e e e e okay welcome everyone this evening we're going to start with our public comment before we begin um just a our public comment expectations the school board
encourages Community input while comments and questions are welcome law prohib IIT the board from discussing concerns about individual employees or students in a public meeting the board will not deliberate discuss or engage in conversation with speakers however the
board may ask Administration to review the concerns presented speakers must present their testimony in a respectful manner vulgarity character attacks malice or specific complaints identifying staff or students by name or implication will not be permitted we
will stop the proceedings immediately if employee or stud student privacy issues are raised and direct the speaker to forward comments regarding individual employees or students to the superintendent um open public comment speakers will sit in this chair and
director Hawker here will have time cards for your three minutes she'll kind of just gently hold up um for each time and with that we'll start with our first speaker and I'm sorry in advance if I don't pronounce names correctly uh Cara medeski is it
sorry okay welcome thank you okay hello my name is Karen muty and I'm a proud Stillwater graduate and app parent to a current Stonebridge and Stillwater Middle School student I am
here tonight to express my disappointment and concern regarding the administrator's recent disc decision to restrict access to call me Max granddad's camper and granddad's Pride
all three of which are LGBT lgbtq titles my concern starts with the district stating there was not a policy regarding these books becoming part of Stillwater Library materials in fact policy 606 has been clarified multiple
times District media Specialists congruent with their certifications followed the district appr approved process for the aformentioned books according to Minnesota state law any challenges must be administered by a
licensed media specialist none of whom were consulted or informed in regards to these restrictions clearly against policy my fear with having restricted access leads to the question of how far would we be willing to go to give those
with arbitrary opinions of voice we have seen examples of schools removing posters championing inclusivity would Stillwater area school district allow this as well with the current cuts of the Department of
Education in addition to the calls to eliminate the department altogether I can understand the worry and uncertainty from a federal funding standpoint but I say we can't go down without a fight
thank you thank you our second speaker this evening is Heidi Glide oh I'm sorry gildy okay good thank you all for having me tonight I'm a resident of Stillwater proud
parent of two Pony kids I followed the school board for many years I've seen lots of highs and lows and I pride myself in being mindful of others and Tak in both sides to any situation this is the first time I'm speaking at the school board given
everything that we've been through as a district I'm here tonight due to recent events with pulling books from our school libraries and with everything that's going on with the rapid decline in our political nature I feel it's necessary to use my
voice library to me is a place of Sanctuary a place of learning a place where there's no bias it's open for all I stand before you sit as an advocate for the lgbtqia plus Community
I'm also a part of that community no human chooses to be gay no choos human chooses to be trans if they could why would they choose a lifestyle only to have people hate them riculum it is
not a choice put yourself in their shoes I grew up in southern Minnesota a very red white 99% Community hetero Community the only discussion in the early 90s was that gay people were bad and homosexuality was
against what the Bible said how could you all feel that there were were no library books or content to help and show children that we are all different and loved and a part of the community when you can't see yourself in
books it's isolating it's shameful you hide your authentic self I want you to think about that for a moment if you can't be the person you are being TR gay trans or non-binary has
a is a normal way of life dating way back well before the writings of the Bible you go back to African Roman Greek Japanese Egyptian Chinese native American it goes on there were no words for homosexual or transgender until the rise of Christianity in the
1800s the intolerance of other faiths spread as the Roman Empire embraced Constantine's conversion to Christianity and the Bible is often cited for anti-gay and anti- third gender but it's widely misinterpreted
our children to read books about a child who was born a boy but feels like they're a girl and knows that they're a girl should be normal reading a book about two men who love each other is normal allowing a child to select a book where a person who is
lgbtqi plus needs to be continued to be normalized I wish there were books like that when I was a child and removing them is telling to our kids and it tells us that LBG btq is not okay we don't
want to hide thank [Applause] you our next speaker is conle zel and I'm good evening my name is Dr Julia cono zeel and I'm a parent of an
elementary Schooler and a middle school student here in the Stillwater School District I'm also a proud sister of a non-binary individual and the aunt of a gender diverse nephew finally I am a pediatric neuropsychologist my clinical expertise
involves years of Developmental assessment of children's cognitive social and emotional development I am here today because the book call me Max by Kyle lucoff a delightful and wholesome book about a transgender boy was determined by District administration to be
inappropriate for the age and maturity level of elementary school students and thus restricted meaning it can only be checked out with a written parent permission unfortunately the district's decision is not consistent with the science of Child
Development children develop a stable sense of gender identity between the ages of 3 to four years the developmental topics in this book are therefore very much age appropriate and written about in a development mentally appropriate manner the message in the
book is clear as well the character Max feels like a boy on the inside which is gender identity and wants to outwardly do things that reflect his reality which is called gender expression even if younger children miss the message of identity mismatch they can still understand the book's messages
of inclusion perspective taking and belonging if children do hear and take in the greater message they learn it is okay to show up as you are rather than as how others initially labeled you this book will not confuse children as District administration has claimed but
it will encourage understanding and acceptance of all people including gender diverse peers a recent American Academy Pediatrics report noted that 60% of gender diverse youth recognized a mismatch between their sex assigned at
Birth and their gender identity before the age of 11 meaning more than half of gender diverse kids are already dealing with gender identity concerns in elementary school restricting access to inclusive
and affirming stories such as call me Max sends a message to our students that gender diverse youth are not valued here this goes directly against the beliefs of our school district which state everyone belongs everyone has a voice and the whole child
matters I encourage District administration to check check their implicit biases and remember that school libraries provide a critical outlet for youth of all ages looking to explore and understand themselves I ask you to let the children
who need this story and stories like this have unrestricted access to these books thank you thank you [Applause] Julia our next speaker this evening is
Anna zenko good evening I'm here tonight to seek Clarity on the process for challenging and reviewing District Library books this issue is not just a procedural concern it is a reflection of our values in our commitment to inclusivity and
belonging in recent years and months our nation has witnessed a troubling rise in attacks on the rights and identities of lgbtq plus individuals these attacks are often cloaked in the guise of religious freedom and book Banning has become a
favored tool to silence diverse voices fortunately here in Minnesota we have one of the strongest human rights laws in the nation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual or orientation or gender identity and last year our state also
passed a laot to Outlaw book Banning and required all public libraries including School libraries to put a transparent process in place for Library challenges which must be overseen by a media Specialists I am grateful that we have a
district that places emphasis on inclusion and belonging as foundational to academic achievement yet the district's handling of this issue has been and disappointing it is concerning that our media Specialists who are uniquely trained to evaluate informational
resources were not engaged in this decision-making process this oversight not only lacks professional courtesy but also brings into question the expertise and thoroughness of the decisions that were made my question for the board is
exactly which policy is it that gives a staff member the right to challenge the materials that were selected Ed by our district Librarians and what are the procedural steps that were that were taken in evaluating this Challenge and if we don't have a process as we're required
to by state law wouldn't it make sense to hold off on restricting these materials until a policy can be developed and the materials appropriately evaluated shouldn't we be letting our policies guide our sound decision making versus scrambling to find policies to
fit the actions we have taken every child deserves to see a story that mirrors their Journey on the shelves of our school libraries this is a particular importance for those who may struggle to find self-worth and
acceptance elsewhere in the world the reason someone wanted this these books pulled from the shelves of our school libraries is the very same reason that these books need to be there and I hope that anyone who is weighing in on this topic at least takes the time to read
these books in full I've read them both with my own children and both contain simple messages centered on inclusivity belonging and kindness so I respectfully ask the board to provide clar Clarity on this policy question and if the current
policy is inadequate I urge the restoration of these books to the general collection thank you thank you our next speaker this evening is Emily Hill hi there my name is Emily Hill I'm a Stillwater resident and parent of three
Pony's middle school and to it Stonebridge I'm also here tonight to talk about our book policy and um gain clarification on how the process would work for a student who is interested in a book to gain parent approval and um if
the parent chooses to approve or not how that whole process will work I would also like to share a letter that was written to Stillwater area public schools by the author of call me Max this is an open letter um that is also in the current issue of the Stillwater
Gazette um this is from Kyle lucoff dear superintendent Funk and the board point of order we don't identify anyone by name or Association oh okay so just so to the board just refer without names of employees or students please
okay that's the one time it's um okay in his in his thank you I am the author of early reader title call me Max I'm responding to the recent press release which states that my book will only be made available to students with
parental permission a form of censorship and restriction the release claims that my book raises concerns given the age and maturity of the intended audience can you share what exactly those concerns are this book is an early reader intended for students with
emerging literacy needs some of the requirements of that genre include short sentences simple vocabulary terms and a simple plot do you think call me Max deviates from those established standards if so how if it doesn't deviate from those
standards the concerns must be about the identity of the main character Max who is a transgender boy however the press release also states that Media Center material should one enrich support or supplement the curricul two promote reading for pleasure by
responding to a broad array of personal needs and interests of a diverse student body and three reflect the ages and maturity levels of students in the building in which the media center is located four reflect artistic value literary value or educational
significance five promote critical thinking in daily living or in areas of General importance to members of society including but not limited to politics Science History religion medicine law economics or safety or six promote an understanding of the views triumphs or
struggles of others I am a former Elementary School librarian and according to your own standards as well as the standards of the American Library Association I can assure you that Calli Max does in fact respond to the personal needs and interests of a diverse student body it reflects the age and maturity
levels of Elementary age students it is of literary value and is also educationally significant it promotes critical thinking areas of General importance to members of society which seems to be an area the decision makers of the district could stand to improve
upon and it absolutely promotes the understanding of the views triumphs and struggles of others significantly specifically trans people which if I had to guess is ironically the exact reason why it is currently being restricted given your own criteria
an objective rating of Calli Max should unequivocally rate as appropriate for the students at Elementary media center centers around the district the fact that you have decided to restrict students access to this title is frankly a betrayal of your own stated values and more importantly a betrayal of the
students and families your District who believes that trans people deserve equal representation on Library shelves this is a decision that can only come from a place of discomfort fear and bias and it is a shame for the families friends and allies of trans people in your district
and in learning that you are viewing them as unequal and disposable in disappointment but without surprise Kyle lucoff thank thank you our next speaker is Morgan burn I'm sorry
okay welcome hello um uh my name is Morgan burn I am a Stillwater resident and my daughter is ting entering kindergarten at Stonebridge this fall I was profoundly concerned when I heard of the Restriction of call me Max granddad's
pride and granddad's camper um I was happy to hear the Restriction was removed from granddad's camper but it baffles me frankly that granddad's pride in CI Max remain restricted and essentially banned I read all I read all of these books and the only reason I can
think of um that these two would remain banned is because they deal more directly with lgbtq plus uh issues I'm especially concerned because this is happening uh in the midst of the current harmful rhetoric around gay and trans rights these are false narratives being
pushed in the larger culture right now that are meant to scare people and make scapegoats of the lgbtq community particularly trans people these books directly challenge those narratives and invite us to empathize with the experiences of a gay man and a trans
child excuse me I lost my place sorry um and people's biases around these topics can make them uncomfortable uh when presented with the perspectives of these um lgbtq Community people but there is a difference between the
discomfort that comes from having your prejudices and biases challenged versus a topic being truly inappropriate As Leaders of our school district you should be familiar with this concept and able to differentiate between the two some of your own District polic y
section 606 5c States school materials should and I quote represent a diversity of views and expression in order to promote learning critical thinking and objective evaluation promote respect uh promote respect and understanding of individuals and groups to Foster
appreciation uh for cultural diversity and varied opinion uh be used in a manner that enables students to recognize potential bias and provide a background of information designed to motivate students to examine their own attitudes and behaviors that is exactly
what I believe these books do in closing historically as a history nerd and um someone who studied that in college which whatever but we know that banning books has never led to a more understanding Society it only
contributes to more fear and hate and banning these books which highlight the experience of a gay man and a trans child is playing into the culture of fear-mongering against the lgbtq community and it sends the wrong message to our community libraries are for
everyone and they should reflect all different experiences cultures and perspectives not just the ones that we agree with thank you very much our next speaker is Nina Cooper our next speaker is Nina Cooper
hi I'm Dr Nina Cooper chair Sherman directors and others there's been quite the outcry over certain books in the elementary school libraries the district has been accused of censorship and book Banning per Webster the definition of censorship is quote the suppression or
prohibit prohibition of any parts of books the definition of ban is to prohibit especially by legal means the books in question have not been censored or banned they simply require parental permission to check out per Minnesota statute any parent or legal guardian
over the age of 18 has the right to restrict materials that their children can have access to I asked a question on social media and was attacked for daring to question if it was an appropriate if it was appropriate to have an illustration of a man in BDSM gear again
per Webster BDSM refers to quote a range of sexual preferences that generally relate to enjoyment of physical control psychological control Andor pain in a book aimed for four to eighty olds had this been a female in this attire no doubt there would have been outrage in protests think about that double
standard is discussion of sexual preference with a four-year-old a topic that should be taken on by teachers I personally do not care and respect all genders and sexual preferences I have utmost respect for our teachers but do they receive adequate professional development to
tackle these topics are there the resources for them if you are a parent and one of the previous speakers mentioned that they read these books with their children this should be a parental role someone commented on how this attire would be likely seen at any Pride Parade I don't know about you but
I don't know many four to eight-year-olds who are capable of navigating themselves down to a pride parade it seems to me their parents would be taking them and that's perfectly fine currently teachers even have to ask permission to show PG13 movies even in the high school some of
these are for example ET Guardians of the Galaxy Paddington in Peru and inside out there seems to be an undertone of disappointment and annoyance when parents think their teachers should take on parenting roles perfect example being
the time change I have heard how schools are not daycare the parents need to step up step up and take responsibility and yet in an instance where parents want to take responsibility for their children we have staff outraged ask yourselves are you here to educate or are you here
for your own personal Crusade there is a study published in the journal brain development from the US adolescent brain cognitive development study recommended that assess sexual orientation among children as young as young as 9 to 10 years old 9 to
10 there's uh remember there's much talk about prefrontal cortex development in teens and the lack thereof we've all seen them do stupid things I fully support review of these books along with making some of them parental permission it's only appropriate and I look forward
to what policy revisions may result of this review thank you thank you our next speaker is Kate Harry for start my three minutes [Music] my name is Kate Harry I'm a retired psychologist I live in the district and
I become acutely aware of what's going on at our schools and so out of that concern I'm here today books grade school children are being exposed to are not appropriate in my opinion today I'm submitting a two-page summary of what constitutes
child neglect and abuse for your review and by the way I also recognize that I have been dissed by the previous speakers as being intolerant against all kinds of things including people being different and I'm not I'm a psychologist I was trained
appropriately and I also have a very good worldview of things but I'm very disappointed to hear how many people are intolerant of someone who does not act the way that they do it's very disappointing to me I'm also submitting pictures today from three books currently available to children in the school library one of the books in
particular call me Max is recommended in the new phonic teaching materials that I I was able to review before they were approved a picture is worth a thousand words the pictures being shared with you are graphic even in cartoonish form depicting nudity and bondage and these are supposed to be age appropriate for
children who are younger than five this is not appropriate when you look at the pictures can you say as individuals as adults with certainty that these are not violating the standards of what constitutes abuse and neglect of children they are according to any person with common sense at a minimum
inappropriate I'm also submitting pictures from two other children's books one from the 60s one from the 90s as you look through the pictures note which pictures you actually feel comfortable with which gave you some sort of a feeling some sort of a response this is how young children learn they are
heavily influenced by picture not words these pictures say it all I'm strongly recommending books in the library be reviewed again it appears that there seems to be some Discord about what is appropriate or inappro and again I'm saying things that include
physical pictures of bondage are totally inappropriate for young children to see so there's at least 28 in question they were allowed to remain in the elementary school library the books need to be reviewed by parents who have nothing to do with the school other than having their children attend one and have everything to do with overseeing
the education of their children it's time to remind you that these are not your children the district is hired to teach not to indoctrinate it's time for change thank you thank you our next speaker is Kathy
Saltzman yes you can sit right there and then director hackard will have cards um I'm Kathy Saltzman I'm a resident of the district I have followed this district for 30 years my children have um have graduated and now I have grandchildren
first of all to the staff who are here tonight I want to apologize for the comments you have just heard that have questioned your integrity your commitment to all students in this District I was here I believe on December 17th when a parent sat at this table and and referen the mission
statement over here that said how our mission statement should feel to our students I feel safe seen heard and accepted at my school and my individuality and diversity is valued late last year I heard on a number of radio talk shows as I was probably
coming up here to do my volunteer work on Tuesday Mornings how a Minnesota school board had voted to bypass their locally chosen Review Committee in favor of book looks which was started by a former member of the known conservative group moms for Liberty the Press
reported that against legal device a former moms for Liberty member's book rating website would now be determining the um um the determining factor in how books get banned from St Francis area school libraries the new policy refers to book looks as the primary indicator
of a book's eligibility in the policy that dictates what books can be purchased in St Francis schools and allows residents to challenge books already in the library that is book Banning this morning I volunteered as I
do every Tuesday at a local 8:34 Elementary School I stopped by the library and confirmed that the two books two books out of the 30 books that were donated to this District by the generous um um um donation to focus on lgbtq
issues are in the library they are not banned they will be available to families who want to share these books with their children earlier a speaker noted she read them with her own children again a parent was there um
while I am disturbed about listening to the previous comments what I also want to point out is that December 17th this board took up the identity harm policy which really addresses the protection and safety of our students who are often
marginalized I was in the audience that night and for the parent who spoke so courageously and honestly in support of that policy I wish many of the speakers and Advocates here tonight had been in attendance I follow this District very closely and I am disheartened with what
feels like someone's personal crusade to harm the reputation of this district and paint our leadership as having bances is taking so much energy so much time so much attention from our District's most important work I support local control
and our District's leadership and listening to our you know to um um to do what is right if and when the time comes that that trust is broken I will be the first to speak out thank
you our next speaker is Jody Jacobson welcome good evening bordon thank you so much I'm here tonight to defend and to support the Youth of our school system in the reference to the book call me Max your stance in the content is too mature for the intended
audience and that's simp simp not true as a human you know yourself best I'm an RN you know when you are sick when you are cold when you are tired you know when you what you feel inside yourself at a young age every single human does in the book granddad's Pride we're
focusing on one aspect of an image you are missing the message as a whole by shifting one's perspective you would see that the book is about acceptance and inclusion it's about unconditional love love is love love period it is not the committee's
responsibility to make these choices for our youth or their I'm sorry or their parents on these subjects that should be their choice but by allowing Banning of these books what's going to be next will you ban the books on the Holocaust or an
Frank's diary this book is already being faced by being banned in certain different school districts across the country what about books about Civil War about slavery about civil rights or even women's rights what's next excuse me this is how it starts our
ancestors fought for our rights in this country and that you are starting to take away I've taught my children the diversity is good and to listen and to learn others perspectives I've taught them to love humanity and the world and what it has to offer and to not be
afraid I taught them to speak up for those that couldn't speak or were afraid to speak on their own behalf and that's what I'm here doing for you today I'm speaking on their behalf you're being hypocritical by restricting books to youth the the society is preaching that our Community
Values about inclusion and acceptance of others silw water is a diverse community and I am a Community member and a business owner and an RN the fact is that that includes the lgbtq plus community and they deserve equal representation in our community
when you look at at that book on the Shelf you might be feeling it's too complicated or inappropriate I see a child that feels that they're accepted or that a family member is being represented where you think you are protecting them from confusion what you're actually teaching them is that
they are different you might even be teaching them hatred on some level in reality this meeting to ban books is a form of fear-mongering to the lgbtq plus and youth Community we want to show our youth love and compassion not hatred Banning books
is a betrayal to our youth knowledge in and of itself can never be dangerous what can be is denying access to knowledge people remove things around them that make them feel I'm so sorry people remove things around them that bring bias discomfort and fear instead
of learning and understanding so council members I ask you this tonight by Banning these books which one are you fearful biased or uncomfortable [Applause] our final speaker this evening is Michael
McCarthy sorry our final speaker is Michael McCarthy tolerance is for what you disagree with you don't have to tolerate what you already want so as a tolerant people what will this board and this
Administration do to tolerate parents who believe their boys are male their girls are female and that these are unchanging these parents must not be ignored and marginalized parents have a primarily primary responsibility for their child's
care and moral formation you don't the government the state you have no right to impose the progressive worldview that killing the binary heteronormal in our society begins with the daily reprogramming of
my child it is your job to teach academics so that more than half of our kids can read and do math at grade level and you're failing at this one reason is the diversion of resources from academ mics to political
indoctrination including the promotion of lgbtqia sexual Dogma to children of all ages especially before the Age of Reason when children are so vulnerable to what trusted adults tell them at school recently the district placed a new batch
of about 30 books promoting lgbtqia sexual Dogma on grade school bookshelves Community radicals objected when two titles were placed Out Of Reach of parent s unless permission to by them was given for their own children that
means that about 28 books will promote lgbtqia sexual grooming to grade school children without their parents' permission school officials are not required to sexually indoctrinate children behind their parents' backs by open shelving these books and the
district has acknowledged this in recent public statement unfortunately Stillwater area schools choose to place nearly all of these materials promoting a radical worldview in the hands of tiny children media intentionally telling many children that the beliefs of their
parents and Faith Community are wrong and stupid the district should and can accommodate everyone by letting those parents who want their children groomed on the lgbtqia path to Grant permission
to access all of these books and for parents who don't well just don't sneak into their child's hands any of the lgbtqia promotional materials teaching that their family worldview and culture
are wrong and stupid parental permission is the key to accommodating everyone it will take courage to stand up to the radical shouting that their lgbtqia beliefs must be imposed on other people's children they will call those
not cooperating nasty names they will threaten but I ask you to find your courage protect our kids and families even if you were to read these books to your own kids you wouldn't impose them on neighbors don't open shelf these provide access to lgbtqia promotional
Mater materials to Children of parents requesting it and leave the rest of our kids alone thank you thank you all right with that we conclude public comment thank you to everyone who came out this evening um we hope that
you stay for the meeting um with that we'll call this meeting to order Joan roll call director gisich here director Hawker here director kenberg here director laow here director Parker here director thander here chair Sherman here
great we'll stand for Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for stands under indivisible andice
for okay when we move to approve the agenda I'm going to make a motion to pull item 12 B the priority based budgeting Elementary schedule can I get a second I will second great and I just think with um Dr Funk is having uh an
acute medical situation and I think it would just be best to wait for him to have this conversation so um with that can I um call for a vote on approving that all those in favor of pulling agenda 12b from tonight's agenda raise your hand and say I I I opposed item
pulled and then with that we can approve the remainder of the agenda um I'll make a motion to approve the agenda with the exception of that second great all those in favor of approving tonight's revised agenda raise your hand and say I I I great um agenda
passes and we will move to our student report well thank you so much first I'm just going to let our guests here introduce yourself hi I'm Aurora I'm a junior student council member at still waterer with Mason welcome yes we're really appreciate Roy stepping in for
Ansley tonight um but I'll start with just an update from our music department so our high school's Orchestra and band just recently got back from their tour to Orlando Florida they spent 5 days down south sharing their music and having a wonderful time experience ing some of the major amusement parks and
places in Orlando the Stillwater choir and Bel Shante choir had the opportunity to sing with the concordium Morehead choir from Concordia this past Saturday uh the Concordia choir was touring some of the Midwest region and they invited two of our high school choirs to come and perform a few pieces themselves and
then did a few pieces together at the state hockey tournament the boys took second place and lots of students from elementary uh middle and mostly high school went to support the three games at the EXL Energy Center in early March and then spring Bo spring Sports have
begun so boys and girls track and field lacrosse softball baseball boys tennis and girls synchronized swimming are all in gear and getting ready for their Seasons best of luck to our spring Sports and finally we are just two days away from spring break so students are getting excited to have a week off to
relax after quarter three ends and maybe take a vacation and come back at the beginning of April to hit the home stretch of the school year but that's all we have for tonight thank you great thank you um great SE for a lot of our Sports so thanks for that update it was
successful season so go ponies um our superintendent being absent we're going to foro the superintendent report and I'm going to make a uh board chair statement um so bear with me while I read this um not something I usually do
but kind of given the everything that's been going on with public comment and what's been in the news I thought it would help to maybe offer some clarity so thank you to all the community members here tonight and those who have shared their thoughts through public comment or emails and about District
policies for adopting books in our school media centers this is a matter that understandably stir strong feelings and we recognize the passion Behind These concerns especially given recent media coverage for those not familiar with the district's work I'd like to
provide some context our board has acknowledged that many of our district policies are outdated we've been working to update them to better align with best practice at Best Practices and legislative changes however policy work takes time and requires significant
effort from both the board and District staff it's also essential to involve the community and we are committed to doing that policy 625 currently guides our District's media centers originally adopted in
1971 revised in 1985 and renumbered in 2021 it urgently needs an overhaul additionally policy 606 addresses instructional Resources management but does not appropriately cover Media Center materials the board plans to
create policy 66.5 to specifically guide the selection management and reconsideration of media center resources once 66.5 is in place the plan is to revoke policy
625 the board recognizes the need for this policy update but the work was delayed due to other urgent policy matters such as the district's new cell phone policy which had the state imposed deadline of March 15th as the aid District policy committee meeting last
week we took the first steps towards me updating our Media Center policy we were joined by representatives from teaching and learning as well as District media Specialists these discussions highlighted the urgency of providing Clarity on internal processes roles and
responsibilities this is now a top priority for the board we will ensure multiple opportunities for Community feedback and we encourage everyone to participate now I would like to specifically address the situation that has drawn recent attention per the
district statement there has not been a formal book challenge rather there were internal internal discussions about the alignment of three of over 30 newly purchased Elementary library books with our current policy once the board approves the updated policy superintend
Funk has plans to revisit the media center purchases after all the new processes are in place the board is dedicated to creating a thoughtful policy that clearly defines expectations for our media centers to ensure they are both inclusive and developmentally
appropriate at all grade levels this updated policy will ensure transparency and Clarity for everyone involved we recognize that the sequence of events has not been ideal and the existing policy has not served us well in this case the policy committee will continue
working directly to dra working diligently to draft policy 66.5 and we are committed to presenting it to the full board for review as soon as possible likely in April or May the policy committee is eager to create a policy that complies with state and
federal laws prioritizes parent and guardian engagement reflects our school district's values and most importantly serves the best interest of our students finally we want to a acknowledge the efforts of superintendent Funk and District administration in responding to
recent Community concerns the lack of an updated policy placed our leadership team and staff in a difficult position resulting in controversy and public critique we apologize for this and ask for understanding as the board works
toward clear policy Direction in the near future thank you all right and that is it we will move on to our consent agenda which is up on the board is there a motion to approve consent motion to approve great to
approve consent director hacker with a motion to approve is there a second second great director kenberg with a second all those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda raise your hand and say I I opposed consent agenda
passes under strategic Direction a ensure the learning process is adaptable to meet individual student needs we have an action item this evening to um adopt literacy curriculum so with that we'll have Caitlyn can't decide if I should wear my
glasses or not clearly need bifocals so I can either see up close or far away um good evening board thank you for having me back this evening um if you recall a few weeks ago we did a presentation on the recommendations of
the lit adoption committee for um the acquisition and subsequent implementation if approved of a new uh literacy curriculum K5 that will better align with the science of reading so I'm here this evening to uh request that you
kindly consider to take action on the adoption of uh Benchmark Advanced K5 knowledge building curriculum and uly and functional morphology for our foundational curricula um I'm gonna go ahead and make
the emotion to adopt can I get a second Dr low with the second any questions or discussion anyone um oh I was just gonna say I had one question um as we adapt uh these
books and curriculum what do you see as kind of the next steps for making this successful it's a it's a great question um it's multifaceted um so we are already well involved in the professional development involved in this as you know um with our letters
science of reading training but I think our our biggest hurdle that we're going to be working on this spring is uh looking at where we can uh look closely at our instructional minutes and find an additional 40 minutes of literacy block currently our literacy block is 80
minutes and the curriculum requirements for our new uh curricula specifically the knowledge building reading and writing portions is 120 minutes so we're going to be partnering with our literacy adoption committee to problem solve that
great thank you for that any other questions was more just more of a comment I just wanted to thank you guys again for all your hard work on all this I know this took a long time um and lots of like work it was I actually brought the timeline but we don't need it because you've seen it last time so if
you want to see the work that went into it leading up to this this uh point this spring that is that and we're still under budget we are still under budget I figur it hasn't changed yet it has not changed yet thank you so much and that but that amount I gave you last time was without applying our react literacy a
towards it okay thank you so much you're Goods okay we have a motion and a second um without any other questions oh yes direct can I get clarity on the budget is this we're under the budget that you presented last time which is incremental to the budget that was we have approved
last year so we hypothesized based on kind of what we thought our needs would be um with regard to the adoption that this could be close to 1.4 million and it came in at 1,40 don't quote me 48,000 and change
um so from that standpoint we're under budget for what we predicted we would have to allocate towards this purchase okay and when you say budget was that an approved budget by the board it was put into projections I believe thank
you thank you marray all right we have a motion in a second all those in favor of approving the literacy adoption raise your hand say hi hi hi oppos passes great we're excited to see the results of
this okay speaking of budgets we have Marie coming up we're going to talk a little priority based budgeting and Chrissa thank you I you drew the Short Straw good evening hopefully my voice will
um stay um so this evening we're going to give you a brief update on priority based budgeting and a little bit of introduction and um again Current financial
reality um we have uh unfunded State mandates as you know um one of the largest ones is um what Caitlyn just brought forward to you the um implementation of our um read act and
the materials and that $1.1 million is a reality for us um we received about $300,000 of funding to go toward that purchase so that is one of the larger um items in our budget that's going forward
to you um spending some of our uh restricted fund balance um legislation impacting Revenue um one piece of good news since the last time I presented um we did receive some
inflationary um an inflationary adjustment um we um assumed 2% for the formula allowance so we did get an extra
74% um on that uh gened formula so that amounted to just shy of about a half million dollars additional Revenue in our forecast so that's one little piece um of positive and then we also have
inflation Rising costs uh projected enrollment levels and onetime only funding some of those um are not only a Federal grant carryover but also um our ltfm projects um those change from year
to year and that is part of our general um general fund uh Levy dollars so you can see on this slide um how our unassigned fund balance um has
been declining um since fiscal year 2020 um when it was at uh 99.7% uh we're currently as of less fiscal year end close at
1.1% and we're we're currently holding um I'm hoping that uh the way our projections are looking we're coming to you with a revised budget next month um that that may um be a little bit more
positive um we're we're hoping for a slight increase there um not by much but um the way numbers are looking right now they're a little bit more um positive so just to um um to clarify because I think
it can't get stated enough I just want to clarify that when it Rose to the 9.7 that was the year that the district was last in the state settling employee contracts so it was a little artificially inflated actually a lot artificially inflated because as soon as contracts were settled it went back down
again correct just for the community that might be watching and not familiar correct and 1.1% just for everybody in the community is about 1.6 million that does not um our
payrolls are around $4 million um that does not give us a lot of operating um especially if the state were to shut down Federal I mean it just does not give the district a lot of movement in
unassigned dollars uh rainy day funds I call them so some of our assumptions we made in putting together um a preliminary budget um forecast uh our current
Formula allowances right now in legislation as you know things are still ongoing there um I did assume our additional change there in the revenue and then Levy as of December um that was
approved by the board and then our federal revenue based on what we know right now um those District estimates um that we have and then expenditure side we have uh current year Staffing levels
uh agreements as we know and then we did make some assumptions for our cost of living steps and lanes and then also increases in benefit costs and pensions um are par are TR those pension
contributions um there was a little change there in TR and then legislative changes as we know and then also cost of inflation we assumed for um some of those Services
utilities we also have liability insurance so some of those different uh inflationary costs and then also the use of restricted fund balance we have a board policy and statutory guidance so making sure we're following those um
different stat shoots as they relate to that so just an updated um fiscal forecast and if you look at that third column over you'll see that that um Revenue amount did shift a little bit um
and increased by $500,000 and then our expenditures as Caitlyn just mentioned um did go down a little bit because we had a more favorable estimate on the uh literacy
adoptions so those those did shift um making our shortfall just a little bit less um for fiscal year 26 so just to highlight some of the priority based budgeting um for the
community and those here um the framework is from the government Finance Officers Association or gfoa it's a smarter School spending best practices and school budgeting it includes five steps which we'll just highlight this
evening on the next slide and it's um there's steps to complete in more detail under each and priority based budgeting is focusing on aligning instructional and operational priorities with the
Strategic plan so it's really looking in detail at what we're doing at a district level and programs and at the school level and aligning that um with our strategic plan but also looking to see
what's the return on investment that we're doing in each of these um areas and also in operations and it's making sure that we can sustain what we're doing um and then monitoring it also not just a one time only and you're done it's continuing to
monitor to make sure that you're on track so as you can see there um you first plan and prepare and you you put together um a partnership together and
it's a partnership I call it between Finance but also Finance with your operations your academic team Communications you're you're putting together a group um your principal leaders all of all of the um Team comes
together because everybody wears different hats and you're looking at um different data um there was a lot of work done with the Strategic plan initially so we had a lot of good data as Baseline data and you're analyzing
that initial student learning um to then build your your Baseline data and really setting those instructional priorities in that second um column there and putting together some goals with your strategic plan and
aligning those um priorities with what you're going to fund and really looking for areas that aren't aligned um and and looking for options to either fix eliminate or or looking at those
programs that you need to um realign and then paying for those priorities sometimes they AR aren't aligned and you have to make those tough decisions and that's some of the work that's going on and and will continue to go on long
after we're doing this budget and that's some of the work we do with budget revisions too is sometimes it's not during that exact moment in May and June it's it's ongoing that we're doing budget revisions some times grants and
and that work is over you have to make those hard decisions whether or not um that initiative with a grant continues in your general fund and other things um may have to be reduced so it's um making
those decisions and then implementing that plan and so that's where we are right now is that uh number four making those um final plans of action and and those allocations working with the
schools um working on the allocations and then um also keeping um those uh plans of action making sure that they're communicated and um working on the final
plans for the budget and um ensuring that sustainability which is the last column and last but not least when you implement you have to continue to evaluate because it's not just done in June you have to go back and make sure
that if there are things that aren't working go and refine it's it's it's kind of a continual cycle of the budget you just don't put it on a shelf in June and it goes away you you continue to
refine so for next year um those three Focus areas for us are literacy uh School culture Equity inclusion and then social emotional learning and mental health and you can see the four strategic directions and initiatives
those four areas there so part of that process is then looking at um the initiatives and what are the areas and the ones that we're really um looking at are the expand what
are those that are um highly cost effective programs that increase that student learning um that should be expanded and we're going to highlight some of those this evening and then also the ones um that
should be fixed um programs with limited success that could increase success if we just change something and then eliminate programs that no longer meet a strategic priority of the district that can be safely
eliminated so with that I'm going to turn it over a little bit to Carissa to just kind of walk us through a little bit of these um programmatic thank you what I I think retouch on this but what I appreciate about this process is it really does focus on our priorities and it links so tightly with the Strategic
plan in the past when we did budgeting budgeting kind of lived over here strategic plan was over here but what this process does is brings it to U together and really aligns our work so we can sit down as District leaders and think about what are the things we need to do to make sure that we're Meeting those goals of our strategic plan and then reevaluate everything else under
that so that expansion area I think ties most to where we need to go based on what our strategic plan is telling us and some of these will be no surprise to you the very first box is curriculum with literacy we've had a lot of conversation about how we need to expand our literacy work uh secondary science is another area where we need to put
some more money into curriculum um and materials to make sure our kids have what they need for Science and then the legislature has uh requested or required us to have personal finance added at the high school so that's a new course that will be coming online that has some costs associated uh we also know Amigos
unidos is continuing to expand eighth grade will be uh the last uh uh new program for us so we'll be adding eth grade at Oakland next year artificial intelligence is something we'll talk about after this I'll give you a little bit more information about how we're working to expand in that area and then
we have a unique opportunity with bwin which is an environmental Learning Center right here in our school district down in afon that is asking us to really bring our kids there and have some programming so we're working on a really interesting partnership to be able to bring our kids out to that space across the district and to be able to learn right there in nature so that's a fun
new program that we'll have offered next year in the area of fix um you had a a little bit of information provided to you but we are looking at ways that we can maybe do the specialist model and other things differently at the elementary schedule to provide that room for the literacy instruction that we know we need more minutes for so we'll
be sharing more details about that in the future future our high school has over the last few years seen more and more kids leaving to go to other opportunities at through PSO and we really want to try to give them opportunities to stay on campus so the high school's been doing a lot of work
to offer more concurrent enrollment courses you've heard about that here um and being able to just expand the program and offerings that we have there so we're working to keep kids on campus and let them have that experience of high school while still getting the very rigorous um and college earning credits that they're looking for I'll let you
touch on the next one yep so we've also been um looking at different um uh our insurance contributions and the district is up for an insurance um
renewal and the defined we're trying to Define what is that District role um in the benefits contribution um and so that's another another piece right now that we're continuing to review um what that um
contribution will be to benefits across the district um also fixing or in this case um there will be an investment um in fixing uh the music instrument
replacement um so that'll be another um investment for this district and then um some of the eliminations and that's not eliminating um those things on that line some of these are um the curriculum and
online apps um not aligned to Cork instruction so there were a lot of things added um back during covid um some apps were just added um and they're no longer um needed or aligned to what
we are doing so those there was a a very lengthy process done by the tnl team and uh technology and kudos to that team for uh reviewing um those items and so um
some of those um items will no longer exist and so that that is an elimination out of the budget and then there will also be Staffing adjustments um like most years um based on enrollments so um
with any enrollment class size um as you know we've projected a slight decrease in our enrollment so that will come with that and then there will be department and program reductions and that will
correlate not only to Staffing but also some non-salary reductions there so as departments get their um budgets there will be um correlations with uh reductions there and then also um
onetime only commitments like I had mentioned there is some federal funding um that uh Federal special ed um had some carryover um those expenditures also need to be eliminated and then also
uh our ltfm had a expenditures last year that were uh larger than they will be this year so we're eliminating those out of the budget too so as you can see that bottom
line there is where we're uh we will be getting to and uh we're getting close and so that will be a more detailed update for you next month um you will see much more behind what you're seeing
um kind of as the Forefront here summary so we just wanted to give you a kind of a first glance of what um some of those priorities these are appreciate that and so again um we'll also be um
prudent in our approach to contracts and future expenditures so we are continuing to look at um what do those contracts look like um what do those expenditures look like and um also looking at some additional cost savings at the district
level um as we continue to balance to that 5.4 million yeah thank you um at this point thank you for that um that presentation very helpful to see where everything is at I know there'll be more detail coming at
the next meeting but it's just still helpful to have that little bit of a tease uh any questions or comments for Marie what is our Rhythm for seeing where we are at on the current budget uh
versus actual spin versus current budget on an annual basis do we see a quarterly uh review of this and when is that presented that you will receive that next month yes we'll get that we get that quarterly yes yes when was the last time that was
presented I want to say it's so cyclical now I was just thinking if it's quarterly then the last one should have been in January it's the next one is it quarterly I don't even know if it's yeah um our goal is quarterly I want to say maybe it was last fall
maybe yeah accordly would be good and it it just kind of I mean I know as soon as you have updates you send those to the board but unfortunately it's a it's kind of a cyclical with legislation and with the
um when we approve the budget and preliminary and revised and final and so I think it's for it just doesn't hit necessarily right we can share some of that information to I mean outside of the cyclical nature of the changes that happen to the budget the budget variance
to the act the actual variance to the budget should be something we see on a a regular basis usually we'll close March and then we'll give you an update okay yeah okay any other questions thank you welc very
much all right and now we're going to move on to our next report which is priority based budgeting artificial intelligence okay well just rolling right in we talked about this briefly you saw on the screen as one of our um areas for expansion so we just thought this might be worth telling you a little
bit more about because we are excited to get going with some of this um even yet this spring so I will talk to you about something you probably already know of generative AI I'm sure you are seeing it on your phone um if you're getting customer service somewhere it's probably coming through popups on a web page and
all of that is all um General to or gen AI it's everywhere our staff are using it our kids are using it and so we're really starting to get to the point where we're thinking how does this align with our strategic plan um AI is there it's here it's something that we are all experiencing so what can we do to make
sure that we're leveraging it in a positive way and looking at our strategic plan alignment there's really two areas I think that this touches is how can we use AI to um support our kids and their individual learning needs and then how can we use it to make our systems run more efficiently um so as
we're thinking about that we are looking at how we can Leverage AI in our schools from a staff perspective to save time increase staff efficiency automate processes and for our students um we know they're using it so trying to help educate them on how to use it properly um giving some guidance and expectations
about how they should be using that these are things we want to focus on next year um and then as I said even starting this spring for our staff with that um there is a tool called brisk and several of us are already using it we have more than 40 teachers in the district that are using
it this is an AI That's gen that's really created for teachers and Educators to help them be more efficient in the work that they have to do it allows teachers to do things as simple as maybe taking an article and changing the reading level for it so it might be an article they find in a newsletter or a newspaper and they just want to make
it more appropriate for their students reading level um or it could be something more complex like um looking at an assess or an an assignment and trying to figure out how to go deeper for maybe a student who needs a little extra challenge like how do I make this a little bit more challenging assignment
for them how do I create like a pop quiz um they can take a video and have it summarized into a couple of PowerPoint slides so if you think of it from a teacher perspective just taking some of those daily tasks that can take a lot of time and being able to do that much more quickly and efficiently for them so we
are excited to be piloting this with a group of teachers yet this spring and then bringing this on board and doing some training with our staff in the fall so that all of our teaching staff has access to brisk and in addition to that we also want to provide training on how a staff member can use AI what are the
guidance and expectations of when it's appropriate to use AI um what tools are we going to be supporting them with at a district level for them to be able to get this work done and knowing that this is uh constantly evolving and changing providing continuing professional development to our staff um I want to point out that this isn't just for our
teachers there are a lot of AI tools we can use in finance and HR just to streamline those processes I know in Communications we're using AI quite often to help us in our work we are doing um right now with a gifted program review we're pulling survey data and putting it into AI to help us summarize
and get key themes and things like that very quickly so that we have that information to turn around much more quickly than we have in the past um throughout the next school year we also know we need to have conversations about student use so we want to engage our student staff and families in conversations about the use of AI by our
students and help develop those guidelines and expectations for kids and then providing just some education for them of how when where it's appropriate to use AI so that's a very quick overview just again wanted to give you a little insight into what we're doing and we're
excited about this work um there are other districts who have been doing this and are serving as a model for us we're a maybe a little bit behind because we obviously know our kids are using it our staff are using it so we just want to try to get up in front of it and make sure that we're providing people with good resources and
information Dr L um the cost of brisk is at a per user or what is it's per user I don't know the cost offhanded is in our budget so it's something that we have budgeted for for next year um but it is based off of the
I think the number of students in the district is how usually those contracts work yes um there's going to be a cost like you just asked uh and it will improve a lot of things we hope and make a lot of things more efficient is there
any uh Co any cost being offset because we have this where we save money because we're using this is there anything potentially I mean that's part again we're exploring I think the next the next several months and into next year is going to be exploring ways that we can maybe do things differently that might mean we don't have to do something
else we might not have to pay for something else because we can do it using the help of AI so I think those are all things that we're exploring okay in fact I do have one example technology just mentioned that there is a tool that can help them monitor usage of different apps in the district and different um
analytics to find out if the software we're using is actually being used so if we're paying for some of those apps like Marie was just mentioning um if we are paying for it but we find out only a couple of people are using it then maybe that's not useful and that's an eii tool so there are definitely opportunities for us to explore with
that Dr ther she just kind of touched upon that so thank you for the information on this um so just in terms of how will we measure for impact or probably based on how many users are using it and maybe some type of just satisfaction survey I would imagine just make sure that's a good return on
investment MH definitely and then um in regards to the policy U obviously I think it'd be helpful have a clear policy around this uh does msba have a model policy or is there one that we can try to I have not seen a model policy on AI yet I know is we're digging into what
other districts are doing there are certainly policies that other districts across the country have adopted so we can look at some of those pieces as well turn it over to you since this is kind of teas you up also I actually had a comment about this too um in terms of policy um just a quick clarification
though with the brisk is that mostly for staff use or is it student use as well um brisk the what what we're looking for is for Teacher use at this point teacher use okay is there any um are there any programs or ways to integrate AI being looked at for student use there are a
lot of tools out there so part of what we need to do is just explore that so as we get deeper into this I think one of our first intentions is to figure out um how and where we would like students to be using it and then find the appropriate tools to match that so some of that EXP expectation work I think is what comes first figure out what
students are currently doing and then what sort of guidance we should provide and then find the tools that match that okay great so then that leads into sorry one more Point um so Alison and I went to a um amsd meeting I believe you were I watching as well um on St Cloud and
their school district and how they have really tried to develop a policy is what they call it when I looked at it looked a little more procedural but I mean splitting hairs um on kind of how to encourage students to use AI but with parameters so um I think that'd be a
great resource for us to use and I'm just curious if we have um reached out to maybe other districts that are looking into AI stuff and figuring out because there isn't a msba policy on this it's kind of Cutting Edge work so um do you know if we've connected we have definitely s cloud is one um I was
just talking with Stephen Gordy today he had something from um Seattle Washington had some really great work that they've done so this is Nationwide um as I was researching I finding things from out east and all over so I think at this point we're just starting to gather all of that information um then we're going
to sit down as a team and start narrowing our focus on what ones maybe make the most sense for us and then adapting where we need to for our district but that's the nice thing I think about being a little bit slower here in the process is that we're not doing this um we're not the first we can follow examples and leads from other
districts who have already done some of this work what I liked about St Cloud they had that stoplight I know you guys both saw this too where they kind of had this stop light um example where they tell kids like red light means absolutely no AI can be used for this assignment the yellow light means you can use it to maybe generate some ideas
and the green light means use it to create content do whatever you want so it's just these different levels that give students an understanding of how and when um to use Ai and where it would be appropriate and what I liked about St Cloud too is it was really teaching students how to utilize AI as a tool
that they're going to be experiencing you know out in the workplace so it was it was really really a good present presentation I mean I was and and it was also good for the teachers I mean how to make you know what is a good way for a teacher to use AI what is not a good way um just like with the green light red
light yellow light for the teachers too and the staff so it's it's a learning process but they certainly have a head start so definitely I think when it first came out people were just kind of nervous about and said no let's just ban it but now we're realizing it's here our kids need to know how to use this appropriately you we as staff need to
know how this can benefit us too and how we can use it to make our jobs a little easier thank you very much it's really exciting and absolutely something that is uh changed the way the business world is working so glad to see that um we're talking about it here one question you
talked about it using it to summarize uh material for the surveys or the the community outreach um in that how are you checking when I've used generative AI uh I've either I've normally had to
check it pretty significantly and I'm curious how what approaches you're putting on that to help support that that's the approach we're using so honestly we have been doing both so we're like doing our own summary of things and then running it through AI to see how close it is and then making the adjustments that we need to so um Elsa
Mt our assessment person and I have both been doing that so for this gifted example um I don't know that it's saved a lot of time yet because we're still doing that analysis just to make sure that it's matching up but it is interesting um and I've even run it through a couple different tools and found that some are much better than
others um we are finding that brisk has been really good from what I've heard from teachers too that they're getting positive feedback that they feel like there's um it's it's putting together some pretty good quality things but that's definitely one of the things we want to do when we talk to staff and to students is help them understand that you can't just run it through Ai and be
done you still have to take it through you have to do that evaluation process you have to make sure that you're looking at the information too to make sure that it really is a good and accurate representation thank you okay well thank thank you very much for that update I appreciate that thank
you okay um we are going to move into Clos session let me read what I have here the next item on the agenda is a closed session pursuant to Minnesota statute 13d 03b the governing body of a public employer May by a majority vote
in a public meeting decide to hold a closed meeting to consider strategy for labor negotiations including negotiation strategies or developments or discussion and review of Labor negot iation proposals conducted pursuant to sections 179 a01 to 179
a25 I will go ahead and make the motion to move into close can I get a second second all those in favor of moving to close session raise your hand and say I I opposed we are in close session let's go where we're gonna
go e e