good evening and welcome to our regularly scheduled April 14th school board meeting at this time Please stand if you are able and join us in the pledge of allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Good evening fellow board members Our first order of business today is the approval of the agenda
Sorry Um there are no additions or deletions to the agenda today Um is there a motion to approve the agenda as outlined move approval and second Okay Motion by uh uh Jackie and
seconded by Robin Um all those in favor i I All those opposed motion carries on a three to zero vote It passes
4 Z 4 That counts me You will notice there is someone different at the at the head here today Uh our chair Corey could not be here today So I am stepping in and this is my first time So thank you in advance for the grace that you are all giving me So
um so second on our agenda today is recognition by the board Um I'd like to uh I'd like to welcome uh Will Finley um Rosemont High School swim and dive coach He will introduce
Lucas Girtton who was first place in the one meter dive during the state swim and dive tournament Uh thank you Good evening vice pres vice chairperson Williams superintendent Balsone and school board members As
you've been heard my name is Will Finley assistant principal athletic director at Rose Mount High School In the realm of student athletes we often witness individuals who possess the essential drive for excellence A relentless spirit uncanny focus and a positive character
that propels them towards greatness Tonight it is my absolute honor to present you to present to you Lucas Girtton who exemplifies the forementioned characteristics of an extraordinary district 196 athlete Lucas bolsters a
3.996 cumulative GPA while taking highlevel core content courses at Rose Mount High School Lucas is a shining example of dedication and prowess in the sport of swim and dive Emphasis on dive This was not by chance His parents
Teresa and Henry Girtton Mr Mr Girtton a teacher at Rose Mount Middle School have been allin since day one loving and parenting this young man that you see in front of you today They tried different sports growing up and eventually landed in the world of diving Head coach Jake
Kima and diving coach Daniel Monahan have been meticulous in ensuring the most minor diving details are addressed as there as this has been nothing short of an amazing experience for our coaches and Lucas's teammates Lucas has been a
six-year varsity letter winner fivetime all south suburban conference fourtime section champion fivetime state qualifier fourtime state champion threetime all-American team record holder section record holder all-time
state record holder team captain team MVP and a great son Lucas will be graduating this spring and will be headed to the US Air Force Academy where he will continue diving and pursue a future as a drone pilot
Lucas has solidified his place in Minnesota and District 196 history becoming one of only three divers to win four consecutive class state diving championships and the first in over 60 60 years It is with immense pride and
excitement that I invite you to join me again in celebrating the epitome of District 196 excellence the unstoppable force that is student athlete Lucas Girtton Incredible Thank you Okay thank you Um you will have noticed
that Lucas went first We actually had to do that because he is off to a swim meet right now Um so we made accommodations for him Sorry if that was out of order We have seven more recognitions tonight So thank you for being patient and allowing him to go first Uh the second
on on this recognition list we'll go back to our regularly scheduled program which is um welcoming um Apple Valley High School wrestling coach Andy Spritz Spritz I think I got that right Spritz to the podium to introduce Apple Valley's first and second place
finishers in the state wrestling tournament Uh thank you Vice Chairperson Williams Superintendent Balsson and the rest of the school board members for having me here tonight Uh my name is Andy Spratz I'm one of the wrestling coaches at Apple Valley High School Um and also a
math teacher at Apple Valley High School Um this season uh we had plenty of highlights to celebrate Uh we had nine wrestlers in our entire program qualify for the state tournament four girls and five boys But honoring tonight we're going to talk about the four uh girls
earning all state honors this evening Our girls team was recognized at the end of the season by the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association as the 2025 uh state individual tournament champions uh for the third consecutive season in the four years that the tournament's
been held as well as being ranked as high as 13th um in the nation for girls overall teams in the nation Uh though tonight I'm here to recognize our outstanding accomplishment of four student athletes Andrea Quinones ninth
grader Cassandra Gonzalez 11th grader Espironza Cavillo 11th grader And another 11th grader from Apple Valley High School Mila Carneahan Um now a little bit about each of those young ladies Andrea Kinones uh
placed third at the state this year at 124 pounds and finished the season with a 42 and or 41-2 record This is the most single or most wins in a single season um in program history Andrea is now a threetime
uh state entrant three-time all state and a state finalist last year and has been ranked in the nation this year Um Andrea sets an example great example for her teammates on the mat and in the classroom Even though she is only a ninth grader she solidified herself as
an anchor in our lineup for now and for years to come We're proud of her and uh what she has accomplished this year and know that there's a lot more to come from Andrea Next Cassie Gonzalez Cassie completed her junior season by winning
the 142 pound weight class at the state championships this year She won her state champion all of her state champion matches by fall this this year at the state tournament Cassie is now a threetime state champion and holds the overall and holds an overall
high school record of 68 and zero yet to lose in high school to lose a high school match Uh she's currently ranked in the nation and continues to uh challenge herself and um own her craft as she competes um not only in the state of Minnesota but nationally as well Uh
Espironza Cavillo 11th grader from Apple Valley High School finished her season in a second place finish this year at the state tournament uh and recording a 37 and one record She's a three-time state entrant three-time all state and her 91 career wins places her second in
program history Espie is a fierce competitor and a great leader always looking to wrestle the best competition Having start only started wrestling three years ago she has evolved into one of the best wrestlers in the state and as well as becoming ranked
nationally Our final wrestler that we uh had placed high at the state tournament this year was Mila Carneahan She placed third at the state this year at the 235 pound weight class Mila finished the season with a 22 and 16 record Mila's was one of our most improved athletes
this season um coming from being new to the sport last last season watching her grow and succeed this season was a true highlight um of the season We when we when we start anything in life there's always growing pains But Mila took every bump in the road and turned it into a
learning opportunity As her confidence grew each week so did her number of wins Multiple times at the end of the season she avenged earlier season losses to simil to the same wrestlers she had lost to earlier in the year um including at the state tournament solidifying her place as as an all-state wrestler and
bringing home valuable points uh for the team to s to secure her team success These four standout female athletes have played a pivotal role in the continued success of the Apple Valley women's wrestling team consistent or consistently delivering dominant
performances on the mat and inspiring younger wrestlers with their leadership Their dedication skill and teamwork have helped build a legacy of excellence and elevated the team to new competitive heights Thank you again for having us and congratulations to all these Apple Valley athletes here tonight Um thank
you Okay thank you Next I'd like to welcome Eric Strauss Apple Valley High School's mock trial adviser to introduce the state championship team All right Good evening board members Vice Chairperson Williams and
Superintendent Balsone My name is Eric Strauss and I am the mock trial coach at Appal High School I've been doing it since 2012 and last month we won the 2025 state championship Uh this is our second
state championship in school history and it put a cap on a pretty dominant season We went 16 and0 overall and we won every single ballot in every single round So we could not have had a better Minnesota season than we did As a result of
winning the state tournament we get to represent Minnesota in Arizona uh next month Uh we just came from practice We've been prepping that case pretty hard and we're very excited to get the chance to compete it next month I'll introduce the students who are with me
So I'll start with Saraphina Garcia Saraphina has been on our team for four seasons She joined as a seventh grader and she was a witness in our state championship team Next is sophomore Sawyer Dilla This is
his second year on the team He was a witness in the championships round as well And the next two students I have are seniors First is Wyatt Candela He joined the team as a freshman and has
been part of many of our our competitive teams including the one in Chicago that won a national tournament last fall uh he's been just a great member of the team and uh has been prepping very hard for the Arizona case
already He was a attorney in our state championship team who did the opening And finally we have Shannon Riley who's also a senior She was on the team for four years and she is the closer on our
state championship team also part of many of those championship teams and she's also been hard at work prepping for the the Arizona case Finally I'm joined by Diana Bender who is one of my assistant coaches and I mentioned earlier that we won this is our second
state championship Diana Diana was actually a member as a student of that first state championship So she won as a student and now she's won as a coach So thank you so much to the board for recognizing us today and we hope to do very well in
Arizona Wow fantastic Congratulations Well done Thanks for everything Congratulations All right Thank you Um please welcome Bob Deetur East View High School chess team adviser who will introduce the
state championship chess team Thank you very much Uh good evening board members vice chairperson Williams Superintendent Bolone Thank you for the privilege of being here tonight to recognize the state champion Eastview chess team Uh as
mentioned my name is Bob Deetur I've taught at Eastview uh English for the last 26 years and also served as the chess adviser for the last 24 All four of my children are Eastview graduates and I'm a proud to be a teacher and resident of District
196 Before I uh talk about the chess team I want to just have a couple quick thank yous In order for any program to be successful you need support from both parents and administration And I'm grateful to have both Uh the parents are the ones who read emails remind their
son or daughter where to be what to bring where to go like tonight They're also the ones dropping them off and picking them up after each after school and weekend event So thank you to the parents that are here tonight Let's give a round of applause for parents
Also want to say a big thank you to Rob Franchino our activities director He's back there somewhere Thank you for your support He's always there for me So I appreciate Rob Our team motto this year was talent
wins matches teamwork wins championships So to that end I've invited the entire team for the ones who could make it because all of them played a key role in our success A couple words about these young men Many of these young men are juggling rigorous honors AP classes a
plethora of other sports and activities throughout the year They are learning how to budget their time and communicate with coaches They are respectful They're hardworking They're fun They're motivated And they also like each other A special shout out to our captains I'm
going to have them raise their hand Karthik Ner of Suas and Madav Um although everybody is important these young men have played a tremendous role in our team success with their leadership skill and toughness A little bit about chess At the state tournament
there are seven rounds over two days with each round lasting about two hours That means each of these players spent anywhere from 10 to 14 hours staring silently at a chessboard while managing their clock considering their best move
and changing their strategy based on the moves of their opponent It is a long weekend that demands focus skill and stamina You can play great make one careless move and have nothing to show for two hours of effort
So to be effective you must keep your poise learn from your mistakes and reset your emotions after before the next match There's a lot of quality teams at the state chess tournament and an abundance of talented players Winning a championship or a state title whether
it's the Mast's golf tournament or any high school sport or activity is really hard You need talent grit endurance and a little bit of luck Winning two state titles in a row is a daunting task because everybody wants to beat you But winning three consecutive state titles
like this team did just last month is a remarkable and rare achievement Let's give it up for this team The young men the young men standing to my left might look normal but don't be fooled They have consistently played high level chess
against the best competition and have proven themselves to be the best team in Minnesota I'm so proud of their effort their attitude and I am blessed to work with a fun talented group of guys This team school board is the epitome of what we strive to be in district 196 A place
where students can challenge themselves with academics athletics and activities to build their knowledge shape their character hone their leadership skills and work with other people toward a common goal Thank you for the opportunity to recognize this team and
to showcase the undeniable talent and achievements of District 196 Thank you Congratulations Thank you so much for coming to me Congratulations That's amazing I know they are hard to win Nice to see
you Unbelievable Great job Really well done Congratulations All right Next we'd like to welcome Molly Casper to the podium Molly is the East View High School girls basketball coach
and will introduce the girls basketball state third place finishers Good evening board members vice chairperson Williams and superintendent Bosone I'm Molly Casper and I'm the head coach of East View girls basketball team I also teach at Eastview High School We
had an exhilarating year as we started the year unranked and unseen and we ended up finishing 27 and4 overall and won the South Suburban Conference with an impressive 17-0 record We advanced to the state tournament for the 13th time in school history And while at the state
tournament we capped off the season with a thrilling 6343 win over Lakeville North to secure third place Throughout the season this team exemplified hard work unselfish teamwork and grit Their positive attitude and determination inspired students staff and alumni alike
creating a sense of school pride that extends far beyond the basketball court I'm so proud of how they represented East View High School and District 196 I would like to now present you the members of the 2024 2025 ECU girls basketball team Number three Tessa
Goodman Number four Nvea Gross Number five Breaatory Number 10 Lexi Matthews Number 11 Kendall Purcell Number 12 Clara Goodman Number 13 April Vukulich Number 20 Alexa Hansen Number 21 Jada
Wilson Number 22 Kennedy Flemens 23 Maya Maul 24 Obatari Hunt 25 Maya Jenkins 31 Bin White and 34 Emma Ericson Thank you for recognizing us and our accomplishments this year We appreciate
your support Congratulations Congratulations Well done Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations
Congratulations Congratulations Generations Congratulations Takes a village Good evening board members vice chairperson Williams and superintendent Balsson My name is Lisa Jensen and I've
had the pleasure of coaching Egan High School's girls wrestling team for the last two seasons I'm really thrilled to be here tonight to to introduce you to an exceptional athlete and leader our team captain sophomore Ellie Westerman This year Ellie finished her
season with an incredible second place finish at the Minnesota High School Girls Wrestling Tournament Not only is this an outstanding personal achievement but it also marks a historic milestone for Egan High School For the first time ever we had not one but three of our
female athletes place at the state competition with Ellie leading the way with a silver medal Ellie led by example encouraging teaching showing no fear never turning down the opportunity to compete On the mat she finished her
season with an impressive 29 and5 record And in the classroom she maintains a 3.8 GPA truly defining what it is what it means to be a student athlete Ellie began wrestling in the early elementary school primarily competing against boys After taking a brief break
she returned to wrestling in middle school like she had never left Her athleticism determination and competitive spirits shines every time she steps on the mat And honestly she's a big part of why more girls have felt encouraged to give wrestling a try It's
because of athletes like Ellie and the others here tonight that I want to say thank you to the district along with the boys coaching staff for your continued support of girls wrestling Your investment has not only created opportunities for fair and competitive play but also help build confidence
athleticism and lifelong friendships among among these young women Well girls wrestling is still in its early stages with trailblazers like Ellie Westerman It's already making history and the future looks bright I also want to extend a sincere thank you to Ellie's
parents Bert and Naomi Westerman Their ongoing support and dedication have played a huge role in both Ellie's journey and the development of our program from the youth level all the way up to high school Whether it's they're serving on the board volunteering at events or welcoming new
families into the sport they've been there every step of the way Thank you Okay let me just introduce you Um next please welcome Zach Hansen Egan High School wrestling coach who will introduce Egan's first and second place state finishers
Good evening Vice uh Chairperson Williams members of the board and Superintendent Bosani My name is Zach Hansen the head wrestling coach at Egan High School It is my honor and pleasure to introduce to you Egan High School seniors Dylan St Germaine and Cole Will
This year Dylan and Cole ended their careers as state champions at the Minnesota State High School League wrestling tournament These two young men made history by becoming Egan's second and third state champions in school history
and the first ever two in the same night Um these two young men have been leading the Egan wrestling team as captains for the past three seasons Pursuing excellence in every aspect of their lives are one of the biggest reasons why they stand here tonight as
champions For those that don't know wrestling is a very challenging sport both physically and mentally And like all sports and activities to accomplish your goals it takes determination effort perseverance dedication hard work and sacrifice Cole and Dylan are perfect
examples of that They put in the time and the effort They battled through adversity and they did the little things right We at Egan are so proud of the legacy that both Cole and Dylan have established They are the best role models for what we at Egan want our
wrestlers to be not only on the mat but off They excel in the classroom are great leaders but most importantly Cole and Dylan are great people We thank them for all that they have done for Egan and Egan wrestling We would also like to
recognize and thank Cole and Dylan's parents for all their support and encouragement throughout the years Dylan's parents AJ and Elizabeth Hatch who are in attendance tonight as well as uh his father Brent St Germaine and Cole's parents Josh and Lakota Will who
have served on our booster club for the um entirety of these fine young men's careers Finally we would like to thank the board for providing the opportunity for these fine young men to uh pursue excellence in these activities and um accomplish the goals that they have set
out to achieve Thank you Thank you Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations All right Please welcome Carrie Williams and Hashida
Nandio Nandia Nandiela Thank you I got a thumbs up to the podium They are advisers for the Egan High School and Dakota Hills Middle School Science Olympia teams The high school won first place in the state championship or state competition and
the middle school won second place Good evening board members vice chairperson Williams and superintendent Balsson My name is Carrie Williams and this is my fifth year as the Egan High School Science Olympiad head coach I
have brought with me Betsy Lungquist Um she is one of our assistant coaches This is her second year And I've also brought with me Harshida Nandiala This is her first year as assistant coach and she's actually a 2020 2023 alumni who is a former
captain Many ask us what Science Olympiad is and trust me it's not a science fair as many think Um it was founded in 1984 and Science Olympiad is the premier STEM competition in the nation providing students the opportunity to pick from 23 events in a
variety of science fields The competitions which are run like a track meet can be virtual or in person The events are done with teammates and can be written tests labs or engineering builds The event results are added together for a team score There are 6,300 schools that participate in
Science Olympiad across the country And there are 200,000 students in Science Olympiad in the nation Science Olympiad is not just about competition but about teamwork cooperation and the spirit of science which we have won the spirit of science
a couple times The team started training for their events in September two times a week and sometimes build up to five days a week prior to competitions We competed in 10 competitions this season And we are the fourth consecutive we won our fourth consecutive uh conference
title and our fourth consecutive regional title at the varsity and the JV levels At the state competition on March 1st we be we became the 2025 state team champions for the first time in Egan history
We will now represent Minnesota at the national competition in Nebraska May 24th And if you count those numbers these students will have been participating for nine months on top of all of their classes and the other activities they do throughout the season
So now I'm going to ask Betsy Lungquist to come up and she will introduce our high school students All right we have Captain Neo Manavalin first place in optics third place in wind power Co- Captain Jonathan Rubin first place in optics disease detectives
ecology and second place in geologic mapping Uh co- captain Eleanor Kim first place in disease detectives and ecology An Kaine second place in Write It Do It Arian Kaine second place in Write It Do It Gavin Yang first place in helicopter
second place in experimental design Shrenavas Ayer second place in robot tour Harshett Sharma second place in geologic mapping Pratey second place in robot tour fifth place in electric vehicle And Ana McNeel JV regional first place in air trajectory and material
science We also have team alternates Quinn Trang Haley Craigy Raj Aravindon and Mason Anderson Uh we want to say thank you to their family and parents many of who came tonight to support them a lot of time and a lot of energy that they put forth all season long to
support these students as well Um and thank you board members for this opportunity We plan to represent Egan and District 196 well when we travel to nationals next month Congratulations Congratulations Thank you so much for coming Thank you
so much Thank you so much Good luck Congratulations Well done Well done So now I have the the honor of introducing our first ever Dakota Hills Middle School Science Olympiad team If
it wasn't enough for our high schoolers this year we started our middle school team at Dakota Hills by recruiting eighth graders interested in science olympiad This pilot program was formed to compete against other middle schools in our state There are separate teams There's a high school league and a
middle school And actually a bunch of our high schoolers went and volunteered their time this weekend at an elementary school tournament That's one time a year So we are excited that we had 12 students register for this new team and our high school coaches and students mentored the middle school team in their
spare time because there's plenty of spare time to prepare them for their regional and state competitions And Harshida was a key component to working with this team So I'm going to let her tell you about their accomplishments and introduce the team members Sorry you know short people
problems Um now I'll be introducing our state team and their accomplishments First we have Isa Shake who took first place in Helicopters and second place in Codebusters Then Asher Danielson second place in fossils fifth place in road scholar and fifth place in wind power
Avi Sha in first who took first place in disease detectives and fifth place in wind power Ayon Ahmad who took second place in meteorology third place in dynamic planet and fifth place in air trajectory Ernest Sai who took first place in disease detectives second place
in Tower and third place in Micro Mission Heron Faha who took fifth place in Potions and Poisons and fifth place in Road Scholar Lillian Berley who took fifth place in Potions and Poisons Muhammad Zohib who took second place in meteorology third place in dynamic
planet and fifth place in air trajectory Then we have Sanjin Amadan who took first place in helicopters and second place in code busters Trion Swashishta who took third place in micro miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss mission S Sedart Nelagal who took second place in tower and finally Taneshkama who took
second place in code busters and second place in fossils finally I request any family members in attendance to please stand without your support these students would not have been able to achieve these amazing accomplishments And I want to also add that these students competed against teams that
have been together for years and on top of their hard schedule they came in when they could which was very tough for them So we can't wait to see what middle school team could do in the future and can't wait to have these eighth graders on our high school team next year I think uh that'll be a really great time
to have them with us So all right And finally thank you board members for recognizing our Dakota Hills Middle School Science and Olympia team tonight Yeah Thank you for amazing Is it fun oh my kids are signing so bad So I knew all
about it It's not looking too much Congratulations I would love it The second time you stay with us we'll see you again Congratulations Thank you Congratulations Congratulations Well
done Congratulations Congratulations Congrats You're welcome Okay last but not least we welcome Dakota United Hawks coach Jake Whip Whipsenski
Very good To the podium to introduce the ADAP adapted floor hockey team in the PI division and I will introduce the team here in a little bit but I'm gonna have co-head coach Josh Sedic say a few little words about the team and the program itself So
take it away Josh Thank you Good evening board members Vice Chair Person Williams and Superintendent Balsone I'm Josh Sedic one of the coaches for the Dakota United PI adaptive floor hockey team I'd like to start with a few quick thank yous First
to Matt Perl uh and the East View High School office staff Also to the Hope Fieldhouse staff I'd like to give a huge thanks to the bus drivers who take such great care of our kids And finally to the parents and families of our players Thank you for sharing these great kids
with us The 2024 25 Hawks had a successful season and finished with an overall record of 11 and four We earned the number two seed at the state tournament and advanced to the state championship game Of our four losses three came against the evil empire Brainard Losing to them in
overtime for the second time in three years no doubt stung a bit but our kids handled it with the sportsmanship that we've come to expect from our players This year's team graduates seven seniors which includes several outconference and all state selections
To say we're going to miss them is an understatement Together those seven players combined for 275 career goals 215 assists and 431 saves Needless to say that this team will look a bit different moving forward but we are
excited with the players and leadership that we have returning On one final note earlier this season we hosted a game where we honored my older brother Brett and his incredible run of coaching this team for the past 32 seasons And though he couldn't be here I'd like to take the opportunity again to congratulate him
and wish him the very best Now Coach Jake Whipazinski will speak and introduce the team Awesome It's my uh honor and privilege to definitely announce those that are in attendance but I also say the names of those that didn't quite be able to make
it What is one cool thing about and unique thing about our program is that we pull from all different schools within 196 and even co-op with some of the schools outside of our own school district So I'm going to say where uh school they attend grade and name So first we have Bryce Andrews 8th grade
Rosemont Middle School We have Chloe Shabbat 11th grade East View High School Bennett Herman ninth grade at Rosemont High School Samantha Jordtheim 11th grade East View High School Livia Gbower senior Egan
High School We have Kaden Nam senior at Egan High School We have Dylan Burns eighth grader at Valley View Middle School We have Ben Schustler senior at Egan High School And then we have Reese
Martin senior at Rosemont High School as well Those not in attendance that should be recognized as well is other captain Jay Bama He's a junior at East View High School Other fellow captain Will Ward senior at East View High School Then we also have Dominic Albus senior at Egan
High School Nick Smok who is a junior at Two Rivers High School Jose Colado Bayaz which is an eighth grader at Blackhawk Middle School We have other captain Tommy Jabberian who is a senior at Burnsville High School And last we have Shawn Wilson in eighth grade at Nicollet
Middle School in Burnsville as well That is our 2024 2025 Dakota Hawks PI floor hockey team Congratulations Good job Great job Congratulations Great job Great job
That was great Thank you Well done Congratulations Congrats Congratulations Okay Okay Um next on our agenda is the superintendent's recognition I'll turn
it over now to Superintendent Bossani for recognition of students and staff Okay Thank you Vice Chairperson Williams I've got to say I'm a little in awe That was a very impressive uh showing of our students and all the things that they do Uh I'm going to talk a little bit about our uh recognition of some additional
students and staff As you know earlier this year the Magnet Schools of America recognized two of our schools as magnet schools of excellence The board recognized both Echo Park Elementary and Glacier Hills Elementary in March for this accomplishment However the
celebration didn't stop there Last week the Magnet Schools of America Conference uh at the America uh sorry last week at the Magnet Schools of America Conference Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership Engineering and Technology earned the President's Award
recognizing it as one of the nation's top three magnet schools This recognition was for excellence in academics innovation and community engagement The Magnet Schools of America received 586 applications from schools
nationwide Echo Park was placed in the top tier category from this pool and ultimately earned a site visit one of only nine schools nationwide So finishing in the top three after this rigorous process is an exciting accomplishment We congratulate Principal
Logan Schultz and the entire Echo Park Elementary School community and look forward to inviting them back to a board meeting Congratulations also to 8 district 196 students with aspirations for computer science and technology careers who earned recognition from the Minnesota
Technology Foundation an affiliate of the National Center for Women in Information Technology aspirations in computing program Minnesota's aspirations in computer programming brings together corporate community and educational partners to fuel student interest in STEM fields We
look forward to seeing our students thrive in computer science Tonight I'd also like to recognize our district 196 volunteers Thousands of volunteers provide valuable support to the teachers and students in our school district Volunteers uh come
in all different walks of life from parents senior citizens community leaders business professionals students and retired educators National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 21st through 25th and we look forward to celebrating our District 196 volunteers at that
time Also National Teacher and School Nurses Appreciation Week is May 5th through the 9th Teachers are more than experts in their content Our teachers serve as role models for the youth and our community helping students to acquire the knowledge skills and confidence to become successful
contributing members of society Many of our teachers are recognized as leaders in their fields as evidenced by the number of teachers who hold leadership positions who have or who have earned state or national recognition from their professional organizations
District 196 Uh in District 186 we also have more than 50 full-time and part-time school nurses a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being academic success and lifelong achievement of students Our school nurses promote health and safety
and provide care for students when health issues arise They play an essential role in ensuring our students are healthy and ready to learn and in partnering with parents teachers and administrators as a vital part of the district 196 team Please join us in celebrating these outstanding
professionals during the 196 teachers and school nurses appreciation week this upcoming May 5th through 9th in 2025 And at this time I'd like to bring up to the podium our director of elementary education Jeremy Sorenson to introduce
two new principles selected to lead both Green Leaf and also Highland Elementary starting next year All right Good evening Vice Chairperson Williams members of the board and Superintendent Bullone Um like Mr BSON said "I'm going to introduce two of our newest elementary principles." Uh
we're talking about Green Leaf and Highland Uh earlier this spring we did a a search at both of these buildings for new elementary principles We have Sally Sol who is an interim principal at Greenleaf this year and has been doing an amazing job of supporting us this year And then at Highland Chad Ryurn who
will now be transitioning to Emerald Trail the new building So that's why those openings were there I'm going to start with Green Leaf in Mandy Hill So Mandy Hill is currently an assistant administrator at Diamond Path Elementary She's been in this role since 2020 Mandy will be transitioning to the role of
principal of Green Leaf Elementary starting July 1st 2025 Mrs Hill started her career teaching fifth grade at Oakidge Elementary School here in District 196 Mandy has been engaged in a variety of ways in our district including as a grade level math lead MCA science review committee magnet school
leadership team Oakidge core leadership team student rights and responsibilities handbook working group elementary curriculum review and as a vertical team lead for our district learning leaders council She's trained in a variety of practices focused on student safety conflict resolution and emotional
regulation I am excited to introduce Mandy Hill as the next principal of Green Leaf Elementary Good evening everybody Thank you and thank you Jeremy for not only your kind words but always believing in me and in supporting me It's been an honor to be a
part of uh district 196 for the last 15 years and to continue my journey at Green Leaf is just extremely exciting We have a lot of good things and a lot of um exciting things to come up in 196 especially at the elementary level And so I'm super excited to think about our
students every day and the experience and opportunity that they get in 196 and especially at Greenleaf So it's going to be fun Thank you All right Now Highland and Mark Aronson Mark is currently the assistant administrator at Highland Elementary and will be entering the role of principal
at Highland starting July 1st 2025 Mark Aronson started his career teaching fifth grade in Kansas City Missouri before moving to Minnesota He joined District 196 as a fifth grade teacher at Diamond Path Elementary where he worked for 5 years Taking on district-wide roles his career path has included lead
teacher for gifted and talented development elementary math coach digital resource teacher and teaching and learning specialist for technology overseeing the implementation of the learning and technology framework preK12 He also served as an interim elementary assistant administrator at Diamond Path
Elementary His passion for technology social emotional learning human well-being digital citizenship are grounded in care for people and relationships I'm excited to introduce Mark Aronson as the next principal of Highland Elementary Thank you Jeremy for the kind
words and thank you school board members Uh you know to to say that I'm excited would be an understatement Um I'm fortunate enough to have been in district 196 since 2012 Um as Jeremy was kind of talking about my journey And it it only took me about a year before I knew that I needed to to actually find
my own home and and raise my own family there And I do have three boys that attend schools in District 196 Um I'm humbled and I'm honored to continue my journey at Highland Elementary where I've been fortunate enough to be for the last two years as the assistant administrator We have the best students
staff and families around as as as we do in the entire district Um and I truly look forward to continue bolstering the relationships that I've been fortunate enough to have creating a culture of community and educating developing and inspiring all of our students at Highland and across district 196 So I
thank you I'd also like to welcome some SCS students Is that who is over here in this corner um visiting studying uh government and public participation So we appreciate uh you being here tonight as well Um and with that that ends my
report Okay thank you Um okay we no longer have a special communications request on the agenda so I will move on to the consent agenda Uh we have 28 items on the agenda for consent They are the minutes of the
March 10th 2025 regular school board meeting District 196 Volunteers Appreciation Week of April 21 to 25 2025 District 186 Teachers Appreciation Week May 5th through the 9th 202025 District
196 School Nurses Appreciation Week May 5-9 2025 Gifts grants schedule of investments for February 2025 Summary of claims for February 2025 Revenue and expenditures report for February 2025
Treasurers report for February 202025 Personnel termination and non-renewal of probationary teachers Intent to place continuing contract teachers on unrequested leaves of absence Agreement for student teaching with Bethl University Storm water
easement Subdivision agreement with City of Rosemount Temporary license agreement with Metropolitan Council Joint powers agreement with city of Egan 2025 heartscape rehabilitation Additional services assignment for project management coordinator
2020 202526 tuition rates for foreign students Care Solace agreement Revision of previously approved schoolboard meeting dates for January 2025 through June 2026 East View High School Activity
Center Edition bid package number two Apple Valley High School Activity Center addition and renovation Scott Highlands Middle School addition and renovation Highland Elementary School ceiling and lighting replacement And Cedar Valley Learning Center renovations Are there
any items that board members would like to remove from the consent agenda tonight seeing none is there a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved Second Okay Motion to approve by Robin seconded by
Christine and Catherine Okay Um sorry Uh so all those in favor i I All those
opposed Okay Uh the motion uh carries on a four to zero vote Okay Uh next on the agenda is reports Um and first up is the
attendance matters data and course completion data K through 12 second trimester presented by Jeremy Sorenson director of elementary education and Eric Hansen director of secondary education Good evening Vice Chairperson Williams
members of the school board and superintendent Balsson Tonight Director Sorenson and I will provide an update on our trimester 2 attendance data as well as well as provide data around our secondary course completion data for secondary schools In alignment with our strategic
roadmap we focus on promoting and maintaining positive students attendance and ensuring successful course completion This supports our strategic priorities related to well-being achievement equity and resources As you may recall from the previous attendance report consistently
attending is defined by the Minnesota Department of Education as a student attending school more than 90% of the school days We know that consistently attending school offers our students the opportunity to achieve higher academically participate in collaborative learning as well as access
academic resources and support in a timely manner We certainly recognize that our students are absent for a multitude of reasons We also know that in a full school year students that miss less than 17 total school days will be considered consistently attending To
support our students in their attendance our school teams continue to meet individually with students and families to provide support when improvement in attendance is needed Because our students will have unique stories as to why they're absent learning and understanding why absences occur will
help our school teams partner with students and families in creating specific plans for improved attendance The chart on the screen shows that during trimester 2 of last school year 83.5% of our middle school students
consistently attended school During trimester 2 of this current school year we held steady with a slight shift and 83% of our middle school students consistently attended It's important to know that our district data for students consistently attending
is well above all uh the all students state average at 74.5% Our high school data shows that during trimester 2 of last school year 79% of our students in high school consistently attended And for trimester 2 this school year our percentage of students consistently attending remains
similar at approximately 79% Again our consistently attending data continues to remain above the state average of 74.5% for all students Within this highle attendance data our principles and school staff continue to analyze our student attendance across our
demographic groups I'd like to direct your attention to the handout we provided which outlines our current school year trimester 2 attendance data broken down by demographics Our data shows that in elementary schools the percentage of students who
consistently attended during trimester 2 ranges by demographics from 77.2% to 91.6% For our middle school students this range is 71.8% to 89% And for high school it
ranges from 58.5% to 88.3% Going back to 2021 trimester 2 is where we see our elementary and secondary schools show a slight decrease in students consistently attending data As
an example for this school year we had about a 3% point decrease in our students consistently attending from this year's trimester 1 to this year's trimester 2 at our elementary middle and high school level Director Sorenson will speak to this in more detail later in
this presentation I'd like to shift our focus to our middle school and high school course completion data for this school year For course completion data we look at this year's data and compare trimester 1 to trimester 2 Course completion data or
course completion is defined as successfully finishing a course with a passing grade and for high school students earning a credit towards graduation Like our high schools all of our middle schools closely monitor course completion rates as it can have an impact on our students future
academic success in high school For instance the article titled Five Key findings for middle grades states that students who are chronically absent or receiving failing grades in middle school are at a higher risk of being off track for graduation by 9th grade
Additionally another article titled "Why is nth grade a critical time for students?" explains that two failing grades in nth grade can decrease decrease the probability of graduating by over 50 percentage points On the current slide that is showing we see that 86% of our middle school students
successfully passed all of their trimester 1 courses this school year This means 86% of our middle school students did not receive one failing grade trimester 1 In comparison in trimester 2 this school year where we know our students will experience
increased academic rigor and increased expectations the percentage of middle school students passing all of their classes increased to 88.8% which was a 2.8 percentage point increase from trimester 1 to trimester
2 This is a result of our teachers intentional efforts to support students and intervene early when they see students falling behind Let's take a look at our high school students course completion data for trimester 1 to trimester 2 On the current slide that is showing we see
that 85% of our high school students pass each of their classes during trimester 1 this school year During trimester 2 this school year the percentage of high school students passing all of their trimester 2 courses increased to 90% which resulted in a 5
percentage point increase Within this data we can break down the data by demographic groups as provided in the handout on your table You will notice that the percentage of middle school students by demographics who received a passing grade in all of their trimester 1
classes ranged from 72% to 92% And in trimester 2 this range was from 76% to 93% The percentage of students passing each of their courses increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 in all demographic groups for middle school
students When looking at the course completion data for our high school students by demographic groups in trimester 1 our range was 68% to 92% And in trimester 2 our percentage ranged for students passing all their classes from 76% to
95% The percentage of students passing each of their courses increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 in all demographic groups for high school as well This data is useful to identify students who are in need of additional academic support as well as to celebrate
our students making overall improvement and achievement Our overall growth in the percentage of our courses of our course completion data can in part be credited to advisory grade checks sending automated grade reports to students and families after study after
school study sessions peer tutoring afterchool credit recovery programs and much more I am grateful for the work our teachers do in order to keep our students on track and supported Our teachers have systems in place to help students to stay on track when they are
absent or in need of additional support I would like to highlight tonight that since 2021 for all middle school and high school students we have traditionally seen a decrease in our p percentage of students passing all of their classes from trimester 1 to
trimester 2 Again the expectations rise u more responsibility in the rigor I'm pleased to report that this year our data is showing different and as you've seen in the previous slides our students passing all of their classes has increased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 As we progress forward we will
continue to collaborate and work together to grow our systems to support students in their academic achievement I'd like to now turn it over to Director Sorenson for his elementary attendance report All right Thank you Director Hansen We are going to talk briefly about
elementary attendance So we're shifting back to attendance Um this slide shows the percentage of students who are considered consistently attending those attending 90% or more of school days to this point in the year at the elementary level Our trimester 2 percentage for the
current school year is 86.9% This is an increase in the percentage of students consistently attending from last year's trimester 2 by 1.3% The first two trimesters this year have followed a similar pattern as previous years The percentage of students who are
considered consistently attending typically dips during the winter months or the second trimester This decline is often due to seasonal illness inclement weather or other factors that impact student attendance Historically with this pattern by the spring trimester
attendance rates begin to recover and we see an increase in students meeting the consistently attending threshold by the end of the year At this point in the year building teams have enough data to analyze individual student attendance patterns This allows us to move beyond general trends and develop situation specific
strategies to support students and families by identifying the root causes of absenteeism whether it's health rellated transportation uh challenges or other barriers We can collaborate with families to implement targeted interventions that encourage consistent attendance And then we know attendance
is important part of being successful at school A student's attendance has impacts on both their academic achievement and their social development Regular attendance help students stay on track with their learning build strong connections with peers and teachers and develop consistent routines and habits that are essential for lifelong success
Consistent and intentional monitoring of student attendance is crucial for identifying patterns addressing barriers and implementing strategies to improve student engagement and achievement Proactive attendance practices foster a supportive learning environment And as we move through the remainder of the school year we will continue to provide
updates on attendance At this time we'd be happy to take any questions you may have Okay thank you Um first are there any questions or comments from the audience casey not are there any questions or comments from the board jackie not so
much a question but I'm really impressed with what we've seen here Um I think the big star is the is two words that you used intentional intervention And we now know what those intent I mean there could be a million of intentional interventions done by principles done by
staff done by classroom teachers done by other kinds of support people that touch those students lives And I love that you talked about growing our systems of support that it's not just one piece of support it's all of those systems When
you look at this and I know that we've talked about this before that T2 sometimes moves down And when you see that going consistently in the middle school in the elementary schools and high school that they're moving up in T2
you know that you now have those you've grown those systems grown those systems that teachers know what how to reach kids the office knows what's important and as we keep on moving towards that system and getting more comfortable with
that it's the growth has still got to I mean it's just got to continue because we've still got a few kids that are good attenders but congratulations and thank you so much that's literally amazing
I I had a question Um thank you for all of this data It's really very helpful One question is maybe a yes or no question and that is the ninth grade monitoring Is that helped with the bar system that Apple Valley is using and that will be rolled out to all the other
schools i think soon Uh yeah So that'll be for next fall The uh other three comprehensive high schools will be on that We have an a standing agenda a ball bar at every one of our high school meetings to talk through use as a resource to help us with that I will say this right now our pivotal years of sixth grade and eighth grade with those
transition years we're seeing the highest percentage of students completing all their courses passing all their courses in sixth for middle school and in ninth for high school We also see the highest attendance rates in terms of consistently attending in sixth grade and nth grade as well So that's positive data right there especially all the
resources that we put in for our transitions for students from one level to the next Okay thank you And then one other question Um I know as a parent when my child has to be absent I have to fill out that form and I believe it's the Qualrix system that is used to fill
out that attendance form and I always have to select a reason why they're absent and I'm sure we're collecting that data somewhere Are we triangulating that data with student absence rates and kind of trying to see um if that can
help us understand student absence yeah Yeah So our unified insights uh program that our our uh building administrators use can pull that down uh and see days of the week that our highest absences are happening and what the reasons are months that are highest And so we do
have that data down um to the weeds to correlate it It would be interesting with trimester 2 We started that conversation at a district level um with our infinite campus people to see if we can start pulling that data as well Thank you And then I just have one question
Thank you This was just amazing Um I know there's a correlation between attendance and outcomes which I can appreciate Um you're talking about other systems and so I know for um you know we have we have other information that we've had we've been
privy to in some of our work sessions And so if you could just kind of give us an example or just give us a summary of some of the other systems like what's changed um systematically that um some of our constituents or our parents may not be aware of that has made this
possible that there has been outside of just some of our attendance systems that has made this possible where we're seeing these increases or this improvement in in outcomes What's changed are you talking about our course completion yes Yeah So I don't know what exactly has changed I couldn't put my
finger on it right now but I do know that we take time to collaborate on ideas that are happening share best practices um to help with those um ideas really to help recover students from from grades that aren't where we want them Um I think our systems are getting tighter and that's part of the work that
we're doing in our district What is our response when we have a student that hits this threshold and what is our response when they hit this threshold we want that to be continuous and consistent So we're working through that It's part of our work right now Um but I would just give a lot of credit to the response of of teachers when a student
is absent um when a student isn't understanding to be able to spiral back um get them caught up and so that they're proficient by the end of the trimester Go ahead Katherine I have a similar question about attendance rates and just that it is I so just looking at the
presentation I did not realize what a great leap that was because on the slides it didn't show that usually those numbers go down and the fact that these numbers are um you know steady is impressive um between the trimesters what is
happening um to change that with attendance like how are how are we getting kids to continue to come to school more often again I don't I I don't know if we can pinpoint a singular thing but it's part of that student and family experience too Excuse me We're trying to be very
intentional about having consistency um around those those general pieces when we're talking attendance specifically elementary we do have teams that work and um we do triangulate the data and look at it generally but at this time in year we can look at specific students and families and see patterns there so
we can work with families specifically about how to support them and how important attendance is So I think um like Eric said a lot of hard work from our building teams You know this is our office staff our social workers our teachers um our administrators who are working as a team to support um enter into that conversation as a partner and
and you know and not a a consequence thing and I think that's a lot of that work happening To add one thing one clarifying piece from trimester 2 last year to trimester 2 this year we stay consistent I will say though and traditionally in this follow suits in terms of attendance consistently attendance we do drop from trimester 1
to tr we saw that again this year three percentage points and so then we hope to pick that back up in the May which is our traditional pattern as well Okay thank you appreciate that Okay next is on our reports is technology for learning Um presented by
Julie Beers learning and technology specialist Eric Davis Shannon Park elementary school principal and Tabitha Centi high school computer science teacher Good evening Vice Vice Chairperson Williams school board members and
superintendent Bony Um I am Julie Bersack learning technology specialist K through 12 for our district Um I also have with me as you said um Eric Davis principal at Shannon Park and Tabitha Centi She teaches at Rosemont High School and Apple Valley um teaching with
our information technology courses Thank you for the opportunity this evening to update you on our district-wide work embracing technology for learning 10 years ago our community invested in a dream of increasing access to instructional technology and devices for
students At the time we hoped to move from a 1:3 ratio of devices per students to a one:1 ratio while also investing in the infrastructure and support to transform teaching and learning We're here tonight to provide
the community with an update around this work When I do this work um in my role there's two things that constantly guide my work One is our strategic roadmap that helps create the foundation of why we're doing what we're doing So the two priorities that we're going to be
talking about today really work around achievement and resources The other piece that guides my work is the learning and technology framework This was created in 2013 as we started to think around how can we
become a onetoone district with with iPad devices And so we thought about and brought so many voices together on what do we truly believe Although this was created 10 years ago you might notice technology has drastically changed in these years and this is still a strong
foundation that guides all of the work I do And so here we believe that learning drives deci decisionmaking When teachers are thinking around what their students are learning and the projects that they've been working on they come and they say "Hey the students are working
on this awesome project what how can the iPad enhance that?" They don't just come and say "Hey I learned about this cool app How can we use it?" We constantly think of what is the learning what are our objectives here and how can the iPad enhance that we also know that curiosity
that creativity sparks curiosity We intentionally chose the iPad over other devices like the Chromebook because of the creativity option where students can add voice and drawing and all of those other pieces to their work We also believe that communication and
collaboration are vital And so we don't expect our students to be heads down in their devices Our students have their are sitting next to each other They're talking They're working They're collaborating Whether that's collaborating in an app or utilizing it as a tool and talking to each other all
constant collaboration is happening and a chance to rise up student voices And most importantly the foundation of it all It's one piece of the puzzle but we really think it's the foundation holding it all up is the idea of digital citizenship We believe that we our
students are conscious consumers and positive contributors in a digital world Constantly what are they taking in from the device thoughtfully making sure that we have vetted databases that our students are using and also how are they thinking about what they're putting out with this
technology And so what benefits have we seen from this well we've seen a lot of different things come about that we never imagined possible One is the opportunity for all students Some ways could be that our devices are now onetoone Instead of I was a second grade
classroom teacher at Oakidge Instead of having a student come up to the board and share what they had learned on the board now I could have all 23 of my students writing and drawing on their device and sharing that piece It's also an opportunity for all learners to fe to
look around and feel the same in a way My own child is a first grader here at Dearwood He has a vision disability and he has a lot of amazing tools and resources that his vision teacher provides but the one tool that he constantly goes back to is his iPad The district provided that in his pre
preschool program and he feels just like everybody else when he uses it He uses it in a more variety of ways but it's really important to him that when he is using this tool he can look around and see others using it as well We also know that this helps
amplify student voice And so while we thought that maybe some might think that's not the case when you think of this technology device we have seen students who have been quiet for so long have a chance to share their voice in a variety of ways One way is I think of a second grader in my classroom Uh this
was our hybrid year and in our classroom not many students had ever heard her voice She was a very quiet learner very timid her best friends usually maybe heard her talks really softly at recess and I had heard her whispers but one day we were learning and she had the chance
to share she had a chance to do some learning on the iPad and she came up to me and she whispered Miss B can I share my learning at the class today I record it on Seessaw and I tried not to sound too excited to like scare her or anything but I was like I think that's a fantastic idea and she pushed play by
the microphone and for the first time like students jaws like actually dropped some of them had never heard her voice before and that opened up an opportunity for others to hear her voice and for her to share her voice in other ways Moving on it kind of just became the door that opened up That was a really huge win for
her I've also seen students you know the the the quiet students in the back that have really brilliant ideas I know I was here last year and I shared a video of um some fifth graders that create that had a chance to take some learning um about balance and motion and they had an idea and they said "Can we do this?" And
so the teacher created parameters and they had a chance to share about balance in motion creating a video and they had and everyone got to hear their amazing ideas and hear their excitement and they got a standing ovation at the end from those classmates It's really been an o awesome opportunity to amplify student
voice We also know that this is just one tool in our ecosystem We have multiple tools in our ecosystem You know we just embraced a lot of new curriculum in elementary You when we ordered that our students still have pencil and paper They still have those crayons on their desk They still have the markers They
still have the math manipulatives and they're using them daily The iPad is one tool that they use I always I joke around a little bit with my teachers but I say when I'm in the schools and I'm walking around that's great when I see the iPads used intentionally and thoughtfully and it's great too when the
iPads are away We want to see both happening throughout the district One of the things that um really give me an aha moment is we think about right now our kindergarteners they are the graduating class of 2037 It's kind of wild Um and we think
about how how are we preparing them for the 2037 world And so that's a really big thing that's always on my mind Um I don't know if you've heard of it but generative AI chat GBT kind of blew up in the last year and a half And so we think about how we weren't even we
didn't even think what was possible a year ago Our learning technology framework still holds the foundation that's leading our AI guidance for the district And we think about preparing our students for the role they're graduating into And those kindergarters they're graduating into 2037 but they're
going to be working 2050 2060 all these years as technology is changing and how are we creating a solid foundation for them going back to that digital citizenship where they have a safe place to practice to be conscious consumers and positive contributors And finally
learners want to create Um I think about in my own role now I get to see that happening across the district K through 12 and our learners are creating things that I could have never imagined and I could have never helped support and they advocate for themselves and they're like "Hey can we try this?" And it's a really
great way to see um them thrive in that setting So um I do I would love to welcome Eric Davis to share a little bit about what he's seen as well from his perspective Thank you Julie Good evening everybody It's a pleasure to be here My name is Eric Davis I'm the principal of Shaina
Park Elementary School in Rosemount And I'm going to talk just very briefly about what technology looks like in an elementary school As a former second and third grade teacher and current principal I know that one of the hardest things to do as a teacher is to differentiate your instruction You have a class of 23 to 25 to 27 students all
at different levels and our job is to meet them all where they are at This cannot be done as successfully or efficiently without technology Secondly as we enter an area where we seem to be assessing frequently to get more data for our teachers to drive
their instruction we have found that the use of the onetoone iPads have really created our efficiency Before we had these purchases in the hands of our students we would have to go to computer labs and spend literally weeks assessing students to get the data we needed before teachers could even look at them to make their instructional decisions
With oneto ones this can be done quickly efficiently and accurately and we can teach right away Thirdly most of our elementary school teachers are in the process of implementing up to three different curricula It's a very difficult task and one of the tools we use to make that more efficient is
technology And finally when you think about an elementary school we have our very first learners um getting used to their digital citizenship with their iPads up to our fifth graders who are using these tools to collaborate with each other using the Google suite and work on
projects together All this together makes for an engaging efficient process and our teachers are better able to efficiently engage our students and meet their needs every single one of them Thank you So as our students move from an
elementary to a secondary level we think about how does that change in the perspective of how they use this tool One is I think about digital hygiene That's a word that I that has not been used a lot before this but think about when you are gathering all of your papers and all of the information Maybe
you were in high school and we had the really cool big trap trapper keepers and we thought about how are we putting that all into folders Now students have all of that information in their iPad And so we're encouraging them to think about how are they thinking about where are they putting that information so they can find it again How are they making
folders in their digital tools also we think about this device is like a bookshelf that you can only put so much on it before the bookshelf breaks or stops you know can't fit anymore An iPad is the same when it comes to how much it can fit right and so thinking about teaching students how we do that um that
conversation comes up a lot around state testing time and so we have a chance to share with them um how do we how do we take care of this device we also think about as a tool for learning really that core um in those core subjects right our students are using this tool when it
comes to research and and analysis we have all of these different uh vetted databases that students can go to a safe place that they know this information comes from a safe place as they think around that piece Um recently I've been working with computer science pathways We work with
the state and MDE and we've had multiple trainings as we think about how are we preparing our students with a K through 12 pathway as we think about these tools Um and it's not just for students that might want to go into computer science someday but all of these skills that are
vital as we think about how these tools work The tools that are in our hands how do they actually work how did these come to be how do how are they doing coding how are they doing different pieces the conversation of keyboarding comes up again too as we prepare our learners that way as well Um and so all of these things we're thinking and we're talking
about with our resources that we have and um preparing our students so that when they do graduate they have that pathway and they have that experience and success in our career and technology education I know Tabitha has done so much work in that area Um a couple
things to think about as we as we think about those programs the conversations have come up of how is technology impacting those programs So if we think of our aviation class if you go uh to our high school that has our aviation CTE class how our students are using technology for simulations and other
absolutely phenomenal things that I would have never imagined possible in high school We think about welding and how technology impacts that area These are conversation that conversations that all of our CTE teachers are having that technology has this impact in every single area
And so um I could talk all night about this It really excites me Um but I also we had an opportunity recently to um have uh videos with high school which you'll see a brief snippet of as well as middle school And so I wanted an opportunity for you to hear from teachers and families Um and so this is
a little bit of a the a longer video and we're showing you a clip from that So enjoy I think that it helps me as a teacher really engage every learner All learners learn in different manners and so I have the audio the visual you know the
kinesthetic learners and it really helps us embrace all of those learning styles in one My seventh grader loves film and loves making movies and he has used that iPad to figure out how to do stopotion
animation how to add soundtracks to videos he's filmed to create games really using coding that he's learning through school and it's really provided him a springboard into his passion So
it's been really cool to see It's important that we are helping mold students into becoming model citizens and digital literacy digital citizenship is just as important And so the way that
we really embed it into our daily practice teach them the etiquette of using the devices in a proper and respectful manner is all something that continues to help them learn and understand what that looks like moving
forward Collaboration through tech for our students today is a useful tool in it allows them to share their voice share their creativity share their learning and understanding in a real
time way So we're doing a map of Europe in 1950 and we're using the iPad to like figure out which countries were NATO and which countries were part of the Warsaw Pact And we're using it to like label our countries in our
capitals I'm going to invite Tabitha up to speak a little bit more on our high school experience Good evening Tabitha Centi career development teacher Um I teach information technology courses Um and just a little caveat my daughter who is
now a going to be senior um at NDSU um was a Woodland Elementary iPad test class So she was the first fifth grade class to get her iPad For a tiny bit more information I also have a kindergartener coming up this school
year So she will be a graduating class of 2038 So it is I do have the technology realm in that world Um so at the elementary and middle schools we have laid the foundation for technology use they have mentioned that allowing us
at the high school level to use technology as a tool for learning and focus on that career pathways that we will open the doors for our kids' future We also in today's classrooms technology fosters more than just academic achievement It unlocks collaboration
problem solving and critical thinking When students work together on digital projects analyze real world data or create multimedia presentations they're not just learning the content they're learning how to think They're learning
how to adapt and they're learning how to lead These are the skills our students will need most It's not just the technology In fact Dell Technologies published a report titled The Next Era of Human
Machine Partnerships I'm the data geek right i like to read this stuff Um it offers insight on how consumers and businesses can prepare for society in flux The report forecasts that emerging technologies supported by massive
advancements in software big data and processing power will we words are tough reshape our lives Here's an eye-opening statistic that I don't think any of you thought about 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030
have not been invented yet 85% In 2030 That's the world our 2031 and 2032 graduates will be entering Technology helps prepare students by encouraging curiosity resilience because nothing
works when you want it to We all know that Um and hands-on learning experiences that mirror real life challenges I have my kids who competed in a ECTF competition which is an embedded capture the flag They worked on
protecting insulin pumps so that people can't hack into them And it may seem small like who would want to hack into an insulin pump think of a public figure that's diabetic And if somebody wants to really harm this public figure it's an easy
hack And so we had students work on the security measures for those insulin pumps So real life scenarios I've had seven students just in the past couple of months reach out to me and tell me that they were offered a job or a promotion based upon the skills that
our district helped them build It was either with course content with the technology use in the classrooms or even just contacts they make on field trips guest speakers people that come into the classrooms and and just meet our students
These students were more prepared than the colleagues or individuals that applied for these jobs due to the technology use in our classrooms If you haven't noticed I'm a little passionate about this technology use Um they have a large number of
skills and more confidence I think that's the biggest piece We allow our students to grow their confidence level touching the technological tools And that if you've ever gotten a brand new cell phone is huge because it never works when we need to We have to try to play with that Yeah Um our technology
levy isn't just about equipment It's about opportunity and it ensures every student has access to the tools and experiences that foster lifelong learning and prepares them for the unknown careers of
tomorrow It's an investment in their future not ours Let's give them the confidence to build it I would like to Do you have that little video i just wanted to seal up um that statement with the end of the career and technical high
school video So and I don't have a clicker Produce students that can step out of the school system and be productive When they step outside of our doors no matter where they go they're going into a digital world We teach lifelong learning And that piece is like
go look for something go find it That skill when they get in the field allows their technology education to grow I think the skills the tools that they've learned will launch them into the future Thanks Tabitha Recently she collaborated with
one of our music teachers to create um these amazing music What was the songs about again oh um yeah So I had they created songs using chat GPT and social engineering fishing those little fishing
emails you get those kind of things and we did a collaboration using AI and a music production class and the kids created an album and a digital cover and so they have now an album that's associated with music the music and the beat was pretty phenomenal so very catchy so we'll pass this along so
thanks all right so let me go back just one we want to thank our community 10 years ago we asked our community to invest in an idea that technology could enhance learning for all students At that time we had a ratio of three students per device and our goal was to
get to 1:1 We have achieved that goal and we want to continue our 1:1 program We were very thoughtful about the rollout We put it in an intentional deployment and maintenance schedule We have a four-year life cycle for student devices and a 10-year replacement cycle
for switches routers and hardware We have also directed all funds to specifically support instruction providing students and teachers with mobile devices anywhere and any for anytime learning As we look to the future we'll need to renew this funding
after this year and we can only imagine where technology will be 10 years from now So thank you Thank you Um at this time are Hello At this time are there any questions from the
audience or comments seeing none are there any questions or comments from the board okay thank you so much That was very informative Thank you It was fun to be in your classroom You were always welcome anytime It was great We visited
her classroom the other day We did Amazing Yeah that was great Thank you Okay And now we are moving on to old business On the agenda we have uh the
202526 capital expenditure budget presented by Danny Duchain coordinator of finance I don't know what to do without the computer There we go There we go There we go All right Good evening Vice Chair Williams Superintendent Bos Sony members of the
school board and our district 186 community My name is Danny Duching coordinator of finance for district 186 Tonight district administration presents the 2526 capital expenditure budget for second reading and recommended approval The 2526 capital budget will presented
to the board for an initial review at the February 10th school board meeting Included in your board packet tonight is the completed capital expenditure budget book The capital budget book includes financial summaries for each of the funding sources as well as an itemized listing for all planned capital
expenditures for the 2026 fiscal year The capital budget focuses on the resources strategic priority within the district's strategic road map connecting our staff stu and students with the proper facilities equipment software and curriculum resources to execute
everything else on that roadmap Our capital budget focuses on three main separate capital related funding sources the operating capital the long-term facilities maintenance or LTFM budget and the capital projects levy Additionally the nutrition services and transportation departments have
capital expenditures for which we are requesting approval tonight along with these three main capital budgets As mentioned at the February board meeting the current building bond construction projects are not included in tonight's content as those projects are approved on a separate on their own separate
schedules The capital budget is approved on an earlier timeline than the rest of the preliminary budget which will present it for the board's approval in June The earlier approval timeline allows the district to move forward through longer procurement cycles and consequently maximize our time over the summer months
when applicable for a lot of our building construction projects when our buildings aren't running at full capacity Since the February 10th meeting district staff has worked to develop the itemized budget book In general the budgets presented tonight align with the summary presented at that February
meeting There are a few variations in the broad categories and totals These changes are result of updated or adjusted variables such as new pricing estimates that we may have received rep prioritization of projects and some slight adjustments based on the bond construction timelines at various buildings throughout the district Now
let's take a quick look at each of the capital expenditure budgets The operating capital is the main capital expenditure budget of the district This restricted funding source includes both state aids and property tax levy revenue components Expenditure
areas focus on areas such as building leases curriculum materials technology needs equipment and building and site renovations For the 2526 fiscal year district administration projects total resources available of about $16.8 million against planned expenditures of
$14.4 4 million for a projected fiscal year 26 ending fund balance of $2.4 million The LTFM budget is the district's primary budget for building and site maintenance Similar to the operating capital budget the LTFM budget is a restricted funding source that
includes both state aids and property tax levy components Expenditure categories include health and safety mechanical systems roofing and site projects such as parking lot renovations and roofing rehabilitations just to name a few
examples For the 2526 fiscal year the district estimates total resources available of 14.9 million against planned expenditures of $12.0 million for a projected ending fiscal year 26 fund balance of $2.9 million The capital project levy is a little bit
different from the operating capital and the LTFM budgets The capital projects levy does not include a state aids component and is funded nearly 100% from the property tax levy The district's current capital projects levy is entering entering its 10th year in 2526
Examples of expenditures included in the capital products levy are as you heard earlier our student iPads that are part of our 1:1 program district-wide technology hardware and software and instructional technology devices and equipment that are used in our classrooms throughout the
district This budget does include a small percentage of miscellaneous revenue from the sale of the iPads and from -ate reimbursements For the 2526 fiscal year district administr administration estimates total resources available of nearly $16.0 0 million against plan expenditures of $9.4
million for an ending projected fund balance of $6.6 million The additional capital expenditures requested for approval tonight include nearly $1.5 million in the nutrition services department for kitchen equipment refrigeration update upgrades service line equipment and
vehicles Transportation requests approval of $3.9 million for 24 buses eight of which are 65 passenger buses equipped with a passenger lift These specific requests include either a long procurement process or a specific installation window and approval tonight will allow those processes to begin
along with the rest of the capital expenditure budget Respectfully district administration requests approval of the 2526 capital expenditure budgets The budgets presented tonight will also be included in the preliminary budget which I mentioned will be presented to the board for review and approval in June
And at this time I'd like to I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have Okay This um this does have a an action item a motion to a recommendation to approve But before we do that um I'd like to ask if there are any questions
or comments from the audience Okay Any questions or comments from the board okay Um so is there a motion to I'll move approval I'll second
Thank you Uh there was a motion to uh approve by Jackie and a second by Katherine Um all those in favor to approve say I I I All those opposed say nay Okay The motion carries Uh four to
zero Um motion passes Uh next Thank you Uh next uh on the agenda is new business Uh the board would like to see on the
agenda is administrative regulation 801.5 the community use of district facilities presented by Kaia Bruce director of community education Good evening vice chairperson Williams members of the board and superintendent Bolson Community
education is proposing an increase in facility use fees for indoor spaces at elementary and secondary schools in class 2 class three and class 4 effective July 1st of 2025 To ensure our rates remain competitive and equitable we conducted a
market fee study in March comparing our facility rental rates to those of neighboring districts The results indicated that our current fees are generally aligned with and in some cases lower than the average rates across these districts The proposed adjustments for the
202526 school year are intended to account for increased costs associated with facility scheduling building supervision and collaborative purchases of athletic equipment used by the community These changes will also help us keep pace with inflation
In addition we are proposing a re revision to the due dates for community use applications for fields and grounds This adjustment aims to better align the application process with a district-wide scheduling timeline These proposals are being presented as new business this evening I
will return on May 12th to request your approval but in the meantime I'm happy to answer any questions you may have Okay Thank you Um at this time I will uh ask if there are any questions or comments from the audience Seeing none are there any
questions or comments from the board all right Thank you We will invite you back This item will come back as old business at the May excuse me Yes at the May 12th regular school board meeting for approval Thank you Ka Thank you All right There are no other actions We will
move on to um school board and superintendent updates I will turn it over to uh Superintendent Bossani for those superintendent updates Thank you very much Vice Chair Williams Uh for my superintendent report I'd like to encourage everyone to attend a high school theater performance this month
All four of our comprehensive high schools have shows during the week of April 21st East View High School is having its annual variety show Bravo Apple Valley High School is performing the Song Book Experience Live Egan High School is having its annual variety show
Encore and Rosemont High School presents OnStage Journey to the Past Visit the high school websites for more information about Showtimes and tickets We are excited to announce that today work started on our activity center at East View High School In
preparation for construction we will also be rerouting traffic patterns at the school The construction will take 12 to 18 months to complete And we want to thank voters in district 196 for supporting the May 2023 bond referendum
that will provide these new facilities We also want to thank everyone in the East View community for their patience and cooperation with any disruptions during this construction period Next I want to invite parents guardians and other residents and
students to consider applying for an for an opening on one of our district's citizen and staff advisory councils We have nine advisory councils and all will be accepting applications this spring For more information visit the district website at district196.org Lastly I want to report
that our district 196 day at the capital on March 25th had 20 members of our leadership team and legislative advisory council meet with 11 local legislators plus additional legislative leaders We want to thank our legislators for working with us on behalf of our
students in our community And that concludes my report Thank you Thank you Any updates from the board Jackie if you work it right you can go to all four of those high school plays or musicals if you work your tickets right
Like Michael said we got East View Apple Valley Egan and Rosemont High School And they are all wonderful Um special thing this year at Rosemont High School This is Steve Aba's 25th show and he is real excited And May 4th Rosemont High School
is having in combination with their um foundation Rosemont High School Foundation they're having a fundraiser and the concert at 2 PM is a ticketed concert They're all ticketed concerts but this is a little bit little bit more
They are having at least a hundred alumni students come back and sing with with the group And from 5 to 9ine they're having a benefit at the Omni and with the Rosemont Foundation So that should be a great day They're really
excited So make sure that you get you got four high schools four places to go Make sure you get your tickets and enjoy all of the works that our students do Yes Robin Um I just want to second what Superintendent Balsone said about our
advisory councils They're an excellent way to be involved in your community um and have a voice with what goes on in our district So you can absolutely find one that fits your interest area and it's a great way to be involved Thank you All right Um
uh that uh that brings us to the end of our agenda Is there a motion to adjurnn second Okay So uh motion by Katherine seconded by Jackie All those in favor of adjournment I I Any opposed
if you oppose Motion carries at a four to zero We are adjourned