001caring climate and culture in which we engage, inspire, educate, prepare, and empower all learners in partnership with their surrounding community to be successful in today's and tomorrow's society. Heather, can you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? >> I pledge allegiance >> Thank you. And then when you're ready, can you please call roll? >> The following board members are present at the district administration office. Gina Acevedo. >> Here. >> Scott Andresen. >> Here. >> Natalie Copeland. >> Here. >> Zack Dorholt. >> Here. >> Diana Fenton. >> Here. >> Shannon Haas. >> Here. >> Heather Weems, here. The following cabinet members and staff are present at the district administration office. Superintendent Dr. Lori Putnam, assistant superintendent of secondary education Dr. Jason Harris, assistant superintendent of E5 learning Nikki Hanson, executive director of finance and business
002services Amy Gallerud, executive director of human resources and general counsel Therese Flynn Boe, executive director of innovation and technology services Katie Herbolt, executive director of special education Danny Meyer, media technicians Paul Novak and Gordy Scott, and the custodian on site is Emerson Beemer. >> Thank you. Then I need a motion to approve tonight's Board of Education meeting agenda. >> So moved. >> Have a motion by Scott, the second by Natalie. Heather, can you call roll on that? >> Scott Andresen. >> Yes. >> Zack Dorholt. >> Yes. >> Shannon Haas. >> Yes. >> Heather Weems, yes. Diana Fenton. >> Yes. >> Natalie Copeland. >> Yes. >> Gina Acevedo. >> Yes. >> Then we have the consent agenda. The consent agenda consists of non-controversial items the board adopts routinely without debate. Any single member may remove an
003item from the consent agenda by requesting removal at the time the consent agenda is moved for adoption. On tonight's consent agenda, item A, approval of board minutes from May 6th, 2026 and May 20th, 2026. Item B, approval of bills and other financial transactions in the grand total amount of $2,749,542.27. Item C, approval of personnel staff changes. Item D, acceptance of grant awards and donations. Item E, bid award remainder of Apollo renovations and addition bid package two. Item F, approval of monthly financial report for April 2026. Item G, approval of monthly treasurer's report for April 2026. And item H, update population base for community education funding. At this time, does any board member wish to have an item removed from the consent agenda? Natalie. You got it. Yes. Okay, thank you. So, then I'm looking for
004a motion to approve the agenda items all except for D. >> So moved. >> I have a motion by Scott, a second by Diana. Heather, can you call vote on that? >> Shannon Haas. >> Yes. >> Zackary Holdt. >> Yes. >> Scott Anderson. >> Yes. >> Diana Fenton. >> Yes. >> Gina Acevedo. >> Yes. >> Heather Weems. Yes. >> And then Natalie is recusing herself from >> She's calling me for that one. >> Oh, sorry. That one I then I have to Yes, sorry. Natalie. >> Yes. [laughter] >> Okay. All right, then moving on to item D, acceptance of grant awards and donations. Natalie is recusing herself, so can I get a motion to approve that item? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay, again have a motion by Scott, a second by Diana. Heather,
005can you call vote except for Natalie? >> Diana Fenton. >> Yes. >> Heather Weems. >> Yes. >> Shannon Haas. >> Yes. >> Zackary Holdt. >> Yes. >> Scott Anderson. >> Yes. Gina Acevedo? >> Yes. >> All right, thank you. Uh moving on to [clears throat] some information items tonight. Uh first up is the Ready, Set, Schools update presented by uh our superintendent Dr. Lori Putnam and welcome special guest Claire Richards Richards, CEO of Impacts. Glad to have you, Claire. Thanks for joining us. >> Thank you, Chair and members of the board and um special indeed because this uh would not be possible without the support of Claire um through this process. We have learned how to fundraise together. >> [laughter] >> So that we have. >> It has been an adventure. >> Um so we're
006really excited to share the an update on Ready, Set, School um success on day one. Um and you know, the the way this got started um was by um >> [snorts] >> really considering all the things that get in the way um of of our core commitments, right? Safety, belonging, um collaboration, academic excellence. Um and for us uh belonging, right? Is is um so key. They're all important, right? But belonging is so key. Um and this is um an effort to start to um help expand um belonging um from day one so that every student when they when they come, you know, can come to us excited um feeling um ready to learn and knowing that they will have all of the tools that they need. So we are actually going to start off um
007by showing you a quick video um that's going to recap uh uh uh what we're going to talk about tonight and is also um going to be on our website and um part of our um marketing moving forward. >> [music] >> One of the for the [music] school district is belonging. And when I started to really think about what are the barriers to belonging for our students, [music] thinking about school supplies came to mind. >> [music] >> And we know that showing up on day one without the things that other students around you have really >> [music] >> gets in the way of feeling like you belong in the classroom or that you are ready to learn. >> [music] >> I started to look for ways where we might be able to eliminate that barrier
008for our students and began talking with Claire Richards and CEO [music] and owner of Impact. >> Our involvement as a business is really to help source the school supplies. [music] We work with hundreds of schools across the country and we have access to wholesale pricing. So, what [music] we're really doing is driving that cost for the supplies down, making it way more affordable. And you can do that when you buy [music] in bulk, which is one of the special parts about this program. It's thinking strategically about how do we make sure that this [music] is sustainable every single year to support all of these students. So, when Lori came to us [music] a couple years ago and and had this amazing vision for Ready Set School, we were all in and [music] we decided to
009pilot the program with Talahi locally. >> Thanks to the generous donation of Tom and Janet Gronouski, we were able to pilot at Talahi [music] last year along with all of our preschool sites through the generous donations of Rotary Act. And so, [music] that pilot went extremely well. We partnered with teachers, with principals [music] to find out what exactly is needed and then to also [music] at the end of the year audit, you know, what how much is left over, what needs to be replaced. [music] We're able to really be more thoughtful and strategic. our kids receive. >> [music] >> You know, one thing that I hope for the future of this program is that we are able to sustain it. You know, many of our donors have either [music] pledged an evergreen commitment or a
010three or five-year commitment and that's amazing. >> [music] [laughter] >> Uh so, not to reiterate what the video already covered, but Lori and I started talking about 2 years ago discussing what what would this look like to support all of the students with supplies. And I think there's there's obviously real strategy in thinking about this from a bulk capacity and driving the cost down and supporting students in that way, but there's definitely that that very personal nature of making sure every student feels ready to start the year. We started our business, my husband and I, 6 years ago and we were actually inspired to start our business because we were doing supply drives for District 742 through St. Cloud Rotary. So, this is all very full circle from that perspective. And one thing that we've
011found in doing research and and just getting really familiar with the needs not just here in our local community, but across the country is how much families are spending on school supplies. It's more than most people would assume. The national average is just over $140 just for supplies. This isn't talking about the technology, the clothes, the shoes, the backpacks. This is just the pencils, the notebooks, the folders. And obviously that can be an incredible burden on families, especially because all of that spending typically happens in a very short period of time over the summer. And so when families are not able to afford supplies, we know based on national data that often teachers and school administrators are really the ones that step up and cover those expenses. I know District 742 has done a really
012fantastic job at making that list as narrow to the essentials as possible. I know the district helps in classrooms to support those necessities and we've got great programs like adopted classroom, but it's not enough. And so this was really an initiative driven out of to bridge that gap and make sure that students have what they need and teachers aren't buying those things out of pocket. >> So our solution was to partner with Impacts to do bulk purchase bulk purchasing. And Impacts, Claire and her husband have been very gracious in in allowing us to to have it at cost. And Amy and Nikki have done a really good job partnering with Brandon because they have also scanned the entire environmental the environmental market, right? Like looked across all of the different vendors and said, "Could we
013get this even cheaper than what Impacts can do?" And if if we could find it, Impacts was like, "Great, get it there." But we have not been able to to find a lower cost at this point. And while Impacts is a for-profit company, all of the work that they have done has been has been volunteer for this effort and then of course the at at cost purchasing. We also [clears throat] you also heard in the video, right, that this is sustainable. Nikki has led this effort with our in our buildings and has really worked closely with teacher teams to determine you know they they did a they a review of products right before we even purchased right Impacts gave us options Nikki took those out into into meet with teacher leader teams they reviewed them
014they said this not that and then we [clears throat] um piloted last year you'll hear more about that um and then at the end of the year Nikki and has led a audit process to make sure that again we're not you don't need to buy 18 pairs of classic scissors every year and 18 rulers right those are the they last year over year and so that's part of the way that we're going to make sure that this is sustainable and also just really good for the environment and I will also say that many of the students we serve come from family backgrounds communal backgrounds where they they prioritize being right communal experiences right and it doesn't have to be everybody has their individual supplies and I have mine and you don't have mine right it
015can be about an us instead of an I or and so that's been a really fun thing to be able to be responsive in that way to our students and of [snorts] course we know it eliminates will remove some burden and then as you heard Claire reference they know better even than we do right watching it happen the gap across the country between what we ask our families to provide what they can provide and then where the teachers need to step in >> So we talked a little bit about this process collecting the supply list making sure we understand the essentials and really treating this as classroom level supplies rather than individual student supplies of course that doesn't remove expression from individual students right they still have the opportunity to wear the clothes and shoes
016and backpacks and everything that helps express their personality this is really talking about the essentials the notebooks, the pencils, the folders. And so last year we piloted this and we're going to talk a little bit about that in just a minute, but really emphasizing this community level packing event so that everybody can be an active participant in the experience and then delivering it right to the classrooms in time for school. And so we have a date set for this year for that community packing event of July 30th and we'll talk a little bit more about that in just a bit. I'll share a little bit about the pilot last year. So first and foremost we're just so grateful to Janet and Tom Gronnest as well as the St. Cloud Rotary Act Club for financially backing
017the pilot last year. I think any good experiment starts with a pilot to validate does this work? How are we going to maneuver the process of ordering supplies, doing the audit, making sure the packing event goes smoothly and we took lots of notes that we now can deploy this year. But last year we were able to support the Talahi students as well as pre-K three and four through these initiatives and I would say very successfully. >> You know, everything that we do always has unintended impact, right? Unintended consequences. And one of those I would say that we didn't see coming was the deep investment that Janet and Tom Gronnest grew to have in Talahi. They visited Nikki and Sam Sam is of course the principal for anyone listening. Nikki and Sam did a beautiful job
018setting up a welcome and and and curating it to what the Gronnest is were looking for. At first it was going to be a big assembly and I would prefer not to do that. And so instead it was a a red carpet walk and it was a visit classroom to classroom with cards and thank yous and songs Um that was um meaningful to those donors. Um and then uh over the course of the year they came back and read in classrooms. Um they then later sponsored all of Talahi to go to the Children's Museum and they went with them and spent the entire day with the children. They went back at the end of the school year. And so that and then Rotary Act went and visited preschools, right? And so those were just some
019unintended um consequences, positive ones, um of this effort as well. >> And I'll just add I I think this is a really important case study of what it looks like to partner cross-sectoral cross-sectorally when you have nonprofits, for-profits, and public entities come together for the benefit of our children. I think um everybody would agree like this is a top priority, the success of our students in our community, but people don't always know how to impact that. And so to give them a pathway to do it, I think people really feel fulfilled through that process. >> Apologies. So, we decided that this year we were going to expand um and so we were going to go from the PK 3 and 4 in Talahi um to PK through grade 5. We started with only five schools.
020That was our our original goal when we started our fundraising um and and as we saw people being willing and excited to invest in um the opportunity financially but also with the the premise of getting to come. And that's really what what it felt like is, do we get to come to the packing event? Can Can we bring employees with us? Can we bring volunteers? Right? Because it was really a desire to be um invested um presence-wise in this community. So, we did expand to uh all eight schools. So, that would include Kennedy PK 5 um with a fundraising goal of $130,000. >> And of course uh depending on where the spending lands, if if the supplies at the end of the day come in less than that, that just becomes more uh that contributes
021to next year and um you have already mentioned this Lori, but we have some evergreen commitments as well as multi-year commitments which just means that we are already fairly secure in next year and the year following for this program, which is really exciting. Um so this is just a breakdown of how we've talked about those sponsorship tiers and we probably don't need to spend a whole lot of time, although we are absolutely accepting more donations. So if anybody is interested in getting involved who's like watching this stream right now, um now is a good time to commit, but uh this this is just um our way of recognizing the sponsors. I don't think any of the sponsors are really in it for marketing, right? They're in it because they care about students. But this is
022a way that we can say thank you through recognition. >> So here are the schools that um have the full sponsors. It was 15, as you saw, $15,000 to fully sponsor a school for the year. Um and so you can see um we we did give um the preference to the the donor and said if you have a particular connection to a community, um then we invite you to select that uh school and then we'll do some curated experiences for the donor with those uh particular school communities. Um and so you'll see that there were uh three still um yet to be claimed, um but that that really all that means is that we have um donors at the 5,000 or 2,500 or $1,000 level that are going to be combined to then co-sponsor or
023co- you know, co-adopt [clears throat] uh one of the elementary schools as well. So every donor um will find a home and every school will find a donor. >> And to be clear, we we are at our goal. So um all of these schools will be covered. I just want that to be really clear. >> [clears throat] >> Yes, thank you. So, in regards to the kidding event, like I mentioned earlier, the dead or the date for that is July 30th. It will be hosted at Apollo High School. This is really going to be an opportunity for everybody to contribute, whether that be staff, teachers, administrators, certainly our Impacts team will be there. There will be nonprofits like the Rotary Club in St. Cloud Rotaract, of course, who is helping co-host this experience. And then
024there's going to be businesses involved. And so, this is really meant to be a celebration. It's going to be a great opportunity to invite our friends in various media publications to come and see the cool things that we've got going on in greater St. Cloud. What I will say being in this industry and having done quite a bit of research, this is a really unique model. This is not common to have private businesses and individuals step up as donors to support something like this. It's really, really unique. And for that reason, I think it's an amazing story and just a a testimony to this wonderful place we live. >> And so, we just want to highlight a few of our partners again. You know, 742, right? Thank you to the board and to Nikki and
025her elementary team who have the board has supported us moving in this direction and Nikki has done so much work. Also to Amy who has has to manage all the finance. And so, we appreciate all of that as well. And truly, I started with we could not do this without Impacts and I could not have done this without Claire. To Leif, we want to say a sincere thank you. They are our fiscal host. And so, when you go to we are updated our website is updated and live and there is a still a link on there to if people are wanting to donate. We did send out a communication to families sharing the great news with them. And then I'm certainly you know inviting families who are able to help us continue this program into
026years to come >> [snorts] >> to donate and then that directs people to LEAF and I do want to point out we've been one of our LEAF's generous willingness to do this with us was that we also want to be very clear and clear reference that you heard in the video that this is not and does not take the place of the adopt a classroom program right that continues to be a necessity a necessity for us because it provides enrichment and this what we are covering is just the basics right and we know that our teachers and our students need more than just the basics and so the adopt a classroom helps there and then Road Less Traveled has been they've been at every one of our planning meetings right and just just see the
027volunteer community spirit from our millennial older Gen Z community has been really inspiring and so really grateful to them. >> And we just want to take a moment to thank the donors that are making this possible you can see quite a few on the screen here a mix of individuals and businesses who are all very committed to seeing this project through and in particular Janet and Tom I just want to shout out one more time because not only was their initial donation fundamental to the pilot but they continue to contribute and they have been our number one advocates they are connecting us to other people to other organizations giving us really valuable advice as we went out to fundraise for this project they've just been wonderful but we we have some incredible school champions and
028supply superheroes and learning leaders and supply supporters these are all individuals and businesses that we uh are very thankful for And our intention is to um uh create a blueprint um and we're going to we will go attend um superintendent conferences and uh principal conferences and um for a couple of reasons. One is is um because you know, if we can do it, any community can do it, right? I do think St. Cloud is special, right? In this way, but I also think that there are other communities that that that will be glad to support their children. Um and so we want to be able to to show this is what public-private partnership can do. Um and so we'll do that. And then we're also going to go out there and share the great news.
029And uh for any of our media who are listening, and I know Lauren's in the background, um you know, we really want this story told um at a time when there are not um sometimes it can feel like there's we have to look hard to find the bright spots. Um this is a real bright spot, and it's really going to change things for our kids and our families, um and we could not be more grateful and excited to share the good news. So. >> I agree. >> Okay, my tears have stopped for a little bit, [laughter] but um does anybody want to jump in with some comments? Ge- Gina. >> I just want to share that when I heard this news today, I did a yippee out loud. Um just thank you, Claire and Lori
030and everyone that worked on this. I think this is amazing. And I think you said it perfectly, Lori, where when there's not a lot of bright spots, this one is. And this one it just makes me so happy. It makes I know everyone in this room so happy, so thank you for all the work that everyone's put into this. It's It's absolutely amazing. >> Are the donations going to a classroom, or are they going to individual students within the classroom? >> Uh it's a great question. So, the donations from a technical standpoint are either going to Leaf or directly to the district if it's a larger check, and then that will go towards purchasing the supplies in a tax-exempt manner because it's coming from a nonprofit that is tax-exempt, and then that those supplies will
031then be curated by classroom. We call it teacher totes or the teacher tote model. I think there's maybe a picture of Oh, right here. If you see in that top right-hand corner, it's really these large bins that are something that can be stacked in a closet and tapped into throughout the course of the year as needed and replenished quite easily. So, that's what we mean when we say classroom basis or teacher tote basis versus each student getting an individual kit. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, just [clears throat] a extra thanks cuz when I read that email, too, it was like there's a sense of relief cuz it's sometimes not just the costs. It's finding the time, getting the lists, and then realizing, you know, you don't have everything on the list. So, not just money,
032but holy cow, just the amount of stress you're relieving from parents and families. And that just transfers around. So, thanks again. This is super cool. >> It is very super super cool. Um the one thing I would add that you don't have that maybe might be interesting is an environmental tilt to it because I can think of in my closet at home, and my kids are long past elementary, the number of boxes or crates I have with crayons and pencils and rulers and everything because we couldn't find them at the moment we needed them the following year, and so we just bought them because it was easier. But there is a piece to it that I think just, you know, for those of us who are privileged to be able to afford it, we took
033the easy route. I would have I would have paid the classroom to do this for me. I mean, to be honest, because it was not my thing. >> [laughter] >> But it just makes it so much easier and you don't you don't get into the who has better and who had, you know, which which to to your point about belonging is so important. So, thank you um and and certainly to Claire, you to to you and Brandon, just the the entire program is impressive and and built out of this community here and congratulations to you. >> I'll just add to the point of belonging. Um when I told one of my very good friends that we were doing this, her reaction was uh to share that when she was young, she was the student that
034came without supplies and she dreaded that day every single year. She dreaded it for like a week leading up to the first day of class because she knew the first experience she was going to have amongst her classmates was that feeling of shame and of not belonging. And so, it's just interesting because I would not have assumed this about her and I think we are surrounded by people who had these experiences growing up and um maybe haven't shared openly, but this I think will be really meaningful from that perspective. Absolutely. >> Yeah, it um like if you look up the definition of equity, then this is it. You know, and I'm just really proud of you. So, I could go on and on about that, but and then I'll cry like Shana did, so. >>
035[laughter] >> Um and just the names on the screen, like this is the thing about us in this community, right? Is that there many of these names either had, you know, kids that went through our district or currently still have kids in our district or one that just graduated, you know, like the the investment of our community into our schools is something that astounds me on a on a daily basis. And I think I sensed a little hesitation and like and then we're going to tell people about it and then you're like, well, yeah, we were going to tell we're not going to do it I'm not going to spend money on that. I'm like, you know, like but no, we have to tell people. Like if we're all going to if we're Paul's well-stoning
036it up and we're all going to do better when we all do better, let's say this is the blueprint and that's not the first time that District 142 has got a blueprint and then you know, the state's like, hey, that's great. Let's do that. So um you know, it the model where if a parent still can do it, like Heather was saying, if somebody can still do it, they can still make a donation that affects the kid the next year, um that's that's pretty genius. So, thank you for all your continued work. >> I'll make I'll make it really quick, but again, the impact is going to be significant and I think for teachers themselves, I would start now preparing for what supplies I would need for my classroom next year. We just finished the
037school year, but it starts now. I mean, we know July 1st those ads are out. It It really makes a difference and I think for the teachers not to have to worry about this as well, but it's a impact on families as well for budgeting concerns and figuring out what needs to be bought for next school year. So, the timing of announcing this today is so important. Thank you. >> This is so beautiful on so many levels and I'm I don't know if I can say this without crying. But >> [laughter] >> not only is it really cool and amazing to that this district and this community pulled this off and thank you very much, but also to belong in a community that identifies the fact that how impactful this is. So, Nikki, thank you.
038>> Thank you guys. We appreciate your time. And we will see you all at the packing event, I hope. >> Yes, put in your calendar. >> Thank you, everybody. >> Okay, Nikki, tough act to follow here. >> [laughter] >> So, next up we have the early childhood opportunities presented by Nikki Hanson, assistant superintendent of E5 learning. >> All right, tough act to follow is right. But good evening, Chair Howe, Superintendent Putnam, members of the board. I am very excited to be with you here tonight to talk about some new opportunities for early learning programming. We have four of them specifically that we are going to talk through tonight. The first one is preschool forest programming available at all of our elementary sites next school year. The second one is an additional PK4 section that we
039are looking to add. The third one is an expansion of our PK3's Friday opportunity that we piloted last school year, so we'll give you an update there. And the fourth one is a full-day programming pilot that we are starting this year in partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Central America, Kids Club at Discovery Elementary. So, taking a look, we know that we went through an elementary re-boundary process this school year and we are transitioning our three Oakhill sections back to the Oakhill community who are excited to welcome them and have littles back in their building. Uh we also have Talley and Lincoln Elementary that are transitioning back to a PK-5 models who will also have community preschool right in their schools. At Westwood this coming year we are adding our 15th section of pre-K
0404's programming. Uh so you can see there on the side a breakdown of the number of sections that we have at each site which equates to 450 seats for 4-year-old programming within our school district. Uh looking at expanding our pre-K 3's Friday opportunity. Um this was really a lot of collaborative solution seeking with our teachers, with our early childhood directors, um in great partnership last year. We wanted to take some of our our staff who are grandfathered in at a 1.0 and get them in front of kids. Uh we also know that we have been monitoring uh frequently, monthly at least, um our waitlist to try and get access and an opportunity for all students who are wanting to engage in part of our early childhood programming. Um so this last school year, 24-25, we
041piloted um and we started out really taking a look at how do we get more PK-4's experiences because we knew that uh we wanted everyone to have an experience if they were on a waitlist in our schools before they hit kindergarten. Um so we had one section that was at Discovery and then we had quickly pivoted uh as we were calling families and engaging in their interacting in our community, we had more interest in our 3's program for our Friday pilot than our 4's. Some of that is due to our 4's program is 4 days a week, a half day 4 days a week. Our 3's program is 2 days a week for a half day and so that 1 day a week option more closely matched the time commitment um of our 3's programming.
042And so next year we will be transitioning to 3's programming in our community school. So all eight elementary sites will have a one day a week option for threes to be in their school communities and will also give us just a beautiful pathway from threes to fours to kinder and really make our students kindergarten ready. Um that shift in programming and the investment that we have made will give us 36 additional PK3 seats and you will see how we've tackled some of that data on our waitlist here in a later slide. >> Really committed to to that supporting that access and that early learning opportunity and investing in our future. >> And then the Club Kids learning partnership with Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota really came from I get the the opportunity to
043sit on the program impact uh committee with Boys and Girls Club and I heard some things and I said, "Hey, I wonder." And so I called Superintendent Putnam who was very much in favor of of taking a look at a pilot for a full day option for kids for programming and so we are piloting this year at Discovery. Um the opportunity for 30 of our Discovery PK4 students will have 15 in the AM, 15 in the PM that will be able to go into program to stay for a full day experience. Um we are working now uh with Boys and Girls Club in making sure that we have a beautiful scope and sequence that goes in alignment with our learning opportunities during the school day to really provide that extension um and are super grateful
044for a full-service community schools grant who has made some of this possible and also that great partnership with Boys and Girls Club of Central um Minnesota. >> Uh board member Weems, you had asked about our preschool opportunities, so I thought this might be a great opportunity to just lay out um some of those programming um pathways that we have both in District 742 but also within our community. And so I won't take you through all of it but kind of wanted to try and align and give a picture to those opportunities from birth to three, our preschool threes, and our preschool fours. And so, in 742, our birth to three programming really comes through our Help Me Grow referrals. Help Me Grow referrals can come from medical providers, they can come from caregivers, they can
045come from family members or community members that see a need within a young student. Um and anytime we get a Help Me Grow referral, we have a certain period of time where we have to review that and then determine if there's programming that we can provide for that that child. Um birth to three looks like home visiting programs and parent uh education enhancements. And then we have our preschool threes programming, which is 2 days a week at Quarry View for a half day. Um and then that addition to that Friday threes, so all of our elementary buildings have that one day a week option for threes to come in now starting that this school year. And then our preschool fours programming is that 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday, half day with an AM
046section as well as a PM section. Um the one thing we talked a little bit about last board meeting about Minnesota is we're kind of that mixed bag opportunity. We don't have universal pre-K, so our our community really has some choices of do I want to do a public education preschool opportunity for my child? Do I want to access a Reach Up or a Head Start um opportunity? Is it an in-home daycare? Am I looking at a church that may provide some of that programming for my student? So, we really have a mixed bag of options, and that bottom line that CAN, what we call CAN, which is our Collaborative Action Network, um is really what brings our and our surrounding communities together to ensure that we're following our ESIPs, which are standards for early
047childhood indicators of progress, and really moving with the same language to give that access and opportunity across any of those options that our families may choose. Wanted to talk a little bit about numbers. Our end of year waitlist numbers for May, so this was hot last month. Um we have 32 students who are PK3s on our waitlist and we had 42 students on our PK4s waitlist. If you remember a couple years ago, we were talking in the hundreds. Um a couple things that have contributed to that is we have sustained our three classrooms that preschool for success in our partnership with Rotary had created and so we still have those additional three classrooms within our 15 sections. Um and then we have created these other pathways for access and opportunity. Next school year, so that
048green bar there, you can see that our PK3s program redesign is going to create 36 additional seats, which will wipe out that waitlist where the numbers are right now. And our additional section of PK4s will provide 30 extra seats, um which will reduce that number significantly. In that very fine print under that 42, um wanted to make mention that our our terrific clerical staff and early childhood staff reach out frequently to families who are on this waitlist, but some of them run into some barriers of being non-compliant with paperwork. Could be a birth certificate, um could be an immunization form and so we're constantly working with families to get them to comply and to get them into one of the seats that are available. Um but some of those 42 would have a spot. It
049was just we were non-compliant with that paperwork status. And with that, I would be happy to take any questions. >> So exciting. Scott. >> Yeah, how are we paying for all this? >> We have made some investment um into our early childhood programming with some of the one-time funds that we have. Um we also take every every chance we get right now with the state of Minnesota, it's 3 years that you can apply for the VPK um funding from the state. Um so every time we get to write a grant or get to reapply for VPK status of schools, that helps to get us some partial funding. Um so an example of that would be those Rotary Preschool for Success classrooms last cycle we were able to get them into VPK status. So we are
050receiving some some funding back. We also have some opportunities through pathway scholarships from the state where we can access some of that funding which is what we were able to expand the Friday 3's pilot with. And so we're just trying to get really intentional and thoughtful and fiscally responsible with the funds that we have to serve as many kids as possible. >> Sounds like it's partly private and quite a bit state funding. Um Now does this total This is the first year in a long time we've had 10,000 students. Is this one of the reasons we have 10,000 students? >> Potentially. I'd like to think so. >> Okay. Thank you. >> It's just a phenomenal job. So one of the things I think at our last meeting that struck me and I can't remember who
051said it but the comment that students who are behind in reading at second grade are high are are unlikely to ever catch up. So to have this come full circle and then to have the impacts conversation earlier. But one of the things that I want to note particularly Nikki and I can't even remember the context that you said but one thing that I think consistently you bring to the table is you were in some partner meeting and you said it got your head thinking about how could we do this? And and it is when we think about this district and and certainly the challenges but what I appreciate is the innovation and the willingness to think outside of the box and I think upon so many different conversations that continually happens you know in in
052all sorts of different venues and classrooms and this you know all sorts of different things. And and I think it's a credit to Lori, to you and your leadership team, and all of the teachers who are continually thinking of the things, you know, like again, and I don't have a ton of experience in in other districts other than my own growing up. The offerings that that are just here are incredible. Um you know, with with the challenges, I think also become the opportunities that small districts just probably don't have the bandwidth to do this. And so, um I just want to point out how impressive it is that when there are opportunities and when there is community partnership, and when there are are ideas surfaced or questions um that remain, um we don't sit on
053our hands and and you don't sit silently and and I'm just I continue to be impressed. And you see it in outcomes. And my hope is that the next outcome, again with the standardized testing and that whole curricular program, we begin to see some of that ticking as as we see more threes and fours, we begin to see some upticks in in our um our our elementary schools to continue to show that not only is it giving them a place to belong in a place to feel safe, but also a place where they are demonstrating academic excellence. So, kudos to all of you. >> Thank you. >> Well, that was very exciting. So, thank you for sharing those numbers. Um another reason to be so proud of this um school district and community. Thank you.
054All right. Uh last information item tonight, we have the 10-year long-term facilities maintenance plan presented by Amy Skalard, Executive Director of Finance and Business Services. Welcome, Amy. >> Mhm. Yep. >> Thank you. Oh, there it goes. Okay. Good evening Chair Hasse, Superintendent Putnam, school board members. Uh this is a Actually, everything I'm presenting tonight is an annual presentation. Um the first is an information item. It's our 10-year long-term facilities maintenance plan. Um this gets presented in June and then comes back on consent agenda uh for approval in July. So, um that is our standard timeline. It does have a requirement to have the board approve that and submit that to MDE um by the end of July so that those numbers uh can be included in the levy process that will start uh this summer.
055So, just to start, a a quick recap of the long-term facilities maintenance plan. Um this program is set in legislature. It comes from funding from two sources, levy and aid. The vast majority of it comes from levy. Um there's a very small state aid component. Um all of which for us covers uh some of the debt service costs that we've had on LTFM bonds we we've issued. Um and for those who have been around a really long time, um there used to be old language that had a deferred or not facility deferred maintenance program and a healthy health and safety program. Uh number of years ago, those two programs and that um uh language and statute was all repealed and replaced um with this new comprehensive LTFM program. Uh quick overview of allowable uses. It
056can be used for uh ADA costs to make school district facilities accessible. Um health and safety uh projects that fall under kind of that old traditional health and safety law uh are allowable. I always like to remind people that that doesn't mean anything that relates directly or indirectly to the health or safety of students. The health and safety statutes are very specific to things like hazardous material disposal and asbestos abatement and indoor air quality. So there's a really a very short list of things that the health and safety fall under the health and safety allowed uses and then the rest is really kind of that routine what we would call deferred maintenance that those projects to to keep our buildings up to prevent further erosion of the building to extend the useful life. It has
057to be a district owned facility. So if we're renting a building somewhere for programming, we can't use LTFM at that rental facility. Remodeling is not allowed with the exception of the new carve out for single user restrooms, which we've done quite a bit of as you all know in the last couple years. Um and then you can't use it to do new construction or to add square footage or create new space. So our fiscal year 28 LTFM budget is a total of just over 13 million. 7,750,000 of that is our annual projects that we fund every year and then the rest of that is debt service payments. It's revenue that is levied to cover those LTFM bonds that have been issued in the past. There are three LTFM bonds that we have that have been
058issued. One of those in 2015 which was the majority of our schools HVAC projects. Another bond was issued in 2022 also for primarily HVAC work and then the most recent one was the 2023 that we used to complete HVAC at Apollo but also do some of those other costs that were LTFM eligible to keep that referendum ask as low as we could make it. One other thing to note, it feels like we're about to approve the 27 budget in a little bit and now we're talking about 28. Um, this is really far in advance and the reason for that is because um, this approval is tied to the levy and so the levy process that starts this summer is the levy that gets recognized in fiscal 28. So, um, and you'll see that when we
059get to the project list, uh, we leave a fair amount unallocated because this is over a year from now. Um, and so things come up, we don't know what priorities might be, what might change. Um, and so that's the the reasoning for why we're we're talking about something that's, uh, quite a ways down the road. Uh, in terms of our, uh, preliminary projects for, um, fiscal 28, most fiscal 28 projects occur in the summer of 27, um, July and August. Uh, there is some overlap in, uh, terms of projects that would be happening in summer of 28, um, but we don't identify a lot of those in advance with the exception of big things like roofing projects. Um, so as we look at this project list, um, on the third and fourth line down, uh,
060you'll see we have Clearview roofing and Kennedy roofing. Roofing are always our biggest, um, cost items. The Clearview roofing project is scheduled for, um, summer of 27 and then the Kennedy project would be, um, the following, uh, the following summer. So, what you see there for the million for Kennedy is just the June portion. Um, so that's a large project. Um, that project's over $3 million by the time you the whole, um, the whole roof. Uh, and so that's why, um, sometimes we see, two summers of work overlap. Uh, we try as much as possible just because funding doesn't carry over from year to year to start projects after July 1 because it's really hard to estimate how much is going to happen, um, you know, in each of the fiscal years and and to
061manage that budget. Uh, but with large projects like roofing and parking lots, it's just not possible. You can't get a roof, um, a big roughing project done if you wait till July 1st. Um so I'm not going to go through every project. Um a lot of these are um are things that are identified from our 10-year plan. Um and so uh if there's any questions, you know, certainly um we can um I can elaborate. Uh most of what's on the list is pretty straightforward. Um again, if we go to the >> [clears throat] >> uh the next portion, you'll you will see four lines for Lincoln. Lincoln is our oldest building at this point. Um it definitely does need some updating and some some um attention just aesthetically. Uh and so you'll see um one
062of the things that has been [clears throat] uh identified as interior doors. For those of you who had been in Apollo before and after the door replacement, um it made a big difference just in terms of brightening up the building and modernizing. Um and so that will be done um along with some electromechanical things um that are in the 10-year plan. And then really everything else you see on this second page um is just set aside for things that come up. We have um plumbing things that happen during the year, HVAC. Um we always have routine parking lot maintenance. Uh and then again a portion that stays uh unallocated um as we get closer to fiscal '28 uh and can decide what uh what might be a priority that isn't on our radar right now.
063Are there any questions on the '27-'28 LTFM plan? Scott? >> Yeah, um I attended the thought leaders conference the past 2 days. And um one of the big hits was the single-user restrooms. Everyone I talked to, they just loved them. Are we going [clears throat] to be doing more of or have we got uh got them done or what's it look like? >> So right now, we've done what we can. Um we're doing Tech this summer, so that will complete um all of our secondary schools. Uh we've really done what we can in terms of current building code. Right now, you still have to keep 50% of them identified as gender specific. Now, if building code changes, that's not to say that we may not look at at making some changes. I'm not sure that
064we would um we would probably prioritize particularly Apollo and Tech, right? Those are our newer buildings and you still want to have choice. Some people still do prefer the traditional um restrooms. Um but for sure North and South where we have some other restrooms that are outdated and are going to be coming up in the LTFM plan um at some point. There may be a desire to add, um but at this point um the really the district's focus on doing those projects um was at the secondary level and we'll be finishing that phase with Tech this summer. >> Okay, well anyway, they were very much appreciated. And so is the conference by the way. This is something that Lori put together a couple years ago and thinking outside the box. >> All right. Any um
065Natalie? Can you talk a little bit about the North and South theater and what we might be doing there? >> Yeah, so LTFM is pretty restrictive, right? So um different than when we did Apollo when we could really do a lot and expand lighting and you know, kind of uh modernize to some extent because we were utilizing um some LTFM funds with some other one-time funds. Um we're a little bit restricted to only LTFM eligible items. So it would primarily be new seats, um flooring, and then uh we'll look at the curtains in at the uh to see if the um curtains or if the stage needs to be painted. Um but we can't do anything really in terms of, you know, once you use the word upgrade, um we can't upgrade lighting systems or
066um upgrade sound systems or mic systems or things like that, unfortunately. Um so really, you know, more of that um that face lift, that modernizing the finishes. Um Um, but I think that we we use both of those theaters. Those were both identified in the 10-year plan a few years out, actually. Um, but we kind of moved those forwards in terms of, um, trying to to get those the those theaters upgraded a little bit sooner for our students. >> Okay, thank you for that one. Then we're moving on. We Amy's presenting two action items tonight. First up is the approval of the 2025-2026 revised budget. >> Okay, so we are not going to go, um, on either the revised budget or the next year's budget into, um, the kind of level of detail that we
067went, uh, over the couple of weeks ago. Uh, really the current year, or the year that we just completed the revised budget, um, we're really going to focus on that middle column, that is the budget adjustment column. Um, so what you see, um, is a a snapshot of all of our funds. Um, the top half there is the general fund, um, and you see pretty large budget adjustments. Uh, we'll look at the revenue first and then, um, the expenditure side on the next slide. Um, and so, uh, we always have some general fund budget adjustments. They're always, um, estimates on federal revenues and grants that come up that we didn't know about at the time of budgeting. Um, but the increase this year is a lot larger than normal, um, simply because of the the
068increase in enrollment. Um, if you recall from last fall, we were about 200 students over uh, what we had projected and budgeted for. Um, so the majority of that budget adjustment, which you'll see a corresponding budget adjustment for the expenditures, um, is being driven by that additional revenue from the enrollment increase. Uh, in the transportation fund, a small adjustment there. Um, that on um, for the revenues and the expenditures is being driven by some insurance reimbursements on some auto claims, unfortunately, right? Accidents happen. Um, but so we've added um, we've done a revenue adjustment to reflect um, the cost for those repairs as well as the reimbursement from insurance. Uh, and then no adjustments for operating capital this year. Uh, so again, in the the general fund, the majority of that being driven by enrollment.
069Uh, as we look at other funds, uh, we always have an adjustment in food service. Um, and for both food service and community um, service community education, you'll see when we get to expenditures that the budget adjustment amounts match. The adjustment for revenue and the adjustment for expenses are the exact same number. Um, food service is the is our fresh fruit and veggie grant. We don't budget that every year because we don't know which schools are getting awarded. We don't know what our allocation amounts are going to be at the time we budget. Um, and so that's always a budget adjustment. Uh, and then there was also an adjustment this year for community education for ABE, um, because our entitlement ended up being higher than what we had budgeted for. And then a large budget
070adjustment in the building construction fund. Um, that is coming from the bond proceeds from the referendum bond. Um, we don't again, we didn't budget that. We didn't know exactly that amount and what the fees would be. Um, so we always wait and do that as a budget adjustment. Um, and those bonds were issued right away on July 1. Um, so um, those were uh, that's the adjustment for the revenues. And then no adjustments for the other three funds. Uh, expenditure budget, again, the it's going to uh, for the most part, pretty much mirror what we just went through. Um, as we have increased enrollment, we have additional staff that were hired. Um, so there's budget adjustments on the expenditure side to account for that. Um, as well as some of the additional funds that the
071board um, had authorized from the enrollment increase to add to the the budget. Um, so that's again, um, that amount is very much correlating with the revenue increase. The transportation, um, food service, and community ed, uh, community services are the same um, amounts as the revenue budget adjustments. And then, [snorts] uh, building construction, um, those are referendum costs. When we budgeted last year, we didn't exactly know if we'd have construction started, how much we would have paid out, how much in architect fees. Um, and so that's adjusting for what we've actually spent, um, or expect to have spent through June 30th. Uh, and then a big budget adjustment in debt service, which is not typical, um, but the reason for that is, uh, because we had a bond that we refunded. And so the board
072approved many years ago, so back in fiscal '22, uh, to refund the tech bond and take advantage of lower interest rates. At the time that was done, that current bond wasn't eligible to be repaid. Um, it's what we call an advance refunding. Uh, and so the as soon as it's eligible to be repaid or callable, um, as they say, then we repay it. And so that budget adjustment is to reflect that that bond was now callable, uh, and we repaid that, um, bond off. So that uh, is it for the adjustments. Here's a snapshot, um, again, of kind of where we would expect all of the ending fund balances to end. Um, you can see projecting, uh, healthy fund balances across the board. Um, just as a point of reference as we look at, um,
073that top line for general fund unrestricted, um, that ending fund balance of about 18.5 million is exactly 10% of those budgeted expenditures, which is our board minimum. So, um, we are, as expenditures go up, right, um, we have to balance, you know, trying to, um, you know, we were at 10.3% last year. So, if the budget ends up as a percent of expenditures, it's going down a little bit. Um but we also know that that as a district we budget conservatively, and so we always anticipate and hope that uh we may end any given fiscal year um better than what we project uh and be able to continue to build that fund balance. But based on a budget snapshot, still at our board minimum. So, that is the revised budget. >> Does anybody have any
074questions on this? Administration recommends that the Board of Education approve the 2025-2026 revised budget as presented. Diana? >> So moved. >> And do I have a second? I have a motion by uh Diana, a second by Scott. Heather, can you call vote? >> Gina Acevedo? Scott Anderson? >> Yes. >> Natalie Copeland? >> Yes. >> Zack Torol? >> Yes. >> Diana Fenton? >> Yes. >> Shannon Haws? >> Yes. >> Heather Williams-Gessner? >> All right, thank you. And so then Amy is staying with us for one more item. We have approval of the 2026-2027 budget. >> Yes, so again, this we spent a lot of time on um 2 weeks ago. So, again, just a quick uh recap. Um so, what's on the screen right now is the general fund um all three components of the general
075fund. Again, the general fund contains operating, transportation, and capital. Um in total, we're at about 194 million um in revenues and expenditures, um projecting a balanced budget, uh and this reflects about an 8% increase from last year. Um some of that being driven by um enrollment, the formula increase, as well as um some compensatory and other um increases in in primarily in state funding. Uh the district has two special revenue funds, food service and community education. Uh these funds um again both budgeted uh projected to operate with a slight surplus, healthy fund balances in both of those, and we're always budgeting conservatively for food service. Our budget assumes no increase at this point in the USDA reimbursement rates because we don't know. And so we may end up with with increases and additional revenue, but
076we're protected and we have a balanced budget in the event that we do not end up with additional revenue. And then capital projects and debt service are the last two kind of traditional funds. Again, the capital projects fund is really reflecting the anticipated spending for the referendum. So of the 65 million, we're expecting to spend about 32 32.6 million of that next year as we look at the current phasing both between the the Apex project and then the first couple phases of Apollo. And then the debt service fund now that that refunding is out, that fund is back to to really just having the revenue and the expenses for our annual bond payments. And so that is all basically determined by MDE in terms of what comes in for for revenue. We always budget or
077sorry, levy at 5% over to account for delinquent taxes. And then you'll see over over time there's quite a bit of fund balance there, 2.8 million. Eventually that will get recouped through negative levy adjustments if we end up collecting more than we need to pay our principal and interest payments. And that sometimes ends up allowing us to have smaller levy increases when we get to that levy process in the fall. And then the last two funds are internal service funds. These are our funds used to account for dental and health insurance. Um we always budget these funds at at a break even. Um they're they're really intended to be self-sufficient funds and that you set the premiums at whatever rates you expect to cover your expected costs and claims. Um and so that's always at
078this point how we set the budget. Um those actual rates get determined uh through the health insurance LMC uh and will come to the board in August for approval. And that is what I have. >> Okay. Um again, administration recommends that the Board of Education approve the 2026-2027 budget. >> I move we do that. >> Okay. I have a motion by Scott. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> And I have a second by Diana. Heather, can you call vote? >> Hector Holt. >> Yes. >> Shannon Haas. >> Yes. >> Scott Anderson. >> Yes. >> Gina Acevedo. >> Yes. >> Natalie Copeland. >> Yes. >> Dana Petten. >> Yes. >> Heather Williams. >> Yes. >> Thank you, Amy. Um then we have one policy reading tonight. It's a second reading, the proposed revised board
079policy 414, which is mandated reporting of child neglect or physical or sexual abuse, and presenting is Katie Herbold, executive director of innovation and technology services. >> Amy took a second to disconnect. >> Too many windows open. >> It's too many tabs. >> Uh good evening, Chair Haas, Superintendent Putnam, and members of the board. We are on our second reading. I'm filling in uh for Shannon Evenson tonight. Um but this is a second reading where the first reading had no recommended changes. So, I'll just quickly go through the changes that um were made, which uh was a few. So, um in paragraph M, we, uh, changed that terminology to closer match, um, MSBA. Um, and then instead of in the reporting procedures, instead of putting in all the agencies and the numbers, um, we have just
080added refer to District 742 child protection mandated reporting directions. And then the last change is to a statute change at the end in the legal references. >> So, that was it. >> Anybody have any questions? All right, thanks, Katie, and that will be back on the consent agenda next time we meet. Then we're moving on to, um, we have our reports. So, first up we have the superintendent's report presented by our superintendent, Dr. Laura Putnam. >> Thank you so much, Chair Hess. And I'm going to preface this by saying when I asked you all for feedback, um, about how we're doing this year, um, I did get a piece of feedback that said, um, one of you might like to see my superintendent reports be a little more in-depth, which I took I took as
081license to really dig in. >> [laughter] >> So, tonight >> Sorry, not sorry. So, tonight I'm going to provide a reflection on the 25-26 school year. Um, as we close the 25-26 school year, I want to express my gratitude to our Board of Education, staff, students, families, and community partners. This year brought significant challenges and opportunities, and together we continue to advance our district's commitment to safety, belonging, collaboration, and academic excellence. Our year was marked by several significant milestones, including more than serving more than 10,000 students for the first time in nearly a decade, expanding Ready Set School district-wide, growing our early childhood opportunities, successfully completing an intensive Minnesota Department of Education special education review, and launching implementation of voter-approved referendum projects, securing a Dolly grant to expand manufacturing career pathways and strengthening district operations
082through technology, modernization, security enhancement, and operation efficiency reviews. And so, [snorts] we're going to dive into a few of those. Student success and support. Uh District 742 continue to expand supports that help students arrive ready to learn and thrive. As you heard tonight, we expanded Ready, Set, School so that every preschool through fifth grade student will receive school supplies at no extra cost no cost to families beginning next fall. We strengthened food security efforts with the help of SCEA, LEAF, and Catholic Charities last fall when federal policy was changing through Feeding 742 Kids, uh which provided boxed meals to families twice a week uh for I think it was over 2 months. Um so, that was a really intensive um effort. Um we successfully completed one of the largest immunization compliance initiatives in recent years
083through extensive community outreach and continue to expand access to high-quality early childhood programming for our youngest learners seeing their lowest or non-existent uh waitlists in again years. These efforts reflect our commitment to removing barriers and ensuring every student has the opportunity to exceed. Partnerships and community impact. Many of this year's accomplishments were made possible through strong partnerships of community organizations, businesses, higher education higher ed institutions, and philanthropic leaders. LEAF continue to support student opportunities and classroom innovations while partnering with the district to eliminate middle school activity fees, increasing access to extracurricular experiences for all students. Boys & Girls Club of Central Minnesota partner with the district to expand early childhood opportunities and family supports coming in the fall. Granite Partners provided ongoing fiscal support while helping shape the durable skills and workforce competencies students will
084need for future success. Greater St. Cloud also continues to be close partners, co-leading the 742 Employer Advisory Council, and St. Cloud Technical and Community College worked alongside district leaders to expand dual credit opportunities and develop seamless career pathways connected to regional workforce needs. Together, these partnerships demonstrate what is possible when a community invests in its students. Academic excellence and innovation. The district continues implementation of curriculum review cycles in science and reading and initiatives to strengthen teaching and learning across schools. We also reaffirmed our commitment to emerging programming, seeing our largest 26-27 kindergarten classes in years. District 742 also strengthened its position as a statewide leader in educational innovation. We hosted the third annual Minnesota Thought Leaders Summit, expanded AI literacy efforts for students and staff. I think we continue to be one of the only
085district that provides AI literacy for all, um, and supported educators in responsible and effective AI integration. In addition, the district secured a Dolly Grant, uh, to expand the manufacturing career pathways and continue to work with SCTCC and regional employers to strengthen workforce readiness. Career pathway mapping, dual credit opportunities, and industry partnerships are helping students better connect their learning to future careers. This year, we also successfully redesigned graduation ceremonies in partnership with students, families, and staff, creating joyful, safe, and meaningful celebrations for our graduates and their families. Enrollment and strategic planning. This year, the district completed an extensive elementary boundary review process designed to balance enrollment, strengthen program opportunities, improve operational efficiency, and support long-term sustainability. The process involved significant stakeholder engagement and thoughtful consideration of community feedback. At the same time, we continue to monitor
086enrollment trends, open enrollment patterns, and student retention efforts, while responding strategically to changing demographics and educational options throughout the region. Special education excellence. One of the two one of the most significant accomplishments of the year carried by Danny Mayer back there all by herself was the successful completion of an intensive Minnesota Department of Education review of our special education programming and fiscal practices. The review provided a comprehensive assessment of compliance services systems and fiscal managed financial management. Successful completion reflects exceptional work of our special education staff leaders and business services team and affirmed the district's commitment to serving students with disabilities while maintaining strong fiscal stewardship. Facilities and referendum implementation. Following a voter approval of the district's facilities referendum, we began implementation of significant improvements designed to enhance safety, student experiences and community access. At
087Apollo High School construction and renovation efforts are underway to modernize learning spaces and support future programming needs thanks to our successful referendum. This we This spring also marked the opening of the new ambulance bay and placement of a dedicated ambulance at Apollo High School. This innovative partnership with CentraCare, Mayo Ambulance and SCTCC strengthens emergency response capacity for our community while creating authentic learning opportunities connected to health care and emergency medical services careers. Financial stewardship. Despite ongoing financial pressures facing public education, District 742 maintained a balanced budget investments in student staff facilities and strategic priorities. We strategically utilized grant funding and community partnerships, completed reviews of our student information system and human resources and finance software platforms which has been in the works for decades and finally Katie landed that plane, strengthened cybersecurity practices and identified
088opportunities to eliminate redundant programs and systems while protecting student services and data. In addition, community education completed a comprehensive review of fee structures, programming practices, and stakeholder communications to improve transparency, alignment, and long-term sustainability. Natalie's regretting it now, right? >> [laughter] >> I'm just joking. Talent and organizational health. District 742 continue to experience strong staff retention relative to statewide trends. Stable leadership teams, continued investment in professional learning, recruitment and retention of diverse staff, and employee engagement efforts to make system-wide decisions help strengthen our workforce and organizational culture. District leaders also remain focused on employee wellness, recognizing that a positive workplace culture directly impacts student success. Safety and community care. This year reminded us that schools are communities first. The district supported students, staff, and families through the tragic loss of a Westwood student in the
089fire. In each circumstance, our staff and communities demonstrated tremendous compassion, professionalism, and commitment to caring for one another. The district also continued to strengthen emergency preparedness, threat assessment protocols, cybersecurity systems, technology infrastructure, and overall school safety practices to ensure safe learning environments for students and staff. All of these accomplishments and more >> [snorts] >> were made possible through the dedication of our staff, the trust of our families, the support of our community, and the leadership of this Board of Education. Together, we continue to build a district where every student is known, valued, and prepared for a successful future. And I'm so deeply grateful for your continued partnership in serving the students of St. Cloud Area School District 742. >> Thank you. Thanks, Natalie. >> [laughter] >> It was good. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Okay.
090>> [laughter] [laughter] >> It was impressive. Okay, then let's see. We have the Board of Education Standing Committee reports. I believe we just have one. The Finance and Audit Board met presenting a update or report would be Chair Heather Weems. >> The Board Finance Committee met on June 10th. We talked about a Shannon presented a partner stewardship agreement with Blue Sox Baseball, which is an organization that serves youth from grade four up to high school. In the past they've rented a field at Whitney, but that is no longer available to them. They would like to make their new home field at South Junior High. If we allow Blue Sox Baseball to use this field at South, they would do athletic facility improvements to the field at no cost to the district. South would still be
091the first priority for scheduling for Junior High Baseball. Administration recommends moving forward with the agreement and the committee agreed. And then secondly, we talked about the long-term facilities maintenance plan, which Amy reviewed and we talked about earlier today. And again, a majority of the projects are done during the summer of 2027. >> Thank you. Last up tonight, we have the future agenda items. July 20th, 2026 board meeting topics will include code of conduct updates, the 2025-2026 activities update, approval of the boys volleyball funding, and some policy readings. At this time, does any board member wish to suggest a future agenda item? Okay, then looking for a motion to adjourn tonight's board meeting. I have a motion by Natalie, a second by Diana. All in favor, say I. Opposed? Okay, meeting is adjourned at 7:48. Thanks
092for watching and we'll be back July 22nd.