001(gavel thudding) - I now call this meeting of the School Board of Independent School District 624 to order. Will the clerk please call the roll? - Arcand? - Here. - Beloyed. - Here. - Daniels. Here. Ellison. - Here. - Skaar. - Here. - Streiff Oji. - Here. - Thompson. - Here. - All right, we'd like to go to Vice Chair Thompson, and do the land acknowledgement, please. - As a descendant of the Dakota's Sioux, Sisseton, Anishinaabe and Ojibwe peoples, I begin by acknowledging that we gather tonight on the lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples, part of the Mni Sota Makoce, the land where the waters reflect the sky. These lands and waters were never freely given. They were taken through treaties signed under pressure, often broken and used to justify the dispossession of the
002sovereign nations that remain here today. Our Dakota and Ojibwe nations were and still are sovereign governments with their own laws, languages and systems of governance that long predate the United States. Sovereignty means the inherent right to self-govern, to care for one's people and land, and to determine what education, health and justice look like within their individual and collective sovereign nation rights. It is not a right granted by any other government. It is a right recognized, not bestowed. For our communities, acknowledgement must come from continued learning and shared responsibility. It means ensuring that our work from our policies to our classrooms reflects respect for tribal sovereignty and the government to government relationships that continue to shape this land. By striving to learn and act with intention, we honor tribal nations not only as cultural communities, but
003as partners in governance whose rights are affirmed under federal and state law. To honor Indigenous People's Day and in solidarity with the observance of Dia de la Raza across Latin American and Hispanic communities, we recognize that Indigenous peoples throughout this hemisphere have resisted colonization and continue to assert their inherent rights to land, language and self-determination. (speaking in foreign language), thank you. With that, I would now like to bring forward one of our very own students who is going to celebrate Indigenous People's Day with us today. And I hope I don't say his Indian name wrong. Hi... Darn it. I already did. (everyone laughing) Hihach. Why don't you come up and do us the honor of hearing it in the beautiful language of your people. (metal clinking) - I think this will work. Okay, cool. (chuckles)
004I'll just hold it. (chuckles) (Hezazac speaking in foreign language) Hello, my relatives. My name is Hezazac Adams, and I'm gonna be performing a grass dance today 'cause it's Indigenous People's Day, and I was asked by people on the School Board and then the district to come here and share a dance with you guys. And yeah, we've been doing grass dance for multiple centuries. It's a very traditional style of dance. And, yeah, it originated with the Dakota and the Lakota when, you know, they had to lay down on the grass in their nomadic way. They would send out the grass dancer to, you know, pat down the grass and, you know, bless the land, rid of any, you know, evil spirits. And yeah, that's basically what we try to do as grass dancer. So you'll see
005me try to move in a way that looks like a waving field of grass when the wind hits it. And that's how we kind of have the grass dance name. Whenever he does show up, I think he'll be here, we wanna to honor Vince Patton. He is a Cultural Equity staff here who ran the Indigenous students organization with me. And is a great mentor and teacher that I've learned a lot from, and I'm very grateful to, you know, be around him. But unfortunately, he'll be leaving the district. Friday will technically be his last day. But yeah. And (chuckles) I don't really have much else to say. But, yeah, Vince walks in here, my mom over here. We'll probably give him this blanket that we are gonna offer him whenever he probably shows up. But yeah,
006that's all I pretty much have to say, so we can get into it now. (metal clinking) (drums resonating) (artists vocalizing) (artists singing in foreign language) (artists vocalizing) (artists singing in foreign language) (artists vocalizing) (artists singing in foreign language) (artists vocalizing) (artists singing in foreign language) (everyone applauding) - Thank you very much for coming in and dancing for us. We really appreciate it. - [Hezazac] Oh yeah, of course. Thank you. - Yeah. - It was good. Thank you. - All right, if we just please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. - I can actually stand. - Oh good. - [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
007today, an agenda. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? - So moved. - Motion by Thompson. Can I get a second? - Second. - Ace. - Yes. - Could I be recognized? I'd like to amend, I'd like to make a couple of, I'd like to suggest that we make a motion to suspend the lottery for the public forum and to extend the public forum by 30 minutes so that we can accommodate everyone. So I have a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? - We need, first we have- - Point white order. - We have a motion. And do we have a second so we can discuss it there? You wanna amend that motion to approve? - Yes. - We have a motion in front of us right now? - Well,
008you went, you know, you made the motion pretty fast, so I wasn't really able to make my motion, so. - What I'm saying is we have a motion in front of us. It's been seconded. Now for discussion, you want amend, add an amendment to it. - Yes. Okay. Yes. - So what is your amendment you'd like to add? - I would like to suspend the lottery for the public forum and extend the public forum by 30 minutes to accommodate more speakers because we have a packed house. - So the amendment is to suspend the lottery and to extend the forum by 30 minutes for full 60 minutes. Is that what I'm hearing correctly? - Yes. - All right. Do we have a second? - I just have a question. - No, there's no question. We
009don't have an amendment on the floor. - Thank you. - Do we have a second? Do we have a second? Okay, we do not have a second. It does not go through. So, the motion failed because there wasn't a second. So we stand before us. I have a motion. I have a second. Who seconded this? - It was me. - Okay, you get the second. All right. Any further discussion? - Chair? - Yes. - Could I make another motion to add something to the agenda within the Robert Rules? - Yes, you can... We were still in discussion. Could you like to make an amendment to the agenda? - Sure, I would like to amend the agenda to discuss what actions the School District has done to mitigate the risks to our students at the high
010school due to this enrollment process. And if it's not, I mean, I'm not asking for any confidential information, just kind of what actions have we taken over the last 14 days? So that's my motion. - Okay, so we have a motion to discuss what, you wanna say it again? - Mitigation efforts around student safety at the high school with respect to the enrollment process. - Okay, so we have an amendment motion, or motion. Do we have a second? Hearing none. That fails. So any further discussion on the agenda? Okay, hearing no discussion, this will be a voice vote. All in favor say aye. - [All Except Daniel] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. - [Daniel] No. - Motion passes six to one. We also have before us a consent agenda. This contains a variety of business
011items that come to us monthly, including donations. And we are truly grateful for the support that we see every month from our community and the donations provided to our students and staff. I wanna make sure I thank everyone that has donated or given time to our school district. Can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? - So moved. - All right. - Daniels. - Yep. Can I get a second? - Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Is there any discussion? This will be a roll call vote. Will the clerk please call the roll? - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels. Aye. Ellison. - Aye. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. (gavel thudding) - Motion carries. And that we have the consent agenda. It
012is now time for the public forum portion of the meeting. Public forum is open up to 30 minutes, and we right now have 12 requests to speak. Per School Board Policy 206, Addendum A, "In the event that more than 10 individuals submit written requests to speak during a public comment session, the school board will give priority to individuals who wish to address specific items that are on the agenda for the meeting. After this priority has been applied in remaining opening speakers up to a total of 10, will be determined by a lottery." Any person who does not get a chance to speak, we always encourage you to submit written comments to the school board. And those that do get to speak, if you also have written comments after you're done speaking, you can also submit
013those. Public forum will be three minutes per speaker. When you have one minute remaining, you will see the orange sign. The orange card will be held up. At the end of three minutes. At the end of 30 seconds, you'll see the yellow sign. And then at the end of three minutes, the gavel will tap, the speaker over will be called the microphone, and recognize, then it will be ended. Speakers will be called up to the microphone and recognized one at a time. Only those individuals have been recognized will be allowed to speak. School District Policy and data privacy laws preclude personal and student matters or data from being discussed publicly. We will now draw the name for the first speaker. - [Board Member 1] You wanna hold this up? - All right, the next thing
014we have on our agenda tonight is informational item one, C1: student recognition. Dr. Kazmierczak. - All right. Thank you, Chair Arcand, members of the board. Tonight we proudly celebrate the achievements of current students and members of the class of '25 who represented the district as AP Scholars and National Merit semifinalists. Congratulations to each of you for state and national-level recognition. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the dedicated staff and support of 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. (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Impressive list. - That was totally amazing. All right, we're gonna go on to information item C2: superintendent's report.
015- All right, thank you, Chair Arcand and members of the board. I wanna begin my report tonight with a special shout out to our two student representatives. You may have seen them up there in the video, but senior Tom Reese and junior Lily Johnson, Lily's back there, yep, have gotten special attention recently. Tom was named as one of the supreme monarchs of the realm during homecoming festivities. (everyone laughing) And both of our student reps were included in tonight's recognition video with AP Scholar Honors. So congratulations to you both, and well done. Last week extended day, students from Vadnais Heights Elementary joined leaders from the City of Vadnais Heights to attend a ribbon cutting event for the Koehler Road Trail that runs adjacent to the school. The project was made possible through Safe Routes to School
016funding. Performances of the high school fall musical, "Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," will take place November 14th and 15th and the 20th through the 22nd at the new performing arts center. The venue will give our talented student cast, crew, and technical staff the opportunity to showcase some truly magical special effects. Find ticket information on the district's website, and this will be the first musical in the venue. So get your tickets. After a successful inaugural event last year, the high school team is planning the 2025 test drive Next Stop Reality event for this year's junior class. Students will go through different stations and make important decisions and categories such as housing, utilities, transportation, childcare, insurance, and food. The team is looking for approximately 200 volunteers to make the December 17th event a success. Those looking to volunteer
017are asked to contact Katie Olson, our Career Pathways Coordinator at the high school. And finally, as I close my superintendent's report, I wanna acknowledge the complexities our district has been working through the past couple of weeks regarding the situation in which a individual fraudulently enrolled in our district. While the investigation continues, I do not have any new information to share. However, I want to again, express appreciation to our students, families, and staff members who came forward with information that led to our initial investigation and swift action to revoke the individual's enrollment. I also want our families and community members to know that we have carefully reviewed our enrollment procedures and are confident our processes are as strong as they can be under state and federal law. Student safety and maintaining a secure learning environment will
018always remain our top priority. We understand that situations like this can be frustrating, especially when details cannot be shared as quickly or as fully as people might wish. And please know that we are committed to being as transparent as possible within the limits of data privacy laws and the ongoing investigation. So that's my report. Chair Arcand. - Thank you, Dr. Kazmierczak. All right, that we're gonna go down to discussion item D1. This is the first reading of School Board Policies 301, 302, 303, 422, and 523. The policies listed above in the agenda will be on the board agenda on November 10th or another agenda for the second reading. If there's any discussion or questions on one of these policies, please give us the policy number and the page number follow along. So what we do
019is we bring policies for a first reading. We can look through them if we have any questions as a board, and then we bring it back to approve those policies. Do I have any questions? Yes, Mr. Skaar. - Well, I would just, thank you. I would just like to read the general, on 302, the general statement of policy regarding the superintendent, which says, "acts as the chief executive officer of the school district." And then if you look at- - [Scott] Can you tell us what page you are on the agenda? - Oh, sure. It's 55. You know, Scott, my eyes aren't as good as they used to. - [Scott] Okay. - So, and, you know, I've already complained about the lighting once. So the next one is, "The superintendent is responsible for the management of
020the schools, the administration of all School District policies and is directly accountable to the School Board." And then it says on C, "The superintendent may delegate responsibilities to other school district personnel, but shall continue to be accountable for actions taken under such delegation." I'm just wondering, have there been any recent law changes or any changes that would impact that we picked all those up in that policy, 302. Well, I don't get to go to the policy meetings because they're not subject to open meeting laws. So I'm just asking the question. - [Wayne] I'm sorry, I'm not sure that I understand the question. - I think the question is, is were there, I see there's small changes, but there hasn't been a change in this policy for how long? That's my question. Has this policy been
021in place for 10 years? Have there been any changes resulting from that? - [Wayne] Yeah, I'm not sure how long the policy's been in place. We'd need to look into that. - Well, I don't mean to put you on the spot. I was just asking the question. - [Wayne] Sure. - So you don't recall any? - No. - Okay. Thank you. - [Jessica] Point of clarification. - [Scott] Yes. - [Jessica] At the top of the policy, it says, "adopted December 11th, 1995." And then it has the revision dates right underneath it. - Yeah, I couldn't see that on my computer, so. - [Christina] It's right at the top. - Yeah, it's at the- - Okay, I got it. I got it. - Yeah, it's at the top. - Okay. Well, I'm sorry for the question
022then. - Yeah, these policies are updated, some of them yearly and some of them on a two or three year cycle. - Right. - So. - However, the way that we develop policies and procedures, that group is not subject to open meeting laws, so we don't get the benefit of the discussion around policy. I brought this up before, so I just wanna point that out. - And I would believe that we do that's why we bring them here. And then we have people on the Policy Committee that can answer questions. - [Daniel] Do we know if we, do you know if we do a risk assessment on policies? - I do not know. - [Daniel] Neither do I because I don't get to go to the meetings. I'll stop. - Okay. May I say something?
023- Yes, ma'am. - It's not a question. But if a person wants to be on the Policy Committee when we revise our assignments, you know, that's something that you could bring forward as an assignment that you get to do and relinquish another assignment that you already have. - [Daniel] Thank you. When I was seated, I was not given the privilege of requesting any committees. I don't know if that's typical, but I think given my finance background, operational background, I would think that I would be helpful to the district. But I was not given that privilege. - Right. That's because you were a new board member. - So what I'm hearing- - Okay, thank you. - What I'm hearing is (indistinct) organization in January and that's something you can request. - [Daniel] Okay, so I didn't
024know that a new board member doesn't get that privilege. That's all I'm, I didn't know that. - Okay. - Thank you. - Any other questions about the policies? Okay. Making sure. These will come back at the November 10th meeting. We're gonna go on to operational item E1: payment of the invoices. So we met as a Finance Committee and we looked at how we can present the invoice report in a way that it gives a clear... Somebody's on the lights. - [Board Member 1] Somebody lean against the lights? - [Board Member 2] They're automatic, aren't they? (board members laughing) Well, is this better lighting, Mr. Skaar? (board members laughing) - Thank you. So one of the things we looked at, (everyone laughing) one of the things we did look at when we were trying to do
025this invoice report, is we needed to make it informational, but at the same time, manageable. You know, we could have loaded it up and had 150 pages of information. So one of the, when the committee looked and we're bringing forward, if you see in the board packet, we're adding an object code so you can see what it was for. So we're adding the object code to the report so that you can kind of see what it was sped on. Deb, do you have any other thing you'd like to add? I know you're on the committee. - Well, just that when the Finance Committee met to go over the extended document, there were items on there that had some personal information on there, like student, or scholarship amounts and things like that, that are personal information
026that they don't need to be called out by name. So that's one of the reasons why we decided on this format. - Okay. Can I get a nomination to approve the new invoice report? - [Jessica] So moved. - Ms. Ellison. Is there a second? - Second. - Second by Streiff Oji. Any discussion? - Yes. - Yes, sir. - You know, I- - Mr. Skaar. - I brought up this matter a few times and I think I think it's still very, you know, it's still very difficult to read it just because there's so many items. And I'm thinking, well, can we get it stratified by dollars? So anything over $5,000 we can look at or something like that. So it's not just like a register that you put together. I made that and, you know, you
027made those, some of those changes. But still, I mean, I offered my assistance to help on this and, you know, I'm a licensed CPA as well. I would be happy to take a look at it. I've summarized information before, but nobody took me up on the offer, so I was disappointed with that. - [Scott] Any other discussion? - Ms. Thompson. - Yes, Ms. Thompson. Sorry. You close. - I would just like to make a point that it is not our job to work for the School District in that capacity. We are a governing body. We don't get into the day-to-day business of the School District. That is not our role here. So we would not, no matter what our professional training is, we all have professional training up here that the district could utilize if
028we were employees of the district in that sense. We are not employees of the district in that sense. So we do not get involved in these decisions. And I mean, I'm not sure, (chuckles) I'm not sure why we keep going over this finance report. This is what we're given, we're given all the money that comes in and goes outta the School District. It's right there. It's in every School Board packet for every community member to see. If they wanna see it, they can see a copy of the packet. They can call the district, they can ask any questions they want regarding any number of things to do with this or any other issues. So I'm not sure. (snickers) I appreciate what was done here to provide a little more clarity. So thank you very much
029for adding these pieces. And I'll just leave it at that. - Thank you. Mr. Skaar. - Chair. I would just say that, you know, one of our obligations is to present information that is useful for the public that they can read and understand. This report, and as I've said before, and I know we keep going over it and it's like I'm beating a dead horse. This will be the last time, I promise. But this report, you know, one of the things that as a accountant or a financial person, you're to do, you're supposed to think about it in terms of who you're serving, who's gonna use the report. The public's gonna use the report 'cause we publish it. In that context, is this report useful for the public? That's my context. It's not telling the
030staff to do anything. My question from a governing body is we carry the public interest. Correct? So is this report helpful for the public interest where we would expect them just to pick up the phone and call? Why don't we provide the clarity so that they understand it? So I made those same remarks I think at the last board meeting. So I'll end it at that. - [Scott] Okay. Thank you. - I have a comment. - Yes, Ms- - I appreciate the detail. - Daniels. - And I think it's easy to read and I think that if we had less detail, we might be accused of being less transparent. So I think that the example in the word packet every month speaks for itself. - Thank you. - [Scott] Thank you. - [Daniel] I would
031just say that, you know, I disagree. - Okay. Thank you. - Thank you. - All right. We have before us the recommendation to accept the new payment invoice report. We have it motioned and seconded. If there's no further discussion. This will be a voice vote. All in favor say aye. - [All] Aye. - Opposed, same sign. (gavel thudding) Motions carries. We have in front of us now operational item E2: action on the 2026 medical and dental insurance rates. - All right. - Welcome. - Thank you. I am here to request approval on behalf of the district's Insurance Committee for our updated rates for both our medical and dental plans. One note that I'd like to make is we're looking this year at a 4% increase on our health insurance, which puts us in as enviable
032a position, as I'm aware of, around the metro. Most districts are currently dealing with rates that are averaging over double digit increases between 10 to 20%. And so we feel extremely fortunate. And one reason that we're able to be in that position, not that we're always able to control our rate increases to that extent is because of the hard work of the Insurance Committee that I'm here on behalf of tonight. We've made numerous changes over the past couple of years including a significant change last year in our deductible structure and I really appreciate the hard work attention and care that our Insurance Committee puts into this. The last note that I'll make is by accepting these rates, we're able to continue to hold and build on our reserve balance, which is right at the goal
033that we have, that we have established as a committee. - [Scott] Okay. Any questions? Yes. Streiff Oji. - So I have a question. We're hearing a lot about increases in health insurance rates, premiums as we look at the government shutdown and if we go back, how will that impact what's being approved here? - That will not have a significant impact on what's being approved here. We do have a number of employees that may experience a significant impact, but in terms of our self-insured plans, those changes in legislation will not necessarily have a significant impact on us as an individual school district. - [Christina] Thank you. - [Scott] Board member Ellison. - Just a a point of clarity for when we make the motion, there's three separate recommended actions here. Do we need to handle, one
034is for health, one's for dental and one's for eye. Do we need to handle all of those individually or can we approve them all in one motion? - [Matt] Because it's all listed there, it can be approved all in one motion. - Okay, thank you. - [Daniel] Yes, Mr. Skaar. - Having just received my insurance rate increase, this is really good. - Yes. Absolutely. - It really is. So thank you. - For sure. Yep, we were excited about it. - All right, so the motion in front of, the action in front of us is to accept the insurance increases and the rates. Can I get a motion to approve? - [Deb] So moved. - Who was, okay, by Deb. Ms. Beloyed. And a second? - Second. - Second by Ms. Thompson. Any further discussion? Okay,
035this will be a roll call vote. I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Ellison. - Aye. - Daniels. Aye. Skaar. - Aye. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. - Okay. (gavel thudding) Motion carried. Thank you. - Thank you. - All right, we're gonna go on to agenda item E3: action on the bid for the Birch Lake boiler replacement project. Mr. Wald. - Thank you, Chair Arcand, members of the board. We're bringing forward tonight the proposal for the replacement of the boiler at Birch Lake Elementary School. This project was included in the long-term facilities maintenance plan. The boiler is original to the building going back to 1966. So when we replace it next summer, it will have served the district for 60 years.
036Good time to replace it. This project was designed by Hallberg Engineering, and they facilitated the bid opening last Thursday, October 9th. Five companies submitted bids. The lowest qualifying bid was by CM Construction for $2,615,800. Beating out the next lowest bid by $21,200, less than 1%. Our recommendation is for the board to accept the overall bid for the Birch Lake Elementary boiler replacement project as presented to CM Construction in the amount of $2,615,800. - All right, you've heard the recommendation. Can I get a motion to approve the bid for the Birch Lake Elementary boiler replacement project for 2,615,800? - [Kathleen] So moved. - So moved by Daniels. A second? - [Daniel] I'll second. - Second by Mr. Skaar. Any further discussion? - Chair? - Yes, Mr. Skaar. - I was at Birch Lake Elementary, I think,
037three or four weeks ago, and met, I don't know if Julian's here or not, but the principal there. And then I met with the custodian because in the old days I was a custodian here and so I'm biased on this. I just wanna tell you. After meeting with the custodian, I'm glad that you're replacing it. It needs to be replaced. So thank you. - [Scott] All right, is there any other discussion? This will also be a roll call vote. If here's no further discussion, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. - Arcand. - Aye. - Beloyed. - Aye. - Daniels. Aye. Ellison. - Aye. - Skaar. - Aye. - Streiff Oji. - Aye. - Thompson. - Aye. (gavel thudding) - [Scott] Okay, that carries. new boiler's coming. Did you wanna go visit the old
038one before they replace it? - [Daniel] Yes. (board members laughing) As long as is the same custodian guy. I can't remember his name, but he is a good guy. - All right. It's now time for board forum. Board forum is an opportunity for board members to update the School Board and the public on the committee work in which they have engaged in the official capacity as board members and create awareness of upcoming district and partnership events. Are there any board members that would like to share? And an example would be, we could talk about the "Cinderella," is it a musical that's coming along where the tickets, so like say, you know, that would be a way of something you could share as a board member. Yes, Ms. Daniels. - I'd like to Happy Indigenous People's
039Day to everyone. And I also wanted to say I attended the Central open house and everything at Central looks fabulous. And so great for the students to have more space and for the staff to have more space. It looks beautiful. The senior center open house was a couple weeks ago. I attended that. That was terrific, right here in this building. Lots of exciting things for people to sign up for. Great cookies and coffee. That was fun. And also participated in the Homecoming Parade on a beautiful Friday afternoon in downtown White Bear. And that was so much fun to see students and neighbors and staff and just families having a great time at the parade. So thanks for that. - [Scott] Okay, thank you. Anybody else? Ms. Ellison? - I just wanna echo Ms. Daniels gratitude
040for homecoming. That's a lot of work to put all of that together. So staff, students, everybody. It was so much fun. It was beautiful weather. The stadium was packed. It was just a really wonderful sense of community. Couple things that are coming up. On Saturday of this weekend, there's the annual Mile Under the Lights race at the stadium for middle school and high school runners. It's exactly what it sounds like. They run a mile under the lights. And it's really fun to go to. So anybody is welcome. And then also it's concert season, so there's a band concert coming up, I know for sure on the 23rd at the beautiful new performing arts center. Please go hear our music students do their thing, 'cause it's really wonderful to hear our students and how well they
041do. So, that's what I got. - Anybody else? Yes, Ms. Streiff Oji. - I had brought up about the Penguin project taking place here in White Bear Lake. It was held at the Center for Performing Arts at the high school and it is a performance where all of the students are special needs, and then all of the students have mentors that are with them, typical students that work alongside them and form very beautiful friendships. It was a beautiful, it was "Annie" for anyone that got to go see it. I know a lot of people in the community, I went to three, I think out of the four performances and it was just beautiful and lovely. And I know they will be coming up back again next year. It's a partnership between the White Bear Lake
042Center for the Arts, the school district providing the space and all of the volunteers that came from within and around the community. So I wanna thank White Bear for hosting that performance. - [Scott] Thank you, Mr. Skaar. - One thing that I had to, I mentioned Birch like, and I went there after the last meeting to see their special education. And what they do there, the people there are just, you know, absolutely stellar. And what we've done in that facility is just, it's really nice. I mean, you can actually see how much they care. The other thing that I wanted to address, and I'll give the Chair there deference on this, is to address the tension, and I think constructive tension that I may have created. - [Scott] Is this something in your duties about
043a meeting? I'm wondering if we're wandering out of the forum. - We may be. And that's why I'm deferring to you. If you want me to address that. - [Scott] Yeah, it's not something that coming up, I ask that we don't address that. - Okay. - Is fine. But I will say, adding up what you said, I love the playground at Birch Lake. - Yes. - Very good playground. So, and the kids were so excited when I was there, so yeah, that's great also. And the one at Otter too is awesome and so I look forward to more. Now, Ms. Thompson, - Just a reminder for, I mean, I guess I'm not sure on the elementary level and I probably should know, but I have a high schooler, and conferences are tomorrow. So if you
044have a child that is needing to, you know, go and find out how they're doing in their classroom, you know, make sure you set up time to talk to their teachers. And I know that if they're not available tomorrow, you can always find another day and another time to connect with your child's educators and see how your students are doing so that we can all work together to educate our students the best of our ability. - Thank you. Ms. Beloyed. - So I just wanted to point out and congratulate Andy and everybody else in the finance who touches all of these things every single day and goes nuts with them. We were awarded the Quarter-Century Finance Awards in White Bear Lake Area schools. These awards are the highest form of recognition a governmental agency can
045receive in the area of accounting and financial reporting, representing a significant accomplishment for the district's finance department and staff. So I just wanted to say congratulations. - Thank you. All right, we're wrapping up, but before we do, I just wanted to the audience say, I wanna thank you for coming. You are always welcome, and we'd love to see you here. This is our community. I grew up here, so I like to see people here. You're always welcome. Thank you for coming and participating in this business meeting. And with that, can I get a motion to adjourn? - [Jessica] Mr. Chair, I move to adjourn. - Ellison. Can I get a second? - [Kathleen] Second. - All in favor say aye. - [All] Aye. - All opposed, same sign. (gavel thudding) We adjourn.