- Call to Order – By School Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez George at 6:00 p.m. Absent: Board member Ben Miller.
- Agenda Approval – Agenda and Table File approved (see https://northfieldschools.org/wpcontent/uploads/2024.02.12-Board-Packet.pdf )
- Public Comment –
Amber Sutherland – Second grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary School. Requested that Companeros classes be removed from equation when determining average class sizes, because they are intentionally smaller and skew the results downward. She also requested that another section be added back at each grade level at Spring Creek. The student/teacher ratio is currently 27/1; adding an additional section would bring the ratio down to 18/1. Smaller class sizes are better for
educational purposes.
Erica Trebelhorn – Art teacher at Spring Creek. Ms. Trebelhorn said that class sizes are too large to help those who need help. Needs of students have increased, especially following the pandemic. Nearly half of students in first grade receive additional assistance and are getting pulled out of class, which is a very high number. Large class sizes do not benefit these students. There has also been an increase in special needs students moving to our district.
Melissa Spitzack, second grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary. 13 out of her 27 students are receiving intervention, and pulled out of class daily.
- Announcements and Recognitions – Dr. Hillmann
School Board member Corey Butler has completed ________MASA leadership development training.
February is School Board recognition month. Dr. Hillmann thanked the board for its leadership and work.
Three middle school students represented Northfield at the state spelling bee in Rochester.
Dr. Hillmann congratulated NHS’s jazz dance team, which qualified for the state meet for the first time in 17 years. They will be competing for the state championship this Friday. He also congratulated the high school hockey team for its win over Owatonna. They will now advance to the next level of competition.
Two NHS seniors are National Merit finalists this year, Sonia & Jackson,
- Items for Discussion and Reports
a. Proposed 2024-2024 Operating Capital and Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Budget (LTFM).(For detail see https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2024.02.12-Board-Packet.pdf) Val Mertesdorf, Director of Finance, presented the 2024-2025 Operating Capital Budget and Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan. Justin Raabolle, Director of Buildings & Grounds, was
available for questions. The board will be asked to adopt the budget at the Feb. 26, 2024 board meeting.
Ms. Mertesdorf explained the various sources of capital and restrictions on this funding. She also discussed some of the capital projects completed last summer, including classroom updates and the high school locker removal project. Major expenditures: large increase in digital curriculum/textbooks (planned), also READ Act require materials. Technology leases increased, primarily because of added security. The Capital Committee recommendations are higher because they hope to do more facilities upgrades. Long term facility maintenance also higher. Projects for 2024-25 are funded by the previous voter levy. She also presented the LTFM 10-year plan
Questions – Corey Butler: What is hardest to plan for within the scope of the project and use of funds? Mr. Raabolle: When components come to end of life (AC, boilers, etc.) it is difficult to plan. Amy Goerwitz: Is there any overlap between LTFM & capital? Ms. Mertesdorf: No. You can visualize the difference if you think of anything affixed to the building is LTFM, while anything loose is capital. LTFM is repair & replace, capital is new and affixed to the building. Ms. Goerwitz: Are there any roofs to replace? Mr. Raabolle: No, the next would be the high school. Ms. Goerwitz: She is hearing community feedback requesting that the board not do anything with the high school for 10, 15, or 25 years. What happens with LTFM if we don’t do anything? Mr. Raabolle: This will make large cuts into staffing hours for maintenance. LTFM keeps lights,
heat on, and takes away from other work, essentially keep going from “fire to fire.” Ms.
Mertesdorf: If there is a catastrophic failure, replacing the entire HVAC system would cost several million dollars. If we continue to fix things at a rapid pace, emergency repairs will be very expensive. The biggest needs at the high school cannot be addressed with LTFM. Dr. Hillmann:The cost of not addressing the high school’s facility needs just cascades to higher and higher
costs. They would have to move funding from the middle school or other schools just to maintain, which will create a backlog of issues at other buildings. Noel Stratmoen: What wouldbe an example of catastrophic failure? Ms. Mertesdorf: Air conditioning or all HVAC, which cannot be replaced. Mr. Raabolle explained that these systems’ serviceable life is coming to an end.
b. Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Ten Year Plan – Director Raabolle and Director Mertesdorf reviewed the Long-Term Facilities Maintenance ten-year revenue and expenditure plan. In addition, the Indoor Air Quality Management Plan is part of the ten-year plan and must be reviewed annually. The board will be asked to approve the plan at the Feb. 26, 2024 board meeting. The approved plan must be submitted to the Department of Education. (Covered in previous item above.)
c. Arcadia and Prairie Creek Site Visits – Superintendent Hillmann and Director Daryl Kehler visited Prairie Creek Charter School on Jan. 29, 2024 and Arcadia Charter School on Feb. 2, 2024. They attended the Prairie Creek opera, a collaboration with St. Olaf College, and the Arcadia model United Nations program. (Details in the Table File link.) Northfield is one of only two districts in the state to administer charter schools.
d. Policy Committee Recommendation (item for action at next board meeting): Policy 310 will be allowed to sunset because it duplicates existing HR requirements. This will reduce the size of policy manual, but there will be no change in policy.
e. Superintendent Focus Areas Quarterly Report: (1) The district is meeting the READ Act’s training requirements, but will need to move to different screening tool. (2) New legislation: Most changes were implemented earlier this year, including changes to employee sick time, technical fixes to legislation (meeting with legislator to advocate for changes), civics in 11th or 12th grade, ethnic studies. A training meeting for legislative advocates was held on Zoom. (3) BIPOC parent advisory groups are meeting together with teachers and administrators (for details see https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2024.02.12-Board-Packet.pdf ) All teachers will participate in training. (4) The process for structuring the board decision on referendum for high school is being developed. Employees indicated increasing satisfaction with the district in the survey held last fall.
Questions: none
f. Legislative Session Preview – legislative session starts today. It is the second year of biennium, so the legislature is not required to take action (typically a bonding year). Advocating for READ Act, special ed cross-subsidy etc.
Question: Ms. Gonzalez George: Will there be an advocacy day at the Capitol? Dr. Hillmann: Yes, March 18.
g. Potential 2024 Northfield High School Bond Referendum Update and Potential Tax Impact. A representative from the Ehlers firm attended remotely and answered questions. Dr. Hillmann reported that about 50-55 people on the high school facilities tour, and about the same number attended a community meeting. Next step is determining the cost to taxpayers. (For detail see charts in https://northfieldschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2024.02.12-Board-Packet.pdf )
Adding more time to bonding period did not substantially reduce tax impact. Dr. Hillman said these are preliminary charts & figures, for discussion only. The board will receive results of phone survey at the next board meeting. The primary question heard during open houses was how much will it cost me?
Board comments/questions: Ms. Gonzalez George: What is the timeline for the board? Dr. Hillmann pulled up a timeline chart. March 5 at 4:00 board work session. Because of early voting, the district needs to move timeline up, with a nontraditional campaign through August. Early voting starts the second week of school. Voters need to know enough by then to make an informed decision. Ms. Goerwitz is getting a lot of comments from residents. She thanked Dr. Hillmann, the Northfield News, and KYMN for getting information out to the public. Mr. Butler asked Ehlers whether 20, 25 30-year bonds would be issued? Ehlers: Most districts use 20-year bonds. Rates are higher than 2 years ago, but still quite good. Larger projects often spread out
longer, but the vast majority are still 20 years. Mr. Butler: How did you choose the interest rate of 4.75 for calculating estimates? Ehlers: It is a conservative rate, 1 point higher than recent averages. CB: Asked about lower interest rate impacts homeowners. JE: The district can choose to use premium to go against the project, in case bids come in high. Most districts want a cushion. Jenny Nelson: Regarding the two new high school options, which are both from thesame contractor, is it feasible to get 2 other contractor bids on same square footage? Dr. Hillmann: Our process is similar to that of other high schools, which is to find an architect (Wold), to design project. If the referendum is successful, we can get multiple quotes. Ms. Nelson fears that once the preliminary number is public, estimates could change. Dr. Hillmann: Yes, that is a valid concern; we need to be able to cover the highest bid. Mr. Butler: How many
times did we refinance Bridgewater or other projects? Ms. Mertesdorf: The Middle School was paid off most recently, and was refinanced at least 3 times, saving about $4 million. Jeff Quinnell: Is it possible in Rice County to estimate the tax burden for individual addresses? Ehlers: That information is not offered by any municipalities because the error rate is too high. Mr. Quinnell is frustrated that we can’t give taxpayers specific numbers. Ehlers: You can plug in the numbers, but not addresses. County tax databases are not set up for that. Dr. Hillmann: We will have a tax calculator on the NPS website so homeowners can plug in their home values and find out their individual tax burden.
- Consent Agenda – Question: Ms. Goerwitz asked a clarifying question: Will the Grow Your Own grant program be open to non-TORCH students? Dr. Hillmann: Yes, it will be incorporated with existing after-school program. Consent agenda approved unanimously
a. Minutes
b. Gift Agreements
c. Financial Reports
d. Grant Applications: TORCH Director Tessa Kiesow requests school board approval for $309,331 over five years from the Minnesota Department of Education for the Grow Your Own Grant -Pathway for Secondary Students. Director of Community Education Erin Bailey requests school board approval for $34,000 (for each year of this two-year grant) from Rice County Family Services Collaborative. This grant would allow for the continued expansion of wrap-around services for youth and families at each of the three community school sites in Northfield (Greenvale Park Elementary, Spring Creek Elementary, and Bridgewater Elementary) from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.
e. Overnight Field Trip High School Principal Shane Baier and Theresa Wilson, High School Business Education Teacher, requests board approval to take four high school students to the Business Professionals of America state competition March 14-16, 2024.
d. Personnel Items
- Items for Individual Action –
a. Resolution Requiring Administration to Make Recommendations Regarding Programming and
Staffing Next Year( Annual). Passed unanimously on roll call vote.
- Items for Information –
a. Enrollment Report: The district is 22 students over projections.
- Future Meetings and Work Session
a. Monday, February 26, 2024, 6:00 p.m., Regular Board Meeting, Northfield DO Boardroom
b. Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 4:00 p.m. Board Work Session, Northfield DO Boardroom
c. Monday, March 11, 2024, 6:00 p.m. Regular Board Meeting, Northfield DO Boardroom
d. Monday, March 18, 2024, 5:00 p.m., Board Workshop, Northfield DO Boardroom
- Closed Session: Labor Negotiations Strategy (Minnesota Statute 13D.03) The board took a 10-minute break at 6:37 p.m. and reconvened for the closed session.
- Adjournment
By Connie Martin, Observer, League of Women Voters
