[laughter] It is 6:30. I call this regular meeting to order. Please rise for 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. >> Good evening, fellow school [laughter] board members, district staff, community members. Uh, as always, a reminder for us all, the mission of St. necessary
schools is to equip all students with the knowledge and skills to empower them to achieve their dreams and full potential while becoming responsible citizens in a dynamic world. Our first item for tonight is agenda item two, adoption of the agenda. Are there any
questions prior to a motion being made on the agenda before you? Any questions? Is there a call the motion for the March 23rd, 2026 meeting agenda? Second. >> Any discussion on that motion?
No discussion. All [clears throat] in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I motion prevails. 7. Thank you. Our next agenda item is the Safe Star Award recognition.
The Safe Star Award was established to publicly recognize St. Francis area school staff, students, and community members at [clears throat] a schoolboard meeting to highlight the positive and impactful work happening in the district. A listing of all of our past SS Star Award recipients is listed on
our website. This month's Saintar Award is presented to community member Reed Bonafice for her many years of dedicated service to the district through advocacy, committee membership, and professional expertise. Her service to school started 50 years
ago as a parent and she was involved in her children's classroom, the parent teacher organization and the extracurricular activities. Her role expanded as a trusted member of the community and an advocate for building cultural understanding. Some of her work
includes serving on a district-wide cultural and diversity committee, supporting American Indian education programs and expanding events to include performers of varied cultured backgrounds. She has served on district committees for nearly two decades, including
extensive contributions to adult and senior community education and as a member of the community education advisory council. Notably, she helped create lunch and learn events in the popular lunch lunch series. She also used her professional
experience as a full-time faculty member at the University of Minnesota to serve with the a culture education department in an advisory capacity to reconnect a cultural heritage of the community to present educational offerings. Through
this work, she helped grow the program, provide updated agricultural books, purchased jackets for future Farmers of America members, and helped design and fund learning activities at the Anoka County Fair. She also shared agricultural stories and related
activities to early childhood classrooms. When asked why she believes it is important to be involved with the district, she said, "I have found that when people are involved in schools, student outcomes improve significantly. It helps build cultural understanding
and it provides opportunities for developing work skills and career direction. Positive citizen involvement boosts morale, confidence, and longer tenure among teachers and staff. Active partnership builds public trust and stronger support, not only during
schoolboard decisions and funding votes, but community and business development. Please help me show your appreciation for Anita and her extensive contributions TO THIS DISTRICT. [applause and cheering] WELL, I JUST WANT TO THANK the school board for this wonderful decision and
also [laughter] came out. I know especially the teachers who see [laughter] a big surprise. I don't know how they determined this or who what throws your name in the hat, but whoever did, thank you very much. It's been my privilege.
Uh, you know, I've been an adult educator for over 60 years and when I retired from my longtime career from university, I couldn't leave education and I couldn't leave adult education. So, fortunately, there was opportunities right here in your home with our
district. So, thank you for all the work you did over the years and for helping to really build a great independent school district here. Thank you. [applause] and I We just ended on that note, right? Meeting right there.
>> Agenda item four, consideration of visitors. We have eight individuals requesting to chief tonight. We will allow two minutes per speaker. I ask that each speaker, once your time is up, to please you state your final comments to be respectful of everyone's time. Our
first speaker tonight is Mike Star. Mr. Star. Well, good afternoon uh school board staff and everyone here from Red. Thanks for coming out tonight. My name is Mike Star. I'm here to talk about uh test scores for kids for reading. They've
been talking about test scores for years and years. Are you aware that 1900 gentleman by the name of Edward Stradmire his goal in his publishing company was to get books out for kids to be good readers and he put out the first
book Bobsy Twins 1904. Then he put out a book called Tom Swift 1910 and those books worked pretty well for a while. Then in 1927 he put out a book called The Hardy Boys which we still have in our media center. And then he put out
1930 the secrets of Nancy Drew and that's still in our system. So this has not been a just a short time frame of people talking about test scores. It's been around for a long time. I was in a reading class myself, fifth to sixth grade. Why? Because we had a
reading teacher. I said, "Mike, you got to learn how to be a better reader." She said, "What do you read on nights at home?" Nothing. What do you read in the weekend? Nothing. What do you read in the summertime? Nothing. She got me started on Louisis Lam more question books and that made me a better reader
when I tested out I test out on 7.9 and I remember asking that question what's a 79 mean she said that means you're at an eighth grade level so reading teachers do a good job for us now rumor has at one time we're going to shut down our media centers possibly media center
should never be shut down because somewhere in that media center is a book that some students going to look at someday make him or her a better reader and or look for a job sometime down the road. And that's what I'm going to talk tonight about quickly. Please do not shut down any media centers. We need
them for our kids. There's a lot of good books in there. Who knows? There may be a good book in there to be a good schoolboard member. So, please do not shut down any media centers for us. Now, uh Mr. Berg, you took my old way of doing stuff. Two minute time frame.
[music] So, I'm done. I just want to make sure keep our media center open so our teachers can teach in a reading classroom. Thank you very much. [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Star. >> I apologize.
>> Our next speaker is Chris Carrian. Chris [laughter] >> [clears throat] >> Good evenings members and I'm here to talk about my gra for those of you who know me. I'm not really I don't like to speak up. Um
not publicly in a big group, but I'm very opinionated. Um I moved into this district 24 years ago. I have two kids that came through the district. I live in the district. I teach in the district. This is my seventh district by choice. This is my 39th year of teaching. I came into the district at a
time when we were in the red because we had a superintendent who embezzled so much money that we never thought we'd see our way out of it ever. And yet we chose to come here and the teachers were a brunt of that money being embezzled by not getting contracts.
So then we came to a point in time when there was a great agreement between the school board and professional development developing our teachers and we said we're going to develop the best and the brightest teachers. It wasn't that we had a whole
lot of money necessarily, but we still want to invest our time in teacher training and professional development and making sure we attract and retain the best and the brightest teachers and the best and the brightest educational systems because that's what our kids need and that's what they deserve. Then
there came a time when we had more that dipped into the coffers again. Then there came an empty with propane buses that dipped them in his money. Again, the school district has a history of financial struggles. I get it. I
balance the budget. I have a budget. We don't know. But we have a responsibility to our teachers, our future and our students to work and find a solution so that we get the best and we train the best and we keep the best because that's
really important for what's going to happen for now and for my time. But that's it. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Chris. Our next speaker is Keith Orisha.
>> He just wants me to handle his papers for him. >> We made a good team. >> Lisa's my gopher. Uh Lisa is handing out with uh tonight uh comparison with other districts that ranked to St. Francis. Uh they are
life-size districts. St. Francis ranks 16 out of 19. Uh she's also handing out free documents from teachers here at St. Francis, young teachers that wrote letters to you tonight uh considering uh moving to neighboring districts. Okay.
uh they are waiting on your decision with negotiations as they go on since I've been at St. Francis for a number of years 32 years I've seen some things I remember when you came to us and you asked for $113,000 because you were in financial straits
and you needed $113,000 for us to pay our own disability. We did that. I remember when you came to the high school, you asked for $450,000 that those teachers that would be retired would not be replaced. We consented to that. We agreed to that. We
were in district financial uh we had a lot of pressure going on. I remember when you came and asked us to take a 12th class for $375,000. We did that. I remember when you stripped our viva for a year and then after negotiations concluded you didn't
give it back and we gave up $350,000. I remember when we gave up a half a sick day. We are at the point that we are asking you to meet us. We have teachers right now that we formed in Mr.
Stafold's words a donut. Okay. We have teachers at the bottom. Not very many up in the middle and a lot up high. Those young teachers have left us and teachers will continue to leave us in the future. We cannot afford to keep hemorrhaging
teachers dug their districts. We just cannot afford it. These young teachers are waiting for your answer on Wednesday in mediation. They are waiting for that answer in their classroom whether they're going to remain at St. Francis High School, elementaryaries, and
throughout the district. Thank you. [applause] [laughter] >> Thank you, Keith. And Lisa, our next uh speaker is Ashley Christensen. Ashley Well, I'm a perfect person to follow because I am one of those teachers.
Unfortunately, um I'm Ashley Jowski Christensen. I'm a 2009 graduate of ISD 15, a teacher at Cedar Creek, and now a parent of a third generation saint. I stand here tonight to honor the teachers who shaped my life and to stand up for those who are still serving this district. My teachers were
my heroes. They made school feel safe. They made it meaningful. They made me believe in myself. They were the people I never wanted to disappoint. The people I worked harder for. People whose approval meant the world to me. As a child, I didn't see the long hours, the late nights, or the financial stress. All I saw was love, passion, and
commitment. Now, as a teacher, I see it all. The emotional weight, the invisible labor, the sacrifices made for students every single day. And I see how much is still being asked of teachers, often without the respect or support we deserve. Knowing the stress and mental exhaustion this job carries, my heart
breaks for them. I wish I had thanked my teachers so much more when I was a student because I understand now just how much they gave and how much they sacrificed for me. I live on the Elk River Big Lake border and I commute to Cedar Creek every single day. Why? Because I chose this district on purpose. Because I wanted what I had for
my children and for them to experience the same futures who made me feel seen, valued, and loved. I wanted to work alongside my heroes and give back to the community who invested in me as a student. But I can't do this here anymore. The cost of living has gone up so much faster than my paychecks. I even have a second job, not counting summer
school, union secretary, yearbook, and I still can't do this. If things don't change, you will be losing me, a teacher with 11 years of experience and two students to another district like Elk River, where I could be making $10,000 more a year. I will
not continue to do this drive this far just to feel invisible when I can find a district closer that values me and a community that supports me. So, what are you willing to do to keep me here? Or does it not matter to you? I'm replaceable, right? But the reality is I'm not the only one considering leaving. You may see have far more than
just me to replace. If one of our goals is to improve test scores, then we need to address the constant cycle starting over year after year. I know I don't have time, but I do want to say one more thing to all of you teachers here. Thank you. You don't hear that enough. And
this community throws so much negativity to you. But I want you to know you are enough. You are more than that. You are a child every all of you who are my teachers. I just want you to know that you meant the world to me. And I hear your lessons with me every single day. And I hope that [clears throat] you grow. Thank
you. Thank you, Ashley. Our next speaker is Izzy Bongard. Izzy. >> Hello everyone. My name is Isabelle Bongard and I'm the junior class president this year. I wanted to come today in support of my teachers. Kids talk and parents talk and I've heard a
lot about when my teachers are getting paid and how they're being treated in their jobs. The hard thing is I know that the school does not have infinite money and infinite resources. But I also know that my teachers have done so much more than anyone could understand to help me learn. Not only as a student but
as a person. Throughout my time in St. Francis, since I was in kindergarten, I've watched my teachers. I saw how they worked with kids and noticed what they chose to teach. I also see what my teachers go through. their busy schedules and their frustrating classes. Even this year, as I take a few PSO
classes, I can still see what my teachers are doing at the high school every single day. They help people feel understood, take their personal time to make sure we get the education we deserve, and many even put in their time coaching, directing, or supervising, finding more ways to help us grow.
Seriously, anyone who is able to control angsty teenagers enough to go through tech week, concerts, or games should get paid a lot more. [laughter] Through these people who work on incredibly low salaries, I have become the person I am today. I see how hard they are fighting
and I stand behind them because I know how important their jobs are. I hope that after college I will learn to be as good as teaching as they are. They inspired me to pursue teaching as a career even if I'm not quite sure what the future holds for me yet. For a little bit of context to why this is so important, since 2015, inflation has
gone up 35% while the salaries of teachers in our district has only risen 9%. That means that while so many things are getting more expensive, these teachers are only getting a little more pay, none anyway enough to make up for the toll of inflation. And like I said, their teaching goes far beyond teaching us the course material. In my economics
class, second try, I learned more about the world, how it works, and why people make the decisions they do. When I was struggling, I was able to go talk to my teacher and get the help I needed on the time that he could have been getting other things done. In my Spanish class, I felt like I won more of a challenge last year, and I was given extra work.
My teacher found more time to find extra assignments that I could do that would help me improve my reading in Spanish. She even sat with me to go over my answers, talk through them with her. I know I've learned so many things from the complexities of the world to the simplicity of kindness. And I should hope all these teachers that inspire kids and help educate future generations
will actually be paid with their work for our school and our society. Thank you. [applause] [cheering] Our next speaker is Dean Dean. [clears throat]
Thank you board for the opportunity. My name is Dean Pollson. a husband and a lifer here, a teacher who's been here for over 30 years. I have a a teaching degree as well, but I took the easy way up. I left after a year and went into corporate America. I spent most of my career as an executive strategist for a
few larger financial institutions, but was fortunate enough to have a good amount of success in my career where I found that success was to build a culture of support, transparency, collaboration, and most importantly, trust. But this isn't a corporation, is it? This is a school district. And it's ridiculous to think these same things
would apply, right? What benefit would teachers get if they heard every once in a while from the administration, the school board, and even the community? We understand your value. We support you. We see the extra unpaid hours each day, weekend, and summer you put in because we've lost the resources to help you. We know you spend hundreds, if not
thousands of dollars of your own money for the benefit of our students. And we know you have a hard time falling asleep many nights because you're worried about helping that one kid that for whatever reason is not reaching their potential because they have expanded needs, a challenged home life, and is distracted, hungry, dirty, angry, whatever. We wish
you could pay you what you deserve, but we always try our best to get as close as we can to be creative in how we can support you as we're in this together for the benefit of our students. Frankly, I think you'd be very surprised at the result. To the people that have commoditized the teacher's job into something that could be done easily and
they should just stop complaining. And I'm talking to you social media folks that have never taught a day of public school in your life nor spent a full day in the school to see how teachers frequently manage a basic war zone, particularly in the elementary schools with the deescalation skills of federal
hostage negotiators because regulations of student restraint and discipline are so strict that they'll often take a punch or to themselves. so other students aren't put in harm's way. Come and spend a full day volunteering in the school. After that, come look me in the eye and tell me they aren't underpaid and under supported. There's a reason
they do what they do and that you don't. Until you do that, you have no credibility and teachers have equal right to tell everyone how easy your job is and how much you suck at it. Lastly, I ask the school board to take a step back and see the forest for the trees. If you do, you'll see that you have education professionals who have taken
on the sacrifices you'veed them, somehow maintain their passion for each child's growth and success, and as a result push your district in a much stronger position. This is an opportunity to forge a way forward in building respect, integrity, and mutual risk and reward. Let's put the focus back on having the
best possible education we can for our students. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Dean. Our next speaker is Julie. Is it yours? Close enough. [laughter] >> Good evening. I am Julie Woric. I'm
taught in this district. This is my 21st year. So my entire career has been spent here, much of it in kindergarten. When most people think of a teacher, they picture someone delivering lessons, grading papers, and yes, that is part of our job. But teaching today is so much
more. It is helping ch children learn how to function socially in a classroom. It is comforting a child who is scared after a difficult night at home. It is being a mandated reporter and sitting in court, sometimes walking alongside a child as they share experiences no child
should ever have to endure. These are all personal experiences from my career here at St. Francis. It is riding with a child to the sheriff's department to help them feel safe enough to speak about what is happening at home, things unimaginable to many of us. It is
driving a co-orker to the ER after she's been injured by a student. It is visiting a parent in the hospital after a life-threatening accident because he was heartbroken that he would never meet his child's skin teacher or hear what his son would hear. It is being a
counselor, a nurse, a mediator in a safe place. Sorry. All while teaching academic standards that have become more demanding at younger ages. Are kids different today? Yes, they are. Is the world changing? Absolutely. Should
teaching evolve as well? Of course it should. But that takes time, takes energy, and it takes hours beyond our contracted days. Hours that often come at the expense of our own families and personal lives. Some people hear educators speaking up and think it's just about the money. But I ask you to
see it differently. I ask you to see us as professionals who give all that we have, who I awake at night worrying about their own students safety and well-being. And yet, even after years of service, many of us educators struggle to afford the basic necessities that we
have here in the community we serve. I am proud to be a teacher and I ask that you truly consider what that means and to value and compensate educators accordingly. Thank you. Thank you. Our next uh and final speaker
is Anner. An >> good evening school board members and community. My name is Anne Carter, president of Education Minnesota St. Francis and I've been a teacher in this district for nearly 30 years. I'm proud to work here and I care deeply about our
students and this community. I want to briefly share part of my story. When I started teaching full-time in St. Francis in 1998, I was a single mom making about $1,000 a month and my
take-home pay. Money was tight, but I stayed because I loved my students and I loved my co-workers. Back then, jobs were hard to get. I couldn't go to another district to find another job. Later, when I wanted to buy a home, [clears throat] even with excellent
credit, I couldn't afford to live in this community. The closest community that I could afford was Rush City. For years, I commuted 80 miles a day just to continue teaching in St. Francis.
Today, many of our teachers are facing that same reality. The average family income in St. Francis is about $112,000. The average home costs about $380,000.
Yet, the average teacher salary here is about $71,000. That gap matters because it affects whether teachers can stay in this community. We are seeing the impact in our turnover. A large percentage of our
staff are in their first two years of teaching across our schools. And when teachers leave, students lose relationships and schools lose all that teaching experience. In 2010, we had 40 teachers start their
careers here in St. Francis area schools. Today, only one of those teachers still remain. One That tells us something important. Let me be clear. Teachers want to stay in
this district, but right now too many are leaving for districts that allow them to build a life. I love St. Francis area schools. I've spent my career here because I believe in this community. But the decisions you make about district parameters and the salary schedule will
determine whether teachers continue to leave or whether they stay. and the community will see the direction the district chooses. We need to move our teachers forward on their salary schedules so they can realistically
remain in this district. We need to support a voter approved operating levy or this pattern will continue. So I will leave you with this. Do we want St. Francis to be a place where teachers start their careers or a place where
they stay and become a part of this community because when teachers stay, students win. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you, Ann. Thank you to all that spoke tonight. We appreciate the input and the feedback and our engagement with
each of you. Uh just like every board meeting, there will be no discussion on anything that was discussed during [laughter] consideration of this bill. All right, our next agenda item is consent agenda. There are six items on tonight's consent agenda. This will be a
roll call vote. Are there any questions or requests to remove an item from the consent agenda before we have a motion? Seeing none, is there a call motion to approve the consent agenda? [clears throat] Anderson, is there a second?
>> Any discussion on that motion? No discussion again. So discontinuence of contract for those is that a decision or is it
seems like some people are some people are just not a budget decision or what's okay I recognize a really good teacher that I on and um there are some others where
they may have trouble but I don't know but my point is are those done decisions or that just kind of like a kind of a coach comes up again next year are all those positions are all those teachers that
you have listed in these um Um and perhaps Mr. Nelson could respond on these issues. >> Yes. So the result those two resolutions are the result of a staffing process where decisions are made in staffing for
numerous reasons. It might be um reduction in students. So we need less staff and maybe because of performance. It could be um because they're a long-term substitute and their assignment ends at the year and it's best practice to nonrenew. And then um
finally, and this is where we have many where they are not guaranteed a license beyond July 1st. We cannot request another license until after July 1st, but we cannot nonrenew later than June 30th. And so, um there are many that are
in in a place that where they have one-year licenses. um they could very well be hired back but we um we do not uh we can't find it person. So to answer your question um about a done deal or not this if this is not approved then
the staffing process is not complete then we would have to go back and um make any adjustments. [cough] [clears throat] So I think that clarifies it. There are people on this list that they will be hired back next year because of either having a secure
license or whatever the situation is. >> It's very likely. >> Okay. Thank you. Any other discussion? All right. See, I said this will be a roll call vote. So now I call your name. I if you agree or you approve you do
not. Mr. >> Mr. Anderson >> I >> Mr. Sha >> I miss boxing >> I >> Mr. Working >> I miss >> I as well motion. Thank you. All right as we move forward into item
uhformational items and reports again try to let the presenter finish before we ask any questions. We have fourformational reports this evening. Our first one tonight is St. Francis High School Student Council. Uh it looks like we've got the two rock stars tonight, Jack and Elsie here to provide
us. >> Good evening, school board cabinet, Superintendent Anderson, and the community both here and online. I'm Elise Overby representing the St. Princess High School student council who are once again very appreciative of this opportunity to speak and represent
ourselves at this school board meeting with Tribe 3 it second week. We as the St. Francis High School student council are in the home stretch of our school year and as such we currently only have two events left in our schedule for this year. The first item is a hopeful full
council event of our highway portion. We are hoping to find a day with nice warm weather so we make it out and clean our strip of the highway. Our second is one of the most important events of the year, senior sunrise. We will be celebrating the class of 2026 on May
19th. There there is expected to be speakers, inflatables, food trucks, yearbook distribution for seniors and many more fun activities to celebrate their time here at St. Francis High School. Otherwise, the only item left for the student council is our election
of next year's executive board, which will take place sometime during this trimester. >> Any questions? >> Questions. >> That was really well said,
but you did a great job. Thanks for >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Our next agenda item is 6.2 student discipline data. Superintendent Anderson will discuss data presented in the work packet as well as discussion on
strategies and plan. And if I um I will add that we do have elementary school and high school principal representatives here. Uh they did not come with a presentation in mind, but they're here to answer some questions.
Um so a couple of meetings ago, there was a request to add student discipline and behavior data to the agenda. And so there are multiple documents included in tonight's meeting. Uh first of all, there's kind of a summary in terms of
how we're meeting our goals with regard to student behavior. Uh and that same document includes a list of strategies and initi initiatives that we've had over the last three or four years. Uh we continually update the document. In
fact, today I had some information from principles updated. I did not include those changes in this substantial but at least it outlines the different strategies that we've been focusing on.
Uh this summer uh we will review as a group uh together uh before we bring an updated list to the school board for review. Uh other documents included um are the
um the behavior data through February uh first based on school and by levels if elementary, middle school, high school and so you kind of see where [clears throat] we are month by month compared to
previous year And and then the the introductory page kind of gives just a a real snapshot kind of a depth feeling as far as
you know some of the relevant behavior data. And so I did go building by building and listed the percent of students with no majors in February. So for example at the elementary schools
there were n about 97% to 98% of the students that had no majors in the uh in terms of the percentage of students with no minors in the elementary between 92 and a half and
95%. I also included bus infractions as a percentage of total infractions through [clears throat] February. So that would be for the whole school year so far. And you can see depending on the site we go
from 73% at the high school driving. So that's one reason that they matured. [laughter] They've grown along the way. Middle school has about 4.74% that are on the bus. And then you can
see the elementary schools range from 8.77% to about 12% bus. So you can see we have a pretty substantial number of of kids who do have bus violations.
Uh and then another stat I really weigh whether I should include this stat in there but we track data for individual students. Um, so we can see how many infractions, you know, each student has
during the year. And you can see that, um, you know, I took the the top five students [clears throat] with majors this school year. So those were more serious interactions like fighting, harassment, sometimes vandals, and those kinds of
things. I took those five and I I told them and took a percentage as far as the number of majors in the school so far. And you can see at the elementaryaries they range from 25% of those five kids
um have committed this year to 47% at St. Francis uh middle schools 22% 23% of the high school and uh again I really hesitated if I if I would would include that
because I don't want to blame the kids I don't want to blame the parents uh but it's an indication as far as you know the needs that those kids have and the struggles that you know our staff members have serving those kids. So
that's why I included it. Um you can see that the percentages have come down because as kids get older. Um for as I said earlier they mature. Um you know uh the behavior generally gets better over time. They learn how to act students.
But then also the setting um becomes an important factor. And part of our goal as educators is to [clears throat] make sure that we have kids in the appropriate setting where they will succeed.
Uh sometimes that means um a certain rotation in the elementary classroom. Sometimes that makes a difference. Uh sometimes it means going out to [clears throat] work with a special education teacher or
having changes to other activities in school. Uh sometimes it means uh being placed in another district program that really specializes um [clears throat] working with kids who have some higher
behavioral needs. And sometimes it means placing kids out of the district. Um and uh you know for a lot of those programs what we call setting three and setting four programs um generally we cannot place kids there.
will face agreement with the parents through the IEP process and that's a very complicated and timeconuming process but as we go through those different phases you can see the percentages that go down
because we're placing kids where they need help most. So that's a testimony to the work that we do as public educators that we do work with our kids and that um you know
eventually some of those behaviors decrease over time added a few notes and I'll just briefly mention them just for the good of the people here because we have the notes on uh Cedar Creek uh some classrooms I
noticed um have significantly more needs because there might be multiple kids with higher behavior rates in those specific classrooms. East Bethle, one thing I notice that there are
significantly fewer minors this year compared to last year. [clears throat] St. Francis Elementary, we have more majors and minors this year compared to previous year. Um but I think that could be largely because of kind of a
different um emphasis [clears throat] on documentation with our attorney principal because that's also a factor in this as well. Um you know my personal feeling as as I walk through elementary schools it feels
more hectic this year or busier this year than in [clears throat] some of the previous years. Um, but I know that our teachers, our education assistants and principles are doing really good work. Um, but that's
just how it feels. Uh, one thing I'll note at elementary level is that, you know, kindergarten kids this year were born right when CO started. So, you know, there's some speculation, you know, [clears throat] nationwide
that that is impacting, you know, our kids, you know, five or six years later. Uh, and it was actually anticipated by educational experts that we going through that that phase. Uh, middle
school, uh, there's significantly more minors in February compared to last year. uh and compared to other months uh there was a job and uh so I know that Miss Critley and the administrative team there are carefully analyzing that
uh and then at the high school there are fewer minors this year uh they mentioned that because of changes to cell phone expectations so teachers are expected to have the cell phone holders in their classroom so that students will place their cell
phone um in in the holder unless they give permission to kids to use them during class and uh and they believe that the difference. They've also worked with teachers [clears throat] on setting expectations for most students in the
classroom. There's still cell phone violation. We still do better, but that's that's how they explain the decrease in. So, those are the documents I have. I don't really have a a formal presentation. just wanted to
mention some of the things. >> Thank you. Are there any questions for Caring? [clears throat] >> Sure. Let me make sure I have [clears throat] [clears throat] what what Miss West is referring to is
the attachment called the yearly discipline data and strategies document which is at the bottom of that list of attachments. And uh this is related to the um the goals and the metrics that we have for
the district. And as you may recall, every June and July, we review those goals together, reading goals, math math goals, we have department rules, and we have student [laughter] behavior for student discipline. So that's what this
document is here. The format looks different. uh this year compared to what I've done in the past. I think display [clears throat] is a better way to see it more easily. It was way too complicated before with colors and um
you know a bunch of extra data that made it difficult to to see. But if you don't mind, I'll just go through each one of these metrics. And uh the very top one is the the number of major discipline incidents
that we have from year to year. Again, this year's data is not included because we have not finished a year yet. But you can see that in the 2023 school year, we had nearly 1,800 major
incidents throughout the district. And you can see that it has improved each year since then. Of course, um after the um we're starting at 2324, we added an assistant principal at each secondary
school as well as an administrative entry in each elementary school. That was a part of it. We did a lot of other things that we described in the strategy and initiative part of this document. Um but you can see improvement as far as the number of majors. Minors uh were
roughly the same the first few years uh and then they decreased uh quite a bit last year actually but we think those numbers are going to go back up again. So we won't be continuing to improve
that in that area. uh number of confirmed harassment incidents. I didn't include uh data for 2223 and 2324 uh because they were way too low. Um you
know, we only had uh a handful of actual harassment reports that were given to the district office and so the numbers were skewed. Um but in uh 2425 you can see of the 60 um uh
incidents that were confirmed as harassment by Mr. Nelson who's the human rights officer. So we review all the harassment reports and confirms that I still think that number is way too low compared to what actually
happens. I wish more [cough] people would report those incidents so that we can make decisions based on that. >> Is that just student to student or is that student to teacher or student
staff? >> Yeah, it's everything. It's an act of harassment committed by a student staff reported. >> Uh very few. very few over the last this is my fourth
year here in which we've had very few [clears throat] or >> yeah if um you know and I know it sounds strange but I want the number of harassment reports to go up but I do because we know that those incidents are
happening just like it happens in every school across the country public, private, charter. It happens. It happens way too often. And it's better for us if people will report it. They don't have to filter out whether it's harassment or
not. They can report it and then we review it to see if you're harassment. If we're going to make a difference, that's one way to do it. Um I think kids uh are reluctant sometimes to report uh because they worry about the
consequences uh because some people will make assumptions about who reported it what could happen and those hesitants. Our preference is that it's reported so we can take action. Uh but I think that's why many students don't
teach us. >> Yeah. have any fixed. >> Yeah. Or it's Yeah. much much better if it is recorded because that um that
means more close closely monitoring of you know what's happening with that group of people or that particular situation. So we we want people to report and again they don't have to decide if it's harassment. That's our responsibility.
So, I'm glad you mentioned that. Um, so we'll see what happens. Um, I usually file that at the end of the year, you know, after I get final reports from Mr. Nelson. So, I I don't know if that's going to go up or down yet. Um, my guess is that it's going to
be roughly the same, but we'll see what happens over the last few months. Number of out of school suspensions uh you can see has decreased significantly from 319 three years ago to only 43
uh last year. Uh that is largely because uh we really emphasize having inschool suspension or better yet uh referral to the Genesis program over at the learning center. And we think it's really
important to do that uh because the last thing we want to do is send kids home because of an out of school suspension so they can play at you or hang out with their friends at Dairy Queen, you know. Um, you know, so we believe it's important to have them
in school uh with trusted adults where they can at least keep up with some of their homework and hopefully learn some lessons with the trusted adults that they're working with suspension of the Genesis program.
Um, one thing that uh we're going to be continuing to work on is kind of resetting the Genesis program to to make it even more effective. And we'd love to expand it uh at some point because too often we say no to referrals when we
don't have space in the program. And that makes it really challenging uh for our teachers and administrators. >> [clears throat] >> Do we do we have the data to um show the percentage of out of school suspensions
in [clears throat] regards to the in school? I mean is in in school program um setting I mean is it housing? >> Oh to see that information >> yeah let me write that down. Um
and then I'll add one more data point. Um if kids are referred to Genesis, do they come back a second time the same year? So I think that's an important So I just want to take yeah one thing that um [clears throat]
yeah we can compile that information there um it might be a little bit complicated sometimes or a bit a bit confusing because sometimes for example districtly we'll assign
um maybe two days of Genesis and then she wants the third day back in the middle school kind of as a transition back into the middle school. And so, you know, I'm not sure how that would be counted necessarily when I run the data, you know, count
in Genesis and suspension or something like that. But I can I can run the numbers. So, at least we can do a rough comparison. So I appreciate that the parents and saying that 96.8.2
96.82% of the students didn't have I think that's a very positive outlook. It's really show hopefully that's appreciated. Um and I man I don't share your concern with I don't work here so maybe that's the difference um you have
to politically correct fine but this percent of majors uh of five students that's the thing that everyone should be looking at that part because this is what we've been told over and over and over again and if we have a certain amount of money and we have a lot of
people who really need help and if we're spending any money screwing around these people that by choice are really the little jerks and then the parents aren't backing them aren't aren't backing up the system which is what you're supposed to do when your kids
go about this right you can tell your kids no you can tell your kids to do what they're supposed to do that's what an adult does in case anyone missed that memo so I'm not as concerned I'm really glad you did share that part actually
because uh I'm losing patience and so is a lot of our publication system with the fact that our hands are tied. The reason why private schools are kicking these little troublemakers out, we need to be more consistent. We need to support our
teachers and our bus drivers and our EAS for getting all these things. We need to also support more the people that we are supposed to be supporting that by no choice of their own need the help that they need. It's the people that are constantly and you listen and no one's
no one's perfect. You have a problem that's we have all this stuff for. But if you're repetitively causing problems and disrupting the system, I highly suggest we take a look at doing anything we can. And Brandon, this is the policy I was talking about to get harsher on
things and to have the, you know, when they can come back into school. I would say have their parents, both of them if possible, at least one of them or whoever to come and sit with them for payation period of a week or something. Um, I just I just don't believe in
wasting our money if the if the kids and their family structures are not doing their job and getting in. Plus, we're dealing with five five kids. It is five kids. It isn't even 5%. Five kids causing 39% of the problems at Cedar
Creek. Five kids are causing 25% of the problems at East Beth. Five kids are causing 47% of problems at St. Francis Elementary School. Kick them out and not let them back in or let them back in once they decide to
finally come into society with the rest of us. We only have a certain amount of money that we can pay our teachers and our EAs and our bus drivers. So the other part of that equation is hey let's make the working environment better. We would do that to have support from parents and students that are being
little jerks at every angle. So whereas I really appreciate and understand and see where you're coming from that you had a hard time putting that out but that's still I would have put that on its own page and I would have brought that out for everyone to see. Um, this is also why we have
uh an extra about $100,000 principal at each of our elementary schools and two at the middle school and two at the high school. I mean, I appreciate that, but principles are pretty important. They can be doing
other things that'll get our our scores and everything, you know, up. I think we should perhaps save money instead of spending aboutund I think8 $10,000 on additional principle just for these uh disciplinary actions. I think my dad had
a great idea just get a bunch of old crappy and tired guys to come in there and tell these little craps to get in their seat. I'm tired of this. Everyone's tired of this. We are losing control of public education because of this. And everyone knows it. Everyone knows it. Everyone
says it. Everyone believes in it. I've had this conversation with a whole bunch of people that are wearing red shirts right now in this room and and they're not afraid to say it either. It's I we need to we need to help those who we who need the help the most and we can't do that. If we're spending so much
time helping the people that don't deserve our help and once we try to give them help they're not doing anything about it. They and the parents. I also don't kids. I definitely blame the kids. It's the kids and it's the parents. we got to take care of our house and
give our third leg of the stool the best foot forward. But, you know, if we're not going to get it from a student and we're not going to definitely get it from a parent that's factoring them out, well, they're going to have to find things elsewhere. I think I mean, I wouldn't even grace them like forgiveness. That's a program that's
needed for people who fall out. So, I think from time to time correction, I know I think it's a good system. I think that we really need to get serious. So, if we're ever ever ever going to change um public education for the better and address it has everything to do with stores. It has everything to do with
retention [laughter] of employees. Uh I mean we we need to get serious on that. And Brandon, that's the policy change that I was talking about. >> Thank you. >> And I don't know if you want me to respond or keep going. Um but I do feel
some obligation. We have a we have an oath that we are responsible for following and everyone almost everyone wearing red today has the same that we support every child
you know regardless of their parents regardless of their medical condition that may have a traumatic event and I know some of these kids. They're awesome kids.
They have awesome kids who care about some of them. Some of them do. But this is not a I'm not talking about the kids who have awesome parents and do traumatic things. Sometimes we are. But guess what? If you continue if I have a if I have a kid who gets
killed with a drunk driver, you know, they were a grown driver, so it's not as bad as they came out and murdered my kid, but they still killed my kid. The long and the short of it is we need to focus our resources on what actually works, not the emotions of it all. The emotions of it all is leaving us exactly
where we're at and have been and will be. And this is you know where this is going. I mean it's it's you do you do not care about all the kids. Not you. You do not. Not you. I mean you know what I'm saying. One does not care about
kids if they're neglecting it. 96.8 82 82% 97.90% 97.14% 95.26% and 98.26% Good job high schoolers. It's it's really coming down to the fact that
the the few that need it are running the show. And what I'm saying is we can find better alternatives that treat that give them the help they need somewhere else so they're not also interfering with what we got going on. And at the same time, we're preserving it for those of
us who work here and who want to learn here and things like this. >> Yeah, I I do think that we agree that what we want is the best possible environment for all of our >> course. Yeah, >> it's not happening this way is what I'm saying. >> So that's the goal is to what can we do
differently to help make that happen? >> Agreed. >> Uh now we do have parameters. >> Uh we we have to follow the law. uh if we don't um we lose our job uh and we get sued.
So um and well you know we also want to do for the child that's the most important thing. Um so we do have those parameters that we know we can't um we can't just take out kids you know um and
uh we can work to make sure that they're the best placement for them. [cough and clears throat] I know that principles and well actually teachers, principals and special ed department really work diligently
to document these concerns uh to discuss with parents and uh and find the right place. were hampered a little bit um by internal space and also by availability of spots in those places. Uh for
example, Rum River um educational cooperative or special ed river. Um often times uh the district and the parents have agreed
that you know the child should be placed you know like river and there just isn't space there you know space issues they have staff so we're kind of hampered as far as some
some of those placements remanding they're adding another site to the north of us and uh we've been meeting with them about possibility of being >> I can't think of the uh the name it's
not a full-blown member >> associate >> associate member thank you very much uh to be an associate member as part of Rum River there will be a cost to that um but uh we think that might be a a useful
way to to to place some of the kids who really need that. Sorry, I'm sorry I'm going on way too long. Um, >> not at all. This is I think the most important thing. I was also wondering, can we ever charge the insurance companies for the families when their
kid needs treatment? >> Uh, we actually um no, we we we can't charge kids for being in our program. We need either free public education. However, the federal government does
provide some reimbursement uh for access to uh certain um certain services that that are provided. So, you we don't charge the parents directly, but you know, often times we'll paperwork and then we get reimbured from
the federal government. I really think not doing something different and continually trying to do the same thing over and over again in public education is ushering in cultures rapidly. We see it all over the country. It's coming and it seems like there's
more and more people every single time we put out test scores, every single time we put out data that shows the same thing even though we hired a whole bunch of people and nothing's really changing. I mean, I just think we need to we need to be able to preserve the
greater hole that is public education, which would include the 96% of people, not the 3% of people, because the 3% of people, they need extra help that we're obviously not giving to them right now in the status quo because it's not
working. And so, let's find something else to do with this. Um, and this is also brainstorming like you know early session. I don't have the answers. I'm just Jake. I'm just an electrician. It's I just am a parent of a you know couple of kids that you know listen to us or
whatever I guess. But it's it's what I'm trying to say is we need to do something different or we all I think know where this is going. And I think it would be I think that would be a magnet to our district if we could I mean we could have I don't want to work here if I knew
I was gay and I wasn't going to get beat up. I want to work here if I was a teacher. >> Can we either wrap up this discussion or allow the other board members have a chance to wait on this topic if they have anything to say? >> You're welcome. Any
other comments from board members? Okay, I do have four comments for you, Carson. Um, as we're talking through looking specifically at the document yearly discipline data and strategies, where are you at with the one database
to track student behavior and clear definition of minors and majors? Yeah, we're going to be uh reviewing that probably in June. Uh the real issue has to do with the elementary schools because we have different elementary schools handling things differently. In
the end, the data still lands in one spot. Uh but you know, I think it'd be easier if we're all following the same reporting system. The other tie in uh to that is uh the middle school also relies
on that data from elementary schools to look for patterns. And so really it's it's probably a K8 decision or even a K12 decision, but I would envision that's going to happen in June. [clears throat] We don't need
schoolboard action procedural kind of thing. Um and you know the easy solution is to put everything in infinite campus. That's what high school middle schools use. That's what two of the elementaryaries use. The problem is that you know the other elementary has really
clean discipline data especially when it gets reported to the state. So I just want to make sure that that I we don't make a quick decision just because most of schools follow a certain path. So, but we'll we'll decide that together.
>> Uh, and then either you or the principles that are in here, can you speak to the use of the PBIS coaches and then the best practice review that is listed in here and when will we see the best practice review? >> Yeah. Uh actually Stacy or Miss Hyper
might be able to answer the second part as far as where we are with best practice review for coaches. But if one or more of the U [clears throat] principles would like to comment on the impact of EBS coaches in their buildings
[laughter] >> or if there's a PBS coach in the room [laughter] >> and that's fine. We don't need to put anybody on the spot to talk, but maybe for our future >> Oh, sure. discipline one. We'll have someone to speak to the use of the
coaches and >> y [clears throat] >> we very much so appreciate the coaches that we have so that I can speak to it just information ahead of time so we can hold
that back. Y uh and then you list on here a K through 12 roles and responsibilities of SPED vers building leadership. Um is there going to be a working group prior to that review in June with input from everyone or what
does that look like and what can we expect to see from that? >> Yeah, and that had been planned to really start in scope of Christmas, but it had to be delayed. Uh and so uh right now it's slated for thorough
discussion between special ed administrators and building. >> Yeah. And to me that particular issue is really important. Um as you've seen the impact this year
uh because there who was formally responsible for certain areas but it wasn't implemented many years ago before I even started here and then the document surface and so yeah
that that's a really important one that we have to write. >> Okay. And then my last one um for maybe consideration to add to one of the strategies to consider is the standard
procedure at all facilities on how we respond. We talked about this uh to reports of student on teacher discipline issues and then teacher on student. Um, we have seen multiple failures in communication and rumors and other
things across the the district and having something in our procedures that everyone knows we're going to follow when something like that happens or report and it may help with our reporting concerns as well if that is a
standard for maybe we talk offline Mr. to make sure I fully understand some of the questions. It won't be a problem. And then I'm just going to reiterate the um you know, state laws that help guide
us in what we do and how we react to behaviors and discipline. uh and that we should continue conversations in a in a working group as well as in policy on what we can do and how we can provide resources uh for the district to get
after some of those percentages that we talked about. And we all know that a lot of that comes with funding as well. Um I will be down at the state capital tomorrow uh talking to education finance on some things and this will been added to my list. So, I encourage everyone to reach out and to go to those events and
talk through that because there are very important things out there that can help us with resources to affect what we're trying to fix here in St. Francis. By the way, um, if I could add, since you brought that up, there is a a bill that's being considered in either the
House or the Senate that would give us greater flexibility in terms of like an out of school suspension for kids in grades K through three right now. We cannot do it. It's not an option for us.
Um, I think our district handled it really well. Miss Parson came up with the Genesis program. So at least we can fulfill the requirements of the law um but still have a different setting change. Uh the the law that's being
considered though would give school districts the ability to remove the student you know the day that the happens as well as well as one full day after. And uh I think I guess I haven't
solicited any principles or cabinet but I think that would really help settle things down calm things down especially if we don't have room in the genesis program. So if you have a chance if you hear that you could advocate for that.
>> Y that's on my topic list. I have heard from staff members on that and ning as well. So that's how we deal with my my All right. Next agenda item, administrative report, the floor is still yours. All right.
All right. First uh item on there is uh the pow-wow uh occurred on February 28th. Uh the reports we got um were that 800 people attended but I think it was more than that. I
think it may have been more than a thousand. I think that's a conservative estimate. And by all accounts it was an amazing success and um you know I've been in in schools before you know with a large number of American Indian kids
and I've never been a part of something like this. So I think we should really commend our AIU program and APAC for the work they did overnight field trips. We talked about this at the policy committee meeting today but at the last meeting there are questions about
whether the board should approve approve overnight field trips if they're if they occur before the board has a meeting to approve it. So this always this happens often with state tournaments. I know we reach the state
tournament uh on Saturday, we have the state tournament a week later, but we don't have a board. Um and so we had quite a back and forth, which by the way, I'm sorry that it it was back and forth because we actually agreed on you [clears throat] know, you know, there's
a better way of doing it, but we still argue about anyway. >> Yeah. Um but the u I think the best resolution is for me just to include um you know kind of administrative approval just at the next code so that we can be transparent about that with the public
and yet we don't have to uh so that's what we plan to do standard operating procedures uh will be shared an update will be shared with employees after the board meeting uh I did attach the latest version uh just for review in case you have questions uh there Again,
I made some additional changes uh in the document. Nothing that would be worrisome in any way. Uh but I will be issuing that. And at any time, you can contact me if you have questions, if you have concerns, uh because they're changeable. They're procedures. So, we
can do that when needed. Uh there is a special session on March 25th. It's Wednesday 26th >> 26th. [clears throat] Oh, thank goodness.
>> Okay, we have mediation on the 25th. >> Uh, this report's wrong. Says March 25th, but it should be. >> So, my apologies for that. Um, the meeting does start at 7 now, not 6 o' So, I just want to make sure that
everyone's aware of that. It's a really important meeting. Uh, we have the presentation by the community group. um you know about their um discussions about facility use for the district. >> Is that going to be broadcast?
>> Yep. So, it will be recorded. Uh it will be broadcasted or we're just recording it. I think we're just recording this either way. It will be live, >> but yes, we're going to record it. We're going to put a link on that facility's web page as well after it's done. There will not be
during during that special meeting. So it is recorded and will be live streamed and posted on the agenda. >> Thursday, March 26th at 7 p.m. [snorts] >> Uh the city of Oakrove is changing their
representation um for lison between the city and school district. Angie Gray Gray is replacing Paul Trade. uh school calendar uh task force uh will be meeting to discuss options for the
2728 the school calendar. So they'll be reviewing that probably adding information options and then I'll jump back to the measles discussion. Um and uh I I felt like I had PTSD
when I learned from the state, you know, the the the key issues in terms of of making sure that our kids or as many kids as possible have immunizations or conscientious objector form on file.
Um and so the the health department, Mr. Schlman and I have been talking about it and so we're going to bring forward some information about that and uh because I personally think it's really important vaccination immunization rate as high as
possible eradicated means in the US the last thing you want to do is cut that that's my personal feel and we need to follow state law so it's time to reallyize that but that will be at the meeting in April So I'm hoping
for the first Monday or the first meeting but >> any questions or comments just to go back to that. >> Well you you thank Mr. Ber because after the meeting he pointed out the policy
actually allows it. So that had not been the practice since I've been here and I try to put everything on there but policy actually allows us so we don't have to change policy you know we're just changing our practice thank you any other comments
thank you all right our next item uh is action items have a few tonight I [clears throat] first stop and saying thank you for all of you that stayed uh this next item is is very important and I'm glad that everyone's here to listen through it. Uh
7.1 approval of budget revisions for current year 2526. Our director of business services down will provide an overview of the revised budget. >> All right. Good evening, cheer board members, Superintendent Anderson, and
staff and community members that are still here tonight. And thank you for coming and having me share this information. So, tonight I'm speaking to to present the 25 26.
Yep. Oh, just in a minute. >> I'll just wait a second till it pops up. There you go. >> All right. So tonight I'm speaking to present the 202526 winter budget revisions as shown in your board packet that you have received and you've had a
chance to review. This is the reward that typically is given at this time every fiscal year in school districts. We take this opportunity to revise the budget for the current fiscal year based on um more concrete information that we are given the through the first half of the fiscal
year. It's always a good practice to make sure the budget is as accurate as it can be to the actions that have been provided to date. Tonight, I'll be speaking on the revisions in the general fund, which is fund one, the community service fund,
which is fund four, and the construction fund, which is fund 16. The food and nutrition [clears throat] service fund, which is fund two, had no revisions from the original budget. I will say the revisions truly did take a village to complete as I was very new
to the district. Well, not new to school finance, but we reached out to all stakeholders of the programs they manage and really dove into a comprehensive audit of each program. These meetings included the stakeholders from various departments, Superintendent
Anderson, Adam Lloyd, Brandon Nelson, and myself. >> [snorts] >> I analyzed over 17,125 lines of da d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d da line by line to make sure I was understanding the full scope of this budget revision. I also want to publicly thank Adam, even
[clears throat] though he's not here, for all the work he put into the revisions before I came on board. It truly made finishing these revisions a much more cohesive endeavor. So the top part of the presentation is giving a reflection by program and funds
such as unassigned fund balances, restricted fund balances and assigned fund balances. The details of the re revision are on the last page of the presentation and are as follows. So if you want to scroll down to the last page, they're probably
hard to do. Thank you. So the details of the revision are on the last page as I stated. So let's start with the expense side of the budget revisions. We'll start with operating capital which is fund balance 424. [cough]
This is a budget revision of $619,557 due to bud bus purchases that were not originally on the uh original budget in operating capital. To date, we've ordered five buses. One was a replacement bus from an insurance claim we had in the fall, and we've
received two of the four buses that we've ordered uh today. So, two are two are in and received. Uh two are still coming, both of them by the end of the year. The next revision is the read literacy act. It's fund balance 456. We added a
budget revision of $29,360 for the spendown of the prior year fund balance. Uh these dollars are a onetime award. So we're trying to get them spent down. Um they are something that will not be taken away. We just have to spend them down before the Minnesota
Department of Education gives us a more concrete deadline. We want to be ahead of the [clears throat] game there. The read training which is fund balance 457. We added a budget revision of 75,000 for the spendown also prior of the prior
year fund balance. These dollars are also a onetime award that need to be spent down. Um the state's giving us the money so we are actively working to spend these dollars down um that we won't get them back. So they are onetime award. The literacy incentive aid which is fund
balance 412. We added a budget revision of $58,49.71 to move allowable salary and benefit expenses that are applicable to the statutory requirements of literacy incentive aid which then frees up general dollars, frees up our general funds.
Staff development is our next budget revision, excuse me, next budget revision. It's fund balance 403. A budget revision of $23,356 was added to increase the budget to match the anticipated revenues that were
not on the original budget. There was nothing um budgeted on the original budget. So we um had we added budget dollars because there are expenses there. The next one there are a few. So the next one is the American Indian Education Aid which is fund balance 420.
This budget revision was a decrease of $26,66. It was to decrease expenses to match the 2526 budget allocation from MDE. So when the adopted budget or the original budget was created, we overestimated
what our allocation was going to be from the state. Well, we got our allocation from the Minnesota Department of Education and it was less. So we had to decrease that. we can't go into a deficit fund balance in American Indian. So that that was not a decrease in
funds. It was just that we overallocated budget on the original budget. The learning and development uh fund balance which is 428. This is a revision of minus $183,683. This was to decrease expenses and move
them into the general fund as this fund can not go in deficit at the end of the year. Our next revision is gifted and talented which is fund balance 438. It's a budget revision of8,996 and it was due to some small staffing
changes in basic skills. Next one is basic skills which is compensatory fund balance 441. The rebudget, the revision of $21,14829 was to show a small adjustment for the replacement of title $1 that were lost
in 2526. And on to student support personnel, which is fund balance 471. This budget revision is a negative 23,198,000 which is to lower expenses and move into basic skills as this fund is another
fund that cannot go into deficit at the end of the year. And our last um adjustment and transfer revision in the general fund uh was to transfer uh $1.8 8 million into from the
assigned fund balance which is 462-02 um into the unassigned um we did this to stay within the district fund balance policy. So we're in align with our our district's fund balance policy in the unassigned fund balance. So those are the revisions that we have in our
general fund. Is there any questions in the general fund? I'm not. >> So the unassigned balance is at the 12%. So we >> So we don't have extra funding. >> It's not extra funding. We just we moved
the one type funding that we had to satisfy the policy otherwise it would have been uh well underneath the fun balance policy that the that the board has set. >> Can you explain what the unassigned fund balance and the assigned fun balance the differences?
The unassigned fund balance, we call it unassigned, unreserved. That fund balance, those are our operating dollars. That's what the state gives us to do all our operating. It pays our salaries, benefits, it turns our lights on, all our operating dollars. Our restricted fund balances are the fund
balances that the state says we're allowed to have, but we can only use them on restricted things like operating capital. It has to be on equipment, has to be on capital purchases that are tangible items. We have long-term uh LTFM long-term
facilities maintenance funds. Those can only be used for projects like remodeling or um uh indoor anything indoor or outdoor that's remodeling off the top of my head. It's it's been a while. But um so we have
those and we have all these other assigned fund balances that I talked about like student support. Well, that has to be used to support students. The literacy aid that's the read by third grade. So there soft goals they have to be used for those those parameters that the state sets forward. So our
unassigned is all our operating dollars and the rest and there's many assigned fund balances. Those are very restricted and they can be used at the parameters that and the state legislator set for us to use. >> So we're at our 12%.
Um in this projections we've already projected for what um our parameters are for negotiations for all of all the bigger agreements that we're negotiating or have negotiated if we would change that parameter at all.
>> It would have to go into that. >> Yes, that would affect our our our unassigned fund balance where we're at now. We we did transfer. We're looking at moving these monies to keep us within our policy parameters. If those things change, then our fund
balance changes. >> It would be negative from it would be lower. >> It would be not in alignment with policy 74, >> right? >> Okay. I see the American Indian 26,000. They've been asking for another
uh employee to help with their none of that. >> The American Go ahead, Carson. Yeah, maybe I'll jump in since I've been here for a few years with that program and uh I think
and I have a pretty similar way of constructing budgets have the same philosophy which is different than maybe what's happened for many years here. I'm not saying that our way is right and that way is wrong. I mean your way is right.
>> Yeah. Well, yeah. Exactly. You know, there are different ways of doing it. end up with the same information um or the same results. But um how we do it uh is you know we look at the revenue we're receiving driven program from the
state. It's about $80,000 for this year. So that's how much we're getting. And um we actually spend more than that already on the program. Uh so the rest of the general fund actually subsidizes
like 30 or $40,000. Um so the actual program costs that much more than 80,000 but we use compensatory dollars to pay for it. Uh and so when this budget was set up, I'm assuming
that uh previous uh director of business services just looked at the overall cost and put that on the expense line. Whereas, you know, Don and I, you know, want to say, well, 80,000 is going to be spent out of out of that account and the
rest of it's being spent out of so we're splitting it up in the budget process. So, you know, the American Indian education program did not lose programming or hours because of that change that no impact there. It's [clears throat] just a matter of how
things hope that makes some sense. >> So, can that money be used instead of back? Can that be used for hiring or >> Well, it's not new money. Um, you know, we don't we did have an excess of
$26,000. you have that old money to hire for so long. >> I think you have to almost disassociate um the two issues. Uh what was what was what's listed here is just how the
budget was. >> Sure. And um you know instead of having let's see instead of having about $115,000 coded [snorts] to American Indian education
uh we only coded 88,000 because we're already subsidizing the other 26,000. >> Sure. >> So the money's already spent I guess is what I guess you >> Yeah. I mean the the board could decide to add more positions
um you know for American Indian education or multicultural leaison or teachers or you know anything uh but that money is already being spent on education. I guess I do have a question about the
community education of 625,000. >> Yeah, I have gotten I'm [laughter] >> okay. So then I will move on to community ed. Um we'll we'll start just in the order that that you're seeing them on on your screen.
So um early childhood family education which is fun 432. Um we did put a budget revision in there of 40,000. Um it was added as a contingency for for potential fencing in that area. Um there were some concerns about safety close to the
street. So we put it in. We're hoping it happens this fiscal year. Weather's got a big proponent in whether we're able to get fencing in before June or or time. These fencing companies get busy, but it's in there. If it doesn't happen this
year, um 26 27 is is probably 90% chance. We're hoping for this year though. So the community education fund balance 431 that you were indicating the revision of 625,000 um that was added for project expenses
to replace the youth soccer field lighting as well as iPads for CH for the youth program. So, um that that is what that fun balance spend down is for we did we are in the we just got the uh open bids for that lighting project. So,
that's up and running here shortly and and the iPads are are I think they're already here on Yeah. I just wanted um because it's a large sum of money, but it's not
something that can be used, right? It can only be used for script [clears throat] projects. Yeah. Well, the community service fund come on board for any dollars that that fund generates because they do generate money. They do
have a four fee program. So any dollars they generate has to be used for community service or or things to fund [cough and clears throat] those projects like the lighting for the so youth soccer field. Um we can't take it in the general fund and say because our general
fund is short, we're going to take community education dollars and move them over. We're not allowed to do that. However, if the community education fund goes into deficit, the state mandates that we as the general fund have to bail them out. So,
>> and so some of the ways that the community at um education generates money and funding are through >> fees for um yeah, they charge fees for all the recreation [cough and clears throat] programs and that's a big thing. I think I'm going to
let Carson speak to that because I'm not sure as I'm like three months into I I'm not sure what programs we all have in community service except for early childhood. I know we we have a sliding scale for early childhood. Um we have pathways for school readiness. Um
everything else is a recreational based and we do have some adult based stuff but maybe you can provide a little more insight. >> Yeah the primary programs would include adult basic [laughter] education uh preschool um ECIP classes uh and uh
probably the biggest money generator would be child care. And so those are the some of the the programs that generate fees. uh for community education. Uh and then we have a we have a local levy that goes into community
education and we receive state. It all depends on different factors for each program as far as how much fees gym space. >> Right. Yeah. And it's I mean it's you know you got a really [clears throat] great mechanism in your community
service fund. >> Do you mean iPads for child care like institution or are we giving a whole bunch of these little kids out of >> I I believe it's for our preschool
program early childhood preschool that fouryear-old and and it's a it's an education. Yeah. We're not giving it to our daycare kiddos. [laughter] >> Yeah. No, it's going for the early childhood program. They've asked for
iPads and I think these kids they >> It's probably sad, right? >> Huh? >> Sad. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> And I know and I'm thinking some of it I mean they're looking for educational iPads also teaching students. They probably can keyboard better than we can.
>> Better than I can. So is there any other questions? No, I just want to make sure that because that's a large chunk of money that we can't touch. Yeah. Because it's not it's generated separately in a separate bucket. >> Yeah. I just want to let the
stakeholders and the staff community just reiterate that those are dollars that the general operating parameters do not use. They're generated for community service. They stay in community service. Let's
see. >> Want to make sure. Okay. So, and now let's talk about the construction fund. Um, we had a revision of 5,264,3362 and it was added for project spendown in 2526. Site logic has a bond project draw
schedule that we're using. Um, and being that this happened in November, it obvious wouldn't be on our original budget. amount was added to the revised budget and is following their draw schedule through June 30th and then we will um put this on an original budget for next year
>> and that is for the indoor air quality >> and tax. >> Exactly. >> So let's move on to some revenues now. So, the area learning center, um, ALC revenue, we revised it 900,000 because it wasn't budgeted on the adopted
budget. They didn't have any dollars, um, attributed to the to the on the adopted or original budget. And the ALC does get um, per pupil revenues because we have obviously this district hosts an ALC. So, per statute, they get so many
dollars per pupil to fund that area learning center. So, and it's 900,000 this year. So, just didn't get on the original budget. So, we did add that to the revised budget and that came out of general fund. So, it came out of general
ed dollars and comes and goes into the ALC and that's per statute and that's a funding formula for pupil student support personnel for Facebook or Facebook fund balance 471. This revision in the amount of 45,465,000.
It was due to a formula increase in 2526 that was not accounted for on the original budget. I'm sorry, I call it adopted. I'll try to remember original. Um, so it just wasn't on there. So, we added that revenue to the revised budget. And again, um, the construction fund
464. Um, the revision is to account for the indoor air quality that Chair Bur indicated. So that's bond revenue that was received in November and it just wasn't on the adopted budget because um came in November. So we did add that to the revised budget.
So as you can see we did a very deep dive from the adopted original budget to the winter to the winter revisions to come up with a very comprehensive winter revision. If there aren't any more questions, then at this time I'd ask the administr the
administration recommends an action to approve the presented winter budget revisions for the current fiscal year. If you have any more questions, I'm happy or Carson or Nate Chair Bur also
>> questions. >> Can I re say again? What is our um unassigned fun balance [clears throat] percentage right now? >> Well, it will be with that with that with moving those dollars if we approve this. >> Yeah. >> Will be at our >> Y. [clears throat] And what's what is
the um effect of us having that minimum? What has it had on us as a district of keeping it at 12% or higher? What is [clears throat] the impact? Maybe Kirsten wants to answer that. Well, the impact that I think of right away is that fund balances impact bond ratings.
>> Yes. >> And so, you know, that helps when we ran the IP project, we got a better bond rating, therefore better rate, and so that saves taxpayers, which is good for everyone. >> And that's the big one. And then
obviously fund balance, we generate more interest revenue, which goes back into the general fund as well. And on the other side of that, um it's very important to maintain at least your policy fund balance being we don't
have an operating referendum in this district. Um it it's a lower fund balance I've seen in districts. I mean I've looked at three other districts that didn't have operating referendums and this is it's important to maintain that district
fund balance because those are you know those aren't a lot of months worth of operating dollars. something happens. [clears throat] >> I was just going to ask that. What would you suggest in our situation a good fun balance percent?
>> I in this in I would say nothing under 18%. But that's where I think that sweet spot is especially without operating referendum. It just gives you that cushion in case things there there's things that happen
all the time. It's just a good cushion spot to have a little higher fund balance when you don't have an operating. Can >> I ask the same question the superintendent? >> Yeah. So I was a school district business manager many many decades ago
literally and uh so the first daughter I worked with suggested two months >> of operating money of operating so that would be 16 more 7%
you know so roughly there I think you know a lot of schools have 10 or 12% so I I don't think too much just gives you a little form of a puzzy >> right now. Our policy does say 12%. Yes.
And so that's what we are able for >> and that's why we decided on made that decision to move those dollars to stay in the line with the district policy. And just to put some context on that 12% when glass was voted on and approved by
the board it was a threemon operating is what the parameters we used talking with our business services and then our financial advisor at the time as well was the 12% I think 15% in the discussion but we [clears throat]
was the three months of operating I know personal budgets there it's always like six months start of year by is it a so are you saying maybe like 24% or use it like higher I mean at the same point we're also a public
institution so it's not like cash when we have especially if you have that >> it's not really viewing as hoarding cash I don't view it like that um >> you may not >> no I I I don't right and that's okay I mean we I just adhere to whatever the
district policy is. I every every district has their own comfort level with fund balance and this district's comfortable 12%. >> So Jake, I'm going to throw it back at you that this is a policy discussion. >> Yeah. That we can have so when that policy
comes back up or if we need to push it early the policy comm. But that's a discussion we'll have. I said that and then we can have recommendations from our financial advisor as well. That is
>> and I think now with our budget increasing every year three months is about 16 you know so we're below that threshold >> below what we would what what our intent
was three months. Absolutely. >> Yeah, we set it at 12% because that was >> what was the budget at the time at the time, >> right? It's always like you said, it's a budget. It's a policy committee discussion at this point.
>> Yeah. Just to clarify, you know, first we're using months and the reason that we started that three months would be you know 14 of so that two months is 16.7%.
One month is 8.23%. So just you know and we're all we're all using very similar terms and different auditors and different recommendations but you know the admin team has not talked about changing the fun
so I think it's worthwhile and obviously we will support you know what school board wants to do but the administration is not looking at increasing that bottom line of a minimum of 12%
and that's what this [clears throat] will ensure we're doing. >> Agreed. >> Okay. Is there a call motion for approval? So why do we use that 12%
but does the state government or why do we need that 12%. >> That's um that's a great question. Um and uh the state does not pay us um all
the money they owe us in the same year. they pay a certain percentage and so we have to float some of that from year to year. Uh often times during tough budget situations they will pay us less in the year [clears throat] they should be
paying us. So sometimes it might be 60 or 70% of the amount. That's when it's really important to have that fund balance at a decent rate. Uh, plus, you know, expenses rise and fall, you know, throughout the year, and you don't have
to borrow money in order to make payroll or something. I'm certainly not saying we're close to that, but, you know, so schools that have two or three% fun, you know, might be doing that periodically. So, we're not in that situation. In
fact, we're generating money from interest that helps the overall financial So when we say we have 12% that's just looking at the overall budget but if you snap out of time there could be times
where we're down below 12%. >> Yes. Yeah. It's different than cash. >> Yeah. And uh that it really and flows you know depending on the money we hear and what expenses [clears throat] we have and that kind of and really the the
12% is the amount um you know the it's derived from the the audit you know which ends on June 30th. So that's what we capture and that's how we determine the the unreserved assigned fund balance. That's how we determine fund.
It's all based on cash. >> Okay. Now, is there a call motion to approval of the [laughter] 20256 budget revision? We have a motion from Mr. Wson. Thank you. Any other
discussion or any discussion on the motion itself? >> I'd like to thank Miss Dell for her work. She just started the second week in January and um she knows school finance really well. You know, she's done it for several years. Um she's
learning Skyward, which is a big part of of changing budget figures and like she mentioned, she's reviewed almost 15,000 and she'll learn more each year. You know, she knows more about the district,
but she's done a great job so far. Yeah, I will echo that. I saw the spreadsheet with just over 17,000 lines uh and she seriously went line by line and that's why you're seeing more data or more accurate data on our budget
revision that you see today. So, thank you for the work and time you put in. Uh it's going to help us as a district as we continue forward. All right. Uh that's it for discussion. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I and raising your hand.
>> I motion prevails 720. Thank you. Next agenda item is approval of response to the American Indian education parent advisory council letter of non concurrence. Superintendent Anderson will provide a brief overview of the changes from the first
uh the American Indian parent education committee did issue findings of nonurrences with educational programs. And uh I said this before, I'm saying it again because people are here. Uh that's
not an advocate. It simply indicates that um we all need to be better for our kids and keep [clears throat] trying different things. Uh so there
were were reasonable um and they made a lot of sense. [clears throat] So they presented the board developed a first draft um to share the board. we reviewed the last meeting took some feedback on that I did chat with
the committee after that second revision uh they had additional suggestions so this is actually like the third draft of the response and um so it's been vetted by not only the school board but also by Apac
and it doesn't stop here we're going to keep working on different things as they arise um The recommendation at least for me is to the response resolution. >> Thank you, Mr. Anderson. Is there any
questions or comments specific to that? And just so everyone's aware, this has to be turned into the state by the 27th of March with all signatures. Regardless of which way you vote to approve or not, we still all have to sign it. Mr.
Um I the only feedback I got and along the lines of yes very happy with this show are there timelines for any of this like for us two or three or four
[clears throat] timelines or let me um yeah some of them um I don't think it made sense to have a time timelines but there are some other timelines listed. So for example,
[clears throat] under request two, you can see by the end of this school year, um, you know, the elementary principal will create a shared Google calendar for spaces in their building. Uh, the AI coordinator
and laz will have access procedures will be developed and shared. Uh, so that there's a specific timeline for that. I mentioned the last meeting really it's going to take 20 minutes for me to finalize that and then share it with the elementary principal that
>> um uh and then prior to the beginning of the 2627 school year um each elementary principal identify spaces for use by and the reason that's in there is that you know our needs change sometimes we
find a better spot sometimes you know we have other needs that forc us before [clears throat] the beginning of the school year. We're going to have those identified under response number three. Carson, as you're looking at that, Mr.
Humphrey, sometimes there's not a date set on there yet because we haven't approved it and some of these actions require superintendent to direct his team to do things. Uh, specifically like the counselor, the PCO. Uh so yes, we want to put a a set date
on there. Uh but he hasn't coordinated yet because we haven't approved the response. So having the exact date here. However, I do know that last year's non-concurren Anderson has that as a working document and has notes and when he does action
and I think that we can probably use this when we do evaluation as well to show hey where's the progress with that thing we said we were going to do. I added that to my >> those are good two good points. Um and um I I'll reemphasize the second point
that um I use the same document. I add a column so we can kind of see a status update keep track of where uh under request four or I'm sorry request number three you know a lot of those are just ongoing.
You know there's really not a specific timeline. You know I won't go meetings when it's possible. Um it's not like by September 1st, you know, >> Yeah. And uh and actually that email, it's really not that I set up, but it's
just a working um working email list. So the the two co-chairs are on there, and I are on there. And Jessica, have have you received any emails that are sent to that group? No, but I there's an issue with my email. That's I have an IT ticket. So,
>> Okay. Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. So, I'll do my best to remember to add your your email address um until that. Uh and then request number four. Oh, yeah. This one does not have the
timeline. And that kind of gets to what Mr. Brewer was talking about. So um but some of them are kind of contingent on preparing for me wanting us to join them and then tell us what date that
any other questions for [clears throat] the response letter none. Is there a call motion for approval of the response letter as presented? Is there a second? >> Second.
>> Any discussion on that motion? Nobody's got a comment if you don't mind. Yeah. Uh Vanessa will have the resolution ready for your signatures tonight. Since you're all here, we're going to get them before you leave. So, please stick around for a few minutes after.
>> Perfect. All in favor signify by saying I and raising your hand. >> I motion prevails 7 to zero. Thank you. >> Oh, we're going to do a roll call >> because it is a resolution response. So, Mr. Humphrey, >> I
>> Mr. Sh still. >> Hi. >> I'm I >> also still I >> Thank you. Roll call vote is complete. Thank you, Vanessa. >> I think you're here, Vanessa.
>> All right. Agenda item 7.3, approval of education assistance work agreement. Uh summary of the agreement is provided in the board packet and Mr. Nelson is here if you have any specific questions. Are there any questions prior to a motion being made?
>> See no question like to thank the EAS for um negotiating with the district. We had a lot of good dialogue and I'm glad that we came to resolution on this um Brandon. Do you have anything to say
before the motion? Is there a call to motion for approval of the education assistant 2527 works agreement? >> Thank you, Mr. Working. Is there a second? >> Thank you.
>> Any discussion on that motion? Seeing no discussion, uh signify by saying I and raising your hand. I motion prevails 7. Thank you. Agendum 7 or agenda item 7.4 approval of
memo of understanding with the teachers. Thisou is for summer school director will provide any details as required if you have any questions. Are there any questions prior to the motion? All right. See no questions. Is there a call to motion for approval of theou as
presented? >> Thank you member Anderson. Is there a second? Second. Thank you Mr. Shrock. Any discussion on that motion? No discussion. All in favor signify by saying I and I.
>> I. Motion prevails. Thank you. Uh agenda item eight, upcoming meetings. If any topics, are there any questions or comments about upcoming meetings as presented or topics? And we heard a couple of that.
>> There was a question at the meeting tonight that I was across the way there. Um after this meeting on Thursday because we're not voting on anything. We're just having a conversation. When is the followup? People are curious what
happens after that. And I look for um I went through the schedule and didn't see anything as far as follow. Yes. So, um we're going to base that off of the input from the board that night if we need to have a continued working group if there needs to be an action. I
know something. So nothing is set yet. We need to get feedback from the recommendation. My assumption is we're going to have groups to go through their >> you know. >> So hopefully that helps people.
>> Yeah, there's no set action item coming out of that recommendation. That's all up to us. Ask the board to what we're going to do with the recommendations that they provide. [clears throat] >> Any other questions? Agenda item nine, school board member
reports. Anderson, >> I've been attending negotiations and mediation um custodians, teachers, and EAS. As you see, we approved the uh worker agreement with EAS this evening.
Mediation with the teachers is Wednesday and our second round of mediation with custodians is on April 10th. That's all I have. >> Thank you. Just wanted to thank everybody in the audience for staying and sticking with
the whole meeting and majority of the people did. So it's just nice to see people in the audience. So, thank you for being here. And that's all I got. >> Thank you, Mr. Um, I'd like to take time
to say thank you to our music and choir, our abandoned uh choir teachers who are actually [laughter] So, these guys went on on the trip to Arizona. And something cool about Mr. still wants is, you know, they're
going down, they're going to sing, they're going to share their love of coral arts and such and he ahead of time set up singing at a preseason baseball game. Learning sweet kids is it's things
like this. Um, I've had Mr. Wernner has taught both my kids music ever since it was a recorder. And I just I really think another thing that draws people um draws my family to St. Francis is the fact that it's so strong in the arts
from theater to dance to all that that entails. I just really appreciate that. But Mr. Stance, I remember seeing that something and I just thought that was really cool. That's innovative. Like it's really kind of outside the box and
really took above and beyond. That's an experience and I'm sure those kids all learn to all >> uh custodian mediation with Jill and um insurance advisory last week otherwise
I've got [laughter] nothing. Um, just so everyone's aware from the board, Jessica's email is not working at all. We've been dealing with it for months. Uh, so if you have to get a hold of her, you have an email that you want
to make sure she read, the best is to text her and then make sure something you want to send to her so we can follow as well. Okay, but we're trying to figure it out. Not sure why it's taking this long, but I'm going to give you
clearing that up. That was something I said. [laughter] >> We're working. >> No, my turn. Um, I just want to say thank you to board members and staff uh for all the time and energy that we got going on with these negotiations. We understand that these are tough
conversations, um, tough situations, but we appreciate everything that's going on. Thank you, Brandon, for all the work that you're putting into it. Um, on a community level, I just want to say thank you to Miss um, [cough and clears throat]
excuse me. Um, what was I going to say? Thank you to uh, excuse me, sorry, I was getting there. I was getting there. I went I got volunteered to be the official uh, bingo caller for
the PTO event uh, this last week. So, Miss Wayne and Miss Hair were all there and helping out. It's a really fun event. Um, but yeah, I was the celebrity, whatever that means. Uh, caller. Super fun. Had a lot of good time. So, thank you very much.
>> Thank you. >> You did a great job. If anyone needs added to my resume, >> thank you. I'm working. [clears throat] >> All right. I recently attended the
community education advisory council um and would like to highlight a valuable resource for our um families through a collaborative effort effort between um SFAS and the local Methodist church and
a partner church in Blaine. We um boxes of non-p perishable food are currently available for families in need. So, I would encourage anyone seeking assistance or those who know of a family in need to reach out to Chris Lyn,
director of community education, and his contact details are available on the district's website. >> Uh for myself, again, we did the EA second round of mediations teachers on Wednesday. Uh, and then I was able to
attend car school in there. There might have been a few others there, but the the show choir post show uh, which didn't only highlight the high school, it highlighted the middle school and the elementary. So, it was great to see that uh, performing arts center pack with
standing room only. Uh, Chris is not here, so I don't think we broke any code violations that night, but it looked awesome in there. It looks great. What an awesome performance from the pre-show to the post show. two completely different um performances and it was
amazing to see the growth in both of our um show choirs and then the Be the Change. So, Be the Change had their show choir, their finale this week as well. Absolutely awesome. If you want to go and get your heart filled again and go and watch our third through fifth graders singing and the passion that
they have, I'm excited to see that program continue to grow with Miss Porter and the help of everyone else. So absolutely awesome to see that. Uh that's all I have for reports. Carson, do you have anything on the Are there any questions prior to
a motion being made for adjournment? Is there a motion to adjourn? >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion on the motion? All in favor? We need to make sure
that this meeting that's