in every single >> I need to turn it to you. >> Everyone wants to see your face. send it to my computer. >> That's really fancy.
Computer. Yeah, >> request >> which is a valid request. Thank you. >> Good job. >> 704 policy, >> right? I call >> I feel like I don't call it to order
tonight. >> Yeah. All right. >> All right. Good evening everybody. Um we're going to start the taxation board meeting. This is an annual public hearing that we have to review the tax levy payable in calendar year 2026.
Um, a couple of things uh to talk about. So, truth and taxation statute basically says that there's a couple major requirements. Um, back in September, we're required by September 30th to approve a preliminary
levy that can only go up if there is a vote that occurred between October 1st and um December 1st or December 28th I believe it is. There was no vote. Uh there was no election within the district this year. Um so the the um
preliminary levy that was approved in the September meeting is the exact same amount as we're asking you to approve uh later in the in the formal board meeting tonight for the for the calendar 26. Um so after that preliminary levy is
approved, the counties have to take the impact of all of the different jurisdictions and um spread that among each um property tax or property owner and show them how that will impact their property taxes for the
next year. They have to send out the proposed property tax statements in November based on our preliminary tax levies. Um most jurisdictions, cities, counties, school districts have to hold the hearing prior to certifying final lessons
have as well. Some of those uh minor um other governmental ones like a watershed district, some of those things don't have to have a public hearing, but we do. And so you're here for the district's annual required hearing. A couple things we have to cover is this current year's budget and uh the total
tax levy and kind of kind of what changed from one year to the next. So, the preliminary budget uh for this year was approved back in June of 2025. Um since then, we've had our audit for the fiscal 25 school year fiscal year.
And um the audited fund balances all show up there on the left. The revenues and expenditures here were all approved, like I said, in June of 25. We're anticipating a change in fund balance in the general fund of about $1.1 million deficit.
um about half of that about 565,000 is in the unassigned fund balance and that's and that's what we use to um that's what our uh policy is based on a 10% fund balance and I'll show you where where we end up uh after this. Um but um
we also have some planned spendowns in some mandatory reserves. Um, we had some one-time money that was all targeted at literacy for read and that makes up about $200,000 of money that we're spending down. And then we also
had some planned spend downs in some other areas like long-term facility maintenance um and a little bit operating capital. So that 1.1 million is not all related to our MS funds. We're anticipating um a little more of the break even in
the food service fund. mess with continuing to kind of replace our capital equipment. Um, our food service fund balance is extremely healthy um right now um due to basically all of our meals being subsidized either the federal state level. Um so we've been
working on improving and then replacing our capital equipment while we have the healthy fund out there. We know in future years that may not be the case that all meals are subsidized by one of the local one of the levels of government. So we want to be still in a healthy position, but uh be set up well
at that point. Uh the community service fund is anticipating a deficit spend of about 67,000. That's where we account for not only the um the uh typical programs that take place, the community
based programs, you know, classes, adult basic ed, things like that. But it also accounts for um the school readiness and early childhood programs. In the building construction fund, we've got about 22.5 million that was mo related to most related to bonds that were
issued for uh Riverview um IAQ project. Revenues there are all interest earnings and then expenditures are what we've anticipated to spend in the first round through June 30th next year um at Riverview. So spend down about $5.3
million. And then in the debt service fund, those are just um required expenditures to meet our current debt service obligations. The revenue there is mostly tax levy. Some um state aids that offset tax levy like the egg for
schools um tax credit, property tax credit that comes back to us in terms of state aid instead of a levy and then also interest earnings as well. our unassigned fund balance. Um you can see as of like I said our policy for
this is 10%. Um so in 202021 so this was as of June 30th 2021 our balance is at 13.4%. due to some um federal grants that came in related to COVID and other related um
you know stimulus grants. We uh our our fund balance as of the next year went up to 14.7 as we spent some of those out. It went down to 13.3. It's been fairly steady over the last three years, couple
years at 13.3, 13.2.3 2.3 and now 12.7 as of the end of fiscal year 25. Uh like I mentioned, we're we're anticipating spending that down by about 565,000 for this year, which will put us at about
11.7% as of the end of fiscal year. in the general fund. Um if you look at the areas that are in the or the largest pieces of the pie and the yellow orange and the little green sliver, those are all um instruction related expenses. So
regular instruction includes teachers and paras and their supplies, things like that. Special ed would include the teachers, pair professionals, any types of um tuition paid for that as well. And then vocational is really the teachers
that have a um a CTE type of lure. So they're teaching a high school course that is you know that they have their um vocational lure in. So there's about 1.2% of our budget there. The
combination of those three is about 69% described to be at at least 65% instructional and um the combination of admin and district support. District support is people like uh district office that isn't uh admin is really
considered superintendent, board of education, building principles. Uh district support is considered other district office like myself, HR, uh payroll, things like that. So being at about 6% there and about six
and 9% there uh instructional are are good targets that we try to to to be close to try to be between five five and 7% admin on the maintenance side that's our next largest side which is our next large expenditure that includes not only
um that includes a lot of our long-term facilities maintenance things as well as our um utilities costs our custodial um costs or grounds. All of those things are factored into that as well. Instructional support um includes
curriculum um curriculum instruction and also technology. And then our next largest is transportation at 4 and a half%. Our expenditures shown a different way are basically 80% salary and benefits. Um
beyond that our services are um about 12% those would include substitute teachers. They would also include anything that we um anything that we hire out. So our contracted transportation would be probably our
largest expense there. Um we also um some of our utilities are also included in services as well. Um and then supplies is kind of how it sounds. uh textbooks would also be included in those supplies. Um so supplies and textbooks, those types of consumables
for the most part um are in that 4.2. And then capital are larger items um like our building improvements or major repairs and maintenance that we do through our long-term facilities maintenance program. Also, if we do like a major
technology purchase, that would be considered capital or vehicle replacement. So for next year, capital about 3.7%. Our revenues, we're about 83% state aid. Um so we're highly dependent on our
enrollment because about of that 82% about 80% of that is our gened basic formula and that is set by the legislature every two years. Um right now it's set as an inflationary number.
Um is a 2.74% increase for this year. Um so that that fluctuates the most with enrollment and it's our largest source of income. Um local taxes make up about 12% of our general fund budget. Um and
then other includes federal grants and also any fees we charge like for athletic participation for um any donations we receive also interest earnings. So those things make up about 5% of our budget. Um and then like I
said taxes make up about 12 and state aid make up about 82. Statewide the local property tax part the average there is about 15 to 18%. So we're a little more little more reliant on state aids than other
districts are. The school's levy is determined uh by a set of formulas that are determined by legislature for the most part. So legislature sets the different formulas every every session or every other session. Typically u the department of
ed uses those formulas that are set by legislature to determine what the levy limits would be in each district based on uh what we have going on for our tax capacity, for our market value, for our enrollment size. Um a lot of different
factors. Um, in September we approved the preliminary levy and like I said earlier, the final levy can't exceed this unless there's a voter approved levy that happens in November. Our budget does not drive our levy and that's where schools differ from some
other jurisdiction. So, at the city level, at the county level, they they put their uh budget together and that really drives what their levy is. And they want that levy to be within a certain target amount. Um and and that's
a that's really a city council's, you know, local decision on how to set that and and that drives the the levy. Ours is kind of the other way around. This is the first revenue building block for our budget for next year. So this is all
money we'll collect in the 2026 calendar year and it'll be counted towards the 26 202627 fiscal year for us. So this is a starting point. We put together the budget for next year is we're going to start with this levy amount. That's a known amount and then things like
enrollment and and other factors are going to determine the rest of our our revenue. So this is kind of like the first 12% of our income for next year. Our revenue is being determined. Now uh the total levy by fund um is is shown on the screen. Um we I'll go through
each the change by each fund uh briefly here in a minute, but the total proposed levy payable 2026 is $14,855,928. That's a change of about $773,000 or 5.49% increase overall. As you can see, most
of that difference is in the debt service fund. And in fact, the other funds are going down. This one, I'll just walk you through. The top part is last year and the bottom part is the current is is is this year. So the the top half includes the levy
that was approved last year and the aid that's related to those. So, for example, um the local local optional revenue is one type of levy and there's an aid that's related to that and and there's there's several different levy
components that have aids related to them. So, last year at this time, the levy that we approved was 14 million A2000 and the aid related to that was $2.6 million. So, the total revenue makeup was about 176.7
million. And this year we're looking at a levy of about 14.8 million and 3.1 in related aid for a total revenue there of just under 18 million. But again, uh the difference is really in the debt service fund with the approved um voter approved
bonds that we had for the Riverview um indoor air quality project. So it's really making up the difference in that. If you look at the aid um in the general fund, it's it's gone down. So, our total revenue is actually down a little bit, about 200,000 in the general fund and
and uh up overall revenue is up about 30,000 in community service, but it's the debt service one where we've got about a million $1.4 million increase in total revenue to pay the new bonds that you see the big difference this year.
So the general fund change was $104,000 increase decrease. Sorry, the operating referendum is in its seventh year and the the levy increased by about 22,000. And this is really just because the aid portion went down a bit. Um our unemployment levy increased by about
67,000. That is um the levy that's the unemployment that is not summer unemployment for people that are coming back. This is what we call traditional unemployment. Um so people that were laid off from here or laid off from a
subsequent job and then but they have time that they worked here in their look back window. Um we have to pay the unemployment to the state at that and then we subsequently levy that. So it's always a year lag on the levy and our costs for that were um 67715
more than the previous year. our long-term facilities maintenance levy is increasing by about 34,000. Um that one had um yeah the aid the aid uh also increased
by about 21,000. That one is really related to each year our buildings get a little bit older, one year older until they reach a average age of 35 years. That's when can we kind of cap out. So it's a formula based on your building age footage and your students. Um so as
as we tick up a year older, we get a little bit higher in the formula. As our buildings get old enough, then that we kind of reach a plateau there. Um a lease levy is actually decreasing by about 267,000. And back in September, we touched on this a little bit, but that
was the previous year we had leased for uh Betton Stern's future uh facility that we were looking to uh have a lease agreement in place for. Um the lease the the lease never uh ended up happening
and there's no uh lease agreement eminent or in place that we could lease for again this year. So that tax levy is is going off this year decreasing our levy in the general fund. And then every other levy in the general fund there's four other ones combined uh combined for
about 38,000. The community service fund uh we our levy decreased by about $14,000. um they actually increased the state aid in the ECF portion. So that made uh the
the levy decrease there overall. Um and that was that ended up being the difference. Our total uh revenue in in community services is actually up by a bit, but the state aids are up by about 40,000. So that's there's an offset
decrease in in the levy. And then in the debt service fund, our overall change is about $891,000. Voter approved bonds in February increased it. Our debt service on those bonds is just over $1.4 million. There's
a reduction for debt access that's applied every year and that changed this year by about $33,000. um our debt service equalization aid increased by about a half million dollars because of additional bonds that were eligible for equalization. Um so
the net effect of that was about a $900,000 total increase to the for a property tax payer. Their tax is determined uh basically the assessor determines the market value for your property. you get that notice early in the calendar year and then they get tell
you a time and place you can come and meet with them or who to contact to try to dispute that. Then the legislature sets the formulas for the tax capacity. Um the county auditor calculates the tax capacity for each parcel of land and then they divide the total levy of all
the different jurisdictions among the different tax capacities and spread that out um to each property holder, send you that notice in November. So when you get the notice in November, it's too late to dispute your property value. You got to do that I guess March or so.
This is just a little bit of market value data within the district. Um you can see back in 2022 and 2023 the levies in the uh counties did some corrections across the board to the total uh appraised value of of of uh properties
throughout the the district. um that caused about a 19% increase. That's about three years in the four years in the past now. Um the average the increase this year uh total market value of the district went up by about 3.28% and the tax capacity went up by about
3.9. So, if you had a $300,000 property last year and that did not increase, so it's still $300,000, your school district taxes will have gone up by about $21 for the entire
year, but they went from about 1457 to about 1478, just the school district portion of your taxes. So, that's a 1.45%. If it went up the same as the average market value, which is 3.28 28 or the total market value in the district, I
should say. Um, if your property value went up by 3.28 and you went from 300,000, um, that would increase your value to just about 310,000 for this year. That dollar change is about $75. So, it's usually a little more realistic
view is that your property went up by about what the average did. And that's going to vary obviously um, property to property. Um but um if you go straight based on the average that would be about a $75 change for per household.
That's all I have today for information. Do you have any questions? Um, and if you do have questions that are more related to your parcel or your your own property, um, there is some county contact information
>> does anyone need a minute or so? We can move right in. Correct. That's the way we Okay. Does anyone need a minute to go to the bathroom or Okay, it is now 6:23 and I'm going to call the December regular meeting of the Saral St. Steven School Board to order. Thank
you to everyone in the community that has attending in person as well as anyone watching online. We appreciate your interest and engagement in our school district. The expectation of our community is that all participants and attendees will conduct themselves professionally and with respect for other members of our community. The first item on the agenda is the pledge
of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. >> We'll look for a motion to approve the
agenda. >> Second. >> Okay. Motion by Emily, second by Jen. Any discussion hearing? None. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. >> Motion carries. Our next item on the
agenda is to elect board leadership for the chair. As of right now, we have a nomination for Jen Smith and Trisha Mealing. Are there any other nominations for board chair? Are there any other nominations for board chair? Are there any other nominations for
board chair? Okay. Then those in favor of Jen Smith, please raise your hands. Those in favor of Trisha Meaning, please raise your hands. Okay. We are still stuck at 33 and we will continue. I will We do not have any visitors or
public forum tonight. So I will look for a motion for to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> Motion by Matt, second by Jen. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. Motion carries.
We will move on to our reports. Our first report tonight is our Saber Star report and it will be presented by Pine Medal Primary Principal, Miss Nelson. >> Well, good evening. I am Sarah Nelson. I'm proud to serve as principal at Pine Primary School, but it's really an honor
to be here tonight to introduce you to our newest Saber staff star. This is Janice Minat. She's our speech language pathologist at Pine Medal. Janice has been nominated by her peers because of her exceptional dedication, compassion,
and the impact she's had throughout her years of service. Janice has been a steady, positive, and uplifting presence in our school community, offering not only her expertise, but a warmth and joy that brightens every space she walks into. Janice consistently goes above and
beyond to ensure that every child she works with, receives individualized, high quality support. Her ability to connect with students, especially those significant communication challenges, is truly remarkable. With patience, empathy, and a genuine
belief in each child's potential, she helps students find their voice and build the confidence they need to thrive. A big part of what makes Janice so special is her fun demeanor and wonderful sense of humor. She brings
laughter into the school and into her sessions, helping students feel at ease and reminding her colleagues that joy and learning can go hand in hand. Her positive spirit lifts others on the toughest days, creating an environment where both students and staff feel
supported and valued. Beyond her work with students, Janice is a trusted collaborator and advocate. She communicates thoughtfully with teachers and families, offers meaningful insights during team meetings, and is always willing to help others with kindness and grace. Her professionalism, reliability,
and good-hearted nature make her someone colleagues truly appreciate and admire. After a and a half year career as a dedicated speech pathologist, including seven of those years with us at Sartell St. Steven Schools. Janice has left an
indelible mark on Primary School. Even as she retires next week, she continues to embody the heart of the school. Her lasting impact, nurturing spirit, and remarkable ability to bring smiles to both children and adults make
her an exceptional deserving candidate for the award. >> Congratulations. Thank you. >> Congratulations. >> Congrats next week. >> Okay, then we'll move on to our schoolboard student reporter.
>> Okay, Emily is not here, so you guys are a bit sick of me, but be talking for a while. Okay, starting at Oakidge, it's been a busy festive time. December will be wrapped up with the gingerbread um decorating and gingerbread family event
where parents join their children in engaging holiday learning stations. This is a highly anticipated family engagement opportunity. As we move into January, planning begins for the 2026 to 2027 school year. Kindergarten registration is now open and families
with age eligible children will receive personalized communication from Oakidge to support the process. Preschool information night will take place on Tuesday, January 27th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. with preschool registration opening
on January 29th. Some additional highlights from Oakidge include a kindergarten field trip to the Great River Children's Museum and upcoming Frosty Fun Family Night on Thursday, January 22nd. Um, moving on to Pine Meadow. At Pine
Meadow, the waste warriors from the Sartell Sustainability Club held their first um monthly meeting which consisted of bringing together a small group of second graders with the sustainability club where students collaborated to upcycle using paper and broken crayons.
Other activities included shredding paper to donate to the humane society for small animal bending, creating scratch pads from one side of paper and sorting broken crayons to be melted into new multicolored crayons for the art room. Overall, it was a successful and engaging first meeting. Also at Pine
Meadow, the gym has been transformed into the annual winter wonderland. Students are celebrating winter while strengthening large and fine motor skills through a winter themed obstacle course featuring indoor sledding, skating, tunneling, and ice fishing.
First graders are concluding their unit on early American civilizations by studying Mayan, Inca, and Aztec cultures. As part of their unit, students are building chinapas by weaving reads to create underwater fences and layering mud, which is really
cool. Second graders are ly learning about personal narratives and after writing one narrative teacher support students will be independently writing their own personal narratives prior to enter riverview riverview work partnered with
STO high school DECA to host a toy drive benefiting children at the same hospital DECA students led the preparation planning of this event and the Brew students participated by bringing in toys to donate to local children during
the holiday River View also partnered once again with the Sartell Lions Club who provided Kids Sight Vision screenings for all students. And then due to the weather, the fifth grade ensemble concerts were rescheduled and that will take place
tomorrow. And they also hosted their book fair as well. Fourth grade students enjoyed a performance by the St. Symphony Orchestra Quartet and they'll be celebrating their achievement of the schoolwide saber stronghold with live
piano music in the cafeteria. And the middle school art club launched this month and drew a lot of interested students into this club and students and staff participated in multiple winter dressup days adding energy and school spirit throughout the month. Uh the
student council at the middle school led their annual quiet drive, which they collected non-p perishable items for local families. And staff members adopted holiday families and provided gifts to help brighten the season for those families
and communities in need. And students worked together during the Saber Strong Cafeteria incentive to meet expectations to earn a schoolwide reward. And the holiday cafe returned where students prepare sweet and salty treats for staff and their pets.
and all saw middle school ensembles performed their winter concerts and which were all well attended by the community. For the high school, our student council kicked off Winter Wonderland week and the week began with pep fest today including team dances, games, and a
chance for students to win a Nintendo Switch 2 with a citywide rock scissors tournament. And students will enjoy free hot chocolate from the concession stand later this week. And the Winterland Wonderland week will conclude with the
school dance on Saturday the 20th. Yes. From 9 to 11:30 p.m. And week long winter dress up days are encouraging student um to participate in this week with um dress up days. And today is sweater day
and tomorrow will be festive color day. And high school hosted a blood drive on Friday with good turnout. Band hired and orchestra ensembles are preparing for and performing winter concerts with community. And the
orchestra concert is taking place today from 7 to 9:00 p.m. And once again, winter sports and extracurricular activities continue with strong student involvement. And that wraps it up. >> Awesome. >> Thank you.
>> Can I ask one question? I just didn't write it down in time. You said at Riverview there was a Lions Club partnership uh for an event. What was that event again? >> Thank you. >> Anyone else have any other questions? >> Thank you. We'll move on to our superintendent report.
>> Uh good evening board members. So few things this evening to supplement a little talked about. Uh winter has started. So we have had our first snow day, our first early out and our first late start. So I asked the community to
bear with us as we watch those weather conditions move in on any daily basis. It was fun the last on our first snow day. I did have an opportunity to write my newsletter article that morning reflecting on all the things that happen when we make those decisions. So it was
rather tight. Uh school visits. So our leadership teams I I don't know if I commented about this before. I spent a lot of times with our building instructional leadership teams over the last month, month and a half. We have wonderful leadership teams who really do guide in the instructional practices that we have going on in our schools.
It's been great to spend time with those individual teachers and licensed staff to find out a little bit more about how their decisions are impacting our kids right in the classrooms. And I applaud that. In my career, having leadership teams only goes back about 10 or 15
years. So to grow into what they become now. Is wonderful to see uh winter activities and athletics. We're going to talk a little bit about we're up and running. Things are happening with our teams practicing, competing, uh representing our schools
of pride. Uh orchestra, band, and choir concerts have all started up and throughout December. Been wonderful to be at those and see so many of our community members joining us to watch our kids perform. I know we a little bit and a little bit from our board reports,
but Kaser did meet last week and our CASER group is so wonderful to have come in and spend time with us as a district administration giving us some guidance on some of the things that we're doing moving forward and implementing our strategic plan looking at instructionally what we should be doing
with our students and getting that feedback from wide perspectives was a great experience. I look forward to those meetings when they happen. Last I have been spending a little bit more time with our United Way partners as we look at youth opportunity
opportunities as an advisory board. We see lots of businesses moving into our community and there's often opportunities for our high school kids to be spending more time in those businesses outside internships and just opportunities to bring in some of their
staff members with our students. So looking to continue to develop those partnerships as we move forward into the 26. That is my report. >> And we move on to our committee reports. Betton Sterns. Looks like you have one
coming up on the 17th. >> Yeah, next board meeting is Wednesday and that means I have not had one since our last regular meeting here. >> Okay. Um, current tech ed nothing. Communication and technology will be in January after or meeting. Community
education advisory will be in January on the 12th. Finance and personnel will be in February. Legislative network and schools advocating for fair funding. Um we had a meeting on Friday. Uh the
first part was one of the uh senators that was available to talk um talk about um secondary um and some of the challenges that are kind of being faced I guess um one
of them was or at least one particular one that I took away was the accountability piece. So, and correct me if I'm wrong because you were there in person, but what I took from that part of the conversation was there are some
students who are registering for PSO that drop PSO, but there isn't a financial accountability to the student. It falls on the district. Correct. >> Um, so some of the the frustration is
that the is now on the hook to pay the tuition that the child isn't attending the class because they dropped the class. Um, so there's that part of it. Um, but PSO seems to be a big conversation because when we were at when Emily and I attended the Minnesota
Schoolboard Association delegate meeting, there were three resolutions that were brought forward um, regarding PSO as well. Um, and there is a group now I can't remember the name of that's doing a focus study, but I can send it
to Mike or Trisha. They have a whole thing going on that is looking at the dynamics of um PSO specifically. Um after because that senator was on Zoom, I could hear them clearly. When we moved
into the next part of the presentation, um it was very muffled for a while. Um, but that had to do with the the budget and economic forecast presentation. Um, and Matt, you can chime in at any point because I think you were um for
that part of it, right? Um, it's it looked like there would be a short surplus at the state level. Correct. >> Yep. for 2627 but there is going to be a
deficit in the 2728 um is a projected forecast that was kind of my big takeaway on that is >> yeah um well the chart I'm looking at um
the projected surpluses for fiscal years 26 and 27 and then the shortfall is projected in 28 and 29 Um yeah it's a now I think they upped the projected
surplus for 2627 to almost 2.5 billion but they also uh adjusted the projected shortfall for the following 28 to 29 to now a net of a $3 billion projected negative
balance. um that and there was a good point made by one of our consultants uh essentially who works as a lobbyist for us that assumes that the upcoming legislature doesn't add any spending or add any revenues. So those numbers can
change either way. But yeah, as of now the picture is that there's going to be a significant projected deficit and it's not new news. I mean, when we did our tour back in
March and talked to our local legislators, that was pretty much the main topic that kept coming up back then, too. Everybody's been looking at this for quite a while. So, um, it's clearly going to be the biggest topic at the upcoming session. We'll see how they
decide to handle it. >> And there's a lot of people that are exiting, I think, was another thing that they were talking about. There was there's a lot of movement in the legislature after this next session. >> Yeah. Um, yeah, the Well, yeah, we're
just working on our legislative platform, and it's very similar to what you described at our last update where we're looking at how to account for some of the losses we've had over time in the equalization formulas. And one of the ideas, the idea they're
running with is a property tax rebate. I'll finalize that and we'll see where we get. >> Is there anything that we're missing on that piece of >> No, it was a very it's a complicated idea of how we're trying to forecast the budgets and looking at revenues coming in just how is working
the next two years a little bit easier to figure out when they look into that following it becomes a little bit more challenging but they do start forecasting the forecast. I think they even ended with what is something that's positive from this meeting.
>> Okay. So then we move on to comprehensive achievement and civic readiness which would have been on the 9th. >> Do you want to trust or do you want me to? >> Yeah, I can start and please fill in on anything that I miss. Um so yes, we met
on the 9th and started out uh discussing the director of teaching and learning job description. Um so the group kind of paired off and reviewed the job description and then came back and commented on whether there
was anything that they would add or um what they you know identify what was important. And so there seemed to be general consensus on some of the more important items. um around um around curriculum development and um
assessments and um >> experience educational yeah mainly just admin experience experience with educational reporting >> experience analyzing MTSS data and then experience coming up and formulating plans with what to do with that data not
just at it, but how do we apply different approaches >> to correct any direction that we may be heading based on that? >> That was kind of the gist that I took away. >> Yeah, if I just read further. So, yes. Um, and then conversation changed to the
second high school schedule. So, uh, Shane presented on kind of the current state of our, um, 4x4 block schedule as well as kind of the other typical like standard options for
schedules. Um, the different considerations of each, which goes through how many electives does that allow a student throughout the year? Um, how many minutes of class time or days of class time? um as well as the number
of classes a student would have per per year. So they walked through it was a 4x4 which is what we're currently on. Um and that is a model that's kind of at one end of the spectrum that allows for the most electives. Um and then also only giving four
classes to manage at any one time. Um but does allow for longer classes and a full year-long gap. And then the 2 by seven schedule which allows for six electives um total kind of the opposite end of the
spectrum from the 4x4. So you have year-long and core um shorter classes and the least amount of kind of exploration with the number of elective classes that can be taken. the 3x5 which is seven electives for the school year.
Um twothirds of the year is spent in core classes. So it's kind of a moderate option. Um and then a 3x6 which again kind of another moderate option that gives six electives. So it is a second fewest amount of electives. Uh but it does have
you year-long core. And then there's also like different variations, creative variations within those. But those are the four kind of main schedules that are seen. Some of the questions that were asked was like going into consideration and kind of how all of this started was
um the 4x4 can be rather expensive to maintain just because of the amount of options it does provide. And so, uh, not looking to change the schedule as a way to necessarily just like reduce costs, but assessing that if we need to if we
continue to make some staffing adjustments where we maybe need to reassess the scheduling that we're using. Um, and so taking into consideration, um, starting to just kind of beginning of the process, just starting to have conversations and
gathering input from staff. um and assessing this they're overall as far as like you know they reference like throughout most of our school experience we've probably all
experienced variations of this. There's not like tight ties to a specific schedule. It has proven to be the most um effective. It often just goes into not so much what your schedule is but the the staff and the work that is
applied during it. anything you would add to that? >> No, I mean it was pretty indepth. Yeah. So, without going into everything, the other thing that I thought was interesting was just the amount of instructional minutes in each >> setup. So, 4x4, which is what we're
currently been in for years, had I want to say it was the least instructional minutes within that. >> The second least, yeah, >> second least, but I think that had to do Was that mainly with your core? Wasn't that taking into just account your core
subjects and not your electives? Is that why that broke down that way? >> I want to say that's why. >> Whether you're taking quarter classes or semester classes. >> Sure. And then Yeah. So that the second least instructional I just found that to be interesting um being that they have
longer classes but less instructional minutes overall. >> Yeah. And just from like a spread, I think the one the most instructional minutes was the 3x5 and that was at 3,88 minutes. Um, and then the lowest was the
3x6 and that was 3,136 minutes. So when you're saying three by five, it's trimesters, correct? And then you'd have five classes in each. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Yep. Can you just remind me and maybe maybe
you said it and I missed it, but how many electives in a 4x4 then? >> Eight. Okay. I wrote down all the others. >> Yep. So that allows that's the only one that allows for eight electives. There's other variations. Some of the other variations are seven or six.
>> 4x4 would be four classes that last all year then. Or which one was the one that had the four classes that last? >> Four classes all year is the 2x7 >> and the 3x6 >> and the 3x6.
>> Yeah. I mean, it went through Shane's um presentation was pretty in depth. So, it went through kind of pros and cons and some things that some people would see as a pro, some other people saw as a saw as a con. So, it was kind of a it was almost a variation of opinions too on whether or not, you know, 80-minute
classes is a good thing for students. Some people say, "Yeah, it can be." Others say that might be too long. you know, they may not be engaged for that whole time. So, a lot of it is subjective to as far as the pros and cons are. Um, the only other thing I have to add, which is not related to the
high school schedule, was we did go through the K through five math curriculum as we have to select a new curriculum um as a district. So, just starting the process um we looked at a timeline, very loose timeline, but just
kind of an idea. So, The timeline included building a math review team, formal curriculum review procedure, identifying priority standards, and then finalizing a survey for teachers. Um, as far as the math
curriculum review team, we did talk a little bit about how that will essentially mimic the language arts curriculum review team that we had a few years ago where it will be um staff some director of learning and teaching, some admin, and then the goal is to have
three parents, one from each elementary building, ideally from the quaser committee. And there was a lot of interest um within the quaser committee of parents who are not staff members. There was quite the list of that were willing to volunteer. So, that was very good. Um, and that work will be ongoing
through the spring, it sounds like, um, with a loose timeline kind of set up right now on that. So, that was the only other thing I had to add. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> What did they say was the main reason they're looking at changing scheduling? >> Because
>> is it financial? >> Did you ask? >> Yes, it definitely is financial. I think as you look, we've been doing the same schedule for 30 years. Um the vast majority of school districts across the state of Minnesota do not use a block 4x4 schedule. Um so it is also an
opportunity that if you're going to do that kind of review, you need to do it now because you can make that decision if you're going to make a change by having the discussion in April that if you really want to have perspectives and multiple perspectives including our teaching staff, we should start the
discussion now. So that was something that my aspiring a couple months the different opportunities why we may or may not make a decision because a decision hasn't been made just in discussion and I think that opportunity to make sure that our
taser team was able to hear parts of that discussion was why we thought that was part of the >> so if it did get changed it would get changed till 27 28 year or next year unknown
and would that be loss teachers. It certainly could be looked at as a possibility for staff reduction. It's just based on the offerings that we would have and how we would decide what we're going to be having available for registration versus not available.
>> Yeah, it's the schedule that requires the most staffing due to the amount of electives I believe. Correct. >> For the 4x4 >> and again just discussions, >> correct? Yeah, we're exploring it because the conversation, my understanding has been brought up before, but often times it's been
brought up in a way that there's just not any time to really have if we're going to make a decision that if you're having that discussion so late in the school year, there would be no way to prepare our staff, our community, our families, and kids about what that could mean, especially for the classes that we
have choose. For some of these it's a decrease of maybe one elective per year and for other schedules it can be a decrease of three or four. So to have that discussion so late in the spring is isn't appropriate. >> So any updates on the associate high
school map? >> My next quarterly meeting is next month. So I'll have an update at the next meeting. >> Um I did attend a meeting their meeting on the 4th of December. Um a couple things or a couple of my
takeaways. Anyways, um some of their action items, their classification process, um right now it it starts on the even year for the odd year. So there's no reclassification
for this year, but they're looking at it and then it would go into effect in an odd year. Um they're also looking at the timeline still and trying to change that a little bit. They've been doing their own studies and looking at it instead of
waiting for MDE to say this is what the enrollment numbers are. They've been looking at past years to see where enrollment is and if it's stable. Um and then based on that they're able to confidently um reclass based on what
they have come up with. Um they said that districts can ask for an opt up into a specific class um and to do that earlier than later.
Um eligibility continues to be uh an ongoing discussion. Um they've had 11 meetings so far and they said that their committee is very well represented and basically the eligibility is coming from the from the online independent school
district and um they're they're still trying to gather the understanding um of their of the concerns at large. Um there it sounds like they have a meeting in January.
Um and then possibly having some sort of action coming in February as far as um eligibility goes. Um and their key term that they're trying trying to use and define is the enrollment piece of it. So where a child is actually enrolled and
how they get to participate or where they're participating in their athletics. Um another thing that they brought um was a heat policy um and being aware of the wet all
globe temperature. Um so this policy where there was um already some awareness to heat in general. um sports medicine asked them to reook at
everything and um look at outdoor and non-air conditioned indoor sports. Um so they're looking for board appro their board approval on that and then they'll educate um those those policy and
guideline changes after the board approves that policy. Um the other discussion that kind of had taking place at the end was um bench decorum for baseball. Um apparently
there's been some not nice chanting coming from the benches to the opposing team, especially the pitcher. Um and so their conversations were that head coaches would now be held accountable for the lack of decorum on the bench.
And then they were also talking about that being in close proximity. So any spectator that's in close proximity of the bench as well, the head coach is accountable for that. So um there is some heated discussion about
softball being included in that as well. Um but right now it sounds like it's just baseball. However, I think it's kind of odd that it's kind of singled out to baseball because there's all sports have benches and it just seems like common sense that the head coach
gets the warning and gets the the follow or the technical or however they you know each sport applies that. But um I guess just a reminder to our student athletes that your your behavior on the bench can be
your your head coach can be accountable for that. So, I don't think we have a problem here in Sartell, but um just a reminder to parents and and students that decorate our athletics.
Some of us found out that happened in the cities where our baseball or our basketball teams didn't get to participate because of the lack of decorum and spectators. So, that's all that I have for >> Can you this heat polic Yeah, wet ball
globe temp. I don't know what the wet ball globe temp is. >> I wish I if I remember correctly, it's a combination. It's above the D point.
>> Yes. >> Yeah. So, I think it has to be over a threshold of >> whatever. I don't know if it if it's coming into play because of the nonairconditioned part of it versus the outdoor because it seems like
everybody is very aware of the outdoor piece. But um >> so are they going to just cancel a game if it hits this threshold or just tell them to drink water? I think there is the potential of things being cancelled if it reaches this and it's for the
safety aspect and coaches being aware and trained of heat exhaustion and um those types of conditions but >> or maybe just more stipulations too of like if it's at this point you need to be making sure you're taking water breaks at such intervals or whatever
that may be. >> Yeah. And of course being the spectator and it's hard you can't ask questions and like hey what so what do you specifically mean by this but >> just a little science. So dry bulb temperature is what we refer to as just
standard air temperature air. So wet bulb is measuring humidity's impact on that. So it's taking in consideration air temperature humidity wind speed solar radiation >> to assess um that it's safe to
participate. So, we'll have a wet bulb meter that just starts flashing red and can't believe Got it. >> Okay. Well, thank you. Uh, negotiations. >> Um, so we have a mediation session
scheduled with SEIU, our multi-unit group in middle of January. And then as of about as of about 15 minutes before Joe's presentation here tonight, we have a tenative agreement with the teachers union. So since it's brand new, um more
details to come, we'll let them communicate with their membership because they'll need to vote on it before we bring it to a vote before this board. >> That's great news. Um facilities will be scheduled in January after the organizational
meeting. Policy you guys met on the 4th. Um so we looked at policy 703. Um we had no changes so we as a review. um 74
we had um Joe's recommendation or administrative recommendations and there was some MSDA changes. Um I do believe the red line version was not included in the packet but was emailed to the
members that are not on policy. Um so those were our recommendations. Um we have tabled 705 just to get some more clarification regarding some reporting. So that'll be on February's
um agenda to discuss. 706 we had no changes and we marked that as a review. 713 again no changes and we marked as a review. 714 no changes and marked as a
review. Um, policy 540, we took the admin recommendations. Um, that would require three readings because that was a revision. Um, 905 is our advertising policy. We did revise a little bit to 905.
Um, and in our discussions and going and digging mainly Chris said doing a lot of digging. Um we are comfortable with the with the advertising policy with how our recommendations are in the revision. Um
the conversation that prompted this was some of the um banners that are hanging on the fence line at the high school. Those are not advertising banners. Those would be sponsorship banners. So, we as a um
committee have decided that it would be in our best interest for the district to um come up with a sponsorship policy. Um so that would be the next step in um that committee is coming and writing a
sponsorship policy. Um so we are we've established that we need one. We did do some work on that, but it's not ready. But 905 is ready for the three readings for the board. >> And a lot of it came down to the legal
definition of advertising. Even though in our minds the you know the banners and outward facing signage is going to in our minds apply as advertising, but in the world of law and the legal definition it doesn't. It fits under the category in
our world of more like sponsorship. So first we tried to mesh it into one policy which was becoming more and more difficult. So we started working on just it's probably cleaner and easier to apply and come up with procedures around
if there's a separate scholarship. And we did for clarity even though it was a whatever I can't say that word um but the 706 we did add donations to the title >> to the acceptance of gift just so like
it's a bit clearer easier if someone's specifically looking for the word like donations >> um so that it's like donations and then we have our advertising and eventually sponsorship >> and really it came about as well because
It's those three specific things that get listed out legally as what's what. So you have the donations, sponsorships, and advertising that are their own categories. >> Correct me if I'm wrong. And I don't
know that we had did we get did we get red line on any of these any of the houses that we're looking into? >> Yeah. >> I'm not sure. >> Okay. >> I'm seeing a red line in it. Well, that's what's confusing because like there's parts that are highlighted, but
where was that run on sentence? Like because I felt like I would have seen that very obvious like wasn't that in 905? >> Yeah, it was um >> was we decided to leave that sentence though because it applies to >> advertising if if someday a highway
would be instead of Pine Cone, there would be a state highway out here or a county highway or something. We decided to leave it in there because it actually does apply by statute to advertising. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay.
>> That was my only question because I thought we had also that we found that to be kind of confusingly. >> Something incredible would have to happen to our community. >> Okay. >> Which is why we couldn't mesh sponsorship and advertising because we
were getting rid of that. So, >> well, thank you. Um, Sartell Senior Connection. >> Uh, this is kind of their member drive time of the year. So, you go to the community center, grab a flyer if you're
interested. Um, an example of the partnership between the school district and senior connection this morning. I believe Bruce and our activities director directors, Bruce and Jen, were presenting to the senior connection uh to help them navigate how to look up
activities on the website, how to navigate our online activity, and how to view events online. >> Awesome. And Jen, do you have any updates for resource training solutions? Um, I have a meeting on Wednesday, but I
did ask for clarification because somebody had asked about Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange and how they tie into resource. So, they are their own separate entities. Central Minnesota Library Exchange hired
resource training solution to do their management. So, that's how that is correlated. I just wanted to bring that clarification because I know that was a question, but um the monthly meeting Thank you. The next report is the acting board acting board chair report for our
closed session. So I'll go ahead and pull that up and read my my statement. So on December 4th, 2025, a closed meeting was held pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D05 subdivision 3A to conduct superintendent rev's formative midyear
evaluation. Those in attendance were acting chair meing, vice chair morley, treasure the clerk Larson, director Wshaw, director Smith, and Dr. Revard. The board in partnership with Dr. Revard discussed three goals during the evaluation. The first goal we discussed is school safety and security. The
second goal we discussed is informing the community as a whole as well as visibility and approachability. The final goal we discussed is staff evaluations. The full board is pleased with the work we see in all of these areas. With the understanding that these are year-long goals, we were able to offer him direct feedback on areas where
we see great work being done as well as some areas where we see some opportunities for growth. Overall, the Saral St. Steven School Board is impressed with the work Dr. Revard has accomplished thus far. The board is excited to see the district continue to thrive with Dr. Revard's leadership that aligns with the district's vision of being future-minded and student focused.
The school board continues to f value Dr. Revard's steady leadership and is confident in his ability to continue working toward achieving his yearly goals. The board plans to complete a midyear h sorry not a mid a year-end evaluation in June of 2026.
I will look then we'll move on to our action items. I will look for a motion to approve the resolution accepting donations. >> So second. >> Okay. Motion by Emily, second by Matt. Any discussion? I would like to um read
out the donations to acknowledge the organizations in their generosity. So we have Sartell St. Steven pre through five PTO donated $2376 to Riverview Intermediate for the
Minnesota Historical Society field trip. Sartell All Sports Booster Club donated $2,000 to Sartell High School for the volleyball coaches pay. Park Industries donated $100 to Sartell High School for the Saber uh High School robotics. City
of Sartell donated $100 to Sartell High School student council for National Night Out. Sarah and Chris Thompson donated uh Upright String Bass Bass. Thank you. Bass uh valued at $3,300 to
the music program. And then Christine Lawrence donated $300 to Sartell High School girls basketball program. So a big thank you to all of these individuals or organizations for their generosity. Okay. Any other discussion?
Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. I. >> Those oppos say nay. >> Motion carries. I'll look for a motion to approve the 2025 payable 2026 property tax levy. Second. >> Okay. Motion by Jen, second by Chelsea.
Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. >> Motion carries. I'll look for a motion to approve the resolution for combined polling places. >> Motion by Jen, second by Emily. Any
discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. Motion carries. I'll look for a motion to approve policies 515 and 516. >> Second.
>> Okay. Motion by Chelsea, second by Jen. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Those oppos say nay. Motion carries. Move on to our discussion items. We have our first readings of policies 540, 704,
and 9:05. So, I did have one question actually. Um, find it here. >> Believe it's in 540. >> Yeah, on the third page of 540. So, in our PDF packet, it's page 152.
>> Could you tell me Roman section? >> Yep. I'm in uh Roman 4 guidelines section B. So there's there's numbers one, two, three under section B. And I guess I'm not clear on what that's
describing because I don't think those are referenced in the paragraph above it. It looks like maybe something that's supposed to be included in a report, but And to be clear, this isn't a change that the policy committee made. It's
just language that's not being changed. >> I can't remember. Is this one question? >> It's matching the previous policy. M concerns about that during our time for the second reading. I would like to see if that's supposed to be a colon after
the word order because what I see below that are areas that would be related to child with a 504 plan. Number two, number one would possibly be a child who be on special education plan possibly and number three would be a child who's
on individual health plan. So I'd like to see if it's just that we're missing a missing on the previous policy also. >> Okay. >> Might just be a nice grammatical check. >> Yeah, it it just wasn't clear to me what those were referencing. >> We can take a look at that for the
second. >> Thanks. >> And really while we're looking at that, that technically should become a under guidelines then >> because we struck a because a didn't actually go there. >> Sure. To re number the paragraphs, right?
Any other questions or concerns about policies? Okay. Uh then we'll move on to our discussion about the schoolboard leaison position. So I dusted off some cobwebs in my mind
to remember kind of another reason why I brought this forward and It was on it was during one of our ones and it was prior to the start of the school year. So it might have been July or August one
and we were being invited by the kindergarten teachers to observe them in the classrooms at the beginning of the year. So this would be an extension of that initial invitation.
um is also where this kind of came from. But again, I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on it. So, if it's not something that Ford is has an appetite for, it doesn't really change anything to what we're doing now. But that was just another
thing that made me think of this idea. So I think I personally would be more more interested in like the idea that Dr. already brought up with maybe having like the high school is January, another school is another month, and then maybe
offering like a couple opportunities for board members to come and see what that what that specific building of the month has to offer um than than this. But that's just me. >> I did a little work on that idea for the board to consider. I had our high
principles signed up so that twice a year they would be available to do something like this would be January and August. each of their ability to do something during the winter, spring and then fall winter. So there'll be an opportunity to
come up each time and then we get what an agenda look like talking about building overview from the principal. This will be in about a 90 minute time frame going over school improvement focuses some of those areas having a
guided tour some look for maybe 30 to 35 minutes maybe an opportunity for student staff to spend a little bit of time with you at that time if possible and then a Q&A on what you may really want to know about that specific building and some of
the programming that we have going on each that could be a possibility Nobody has any anything else to add? Do we just want to like raise our hands? And >> um what as far as when speaking to the principles, did they sound like this is
something that they would have an appetite for? >> Spending time with the school board always. They're very proud of their buildings and want to share those things that are going on.
>> Do there seem to be a difference for like whether like the what you had proposed or kind of talked about with them or what they would versus having like a more official this liaison in place or >> I think they were more comfortable with
this as a plan but it was also one of the plans that I brought forward to them. Sure. >> Understandable. >> They they understood the role of what we run could be and they also saw challenges. >> Yeah. I guess I'd be in favor of maybe
starting like this next year and proceeding what your suggestion is and then if we don't feel as a board that we're getting out of it what we would like to get out of it that then we could you know come back to discussing this or follow Sounds like a good
>> I'm fine with that. >> Okay. So, we will have Dr. Revard's suggestion moving forward for this year and then re revisit and reevaluate next fall. Does that sound agreeable? Are we just logistical question here as
far as how we want to navigate three members no more than three at each of these signups? How do we want to go about that just so we don't get into serial meetings at all and too much conflict there? >> My recommendation the board those dates that are reordinating
>> for January through May and then I would reserve the idea next round August through December session. Sure. >> Yeah. >> I like it. >> Thank you. Then our next discussion item
is our three takeaways. >> Uh members of the board. So in my listening, I wrote down two takeaways. One would be our taxation public hearing and a little bit about our property tax
levies. Number two would be a summary of my evaluation following session previous month and then discussing school assignments to me.
>> Thank you. So then our upcoming meeting dates, we have our annual organizational meeting on Monday, January 5th, 2026 at the district service center at 6:30 p.m. And we didn't list anything else as although we've already agreed to our meeting dates, they are not official until we've
had that meeting. Otherwise, I will look for a motion to adjourn. >> So second motion by Emily, second by Jen. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> Good to see you.
>> I those opposed say nay. >> Okay, it is 7:19 and we are adjourned. Good job, guys. >> I was going to say pauses there. Everyone pauses take that down. Come out