INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT #181 BRAINER

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT #181 BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS Minutes for the Regular School Board Meeting Monday, February 13, 2023 6:00 p.m. at Forestview Middle School 12149 Knollwood Drive, Baxter John Ward attending virtually from 16 Red Poinciana Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908 1. Call the meeting to order and roll call: Members present: Kevin Boyles, Randy Heidmann, Michelle Brekken, DJ Dondelinger, Sarah Speer Virtual: John Ward Others present: Superintendent Dr. Hahn, Ryan Schultz, Tim Murtha, Angie Bennett, Molly Raske. Jill Bjorge, Jodi Kennedy, Jessica Haapajoki, Candace Burckhardt, JOn Anderson, Derek Hendrickson, Issac Smieja, Kathy Johnson, Amy Jordan, Reid Thiesse, Marci Lord, Jim Conrad, Damien Williams, and Theresa Bourke - Brainerd Dispatch. 2. Pledge of Allegiance: the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Approval of the agenda as presented amended: Moved by Director Speer, second by Director Heidmann to approve the agenda as amended. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 4. Recognitions: Congratulations to the Warrior Varsity Dance Team. They captured the Section 4AAA Championship in High Kick and took third place Jazz. They are headed to the MSHSL State Tournament being held at Target Center February 17 & 18, 2023. Congratulations to Maddy Avery, Cassidy Rardin, Bailey Clausen, and Semme Hiltner being selected to the Class 3A All State Dance team. Avery and Rardin were named to the All State Kick Team and Clausen and Hiltner were named to the All State Jazz Team. They will be performing March 11 at Edina High School. Congratulations to both the Boys and Girls Nordic Ski Teams for being the Central Lakes Conference Champions. Congratulations to the Girls Nordic Ski Team for being the 8A Section Champions and to the Boys Nordic Ski Team for finishing in second place. Both teams are advancing to the MSHSL State Tournament being held February 15 & 16, 2023 at Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort in Biwabik. Congratulations to Harrison Elementary fourth-grade student Amirah Cosgrove!! Amirah’s art was selected for the K-12 “My District, My Minnesota program.” The Minnesota Senate invited students to submit photos or drawings of life in their district. Each Senator then chose the one they felt was the best representation of their district. Amirah’s submission was selected to represent District 6 and will be displayed in the Minnesota Senate Building for the rest of 2023. Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Gymnastics Team for taking second place in the Central Lakes Conference. 5. Public Input: there were two people who spoke about some of the good things going on in the district, and the lack of handicap playground equipment at some of the schools. request a presentation 6. Approval of Minutes: A. Moved by Director Heidmann, second by Director Brekken to approve the minutes from the regular School Board meeting held January 30, 2023 as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 7. Consent Calendar: Hires are approved pending negotiated contracts/agreements and a district approved /acceptable background check. Moved by Director Dondelinger, second by Director Speer to approve the consent calendar as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. Staff Changes/Leaves Non-Certified - New Hires Ashlee Flowers - Educational Assistant, FMS, Effective 2/06/2023 Nathan Mikkelson - Custodian, District-wide, Effective 2/01/2023 Coaches/Comm Ed - New Hires Nicholas Benskin - Stage technician II, District-wide, Effective 1/09/2023 Hailey Borg - Event Worker, BHS, Effective 1/30/2023 Tom Fairbanks - Ass’t Varsity Baseball Coach, BHS, Effective 3/20/2023 Bryce Flanagan - Lead 9th Grade Baseball Coach, BHS, Effective 3/20/2023 John McDonald - Driver’s Ed Instructor, BHS, Effective 2/06/2023 Matthew Means - Assistant 9th Grade Baseball Coach, BHS, Effective 3/20/2023 Jill Ostendorf - Event Worker, BHS, Effective 11/21/2022 Substitutes - New Hires Sydney Adkins - Sub Teacher, District-wide, Effective 2/13/2023 Samantha Babinski - Sub Teacher, District-wide, Effective 2/06/2023 Jeffry Lewis - LTS Sub Teacher, LEC, Effective 1/23/2023- 6/5/2023 Jordyn Marsh - LTS EBD Educational Assistant, FMS, Effective 2/6/2023-6/2/2023 Sheryl Stearns - Sub Teacher, District-wide, Effective 2/01/2023 James Wimmer - LTS Sub Teacher, FMS, Effective2/6/2023-6/02/2023 Separations Alicia Frink - Educational Assistant, harrison, Effective 2/09/2023 Mary Hancock-Kroll - B-3 Special Education Teacher, WESB, Effective 8/31/2023 Oriauna Moen - Fun’N’Friends Program Assistant, Harrison, Effective 2/07/2023 Amber Racelo - Clerk Cashier Clerical, BHS, Effective 2/03/2023 Brady Sykora - 6th & 7th Grade Assistant Softball Coach, FMS, Effective 2/07/2023 ● Gifts & Grants - Gifts were received from Shutterfly and Costco. ● Field Trip Requests - BLC for MAAP Stars Competition in May 2023 and the A-Cappella Choir attending a Clinic March 2023. ● Ratify Payment of Bills 8. Presentations: Blueprint 181 Update: Damien Williams, ICS, updated the board on the progress at WESB and stated that the hope is to be back in the building sooner than the projected July date. There will be a tour of the building prior to the next board meeting in March. 9. New Business: For Action: Presentation: E-Learning Days versus Snow Days 1. Approval of the removing E-Learning days and reinstating snow days on the school calendar for 2023-24 as presented: Tim Murtha, Director of Teaching and Learning informed the board that based upon an examination of both staff and family responses to the E-Learning vs. Snow Days surveys, a majority of respondents in both surveys would prefer a form of making up snow days as opposed to E-Learning Days. Therefore, the administrative recommendation is to remove E-Learning days and add snow days beginning with the 2023-24 school calendar. The board discussed their opinions and the options that would need to occur to achieve the changes. They voiced their desire to have the union representatives be a part of the discussion, solution and decision. Moved by Director Dondelinger, second by Director Brekken to approve removing E-Learning days from the calendar and adding in snow days as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 2. Approval of the upcoming strategic plan development dates as presented: Superintendent Hahn informed the board of the proposed listening session days and explained the times and type of sessions the district is planning on holding. The proposed dates are March 2, 2023 Student and Community Listening Sessions, March 3, 2023 Staff and Community Listening Sessions, March 7, 2023 Community Listening Sessions. Staff surveys will be sent out and a community stakeholder sign up interest survey will also be made available to everyone. Locations for the sessions will be at both Forestview Middle School and at the Brainerd High School. Moved by Director Ward, second by Director Heidmann to approve the upcoming strategic plan development listen sessions dates as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 3. Approval of the Resolution Awarding 2023A General Obligation School Building, Facilities Maintenance, and Capital Facilities Bonds as presented: Marci Lord and Matthew Hammer, Ehlers, informed the board that today the bids were opened and there were eight bids received. The lowest bid was 3.3588% and the highest was 3.6102%. 4.10% was the estimated interest cost when it was presented to the board on January 13, 2023. As a result of the lower interest rate, total principal and interest payments for the bonds are approximately $197,000 less than pre-sale estimates. The winning bidder was Baird from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The additional premium and favorable interest rate will provide the district with approximately $370,000 more for projects, as compared to presale. Moved by Director Speer, second by Director Heidmann to approve the resolution awarding the sale of $9,925,000 general obligation school building, facilities maintenance and capital facilities bonds, Series 2023A as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 4. Approval of the Baxter SRO Contract for the 2022-2023 School Year as presented: Marci Lord, Director of Business Services, informed the board that the agreement for the Baxter SRO is for one year only. In the past, this has been a two year contract. The agreement has been delayed because the City of Baxter was waiting on the results of a wage study and they have had issues with staffing the position. This contract is for 100 days and is paid for with safe school funds. Moved by Director Speer, second by Director Dondelinger to approve the Baxter SRO contract for the 222-2023 school year as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 5. Approval of the Revision for MSBA Policy #423 - Student Relationships as presented: Angie Bennett, HR Director, informed the board that this policy has not had any changes that adjust the policy, only statutory changes. Moved by Director Brekken, second by Director Dondelinger to approve the revision for MSBA Policy #423 - Student Relationships as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 6. Approval of First Reading of Revised MSBA Policies 413, 413.1, and 418 as presented: Angie Bennett, HR Director, informed the board that these have had a few changes. Policy 413 is to be reviewed annually. The recommended changes to the policy for this cycle are minimal, mainly creating more concise verbiage. It is recommended that as the changes are not significant, only one review with approval is needed. This policy was expanded beyond the MSBA language in 2020 to clarify the differences in definitions of Sexual Harassment under this policy and the Title IX definition. The expanded language remains; however, the redline changes for this review period are based on MSBA model policy recommendations. Policy 413.1 - Harassment and Violence Report form - no changes recommended. Policy 418 - Drug Free Workplace / Drug-Free School It is the recommendation to accept the MSBA model policy in this revision. The inclusion of additional language around cannabis and cannabinoids is relevant to our district and will align with best practices in ensuring a drug-free workplace and school. Moved by Director Dondelinger, second by Director Speer to approve the first reading of MSBA policies 413, 413.1, and 418 as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 7. Approve the deletion of MSBA Policies 619 - Staff Development Standards - Replaced with #425. 418.6 - Drug Free Workplace & School Reporting Form - No longer needed, it actually has been embedded into policy #418. 711A - Digital Video Surveillance on School Buses - Replaced with #711 & #712. Moved by Director Speer, second by Director Brekken to approve the deletion of policies 619, 418.6, and 711A as presented. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. 10. Informational: ○ Brainerd Public Schools Foundation - Director Speer informed the board that the board met today and preliminary results show that the Big Event raised approximately $75,000. March 20, 2023 is when the 4A grants are due. All seniors need to get their applications in for scholarships which closing February 28th. There is more than $150,000 in scholarships that will be handed out. ○ Business Services Report - Marci Lord informed the board that the district is down 61 students from the beginning of the year, which is better than the past average of 72. Board members asked where the students are going and it was noted that they are mostly going to online venues. Marci also stated that there was nothing major to note on the financial report. The Food Service and Community Service funds are higher than prior year as they continue to get back to pre-pandemic operations. ○ Superintendent Report – Superintendent Hahn informed the board that March 2, 2023 will be the Brainerd Learning Center Ribbon Cutting. Also, March 2nd is the Legendary Women Event. For Senior Scholarships there will be more than $150,000 awarded. 11. Future Meetings: February 2023 MN School Board Recognition Month February 13, 2023 Regular School Board Meeting @ 6:00 p.m. February 14, 2023 Equity Task Force meeting @ 3:15 p.m. February 22, 2023 School Bus Driver Appreciation Day March 1, 2023 MSBA Board Chair Chat @ 8:00 a.m. March 2, 2023 PartnerEd Listening Sessions March 3, 2023 PartnerEd Listening Sessions March 6, 2023 PBEC Executive Board Meeting @ 12:00 p.m. BPSF Board Meeting @ 3:00 p.m. March 7, 2023 Project Oversight Team Meeting @ 8:00 a.m. PartnerEd Listening Sessions March 8, 2023 MSBA Day at the Capitol March 13 - 17, 2023 Spring Break - District Offices Limited Hours March 20, 2023 Regular School Board Meeting @ 6:00 p.m. 13. Moved by Director Dondelinger, second by Director Heidmann to approve adjourning the meeting. Carried on a roll call vote with all members in favor. Adjourned at 7:37 p.m. ______________ DJ Dondelinger, Clerk Janet Horn, Recording Secretary (March 25, 2023) 207487