to ratify the results of the bond sale. Got it. So the recommendation that um that's been brought forth is to split um to have two issuances and with the 14 and 14 million right now on January 5th. Those are the and so the two things we've talked we talked about um earlier today. So um finance committee couple finance committee members were able to join a call this morning and talk about this a little bit more. Um but the conversation was one about whether or not to go forward with the two versus one and two um it the January 5th um being the the date um that we go out for bid. There was a conversation about that as well. Um, and the conversation about that had to do with it being the first day um first day of the year where where we would um whether or not we wanted to wait and see how things were going. So um do you want to speak a little bit to how you would deal with things on that first day? Of >> course. So we knew that your board meeting fell on the first day after I mean technically January 2nd probably isn't the holiday and markets are open but there likely not going to be much going on. So um knowing that we um do have other sales scheduled that's morning that morning we did schedule Mameidi at this point in time for 11:00 so that we can kind of see how rates are coming in and with the parameter that we have um if assuming the board approves a resolution tonight with that 4.5% um not to exceed true interest cost rate if it's looking like we aren't going to be able to make that we would either uh postpone or we would take bids and if and if um the rates exceed that we wouldn't have nobody would have authority to award the sale of bids. So the bo the bids would need to be um rejected by the board at the meeting on January 5th and then we would reschedule for a date when we think we can meet that parameter or revisit the parameter. But we think we have plenty of cushion in that 5 I'm sorry 4.5% rate to be able to um to uh secure a bid that would allow you to be within that parameter. And ideally we wouldn't be we don't want to go out for bid reject bids because that's not >> it's not good practice for us. >> So if we approve this tonight then you will move forward on the January 3rd but I thought the concern was that we some >> so that's that's the whole recommendation but we can take it in pieces. So I wanted to give you like the whole recommendation is for both of those things to happen but I think it's worth talking about in pieces. So first whether we go with one or two issuances and secondly how we feel about the fifth. >> And when you say two issuances that means splitting the authority, >> right? >> Okay. >> So as far as I understand it, it sounds like it's financially wise to split the authority. I think that that madam chair yes and that's the recommendation and I think there was discussion today that >> probably might be worthy talking about table here get other people's input >> what does the finance committee think or have you discussed it as a committee oh okay then yeah I'd like to hear >> yeah I mean as someone who lived as a principal in commercial real estate through 2022 to um that that's a nightmare of a chart for volatility. Um I am of the opinion that if we can hit our financial targets within the range we told her by we told our uh our taxpayers that we should issue one um do it once because we know we can pay for it. I think no one in this room knows what will happen tomorrow with interest rates and I'm unwilling to risk a lot of downside for a potential amount of limited amount of upside. So, I I am supportive of a single issue. Um I'm not comfortable with the idea that rates will stay level or go down. I hope they do, but um this is not our money and I'm I'm not concerned I am concerned with our willingness to put $14 million at risk. 1% moves very fast in that chart. Um faster than we could probably move and correct on it. Um, I love the idea of the savings, but I'm not comfortable if we, this is the burden in the hand thing. I think if this is a bird in the hand, if we can issue 28 million at the current rates with what and achieve the funds and the um cost to the taxpayers that we had set out to achieve. And chair Joey, could you speak to um a little bit about I think what Drew just brought up as far as um the ability to what is our window of time between if we went forward with a with two two issues. We did 14 million today. What's our window of time that we would have to issue the second issue? And how quick realistically how quick Could we enter the market if we saw things in the economy going against us and maybe pressure rates to go up? >> Yeah. So, I mean, you're authorizing the full amount tonight, right? So, um so you'd be able to move forward with the remaining authority at whatever point in time makes sense. So, if rates start I mean if rates start to tick back up again um we can certainly talk about that and move pretty quickly on securing the rest of the funds. Um alternatively, we'll be watching your draw schedule and how your project costs get spent. Again, likely we uh likely that will be slower than expected. That's what we've seen in almost all cases. construction and architect people usually give us their best their best guess, but I don't I don't think they ever really meet those targets. They just don't want to be short on funds, right? So, we would be watching that also. And um again, I think maybe looking at a a January sale potentially next year when we, you know, nine out of 10 years rates do tick down. I know it's a little bit hard to see. I mean, that's a 20-year trend, so things maybe look a little more dramatic um than um than what than how things really play out. And you could speak to that, Paul, um in the municipal bond world. But um I would say that, you know, we'd probably be looking at something as unless things are, you know, really changing dramatically, we'd probably be looking at something as early as January, but then later depending upon how your draw schedule looks. Right now, it looks like you'd need the funds by April of 2027. >> Realistically, I mean, if could you essentially turn around, let's say two weeks from now, we say, you know what, we change our mind. We're going to issue that second. You turn that around and not turn around and close it, but turn around and get it get the terms fixed within what? couple couple well yeah probably I would say a month to two months probably by the time we issue the official I mean the official statement is not going to change that much most of the components of it so >> and then secondly um if I understand the sources and uses correctly >> the bond issue is essentially sized to keep faith what we told right so whatever interest cost earnings we generate and whatever premiums generated in the bond issue That's right now assumed to what? Go into the project bond. >> Yeah, that affects the project fund. So that's not going to affect your taxpayers. The piece that's going to affect your taxpayers is what we think the interest costs are going to be associated with each of the bond issues. >> My point being, we could make the decision though, correct me if I'm wrong, to size it to reduce the bond by the interest savings >> or the premium that generates. We could actually borrow less, >> right? still fund what the projected construction dollars would be or what they come at. So with what I'm getting at is with a second issue, there's additional flexibility, right, to then borrow less in the future um based on interest earnings, premium, and construction costs haven't come in yet. So we don't know what those what those are going to >> Yeah, that's a good point. you'll probably have your construction bids by then. So, if if you're able to, you certainly could issue less. >> Well, I I mean, I I very much understand and appreciate, you know, there's a we've got exposure, right? If we do a second issue, >> that's the cost of added flexibility. So that that's the that's the conundrum >> and that's yeah that's why we did the sensitivity which is I think helpful to have that right >> to know that piece of it are you leaning >> invest offset that >> I would have to check I am not an investment advisor so I would need to check to see if that even is allowed as part of state statute your policy >> question to buy a swap to head. >> Yeah, I think we could, but we're double a rated school district. >> Um I don't I'd like to hear other people's comments. I mean, >> yeah. So, I unfortunately was not able to attend the call earlier today. Um, do we have to make a decision on this today? Like what's the downside if we push this decision out? >> I mean, you can wait to issue your authority. I think you're probably going to start having some bills that you need to pay and we did think that it would be advantageous to take advantage of selling early earlyish in January. So, I think that's to your at least based upon you know past nine out of 10 years generally we've been we've done well in January for a few reasons. >> Okay. So you know Stacy you asked for other opinions and unfortunately this is not my area of expertise and I was not able to to join the call today. So I have to defer to to directors Witson and Donna. maybe maybe talk about timing. >> Um so the recommendation right I understand it is to take bond bids on the bonds on Monday the 5th. Um, it's my feeling that we adopt a resolution that would allow us to take bids at a later date, not not on the 5th. I think the morning of the 5th, first time back from the markets essentially being shut down for two weeks. Um, I agree that yes, the early January is a great time to be in the market, but I think we'll get bids that people don't know where the market is. And the bids might be very close, but those are just bids. That's not necessarily what the market is. Um, and so I think there'll be risk premium built into those bids in the morning. I would I would prefer that we would take have a resolution that will allow us take bids on a date other than a board meeting um and delegate authority like we've done before um to accept the bid without having to meet the same >> that is the way the resolution is designed now. Y so we certainly are we can certainly implement that if that's the desire of the board. So then so we can vote on this and it gives you that flexibility but we still as a board need to give you direction if we want to go. >> That's correct. >> And so what are you recommending in ter both of you had that feeling and so what what is your recommendation for how long we wait if not the fifth >> the end of the week? I mean one week say Thursday or >> later that week. >> Sure. We can look at the calendar for I mean if that's again that's the desire of the board we can look at the calendar for those dates and pick either Wednesday or Thursday. >> That means we needed to have a special meeting. So everyone needs to be prepare prepared to have a special meeting so that okay so >> because we need to approve it that day >> not that day necessarily but close to it. Right. >> So that's why you mentioned a meeting on the 12th. So, it's set up so that um either the superintendent or director of finance will be able along with one board member will be able to authorize the sale should it meet that parameter of 4.5% true interest cost rate or less. So, they would be obligated to sign on your behalf assuming the bids come in at that level. And then we would need the board to take action to ratify um that next week. will be virtual these days. Leslie, can the special Okay. I feel like that was one that um I think we probably do want to go forward with is not doing it on Monday, but Wednesday, Thursday. Um and again, we all are going to have special meeting. We need you. Okay. All right. So, >> right. Okay. So, I feel like that that one we have agreement on and then the other one is the one or two. >> Guess I don't have to. But no, I mean I it's completely understand this isn't our money. we're not in the role of playing the market, right? Um I don't necessarily view it as necessarily playing the market. I think that in my in my opinion splitting into two issues. Um we're fixing a large chunk of the debt right away. We're we als we also have flexibility to respond to we don't even have project costs in. You know, we might get a screaming bid on project costs and not have to borrow 20, might have to borrow 26 million. Um, we've got the added benefit of earnings that we can keep from what I understand essentially for project costs or to reduce bond issue. Um, so I think that added flexibility uh helps mitigate the exposure that we've got. Um, yeah, I mean I agree. I mean that's that does show volatility. Um but I think um if we do do see the markets moving I think we can move and fix rate faster than two months. I know we can. So we can show Jody can. Um so that helps. So I mean um that gives that helps me get comfortable with splitting into two versus Um, sleeping with both eyes closed, maybe sleep with one eye. >> Those are my thoughts. >> Thank you. And can I just clarify? You are recommending splitting. >> We are. Okay. >> For all of the factors that kind of got discussed throughout, right? So couple mentioned beginning, but you kind of saw I mean we really like getting rid of the capital's interest if we can and we think that will be help for your helpful for your project cost and again if if the bids come in um lower great you certainly have the opportunity to issue less. Um but if if they don't then you've got that um additional dollar amount to use toward project cost too which is helpful. Okay. So, um you don't need to vote on splitting, but you do need to give direction. So, it would be good even if you could all weigh in on the direction of whether or not you want to split because you'll do the approval of this resolution regardless the way it's written. >> Right. It's written in a way need the general feeling of board and right now we don't have that. All right. >> I I don't know what to say other than I trust the three opinions here and Drew, unfortunately, you're outweighed here. So that's the direction I'm gonna go and I wish I had a better reason for why, but don't. >> Yeah, I think I'm probably in that same camp. So I mean to Ryan's point if Yeah, I think because Paul you're probably sounds like you're agreeing with the split. So probably Unless this is absolutely the >> It's not our money, but I'm willing to take the rest of that as well. >> Okay. So, now make a motion to put it to vote. >> Okay. Moved by Director Ryan. >> Second. >> Second by Director Peterson on a Sorry. Director Oh, you have to just approve the resolution >> to approve the resolution stating the intention of the school district to issue general obligation school building bond series 2026A >> in the maximum aggregate principal amount of 28,535,000. Uh any other discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed? Motion carries. >> Great. Thank you very much. Thank you. >> Absolutely. Yes. Happy to. Any other questions come up, don't hesitate to let us know. But otherwise, we will see you for the special meeting >> whenever you let us know when that gets. >> We will get back to you on that one. Yes. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. School board committee reports AMSD. >> That is me. Um, um, the meeting was last Friday, I think, and uh, they presented and I sent out the, um, summary of the meeting. There's a lot of attachments, but essentially AMSD presented their legislative platform for moving forward. Um, and I did mention, I think it's worth noting for the record that Um, I haven't voted on the AMSD legislative platform because I don't know if that's what I don't have the board's um read on what their platform represents and individual things. So, I haven't voted. I've just been formatting and forwarding the information. Um, and they also had a good presentation from Stillwater Schools on uh cell phones. They banned cell phones in every building cell to bell and they had a great campaign, a great information. Um, I thought it was very well done, very well thought out. Um I think the takeaways were you know they were really raced for um a disaster essentially that essent with fallout from that policy but it's really been a success from how they viewed it so far and uh the whole community. So um yeah and that that presentation is in the pack as well. So very well done and very well thought out. Any Did I miss anything on that? But >> May Kelly is not here. Do you have anything? >> Do not because um there has not been a meeting. They had to cancel their meeting due to weather. And everybody heard Leslie say if you want to go to MSBA in January, we can still let her know. And Northeast um as you guys know out for a while. So and any other board reports or I had a community editor and um there you got your book that that covered um but then the fee the they she Kate presented about the fees that we'd heard about. Um, yeah, they're doing I mean they do it's it's a very high functioning community group and I sure we're lucky to have the folks they just added which you heard as well before um someone to help with social media is a mentor forget her name. Okay. Well, with that, uh, motion to adjurnn. >> Moved >> by director Domen. Seconded by director. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Carries. We are injured. >> I'll read my Does it say, "Hey, I'm here at the meeting." Is that basically what your text was? >> We had a meeting before this. So,