0012025 and the time is 6:31 p.m. Our mission is to provide a safe and caring 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? [Music] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [Music] >> Thank you. And then when when you're ready, can you please call roll? >> The following board members are present at the district administration office. Scott Andre >> here. >> Natalie Copeland >> here. Al Dalgrren >> here. >> Zack Darhalt >> here. >> Diana Fenton >> here. >> Shannon Haw
002>> here. >> Heather Williams here. >> The following cabinet members and staff are present at the district administration office. Superintendent Dr. Lorie Putnham. Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dr. Jason Harris. Assistant Superintendent of E5 Learning Nikki Hansen. Executive Director of Community Education and Community Partnerships Shannon Avenson. Executive Director of Finance and Business Services. Amy Scallarude. Executive Director of Human Resources and General Counsel Tracy Flynn Bow, Executive Director of Innovation and Technology Services, Katie Herbalt. Executive Director of Operations, Matthew Buchet, Executive Director of Special Education, Danny Mayor, Media Technicians, Paul Novak and Gordy Scott. >> Thank you. Then I'm looking for a motion to approve tonight's board of education meeting and work session agenda. So move. >> I have a motion by Scott, a second by Natalie. Uh Heather, can you please call vote? >> Heather
003Williams, yes. Shannon Hos, >> yes. >> Diana Fenton, >> yes. >> Zack Dorhalt, >> yes. >> Al Dalgrren, >> yes. >> Natalie Copeland, >> yes. >> Scott Anderson, >> yes. >> Thank you. Then we have the consent agenda. The consent agenda consists of non-controversial items that the board adopts routinely without debate. Any single member may remove an item 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 personnel staff changes. Item B, approval of monthly financial report for July 2025. Item C, approval of monthly treasures report for July 2025. Item D, approval of the proposed revised board policy 506 student discipline third reading. and item E, approval of adult meal price increase. At this time, does any board member wish
004to remove an item from the consent agenda? Okay, then I'm looking for a motion to approve the consent agenda as read. >> So move. >> I have a motion by Scott, a second by Natalie. Heather, can you call vote? >> Zack Dhol, >> yes. >> Al Dawren, shut up. Yes. >> Diana Fenton, >> yes. >> Natalie Copeland, >> yes. >> Shannon Hos, >> yes. >> Scott Andre, >> yes. Heather Williams. Yes. >> Thank you. All right. Um, very excited for this one information items tonight. The, uh, presentation of public preview for this 742 multi-purpose athletic facility. The public preview. Welcome Ryan Ratmacher with JLG Architects and Justin Scallerude, uh, Apollo High School principal. Glad to have you guys and very excited and starting off with a beautiful picture. >> Thank you. U Can everybody hear
005me? Okay. Yeah. All right. So, um say again, yes, I believe it is. Or maybe a little closer. That better? All right. There we go. Um so, we're uh going to walk you through the uh overview of the 742 multi multi-purpose athletic center. Uh and there'll be a number of items that we touch on. One of the things just right off the bat, um I understand the the title, the name is a work in progress and we've represented it here um as a 742 uh multi-purpose athletic center. So, uh just to give you a high level overview, this is a a large indoor turf facility, multi-purpose facility, uh that will be located on the grounds of Apollo High School, but it is uh for the entire community, uh the entire school district, sorry, as well
006as the community. Um and it is a essentially a a facility that will allow for yearround access to athletics um uh physical education as well as wellness. Uh and we have centered this around a um basically a high school regulation soccer field as the driving for the size but uh it will be a multi-purpose field uh with other uh amenities along with it. We'll get into the details as we go through. Um from a schedule standpoint uh we have recently wrapped up schematic design. So that went from April through July 2nd. Uh we are currently in design development. So design is ongoing. Uh we have a few weeks left of the design development phase. Uh in which then um in September uh so September 19th that is due and September 22nd through December 19th the
007plan is to have construction document phase. We would be bidding in the beginning of the year, so January, February, and looking to have construction uh basically spring of 26 through spring of 27. This is a an aerial view of the existing site of Apollo High School. So, you can see on the left hand side along Veterans Drive, uh there's a large open space fields and so we've situated the the field facing um Veterans Drive and to the south. So this is running north south. Um the the page is running uh north south is running actually across the page up and down is east west. Uh for clarification here in looking at the the site plan uh the building is on the left hand side here uh hashed out. And so the way that we have
008that associated is you would enter in off of 44th through this U parking on the south side of Apollo High School. And then new parking as well as turnaround designation for fire access and safety uh would be on both the east and the west sides of the facility. There'd be a drive aisle uh along a path alongside an adjacent outdoor field. Uh that is also a multi-purpose soccer and football field. So this is just an overview of the design process that we've gone through and we've had a number of design meetings. We've been meeting with a design committee on a bi-weekly basis uh and have done been doing that since basically the end of April. We have also had a number of user group meetings uh as well as some site visits to tour other
009facilities uh to gain an understanding of uh some of the structure as well as the size and the space, the use, access, things of that nature. This is an exterior rendering from the Veterans Drive side. So, this would be what you would see. Uh this would be coming from uh east going west uh and looking north. And then this is another rendering showing um coming from say the parking lot adjacent on the south side of Apollo. This uh this rendering and the one that was on the first page are slightly different. Uh and the entrance is what's the difference here. We have continued to evolve the design and we will continue to do so throughout the schematic design process. Uh but this one uh provides a little bit more of a a canopy entry sequence,
010a little bit warmer with the wood tones. Um as we go through the plans, you'll notice a few other things. One in particular, uh off to the side there, the left hand side of the image, there are some outdoor accessible restrooms. Uh and we'll we'll walk through that a little bit more in detail. So this is an overview of the floor plan itself. And uh the the blue area is the field and surrounding that field is a walking track and that would be of track material and the field itself would be turf, synthetic turf. On the upper right hand corner uh in orange color there, that's a team room. So this would be a place for uh the various teams to be able to gather, have meetings, um potentially even potluck dinners, things of that
011nature. Um and and just below that uh there's an office and reception area. The entry vestibule uh is just below that as well in the light yellow portion here. Uh this is the entrance lobby. So you would effectively come in through this vestibule. There's a reception area right here. Uh and then the you could go directly out onto the field or into this lobby waiting area. And there are two entrances um to the field area. Uh there are also a series of restrooms here and this is a mix of restroom styles from uh genderneutral to gendered uh and then handicap and we have both a changing stations for um for children as well as an adult changing station. And then as I mentioned previously, there are two restrooms that face the exterior that would be
012able to be utilized uh for uh people playing or uh practicing on adjacent fields. Just below this we have our mechanical areas of the building. So there's a a mechanical and storage and janitor's closet and then a a large storage area uh for athletic equipment and then below that another electrical mechanical plumbing room. We have a number of doors uh egress doors which is appropriate sized for this facility. On the upper leftand corner here, we do have an overhead uh access door for being able to bring in and out uh large equipment. And that would be uh access to the the road just to the drive aisle to the north or sorry to the the west plan north. So, we're going to zoom into a couple of areas in particular. Um so this area that
013is dashed around this we'll take a little bit closer look at that and then uh we have a mezzanine level planned as well as a part of this design. So as I mentioned here's that vent uh vestibule that entry with a canopy above and you would come in uh and then directly adjacent to that is the reception area. Uh there are stairs here leading to the upper level as well as a limited use uh uh lift. Um, and so this would be something uh that is handicap accessible um but something that is controllable as well um through key card access if need be. Uh there's a reception area just directly adjacent to that is the office area. There's a small mechanical room feeding uh this area in particular to allow for uh heating and air
014conditioning. Uh and then as I mentioned before the team room uh we have modified since this plan was set in and uh added some additional low uh built-in storage with countertop space on both sides of the entry moving in uh to give them some additional storage as well as serving areas. Uh and then this can be configured in a number of ways whether it be classroom style um or just an open meeting gathering space. Uh this zone here is open to above. Uh but as you would come in this entry vestibule, move into the lobby space. Uh there are some soft seating that would be available uh for this as well as um it has the option to be able to have sort of popup vendors for food service and things of that nature. And
015so we've we've allocated a zone uh to allow for that. Um there would have some vending that could be here and then uh drinking fountains directly uh adjacent to the entry to the field. So as you would step out you would go from um an an athletic flooring to our uh to the uh track surface which would be similar to a normal track and field on the exterior of the building. And then adjacent to that is the turf field. And moving upstairs onto the mezzanine level. Um we have some circulation that lift in the corner here. Uh there are batting cages up here that are planned and right now that's set up as as two batting cages. This is roughly 28 ft wide by 70 ft long. It can be divisi divisible into two or
016opened up into a large singular area for uh more open play. Uh there's a large storage area up on here as well as space for up to four golf simulators. and then additional circulation. Next, we have the striping plan. And there are a lot of lines on here. Um, so those are uh will be colorcoded based off of use, based off of field of play, and there is a prioritization of that. So, soccer takes the highest priority and has then the brightest and the whitest. Uh and then as you move through uh the different so secondary so there's primary soccer secondary soccer so there's large field full size field uh fulls size um high school athletic soccer field and then U10 soccer so small side uh going opposite directions. Um then you could have up
017to two softball fields practices going on or one regulation uh field and we would have striping for each one of those. and then football field uh as well as lacrosse. And so we have colors associated with each one of those. And and like I said, there's a prioritization of the colors and what you read and see uh within those. And then as you can see the different coloration, the green area is the turf area and then the blue outside of that wrapping all the way around is the the track which can be used for a number of things whether it be a walking track or for practicing hurdles, practicing sprinting, handoffs, things of that nature. Okay. And then we have a few renderings uh to go through here. And this would be the interior image
018coming in. Uh right adjacent to the entry vestibule just to the right there you can see through the glass um would be somebody entering into and the reception is off to the right hand side here. Um a view straight onto the field stairs going up to to the mezzolene level as well as that uh limited access limited use uh lift. Uh and then that seating area, staging area, uh waiting lobby area, uh just adjacent to that. And then this is a view from inside the turf facility. So, one thing you'll notice is that there is going to be uh netting all the way around the perimeter of the field. And this is uh to help uh with uh if a ball is hit, uh baseball, softball, a soccer ball's kicked, football, lacrosse, you name it.
019anyone on the perimeter walking track or running track. Um there's some safety there, some protection for them. Uh so that is a a permanent uh netting that would be draped from the the ceiling. Um you can roll it up, but it would be a manual. Uh there would also be a center divider curtain that would be uh mech uh mechanically operated so that you could split this into two smallsiz fields and be able to have uh practices going on or games going on simultaneously in the the small side. You can also see then uh the batting cages up on the upper level and this is just kind of a backed out view looking at the entire uh mezzanine level front entry lobby. There would be a scoreboard on the left hand side potentially. We would
020plan for having up to two scoreboards. Um and and that's something that will continue to get worked through in in the design stages here. Um storage is off and mechanicals and things are off to the right hand side on the lower level. Um the upper level in the mezzanine, this would be the access to the golf simulator area and the other door here would be the access to the storage. uh we would just have a railing wrapping all the way around this mezzanine level. And that really concludes and wraps up. Are there any questions that anyone has? Yes. I was concerned about the reception area. Yeah, it seems like you could come into the building and go right into the lobby without uh saying hi or by the receptionist. I was wondering about security in
021that situation. >> Well, as you look at it and we I have the plan back up here. So, you enter in straight ahead through the vestibule and the receptionist to straight ahead. >> Yeah. In the rendering, it look like you go right past that reception. >> Yeah. So the rendering view is actually shown just to the side of the vestibule. So as you can see the doors here, the double doors coming through entering in and there's your receptionist right there. >> Yeah. One thing to consider is I think when we look at the use of this and we we've had lots of conversation, I appreciate you asking the question, Scott, if you can go back to the picture where you can see the receptionist. Um it's really going to depend on on what the specific
022use is. So, for example, when our when our sports teams are coming in, you know, their coaches are going to be letting the athletes in and that door is going to be secured and it's not open for people to come in. Um, when we have rentals and there's other things happening, you know, that person is going to be um essentially buzzing people in. We have the ability to do that depending on what the use is for that that time. Very similar to how we have other setups when we have rentals to to community groups. So, there's going to be an interaction with the person working and the people coming in to make sure there's a a check-in process and we know who's coming in that they they will have an interaction with one another. >>
023Okay, that's important. Thank you. >> Diana, >> so I guess Justin and I wondering about use and if competitions are taking place and where if they are where spectators would view So, we've looked at that from a couple different perspectives. You know, this primarily when we look at it, it it's going to be um it's a practice facility with the ability to host events, but when you think about if you've had an opportunity to um there will be some room to roll in uh bleachers. There will also be the possibility of um you know, traditional I know our our girls soccer team went to Little Falls last Saturday and they were all viewing from from lawn chairs along the side. So, that's a possibility depending how big. And then that mezzanine space we've taken into
024consideration viewing from that level. And when we went and visited we had a chance to see a couple facilities uh Bethany uh Lutheran College one being specific. I mean it's a very nice space to be able to look down and be able to see and we made sure scoreboards would be visible from those vantage points as well. So really depending on what the event is and that's for soccer that works a lot better. But you know when you've got two softball games we're going to people are going to want to be near the field when things are happening there. So with a combination of potential um you know viewing from a a bleacher portable >> I can add just a little bit more to that. If you look at the striping plan here there for
025the the soccer field itself there's a range of sizes uh for what works as a regulation size and we had a discussion about what would be appropriate here and we went to for the width of that field to a minimum of 55 yard. What that did is it allowed an additional buffer zone on what is both the east and west side planned north and south here. Uh that allows for as Justin was saying some additional um spectator viewing on the sidelines facilities. >> Yeah. >> Can you go back to the first two pictures for me? Um, and the very first one that has the footprint of Apollo High School with the buildings there. Okay. So now and then go to the next one. Okay. So there you've got some added parking and walkways. Correct. >>
026Correct. >> Okay. So can you go to picture one and then help me visualize where those fit in or >> I don't know if you move your cursor there. through the cursor here, you would have a drive aisle here and it would turn and you would have parking along this facility. Whoops. So, you can see you kind of signal down and there would be a median here and then turn and come back out. So, there'd be parking on either side and I'll go back. So, that would be right in this zone here. So, along Oh, my my button is hitting. >> All right. So, uh right along here we have a buffer zone on each side of the facility. And that buffer zone is for snow shed coming off of the facility. Um so we
027keep that parking away from the building on either side. >> Okay. And so then over on the other side you got that really nice walkway. Um beautiful coming from the parking lot down. >> Yes. Yeah. Coming from the Yeah. So how does does that have something? >> That would be like right. So, let's go back and look at where the edge of the parking is here that you can see on this. And just off the edge of that is the parking, right? So, if I go back here, here's the edge of your parking. So, coming off of it, you can see that line there. That's where that walkway would be. >> Okay. And so, it's separate from where roads are. >> Correct. Okay. >> Yep. It is correct. I think what's really important, right, if
028you go the other picture is the facility is not only going to provide the opportunity for, you know, participating there, but it's tying all the fields in together. Yeah. >> So, if you come for a a Crush Girl soccer game or a Paul soccer game or a lower level, maybe a youth youth football or something, you can see now there's accessibility to that field, you can see a little sliver of green on the bottom of the screen. Those fields are very rarely used because you're walking across three fields of grass. to be able to bring that to utilize some space that's very underutilized right now. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And additionally, we have we've planned zones, if you would, for additional parking in in both of those areas. >> Okay. Thanks. >> You're welcome, >>
029Natalie. >> Um I'm going to go back to Scott's question actually because I had the same one. Um will this be used at all for um gym for Apollo students? >> It can be and we've talked about that and definitely how do we utilize that and maybe bringing some things like >> golf to both our Apollo South all of our students because now we have that opportunity to do so. So I think the answer is that we would like to explore those options of of providing new opportunities for our kids. For sure. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I think that one of the main things about Apollo, of course, is that we that's the last place to have a controlled entrance. So that I think you kind of go 50/50 on this, right? Cuz it's for
030the community and so you don't really want it to be the same at our schools where you have to go right and check in with somebody before you come in. But that was kind of my first thought too that we if we are going away from a school with a controlled entrance to this facility during school um how will we make sure that our the kids are are safe? >> That's a great question and I think the answer is similar to what it would be with teams. I would foresee a teacher coming in with the every getting everyone in safely and now the door behind us is secured. It's locked. No one's coming in. There's a walkie-talkie. You know, if the office needs to communicate, they're going to be communicating that way. and >> or
031try that one. >> We'll just trade. So, I I think it's that same idea of once we're in, we're in and it's locked and no one's coming in. And then it would be the question of, you know, making sure those doors are secured behind us, not propping, just things like that. And now we've secured it by the adult, making sure they're the last one in and no one's coming in behind us. And then that's being a multi-purpose facility. I think it's taking all of those different uses and finding that safe way to do that. Um, and and you're exactly right when people are coming in, how, you know, making sure that we are vetting everyone that comes in. Um, and that's something we can continue to explore as well. >> Yeah, I got a few
032questions. Um, first of all, I'm going to ask about the design committee. How many members are on the design committee and who are they? If we can say and when I I mean I hear it's meeting but who and where and when you want to share Lori. So the design committee um members of that are the JLG architect team. Uh it's myself, uh Matthew Buchcher, Dr. Putnham, Mike Spanier, Amy Scullerude, and Jason Harris. There's a football field in there or there's room for a football field. Is there goalposts with that football field or is there a way to >> No, there's there are not currently planned golf. you can hang um sort of inflatable uh markers from the ceiling for that. Uh I I should say though that um from additional clarity standpoint because this
033facility is set up for high school regulation soccer but on the small side of that it is not a full-size football field. So it's a practice field for football. It could be a 9v9 full-size field but for 111 it's it's um a little short. Well, and that was was that did we plan it that way or is that not it's not an option to have a bigger one or >> from a from a site planning standpoint? Um it's there's challenges for getting that fulls size field in the additional length you would need on the facility. It actually amounts to about 60 extra feet in length and there's a substantial cost to that as well. >> Uh let's see. Are the restrooms in there? I know I asked this in finance committee but it's been a
034little while. Are the restrooms in there single user? I was I was kind of looking at the design of the restrooms and they were confusing to me unless they're single user. See if I have a closeup of that. Uh we do have single-user restrooms. Yes. So it looks like I do not have a closeup and I won't be able to zoom in on this one. Um but there are single user stalls. Um >> the one side is single user and the other side is handicap and >> it's a mix actually. So we have single use. Uh these two here. So this one has uh handicap accessible as well as changing station. And this one has the adult changing station. And then single use. These are single use, non- handicap. This one is handicap. And this
035one is also handicapped. Actually, these four. Didn't didn't we talk about moving handicap to the other end in our finance committee because of the wheelchair access having to go all the way through the restroom would be >> We do have two up front as well. >> So there's going to be four. They're just on opposite ends. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Um let's see. The mezzanine I I take it the mezzanine is not the full width of the facility. It's >> correct. The mezzanine is the width of this area here. This pre-cast pre-cast structure area. >> Okay. What's above the team room area or is there anything above that? >> Nope. Um that area will be I can show you in the rendering here. So this will just be a chipboard wall up to the
036structure. >> A lot of there's a lot of space there. >> Yeah. So, there'll be ceilings in each one of the areas here, >> correct? >> Yep. >> I'm just thinking like storage or whatever. If if it had a floor in it, >> there's a lot of square footage up there. >> There is. We we right now are from a budget standpoint are right in the the range um of of what we're targeting for the overall facility. And we do have a fair amount of storage in this space both up on the mezzanine as well as the lower level. >> The mezzanine. What part of the mezzanine did? >> Sure. Um, yep. >> You have a >> I can go back to So this area here, this zone is uh all storage up on the
037mezzanine. And then if I go back to the main plan, this big block here is all storage. It's a substantial amount of storage. Um the wall on that end, you said that's protected by a net. So like all the glass and all all of the the is gypsum wall or >> Yep. Yep. So if we go back and look at the rendering here, >> you can see Yep. the net. So, there's a walking track and and between the walking track and where the net is, there's a three-foot buffer catchment zone that allows the netting to provide that safety buffer. So, as a ball is struck, um, the net will receive it and drop it down. >> Okay. Um, then out in the lobby, it looks like the flooring is carpet. >> So, it is um
038not truly carpet. Uh it is a let me go back to that. So this is more like a walk-off mat material. Uh so it's a material that is um utilized within the school district already. Um I believe >> it's like a rubber flooring. >> No, it is it it has a like extremely low cut pile. So it's it's almost felt like in its feel, but it's more like a walk-off mat than than true carpet. So it's a very very durable and it's already something that is utilized within the district in heavy traffic zones. heavy traffic. Are they going to be will kids be coming? I mean, I guess I don't know on the on the turf. Do you use spikes or any type of >> Yeah. So, it will be no metal cleats. It'll all
039be plastic or >> it this flooring that's going in the lobby is okay if they wear them in and walk across. It's not going to rip it to shreds. >> Yep. >> Okay. Let's see if I had any others on there. Go post. No. Nope. That was it. Justin, probably more for you. What is the um accessibility or for the walking track? Like is that open to community members? Is that a pay I mean do you need to pay for it or how will people access and and who will access that? So to your specific question, we haven't got that far down the line, but knowing that we're committed when we have youth and and other our kids from prek to our seniors practicing and playing more than likely will not be open to the
040public. So what that may look like would be, if at all, would be designated times that we would control that. We haven't gone down that path yet. Um, what we envision it as is more and also the same, you can see this lobby area. If you bring your uh 6U soccer player and you can see them and watch them or walk while they're participating, um that definitely will be, you know, could be an option for for that amongst other um availability. I kind of agree with Al that they got an awful lot of wasted space above that team room that can the Miz Indian be extended all the way across or it it could um I think the tradeoff of of what we would then potentially have to give up to afford the mezzanine to
041extend off all the way across may not be worth than worth that. So there's a there's a substantial amount of cost for because it's a pre-cast plank system. Uh so you would have to have the the walls over on this side here are not pre-cast plank. Those are uh light gauge stud and drywalls similar to these walls here. Right? And so it's a much lower cost, more cost effective um system for enclosing space. These walls here are pre-cast plank walls and then the decking is pre-cast plank. And so to extend that all the way over would be a substantial increase in cost. And I don't know that you're going to get the same you're going to get the value out of that. >> I guess we'll think about it. >> Yeah, I think the stuff
042now this happened a lot at tech too. So it's not this isn't unique to this project. So I'm not necessarily talking that way. What what bothers me about some of this stuff is that things like that like there there would be a I can see a million reasons why we're going to want that space up there and we just have empty unutilized space that's just going to be blocked from view up there. And some of those questions should have been answered prior to determining what we had for a budget to begin with so that if we felt it was important >> Yeah. then then it could have been done because I I where you say it's within the budget that we have it's a lot of money and we'd have to trade something off. >>
043Sure. >> But when we were looking at what we were going to ask for for a levy, it probably wasn't very much. It was probably a pretty insignificant amount of money to be able to do something like that. >> Yeah. I I certainly appreciate looking to maximize sort of the the space and the value towards it as a whole. When this was initially put together for uh that referendum, the mezzanine was not a part of that package. Through being really efficient with the design, as we've moved through uh the early design stages, we were able to incorporate in the mezzanine, which allowed for additional flexibility. And along the way, we had to make some tough decisions. There are more tough decisions as we continue through the design development process that we're going to have to
044make because there are lots of ideas and lots of options that we collectively have. We simply can't afford to do them all. Where does Apollo keep their high jump and pull vault equipment right now? And do they drag it in and out? And is there something that I mean I love this for the golf and the baseball team has got to be shouting hoay because they've been forever struggling in the spring. >> Yes. So we have the currently that's all stored outside and uh before we um part of the storm shelter that uh you will hear more about next month when we come back uh will be the ability to practice pole vault and high jump for the track and field team inside in that space. >> Yes, actually was sending that email to get
045some prices in the parking lot before we walked in. >> Anybody else? Thank you very much. This is so exciting. >> Thank you. It's been a pleasure and and we're really excited to help deliver this for you guys. It's going to be a phenomenal facility. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Then moving on to our discussion and action items. Um first we have a discussion. Oh, yep. I have these mixed up, huh? No, we have one more information item tonight. Um, we have the immunization policy compliance update and welcome back Christa Potter, director of title programs and multilingual student services and Kate Powski, director of student services. Glad to have you here again. Thank you. Are we on now? We're on. Hi. Good to see everybody. Um, this is a topic I was able to
046talk to a few of you about last week or a couple weeks ago in the last few weeks. Um, and I'm happy to kind of give you guys an update to where we are right now. We have been um, meeting bi-weekly in an immunization team to kind of continue planning and um, working on things. And so this is kind of our current status. So, um, just to clarify, the policy is 530, which is our immunization policy, which indicates that you need to have proof of immunization or appropriate documentation for an exemption in order to attend school. Um, the link to that full policy is in the slide deck. Um, ex uh exceptions to that immunization. There's three possible exceptions. Um, one is a letter from your medical provider indicating that for some reason you are
047not able to have immunizations. One would be a completed notorized exemption form by the parent indicating that it is against your conscientious beliefs. Or the third area is in situations where we can confirm the student is in foster care or they're homeless. At that would be the third. um transfer students based on policy have up to 30 days to get their immunization records or an appropriate exemption in into order to attend school. So that is the basis of our policy as it stands. As of our current status, we have about 2400 students that we do not have accurate documentation for as of this last week. Um, and so, um, that's down a little bit from August 20th. I know we've had a lot of lot of new enrollments. Um, and so when you look at,
048you know, the the 2400 students that we're looking at now, I would not I bet that they are the same 2500 students that we were necessarily looking at August 20th. And so, um, we are working very diligently in the background to get that documentation in. When you look at our trends, the vast majority of the numbers fall into kindergarten. Grade 7 and grade 12 are our three highest areas. Um, and that is because that is where a um there's a change in immunization expectations at those levels. And so those are the three grade levels that we do see highest in. Um, our plan is to continue to create increased awareness and targeted communication with our families and our stakeholders and to increase and support access to services and decrease barriers towards compliance to our policy.
049Um, we've been working with action planning that includes multiple departments across the district. We've got equity, we've got nursing, we've got communications, um we've got Christa and our title department working with us, our superintendants, um Dr. Putnham, we're all working together. Um the welcome center, um to target and um communicate with with with students and families. Um so in August and September, we've been doing that across the board. letters have gone out to um non-compliance letters have gone out to quite a few of our schools and we're continuing to get those out um to the rest of our schools. Um, we are working with sky alerts and emails and um, peach jars and communications across our normal social media communication lines. Um, as we work and we've updated our website um, communications work and did
050a nice did a rework on our website to make it clean and accessible to staff or to families. Um, as we move into September and November, we're going to continue working on communication and access. Um, we're working with equity to provide some information sessions with community agencies and organizations um, regarding policy requirements. We're continuing to engage in targeted coordination with families and health care agencies to provide for access to immunization or support within exemptions. Um and then we're working with our full service schools for service community schools to work on some imunization clinics at um North and Discovery. Um Song Maxwell is working on those pieces. Um and then as we move into J December and January again we'll continue that targeted communication um and coordination. And then as we move into those months, we'll
051work on exclusion letters for those to still out of for those who are still out of compliance, so there's no surprises. And then that final exclusion date at this point in time is January 5th for this year. So that's kind of the update of where we're at. It's been very fast and furious. There's a lot of people working hard on the ground to get things moving and make things happen. Um, and that's where we're at. Any questions? Anybody have any questions? Okay, thank you very much for being here. >> Okay, now we're moving on to our discussion and action items tonight. First, we have the approval of proposed uh resolutions for the MSBA delegate conference. Um, members of our super superintendent cabinet, I believe we have Donna Rober and Amy Scallarude joining us. And board
052members, you have um updated copies in front of you. Good evening, Chair Hos, Superintendent Putnham, members of the board. I will um quickly project the the one that I have here which is the resolution regarding targeted services and extended learning. Um there was no feedback last time um really concerning the content. Um the only suggestion was to spell out the acronym sooner which we have done. Um but I will project it up again in case there are questions um or if anybody came across anything that they were wondering um since the last meeting. So, here is the resolution. Um, we previously had uh the acronym SAP uh a couple times throughout the policy and didn't spell that out and explain what an SAP was until the very last paragraph, which is not helpful. So, it
053is now in um paragraph number one. Were there any questions on this resolution for any additional changes? Thank you very much. >> Yeah. >> Good evening, Chair Haw, Superintendent Superintendent Putnham, and members of the board. I'm happy to um just go back to these two proposals uh for a minute. I'm going to go ahead and project um since last time we did come together with um some expertise around drafting some of this language. We had uh the Mingaya um core planning team take a look at both of these proposals. So, I'm going to go through some of the suggestions that were made um to the the ones that you saw last time. So, there's a couple of changes and I'll just point out the changes. Um I'm going to go ahead and show this up
054here. Okay. So resolution 20252 redesigning education for the age of AI. Um because this proposal is asking MSBA to address both the what and the how. If you recall in our um last meeting, we were talking about the proposal that went forward last year was a focused on the what and that this year, one of the changes to this proposal was that we added a section on the how. Um so the number two language um for what the request is was made a little bit more clear. Um so on the original original one it just said you know that that it direct MDE to ensure AI literacy for all. The team that looked at it um in addition to you you all um said there's a lot to the how. Let's spell that out and
055make sure that everybody understands what it is we're actually asking um MSBA to direct um the legislature to consider. And again um the need, the vision, background and rationale all the same. Um we did um in light of some things that um people were weighing in on, we thought it would be important to add a whereas clause on how prevalent the use of AI is by our students um not just our staff. So you'll see there's an additional whereas clause on that. And then in the now therefore be it resolved section you'll also see um that we really spelled out the what and the how. So modernize the standards for the era of AI is is a big ask around you know what it is we are asking students to know and learn in an
056AIdriven world. And then the how is really around it's really twofold. It's those safety guardrail conversations along with the um learning fast in the classroom to act more slowly um and intentionally with the learning. So that was the other ad on this particular polic or proposal. And then that's that was it for the for the proposal. The model policy idea that was drafted the example that um we also looked at that as a as a group and there were just a couple of enhancements that we made uh to just highlight the security concerns that have arisen even in the last week. So, if you look um more closely down in the area where we talk about, let's see here if I can find it, prohibited uses. Um we added a section on surveillance and monitoring
057violations. And again, this is just um pretty standard language that that you're going to see in a governance policy around uh appropriate use. Um yeah, so those are the changes to this first proposal and to the model policy. And I guess I would just stop for a minute if there's questions. >> Yeah. How much of this stuff do we have in our own policies? >> So, we currently have guidelines and we don't currently have a policy per se. No one really does. That's sort of the point is that we have um there are entities out there who are crafting policy and bringing it forward. And so, this is just another option that would be brought forward for consideration. Um, >> so we're we're sort of leading but we haven't really adopted anything ourselves and >>
058correct. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? >> I think it looks great. Um, I think it asks for the things that we need. I mean, anything anything that we do here comes with a best if used by date cuz it just it's going to be old. by the time it's adopted. But somebody's got to kick the legislature because right now we got nothing. >> And they have to they have to start doing something because it's only getting more and more complicated and more and more dangerous and it's just got to it's got to get addressed. So I think it's a I think it's a great start and I know that there are pe other people doing things with this. So I don't think it'll fall on deaf ears. I think it's a great policy or
059a great resolution that will be easily adopted. >> Okay. All right. Let's move to 2025. Um sorry three which is I'm going to pull this one up here. Um this one also uh there were a number of people at the planning core team meeting who had inside information if you will because they have been intimately involved in the Kosen work which is the consortium of school networks around the data privacy acts and cyber security. And so this this is a resolution proposing um that we ask the state to establish a privacy and cyber security for education council that is facilitated um by um by our Minnesota Generative AI Alliance. And the changes that were made to this one are in um the whereas section and I'll put it up here on the screen because this
060again came from just their expertise and knowledge about what's happening right now related to um what might be missing in all of the existing privacy data privacy rules that we currently have to follow. So they're saying, you know, we might need this because these are the things that we know are missing from current um pieces that are in place. So um I felt really good about working with that team because they did they did make some really strategic um enhancements to this proposal. Um, and so again, this is just everything else on here is the same. It was just those two. Um, they were both related to contextualizing the ask. Um so that when this goes to MSBA who will most assuredly seek input from folks who are intimately involved with the data privacy work
061in the state, they'll have greater context and they'll know that we actually did go a little bit deeper thinking um about this request. Okay. Anybody have any questions for this one? Okay. Thank Oh, Scott, >> I'm not sure this pertains to it, but we've been getting sometimes data privacy or data requests. Um, kind of like an organized attack. Um, is this relevant to any of that? in terms of like an outside entity requesting access to our data. No, this is not necessarily the same thing. >> Okay. Just just wondering because I know we had some assistant superintendent tied up for quite a while responding to data requests. Yeah, this is this is specifically related to the data privacy agreements that we put together with third parties when we share data. So, for example, we have
062a student information system that we share data with our learning management system. And so, there's a data privacy agreement that we have to put in place between us and and third parties. >> Okay, got it. Thank you. Thank you very much for all the work that has gone into this. It's beautiful. Thank you. Very proud. >> Oh, it's an action item. >> Um I I would move that. Can we do all three of them at once or should we do each one separately? >> I think we can do all three at once because >> we're supposed to doing all three at once. >> Yeah. The only thing would be if someone >> Yep. If if this isn't unanimous, we can come back to >> Oh, let's do them separate. >> All right. Go right ahead.
063Move it right along >> because then we can just say that they were approved by the board. Okay. So, individually. So, I would move that uh resolution 25 2025-1 adequate and equitable funding for targeted services and extended learning uh be adopted by the board. >> Okay. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Okay. Have a motion by Al, a second by Zack. Heather, can you call vote? >> Shannon Hos, >> yes. >> Zack Dorhalt, >> yes. >> Natalie Copelan, >> yes. >> Heather Williams, yes. Diana Fenton, >> yes. >> Alrren, >> yes. >> Scott Andre, >> yes. >> Okay, go ahead again now. >> Okay. I would move the resolution 2025-2 redesigning education for the age of AI be adopted by the the school board. >> And do I have a second? >>
064Second. >> I have a motion by L, second by Scott. Heather, can you call vote? Diana Fenton, >> yes. >> Al Duggrren, >> yes. >> Scott Andre, >> yes. >> Shannon Haw, >> yes. >> Zack Doorhold, >> yes. >> Heather Williams, yes. Natalie Copeland, >> yes. >> Okay. >> I would move that resolution 2025-3 establish Minnesota Privacy and Cyber Security for Education Pace Council be adopted by the board. >> And do I have a second? >> Have a motion by Al, second by Natalie. Heather, can you call vote one more time? >> Natalie Copeland, >> yes. >> Zack Dorhalt, >> yes. >> Shannon Hos, >> yes. >> Scott Andre, >> yes. >> Al Dogrren, >> yes. >> Diana Fenton, >> yes. >> Heather Williams, yes. >> Thank you again for all the effort that went
065into this. >> So then the next step would be for us to get a final copy. And do we need to have a signature on those? >> I don't I don't think so. I think that I think we can just put in there that it was adopted by uh unanimously by the school board at this meeting and then we will forward them down to MSBA and they will review them. >> One of them has the signatures place and the other does does not >> and who pushes that forward? >> I will. >> Okay. All right. Wonderful. Thank you guys. >> Okay. Uh then we >> can I clarify that? >> Yes. I'll need Jan. >> Yes. >> To do the paperwork and get things ready. >> Um, but I will I will get them forwarded
066down to MSBA. >> Jan is always involved in the work that needs to get done. So, thanks, Jan. Okay. Uh, we do have one more action item tonight. We have the approval of district 742 mission statement for 2025 through 2027. This is being presented by Superintendent Dr. Lori Putnham. >> Thank you so much, Chair Hos. Uh members of our board, uh you do have uh what is on the screen also in front of you should you need it. Um earlier this evening, you uh on the consent agenda, you reaffirmed um board policy 104 um which simply states that every two years, this board must reaffirm its mission statement or create a new one uh should that be your choice. Um, so I'm here on behalf of administration and our district team and staff today to
067uh recommend um the approval uh for another two years of the St. Cloud Area School District 742 mission statement. I won't read it to you. Chair H does it at the beginning of each meeting. Um, and this uh mission statement has uh truly lasted the test of time. It was developed in partnership with um many stakeholders, some of which some of whom are sitting around this table now uh when uh former superintendent uh Willie Jut was here. Um, and he did that in partnership, as I said, uh, with probably over 70, uh, people. And Shannon Avenson actually helped lead that process. So, hey, uh, good work. It's still here. Um, you guys made some slight changes about four to six years ago. Uh, uh, board member Dalgrren had suggested some reordering of, uh, the, uh,
068action verbs. Um, and, uh, the board adopted that. and sense you have reaffirmed that this uh has is where um uh accurately represents our commitments uh to our students, our families, our staff and this community. Um and truly we um uh we have this uh anchoring our um our meetings, our actions um and uh it has served uh on I can attest on behalf of our team that it has served us well. Um, and we um would be very glad to see the continued um adoption of this mission statement. >> Okay. I don't know if anybody has any questions, but we're going to need a motion. >> I move we adopt the mission statement. >> Okay. And do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion by Scott and a second by
069Diana. Any discussion at all? Okay. Heather, can you call vote? >> Diana Finton. >> Yes. Zack door Holton, >> yes. >> Al Dawren, >> yes. >> Natalie Copeland, >> yes. >> Scott Andre, >> yes. >> Heather Williams, yes. Shannon Hos, >> yes. >> Thank you very much. Uh, then we have the board of education standing committee reports. I believe we just have one tonight. We have board development policy governance chair Zack Dorhalt. So, August 27th, sorry. Okay. Yep. August 27th board policy and governance committee meeting. We reviewed several u several policies. Changes were made to policy 421, which includes gifts to district personnel to better align it with MSBA policy. The revised policy will be brought up for a first reading on today. I think we did that. Yeah. Um, policies 499, misuse of district
070funds and property in uh and property in 511 student fundraising were also reviewed and no changes were recommended for either. The committee also reviewed policy 104, school district mission statement. Additional language added to the title of the statute was added to the policy. No other changes were recommended. The district mission statement will be reviewed and reaffirmed as we just did. I think that's all I got. >> Okay. And then we have future agenda items. September 17th, 2025 board meeting topics will include um hopefully approval of tenative agreements. We have approval of preliminary levy certification, final levy certification announcement, enrollment report, review of the 2023 2025 strategic plan outcomes, and some policy readings. Uh at this time, does any board member wish to suggest a future agenda item? All righty. Uh so looking for a motion
071to adjourn our regular board meeting. >> Second. >> I have a motion by Natalie, a second by Diana. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. Okay. uh regular board meeting is adjourned at 7:34 p.m. and at that same time we are opening up tonight's board of education work session. We only have one item tonight and that is the proposed revised board policy 421 first reading which is a gift to district personnel presented by Amy Scallard, executive director of finance and business services. All right. Hello again. Where did it go? Aha, thank you. Okay, before I begin, there is a lot of red in this policy and so do not panic. I promise it's really not as as confusing um as it looks because almost the entire policy is red. Um so, a little
072bit of historical context on this policy. MSBA has had um a sample policy for this for quite some time. Um actually their policy has a different name than ours and so you've see that as the first recommendation to change um the name of the policy. Theirs is actually gifts to employees and schoolboard members so that it's clear that schoolboard members fall under this. Um not everybody from the general public knows that school board members are technically personnel. And so I think that's just a clarifying um point. So this policy has existed for MSBA since like 2000 or 1995. We did not have a policy as you can see until around 2017. Um and at the time we implemented it uh we didn't use MSBA sample policy. I suspect um because we had an attorney on
073the board at the time and ours ended up um more of a verbatim um uh word for word typing of the statutes uh that this policy is meant to encompass as opposed to kind of a more um userfriendly easy to understand policy. And so, uh, in review at, uh, person or at, uh, board development committee, um, everybody was in agreement that there's really not a a reason to to deviate from MSBA's sample policy. everything they have in their sample policy um really encompasses all of the um readily used exemptions or exceptions um to the giftgiving statutes or the things that are in statute that aren't specifically in MSBA's policy are really things that don't ever get applied in practice or aren't aren't really relevant. Um there are a few places where our uh the MSBA
074policy is different from our language um or the intent uh that we had in our policy. And so as I go through I'll point um those out. So the purpose um really again the underlying purpose statement in MSBA sample policy um is very much the same as what we had. It's just worded in a much more efficient um and uh concise way. Um, so there's the purpose and then the general statement of policy uh that we see in in statement two is really where we talk about um what is allowed, what isn't allowed. Um, as we scroll you'll see we had those in a in a separate section about what's exempt from the gift um giftgiving law statutes. Um but really again the intention is um is the same. Um and so the first piece
075there um is that uh we discourage the giving of gifts. um we encourage notes of appreciation, other tokens of appreciation instead. This is one of the areas um where we do differ slightly from the MSBA policy. Um and it's just the last part of that bullet a um is when we did our policy, we added considering giving a donation to the school. Um that is not something that's in MSBA's policy. Um but we think is is good practice that if somebody wants to give a gift in a token of appreciation to a staff member um that a donation to the school or scholarship or something of that manner um is appropriate and something we'd want to um encourage or provide as an option. And then item B is the other um significant area I would
076say where our policy differs a little bit from MSBA's. uh MSBA's policy uh really has an outright um any any acceptance of a gift is a violation of this policy. Um we know that there are time particularly for for staff members at the end of the school year um or you know if if their student um was having a hard time and somebody you know they really felt like they needed to reach out to a teacher. We don't want our teachers particularly to feel like um they can't accept that, right? If they were given a a little box of chocolates or something. So, our policy had um some language around um that school district employees may accept small gifts of nominal value. Um however, you cannot accept that gift if it's given with the intent
077to influence the decision um regarding academic pro progress or um extracurricular playing time. So, that was in our policy. that is not specifically an exemption in statute. Um statute does call out for some exemptions of gifts of nominal value at discretion. Um and so it's it's really in our mind an extension of of that carval that's already in the exception, but being clear for employees. Um when we get a little bit further, um there is a a hard exemption for an interested party who has a financial interest that is never allowed. Um, so there's there's no exception. Um, if it's somebody who has a decision-making authority to a financial contract or agreement, um, that's a that's the last bullet that we'll get to on the next page. Um, so that can never be interpreted as
078a as a small gift um, if there's some sort of business potentially um, being exchanged. So, I'm not going to go through the next bullets. Those are really the carveouts from um statute in terms of exemptions, small gifts of $5, a plaque for um years of service or some commemoration. Um publication materials from a from a free samples for textbooks or teaching materials, things like that. Um and then that item F is the one um that is is really that hard exception and is really what the gift law was intended when it was put into effect. Um that's really the statute that that they were really trying to hit home with is that people who have the ability to influence financial decisions. Um so you can see schoolboard members, superintendents, principles, um school business officials
079or any other um person in a position to influence a decision um can never accept a gift. Um the definition section then is just cleaned up. Um there is nowhere in in statute that even uses the word provider or defines it. Um, so again, that was something we had in our policy. Um, and same with school district official. Um, so that's just cleaned up to remove those two definitions. Um, and then as we get to sections four and five, those are all of the specific word for word from the statute um, uh, exemptions to the policy um, that are are really all encompassed into the language that's in uh, section two. Now, um, same thing with section five, that's also rolled in. Um, and then for procedures, uh, this is just, um, kind of summarized.
080Some of what was in here again was was really reiterating and was duplicitive and and didn't need to be in here. Again, it's already referenced elsewhere. Um, but there is a general uh, statement that if there's an employee that has a question about accepting a gift, um, they can confer with administration uh, on that guidance. That wording is a little bit different um, than MSBA's policy. MSBA's policy um outright says if you're going to consider accepting any gift um which becomes problematic, right? Any gift, does that mean any gift of $5 value? Any gift that we say is allowed based on our policy? And so um we felt like that was confusing to tell employees anytime you're going to consider accepting a gift, you need to convert with administration. Um I think Superintendent Putnham would
081be getting a lot of phone calls. Um, and so this was a recommendation from committee to clarify that language. If there's a question, um, confer. And then there's just a lot of clean up in the legal references and cross reference section. There was statutes that were referenced that, um, I pulled up the statutes and there's nothing in those statutes that has really anything to do with any of the gift laws um, that are not referenced in MSBA's policy and so those have been removed. Uh, and then there were some of the statutes that were um incorrectly in the cross reference section versus the statute section. Um, so those have been moved uh up above. So just some clean up there. So lots of red but pretty straightforward questions. It's now pretty common to see Amazon
082like gift lists and those sort or um wish lists for classrooms and that sort of thing. How do those actually get how do those work and how do they how are they classified? So if it's an Amazon w it depends, right? So Amazon wish lists usually nobody from what we've seen is people aren't buying them or sometimes there's ones like um donor's choose and other things. We consider that a gift. So if somebody's going to get something through that they should be filling out that receipted donation form. And so we wouldn't consider that we would consider that a donation of the materials that you get. Um again, we shouldn't be having people who are in a decision to make an influence with a vendor be getting those for free, but you typically see that those
083are community members trying to donate or parents wanting um those in our mind would fall under that exemption where it would be one of those small nominal gifts. Um and that would be that would be allowed. We certainly try to limit which platforms people are using because um there's there's some tracking concerns, right? There becomes um questions about who owns those items, right? Do those items belong to the school? Do those items belong to that personal teacher? Um but we know that they're out there. Uh we know that that that happens. Um and so what the message that we give is that that should be coming in considered a donation to the district, not to the individual employee. Yeah, I'm really mixed on this one. Um, I was actually on the board when this one
084was rewritten to be the way that it was and there were very strong reasons for why it was written the way that it was. Um the things that are a lot of the things that seem strange in there or may seem strange in there are varied very widely from MSBA uh came about because of things that happened or were happening within the school district and we felt that it was really important that we spell out what is acceptable and isn't. And I think it's a messy policy the way that it was written. I'm not saying that it was written in a very well in a very good manner, but there were there were instances where there were gifts being received from administrators who are in positions to be able to authorize contracts or uh make
085decisions on who we go with for vendor or something like that. And the the the rewriting of it was to be very clear and you can see in here where it says a school district official means an employee or independent contractor acting on behalf of the school district whose job duties include screening or selection of vendors, providers of goods or services offered to the school district. school district officials includes specifically any and superintendent, principles, business managers, resource managers, activities coordinators, executive directors, and any school district employees who are in a position to make or influence purchasing or contracting decisions with a provider or vendor. That was spelled out specifically because we wanted the strength in the policy to make sure that if it ever occurred, it was just clear as day. and you that that
086couldn't happen. The and at the same time there was a lot of concern that yes, parents like to give teachers a Christmas gift uh generally of nominal value. I don't know any teachers that have received cars or anything of that nature for Christmas, but you know, it's like a box of chocolates or or a Christmas decoration or something like that. And to try to put a value on that is really difficult. I think $ five dollars is a ridiculous value. What you can't get anything for $5 anymore. I mean, when we say it says in here that a plaque, you can receive a plaque worth $5 or less. Every time I go and get a plaque, it's $50 to $100. So I I mean, those those numbers are just absolutely ridiculous. >> Yeah. And I
087think that is why our language differs from MSBA in B. So MSBA in section B on page one is only the first sentence after that where it says school district employees however may accept small gifts of nominal value that is word for word what was in our policy to to carve out that there that was an okay exemption that $5 from a you know end of the year gift of appreciation from a family to their teacher is not the intention of the gift law. And so that that is the language that was in our policy. It's just it was kind of way back here buried in this gifts to other school employees section. So, we just kind of moved it up to where it logically fit. Um, but that is the same language because to
088your point when the discussion was had at the time um that was the that was the narrative and and we recalled um when Tracy and I spoke about the policy that there was a specific intention to make sure that that exemption existed and wasn't in the same policy about the $5. We didn't want to put a a policy in place where teachers felt like they were going to get fired for accepting a Christmas gift from little Johnny's mom. >> And I don't I I think that the MSBA pol the MSBA policy, this is a very poorly written one on MSBA's behalf also, but I think that there's does not do a good job of doing that. I think it makes it seem as though they would be uh in trouble or or at risk of
089being in trouble for accepting a gift of any kind. And that is absolutely not what we want. Then there's a statement in here where it says it's the definition of a gift. It means money, real or personal property, a service, a loan, a forbearance or forgiveness of indebtedness, or a promise of future employment that is given without something of equal or greater value being received in return. And it totally leaves out the prom I the promise of future employment is one thing but what about the promise of future payment or the promise of future service or you know it >> and that language is is exactly word for word from the statute. So not that we couldn't tweak it but that language is what we had as our language which mirrors MSBA which is verbatim
090how they define gifts. >> Right. It's leaving out it's it's leaving out a situation where someone could say, "Hey, give me this contract and in 2 years when you retire, I'll come and remodel your basement." Which seems to me that was a situation that occurred with the superintendent down in the Twin Cities that got in a lot of trouble for it, but we're leaving that out. And it's not just an employment piece. So, I think I I don't know. I I don't think I don't think what we had is perfect and I don't think what MSBA has is perfect and I don't think that what's being proposed is perfect. So, I do wonder to to the first point you brought up about specifically wanting to call out all of those groups of people. Um because
091really again that's intended to to come into play when it's that interested party, right? When it's someone who has business in exchange. Um, I wonder if there would be merit in using that specific list of employees and elaborating on item F on page two because right now it just says an elected official um elected school member, superintendent, school principal, school business official. Um, we could certainly expand that that list of who that inter in um includes um to in that section to say that we're really intending to say no one should accept a gift from an interested person um who has that decision-making authority. >> Um just a couple of things, El because you you and I were both here when we wrote this policy. Um, I I think we have tried generally as we
092have been reviewing policy since that time to be as consistent with MSBA as possible so that we're not having to wonder, you know, for future boards why it's something that they may not recall or understand the context of. Um, secondly, I think um there has been a very significant shift in our um setting of administrative expectations and training around issues around the gift law. It's regularly part of the um kind of legal updates. You know, it's on a cycle of things that I make sure that we cover with our administrators. And I would say, you know, in comparison to the time when we rewrote this policy, um it's widely understood and known by our administrators and we've really tried to professionalize that um awareness in our in our administrator preparation and training. Um the I
093I agree with you that the definition of school official should probably be spelled out because I don't know that that uh that beyond our kind of clear principal director leadership kind of positions that people always understood um or may understand that they hold a position that has some influence over um purchasing decisions of the district. Uh so I think that is an area where you know in spite of our reservations about restating statutory language that may or may not change and then our policy gets inconsistent with statute um that we should take a look at. So, I think it'd be um Amy and I had just a few minutes to consult uh cuz cuz uh it has been a busy week with all of the negotiations and things going on, but I think she and
094I can sit down with this with the concerns that you raised and try to spell out those things where we really think they're um prescriptive and informative for the readers and helpful as we share that policy with our administrators each year and uh and come up with kind of a hybrid between what we used to have and what is here. >> Yeah. And I think that it needs to be it needs to be stronger for administrators than it is for teachers. Absolutely. >> Absolutely has to be. >> But it doesn't have to be nothing, right, >> for administrators because that I think that's wrong also. >> Right. And we've also talked a lot with our school principles around the idea of those um teacher end of you know year gifts. And so our teach and
095our principles routinely put that into their um school messages at the end of the year and so that they're kind of consistently sending that message. So I think we've also gotten more coherence there. But I think >> I might be saying the opposite here though. >> I I I don't have any issue with a parent giving a teacher a small gift or or a principal. We try we try to have the principles though encourage those school donations, you know, as a more of a community celebration because we know that we have some parents that can offer some of those um appreciation gifts. >> I don't want them to feel threatened. >> Yeah, absolutely. given a gift and that's goes the whole way up to superintendent >> and we have a we we have given that
096advice and I think principles have supported that >> and I think that the numbers need to be reflective of what's realistic for the types of gifts that you may receive. >> Yeah. >> Um >> we can go through all of that again and take another look >> and I'd take another shot at it. >> And that $5 is obviously obsolete, right? That is what is in statute, but that is also not intended to be applied to a gift from a community member or a family um or somebody. That language in item C specifically says that $5 applies to a gift from a person or entity doing business or seeking to do business. So that $5 and those carved out exceptions in policy C where it's really a plaque of appreciation or the $5 limit is
097meant to apply to a vendor relationship whether that's a teacher or anyone, right? That that really should be anyone if it's a vendor who is trying to to get it in with the district and and do that business. Um, so I I think the intention is that B is where the language is supposed to apply to your general employee in the day-to-day course of business um with a community or a family um or from another staff member or something like that where there there's no potential um attempt to influence any sort of decision. Um, again, we specifically had the language in there before, um, which committee recommended keeping to carve out the caveat that that gift shouldn't be given with any sort of intent to coersse academic progress or anything like that. Um, but that
098that B is really what you're referring to. You should be able to have the gift from the family. Um, C is really that anyone shouldn't be accepting a gift that's more than that $5, which again is statute. I think that's obsolete. I think $5 given inflation when the statute was implemented is probably not relevant anymore. Um, but we really don't need to be accepting gifts in exchange for somebody trying to get our business anyway. Um, and then item F is is really that hard exception where if you're an interested person, you really shouldn't be accepting anything. Um, even with that $5 if it's from someone who has that party. Um, but to your point, I I do think maybe carving out that definition, leaving the definition of school district official. Um, and I don't know,
099they use the word school district or district school officer. I don't know what that is. I don't know what you would interpret. Um, but we could maybe just say or any other school district official and leave that definition in there. Um, so that it is very very clear to any of those people. Um, to Tracy's point, we're we've come a long way in terms of communicating to people in those roles what that expectation is. Um, but it certainly, you know, wouldn't hurt to leave that. Um, just so there's no question. [Music] >> When El became a board member, um, he questioned the granting of roofing contracts and saved us many millions of dollars. Uh the question is does the MSBA um policy have the strength to uh save us many millions of dollars again or
100is it uh do we have to rely on old language that uh probably Jerry von Quorf wrote? >> No, I I would say that is the intention of F, right? F is saying that anyone um under basically under no circumstance should anybody accept a gift from an interested person and anybody who's trying to receive any sort of business or has a financial interested person is is defined in the policy. Anyone who has a direct financial interest um that is is definitely still um prohibited under MSPA's policy as it was in ours. >> Thank you. Anybody else? >> Thank you. >> So, you guys will look at that and bring back something different. >> Yeah, I think some of those tweaks that we talked about maybe adding some language, leaving in some of those definitions. Um,
101we can look at that and then bring it back um for the second read next meeting. >> Yeah. Thank you very much. All right, that was everything for our work session. So, our work session is adjourned. It is 7:59 p.m. Um, thank you for watching. Have a good night. We'll be back September 11th, 17th. [Music] >> Does anybody have a pen on them? Yeah, nice.