--------- School board work session September 22nd, 2025. Test Good evening. The time is now exactly 5:00. The Wisetta Public Schools Board of Education work session for Monday, September 22nd, 2025
will please come to order. Let's start with a quick introduction beginning from my right. Heidi Kedar, Sheila Prior, >> Dan Janestra, >> Paris Vende, >> Valentina ears, >> Chase Anderson >> and I am Milan Sony. Thank you and
welcome. We have a we have a I guess we have a quorum. Uh this evening we have one item on the agenda and that's a discussion on exploring the concept of having a student representative on the school board. At the outset, I want to make it
absolutely clear that this discussion is intended to gather input, review possible models and consider the potential benefits and challenges of student participation at the board level. Please ask as many questions as you will
as you wish after the presentation. There is no recommendation and there will be no resolution on this this evening. All right. First let me introduce uh our guests. Uh we have the great pleasure of having two guests who will make
presentations and there is a student representative from Hopkins High School who is on the Hopkins School Board. Um I'd like to introduce first Katie Clerwood who has been the MSBA director of board development for 18 years. Katie
also has experience as a former school board member. In recent years, she has been working along with other MSBA staff to create opportunities for students, district staff, and school boards to come together to foster discussions
about student voice and board governance. I have known Katie for almost three years now, having been on the MSBA board of directors. So, welcome Katie and thank you. We also have Dr. Just uh Jen West Morland, a Hopkins
School Board member. She has served on the Hopkins School Board since 2018. Her educational research focuses on the importance of student voice in public E through 12 and higher education settings. She's honored to serve as the
liaison between the Hopkins student board representatives and the school board. Our third guest is Claire Fischer who is the Hopkins High School student who currently serves as the student rep on the school board. So, welcome all three of you and Katie, I
hand it over to you to get get the proceedings started. >> Thank you, board chair. Um, so, um, what we want to talk about tonight is really student voice and school boards because we know there are several different models, um, for that to happen. Um, I'll
just get started at the PowerPoint here. You have my, uh, contact information if you need that. So, first, we wanted to give you a little bit of history. Um, back in 1993, there was a law passed that the a student representative was required um to be on the school board
and um that then was that mandate was removed in 1996. Um it didn't prohibit school boards from having um a student representative um but it did not mandate it. And then moving up into current history um in
2000 um they were looking at bringing that back again um to revive the concept and then um they wanted more of a permissive approach though so you could um choose to include st uh student
members rather than being required to and then that did not pass. um but it did bring uh more recognition to the possibility of doing that. And then in 2025 um we saw that again um it was
being looked at as a possibility. We also um in there are other states that um I think believe there are two now that actually require a school board a student representative to be on the school board. um one is New York when it
ju and it just passed in July of 2025. So um the requirement to have somebody as a student on the board where back in 1993 and you see after three years and I do not know um the history in those
three years what um what the reasoning for it to be changed. I don't I don't know all of that. I know there's lots of things that we talk about um that can be um good practices and challenges as well and and hopefully we can explore some of
those this evening as well as now um we are what we are doing today um um as your schoolboard um association we're here to help boards gather that information and also really looking at the local choice. So how does that work
for you? because our districts throughout the state vary different sizes and makeups. And so we want to make sure um instead of having something that's very prescriptive, we want something that is a variety of different models and for you um at each district,
each board to individually choose what's going to work best for them. Um and so we are working to help share the models um with everybody and help gather that information. So, we do feel it's important that you hear from students and student voice. Um, we have a student
board representative workshop um that we've done. We've done four of them in the last three years. Um, we um have found the best time to have those are in the fall um when we're starting the new school year. Um those representatives
are perhaps new, but the representatives are not or the the workshop is the dayong workshop is not just for those that already have a representative. It's those boards and those students and those staff that are interested in looking at the different models, hearing
and sharing from one another, and then um talking a little bit more about some of the models that will best work for them. It's been really interesting to see and hear the students um get together talking to one another because as you all know being a schoolboard
member in your community, you're one of seven. Um and so that that's not a lot of people for one community, right? So it can feel like a lot. Um and so if you can imagine being the one, two, three people that are representing all of your students from a student um board
representative perspective, it can be a lonely spot for them as well. For them to be able to come together and talk and share has been a really great um opportunity for us to watch and see that, but to listen and hear what it is that that um they're talking about, their questions and concerns. So
listening is the next one, right? um being um but what what we're hearing persistently from the students is that you need to hear our voice. What we're hearing consistently from the school board members is we need to hear your voice. We need to figure out how to do
that. Okay. Um then we really talk about so I have a resource sheet that I set on the spot for all of you but it was also in the board packet but suggested guidelines for success. some of those things to think about. These we've gathered not
only from those um four different meetings that we've had, those workshops, but also from other state associations and talking to them and finding out um what they find in their in their states, what are what does work and what doesn't as well. So, we're
seeing um a variety of different formats. These are some just some basic ones. And within each of these, there's also a variety. So perhaps a youth advisory council. So perhaps a student representative. So having somebody that
is specifically one sometimes two students that specifically come and sit right up um at the dis along with all of you as well. We've also seen youth advisory council. So something that's put together of representatives of
students throughout your district and then they are they might then they would report to the board in a variety of different ways, give feedback, those kinds of things. Student reports sometimes we see the student council report. Maybe the president comes to sit
at a table and give a report to the board. Um we've also seen u rotating schoolboard members uh meet with student leaders um maybe at the school. So you as board members going to the schools meeting with the students maybe over lunch that kind of thing and having
conversations with them and then also we've see often times because we don't want to put all of that um not only responsibility but all of that extra work onto one board um one student uh board representative a rotation of a
couple of students as well. Okay. Um the uh last count that we that we have figured out is there's 134 school districts out of 331 in the of your traditional public schools um with the student schoolboard representative. That
can mean a lot of different things, but more specifically um not it's it's going to be more of a dedicated couple of people um that regularly come to boards when is what we see for those that 134. Others may be
receiving student council report or that kind of thing. And then the last one is that we provide a couple of scholarships every year um in memoriam of our former executive director um um Roberty Meeks or Bob as many of us or many of you
probably um called him as well. Um and so um we have the opportunity for that for that to happen too. Um, I really want to share with you that there is such a variety that we see that we really are trying to not be and
really encourage there not be a prescriptive way. So, when we look at our legislature, um, we want to let them know that, um, we're already doing the work and boards are already doing the work to hear student voice, that we don't need something, um, real
prescriptive. But, um, I think your best bet tonight is to be hearing from, um, the the students, the student and the the staff member themselves. And I'm here to help answer questions more maybe regional or statewide basis as well. So,
I will step back and let you go ahead. >> Thank you. Thank you, Katie. Can I just say one as long as this slide is on the screen? >> Yes, absolutely. >> I'm sorry. U, we have three I think MSBA now has three $3,000 scholarships since two years ago. Yep. So, two $3,000
scholarships for a total of $6,000. >> There are three now with $9,000. >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah. So, I'm I was on the I was fortunate enough to be on the committee that Yes. >> All right. I will do that. >> More options now, more more possibilities. So, thank you. >> Yeah, >> Dr. West Morland, please.
>> Wonderful. Thank you, Chair Sahony, and members of the school board. Um we are thrilled to be here to share our model that we've been using Hopkins School District for our student board representatives. This is an iterative model. Um it looked very different when
I joined the board in 2018 and it has shifted over time based on student needs and student interest and the priorities of the board. So student voice is a key component of
our vision 2031 which is our strategic vision in the Hopkins school district. Um so we have defined traits of a Hopkins scholar and one of those traits is that each Hopkins scholar has their own voice and so we live out this value
through our student board representative program. Hopkins was one of the first districts in the state to adopt a student board representative program 26 years ago. Um the model uh originally had um two to
three uh student board representatives and even with that small group um it got a little lonely uh for our student board reps because sometimes it would just be one board student board rep at the table giving their report. they kind of rotated through and this was the am the
the model that was there when I first joined the board and our student board reps um really just came and gave reports. They weren't serving on committees of the board. Um they weren't engaging in a lot of um community engagement or student engagement. It was
really focused on that board report. Um so in working with the students and this is a research passion of mine too. I'm an educational researcher. um in working with the students um we decided that a different model was needed. So we revamped the model in 2021. Um our
current model has um nine to 10 student schoolboard representatives, two from each grade at the high school and one soon to be two from our virtual edu program. So our board reps um serve on committees
of the board. Um not all of them. We've kind of decided with our student board reps what would be most appropriate, which committees align with their passions and their interests and um and they have they have really um expanded
their role and their reach in terms of impact. And so I'm going to turn it over to Claire Fischer who is one of our currently nine fabulous student board representatives to talk a bit more about um each of these categories.
>> Yeah. Um so here are the um primary roles of a student board representative. So we have student and community um engagement. So an example of that would be um one of the biggest parts of the
student board representative program is that we like to hear not just from high school students, we also like to hear from elementary and middle school students. So, we like to go around and collect data and just opinions um from
different students all across um ages and schools um from the district so that we can kind of build on that student perspective and bring that to the board. Another one of our roles is reports at school board meetings. So this is
probably the most frequent um kind of role task for a student board representative. Um when we do these reports, we like to talk about the different things that are going out at the high school, what students are
liking, what students are not liking. Um and we like to bring the needs and wants of the students up to the school board and present them. This can also be used to report the data that we found through
the student and community engagement and it's a it's the most communitative way to kind of show the student perspective at the school board meetings. Um, one of our other roles is meeting with
principles and district leaders. So this is a task that we have that um kind of is really like what we do to communicate. Um so usually as a student board uh we meet as a group with our
principal and we just go over what we would like to talk about at the schoolboard meeting. um just kind of updates from you know um educators about what's going
on. And this is super it's like it's good to use so that we can kind of communicate and bridge like student educator communication. And then our last um task is serving on
committees on the board. Um, we had Jen talk about this a little bit earlier and this is another way to kind of have that student perspective on the school board. So like the legislative action coalition, policy, budget, all of those
different committees um is another way that you can have the student board voice heard and just hear from hear from that. >> Thanks, Claire. In addition to giving
their reports at schoolboard meetings, our student board representatives are really encouraged to participate in our discussion items um both at workshops and during the meetings and we often seek out your input um at the table and
this particular cohort um as Claire said is really passionate about student engagement. Um and so we've asked for data both quantitative and qualitative. We use a youth participatory action research model um to collect that data and we've asked our board reps to bring
data to the table to support uh different decisions that we're looking at. Um so over the years certainly um throughout my tenure on the board the impact of student board representatives has been significant. Um so our student board representatives were um
instrumental in helping us develop our gender inclusion and cell phone policies. Claire, I know you were part of the cell phone policy process. >> Um, successfully advocating to the Minnesota legislature regarding issues impacting our schools. So, Claire mentioned that we have student board
reps who serve on our legislative action coalition. So, that's the convergence there. Um, developing a more equitable district calendar. So, it was our student board representatives during their board reports um about four years
ago who started advocating um for a redesign of our district calendar to be more inclusive of our major religious and cultural groups um demographically in the district. And um we were one of the first districts in the state to make the change to include uh major Jewish
and Muslim holidays in our school calendar and planning. that was the direct impact of student voice at the table. Um, and I'll turn it over to Claire to talk about our holistic school safety model. >> Yeah. So, the holistic school safety
model, this is coming from more of a student perspective of the impact of student board representatives. So this um holistic school safety model um kind of if you'd like to kind of talk
about that sure but like just having the I kind of wanted to go over just like having the student perspective on that since that is directly in the schools and impacting the students. Um I think that that has been a big impact of
having student board representatives. um and also increasing student collaboration in decision-m at Hopkins High School and virtual edu. So having a student uh one student board representative hopefully two for virtual
edu um is also just a good way to have that student voice there since it is kind of a smaller community at Hopkins High School virtual edu. Um, so it's also good to have that student voice there so that they have the same amount
of representation and equity as the students who are there in person um as well. So thanks Claire. Before we close um I just want to make a comment that a lot of districts um choose their student board representative from students who
are already participating in the student council. Um we've chosen a different approach in Hopkins. um those students are already in leadership positions and they already have quite a bit of contact with the administration. Um and so we do a separate recruitment process for
student board representatives because the roles are very different. Um and we're looking for students who um really want to work with the board on um policy decisions and um strategic governance decisions. Um so just kind of a another
unique aspect of our model in Hopkins. Um, we're here to be thought partners with you as you continue to explore this. Um, I'm actually rolling off the Hopkins School Board at the end of the year, but Sher Sahony has my contact information um to engage in kind of a more nuanced
conversation about these things. Um, if that would be helpful. So, thank you. Thanks, Claire. >> Thank you. Thank you all. Um I I know I I think it was last year that that MSBA had a workshop at Shakupi High School last year, right? For the for the
same thing you're doing in Farmington this October. Is that is that slide available if you want to put that up? uh the workshop coming up for the student representatives on the >> So the workshop coming up is um October
it's a Wednesday >> and um it is >> there you go. >> Yeah. Wednesday October 29th y >> and it is free for the students and for the um schoolboard members and the staff
who choose to um attend. and it's a full day in that it's from 9 till about 1:30 because we know people have travel on either side of the day. Um but it's where we come together as a large group and then we split into students and then
the um staff and schoolboard members kind of split to kind of talk about the different perspectives um for having student uh representation. And then we come back together and and certainly have lunch together. We come back
together, have more conversation. And then one of the things we did um last year and we're still in the planning stages of the of the details, but we really did kind of a a gallery walk of of a variety of different questions. And we asked the students to do theirs on
one side, their answers, and then the um the staff and schoolboard members on the other side. And then um we found that consistently on both sides they were asking for wanting to learn about very
similar things. It was just who had the uh the the ability to help answer >> um on either side but very consistently as I said before the students were saying you need to hear our voice and the school board members and the staff were saying we need to hear your voice
and we need to learn how we can best do that. >> Okay. Yeah. I I I I I found that workshop very very useful and that I think was a turning point at least in my thought thought process about why import why this this thing is so important. So
I do not want to bias anybody's mind so please go ahead and ask questions of Katie Jen or Claire. So go ahead. >> I I guess I'll go first. um uh about how many applicants do you get um from the
student body and like what does that selection process look like? >> I can talk about that. Um so I have been on the um student board representation
program for about a year and um we are currently recruiting um freshmen right now so that we can have on the student board um representative program and we are getting a lot I think more than ever
than we have had before. We have about 15 applicants right now and we are just starting the recruitment process. Um we just uh we we were at the school's open house as well as the freshman
orientation and the school's like club/activity fair. Um, so we definitely did a lot of outreach there so that we can we could kind of like let the freshman know like, hey, this is an opportunity at the school that's really
important. And so we have them we have a Google form right now when we have about 15 applicants. Um, and after that we go on and do interviews. And then after the interviews, we like to have them submit
a quick little video of an example of what they would do for a schoolboard report. And that way we then we can kind of pick out the people who we think would be best for the role. and we end up with about like two people out of
those that group of people >> and the board liaison whoever is in the role that I'm currently in um or our administrators at the high school are there as adult supports for that process um but it's really led by our student board representatives
>> and the ultimate decisions on the selections are made by the students correct >> thank I have >> should I go? I have few. So, how much time commitment is required from those
representatives? Does that impact any of your high school classes? >> Uh, yeah, I'd say it's about um one hour per week. I think it depends. I'd say like an on average one to two hours a
week. I would say that it's not super impactful. It's not too much of a um time commitment um on that side of things. And I think it's just the right amount of time where you can stay involved with the student the with the
school board but also still focus on your commitments outside of that and in school and outside of school. >> Okay. Thank you. I have few but go ahead I'll come back. >> Can I I have a follow-up question actually to that. Do any of the because you said you're involved in some of the
committees. So, do any of those committee meetings happen in the middle of the school day? >> Yes. Um, some of them do. We that is kind of one of the things that we're trying to problem solve right now is how to make that accessible for students
because it's kind of like you know they're during the day sometimes they're at night like after school but then again some students have like sports and after school activities. So we're definitely trying to um make a solution
for that and hopefully have it more accessible to students in the future. to be to be clear, the adults are the problem um in this particular situation and and we're working to resolve that. Um so one thing we've done for our students who are interested in
participating in our policy work is um we've had different ways for students to give our student board representatives to give input asynchronously. So um either commenting on a policy draft in a Google doc um sometimes whoever is in the liaison role will meet with the
student board representatives. I happen to be on the policy committee so that's a real natural um kind of information flow that type of thing but the the scheduling piece is a challenge. How do you gather inputs on any specific
topic? Let's say it's very sensitive topic and the second part is once the decision is made by the board do you go back look at inputs feedback did it work did it not work like how do you go about it? Yeah. So, you're talking mostly about
process, like do we do a process analysis after? Yeah, we did on our gender inclusion policy. So, we used several different approaches for collecting data on that. Um, we had a a board member and a student board representative go to our um gender um
inclusive groups at each school site to collect some um qualitative data. We also uh had a survey that went out about what people would like to see in the policy. Um and then the board hosted some it was during COVID so we hosted
some virtual engagement sessions and our student board representatives were on that. Um, and so I think part of the the process um, uh, analysis review after we created the policy and it was approved and all that was um, did we get as much
input as we could have and did we collaborate with our student board reps as effectively as we could have and um, there were improvements to be made in each of those areas. Um so I think you know at the beginning of the presentation I made the point that this
has been iterative for us and um your question is an excellent one because um we can always be doing things better um and more inclusive. Um I'm hearing in your question too kind of you know some of the more sensitive things that we discuss as a school board sometimes it's
not possible to have students as part of those conversations >> and I was thinking does that create any unnecessary tension within students because there are times when you know you need to focus on studies and not in any other policies so have you run into
any those type of issues practical challenges or how did you guys manage it? Yeah. And I I think what we've done is really um leaned into relationships that we have with our student board representatives and just being honest with them, you know, like this is this is what we're looking at right now.
We're going to be looking at some sensitive information in a closed session. You're not able to come to closed sessions, right? Um and this this will inform how we move forward on on this or this, right? Um so it's it's applying the same level of transparency
as we do with our community always. um with our student board representatives and really doing some of those process conversations and that's all part of the learning experience too. It was part of my learning experience when I joined a school board. You know what conversations happen in public? Um most
of them have to right and what conversations happen in close session. So doing some a lot of that governance kind of education with our our student board reps and that's another area where we need to improve. Um Claire and her colleagues as part of this cohort have
given us the feedback that when new student board representatives join the board they don't have enough onboarding um to navigate you know some of some of the systemic challenges that you're talking about. >> Can I ask one more or Okay. So obviously
the council members or the selected members they are high school students. How do you do outreach with middle school or elementary? So when we look at some of the challenges whether it is class size you know cafeteria lines I mean those are usually at the lower grade level. So how do you guys outreach
what have you done where where have you seen student body making more impact to lower grade level? >> Sure. Um yeah, so to kind of have that outreach for the younger students, we like to um us as student boards, we like
to go to the schools ourselves and collect that data um and also just like testimonials and just like opinions and all that stuff because yeah, like there isn't totally a way where you can have a
student board representative that's like somebody younger. it kind of has to be somebody who's older um and more mature and stuff like that. But that's kind of the way that we have that student perspective and voice with um younger students because
uh it's kind of easier that way when we kind of talk to them ourselves um rather than like adult adults and stuff. So yeah, that's kind of how we get that opinion. >> Okay. Thank you. And we've typically
defined a research question before students go in. So like class sizes for example, right? How are students experiencing um the the environment in their classroom? Something like that. And then our student board representatives have questions that they ask. They've had
lunch with students at the elementary schools and middle schools. Um and then another tool we've used um with the younger grades is surveys too depending on what information we're seeking. >> Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. I think it's been a tremendous opportunity
for us to understand better the programs you all take on to engage a student perspective. My question is for all three of you um which is to better understand how has this been a opportunity for learning >> trying to think what would learning
>> I think well I think for me I'll speak from my perspective as a as a school board member so that last slide that we um had up about the impact of student board representatives um each one of those issues as they were brought forward presented a challenge
for us as schoolboard members. Right? Anytime we're going to make a change, anytime we're going to make a change that could potentially result in some push back from certain members of our community that that is a a difficult experience as a board member and it's an opportunity for us to learn and for us
to learn to lead in an engaged way where we're um we're really taking student voice seriously. Um I think there are some models that can really tokenize student voice and we have um really tried not to do that and so that has
been a learning curve for all of us on the board. If we say we value student voice then we need to make space for it. We need to believe what our students are telling us. And of course, after doing our own research and analysis in collaboration with our student board representatives, we have to make
decisions um that take into account what they're bringing to us. So, it's it's really been a leadership learning experience for me. >> Uh yeah, I'd like to add on to that. Um I think it is also a learning experience
for the student as an individual which then affects the student community as a whole. Um, I think it's like a uh developmental experience where you get to learn and improve on your like
leadership skills, public speaking, um, all of those kind of things that um are honestly like vital to, you know, have uh as an experience like growing up and into adult. Um,
and having that personal experience, that kind of growth also reflects on your peers and kind of improves school communities as a whole. When you have students who kind of have that bigger picture of things and are kind of
committed to um improving uh, you know, student voice and representation in the bigger aspect of the school board in the district. students actually know who schoolboard members are now and what the school board does, which I think is huge. That
was not the case when I was a student at Hopkins High School. >> I can just share quickly that um when I was on the school board several years ago now, we didn't have any weight really unless we went out and asked
ourselves. And that was before there was, you know, LA kindergarten and those kinds of things. So we, but we were looking to do some of those things on our own. And at that time, my child, one of my children happened to be a kindergartener. So when we were talking about all day kindergarten, I asked her,
I said, "What do you think about being at kindergarten all day?" And her comment was, "Well, gosh, then we could maybe actually get something done, you know?" And I shared that at the board table and it was kind of like a shock, right? But it's like kind of you know as we say mouths from the mouths of babes
but you know that really for me is a good example of we need we need to ask and we need to learn and and hear. So, >> so I'm wondering um as a student when you are
in in many ways representing the entire student body, you and the nine other students, um do you find there's some pressure there or if there's maybe some disagreement within the student body that you've ever felt
pressure from other students that you know, I don't know if there's ever been anything that contentious, but I just worry, you know, because you have to you you live with these people every day. You have to be there and, >> you know, I I would never want to put a student in a situation that made them
feel uncomfortable because they're getting peer pressure or because they're having to like, you know, they're having to defend the decisions of a school board that they had voice in, but you know, were they, you know, did the voice that you provided, was that
representative of other students? And has anybody ever gotten mad or anything like that? Um, yeah. So, I think it's honestly a little bit less of an issue, which is kind of surprising because you'd kind of
think like it's like, oh, everybody knows that like you're a um you're you're like on the school board and all that stuff, but it's honestly like kind of a little bit more low-key than that. Um, and like not in like a bad way. I
think it's like students are like very respectful and like if they if they do know that you're like on the school board, I think that um mostly people are respectful of that and aren't going to and they kind of know like you're not
the ultimate decision maker in things. like they kind of understand like you're there to give your opinions and kind of um have like input in on stuff but I don't think it's like people understand like you know you're kind of that I
wouldn't say like middleman but kind of like communicator there um and we do have a kind of a form I don't know if this is still up but it's like a form anonymous form where student where students can put in their opinions that
they would like the school um student boards representatives to bring to the school board or just even have in mind to have that and that has been a good tool to kind of have that communication there where it's not where it's like more professional and not just like hey
you should do this. Um, and I also think that the way that we make it rep our opinions and us speaking at the school board representative of students as a whole is like I said
before um going to the different schools and getting those opinions and data and just having that in mind when we're speaking at the schoolboard table and putting in our opinion because it's not only our opinion, everybody else's opinion. And I think
that the co cohort that we have now, they're very like understanding that it's not just like you who's putting in that opinion, it's everybody else and you kind of have that in mind. And I don't think that anybody's like biases or something like gets in the way of that. I think that it's very like
holistic and just like representative of the >> students were if there were differing opinions, you would bring both of them because they were >> brought forth by students and >> Okay, that makes sense. >> Yeah. And just like having that communication there and kind of working
together to like problem solve that is what we would usually do with that. >> And then I I'm sorry, can I just ask one more? Okay. Well, I have the mic. Um uh so Jen as you know a board member have you has your experience been that the
students come a lot of you know ideas and and things that you kind of have to like calm them down or say like you know this maybe isn't this isn't going to this isn't our role essentially like and and is have you ever I don't know there's that term
scope creep you know where you you have to like make sure everybody manage everyone's expectations and and do you experience that a lot where you have to kind of you know say we're this is not what we're doing? >> It's a really great question. Um I think
my approach it's more like the more ideas the better and then let's figure out what we can do with these things. And when I um was chair um I would work with our student board rep liaison to figure out what are the things that the boards are the student board reps are passionate about and how might this fit
into our agenda planning, right? And how might we really leverage student voice in some of these decisions. And so I think being strategic and planful um as a board chair and superintendent around how to include student voice has really been the key for us um because there's
no shortage of ideas and passion that comes from the students. And so um I I appreciate that question. Um, I think another thing that's important to do as board members, and Claire alluded to this, is um, really framing up the
narrative at the board table for our public that it is board members who are making the decisions and we are responsible for those decisions and we are so grateful to our student board representatives and they bring so much value to the table. But if you community members are upset about this decision,
talk to me. Don't talk to Claire about it. Um and that's that's important especially in our current context. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um you brought an example that you go to elementary middle school and collect data. Uh but when we were
discussing um here about us being able to visit to schools, we heard from administration that it can cause some disruptions and um I'm curious how it's appearing in your case. Can you bring an
example of a day when you are coming into school and how are you collecting data? >> Yeah. So, I think that the way that we do it, it's very kind of integrative to the um day that they're having at
school. Obviously, we communicate with their teachers beforehand and we say, "Hey, what's a good day for us to do this? What time is good for us to do this?" Um, and honestly, it could even be just when they're having like work time or something like that. So, it's
not just like this like, "Oh, this is like a scary interview." is kind of just like, "Hey, we're having this discussion." Um, and and um like Jen said, like just over lunch or something kind of more casual like that. So, it's not like, "Hey, we're like interrogating
you." It's kind of just like it's just like, "Hey, we're, you know, we're having these and um and you know, not every response that we get is like a super like serious one. Sometimes they're just like we ask them a question, they're like, "I don't know." or um they're like, "Oh, what?" We ask
like, "What's something that you like? What's something that you don't like?" And you know, they say like, "Oh, I don't like it." Um not being able to have my phone or something. And it's like, "Okay." Like, so we kind of kind of have that like perspective like just knowing um kind of knowing how to gain
that valuable information without causing too much disruption in their day and kind of just having it be like natural um in the flow of their school day. We've had to do some work on communication pathways to um really respecting, you know, working through
the superintendent, working through the school principles to make sure that everyone's on board with this idea of having the student board representatives come in and then as Claire said, even working with the teachers to determine when would be the best time to come into the classroom. And so I think this ethos
of no surprises and respecting communication pathways has really um served us well. Um I have one more question. Um so I really appreciate that MSBA has a training for the students on how to
engage in schoolboard work. Is there a training that's also available or you know Jen do you recommend something for the adults on how to engage with students because clearly you have a very deep background in how to engage with students but not everybody has that right and so and and there's boundaries
and there's limits and there's appropriate behavior and all of those things that have to be considered that schoolboard members may not be engaging with students on a daily basis. So is there a training that you would recommend or that you have considered for work like this?
Yep. Um, so the full day that we do is not just the students. Remember, it's the the schoolboard members and administrators that are there. And when we split into those two rooms, that is what we're talking to the adults, if you
will, about is that, you know, how are you engaging? Um, how are you respecting as well as the student voice? Um and so we do do that as part of it as well, but you may have more to add to that certainly. >> Yeah, I would recommend kind of at the
beginning if you decide to implement this program doing some norm setting. So having a work session with all schoolboard members and the administration and the student board reps if you have them already um to really figure out like what are those boundaries and what are the kind of the
rules of engagement here, right? Um and then in terms of um approach um I mentioned earlier youth participatory action research. Um so there's um an entire kind of program at Harvard that's dedicated to um to building out this
model and they have a lot of really great resources. I'll share some resources um with Sher Sahony um as well and I'm again happy to be a thought partner. So Um I'm curious farmington my
understanding is also already has student representative at their board. Am I right? Farmington school board. >> Yeah. And my understanding that they they like it very much. So that is it that's the reason why it's happening in
Farmington or the training. I'm not specific about I don't know specifically what their model is but each year we ask another um we ask what district would be interested in in
engaging their students in creating this workshop. So it's not just us doing that but the students are involved in Farmington. So thank you. I'm very much so example personal. Would you be able to bring some examples when adults uh
did not even think about some issues or some things uh which can be helpful for students and students broad and you had a good outcome. Would you be able to bring some examples please? >> Sure. So I think um a few of the
examples that was on our our the last slide of our deck. Um so I I wouldn't say these were things that we weren't thinking about as a board. I think having students bring them to us added a level of urgency and importance um and nuance to the conversation. So,
one of these things was the the calendar equity work that we did um our gender inclusion policy um holistic school safety kind of reinvisioning what does it mean um to be safe in school. These were all
conversations that we had sort of begun as a school board. Um, but really having that student voice helped propel us to the next next stages of those conversations. Um, the cell phone policy, obviously that was mandated. We all had to do that work as school
boards, right? Um, but having students come forward and like read through the policies. Yeah, that's not going to work. Like you can write that down, but that's never going to happen. Um, I think that's more where we've found real value is in the nuance. Um, like we as adults think that this is a foolproof
idea and then our student board reps are like, nah, this is this is a much better way to do this if you really want it to work. Uh, one more question is at least my assumption that one of the reason is I mean schools exist for academics also.
So can you bring an example that something what uh students representatives brought you were able to solve such way that you have uh academic success. >> If you can bring an example please
>> I'm trying to um not that like when I've been >> Yeah. So um I think as we're look we're looking at different um curricular models um so for example our immersion programming
um getting student input on that um we've done a lot of work around personalized learning in Hopkins schools um so having students share their experiences with different personalized learning models um has been really helpful for us as a board so that we can
continue to you know obviously it's our administration that does that and our teachers who do that really hard on the ground work every day. Um but helping us figure out if we need to make policy shifts to support that. Um personalized learning and immersion pathways um in
particular. Um trying to think what else like specifically related to to academics um that's been helpful. Those are the two that come to mind.
Thank you. Thank you so much for the wonderful presentation. I think you know uh obligation we have is to serve those we um represent and those are the students, teachers, staff uh first and foremost and to engage their opinion so
we can make better decisions um is really going to go a long way. I see it as a great opportunity for us as board members to learn and no matter what form or format um this might take. We can tell our story to more people and definitely I think students will
appreciate hearing why a public school story from one of their peers versus maybe let's say an adult. That's a way to build community um and build a sense of unity and support for you know future initiatives or topics the board might uh take up. So thank you so much. This
really means a lot. It gives us a lot of information as we evaluate our um options as well as future decisions. So thank you so much. >> Okay. So I am in the interest of time I think Katie has driven here like 90 minutes from St. Peter. So yeah u so
thank you for for being patient and you know this went a little over our schedule time but I have a two of my questions that I was going to ask were already asked. one was the scope creep and what was the other one? Um the other one was about the training of the students and know also of the board
members. Um I have heard that there are it's always a good idea to have mentors from school board members for the representatives right student representatives. You have something like that in place >> like a studentto student mentorship program or
>> a board member to student? Yes. >> Yes. So that's the the role that our liaison serves. Um so we have one school board member who when we do our committee assignments and our officer assignments at the beginning of each year um that person takes on the student
schoolboard representative liaison role. Um and our student board representative cohort now we're building out an onboarding model um that's much more robust than what we have in place now. and that was their idea. Um, and you
know, within that model, then student board representatives who have been serving for a while, um, they they're really helping to mentor the new board rep student board representatives who are coming on. >> All right. Okay. There are no other questions.
>> Just one more point around that too with um, at MSBA. So, anything that we provide for our traditional school board members, we offer or would love for the students to join us as well. And um we
offer that at a um discounted rate. It's the very basic of what the materials might cost kind of thing. So, um as well as a as a mentor rate as well. So we we we invite that and certainly um at
the conference that comes up in January or anything else that we hold as well. We invite this to be a part of that. >> Thank you for that information. Again, thank you for coming, taking the time and you know for driving from St. Peter all the way here. So thank you Katie,
thank you Jen and thank you Claire. Uh colleagues I would recommend if you have time it's a 9 to 1:30 workshop. So it for most of us it's basically during during work hours. So I understand it's difficult to attend those but if you
have the time please please you know go to that workshop. I I found it very useful last year. So if not anything else we'll you know we we learn from those things. So thank you again and um colleagues this is this was like I said just a discussion. What will happen next
is yet to be determined. So thank you. Thank you for your participation and thank you ladies here. Thank you. Work session for this evening. We will take a short 10-minut break. Amy, is that okay?
10 minute break. >> 5 minute 5 minute break and reconvene for the special regular board meeting. The time is now 5:55. We'll reconvene at 6:00. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education work session for Monday, September 22nd,
2025 is adjourned. [Music] Part: 2
[Music] Good evening. The time is now 6:05. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education special regular meeting for Monday, September 22nd, 2025 will please come to order. Will the clerk please call the role? >> Heidi Kedar
>> here. >> Sheila Prior here. Sarah Johansson is absent. Paris Bende >> here. >> Valentina Ays >> here. >> Dan Janestra >> here. >> Milan Sahony >> present. >> Chase Anderson >> here.
>> Thank you. We have a quorum. The first item on our agenda is the approval of the agenda and the consent agenda items. Consent agenda items are considered routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate
discussion of these items unless a board member or a citizen so requests in which event the item will be removed as a consent agenda item and addressed. The consent agenda items are listed in the materials. The recommended action is to approve the agenda and the consent
agenda items. Is there a motion? >> I move. Second. Moved and seconded. Will the clerk please take a roll call vote? >> Dan Janestra. >> I. >> Sarah Johansson is absent. Paris Bendy. >> Yes.
>> Sheila Prior. Yes. Heidi Kedar. >> Yes. >> Valentina Ays. >> Yes. >> Milan Sahony. >> Yes. Thank you. We have an agenda. Okay. Next, we have the admin reports and recommendations. Executive Director of Finance and Operations Trevor
Peterson will present the preliminary preliminary 2025 payable 2026 levy certification. Trevor. >> Yes. Thank you. I'll wait a little bit for the presentation to come up. There it is. Uh so good evening uh board chair
Sahony, members of the board, Dr. Anderson. Um thank you for allowing us to present the preliminary 2526 uh levy levy certification tonight. Um the finance team members and I have been working hard the last couple of months to bring the the data for you. Um
tonight um in the board packet you did receive um a memo that has a little bit more information, a little more detailed information with some uh graphics and some some more details and descriptions of certain things. So I will refer to that a couple times. Um but for the most part, this presentation is a little more
uh summary in nature. Uh, I would also encourage you I it's not a real um easy presentation to do in a linear fashion. So if there are questions that you think of maybe wait till the end of the the presentation because I trust they might be answered somewhere along the way. So um getting started with that um looking
at the levy certification timeline. So uh it's definitely a multi-step um process. Um my I think my first action in front of you was in July where we talked about the LTFM um our long-term facilities maintenance revenue application. Um so in July the the board
is asked to approve that. That's really the first step um in looking at the in this case it's the 25 uh payable 2026 levy. Um and going forward you might hear me just refer to it as the payable 26 or pay 26 just to keep that short. Um
the next step then is um in August all districts are required to submit levy information into the MDE uh levy information system. So that takes place over the month of August. Um that brings us to September. So once the the calendar flips to September, that's when
MDE takes all of that information um that the districts put into that system uh to start calculating what each preliminary levy for every district in the state looks like. Um after the the approval tonight, we will uh submit that information to the county um who uses
this data to turn around and prop mail out the proposed properties tax statements to each property owner. Um November is um where a month with the special or with the general election where districts may hold referendums for operating levies or building bonds. And then in December, we'll be back again um
where I will have the the truth and taxation public hearing um and then ask for the final levy uh to be approved in December. So that is the the timeline um of the levy. Um for another a little more of an overview too, when we say payable 2026,
that means that that's the funds that are collected from the taxpayers um in calendar year 26. So the first half is due uh May 15, 2026. second half due October 15th, 2026, which probably everybody knows is aware of that um
timeline. Um and then the school districts generally receive their portion of the taxes of the property taxes sent from the county about 2 to 3 weeks after those collection dates. Uh it's important to note that uh this does provide revenue for the district in
fiscal year 2627. Uh I think I've said it at a a previous board meeting, but um this highlights that um the finance team always seems to be working in in three fiscal years. Um this week we welcome the auditors on site for to look at our 2425 fiscal
year. Um we're living and breathing in 2526 and uh we're looking at the levy which is revenue for the 2627 fiscal year. Um and when we say fiscal year just a reminder that that does begin July 1st. Historic fiscal year runs July 1st through June 30th. Um and that is
different um from cities, counties, and townships. So their budget year is actually January through December. Uh so when they um have a prelim or uh levy report, their payable 26 levy or taxes do provide revenue for their 26 calendar year. Uh so a little bit of a different
timeline between uh school districts, cities and counties and townships. Uh the funding is highly regulated. Uh so MDE does um set a lot of the formulas which determine our revenue. Um most of this revenue is based on specified
amounts per pupil. Uh there are a few other funding categories that are not based on pupil but um based on other things. Um then they also calculate what the maximum authorized property tax levy is for each property um each parcel as well
as what that means then for the district as a whole. So, um the districts may levy less um but not more than the amount that's authorized by the state uh unless there is an approved uh referendum in in November. So, between now and uh the final levy in December.
Uh the state also does authorize school boards to submit referendums for operating capital needs to voters for approval. As with everything else uh school finance related, it is is not a simple system. It's very complex. Uh there's about 39 pages of levy calculations um
that contains over 50 different revenue um and by revenue I do mean aid and levy categories. Uh the levy is based on two property tax bases. Um referendum market value and net tax capacity. Um that does get a little confusing but I'll get into
that um a little bit more in a in a future slide. Um it does contain four different funds. the general fund, community service fund, debt service fund, and then OPED debt service fund. Uh the last of which does not pertain to Weisetta public schools. Uh we just have the first three. Uh and then when
property owners receive their property tax statements, uh it's divided into two different categories. Um voter approved levies and then other local levies. So what causes levies and property taxes to change from uh year to year? Um state
law is the biggest one. So that's all those formulas that I talked about. So as formulas ch change as a legislature puts things or changes up things that definitely has an impact on every district's levy. Um pupil units um and district population pupil units is
another way to say enrollment. As I mentioned that's a huge driver a lot of these funding categories. Um the market value property market values and tax capacity not only of each property but also the district as a whole. Um so as a property base, property market value and
tax capacity grows throughout the district um that allows um any levies to be spread across more properties um for new um properties that exist within the district. And then changes in expenditures. Some of these funding categories that I'll highlight do are
based on actual expenditures that dis that the district incurs for various programs. All right, looking more into these taxbased definitions. So the the referendum market value, so that's the taxable uh market value of all taxable property in the school district
excluding seasonal, recreational, and agricultural land. Uh there are some other really really minor classifications as well um such as um you have some managed forest land um secondary student or post-secary student
housing um private airports those things are also um not subject to tax capacity. They're based on the referendum market value. And really what that means is there are four funding categories um in the levy. um the operating referendum
which is voter approved. Uh then you have local optional equity revenue and trans transition revenue which is non- voterapproved. Um those classifications those property class classifications of seasonal recreation and egg land are exempt from paying property taxes on
those four funding categories. Um that leaves the other um tax base which is the net tax capacity. So that is the value of property which properties taxes will be levied against for all other school funding formulas uh calculated by multiplying a property's
taxable market value by its assigned classification rate um which is determined by the legislature. So some examples of that um if you if your property is classified as a residential homestead you will get taxed or your net tax capacity is 1% of everything up to
$500,000 and 1.25 25 for anything over $500,000. Um meanwhile, a $500,000 commercial property um has a net tax capacity rate of 1.5% for everything up to 500,000 and
then 2% for anything above 150,000. So, so again, different um same property values but different net tax capacity based on your classification. So, getting into the numbers um for our district, um this you'll see a few
graphs that compare our actual tax levy um for payable in 2025 versus what we're proposing tonight um for a preliminary le payable in 2026. Um overall with these three funds, we do have a 4.74
um% increase. Um the you can see the general fund is just under $78.6 million or 4.09 09. Community service is up about 123,000 or 5.78%. And then debt service is 1.3 U million
which is um 7.21%. Um just for reference at 4.74. Last year we did have a 4.26% increase. The year before was 4.9. Uh and the year before that it was 2.63. So just gives you a little reference as to
what this how this compares to the previous three years. Here is the same total um levy broken out into different categories. So that top one, the truth and taxation category, as a reminder, those are the um that those are the descriptions that property
owners will see on their property tax statement, voter approved levies, and then other local levies. Uh the voter approved levies is pretty self-explanatory, but it includes all of the successful referendums that are voted by the taxpayers for either building bonds, operating levies,
capital project levies, or technology levies. Uh the other local levies is exactly what it is. everything else. So, of the the $2.5 million increase that we see in the voter approved levies, 2.1 or 2.1 million of that is
for the operating referendum due to increased enrollment as well as the inflationary increase that are on those operating referendums that were on the ballot language uh when they were passed. Uh the remaining thou $300,000 or so is attributed to capital projects and
technology levies. uh and those are due to the increase in the district net tax capacity. Uh that is the the formula that's used for those. The bottom one then looks at the tax base. So I talked about the referendum market value. So that it's roughly half
um a little bit more than that about 46% or 45% is our referendum market value. Um and then the remaining is based on net tax capacity. And there's another slide that that shows that in a little greater detail. uh diving into the general fund a little
bit. So, this is one that there is an exhibit in that board or that memo that I included in your board packet that has all of the the funding categories broken down a little bit more detail. Um that would be hard to see on this slide. So, I broke them out into these four categories instead. So, just to give you
a taste of what's um what might be the main drivers in each of those four. Um the the referendum market value voter approved levy. Um this is this contains only the revenue from the voter approved operating referendum.
Um I mentioned too that those are based on an inflationary factor. So for payable 26 the increase um in for inflation allowance is about 2.69%. Um when that increases the per pupil amount from two $2,238.84
per pupil up to $2,2991. So when you add that on to what our increased enrollment is, that does um increase our revenue for our operating cap our operating referenda about $2.1 million. Um you will see that the total change is
1.6. Um so of that we did have last year we had about $638,000 um in prior year adjustments which which are pretty common. Um and this year we did not have that. We had about $155,000. So, um, this is a good time to talk
about those prioryear adjustments. A lot of these, um, levy categories that we're talking about are called what's there self- adjusting or self-correcting funding formulas where we do our best to estimate what our enrollment's going to be. We do our best to estimate what
expenditures are going to be. Um, we plug that in um, into the system that the MDE levy information system that I talked about. um but we're still trying to project out for fiscal year 2027 which is difficult to do. So once the
actual data comes in then MDE takes um takes advantage of that to um put in prior year adjustments in every levy. So you do see that it's kind of a catchup. Some of them might be negative, some of them might be positive. The goal is to get those as close to zero as possible.
That's not always the case. That always that can't always happen. Um, and there are a lot of errors that happen as well, both on the district side as well as MDE side. Um, but just know that usually what you see is a pretty flat levy from year to year as those adjustments kind of take care of themselves.
Um, moving on to the referendum market value, the other local levies. Um, so this is where the three other funding categories are um are they're combined to be local optional revenue, equity revenue, and the transition revenue. um for that current year um that did
increase about $365,000. Um and again, this year we have um less in an adjustment than the previous year, which is good. And that's good for the taxpayers to show um a dollar increase or a percentage increase to have some of those negative adjustments or um
adjustments be a little bit less than what we've experienced in the past couple of years. Moving on to the net tax capacity voter approved. Um so this is where the capital projects and technology leveies lie. Uh those are uh voter approved levies that are calculated on net tax capacity. Um we do
have we currently do have two existing levy authorities um for capital or capital project or technology levy. um one of those um when the ballot when the ballot is presented to the taxpayers for those kind of levies, it is based on the
net tax capacity, a percentage of the net tax capacity for the entire district. So, one of those um has is being calculated at 2.66075% of the net tax capacity. So, as the net tax capacity of the district grows over
the years, so does the revenue that is generated from these levies. Uh the other one that we have and that one so that one brings in about $6.6 million. Uh the other one is a little bit lower. Uh it's at 2.36 266% of our net tax capacity which brings in about $5.8
million. Uh for the last one, net tax capacity, other local levies, that is primarily our long-term facilities maintenance that makes up the majority of that one. Um, and I I think it's been well documented in some of the budget presentations that this one has uh seen
a few swings in the past few years. This is one of those that's based on those actual expenditures. So, we do our best to put into the long-term facilities maintenance plan what we might expect to see on any given year for LTFM projects and expenditures. Um, if we spend less
than that, then that is reconciled in subsequent years in a negative adjustment. Um during the co years, we did see a significant adjustment of a negative $8.8 million. Um again, that has been presented in in the form of the budget this year. And these are always a
couple years behind, too. It takes a couple years for these to get caught up. Uh this year, we're seeing less of a a negative adjustment of about $4.2 million, $4.3 million. The other thing to talk about here, one of the other um bigger ones that fall in
the general fund is our lease levy. Um I only bring that up because we have seen um pretty good roller coaster over the last few years of what is um what some of those prior year adjustments were in our lease levy from fiscal year I think
it was last year. Um so payable 25 goes back multiple years and the so the most uh the furthest back year that would go would then be fiscal year 22. Um so MDE um did recognize an error in our lease
levy um which prompted us to have a adjustment of about $1.4 million um that they were excluding from our lease levy authority in previous years. Um this year uh we are seeing that that is something that the MDE continues to work
with. Um what makes that a little bit complicated is for the lease levy there are there are five um data factors that are being um uh compiled into the lease levy. One of them is estimated lease payments for payable 26. Um you we enter
what our fiscal year 25 actual payments were. Uh we enter what our actual 2024 um expenditures were 2023 expenditures um and then any adjustments. So, uh, it it it takes into effect five years essentially or five calculations to
figure out lease levy. Um, so we hope after the MDE had their um error corrected last year with that adjustment that we start to see that level off a little bit. Um, again, this is one um that there are some questions out there um from districts of how this might
look. One of those things that MD is currently working on. Um, and just full disclosure, this that is one that may change between now um and when we present our final levy in December. So, we're keeping an eye on that one. Moving on to community service fund. So,
community service fund um is definitely the smallest of the three funds that we have for levies. Um, but it is does provide significant revenue to our community service fund. Um, a lot of the the biggest change here would be the $215,000
increase in the school age care. Um, this is one of those that's based on estimated expenditures. Uh, so we are estimating that in fiscal year 27 we will spend $1.2 million on the the technical term is called disabled school age care. So, it's expenditures that
qualify um to meet the needs of students um that might not otherwise be um able to be met um in, you know, during a regular before or after school time. Uh they require one-on-one needs, those kind of things. So, um as enrollment in
Weisetta Kids continues to increase, so does that number. Um and you might look at that 21.83% to be like, well, that's a pretty good jump, which it is. Um but we've also experienced 24% increase in the number of enrolled students in one year um and
36% going back two years. So uh that increase does uh reflect um correspondingly to what we are seeing in total enrollment in Weisetta Kids. Uh this is one of those self- adjusting or self-correcting levies. Uh so if in fiscal year 2027 we let's say for
example spend only $1.1 million, there will be a negative adjustment of $100,000 the following year. Uh the other one to pay attention to here is the early childhood family education. You look at that to say why is that such a decrease? Um that is
based on our district census not our enrollment. So the the total number of children under the age of five in our district. Um that has not decreased to what you see on the screen. Um but the ECF revenue is a aid and levy split. So
as that changes as our sentence census changes from year to year so does the core the the percentage that you might see with aid and levy. So, for example, last year the total ECFE revenue in total I mean by the by state aid and e
and levy revenue was about $753,000 of which the 531 that you can see on the screen was for levy and the remaining 222,000 was in the form of state aid. Moving to payable 26, um the total
revenue is increasing from $753,000 up to $929,000. Um, however, based on the change in our net tax capacity and the census, um, the levy amount of that is the $456,000
you see. So, it is $74,000 less in levy. Um, but it's about $250,000 more in aid. So, they are not receiving less revenue in ECF. Instead, they're they're receiving about um $275,000
more or $175,000 more total revenue. the top one there too, the the basic levy, you can see the little note there that that's based on the district population. Um, so that is um districts receive $6.35 per number of uh people that are in your
district um plus $1 for for youth service. Um and then there's some afterchool aotments as well or allocations as well. For us, that totals about $590,000. You see that hasn't changed. That did not change from last year. That's only
changed um when administration brings forth to the board in the form of a resolution to approve a change in the district population. Um districts are held harmless if the population actually decreases. So, uh we did bring to the board, I think it was a couple years
ago, um a resolution to change the district population or the official official district population. Um, and that's something we monitor each year and if it does warrant uh if the increase in district population is enough that warrants us to bring a resolution to the board, we will do so.
Um, we did not feel the need to do that this year um just based on the uh what the difference between the population from last year and this year is. And then lastly is the debt service fund. Uh this one's pretty straightforward. Um it's mostly comprised of two funding sources. debt
service, that top one, um, which is 105% of our principal and interest payments. Uh, I think I've said it before, but 105% is, um, required for districts to levy, um, to make their scheduled principal and interest payments. That is
in the event, um, if district taxpayers, um, are for some reason not paying their property tax bills, um, the 5% additional um, will hold will allow the district to receive enough revenue in theory. uh to make those payments without having to dip into their general
fund dollars or other um funds to account for the lack of property tax payments that were made. Our district is historically really good about that. So that has not been an issue. And then what that leads to then is that second line uh which is a reduction for debt
excess. So as that additional 5% adds up over time, um there does come time where MDE says it's time to pull some of that back. um that did happen last year um and a very very minimal 40 cents this year u which is a little bit weird. And then the other one is long-term
facilities maintenance. Um that one increased about $684,000. That is due to the um capital facilities bond that was recently sold um to for the construction of West Middle School. This is very hard to see. Um but one
thing I want to illustrate on here is um there's about 10 um market values, estimated market values for residential homesteads. Uh then you have about five for commercial commercial industrial and then four apartments. Um so we look at
that 4.74% total increase. And I mentioned as a district's net tax capacity grows um that really offsets a lot of the uh the impact for the property tax increase um for school districts. So, in looking at this, if if
if an uh property owner had a market value, residential homestead market value of about $500,000, despite the district property taxes or tax levy going up 4.74%, um that property owner would see an increase of about 1.9%.
So again, it's just that 4.74 is being spread across more uh more properties, uh more parcels, more taxpayers. Uh similarly then commercial industrial um will have about a 7 to8% increase um and
then apartments about a 2.1%. And I I do want to go back to this slide just to say that this is all based on a lot of assumptions. Uh the assumptions based on the net tax capacity truly does grow as to what the assumptions are. Um it also does assume that our final levy
is what we are presenting tonight in the preliminary levy. Um and it also um assumes that one property um the the market value of the property in question um stays the same from year to year. We know that has not happened um very frequently from from year to year. But
um in order to have an apples to apples comparison that that that is one of those assumptions made in this graph. As a district, um the total market value of all of our properties in the district is just shy of $22 billion. Um you can see how that is broken out percentage-
wise between residential homestead, other residential, uh commercial, industrial, um non-qualifying agriculture, qualifying agriculture, and then seasonal wreck. Um moving to the middle column, you'll see that that's the referendum market value. Um so the
second to the bottom there um remember that agricultural land is exempt from referendum market value. Um those those funding categories that are calculated based on referendum market value. That's why you see a zero there. Um you might look at the bottom line to say I thought
seasonal recreational property was exempt from referendum market value as well. That is true. um to a to the largest degree, but there are a few even though they might be classified as seasonal recreational property. Um they are subject to those taxes and and
that's for cabins that might have too high of a value. Um where the they might be in question as to is this really a seasonal wreck property or is it a residential homestead? Um and that also includes that $6.8 million does also include mun municipal golf courses um
and a few other things. So not every seasonal recreational classification is exempt from refer referendum market value but you can see majority of it is. And then over on the right you can see the breakdown of net tax capacity. So I when I talked about net tax capacity I
mentioned that commercial and industrial generally have a higher tax rate than residential homestead. So you'll see a little bit of a shift um between the market value where commercial and industrial will go up and the residential homestead will go down. What's really important um to understand
with our district too is um what you want to see when when you start having some conversations about what referendum might look like if if you're going to go out to voters for different things. Uh whether it be building bonds or operating levies. Um it's important to know what you label that as. So what
what does the ballot language say? What's it called? What's the funding source? Um because if you're a district, let's say in northwestern Minnesota, um that has a lot of qualifying agricultural land and you go out and do
a an operating referendum, those property owners are going to be um exempt from paying those taxes, which then creates more burden upon those who will be paying it. Uh so that that's important to to note. Um likewise if you are a district let's say Walker
Hackinack Aley um for your northern folks up there um you will see a lot more of the seasonal wreck property um as to as versus what you might see in our district. Having us be very consistent from column 1, 2, and three is important. Um, just because you it's
it's not real crucial. Um, it puts us in a position where we can um go out um or seek funding for what we want rather than having to play that game as to um what might be best or how might we have to um frame the language in order to um
not um take into consideration what some of those exempt or non-exempt properties are. So to see that split is is a good thing. It benefits us. All right. So um this is the the final slide. Uh just again a summary of what
the recommendation might be. We we are looking at a preliminary levy for payable 26 of 100,885,58629 which is a 4.74% increase. um as as so as right now the dis the board will have two options. Um
we can approve it at the maximum um or we can approve it at a specific dollar amount. Um I I have been in this I've been doing this for quite a while. Uh I always like to tell the story. Um the recommendation is to do it at maximum be by because doing that does still allow
us the flexibility to change this and levy for less if we so choose um at the board meeting in December. Um if you approve it at a specific dollar amount no matter what happens between now and December that is the dollar amount that is the maximum dollar amount you could
do. You could also do less um but it does not provide you the flexibility if there's any changes between now and December. Um I again the story I want to tell is I am aware of only one time one district in the state and I don't remember the district it doesn't matter
um chose to do a specific dollar amount instead of the maximum at the September preliminary levy um once they were once they adjusted their enrollment projections once MDA MDE had found a couple things that weren't right on their preliminary levy uh they ended up
losing about 5 about $5.5 million in revenue. venue that they could not levy for um because they approved at a specific dollar amount. So again, I I I want to stress that we still do reserve the right and have the flexibility and ability to to levy less, not more than
the maximum, but um we can do that in December and have those discussions then. Uh so with that, I'll entertain any questions and otherwise ask the recommended approval. >> Okay, sounds good. Thank you, Trevor. So the recommended action colleagues is to
approve the preliminary 2025 payable 2026 levy limitation and certification at the maximum amount allowed by state. Is there a motion? >> I so move.
>> Is there a second? >> A second. >> Moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you so much. Uh it was a real joy having our uh CFAC committee um be a part of the introduction and summary of
what this um levy approval would uh look like. So thank you so much for taking uh community member and board members questions. Thank you to the finance team for all their hard work and dedication. Um we know that uh things today were a little bit fast-paced in the morning um with some uh alternative numbers coming
out but thank you so much for um you know very quickly meeting the moment. So it means a lot and we're so grateful and um thank you. >> Yeah. And I wanted to say the same um I think the way you explained and this is our second time hearing this
presentation so I'm sure I cannot present it back but it resonated and especially when you presented with CFAC members which are again our community members um you could see that it resonated well with them as well. again
specifically about 4.78 levy to the max not to the dollar or lesser percentage right that doesn't mean that your tax bill is going to go up by 4.78%. Um so I think the range that you have shown uh by property by classification I think
that resonates well and that helps tell the story. Uh and then the last but not least is the wiser distribution of those qualifying or non-qualifying classifications. Um we don't have whole
lot of exclusions if you will. So we are not going to burden taxpayers or certain taxpayers. So yes, it's a increase tax bill but it is still lower because it's going to get distributed across you know broader population. So I think those
were some of the points that resonated really well with that CFAC committee. So again just wanted to share that with the group. So again thank you for simplifying it. I'm sure once we start peeling the onion there will be more questions but this was really helpful
and Jack and Jen you guys were super helpful in CFAC um meeting as well. Thank you. >> Yes, man. >> I have a question. Did we have any time such kind of situation when we actually
came I mean at the uh at the end of um it's uh we we you came down with a percentage I mean with a uh what we actually what you actually take right now we're taking maximum. That's what I'm trying to say. But did
we have any event situation when we actually uh when we had final meeting when a board came? >> I don't know for sure. Um I would I would guess yes. Um I I think with the amount of work that has to be done
between in September first of all cuz um I also want to uh acknowledge what Dan had said and apologize for the the the late minute uh our last minute changes today. But that's how we roll. That's how it does. And I would anticipate we'll see a new report out tomorrow
morning that will be different. Um not maybe not for our district, but may maybe for other districts. Um so I have a hard time believing that it it's never not been lower. Um I don't know that for sure, but um I I certainly if it hasn't been for us, it has been for other
districts. And um it it seems like if there is a year where that might happen, this could be the year just because there seems to be a lot of changes yet to be made um at the MDE level uh within for various districts. And uh we our hope is that it doesn't change a lot
between now and the final. Um if any changes that what were presented tonight and December will be um clearly um communicated just to make sure everybody understands what the changes were. Um what I don't know for sure is if um if
it was ever approved or voted to um to underlevy. Um so we we use the term maximum that that allows us to levy up to the maximum. Um and then the opportunity to for the board to underlevy is um maybe a different question. So um I don't know if that's
ever happened nor uh do am I aware of any time happening where the final levy came in less than the preliminary levy. Um, but I'm sure it has happened and I'm sure both have happened um at some time. >> Yeah, I might just offer some clarification too, Valentine. I'm not
sure I fully understand your question, but I think that could be interpreted two ways. One, would the state ever come back with a lower maximum levy amount for the school district? I think that would be yes. >> That would be yes. Correct. And another
uh way that I might have interpreted the question is has the district ever levied to the maximum in September and then done less than the maximum in December? This will be my 18th time through this uh in Weisetta. I don't think we've ever
not levied the maximum in September or in December. And um I would not recommend that we do that. >> Yeah, it it would be rare. It would be rare. It it certainly does happen um for multiple districts, but um I don't know the history of of Weisetta either, other
further further back than Chase can provide, but um yeah, it would be it would be extremely rare for that to happen. Mhm. Okay. I have three questions
and maybe now four. Um Chase just said that uh the state has come back with by reducing the maximum levy in December compared to what it was in September. That would be a tough one for for the district. How do how does one handle that? Um if if the if the
maximum is less than what we presented now. Um I I guess the good thing about that is because this is for fiscal year 26 27 revenue. Um we're really not making any decisions or huge decisions yet based on that. Um I I think if it's
one of those things where a district was projecting to see a revenue increase um next year or in fiscal year 27 and then um comes back gets a little surprised the wrong direction and says we're actually receiving far less revenue especially in the general fund revenue
um general fund um levy. You can't do too much with the debt service. That one's pretty much set in stone and what it is. Um but certainly if that were to happen with the general fund um it it might take a district by surprise um and it could also be to to Valentina's point
if there are some adjustments that come in which um increases the maximum then we might have um some discussions about that as well but um yeah I I think it is the the start of what fiscal year 27 revenue is and a significant portion of
that uh formula for us. So um every little bit makes a difference. So if I I I do think if it is higher or lower that um everything takes a um reserves the right to have a pretty good hard look at it. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> So you talked about debt debt service
just now. So what is what's the reason that Visetta public schools does not have a an OPE debt debt service fund? It's not applicable to us. What's if it's very complicated? I don't want to know. If we see if we
>> then then you don't want to know. >> Well, >> no. I I um history lesson. I think this goes back to about 2008 um when OPED became a thing. Um the legislature basically acknowledged saying districts are having a very difficult time paying
the retirement benefits for all employees um that they have. Um so they are going to allow school boards the opportunity to levy um to make those payments. So, at at that time, um you were given the option to a do it or not.
Um and if you did decide to do it, you could have done either a um I'm forgetting the terms, a revocable trust or irrevocable trust. Um so, if you if you did um decide to levy for it, um that is certainly a district's decision.
Um, and then each year as those OPED retirement benefits came to be paid, you could use your trust proceeds to pay those. So, basically reimbursing yourself if you so choose. Um, my understanding is that um, Weisetta
decided not to do the the debt service portion of it um, and just invest in themselves with the with the OPED trust. >> Okay, sounds good. That that was okay. That that was understandable. Thank you. >> Good. Um third question is why would a
district approve a spending less than the maximum allowed under what circumstances? You you gave an example of a district that did that and then there was trouble. >> Yeah, I good question. I I'm I don't know. Um maybe one of the I'm just
throwing examples out there, but if a district saw a significant increase in net tax capacity um so let's say they had a capital projects levy that was based on the net tax capacity and the net tax capacity of the district increased 30%.
um which is going to be which is going to provide a a pretty good increase to each property owner and it's and we'll say it's a small district um where all of a sudden that gets to be pretty significant. Um maybe a district should come back and say that that's a pretty
big jump for our taxpayers. We're going to underlevy in the capital projects levy. And again, that's just an example. Um some of the other ones might be based on where they're exempt. Um you might see this a little bit more with um with districts that have a lot of commercial property, a lot of seasonal wreck, a lot
of qualifying agriculture. Um where if there is a inflationary so in the term of like an operating referendum if the inflationary factor is too large um and those are and the qualifying agriculture and and seasonal wreck are exempt from paying on the operating referendum and
that puts a lot of uh more of the burden onto the uh residential homestead and commercial. Maybe that would be another opportunity for them to be like, "Let's let's cool off on this a little bit." But um again, those are just examples I can think of off the top of my head and not real examples.
>> So, you knew you said you didn't know, but yeah, you knew. >> I not I don't know of those that happening. I'm just saying those are two examples. Yeah. >> Okay. Good. Thank you. And then one last question. Uh about the property tax portion. So we have our general fund
revenue split into state aid, property tax, a little bit of federal fund, federal aid and then some other revenue, right? State aid as far as I know is based on per pupil uh revenue, right? It's whatever 78,000 whatever it is. Property tax, am I correct in
understanding that the property tax comes from the levy and if let's say the levy is 100 million, we get that irrespective of what the enrollment is. So it is not associated with per pupil. Is that correct? >> That is correct. The the c the funding
categories are based on enrollment projections. >> Um but if I go back oh I lost my presentation now but um are you working on that? >> So I I'll just show this if because if you remember of our 100 million 78
million of it I or so was for the general fund. Um right now we will take that amount and that will be the revenue that we have for local local property taxes for fiscal year 27 will be that exact number. Okay. >> Whatever that turns out to be not tonight but after December.
>> Um that will be the number. Um of course yes that is based on some enrollment projections and should those enrollment projections be off one way or the other um the levy amount will change in subsequent years not in this year. It will not change the revenue amount for fiscal year 27. It would change for
fiscal year 28 then. >> Okay. Thank you. So um before we Oh, you have a question Heidi? Yeah, go ahead. >> Um you had mentioned that if pro the population changes, there's a certain point where you would bring it to us so that we can change our population. What's that point?
>> Well, I would guess that would be any time that it increases. I would hope >> substantially or is there a you know like if it increases by two, you may >> Yeah. Well, let's just I mean our our district population this last time around is about 74 not about it's 74,15.
>> Yep. >> So if it becomes 75,000 76,000 I guess that's up for different interpretation. But I would think that anytime it increases as long as the resolution is not a hard thing to do that that brings
in more revenue for a community service fund that I would recommend that. But >> yeah. Yep. >> All right. Thank you. So I just before before we go back to the recommendation and the vote, I want to thank Trevor for a for a fantastic job not only of presenting but the way you answer the
questions I think is is very good. Uh want to thank the finance committee director Johansson who's not here today with us uh director Bend and director Janestra and also the CFAC the input and I think the feedback from the community is just incredible. I
think there are some members, if I'm not mistaken, I used to be on that committee a couple of years ago that have been on that committee for decades and and and we value that. We appreciate their their wisdom, their experience and their feedback. So, thank you, Trevor.
All right, colleagues, uh the recommended action again is to approve the preliminary 2025 payable 2026 levy limitation and certification at the maximum amount allowed by the state. Okay, this is a roll call vote.
>> Heidi Kedar, >> yes. >> Valentina Ays, >> yes. >> Dan Janestra, >> yes. >> Sarah Johansson is absent. Harris Bend, >> yes. >> Sheila Prior, yes. Milan Sahonyi,
>> yes. The motion carries. Thank you, Sheila. >> Okay, this concludes the Visetta Public Schools special regular board meeting for tonight. The next regular school board meeting will be on Monday, October 13th. The time is now
6:53. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Oppose. Nay. The motion carries. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education special regular meeting for
Monday, September 22nd, 2025 is adjourned. Thank you, Jesus.