WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=mT_fQ3LFgzg

Part: 1

1
00:00:03.564 --> 00:00:43.792
(attendees chatting indistinctly) (gavel banging) - [BM Arcand] I now call this meeting of School Board Independent
School District 624 to order. Will the Clerk please call the role? - [BM Streiff Oji] Yes. Thompson. - [BM Thompson] Here. - [BM Streiff Oji] Arcand.
- [BM Arcand] Here. - [BM Streiff Oji] Beloyed.
- [BM Beloyed] Here. - [BM Streiff Oji] Ellison.
- [BM Ellison] Here. - [BM Streiff Oji] Skaar. - [BM Skaar] Here. - Streiff Oji. Here. - [BM Arcand] Will you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. - [All] I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.

2
00:00:47.760 --> 00:01:21.660
- We have before us an agenda? Mr. Skaar? - Oh, thank you. I wanted to add a couple of items. - [BM Arcand] Okay. - [BM Skaar] Make a motion
to add to the agenda discussion on obtaining more parent input on the shift to fourth/fifth grade multi-age classrooms for next school year. - Can I just ask a point
of order, Mr. Chair? - Yeah. - Do we need to approve the agenda? I'm sorry. Do we need to make a motion and a second and then have an amendment? - I was gonna see if we could do it first,

3
00:01:21.660 --> 00:01:57.533
so we wouldn't have to approve it and then re-approve it.
- Okay. Thank you. - So, right now we have in front of us a motion to add a discussion... Can you say that again? - A motion to add to the agenda a discussion on obtaining
more parent input on the shift to fourth/fifth grade multi-age classrooms for
the next school year. - Okay. We have the motion in front. Do we have a second? - [BM Beloyed] Second. - Second. Any discussion? Okay. - I do have a - Yes.
- question.

4
00:01:57.533 --> 00:02:31.260
Is this agenda item, 'cause I've had questions on this as well, is this agenda item scheduled
to be on an upcoming agenda? - Yes. We're gonna have it at
the work session in April. - Okay. - Yes. - Can I make a clarifying comment? My motion, really, is to talk about how we can get more parent
input and guardian input on the process. We received a very
thoughtful, articulate email from concerned parents, and I've also heard from
a couple of other parents.

5
00:02:31.260 --> 00:03:09.300
So... - I just want to say that
I kind of like to wait until we hear from the committee when they come in and talk about it, so that we have more information. That's my stance. Like, if we were gonna bring it forward, and that might be the time, but we have the motion on the floor to put this to the agenda. Yes. - Point of order. Just a clarifying question. Will that be included in the agenda item that will be on the next board meeting as far as the input from the parents and the community?
- No, right now we get the input from the designing team,

6
00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:45.440
and so we can go from there, but I think it's important to hear from the designing team before. - Okay. - See what they are gonna bring forward 'cause we don't really know
what's coming forward yet. That was what I was thinking. - Okay. Thank you. - Yes. Question? - Yes, that is also what I was thinking. I think there is going to be a process, and there's a plan to share that process. - Yes. - I would withdraw the motion if we are going to
include in the discussion at the next meeting, parental and guardian
input into the change.

7
00:03:46.020 --> 00:04:20.460
And then, if we do it
next year or next month, are we gonna have enough
time to make that adjustment for the following year? - It's in two. It's the meeting in two weeks, right? - Yes.
- Okay. - So we should have enough time. - We hope, yeah- - So I can always- - Well, you could bring that
motion back at that point. - Will do.
- We'll see what we got coming forward. Did you have another motion? - Yes. I'd like to make a motion
to add to the agenda discussion on methods to
improve board governance with more transparency and accountability for the benefit of the public
interest and our community.

8
00:04:22.440 --> 00:05:02.460
- So we have before us a motion
to improve board governance. That what I'm hearing, the highlights. All right. Do we have a second? Do we have a second? One more time. We have a second? Motion fails. All right. So we have before us an agenda. Can I get a motion to
approve the current agenda? - [BM Ellison] So moved. - Okay, by Ellison. Second? - [BM Thompson] Second. - Second by Thompson. Any discussion? This will be a voice vote. All in favor say, "Aye." - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. We have an agenda. Motion passes.

9
00:05:02.460 --> 00:05:34.383
We also have before us a consent agenda. This consent agenda contains
a variety of business items that come to us monthly,
including donations. We are always truly grateful for all the support the community shows us and the donations they give
to our students and staff, and I want to say on behalf of the Board, thank you for that. Can I get a motion to
approve the consent agenda? - [BM Beloyed] So moved. - Okay, by Deb. - [BM Streiff Oji] Who is it? - [BM Thompson and BM Ellison] Beloyed. - Beloyed. And do I get a second. - Second. - Second by Ms. Ellison.

10
00:05:36.690 --> 00:06:15.480
This would be a voice vote. If you could call the roll. - [BM Streiff Oji] Thompson - [BM Thompson] Aye. - Arcand.
- Aye. - Beloyed.
- Aye. - Ellison.
- Aye. - Skaar.
- Aye. - Streiff Oji. Aye. - Okay. (gavel bangs) We have the consent.
Agenda's been approved, All right, where it's now
time to do public forum. During public forum, the portion of the meeting we ask public members who've
asked to come up and speak, we give them three minutes. We have nine speakers for tonight. With one minute remaining, you will see the orange
card will be held up

11
00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:50.730
to say that you have one minute. With 30 seconds remaining,
you will get a yellow card. And at the end of the three minutes, we'll just give you a like, light tap or let you know that it's over. School district policy
and data privacy laws preclude personal and
student matters or data being discussed publicly. Speakers may not make allegations,
charges, or complaints against any student or employee. Speakers will be called to the microphone and recognized one at a time. Only those individuals
who have been recognized will be allowed to speak. Members of the audience
may not engage in conduct that disrupts any part of
the school board meeting

12
00:06:50.730 --> 00:07:26.190
or that otherwise impedes
school board's ability to conduct business. So what I'm gonna say, is that after your three minutes are up, I have one more opportunity for you. When you are done, and we say, "Three minutes up," you can also tell us
what is one hope or dream you have for your child. We'd like to hear that
too after you're done. So what's one hope or dream
you have for your child? So as we get. Tonight we proudly
celebrate the achievements of our Athena Award Winner: band, jazz band, choir
and orchestra students, and speech team members. Congratulations to each of you.

13
00:07:26.190 --> 00:09:33.450
We also extend our sincere gratitude to the dedicated staff and
supportive family members who played a vital role in these state and nationwide successes. Please join us in watching a video highlighting their accomplishments. Go Bears. (bright upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music) (bright upbeat music) - That was very impressive. Thank you. We're gonna transition now to C2 Superintendent Report. Dr. Kazmierczak. - [Dr. Kazmierczak]
Thank you, Chair Arcand. Tickets are now on sale for the middle school
musical, "Matilda JR."

14
00:09:33.450 --> 00:10:06.213
Shows will be performed from
April 23rd to April 25th at Central Middle School
Community Auditorium. Find the link for online tickets on the homepage of the district's website. In partnership with Light in the Well, White Bear Lake Area High
School proudly presents "A Time for Light," a free multisensory orchestra performance centered on inclusivity and connection. The event will take place at
7:00 PM on Tuesday, April 28th in the high school's
Performing Arts Center. Tickets and additional
information are available online at the Light in the Well website.

15
00:10:07.290 --> 00:10:41.160
Community members are invited to join me and other district leaders
for coffee and conversation at the last Coffee with
Dr. K of the school year. We'll be at Caribou Coffee
in downtown White Bear Lake from 7:30 to 8:30 AM on Tuesday May 5th. This is an opportunity to
ask questions, share ideas, or just enjoy a good
cup of coffee together. Willow Lane fifth graders
have been learning valuable career skills by working with community
members on cover letters, resumes, and interview preparation. They're getting ready for
their Donatelli's "Takeover" where they will experience working as cooks, servers, and hosts
from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

16
00:10:41.160 --> 00:11:14.320
on May 5th, 19th, 26th, and June 2nd. I certainly plan to support them on at least one of those Tuesdays, and I encourage you all to do the same. We had a terrific time celebrating with incoming kindergartners
and their families last week. Students enjoyed spending time
in their elementary building and even participated in a kindergarten signing day activity. Those families who haven't yet enrolled their child for kindergarten can do so on the enroll
page of the website. We offer strong neighborhood schools along with options for
International Baccalaureate and Elementary Spanish Dual Immersion.

17
00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:51.180
And we recently received word that two of our school
leaders have been honored by the Minnesota Association
of Secondary School Principals. White Bear Lake Area
High School's Joe Held was named Capitol Division High School Assistant Principal of the Year, and Mariner Middle
School's Christina Pierre was named Capitol Division Middle School Principal of the Year. Good luck to them as they
move forward in the process for state-level recognition. Thank you. - [BM Arcand] Thank you, Dr. Kazmierczak. All right, we're gonna go to Information Item C
- Scott. - Yeah. - Just a couple of questions on that. With that Coffee with Dr. K.,

18
00:11:51.180 --> 00:12:25.106
would it be possible if we get a kind of a number
of people that show up that are not district staff, you know, and maybe highlights on some of the topics that are on people's mind? I think that might be helpful. - Yeah.
- Thank you. The other suggestion that I have is maybe we should have, I would suggest the chair do a report and maybe poll board members and anything that the chair's, in addition to a Superintendent's Report. - [BM Arcand] We'll look at it. - Thank you.
- Thank you for that suggestion.

19
00:12:25.106 --> 00:13:11.733
All right, we're gonna move on to Information Item C3: Graduation rates. Dr. Gillespie. - Good evening, Chair
Arcand, Members of the Board. I'm gonna quickly introduce
who's here with me tonight. I'll be sharing our graduation data and then attendance data, and then I've asked each one
of them to share, you know, another thing that we're
doing from the field, and then at the end we'll be
here to answer any questions. So we have John Leininger, Elementary Principal at
Matoska International, Russ Reetz, High School Principal, Ange Nelson, Principal
at Otter Lake Elementary, and Cathryn Peterson, Principal
at Central Middle School.

20
00:13:12.660 --> 00:13:44.850
So I've really spent
a lot of time thinking about how to present this data 'cause we're really proud of this data, but I think, as we've heard
a little bit this evening, people often have questions
on all of the different ways that we continually improve. And so tonight, I'm thinking
about the kids that persevered, especially our class of 2025. They were our first unified high school, and Mr. Reetz could better talk about the impact and the
leadership that they had, but this is a reflection
of their graduation. Additionally, we have adults
who are continuously committed. You've heard, every time
our principals present,

21
00:13:44.850 --> 00:14:16.200
we're highlighting where
we're excited about things and where we're continually improving. And so tonight we're
excited about our data, and we couple that with
continuous improvement and what we want to do to get better. And so I hope that you
continue to hear that. So, again, our graduation
data and attendance data. These two measures are lagging measures which come out for us. As you know, the graduation
data comes out now for the previous year, and then attendance data, actually, is two school years behind. So I have our approximate
data for last school year, which will come out in
this August, in 2026,

22
00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:49.917
but last time we presented about this, we didn't have the
finalized data from 23/24, we had our estimates. So as we've talked about
a couple times tonight, and then you've seen throughout, we're really proud of
our district-wide data. Our high school last
year graduated at 97.3%. Our ALC graduated at 82.2% and then district-wide, when
we couple those, it's 93.9%. That does put us at the
top of the metro area, and it's something we've
been continuously committed. And what we keep talking about internally is graduation rate often gets
coupled with our high school,

23
00:14:49.917 --> 00:15:21.657
and it is a high school measure, but you cannot have a
successful high school without every single thing that we're doing across our system. So it is something that our
early childhood educators, our elementary educators, middle school, and high
school should feel proud of because each time we're working on all of these different
continuous improvement things you hear about from literacy, math, the work we're doing at
ninth grade, middle school and the unique time that
our kids have in there, and they're discovering who they are. All of that matters and comes
to this final graduation data. We do look and get compared
to other area high schools,

24
00:15:21.657 --> 00:15:53.520
and so I kept theirs from
last year too to see. You know, ours is real consistent, a little bit of growth
from the previous year, from class of 2024, and then, as you remember, not
everyone has an ALC or ALP. So these are the high
school graduation rates, and then when our district
graduation rate gets coupled, it is that ALC and high school graduation. So, celebrations, I think it's important, and last year we really
worked hard to describe what are the stories of those students who maybe haven't graduated yet 'cause we want to make
sure that we really know

25
00:15:53.520 --> 00:16:25.800
1, that we're not losing
people in our system, but 2, where are our students? And so of the 24 non-graduates, 98.2%, so 593 of 604 graduates,
graduated according to plan. And what we mean is, is we're proud of we have transition education programming where students can be
with us through 21 and 22 and get really specialized. It's based on their IEPs goals, but that that is part of
the plan that's planned as they're looking at transition goals. And so understanding that, we have students who've continued with us.

26
00:16:25.800 --> 00:16:56.490
Additionally, a measure
that we're really proud of and focus on is, How do we
know students are doing well? So we've raised the graduation rate. What does that look like for students needing
developmental courses in college? And in 2018, 19% of our graduates needed develop developmental courses. For 2024, 9%. Now this data lags two years. So we don't yet have for the class of 2025 'cause they're currently freshmen, on what they needed for that. So I will be able to
report on that next year. Again, I'd like to highlight
our ALC graduation.

27
00:16:56.490 --> 00:17:28.830
82.2% not only is a huge growth for them but does stand out significantly
with other area schools. And so our continuous focus
on how to help students with learning loss, and a lot of that translated
in high school with credit loss during the impact of the pandemic. All of those students
were in middle school. So all of those things coupled together. I wanted to highlight some of that 'cause I think it's important. Every one of the
indicators that we look at, so when you look at early
literacy and early math, which we talk continuously with you, not only are those
important for life outcomes, but they too impact whether
students will graduate on time

28
00:17:28.830 --> 00:18:00.750
as young as third and fourth grade. We look at our multi-tiered
systems of support and the levels of
support that we're doing, and so to me this measure
is our students' persistence and the wonderful adults that work here and are continuously committed. But it is also that our
support systems are working the way they're intended so that we really are
raising the expectations for all students while closing that gap in terms of students
who aren't graduating, recognizing that sometimes life throws all of us curve balls, and it happens even for our students, and so we do have programming for students who, maybe graduating in four years,

29
00:18:00.750 --> 00:18:31.410
just isn't part of the plan, and they can continue in our ALP or ALC, and then those students who
is according to their plan, and that they need to be with us longer for their transition skills. The other pieces is middle school, I've really been working hard with our middle school principals and how best to describe
what's going there and the successes we have, but really identify where are areas that we want to improve on 'cause middle school is
a really unique time. Students' brains are forming really fast, they're discovering who they are. Many parents know that. You can reflect on your own students. But when we look as a whole system, we really want to honor
the work that's done there.

30
00:18:31.410 --> 00:19:02.010
And so how are students
exploring who they are, looking into interests, really connecting and belonging at school 'cause those are years, as you know, if you lose them it's
hard to get them back, and so thinking about that. And then finally our high school. The work that we do in ninth
grade is transformational because ninth grade is the
most accurate indicator for graduating on time. If a student fails even
one class in ninth grade, their likelihood of graduating
drops significantly. So I think keeping all that in mind, when you think about our whole system and all the things we're doing, again, none of us have
said we've arrived yet

31
00:19:02.010 --> 00:19:34.200
because we think about
the kids that are there and what we can do to support them, but we're really proud of
this data and we should be. So we had 43 students who didn't graduate. Who are those 43 students? 22 of them are currently enrolled. And so that's huge. They're continuing with us. They're in the programming
that we've designed to support students. We had six students that were
continuing and then dropped because they didn't show up with us. Four students transferred
to different schools. Two students reached compulsory age, and then nine students
with unknown reasons.

32
00:19:34.200 --> 00:20:06.960
Part of what was different this year is because this is our first year for data for the unified high school, some of the students, we lost them when it was north campus. and so we weren't able to see. They didn't re-enroll with us, but they are part of that overall factor when we count our graduates. We had 16 non-graduates from the ALC and then three transition
education students. So as we continue to dive in and look at, what I will tell you is connecting attendance and graduation may not make a ton of sense
sometimes when we talk about it,

33
00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:38.220
but attendance is one of
the greatest indicators that we have in terms of students who can
consistently attend better, do better academically in all of those outcomes that
we've been talking about. They're more engaged, and then they're more
likely to graduate on time. And so that is why we
coupled these two areas. But if you think about it, our schools, we're continuously
doing interventions around attendance, and so as those two things are out there, I want you to think about, What is a student's
daily lived experience? When we think about, Why would I want to come to school? Families, as we know, some
of our littlest students

34
00:20:38.220 --> 00:21:10.050
aren't the ones who get them to school, but there are barriers, real barriers that people are experiencing, and you may hear some of that as our principals talk with that. With that said, we also are really proud of the growth that we've
seen in our attendance data. Again 23-24, when I presented
last year, was our estimate. Our internal person
who does his estimates, he's really accurate and within just a couple
of percentage points, and it is a confusing metric. So let me explain it. This is the percentage of students who attend school at least 90% of the time

35
00:21:10.050 --> 00:21:42.630
and they had to have been enrolled with us at least 50% of the year. So, principals, this isn't the
way principals look at data. They may tell you this. They look at their daily attendance. Who's here? We absolutely have systems that catch the consistent non-attenders, but this can be a frustrating data 'cause it's lower than
their daily attendance. And so people who don't
understand that metric will think only 80% of
students are in school daily. That's absolutely not true. Most of our schools are above
90%, if not close to 95%. This is tracking, How do we
cumulatively look at kids?

36
00:21:42.630 --> 00:22:13.830
And 10% of the school year is 17 days, which seems like a lot, but if you've had a child get
sick, multiple sicknesses, a family vacation, they
can add up very quickly. So our average attendance for elementary has grown from 21-22 at 65.11% to our estimate for this
past school year to 85%. That is significant when
you look at four years, the years that we've had
in terms of rebounding during the pandemic. And so the work that we're
doing is really paying off, and it absolutely is in
partnership with families.

37
00:22:13.830 --> 00:22:45.390
We can't do this work without them. Secondary, at the high school, it has grown from 60.27% to our estimate for this
past last year is 81%. Again significant. If you look at some of our middle schools, you'll see some really big gains. Our high school steadily moving up. Our district data factors and our transition education
center data and our ALC, and those are lower and not accurate as we think about ways to take attendance. They're unique programs that have flexible
attendance requirements.

38
00:22:45.390 --> 00:23:20.181
So we're still working
through some of those glitches to make sure that that's an accurate. We have it internally, but what gets publicly
reported on those two programs. All right, so really who
you will love to hear from are our principals, and so how I asked them, again thinking about that day
in and day out experience, I asked them to each
highlight something for you that they're really proud of in terms of the work that we're doing to help kids feel stay connected, engaged, persist through our system. Then I have a few closing remarks, and then again we'll take questions, so... (Principals laughing and
chatting indistinctly) - Thank you, Board, I'm John Leininger,

39
00:23:20.181 --> 00:23:51.690
principal at Matoska International, and thanks for having us. And, you know, one of the
things that we think about in the elementary and at Matoska is just how we build
relations and connections. We know that, you know,
students want to come to school. Parents want their
children to come to school. Unfortunately, sometimes there are very difficult circumstances, sometimes tragic circumstances
that really get in the way. So one of the things that we work on is how do we, and our support staff, our district partners
in teaching and learning and student support services help figure out how can
we help our families

40
00:23:51.690 --> 00:24:25.830
when they run into these
really difficult times. So we can work together, we can find community resources to help get them transportation to school, to help them find ways to, you know, walk to school or get to school. The other thing that I like to highlight is just how much our teachers and staff care about the students. It is amazing how much I see
our teacher staff, you know, picking up the phone, calling, and saying, "Hey, how's it going? "How can we help you?" You know, "What can we do
to help reach out, you know, "and get your child to school." I've even seen teachers who
will go around the classroom

41
00:24:25.830 --> 00:25:02.073
with a video camera and each kid will say, "Hey, we miss you. "I wish you were here. "I hope you can come back soon." And we get that out to
our students and families. So we have our systems
that are really important. We have our county partners. We also know that, you know, families and elementary kids mostly, they really want to come to school. And how we can help them
get here and support them is just really important to what we do. Thank you. - Good evening. We continue to focus
on improving our period and full day attendance with students.

42
00:25:03.510 --> 00:25:35.433
Last year our theme
was, "Do I belong here?" I think every student consciously or subconsciously
asks themselves daily if they feel a strong sense of belonging. And then where in our building is that belonging taking place? I want it to be in every classroom, and we continue to work
on how we greet students and how students greet one another, and then the different
activities that we do in class, ensuring that they're
meaningful learning experiences, and that no matter where
students enter into new learning,

43
00:25:37.560 --> 00:26:09.180
we're there for them to support them and then help them make connections to their lived experiences. That that has gone a long way in helping students
continue to go to class. We have tried many different
procedural-type things. No pass is the first 10 and
last 10 minutes of class. We think students are more successful when they understand the
learning targets for that day, and then they can provide
evidence of their learning at the end of the class period. We don't allow students to take
their cell phones with them when they do leave the
classroom on a pass.

44
00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:41.130
You'd be surprised how quickly students want to be back in their room. They don't get access to their phone, but they never want to be too far from it. We're looking at ways to prevent students from inviting other
students to leave class if they need to be out on a pass. We also have so many
adults in our building that have gotten to know our student body and do a really wonderful job
helping move students along, getting them back into class if they're somewhere
they're not supposed to be. It takes a village.

45
00:26:41.130 --> 00:27:15.690
We talk about the importance of every minute of every class period in terms of their learning, and I think the common language in some of the narratives we're
discussing with our students is starting to resonate. But our kids, we have great kids, and they make good choices every day, and much of our improvement is because our students understand there's an ownership
component to their learning, and they've chosen to make good choices. - Awesome. Yeah, I think you really cannot discount

46
00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:49.290
the power of welcoming students to school. I mean, first and foremost. So, you know, at Otter Lake, you come in and whether
you're on time or tardy or coming back from an appointment, you're gonna get welcomed with like, "Oh my gosh, we're so
glad to see you," a hug. Students are coming to
find us to greet us. And, you know, everyone's
kind of talked about that relationship piece, but you cannot discount students feeling safe
and cared for at school because it really matters a lot. You know, some of the
things that we've done, we have really unique
opportunities at Otter Lake

47
00:27:49.290 --> 00:28:21.330
where we've done, like
our month-long Readathon. Students have been quoted to say, "it's their favorite part
of their whole life." So students like coming
to school. (laughs) Yes, very excited, (laughs) because of opportunities to connect, to be welcome to belong. This year we have a kindness theme. If you drive past Otter, you'll notice that there's
some signage out front that's really kindness to our world. But students being able
to connect with peers, even of different grade levels. We have buddy classrooms. We have Bear time

48
00:28:21.330 --> 00:28:54.330
where students get to reconnect with peers because that is a driving
force for elementary because that is, they don't
drive, if you didn't know. So in order to connect with their friends, they need to come to school. But, beyond that, students
are really excited to learn. They're so incredibly excited to learn. They know that when they miss, that they are missing something
that's happening in class. And I have to say, so we have our new CKLA
literacy curriculum that we're, you know,
in our third year of, and students really enjoy
what they're learning

49
00:28:54.330 --> 00:29:26.700
in the CKLA units and get really excited about it and the different things that teachers have kind of brought in so that they can experience that learning. I would just add too, that the systems that we
have in place for students who are needing additional support are really structured and theirs, so that could be a reason why students might not
wanna come to school. If they struggle in school
academically, it's hard for them. You know, they don't want
to continually do something that's hard for them, but if they are supported,

50
00:29:26.700 --> 00:30:01.320
and they are given positive reinforcement, they have someone walking
alongside of them, they know that it's safe, and that doesn't become a
reason then to miss school. John mentioned some of the
systems and structures we have just in terms of like tracking procedural-type things like that, but part of that is educating families on the importance of attendance. You know, for the elementary level, I think probably the most is
that families go on vacation, which we totally appreciate, and those days add up really quickly even though they're excused, and so it's really educating
families around the importance

51
00:30:01.320 --> 00:30:36.660
of every minute that
a student's in school, and when you're gone
multiple days in a row, kind of what that adds up even at the elementary level when they're learning how to read. So partnering with families and welcoming. You know, we want families to have fun and be with their family and be mindful of our school calendar, so students aren't missing so much school. - Here, here. - I'm sorry. - There we go. Better. So thinking about middle school, I remind myself every day that I get to live with a small village of 950 11 to 14 year olds,

52
00:30:36.660 --> 00:31:07.297
and I choose to be there, and I love it, and I also remind myself that there is no other
time in a child's life, other than from birth to 12 months, that their brain is changing so quickly and rapidly developing. And so, at Central, we have just really embraced
the student experience. We want kids to leave and feel happy and proud of themselves. It's a time where they're
really pushing independence, and sometimes that means
pushing boundaries, and so we have a commitment
as a staff to say, "You know, when kids make mistakes,

53
00:31:07.297 --> 00:31:38.160
"how do we help them to
learn from their mistakes, "that those mistakes don't define them, "but they can change what
they do going forward." And sometimes there's attendance issues, whether it's kids who are tardy, whether it's kids who are absent, and some of those things
are within their control when they are 12 years old. And what we do is we really sit down then and get to know them and talk with them. I want to give a huge shout
out to my school counselors, my school social worker,
and my school psychologists who are anchors in doing this work.

54
00:31:38.160 --> 00:32:08.437
They take the time to talk with
kids about their privileges that they have at middle school and how those privileges
come with responsibilities. They really talk about
why these are important, why they're important life skills, and how these skills will be used navigating situations both
in school and out of school. And they're really working to teach kids, How do they advocate for themselves? How do they communicate? How do they use resources so
that they can be successful? I brought an example of a plan
where they really sit down, they talk with the kids about,

55
00:32:08.437 --> 00:32:41.070
"You're being tardy. What's happening?" And then, "What are some of
the things within your control, "and what are some options that you have?" Everything from setting an alarm clock to, "What if my
transportation falls through? "What if I'm struggling with something "that's causing me to be late? "Who are people at school
that can help me with that?" And so I'm just, I'm proud
of the work that we're doing that kids are being seen, they're being known by name, and they're going home happy and proud. - Thank you. We get to be the face of a
whole administrative team

56
00:32:41.070 --> 00:33:11.550
that serve our educators
and who work with kids. And so we really work with
wonderful, wonderful people who are crystal clear in their focus that our kids are gonna succeed. And you know, as Russ said,
our kids are wonderful, and it's a real privilege
to get to work with them. And so, I don't know of anyone who's not trying to get
it right for our kids, and we are pushing together as a team, and so I hope you keep their faces. We have kids in here right now. We have some educators, but we really get to represent
and be the face for that. And I think it's important
we honor their work.

57
00:33:11.550 --> 00:33:41.880
Lastly, our system and
system change is hard, it's complex, especially
for public schools when we have all these
different moving parts, but we've really done a lot to enhance the way we talk about data, and so I wanna highlight
those things I did, and I always look back. What did I tell you that we were gonna do? And did we actually do it? And I'm always excited when we have, and we absolutely are leaning
in in all these areas. So part of it is making
sure we have accurate data and that we're monitoring it. And so we have had to do some tweaks internally around attendance,

58
00:33:41.880 --> 00:34:12.090
and also it's really important to me that for every student
that doesn't graduate, we know the why, and we've connected, and if we haven't, we have multiple checks in our system, including me looking at it before it's even finalized, that we do everything
we can to find students as we know the doors that
stay open for families when they have a high school diploma, and we want to make sure
that they don't lose out and know that these resources are here, especially as we have
a partnership with 916. There's just a lot of options. We really have worked on, How do we support our new
and transitioning students? So thinking about,

59
00:34:12.090 --> 00:34:42.930
you saw some of the kindergarten pictures. Students entering kindergarten this year, they did a little signing ceremony, which is so exciting where kids got to really be excited about coming into school. We think about going into sixth grade and what that looks like and making sure we're supporting, and then ninth grade as well, and so thinking through all of that 'cause when we looked last year, we noticed those are some times where we're seeing either
increase in absences or when I looked back,
when we lost students, "Where were they in those areas?" Ninth grade success we've talked about. We've had bar-implemented building assets reducing risks for quite some time now.

60
00:34:42.930 --> 00:35:14.280
Really looking at ninth grade success. We talked about pathways and being really clear as
we transition to an ALP in our partnership with 916. How do we make sure students and families
know about those options? And then continuing to work with families around attendance and the supports. We're working right now
to get some more videos describing attendance and its importance in elementary school and secondary and what that means as we
continue to partner with them and then with the county
resources if and when needed. So I want to reiterate as we close, we're proud of our results, and we know we still have work to do

61
00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:46.530
on behalf of our students and families, and the commitment is there, and we're constantly
doing different things, but graduation really is a
reflection of our system. Our students stay engaged, our educators connect with them, and we should be really
proud of where we sit in White Bear Lake Area Schools. So, thank you, and we're here now for any questions you might have.
- Do we have any questions? - Ms Streiff Oji. - [BM Streiff Oji] So, congratulations. I think that is excellent news
about the graduation rates. Having been in education for 32 years, knowing how complex our
little people can be,

62
00:35:46.530 --> 00:36:18.480
and how we are always trying to meet their individual
needs and help them. So, thank you. The SLEDS data. Can you just remind me what that is? - [Alison] Yeah, so
SLEDS data is a database. That link will take you there. And they track post, the ones I know, it's quite a robust data, but post-high school data. So it'll show us what schools
our students enrolled in, and then they track students and the percentage of students that had to enroll in
developmental courses, and developmental courses,
as many of us know, students pay for but
don't get credit towards

63
00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:50.970
whatever, you know,
certification or a degree that they're working on, and so, to drive at that significantly over time is wonderful, and we obviously want to keep leaning in and finding out how we can
best support our students. - Thank you, because that does say a lot about when people are saying, "Well, the achievement, "they're going on to college, "and they're being more successful "than they were in the past." So, thank you. I do appreciate working with a team that focuses on attendance statewide, how you welcome kids, what you're doing when they're missing. It really matters,
especially when they're late.

64
00:36:50.970 --> 00:37:26.490
It really matters. Things that I had not thought of before. We really had to hone in
on attendance statewide. You spoke of 22 of the students that didn't graduate are currently enrolled. Are they in our regular, like as a senior? What does that kind of
programming look like? - [Alison] They're either at the ALC, or they're at transition education. We really work individually. Most students don't want
to stay at the high school. It doesn't mean they couldn't, but they usually go to those two programs. - Okay, and then I noticed in
elementary attendance rates

65
00:37:26.490 --> 00:37:57.750
that Willow is significantly lower than the other schools are. Are there specific supports that you are all talking
about to target that issue? - Yes, really Willow's team is phenomenal, and we'll definitely have Jen Sexauer here to present on the work that they've done, but we've used that team as a model, and so how they've really leaned in on the support teams and stuff. They are partnering with
some state resources around how to really look
at the data and increase it, but, you know, a lot of their work there,

66
00:37:57.750 --> 00:38:30.597
it has been rippled out. So they really do intentional
family engagement events. They're really looking at
how to partner with families and remove barriers of
students helping them. If you've gone in Willow lately, they even have on the sign, "If you're late, this
is what you've missed." And so really, that welcoming, asking teachers to reach out, which really, you know, research would tell you,
that has the greatest impact. That's where the students have
the strongest relationship. So they're trying all of those things, and they are seeing the
growth is just not as fast. - Thank you. Thank you for all your work every day. - [BM Arcand] Thank you. Other questions.

67
00:38:30.597 --> 00:39:02.940
Mr. Skaar. - First of all, I think you guys deserve
great recognition for this. Graduation rates are strong, and more encouraging, I think, is the fact that there's a positive
trend in attendance, and that's great because, you know,
attendance is just basic. It follows student success. So I think that's great, and I think comparisons with other districts are instructive, and benchmarking ourselves
against our peers is essential. And I think, you know, there's other signs of encouraging news,

68
00:39:02.940 --> 00:39:36.780
and the early grade performance
shows promising movement I would say, overall. Our proficiency in both math and reading trended up from 2024 to 2025 a little bit, but it trended up which is a good thing. So I'm really excited about our progress, and I didn't know you
were gonna be here, John. Our own Matoska principal
captured this well when he noted that, "His
school is holding its own "against the best schools in the metro." Do you remember saying that
or something close to that?

69
00:39:36.780 --> 00:40:10.140
- [John] I do. And I stand by it.
- Thank you. (attendees laughing) I think such comparisons are useful, not because you know they flattered John but because they clarify where we stand, where we need to go. On that score, we do have challenges. I mean in both math and
reading proficiency, we trail significantly with
our adjoining districts. You all know this. Between Centennial, Mounds
View, and Mahtomedi for 2025, Centennial's, 24% better in
math, 18% better in reading.

70
00:40:10.140 --> 00:40:43.650
Mahtomedi is 46% better in
math, 30% better in reading. These are comparisons that matter to the point of one of the speakers. But that's not the end
of the story, right? It's not the end of the story. Positive trends are a good sign. We're pointed in the right direction. So I'm hopeful our staff, you know, it seems like we're all up to the task of continuous improvement, keeping that trend line to improve, but I think our community should demand better results, better accountability,

71
00:40:43.650 --> 00:41:17.150
and hopefully the message was received here by this board on accountability for that. The other footnote that
I just want to make is, you know, K through 12 education is really up against some
significant challenges with social media, you know, tied into cognitive development. I'm sure you're aware that the two cases were one in California and in New Mexico demonstrating that social
media such as Facebook

72
00:41:18.120 --> 00:41:53.730
is damaging to cognitive
development in our children, and we're up against that, and we're gonna need to adapt to that. Just one last question for
our high school principal, which is, I'm interested, I
talked to him ahead of time, so he is not gonna be surprised. The correlation between attendance and discipline. Is there a positive correlation with that? - Yeah, I did have a chance
to dig into our DIRS data.

73
00:41:53.730 --> 00:42:25.860
So that's our Discipline Incident Report. - Yeah, that's what we have to report exclusionary discipline to
the state throughout the year. and it yeah, that's what it is. - So, it's interesting. We implemented a cell
phone policy last year, and so we had 160 cell phone referrals that, if you removed, because that cell phone policy
didn't exist in the past, we had a significant decrease
in discipline incidents. It's actually a 46%
decrease in our first year

74
00:42:25.860 --> 00:43:00.480
as a unified high school. So our attendance rates
were almost a 7% increase, and our discipline incident
referrals were down 46%. I do think the two things are related. When it comes to like certain
areas of the building, but we had far less incidents
occur in our hallways and in our bathrooms. We had less physical altercations and far less chemical use
from one year to the next. Some of that is due to the new spaces.

75
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:35.910
Some of that is due to just the number of supervising adults within the building, but a lot of it is because
students were in class. - [BM Skaar] All right. Thank you. - Other questions? Ms. Beloyed. - When is the full implementation of the new math standards? Is it math standards? - I don't know the date
off the top of my head. What we're implementing right now, next year, elementary will
implement a new curriculum. Middle school is also next year, and high schools will
be a year after that. - [BM Beloyed] So this coming fall.

76
00:43:35.910 --> 00:44:14.190
- Yeah. - And do we have a feeling on how the teachers at both
levels are feeling about it? - They're piloting two
and three curriculum. We have a lot of ideas
of how they're feeling, and those committees will
make those decisions soon. We have done learning walks. I've been in, and it's been really fun
to see the curriculum, and I'll be interested in their choice. - Are the standards... when we go from one standard to the next, do you see a big jump, or jump's probably not
the right word for it,

77
00:44:14.190 --> 00:44:47.910
but are there a lot of differences that then the teachers need to roll out through the curriculum, 'cause you have to learn, I mean there's pages and pages
and pages and pages of it when it comes out, but... - Yeah, so I can give a general answer, then these guys probably
can give a more specific, but what I know is sometimes
when standards change, like we just implemented science, it is a almost a, or literacy is a great` also completely different way to teach than teachers have educated in terms of the science of reading or science, and my team will
be super glad that I know this,

78
00:44:47.910 --> 00:45:18.780
phenomena-based instruction, and so it really has changed in that way of how units are designed. So sometimes that can happen. Other times they're more closely aligned. I do not know specifically
about the math difference. - I do. (Alison laughing) Yeah, so, in elementary, even though we're, you know, we didn't know what curriculum we're gonna be using next year, we've taken this year in
our communities of practice, so that is our grade level meetings that are on the PD days,
professional development days, to work on mathematical practices. So, and those align
with the new standards.

79
00:45:18.780 --> 00:45:49.830
So it doesn't matter
what curriculum you use 'cause the curriculum's
really the resource to help, you know, get to the standards work. But the mathematical practices, that is looking at how it's
gonna be taught differently. So there's a great graphic that
we'll pull up at some point, but it shows where students
learn certain ideas like spatial reasoning or geometry, like where it was in the old standards, and it was very compartmentalized. In the new standards, it's like everything all the time. So it's interwoven, and it really focuses on discovery

80
00:45:49.830 --> 00:46:20.880
and allowing students to problem-solve the different ways that
you can answer questions with some, you know, baseline instruction, but there's a lot of
discovery for students, and that is a different
way of looking at it because it's not, "I'm
gonna teach you this unit, "and that standard's
done, and now we're done." That will continue on
throughout the rest of the year, which is amazing, and so our pilot teachers, I've been in those rooms quite a bit. Both of the curriculums
seem to be working well, but both really do focus on
students critically thinking

81
00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:56.070
in a way that they maybe were not asked to in previous, you know, math curriculum. - I would echo it's very
similar at middle school. They're in the process right now of reviewing three curriculum, and what I've noticed in class
when I go into math classes, students are learning
still the procedures, but they also really have
a conceptual understanding. Teachers are asking them, "How do you know? "Why do you know? "Can you explain it? "Can you identify, you
know, where the problem is?" So there's more conversations around math which is helping kids then
to hang on to that math.

82
00:46:56.070 --> 00:47:27.270
I've also noticed them, they
really come back to the math as well as working on some fluency pieces. So it's, "Do you understand it "procedurally and conceptually, "and do you know it really well, "so you're not always sort
of drudging through it." And, at middle school,
we, like elementary, we have prioritized
collaboration time for teachers across the two middle school buildings. So they have time once a week as well as they've had time on
professional development days to be able to talk about, "What are we doing in class? "What's working? Who is it working for?

83
00:47:27.270 --> 00:48:00.363
talking about assessments and data. - And I would just say
educators are really excited about the new math standards. You know, the learning,
the mathematical practices, and this new way of teaching has been really exciting for them. And the people who are piloting are seeing really great
results with the students. And students are more
engaged and more excited. And so people are
excited for decision day, and that would be when
they decide (laughs) what math curriculum we're gonna use because they are very excited to implement something next year. - [BM Beloyed] Is there
a way to describe briefly why the standards change?

84
00:48:02.310 --> 00:48:32.460
- You're asking really hard questions. (all laughing) - Yeah, I don't know that question, but I'm gonna go for it. I don't know. I wasn't on the standards committee, but what I do know, is, along with the literacy standards, it's really taking away this idea that you can just
compartmentalize learning, and that it has to be fluid, and it has to be connected to something so a student can actually remember it, and, you know, adjust any preconceptions they might have about it, right?

85
00:48:32.460 --> 00:49:05.160
So it's gonna provide a
background information, some core instruction, it's gonna latch onto something that the student knows about, and if they don't know about, it's gonna give them baseline knowledge, so they can actually utilize the skills as opposed to, like, "I'm
gonna just do spelling, "or I'm gonna just do division, "and then once I teach
you this one little thing, "now we're done." It just is a constant fluid approach. - And I would add also, then the application part of it all. One of the exciting things
about education right now, I sometimes pull up my cell phone because this was born
the same year, I think,

86
00:49:05.160 --> 00:49:38.427
our last year high school seniors. So we're literally developing students to live in a world that doesn't exist. And part of that then is not just a great math,
reading, and writing, but how are you going to
apply that in new situations, in different situations,
and in unique situations. So it's a super exciting
part to be in education, and, you know, why we
continue to look forward, how our standards change,
our curriculums change, 'cause our students are changing and engaging in a super awesome world. - Well, and for me when I think about it, so those of us who've been
in education long enough, standards really came in 1999, 2000,

87
00:49:38.427 --> 00:50:09.990
and it was really to streamline
the expectations we have around learning, and they're made, it's a robust process on how standards are, you know, created with voices from
educators and public comment and then eventually voted
on it, the legislature. But as you think about
continuous improvement, we're constantly learning
more about how students learn. Science of reading is a great example. Really, how do you learn to read? And now that we know better, of course we really need to
do that for our students. And so I think it's
constantly getting better at what we know about kids, and then as we see learning, we want them to learn at high standards.

88
00:50:09.990 --> 00:50:42.450
And so some of us, kindergarten standards and what's expected at kindergarten is very different than it
was quite a few years ago. Our kindergartners learn to read, and it's amazing when
you're in classrooms, but that is different because
we know that they can, and it is developmentally appropriate where maybe we didn't, and I don't know the
exact number of years ago, but standards have been a conversation for 26 plus years now for education. - [BM Beloyed] Thank you. - Thank you.
- Thank you. Ms. Ellison. - Yeah, I mean I can answer that question a little bit about standards.

89
00:50:42.450 --> 00:51:16.010
So it's in statute that all of the main
disciplines have to be revised on a schedule, and a lot of times it's seven years. In some places it's 10. But what's really interesting is that every state has their own process for developing standards. I know social studies the best. Social studies in Kansas, there are only five social
studies standards, just five. In South Dakota, there's like 200, and so, at the time that's
required by the legislature,

90
00:51:16.080 --> 00:51:50.640
then, like Dr. Gillespie said, there's a committee that's convened, and it always includes educators, it includes admin and leadership, it includes parents, it
includes community members, and it includes a lot of
times scholars from that field because the other thing
that changes is the field. And so we want to make
sure that the standards that are being implemented reflect what's happening
in these academic fields. And so what's really, I think, important about how standards are done in Minnesota

91
00:51:50.640 --> 00:52:21.330
is that teachers and parents
and community members have always been involved in the process of writing these standards, which then go to public comment, which happens in a
number of different ways. There's meetings across the state so that people can
comment on the standards, and then they have to
be eventually approved by the state legislature
before they can go into effect. And then there's an
implementation process. So it's not like, "Hey, new standards in June. "Good luck in September." It's a process,

92
00:52:21.330 --> 00:52:52.950
which means that not
only do you have to learn the new standards as an educator, then, as a district, you have to go out, and you have to find curriculum
that meets those standards. And sometimes curriculum
doesn't move at the same pace as the standards. So this is all just to say that, you know, every state does it differently. That's how we do it in Minnesota. A lot of it is directed by state statute, and it's a lot of work

93
00:52:52.950 --> 00:53:27.360
for every single person involved in making sure that our
students meet those standards. Sorry, I get really
excited about standards. (attendees laughing) - Thank you. Ms. Thompson. - I guess I don't have any questions. Just a first, I'm very grateful for the report that came out to show all the hard work
that you all have been doing for years ever since I
have been on the Board. And so it is coming to fruition now, and we knew this was a
marathon, not a sprint, right?

94
00:53:27.360 --> 00:53:59.370
Like we are in this for the long haul, and it's gonna take time because there are a lot of
things that we are addressing that are often out of our control. As an example, so we have statewide, like 32% chronic absenteeism in the state. Of those students who
are chronically absent, 32% are special education students, 28% are often English learner students. And then we can break it down by 20% being our Black students, 33.4% being our Hispanic.

95
00:53:59.370 --> 00:54:30.840
And it just goes on from there, right? Like if I would've got into
like the economic part of it, I'm sure that would be
a whole nother scenario. So when we often get compared to our surrounding school districts, I think our graduation
rate is a great example to show what we are doing
in our school district because our school district
has 32-33% of its students that qualify for free
and reduced lunch rates. And that is, I'm sure, low because many parents probably
aren't filling it out anymore

96
00:54:30.840 --> 00:55:03.390
because their kids get
free lunch at school now. So we aren't getting
the full data anymore. In Centennial, they have 19.7% students on free and reduced lunch. And in Mahtomedi, it's
not an exact science, so they're like at 9-15%
free and reduced lunch. So you can't compare. We have three counties
in our school district. We have 10 cities in our school district. Centennial has one county, five cities. Mahtomedi? I grew up in Mahtomedi. It is a very small
community that is affluent.

97
00:55:03.390 --> 00:55:35.160
I was not one of those students, and I barely graduated high school because of the things I brought
to school with me every day. Ever since COVID, students kind of, and families got this, "We can do online learning, "and maybe you aren't
gonna go to school today." Anxiety in kids went up. Anxiety in families went up. Right now, the cost of
living is out of control. People can't afford to buy groceries, let alone make sure their
kids are getting to school in the morning. There are a lot of
circumstances that are out

98
00:55:35.160 --> 00:56:06.060
of our district's staff ability to control outside of what is
happening in our buildings. But the work that you guys
are doing in the buildings is reflected in the
data that is coming out, and I am just honored and
proud to be a Board member in a district that is doing this, and we are not giving up. We know that we're getting to an end goal of meeting all of that, all the goals that we have set, which are out there, and attendance is a huge one. And looking at the attendance graph,

99
00:56:06.060 --> 00:56:36.720
like it was sad to see
the attendance graphs, but it isn't just in our school, it's across the country
and across our state, and it is a lot more factors
than what we can deal with. But hearing things like you guys, I know we have teachers
who are going to homes and trying to talk to the families, and, "How can we support you? "How can we help you get
your student to school? "What are the things that you need "that we can help provide?" and then partnering with the counties. And as somebody who works
in child protection, I know a lot of reasons why
kids aren't coming to school,

100
00:56:36.720 --> 00:57:07.920
and it has nothing to do
with staff at the school or what the school is able to control. So, again, like those graduation rates, thank you for all the hard
work you've done over the years 'cause it is coming to light now, and I'm grateful for it, and, yes, we do have a long way to go, and, I'm sorry, but testing
is a touchy subject with me because testing isn't the
same for every student, and tests aren't the end all, be all of how we decide whether
or not a student is capable of being successful later in life

101
00:57:07.920 --> 00:57:38.226
because if that was
true, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have graduated college as an adult while I worked, while I was a mom, while I was doing life, with honors when I graduated high
school with a 2.02 GPA because I had things that prevented me from learning in school the way that I should have been able to. So, again, thank you because that's just my
2 cents, so thank you. - Thank you. - [BM Skaar] Scott. - We have quite a few things... Like, can I just speak please?

102
00:57:38.226 --> 00:58:10.653
- [BM Skaar] Sure. - We have quite a few
things left on the agenda, and every board member
has had an opportunity to speak to this. I'm wondering if we can move on. - [BM Skaar] Well, I'd just like... Can I be recognized? - Can we, a couple of people. Can we wrap it up real quick please? - I would just like to respond to Board Member Thompson's... I mean, it seems like
when we have good results, then we compare to other schools, but if our results aren't
where they need to be as compared with other schools, then we have to rationalize those. I don't think that's fair.

103
00:58:11.550 --> 00:58:43.500
So...
- That has never been what I'm doing up here. - Sounds like it. - Could I just... - We've got to, kind of,
if we can, wrap it up. Are we speaking, 'cause I think we want
to continue to focus on what's in front of us, so, after...
- Yes. - It's students, and what our students bring
to school every day with them. And that is what I am talking about. And the data, that I don't... Doesn't matter if the data's good or bad. The students are still coming to school with those same impacts every day. - So everybody's had an
opportunity to speak.

104
00:58:43.500 --> 00:59:16.500
So I think I'd like to move on. I just want to say thank
you for all the time, and you've had to create these systems where kids feel welcome, and Ms. Nelson, you can let
your staff and students know that every day when I drive to work, I'm gonna remember to sparkle. - I love that.
- Thank you. - [Angela] I'll tell them. Thank you. - [BM Arcand] And I
want to thank the Board for your allowing us to
continue with other agenda. - [BM Skaar] I appreciate it. - [BM Arcand] Next up we're on C4, American Indian Parent Advisory Committee Resolution of Concurrence
or Nonconcurrence.

105
00:59:16.500 --> 00:59:58.330
Mr. Shavers. - Good evening, Chair
Arcand, Members of the Board, and Dr. Kazmierczak. Thank you again for having us. I have two individuals with me as well: Tonya Flowers, who is our American Indian
Education Coordinator, and Ms. DeLong, who is our APAC Chair. So, every year we have to come before you and discuss whether or not our AIPAC voted concurrent or nonconcurrent,

106
00:59:58.330 --> 01:00:29.160
and I am happy to say that this year we have been voted concurrent with meeting the needs of our students, American Indian students, and really it's from all
of the things you heard in that last session that we just had about the impact that
the building principals and staff members are having with students throughout the academic day. So really that student experience. So, with that, it is
an informational piece just for you to be aware of as well, but I wanted to make sure
that you had opportunities

107
01:00:29.160 --> 01:01:11.850
to ask questions, if you have anything you would like to ask these two individuals. - [BM Arcand] Do we have any questions? I do have one. And looking at our data, are we doing a better job of graduating those, your students? And if we're not, what can we do better? - You can ask or I can. - You can, yeah, anybody there? This is important to us. So we just talked about graduation rates, so I'd love to hear. - Well, thank you all for your
time and attention tonight. My name is Danielle DeLong, and I've been a parent here within the White Bear
School Districts since 2010.

108
01:01:11.850 --> 01:01:44.463
I'm a proud parent of two graduates, one of 2021 and another in 2024, and my youngest is now
a senior class of 2026. That being said, in the
time that I've been here, we've had our tax levy, and we've supported the
growth of our schools. And, in addition to that, White Bear Lakes restarted their Indian Education Program, and that was in 2010 when my children started
joining the district.

109
01:01:46.410 --> 01:02:18.210
Since then, I've seen
nothing but great things come from the district in benefiting not just my children but all the children within the schools. I think the work that
we're doing towards equity is showing in our graduation rates that we just saw in this data. I know there's a lot of systemic
and institutional changes that still need to happen, but when I think about what
my ancestors experienced, and what I experienced, and what my children are experienced,

110
01:02:18.210 --> 01:02:57.810
there's a world of difference, and I'm grateful for that. - [BM Arcand] Thank you. Other questions? Yes, Ms. Streiff Oji - I've been up here for a few years now, and I know that we've not always voted in support of this, right? So what's the difference? What can you tell us that
is going well or not? - Well, I can say that
the hiring of Ms. Flowers, who is also amazing as well, we're really getting into a lot of different aspects with that. So she's involved in
elementary programming, right?

111
01:02:57.810 --> 01:03:35.490
Actually, you know what? I'm gonna have her speak to what she's doing
instead of me doing it. (Tonya laughing) - Thank you, Brenton. I believe that, in my four months, which isn't very long, but in my four months here, I've been steadily trying to make some changes to the program and incorporate elementary schools much more into the program. Before I took the position, there was a lot of focus
on secondary education. I have been making strides
to get into elementaries at least once a month. I believe that it starts

112
01:03:35.490 --> 01:04:08.663
in empowering American Indian
students in elementaries. I think getting them young
and believing in themselves and seeing somebody that looks like them and practices the same traditions as them, it is proven that they
will do better in school and believe in themselves. So I have been making strides to get into elementary schools. I think that's been a big part of it. And also we've been changing up some of the way we do lessons and the way we practice our
culture in the high school. And we've made some college visits and some college-readiness things as well.

113
01:04:10.620 --> 01:04:40.950
So I think all of those
things are contributing. We have a very transparent
and open relationship with our parent committee, and I think that they have shown that with their vote of concurrence, and they believe in the
work that we're doing. So I'm grateful for our parent committee and for Danielle DeLong. She will be leaving us this year, which we're all very sad to see, but grateful for our
parent committee as well. Hope I have answered your question. - Yes. Thank you. Thanks for supporting every
child in our district every day.

114
01:04:40.950 --> 01:05:13.220
- And again, too, I
know what she's saying, but it's also with our administrators making time and space for that to happen within their buildings as well. - I have to say that was a huge change for all building principals, and, yeah, I have to agree with that. I've had an overwhelming positive result in meeting with the building principals and exploring Indian education in elementary schools as more of an influence in the schools,

115
01:05:13.830 --> 01:05:46.080
and so I'm grateful for our
building principals as well and their support. - And if I could just jump in. I don't wanna over say
too much or for our time, but I have a mic in front of me, and I'm gonna take this opportunity to thank the school board because I know many of you, I've seen you throughout the years, and I want to say thank you for sending your school board members to be part of our parent committee, to sit down and hear and actually listen and take these things back to the district and make these changes

116
01:05:46.080 --> 01:06:19.386
that have been long overdue and asked. And I just wanna say thank
you to the principals, Dr. Gillespie, Coach K, you're better known in
our household as Coach K., (Danielle and Tonya laughing) but, all of you, I sincerely, I don't want to just speak on behalf of me but on behalf of our parents
that have worked hard on behalf of our students
and our children. So I appreciate your time, your effort, and this guy's been doing great as well. So, (laughs) thank you. - Any other questions? Yes, Ms. Thompson.

117
01:06:19.386 --> 01:06:49.620
- I don't have a question. Just thank you for being here and, you know, we have been
through a lot of changes in the AIPAC over the years, and so I think that now with Ms. Flowers on the AIPAC and being here in our
district to help engage, I just, you know, it
takes time for each person to like get in, and you've only been here for four months, but you've already done
a lot in your time here, and I just look forward to seeing where you take the AIPAC from here. - [Tonya] I appreciate that. - Always opportunity for growth. And we need parent volunteers.

118
01:06:49.620 --> 01:07:23.010
- [Dr. Kazmierczak] Scott. - Yes, sir. - [Dr. Kazmierczak]
What's coming up May 8th? Maybe you want to put a plug in for that.
- Oh. Thank you. I would love
to speak about that. We've been working on some
family engagements in Indian Ed, and so huge announcement. We are planning a huge
district-wide powwow for May 8th. It's a Friday night from five to nine. Everyone is invited. We would love to have you all there to support our American Indian students. We will also be honoring five
of our graduating seniors that are in Indian Ed and have been very, very vocal

119
01:07:23.010 --> 01:07:55.950
and very, very much Indian at every week. They're wonderful students. They engage in their
culture and their language, and they're very excited
to have this honoring. I worked in Anoka County
for a number of years, and it looked much different there. I shared with students, that when we did senior honoring, it was a formal plated dinner, and I would say some
words about the students and give them their gifts, and our students said,
"No, no, no, no, no, no." We would like to have a full-blown powwow.

120
01:07:55.950 --> 01:08:30.436
And I said, "If you want to do a powwow, "that's what we'll do." So that's what we're doing
to recognize our students, and we're very excited about it. Students are very excited about it. So please everyone come. It's right here at the baseball fields, at the district office here, five to nine. Everything's free except the food trucks if you'd like to engage in that. But I very excited about that. I'm very excited to celebrate our graduating American Indian seniors. So, thank you. - Thank you. Any other questions? All right. Well, thank you for coming,
and we appreciate you.

121
01:08:30.436 --> 01:09:20.250
- Thank you.
- Thank you. - All right. We're gonna head on to
our discussion items. Discussion item D1, Update on sale of 2026A
Facility Maintenance Bonds. Mr. Wald and Ms. Johnson. - Good evening, Chair
Arcand, Members of the Board, Dr. Kazmierczak, Mr. Reece. We're happy to present tonight the results of the bond sale today on the Series 2026A facilities
and maintenance bonds. The sale's an important step in supporting the facilities plan that was approved by the school
board and the Commissioner.

122
01:09:20.250 --> 01:09:54.930
With us tonight is Shelby
McQuay who you met last month when she presented on the pre-sale report, and in addition to being a
parent of White Bear students, she's a financial advisor and managing director
for Ehlers Incorporated. But, Shelby, tell us about today's sale. - Mr. Chair, Members of
the Board, Dr. Kazmierczak, the sale went well today. So, this morning, before we went in at
9:30 when bids were due, we had 14 bidders signed up. So lots of interest in the bonds today

123
01:09:54.930 --> 01:10:28.320
for White Bear Lake Area Schools. When the bids closed at 9:30 this morning, 10 bidders ultimately submitted the bids. The low bidder was
Jefferies out of New York with a low bid of 3.04. We were anticipating
3.25 as in our pre-sale, and then we subsequently
revised that pre-sale to remove the refunding portion as that no longer worked
given current yields. That revision, actually,
given market volatility,

124
01:10:28.320 --> 01:11:00.150
went up to 3.05, and though we came in at
3.04 today with the bids, the yields were not such that we could reincorporate
the refunding at this time. So this is a principle amount of $17.68 million for the facilities maintenance portion. Only the funds will close on May 7th. And everything else was
really as we anticipated with the exception of the
deposit to the construction fund

125
01:11:00.150 --> 01:11:31.800
coming in a little bit
better than we anticipated. That will allow future
bonds to be reduced as well as we continue to restructure the long-term facilities maintenance plan. So some of the attachments
include the bid tab which shows the low bidder of Jefferies, the cover bid, Huntington out of Chicago, and then the high bid
was Fidelity at 3.25. The next two pages of
schedules are the facilities, maintenance bonds, sources and uses,

126
01:11:31.800 --> 01:12:03.570
as well as the net debt service schedule, and then, of course, the
image on the back page showing the level debt structure over time as we balance out the
mix of bonds and levy with the existing debt. Also included here is the
rating report from S&P with every rating, or excuse
me, with every issuance, and, at regular occurrences,
the rating agency will keep your rating up to date. They did assign an A+ rating

127
01:12:03.570 --> 01:12:38.340
which was down from the AA- just as part of this issuance, citing the lower than
anticipated fund balance and recurrence of that over time. So, nonetheless, there was
lots of interest and demand in the bonds today which helped mitigate any volatility that we've seen in the market overall. So I'm happy to answer
any questions on this or the resolution that is
your action item tonight. - All right. Yeah, Mr. Skaar.

128
01:12:38.340 --> 01:13:13.800
- So we're voting to approve this? - [Ms McQuay] Ah, Mr- - What are we actually voting? - Can you explain that? - Mr. Chair and Members of the Board and Dr. Skaar or Mr. Skaar, you're voting to approve,
award the sale to Jefferies which is the low bidder
on the bonds today. So part of the intent
resolution at the March meeting incorporated the parameters, I suppose, of the sale that would require you

129
01:13:13.800 --> 01:13:48.870
to award to the low bidder. - [BM Arcand] We'll do that
- And so the... - in E1 on the agenda. - [BM Skaar] Pardon me.
- And so the... - [BM Arcand] We'll do it on E1. - [BM Skaar] Right. I
just have some questions. - [BM Arcand] Okay, just want to make sure you know what's coming.
- Yeah. So, first of all, thanks
for calling me a doctor. (Ms. McQuay laughing) I played one on TV. On this bond, you said that
our credit rating dipped one level down, and that was because of
the fund balance, correct? Our fund balance. - [Ms McQuay] They take into
account a number of factors, and one of the primary
factors that they raised

130
01:13:48.870 --> 01:14:21.420
as part of the change in the
rating was the fund balance. - So when we don't
maintain the fund balance, our costs go up to borrow. Correct? - The rating is one factor
as part of all of this. If there was no demand for the bonds, I don't know that a rating would sustain, even a AAA rating would sustain the cost.
- Right. Okay. Thank you. Another question. Can we get a bond schedule? I'm sure we have one, but can we get a bond schedule

131
01:14:21.420 --> 01:14:51.658
that is like readable to a lay person, not like a finance
person, that just shows... Maybe we have it. I haven't seen it, but just all of our outstanding
bonds, when they're due, and my understanding is some
of the bonds are renewable or that we can just go
ahead and renew those bonds or, I don't know, but can
we have like a bond schedule that shows every bond when
it's gonna mature out, (microphone booming)

132
01:14:51.658 --> 01:15:23.190
sorry, the type of bond,
that type of thing, the interest rate on
it, that type of thing? Something simple that
a lay person can read. - Yeah, there's gonna be a
pretty complicated report no matter what 'cause
they just are complicated, but are you referring to bonds and levies? - Just bonds at this point, just bonds,
- Okay, so we don't have bonds
that renew automatically. It's not a thing.
- Okay, good. - [Tim] Yeah. - Then we could do a
separate one with levies and determine which ones of
those automatically renew. I think that would be helpful

133
01:15:23.190 --> 01:15:56.790
and something that would be readable by a lay person. And I would be happy to work with staff to put something together like that. Since I'm quasi-familiar with displaying financial
information to the public, I'd be happy to help. I think that would be good. 'cause it gives us kind of
an outlook for the future where our costs are. And we heard a lot at the
Truth-in-Taxation meeting about spending concerns.

134
01:15:56.790 --> 01:16:33.090
So, thank you. - [BM Arcand] All right. Other? - Yes, Ms. Beloyed. - I don't know if this is
what you're referring to, but the long term,
(clears throat) excuse me, the long-term facility maintenance schedule comes out every year, July, and is predicted out, I don't even remember how many years, but goes out that lists each individual project. It's not the bond per se
that it's coming from, but it is the long-term
facility maintenance, so you can see where those
dollars are planning to go

135
01:16:33.090 --> 01:17:06.219
for at least that part of the bond. - Well I appreciate that, but I think we tend to
make things too complicated for the public to understand. So to the extent that
we can simplify things rather than complicate things
for the public to understand where our spending profile's gonna be in the next 10 to 20 years, I think it would be helpful, and, you know, just make it simple. - [BM Arcand] Okay.
I'm sorry, Ms. Beloyed. Were you finished? - [BM Beloyed] Yeah. - Okay. Other questions?

136
01:17:07.740 --> 01:17:47.610
All right. We will see you soon. Thank you. - [Tim] Okay, thank you. - We're gonna move on
to discussion item D2, the first reading of
School Board policies: 201 202 203 214 215 415, and 712. These policies will be approved
on the May 11th agenda, are upcoming after that
agenda for our second reading. If there's a question, please
refer to the policy number and the page in the packet
so we can look at it. Mr. Skaar. - I can't recall which board members are on the Policy Committee. I never got... Which board members are
on the Policy Committee?

137
01:17:48.806 --> 01:18:20.100
- Ms. Streiff...
- Chris and Kathleen. - Okay. I think it's probably
posted on the website, but I haven't seen that, and the meetings are closed. I'd like to, just a quick question, not germane to a particular policy, but I'd like to understand how the change to the consent agenda from the Policy Committee was- (gavel bangs) - You're out of order.
- That's out of order. - [BM Arcand] Right now, we're looking at- - Is that because it's
a difficult question? - [BM Arcand] No, it's
because we're looking at-

138
01:18:20.100 --> 01:19:06.280
- [BM Ellison] It's because
it's with Robert's Rules, sir. (gavel banging) - [BM Arcand] We have
policies 201, 202, 203. 214, 215, 415, and 712. If we could keep our comments towards those policies.
- Thank you. - And these policies will come back. Any other questions? Thank you. We are gonna move on then to E1 action to ratify award of the 2026A Facility Maintenance Bonds. - Thank you, Chair Arcand,
Members of the Board. A few minutes ago you
heard from Shelby McQuay

139
01:19:07.170 --> 01:19:38.013
regarding the 2026A General Obligation
Facility's Maintenance Bond. The low bidder at today's
sale was Jefferies, LLC, providing the winning bid with the True Interest Cost of 3.04. The proceeds will fund facilities and site maintenance projects in the District's Approved
10-Years Facilities Plan. The recommendation is to approve the sale of the 2026A General Obligation Facilities Maintenance Bonds as presented.

140
01:19:38.880 --> 01:20:10.220
- [BM Arcand] Okay, we
hear the recommendation is to approve the sale of the 2026 General Obligation
Facility Maintenance Bonds as presented. Can I get a motion to do so? - [BM Thompson] So moved. - [BM Arcand] Ms. Thompson.
Can I get a second? - Second,
- Second. - [BM Arcand] I'm gonna pick Ms. Beloyed. I saw her first. We're open for discussion. Yes, Mr. Skaar. - [BM Skaar] One quick question. What happens if the board
decided not to approve these? Would we have, like, would
Jefferies have recourse with us if we decided? I just want to understand
what the consequence would be. I'm not saying that...

141
01:20:17.430 --> 01:20:53.250
- So your bonds went on
the market this morning, and if those bonds wouldn't
be awarded tonight, the underwriters would take note, and it may make it more
difficult to sell bonds the next time you take bonds out to the competitive market.
- Right. Thank you. I appreciate that. - Other questions? I just have a point of order I'm gonna ask the board here because I know when we do this, I see that we have it at voice vote and not a roll call vote. Is that because we've
already approved them? Yes. - Mr. Chair, any vote
can be a roll-call vote

142
01:20:53.250 --> 01:21:27.600
if you so - [BM Arcand] Okay. - because
- require - With money involved, with your permission, I'm gonna go ahead and make this a roll-call vote. Do we have any further discussion? Okay, I'm gonna ask the
Clerk to call the role. I'm sorry to throw that on you. - [BM Streiff Oji] Okay. Thompson. - [BM Thompson] Aye. - Arcand.
- Aye. - Beloyed.
- Aye. - Ellison.
- Aye. - Skaar.
- Aye. - Streiff Oji. Aye. - Aye, okay. It passes. (gavel bangs) Thank you for allowing
me to go down that road. Appreciate it. Next on the agenda, we have Action on the Fiscal Year 24-25

143
01:21:27.600 --> 01:21:59.940
Federal Single Audit. - Thank you, Chair Arcand. Tonight we're presenting the results of the federal Single Audit for the fiscal year
ending June 30th, 2025. The audit was conducted by LB Carlson with the purpose of ensuring
that we're using federal funds according to federal guidelines. If there were a headline for this audit, it would be positive that the district receive
an unmodified opinion. This is really the best possible result, meaning our financial statements

144
01:21:59.940 --> 01:22:31.890
and our compliance with federal programs are accurate and reliable and that the district has met
all compliance requirements that could have a direct effect
on major federal programs. So while our overall compliance is strong, the audit identified one internal
control we can approve on. That was a finding related to the timeline and documentation for monitoring a list of vendors who are suspended and
debarred from being paid with federal Child Nutrition Funds.

145
01:22:31.890 --> 01:23:03.810
Essentially, districts
are required to check the federal list of vendors who are either suspended or debarred from doing business with
being paid with federal funds, and we always monitor
that list, semi-annual, but there's a slight change in how this issue was interpreted
for compliance this year that affected us, and in as much as it, the compliance is related
to checking the list before the school year starts.

146
01:23:03.810 --> 01:23:34.290
We checked in the fall and the spring, and the compliance has changed to... Compliance didn't change. The way that the audit MDE and the auditor enforced it had changed. And so we'll change our
protocols to match that, and that's to check the debarment and suspension and debarment list before the school year begins. We take all findings seriously. We reviewed our corrective
action plan with our auditor.

147
01:23:34.290 --> 01:24:09.166
It's been approved by the Commissioner, and so it's already in place. So, in summary, our audit reports shows our accounting for federal
funds are in good standing. We have already corrected a procedural gap identified by the audit, and our recommendation is that the Board approve
the audit as presented. - All right. We've heard the recommendation to approve the audit as presented. - [Dr. Kazmierczak] It's accepted. - Accepted.
- It's accepted. - Sorry. Thank you. Accepted as presented. Can I get a motion? - [BM Ellison] So moved. - Ms. Ellison.

148
01:24:09.166 --> 01:24:43.320
Can I see a second? - [BM Beloyed] Second. - Second. Okay. We have the motion on the floor. I'll put it for questions. Yes. Ms. Beloyed. - So mine isn't really a question since I already know the answer, but I do want to express
my, I guess, frustration with the fact that it's
a finding for something that MDE has not announced. I mean, nothing came out that said, "This was the way
that we're changing this," and this would've been in the beginning of the school year. So just want to point that out

149
01:24:43.320 --> 01:25:16.380
because it's a very big
frustration point to me to dock somebody who
is following procedures as they were stated. And now that you are not following them because they changed, but you weren't alerted that they changed, then you get a finding. So just want to express my frustration. - [BM Thompson] Fair. - [BM Arcand] Okay, Mr. Skaar. - So one question that I have is the, you know, we do two audits. One's the mandated by the state, right,

150
01:25:16.380 --> 01:25:51.713
which was presented during a work session where there's no benefit of public forum yet this one is being presented today in the regular public session with the benefit of a public forum. Can you explain why we're
doing this in a regular session and why we're not doing the other audit in a regular session? And does the statute require both audits to be done in a public session
where there's a public forum? - [Tim] Yeah, I don't know the
answer to that specifically.

151
01:25:52.620 --> 01:26:22.620
- [BM Arcand] It's timing
of when they were ready, and no, there's no requirement to do it when there's a public forum. - Okay. Thank you. - And I think, aren't all our
meetings open to the public? - Yes
- Yes. - [BM Arcand] Okay, just checking. - And this audit was particularly late because the Federal Department of Office of Management budget. - No, the Department of Education, the Federal Department of Education was late to put out the
compliance supplement, and so they extended the
deadline for auditors

152
01:26:22.620 --> 01:26:58.147
to perform their federal audit. So that deadline was moved to March 31st. - Understood. So I want to go to page, I think it's now 174, which is the summary of audit results. So the auditor that we have
does a summary of audit results. That's kinda like a checklist. So the first one is on
the financial statement. So that's the state-required one, and it says material
weaknesses identified, "Yes," and we talked about that one. That was the double payment of $538,000.

153
01:26:59.010 --> 01:27:33.270
- [BM Arcand] I don't
think that then this one. This is only for the federal programs. - Yeah, I know. I just wanna make a point. - Okay, I'm just, okay. So I just wanted make sure we knew that this wasn't on this
report wasn't to that audit. Am I correct? Is this true? - No, but I'm gonna get to it. - Okay. Thanks. - So, but it's in the agenda package. And when the auditors have a finding under the GAO rules, Government Accounting
Office, or the Yellow Book, they have a structured way of how you're supposed to present a material finding like this.

154
01:27:33.270 --> 01:28:04.650
So the effect, I'll talk about it. So the district paid
the same invoice twice. The condition may have resulted
in a material misstatement to the district's financial statements if not detected by the auditor. So if we would've found it, if our systems and
processes would've found it, there would've been no finding. There wouldn't have been
because our systems worked. It found the problem, and we fixed it. So now I'd like to go
to the federal audit,

155
01:28:04.650 --> 01:28:40.050
the federal awards audit. Significant deficiency identified. "Yes." Does the auditee qualify as
a low-risk auditee? "No." So I want to highlight that. We don't qualify as a low-risk auditee, the school district being the auditee. It's a simple question that they ask, a simple check. or a box that they check. Now when I go back to the findings, we do roughly $6 million
in federal awards.

156
01:28:40.050 --> 01:29:13.320
This particular one, because I think it's
instructive to talk a little bit about the highlights of this one. Significant deficiency
in internal controls over compliance. US Department of Agriculture passed through Minnesota
Department of Education Child Nutrition Cluster. Does this have anything to do with the Feeding our Future stuff
- No. - that's going on at Minnesota? Okay good. The other thing is the, I want to talk about the
recommendation real quick,

157
01:29:13.320 --> 01:29:44.220
is the controls. These controls also include steps to ensure any vendor with which the district contracts for goods or services exceeding 25,000 is not listed as a suspended or debarred on the federal excluded
parties list system website. So according to the auditor, our district, for whatever reason, wasn't doing a good job
on selecting vendors

158
01:29:44.220 --> 01:30:16.290
for our Federal Nutrition Awards. Is that, would that be... - [Tim] That's inaccurate. - That's not accurate? - That's not accurate.
- Correct. - Okay, so can you tell me in lay terms according to the auditor,
- Sure. - because I'm reading it right here. That's what I took away from. - [Tim] Yeah. - So can you explain it? - [Tim] The feds publish a list of vendors who are not permitted to
do business with federal, be paid with federal funds. And districts are responsible
to look at that list

159
01:30:16.290 --> 01:30:47.880
and make sure that the
vendors that they select are not on that list. And we
- So, okay. - [Tim] And we've been, yeah, it was really about timing
of checking the list. - [Andi] So for years and years, we had checked that list
twice a year, fall and spring, and going forward, our
auditor's expectation is that we check that list prior to issuing any
payment to any one vendor. That requirement was new to us that it be done prior to
issuing any payment to them, and so we simply didn't
know that that's the way

160
01:30:47.880 --> 01:31:19.290
that they were gonna be
looking at it anymore. So we didn't implement that change prior to last fiscal year. We've implemented that change now, and we've been assured that
the changes that we've made, I've walked through what those
changes are with our auditor, and he said, "Yep, "if you do all of those changes, "you won't have this
finding again next year." - [BM Arcand] Was a payment made to a company that was debarred? - No, the payments that were made to the companies in this finding were companies that we've
done business with before,

161
01:31:19.290 --> 01:31:51.450
and they are not on that list. They simply hadn't been checked prior to reaching that threshold. - So did the auditor check that, or are we just stating that as a fact? - [Andi] No, we checked it. - Okay. - [Andi] Just not prior to the timeline. - It just seems to me that this was a non-statistically
valid sample size that they used. They picked four. - That's what they... And it says that in the report, that it's not statistically valid, yep.
Yes, I know. - They picked four. Two out of the four they found a problem with. So I thought a 50% hit rate
on that was pretty high.

162
01:31:51.450 --> 01:32:23.908
- In our federal funds, we simply don't pay a lot of
vendors more than $25,000. There's not a lot of vendors that we make those
significant payments to, so they don't have to test a lot of them. - Yeah, and I would like
to just talk about this a little bit if you'd indulge me 'cause I think it's important. You know, we had this report
from KSDP on April 3rd. - No.
- No. - Yes. (gavel banging) - [BM Ellison] Point of order. - How do you get to decide? - This is an oversight problem that I think we should talk about. - [BM Arcand] Okay, but
let's not bring others in. Let's focus in on this please.

163
01:32:23.908 --> 01:33:01.230
- This is focused in on this. It's germane to the topic. - [BM Arcand] Okay. - [BM Ellison] I would
like to call the question. - Okay. Call the question. Do we have a second? - [BM Thompson] Second. - Okay. All in favor, call
the question, say "Aye." - [Many BMs] Aye. - Opposed, same sign? - [BM Skaar] No. - Okay, the question has been called. So can we explain that to
the public what that means? - I would love to, Mr. Chair. - Okay. Please. - We have the agenda where we need to stick to
what is written on the agenda, and tangential information
that is not related to the specific federal audit
that we are talking about

164
01:33:01.230 --> 01:33:33.060
does not apply for something
that we can discuss. We have opportunities to
discuss these other issues in different settings, in different agenda items, And we had an opportunity to discuss the consent agenda
when it was on the agenda, which was twice, once for the first reading and
once for the second reading. And what was demonstrated
at this board meeting is that when a second is required,

165
01:33:33.060 --> 01:34:07.680
such as adding an item to the agenda, someone can second, we can have a discussion
across perspectives, and we can make a decision, which is exactly what we
discussed at the consent agenda. So in order to have a
meeting that is efficient, if you looked at the policies that are in first reading, it lists in order what we follow: number 1, statutes; number 2, our own policies; and number 3, Robert's Rules of Order.

166
01:34:07.680 --> 01:34:38.130
So I would ask, Mr. Skaar,
as we all try to do, is we stick to the agenda item at hand. - Okay. We have the
question's been called, which means - [BM Skaar] Is there any more discussion? - Discussion has been stopped. We asked for a clarification
- Why is discussion... - and received it. - [BM Skaar] Chair, why
is discussion stopped? - Because we called the question. - [BM Skaar] I wasn't able to - I'm sorry. We called the question.
- address this. - The question is called. It approved. - Well this is a, you know,
- It closes, - this is just a clever technique
- It closes. - to shut down discussion.
- Discussion. - That's what it is. - [DM Thompson] It's
following the Robert's Rules of Order.
- Yeah, I understand. - [BM Arcand] All right.
So moving forward.

167
01:34:38.130 --> 01:35:12.240
- [BM Skaar] Being heard. - [BM Thompson] No, it's
Robert's Rules of Order. - Action is a federal audit. We have a motion, it's been seconded, and the question's been called. I'd like to call a
roll-call vote to approve - Accept.
- Accept. - to accept the audit. I'd like the Clerk to
call the call the vote. - [BM Streiff Oji] Thompson. - [BM Thompson] Aye. - Arcand.
- Aye. - Beloyed.
- Aye. - Ellison
- Aye. - Skaar.
- No. - Streiff Oji. Aye. - Okay. Motion's carried. Thank you. Ready to go on now to operational item E3. Action on amendments to drainage

168
01:35:12.240 --> 01:35:42.570
and utility easement. To Mr. Wald. - Thank you, Chair Arcand,
Members of the Board. Back in February, the
Board approved a land swap with the City of Vadnais Heights. It was to trade a pathway
easement for a vacant lot next to Vadnais Heights Elementary School. To finalize the land swap and ensure clean property
titles for both parties, our legal counsel has prepared two technical amendments to easements that were originally recorded in 1982. The easements are included
in the Board packet

169
01:35:42.570 --> 01:36:15.540
and will require Board approval. The first update, number 725010 fixes the surveying
language for a drainage lot on Lot number 5. And the second, 725011 clarifies the City's right to
maintain a 20-foot sewer line across Lots 4, 5, and 6. Both documents require the City to fix any of our property should they disturb them during work. The recommended action is that administration recommends
that the Board approve

170
01:36:15.540 --> 01:36:48.273
the described amendment to drainage in utility easement number 725010 and the amendment to drainage in utility easement number 725011. - You've heard the recommended action. Can I get a motion to approve? - [BM Ellison] So moved. - [BM Arcand] Second - [BM Beloyed] Second. - Second. I'm sorry, Ms.- - No, no. You're... - Ms. Streiff Oji, did you get who called it? Okay. Is there any further discussion? - Who was the second? - [BM Ellison] Deb. - That's... I realize I didn't say it, so I wanted to make sure you had it. All right, so we have the
motion there. Any discussion?

171
01:36:54.870 --> 01:37:31.200
Okay, hearing none, this
will be a roll-call vote. I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. - [BM Streiff Oji] Thompson. - [BM Thompson] Aye. - Arcand.
- Aye. - Beloyed.
- Aye. - Ellison.
- Aye. - Skaar.
- Aye. - Streiff Oji. Aye. - All right. Motion (bangs gavel) carries. We now go on to operational item E4, Action on School Board
Policies 211, 212, and 809. Can I get a motion to
approve those policies? - [BM Thompson] So moved. - [BM Arcand] By Thompson. A second? - [BM Beloyed] Second. - [BM Arcand] Second by Beloyed. Discussion. Hearing there's no discussion-

172
01:37:31.200 --> 01:38:11.040
- [BM Ellison] I'm sorry.
- Sorry. - Dr. Arcand, we also have 599? - [BM Arcand] That's
gonna come separately. - Okay. got it. Thank you. - So hearing that, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say, "Aye." - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. Okay, (bangs gavel) motion carries. Now we are gonna pull up action on School Board policy 599 - Chair Arcand, Members of the Board, this is a little bit different
than our normal procedure. Principal Reetz and I are
here to talk about policy 599 which is academic recognition.

173
01:38:11.040 --> 01:38:43.050
We're asking that it gets
approved in one action instead of the two reads because of the timing of
the upcoming MCA test. Principal Reetz will be able
to give some more specifics, but I just wanted to kind of talk through. We've heard a lot of the debates around our MCA tests, and we absolutely do not
discredit their value. It also is really hard when
there is an option for families to opt out of the test because when students opt out, which this isn't always commonly known, it counts against us as a
student not meeting standards.

174
01:38:43.050 --> 01:39:14.130
At the high school, in particular, if you remember last year, I talked with our middle school students and our high school students. They really talked about how it was hard to see
the value in this test, and we have a significant
number of opt-outs. 40% of our juniors opted out of the math, and 20% of our sophomores
opted out of 10th grade reading and 10th grade science, No one student's academic
success boils down to a test. We know that, and we agree with that.

175
01:39:14.130 --> 01:39:44.610
What happens is, is when really those two
data points are inaccurate and we're unable to make conclusions around those data points. And so the other piece
is that test is used for national rankings, and the way that our tests... So it is, it's a very complex issue, and so I really commend
the high school team on trying to figure out how can we really have this
be an accurate measurement so we can lean in. And how do you balance that? Because we also all know
all of the valid things that were brought up in terms
of families and the students and their individual needs.

176
01:39:44.610 --> 01:40:16.707
We also heard people really using, many times when I ask for clarity, and I didn't yet get that opportunity, but people are talking
about our MCA results. And so in terms of when
they're being really critical on our academic achievement. And so thinking through
all of those things, we're here to have a discussion
on what we're hoping, an idea that we have around possibly really
giving more importance to a student's academics while not over-penalizing our students 'cause we also identify
kids are on a wide spectrum. So where have you been,
Principal Reetz, (laughs)

177
01:40:16.707 --> 01:40:49.830
on the MCA? - Well, we continue to try to encourage families and students to
take the test seriously, to help us measure how we're doing, and we're constantly measuring our success with multiple metrics. We know this year is the first year that we've assessed our students
with the A reading exam, and our results on the A reading test, now it is a shorter reading assessment,

178
01:40:49.830 --> 01:41:22.650
have been quite good
compared to our MCA results. And so I think by encouraging
more of our students to engage in the test, like Allison said, the 20% that opted out as sophomores, we think we're gonna see
a significant increase in how our overall school performs in MCA reading and science
at the sophomore level. We also think, by motivating
more of our junior students to engage and take the test seriously, we'll see higher results

179
01:41:22.650 --> 01:41:55.920
with our 11th grade
students on the math MCA. So we've introduced some language to our academic lettering policy that would add a threshold to what we currently measure
for academic success. The policy reads right now that students would have
to have a certain GPA in order to qualify for an academic letter their senior year. The policy change would require that students also perform
at grade level in math

180
01:41:55.920 --> 01:42:37.530
for the class of 2027 and in math, reading, and science for the class of 2028 and beyond. - I think part of, just lost my thought. It'll come back to me. - Okay. I think we can
call this for the motion, then we can open up the discussion. The recommended action is to
approve the School Board policy 599 academic recognition as recommended by the School
Board Policy Committee in the cabinet. Can I get a motion to approve? - [BM Ellison] To Approve. - The policy. - [BM Thompson] Don't? Are we gonna have?

181
01:42:37.530 --> 01:43:08.940
- We'll have discussion once we get a... There's nothing to discuss till
we get a motion on the table - [BM Skaar] And then
second, then we can discuss. - Yes. So can I get a motion to
approve the policy 599? - [BM Beloyed] So moved. - So moved. Is there a second? - [BM Streiff Oji] Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Now we can open it up and have the discussion before we vote. Any questions? Yes. - So on the opt-out that
you were talking about, I get that. I mean, that's a hurdle. We gotta live with it. But really other... I kind of think we normalize our numbers

182
01:43:08.940 --> 01:43:40.020
because other districts complain
about that as well, right? So I don't know if 40%... If our opt-out rates are higher than surrounding districts or not, or if that's been correlated
with proficiency or not. I think, before we can say that that's a contributing factor, we need to do a little bit
more homework on that I think. - 40% of our students don't take it. 40% count as not proficient. So that statistically would
have an impact on those. - No, I'm asking about when we compare it

183
01:43:40.020 --> 01:44:10.080
to other districts like
Centennial or Mahtomedi. Is their opt-out
percentage as high as ours? Do we know that? - I haven't looked into that. - I don't know that. - I think before we use
that as kind of a reason, that we should understand what the surrounding districts and who we compete with, which is Mahtomedi and Centennial, what their numbers are. - Mr. Skaar, I'm not using
that as the sole reason. What I'm saying is, is we want accurate numbers
of how our students are doing,

184
01:44:10.080 --> 01:44:40.470
and we can't. We don't have that. I'm not comparing us at all. I understand why we would.
- Okay. Alright. - Right now I'm not making
excuses for our results. I want it to be accurate. And if it really is as
low as it is right now, we have a lot more work to do. We don't have correlating other points because the 40% of students often are students in the
highest-level math classes. We know the kids that are opting out. So what this is, is to help
us have our own accurate data. It's not to make an excuse
that we don't have work to do. - You know what, thank you for
a straightforward response. I understand. We're on the
same wavelength on that. Thank you.

185
01:44:40.470 --> 01:45:17.430
The other question. I think one of the public
speaker during the forum, I think her name was
Jamie, talked about this and, you know, when I
was thinking about it, and is there a way that we could, for this academic recognition to do like a three or four factor test that you would say it's
part of it's grades, part of it's attendance, part of it is getting a
maybe a recommendation from, you know, a principal or something,

186
01:45:17.430 --> 01:45:53.670
and then the test scores, and if you meet three
out of the four of those, then you can get a letter. I'm sensitive to that. I don't know enough about it, but I kind of would like
to have maybe a discussion. So I would recommend that we're not in a rush with this thing. Maybe we table this for the
next meeting for a discussion. Can I get a motion to table? - [BM Thompson] I mean, I would second that I guess. (laughs) (Board members speaking indistinctly) - [BM Thompson] I think we need
to have a discussion first. - A point of order. I think if we table it, that's tonight.

187
01:45:53.670 --> 01:46:25.590
We can't table to the next... That's, I think when we table, it has to actually occur
in the same meeting. - That's fine. - So if I understand. So we have further
discussion, Ms. Streiff Oji. - So this is, as I'm understanding it, an incentive to get kids to take the test because our results are skewed because we don't have
students taking the test because of various reasons. Are we able to provide accommodations for those that need those accommodations, whether it's through a 504 or... - Yep, and there's three
different types of tests,

188
01:46:25.590 --> 01:47:00.030
so some of 'em are the
modified versions of them. So yeah. - [BM Streiff Oji] Okay. Thank you. - So, yeah, depending
on what the IEP states or the IEP team submits for
accommodations for testing, we would meet those accommodations as well as there's two alternate
tests that could be offered to some of our special
ed students as well. There's also, you know, I think with every individual story, there's reason for a case
manager to come forward

189
01:47:00.030 --> 01:47:30.050
or for an administrator
or a school counselor to make a request that we consider some sort of alternate consideration for a student that maybe is new to country that takes the exam, transfers in, and didn't take the exam in
their previous school building, is an ML student that is still learning
the English language. I think there's lots of
reasons to look again

190
01:47:30.360 --> 01:48:01.230
for students that may
reach the GPA threshold but not reach the MCA threshold. I can't guarantee that we'll be able to provide a letter to every student who has a question about their
performance on the MCA exam, but we know that there may
have to be an exception made. So we would have a process for that. I just feel like our school profile and the way people talk about how White Bear Lake High School performs

191
01:48:01.230 --> 01:48:34.440
is often in relation to what
they see on an MCA exam. I know, as a principal,
I would like to use data that we learned from the exam in making curricular decisions, in making staffing decisions. Right now it's not a valid set of data because the majority of our students, not the majority, but 40%
of our juniors opt out, 20% of our sophomores opt out of the exam, and of the students who take the exam, I'm not convinced that
they take it as seriously

192
01:48:34.440 --> 01:49:05.430
or try to do as well
as they might on a ACT or an A reading type exam. So every school district, you know, that we're compared to is looking for ways to
improve the number of students that participate on the MCA exam. I've heard from many principals who are considering giving
the students a day off, to moving them up in the order for a parking pass the following year. There's a lot of incentives

193
01:49:05.430 --> 01:49:42.000
that principals are trying in order to help engage students
in this particular exam. If we don't find a way to help our students take
the test more seriously or increase our participation on the exam, I think we really need to look at the results of that
exam much differently. - The other point I want
to make that I missed, I couldn't think of a second ago, was this isn't the only thing
the high school team's doing, really doing education for
all of our students' families to understand the impact of
when people choose to opt out,

194
01:49:42.000 --> 01:50:19.230
creating really a concentrated
testing atmosphere. So it's one of many
things that we're trying, and I just wanted to make
sure you're aware of that 'cause you don't always get
all of those details as well. - Okay. Ms. Ellison, - I preface this by saying, you know, I respect the work that you both do, and you do incredible
things for the community, but I opt out all my
kids from all of the MCAs and have for years and have a sophomore that has a 3.6 GPA, which means that he would
not be able to letter

195
01:50:19.230 --> 01:50:51.840
because it was my choice to opt him out. So, because the parents have
to sign a document, right? - [Russell] They do. That
is part of the process. - Yeah, so I mean, so it's the parents making these decisions to not have their students take this test. And I see the outreach that's happening, and I see, you know, the
information shared with families, and I appreciate what you're doing,

196
01:50:51.840 --> 01:51:31.110
'cause you're right, the
numbers are totally skewed. I didn't realize that
it was quite that high of people opting out, and we all have our reasons for doing so. I'm a little anxious about a parental decision to opt out of a standardized test then reflecting on a
student's ability to letter. That makes me a little nervous. I mean, if this is what needs to happen so that my kid can letter, I'll make him take the test, you know,

197
01:51:31.110 --> 01:52:08.580
but, again, it's, I think,
all of those factors. It feels, and I know that
this is not how it's meant, this is certainly not the intent, it feels a little bit like a punishment. So I understand the motivation. I understand we have to
get those numbers up. So what about folks like me who fully understand the education system, and I don't have my kids take that test? - Yeah, I think, I mean you're identifying
the complexity of it. Of course our goal is
not to punish our kids. It's also super hard
to listen continuously

198
01:52:08.580 --> 01:52:42.660
about a certain portion of our population saying how terrible we
are based on one test. - [BM Ellison] I know. - And so we want to have it be
more accurate, and it's not. And so, you know, that is the question, and I think we can get that data and what I've heard is not all districts have that same opt-out culture that we maybe do depending on the age. The kids were super
honest in terms of the ACT and all this stuff that occurs for them. But, at the same time, it is now 50% of our national
ranking is our MCA results,

199
01:52:42.660 --> 01:53:17.673
and if 40%, that 40% who
are excelling the most, which is, you know, there's gray in there, but that is the overwhelming majority, like, we need help to
have that data be accurate 'cause otherwise we will
continuously not be able to meet the expectations, and it isn't to make an excuse. We are continuously... It's we want it to be accurate,
and it is not right now. - Yeah, I fully understand, and, I mean I hear those
same complaints as well, about our MCA tests.

200
01:53:24.153 --> 01:54:03.963
It just strikes me, I'm just struggling with this, as a method of acknowledging the problem, how can we express what you have just
expressed to us, to parents because a lot of parents, I think probably do opt out their kids because they're like, "We
hate standardized tests," or, "My kid doesn't test well, "and I just don't want him to do it," and all these other reasons. How can we help parents
not sign that form? I don't know. And I know all the work that you all do.

201
01:54:05.550 --> 01:54:37.740
This one is hard for me. - [BM Arcand] Right. Ms. Thompson? - Yeah, I also see this as a punishment. Of the 40% of students
who don't take the test, do we know where they rank? Like would they fall in
the category of lettering without this or would they not? So then we're just adding
on another thing to students who might not test well, and to me this is a systems
issue, not a people's issue. The testing itself is the issue,

202
01:54:37.740 --> 01:55:08.850
and I understand that we
get the negative feedback because our kids aren't taking the test or the results of the test. To me that says get rid of the test and find a different way to figure out what students are learning and how they're learning, which are a lot of the
things that we're doing with the MTSS and the BAR and all the other pieces, and the other ways that you
guys are learning to test and see where the kids fall. To me, this is, I work in courts and oftentimes people try to do...

203
01:55:08.850 --> 01:55:41.580
And I'm not saying this is
what you guys are trying to do. I think you come at it
with a good intention of trying to figure out how we can get students
to engage in this test because it's important currently, but I don't, yeah, I just, I can't. This is one that I just,
I can't support this one 'cause I know not all
students test the same way, and not all students are, like, I think we just did a thing where we revised the way our
kids are gonna test, right? So now we have an option for them

204
01:55:41.580 --> 01:56:12.090
to go sit somewhere quietly or to test in a different way. Lily took her ACTs, and she has a thing where if people are chewing
or if you're eating, our daughter cannot sit at the table and listen to us eat dinner 'cause it is a thing that she... She tries really hard,
but she can't do it, and while she was testing, somebody was chewing on gum, somebody was chewing on... She literally could not focus
while she was taking the test. And she's super stressed out

205
01:56:12.090 --> 01:56:46.687
about how she's gonna do on that test because she had to sit in that environment and test in that way, which is not friendly
to all the, you know. It's not equitable, right? So, to me, this is just another, I just, I don't, I would
want more information on who the 40% of students
are that aren't testing. Where do they fall? Would this impact them? or, "Who will this impact? 'cause just listening to
the one parent tonight speak about their child who is on an IEP, like I don't, I just,
I feel like it's, yeah,

206
01:56:48.342 --> 01:57:19.620
I'm just, I'm not a fan of this. I just, I can't support this one. - [BM Beloyed] That's my idea. - [BM Arcand] Ms. Beloyed. - I'll make this quick since we're running out of time here. I think we've got a confluence
of things happening, and it's obviously really difficult, but for the high school kids, you've got the pre-ACT that
they take in 10th grade or is it 9th? - [Allison] Both 9th and 10th. - Both. So they've got the pre-ACT, then the ACT. Then if they take the ACT again, or if they're taking the SAT. So most of the high school students,

207
01:57:19.620 --> 01:57:57.960
if they're planning on
going to college at least, are focused on that. That's their priority. The MCA just isn't a priority for those. So, to me, it's, How do
we develop a culture? How do we put a carrot in
front of those students to take that? and that's the issue to me. - Mr Skaar, just one last thought. I mean, kudos to you guys for coming up. We have a problem. You guys came up with a solution. You presented it here.

208
01:57:57.960 --> 01:58:30.540
So I would just say don't
take that as a negative. I mean, you raised something that we should be concerned about, and we need to figure out how to solve it. So is it to triage the NOs to the parents to get them on the hook, put more pressure on the parents, so that they opt their kids in. I mean, we probably can't do this, but how about like a gas card for $20? (attendees laughing) You can take up a collection
from the Board for that

209
01:58:30.540 --> 01:59:04.560
if they take it. I mean, but the fact that
you're thinking about it, and you came up with a
solution, proposed solution, I think is great. So thank you. - [Russell] Okay. - Sorry, this is a timely matter though. This is why, - [Allison] It is a timely... You're bringing it here so that it can apply for this year's. So if it comes back to us next board meeting, which I know we don't
usually approve policies at work study, is that still too late?

210
01:59:04.560 --> 01:59:34.950
- [Allison] Yeah, it wouldn't feel right in terms of communication. We've communicated that we
were bringing it tonight, and, you know, families really
have engaged differently with Russ just by that letter around, and not in a negative way, but in a, "What other ways are there "for my student to take it?" You know, we have heard from concerns, which we've been working through, but we understand that, you know, we're trying to think outside the box. No, that is not how we
lead, to penalize kids, and so I believe that you're hearing that, and this is a really
complex problem for us. So we understand if... - Yeah. - [Allison] We just, we'll
have to keep talking about it

211
01:59:34.950 --> 02:00:08.643
and leaning in if this isn't... You know, we are doing other things and hopefully that helps engage and we see an increase of people testing, but if this weren't to pass, we get that part of the governance, and that's why we're here. - Yeah. - [BM Arcand] Okay. Other
questions or comments? - I will just say it's
been used multiple times in this setting tonight that we don't have the
right, the same scores, and so it's, I can... And yet you're trying to find a solution to get accurate data,
and we're not supported.

212
02:00:09.720 --> 02:00:40.740
So... - Okay, I'm gonna go ahead. We have the motion to approve
the school board policy 599, and due to the importance of this, I'm gonna shift this to a roll-call vote, so we know where we sit. Yes? - [BM Skaar] I make a motion to table this for the next meeting. - We cannot table to the next meeting. We can only table within.
- Okay. - They can bring it back, but we can't... We found out I can only table
to the end of this meeting. - Thank you, Chair. - So, I'm gonna go ahead and ask the Clerk to call the role.

213
02:00:40.740 --> 02:01:14.580
- [BM Streiff Oji] Thompson. - [BM Thompson] No. - [BM Streiff Oji] Arcand. - Aye. Yes. - [BM Streiff Oji] Beloyed. - [BM Beloyed] No. - [BM Streiff Oji] Ellison. - [BM Ellison] No. - [BM Streiff Oji] Skaar. - [BM Skaar] No. - [BM Streiff Oji] Streiff Oji. Aye. - Okay. The motion fails. (bangs gavel) Thank you for your time. - [Russell] Thank you. - All right. We are on now to Board Forum, and we're gonna get to it quickly, we can get through this. - [Dr. Kazmierczak]
Quickly. It's eight o'clock. Okay. It's eight o'clock. We've hit our stopping time. So does any board member have anything for Board Forum that they're doing? Yes. Be quick. - I just wanted to say, I also went and saw the "Dear Evan Hansen" play this weekend,

214
02:01:14.580 --> 02:01:45.480
and holy, I mean, wow. I thought I was at the Orpheum or like... Our students and the talent and the staff and everything that went into that, it was kudos to everybody involved. Excellent, excellent show
and for much less money. - [BM Arcand] All right, thank you. Anybody else with the forum that you're doing as your board member? Yes. - [BM Skaar] I would just shout out to the Community Education Recreation team led by Mr. Maurer here. We had a meeting. It was just a lot of
good energy and so forth,

215
02:01:45.480 --> 02:02:16.810
and we have so many
activities for our kids, and you don't even have to
be part of the district. It's great. But I just want to say, I was gonna bring this up, but I want to put a marker in because on one of the page, Tim, you're not
responsible for this, so... "Understanding the role of the board." We need to talk about this. So I plan on... I would like to have, on the
agenda, to talk about that. - [BM Arcand] Okay. - Can I get an agreement to put that on? - [BM Arcand] Well, I think that we have another staff development session first. Let's get through that.

216
02:02:17.671 --> 02:02:37.623
- I'd rather have it in a public session. - [BM Arcand] Okay. Anybody else? All right. I vote to entertain a motion to adjourn. - [BM Ellison] Mr. Chair, we do adjourn. - Do I get a second? - [BM Beloyed] Second. - All in favor, say, "Aye." - [All] Aye. - Opposed? Same sign. - [BM Streiff Oji] Who is the second? (Chair Arcand speaking indistinctly) - [BM Streiff Oji] Who is the second? - Beloyed. - [BM Thompson] If you need
your assignment signed, we can sign it for you.