001We will now call the May regular school board meeting to order. Uh 1.1 roll call. Let the record reflect everyone is here tonight. 1.2 recognition of visitors and guests. Thanks for everybody being here that may be watching us. 1.3 pledge of allegiance. 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. Okay, 1.4 correspondence and recognition. Uh 1.4.1 is public participation. We do have one that has requested and I do have a statement here to make before we start. So at the beginning of each board meeting we provide members of the public with the opportunity to address the school board. Community input is encouraged and welcomed. Input must be informal in nature, address the
002entire board rather than one particular member and will be limited to a maximum of 5 minutes in length. The board of education cannot engage in discussion or debate, but will take the information for review and direct it to the appropriate district employee to respond. So, are guests that would like to speak take the podium, please. Good evening. My name is Julieta Olson, and I'm a sophomore at Worthington High School. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here to talk about the impact of a recent counselor transition, not from a policy perspective, but from a student perspective. I also want to acknowledge I'm doing this out of my free will. No one encouraged me to speak tonight besides myself. I understand that decisions like these are made with the entire district in
003mind, and I respect that responsibility. I know there are factors students may not fully see, but tonight I'm asking you also consider what these these decisions feel like from where students are sitting. At the beginning of this school year, I struggled deeply with trusting adults in the counseling setting. When I first met Destiny, I was completely closed off. I barely talked. But she stayed patient. She stayed consistent. She never judged me or made me feel like I was too much. Over time, because of the environment she created, I slowly learned how to speak honestly, ask for help, and accept support. That kind of trust does not happen overnight. It takes time, consistency, patience, and emotional safety. For many students, building trust with the counselor is one of the hardest emotional steps they will ever take.
004And once that trust is finally built, it matters more than people realize. For some students, a counselor is not just someone who changes schedules or talk about classes. A counselor becomes the one adult at school they feel safe talking to when things at home are difficult, when their mental health is declining, or when they're struggling silently. And when students finally find someone they trust enough to open up to, losing that person can feel devastating. I also spoke with around 15 students and several staff members before writing this speech. The responses were very similar. Students described a trusted counselor as someone who listens without judgment, stays patient, and and creates a safe space where students feel emotionally safe. And feeling And that feeling of safety is what makes students willing to ask for help in the
005first place. And we've already seen what happens when a trusted relationship is disrupted. This year, when another counselor left, many students struggled to connect with someone new. Some stopped reaching out entirely. Because the reality is, trust is not automatically transferred. Relationships are not files that can simply be moved from one person to another. When a trusted counselor is moved, the relationship doesn't reset, it disappears. And for some students, especially students already struggling emotionally, that can mean they stop asking for help altogether. I understand the reasoning because Destiny has done such meaningful work at the high school, she could also positively impact students at Prairie. I don't disagree with that. I know she would help students anywhere she goes. But my concern about the students she has already built trust with here, supporting one group of
006students should not have to come to the cost of destabilizing another. The relationships she has already built at the high school are real, and for some students, those relationships are deeply important to their emotional well-being and ability to ask for help. From a student perspective, the current plan is difficult to understand. A high school counselor is being moved to Prairie, a middle school counselor is being moved to the high school, and now a middle school counseling position is being posted. I understand there may be factors I cannot fully see, but I respectfully ask, were student relationships, emotional consistency, and trust fully considered in this process? And were alternatives considered that can meet district needs while still protecting the relationships students have already built? I want to make something very clear. I'm not here to challenge
007authority or create conflict. I'm here because students often do not get the opportunity to explain the emotional side of decisions like this. Because this is not just about staffing. It is whether students feel safe enough to walk into an office and say, "I need help." It is whether students continue reaching out or decide it's easier to stay silent. And when that sense of safety is lost, the consequences go far beyond scheduling. I respectfully respectfully ask that you reconsider not only the decision itself, but also how it is implemented so that students have already built trust are not feeling abandoned in the process because for many students these relationships are not small things. They are lifelines. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, thanks for your time. We don't have anything else, do we? No. Okay,
0081.4.2 recognition of student staff and community. Best communities for music education. We are proud to be named for the third consecutive year one of the country's best communities for music education. This recognition is a direct result of the dedication of our staff, the support of our school board and the encouragement of our community. All State Speech Team. Congratulations to senior Angela Daily for being named to the Minnesota All State Speech Team. Trojan Athletic Cleanup. Thank you to our Trojan athletes for dedicating time to help clean up our community. More than 100 students volunteered during the afternoon to serve and support our appreciative community. BPA. The Minnesota BPA trading pin for the recent National BPA conference was designed by our by our very own Rut Ramos Ramos. Congratulations, Rut. All Conference Golf. Congratulations to Claire Meyer
009Meyer and Greta Malberg for earning Big South All Conference honors in girls golf. Next will be 1.4.3 recognition of continuing contract teachers. I will call the names and the rest of us line up beside the podium. Okay. >> Okay, are you ready? Okay. First off will be Catherine Aguilar, Intermediate School. They didn't know what to do. Oh, sorry. >> Take everyone to hand on the way down. Did you want Did you want a hand up on her, or do you want us to? You go ahead. Okay, Susan Berg Vibe. She is joining us virtually. Is that right, Spencer? >> Yep. Okay. Um Jacob DeVoss, Wilson School. Uh Jessica Dibbern, High School. Andrea Duarte-Alonzo Learning Center. Jasmine Ickenberger, Prairie Elementary. Uh Sonya Gasca, High School. Carissa Harms, Intermediate School. Joshua Hind, Prairie Elementary. Matthias Johnson, Community
010Ed. Tammy Jones, VIBE. Tyler Lender, High School. Anna Meyer, High School. Jacqueline Mills, VIBE, and she is joining us virtually. Laura New, VIBE. She is also joining us virtually. Naomi Page, VIBE, and she is also joining us virtually. Next will be Alyssa Seimerson, VIBE. Teresa Steve, High School. >> [laughter] >> Deborah Sundblad, VIBE. Madeleine Vanderwall, Community Ed. Alyssa Wassman, Middle School. Jake Whitehead, High School. And Avery Wysong, Prairie Elementary. That completes our list. >> [applause] [applause] [cough and clears throat] >> Kind of feel like you're making me earn my pay tonight. Okay, moving on. Approval of agenda. I need a motion to approve what's on the consent agenda and the main agenda. So moved. Motion by Anne and seconded by Lori. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 3.0 approval
011of minutes. Approval of the April school board meeting and the May committee meeting minutes. Do I have a motion? So moved. Motion by Anne. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Erin. All those in favor of the approval of minutes, say aye. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 4.0 consent agenda. I need a motion to approve the items under the consent agenda. So moved. Motion by Lori. Second. Seconded by Matt. All those in favor of the items under the consent agenda, say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion passes. On to the main agenda. 5.1 monthly financial overview, Carmen. You have in front of you the revenue revenues and expenditures for the period ended April 30th of 2026. Um, you can see with our operating funds, we're right on target with our budget and
012expenditure amount. Um, the current year is we're at 84.31% compared to 84.82% last year. So, um, we're right on target with uh revenues and expenditures are very similar to that as well. Um, for our current year it's 72.10% compared to 76.43%. Um, I think our revenues and um expenditures are running as we anticipated with our budgeted amounts. Any questions? Questions for Carmen? Negative, okay. 5.2 superintendent evaluation summary. We were emailed this today, Darla. All right. So, tonight I'm sharing the school board's public summary of the superintendent's final evaluation for the year. This year the board and Mr. High Camp worked together to develop evaluation goals and a clear framework for the superintendent evaluation process using guidance from MSBA. Because this was both a first year for Mr. High Camp and a transition year for the
013district, much of this work was focused on building relationships, reviewing systems, identifying priorities, and laying a stronger foundation for the future. Overall, the board found that Mr. High Camp made a strong start as superintendent and built a solid foundation for his leadership in the district. The board recognized several strengths in this evaluation. One was his visibility and relationship building across the district and community. He maintained a consistent presence in school buildings and at district events. And board members noted improved communication and stronger working relationships throughout the year. The board also recognized progress in district culture, climate, and community engagement. Mr. Hynekamp showed a clear focus on safety, responsiveness, and planning. The board noted improvements in building security and the creation of an emergency regular emergency preparedness advisory process. The board also appreciated his responsiveness to
014student and family concerns and his willingness to review district practices and policies as needs emerged. In addition, the board saw strength in operational leadership and resource management. During his first year, Mr. Hynekamp gave careful attention to staffing, systems, and long-term planning. The board recognized efforts to improve efficiency, review programming and transportation, and manage district resources responsibly. At the same time, the board identified several areas for continued growth. These include broadening community engagement, especially with rural residents and underrepresented stakeholders, expanding opportunities to hear a wider range of student voices, balancing operational demands with academic leadership, and maintaining a strong focus on long-term financial sustainability. The board views these growth areas in context of a transition period. Many of the comments in this evaluation reflect the realities of stepping into a new leadership role while also learning
015the district and putting stronger systems in place. The board believes the progress made this year provides a solid base for continued growth. Overall, the board appreciates Mr. Hynekamp's work, recognizes the complexity of a transition year, and looks forward to continuing to work together in support of the district's students, staff, and community. So, does that mean I don't have to walk him out the door tonight or Not tonight. Making sure. >> [snorts] >> Okay, thank you for doing that, Darla. Very well done. 5.3 graduation ceremony update. Uh this is informational. Tony Hastings and Spencer Winicky or George, as my daughter would call him. >> [laughter] >> We still don't know where that name came from. Uh thanks for letting us join you tonight. Uh the end of the school year is very near and there are
016a ton of fun activities going on in every building. Um all leading up to uh the final events, which are the learning center graduation ceremony, which will take place at the learning center next Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. Followed by the high school. Yeah. I got it. I'm a little older, so I have notes. So, um on Friday the 29th, we'll have we >> [clears throat and snorts] >> we begin the day with our senior breakfast at 6:45 at Centennial Park. I thank Mrs. Sweeney for organizing that every year. It's a great event for our seniors. So, if if board members want to join us, feel free. Um we pray for good weather as well, too. Um after that, um we we do our grad walk through um Prairie and the intermediate. It's a a
017great tradition that Mr. Noble started um uh years ago and we continue that as well. Um we do come back from the grad walk and we continue with graduation practice. And then the big event is obviously graduation. That starts at 6:00. Um we make sure that it's 6:00 sharp. Um the doors open to the school at at 5:00. Um this is a ticketed event. So, um the seniors did receive tickets in their advisory um about a week and a half ago and so, if there's families that need maybe a couple extra, I have only a few left. Um we ask that no balloons or noise makers come in the gym. It just becomes very distracted distracting. Um we have approximately um at the high school 238 graduates that will go through. Um Rickers will be
018taking a photo of all of our graduates with a board member, and the pictures will be mailed home. Uh baccalaureate, which will be on Wednesday of that week, the 27th at 7:30 in the main gym. And of course, the crew will live stream both of those events as well, too. So, that's just an update for the board of about our graduations that are coming up. And for board members attending the learning center graduation, we um obviously hope you can all be there. Uh we would hope that you can be there approximately at 5:30. The learning center is also a ticketed event, which seniors have uh tickets that they receive. Um and the ceremony will start at 6:00, and the doors open at 5:00 for us as well. Thank you. Thanks, guys. So, what time do
019we need to be at the high school? Friday 5:30? How would you like board members at the high school? >> 5:30. 5:30. Okay. >> Yep. And then flowers and and then just getting ourselves ready will be great. Perfect. Okay. 5.4 discussion on new funding source for two roofing projects, Joel. All right, good evening. I will uh kick us off, and I would encourage our members of the operational committee, please jump in, as well as uh Carmen and and Ryan. And Josh, I know you weren't you didn't get to be a part of the conversation, but you're well versed in this, too, so feel free. Um I have a modified version of the presentation that was shared at committee that I'd like to go through just to bring everybody up to speed, but essentially, um what
020we've done is we asked the question to our financial advisor of given the new authority that boards have been given regarding roofs, does it financially make sense for us to continue to use um general fund funding for those projects, or is there a better way to use those funds for other projects when there's a mechanism in place to specifically um uh levy those dollars uh across a greater cross section. And so, uh Baird uh met with us and uh were present at that committee meeting and and shared some pieces. And so, um just to give perspective here, they went through the tax makeup of our school district. Um you can see that breakdown. Uh the greatest percentage of our tax base is agricultural land. Um the next is about a third residential, and the last
021third is a mix of commercial uh and and other pieces. And so, that's a that's a good makeup cuz it'll provide context uh for later on. This is the current debt schedule for the district with the projects that have been out there. Uh you can see, and I know that number's real small at the bottom, but that is 2030 when that debt drops off. Um and Ryan, do you know which one specifically that is that's dropping off in 2030? Uh I believe it's the 20 13 A bond. Okay. So, that that that will obviously drop the the debt by about a million dollars. And so, what we asked Baird to do is if we took the work that we've already you've already authorized us to do this summer in regard of the Prairie roof, sorry
022about that, and then also took into account uh a large cross section of the gym, excuse me, the the high school that needs to be done, um what would that look like? And so, that is that green that's been added. And so, you'll see a a slight uptick for 3 years, and then the as that debt drops off in 2030, um it just doesn't drop off as far and so even if if the debt schedule stayed exactly like this, we'd see a slight uptick for 3 years and then everybody would see their tax impact go down over the next subsequent years. And I've got screenshots to just show what the roof looks like in the specifically at the high school and we can show what what areas we're talking about. Again, I'm sorry this is
023super hard to see and I'll go through it but essentially that top highlighted line is looking at a home valued at at $250,000. If we did a LTFM bond for the cost of all of the roofs that need to be done, it would it would raise taxes $40 a year. So about $11 to $12 a month for 3 years and then they would drop off. The one nice piece about this is if you go to the second section, again if you remember back to this here, agriculture makes up 41% of our tax base. With the ability to bond the the cost of those roofs, it kicks into account the ag to school credit which essentially would give all of our ag agricultural land a tax decrease. That ag to school credit kicks in funding from
024the state level and they pay a good portion of of that debt and so land valued at $10,000 which is what's highlighted there on the bottom would lower the cost at 57 cents per acre for for our farmers. This calls it out just a little bit cleaner. So currently if we just did did our our Prairie Elementary through our LTFM um it would um I'm sorry. Ryan, you know what this one I'm I'm not I'm not well versed on this line. These two are the bonding. You can see if we do Prairie only, uh it drops taxes for ag land about 75% when you kick in the cost of the high school, it again drops it a little less at 57 cents. Cost for a $250,000 home goes from 1430 to $40 or just under
025$40. Again, that's for 3 years until the debt drops off. That's right. Just to show quickly here. Let's see if I can zoom in a little bit for you. Not going in. This shows the ages. I'll just read it for you. All of the sections in blue are essentially the sections that were were highlighting in that in that bonding suggestion that roof is was put on in the year 2000. Um so we are very close to the end of life, 26 years old. Um cost of that roof is approximately 3.6 million to do the whole project at once. There are are obviously benefits and and downsides to to everything. The the downside of doing it all at once is the high cost. The benefit of doing it all at once is that we only pay
026the setup and the teardown one time, and so we we do end up saving in the long run. And I do believe that was also shared when Prairie was discussed prior to my arrival that in breaking it apart, it made it a little more financially viable um and more comfortable to do it, but we did pay that that setup cost twice. So with that, questions, comments from any committee members that want to share more? I think what really stuck out to me is if we choose this finance financing option, essentially 28% of the project would be paid for through the Ag to School tax credit, meaning that there's 28% of the project would not be paid for through our local dollars. And so locally we would be getting that discount since the state at large
027would be chipping in 28% of the total cost of the project. So to me it seems like a smart choice to utilize this this avenue versus paying 100% of it out of the general fund. The other The other part that stuck out for me was if we were to do this, this would free up dollars otherwise assigned to Prairie Prairie's roof and high school roof that would come close to or cover renovations on the north wing. So taking care of the windows, taking care of the interior doors, taking care of all of that. Um so that would free up the funding to do that sooner rather than later. More details will come on that project at the June meeting. So we did talk extensively on on North Wing upgrades for 2027. So was the recommendation
028by operations to approve this? >> [clears throat] >> Yes, sir. Do we have a motion? So move. Motion by Matt. Do we have a second? Second. Seconded by Darla. Is there any further discussion? Mr. Chairman, I I did ask the Site Logic staff, given the advantageousness of this project, should we be aggressive in doing more roofs? And their inspection found that this will get us in a tremendous position of being set up for for many years ahead without having to to more roof projects. So I I went through um site IQ this afternoon and went through every roof and the next oldest roof we have is 2010. So, we've got at least 10 years on the next oldest roof before we'd have to address any of these types of projects again. And where is that
029one at? That is at the middle school. Yeah, that's the middle school. And just to clarify, we're talking the numbers that you gave were to to finish the Prairie roof and to consider the high school, the blue portion of the high school that you >> All of the year 2000 roof at the high school. >> Okay. Yep. Knowing that Prairie would happen now, that's already in the books to to happen this summer. Um high school would be summer of '27. What was the total dollars then? To- total dollars with interest is Uh uh it was 5.5, I believe, for the project plus the interest was 7. 5 for sure. Plus interest. Okay. Over 14 years. Okay. Well, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor of the motion say I. I. >>
030I. All those All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Okay, 5.5 approve the 2026-27 resolution for membership in the Minnesota State High School League. Yeah. >> Yeah, it's that time of year where um we have to renew our again our resolution to continue participation with the Minnesota State High School League. Uh we have that resolution ready to be signed and it's our recommendation uh to the board that we approve the continuation of that partnership. Do we have a motion? So moved. Motion by Eric, seconded by Lori. Is there any further discussion? Roll call vote. Ms. Dudley. I. Ms. Sagard Aye. Ms. Shudy Aye. Ms. Mills Aye. Mr. Bloom Aye. Mr. Parish Aye. Mr. Woodbum Aye. Motion passes. Okay, 5.6 approve resolution establishing dates for filing affidavits of candidacy. Carmen So, we have three board members
031that will be up for election at the November election. So, this resolution is actually um filing affidavits of candidacy for the office and you guys are selecting the dates for that. So, the dates that um we will start receiving um the applications is July 14th, 2026 and it will close at 5:00 p.m. on July 28th, 2026. They're actually set by the state. Yeah, those dates are set by the state, so they're not something that we select. It's It's through the MSBA process and they kind of help us determine what those are. Based on the number of days we have to post before the election. Okay. What is the recommended motion? Is there Huh? The recommended motion is to approve. Yeah. Do we have a motion to approve the dates? So moved. Motion by Anne, do
032we have a second? Second. Seconded by Aaron, is there any further discussion? This is a roll call vote. >> Ms. Dudley Aye. Ms. Sagard Aye. Ms. Shudy Aye. Ms. Mills Aye. Mr. Bloom Aye. Mr. Parish Aye. Mr. Woodbum Aye. Motion passes. 5.7 approve resolution relating to the election of school board members and calling the school district general election. Carmen Um so, this election is necessary for the school district to hold this general election for the purpose of electing three school board members for four-year terms. Um the clerk shall include on the ballot the names of the individuals who file affidavits of candidacy on the said general election during the period for filing such affidavits as though they were had been included by name in the res- this resolution. So, there's a sample ballot on the
033back once we have the candidates um and we shall prepare that. Okay. Do we have a motion for 5.7? So moved. Motion by Lori. Do we have a second? Second. Seconded by Anne. Is there any further discussion? Roll call vote. Ms. Dudley. Aye. Ms. Eagar. Aye. Ms. Shudy. Aye. Ms. Mills. Aye. Mr. Bloom. Aye. Mr. Parish. Aye. Mr. Woodburn. Aye. Motion passes. 5.8, approve to declare surplus property. Joel. Yes, tonight the surplus property we're bringing to you is a another chunk of iPads. We've been bringing those to to board as they've been available. This chunk that we're bringing forward tonight actually haven't even been collected yet. They'll be collected in the next handful of days as students wrap up. But as we've talked about throughout the course of the year, both at committee and board,
034we are refreshing our fleet of iPads. And part of the process is we've identified a vendor that's willing to purchase them for from us. And so our tech team will take them back. They will box them up. That that organization will go through each one of them. Determine how much they're worth based on the condition that they're returned to them in. And we suggest declaring all of them as surplus and and selling them all to one vendor because then they do go through each one of them and wipe them clean of all student work, student data before they resell them to someone else. That's part of the the contract. Amy did share at committee that we get approximately 40 to 50 dollars Um per iPad given their condition. That's kind of on the high side.
035Can be less if they're cracked or dented. But on average, she figured about 40 40 dollars that we can then put toward the purchase of a new set. So, our recommendation is the approval so that our tech team can move forward. And we've already got all almost all of the new iPads here. They're stashed away in the corner of the cafeteria. And so, when all the old ones come back, we're going to have a lot of a lot of real estate taken up. So, we're looking to offload those. I'll motion to declare surplus property. So moved. Motion by Anne. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Aaron. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion, say I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Okay, 5.9, approve the second
036and the final reading of policy 721, procurement policy. Yeah, and I did project just the the piece of the policy that was adjusted based on some conversation on our administrative team. And so, we are suggesting the and recommending adopting MSBA's new model language with the caveat that we are reducing the inline number one there. Any school district employee may make a purchase with prior approval. That's verbage that we added. For use in connection with school district operations when the expenditure is less than 250 dollars. I believe MSBA's model language was a thousand dollars. We felt like 250 was a little bit more reasonable. Anything more than that should truly go through our own purchasing agent in the district office. And then, letter A of number two sets it up to 50,000 before before board approval
037would actually be required although many items do come to board anyway prior to that but in the event that there was something that was needed that was the number that we had suggested for this. Went through both committees and last board meeting without any other suggestions. Do I have a motion to approve the final reading of policy 721? So moved. Motion by Anne, I have a second. Second. Seconded by Darla, is there any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion say I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 5.10 approve the strategic planning proposal, Joel. All right, I'll go through this again. I believe it went through both committees already but um just for review uh in my superintendent update I will highlight the findings from our comprehensive needs assessment that we've
038done all throughout the course of the year uh and our team believes that the next step is to embark in a year-long strategic planning process um to truly give us the road map that we feel like will will guide the work that we do from as it says there from our meetings that we hold here all the way down to the classroom um each and every day. Uh and so we're bringing this to full board uh because the plan that's being recommended includes engagement by the board through a different a couple of different processes uh and so our recommendation is the uh the approval of the the premium um team works um guided practice through the strategic planning process um and the uh the dates for those and the the timeline for that has been
039shared with all board members at least tentative months that they'll happen and uh we're we're excited to embark in this in this journey to again provide that roadmap for the work that we do. So our recommendation again is to to plan to engage in that premium model through Teamworks. Do I have a motion to approve the strategic planning proposal? So moved. Motion by Lori. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Eric. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion say I. I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 5.11 Approve resolution relating to the termination and non-renewal of teaching contract. Carmen. Um this is a request for uh um the termination and non-renewal of a teaching contract for Kevin Holm, a probationary teacher. Okay. Do I have a motion
040to approve? So moved. Motion by Anne. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Matt. Is there any further discussion? Roll call vote. Ms. Dudley. I. Ms. Ager. I. Ms. Judy. I. Ms. Mills. I. Mr. Bloom. I. Mr. Parish. I. Mr. Wedebrand. I. Motion passes. 5.12 Approve Memorial Auditorium agreement. Joel. Yes, projected and as presented to the instructional committee, we have a new three-year agreement with the city of Worthington on our use with the Memorial Auditorium. At committee, it was shared to to make sure there was a provision added that is now number four. And I'll read it here as this was not on the original document. Memorial Auditorium staff shall consult with Independent School District 518 prior to the release or use of any student photographs or videos of students for marketing, promotional, or
041public communication purposes. And truly, this is just a safeguard to make sure that any of our students that do not have photo releases on file are not being put out in the public publications. And so, along with that additional piece there, the financial side of this is a an approximate 5% increase each year, again, for the next 3 years, and we'll come back to board at the conclusion of the 2029 school year. >> [snorts] >> I have a motion to approve the Memorial Auditorium bid. >> [snorts] >> So moved. Motion by Anne. Do I have a second? Second. The motion. Seconded by Lori. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion, say I. I. >> I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 5.13, approve out-of-state travel request, Josh. This is
042a request for approval from the board for out-of-state travel. This is a teacher from the intermediate school looking to go to Madison mid-July attending a writing across the content area training. It's gone to the staff development committee and admin already approved through that, and it was brought to the instructional and recommended for approval. Do I have a motion to approve the out-of-state travel request? So moved. Motion by Eric. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Aaron. Any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion, say I. I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 5.14, approve first reading of policies 410, 503, 515, 530, 615, and 701, Joel. Sure, I'm going to walk through each one of these on the screen if you'd like to just follow along and I'll go through
043any any proposed changes. Policy 410 are all recommendations through MSBA's lawyer. All changes for policy 410 are in conjunction with changes to current Minnesota state law. And so our recommendation for 410 is to to follow MSBA recommendations for that policy. Feel free to stop me for each any of these if you have further question or clarity. Policy 5 503, sorry, is around student attendance and at board committee wanted to call out that there was an ask to add letter A, I've highlighted that in yellow. It does call out religious and cultural observances as reasonable attendances attendance reasons for students but we felt like it needed to have a definition and so the proposed definition is a cultural observance means a practice, ceremony, celebration, or event that reflects the cultural traditions, heritage, identity, or customs of
044a student, family, or community including American Indian cultural cultural practices and ceremonies recognized under Minnesota law. And so that was to address the the piece that was brought up at the instructional committee. Policy 530 is the immunization policy and truly the only adjustments to policy 530 are grammatical and verbage. So no substantial no substantial changes recommended. Our recommendation is to follow MSBA's recommended changes. Similar with 515, protection and privacy of pupil records, the one piece that we'd like to call out on this policy, This is a long one. There's a section here that MSBA has added. Um I'll find it eventually, but there's a a paragraph in here that calls out specifically that immunization records are not available for public data request. That wasn't added that we felt um needed to be added. 615 is
045quite substantial. You'll notice um anything in red is proposed changes from MSBA. Again, these are coming from MSBA's uh law lawyer consultant, and our recommendation given the amount of changes that are here is to adopt MSBA's model policy. There are more changes than there are um leaving original original verbage for that one. And lastly on adoption of the school district budget, um we are recommending adopting MSBA's um lawyer recommendations, removing some verbage, adding some other legal uh pieces to that policy. Outside of policy 530 with the recommendation of adding a definition of cultural cultural observance, um all the rest went through each committee without further recommendation of change. Do we have a motion to approve the six policies stated in 514? So moved. Motion by Anne. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Eric.
046Any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion, say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 5:15, discussion on ice arena project. Joel. Again, going to encourage anyone from the operation committee to to jump in the conversation. Board members, I've speak spoken to some of you individually as well, uh as well as our administrative team, please jump in. Uh we spent uh quite a bit of time on Tuesday last week talking about the current situation uh regarding the ice arena project. Um for everyone in the room, um board members getting up to speed is that that project, although lots of valiant effort went into um multiple conversations with the construction contractor as well as the the architect planning that project, uh a path to adding onto the current facility as well
047as renovating the current facility um within the $16 million budget was was proving very very difficult. Each time that we we met with the architect and the construction firm, um budget seemed to trick up trickle upwards versus downwards as we were thinking we were making cuts to try to get that budget uh within within range. The other factor that's at play right now is that given given current um policy and and current um ordinance, as soon as we add an a new structure to the existing structure, we have to take into account all of the square footage of both buildings, as well as any impervious um concrete or asphalt that we put down on that facility area um for for parking, all of that has to get taken into account, and that uh creates a
048a problem with the size of the retention pond that needs to get put and Uh fair board although hasn't said it's an absolute barrier it was a pretty big concern for them to give up that much green space for for the for the facility out on that on that space. After the the third meeting a couple of weeks ago with construction firm and architect city of Worthington who is the lead on the project asked them to stop stop their planning and we convened to to problem solve what a possible next step could be. Um after lengthy discussion and and multiple ideas we are back to the next probably greatest path to getting an ice arena for the community is utilizing the land that we proposed months ago out on the intermediate property and putting the
049$60 million funding that's been set aside to one single sheet of ice at the time or for the for the time being while the city continues to operate the current facility still allowing for two sheets of ice once that new building would get built. The direction I think we're looking for tonight is does our board have the appetite for engaging into a conversation where we potentially lead that project we put it on our land that we own with potential ownership of the building under our umbrella. Conversation of does the city operate it do we operate it ultimately our team just needs to know what direction we need to embark on with with city and city council as as a partner as well as with our hot local hockey association who I've also engaged with in
050the last week as a as another funding partner and our number one user user you know alongside our own high school programs. So with that I'll stop and if there are questions or comments Um, we'd be happy to take them. >> [snorts] >> Operations. Any comments from any of you three? Mr. Chairman, we had a good discussion or presentation from uh Mr. Robinson uh at our meeting going through a lot a lot of the items shared with Mr. Heitkamp and um we just had a general discussion over the uh the next steps and the the possibilities. Um in interest of discussion, I would move Mr. Chairman to direct administration of District 518 to enter into discussions with the city of Worthington administration to develop a ownership lease, rental, and operational agreement for an arena facility
051to be built on the intermediate school property and enter into discussion with Site Logic for development of an arena project. So, we have a motion by Matt to direct authorization to the administrative team. Do we have a second? I'll second the motion. Uh seconded by Lori. Is there any further discussion? Um during the instructional committee, I had stated I don't want people just to view this as a hockey arena. That I think there is a vision for this arena facility to be used for other purposes. And one thing I'd asked, you know, is covering the ice, could we use it for graduation, could we use it for band concerts? I mean, that's how I view it. I think it's a good asset to our district for $5 million. And in the beginning I was against
052$5 million for Blue Sky and I voted no. But now we got something that we're going to put 5 million in and have something that's worth 16 million. I think that's a good investment. So if we're going to use it as a multi-purpose facility, I I think that's a great asset and our kids will have primary use of this facility certain hours of the day, correct? Our our hope and intention would be that our high school programs would use it right after school and then allowing ice for our youth programs after that and that we would be able to have access to that facility during the school day getting all of our physical education programs and all of our sites access to the ice in lots of different ways whether it's ice skating, boot hockey,
053broom ball. Maybe we can paint curling circles on it. I mean there are there are lots of different ways that we can engage with with the ice and and get kids access that maybe don't always have that opportunity. And I would think our fire department would be tickled pink to have something like that to do some more with the kids and another thing I had brought up was I think it's a good asset for special education. I mean there's a lot of kids that could try to learn how to skate or do something on the ice, so Any further discussion? I I would just like clarification on what we're directing Mr. Hedtke to do here. Just advance discussions. >> your motion? Would you like me to state the motion or the the the intent is
054to direct administration to begin discussions with the city to develop an agreement that then come back. I mean there's a lot of questions we don't know. And I I think we're a lot better off to That's the intent of the motion was to indicate our support for the opportunity to work with the city. And the next step is for administration teams to be empowered to have discussions. And bring it back for us. Well, I mean, I mean in my understanding is that, you know, the the leadership in the of this project would shift from the city having taken charge thus far and shifting to the school district taking the lead, likely working with Site Logic. I mean, literally and figuratively taking ownership of this ice arena. And I think we working with our Site Logic
055architects, um who would, you know, understand our land, the specific site. Um I guess I'm I see a lot of benefit to the the facility being in close proximity to our students during the day. And so if it is going to be on on our land, I think it makes sense for Site Logic to provide that technical expertise that we would lean on to for making next steps. So, I would support, you know, the transition of leadership of this project um to go towards the school district if that's the direction this project is going. Just real quick for clarification too is that, you know, this the city is a a huge partner in this, right? And so I appreciate the the motion stating that we're entering into the discussion, right? Because they still have a
056lot to say as a as a partner. And we want to make sure that we keep that dialogue open should uh should we continue down that road. The other quick thing quick thing to also mention in in to Site Logic is um, they do [snorts] have specific um, experience building facilities like this. Um, we did confirm that with with Jeff, our our our main contact. Um, not in the state of Minnesota, but they have built facilities in other states as they operate in the Midwest. And uh, the other benefit with with potentially um, partnering with Site Logic is the city was embarking into a contract or at risk with Knutson, which make basically just meant $16 million is the budget. If it goes over that, Knutson essentially pays the difference. We already have that agreement
057with all of our projects with Site Logic. And so, we don't have to Site Logic is already well versed in in those types of deals. Not that Knutson wasn't, but it wasn't as common where where our current agreement already has that stipulation in place um, that when we sign on the line with the design that they say they can build for a dollar amount, anything more than that is not our responsibility. Is everyone clear on the motion? And just for sure then, the site of the ice arena facility will be on our property at the intermediate site. That's that's in the motion. >> That that's the next Yes, that's part of the motion. >> That's part of the motion. Okay. So, I think continuing discussions is a good idea. I think there are still for
058me at least three big hurdles with us taking leadership and ownership and operations of this. Um, number one, the motion that was approved in 2024 was for capital. So, I don't think that that's we'd have to bring that back. Not a big hurdle, but I do think that this fundamentally changes the original intent of that motion two years ago. The second is the operational costs and how many rinks run in the red including ours in Worthington. Um I know Steve has said in the past that it's tens of thousands dollars a year. So from a fiscal responsibility perspective, signing up for something that we're going to lose money on every single year is problematic. Um I think there are also under Minnesota statutes some hurdles we have to jump through to cover the cost of
059losses. I think we can use unassigned funds, but I think there's a tax levy statute, too, that I would like to have us check out. Um and I forgot what my third one was. But those are my two big ones tonight. Um oh, the third one is I think the community needs to understand if we put 16.5 million or whatever that number is into a brand new rink, there is nothing left over for when the current rink is unusable. So if the refrigeration dies at the current rink, we won't see two rinks. So the 16 million that the community thinks is being invested in a new build with a renovation, there is no renovation. There's no money left over. So I that's to me that's that's a little bit of a hurdle, as well. Our
060original motion though was strictly new. And capital, yep. So and I think we put a 5-year sunset date on that, so I don't even know what year we're in. Getting close. We're over 2 years in. I'd say we got to be well over halfway. It's February 19th, 2029 is your sunset date. Okay. So but I think in Matt's motion, too, the direction is is to get the best operations is that us is that the city? You know, I I think Matt's got a good motion. So, >> [cough and clears throat] >> I'm going to ask everyone in favor of the motion say I. I. >> I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. K 516 approve audit services agreement, Carmen. Um this was presented at the operations committee. Um our recommendation after evaluation of our
061um proposals that we received um is to go with Abdo audit team firm out of Mankato. Um based on our um the just had a strong experience with Minnesota schools and the support that they will provide for our staff and um meeting the timelines um is is important and that's why we chose to go with them. So, our recommendation is to go with Abdo. Okay, do we have a motion to approve the new audit services agreement? Move to approve. Motion by Matt. Do I have a second? Second. >> Seconded by Aaron. Is there any further discussion? Uh Mr. Chairman, was in the discussion, there are some added benefits to this than our that are beneficial to us over our current audit situation. Can you speak to that? Um yeah. So, um some of the benefits,
062one of the parts that we had discussed and we'd requested in our proposal is that the audit firm actually prepares the final audit report. Currently, um Mr. Swanson's doing that and it takes a lot of time and that's not really how we feel. Um you know, we would like an outside firm to come in and and prepare that final report. So, that is that was one of our requests in our proposal and we believe that this um company would be able um they they do that and just their experience with other school districts, we feel like that would be a huge benefit to the district. Thank you. Carmen, is there What's the cost difference or not difference, but is it quite a bit more to go with Abdul than our current auditor? Um so so
063the bid um for the first year and this is we're approving for 1 year with a possibility to continue that for up to 4 years based on how the proposal um was the request was made. Um it's 47 five. Our current is right around, I believe right 31 32. Um so there is a difference there, but we we feel that the service that they're going to provide is is going to benefit the district. All right, thank you. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor [clears throat] of the audit service agreement, say I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. 6.0 reports. Superintendent's report. All right. Chairman Bloom, members of the board, as I've shared in prior meetings over the course of the school year, district and building leadership teams
064have engaged in a continuous needs assessment through collaborative discussion, reflection, and data analysis, several key themes have emerged. The work identified multiple what we call buckets of focus, [clears throat] including strengthening our district vision and mission, improving family engagement, refining PLC structures and expectations, increasing access to strong tier one instruction, and MTSS supports, enhancing staff feedback and growth systems, improving data literacy and data-driven decision-making, and continuing efforts to recruit and retain a diverse, high-quality workforce. Following extensive discussion and a prior prioritization process conducted by our CNA team, three primary district priorities emerged. The creation and revision of a district vision statement and mission statement. Again, access to tier one instruction for all students and professional learn learning communities across all of our sites. As we move forward, these priorities will help guide the development of
065more of a more unified strategic direction for our district. Embedded within all three priority areas is the important work of utilizing evidence, strengthening the overall fidelity of implementation, and ensuring data-based decision-making across all levels of our organization. Building level teams have already begun identifying current systems, practices, and initiatives already in place at each site that align with these priority areas. Again, this work will help shape the future strategic planning efforts and ensure alignment across the district as we continue to focus on improving outcomes for all students. That's our report for May. Okay, thanks Joel. 6.2 instructional. Everything's been covered. 6.3 operations. Mr. Chairman, one item that we discussed at length was the 2027 projects and the pretty ambitious goal of laying out what we have of going forward and that'll be on our agenda That
066is on the June agenda. next month, so Yes. That's all I have, Mr. Chairman. Okay, does anyone else have any other reports? Okay, other business. Reiterate um ALC Thursday the 28th. Be there at 5:30 if you're coming. High school Friday the 29th. Also be there at 5:30 and we will be there. When is the Monday deal again, Lisa? That's at 8:00? First. June 1st, that's Monday, right? >> Breakfast is at 7:30 and the program is at 8:00 and it's at Prairie Elementary School. Okay, guys got that? Okay, other than that, 8.0 future business, there is none. Do I have a motion to adjourn? I'll move. Motion by Eric, we are adjourned. >> [music]