##VIDEO ID:A_qjCNxlrdU## e e e e e e e e [Music] he [Music] go to the fair we didn't go on the rid so they took us to come good evening it is Thursday August 22nd at 6 PM we are at the district service center in Cottage Grove Minnesota we would like to acknowledge that the land on which We Gather is the land of the meakan Dakota people meakan means dwellers of the Spirit Lake our first item on the agenda is roll call Dana Ryan Clark here Sharon Van here Eric Tesmer is absent Pat Risco here Melinda does here simy P here KD Schwarz here 2.0 Pledge of Allegiance please stand to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay 3.0 is approval of the agenda can I get a motion to approve so moved second moved by Ryan seconded by Melinda all those in favor I I any opposed motion passes uh 4.0 is comments to the board we do not have any this evening so we will move on to 5.0 consent items all consent items are considered routine and non-controversial by the school board and will be approved by a single motion there will be no separate discussion of these items prior to this meeting board members have had the opportunity to review each of these items and may request that any item be moved to an action item for individual consideration that did not happen this evening so can I get a motion to approve so moved second motion by Simi second by Pat all those in favor I I opposed motion passes on to uh 6.0 which is our information items and we have one this even this evening oh my gosh I cannot talk today 6.1 is our commissioner's review and comment on proposed financing for the purchase and remodeling a facility property for the transition program oh my goodness and that will be presented by Chris Blackburn Director of Business Services I won't ask you to say that fast real three times so I know even as I typed it I was like that is a lot of words so good evening chair Schwarz members of the school board superintendent neelson so we're here this evening because we are required to have a public discussion of the review and comment we received back so on May 23rd at the school board meeting the school board did approve the submission of the review and comment documents related to the special education transition program project to the Minesota Department of Education this pro project my goodness apparently I can't talk I either this project includes purchasing light the way church at 7,000 Jamaica Avenue South codage Grove Minnesota remodeling the building and site and expanding the learning space with a 9,000 square foot addition to the building the estimated project cost excluding financing cost is 9,191 67 the district intends to issue certificates of participation otherwise known as cops with a 15-year term to finance the improved facility the debt on which will be paid from The District's annual lease Levy attached to the board packet was the positive review and comment response received from the commissioner of Department of Education and at this time I think we're just seeking if there would be any public comment on this review and comment Dana do we have any any board members no okay thank you perfect thank you okay we will move on to our action items and 7.1 is our proposed policy changes and that will be presented by superintendent Julie Nelson thank you uh this evening I am bringing uh back uh some 200 series policy along with uh two 300 series policy our 516 student medication and um policy committee so this evening I am asking for approval of those policies can I get a motion to approve no move second motion by Pat seconded by simy any comments hearing none all those in favor I I any opposed motion passes okay 7.2 is board compensation and that will be presented by myself um we did discuss this in length at our August 8th work Workshop meetings um and there was some conversation to increase the um board member compensation to $10,000 per year not an additional 10,000 up to a total of 10,000 um can I get a motion to approve move by Pat second seconded by Melinda any comments or further conversation okay seeing none all those in favor I opposed no okay motion passes okay on to 7.3 and that is settlement and release of claims with commercial kitchen Services Corp and Merchants bonding company and that will be presented by Abby Baker Executive Director of Human Resources and operations good evening chair Schwarz members of the school board and superintendent neelsen tonight I'm not here to present a contract settlement with a bargaining agreement um I'm here to present a contract settlement and re release of claims um with commercial kitchen Services Corporation and Merchants bonding company so as included in the school nutrition's Capital plan new cooler and freezers were installed at Easter idge high school and Valley Crossing Elementary School um the contractor of the project was commercial kitchen Services Corporation the school district determined that the cool and freezer install did not meet um the project specification requirements the School District staff and Consultants have attempted to work with commercial kitchen Services Corporation to correct the cooler and freezers however no resolution was achieved um the district commercial kitchen Services Corp performance bond shity Merchants bonding company on notice of the problem and the school district under its agreement with commercial kitchen Services Corp and Merchants bonding Merchant Bonding Company must declare commercial kitchen Services Corp in default terminate the contract with commercial kitchen Services Corp and notify Merchants Bonding Company of the termination a resolution declaring the contractor default and authorization of pursuit of claims was approved at the February 22nd 2024 business meeting the district presently owns commercial kitchen Services Corp 43,9 19725 on the balance of the high school project and 22311 and 25 cents on the balance of the elementary project a settlement and release of claims was reached with commercial kitchen Services Corporation and Merchants Bonding Company the district shall retain and keep payment on the balance of both projects which totals $66,000 3850 um no further payments shall be made by the district to commercial kitchen Services Corp under either the high school or Elementary project as part of the settlement agreement um the recommendation is to approve the settlement and release of claims with commercial kitchen Services Corporation and Merchants Bonding Company can I get a motion to approve so moved second moov by simy seconded by Melinda any comments or questions okay seeing none this is a roll call vote Dana Ryan Clark approve Sharon vener yes Pat Driscoll yes Melinda dolls yes simy patn yes Schwarz yes thank you thank you okay on to 7.4 and that is our pre-sale report and resolution for lease purchase agreement and sale of certificates of participation series 2024b and that will be introduced by Chris Blackburn Director of Business Service good evening again tonight um as chair Schwarz mentioned a lease purchase financing option is recommended to be used to finance the special education transition program project so at least this title of the report wasn't quite as lengthy as the last one the lease purchase will not be a general obligation of the district payments will be subject to annual appropriations of funds by the school board as required by Statute Debt Service will be paid from the general fund property tax levies as part of the annual lease Levy the district the attached pre-sale report was in your board packets and will be discussed tonight by jod zeso who's here with me from Ellers and attached as well as a resolution to the relating to the school district property and improvements um and the financing thereof and I will not read that entire paragraph but there is um the lengthy resolution that was also attached that will need to be adopted tonight with the intent to sell those um sale certificates of participation the resolution will be updated when um after we present the results of the sale as well anticipated to be in October so with that I'm going to introduce jod zba with ERS thank you Chris good evening chairperson Schwartz Schoolboard members and superintendent neelsen so I will highlight some information included in the pre-sale report that you have before you and if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them as we go through or or when we get um to the end of the report so first of all you'll see that on the proposed issue we're estima an amount of 9, 95,000 that's a little bit less than what's included in the resolution because we're expecting to get a premium bid if we do not get a premium bid then we will issue up to that authorized amount so the authorized amount assumes that we don't receive any premium bid so that's why we have it listed that way in the resolution and the purpose is for the acquisition and remodeling of the building that will house the transition program um you'll notice that we will have a call date on this uh debt issue so it's going to be a 15-year term as Chris mentioned but we will have a call date of April 1st of 2032 for the 33 and later maturities your uh existing General General obligation Bond issues have a rating of A1 this issue will likely have a rating that's probably one notch lower than that because it's not General obligation debt it's annual appropriation debt so that's Moody's uh standard for uh this type of a transaction so Eden Prairie for example just purchased an existing building for their programs and they got one notch lower than their than their uh General obligation debt rating so if it's considered essential purpose they usually just give one notch lower if it's not considered essential purpose so if you were using it for something that wouldn't be educational programming sometimes like stadiums and that sort of thing they might have two notches lower but for this we um fully anticipate that this will be one notch lower than your general obligation rating General obligation debt rating so on page two a couple of things on there um just like your Bond issues we will solicit competitive bids for this debt issue we don't usually get as many biders there's not as wide a market for this parti particular debt issue and then uh you'll see the premium pricing reference there and I'll show you that on the financial schedules too the resolution that you have before you tonight is a parameter includes some parameters and this is really in place for two reasons one to provide the district with some protection because we don't get as many bids on this kind of a transaction if if we got a a bid or two that were in excess of that 5% rate that we have included in there then the uh the you're not authorized to proceed you would need to reject those bids and we would go back out and hopefully uh secure a rate that's lower than that so that was kind of our uh highest that we thought you would want to commit to and then secondly it provides flexibility so we don't have a firm closing date yet I don't believe on the purchase of the property you do need to have the purchase of the property Complete because that really provides the collateral for this transaction so if we aren't able to complete that by the time your September board meeting comes around which is when we're scheduled to sale sell and then close in October close in October if we're not ready quite yet no problem we can just push that back another month and you've got the authority in place still to move forward assuming that we get that 5% rate or lower so those are the two reasons that we have that parameters resolution in place or will have you you will be considering that parameter resolution um page three um a couple of sections related to uh regulatory requirements also of course our reference to the review of your existing debt so we're always watching your existing debt to see if if you have any refunding opportunities and we send reports to the district twice a year and so that's hot off the press within the last couple of weeks we gave the district an update on that there's nothing right now but as you know we're always taking a look at that page four I'll point out the other service providers that we're working in con Junction with so Bond Council dorsy and Whitney is the entity that drafted the parameters resolution that you have for your consideration tonight the escro paying agent trustee uh escro agent and trustee is required as part of this type of financing transaction and that will be Zion's Bank and the district has used them before and then the rating agency of course is Moody's the next page shows the steps in the schedule so tonight talking about the pre-sale report um the board's consideration of the authorizing resolution and then we will um schedule a due diligence call to review the official statement with the district as well as a conference with the rating agency so we'll talk to Moody's again and we'll uh we're scheduled to distribute the official statement assuming everything is going according to plan by September 12th and then we would receive the proposals and assuming that we meet those parameters there's designated officials within that parameters resolution that are authorized to uh sign off off on the uh on the proposal form then and then we put we would provide you with a sale day report that night along with a resolution that approves or ratifies the sale and under this plan we would be closing on October 24th so we have a couple of financial schedules attached these are the same two schedules that you needed to include in the review and comment submission so we've just updated these now based upon current Mark and conditions with some uh cushion in the interest rates the first page that sources and uses that's on page six you can see that premium that we're estimating it definitely will not be exactly that number but assuming we get a premium at that level which is just shy of 350,000 that's why we would be off that's why we'd be issuing a little bit less than what's included in the authorizing resolution and most importantly that deposit to the construction fund needs to be sufficient to cover the amount that Chris mentioned earlier tonight at uh just under 9.2 million so we size the certificates including that including that premium to make sure that there's sufficient funds for the project and then the next page is the payment schedule and again uh we are uh have some cushion included in these interest rates so we expect to be lower than this and um you'll see that the true interest cost rate that we've got included near the bottom of the schedule is about a 4.39 so the 5% so this includes some cushion the 5% then gives you some additional flexibility above where we are seeing things at this point in time questions actually can we do do you want to do the resolution first okay great or the motion can I get a motion so moved motion by Simi second can I get a second second by Melinda any questions hi Jody how are you good how are you good um so I had a couple questions one is you know the FED is signaling like potentially a rate cut in September and so what would the impact of that have on the issuance of these bonds and would we change the issue date um depending on when or if the FED decides to lower interest rates so the FED is scheduled to make that decision September 18th at their next meeting I mean I doubt that they'll change they could have called an emergency meeting change anything at any point in time if they feel the need which I think they've been getting some pressure to do but assuming they stick with their schedule that is when they will be approving um most uh most people think that they'll have a quarter point reduction maybe as high as 50 basis points but that would be unusual so I think the markets already um priced that in priced that in um we saw some declines in interest rates starting in early August after the economic news came out that wasn't very favorable so um in fact we sold bonds for district 197 on August 5th and they got took advantage of a dip down because that economic news had come come out that Thursday or Friday before that so we saw a sharp decline in interest rates that day they've gone back up a little bit they're still kind of fluctuating some but we'll certainly know I think we're feeling good about having the Sal scheduled after the FED makes its decision there will be certainty then there's not right now leading up to it so we'll we'll have some certainty which will be nice um going into your sale okay um and then with the um so we are saying that we will sell as long as the bids come in below 5% so just out of curiosity um this is a public meeting so they know that we're going to cap what we're what we're willing to pay at 5% so how much below that cap do um you know bond companies typically come in so it depends on where the market is so that's another reason to have the parameters resolution place because they know they're going to be bidding against other Underwriters they don't know who else will be submitting bids but if they submit a bid that's not in line with Market they're likely not going to get it so we don't tell them the rate that you set they could dig to try to find out um but we that is not disclosed in the official statement so they don't know that there's a 5% rate unless they like you said it's a public meeting they could do some additional digging if they wanted to but they're not going to win the bid if they don't they come 4.9 they're not okay yeah um and then my last question is I'm looking at the Debt Service schedule and um this is more just a personal curiosity so I see in the out years that the interest rate on the coupon varies right and so the early years it's all 5% and then it's lower than that in the later years when the when bond companies bid on this do they bid with this coupon in mind or do they or can they set coupon um requirements or terms as part of their bid they will um have different coupons than this likely this is our best guess of where they'll be generally we have those coupon rates at 5% up until the um call date for sure but these 5% coupons are what are generating that premium for you because they're the yield that they'll actually receive the investors if they purchase these certificates will be less than this so they're they are paying a premium that's what's generating that $350,000 so on the day of sale the winning bidder also has to tell us what the yield is that their investors will receive um so they won't be 5% the first couple of years will maybe be around a 3% level um we still have a little bit of an inverted yield curve and then might go down for a little bit and then back up so those final years where um they're not callable maturities those are probably very close to what the yield will be but those first few years with the 5% coupons are really just what we're seeing in the market right now what's generating that premium but certainly the yield that they will the investors will receive if they hold these certificates to maturity will not be at that level and that's why you end up with that rate overall of 4.39% even though there's so many 5% coupons in here the true interest cost rate takes into consideration that premium okay and so when we when we receive these um bids do we do we care about that or do we just go by the what their low what their interest rate bid is basically we care about the true interest cost rate because takes into consideration all of that so some of them will have 5% coupons longer you know more years or less and so that's what's different than like a home mortgage right we we talk about the overall interest rate but each uh principal maturity has its own interest rate associated with it so as we Factor all of that in to the true interest cost rate that's how we arrive at that number and that's why we award on that just so that we're getting you the lowest cost taking into consideration all of those components of their bed okay that's all I had thank you m any other questions okay Dana can you call the rooll Sharon vaner yes Pat Driscoll yes Melinda dolles yes Simmy pet yes Ryan Clark yes Katie Schwarz yes great thank you very much hopefully we'll see you next month or the month after so we'll see how things proceed perfect thank you okay on to 7.5 and that is a resolution terminating a Construction contract and that will be presented by Tyrone brookens assistant superintendent Cher Schwarz school board members superintendent Nelson I come before you this evening seeking approval for a resolution this request is at the direction of our district council so that South Washington County Schools can take the next step in the matter concerning the flooring project at Woodburry High School by terminating the contract with Park Co construction District Council has provided the resolution terminating a construction project for the board to review and execute and we ask the board to do so as we can continue to pursue a resolution to this matter can I get a motion to approve so move second motion by Pat seconded by Simmy any questions or comments seeing none this is another roll call Dina patris yes Melinda dos yes Simi patn yes Ryan Clark yes Sharon Van yes Katie Schwarz yes motion passes thank you okay on to 7.6 and that's policy 620 presented by Julie Nelson superintendent thank you and this policy is not in our packet it was not a policy that was reviewed at the last board meeting but it is a policy that we are required to have in place um this policy is being brought forward due to legislation that was passed in this 2024 season and really what the legislation States is that when we talk about grading um and credit for learning that our uh postsecondary education opportunity classes also known as PSO or college in the school CIS classes either both have to be weighted or both have to be unweighted what our current policy states is that our college and the schools classes are weighted and our PSO classes are unweighted and so in conversations um with the assistant superintendents and our high school principes um we have determined that for this year we would like the policy to read that both PSO and college in our schools will be weighted and the rational behind that at this time um it's important and we don't know if the legislature always understands that our students actually register for classes in January into early February and so students who signed up for college in the school signed up underneath the assumption that these classes would be weighted and so at this time in the school year we do not want to pull that waiting off um rather add it on to PSO and then in the next month take a look at really are these courses that are rigorous have the same depth of knowledge as what we might consider our IB our inter International baloria as well as our AP classes and so tonight's policy you're going to see on page I just want to make sure I have the reading correct on on um the second page from the end it's not numbered here um but number three underneath weighted grades a grade awarded in a course taken through the the postsecondary enrollment option program will be multiplied by a factor of 1.2 and that puts the language um in line with what we currently have for our CIS our College in the schools classes so this evening I am asking for approval of this one policy with that policy language um knowing that this was new legislation uh with the 2024 school year can I get a motion to approve so moved second motion by Melinda second by Ryan yes any comments I just have a question Julie so how will our students be made aware as far as like if students are taking psos and are waited this year um is there going to be like some type of email that goes to them or how will they know as far as that the following year they won't be waited yeah Christine will be working with our High School principles and the counselors so they know that it's going to be waited and then we want to make sure that if there are any additional changes as we go forward that that communication comes at the point of registration so students understand I think we just have to be thoughtful about which classes we're waiting and the reason and rationel for waiting classes um but we definitely believe that the students should be aware of that at the point of registration So Christine will be working with our High School principles and counselors uh to make sure that communication occurs thank you so this will be so kids will know this in January when they go to register for class they'll know what next year's policy will be correct which means um in our conversations that we know that this policy will have to come back to the board more than likely in December um after more analysis and more review with the principes and counselors around those courses okay do we know what other districts are doing yeah it's interesting to me I don't have the specific districts but as we looked at the legislation I was on an email thread with the principal or excuse me the superintendent from 916 and it's quite a balance um but what we know is that the larger schools that we compete with many of them do not wait PSO and college in the schools and they do continue to wait the AP and the IB classes um so we will do more research taking a look at it I think again we just want to be thoughtful that this isn't um a GPA thing of increasing GPA we really want to make sure that courses are weighted because of the rigor the Deep level of thinking and the work um that students are putting in any other comments okay all those in favor I opposed motion passes and we are on to 8.0 and that is our superintendent part it's always this time of the year I think that I love the most um I don't know maybe it's because I really like people or maybe I like noise or I like kids um but this last week and uh actually the last couple of weeks just being out and talking about the district and celebrating and being around people and just the energy that that brings in uh Monday we opened um the South Washington County Schools Academy which included all of the brand new teachers to South Washington County Schools along with probationary what we call year 2 and probationary year three and then there were also opportunities for our continuing contract teachers to come and have professional development and it was just an incredible event I wish board members and community members could have been there um went in the auditorium and asked the um people who have taught in another District who have joined South Washington County Schools team I was amazed at the number of people who stood it up South Washington County Schools recruited a whole bunch of experienced teachers um actually shockingly of the number that stood up and then of course we had our brand new people to teaching which they were celebrated and then our third group were those individuals who were brand new who were students in South Washington County schools and that is always the highlight and even the biggest Applause when we have those individuals that come back to us um but overall just a very well organized week um a lot of opportunities different opportunities as well as some of those required so when we onboard speci education teachers what information do they need for our new teachers along with Benefits along with schedules and calendars and all of those other things um if we throw those new people into the mix next Monday there's a lot of information they're not getting so this past week really was a nice time um to be inclusive to invite them in to have conversations and also to answer questions but just a group that certainly energized me and energized our executive cabinet um we also have taken part in the St Paul Park parade a little rain didn't uh damper our Spirits maybe aby's Abby was a little wet but she was able to pull her hair back and pull it all together um of course Newport days and this Sunday uh we're excited to be part of Woodbury days we heard it's going to be real hot and so um that always brings out the fun um also just to let the community know and board members know but on Monday that is just another highlight because we bring back everybody the whole fam is almost back together August 26th um we also W welcome back our transportation staff and nutrition service staff so that typically means that whoever supervises those group they are out on site welcoming individuals back um and we're always thoughtful to welcome them to a new year and not necessarily welcome them back because we have to be thoughtful that many people are working throughout the summer and then um the board members know but on the 27th we will do our all staff welcome back at Eastridge High School where there will be opportunity for physical movement and exercise watch the sun come up on Easter idge um announce uh executive members along with board members and then the highlight of course is to celebrate our student voices so we will have six students sharing stories um with our staff and I'm excited to hear what they have to say um and so following that day on the 27th just to let board members know and community members know we talked about that school calendar and the literacy training we're about to embark on and that 27th day will be the first day of redak training so we're excited to get that underway and and uh dip people's feet into what they're going to be learning about in terms of of being teachers of literacy thank you Julie okay on to 9.0 future meeting dates September 12th 2024 Schoolboard Workshop meeting here at the district service center at 6 p.m. September 26 2024 is a Schoolboard business meeting also here at the district service center at 6m and with that 10.0 we are adjourned [Music] I [Music] [Music] ah yeah [Music]