001okay new record on how full the court the room is um i'd like to call to order the june 3rd 2024 school board meeting and ask everyone to rise for the pledge of allegiance Okay, and I know the room is really full, so fill in. Like, it's okay to stand in the aisle. Just come on in and stand on the sides. Young people, if you see an older person that might like to sit down, please make room. There's still people out there trying to welcome everybody in from the outside before we get started. All right, well, this is super fun. We're going to have fun. Okay. First item is to approve the agenda. Can I get an emotion to approve the agenda? Thank you John. I get a second Thank You Byron All those in
002favor signify by saying aye aye Those opposed. Thank you that passes Approval of the consent agenda if there aren't any questions on the consent agenda. Can I get a motion to approve? Thank You Morgan second Thank You Marcus all those in favor signify by saying aye. All right Those opposed, sorry. That item passes as well. All right, listening session report from Member Marcus Hill. Thank you madam chair there were no attendees at tonight's listening session that concludes my report excellent report Marcus All right. Now we're to our most favorite item ever that ever happens at board meetings Gosh, there really are a lot of you out there. Okay, so while this might be our favorite thing We have a lot of you to recognize tonight So in the interest of trying to be fair and
003give everybody chance we're gonna try to limit questions from the board to one or two per group And I know that might make some of the kids really happy. And that's okay. But I'll turn it over to Superintendent Olsen-Skoll. Thank you madam chair. Thank you everyone for coming this evening tonight. We have a full house of student recognitions We have five groups in total And we'll call each group up in various chunks, but don't forget that after your group has been recognized My notes say to please take a seat You might just need to stand and stick around for photos at the end of the recognitions. So then The rest of the board meeting is of course yours to enjoy should you want to stay. But if you choose to leave after that time, we
004will not be offended. We will understand. We'll start with the Confluence Elementary School authors, then we'll move to the Student Curriculum Advisory Committee, then to the Heritage Jesus Students, and then to the Male and Female Athletes of the Year, and finally to the Spring Season State. tournament participating student athletes. So, and I appreciate that all of you will do great jobs of rearranging to let the people who are being recognized at that moment get a view of what's going on. So we're gonna start, like I said earlier, with our Confluence fourth grade authors. I would like to have the authors come on up and I'll also have Miles Lawson and Katie Shecka from our curriculum department come on up to help introduce the students. Let's give our authors a round of applause. to recognize our
005authors this year also artists that submitted submissions this is the third year of the conflicts and this year we had over 50 writing 50 writing samples and art so it was really hard to choose five people to recognize And so along with thanking them today, I want to thank the fourth grade teachers who put a ton of work into helping them polish their writing, the GT teachers who helped kids get their work submitted, and definitely these people right here for submitting their work. So first we have from Moreland, Ava Stocking. And from Garlow, we have Emily Grace Rosas Morales. And from Somerset, we have two authors who co-wrote a piece, Lucy Brogstahl and Linnea Litchson. And from Enota, we have Ayla Cotton. And from Pilot Knob, we have Kendall Blood. Well, why don't you turn
006around and look at the... All right, there you go. Okay. Well, I kind of like it when they're closer to us. All right, I guess they're accepting questions. Okay, I'm gonna start I read it like two weeks ago or a week ago and I had to remind myself repeatedly that you were fourth graders Really impressive. I can't wait to see what you're gonna do next. So yeah questions from the board you get one Go ahead. Oh No, we're gonna ask you a question You can ask a question. Do you have a question? Yeah, we like questions Okay Go ahead Byron. All right, so I'll ask a question Could you just quickly go down the line and give the title of your piece or what your piece was? But go around and talk into the microphone
007if you could You don't have to say the whole poem. Okay. I'm just gonna say I'm just gonna say like the title A child's imagination. It's a poem. The piece I created was a poem and it was called If Doggos Could Fly. The piece we created was Both Sides of the Story. The piece I created was called Joy. It was a story and it was about a girl in a dream. All right, thank you guys. You can have a seat, but don't leave because we take pictures afterwards, okay? All right, so next we're going to honor and introduce the Student Curriculum Advisory Committee. And for that, Miles will really come up this time, even though I mentioned him last time. He's actually going to come up this time and help us introduce the students from
008the committee that are here tonight. All right, well, thank you for giving me a chance to recognize some pretty important people in our school district that I've been working with for the last couple years. This is four of what ends up being somewhere between 10 to 15 students that I work with routinely throughout the year we meet. They're called the Student Curriculum Advisory Committee, SCAC for short. And they are a group of students that meet with me about two or three times a month during warrior time. And actually, a few of them I've worked with for a couple years even before that. We did some student panels on some different professional development experiences. So I've known some of these folks for quite a while now. We got about, like I said, 10 to 15 students
009on this team, and they do a number of things. They sometimes sit on curriculum review panels with our math team, for example, or our career and technical education review team. They've given some input on new courses that we've had and, you know, what would be a good idea, what wouldn't be a good idea. They got lots of good ideas about how to... how to market and advertise for courses if we're running low on some of the enrollment for the courses that we're looking at. But what I thought I would do is rather than spend the time talking, I would like to give the mic over for just a couple minutes or moments for a couple of them. And I'm going to start with Noelle, actually, because Noelle is one of the people who helped start
010this committee in the first place. So, Noelle, I'll give you the mic. Hi, my name is Melissa and I'm an 11th grader at Two Rivers High School. I stand before the student board, the school board today with a heartfelt gratitude. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to serve, lead and initiate change within our school district together with Miles Lawson, a very dedicated district figure, if you can already tell. We created the student council advisory committee through like a meeting we had. my freshman year in equity advisory meeting and I just wanted to have a platform where voices are heard, ideas are shared, and solutions are born. You know, our journey like really began with a simple idea of just plastering student voice and making sure every student's voice is heard when it comes to really
011big changes in our district. And through our meetings during warrior time, we really delved into like the issues in our district in some way like delving, like plaguing our district. Like we've gone from analyzing, discussing them with our remarkable crew of 10 to 15 students. And these meetings have become more than just gatherings. They've become like incubators for innovation where every voice matters and every opinion is valued. And it's truly remarkable how much change can be wrought when passionate minds come together because we have really loud voices and every single voice is mattered and considered when. We talk about the things we do at each meeting. But again, none of this would have been possible without the unwavering support and guidance of Miles Lawson, whose dedication to our cause has been instrumental in every step
012of the way. His wisdom, experience, and commitment to empowering student voices have been a driving force beyond our successes. So as I stand here today, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. for the opportunity to initiate change, for the privilege of being part of something so important, and for the incredible individuals who have stood by our side throughout the journey. So together, we've proven that with passion, determination, and a shared vision, we can shape a brighter future for ourselves and for generations to come. And for that, I'm forever grateful. So thank you. And then thank you for the school board to inviting us here and recognizing us. No one wants to follow Noel. This group doesn't have a problem talking, so it's not... At least introduce yourself. I didn't know if we were
013supposed to prepare anything, but... I'm Allie Karen. I'm a 10th grader. I've been on this committee for two years now, and honestly, it just brings me so much joy being able to make little impact, and what Miles has said, it's actually become big impact, and it's just really amazing being able to make some change, hopefully for the better of our district. Hi, I'm Elliot, and I was dragged here by Allie. No, not dragged here, sorry. I was dragged into this group by Allie, which I'm very grateful for because this is an amazing opportunity. I've really loved working with everyone. It's really fun. It's a good way to connect with other students in the school and work on issues and problems together through that, and it's really fun, and I really loved it a lot. Did
014you say what year you were, Elliot? Oh, sorry, yeah, I'm a 10th grader. 10th grader. Hi, I'm Aubrey McMahon, and I'm going into my sophomore year of high school. And I think that my favorite thing about this committee has just been that I can go into a meeting with Miles and with my peers and just be able to make change or say stuff that's been on my mind and it is acknowledged, and then there's something done about that. And I think that's really powerful, so that's great. All right. Thank you all. I don't know if we can ask any questions that beat what they've already said, but does anyone have a question for these? Go ahead. Comment. Love seeing you guys. You clearly collaborate well and are learning some valuable skills. And if I'm not,
015unless I'm missing something, you got a few more years to hone those skills and broaden them. But I'd like to commend you for a comment you made. I hope you hold it near and dear and keep using it as a guiding light, which is every voice matters. That's wonderful to hear that from a young person. So hold on to it. All right, thanks everyone. You can have a seat. Okay, Miles is off the hook. He's not introducing the next people here. So next up is Nicholas here? Oh, there you are. Come on up, Nicholas. And we've got some members of the student members from the Heritage GCSA. And for those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Nicholas, he is the choir director at Heritage and the district equity specialist. Nicholas is
016always one of the also. one of the GSA advisors at Heritage, and he'll help us introduce the students here tonight. So welcome, Nicholas. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much for having us. I have three lovely seventh graders. We have Clover, Imogen, and Lila. And these three are our leaders in the Heritage GSA. And I really thank you for letting us come up here because I need to celebrate these three because they have been our leaders but also the ones pushing us forward and advancing what we do as a group and not just at Heritage but across the secondary sites this year. Last year was a big year for us because we did an initiative called Day of Silence where we take the voluntary vow of silence to protest the bullying that happens to
017queer kids across the country but especially in our schools. And with the help of these three we extended that to not just Friendly Hills and to Rivers but we also had a big celebration called Break the Silence where we got together and we got to celebrate our identity in a group and without fear of prejudice or hate in that space. And it was really cool. So thanks for letting me share these three fantastic individuals and what they've done. And I said they're off the hook. They don't have to say anything. So unless you have questions. Oh, I'm so tempted to ask Lila a question, but I won't. All right. No, we look forward to seeing you maybe again here sometime. feel free, you have many more years in the district to keep effecting change, so
018thank you. All right, I'll let you off the hook. Thank you. All right, well, I get to do the introductions next, but let's have our male and female student athletes of the year come to the podium. So that's Riley Pierce and Lily Leitner. Come on up. I will start by introducing Riley. Riley has excelled in multiple sports, including football, where he was a four-year participant, three-year letter winner, two-year all-district player, District D Lineman of the Year, and team captain. In wrestling, Riley was a four-year participant, four-year letter winner, state participant, and two-year captain. Despite injuries, he also earned all-conference honors and state participation in his first year of track. And in lacrosse, he was a two-year participant and two-year letter winner. Let's give Riley a round of applause. Now I'll introduce Lily. Lily has excelled
019in athletics, earning multiple accolades, a five-year letter winner and two-year captain in hockey with all-conference honors in 22 and 24, a four-year letter winner, 22-23 team MVP, and one-year captain in soccer with all-conference honors in 22 and 23, and a three-year letter winner and two-year captain in lacrosse with all-conference honors in 22 and 23. Let's give Lily a round of applause. That was hard to read Complicated it was awesome. It's awesome to read it was complicated. I think did you have any corrections? Did he get it correct? I don't know if I know. Well, my question would be you're both seniors so tell us your plans for now that you graduated yesterday Next year I plan to attend the University of Wisconsin River Falls and study elementary education and play soccer. And then come back
020and work for the district. Yeah. Yay. I'll be attending Macalester College in St. Paul and studying biology. I'll also be playing football there. Very nice. I have a very clear memory. I'll preface by saying to be an athlete at a certain level requires a certain amount of dedication. I have a very clear memory in eighth grade football. You had a game and you ran the ball and you fumbled and a lot of people would go back and pout and mope or whatnot. You ran right back to the sideline, dropped and cranked out about 50 pushups. That person is going to be at a different level. And you are. Congratulations. Thank you. Anything else for these two? Otherwise, we'll let them off the hook, too. Thank you. All right. You can take your seats. Don't leave.
021Yes, thanks. Don't leave. But then our final group actually has subgroups to it, and that is all of the spring season state tournament participating student athletes. So here tonight we have students who participate in a state tournament. You know what? Why don't you all come up? It would be fun to see you as a group. Anybody who is here to be honored for a state tournament participating athlete, come on up to the podium. I'd like to say athletes and activities. And activities, yeah. Come on up. Come on up. Did you know what you were asking for? Yeah, I wanted to see the crowd. I think it's awesome. Good, good, good. We're actually going to start with a little bit of a description of Jeffrey and Nick. I don't think Jeffrey was able to make it
022here tonight, but Nick is here. So... Swing around the side so we can see you, Nick. So Peter can see it. There you go. All right. So Jeffrey and Nick and the entire Dakota Hawks United softball team are here tonight for winning the state championship in both the PI and CI divisions earlier this month. Let's give them a round of applause. Our coaches can't be here tonight, but here's what they shared about each athlete. Nick was brand new to the Hawks family this spring, and he instantly was able to form great friendships with others on the team. His smile and enthusiasm from the dugout could be felt by our team when Nick wasn't on the field making amazing catches and hitting the ball over the infield in a pinch-hitter role that was invaluable. Nick was
023a great addition to this team that has gone on to win their fourth state championship in a row for adapted softball. We look forward to having Nick continue to contribute for many years to come. Let's give Nick a round of applause. We had Jeffrey Rosga, who has been an outstanding member of the Dakota Hawks softball program. He is an all-conference selection named as the 2024 best offensive player on the team, while also showing off his defensive talents, making two huge on-the-run catches in the semifinals, which helped move into the championships. Jeffrey was a huge part of the CI Hawks, earning the number one seed going into the state and ultimately winning state by a score of 5-4. Very close. the Lakeville Cats. This is the first state CI Hawks title since 2015 and the first
024state softball state title in the program history. So there is a lot to celebrate. Jeffrey will be deeply missed next season but we are super excited about seeing him continue to grow and enjoy life with continued success. So in absentia let's give Jeffrey a round of applause. Can we ask Nick questions first? Sure. Nick what year are you? I'm in 10th grade. Got it. So we have two more years of watching you win state titles. Any other good questions for Nick? Because I will. I'm going to say it. You're my second favorite child at the high school. Next to my own child. What position do you play in Southwell? Third base. Third base? Yep. That's a tough one. Good to know. All right, we'll let you off the hook now. Thank you. You stay there.
025So next, we're actually going to have you come on up to the microphone. If you are a track and field athlete, come on up, introduce yourself and what you competed in. All right, so my name is Nathan Frisch. I'm a senior. I'm going to stay in the 4x8 and the 4x4 relay, and then I also competed in the Open 4. Congratulations. I'm John Wallen. I'm also a senior. I went to state in the 4x8, Open 8, and 4x4. Yeah. My name is Naya Fernandez. I'm a sophomore and I'm going to stay in the 4x8. I'm Maria Becker. I'm a junior and I'm going to stay in the 4x8. I'm Ellie Kessler and I'm going to stay in pole vault and I'm a junior. I'm Mayumi Kallistrom. I'm a senior this year and I'm going to
026stay in the 4x8, open 8, and 4x4. I'm Josie Miller and I'm an 8th grader and I'm going to stay in the 4x4. My name is Leo and I'm in 10th grade and I'm going for the 4x4. My name is Aaliyah and I'm going to stay in the 4x4 and I'm 8th grader. I'm Kieran Sharma. I'm a senior and I'm going to stay in the 4x4. Did we get everybody? I think we did. So, Coach Geiger. Come on up, sir. Coach Geiger will introduce the speech students that we are honoring this evening. Awesome, thank you. Good evening, and we'll be brief here. So there's three students that are here and one student who is not here. Quinn Hendel is a senior. He graduated. He couldn't make it today. He's one half of a dynamic duo,
027and when I say dynamic duo, I mean just that. One of the categories in speech is duo. So Quinn and Scooter performed their piece in sections, made it to state, and then were the first... two of the first people to make it to the state finals since 2005 in school history. So Quinn and Scooter made it in duo and took eighth place. This was Quinn's third year at state. In the fourth year of the four years he was in high school. He was also recognized by the Minnesota State Coaches Association as an all-state competitor. So very exciting for Quinn who's not here. And Scooter did debate, or excuse me, speech for one year. When I looked at Scooter before they went off to do the duo final at State, I said, Scooter, this is your
028seventh speech tournament ever, and you're in the State finals. So I'll consider that successful. And it was awesome to work with both of them. Their primary coach is Grace Barnstead, who's also our musical director, and she just did a great job coaching that piece. And those two competitors have been awesome. Next is Grace Lyles. She's done speech for three years. She's been to state twice, both times in discussion. And this year she also made the finals. So 2005 was the last time we had someone in the finals. And now we've had two entries this year. She took sixth. Other than that. In her spare time, she picks up extemporaneous speaking and made octa-finals, which is like top 60 in the nation at the National Individual Event Tournament of Champions. And she's kind of bored, so
029this June she's also going to go to the National Speech and Debate Association on a Minnesota debate traveling team in World Schools. So lots to do and still lots to get done. Very exciting and awesome three years in speech. And then our last competitor, this is his second year also at the Speech State Tournament, Tommy Larson. He qualified first out of the section and competed at State for his second year. Ironically, the 2005 State entrance name's Beth Lynn, and she went to State three years in a row in great speeches, which is what Tommy's category is, and her third year she broke through to the State finals, so we're going to hope that... There's a little bit of history repeating itself next year. Tommy also decided that great speeches wasn't enough this year. He also
030did extemporaneous speaking, and he also broke to the top 60 at the national tournament. So they're having fun. We're having fun along with them, and it's been exciting to see their journey over the last year. I will resist the urge to ask my son a question, but I'm going to ask Scooter and Grace, what are your plans for after school? Well, you graduated yesterday. Congratulations. Now what are you going to do? I am going to Normandale for two years, and I'm double majoring. I'm doing theater production and design and theatrical performance. Awesome. Can't wait. Keep us posted on the performance part. I'm planning to go to the University of Virginia next year, and I'm planning to major going on the pre-law tract in philosophy of law and sociology. Okay, wow. Someone else please ask my
031son a question. Go ahead, Morgan, or all of them. Could I ask the track seniors what their plans are for next year? Oh, track seniors, tell us what you're doing after you graduated yesterday. I saved you, Tommy. I'm going to Iowa State to study aerospace engineering. Nathan Frisch. I forgot to repeat that. I'm looking to go to University of Minnesota and probably study either finance or economics. I'm Maggie, and I'm going to Madison next year, which I'll be running there. And I'm not really sure what I'm going to study yet, but probably like pre-law track. I'm Kieran and I'm going to be going to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and I'm going to study biology there. All right. I do have one more group. We have one more group. I see them back there.
032Come on up, golf. Due to an interesting typo, I'd like to bring up the gold coaches. I think it's fitting. Our golf coaches, Dan Sebastian and Tony Keenan. Come on up. Come on up. They will introduce our state participants. Thank you. I've got two state participants. The first one is Brianna Simic. Bri, raise your hand, please. This is Bri's second trip to the state tournament. She's a freshman this year. And our second participant is a sophomore. This is her first trip to state, and that's Olivia Canavati. They are both also members of back-to-back conference championship teams and also all-conference golfers. So congratulations. And here with me today, we have Matthew Hymans. He is a sophomore. He's been playing varsity golf now for three years. He's the first golfer in the last seven plus years to
033break through as an all-conference golfer. And made it really, really hard on my heart as he was one under on the front nine day two and then eight over on the back and had to win in a playoff to secure state berth, which he did. So very happy to see him go. There you go. There you go. And we can't ask them what they're doing next year because they're going to keep golfing for us for many more years. Any questions for the golfers? Are we tired of questions? Okay. If I could, Madam Chair, just en masse, I think that this is an incredible group of students supported by awesome families and networks of people who love them and supported this whole journey that have resulted in all these accomplishments from the writing of our fourth
034graders to our state participants, to our students lending voice to our practices and all that we do and advocating for a more welcoming and inclusive environment in our school district. And I am... Beaming with pride for everything that all these students are doing and I'd like to give them all one more round of applause I'm gonna I'm gonna add a round of applause for all of your parents and loved ones and family members that have come today because I'm guessing none of you would be here today if we didn't have the support of your family and friends and your coaches hey, that's what Tim wanted yeah, and the coaches so think it thinks everybody else for And now we're going to try to take pictures in an organized fashion. So I think what we'll do
035before we get into it, so I can just use the microphone, we're going to start with the larger group here with their track athletes so we can clear out a little bit of space after that photo. So let's start with the track athletes coming over here to the flag. And we will take our first picture and then we'll move from there. Let them get past me and then I'm going to roll my chair out of the way. Thank you. All the gold. Oh, Dan Lee. Oh, do you want one? No, I don't have any. You probably can. Oh my god! Preparedness lets you leave early. Yes, thanks again. Get in there, hop in, here we go, that's it. I actually already have your computer. Oh, dope. Not here. I didn't think about it. I can
036pick that up tomorrow. I have marching band. Oh, boy. You're supposed to be done. Why are you doing marching band? Because why not? Well, that was the other thing. You haven't started doing shows. And last year, I told Dylan Donahue that if he did, I would do marching band. And so... Wait, is it marching band like during football? No, we don't do seals. Thank you. Oh, sorry. Appreciate it. All right, good to see you all. Thank you, have fun. We'll try. Thank you. All right. I bet. Not helpful, I'm sorry. Okay, we're gonna move on to the more exciting part of the meeting. I'm sorry. No one has to leave. Everyone can stay. But if you're still here in 15 seconds, you have to stay for the whole meeting. You have to stay forever. Now
037I can see Kevin again. All right, next item on the agenda. I'm not trying to kick you out, but okay. Next item on the agenda is the superintendent's report. So we're turning it back to Peter. Thank you, Madam Chair. All right, it's already up on the board. We'll just let that door close from all the excitement that we've got going on. Well, good evening, everyone. Yesterday, I had the tremendous honor of accepting the Two Rivers class of 2024. I did so on behalf of the entire school board for all of their accomplishments and fulfilling the requirements. It was wonderful. And as I shared in my speech, this graduating class started their high school in isolation. They started in 2021 when we were in distance learning. And oh, how far they've come. They have become one
038of the most welcoming, inclusive classes that I've known in my career. And it's been a joy to watch them grow and succeed and contribute to our school community. So I'd like to share one more congratulations to the class of 2024 for the remarkable journey and outstanding achievements. And just last Friday, these same graduating seniors had the opportunity to return to their elementary alma maters where their educational journey began. And this has become a tradition in School District 197 and one of our favorite days of the school year because they parade through the hallways, reconnecting with their former teachers, high-fiving younger kiddos along the way. And here are a few pictures from Moreland and Somerset. As our end of the year celebrations continued, our team of cultural liaisons, so next slide please, our team of cultural
039liaisons, translators and interpreters hosted a community event at Thompson Park. and they did so last week to celebrate the end of another successful school year and families had the opportunity to enjoy food, games, and most importantly, the chance to connect with their school liaisons. So I'd like to give a special shout out to our cultural liaisons, the translators and interpreters for creating community and supporting our students and families in so many ways. In the celebrations continued, Pilot Knob Magnet School hosted another successful culture fair last month where families and students shared their culture by bringing food, dressing up, making presentations, and even performing dances and songs. It was wonderful to see everyone together to celebrate all that makes their school community special. And finally, I'd like to take this time to honor June as National
040Pride Month. School District 197 strives to be inclusive and to provide safe spaces for our students, families, and staff, identifying as LGBTQIA+, and celebrates the messages of inclusion, diversity, love, and acceptance that Pride Month seeks to achieve. So in closing as we finish the last few days of the school year, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone For all the support they provide our students throughout the school year I believe that we are a special community and I truly believe that and yes I say it all the time, but it's true and what you saw this evening and what you've seen on this presentation It is true that together we thrive. So with that madam chair, I conclude my report Next item on the agenda is an action item approval of gifts to
041the district. I'll turn it back over to the superintendent Thank You madam chair and and the gifts and generosity of our district we often have a moment agenda We may turn it to a permanent place on the regular agenda, but tonight in particular we wanted to recognize although we have been required to do so anonymously, a rather large gift from an anonymous member who wanted to support the Somerset Playground with a $200,000 gift. So to that person who does not want to be named, we won't do so, but we will still thank you in your absence. There are a host of other very generous community members that you can see in your packet there that have contributed to the school district. And for me, while yes, there was a truly impressive gift, I think that
042every gift that is given comes from a spirit of generosity. And we have no idea the sacrifice that may have been made in order to make that. Gift a reality for our school district. So let's give all of our People have donated to the school district around of applause And I'm sure this is an action item, right? So you do have a resolution in front of you to accept all the gifts that were made to the district I believe they all are for the Somerset Elementary all-inclusive playground. So I would accept a motion to accept it as a result I will make the motion to accept the gifts. Thank you. Byron, do I have a second? Second. Everybody wants a second. I'm going to go with Tim. All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
043Aye. Those opposed? That one vote goes 6-0. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That one was fun. Let's do more of those. Just kidding. All right. Next item on the agenda is another action item. Approval of the FY25 budgets and revisions to the 24 budgets with Jason. Welcome. Good evening. Thank you, Chair Larson, members of the board, Superintendent Olsen-Skog. Tonight, we're going to walk through. I've got quite a few things to do here tonight, so I'll be here for about an hour. So a couple of things. The first thing, we're going to talk. I'm going to interrupt you first and ask if anyone can figure out why this TV isn't working in front of us. Okay. I don't know. It would be a little easier to see all the wonderful things Jason puts up. Oh,
044here he comes. Yes, I can see it now. I ruined your roll there. Will we all survive without this TV? Should we try hard? We will survive. All right. We'll be all right. No, he's not. He's going to persist. No, thank you. All right, go ahead. I'm going to start off. First, I'm going to start out with... I'm going to start out with the budget for fiscal year FY25 and also go into revisions that we have for FY24. FY25 school year starts July 1st, runs through next June 2025, and the revisions are for the school year we're currently in from July 1st, 2023 to June 30th, 2024. In your board packets, there were a couple of different items. One of them was a background document and resolution. I'm not going to walk through. I'm not
045going to explain those. I'll give you an opportunity to read those. But what I will do is go through the second item, which is our executive budget summary. I will try to hit some of the high points, but I'm going to walk through that. We do have the revisions and so on in there. The first page that we have, that we kind of go through, is our whole district, our budget framework is, for this budget, the foundation is built on our strategic framework. As we built this budget, that's the parameters that we used. The next couple pages, the first page, you can read through those. What they are is what I tried to do is we explained some of the funds that we have, what some of the uses are of those funds to kind
046of give a background of each different fund that we will be going through with this budget. One of the things I just want to make sure, kind of bring up and let it know is why is this important? There's a little thing at the bottom of our budget. Why is it important to understand the fund structure? Because for the fund structure, there is very few, if any, times that we can transfer money from one fund to the other. The funds, just to kind of give an example, is if we raise our a la carte prices or we raise the school-age care tuition, we cannot use those increases to offset any downfalls that we might have in our general fund. Similar to our debt service and our building construction fund, we cannot use that money in
047those funds to pay teacher salaries. So it just kind of gives us an understanding of each one of those funds. On page three, we talk about some of the revisions for FY23-24. In the general fund, as you'll see on most of the documents, I will go through, you'll see the difference in the revenue, and we'll also talk about salaries, benefits, and so on. In this particular fund, because this was all salary and benefits, I broke it out just so you could see it by the program specific programs where that adjustments were. But what we did see in our general fund is we saw some changes in our investments and some of the changes in our state aid based on our special education and some of the cross subsidy money that we should be receiving. Those
048changes offset by some of our salaries and settlement costs and some of those that have yet to be some of the adjustments that we see in the future. We also had some one-time expenses or one-time payments for our settlements. So that is also included in that. One of the things I will point out on our, this does put our fund balance to a negative 500,000 and we'll kind of explain a little bit further as we go along how that affects our fund balance and so on. In fund- Jason, just to clarify the last statement. There's a net change to our fund yes, and that changed to our fund balance. We still have a positive fund balance It's just there isn't it? Yes, there's a positive. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Yes. We have a positive fund
049balance It's just a net change moves from a from what our FY 24 original to our revised budget I apologize for that in our FY 24 we move on to our Fun too and in there where we saw a lot of our changes was based on the participation in our free and reduced and our free lunch program the state especially in the state we saw an increase in that which was offset slightly by a decrease obviously in our all cart sales so you'll see a little bit of decrease and the increases in those funds as far as the expenses go we have some in our salaries based on the other contract settlements and so on and then some of those expenses that go along with the additional serving of those lunches and so on and
050a slight an increase in our capital outlay for needed equipment for that fund. As we move on to pages four and five, we also look at page four is looking at our community ad and our capital project fund. The community ad, there's very slight change in there. Again, it's basically the changes from the original to the revised is based off of contract settlements and some contracts that are yet to settle. In our fund six, the revised budget shows those expenses as we sold a bond in FY22. The remaining funds that we spent to finish those projects you will see in this revised plan, and there are some differences where you see a negative based on some functional timing of expenses. I'll move over to the page five. This is the first slide that shows our
051proposed budget, kind of an overview of each one of those government funds. One of the things I'll point out, you can see that in FY23, in our FY24 revised, we actually saw we had planned for a decrease. One of the things you'll see in FY25, based on some of the additional revenues we receive, especially a an increase of 4.5 million thanks to the voters in the public for increasing our operating referendum. We saw that increase along with some other state adjustments, our 2% increase in some state aid and some other additional formulas and some more additional money in our cross subsidy that we didn't see previously. Pages going on moving on to the next page the first page six deals kind of shows our Enrollment going back to the 2019 2020 school year so you
052can kind of see where we have we have moved from the COVID years and how we've increased those years 2019 2020 through 2022 23 those are actuals the numbers for FY 23 24 and the 25 those are estimates. Those are our best estimates that we have right now There might be a slight increase or decrease over that but that's how we what we see at this current moment We based our revenue and our budget our preliminary budget for FY 25 on those attaining 51,000 40 students the next few pages We'll look right we'll look closely into each one of those funds So page seven you'll see our general fund you can see some of those increases as you can see on our property tax you'll see the increase of that four point five million and
053some other adjustments based on Enrollment and and other things You'll see some of that state aid. You can see the increase there. And some of our biggest expenditures are our salaries and benefits as we've settled some of those contracts. And that's the difference you'll see in there. We do have, you can see on the fund balance, you know, the last few years, we've went into, dipped into that fund balance in our FY25 projections. We are... moving towards putting that money back into our fund balance. One of the things I will kind of mention about our fund balance is you can see at the end of FY25 we're estimating $9.7 million in our fund balance. And if you look at there, there's another paragraph in the next section that explains that Of that $9.6 million, $4
054million of that is restricted money. There's restricted reserves for our staff development, LTFM, operating capital, just to name a few. But that's why you see the difference between the number that I have in there and the number that is when you see the total balance of that. That's what we use that number and the expenses of those non Restricted to come up with our fund balance and you'll see that our fund balance we estimate to be at 6.5 next year Moving on to page 8 and 9 the food service budget the community ed budget. These are both of these budgets we've set these up and you can kind of see as we've presented these budgets in a very responsible way you'll see that our revenue on our expenses We kind of go through these. These
055include some of the adjustments that we have for the new contracts, some of the expenses in our food service. You'll see that we're a little higher in revenue and expenses based on, again, the free and reduced and the program for free lunches. The buildings instruction fund. So this one, our estimation, what we have in here is we have an opportunity, and you'll see that there's an opportunity for a bond issue of $16.5 million, which is offset by some of the expenses we would expect to pay. I'm not going to go into great detail here. We will be going into a little more detail later as we run through our 10-year program. So I'm just going to mention that that's part of this budget. And then I'll kind of move on to our debt service fund.
056Our debt service fund is pretty much the same as it's been the last few years. The only difference you can see is that we're paying more of our debt down, which is lowering our interest rate, interest expense. The next couple, three or four slides. The next slide is basically just kind of breaks out that how we project our fund balance, the money that's going in and out of our fund balance for FY25, and it breaks it down by program for each one of the funds, and it kind of gives you that breakdown of how we get to those fund balances for each. I will just make a quick note that I somehow omitted. There's under that interest line in the general fund. There should be 16,000 there They aunt the numbers are correct in the
057previous slides, but I somehow I missed that So I just wanted to make that so if you are looking at those numbers they do tie out But that just gives you a broad breakout of each fund and how we come to that number. The next couple slides, we have the slide where we break out program expenses. I like these next two slides because they kind of paint that picture of where do we spend our money. For the programs, you can see that 85 or 86% of this is spent on instruction and direct pupil support. And even in that 14%, of that 14% that is not, 9% of that is spent on our buildings. So you can see how it breaks down and where we spend the money and how we try to get the most
058dollars towards the students. In our appendix C, the next one, it just breaks down. And I think we've discussed, we probably discussed this at some point, but you can see where most of our dollars are spent. We're very much a service industry. That's what we do. So you can see where 80%, more than 80% of what we spend goes into our people. The last slide is just so you kind of see where we are as far as our debt service. You'll see what we have left, what we have projected out over the next 10 or 15 years. And it also includes that possible bond approved that we spoke about earlier and we'll speak about when we get to that, the next section of our presentations. With that, that is the end of my presentation. If
059there's any questions or comments, I would accept that at this point. All right, questions for Jason? Go ahead, Byron. I feel one. Go ahead. Thank you, Jason. There's a lot there. Point of order. Point of order. There's an action on the table. Yes. There should be a... I will read the resolution on the table first, and if we can... get motions for that, and then we can have a discussion. All right, resolution on the table is be it resolved by the School Board of Independent School District number 197 to approve the FY25 budgets for the general fund, the food service fund, the community service fund, the capital projects fund, the debt service fund, and revisions to the FY24 budgets in the same funds as presented in the executive summary. All right. Yes, Byron. Motion to
060approve. Thank you. Can I get a second? Second. Oh. oh okay i'm gonna go with marcus all right now that there's a motion on the table we can discuss byron do you have a question yeah thank you jason it's there's a lot there's a lot there is um so uh if we go to page seven i believe it would be where you have the revised um fiscal year 2024 and go down to end of the year, our fund balance, $7,759,364, but that's really not what we have because that would include restricted and unrestricted. I didn't see any where we're estimated, what our fund balance is estimated to be at the end of this year and the percent. Our fund balance is estimated to be at 4.5% at the end of this year. 4.5%. 4.5%, which
061is late. It's about $3.2 million in unassigned. Okay. All right. We're ending with about a 4.5% fund balance, but you're predicting or we're anticipating a 6.5% at the end of next year. Correct. Thank you. Good clarification. Any other questions for Jason? Go ahead, John. These will be relatively straightforward questions, I think. But would our financial reality and fund balance be in good shape if we didn't receive all the funds from the federal government during COVID? No, if if we had not received that money We would have been in a position like many other school districts in the area We would have had to look at certain budget cuts. Thank you have our Has our state legislature and our governor stepped in by providing? Significantly increase more money and has that helped our fund balance and
062helped our budget situation? Yes, it has. Over the last two years, the first year in 23-24, we received 4% increase on just the state aid allocation and another 2% this year. We also received some of those, as we kind of talked about before, in the cross subsidy from 6.4% to 44% for that cross subsidy. So they have provided additional funds. And lastly, Would we have been in as good shape as we are with our budget if our community hadn't passed a recent referendum for additional funds? No, we would not. I asked those questions. I knew the answers beforehand. But the way that the federal government, our state legislators and governors have stepped up. and our community has stepped up is quite impressive. And I think the stability that that provides and the way that that
063allows us to meet the needs of our students and of our staff, especially given what they've been through and experienced the last handful of years is just quite amazing. And so I just wanna express my gratitude to all those elected officials and to our community, because we are in significantly better shape than we would have been. And that we see a lot of our peers in now. Yeah, so thank you to all those groups and people. All right, go ahead, Morgan. If I may. I'd just add that I very much appreciate the way that you broke down the explanations of the budget at the beginning there and encourage anybody who's watching this or goes back and watches this later to take a good look at this because it is very important to understand that we
064can't move money from fund to fund. And I appreciate so much the way that you have explained this and talked through this and that you're laying this out here so clearly. So thank you for putting that there. That's what I was gonna say too. So thank you Jason. Thanks questions down here. I think John covered a good point of Added so thank you. I concur. All right, if we're ready to vote I would ask that all in favor signify by saying aye Those opposed great that passes 6 0 2 6 0 also Next item on the agenda, I believe is also Jason. Hold on. Let me read it Approval of ISD, okay, it says 917, is it supposed to? Okay, just making sure I'm reading it in the right order. FY25 long-term facilities maintenance levy
065and budget. Yes, so for 917, we are asking there is... There are some documents in you. You have a background document as well as the 10-year plan and the resolution. So in the, just to kind of give a brief thing about our 10-year plan. So every year we present a 10-year plan and we go through and look at our plan each year. And after we look at the previous year's expenses, we will do a good estimate in our budget for the current year. which would be FY25. And then we do some estimations going out. But this is a plan that we put together for our LTFM, the money we receive for our LTFM based on the property tax and the state aid. So this is something that we do on an annual basis. For District
066917, which we are a member, We have the, they do not have the authority, so we have the authority to bring forward their LTFM plan. It's in our, for our budget, we are allocated a percentage of that LTFM plan. And this year, that plan is 31,000. The previous year, it was 25, so it's gone up slightly. But this is... That's that's that's basically what that that that is that's the what we're asking for is it for that resolution? Tonight for that LTFM plan. Okay, I'm gonna read the resolution just so we're gonna do this one, right? Oh, so be it resolved by the school board of Independent School District nine one set one one nine seven to approve isd 197 Oh boy You guys are making me paranoid. ISD 197's proportionate share of ISD 917's
067long-term facility maintenance 10-year plan as presented in the separate attachment. I think I got it right. Can I get a motion to approve? Thank you, Morgan. Can I get a second? I'll second. Thank you, Byron. Now that the motion's on the table, we can discuss. Any questions for Jason on this one? Or for Peter? Or anyone else? We can ask that they change their school district number to make it less. Just throw one more number at the end or something to make it easier for me. A resolution for a slight number change. Normally, I'm fine when I'm reading it at home. It's when I have to read it out loud. Go ahead, Byron. Jason, I think because I'm on the 917 board, I believe the request was because of some HVAC work that they need
068to do. If you wanted to just like... That's the reason yes. Yes, and in the packet we didn't put it up on the board because it is very small It's very hard to see that so presenting it there. But yes, that was a portion. I believe it was around 300 I don't remember the exact number but that was our portion is the 31,000. Yeah Good clarification anything else on that one? And the other member districts are also paying their portion of It's proportionate to the enrollment and the size and all right all that said I would Are we ready to vote all those in favor signify by saying aye? Those opposed all right that passes 6-0. Thank you Jason Okay, now I'm gonna get the next one right and say the numbers correct Next action
069item is approval of isd 197 long-term facilities maintenance ten-year plan So I'll preface, we talked about what the reason for the 10-year plan is, and I'm going to have Mark Fortman, our Director of Operations, kind of walk through some of what we're doing in that 10-year plan and go through... Sure. Thank you, Jason. As a reminder, LTFM funds not only address deferred maintenance items, but they also address our health and safety needs. So, you know, a portion of these funds go to support our OSHA compliance, our staff training around health and safety. And then so, you know, you've heard a little bit about when we're addressing our middle school ventilation projects, and there's some additional requests that we'll be asking in the next action item and a little bit of the why around that is
070these systems the HVAC systems are end of life in and specifically they were very complex systems that relied on dry air systems so they have desiccant units in them those desiccant units are are deteriorating over time right and so the other component is that they the company that that makes those are no longer in business. So we can have things custom made, but we're at the end of life. The other part of that too is that we have additional leakage in those systems that make it hard to provide adequate primary or outside air to all spaces when everything are... calling for air when everything is occupied. So I just want people to know that typically these systems would be expected to last about 20 years. And when we get to replacing these systems, we'll be
071at almost 30 years. So we've gotten great life out of these systems. Also, improvements will give us redundancy and higher energy efficiency for those buildings. Okay, so we have a resolution for this one in front of us too, so I'll read it. Hold on. I think I have the right one. Okay. Be it resolved by the School Board of Independent School District 197 to approve the long-term facilities maintenance 10-year plan as presented. Can I get a motion and a second? Thank you, John. Thank you, Tim. All right. Now we have a motion on the table. We can ask questions or discuss. Does anyone have any questions for Mark or Jason on this item? So just one clarifying question, Mark. You mentioned the need to... have outside air in the buildings. Can you talk a bit
072more about the importance of having the outside air and the things that- Oh yeah, we call it primary air. So that's the fresh air that we're required to have a certain CFMs of outside air per occupant in occupied spaces. So that's what brings our CO2 levels down. It's what people require- refer to as fresh air so that would be the um air from outside that's coming in filtered um uh to the buildings does that answer that helps the cfm yeah cubic feet per minute sorry we live in a world of acronyms yes right ltfm cfms yeah that one's not a typical school board one but all right other questions for these two go ahead tim um you obviously gave us Information earlier in more detail. I just want to say thank you you you're the
073definition of the word steward of a public resource I mean you think things through and everything's weighed. I just want to say thanks. Thank you I appreciate that you added that it will be an efficient system, too You're only adding to your environmental status. So good work All right, I would go ahead along the same lines. I so I was lucky enough to go to the twin stadium today Joining the friendly Hills seventh graders who were going to visit the facility and during that tour All I all I could keep thinking of is like their facility has nothing on horse like I kept thinking like Mark would have a better description and explanation and more detail so don't know if you ever start doing tours at the twin stadium i'm interested but no he can't
074leave anyway it just made me think of of yeah thank you you do a fantastic job thank you all right i think i would call the question um all those and all those in favor signify by saying aye aye aye those opposed that item passes thank you You don't get to leave so hot next item is the pre-sale report and approval of resolution of intent to an issue facilities maintenance bonds with Jason and we welcome Jody Yes, I just want to introduce Jody says bottle from says bah from Ellers and she's gonna walk through the intent for the sale Great Thank You Jason good evening so the projects that mark just mentioned our projects that you are allowed to access some additional revenue above the LTFM revenue that you get on an annual basis to
075finance so the state finds it very important to have great indoor air quality for your students and staff so this is one of the projects that you won't need to commit your existing revenue to so I will just highlight a few things can I move it here or do you need to Okay, perfect. All right, great. So the first few pages is an executive summary of the debt issue and you'll see that purpose. I'll just highlight a couple of sections on each page. The purpose is financing the health and safety or indoor air quality projects that are included in your plan that you just approved. At the bottom of the page, you'll notice that you'll be participating in the state credit enhancement program again. So anytime you issue bonds, The state guarantees the payment of
076your debt. There's no cost to participate in that program. And when you get your rating on your bonds, you'll actually have two ratings. So as you see in that rating section on the next page, the state credit enhancement program gets you the highest rating that S&P assigns at a triple A. And we will be going through the rating process again to hopefully affirm your underlying rating, which is at a nice high double A minus. You'll see near the bottom of page two that we do expect to get a premium, and I'll show you on the schedules how that works. So we're asking you to approve a resolution with a dollar amount in it that assumes we don't get a premium, just in case we don't get an additional premium from the underwriters on the bond
077issue, but we do expect that to happen. Then there are some regulatory components and continuing disclosure and arbitrage monitoring. And finally, in the narrative part of the document, the other service providers that we'll be working with. So we'll be working with your bond counsel, Kennedy and Graven, bond trust services as paying agent, and then S&P Global as the rating agency. So next, the next steps in the process. So tonight we're presenting the pre-sale report as an informational item. You don't need to take action on this report. The resolution that was drafted by your bond attorney, you do need to consider and take action on. And then the next step that we show in the bond issuance process is the due diligence call to review the official statement and the conference call with the rating agency.
078In between those steps, though, you will be submitting your 10-year plan to MDE for approval. You'll be asking them to approve the plan along with the bond issue. So they have reviewed some of the information ahead of time, but they'll be giving their final approval on your plan. And then you will be publishing a notice that's also part of the resolution in your paper so that the public's aware that you're moving forward with the bond issue. The official statement then gets drafted and we'll go through that. Again, the rating agency will send the official statement out should we have everything in motion. We'll send that out on July 25th. We're scheduled then to receive the proposals for the purchase of the bonds at the morning of August 5th and then we would present those results
079to you at your board meeting that evening. We're scheduled to close on the bonds August 29th, so that's when you'd have funds to cover some of the planning and design costs that you've been incurring, as well as then the funds that you'll need for purchasing equipment and for ultimately getting those projects done next summer. Next, we have financial schedules, so the sources and uses of funds. This is the schedule that we use to make sure that we're meeting the estimated project costs that are provided to us by ICS. And so you'll see that at the top of the schedule there that we're expecting to receive an amount from the underwriter in excess of the par amount of the bond. So that's that premium amount that I talked about. And we don't know for sure, and
080we certainly won't be exactly that amount, but we have been receiving pretty substantial premiums, and so we've factored that into the schedules. The next schedule is the full debt service schedule showing the payments over time. And then for those of you who've been on the board for a while, you're used to seeing our very detailed schedule with your existing debt and the payments on those along with the proposed debt. But ultimately what we're trying to show here is how that tax rate will look over time. So all of those numbers then come together to show you that. We're expecting to keep a nice level debt service tax rate over time and that as in compared to where you are at right now, it's just a small slice. That orange part is what the board approved
081bonds would represent then of your overall debt service levy. So in 23 and 24, you have your existing debt, your capital project levy, which finances technology costs, and that's voter approved. And then we would be layering that orange component on tax impact for that orange slice is probably about $3 to $4 a month on your average value home. And with that, you have the resolution, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have on either the pre-sale report or the resolution. All right, I will read the resolution so we can get a motion on the table to discuss if possible. Resolution says be it resolved by the School Board of Independent School District number 197 to state its intention to issue general obligation facilities maintenance bonds as detailed in the full resolution in
082the board packet because it's long. All right, can I get a motion and a second? Motion to approve. Byron? Second. And second by Morgan. Are there questions or comments? I'll start looking down here. Anything? Okay. Going once, going twice. All right. I'll call the question. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed? That item passes. Thank you. Great. Thank you very much. Good for Friendly Inheritage. All right. Next item is not financial. The superintendent's end of year report on goal attainment. I'll turn it over to Peter. If I could, I'd like Jason to go. I'm just kidding, Jason. He was so relieved. Madam Chair, members of the board. viewing audience so as you recall but for those watching every year we set goals I said goals as the superintendent for the school
083district and those like anything in the school district it is a is it it is a team effort through which we accomplish our goals and you've heard many of the reports already throughout the year on the substance underneath each of these so my presentation tonight will be quite brief because as recently as Within the last month you've received multiple presentations on various components Actually as recent as this evening because one of the goals that I'll get to is about the budget So goal number one is that I will oversee the implementation of operational plans in support of the strategic plan as you'll recall there have been two presentations per focus area over the course of the year updating on our progress in social emotional learning equitable systems and support and career exploration and preparation in
084our summary presentation that we provided When we looked at some modifications, we noted that there's 21 implementation targets under which there are 73 objectives. And noting that the board approved nine of the objectives, the administration is pleased to report the completion of the district's implementation targets for the 23-24 school year. So that is goal area number one. Goal area number two is that I would oversee the communication of the two requested levies. mid-year report on my goals we were pleased to see a higher than expected approval rating in our in the passage of both of the referendum So first was the technology levy, which was predicted to fall between 55% and 59% approval rating, and the result in the end was a 66% approval rating. Support for the operating referendum was predicted to fall between
08551% and 55%, and the result was a 60% approval rating. We attribute that to, well, a supportive community would be the first thing that I would note. but we believe that we've established and maintained that trust and that support over the long term of diligent work on their behalf and for these students and the rest of the community that we serve there is clear communication written communications There is a whole variety of ways that we tried to make it clear what we were asking for and why it was important. In addition to that, there was other external and community organizations who were advocating in support of the referendum as well. That concludes goal two. Goal three was once we knew what we needed, what had happened as a result of that referendum, it was the
086goal that you approved and I established and you approved to oversee the implementation of developing a budget, which you just approved, that fell within the parameters of the board policy. And as you heard Jason report earlier, I'll bring you back a little bit. This was even thinking into the budget that you approved for the 23-24 year. We knew that we were going to see some further drops in our fund balance and that the choice in front of the board was whether to put a question in front of the public and or make cuts at that time. The board decided to... go forward with eating into our fund balance a little bit further, putting the question for the community, the community supported it, so I'm happy to say that we were able to put forward a
087budget tonight that really, at its core, represents budget stability. We are continuing to offer what I consider to be the excellent services that we do to our community, and we did not have to make cuts, as many of our counterparts did around, because... As John pointed out earlier, it was a combination of things. It was the support that we had previously received from the federal government, and as it waned, we saw excellent investments in our schools from the state government, but it wouldn't have been without all three of those things, including our community support of the referendum. Without all those, as has been pointed out, but I think it's worth restating, we would have been in the position of needing to cut. two, three, four, 10% of our budget. And that would not have happened
088easily because of all the quality things and the fiscal stewardship that we've already applied to our budget. So with that, I believe that we have developed and you have approved this evening a budget that completes goal three. And I present to the board what I believe to be the completion of the goals that I set out and that you approved. And I would stand for any questions. Thank you, and this is another resolution that we have on the table Be it resolved by a school board of school district 197 that the 2324 superintendent goals Including the district implementation targets have been achieved. So if I can get a motion we can discuss First by a second second by Tim There's a motion on the table any comments or questions for Peter and I'm gonna take
089the board privilege or chair privilege. That's what it's called to start Feel like there's a theme tonight of it takes a village And we've recognized our village a lot. I love that. We've recognized the federal level the state level and our local community obviously for supporting our levees, but these three goals While Peter gets to talk about them. I know that Peter has an incredible team That is helping him make all this happen. Some of you are here. So wave and countless more people right to put the budget together to do all the report outs that we do very much appreciate throughout the school year and to um ensure that we pass the levy sarah i'm looking at you um it it really does take a village and what a wonderful village we have i
090mean it's i know that everyone is tired and it is the end of the school year and we're almost there but okay let's just take a minute to take a breath and celebrate that holy cow It's a tremendous amount of things that it feels like it was way more than like nine months ago that we started all of this, by the way. John laughs. I'm right. But we did it. So anyway, any other questions or comments for Peter? Go ahead, Morgan. I'm still formulating in my head. Go ahead. It is the start of month six in this role for me, and it is important to me always that students are at the center of things that we do. And in looking at the budget and all of the decisions that have been made as we
091build that budget, it is clear that... students and people are at the center of the decisions being made um i'm grateful to be able to be a part of that and to work that you and this team has done to keep people in the center of their decisions so thank you for that thank you morgan go ahead tim yeah um it's it's not a word that elicits a lot of drama you said it once and it's stability but That stability is not there. You're gonna get a lot of drama and In my journey both as you know campaigning and being for six six months that's been a very consistent theme in my brain and I feel you've shared that value because a shock to the system to your point Morgan Morgan's The kids they pay
092for that front and center and I think all the mechanisms mechanisms we've talked about but you keeping The task at hand of saying keeping these parameters. I consider that a great success. So, thank you anything else I Certainly want to thank you Peter for your leadership and your expertise and your attention to so many different details especially things like diversity equity and inclusion because that's one of the things that makes our district special from other districts and in your attention to details to people and to cutting edge programs and what we can be doing to help ourselves be a better school district. So thank you. We're very fortunate to have you leading our district. Did you have something, Jeff? I do. Thank you. Thank you to your team. Looking at the end of year status,
09321 implementation targets under which there were 73 objectives. That is not an easy lift. That's a lot like I appreciate that you and your team take on the challenge head-on and and you're not shortchanging our students or our families or a community in any way shape or form and I think the the number of objectives that the scope of the objectives the way you always tie everything back into the strategic plan It speaks volumes and you write our budget shows us and speaks to our priorities and our priorities are our students and our staff the last thing I'll say is and this came out during recognitions earlier I just absolutely love the way you and your team elevate student voice and it's it comes up and percolates up in so many different ways and I
094just think that's that's the right way to go about it and thank you for creating those opportunities thank you for including students and I think that's one of the most powerful things that When I think of what I hear happening in other districts and other news stories like these are the things that Oftentimes don't get talked about enough Thank you two quick things So one to take us back when Peter initially came to us with his goals and the number of things that he had as goals, we as a board said, are you sure? This feels like a lot. This feels a little crazy. We're concerned about your time, the staff and team's time and amount of work that would go into it. And you guys said, no, we're going to challenge ourselves and we
095think we can accomplish this. And I think about the progress reports that we've gotten from... our cabinet over the course of the year in social emotional learning uh this is the superintendent mau and and kevin our equity coordinator presented just a couple of weeks ago on what we've done in equity and how we're challenging ourselves there even more than what we've already done and then of course with curriculum and everything else that we're doing that's making our district a desired district Right looking at the number of kids who are moving into our district and the fact that we had to close open enrollment across so many grades speaks to what you guys are all doing here in our district so Big hats off to all of you for challenging yourselves and accomplishing some very heady
096goals for the year. So, thank you The second thing I'll say is I've had the pleasure of seeing Peter in a room with other superintendents through the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, MSBA meetings and conferences. People will walk up to me unsolicited and say, you guys are extremely fortunate to have Peter in your district. The work that he has done. moves beyond our district. There are things that we were doing through the AMSD conference last year that was a result of Peter's thesis through his doctorate program, and people are adopting those things across other districts. And so I just want to put a light on the things that he's doing beyond our districts because that's not something our community or the board sees every day and how his colleagues speak of him says a lot
097about. who he is as a superintendent and the character of the person. So I just would be remiss if I did not say that today. So we'll pile on a bit and thank you for everything that you and all of you have done. Thank you. I personally think that deserves a round of applause. That wasn't even the superintendent evaluation, but... No, that comes from me. Well, and it wasn't. And if I could... Yes, go ahead. I said at the beginning of my presentation, and it's been mentioned, I do appreciate it. They're kind words, and I acknowledge them, that they mean a lot to me. And... the nail was hit on the head when you look at every single one of these and you look at those people around the table, right? So like when you
098look at goal one and Sarah and the work that she's done with social emotional learning puts us in a much better position. I can't imagine where we would be coming out of an epidemic, coming out of a pandemic without the work that she did with adult social emotional learning that's now led to our work with student social emotional learning. When you look at that second goal area of equitable systems and supports, we've heard plenty of reports that talk about the leadership of the entire team and Peter Mao, Kevin Sheridan, as was mentioned earlier, and the work that they do working with all members to make sure that we all recognize our role in addressing inequities in our system. And I'm deeply appreciative for that. Carrie Jo. contributes to all those areas and has secured hundreds
099of thousands over millions over a million dollars worth of grants to create those innovative programs that you're talking about Byron. And then when it comes to, yeah, Sarah Blair is a gift to our district who was able to communicate the referendum in a way that, well, we saw the success. And I think that that's a result of clear storytelling and compelling storytelling. And our budget. Well, here comes Jason with like a month to spare to get this thing together, to put it together. And he did an excellent job of making that clear and balancing everything. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Brian Schultz, who has been here for a long time, who helped us get to the point where we're at. And you should also know, I mean, I look around the table, Mark
100Fortman, who we just heard were one of 13 districts in the entire country. 13, right? Was it 17? 13 or 17. Either way, crazy, crazy impressive that we were acknowledged in the way that we were for his career worth of work. The budget would not be where the budget is without the careful work of Ty Michaels and all of the work that she did getting all of the working with all of our collaboratively with all of our unions to get to some resolution on where we're going down the future and with all of our contracts. Dave Sandum. I'm going to do it. Everybody gets it. So just know if you haven't been mentioned yet, it's coming your way. So yeah, sorry, Dave. He's probably the one that doesn't want me to say anything. Nonetheless, Dave
101is a behind-the-scenes guy. And even in our meetings, we'll be... the briefest among us, but the amount that he accomplishes in support of our school districts. I've learned all about, like, you think fabric is a term that is like cloth? No, it's some crazy technology term that I don't understand, but Dave does, thankfully. And there's all sorts of things happening behind the scenes on a daily basis that we would not be operating. Just turn off the internet for 20 minutes and see what happens. two uh two two minutes so don't make dave don't do that mary rarely gets the accolades that she deserves but she's getting them tonight what you can say about mary no i don't know what i can say but i'm gonna do it anyways uh well i'll just put it as
102simply as i can we wouldn't survive without mary and i'd like us to give her a round of applause And Jody, you're sitting back there too. So, all right, having diligently... It is truly team. And we were just commenting earlier today when we were meeting together how lucky we feel to be able to serve this incredible community of ours and how much they've supported us and how much we've been able to do in concert together. So I thank you for the kind words. And I also thank you for the kind words for the entire team because they're doing incredible work. And I think we'd all second all the kind words for the entire team. And we'd also like double down on Mary. You don't just keep track of them. You help all of us. I
103rely on you more than I could. Yeah, my children know who you are. I mean, you are the glue that holds us all together, and we are deeply appreciative of you. So thanks, everyone. And I feel like I know how this vote's going to go, but we're going to vote anyway. So I call the question to approve. Hold on the superintendent goals as I read earlier all those in favor signify by saying aye aye Those opposed that item passes awesome, and I have completely lost my agenda The German but I bet there's things for me to read wonderful upcoming dates and look at those Two adorable fellas on the left. There's Jeff that wasn't able to be here tonight. If you weren't at the board meeting when we recognized him for making it to state
104for another sport, who remembers what sport it was? Floor hockey. Floor hockey, yes. I asked him about awards he had won, and it took us a while to get to the one I was talking about because I was talking about Homecoming King, and he'd kind of forgotten that one. So good job, Jeff. Second favorite child, Nick. Yesterday was Two Rivers graduation. It was a delightful day with a ton of happy children dressed in red. And we had a blast as a board. June 6th is the last student day. June 7th will be the last teacher day. Aw, June 17th is our last school board meeting, but only for a little while, only till August. That's for the 23-24 school year. Yeah, exactly. So don't relax too much. June 19th, you can have the day off.
105All sites and programs are closed to celebrate Juneteenth. And the 4th of July, also, the district office is closed. All right, anything we're forgetting? We've done it. Good job everyone. I would accept a motion to adjourn. I will make a motion to adjourn. Thank you, Byron. Can I get a second? I'll second that. Thank you, Marcus. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed? No one. That passes. Thank you. We're adjourned. 743.