June 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM - Monthly Committee of the Whole Board

001schools today at 4:36. Um I'll turn it over to the clerk for roll call. >> Member Banks >> here. >> Chair Derk Eater >> here. >> Member Laughler >> here. >> Vice Chair Lo >> here. >> And clerk Mel here. Treasurer Sidowski >> here. >> Member Williams is excused. Superintendent Maggus >> present. >> Assistant Superintendent Bonds >> present. >> Deputy Clerk Zunich >> present. And executive assistance Brown. Roll call is complete. Thank you. I'd now like to turn it over to assistant superintendent Bonds for the rest of the meeting. >> Thank you and good evening board and good evening everyone who is uh with us. I would like to start off by saying uh we have a full agenda uh which I really appreciate. I want to say in advance to all of our presenters,

002thank you for getting all the presentations ready and just being mindful of how robust of an agenda that we have and just want to say uh thank you though for all of your work and all sincerity. So first up, let's um bring up our first presentation. Uh we have several individuals with us. They can introduce uh themselves uh in terms of their roles in a minute. We have Gretchen, uh, Gretchen, uh, Car, uh, Julie Stabber, and Dale Usman. Uh, they are here to present, uh, for us today the 2526 local literacy report. It may say plan, but it's more of a report. So, I'll turn it over to Dr. Usman. technology. >> Yes, for the record. Let that show in the minutes. >> Good afternoon. Um, I'm here with Gretchen and Julie to present our

003annual submission of the local literacy plan. Um, as assistant superintendent Bonds already said, it really is more of a report than it is a plan. Um it's helpful for you all to know as well as the public who may be listening that uh by state statute we as a district are required to submit the local literacy plan um by June 15th and then post it to the district website. Um, over the past few years that I've been watching the local literacy plans, it really has changed and it, as you probably saw as you were reviewing it, it very much reads like a form now. Um, so we have been talking about how it really is the local literacy report as opposed to a plan. So, um, our process is that MDE gives us a very

004long form with lots of things to fill out. Uh some of those things being student performance toward the READACT goal, student screening for characteristics of dyslexia, progress toward read PD requirements, and how we used our literacy aid fund. Um it's a little bit different this year. We you didn't get a very nice PDF copy. You probably saw it looked a little bit messy. We're waiting on MDE because this year our guidance is to submit the form and then they will come back to us with a really nice PDF layout. Um, however, that really nice PDF layout isn't ready for us yet from MDE. So, we're just waiting on that and we'll have a cleaner version of this PDF to put on the website. I'll turn it over to you. I'm Gretchen Card, the literacy lead,

005and I'm going to speak towards the actions we took this year um towards our literacy goal. So, our literacy goal is to meet the ReadAct goal of every Minnesota child reading at or above grade level um starting in kindergarten. and changes that we did this year moving towards that goal was we expanded the universal screening up to 12th grade and previously it was kindergarten through third grade um was required through the read act. We also trained hundreds of pair professionals in structured literacy practices so they can support our classroom teachers and we began our strive training for our secondary ELA teachers and administrators. We have also um received new guidance from MDE on integrating more multi-elabic decoding, morphology and vocabulary instruction in all of our teaching including secondary class classrooms. Many of our um phase

006one teachers have now completed um we have less than 70 left to finish that um phase one training that was with letters. We um made gains this year um in prek through 2 grade on all of our screening. We don't have the MCA4 results back yet. So this was the first year of the MCA4, a new version of the MCA tests and we will get those results in the fall to see how things went for our third grade through 10th graders this year. Also, um, as Dale mentioned, it was a long form that we had to fill out online and we noticed an error today when we went back and looked at it. So, if you have a printed copy of the form, if you're reading about the um, section 14 about the dual language

007immersion program, there was a misprint with the numbers. So, and we're working on it. We'll be able to resubmit it with the correct numbers. That was a new part of the plan this year, too, was to report more in depth on our dual language immersion programs and how we're meeting those students needs. Oh, that's right. So, um, uh, I also prepared a slide to talk to you about the funding that we get to support all the initiatives for the READ Act. So, there were some streams of funding that are not available to us anymore, but we do have some of those dollars still in re in reserve. Um we are continue to get the literacy incentive aid and we used um about a third of that so far this year and we are able to

008allocate it in our remaining fiscal year to use those funds up by the um by the end of June. >> Okay. So you have heard that the local literacy plan is more of a report. They do ask however you know what is our plan moving forward you know did we make some changes to our to our plan to our report moving forward so there's a little bit of a what's your plan going to how's it changing for the future and uh uh the biggest thing is the phase 2 training for our secondary teachers that has begun it began in May it's going to continue um as Gretchen mentioned the MCA4 is new. So, there's going to be a lot of uh learning for that. You know, 6, seven, 8, and then 10th grade. Those are

009all new MCA4s. Um, another new thing that we're working on is uh oral language uh screening for K2 as well as ROAR screening. Uh ROAR stands for rapid online assessment in reading. Um that we we do a gated approach with our screening. So ROAR is a quick screener to see uh which students are reading at grade level proficiency and if they are not then those students that are not at grade level will then be tested with the captive read basics which is part of the read act requirement. Another thing that is changing uh we are looking at tier two and tier three interventions and progress monitoring for secondary sites which middle school has been doing some of that but now our high school will be working on that. And then we are also looking at

010some um rewards is a uh curriculum for intervention as well as advanced word study. We're bringing that into the secondary schools as well. So those were some changes that we were that we are started making this year and that will continue in the future. >> We kept it brief, but what questions do you have for us? I know that you have a copy of the um plan as well as a copy of our slides. Superintendent Magus, >> I just want to say thanks to you as a team uh and and really appreciate the work you're doing around literacy. I think we all agree that literacy is a foundation to education and uh the changes we've made as a district are are really phenomenal and I think hearing about these next steps and where we've been

011and where we're going is uh incredibly wonderful. And Gretchen, I want to say thank you for your service to the district. I know you're stepping away for other things, but just want to say uh that we appreciate the service to the district and um your leadership. >> Thank you. It's been an honor to be here. >> Eric Eer and then member Laughler. >> Um since we have all the literacy our our leaders in literacy in the building, I just found it was an interesting word choice for you all and so I' I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. When you said Duth public schools will make incremental process, I just find that's an interesting word to use like small prog like what are your like what are your thoughts as how we move towards

012the readact and where we're at and how we're doing. >> Well, I think we hear this guidance from our training that we're in and from MDE that unfortunately the changes don't happen overnight. >> Yeah, >> it's system change. Um, and you know, if we have a kiddo in fourth grade who maybe hasn't had all the same structured literacy in those formative years, that change isn't going to happen at the same rate. Um, so you're talking about across the district, it'll look very different for us with our little kinders who've started out for this versus like my son who started out and is now in 11th grade because he he has dyslexia as I've shared. And so that was a huge huge huge challenge for us moving forward. So yeah, >> I always have to lift

013up the new focus on dyslexia and disgraphia for kids because it's hugely helpful. But I just found that interesting and framing it in terms of the spectrum of kids who've been exposed to the Reed Act now makes sense with the word like incremental. But I was looking at this and I was like, "Huh, I wonder what that means." >> So >> to explain to our our preschool made incredible growth this year. Yeah. So did kindergarten. So >> I'm just thrilled about it. So thank you so much and thank you for your service. >> Thank you. Kemp, >> thank you. And uh yeah, I share uh what Superintendent Mega said too about uh the gratitude for all the work that put into this plan. Um and I just had two two quick things. One is I

014I appreciated you including the literacy aid funds and particularly the uses it will be uh for it so that people kind of better understood that. So thank you. And then um under the changes for um for next year, I was just curious if you could share and again maybe more for the public where you talk about um implementing tier 2 and tier three interventions and progress monitoring in the high schools and like what would progress monitoring look like just again so people better understand how we monitor. Mhm. >> Well, we do have access to more tools like CAP read basics which really uh helps us understand where students are in their level of proficiency when it comes to reading and um our our hope is that we can provide the interventions would be the rewards

015and the advanced word study. That's um those are the interventions that MDE has approved. uh as appropriate for our students and then progress monitoring. We can um do that. We can actually use CAPD read basics. One of the tests within that test can be used every six to eight weeks to check to see are kids making progress based on the the work that they're um doing within the in the class. um based on everything that they're the teacher is providing the extra support that's being provided are students making any progress and that's we can use that capture read basics to do that. >> Okay. Excellent. Thank you so much. Can we go back to page six and just kind of um review that literacy aid funds and just um again for for me but sometimes

016it helps um our community as well just kind of understand I I think um I'd be interested in just hearing how incredibly wonderful positive and um encompassing the aid has already been in these asked, "Has this been our would this be our third year of our our extensive PD, our extensive training, all in letters?" And just where when we know then that, well, I'm going to let you explain it. When we know the aid is is not going to come back come again, but we have some left over, where do we see um our literacy goals, you know, in the maybe in three years or or do you think aid will come back in some way, shape, or form? like fall down from heaven. >> I I don't have a crystal ball so I don't

017know what'll happen in three years. Um the aid has gone down but then our demands for PD is also going down. So we won't have to have that same expense of you know reimbursing teachers and and doing that. also um I think it's 87 programs have been approved by MDE um for colleges. So students will come to us out of college not needing this training. So we can use those funds that are remaining for intervention programs, for enhanced screening, for um providing, you know, professional development that will continue to um strengthen teachers understanding, you know, of what they've learned and help them implement that into the classroom. And we can also use it for positions um staffing. And the funds that we say, you know, we've spent onethird of that, so we have twothirds left,

018will last us how long? >> Do you feel ready to speak to that, Simone? Um I I think um with the way our budget is sitting right now that we are going to be utilizing our restricted funds as much as possible and if it is appropriate and we can um utilize them for our needs we will try and draw down this year FY26 and then we'll see what's left over. One thing that I will add is that we are doing some forward thinking and I think you were alluding to this Gretchen. Um we're approaching or yeah we're we're going towards phase 2 professional development a little bit differently. We've spent a lot of our funding on um stipens and substitutes during phase one because we've done all of that professional development outside of professional development

019days that we have in the district. However, with phase two now, um all of our phase 2 participants will be participating in uh their professional development on professional development days. So, we no longer will have the cost associated with the stipens or uh substitute costs. >> Thank you. Yep. >> And can I just further that conversation then? If if we are recognizing some some savings within the twothirds left over, does does that help us? Where where do where does that help us the most? Keeping um newer teachers coming into our younger primary grades um um connected more or I don't know. I'm just trying to trying to lift up our our focus on literacy because we have been for three years and give our community understanding that, you know, we're in good shape. Maybe I

020just said it. >> That's a it's a really good question and I don't have um a a great answer, but I do think it will allow us to continue to do some of the things that we're doing without having to pull funding from other avenues. Hopefully, So uh MDE says that the a school district must use its literacy aid to meet the requirements and goals adopted in the district's uh local literacy plan under and they state the statute. So um we do need to use the funds um they don't ideally we don't want to sit there let them sit there from year to year. So we'll we will apply them Thank you, Member Sidowski. >> I was wondering if you could just say a little bit more about the ROAR test, the rapid online assessment

021in reading. I know from having kids in in the schools. I've heard about the FAST test in elementary school, um but I hadn't heard about the ROAR test in the high school level. and how do we identify um students who may benefit from this and who completes it? Just some more information on it. >> Well, um I do know that the ROAR test is a re it for those districts using the gated approach. ROAR was approved by MDE or recommended by MDE to use as that first step in the gated approach. It is uh out of the Stanford University um and there are districts in the state using it. Um and that what that it's a rapid what is it 20 minutes >> 20 to 30 minutes online. >> Yeah. And so uh and it

022is aligned with the science of reading so that it it um identifies the areas where a student may need some where they're doing well and where they may need some extra support. uh and depending upon how they score with that, if you know their level of proficiency is at grade level, then that would be it. That would be the only screening that would be necessary. And then if they're below grade level, then our next step would be to administer the CAPY read basics assessment. That roar is more like a broad brush stroke, you know, of a screener. And then the CAPD, if a student is below on roar, the CAP DY would be more diagnostic, more specific, like what area. >> Great. Thank you. That's great to hear that it's um a nice rapid test,

023too. So, I know our students have a lot going on and um a lot of tests. >> Um I don't want to get too far in the weeds, but I I don't know what the gated approach is. So, I don't know if you could say in a nutshell what that is. Gated approach means uh well the readact requires that we screen everybody grades 4 through 12 now K through 12 >> K through 12 um >> and so the gated approach means every but are we using roar for 4 through 12 no we're using fast fast bridge >> fast bridge for middle school roar for 9 through 12 >> 9 through 12 only so everybody will be screened in the whole district all students and then so that's the first gate and then if they pass

024through that gate there's no more testing um required by the redact. If if students aren't at a level of proficiency, you know, for their grade level, then they would take the CAPD. >> Got it. Thank you. >> Yeah, >> member Michael. >> Thank you so much for all you're doing for our literacy goals um in the district. I was curious or I was very excited to see that MDE as well as our district is prioritizing parent notification and involvement and recognizing that we'll be notifying parents um of their students. Is it just their scores that they take two or three times a year? Is that what will be going out to parents? So every parent will receive that information. Correct. So we are required, it is an M read Act requirement for um K through

025three families to be notified of how students do on the screener and if they are below read below grade level and reading what the school is doing to address those needs. >> Excellent. And I also see in our plan that we'll also be including strategies that parents and families can use at home to help their student. Yes. Is are those going to be just universal strategies that everyone receives or will there also be some more pinpointed strategies if a student happens to test on the lower side? >> We have a document with like a menu of activities and then the actual interventionist or the teacher that's working with the child can pick from that menu on what would be specifically helpful for the student. >> Great. I'm sure parents will appreciate having that extra layer

026of support as well so that they can be helping at home as well. Thank you. >> Thank you. Seeing no additional lights. So, thank you again for all of your work and uh for presenting tonight. Um next up, we have uh Jen Larva, Director Larva, as well as our uh >> public information officer Dell Wellins. and they will be providing an update related to the student handbook. >> Good evening board members. Um Jen Larva, director of secondary education, the wellness communications officer. Um, so every year I um work with the assistant principles and um we review the student handbook um from the year that we're currently working in. Um Adele assists me in this a lot of times. We're working on updating policy. She does a lot of the formatting piece, but we we take

027a look at um different parts and pieces of the student handbook and um let the a the APs live in the student handbook on a pretty much daily basis. So, they're they're they're the reason why I use them as as a student handbook committee. Um and they'll let us know like what's really not working or hey, this was new this year. Can we take a peek at um like the language around this? Um, so what you're seeing here is the changes. So a good portion of our student handbook just always made it stays the same unless we need to make a change. Um, and so these are the changes that are being made for next year's handbook. We um we get the changes and then we bring them forward to you. Adele then will be

028working on the actual production of the handbook. Um, she needs to go through Canva, I think, first before she publishes or do you use something else? >> I use Inesign in >> Okay, in design, but we look we work on it through Canva first or something. Okay, whatever it is. Um, but we we'll put together the final um student handbook for distribution come the fall. But here you can see um some of the changes that um happen every year. We're always making updates to the directory. um you know when we have uh like retirements like Kathy Kush Marshall left and so we'll be hiring a Congden principal. So that'll that'll be something that'll have to be updated. So you will see the updates to the directory as position shifts. We kind of wait until the

029very last minute before we have to to make those updates um as much as possible. Um we added in um how parents are going to be communicated with during our e-learning days so that they they know they should be looking at parent square for more information. Um we're changing the terminology from blended learning to digital learning. There's some reasons behind that. Um I have not yet brought forth um policy 624 which is about online learning but that will be coming next year for sure. Um there's been some updates at the state level and there's an actual definition about what blended learning is and it's not how DUTH has defined blended learning. It is more about um being able to offer learning that is um a hybrid of being in seats and doing some digital things.

030And so we wanted to clean that up so that there's no more confusion um with that definition that's coming from the state when we get that policy brought to the board. We wanted to clean this up first. Um we added a little statement about backpacks um just so that it was very clear that students are supposed to be keeping their backpacks in their lockers from first spell to last spell. Um so that was added in um that was on the suggestion of our APs. We also have added some language around the generative use of artificial intelligence under academic dishonesty. we're seeing um a lot of AI use already with our students and so we wanted to ensure that they were aware of that. Um we also have a um syllabus statement, you know, that we're

031going to be adding to syllabi um throughout the school year as well. So that's just putting it into the handbook so that we have that um documented. Um we have a statement that we added regarding um positive student attendance around that 90% that is what the state defines as being positive student attendance and how um absences need to be reported through the school using their communication tool. Um so there may be ways that um individual sites have parents call in an absence. It could be a call. It could be you leave it on a certain line on a voicemail. It could be through parent square. It could be a Google form. Um we don't know what the communication tool of choice necessarily is for all of them. So we wanted to make sure that it

032was it was clear that they the school is is going to be communicating with them how to do that. Um we also when we had changed the policy a while back um we had said that you know family trips and stuff they would be excused if we they're arranged in advance. We know that that that that is something that we want families that we have we have people who are maybe teachers in other districts. We want them to be able to take their kids like we wouldn't want to say that you can't take your kid when you're on on vac on your break from school or something. And so we had agreed um through the policy that was written last year was that policy submitted that that would be excused but we didn't really have

033anything in our handbook that reflected that piece. >> So you know like we want to have that notification in advance so that it's not like an afterthought like oh yeah we were in Florida for two weeks. Uh yeah you should have told us in advance so that we would make sure we had what you needed in order to be gone. Um, we added some language for the level four incidents so that um, it would be um, the consequence. Now, I can't remember what it says in front of it because of how it's set here. >> So, originally for the level four incidents um, there was no level four is our highest level. So, those are our most egregious. There was no um, language that said that we could also consider expulsion. So we added that

034to that language because level four being our most extreme circumstances, it usually ends up with a recommendation for possible expulsion. So we just added that so that it was clear. And then um when it came to the second and third offense of level three, we the um APS also wanted to add um a also and or consideration for expulsion. It wasn't clear in there. And again, if it's level three is our second most egregious, so they're pretty extreme if they're doing it a second or a third time. Um, so that was just to kind of cover our basis for, you know, the handbook doesn't say that you would consider that. So the level four one was really just a missed um piece that we added and the level three was a suggestion made by the

035assistant principles. And then um with the nicotine delivery systems, we wanted that to be clear to cover vapes um or any or the pouches that are now becoming more popular, anything that has nicotine. So because we felt tobacco wasn't we had a lot of push back that tobacco wasn't specific enough for a vape because it's not tobacco. Um and then for the um DTA via their student ID. So that was added um because in the handbook we have a separate section for transportation disciplinary. So it's added there that if you're removed from the bus you either have to transport or if you're in grades uh 6 through 12 that you'll have access to the DTA through your student ID. Um and then um under disciplinary definition we added a definition with gambling that also adds

036unapproved sales due to some issues we've had in the district recently. Um, and then we would we'll update any of the policies that are in the back of the handbook um with our most current policies. And we've actually over the past year updated quite a few of those policies. So Patty has a whole list for me to to update. I do think there's one more thing that I don't know if it has been made public and so I'm just going to state it here would be the DTA. You'll see that it says uh 6th through 12th grade student. Um it used to be just 9 through 12. Um and we have been able to expand that to middle school for this next upcoming school year. So I'm just stating that publicly so that everybody if

037watching can and can hear that and know that that is a change. I think along with that, however, and I don't mean to be um casting negativity on something that is a positive, but as we consider future budget reductions, and I know we're talking about budget, that those those programs are things that are extremely important for our students and our community, but there may be things that if there's not additional grant funds or things like that that we have to consider over time. >> Yeah, >> it's a good thing we do the Hamburg every year then. Any questions? >> Member Lo. >> So, I just want to clarify this last point. Are we, you know, because as soon as I saw the added this bullet point, I just thought to myself, are we continuing this

038free pass system? Um, and so because I I would have I would have made the assumption that we probably weren't. We've always been clear at the board table over these last three years. We want it, but we always are are aware of what superintendent just said that our budgets are tight. So, I'm just clarifying. So, they will have this ability to use a pass this year that we found a grant money or we just decided to keep it in our budget for this 26 27 school year. >> Right. So, the count there was some monies that were uh allocated from the county that we're able to put towards this uh but it was a one-time thing. It had to do with um I think some additional tax tiff tiff tax money that came in from

039some of the Lester Park development or something along those lines if I remember correctly. So there was some tiff money that that was uh reallocated to us and uh when it was reallocated we we uh it had to be for certain specific purposes and and uh we felt that this met the standard. So we have funding for it through this next year, but after that there is no additional funding, which is why I even though I laed the program and think it's important. I think that uh unfortunately we're >> it's a very nice and important to have, but it might be one of those things that has to be eliminated. >> And can I be clear budget is I'm sorry. Can I just ask what it is we're spending on? Um well, >> we can

040get that um when Simone is here before is I think it's like 175,000 Yes. And actually it's even cheaper than that um that we are spending. So to be clear, we received that TIF money three years ago. It's the same TIF money because we've been drawing it down. So we have money still remaining out of that TIFF funds uh that we originally received around two years ago, three years ago now because I think we've been doing at least two years. Um but we're g we have enough in there for one more year. And because there has been um consideration of middle school students, this was the year we said, "Okay, we will um provide the opportunity for middle school students because there's enough uh funds remaining there." But we do believe this is probably the

041last year um that we will have those funds available for middle school or even high school. So we would have to um you know seek uh alternate uh funds if we are going to do it beyond the 26 27 school year. Member Sidowski. >> Yep. Thank you. Um I I also think this DTA program is uh immensely important to a lot of our students and understand the financial um strain that we're on. I'm really appreciative to the county on their collaboration with these TIFF funds. I'm wondering if um the DTA is collecting data um over the last couple years about wrership with our students because I think just one humble opinion that um it could encourage future ridership. So I think it's actually a really good investment for the DTA to partner with the school

042district for these bus rides. And I can just say just a couple days ago, I texted my kid to see um where are you? Are you home? Can you let someone in the house for me? Um who was there? And he said, "Nope, I'm out teaching my friend how to ride the city bus." They were going down figuring out how to get down to Fickers to where their jobs were and he was teaching another student how to ride the city bus, which is just one example over the last couple years of just one one student. So I think um it would be really interesting to get this data and um figure out if we could have a conversation with them about future. >> Agreed. I would say that that is um something we've pursued in

043previous conversation. There are examples of other districts and other cities where where u the transit authority wants to promote something like this so that uh it can increase future ridership. So basic as you said like if if people start riding young they oftentimes ride for life and so I think that that's something that could be an investment and we'll we'll we'll renew those conversations but I think unfortunately the the uh duth transit authority is in somewhat similar circumstances where their budgets are are being reduced and fuel costs and things like that are affecting things. So I think that uh they are a little reluctant to to invest in those future elements that might be beneficial right now. Chair Derer. >> Hi. I just have a couple questions around the level four and the level three

044incidences. So, and just just because I'm not sure. So, the K through three kids or is it the K through2? We have very little capacity to expel those kids. Correct. So, as I look here, we have the K through three behavior violations and leveled response. So really I suppose the language in there makes sense cuz in third grade I guess you can expel would be for level three maybe at the second and the third in fence and then level four we have that option right away. Correct >> potentially. I mean it depends upon the of your situation but um we really are pretty restricted as far as like suspensions and stuff. So yeah. And then the level three offenses as I read through all these things um this all is making sense. I do see

045in the level four that we do have andor referral to expulsion. Like I think we have that language but I noticed that we don't have it in the level three and that would only be after second and third offenses. Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. And where it was added in the level four was at the very top in that definition. So it was right at the top where it says, you know, the list of things that are considered level four because if you go throughout it does have it, but we wanted to add it at the top there. >> Yeah. >> Okay, perfect. That makes sense. Thank you for that note. I appreciate it. And then one last question I had around so when I went back and looked at um our academic dishonesty, so

046um it would that you're going to add that generative e because that's a pretty short academic dishonesty. So, you just add that generative AI and do you feel like that covers enough of what it needs to cover? >> It does in that um it it's referred to in our we added it up at the top of the academic dishonesty in part two on page like 18, but then it's also added down in the behavior stuff. So, it we're addressing it in two different places. Got it. >> Um and it's it's enough for our um APS and our administrative team to be able to say it's in the handbook. It's referred to in the handbook. And then um syllabi will be that place where teachers will have that more detailed information about it. >> All right.

047So this covers us and then teachers have some capacity in their syllabi and in their class to further strengthen that sort of dishonesty. Okay. Thank you both so much. >> I see superintendent Maggus but I know member Banks was next. Did or do you had something to speak to specific? >> It just happens to be in response to member Eer's question. So I'll just jump forward with that for just a moment. Um, I think it it does spell out things well enough for this policy cycle and for this uh student handbook. I know that MSBA and um the superintendent association, they're they're constantly looking revising their AI policies as well as the academic dishonesty pieces. So I think it's important for us to continue to keep an eye on what that looks like just because

048um as as our relationship move, you know, as we figure out how to best to best work with AI and make sure that it's a constructive uh use of AI rather than a destructive use of AI. I think it's important for us to keep a close eye on those policies and I'm appreciative of the the board and for the team for doing so. >> Mayor, thank you. And I just wanted to um reiterate with the DTA system um for member Saddowski, the transit agency has in all of their buses um technology that um actually the transit operator when a person who either is employed by the district or students ride the bus, there's a button that they push that is exclusive to ISD79. And so, uh, they do those reports every month and present them

049to their board. And so, ISD79 could get that report to determine writership and and all of those things. >> Thank you. >> And just um for everyone's benefit, we do get those reports. So we do have our writership uh information is sent to us and we we analyze it and it's the writership um the report showed that wrership is consistent and up and so uh students are really taking advantage of it and when I sent the message to our uh middle school principles that this was going to happen uh Brian Kurs Mitch immediately said this is great news many of his students will take advantage of it. Uh I I know the uh principles of the middle schools have been asking at least um I know Lincoln Park has been asking for this for quite

050some time. So I think it's going to be uh beneficial to our students and again help promote getting kids to school and our attendance initiatives because we want to get uh students to school and this helps them not only get to school but for back and forth to work even on the weekends. So I think it's a great thing. member uh Saddowski and then >> yes definitely promoting independence as well which is great. Um my question that I have is related to the um sentence where it says um all student absence ab absences must be reported to the school through their communication tool within 48 hours. Um, I'm just curious. Uh, so I'm assuming from how this is worded that not every school is using the same tool and if we're trying to move toward

051consistency across the district because I hear about that in other topics of conversation about moving toward consistency. And then my second question um would be um I know East uses the Parent Square app. So, if someone is having a hard time with that app or doesn't have a phone where they can have apps, are they allowed to call in or or use a different method? I assume so, but I just wanted to ask for a community. Yeah. So, our secondaries have switched to an online form um on their on parent square that is um pinned at the top and it gets a lot of use. Um, our first school to adopt that was Lincoln Park and then everyone else was basically required to adopt it because people liked it so much. They do do have

052the option to call in if they need to to call in or even bring in a note for um send it with their child. Um, and the elementaryaries have um attendance lines that they they have people call or attendance um emails as well. >> Great. Thank you. Um I really as a parent would say I really appreciate that it's pinned up there. So if I have to do that it's very quick and easy. So thank you. And next year we're actually because um we are discontinuing the um infinite campus call and text messages. We will be moving our attendance calls to parent square. So, if their child is absent or from a class or absent for the day, they will have an opportunity to send a note back through the app without actually having to

053call in if they forgot to. >> Member Lo first and um member Larmp then superintendent Maggus. you know, just a clarification and I know that we have to put the AI um kind of statement in our our area of academic ethics and dishonesty, but but we have heard at the board table and through our staff that we're still struggling with the tool that will allow teachers to even identify that. I think sometimes I mean I I I want it in the handbook. I know that's the more effective way, but I think it conjures up kind of an impression maybe by our community and by our families that we do have the ability or do we have the ability or are we working on that ability and you know what, you know, we're still grappling with

054when we're going to roll out AI. Um, we know they're using it, so we have to have it there. But just a just curious about that. And my second question that you can answer real quick is I and I think I remember. So in our syllabi or in our handbook we are clear to teachers of all c of all levels that they present a syllabi of their class at the beginning of the weeks or the beginning of the course. Is that what you meant when you said syllabi statement? >> The syllabi statement that's in their sylli. I don't know if if we have dictated in the student handbook when they have to provide that to students. I don't know if that that's in our handbook, >> but in our handbook is it that staff will

055provide a syllabi for their course. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I just I didn't know that. >> Not when. >> Okay. >> Not when, but the the if um so as far as um AI detection tools, they are very inconsistent. Um and so um original work could be run through an AI detective um program and be like identified and flagged and potentially it's original work. Um so for us to provide a tool and then be dependent upon the tool to me seems very um disingenuous I guess. Um, what we need to have and continue to have further conversations around with staff is like I don't want to say how to AI proof your your instruction, but that's kind of really what it is like how how do how do how to provide like when to use

056it and then how do you how do you ascertain the level of learning um little maybe a little more authentically with your students where it's it's like are you are you handwriting and turning in handwritten paper? are you you like all those different things like there's ways that we can do that and we need just to continue to have further conversation with our staff around that. >> Thank you Lafler Kim. >> Thank you. I I know a lot of work has been done on our handbook the last two years in particular and revising it and and uh making it more manageable. So I just really appreciate that. Um I guess a couple questions. one is uh so uh families will receive it uh by email. It'll be up on our website. Uh it'll be on

057uh schools websites. Um uh but families can still get a copy of it if they choose. Right. >> Correct. I send um 20 copies to each school from my budget. I send that to the print shop and they are sent to the clericals. Um, also not only will there be a PDF version of this on our website, but this will be handwritten, hand typed into our website for ADA compliance. And then also it will allow the chatbot to um answer questions regarding it as well. >> Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, and then um Oh, sorry. And we are getting it translated into Mandarin and Spanish, which are our top two languages. >> Wonderful. Okay, great. Uh and then um the DTA conversation could you just I don't think we need a presentation but

058just forward us that information on writership. >> I find that interesting. Yeah. Uh, and then my last question was on this. I can't remember, but um I I guess I would just add as policy chair, I appreciate all the ways that you make sure the the policies are listed um in the handbook. So really appreciate that. >> And one last thing, just a just a comment since you are the policy chair. Um when we did the big switch to a new uh a new format that was because we going we moved to the MSBA recommended format. And so every year they they produce the next version a little bit later than what we actually need from them um and for and for for us to get this in front of you. So we will get

059the new um handbook with changes and we'll start immediately like making sure that those things are updated as well for what MSBA recommends. Unfortunately, MSBA um sends theirs out either end of June and sometimes beginning of July. So, it's a a little late on our timeline. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh Superintendent, your mic was on earlier. >> Um it was more in connection to member Sidowski's uh question thinking about apps and communication and consistency. And we have a report later from uh the National uh school uh public relations institute that did a communications audit. And I think that it's kind of a nice prelude to that because uh we we do see consistency. We want to make sure that we have access. All those questions are are important when we think

060about what are we doing well but also what can we improve on. So thanks for the good segue. >> Thank you. Next up, we have a presentation related to our 2526 suspension rates. Uh, it will be provided by uh, Director Crane and our coordinator um, Mr. McGawan. Thank you members of the board. Um the suspension data report uh we've been bringing for about five years now. Uh Todd and I have been doing it together for about four. This presentation is done in multiple formats in front of many audiences. And uh tonight we're going to try to we've been asked to keep it short, but we will we will take questions and respond. Todd, would you help me out just celebrate our team of people behind the scenes people that help us out with this data?

061>> Yeah. So, uh my name is Tom McGowan, mental health coordinator for the uh Duth schools. Um and this is really a collective effort. You know, uh like Jason said, we've been working on this project for multiple years. Um this is not a finished presentation. This was uh information that we just started to process. Um, so you're really getting the the first view of this. Um, and this will also go into a much larger presentation that's more robust for the uh human rights commission for the Doo City Council. Um, this like Jason said, this has taken a team of effort or a team of people uh and the effort behind it. So John Herman um who else are psychologist >> psychologist our MTSS coordinators uh Danielle Dorne. So this is really a compilation of uh

062>> information information um that has come from multiple uh places and people throughout the the district. >> So recognize that >> so so just to jump in um one of the things that we wanted to to celebrate is that over the last four years we've continued to have a reduction um in the amount of days that students are out of school or uh exclusionary discipline is is used. um we see and and one of the things that I also want to speak to right now is that we have been implementing educr uh for the last two years um which is a data warehouse that communicates with infinite campus so we have multiple like avenues to to conceptualize and visualize data um but over the last four years we've continued or continued to see a reduction

063there are two numbers that I want to point out very quickly so the 1,338 um is the total number of days that students have been out of schools. Um we'll cross reference that here in a little bit um with the number of incidents that um have been accounted for uh throughout this school year. Um but there is a nuance and and we'll talk about that here in a in a second. >> And as Todd indicated earlier, he said this is not a finished product because we grabbed these numbers from about two weeks ago and we know that a lot of suspension data was not entered into the system yet. We think we're going to be really close but under our uh comparison between last year and this year. >> So by school um if we

064were to just draw out uh the the entire school district um we can start to plot where uh most of our incidents are happening which is Lincoln Park Middle School which accounts for about half of our total number of inschool and out of school suspensions. Um, I do want to just have a once again a nuance. The schools on the uh left hand I've of the sheet are uh our uh care and treatment centers. Um, so just to to give you that nuance, I just didn't have the the code and the uh how that was correlated to the school when I pulled this information. >> What's also significant about this is this is a mandatory presentation that correlates to our CIS project that we have. And a CIS project is coordinated early intervening services. And

065we spend u mandatorily six federal funded positions are funded out of that CIS project. And we're hoping to re reduce uh students of color suspensions more than white student uh suspension rates. And um we're hoping to reduce that by 5% more. And we're just going to be transparent right from the get-go that we are not seeing that yet. But we're going to continue to work on that project and for that reason uh Lincoln Middle Schools are one of our closest advocates for they have an alternative to suspension program. So does Myers Wilkins. So does Denfeld. We'd like to see uh Lincoln see some major improvements for next year and we're going to work closely with them. The other, you know, part of of this conversation is, you know, also celebrating that we're using OSS less.

066You know, um when we have an appropriate continuum of mental health services and and supportive services for our students, we're able to differentiate um how kids learn and and the opportunities that they have to be in space with you trained clinicians andor uh people that focus on social emotional uh behavioral health. Um, and once again, I think that as this presentation develops, that's a trend that you're going to continue to see is that we're opting for in school suspension more often. However, that creates its own nuance and set of problems um that we can talk about as as we continue. Um so as far as students uh receiving uh OSS or ISS um these are the the numbers broken down by American Indian uh black or African-American and then uh comparatively speaking to our our

067white students. Um so we continue to have a disparity in regards to the number of uh children of color that are being um placed in in school or out of school suspension. Um however what we are seeing as well is that that ISS option um is creasing or increasing um specifically when we take a look at the uh white students who have been placed in in school suspension um having an increase of almost 75% which is an absolute you know giant number. Um, and with data, you know, sometimes it leads to more questions. And that's really where we're at right now is digging further to find out where those pockets are, what's happening um, in our schools, but also wanting to celebrate that all students with out of school suspension has reduced by 13% um,

068since last year, which if our goal is is 5%. Um, 13% is a number that that we want to continue to replicate. Um, once again, ISS is being used more. Um, our OSS is is being out or uh is is being used less. Um, but once again, like I talk a lot about multi-tered systems and supports. Um, and just the implication of this is that we're having kids in our buildings that require some level of intervention, but being very intentional about what that looks like. How are they getting the the skills um training andor you know support in maintaining their behavior um in an academic environment. >> So the earlier slide was incidences. This this is students >> this is total students >> students impacted with out of school or in in school. And then

069once again just going back to that number uh 177 those are the total number of incidents that have led to inschool suspension um or out of school suspension. Our primary uh behaviors that are being flagged for um for either of those two things are disruption and disorderly conduct. Uh fighting attendance which is always needs a a explanation. and it's students that are in school but refusing to go to class. Um physical contact and then cannabis use which was is interesting um because that wasn't one of our top five last year but it it showed up this year in the reports that we're running. >> One of the strongest and positive indicators over the last five years is many administrators used to go to the student handbook and say for this incident 5 days and you'll

070see from the data that really one or two days is what administrators are using now. They're not using a standard 5 days. You're going home for 5 days. That's powerful information that and for that reason the most greatest reason of why we're reducing our overall suspension rates. And I would add it's just it's very appropriate that we just followed uh student handbook conversations because that really is the driver is creating common language, common uh uh uh interventions or um you know in I'm losing my words here but um it really does set the baseline for what administrators can uh expect and then also how to carry out um our handbook policy. And then just across ethnicities. Um so the disproportionality rates. So at this point uh students of uh color are accounting for 50% uh

071roughly higher of our total suspension rates. Um which we want to continue to to work on and understand um the implications of that. That number has been historically pretty accurate or and and uh consistent over the last couple years. Um, so once again, as we get better with our MTSS implementation, uh, as we get better in intervention, um, we want to, uh, have a direct impact on on what those numbers look like. >> Mayor Saddowski. >> Oh, I can wait till the end. That's fine. >> No problem. >> We're really close. >> One more. >> Um, and then finally, this is what Jason was was referring to. So um mo all of the the length of days by disability categories identified um almost 75% 80% of our total in school and out of school suspensions

072are no longer than one day. Um so if uh that consequence has been assigned um generally speaking most of the students that um will receive ISS or OSS are are back up and running uh the the next day um back included into the learning environment. Another educational component we've been working with administrators quite closely on. Uh Anthony brought in some district lawyers at times to do some presentations to really understand our responsibilities. What jumps out at me in this slide also is the sped numbers are larger than the gened numbers. And when a kid qualifies for special education supports, you're really not supposed to initially first suspend kids for disability related things. So that's that's a concept that our administrative team is really wrestling with. Um, I had I was an EBD case manager for

073years and just advocated to principles that yes, my kiddo on my case load might punch another person, but send them to me. Don't send them home oss because I can educate this kid and provide him with the necessary skills and training that they need to be more successful in a school setting rather than send them home. So, just wanted to birdwalk on the special education data there. uh when we have 2,282 kids with IEPs and 8,000 so about 6,000 only gened kids, the special education numbers are greater. That's another disparity issue. Thank you, Member Saddowski, and then member Banks. >> Yeah, I just had more more of a couple comments, but if you wanted to comment back, feel free or not. Um I think this is page five or six for me. It's page 34,

074the length by incident 1077. Um, when you had mentioned the cannabis use and how it wasn't in the top five last year, but it showed up this year, um, I just wanted to kind of give a shout out to especially our Lincoln Park um, middle school staff because I know that I know that they identified this early on. um not from talking to them, but I know that they're bringing in comm community partners with um substance use professionals. Um the counselors have done that or some staff have done that and that's that was great. I just know that they have identified that early on, not just from this data right now, but they've been trying to address that this year, which I really appreciate. Um so that was one comment. I don't know. Should I

075take say my other comment? I think you're exactly right. I mean, as we get better, you know, and as we, you know, invite more people into our buildings, I think it gives us a better glimpse of of what the issues are. I also think that the landscape is changing, you know what I mean, as things are legalized, as they're in proximity to our schools. Um, there is another set of circumstances that I think that that we need to be ready for and to address. >> Right. I know they've been doing some It sounds like they've been doing some cool groups and things like that and and work on that. Did you have anything else to add? >> Yeah, I want to add to that. Um, but you have to help me out. Uh, give me

076the name of the position that Lincoln Park added using the grant. I know it's related to substance use, but I can't remember the actual name. >> Wendy Wolf is the person in that position. Yep. And she's doing a ton of proactive uh work. So, she is specifically focusing on substance abuse. Um but then there's multiple layers within that source of strength pure uhtoeer um you know problem solving things along those lines. So um they're they're doing a ton of good work at Lincoln. Um in addition to their alternative to suspension program um some of the numbers that we're starting to see as far as students that are coming back through that program are reducing. Um so we know that we're on to something and now it looks like we need you know what I mean?

077We have to support it. >> Yeah. I would lift up the district in supporting that position and I really appreciate uh Wendy's work on that. I mean, we all I guess it goes without saying, but you know, since weed has been legalized, it's just been more we've seen more use among younger youth and uh the the uh impacts on the brain development are very concerning. So, I really appreciate that as a district we're trying to address that at the middle school level and kind of get out ahead of it. If I could answer too, I I just want to, you know, reiterate how important it is to have people in space that kids trust. Um, sometimes with our colloccated staff, they're not there enough to build relationships in a way that allows students to engage

078authentically. Um, and I think that that speaks volumes about Wendy's position is that she's there every day and she's a known commodity. Um, which is incredibly important for a lot of our students. >> Absolutely. it's about that relationship building. So, thank you for adding that to it. Um, my other quick comment was kind of related to the data by school. It looks like it's page two. Um, where we we saw that Lincoln Park uh again, middle school had more more in school and out of school suspensions. Um, and I just, you know, yep, that's concerning. I know that there's a lot of ways that we're trying to address that and I know just I would just lift up the way that our Lincoln Park uh middle school staff are um communicating and um trying to

079provide continuity as the eighth grade class moves to Denfeld. I know that they've um they do a really good job with that which is really important so that those those kids are supported as they move into the high school. >> Thank you. And before I go to member banks and I also want to point out um that as uh director crane has shared one of the things that um that we are cited for is the over suspension of certain student groups. So, we are working um in partnership with Lincoln Park uh to to you know support uh their efforts to put in alternate uh alternatives to suspensions and to put in other programming to help uh curb some of the suspension rates because at the end of the day um we want to make sure

080at some point that we are not identified uh in those areas for over suspension um suspending students. So, just wanted to make sure that we are um surfacing that again that that we have the the challenge, but the school and administration is really working hard to um change those results. >> Great. Thank you, >> member Banks. >> Yes. Thank you very much. I'm wondering um if you have information on what the actual uh overall suspension rate is for the entire district system. Why is that like 1.2 or 2% whatever that is? And then if there is any information available uh related to uh the demographics that we've been talking about African heritage, native heritage kids uh systemwide and what that percentage is because I I don't see that on here, but I'm I'm thinking that

081possibly is available. >> That information is available. Um I have it all on spreadsheets. We were given uh five slides in about 10 minutes. Uh, so I would love to come back and talk more and do a deeper dive on this data set specifically. I think it's incredibly important and if we don't understand what the problem is, right, we're never going to be able to to make those gains. Um, so that number is ready. Um, we handpicked a few points uh just to to invite you to the conversation, but more to come. >> Yep. >> Member Michael. Um my question was along the same lines as member banks um director crane you mentioned how you know our total number of special ed kids and how they're reflected in our spend rates and so I was

082wondering the same about some of our different demographics of children. So that's um I look forward to having more of information about that and uh hearing more about the different strategies that we have going into it which sounds like there's a lot of >> acknowledge that for the board. We have as Todd said uh we actually have eight slides in here and we didn't get in trouble from Shay who gave us but uh we had a presentation with about 15 slides and we're more than willing to come back. I would just reiterate like there's so much good work being done and sometimes it's hard to quantify, you know, but the the thing that I always go back to is implementation takes three, four, five years before you start to see results. Um, and we're seeing

083that, you know, as these numbers, you know, come out. So, I I would love to talk even more about the um interventions, you know, the things that we're doing in space that uh have a direct correlation to these numbers. Chair Derek Eer. >> Um I just want to say with the sixth grader at Lincoln Park, he had a wonderful year. It's a wonderful school. I just want to lift that up. I know this is just deceiving um to for I went with I don't know how many sixth graders to Fort Snelling and it was a wonderful experience and they were great and Lincoln Park is a fantastic school. So even though this this is part of our story at Lincoln Park, but it is not the entirety of their story. So I just wanted to

084start out with that. And then the second thing I just always want to remember as we look at the difference between inschool and out of school suspension when a student and we can see this from the data we're talking about assault we're talking about bullying and harassment we're talking about disorderly conduct we're talking about harassment threats and intimidation vandalism like level three and level four offenses are serious offenses that generally on the other end of those things are students or teachers. So, I want us to keep that in mind because students, while we always drive to keep those rates going down, I think that we all have to acknowledge that we do see violence happen in our schools, right? And kids and teachers have the right to go to school to feel safe. And so,

085while I want to acknowledge that we have work to do, there are kids on the other end of each one of these incidences, especially when it comes to violence, that need to be lifted up and remembered as well. So, I just want to put that out there. >> Thank you, dear Chair Eater. Um, we by no means wanted to have any of this data be uh a shame or a put down to any school. Uh, we just wanted to be really transparent about what's going on in our school system. And if you notice the two middle schools, there's something to be said about middle schools. Their brains are not fully yet developed and they're mischievous. So, those were the two largest schools. Um, I would have guessed maybe Denfeld would have been in front of

086Ordin East, but the middle schools won the race. Just wanted to say one more thing. You mentioned Fort Snelling. I ran into a a mom and her son who were on that trip and she said he had a great time. Just letting you know. >> Colleen out of ice cream. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Oh, just one last thing I wanted to say if that's okay. But it is really important and just going back to that tenant of how do we use data, right? when we have these data points, then we know where to shift our focus. Um because a lot of our kids are doing exactly what they need to do and and that's a huge celebration. Um but when we see an maybe an outlier like that, then maybe that's a data

087or a sampling error or something's not being logged correctly, there's multiple ways to interpret that. So, I just wanted to clarify that as once again we get better, we'll be able to clean up this information in a way that's useful um and allows us to read and respond to what kids need. Thank you. Next up, we have a presentation uh from NESPRA and relate to our communications audit. Um Adele Wellings uh will be uh present and our guest Jessica Shackleton. And so while they're getting set up board, I just want to just quickly give you some information that uh was asked earlier um as it relates to the DTA and the TIFF. Uh so originally we received roughly um $361,500. That's $361,500. That's what we originally received two years ago. Um we spent um you

088know over the last couple of years we spent 40,000 in FY25. Last year it was uh approximately $140,000 spent um for the DTA. Um and that's this current year uh 2526. And so we have roughly uh $180,000 remaining. So, with the remaining $180,000, that's how we will be able to fund the uh one additional year and adding the middle school um as part of that year. Hi everyone and uh members of the board. I'm very happy to be here today. My name is Jessica Shectton and I work for the National School Public Relations Association or NSPRA, which is a professional organization that supports nearly 3,000 school communication leaders in the US and Canada. And our goal is simple. It's to help schools communicate strategically, build trust, and strengthen relationships with their communities. Before joining ENSRA,

089I spent about 25 years working in school communications. And now as ENSPRA's communications research specialist, I help districts nationwide through communications audits and accompanying research. For this project, I had the privilege of serving as auditor for DUTH's communications audit, working alongside my colleagues listed on the slide uh on Ensur's research team. How do I advance? Um here is just a quick rundown of what I'll be covering today. I'm going to start by explaining the goals of the audit and the process that we used. Then I'll review some uh very brief key areas of the report including some overall perceptions of the district. I will provide a SWAT analysis and I'll share how Duluth communication program compares to national best practices and then of course uh the meat of the report. I will briefly review the

090recommendations and action steps coming out of the work and close with some considerations for implementing the recommendations before I open it up to questions from all of you. So the goal of this audit was twofold. first to seek data, opinions, and perceptions and from these to assess the effectiveness of DUTH's uh the effectiveness and management of the current public relations, marketing and engagement efforts in the district and second to provide customized recommendations on strategies and best practices to build and enhance the overall program. I want to point out that unlike financial audits, this review was not required. District leadership voluntarily invited ENSPRA to conduct it as part of what I can see is a commitment and continuous improvement and to guide future communication strategies to the benefit of all of your stakeholders. An effective communications

091program starts with research. So that's where the audit process began, capturing both quantitative data and qualitative perceptions. First, a materials review. Adele shared with me numerous samples including newsletters, your strategic plan, branding assets, crisis messaging, and I also reviewed the district and school websites and social media channels. I evaluated each of these for clarity, consistency, visual appeal, ease of use, and stakeholder engagement. Secondly is the scope survey, which is NSP's nationally benchmark survey. Stakeholders shared how they get information, how they how informed they feel on key topics about the district and their perceptions of the district and its communications and results were compared to data from more than 140 districts nationwide. Finally, the core of the audit process, focus groups and interviews. Over three days in December of 2025, I met virtually with 10 stakeholder

092groups and I interviewed the superintendent, the communications officer, and the family and communication family and community engagement specialist to gather perceptions from the district's internal and external audiences. While this kind of qualitative feedback is certainly more anecdotal, it does provide rich insight into community perceptions that complements the survey data and materials review. Together, all of these components create a comprehensive picture of how communication is working in DUTH and where it can improve. So, first an overview of the scope survey participation. The survey was sent to parents and guardians, employees, and the wider school community, and it was open from November 17th to December 12th. A total of 469 survey responses were received. Among those, 56 individuals indicated that they are both parents and employees in the district. A similar survey was shared with high school

093students during the same date range with a total of 108 responses received. The scope survey uses industry standard reliability formula to calculate target participation rates for each of the survey audiences. And these targets help ensure results with margins of error of plus or minus 5% for parents and employees and plus or minus 10% for community members and students. The margin of error really tells us how much the survey results might vary from reality. So for example, if 75% of employees say that they are satisfied with communication and the margin of error is 5%. The actual satisfaction rate really could be anywhere from 70 to 80%. And while getting as many people as possible to take the survey is always important, I do want to point out that small differences like this don't usually change the

094big picture in a survey of this type, which is much more about uh perceptions and opinions and feelings. As we all know, different kinds of polls, for instance, a vote, one number different can make all the difference in the world. But the the kind of margin of error we target here doesn't tend to lead to big strategy changes. As you can see, DUTH's margin of error targets for students was met. Targets for parents and staff were nearly met. As a result, confidence in for these audiences are fairly tight and there's a high reliability in these results. However, just 27 surveys were received among community members and the target was 100. So the margin of error for that audience is nearly 19%. That means these results are less precise and there's a larger range within true

095community member sentiment can actually fall accordingly. And as it's noted in the full audit report, no significant recommendations were based solely on community survey responses. So beginning with a few key data points from the survey, um I want to start with overall perceptions of the district. The results show a fairly consistent pattern among across the stakeholder groups. A majority of respondents across all audiences rate the district as average or better. In particular, it was 82% of parents and 84% of employees. However, the proportion rating the district excellent or above average remains relatively modest, while roughly a third of community members and students rate the district below average. When these results are translated to a fivepoint liyker scale and compared to the results of districts nationwide who have also participated in the scope survey, the district

096does score somewhat below national averages. But I do want to point out that the national averages and duth scores all fall into the three numerical range, which means while they're at slightly different ends of the range, it's still solidly in the average range. So the takeaway is not that perceptions are overwhelmingly negative at all. Rather, perceptions appear to be somewhat mixed, but with meaningful opportunities to strengthen confidence and understanding among your key audiences. And when we look at communication specifically, the pattern is quite similar. Parents and employees are somewhat more positive than community members and students, but again, the district scores fall just below national benchmark averages. Again, though, in the average range, most respondents describe communications as just that, average. And so the challenge is really moving more people from that average opinion into

097the above average perceptions. Community members stand out as less satisfied, likely reflecting the fact that community members tend to receive less direct communication from most public school districts since by their nature so many messages are specifically targeted for parents or staff. So, community members are often the most likely to rely on external sources where perceptions really can be mixed. When we asked people how likely they were to recommend DUTH to a friend, we use those responses to calculate something called a net promoter score or NPS. It's a common way to measure satisfaction and loyalty to a brand or organization. To calculate the NPS, respondents are grouped into three categories. Promoters are those who are very satisfied and willing to recommend the district and talk it up. Detractors tend to be dissatisfied and may be ones

098sharing uh negative feedback. And passives fall in between and are just as the name says, tend not to do much either way. The score for the NPS is simply the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. Which means that the results can range from negative 100 to positive 100. And when I present to an education audience, I do ask educators to throw out the typical way you view numbers because while something like 50 in any class would be considered a failing grade, in fact, anything above zero is considered good and 50 is really considered excellent. So adjust there a little bit. Um that said, DUTH scores did fall into the negative range, meaning that detractors currently outnumber promoters. Parents and employees scored minus 19, community members n minus22, and students minus 24. So these

099scores suggest that stakeholders have reservations about recommending the district. Importantly, net promoter score is not simply a communication measure. It reflects overall experiences, perceptions, and trust. While communications alone cannot solve these issues, it can help address misunderstandings, increase transparency, and strengthen confidence over time. There are many more findings compiled in the complete audit report that taken together paint a clear picture of where DUTH stands. Uh but I do want to before I continue mention and remind all of you that perceptions are just that they may not always be accurate but they still matter because they do influence how people feel and how they might influence others. So and again how they talk about their experiences. So that's why even if perceptions may be completely mistaken they deserve attention. Before discussing the SWAT findings, for anyone

100who's not familiar, uh I just want to explain that a SWAT analysis identifies an organization's internal strengths and weaknesses along with external opportunities and threats. So, it helps highlight both what's working well and where strategic attention may be needed across both internal and external spheres. So, several strengths emerged consistently throughout the audit. Uh perhaps most importantly was the willingness of district leadership to engage in this self- assessment and improvement through this audit process. Participants also consistently praised strong school level relationships among staff members, families, and community partners, often emphasizing how much further schools go on behalf of their families. The district's wide range of academic programs and student opportunities was frequently cited as a point of pride for residents, as was the district's commitment to equity and inclusion, which I found to be strongly reflected

101throughout its communications. And finally, strong community partnerships provide important support for students and families and create a solid foundation on which future communication efforts can build. Weaknesses identified in the audit were largely structural. The most significant finding was the absence of a formal written strategic communication plan that establishes priorities, objectives, and clear expectations for communications. Participants also described situations where communications staff was brought into discussions later than is ideal, limiting opportunities for proactive communication planning. Staffing capacity was another recurring theme. Expectations for communication continue to grow from all audiences while available resources remain limited. Stakeholders also expressed a desire for more substantive communication around complex topics such as finances, staffing, curriculum, and long-term planning. And finally, recent leadership turnover and unclear decision-making processes have contributed to what's perceived as inconsistency in how information moves through

102the organization and reaches employees and stakeholders. Moving on to opportunities that were identified, one of the strongest is the district's existing base of goodwill. Many participants expressed pride in their schools and positive experiences, particularly at their individual buildings. The challenge is that those positive experiences don't always translate into positive perceptions of the district as a whole. There's also an important opportunity to more clearly communicate the district's value proposition by highlighting the very programs, people, and outcomes that stakeholders value and treasure so much about DUTH. And finally, stakeholders consistently expressed interest in greater transparency and more meaningful two-way communication, creating a great opportunity to strengthen trust through those improved communication practices. Threats that were identified were largely environmental and perceptionbased. Community members who are not correct directly connected to the schools often receive information from third

103parties rather than the district itself which is always difficult when you cannot carry your own story. Historical issues also and some long-standing perceptions continue to shape how current communications are received. Participants also referenced concerns about an east west divide and lingering skepticism regarding district decisions and priorities. At the same time, budget pressures, enrollment growth, and staff workload challenges create ongoing demands that also contribute to making consistent communication more difficult. Again, these are not communication problems alone, but they do reinforce the importance of strategic, proactive, and transparent communication. One of the things I appreciate about ENSPR's audit process is that it doesn't solely rely on stakeholder opinions. We also benchmark communication practices against national standards which helps validate many of the findings and recommendations that I will be discussing in a moment. These standards as outlined

104in ENSPRA's rubric of PRA rubrics of practice and suggested measures. Uh a well-worn copy is shown for you here. uh examine seven key areas of communications and place programs along a continuum from emerging to established to exemplary. The purpose isn't to assign a grade. Rather, it helps identify where some strong foundations already exist and where some additional systems and processes and resources may be needed to move the program forward. Unlike surveys and focus groups, this audit is not this part of the audit is not based on perceptions. It evaluates DUTH's communication practices and how they align with recognized best practices in school public relations. That said, I did find that the benchmarking results align closely with what we heard throughout the audit. Areas identified as strengths in throughout the stakeholder research were parent and and

105family communications, marketing and branding, crisis communications, and diverse, equitable, and inclusive communications. And these were also the areas of DUTH's program rated as established when benchmark against national standards. Areas identified as emerging include comprehensive communication planning, internal communications and finance communications. Importantly, I want to point out that emerging does not mean absent or ineffective. Rather, it indicates that systems and practices are in place, but they there are opportunities for them to become more systematic, proactive, and strategic and consistently implemented across the organization. Notably, these are the same areas um reflected in several recommendations that I'll speak to next, providing some additional validation that these recommendations, I hope, are focused on the right priorities for the district. So, based on the findings, the report offers six recommendations to help move the district forward. These come directly

106from the data and feedback gathered through the surveys, the focus groups, interviews, and materials review. And together they focus on building communications capacity, strengthening planning, interning, improving internal communication, increasing transparency, making content more audience- centered, and simplifying how information is delivered to stakeholders. I'm going to give you a very brief overview of each one with some action steps to suggest how they might be put into practice. The full report of course contains much greater detail and more tactical options for implementation. And it's important to note that these recommendations are not six separate projects. They're highly interconnected. For example, improving transparency becomes easier when internal communication processes improve. More audience- centered communication becomes easier when there's a strategic communication plan to guide those efforts. and nearly all of them become easier when sufficient communication capacity exists.

107So together they form really a a roadmap rather than a checklist. So the first recommendation focuses on communication capacity. The audit found a mismatch between stakeholder expectations regarding communication and the resources currently available to meet them. Now, I I do want to pause and and let you all know that I recognize additional staffing is difficult to discuss in an environment where budget reductions are already happening and anticipated. However, this recommendation appears first for a reason, and I I did spend a lot of time considering it. it. There's simply no other way to say to say it than to really meet the needs and the expectations of your stakeholders and to exemplify the good work going on here. It simply does require more capacity. But as I will be getting into, we never anticipate that any

108district can simply meet all the recommendations of this audit in the short term. And this may not be something that can happen right away, but I do want to talk about um a couple of different ways that it could be met. And again, throughout the audit, what I heard from stakeholders were gaps that were related that related to transparency, consistency, and responsiveness. and with one professional responsible for strategic planning, media relations, crisis communications, social media, websites, marketing, enrollment communication, and day-to-day requests. Those expectations simply exceed the capacity of any one person, even one with the expertise that you are lucky to have. I do want to point out and there's many more details uh for those who would appreciate the data in the full report. ENSPRA creates a a member profile survey report every other

109year and so that national data shows that districts of similar size to DUTH often have additional communication support staff. um similar enrollment student enrollment um districts uh more than half have between two and seven staff members. While the district can make progress in some hour in some areas without additional capacity, many of these recommendations become significantly harder to sustain without additional dedicated communication support. That said, again knowing the difficult and competing priorities that school boards face, other ways to uh add to capacity would be to formalize the informal network of communication liaison across schools and departments. some of the typical um tactics and responsibilities such as website updates, calendar updates, those who produce the newsletters at different schools and send out messages. The idea that they could be more of a team, a network with

110some coordination from Adele, I think would again at the very least lead to more consistency across schools in terms of the timing of communications and some um some better certainty that the same message is being conveyed. kind of cutting off the game of telephone by having people that continually focus on these as available within their job responsibilities. I also want to point out that more and more districts are actually turning to high school students that show an interest in journalism or communications or public relations. And depending on, you know, again, there can be very full-fledged internship programs, which is a possibility if there would be um instructors that could help with the oversight. So Adele doesn't trade communications work for oversight of a student. But there's also smaller ways. Students are great storytellers and there

111would be a lot of of those stories that could pass through Adele and help to tell the stories from unique new perspectives. And finally, I just want to point out the idea that I know Adele and others have have been mulling, but a college intern where you wouldn't need to worry about benefits, for instance, but perhaps it's related to their coursework and it would be a longer commitment. So, there are myriad ways to look at this, but um I I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't start out by saying the most impactful step when possible would be to expand your communications capacity. One of the most consistent themes throughout the audit was that Oops, I think I skipped it. >> No, I did not. Sorry about that. um was that stakeholders wanted more

112communication. By that I don't mean more messages but more context in the messages that they receive and particularly around issues such as finance and staffing and long-term planning. So this recommendation regarding a strategic communication plan addresses that need for more high stake for more information about high stakes issues. A strategic communication plan provides the roadmap for doing that intentionally rather than reactively. It helps determine which audiences need information, what they need to know, when they need to hear it, and how success will be measured. Without that kind of a road map, communication efforts can easily become focused on outputs. making sure the newsletter gets out every Friday, making sure social media posts are there, and just churning out announcements rather than focusing on the outcomes such as stakeholder understanding, engagement, and building trustful relationships. So,

113the recommendation calls for developing a formal plan using what in public relations is referred to as the RPI process, research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. In other words, you start with data and stakeholder insights for which this audit already gives a great head start. You establish measurable objectives aligned with district goals. Implement target targeted communication strategies unique to audience needs and then evaluate the results to determine what's working and where to adjust moving forward. This recommendation also really targets the need for more proactive issues management and crisis communication planning. Identifying potential issues early and planning communications before challenges arise allow the district to respond more consistently in and effectively in the moment. Likewise, a written communication crisis plan with clear roles, responsibilities, and readytouse tools help ensure timely, accurate communication during emergencies and other hope high-profile

114situations. I know there's the beginning and many great crisis communication steps. So, again, as part of this recommendation, it's making sure more of that is documented. So should Adele ever not be available or another key role player not be available, it's not inside people's heads, but somewhere that where others can access it. Many challenges described during the audit were actually internal communication challenges. Staff frequently reported learning of information later than they would like, receiving incomplete context, or at times being asked to answer questions before they fully understood the decision or the information themselves. At the same time, employees described feeling overwhelmed by the volume of information coming from multiple directions. So, one of the goals of this recommendation is not simply to share more information, but really to better curate it, helping staff quickly identify

115what's most important, what requires action, and where to find additional details when needed. Effective communication is is not measured by how much is distributed, but by whether employees receive the right information at the right time in a format that's useful to them. I'm sure you all know that employees of the district are the most trusted source of information for families. And so when staff members feel informed and prepared and confident in what they know, external communication tends to improve as well. So taking an employees first communication approach anchored by clearer information sharing processes, a stronger staff internet and improved onboarding resources can help ensure that staff members are informed and positioned to serve as trusted ambassadors for the district. Several of the action steps under this recommendation focus on creating more intentional pathways for information

116sharing, including rethinking the staff newsletter so that it serves as a curated source of important information specific to staff rather than simply another place where information is posted. Many stakeholder concerns also ultimately traced back to questions about how decisions are made and how input from the community is used. Throughout the audit, participants frequently expressed a desire for more transparency about district decision-making, including who is involved, how decisions are reached, and how stakeholder feedback influences outcomes. There was no shortage of acknowledgment that the district seeks stakeholder input. But as I find often with districts, very often people are thanked for their input and it is used. But districts sometimes forget to describe how it's used, including describe aspects of the feedback that didn't make sense or couldn't be operationalized and again providing that context. So the

117goal of this recommendation has nothing to do with changing the decisions you make or changing the role that stakeholder input has. The role is there. This is really to just make the process more visible and understandable to stakeholders. Research consistently shows that people are more likely to trust decisions when they understand how they were reached even if they disagree with the outcome. So several of these action steps focus on making those that decision making process more transparent such as communicating decisions that you will be facing sooner. So there is more time to prepare the community for the same kind of background information that all of you have and have the opportunity to sink your teeth into before you have to make that decision. also continuing to seek input from a variety of voices and perspectives

118as you do and closing the loop by explaining how feedback and data shaped the final outcome. Taken together, I I hope these steps would address the SWAT weaknesses related to unclear decision-making processes and the threat posed to the lingering distrust tied to the way his district decisions were made historically. The district has many strengths that stakeholders recognize. Strong programs, dedicated employees, community partnerships, and commitment to students. Yet, those strengths are not always reflected in larger district-wide perceptions. So, this recommendation focuses on more strategically communicating issues that stakeholders care most about while also helping the district tell a fuller story about its work and impact. It addresses the opportunity to better communicate what the district offers and helps counter the threat posed by those persistent negative narratives. Achieving this shift requires more than creating additional content.

119In fact, it may even mean streamlining. Several action steps focus again on planning ahead using those same kind of communication planning principles for the strategic plan um and focusing on individual initiatives yearround budget communication strategy editorial calendars to identify high impact topics before they become urgent. That again is key to being proactive and planning ahead and making sure those stories don't get crowded out by lastm minute um needs or crises that disrupt the school day. While a oneperson communication office um has no shortage of competing priorities, um the district cannot rely on finding time for this kind of work in the moment. So planning ahead is what really helps ensure that the important topics that your community wants to know more about receive consistent attention rather than being crowded out by the day-to-day demands. Throughout

120the audit, stakeholders described a communications environment that can often feel fragmented and a little difficult to navigate. Families reported uncertainty about where information should be located. Employees described overlapping systems and inconsistent expectations and community members often relied on local media or social media because they weren't sure where to find district information directly. The challenge is not a lack of communication channels. The district has many. In many cases though, it's the absence of clear expectations about which channels should be used for which purposes and where stakeholders should go for information. And I would say at times that's both internal and external. So this recommendation focuses on creating a more intentional and userfriendly communication ecosystem. The action steps center on clarifying the role of key communication tools, strengthening district and school websites as reliable information hubs even

121for the kinds of evergreen content that don't change all the time and providing clearer guidance to families and community members about where and how to find information. I will say that I have no doubt the district does a lot of this and so the important thing is to be looking at those touch points and seeing what additional touch points might be needed because if if people feel like they don't know then perhaps they need some additional reminders. Perhaps it is embedding more things into back to school reminders or maybe they exist there and by January people need another reminder. So again, these recommendations, you know, it doesn't mean the district isn't doing it. It means somehow it's not getting through and it's a great opportunity to look at new ways to communicate some of these

122things. The recommendation also recognizes that making information easier to access often means making it easier to consume. So organizing information consistently, reducing duplication across platforms and simplifying navigation can improve user experience without increasing the volume of communication. So again, it's not about adding channels, it's about making the existing ones easier to understand, easier to navigate, and easier to trust. As the board considers these recommendations, I I do want to emphasize that it's important to recognize communication is an organizational responsibility, not just the responsibility of the communication office. These recommendations are intended to provide guidance for strengthening communication, increasing transparency, and building stra stakeholder trust over time throughout the district. And as the district thinks about implementation, it's important to approach these recommendations strategically. The report is intended to serve as a roadmap, not a checklist

123that must be completed all at once. ENSRA typically recommends prioritizing implementation over multiple years, focusing on a small number of high impact initiatives at a time. In fact, most districts find it realistic to tackle no more than one or two major recommendations each year while maintaining existing communication programs and services. The recommendations are presented in a suggested priority order, but obviously the district may choose to adjust the sequence based on local needs, available resources, and organizational priorities. Some rep recommendations represent some quick wins which are noted in the report that can be implemented with relatively little investment. Others provide opportunities to rethink existing processes or reassign responsibilities. A few of course do require additional resources or capacity to implement and effectively sustain over time. Perhaps most importantly, success will depend on leadership support, cross- department

124collaboration, and a shared commitment to communication as a district-wide function and not the responsibility of any one individual or office. So, the key takeaway is that implementation should be phased, purposeful, collaborative, and sustainable, focusing on the recommendations that will provide the greatest value to DUTH and its stakeholders. With that overview of the findings and recommen recommendations, I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have. >> Superintendent Magnus, >> uh, a little bit of a comment and then just kind of some some thoughts on next steps. Uh, I really appreciate the report. Uh, I think it it required a lot of, uh, perseverance and and depth of of really investigation. And I also appreciate the team's openness. I I think it's important for all of us. We all recognize that the communication is part of

125all of our work. And so I think that uh sometimes looking really clearly at the whole of a complex problem like this can be sometimes even intimidating because you see you see the good, you see the bad, you see the ugly. Uh but I think it's important for us to recognize current reality and and what we need to work on. I'd also like to say that we deeply appreciate uh Adele Wellins, our communications officer. She's superb and she's actually the uh president-elect for the coming year for the Minnesota uh school board or not schoolboard association, the Minnesota uh school public relations uh association. And so that's uh an honor that we have. Um and I think that that we've seen that we're trying for a long time we've been trying to do a sufficient job

126with one person that is really in some ways requiring of more people. I remember when we uh changed the position when we had uh the previous person moved out of the position we had an external audit of the the department and one of the recommendations was uh that for a district of our size we should consider uh potentially adding resource. At that time we said we couldn't and again we're in a difficult spot to some degree where it's difficult to add resource. Uh but I think it's important for us to consider uh what this means. Not even just from a um I I I'm thinking about it from a perspective of what are the co not just what are the costs to add to a position what are the costs of not adding a position.

127When I think about things like uh enrollment, community perception, chances of referenda passing, things like that are are uh critical and it's important for us to think about. I'm not saying that we're advocating for another position at this time, but I think it's something that we really have to clearly think about, especially since it was identified as uh one of the top priorities of the report. Um I think the second priority is is extremely important as well. Thinking about what is our strategic plan around communications. I think uh some of the things that we do well that are that are exemplified as being um established rather than emerging. A lot of those things are around urgent communication whether it's emergency communication or other things because we the blinking red light in organizations frequently gets the

128the most attention. Uh but it doesn't mean that the other communications are not important really. I think that those those important communications are are critical as well. Uh but working on a strategic plan with with Adele and with the rest of the team to think about what this looks like. I I want that to be one of my top priorities for this I know we have I haven't talked about my superintendent goals for this next year, but one of the areas uh under um standard three communication and community relationships is informs the community as a whole. That's element uh 3C and what comm community and I bring this up because it's a rubric and it really looks at how does this how does communication affect the board. So if if communication as a district is

129ineffective, uh it would be mean that we do not provide information the community needs to understand school district issues and or concerns and that hinders board ability to meet its responsibilities. Where if we do uh a highly effective job act we actively keep community informed with appropriate and regular communication on a variety of school district topics and issues andor concerns which allows the school district to meet its responsibilities. So really the nexus of communication and the work of the board and the work of the superintendent is is very critical. Uh so I think it's important that that we um re-emphasize our our work on communications and thinking about things we have coming up like potential referendum, thinking about market share for the district, thinking about just trust and communication in general. Uh I I think

130that the communication needs to be uh one of the if not the uh focus area for the coming year and I'm appreciative of you for this report. >> Thank you. I do want to um mention that throughout the focus groups um thinking about staff in particular um I think there was absolutely a recognition uh in particular among um I'll say leadership in a very broad sense um that it is everyone's job in the district and I think uh at least while I only met a handful of employees I think they all embrace that. So again in in whatever you know financial environment um and whether or not you know resources can expand I think um that is a good foundation if there can be more coordination um across many of these positions and identifying individuals

131really that can help sort of form that network and um agree on again some common approaches to things. Again, speaking to what I I heard you speak to earlier, consistency, which doesn't add to anybody's work. It just might be a little bit of changing. Um, and I think that would go a long way with some of the lowhanging fruit at least, which it's funny. It's, you know, no one's nothing bad's going to happen if somebody can't find the lunch menu, but boy can it cause frustration. And so I think there is again a lot of willingness of people to realize that all roads do not lead to Adele and they have responsibilities and I think there's a great opportunity there. >> Member Banks, >> thank you. As I read the audit a few days ago,

132one thing stood out for me and that was how in the world can somebody do all of this work, just one person and accomplish uh such incredible every single time. And so it was glaring to me uh that that uh was something that we as a board I know I personally thank Adele for her exemplary u leadership and professionalism and uh she gets the job done but the capacity is an issue and I clearly see that. Thank you. I will just say it baffles me too and I used to do her job in a much smaller district. >> Member Saddowski. >> Yeah, I would echo um member banks sentiments. We really appreciate all you do, Adele. Um, and I really liked the idea of uh like the inter exploring an intern and I'm glad you're

133thinking about that and um I look forward to learning more about that if you decide to explore that route. I know that we have a lot of we're blessed to have a lot of good colleges here in town and so I think there's some opportunities for that. Um I guess one question that I had when we're thinking about how communication is not just you know Adele's responsibility but it's everyone's responsibility. Um, as a schoolboard member, I try to I really appreciate um, Adele's um, presence on social media or our district presence on the social media and I try to share as many of those things as I can. But beyond that, um, do you have any ideas for how schoolboard members can contribute? You know, I'm I'm going to say that I would imagine um

134in the little time I've spent focusing on the district and these few days in the district, the ideas that come to mind, I'm sure you're all already doing. Um first of all, I appreciate having sat in on many schoolboard meetings in many districts uh in many places. I appreciate how often you all reference for the community's sake, can we explain this? Um, which I think is great. The flip side of that is even though I understand you have some impressive numbers of people who watch these recordings, it's still really such a small >> segment. Um and so but it's but it's the best you can do with you know when when uh an afternoon or evening meeting occurs and that's where so many important decisions are made. I have no doubt that you are all

135out in the community and going on field trips and there there are just you know speaking to the issues listening to constituents and again spreading those positive stories. So, um I don't know that there is more that board members can do. Um >> find the money for the position. >> Sure. Yes. Um, and I think just continuing to support, which again, um, when I when I mentioned district leadership seeking out this audit, obviously it had to come with the board's approval. And I think that's a great starting point. When when a district um, and and when I spoke to the cabinet yesterday, I was asked, is it districts really in deep trouble who know they're just disastrous? Is that when they ask for an audit? And it honestly is is most of the time um

136either when there's change or just an acknowledgment of we think we know what we're doing well. We know there's gaps and we just want to make sure it's not based on assumptions but based on reality not just our own opinions but those of the people that we're trying to serve. So again, I think in the board's role, aside from, you know, you could you could really get going on planting that money tree, but besides that, I think continuing to just support and um recognize the importance of communication is a huge step forward. >> Member Lo. Well, and that that just rolls right into the question I was going to offer or the observation that um what I find I just find the audit so incredibly beneficial for all of us and the B and and

137the district's decision, our decision to go forward with it. um knowing that I I I'm not going to say that every one of these weaknesses I probably have seen in my nine years on the board, but I think we've all um understood that one one person in a communication department or we've we've added um a a community engagement um position, but we're we're not having that going forward. But we we've tried to add a little bit. But um just the articulation that the surveys and your review here and I don't know if we're going to get that paper that you're reading out of because you know you've succinctly >> it's here. >> Well well no she her >> my notes I'm I'm I will absolutely share them with >> succinctly highlighted everything that is in

138here but much much more condensed and willing to you know kind of help articulate us as well. But I just really appreciate the detail and then the the presentation that you give that's so passionately and um sincerely share with us knowing that we're trying but yet there's you know you're a specialist in this and you want to share where we can grow and where we need to you know consider um our things. So I appreciate that but just the articulation and the depth of this is incredible. I wasn't expect when we invent when I when I when I visioned what an audit looked like in a communication area. I I didn't know we'd go this deep. So I appreciate that. Thank you, >> Superintendent Maggus. >> Sure. And I just want to say uh thanks

139to you for for the depth of of the audit as well, but also for the uh partnership that we have with Ensp and Minsra. I think both organizations are uh just a a wealth of knowledge and a wealth of resources for us to work together. I remember when Adele first started, we there's a uh partnership uh cohort that where you work with the the communications person and the superintendent and you partner and and go through uh different different segments together. I think uh in some ways I was so new and it was co co times and and you were so new. I think uh maybe considering what that reinvestment in time looks like too just because uh again it's it's uh it has to be that deep partnership with with upper administration and and uh

140the communic I look at a big segment of my job needs to be being a communicator and and a communications focused person. So, uh, very appreciative of those resources that, uh, Minsra and NSPRA, uh, provide and look forward to deeper partnership and deeper use of those resources as well. And we'll continue to keep the board informed as we think about what that strategic um, strategic plan looks like and also our exploration of additional resources, whether it would be a stipended internship or or other things along those lines. >> Thank you. Next board we have in front of you the summary report uh that was provided. Um as you know there was a finding by MDE related to our area um learning center or ALC. We have been working diligently as a team to uh address

141the things that were identified as things that were deficient. Director Lara uh has been leading a committee with myself included uh on addressing the things that were identified again for correction by MDE. Uh you have that in front of you. I'll just quickly show it up on the screen for the community because we will not go through it because it's not a presentation, but we just wanted to to provide the board and the community with ongoing um updates on how we are progressing with the um addressing the deficiencies. Um so what you see on uh the screen here is just uh again a um a pie chart that just shows you know the things that we have in place. There are 20 action items and just shows the number of things that we have um

142in progress right now, things that have not been started and the things that have been completed. If we scroll to the next uh page, so it will identify the areas as you see one of the very first things is the 4day week uh without having approval. It shows exactly the corrective action step, the evidence, the timeline, the parties responsible, the status, which means that we are in progress and some of the summary notes. So, just want to uh point out um how to read uh this and follow this uh report and we will take questions if the board has questions. >> Member Sowski. Yeah, I just wanted to ask I know I'd asked you this prior to the meeting. Just wanted to make sure the board was aware of this too on um um the

143where we see the finding the 4 day um week without approval. We have gotten that. It says that um we receive an email and we have gotten that email. So just wanted to >> the condition approval that we received related to the 4day. >> Yeah. >> Can you just speak to that quickly? Um, you're asking if we have received approval. >> No, I'm stating to the board that we ha that I'm letting you know that we have received that because that's what I asked assistant superintendent >> condition waiver. My understanding is we don't officially have the approval until we get the the letter sent to John at 45 days from the commissioner, but we've been assured that they're approving these provisional for ALC's, but we haven't gotten the actual official letter from the commissioner yet.

144Got it. So, just being clear. >> Just wanted to clarify that. Okay. Thank you. >> Um, that's just for a one-year extension, >> correct? Um we did meet with that um person from um the flexible learning department and if we were going to pursue a 4 day beyond the one pro provisional year, it is the full process that needs to occur with public meetings um and um all the things that are embedded in that application. We did not have to do all of that for this one-year provisional. How long do you think that process would take? Next year, >> one year. Okay. >> There's a lot of engagement that is needed. >> Thank you. >> Low vote. >> Is there a discussion about whether or not we even want to seek that? If at at

145some point if we're if it's a an in-depth process, where do where is that with teacher contract? Where is that with anything and and where do we discuss that as a board as to whether or not we even want to pursue that that kind of opportunity and where the data is that shows us that it's effective? >> Yep. Throughout the school year, we will we will be providing additional uh status updates as well as um having um explicit meetings related to program improvements or options related to the plan. So, there will be additional um full-blown presentations related to um program changes or potential program changes. So, the board will have a chance to um weigh in on whether we pursue something. I just know that that puts a lot of added work on our directors,

146on the people sitting at this table. And if if you determine early enough that it's something we don't want to pursue, then wouldn't it save you some time or or do you think it's really worth the input of your work next year to pursue the process to see if it will work? >> I'll let or do you discuss that now and and say we've got a lot on our plate. we can can we go back to a five fiveday ALC ALP program? Um or or is that commitment so strongly thought of that you know we need to do the work you're saying you're going to do next year to see but to do all of the work next year that it will take and then proceed through the process of a year of getting that

147set just seems like do we want to have that conversation early enough and potentially not go down there >> just putting it out there being honest >> I and I agree that those are some conversations that need to be had Um, we do have contract negotiations that'll be starting next >> spring um with the DFT. Um, it is something that is in contract. Um, so I just wanted to point that out as well. >> Chair Derk Eater, >> I just want to make sure as we go through this process, this is our opportunity to um look at our structures, make sure that we're serving our kids best. So that's really as you're going through this, I hope that that those are conversations that you're having as well, like are as we say all the time,

148are our legacy practices serving the kids sitting in this building at this time? So I I hope that those are happening and I I'll you know speak I'll I'll be brave enough or vain enough to speak for the board and just say I think that you would have our support in in having those conversations around what is actually best for kids. And I understand that we have contract negotiations coming up um that I'm sure we all look forward to, but that shouldn't be the limiting factor as to what's best for those kids in that building. So just want to make sure that you all are thinking with that as well. we we are and so that's exactly how we have approached the uh partnership and conversation with the committee which includes uh district uh leadership

149as well as curriculum leaders and staff from our AOCAO and even our secondary uh principles are involved in the conversations on uh what the programming uh should look like and uh reimagine potentially for AOC um and I always throw in AO because there's some connection so we are engaging in a conversation on um trying to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the students and reconsidering legacy practices and putting in place the things that we believe will be uh more beneficial for students. So we are engaging in those conversations and there will be again more opportunities for the board to hear about these potential plans and ideas and seeking board uh approval. >> Jen, do you have anything to add to that or >> um Yeah. So, I think um there have been

150some learnings that have happened in the last oh gosh, how long have I been working on this now? Since since um end of April um some things that we've learned um we were given clear directions on how to change our system um our infinite campus and our Mars system. We have to have a whole new org code. Um I I wasn't aware that all of those things were going to happen until we got guidance from MDE. Um, you know, initially there was a lot of conversation about like, well, let's just get our ALC status back right away. But with some of those kinds of changes, those are changes that are s systemic. Um, that we probably aren't going to be able to offer an ALC opportunity till like this time next year when we're starting

151summer school. Um, we'll get we'll work on the application, but we we're getting time to work on the application. So, um I think just some of the things that we learn as we kind of go it it leads us to say this is really is our opportunity. It really is our opportunity to think about um what we would like to offer students um in the future um and how we want to um build I guess build with um students at the center. So, >> thank you. >> Yeah. Um, so what has changed since the last time I sat in front of you, and I'm not going to really go over all of these, but what I thought might be helpful for you, because you did ask the question, how are you going to be updated

152um about the process that we're making? Um, and and you saw the dashboard last time. And I'm happy to say two things are completed now versus just one. There's a lot of things that are in progress and there's some things that still aren't started, but those are kind of things that are down the line. Um, but what I did do is I added the notes column thinking that that could be helpful for you. So, what I will do every month is just kind of um take a look at the notes and if there's things to add, I might add them or I might like wipe out the note and put something new in there. So, that's going to be where you're going to you're going to see the changes in the color of the status

153and then you'll see um notes coming from me. I just thought that might be helpful for you as we go through this. member Saddowski and then superintendent Max. >> The notes are really helpful and I guess one suggestion I would have with that is maybe just keep these in, put the date in and then add the next. I would really appreciate that because then otherwise I'm going to pull this out and keep it in a binder and be flipping which is fine. So, and I know it might get a little long and then we can maybe have a followup think if if that's a good idea but it might be nice to have those dates. And then I was actually going to before you even said it is just Yep. looking at all of the

154findings um that are in progress and I see a lot of summer this summer and I see a lot of fall and so um those are going to be um ones that we'll keep an eye on and we'll look forward to updates. So I appreciate the um kind of estimated timeline. is that when you're going to be working on them or when you um anticipate them being accomplished. >> So, some of them might say by a certain time frame. You might see that. Um some of it is the timeline of that might be when we're getting really into working them or establishing them. Um and some of these timelines were we're were initially thinking that we were trying to get this done in a quicker time frame, too. So, um I don't want to sit

155back on my heels too much either, but I also some of it might be need to be adjusted readjusted for timelines as we dive into the work. >> And I think that's where the notes will be really helpful. So, thank you. >> Yeah. Um I just was was some of this has already been summarized but I think in general uh just to point out out our philosophy um I think when we first were had these these uh citations and found findings there was a a significant sense of urgency of course because when something like this happens we want to jump in and and fix it right away and as quickly as possible. yet at the same time we were learning that there were uh larger systemic issues that we really want to address holistically. And

156so um t taking a little bit of time to do things right is really where we're coming from. We want to make sure that that we're not just um we're not just putting band-aids on things that we're really going deep and reimagining and reinvisioning what people want. And I would also say that the staff of the ALC and AEO uh have found this to be um even though it's it's somewhat painful, it's also been a good opportunity to really to really think about how can we do this even better? How can we take things from from u from good to great? And I they've also expressed uh significant appreciation uh not just for Sue Lena and um Jody Gistler and others who have provided support down there, but especially for for uh Director Larva in

157the support that she's provided. And I think that um I actually would say that the as you know we've had sometimes some of the conversations and relationships uh sometimes have been a little strained just from things you hear through listening session and other other places but I would actually say that some of the work we're doing is uh actually I would say reparative of the the trust and the culture between the district and uh the site and I'm very proud of our teachers there. I'm very proud of our our other staff there and uh they they they have good hearts and they're trying to do good for kids and I I'm appreciative of them and I think sometimes they feel maybe that we've that they're being blamed or that they did something wrong, but I

158think it's important to recognize that they're very good-hearted people who are working for some of our our um students with the greatest need. And we we just want to all work together to improve things and it's going to take a little bit of time. It's not going to >> Yeah. I just want to say I've actually really valued my time being spent down there. Um I'm pretty much well now that school's out. I'm not going to be down there every single day, but I was pretty much spending my mornings trying to do district work up here and spending like time with them down there. Um and I think what I think they're appreciating is seeing the district perspective as well in all of this. um you know like I've had lots of after after school

159meetings like after kids are gone kind of meetings with staff and um just really trying to like listen to them and then also shared a different perspective sometimes and I feel like it's just been a good partnership this last um whatever six weeks maybe maybe six weeks seven weeks >> member low vote >> so just a a couple of things too just one would be Um because this document is on board book and it's open to public and we want to be transparent maybe we could put a little um a little abbreviation key like is is independent study I'm I'm assuming and you know just some just some clarification so that if there are community members parents that um have students here or or just other staff that are um also very you know interested

160in wanting to support and so they know some of that there's not many quite a bit when you dig in. But yeah, >> and I'm assuming that the direct when it says um when it says responsible party director is is you, >> right? Okay. Okay. Just kind of clarifying that as well. And the the IC coordinator, what is IC? >> Infinite campus coordinator. >> Campus. Okay. I think I thought about that when I first >> I just didn't put names in there. I could have, but I put titles in just in case somebody were to move on. We seem to have people that leave in spring >> and the the CLPS um you've got the template um going, but but that that actually won't won't you be able to say it is finished when school

161starts and and they're in the process of getting CLPS for every student that's enrolled. And is that just in our seatbased AL ALP? >> No, that's for all of our programming and that's why it's still in progress. um we have targeted services and we have but we can no longer have targeted services um if we're not an AL alc but we're um we are contracting with with um CL as you know um so we have like we still have a little like a lot there's a lot of different programs that have CLPS and so cleaning them all up has been like a process um and by the start of the school year all of our CLPS will be totally cleaned up. So that'll be good to have that um completed. But there's school within a

162school CLPS. There's um seatbase. There's when we have independent study, independent study, credit recovery would have a C would have a CLP. So there's a lot of those pieces for for that. So I'm trying to say like let's not have a million different CLPS. Let's have an overarching CL and then you can indicate which one it pertains to. Um, so really what I want to see is an elementary one for when we do targeted services, a middle level one, and a and a high school one is really what I would like to see as big umbrellas with the different programming options underneath each of them. >> And would a CL last their time in in the school or does it have to be renewed every year? >> So, we have to treat them like they're

163a 504 plan or an IEP. So, they have to be addressed annually and they have to have progress reports um at least annually. Yeah, >> but but needed because it's the continuous learning plan. So, it just talks about their annual goals uh that students are mapping out. So, if students are working on completing um a credit recovery class or taking a class of interest, you know, they're just identifying what classes they are thinking about taking and maybe even if they're have a goal of improving their attendance, that could be one of their goals that they establish as well. So, it's u it's it's very similar to an individualized um educational plan um for students. >> Can I ask a followup? Do do we see um especially when I look at CLPS and maybe the the

164need for more staff either more sta more counselor or I don't know who does the CLP but I'm just not related to that but just overall as we venture to next fall and and in maybe the next year do we anticipate our staffing to stay strong and present or is that fluctuating because of of different um we're operating as an ALP instead of an ALC? or are we are we strong there? >> Um, so I'm still working on the schedule that's in process. Um, and um I I would like to say that you know when when there are opportunities to examine what we're doing. I am going to make some decisions around that. Um, but we do still have needs for um the online with AEO for seatbased and we're trying to figure out what

165we're going to anticipate for that. credit recovery is going to be where we're living in next year versus having independent study. Um what has happened over the course of time is that we haven't had as much outreach for for credit recovery. And when I say outreach, I'm talking about having staff assigned to go to Denfeld or to go to East and support students that are maybe in the credit recovery programs at the sites. Um, and so we're going to bring that back next year using our current staffing that we have instead of like reducing staffing. I feel like it's important for us to do that outreach piece to try to give as much support as we can in the current model that we are going to be operating under. >> I appreciate that. That's probably

166not a topic that's >> Thank you. Thank you, director. Any >> questions? >> Next up, we have our very own executive director extraordinaire. >> Simone Zunich. >> It is >> your last meeting. This is the third. >> perhaps we It's >> a little miss. >> I know. Isn't that pretty? Let's all think about that while I talk about the budget walking along that. >> Okay. Good evening everybody. Thanks for having me. I'm Simone Zunich. I'm the executive director of business services, finance, and operations. Um I'm presenting to you the third proposed budget. Um I've already done this twice the last two months through the committee of the whole. Um I have attached those links into the document that's in board book as well. Um honestly nothing's really changed um since the second reading. So I

167have expanded it to look like our final product. Um, it will go to the school board next week for adoption. We did submit the resolution for the adoption last night at HR business services. So, thank you. And I will go through um the details now. Um, at the very end, I'll go I'm going to jump there real fast with the superintendent's um approval. I did add the 26 legislative session update. I I kind of like to read that stuff too and it's just that's just for you to look at and see if you know any it can answer any questions for you. So, uh starting with the first page um no for page one the other way you're there. Thank you. Um we just have defined as I do every year um that the general

168fund is fund one, transportation is fund three, our operating capital is fund five. These three funds are are our general fund. Okay. Our additional funds are food service fund two, community service is fund four, construction is fund six, debt service is fund seven, our trust fund and internal service fund which is dental. Our trust fund is an internal fund. Um I think coming up after we meet with start with our new auditors who will be here um already this month which is super exciting. LB Carlson. I'll be having some more uh further conversations about fund 8 which was established uh back in 2000 year 2000 right Sheila and uh we've been putting money into that fund every year to basically pay for severances that for staff that are connected to federal funds. Okay. And then

169our internal service fund is our dental fund. So the process for general fund revenue budgeting will include projecting and analyzing current federal, state, local revenues along with forecasting legislative or local district changes to revenues. I do use the whatif revenue projection model from MDE and in it has a lot of information but you can kind of play with what you think are your ADMs are and then it does do all your calculations for you. So it's a it's a wonderful um process and um that is stored of course on in our iDrive and that supports how we do you know get to our budget numbers. So for 27 going to put this on there even though we are below that we will continue the district will continue to strive um to meet our 8% district

170policy of the general fund. Uh this will be supported by district-wide operational budget realignments and reductions. Um I'm going to say that that is something that we will need to look at every year. Our local levy uh we had an increase of 13.75% which is 2,359,447. Our state aid increase we had a formula increase of 2.69%. And I will tell all of you that is all the money we received in revenue. So our our levy levy went up by 2.3 million. Our state aid is going to increase by 2.7 million. Uh feel free to ask me any questions. I like to have a um you know a comfortable give and take dialogue. I I like doing that. Our American Indian Education Aid right now for this year is 413,000. We have not received our FY27

171amount yet. Uh that's to be determined by MDE. Our literacy incentive aid for next year is $388,659. Um I know the title director um has done a presentation, but there is a 14% decrease over FY26. Uh so total title will be roughly 2.7 million. MTSS grant. There is no grant money for FY27. We did get money last year. Our access state funding which is 55% reimburseed by of expenditures is approximately FY for FY27 $581,245.37. Our paraprofessional training dollars we get is a little over $65,000. Now that hourly worker unemployment dollar amount 670,000 that's a big number but that number has increased for the district. The first two years our numbers for summer unemployment so that is July, August and September um was under $100,000. I think a lot of districts, we all assumed it would

172be this high number like this, but by the third summer, that is the number that we recognized last summer in unemployment. So, there are funds still for another year or two to reimburse us for th those dollars. >> Okay. Director Zunich, is that we get full reimbursement for that as of right now? >> Yes, but it's just summer employment. So that would be just July, August and September. If someone chooses to take unemployment during the year, it does not qualify. This is these are uh mostly our hourly workers, drivers, paraprofessionals, K or food nutrition workers. Okay. >> And I just want to point out just a couple things and we we talk about those federal fund changes and I think that's important to to note. We we often times talk about the state budget and

173how that impacts us and we don't often focus as much on the federal budget with those but with those federal uh cuts and programming. It's made it difficult because in the past when we had more money we're able to fund uh and fill in those gaps. Uh and then a piece of good news bad news. The bad news is that we didn't get the MTS grant uh for this year, but or this coming year. But the good news, if you call it good news, it's because the state looks at us as as uh actually being an exemplar with what we're doing with MTSS. So, because we're doing so well with MTS now, uh they don't want to give us more money to to keep um working to improve it. So I think that in some

174ways it's it's uh you know good good kudos kudos for the team but unfortunate that it results in having less money for MTSS. >> And as a reminder um access means alternative delivery of specialized instructional services. So that is one of the resources we receive to support students uh in hopes that they um can avoid being identified as needing um special education. So we use those funds to support um intervention positions either reading or math interventionists as well as other positions um that uh can be funded using those resources. Um the special education team did a presentation uh last month regarding how those funds can be used and again it's some of them can be interventions but there's other positions that can be funded with access. Member Saddowski. >> Uh, I just wanted to um

175thank you, Director Zunich, for um just keeping us so well informed um every every month, every every time we have a budget update um in our HR meetings one-on-one. Um, and I just really wanted to highlight and how much I appreciate you really looking at each fund and looking for the most creative ways possible to kind of get us through this bumpy financial situation. And um, I'm glad that we're trying to prioritize keeping our reserve as well. I think that's a very smart thing to do. Um, we're always gonna hopefully won't we won't always have cuts, but we've seen the projections. So, we we see that for a couple years here we're going to be having cuts and I think it's important to have that. Thank you, >> Member Banks. >> Thank you very much.

176I I'm looking at the bullets here and um will you be talking tonight about the integration specialist line item what that budget looks like uh or is that not a part of this? >> Um I will be addressing the achievement and integration budget. >> Okay. Yes. So it's it's attached here. >> All right. Thank you. I just spoke too soon. Okay. >> No, you're good. Thank you. So, um, if you go to here you go. So, FY27 pupil counts. Um, I'm using I know the board supports a conservative, um, ADM report or support of 8,175. I increased it over 50, which we used 81.25 for FY26. Right now, our um enrollment report last night showed 8,036, but this is the dip. It comes down and it will come back up by December. We'll have a

177final count. We are confident that we will um get to that number, but it's best I think for planning to use a conservative number. Uh food, nutrition, free breakfast and lunch for all students will continue in FY27. uh the application for educational benefits, it's also known as the free and reduced meal form, are mostly direct certified. Applications are still required. Now, here's the hard news that I just received last week. This this is one change uh from the last committee of the whole. There is a permanent decrease in state funding beginning July 1 of 26 of point of 6 cents per meal. So, we will be getting 6 cents less reimbursed in revenue for meals. I just got that information from the food nutrition department. So, I want everyone to be aware of that. So,

178you'll see when I did uh the fund two um there is a negative 82,000 that I'm saying the budget will land. There is a healthy fund balance for fund two. So, we should be able to um support that. >> Sidowski. I'm glad to hear we might be able to support that. I'm appalled at this cut. Um given we when when we all go to the grocery store, we're seeing the big increases and we know from in our media and we see more and more people depending on food shelves and it's making it harder for families and >> um this is going to be hard for us too. This is disappointing. >> It is. Um, so the district will provide the free breakfast at lunch, but we will be reimbursed at 6 cents less a meal.

179And right now we it looks like they should be free again through 28. Um, we'll see what happens after that. So anyway, I just wanted to highlight that and bring that to your attention so it's not a surprise. Member Lo, >> can I just editorialize off of member Zadowski's is that this is appalling for that reason, but also appalling that this was a mandated >> um uh state state mandate for us and and I understand that we want, you know, we all heard the the strong desire of our state and our leaders of senators and representatives supporting free lunch for our whole but then now to say that they're going to decrease what they're going to reimburse us for is I feel injustice and a backdown of their promise and the vote that they took.

180>> Um and I'm sure my colleagues that supported this at the state, you know, are also I I not happy. Am I am I is am I on my right line of of understanding that that this was done was this done by federal or >> state? It's state. >> It's state. >> Okay. >> Mhm. So >> I don't understand. >> Yeah. I don't understand it. Not only are we going to see that decrease there, but um we as a district have actually seen an increase because of our direct certification. Our team has done an amazing job and there are some districts that have less compensatory aid um because of the you know the direct certification. So we have seen an increase there. But not only is that happening, um Sheila Oak, you know, food nutrition

181coordinator Sheila Oak is saying telling me that supplies are between 11 and 12% higher than last year as well. So all that math is coming to us. Again, we're going into we have a very healthy fund balance for fund too and uh we we have we have to try not to use it, but that's what it's there for. >> I'm sorry. I just had to one last thought on the food nutrition. Just reminding um us and we all know this in our community, but we saw a a huge increase in students who were accessing our school lunches after these lunches were made free. Um, and now we're uh, and so it's just a really important recess or resource. I just wanted to point that out that there was a lot of families and a lot

182of students who were falling through the cracks in the middle and they didn't qualify for free lunch or or reduced lunch and now they're accessing that and we have that clear data that was pretty black and white um, there and so it just makes us even more disappointing. I really appreciate the work of Sheila Oak and the team um for really stretching our dollars as far as we can make them and thank you. >> Thank you. We have seen increased lines at our sites. Um so it is definitely um a very important project for our students to have free meals, breakfast and lunch. So um just a little bit more housekeeping here. Other local revenues are estimated by by prior year fundings. That's just a basic one budgeting 101. You take what you did last

183year and you can use a multiplier of 2% or 5% however it's trending. Our local revenue uh revenue includes property tax levy, miscellaneous tax revenues, county aortionment, tuition fees, admissions, medical assistant, interest, earnings, rent, gifts, and bequests. Um, insurance recovery, you know, that's when a car drives into your school, that's your insurance recovery. Sale of materials and equipment and other miscellaneous revenues. Um, state revenue includes payments by the Department of Education and other state agencies. And federal revenue includes aids awarded through state agencies or directly from federal sources. Restricted revenues rec require a reserved fund balance if funding is not all spent in the allocated fiscal year. Most restricted revenues are intended to be spent in full in the allocated fiscal year. Restricted reserved revenues come from state and local sources, aid and levy. And

184I'm I'm really emphasizing that paragraph which is there every year. Um, we will definitely this year for this audit are going to be, you know, using our restricted funds that are we have some nice balances. We're going to be using those this year. So, um, it's an important part of your audit. You're always supposed to use your restricted funds first. Um, and then that helps offset your general fund. Do you have any questions for me or Okay. Um, undesated revenues come from federal, state, and local sources. The largest of which is the basic formula allowance, the general education aid. Undesated revenues may have individual calculations but do not have a required reserve fund balance. Federal sources are often reimbursements and have allowable carryover provisions to subsequent fiscal years. Use of federal funds has limitations. So

185we have federal funds in special education. Um there are some in food nutrition. We have title. Um, can't think of anything else. I think that's it. So, um, let's go to our next page, our timeline. I just wanted to, um, you know, let the community know that starting in January and February of this year, we did have indivivividual board uh, member meetings occurred to review the five-year forecast and preliminary budget. Um it says individual but they should be that really should read small group meetings. Um April 7th we did a committee of the whole the first reading. Um I provided the link there. May 5th was the second one. Um last night was the 8th where we presented the resolution and tonight we're speaking and then the um board adoption is next week. Now for

186projected enrollment as I said we were at 8175. I worked with our Mars coordinator on this information. We did this analysis in May of 26. Really, this is what hinges all of our funding. So, I like to have a, you know, um, a grid here for you. Um, due to the 25 final counts of 8,255.88, we are going to use the ADM count of 8175 for the 27 budget planning. We have um below attached some actuals and some estimations for you. Again, this year will not get finalized till December of 26 for the FY26 school year. We will based off of that number, we'll receive our final 10% of any aid that we should have gotten this year. we get 90% before June and the other 10% comes in December or January after your audit's

187done. So then we have what we call receivables. So you're always working in a couple of years. Um our we know our special education aid is two years behind even when they um when the the department gets a um memorand um letter of what memorandum I can't even think of the word right now. What's the word I'm thinking about? Jason, >> thank you. Um, yes. So, that is based on FY25. So, we are we're always two years behind in getting our money. So, okay, next page. Uh, revenue budget summary. I put some categorical aids here for you. Um, undesated is our general fund of 68 million. federal programs I did reduce um by roughly a little over a million dollars from last year. However, we did just get notification that Head Start will get a

188cost of living increase of um 6 cents. So, we're I mean I mean it's it's better than nothing. >> Yes. Special education. I changed this up for you. Last year I used to do just the basic amount we're supposed to get, but I have we did get now finally an updated number including um some subsidy numbers. So our special education aid is 32 million. Transportation, we should be getting in 4 million.8. Telecom access that is 140,000. That has to do with our um um technology. We get the same amount every year. American Indian, I put the uh FY26 number in there because I do not know yet what FY27 will be. Medical assistance. Last year we used the number of 1.8 million. I'm being brave and putting 1.2 million here that we hopefully can get

189in revenue. I've put it the illiteracy incentive aid there. down below our restricted reserve uh staff development is calculated at 2% of our general aid. So that number is a given to us the 1.3 million the operating capital 1.9 million and our basic skills and comped. So that number there could change but right now the um as I looked today the number has not changed in our whatif revenue. There are many many districts in the state that have lost money in compensatory. Um but we we're going to I think be some winners here. So our that number has increased over last year. Not a lot, but it did go up. >> To to that point, that that has been kind of a controversial issue and an issue of advocacy of other districts right now because

190there are a lot of other districts that are >> uh lo losing out in that that uh readjustment of compad. Pretty serious issue for some districts. But >> just for again to reiterate for the board what what you just said that we came out a little bit ahead on this one. Mhm. >> Our gifted and talented for next year will be 115,000. Um, you know, that is not a a large number, but it's an important department, but it's we don't really get a lot of aid there. Our learning and development is 1.9 million. Now, here, um, I put the ALC, so it's still referred to that, uh, at MDE, so I stayed with that number. And that is the FY26 um calculator right there. So I put that there for you so you have some

191context to it. And achievement and integration to member bank's question will be 1 uh.6 million. Safe schools levy is 330,000 and that is where we pay our SRO officers out of. That is that fund right there. So um those are your categorical aids. Um wanted to give those breakdowns to you that has come up at various uh QLT meeting. You know they people have wanted to know what these numbers are. So um we can always refer them to this document. Thank you. Okay. So here is the big picture. Uh fund one our revenue is on the left and our expenditures are on the right. So fund one, there's a dollar difference of $3,856,765. I put to the far right there for you. Here is where we are making um we're doing our budget reduction work.

192I put $4.2 million. That is a, you know, that's just your estimate because we don't know exactly the benefits for every person, but we use an average number. And um it's important for the district to have a little buffer there too because uh the superintendent superintendent may need to you know um take care of some issues. As you can see fund two food service is minus $82,65. Here's where I calculated that we could uh run into a deficit there. But again we have a healthy fund balance there. community service um is to the good of $127,661. Again, we have a strong fund balance in fund for community service. Um fund six is our construction. We don't have any new construction. When we were building this building here, that's where we put those numbers in. Fund

1937 is our debt service. that $459,955 um potentially is some interest that the that money will earn. Um here's our fund 8 insurance $19,158 change. Uh we're anticipating for our dental of a difference of $108,72. Um, our student activity account is technically part of fund one, but we recognize it as a separate fund. So, when you see all the pie charts down below, those the pie charts do not include the fund 79 number. So, there's roughly a difference of the half a million dollars, but you'll see that as we go down. So the overall revenues is $199,532,000 $532,933 and our expenditures at are at $22,000. So there's a overall difference of 3,3 but really the fund that we mostly focus on is fund one. >> Sure. uh you mentioned some of the budget reduction and

194reallocation work that we've been doing and and uh not to go deep into everything but just to reiterate for the board and since this was new since our last public meetings uh we did have we were able to add back some of our social worker and interventionists at the elementary level uh and that was funded in part by there was a um principal on special assignment position as we know now uh Danette Sibo is is uh taking a position out of out of district uh to rejoin family in the Madison area. And so that principal and special assignment position, we're going to be uh making some shifts there. Um creating a TOSA position instead and then uh shifting money out of a the literacy lead TOSA position. So basically the net wash is that we're

195saving the uh full amount for a princon special assignment um salary and benefits which we're putting into those social worker and uh interventionist positions. Uh we also uh because those positions went back to their original schools, there were some schools that were impacted more than others and we did um we did make sure that we we reallocated a little more for uh LOL who had LOL had been hit pretty hard with with some uh reductions. So that was that was where we made some shifts. >> Okay. Thank you. Um so now we have all the wonderful pie charts. I won't go through each one of them. The only one I do want to um highlight is the the first one. Um these are wonderful um graphics that we do get from forecast analytics, but down

196below if if Shen if you just pushed a little bit further. So you can see where we have the um historical revenues, expenses, and fund balances. So, I just want the district, the school board to, you know, let's keep an eye on that fund balance. It's that green line. Okay, Shannon, would you go one more, please? And, um, the second one here is just fund one, and I want us to be pay attention to that green line as well. So, okay. Um, and I I I did one of these for every fund. And then I also did um Shannon, would you keep going through until you see a document that looks like There you go. that one right there. This is also a wonderful document. It breaks it down by fund, by federal, uh local

197revenue, state revenue, and federal. And if you'd page down a little bit further, please. Um it shows you h where we are expecting our expense, our revenue from for each um grouping there. And then it provides a nice little commentary uh at the bottom there. So I'll just read this one and I won't do all the others, but the 27 revenue budget insight, the revenue for 27 is budgeted at 199 million as we read on the first page, which is a difference of 12 million9 or 6.95% over last year. So we know why the levy we're getting more levy money than we did the year before. We're seeing the 2.69% um in uh our basic formula. So our local revenue is budgeted to change by 5 million uh to 53 million49919. Our state revenue is

198budgeted to change by 8 million1 and our federal revenue is budgeted to change by a negative two 217,000. So, I wanted to point that one out to you. As we know, our title, federal title is reducing. So, I did the math. Sorry. >> Do you mind pausing for a second? Can you go scroll up to the top of that page just so we can find it in the paper copy? >> Sorry. >> It's revenue. Our budget summary revenue >> page 10. Thank you. >> There are a lot of documents. I had to go over it four times to make sure I had them all. So, um, these documents are are great and, um, Shan, would you go one more, please? So, so there's a revenue and expense document for every fund. This document shows what

199our salaries and benefits will be, our purchase services, and our supplies and equipment. Um, you'll see salaries and benefits went up. Well, that is contract language, right? That is cont that's um salaries going up per contract. We know our health insurance is increasing by 15%. Uh we will be bringing to you in July a presentation from our insurance company. Um we're anticipating 5 to 10% in parts of the insurance but it could be up to 15% increase. So that's why that benefit shows higher supplies and equipment. We tried to keep that flat, but we did increase um we know supplies are going to cost more money and um our fuel is going up as well. So there's a really great breakdown for the last two years and for the current year. There's a percent change

200and a dollar change. There's also some narrative there. So I hope we can answer every question for you. Um, if not, just let me know and I'd be happy to answer anything. >> Thanks, Jason, for the maintenance of effort. >> I lost it right there at the minute. I couldn't think of it. >> Superintendent Maggus. >> Sure. I just want to say uh thanks to Simone and her team as well as everybody who's been involved in the budgeting process. that has not been easy and I appreciate to the board's um work that we've done to to make sure that we're engaging in deep conversation. Um I think trying to make sure that we you know we heard a lot about communication too and making sure that people understand the why of what we're doing and

201and how we're we're working on these things. I think another thing to consider is um unfortunately the impact that that we have not not just this year but for years to come and we have uh also been considering what we might consider for potential referendum or or operational levy for the uh fall and um one thing that the board has asked about is making sure that we have some community input and community feedback and so I've been working with uh Adele really closely and um working on an adaptive survey that we would be uh looking at launching in the next week or so that would have postcards that would go to the community so that we would also be working with the community uh to gauge community interest in in supporting these situations. We also

202shot a video today basically just talking about our current situation, what things are looking like for the coming years that I can share with the board as well prior to sending it out just because we're like many districts and I I know people get sick at hearing it, but like many districts around the state, we're having very similar funding issues and uh it we're making very similar proportionate reductions as almost every other district in the state. Uh but those reductions are going to continue uh not just this year but into the future. And even if we pass a successful referendum in the fall, those monies will not be available for next year. We would still have reductions next year again. It would be the year after that we would we would stop. But I think

203it's important for us to fully engage the community before we um before we make those determinations as before the board makes the determinations. And we would have that information for a uh I know we talked about having a um board work session in July. I think we talked about potentially July 9th was one of the dates and so uh that that was a time that we thought thought about making sure that we have the the survey information back so that we can consider community input on on that because we're when we when we engage our our staff, they're they're concerned about what this means and they want to know what what is our plan other than just make reductions. And so I think uh gauging community appetite for whether or not they can support continue

204to support schools because our state advocacy and federal advocacy hasn't resulted in more resources for us at this point. >> Member Sidowski, >> I think it's great you pointed that out again. I don't think it I think it can bear repeating every time we talk about this because we're operating in a broken system. Um it's just the way our public schools are funded is systemically broken and we see more cuts 6 to each meal. Um and so I just I think that that bears repeating. So it's unfortunate. >> Chair Derek Eer. >> Um and just to member Saddowsk's point, education is a peopleheavy business. It's just you can't educate kids without having people there. So when you look at that, this number always astounds me. Between our salary and our benefits, it's $148 million and

205our total our total revenues are going to be $199 million. So when you have to make meaningful cuts, the only place one of the I shouldn't say the only one of the few places you have is in people because that we're 80 to 85% of our budget is people. So that's just the reality of the system that that we are in. Pure peer poop pure student funding uh individual student funding that comes from the state and the federal government does not take into account when we have an 8.51% increase in our salary and benefits to a tune of almost $12 million from last year to this year. M so if you think of what that growth has looked like in our benefits over the last 3 years um salary and benefits these are just going

206to rates that are making it nearly impossible for us to have a balanced budget without making significant and deep cuts and we are put in the position that the only place we can make significant cuts is when it comes to people. So we are caught in a loop that is um very difficult to get out of because education is peopleheavy because it has to be. So I just want to point that out and and we as a DUTH public schools operate this no differently than anybody else. We have revenue that comes in from the state, the federal and the local government and we have expenditures that go out and the only way we we have two choices. We can increase our revenue or we can cut our expenditures. And the cycle that we're in right

207now is to cut, cut, cut because we see no increase meaningfully in our revenue, especially when we think about inflation, inflationary pressures, labor costs, all of the things. So that's what we operate a budget here no differently than any business operates a budget. We have to stay within our means and unless we can ra raise revenue, we're going to have to make cuts. It's just as simple as that. Mhm. thing about that is we know our teachers deserve to get paid even more than they're getting paid. They deserve to keep these really good benefits. It's really really unfortunate. Um, I would also just kind of changing the subject a little bit, but same same topic is just um thank you to um my schoolboard colleagues for going down and lobbying down at the state um

208over the last uh year. Um I know that um some of you have a little more capacity than I did. I I went at least once, but I know some of you are retired or maybe just have a little more flexibility. So, I really appreciate that. I know that we didn't maybe get the outcomes that we wanted, but I know that we worked hard to do that. And we um also thank you to Superintendent Maggus and Assistant Superintendent Bonds too for um being a part of professional organizations so we can make sure that our legislative platform is aligned with other entities uh you know whether it's the Minnesota Department of Education, whether it's MSBA, AMSD, just to make those asks stronger. We did try to strategize on that, but >> All right. Seeing no additional

209green lights. Thank you, executive director Zage. >> Um, Chair Derk Eater, uh, and board, I wanted to also, um, let you know inside your folder, you will receive or you will see, uh, two resolutions. one for Denville High School, also one for uh East High School. It's related to the Minnesota State High School League. It's the annual membership renewal form. So, I just want to make sure that you are aware that those are um in your folders and they will be coming to the schoolboard meeting for um as part of a resolution and approval. We