##VIDEO ID:gKegWBZKdBc## November 6th 2024 and the time is 6:30 p.m. our mission is to provide a safe and caring climate and culture in which we engage Inspire educate prepare and Empower all Learners in partnership with their surrounding Community to be successful in today's and tomorrow's Society Zach can you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty justice for [Music] all thank you and then can you please call roll following board members are present at the District administration office Scott and Dron here Natalie Copeland here El doen here Zack Doral is here Shannon hos here Monica Shakara Schwarz here Heather Williams here following cabinet members and staff are present at the District administration office superintendent Dr Lorie putam assistant superintendent of secondary education Dr Jason Harris assistant superintendent of E5 learning Nikki Hansen assistant superintendent of special education student services Shannon avenson executive director of Community Education Adam Holm executive director of finance and business services is Amy scal executive director of operations Joel heid Camp executive director of Special Projects Gary gangji executive director of research enrollment and assessments Donna roer director of community engagements and Communications Tammy Dand media technicians Paul Novak and Gordy Scott and the custodian on site is Aiden andure thank you then I need a motion to approve tonight's Board of Education meeting and work session agenda so move thank you motion by scottt second by Natalie Zach can you call vote Shannon HZ yes Zach doorold CS Al dogran yes Natalie Copeland yes Scott andreon yes Heather Williams yes M gar Schwarz yes then we have the consent agenda the consent agenda consists of non-controversial items that the board adopts routinely without debate and a single member May remove an item from the consent agenda by requesting removal at the time the consent agenda does move for adoption on tonight's consent agenda item a approval Personnel staff changes Item B approval monthly fi financial report for September 2024 item C approval of monthly Treasures report for September 2024 item D call for bids North roof replacement item e McKinley addition and renovation change orders totaling $5,185 58 item F Apollo Theater improvements change order totaling 62,000 $1 12051 and item G Apollo ltfm improvements change order totaling $ 48220 at this time does any board member wish to remove an item from the consent agenda okay looking for a motion to approve the consent agenda as read so move and again a motion by Scott a second by Natalie Zack can you call vote Natalie Copeland yes Al doen yes Z to holds yes Shannon hos yes Monica Shara Schwarz yes Heather Williams yes Scott and Drayson yes all right thank you uh we have one information item tonight we have inclement weather protocols presented tonight by Joel Hamp executive director of operations and Lori putam superintendent good evening chair hos superintendent putam and members of the board I'm here tonight just to share some information items in regard to decisions that have been made at previous meetings and provide an outline for how inclement weather decisions get uh made throughout the course of our Winters here in Minnesota our decision-making process really lies on Within These five principles uh leaning on the stcloud Metro partnership with Stell and stock Rapids the priority of staff and student safety uh knowing the importance of regular attendance uh and access to education for our students the predictability of that those decisions and then uh timely sharing of the information for our students staff and families and so as I highlighted uh when we talk about our St Cloud Metro partnership uh we have that partnership with sartel st Steven School District uh srap is Right School District uh and then in Con in conjunction with us here in St Cloud have agreed to make those DEC decisions together it's important to note that if a decision does get made that each individual school district has their own plans for at home learning or what that may look like uh and each district makes up their own um procedure and policies in regard for any makeup days in the prioritization of staff and student safety um that is our number one uh priority when it comes to uh some of those decisions uh and we do have a provision that if a parent or Guardian believes that keeping their child home from school is the best option for them in inclement weather they may choose to do so we just ask that they make that phone call to the school to let them know that that's their reasoning and those those absences are all excused in the event of a school closure uh that first one again for this year that was uh decided I believe at a previous board meeting that first one is a full School closure non-student contact day the next five become e-learning days otherwise known as flexible learning days and then following that sixth closure uh uh we as a school district will determine on uh whether or not makeup days will be required to finish out the school year when a student is home during any of those e-learning days uh they complete that schoolwork through Choice boards through seesaw at our elementary level and through schooly as the platform at our secondary level and throughout the course of the day students have access to teachers and other support staff to support that learning when it comes to the predictability of decision- making uh specifically for cold weather uh 35° below zero either temperature or wind chill is is that threshold and that is based on the St Cloud weather reporting station we use the National Weather Service for that uh stcloud reporting station and one caveat there is if the temperature is predicted to rise above minus 35° by 9:30 in the morning a 2hour late start uh schedule may be considered for other inclement weather closures uh these are factors that Al are also considered uh the amount of snow ice or wind that may happen in in conjunction or alog together in a weather event and then also the current road conditions as reported by our transportation teams and uh individuals that are out um checking on those roads and just as a note that we do avoid early release uh decisions whenever possible just knowing that that puts put a extra strain on families um with kids potentially going home without adults there in regards to time and timing uh whenever possible we make those decisions um before or prior that decision usually or will will be made by 900 p.m. if it's going to be made the night before if you don't hear by 9:00 p.m. no other decision will be made that day and morning communication will happen between 5:15 and 6:00 in the morning some pieces just for our families to know in their own planning uh when planning for a school closure or a late start uh in the event of a school closure or early release no activities or practices will take place there are some very very rare occasions when we do allow that typically when when teams are competing for Section tournaments or state tournaments uh if they should happen to be at that point late in the uh late in the winter or early in the spring for our younger younger kiddos uh kid stop will provide child care at selected locations um during cold weather closures and if your specific site isn't open um you can go to one of those that is open so for example if a if a tahi student goes to kidstop but tah is not a site they're welcome to go to other one of the other sites that is open we always post um information on our website and that's a great first place to go for our families when looking for any weather related information and with that if there are any questions I'd be happy to take them how do we notify parents so we notify through the website okay through all of our local uh media social media and then every family would get a phone call and an and an email so sometimes people were saying I didn't get a phone call but even I get phone calls and and my kids aren't in school anymore so I'm not quite sure they must be grasping at every single phone number that they have in the system is that um what what we found after looking into that is it's um certain uh cell carriers um so people who I think I don't want to say the cell carriers because I don't know if that's fair is it fair to say I I w't say that but certainly cell carriers were um were uh blocking them when for some reason when so many went out at once um and so there was um Gary and you may know this even better than I do but there is um if you go in um how do you remember how to fix that Donna or Gary Tammy somebody remembers how to fix it it's a team effort here our um recommendation is for people to actually download the app the school messenger app and then you get every notification it it it comes in every possible way um we also give families the reminder at the beginning of this season that they need to check in Skyward and make sure that their um information is accurate uh usually when we get those phone calls um that that someone didn't receive a call it is one of two things it's the trouble some carrier or um they they didn't have a maybe they had an old number in their skywood account or something like that um but yeah the the the system pushes out every way yeah yeah thank you this is one of these things that has really improved from year to year and has been really responsive don't you think from parent send feedback saying well can you tell us at least by here or can we know here and just year after year like this is a really solid plan we we also took feedback from our teaching staff knowing that many of them don't live immediately in the stcloud area and the past practice was we were going to notify by 5:30 and depending on how far away they lived some we some of them were getting that phone call while they were already on the road and so we did bump up that time based on staff feedback to catch them before they were happen happening to leave for for work yeah Monica I just got curious about how the communication goes in different languages if it if it goes in different languages yep we've uh we've already got stock messages created um interpreted in all three languages and so everybody gets the call in English and then if they've identified another language as a a home language they would get a second notification in their home language so they will get both English and the second language yes yes they will and a um and I'm I'm guessing also that you have um so um that you have a lot of people that just have one H phone or one form of communication and they might not have the ability to get the app um er do you communicate that to children to the school kids uh yes and no so depending on age level right we we would communicate some of that we are in the process of taking what you saw here this evening and putting it into a one pager Our Hope was to have that done by tomorrow so we can push that out to families so in one in one glance they can see all of our decision-making protocols they can see where they can find that information um if they're ever concerned about the weather in the event that the phone isn't the the best means whether it's uh the radio TV um newspaper our website having multiple ways to communicate that to families has been important to us so and did you tell the families this several times because the one thing that I have found in many things is that I have a lot of people telling me that things um are not communicated and is because probably you did it I mean as Tammy was saying at the beginning of the semester or the year or whatever um can you do these communications like this plan and these things like a lot yeah the flyer from a previous principal's perspective is going to be a super helpful tool in that in event that well first off we can be proactive and put it into multiple newsletters whether it's a school newsletter or even our district newsletter but as a building Principle as we know things are happening or could potentially happen or you know the moment that a a decision gets made at 9:00 a building leader could also push that information item out for our families in the moment can you send this protocol paper the the flyer that going to can you send it when when we know that the weather is going to get like when when when we know that and before the weather gets bad I mean when when we know that it's getting bad I don't want to speak for Dr putam but there have been days where we haven't made a decision but said that watch the weather or listen for a message right and so that would be a tool that we could use in those moments thank you all right thank you very much then we have the Board of Education standing committee reports I believe we have two reports tonight we have board development policy governance committee chair Scott andreason okay um the committee met on October 23rd 2024 assistant superintendent avenson and executive director of Special Operations Gary gangji I presented board policy 606 textbooks and instructional material and proposed policy 66.5 briary materials a proposed policy 606 and proposed policy 66.5 were reviewed with recommendations to move forward with a first reading at tonight's uh board meeting so I imagine we'll be hearing it that's it thank you and then board finance and audit oh yes Monica question yeah you guys didn't talk about the retreat uh there's been some discussion about a retreat and we will yeah we were waiting for me to get through all of the one-on ones which I did not was not able to complete based on our schedule um but it is on the agenda for next uh next Wednesday you're welcome okay and then board finance and audit uh committee chair Al DWI yep board finance committee met on October 31st two items on the agenda the first one was a referendum update that's going to be shown in just a few minutes so I'm not even going to talk about that one and the second item was uh discussion about combining polling places for a referendum uh Amy shared a list of polling places for the district and the number of Voters by priest by Precinct who voted in the 2022 election the committee discussed options for polling places for 25 we have to make a decision by the end of the year if we're planning to combine any polling places but I think the discussion of the committee was if we try to combine polling places it just backfires people don't don't like that they feel that you're trying to manipulate the results of the election so we probably will not pass a resolution to combine polling spes it was messy last time when we did it yeah okay any other reports then we have future agenda items November 20th 2024 board meeting topics will include the Tech High School presentation audit report new course proposals Apollo High School facilities Bond referendum 2025 Board of Education legislative platform um setting a date and agenda for board retreat some policy readings at this time does any board member want to suggest a future agenda item okay that was um everything for our regular board meeting so I'm looking for a motion to adjourn tonight board meeting second a motion by Natalie a second by Scott all in favor say I opposed okay uh board meeting is adjourned at 6:49 p.m. at that same time we are opening up the Board of Education work session first up we have building bright bu building brighter Futures a vision for Future Ready student uh success apoll high school facilities Bond referendum presenting tonight we have principal Justin scall Apollo High School and superintendent Lori putam good evening chair H school board members dedicated staff and families and to Our Community Partners and taxpayers listening from home we are excited to launch a critical discussion about the future of our schools and more importantly the future of our students it is our honor to introduce building brighter Futures a facility Bond referendum designed to create learning environments that align with our District's commitment to safety academic excellence and Readiness for the workforce of Tomorrow every part of this proposal is centered around these three key priorities this vision is about more than just new walls and Renovations it's about building a legacy for our community one that empowers every student to succeed in a rapidly changing world we recognize that a safe welcoming environment is essential for Student Success our plan will ensure that Apollo facilities are up to-date with modern safety measures from secure entrances and upgraded emergency systems to enhancements that support student well-being our students need facilities that support rigorous academics and career focused programs designed to meet the unique needs of this community by creating spaces that Foster Innovative learning from labs for Science and Technology to areas for skilled trades we are preparing students to thrive in college career and Beyond we've structured this proposal with our community's investment in Mind through careful planning and efficient use of resources we aim to make every dollar count like always we are committed to managing These funds with the highest level of transparency knowing that this investment will benefit gen generations to come tonight I invite you to consider this vision not just as a path forward for our schools but as a way to honor our community's commitment to educational Excellence together we can work to build brighter futures for our students our families and for the entire Community for our board members we kindly ask you to take note of questions as we present this evening and each of you should have a writing utensil and notepad upon the conclusion of the presentation we will gladly respond to all questions in 2016 our community came together to support a vision for a new Tech High School one that would serve our students for generations to come and embody our shared values of innovation opportunity and Excellence the results of that investment have been transformative creating a vibrant state-of-the-art learning environment where students can Thrive when we committed to building the new Tech High School we promised to honor the trust of our voters by completing the project on time and under budget thanks to diligent planning fiscal responsibility and the dedication of this team and construction Partners we delivered on this Comm commitment Tech High School was designed with flexibility in mind allowing students and teachers to adapt spaces to a wide variety of learning activities and instructional needs these spaces enabled Hands-On learning collaboration and Innovation equipping students with the skills they need for College and Career this new facility has opened doors to expanded educational opportunities from advanced technology labs and career focused programs to Arts and Sciences enhancing both academic and personal growth as we move forward with the building brighter Futures referendum this video is a reminder of what our community can accomplish together I invite us to take a moment to see the last impact the lasting impact of our shared commitment to creating exceptional learning environments I'm a firm believer that when students can see the kinds of environments that they're going to be working in one day it increases engagement and helps them connect with their learning in ways that a traditional classroom [Music] wouldn't in 2015 we asked the community for a new Tech High School and unfortunately we were turned down so asked again in 2016 and that was approved by the voters we're incredibly grateful for the generosity and commitment of this community to support our students using this space for the past 5 years has excelled our students in many different areas some of them are even in the career now it's just awesome to see these students back in our community working in local companies and creating content that is at a new level but they learned the early stages of that when they were here because of the space and the resources and equipment that we have at Tech we're able to get students that hands-on experience and they're able to leave our building with nursing assisting certification and other certifications the learning spaces are really comfortable to study and and just stop by in between classes we use that all the time it helps us get our work done I like how the spaces at Tech give me the opportunity to either work in a small group or large group and it really just opens the variety in learning it's almost close to a college campus the thing I like most about tech is how the resources are so Hightech but it's Public Schools so anybody can access them there really a space for everybody every field and anything they are interested in we are so blessed by our taxes to build this thing and it was amazing we promised that we would get this project done on time and under budget and we delivered we also promised that we would change educational outcomes and opportunities for our students and that's happening at Tech it's evident from the moment that we step foot through the doors [Music] I'm a firm believer that when students at the heart of everything we do is our mission to create a safe and caring climate and culture for every student and staff member ensuring physical safety is fundamental to building an environment where students and staff can work and learn grow and Thrive all schools in our district are currently equipped with controlled entrances to enhance security except Apollo High School school this missing component at Apollo highlights a significant Gap in our safety measures one that we are committed to addressing through this referendum adding a permanent controlled entrance at Apollo however isn't a simple task to create this permanent controlled entrance we must build onto Apollo and with any new con construction due to a recent change in building codes uh we are required to add a storm shelter and although this requirement aligns with our commitment to safety as a shelter would Prov protection in severe weather and emergencies it comes at a significant cost one that can only be met through a referendum this referendum also includes plans for updating Life Safety Systems across our schools this means modernizing fire alarms emergency lighting and communication systems to ensure quick effective responses in any emergency situation these improvements are essential investments in the well-being of our students and staff helping to main a secure learning environment across the Apollo Campus before we dive further into the conversation about the referendum I want to share a bit about St Cloud area schools who we are and the many opportunities that we offer in St Cloud area schools we provide rigorous access to State Standards academic Excellence is our foundation when we look at our graduation rates for our Comprehensive High Schools Tech and Apollo we see their four-year graduation rates for last year are 75% state wide the graduation rate has held steady around 83% that's since 2019 our District's 7year graduation rates are at 78% which is 10% off the state average our District offers students unparalleled access to accelerated learning opportunities which is a unique strength within this region these programs are designed to set students up for Success both academically and in their future careers first we have bilingual certification our students earned nearly 80 Awards in seven languages last year those languages included Spanish German Russian Chinese Somali French and Arabic bilingual certification is more than a language credential it represents cultural competence and a skill set that enhances employability in a global Workforce it also earns our students college credit currently nearly 20% of our students earn college credit while still in high school they participate in advanced place College in the schools and postsecondary enrollment options thus giving them a head start in higher education and a pathway to reduce College costs from the data shown on the slide you can see that our student participation in advanced placement cour workor is racially diverse with participation from white black and two or more racist student groups closely mirroring the state's Trends and exceeding those nationally last spring students took 494 AP exams with an 70% pass rate 96% of our students were named AP Scholars an honor designated to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of three or higher on five or more of these exams so a highly uh tough honor to earn M lingual Learners comprise 23% of our students population and while attaining academic language proficiency can take 7 to 10 years our English language Learners in St Cloud meet or exceed the level of any English language Learner in the state we also know multilingualism benefits our students and communities as they enter the workforce here in St Cloud you're raising the bar by promoting dual language immersion offering rigorous K12 PR programs in Spanish and Chinese we prioritize individualized learning in St Cloud with over 20% of our students qualifying for special education is imperative that these students have the instruction and support to meet their individualized education plan goals at the end of last year our students showed excellent outcomes in meeting their learning targets we know that access to Career Pathways in high school provides real world meaning to our learning for some of our students that connection is crucial this data uncovers a positive trend in participation in courses that provide exposure and opportunities to learn about careers it'll be important to provide opportunities for students to explore before committing to a single pathway or any pathway at all over 80% of our students are enrolled in courses that expose them to our various career Fields before they graduate this early exposure is crucial for helping students make informed decisions about their future and gain hands-on experience that connects classroom learning to Real World skills our commitment is for 100% of our students to graduate with a meaningful experience that prepares them for College and Career Pathways we believe every student should have the tools and knowledge to succeed regardless of their post-secondary plans and when students do become interested in a career pathway they can begin to specialize in those areas in our high schools the state calls these students concentrators so this slide uncovers a positive trend in enrollment activity by career field specifically as it relates to these concentrators we know these experiences provide Lasting Impressions for our Scholars and can even lead to work opportunities immediately after graduation this slide highlights the 2023 graduation rates with a specific comparison between our students overall graduation rate and the graduation for students who participated in significantly in CTE programs or again concentrated notice that the most most of the demographic groups noted of CTE concentrators consistently have higher graduation rates than their non CTE concentrator peers reinforcing the importance of providing Hands-On career oriented learning opportunities CTE provides students with relevant Workforce aligned skills in fields where there is a high demand empowering them to be better prepared for the job market or postsecondary education by supporting CTE Pathways career and Technology education we are directly addressing this community's Workforce needs while helping students build practical Future Ready skills as we consider investments in facilities and program development through the referendum these results underscore the value of expanding our capacity to support CTE and similar initiatives providing updated and flexible learning spaces enables us to increase access to these impactful programs and during more students can benefit on their path to graduation by differentiating and expanding career Pathways in our high schools we can offer unique opportunities that allow students to engage in deeper exploration and specialization within their chosen Fields again if they choose them this approach enables us to provide focused resources specialized facilities and Industry P Partnerships tellor to each pathway enhancing learning and career readiness to accomplish this goal we need both high schools on both sides of town that are able to fully prepare students our vision for High School academic instruction begins with rigorous access to State Standards with core instruction in arts Humanities mathematics social studies Sciences World Language and foundational CTE courses we then Envision opportunities to Advanced coursework and career Pathways that is differentiated between the high schools providing increased access ESS and depth of learning for all students these Pathways that you can see on the screen are de designed with input from high school teachers and administrators students through their registration local industry leaders and current Workforce demands our goal is to empower students to graduate ready to enter high growth fields that will support the economic future of not only our students and their families but of our community this is a forward-looking commitment to support student conts Workforce alignment and economic growth in our region investing in these specialized pathways through our Apollo facility plan is essential we know that a solid academic Foundation is crucial as we prepare Future Ready students but to thrive in higher education the job market and in life students need more than academic knowledge they need strong life and Workforce skills including collaboration communication creativity and critical thinking which are all all core competencies we cultivate to prepare students for real world challenges and varied career paths alongside these life and work for skills building character is also essential for preparing well-rounded resilient students our focus on character development emphasizes wisdom resilience courage ethics and adaptability empowering students to navigate and succeed in an everchanging World combining a strong academic foundation with these skills and traits we equip students to excel in college career and Beyond to ensure our students are future ready we need flexible high school learning environments we know that education and work demands are changing rapidly locally the Greater St Cloud Region's Workforce demands have evolved over the last decade and will only continue to do so our commitment to this community is to prepare students with the knowledge life and work skills to be successful participants in our local communities and economies to do so we must provide Apollo High School with similar flexible learning facilities like we did with tech we do not come lightly to this community asking for funds our district is committed to maintaining fiscal responsibility and has a history of balance budgets this approach ensures that we can provide quality education and resources to our students without unnecessary Financial strain in our community according to a recent study by MPR combined with external Finance fincial experts stcloud Area School District was identified as the most underfunded District in Minnesota despite that challenge we were one of only eight of the 43 Metro districts who maintained a balanced budget last year without making layoffs or cuts to programs this distinction highlights our responsible fiscal financial management and our ability to make the most out of limited resources over the past few years we utilized one time use or lose state and federal funds to update some of Apollo's high school's facilities and classroom technology by using these funds strategically we improve the learning environment for our students at no additional cost to our local taxpayers this careful stewardship of available funds has enabled us to reduce the overall cost of our ask our approach reflects a dedication to maximizing our available resources and minimizing the financial impact on our community while we are managing within our means the community's support is critical to implementing necessary safety measures and meeting students learning needs this referendum is an opportunity to invest in our schools responsibly ensuring that all students have access to Safe modern and effective learning spaces the need for security upgrades and learning opportunities through access to Future Ready facilities at Apollo High School is not a new conversation for this community in 2015 the school district proposed Ed a single question referendum for a total cost of 167 million where 113.8k Tech High School totaling 4.5 million question two was renovation of Apollo High School for 38.757195 amount is equivalent to $74 million the superintendent convened an advisory committee to plan the referendum in February of 2020 but we all know what happened shortly thereafter with a shutdown following a March 2020 and then the subsequent economic recovery halted progress now here we are 2024 returning to our board and Community to ask for support to meet this long-standing need because we've been fiscally responsible with one time use or lose state and federal funds we have been able to Red reduce the cost for Apollo and now we are able to ask for Less today we bring forward a recommendation to ask for $50 million to make necessary and critical updates to Apollo High School with a focus on enhancing safety and increased academic opportunities through flexible learning spaces tied to Career Pathways as I shared the total cost of question one is $50 million and to help put this cost in context if we built Tech High School today in today's dollars the total expenditure would be $175 million due to inflation so what is our ask specifically foremost we need to build a controlled entrance which is essential for monitoring and managing access Apollo High School again is the only School in our district without this layer of NE necessary security new state building codes mandate that any new construction must include a storm shelter which significantly increases the project costs however the shelter will provide a safe haven during severe weather ensuring the safety of our school Community the control entrance and storm shelter are integrated priorities that work together to protect students and staff in all situations Beyond safety The Proposal emphasizes creating flexible learning spaces these spaces are designed to adapt to changing instructional needs and prepare students for the evolving demands of the workforce Apollo's updated facilities will support Advanced Career focused programs offering Hands-On learning environments that align with this community's Workforce needs and equip students with practical skills for future success and let me be clear even if the district had allocated every dollar of onetime user L state and federal funds allowable for construction it would not have been sufficient to cover the costs of the controlled entrance and the storm shelter community support through the referendum is essential to make these updates a reality this investment will ensure Apollo High School is a secure modern and adaptable place for Learning and Workforce preparation all good evening board chair H members of the board uh at this time I will share uh some of the conceptual drawings that uh we have started with as we start this process start talking about potential referendum and then get into uh some of the U ideas within the within the building itself and look forward to answering any questions at the end so what you're looking here is what the door to area at Apollo would look like um one of the questions that's come up initially is where's the Space Capsule and we would take into consideration Community stakeholders um and where the Space Capsule would go but that's not part of this drawing is we want to focus on that controlled entrance so when you see where the words Apollo are that is where you would enter the building and off to the right would be where the administration offices would be so when a guest comes into the building they would then go in through that layer of secured entry and be checked in um just as you would at Tech and every other school in our district and then have immediate access to Administration and to um to that part of the office area I do want to make a point though that in respect to Apollo's history um if you do look at the Apollo and there is some intentionality in the architecture um where if you think of the initial Apollo project in Rockets um we're trying to tie that into the arch architecture there as you see that in what the new entor would be there' be a slight raised ceiling there and a lot of things you're going to hear is bringing in more natural light is which the feedback we get quite often so we're unable to raise the roof on Apollo but in some of these exterior pieces we are able to do some things and potentially bring in some more natur light so really when you enter door 2 now that area um is being replaced with what you see there uh I will refer back to but I also just want to point out to and if you can see where my cursor is that area right there is currently where the courtyard is that's another opportunity to bring some height into the building and to raise that and allow some natural light in um we needed to to move that direction to create some more capacity in the in our cafeteria because when we get into Fine Arts and talk about Orchestra space Band and inquire um we had to do some shifting of spaces which was resulted in a loss of some cafeteria space and this is one of the ways that we were able to recoup that to not to not lose space there this is what it would be right now if you walked uh up from the bus shoot and this is what approaching the building uh would look like in this proposed um proposed presentation again these Offices here would be the administrative offices walking in the main door and checking in through that secured entrance uh this would be a this is what would look like coming IND door 7 the activities entrance again um taking an opportunity to raise that entrance and and adding some windows there to bring in some more natural light um flooding that into the cafeteria and then again architecturally bringing in say that similar design um idea in door to as our as our stakeholders and community members and guests are coming on campus and seeing this um coming in to the activities portion of the building what I have in front of you is a a large picture overview of Apollo and I think the most important piece on this slide um everything that is has a color code to it we'll discuss that here very shortly but everything that is um colored white are all things that have been addressed with onetime um user lose funds and that's what we have been able to do and be able to touch upon a lot of the learning spaces um doing some things in the gym which would not be part of this uh referendum and then also in the auditorium in the new Theater Performing Art Center so that would be an opportunity anything you see there as white are things that we have been able to spend uh those funds as Dr P putam mentioned um to to continue to be good stewards of the taxpayers dollars the first thing I want to highlight is the kitchen and serving options this is a a major need at Apollo High School um right now we do have two lines that are in our serving area we do have a a portable third line that is used sometimes but it does cause suggestion uh the problems with this is is flow we have a a large flow problem it does affect what can be served and how efficiently it can be served for our staff and students so when you're looking at this green area here it takes the current kitchen that we have and then extending that to the east um to the area if you're all of you are familiar with Apollo but we um is kind of the auxiliary gym and as we talk about storm shelter and things like that um we'll be able to see we can reutilize that space to make that kitchen flow much better and benefiting our students there in the redesign of the cafeteria I just want to make a point that the concessions and the dishwashing station would be now located on the west brick wall again against the back of the Performing Art Center the middle space here would be very much as you see it today but then going back to originally talking about this area right here is where is currently the courtyard which would now have that raised ceiling and would be covered and that would be open up for cafeteria space and as I mentioned I'll touch upon it when we get into Fine Arts the reason this becomes necessary is because this is the orchestra room here which is currently in our Eagle loune serving area um in the cafeteria so we we lose a little cafeteria space here to be able to go into where the um where the courtyard is now one of the pieces of intentionality was in the kitchen and serving area is we want Once you walk in through the secured entrance we want to create a welcom and feeling we don't necessarily want it to feel during the days you're walking right into a cafeteria so um as you know we have that soft seating there that sits in front of um the courtyard and and we continue to have that and then now behind that would um transition into the cafeteria spaces where if you came between 11:30 and 1:30 there would be the students eating lunch there but there' be a very good flow to it with the um with the shifting of those spaces uh next I want to point out the Fine Arts and administration offices I'll start with the administrated offices I made U mention to that and that's right in that space here that was that square that you saw as you were walking up to the building and coming in door two and this you would get entrance into through the uh through the controlled entrance this red block down here is um would be part of the offices as we know them right now we would lose some space here because we would need to create um a walkway to get through with the addition of that cafeteria space but nurse's office guidance offices those offices um that are housed in that space now would still be housed in that same area and then talking about Fine Arts those are all the things that are are highlighted in yellow so I made mention of the orchestra space that uh would be located right here one of the things we really want to point out is you know being off the cafeteria and having uh in proximity we want to make sure our kids are seeing the things that are happening there taking um you know taking things that we've seen at at Tech and bringing the the classroom out to where the students can see them in those spaces when you look at this white space here that is the perform forming Arts Center um which will be completed in February so that's why that is colored in white one piece that we have not been able to or we're not able to address with one-time funds um not being ltfm um funding would be adding um the the scene shop and that's something that we definitely at Apollo um are you know that would be an addition something that' be needed right offstage right um where you would be able to they'd be able to build sets on there and then in the back you see the choir and the band rooms would be located here um similar spots to where they're located um obviously with that modern modern touch to it and then on that back wall right off the bus shoot adding some much needed storage and some much needed um some practice spaces and opportunities for our students to be able to to use um practice their skills throughout the day in proximity to where their their teachers and instructors are so you see spacing wise Fine Arts would be very similar where they are in the building now um just with renovations to them to uh bring them up to um today's standards for our students large picture looking at the learning communities so now uh everything we've talked about it's kind of been in the awing of the building so the cafeteria um talked about music and Fine Arts looking big picture uh everything Dr putam talked about flexible learning spaces preparing for now and preparing for the future and how we're able to do that um I think one of the first and foro foremost things you see right here um again things we were able to do with onetime dollars is the new um single stall restrooms and those would stay as they are uh that's one thing that was you know we were able to update with those funds and then behind that really bringing some CTE to the Forefront of the building being able to bring a a modern Culinary Kitchen to the building so our students have that culinary experience and be able to grow on that as we talked about in that Future Ready programming creating spaces that have the infrastructure so we can prepare our students for prepare students for now but also be thinking what in 10 20 30 years do we need space for and giving those spaces the flexibility to be able to adapt to the needs of of the workforce and to the changes you know I'm thinking about this a lot and thinking about this presentation um one thing you're seeing a lot of is Robotics and Robotics labs when they built Apollo uh in 1969 when it opened that was not anyone's radar and they weren't thinking about what what could that look like and I think being responsible being fiscally responsible and creating spaces that are good for now and for the future it gives that opportunity for us to do so uh one of the questions in working with our The Architects and you know what does that mean like the infrastructure piece that's updating you know all of the Power all of the wiring making it capable to run you know the computers that need we need to run and those are things we're looking at for the for potential course in Computer Sciences and as that grows uh what's computer science going to look like in 10 years and trying to create spaces that are prepared for what that looks like with us not knowing and then most importantly bringing that out for the kids to see and being able to be a part of it and and making that flexible and incorporating you know parts of our Resource Center that's a very large space and having that flow of collaboration spaces um two things that I'll make note of in the 400s and the 600s if people that have been to pollen all you have and know the large group rooms one of the things that would be done there is changing those into collaboration spaces when you go into the learning communities at Tech students have the ability to have spaces to go outside their classrooms close to where their teachers are but be able to work on things what we'd be doing in those spaces we' be leveling those off we'd be adding Windows to those so now those would be open spaces bringing light into those areas that currently um that currently don't have that in our really in the middle of the building they truly are um to create those collaboration spaces for kids and then outside of that those classrooms and you've seen them all with the updated you know furniture and the carpet and the things that we were able to do with the ltfm the one time money um you know little things here and there are going to come up but those would be pretty much as is um all those classrooms that you see in white then as we transition over into kind the center of the building uh beginning of sewing uh that's Iggy which is the Teachers Lounge right now we be looking to keep that as a Teachers Lounge area but also be thinking about even from when Tech to build um to now what's different and that's cmva and how do we utilize classroom space how do we make this a space so creating a Teachers Lounge a staff area but also has individual you know soundproof areas where if a if a teacher's communicating with a student or if a teacher wants to teach their cmva class or record a lesson in that space that they have that flexibility to be able to do that and what that does is then it opens up a potential classroom space and it's using spaces efficiently and and really helps with the flow of the day going into the science areas as you can see these areas have been relatively untouched and when I say relatively untouched it's for 50 years and they need to be updated the science facilities um at Tech are beautiful and then you know being able to take a tour of there um they definitely have that opportunity to do a lot of different things so these would be renovated to to our stand standards of today what we expect chemistry labs to to look like meeting all the safety standards um you know changing around right now all the furniture in there is is permanent there is no moving that so looking at getting feedback from staff and and you're seeing these right now these spaces are shells you know the next step if if this board decides to proceed with this is then how do how do staff want to give feedback to make these spaces and how do students want to give feedback to make these spaces to make them um make them fit for them and and for future students and future staff so the science spaces would all um be updated these ones that obviously see the table this whole rle those are lab spaces the spaces over here are traditionally used for science 9 biology and physics so they would all have be flexible though to provide um to be able to do different different things to be able to have the you know when we start talking about specifics gas hooks up hookups things like that um to make sure that we're providing that space again on the far so this is the um the south end of the building so like the teacher parking lot if you're familiar with that space this space over here we're creating another collaboration space so this is a opening this space up if you're what is that space now how can it be a collaboration this is currently where we're offering Foods classes um we'd be moving those classes to the Forefront um bringing that that piece there so we can open that space up for our science teachers to use our Math teachers all of those teachers that are in that particular ular part of building now right that may change and those those might be different classes math may move different someday but that would be available for them to be able to do um have their students be working in small groups be able to do some things collaboratively once we get into the spaces over here um these are our art rooms and taking a look at again a lot of infrastructure stuff what's changing in art how um making sure those have the the power that we need making sure that we're um providing those opportunities in 2D art 3d art making sure our AP art students have what they need to be able to um to be able to create what they want to create and that's you go in that class there's some amazing things happening in there with amazing students that are passionate about art um then also you know looking long term you know what does art look like being flexible with that to be able to adjust to the needs of the teachers and the students um but also keeping that traditional aspect of of being able to you know stick to those core pieces of that curriculum this leftand corner is white and I do want to point out one thing for the most part we've been very fortunate we've been working withme Prime and many of you were a part of our Prime days and when we had the grants and and had those award ceremonies so we've been able to um to really update that area so the one piece I want to notice there would be a slight adjustment to the roof line in our um in our Autos area because as we've been talking about providing different programming and we talk about the EMT and EMR programming um we have the two ambulances we just don't have a place to run the programming we're going to start with EMR this spring and then we're going to the goal is to build that to EMT but we also want to provide diesel mechanic programs so now that we can actually service our students can service the ambulances our current structure doesn't allow the space isn't there to be able to do that so not only will we be training future paramedics and future fire and future police will be you know working with their classmates who will be servicing the vehicles that they're working in as part of this program and that part of the building and then opening up um this area right here in the middle another collaboration space and if we've been talking about it but not just collaborating with CTE which is down in this area but looking at the the art students and if they want to you know go in and work with a medals teacher which is now just right across the hall instead of behind a closed door and experiment with other mediums of art to be able to bring that and to express themselves in different ways there so not having closes doors having these places open where art flows into metals and woods and all of these areas and there's spaces for them to be able to do that and those you all know that when you walk down that space I mean it is a it is hidden there's in a beautiful auto shop there's a Woods shop a metal shop we've got a photo studio no one knows it's there unless you've had to go down there for a class I I'm not kidding I gave a 20th class reunion a tour and I brought him back there and they were very pleased with what they saw but many of them said I did not know this was in this school that's a problem because how do we get kids interested if they don't even know what's behind you know their own doors and that's you know such a key piece to bringing that um to the Forefront so this is a this is a big piece of um and then over here kind of closing things out so this uh right here would be the um would be the EMT area where we would have this ambulance Bay here as you know we've secured partial funding for that and as we continue to do that so we do have um we thank those that have you know worked to do that but now finishing that off and what that would look like we've already partnered we've gone over to St Cloud Technical College we saw with their program we learned a lot about it they're excited because we're going to get kids started and then we can you know work towards getting certificates um but is those of you that don't know when an EMR program emergency medical responder is the first step leading to EMT and then EMT leading to whatever doors those want those students want to go uh We've toured other places in the state that are offering EMT programs so we've seen and we know what we're able to do and just putting this all together um those of you that are familiar this is the old print shop so if you've ever had to pick something up at the print shop at Apollo that's what that area is so it's currently vacated but next to it would also be a CNA lab and that you see that CNA lab and as you walk by that CNA Lab at Tech and see those hospital beds and see those students working and doing all those things our CNA lab is in an old Teachers Lounge because you have to have a sink um this would be an opportunity where the EMT lab is next to the CNA uh or the EMT area is next to the CNA area where they can all work together you know teachers can work together to create that um real life even emergency room like experience so that would be the big big scope of what the the learning communities would see and I I know that's a lot so I in a few moments I appreciate those questions when we're ready for them um the last piece I want to touch upon uh would be activities and I I think the most important thing is is we've had a lot of discussion about when we build and and talking both the controlled entrance where we started and that's where I want that Focus to be because it it is a necessity and as the principal of Paul High School someone who's worked at Apollo High School since 2006 the controlled entrance is just something that I know all of our staff and students um it's they would appreciate that to to know we've got that same level of security as the rest of our district building that we need to build a storm shelter and there's it's a square footage thing and what should a storm shelter be so we really want to be intentional about it can be used in the community can use it as well so we've decided so the storm shelter with the space it needs to be would be this area right here um we had a lot of great conversations if you're trying to think where this is if you know where the pool is it's kind of in that back corner um as you're walking through the main through the main office it's behind that there's a blue shed there now just trying to get focal points where you maybe know where it is but we want to be intentional if there was and it's happened one time since I've been there but it's happened and we had a tornado and tornado sirens wi how do we put it in a spot where it is it is accessible for students so we fully understand that you know knowing that coming we wanted it as Central in the um in the building as possible so we could easily get there's lots of doors so in that situation you would have lots of of ways to get in and lots of eess when necessary so making this you know an accessible storm shelter for our students if it was ever needed um couple of changes that would happen in this area um again with the change in the kitchen space you would see that the rest of that space um that we call kind of that it's it's a it's a gym that's too small to have basketball and it's it's not quite right to have to have dance and we've tried to do different things in there and it it's quite frankly storage right now um we would want to that would turn into what we would be like a fitness lab similar to what um cardio lab similar to what tech has um the area that's currently uh the girls locker room would be uh the weight room for all uh Sports to use and activities and Community as well um in here and it would be adjacent to that fourth um to that storm shelter so you'd see that those you'd be able to use uh those together and then the locker rooms the the footprint would be where they sit would be the same but they would be reshift to be four independent locker rooms and what the most important thing about them if you've ever been in the locker rooms at Apollo and that I don't know if you all have um they are again the 1969 shower it's a tree of five shower heads um and there's about six of them in each that are are unused by our students and it's it's they just are not up with the times as far as that and they would be changed to uh individual uh stall showers with curtains for students for privacy p uh purposes for all of our students and this would obviously be for our our activities participants our physical education participants and then obviously for Community Education rentals are pools used all the time by Community groups and um then any visiting teams and so it just be restructuring that current space and updating uh those those shower areas looking at the outside um and again where just kind of the overview I just want to make a point of the multi-purpose stadium was renovated um would not be touched and those that's been done in the past couple of years um just from your view up here you see the new bus shoot which is working great for us and we really appre would not be touched that is done the new parking lot um is done would not be touched it can all be used for everything we're proposing and then with ltfm dollars long-term facility Main this summer um these last couple of parking lots are going to be completed so no parking would need to be done um as part of the project or minimal uh there would be some accessible parking added down here because that is um piece of feedback we got last year we hosted the state tournament for football and uh they said you need you need accessible parking down by your Stadium it is a long walk to get down the path and that was a piece of feedback that we took and and did not take lightly and and wanted to fix that problem as far as Fields uh very similar uh you see the fields that exist today fields that exist we would explore possibly adding one more um one more field here to meet the needs of all the um of soccer and other programs that need those grass fields and just some slight adjustments to uh baseball and uh where track and field is is doing some of their field events but uh that would be the the outside um the grounds piece and then again you can see a good picture overview picture of where the storm shelter sits so we could get all of our students to this spot in in a when we needed to uh fairly quickly I know we could so that would be and then right here this yellow picture would be the uh addition of that is the controlled entrance and that administration offices so the two yellow um pictures are the two that would be new construction that obviously we we discuss now a few times thank you and before we dive into the next step I just want to uh say how um fortunate and we are and how grateful I am to have an Apollo principal who can speak so fluently and passionately right about the learning opportunities and um who truly knows that school and its Community inside and out so Justin thank you um so now we're going to dive into uh question two so in addition to uh the proposed changes that you just got to see and hear describ so well by uh principal skallerud um Administration recommends asking a second question of our taxpayers you know over the last several years um but more um increasingly uh we hear from our students and as we um hear you know I convened a superintendent advisory committee um of of local community and Business Leaders um and they in interestingly um echoed our students and Fe Community feedback um that we need a place um there's a lack in this community of an indoor facility to be able to to do community Gathering um indoor activities um there you know certainly there's places to play basketball we've got numerous wood uh courts and floors um not only in our district but at the Y um but there is no place to for for indoor turf um and so they asked us to please develop a proposal and consider this question so now we're bringing it to you um asking for your support in addressing this community need and more even um I would say more importantly but equally as importantly a need of our own students who participate in activities so we are recommending that we build an ISD 742 indoor multi-purpose facility on the Apollo grounds and this facility will provide access to recreational activities which you'll hear more about um they'll provide access year round and will be available for public public use and Rental um and the cost of question two is $15 million and Justin's going to walk us through um the the ways that this uh would fill a gap in the community so this is a first look at what the proposed uh 742 multi-purpose facility um could look like when we're thinking about our community and the needs we have I think about if you drive drive around all summer long and see all those kids our kids playing playing soccer playing football playing Lacross um you know hitting golf balls doing all those things and then we get to this time of the year and I where are those kids and and what are they doing and they may be playing basketball and the YMC is packed at this time of the year but in a community our size and we have so many kids that that love love these activities and our community in general um you know this idea came about that can we provide it ese can we provide this year round it would be open year round um but an opportunity for our our students um the conversation that we you know as these conversations were had with our community Advisory Group and others our spring sports are all Crush except for track and field so this is an opportunity for our Crush boys and girls lacrosse our Crush Baseball our Crush softball um our Crush golf teams when I talk about this in a few moments um those teams to have an opportunity to play on a artificial surface but not being in a gym for two three four weeks to start their season um so just thinking about our students and how we can enhance there because spring sports are so short and then how do we how do we enhance that for them so then they're ready to safely play their activities once they start um we also have great relationships with many Youth Soccer organizations many youth youth baseball youth lacrosse um Youth Softball and if I missed you one I do apologize but how do we be partner with them because those are our kids too to provide uh this opportunity to them to be able to do and then in the in the fall our in season um Tech and Apollo soccer teams and football teams and anyone else who' want to use it on rainy days or when it gets cold and anyone else in the community um you know for at Apollo we were renting our our turf surface to a local team that had made the state tournament because they wanted to do that so just take and think about that and the opportunities that we could do and Beyond this is just a conceptual drawing of what it looks on the top I think the most important thing is that it would be a full soccer field so you could play a soccer game inside year round um it also can be turned into two softball fields so you could play our Crush softball could have two weeks a practice and play a game and know that that game's happening but also thinking about um other communities when our kids aren't using you could also look at doing that um as well and it's just very faint lines of what those different things may look like the other thing I do want to point out I made mention of golf um for our spring for our Crush spring uh Sports and then thinking about big picture community at and Beyond um this proposal does have right here it' be an entrance there's a Lobby there's obviously restrooms there's team rooms so if there is a a game there so if we have our kids playing soccer whatever it may be and Beyond but then also for golf simulators so our golf teams would have a place to practice um not hitting in into Nets or in a gym for the first you know four to six weeks but having some um opportunities to to do that and then storage it'd be a large storage area because if we're bringing in different different activities we're bringing in the baseball team and then flipping over to Lacrosse that's a lot of Nets that's a lot of cages that's a lot of things that um we were warned as people do these types of things sometimes they don't think about you just want stuff everywhere you want it to be clean and taken care of of and then there's a two-lane walking Track around the exterior that could be utilized for for teams and for folks but also said it's just nice for Community when um you have a um when you have a Youth Event there and families parents it's just so you can have that opportunity as well again this is what the lines could look like um soccer softball lacrosse uh football and just um the ability to to have those fully on there it is not a full length football field but it' be a full width so if uh Apollo or Tech wanted to practice there they could you know use that as beneficial practice time for either team and then just kind of bringing this all together um as you know we looking at this we have the the three cour wood gym at at Apollo uh Tech has a threeq wood gym and then they have a fourth wood auxilary gym which has a great purpose at Apollo uh we'll be looking at our storm shelter since it's slightly different to be a synthetic floor so on that synthetic floor you could um you know have fiad in there but you could also our adapt Athletics could play there um and play their games there and have that true home court if we want to do that we could play tennis there and that would be now for that was the last Crush team in the spring is is thinking about our boys tennis teams that would have an opportunity to have some indoor practices and an indoor court there um you can do different types of performance uh dance could potentially do there but you could do basketball pickle ball we could open um that could be used as well because we would talk about having a a separate entrance to that area so it could be pickle ball on that synthetic uh floor the wood floors I didn't want to forget about PE basketball volleyball all the things that we do dance um wrestling practice and performance and this could also host wrestling as well typically schools have wrestling rooms but it could be in um gynastics as well the turf field thinking could be PE soccer football softball baseball lacrosse um the walking as I mentioned and then the gulf so thinking about our students and opportunities we just wanted to look at how do we maximize and this is for all 742 students and that's why we really wanted to highlight the point of that 742 multipurpose facility this is for our kids this is also for our community and um it we truly believe it it would be used and and our community would benefit from adding this and if we're talking about the wear um didn't want to mention the previous slide why are we adding this field over here because we would as far as parking and exposure thinking about where we could have it um currently we're that first field next to the pond it would fit on this footprint so if you see this um this space right here you'd be driving it by here here we could brand it for our for our district so people are seeing it people can uh access it and then also just it's far enough away from the school depending on it's not right on I've been to facilities like this that are in such close proximity this is a little Breathing Room between where where the school is and then um parking would be that shared that the parking lot's being um that South lot that's being redone the summer would be um in proximity to that so now that you've seen um oh that looks funny thank you now that you've seen the proposed conceptual designs um I want to recap our administrative recommendations uh we propose asking two questions of taxpayers for the apoll facilities question one providing security and learning updates must be approved before voters could uh pass question two so a one two where two can only pass if one don't it does the total of both questions is $65 million and now let's talk about total tax impact a question that I'm sure is on many people's minds at this time when discussing tax impact I just want to put this in context when we talk about tax impact the norm um not just for us but school districts cities other public entities is to tie the impact uh to the average home cost in the area for our school district that average home cost is 20 is closest to $250,000 and so we are going to um anchor our discussion to that data point um since it's the closest however tax impact for various home values are shown here um and these this will be public so if if people listening from home can't see um because it is small um you will have access to that but I'll say it out loud um just in case uh we it's a good starting place for now so for a $250,000 home the total annual impact um for both questions one and two would be $39.96 so for the entire year $39.96 that equates to $33.33 a month when we break it down and look at tax impact for each question question one's tax impact is $28.95 a year or $241 a month and for question two it's 1101 per year which is 92 cents each month we know that this Community Values its students who will be our future Workforce we are coming to taxpayers asking for an increased investment in local education however we would also like to point out that the portion of school taxes paid on that 25 $250,000 home is still lower than all of our neighboring districts and that fact will hold true even if or when our community uh supports questions one and too so even with both questions passing the School portion of our taxes will still be the lowest in this region another important question people will be be asking is well when when are you going to bring this forward Administration recommends April 8th as the election date for the referendum as you'll see this construction schedule outlines a multi-year plan for improvements at Apollo High School contingent on this success of the April 8 referendum so it's built off that date the timeline shows a structured sequence from planning to construction with full completion targeted for summer 2028 as a school district we are committed to transparency and open communication and to meet that commitment we want to ensure all of our voters have access to polling places so we plan to have our polling place locations open for voters our district is deeply committed committed to Preparing every student for Success Beyond High School through accelerated learning bilingual certifications college credit opportunities and a rigorous commitment to core instruction we ensure our students are not only ready for graduation but also for the world that awaits them to make this Vision possible we need facilities to meet the demands of preparing our future ready students we saw the incredible opportunities the new Tech High School offers and now we are asking for your support to provide similarly for our Northside students together we are creating Pathways for lifelong success and helping each student realize their fullest potential thank you and we welcome questions from the board okay thank you anybody have any questions or comments at all [Applause] any okay go ahead B go why don't we have a picture we I I can answer this we do it's actually it's been relocated and it's um just with the changes in technology the amount of space that was needed um it's in a different location but the district does still have a print shop that meets our printing needs it's in this right down the hall now so cool so it's an antique now uhuh so for for the mon doesn't okay yeah cool so we don't need a printing shop anymore okay we have a big one there right H that is close okay got it not to get that um I love what you have done about the students that you shown the all the great advantages of the students um there are a lot of things here that I actually missed from from presentations that we had had from the school presentations and the way that we talk about at the schools so I really love the way that we that you that do that that you did that in this presentation I wanted to encourage our our our our presenters and the principls and everybody to continue to talk that way about our students um I was noticing that in the in the concentrator explanation Latino students and Asian students get 100% graduation rates I was so proud of seeing that um I also love the way that you talk about the the shelter because before I was hearing the shelter as oh this is code darn now we have to build a shelter but the code is there for a reason right so so I think that we need to continue to talk about that well it is code and since 50 years ago we have not had this and our children are in danger um something happens we don't have a shelter so that's that that I I think that needs to be continue to be driven more into that part um and I um uh what was the thing uh I love the explanation of meeting student needs um just wondering this took a little bit of time to go to dle this presentation and I don't really want to run ahead about how the the communication plan is going to be but um anything that you can anticipate about I don't know the elevator speech about this you know I think um much like our needs haven't um you what we said back in 2015 and 2016 right about the needs for this facility hold true right Safety and Security academic Excellence preparing the workforce of this community's uh future and fiscal responsibility thank you so much quick question and a comment Title Nine if I I noticed when you were talking about a Fieldhouse we talked about there's room for two softball fields but there isn't any baseball field striped in there correct so it'd be a creating two additional women's softball fields but no additional male baseball fields is there any concerns with that so traditionally and I may be incorrect but I have not I'm not familiar with the size of a baseball field of any High School indoor baseball facilities in Minnesota I know that we always want to be in compliance with Title 9 and and we've been very um diligent to do so uh with all of our Fields so I think that's a conversation in this planning process and and talking with that we absolutely would want to have so appreciate that but um that um certainly is a good question uh the reality is is putting the the size of a baseball field makes it very very difficult um which I would just promote that the city should be talking about a turf field uh at the Mac to be honest because that would solve the problem uh at St Cloud State University for instance they're actually moving permanently their softball field to the to Husky Stadium um it still allows for in a huge way baseball to be able to practice they can take full hit um I'm not advocating for enlarging it to be a a baseball indoor baseball facility but I'm just wondering if the creation of the two Fields creates a title n concern maybe you just wouldn't put the softball fields stripe the fields right but it would be available for baseball and softball practices I I think it depends I I mean certainly you could play a full game on the softball field and that does create an inequity so to speak again I think that as part of this this is a conversation with the city which is one of my questions about the the commitment of the community um there needs to be a turf field that's installed at the Mac to create equal opportunity for men and women in this community um second was just a comment and and I know I brought it up uh I think over email to you Lori but the as this would move forward towards a towards a referendum date just securing the advocacy the Partnerships and and the support of all of the youth soccer football uh lacrosse any any youth leagues within the area to get the support there because I think it would be a really important facility for them also for off hours or not right but they could really help in the effort can you start with the collaboration spaces I know that that is a huge Trend in what we're doing in education obviously that is something that was built in into Tech what has been our experience with collaboration SP spaces as it really as it impacts I'll call it conduct um integration um how do how do students use it positively do we get do we see any issues with collaboration spaces because they're generally less controlled it's so funny that you asked that I was just in a uh at Tech High School today uh I was doing some supervision just walking the halls and to your point uh I had a group of students that were sitting collaborating talking about what was taking place in language arts right they were doing a project you had some students that were in the group that walked away you have folks out and they have a table tent here's the expectations and it's just teaching kids just the real real life skills right if I'm going to have a job I'm going to have to learn how to work in a team I'm have to learn how to work together uh for the students to prepare them for some of the future read learning things that we just saw right on how to collaborate and work together the other piece for the teacher is is the same thing right in practice if we are both teaching a math class and I can go in the collaborative space and talk about practice it only helps us it Al also helps where I'm now removed from the classroom environment where I'm in an adult space because I'm around kids all day and so when we hear it from teachers is it's that release to us to be ourselves I'm not always on in front of a group of students and so it continues to help our teachers on their collaborative spaces and then the students as well around the learning and so today I just got chance to see it in a practical sense where our kids were doing it kids they went away we're like where you supposed to be hear the expectations so and it's just preparing them for our for our future thank you um as it relates to question two and I do think I think it's a need that um this community has had for a long time that we've not been able to address uh a couple things there um I believe the 15 million is all directed uh to facilities um construction what is the plan around operational dollars available to run the program run and program the facility uh to the best use of the community yeah I will talk about rental from Community Ed perspective but then if you want to talk about the um the efficiency of the the structure and the design um you know we um you know we don't charge much um but we certainly are able to um cover operating costs for um our gym rentals right if there are we hire door monitors um the elect the engineers or the custodians who stay um the electrical right we build that into the rental cost and um you know we're not looking to make money off our taxpayers but we are looking to um cover those costs and we've been highly successful you heard Justin talk about renting out um the turf fields uh multi-purpose Fields right and that happens at both Tech and Apollo it happens with our tennis courts um every time we make improvements to our grounds or our facilities we see increased demand not only you know paid demand um not only from our local um Community but from communities from all across the state um and this is a highly um efficient um structure we you should talk a little bit about that Justin yes and David Leupold and I have talked us quite a bit from an efficiency standpoint standpoint you know it's designed to to be very energy efficient um they are in full disclosure this this structure ISR currently being built in Rogers so this is something that's in the area it's manufactured very locally um so it's something that um there's familiarity with it in the area I think what's important to know is that $50 million once it's built um that includes so it's it's built on a cement base and then you build the the rooms around it which I alluded to where the um you know the um the entrance welcome area would be the team rooms Etc and speaking with our business director the turf itself could then be tied into our long-term facility maintenance plan and that's at an average of about 10 years so that wouldn't be an additional cost the unique thing about this structure is as it's built it's built with steel and then it has the shell that's put around it that shell could also be put into our long-term facility maintenance planed for the future it's got a typ it's warrantied for 25 years but expected um to be right around that 30-year Mark so as we're planning and creating that 10-year plan the two most expensive pieces that we could then includ in long-term facility maintenance and then as we go through um you know the infrastructure piece and the rental you know we have have experience with that when you go around um to our gyms in the winter and being utilized by those organizations it's just getting those those cost um analysis of what it is to run into staff and then what it would um after our students are done using it what it looks like to then um you know look to break even on those costs and I don't even know if this is legal but can I suggest um that if there is a way that this will be I believe a a facility that will have great interest and that there are going rates so to speak for Turf rental and that sort of thing we know that we have um we are often shorting our own students for activities whether that's bus transportation whether that's um just access to uniforms and everything else I I'm not insinuating that we should gouge people but if we are charging the going rate and and revenues from that can be reinvested into activities programs it would make a heck of a lot of sense for us to be thoughtful and be doing that I'm happy that you've thought about um replacement Turf replacement is about 10 years um you would want not to have to come up with the extra million dollars or whatever it is for that replacement but I think that there is some really business savvy sort of thinking that we might want to do that would supplement and I know our cross subsidy prevents us in many cases from being able to support our students in activities the way that we would like to this actually could be a solution to that that we might want to look at at um just in terms of storage solutions whatever you have get more because when you think about the number of sports you mentioned that would play out of that area there will continue to be Innovations into how many Nets and um golf whatever if you want any sort of seating that people could use you know bleachers that sort of thing uh ultimately for safety purposes you do want those things out of the way when when you have people doing open sorts of things so again something to think about um and then the last thing just for for question which I I did like your your question about baseball because I'd like to leverage that to say if this is a community effort if the district is putting um this as part part of what they're doing it does make sense to try and leverage the city and the community to think about how we also serve baseball students um particularly given how popular baseball is in this community but I guess my my question or or just suggestion is what is the commitment of the community in promoting this um because I think it was brought through the community advisory Council um you know I I think there need to be solid plans about how they're promoting this and they're becoming part of the solution and as was mentioned whether it's cmysa whether at some of the youth football um youth across leagues that are starting there is such a an opportunity to engage them um and and actually build that into part of the planning and and then also think about whether or not some of those groups could help you because I do think Staffing can get really hard um not just financially to find people to do it is there a mechanism a shared partnership um private public essentially that could help in thinking about how you can staff and engage and provide access to this um in the evenings and and weekends um that doesn't only tax the district thank you yeah actually I understood my writing and had one question that I missed um are is the is the multi-purpose facility going to have a room for sitting for The Spectators so typically that that area around the track right in front of it would be wide enough where where people would in a facility like that you typically if you had bleachers they'd be very small you want to utilize the space for the students um so my experience in going to a place like that it would be parents know and um bring your lawn chair and communicated that it's not you aren't taking up that space with bleachers um so there wouldn't be huge seating sections there would be seating off um and that's conversations as as everything we've talked about we're bringing this to you tonight and in feedback and then we'll take that because there was a question should should we talk about a concession stand or not you know those are things that we're we want to get people's feedback on that that it could have but doesn't need to and I think things like you just mentioned are are great points that we need to think about and I I like um the idea of having those conversations coming forward and also um including them them within the design so things that are not going to be done right now but they could be done in the future and they are a space for it um the other question that that I just came out to me right now was um how does the funding happens having question and this is most for Amy question one and question two so if we have question one and question two and and then let's say both pass and we we one is one is going or ency and and the other is going lower that do does do can we cross money from those or no or how does that work uh so the money so you really can do it either way so um nothing gets moved forward in terms of an actual Bond issuance unless or until there's an approved vote um and so typically depending on timing and bond rates at the time um our financial advisers will give us recommendations um sometimes you will see multiple issuances if depending on issuance costs and and the market for um tax exempt government bonds sometimes it's more advantageous to issue two different issuances one um to start kind of phase one particularly in a in a project like this um where we have multiple years of construction um if rates don't drop considerably uh districts are seeing Arbitrage right now or they're paying too much they're getting too much interest and they're having to pay it back um and so sometimes it makes sense financially to to do one issuance now and wait a year and do a second issuance so you're not paying interest for that year um so there's really multiple ways to to do it you can split that into two separate bonds um legally you can do it either way so there's nothing legally that says that the proceeds from question one have to be separated from the proceeds or an issuance on question two um it really just comes down to the financial environment when the time comes and I'll follow up um if we pass question one and question two we have a commitment to do the one thing and the second thing right so and do we would we start doing the construction and everything of the of the everything at the same time or just wonder in in if if people are going to start seeing that there is a high school in construction and that is not a any other thing there I think one thing that really wasn't mentioned and should have been that with this being a renovation and not a new new school being built um we have no intention of disrupting learning If This Were to pass we want to make sure our kids are in school I mean we have we've been through a fire we've been through 20 we been we know how to do it but it would not be we would have our kids there every day regular school day um in talking with the different constru it's really comes down to permits and and when to do things they um are working with construction management company and our Architects set on a project like this it takes about a year um for the uh multi-purpose and they can work on it all winter so they actually prefer you know to start it if they can get it um everything down in an appropriate amount of time um then they can work on it all winter and and try to get it done less than a year but really he said um you know we asked those same questions and Amy said really uh when it passes the money comes fairly quickly then they have to get permits and then they just look of how not to disrupt Apollo High School and anything that's going on like we'll be driving dangerous equipment through so we need kids out of this space so we would want to as you see on Dr Pam's timeline that the majority of the work is summer work because they can do more but there would be things that would be happening um the duration of those couple years I was uh quite impressed with the comparison between uh our district and the surround dist districts on um on on debt I mean we've been managing our debt is great um I am wondering about uh how long these uh these bonds are going to run I mean we're looking at the $39 a year but is it forever or is it $39 uh that's going to end in 20 years and uh so School building bonds are uh typically set up over a 20-year Bond and so that's what um this is set up um and then we've been intentional as we've um looked at that that long-term debt picture um that over the course of the 20 years there's still some drop offs in our overall debt um just being mindful of the fact that um selling a story that this is the only facility need we're going to have in 20 years is probably not realistic or accurate um and so that has been and been factored in um and so there's three different points over that 20-year period um where there's there's still some drops um and the the payments kind of taper off over time um to be mindful of of balancing that immediate need with future needs thank you can you go back to the slide to the slide that shows the over overhead view of the no the one with they specifically to the multi-purpose the multi uh to the Fieldhouse not but keep going I want the one that chose the parking lots and everything yeah right and that that's fine um I was looking for the one that has the Fieldhouse positioned over that field but there is now that's hugely different isn't it um I my question is to Amy and it has to do with so we this summer next summer we are using ltfm it's planned it's already it's already coming up for bid fairly soon we're looking at replacing the parking lot over by the pond and then wrapping around the back of the school and that parking lot right there that you're circling that nobody uses for anything and I'm wondering with ltfm dollars I know you can't we couldn't we can't put in a new parking lot with ltfm dollar but we can replace an existing parking lot I'm wondering if when we talk replace do they go by square square footage replacement or do they go by it has to have the exact same boundaries when you're replacing because we would have an opportunity I still look at that parking lot on the south end and say boy it would be nice if that could be extended about 40 feet down towards that facility for parking and we've got this parking lot behind there other than the ambulance Bay it really doesn't get used for anything the one behind the school is most of the time empty is there any way that we could like convert that square footage over to that end the south end and still use ltfm it does not go by square footage you're supposed to if it's currently paved it can remain paved um we've had a little bit of flexibility with some of the the bus shoot and the other and the north lot um just because of new drainage requirements and so sometimes as they're drawing out the plan and the amount of of drainage and um culverts and things that are needed sometimes um in order to accomplish that you have to like slightly uh change the configuration so we were able to do a a little bit of tweaking um kind of in that that gray area that is still allowable um but you can't say well I had you know X number of square feet and I'm going to put it over here instead of over here um that would be explicitly unallowed is there any specific requirements for replacement there with our trout pond right next to it I don't think that there's anything specific um in the initial engineering uh they I mean they've already kind of worked on that initial estimate and nothing um nothing came up um my my initial thought is because there's enough room on other sides of it for drainage um that they're not concerned about that and it's not a protected it's not like when we had Tech where it was a protected trout stream it's um it's not having having like the DNR restrictions like we ran into at Tech um and so I haven't heard anything uh from them that that has any concerns with that so if you want a bigger parking lot you could use ltfm funds for the part that you're already there but then you'd have to throw in extra money for a bigger one y our next steps then are we so the next step is that we will um bring you the um resolution the the exact resolution um November 20th for you to vote on um and then we would move forward with planning uh from there excellent thank you thank you okay next up we have the 2025 Board of Education legislative platform presented tonight by board member and uh legislative chair Zack dhal am I supposed to talk now yeah um as you know this just a draft um which has primarily continue to make our annual ask to fund the cross subsidy and although Minnesota has made progress still I mean we got a lot left to do and thank y as the years go by it's on more and more people's radar and more and more districts are struggling with this so we're not quite as alone as we may have been in the past um and thanks to current and previous board members it's now definitely a Statewide awareness I don't have the updated numbers in there in this one yet um so that primary part hasn't changed I think that kind of what we were feeling overall that still is one of our biggest if not our biggest primary Financial struggle right um so that's number one number two is the Ola report that we like to see up uh updated um something El Do's been working on and most of this here is through some of the um msba resolutions that were made and as we've had this conversation a little bit before in 2008 the office of the legislative auditor found out through that report that Charter Schools um well we need some updated numbers back then they had recommendations none of them were made and I think it's only fair I think we think it's fair to know the impact of charged schools on our districts and then number three as and I don't think we're alone in this either um is using the MCA tests to no longer rank the quality of schools um this is something year after year everybody in this room understands teachers understand I think most parents understand stand yet the people who report on this use it as I would say nothing other than clickbait anymore it is not representative of the students or the teachers it's representative of how they do on certain tests on a certain day it is a poor reflection of any District on how the quality of their schools really are you don't get to see that through test scores um and again kind of reflecting um some of the msba proposed resolutions in there and adding this is not new because a former board member had kind of made some efforts on this in the past including whether leg letters to the editor and you know other formal discussions um that's a brief synopsis there I didn't want to read it word word um and of course there not fine-tuned for language yet the you know I would be looking for suggestions to um do we stick with these three do we just do one two I am very comfortable moving forward with these three I think we're good position to do this and again I I we're not alone in this stuff as a district as much as we may have been in the past so um so we approve it and then what do we do with it good question we formally give this to our Representatives down in St Paul so anybody who has any population in the school district so I want to say this like five house members and three Senator at least two senators um three three senators and at least five house members and the media does pick up on this too they report on this um so it is a semiformal ask to those in St Paul to do something with us for us how do we go about lobbying down there you go down and schedule time to meet with your representative or you just ask him out for Coffey or give him a call is you'd be surprised at how many um represent atives house members and Senators it's easy to just have a phone call with them um we have invited them to our meetings here before um it can be as formal as we want as little formal as we want um bottom line is going to be hand delivered one way or another and if one of them is willing and able to author a bill or sign on some others that's even a double bonus and we've had some do that over the the past decade or so is there any difficulty with bipartisanship I don't think so again this is something uh it touches every school district now has these shared issues um Metro rural Regional centers and we have a bipartisan representation in our school district um which creates a lot of good opportunity when I look at that third one I I like what's on there because it's all true I mean it's it's very true but it's very School focused and I realize this is a Schoolboard um it's it's coming from the school board going to the legislators however I I think there should be some pieces in there about how the improper reporting of and or what what however we want to call it but the improper reporting of MCA scores as a report card on a school district has a very grading result for communities not just school districts I me it's not all about oh we don't like this because we don't compare good it degrades the the community it it causes property values to drop it causes students to move out of the school district and open and roll into other school districts for no reason by the way the the educational outcomes and the the product of Education within the school district can be equal among the two but the the the community that has the lower average income is going to have likely have lower test scores and it's just going to throw some fuel on the fire for people to say see I told you look look at the test scores this is really bad we got to get out of here and it's it's it it it's a cycle that gains momentum it starts really slow and it starts to pick up steam and it gains momentum and then it becomes a very much a u uh an issue of segregation within schools too you see a lot of students of color don't don't open and roll into the outlying but anyone who has the means to do so within an area will open and roll their students out so it becomes a real Community issue as much as it is a school issue and the legislature has a duty to do something about that they they they can't just sit there sit on their hands and say gosh we can't can't do anything about it it's you know get your test scores up it's not that simple so I was just going to add on number three um I agree with all three of them on number three my my one question is is there a need to either provide or request that there is an alternative I I I don't think we want to send the message that we don't want accountability but can we modernize what accountability looks like that isn't um dependent upon a single test score and and so again we're not just simply throwing it out there to say we don't want our schools to have to answer to anybody we want to say we need to have a a modern and effective way of evaluating and demonstrating progress or not that our schools are making um so that point you know we can we can um celebrate the things that are happening but we can also um ensure the public that we're using their monies um appropriately to advance what we're doing so I have been talking a lot lately about an asset a need for us to develop an asset-based language to talk about our schools and the thing is very hard CU I haven't figured out how to do myself but but I am really working on it and uh and and trying to think about how that could be and the what what Lori did with the presentation for Apollo is a is a prime example of an asset based language to refer to other schools so for example so what I'm seeing right here and and I'm seeing it right now so my apologies Z thank you so much for all the work that you have done to this not trying to not trying to Minish for anything the work but we should probably avoid despite recent efforts words like despite reent efforts during the legislator legislation to do when we talk about e elll students and when we talk about special education students we are really and if you pay attention to what we say he are you on number one number one oh yeah we if if you pay attention to what we said we are referring to those student a deficit we referring we if you look at it you look at the first part of that we we're referring to students as they cost more because they have greater needs and I think that what we need to get to and I want to call um um um I forgot your name in the second Don and what she was telling us before is that it's not that this students cost more is that the system is not designed for them so what I wanted to to pay attention to in in in those things is that the system is not designed for them is that maybe we need to start thinking about what is the population of the state and when we think about the population of the state and we figured out that I don't know what is the percentage of of H special education students that we have in a district that is not a that is not a sign of a deficit in our district that is a sign of an asset that we have those students are here for a reason they came here because of those Services we have a stay of the services for those students and I'm pretty sure that we have more special educational students here than what are in other around us and I think that we need to capitalize for that we have a really great special ed education system that is not being properly funded and this is not a favor to s cloud it's a favor to the state because is an obligation of the state to educate those students and that's why they did the mandated not not the not not the other way around us we're thinking about it we El students is the same thing we have more El students in this District that in the districts around us we have better systems to educate El students than our districts are on us and we have done that despite the underfunding that we have for this District so we need to convince everyone that this is not a favor to suncloud we are the ones doing the favor to everybody around us because we have this we have we have been exploring on this so that's that's the one thing that I still don't know how to put here I think that I need more data though to to to to maybe start framing it that way um in terms of what is the population that we have and why do we have these concentrations here and we don't have this conization here is because we are the worst in the world we have concentrations here because we have best programs because we have best practices and because we have um the most resilient population that we could have we have we we are the only ones that happened that that went um without cutting we are so resilient that we didn't cut any programs and any funding when we pass Co because we have been trained to these issues that we had had that we needed to figure out how to make end meets with the law funding that we have that has created resilience in this District but it's not fair so that's the message that I would like to drive with this and how how we figured this out and that's kind of what I've been trying to explain about how we talk about these students we have a special education students because they are beautiful when I came to this country and one of the first jobs that I had was to work with people that had that were down syndrome and people that were hiring me they were concerned that the Down Syndrome people were not going to understand me because I had an thick accent and what my experience was is that the uncle of my husband who Down syndrome say hola to me when he says Hi um the the I I love the other ones too the the the chatter one I haven't really checked much more but I was thinking in the same things about um about asset base in the in the third one and I completely agree with Heather what I was proposing is that we should not be asking to Advocate the state to move away from MCA we should say um we as a resp representatives and Advocates of the state to develop a better system of evaluation that compares quality of schools with several points of um I don't know with what but but but but I think that is not to move away from NCA what we want to ask is that they develop a better system of of of evalu ation for the schools that that serves as a base of compar as a fair base of comparation with districts that are very different with the students that are very different so um and then going a little bit more into what those um the things that that you said there about the the the quality I think that that's that's that's perfect I don't know if there is anything that we could um provide in terms of giving ideas of how a better comparation system can be developed or how do we um evaluate how do we how can we rank with others and I also think that it will not be too much to ask um if the state start looking about how um how funding is is if they put a comparation in funding too the funding that the schools receive and the and the scores that they get I don't know if that is always equal so that's that's kind of my comments I know you w I know you weren't speaking directly to me Monica but I just wanted to say that I agree with most of that um I I have always has been an advocate that thank God our district does what it does because if we didn't do that there'd be an awful lot of people just left out in the cold so it's it's it is a really important function that our district does that and and we take on way more than other school districts and I know on at R1 onone I I gave Lori a I sat down a couple weeks ago and I started writing out my thoughts on why District 742 has lower MCA test scores than other districts throughout the state or than the average District around the state and I came up with was it eight or nine reasons I can't remember it's it's it's like eight reasons that I can think of why we will have lower test scores on average than or lower test scores than the average District throughout the state and it has a lot of things to it has a lot to do with I know one of them was that we have a very high uh special education population why do we have a special education population that's higher because the community has phenomenal facilities for special education students and so people who have a a student who is disabled or severely disabled they choose to locate within St Cloud because of that and our district provides an exceptional special education for that for their students and so we know that special education students do not score at the same rate as students who have no disabilities that live out in the suburbs and so we know therefore that the impact of having a higher special education population on our district is going to result in lower test scores does that mean that we have a crappy School District no it means we have an exceptional school district and we're not getting the credit for it out of MCA scores so I sat down and I had nine different thoughts and I I couldn't list them off to you without going back and looking at what I wrote um but nine different thoughts on why our MCA test scores would be lower than surrounding districts or than State averages and in each one of those as I listed what what the cause was I also listed why we why we experienced that cause so what is it within our community that causes this and um it I don't know I and I don't know if you got a chance to read it or not but it it I was kind of going at that same thing I wasn't saying shame on the special ed kids for costing us more money and we don't get reimbursed for it I was saying hey we've got phenomenal facilities and we do a phenomenal job the state isn't funding us on this and so why so so don't compare us on this I mean we special ed kids are fully funded at the district level they get I mean everything that's mandated is paid for because we have to do it it's the funding comes from other other areas within the district but it's not a it's not a it's not a a shot at special education or at eel students or any other group I mean we we also we serve students at St CLA hospital and and and students that are in alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs and there's a just a there's hundreds of reasons why we're going to be lower on MCA score on MCA test scores um we need to recognize that the state needs to come up with something to recognize that and something needs to happen so that's just I'm agreeing with you so kind of that I think sounds like we what would want to add is the ask for number three to incorporate you also asking to use a better system yes yes oh Craft um to use the system to use A system that takes into consideration demographic differences of districts and the impacts that would be expected on standardized test scores is that and also we could see I mean how many how long does it take us to to graduate a new two country student because I I don't know if that is the same the same for every school I mean I'm pretty sure that we are doing better I mean I I would put my finger on it that we're doing better than other schools in educ in in graduating a new to Country student or a or a or a what is that we call the students life or life student those those students are coming to our district for for reasons they they're coming and they staying I mean those life students are students that go from District to District jumping from here to there and they stay here because finally they found something or they I wouldn't say they're jumping District the district defin well it's also students who are new to Country who are at an advanced age so they're at seventh grade age level when they come here but they've never had any formal education so that's the Limited in okay any other feedback or suggestions to for Zack this Natalie we um looked a little bit at the expansion of the Minnesota report card um in our last committee meeting or Donna made a mention of it anyway and so um you know when I just glance at Minnesota report card and you put in Apollo then right away first it's MCA scores right and then it's attendance and a couple other things on the first page and so I know I I don't think we're going to get that picky here but it's just like it's that sort of a thing that's like Apollo you know and then that's the first thing that your eye goes to instead of and then if you really dig oh there's the um IB and the AP scores and oh wow look how how that is compared to the state you know but you really have to dig on the side part instead of just what everybody sees and so it's it's again like everybody's saying it's not taking MCA scores away that's still a reality but a better way of of that not just being the I mean it's just it seems almost um lazy you know of like here we go this is the thing we've always done so we're just always going to do it so um yeah innovate think outside the box things like that yeah really the things we're teaching in St Claus schools for instance um but I really like this platform Zach I really appreciate the the three things that are on here are things we talk about all the time and um so I think it's really smart so thanks for your work on it anybody else okay yeah thank you very much Zach love all three of them and it I have to say so much of this is is really not my work it's you know it's an accumulation of things we've been doing for years and um what Al's been doing a lot of that so I cannot accept a majority of the credit on this at all [Laughter] sth so then this is coming back one more time right all right thank you okay next up we have the schools update we have Nikki Hansen assistant superintendent of prek through five education Dr Jason Harris assistant superintendent of secondary education and Shannon Aon assistant superintendent of E12 Education Services yes good evening cheraz superintendent putam and members of the board today for our school's update for elementary we get to uh celebrate Lincoln and tahi are two schools serving one Community um here on the left side we see safety represented um you will see a spontaneous dance party in the hallway on Unity day there at tahi and on the right side you will see some refined dismissal procedures uh where we work to to restructure the bus shoot and buses coming in and out as well as our students exiting safely and entering safely each day and for belong in you will see tahi how they start their day each day with morning announcements led by students highlights that include the tahi pledge and student shoutouts and the good news call of the day that good news call of the day is made by administrators celebrating students for their positive efforts around school and then they take a picture each day in this beautiful frame and post it on Instagram so celebrating the good news and the good efforts of our Scholars on the right side you see Lincoln students engaging in student jobs uh that we saw last year at the board meeting continuing uh building that responsibility and pride in students and the school Community there are some Baristas there in the morning then we see collaboration here on the left side you see tahi during connections conferences here that we had entering the school year they rolled out the red carpet for students and families and you see some of the wonderful tahi staff surrounding that welcoming those new students confidently as they enter into tahi um on the right side you see some staff members engaging in collaboration around implementation of tiered reading strategies and progress monitoring and a group of teachers looking at that data and setting the intention of of what is next in instruction based on student data needs here we see high expectations and high supports showing Excellence you see Mr Blake second grade classroom there at tahi and each week at tahi students earn golden awards for respect responsibility and safety um in the lunchroom and at specials and there you can see the specials award being awarded that week to Mr Blake second grade class on the right side you see students from Lincoln engaging in math talks as a warm-up for a math lesson the teacher will pose challenging questions and supports through collaboration with peers and clarifies one-on-one with students to start that math lesson for the day all right at this at the secondary high school I'm just going to share this was the joy for me this week just of putting pictures together getting ready for this to the points of test scores don't really show how our students are learning to Monica to your point a why kids stay uh you have Tech High School their staff just working on how to build community talking about how do we service our kids what do we need to do to really create that environment where kids want to be in their families and that belonging around that and so when I put this together it was like I can't get all the pictures on here just let me just pick the quick ones and so this was just a quick one where staff is working together to try to build that Community around safety then you have a sense of belonging our students got a chance to take part in uh voting 2024 uh they participated in Minnesota K12 mock elections that belong in piece of hearing their voice them getting a part to do their civic duty within their peers in their Community uh you had it right here uh just yesterday and then the future 100 event where we collaborated with uh all our Community Partners highered our military folks and the local Workforce to make sure we're having a plan for all our seniors when they leave us that they have a solid plan we have some great things happen over 200 students filled our college applications uh just around that I think superintendent putnam's done a great job of really working with our local community to really engage and so this event uh was really big on the 21st at uh Tech High School and then just the high expectations uh with our students our coaching staff really pushing our student athletes we just uh wrapped up a fall season uh and you had a lot of good things taking place I'm going to go to the one offside of sports where the student uh here uh Jacob got a 36 on at uh act that's a perfect score you have uh boys and girls soccer uh competed State uh you had tennis uh tracking field and then um Minnesota uh All State team uh volleyball so uh kids just really uh taking part in the experiences and it's really preparing them for our future all right I'm going to second that Jason that future 100 was being at Apollo and Tech um I didn't highlight it cuz I knew you would be but um being able to be there with the students and filling out college applications was seriously the highlight of uh my last couple of weeks and it was amazing how much um how much we were able to accomplish in that time with the kiddos so um just a wonderful event um obviously and parts of E12 Educational Services I get the privilege of working with special education obviously uh working with our student services team and also our nursing staff and so I'm highlighting um safety wise our student services coordinator lur Laurel schulberg is now providing a reframing behaviors and deescalation strategies for all new staff that we hire coming in at orientation and the feedback on that has just been exceptional um if you've heard of Crisis Prevention intervention and uh uh verbal strategies it's really about reframing adult mindsets and being able to respond to students and understanding their brain States and just giving some really key strategies for helping our adults uh resp respond and support students and and not um not only prevent escalation but uh provide some opportunities and strategies for deescalation belonging um this one I just loved uh and I didn't even ask for these photos I get the privilege my team just sends me these awesome pictures throughout the day and so that's fun um so belonging this is Katherine Johnson education center our has some of our level four prog programming and instep programming and this is how they showed up to welcome students um on Halloween so I I just thought that was fun collaboration um our other student services coordinator Jen Lei um is really intentional about mental health professional development and for all those um staff like School psychologists social workers um mental health Advocates Etc um and being really intentional about providing a specific professional development that those teams need and request and so a great collaboration once again with St Cloud State University to offer ethics training which is part of their requirement for their relation on our last professional development day and then high expectations one more of our programs again that sends me that they sent me some really good ones too um this one was the one that I could show you that they're a fun team um but our cap program uh Community accountability and prevention um that's our 2 to 5day programming it's it's really an alternative to suspension and that team is providing um social emotional academic support they're um really helping our students in grade 6 through 11 process um any kind of um office discipline referrals or um what they over their um processing is really about what they can do differently uh to improve um U their behaviors in school um to improve their academics um this is just an incredible team um and it has licensed teachers including special education teacher on that team mental health Advocates and behavior resource Specialists um and uh they just do just an outstanding job and and they're just a delight to work with thank you okay thank you guys Monica so he didn't that much about belonging and belonging and belonging I think that I War you that I was going to as this what do you do for belonging office staff I can start with that um actually one of our team's goal goals this year for special education our team goal is about retention of Staff we do get a lot of new staff in special education and a lot of teachers who really did not go to school to be a special education teacher so we get out of field placements tier ones and it's really about supporting those staff to learn um all those pieces and those nuances of being a special education teacher um but our goal is 100% around that support so things that we're doing we have due process nights that are optional for um those staff to come in and get support from some of our due process coaches on some of those PE paperwork pieces um new teacher Academy is another thing that we have in that mentorship program for staff and um on Tuesdays um our teams are are out supporting new teachers with um just U following up on professional development pieces that we've had so there's some real intentionality about uh supporting especially those year 1 2 and three teachers and then specifically for Jason and I we get to work with our principes at the buildings at elementary and secondary levels and within their continuous Improvement structures in addition to focusing on the Strategic plan they have also focused on superintendent Pam's Vision with these four pillars um So within our intentional planning each each month when we get together we model belong we model safety collaborations and Excellence through high expectations and high supports and then we share and collaborate together on those great experiences and opportunities that build that within our school systems okay last up we have a couple policy readings um both first readings presented by Gary gangji executive director of Special Projects first up we have policy 606 uh proposed revised board policy 606 textbooks and instructional materials good evening Shannon's going to drive for me so I'm going to try just pause for a second no pressure I got you all right great well good evening the um if you recall back in uh May and June we took a look at policy 66.5 and at the time we talked about that uh it was it was being broken off of policy 606 which we're bringing to you this evening but incidentally as you'll see on your agenda we're also bringing 66.5 back for just a couple more modifications on that so what we have here is now we're just talking about textbooks and instructional materials and not library books because that that resides in 6065 a lot of the changes that you see tonight um have to do with with our renaming of of uh positions and departments in the district so these These are are minor changes just to align by the way we do business today and you'll see that teaching and learning throughout this is being replaced with E12 education um if you look under Roman numeral 3 down to B uh we had our our legal council do a review and they notice that between our procedures and our policy we were we we were calling uh selection criteria two different things so we're aligning that um down to I want to point out uh B3 um that what's in yellow along with cultural should have a striketh through uh we missed the striketh through on that when we prepared this when we bring it back for second reading we'll make sure to have it in there um that uh that strike through came through the um um board development committee there is a bit of discussion on that and it was related to um by by talking about different types of diversity um the the fear was that something would be left out and I think the the example that was was given um during that was uh what about economic and so after some discussion board development decided uh let's just talk about diversity in varied opinions so that's what uh that changes um down to uh 3C again it's just the the uh title of of uh of um the the learning and teaching it's interesting historically we've had learning and teaching and teaching and learning I think we found both in here as we were as we were going through um down to uh Roman numeral 4B uh that was also added during board development the from available resources there's a bit of a discussion on there's really a a small amount of finite number of Publishers that uh that meet the state standards and and uh board development felt it important that that we put that in there um Roman numeral 5 um we we don't charge a lot of fees but we do have a few out there and after some discussion uh this was in the model policies we didn't have it before we brought it back in there uh Roman numeral six um 6A so a recommendation from our legal council was that we drop uh interested persons and replace it with parents or guardians of a District student or a District student who is 18 years of age or older and the reason for that recommendation is that's how the statute reads um and so that change was made we added the reference to the statute in there so that you know in the future we we know why why it's in there and and you know we also discussed that that that doesn't preclude someone who isn't a parent or guardian or a a student of 18 years of age or older to to express concerns about uh textbooks and instructional materials I think it's uh policy 206 that uh for um uh public input public comment at Schoolboard meetings uh that doesn't preclude that it's just going through the challenge process and then down in the uh Roman numeral or excuse me the parentheses at the end of a that's just pointing out that if someone's looking for 66.5 it's no longer here there's a note I I'm guessing the next time this uh comes before the board that would be able to be removed um uh B is just cleaning up that language that we talked about above and then for for C that's new um along with this policy we have an administrative procedure and we for a number of our policies we have administr administrative procedures which typically reside in an administrative handbook um because the the uh challenge process uh is very specific it was the recommendation that school districts add this to their policy and attach the um uh attach the administrative procedures so this is just a paragraph directing that uh the superintendent will present the proed the administrative procedures and it would be attached to this and if you turn the page this is the presentation of those um again a lot of this was cleaning up language uh legal reviewed this there were things like in some spots we um we called uh our building leaders building principls and others we we called them uh um we call them building leaders and others we building administrating other areas we call them principles and we just tried to be consistent throughout uh there's some punctuation that's that's being uh corrected um I'm over to uh number four Shannon I should let you know good okay good all right um just some clean up of some language there um when uh again we have the the what we call a a building leader where making that consistent again the titles but also in here legal pointed out that um within our um within the um um The Challenge process we have an informal and a formal some of the individuals that we had named or the positions were the same on the informal and the formal and the recommendation there was that we we don't don't do that because it it really isn't uh fair for the appeal process of it's the same people making the same judgment the same time so that's what a lot of that editing is um we had a number of references to like 15 days and 10 days we we added school days just because 10 days or 15 days uh around a holiday break uh that cuts us pretty short um the um the memb ship uh we clean that up a little bit um we cleaned up the policy because we don't have a 606a and then we added a um another layer of an appeal process the appeal after it goes from informal to formal uh the appeal can go to the superintendent and then there could be an appeal to the school board too and then the remaining are just forms that go along with that process with one edit in there on the very last page and it's that aligning language with the selection criteria questions Gary on that change to school days yes from days should that be maybe be inservice days staff inservice days or or and I'm thinking of an appeal that might happen during the summer when when we're off school for 90 days um would we wait for t to the school start of the school year would that appeal process be handled by someone who's working so it's in service good question how about we uh about we wrestle with that and bring it back on second reading thank you anybody else okay next yes yeah 66.5 you probably know this one by heart now this be the fourth time we're going through it some really minor changes um we will go to let's go to Roman numeral six Shannon d one you there okay um we uh we had this updated to our PK uh labeling a pk5 but since then we've changed it to E5 so this reflects that uh down to three still within D um we've uh We've struck public librarian that's often for smaller school districts that uh don't have a lot of media special we have 10 and I think probably have another five folks that have media license so um we can do that but it's important to note that the superintendent always has the discretion of deciding who's on this Review Committee it could um he or she could uh appoint a public librarian academic librarian so um uh so that that could still happen um within the legal standards this is new legislation so it's been added and this is around the Banning of books and and I want to point out that you know when the word I'll speak personally when I when I hear the word ban it it it's it kind of raises a flag but as you read through this and you get down to the um the details in it this is the way that not only us but many school districts have operated for years that uh sometimes a book ends up in a uh library that shouldn't be in there uh whether it's it's for maturity level or whatever and they come in through donations they've been there for a while uh the people that are there didn't purchase it um we we still have that flexibility with this language and then uh the final one is if we um if we do have a a challenge a book challenge uh we now need to report that to the uh commissioner and I believe um I believe that the legislation says that it is the school board that reports but it does have or designes so yeah so those are the changes to the recently changed 66.5 okay anybody have any questions on that all right thanks Gary that was everything on session agenda so looking for a motion to adjourn our work session um motion by Natalie second by Scott all in favor say I excellent opposed uh work session is adjourned 908 p.m. thank you very much um for watching we'll be back in two weeks have a good night