001This meeting of the Hopkins School Board is called to order at 7.04 p.m. I'd like to welcome our community members who have joined us here in the physical space as well as our community members who are watching the YouTube live stream. Our first agenda item is open agenda. This is the time that we've reserved for public comment. The Hopkins School Board believes that hearing from our community members is crucial for implementing Vision 2031. We accept public comment in two different formats. One option is to leave a voicemail that will be played at the meeting, and another option is to visit us in person. fill out a public comment card and hand it to me before the beginning of the eve of the meeting we have six community members who would like to give public comment
002this evening four of those are voicemail comments we have two people who are present in person to give public comment i am going to read through the public comment protocol here at the at the very beginning and then we'll move into our voicemail comments first and then our in-person comments Here are the guidelines for public comment. Please keep your comments to three minutes or less. 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 direct 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 action is appropriate, that action will occur at a
003future board meeting. 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, including 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
004session, 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 contact the superintendent 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 time place and manner restrictions that have been listed above. Thank you for participating in public comment this evening. So we'll move into our voicemail comments and we'll start with Nicole Bloom. Hi, my name is Nicole Bloom and I am calling about the mask mandate
005for schools. I would like to recommend continuing the mask mandate. Our kids have been fine with learning with masks. It's been nice to have the ability to go to school consecutively without illness. And so from my perspective, it makes a lot more sense to continue protecting our children. It also looks like the vaccine is not... is effective for younger children but is really effective when combined with a mask so um for all those reasons i would like the school board to consider extending the mass mandate so our students can continue in-person learning as much as possible in a safe and effective environment thank you thank you nicole bloom next um i'd like to recognize ian chi hello school board members my name is yen chi and i'm a mother of two children that go to
006same thing academy and they're in fifth grade and first grade and i just wanted to voice my um opinion and concerns about the mask the masking mandate that might be lifted um i know you're voting on that soon so i just wanted to say that if you could keep masking in the classrooms i think that would be a wonderful thing for the keeping everyone healthy. My children, when I asked them actually how they would feel if suddenly the mask mandate were lifted, they said that they would actually feel a little bit strange because they're very used to having them and they feel protected and safe. And right now we know that the COVID vaccination rate in the schools is not very high. So I feel like it would help protect the most vulnerable as well
007as the preschool kids that are on site who are not able to be vaccinated. So I just wanted to give you my two cents as a mother and just know also that the flu season is still here. So it's also helping protect them from getting sick and helping kids stay in the classrooms longer, helping. Teachers not have to call in sick also. So I just am in favor of keeping it around a little bit longer because, honestly, the kids don't seem to mind it very much, at least mine and the ones that we've talked to friends. So thank you very much. Have a good evening. Bye-bye. Thank you to Yen Chi. Next, I'd like to recognize Laura Jensen. Hi, my name is Laura Jensen. I'm a teacher at North Junior High and a parent of
008a Hopkins High School student. I'm commenting on revisiting the mask mandate. I'm calling in support of keeping the mask mandate in place until we're a little further along, and hopefully the good news regarding the pandemic will continue. I do wish that there has been better communication regarding this coming up as a possibility of revisiting the mask mandate from my employer, Hopkins Schools, as an employee. I would like better and more transparent communication as an employee from Hopkins Schools, but also as a parent of a student, knowing that this was going to come up this quickly. I would rather have the district air on the side of taking care of our most vulnerable members of our community and keeping the mask mandate in place for a bit longer. I hope that... school district and school board
009and superintendent do not feel undue pressure to follow what other districts have done i know you are in a very hard place regarding mass mandates and that this has become a very politicized issue since licensed staff at least at my school are forced to solve for sick colleagues if not enough volunteers step up I would like to keep me and my colleagues as healthy and safe as possible to not add undue stress and burden of being required to serve for each other if staff are out sick with COVID. If you do decide to change the mask mandate, I ask that you give at least a two-week period before implementing this to give all stakeholders time. Thank you very much. Thank you to Laura Jensen. Next, I'll recognize Hannah Colbert. Hello. My name is Hannah Colbert.
010I'm calling about the agenda item, masking in secondary schools. I am a para at Hopkins North Junior High, and I only found out about this decision that's being voted on, which directly impacts me and my coworkers because a coworker who was in the know told me about it. I am calling to urge you not to lift the masking requirement in secondary schools at this time. I have been working in person at North Junior High for four years, before and during the pandemic, and for the safety of our scholars and staff, I feel I cannot keep silent on this issue. COVID-19 has massively affected my job, and I have done many things I never agreed to do when I initially took my position before the pandemic. I've put up with a lot. I've done my best
011to advocate for my coworkers, students, and myself, and again and again, I've been in positions where I felt unsafe. I've had to focus on what I can control, swallow my discomfort, and try to take things day by day. Toward the end of the summer, I became hopeful that maybe the pandemic was ending. I continued to mask and take precautions, but I came back to work thinking that maybe we were going to be out of the woods soon. Obviously, that is not how things worked out. There are many things I love about my job, but I am not in a position where if I feel unsafe about health precautions, that I can just quit. I need to be able to pay rent, and even more urgently, I need health insurance, which is tied to my job.
012There are students at our schools with siblings at home too young to be vaccinated or living in multigenerational families with elders or relatives who are immune compromised, teachers with babies or parents or spouses who have preexisting conditions. These are not uncommon situations, and many of these people do not have the luxury to just jump ship and go somewhere else. especially if more and more places become hostile to those who are trying to protect their vulnerable loved ones at home. If you think that there are no economic or political forces influencing the CDC's messaging about masking, I desperately urge you to reconsider your opinion. We know that another variant will come down the line. We know that masking with high-quality masks helps decrease spread. We know that dropping precautions leads to spikes in COVID cases. We
013know that long COVID affects at least 10% of people who have been infected with COVID-19, whether they had a severe case or were asymptomatic. I don't want to live the rest of my life with chronic fatigue syndrome, brain fog, or persistent shortness of breath, and I really don't want that for our students. As a staff member, I am sick of being left out of these decisions about our safety. From an essential worker, I beg you to take these issues under serious consideration. Your decision will directly impact me and many people like me. Respectfully, Hannah Colbert. Thank you, Hannah Colbert. Next, I'd like to invite Ellie Kretz to the table. Ellie has provided us with some handouts that I'm going to be distributing now. And Ellie, give me just a moment to get my stopwatch ready
014here. Oh, look at Vice Chair Andreessen is doing the stopwatch tonight. Well, welcome, Ellie. You can begin when you're ready. Okay, so hello, Dr. Mary Perry Reed, Hopkins School Board. My name is Ellie Kretz. I'm the parent of a six-year-old, Zoe, and a four-year-old, Anna, hiding there behind the chairs. I'm speaking to you tonight to ask to maintain the mask mandate in Hopkins schools, especially at the elementary levels. I'm asking you to maintain the mandate versus moving to strongly recommend because other districts who have moved to strongly recommend have seen masking become virtually non-existent. Therefore, a decision to remove the mandate is a decision to essentially remove all masking. I ask for you to maintain masking at the elementary levels especially, given the lower vaccination rates we are seeing for ages 5 to 11 and
015our strong commitment in Hopkins to equity. In the handout I've given you, which admittedly is a little smaller, so sorry for those of us over the age of 40 like myself. As of February 19th, the state of Minnesota reports that fully vaccinated rates for 5 to 11-year-olds to be 53% for the Asian Pacific and the Islanders. That's the largest bar. 34% for whites. and 25% for the non-Asian BIPOC kids. Black children ages 5 to 11 have the lowest vaccination rate at 19%. As you can see, the fully vaccinated chart has an inequitable distribution in ages 5 to 11. And on the second page is the older group. So that is the age your secondary kids between 12 and 18. And for some reason, it does become more equitable in that age group that you don't
016see in the 5 to 11-year-olds. As our district quotes equity in all decisions from calendar days to restorative justice, I think it's extremely important to look at this decision with an equitable lens. One could argue, of course, that everyone has had equal opportunity to vaccinate their kids at this point. But I think this board and superintendent can agree that we have systemic racism in all facets of our lives, and it would be comical to assume that as a society we have provided equal access to this vaccine. From an economic equity standpoint, at the school my daughter attends, Eisenhower, approximately 70% of the children are on free and reduced lunch. One can extrapolate that these kids have parents who are on a lower income level, more likely to be a frontline worker without paid time off,
017who simply do not have the luxury that my husband and I have to be able to take 10 days off if the child is sick or the parent becomes sick. They are the same parents less likely to have health insurance or less likely to have a relationship with a doctor to be able to have counsel in the vaccination decision. They are the same parents that will struggle to find a COVID test or treatment when it becomes needed. The same parents may also find it difficult to catch their child up after 10 days. I've always been very supportive of this district's leadership in focusing on equity, but if we want to be equitable, we need to do it in each decision and carry through, even when it's challenging. We're at three minutes. Thank you very much.
018Thank you. Thank you so much. I'd like to invite Ziming Zhao to the table. Hello, I'm Jim Ming Zhao. And first let me say that I appreciate everybody here, their time in providing leadership and navigating these trying times. I think it's made a real difference in the lives of our students and our scholars and our families too. So I just want to say, you know, we really appreciate it. I understand that the discussion is lifting the mask mandate and I'm urging the council to delay it if possible and to keep the mandate if also more preferably. I get it, I really do. We want life to resume. I want that, everybody wants that. I have two small children at home, it would be great. But, you know, as Dr. Osterholm has said, just because we're
019done with the virus, the virus is not done with us. You know, these are the times that we're dealt and we have to deal with it. Omicron levels, you know, in the district are lower, yes, but we're not done with it yet. We need to consider that maybe levels are decreasing so much because we're doing so much in layering our defenses to fight it through vaccinations, through masking, through social distancing where possible. to paraphrase Ruth Bader Ginsburg, throwing out mask mandates when they're working and will continue to work is like throwing away our umbrellas during a rainstorm because we're not getting wet. Make no mistake, it's still raining. It's just gonna happen, we know that. Furthermore, you know, and this is more personal, but also people that are unable to take every precaution that most
020people are able to do, you know, the immunocompromised, those are small children who can't get vaxxed due to age. You know, I think we're really feeling left behind, right? We're doing everything we can, you know, we're doing, you know, we're being safe, we're masking, but if the district says okay sorry it's a little bit inconvenient for the rest of us you know we were all in it together so good luck to you it just isn't right to me You know, I'm not asking the mandate to go into perpetuity. I know it has to end. You know, I definitely think that I would love to get back to normal. But I think we need to delay for as long as possible. We need a delaying action so those that are immunocompromised or people like myself who
021have small children can either make the arrangements or get vaccinated. We're happy to do so. It's just, you know, it's going to take a little bit of time. Finally, does the Hopkins School Vision 2031 not say be empathetic? Does it not say we need to love people? Does it not say we put students first? Let's show our children that these are actions and not just words. Finally, I saw a sign while walking around out there that said be an upstander, not a bystander. Thank you. We're at three minutes. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you to all of our public commenters this evening. i'm i'm just going to make a brief comment about public comment time i spend a lot of time talking with board chairs and
022other districts and i am so proud always of how our public comment periods go here in hopkins schools that we have such an incredible community that takes time to share their thoughts and experiences in in such eloquent and respectful ways and so i really want to thank everybody who came forward this evening We'll now move into our reports. So we'll start with our student board rep reports. Elif, how are you? It's great to see you. Do you? I don't know if that mic is on. Do you want to move over by Rachel? I wonder if that mic is on. Sure. I believe that Isabella is online if she wants to go first. Oh, great. Hi, Isabella. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, it's good to hear your voice. Glad you're here. It's good to hear
023you too. Okay, so I'm Isabella and I'm the 11th grade cohort coordinator. Students are hard at work as another ending term nears. Juniors are preparing for ACTs, seniors are finishing up college decisions, and sophomores are picking new classes for next year. Every grade has also been signing up for AP College Board Tests happening in May. Tomorrow, there's a college fair with over 100 colleges to give students a chance to get introduced to some colleges and decide what they're interested in. I know a lot of students are excited for this college fair. Seeing as I'm in Arizona, I'm sad I won't be there, but I can't wait to hear about it. I'm really glad they provided this opportunity to students because I know students, including myself, are excited and interested. I think another thing to keep
024in mind with Black History Month just finishing is to make sure we are acknowledging and providing the proper support for our people of color and specifically black students. With all the recent protesting at our school and the clear cause for concern students have conveyed to staff. They should feel as if they have something to go to or somebody to talk to to voice issues and to form a stronger community at our school, which I think is very important. On Friday, there was also an orchestra program preview that many students went to during second block. I heard a lot of positive feedback, and I'm happy students had the chance to go see the preview. Thank you. Thank you very much, Isabella. Really appreciate hearing from you and having you here tonight. Any questions or comments for
025Isabella? Great. Elif, should we move to you, or are there any other student board reps online? I think that she's the only one. Okay, great. Perfect. Thank you. My name is Elif. I'm the sophomore student rep, and I have just a few more things. So yesterday we had the Black History Month show, and both staff and student performers were there, and they had a soul food dinner afterwards. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend, but it looked amazing. And then tomorrow we have the college fair, which is an incredible opportunity for all of our students at the high school. And next week we have a spirit week because we have our spring fling. They're doing monochrome day, twin Tuesday, white lies Wednesday, PJ slash blanket day, and class colors. And then the spring fling will be
026on March 12th. Wonderful. Thank you. I have a question for you. You have been working on some exciting legislation in partnership with Representative Feist. Would you mind sharing a bit about that with us? Oh, sure. Yeah. Basically, it is to fund free menstrual products in all schools in Minnesota. And I've just been working on that for like the past 10 months or so. And it is, it's a bill that's in play this session and it sounds like it's getting some great support. Yeah, I was just, so I had to testify in education policy where it was passed and next is education finance and hopefully it passes there as well. Fantastic. Thank you so much for all your work on that. Thank you. Wonderful leadership. Great. Well, let's move to our superintendent's report with Dr. Mary
027Puri-Reed. Thank you, Chair Bouchard. And I thought I would ask for Elise's help today since it usually takes me one to three minutes to present, just to present, or figure out how to get my slides up there. So thanks, Elise. Well, you know, I always start by saying we have so much to celebrate in Hopkins. And I know that we do have to just have some thoughtful discussions and decisions around. the masking issue and I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the board and our all of our parents and staff providing their input. This feels like a really great community to be a part of where we can thoughtfully engage and also not be afraid of dissenting perspectives and just you know trying to figure out what is best for our students and at the same time
028There is a lot going on in our schools. Yes, while masked, I know that the athletes that you see on the left there are not wearing masks, but they're also playing in a basketball game. So starting with some just congratulations to our students and some student recognition. I want to congratulate Hopkins basketball star. Maya Nagy. She's been named the 2022 McDonald's All-American, and you can cheer her on at the McDonald's All-American game on March 29 for all of you who either love our students or love basketball. The middle photo shows a couple of students at... North and West junior highs that received kits from Carolina biological to investigate and design solar and wind forms of sustainable energy we talked about the solar Panels this morning or this earlier this evening at the board workshop and
029so that Those learning experiences are funded by Hopkins Education Foundation. So we're grateful to them for that support. And then on the right, we have a few elementary schools that celebrate the 100th day of the school year. And so what's so cute about this photograph is that they are celebrating 100 days of school dressed as 100-year-olds. We'll have to send you a close-up of that photo. It's super cute. You can go to the next slide, Elise. Also wanted to just express gratitude and we're so impressed with the Hopkins Education Foundation Our longtime Hopkins supporter they hosted and just put on a really great experience this past Saturday evening, the Royal Bash. If you were not there, you did miss a fabulous event. It was fun to see all of the variations of plaid in everybody's
030dressy outfits for the evening. And it was also really wonderful just to be in person along with, it was approximately 245 people who were at the... in the in-person experience and then another 70 attendees participating virtually. So it was a really wonderful evening. Also just to recognize Principal Jim Haybison and his son who showed this amazing bravery and vulnerability by sharing a story of how Adam Haybison's life was deeply impacted by Hopkins teachers and also by music and arts programming when he was coming up through Hopkins Public Schools. And they really shared a touching story. And I think that many audience members were really struck by their vulnerability. So thanks to them. And thank you very much to HEF. You can go to the next slide, Elise. School Spotlight on Glen Lake. At Glen Lake,
031it's been a longstanding tradition for sixth graders to go up north to Wolf Ridge for three days. And due to COVID restrictions, instead for the last couple years, they've made adjustments. And instead of traveling up north, they create their own experience called Grizzly Ridge. So the activities that all students participate in include snowshoeing. dog sledding, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, wood burning, turkey bowling, and sledding. And also they get to meet and greet with their principal who shows up in a turkey costume. So these are additional scholar spotlights, both from our high school. from mid-February. So what I love about these photos is you can just see the joy and the intentionality in the students, in their faces. So there's the heartograms activity, which I think our student board reps talked about at the last board
032meeting, but I loved the photos and videos that they had of that online. And I love how our students are demonstrating our Hopkins core values of love authentic inclusivity and being intentionally adventurous as they gave out, they sang songs and gave out roses and candy to each other and to staff. Do they sing to each other, the students, or just to the adults? Oh, no, they sing to everybody. Oh, to everybody. It was really fun. It was actually the cutest thing. Yes, I love that too. And then in the bottom photo, it's a picture of a student who, so there's one of the teams in a business class partnered with Nothing Bunt Cakes to help them develop, to help that real business develop their marketing strategies. And a few weeks ago, I worked with at
033a DECA event to to support scholars who were dissecting business case studies and applying their marketing thinking to real-world business problems. So as you can see, our students are definitely applying critical thinking and problem solving, which are a couple of traits of the Hopkins graduate. More celebrations of students. So our robotics team continues to soar. They had a big win on December 5. And what I heard about this team is they work, in addition to going to school, they work more than 16 hours a week. on perfecting their robots so that they can be competitive in upcoming competitions. There's a few of them listed there. So we have the opportunity to attend Pi Day Open House at Hopkins High School on March 13, or you could visit the robotics team at the Convention Center April
0347, 8, and 9. I also wanted to... spotlight our transportation department. So February 22 was school bus driver appreciation day. So a few of us did head over to the bus depot to visit with the drivers. We were really in love with our new team over there, led by William Pierce, our new transportation director and the CEO of Lake Country Transportation, Paul Spakowski. They are really engaging with our drivers in wonderful ways. And the drivers that I talked to have expressed happiness working with Lake Country. They just feel really valued as employees, which is important to us. So there's a photo there on the bottom with a few of the drivers. And I just wanted to thank William and Paul for all of the leadership and support they provide because transportation is, they've been doing
035a great job in the recent months and we appreciate it. And then, of course, we have our school board members. I'm not sure. We have hopefully a few parents and community members in our virtual audience. We have Mr. Harris here, and I think, I don't know, a parent, or I'm not sure. But it was school board recognition week last week. Was that last week? Yes. And so... Just so our Hopkins community knows, we have a really fabulous school board here in Hopkins. And the statement says that our school board is courageous, is visionary, is scholar, and people-centered, as well as grounded in the work of anti-racism. Our board does work as a cohesive unit to make equity-minded policy and budget decisions. So as a superintendent, I am personally grateful for our school board. And I
036would definitely say that you won't find a better school board throughout the entire state. So thanks, Hopkins School Board, for your service. We appreciate you. And then I always like to end with just reminding our audience and board members. that we do have six system goals in hopkins and so the focus for this evening is our learning goals so our system-wide learning goal is that every early learning through grade 12 and beyond classrooms and we say 12 plus because that would inc be inclusive of transition plus as well as adult and basic education so all classrooms will be will be ready for students by moving toward personalized learning that is concept and inquiry based, as well as undergirded by restorative practices. Now, this picture is, it's hard to discern what's happening in here, but it's
037a long shot photo of a learning space at Alice Smith. I was there just yesterday, and literally, these are three. adjacent classrooms where the walls have been removed from between the three classrooms. So what you see there is 80 students working with three to four adults because sometimes some of those kids are using the learning space in the hallway and one of those adults might go into the hallway. They're all sitting in small groups yet they're also simultaneously experiencing like a whole whole group classroom setting because they have 80 about 80 peers and in this particular lesson I think I heard that there had been a fight during recess, but they were analyzing the conflict that they sometimes witness or experience during recess to As a way of practicing talking about conflict, because the next
038step, which is a leap, but we also did this in our leadership group with principals, but the next step was they were going to talk about the conflict with Russia and Ukraine. So it was really powerful. And so the teachers all work together. They plan all of their lessons together. They're modeling instruction for each other, and then they each have a mic, right, because you have to get your voice across to all 80 of those students, and it's a really large space. And honestly, you know, it was calm but vibrant, right? And I was just really impressed with the move in that space toward personalized learning, grounded in, you know, what's really happening in our real world. And I do believe that's it for the report. Thank you for this opportunity. Wonderful. Thank you, Dr.
039Mary Puri-Reed. Any comments or questions from the board? It's so exciting to see some of these innovative learning models in action. And, you know, you mentioned that that activity being grounded in real life circumstances, both local and global. And it's such a cool encapsulation of all of these concepts that we've been talking about for the last four years. Right. To see that in action is really wonderful. So thank you. Great. Next, we'll move to the approval of the agenda. So I would look for a motion to approve the agenda. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda. Any discussion? Seeing none all in favor. Please say aye aye all opposed nay Motion carries next I would look for a motion to
040approve the consent calendar so move I have a motion Is there a second second I have a motion in a second to approve the consent calendar any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Motion carries. Next, we'll move into new business. I'd like to invite Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot to the table, and I'll turn it over to Vice Chair Andreessen. Well, first there's a treasurer's report. Oh my gosh. Steve. How could we forget? I am so sorry. I apologize. I was scrolling too fast. It's been a month since I've gotten a treasurer's report. I know. It's a really great part of our meeting. I've been working on it for a whole month. Oh my goodness. Thank you for correcting me. Next we'll move to our treasurer's report with Treasurer Adams.
041Great. Thank you, Chair Bouchard. As is customary on the first Treasurer's Report of the Month, I report on enrollment. And enrollment declined by 39 students in January. And that followed a decline of 33 in December. But that was after enrollment increases over the previous two months, but even after the decreases in the last two months enrollment is 193 over our original projection and 133 over our revised projection before the school year began. So we've had some attrition. We can only surmise what that's what the reasons were for that, but It has happened over the last two months expenses of note in February we paid ninety six thousand four hundred for natural gas for December and I'm a little concerned that that is going to go up because there was a recent rate increase. Maybe we're
042protected by that, by our arrangement with Connect Energy. But anyway, natural gas prices have been increasing, primarily due to the freeze in Texas last winter. And Centerpoint Energy is finally catching up on their, on recouping some of their overages that they had to pay for last winter. There are also numerous payments for basketball, gymnastics, and hockey officials. We paid $218,558 for COVID-19 tests. So any employee in the district that wants to get a COVID test at any time can do so. And we've got quite a stockpile of those. And then we paid $12,442 for boys' ice hockey, ice time, and rental at the Hopkins Pavilion. That's what we we paid into the coffers of the city of Hopkins So with that I move that we approve total disbursements in the amount of three million seven
043hundred and seven thousand seven hundred and eighty three dollars and eighty nine cents for the period February 2 through February 22nd 2022 I have a motion is there a second Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the Treasurer's report. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Motion carries. Thank you, Treasurer Adams. Now we'll move into new business. I'll invite Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot to the table and turn it over to Vice Chair Andreessen. Thank you, Chair Bouchard. As we are all aware at our prior workshop, we discussed in, I think, detail changes that are being proposed to our current policy 808, face coverings. And I will turn it over to... Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot to give everyone an update on that conversation and what is being recommended.
044I will do my best. We're here to help. What we discussed at the workshop where we've been with our work with the face covering as well as the mitigation efforts. As I mentioned during the workshop, we have a COVID management group that has been looking at the data, using that data regarding our positive case rates, quarantines, exposures, and communicating that as we've looked at that, we have seen the differences in transmissions and positive cases that have been expressed throughout. kind of over the past couple months to the point now where we have zero staff. And the latest information I looked at just five minutes ago was 13 cases of students throughout the course of the district. So those numbers continue to go down and those do effectively kind of reflect what we've seen in the
045community numbers as well. So you've seen that throughout the Hennepin County data as well as what you've seen with the CDC information. Knowing for a while that the CDC did change its recommendations as of Friday regarding masking and masking requirements, inclusive of school buses, also inclusive of schools, that was information that the mitigation group has been looking at as well. In part of a response to that, what the group has been looking at and what we discussed in the workshop was, would we have specific points in which we would look at mitigation team members recommending that the board consider removing a mask requirement mandate and what would those data points be and would the Converse be true as well, that if we did see rates increase and we saw specific local data, would we also
046look to say at those points, whether they be in a specific program, whether they be in a specific school or building or potentially district-wide, would we say that it is supported by our data that we would move toward masking again and having that mask be a requirement? So as we think about that and that information presented, part of the discussion at the board level is if we are going to do that, our policy would need to be amended so that we could look at that mitigation team and in cooperation with our superintendent, looking at those data points to make sure that we could look at that data as driving the decision regarding the masks and what we would be doing with that. So that was a summary of what was presented at the workshop. In
047part, the question in front of the board is that policy change component and any implementation date that would be associated with it. So that really is right now on the crux of that brief summary. Anything that I missed that others might certainly elaborate on, welcomed, and I will... Leave it at that for additional conversation, questions, or comments. Thank you, Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot. So kind of the bullet point version is that the policy would move from masks required to masks strongly recommended and strongly encouraged. It would be tied to community levels as defined by the CDC, meaning that if we were in a medium or low level, it would be masks. strongly recommended, strongly encouraged. If we moved to active scholar cases of 100 or more for a week or our county data returned to the
048high level, then that would automatically trigger required masking. And then could you talk a bit about the early childhood context? We had a lot of discussion around scholars who are too young to be vaccinated. We did. And in that discussion, what we were looking at is being mindful of letting that program use its data and its protocols as well to support that, which you just identified, Chair Bouchard, that those individuals cannot be vaccinated at this point in time in the service of the program. So as part of that, What we looked at, and it's the recommendation that they do continue their present protocol, that they continue to sustain that. And so right now, that is really what we're working off of. And we worked with Assistant Director Chauvin today to get some additional information. And
049I'll have that up here as well so that I can pull that together. But that really was the level of conversation was differentiating that from the K-12. APPROACH THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT OTHERWISE. THANK YOU. WERE THERE ANY OTHER ELEMENTS TO THE POLICY CONVERSATION THAT HAPPENED DURING THE WORKSHOP THAT BOARD MEMBERS WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD MADE OUR COMMUNITY AWARE OF HERE DURING THE MEETING? CHAIR BOUCHARD? I THINK FOR ME KIND OF THE OVERARCHING THING IS I think our board conversation earlier in the workshop is very representative of the conversations that we're hearing within our community. I would just want to make a quick point. I was super thankful for all the comments at the beginning of the meeting. They were very persuasive. We did have a large number asking us to remove
050the mask mandate that came in via email. They just didn't happen to make public comment here tonight, and I think that's important to notice. I think for me personally, this is by far the toughest decision that we have had to make as a board, and I think it's a tough decision for our community as a whole. And I really appreciated the comments earlier about this not being over and allowing the board the ability to change in the future, I think is really important. You know, and I think, you know, remembering that removing the mandate isn't, it's more allowing choice versus mandating. But it's still definitely one, I think that. There are multiple Facets to consider and I think as a board we're doing a good job of that Thank you Sure, Bouchard director Adams. I've
051got a question. When was this added to the agenda? Because the agenda that I downloaded on Saturday did not have this item on it, and I was asked by people About this item and I said it's not on the agenda We will not be making a decision and I'm just a little surprised that I Was made a liar Because it was apparently added to the agenda sometime after I downloaded it from our website Did anyone else have that same experience? So it was originally on the workshop agenda after the CDC guidance came out on Saturday. And we had requests from community members who wanted to give public comment on the mask policy. We did move it to the meeting agenda. So it has been on the meeting agenda since yesterday. Does that meet the legal
052requirement that the public be notified in advance? of the agenda? Because I believe there's a three-day minimum if there's a change to the agenda. So changes can be made to the agenda under Robert's rules all the way up until the agenda is approved. So the agenda does have to be posted three days in advance, but those changes can be made. Okay. It does correspond with state law. Yes, and we could... So if this had been a concern, we could have removed it from the agenda at the beginning, but we all as a board. I was never notified that it was added to the agenda. That's why I'm a little surprised. Oh, so you're saying that you voted to approve the agenda from Saturday. I haven't voted on anything. What's that? Well, because at the beginning
053of the meeting, we approved. the agenda, but you were voting on the one from Saturday. On the agenda that was posted to the public website on Saturday. So I feel stupid that I was telling people that we were not going to vote on it tonight. So, well, if it's... If it's legal, there's nothing we can do about it. But I think in the future, if we're going to change the agenda on short notice, the board ought to be notified. Especially on an important topic like this. Yeah. Any topic. Well, I'm not sure I want to. I think one of the things that's most important for me on this policy in particular is that we all have space to. Talk about it. Think about it. Be emotional if we need to be emotional, because I think
054it is emotional. And enter into whatever decision we're making with, you know. clear eyes. So if this in the way in which it got onto the agenda or the way in which it's feeling rushed at all, I think we need to honor that. And I'm looking to people who have much more nuanced sense of how this works to see what our options might be at this point. So, yes, I would. I like what Vice Chair Andreessen is saying, especially in light of the two employee comments that we heard tonight from Hannah and Laura and their concerns about the decision without employee input. So if we do choose to delay decision, I would ask that we have the ability to have some input from staff as well. Thank you. So one option available to us is
055we can table this discussion for tonight and add it to the agenda for the 15th. So that would just require a motion and a second, and then we can vote on whether or not to table it. So that would be one procedural option that's available to us. I move that we table this and take it up at the next board meeting. So I have a motion to table the Hopkins mask policy discussion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to table the Hopkins mask policy discussion. Any discussion on this, what is called the secondary motion? I would like to just quickly say something. I think that our prior discussion at the workshop reflects that most. Why I won't say I won't speak for other people but there was a sense
056that we wanted to delay implementation to that date and so I think that by tabling this discussion We are Honoring that timeline as well. That's my only any further discussion May I say two things or sure? Okay You never know as an ex-officio if you're supposed to participate in the discussion or not. Just the two things that I would like to share. Treasurer Adams, as a person who was participating in the action to move it to the live agenda, the intent... was to be completely transparent with our community that Because the CDC had changed their guidelines. We we didn't want this to be a board workshop only discussion So I just wanted to share that. And then I think we just need to figure out how to make sure that all board members are aware
057of any last minute changes. And then the second thing is, and I do appreciate the opportunity for staff and community input. And we do have a past practice or pattern where topics first get discussed at the board and then staff. and then parents, and in that order, for very specific reasons. And I don't think that complicates this pending decision. But what we would have felt uncomfortable with is sending a message to staff, hey, the board is going to make this decision. without giving the board the opportunity to just look at all of the information and then you know then Solicit staff input if that makes sense well, I totally agree that it was a Appropriate topic for the workshop today, but I think to add it to the agenda on short notice Is doing a
058disservice to our public? So the motion that has been seconded is to table the mask policy discussion. Is there any further discussion? Just a clarification point. I would say we're tabling the vote. But the discussion has been very robust. Right. For anybody who may be watching specific for that, they can watch the workshop. The discussion has been robust. But the vote, just in light of garnering maybe a little bit more input and giving our families a little bit of time, I would be hopeful that in our next vote it could be an immediate decision versus delaying it perhaps two weeks like we planned. so that when we do vote on it, that it could be more of an immediate option. I'd be okay with that. Any further discussion? So again, we're voting on whether or
059not to table the vote for this evening and bring it forward at the March 15th meeting for a vote. Any further discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Motion carries. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the MSBA IDEA Resolution. This is a resolution that was brought forward by MSBA, the Minnesota School Boards Association, and they are requesting that school boards across the state consider this resolution as part of their federal advocacy around fully funding IDEA, which is... the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This... area of public education has been severely underfunded and has been a focus of advocacy both on the state level and at the federal level. Upon receiving the resolution, I sent it to the LAC for review. And Treasurer Adams, I'm wondering if you could... If you
060care to comment on the discussion that happened at the LAC surrounding this resolution. Sure. Well, yes, we discussed it. This is something that's been under discussion for years, that this IDEA Act was passed. And I don't know what it said about funding in there. But at any rate, the federal government and the state government have failed to fully fund. all the requirements of the IDEA Act. So the MSBA and AMSD are both in favor of fully funding the IDEA Act, and we might have a chance to do that this year. And they have asked every school district in the state to pass this resolution, and many have already. Yes, so the LAC's recommendation is to recommend passage. I think technically I have to read this into the record, and then it will be a roll
061call vote. So Clerk Peterson will be at the ready. Whereas the Hopkins Public Schools District recognizes the need for a strong investment in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and whereas the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was first enacted in 1975 to help ensure that all students with disabilities will have access to a free, appropriate public education and IDEA's enactment more than 45 years ago, the current federal investment in IDEA is less than 14%. And whereas... With the enactment of IDEA, the United States Congress committed to fund up to 40% of the additional cost of special education, thereby promising to provide up to 40% of the national average per pupil expenditure, which is currently estimated at $13,828 by the U.S. Department of Education. And whereas our nation's school districts face an increased demand for greater
062resources to fulfill the needs of students under IDEA, including those for students affected by multiple disabilities whose individual education plans require more resources. And whereas with each increase in the IDEA child count, the School Board of Hopkins Public Schools and others throughout the country continue to adjust their budgets. to accommodate this increased need and ensure that each child educated through IDEA receives the appropriate supports, with some school districts dedicating 40% or more of their general education budgets to special education services. And whereas Hopkins Public School District has a $6,541,947 cross-subsidy for fiscal year 20, which is one part of the statewide cross subsidy that was more than $673 million in fiscal year 20 and is expected to grow to $806 million in fiscal year 25. Be it resolved that the school board of the Hopkins
063Public Schools supports the IDEA Full Funding Act that will help strengthen the federal government and special education by authorizing a 10-year plan to fully fund the federal share of IDEA. and be it resolved that the hopkins school board urges congress's strong bipartisan support for the end passage of the full idea funding act and now therefore be it resolved that the school board of hopkins public schools remains committed to providing students with disabilities and their families the supports they need and now we'll move to the roll call vote oh sorry yep i need a motion So moved. And a second. Oh, he already seconded it. He already seconded it. Okay. I have a motion and a second to approve the resolution in support of Congressional Idea Full Funding Act. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll
064move to the roll call vote. All right. Director Adams. Aye. Vice Chair Andreessen. Aye. Director Hartland. Aye. Director Kahn. Aye. Director Peterson. Aye. Director Ross. Aye. Chair Bouchard. Aye. Thank you, Clerk Peterson. We have seven ayes, zero nays. Motion carries. Next, we'll move to policies in first read, and I'll invite Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot to the table and turn it over to Vice Chair Andreessen. Thank you, Chair Bouchard. In our monitoring committee meeting, we talked about Policy 507, corporal punishment, and had just some slight changes to that. clarifying language and also making it, I think, a little bit more student-focused. And also discussed Policy 551, a student accident insurance program, which had, I believe, no changes. Correct. Thank you. So those have been reflected in the documents that you reviewed for this evening. With that, if
065there's any question or discussion on 507, corporal punishment would be available for those questions. Any questions or comments from the board? All right. And then the second policy up for this evening is accident insurance 551. Open for any questions on that as well. Any questions or comments from the board? Very minimal changes to these. We can't think of any. Thank you very much. So I would look for a motion that the board approve the above policies in first read and that the board direct the administration to prepare the policies for approval and second reading at the next meeting as part of consent. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay.
066Motion carries. Next, we'll move to thank you very much. Thank you, Superintendent Lightfoot. Next, we'll move to a resolution denouncing racism in athletic activities. So as as most of us have seen in the news and on social media, there have been quite a few incidents recently of blatant racism in athletic activities in the state of Minnesota. I was part of a discussion with board members in other districts about how they and their communities were responding to and addressing some of these dynamics. And one of the action items that came out of that meeting was the idea to bring forward a resolution that boards could pass if they wish to denounce racism in athletic. activities. And kind of as we were writing the resolution, MSHSL put out their statement that was emailed to all board members
067through MSBA is how I received it, at least through the Minnesota School Boards Association. So it was a statement of multiple organizations put out together. MSHSL, the Minnesota State High School League, was part of that list. of organizations and it was shared on social media as well there was a press release associated with it and so you know the language in this resolution is very collaborative that we want to partner with the minnesota state high school league to enact policies to prevent report address enforce against and hold people and institutions accountable for these harmful acts The Minnesota State High School League is seeking input from board members, districts, students above all, on what changes need to be made. So in addition to talking with school board members and other districts, I took this policy to
068a group of scholar athletes at Hopkins High School. or it's not policy, this resolution, and I had them take a look at it and offer their input. And one of the biggest changes that was made in response to scholar input was this idea of microaggressions, that we are seeing a lot of these blatant manifestations of racism and cultural disrespect at sporting events. and listening to our scholars they described just what's like a very frequent or current occurrence of microaggressions that happen at sporting events and in athletics as well so adding that language and then also this piece around reporting like what happens when these things happen and who can students go to um when these when these things occur so really grateful to those scholars for their their help with this resolution and their input
069on it So with that, I would welcome any questions or suggestions to the language. This is our resolution that we're passing as a school board. Other boards may be passing similar versions of this resolution, but we can certainly include in it whatever we find to be a priority as this board. So I would open it up for discussion. Chair Bouchard? Yes. I was really happy and proud to see this on the agenda this evening. I know we've had also happy and proud of our Hopkins girls basketball team for being the first to make public statements. And this is, I feel like a really great first step in taking the work that we do as a school board and as an educational community to be actively anti-racist and extending it to our students when they leave.
070our bubble and participate in sports and activities outside of the Hopkins community and as their visitors in other schools. So I was excited to see this. So thanks for the time drafting it. Thank you. Chair Bouchard? Yes. I concur, Director Peterson. I'm very proud to see this and also extremely proud of our student leaders. I'm not going to get emotional. But I am wondering about the focus on high school sports. I would like to see it be more inclusive of all of our, because I know some things go on at junior high. And also, you know, I don't. know how much we sponsor sports at the elementary level but i know community ed does so i think that expanding it could be good yeah so maybe just removing is it in that second whereas clause
071that it's high school sports specifically we could remove the high school sports and so then it would just be school sports school sports and then where else were there any other places where it was specific to high school That was the first one I saw. I don't believe so. The further repetition of high school is just inside of Minnesota State High School League. Thank you, Elise. Elise is editing it as we wordsmith here. Thank you. Any other changes? I think down here at the bottom it says athletic activities. So maybe that would be a good thing to to change and just call it athletic activities throughout instead of sports Yeah, so in that second clause Change it to athletic activities in Minnesota Thank you, at least and then is there another place where I put
072sports and it should be athletic activities one thing that I did notice. And possibly I have a frozen text version rather than the live version, but when I clicked on it from the agenda, the top micro header text still says resolution concerning moving toward fully funding school nutrition programs. Oh, weird. And so that just came, I mean, I just clicked on it today again from... So I will, I will re-click on it, but just, that is just the thing that I wanted to. That's strange. Mine does not show up that way. When I, I clicked on it just this moment from the agenda and it pulls up in a second tab, a Google Docs, and it's a, you know, has a blue Hopkins square at the top of mine. Yeah, that's weird. Maybe it's happening
073on the iPads. That's not happening on mine. Oh, weird. So I don't know. But I just closed my window and reopened it from the agenda. Anyway, so it is just a... I wonder if that's a Google Doc header that you have because that should be fully editable. Anyway, we'll have tech support get in on that one. That's right. I just have a question or comment, Chair Bouchard. So at the AMSD Executive Board, we just had a very interesting discussion on this around, like, who are all of the accountability partners? And where I think we landed is slightly different than the last statement that we partnered with the Minnesota State High School League, which does sort of position this entity as having. A lot of accountability and maybe importance in all of this, which is slightly
074different than we all are accountable and spelling out that's teachers, that's school leaders, that's superintendents, that's coaches, that's athletic directors. And yes, it's also the Minnesota State High School League. Like we need them to have high expectations and be firm. And there are a lot of players that have, no pun intended, there are a lot of individuals who are having direct contact and engagement with our scholar athletes all the time. And all of those adults are just as accountable. So maybe we could change the wording there so that, you know, that we as school board members, administrators, staff, start to, like, spell out some of those people specifically, like, who are part of the we? I think so. Does that capture it more accurately? So are we talking about the last statement or the... One
075where Minnesota State High School League is called out. I think that's what Dr. Mary Perry was referring to was that third clause under the now therefore be it resolved section so that we partner with the Minnesota State High School League. Is that right? Because I'm wondering, does the last statement get to more of what you were talking about? More of the practices. Well. Like if we expanded that to include like community. Or could you just say. Yeah, I think it does. Like that we as administrators, educators, teachers, coaches, spectators, partner with the high school league. That basically bringing all of these other people in as part of this resolution. Yeah, so I mean the we in this particular resolution is the school board because we're the ones who are passing it, right? And that's why
076I tried to capture kind of like more of that broader context that you're talking about in this last class. Yeah, like we're urging others, right? That we can't pass a resolution on behalf of coaches across the state, right? Because we're the Hopkins School Board, but we can urge. leaders across the state to do all these things in the last clause. Or could it be that we even urge educational leaders, coaches, spectators, you know, beyond just other educational leaders, right? Just maybe we urge. Yeah. It is an all-inclusive thing. No, I mean, I think, you know, as parents, I think as parents, we put our children into you know the charge of people who are you know coaches and community leaders and Yeah, what were you gonna? I'm sorry. No. I was just gonna say community
077at large are in addition to Coaches athletic directors something where it impacts everybody because My perception is that this is coming more from the stands at some of these events versus, I mean, I don't, I think a coach is not going to pose and coach is not going to do this, but that's why I was wondering community members at large, because that's my perception of reading these articles is that you're hearing it from the stands. So maybe that we urge communities across the state to enact and clearly communicate policies and practices? Makes sense to me. Does it? Okay. like just expanding the scope of of who is responsible and and who has agency right um elise could you make that change to that last clause under the be it resolved so yeah that we urge
078communities thank you are there other changes you'd like to see made are you ready for me to read it into the record and then i'll ask for a motion okay you can read it again I didn't read the whole thing, did I? I don't think you've read it yet. I don't think I've read it. Okay. Resolution denouncing racism in athletic activities. Whereas the Hopkins School Board values our scholars and athletes who are black, indigenous, and people of color, and whereas blatant racism, cultural disrespect, and microaggressions at athletic events in Minnesota are not new. And whereas these actions are directly counter to the values of the Hopkins School District, and whereas as school board directors, we are deeply disturbed by the persistent and pervasive racism against community members who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color
079during athletic events and activities, and whereas we are entrusted to prepare young people for better futures through an equitable education, including an understanding of our democracy and a commitment to equality and justice for all. And whereas we are committed to ensuring our scholars do not experience trauma and harm while participating in athletic activities. And whereas every scholar, coach, parent, caregiver, and community member should feel confident and safe to attend athletic events in any district. And whereas a safe environment is one that is free of bullying, racial slurs, cultural disrespect, microaggressions, and other forms of bias and harassment. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Hopkins School Board as follows, that we denounce all racist behavior and harassment by athletes, staff, and fans during athletic activities and games. And that we listen to, believe, and lift
080up the voices of our scholars when they share their experiences with racism, microaggressions, and cultural disrespect while participating in athletic activities. And that we partner with the Minnesota State High School League to enact policies to prevent, report, address, enforce against, and hold people and institutions accountable for these harmful acts. And that we urge communities across the state. to enact and clearly communicate policies and practices to ensure that athletes staff and community members who are black indigenous and people of color are safe and supported when participating in athletic activities in all communities so i would look for a motion to approve the resolution so moved i have a motion is there a second second i have a motion and a second to approve the resolution any further discussion Seeing none, Clerk Peterson. Director Adams. Aye. Vice
081Chair Andreessen. Aye. Director Hartland. Aye. Director Kahn. Aye. Director Peterson. Aye. Director Ross? Aye. Chair Bouchard? Aye. Thank you, Clerk Peterson. We have seven ayes, zero nays. Motion carries. We'll move to our last agenda item, which is, it is a heavy resolution night. Okay, I'm just going to say that. We have yet another resolution calling for an executive session for our superintendent's mid-year review. And this is an act that is being conducted pursuant to Minnesota open meeting law. And the recommendation is that the board approve the following resolution. Before I read the resolution, are there any questions or comments about this agenda item? It is hereby resolved that the School Board of Independent School District 270, Hopkins, Minnesota, meet in executive session to conduct the superintendent's mid-year review for the 21-22 school year, that the
082meeting be held in person, and commence immediately following the 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. I would look for a motion to approve this resolution. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the resolution. Any discussion? Seeing none, Clerk Peterson. We'll call vote again, huh? Yeah, all resolutions are. Sorry about that. Director Adams. Aye. Vice Chair Andreessen. Aye. Director Hartland? Aye. Director Kahn? Aye. Director Peterson? Aye. Director Ross? Aye. Chair Bouchard? Aye. Thank you, Clerk Peterson. We have seven ayes, zero nays. Motion carries. Next, we'll move into our board member reports. Who would like to go first? I can go. Great. Don't
083you have something, Director Adams? Oh, yeah. I defer to... The vice chair. Lovely. Thank you. Well, first, I feel very lucky that I was able to attend the Caring Youth Awards on Thursday, February 24th at the Minnetonka Community Center. Hopkins was very well represented. We had students from the school board. Our wonderful senior school board reps who received that award, a student from our equity and inclusion advisory, Hopkins students from the city of Hopkins and the Hopkins police and also ICA food shelf. So very, very proud to be a Hopkins school board member and parent at that event. Yeah, I also was at the Hopkins Education Foundation Royal Bash, which was a fun event. And as a representative to District 287's board, I wanted to give everyone an update on what's been happening there, specifically
084around... The shooting that happened approximately three weeks ago, District 287's focus continues to be to center safety, student and staff well-being, and racial equity. The district is in partnership with the Minnesota School Safety Center. It is a branch of Homeland Security and the Emergency Management under the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that is assessing the district's safety practices and will result in best practices. It's the Minnesota School Safety Center. They shortened it for me, which makes no sense. But has conducted an assessment on February 11th and returned again to talk with South Education Center staff. The district is committed to implementing best practices to every extent possible and will use our racial equity impact analysis tool to vet each practice. Safety partners and a diverse group of staff have formed an ongoing district-wide safety response
085team, and the team will work collaboratively to identify short- and long-term solutions to addressing safety in all of District 287 schools. As that work continues, many of the immediate safety practices implemented at South Education Center after the incident will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Thank you very much. Who would like to go next? I'll do the honors. Fabulous. Like Director Andrees and I attended the gala, or I guess it's not called the gala anymore. It's the bash on Saturday. And it's always very reassuring and reaffirming to find how much support we have among our community for our school district. And as Superintendent Mary Perry-Reed. remarked the presentation by Adam Habeis and his dad was very very moving and resulted in a substantial number of people donating to the mental health needs of our
086students in the district. So it was a wonderful event always is and it was fun to be there in person again for a change. Similarly, I attended the Empty Bowls event on February 21st. It was held at the LTD Brewing in downtown Hopkins and a fundraiser for the ICA Food Shelf and for Resource West. And it was bittersweet. It was the 24th and final Empty Bowls event started by Barb Westmoreland 24 years ago. and has supported those two organizations for all that time. And I was lucky enough to be the honorary chair one year. I don't know, about five, six years ago, something like that. But it's a very heartwarming event also. And, of course, LAC continues to meet. We had a long discussion on the 18th. because we're trying to figure out what redistricting
087is going to mean for our school district. And I have yet to find out, unfortunately. Because I've asked for a map that shows an overlay of the school district over the new districts, the new Senate districts and legislative districts, and have not found one yet. So I went to the state website on redistricting, and they don't have such a map. So I hope I don't have to create it myself. But at any rate, we've got a number of our... legislators both Senate and House people that are not going to be running again this year so it's going to change the complexion of our leadership that serves our district so that's my report thank you very much who would like to go next so I have a few things to share This past week, that would
088be last week, I guess it's already Tuesday of the following week. Last week, I joined the Minnesota Organizing Committee of an organization called Local Progress. Local Progress is a national organization that's committed to advancing a racial and economic justice agenda, and it's made up of local electeds at all levels of government. and they focus on collaborative advocacy model policies and professional development opportunities the minnesota chapter is really looking at building out their school board member program and so they brought me on board as part of their organizing committee to to help with that work and so far it's been a really energizing organization to be a part of. I participated in their Governance Academy Professional Development Day in November, and a lot of the conversations that came out of that day just kind of... opened
089up for me the possibilities of collaborative advocacy. So I think right now how we approach public school advocacy is it's like school boards coming together to advocate for a specific thing. And what I see as a possibility with local progress is school board members working really closely with city electeds and county electeds and state electeds. um to find these um these points of collaboration i think we've been in a position of gridlock for a really long time with certain educational issues and so i hope that this model can open up a pathway forward so we can start to to move on some of these things so i'll keep you updated on that the next kind of update bucket, I guess, is around holistic community safety work. So Hennepin County Commissioners Fernando, Lundy, and Latondris put
090forward a joint nomination for me to be appointed to HEALS 2.0. which is a Hennepin County task force that aims to address juvenile violent crime, including the recent increase in carjackings. So this morning I accepted a phone call and an invitation from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to join this group. And I'm looking forward to... bringing forward you know the priorities of equity driven school board members and public school communities to that table and really making sure that the conversation includes restorative approaches mental health support and wraparound services so really looking at what is the role of public education and then what is the role of the county in partnering with public school districts to make sure that our youth are really well served. So their next meeting, which will be my first meeting, is
091on the 14th. So that's right before our next school board meeting. So I'll be able to give you an update that evening. Last week, Dr. Mary Perry-Reed and I met with representatives from the City of Hopkins, Hennepin County, the Met Council, and ICA Food Shelf to talk about a collaborative framework and approaches to community safety locally here in Hopkins. And so that group is planning on having monthly meetings, and we advocated for bringing students into that work. and broadening the conversation to bring more community members in to help inform, you know, what a collaborative approach that's different from what we've done in the past could look like as we continue to move through COVID. I also met with representatives from a program called Be Smart, which is focused on gun safety, especially focusing on families
092who have guns in their homes, looking at gun locks and safety procedures and that type of thing. They work with other metro area school districts, including Wisetta and Robbinsdale, and they're interested in partnering with us here in Hopkins Schools. So I will be. connecting with them more about that. And then finally, today I testified in front of the House Public Safety Committee of the Minnesota Legislature in support of House File 2749, which is a bill to protect the legal rights of youth during police interrogations and regarding the admissibility in court of statements made by youth before they've had the opportunity to consult with legal representation. So one of the things that came out of the conversation in the committee hearing today was the statistic that I find staggering, that 90% of youth unknowingly waive their
093Miranda rights when they are being interrogated. And so this particular law would help mitigate against that. and provide continuity for school districts social services organizations and police departments when it comes to protecting the legal rights of youth across the state the outcome of the committee hearing today is that the bill was laid over for possible inclusion which means stay tuned so i will update uh if if there is any action um that comes out of that so that's what i have Any other board member reports? Okay. With that, I would look for a motion to adjourn. So we are, yes, so we already passed the resolution calling for an executive session, so we're going to adjourn the meeting. So moved. Thank you. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion
094and a second to adjourn. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Motion carries. And let's plan to meet back here in five minutes, so at 845 to begin the executive session. Thank you.