##VIDEO ID:DXTYzONpBjQ## e e e e our next agenda item is 4.1 information and Outreach School Board recognition superintendent pel thank you I wonder if Miss Sam you could both bring up the slide and then and then um we have got for our board members here a small token of appreciation and let's also hand out the equally heartfelt but somewhat less less delicious certificates that we sharing we got chocolate uh for board members it is Schoolboard recognition month and um the slide that um is on the screen uh is just one measure of the impact that all of you have as the leaders of this school district um and let's just be honest it's a little tough for me to do this cuz I work for all of you but I'm not saying this just cuz I work for all of you suck um collectively school boards direct more than $600 billion dollar annually to teach more than 50 million students and it is a tough time to be a Schoolboard member I think it is clear to say that in the history of American Education there's never been a time when school districts have been more at the fulcrum of so social economic societal issues than is the case at this time and Rochester is very fortunate to have a board with seven leaders who have different perspectives different life experiences different priorities but all of whom are really really serious about the work that we're doing um and so I was thinking about a way to capture what I see as kind of the through line across uh all seven of your um perspectives that you bring to this board and I really do think it comes down to to a passionate commitment to children and that reminded me of not a research study um as I usually pull out but a quote um from the Spanish and Puerto Rican chist uh conductor and composer Pablo Cal and so yeah that was just for the music no but this is a great quote that I hadn't um pulled out for a while but I really do think this encap this this encapsulates this board and many uh boards that do very difficult work that not only is is complex and involves hard choices but that sometimes can be um really personally challenging as you take personal hits uh on behalf of the school system So Cal said at one point in his very long and distinguished life quote each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe a moment that will never be again and what do we teach our children we teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France when will we also teach them what they are we should say to each of them do you know what you are you are a Marvel you are unique in all the years that have passed there has never been another child like you your legs your arms your clever fingers the way you move you may become a Shakespeare a Michelangelo a Beethoven you have the capacity for anything yes you are a Marvel and when you grow up can you then harm another who is like you a Marvel you must work we must all work to make the world worthy of its children and I really do believe this board works every day to make this District worthy of its children and so thank you for your leadership uh We Salute You for school board recogn ition month um and you can even eat your chocolate now if you want so but thank you I at least asked the cabinet over there to join me in a bit of recognition well between our speaker and that I didn't think I was going to start this meeting by crying but we're done now um item thank you item uh 4.2 is Rochester Public School Foundation recipients superintendent thank you I see Matt getting up and uh we are thrilled to have you here again the Rochester schools Rochester Public Schools Foundation is an indispensable Community partner so uh welcome you to both introduce yourself and share with us uh what you and your colleagues have been up to yeah so I'll talk loudly just in case the mic doesn't work because I see it doesn't stand very well my name is Matt Logan I am the current Rochester Public Schools Foundation president um we came here twice a year to basically distribute grants and I'm hoping that at least a few of you are here tonight come up and do a much better job than I can quickly talking about what those grants were but for those of you who don't know uh the Rochester Public School Foundation is basically a nonprofit to help you know connect the community and the schools and what I like to think of is give teachers and other Educators a chance to do something that maybe there isn't normal funding for and to do that they go through this process apply for Grants and go and hopefully get money from the foundation um basically the main activity and one of the biggest activities that we do twice a year is giving all these grants um since 1988 when it was actually pulled together we've done over $650,000 in Grants most of our funding right now comes from Individual donations we do some recognize a teacher and other things like that we have had some fundraisers and we do hope to actually bring back the haunted hallways for 2025 so that could be interesting another uh idea way to come and get money the funds have been donated over the years most of these are actually before my time only having been part of the foundation for the two and a half years now but you can kind of quickly read they were made for specific purposes and a lot of times as these grants come in one of the tougher things we have to do is decide which of these funds would best support the grant that's being asked for at this point for the spring summer cycle uh we actually awarded $1,955 to five Innovative projects at four schools over the district um basically I think we had 10 total that were came in which is pretty normal um projects were selected by the grant committee and by the way if you're willing to be part of that we're always looking for people to help us Grant or rate and award these grants as they come along um project directors are actually then asked at some point in the future to come back and we usually come back and have them present on what the Grant and what they've been able to do with those funds so with that I I think we'll get to the important part which is the grant recipients and it's kind of showing up a little bit strange here but I believe our first recipient guy didn't wasn't able to make it tonight um but basically what they were doing and we're providing funding for some new Cutting Edge as he put it but basically laser cutters so that they could do a little bit more Hands-On Industrial and Commercial Arts curriculum so guy unfortunately wasn't here but um and I I actually as part of the slide didn't put the exact amount but we're going to just keep going because I want to be aici and use the board's time uh our next one actually went to Elementary School counseling library and Angela did you make it I would love for you to come up and talk quickly on what you what you're doing with the money so the grant that I wrote for in the spring was for an elementary school counseling career Library um that would benefit all um K5 students including online um and this is in line with the RPA a strategic plan on building post-secondary pathway Pathways and it's also in line with the American School counseling association's mindset and behavior standards so it would include um two books per grade level K5 um per each um student uh school counselor and the stories would complement our zel curriculum um and would provide um introductions or supplement lessons or even extension lessons and um zel is our K12 um curriculum and it was piloted last year by my school Sunset Terrace and four other elementary schools one middle school and one high school and this year now all of the schools are receiving um the uh zel curriculum K12 so it's really to um build Knowledge and Skills and plans that leads to future success for our students and at the elementary it's really just building the foundation so so students are Exploring Careers they're um looking at their interests their skills um and um really learning about how their current learning um fits into the world of work later um it zel provides many Hands-On um highly interact it's highly interactive it's um developmentally age appropriate lessons and then this year our families will also have access to what um their students are learning um the career Pathways include building and fixing Health helping creative um nature and business and we really hope as an elementary um School Counseling group that the books and the stories will help break down some of the stereotypes um of jobs that students may see themselves in and um increase their confidence improve connections between their strengths and their passions and our school counseling team is very thankful and looking forward to accessing the Grant from the Rochester Public School foundation so that we can use these books to enhance this Zell across the district and to again build that foundation for postsecondary career Pathways for our elementary students thank you thank you thank you our third one Julie did you you make come on up Julie I'll let you talk through quickly good evening thanks for having us and thank you very much for the grant I'm Julie Ace I'm the instructional coach at Jefferson Elementary and our grant is uh building mathemat building Brilliance in mathematical Minds at Jefferson and what we're doing is we're enhancing our elementary curriculum math instruction with um enriching it with Tang math and what this allows us to do is provide um more enriching experiences for our pay to students um a big part of this of the resources that Tang maath provides us is professional development for our uh teachers now I know you're all aware we do a lot we've had got the redact and we're doing a lot with building professional development in Reading we haven't had the opportunity yet to do that in math and this allows us to do that at our site there's a lot of um modeling going on and really thinking about taking the students from the concrete to the pictoral to the ab ract there's a lot of talk about metacognition even in kindergarten thinking about our thinking um how is that working giving student voice to the mathematics and how they're thinking um so that's been um really quite a fun and exciting experience for us at uh Jefferson to be able to do this and we invite you any of you at any time to come see us as we make mathematics joyful in our classrooms so thank you again thank you you next Brandy Literacy for all Braille well I will repeat the thank you so much we are so excited to use some funds at Bishop for something exciting I'm Brandy beat's media specialist and Student Success coach at Bishop um our project is Braille and letting kids experience Braille so this aligns with our mission to inspire challenge Empower all students with the Knowledge and Skills to reach their full potential I feel this project will inspire our students to see challenging learning to read can be for cited and vision impaired children it will challenge them to grow as readers and writers using Braille and give them some knowledge about how our vision impaired in our community grow and prosper using this literacy system this grant focuses on a unique learning experience it extends our learning about how books work how they can teach us or transport Us and how everyone can learn from and enjoy books um I was inspired to investigate the funding for this from a teacher asking for a braille Book for a student that had a low V Vision person in their family and so I ordered them so that they would have an opportunity to see them and I had never held a braille book actually and so I of course ordered them to my house because Amazon and my family was so taken with them we all had to explore them and it just seemed like such a creative way to engage kids in another way of using books the specific outcomes I expect from our student are positive attitude toward vision impaired in our community building awareness around Literacy for people with low vision and can help promote a positive way that those with different abilities can participate in the same activities I'm hopeful this lesson can enhance our empathy for anyone navigating a disability so this project can be implemented in all of our media classes I'm putting together a kit so that all of my team can use that with all students in the district if they so choose thank you so much we appreciate it thank you Ben did you make it there we go planetarium portable thanks hello my name is Ben Jocelyn and I'm the planetarium director at Mayo High School for the planetarium the planetarium is the longest operating continuously operating planetarium in the state of Minnesota it's been open since 1966 for those of you who don't know what a planetarium is it's a large Dome room where uh in the past there's been a big star ball that's one one light in the middle of a big steel ball that shoots off stars and you can see them now it's a 4k digital projector and it shows us a lot of amazing things we have about 19 last year we had over 19,000 students come through the planet Arium with 621 different shows and uh visits so it's a very well-used planetarium now next to the Planetarium a lot of people don't know is there's a room that has a big stationary hard plastic globe that is also digital projection up into the globe and projects it from the rear that Globe does not get as much use as we're paying for it so what I want to do and luckily the Rochester Public School Foundation um generously awarded uh enough money for us to make that portable and so we're going to do is is uh with the help of some students and some engineering community members which this community has lots of thankfully is we're going to go ahead and make that a portable Globe bringing it from school to school to school uh for maybe schools that can't afford to get on the bus to come back over to M high school perhaps students who can't leave their classrooms for medical reasons or other reasons so it'll be a good uh good use in the community um getting a lot more use as a portable Globe than others we can also use it in community events and just for any times that we need to the things that we can see on it are like the planet Earth the changes in uh different uh geology we could change in the weather climate different patterns that are going on on that Globe as well we can model it we can also model different planets and moons um atmospheres on those other ones we can dive down and um see those other things and there's also uh different presentations that are given to us by different uh colleges and universities that use their Globe also to teach and so it's a very it's a very good good method of teaching and I'm very happy very thankful that the Rochester Public School Foundation was able to uh provide this award for us thanks uh what as I said there's a few ways we get bunny one of the big ways that we've been doing the last year is the honor of staff member and you can see that this year we had a pretty good number of honored staff members since the last presentation so we just wanted to highlight those uh the next Grant cycle uh Melissa is actually our biggest preparer of this and she's actually working to get it out and communicated pretty soon some of the other important things and I know unfortunately superintendent knows this I've been looking for new board members um at this point we have basically six we might have a possible of two more coming uh we have some board members here that have actually been on the board as well but if any of you are interested or know someone who might be a good fit basically it's hard to take us to the next step when you just don't have the bandwidth right most of our our time is just spent doing what we do which is the grand cycles and we'd like to see that happen and kind of go there so anybody who has great money looking for funding asking for Grants things like this that would be great um we're grateful of the school district and if you need any more information track me down after the meeting um go out to our website emails out there and everything else would love to see some more faces and hopefully have an even bigger impact in the future to what we do for the schools today with that any quick questions board member can we just give a round of applause to the recipients here well I know that the resources that come um through the money of the grants is is welcome but one of the things I enjoy about Rochester Public School foundation and the spotlight you allow is for us to hear um the passion and the energy from these teachers who are working within the structure of our curriculum and our goals and our mission but looking to enhance that any way that they can so we really do appreciate the partnership and um I think it's fair to remind that if they do go to www.rps.net [Music] [Laughter] our next item 4.3 is high ve cash for students recognition superintendent thank you I see uh Andy croad our Director of Finance coming up it looks like uh Chad lauderville from hi ve is there we want to thank you uh in advance for the incredible partnership that hii uh makes possible year after year after year so absolutely and and I'm really just here to introduce Chad and to thank him from uh the perspective of the finance department for all of the wonderful opportunity you've provided to many many schools over the the several years that we've been doing this Chad has a short presentation and we'll provide everybody with an update of what the number was for last year so thank you Chad thank you uh my name is Chad launderville I'm a uh District store director for Hive here in Rochester um and presenting to you guys the cash for students for the 2023 2024 school year um give a little background um it's a fundraising program that's active across all the high ve stores here in Rochester um this last year was our seventh year doing this program in Rochester uh in uh 2022 and 2023 we had 25 schools participate uh this last year it dipped down to 22 so we missed a few schools uh part of the program is for every dollar that a customer spends at HIV and we collect their receipt or the school collects their receipt um they get excuse me for every $250 the school gets $1 uh back and um we're going to be doing it again this year it started on August 26th and it goes through May 30th and so they can uh the students the parents can save their receipts take them to the school they uh bundle them they give us a number at the end and then we can uh go ahead and present um a uh check to the schools so um kind of go back through uh a little bit of History here in 2020 to 2020 one we had a just over um $2 million uh in receipt totals and that uh donation total was $8,200 uh to the schools um in 2021 to 22 it was uh 2.3 million in receipt totals and that was just over $99,000 uh 2022 to 2023 uh 2 $6 million in receipts and then that total was uh $10,500 back to the schools and uh 2024 we uh dipped down just a little bit in the receipt total uh it was just over 2.5 million but we uh are awarding uh $10,200 back to the back to the schools so um that's that's a huge deal for for us to be able to uh give back to the community um I'm going to give the top three schools here and and uh they are number three Long Fellow Elementary they're going to receive a check for $1,040 uh number two is Sunset Terrace and they're $1,173 and the number one school this year was Washington Elementary and they're going to get $193 and so um they'll also receive an additional $150 for each of their PTA from this program so uh just a great program and we're we're glad to do it and we want to see those numbers grow every single year um and it can be uh any school can be a participant of it so that's all I have that's great thank you than director Barlo uh Chad superintendent uh how are our schools made aware of the program and then secondly how can we encourage um residents who may not have children or grandchildren in rooll in our schools to drop their receipts to our schools uh thank you Dr BR that's a great point we send it out um through to our bulletin every year to administrators there's a lot of there's a constituency in schools of certain people who know about it as well um but we could do some uh further messaging to families actually so that's a really interesting idea than meaning from the central level I think I think our schools do that but we could do that from the district level kind of Step that game up as well don't know if there's any other yeah I mean we want to see the number grow 100% we want to see more people obviously shop with us and if we do that and we can get the receipts to you guys we get to pay pay big bigger uh sum out to the schools and that helps that's a win-win win for everybody so and I think the answer to your second question is that they could drop their receipts off at their neighborhood School whatever school they're driving by just to stop in the office and hand it o hand it over to the office manager and then it would be added to the school's uh receipt total if if I can also say in addition to this I want to thank you for the um work experience that many of our students get at Hive um whenever I go in in there it's always under scrutiny cuz they're like oh this is a superintendent buying milk or something and and I I had an interesting conversation the other day in the checkout aisle about the cell phone ban and one of our students was like basically kind of positive but I don't know if they were just being nice because they were at work um but seriously you do give a lot of our students a really great experience maybe their first in the world of work and I say that as a stepparent of a kid who worked at hi so it's a great additional contribution obviously help your business but it really introduces a lot of those uh uh young people to the idea that you know customers is always right you got to be on time and you got to think creatively and solve problems and things like that so it's always fun for me to walk into one of your stores and see a lot of RPS kids well thank you thank you thank you for everything board members good thank you thanks again thank you [Applause] so we have two recognitions tonight the first is Community Schools facilitators week this week September 24th through 28th is Community School facilitators Appreciation Week our community school facilitators are integral to building the pathways to success that our RPS Community Schools provide for students they are the leaders who work collaboratively to Marshall align and unite the assets resources and capacities that support students and Families Community School facilitators are essential to creating strengthening and maintaining Partnerships between Community Schools and our Community Partners they are a reliable and trusted presence for every student or family member who needs a listening ear who has a problem that needs solving or needs to find a school or community resource we thank our community school facilitators inar Khan at Franklin Lisa Becker at Riverside Julie McLaren at Gage Sweda Patel at Rochester ALC and Aaron BAS at John Marshall for all the work they do and we encourage all Rochester Public School students parents staff and community members to share in this celebration of Community School facilitators Appreciation Week our second appreciation is National custodian day on October 3rd we will celebrate National custodian day here in Rochester Public Schools the work of our custodial staff is vital in ensuring that students and staff have safe clean and healthy spaces to learn and work our buildings represent a significant investment on the part of the public that must be kept clean and in good shape custodians are responsible for the daily care and safe operation of all facilities and buildings on a yearr round basis and anyone who has visited our district buildings knows that custodial staff are a big part of creating a positive atmosphere in every one of them our custodians care about our staff and our students they're always there to reach out with a helping hand and are often the go-to person for members of our Rochester Community who use our buildings before or after school hours the next time you are in an RPS building and see a member of our custodial staff make sure you stop to thank them as we do tonight for everything that they do item 4.5 is the board member committee updates does any board member have updates from their committees or any other things to share I have director Mar sure I have the opportunity this past week to attend a uh award ceremony at U Bamber Elementary and uh I just wanted to report out the um excitement that I uh sensed and observed uh while there is a new principal there he's not new to the district uh which is not the most significant thing I observed what really was was that of a high level uh School in environment that embraced um and understood the fact that there were students peers there who uh heard listened differently than others and and they were asked to instead of clapping their hands to to go like that and initially um the students didn't some of the students didn't hear that or recognize that and they clapped their hands to include some of us as adults as well I wasn't one of them but uh uh what I observed was the principal being supportive teachers being supportive no one got angry you know they just kind of you know modeled the behavior and and so we went from where there was audible clapping at the start of the assembly to towards the end everyone was on point they understood and I thought the potential that is present within our schools uh when our kids are given an opportunity to uh Excel to uh be met where they are to be challenged and when the expectation is there they rise to that level of expectation and then the final thing I observed was that of the PBIS um already in place uh not even a full month into our school year uh these behaviors are being taught uh and embraced and it helped that the school has a uh mascot uh I forget it's Chucky or chip one of the two he's a beaver and and a it's a costume and how the the kids there's an identity there and I just left there thinking I'm glad my two of my grandchildren have had the opportunity to to attend the school one of them currently is and I thought this is somewhat reflective of not the magic but the care The Compassion that occurs that all all of our schools daily and and that is such an important message that I wanted to ensure that the community hears it and and that the the staff the principal of the staff and even the parents many of them took off from work and they were there uh and it takes all of us to make it happen and and I just wanted to thank the staff and the students thank you Dr bin so I would like to build on that spirit because uh we had um members of the board or superintendent cabinet and other staff members who marched in two of the homecoming parades last Friday JM and sentury and I want to thank everybody who participated in it and um the spirit I love homecoming parades because the the or the organic spirit that comes out from the students and the clubs um Longfellow even came and marched in the parade as future um future JM uh students and it it reflects that same thing director Barlo that the the students are out there to celebrate their interests and their teams and their clubs and um their connection to uh their high schools so we will also have a presence in the upcoming Mayo homecoming parade so if you're looking for candy it's a great opportunity because I think we might be providing the majority of candy with how much we bought but um it thank you to everybody who participated and and to everybody who comes to those parades because it's really nice to see the crowds of the kids and the parents turn out so our next uh agenda items are 5.1 through 5.5 our consent agenda would any board member like any item removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration move approval second it has been moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda all those in favor say I I I any opposed the consent agenda has been approved D item 6.1 is a focused topic family engagement update superintendent P thank you chair Nathan and board members I see we've got a number of colleagues coming up uh who are going to be giving the board an update on our family engagement efforts uh you all know will ruffen II uh well Jennifer Spindler Craig and uh Julie McLaren um the Strategic plan that we are now entering uh year three of identifies family engagement as a critical building block of Student Success um board members are well aware because we talk about it regularly that we have the privilege of working with our students 155% of their lives between kindergarten and 12th grade the vast majority of the the rest of their experience is outside the school day and of course the home the family is the primary context in which that happens um the research is really clear that within schools the thing that matters most to student achievement is the caliber and instructional skill of the teacher but the thing that matters most to Student Learning is what happens in the home and it is the family it creates the context that uh brings students to school um uh we hope um either ready to learn or ready to work with us and to get ready to learn and so this has been a journey to move into a new strategy for family engagement engagement it remains a work in progress and I'm looking forward to giving the board an update on that work in progress so turn it over to the team and thanks for all the work that you're doing all right Dr pel thank you school board members thanks for having us here again tonight to provide you this update on family engagement uh please remember this update was supposed to come last spring of last year but we were um uh volent told to push it back to the fall which I think was a good idea because it allowed us to add some things to the presentation that you will see tonight so um let's get started with me today I have two co-presenters two wonderful ladies and I will ask um to introduce yourselves my name is Julie McLaren I'm the Community School site facilitator at Gage Elementary and also the family engagement that GIS on at that site and I'm Jennifer Spindler Craig coordinator of family engagement all right I will Dr pel already introduced yes and uh as you are all aware we previously select Ed this dual capacity building framework for Family School Partnerships and this is guiding the work of our family engagement and RPS and the the um framework really presents the challenge of effective family engagement as an opportunity if we put essential conditions in place and if we build the capacity of both our Educators and our families then we can Empower them to partner together in support of our students as well well as our schools family engagement as Dr pel said is a crucial component in education for our students to thrive both researchers and practitioners recognize that family engagement leads to positive outcomes for students on that and then what's good for students is good for everyone um there are significant benefits for educators at schools as well including developing positive School climate and culture so from that Foundation of what we intend to do and why we intend to do it we want to highlight how to get there in RPS and to that end we've designed a series of very intentional key initiatives that are focused on building the capacity of both our Educators and our families in ways that support these Partnerships to benefit our students in schools if you recall to the 2022 2023 school year we delivered our survey which um led us to find three goals which you can see on the screen there what I would like to uh Point your attention to is we had over 5,000 responses to this or I I should say last year's um survey which was two and a half times more than the previous surveys responses and in analyzing the goal areas our second year of survey data indicated that across the district 67% of parents affirmed that their student School asks their family for ideas which was a 1 percentage Point increase over the previous result regarding sense of belonging which is an RPS building block 82% of parents responded affirmatively that they belong at their student school which was a 2age point increase and 74% of respondents reported that their student School shares ideas with their family to support student learning marking a 5 percentage Point increase and as we often hear hear about data uh even in this room or especially in this room two years may be too soon to reveal a clear Trend yet we appreciate the increased response rates the data shifting in the right direction and we're excited to continue to monitor these metrics as we work to improve one of the key initiatives in our family engagement strategy is the role of family engagement Liaisons which is a position I proudly hold at Gage Elementary in this capacity I collaborate closely with our family engagement team I participate in professional development so my own learning and I lead efforts to enhance family engagement at our site and this year I will facilitate professional development for the rest of our staff at Gage I will support Cape there our caregiver and parent empowerment program and talking points which is our messaging or communication app that we use with families and gather and analyze data to guide our decision-making and over the summer Julie and several of our family engagement Liaisons completed Harvard's online family engagement course led by Dr map and then they collaborated with me to create a professional development curriculum based on the dual capacity building framework and now all of our family engagement leaon are earning that Harvard certificate and family engagement and then they'll be able to facilitate professional development for their site staff throughout the year um following the theme of professional development we have a small group of RPS staff who are selected to um attend some in-person training with Dr map and her team and that will occur this fall at Harvard and I should say on record that this was all Grant funded yes and another key initiative that you've heard about before is expanding the use of talking points which is the family engagement communication platform that's really designed to connect our schools and families more effectively so with talking points all parents are automatically included and receive School messages via text or via the app if they decide to download that in their preferred language and of course we're encouraging staff to use some enhanced features and talking points this year there's automatic translation of attached documents and translation of video and audio messages for our principles and data analytics uh that really inform best practices So speaking of some of those analytics last time we reported to you there were over 1 million messages exchanged between schools and home this year we're reporting that over 2.3 million of those messages have been exchanged so that's a huge increase 90% of those messages are still in English but as you can see on the screen 4% in Spanish 2% in Somali and 1% in Arabic if you look to the right side of the screen this is where I think that's really important even though 4% of of those messages were in Spanish that equates to over 990,000 messages exchanged between home and school you can see the same 2% Somali over 45,000 messages 1% in Arabic is actually over 20,000 messages exchanged between home and school so talking points is actually doing what it's designed to do I'm glad that we adopted it as a tool here in Rochester Public Schools the information is flowing back and forth from school to home and also from home to school this one I wanted to show because it shows um how talking points is being used outside of the school so in this example we have a quote from Cindy donalson in our transportation department and she is just talking about how about one-third of their families are using talking points quite often and how she is um happy with the tool and I'll kind of go into a little bit here on this next quote from Tory the office manager at Churchill so if you can just think of tying those two quotes together you can see why talking points is important so our Hill they noticed that 43% of their families have chosen to use the talking points attendance line which is almost half for when reporting those absences to their schools the these are the words of Tori the TP attendance line has helped ml families communicate more in reporting attendance parents who used the attendance line more are now comfortable speaking to me in person as well as it gave us an opportunity to create a connection that made them feel it was a it was possible to understand each other and when we understand the why in this case for student absences we are able to put in place other resources that can help the families and that brings us to one more uh essential key initiative which is Cape uh Cape supports really meaningful collaboration through empowering our caregivers and parents and in the 2324 school year we launched Cape cohorts with gagee Elementary with Native families with Willow Creek Middle School fostering stronger communities at these sites as a cape facilitator at Gage I got to see firsthand how Cape empowers families to become active Partners in their child's education we offered both in English and Arabic to a language group and a Spanish group where parents gained valuable Knowledge and Skills to navigate our complex school system and advocate for their children in addition to this they built meaningful connections with our staff and form strong connections with other families in the class so that brings us to next steps and successfully passing a referendum is a huge step for this program going forward so I needed to say that out loud also um but also I want you to think about the opportunity for you all to come out and visit some of the K program in person that first experience to be this fall at Overland when they when they launch around November then you will have several other opportunities this spring with some of the schools you can see on the on the screen there are Church Rich Hoover Early Childhood Franklin Riverside and then one of our high schools of mayo high school and since our parents and caregivers express it best we'd like to share a glimpse of the cape journey and showcase some perspectives and insights from families with a video that highlights the cape at guge experience from last year [Music] I think I would describe Cape as um the resource for parents to learn more about their kids school relationship that you could have with the teachers how you could communicate with them better what to expect what type of questions to ask them it's uh more about a program on teaching parents um how their individual students uh how what they're learning in school this particular programming for me allows parents the voice to to to advocate for themselves and find those of us within that system that want to support that it's another safe place for us to come and build that empowerment in community and give them the tools that they need to better support our students here in RPS and in general the most important lesson is that education is progressing and that there is much to learn in order to help our children sometimes you get information but you don't quite understand it um until it's really broken down so the way that it was given and broken down you really understand the information my favorite thing about Cape was the information I learned we understand that if we are going to accomplish anything in this District it has to be in partnership with our families we put out the call for parents to opt into this cake program you all were the first to step up and say Hey I want in with that I care about my district I care about my students and I'm going to step up and be there for you I'm super excited about our keep program because this is an opportunity to have some very authentic learning and connections and dialogue where people feel trust that's really really important learned a lot from our group that isere and I most excited to continue learning from you and continue learning with you as you continue your journey with us we called out to our lessons how important the education and how to navigate through our kids education is it is very important to know that we are so accessible that we are here to help and guide for whatever you need for your children I have been so inspired by you by your commitment and your investment in your children and in the future of your family like now I don't need just to go and the school and know what school system my kids are in good hands and I need to engage to take them and make them more success thank you for being part of uh your uh students education by doing this such a great experience for me that I actually look forward for Wednesday evenings to come here um not only did you get to learn about the school system but also about the district and on top of that you get to meet other parents hear from them their experiences and also learn from them as well I didn't know what to expect but then every every time every day I came like every Wednesday we participate I learn something new and that's make me like I want come back for the next week to learn more you know was really really interesting all the information like like he say about the college stuff was super important for me like as a parent was really important for the future for my kids you're more than committed to learning more on how to help out your kids how to understand them more um great place to connect with other parents um trying to understand the same thing uh I think this program is very good and only I want to say uh for those who let us to participate thisam program we are very thanks because we are very happy to be with uh all those uh family they join this program uh we are thanks so with that that was a brief window into the world of cape and we're excited to take on the challenge to spread Cape throughout the district in the future and we'll end ask if you have any questions for us board members director Bara how did you know all right um first of all thank you for communicating in such a um sincere fashion that belonging actually does matter uh I think sometimes we may question what we don't understand or perhaps have't experienced or uh ever had the need for and what this presentation tonight has done uh for many and I I hope our uh viewing public will and those present will will that light turns on and and they realize and they can say I get it now I realize why belonging is so important um the creation of the home and school partnership um it's doing what it it's designed to do promoting student learning and improving educational outcomes um sometimes programs are aspirational and um uh but you guys have been able to take to take it from a concept and and actually show that this is more than just an aspirational belief but it is now a re reality within RPS and then finally um and this is embedded within the slide presentation the statement that when we understand the why we can put in place other resources that can help students and whether it's dealing with absences which was a why and and talking points that seems like figured prominently in in identifying the why I have a just a uh C curious um uh question as relates to to Cape um how instrumental was talking points in uh initially launching a cape and uh that being the uh was it the primary platform used to uh communicate with it seems like some of our adults may have been initially uh not English well English was maybe their third or fourth language uh but they were able to navigate that and can you speak briefly to that if you don't minde we when introducing Cape as a new program um we knew that it's it's hard to know what to expect from a flyer um and so we sent lots of communication out about it and explained it so we did um flyers in our newsletter um we sent home paper flyers and then we used talking points to make videos to send out to fam so we did a bilingual video um my principle and I um did a an English and Spanish video to explain a little bit about what it was and invite people and then we made personal phone calls to families that we thought would especially benefit from it um and so we um we really did a a very strategic Outreach campaign to to get um as many people as possible to know what it was so that they could have the opportunity to opt in um now with talking points you can make a video and it will translate it um in it will um add in a like it will translate it in subtitles down below but you can also do an audio message and it will um interpret the audio message for you in the phone like in the phone settings home language um and so that is a powerful tool that we can use now that we didn't have access to last spring when we launched so thank you Dr Marvin I can't think well I can think of programs that are as important but not one that's more important than this and we know that we have a community full of parents who love their kids and want to support them and um now they they really can by learning more um um what what kind of capacity do you have in terms of how many families can be engaged I mean not all of them but I with this program how many can you reach do you think a time well well of course we are aspirational there in the sense that we would like to expand this and be able to have it accessible to all of our families and uh that may be determined by some of the capacity that we have in terms of resources and personnel and Staffing and things like that so it is um it we intend to keep rolling it out keep expanding it we'd like to reach everyone I think the real test is going to come this fall when we launch at Overland Overland has a really good structure for their family lunches where they get hundreds of parents to come out over the lunch hours and that's the same time that they're going to strategically run their cake program while the parents are already there so we will test our capacity limits there but I I would just say whatever whoever shows up will find a way to make it out I know you will thank you Dr Garcia I love all of the very creative ways that you were able to engage families to get them to this I think it's fantastic the video gets you right in the fields I loved that um can you help us understand if we did want to come check out the 2024 2025 cohorts like what you would expect from us as board members or how you kind of Envision us participating or observing in that process because I would love to actually go to these things think I would personally say just observe and take it in then also imagine if you were the parent with this information should be relevant to you so that you can give us some good feedback after you visit um the cake program and then maybe talk to some of their parents see what is valuable from their eyes firsthand ask them what more they need of so you can know what resources we would need to put in place I would just like for you all to just take it all in as much as possible um don't just be a fly on the wall but be immersed in the program and so thank you well I have spoken before about how important um this program is and how important it's been to me um because I've watched the district try many times to try and and do this and it wasn't until we invested the resources in it through our strategic plan that we were able to really commit to it and you have definitely you and your team committed to it in such a big way um you know I'd love to see it at every school tomorrow um and I understand the barriers are human because you have to have enough trained facilitators and time in the day to or in in the evenings to organize these um what's the optimal size of a cape cohort though because you just talked about Overland and hundreds of parents so you know what's what's a good class size if you will well we do kind of think about it in that sense of class size you know 35 or so is kind of optimal as recommended by PK um there have been of course facilitators who are able to accommodate more than that if they have some experience so could have a a group of 50 or somebody told me that they had had up to 100 with some experience uh and of course it's possible to have multiple rooms uh and if necessary we can um we can uh hopefully run cohorts in sequence so maybe we might have to have a waiting list and then we offer it again in a few weeks and build some anticipation and enthusiasm for it if that's if that's necessary but but we definitely want to try to uh and intend to uh try to accommodate the interest and I remember when this was first starting you put out a call for individuals who wanted to be trained or facilitators are all of our facilitators paid or do we have volunteer facilitator at s and will there still be a space if there's anyone who sees this and says this might be something I'd like to get involved with oh that's a great question we uh we have some facilitators who have been trained and uh and receive a small stipend uh this year we're also going to be training all of our family engagement Liaisons to be able to be facilitators uh with the hope that that could be part of their role perhaps uh in the future and there are some other staff members who are interested in experiencing that professional development too so that we can make it more sustainable uh and we of course are interested and welcome other um relevant community members who have some of those facilitation skills great direct MCL um I joined my board colleagues in very much appreciating the value of this program I think it again think um chair Nathan said it's been a long time coming and it's really gratifying to see it come to fru fruition like this as a pilot that's going to be expanding um moving forward can you quantify for us the investment in this the financial investment uh it doesn't necessarily need to be you know the exact dollar amount but but how much are we able to invest in this currently and if you can answer about how what we would like to see uh that's been a a topic of discussion for sure um I would just say that we're in the tens of thousands of dollars currently um roughly $113,000 on one program and now we're trying to expand with not the same amount of money for every other program so um if anyone's out there listening and watching please go and vote um for the referendum because you can now see the value of programs like this and this would be one of those things that would be in the discussion for something to go away if we don't have those resources so it takes a lot of financial resources to make something like this happen doesn't just happen out of th there so appreciate that question I can I can just even be a little more uh specific because I'm looking at I unlike will could pull up the number we uh using federal covid funds we purchase the curriculum the rights to which we have in perpetuity and so we we have that and its fixed cost and right now the annual cost we estimate for the current capacity of the program which to you know Dr Marvin's question could be expanded is $187,600 760 per year so um a a significant but in the scheme of things relatively modest investment for uh a pretty high impact um on on families and then of course by extension on kids um one of the questions that came to my mind kind of in the back of my mind when this was first rolled out is that the current cohort would then have some role in um speaking to other community members about this uh what they've learned can you talk a little bit more about that so speaking can you repeat that sorry I didn't that the current cohort will then um the part of As I understood part of the curriculum is they would then be um informed about how they can share this with their peers in the community is that something that is happening and do you expect that to continue I would say yes we expected to continue and you saw the first wave of that which was the video because that could be sent to multiple people at one time that wasn't just for us then that was for oh no this is just the beginning we actually have smaller um clips of videos that we're going to use through social media throughout oh wonderful um this one was just for you all special but um that was just the beginning so as we start to produce more cohorts and especially in the same buildings we can have people who have gone through or graduates come through and give their testimony if you will um during each cohort right and that's what I like about we're investing in these cohorts but the reach of it can be as broadly as we can be yes and that is really the idea and I think that uh that when we had this cohort at Gage there were some some parents who clearly seemed to be identifiable as future potential facilitators and that's so much of the empowering aspect of it and I think so much of what um you know what really connects people to the to the program because those parents are really trustworthy in their you know in their Circles of friends and I think that uh that makes a big difference it's wonderful I want to add to that that communication and that that Outreach doesn't just go that direction it's by Direction and so many of our families as as part of it they were able to interview um some of our our staff members at the end and they were um we even had Andy come out and and share about Finance because they had a lot of questions about that throughout the program and they're interested in joining committees now like they want to be involved in the decision- making and bring their voice forward so that that impact goes both ways that's wonderful thank you if I yep my director wlin it's a key question that's one reason why you know part part of uh my role obviously in supporting these folks is I'm pushing very hard to get as many cohorts underway this year as we can because I've worked extensively with this um the core program in previous positions and this spreads By Word of Mouth it is the the stuff staff does is important but that's just the spark and when it takes off it becomes a thing and there were times at its peak when I was in St Paul schools and also when I was at the University of Minnesota working with Minneapolis schools we had hundreds of parents at the graduations because it became a thing you just had to do now there are important staff capacity issues that we need to figure out here but I really do see this as the year we can put cape on the map and uh these colleagues have agreed to that and so we're stretching Beyond where we started last year because I think if we get to that point where parents are encouraging other parents it takes on a momentum of its own um that has a lot of power in it because it's parents doing it uh for their kids with other parents especially from their communities so it'll be really exciting at the end of the year as you know all of the key initiatives are part of my goals that the board will be evaluating me on so it'll be very exciting at the end of the year to tell you what we did in terms of our goals for Cape this year um because if if the goals that we've set are achieved that that good but small start we got last year will look very different by the end of the year and that really sets up um some prettyy exciting progress um moving forward and I should also say just to final point from me um while I love that our program highlighted um uh communities that uh to varying degrees are often new to the United States this is also a program for communities who have been there here for Generations um and so this is a pro this is a program that um Core Curriculum is useful for anyone one who wants to figure out how their child can succeed academically develop uh socially emotionally and so um I think we're going to see a really diverse uh and spreading set of Cape programs across uh RPS and I'm excited to do that and I'm grateful for your leadership and making that possible thank you very much we'll see you at Overland our next agenda item is a monitoring item people strategy update and initiatives superintendent thank you chair Nathan board members Carl bachan our um Executive Director of Human Resources will be coming down to join us as board members remember last year and Carl will refresh all of our memories about this we convened a series of working groups as one of the waves of our strategic plan to really look at what we uh are doing to develop the Educators and other staff in our district to make all the difference for kids and so we had a diverse extraordinarily robust set of volunteers for those working groups and in the spring we updated you on a very long list of possibilities I committed to come back to you along with Carl by the end of before the end of September and update you on our first priorities for what we've now come to call our people strategies um this is going to be a multi-year effort it's a gigantic I would say transformative effort and so we have a a robust set of priorities for this year but as Carl will touch on that's just the beginning so this will be a quick walk through of what is really going to be a uh a complex multi-year effort to invest in our people who invest in our kids good evening board members thank you for the introduction Dr Mellen you probably knocked off my first slide or two with that introduction I was just going to reiterate that you can do it again okay well I have I have a little bit more specific information related to that so just a in some um background review as part of their strategic plan we assembled seven working groups in November of 23 to review current process gather additional information and make recommendations um and those seven areas were the ones that we covered back in in April we had 125 staff that volunteered to be part of these groups and every one of them that volunteered was placed into a group almost every one of them got the group they wanted we had to take a couple people and slide them into groups that maybe didn't have as many people but they um very few and the people The Volunteers in these groups included people from operations the teacher group food service esp's maintenance principles teachers cabinet Sac substitute teachers and clerical so like Dr Mel said a very representative group um I'll take together these groups made over um made in around 113 recommendations um and then as Dr pel said we were here in April and we made a commitment to come back in the meantime we have prioritized our recommendations to define the initiatives for the 2425 school year and I won't read these but these are the 14 I'll spend some time going over each of these in the following slides all of these are in process and have steps for completion um timelines are starting now all the way up until the end of June and 25 I'd also like to say that all these initiatives will be collaborative in nature they will not be completed in silos we will be Consulting with depending on the initiative it might be the union it might be principles it might be our special ed directors um be working very closely with our esps um some of these were in the process of just setting up meetings and and getting their input um as we as develop these initiatives um our first initiative is related to education support professional induction and without reading the slide just our focus is on esps because first of all data has shown over the past several years these are positions that are vacant um we have the highest turnover rate we have a um approach 25% in our turnover rate in some in with esps compared to teachers and princip principles which are in the single digits um so even with that four to five hour increase that we've provided the last couple of years through their their contract we continue to have vacancies I think when I was here to review the first week of school we had about 25 vacancies we're still sitting at that amount it doesn't mean those 25 jobs are open it means people have left people have come in but we still at this point have about the same number of vacancies so even with that raise we giving good induction and good support hopefully will reduce that and increase our retention of these very important people the second initiative I will discuss just briefly um again application and interview questions um it is definitely time to review and update our application and interview questions There's an opportunity to eliminate outdated questions both in the interview um both interview questions and in the application we have too many sets of some of these questions that just are maybe a principal will save them put them in the shared drive and then so there might be 15 different versions of an elementary um interview form also can we streamline our applications some of our applications are probably outdated and we're asking questions that maybe nobody is even looking at anymore so I think it's time to talk to principles to talk to the people who are filling on applications streamlining also also asking questions that are make clear our priorities as RPS and that'll help us determine if the candidates are believe the same things we do that all students can learn um and as noted in the slide we will not do every position we will start with our more frequent positions teachers special ed teachers esps and um so those very rare positions may not have that review this year but at some point hopefully we get to all of them in the next couple of years evaluation of central office leaders in esps this initiative was scaled back it was going to be every group was we were going to be looking at the evaluation piece for them um we decided to focus on esps and administration principles are separate they're evaluated by a different tool but this these would be our central office administrators for central office administrators we're going into our second year of being rated on a a group of competencies and how do we better differentiate between ineffective developing effective and highly effective um maybe there's instead of four points in that scale maybe there's three so we're we've already done a first draft and we're taking it back for further consideration refining um so just looking to improve that and then with our esps they're they're asking to be evaluated and we we got a little bit of traction before the pandemic doing an annual evaluation of alls once the pandemic hit that was something that was not a requirement but even during negotiations there they specifically have said we want to be evaluated so working on an updated tool we have a tool that needs updating it needs to be refined it needs to be um made more current some of the things that are being evaluated for our job postings initiative [Music] um again something looking at what is out there and changing what we're putting out there for applicants to view more information about our district um the applicant pool for many of our positions has changed quite a bit we are getting far fewer applicants we're competing for a smaller um group a pool of candidates um so we need more effective communication about our position timeline um just an example of how the the talent pool or the applicant pool has changed I was sharing this with our with cabinet a couple of weeks ago the there's something called the Minnesota educator job fair that's helped the Minneapolis Convention Center and it's been held for many many years I can remember 10 15 years ago going up there when I worked in special education and there were hundreds of vendors and hundreds of applicants and in the last couple couple of years that has dwindled down to where they didn't even hold it at the convention center anymore and we we were not in the front row we would be a couple of rows back and we were wondering if something stopped or or delayed the start this number of applicants has dropped so much we used to interview four or five special ed teachers now last couple of years it was one or none um so it and now this year ultimately they canceled it so it used to be the premier hiring event of the year and now it's it's gone so it just tells you about our applicant pool and how we need to update our practices and how we're reaching out to them administrative levels this is a this is an interesting um initiative um I've dug into this a little bit but our use of the terms director supervisor coordinator and manager definitely need more consistency the the titles have been used they've switched um what are the criteria and responsibilities that go along with these as we look at this maybe we are looking at something we're considering as in the draft I'm putting together currently is is there something different for instructional staff versus operations and just an example I'll give you as far as coordinators we have a high number of coordinators but if you look at the prevailing definition of a coordinator they are not supervising or evaluating or hiring or firing but we have some of our coordinators doing that we have others that are not doing that so that might be something that we would switch those positions that are supervising and hiring to a different title maybe it's supervisor or manager that would be one example application software this is a very a very large initiative um RPS has been using the current hiring platform for I would guess at least 15 years if not longer um the current application program we are using has a it kind of has a corner market on K12 education some of the areas of growth for that applicant tracking is something that's lacking one of the things our principles are constantly asking that is there something where we can see where the job offer is that is something that is not in our current um the current program we're using um other programs have we've we've taken a little bit of a look at some programs that are out there we've done Demos in a small scale some of them have this in intuitive I don't know if that's the right term but once you upload your resume it automatically populates your application which is a huge timesaver and again we're competing for applicants that one of the people I think you've all met Lindsay our recruiter that was one of the things first things she said is I can't believe I had to upload my resume and fill out an application so those that's the kind of feedback we're getting um some of these programs have that um at the same time some of the new programs are missing some very import important features so we have to be very careful the extra layer of complexity here in that last hash you'll see on my on the slide we're also looking at a replacement for Skyward and some of the programs that our student information systems and Business Systems also have hiring components so if the possibility is is we'll replace it with something maybe it's a replacement for Skyward or an upgrade for Skyward that would have a hiring component so we need to work and the and with business services and Mr Carlson on that interview team preparation some of the feedback from that working group was that they need more training and guidance for our interview teams the do dos and don'ts making sure that we're reducing bias the importance of diverse interview teams we talked about a video maybe we're as I as we were as I was thinking about this it's maybe a video slash manual and some of the preliminary work out there I've been doing there are some models out there so that that gives us some ideas of what to include in that video and uh manual job interview follow-up questions is number eight again with feedback from the working group so as to provide clarification on how team should ask follow-up questions um we want all applicants to have a similar experience and there's a difference between a follow-up question versus someone just asking a candidate a question out of the L of the other candidates didn't have and and people kind of tease me because I get a little uptight about that kind of stuff um but asking how to ask an appropriate followup question would to ask it um and not to give someone a vastly different experience than another candidate would be our goal um number nine our job offer process I think it's comes down to strengthening and standardizing it um looking at um the procedure we would update is to to have candidates hear from somebody sooner we have a limited number of Staffing Specialists and they might have a stack of job offers I'm working with Dr pel on this the suggestion that and and the working group that the hiring manager makes an informal job offer without talking about salary without talking about benefits and then it goes that way the person knows they've been offered the job informally and then our staffing specialist with them the next day or two talk talks about specific salary um placement on the salary schedule they can answer questions about insurance before they officially accept the position or not and then following up with um specifics and a followup email multiple Co and thinking of multiple modes of communication and just a better documented process in case there are questions or maybe a dispute down the line that there is some kind of paper trail or document Trail on that new employee [Music] orientation um see this as an opportunity to provide one of the things we probably currently do not do a good enough job of is talking about our district and the students and the things that are happening um the Strategic plan so that that should be something that would be we would be able to get in there fairly quickly also the nuts and bolts of that employees need to know and and this is evolving are are some of the things that we've brought in to orientation in the last couple of years we've really tried to talk to employees where we see the issues for instance social media use boundaries with students cultural competency Title Nine and getting that information highlighting that more during during orientation but we will take another look and do some more adjustments and possible more of an overhaul on some of that information our new employee checklist I think I heard somebody say after the last presentation how important it is to feel welcomed and a sense of belonging we are seeing that one of the things we heard is crossover about how important it is for employees to feel that sense of belonging so that's something we would want to emphasize in this again we would be collaborating with esp's principles maintenance clerical things we should cover what as an employee what do you wish we would have covered when you went through orientation and went to your building for the first day I think some I don't think I know this that things sometimes are moving so fast that principle or those principles want that person in the building they want to even skip orientation and then when they get to the building excuse me they're going into that room on the first day they haven't met anybody they haven't been introduced those are the things we need need to do a better job of and I think that we heard that from a few people that said I didn't even get introduced to my building I was thrown into the they needed somebody so badly I went right in there so those are things that we need to um slow wow that's very unlik me okay um I I'll I'll try to move even faster employe recognition um they have more recommendations Beyond this but these were some of them there there was also the talk of doing um recognize people who've been here certain number of years 5 10 15 20 number 13 the grow your own um a lot there's a lot of money that's been made available by the state of Minnesota so taking advantage of this and lindsy Nelson's been working very hard on this we have the grow your own student pathway the adult pathway and a special ed pathway and we have active people we have a graduate from one already and then we have active members in all of those student pathway is starting a little bit slower we have three people interested but we have we're paying I'm approving tuition checks um so we have people in and hopefully we'll see people coming into our to the RPS employees when they when they complete their um training and then finally exit interviews get a better understanding of why people are leaving um we have an exit interview survey completion rate has been very very low so thinking of ways to improve that and um working with sites on how to come up with a better process um 25 26 and Beyond even though um 2425 school year is very ambitious there's more work to be done so we have these plans to add initiatives beyond the 2425 school year I won't go into any detail there um there's a second page of those so sorry went time do you have any questions that I can answer Dr Garcia um and this is a little bit off topic but I promise to bring it back do you has there been an increase in applications for like Min sync for example msync and staff or students staff sorry that I don't know off the top of my I could find that out so I mean I think the the answer to the question was more um curiosity in the sense that like a lot of these things which yes it make sense to improve our practices of both the hiring and onboarding of Staff members but I'm also still I also still think in that space that anyone who is like generationally speaking like a younger Millennial or younger it's not so much that they're we lacking those individuals in the workforce it's the nature of the work that they're looking for and they're not going into five eight hour days plus anymore and so part of me also wonders um outside of this how to make either how to adjust the way that we're doing education I suppose to meet the needs of a a very different Workforce while also taking care of some of these things um because it it is certainly like in in my work because I have to worry about this now too is hiring people is there's certainly a dying breed of individuals where you know I think it used to be that people were like yep I want like retirement pension whatever it is I'm going to go into like a public service job like public education I'm going to go work for state or federal government um be there for 25 plus years and then I'm finished whereas that is not what people are looking for anymore and so I'm I wonder if even talking to like whoever these grow your own folks are or going to be about if they could like reimagine if they knew they had to work full-time within the district in their specific role what would that look like to meet both the needs of the students that they're caring for as well as to work a job that they would actually want to like retire from um and so that's more just like food for thought or me wondering things out loud but I appreciate a lot of the changes that are coming because I think I did get a lot of feedback too about you know the application process is like 13 pages and I just want to come volunteer you know and so I think that that was a struggle for people and so anything more serious than that it felt like a barrier whereas now I think if we streamline some of these processes like the easier it is to get people connected with the work they want to do um you know removing those barriers is helpful but I also am just I guess thinking long term like is this how educ is education going to always be like a Monday through Friday situation and I know even for like non-district folks but the people that we contract with like if you're a school-based or School link mental health professional a lot of times they come into a job like they'll start working through a nonprofit and they're like yes I want to work with um you know I want to work at Willow Creek the Assumption initially is like they're going to work a school year and have Summers off and that's not how it works so and that's like a hard reality for some people um and what do you do in the summertime when maybe the the students aren't around and you're not providing them services so I'm sorry I know you were St no I was I I I it's exciting that you're beginning to think about that I I think in some ways what you just highlighted Dr Garcia is really what's the next phase beyond our current strategic plan I sort of see this as putting down some basic infrastructure that we've been lacking but the next phase is really redesign and reenvisioning where once you've got some of these core processes you really say on the student side what really engages kids academically but on the staff side what really is going to recruit and retain uh the kind of Educators and staff that we want kids and I love the idea of really uh taking a step back and really saying tell us where your Paradigm is um it there's it bothers me to no end when people say education never changes it hasn't changed there are aspects of it that have changed dramatically but I think I could say the structure of the teaching profession is pretty much the same as when Dr Marvin started it and director Workman and then when I started it and then when others I mean that core structure and there's you point out many generational reasons to question if we're going to recruit and retain the people who are great with kids but who are willing to exist in that structure longer term so I'm excited about that kind of thinking we do need to get these things in place where we have got better software we've got better tracking we are recognizing our employees more effectively some really important things I think this is the year to kind of lay that infrastructure in Human Resources but I think it's a great time to be thinking more creatively longer term yeah I think it's it's amazing to me when people are looking for jobs in like a psychiatric hospital and are like how much telework can I do that's interesting and I'm like that's a hospital you need to be treating patients um but I mean that's the reality is there and so like having to contend with that and I'm consistently like pressing my own bosses like we need to figure this out because it's not going to get like there's not going to be the next Generation who just like magically is like you know what yeah more than 40 hours a week five days a week that's exactly where I want to be because that that is not people are right now yeah Dr Marvin just um briefly two things first I did start teaching a really long time ago but I was I was incredibly young um so there's that um secondly uh Mr bachan it was really um invigorating for me to be involved in this process the working groups I think um had an incredibly uh good representation of Staff people from all all Lanes all areas of our um school district and I'm really gratified not surprised but gratified that you and that the superintendent and the staff are taking their recommendations and really putting them into action so thank you for that because it was a I know a lot of work for you yeah and I think back to the survey that originally uh generated the feedback from staff and I know that when we discussed that survey we talked about how hard it was to hear some of the feedback from the staff but what I appreciate is that I'm seeing all those voices reflected in all of these initiatives and um to hear about the work of the working groups as well but I also thought how ambitious this was and that this was a very long list of of things that you're managing with with this group of people so um we recognize that as well um but reconfirm that it is something that we support going forward because we we need to take care of our staff especially in the climate that we've all been speaking of of you know we we need to be attractive we need to be a district that is attractive to um really good quality teaching and and support staff for our students thank you thank you thank you so board members we're about to head into uh a number of uh prep for action and action items would anybody like to have a brief recess before we go into that or shall we move forward let's move forward we're good okay now we're through our next agenda item is 8.1 referendum defeat resolution as I said this is prep for action and we're scheduled to take um action on this at the October 8th meeting um because this resolution is quite long and and the intent of our time together tonight is to allow the board to discuss the resolution I will read it and then the superintendent will give us an update be it resolved that the school board of Independent School District 535 does hereby direct the superintendent to develop a 25 2025 2026 general fund budget recommendation that includes the reductions outlined below if the ignite student learning referendum plan is not passed by voters on November 5th 2024 four one close three elementary schools to save 2,343 192 closing three elementary schools would reduce the number of spaces available for students at the elementary level in RPS by approximately 10% the schools that the administration recommends be closed if the referendum fails must be identified before January 1st 20125 schools would be recommended for closure based on the following criteria the degree to which the school currently has excess capacity the geographic location of the school relative to student residences the impact the closing the school would have on students who attend other schools due to changes in attendance boundaries age and physical condition of the school presence of special facilities in the school such as supports for special education students that would need to be replicated elsewhere if the school closed two increase class sizes at all grade levels s by three students to save 5,643 396 Financial savings from increases in class size result from the elimination of teaching positions as fewer teachers are assigned larger number of students the reduction would save funds through the elimination of approximately 50 FTE teaching positions three reduce central office positions and non-instructional positions at the school level to save 2 million $381,000 this reduction would save funds through the elimination of approximately 20 FTE positions including positions in the superintendent's cabinet central office administrators principals clerical staff maintenance staff and operations staff four reduce programs and positions in the four investment areas included in the ignite student learning proposal to save 6,378 n56 those reductions would be made in the following categories of the ignite student learning plan positions that assist students who need more support to thrive reading Specialists and curriculum media specialists at elementary schools Community Schools coordinator positions and programming the cape parent education and empowerment program the launching emerging adults program or leap project search at Mayo Clinic and driver's education for low income students programs that challenge Advanced students and enrich learning for all students Advanced learning teachers and services curriculum enhancements to deepen learning project lead the way in Middle Schools music positions in Middle Schools staff and programs at Cory Hill Nature Center and the planetarium at Mayo High School services that strengthen student well-being and mental health school counselor positions and mental health screening classes that prepare students for success in vocational and Technical careers high school courses in auto mechanics construction trades accounting and more ctech classes computer science law enforcement agriculture Pharmacy and more ptech Pathways and nursing and information technology and postsecondary education and career planning software and supports be it further resolved the school board of Independent School District 535 does hereby a automatically resend this resolution if the ignite student learning operating referendum is approved on November 5th 2024 superintendent thank you chair Nathan um I am going to be brief uh in providing some background on where this recommendation is um I felt the need to revisit the two primary drivers of both the referendum that is on the ballot and the deficit that has led us to this place because none of us I believe would be choosing to have the conversation that that resolution is prompting us to have the first as board members and increasingly our community know well is depicted by that graph in which the dotted orange line is the increase that the state of Minnesota has provided in the general fund um for the last approximately 20 years and that blue line is what that increase would have looked like had that funding increased at the rate of inflation it would result in funding per student in Rochester Public School that was almost 19 percentage per higher than it is today so that is driver one the second is the local support and we can see the 15 school districts in Minnesota that serve more than 10,000 students including Rochester and there we can see in the red bar that uh Rochester's last and voter approved operating support for uh our students in our school district significantly below that um horizontal line which is the average um and Below those districts that are above that average if the referendum is passed Rochester would go from being 15 out of 15 to being 10 out of 15 and slightly below that average so that is the financial uh reality that we've been grappling with since I got to Rochester in 2021 as board members also know well we've cut $21 million since that point and eliminated 156 positions and everyone at least on this board recalls one year ago in this room where after the narrow failure of the 2023 referendum we were forced to announce the closure of schools the restructuring of attendance boundaries the elimination of programs thankfully male clinics stepped in with a $10 million contribution that uh allowed the board to use one-time reserves for slightly less than $7 million to give us our only year of no major reductions since I have been in Rochester so the resolution that is before the board tonight in prep for Action is very unorthodox it's very unusual in September to be talking about the next school Year's budget in such specific terms so it's very important that uh both board members and um our stakeholders who are paying attention to this process understand the why of this resolution and what the applications might be the why comes from the Outreach that we conducted after the narrow failure of the last referendum in in which we heard loud and clear that if the board puts a referendum on the ballot in 2024 which you have since elected to do let the community know what the consequences of not passing that referendum will be and do so with as much specificity as you can understanding that you also need to be accurate when we began the planning for the referendum that is on the ballot November 5th the structural deficit that we identified was $19.4 million and so that is the amount that is on the ballot and would be increased for 10 years at the rate of inflation to put the school School District in a position of financial stability now in September of the year before a budget year it is not possible to identify with Precision exactly what our financial position will be for the following year and that is because um we are on the cusp of more than eight months of very extensive analytic work that our very talented Finance team does pretty much full time if not 247 to develop the budget proposal that you will act on in June some of the factors that are currently unknown in terms of the budget for the 2526 school year are the salary and benefit costs based on our final contract settlements with our uh labor employee groups our unions um some of those negotiations remain ongoing we don't know exactly where they'll settle our health insurance contributions which are determined by put it overs simplistically but not inaccurately how many of our employees got sick and how many got really sick in the prior year our enrollment projections which we do our best to predict but which um are not a an exact science and it's certainly a projection that gets much more accurate as the school year goes along state and federal funding levels which can vary dramatically at times um depending upon where the state and federal governments are in their budget Cycles the actual level of the local Levy which you will be turning to uh in a subsequent agenda item tonight and of course factors like utilities costs what it costs to heat and operate our buildings so those are just some of the things that will become clear between now and when you vote on the budget in June and that is why it is not possible right now to say with absolute certainty exactly what the deficit would be if the referendum does not pass however it is possible to say with unquestionable certainty that a major deficit would face this school district we know it would be at least $16.7 million because of two important funding sources we are relying on this year to avoid being in deficit for the 2024 2025 school year and those two funding sources are $10 million from Mayo Clinic and our draw down of 16 6.7 million in budget reserves which uh I recommended and you chose to do for the current current school year we know that Mayo Clinic and I would submit no other organization is remotely likely to write another $10 million check for the upcoming school year and we know it would be imprudent to continue to use the budget Reserve which is um intended to protect the school district against um uh drastic unforeseen circumstances like the one we all lived through during the covid pandemic or other factors that might happen so we know that there's at least a .7 million deficit and in order to develop a resolution that I am confident you could vote on and that should the referendum not pass you would then be able to take up as part of the budget process in the spring we want to be conservative in giving that projection I think there is a very little chance that the deficit would not be larger than 16.7 million doar but we really can say with confidence that that is the minimum deficit that we would face for the next school year the resolution that uh is uh that chair Nathan just read um recommends that we develop a budget proposal for your review this spring that includes the reductions that the chair outlined you would consider that proposed budget as you do every year through the budget process which I'll Briefly summarize in a subsequent slide and so the resolution that you are considering tonight in the prep for Action category and that you will vote on at the next meeting is not the budget but it is a serious direction to staff to develop the budget that you would receive in the spring and as you do every year you would uh ask questions and provide guidance and ultimately give me direction on the final version of that budget so this is an important step but it is not jumping over um eight months of analysis and work to vote early on the budget just to give you a sense of scope even though $16.7 million uh is a lot of money you can see there uh the reserve uh that we're using this year it constitutes 2.3% of our budget and then that male clinic uh contribution constitutes 3.4% of the budget so chair Nathan walked through those reductions uh in the resolution and um you all uh heard them and you know those expenses well I want to just break it down a little bit further and add a bit of uh explanatory um language the closure of the elementary schools which chair Nathan mentioned would reduce our total Spaces by 10% um is designed to achieve efficiencies you move more kids into fewer buildings you save on operating costs and expenses you save on some staffs some staff in the positions that you only need one of like a principal like uh certain custodial positions like certain positions that um are not uh increased based on the number of kids you have in a school like like the number of teachers um closing elementary schools in my view is not an appropriate decision at this time in Rochester because even though there is some excess capacity that we could um reduce in the very very near term every longer term projection that I have seen for our community is that enrollment will be on the rise here 5 years from now and so to shutter three elementary schools and then need to reopen them three years from now is not something I would recommend absent the kind of financial crisis that would result from this referendum not passing we would shutter the schools we would retain them we would uh need to make sure that the facilities are kept in condition that would allow us to reopen them down the road um and it would save money it would save $2.3 million um I believe that while that would be necessary if we have to cut at this level it would be um shortsighted in the medium and longer term the class size increase um as uh the chair mentioned would result in about 50 teaching positions using our average salary and benefits now um for some folks out there especially maybe who've never been a teacher or who may not be a current parent three more students might not seem like a lot but um I will tell you in the eyes of most uh staff students and parents it's quite a lot we have Targets in Rochester that we use for class size and which we adhere to and take very seriously it doesn't mean when you hit the target you immediately add another teacher though we do get on that path um but our targets uh would increase at kindergarten from 21 kids per class class to 24 first grade from 25 to 28 second grade from 30 to 33 third grade also from 30 to 33 fourth grade from 32 to 35 and fifth grade from 32 to 35 um so that's a significant increase um obviously that is not headed in the direction I would want it to go we've already had to raise class size since I've been in Rochester as part of our previous budget reductions um that's not the kind of added challenge we want to give our teacher at the very moment that they're embracing deeper learning and literacy and and all the academic priorities that we have but that's where the money is that's where you actually can begin to get to the level of savings that would be required the next category of positions that are at the central office and some non-instructional positions so non-teaching positions would uh eliminate about 20 FTE uh uh positions full-time equivalent saving about $2.3 million excuse me I misspoke the the earlier point that's 5.6 million uh for the uh class size reduction and 2.3 for this Central why the difference in the two there's many fewer people I know everyone thinks there's a lot of people sitting down in the Edison building or central office and what do those people do I thought that when I was a teacher there's not as many of us believe me that are here but that would be a proportional uh reduction including at the most senior levels of the school district the final category is a reduction in those areas that would receive 10 years of support from the referendum proposal and board members will note that the total amount of funding that those areas would receive if the referendum passes is $19.4 million however I'm recommending that the resolution would direct slightly more than 6.3 million in reductions why not the full 19.4 we could not cut all of those programs and positions that would be funded by the referendum and keep our district operating we could not cut all of our school counselors for instance so from within those four categories we would come up with about 6.4 million in savings um in some cases that might be a full elimination of a program in some cases it might be a reduction and in others it might be no cut in a program because uh it seems either something we can't uh eliminate uh based on regulations or based on our strategic plan but we would come up with $6.4 million approximately in reductions across those categories that would be supported by the referendum I know that uh we talked a bit in the study session about alternatives to um these reductions and of course should the referendum not pass and should we get into the budget process in the spring the board could raise other priorities that you would direct me to look at um as reductions however I believe as superintendent that as painful as it would be the these would be the least worst ways to close a deficit of that magnitude and that's why I believe it's a recommendation that should we have to make these reductions I could stand by uh seven months from now and tell you why I'm bringing you this recommendation but once again this would not be uh the vote on the budget it's a vote to direct us to develop the budget which of course we would take very seriously um finally a brief reminder of this time time frame uh that the lies ahead of us in developing uh this budget in November we will be looking at the finalized audit of the 2023 2024 school year that is done by our external audit firm and it's important to begin the budget process with that so that the board is not just trusting me or our finance staff but we have external Auditors who are giving the board an independent statement of financial position uh as I often point out I am uh surprised and excited exed to work in an almost $400 million organization that has had three perfectly clean audits in a row without a single finding uh uh uh that the Auditors have uh found discrepant with best practice um but we will start the process in November with looking at that external audit so the board really knows independently where our district stands by the end of December you will approve the actual local Levy which we'll be talking about in a subsequent agenda item in a moment um in January we have a very important discussion where we give you the financial forecast and you set parameters for the budget development in some ways the resolution before you tonight is the beginning of those parameters it's our marching orders in developing the budget for you to consider and act on in June February and March we have very important meetings with our principles and with the department heads to understand where they are in terms of everything from meeting special education requirements in IEP to uh physical capacity in buildings because every building every department is different and we annually need to make sure that we are Staffing and budgeting at the predicted level of student need um we have to by March 28th notify uh staff who are going to be losing their current uh position in April and May we do a lot of really important analytic work to roll all of those individual school and Department budgets into the macro budget that you review uh in the late spring and then of course in June before the end of that month you ultimately approve the budget for the following school year so you can see this reev this resolution that that you have before you uh is way ahead of many of those things but uh as I said at the outset it's there because our community significant segments of our community wanted as much clarity as could be provided before the referendum on November 5th so that they can make a decision about uh voting against or for that referendum with some level of uh knowledge of the results the consequences that uh would follow if it is not approved so Madam chair that is an overview of the um resolution which is on the agenda tonight not for action but for uh consideration and also obviously Community conversation as well Dr Marvin I I want a clarification the the way that this recommendation is written and you know as I said before this is for all of us this is so painful because we are currently providing the community what they said they wanted what businesses and community members and parents said these these things are important so the kids who graduate from Rochester Public Schools are ready for the 21st century this is who we want them to be this is what they the opportunities we want them to have that said the way the referendum is written now and we're going to have to pass something Dr pel you said that um if we pass this and then it the referendum fails and we have to go back and look at what specific Cuts will be made because all these different programs and positions are listed here and I'm think thinking especially about items number three and four uh personnel and programs would that mean that we would be obligated to cut or um or eliminate each of those I would bring you a budget that meets that criteria and then you would get the detail greater detail than I'm able to give you right now for all the reasons I've explained so we would give you a proposal that reflects these targets but we would provide you as we do every year with the specific uh information and then you as a board of course would make your decisions on whether you wanted to direct revisions in that proposal whether you wanted to make changes but as you know one of the things when I got here in 2021 we began the process of the board setting budget parameters every January and we have taken that super seriously that's not just um like fluff we really see it as the guard rails of the budget development process and it's not a simple thing to um depart from that because there's a lot of assumptions that going to that so essentially this resolution front-loads some of those budget parameters um for the reduction part of the budget and then yes you would get a budget that reflects those broad reductions but you would receive it with much more detail at that point thank you Dr Workman so I have a question um obviously if we have to to close elementary schools then we have to redraw our attendance lines that affects busing so at what point is the latest that the transportation department can start to work on rerouting whatever needs to be rerouted because I know this past year has involved a considerable amount of work and effort on that department and I'm I'm very grateful for all of the extra hours they have spent doing this so that students can school and back to home safely um but I think that school closure would have to be relatively soon in our discussions in January so should the referendum not fail what do you see that timeline how do you see that timeline yeah thank you director Workman it's a critical point that's why the resolution stipulates those schools would need to be identified by January okay so they would be identified by January for really two reasons first is for fam's planning reasons families would have decisions to make but second for the reason that you articulate we would have important work to do to redraw the attendance boundaries and to redesign the transportation routes so that we could then serve students in those new schools the following year so we would do that um the the the question that uh uh was probably implied by my earlier remarks but I'll just answer more bluntly why wouldn't you name the schools right now the answer is that is of course of course the probably the most painful decision a school board can make we would need to conduct not only extensive analysis which uh we're not focused on right now because we are focused on providing information on the referendum but in addition public input um not only do we want to conduct public input but we're required to we're required to hold a public hearing if you're closing a school and so there would be important information that we would need to to gather in order to make that recommendation we have included in the resolution the criteria that we would use for that difficult decision but it would be absolutely premature to be naming those schools at this point because um I would not be confident in the analysis that I could give you tonight about uh which schools should close in uh September of 2025 um we would have a lot of homework to do before I'd want to make that recommendation to you but I can tell you we would have to close schools and then one followup question if I may sure um So currently now um how far away from schools are students Bust or maybe how close what's the walk zone now and are we at the maximum walk Zone required by or set by the Minnesota Department of Education we're not at the maximum it's two and and every once in a while I mix up my last school district and this where we are exactly 1.5 1.25 at elementary 1.5 at middle school we do use 2. that's right thank you so uh hopefully everybody heard that it would be 2. two miles then for everybody well that would be a separate that yeah there's not a separate um uh just outright Transportation cut in this proposal but as I mentioned at the outset there is good reason to believe the deficit will be larger than 16.7 milon and so we might need to go significantly beyond what has been identified here and so essentially expanding the walk distance is another way to save Transportation dollars should that be what we okay actually uh needed to look at and I'm going to build on that conversation about the boundaries um so that the community can really hear the impacts of um the recommendations we would be making to the superintendent by January 1st if we pass this resolution um we would ask you to identify the schools to be cut but not by January 1st would everyone in the district know whether they had been redistricted to a different school so in terms of the consequences on our community I think we've seen um and I I'm doing this for the community to understand I think we've seen how um parents have had to react to the redistricting and the the rerouting for our busing um this while our transportation department would work as quickly as possible to put this together this would probably not be information that would be available um definitely not in January and perhaps not until later towards the end of the school year because it's it's it's one of the most complicated things that we do so if you're talking about disruption to a system closing a school as you said is perhaps the most difficult thing a district can do redrawing boundaries is probably number two and we've just recently seen um the the adjustment that our families and and even our students and this wouldn't just be um uh adjusting to move to something positive like new start times um this would involved moving some students not by their choice to a new school so we've been asked why aren't you naming the schools because I'd like to know if I'm affected and I think director Garcia said it very well at our study session assume that you are going to be affected if we if the referendum fails and we close three schools there to say okay yeah well well said Dr Cook um I I don't really have a question here but in the spirit of the activity that we're engaged in here to to to try to provide as much transparency as we can on how we would aim to go about addressing the forecasted deficit for next school year I just wanted to share the way that I've been thinking about this to make it as um you know just in the interest of transparency maybe this will help people to understand the challenge and what I did um I went back and looked at an email that I sent to the board in 2018 2019 when um new schools were being contemplated and boundaries were in being considered for adjustment I was relatively new to Rochester at the time and I had selected the home that I lived in based in large part on the um the school that was associated with the the boundary for that neighborhood and I was absolutely incensed at the idea that the um expectations that I had for my children and for my family would be unsettled by um this shortsighted decision of this governing body that I didn't know a whole lot about um and I I operated from an assumption that surely something obvious was being overlooked that um something on the order of a um you know we we were just looking at the projected deficit expresses a percentage um amounts to 5.7% of the district's budget I thought surely there's there's got to be another way they must not appreciate how much disruption how much negative impact to students uh these decisions would uh would cause and um so I I guess I want to share that is not lost on me at all it is just sitting here talking about the idea of changing boundaries I have an almost visceral reaction to the idea of changing up all these peer relationships that are incredibly important and developmentally appro uh important um to unsettling the expectations of our community and breaking the the binds of our uh neighborhoods and our school communities and so I wanted to share why I would even consider that and the reason is my load star and there's as has been discussed there's plenty of time to try to figure out in the event that this deficit the projected deficit needs to be addressed addressed exactly which cuts um would be necessary but my load star is trying as best I can to deploy the resources that this body has been entrusted with as a in a way that is going to Center students interests and we continue to Grapple with a literacy crisis in our community in our state Nationwide we're working hard at it we're on the right path but increasing class sizes by three or potentially more that will absolutely have a negative impact on our students it would absolutely have a negative impact on their future development their ability to contribute to society their ability to see themselves in a positive light to their self-confidence all of it and so as between you know the disruption that would come from closing three schools reshuffling all of the attendance boundaries changing like like my neighborhood last time my school wasn't projected to close but the neighborhood was going to move to a different school it's incredibly unsettling for people and I just wanted to share that I really get that and I get that eliminating career and Vocational TR training programs and computer science programs and auto mechanic programs and accounting and business and all of it it's not something that I want to do or that I think anybody wants to do um but preserving as best we can our ability to meet the students with the most significant needs um and maintaining the momentum we have built in addressing uh the need the literacy needs of our community um would be my load star and um the last thing I just wanted to share is shortly after I joined the board one of the very first things that I did as part of the $7 million of reductions uh was to eliminate an Innovative program that at the time I thought was a shining Beacon of deeper learning and uh student engagement and empowerment um it developed entrepreneur Minal skills it was experiential learning I think at its best and I thought was just really um excited about it both as an intellectual property attorney um and as a community member as a parent of students that I hoped would be able to participate in incubator edu I thought it was a fantastic program I absolutely understood why it was rational to eliminate it in view of the district's other priorities at the time but I share that as a reminder because this school system knows how to meet the needs of its students and provide enriching opportunities um but it is also I I think the governing body is Duty bound um to be fiscal stewards of scarce public resources um and balance its budget and that is something that we will have to do I'm committed to that and um as much as I would prefer as much as I would strongly prefer that there other options than the ones that have been identified um I am in support of this resolution because I I do not believe that there is um and uh that's all I got thank you Dr Barlo uh thank you director cook uh couple things one uh I so appreciate the um and we can't see it often enough the rationale for the resolution um it's not we're not in the situation want I say we um our community this system is not in the situation uh we're in because of um mismanagement um bad business practices it was important I believe Dr pel to highlight the the the the fact that uh for three consecutive years uh we have uh through independent audits uh received a uh clean bill nothing to be found there's nothing there and um I also think it important to um for the community to hear as you've already have said um they're not going to be left outside looking in s to speak they will be given an opportunity should the referendum fail and and so let me restack my statement um we heard the community uh as result of the failure of the last referendum they said had we known okay and we are answering that call by informing the community of what will happen there is a deficit that will occur unless and um so I'm thankful that eyes wide open uh the community will will have an opportunity uh I'm thankful that we as a board stewards entrusted by those who uh elect us uh we have the opportunity to uh be given this challenge to uh be Visionary and anticipating what might happen and these are things that we need to uh place before not only the community but before the board itself and you superintendent so uh plans can begin to occur sh the need arise rather than waiting well we're going to wait and see and then we'll go from there so so thank you for that and um it is my hope and and belief that um the community and and I respect the fact that there may be there are those going Beyond there may be there are those who uh just don't have the capacity to see another dollar spent or go toward an increase in in uh regarding their taxes and and it is unfortunate that both and I'm not assigning blame but it is unfortunate that both the city and county you know are uh interesting enough they don't have to go through the process we go through they can simply vote amongst themselves and and pass that increase on to local taxpayers I'm rather thankful that we have to if you will gain the trust of the community actually justify the the reason and rationale be behind the request which we're doing and and and and so um I believe they the overwheling majority will will hear uh understand and and agree that um uh not that you're right as superintendent or that we're right as a board but that this is the right thing and this is the right time for the community to come together and say uh we need to get behind the ignite student learning initiative our kids are worth it when I reference my experience with bber R they're worth it we can walk in each school and say they're worth it uh ideally director cook we'd like to have every uh parent family know that they could attend any school even if their school were to somehow for whatever reason close that their children would still receive a the best of the best educational services that uh not only that which RPS can provide but that really is a National Standard and and I believe that's what we are on the cusp of developing and becoming a a district that uh sets the tone uh we're not trying to be in the Forefront this is who we have become and that's a good thing you know when we when we hear about the family engagement that's a good thing I can't think of anything we're doing that is not a good thing deserving to be built upon uh deserving to be uh expanded and shared and for all students to uh experience and and so um thank you for um stating the heart facts okay um not a one of us likes it uh there's a level of of passion that we each have um my grandchildren haven't yet begin to ask me well will Granddad does this mean or will that mean uh but they might you know uh my children have well Dad does this mean and does that mean uh but again um I'm going to remain hopeful I believe we have every reason to be hopeful but it is important that the truth be stated that we not mince word that we don't kind of you know tap it down and suggest oh this might happen or this could happen no these are realities and and so thank you and I also appreciate the board my my peers for you know uh sharing um what we know to be true uh the impacts and in many ways those were the driving agents that led uh uh us to to run for ction to begin with our belief that this District was a a district worth being a part of from the inside and not just from the outside so um thank you for for the opportunity to to have this before us so we can consider action on it Dr mord um I just want to add to the discussion just really briefly that I think this so first of all the referendum information that we've presented to the community and and I think it's a good example for our students that we've learned and done some deeper learning into that issue as well but that this presentation this resolution and what we presented here tonight I think go a really long way to identifying information and dispelling misinformation that I think either is out in the community or could be out in the community and goes a long way to uh explaining why we're here and how we got here and what could happen next that I think is very much to the advantage of our community and I look forward to um um voting in favor of this resolution Dr Garcia I would also like to support what my colleagues have shared particularly on directors cook and Barlo um I think I was really struck after the last referendum by how much passion and energy came after the failure of the referendum and I just kept thinking like if we had that all year round for our district how much more how much more phenomenal we would be I think um and so kind of to director baros point you know a lot of the the community said if we had known well we do know because it happened last year here um and the thing that I hope that people do not uh take from what I said in the um the study session was I I don't want people to let the lack of specificity you know we're not identifying the specific school I don't want people to let the lack of specificity get in the way of fighting for the whole District um because that's all of our students and very much like director cook mentioned yes increasing class sizes by three three or so students maybe doesn't do seem like a lot but it has such vast Rippling effects on not just the academic piece for those elementary students who would have to move or those Educators who would have to accommodate larger class sizes um will fill it all over the place families are going to feel it all over the place it's going to affect the entirety of our um District not just the school but like the boundaries of our district um we went through it last year and we're telling you again it's going to come if insert political Horrors blink um and so I also am going to join uh my colleagues and voting in the affirmative for this resolution not because I want to make these decisions because y'all I am exhausted we've been voting since I joined the board about masks no masks inperson hybrid asynchronous interim superintendent new superintendent like it last referendum this referendum and I feel like I would love for there to just be a time where we can make a vote that's this impactful and longlasting and have it be longlasting like positively longlasting um and so I I truly like director Barlo shared I truly hope that this does not come to pass um and I think director mclin was the one who quined the term like assume it's you so please assume assume it's going to be you and do the fighting that's necessary to prevent this having to come be to become our reality um because I would like for it to not be I want this District to be not just having to um recover from decisions like this every year I want it to I want to set ourselves on the path to astronomical success and just have it be like Smooth Sailing um and my hope is that this in this November or in the next couple of months that we will see that can I just add something really in reflecting to what Dr Garcia said I I agree that assume it's you but also recognize that collectively we can take action in November to do what's best for our district and our community Dr Workman assum you but understand that if the community supports this then it will not be you if you're thinking of it purely from a what is impacting me what I see as having been a teacher for a while and on the board for a while is and and director cook you said it so eloquently it's the lack of stability every single year what what's going to happen next is my child going to have to change schools are the class sizes going to be bigger this program is being offered now in high school but will it be there when my child gets to high school I mean just the having to contemplate the unknown every single year is exhausting and it's really exhausting um for us to have to make these decisions but what I'm thankful for is that the community has given us Direction in terms of what they want our graduates to know and be able to do when they leave Rochester Public Schools and now is the opportunity for them to support that because without the that support it's not going to happen and just one final observation uh voting actually started open this past Friday in um I had cast my vote um Friday probably at 10 o'clock or so and I was very encouraged to see so many seniors um there already actively voting uh no I didn't ask them if they were voting for uh nor asking them soliciting a vote but it was the process is occurring and no one should should wait I I would hope that uh many of our viewing audience members will uh take the time and and and go out and vote now vote early don't wait till the 7th the fth don't do that on Tuesday the 5th uh but early voting has already started well I too appreciate the direction that the superintendent has given us to consider um so that we can uh be on the record as our community asked us to be about the consequences if the referendum fails um and I am uh not surprised but I am pleased to be among colleagues who I think will um stick to their decision I think um you know when you have seven people with seven opinions um I think the community could think well we could change their minds might take a vote to to set these parameters for the superintendent but when push comes to shove and they actually have to vote for a budget they're really not going to vote in all of these cuts and I just think we have I I think you have to hear the voices of everybody here is nobody wants to make these Cuts but we Rec we recognize the reality of the situation which is a balanced budget is necessary there's a 19.4 $4 million deficit it either gets filled with new revenues or we make the budget reductions to fill that deficit or to close that deficit and I know that this this convers I said I started the meeting by crying I thought this is the point I would be crying um but I want to focus a little bit on what a successful referendum brings us because as we said in the resolution um if the ignite student learning operating referendum is approved this resolution is automatically rescinded so we go back to square one in developing our budget it also brings us stability for 10 years and I've said this before and I I can't miss the opportunity to say it again I've had students in this District since the year 2000 we have never had stability for one year it's what director Workman said what's going to be cut the next year I went back and looked at a chart that I have been keeping for 24 years of the budget cuts year after year we've never made a budget cut this big and the budget cuts that I experienced when my kids were in school I felt at the time were devastating and they look back on it and remembered the year when and and they are now grown and and out there successful but they remember the conversations with their friends and with their teachers this out Scopes all of those experiences by multiple factors but it also gives us if a successful referendum gives us stability for 10 years so we won't have to be having these conversations we can build on the Strategic plan that as you mentioned director Marvin our community I love our graphic at the back of the room our community told us that that's the direction they wanted us to take for our students so um while this is a difficult conversation and will be a difficult vote um because nobody wants to see them come to fruition um we are doing what is our responsibility as a governing board um but we are also doing what is our responsibility as a district to educate the community about this referendum vote this is not the end of the conversation the district is going to put out a lot more information between now and November 5th um please take advantage of it please share it with your friends so that you can be fully informed before you go to The Ballot Box and make your decision else superintendent colleagues I don't think so thank you okay this will be back for vote at our next meeting all right we have a few action items uh 9.1 is the certification of proposed School District property tax levy payable 2025 I'll read the resolution and then we can open the floor for uh information and discussion following a motion and second be resolved by the school board of Independent School District 535 Rochester Minnesota being a school district in Olstead County and Wabasha County Minnesota that there be a proposed School tax levy upon all taxable property in said school district and an amount equal to the maximum Levy limitation provided by the Minnesota Department of Education and be it further resolved that the payable 2025 property tax levy and in 2024 2025 School District budget will be discussed and the public will be allowed time to comment on the issue of the property tax levy and School District budget at a school board meeting to be scheduled on Tuesday December 17th 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in room 137 of the Edison build Edison administration building 6:15 7th Street Southwest Rochester Minnesota and be it further resolved that the final Levy will be adopted at the regular school board meeting meeting scheduled on Tuesday December 17th 2024 at 6:00 p.m. and be it further resolved that the County Auditors be notified of these dates and times and that notices be published as required by the commissioner of Revenue so moved second it has been moved and seconded discussion heard about this at our last meeting and have the details and this again is the maximum Levy limitation here hearing none all those in favor say I I any opposed the resolution has been approved our second action item are the resolutions for the msba delegate assembly be it resolved that the school board of Independent School District 535 does hereby approve the submission of the following resolutions to the msba delegate assembly be it resolved msba urges the legislature to amend the Minnesota Government data Practices Act to authorize school districts and other units of local government to require the full legal name and address of individuals submitting Minnesota data Practices Act requests this information could potentially be deemed private data for future data requests if that was the reason for the recent change in statute to not require the specific information urges the legislature to adopt msba resolutions 4.34 and 4.35 introduced in 2017 and 2021 to assist in retrieving excessive costs associated with data requests two be it resolved msba urges the legislature to amend the Minnesota Government data Practices Act to authorize school districts and other local government units to charge a reasonable fee for responding to data requests for public government data that the requestor clearly intends based on their business model and business practices to regularly collect and monetize for commercial purposes move approval second it has been moved and seconded any discussion do we need to make friendly amendments for that three that's smacked da in the middle of that i' mention that I'm they friendly men I friend we'll get rid of the three it's a typo it's a typo they'll make sure they don't send it to msba with that got it yeah anything else all right hearing none all those in favor of the resolution say I I opposed the resolution has been approved and thank you to our legislative committee for their work all right policy committee recommendations August and September we it resolve that the school board of Independent School District 535 accept the recommendations of the policy committee for the policies and procedures listed policy 413 harassment and violence policy 507 corporal punishment policy 509 enrollment of non-resident students policy 512 School sponsored student Publications and activities policy 514 bullying prohibition policy policy 515 protection and privacy of pupil records procedure 515a protection and privacy of pupil records policy 516 student medication procedure 516a student medication non-emergency prescription medications procedure 516 C student medication overnight field trip policy 522 Title 9 SE non-discrimination policy 524 internet acceptable use and safety policy policy 532 use of peace officers and crisis teams to remove students with IEPs from school grounds policy 66.5 Library materials policy 607 organization of grade levels policy 608 instructional Services special education policy 616 School District system accountability policy 620 credit for learning policy 806 crisis management and procedure 806a crisis management move approval second it has been moved and seconded so to kick off the discussion board members just to remind you that all of the changes in these policies come from changes in Minnesota law from the recent legislative session and they came to us through msba model policy changes and we're required to make all these changes because they reflect changes in statute however our um or I should say moreover our policy 208 allows the board to approve these changes at a single board meeting because um of a legal change over which the school board has no control so that is why we are able to look at them all in one meeting and then we have our briefing document director Workman so I'll start with policy 413 the purpose of policy 4113 harassment and violence is to maintain a learning and working environment free from harassment and violence on the basis of race color creed religion national origin sex marital status familial status status with regard to public assistance sexual orientation gender identity or expression or disability msba model policy update of policy 413 adds reasonable Force language and corrects the legal reference policy 507 uh corporal punishment limitations on use of corporal punishment and prone restraint upon a student msba model policy update of policy 507 adds a reasonable Force language and corrects the legal reference the school district desires to participate in the enrollment options program Open Enrollment established by Minnesota statute section 124 4.03 the purpose of this policy is to set forth the application and exclusion procedures used by the school district in making said determination MSA msba model policy update to policy 509 enrollment of non-resident students removes School Readiness plus and adds school or Parents Choice 514 you want me to do 512 as well we're on we're on 512 now yeah but mine's not highlighted the recommended edits to the purpose statement of policy 512 School sponsored student Publications and activities remove the words official student publication and quote official School publication and replace them with quote School sponsored media the amended purpose statement then reads the purpose of this policy is to protect students rights to free speech and production of school sponsored media and activities while at the same time balancing the school district's role in supervising student Publications and the operation of public schools msba model policy update to policy 512 adds the quote student journalist law the uh policy 514 the purpose of bullying prohibition States a safe and civil environment is needed for students to learn and attain High academic standards and to promote healthy human relationships the MS ba model policy 514 update revises article Roman numeral 5A clarifying the posting requirements and updating other sections policy 5:15 um the school district recognizes its responsibility in regard to the collection maintenance and dissemination of pupil records and the protection of the Privacy rights of students as provided in federal law and statutes and policy 515 protection and privacy of pupil records MSB a model policy update of 515 adds an explanatory note for directory information and new law and definition regarding judicial officials we also added um email to the list of directory information that could be released for parents and we also updated um in procedure 515a which is the next uh procedure um updated the text to correct the name of registration and record and form 515 A1 is updated to include parent Guardian email address as directory information which is eligible to for opt out from being released policy 516 student medication the purpose of this policy is to set forth the provisions that must be followed when administering non-emergency prescription medication to students at school and school activities msba model policy update of policy 516 adds new statutory provisions and rearranges sections for clarity procedure 516a student medication non-emergency prescription medications is a companion procedure to policy 516 the changes in reference uh in references correspond with changes in policy 516 procedure 516c student medication overnight field trips a companion to policy 516 has minor language updates for clarification policy 522 Title 9 sex non-discrimination policy and grievance procedure are drafted to meet the minimum requirements in the 2024 title LED final rule the current language in this policy is being completely replaced by new language drafted by our legal council policy 524 msba model policy updates adds a new title and cell phone provision to the internet acceptable use and safety policy the purpose of this policy is to establish requirements expectations and guidelines for access to the use of electronic technology the use of peace officers and crisis teams to remove students with IEPs from school grounds policy 532 states the purpose of this policy is to describe the appropriate use of peace officers and crisis teams to remove if necessary a student with an individualized education program or IEP from school grounds models msba model policy 532 update adds school resource officer language policy 66.5 Library materials is a new msba model policy we are required to implement the provisions related to the new Minnesota law on selection and reconsideration of Library materials this policy has been reviewed and supplemented by legal council the office of academics is working on a procedure to implement this policy um policy 607 organization of grade levels the purpose is to address the grade level organization of schools within the school district msba model policy 607 defines the documentation that satisfies the minimum and maximum age requirements prek to grade 12 uh policy 608 instructional Services special education msba model policy 608 update adds quote child with a disability Provisions the purpose of this policy is to set forth the position of the school board on the need to provide special education services to some students in the school district policy 616 School District system accountability the msba model policy update removes world's best Workforce language and replaces it with quote comprehensive achievement and Civic Readiness the purpose of this policy is to focus public education strategies on a process that promotes higher academic achievement for all students and ensures broad-based Community participation in decisions regarding implement a of the Minnesota K12 academic standards and federal law policy 620 credit for learning recognizes student achievement that occurs in post-secondary enrollment options and other Advanced enrichment programs msba model policy 620 update adds PSO dates and weighted grades provision crisis management policy 806 recognizes student achievement that occurs in postsecondary enrollment options and other advanced enrichment programs msba model policy 806 update adds a note about the permissive cardiac emergency response plan procedure 806a the companion to the above policy is updated with a new 2024 2025 crisis management template from the msba model policy 806 updates thank you direct Workman for putting that together board members any questions I I I did have one about the the new policy 66.5 um and I recognize that there's a msba model policy and that the statutory change requires reporting to the Department of Education um about any uh reviews and the that are implemented under that policy of Library materials and the outcome of the review um but it seemed to me there were a lot of choices possible within the model policy from msba and given that um I I wonder if this seems like one that would be more sensible to have uh remov from this sort of expedited approval process and give ourselves a chance to review it in a little bit more depth in particular I I thought the the establishment of a new revie committee for Library materials separate from the reconsideration committee that's a standing committee of the board that already exists for review of curriculum material um is something that the board ought to consider whether that the existing reconsideration committee um would be a sensible forum for these types of challenges as well and then also um I thought that the policy should probably make clear that any reports on reviews by the Review Committee um are reported through a an action at a board meeting um could be on a consent agenda or something but um those were those were two things that I thought were consistent with the both the model policy and the statutory change um and so for those reasons I thought that's one that we could consider in Greater depth but if the policy committee has any addition on those observations um maybe we could discuss it now so do I hear that you want to amend the you want to have a discussion about amending the content of the policy in an area where we have some leeway to adjust correct um is that something that could instead be reflected in procedures or does it change the language of the policy the policy itself um sets out the and identifies the membership of the Review Committee unlike the policy 606 for review of uh curriculum materials um where that's set out in the procedure that accompanies policy 606 oh I see what you're saying so it would it would it couldn't be handled through a procedure it would what I'm suggesting would require a slight modification to the U proposed policy 66.5 um so I would think that in order to we we could do one of two things we could talk about the amendments to the policy but I would hesitate for us to make amendments here at the table without then having to run it back through um with the chief academic officer and the curriculum Department to see what those impacts might be um I think think what we could do is if you wanted to amend the resolution offer an amendment to remove 66.5 and then we could vote on the amendment and then if successful we could move on okay I would move to remove uh policy 66.5 from um from this action item second we have a motion in a second and just so we're clear you looking because you would like to make recommendations on amending the policy in terms of the membership of the Review Committee is that section 5e yes and also in section it's like I review and report I think maybe two yeah the review and Report it's just a a minor five I sorry change to make clear that that information would be included in board material um the report to commissioner um yep section section I so after voting the Review Committee will submit a brief written report to the superintendent and you'd like to add something that requires that to be by board action in a public meeting okay so the report would go to the commissioner only after board action board action but Madam chair uh if I understood the motion correctly to which I seconded was uh we were going to not vote on this tonight right it would be pulled and referred to the policy committee uh and that would be the appropriate time to okay I think just for clarification what we're voting on right now is to whether or not to remove this policy from this particular vote tonight and not necessarily the details right well I was giving director cook the opportunity to say why he wanted why so we didn't lose that in the conversation I may I ask one question yes so this has um this is the msba policy and has also been reviewed um by our legal counsel who has also added some uh additional material do you know off the top of your head what additional material was added by legal council and perhaps that doesn't make a whole lot of difference to the vote right now but for me I'd kind of like to know where we stand I'm glad you've got all the I the new language and strikeouts and everything in front of you I do um uh without knowing all the details of what director cook would want I would say that the appointment of the Review Committee and the membership of the Review Committee come came from the msba metal policy and the um procedure for the review and report to the commissioner uh came uh directly from msba model policy okay but our legal council didn't have any particular he didn't they have any changes or upgrades that no so and I don't know how I don't know what of that came from statute directly either the language of the of the review and report so it would give us a chance to investigate that just to one one minor um addition to that chair Nathan is that the the model policy actually specifies that the Review Committee would include a library media specialist which is not in the proposed um policy well actually it is in section e the licensed library media specialist must be on the Review Committee and must administer the procedures for reconsideration it's in the opening paragraph oh how about that oh it's just not enumerated I see okay right because the the statute elevated the role of the of the library media specialist to being more than just a member of the committee oh okay that's helpful thanks okay so we've got a motion and a second on the amendment are we ready to vote on the amendment to remove this from the list yes okay all those in favor say I I I opposed okay so we have an amendment to remove 66.5 do we have any other questions on any other um policies and procedures director M I had a similar question about policy 522 in the sense in I kind of look at the same way director cook looked at 66.5 is that most of these other changes appear be um procedural changes based on statutory change but 66.5 talks about it being a new policy in 522 appears to be a new policy that including language that was drafted by our legal council that doesn't seem like a as much of a technical statutory change as some of the other proposed changes here do well the the rewrite of policy 522 is because because of the federal Title 9 rule um so it it wasn't State statutory change it was Federal Title 9 rule change so what's in 522 is because of the changes in the federal federal vers you're talking Federal versus State that's the difference yes okay um is there anything about the new language drafted by our legal councel or have we already reviewed that in detail yes so um the msba rewrote policy 522 in its entirety because the title 9 rules required an entire rewrite our legal council recommended that instead of um using the detail that msba gave us that we use this what he called the minimum requirements standard um in part because the title 9 final rules are subject still subject to a lot of Court actions and that might change but the um language that is provided in addition to so the language is on the first page but then it also has new language for the um the grievance procedure that's really the significant piece of the change in Title 9 final rules with regard to policy 522 um those and and we also confirm that with our Human Resources Director that all of the minimum language and the grievance procedure was was the minimum amount needed to comply with the federal the new federal rule got it I withdraw my request to make a modification then great with that fir further clarification any others hearing none um all those in favor of all of the policies with the exception of 66.5 which has been removed say I I I all those opposed the resolution has been approved and we will um director cook if you think you need to send your comments and writing to the policy committee uh do and then we'll take it up and check it with all the right sources and bring it back happy to do that awesome thank you right our next item is other business the question uh 10.1 the question submitted by board members before the meeting and related answers are available in our assembly document the current version of the ABCD is available in the agenda item are there any agenda items board members would like to raise for consideration for a future meeting agenda hearing none our upcoming board meeting dates are October 8th at 5:30 a regular meeting October 15th at 5:30 a study session October 22nd at 5:30 a special session on field trip fees with a uh regular meeting immediately following and on nove November 12th at 5:30 a regular meeting and hearing no other business this meeting is adjourned at 8:27 p.m.