001- I now call this meeting of the School Board of Independent School District 624 to order. Will the clerk please call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Here. - Arcand. - Here. - Beloyed. - Here. - Daniels, here. Ellison. - Here. - Skaar. - Here. - Okay, will you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? - [All] 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. - We have before us an agenda. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? - So moved. - Ellison, so you have a second? - Second. - Second by Daniels. - I'd like... - Is there any discussion, Mr. Skaar? - Yeah, I would like to add
002something to the agenda, which is a discussion on the AP physics: E&M, to this high school curriculum as a discussion matter. - All right, so we have it for you. A motion was made to discuss the AP physics curriculum. - E&M. - Is there a second? Is there a second? - Can I make a comment? - No, there's- - Okay, no problem. - There is nothing on the table to comment on. - Got it. - And last time, is there a second? Hearing none, the motion fails. Now, in front of us, we have a motion before us for the agenda. It's been made and seconded, any further discussion? Hearing none, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, nay. Motion carries. - Are we gonna talk about
003the Consent Agenda? - That'll be coming. - Okay, thank you. - I don't see it on our agenda, the Consent Agenda. - Reorganization is next. - Yeah, so that we don't have the consent on there right now. - It's after the- - It's after. - Okay, make it sure. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss it, so I would do diligence- - Thank you! - For you sir. - No, I appreciate that. - Nominations are now in order for the School Board. Are there any nominations for the School Board? - Mr. Chair? - Ms. Ellison? - I would like to make some nominations. - Yes, ma'am. - I nominate Scott Arcand for chair. I nominate Angela Thompson for vice chair. I nominate Kathleen Daniels as clerk. I nominate Deb Beloyed as treasurer. - Okay,
004are there any other nominations? Any other offices? Any other nominations? (breathes sharply) I guess I want to ask Vice Chair Thompson, do you accept the nomination? - I do. - And Ms. Beloyed, you accept the nomination? - I do. - And Ms. Daniels, you accept the nomination? - I do. - All right. Are there any further nominations for any of the offices? Any further nominations? If no further nominations, nominations are now closed. So he has been elected to Chair, Arcand has been elected the vice chair, Ms. Thompson has been elected to clerk and- - No! - No, sorry. Vice Chair, Daniels has been elected to clerk, and Beloyed to treasurer by acclimation. Yep, I was just gonna... Is that good? - Mm-hmm! - Okay, now we can move on. Next on the agenda, I'd like
005to do the approval of tabled portion of the November 10th minutes as a December 8th meeting, the School Board meeting of the A-5g and B portions of the November 10th minutes were tabled. The Board must take action on these portions. Can I get a motion to approve those two portions as they appear. - So moved? - Who's that? - Me. - Ellison, second. - Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Discussion? - Could you, Chair, could you read the motion to approve that tabled motion, the first one? - Yeah, I gotta pull it up. It's gonna be right here. - Would you like me to read it? - Yeah, you can, I was just pulling up the- - Okay, no problem. - Go ahead. - This is A-5g: Quarterly Revenue and Expenditure Report. "Thompson moved and
006Beloyed seconded to approve the monthly invoices, all of which met the standards and guidelines as set forth by the School Board, and the Quarterly Revenue and Expenditure Report." - And then the second one. - Mm-hmm! - Can you read the second one as well? - Yeah, pardon me. - The second one as well. - I didn't hear that. - Will you read the second one as well? - Oh, sure. "Public forum: Skaar began to discuss. Ellison made a Point of Order that the agenda does not allow for discussion during the public forum portion of the meeting." - So the motion in front of us is to accept the items as they were shown in the agenda. Any discussion to accept them how they are? - So I have a point, just the way that it
007reads, it's as if the Board is, we're approving those invoices and we're also attesting that they met the standards and guidelines as set forth by the Board and the Quarterly Revenue and Expenditure Report. For us to attest to that means we would have to be involved in the review and approval of those invoices. So my alternative would be something, would be like the staff recommends that, (clears throat) excuse me, the staff recommends that the Board approve the payments as meeting the Board policies and guidelines and the Quarterly Revenue and Expenditure Report. The reason I'm doing that is because I don't think we should be stepping in the shoes of staff, and I think that that the way that motion reads, it puts an obligation on the Board that an implied obligation that we have reviewed
008and attested to all those invoices, which I don't believe we have. So that's my point. So I'm respectfully requesting that it be changed to that. - Okay, any further discussion? You're making it a formal motion to change that? - Yes, mm-hmm! - Okay, the motion is to make that change. Is there a second? I'm not hearing a second, so we're not gonna change. Right now, the motion says "To approve A-5g and B as it appears in the November 10th minutes." Any further discussion? All right, hearing none. I'm gonna make this a roll call vote so there's no... Sorry, let the clerk call the roll on this. (panelist speaking faintly) - Okay, Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. -
009Skaar. - No. - Okay, motion carries. (gavel thuds) Okay, we now, we have, before us, a Consent Agenda. This contains a variety of business items that come to us monthly, including donations. We are truly grateful for the donations and the support we from that we get from the community. And we're very thankful for that. So in front of us, we have the Consent Agenda. Can I get a motion to approve the Consent Agenda? - So moved. - Right, Streiff Oji, a second. - Second. - Second by Daniels. Any discussion? - Chair? - Yes, Mr. Skaar? - I would like to take item B, payment of invoices, off the Consent Agenda and put it on the regular agenda. - Okay, so we can do that and that'll actually happen- - Chair, I object to the consideration
010of the question. - Okay. Do we have a reasoning behind? - It doesn't... It's a dilatory motion that is improper and misused for the purpose of obstructing business. It is absurd and substance frivolous. I mean, I could go on, but I'm objecting to the question. I don't need to have a second. It isn't a debatable question, it just needs to be voted on. - By the whole group? - Yes, we need a 2/3 vote against the consideration or against the question. - And there's no discussion for it. So can we, yes? - A item on the Consent Agenda can be moved into the regular agenda by any Board member without- - An objection to consider the question is not debatable. It just needs to be seconded, and then it needs a 2/3 vote. - That
011is not true. We are contrary to "Robert Rules of Law." - So right now, before us, you've asked to pull the checks and the invoices pay off the consent and move it to a separate item. - Mm-hmm. - And we have an objection to that? - Yes. - Do we have a second to the objection? - A second to the objection. - Do we need a second for yours? - We need a second to my objection to allow his question to be considered. - Do we have a objection to allow that? - Help me understand what we're asking for right now. - We're asking for, she has made a motion to not allow a question. So to do that, we would need a second. - To not allow it to be pulled off the Consent
012Agenda. - Yes! - I second. - Okay, and that- - And then we need a 2/3 vote. - So for this to move forward, we need a 2/3 vote. I'm gonna go ahead and use a voice votes. Nope, I can't. It's money involved, I'm gonna go ahead and call a roll call vote. So call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - No, and I think it's ridiculous for the Board- - I've a point of order. - I think it's ridiculous for you to continue (gavel thudding) to silence me. - Okay, so now we have the original motion to accept the consent to agenda as it was presented. We have a motion and a second.
013Any further discussion? Hearing none, this will also be a roll call vote. Will the clerk please call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - No. - Motion carries. (gavel thuds) We are now to the public forum portion of the meeting. This is an opportunity for the public to talk to the School Board and give us information. You'll be allowed up to three minutes per speaker. With a one minute, you'll see the orange card. It'll be held up to show you have one minute. Then at 30 seconds, you'll see the yellow card. And at the end of the three minutes, we will let you know your time is up. School District policy and data
014privacy laws preclude personal and student matters or data from being discussed publicly. Speakers may not make allegations, charges, or complaints against any student or employee. Speakers will be called to the microphone and recognized one at a time. Only those individuals who have been recognized will be allowed to speak. Members of the audience may not engage in conduct that disrupts any part of the School Board meeting or that otherwise impedes School Board's ability to conduct business. - All right, thank you, Chair Arcand, members of the Board. Tonight, we proudly celebrate the achievements of a central student who made it to state and the VFW's Patriot's Pen essay contest, and fall musical participants who received Hennepin Arts Spotlight awards. Congratulations to each of you for your state-level recognition. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the dedicated
015staff and supportive family members who played a vital role in these successes. In recognition of their accomplishments, students have received a certificate, Bear pin, and letter of acknowledging their achievements. Now, please join us in watching a video highlighting their accomplishments. Go Bears! (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Just wow: - Yeah, impressive list. - Impressive! (panelists applauding) - Some of 'em are here tonight? - Mm-hmm! (panelists laughing) - I'd like to move on to informational item C2, Superintendent's report. Dr. Kazmierczak again- - Thank you again, Chair Arcand, it's time once again to celebrate professional excellence as part of the White Bear Lake Area Educators "Teacher of the Year" program. Community members, families, students, and colleagues are invited to submit nominations, which opened today and will close at 4:00 PM Monday, February 9th. You can find
016complete information in the nomination form on the district's website. The 44th annual "Jazz Night" club event is taking place on Saturday, February 21st in the high school student union. Tickets are available through February 10th on the Hudl app, which can be found linked on the Activities website under the Ticketing tab. This is always a terrific night to enjoy live music while supporting our students. The recent snow, ice, and cold weather provide a reminder to once again invite the community to use the field house walking track, which is open from six to 9:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. There's no cost to take part, and we ask that those who participate to wear clean, dry shoes. As we were re reminded last week with a two-hour late start, it's important to remember the emergency school closing information
017process in case there is a need for it. If winter weather is so severe, the schools need to close, start late, or dismiss early. The news will be shared through local media outlets and district families will be alerted through a parent square phone message, text message, and email. A message will be posted on the district homepage and the messages will be posted on the district's Facebook and Twitter pages. And finally, any of you who have seen last Night's Community eNewsletter video edition will be familiar with my last report item tonight. The District's Building Our Future website page is a new edition, the 2025 video update. These projects highlights have been pulled together each year going back to 2020, and the set of videos showcases the construction journey we've taken, and it's fun to see how
018far we've come. Thank you again to our community for supporting the 2019 bond referendum that made these facilities improvements possible for our students and families. That's it. - All right, thank you. All right, we're gonna move on to information item C3, overview of welcome to White Bear Lake update registration information. Thank you. - Hi there, good evening to Chair Arcand, our School Board members, and our student representatives as well. My name is Marisa Vette, I'm the communications director, and I have been working with our schools for something that we call "Welcome to White Bear Month." And so I'm excited to be here and to give you a little bit of a glimpse at what we're up to. It's crazy to think that we're already planning for the fall of 2026 while we're in the middle
019of '25-'26 school year. But here we are, and we're excited to really welcome our families in. And so we will get here. We'll start with elementary, and I'll give a description of some of the activities that we are going through in welcoming our incoming kindergarten students and families. As you can see from the information that's listed on our Welcome to White Bear website, we have a lot of activities that we have planned to bring brand new families into our elementary experience. So in fact, we actually started this endeavor in the fall. We started by asking our current families and families in the community to let us know if they have incoming kindergarten students. And we had almost 450 people who, you know, said, "Pick me, pick me, make sure I'm on the list." So that
020was really fun to be able to make sure that we are not missing anybody. So when we had that information, some of the families were already on the list that we consider our incoming families, and then there were others that we didn't know were there, we didn't know were in the houses. So it was a really great way for us to make sure that we are welcoming our entire community of our little kindergarten Bears into all of the activities that we have going on and getting them the information in hand. So when we got the information in hand for them, our kindergarten packets contained our Elementary guide, and then they also contained elementary experiences, postcards, large-scale postcards, or bookmarks that we mailed to families in English, Spanish, and Hmong. And that was really an opportunity
021for us to share information with families of experiences that they can do together with their children and experiences that they can work on with their child as they're preparing for kindergarten. So that's something that our early childhood program helped us put together and I think our families appreciate that little nudge or nugget of information as they're preparing their little ones. Within the packet, we also, of course, made sure that we mentioned that as the enrollment process was complete, and "I'm a Bear" T-shirt that you've probably seen little ones running around in, in the community wearing, making sure that families understand that when that process is complete, they'll get a fun package in the mail along with a note from their school. Rumor has it that it's a really popular package to receive in the mail,
022both with the little Bears and with the families, although the families are probably a little more bittersweet about the package than the little ones are who are pretty excited to join us. So additionally, the packets do have mention of two specialized programs that we offer as well. So our International Baccalaureate program that takes place at Matoska International, and then our elementary Spanish Dual Immersion program that is offered both at Matoska and at Otter Lake Elementary. So transportation is available to all of our district resident families for either of those programs at either of those two locations. The IB program has been available to our families for quite a few years, and then the dual immersion Spanish program was just offered last year, last fall, for the first time. So this year's kindergarten class is the
023inaugural class, and then they will move on to first grade Spanish immersion while our incoming kindergartners and we'll join them right behind. So that's been exciting to be able to share with families, continue to share with families as well. So some other things that we have on the docket for welcoming our family. Once again, this year, we have a billboard along highway or Interstate 35E to let our community know that we're currently accepting enrollments. And actually the photo that's on the billboard, it was fun. One of our Facebook posts, the mom of of the little girl said, "I'm so excited to see my little one." I don't know that she knows that I saw it, but I did, And that was a really fun way to make our day that we made her day. So
024that was fun. And then we also produced a video with our elementary principals that you may remember that you saw back in November, the principals welcoming the families. And again, at that point, it was telling them to let us know if they want the kindergarten information. And then of course, we probably also remember we left that video at the end with a homecoming assignment that will come in for years to come, or come in handy for those students for years to come with the "Go Bears" cheer and learning that with their family. Another video that we produced was our Elementary Experiences video when we did that again for this year, and it is focused and featured on our Elementary Academics page, as well as on the Enroll page as well. And then additionally, we mailed
025a postcard to all of our families who had received the kindergarten packet and mailed a postcard to remind them to enroll and then also to let them know about open houses that we offered to our incoming kindergarten families. And we'll talk about that a bit more on this next slide. So some of the new experiences that we implemented this year for our Welcome to White Bear month have been really fun ones to work on. So first, we worked with our Willow Lane Elementary to create a video that showcases what a typical day in kindergarten in White Bear Lake Area Schools might look like. While each school does things a little bit differently, really the core instruction models that are followed at the schools are the same. And so I'll play a quick video here that
026I think you'll enjoy as much as we do so you can see an educational day through the eyes of some of our youngest students. (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) All right, so if you watched that and wondered or wish that you could be a kindergartner again, I will tell you, you're not the only one. We've heard that from a few people. (laughs) And so that, again, was a really fun way to capture the excitement and really capture the experience of our kindergarten students and share that with the families as they're considering White Bear for their kiddos. So secondarily, you'll see on this slide, we added something new or we added something back this year that is pretty exciting for me as well. We offered our families to come in and take a tour, and check
027out the building in sort of an open-house tour style to just see for themselves and learn a bit more about the school. So we had more than 150 families who RSVP'd to attend those open house tours throughout the district. And if you saw the video last Friday in our "Week in 62.4 Second" video update, we highlighted a couple of those, the building tours. I myself was at Birch getting some of the footage. And it was really fun to see the families getting questions answered and really fun really to see the little ones. They were so confident and so curious, and felt right at home in the Media Center, and sort of looking around, peeking through all of the places that will be their spot next year. So that was really fun to see them really
028exploring and making it their own. So moving on to exploring and making it their own, our middle school students are also in the midst of planning for their incoming sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade opportunities, or experiences. So the registration window is now open and it will be closing next week already, along with the information that was shared in registration nights that were hosted. The registration guide is available for families that really gives the lay of the land for what's happening at middle school and what's happening in the curriculum. And that gives families, of course, a glimpse of what is going on there. And then an elementary experiences video, of course, is also posted on the district's website, on the Academics pages for middle school. Something that our principals did this year that was
029new, was, they did this back in October, they invited the district resident families who live in the district but don't attend our schools, invited them to come in, have pizza with the principal, learn a bit about the district. And so both Central and Mariner principals hosted events and invited people to come in. And then those families were also invited to attend the registration events in that as well. So moving on to high school, the same story that the incoming 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade families were invited last week for a parent information night at the high school. And then additionally, the high school students themselves had a registration fair during the school day. And then the registration window is open currently, and that one lasts a little longer. The registration window will close on
030January 23rd. And so something that changed last year, and that continues to this current year as well, is that during the registration process, the course catalog is available online. So it's searching and really looking at the available classes in a way that's more, we've been told by some of you on the School Board as well, looking through the class listings in a way that makes a lot of sense and that makes it a lot easier to go through the process. So we were excited to be able to do that again. And again, the feedback from both the students and the families has been really positive for that. And then of course another online element is the Experiences video that we have posted on the Academics page of the high school. So similar to the experience
031for the middle school families, resident families who live in the district but do not attend our schools, we did also invite families in for pizza with the principal to learn about the high school. And we heard good things about that. In fact, at one of our coffee with Dr. K events, we heard good feedback that that event, it was appreciation for hosting the event and acknowledging that it was well attended and really helpful and informational for families. So again, those families were also invited to our high school registration events that happened last week. And then last but not least, our early childhood program will very soon be accepting registrations in late January. The registration guide will be available and then they will host open house events at Normandy, at the elementary schools where our preschool
032is taking place, and then at Tamarack Nature Center. And then these activities will be done in preparation for the registration window that opens on February 2nd at 8:00 AM. I know that there are many families who sort of watch the clock and wait for that to happen as well to get into their chosen preschool. And so with that, as you can see, we have a lot of fun things happening that we have done and that we continue to do to welcome our families into White Bear in the middle of this school year preparing for next school year. We're excited to finish this school year strong, of course, but then looking forward to a really great fall 2026 as well. So are there any questions at all? - [Scott] Any questions from the board? Mr. Skaar.
033- I have a question. - Yeah. - Do you know how our enrollment, this is questions about enrollment and that upfront part seems to me it would help enrollment, but our enrollment hasn't really improved. Do you have any pulse, and this is for the Superintendent as well, why isn't our enrollment where it was projected to be when we did the referendum, which was over 10,000. I calculated just off a napkin that there's probably a little bit north of 12,000 K-12 students in our district. I don't know what the number is. - Sure. - But our market share is 70%, 80%- - Yeah, I think... I mean, I'll start answering and the Dr. K can fill in if you'd like. But I think the materials and the process that we went through for the bond referendum
034was in 2019, which is very different than it is in 2025. So I think that that, or upcoming 2026 as we are right now, - I've done a lot of- - So, I think there, yeah, things that happened in the middle there that certainly have affected it. I think we are seeing, and we won't know what our fall 2026 numbers are for quite a while, of course, we've got, I think it was 200 kindergarten families that are enrolled at this point, which is great. So we'll continue to work at that and continue to offer, you know, reminders to families to get their students signed up and registered early. And I didn't mention this, but one of the reasons that it is really helpful for us as a district to have our families enroll now versus
035waiting until August or July, is really from a staffing perspective that when we know who our students are and where they are, where they're enrolled at, that helps throughout the spring and in the summertime with staffing. So that is absolutely something on our radar that we pay attention to. And that is important to us as we're planning and figuring out where we need to be paying attention. - Yeah, so again, we've talked about this, COVID had an impact on our enrollment. Birth rates have gone down from what were projected previously. Good thing is building is continuing, we have new construction happening in the district, so there's, you know, hopefully still some positive signs moving forward. But during COVID, some parents made some other choices, homeschool or private school. And so we're, you know, we've generally
036stabilized, and so hopefully now we start moving in the right direction. - Okay, I understand. COVID's overused, become kind of a- - [Wayne] Yeah, it's a real factor though. - Yeah, absolutely. It's overused, it's an excuse. And to me, 20% projection and demographics with only a few years, that's a pretty big miss. So, I mean, it seems like maybe in the... And it's fine if you use the higher end of the projection for, you know, the population. I mean, that's fine, but I mean, this comes down to money, right, because- (gavel thudding) - [Scott] Can I just remind us that we're talking about the registration process and that- - Which impacts enrollment and it's germane to this topic. - Okay. - It's germane to this topic. So enrollment is an issue that I think the
037community needs to know because if our enrollment continues to be flatline or declining, it's gonna mean fewer dollars, which mean where are you gonna get the dollars from, taxes go up, so it's something that we need to discuss and address at the Board level. - [Scott] Yes. - [Board Member] Not much we can do about birth rate. You know, that people right choices and you know, they either wanna have kids or they don't, and that's a fact that a lot of our young millennials and younger families are not having as many children, which we counted on when we did our demographic study years ago. And I wanna thank you for having the middle school and the high school pizza nights to let people know the good work we are doing in the schools. It gives
038them an opportunity to showcase what we're doing. So they might make a different choice since maybe they left during COVID, maybe they left after that. I don't know, but I think that's great, and I hope that it draws in some new students and renews students that may be left and wanna come back. So thank you for doing that. - [Scott] Ms. Beloyed. - Yeah. I don't know if our demographer lacked a crystal ball, but nobody predicted COVID, and nobody went through this COVID, through that period of time anywhere in history, except back in what, '19, whenever the Spanish flu went through. So to say that it didn't affect, and that we shouldn't use it as a reason, when it absolutely is a reason for what happened to students leaving, because they wanted to be homeschooled.
039I mean, every parent can make whatever choice they want, and that's a great, but it's a fact. And to try and state that it's not a fact and that it can't be used, is ridiculous. - Well, 2019 was when COVID hit. - Nah! (gavel thuds) - So should have adjusted the numbers then. - It was 2020. - We should have adjusted the numbers then. - 2020. - Okay, Streiff Oji. - Thank you. I just wanna thank you and thank you for your reference to increase enrollment and let us know how we can help in any way with all of the things that you're doing to help our families learn in the area about what we are doing and all the great things that are happening here. - Thank you. - Mm-hmm! - I just wanna
040thank you because what we're trying to do with this welcome is to attract more families and let 'em know. So we know that if our enrollment's down, but we're reaching out to people, and that's the thing I think we need to look at here, is we're gonna continue to reach out and let people know what's happening in White Bear Lake, so thank you. And Ms. Thompson- - Sorry, you didn't see my hand. I don't have a question, but I'm just wondering, can adults get a "I'm a Bear" T-shirt as well because you know, there's some cute stuff out there, but that "I am a Bear" shirt has got a special bear on there that we don't have on anything else. - Right, we haven't purchased, haven't done that yet. We should put it in the
041idea of that maybe the whole family would like. - You maybe the school store could add that as an option. - That would be fun. It is really fun, I am sure you've seen that we've been able to share out photos of babies in onesies and then the toddler and the three T-shirt, and then the kindergarten, you know, all the family of three has been a really fun, not generational, but siblings in it together. (laughs) We could add for parents as well. (chuckles) - All right. - Thank you all very much. - I wanna thank you for your time. I'd like to move on to discussion item D1: Roles and Responsibilities of the School Board Members. This is a good time for us as we organize tonight to see, you know, our responsibilities and how
042we operate as a Board. So go ahead and roll the video. (upbeat music) - [Instructor] In our school district, voters elect school board members to represent the interests of all the citizens and of all the students. The School Board supervises and evaluates one employee, the Superintendent. Working in consultation with the School Board, the Superintendent is the chief administrator who oversees all operations of the school district. So what does the School Board do? Like in many school districts around the nation, our school board has adopted policy governance as its model of operation. This means the school board approves policies that provide general principles for guiding the management of the school district. The Superintendent and the administration develop regulations that specifically support the school board's policies and make recommendations for the board's consideration. (upbeat music) Policy governance
043school boards will exchange ideas and debate issues. However, after a vote is taken, all members have a responsibility to speak with a single voice regardless of their individual views. This unified position gives sound and clear direction to those in management and to staff who will implement the decision. Parents and staff will often pressure the board to engage in management to affect the things they are passionate about. (upbeat music) But policy governance school boards define what they are providing to whom, why, and at what cost, but not how. That's up to the Superintendent and administration. It's the Board's role to interpret the needs of the community. And members often receive feedback and suggestions on all sides of issues. But when school boards like ours consider all public viewpoints and practice policy governance, they're fulfilling their key
044purpose, to serve as a united, though not always unanimous governing body. (upbeat music) - Thank you, I think that's good for me to hear and a remind us to how we operate and how we stand in governance. And if I want to go into management, it reminds me to stand in governance. Ms. Ellison, do you have a question or a comment? - No, comment in if I may. - You may. - Okay. So as I enter my ninth year as a Board member, I can tell you that I still don't know everything. And in my first year on the Board, I realized that I and many others didn't really deeply understand the role of the board. And good board members are aware that they're always learning how to be better. And I've learned much from
045past Board members and as well as those currently on the Board. And it takes a lot of trust to act as this governing body and humility to understand that it's not about us as individuals, we are here to serve students. So for our reorganization meeting, I think it's important that we reaffirm our roles and responsibilities and share those with the public so that we have a mutual understanding of how we are expected to conduct ourselves as elected public servants. So we govern, we're not legislators, we're not judges, we operate as a governing body. And the only power that we have is as a quorum of members. So we take training on the state and the national level because there's always more for us to learn. So the kind of big, big things that I've learned
046over the years that are our roles is that our only employee is the Superintendent. And it's our job to annually review the Superintendent's performance and work through him, not around him or over him. We set the strategic vision, which we've reviewed again in the time since I've been on the Board. And the best visual that I have gotten for this is that we set the destination, and the superintendent and staff decide best how to get there. We approve the budget and provide financial oversight and not our responsibility to get into the weeds because we have staff for that. And that's the role of the staff who report to the Superintendent, and we look at the big picture. And finally, we set policy. We get input from federal law, from state law, as well as the
047Minnesota School Boards Association, and we review and update our policies regularly. The Superintendent and district staff ensure that the procedures help meet the policy agreements. And I read on the NSBA, the National School Board Association website, is that respect for majority rule and compliance with the law are not optional, they're a minimum must-do part of our job, because the Board member is not the Board. The exercise of boardsmanship, which I really like that word, is a set of individual skills, which we all bring very different individual skills here. It's important, it's not the same as the exercise of governance, the set of collective skills that only the board can demonstrate. And I won't pretend that this isn't difficult. I would say that most of us here have been on the losing side of a vote,
048including some topics that impact us very personally. But we act as a board, and after a vote, it's our job to speak with one voice. And I learned early on in my service that I carry the label of a School Board member everywhere I go in this community, even when I'm just being a parent or a resident. And so it's important for people to see that I support the decisions of the Board regardless of how I vote in the meeting. The other important lesson that I've learned is that School Board meetings are not public meetings. It is our meeting in a public setting, sort of like if we were conducting this in a conference room and people could watch from the outside. As a Board, we control our meetings, including the rules and policies that
049govern these meetings and the process. So Minnesota open-meeting law permits, but does not require public comment during a meeting. And most boards do include public comment. And MSBA calls this a limited public forum. So we're allowed to set reasonable rules and policies and procedures and we use "Robert's Rules of Order", including a limit on time, number of speakers, requirements for requesting to speak. And since I've been on the board, we've always limited to three minutes per speaker and set a limit on the number of speakers on a single topic. During COVID-19 pandemic, we created new policies due to disruptive meetings and several instances where our rules for our own meeting were not followed. So in order to do our business, we have to keep order. Public comment is equal to emails sent to the Board.
050We don't respond individually as that violates our one voice responsibility. If appropriate, the Board chair or district staff may respond to emails or reach out to public speakers. And in the spirit of fostering a relationship of trust and mutual respect between the Board and the community we serve, I wanna emphasize to my fellow Board members, myself included, that we have a responsibility to remember our roles as set forth by law and our own policies. Policies 209 and 215 clearly outline our charge. So I missed the December 8th meeting due to illness. Ms. Beloyed, who was also absent, sent an email to the Board requesting clarifying information about a comment Mr. Skaar made regarding district finances. So I watched the video of the Board meeting and at one hour, seven minutes, and 54 seconds, Mr. Skaar
051said, quote, "So, I don't know if you've ever heard of Ken Wolf or Bob Fallon, but they're experts in education finance in Minnesota. Now, when they looked, I asked them to look at our numbers last year," and quote, "Ms. Beloyed requested information about this exchange with Mr. Wolf and Mr. Fallon specifically when the ask was made and when the report was delivered to him." So because I wasn't there, I googled these two individuals and found that Mr. Wolf passed away in October, 2024, and he could not have spoken to Mr. Skaar. The report provided was dated July of 2024 and as of today, the board has not received an answer about when he made this request and when the board was delivered to him. So I would like to affirm that we are called to
052meet our duties with integrity and trustworthiness per policy 215. 215 also prohibits us from undertaking independent investigations, and 209 requires us to support Board decisions after they are made regardless of how we voted. And as we move into a new year, we must model the behavior we expect of our students and publicly uphold our policies. So Mr. Chair, I'd like to recommend that we undertake a board self-evaluation this year. This is something that we've done in the past, but with every new iteration of the Board, we need to evaluate how we are working together and getting the work done to better serve this community. - Thank you. I think what also I would like to bring forward is I'd like to have us, I'll work with the Superintendent to schedule a staff development on how
053the Board works and we can bring somebody in again. We do this almost every year to try to remind us so we can also do that. So Dr. Kazmierczak, I'll work with you and we can set up staff development time, okay? Mr. Skaar. - Yeah, I'd like to just respond to that. First of all, reading what the Minnesota Statute is for Board duties, the Board must superintendent manage the school, schools of the district adopt rules for their organization, government and instruction keep registers and prescribe textbooks and courses of study. The Board may enter into an agreement with a post-secondary institution for secondary or post-secondary non-sectarian courses to be taught at a secondary school, non-sectarian post-secondary institutions or another location. And I've made it clear that policies that are adopted, and I made this clear to
054the general counsel at MSBA as well as the executive director, and they'll be reviewing the policy 209 and 215 as well Because it's being used as a way to intimidate minority Board members. That's what it's being used for across the state. So they're gonna take a look at it. Hopefully I'll get a report on that. As far as, no one talked to me, I knew that Mr. Wolf had passed away, but no one had talked to me about the information. I got the information while I was campaigning, not while I was a Board member. So if somebody just asked me, and asked me where I got the information the information is on the district's website. Everything that I quoted is on... The numbers are on their website. It's called "The Comprehensive Financial Audit Summary." It's
055there, it's not a secret. It comes from the same information, it's MDE, Minnesota Department of Education. - I think that's what you were implying that you had a discussion. (gavel thudding) - All I was- - Let's take turns. - All I was... I wasn't disputing the numbers presented, but the numbers presented was... It was not apples to oranges, but was presented, was a slice of the orange, not the whole orange, the financial report that I was given, provided the whole orange. And if you look at your numbers, that's where the numbers came from, same source, MDE, Minnesota Department of Education. - [Scott] Yes, okay. Now- - I have nothing more to add. - [Scott] I'm sorry, 'cause I wanted to give you a time. - No, that's okay, go. - Okay. - I said what
056I said. - Ms. Beloyed? - But it's not an apples to apples comparison. You're talking about the overall numbers. Every single dollar that comes from whatever revenue stream it comes from, those were the numbers that you presented. That's not what we presented that night. It was for the truth in... - [All] Taxation. - Taxation. (clears throat) The difference is, what affects the taxpayers are the levies, and those levies are what are making up the difference between what is covered by federal and state government and what is not. That was the whole point of that presentation. But the numbers that you bring out and- What was that? The numbers that you presented, you presented in a way that made it seem like the numbers that were presented to us were inaccurate or we weren't presenting The
057whole picture is if we don't want our tax paying base to keep having these levies, then the state government and the federal government, we're supposed to cover all of these mandates that we have and they don't. So that is the difference between the numbers that you were talking about and the numbers that were presented. - [Daniel] May I respond? That's, you know- - Quickly. - That's fair. The only thing that I would would say is when you bring up that school funding, has not kept up with inflation and then I look- - It hasn't. - And then when I look at total revenues for the school district, 2024 to 2023, it was 12.2% increase with all in revenues, all in revenues, 12.2. So that statement, I mean, the public's not gonna- - School funding through
058the state's federal government- - Point of order. (gavel thudding) - Yes, ma'am. - Point of order. - While I appreciate this conversation, the item on the agenda for discussion is the Roles and Responsibilities of the School Board. - Okay, so we'll go back to that. And it's clear that it would be helpful if we have that step development. I don't know if get you, Ms. Thompson. - I just wanna remind, well, Chair Arcand, that we do adopt the rules. So the rules we are following in this school district have already been adopted by the Board. So the Statute says we adopt the rules, we have adopted the rules, is that correct, Chair Arcand? - I believe so, yes. - Okay. And then I would just remind the Board members that when we are talking, we
059should be talking and addressing the Chair. So we should say, "Chair Arcand, could you please inform me what Mr. Skaar's question about the finances are?" We always wanna direct our questions to the Chair and not to each other, to avoid us in this back and forth dispute that doesn't allow us to product a median that we should be conducting. - [Daniel] Could I be recognized for one comment? - One more time, yes sir. - I think it's extremely productive to have the back and forth. And the formalization to go to the Chair and so forth is not helpful. I mean, this is a school, to me it is. I'm just giving you my opinion. I like the discussion. I welcome disagreements, that's where we get better. Having a single ideology is not helpful, having a
060single point of view is not helpful. We need different points of view. And right now, I mean, you know, obviously I'm not in the click, so it's 6 to 1. It is, so I get silenced. I'm giving you my view, I've given you my view. - Can I just summarize what I think you said? The point is we're trying to have people not talk over each other. So that's why the idea is to be recognized. Otherwise, if we get two or three people talking, then nobody hears it. So I think that's, is that what you were kind of just going to? - Yeah, it doesn't mean that we're not going to have back and forth conversation, because I too very much believe that that is what we do here. I have many times been on
061the opposite side of the entire Board up here and then you move forward, 'cause that is our job. But it is to direct our questions when we're wanting clarification about one another Board member is saying that we are supposed to direct them through you, and that is what "Robert's Rules of Orders" clearly states, and that is what we are governed by, and those are the rules that we follow with that. Could I make a, oh I can't remember how... I've never had to know this much about "Robert's Rules of Orders"- - [Board Member] I think they've got a cheat sheet too. - But I believe I can ask a point of... - Point of question? - To call a question to ask Chair Arcand if we could purchase a copy of "Robert's Rules of Orders
062for Dummies" for all of the Board members who do not have one. If other Board members may have one, I'm not aware, but I've never needed one before, and it is a helpful tool for us all to utilize at this time. - So the motion in front of us is you're asking to purchase the "Robert's Rules," but is it equipped specifically for dummies? - It's a little bit easier, I think, to read. I mean if everybody wants the official book, I have that one. This tends to be a little bit easier and you can utilize it. - So the motion was made to purchase the "Robert's Rules of Orders for Dummies." Was there a second? - Second. - Second by Beloyed. Future discussion? Okay, because this involves money, this will be a roll call vote.
063Can you call the roll please? - Yeah, get into my... Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Right, motion carried. And it would be nice, I'm gonna say, if we can get those in and do the staff development would be helpful and we could combine it, that would be nice. I'd like to move on because we have a lot of business left to go today. So I'd like to go on to operational item E1: Action on the Tentative Agreement. The '25-'27 fiscal year at clerical school service employees SEIU local 284, Mr. Mons. - Okay. All right, good evening, I've got a series of agenda items for you here, starting out with our clerical bargaining
064group. So we are recommending approval of the Tentative Agreement that we've reached in all cases for the next four agenda items or for this. And then the following three agenda items, the agreements have been ratified by the collectively bargained group that we've been working with. I just wanna say a thank you, we had two new business managers representing our clerical unit and we had a really good open discussion through our bargaining sessions. And also, I just want to thank our clerical group. They're well represented, and there was a lot of time that went into this process. So I wanna say a thank you to that group and also to our district bargaining team. - [Scott] Okay, so the recommendation is to approve the proposal for the '25 through '27 clerical school service employees, SEIU, local
065284. Tentative agreement by passing the following resolution. Can we get a motion to accept this? - So moved. - Okay. Second. - Daniels and Thompson with a second, any further discussion? Because this also involves finance, this will be a roll call vote. We can call a roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Okay, motion carries. (gavel thuds) All right, we are gonna go on to operational item E2, Action on the Tentative Agreement for the 25 through '27 fiscal year principles association. - Great, thank you. So again, I recommend that you approve the recommendation before you, and with our principals association, it was... We re-implemented a interest-based approach to bargaining. We had really
066good discussion, and the conversation led to more creative outcomes, which is what we're always hoping for at the table. So we really appreciate that process. And with that, I'll ask for the approval. - [Scott] Okay, the recommendation is to approve the proposed 2025 to '27 Principles Associates Tentative an Agreement. Can I get a motion? - So moved. - By Streiff Oji, a second. - [Streiff] Second. - Second by Beloyed, any discussion? Once again, this will be a roll call vote. Please call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Motion carries. (gavel thuds) Moving along, we are gonna go on to E3, action on the Tentative Agreement 2025-'27 fiscal years with the
067non-affiliated groups. - And so with this group, this really represents all of our employees that don't collectively bargain. One note that I'll make there is we try really hard still to engage in positive conversation with folks. And so we throw out in advance what we're looking at consistent with the parameters set by the Board and where we've fallen and the rest of our bargaining so that people understand what kind of changes they could be looking at. And then we also try hard to meet with all of our larger groups of unaffiliated employees. So although they're not collectively bargained, we make sure that there's space for a back and forth dialogue there as well, whenever that makes sense and is appropriate. So they're all asked for your approval. - [Scott] So the recommended action before us
068is to approve the proposed salary and benefit contributions for the non-affiliated employees for the 2025-'27 fiscal years. And can I get a motion to approve? - So moved. - Ellison, second. - Second. - Second by Beloyed. Any discussion? And once, yes ma'am. - [Board Member] Can you state what the non-affiliated groups are? - There are so very many, so no, I cannot state- - Maybe not all. - An exhaustive list. But as we're looking at that, this would be lots of employees that fall between administrators in a collectively bargained group. So I can toss out some examples of what that would look like. For instance, so like our tier two technology employees would fit into that group. A lot of our coordinators would fit into that group. Cabinet members would also fit into that group,
069who would bargain individually if that was going to be the case. So it's really all of our employees, folks that might be in a one-off position or small groups of employees. So again, another example of what that would look like would be our extended day leads. So each of our sites, for instance, has an extended day lead assigned to it. You know, that group, we have the conversation, but they're not collectively bargained. So it's really kind of everybody. I would say that there are probably over 50 individual positions, at least, that comprise that group, yep. - Okay, thank you. - Any further discussion? All right, we have a motion in a second, so I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. -
070Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - And motion carries. We're gonna move along to operational item E4, Action on the Tentative Agreement for the White Bear Lake Nutrition Association through '25 to '27. - Right, so without being overly redundant here, I will just say a thank you to the team that we met with, with Nutrition Services. They are phenomenal to work with. They've really adopted an interest-based approach along with our principals and teachers, you know, to work through that process. I know that it feels good for us in management working with them, and I think that it works for them as well. So just a thank you for the time they put into that process. And with that, I will ask for approval. - Before us, we
071have a recommendation to approve the proposed 2025 through 2027 White Bear Lake Nutrition Association Tentative agreement. Can I get a motion? - So moved. - By Daniels, a second. - Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Any further discussion? All right, once again, this will be a roll call vote. So I'd ask the clerk to call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Motion carries, thank you. - Thank you very much, appreciate it. - Next on, we're gonna move on to E5, and this is the compensation for the 2026 Board. And it has not changed, there was no increase, we've kept it at that. Any questions? I can tell, yeah- - I
072don't know how the other board members feel, but I kind of feel kind of a little uncomfortable voting on my own compensation. I'd rather put it out to the floor vote for a vote audit. But I understand- - Can't do that. - But so I'll just abstain, thank you. - Okay. So I can tell you right now that in the 2026, the stipend amounts for the chair is 5,450, vice chair is 5,250, clerk is 5,450, treasurer is 52.50, and a Board member is $5,050. - And a point of clarification. - Yes. - That's an annual? - Yes. So that's not every month- - Thought it was an annual amount. - That is for the whole year. And that gets split up into four stipend payments over the year. So, and it's, yeah. And we don't
073do this to make large amounts of money, we do this because we care about our community, I think we can say. - Mm-hmm! - So, can I get a motion then to approve the compensation? Okay, Thompson, can I get a second? - Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Any further discussion? Hearing none. This will also be a roll call vote. I'll ask the caller Roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Abstain. - Motion carries. (gavel thuds) All right, next on our agenda, it's gonna be action on the appointment of intermittent school District 916 representative for 2026. Hang on. And this year, Angela Thompson will serve on the Intermediate School District Board for 2026. Is
074there any... Can I get a motion for this? - So moved by Ellison. A second. - Second. - Second by Daniels. Do we have any other questions? Thank you, Ms. Thompson, for taking this on, we appreciate you doing that. - Thank you, Arcand. - You haven't gotten that yet, they still have to vote. Okay, this will be a roll call vote, so can you call the roll? - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar? - Aye. - Okay, that motion carries. Now, we're onto, I believe, E7, and this is appointment to Jessica Ellison from White Bear Lake to the representative BrightWorks for 2026. Can I get a motion? - [Board Member] So moved. - [Board Member] I'm
075sorry, did you say E7 or D7? - It's- - E7. - E7, sorry. - [Board Member] Okay. - So E7: Action on the BrightWorks representative for 2026. And once again, that'll be just like Ellison who made the... Okay, do we have second? - Second. - Second by Thompson. Any discussion? - Just- - Yes. - Could I ask Jessica to give like a maybe a 30-second overview of BrightWorks so that... I read what it is, but maybe for the public that don't know what BrightWorks is? - Sure, it's one of the regional service cooperatives throughout the state. They're, you know, called by different names. And BrightWorks used to be called the Metro ECSU, and so it represents the metro, but they changed their name to BrightWorks a couple of years ago. And so they provide services
076to member districts and other districts in the metro area, you know, on a variety of issues. And so each member district has a representative from the School Board, from that district to serve on their executive board. - [Daniel] okay, thank you, and thanks for serving. - Mm-hmm! - Okay, so we have any more questions? All right, we're gonna make this a voice vote. All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. Motion passes. (gavel thudding) We're moving on to E8: Action on regular and work session meeting scheduled for '26 to '27, Dr. K. - All right, thank you Chair Arcand, so we hold our regular school board meetings on the second Monday of the month, work sessions on the fourth Monday of the month, except during the months of June, July, and
077December when there are no work sessions scheduled. And then the March 26 and 27 regular meetings will be held on the first Monday of the month due to spring break. And the May, 2026 work session will be held on the third Monday of the month due to Memorial Day. October 12th, 2026 regular meeting falls on Indigenous Peoples' Day per Minnesota Statute Section 645.44, subdivision 5, where it is determined that in Indigenous Peoples' Day is not a school holiday, public business may be conducted. So the recommended action is to approve the regular and work session meeting scheduled for January 26th to August, 2027. - Can I get a motion to approve the regular and work session meetings? - So moved. - Ellison, is there a second? - Second. - Second by Beloyed. Any discussion? Yes. -
078I just have to say this is the first time this calendar has come before us where I see my last child's graduation date. So it's a little... - I'll get you some Kleenex. - Yeah, I might need some Kleenex. - And I do want to point out, I think most of us have gotten invites on our calendar already, this is just formalizing this. - Yeah. - So any further questions? Okay, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. Motion passes. (gavel thuds) Now, we're gonna go to E9: Action on official publication for the school district for 2026. Dr. Kazmierczak. - I'll just get right to the recommended action is to approve the White Bear Press as a legal publication for White Bear Lake area schools
079for 2026, longstanding relationship that we have with the White Bear Press, yeah. - Can I get a motion to approve the White Bear Press as our legal publication? - So moved. - Thompson, is there a second? - Second. - Second by Daniels. Any discussion? Yes. - Just a comment that not all communities have a local newspaper anymore. And so I'm really grateful that we still continue to have a really vibrant press in this community. - And I concur that we are so lucky to have the White Bear Press because other school districts have nowhere to go. And so having the White Bear Press and having them report and having as our publication is very helpful, and we're very thankful that we have them. So if there's no further discussion, I think this will be a
080roll call vote. Will you call the roll? - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Okay, motion carries. (gavel thuds) Now, we're gonna go to E10: Action on appointment of compliance officer, Dr. Kazmierczak. - All right, again, I'll jump to the recommended action is to approve the appointment of Matt Mons, executive Director of Human Resources and General Counsel as a district human rights officer, Dr. Alison Gillespie, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning as a Title IX coordinator. And Lisa Oren, director of Student Support Services as the District ADA 504 coordinator, in conformance with School Board policies. - [Scott] Can I get a motion to approve? - So moved - By Thompson. Is there a
081second? - Second. - Second by Beloyed. Any discussion? Mr. Skaar. - Yes, question. I'm sure that all of these are mandated. - [Scott] Correct, yep. - My question is, a lot of non-profits as well as for-profit companies have, you know, overall chief compliance officers that assure compliance across the entire enterprise. I mean, do any school districts have such a position where all compliance, they do internal reviews, internal compliance reviews, those types of things? Do other school districts do that, to our knowledge? - I'm not aware of that. - Yeah, okay. - [Scott] Maybe Minneapolis and St. Paul, something that size, but I'm not sure. - Yeah, I'd see it. - I'd be speculating. - Okay, thank you. - Mm-hmm! All right, any other discussion? Hearing none, this will be a voice vote. All in favor
082say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. Motion passes. (gavel thuds) All right, now we're gonna go on to action E11: Action on the local education agency authorization. Dr. Kazmierczak, tell us about this one. - All right, so the recommended action here is to authorize me, so Dr. Wayne Kazmierczak, Superintendent, as the local education agency, LEA representative for the purpose of reviewing and approving documents required for compliance to federal programs included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for 2026. So again, the annual approval item authorizing me to serve in that LEA capacity. - [Scott] Can I get a motion to approve? - So moved. - By Daniels, second. - Second. - Go ahead- - Second by Streiff Oji. Any discussion? All right, hearing none, this will be a voice vote. All in favor
083say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. (gavel thuds) Motion carries. Now, we're up to E12: Action on designation of legal counsel. Dr. Kazmierczak, I'm gonna get it right this year. I'm gonna turn it over to you. - All right, so again, we'll go to the recommended action is to approve Kennedy & Graven Chartered, Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A., and Squires, Waldspurger, & Mace, P.A., and others as needed as our legal counsel for the calendar year 2026. - [Scott] Can I get a motion to approve? - So moved - By Ellison, second. - Second. - Second by Beloyed. Any discussion, Mr. Skaar? - Go ahead. - Oh, Streiff Oji. - [Christina] I just have a question. Are these two separate organizations legal law- - So there's actually three there. So the Kennedy & Graven,
084Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, and then Squires, Waldspurger, & Mace- - And have we always had three that we rely on? - Yeah, mm-hmm. Yeah. - Thank you. - Mr. Skaar. - So my question, I brought this up actually before I was seated on the Board, which, and Matt, this is not about you, okay? But having the general counsel and the director of HR, I mean, have we had a review to see if there's potential conflict? And what I mean there as a general counsel, you're an advocate for your client, which is the district, correct? And then as director of HR, you're kind of advocate for your department and the people in your department. And I'm just wondering if we could have a review to make sure that there's no, not that there is, and I'm
085sure you have safeguards, but just so that we memorialize that, I mean, what are your... I mean you don't, I mean, I guess I'm talking to the chair on this. - [Panelist] Mm-hmm! - But I think it might be something that if this position continues, and you know, God forbid you get hit by a fish truck or somebody else steps in to the shoes that, you know, they, they have some kind of, we've memorialized that this position is, you know, solid with no conflicts or anything like that because you've got safeguards. Thoughts on that? - So I can step into that for a moment. What I would say is, this isn't an uncommon setup within school districts around the state, but especially in the metro. And you know, I have, on many occasions, needed to
086step aside myself in order to bring in a third-party where a conflict may exist. And so that's always part of the work, it's really part of our work, regardless of which department we're in, is to recognize those pieces and whether as a practical or ethical matter, you know, those, those kind of safeguards need to be put in place. We've certainly had that conversation with third-party attorneys who have looked at it. You know, we can revisit that to ensure that we feel good about where we're at right now, but- - Do we have the procedures in place that somebody could go to and say, "Okay, this is Matt's framework for determining, you know, whether there's a potential conflict or not?" Do you have something like that in place? - No, we address that on a case
087by case basis. - Okay, I see. - Yep. - [Scott] And I think, would it be safe to say if you thought there was a conflict, you would reach out? We wouldn't ignore it, right? - Correct, yes, and that's the current practice. - Yeah, just it's very, as I mentioned to Superintendent as well as you before I got seated, it is an unusual position to have. I see general counsels as chief compliance officers, but not general counsel and like, you know, director of HR. I just haven't seen it even in the nonprofit world. So I was just curious as to the safeguards around that. - Yep. - Okay. Ms. Beloyed. - This is for Dr. K. Before we brought Matt on Board, who was our previous position wasn't also HR and general counsel, who was
088the general counsel at that point? - We didn't have internal counsel at that point. - Okay. - Yep. - Right, yes. Ms. Streiff Oji. - So you mentioned though, and I know of many HR directors that are also serving as general counsel, and that's common in the metro, correct? - Correct. - Thank you. - In school districts? - Mm-hmm! - Yeah, school districts. All right, any further discussion? Hearing none, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. (gavel thuds) Motion passes. Next, we're gonna go to E13. Mr. Wald, action on the official deposit depositories for the school of district funds and authorized bank accounts and signatures. - Good evening Chair Arcand, members of the Board. This action item is an annual action item for the
089Board. Each year, the Board approves the list of institutions and accounts as well as the authorized signers on those accounts. That list is included in the cover letter for this agenda item tonight. The only change to that list from previous years is that Old National Bank purchased Bremer Bank, and so the update there to Old National. So the recommended action is to approve the list of official deposit depositories for school district funds and authorized bank accounts and signatures for 2026. - Do we have a motion? - So moved. - Ellison, second. Beloyed? Any further discussion? - Exercise- - Sorry. All right, this, because it involves finance, will be a roll call vote. We'll ask the clerk to call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed.
090- Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Motion carries. E14, we're going to action on annual authorization allowing administration to contract for budgeted items. Mr. Wald? - Yeah, we'll keep going. This is also an annual resolution, each year the board authorizes administration to contract for budgeted items consistent with statute 123b.52, subdivision 2, which states, "The Board may authorize its Superintendent or business manager to lease, purchase, and contract for goods and services within the budget as approved by the Board. In our case, the business manager is the assistant superintendent for finance and operations. The board's delegation of this authority, under this provision applies as long as the transactions do not exceed $175,000." In those cases, the Board must explicitly authorize the transaction. The recommended action is to confirm the board's
091understanding that the superintendent and assistant superintendent for finance and operations have been duly authorized to lease, purchase, and contract for goods and services within the budget as approved by the Board in the amounts of up to $175,000, and restatement of authorization for the same pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 123B.52, subdivision 2. - [Scott] Can I get a motion to approve? - So moved - Daniels, can I second? - Second. - Second by, was it Streiff Oji? Any discussion? Mr. Skaar. - You know, I think that the Board should either lower the threshold or we should review all the contracts, that would be my recommendation. So you know, that's where I stand on this. I think that there's... I think we have a responsibility for more oversight, and given some of the concerns that people have
092brought up regarding the construction project, you know, the audit results having 13 material weaknesses in the last five years, and then I just saw on our federal, or I'm sorry, special purpose audit report, at the end of it says, "Does the oddity qualify as a low risk oddity?" And it says "No." And I found that a little bit troubling. So I'm giving you my opinion on that, and I would rather keep more oversight with the Board given the circumstances. Thank you. - All right. Any further discussion? Beloyed. - What did our thresholds start at? I've been looking at this for nine years, and I know we started, did we start at 100? - Yeah. - [Tim] It was somewhere in there, yeah. Over the years it's changed, like there was 150 up to about a
093decade ago maybe, it's been at this level for quite some time. - I think if we wanted to add this as a discussion item at some point, I wouldn't be opposed to lowering it. - [Scott] Okay. - My opinion. - Yes, sorry, I didn't need- - I just have my opinion. - [Scott] Okay, Ms. Thompson, - I guess how many times are you, you know, is a transaction of this amount being used without, before we, you know... How often would you say you guys are making purchases for that amount of money? - [Tim] You know, we have a lot of agreements and contracts throughout any given month, and they're seldom for this, you know, pushing to $175,000 mark, which then would come to the Board. So they're typically in a much smaller amount, and they're
094for many, many different purposes. - And just one question. So this is in regards to a single purchase that would exceed not, you know, a bunch of things, to that amount, to not exceed that amount? Yes, okay, thank you. - [Wayne] This is the amount designated in statute. - Okay. - Mm-hmm! - Thank you. - Pardon me, is that... - Yes, Mr. Skaar. - Is that the maximum, the 175? - Yeah. - Not the minimum. There's no minimum I'm sure. All right. - Yep. - And then, well it's actually the next agenda item, but amounts 25,000 to 175 required quotes. Anything over 175 is bids and that's where the Board comes in to approve those bids. - Okay, we good? All right, this will be a roll call vote. I'm gonna ask the clerk to
095call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - I'm just gonna abstain. Okay, motion carries. (gavel thuds) All right, we are gonna move on to E15: Action on the annual resolution to increase micro purchase threshold, Mr. Wald. - Okay, we just, were on this. or just talk about this, I guess. State and federal statutes establish different levels for purchasing thresholds for contracting and bidding. Federal statute allows school districts to establish alternate thresholds as long as the School Board annually approves this resolution, which allows for the school district to follow the state's purchasing procedures for all contracting and bidding regardless of the funding source. And so Minnesota school districts, I think almost entirely follow the
096state threshold of $175,000 and up required sealed bids for approval. 25,000 to 175,000 as Dr. K was just saying require two or more quotes, and a single quote is permitted for purchases less than $25,000. That is the state threshold I just read to you. And so the resolution would be for the Board to approve the state threshold. - Okay, before we have, in front of us, to approve the annual resolution to increase micro purchase threshold. Can I get a motion? - So moved. - Ellison, can I get a second? - [Streiff] Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Any other questions? Hearing none. Once again, because of finances will be a roll call vote. Please call the roll. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. -
097Daniels, aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Motion carries. All right, we're down to E16: Action on school board policies, 402, 423, and 611. So we normally do these in a group. So if you have a question on these and have questions on it, you have to let us know the page and where they're at. Before we discuss, can I get a motion to approve? - [Jessica] So moved. Oh, sorry, so moved. - By Ellison, seconded by Beloyed. All right, we have the motion AK. Now, if you have a question or something on one of the policies, please let us know. - Can I just make a comment? - Yes, ma'am. - This is the second review. - Yes. - So these are normal all coming before us and this is the
098second time they've come before us. So we haven't looked into the policy- - Yeah, so what normally happens for the public to know is we have a policy committee that continually looks at what our policies are. They look to see if the statutes have changed or wording has changed. So they make this recommendations. Most of the time it might be a minor change here and there as things have changed, then we bring it to a work session and we discuss it and put it out there. And then we wait another month and it comes back to the actual board meeting, and then that's when it's approved. I have that right? Thank you, any other discussion? All right, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign.
099(gavel thuds) Motion carries. We're getting there. Okay, so it looks like, if it's correct, we are now at Board Forum. It's now time for Board Forum. Board Forum is an opportunity for Board members to update the School Board and the public on committee work at which they're engaged in their official capacity as Board members and create awareness of upcoming district and partnership events. Is there any Board want to share upcoming events? Mr. Skaar. - We have the MSBA meetings coming up. So one of the things that I signed up for was moving from conflict to conversation for Board members, which I thought would be an interesting one, so- - [Scott] What time is that? - That is Wednesday at one o'clock. - Okay. - So you have to pay for it. So I think it
100was $125. But anyways, I think, you know, maybe I can get something out of it and I can give a report back if, you know, if you'll listen to me. I do think it's, you know, it's unfortunate to silence fellow Board members to conduct- - Okay. - Point of order. - Wait, I'm talking about... I'm talking about my role as a Board member and I'm gonna give a report on this because I think to silence fellow Board members in their conduct of their fiduciary responsibilities to the public is not helpful- - Point of order. - This is about... As your Board and the committees you're serving on. Anybody else have anything to share? - Can I just... - Yes. - I am gonna break the rules a little, so you can bang the gavel on
101me, but I just wanted to just say that I have things I would like to say that don't have anything to do with a committee meeting and I am holding my voice because I respect what our roles are here. But there are very pressing issues that I would like to address but I'm not going to. So just, so we all- - Point of order, that's just then we'll be done. - Yes. - Thank you. And any other forum? Hearing none, we are getting to G1: Labor negotiations. This portion of the meeting may be closed to consider strategies and labor negotiations including negotiating strategies or developments pursuant to Minnesota Statute 179A.0 12179A.25. Can I get a motion to enter a closed session? - [Kathleen] So moved. - Okay, by Daniels, a second. - Second. - Okay,
102All in favor say "Aye". - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. So what'll happen is we will go into closed session in the other room. When we are done, we'll basically come out and close the meeting. And so- - Mr. Chair. - I think there's students- - There who need- - Assignments signed. - For your- - We can sign your stuff. - So you don't have to wait. - Yes, we won't make you wait for us. (panelists chattering)