Board Minutes—Regular Meeting 12/06/22

2022-2023
Regular Meeting

Official School Board Minutes

Regular Meeting of the School Board
December 6, 2022

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Independent School District 270 was conducted in-person and streamed virtually, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.

School Board members present: Treasurer Steve Adams, Vice Chair Shannon Andreson, Director Rachel Hartland, Director Tanya Khan, Director Jason Ross, Clerk Katie Pederson and Chair Jennifer Westmoreland. School Board members absent: None.

Student Board reps present: Grace Reilly (11).

Staff members present: Superintendent Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed. Staff members absent: None.

Open Agenda — Public Comments on Agenda Items

No public comments were presented.

Reports

Scholar Board Report

Reilly (11) updated Board Members on recent High School events.

Superintendent Report

Mhiripiri-Reed highlighted district events.

Approval of Agenda

Adams moved; Ross seconded; to approve the agenda as presented. Carried.

Consent Calendar

Pederson moved; Adams seconded; to approve the Consent Calendar as presented: A) Approval of Minutes — Regular Meeting Conducted on November 15, 2022; B) Human Resources — Personnel Updates; C) Policies in Second Read; D) Out of State Travel; E) Substitute Rate Recommendations — 2022-23; F) Annual Resolution Limiting Non-Resident Enrollment; G) Tentative Agreement with Service Employees International Union Local 284 – Paraprofessional Employees; H) Contract Updates for Non-Represented Employees; I) Contract For Implementation Planning And Oversight Process — Portage Partners Consulting.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Adams highlighted expenses of interest. Adams moved; Khan seconded; to approve financial disbursements in the amount of $2,611,929.85 for the period of November 9th through November 29th, 2022. Carried.

Policies in First Read

Policy 509: Enrollment Of Nonresident Students
Policy 530: Immunizations
Policy 531: Pledge Of Allegiance

Lightfoot and Andreson reviewed the policies with the board noting minor changes to policy 509. Lightfoot went on to clarify the statute component regarding the flag in policy 531

Andreson moved; Adams seconded; that the Board approves Policies [590, 530, 531] in First Read; further, the Board directs the Administration to prepare the policies (with suggested revisions) for approval in Second Reading at the next meeting as part of Consent. Carried.

Certification of Tax Levy

On September 20, 2022, the Board approved the proposed 2022 Pay 2023 property tax levy. The Truth-in-Taxation hearing was conducted prior to the Regular Meeting of the Board with two community members present.

The district has received an updated proposed property tax levy Payable 2023 (FY24) from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).

The updated total proposed levy for taxes payable in 2023 is $65,794,907 (10.20%) an increase of $6.0 million compared to the taxes payable in 2022. The increase is attributed to changes in Long Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) Capital Pay as You Go Plan with an increase of $4.5 million compared to Pay 2022. Other increases are attributed to the Operating Referendum with an increase of $3.4 million and a slight increase in Capital Projects Levy of $264,433. Community Service Funds also had slight increases of $108,000. Debt Service decreased by $2.5 million due to restructuring of our debt.

The district is experiencing stable enrollment growth and Net Tax Capacity (NTC) has experienced significant growth. This corresponding growth in NTC has served to minimize the tax impact to the property owners for increases to the district’s levy.

Board members discussed the updated details with Director Chapinduka.

Ross moved; Hartland seconded;That the Board approves the Resolution Establishing School District Tax Levies Authorized for General and Special Purposes. Those voting in favor thereof: Hartland, Adams, Westmoreland, Andreson, Khan, Ross, and Pederson. Carried.