001You're really think it's a missed opportunity, but I'm not going to tell him that. differently. This regular meeting of the Independent School District 535 School Board is called to order at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 in room 137 of the Edison building. Present at this meeting are school board members, Superintendent Kent Fquel, a non- voting exeicio member, and assistant school board clerk, Miss Anne Kramer. Miss Kramer, will you please call the role? Director >> here >> the board acknowledges this site and all RPS sites are situated on the ancestral land of the Dakota people and we honor the Dakota nations and the sacred land of all indigenous peoples. At this time we offer the opportunity to say the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the
002stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Our next agenda item are our mission, vision, and values. During this agenda item, at every regular meeting, a board member will read our mission. our vision or one of our six values to emphasize their importance in our work as a district and our decisions as a board. Director McLaclin. Tonight we focus on our fourth value, supporting the whole student through nurturing social skills and emotional well-being. We meet each students needs to help them flourish on their unique path. >> Thank you. Our next item is approval of the agenda. Are there any changes to the agenda? >> Move approval. >> Second. It has been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. All those in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? The agenda
003has been approved. The agenda and documents for this meeting are available online at rochesterchools.org/simly. Our next item are comments to the board. It is important for the school board to hear from our stakeholders regarding issues that impact our students, staff, families, and schools. We welcome communication via email, phone call, and hear during comments to the board. The purpose of comments to the board is to give community members an opportunity to provide input directly to the school board about issues that fall within our authority. The board and superintendent do not respond directly to the speaker's comments during the meeting, but may follow up with the speaker if requested and appropriate. Persons who want to make comments to the board must fill out the online form by 5:00 PM on the Monday before the board meeting to
004sign up for a time slot. The form is available on the RPS website and the assembly main page. By participating in the public comment period, each speaker agrees to abide by this public comment policy 206 and procedure 206A. Speakers, when your name is called, please come to this table. If you have written materials for the board, please provide provide them to the assistant school board clerk prior to your remarks and she will distribute them to board members. Choose a microphone to speak into. And I don't see any microphones. Um uh I believe microphones are coming. [laughter] Thank you. So you'll choose a microphone and be seated and please direct your remarks to the school board. You'll have three minutes to speak and the timer is displayed right here in front of me. Please begin your
005remarks by st stating your name. Our first speaker tonight is Vince Wagner. >> [applause] >> Oh, Scary. is information and outreach where we're recognizing National School Counseling Week. This week is National School Counseling Week. This year's theme is school counselors amplify student success, which is certainly true in Rochester public schools. Our counselors work with all students to remove barriers to learning by helping students apply academic achievement strategies, manage emotions, build interpersonal skills, and support students mental health needs. RPS counselors have led the way in implementing both the post-secondary pathways and the mental health components of our strategic plan, and they have an important role to play in our multi-tered systems of supports and family engagement work as well. Thank you to our Rochester Public Schools counselors for your commitment to getting all of our students
006what they need to be healthy and successful. Our next item are our board member updates. Does any board member have updates from committees um or any other information to share? >> Director Workman. Um yes, I had the opportunity to go to Kellogg for a a school visit a couple of weeks ago, last week, whenever. And I was really impressed with um the cohesiveness of the school. I didn't see any children roaming the halls. I saw lots of intensive directed learning going on. Um the principal is amazing. So I appreciate the opportunity to Dr. Marvin, >> two things briefly. Um, a few [clears throat] of us were able to attend a reception in this room for students from Century High School who'd had the opportunity to intern with businesses in Rochester. There were, I think, five
007or six students and their internships were were very diverse. Fish uh fish hatchery, um, prosthetics limb and a number of other things. the businesses or representatives of the businesses that they had interned with were also here and both the students and the business owners and workers talked about uh how great an experience it was. The kids were um a real asset to the adults working there and our students got firsthand experience in the world of work. Um it I think it's just one example of how this community can be so impactful when it gets involved with uh with our students. Um the other thing and this is from more personal I've been able to visit with uh students in all of our middle schools in the last few weeks. Denise Moody and Sarah Luis Henry
008and I are working on a project um cooperating with superintendent and strategic plan to listen to eighth graders about uh what their concerns are as they move into nth grade, what their expectations are, what their questions are. And we're also listening to uh ninth graders and high school students u to find out what are these eighth graders really need to know and might they differently when it's coming from high school students. So, we have a group of high school kids that are getting ready in March and April to go into our middle schools and visit with the eighth graders. We want to make sure that when they get to high school, they have heard what the expectations are, what the possibilities are, how they can be successful, not only from old people. And when I
009mentioned that to our eighth graders, they all stared deeply into my eyes, but also from kids who are here there now. So, I'm excited about this. [clears throat] And our goal is to make sure that every single one of our kids hits ninth grade ready to go both academically, emotionally, realistically. A lot of the eighth graders are expected um are excited about going to high school because then they can drive. And um I had to tell one group uh yesterday that it was or last week that if they were still 14, even though they were in high school, they couldn't drive. And I think they were a little deflated, but you know, that's the reality. Thank you. Any other updates, board members? Then we'll move on to our consent agenda, items 5.1 through 5.4. Would
010any me would any board member like any item removed to the consent agenda for separate consideration? Move approval. >> Second. >> It has been moved and seconded. All those in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? The consent agenda has been approved. >> Our next agenda item is a monitoring item. The superintendent goals for 2025 2026. Our midyear progress check. Superintendent Pel. >> Thank you. I wonder if I can get the clicker. So, as board members are aware, in the um guidance that the Minnesota School Boards Association and the Minnesota Association of School Administrators give us, um we are supposed to take a pause at the middle of the year or thereabouts for an informal uh check on the goals that you have approved for me for the current school year. And so, um I'm
011going to do this in fairly conversational uh uh I hope uh fairly succinctly to save any time that you might have for um thoughts or suggestions. There are a series of goals that you approved that I'm pleased to say are all on track, but as board members know um there have been a number of curve balls that have hit in recent months that have made that challenging. Um, of course we had a important uh leader in our uh chief administrative officer for family reasons decide to pursue some different uh employment and so I am providing leadership for all of the operations departments right now. Uh we're we're working to move forward with that and then more recently and much more significantly we have had the actions uh involving immigration customs enforcement which have been a
012huge focus for our our teachers, our counselors, social workers, principles and all of us here. Um, but I think we've managed not to let the urgent drive out the important. And so these six goals we're still making progress on and I'm pretty optimistic that we will be able to achieve them or I will be able to achieve them with a lot of help and support by the end of this school year. So goal number one was to develop a strategic plan and that you all can approve to guide the work of the school district for the next four years. As you will recall, last spring you uh set the measurable outcomes that are going to be the focus of that plan. Um we have dug deep into our data to look at um strengths and
013weaknesses. We also looked back at the successes and some of the challenges of the strategic plan that is ending in 2025. Um we solicited very broad feedback through interviews, focus groups, uh feedback forms uh which we had summarized uh at a recent board meeting. Um and we looked backward at uh what we saw from research on school districts and improving. We've had three working groups that have been facilitated by national consultants through a grant from Mayo Clinic, a group focused on elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Uh those groups had their last meetings last week and you will be receiving from each group an overview of their high level recommendations at upcoming board meetings. I will be receiving those recommendations along with you and then I will take into account those recommendations and your
014uh thoughts and suggestions as we begin working toward preparing a draft of the strategic plan that you will get um by the spring. Um we are also in your next board meeting going to begin taking up what are our improvement expectations? How much do we expect graduation rates to improve or suspensions to decrease or attendance to improve? So you'll be setting uh some of those targets which will then be really important for us at the school um level. The plan is to have a strategic plan done by um May 19th. I think as I've been getting more and more feedback from stakeholders across the district and from the consultants we've been working with, we may in the end want to approve the high level priorities by the end of the current school year and then
015take the summer to do the kind of financial and implementation planning that I think summer lends itself to and that would allow us to present you with a fully fleshed out plan uh early in the fall of 2026 for approval. So, it's something that I'm taking a look at. I am confident that we can get the high level priorities in place by the end of this school year, but we all know the devil is in the details and we've agreed we want a strategic plan that has more implementation priorities in it than uh our current strategic plan has had. So that's number one. Number two is our school improvement process 2.0. Um once again, last year you approved that process in concept and uh the team in our office of school of leadership and school
016improvement has been working incredibly hard to build out that new process. Um we've created a new reorganization of our central office to focus on supporting sites in the measures that are the focus of our school improvement process. So, keeping ninth graders and high school students on track, attendance, suspensions, uh the elements of effective schools as measured by the 5e survey. Um, our schools are now in the midst of conducting a needs assessment in every one of those areas of the new school improvement process. Um I was at Willow Creek today and met with the um the school improvement team there and they were deep into discussions of uh math, reading, lit uh literacy, math and attendance were the big three that they've looked deeply at and beginning to develop some pretty clear goals um in
017those areas. Um the task ahead, we have got the need to make sure our skip teams, the the crosscutting teams of staff and our principles um have an opportunity to view their school budgets and staffing plans. We know those based on the system you approved are the principal's decision, but uh the school improvement team needs to have meaningful input uh on those. We also will be looking to work with our schools to get parent and caregiver input on their school improvement plans. And then ultimately, we face the task of helping our schools prioritize what they're going to work on because if everything's important, nothing's important. And so they will essentially be looking at all of these measures that uh measure outcomes of our students performance and well-being. And they'll put each measure into one of
018three categories. The action category, which means it's going to be a major focus of their work for the next three years. The watch category, which means it's not going to be a major focus, but they want to be very attentive because they see in the data or in their feedback some issues of concern. or in the monitoring category in which they're saying, "Yep, we've got this, but we don't want to slide backward." Um, and so we always want to be monitoring. So, uh, I think we're on track to have you get a set of school improvement plans. We won't ask the board to approve them in detail, but we'll summarize them in the aggregate and, um, uh, make sure that they're aligned with the strategic direction in the new strategic plan. The third subject was
019a set of facilities issues that we have been uh looking at and that remain absolutely uh currently very much under analysis and consideration. As you know, the the reason for this initiative is that we face an $ 8.3 million deficit for next year. That's improved thanks to our increased enrollment from where it was, but it remains significant and we project deficits in every year going forward. And so we need to make sure that we are using our uh physical human resources as efficiently as possible. And so that led uh to needing to look at a series of different changes. The Fidel building, which everybody still calls it, which hosts our rail and middle school ALC buildings, uh would be upwards of $15 million just to upgrade the indoor air quality. And there are many other
020deficiencies in the building. And so we recommended, and you approved putting that on the market. We have had five or six uh uh potential buyers come in to look at it. Uh it seems that that the particularities of that site mean it's going to be a while before there is an offer there, but um that is out there. And in the meantime, we've started looking at uh locations for those two really valuable programs. Uh Rochester Academy for Independent Living and our middle school alternative learning center. One option which uh I know folks uh here have been uh focused on is uh the Sunset Terrace building which architecturally would serve those two programs well. There are obviously very important issues that would have to be addressed about Sunset Terrace. No decision has been made in any
021respect. We have been meeting uh with parents, staff and students uh where the students are old enough. Um in all of these we had to cancel, we got advice to cancel two meetings at Sunset Terrace and Gage due to the ICE um actions. We've been monitoring that situation um because we were told and I think it made sense we wouldn't have representative samples of parents but we did have very good meetings at both gauge and sensitive terrace with staff. We got some very specific alternative ideas that we are investigating and uh pursuing and we are absolutely authentic that no decision has been made and that there will be a very clear uh transparent process for soliciting additional feedback if the team and I conclude that those initiatives should go forward beyond this initial investigation. But
022it is true that we raised the possibility so we could have the discussion. Um the earliest any of these changes would be uh putting into place would not be next year which is the 2627 school year but rather the 2728 school year and and even then some of them may be longer term. Um uh and we are absolutely uh aware of the um the the proud uh programming and communities that exist at both Gage and Sunset Terrace and we're going to continue the conversation about that and no decisions have been made in any respect. Um, we're also looking at the location of our PC and CEK buildings which are on the RCT camp RCTC campus. Uh, which requires us to lease space and that lease is up this year. Um, and it's more than half
023a million dollars a year to rent the space and bus students over. I've also met with staff, parents, and students at both PEK and CEK and they talked passionately about some of the benefits and their perspectives and we heard those um, and we'll be taking that into consideration as I bring some recommendations to you as well. Um the Mighty Oaks building is on the market and uh we have had uh a solid number of visitors. Anticipate maybe getting one offer in the near future for that. The Skyline Building has sold though. I wish Director Whitehorn was here because she actually helped us solve a pretty important I don't know mystery in so far as ISD 535 when we purchased Skyline was apparently ISD 67. And our uh closing agent would not literally close on the
024sale of the school building if we couldn't prove that ISD 535 was ISD 67 at one point. And for some reason, Director Whitehorn was in a discussion where we heard about this and she got the certification from the Minnesota Department of Education. So, um yeah, thanks to Director Whitehorn, we are going to >> realize about $275,000 to advance our uh educational mission. Um the Phoenix, the final one that's listed there, um well, Edison, we are not pursuing any additional investments or change at this time. We are looking for a location for the office component of our Minsk online elementary school. Um the P and CEK options. I have mentioned the education service center is where our Phoenix Academy is located. It's our setting for program for students with disabilities. I personally believe there's an urgent
025need to upgrade that. There's no commercial kitchen. There's no gym space for those students. Unfortunately, the work we've done with architects has concluded that the cost and timeline for upgrading that facility would be very prohibitive. And so, we're going to have to keep looking for some different options for um Phoenix Academy. So again, none of the facilities uh decisions uh uh have been made and we will articulate next steps in a process we anticipate by the middle of February and lots more time for dialogue and analysis of those things. The next was a long range technology plan that is very much underway. I got to thank Mike Johnson um who's one of those directors I'm getting to know really well um uh at this time if we don't have one of our cabinet positions filled.
026Um the tech team is literally along with the finance team and others in the middle of completely uh upgrading our finance system and as you know you're going to approve a major upgrade of our student information system. Those are necessary but not sufficient. And so we are developing the first longrange technology plan that RPS has had at least in recent um years. We anticipate that the plan will address technology infrastructure, IT service management, how we provide tech support to schools, classroom technology and teaching supports and professional development and will include financial projections and resource allocation. Um, frankly, my biggest concern in the plan is right now we have so little dedicated staff capacity to provide support for the use of technology in teaching and learning. We all know artificial intelligence is reinventing uh work processes
027all around. We don't have anybody here who wakes up every day with technology integration as their job. We have a lot of great people who work on cyber security and infrastructure. So, we're really thin there. Um and it's something that does concern me going forward, but it may be something we address through that plan. Next is the balanced budget model, which as you know you uh approved uh last year and we had our first year of implementation. Um we are sticking with the model that uh is uh putting somewhat more flexible funding at the site level while maintaining the core educational program across the district. Unfortunately, we have to make those $8.3 million in cuts. Uh we've determined 60% of them will be made in central budgets and 40% in the site budgets. School principles
028have been given their budgets that include those reductions. uh central office department leaders are going to be getting their budgets starting this week which include their reductions and of course um we will need to make those difficult decisions to present you with the budget to approve by the end of the calendar year. Um the model itself also remains under development. we had a a robust discussion about the place of school counselors as a learning supports uh position or is it an academic position um and uh ultimately I didn't make a recommendation in that space but I got a lot of letters from social workers and others who had thoughts about this and so I want people to know that we understand that what is flexible and what is fixed is a subject of understandable discussion
029and that um I don't plan recommending further changes in the model this year but I do think there will for in subsequent um years. And I uh want to note that we've continued to really benefit um and director Mclofflin and Director Cook have been there from the community budget advisory committee. Um uh we recently met with the new uh but now pretty seasoned advisory committee and one thing that they concluded was to strongly urge us to stay the course with the basic idea of the balanced budget model. And just because things are getting tough when you have to make cuts, it's not the time to say, "Well, let's just forget that." because I think it is beginning to take us to a place where we are using our scarce dollars uh more efficiently. Uh but
030we know there's some big issues to address. And then the final goal for this year was the district's new mission, vision, values, and brand identity. You can see all around us that Mamsu Kudson and her team have done a great job of beginning to build out the visuals. Because we are doing this on a budget, uh more expensive things like signs will be changed as we do facilities work in various places and So, it'll be kind of a a slower roll out, but we're getting there. And I want to thank Momsu and the team for that. Um, of course, we know that the real point of mission, vision, values is not what's in a slogan or a logo, but it is how we live it and breathe it every day. I think we're just beginning
031uh to do that work. I will just tell you one sign for me of some progress is when I've gotten some uh pointed letters recently from uh a couple staff people on separate issues. um they have referenced uh our new mission of knowledge, independence and resilience to pursue a fulfilling path and said you can't do that thing and achieve that goal. And so people are sort of beginning to uh use that including to tell me I'm uh at risk of making a bad decision. Um and then finally many of the uh messages that I received um about the immigration and customs enforcement actions in our community referenced our values. Um so I take those as kind of early signs of people are are [clears throat] starting to pay attention to those but um the real
032work of course of integrating them and living by them really lies ahead. So madam chair that is a walk through the goals that you all approved for me for the year and glad to take any comments or observations. And obviously when we get to my evaluation in the summer, we'll have very quantifiable ways to measure the degree to which those goals. >> Board members, any comments or questions? Well, I think um for the viewing public um one of the ways that we track these and the superintendent tracks these is how we schedule um upcoming agenda items or how we schedule our agenda items through the year on our ABCD. So, if you're wondering when the next time is, we may be talking about any of these subjects. Um, many of them are already scheduled through
033the end of this school year on our ABCD calendar, such as the the budget approval and all of the strategic plan um information, presentations, and then the dates that we're currently scheduled to approve um the strategic plan recommendations. So, um, that's that's how we stay on track and how the superintendent stays on stays on a timeline. So, if you're interested in sort of following this as it goes forward, that would be a good roadmap for for the community to use else board members. Thank you, superintendent. Our next agenda item is a prep for action. the 2026 primary election. Um, should the board choose to take action um on this item, we would have to do it no later than the April 7th regular meeting because the deadline is April 15th. So, the purpose of this
034agenda item is for the school board to discuss whether to hold a primary election for schoolboard seats 2, four, five, and six in 2026. So, some background. Minnesota State Statute Chapter 205A establishes the requirements for school district elections and section 205A3 authorizes the option for school districts to hold primary elections and describes the process to be used. At the February 16th, 2010 meeting, the board passed a resolution to choose nominees for schoolboard office by primary election. According to that resolution, if there are more than two candidates for a specified schoolboard position, the school district must hold a primary. The resolution is effective for all ensuing elections of the school board unless it is revoked. If the board would take action to revoke that resolution, it would have to be done before April 15th. If the
035board were to revoke the resolution, then candidates who submit an affidavit of candidacy for the office of school board director would proceed directly to the regularly scheduled general election on November 3rd, 2026. So, the agenda item has a lot of additional background and data related to the Rochester schoolboard primaries and other pime use of primaries in the state, but there were five items included for board members to consider. Having a general election without without a primary would bring consistency to schoolboard elections. The message to voters would be clear. Schoolboard elections take place during the November general election and all seats and all candidates for school board would be on the ballot at the same time. Schoolboard candidates have been winning primary elections with more than two candidates in the race by a majority vote and
036the general election has reflected a reinforcement of the primary election results. Rochester would be following the practice of the majority of school districts in Minnesota if it did not hold a primary. Only seven other Minnesota school districts have passed a resolution to hold primary elections out of 331. The district could save some money by not holding a primary. Also, staff would not have to devote time involved with processing, posting, and answering questions related to campaign finance reports in a primary. And finally, holding only one election might increase the number of candidates for each office. Candidate campaign costs could be reduced if materials and literature only had to be printed and distributed for one election. Lower campaign costs could remove a barrier for candidates considering running for a schoolboard seat. And more candidates might be interested
037if the time commitment for campaigning was reduced to one election cycle instead of two. Board members, any questions or comments or discussion on the resolution? Director Marvin, >> um, two things. I I've thought about this a lot. We've been talking about this a lot for years about, uh, why we have primaries. Um, and I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about that. But I would be really interested between now and our next meeting for members of the community to email board members if they can think of good reasons or bad reasons for doing away with the uh with the primary. My my question is the resolution says that uh we would not have a primary for seats 2, four, five, and six. Would we need to do this again then when we
038have an election for the other seats? Can we have a resolution that just says we won't have primaries? >> So, if we were to revoke the uh resolution that we passed in 2010 by passing this new, it would stay in place for every subsequent election. We do have the option every year to decide whether or not we want a primary election. So this would stay in place for the election of 2026 but remain in place for any subsequent election unless we were to pass a new resolution. >> Okay. Including elections that weren't for seats 2, four, five, and six >> in including any subsequent elections. I >> I think the question is those other seats aren't mentioned in this resolution. So are those other seats going to have a primary? >> I'm sorry. Right. So
039yes, thank you. So the resolution um the recommendation is to pass the resolution revoking the uh the primary. That's the be it resolved. The second um the the second recommendation in the resolution is for us to pass a resolution specifically regarding this election in 2026, which we do anyway. We have to pass a separate resolution that lays out the the I'm sorry I didn't understand that lays out the specifics for this 2026 election and we have to do that before August 21st. >> Okay. Thank you. Recl >> Yes, director. Um I agree with um director Marvin that we have addressed this before and my reason for raising my hand is I think that this um background is a lot more clear and a lot more related and supported by data than our kind of um
040previous um resol previous discussion that wasn't as uh specific about the pros and the cons and the things to consider. Um, so I do think it's time has come to address this. And I think the biggest thing that I focused on is that I didn't realize so few districts in the state hold primaries. And I think that that's really influential as to how we should consider what we're looking at here. >> Director Barlo, >> uh, thank you. [clears throat] First of all, thank you for the, um, extensive research, background research you have provided. Um secondly, I think it's important to communicate what this isn't. Um we're not trying to discourage anyone from seeking election to any of the aforementioned seven seats. Uh this is really designed to in my estimation make it easier uh less
041cumbersome uh for potential um citizens to running, not having to have to contend with a primary. So, um, thank you again for the effort. Um, I believe our our community, uh, will benefit and potential candidates will have a clearer pathway and I think additional time to actually consider whether or not they will seek election or not. Uh, so thanks for the opportunity to consider this. I look forward to our next meeting of potentially voting on it. >> Dr. Workman. >> Um, so there remains the always con confusion about seats. This would not change seats. Um, if we wanted to have a an election where everybody was at large in one group, the legislature would have to make that change. we don't have the authority to make that change. So the only difference now is that
042whoever um you know files for seat Q instead of having that primary would go on to the general election but we would still have those distinct seats. So in 2026, every resident legal voting member of the resident of the Rochester School District would have the opportunity to vote for four different people for four different seats. >> Director Cook. Um well, Director Workman's point um precedes the the one I was about to make, which I I I think the the right way for this school, for this school board to uh have elections, is to do away with the ALI system. It's incredibly confusing. It's not intuitive to anyone. Whatever led to its passage by the legislature in 1980, um surely is not relevant anymore because no one understands this system. It's completely arbitrary. It allows for
043gamesmanship. It's not good for democracy. It's not good for candidates selection. Um, and so I think while I don't feel particularly strongly about the uh the primaries, um, I could I I don't have a a real particularly strong view of it. I do think that this board should advocate for repealing that 1980 special law that sets up this bizarre election system specifically for Rochester public schools so that we can have an intuitive system for electing candidates to the school board. And if that was the case, then the primary would be irrelevant. Um, so the legislative session begins February 17th. Um, and I recognize that is not the item that we are discussing right now. Um, but I would be happy to bring a resolution to the board at the next meeting so that we could
044consider adopting that and then advocating for its passage at the legislature. >> So, Director Cook, are you advocating for that change for the 2026 election? >> As soon as possible. Yeah, that would be that would be my recommendation, but I will I will prepare a resolution for the board to consider at the next meeting. rumors. Dr. Murvin, >> absolutely. Um, Mr. Cook, what what you just said makes sense and I don't know if the legislature can or will get to that. So, clearly the issue we're dealing with right now is the primary. Um, but my understanding is that we are the only district in the state that has that alley system. And I was corrected by uh Director Nathan after I emailed her about can we just do both things at once who informed me
045but I was looking at state statute not the specific legislation. So, um, because I don't think it's ever made sense to anyone. But anyway, what you just said, >> members, any other comments? >> Oh, sorry. You didn't see >> Dr. Barlo. >> Not to belabor the point. Um, [clears throat] I also agree with the point Director Cook has raised. Um and as has already been communicated, it is separate from uh the u uh prep for action item under consideration and uh will have no direct uh effect or impact. Um as we all know, it would be nice if our state legislature did and was uh equipped to respond uh quickly to matters that are raised by local school boards. I think whether it is a resolution prepared uh by director Cook or uh information provided
046to our legislative uh committee, schoolboard committee, they can certainly frame uh that resolution and and uh pursue that. Um but um I appreciate the conversation >> and I think it's important to point out that the school districts in the state that don't have primaries also don't have our alley system and uh the form of the election is vote for three or vote for four um in the general election and then everybody is on the ballot and the highest vote uh totals uh get So, it's not an uh an unfamiliar structure for schoolboard elections. >> Um the one thing I did want to point out is I think the one difference would be for either um for really any candidates is that the filing period would be different that it shifts from May to July. And
047that's just something to consider. Any other comments for this discussion today? We will plan to put it on the agenda as an action item at the February 20th meeting. Hearing no objections. Thank you, board members. Our next agenda item is an action item, the student information system adoption. Uh the board discussed this item as prep for action on January 20th, and I'll read the resolution. Be it resolved that the school board of independent school district 535 [clears throat] does hereby approve the purchase of the student information system modernization committee's recommendation of edupoint synergy as the replacement of the current Skyward SIS for the 2027 2028 school year >> approval >> second. It has been moved and seconded. Any discussion or comments, questions? We had a good robust discussion last week >> hearing. No further discussion.
048All in favor of the resolution say I. >> I. Opposed. The resolution has been approved. [clears throat] Our next agenda item is also an action item. Resolution affirming district actions related to student safety. Superintendent Pel has issued a number of messages to the Rochester Public Schools community and guidance to Rochester public schools administration and staff related to recent immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota and Rochester. The purpose of this action item is to provide the school board with an opportunity to ratify and support the information provided in those communications and to reiterate the school board's commitment to providing a safe, welcoming, and legally compliant learning environment for all students fully aligned with the mission and value mission and vision of Rochester Public Schools. Board members, the agenda item provides a good amount of information regarding the
049background related to this resolution and the resolution language itself. Are there any questions or discussion regarding the resolution language before I read the resolution? Hearing none, I'll read the resolution. Be it resolved by the school board of independent school district 535 that the district shall continue to provide equal access to its educational programs and services in accordance with state and federal law without regard to a students or family's immigration status. No district action, policy, or practice shall impede or discourage enrollment, attendance, or participation based on immigration concerns. And be it further resolved that the district shall continue to comply with all applicable federal and state laws. The district shall not participate in, assist with, or facilitate civil immigration enforcement activities except where expressly required by law. District employees shall continue not to inquire into collect
050or share information for the purpose of immigration enforcement. And be it further resolved that consistent with current practice, civil immigration enforcement officials shall not be granted access to non-public areas of district buildings, school grounds, or school transportation unless presented with a valid judicial warrant or court order, which shall be reviewed and handled by the district legal council. And be it further resolved that the district shall continue to protect student education records in accordance with federal and state laws and does not disclose a students or family's in information unless required by law. Any request will be reviewed and handled by the district legal council. And be it further resolved that any request from immigration enforcement agencies involving student staff, facilities, or records shall be immediately referred to the district legal council. And be it further resolved
051that the superintendent or design's communications of administrative procedures and staff guidance which are rooted in district policy shall continue as reflected in this resolution. This [clears throat] shall include updated protocols, staff training, and clear procedures for responding to immigration related inquiries or presence on school property. And be it further resolved that the district shall continue to support students and families affected by immigration related events, including access to mental health resources and community partnerships. And be it further resolved that the superintendent or designate is directed to communicate this resolution to district staff and as appropriate and to the student to the school community reinforcing the district's commitment to providing a safe, welcoming, and legally compliant learning environment for all students fully aligned with the mission and vision of Rochester Public Schools. Move >> approval. Second. >>
052It has been moved and seconded. Board members, any questions, comments, or discussion? Director Murph, >> this isn't about the resolution, but just to clarify, this is so important. Um and it it deals with the kind of training that staff will get. But if and when a staff member is approached by an agent who has a um administrative warrant rather than a judicial one. Do we know that we have a significant number of staff who are trained not only to ask for that but also how to say no? I mean if if agents are trying to get into a building or uh talk with someone and don't have the appropriate uh legal appropriate justification. Do bus drivers for instance do they know to say no? >> Superintendent pickup. Thank you, Chan. Dr. Marvin, we have provided
053uh very clear guidance. In fact, I think we were one of the first districts in the state to do that a year ago with created with our legal counsel. Uh we've disseminated that principles, office managers. We've, as you know, we mostly don't employ our bus drivers, but our private contractors do, and they have disseminated those efforts. Um the basic point is that we have a process and we have we've practiced um to quickly have that paperwork reviewed by legal counsel and the direction is that the administrator would ask the agents to wait in what we call the public area of our school. Um, and certainly drivers have the authority if a student is not comfortable getting off somewhere, they have the authority to keep that. I think it's important to note that um that has
054not happened yet. And so I get a lot of messages about fear and concern. Um and actually I think it's a credit to the amazing students and families that we have and also to our staff that um as board members will remember uh when this crisis started we had about 530 kids more than would usually be absent when compared to the month of December the first week of January. Uh I'm I'm pleased to share that at at the end of last week we really saw kids coming back to school. So we actually are at normal levels of absent considering that it's flu season and things like that. We're not into absenteeism. Um that said, I think we all have seen with how quickly those absentee rates went up. Um that this is a volatile situation.
055Families are making decisions for what they believe is right for their students. Students are making their own decisions. Um but I think it's encouraging and I think it's encouraging because our parents want their kids in school. Our students want to be in school and our staff have done heroic work to both welcome them to school and frankly um to help them get to school. Um I think part of those that improved attendance is because we have had uh ML teachers, administrators um other staff uh appropriately uh licensed and certified using our bands to help uh get to school. So, I think some of those parents and families may still be quite concerned about the issues that are outlined in this reservation, but they're trusting our processes and systems enough to be back fairly quickly to
056where we were before the crisis started in in terms of absenteeism. >> Dr. Barlo, >> I appreciate the fact that we're simply reaffirming uh values and uh culture uh that uh the district has um actively played out on a daily basis. Uh I think however it is important for um the community uh our students to uh be reminded uh uh to hear. I think this will be useful. I'm not sure how we can communicate uh uh and perhaps we best communicate through our practice. Um and um uh so I I do have a question regarding that. Not that um the reaffirming of our values uh requires uh staff to engage in any particular u effort, but I think it will serve and I appreciate hearing from the REA president earlier uh suggesting that u uh
057we're in this together and uh um I I just think it sends a strong relevant message uh not a political message. I think sometimes, you know, as members of the board, we're accused of being political and we're being well, we're calling a number of things. political maybe the nice of those things were oftentimes called or referred to as but uh I think it is a nice reminder and a strong uh value that we together can communicate uh to our families, our students and our community that uh we remain uh steadfast in in uh educating our students and ensuring the safety of our staff and students. So I appreciate we're doing this. >> Director Wickman. >> Yeah. I just like to make one observation with the first whereas Rochester public schools is committed to providing safe
058and welcoming learning environments for all students. And with my unfortunately many decades in this district both as a teacher and a parent now as a school board member that has always been the case. So this is really not anything new. Um, it's just being spelled out for these particular circumstances as to how we need to keep our environment safe and welcoming so that students can learn and grow and thrive. >> Director Cook, >> I I just want to take a moment because I I recognize the deeply felt concerns uh regarding the district's role in relation to students and to immigration enforcement. I certainly value and respect the views of my fellow board members regarding their considered judgments of how best to serve all students enrolled in this district and to accord ourselves with our with
059our own values. I don't disagree with any of that, but I do want to explain my rationale for supporting this resolution because support for this resolution is foundational to the rule of law. As both a member of this board and a Minnesota attorney, I am keenly aware that we are serving at a time when the rule of law itself is continuously under attack. Every member of this school board took a solemn oath upon entering office. That oath notably does not charge us simply with doing what we think is best. Our oaths call us to support the Constitution of the United States and of this state. This oath drawn from the Minnesota Constitution is the north star for all of our decisions. To support the Constitution of the United States and of this state means first
060and foremost that we must follow the law. The rule of law does not apply only when it happens to align with the specific judgments of those elected to govern. Our task as a board is therefore singular to serve the best interest of all students but exclusively within the legal framework established by the US constitution, the Minnesota constitution and federal and state laws. So for the specific question that is addressed in these resolution uh of this resolution of educating all students residing within our residing within our boundaries the law is settled by the Supreme Court's ruling in Plyler versus do this decision based on the 14th amendment's equal protection clause establishes a constitutional responsibility for public schools to educate all students regardless of immigration status. Similarly, districts are prohibited from taking actions that discourage undocumented students
061from attending. Therefore, our school district's policies regarding student enrollment, access to services, and the protection of student data are not a matter of local preference. They are a matter of constitutional compliance. The district is not freelancing in this arena. Rather, we are solemnly endeavoring to follow established constitutional law. I remain committed to ensuring that this body will continue to uphold the law. I will continue to adhere to my oath of office to support the constitution and all that implies and to serve the best interests of every student in district 535 within that legal framework. So, for those reasons, I look forward to supporting the resolution. >> Thank you, Dr. Cook. Director McLaclin. Um, in reviewing the language for this resolution, it seems to me that the primary focus is and kind of echoing what Director
062Cook said is that this is about both equal access for our students and student safety. And we can at some point or other um debate the size of our lane in that responsibility, but it is our responsibility and I feel that it's um time that we can no longer remain silent on this topic. And I think it's a good idea for us to support what the superintendent actions have already been and to um further those within the district. I think this is a first step that we can take and also then something we want to continue to monitor closely. But I was thinking also as um I was thinking about what to say here is that um in terms of our public comments today um the instructions for the public comments talk about the issues
063that fall within this board's authority and I do think this resolution absolutely does and it's it's time for us to uh take this action because it is our responsibility to take this action. I also think it's important to memorialize this action in our board action and in our board minutes because we have that responsibility to our community and I support this resolution. >> Well, I would um just like to express my gratitude to the superintendent and my and my colleagues on the board when I um was putting together this resolution and recommending that that it come forward. Um, I know that we're um at a time of uh public opinion um that varies on this topic. I appreciate your direct and um well thought comments, Director Cook, um because it does really sit at the
064root of why I feel this resolution is important. And I I also value the transparency that this district has uh uh worked in in this area. As the superintendent mentioned, we issued the guidance that underpins this resolution a year ago when when the first uh kinds of actions were visible. And um if you haven't seen the website that is currently on our district website that provides not only resources for our families but detailed information about the legal um uh foundation for the district's uh procedures and policies and then how the district would uh react or act related to enforcement actions. um your questions will be answered there because it was really well done uh way to answer anyone's questions whether they concerned about immigration enforcement actions or just curious about how the district would handle
065it. Um, so I think this resolution is important to reaffirm all that work, but also to uh let the community know that we put uh um trust in the superintendent and the administration who has already done such a great job of communicating those pieces and uh has continued to keep us the community informed and I have 100% confidence that uh we'll continue to do so. Any other questions or comments, board members? Hearing none. All in favor of the resolution say I. >> I. Opposed. The resolution has been approved. And in other business, we have our ABCD, which is that calendar I mentioned before that has all of our upcoming agenda items. Um the next two meetings for our February 17th meeting we have our monitoring project momentum update and the APAC vote on concurrence prep
066for action or RPS improvement targets proposal and a action item that we added tonight which is the 2026 primary election for the February for the March 3rd meeting. Uh we have a focus topic the RPS 2030 strategic plan elementary school options. So that'll be our first report from the working group and then the action on the RPS improvement targets proposal. Um any agenda items board members would like to raise for consideration for our future meeting agenda? I know we heard uh the issue of the alley system which I'll work with the um legislative committee to talk about how that might be scheduled. Um, our upcoming board meeting dates, February 17th, March 3rd, March 17th, and April 7th, are all regular meetings that begin at 5:30 p.m. And hearing no other business, this meeting is adjourned
067at 5:13 p.m.