2026

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Michah 6:8

The first board meeting of the year is the “Organizational Meeting” as required by state statute and this occurred on Monday January 5, 2026. At this meeting, several votes are required and include approving board officers (chair, vice chair, clerk, treasurer), committee assignments, the official district newspaper, financial institutions, etc. As I begin my fourth year on the school board, there had been no major changes up to this point. At this meeting, however, Chair Sebring made an announcement. The People’s Press has already published an article covering the information from this meeting and it is worth reading. Here is the link: https://www.southernminn.com/owatonna_peoples_press/news/school-board-meeting-signals-changes-in-election-year/article_d500ee1f-6a30-4ed7-9dba-a2d5cb818ec0.html

In light of this being an election year (4 school board seats will be open for candidates), Sebring noted that there will be a transition in leadership. Based on the results of the officer votes at this meeting, we can assume that Mark Sebring, Lori Weisenburger, and Jolayne Mohs are not running for reelection in November. However, this was not stated as such and I have not been told this information by those board members. For the election of officers, nominations and approvals were made including Chair Sebring again as board Chair, Tim Jensen for Vice Chair (replacing Lori Weisenburger), Andrea VanGelder for Clerk (replacing Tim Jensen), and Ron Kubicek for Treasurer (replacing Jolayne Mohs.) I nominated myself for Clerk, as I did in 2025. However, I was the sole vote for myself, and Andrea VanGelder was voted as Clerk by all other board members. It appeared obvious to me, and to the People’s Press reporter, that there had been discussions among board members about the plan for leadership transitions and nominations prior to this meeting, and I was purposely not included in such discussions. The video recording of this meeting can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XxfOBNeJtU

Help me to understand, after three years’ experience on this board, why I would not be considered for a leadership position ahead of 2 first year board members? I mean no disrespect to Andrea or Ron, but there is an underlying current that cannot be denied, and it’s been there for 3+ years. I understand that my views and opinions on some topics differ from this board’s majority, but I hope we can agree that our best interest is still the education of our children. Furthermore, isn’t the basis of public education to teach our children math, reading, writing, teamwork, and critical thinking skills? Why does this have to be controversial? Why can’t we have discussions and respectable debates with differing ideas, yet come together on common ground? Moving on…

Immediately following the Organizational Meeting, we transitioned into a Work Session at which time we heard presentations from the principals of McKinley and Wilson Elementary Schools. Unfortunately work sessions are not recorded so these presentations cannot be viewed on YouTube. The information given included work that the school staff are doing to meet goals based on the survey results, assessment data, and priorities of that specific school.

When I began working on the school board in January 2023, our district’s budget was about $70 million yearly. Today, the budget is about $80 million yearly. At this work session, Superintendent Champa and finance director Mark Stotts reviewed a budget reduction plan based on the intense, in-depth, work that they have done examining every detail of the district budget and after having discussions with each school’s leadership team. The reduction plan will be brought to the board at the next regular meeting for formal approval. I highly commend Dr. Champa and Mr. Stotts for this incredible work which also includes putting forth processes and plans to take control of our district’s budget.

During board forum, I took the opportunity to share with the board my “guiding document.” This is an outline (very rough draft) that I created, of thoughts and concepts that I have learned over the last 3 years, organized and compiled, in order to assist me in understanding governance work, connecting this work with the operational plans of the district, considering ways to further engage with the community, and ultimately, be accountable to students, parents, and residents for the education of our children. I had previously shared this document with Chair Sebring and Dr. Champa suggesting a board retreat and review of our governance work plan.

As I walked out of the board room Monday evening, many thoughts raced through my mind and carried into the next day. Among them, the Bible verse noted above. So, as we step into 2026, I will act justly, with kindness and mercy, and walk humbly with our God, the creator of the universe who saved me. Soli Deo Gloria!

12/8/2025 Regular Meeting / Truth in Taxation

The last school board meeting of the year began at 5:30pm, paused at 6pm for the Truth in Taxation presentation, then restarted and adjourned. This meeting’s agenda with attachments has much information for your review including comprehensive financial data. On the district website, click on Agendas and Minutes in order to fully review all information: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/school-board/meeting-dates

Fiscal Year 25 Audit and Signed Executive Audit Summary (Clean report with no concerning findings)

2025 Signed Federal Awards

2025 Signed Final Report and Financial Statements (Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year ending 6/30/2025)

Truth in Taxation presentation including annual levy information.

Notice from the City of Owatonna regarding a plan for Tax Increment Financing, to be voted on by the school board at the January 5th meeting in 2026, with a public hearing at the city chambers on January 6, 2026.

Consider signing up for the district’s e-newsletter as this provides many updates for activities and announcements in the district: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/news/e-newsletter-and-press-releases

I was able to attend Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent on Friday at the district office. The presentation was part of the Moving Forward Together community engagement series that Dr. Champa and Marks Stotts, director of finance, have put together to inform the community about district finances and future budget reductions. Lots of helpful information is provided during the presentation but also includes time for questions and discussion. Please consider attending a session: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/news/movingforward

As we enter 2026, this will be another election year for the Owatonna school board. In November, the community will be voting to fill 4 seats. Consider if this is something you feel compelled or called to do! Let me know if questions!

Prayers for Stewartville families as they move forward from the tragic shooting yesterday.

Stay warm. Merry Christmas Owatonna! Thank you, Jesus, for your saving grace.

Soli Deo Gloria!

December 2025

As a reminder, our last school board meeting of the year is scheduled for Monday December 8, 2025 at 5:30pm in the city chambers board room. Also, the Truth in Taxation presentation will be given at 6pm during the meeting.

Recently, our superintendent Dr. Champa sent out information to all OPS families about “Moving Forward Together.” This is a community engagement series of meetings for any community member to attend, giving the opportunity to learn about the district budget and finances, the School Perceptions survey results, and priorities and plans for moving forward. A great opportunity! Information can be found on the district website: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/news/movingforward

Over the last several years, there have been many changes in the state’s standards and required teaching set forth by the Minnesota Department of Education. Combined with Minnesota statutes and the Minnesota Human Rights Act, there are now conversations in schools, curriculum changes, and topics addressed that parents didn’t have to consider in past years. Ethnic studies have been and will be incorporated into all classes, including culturally relevant teaching, and may or may not include discussions about critical race theory, white privilege, racial disparities, and institutional racism (policy 110). Health standards are currently undergoing changes at the state level and are soon to be approved. The second draft of standards included children learning about genitalia in kindergarten, and third graders learning about gender variations and choice of gender/pronouns. This is a belief system that many parents do not agree with, and while some teachers may not agree either, they may be required to teach to these standards, or don’t teach at all. Another recent statute states that school staff are not required to share personal information about students with the child’s parents if they feel that it is in the student’s best interest to not share with the parents. Schools are meant to partner with parents, not make decisions for parents on what is best for their children. Therefore, after reviewing several different forms, I have created a generic “Opt Out Form” that can be used by any parent or guardian. This form does not belong to Owatonna Public Schools but can be utilized. In the future, the school board and district may choose to adopt its own opt out form.

Two options as I’m not sure which one will be the best way to download the form!

EH opt out formDownload

https://elizabethforowatonnaschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/eh-opt-out-form-1.docx

The regular meeting blogpost will be coming later this week, after the meeting on Monday!

Merry Christmas and blessings are prayed for you today. Soli Deo Gloria!

11/24/2025 Regular Meeting

The Owatonna school board met per usual for our regular meeting at the city chambers board room. As a reminder, December will have just one school board meeting — a regular meeting to be held on Monday December 8, 2025, and it is the last school board meeting of 2025. At 6pm the same evening, the Truth in Taxation Public Hearing will take place, at which time the school board meeting will be paused. Due to a Carolers concert also on December 8th, we are considering a change in start time for the board meeting, but this has yet to be finalized (if it will change).

MISSION MOMENT theme for the year is “partnerships,” and Dr. Champa introduced Darla Lager, the children’s librarian at the Owatonna Public Library. The library donates several boxes of books monthly to the Owatonna Education Center. Our schools occasionally have authors speak to our students, and most recently Washington Elementary School welcomed an author. I believe she said it was Drew Daywalt, if I heard the name correctly!

PUBLIC FORUM had one Owatonna resident speak about his concern for the possible lack of energy science education.

The ENROLLMENT REPORT is reviewed, noting that our district’s total student enrollment is up to 5120, mainly due to the growing Owatonna Online program currently with 409 students!

COMMITTEE updates were briefly reported. The finance committee met for 2 hours earlier this day. Of note, the annual audit report was reviewed and will be presented to the board for final approval on December 8, 2025. Overall, there were no concerns with our finances for the 2024-25 school year. The annual levy was also reviewed with no major changes since the operating levy failed to pass on November 4th. The main discussion for the finance committee was regarding potential budget reductions and “right sizing,” looking into any and all areas of the district for improved efficiencies, programs or classes that can be “trimmed,” and hearing about various possibilities from our superintendent and finance director. Nothing is finalized, but everything is under consideration, and administration is meeting with each schools’ leadership team to discuss and review budgets. More details to come in the next few months. At this meeting, the board approved a Resolution Directing Administration to Make Recommendations for Reductions (7-0 vote passed).

The administration report is reviewed, previous meeting minutes are approved, as well as the disbursement and personnel reports.

Four votes were taken, and each is approved by 7-0 vote. One vote is noted above. The others included policy review – second reading and approval, the Language Access Plan (reviewed and discussed at the work session earlier this month), and gifts to the district. No discussions, votes were straightforward and/or previously reviewed at prior meetings.

Our student board representatives noted that the OHS musical cast is soon to be announced for Les Miserables. Huskies Give Week was very successful in collecting donations from students at all schools for community members in need. They also met with the OMS student advisory committee who reported less bathroom problems and successful consistency in following the cell phone rule “away for the day.”

With gratitude…

Soli Deo Gloria!

11/10/2025 Meetings

Monday’s meeting was a big one, divided into 3 sections, with lots of information.

COMPREHENSIVE ACHIEVEMENT AND CIVIC READINESS (CACR) ANNUAL REPORT

What was once the World’s Best Work Force is now CACR as developed and required by the state of Minnesota with five specific goals. The information can be found on the district website with a link to view the entire presentation: https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/cacr. There is much information to digest here but a basic summary is as follows.

Goal 1 = All children are ready for school (measures literacy benchmarks in preschool age children.) Goal not met. Staff are working to connect with families of preschool children, and preschool classes are teaching phonics. They have also applied for a grant through SMIF.

Goal 2 = Close all racial and economic achievement gaps comparing white students to Asian, black, Hispanic/Latino, two or more races, and students that qualify for free or reduced lunch, in the areas of reading and math. All gaps widened except one. So then do we ask ourselves, with the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over the last several years, is it working? Gaps are widening and/or showing no consistent improvements.

Goal 3 = All students are college or career ready. Positive results showing more OHS graduates having earned college or advanced placement credits and more students taking career and tech ed courses.

Goal 4 = All students graduate with no student group at < 80% graduation rate. This data comes from 2024 as the state graduation rates are delayed by one year. OHS graduation rate in 2024 was 89.4%. Our Hispanic/Latino student graduate rate is still <80% but overall improving at 74.6%.

Goal 5 = Prepare students to be lifelong learners. This is a work in progress and will be better defined once the School Perceptions survey is processed. It seems to me that this may prove to be a difficult goal to set measurable outcomes.

RESOLUTION CANVASSING RETURNS OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION

The levy failed in the special election vote last week on 11/4/2025. All precincts voted no, showing a total of 7990 votes, 3048 (38%) voting yes and 4941 (62%) voting no, 1 vote was defective. Our superintendent has very seriously taken this to heart. The board will be working closely with Dr. Champa and finance director Mr. Stotts, to determine next steps and where budget cuts will be made for the 2026-27 school year.

WORK SESSION

Daren Sievers from School Perceptions gave a presentation showing data from our recent survey of parents, teachers and staff, and students in grades 4-12. Much data and information were presented. Dr. Champa has been given the comprehensive data tables that she will use to connect with each schools’ administration in order to set priorities and goals and make changes in the schools as indicated. It’s difficult to summarize everything that was presented, but the overarching theme is that Owatonna students, staff, and parents generally have good opinions and perspectives for what is happening in our schools. The parent group identified the top 4 concerns they would like addressed with students: learning life skills, address mental health issues, continue to work on career and tech ed options, and safety/security in our buildings. For our new superintendent, the top 2 desires from parents were for transparency in the district and for an achievement focus for students. The staff/teacher group also gave high ratings for most categories, but the biggest concerns were for discipline effectiveness, consistency of discipline practices among staff, recognition for good work, and fair pay practices. The top 2 desires from staff for our new superintendent were for transparency and to be approachable. Our student group had the highest scores (above parent and staff groups) for several categories. Their lowest scores, areas of biggest concern, involved students not following the rules, finding someone to talk to if being bullied, and being able to relate to what they are learning. The top 2 barriers identified in a given day were other students’ distracting behaviors and test anxiety.

The next presentation was the Language Access Plan, given by our coordinator of equity and English Learners programming, Matt Berg-Wall. This plan is a new requirement from the MN Legislature and involves schools providing necessary interpretation and translation for students whose home language is not English. Our district now has 32 different languages spoken in the homes of our students. Several resources were outlined that provide services to our students and families for daily learning and communication. This includes an emergency communication protocol for school closures or lockdowns, etc. Our district currently has 11 success coaches who interpret and translate documents for our families as needed.

Mark Stotts, our director of finance, gave a presentation regarding student enrollment and future predictions out to the 2029-30 school year. In summary, our graduating class sizes are decreasing which is reported as an effect from decreased birth rates nationwide. In our district, nonpublic school enrollments appear stable including St. Mary’s student counts. While the homeschooled student numbers have increased, Owatonna Christian School student numbers have decreased. Our rising Owatonna Online and Area Learning Center student counts have helped make up for the decreased enrollment in our incoming kindergarten classes. Currently, the average class size in elementary school is ~ 22 (kindergarten classes are smaller while 4th and 5th grade classes are larger), with the average school building capacity at 82.75% full. Average class sizes at the middle school and high school are ~26, but vary widely depending on the class.

Dr. Champa gave a brief update on her current goals with action steps. The levy was briefly discussed (with Mr. Stotts), plus the ongoing work for safety and security in the school buildings was reviewed. As a reminder, a change in the school calendar was approved previously, students will be released 2 hours early on Tuesday November 25, 2025 so that staff can complete the necessary safety training.

Our school board student reps briefly discussed a new student advisory group that will be meeting quarterly. A few concerns raised at the first and recent meeting included ongoing vaping in the schools, particularly the bathrooms, and secondly, cell phone use, particularly when it’s distracting such as in classrooms.

Well, this is plenty of information to share for one night. Take care. Please reach out if questions or concerns.

Soli Deo Gloria!

10/27/2025 Regular Meeting

Our last regular meeting before the levy vote on November 4, 2025 began on time in the city chambers board room. Superintendent Champa and Finance Director Mark Stotts had their 44th levy information session (plus a few more after that!) this week. In case you were not able to attend any of the small group or public sessions, here is a link to the public session as recorded by Owatonna Live: https://owatonnalive.lightcast.com/player/40153/769892

BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:

Mission Moment: recognizing several business partnerships between our district and the Owatonna community

New policies are introduced by the policy committee for a first reading

Administrative update: finishing up the School Perceptions survey and first glance at the Cadence of Strategic Direction Growth graph

Policy approvals including Policy 621: Literacy and the Read Act

Other approvals by 7-0 vote: MSHSL funding assistance for students; Extended Trip Requests for 2 student groups; and Gifts to the District

MISSION MOMENT: Superintendent Champa recognized 16 local businesses that have partnered with the district, giving students and teachers the opportunity to learn and grow and develop relationships. Career Pathways staff, Brian Coleman and Melissa Koch were present to help hand out certificates to those from local businesses that could be present. Those present also said great things about working with Mr. Coleman and Ms. Koch. We consistently hear how our district’s Career Pathways program has excelled for our students and community. Thank you!

No comments for Public Forum.

No significant changes noted on the Enrollment Report. While our student count changes weekly, at the time of this report it is 5067.

NEW POLICIES: 511 Student Fundraising and 909 Memorials and Memorial Activities for Students and Staff. These policies provide clarity and consistency for moving forward for managing these important circumstances. They were both approved and therefore can be reviewed on the district website.

Superintendent Champa’s administrative update noted that the School Perceptions survey is underway and will be completed soon. Parents, staff, and teachers are completing the survey and results will be compiled and reported in the near future. This survey replaces the previous Desired Daily Experiences survey that the district has used for the last few years.

Dr. Champa has also instituted the Cadence of Strategic Direction in which administrators have each created goals and ratings that will be tracked over time. The first month’s graph dots–October–are shown with ratings ranging from about 4.5-6.0/10. This will assist our leadership team with creating measurable goals and monitoring outcomes that align with our 4 strategic directions. I appreciate this concrete tracking for accountability to our leadership team, superintendent, and ultimately for the school board. PERSONAL NOTE HERE… Have you ever heard PJ Fleck state, “It starts with me.” He leads his Gopher football team with the notion that the outcomes begin with him as the coach. This is high level accountability, and I believe that he is well respected by his players and peers. Our school district’s outcomes begin with the school board. How can we be held accountable? I’m working on that.

The policy committee presented to the board for a second reading and approval, policies 621, 709, 802. Of note, the lengthy policy 621 reflects the READ Act and literacy plan set forth by the legislature. We have heard much about The Science of Reading, The READ Act, new curriculum (Wit and Wisdom), teacher training, and the time and money requirements for all of this. This policy basically sets the bar high for our administrators and teachers to reach the goal that every student learns to read at grade level and until they do, the focused individual work doesn’t stop. This will require dedicated hours and effort by all involved but has potential to greatly improve our students’ reading outcomes and test scores. On a similar note, the district will also be implementing new elementary math curriculum next year called Illustrative Math which also has great potential to improve students’ abilities and raise our math scores. There is much good work being done in the district!

The board also approved grant and funding from the MSHSL for students that otherwise would not be able to participate due to activity fees required. Two trip requests were also approved. The concert choir is touring the Twin Cities and will be singing the national anthem at a MN Timberwolves game, and the Key Club will be attending a YMCA camp. Lastly, many gifts to the district are reported and we are beyond grateful for the generosity of our community.

Please be safe, kind, and respectful this weekend!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Levy Information Public Session

Superintendent Champa and Finance Director Mr. Stotts have held many levy information presentations across the Owatonna community (40+ meetings with a variety of groups including CEOs and pickleball players!) several of which have been public sessions. Owatonna Live was present and recorded one of these presentations, and it was actually one that I attended also. Great questions were asked by those in attendance. ( https://owatonnalive.lightcast.com/player/40153/769892 )

Please seek answers to your questions about our district and then VOTE on or before November 4, 2025.


Next Regular Board Meeting is Monday October 27, 2025 at the City Chambers Board Room, beginning at 530pm. Regular meetings have Public Forum which allows community members 3 minutes to speak to the board. Please also know that the board will not discuss topics raised during public forum at the same meeting. Anyone who wishes to speak needs to arrive before the meeting, fill out a communication card and give it to Sarah Hoffman before the start of the meeting. Hope to see you there!

Soli Deo Gloria!

10/13/2025 Work Session

Monday’s meeting began with a brief Special Meeting in order to approve an updated school year calendar. A request was made for 2-hour early release on Tuesday November 25, 2025, to allow for staff safety and emergency training. This is the week of Thanksgiving break and there is no school Wednesday through Friday that week. The request and amended calendar were approved 7-0.

Immediately following the Special Meeting, our work session began. One main presentation was given by our Director of Community Education, Deb McDermott-Johnson. With the new school year and our new Superintendent, each director has created goals with outlined strategies and measurements. This was presented and the slides can be viewed from the meeting’s agenda on the district website. Basically, the three goals for Community Education outlined at the meeting include:

  1. Exceed national reporting standards and meet program stakeholder satisfaction measures (English language classes, GED coursework)
  2. Create, train, and practice safety plans for the “out of school time” programs including School Age Care (SAC)
  3. Undertake a focused assessment for strengthening and building community relationships

Superintendent Champa gave an update regarding the Operating Levy. Many informational meetings have been held and are scheduled over the next few weeks leading up to the vote on November 4, 2025. The district website has been updated: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/levy2025 and lists several more upcoming public informational sessions. Please be informed and vote sometime between now and November 4th!

Many have seen a letter circulating across Minnesota, and which has been the topic of several news outlets, regarding the recent statement by the US Department of Health and Human Services stating the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), are in violation of federal Title IX law. The letter and its signatories petition the state of Minnesota and the MSHSL to comply with federal Title IX for the reason of fairness and safety for our girls and women in sports, but also to protect our federal funding. You can view the letter and details here: https://www.titleixmn.com/. At this time, the letter is signed by 283 school board members from 114 districts (331 total school districts in MN). Keep in mind, the school board members are signing the letter as individuals and are not representing their whole school board or speaking for the district. I have signed this letter, as well as Ron Kubicek, in support of the federal Title IX law. The deadline for MN to comply with the federal law was October 10, 2025. There is no news yet as to how and when the federal government will follow up on this.

Take care everyone. I hope you enjoy the MEA break this week!

Soli Deo Gloria!

District Financial Information

In considering the upcoming levy vote, I wanted to provide links to some of the financial information that is being requested by community members. All of these links are through the district website: https://www.isd761.org/

Once on the district website, go to District Services and then Business Services. From there, click on Financial Reports: https://www.isd761.org/district-services/business-services/financial-reports. This will lead you to further links to then review the 2025-26 Preliminary Budget, the 2024-25 Amended Budget, the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report which includes data going back to 2015.

For each monthly Regular Meeting, you can find the agenda and the links to also review the Expenditure and Revenue Statements for each month: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/school-board/meeting-dates

The Public Accountability Report is provided by the Minnesota Department of Education (from what I have read this is what I believe, but could be corrected if someone knows otherwise) through the MN Report Card: https://rc.education.mn.gov/#fiscalTransparency/orgId–10761000000__groupType–district__year–2024__p–0

One observation that I made during my tours of each school as a new school board member 3 years ago is the increased number of staff in our schools. All I can compare to is when I was an elementary school student many years ago, and we didn’t have nearly as many staff. Our schools today have teachers, paras, education assistants, behavior interventionists, success coaches, teaching and learning coaches, achievement intervention teachers, interpreters, social workers, counselors, among others I may not even know about. I understand that our society is much different from when I was in school too. Considering differences in teaching, parenting, disciplining, nutrition intake, outdoor play, screen time and social media, kids’ activity involvement, and the wealth of information from around the world at our fingertips, it’s no wonder why our lives are so very different now. Schools are expected to provide more services than ever before including various screenings (vision, hearing, dyslexia), special services (speech therapy, advanced special education, etc), language translation and additional help with learning English, tutoring services, transportation services beyond usual bussing, specialty meals (gluten free, peanut free, to name just a few), nursing services to dispense medications to dozens of students each day, counseling and referrals for students’ mental health concerns, and the list goes on. Our state legislators have also mandated many changes for all MN schools, several which have no funding associated with them. I’m not saying that any of this is right or wrong, but it is where we find ourselves, our children, and our schools today.

If the levy does not pass, I’d be curious to know how our teachers and staff feel about the necessary reductions (or “cuts” or “right-sizing” or whatever PC way you want to say this). Would they prefer to maintain smaller class sizes, but not have as many of the helpers noted above or would it be better to have larger class sizes but then keep the helpers that I suspect would be needed with larger classes? As a school board member, this is not my decision to make. Our district administration will have some very difficult decisions ahead of them over the next several years should we come up short on funding.

It is worth noting that our district has not asked for an additional operating levy since 2013, but we all still remember the discussions and funding requests for the new high school. Owatonna has amazing school buildings with the ability and potential to help our kids discover and earn a future they may not have otherwise known existed. Our staff are working hard to learn and teach new reading curriculum. Next year, our younger students will start new math curriculum also, each of these have great potential to improve academic outcomes. We should also all know that the city is increasing our taxes and we don’t have a choice in the matter. The schools shouldn’t suffer simply because the district has to ask permission for increased funding.

To be honest and transparent with you all, I have had many of the same questions and concerns about school funding, questioning the true needs balanced with the disappointing academic outcomes. I still have questions and will continue to try to find answers. I simply ask that you do the same. Rather than listen to only strong opinions, ask questions, find answers, get the information you need to make a decision about the levy. I’m not asking you to vote for or against the levy, but to get the information you need to make a confident educated vote.

We also need to ask ourselves what we can do as parents and as a community and as a society. These are the hard questions such as: do my kids go outside to play, do they have creative play or it is all organized, do I use screen time as a babysitter, is there too much screen time, are my kids involved in too many activities, do we have family time/dinners/games/movies/etc, do I make eye contact with my children or is the day so busy that we don’t connect at all, do I take time to enjoy my children, do I need to discipline my children differently, do I give in to their whims and fights rather than deal with the hard conversations or consequences, how do I need to improve as a parent so that my children will be more kind/caring/respectful/disciplined/hard-working, etc…? Parenting is hard work, I have four children, and they are each very different! Like I’ve told each of them, “Just do your best and work hard, that’s all you can do.” Well, except for pray, but that’s a given daily occurrence in my house.

Reach out, check the above links and resources, ask questions, and take care.

Soli Deo Gloria!

9/22/2025 Regular Meeting

Our regular meeting began on time at the city chambers board room.

Dr. Champa began the meeting with Mission Moment, recognizing the homecoming court and all the festivities of last week. Some of the students of the court were able to attend the meeting to introduce themselves. She also recognized this school board for our work as it’s school board appreciation month. Future mission moments will tend to focus on recognizing the important partnerships that help our students with success and to prepare for life beyond high school.

The enrollment report is reviewed, showing 5074 students currently enrolled, including 359 students in our Owatonna Online program which is quickly gaining recognition across the state. However, enrollment numbers continue to show decreases, with class sizes in the 400s for each high school grade, 300s for each of grades 3-8, and class sizes in the 200s for K-2. Because Owatonna Online has increasing enrollment, our total number of students has remained consistent. One (and maybe the only one) benefit of the pandemic and additional funding the district received at that time, was the initiation of our online program that has developed into what it is today.

During board forum, it was noted that the Minnesota Supreme Court is coming to Owatonna. On October 7th, there will be a dinner open to the public (tickets are required) and the following day, the justices will visit the high school. See the district newsletter for details.

Dr. Champa noted that the district Perception Survey is currently being developed will be given to parents, students and staff in the near future to further assess views and perceptions regarding the state of our district, especially as it aligns with our strategic directions: https://sites.google.com/isd761.org/opsdashboard/home

Much info is found in the district newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/ue9g3

Several votes were taken, all passed 7-0.

  1. Preliminary Tax Levy Certification– this is an annual vote regarding the current district levies, and according to Finance Director Mark Stotts, is based on formulas set by the legislature and has very little opportunity for changes made by the district. The final levy certification vote will take place in December with the Truth in Taxation vote.
  2. Assurance of Compliance– an annual vote allowing our superintendent to report to the MN Dept of Education, “This assurance is given by each district in consideration of and for the purpose of obtaining any and all federal grants, loans, contracts, property, discounts, or other federal and state financial assistance extended to the district by the U.S. Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).”
  3. Purchase Agreement for the former district office building on Bridge Street- the City of Owatonna will purchase the building for $260,000 and it will be used as a temporary law enforcement center until their new facilities are completed.
  4. ISD 761 Foundation board of directors, adding a new director Sandra Boss. Current directors include Ellen Draeger Cattadoris, Samona Grubish, Madeleine Haberman, Barbara Judd, Sara McKay, Janet Mittelstadt Tippett, Bruce Paulson, Nicole Schultz, Mark Sebring, and now also Sandra Boss. The 761 Foundation provides mini grants to various teachers and programs in the district: https://www.761foundation.com/
  5. Because Old National Bank has purchased Bremer Bank, the board needed to approve 2 designations that we typical approve each January: Designating Depositories for School District Revenue and Designating Financial Institutions for School District Investments
  6. Gifts to the district

Please let us know if you have questions or concerns. Consider attending one of several public info sessions to learn more about the upcoming levy vote: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/levy2025. I’ve seen several comments on Facebook with concerns for the levy and will work to get more data available for the transparency that is being asked for.

Soli Deo Gloria!