##VIDEO ID:LtcS9L24Ong## evening everyone and welcome we're the otana school board this is Monday it's the 27th January 5:30 I'm going to call this meeting to order Tim is going to give us an update on our um attendance all present we are in fact let's start with the Pledge of Allegiance pledge pledge of 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 and justice for all up tonight would be to approve the agenda as presented no move second we have a motion and a second is there any further discussion all in favor with an i i any opposed that motion carries item four tonight is Mission moment I'm going to turn things over to Mr elad thank you Mr chair members of the board tonight it is my honor during our mission moment to lift up four of our students I see two of them present tonight um so I'm going to first reference our Excel Award nominee that is here so Paige Thompson if you would please come up to the front table here and I'll also be recognize iub as well we have three here I forgot iub so why don't you have a if you would be so kind as to thank you oana high school juniors are nominated for the Excellence in Community Education and Leadership award the Minesota State High School league award recognizes High School juniors who are active in Fine Arts and or athletic activities demonstrate leadership qualities on our model citizens in the community we couldn't have picked two better au's involvement at oana high school Beyond being the student Schoolboard representative has included National Honor Society student council mock trial knowledgeable Key Club Math League cross country track and field speech and choir in the community auu is active with peer tutoring National Youth for immigration immigrant advocacy and youth against sexual violence Pages involvement includes National Honor Society student council shock cross country hockey golf Orchestra and choir how do these students do all of this that's what I want to know her community service includes Wildlife youth leader Young Life Salvation Army VFW cck Lodge and Trinity Lutheran Church it is my honor board members to let you know of these two fine oana high school students that have received the Excel award for oana high school given to them by the Minnesota State High School league questions of the board yeah exactly I'm sure there's a comment or two here when do you sleep rhetorical you don't really have yeah what's your favorite thing do you have all the things that you're involved in which one is like the the Pinnacle of things that you think are important okay how do you manage all your different activities and volunteer opportunities yes all right whatever works all right Paige I you it's so nice to have both of you here and it's so fun to to be able to recognize both of you and and it's our opportunity to congratulate both of you on these Great accomplishments way to go [Music] [Applause] congrats uh the next I'd like to um honor tonight are our AAA Award nominees so I'm going to ask Amanda Club to come forward please I do not see her counterpart Zack danard here tonight but we'll honor uh Amanda but I will read uh Zach's accomplishments the AAA award uh goes to an owana High School senior that are nominated through the Minnesota State High School league for the AAA meaning academics arts and Athletics Award the AAA award acknowledges a male and female high school senior with a 3.0 or higher GPA I know that these students have a higher GPA than 3.0 they're excellent students but they also participate in League sponsored athletic programs and Fine Arts activities Amanda's athletic and Fine Arts activities at owana high school include band All State band Orchestra tennis and track and field among many other things that Amanda's involved in Zach's list includes choir football all conference and state tournament participant and also a state tournament and allc Conference participant in track and field we're incredibly proud of these talented students who are involved in so many ways at oana high school but even more so they involvement in the community and the impact that they will have not only as high school students have had as high school students and students in middle school and and Below but the future that they will uh provide for their Community I think that just shows in these individuals they are wonderful role models for our younger students who are watching you all of the time which is great and we appreciate how that you how you expire excellence and others around them I'd like to honor tonight Amanda club and Zack derer as a AAA Award [Applause] nominees questions I like the question what is your favorite thing one of my fa all right I've got two questions okay I should know what a thrower throws but I don't so maybe you can explain to me what a thrower is throwing and then tell me about band cuz I heard that so for high school you have two options you can throw the shop or the disc you know that is I do I threw in high school but yes I did but I wasn't sure how it was working these days so yeah so we uhhuh and what instrument oh ah yeah the the best [Laughter] instrument what got you interested in like one from each of the categories so the Arts Athletics and academics um I wanted to Sprint but that all right nice nothing really and maybe one more quick plans for the fall do you know yet I don't know I want to go to college stud nice again it's just so much fun to to hear this and we wish you the very best and after four years of school and maybe some work experience please come back to atana my neighbor come back to atana move into my neighborhood no Amanda congratulations really proud of you thank you [Applause] Amanda sherff I might mention one other thing I think it's important to recognize that we have family support here tonight that is part of the equation right strong support strong support network that helps our students find their passions and then and helps them and helps their drive to do so so thank you to the family members that came tonight as well to support uh children and grandchildren so thank you excellent thank you uh tonight we're going to move on item five tonight would be public forum we do in fact have a one card so it's from Beth guilet m m guilet if you wouldn't mind coming up to the front um you have a three-minute opportunity to um share your thoughts with us and Miss gilet if you would please press that button so that light the light turns green on there thank you so much it works thank you all um my name is Beth guilet and uh I'm a member of the community um and I'm here on behalf of Steel County indivisible and I'm here to urge you to adopt a safe schools resolution and I'll tell you more about that in a moment I know that you'll all agree that every child deserves the chance to learn in an environment free from Fear unfortunately immigration enforcement near schools has created a climate of anxiety and instability for immigrant families in many communities across this nation parents are getting to be afraid to drop their children off at school students are distracted and distressed unable to focus on their education and these aren't hypothetical situations they're Happening Here and Now and immigration enforcement doesn't just disrupt families it disrupts entire School community when Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates near near or in schools excuse me the consequences are devastating for kids creating fear crushing students abilities to learn and undermining the community's trust in public education I'm here to urge you to adopt a safe schools resolution and I'll email you a copy of a template for that um after for before your next business meeting everybody will get a copy of that so a safe School resolution and model policy that comes from the National Education Association you can use this model to guide your creation of a safe schools and safe zones resolution for our school district the model resolution contains reassurances for all students procedures for law enforcement and information and support for families and staff every child deserves to CH the chance to learn in an environment free of fear the safe schools resolution can offer a powerful solution it ensures that schools remain safe havens of learning and Child Development not fear by prohibiting the collection of immigration information and setting clear protocols for handling ice requests the resolution can protect all students while upholding fed federal and state laws it's important to note that this resolution is not about shielding individuals who've committed crimes especially violent crimes if ice presents a signed judicial warrant schools will comply as required by law this resolution is about ensuring that due process is followed and that no family has to endure unnecessary fear or intimidation while accessing their right to education this is not just a policy decision for the school board it's really a moral imperative by passing a resolution like this you can affirm that our school stands for every student no matter their background is guil that can I finish the last paragraph uh that is your time pardon that's your time okay thanks I ask you to support this resolution when I send it to you thank you we appreciate you being here and sharing your thoughts thank you uh moving on tonight item six is general information you all had received the enrollment report as B part of your board packet any questions for Mr elad with regard to that okay hearing none we'll move on item seven tonight no action required for us from us but these are simply discussion items the first would be School uh board committee meeting reports uh let's start with policy policy you have anything for us yep I would defer oh you defer Yeah Tim chime in um we met a couple weeks ago and went through another big chunk of policies that have been submitted for first reading um a lot of it was statute additions and subtractions and so not a lot of flex that we have within our district but abiding by statutes and lawyers saying this is a great idea so good summary anything else for policy all right uh Finance um have you had your first meeting yet we have a meeting schedule for February 3rd Monday next Tuesday okay yep so nothing really to report all right and then Andrea Jolene and I were um in a facilities meeting tonight just be prior to this I have I have my notes but I'll let you start and whatever you don't cover I'll fill in sure one of the things we talked about was um the summer projects that are going to be happening various schools um and buildings um the HVAC system being updated at both oec and McKinley um there'll be some new carpeting at Wilson and the pool project will start sounded like at the end of March even will that interrupt instruction then end of March will not for the pool no I don't think so Bo swim team is over by then and the district office wrapping up very minor things the shed that is being built is almost done and once that's complete it will be easier it sounds like there's neighbors and community members that are navigating through that space to get to the track and so they'll be able to close that space off a little bit more efficiently and effectively and the opposite side by the parking lot that space is open and that will help direct community members to park there and walk in so yeah uh Bridge Street uh that property has been listed and Rose Street the property on Rose Street uh there are Arrangements being made to have an appraisal done on that property but that would that would pretty well wrap up what happened at facilities tonight uh that takes care of the committee meeting reports um anybody want to chime in with regard to the work session I'll cover that more when we get to it um it was good but it was hard it was very beneficial but it was hard to articulate some of the the characteristics and things that we need yeah I thought it was really good process and like collectively we arrived at a consensus so that was that was great that was I think it was a thoughtful way to start yeah just you know to realign our priorities realign what we want for the future and then talk about characteristics so anybody else okay with that um uh third item under this category is policy Rie Provisions uh anything that popped out for anybody with regard to that first reading any questions I noticed there was huge changes on the graduation requirements but it looked like it was all just updates to new I mean just yeah pretty much pretty standard yeah if I might um those are changes legislatively that were made personal finance being one of them um we've got some other curricula that will be coming down the road here but this was just highlighting because in the policy itself we've stated and has been kind of scratched up before freshman starting this year and Beyond and it seems like every time we make a change we have to go back and start that over again uh because there's a new cycle of students coming through but yes it's all statutory so can I make a comment so the um the drug-free workplace school policy um good I think something to consider and I'm not sure exactly how or where to include this would be now that marijuana is legal and um I smell it more often in the community and I know that it is also being noted in some of the classrooms to the point where I've a friend of mine is one of our teachers and said you know we had to put the students back back in the hallway because it smelled so strong so obviously it's not the student but the student is coming in after having been exposed and so I'm not sure at this point but I thought something to think about because if it's affect ing that particular student and maybe the students around that smell or even the teachers around that smell how can we manage that from a policy perspective um and I thought even in a sense it it even could relate to our 533 wellness policy and that our environment um or even our 807 health and safety policy our classroom safe for just because well and one thing I thought of too is different from cigarette smoking where kids can get asthma and ear infections but marijuana can affect them cognitively um and can cause ill like stomach upset and things and people around them so that's something to think about and I'm not sure you know how we might want to or can include that in some some kind of discussion or policy and maybe if I can just clarify so I think what you're talking about is is the odor that remains on clothing backpacks coats that's kind of thing that would be overwhelming or disturbing it's it's that kind of secondhand that you're think right secondhand yeah and it you know it's hard to Define because in in our policy the drug-free workplace school policy it says there's a couple things statutes it relates to um parents or people are not allowed to smoke marijuana in their vehicles not on any public property or school property um or nor around anywhere where a minor can inhale so we can't say what's happening obviously outside of the school but how do we protect people in our school from that smell that can get obtrusive or cause illness or cognitive we we this is a so I I've been i' I've had some feedback similar to what you're hearing um policy 504 uh which uh really highlights student dress and appearance there is a way because one of the pieces within this is Roman numeral 2 general statement of policy um Item B - uh two clothing that does not create a health or safety hazard and so one of the things we take and again its policy and then putting that into practice is if we have had complaints and or other concerns we do try to partner with the parents to let them know um or Guardian let them know that there's an impact here um but we also do have some policies that do protect uh children uh when we feel like it is or other kids exposed to that uh where it might feel like it's a restruction of the educational process and so we do have ways of utilizing not only 504 but other policies as well to help guide practice to a point where we may end up talking about what's best for that student um and we've done that in the past for even other as well but certainly with the Advent of the legalization of marijuana it's been um a bit more prevalent do you think do you think what we have in current policy is enough to address it with parents or do you think something should be discussed yeah it when we have run this and we've still we've um Miss Peak and I have you know considering this this does run a little um because we can't deny their access if they're choosing to do that nor could just like with cigarette smoke that's legal as well we can't we can only advise right um unless it becomes something that does obstruct someone else from learning and then we can take action to move or adjust or things like that but I think our attorneys would advise us it's hard to say there can be disciplinary because then we become discriminatory based upon something that indeed is legal so now you spoke of um potential cognitive pieces I think within that if there's a determination that there's some sort of um impact to our students that then becomes something that we become mandatory reporters for that we can file a report um and then see where the investigation goes beyond with other agencies but um it's something we have to consider certainly no yeah I was going to say would it be fair to just will the policy committee meet before our next meeting so we can put this on the agenda and just at least have a little more discussion or maybe crosswalk other policies without that's the one for sure cuz I just had a situation last week that I referenced policy 504 with was student dress and appearance and applied this actual language to um trying to find Alternatives and working with the parent to resolve an issue and just just as an informational thing when foster children are sometimes tested they do hair samples and weeks and as a matter of fact foster children that we've had in our home weeks after having been removed from their home they had hair testing done and they still had meth in their system and that was weeks after being removed from the home so it's yeah it can be scary any other questions with regard to policy can I bring up one more thing so the library policy I know we just approved that not that long ago um and some new statements were included I I appreciate the statement um that includes parents just parents having the ability to um request that their students not be checking out a certain book from the library and so forth um but I'm still I still think there might be a missing link between with the Schoolboard involvement and and this is just a little bit of reiteration from when we approved it last time um but the new policy has a new statement it's Roman numeral 8 and it's challenge report and just in a short quote the school School Board um must report and so I thought well if the school board is not involved in the challenge process the reconsideration process or in the selection of books how are we going to report these challenges and so is it something where we could discuss maybe the school board is notified when a book is challenged and thus then has to be reported to I can't remember exactly where it has to be reported to but or um just another way to consider how is the school board being involved in that process we have to report it to the Minnesota Department of Education because they keep a record of those requests that's the only check and balance we have as a district as far as making sure they are informed okay sure and then the I thankful I'm thankful for that I just noticed our new revised policy states that the school board must report so um yeah yeah and I have to study the policies but I I don't think it's unusual to see that you know the overarching body of the school board has a responsibility but it's still carried out by you know the superintendent and various other employees so I think I hear what you're saying it's a question of how close does the school board need to be to that information before it's actually reported I think is where you're so then for clarity should we be included in that notification if if you know if we're not you know if we're responsible for it we should at least be well again I think we're again I have to look in policies I think we're responsible for lots and lots of things yeah right that we're not in the we're not or not carrying on that's right it's so I think it's probably finding that balance um but again we can ponder we can put it on the agenda you know for the policy committee and revisit at the next meeting as well all right good anything else for anybody okay takes care of item three Item B the administrative report Mr elad yes I have uh three items tonight um I wanted to report to you and I think um I've said to a couple of recent Community groups that um it appears that oana online is one of the fastest growing online programs in the state of Minnesota um you see in your most recent enrollment report uh we're showing 5,121 students which Paces us ahead by about 200 almost 250 students from what was projected The Lion Share of that additional student body is oana online um with a few other open enrollments put in there to kind of inperson classes but um there's been a lot of work that's gone into oana online line um it is a revenue producer for the district and when we look at our bottom line that is something at the next work session that I'll be highlighting to you is kind of um how that balances out with any suggested reductions um it seems a bit counterintuitive at times to be looking at maybe adding online step but that program continues to grow which lessens the tax burden for our local taxpayers in the long run so I just want to make mention that that will be a a piece that's growing we're nearly at 400 students now online um so that continues to grow we're still seeing not a whole lot of traction in the K3 environment uh for many reasons um but certainly grades four and above is and particularly at the middle school high school levels we're seeing the largest amount of growth with that so that's one item I want to lift up uh it is a season for legislative uh Updates this Friday I'll be attending uh an event and presenting with my colleague Dr Hilman um on some topics that are near and dear to me like Equalization um which you hear from me most every time um the other part that I'm lifting up is if you look at historically uh the debt um the amount of money we were receiving in state aid continues to erode at a rapid Pace meaning that our local taxpayers in the oana school district and other districts like us end up paying more of the of the share and that's the part of Equalization we're trying to get to that that policy on Equalization has not been adjusted in about 15 years and it needs adjusting because economies have changed so again that's the biggest one the other thing I'm looking forward to talking to uh Senator jinsky and representative seon with in particular is continued local control and flexibility so that the elected officials on our school board can continue to do your work and do what's best for your community uh recognize ing that um at times mandates and things like that can cause uh districts to have to add resources perhaps or do it in an unfunded way uh which typically happens but again it does allow you opportunity to review your Capital levies locally promote effective discipline policies and allow for flexible learning environments that best meet the needs of the students in this school district um and other boards certainly in their respective districts as as well um adequate funding uh one piece that we're advocating for is to continue to fund unemployment insurance uh that is a piece for us that was an unfunded mandate um in addition to that was eliminating cross subsidies we did receive a nice bonus in the last session with special education cross subsidy we are still falling short by about 50% of what we should be receiving there to take the burden off of the general fund and then uh lastly uh more locally the partnership that we have with Minnesota state Mano uh which really I'm and I'm I'm leaning to my colleague Chris paa here where we have established programs with grow your own programs apprenticeship programs to continue to help us as an education system evolve because as we see people leaning toward retirement and Beyond we need to have people to backfill those positions and we have something really special here in this partnership in fact what we're asking for from the from the legislature is to fund the partnership meaning oana and six other school districts along with MSU Mano allow us to have some flexibility to do the things we want to do because if you task Educators with solving a problem we can do it we solved how to do online learning in two weeks we think we can do this as well so again just seeking some additional funding to allow us to do the Innovation and the Innovative things that Chris has brought to our district and others uh to really help us along with that effort so again it's legislative season you guys know that I love this season uh because I love to Advocate on behalf of our students and staff and Community to let them know that we exist here and that we're outside of the Metro Corridor we need stuff too here so and then lastly um I want to make sure that I mentioned this tonight uh one of our principles received an award and so I'm going to read the first part of this press release to you the Minnesota Elementary School principal Association Ms mepa is proud to announce that Justin Keel principal of McKinley Elementary in the oon of public schools has been honored with the Southeast Division leadership award this award recognizes ke's exceptional leadership dedication to developing Future Leaders and commitment to fostering positive School cultures that enhance student learning furthermore Keel has specifically made a significant impact on prioritizing two key areas in his leadership developing and supporting people and creating systems that build a positive School culture um I know Justin is not here tonight but I want to lift him up publicly uh because he's a very talented exceptional leader we have in the district and certainly his colleagues in the principal Association uh found that as well so again appreciate Justin and his work but um we'll honor him at a later date but I want to make sure I mention that to you excellent thank you any questions for Mr elad uh Yes actually after June 30th can you do this legislative work for us to you never know you just never know I do love this because to me this advocacy is just a passion um because I love this community I love what this community can do I just know that we want to be heard and I can be a bit persistent so anyway thank you for that though I appreciate it um I did noticed though in several of the school reports a lot of students I think have finished or working on finishing the fast Bridge assessments and being that it's middle of the year and often times we get the reports beginning and end of the year roughly might be nice if we could see some of those assessments um just to see where our students are at this point in time I can certainly ask Julie sullon to prepare uh I know they're in the middle of winter uh fast Bridge testing right now that you're commenting on so uh there's a window of time we have between fastbridge and when we start our MCA assessments but perhaps she could provide um a brief report for the board just to kind of hear and again sometimes it's hard to capture um but I can see the excitement that Julie brings when she something is happening um in particularly in Reading we're seeing some early traction here nice and again there's always the implementation when you start you see some real early and then there might be a little slump but we're seeing uh some real traction with the new reading curriculum that we're using so thank you but I will certainly ask her to see if there's a report she can provide for the board thank you and will you touch on one more topic for us you talked about the attendance in the online um but we had an interesting conversation last week and and you shared some good news with regard to um attendance at the high school yeah we're seeing some open enrollment at the high school in fact second semester we're seeing even more open enrollment um and when you inquire with and again these are from some of our neighboring districts which we're not out recruiting but um I think it was about four years ago um when I told the community that if you build a career pathway Highway career pathway oriented High School others will come because we're creating you unique learning experiences for students and we are in fact seeing that in fact I've used the term Field of Dreams before if you build it they'll come if you've seen the movie um we're seeing some of that particular in the High School uh neighboring districts that have just found the value of coming here because again their their children are career oriented they know there are unique opportunities and they're not going to pass it up and we know and I know that the high school diploma isn't enough anymore it has to be diploma plus and all of the accreditations and internships that you hear about quite often from Mr Kath and others is that it's it's working so yeah I'm really proud that the of the work that they're doing there so thank you great to hear uh before we leave this topic of board Forum let's go around the horn I can you us an update yep I'm going to focus more on the student council aspect aspect of things February 10th through 14th is our snow week um and we're pleased to he some of the excite exciting events we have planned for this year highlights include powder buff volleyball tournament which is always super fun and uh Fosters friendly competition this year we're for the first time ever we're doing a Mario Kart tournament uh providing a fun and engaging opportunity for students to Showcase their gaming skills additionally we will bring back The Medallion hunt from last year um which just encourages creativity collaboration and just schoolwide um competition alongside these events we'll have themed dress up days and other activities that will ensure a memorable and inclusive celebration for all the students at OS uh on the speech set of things we have the Mayo meet this weekend on Saturday uh and then on the 24th was the robotics open house and which I know we raised over $600 so pretty happy about that um and then uh mock trial so far is 2- 0 so we have two wins zero losses so far so we need one more win uh out of our next two competitions and we're on to Regionals and then if you win regionals then you go to state so that's the goal were we able to get those pictures by chance so Ron Andrea and I attended msba conference Thursday I went Thursday Friday I just took some fun pictures of the General Session speakers this was Mickey Smith Jr he did the opening presentation walked in playing his saxophone I think it was Uptown Funk or something yeah MH incredible speaker talked well I'll just highlight a few things I could speak for an hour I think but he um one of his jokes well he's Middle School band teacher so he says you know when he welcomes all the students in and you fist pump because you do not want to shake a Middle School Boy's hand that was the big thing and then um and then one thing I noticed between him and the closing speaker which I have a picture of too two things that they I both said in their messages important things to relate to students one is I see you and just the importance of being seen and that was incredible music was the other I mean they both he is a band teacher the other guy's a principal but he Incorporated some fun music into his message um and just yeah that kind of brings people together so oh and he ended his his talk with I will always love you playing on the saxophone yeah that was beautiful yeah neat okay okay next one is heish Brewer he is a principal in Virginia at an uh middle school fredland middle school and he is it going to do I have the kind of a coll of pictures there so on right side am I supposed to do something with it no no I think the right he's with the house side by side there sorry he's with the basb now I see now I see okay yes so heish Brewer um fun guy very um expressive lots of good energy tattoos hat you know he he can relate skate yes skateboard the P one of the pictures is of him giving skateboards to his students um the other one are these five basic principles I won't just read all those but then the other one the football one he said when he started at this Middle School they basically told him don't go there it'll kill your career because behaviors poverty bad but he went there um and so that's his football team he said when they started the year they had 10 defensemen and 10 offensive men um didn't even have matching uniforms um but they won I mean this is like movie stuff right um yeah and same thing for him he just really his message was for students I see you and then he said and by the end I'm just crying um he says he gets on the loudspeaker of his school and he says if nobody else tells you today Mr haish loves you it was amazing yeah super motivational yeah yeah that's that you thanks for yes I'm sorry I missed the msba conf but they always have amazing speakers and I've seen them in past but sounds like a great year yeah I have nothing tonight for board Forum um I think I'll just make one reminder um a constituent reached out and asked specifically whether board members were planning to be particip participating in the anxious generation book study that um is happening CommunityWide um I did see it in the admin report and I understand maybe you have all the dates and I think they're also I realized published on our website um thank you Lori or whomever is doing that um so the first one is Sunday I believe February 17th 6:00 p.m. and I don't know the location is it Monday or is it it's a Monday is it a Monday I take that back Monday yeah it's between the work session the Monday between the work session and the regular meeting in February and is it the district office uh district office yeah down in our main conference from there anyway so people are paying attention and I'll do my best not sure what your schedules will I'm going to try to be there are they are they identical like all three of those are are they I don't know what the plan is okay and presumably we read about a third of the book do you know sure okay great that's all I have um I am a parent of a new online student this last semester as he crosses over his educational Finish Line and I have to say I was very impressed with the parental and student meeting with the school counselor and the expectations and she did an amazing job saying this is not covid online school and it is not at all um but it I've been very impressed our student has responded very well to it it's yeah so it doesn't surprise me that the enrollment is up and it's a highly sought-after program because we continue to have staff that just do amazing work so I don't have much just really enjoyed the um msba uh conference as well um Elizabeth already touched on the really great speakers that open opened and closed each day um but I really enjoyed going to different breakout sessions Ron and I kind of divided and conquered and then would come back and share notes and um yeah it was really helpful yeah I would add add to that too with the msba conference um yeah the two speakers were amazing and yeah both of them just talked about how you have to love your kids and see them like Elizabeth mentioned and and the rest will take care of itself um and one of the things like um um Hamish Brewer he said that poverty is not a learning disability has found any kid that you know suffers from learning disability because they're in poverty you know and that's and he's really worked in a lot of areas where he just like you said you see the kids and love them and they'll respond and one of his words that that's become one of my new words is intentionality so that was one of his things that he uh said that you know he has you know you have to have this Vision but you also have to have intentionality so excellent thank you all uh we will move on to uh item 8 which would be the consent agenda uh the quick reminder we are approving the minutes from December 9 9 January 6 and 13 the dispersement and Personnel reports does anybody have a reason that we would pull anyone out I have a a thing um so on the report there's three employees that are listed as professional teaching internships and I saw the parent of one of the employees this last week and I'm like now what exactly is that can you just tell us what it is cuz it is such a phenomenal opportunity and these young adults are so excited and jazzed so um this idea came about eight years ago um when Chris and I came together and wondered about our cu the university system has winter graduates and and Spring graduates and there are many times our winter graduates are looking for things we were looking for substitute teachers and so the two of them married up into an idea that we were able to pass along to MSU Mano and they became our partner with it so what they're doing is that our students have started with us four days of the week they are in different classrooms as a as hired Subs so they're able to work in the classrooms then one day of the week um they engage in professional learning and so we do offer graduate and we pay for graduate credits for them to do this um our win is we have substitutes we have three additional substitutes to help cover those um needs but furthermore we also have first right of refusal when it comes to um hiring these people on and frankly I think we've hired nearly all of them uh into our fold so it's just another way to keep people uh coming into our school district but I appreciate that um Chris put up with a crazy idea for us to do this but it's been a real win for us some years we have more than others we happen to have three uh this year and I think it's just an awesome thing and they're appreciating the fact that I mean for us it's like a yearlong or at least a halfe interview we get to watch these people in practice and they get to see and experience what it's like to sub at different levels as well which I think is valuable because you start to appreciate your colleagues even more but you also know maybe there was something that we went I went to do this but I'd really like to look at that so again uh great program but thanks for asking yeah super cool very exciting very good uh we will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved second we have a motion and a second is there any further discussion Tim if you would Ron I Andrea I Jolan I Lori I Mark I Elizabeth I and I am an I 70 pass carries very good uh item nine tonight there are a couple of items that need board action the first one is item a continued employment of board member I'll ask Mr elstead to give us a little backgr ground on this as this is the first regular business meeting after the new board members have been sworn in policy 210 which is a conflict of interest policy specifically set aside for Schoolboard members allows for board members to be newly employed or continuing their employment by the district as long as the employee only if there's a reasonable expectation that the amount the amount set in a statutory way is $20,000 per year I will report to you that Andrea van gelder is indeed employed by the school district as an accompanist for Wilson Elementary pres School the amount that she earns is well well well below the $20,000 threshold and I'm asking tonight for you to consider um approving her and again this does require a full vote of the board tonight um but I'm asking as part of policy 210 that we meet this expectation of taking this vote because of her request to continue employment in that role yep I can I I moved at the board approve Andrea van gelder's continued employment with the school district second we have a motion and a second is there any further comments or perhaps clarifying questions I'm sure we need accompanists amen thank you can she play for us I have so we could get a little concert going very good okay we have a motion on a second all in favor with an i i any opposed there's our unanimous vote sir sah there there we go Item B would be the extended trip request Mr elad well this was actually brought up to us by one of our student Schoolboard Representatives Aaron Baker brought this before this extended trip request is for our robotics team to attend a robotic competition in Colorado um I don't know exactly this is a proactive measure if they were to qualify to go um but are you still are you planning on heading to this so it is set in stone that we are attending uh as long as the board's okay with it um we would have loved to go somewhere closer uh but uh Minesota is the third highest concentration of first robotics teams uh and we would typically go to duth where uh the Colorado trip is placed and we were unable to get in considering it was the highest requested Regional in the world so we went to Colorado uh and that is currently where we're at and according to policy uh because there are three school days missed within this uh particular trip request that is why you are asked to consider approving this extended trip request but Mr Kath has been notified I have been notified about this so all of the plans have been set so it's a go trip is a go approve if we approve based upon your approval all right questions we've done this in several years going to to theth right it's just Colorado is the only new thing the difference is that it's the entire team that's missing 3 days and I believe we're missing a complete 3 days typically we leave halfway through Wednesday leads will go up um and that's about like seven students nine students or so that will miss like half of Wednesday and then they'll Miss Thursday Friday and then the rest of the team comes up on Thursday but um so I guess it's new in the sense that we're missing three full days for all of the team but I can promise that these are the utmost standing students even if they're not have fun go get them we're riding up there with um two other Minnesota robotics teams so it'll be a really fun trip we're taking two coach buses I believe very nice would one of you please uh introduce this motion for us I move that the board approve the extended trip request to Colorado as presented second we have a motion in a second any further questions all in favor with an i i any opposed that motion carries item C I'm going to introduce this for you item C is the superintendent search process and upon um Mr elad's announcement of his retirement earlier this month the board uh moved into action with a work session just last week so uh in order to help guide the board with this process I asked Dr Sher Allen and Dr Sher Allen is very familiar name to oana as she was a coach a teacher uh here in oana she served as an assistant superintendent in Rochester as well as a superintendent over in Mano in addition to asking uh Sher Allen to join us Chris paica who is the director of Human Resources was a part of that the two of them were there to basically keep uh some framework and some some guard rails uh for us as we explore this um in the eight years that Mr elstad has been here we had a really really clear sense prior to his arrival of what we wanted to see from his superintendency and so item number one that we worked on in this work session last week was to identify what is the direction that this board feels that we should move as we look ahead to the next eight years we spent a good amount of time on that and then the second part of the process was to engage in conversation as to how do we go about this do we well where we landed was basically to say we're going to start this process by inviting internal candidates to apply the other option for us would have been to go in an open format where it would we would have entertained um inquiries or applications from both internal applicants as well as the general public we feel as though it's in our best interest to start with a local and um we'll initiate it that way uh we think that that's in our best interest we will um actually begin um an initial interview in the middle of February so we're not wasting any time and and and we've really um already enjoyed the benefit of chrispa and some of the the framework and and guidance that she will provide and and we'll soon be getting a quick summary from uh Sher Allen with regard to the the basic General directions that we had talked about with regard to the future of our district um but with that I would offer you know here's a good chance for me to stop and all of you can interject with other components to that that you'd like I think Chris mentioned we're going to have like a community survey as part of that so right right actually I did have an afterthought um I understand the urgency of of getting this done and the the need for transition um for the new superintendent to come in and um is there what would be what if I don't know if we know this now but what would be the latest date that we would say we have to have a superintendent bu such and such date or we just get an interum in the meantime well I'll answer your question I don't think that there is a need for us to drag our feet we we know what our task is it's in front of us and we need to take action to the extent that we are uh find ourselves unsuccessful in an internal and we decide that we will go through an open process and to the extent that that does not work as well well yes we'll cross that bridge when we come to it but that would then require an interim so anybody else any other comments no I think you did a good job you know we commented earlier and good you have a motion ready to go for us I do I move that the board initiate a superintendent search by conducting an internal application process second we have a motion and a second any further discussion all in favor with an i i any opposed that motion carries Chris reached out to me today so we do know that we are scheduling an initial interview on the 13th of February and Chris reached out and asked uh to the extent and we will have a second we'll have a follow-up interview and that would take place on the week of the 17th of February and so Chris's request is could we please take a look at our calendars and determine if there's a day that works best for all of us and this is the week of February 17 we have a time specifically that we are thinking of well it'll be but I would put your so I don't know what everyone's schedule is you know depending on and Chris I'm assuming we should res plan to go into the early evening at least I mean it's a yeah I would prefer not Wednesday amen too Tuesday of that week looks very nice or Thursday on my calendar I can do either of those I can do Tuesday Ron Tuesday um I should be able to make that work Elizabeth most likely could make that work I do work in Austin that day so I just would have to double check okay so if we did something if we pushed this the if we used that day and we went a little bit later that would work for you okay uh after 4:30 would be ideal for me on Tu and my best recollection is that that's about the time that we conducted interviews last time I think so like 4:30 to 6 or 4:00 okay yeah that's F I mean we five I mean does that four or five yeah either one all right got your date y all right perfect 18th we said I'm going to send out an invite or should I just do it put it write in I'll just do it right now don't CHR send so I don't Chris will send it very thorough she'll send it out to you just to confirm on the 13th that's is at 400 p.m. as well we did we identify a date a Time rather on that day um well we threw out numbers I don't think we ever if we said 4:00 on the 13th does that work for everybody oh on the okay so we're doing the first the initial interview right o' I can make that it's nice to get it on the calendar just to okay Chris I think we're hearing that 4:00 perfect um last item tonight would be gifts to the district Mr elad if you would I just realized I caused my own surreal moment there so um I'll let that go it's weird yes it is it's very strange but um I'm starting to accept it anyway I accept it um so in your packet tonight you received a resolution that accepts donations of nearly $170,000 tonight um again the Lion Share of this is coming from the 761 Foundation $50,000 from them is set aside as their installment uh for the foundation room if you remember the foundation room was not part of the original plan of the new high school building but because of the generous donations from both the is excuse me 761 foundation and the oano foundation together they partnered to uh pay for the foundation room and then the other one is the annual grants um over $110,000 and grants that they provide to uh instructors and other staff to lead uh Innovative programs within our district and again uh not to take away from the other uh donations but again just having that amount of money presented to you for gifts I think is a just a testimony to how much our community cares about our kids any questions I want to point out how useful the oon foundations room is it is used all the time in fact I we're using it for the Mario Kart and Robotics thing so it's the most sought after space in the high school quite honestly community space I should say yeah yeah quick note interesting note the otana foundation had to move a regularly scheduled meeting out of the foundation room because it was being used for the 761 Foundation I should say okay uh would one of you be kind enough to introduce the the motion for gifts I move that the board approve the resolution for acceptance of gifts as presented second we have a motion in a second Tim if you would please Ron I hrea I Jolene I Lori I Mark I Elizabeth I and I am and I 70 pass motion carries as well last item tonight item 10 would be to adjourn I will I will introduce the motion that we adjourn tonight's meeting second Motion in a second all in favor with an i i i any opposed motion carries good meeting thanks folks