In efforts to keep this report a reasonable length, I am going to be succinct in my meeting summary notes but expand on my comments, thoughts, and opinions. Remember, this is my personal blog, with my personal interpretations and perspectives. I am not speaking for the whole Owatonna School Board.
The Regular Meeting (these are the formal meetings that are recorded–feel free to watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwSiKGskRkc&t=1921s ) was held per usual, all 7 board members and Superintendent Elstad were present.
Mission Moment was focused on a group of elite OPS athletes who excelled last year in their sport. The athletes were recognized for their hard work and success. A few of the athletes I recognized from our varsity football team, and they played a great game last Friday!
A member of the Owatonna OPEN group spoke during Public Forum noting that all school board candidates have received a questionnaire from OPEN and the answers are made available to the public to aid in voting decisions on November 5, 2024. Five of eight candidates have answered the questions, and she encouraged the other three to submit theirs. We have 3 seats up for election this year. The eight candidates include April St. Martin, Ron Kubicek, Mike Herman, Andrea VanGelder, 2 incumbents Eric Schuster and Tim Jensen, and 2 previous school board members Christina Ingvaldson and Nikki Gieske. There is a candidate forum on Monday September 30th at The Owatonna Country Club, beginning at noon, please register if you can come. I will be there!
The enrollment report is available to review. As I’ve noted before, since we’ve made the boundary changes for the elementary schools attendance, there are no flagged class sizes with 3 or more students above the recommended size for that grade. However, we do have 8 classes that are above the recommended class size (this is more than we had last year.) I can accept that the first year after boundary changes may bring surprises, but am hopeful that this will be adjusted for next year so our class sizes are not above goal.
Next, we reviewed a document from the City of Owatonna stating, “The City Council (the ʺCouncilʺ) of the City of Owatonna, Steele County, Minnesota, will hold a
public hearing on October 15, 2024, at approximately 7:00 p.m., at City Hall, 540 West Hills Circle in the City of Owatonna, Minnesota (the ʺCityʺ), relating to the proposed establishment of Tax Increment Financing (Redevelopment) District No. 20‐1…” This is notice of a new development including 74 rental housing units located at Hillcrest Ave. SE, Owatonna. No approval or votes are needed by the district or board, this was for notification only.
No comments were given by the board regarding review of the recent policy and finance committee meeting minutes or the last work session meeting minutes. In my opinion, these minutes provide minimal if any insight into the discussions that occurred. Very little to no information is provided to the public here, a lack of transparency, you could say.
Policies up for review and a first reading: 503, 512, 515. Comments regarding changes in policy 512, which addresses students’ right to free speech, were focused on the change in wording from “publication” to “media” and adding the statement, “The school district may exercise editorial control over the style and content of student expression in school-sponsored media and activities.” This makes sense to me for protection of students, teachers, and staff from defamation, harassment, and exposure to obscene material. As stated in this policy, “obscene to minors” means: 1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest of minors of the age to whom distribution is requested; and 2. The material depicts or describes, in a manner that is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community concerning how such conduct should be presented to minors of the age to whom distribution is requested, sexual conduct such as intimate sexual acts (normal or perverted), masturbation, excretory functions, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.
In contrast, our library policy states none of these things and we have books in our school library that have depictions of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, drug abuse, prostitution, and explicit language. These are a few that I found last year: Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, SOLD by Patricia McCormick, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran. A parent also found this book series in her child’s 6th grade classroom library: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman https://www.amazon.com/Heartstopper-Graphic-Novel-Alice-Oseman/. The decisions for book selections are made by the librarians, district media specialist and classroom teachers. While I understand that some parents have no issue with these books, most parents will agree that these books are meant for older and more mature teens and adults. Many parents would agree that a parent is best able to decide what is appropriate for their child when it comes to topics such as these. I’m not advocating for book bans, especially in any city or county library, but should we have more regulations in a public school that is meant for education and funded by taxpayers? Last year, I found these library books because I was able to log in to our district’s system through this link that is still on the website today: http://owatonna.follettdestiny.com located on the media page: https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/media-services. However, now I’m told that only students and staff can access the online book inventory, and that classroom libraries have no oversight or accountability. As a school board member, I asked for access, and I asked how parents can access our school libraries. I have been told to schedule a meeting with our board chair, vice chair and superintendent regarding these questions. Hopefully, this meeting will occur in October. Simple questions are made complicated. Why does this seem more and more as a lack of transparency?
Several policies came up for a second reading and approval, including policy 524 regarding internet use. I believe this policy is well written with many specific guidelines as to what is appropriate internet use and the content accessed, similar to that noted above. I commented at the meeting my observation that this policy is very detailed and well done, yet we have library materials containing the inappropriate content as listed in this policy. There was no response or discussion on this topic. In follow up to the previous meeting’s discussion regarding policy 616 on district accountability, I clarified a few items which Superintendent Elstad responded too. There was no further discussion or clarification by my fellow board members or those on the policy committee. Again, you can view the meeting through the YouTube link above.
Superintendent Elstad gave an administrative report noting that he continues to advocate for our district through Schools Advocating for Fair Funding https://saffmn.org/about/ (formerly known as Schools for Equity in Education).
Votes were taken to approve the previous Regular Meeting minutes, Disbursement Reports and Personnel Report. Also approved was the annual Assurance of Compliance Report explained as, “Each year, school districts in Minnesota must submit to the Minnesota Department of Education an Assurance of Compliance with State and Federal laws prohibiting discrimination.” Our Superintendent is given the responsibility to make these reports.
Lori Volz presented the preliminary operating levy as a 4.99% increase and requested this approval “at maximum.” She clarified this phrase noting that over the next few months, the MN Department of Education may make small adjustments, and this will allow for those changes. Final approval occurs in December 2024 for taxes payable 2025. Last year’s levy was much lower at 1.75%, in large part due to a $353,000 credit and would have been 3.6% if not for that credit. The previous year’s levy increase was 5.94%. So, while there is an increase, she notes that the end result for taxpayers should continue to be a small decrease in taxes paid. When looking at the overall factors: decreased state aid, decreased enrollment, increased inflation, increased tax base and market values, the recent legislative changes, plus $420,000 from our future LTFM fund, and business taxes, the overall tax levy results in a small decrease in education taxes paid for most Owatonna residents.
Gifts to the district were approved with many generous donations for homecoming. Chair Sebring nominated Eric Schuster and Tim Jensen to ride in the convertible representing the school board in the parade, and they accepted. This is an interesting nomination considering the upcoming election… yes?
Lastly, during Board Forum, Chair Sebring gave updates from the facilities committee meeting regarding the future sale of our Bridge and Rose Street properties and the ongoing work at the site of the old high school. During board forum, I noted that I’d been looking at some websites that offer school rankings (https://www.schooldigger.com/ and https://www.niche.com/k12/d/owatonna-public-school-district-mn/) and would like to consider setting a goal to increase our ranking or to win an award such as the National Blue Ribbon Schools award (Thank you for this suggestion–who know who you are! Good work comes from a team!) (https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/ .) Our community has supported our schools greatly over the last few years with funding and collaboration. Our new high school and its programs are setting the stage for other schools. I’d love for our district to continue to move forward with improved academic scores and setting goals to achieve this. A ranking or an award is not about recognition and praise, but about drawing the community together to continue to support our district (students and staff), working toward a common goal, and setting our children up to thrive.
Keep on… Soli Deo Gloria!
Elizabeth for Owatonna Schools 