##VIDEO ID:O8GPY7g7Ft8## all right this meeting has been called to order welcome to the December 9th uh business meeting of the Prior Lake Savage Area School Board please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all first order on the agenda is the uh open Forum we have nine speakers tonight normally we only allow five uh given the sensitivity of the topics of discussion today we are going to allow all nine but I ask that all of you please follow the rules uh that have been posted up there uh as well as keep your uh comments to 3 minutes or under otherwise we're going to be here for quite some time so the first uh person up is Danny and I'm sorry I I can't pronounce the last name uh pong pong okay um uh Yong uh you want to address inappropriate teacher action um good evening members of the um School Board my name is Danny Nong and I'm a high school senior at P Lake High School today I want to address a sit a situation that has recently occurred in which I know no serious action will be taken a teacher within our district made a social media post recently on immigration and said quote a family that is deported together stays together my reaction similar to yours was of disbelief a teacher meant to provide a safe and nurturing environment not only has openly said such a horrible and hurtful thing publicly and to my knowledge they will still have no they will still have their position unless something is done I know many many families within our district are Disturbed and hurt by this um hurt by this news and rightfully so as a son of immigrants and as someone who works in t with organizations working against the wrongful deportation of people I know how unjust and painful this is [Applause] um my name is Jasmine du hadway and I'm a senior at the high school this teacher has made several other comments besides the one that was mentioned she has called the Minnesota flag the Somali flag and resisted taking inclusivity classes with the progress our Affinity groups have made in cultivating a positive space I am baffled by the insecurity in her repeated comments this behavior is not okay as a teacher within a diverse School District she should know the harmful implications of her actions we need a call to action if action is not taken immediately it would be setting a precedent where other teachers who share these dangerous and hurtful ideas feel that their actions do not have consequences thank [Applause] you uh next up is Dana Reitz uh speaking on wolfridge um thank you Dr Thomas and the school board for giving me time us time to speak about the importance of wolfridge my name is Dana Reitz and I have taught previously at Glendale Hamilton Ridge Elementary and currently at Red Hill Ridge I have attended wolfridge 16 times to the best of my knowledge which means I've personally brought up 1,600 students with me I have recently heard rumors that the learning experience to wolfridge is in danger of being cut due to teachers not wanting to attend anymore and budget cuts I know I can't speak for all fifth grade teachers but I can speak for Red Tail rid teachers and we want this experience to continue for students and the district didn't spend any money this year for wolfridge it was 100% funded by grants scholarships and Families I also have a e a letter from a teacher not a teacher a parent in my class that I would like to read this is from Mike Jensen and he went to wolfridge with us this year as a chaperon I'm writing to you today to advocate for keeping the funding of the fifth grade program I'm going to switch here for the fifth grade program that takes the entire class from K from K5 schools to the wolfridge Environmental Learning Center in northern Minnesota I don't envy the very difficult challenge that you all have before you to manage the budget of this District I believe that wolfridge programming has to remain part of the curriculum for fifth grade students in plsas this is a critically a critically important program that has a lifetime impact and is available to all students this opportunity is full of challenges new experiences and a lot of fun that many of the students have never been exposed to and times won't again after I have had the opportunity to go to wolfridge twice in my life the first was in 1993 as a fifth grader myself and I still remember the challenges and excitement of this program my second time was just a few weeks ago with my daughter's class from Matel Rich this time attending as a chaperon I witnessed kids showing Amazing amounts of Bravery team teamwork and determination the experiences that wolfridge provides are critical to the students learning as the stem curriculum that they receive in the classroom wolfridge provides unique experiences that include being outdoor doors no matter the weather to learn about plants animals Landscapes that make up our state several of the programs challenge the students to face fears and lead them to showing vast amounts of courage and determination during a winter survival class I watched as kids work for three hours to build a Shel shelter start a campfire and then make hot chocolate it sounds like a fun time and it was but it was also a hard time campfires can be hard to start when you are loaded with modern tools these were kids were given a piece of birch bark and two matches they didn't give up they worked together they struggled they failed and they kept going until they succeeded the looks and feelings of Triumph were so special and they will be carried on for the rest of their lives wolid is for all students no matter their background can I finish my sentence can finish your sentence okay normal life okay wolfridge is for all students no matter their background normal lifestyle or physical abilities and he's just going to go on to talk about that we had many students who used adaptations thank you very much inclusivity thank you uh next to the Forum is Megan American Horse speaking on unconscious bias in our classrooms hello the human brain takes in 11 million bits of information per second and the conscious mind can only handle an average of 45 bits per second so 45 per 11 million so our unconscious minds are tested with triaging an immense amount of sensory information and we're only able to bring maybe 40,000 of a percent of that information to the conscious mind per second so the only way we can feasibly accomplish this feed is by taking shortcuts with their brains instantaneous decisions can be based on each individual's background cultural environment personal experiences we often base these snap judgments on certain characteristic of others like gender race or age and we organize our social worlds through categories Marie condo style Alexander Pope once said to air is human so to be human means to have a brain that operates on instinctive snap judgments not always rational analysis so simply put our unconscious minds are a lot of the time this is the basis for unconscious bias which is the social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals from outside their that they form outside their own conscious awareness so how does this unconscious bias affect our schools teachers with unrealized bias can inadvertently influence be influenced by their judgments which can contribute to student discrimination this can lead to differential treatment of certain students which can deeply affect them in ways that affect their ability to succeed grow and learn and furthermore their peers may also inherit this Behavior simply by modeling their teachers Behavior the classroom environment is less conducive to learning and can even make students feel unsafe and unwelcome so what can we do a culture of inclusivity can be fostered through social emotional skill development we must be care be aware of our own unique biases and accept they exist wholly without harsh self-judgment we must further recognize our patterns of thinking and make conscious efforts to challenge any negative harmful biases so today I just want to challenge the statement that I don't see color while well-intentioned it is not acknowledging potential issues that do arise for children of color this dismisses their realities and can have negative effects on others I challenge memes about deportation politics these have a racially biased Dimension which increases the negative effects of racial bias again on our children before spreading potentially biased ideas on social media we must pause is this harmful we must ask ourselves as parents with children of color like most parents we want our children to thrive in a safe and welcoming environment an inclusive learning environment to achieve this we must work together to combat bias and must start by looking within we can fulfill our school's mission of inspiring and empowering each student to reach his or her full potential but we must address this bias together and hold each other accountable thank you for your time next speaker is Trey forner on wolfridge hey y'all my name is Trey forner I was one of the few lucky ones to uh chapero our wolfridge trip a few weeks ago while I'm sure you're already familiar with the benefits of Outdoor Learning like improved Focus increased physical activity better mental well-being improve social interactions and a deeper Connection in nature I'm here to talk about a deeper connection from a literal Outsider I'm from La which we all know means lower Alabama the Bold North was never on my radar until I got a job offer to come up here for a year on my way further anywhere else uh the the first year I moved up here there was an article in the Star Tribune about how isolating and lonely this state is if you're not from here but I got involved in community volleyball for a few years and got roped into my first camping trip by one of my teammates real camping was something I'd always wanted to do but growing up military moving every 3 years we never had the chance my teammate canceled on me at the last minute and said the group was still willing to let me come along so I went with seven strangers in a car for 5 hours the next thing I know I'm paddling a canoe about as straight as a snake I'm uh doing what I thought was hiking y'all call it portaging and uh busted my butt to get into a place called The Boundary Waters I had no idea what I'd gotten myself myself into I learned more read more bonded more and got more lifelong friendships in one weekend than I had had in the entire time I lived here when I got back my co-workers said my face looked more relaxed I didn't know it was stressed in the first place I realized that that moment how important it was to unplug and not only talk take in nature but to fall in love with why we choose to live in Minnesota I won't tell you how many years ago that was but here I still am while I know why it's important to me a few weeks ago I discovered how important it is to share that love with our children as an adult who solves problems for a living I learned to step back and let these kids solve their own both mentally physically and socially and I saw it visibly transform them they learned to think outside whatever instaface Ro boxes were all stuck in and they gained confidence in themselves in ways that make this program something that should be expanded not eliminated I've been a scout leader for the past 5 years and had the privilege of seeing some of it in action over an extended period of time but I'd be hardpressed to match what they did in five in one short week at Wolf r when you see the fear and self-doubt in a child transform into holy cow I did it that's something you want to share with the world not take it away I can now paddle a canoe straight as an arrow start a fire in the rain haul a pack over any terrain but that's a side effect of the benefits I got from unplugging focusing on a goal committing to a direction and seeing where the journey takes me may we all be lucky enough to kiss the goat thanks yeah [Applause] okay next we have Lauren Harding speaking on social media use that disrupts our educational institution's Mission good evening members of the board my name is Lauren Harding and I am both a parent in the district and an active member at Jeffers Pond Community I am here tonight to express my deep concerns about the content shared in a recent Facebook post by a Jeffers Pond teacher which has since been wildly circulated over the past two years I have grown to admire Jeffers Pond for its commitment to fostering an inclusive respectful and supportive environment that's why the tone and sentiment of this teacher's post were so shocking and disheartening to me while I fully respect her right to express her personal opinions sharing harmful and hateful views in a public forum raises significant concerns particularly for the students she interacts with daily my primary worry is is for the students in her classroom especially those who might feel targeted or excluded by her words every child in the district deserves a safe and welcoming environment that affirms their unique identities and encourages their growth beyond the classroom posts like these risk damaging the broader sense of unity and inclusivity that Jeffers Pond and the Prior Lake Community strive to embody I am incredibly proud to be a part of a school community that values diversity and mutual respect and I believe those values are far stronger than any one individual's harmful rhetoric My Hope Is that steps are taken to ensure the community knows that these sentiments do not reflect the values of Jeffers Pond or the district as a whole thank you for your time and continuing to prioritize the well-being of all students uh next up is Anna Brinson and budget on the topic of budget cuts you'll have to excuse me I'm just going to read so that I can be sure to get through it in the three minutes so um I'm here tonight to talk about why cutting district field trips specifically the fifth grade wolfridge uh environmental Learning Center would have detrimental effects to our students in our community wolfridge is not just a field trip it's a Once In lifetime opportunity for our students to grow academically socially and emotionally they spend a week away from home learning about the environment and discovering their own capabilities they build self-esteem gain confidence and strengthen peer Bonds in ways that cannot be replicated in the classroom for many students this is their first chance to experience Independence they come home transformed more capable more resilient and more connected to their classmates this issue is also personal for me my oldest child missed the chance to attend wolfridge because of Co and even 3 years later he still talks about his disappointment that's how much this trip means to our students it leaves a lifelong lasting impact recently my middle child and my husband returned from Wolf Ridge and they could couldn't contain their excitement while sharing the amazing things they learned my child has gained incredible Confidence from their experience and my husband was truly struck by how much growth and teamwork he saw amongst the students during their time there I'd hate to see my youngest miss out on this amazing learning opportunity like my oldest did it's important to note that the District's Financial contribution to this trip is extremely minimal from my understanding there was no cost to the district this year wolfridge is funded primarily through student fundraisers parents payments PTC donations and grants cutting this program would not save the district any significant money but would cost our students invaluable experiences that shape their education character and their Futures if we cut wolfridge now we risk losing our spot to another school district this field trip is in high demand across Minnesota and one and once our place is gone it may not be easily to reclaim the fifth grade trip to wolfridge has been a Cornerstone of our district for decades being in the strategic planning Corp committee and during our strategic planning committee engagement sessions families repeatedly mentioned it as sorry you lost my spot one of the highlights of our educational offerings cutting it cutting it would go against our new strategic plan and against the significant feedback we've received from our community we must also consider that on average less than 15 students District y do not attend wolfridge demonstrating overwhelming participation and support this this trip is a unifying experience fulfilling one of our strategic plan priorities it's also a trip that our teachers strongly support and do not want to be eliminated the community has made it clear they do not support cuts that directly impact students and teachers instead of targeting programs that enrich our children's education and lives I urge the district to evaluate and audit other areas of the budget that we could other areas of the budget could we reduce spending in the DC office including removal of administrative assistance on outside Consulting companies and firms electronic subscriptions are bus and contracts these are areas that could be trimmed without directly affecting our students educational experiences let's Center on what matters most our students field trips and programs like wolfridge are not extras they are Essentials to developing well-rounded confident and capable young adults though I understand the Deep disappointment and frustrations that the community did not support this Levy let's find a way to work together prove we hear each other so that we can collaborate to protect these invaluable experiences as well as our classroom teachers and educational experiences for our students thank you [Applause] uh next we have Cary Lind or Lindy um talking uh about advocating to keep the wolfridge ELC program in the district I live in Savage and I have two children in the district both went to wolfridge I chaperoned in 2022 and I applied again in 2024 knowing the energy and the passion of the teachers at Red Tail Bridge really sold it again I am proud to be a part of a school district that gave both my girls the same experience at wolfridge as I had as a child in 1991 I am here asking you to prioritize the wolfridge program in our district and to advocate for young students who have yet to have this opportunity there are many benefits of wol fridge but I'm just going to talk about three inspiration risk taking and a connection between our district and the new initiatives of the Minnesota Children's cabinet first as a chaperon for two separate years I am still in awe of the magic of wolfridge and it is Magic their ability in five days to break down the social barriers between groups of children and for peers to see each other in new light is Magic with an immersive itinerary and Incredibly unique activities children get to to show a part of themselves to their peers that they don't get to show in a regular school setting the activities highlight individual strengths and also Inspire new passions and interests that help develop strong student connections and their connections to the world around them I have seen this firsthand when an otherwise quiet child has transformed when they become the go-to person for answers on environmental questions second there isn't a program better that allows children time and space to experience Positive Growth through challenges and risk-taking each child experiences at least one major CH challenge whether it be Heights on the Rope course physical limits on a three- mile hike or a mental challenge when dissecting an owl pellet the unique activities push children outside their comfort zone and it's not a challenge or risk that they have to tackle alone no they do it with their peers it builds them up they take with them the KN how to get through challenges as they grow they face their fears and they develop a new thought process and Bank words of encouragement from others and then they take the steps necessary to problem solve and overcome the challenge and the most rewarding part is to as a chaperon is to watch them spend the night and even the next day reflecting on their successes and overcoming those challenges and then celebrating it with all of their peers and their teachers and the rest of the chaperon and lastly an a necessity for creating connections to the outdoors is becoming ever more relevant two years ago the Minnesota Children's cabinet cabinet launched the outdoor children's Bill of Rights you should all have one of these um okay a great resource thank you for your time next we have Shannon Smith uh speaking on Wolf Ridge he um actually pretty much everything that I was going to share has already been said so I asked both of my girls if they would be willing to share one memory that they've had of Wolf Ridge um my daughter Allison went two or a year ago and my daughter Katie and I just went this year so ktie would you like to share one memory of what you liked about wolf fridge my favorite part of wolfridge was facing my fears to climb the ropes course when I fell I wanted to give up but my friends cheered me on and I got back up and ended at the zipline uh my favorite part about Wolf Ridge was sing Jora the fox who was a adorable yes so thank you yes it's just it's so important that thank you you know like um was mentioned that was kind of cut off wolf rdge really finds a way to involve every student no matter their abilities different challenges they need we had a student that was in a wheelchair the entire time and got the zipline down with their dad with their entire class watching and cheering parents didn't have to ask kids to cheer each other on they were doing it organically they wanted to see each other's succeed and so this program while it seems like it's a trip um it's really a lifechanging experience for not only the kids to get to go but for the adults to get to go as well and we heard that while we were selling cookie dough and candy bars people would hear it was for wolfridge and they'd pull out another $5 or $10 and they would share their story of getting to go to wolfridge so it was kind of like this Invisible Thread that tied all of our community together at a time where things may not seem so together or may seem divisive Wolf Ridge is that one thing you could talk to anybody about and it's always a positive thing so please keep that in mind as you think of these really difficult budget cuts we know it's not easy and there's going to be things cut but please consider the importance of Wolf Ridge and what it means not just for students but for the community thank you um and last last on our list is Chuck Smith uh speaking on the Twin Oaks pool closure hello everybody thank you for your time uh my name is Chuck Smith I'm speaking on behalf of the storm swim club and the potential closer of the Twin Oaks pool uh in front of you you should have two pages uh the first one is the yearly expenses breakdown to keep the pool open and the second is the information I obtained directly from Dan Powers um public stated I believe the district thinks it will save $70,000 per year my document shows how that simply is not the case uh a claim of $30,000 a year in labor savings um would be great if you're cutting custodial staff but you're not so any savings in labor associated with the pool um simply just isn't the case um they also did not include any of the rental that we put into the pool each year twin o alone generates $144,000 in revenue from the storm Swim Club so if you look at that you're looking at actually about 38,00 in annual operating uh expenses if that number is too high I suggest closing the pool in the summer you can save a 25% uh on yearly on your operating expenses and bring the fees down to about $25,000 if you think that's still too high meet with the storms sum Club talk with us we're willing to put down a minimum of $110,000 each year as a lump sum payment to help keep this pool open if you need more we'd have to go back and take a look what we can afford but this pool is important to us and it's important to the community a little bit about the club Twin Oaks alone has about 600 unique swimmers pass through its doors each year 400 in lessons and roughly 200 in the club moving these operations to Hidden Oaks will not work first of all the pool is already used to its full capacity there may be some am 6:00 sessions not going to work so well with little kids um and it's also a cold water facility imagine a four-year-old trying to learn how to back float in 78 degree water if you ever been in that it's pretty chilly imagine a six-year-old trying to learn how to swim freestyle they won't come there access to a community-based affordable lessons program is very very very important and we've been doing that for 20 years in this community and we hope to continue on um and if it goes away our lessons program will be cut almost entirely and our age group program will also be in in Dire Straits um we also employ about 50 people per year most of those are high school age students teaching lessons in fact the majority of those came from our club they're giving back to the community while having a job if this pool goes away those children's uh jobs will likely be in Jeopardy there may be a handful left over but the majority will be laid off the pool is community I'm sorry the pool is vital to the community and by my math it looks like about a half of a percent of your budget cuts would be needed uh be saved with this pool so it's a very small drop in the giant bucket that you're trying to cut I understand that um and furthermore speaking towards the the success of our program go look at the record boards go look at the The rosters over the last 20 years the vast majority of those swimmers came from our swim club or got their start with our Swim Club Storm is what pla Y is to your community and I would say this if you want to tear down a building instead of replacing a roof I wouldn't do that I know it needs some repairs but those are those are what happens when you have a when you have a structure so thank you for your time [Applause] um moving on with our agenda um all board members are present and uh I'm looking for uh first and a second motion for the approval of the agenda so by director white second by director Olstead all in favor I I opposed that passes 70 okay the next item on our agenda is the truth and Taxation um which is required every year I hand this off to director Frederickson thank you chair friendss members of the board um we are required to present to the board and the public a presentation for our property taxes which the board will need to approve tonight our our Levy um you have this in your uh board book these are not new slides so we're going to going to run through these pretty quickly as we've got a pretty full agenda um the state requires us to have a meeting between November 25th and December 30th um and present uh presentation of the current year budget and our proposed property tax levy um I'll talk about some background information on school funding our District's budget the proposed tax levy and then we would have public comments if there are any the legislature has set the funding for Minnesota Public Schools so everything is in statute uh the state sets the formulas for our Revenue which most of them are based on um per pupil amounts they also set our tax policy for local schools and the state will tell us what our maximum authorized property tax levy can be U they also authorize School boards to ask for referendum and operating Capital needs for voter approval we look at at the general education formula allowance which again is set in statute uh the formula allowance has not kept up with inflation for many years in order for the per pupil amount to be met with inflation it would need to be $864 per student it currently for 2425 is $728 and that was a 2% increase this year and a 4% increase last year in legislation according to the Minnesota Department of Education in 2022 there was an underfunding of special education in the amount of $712 million with current legislation increasing the uh um excess cost formula allowance um the education special education funding is going to look about $48 million underfunded by 2027 and the primary way that schools can bridge that funding Gap is to either cut regular program budgets or increase referendum revenue or do a combination of both School District budgets are divided into separate funds that cannot be um interchanged with each other there is the general fund the Food Service fund the community service fund Debt Service fund trust fund and the other post employ employment benefit funds all of those um have separate funding requirements and um separate revenue streams our current District Revenue which this board had approved in June and tonight you'll be approving a amended budget um is 154 million in Revenue with with $155 million of expenditures that's excluding the internal Services fund this actually is supposed to be a pie chart that shows our revenue for all funds clicking one more time 10 Popa one Advanced ones our revenue for all funds um actually shows that about 79% of our revenue is for the general fund um with about 4.6% from Food Service 5% in community service 10% in debt service um 4% in the trust fund the general fund Revenue uh there is about 80% of it comes from State and about almost a little less than 20% comes from local and a little over 1% from federal funds the general fund expenditures if you can see the biggest portion is is 80% of our expenditures come from salaries and benefits another 133% from purchase Services a little under 3% from supplies and materials 3% for Capital expenditures and less than 1% from other funds the change in tax levy does not determine what your change in the budget the tax levy is based on um state determined formulas and then any voter approved referendum um some increases in tax levy are are Revenue neutral meaning that they're offset by a reduction in state aid expenditure budget is limited by state set re Revenue formulas voter approved levies and the fund balance so an increase in school taxes does not always correlate to an equal increase in the budget this is a chart that shows our comparison of our school property taxes um with a estimated market value of $445,500 compared to other surrounding districts the difference in our Levy cycle is that the school district our budget runs from July 1st through June 30th whereas the city and the county their budget year is January 1st to December 31st so for a school district the 2025 taxes that taxpayers pay provide the revenue for the 2526 fiscal year and the city and the county it would be their 2025 Revenue there's um an example of the proposed property tax bill that the our proposed tax bill that our taxpayers will get sent from the county there is usually two lines for school district the voter approved levies and then other levies which are statut ly defined the school property tax levies um where each school district is limited to The Authority for Levy taxes and that is set by the Department of Education as said in state law and then any voter approval the process for approving property taxes is that the city or the county determine the estimated market value of of the properties the legislature sets a formula for your tax capacity and the levy limits the county auditor calculates a tax capacity for each property the Minnesota Department of Education will let the districts know how much they are um allowed to Levy for and then the school board sets a levy and approves that um in December we then send those numbers to the county auditor who then divides up the final Levy um to determine DET the final property taxes for our pay taxpayers so the timeline is September 8th the Department of Education distributed the final draft for the levy the school board approved the proposed Levy limits in on September 9th of the mid November the county mailed out the proposed property tax statements and tonight we're having um the public hearing which the school board will then vote on the final Levy certification so our overview of our district property tax levy our proposed payable 2025 tax levy is from a decrease of 5.4% from 20124 or $1.9 million and most of those are related to um enrollment declines this is the each of the levy categories which again the board has seen several times um we've talked about this and it shows each of the changes in each of those Levy categories you can see the general fund is a change of a negative 10.5% the Community Education Levy is going up 11.4% our debt service will go up a half a percent so the net decrease in our um Levy proposal is a 5.4% decrease those changes the biggest change you can see is due to the other post-employment benefits um we estimated that last year the first time that we had that on our Levy and um it was the expenditures for next year are lower than we anticipated so there is a negative adjustment in every property tax levy there is a prior year adjustment the state actually looks at the last two years they will make any adjustments to your net tax capacity um any tax collections or any adjustments in enrollment that they need to make and they will adjust those for each of those categories for the last two years in our case that means a decrease of $1.4 million in the levy our debt service the voter approved and long-term facilities maintenance is going up those are the annual required payments on principal and interest on our bonds um and when we issue bonds we schedule an increase in principal payments so that you have a level tax rate throughout the entire um life of the bond there is a reduction for debt excess um of 469,000 districts by Statute are required to have 105% of your debt service payment amount in case there's any delinquency in tax collections you typically don't see 5% delinquency so the state has formulas in um law to determine adjustments to those tax levy for debt excess so there are several factors that will impact an individuals tax um property tax statement and those can be changes in the value of the individual properties changes in the total value of all the property within the district um increases or um decreases in Levy amounts that are caused by state funding changes by voter approved referendums or um enrollment changes so when you look at the levy the higher market value increases there's a bigger slice of the pie and the lower market value increases will get a smaller each property owner will have to pay some portion of that pie so an example of that is with a $200,000 houses if the total Levy is $500 each of those um houses will pay $250 for the levy if one increases um by 10% and one increases by 25% and the total Levy of $500 the house with the 25% increase will pay a larger portion of that $500 Levy there were some changes in the Minnesota legislature um they in provided a larger um Homestead exclusion for valuations between 76,000 and 517,000 and they also increased the first tier limit for agriculture homestead land from 215 million to 3.5 million if we look at the last four years of the school levy comparison um there was a 26.7 increase and property value for residential homes but if you look at the amount that those homes paying we divided it in residential Homestead commercial industrial and apartments and residential non-homestead you can see that the actual taxes paid between 2022 and 2025 um there's changes there's a negative change for all of those and if you look at the 24 to 25 you can still see in that last column that all of those properties will have a decline in the U property tax again this is just illustrating over the last four years um the changes if there is no change in your property value this is what your property taxes looked like over the last four years you can see that there's been a steady decline this is a 600 $700,000 residential property if you look at the property based on a 20 26.7% change in the property value you can still see that those taxes did not significantly change um c um compared to the accumulative change in the property value there were some new property tax refunds and deferrals that are set in legislature I won't go through these if you have um feel like any of these are you qualify for I would advise you to contact your tax attorney um as will be reported on your property or your um income tax return so tonight the board um has to certify the new property tax levy for the 2526 school year and just the last three slides are comparing where we are in comparison to District surrounding us so this is the voter approved Levy um compared to our surrounding District districts this is the general fund expenditures per um adjusted daily membership compared to District surrounding us and the last one is the general fund Revenue per ADM or just um just a daily membership compared to um other districts surrounding us so that was the presentation really quickly if there are any public comments we welcome those at this point so as stated if anyone has a comment to make uh about the levy certification uh this is a a an opportunity for the public to actually come forward okay hearing none from the public we will move on with our meeting and the next item is um the consent agenda I need the can I have that just this okay the consent agenda items are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted by one motion there's no separate discussion of these items uh unless a board member or citizen so request in which uh event the item will be removed as a consent agenda item and addressed the removal of the item for discussion must be requested prior to the approval of the consent agenda the consent agenda consists of our financials purchase orders above 25,000 monthly financial report enrollment report approval of the Schoolboard minutes Personnel items uh you can see the list on the agenda itself so with that I need a motion and a second so by director berck second second by director Crosby okay all in favor I opposed that passes 70 okay next item on the on the agenda is uh the resolution for acceptance of gifts um we have two primary items on here which is uh uh Dr Boon uh the primary um I'm not sure what ENT for Savage and he donated or that office donated 11 otoscopes um for our health offices and then we have the energy valve which is uh a value of $434 to be installed at homs for heating ventilation and air conditioning we do have a third item on there which is unusual so I'm not quite sure why that was added uh to uh for the annual PRI Lake Savage school board members uh donation for the pumpkin bars uh we have never had that before so I'm going to leave that open for discussion with the board uh other than that before we start discussion um I will need a motion in a second so made okay by director olad and director bernick any discussion okay uh like I said we uh the board members uh it's highly unusual I'm not quite sure Martha why this added was was added on here but we have already approved and spoke about uh the cost and we have an annual um donation that the each School Board member has made for as many years as I can remember uh to honor all of our teachers for American Education week um I'm not even quite sure we can vote for ourselves um to approve a donation well it's good question I have no idea that's I don't know if we can approve ourselves so I'm going to ask the board do we want to keep that on here is the first time I've seen it I think it's fine a donation a donation okay okay okay with that it's a roll call vote I will start with director Atkinson I director white I director bullion I director bernick I director Cosby I and director olad I I that passes 70 okay next item is uh we have no unfinished business so we're going to go to new business oh wait sorry we have Lakers showcase I almost skipped over that how could I forget we have a whole uh area out there full of kids so I'm G probably heard them outside already I'm going to hand this over to doctor Thomas who is then going to hand it over thank you chair friends and board of directors it's always a fun opportunity in the fall to um recognize um some of our excuse me um school activities and and fall Sports as well um that occurred and tonight we've got our District athletic director Mr Marshall who will be recognizing ing a lot of our students as usual I will hand you the folder to distribute the um certificates of appreciation and acknowledgement of their hard work and dedication um here to PRI Lake saer schools so with it I'll turn it to you right thank you Dr Thomas uh members of the Board of Education uh my name is Jeff Marsh I'm the activities director at the high school and once again it is my honor and pleasure to be able to be here to honor and recognize um many of our athletes and student participants in our activities from our our fall activities so um we'll start off again with uh kind of our our report from this fall um again as a reminder our vision statement is uh is on the screen first uh students of par Lake High School experience an enjoyable environment of a wide array of co-curricular activities that promote Pride character sportsmanship and development of personal and team Excellence um and as we look at what the definition of success is for all of our our sports teams and for all of our activities uh we have three main things that we want to focus on when we sit down with our advisor and our coaches afterwards uh first of all are we creating lifelong memories for our student participants are student participants developing lifelong relationships and are we as coaches and advisers teaching and learning lifelong lessons for those students and under each one of those you'll see a number of different character skills that are also listed and those character skills are part of our moral and our um both of our moral and our performance character skills that we have specifically with the acronym Laker um this is up in our gymnasium that we have at school and again each one of those words is also a part of our definition of success that's there so uh we refer to them as both moral and performance character skills because as skills these are things that can be taught they are not traits they were not born with these necessarily uh we believe that our coaches and our advisers are responsible for instilling in each one of our participants these different character skills that are out there so as we look at our participation numbers uh from this fall um a couple of things to to definitely highlight from our participation numbers uh the first would be our girls soccer numbers uh have increased tremendously we went up 23 last year which allowed us to finally be able to bring back that fourth level of girls soccer we're able to have our 9A level so uh we we fielded four levels of girls soccer this fall which was the first time uh in the four years that I've been here that we're able to do so uh one of the other ones to highlight is our Fall Dance uh a number of years back we incorporated Fall Dance um underneath our umbrella uh it used to be something that was done outside of of the district and as you can see our numbers for Fall Dance went up from from 61 to 81 we had 881 80 girls and one uh male participa in our fall dance team this past fall um tremendous opportunity for the for many many of our dancers not necessarily all of them are on our Winter Dance Team to be able to go out there and perform for our football gam so very excited to have those numbers continue to rise especially for opportunities uh for our female athletes and female students uh the next page is something that we actually added uh this time around and uh just an indicator for you to have an understanding of what our Middle School sports the participant numbers are looking like so obviously we haven't had our boys tennis track and field and we're still working on our Honor Choir numbers but this incorporates our Middle School athletics and our middle school activities as well and as you can see um our largest numbers out there certainly our Middle School track and field numbers which typically hover right around 200 um middle school students um as you can imagine I think I've encouraged all of you to feel free to come out and volunteer coach someday with 200 middle school students so um from our fall scoreboard update um again we we experienced a lot of success um this fall both from our definition of success and I would also say from our onfield and in the pool uh accolades and and you can see up here certainly a number of what what those amazing things were um we are going to honor and recognize some of those individuals who did some amazing things this past fall so the first person we're going to bring in is a member of our girls tennis team our girls tennis team finished 8-1 in the conference this year they repeated as conference Champs again this year they lost in the section semi but we are able to have uh Sophia Livingston who is an eighth grader on our team she finished as section champ as an eighth grader in advanced onto the state tournament and with Sophia here tonight is one of the coaches leak car so congratulations [Applause] congratulations um again as we continue on with uh some of the outstanding successes that our teams had over this past fall the next group we're going to rec recognize is our girls swimming and Diving team our girls swimming and Diving team finished 8- one in the conference they finished second overall at the state daa championships they finished sixth at State and we have the bulk of our of our state swimmers with us here tonight Ivy stt finished sixth in the 200 freestyle and she was a repeat as a state champion in the 500 freestyle Natalie kabek was 11th in the 200 freestyle Alex Peterson finished ninth in the 50 free and in the 100 fly Kayla hcraft was 13th in the 500 free the 200 medley relay finished 12th and that was composed of self selie person Kayla haycraft Alex Peterson and liby Sut the 200 freestyle really finished fourth which was Alex Peterson Natalie kabush Livy Sut and Ivy Sut and the 400 freestyle relay finished nth and that was Natalie kabek liby Sal Kayla hcraft and Ivy sold Ella Ritz also qualified as a as a team member and was able to go to State and again we have some of those girls representative here tonight so congratulations [Applause] ladies here as well so congratulations to Katie as our head coach [Music] too congratulations [Applause] the next group of athletes we're going to uh recognize tonight is our girls cross country team our girls cross country team finished as the conference champions for the third year in a row they also finished as section champions for the second year in a row qualifying for the state class double A or AAA uh meet this year at the state class AAA meet they finished in third place uh we've got a couple of our girls here tonight uh Leila venick U finished sixth place overall also finished as an Allstate Runner uh also on the team was Isabelle R Isabelle Reyers Sarah gastony Maggie hon Brook markwart McKenzie Benedict Jordan Evan key mulling and Talia Bushman and also here with us tonight is our head coach Dan sod [Applause] congratulations congratulations thank you congratulations moving on we've got a couple of our pictures here that uh represented uh many of our the successes from our our fall Sports um the next piece we're going to switch over to is our some of our activity programs and this year we've had 15 singers from Prior Lake High School who have been accepted to the 2023 to 2024 acda of Minnesota 910 honor chers MH um it is very important to note I think the success that our choirs have had throughout the years and um I'm going to share with you at at one point here yeah just spread out you guys if you can later on this year at at one of the other Laker Prides we'll be honoring and recognizing a number of other of our choir singers but it is important to note that Pake High School um when it comes to the Honors that that our singers have received they far outnumber any body else not only in the conference but also in the entire state of Minnesota so to have the number of Rec of recognized singers that we have had go through this program and be a part of this District going back at least 10 years is truly remarkable and quite an accomplishment um so we've got got to make sure I get my acronyms correct here um these singers are recognized in four different categories uh one is the ssaa category which is the soprano and the alto choir and those uh Rec those being recognized are Maya barer Rachel domagalski Khloe Ericson Gabby fry Addy tuway and Lila Urban uh in the satb category which is the mixed choir so it combines All The Sopranos Alto teners and base we have Justin Borg Lydia Chakan Marin lingon sain Fairbanks Wyatt Gillis and Ben Tha and in the ttb B which is the tenor and the base we have Donovan Hailstone Lucas canuteson and Sam langl congratulations to all of you [Applause] these successes for these students would not have happened without the amazing work that is done by both of our directors Rob Han and Randy erinson both of whom are also here tonight so a big shout out and a thank you to them as [Applause] well congratulations congratulations congratulations and the last group of students that we're going to recognize tonight are 31 percussion Ensemble members not all 31 of them are here tonight um but this December in Chicago Illinois will be the 708th annual Midwest Clinic international band and Orchestra conference this is the Premier instrumental music education conference in the country the conference will feature performances from schools professional ensembles and Community groups from 17 different states and four different countries the last Middle School the last Minnesota school invited to perform was a middle school orchestra in 2001 so it's been 23 years since a Minnesota school has even been asked to perform at this the last Minnesota high school invited was actually in the 1970s wow we are Beyond proud of the Prior Lake High School percussion Ensemble for being invited to perform at this year's conference their conference on December 18th will feature the world premieres of two new works and they welcome on stage one of the Premier percussion performers and teachers in the world Michael burrett from the Eastman School of Music they will also be giving a home preview concert this Friday at 7 o'clock P.M at Prior Lake High School uh and I should also mention we also have three Choir concerts occurring next week as well too uh but again a huge huge accomplishment for these students and their directors both Keith k and Justin Shram to be invited to attend this next week in Chicago um I know I'll be heading down there to be actually be able to watch and and spend some time riding back with all of you on the bus as well um but very very excited to be able to be down there and to see you all perform and our members um of this group include Tyler andring Jaden Bisby Sam Brittain Jacob Brown Massimo Calito Andrew Coleman Jimmy connley Jonathan duck tan Featherstone Nissa France Henry Gabriel Nolan Goss Owen Hammet Clarissa Harris Jack herendine Mason hoarder Jenna lewison Josie McWilliams Jack nicholet Piper odson Cole reinbach Joel rer cam Sela Donovan schaffroth Ella Schmidt Barrett schuls Max strear Kayla Kayla Tela Henry Tucker Noah wager Noah Wagner Harry Jang and then of course our directors Justin Shram and Keith colos congratulations to all of you [Applause] what else did you hold [Applause] congratulations congratulations you guys Shake Your Hands next week last group that we would want to recognize we don't have the students here for this but uh just a big shot off to our uh theater group The Little Shop of Horrors performed this past fall it was an absolutely amazing show uh we just received notification that uh from the spotlight showcase where it's a group that comes out and actually ranks them they received the outstanding achievement in musical theater which is the highest ranking that you can get as a result of this they have an opportunity to actually perform again in June um at at the next level as they move on with that piece so again a a big big congratulations to all those who participated in Little Shop of Horrors this past fall [Applause] we are just very very grateful U to our students and and uh the community support that happens at all of our events um for those of you have never been out to an event I encourage you to come out whether it be a football game a swim meet a theater production I'm on my way back to the high school I have to go watch the eighth grade band concert tonight or I get to go watch the eighth grade band concert tonight um but certainly a big thank you to all of those who also helped make this happen from our coaches and advisers our teachers and our admin administrators the district office staff Schoolboard Representatives our custodial staff U my amazing uh activities office staff that I work with um all the parents and community members and all of our student participants and Spectators um and lastly I certainly want to want to give just a really big thank you to directors vquez directors bernick and directors Crosby uh for the support that you have constantly shown for the school district and have always continued to show for all of our Student Activities so thank you very much [Applause] okay um well that kind of took the wind of our sale of honoring our board members uh for the years of service to savager school so thank you very much um and again we would I'd like to rehon the following board members Julie bernick for her four years of service Amy Crosby for her four years of service and Enrique Vasquez for 5 and 3/4 uh years of service um I'm not sure if you want to I'm going to hand this over to Dr Thomas for his certificates and speech sure thank you uh won't be a big speech but I do want to all Echo the words that have been shared um the three of you have committed a lot of time on behalf of P Lake Savage area schools and we are forever grateful for everything that you've done on behalf of the thousands of our students and families in the broader Community um you are anchors and pillars to many in our community and I'm sure you will uh be missed and um I'm also sure that you won't be too far gone U we have plenty of opportunities through committees or any other opportunities that you might want to get active in um and or maybe go to the eighth grade band concert still you know it's a great great way to connect and still support the school district so thank you all for um your wonderful work and yes I do have um certificates for you um certificate of appreciation is given in recognition of your valuable contributions to Prior Lake 7 neria schools you are a true ambassador of Laker pride and um we also um have our um plsas um recognition coin and it's a Keepsake for you all and on the very back it says thank you for helping all Learners reach their full potential and so just want to present you those um chair I'll turn it to you for any other comments from the board uh well I'm going to end with the comment so I'd like other board members to speak up if they want to make any statements well I just want to thank you um it was a pleasure and an honor to serve alongside you two and you director of Vasquez and um learned a lot and you just had a really calming presence and just um there for a chat there for a phone call there for a text um really appreciate it and um thank you for your service uh truly um it was it was a long four years or five and 3/4s um thank you truly thank you yeah I'll I'll just say uh extending my gratitude as well um I've learned so much from each of you individually um and yeah I'm grateful for your service to the district your heart for students and your heart for our community to serve so thank you anybody else um I just say thank you you guys served through a really tough time and I know it wasn't easy and um just thank you for your service it's greatly appreciate it for stepping up well I'd like to say uh thank you uh first to Enrique um or former director Velasquez I certainly have enjoyed my time I've enjoyed my time getting to know you and your family uh hopefully that will continue and have certainly learned a lot from you also and then also to director Crosby and bernick who I ran alongside not with but alongside in uh the election which you guys were elected and I have grown to know you and uh believe that you have done your utmost best to serve this District um and it has been a long four years um but um without the help and the service uh that you have given particularly on the executive board we would not have fared as well as we did so thank you thank you very much so three of you step forward for your certificates and picture and then director of basos if you can step forward [Laughter] certificates okay all right okay all right well again thank you very very much and now we are going to move on in our agenda to Personnel items and I'm going to hand this over to director Herman thank you for chair Frans members of the board um we are bringing forward the last of the 2024 26 contracts or agreements terms and conditions as outlined in the memo um the the settlements are all within the board parameters that were set at the beginning of the year um and listed out any of the changes that were agreed upon I'm open for any questions if you have any um first I'm going to take a motion in a second before we qu have questions and discussion can I have a motion no move by director Atkinson second second by director Olstead okay opening it up for discussion questions comments I did have one question um under the independent terms and conditions uh for there was an assistant director that wasn't in the other assistant director bucket if you will Child Nutrition director Olstead members of the board um that is because that is a different classification and didn't align with the other contract figured thank you any other questions or comments okay um director Herman I just want to uh make a note of appreciation for the hard work in consolidating these agreements and also um and making it go so smoothly and I think everyone who is involved so um this is going to make it quite a bit easier on the board and uh and the district going forward by having these Consolidated agreements in the way that you have now uh normalize them so they're consistent um so thank you for that thank you chair friends members of the board um yes I I have a great team with the executive director res Services Tammy Frederickson and and our teams supporting us so thank you I'll pass that along okay so um time for a vote all in favor I I I opposed okay that passes 70 uh we have no unfinished business and the first item on new business is the Open Enrollment and I'm going to hand this over to director Frederickson thank you chair friends members of the board U every year we review our open enrollment um practices and we are recommending no changes and we certainly would want to welcome all of our non-resident students that choose to come to our district under open enrollment um the enrollment starts very shortly so um we're asking you to please continue to approve accepting open enrollment applications for the 2526 school year okay I need a motion in a second com by director Crosby second second by director white any questions or discussion okay hearing none all in favor I I opposed that passes 70 okay next on the agenda is the approval of the 2024 payable uh Levy certification that we already discussed um and because we've already had such a discussion I'm going to expedite this by asking for um a motion in a second so by director Crosby second by director berck is there any further discussion or questions for director Frederickson okay hearing none all in favor I I opposed that passes 70 uh and next on the agenda is the final budget approval and again that is director Frederickson uh and that is the final budget for this year 2425 thank you chair friends members of the board again we have discussed this previously we made some minor recommendations um we increased the revenue and expenses by the additional students in our enrollment projections and then we've also adjusted some Community Education um revenues and expenses so again there's no changes since the last time we discussed this okay I need a motion in a second so by director Crosby second second by director olad any questions or comments for director Frederickson um director France I'd like to request a roll call Vote for This vote please I have no problem with that does anyone else okay [Music] um so any questions or comments or discussions um I I just have some comments I'd like to share regarding the budget um my vote tonight represents my commitment to the community for fiscal responsibility after we received the October 1st enrollment numbers and learned that our enrollment increased by 100 students above what was originally forecasted I believe this was an opportunity for our district to operate within their means and bring a balanced budget to the community but instead the board approved adding 800,000 in expenses to the budget to match the 800,000 in Revenue that we received I suggested the district keep the original expense number that was forecasted as in the past we have seen an average of 100 students from October 1st to the end of the year as of December 2nd we are down 40 students already and we will not be incurring expenses for these students for the balance of the year if the district had kept the original expense budget of 122.8 million and the new Revenue budget of 122.6mi 00,000 from the fund balance which would also reduce the ripple effect of expenses we would be asked to cut in the 25 26 school year as a board and District we had the opportunity to bring a balanced budget which not only is a commitment to optimizing resources per our strategic plan but also shows our community that we know how to operate within our means and are fiscally responsible thank you any comments or questions well obviously we receive money from the state on per head because it costs money per student so whenever we increase students we also increase our expenses we also had to add additional students and the 40 students that we lost were basically spread out so it did not change our expenses from what I understand director Frederickson could you elaborate on that or correct me I'm wrong that is correct again when we say we lost 40 students it's still we lost 40 students from the October 1st count but if you compare to what we projected we still are over what we projected for last year when we did the budget at this point so we are still more students than we projected last year but we are down a few from our October 1 count and still every new student has uh costs associated with them that we have to add that is typical and the funding from the state that we get in that cost is actually delayed also a year so yes and again we will certainly be watching expenses each month we give you the financial statements so we are keeping very close track on that where we can cut expenses we are certainly doing that um as we move through the school year um I just think it's prudent that if we're getting additional Revenue we identify those expenses um you typically have current year revenue for current year students so um we don't want to Short Change if you will that's probably not the best word but the students in this year's um enrollment thank you okay um this is requested to be a roll call vote so we'll start with director Atkinson nay director white hi director buan I director bernick hi director Crosby I director olad I and I so that passes seven Z 6 61 sorry habit okay um then uh the next item on the agenda is the new course proposals and I'm going to hand this over to director Edwards yes thank you chair France members of the board uh tonight in your packet uh you see a recommendation for two course proposals uh two new course offerings to be added to the registration guide at Prior Lake High School uh just want to provide a little bit of context to around that uh last year at this time brought forward 12 new course proposals um this year we had uh a total of five course proposals that were being considered and brought to the teaching and learning advisory at the November meeting which happened to be the day before the referendum uh after the results of the referendum were known uh in consultation with our our team of Administrators at the secondary level uh it was determined that uh we would only bring forward the two course proposals that you see in the packet tonight specifically Dakota language 2 which is a continuation opportunity uh for students who are a part of Dakota language one to continue uh pursuit of what is typically considered um by many most students that they want to uh have two two years of a language should they uh desire to take a language not that it is a requirement uh but it is something that typically prepares students for future uh Beyond High School um and then secondly the course AP Chemistry uh is an opportunity as we've spoken at the board our our desire to continue providing as many opportunities for students to enroll in courses that are AP uh to have at least an an opportunity to uh take a college level course sometime during their time here uh at Prior Lake High School so uh those two courses are being brought forward and recommended uh to be considered for the upcoming registration process thank you I'd like a motion in a second so M by director bullan second second by director olad uh and open the floor to discussion yeah I have a question um you know being on the teaching and learning committee we're able to see of the first round of courses that came forward um can you help um give us an um explanation or understanding of how these final course Pro kind of from like the beginning of the process to the end of the process like who determines or what is the criteria for determining um which of these courses end up on this list and um yeah sure so uh the course proposal process is something that begins typically in the spring or summer uh and their initial conversations happen among uh Department colleagues typically um So within a given Department uh as they look at the results of the most recent registration process look at the demand uh from students uh in the course offerings at the secondary level uh specifically since tonight we're focusing at prior like high school with course proposals they'll stay there uh for a moment and uh that is discussed among the department members and then in the fall of the year uh when we come back into the fall uh it is brought before the uh built committee at the site level in this case the high school level which has representatives from across the uh all departments are represented in that conversation and then forwarded from Administration uh to the teaching and learning committee um and discussed uh there and then uh as again this this particular year is unique in that uh we had a referendum uh that was unsuccessful and within that referendum we had spoken of the need to uh reduce elective offerings as one of the possible uh reductions uh pending an unsuccessful referendum so uh after that was a consideration we streamlined the course and that was a conversation most notably with our uh with our administrative team at the high school because uh one of the things that we always want to do when we go through the registration process is present courses that uh are um able to be offered as well as our uh meeting the diverse needs of our student Learners and uh each of the courses that you see in this ultimate proposal that's brought forward uh it is our our belief that that is what the courses that are presented to you tonight are representing and certainly there are some that were left off the list um not because there isn't interest not because they aren't valuable courses I think as we go through the upcoming registration process uh we will have some difficult choices to make uh at the high school level specifically in this conversation with around around the course offerings that are able to be delivered on the budget that we're going to have a further conversation tonight in another topic agenda Dr FR uh Dr ever so moving forward you you make these offerings what what's the criteria for actually going through with it what's a minimum number of students that is going to take I think that is going to be a a very challenging conversation to be had uh once we land on the FTE that we're able to commit to our um respective levels in this case the high school and decisions need to be made uh we certainly are going to need to streamline our courses uh significantly from where they are stand today at our high school level um and uh the low 20s is going to be a difficult uh number to realize in any courses that being said we will consider uh the nature of those courses and what those courses sometimes uh Capstone courses uh courses that Juniors and seniors enroll in as they finish out their time with us uh would bring in some lower numbers but we're going to have to be very strategic uh about those courses so a hard and fast number is not something we've exercised in the past um however as we look and work with the High School administration with with regard to the Ft that we're able to allocate to them based upon the numbers through this budgetary conversation that we have forthcoming uh we'll really need to look uh much much deeper at that so okay for instance uh the Dakota language one I assume or no Dakota language 2 you would have had to have taken one to take two so now you're your possible pool candidates is is diminished quite a bit so what if 10 kids say I want to take two I mean what what's the process there's got to be some kind of a number you can give us that's going to say this is going to be no go I I think when we get into the upper teens and low 20s we are definitely going to have to have that conversation uh there is this particular course uh if I may um and Dr Thomas we have discussed the um the fact that there are alternative there is an alternative source of funding for this particular course um that's getting maybe a little bit ahead of our conversation with around budget reductions but we have funded this particular course offering this year out of our American Indian uh funding stream and we would have the possibility of continuing that um director Edwards or Dr Edwards I'd like to also reference and researching this we have policy 607 that says classes at the secondary level 6 to 12 that have enrollments of 20 students or a fewer will be considered for elimination yes so just no that if we are to make changes to that number we would need to bring this policy forward um for discussion as well yes noted go ahead dor Crosby um is there an element um that we should be aware of around state law in terms of providing Dakota language is was there a law change yes there there is there's an offering of this language as a result of the population of our students and we meet that threshold of America uh students that identify if as uh meet criteria for American Indian students so yes we are above that number therefore offering that course required to offer that course go ahead so then just so I'm clear these these being on the list in no way mean that they're actually going to be offered they're this is just step one that is correct Yep this is step one to have them placed in the registration guide so that we can complete the registration process that will begin in mid January anuary and conclude in early second week of February and then we will based upon our staffing then engage in that conversation with the high school administrative team around which courses can in fact be offered and which ones cannot and then go back to the students who have signed up for resp uh prospective courses that are unable to be offered any longer and find replacement courses for those students okay um you mentioned that uh there would be some potential funding for the Dakota language um would there is there foreseeable for the AP Chemistry additional cost for that offering uh the additional cost would be um to consider resources that are needed um for that and there it's not a it's not anything that we've had to date no it is not uh we've had uh chemistry multiple levels of chemistry uh courses um but this would uh be a course that that uh has not yet been offered but we do anticipate there's high level of Interest once again as our students continue to expand their desire to take AP courses um so once a at that point within our budget we would need to find the curricular resources to uh meet those needs of students who register questions all right well um Dr Edwards and director Edward uh thank you very much uh for that I know that as a previously having been on the curriculum committee there are classes every year that are not just new classes that are not able to be offered due to the lack of enrollment um I I do want to commend the I know I've been fighting for the AP Chemistry course as well as another AP course uh for over almost eight years now so um I hope that it does succeed and I'm also grateful that the Dakota language 2 can be offered so those students who are going for their requirement of two foreign language which is the um which is the minimum requirement for most uh universities on the foreign language that that can be considered however in that statement you also said there would be an alternative potentially if you do not do that what would that alternative be if somebody had Dakota language one but then Dakota language 2 was not being offered I think that type of student would be somebody who would typically work with the counselor to secure a offering possibly an online offering for uh courses that don't meet that is always an option unfortunately that is not something that we would um be able to secure their student revenue for that portion of their enrollment okay but for students who are then looking forward to having that 2-year requirement met for an alternative language other than Engish um is there is there any equivalency that you know of other than going online at a self-directed cost that is not something that I currently have knowledge of we need to look into that and we would have to explore that chair France and board directors because Dakota language um is a very narrow licensed um area so finding teachers is the biggest challenge whether it's in person or online um and so that was kind of the challenge that we had before and now we're going through that process with a tiered ler right now that's supporting that that uh course and so we would have to explore what options if any exist and honestly if it's something that we would not be able to continue to offer um because of the enrollment aspect um then that would be a tougher conversation we would have to have with those students okay thank you I do remember the time it took to get that course credential then finding a an instructor for it was not easy um okay any other questions or comments um I would just say as a student um I'm personally going into medicine and there are plenty of other people in the school who have said that they are interested in medicine and I can say if I had the opportunity for AP Chemistry it would have been a very popular option and then when it comes to the Dakota language I personally do have um indigenous Heritage and having a greater opportunity to further my education with that would be another thing that I know would hopefully be very popular with students especially with the growing of nask and other Affinity groups around our school thank you very much for that okay are we ready for sorry can you clarify how many students are currently en enrolled in Dakota language one I believe it's 22 currently okay thank you okay any other questions or comments okay um um all in favor I opposed that passes 70 uh the next we have the approval of the 2024 2025 school calendar um I is that supposed to be 2026 yeah 2026 on the okay okay yes that's what I thought okay uh so first I'm going to ask for a motion in a second by director bullan second second by director white this was discussed at our study session I'm going to hand this over to Dr Edwards um and yes so at our study session a couple of weeks ago uh we had brought forward a calendar that resembled much of this year's calendar specifically related to early release days and we had a uh robust discussion around the board table uh and it was your ask to bring back a calendar without early release days and that's what you see before you uh as I as we discussed that night um certainly we could cannot afford to lose the the PD time associated with those early release so you see two uh early release days one and we wanted to front end load those early release days because the training that we are providing uh continuation of redact training for phase one uh folks uh the launch of phase two which we still at this date uh uh do not know the our commitment associated with that training or the options available or who specifically is going to be required to participate in that training but we have training components needed we we certainly know so we have a need for that time so we our front end loading that is a Friday in February a f I'm sorry a Friday in September and a Friday in February uh the one in February to coincide with uh President's Day weekend which is already a time off uh uh we felt that was accomodating uh to families uh for scheduling purposes so that's the calendar that you see before you tonight is there any questions comments I'm having trouble following I think they're I think instead of early release days they're full days correct yes yep no early release days in this calendar well there's one except for one June 3D yep the end June 3rd yep and then what are the two that you said there was one in September the Friday the 26 September 26th correct and February February 13th 13th Friday February 13th so those two would be full professional development days okay um I guess yeah I I I personally um looking at what we have during the study session and then this version um I like the previous version better I think it provides more opportunity um for regular professional development for staff and teachers um rather than I get it I and and I appreciate seeing both I I do um appreciate seeing both versions of this so we could look at what that looked like um um I guess my my feeling is it's just it's I don't know I I a a full day I can understand how you would want a full day dedicated to this professional development but I but I don't know if if it's too concentrated or if if teachers would like it spread out a little bit more I think we I agree with your sentiment about that that it you know spread out over the course of the year as much more valuable to staff but we were we were discussing it through a budget lens around Transportation so that's kind of how we landed here yeah unfortunately yeah and I know there were Child Care issues as well you know some of the family feedback that we received like too many and I understand that I share your concerns I think it's just a real reality we're facing I just want to personally thank Administration for giving this a goal I mean we did have a robust discussion there was lots of things that we had to consider and um I appreciate the effort here to to see if this this kind of format will work this year and if it's it's a disaster we'll revisit it for you know the following year but I appreciate the effort and in listening to us and all the things we had to consider so I appreciate that yeah and now oh I'm sorry go ahead right I just have a question um I think one thing that we did not discussed at our study session um how many like e-learning days or snow days are are baked into this calendar or so the state uh allows us up to five e-learning days um and there is room for in our calendar we do have additional instructional minutes if that's or additional instructional hours MH um for other uh unexpected circumstances that might come up uh during a given school year but we are allowed to um not lose instructional days up to five if weather was uh created that scenario and frankly two two two years ago last year we didn't use a single one two years ago we were counting minutes and hours and because we were on the verge of of uh having to have additional days right and do we do for snow days do we do those as snow days or do we do those as e-learning days can we get clarification on that we have one um true quote unquote snow day per contracts of everyone and then after that we have to augment um our instruction in our learning with our staff and that's written into teacher contracts or how is that Dr ainson members of the board um it's not just um in our contracts but it's all now part of the statutory changes that are uh that were passed a couple years ago um that any um inclement weather days that we have to also pay our staff in full um so we have the first day that is truly a closure um and then any corresponding day turns into e-learning day or um if we get too far past it and we have to start rescheduling into the summer but um hopefully that does not occur okay thank you for clarifying it if I remember correctly when we discussed having the um the um early release days um we talked about the entire new statute that was created as well as the number of instructional hours and all that and that has come up I think every year that we've had these calendars um the interesting thing is is though is that the the e-learning is still limited to 5 days I believe yes that's correct okay yep um all right and we have that written in policy 602 as well it just didn't clarify the snow days within the policy cuz I read the policy so well the first day was the one the very first snow day has to stay snow day it's it's even though it's incl weather per contct that yeah correct but it's not written in policy is what I was saying so this is um sorry chair friend members of the board this is where um employment contracts statutes and board policies all intertwin with each other um so the first inclement weather day where we um close down school is a full closure for all staff and students um any corresponding days is when we have the option to utilize e-learning days um and that's typically when we utilize it option so that we don't have to look at losing instructional time and I think that is referenced but yeah but thank you very much for that I know that there was some confusion at the study session where um people didn't understand the instructional days versus instructional hours um but I appreciate that clarification are there any other questions I think I just have a comment to also thanking you for um listening I uh when we were speaking at the study session there was a lot of things talked about um not as many uh days all of the things um given the uh budget cuts that we're facing um is that truly what um brought this to a no um half day is that truly what brought this was was budgetary I would say it's twofold director uh bullan um yes we we will save resources um by um a variety of aspects of not having students two full days so from Food Services to Transportation Etc um but this is also in response to some of the feedback that we heard from you on behalf of our community as well um to not have the intermittent um early release and just have it all locked into one so it's a combination of both finances and um familyfriendly um scheduling and then to the point of PD um you know I think it's a 6on one and half a doz and onone the other um and when you think about block scheduling versus S period day do you go shorter periods and kind of uh or do you go longer and go deeper and so we're going to try an opportunity I think to go longer and deeper with our staff so I think we could have some unintended benefits actually um to be able to um spend more quality time without being disrupted because we're rushed to get it all done in a small compacted amount of time so again to director White's point we'll we'll monitor that and see how how that goes but we're looking for for to it thank you thank you any other questions or comments okay hearing none um um all in favor I opposed okay that passes 70 uh