##VIDEO ID:Yhb2hzHqfIQ## e e e e e e e e e [Music] good evening good evening everyone we're ready to start thank you good evening the regular meeting of the Independent School District 279 School Board is called to order at 6:00 p.m. on November 19th 2024 this regular business meeting of the AIO School Board is being conducted in the boardroom of the Educational Service Center the meeting can be monitored electronically by streaming online from the district website an archived recording of tonight's meeting will also be on the website seated in front of you this evening from my left to your right are director Thomas Brooks director Heather Douglas director Tanya Prince myself Jackie mosca Jones director Sarah Mitchell and director Tamara Grady also present in the boardroom is superintendent Dr Kim H and members of the superintendent's cabinet as well as our amazing student School Board Representatives reasen Atkin for 279 online Antoinette Brown for oio senior Naomi Cooper uh Greer for Park Center Senior High and Gavin chabaka for Maple Grove did I say that right Chaba Chaba I used to have the pronunciation in here and I don't sorry sorry Gavin all right those of you who can stand please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance director Mitchell will you please lead us I pledge Al to of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you um board members I would um I'm asking permission to change the order of the um agenda um before I ask for additions so we would like to um request change in the order of one agenda item are there any objections to moving the fiscal year 2024 Financial audit results to agenda item seven which would be after the student School Board representative reports any objections all right so um we will proceed with the um Financial audit results after the student School Board um reports um asking that are there any other additions or changes to the agenda tonight hearing none is there a motion to accept the AG agenda as revised so move move by director Brooks is there a second second second by director Mitchell is there any discussion all in favor say I I all oppos say nay M motion passes six to zero all right our next standing agenda item is recognitions and we are very happy tonight to welcome m members of Grove area percussion state champions for percussion Scholastic a school board members and Dr H will be moving to the stand uh in front of the board Das as we do that we I ask at director Mike Brown um please step up to the podium to introduce yourself um share an overview of Grove area percussion and then introduce your amazing Scholars we'd like to take a group photo afterwards so please don't run away um after everyone's gone through the congratulations all right so with that we're going to move hello uh my name is Mike Brown most people call me browny when I came up in the drum line marching band circuit there was a lot of Mike's and Michaels so all of us got our own nicknames mine isn't super fancy my last name is brown so there you go um this is so grov percussion is the competitive indoor drum line for the district we pull from the three uh high schools Park Center oio and Maple Grove and um uh this is our 10th year competing so we're going into our 10th competitive year so we started back in the fall of 2015 um and this past year was the first time that we uh achieved the state championship in the class A so there are multiple competitive classes and you kind of pick based on your skill sets and a class in Minnesota has the most groups so inherently it's the most competitive group um and we moved to that class in 2022 and that year we got third place in 2023 we got second place and then last year we got first place yeah and uh the other thing so that's the local circuit we also compete in WG which is the national circuit and every two years we go out to lovely Dayton Ohio um and compete with groups from all over the nation and uh in 2022 we were 17th in the nation in our class and this past year we made it into finals at 13th so to make it into finals to to be able to perform three times out at Dayton means you are among the elite so we were able to do that this past year as well so that was really cool um and I'll just go through and I'm going to read off the names of the kids that are here uh a few of them have graduated and they're not here and a bunch of the other ones have a band concert with Maple Grove tonight so um I'll just run through this is alphabetical order Allison Bell uh if you can walk up come through and inv over there please Allison [Applause] buckles Caitlyn D Riley gtis Maya George Payton cans Leah McShan Allison Allison stay over there uh Leah Adela NES Caitlyn Oswell Breen Peterson I don't know if Breen came who was on the list nope uh Alia Porter Jameson Rodriguez Max CAC Kaylee Stark Shay Terry and Alex turnam [Applause] I don't know if you need anything else from me all right yeah so when we first started um we incorporated the heow which is what that symbol is kind of into the things that make sense for the group like uh ethos you know and so you earn that um about halfway through the season before the competitive season starts our seasons are kind of broke up into about three months of training and then about two and a half three months of competitions um and so before we move into the competitive side um I personally go through and I make all of them with the bead every year you're here you get a blue bead when you're a senior you get a green bead when you're on staff you have a different bead um so I go through and I make those and then we hand them out on History night where we learn about you know our first days and our current days and everything in between so cool okay if the percussion team would move forward here two okay one more round of applause thank you so much don't go anywhere yet at I'm G say something at each business meeting we are pleased to share various District programming or performances with the public this evening we're showcasing indigenous programming and we're so so very happy to have several students here board members will you take a seat in the front please [Applause] hello relatives it's good to see all of you here my tax name is Ethan ndes my real name is I come from the people where the original Nation here in this place Mino de moch the land where the waters reflect the skies and uh today we're just here to talk a little bit about our languages doot yapi and OJ Moen which are the original languages of this uh land base we like to think of English as a foreign language uh when we think about ours and so anyways for the past uh several decades the Indian education program has been offering doot noj language tables intergenerationally for student students and families within our district it wasn't until uh last year that we were able to add our languages for credit in each of the high schools and these classes have been attended by a wide array of students both native and non-native a lot of people are not aware that our district has over 550 American Indian students from over 90 different tribal Nations here in the district and um these language classes are very important if you think uh We've added you know Spanish language Heritage m a lot of other languages um that are more recent to this land so there's a lot of uh Strategic investment that goes in from our community into bringing these languages back to health um there's not a lot of the same curriculum that you see for a Spanish language class or more commonly taught languages so a lot of the burden Falls onto our students the parents the elders in our community and especially the teachers and so this evening we have uh three of the Learners of the oju language here and they'll be sharing a little bit about themselves the importance of their language learning Journey but before that I'll turn it over to their OJ language instructor uh one of my colleagues in Indian education Brad [Applause] Hagen Brad I'm really glad you're all here today uh my real name is OPI um my English name is Brad Hagen uh as Ethan said I'm the OJ language teacher here in this District uh really glad uh my students can be here today and maybe I should say our students uh since Schoolboard me leaders you know you guys these are your students too you know um but yeah I'm I'm not going to talk as much as my boss I want these kids to get up here and say their peace you know so thank you thank you I'm really glad to be here and uh also thank you to Dr Brian bass for uh asking us to be here today I really appreciate appreciate it thank you all right hello my fellow two leggeds my name is Michael and I'm from boy oh sorry I'm from boy Fort and sou reservation about four or 5 hours north of here my clan is Caribou which is even further north back halfway through Canada um I'm in my third year learning our language under Brad Hagen but my second year for credit though the classes are still in their baby years just being started last year they are still precious to us one of the most important things about any culture is its history and Customs for us as Anisha big most of it can be found in our language we are descriptive people over half of our language is verbs we use so many that we have different subsections of verbs v a i VA or sorry VII vti and VTA every word has its own meaning it's sale we might not have the pages since we're an oral history keeper but all of our creation stories have a meaning one of the creation stories is the story of our language it has our uncle Spirit the trickster Spirit who goes by many names nanabush wjo nanu being assigned to task from the Creator get you mad do to give everything a name the way our classes run in my opinion is very helpful Brad gives us many tips for becoming fluent like labeling things you use every day for example the pens that you probably have at every desk could be labeled OJ gun the pencil OJ Gak the table that you have all of your computers on a dupin a lot of what we do is based on what what we're struggling with so for some it could be pronunciation for others it's getting down new vocabulary everything that we do in this class is tailored to each individual so while the of the class could be working on a review that comes easy for me I'll learn about something else in our language like a conjugation pattern that we haven't talked about the classes run smoothly we rarely have any problems the class is a lightweight course this means you don't need to worry about a load of work like you would in calc BC it is an elective after all but the class is fun with random discussion work the class is helpful it's useful and I enjoy it I enjoyed this class and and learning [Applause] o joken Park Park Center OJ is the language of my people growing up I wasn't able to speak ojibway because I didn't know what to think I knew I was ojibway I knew where I was from but I didn't know our language nearly 100 years ago the government made Sovereign Nations go into residential schools they made us cut our hair and assimilate to their way and in that process we lost our language and how we communicate with one another but now there are barely any survivors left but the ones that are still here tell their stories and speak their language they've taught their children and their children's children who they are and their language I've gotten the honor of learning it of learning ojibway in my sophomore year of high school my teacher is Bradley Hagen he has been so excited about teaching ojibway to his students and he is so passionate about it and it is exciting to learn all jibway from him we've had so many opportunities to go on field trips and learn about our indigenous culture and who we are and learn more about the language we've been very lucky to have a teacher like Brad who teaches o jipo and he has put so much time and effort into the language course into the language courses in the high schools he's an incredible teacher and is great at his job and as the OJ boy teacher and as the Indian teacher [Applause] classes have value to the curriculum because of the historical context cognitive development it can provide and communication and Community has brought thus far and we hope to continue historically indigenous languages have been repressed and ridiculed in professional and educational settings the treatment of native people and culture has been abhorent at the hands of the American government from suppression to reserve of land and igu unambiguous massacres language has been lost there are 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States today this is after extensive refinement Tri tribes are wiped out or merged from many into one a sign a significant amount was lost to the expansion of European Conquest because of that disease so many were so many are disconnected from who they are as indigenous people and some never got the chance to see modern day oo schools offer a jibway in school offers a minuscule amount of rebuilding after historical mistre treatment my own L syia pitra was a survival of residential schools among many other victims supposed education-based facilities where assimilation and removing native culture and language was the priority she has since passed in 2019 however she refused to speak her language until her very last day I don't want this to be the reality for any more of our native relatives putting the historical and possible political Nuance aside a has Val value in its potential to increase cognitive development and encourage a deeper understanding of English as you learn another language especially that of a somewhat parallel Algonquin language while alju and deota are of topic all indigenous languages should be taken into consideration it is of utmost importance to encourage longevity of one of our surviving languages such as alj it is also of notoriety that as the original people alju and other um native languages alikee should be a priority it is a dialect of the land which has been taken is a very absolute lease to Inc corporate classes into the curriculum to me personally oju has value in how it connects me to my family when I return to Total mountain or Red Lake OJ allows me to communicate with my relatives in a more personal way AJ brings representation to us as a racial cultural and political group it is more than just words it is our way oral history is significant within native communities and that history resonates more when Prov WR it in its original form [Applause] [Music] to [Applause] [Music] to they did great didn't they always I I do have to have one personal note I brag about our indigenous program to other districts I think we're Ethan does an amazing job and so do all the other people with him all right our next agenda item is the student Schoolboard representative reports um reason will you please share your report good evening everybody my name is re Atkins 279 online 279 online has been focused hard this month on locking in for the end of their trimester um we have a virtual beinging onine coming up this Thursday which is great opportunity for um Scholars to win Co prizes and other items like that um there are a few areas we are working on as a school currently to make us better um but giving us a new trimester gives us a fresh start to work on that so I hope everyone has a Thanksgiving and that is all I have for you tonight thank you thank you Reen Antonette Lee please share your report good evening everyone my name is Anette Brown and I'm representing oio Senior High recently U Senior High has had the highest number of students in our in our health science magnet program while also having those oec students grab up their oec fall Camp recently unified has started something new at oio called the oio kindness page on Instagram this Instagram page helps spread kindness throughout the school on and off social media once you see a student doing an act of kindness you send it in adding on to that asu's black student union has brought a safe space for black students to talk about their experiences struggles and mental health at our recent let's talk about it at this meeting each member of the group dressed up as a different emotion from inside out that expressed how we were feeling that day well while also having a warm invite for Dr how this month this month has been filled with so much student engagement academic involvement not only that not only when we we don't only embrace our students but our staff as well seven St staff members were honored at our school and topped off with the celebration for Veterans Day meanwhile link crew visited Second Harvest this month and helped our Brooklyn Park Community where we packed boxes of food we were able to see the difference we made at the end of the shift we packed 15,000 meals which weigh 18,000 lbs moving on to end of fall Sports quinland run quiz took Ninth Place in section finals triaa cross country meet for the third time straight while also sending our volleyball team to semifinals Jade Evans made top 25 in the state for Star tribute this year we've had had our special senior Spotlight Cindy collie who's also in the crowd right now so you can give a little wave um our girls soccer team went 500 for the first time in a decade boy soccer John FY making it to State finally this wraps up our 100 Years of Excellence for tri one thank you Antonette Naomi will you share your report hello again I am Naomi Cooper hi re and I represent Park Center November was a month of change growth and development for the students at our Park Center High School most of our students are wrapping up classes and going through rigorous amounts of final assignments and tests but everybody is making their way through it and ready for the Thanksgiving break moving on I'd like to give a Showcase of several of our activities that we have and they did outstanding this month I'd first like to start with our fall play that was display played just last week from the actors to the directors and even the people in the crew Everybody expressed passion with their craft that they took a part in it was a very alluring performance that made the audience feel the emotion of the show next I'd like to proceed to our modu team on the Friday the 15th our M team had a conference and they made connections with other school like there was no tomorrow they came home with the wars and stuff and I was like man I want to be a part of my on you in but speaking of awards our adapted soccer team again and again and again they just keep on going to State making us proud they got fourth and third place in state they are one of our most highest scoring teams in Park Center they really do need a round of applause and I gave them that thank you thank you thank you I'll show them this later okay we are so proud of all of our activities at Park Center who just bring home that gold inside of our school hours all of our students in our Spanish classes were able to experience Park Center's very own Dia de los muerto celebration this celebration was hosted by our very own Spanish heretic classes and they put their Heart and souls into the work they were there with bread food and other Spanish activities that people were able to try and you know what many people they had a good time so that was good moving on to my last topic of the speech I would like to give a shout out to our CRC our career and Readiness sources where they offered a bunch of college tours we went to the University of Minnesota we went to Chicago we even went to some HBCU colleges we just went all around the state and I would like to give a big shout out to them to just bringing us a bunch of opportunities and resources that our students can go not only virtually but in person so I'd like to give a big shout out to them but that's all I got for you guys thank you thank you Naomi Gavin will you please share your report yes good evening everyone just a quick introduction to those of you who have not met me which is probably all of you because I haven't been here yet um my name is Gavin Chaba and I'm here to represent Maple Grove Senior High School first off I would like to congratulate all of our fall Sports on their outstanding season girls tenis achieved a historic Milestone the season finishing third at State the best result in their program's history girls volleyball had an incredible season um going 21- 11 highlighted by a stunning upset over former state champions Zetta to reach their second ever section final they capped off their season with a thrilling final set battle against Champlain at oio uh girls soccer Advanced to State and wrapped up a memorable season with a hard fought loss in the final seconds of their quarter M quarterfinal Match Girl swim dive had an outstanding performance at State Libby ER placed fifth in the 200 IM and second in the 100 back while Ka flattery broke her own School record to secure seventh in the 100 fly Matty hland ear in 13th Place and Ellis Landry took fourth overall in diving to conclude an incredible year for the team on a personal note the boy soccer team and I had a phenomenal season going undefeated and marching into the bank ranked number one although we fell an unlucky overtime thrower the season was filled with an unforgettable moments Crimson football has been Unstoppable going undefeated this year they look to avenge the boy soccer team by bringing another championship ring back to Maple Grove and their State title game on Friday moving on from Sports let's talk about all the great activities happening at Maple Grove Crimson musical theater just wrapped up their final performance of the M Adams Family concluding an incredible series of shows the production was a huge success building excitement with each performance and selling out all five nights for the first time ever Deca has been actively raising money by selling chocolate bars I've been doing my own part selling chocolates though I bought a few for myself when I get hungry just throw a little dollar into the envelope it's fine um NHS has been volunteering around the community recently we helped the food group in New Hope and I've since learned that pouring corn into bags is very therapeutic um Maple grov model un recently had a stand up performance at their fall conference at mallister College Livia walth and Ethan Lee earned the second best delegate award for their conference as did Isabella know and svan V I sorry if I butchered that um for theirs in addition to these individual achievements Maple Grove delegates passed multiple resolutions across various conferences making this one of the team's most successful events to date HOSA welcomed 91 members this month which is the most ever since the club's Inception and a 360% increase from last year so that's crazy for them um map also welcome welcomed two new amazing clubs cancer kids first mgsh and best buddies mgsh both of which are chapters of larger State and National organizations cancer kidss first aims to bring joy to Pediatric cancer patients while best buddies advocates for individuals in the community with intellectual and dis de developmental disabilities May Grove is also now three months into our phone ban policy making it the faculty's Enemy Number One surprisingly I was shocked by this Everyone likes it it's weird um engagement in learning has skyrocketed and I've never seen the student body so engaged and enthusiastic with learning which was I mean I'm still shocked I mean the first week was hard um know I was like trying not to play games on my phone during class but I got through it and it's it's been great um as the end of the trimester approaches students are making their final grade pushes asking for extensions and trying to turn in assignments from three months ago um and with preparing for finals excitement stress and determin are in the air as we had another final stretch and although this is not from this month I believe it was necessary to leave a report on the loss of J Kuran a senior from Maple Grove who passed away on September 15th after her Battle of cancer and the profound Mark she left on the community in the wake of her passing the response was nothing short of extraordinary students rallied to change the football theme to purple in her honor and a moving release of balloons filled the sky as a tribute to REM Julia's M Julia's father Mr cran and a beloved teacher and the orchestra director was honored in a concert that was breath a breathtaking Crescendo of remembrance and love the entire School came together in a powerful display of UN and compassion pausing to celebrate Julia's life and the impact she had on everyone around her thank you thank you Gavin the student Representatives review the board meeting packet in advance and are prepared to answer questions from board members on issues to seek student input related to agenda items for this evening's meeting board members do you have any agenda items for which you want student input sure so we have a number of policies for their first reading tonight um we'll have another opportunity when we have the second reading but I just wondered if there was any feedback on any of those policies that are on their first reading tonight cell phone um student uh distribution Yeah by limited cell phone and electronic use during passing time and lunch what do you mean by that so I'd have to look at the procedure but if I remember right in policy um that there would be the ability to have access to the cell phone during those times okay that's see any other feedback on any other the policies okay well ask I'll probably ask again on the second reading um if if again an opportunity not to put pressure on you thank you I just love what you shared Gavin about that the students surprisingly like it so thank you for sharing that feedback it's encouraging any other questions for the student it was a heavy it was a real nice long packet today so thank you for going through that I appreciate it 500 pages um thank you so much thanks SCH y you may go if you want our next um agenda item is since we um changed the order of our agenda is the presentation of the fiscal year 2024 Financial audit results John morstead Executive Director of Finance and operations will you please start us off for the presentation or Kelly Bosa I think Kelly setting up the table I'll I'll introduce in the meantime so thank you chair moscada Jones yep so I'll just pass it over to to Kelly vusa who will introduce the next step thank you John right tag team so good evening chair mosquito Jones school board members and superintendent hle tonight our independent auditor will auditor will be presenting the fiscal year 2024 audited financial statements we share the preliminary Financial results with the board at the September Meeting those results have not changed Jim mikon the managing partner from mmkr will be presenting the audit report this evening thank you Jim thanks Kelly members of the board Administration my name is Jim Mike and I'm here this evening to present uh the audit results for the year ended June 30th 2024 uh first first of all thank you for changing the agenda uh to get me on sooner uh uh I always enjoy Schoolboard meetings so uh um but I do appreciate getting me move forward uh tonight on the agenda uh again uh this uh present ation is to prepare and to present the audit results for the year ended June 30th 2024 uh it is a requirement of the district to have an annual financial statement prepared that particular financial statement is also prepared um uh using uh a certificate of achievement program uh by the Association School business officials called the certificate of review program uh you'll find that particular financial statement is quite lengthy and provides a lot of information so if you get an opport to read that particular document it's it's an exceptional summary of the annual results for the year uh that particular financial statement is required to be audited by an independent certified public accountant of CPA which is my role with the district um we as part of our audit process follow a a standard protocol that's provided by the uh federal government the office of the state auditor in the state of Minnesota as well as the Minnesota Department of Education uh those audit standards require us to do a variety of things including audit that financial statement audit your uh Federal awards that you receive um namely the schedule of expenditures of federal Awards we also then audit your internal control specifically related to financial reporting uh those uh financial reporting uh internal controls are mainly uh uh here at the office at the district office here but they do provide it uh are provided on site and throughout the district uh we also audit specific controls over the Federal Awards you receive and lastly we audit your compliance with state laws and regulations there is a list of state laws that are provided by the office of the state auditor again we don't audit every law in that in that area just those that are provided on the list provided by the Osa um uh in the my audit process I did Issue What's called the management report that particular management report is my document as a firm to summarize the results of the audit uh I'm going to go through some of the highlights of that particular document that that uh summarized the results as mentioned uh first and foremost the district did receive an unmodified opinion on that uh annual financial report it was the opinion you were looking for a clean opinion is a better word probably than unmodified uh so uh so that's exceptional uh that particular opinion did emphasize one area we did Implement a new standard on Capital assets this year uh government Accounting Standards continually change changes and and when there is a standard that changes that impacts the results of the financials we are required to highlight that didn't really change the opinion it really just highlights a matter in your report uh continuing on uh uh we didn't have did not have any findings in the internal control matters that I talked about previously both in the financial audit as well as the single audit uh of federal Awards we did not have any findings in the internal control matters uh no findings to report in the compliance with Minnesota laws and regulations uh and then I mentioned the single audit of federal Awards we were able to also issue a clean opinion on that schedule as well as no findings uh in that uh that area so all in all no findings to report really uh exceptional results as uh per usual here at the district as part of my audit I'm going to go back before I move on uh it is important to reflect on uh a a requirement in audit and that is to to uh we are required to actually go back to last year's findings if there were any and follow up on those findings to verify that the district followed and made Corrections uh um and we did as part of our audit last year have a finding related to procurement in the uh Federal uh single audit space uh and we did uh do followup testing in that particular area and did not have any findings to report this year which is ultimately very important a come with findings they come with items but the corrective action plan is the most important uh uh item of that result so in my report uh I did uh provide um information on what I call the second part of the audit which is the financial results as Kelly mentioned uh these particular Financial results have been provided to the board uh uh uh probably a month ago maybe even two months ago uh those results didn't change from the information that was provided to you my report just provides more information on uh um uh trend lines some information on uh Trends and budget to actual information and the like uh this particular graph which you'll find in my report shows uh information on fund balances both uh at the Statewide level but also the district level uh this particular presentation is a percentage that's widely used by the Department of Education to show fund balances your Equity position in your funds compared to the overall operation your expenditures uh this particular uh graph the yellow graph is the Statewide Trends and and we've experienced a few years back when the pandemic hit some increases in fund balances uh mainly due to the some of the changing environment uh in operating schools um since that that particular time you'll see fund balances are starting to decline as we get uh into normal operations at school levels uh the blue graph is really this the district's uh fund balance is as it as it correlates to that particular uh percentage uh you'll note for 2023 um the the fund balance at the district did go up which was uh very planful the uh increases in fund balance relate back to really strategic planning that the district does in terms of planning for fund balances and and that increase will uh um uh be used as over time as the referendum dollars are used over the next few years uh this particular presentation which shows the revenues on a per student basis uh this uh this is shows your governmental funds of the district as a whole compared to the number of students you have so uh revenues on a per student basis were $2,695 for the year uh some of the things that stand out in this particular presentation to me uh reflects the increase in the the the property taxes the referendum dollars that you received the long and facility maintenance Levy did go up this past year as well as a capital project referendum which is reflected in that property tax line the district also receives some additional state aid uh both in the regular aid but in special education Aid uh and you're also seeing a decline in federal aid as some of those pandemic dollars are starting to wne and be used up you're seeing some declines which is uh being experienced pretty much all over the uh School District communities that we work with this particular graph is the uh uh the opposite of the earlier one which shows general fund expenditures on a per student basis the district spent $2,576 per student this past year on a variety of areas including the general fund and other operating funds um what stands out to me in this particular graph is you can see that the general fund uh uh increased per student increased almost $1,000 per student but almost all of that is in the classroom if you look at the lines this uh Elementary and secondary regular instruction as well as special education instruction all of those increases really show up on those two lines so some of those increases in in revenues or not some of not all are going right to the classroom which should can be highlighted in this particular graphical presentation um we do in our report show uh some information on operating results in this particular particular graph shows the financial uh results of the general fund uh the the uh yellow graph on the presentation is the district's fund balance the equity position um you can see that particular graph when I look at it anyway as a as an auditor uh I see stability I see very consistent audit results when it comes to fund balance and and and really consistent Financial results this past year the fund balance did increase uh but but that was planned that was planned in the district's budget as uh uh um as anticipated the results here are very very close to budgeted expectations uh which has always kind of been the case uh at the district we do provide information here on very specific information on fund balances you can see uh this particular presentation shows the district's fund balances by category uh we also show fund balance as a percentage of operations which is really the district's calculation in that percentage uh again I look at the five years presented and really show what stands out to me is the stability of it all uh uh Financial results of the district have always been very consistent and stable and this year is no different um a couple of other graphs that we present here that I wanted to talk about uh specifically this particular graph uh this one shows the general fund uh operating results specifically with Revenue uh overall the district's general fund revenues uh in total about $362 million so consider yourself a district that's running an operation of almost 362 million uh which is significant organization at the end of the year the the results of of your actual results compared to budget were within $20,000 which is incredibly close um to to be able to analyze and look at revenues that are coming to the district and get though them within 20,000 on a $362 million budget is incredible anybody that's a finance person myself I look at that and just wow that's that's outstanding uh exceptional results when it comes to the operating uh account this year on the expense side you can see here that the this particular general fund um uh the financial results reflect that expenditures were less than budget by about $10 million and most of that if not all of it was in in staff positions that went unfilled a significant portion of them which is something that we're we're seeing all over in our economy and in school districts as well as comparable organizations uh the district also saw some other Savings in things like Transportation snow removal utility cost uh those kind of things uh this particular graph does show some information on other funds the district has uh um these particular funds include the capital account you also have a food service fund you have a community service fund uh the capital account uh as shown here didn't decline this past year but again very planful that Capital does go up and down depending on uh uh operations and timing of projects uh so no real concern there uh Food Service fund did show an increase in fund balance um this past year again uh um very very much anticipated you're seeing very solid uh Equity position in that particular fund and then lastly the community service fund did show some increases in revenues uh this past year compared to expectations uh in a variety of programs uh which is very positive trend line as well when you look at some of those programs there uh that's the last graph I'm going to present um overall I wanted to uh um summarize the audit results for the year I was able to provide as I said a clean opinion on the district's basic financial statements I mentioned that the uh District's financial report is a certificate of achievement in financial reporting we will We and us as a team will be submitting that for achievement and hope to get a certificate of again this year uh the third bullet point shows there were no no findings reported this particular year uh uh as well as the finding that was initiated last year did not reoccur which is very uh positive I mentioned some of those financial results reflected inheritance the budget which is probably the most important part of the board you're getting information constantly from from Administration and to know that the audit results are going to mimic that particular information is really helpful to know at the end of the day uh lastly uh and I wanted to say two last things the district continues to have a focus on long-term funding both from the debt obligation side but also the current operations side we you have a long-term focus on using utilizing the resources you have both in the current year but looking forward in long-term planning and lastly I I do want to say the financial records here are in excellent condition um um when I had a minute to talk with the superintendent as part of our exit conference I did reflect uh with her our our consideration that that your district is considered Best in Class and and and the internal controls of the organization the business office and everything you do in the financial result is is exceptional and um that shows in this particular audit results shows in everything I view as part of this audit process and it really give kudos to the district for for that particular item so with that I'll open it up to anything or any questions you might have for me any questions or comments oror I just want say thank you again um this is my last audit that I get to sit through so um as our as the daughter of a CPA which you know um it was it was a really good one to land on sure excellent and Kudos and Excellence to Kelly and John and the whole team I appreciate it very nice work thank you yeah you um you make a good hype man for our district I so I know um a lot of things Goose to our finance team and staff uh for a number of reasons you listed but um you know thank you for that presentation and I hope that the district um and the community gets to hear at least a part of that um in the coming days so thank you just echoing um fantastic results by our team and the processes we have in place and it's just um it's so essential that we have um strong financials and that we've got good systems um because if we don't it does impact instruction it impacts our students so um the work that the finance department the business department and everybody does you are um creating the opportunities for our students as well so thank you yeah I Echo all of the sentiment um expressed already but I also just wanted to say for anybody who's interested um in the audience that's not here but people viewing online hopefully um if you want to know where every penny is being spent this is so comprehensive and detailed like there's nothing nothing that you could possibly uh leave out of this it's so inclusive but it's also really descriptive which really helps understand where we're spending money how we're spending money and how it impacts kids so thank you thank you thank you board members will be taking action on that later in the agenda um our next agenda item is the superintendant report Dr H all right thank you good evening chair mosquit Jones I'm sorry oh I jumped ahead oops it's the audience opportunity to address the school board I apologize um I will um review a few of the guidelines for those who will speak we have one speaker so I will make it quick because I'm pretty sure she knows all those rules I so just a reminder that we're all one Community um normally I would call the to the podium student parent staff community members um when I tell you Tina you get to come up and talk for three minutes and uh just a reminder to address the entire board and that we will be listening and not um respond back at this time and interactions must be um respectful and courteous and professionals civil so with that Tina come on up come on hi everyone I think this is the smallest audience I've ever had it's like hello esteemed board members fellow District employees and members of our beautiful Community my name is Tina Collins and I have been in ESP in the oio district since 2008 I have held many different positions over the years currently I have found a wonderful work family where I've been employed for the last 15 years Through The Years my employment with the district has become not so much of a job but a passion I've been entrusted with the care and safety of over 2,000 students in my years with the district and I remember most of them um I take my duties very seriously one of my roles is as a recess ESP and I am one of two adults designated to keep 120 to 150 children safe on an open playground 10 yards from swampy areas 10 yards from open wooded areas and about a thousand yards from two major roadways the actual play areas consist of a large open field about two football fields in length and width two large climbing structures with multiple slides two gaga pits and a four goal Sport Court this play area also has many swings and Spinners once in a great while we actually have a third adult with us not only are we supposed to keep all of our kids safe but we frequently have to let them in to use the restrooms get hats gloves or even jackets that they forgot continuously help them solve problems or conflicts that occur help them learn compassion sharing taking turns kindness fairness how to be a friend and a lot of times simply how to make a friend we are also on the spot nurses we wipe tears bandage OES and comfort anyone who is either hurt physically or emotionally we are overwhelmed and underst staffed and while we do all of the above we still have to keep an eye on all of the other children outside we are also expected to build a meaningful and trusting relationship with all of the children on our care so that they can feel safe and nurtured personally I give everything I have in me to my job as an ESP and keeping our kids safe even the kids I tell them my job is to keep you safe you have to help me that goes our administrators on site do the very best that they can but they too are overwhelmed with the responsibilities that we all are entrusted with my story is just one of hundreds just like it across our district we need funding in our district to not only hire qualified and committed ESP staff but also to retain all of us that truly truly care so much for our community's children thank you thank you Tina and thank you for your work we appreciate it thank you for having now it's time for our superintendent report thank you Tina all right good evening chair mosquito Jones and school board members I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work that is happening around a area school district and to Express gratitude for everyone who makes our district Tina place of excellence and belonging has becoming a Tina show so uh first I like to extend a warm welcome to our new school board members uh your leadership will be vital to the success of our Scholars as we strive for excellence your role in guiding and supporting our vision will make a lasting impact thank you for stepping up for this important work our a area school team is looking forward to working alongside you and building off of the incredible work that has been done by our current board so one of the greatest Joys is my happy Fridays is visiting our schools and witnessing the magic that happens in our schools so recently I had the privilege of spending time in Maple Grove senior where I saw a group of students deeply engaged in the learning and Community they were creating a small building using their newly developed skills and this was a building building this was like a I called it my she shed um that they were developing and it will go on sale I'm hearing at some point but this a incredible construction trades course is also taught at Park C Senior Center Senior High as well this program also equips our students with similar handsonic uh skills in both cases as well as opening doors to Future careers of course this is just one of many examples of how we Empower our Scholars to explore their passions and prepare them for life beyond graduation it was really a treat to see I'm continually inspired by the creativity and the care our staff brings to celebrating our babies or our Scholars last Friday we saw kindergarteners adding their own personalized feathers to the class turkey each feather a small piece of their unique identity another school embraced the family history by creating medieval style Crest reminding us how important is to honor every Scholar's background and their stories these moments may just seem really small but they are huge where they reflect our commitment to fostering a sense of belonging and pride for each and every one of our staff and their families and students and as always we continue to amplify our students voice this can be seen through academic projects this can be seen through our student leadership opportunities or Creative Expressions our Scholars are showing us who they are and who they Inspire to be so when we listen to their ideas and their dreams we not only support their growth but we work to shape our future of our community our community where everyone will be heard and valued so as we look ahead I'm confident that I area schools will keep building that strong Foundation together we'll continue to work towards that Excellence support one another and to ensure every scholar has what they need to thrive and to achieve their dreams so thank you for being part of this journey and I'm excited about what lies ahead so it's time for points of pride a regular part of the superintendent update is the points of Pride by sharing this we're taking a time to recognize and acknowledge our Scholars staff and our community members accomplishments uh following our mission which is to to inspire and prepare each and every scholar with confidence courage and confidence to achieve their dreams contribute to community and engage in a lifetime of learning so this evening once again we'll have some of our district cabinet here to assist in sharing some of these examples from the last month in the area of achieving dreams several District athletes and teams have made their way to Minnesota State High School league fall state tournaments students from three area high schools competed in the cross country state tournament the Maple Grove Senior High boys soccer team plays second in the state tournament Maple Grove Senior High girls tennis team plays third in the state tournament and Maple Grove Senior High football team defeated Shaka 26 to 14 to advance to the class 6A state championship game they will take on minnona this Friday the 22nd at 7 p.m. at the bank you can visit KP website to learn more about how you can watch that game and cheer them on Minnesota lieutenant governor Peggy Flanigan stopped by Oakview Elementary school on October 23rd to serve breakfast and share a big milestone Minnesota kids received 150 million School meals during the First full year of prechool breakfast and lunches on October 10th through the 11th five students from the oio area Learning Center attended a fall leadership conference hosted by the Minnesota Association of alternative programs or map Stars program at the conference the oalc student leaders connected with other alternative school students made new friends and represented their school proudly the team had the unique chance to explore a camp witness the northern lights and participate in valuable leadership training adviser Tori ngi said our Scholars left the conference with new ideas and big plans for our school scholar at Maple Gro Senior High School worked hard to get ready for their production of The Adams Family the musical follows the ghoulish Adams Family who have an affinity for all things mauret as their daughter Wednesday falls in love with a normal Boy The Talented crew was accompanied on stage by elaborate choreogra chore choreography spooky set and the orchestra thank you to everyone who joined us for the first school choice Fair families had the opportunity to visit booths for various schools and programs explore kindergarten classroom ride a school bus get a temporary tattoo and try out a virtual reality experience if you still have questions or are interested in Rolling visit our website Maple Grove oio and Park Center Senior High School students joined others from the Northwest Suburban Conference on October 11th at the minona Center for the Arts for a day of Arts focused learning and exploration the workshops included activities like racu firing cover art illustration acrylic Horizons watercolor Expressions wire sculptures jewelry beading and more the art students had their chance to work with professional teachers in their respective fields and work in a professional Arts Studio in early November students at Maple Grove Middle School put on their fall play the students presented juny be Jones toothless wonder for the F their families fellow students and community members on Veterans Day so in the area of contributing to community on Veterans Day students across oio area schools spent time on a wide variety of activities to learn about and celebrate our nation's veterans including an escape style uh puzzle room visits from veterans and crafts made in appreciation of veterans service on October 15th high school students in Dr hil's student cabinet met to talk about topics that were important to them including what students need to feel welcome and centered in oio area schools the students discussed how how to let their peers know what resources are available for mental health what resources would be beneficial for students in how to define climate and culture in the area of lifelong learning on a recent beautiful day students at oio education center o oec participated in an all School event in partnership with the outdoors programs of friends of The Boundary Waters students experienced various activities that help develop important outdoor skills reading teach teachers at Garden City Elementary School have spent two recent Saturday morning Mornings in the school cafeteria where Young Learners and their families came to participate in literacy games and activities Fiona ke who helped to organize the event said we know students do better academically socially and emotionally when parents in schools work together and on October 31st students at Maple Grove oio and Park Center senior high schools had the opportunity to try out a new meal during lunch as part of nutritious uh nutrition services Spotlight on Cuisine the spotlight on Cuisine featured s Salvador and Honduran food including papusas which is a Masa or corn griddle cake filled with beans and cheese Ora beef and cheese and ctio a traditional spicy SLA made with cabbage jalapeno onions carrot cider vinegar and oregano the goal of the spotlight on Cuisine is to educate at students on different cultures through Cuisine three three or four times um a year with fun and exciting menu items for the 18th year students at Elm Creek Elementary participated in a pumpkin run during their physical education class this fall students who completed the Run in under 11 minutes were entered into a drawing to win a pumpkin and other fun prizes students at asio and Park Center Senior High Schools recently attended College fairs students in all grade had the opportunity to talk to representatives and learn about local and National colleges including technical colleges community colleges and state schools the full student body of Birch Grove School for the Arts recently met Outdoors for the school's first Birch Grove cares assembly of the school year the action-packed and energetic event included dancing egg and Spoon races and games related to the school's positive behavior intervention strategies the student body also had a chance to give a to give their interim principal Miss Margo claven a warm Birch glove welcome on October 15 Community education's early childhood and family education ecnf staff hosted a free family fun night at arborview Early Childhood Center and Willow Lane Early Childhood Center the event brought in more than 100 families between both School locations for an evening of activities Story Time snacks food and fun with EC and Fe staff fa Oaks Elementary was a hub of activity the morning of October 29 when the school hosted a books and pumpkins event books and pumpkins allowed families to enjoy eating breakfast together and reading books to one another in the school's library media center which was decorated with many colorful pumpkins students and their families decorated pumpkins based on books together at home in advance of the event and the school displayed their pumpkin Creations next to the books they were based on Zanewood Community Este steem school students spilled the school's gymnasium October 29 to learn from The Local Company Lumen Technologies students rotated to four different stations during the hourlong event including stations that explain fiber optics and how they get the internet into people's homes and businesses how the internet works how fiber optic cables are spliced and much more at oakie as a reward for meeting the school's fund run fundraising goal in September all students got the chance to move and groove to their hearts content recently during silent disco parties the silent disco parties took place during each class physical education time in late October where each student received a headset that played three different options of Music Park Center Senior High School Spanish Heritage class transformed the school's media center last week when they put on a two-day Dia day Los maratos or Day of the Dead celebration the student planned and student run event featured activities such as frame decorating paper flower making card writing masks hand painting a photo booth and culturally specific snacks and candy teachers could sign up for times to send their classes through the exhibit on October 30th and 31 given most of the school an opportunity to learn more about the holiday and its cultural significance for counties and cultures countries and cultures who celebrate the Day Community education's kid stop and fourstar express students staff and families gathered on October 23rd and 24th to celebrate the 25th Annual lights on after school a nationally recognized annual event that showcases the many ways after school programs supports students and Families in the area of mission driven employees each October National principles month recognizes the essential role that principles play in making a school great thank you to all of our principles for all that you do each day for our students what a good-looking Bunch huh in our latest staff Spotlight meet Maple Grove Middle School sixth grader teacher Allison fiser principal Patrick Smith said Mrs fiser is as kid centered as they come she comes out of her she goes out of her way to ensure students feel welcomed and supported I hear students say all the time they love being in Miss Fischer's class check out our latest staff Spotlight on our website as a reward for meeting their fundraising goal students at Basswood Elementary School gathered outside on October 24th to watch their building staff members compete in inflatable Olympics staff wearing inflatable uh flatables including a dinosaur a lobster a snail and a few sharks competed in a variety of act activities including soccer kick beach ball throw hurdles pool noodle relay and an inflatable race the afternoon was filled with laughter cheers and some healthy competition and no injuries all right a few final notes of reminders for this evening please join us on December 4th from 300 to 6: p.m for the CBB winter cell and open house it's a perfect place to get all of your holiday gifts and our students have worked very hard on them so once again last week we had a very successful school choice fair if you're interested in attending but you weren't able to come please we encourage you to connect with our school or our schools that you're interested in and you can schedule a tour and this can be done simply by scheduling clicking on schedule Tour on school websites or by calling the school directly we look forward to to hearing from you so thank you this evening this it concludes tonight's superintendent report thank you our next agenda item is Schoolboard reports director Brooks do you have a report no report director Douglas no director Prince I do I have three that all met last week so it was a busy week uh so the deac committee uh met and uh the the bulk of the time was spent uh with the committee reviewing the stakeholder survey report so digging in really deep understanding the methodology um and reviewing the results of that so um there'll be I think some more observations on that um as part of their work um and then uh The District 279 Foundation also met um covered a lot of uh Financial updates um and investment updates additionally uh the you can purchase tickets now for the uh the the night out um it's a western theme um and a portion of the tickets are tax deductible um so be sure to go out there and start uh filling up those tables I think it's going to be a really fun one this time well it it always is they're always fantastic they like the the decor the decorations the G it's just an amazing evening so I really encourage everybody um to check that out and get your tickets um and then lastly uh bbay the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance For Youth met and I do want to share some of the results of their youth to uh youth survey um so the youth Toth survey is administered um by young people at bbay um and they were able to um receive responses from 411 yeah youth um so uh it'll I'll just take a few minutes to cover this um but the youth student survey um wanted to capture the diverse perspectives and lived experience of Youth today um and there there's some categories of their findings the first category is gold goals and dreams um and the youth's top three goals and dreams came out to be Financial stability meaning having enough money for needs and wants owning a home Etc um second going to college After High School and third getting into a career of their choosing under mental health having time for myself was chosen as the top feeling true for Youth and having positive mental health followed by having positive relationships with others and feeling selflove um category relationships top qualities youth think are most important for adults when interacting with youth were being respectful um being um adults being supportive of them and understanding how they feel under safety one in five youth indicated that they have been the target of hate or bullying based on their identity at school within the last year with only 53% of Youth indicating they would be likely to report an incident if it happened to them um under technology top reasons technology helps youth um included entertainment 77% um connect to friends um and while top reasons technology harms youth included distraction and losing sleep um and then last category interests youth want to see these in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center areas uh for sports uh Sports basketball volleyball things to do Art and Science art and dance movie Nights safe spaces VN facilities bigger Park swimming pool theater and movie theater so um so that's some of the key themes from it and I think everybody receives the full report if you don't let me know I'll make sure that you get that those are my reps thank you director Mitchell I have the fiscal um advisory committee Thursday night so I'll report on that next time okay director Grady um nothing okay um I have one report at this time um in District 287 which is our intermediate um school district for um kids with special needs um we had a retreat last meeting with the school board um talking about equity and um identity and all the interactions of all those pieces in um working with students and as a as a board member and then um mostly um all the regular Financial uh some spotlights and um oh and we have policies that um that went forward and um came back for a revision and I was at the policy meeting today right before this meeting and the amount of input that they have on their policies from students and staff in the um honesty of Staff reporting um is really amazing they just um did a big work up on the ADA accommodations and how that um works out for staff they're really good at with with students and um found that there were some things that um they had been working on but are increasing um the options for those and that is my report the next agenda item is a consent agenda board members are consent pres agenda items this evening include meeting minutes and financial reports for September 2024 fiscal year 2025 budget adjustments uh extended educational trips Personnel items construction bid approvals and we have 25 grants requiring approval as well are there any items that you would like to remove for separate consideration hearing none do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda as written so moved moved by director gas is there a second second second by director Brooks uh any discussion um I just want to say thank you to all of the people who put all the work into writing um these grants so that we could get them approved I know that it's a huge huge undertaking in many cases so um this helps our district in so many ways and we just really appreciate that effort absolutely all in favor say I I all oppos say nay motion passes 6 to zero our next agenda item is um the acceptance of the fiscal year 2024 audit report the information was um shared by our auditor and John Mora do you have anything else to add uh no nothing additional thank you thank you is there a motion to accept the fiscal year 2024 audit report which includes the fiscal year 2024 financial management report the fiscal year 2024 annual comprehensive financial report and the fiscal year 2024 special purpose report motion so moved a motion by director Prince is there a second second second by director Mitchell any discussion all in favor say I I I'll oppose say nay motion passes six to zero the next action item is the recommendation for approval agreement on the terms and condition of employment between Independent School District 279 Schoolboard and custodians Minnesota Teamsters Local 320 um for the time period of July 1st 2024 to June 30th 2026 the information will be shared by um Ivan schland Executive Director of Human Resources Ivan thanks so um thank you uh Vice chair mosquito Jones and board members um so we do have three contracts waiting awaiting approval and I will go through um provide a high level overview as you all know your board packet contains materials including the marked up copies in a memorandum for um that aligns with each contract so for the first one it is um uh the custodian contract um with local 320 uh again effective date uh July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2026 and I will summarize the changes um effective July 1st 2024 um we have uh class uh increases um with this contract uh for fiscal year 25 starting July 1st 2024 class one pay will start at 192 8 per hour class two um goes up to 2075 um classes 2 through 9 will receive a 2% increase and step four um of uh the highest class will receive a 4.5% increase um with this same contract in the second year of the contract the um class one starting pay will be $20 an hour um Class 2 through 9 again first three steps will rece receive a 2% increase step four will receive a 3% increase this contract also includes pay differentials for specialized licenses and shift differentials um with the exception of the high high plan um also an increase in employer uh um cost sharing for health coverage this two-year contract results in a 6.61 total package compensation package and the total Financial investment is $1,220 $668 and the contract is aligned with the parameters set by the school board and it is the superintendent and my recommendation that the board approve um this contract thank you um is there a motion to approve the contract agreement on the terms of conditions of employment between between Independent School District 279 Schoolboard and the custodians Minnesota Teamsters Local 320 July 1st 2024 to June 30th 2026 so move uh motion by director Brooks is there a second second second by director Grady is there any discussion we just want to say thank you to the custodial um staff and uh everyone on this contract you have a very important job we appreciate it thank you for coming to an agreement um all in favor say I I I I'll oppos say nay motion passes six to zero the next action item is recommendation for approval agreement on the terms and conditions of employment between the Independent School District 279 Schoolboard and hourly technical for the period of July 1st 2024 to June 30th 2026 ion thank you this contract consists of 48 uh excuse me 46 uh employees in various um hourly technical positions and a summary of the changes follows um starts with a 5 % base increase for the 2024 25 fiscal year followed by a 1% base increase for the following year 2025 through 2026 um the ranges were increased so the salary ranges were increase by a total of 99.3% pay for performance will be paid as a stipend instead of um added being added to the base consistent with other contracts this contract also includes some educational STP open this 2-year contract results in a 5.33 total package increase the total Financial investment is 269 thou 100,000 100 26900 185 um over the term of the contract and this uh the hourly technical contract also is consistent with the financial parameters established by the school board and the superintendent and I recommend approval thank you is there a motion to um approve the agreement on the terms and conditions of employment between Independent School District 279 school board and hourly technical from July 1st 2024 to June 30th 2026 it's motion by director Grady is there a second second second by director Brooks is there any discussion again thank you to all the Orly technical um staff you have very important jobs as well um is there okay sorry all in favor say I I I I'll oppose say nay motion carries 6 to zero the next action item is recommendation for approval agreement on the terms and conditions of employment between the Independent School District 279 school board and management I through M July 1st 2023 to June 30th 2025 Ivan thank you and and um I do want to point out you just read the effective dates of the contract I do want to point out that this contract is in the last cycle so it was in the odd cycle of uh contract negotiations um this group consists of 58 employees that serve in a variety of management um uh positions throughout our system for the first uh fiscal year of the contract 2023 through 24 there is a 5% um increase to the base followed by a 3% increase to the base in the 20242 fiscal year consistent with other contracts um the uh nonwork days were changed to vacation days and uh there was also an increase in deferred compensation um life insurance and again um uh increase in the share cost sharing for the cost of health coverage this contract also contains um several newus memorandum of understanding and as well as say um for the pay for performance move to the a stien instead of um being added to the base this two-year contract excuse me results in a 8.9 of course right when I have to talk excuse me this two-year contract results in an 8.91 total package increase um the total Financial investment is 877,000 and this uh the I through M management contract also is consistent with financial parameters established by the by the school board the superintendent and I recommend approval of this contract thank you Ivon uh is there a motion to approve the agreement on the terms and condition of employment between Independent School District 279 and management I through M for the period of July 1st 2023 to June 30th 2025 so moved motion by director Douglas is there a second second second by director Grady is there any discussion I just want to say this was a lengthy process to get to an agreement so I appreciate um all the hard work of everyone on negotiations to get to a final agreement um all in favor say I I I'll oppose say nay motion passes 6 to zero the final action item is the approval of gifts to the district is there a motion to approve gifts to The District in the amount of 99 , 38542 so all right we're going to give the motion to director Mitchell and the second to director Douglas is there any discussion Collective thank you um that is a lot of money we really appreciate all the donations and gifts that we get all in favor say I I I'll oppose say nay motion passes 6 to zero okay our next um agenda item is informational items we have several policies and procedures up for first reading information will be shared by um Amy Moore general counsel Amy thank you uh so as you said this is the first reading of the policies we provide the procedures for uh uh information um the board acts on the policies uh they will be posted for the next month and any feedback from our community is welcome and encourag through the policy web page I'll start with policy 403 discipline suspension dismissal of School District employees we are working our way almost done with the next C cycle with all the 400s on Personnel um as you can see there's minor uh updates to this policy no real substantive updates both with the policy and the procedure just some um more Precision to some the um like adding procedures and employee handbooks there in section three on the policy um and uh same with the procedure no real um substantive updates just some uh language uh Precision changes all right policy 421 gifts to District Personnel um for this uh the one substantive change you'll see in section three number three is providing clearer language of what insignificant value means um in the policy and then in the procedures we reference budget man managers as school officials as you can see that $5 value continues any questions I have questions when people want to meet with me and they want to pay for my coffee I said it's over five bucks you can't I know it is um yeah it's um does not know inflation exactly um okay so policy 443 tutoring of students um thank you to director uh Douglas for pointing out that I crossed out from and then added it so it the from comes out uh we'll fix that but um just some minor clarifications um in that policy um that you can see no real substantive updates on that policy questions um policy 435 this is a policy that uh did have some updates when we had significant legislative changes um and so the updates that you see right now are kind of uh further Precision updates and the policy policy focusing on a proper lure when required um and then consistently referring to pby um the professional educator licensing and Standards Board um which is referenced in the statute so that in the policy and then even more so than in the procedure you can see those updates All Right Moving On um policy 448 and procedure 448 Workers Compensation Insurance um this is actually up for repeal that was my M mistake in having it for review um as you can see there's a one sentence um it doesn't really uh add anything um it's not a terribly useful policy the procedure has more information but we see all of that information in our employee handbook so propos this one for repeal as as not useful all right on to the meet um to uh uh bringing policy 505 student cell phone and Technology policy um we are in compliance with the state law because we do have a policy but taking the opportunity to add more definition and add procedures this policy did not have procedures um what you will see in the policy updates that we did is again trying to add uh a few more illustrations and precisions like smart watches and earbuds and airpods um adding a statement that students are encouraged to not bring cell phones um including all those devices um and then the biggest update to the policy is really referencing section five where you as a board would direct the superintendent to an act some procedures um to um call out consequences um everything in line within the structure of what you have in that policy um and looking at the policy it really provides a good structure for those procedures than to flow from then uh the procedures which are uh first being proposed um uh put elementary and middle schools together and saying from Bell to Bell we don't want see cell phones uh describing uh first what the consequences for first second third fourth offenses and then for high schools uh acknowledging that uh cell phones could be used uh incidentally as the uh student rep had asked about you know lunchtime during passing time but during learning time um the expectation is that the phone is not used or visible and again uh laying out some consequences so received a significant amount of feedback prior to um when we had the policy as we were doing it in the policy committee and then once we put the procedures up and went back out and receiving a lot of really good um much more specific feedback which is nice in what we wanted to see um the vast majority of folks really like the direction that we're going they like what the policy and the procedures are looking like um students uh there have been a couple of Our Community Partners going to Brooklyn Middle School and Park Center and done some more in-depth conversations with them and the feedback um I uh just got the Park Center one today but it's it's really great feedback um what you will see kind of uh in some is that they agree kind of like what you heard from our student rep they agree they kind they like the policy but they um a lot of times you'll hear about safety concerns and even with parents uh the safety concern that's where they're like but we want uh cell phones available for what if um uh they also the students would like to see staff U model um uh what they should be doing and not doing with their cell phones that was uh really uh reflective good feedback um they they they don't like the harshness of the consequences um you know I we've heard uh feedback from staff as well wanting us to consider looking at those consequences and how they uh uh look right now this was our first attempt really needing more feedback um so I what what I because I'm getting still getting really in depth good feedback I want to finish getting that um I will look at it and consult uh with superintendent cabinets Associates and and other folks and put up another um the procedure with that feedback in it um so next month the board will be up the policy will be up for um for a vote um you know we'll I'll do it I can to get the procedures in um a place that will reflect the feedback that we're getting um but because the procedures are more administrative the other thing that I'm hearing both from staff and uh students is um especially from the students saying um you know we need time um we like it's we can't go cold turkey there's kind of an education component to to the to this as well um the student rep reference referenced like oh you know it took a week to kind of get used to it I think some other students and staff might need a little more time so uh I can am looking for really getting the feedback and finalizing the procedures and then having some time to educate uh put that information out um you know not necessarily uh that it's implemented yet this year um a lot of our schools already have these policies in place and then uh they would go full in implementation starting um fall 2025 schools could can utilize it but it would be an opportunity to uh have that opportunity for a roll out with an education without necessarily you know uh January 1 a first offense you know um right away so that's what I foresee with this uh the roll out the policy will be in place the procedures we will finalize and I'll keep the board updated obviously as well as you know the public and our staff um how it's developing but we're getting great feedback okay comments questions what about like a grace period I'm sorry like a grace period you know like we're implementing this January 1 but for the first month you'll get verbal warnings before it gets taken away you know where it's less restrictive but they know like hey you need to get in the habit of this yeah I think it is giving uh the schools um that opportunity of how it will best roll out within their Community um and then having the entire School uh District community in on in the same place all right then the final policy is a new one um and it's School sponsored student Publications and activities this is in response to new legislation regarding um the requirement that districts recognize uh First Amendment rights of student journalists uh so you'll see language regarding protecting their free speech rates while balancing the district's role Ro in supervising student um Publications there's definitions regarding what it means to be a school activity what is school sponsored media what it means to be a student journalist this is grades 6 through 12 um and then the guidelines it you know good guidelines on you know student journalists having the right to exercise their freedom um freedom to express political viewpoints but then also referencing what would be be considered prohibited you know obscenity def defamation profane harassing threatening um you can can read uh what's prohibited it's a it's a good list providing that guidance and again framework um talks about as well when you have student media advisers that of course they will still teach students about Professional Standards and list some examples of what those uh standards would be as well as um they're because we're a public entity time place and manner restrictions as well so that is what that new policy would look like and that's it any questions board members um again that this is the first reading so there's no action on this this gives um people plenty of opportunity to um give feedback on any of these policies and I just want to say um to the Poli polic committee thank you so much for all your work I've been on the policy committee it's a lot of um detailed work and um and a lot of extra time so thank you very much for that um tonight there will be no um negotiation strategies meeting so is there a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:41 p.m. so mov motion by director Douglas is there a second second second by DOR director Prince um all in favor say I I all oppos say nay motion passes 6 to0 and the meeting is adjourned at 7:41 p.m. jaie my last meeting for