001I hereby declare the Holy Public School Board meeting open for July 20, 2026. I pay homage to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic it represents. One nation under God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all. Stephanie, the mission of Holy Public Schools is to unite students , parents, staff and community to provide a quality education with an emphasis on developing the full potential of the individual. Can we have a motion to approve tonight's agenda? Motion to approve. Second. All board members in favor. In favor. I need approval for routine matters, including the consent agenda, invoices, and meeting approval. Motion to approve. Patrick, second. Patrick was the first. CDSO contracts. We should vote now. Oh, all members in favor. I'm sorry . I know. I was looking ahead, that's fine.
002CESO contracts for 2026 and 2027 . Alright. Resolution to accept donations. This is an action point . We have an article there. Holy American Legion eggs for student breakfast. Motion to approve the resolution. And a second one for that point. Second. All members in favor. In favor. New developments in infant nutrition. This is a point of discussion. We're going to ask Lori to come forward to talk to us, or if she wants to stay there, whatever is easier, whatever she prefers, she can come closer. Some of you have asked me what's been going on in the pediatric nutrition department, so I thought I'd put together a short presentation. And, uh, so ... what I did was check each school and see what the meals were for the year, both for breakfast and lunch. It is
003broken down into reduced, free and paid meals. This way they can see more or less what the high school is like. And then, if you turn to the next page, it talks about registration and the participation fee. At this time last year we were serving 77 % of our students. And then it goes on to say what percentage of meals are paid for. So 78% for lunch, three for reduced and 76% and then 70% for free. That makes a total of 77%, and if you look at breakfast, it's 46%. So one of our goals for next year would be to try to increase that percentage at both lunch and breakfast. Our focus will be more on breakfast. Well, when looking at the high school level, we made some changes last year due to the differences
004with added sugars , grains, and everything else, seeking to have the nutrition department focus more on whole foods, meats, and things like that. We changed some things, so we only allowed students to take one grain and then they had to pair it with a protein. Some of the high school students rebelled because of that, because they wanted their pimples back. They wanted to eat two muffins instead of a cheese bar and a muffin. So we forced them to take that. There was a bit of rebellion, but I think as we move forward and continue from a young age, children will get used to that extra protein in their breakfast. that we serve. That's for high school. Next is the intermediate level, which is what we serve at meals for middle school students, both for breakfast
005and lunch. Next slide. This one is a little taller. 81% of the students ate lunch. And we have the largest number of low-income students in our middle school. Obviously, that's because we also have more students there. Often, when we are audited, it tends to be at the school with the highest participation in free or reduced-price food programs, or with the most children in that situation. Breakfast is much cheaper. We would like it to be closer to 50%. Currently, we are offering breakfast in the classroom for fourth and fifth grade. We went down to the lounge areas and served them breakfast there; The older children have breakfast in the cafeteria. So we're reaching them. We see that most of our fourth and fifth grade students eat breakfast, which is very important. Next slide, we have our
006meals for elementary school. Now I'll ask you to move on to the next slide, Kelly. There it's 68% and 45%, so we're not far from that 50%. Most of our elementary school students eat breakfast; many of them do. We have a good presence there. That's where we stopped serving chocolate milk at breakfast. I was a little nervous about that, but they did very well. Well, with added sugars and things like that, we're trying to reduce that a bit so we can offer other options. So, by eliminating that milk, I can offer something else instead of, uh, sweetened milks. So that's been a good chocolate milk, or just at that meal, just at breakfast, unless something changes again. And we added, uh, halfway through the year. I don't know if all of you knew that there
007was a change with the milk. We are obviously working on it with the USDA, the MBE, and all of them. There was a change whereby we can now serve whole milk and, uh, 2% milk. However, there are still some, uh, confusing points with whole milk. I was serving it to the preschool, then I was told I couldn't serve it in preschool. So we're still working out those processes, but we're working on at least giving 2%, but when we gave 2%, the children were still taking 1%. So I find it funny, because I thought the kids would go crazy for her , and they did. You know, they're used to 1% here, and, well, that's fine by me, but they want us to start introducing more of that old option into their boxes. Or do you
008think it's just because of the color of the packaging? Are they small children? They're kind of used to grabbing, yeah. the color of the packaging, and that's what they do. Did the primary school respond best to the 2%? It was our high school and middle school that really, I don't know what the problem was, but I just don't know. Yes, that's sometimes true. So, your milk? We have to offer two flavors at all times. And so, for breakfast we have to offer, for example, 1% and 2 % or cinnamon and 1%. So we have to offer, we have to have both different types. And then, for lunch we can have three different ones. Is there much of a price difference between the different types of milk, chocolate, and...? Chocolate, but not so much between 2%
009and 1%. I have n't noticed a big fluctuation in them yet; But, you know, this is also starting to be new for the companies that supply it to us, and I received my new statement and I haven't noticed a big change between them. But chocolate is more expensive. question about students with lactose intolerance. So what do they have? Yes, there are certain types...Good question. There are certain types of milk that we can only serve at school. Uh, we have an approved list. So , if you would like to bring almond milk for your child, you may do so, but I cannot account for it. Uh, so there's some milk. For example, there is a lactose-free milk that I can buy . Uh, a Silk milk. Oh, there's also a Silk milk I can buy. Uh,
010I can buy Ripple milk. So there are different types of milk listed on this sheet. And every year before classes start, I check if there have been any changes. Hey, and those milks qualify. So if you take your whole tray and it has that milk, I can declare that food because the milk qualifies. So, are those options available to all students, or is it only if little Billy needs it? We have it for Billy. Yes. So you must have a dietary form. Uh, it doesn't have to be signed by the doctor. If you are lactose intolerant, but have a severe allergy, then you need a doctor's note. Oh, but if it's just that I have lactose intolerance, I can give him milk, but the parents have to send it for them. And, uh, we have
011little pictures and things where the kids can't see, so they know Patrick receives that kind of product. So, thank you. So yes, we have them and we need to make sure they're in our production when we do those things too. Are there any juices or anything else that also counts for this, or not? Uh, juice counts as fruit for breakfast, but it doesn't count during lunch. Uh, they need to have a share of that. The only time it would count is if a child has a severe allergy and is on their IEP or something from the doctor, then I can serve them. But otherwise, it should be part of those options. There are five different groups that the children can choose from, and they have to have three of those different options on their plate.
012So you can't just take four portions of carrots or three portions of carrots and say you've got yours. There have to be three different groups. Thank you. Yes. Okay. So, the next one . Uh, did he...? Yes. Okay. The following are the meals for adults. I wanted to present this to show the revenue generated by our meals served to adults. As you can see, breakfast currently costs $2.50, or what it used to cost, and lunch for adults is $5.25. You can see that any adult who comes to our district or works in it can get meals with us. That's all there is to it, and then we have what we call à la carte sales. These are items that are purchased separately from meals. Children receive free breakfast and lunch, but if they choose an
013extra breakfast sandwich , it is considered an à la carte item, or a drink; In our high school we have a beverage station that students can go to. We have a yogurt machine, various snacks, and also our after-school snack shop , where children can buy something before going to their different activities. Looking at the total, it's a considerable amount of extra money for our program. We do not receive money from the state for any adult meals. That's why the prices are set by the state. We didn't set them. The state sets them and we must maintain those prices or charge above them. Last year the food cost $5.05 and I refused to charge that. So I set it at $ 5.25 hoping that this year it would be $ 5.05 or $5.10 and I wouldn't
014have to raise it again. So, yes. But this year I'm going to raise the price of breakfast to $3 for adults. Their goal is to avoid having to adjust prices every year, right? Exact. Furthermore, it's about balancing the price point per meal, making sure we do what's asked of us. They want to make sure we don't lose money on those meals. For example, our most expensive breakfast is a sandwich and it costs me more than $2 to prepare it. Well, we try to balance it throughout the week so that, you know, one is a little more expensive, but others can be less costly. Uh, and that's why we analyzed that. Alright. And well, I just wanted to give you a small update. So, we received a grant of $10,000 for the period from the 25th
015to the 28th, which is a matching grant. So we received, it would be $21,847.70. We bought a dough balling machine. We had an old one that didn't work well. It was really difficult to use. We could no longer get spare parts for it. So I applied to the state for a grant to see if we could buy this machine, and they said yes. And now we have Wall-E. So, if anyone wants to meet Wall-E, we have him here; We prepare our dough, put four and a half pounds in a tray, put it in Wall-E, press a few buttons, he is completely automatic and makes the buns for us. That way we don't have to do them by hand. So yes. We also make fresh bread. And I'm trying to see if I can do other
016things with Wall-E, but we'll see. That's right, I received that grant. From Kelly, we also received a full commercial grant , which works 50/50, again, a one-to-one match. I asked, I said I was going to spend $40,000 on agricultural products for the school and they gave me $20,000, and we had to put up the other $20,000. So I'm still working on that. I think I've already spent it all. I have to gather all the paperwork and I 'll send it as I receive things. I usually do it in a single payment, and once we accumulate a certain amount, they pay the school and keep track of how much money I have left. At the end of the grant, I am asked to write a report on what we did with the money and how it
017helped our district. We buy everything, from fruits and vegetables to beef and pork, asparagus, rhubarb and all sorts of things. So our children get a good variety of farm-to- school products and everything local. So, this is our new grant that I will be working on for this school year. Um, we asked, we have 27,000 from the state and then we'll have to spend, so we'll have 54,000 to buy. So this will be our new grant that I'll start working on, and I have until 2029 to spend that money. But, as I work on spending this grant, if funds become available, I will write another one to continue with RI. And every time you write a grant application, they look for something specific. When I wrote the other grant applications, they were looking for immigrants, different
018farmers, things like that. So they're always looking for something different when you write these grants. And they always look at who you're going to attract again. So this year we are introducing fresh pears from a grower near Royalton. And we're also introducing fresh wild rice this year. These are two new products that we are introducing to our children. Can I ask a question? And this is a lot for the audience because I think one of the most common things they say is, "Have you ever tried writing grants?" What about writing a grant? Could you talk a little bit about what writing a grant entails and how long you think it takes and things about that process? Um, yes, yes, it takes a lot of extra time. Just because you want it to be, um, really
019good. And you know, the first time I wrote a grant application, I wrote all these things in detail. And then the previous director gave it back to me and said, "Now, show it off." And I said, "What? Am I good at that?" Am I good at that? It's really about selling your program, talking about it, why it will benefit your program, and what it will accomplish. So yes, writing grants requires a lot of extra work . But it's well worth it. I mean, we couldn't do what we do in the nutrition department without it; It's a lot of money when you see what's being spent, and that extra money could be used for other things for the children. Then we can see if we need additional equipment. Is there anything the district needs that the
020food service can purchase? So it's very important that we continue drafting these grants, and yes, it's very time-consuming. I've spent hours on weekends writing them and reading them to my husband. Does this make sense? You know, it requires a lot of effort, but it's well worth the time invested. How about a rough estimate, what would you say? I would apologize. Oh, God. But when you say that grants are an important part of our program, as a percentage, what do you think? 50%, 40%? 30%? Well, the food bill is astronomical right now. So I'd say at least 35 to 40% probably. Just thinking about money. It is considerable. Yes. You would miss it. Yes. And little things always come up. Sometimes money is not spent or part of it is not used. People didn't ask for
021it. Then they send out little notices like, "Oh, hey, would you like to write another small grant and get another $1,500?" Of course. You know, these things come up a lot and I think it's important to get them; The state has noticed and they have come to our school several times to see our farm-to-school program during farm-to- school month in October and November. It's important that they see it, so we invite them whenever they ask. I always say yes. I rarely say no, because it's important that they see it. They recognize this and seek out these schools to help them guide others in the process. I've been on both sides of grants, both on the board reviewing applications and writing them. I want to thank you because I know it's a significant amount and I
022wanted to make sure it was recorded, but it's a very important part of what you do. So I want to thank you. Yes, very good. It's important. The children deserve every part of it. And really, when you think about it, the reason I'm so passionate about this is because, when you think about it, how many children get the chance to try these things at home? There are children who don't even know what asparagus is, you know, and we give it to them, or rhubarb too, or maybe they've never tasted fresh meat at home that comes directly from a farm, you understand? So it's those different things that allow students to have that time to try and see what they really like, and we also bring in different kinds of food. I'm very passionate about that.
023And these are just a few photos of our staff preparing things, like the fresh potatoes we received. We have a local person who brings us fresh lettuce, as well as squash, carrots, and many other things. So those are just some photos I put there for you. And about cereals, I'll be very brief. Many times people have approached me and said: Why do they serve cereal at your school? Why do they do that? On the one hand, children like it. But you can move on to the next slide, Helen. So, this is what you'll find in the store, okay? And you know, here you have, for example, giant marshmallows and all that stuff, with those eye-catching packages. And this is what we serve. Good. The difference is that this one has less sugar. This one here
024is made with refined sugars and enriched grains. This other one is made with whole grains. The first ingredient here is whole grains. And I brought some samples. So, if anyone wants to take some home to try and see what we serve the children, it 's actually very good. Yes, it's going to be different, you already know that. They can take some of this and try both. But I just wanted to let parents know... All our cereals meet the standards for snacks. This means that any snack we serve to children must go through this calculator to ensure it is suitable. One of the questions she asks is: Is it rich in whole grains? Is it 100 % natural juice? He asks you all these questions and, if you don't meet the requirements, he tells you that
025you can't serve him. You cannot serve that product . So we have to go through all those processes. Because of all those different formulas they create for us. Our manufacturers, this cannot be obtained in the store. But if someone really wants a box, I can certainly get it for them. But this is only made for schools . So when people ask me, "How can you serve cereal?" Therefore, this is what they will receive. This is what I'm going to serve your children. It's made from whole grain. And it has much, much less sugar. And another important thing that's happening now is the dyes. It is free of dyes. It says "colorings" right here on the package . It has red, whatever, yellow, all different things there. So, I'm sorry, but yes. This is why we
026can serve cereals. All of our cereals are approved by the state and the USDA. Yes, things are changing with the different levels of sodium and sugar, but our companies are changing with us by offering other cereals. The only thing we don't offer is anything containing nuts. Like Honey Nut Cheerios, although now there's one that doesn't have nuts. A Honey Nut Cheerio is now nut-free. So we could offer that one. But yes, we check the cereals and we have all of those too because we have children who can't eat certain things, like someone with a gluten allergy, who can eat that product. There are some specific ones, and in fact, this one is gluten-free. Very good. Any questions for me? I just want to thank you because sometimes I go there to help when Lori can't
027find anyone else. She calls me. And these people are so committed to our little ones. I'm usually in elementary school, very rarely anywhere else . They are very committed to them, so that they first have a positive experience eating and with everything that is offered to them and the questions they answer. I know without a doubt that we have the best program in the state, many people know this if you ask us, and it is something to be very proud of. It was incredible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your time . Thank you. And if anyone wants proof of how good it is. Sports and activity fees for the 2026-27 school year . This is a point of discussion . I can present this. We had a finance committee meeting last week. There
028was a discussion regarding Claro. And we had a discussion about activity fees. And, uh, just so everyone is aware, we have a new director of activities, and Matt Beck is right there. And so he didn't want to expose him to this new increase because this was already happening, uh, before his arrival, while it was being discussed. Um, but the proposal came about because we wanted to, we felt it was necessary to increase revenue for our sports and activities, and the finance committee recommends these increases as you will see in the second, uh, in the second line. High school track and field would go from $110 to $150. High school activities would increase from 110 to 150. High school activities would increase from 90 to 105. There are no changes for middle school. American football would
029increase from 120 to 170. Target shooting would increase from 120 to 170. No changes for marching band and no changes for math club. So, a question about this note that mentions the $35 target . Does that include the $35 ? Or is it in addition to your...? Uh, this was discussed to be included along with the $35. Now, I do believe, um, that our district too, I don't know if it's a policy or a practice. So, that would be my question about whether a student can't afford an activity ; we don't exclude anyone. You know, little Billy and his family. Absolutely. We have, uh, we offer, as Lori mentioned, free or reduced lunch rates. Although all lunches and breakfasts are free, there is still the free or reduced-price lunch form that can be filled out
030and sent to Lori for that, um, rating. If this parent would like to share that rating with the, um, sports or activities department, they can do so as well ; If they qualify for the free or reduced program, then they can also get reduced costs for their, uh, activity and sports fees. So, for example, if a family, um, could get their lunch at a reduced cost , and we use these old terms because we're not charging, but then our costs for activities and sports would be 60% of these figures. If they were to qualify for the free lunch, then it would be 40% of the original costs. And if someone really couldn't afford it, there are sports support clubs in the district that would help with those expenses as well. So , um, I guess
031I always bring this up because I was talking to some students and I said, "Hey, you should be in such and such because you're really good at it." And they reply to me: "Oh, no. I can't afford it." And I tell them, "Well, no, you know, we have all these resources." And families don't always know that there are ways to ensure that if a student wants to participate in an activity, we don't reject them. Like you said, support clubs are there if all else fails and all that. And that's why I want to take this opportunity , at least in the video and elsewhere, to say that there is never a reason for a student not to participate. If a student is interested and wants to do it, it's the adults' job to find a
032way, and that's something we're very happy to do. And I just want to say that so that it's heard one more time. I think it's something we should remember from time to time. Perhaps this would be a good article for our newsletter for families, to include there. Lauri will talk about it in Saturday's article. Well, perhaps also from the side of activities. Perhaps she'll mention it. Okay, perfect. Yes, it sounds great. And with the free or reduced-price lunches, that money goes back to the school, right? Is it from the state or is that difference? All school lunches and breakfasts are free. And we got that money back. Yes. Free or reduced-price lunches are used to help the state obtain its federal percentage. And we also use it to help determine other costs of sports, activities,
033and so on. So we did n't receive a reimbursement from the state for sports costs or anything like that . I just don't want anyone to see these numbers and freak out thinking, "Oh, okay. I guess I wo n't be on track this year. I won't sign up for the football team ." I want families to always know that if their child wants to do something, we will make it happen. But on the other hand, if they can afford it, this is a very important source of income for the district. Well, if anyone has been paying attention these past few years, we've talked quite a bit about the budget. So , and this is part of that discussion, my only question would be how we compare to similar districts. And we reviewed all of that
034and felt that we compared with these new funds and these new charges quite well with them. Higher than some, lower than most. Nice little attempt. So I will accept a motion to approve the new activity fees for the 2026-27 school year . I make a motion to approve. Second. Are all members in favor? Yes. Okay. Because I didn't do the resolution correctly last week or last month, let's do it again. Let's try it one more time. The resolution then sets the dates for submitting sworn statements for candidates. So this is a point of discussion. We discussed it last time. Let's do it... I need a motion for that first. I will make a motion. I second that. It's for our school board. That? What did we do wrong last time? I did not make a
035motion. I just did a roll call. So we're doing it right this time. Then I'll take a roll call. Yes. Patrick, Wayne, Stephanie, yes. Sharon, yes. Melissa, yes. Nathan, yes. And I myself, yes. We have one motion and one second. All members in favor. OK. We had one motion and one second. Alright . Thank you. Then, resolution relating to the general obligation facility maintenance bonds, series 2026A, authorizing the sale by insurance award, prescribes the form and details and provides for payment. Therefore, this is a discussion and we are going to invite Ellers Shelby from Ellers. Thank you all. Very good. I'm just going to ... So, the resolution is... and they don't have to open that one. Alright . The resolution refers to form 2026A. So, I'm going to back up a bit about how
036we got here today and talk a little bit about the way forward. It actually originated with the IAP project, which was 13.8 million issued in 2024. There were some cost overruns on that project. However, they were also earning considerable interest on those project funds. So, the plan to complete the project was really to identify what we needed in additional funding as we started generating all that extra revenue and what we had available. So, we got to last March and determined that the district should probably generate an additional $240,000. And we authorized the issuance at that time, and then in July, the district requested proposals from financial companies for those additional 240,000. They received some proposals that we could go into exhaustive detail about. However, the recommendation would be to reject those proposals and authorize a
037new request for additional proposals and negotiate directly with a financial institution. There are really good interest rates and we believe you could make a significant profit on the proposal. And, obviously, this provides them with the best situation for their taxpayers in that regard. Having mentioned taxes, this whole scenario with the 240,000 is to prepare for and take advantage of an upcoming drop and ensure that there are no tax increases regarding this 240,000 issue. So, Madam President, if you could rephrase that briefly, and if you're ready to do so, I'd be happy to answer any questions beforehand. So, I'm going to summarize to make sure I understand it correctly. In March, we discussed the shortfall in the IQ project, as we were about to receive it, and we talked about options that included changing the scope
038of the project, is that correct? And then more funds and look for another source of financing, right? That's where this comes from. Yes. And I think it was a combination of all of that. OK. Yes. We discussed it last fall, and then we talked in December about moving forward with a plan that would have no fiscal impact. We used some one-day bond sales that were old. There was money there. Some LTFM money that was available and then future LTFM. But we need to sell bonds on the projected LTFM that is coming. Therefore, we will not actually increase any tax burden. We just have to wait for that money to arrive and do it now to add those air handlers to the project instead of doing it in the future, when we're no longer working on
039the project and have to start from scratch and it costs more. So, that's where this discussion began. Is this the final part of this discussion? At what point in this process do we find ourselves today ? Well, tonight's resolution will authorize, we will give Ellers the authorization to continue negotiating on the financing, and then we will take advantage of a meeting they may have next week to finalize and sign it if they have the formality at that time. And every time the board meets, it's an open meeting. So, that would be in an open meeting, a special meeting that we would schedule. We are looking to have a special meeting next week and I have sent emails to all board members. I'm just waiting for a response. OK. And after that, does the financing process
040end on our end, or what happens? Then you will receive the funds in approximately August. OK. To have them in the bank and either replenish what has already been spent or simply conclude that. Alright . Thank you. Clear. Then, they will have a motion. They will present a motion on the 2026A general obligation facility maintenance funds, rejecting the proposals received and authorizing the request for additional proposals. That resolution also authorizes others to negotiate. Then, I will introduce a motion. Did I understand correctly? I will introduce a motion for the 20 26A series general obligation facility maintenance bond, rejecting the current bid proposal and allowing more applications for the bond sale . And I will second that long prayer. OK. And this will be a roll- call vote. So, we have a first and a second
041motion. Patrick, yes. Wayne, yes. Stephanie, yes. Sharon, yes. Alyssa, yes. Nathan, yes. And I myself, yes. OK. Thanks a lot. Bus Drivers Agreement Terms Contract 2025-2027. discussion and action. So, we met with our bus drivers and negotiated a contract with them with a 6.5% increase over two years and passed the motion. Then, I will accept a motion to approve. I just want a moment of clarity on this. We say contract, but is this...? They...is this a contract or is this...?Is this okay? And is there really any difference between the two? Is there any difference between terms of agreement and a contract? We use contract and agreement terms interchangeably for bus drivers, for example. Well, the terms of the agreement, the agreement is the contract. OK. So, the terms would be the changes that were made.
042Oh, thank you. I will accept a motion to approve. Second. Second. All members in favor. Yes. Okay. Confidential at- will contracts from 2025 to 2027. We will review the list and accept a motion to approve each one individually. The contract of the director of activities from 2025 to 2026. I accept a motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Are all members in favor? Yes. Community education director, ages 25-27. I accept a motion to approve. Motion to approve. Are all members in favor? Yes. Community Education Coordinator, um, contract from 2025 to 2027. I accept a motion to approve. Second. All members in favor. Yes. Coordinator of, um, school-age care and programmatic support from 2025 to 2027. I accept a motion to approve. Second. Good. All members are in favor . Yes. Community Education Comprehensive Care Supervisor,
043contract 2025-2027. Motion to approve. Are they all in favor? Are all the members in favor? Yes. Chief Technology Officer, contract from 2025 to 2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. I second that. Make the motion and approve the second one. All members approve. Yes. Technology Coordinator with an academic focus, contract from 2025 to 2027, motion to approve. Second. Yes. I'll make a motion. I second that. All members in favor. Yes. Director of buildings and land, contract from 2025 to 2027. Motion to approve. Second. Good. All members in favor. Yes ok. Director of Child Nutrition, contract from 2025 to 2027. I accept a motion to approve. Good. And second. Second. Good. I think it was seconded first. And then all members approve. Yes. Okay, director of transportation, contract from 2025 to 2027. I need a
044motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Good. All members in favor. Yes. No. Okay. Administrative assistant, HR coordinator. HH. , contract from 2025-2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Are all members in favor? Yes. APR contract from 2025 to 2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. And one second. Second. All members in favor. Yes. Benefits Coordinator, contract from 2025 to 2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Are all members in favor? Yes. Stephanie. Good. Communications specialist, contract from 2025 to 2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Second. Are all members in favor? Yes. Reserved floating master contract from 2025-2027. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. All members in favor. Yes, yes. Good. Discussion and action on the LTFM ownership plan. Thank you so much. Tonight we have one of our annual responsibilities
045to the board, which is to approve the LTFM plan and pass it on, assuming the board is comfortable with the plan or resolution . We have a worksheet from the president, an expense report, and a board resolution for consideration. I have worked with Paul and the leadership members to identify the priorities of the LTFM, but it is a 10-year plan that we renew every year. The most important years are what we did in fiscal year 26. What we plan for 2027 is really what the district determined as necessary for the coming year. This plan actually covers fiscal year 28, so it's one year further than we anticipated. Everything else, I know it's small, it covers 10 years until 2036, but everything further away does n't really mean much. So it was the 26th, the 27th,
046and the 28th. And just as a summary, the LTFM provides the aid and tax authority for health and safety improvements. It means long-term facility maintenance. It is a highly regulated source of income for all school districts. Again, tax authority for health, safety and deferred maintenance improvements. In other words, those items that we have not been able to address. It's a source of revenue for that and the debt related to eligible facilities that we heard about today as the final part of that plan. The district updates the plan annually and sends the materials to the MDE. Fiscal year 26 reflects what we have completed. Fiscal year 27 is what we will do this year, identified with leadership, including the indoor air quality and fire safety bond work that Shelby mentioned. Fiscal year 28, as I said,
047are anticipated and recurring costs, working with our facilities director to identify what this represents, in addition to the financing of the bonds sold last week. But we will work with Ellers to determine and negotiate the final interest rate. So go ahead. It's hard to see. What I wanted to show is if we can go into the breakdown of that presentation. So, it's a 10-year plan, but what I wanted to show is that with this plan, we started, we began fiscal year 27, or excuse me, 26, excuse me, with the asterisks up there with a balance in the LTFM fund. The general fund portion is a restricted fund balance of approximately $ 485,000. We are anticipating, or have already received, regular income from LTFM up there of $721,000. Our LTFM expenses are divided into two items.
048The part for which we have already issued bonds and are paying, that is already accounted for. We're only talking about the parts we can actually afford, the portion of the general fund that we can spend annually, and that's what I'm showing you here. That's what fund one means; it's the general fund. Okay, this is the part we have discretion over now. So, uh, $721,000 in revenue, $ 774,000 in expenses. So we spent a little bit of that fund balance, just a little bit. We have 432,136 uh anticipated final balance of the fund. For fiscal year 26, for our fiscal year 27 expenses. Working with the directors, we anticipate $714,000 in expenses and anticipate $718,000 in revenue. But also, as part of the funding for that indoor air quality and fire safety project, we require a
049transfer of $64,000 from the LTFM to help complete that funding, answering Patrick's question of whether all board approvals have been made. This is part of completing and funding that project. So, we're looking at a final balance of approximately 372,000. Then, further down the line, and what this plan is really seeking to approve is fiscal year 28. So we anticipate approximately $ 751,000 in revenue. We are always looking ahead and will monitor our needs as we move forward. But we can spend $ 541,000. We've spent more now because we have needs for this project, but going forward we anticipate spending less. And as we move into the next decade, each year we increase that fund balance based on the income increase we anticipate, but the more distant years don't really matter as much because they are
050very far-reaching estimates. So every year we will redo the plan, analyze our needs, and maintain that positive balance in the fund. Why is there an estimated 28% increase in that amount in revenue? The income worksheet is very complex, um, you'll hear me say this all the time. School finances are complex. Uh, but certain assumptions are made about the number. There are projections. Well, LTF revenue is based on enrollment and the number of, well, also the age of the building, so there are different factors there, so it goes up and down accordingly. But we also have LTFM income earmarked for debt service. That debt service will come due at some point, and when it does, if the district decides not to renew the debt that would be paid off with the LTFM, that would come back
051and increase our revenue here. So there is a multivariable and multifaceted reason why it is like that. And so, uh, what can we do then with, uh, when we increase that balance? What does the increased balance do for our district? That's a good thing, but explain why. Well, it's like, you know, we don't want to live day to day. It allows us to spend those balances. We are not a bank. We're not looking to accumulate and accumulate, but it helps us avoid potentially having to issue bonds. So maintaining that balance allows us to make those decisions when we're developing the plan and we're analyzing and sitting down as a district to determine what our priorities are for the coming year, what we can afford, and what kinds of things then come out of that fund,
052because you said there are a lot of rules and restrictions. So , what kind of things would those be? There are all kinds of health topics, so it's something highly specialized and specific. But there's health and safety , uh, like what we're doing now with the indoor air quality projects, there's maintenance, electrical work, plumbing, all that Mr. Jacobs brings in his cart full of, of, of things, you know, mysteries. Uh, all those things can often be paid for with, uh, even part of your salary can be paid for with that, simply because the nature of what you do would qualify under LTFM income. So, as we see this increase, hopefully in their estimate for the future, basically that means that if something were to happen at the school, you know, for whatever reason, uh, we
053would have to be doing, uh, like we did with the indoor air quality project, where we had to go and borrow or something like that. Well, let's not go that far. I say it helps with that. Well, it certainly does, but what it did, what the district was good at doing, was that each year you can see that under the regular LTF revenues that amount is fixed. Okay, that's the amount you'll get that year. If it issues a bond, as the district did for its huge project, it allows it to have more money at once to take care of all those projects. And what we are doing is taking advantage of this not to pay for the project, but to pay the principal and interest of that bond amortization schedule . OK? This way, you
054can do more in less time or all at once, instead of trying to do it little by little each year and saying, "We have $700,000." "What are we going to do this year?" Well, we had a $15 million project. It's difficult to get $15 million like that. Yes. So that's why we receive about $1.4 million in revenue from LTFM, and approximately half of that goes toward debt service payments. Okay, that means the principal and interest on that debt, and the other half, I'm doing a quick calculation, comes to us for discretionary purposes. So what we do , being careful in the planning, is work with the district leadership, including Paul Jacobs, and say, "Okay, this is what we think we need." He tells us what, you know, we get budgets and feasibility studies from engineers
055who tell us the useful life of the projects, and what we want is, when we have the debt service, that the tax rate of the taxpayers does not fluctuate. We try to group the large projects into a bond to keep that tax rate stable, and that way we know when they are due and we can cover that debt when we are a school. We have 1,800 students, right? So there is a constant need to repair, and that's why it's so important. Thank you. Does anyone else have any questions? Our recommendation tonight would be, if the board agrees, to approve the resolution authorizing our spending; motion to approve, second. Second, and this will also be by roll- call vote. Patrick, yes. Wayne, Stephanie, yes. Sharon, yes. Melissa, yes. Nathan, yes. Yes. Policies that require review ,
056discussion, first reading and call for public comments on the following policies. Policy 208, development, adoption and implementation of policies. Policy 402, policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability. Policy 507.5, school resource officer . Policy 509, enrollment of nonresident students. Policy 624, online instruction. Policy 722, public data, requests from interested parties regarding data. Policy committee, have you already met to discuss these points? We had a meeting and reviewed them. We did n't have many changes to make. It was mostly about legal assistance and changes in definitions of terms, and any other questions or comments regarding the first reading? Um, policies that require discussion and action. Third and final reading and call for public comments on the following policies. Policy 305, policy implementation. Policy 404, employee background checks. Policy 506, student discipline. Policy 515, protection and
057privacy of student records. Policy 610, school excursions. Policy 707, transportation of public school students. I am submitting a motion to approve these policies. Unless the policy committee has something to add on the matter. No. Motion to approve and a second one. Members in favor. Yes. Policy that requires review and discussion. Third reading and call for public comments on the following policy. Due to the MSBA update on 612, we will be moving this policy to a fourth reading. Policy 709, Student Transportation Safety Policy, revised on 5/18 and 6/26 . So there was an update. We were planning to have this approved at this board meeting as well. However, during the month of June, after our second reading, it was modified again by the school board as a model policy. The changes received were in the definition
058of bus and in the definition of, um, agreement. Those cleaning kits and first aid kits are important, but it's not a drastic change in policy. So I recommend we get one more and review it with the MSBA. They said, "Well, they've already had two. They could pass it on the third try, but they could do a fourth and submit it one more time." Therefore, I would recommend that we just read it one more time and approve it at the August board meeting, if the board is happy to have one more document before approving it. I think it's a good option, especially since we're reviewing and approving policies on an ongoing basis anyway . OK. Does anyone else have any questions or concerns about this? OK. Budgetary registration report . Ryan, it's your turn. Thank you
059so much. Well, the simplest report is the registration report. So we'll continue with that in a couple of months, probably in a couple of months . So, this is a fairly straightforward and quick review because there's still a lot of work to be done. We are closing out the year. So, regarding the financial update of June 26, this is a preliminary snapshot and should be viewed as the district's final fiscal result for 2026. There is a considerable amount of work that we need to accomplish in the coming weeks as we complete the year-end closing. This happens every year. While there are no classes and the students are not here, this is the busiest time for the administrative office. So my thanks go to the office staff for the year we 've had and for the
060many activities we'll have during the rest of the next two months. We will also begin the audit soon. So we need to get to work. But getting back to the main point. The general fund recorded approximately $24.37 million in revenue, which is 91.7% of the revised budget . It is not unusual for a Minnesota district to have outstanding revenue at this point under the state's 90/10 relief payment schedule. Therefore, a portion of the state aid for fiscal year 26 will be received next year and recorded as an account receivable. Federal refunds, property taxes, and other income also remain to be recorded and reconciled. General fund expenditures total approximately 26.57 million, which is within 1.4% of the revised budget. Spending has closely followed the plan, and with significant revenues and closing entries remaining, the current difference
061should not be considered the district's bottom line. I want to emphasize this because we have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks. In the upcoming meetings, you will hear me giving updates as we finalize things. The other operating funds also closely follow the budget. The construction fund expenditures primarily reflect the indoor air quality and fire safety project we have discussed, financed with bonds. We will continue recording accounts receivable and payable, allocating collections to corporate funds, and reconciling accounts. As I mentioned, we've done the pre-audit work and I believe they're coming on July 27th. Well, I don't know if they'll come in person. We will probably work with them virtually. It's a very busy time for us, as we'll be spending several weeks providing information, preparing reports, answering questions, and closing everything up
062for fiscal year 2026. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about it. Does anyone have any questions for Ryan right now? Thank you so much. Very good. Administrator information and reports . Alyssa, do you want to start? Yes. I know...well, a big thank you to all the staff working this summer, from the custodians to the district office, the administration, and all our coaches, because they put in extra time in the summer and are very busy. It has been a hot summer and all projects have been able to move forward and transition as needed. And also to all the parents, volunteers and collaborators of this community for supporting all their students in their summer programs. Things are starting to wrap up for the summer and we're shifting towards the start of the school
063year. So we're structuring programs, working on everything from the start of the school year, from SKC to preschool, childcare, and all of our programs. So August...I mean, the end of July is when summer really ends. August marks the start of the school year. So we need to start putting it into action as well. Matt, would you like to introduce yourself and give us a quick update on what's happening in your department? Yes, I'm Matt Beckers. I am the new director of activities. I've been meeting a lot of people, learning about the district, the programs we offer, and I'm excited to be here and serve our community. Obviously, we have some new pieces of technology that we're working on. So, Found is our new event scheduler, registration and ticketing service. We're delving deeper into that and
064preparing everything. We opened the registry last week and then realized we weren't ready to open it. So we had to close it and now we're working on those aspects, and I think we're on track to open by the end of this week. And well, I'm just excited to be here. Excited to learn how I can better serve the community and meet everyone. Welcome. You were able to give your presentation and we thank you for it. Mr. Coover, how are you? What's happening at the elementary school? Well, this year, the elementary school was cleaned first by the custodians, which is great. That's something we should continue if I have a say in it. The good news is that the teachers are already starting to arrive. So it's strange that there isn't a teacher already in the
065building working and preparing their classroom for the school year. That 's always great. And there's also a bit more activity in the building. So we know that the school year is fast approaching. Do you know how many children we have enrolled for kindergarten this coming term? Just under 100. Okay. Mr. Whitmer, what brings us here ? Oh, I just have, uh, it's in my report , but I want to add this. I just want to give a huge public thank you to all our construction workers at the high school or those who work on other buildings. To our maintenance staff and all our student helpers who come in every day. There's a lot, obviously if you came in here you saw all the things in the hallways, the desks, the chairs, all those items. A
066lot is needed to prepare our buildings for the children and families who are coming. So I just want to thank them all . It is, uh, something very remarkable. Mr. Boss. My building is not clean. It is completely dismantled. I had the opportunity to be there. You know, all the roofs are down, all of them. So all the janitors who already have their buildings clean will have to focus on mine very soon. Starting in August. And we hope so. The teachers are already writing to me, are we on time? Are we keeping to the schedule? Can we just relax and show up? So, it's going to happen, but we appreciate your willingness to come back and get things ready for the kids this fall. It's just that they don't want to have to do it
067during, you know, Labor Day or something like that. They remember a few years ago when we could barely open some schools because of the construction work. So we certainly hope that the timeline will be maintained. Mr. Bueno, you know, I start many of my reports with indoor air quality projects because it's a big part of what's going on at our school right now. Students can use the gym and the swimming pool. The pool is also receiving some work this week. So there are some schedule changes we need to make, but they have access. The high school gym is available. It's a big project and we're doing everything we can to ensure the construction companies meet the deadlines and provide them with every facility to be here. So , for now, everything looks pretty good. Well,
068it will be about four weeks before we start receiving the parts . So, we're excited about that . Um, thanks to all our contract negotiators. We are still working on the principles, but other than that, we have already completed all of our contracts. Um, next, I wanted to talk for a couple of minutes about Stop It Solutions. Stop It Solutions is a new program that we're launching this year. It is an anonymous reporting program via phone call, email, or text message that we will be able to implement so that our students and the community can report concerns or problems at school. Whether it's a threat, or students who do n't get along and want to report it anonymously, something that happened in class or on the bus, all of that can be reported through this
069anonymous reporting system. Um, I used this in my last district. One of the best parts of this program is that it is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So this program is also linked to law enforcement and our city and county, so that if there's a report, for example, in the middle of the night and the Stop It Solutions monitors notice it , they can contact our office immediately and we'll find out as soon as possible. But it doesn't depend on someone in the district always monitoring 24/7, because that 's simply not possible. So, this is a program that we're going to acquire for next year. They will receive more information about it. Parents, students, and teachers, it will be positive for us to ensure that all members of the community have
070the opportunity to report a concern, especially in emergency situations. And also, regarding student activity fees. We talked about how my only concern is that we had some students who already enrolled on the one day we were open before we closed it, and now that we've changed the cost. The question for them is whether we proceed to charge them the increased amount we decided for the school year or whether we allow those students to remain registered as they were. Well, there would be a cost to this if we don't receive additional funding, but that's something that's open to discussion in my opinion, Madam President. I think it's a good thing to discuss. My only question, or rather, my concern or comment, would be if some people just signed up for fall sports. Tori and I might
071say yes, but sometimes I go in and sign up for the whole school year. I think for fall sports, if they signed up for fall sports, then we allow it. But if they signed up for, you know, three sports and have two kids, that, I mean, is quite a big difference depending. So I think we really need to analyze it on a case- by-case basis. I think for fall sports, yes, we let it go and they signed up for football, volleyball, or whatever sport their kids are in. But I think if it's for basketball and wrestling and, you know, winter sports and spring sports for the year, are all the sports ready and available ? Do you know, Matt? Yes. Okay. I think we should limit it to just fall sports . Is that a
072significant percentage? I mean, every dollar counts , but like, are we talking about five, six, or what? We have 26 registered high school athletes and one enrolled in high school activities. Uh, 27 students enrolled in middle school, but the middle school did not change its fees. So there are only 26. Then, there would be 27 different, uh, 27 different students. And how many students do they usually have registered in high school for the fall? You know, what I mean is if it 's 27 out of, you know, a lot of 27 out of 50 is different from 27 out of. I don't have a breakdown in my head by season. We have around a thousand students during the year, but I don't know the approximate number of each one offhand. I think that would be
073the question; we're talking about 26 out of, you know, 150 , that's obviously a different percentage. Clear. Different. However, my opinion would be that if it's a small percentage of students , they should be allowed to keep the old rate because, well, it was our fault. I agree with that. It is certainly not the parents' fault. They were being responsible by doing it immediately. Exactly what we work to teach our students. So I see no reason to penalize the parents. It is not yet part of the budget because it has not been raised. It's a small amount, and I don't think sending them a second invoice will generate positive publicity. I just feel strongly that I don't know how it happened, but I know that the parents who paid were not the cause. This gives
074me the idea that maybe next year we should consider an early bird discount or something like that, where we include it from day one. That, you know, if we ever raise the odds, it could be a good thing. Any further discussion on this matter? I think it's complicated when you say autumn, because yes, people already registered last month. Don't know. I found it difficult to tell if they had one sport or two. It was this, and now it's that. I find it difficult to ask them for that. Do you know if there was anyone, Matt, who did all three? Five of them. Five in total. Alright . So 27. So five out of 27. And how much extra money is that actually? I mean, well, five times 15. Yeah. I'm just saying that's 1000 dollars.
075That's 1000 dollars. Is that $1000 worth it ? Yes. February 27th. And the difficult part is that this conversation started with a budget issue. $30,000 that had a lot of activities and instead of head coaches, this is what we have. He arrived too late. I think the transition to a new activity had a lot to do with that. But in the end, this is where we are. This is not the time to do calculations or anything like that. He said he would take care of that before he left, and here we are. So I guess I agree with Sharon about PR and all that, and the more I think about it now, I think it's just a matter of accepting it and moving on . It was a mistake, you know, like a bank error
076in Monopoly that went in your favor. Well, that's what I think happened to those people this time. Well, it's not really a mistake. Essentially, we're approving it tonight. We're not saying, "Hey , this was approved when you signed your kids up for free sports." No, I wasn't. We paid what we were told to pay. So it's nobody's fault. We can't go back and ask for more money. That doesn't sound good. Yes. You don't go to Target and, you know, they say, "Oh yeah, that thing you bought us last week, we raised the price, so you have to pay us again for it." So, Wayne, do you have any concerns? I'm already sharing it, Melissa. Okay, we'll just move forward and reopen it, or whenever we can reopen and pay. Hopefully, everyone will reopen this week
077. We will leave those records as they are. OK. Committee reports. DAX has not met, the welfare group has not met. Benton Sterns. Well, Benton, yes, the Benton Sterns Special Co-op has been working very hard to find a new facility, they chose one, did the preliminary reviews and had some board votes , so we were still moving forward. And then, the company that owns the property decided that it no longer had the funds to renovate the building so that the cooperative could lease it. So they withdrew from the idea and the proposed offer, and are now looking for a property again. Any other news? Alright . Buildings and land. Did they just have a meeting about that? No. It's fine. Finance committee. We met last week. Almost everything we discussed is on the table and
078has already been resolved, Sharon. Health and safety will not meet until classes resume. Insurance will not meet again until later. MSBA has not met. The Minnesota State High School League has not met, the policy committee met and gave its updates, and then tenure, contracts and negotiations. We're almost closer. Yes, we're getting closer. Alright. Opportunity for comments from board members. Sharon, we'll start with you. I want to welcome our new sporting director and thank our wonderful community for respecting the "no parking" signs at the playing fields. The first two days were terrifying. It did n't seem like it was going to happen, but now it seems to be the norm. I want to thank the negotiating committee for narrowing it down to a single group now. But we will remind everyone that we will soon be
079back at the negotiating table. I want to invite you to fill up your tanks at Coburn's pumps. I think it's bomb number five. They will donate three cents per gallon to our school. Thank you, Coburn's. And it's clearly marked so that it can be seen. And, um, this is simply my favorite time of year in Joy. Uh, just a friendly reminder that if you're interested in running for school board or know someone who is , the deadline is July 28 at 5:00 p.m. Wayne, I have no comment. Thank you. Patrick, I want to add something to what Stephanie said about the school board nominations. Um, and simply put, if you 're thinking of running, fantastic, you know, and as I said before, I'll say it again. There is a small learning curve. So , if
080you're interested in running, whether you 're on the ballot or not, come up to one of us and say, "You know what? What am I getting myself into exactly?" and things like that. You know, what are these committees I mentioned? And ask away, you know, ask questions, because I think we'd all be happy to welcome you and help you with any questions you may have as a candidate. Um, I also want to say that this coming Saturday is your second-to-last chance to see this year's marching band show. The last chance will be at the homecoming game, as they always come back for that, but it will be at the Gilman parade, the great town of Gilman, of course. A wonderful parade. So I hope to see you there. And I shared with them that I
081love the heat and I hope we reach 100 degrees. You could be left alone today. Well, I like it too. I know it's true . I want to welcome the new sporting director. I'm happy you're here. So, welcome. Since he's sitting there in his sweatshirt, we know he likes the heat too, Nate. Alright. All I have to say is that, um, the school was packed over the weekend. There were more cars in the parking lot than I've seen since classes started. And on the baseball and softball fields, there were many children here. There were many children. A lot of work went into ensuring that our school performed well this weekend. So, I appreciate it. Welcome, Matt. Like I said, um, I appreciate all the work. In fact, I was in the office with Beth the
082other day and I appreciate her help, her willingness to help and get me everything I needed. Um, so I really appreciate that and the hours that Ryan, Dan, and Kelly have all been putting into the negotiations. It's been a lot. So, um, I really appreciate it. Okay, all right, meetings, events and notices. This does not include scheduled events . Our next board meeting is scheduled for August 17, 2026, right here, in the same place where we are today at 5:30 p.m. Please join us if you can. I will accept a motion to adjourn the session. Motion to adjourn the session. I second the motion. All members in favor. Yeah.