June 11th, 2024 Meeting of the Hopkins School Board

001Thank you all for being here tonight the board board meeting for Hopkins Public Schools for June 11th is starting at 709 p.m. I appreciate you all showing up on what is a beautiful summer day to be here with us tonight and We will get started with our meeting once I get it pulled up. So thank you all for being here. I'd like to call this meeting to order. How we do our open agenda comments in Hopkins is because we value Hearing from our community is we have a section at the beginning of our meeting for items that are on the agenda and we have a second public comment section at the end of our meetings for items that are not on the agenda. Do we get any voicemails this evening? Okay, thank you. And we

002do have some public comment cards again for items that are not on the agenda. So we will proceed. With our agenda, the first thing after open comment is our reports. So I will, and since we do not have any student board representatives here with us this evening, that takes us to our superintendent report. So I will turn it over to Dr. Miri Peary-Reed. Thank you chair and recent and good evening to board members and everyone from our community who has joined us this evening really appreciate you being here and Welcome to any persons listening virtually so I do have a end of your report here and You know, we've had a lot packed into the end of our school year, our 23-24 school year. Students' last day was this past Friday. I spent the day

003in our schools checking in on our teachers, our leaders, school staff, kiddos. Our schools really had an amazing final day. Younger students were very emotional, and many did not want to go home. And older students were a bit more composed or maybe they were just over it, right? Like maybe some of our staff. It's, you know, it's a long year, right? There were reflection experiences, presentations, parties, games, ice cream trucks, and even shaving cream sensory art in first grade. Graduation on Thursday was pretty perfect, and I'll talk more about graduation later in my report. And honestly... Our challenge as a community is to celebrate all of these amazing student experiences and the fact that truly our school year as a collective was remarkable. So many incredible and amazing things happening. Lots and lots of teaching

004and learning. And we simultaneously have to hold that and all of that while attending to events that are tragic. And I will, if safety and security is added as a live agenda item, then I will comment more on safety and security later. However, I do want to acknowledge that one tragic event involved a transgender student being physically assaulted at our high school. And to quote our LGBTQ plus liaison, because her values are our district's values. We believe every student in Hopkins Public Schools should have the freedom to feel safe and welcome in their school no matter what they look like, where they're from, or how they identify themselves. And not only has this severely impacted this particular scholar and her family, this incident has also had a negative impact on many members of our school

005community. And finally, before I move on, we experienced the tragic death of a young child. Yesterday was a really tough day as four-year-old Waise Ali Mohammed was found following a search involving law enforcement, emergency response teams, and community as well as staff search volunteers. And our hearts truly go out to Waise's parents. his little brother, extended family, friends, and our very own early childhood staff who've had a lot of contact with that family over the last couple of years. We are currently in touch with the family to provide support. And, as life requires of all of us, we, again, we simultaneously navigate and hold pain and joy. And I wanted to just also share that also yesterday we had a wonderful end-of-year party for hundreds of our hardworking staff held in the parking lot and

006mall of Hopkins High School. And if you came, you saw the beautiful charcuterie board from Fig and Ivy, which is a local business person. Her kids go to Glen Lake. Staff had a mocktail and food truck dinner of choice and hopefully won a prize. There were tons and tons of prizes. I would like to thank our communications and marketing team, event coordinator, Jen Cameron. HEF and our PTOs, parent-teacher organizations, DJ Zach for the really lively, fun music, nutrition services, buildings and grounds, mixologist Brian Stanley, and so many others who helped coordinate what was really a fabulous end-of-year event for our staff. And to highlight some other celebratory experiences since our last board meeting, we've had some wonderful events. For example, on May 18, Meadowbrook had over 300 runners from the surrounding community join students in

007the Run Meadowbrook Run event. We have some really fast runners at Meadowbrook. Congrats to all of the top finishers from each grade level. And if you thought Kids & Co. was just a traditional before and after care supervision program, you are mistaken. On May 29 and 30, Tanglin Kids & Co. hosted their Handmade Market. This is where kindergarten through fifth graders and staff create fun... decorative and useful items to sell to the community. Students learn how to sew, paint, knit, draw and tie dye. All proceeds from the market go to the Hopkins Community Education Scholarship Fund, which supports Hopkins scholars facing financial barriers that limit access to out of school time classes and programming. Thank you very much to Tanglin Kids & Co. Llamas in Hopkins are becoming more and more frequent. Not only did

008they show up at the HEF Royal Bash back in March, but they visited Tanglin last week and made an appearance at the staff party yesterday. Seemingly, llamas are as happy to be with us as we are to be with them. And when I was at Gatewood on the last day of school, I saw how invested our teachers are in creating memorable last day experiences for our students. Students were excited at Gatewood to learn that an ice cream truck was going to make an appearance after lunch. So first graders spent their literacy block reading the ice cream menu so they could put in their order in advance. Students in Mr. Knoll's third grade class at Gatewood each received personalized awards for the individual superpowers they displayed throughout the school year. In addition to hardest worker and

009best handwriting, there were awards such as most grit, most eager, and biggest cheerleader. And each award was of course preceded by a class-wide drum roll. A few blocks away from... Gatewood, on the last day, Glen Lake hosted their annual fifth grade graduation featuring student speakers just like we do for high school commencement and their principal who had several costume changes between his speaking parts. The weather was very cooperative and students really enjoyed having their names read out loud so they could receive their fifth grade diploma. And kids were very, very dressed up. I saw one young man in a purple suit. At North Middle School, 1,000 middle schoolers and their staff packed themselves into the gymnasium for the end-of-year staff versus student basketball game, and the atmosphere, honestly, was electric. Very competitive. I don't remember

010who won. Everybody was really great at that game of basketball, which I could not play at all, and it was truly a fun time held for all. The last day of school at West was full of festivities. Eighth graders went to Valley Fair. Sixth and seventh graders got to play on four different bouncy house types of things, including you see the human foosball on the right-hand side of the screen. And on the left there, you would think that's a student posing for a photo, but that's actually Dean of Students Kim Campbell. On May 21st, which actually coincided with our last school board meeting, the AVID program held its annual AVID senior recognition. And this is truly an amazing group of scholars and teachers and advisors. This year's AVID senior class were, as mentioned during our

011commencement speeches, collectively awarded more than $1 million in scholarships for next year. And all were accepted into four-year universities. So congratulations. AVID graduates and thank you to Ms. Heimlich, Principal Ballard, and every teacher who was recognized by an admiring student. On Wednesday, June 5, Transition Plus held its graduation ceremony. Congratulations to the 2024 graduates, Christopher Lee, Trayvon Buchanan, and Jackson Cooper. And typically, we have between 12 and 15 T-plus graduates, but due to state law extending Transition Plus from 21 to age 22, this year's class was a lot smaller. So next year's class will be a lot bigger. appreciate T plus coordinator Elena Martin and our director of specialized services Fonda Contreras and all of our incredible T plus instructors. Those teachers are truly amazing. If you have not visited transition plus, please head over.

012It's a really an incredible program. Two seniors were honored with eagle feathers at this year's American Indian education year end celebration on May 30th, thanks to Annie Pfau and Deb Endreen for coordinating. Charlie Pulse and Fiona Chinavare were gifted eagle feathers commemorating the accomplishment of graduating high school. An eagle feather is one of the highest honors one can receive in Native American culture and is considered a sacred gift. The two graduating scholars were also honored with a blanket ceremony, a tradition that is meant to ensure safe travels. Charlie designed our current American Indian District logo as well as check it out on the bottom left hand side of this screen. He designed the cover for the commencement program for this year's Hopkins High School and Virtual EDU graduation ceremony. In the fall, Charlie plans to

013continue graphic design studies at the U of M Twin Cities, and Fiona plans to attend the U of M Minnesota Morris, where she has an academics and sports scholarship for soccer. And of course, Hopkins Public Schools, Hopkins High School, and Virtual EDU awarded 430 high school diplomas to the graduating class of 2024. Our entire school board was in attendance, as were our Hopkins High School and Virtual EDU administrative teams. This class included 179 graduating with honors, 24 receiving the bilingual seal from the state of Minnesota, and two National Merit Scholars. And I want to thank our commencement organizer, Dr. Michelle Kuhl, our high school academic counseling team, Hopkins High School virtual EDU admin, buildings and grounds, communications and marketing, clerical staff, teachers. There's so many people who work together to put together the commencement, and

014honestly, it was... I thought it was flawless, actually. So go on to our website and check out the whole one hour and 45 minute experience. It was under two hours, right? And then in closing, I also want us to wish safe travels to a group of approximately 40 Chinese immersion students along with eight staff chaperones who are leaving for a two-week trip to China on Thursday. They will fly into Hong Kong, then to Zuni and Chengdu before a final stop in Beijing. We wish them safe and learning-filled travels. And that's the end of my report. Thank you. Thank you to Dr. Mary Perry-Reed. Any comments or questions? Well, I just wanted to say I loved seeing that slide of graduation. It is my favorite time to see all that hard work coming together. And yeah,

015it's just wonderful to see each student cross the stage in completion of their time at Hopkins. So thank you for that. Chair Andreessen, I would also like to add to that. It is such a wonderful feeling just seeing all the little kids who've graduated from fifth grade. you know, just feeling their spirit, just they're so happy to just be learning and just being in the district. It was a really, really great day at the graduation and then just going to different, like even parks around the community, just kids celebrating the last day of school. So I'm just really honored to know that we have kids in this district who are just like ecstatic to be here and also to be on summer break now. Yeah. Thank you so that will take us to the approval

016of tonight's agenda and as we discussed in our workshop I would look for a motion to add a Let an item to our new business to go first in our new business on a update on safety and security so that for information purposes only, no discussion. So moved. Do I have a second? Second. And any discussion? Chair and Jason, I have one question. So if we add that... Is there any opportunity to reopen public comment for an item on that's actually on the agenda? Unfortunately, we cannot change a publicly posted open agenda public comment. We have to follow what is posted to the public. So we can't add another public comment. part onto our publicly posted agenda. So everyone will have to wait until the end. Okay, so just so I'm clear, we can add

017an agenda item as we're doing, well, if we vote for it, but we can't add another public comment. Correct, because it's posted. If we want clarification, that is my understanding. We can ask Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot. But that is my understanding. Any other discussion? Nick, do you know the answer to Clerk Thompson's request by any chance? For those of you who are in our audience, Dr. Lightfoot is our policy wonk and can usually find answers to questions that we need or I don't have. Were you able to hear the question? I think so. Okay. Sometimes the answers aren't always clear and or easy. But what at least I understand right now and what I was looking at is policy that the board has on agendas. And specifically in reference, what we were looking at is 203.5.

018To Director Thompson's question, the question really was looking at the specifics of could you add an item. I think part of the question is, is an open agenda an item? I don't know necessarily if we have that specific definition in policy. What I think the board could do or could look at is if an item is added specifically in that, there could also be a motion or a part of that motion to consider that. In addition, you already have, as mentioned, publicly posted time, which is dedicated. So in looking at that, it may be up to the board and the board's conversation of what it looks at and its own design of whatever motion may be and accepting if the item is approved, it may be a condition of that motion that as such, you

019would add an open agenda component. Those items may be part and full discussion for the board. Thank you, Dr. Lightfoot. So if we were to add an open agenda component to the new business item, would it just be restricted to comments having to do with school safety? And if somebody did not specifically write school safety on their public comment card, I think it could be challenging to try to determine who we are including in that public comment period. That would be like it's getting very convoluted at this point. Mm-hmm any other thoughts comments I Mean, I think since we're adding in the point of the first public comment is to comment on stuff That's on the agenda. You know, I'd appreciate the opportunity here from the community in that open forum Along with this item

020I really do think that the intent of having a public comment for items on the agenda prior to the meeting being conducted is on things in which the board is actually voting. We want to hear from our community so that we are more informed when making decisions and acting on something on behalf of the district. I therefore feel like adding an additional public comment that may be iffy on if it's appropriate to do to begin with. just doesn't rise to the level of of Being of value to the board to have it before we hear information I just don't feel that that For me personally rises to the level of needing to know Because we're not voting on anything Because if we do vote to approve this new agenda item, it's an information only item

021and we're not voting I agree with you chair Andreessen Any further discussion? Seeing none, I would look for a vote to add the topic in new business of school safety to the agenda. All those in favor? Aye. Chair votes aye and motion passes. So under new business, we will add school safety. That takes us to the consent calendar. I would look for a motion to approve. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Chair Andreessen? Yes. Clerk Thompson? I'd like to pull two items from the consent calendar, those being item E and item G. Okay. We will go ahead and pull item E, which is business services allowable purchases. So we need a motion before they can be pulled from consent. We need

022to vote to pull those from consent. I do have one comment I could make in regard to that line E specifically. Okay. I think we need to, according to our policies, I believe. We do not need to, oh, maybe we need to have a second. I thought it was just one board member. I thought, I think so too. Can pull them from consent. So I'm looking at the description under consent. If the board deems an item to be necessary for additional discussion, a motion will be made to move the item to new business. So I believe that items can be removed from consent. Then the consent agenda is passed without those items, and then those items are immediately considered by the board to pass for consent. Is that correct, Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot? You should just

023stay at the table. That's how we've done it in the past. Yeah. Sorry, you didn't ask me. Immediately consider after. Where are you reading that from? Under consent calendar purpose, if the board deems an item to be necessary for additional discussion, a motion will be made to move the item to new business. I think that that would happen if we deem it necessary to move. Sure under two or three points at your consent agenda policy under consent agendas Items shall be removed from the consent agenda by a timely request A request is timely if made prior to the vote The request does not require a second or a vote an item removed from consent agenda will then be discussed and acted on separately Immediately following the consideration of the consent agenda so you can move

024accordingly Okay, so the motion is only required if we are moving it to new business. Correct. All right. My apologies. That's okay. All right. So those two light items, the first being E, business services allowable purchases, and the second item, G, safety and security upgrade. have been pulled from the consent calendar by Clerk Thompson. We will now vote. I would look for a motion to approve the remaining items on the consent calendar. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed? Seeing none the motion passes and we will immediately move to consideration of business services allowable purchases and safety and security upgrade I have a motion I'm not quite sure where we go from there.

025I think just discussion So my question on E, the enabling resolution, I don't know if we'll need Director Chapenduka up here. He's coming. Okay. It just seems a bit vague to me, and I understand that, you know, we have this period where the school board won't be meeting, and it's a busy time for the business services office. So what exactly are we saying here? We're enabling something, which I would assume purchases without. Board immediate approval and so can you remind me the threshold dollar amount that the board has to approve and are we waving that threshold for this time period or What are we doing here? Thank you for that director Thompson. We are we are not waiving anything and this has been Practical standard for the district. I don't know since when that when

026board takes break in June Because we have to continue Providing the necessary services for the district. So there's no particular threshold What that means is when the board resumes in August September they will come and look at all the check register. And our check register doesn't have a certain threshold. Any dollar amount we are spending for the district is to go through board approval. So what is being suspended is that we don't have to wait until the board comes back in September to provide services for our community. Okay. Thank you for that explanation. I think I'm good with that then. Sure. And that's kind of been the practice for the district. I don't know for how long, but that's what the board does when they go on break in June. They definitely allow, I mean,

027it says business services, but this is district-wide expenditures for summer programs and any programs the district is running during the school break and the board break. And so enabling resolution. means continue on. Correct. We're giving the approval when we approve this. Yeah, but you still, when you come back, we'll give you all the expenditures from this day to when the board resumes. Okay. All right. I appreciate that. Did anybody else have questions on that one? Chair Andreessen, just a clarification. Functionally, that's done through the approval of the Treasurer's Report. So basically what we're saying is we're not meeting during the summer. And so then when we come back in September, we're just going to have a big Treasurer's Report to approve, right? I guess I'm just, I'm sorry, Chair Andreessen, if I may, just one

028more. I'm just curious, like, you know, we go two, three weeks between meetings. in our normal course of the year. And so I don't know, I just don't get why it's different for two months and we need this. Well, it's been the both practice. So obviously two, three weeks and then three months or two, three months. What it just means is you're going to have more volume to go through when you guys come back here. But the practices are the same. The report will be the same with the same transactions based on whatever programs are going on in the district during that break. Making it clear to our public. Any other questions, discussion around this topic? I would look for guidance as to do we need to approve these individually or can we do them

029together? Should we move on to the next one? What is your preference, Clerk Thompson? Slate it. I'm sorry, what? We could just slate them together. Okay. So moving on, safety and security upgrade. Did you have specific questions? Yeah, thanks. And Director Chapman-Dukah, I think you'd probably be able to answer these too. So what we're saying here is we're approving the purchase of some surveillance technology, probably plus some software too. Is that correct? And it looks like the amount is over $700,000 for these. Correct. Over five years. Over five years. Correct. Okay. And does that come from? What revenue stream does that come from the like buildings and facilities or something else? No, this is actually Budgeted for within our general fund there are some components which are tied to Facilities where we can use some

030of our LTFM dollars And then some dollars may be tied to technologies and we can use our capital projects lady So it's a combination of revenue stream depending with what projects we are working on. Again, this is work which has been done over a long time in terms of upgrading our technologies with cameras and the infrastructure. and based off of that some of the elements are tied to facilities then we leverage our long-term facility maintenance or if we go for a referendum our referendum bond some of the items are attached to actual technology infrastructure then we leverage our capital projects levy for those okay all right that's helpful and then yeah my other question was going to be how many bids were received, but I see that in the right up here that met with

031five and then identified two that could provide it. So I appreciate the level of detail there. Thank you. That was it for my questions. I appreciate it. Yeah, and just to add some more context, we also leverage the state contract. The state is in contract with these vendors where they've already negotiated the pricing, so we leverage that contract to come to a reasonable price. Great. I appreciate that color, too. Did anyone else have comments or questions? Yeah, chair Andreessen. Yes, I think then just since we are talking about it There is a document attached or if the community is wondering about additional context it goes all the way back to a district-wide security assessment that was performed in 2018 and so this is an enactment of one of those and so in addition to Software

032and cameras that also mentions the implementation of vape detection systems to be employed at our high school and at Hopkins East. And I think that was the end of my comment. Thank you, Treasurer Hartland. So I would now look for a motion to approve the two-polled agenda. Consent calendar items e business services allowable purchases and G safety and security upgrade so moved I have a motion and a second all Oh any discussion seeing None all those in favor Any opposed The two items pass and we get to move on to our treasurer's report. Director, Treasurer Hartland. Wonderful thank you. Good evening everyone and out of deference both to an extended agenda item and the fact that we touched briefly on that enabling action that was originally in our consent calendar already. That was kind of

033the contextual piece I was going to talk about today to talk about that. Not only have we heard board table about specific summer teaching and learning activities that are going to happen across the district, but then additionally some. other activities that may or not be obvious are repairs, upgrades, hiring, professional development, planning, and the accrual of new needed learning supplies. So that enabling resolution allowed our district to spend money more specifically in that financial period from June 4th to September 4th. And then I was going to state that we will review the check register in a somewhat of a doozy of a treasurer's report when we come back in August or September. To go on to our specific expenditures, this period was a three-week period, and we had a larger-than-normal sum for district expenditures given

034in a single year, but it matches very squarely with expenditures of $2 million in this exact meeting's counterpart one year ago. And the reason for that is primarily not only are there some additional activities that do... incur additional costs but also there's a push at the district level and then also from our vendors to square all receipts and invoices that happened during this school year and so for example About $28,000 was spent on coaches, umpires, refs, tournament entry fees for activities that happened both immediately for our spring activities and also some that concluded their seasons earlier in the year. Some of the activities that were on this report are golf, track, baseball, soccer, wrestling, adapted bowling, swim and dive, gymnastics, lacrosse, and many more. We paid $700 to the International Baccalaureate Organization to pay for

035some assessments assistance. We paid $15,406 for staff tuition reimbursement as an employee benefit in accordance with the district's contract with HEA, which is the Teachers Union. Almost half of this period's expenses, or $1.055 million, were spent just on transportation, both for our regular service and for special trips, either pertaining to activities or for students with special routes and other special needs. Transportation is always a large expenditure for us, and something that I will do over the summer is look into getting total transportation spends for this year, and we'll report on that when we meet again. We paid $22,629 to support Good Shepherd and $8,592 to support Breck, both of which are private schools within our district boundaries, and we are therefore mandated by state law to provide certain supports and financial, specifically financial support in

036this case, to those schools. $18,411 were spent on irrigation, turf, and landscaping for spring at our various sites. We paid North Hennepin Technical College $6,031 to cover PSEO tuition and fees for high school students to take college classes. We paid $2,457 to water specialists of Minnesota for pool repairs. $162,445 was spent with our Oracle ERP implementation partners. And for context, the board specifically approved this larger project and its dollar amount at the table in a special meeting about one year ago. In order to celebrate the seniors in some of the ways that we saw in the superintendent's report, we paid $14,516 to Jostens and one other company for the gowns, the diploma covers, tassels, flowers, even the streamers for graduation. We also spent $13,886 to the Fillmore to rent their space for prom 2024. And

037as you might imagine, there is an enormous amount of paperwork that our special ed department is responsible for filling out and filing. And to that end, we contracted with SPED Forms LLC for approximately $18,300. And then an additional large expense on this report was $178,149.18 spent with Peterson Roofing to finish the extensive roofing project that took place this year at Meadowbrook. So with that, I move that we approve total disbursements in the amount of $2,399,616.29 for the period of May 16th to June 4th, 2024. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Yeah, Chair Andreessen, I think Treasurer Hartland meant June 5th per the Treasurer's report versus June 4th. I apologize. I think I took June 4th off of our enabling agreement. So thank you very much for that correction. Yes, May 16th,

0382024 through June 5th, 2024. Thank you. Thank you. With that correction, any other discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? See there are No opposed the treasurer's report is passed. Thank you for that Detailed report treasurer Heartland now we will move on to our new New business section and we have added a Item which is safety and security and since This is a last minute addition. I will turn it over to Superintendent Dr. Mary Perry-Reed for you to perhaps frame the conversation a little bit and open it up for board member questions. Thank you, Chair Andresen. Natalia. There are two slides that you can show I think they're 14 and 15 we can start with 14 Okay, so earlier during my superintendent Board report I mentioned that as a community and

039as adults in our community we really have to equip ourselves with simultaneously holding and recognizing all of the wonderful things that happen in our schools every single day while also acknowledging challenges and events that do interfere with high quality teaching and learning and interfere with students feeling safe while at school. I feel terrible that one of our transgender students was severely injured. I want to acknowledge that members of our high school student body have been impacted by what is a layered and complex scenario related to this incident. Even before this incident, we had a pretty large... group fight I guess you could call it with some of our students and it was video recorded and lots of students and staff and parents saw that video and so when things like this happen when students are

040not unable to meet our expectations and if they are injured in the process then it really is an interruption it's a disruption to what we're really all working hard to accomplish for our students and for their futures And we can't comment specifically about this most recent incident because as members of our board have shared, minors are involved. We don't share private information about our minors. And we have hired an independent investigator to look carefully at this latest incident involving... harm being caused to one of our transgender students and also to look carefully at the antecedents to the incident. We have since that time received many emails and voicemails and reach outs from students, from parents, from staff, other community members, even community members who do not have children in our schools expressing concern around student

041safety, in particular at the high school. And it's really important for our community to understand all of the work that has been done to create safe and secure conditions for our students. We pride ourself on creating conditions of belonging where each student can show up as their true authentic self. We pride ourselves on frequently meeting and addressing the holistic safety of our students. And really, when we use that term holistic, we mean safety that includes physical, psychological, social, behavioral safety of our students. So really a well-rounded approach to student safety. On this slide, I tried to capture for you some of the measures that we have taken. And these include, but are not limited to... gender inclusion as well as anti-racism policies and resolutions very specific support for our Hopkins schools LGBTQ plus staff affinity

042group and BIPOC staff affinity groups, support for gender and sexuality alliances in the secondary schools and some elementary schools. We also have Black Student Alliance, Jewish Student Union, and other affinity spaces and groups for our students. We fund an LGBTQ plus community liaison, which is a part-time position. We also fund an American Indian. liaison, Somali, Spanish speaking, and Hmong liaisons. We display symbols and communicate messages of inclusion in all of our schools across all of our districts. We have a district holistic safety team that meets biweekly. So that does include the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, our director of IT, our director of specialized services, our assistant director for special education, who is also an expert in mental health and crisis management, our supervisor of buildings and grounds. our communications director, our principal and special assignment,

043all led under our safety and security consultant, Chris Carr, who has extensive security and safety training and is also a parent in the district and has lots of experience working with youth. So it's important that our school community knows how frequently we meet to talk about aspects of school safety and security, and not only are we sort of talking about these things, but we use those convenings to debrief incidents that happen in our schools, especially if they arise to the level of school disruption. Every school has a school safety team and members of those teams are trained in crisis prevention intervention. We call it CPI, but that's what that acronym stands for. We provided training to our administrators and school safety teams last August. We will do it again this coming August. The state requires

04410 drills, five fire, five lockdown, and we work with our safety teams to embed. unpredictable sort of safety and security features into those drills so that students can practice what it looks like, what it sounds like to be safe if there's an element that catches them by surprise. We call these enhanced drills. We hire and support supervisory paras. These paras at the high school are called safety coaches. We have six safety coaches at our high school who focus on visibility and relationships. We also are engaging in restorative discipline practices when our students are unwilling or unable to meet behavioral expectations. There I believe some members of our community may have a misconception around what restorative practices mean when we are working in ways that are restorative with our students that is not that is that

045does not mean that it's in the absence of Discipline in the absence of holding students accountable so I'm actually saddened to share with our community that This year at our high school alone, we have suspended 102 students. You know, right? Like, some people think we're not suspending kids at all. They can just fight and be in school that day or the next day. No, no. We are suspending and we are over suspending and we need to figure out how we can work differently and more thoughtfully to infuse restorative practices in our discipline measures so that we are not over suspending and we are not disproportionately suspending our black and brown students, which does reflect what's happening nationwide. At the middle school levels, with our two middle schools, we have, as an aggregate, we have suspended

046146 students. These are high numbers, and so we need to dispel this myth that kids can do whatever they want and stay in school. No, they cannot. However, we are not in the practice of calling the police to come to our schools and arrest our students. We are in the practice of having trained administrators, paras, social workers, safety coaches, and others. work as best as they can when there are disruptions and if they are unable to do that then we will partner with law enforcement. So we really have to figure out how, what does it look like to create conditions in our schools that truly are safe. All of our students are meeting expectations and we know that we have a subset of students who are more responsive and beholden to relationships than they are

047to rules, right? We have some kids who conform, you tell them a rule, they just do it right away. Other kids, their response is very relationship-driven, and as adults, we must work together to create safe conditions in a restorative manner. We reject... actions that contribute to school to prison pipelines. We reject actions that criminalize or adultify our students. Please go to the next slide, Natalia. So some things that we're working on because it is not acceptable when we have disruptions to our school environments or we have students. who are harmed, that is absolutely unacceptable, and we can't allow it. Our students have to feel safe. So of course, we're always working on what can we do better, we're always improvement-oriented. And so here are some measures that we've talked about that we'll be focusing on

048this summer and moving forward. So we talked about and our school board recently approved the safety and security upgrade to bring our video management system and cameras to a more sophisticated standard as well as install vape detection systems in our secondary schools. Our community has asked for cameras that work. Our community has asked for very specific visitor management systems at our front and external doors and we our administrators have asked for vape detection And if there is a rumor around vaping only happening at Hopkins High School, I can assure you that is completely false. I am on a texting thread with, oh, maybe 15 to 20 other superintendents from every single district across our metropolitan area. Vaping is unfortunately... A decision that is being made and behavior that is being engaged in by students across

049our metropolitan area and we need to support them. Our high school, thanks to our principal Ballard and Dr. Tate, they are working on a chemical support. I don't know what the name of the committee is, but we're partnering with Hennepin County to try to be really thoughtful about what support looks like for students who are using and misusing chemicals. Back in the day when I was a high school principal, Hennepin and Anoka County had very robust support for students who were using marijuana, using different chemicals. that support really isn't there anymore and so we've been working hard to figure out what that can look like Secondly, we are launching an exploratory team called Restorative and Personalized Support for Secondary Students. This will look at issues around school safety. This will look at, okay, what are

050we currently doing and what do we need to do to train our adults to build quality relationships with students and also what are kind of the structures of support that... that some of our students hire in need could benefit from and what are the partner organizations that could help us with that work. We are preparing safety and security training on August 7 and 8 for those individuals in our schools who are responsible for school safety. We are working with our liaisons to provide staff with equity training, equity training that is also culturally validating. For example, we have already been scheduling opportunities to learn more about LGBTQ identities in community, Jewish identity, race and anti-racism, and I'm sure that there are more narrowly focused topics that will be on those professional learning agendas. We are increasing

051CPI, or Crisis Prevention Intervention Training, for all staff so that staff know how to deescalate conflict better yet, prevent it altogether. Something that we've talked about with our chief of police with... Minnetonka Police Department is what are the specific protocols when there is an incident that does rise to the level of school-wide disruption or is very serious is the school or the district leaders and law enforcement very clear on the protocols that each will follow so that there are no surprises and how might we communicate those protocols in advance to our community. And then, of course, we just really need to work on reducing suspension. This is work that every school in America is engaged in. How do we reduce suspensions? When kids are in school, they can learn. When they're not in school, they're

052not learning. and we have to have safe schools. So if students are engaging in unsafe practices, then we need to figure out what that restorative blended with. high accountability discipline approach looks like. So we do have a lot of work to do. One thing that we're really eager for is working with parents and our community members. We know that you may have some ideas that we haven't thought of. I do think honestly that during those two years of COVID when students were out of school for so long and really were detrimentally impacted by not being in predictable and routine-based school environments, you know, they kind of fell out of that social practice. And then we brought our students back in, and it was pretty tumultuous in our state and country schools for some time as

053we... partnered again with students to help them understand how to exist in a social space, what do pro-social behaviors look like, how do you regulate yourself, and we've talked a lot about the importance of social-emotional curriculum. Having said that, I think that because our school, we were really focusing intently on goodness. We got to partner with our students and make sure that they're meeting high expectations. And also there were some health and safety measures around not having a lot of outside visitors, including parents in our schools. We fell out of practice around what does it look like to have parents and community members and other helpful adults in our schools. working with the school officials to really create that supportive adult environment. So I think, I'm just thinking back, Principal Ballard, on I think it

054was Wednesday, we had the senior party, and I don't know how many parent volunteers we had in our schools. 50? Right. You know what, that felt really wonderful to have parents in our schools and they're able to just show up and be there for students. Our students can see all of these helpful and welcoming adults. A, our parents can have a glimpse into how complex it is to run a high school and B, our students. I think they're on better behavior when they see lots of parents in the hallways. So how do we work together to support all of our students? So I think I'm just gonna end there just because I've been talking quite a bit, but I tried to provide for you a bit about what our current state looks like, some things

055that we're really thinking about and working on. I understand that there are a handful of community members who are very... who have some specific opinions about bringing a school resource officer back into our schools. And you know what? That is something that we're not going to do without a very thoughtful community engagement effort. That is a community-wide decision, and we have to involve our students and their... their perspectives, their feelings of safety, and there's also a lot of research around, okay, what are the pros and what are the concerns around having an SRO in our high schools? So we just want to be thoughtful and methodical. Chris, if you would mind coming to the board table just in case we have some questions. And again, I do want to acknowledge that... harm has been caused

056and we have work to do and I I really thank everyone for being here this evening so that we can all Work together to take a look at this So this is Chris Carr and he we he works with us Yes, so Thank you. Thank you for that. Dr. Mary Perry read and thank you for being here. Mr. Carr. I appreciate it any comments or questions from my board colleagues Cheer and recent comic a comment. Yes. I think it's also really important to understand that a lot of the fights and things that are happening inside the high school are from things that are happening out in the community and is being brought into the schools. And so amongst multiple communities, right? Even when I was in school, like we were having the same issue. So

057I think that including in the safety plan will be to look at how we are supporting families and the kids when they're out. in the community to make sure that it doesn't continue to, you know, trickle into like our school days. I'm really happy that we have schools like Gatewood Elementary and North Junior High who are thinking about. who are transitioning to being full community schools and providing support and resources for families and for our students. And so there is a city, excuse me, a statewide effort to support with violence intervention outside of the school that I think would be really beneficial. to bring those partnerships in to get some influence from folks who are out in the community doing this on a day-to-day basis. So that would just be my comment about some of

058the fights that are happening that erupting in the high school and even in middle school. We also have to understand that social media plays a really big part in what's happening. So also looking at that policy around cell phones and our social media use would be very effective to add to the safety plan as well. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Chair Andreessen. Yes. So I'm in communication with school board members across the metro. I'm also part of a national school board cohort. And we talk a lot about school safety, about restorative practices, and how to do those in a meaningful way. That ensures accountability, right? And that ensures relationship building and creating environments that will... that are sustainable and will be safe and safer long term. And what the data shows, both qualitative

059and quantitative, is that fights are happening in schools that have SROs and that have regular police presence. And SROs can't be everywhere to interrupt fights. And so when we lean into a safety coach model, we're really investing in a model where we have people throughout the school who are able to respond to these crises and de-escalate. deescalate before they become a crisis. So I just wanted to offer that piece of context. I have two questions. The first one is around, we've been talking a lot about physical safety and the consent item that we just approved was around physical safety upgrades. I have a question around psychological safety and I think that... that was touched on in in your presentation thank you so much dr mary perry reed talking about staff development these things i'm wondering

060if you can comment on the resources available to students who are impacted by instances of violence and what that looks like particularly in our secondary schools so after something happens that's traumatic for um for specific students or group of students kind of what is available to them thank you for the question so we've worked very hard to make sure that our schools have robust staffing that can address social, emotional, and mental health support. Previously in a board meeting, we provided a presentation on all of the mental health supports that are available in our schools. At every elementary school, we have a therapist that is provided by St. David's. We have a counselor, one counselor in each of our elementaries. We have six counselors at our high school. two to three counselors at our middle schools.

061We have social workers at our schools. We have therapists in our secondary schools. We also have all of these individuals who are working together so that there isn't unintended overlap of service. So for example, social workers, counselors, administrators, and others are sitting on student assistance teams. and MTSS, multi-tiered systems of support teams to identify student by student who might need support and what should that support look like and also really being in partnership with parents so that... especially at the younger ages, parents can be involved in kind of the decisions around what that support looks like. So we really do have very robust support. in our schools and um am i missing anything principal ballard or um chris yeah well in fact one of the trainings that we uh committed to i believe it was

062uh 2022 summer 2022 was a training called prepare which is a comprehensive uh structure for being able to do different types of crisis response and we in particular brought in uh trainers to inform leadership and then being able to implement across and really infuse it through our ICS or incident command structure. So part of what that does training wise. is it establishes a role of a mental health officer within the incident command structure. So you will have somebody who is kind of the incident commander, the person who's the point person. You'll have people who are handling things like communications or operations or a particular first responder liaison. Those are standard roles within incident command structure. this training allowed us to do was also incorporate a role that was not in your standard practice of the

063mental health officer and that is somebody who obviously within our structures who comes from a social work mental health background who is able to make sure that that element of mental health recovery, being able to address those and take those things into consideration that that person is specifically tasked with that role within the incident command from the moment that an incident takes place all the way through the recovery process. And so that's a piece that exists and is part of what we, in fact, as we have dealt with different incidents and been able to kind of manage and triage and work through them. that role has been adopted and has been utilized in several different situations. And so alongside with that training and the implementation of that role, I think that's something that is unique

064to other settings where I have seen ICS implemented that we're actually taking that role and building it into the crisis response. I forgot a couple of important partnerships that we have. We partner with My Health at our secondary schools. Our high school also has a partnership with the Santa Foundation who provides, I think, one or two full-time coaches that work with. two coaches who each work with a caseload of up to 25 students who need extra or personalized support. The high school has a mental wellness and academic support specialist who is a licensed school psychologist and this individual facilitates restorative work in partnership with principals and social workers. At West Middle School, we have an organization called Change Equals Opportunity, which employs three highly trained individuals who sort of serve as pseudo paraprofessionals in our

065hallways, and these humans are really masterful with our students. And unfortunately, we're trying to figure out how we can fund having them at our school again next year. So that there's significant support. Chair Andreessen. Yes. May I ask a directly relevant follow-up question? Is it possible that we work to potentially put those out front and center or directly communicate them to all of our, I know it's been touched on in some emails related to the incident that happened and I think that's useful for our community. Sure, we can work on that. Director Westmoreland, were you done with your questions or did you have any follow-up? I am. No, I'm good. Thank you. Thank you. Chair Andreessen. Clerk Thompson. Well, thanks, Dr. Mary P. Reed, for that presentation. I think that was important to get out,

066so I certainly appreciate that. I think I had a comment and then maybe a couple questions. First, you had mentioned that the high school student body has been impacted. I just think it's important to recognize that it's more than just the high school. that there are eighth graders who are nervous about moving to the high school next year. The high school is a campus of North Mill School, Tanglin, right? So it's broader than just the impact to the high school students. I just think that's important to recognize that. Thank you for saying that. You're correct. Thanks. And then... I had a question. When you mentioned that the community probably has ideas that we haven't thought of, and I love Director Roper's point about social media and cell phones and what can we look at there.

067That's that type of thing. What type of forum would you envision over the summer to foster, facilitate that type of community engagement? Thank you for the question, Clerk Thompson. So a couple things. Actually, in addition to the 57 new legislative mandates that came out of last year's legislative session, I'm sorry, I wasn't kidding. That was actually the right number. I believe that a newly passed law was to have... districts articulate their cell phone policy by March of 2025. So... It does come at a good time, and I think that we can put together maybe a series of conversations where staff and parents can work together on, okay, especially at the middle school, and then does it pertain to the high school, and if so, what might those cell phone policies and expectations look like? And

068then more specifically to... school safety I mentioned earlier that we are launching six exploratory teams And we've invited staff to self-select an exploratory team that they feel passionate about. And we also included an invitation in all of our principal school newsletters to invite parents to those exploratory teams. And there's a Google form in there if parents would like to join one. So what I think is that we've created a structure, a mechanism, where students... staff parents other community members can work together and maybe meet seven or eight times to to look at current state of school safety and security and To put together a plan for moving forward Either supporting, you know some of the the components that are currently in place and informed by our current thinking, or maybe there might be some additional

069components. But I think these could be in person or virtual engagement sessions and. Really an open invitation for for people to join in is that what you're asking? Yeah, definitely could I just ask that? that invitation to join those and and news about those and how to Join those be communicated once more to the parents in the district. Yes I think they're in all the principals newsletters, but we will take a double check at that. Is that what you're looking for? Sure. Yeah, great Sometimes we get a lot of emails, so I don't know if I saw it, but again, it would be nice. Okay. You could send a separate email, but that would be another email, so I'll make sure that at a minimum they're in the newsletters. What we have heard, so our

070communications and marketing team has studied how parents like to get their information, and they do pay attention to principals' newsletters. That is a good venue. We could also send out a separate message, but we don't want to communicate people or confuse people. Any other questions? Chair and treason? Yes. Yes. Hi, Dr. Mayor Perry. Thank you for sharing all the things that we do. It's a constellation of activities. I think around the independent report or the independent investigation, I think is a very critical step. I think it shows that the district is serious about what happened, right? I think, you know, it's a very important kind of restorative step. And I know there's a lot of... privacy and legal and and you know constraints on it so i definitely appreciate that but i think it might

071be good to um you know just be as transparent as we can uh when that does come out that you know maybe we inform the board like high level you know of the things that happened you know whatever you can share eventually i think it would be in the best interest of you know starting to heal the community uh if we were to communicate what we can thank you director chow um i really appreciate that that ask and just to manage everyone's expectations. We are working with legal counsel and we have been working and will continue to work with legal counsel on what we can share and what we can't share. And so we'll just pay attention specifically to the findings of the report and try to delineate between those two things. Thank you. Thank

072you. Is there a way or is there like somehow that folks from the community and school can like support both students? So is there like a, I know there's like a GoFundMe. I don't know if there's a GoFundMe for the... The student who was injured, I thought I saw something around that, but are there any resources that we, community, can provide to the students involved to support their journey of healing as this matter is being investigated and resolved? Thank you for the question. While we are not able to disclose information about the student, I do believe we can share that. There is a I think there's a GoFundMe or there are some efforts so then You or anyone else who was interested in supporting would want to be in touch with With the family we

073would just be able to share who the family is or where to get that information but I but I know that there that that family is being supported and Would welcome continued support Thank you, I did just have one Question around this topic and I do know that we have done a lot of work in in the district around Making sure that student voice is centered in this conversation, and I'm just wanting to have some You know contextualize around the feedback we got from students, but also knowing, I don't know if I, as a board member, have gotten any additional information around this topic from students. I know that there was students involved in a capstone project that informed our holistic safety team. Is this work continuing? How can we as a district be more

074intentional about centering student voice in this topic? Because I know personally as an adult in the space, I learned a lot from listening to our students. Stuff that I never would have thought of that makes them feel more safe at school. So just wondering how are we... in this moment, continuing to center their voice and to be intentional about getting feedback from them and enacting what they recommend. It's a really good question. We have not invited our middle school or high schoolers to participate in the exploratory teams, but we could think about what... a broad invitation might look like to our student body. We could also think about what it might look like to tap or recruit some students that we know just like to be actively involved and maybe they can spread the word

075on their social channels. So yes, I think it is important to include student voice and perspectives and we should figure out how to do that. Great, thank you. I can say that we did over the course of kind of reviewing the last couple years worth of assessment and making sure that our work related to the risk assessment that took place in 2018 and meeting with leadership within the schools. I did have a chance to sit down and meet with last year with the student council president, I believe within a couple of the student leadership groups. to kind of get some of their feedback within our process as we were assessing things. And I will say that last school year, unfortunately we weren't able to implement it for a number of reasons this year, but last

076school year around culture night, there was a group of students that were brought together through Associate Principal Farley who were able to kind of take on a role of mostly just managing crowd management or also providing some degree of community based engagement around security related issues, but we're not necessarily expected to, you know, be in any enforcement role was more around relationship, making sure hey, if some people are where they're not supposed to be in the high school during that time to kind of help help redirect people and the students themselves actually, I think had a really positive experience with it. I know they had a real significant impact in how they were kind of sent out and helping with that. making that culture night a particularly successful event so i i think there's a

077lot of more opportunity within that i'd love to explore even more into where there can be student empowerment in these roles and kind of helping navigate and create the culture that they want when it comes to safety and security and so i'm excited for where that can get can go thank you i'm excited to hear about that kind of direct action on on behalf of students, thanks. Chair Andreessen, I neglected to mention that one other effort involving our students were a couple of opportunities this year to have students meet with our local police department regarding what a partnership. might look like moving forward. We do have a strong partnership now, but students are really interested in continuing those conversations and planning and those latest opportunities involved about six police officers, including one of the captains

078with Minnetonka PD. So that's another important feature of ensuring that students are playing a role in the what the partnerships and school-wide efforts look like moving forward. Thank you. Chair Andreessen? Yes, Treasurer Hartland. I wanted to take a quick moment to extend thanks to the community and thanks to everyone who spoke here tonight because obviously these times are very trying and they were upsetting to members of our community. only ways that we can really honor that is by to use some of our vision 2031 language just to really activate bold change and to examine how we are living that vision and so i am grateful that you had um that update that you did for us i think that we really needed it thank you thank you for being here and for answering our questions

079thank you chris really appreciate it That takes us to our next agenda item, which is the final fiscal year 25 budget approval with Director Chapinduka. And I will turn it over to Dr. Mary Perry-Reed. Thank you, Chair Andreessen, and welcome again to the board table, Director Chapinduka. So as... Clerk Thompson mentioned earlier while we can always get better at transparency we have put significant effort into providing budget transparency this year and also trying to be as proactive as possible so that we're not Packing a lot of analysis and decisions into the spring season so our budget transformation sessions started in the fall we literally met weekly with principals assistant principals cabinet leaders and other district department leaders we had three board members and director Chapman duca Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot and myself meet with the Citizens

080Financial Advisory Committee quite a few times in the fall into early winter to look at enrollment to To look at instructional and operational priorities and to put together some recommendations for budget parameters for our school boards review those were approved and then it came time for district and school leaders to unpack our budgets and to make some decisions within the fiscal parameters that We received from the state so on April 23 the board approved the 23-24 revised budget and fiscal year 25 preliminary budget on May 21st. the board reviewed fiscal year 25 budget in first read and tonight we're in the final read and of course our recommendation is that the board adopt fiscal year 25 final budget following our presentation so I'll just turn it over to director of business services Truro Chapenduka to

081Ensure that our board and community members are caught up with where we're at in terms of the district budget Thank you, Dr. Merepe Reed. Good evening, Chair Anderson. Good evening, board members and the community. The information I'm going to share here is not new to the board. It might be new to some community members, but this is the same information we presented in the last two sessions, being on April 23rd when we brought to the board the preliminary. budget for fiscal year 25 and then on May the 21st when we also brought this information. As mentioned earlier on by the superintendent, the solidification of the budget really started with the recommendations by the citizen financial advisory committee to the board on if i'm not mistaken february 21 where they came with some recommendations and we've

082used those recommendations to to develop the what we feel is a budget which will address some of the challenges and the needs for fiscal year 25 as we've been going through this process and it has been a challenge because our revenues are not really aligned with our expenditures. So we had to make some cuts, some tough cuts, which has some impacts to our community. And we also had to leverage some of our savings in terms of fund balance to be able to develop a structurally balanced budget. Natalia, can you go to the next one? So what I'll do is I'll probably just go through again for committee members who probably have not been following with our budget in the last couple months in terms of what was recommended by the CIFAR group. Just knowing that

083we... receive funding, majority of it from the state, and that funding is usually kept so when the The state's legislature went through and allocated funding in fiscal year 22, 23, 23, 24, and 24, 25. They allocated 2% increase to their basic allowance for fiscal year 24, 25. And we also factored in a 2% for fiscal year 26. If things change, we'll... definitely come back to the board and make some adjustments. We also affected in enrollment projections at FLAT. And this is what we've seen since, you know, since the pandemic. We have had some traction in terms of trying to track and identify where the trends are. But what we are seeing right now is that our projections are flat going into the next few years. We effected in a 5% annual increase for total salaries

084and wages, and this is based on some of the negotiations with our bargaining groups. So a 5% increase to cost of living adjustment and a 2% increase to revenue leaves a gap. And that's the cap we have been trying to close and start to think about what this will look like going into the future from a sustainability standpoint. We kept our fringe benefits, flooded 42% of the salaries and wages. We factored in a 5% consumer price index inflationary increase on purchase services, utilities, transportation and supplies. We also factored in the fact that we had a health fund balance which we could leverage to actually close some of the budget gaps. So those are some of the elements we did apply when it comes to building our budget. Can you go to the next slide? The

085next slide is just a synopsis of enrollment. As you know, enrollment drives revenue coming in. So the more students we have, the more revenue we get based on state formulas and other federal funding formulas. There are other components around application of benefits, but they're all tied to enrollment. And as you can see from that, Enrollment is projected to be flat in the next couple of years. We are trying by all means working with our marketing team to attract more students or retain more students within the district. But at this point in time from a planning standpoint, we are projecting revenues to be flat. Can you go to the next screen? The next screen is just a graph which shows how trends in formula allowance have been lagging and impacting how we structure our budgets and

086balance them. And that graph trains how funding has been channeled into school districts from around 2003 to 2025. Currently going into 2025 when we factor in a 2% increase, we are anticipating the pupil funding to be $7,281. But if we factor in inflationary components and compounding them over time, we should have been receiving about $8,637. So we have a leg of about $1,356. or 18.6%. behind in terms of resources coming in. In dollar terms, that can be about nine to ten million dollars. That's a lot of support and teachers we could be hiring. But that's where we are. That has kind of been impactful. And then you factor in the increases in cost of living adjustments. You can just see how challenging it can be to be able to sustain operations. Can you go to

087the next slide? So the next slide, I just wanted to kind of create the story around when we actually using our current structure in fiscal year 23-24, when we started modeling and building the budget into next year. We ended up projecting expenditures of $129,570,914. And our projected general fund revenue based on enrollment and other factors was sitting at $125,070,914, which left us with about $4.5 million to cut so that our budget is structurally balanced between our revenue and expenditures. So we did that work. We went back to the drawing board, working with leadership. looked for efficiencies, ended up having to cut $4.5 million, which did have some impacts in our programs, in staffing, and structurally balanced every penny. Once we did that, we found out that there was a gap. And one of the recommendations

088the board gave to leadership was we should minimize the impact of class size adult to student ratios in our system. So we knew that $125 million would not definitely be able to help the district in terms of minimizing that impact. There were going to be some impact which would have led to increased in class sizes. So what we did is we leveraged some of our fund balance dollars to be able to help in mitigating some of the challenges around class size. Can you go to the next slide, Natalia? So we moved $3 million from fund balance and channeled the three million dollars to our buildings based on enrollment to be able to help them in mitigating some of the some of the challenges so that 125 million dollars in the additional three and three million

089dollars ended up projecting our expenditures to 128 million seventy thousand nine hundred and fourteen dollars So that's how we balance the budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. We know it's not sustainable to continue going into fund balance. So starting at the beginning of the next fiscal year, we'll be going back to the drawing board to identify some of the efficiencies. We may have to... look into deeper so that we don't end up going into dipping into our fund balance which is not sustainable and not in the best interest of the district and our community can you go to the next slide So the next slide shows a pie chart of just some of our general fund revenue components. State formula comes with so many different variations in terms of how the district get funding. Some of

090it is formula based. Some of it is based on our free and reduced lunches. But the majority of the revenue is coming based on predetermined formulas which are either tied to state aid or tied to property taxes. And that breakdown just shows the different elements of our revenue, which makes up that $128,070,914 if we factor in the additional $3 million in fund balance transfer. Can you go to the next slide? The next slide is the breakdown in expenditures. As you know, about 80 to 82% of the district expenditures are human capital. So we spend the majority of our resources in funding positions, both licensed and non-licensed, and the remainder is for... you know support needs in our system so about 56 percent of our expenditures are salaries and wages which translate to about 71.7 million

091dollars about 24 percent benefits which is about 30 million dollars about 14.8 percent purchase services which is about 18.9 million dollars and once we say purchase services so when we look at support services like transportation those four under purchase services some of the elements around facilities maintenance covered by general fund falls within those purchase services. About 2.9 to 3% is supplies, which translate to about $3.7 million. 1.5% or $1.9 million is capital expenditures. 1.3% or $1.6 million is other expenditures, miscellaneous or some of the travel allowances for staff. So that's the breakdown in terms of our expenditures for the general fund. Can you go to the next slide? So when we start to break down all these expenditures, figuring how much of the total $128 million directly supports our buildings, programs, building operations, about 58%

092of the total allocation of $73.7 million is direct allocations into... buildings either through predictable staffing model or other models tied to applications for benefits. About 37% or $47.9 million is just wide allocation. So we have certain operation needs which are budgeted at central level but directly. feeding into our buildings. So transportation is one of them, our custodians, our utilities, some of our special education, special services allocations. They are budgeted at central level but feeding into our buildings. Then about 5% or $6.4 million. is department allocation. So we have departments like Human Resources, which support recruiting and retention, business office, accounts payable, our payroll, our accounts receivable, our grant management, and we have governance and management. All those fall within the centralized department allocation. So 58% direct allocations to schools. 37% district-wide allocations and 5% department

093allocations. So that's what I have for the general fund. The next slide is the budget tied to our proprietary funds, which is our food service fund. So for food service, the majority of revenue for food services is actually generated from... the breakfast and lunches and some of the alaqat menu items we provide for our students starting in fiscal year 23-24 and going into 24-25 the district participates in universal meals where the state reinvestes 100 percent of our breakfast and first meal for free and reduced for free for all students as a matter of fact and then if students want additional meals you know they have to pay an extra fee so for food services we are anticipating a revenue of four million two hundred fifty nine thousand seven hundred fifty six dollars and uh uh

094expenditures of four million three hundred ninety three thousand eight hundred and eighty one dollars so uh we are and is putting a deficit of about $134,000 which will be covered through fund balance within that fund. We are also working on some other modalities in terms of increasing participation which we anticipate might close that gap but will bring more information when we do the revised budget. The next slide is our community education. Again, community education is a proprietary fund which is funded through fees and other community engagement earnings we receive. So for community education, we are actually projecting a revenue. of $12,355,131 and expenditures of $12,355,131 which present a structurally balanced budget. The next slide actually just aggregates all the different funds which we are budgeting for. The ones I have mentioned between general fund, food

095services and community aid. We also have our debt service fund which pays for principal interest for end of the bonds. We sell for maintaining our facilities as well as our construction and capital projects. So total combined for all funds is $170,114,073. And combined for expenditures is $170,248,198. And the difference between the revenue and expenditure is... that deficit in food services. With that, I will take any questions from the board. Thank you. Any questions or comments from my board colleagues? Yes, Chair Anderson? Yes. Treasurer Heartland. Thank you so much. Just to clarify, when you said as soon as the next fiscal year starts, you'll begin identifying efficiencies for fiscal year 26, and that's July 1st, right? That's a couple weeks ago. So you're barely going to put this behind you and take a deep breath, and

096then you'll begin identifying those as a team, of course. Correct, yeah. I think just where we are, we need to jump on this as soon as possible. And I know the superintendent has been sharing some information with how we were trying to engage with the community, creating some focus groups on some of the items we have identified, which may need to be re-looked at and see how we can create efficiencies. Good example being transportation, how we can consolidate some of our routes through being intentional about how we route students and how we register students who really need transportation for the system. And then we look at things like utilities on how we are efficiently managing capacities in our buildings and some of the... efficiencies we've already deployed in terms of some of the solar projects

097on our buildings. How do they create efficiencies and help in propping up our gap between revenue and expenditures? Certainly. And I think I might have seen communications in similar principle updates where there's some opportunities for the community to weigh in. Is that accurate that it is that information is out there? Correct. And I know staff too has been asked for their creative thoughts Correct. I think maybe the superintendent can help with this. Yes, we are trying to see if we can identify some of the community experts or some of the staff who may have some information around how we can maybe create some of those efficiencies, and then we'll bring this to the table and start modeling on what that might look like in terms of closing that gap. our fiscal year 26 budget. Thank

098you. Well, I thank you for that presentation. It doesn't look like there are any other questions. So I would look for a motion to approve the fiscal year 2024-2025 final budget in final read. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The fiscal year 25 budget is approved. Chair Andreessen, is that a roll call vote? Or seems pretty weighty to be a... Do not believe so. No, it's not a resolution. It's just resolutions. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. No, thank you. For being here with us this evening. Thank you, Truro. We will then move to our resolution calling for an executive session. It's proposed that we have an executive session

099called pursuant to Minnesota open meeting law to conduct the superintendent's year-end review for the 2023-24 school year. So I would look for a motion to approve the following resolution. It is hereby resolved that the School Board of Independent School District 270 Hopkins, Minnesota meet in executive session to conduct the superintendent's year-end review for the 2023-24 school year. That the meeting be held in person and commence immediately following adjournment of this regular meeting. Further, that it be noted that all board members, superintendent, and clerk were duly notified of intention to call this executive session. Do I have a motion? So moved. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, Clerk Thompson, you are on deck. Chair Andreessen. Aye. Treasurer Hartland. Aye. Director Roper. Aye. Vice Chair Ross. Aye.

100Clerk Thompson is an aye. Director Westmoreland. Aye. And Director Zhao. Aye. You have unanimous votes for aye. Thank you. So how this works is we will go into executive session immediately following the adjournment of this. board meeting. So that takes us to our board member reports. Does anyone have a board member report? Yes, we can introduce ourselves and if you have a report, please do. My name is Kai Thompson. I am a parent of three in the district from third to eighth grade. I've started my term in January. Just very brief report. Since the last meeting, I was able to tour the two schools that I am assigned to, so Meadowbrook Elementary and North Middle School. Had great tours experiences at both of those places. Director Zhao was actually able to join me at Meadowbrook.

101Saw some really great learning going on and really appreciated the principal's time. And then also appreciated being involved in the meeting with the Alice Smith community members and people from administration. I thought that was a very productive meeting as well. So that's the end of my report. Thank you. Director Roper. Yes, so my name is Brooke Roper, and I am serving my first term here on the board and kind of excited because it's like our final board, so I survived a year, I would say. I do have two kids in the district, five and seven, and kind of following Clerk Thompson, I was able to make my way to the high school this year and just... on several different occasions and was able to see everything in action and was really impressed with how the

102students and all the plays and wonderful events that have taken place there was really compelling to see. And been to Gatewood, my other side of the school, several times throughout the year and just continue to be amazed with their outdoor program, the goats, the chickens, and just seeing how the kids are coming home with Muddy shoes, so if any parents are planning to send their kid to Gatewood for the first time, do not buy them a whole bunch of expensive shoes because they will come home muddy. Just saying, learned my lesson. So yes, so that's my board member report and it has just been a wonderful experience connecting and learning all things Hopkins. So thank you for being with me and all of my learning experiences this year. Good evening. I am Rachel Heartland and

103use she, her pronouns. I am the treasurer of this board and I am finishing approximately month six in that role. I am just wrapping up my third school year as part of the board. I live in Minnetonka and I have three children who just finished the eighth, sixth, and fourth grades at North Middle School and Meadowbrook Elementary. And that means that I, too, next year will have iSchooler. As far as a board report goes, I think I have been involved in several parent meetings, including one at Alice Smith. I attended graduation. I attended the staff celebration that Dr. Mary Perry-Reed mentioned. I chaperoned a field trip at a park, which was pretty fantastic. And I am sure that there's an event or two that I'm missing. Good evening. I am Superintendent Mary Perry-Reed. I have

104provided my board report already, but I will say that I've been in my role for seven years. I do have two children in our system, one who just finished sixth grade at West Middle School. One of her favorite teachers is in our audience. She has lots of favorite teachers. She's a great student, and I'm so grateful to Eisenhower Elementary, Xing Xing Academy, West Middle School for just literally years and years of fabulous service. And then I have a 10th grader at the high school. I guess he's going to be a junior. and he's had an incredible year at our high school. So I'm just very, very grateful to have my children attending schools in the system that I serve, and I've always believed that if the schools are not good enough for the children of

105the leaders who are... leading the schools, then they're not good enough for anybody's children. So I'm also grateful for all of my colleagues and board members who have children in Hopkins Public Schools. I think it says a lot and means a lot. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to go last. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Jason Ross. I have three kids in the school district, two of which have graduated from Tanglin Elementary and moving over to North. And then one is still going to be at Tanglin, who's going to be going into third grade. I'm in my third year, conclusion of the third year of my term. So I'm moving on to year four as of, I guess technically it'll be January of next year, 2025. I've had the opportunity to go

106over to Harley Hopkins and ingratiate myself with that community over there. Sarah Chauvin was gracious enough to squeeze me into her schedule multiple times to be able to meet with her, understand what Harley is looking for, and just being able to help continuously meet with the staff over there. learn more about that knowing that that's the first step for our scholars to be able to enter into whatever elementary system they're gonna go into within the Hopskin schools. Thank you. I am Jiming Zhao. I use he, him pronouns. I've got two kids in the district. They are now in fourth grade and first grade. And so at Eisenhower, they're doing some construction. So I volunteered moving some of the furniture and boxes around, helping the teachers move in. And, you know, I was recognized a few

107times and they said, wait, aren't you on the school board? And I said, you know, we. participate on tasks as assigned and principal Ness worked me very hard. So I'm a little sore today. Appreciate it. Thank you. I am Jen Westmoreland, she, her. I am in the middle of my seventh year on the Hopkins School Board. I have a student at West Middle School, and they are going into eighth grade and really enjoyed their seventh grade experience and serve as an ambassador, and they're looking forward to welcoming new students into West next year. And I am a proud graduate of Hopkins Schools. Go class of 97 because one of my fellow alums is in the room tonight and I'll leave you guessing. Thank you, Mr. Director, Westmoreland and everyone for introducing yourselves and humoring me

108in passing. I did want to... to make a comment, but first I will introduce myself. My name is Shannon Andreessen. This is my fifth year, fifth year on the school board, and I have a... recent graduate from Hopkins High School and then also a 10th grade rising junior at the high school who also has had a great year and really come into I think who he is. So I appreciate the support he's gotten there to do that. And for my board member report I would like to make a comment make a statement about kind of Well, I think a lot of us are here tonight. So as you heard, all of us on this board, including the superintendent, are parents to Hopkins scholars. Some of us are parents to LGBTQ plus children. And all of

109us believe that all scholars need to be safe at school. That is why we have multiple policies in place, including a gender inclusion policy to honor students' identities and protect them from psychological and physical harm. We know that transgender and gender expansive people are more likely to experience violence in all spaces of our society, and we continue to work hard in Hopkins to build a culture underpinned by strong policies where scholars can bring their full selves to school and be safe, and that this is one of the spaces in which that violence does not happen. So I want to thank you to all scholars and staff, including our student safety coaches who work to build an inclusive and restorative culture every day. Even with all of these measures in place, we know we have much

110more work to do and that it is our responsibility as leaders to protect all of our students. The event in the last week is being investigated by Minnetonka Police Department. Our district administration has been working with them to provide information in accordance with the law. In addition to the fact that the individuals involved in this case are minors, They are children. We do not publicly share information about minors. The fact that there is an ongoing investigation in place limits what we are able to say in our official capacity as school board members. And we will be digging deep into this topic as a district and board over the summer. The community can expect to engage on this topic further with the board and district leaders after investigations have completed and we have the information we

111need about our policies and our procedures. So thank you to all of our community members who continue to support and advocate for LGBTQ plus youth and staff in our schools. We will continue to partner with you to ensure that all our kids can show up as their full selves and thrive in our schools. And that concludes. our board member report section. So we get to move on to our public comment section. I've got a lot of stuff to read just to frame this section. There are many different ways to make public comment in Hopkins. One of them is you can send an email to the board. That email address is on our website. You can come here to the meeting tonight and make a public comment in person. You can also leave a voicemail and

112it will be played. in one of our two public comment sections. This section is for comments that are not on the agenda. And I have, I believe we have one voicemail, two voicemails, Natalia, to play this evening. And we have seven public comment cards. So looks like we will have enough time to get to every one. Each public comment section lasts for 30 minutes and we allow comments up to three minutes for each person. As outlined in the board meeting protocols on the board website, if we have more community members than 10 per comment section, the first five voicemails received will be played and the first five people who submitted public comment cards will be invited to the table. So these are the guidelines for public comment. Please keep your comments to three minutes or

113less. Public comment is for input only. Members of the school board will not respond directly to public comments that are made at this meeting. No specific action will be taken at this meeting in response to comments that are made or issues that are raised during the public comment period related to items not on the agenda. If the board determines that If the action is appropriate, the action will occur at a future board meeting. If you have left your contact information on the comment card, a district representative may follow up with you after the meeting. I will recognize one speaker at a time. Only those speakers who are recognized will be permitted to speak. Individuals who interfere with or interrupt speakers, the board, or the proceedings may be asked to leave. Personal attacks on any individual,

114including any other speaker during the public comment session, are unacceptable, as are obscenities or profanity. Persistence in making such remarks will end the individual's opportunity to address the board and may result in the individual being directed to leave. I will rule out of order any statement that would violate state or federal law, school board policy, or the privacy rights of an individual. Minnesota's open meeting law prohibits the discussion of private educational data during an open meeting. Accordingly, during the public comment session, no person may discuss private educational data on an identifiable student. The open meeting law also requires the board to close a meeting for preliminary consideration of allegations against an employee. Accordingly, community members who have concerns about an employee or want to file a complaint or allegations against an employee are encouraged to

115contact the superintendent. We ask you not to name an employee by name during your comments. Repeated violations of these time, place, and manner restrictions may also lead to the meeting being briefly recessed. Community members will have an opportunity to be heard within the limits of the law and subject to the time, place, and manner restrictions above. Thank you for bearing with me as we went through those important guidelines. And we will get started with our public comment section with our two voicemails. Hello, my name is Tim Hoffman. I am a parent of two children in Hopkins schools. I support the action requests from the caregivers of gender expansive and LGBTQ plus students in Hopkins. The assault of a trans girl at Hopkins High School affected my family by revealing the weakness in our ability to

116guarantee a safe learning environment for our children. Beyond just the assault that took place to Cobalt, The verbal abuse that took place reflects an underlying culture that should never exist in our community and cannot be tolerated. This incident was violent. However, I'm fearful of all the non-violent incidents of trauma that may occur to students belonging to any group or tribe within the population of the school. The formation of social groups is very beneficial to the students, but becomes harmful when it results in social isolation and conflict. I hope that in addition to the requests made by the caregivers of students in Hopkins, that action can be taken to provide safe space and opportunities for the student body to support and respect all groups. This education and training for faculty and students should be based in

117best practice, be informed by leaders in our own district and community, and should value the development of emotional intelligence as much as academic intelligence. These actions should be taken through proactive leadership, not reactive crisis management, in order to be effective and lasting. Thank you very much for listening. Bye. Hi there, my name is Dallas Downey. I'm a junior at Hopkins High School and this is about an item that is not on the agenda, but it is about events that have recently happened in our school. So I am the president of the Black Student Alliance, student council member, and a community activist in the youth justice fight here in Minnesota. Last Tuesday, students learned of an incident that happened the week before while leaving the restroom, a student was punched which resulted in her jaw being

118broken. What the news outlets failed to include is the unshared story of the other scholars who witnessed the incident. Only one side of this narrative has been told. This leaves many questions and concerns for BSA as there are negative narratives and stereotypes being perpetuated on the other scholars. While some information remains unknown and can't be shared due to this being an open investigation, these allegations of racial harm happening in this event are there because of the use of slurs. The current narrative does not reflect both sides of the story by only sharing one perspective. The result is that black scholars are being criminalized, whether it stems from systemic biases, racial profiling, or blatant racism, it is wrong and needs to be addressed. The consequences of criminalization are profound, leading to increased rates of suspension, expulsion,

119and involvement in the juvenile justice system. Many parents are calling for the expulsion of the black student, only perpetuating the system of injustice. We also see many parents requesting SROs back in school. In many places, they cause more harm to scholars of color than good. Is this what we want? As the BSA, we are fighting to dismantle the cycle of disadvantage and marginalization in our community, yet the narrative presented in the news does not help with what we are trying to do. Thank you guys for listening to the voices of the students. We appreciate it. Thank you for playing those. We will now move on to those who have joined us in person. I will call you up, and the timer will go, and you'll be able to see it. The first person who would

120like to make a public comment is Emily Ward. Thank you for being here this evening. No, you just sit down. It should be on. Awesome. Thank you. So I wrote things down to keep myself on track. Good evening and thank you for your time. Our family's been part of the Hopkins School District for over 14 years. We still have one kid at the high school and another one at North. And my comments this evening are largely focused on the events of May 30th and school actions both before and after that incident. I am disappointed about the rise in violent incidents at the high school, and I am distressed about the identity-motivated assault on a trans student in May. I'm profoundly underwhelmed by the school district's response to the incident. The lack of transparency, the lack

121of communication, not just to Hopkins High School families, but to other Hopkins families as well, who were left out. to rumors and social media to piece things together. The lack of empathy, the lack of support for students that were affected by this incident. I'm dismayed at the negligence of not calling EMS to evaluate a student in your care with a head injury. I'm disappointed that the common sense step of calling 911 when a crime was suspected against someone you had the responsibility for was not taken. I want to know what tangible actions the school district is taking to improve safety and foster an inclusive climate for the 2024-25 school year, including the results of the incident investigation, how and when those actions will be communicated to district families, and when they will be completed. I

122want the school district to lead in this effort and not solely leave it up to each school to decide because that clearly has not been sufficient. I want Hopkins to bring in welcoming schools for staff training to improve awareness, understanding, and inclusivity at the pre-K through high school levels to course correct this unsettling climate trend. I want Hopkins to sustain Lessons from the Welcoming Families group by increasing the investment in the district's LGBTQ liaison. Right now there's one teacher working on this district-wide for five hours a week. This investment is insufficient to adequately support Hopkins students, staff, and families, and this role should be expanded. Lastly, I want safe and accessible bathrooms and locker rooms in our Hopkins schools, not just for trans students, but for all students. Pretty much everyone prefers a safe private

123bathroom option. I spoke to the school board in December of 2022 and made this same request and not much came of that. St. Paul public schools can be used as a case study. They remodeled their bathrooms to make them more inclusive and noted a reduction in bathroom related behavior issues. You have a gender inclusive policy, so demonstrate your commitment by taking action. And if your first response is to say that the safety and equity are too expensive, be sure you're looking at the whole picture. I invite you to consider that. they're likely cheaper than the legal and response costs of failing to act again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Mike Litza. Sorry. Litza? Yes. Thank you for being here. Of course. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity. Hello, my name is

124Mike Litzo. We have a student in the Hopkins District moving from the North to the high school this fall. At North, we're very happy because our child felt so safe and accepted. I'd like to give a special shout out to Miss Jensen there. She's awesome. During our new student orientation at the high school, we were happy to see that inclusiveness and diversity messages. We thought we had made the right decision by continuing in the Hopkins School District for high school. Now, I'm unsure because of how this incident was handled. We are heartbroken with the appearance of non-action from the high school administration. As parents in the district, we need to understand the current policies around actions and communication. And we need to verify that those policies are being followed. For instance, why was there no

125police and no police report created right away? Why was no ambulance called when one of our students had a shattered tooth and a broken jaw in multiple places? Why was there no immediate communication to the school board and superintendent after a potential hate crime? Why was there no communication to all the parents and students of the entire district after a potential hate crime? Why was there seemingly no acknowledgement at all? Why was there no mental health services offered to students after this traumatic incident? Why was there no statement of support for LGBTQ plus students? Why do we say one thing and seemingly do another? We are, you know, we say we are a diverse, inclusive school, and at the same time, it seems like there is nothing done when one of our students is attacked.

126We teach what we accept. So now, moving forward, what are we going to do? We as a community need to understand the current policies and create new ones if needed. We need to understand the current communication policies and timelines for communication, and we need to have training in place so that all staff members are aware and follow all of the policies that exist. We need to have better access to facilities for all students, including LGBTQ plus students. And frankly, we just need to do better. This was a horrible incident, and we have the opportunity to change and truly become the district we say we are, the beacon of inclusiveness and diversity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Eric Mandel. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Anderson, Vice Chair Ross,

127members of the board. Thank you for your service. And thank you for allowing me to address you this evening on the topic of violence in our public schools, and particularly at Hopkins High School. This goes beyond the horrific incident that occurred the other week regarding a transsexual student that has made, sadly, national news. This has been a repeatedly acknowledged in today's meeting. What happened last week was just one in a series of violent actions that have occurred in the high school this year, with numerous incidents in the last month alone. In addition to being a parent of two Hopkins students, one a rising 11th grader, another a rising 9th grader, I'm a lawyer by training. What's apparent to me and others in this community I've spoken to is that this board, and moreover, the administration,

128has completely failed in its fundamental duty to provide a safe learning environment. for our children. This has been, in my opinion, a failure of leadership, a failure of vision, and a failure of action. My children have been enrolled in the school district since 2010, starting with ECFE, and this is my first time coming to a school board meeting. I've kept silent for years and watched this administration, with the support of this board, promote and deploy what is essentially a progressive wish list of programs, policies, and procedures. While I have been personally skeptical, given my life experiences, I wanted to give the opportunity to see if these might actually pay dividends. I truly hope that they can and they would. One of those items is the application of the theory of restorative justice. Going through law

129school, I explored modern and historical theories of crime and punishment. Those theories address two distinct elements, proactive prevention and reactive application of justice to serve the victim. While those promote... who are promoting restorative justice positive reduces crime by reducing recidivism through teaching the offender about the impact of their actions. In reality, restorative justice focuses on the reactive response to a crime or an infraction. We can and must find ways to teach our children about the impact of violence without waiting for them to commit actions that are harmful. I do not want to see a child put into the criminal justice system. I certainly don't want to see a child suspended from our schools. It is failing. The minors who commit acts of violence, particularly in our schools, speak more to our failures as adults than

130theirs as children. It is our obligation to teach our children that violence causes significant long-term harm to individuals and our society as a whole. We need to teach our children about the causes and triggers of violence and, moreover, how to avoid them. We need to teach them about proactive dispute resolution. We need to teach them what happens when people commit violent acts and are subjected to the criminal justice system. We cannot need... and we do not need to wait for students to commit violent acts and only then attempt to restore the status quo. We are completely failing our children about violence and how to prevent active violence. I urge you, urge you to look to other solutions and broader solutions to address these issues. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next, I would invite Kim

131Kotzen-Weir to the table. I would like to briefly thank two teachers. Am I allowed to say their names or should I use initials? I think you can say their names. Which one? Yes, you can say their names. I can say their name? Okay. I would like to take a moment to thank two teachers, Dr. Jacques Uakim and Mr. John Kaveny, for all their efforts on behalf of their students. These respected educators dispensed information and wisdom while modeling empathy, trust, acceptance, and persistence. With admirable diplomacy, Dr. Y and Mr. K marshaled resources to provide inclusion and opportunities. to a deserving and under see underserved student body thank you very much dr yuakim and mr cavaney from the bottom of my heart thank you for being here tonight thank you next we i would like to invite

132invite bob fallon to the table My name is Bob Fallon. I'm a member of the Hopkins School Alliance, which is a group of parents and residents that are fostering greater communication and community engagement in School District 270. I came here tonight really just to support a member of our organization who's going to be presenting a petition to the board on school safety. And I had absolutely zero plans to speak tonight in public comment. I felt compelled to do so after listening and watching the interactions on the pre-board meeting talking about whether this issue of safety should even be placed on the school board. Specifically, I recall several members who ran for the board talking about the need for greater transparency, and what we're seeing is exactly the opposite. To every member of the school board

133and administration, do yourself a favor. Watch the video of tonight's working session and the board meeting. Watch your body language. Listen to the cringe conversation deflecting any accountability for the people paid to operate our schools effectively and safely. Your collective response says it all about your aversion to addressing this subject in front of the constituents you swore an oath to serve. Tonight, you claim that safety and security is a board priority, yet you hide behind legal protections for minors to squelch more expansive discussion in front of the public you serve. Clearly, the current approach to campus safety is failing. It's failing the students who want to learn. It's failing the teachers who want to teach. It's failing the families that want a school district they can take pride in. It's failing the residents who are

134watching their home resale values damaged by the deteriorating reputation of the school district. Tonight you spoke of a violent incident, one that drew media attention from all over the state, even national news. But you ignore multiple brawls that occurred this year resulting in multiple police calls, a stay-in-place order, and the cancellation of a high-profile event. Yet safety was not placed on the agenda for tonight. That is absolutely mind-boggling. In closing, an urgent message to the parents of former, current, and future students of the Hopkins School District. Educating your children is priority number one. Find your voice. Talk to your neighbors. Follow our social media channels. Get engaged as best you can. If we stay silent, we are complicit in the failure of the Hopkins School District. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, sorry. That's me. Next

135is Ashley Ashbeck. Welcome. Thank you for being here this evening. Hello, my name is Ashley Ashbeck. I'm a public educator and a mother to two future Hopkins students. I'm also a member of the Hopkins Schools Alliance. I'm presenting a petition on behalf of 232 concerned parents, caregivers, students, and community members within Hopkins Public Schools. We are deeply troubled by the underwhelming approach to school safety in our district. The violent assault involving a transgender student at Hopkins High School on May 30th has dominated media coverage in recent days. Rightly so, but there have been many other fights, threats of violence, and classroom disruptions over the past several years. Change is clearly needed. and there is an urgent need for Hopkins leaders to improve safety, security, communication, and anti-bullying measures. We urge this board to take action

136in the following ways. One, employ a full range of behavior management strategies that go beyond restorative conversations to address misconduct and bullying. implement swift and appropriate consequences for serious student misconduct. develop an official communication strategy outlining when and how the district will inform parents and caregivers about incidents. reinstate the school resource officer program to provide a consistent, positive, and proactive safety presence. Five, hold monthly safety and security committee meetings instead of annually to address ongoing safety concerns. And six, include local law enforcement partners in safety planning and drills for coordinated responses. Going into the 2023 to 2024 school year, over 2,200 Hopkins students chose to open enroll elsewhere. News headlines about the violence in our schools will certainly accelerate this exodus. All children in our district deserve to feel safe at school. We ask for

137your immediate action to secure a secure and supportive learning environment. We look forward to your response and are ready to collaborate on making our school safer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I... Our last public comment is by Quinn Portilla. And I apologize if I did not pronounce your last name correctly. Welcome to the table. Thank you. Like everyone, I have some words that I prepared. Primarily, I just want to say that I am here as a concerned parent with two children, I almost said individuals, two children in Hopkins. I was delighted to move to the district to bring my kiddos here. Hopkins High is their school, one going next year and another in several years to come. But I must say that after the incidents that took place on May 30th, really the

138physical and emotional harm that was perpetuated. and that affected multiple individuals and communities. I am not so sure. I don't know that I feel safe sending my kid to school. Now, I must say also that I am not in agreement with instituting police officers in schools. I am not in support of SROs. I also say and recognize that what is currently in place is not sufficient. And so I just want that to be on record that, in my opinion, that there needs to be some sort of middle ground. And what took place... on May 30th. Specifically, I'm speaking to what appears to be negligent behavior from staff and administration. We were not there many of us cannot speak to what actually took place there And I and I recognize that I learned information even by

139attending this meeting That I was not aware of and that is not being spread to families And so what I asked for is more direct communication from the board direct communication from the school Because as someone spoke to earlier Even if we don't have a student attending the high, our students are right next door, right? And our students are friends of or are affected by what is happening. So communication must be first and foremost to all of the community members and care for the students that were directly impacted as well as those who received, that one could say were recipients or received. oh gosh, what's the word, but essentially that were traumatized by the events, even if it didn't occur to them. That said, I must support also the words that have been shared by

140other family members and caregivers from the gender expansive parent support group and really need to ask that the board revisit oh my god my minutes um the the bathroom situation um right so i know that it's been brought up uh several times in the past years um going back as far as 2022 that the bathroom situation it needs to be remedied um and not in two years from now but like next school year thank you i really appreciate you being here thank you If you have any materials to leave with the board, that would be helpful for us. I appreciate everyone being here this evening. That concludes the public comment section of our meeting. And I would look for a motion to adjourn and go into executive session. So second. I have a motion and

141a second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none, this meeting is adjourned at 9.45 p.m. Thank you all for joining us this evening. Appreciate it.