##VIDEO ID:2uslXd4eUVc## e she's not coming tonight good evening today is September 26th 20 20124 and the time is 6:30 p.m. I will now call the regular meeting of the ISD 191 Board of Education to order welcome to those of you in the audience and those watching online director Al will you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance hi Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all is there a motion to approve tonight's agenda moved by director Connor second seconded by director Marcel all those in favor say I I I all um oh sorry all those all those opposed say nay and the motion carries unanimously first we will receive a strategic roadmap dashboard overview report from Dr Teresa battle superintendent and Amina aadal director of curriculum instruction and assessment welcome thank you Vice chair worb um members of the board um tonight uh director ofad doal and I will give our first report uh for the Strategic dashboard just a reminder to the public for our district strategic roadmap we have metrics of success and so we have several meetings uh where we will present uh different metrics on that dashboard and so um the agenda genda for tonight we will cover our dashboard reporting uh Northstar accountability which is our Minnesota state accountability for federal accountability and state um infinite systems organ metrics um um I will share a little bit about that that was introduced at a board workshop and that is to um help us with getting more information about our employees um their perspective on the district so um we'll start with the dashboard reporting um just a reminder of our strategic directions you will see at the top there for creating space and opportunity for each and every voice to be heard um and then the specific metrics and how we are sharing that information and the dates uh the second one actively leading by developing and sustaining a diverse and Equitable education system uh third supporting and leveraging innovation to improve student outcomes in District culture and the fourth strategic Direction engaging our community to ensure a common understanding at our strategic road map and District work to support it um so tonight I will turn it over to um director alad doll which will go through the Minnesota accountability system Northstar um and the identification of schools receiving support thank you Dr battle Vice chair wban members of the board um thank you for the time this evening uh I just want to point out that the district strategic dashboard it is our means to share with our community some key indicators of how well we are meeting the broad Schoolboard goals for the organization um each of the four areas has the specific measures identified on this uh visual um the reporting also aligns with the world's best Workforce which has been renamed a comprehensive achievement and Civic Readiness and the achievement and integration reporting so we've tried to to roll all of those reports in together um and have a really aligned reporting and you can see the dates of when each of those uh metrics will be reported the Minnesota state Northstar accountability system was put into place uh in alignment with the federal Esa legislation um and uh with the key purpose to identify schools for support and public publicly report our student data um some highlights from this year uh cycle uh Edward Neil will complete its final year of support in this identification cycle with the past two years of indicators moving them from the support category um into uh so into the next cycle so we're um pleased with the progress that Ed Neil has made um skyio continues to work on its targets around students with IEPs and their reading achievement um and both sites Edward Neil and Sky Woks have been working collaboratively with uh an assigned support staff member um from the Department of Education and the regional centers of excellence who provides technical support for them um their collaborative work uh um with the regional centers of excellence uh provides that staff person to work alongside with the principal and they're building leadership team to provide resources professional development um guidance on goals and uh strategic evaluation and so uh we've been really really pleased with that particular partnership and the work that the principles have done um with those uh with those support staff um BOS our Alternative High School continues to be identified along with many other alternative high schools across the state for comprehensive support um with the indicator focused on the four-year graduation rates um uh BOS uh BHS is a partner in that identification as it is the primary feeder school for BOS um and our state provided support uh works both with BHS and BOS to uh really discuss and examine the root causes of students who may not be meeting that four-year graduation rate and uh working with the root cause um with staff at VHS and the support needed for BOS um again that's been a really positive partnership and the principles at both of those schools have been actively engaged with that technical support some highlighted pieces um I've got them organized uh as uh the accountability indicators uh the first first of the accountability indicators in the Northstar system is reading and math achievement um the reading and math data for norstar are calculated somewhat differently than the straight proficiency scores that we might have reported out in August um with the MCA data release um while still using MCA data these charts reflect a more specific enrollment criteria and so different students might be included in some score reports than others um however students who did not complete the test or even if they and even if they had a formal opt out from their parents are considered non-proficient in this state accountability measure so kind of keep that in mind the district scores demonstrate some slight growth in measures in both math and reading but the largest gains are in Reading uh while the State numbers remained flat so you can see that the the scores for reading uh have a almost remained steady for both the district and remained exactly the same for the state however we saw some significant growth in our scores for our reading achievement and this includes all students uh who were in Meet the enrollment criteria in grades three through 11 who part um who uh would have been uh considered participating in the test the second indicator uh for the state accountability is progress for English Learners um so after General achievement in reading a ma and math the progress of uh English Learners is considered next in the accountability identification the average amount of progress for English Learners toward their individual goals was flat from the prior year both in our district and Statewide um you can see that our district numbers are very similar to Statewide numbers as well however the percentage of English Learners who met or exceeded their annual Target on the access score so the first one is the average the second one is the percent of individual students and each student is provided with an individual Target each year for language proficiency and uh in our district 28% of the students um were able to meet that annual Target um which is a slight growth up from the 26% um the numbers from the state however remain fairly flat the third indicator uh or accountability measure is one that has a strong Focus Statewide is consistent attendance consistent attendance is defined as students who attend 90% or more of their enrolled time um and uh one indicator to keep in mind is that in this number uh only students who are enrolled at least half of the school year are considered as part of our consistent attendance number so inconsistent attendance uh we saw uh significant growth from 49 to 5 4% of students meeting that consistent attendance number um whereas the state also saw a very similar increase um the numbers for 2022 however are a composite number um and combines the information from 2018 and 2019 so it's not a straight it's it's a calculated number not um actually a real personto person number which is about how all of the Northstar accountability numbers are calculated it is a straightforward calculation though of average daily attendance uh divided by uh or uh divided by the average daily membership so how we calculate our average daily attendance is very important and making sure that our ADM numbers are very clear and uh accurate as well so with those being our data points uh one of the questions would be so how do we as a district respond while the state accountability reports are valuable to us to valate overall organization growth and progress our own internal measures and evaluations in the past year have guided us to uh toward the following actions we haven't waited for the school for the um state reports we do have our own indicators and our own evaluation measures and we are constantly um um working through our continuous Improvement models the first is of course one that this board has heard and supported very uh very much over the last couple of years is a focus on literacy and reading um supported by the mandates of the re act it shows us continuing to expand the implementation of our foundational literacy from grades K2 to grades three four and five in addition we will be moving into implementation of the foundational phic awareness curriculum in our VPK classrooms as well along with other over 300 teachers in our uh in our district are participating in the carall uh training on the science of reading and we are targeting reading intervention for our middle schools providing additional training and support over the summer to those interventionists and increasing the number of interventionists at our middle school as well I'm still working um our Middle School Math teachers this year or last year piloted an online intervention system platform last year and this year all we had really good success numbers with that and so this year all our Math teachers in the Middle School will will be utilizing this personalizing math platform known as exact path as a way to provide additional support for students who are lacking foundational math skills during their daily math extended block so uh we do have the we've expand expanded the access to that and did a very targeted training with that with uh uh teachers over the summer and during the workshop and so we'll be continuing to monitor the success for that um and uh see if we we see some growth in our middle school math numbers um high school math is taking part in an intensive math instruction professional development across all of the professional development days this year um and uh looking at uh High engagement and uh foundational skills uh and then they are and it's part of their 9 through 12 math curriculum review with the new math standards being released from mde um and finally the school district joins others in a collaborative effort to explore strategies to address and strengthen attendance for all students this is our collaborative effort uh as part of a Statewide uh Consortium uh and pilot as we work through and have our staff focusing on those strategies with other school districts I have the next uh two slides so infin in Infinity systems is an organization we've contracted with to assess uh staff's perspectives on organizational Health um the opposite would be a very toxic culture um as well in climate and so we're going to get the perspectives of our staff members um so this is the update since your May 23rd uh board work session where you learn some details about the survey um we are going to have an uh Equity survey and that'll be later in the year so the first survey is focused on organizational health so we have the draft survey completed we did add some specific 191 questions from our annual survey that we give to staff um so we'll be able to uh still track that um we had our wonderful director of Technology Rachel Gorton and staff uh review all of our data security protocols um so that has been completed uh we will launch the survey starting Monday and it will be open through October 14th um we have uh shared information with our site leaders and we will have support for them if they get questions um a message from me will go out uh tomorrow um as part of the 191 update that we have after every regular board meeting um once our staff members complete the survey they will not receive a reminder but if the survey is not completed they'll receive a reminder um and we only record the response uh they only record the response uh the next slide goes more into the details that the board received in the work session um so when we uh according to Infinity systems what really are the components of uh organizational Health um so on the left you see that alignment um so of course are they aware of our district mission and vision um the communication creativity as you know we are very Innovative District so are we uh creative do they see us that they're able to really be Innovative and creative um are they uh uh able to be empowered um if you look at literature on how you have the most uh effective employees uh they have to feel some ownership um of course accountability uh not only for their self-accountability but to the system and to their colleagues um and then leadership um how are they seen as Leaders how do they interact with informal and formal leadership and so there are nine components to the scales um there 21 statements um we did some testing it really takes only about 10 minutes uh to TW I think it's going to be 12 or 13 now that we added our questions to there so it may take up to 15 minutes um and uh the lyer stale scale from 1 to 10 whether you strongly agree with this statement um I mean excuse me disagree for the one or 10 strongly agree um we will receive an analysis um we will use this data um we will share it with you I think it's November 7th we have slated we should have all the results and if there's a change in uh compilation or analysis I'll let you know but we will receive a very comprehensive analysis based on these comp components where we are and then uh later in the year I'll go a little bit more in depth with our the equim metrics um since we have been a culturally proficient School District um we lead with really being inclusive as one of our values and so uh looking forward to having that survey uh results in the spring and with that I think it's a thank you thank you thank you um do board members have any questions or comments yes no got one go ahead I was pointing at you Sor signal sorry no that's okay um thank you chair worb um thank you for the report appreciate it both um always good to um get some data in in front of us um now the the data that was on that last slide Dr battle that was just an example that was not actual data from our district was it oh no no okay they're just showing you an example example no not at all and so that's what you'll get you'll get those uh scores just to show an example okay thank you for that clarification yeah no problem um and and um imina uh on the accountability um with testing um what is the family opt out rate um we usually have a family opt out rate of less than 1% uh and it tends to be higher at the secondary level than at the elementary level okay and we have some sites that have a higher rate than others but um it it is very minimal gotcha okay now that does not that's our formal opt out rate that's not necessarily our participation rates right true true yep so some people may not fill out the opt out form but then they don't show up parti so what's that yeah so that's what would that be so our participation rates in our elementary schools in the MCAS is usually 95% or above um which better reflects our out opt out rate um at our high school our participation rates um depending on whether it's 10th or 11th grade can range anywhere from 7 6% to um 82% okay um and then consistent attendance um I'm assuming that this was a calculated measure obviously so um as we calculate consistent attendance um year-over-year we haven't changed the calculation or the practice behind the calculation right so the consistent attendance numbers that are reported to you are the state consistent consistent attendance numbers that are provided to us they may be different from our daily attendance numbers or our average our average attendance numbers and so when you ask for attendance you need to be to to we need to be very clear about what um measure we're we're providing to you we have tried to be um at least in in the spa reports and in the dashboard reports uh very clear about that we're using the state consistent attendance uh reporting number gotcha thank you so that there's comparability and and one other note uh director um all and members of the board this is a new definition from the Elementary uh secondary and Elementary act over the last two years for the last two years so it's not Apples to Apples comparison before 20 prior to 2020 three um or 20 22 and 23 are comparable well right but uh prior to that it was a different calculation we received the question what was it before covid different measure different measure so just start we're starting over it's the new Baseline thank you and my last comment um is really for um the staff that will be receiving um the survey that you know as a board we really value hearing from our staff and um I would encourage everyone to you know take that that survey seriously please take it because we want to hear from you and this is um a scientific way for us to be able to better evaluate um the health and wellness and inclusion of our inclusivity of our district so um please do complete [Music] IT director hum did you have any questions um no okay I have a question oh sorry go ahead um so just a quick question so on the um uh attendance is that going to become an indicator for the North Star support identification it uh as of is already yes as of as of this particular cycle of which we're in year three it is uh one of the final indicators and so they look first at achievement if you meet the if you don't meet the achievement indicator then they'll look at the next one if you meet the achievement indicator they'll look at the next one and the next one and so uh it doesn't come into play until until the third layer so they have percentages where there's a threshold yes they have threshold for each of the indicators okay thank you MH um just one question for myself on the um emplo an employee um an employee survey is there um room for people to make comments does it is it just the can people yeah comments okay sorry members of the board yes yes they are okay so I think if you recall during the workshop when I went to the presentation um at um Masa and the two superintendents part of the analysis there was a comment they thought they uh were really being inclusive for people who had special needs but the employee uh commented how difficult it was being uh if I remember not visually impaired but de for Heart of hearing the comments were barers throughout the work day so yes there are we will read them very good all right thank you for this report up next we receive an update on the levy referendum information campaign from our director of communications Aon tinklenberg welcome Aon thank you thank you uh Vice chair WB members of the board and Dr battle if I can get this to work um yeah thanks for having me here tonight and uh provide this update about how the information campaign is going and um provide some other information for our viewers about the referendum um so I'll go through uh four items tonight uh some overview and key facts about the levy referendum renewal itself which will be um not new information for any of you up here uh but again just kind of sharing what we're sharing some of the information we're sharing with the public uh about the levy so that they understand it as they get prepared to vote uh I'll talk a little bit about our communication goals and our strategies and tactics that we're using uh to get that information out and then share a little bit about voting information um again uh for you but also for our audience so that they uh can find the information they need to be able to go cast their votes so uh some tech Levy Basics um we'll often refer to it just as Tech Levy Tech Levy renewal um but it's officially called a capital projects Levy so people might see that information out there uh it's important to note that uh this is one of the ways that voters can approve additional funding for schools um you might hear bonds for building Levy for learning Tech Levy is literally just for technology and Tech rated staff and support um so if this is approved by voters again renewed um that's where the money would go this was originally approved in 2015 as part of vision 191 um and uh part of a big project at that time and uh at that time voters approved it for 10 years so if it's not renewed by 2025 it will expire and we would no longer have that funding so this particular Tech Levy um as I mentioned voters are being asked to whether or not to renew the tech Levy that was originally approved in 2015 it currently provides about $4.6 million per year um so that's significant amount of funding for Tech and Tech related um support and staff uh when we talk about what that money goes towards um it's a really a a wide variety of things it's everything from the learning devices the Chromebooks that students have and uh some of the devices that staff have as well to the learning programs that we use like schooly and seesaw and Wei video so all of those ways that students stay connected to their materials and uh to their classrooms and that parents stay connected as well um it goes to to uh uh support our Tech staff um as Dr battle mentioned earlier uh really important obviously that we have those staff members in place to keep everything running and support um staff members and students as they use their technology uh and then something people don't usually see but that's also really important that supports our um cyber security efforts um we have a lot of really important data that we that we need to keep safe and um uh Tech director Rachel Gordon would probably like me to mention that educational institutions are actually one of the most attacked uh institutions out there because we do have we are data Rich um and we're not a multi-billion dollar International firm that can spend as much as we want on tech security um so may be an easier Target so uh fortunately we've done a really good job of staying safe and and knock on would we'll be able to keep doing that so again this would if it is approved by voters uh the renewal it would renew that funding for 10 more years uh people of course ask um what would this do to my taxes because it's a renewal um there would be no tax increases the tax rate would stay the same uh continuing and going forward um just some places where people can get more information of course on our website if they just go to isd191.org um referendum or just to the front page they'll see it right away they can send us uh information or questions um concerns or and just try to get in touch with us by sending an email referendum isd191.org call the hotline and leave a message 707 2019 and then uh coming up next week we do have two public presentations on the 30th and on the October 3rd uh where we'll be presenting again a little bit more in-depth information and uh engaging in conversation with anybody who wants to come and and learn that information um people can also go to the website and request a group presentation um and so if they have a if you're part of a homeowners association if you're um part of a place of work ship if you're in a scout troop if you're uh I don't know have a dance troop in your local community and you want us to come out and give you a presentation we'll be happy to do that um you can just put in the request there either by email or through the form on the website so about the communications um our our big overarching goals are simply to provide clear and accurate information to everyone uh in the district about the referendum um and then to support clear and consistent message delivery through various Communications channels so a lot of people will get information from us but a lot of people will get information from their neighbors or their uh local you know their teachers and their other staff members that they know so we want to provide that message delivery through various Communications channels um as I mentioned ensure all employees and key stakeholders have the information they need so they can share it and uh comply of course with all legal requirements uh for holding and communicating about a referendum of which there are many um in terms of how we're going to do that uh we'll actually produce all kinds of materials that can just be duplicated so people know um they can get pieces of material and I'll show those in a second from us they know it's got accurate information they know they can share that out um to uh their to their classrooms to their neighbors to their family everything else like that we also want to do localized communication will certainly do um and have been and will continue to push out information from the district level but we know people really trust the people that are most that are closest to them and so we want to put hands in those in uh those people's hands or information in those people's hands and let them communicate uh or work in small groups like I said rotary homeowners associations any small groups and engage key communicators as well because we know they'll that's where people will go to get information they trust um so some of the things that we've already done and uh and or will be doing over the next month as well um we conducted site team what we call site team training in early September uh what this means is that at each of our buildings uh we sort of train and deputize a small group of people to be our Communications Department out at those buildings um and so we do a little training session uh they spend some time planning how they're going to communicate to their families and and uh their program participants uh and then we get them the information so they can do that we've sent out news releases of course superintendent sent a message to families in early September um we've already started conducting some small group meetings and buildings will'll be doing presentations at pto's at staff meetings um and uh other Affinity groups and things like that of course social media and then of course our newsletters as well and then what's coming up I mentioned the public presentations next week uh we will have a a legal mailing a legal notice mailing uh that'll go out so uh at least one mailed notice will go out to every property taxpayer in the district uh with again the basics information about the referendum and we'll have more community group meetings and then we'll send out especially as we get closer to the actual election day though voting of course has already started we'll send out more reminders just to people to vote I mentioned the materials and I just show some now um and start to see these pop up all over the place we have a a one-page fact sheet that just kind of goes over again the very basics of it um we have those printed in English Spanish and Somali uh we also have bookmarks which are available and I'm sure we'll go home with uh students or will'll be handed out at various events a nice easy way to remind people about the tech Levy renewal again available in English Spanish and SMY um we also have uh I didn't bring one here but a sample ballot uh so people can see what's going to be on the ballot and know what each piece of it means again English Spanish and Somali of course the website is the place to go for all the information we have a standard presentation which you got a little bit piece of today um that's what we'll present next week at the public presentations um but we also have it recorded uh right now in English and in Spanish on the website uh the SMY version of the presentation will be done in the next week is my guest and we'll get that up on the website as well and then we also have a little animated video that runs through the basics that's available on on the website and our YouTube channel also so some uh Basics about voting election day is November 5th um and polls are open that day 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. early voting has already started uh last Friday the 20th and uh runs through November four 4th of course people must be eligible to vote in the US and a res resident of District 191 one on Election Day people can um of course we're not running this election ourselves so uh you can't come here to vote unfortunately um but uh you can go to mnvotes.org and find your polling location or learn how to cast a an early voting ballot that's the information about the campaign I'm happy to take any questions uh so do board members have any questions or comments directory um more of a comment um I trust with parent teacher conferences coming up in mid October there will be the printting materials will be on hand in all the buildings for parents yeah at that point yes uh thank you for bringing that up but actually something I meant to mention earlier when I was talking about the materials almost all of the printed materials maybe all of them are here now and uh we actually had a couple of volunteers um from students from the high school uh come over and help us organize them tonight so they're going to be going out to the school tomorrow in uh in office mail so they'll be available starting next probably next week but certainly in time for conferences awesome and looking through all of the site team plans pretty much everybody mentioned conferences as place to get the information out I was just double-checking the calendar saying oh it's two weeks three weeks before the election that's good timing yes and that's exactly how the site team um you know we're not asking them to do something special or plan new events or anything else like that but take a look at what you have going on and think of that as an opportunity to get information out to folks that's in my experience the best way to yeah promote almost anything is what are things that are already happening can we pck you back so per thank you for that thank you um yes thank you for this presentation Aaron um good to be able to see you know what our community is going to be hearing from from our staff um would you be able to elaborate on um the cyber security side of the the um investment the tech investment you know increase over time you know General I'm probably not the person to ask about that yeah director courton would have to come in and and share more of the details I'm sure that it has increased over time uh I know that she's shared with us um uh some graphic images that have shown times that we've been under attack uh which happens very regularly they're fishing attacks all the time um and uh obviously having the systems that we have in place is really important and then I know the training that we do uh really the most important thing we do is training with people so that they know how to recognize an attack and not fall for it yeah great thank you um and then the final question understanding that we have uh a large portion of our community is on um fixed incomes um what what does the tech Levy contribute uh to taxes um on a house say valued at 200,000 yeah that's um the amount is the same as it was actually when we advertised in 2015 um so about a little less than $6 per month it contributes to taxes on a house of 200 value $200,000 $575 to be a little more precise um and that of course because the rate is the same that's the same number today awesome thank you uh just for you know the public for informational purposes um how often are we replacing Chromebooks how often do they get serviced um that is an question also probably for director Al I think unless Dr battley you know I want to say they have a regular schedule it's three or fiveyear replacement cycle but they uh director Gorton and the tech team have a regular cycle that they replace that on for sure all right thank you just had a quick com I just want to say that I um appreciate that you have it uh your literature and all different languages too in different languages thanks all right thank you thank you very much [Music] lastly are there any reports from board members regarding board committees appointments and school assignments oh director Marcel yes um so the policy Review Committee had um met uh this past Tuesday uh the 24th um we're still um going through a lot of the policies that had changes due to the last uh legislative session um we're wrapping those up and uh they'll be appearing in uh regular board meetings um as we go and our next meeting is scheduled for October 22nd and that concludes my report and uh the amsd report from September 6th we had our last meeting it was the 50th anniversary of amsd um so it started in 1974 I'm just going to give you some highlights with only Seven Counties or districts then our presenter that um at that meeting was Peter Letterman what he does is Statewide economic surveys on all economic issues um and there's big breakdown um between schools and districts and then also some little bit with goes into politics also with Republicans and Democrats so he did some on us issues I'm just going to there was very a lot of issues um mentioned but I'm just going to point out a few that I thought were interesting um they pulled um so the they pulled teachers and parents and [Music] um sorry just a minute here oh on some interesting points one of them was uh should there be vaccinees should vaccines be required for children um in public schools so 70 and I'm not going to tell you if it was parents or teachers maybe you know but anyway so 76% of that poll said yes extra ta taxes tax dollars to school districts 41% of people said yes so not quite half 58% of people think um education Equity is good and the quality of Education n uh increased taxes property taxes for schools um 70 9% of parents agreed but you need 80% to pass this proposal so very close uh parents sending their kids to private schools with funding 43% agreed with that armed teachers um with uh say there was a breakdown and it was a tie actually between parents and non-parents and what was that percentage let's see that percentage was uh 41 43% I'm sorry um 67% of parents feel uh limited cell phone use in schools is appropriate 74% trust teachers with their children's care and that's down from 81% parent group versus teachers unions 42% to 38% of parents trust the prospective uh the teachers perspective more than the teachers union and um again just a lot of V data statistics so that concludes my report you can find more information of course on the amsd website the legislative commit oh okay okay so for the legisl okay yeah for legislative committee um I don't have notes on that because Leslie is our chairperson for that um but in her absence we did um meet with Lindsay Port Our House of Representative uh had a really good conversation with her she um was very interested in a lot of topics that are going on with our school district um we had quite an in-depth conversation so many topics I wish i' had taken notes but I'm sure Leslie had notes but since she's not here to present them I'll see if I can think of some but mostly she was just um interested in the per our perspective of how our district is um going what we needed um what we're you know what we're yielding what we what we feel we're doing well with and um what kind of things we need in the upcoming um in for upcoming proposals from from our government that she can propose she wants to um she she said she has an open door policy anyone who wants to talk to her she's always open to um ideas and things that we need on a personto person level parents teachers anything and let's see we kind of told her some things that we'd like to see done I don't have notes on that I'm sorry cuz we had quite a few issues but uh anyway it was very interesting um talking with her and we got a lot accomplished and a lot of questions and back and forth answers so that completes the report for our legislative report thank you for your reports this this concludes the information portion of our meeting now we will move to the business portion of the board meeting starting with the consent agenda although board action is required it is generally unnecessary to hold discussion on these items in the event a board member wishes to discuss an item that item will be that item will be moved for separate consideration do board members wish to remove any items from the consent agenda is there a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved moved by by director alt second seconded by director Hume all those in favor say I I opposed nay the motion carries unanimously tonight we are being asked to certify the proposed property tax levy for taxes payable in 2025 and authorize the clerk to execute the levy certification forms in the maximum amount and to also schedule the truth in taxation hearing on December 12th 2024 to be held during the regularly scheduled board meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Stacy soine executive director of administrative Services is presenting the recommendation welcome Stacy good evening Vice chair warb members of the board Dr battle um each year at this point in time we begin a three-step process to certify property tax levies for taxes payable in the upcoming year uh the first step is to certify the proposed property taxes uh again as as co-chair or co-chair vice chair worb has uh mentioned we will be seeking the maximum amount because those amounts get adjusted through mde um a number of uh throughout the next couple of months refinement uh adjustments any other impact that may occur the second step in the process is the truth and Taxation hearing that will be on December 12th 2024 at 6:30 here at Diamond Head and then the final step will be for the board to do the final uh certification also at December usually at that same meeting so that's the three-step process we are anticipating at this time a decrease in our uh local uh proposed property tax taxes for a decrease of approximately 4% from the district after a board action tonight um so that will be payable in 2025 which will impact our fiscal year 2026 um budget and funding purposes the recommendation has been been read to you would you like me to read it again um no okay uh is there a motion to approve the recommendation so moved yeah moved by director Hume seconded by director Marcal um is there any discussion I just have a question so you mentioned just a second ago that it's likely to decrease this year yes could you tell us a little bit as it because of declining enrollment or there other reasons for that primarily it's the declining enrollment that feeds itself through a number of the different fields on the on the worksheet okay so that's what we're attributing it to at this point in time that was my question thank you um all those in favor say I I opposed nay the motion carries unanimously next we will we are being asked to approve a revised long-term facility maintenance plan and resolution for ISD 191 presenting the resolution this evening will be Dave Lake director of operations welcome Dave thank you Vice chair worb directors and superintendent battle each year we come to you seeking approval for our long-term facility maintenance plan this is a 10-year comprehensive Outlook we put items on the schedule that are approximately $100,000 or more but we have as many as 50 smaller projects that we complete each year the amount we are looking at is taxable in the upcoming year and is payable in fiscal year 2026 this is a 10-year map where we make adjustments based on the given priorities at the time the intent is to give give the board and our community an idea of where we are headed and allows us the flexibility to move things around as needed fiscal year 2026 estimates 582,000 of health and safety projects along with 4.3 million in alternative facility projects equaling 4,882 392 in total since the board approved the initial ltfm budget in June we have identified an additional 2,176 $900 needed at bernsel high school and nearby district warehouse site those needs include main gym bleacher Replacements replacing the districtwide freezer for food nutrition services a new emergency generator to replace the 25-year-old diesel generator that currently Powers Burnsville High School um and lastly there are necessary block wall repairs to be done at the exterior of the district warehouse my recommendation is that the Board of Education adopts the resolution approving the revised long-term facilities maintenance program budget for FY 2026 any questions is there a motion to approve the revised long-term facility maintenance plan and resolution as presented in the board packet so moved moved by director alt second seconded by director Marcel is there any discussion dor R just one comment um thank you Dave for being Nimble about identifying new needs I would much rather that we revise the ltfm um when you when you determine that it is needed and you do such an awesome job you and your team with maintaining our facilities that um while this is unusual um it certainly is welcome thank you I appreciate that uh because this is a resolution tion we will hold a roll call vote Sarah will you please make the roll call director Hume I director Connor I director BB I director Mara I and director alt I this resolution was declared duly passed and adopted all those in favor say I I I opposed nay we just voted oh okay okay the motion carries unanimously this concludes new business next on our agenda is a work session to discuss refinancing bonds before starting that work session I move that we take a brief re recess and return to the dases at 7 30 7:30 to begin our work session is there a second second uh second by director Connor all those in favor say I I I opposed nay the motion carries unanimously please return to the dis at 7:30 e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e financing Bond joining us this evening for this discussion will be Stacy sine executive director of administrative services and Matthew Hammer Ellers senior Municipal adviser welcome yes thank you um I'm going to let uh Matthew take over here in a moment but we are U wanting to update you on the process with our opportunity to refinance some bonds that are coming up uh it's a multi-step process process uh lots of different moving pieces and again when we get into this this is why we rely on ERS to help us and be able to answer the question so with that Matthew take over yes yeah thanks Stacy um Matthew Hammer from Ellers uh financial adviser for the school district um I just sitting here reminiscing I was out here um last time during the te truths and Taxation hearing presenting um about the district's Levy and really tonight really what we're talking about is hopefully reducing future Debt Service levies for taxpayers right so that's the the big picture of of what um we're trying to accomplish um we have a lot of information in the presentation that gets into detail but at a very high level um really the goal is similar to if you own a property and refinancing it and trying to lower the cost that you're paying on that mortgage right or lower the payments um that's in essence with a what a refunding or a refinancing for a school district or municipality is as well is we're trying to issue new bonds at a lower cost than the bonds that you currently have um so um big picture that's that's the concept we have a lot of information and as Stacy said there's a lot of steps in the process tonight is to provide you guys information about kind of where we're at and next steps and what we'll be looking to do at the meeting on October 10th and then as we look forward to the opportunity as we move forward so um I'll Dive Right In um certainly ask questions as we go here but um we're going to we're going to talk about some some details from the existing bonds and how this is going to uh play out so the district's initial the bonds that we're looking at are the bonds that were issued back in 2015 as part of the February 2015 election um those Bonds were actually a after the election passed were issued in April of that year um and uh they they were issued for originally 64 million in total um we have about 52 million a little bit more than 50 million that is uh uh subject to call or remaining that we could look at refinancing now as we get to the call date um and you can kind of see the details of of what this initial issue was issued for so this is a process that we've partaken with the district a number of times over the last 10 years um I looked back at some of the details uh we've been helping the district manage their Debt Service levies um or existing debt commitments and to date over the last 10 years we've saved about $12 million as part of that process um we're looking to kind of add to that um as we look at this issue and there is um some opportunity as we move forward albeit um the market conditions at this time have some ups and downs so we've got some things to consider as we kind of move forward as part of the process um Bond issues are issued with what we call a call provision when orally issued so you can't just immediately go refinance those issues right so that might be a question that folks have is rates for municipal Bond rates or Securities were um um selling for really low interest rates a few years ago um until we get to that call date or within 90 days of that call date you would have to issue a taxable Advance refunding um and tax exempt rates are typically lower right so if you were able to issue those bonds with tax exempt rates like school districts are um you get that benefit to borrow at a lower rate um if you do it more than 90 days ahead of that call date you have to issue them taxable so tax B rates really have to be a lot lower right now we're going to be hitting that time frame so the call date on this bond issue is February 1 of 2025 um so you can close on a bond issue up to 90 days before that call date or any time after and reissue new bonds right at tax exempt rates to to basically in essence pay off those BS um and we'll show you some of the details of what we're looking at for potential savings um on this bond issue as we we roll forward in the coming slides um these are some of the details of uh just what I talked about um the final maturity right now on the issue goes all the way up to 2036 so there's about 11 years left on this issue um we'll be looking at um refinancing this issue and likely if we're able to refinance it we would be able to put another call date on in the future and have another opportunity depending on market conditions look like out at a future date um this just touches on the overall refunding and kind of uh what I already touched on I won't spend a lot of time on this but conceptually right we're we're trying to reduce costs and I I think a common question that'll get asked is where does that money go um it can't go back into the district's general fund budget um so when you ever you refund finance a bond issue it has to go back to reduce future Debt Service levies for property owners right so um and when the district's talking about being able to save dollars as part of this refinancing it by law has to go back and reduce tax levies and that's what will be happening as part of the process so let's look at some numbers um right now uh this is an analysis based on current market rates back in September 17th we did look at this today ahead of coming into the meeting and just to see if there's been any change we're within one basis point I mean basically right where we're at from the market that we were seeing um back in the 17th so we're this would save about $1.4 million to date if we were in market right or about 120 $130,000 a year um overall you can see that uh what we call the sensitivity um located on the bottom that's if the interest rates change up or down by 0.1% that impacts that overall savings by about $345,000 um so that's pretty significant and what I would call fairly sensitive right to Market changes as we move forward and we'll talk about that a little bit in our timeline um because we want the board to look at taking action to move forward this at your October 10th meeting and we have a schedule Aid out here but we're going to be watching this like uh as we move forward um because um if market conditions are changing one way or the other um do we want to make sure we keep moving or for some reason rates go up we can always push the sale off I'm still likely have an opportunity sometime when we get into next calendar year so um this just gives you a trend of where Municipal Bond rates have been over the last year this gives you a sense of that volatility that we saw last January at this time you saw rates come down pretty substantially so they came down by almost 100 basis points which is a trend that oftentimes happens uh each year as uh often call uh Municipal mods have call dates of February 1 so as investors are looking to re get back into Municipal Securities they're often um those bonds are getting called um so as districts are looking or uh issuers are looking to issue new bonds often times those rates are dipping um when we get to the end of a year or the start of a fiscal year or start of a new calendar year this gives you a sense of what the 10-year trend has and um if you look at that drop a few years ago that was historic low rates rates had never been that low and they held that low during the co pandemic for quite some time um people would know that if you were trying to purchase a home when mortgage interest rates were really low at the same time so uh those rates were really low for a period of time rates have come up and now we been trending back down um and um we're in a position right now um from where you are at with your bond issue if we can um generate some savings as part of this issue at this time it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to continue to pay at higher rate so we're hoping to be able to save and manage uh those levies by issuing some new bonds at a lower cost and reduced cost for property owners in the district when we talk about timeline um we wanted to have this discussion tonight so you guys had some information in front of you you could ask any questions you have about the process um we would have the board uh take an initial action on what we call an intent resolution at your meeting on October 10th and that really allows us to um get moving is with the process um and that uh allows us to start getting the steps in motion to get the work with Stacy and his team to and Dr battle and getting information ready for the preliminary official statement to be able to take out to Market and then right now we would be looking at um sailing uh on November 21st and then um having the board award at their meeting later that night on the 21st uh those bonds would then close in this schedule on December 12th and then the old bonds um would be paid off um as of February 1st and the new bonds uh would take their place so you'd have um two bonds outstanding for a short period of time but then those bonds would be able to be invested in an Esra account during that time which would help offset any cost as as part of that process quick question yes um so we're kind of some of our dates are sandwiched around another date that might impact interest rates yep and that's that's exactly the reason why I kind of LED with um uh I call it UNC cty in the market right and uncertainty typically leads to some volatility um so this is something as we continue on part of this process right we as your adviser are going to be watching different things that are happening in the market and be um deciding whether this state makes sense as we move towards it or whether we push things off right and I think the important thing with this is it's not an emergency um we have um time as part of this process we're getting to that call date right um but there's likely going to be a savings opportunity over the next um 3 to 6 months right as part of this process we'll be able to capture something depending on where markets are at at that time okay thank you so but that's front of mine what what what could happen as part of this process over the next [Music] month so um this is really the information we had high level there's also an ex executive summary of all of the details which we call our pre-sale report um that lays out uh the the more detailed assumptions as part of the financing I won't read through that for you guys but if you have any questions in regards to that there's similar information um the timelines in there and there's some more detailed schedules if uh if there's any questions about any part of that information we've also included a draft of the resolution that will be brought forward to the board next month like I said said that provides the authorization to start moving forward with the process right um but doesn't necessarily tie us into this exact timeline but and we'll be able to have some flexibility to move based on what we're seeing um in the markets um and what we think makes the most sense as we move forward as part of the process so with that I can answer any questions folks have I think big picture right we're trying to um manage the district's tax levies and save money um like we're always trying to do as part of this process we're continually monitoring your District's outstanding commitments on an ongoing basis like we have over the last number of years and um we're getting to the point now on this issue where we've got that opportunity to look at lowering future uh tax levies for property owners and manage those as we move forward to to reduce the cost I just have a comment I um appreciate all the information that you shared both you know in the in the packet as well as in your presentation um of course very thorough um I'm cautiously optimistic given our discussion tonight with the sensitivity of of the market I mean this is an opportunity to save our our taxpayers $1.4 million on top of of all the 12 million over the last 10 years as well as improve our Moody's rating right I think I read in the packet we would be improving our mood we could improve our moodies you'd be going through another underlying rating process that they would they would uh do another um rating call right as part of that process to and then based on your financial Outlook and those things that would impact what that rating could be which is which is really lovely in my opinion so cautiously optimistic yes questions for me I don't have any questions I was going to Echo what director alt said that I think this is a good thing and we did this a couple of times in my first couple of years on the board and as you said it's had a pretty pretty significant impact in Saving the taxpayers of the community $12 million over 10 years so it's good that there are still opportunities to continue to do that it's great thank you that's for sure and to dovetail on your on your comment it's it's opportunities like this where it's nice to be on a board that can say we're not just asking for money we are doing our best to manage our finances fulfill our fiduciary role and seek every opportunity in this case you know refinancing the bonds want to be good stewards of the taxpayers dollars a wise person once told me yes exactly any other questions um I guess having concluded our work session and having no further agenda items I now call to adjourn this meeting of the isd91 Board of Education awesome awesome thank you thank you thank you m