- Call to Order – School Board Vice Chair Corey Butler called the meeting to order at 6:00. Dr. Dr. Matt Hillmann attending over Zoom, Claudia Gonzelez-George, Amy Goerwitz absent
- Land Acknowledgement Statement – read by student Maddie Busman.
- Agenda Approval/Table File – approved as presented
- Public Comment –
Arleene Gallardo works in the district office as HR generalist. Her comments were in response to recent news of changes to the positions of payroll and benefits specialists. The district plans to raise their pay rate to attract more highly qualified applicants. She agrees with that request and asks that the district add other positions within the department to that proposal. She asked the School Board to re-evaluate pay rates for other jobs within the district office as well, and consider other similar districts’ compensation.
- Announcements and Recognitions – none
6. Items for Discussion and Reports
a. Instructional Services Report – Dr. Hope Langston, Director of Instructional Services, reported on their work teams’ progress this year. 70+ staff members serve on these teams. Teams are looking at high-impact strategies for working with students; professional development. Another team is focusing on implementation of the READ Act. They are notifying families of 1-5 graders who are reading at 40% or less of grade level, and giving them resources to improve student reading. They are also working with high school curriculum changes required by new legislation.
Questions: Jenny Nelson asked about the composition of Instructional Services teams, and where their research comes from? A: The office networks with other districts to find current resources; it is a team effort to find relevant & current research. Ms. Nelson: Is our professional development training in-house? A: Yes, and it is done in February. Q: Will the district have to revise the reading plan again to comply with the READ Act (was revised in May)? A: It must be resubmitted every year, with new requirements. Noel Stratmoen: What response do you get from parents whose children are not reading at level? A: This hasn’t been done yet this year. In 2019 there was less response than we hoped for. This time we are adding different forms of communication with families (not just a letter). Jeff Quinnell: After COVID are reading scores getting back into more normal ranges? A: Yes, there is an uptick in many grade levels, students are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Corey Butler: What happens if a student misses the benchmark reading test? A: For students new to the district, we have set up different metrics for measurement. Mr. Butler: How large a commitment from the district does the new legislation require? A: A very robust commitment. Each legislative piece has a different timeline; staff has organized spreadsheets & timelines to keep track of them all and stay on schedule. Ben Miller: How can we keep track of the review process? A: On the district’s website anyone can find the process, describing each curricular area.
b. Job Position Restructuring – Director of Finance Valori Mertesdorf and Director of Human Resources Molly Viesselman described the restructuring plan for payroll specialist and benefit specialist positions. (See https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023.10.09-Board-Packet.pdf for more detail.) There are two separate positions. They researched other similar districts and found that all offer considerably more pay for the same work. The recommend that the board (1) eliminate both positions as they currently exist; (2) the current payroll employee to stay (the other position is vacant); (3) create a new job description for the benefits job; (4) make pay competitive with other districts.
Questions: Ben Miller: Would it be best to take this action sooner rather than later? A: Yes, the position will not be posted until the board takes action, leaving them short one person (benefits). Open enrollment for health insurance starts in Nov., and since the district has made a change in their health insurance carrier, that will be difficult to implement. Jeff Quinnell: Can we do this tonight? Do we need any more information? A: Board approval would make it possible to post position immediately. Dr. Hillmann: Appreciates their work on market research, and trying to keep district competitive. Ms. Viesselman: There have been changes to the position due to the Affordable Care Act, and the new eligibility for unemployment compensation required by legislation. Motion carried to vote on this later tonight.
c. Northfield High School Facility Community Survey – Dr. Hillmann: The phone survey done in 2022 is now outdated, we need to do a new survey. (See https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023.10.09-Board-Packet.pdf for more detail.) This survey will find out what voters will and will not support in school levy. Cost of the survey is $23,500
Questions: Ms. Nelson: The 2022 survey didn’t give the total number of registered voters at that time? Dr. Hillmann: There were about 18,700 voters in the Northfield school district. There might be more this time since it’s a presidential election. Ms. Nelson: Can respondents offer their own comments? Dr. Hillmann: Not in the current proposed survey. An open-ended comment/question would cost more, so it was not recommended. It can be added in for more money. What kind of data would we want from open-ended prompt? Ms. Nelson: She doesn’t think such a small sample size will reflect real voter sentiments. A comments section could give additional feedback. Dr. Hillmann: The district can provide data on their demographic sample & how well it predicted election results. This company has a good track record on predicting results. Ms. Nelson: Is there any alternative to doing survey, such as a public forum? Dr. Hillmann: Gathering feedback via opt-in surveys draw only people who want to answer. Focus groups & listening sessions are not always representative of district demographics. The building needs are similar to what they were a year ago. Noel Stratmoen: Can this survey include the hockey arena in addition to the high school? Dr. Hillmann: The City owns the hockey facility, not the district. He recommends not including it in order to focus on the high school. Mr. Quinnell: How many respondents would be property tax payers within the district? Dr. Hillmann will get that information for the next meeting. However, voters make the decision whether or not they own property. Mr. Quinnell: Will we get data 8 months before election? Dr. Hillmann: 8.5-9 months before the election. They want to inform voters in the spring, and have an informational campaign in summer, since people start early voting in September. Voter education needs to start early. Mr. Butler is in favor of going ahead with this survey.
d. Policy Committee Recommendations – Dr. Hillmann presented three district policies for their regularly scheduled review (See https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023.10.09-Board-Packet.pdf ) There are no major changes to policies, just tweaks to provide consistency within policies and be consistent with state law. No action tonight, will be on next meeting for approval.
Questions: none
7. Consent Agenda – approved unanimously
a. Minutes
b. Gift Agreements
c. Financial Report
d. District Youth Council Member (DYC) 2023-2024
e. Personnel Items
8. Items for Individual Action –
a. Resolution of School Board Supporting FORM A Application to Minnesota State High School League Foundation, funding to offset student activity fees (scholarships). Approved unanimously on roll call vote.
b. Resolution of School Board Supporting FORM B Application to Minnesota State High School League Foundation, funding for health & safety, transportation, removing barriers to participation, AEDs. Approved unanimously on roll call vote.
c. Job position restructuring (see 6.b. above). Approved unanimously.
9. Items for Information
a. Enrollment Report – The report presented current enrollment through Oct. 2. Enrollment slightly above projections. (See https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023.10.09-Board-Packet.pdf )
b. National School Lunch Week – Oct. 9-13.
c. National School Bus Safety Week – next week. Dr. Hillmann thanked Benjamin Bus Co. for its supportive partnership.
10. Future Meetings
a. Monday, October 23, 2023, 6:00 p.m., Regular Board Meeting, Northfield District Office Boardroom
b. Monday, November 13, 2023, 6:00 p.m., Regular Board Meeting, Northfield District Office Boardroom
c. Monday, November 27, 2023, 6:00 p.m., Regular Board Meeting, Northfield District Office Boardroom
11. Adjournment – Adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
