Good evening. Tonight is Monday, February 9th, and we have a quorum. So, I will call this meeting to order. The first order of business is agenda approval. Do I have a motion to approve tonight's board meeting? >> So moved. >> Right. We have Director Man and Director
Arum. We will vote to approve our agenda. All those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? Tonight's agenda is approved. Next, excellence in action. And this month's Excellence in Action will spotlight
members of the Valley View special education team and share the inspiring story of Amelia Don, a sixth grade student who is discovering new and exciting ways to communicate through assistive technology. So tonight's
speakers include Maddie Jenny special special ed teacher, Tara Cole, our speech language pathologist, Zachary Roa, special education paraprofessional, and Patrick Bess, Valley View's principal. And we are also
delighted to welcome Kate Da who is in the audience and Amelia's mother. Thanks for joining us. >> Chair Gabler, member of the board. Thank you so much for having us. We appreciate it. Dr. Bibon, it's good to see you again, buddy. Um, few things that we want to do is really I don't want to
talk a whole lot, but there's something about the vision. There's something about each and every learner discovering their possibilities and being able to thrive that is magic about our district. It was for me three years ago what was a huge draw about
coming to Adina when many districts will say things like, "We care about all kids." And that's great. There's something specific about each and every learner. It feels more personal. It's the human side of this work that sometimes get lost gets lost in transaction. This team is going to be
able to unpack a story that really is magical that I think reinforces this vision. You've done this. Um Vice Sher Gabler, you may not know this, but you held space for someone in the network that felt like you helped them discover their possibilities and thrive. They shared a
story with me about what you were able to do for them. Um, when we think about doing that for adults and then washing that down to kids, that's the magic of this work. And this story wasn't the one. As I was
thinking of all the stories when Daphne reached out and said, "Hey, let's let's get Valley View up here to do excellence in action." I had a number of things. Our math team was was doing some cool stuff. And, you know, there's tons of stories. We're fortunate to be in this lovely district. and Mattie Jenny and I had an observation and she started
talking to me about something. I was like, "Oh my god, that's that's excellence in action." And so I'm just so humbled to serve this amazing community and fortunate to stand by these amazing individuals who have worked so hard and are going to unpack
really what I believe is truly living out our vision. And so we have our speech language pathologist Tara Cole, our special education teacher, Maddie Jenny, and our pair professional Zach Roa. And without further ado, I'm going to pass it to them to share this really incredible story. And thank you, Miss D,
for letting us share this story, too. We really appreciate it, friend. >> Okay. I love this opportunity because I get to see um a way that we can let Amelia shine. And as a speech language pathologist, my role is to like how can
we best um access the tools that we need for students who are either non-speaking or limited with their speaking abilities. How can we kind of unlock their communication? And so, um, we had a eye gaze device that was donated from
a previous family. And if you don't know what that means, I calibrate students or like staff members eyes and they're able to select buttons on like an iPad device and when they select the device with their eye gaze, like maybe like one to
three second hold, the button will play a message and sometimes with that button, it'll lead to like another page and it'll open up more options. And so it's very mentally and physically fatiguing.
Amelia has definitely blew us out of the water this year. Um she came to us from countryside with a device that had like two options for her to try to swipe with her hand. That wasn't the most effective
way for her to communicate. So instead, we thought, let's try eye gaze. um she's now up to six different buttons navigating like three to four pages. So, it's really cool to see her um be able to take on something new and really show
us her potential. >> Hi. Um first of all, thank you to both Mr. Bass and Miss Cole and also Zach. Um this work that we've started with Amelia this year truly started in the elementarymentaries um with amazing
special education teachers that really did their best and the support staff to do their best to support her with her needs and all the resources that they had to give her a way to communicate with others. Um this year we were able to find and have
this uh eye gaze device. Um, and we were able to really just, we've seen her blossom so much so far, and this is only so far. Um, her communication, her personality, her excitement, it shows us every day, and like it is so apparent in
every moment that we get to see her using the device and sharing her unique personality with our room. It is just such a pleasure to be able to watch and see. We also really do want to acknowledge that the support Amelia has from her pair of professionals in our
space um are vital. From Dan Mau asking family for pictures of their dogs so that she can have that personalized button so she can not only just see the name but see the dog when she's in her device to Mr. Zacharorta um working so
very hard every single day to program and help personalize her device to make sure that her unique food interests, her feelings, her opinions, got to say her her sassiness, um are included in her everyday speech.
It's truly a unique device that she gets to use to communicate and be part of our classroom and part of our society. I just wanted to give some uh anecdotal times that we've used it um or of how I've helped her program it. Um the other day she was just kind of laughing and
being goofy and silly. And so we looked into her feelings chart and silly wasn't on there. So I just quickly put in silly, put a picture of silly and she stared at that thing and made it say silly like four times in a row. She's like I'm silly. You're right. Silly silly silly. Um
>> just giggled the whole thing. >> Yeah, she was just h having a ball with that. Um, and just some other examples of like when there's other students in the classroom, she can pull up their names, their pictures, look at them, just acknowledge that, hey, I see you. I want to chat with you. Will you come here, talk to me real quick? And she
just did that today. And and that picture on there, um, you know, she just found it on her own. No one was sitting next to her, pulled it up, saw that student, said her name out loud, and boom, now she's having a conversation. I also just really want to make sure that we mention that none of this work
could have happened without the collaboration of our Edina family of Amelia's family. And we just appreciate Amelia's family and Kate for trusting us, supporting us, and being willing to
let us try these new things to help advance Amelia's communication with all of us. Uh, we do have a few quick videos and some pictures of Amelia. This is Amelia and what you see the black device that is her eye gaze machine.
I don't know how >> I think this one doesn't have volume to it, but she's going in. If you can dial that starts, >> you want to be in your chair or out of your chair.
>> I like to lie down was the one she was going for on that one. And once this >> and she was able to get that completely and so we were able to transfer her lay down and kind of have a little bit you want to be in your chair or out of your chair.
>> And then this fix that before anything moves on. >> This next one is a feelings chart on the zones of regulation. She was very tired here, >> which is blue zone, which you can see
she's using. >> Try to get that to click in. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much for being here this evening and telling us about Amelia's story. Board members, what questions do you have or fe comments?
No questions. I just think it's so cool how excited you all are about her AAC device because that's amazing. And those things are not easy to program always. And just how you can incorporate new buttons on the fly to appreciate new games and moods and things is just
really cool. So I think that's awesome. Um I just wanted to thank all of you for coming here and Principal Bass, thank you for picking this story. I think you're right. This is such a great example of a student thriving in our district and that doesn't always mean
being a champion for athletics or debate and those are all outstanding and I cheer all of our students but each and every is a living thing and breathing thing in our community and when we say inclusion that's a living and breathing
thing and I'm just so honored that we have educators that take this to heart and work so hard and we have principles and administrators that champion this and um it just I mean it I just have so
much pride to see the progress that um this young lady is making and when we say discover their possibilities and thrive that means a hundred different things for a hundred different students and I love it so thank you. Thank you. Well said. And I think when I my own
middle schooler, how important that communication part is, right? When you can express what you want to say and when others can communicate back to you, it opens up your world. And so, you know, just to think about where this is headed. I think you said it, Maddie, of
like this is just the start. Um, so thank you for the work that you're pulling putting in to Amelia and all of our students. And thank you, mom, for entrusting her with us every day. And um yeah, this is a really great great story
to hear. So, thanks for sharing. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> All right, we are moving on to hearing from members of the public. and we have two members that are going to speak to us this evening. So, thank you to the two of you for coming to address the board. When you signed in and a asked to
speak, you acknowledged an understanding and adherence to board policy 206, which are community comment guidelines. Pursuant to this policy, each speaker has a maximum of three minutes to speak. A clock on the screen will be visible reminder of your time remaining and I
will prompt you verbally if you are going over three minutes. When those three minutes are up, you must conclude your remarks. This time is not designated to address items concerning specific staff or students and personal attacks by anyone at the podium are unacceptable. If this happens, you will
be warned and if you persist, you will no longer be able to continue your remarks. Any feedback about district employees needs to go to their respective site level leader. the superintendent or be submitted to the board in writing. Um, finally, during public comment period,
our role as a board is to listen, but this is not the place for the board to resolve any concerns, and as such, no comments will be made from the board. Issues will potentially be referred to the superintendent for appropriate followup. Thank you for your cooperation. I do have to say that reminded me of my
first day when I in front of my classes every semester when it sounds like I'm going through all the rules and I don't think we're going to have a problem with that. But I'd like to welcome up Nancy Vega Hernandez and Freya Western to speak to us this evening. Welcome ladies.
Good evening, Chair Gabler and school board members, Dr. Bitman and other members of the community. Um, my name is Nancy Vega. I'm a senior at Edina High School. >> And my name is Freya Western. I'm a ninth grader at EHS. And we're here speaking on behalf of Project Earth,
which is an environmental club at Edina High School, which represents not only the students, but also the larger city of Edina. Project Earth solely exists because students truly care about the world we are inheriting and the role schools play in shaping understanding and awareness.
Environmental responsibility is not limited to recycling bins or posters. Although those two are important, it means to educate and give opportunities for action. One of our upcoming initiatives is our clothing swapple which will be hosted at Edina High School on February 28th. And we do
invite you all to join. Our goal is to allow community members to be engaged with a tangible form of change. And fast fashion, which is the mass production of clothing items that goes along with changing fashion trends in society, is one of the largest contributors of global waste and pollution. And our
clothing swap offers a waste a way to not only reduce the impact, but also shift the narrative of sustainability to be accessible and also social. The swap is extremely lowcost, um, very inclusive, and it's entirely student-driven by us and other members of Project Earth at Edina High School.
But events like the clothing swap are truly only one piece of a larger puzzle. We are advocating for stronger integration of environmental education and awareness at Edina. Climate change is not a niche topic. It affects our public health, equity, and economy. When students begin to understand uh the
connection between the environment and other sectors of policy, they become informed citizens and make more thoughtful decisions. For example, we have entirely electric school buses projected to be um delivered in the fall and be in full use the next school year. And this
initiative was um initially requested by Project Earth to the Environmental Protection Protection Agency, but it was the school board and Mr. for water that really pushed it into motion and we really appreciate that help and we hope to begin more initiatives like this in the future and allowing this type of
sustainability to be part of students everyday lives is critical to project earth's mission and also the climate action plan that we have here in the city of Edina but incorporating environmental education doesn't mean just adding new classes but we wish for the conversation
around sustainability to be embedded into curricula and projects having an academic approach to sustain ustainability will help remove the parts of environmental awareness that may currently seem abstract or distant to some students. We as students are excited to learn and lead these types of
projects in the future and with the support of the school board um we want to expand on opportunities for learning about the environment and explore future projects for project earth. Thank you for thank you for your time and listening to youth voices. We look forward to working together in the
future um for sustainable mindset and future uh for our schools and community. We are especially excited for Dr. Bitman visit on February 26th to get to know us better. If you have any questions about our past, current, or future projects,
we'd be happy to answer them now. Thank you again. on here. All right. Thank you, ladies. Appreciate it. I know it's not customary to ask a question for a presentation, but I just may I ask a thing about the clothing swap since they brought it up, or am I not allowed to do that? Thank
you. I just wanted to ask what um for members of the community who want to participate in the clothing swap, they just show up on that particular day at that time and bring their items that they want to put on display for people to then share. Is that how that's supposed to work? >> Yeah, I think you guys were given a
flyer. It's from 12:00 to 2 at Edina High School and you just bring in any clothing that doesn't fit anymore, you don't want anymore, or just didn't work out. And you're able to bring in clothes, but you're also able to shop for clothes if you're looking for new items. So, it's almost like a thrift store but just without the money
exchange. >> Got it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. >> Thanks, ladies. >> All right, we are moving on to our consent agenda. Is there anything anyone would like to remove from the consent agenda? We'll now vote to approve the consent
agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Barry and Aram. All those in favor of approving the consent agenda say I. >> I. >> Anyone opposed? The consent agenda has
been approved. Moving on to our discussion items for this evening. Our first item is the American Indian parent annual compliance documentation. And I welcome up to the dis Dr. Franny Vicare, our director of
achievement equity and multilingual learner programming. Welcome. Good evening, Chair Gabler, Dr. Bitman, and members of the board. This evening, I am presenting the annual compliance
overview for the American Indian Education Programming in Edina public schools. Um, the state of Minnesota requests that, not requests, requires that any school district that has 10 or
more American Indian students has an American Indian parent advisory committee. And with that American Indian parent advisory committee, we work with them to set goals uh for American Indian students. And once a year uh we meet
with the parents to review how we are doing on our goals that we set and the te the parents take a vote of resolution and they um agree if we are concurrent or non-concurrent. So after reviewing
the this year's goals with the parents, the American Indian parent advisory committee has voted that Edina public schools was concurrent in meeting the goals of the goals that we had written for our American Indian students.
Any questions? Board members, any questions about the vote of concurrence? >> I would just ask um I know the minimum the requirement is a minimum of 10 students. Do you know the number of actual number of students we have in EPS?
>> We I we're not at 100 and the number fluctuates someplace between 85 to about 95 depending on the school year. >> Great. Thank you very much. Thank you. This is this is great news to see a vote of concurrence and I
appreciate your the work that you and um Miss Stan Strong have done with um our parent network. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> All right, we are moving on to policy discussion and I will turn it over to
policy committee chair director Ellenburgg to lead us through this discussion. Um, hello. So, I have the work session pulled up right now. And one second. >> Oh,
>> there we go. Um, oh, nope. That's still the work session. >> No, I have them right here. Okay. So, our first policy for discussion is um I do need that actually. Sorry. Um policy 202 which is our school board
officers and this we just reviewed in our work session. Um and this is um for board member well for board members Nova for the community. This um details the different officers and was updated with some more detail about um the
positions that we actually um do here in practice in Adina public schools and put a lot more detail around all of the positions but especially the vice chair role um to help people understand the expectations of the roles and then in
addition to that um help build leadership capacity through some of the definitions. So, um, that was the those were the changes put into this policy for policy 202. >> And as was indicated, we did discuss this this evening and this has been a
work in progress for the last couple years, but board members, do you have any comments or questions for this policy? >> Right. Thank you. >> Great. Next is um policy 62606 which is selection and review of
instructional text materials content or issues. And I will invite up um director of teaching and learning um Miss Jod D St. Hubert to talk about this. Um this was updated to align with MSBA um
uh policy and so there's some updates to this policy as well and um Jody will walk us through these changes. Thank you. Um thank you all for being here tonight. I we are reviewing this and the main thing that we did with this policy for review and selection and
review um reconsideration request process is that um all of those two separate things within the policy were kind of intertwined. And so we tried to really put wording in that aligned with MSBA policy as as uh director Alenberg
says, but also we tried to clarify what's happening within the policy. So the one so we retitled it in order to help with that and then added definitions in section three. And so the two definitions um are breaking apart those two components, review and
selection process, which means when we're going through a curriculum review or any kind of review and we're working with a team of teachers and a team of stakeholders in order to determine what we're going to use to instruct students. And then the other part within the definition is the reconsideration
process. And that's when either a student or a parent or a community member has concern about those instructional materials that we are using and the process that they can follow in order to bring that concern forward. And so you'll also see there's um a couple of components of the
appendixes that we took and put within the policy. So there's three steps to the reconsideration process and moved some policy appendix things right directly into the policy. first going to teachers, then going to building principles and admin, and then going to the district office. So, the final thing
that's um really cleaned up or clarified in there is that there's only one appendix left, and that's the form that um families, students, community members would use if they're bringing their um their reconsideration request to the district office. Are there any questions
or further input or feedback? I just had one um comment on the appendix. >> I can't pull mine up, so I have to look at Elliot's here. >> Okay, >> no problem. >> Um it lists the person as a
complaintant. >> Oh, seems a little punitive. >> Thank you, Director Hooie. That we can shift that language. >> It's a good perspective. >> Thank you. Otherwise, I think the the policy read
read well. Okay. Thank you. >> Um I'm just curious as to this particular policy and process. In my going on my fifth year here on the school board, I have never seen nor heard of any situation where this has
come up, at least at the district level. Um, has this is this something that's common in a building or in a classroom or so on so forth or is this something that's rarely seen in our district as of today? >> It's it's seen but rarely seen. >> Okay.
>> And I would say most of the time it is worked out with the classroom teacher and the parent. >> Got it. Um, as far as the policy language that was given here, I just wanted clarification from the policy committee that this was using standard MSBA language and we just kind of
clarified some things going from here as it's updated and so on so forth. >> Has there been in the last few years has MSBA made more dramatic changes given circumstances in other parts of the state that have then impacted this particular policy? >> Um, if you have any knowledge about
that? Yes, they've um clarified things around that here and then um was it last summer the legislate the state um passed a law
about what u materials could be considered prohibitable and so that led to the creation policy 606.5 and so that's probably the largest change um and that was has been added So, I
would say that's probably the largest change, but um these two 606 and 606.5 um are um this is the recommended language from MSBA and then that one is state statute that's required.
>> Great. Thank you for that clarification. >> Anything else? >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, next we're going to do policy 717, video electronic surveillance. Um, and this one, um, we will have Assistant Superintendent Nate Swenson walk us
through this. >> Good evening, Director Alenberg, Chair Gabler, and members of the board. Um, policy 717 is uh our video and electronic surveillance policy and uh it really just represents an integration of
the school bus recording language that is found in MSBA's policy 7-Eleven. So rather than creating two separate policies, what we chose to do was to insert the language of policy 711 into
717 that was relative to buses, contracted vehicles, that type of thing. So, what you'll notice is that um the definition of property has just been expanded to basically include any vehicle whether owned um leased,
contracted, or operated for district use. And you'll notice that it talks about cam placements in those vehicles. And I can confirm that all of our district uh vehicles including our contractors not only have the bus that's or I'm sorry the box that's referenced
in policy but we we record on every vehicle that we use in uh any Dina. Um the other thing that is substantive a a little bit it's just rewritten is just being more specific about our
retention of video. And you'll notice that it just clarifies that we keep video until it's been relooped and that um or if we need to hold on to video um should there be a disciplinary matter um
where it's used as part of evidence. And uh those are the changes to 77. What questions might you have? >> Thank you for this work on this. I had a question because this under 3D D it says
each and every school bus owned, lease, contracted and or operated by the district. Would we want to put each and every school bus or or and vehicle? Just because when I think about those contracted vans that we use, I don't always think bus, but
because it's talking about buses as well as vehicles, >> I like that idea a lot. I mean, Well, are the vehicles um equipped with the fully enclosed box for the video camera? Okay. >> Yes. Okay. >> Yep. So, each of the e So, as an
example, like we have contracted vans that are out there, they include the same video recording capabilities that um our buses do too. I think that could be a a good distinction here >> as long as we make sure
that it truly is each and maybe we have to clarify that it's each and every school bus and vehicle that students are are transported in because for example we probably have food service >> and ones that are used for custodial
purposes that I would guess don't have boxes. So, I just want to make sure that we're very specific about >> Yep. And I just that's a really valid point and I just am asking just >> based on experiences of those the contracted vans that sometimes we don't
necessarily refer to them as buses but >> they do transport students and it's valuable to have those >> um videos in those vehicles as well. >> Thank you for that feedback. >> Thank you. Any other? Yes, >> just a two clarifications. Um, so in um
what is this 3C? Um, it's talking about not being surveillance will not be used in bathrooms or locker rooms. Um, but that doesn't preclude them from being on the outside like at the entry door of a bathroom or something if if deemed appropriate and necessary for security
and purposes from that standpoint. Is that correct? >> Correct. >> Okay. And then second, even though we don't explicitly spell it out, it's referring to the data retention practices under Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. I'm assuming under the act, even though it's listed as the reference, that the amount of time
legally that we're obligated to have recordings before they're looped. Is that is that a is that part of that act or in definition or is it just based on the equipment of how long that looping would would be would be uh provided? >> That's a good question. I think I'd have
to circle back to you about what our capabilities are any because I do know it's contingent upon what our system is allowed to do because different systems >> can have more as I didn't know if there was a statute minimum requirement for
that and then there would be going beyond that would then be based on the capabilities of the systems that we have employed. The reason why I asked that is that when we think about our safety and security conversation, so from that standpoint, this is one of those areas that I would be most interested in in terms of not only are we do we have
surveillance and recording capabilities throughout the district and property, not just in vehicles, but in property, what is sort of best practice in terms of the length of time before looping would take take place. I'm sure there's probably a riskmanagement standard for that. um it since it doesn't explicitly
call for it, I'm not suggesting it needs to be in this policy, but I think for our broader safety and security discussion, I would want to know more about that um as a practice. >> Yeah, good feedback. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> So, just to clarify, are you asking for a change to the policy?
>> Nope. I was just asking for clarification. The the reason is because in the policy, it sort of is indicating the government's act pract. So, I'm assuming something in there if there was a statute of legal requirement to retain record for a certain period of time, which it may or may not have. I don't
know. Um, this is more for not from the policy, but this policy is kind of prompting me to think broadly about our excuse me, our safety and security discussions that we're having later this year. Um, this is an area where I'm very interested in what our practices would be. >> Got it. Thank you.
>> Great. Anything else on this policy? Um we're going to move on to policy 9006 which is um it was community employee it was community notification of predatory offenders. Um and we um have our director of
communications Stephanie Edwards coming up to talk about this. And we have one word change in this but it's an important change. So I will have um director Edwards talk about this. Well, we discussed the fact that it's called the community notification, but we only
notify staff. So, we'd like to change it to the staff notification. >> Yes. Because we felt it it was misleading um and was saying if you only read the title, you might think that we were doing something with the community and
we actually aren't. So, that's the change. Any questions? Just from a clarification process standpoint, is this what because it says employees, is this all staff that would be at a specific school that would need
to know will know or do we just communicate to administrators and it's their job to communicate down? >> It completely depends on the situation and the the policy says it follows basically that we'll follow state law to notify who needs to know about the
situation. That's basically what the policy says. >> Okay. Okay. >> So, the practice would be in the building or at the level like from a management standpoint, but the policy is just sort of saying we're going to follow law, but the actual application of it is specific to the building or
whatever it might be. >> It's meaning that it's it's written there. It's not in policy. >> It's going to funnel down through the superintendent. So, the law enforcement will notify Dan. Dan, I think, would
notify Nate and me. And then we would provide the materials for the building for that staff notification for where they're essentially a message is posted about someone being in community. >> And the the state statute also alludes to folks who need to know the
information. And so we have a for example if there was a particular student that group of teachers andor staff members that work intimately with that would be part of those discussions. And the key thing too is is that there's no state statute that obligates or
requires us to notify the community about these things. So it's not like we're trying to keep somebody like there's probably state law that says you can't notify certain things and so on so forth. So we follow whatever the law is from that standpoint. We don't get to make decisions about that. We just follow implicitly what the statute calls
for. >> And you're Yes. And you're 100% right. Um and law enforcement is required to notify And the next one is policy 907, reward for solving a crime. And there are no changes to this policy. >> It's a new usual policy.
>> I didn't know we had this policy. >> Yes. >> So, okay. >> Can I just say I appreciate the fact that we have policies for just about everything. >> We do. Yes, we do. >> And thank you for all of your work. >> And this is actually a mandatory policy. >> Of course, it is because it wouldn't
just be magically there for no reason. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Director. Thank you. >> Excellent. Thank you, policy committee. And these policies will come forward to for action at our March board meeting. Moving on to our action portion of the
meeting. Do I have a motion to approve the ratification of sale general obligation facilities maintenance refunding bonds series 2026A? >> So moved. Is there a second? >> Second.
>> All right, we had man and hooie. And the title is so long I gave you a lot of time to get up here, Mr. Woodard. >> Uh, director Woods by design, >> director of finance and operation is here to discuss this item with us. >> Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the school board, Superintendent Bitman.
Um the idea or possibility of refunding the um 2027 through 2031 maturities of the 2017 A bonds first came to the board I believe at the October 21st work session. At that time there's actually been quite a bit of macroeconomic
activity regarding interest rates. So we were a little bit unsure as to whether or not we were going to be able to execute the the transaction. Fortunately we were. Um at the November 10th meeting, the school board provided minimum parameters for the sale to be at least $150,000 in um debt service
savings. In the time since, we've had a number of meetings with our municipal adviserss, including a credit rating call that um myself and Dr. Bitman participated in um just a few weeks ago. Pleased to announce that we had our AAA credit rating maintained. uh Moody's was
actually quite complimentary about the district's strong governance um strong financial reporting and noted um increase the fund balances since 2022. So all very positive things and they really had no concerns about our standing and were able to issue that um that credit rating and um pretty quick
turnaround. Um our municipal advisers advis or arranged for a public sale on January 28th. We had 15 biders for our our bonds, which indicates um you know quite a bit of confidence in our credit and our standing as a school district. The low bid was by JP Morgan Securities
at a true interest cost of 2.2439% which yields a future value debt service savings of about $278,000, well above the the minimum threshold set forth by the school board. Um in consultation with our municipal advisor, we were able to creatively structure
that sale um to maximize the sale. um we could have gone for other arrangements that provide less than the 278. We elected to go for the higher amount which means that we're going to see um actually an increase to debt service in the first year but then um decreases in all subsequent years for an aggregate
savings of that $278,000. And just for um the public's um information, that is not new money for the school district to spend on programming. It's a direct savings to taxpayers. Um and since 2019, we've actually done refundings totaling about $9.8 million in savings. So pretty
robust and looking looking forward to executing more deals potentially this fall. With that, the recommended action is before you >> board members. Any questions? >> Just a quick comment on the um the
credit rating that is so important. We've been working so hard on that. The fact that they commented on the um unassigned fund balance growth since 22. That's great. That's been part of the strategy that we've been deploying and the leadership of the district. and from you director Woodard and the and the board. That's excellent. I mean, this is
where really money, you know, hits the road, right? Like it it this is all tangible effect of what those efforts are. So, I just applaud that and so continue with that going forward. Thank you, >> Madam Chair, if I may. Um, just a
congratulations to you and your team and the board for their continued work on this. I I want to overemphasize the the commitment nearly $10 million back to the taxpayer. That's that's an incredible amount and that just doesn't happen in most school districts. So, the
continued commitment of this board to be fiscally responsible and also to recognizing that taxes come from all sorts of areas and to do everything they can that the district can to give that money back is just really worthy of commendation. So, thanks to you and others that have made that commitment
and congratulations to our taxpayers. >> Thank you for both those comments. We will now vote. All those in favor of approving the ratification of sale for the general obligation facilities maintenance refunding bond series 2026A. Say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? The board has approved the
ratification of sale of general obligation facilities maintenance refunding bonds series 2026A. All right. And that concludes the action part of our meeting this evening. Uh board, do you have any me uh do any members have leadership or committee
updates? >> Uh just from the LACE perspective, um session starts next week, so we'll be starting to ramp up our efforts for outreach. Um once the session starts, we've been doing some in advance. Um and we're excited for the session to start. We don't know what it's going to hold,
but it'll be exciting regardless. And um everybody if you could prepare our day at the capitals um April 13th. So if you can put that in your calendars um we're all welcome to attend. >> Thank you
Dr. Bitman. Any updates for us? >> Madam Chair, members, >> thank you so much. Uh so much to celebrate here in Edina and also so much work going on across the district and community on a number of areas. It's an interesting time of the year for school districts because we're well into the
school year now and are planning significantly for next year already and what that looks like whether that's around transportation or community education programming or curriculum or communications etc. really an important thing that happens. A lot of that that's what's happening right now is around
staffing, what that looks like. And as you know, a lot of work goes into that from many people throughout our system and we do that really, really well. So, thank you for that. Uh we also recognize that there have been a number of things around Minnesota that have impacted
students, families, staff, and others. And so, continue to work tirelessly. And just a shout out to the cabinet, the board, as well as uh staff throughout our school district who are just going above and beyond to make sure that students, other staff, families, and community have what they need. And
that's in partnership with other organizations throughout our community. And we're we're blessed to do that. In terms of activities, there's a lot to celebrate because we're just finishing up our winter seasons and activities for many folks. While I have all the names of everybody to celebrate, I will not
spend the rest of the night for you to do that. But I will share a number of things that are important. So, our Edina debate team uh this past weekend had the state debate tournament and once again the Hornets continued their string of state titles and they are the longest we
are the longest streak school for state tournaments in the state of Minnesota. So, a lot to be proud of. Also just want to shout out to Joe Schmidt and his staff for the passion and the work that goes on behind all of those things. You don't often see that uh from afar. So
just really celebratory of our team. Model UN on January 16th hosted the conference at our high school and so that was a really big deal. More than 200 students attended that and so we were excited about that number and the work uh that happened with that. The
team also had uh a successful trip or will have a successful trip coming up as well um to both Washington DC as part of model UN as well as Philadelphia. First tech challenge in terms of robotics is coming up. We're well into the building
season. So what's happening with that and so much work and partnership happens with that. That kickoff will happen in April in St. Cloud. So if folks have not had an opportunity to see what that's like, uh I definitely encourage you to do that. Uh our Adina math team has now
finished up their regular season uh and is preparing for the state tournament after finishing in the top 10. And so the state math tournament will be on March 16th in South St. Paul. So we're wishing them good luck and know that they will continue to represent. Our
HOSA group will be part of the state conference in St. Cloud on March 9th through 11. It's our health occupation students of America team. So really wanting to make sure that we give a shout out to them for the work that they're doing as well. Alpine Ski wrapped up this last week. Um both the
boys and the girls earned section championships and so we're excited about that. They'll compete at the state meet on February 10th, weather pending. So that's coming up. Uh boys basketball are finishing up their season um or they
will be finishing up their last se the late season in February. sections begin March 6th and the high seed uh we will anticipate or hope to be the high seed as the home team. So, uh the boys will play their home games here. The girls basketball team sections are quickly
coming up. So, keep an eye out on those brackets. So, lots to happen there. Uh competitive cheer varsity team uh will go to Orlando for the championship and so we're excited to see how they do and continued success. dance just wrapped up
their season in jazz and kick and they are advancing to the state tournaments on February 13th. Boys hockey uh sections are February 19th. So the the Hornets look to be a really strong contender and especially this second half of the season have really really
done a great job. Girls hockey as well. They are so fun to watch. So um recognizing that they're the number one seed in open sections on Wednesday. winner advances to the section championship on February 13th. So, we're excited about that. Nordic Ski advanced
three individuals to the state meet. So, uh those students are Everett Olsen, Henrik Instrom, and Helen Chu. Boys swim and dive. They've completed their regular season and earned their 25th Lake Conference Championship. And so,
they will host we will host the high school sections uh in our Art Downey Aquatic Center at South View. and that will be February 19th through the 21st. So if you haven't had an opportunity to celebrate them, would encourage you for all these events to take part in. The championship, the state championship
will be February 26th through the 28th and wrestling sections are coming up. So a lot to celebrate throughout Edina from our staff members, our coaches, our teachers, etc. We're just excited to provide so many great opportunities for them.
>> Great. Thank you. Uh, do I have a motion to adjourn tonight's meeting? >> So, move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Birdman and man, we will vote to adjourn the meeting. All those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? The motion has passed and
the February 9th, 2026 board meeting has adjourned. Thank you. >> Thanks everybody.