First, my apologies to the Owatonna community. I had prepped and planned to be virtually present for the school board meeting on 8/28/2023 while my family was spending a long weekend in Wisconsin Dells. When I attempted to connect to the meeting with the Google Meet invitation received last week, the wheels were turning but never connected. After 3 attempts between 5:30 and 5:40pm, I sent a text to Mr. Elstad and let him know that my attempts were futile, and I was not attending. I’m sorry to my fellow board members and Mr. Elstad that I wasn’t better prepared to connect to the meeting. I will watch the video recording and write my summary blog post this weekend. Thank you for your grace.

Secondly, my family was deeply saddened to hear the news of Coach Fromm’s passing. Our son Carson was looking forward to one day playing for Coach Fromm on the varsity hockey team and Coach was one of the reasons he worked so hard playing hockey. Thank you, Coach, for the inspiration and encouragement you have given to our son. Hugs and prayers for the Fromm family, as well as the many hockey families and communities that are grieving his loss. Another painful reminder that we are not promised any more than the moment we are in with this very breath in our lungs.

Lastly, I wanted to let you know of the organization called FAIR – Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, and specifically FAIR in Education: https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-education/ . This is a great resource for anyone who is interested in a pro-human approach to “defend civil rights…advocate for individuals who are threatened or persecuted…support respectful disagreement…believe that objective truth exists…promote compassionate opposition to intolerance and racism.” https://www.fairforall.org/#what-we-stand-for . Please consider joining Tanya Simons, FAIR in Education fellow and Osseo school board member, who is hosting a virtual meeting through eventbrite.com called Parent Advocacy Training: Engaging School Boards: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parent-advocacy-training-engaging-school-boards-tickets-685835130337. Tanya Simons was in Owatonna not long ago, invited by our own OPEN Owatonna group (https://openowatonna.org/) and she presents much wisdom and understanding! FAIR in Education has developed some curriculum that I would like to explore as future options for Owatonna schools.

More to come, thank you for your patience!

The application process is open for anyone to apply for the District Curriculum Advisory Committee. This committee allows up to 25 members and will meet once monthly during the school year. Membership is one year, but could possibly be longer if desired and space allows. District meetings are “closed” meetings, meaning that the general public is not allowed to attend.

From the district website:

The general purposes of the District Curriculum Advisory Committee (DCAC) are:

• to serve as an advisory committee that ensures active participation in all phases in planning and improving instruction and curriculum, especially aspects affecting graduation standards;
• to advise the school board on implementation of the state and local graduation requirements including K-12 curriculum, assessment, student learning opportunities and other related issues; and
• to make recommendations to the School Board and the Superintendent of Independent School District on district-wide standards assessments and program evaluation. (https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/dcac)

More information regarding this committee and curriculum development can be found in policy 603 Curriculum Development: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1671132142/owatonnak12mnus/lsnp6oq0xnjmvift4x1b/603CurriculumDevelopment122022.pdf

Please consider applying for this important committee!! Thank you!

The school board met on August 7, 2023 for a four-hour retreat at The Learning Zone and again on August 14, 2023 for our monthly work session at the district office.

The retreat was led by Dr. Ray Queener from TeamWorks (https://teamworks4ed.com/). We engaged in a team building exercise and Ray led us in discussions about governance and how that differs from operations management. I’m taught that school board members are the only elected board that does not work in details of day-to-day functions and management. Our role as a school board is overall governance and policy. The MN Statute 123B.09 Boards of Independent School Districts Subd 8 reports, “Duties. The board must superintend and manage the schools of the district; adopt rules for their organizations, government, and instruction; keep registers; and prescribe textbooks and courses of study. The board may enter into an agreement with a postsecondary institution for secondary or postsecondary nonsectarian courses to be taught at a secondary school, nonsectarian postsecondary institution, or another location.” This is still a bit confusing to me.

We briefly reviewed and discussed the 3-year governance plan for our district and agreed to review this again in the near future. Ray led us in an example discussion that will help future decisions when we have multiple viewpoints in the community and need to come to a consensus for what’s best for most students and the district as a whole. The meeting concluded with board forum comments and adjournment.

Monday’s work session had two main presentations. First Bob Olson talked about school safety, and secondly, the district cabinet members gave planning updates for the new school year.

Mr. Olson focused his school safety discussion on districtwide security measures and then site security measures. The presentation was kept generalized for discretion, to protect the details of emergency responses in the event of a planned attack by an intruder or outside source. Each building has an Emergency Response Guide and an Emergency Alert System. Staff attend Active Intruder Response Training. Each school has video surveillance cameras, with the new high school having many more than previously at the old high school. Each school has secured entrances and a visitor management system. We have 2 school resource officers (SROs), Derrik Quinlan and Brady Vaith. These are full time police officers that have offices in our schools and are available to go to any of our schools as needed.

Each building has a Building Response Team to handle situations or incidents as needed. Mr. Elstad noted that most incidents are related to classroom disruptions and fights. However, we have had an increased need in the elementary schools for officer presence due to aggressive or unpredictable parental behaviors, often related to children’s custody issues. Because of this, there are discussions regarding hiring a third School Resource Officer, but no formal request is presented at this time. Mr. Elstad notes that all incident reports have to be signed off by him and are sent to the Minnesota Department of Education for tracking. Only administrative staff have access to incident reports. Parents of the involved students are notified. All parents of the students in a school will be notified of an incident if an emergency response is needed. There could be a community wide notification if outside law enforcement is needed. To clarify, the SROs are in schools daily for safety and security only. The school district is responsible for discipline as needed. Outside law enforcement is only called if absolutely needed.

Mr. Elstad reminded us that during school hours, the schools are “in loco parentis.” He notes that safety is our first priority. From Cornell Law School https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/in_loco_parentis: In loco parentis is a Latin term meaning “in [the] place of a parent” or “instead of a parent.” The term refers to a common law doctrine which denotes the legal responsibility of some person or organization to perform some of the functions or responsibilities of a parent.

Next, each of our district cabinet members gave a planning update for the new year. Chris Picha, our director of human resources, commented on staffing shortages in many MN school districts, including Owatonna. Hiring is often limited due to licensures required for some positions and this will most likely have the biggest impact in our Special Education Department. The district will also have to absorb costs for unfunded mandates by the MN Legislature including costs for increased unemployment and sick leave and extended FMLA time for its employees.

Sarah Knudson, our director of special services who began working in her new role as of July 1, 2023, reiterated that teacher and para shortages often coincide with a “related-services crisis.” To maintain federally mandated requirements for public schools, we will likely be contracting with virtual services for things such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

Lori Volz, our director of finance and operations, discussed levy and grant applications and the growing online enrollment. They are still in negotiations for teacher and custodian contracts. Of importance at this time, she noted that despite breakfast and lunches being free for all students this year, we still need families to fill out an application for free and reduced lunches. This is because of the correlation of this number of students with government funding, scholarships for activity fees, and the new Owatonna Scholarship.

Julie Sullivan, our new director of teaching and learning, added that she is working with Lori Volz regarding Title funds and also noted that online enrollment has exceeded 100 students to date. With new and recent legislation regarding the READ act, she notes that there are 3 staff developement tools required and in January 2024 the curriculum options will be announced. Also, the official change of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day will require schools to spend 1 hour of dedicated education on that topic for the day. There were also changes from the legislature regarding topics in Ethnic Studies, Personal Finance and Social Studies. We are still waiting for the details on Ethnic Studies requirements and there are open State committees that help with this development at the state level.

Bob Olson, our director of facilities, infrastructure, and security, noted that his custodial team continues to be short-staffed. However, they have all been working hard to not only take care of their own building, but also now helping a significant amount at the new high school. There will be 3 online auctions through Grafe Auction https://www.grafeauction.com/ for anyone to bid on items from the old high school. There will be tours of each building section before the auctions. Even things such as doors can be auctioned. The purchaser will be responsible for coming into the building to dismantle and remove any item bought through auction. As the old building comes down, they will move the bricks to a fenced section so anyone can take and save a brick if desired. In addition to the old coming down, there will be 4 new playgrounds installed soon. This is due to the inability to repair the old playgrounds.

Deb McDermott-Johnson, our director of community education, was not able to be present tonight but Mr. Elstad made a few comments in her absence. Our School Age Care program continues to struggle for staffing. At this time, 2 of the usual 4 programs will be open, at Lincoln and Washington schools. Elementary students from the other schools will be transported to those schools as needed. Our Adult Education program is growing and Brian Coleman has been a significant benefit to that program.

Our meeting concluded with board forum, with comments focused on the retreat and also the tours that occurred today of the new high school. Many positive comments! I’m so eager to see the new school and all the amazing details that I’ve been hearing about! Also noted, applications are open to the public until the end of August for the District Curriculum Advisory Committee. This is a one year commitment. Please consider joining this important committee!

SAVE THE DATES!

August 22: parent and student open house

September 1: first home football game at the Federated Football Stadium

September 23: New Owatonna High School open house with self-guided tours 11:30-2:30pm

October 14: Governor and media tour of the new high school

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer vacation and please be safe at the fair this week! Soli Deo Gloria!

The only school board meeting for July was held in the school district office, 5 school board members attended. I was not able to attend this meeting but have listened to the recording on the district website. The link to the meeting video: https://youtu.be/_fBdhY9RVRE

As per all regular school board meetings, public forum was an option, but no cards were presented. As a reminder, if anyone desires to speak at public forum, you need to arrive, fill out a comment card, and turn it in to the board prior to the 5:30pm start time of the meeting. Also, please know that the board will listen to all comments but does not respond at the time of the comments. After the meeting, concerns will be addressed by the chair of the board, Mark Sebring, or our superintendent Jeff Elstad. Please see details here: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/school-board/meeting-dates

During board forum, Mr. Sebring and Mr. Schuster gave updates from the recent facilities committee meeting. These updates include new high school move in to start this week by office staff. Furniture is being moved in. Final touches and finishes on all three floors… hopefully this includes any “punch list items” as I became familiar with this term when my husband did contracting work in the past.

Mr. Elstad was absent at this meeting and I see no Administrative Report to review at this time.

The Consent Agenda was approved, which is a single vote to approve a grouping of votes all at one time. This vote included previous school board meeting minutes, the disbursement report (treasurer’s report and board payment report) and the personnel report. Documents are available online for review.

The next vote was to approve ongoing membership into the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). The MSHSL was founded in 1916 and its mission statement is: “The Minnesota State High School League provides educational opportunities for students through interscholastic athletic and fine arts programs and provides leadership and support for member schools.” The MSHSL Handbook has specific information regarding the policies and bylaws that school districts must abide by. In 2014, MSHSL made its statement regarding transgender student participation in school sports and fine arts programs. From the Child Protection League, “The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) made its controversial 2014 transgender policy. The MSHSL policy left the decision on these matters up to the schools but implemented a subjective appeal process for student/school disputes over the matter.” https://cplaction.com/hs-athletics/#MSHSL

This is what I could find regarding the appeals process:

300.00 Bylaws: Administration of Student Eligibility 2022-2023 MSHSL OFFICIAL HANDBOOK, p. 61-62, section 3. https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/MSHSL%20Handbook%202022-2023%20300%20Series.pdf

The board approved ongoing membership in the MSHSL. As I understand it, there are no other organizations even similar to MSHSL and therefore opting out of this membership could be very detrimental to our students and the district. Given the benefits of athletics and fine arts to our students, and MSHSL being the only option for us, whether or not you agree or disagree with all the policies, maintaining membership seems to be the best option at this time. As it should be, parents are the primary defenders and protectors of their children. If there is a concern that you as a parent or guardian have for your child in any classroom, sport, activity, locker room, bathroom, or school event, please bring your concerns to the teacher, coach, director, principal, or if needed, the superintendent. As an aside, I found this article written in 2022 about the origins and history of Title IX and the permission of female athletes to compete in school sports https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/league-news/title-ix-and-sports-medicine-have-grown-together.

The next vote was to approve the Long-Term Facilities Maintenance expenditures and revenues 10-year plan required for the MN Department of Education. This was approved and the link can be found on the website.

Lastly, the vote to approve gifts to the district was done recognizing another gift for instruments by Music Boosters of Owatonna, and then adjournment was declared.

In follow up to the last June meeting I attended and noted the increasing financial needs for special education, I started doing some research. While this is a large topic, I was shocked to see that the rate of autism diagnoses has risen dramatically. In the 1970s, the rate was about 1 in 10,000 children. Today, the CDC estimates that 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism and this spike seemed to start in the late 1990s! As I stated before, this deserves attention and research. More to come!

Our school board meeting was held at the district office, beginning at 5:30pm, where all meetings will be held until further notice. Save the date! Grand opening for the new Owatonna High School will be held September 23, 2023. This fall, there will also be a farewell open house at the old high school building. More info to come!

Beware, this is a long update with lots of information!

Mission Moment given by Superintendent Elstad recognized 280 combined years of service to Owatonna Public Schools by 13 retirees in 2023. Topping the list is Ms. Julie Bauer, Achievement and Intervention Teacher at McKinley with 43 years of service! Thank you for your dedication and hard work for our students.

The bulk of the meeting was spent reviewing the final budget for the 2022-2023 school year, as well as reviewing the preliminary budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Our 2022-2023 school year ended well financially. Owatonna school district revenue for this last school year was $68.7 million. (As a comparison, the Anoka Hennepin school district budget is about $680 million). Budget details can be found on the district website under the heading Our District: school board: board meetings: agenda and minutes: June 26, 2023 meeting notes: VI Reports, A. 2022-2023 amended budget. https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1055?meeting=586657

The 2023-2024 preliminary budget was reviewed. Budgets can change for many reasons over the school year. Some of these reasons include changes in grant money, staffing, and contracts. After meeting with Lori Volz, I have come to realize that funding for school districts takes a lot of time and investigative work in order to find and maximize the available funding given. Grants can be very complex, some have specific requirements (timing and use of money, specific applications for the money such as curriculum or programming) and take much time to apply for. Some grants, such as the achievement and integration grant (A&I) needs to be applied for yearly. For the next school year, with the legislation just passed, our General Education fund will increase in Special Education funding and compensatory aid. This coming school year will also be the district’s last year for receiving specialized COVID-19 funding, so the additional funding we will be receiving will help cover the $2.5 million loss. Estimated revenues at this time add up to $77 million. Preliminary expenditures are $79 million. Our unassigned fund balance goal is 8-10% and currently we are at 12.7%. Another recent legislation that passed allows hourly employees to take unemployment benefits over the summer months if they choose this option rather than take a summer working position. So far this year, we have about 60% of our hourly employees that have applied for unemployment benefits. The estimated cost to the district if all hourly employees receive these benefits is about $750,000. The preliminary budget has this funding set aside in the assigned fund balance.

We also reviewed and discussed a graph showing Special Education Revenue Expenditure Comparison. For many years, government funding has not met the expenses required for Special Education. Most, if not all, districts have to take funding from their General Education fund to make up this shortfall. This is called the Special Ed Cross Subsidy. With the recent legislation passed increasing the cross subsidy funding, this closes the gap a bit. When I see this graph, I notice that the need continues to increase as well as the funding, however if the need didn’t increase, the funding would almost meet the entire need. So then, why is the Special Education need going up? At this time, we don’t know. Is it due to increased cost of services? Is it due to increased numbers of students needing services? Is it due to special ed students needing more services than what we’ve had in the past? I suspect that it’s all of the above and the cause of this is multifactorial. So then, we have evidence of a true complex problem that deserves attention. What are we doing to investigate this and find a solution?

Lori also explained and showed a graph showing enrollment numbers which are stable for this coming year but projected to decline over the next few years. From 2019 to 2023, Owatonna school district lost approximately 100 students which equates to about $1 million in funding for the district. There is speculation as to why enrollment in public school is down (especially over the last 4 years) as this appears to be a nationwide trend, with the pandemic topping the list. There is also a concern about declining birth rates through the pandemic and as families choose to have fewer children. However, we cannot neglect the fact that more parents are concerned with public school education, academic outcomes, and alternative ideologies finding their way into some classrooms. In Owatonna, with the improvements in our career pathways program and the growing online school, we are hopeful that enrollment will remain stable or continue to grow.

During Board Forum, Eric Schuster asked Bob Olson to discuss possible flooding at the new high school. Bob explained that while the roof and draining systems were in progress of completion, there was water leaking and evidence of mold on some sheetrock. He reassures that the roof and draining systems are complete and the sheetrock was replaced, and there is no longer any water leaking, flooding, or mold in the new high school.

Administrative report was given by Superintendent Elstad, in part noting that the upcoming mandate to incorporate Ethnic Studies into curriculum will be a 2-3 year arduous process and community members will have the opportunity to review and give input for this. This is a hot topic for those concerned about critical race theory and marxist ideologies being incorporated into curriculum. Stay tuned!

Several votes were taken, all passed 6-0. These votes included an agreement to increase pay for casual employees which has not been raised for a few years and helps Owatonna to stay competitive in the job market. This also included a vote to increase cabinet members salaries by 4% which is the average rate of increase taking into account inflation, annual reviews, etc. We approved the amended 2022-2023 budget and preliminary 2023-2024 budget. The new school year’s school board meeting schedule was approved, as well as the 2024-2025 school calendar. We approved the ongoing membership into MN School Boards Association which “supports and empowers MN public school boards through advocacy, board development, policy and legal guidance.” The membership to Schools for Equity in Education was also approved. To clarify, this is a lobbying organization that helps schools from a financial and tax perspective and provides resources. https://schoolsforequity.org/resources/. To ensure optimal revenue for our community education programs, the board approved a resolution to certify the 2022 new census figure of 31,334 for the city of Owatonna, thereby allowing new calculations for the 2023 payable 2024 levy of ISD #761.

Bob Olson briefly reviewed the district office maintenance facility remodel contract award. This was presented as a letter from Kraus-Anderson, the construction manager, including a list of recommended bids to complete the renovations of the existing OHS that will become district offices and maintenance facilities. The total of the bids came in under the expectation and totals $10,809,736. Superintendent Elstad noted that the district made every effort to be able to fund the renovations with previous bond money and other funds so that the district will not have to ask for more money to complete this project.

Next, policy revisions, a second reading with a vote to approve the policy revisions was completed. Comments on this revolved mainly around the field trips policy as defined for shared time students. Board members are allowed to give input to the policy committee and the committee decides on final policy and presents this to the board. In this case, the policy committee determined that it was in the best interest of the teachers and for students’ safety to allow field trips for shared time students for only the public school classes or instruction the shared time students’ are involved in.

Gifts to the district were approved, the largest being $100,000 from the Owatonna Foundation for the Foundation Room at the new OHS. A large donation was made from the Music Boosters of Owatonna for cello and bass repairs, as well as a large donation from the Elk’s Lodge for the Husky Angel Fund. There have been many other donors with smaller, but not insignificant, gifts to our district. Thank you!

Have a wonderful and safe July 4th holiday… O say does that star spangled banner yet wave… May America always be the land of the free, home of the brave!

The school board meeting on June 12,2023 began with a Special Meeting due to the need to approve an updated copier/printer lease agreement and an updated personnel report. The board approved a 5 year lease agreement with Marco after reviewing comparative results and recommendations from Lori Volz, our director of finance. The new company Marco has been determined to offer improved services and equipment for less cost to the district.

The personnel report (new hires, job transitions, terminations) was also approved as changes in staff are numerous with the transition from the school year into summer classes and sports plus planned changes for the fall of 2023.

The board also held its first Closed Session of 2023 in order to discuss upcoming labor negotiations with teachers’ unions for teachers’ contracts. While these sessions are closed to the public, they are recorded.

Immediately following the closed session, the board began its work session. Superintendent Elstad informed us about the new Owatonna Opportunity Scholarship that will be available for the 2025 OHS graduates and beyond. This will be a “last dollar scholarship” for students and will pay full tuition for 2 years of post-secondary education at Riverland College. The scholarship will have requirements including volunteer work and students will have to be in good standing with the high school (grades, attendance, behavior, etc). All students applying for this scholarship will complete the FAFSA, but can get assistance with this if needed. The scholarship sounds like it will be very attainable and an amazing opportunity for our students. The $100,000 seed money will come from the Learn to Earn money in the district. Other companies and organizations in Owatonna can participate to help fund the scholarship this may help our graduates with gaining future employment in our community with reputable companies.

During board forum, it was noted that some of the equipment and furniture from the existing high school will be donated to a start-up school in Tanzania through the Mount Kilimanjaro Rotary, I believe. These items will be loaded into a large container and shipped to Africa in the coming months. This project has been developed and organized by our Superintendent, Mr. Elstad. Thank you, Mr. Elstad, for your work and consideration of children not just in Owatonna, but across the world.

Mr. Elstad made note that the school board will be discussing the many legislative updates affecting all Minnesota districts at our work session in August.

Finally, I’d like to invite you all to attend the next Regular School Board meeting on June 26, 2023 at the district office. As per usual for Regular meetings, there will be a public forum. With the announcement of the “family friendly” Drag Queen show on July 8, 2023 at an Owatonna park, I’ve heard much debate among parents and community members. While I am unaware of anything even similar to this occurring in our libraries and schools, the concept of gender ideology and sexuality education is becoming more prominent and relevant anywhere you go. If this is something you feel strongly about, please let the board know, especially as curriculum is being developed over the summer months in preparation for the new school year.

Enjoy those precious summer moments in the weeks to come! Soli Deo Gloria!

We held our regular school board meeting in the small group forum room at the high school for the last time. Until further notice, all future school board meetings, regular and work sessions, will be held at the district office. We said thank you and goodbye to Hailey, our student school board member who is graduating this year. She is a gem and we all agreed that she will continue to do very well in college and in life! Our new student school board member was introduced and she will be taking Hailey’s position in the fall 2023. We look forward to working with another talented Owatonna student!

Mr. Elstad used Mission Moment to recognize our speech team finalists and state champion, our Knowledge Bowl state champions, and our Robotics team that competed in nationals in Texas. We are proud of our students!

As per usual, we reviewed the enrollment report. It is well known that Lincoln school is bursting at the seams with enrollment at about 110% capacity. Mr. Elstad noted that attention to this will be brought to the board likely later this year. Seven years ago, Owatonna had to change its school boundary lines because of the shifting population of housing, and this may have to be done again. He recognized that this is never an easy process for families.

Our district policies are on a 3-year cycle review which starts with our policy committee who reads, updates and makes changes if needed, then presents the policies to the board. Revisions often come from changes at the MN Legislature. The board has a first and second reading of each policy and then a vote is taken to approve them. All district policies are on the website.

Owatonna Online school with principal Jamie Bates will be acquiring students from Albert Lea and Northfield this fall as their online programs are closing.

Mr. Elstad gave the Administrative report with a focus on recent MN Legislative decisions, though at the time of the board meeting, were not completely finalized. More to come on this topic because there are multiple new statutes that will be affecting our school district and I expect that the board will be discussing these and the impact they will have. On the bright side, Owatonna was approved for a 1 million dollar grant for Learn to Earn programming.

During board forum, I noted that I would like a discussion around school safety. After a recent talk with my mother who is a Harding High School graduate from St. Paul (where the fatal student stabbing occurred earlier this year) I realized that I am not sure what Owatonna schools are doing to ensure safety of our students, teachers and staff. At Harding High School, they had many students roaming the halls between classes, and I’m not sure what security measures they had in place. Our Chair made note to bring this to a future board meeting, likely a work session, where we can discuss, and information can be obtained. Meanwhile, I also listened to a podcast about schools in Minnesota and was startled to hear about occurrences in schools not far from Owatonna, even in small towns. This is from Alpha News, Sheila Qualls hosts a series of podcasts titled Trapped!: Chaos in the Classroom https://www.buzzsprout.com/2158819

I share this not to instill fear, but to provide awareness. My goal is to be proactive for protecting our students, teachers and staff rather than reactive when a concern or problem arises. It seems that these stories mean more when they are closer to home rather than in urban cities in other states.

I am curious to know what Owatonna community members, parents, students and teachers are concerned about. Has something happened that worries you? Have you heard about something in another district and wonder if it’s happening in Owatonna? Have you had trouble finding answers? Would you be interested in a type of open forum to ask questions? School board members’ contact information is listed in The People’s Press, and it’s also on the district website https://www.isd761.org/our-district/school-board.

Thank you, teachers, administration and school staff, for doing the work, day in and day out, for our children this year. I hope your summer months give you some rest and rejuvenation!

Our school board work session was held at 5:30pm May 8, 2023 at the district office, all 7 board members were in attendance, and we concluded at 7:30pm. Nutrition services began with a presentation and updates for the year. Sarah Brooks is a registered dietitian and leads our team. Owatonna schools have 7 kitchens within the schools that prepare meals on site, including catering for St. Mary’s School. Because nutrition services are funded by state and federal dollars, we are required to have meals that fulfill the nutrition guidelines given by the government. Every 5 years we have a review with the MN Dept. of Education, and this was recently a success. Our schools follow the concept “offer vs serve,” meaning students have many options to choose from and they are able to choose their preference foods. As our dietitian stated, “Kids have so few choices in life, food can be one of them that they do have.” (This is similar to the Ellyn Satter model for feeding children. If you struggle at mealtimes, you may love this info too!) We all have individual preferences and hopefully this reduces the amount of food waste. Bob Olson, our facilities director mentioned that we are looking into possible uses for “food waste,” whether it’s recycling or to local farmers. However, this is challenging because of many limitations and restrictions, it’s a work in progress. MN Legislature just approved a bill that will allow for 1 free breakfast and 1 free lunch for all MN students in grades K-12 for each school day beginning Fall 2023. Currently, we have 48.3% of Owatonna students receiving free or reduced-price meals. By the end of this school year, we are projected to serve about 250,000 breakfast meals and 500,000 lunch meals to Owatonna students for 2022-2023. We started the year with no negative meal balances, but are currently up to $17, 000 in school meal account balances yet to be paid and may not be paid. When our students present in line for a meal, we do not deny them food even if their meal account is empty. New this year, nutrition services uses the Infinite Campus online program for information and payments, which is a program already established in our district and should be familiar to parents. Thank you, team, for feeding our children!

Wold architects presented information for the remodeling of the existing high school spaces previously approved to retain, including drawings of the property’s aerial view, plus detailed descriptions of the new C-plaza. They met with user groups to discuss details for the spaces which will be district offices, conference rooms and a large meeting space. There will be a new boiler room, bathroom remodeling, and updates to fulfill ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements. The gymnasium will house a new gymnastics center, locker rooms will remain. Public restrooms with stalls will be gender specific, plus there will be 5 individual unisex/family restrooms. The project will begin approximately in October 2023 (abatement and separation of buildings), and by January 2024 they expect to start the mass demolition as well as start the interior remodeling of C plaza. The goal is to be move-in ready by July 2024. Lori Volz, our finance director, gave a general overview of funding with reassurance that despite the increased cost of construction, the district expects to have available funds through a variety of resources, one of them being the approved referendum in 2019. Mr. Elstad also noted that it is a priority to not come back to taxpayers and ask for more money.

New high school updates: construction still moving forward as planned, expecting to move into the building by end of July. No property standing water issues, no roof leaking, the facilities committee reports that things continue to go well. There will be an OPEN HOUSE for the community sometime in September after the teachers and students have a few weeks to settle in. The date will soon be finalized!

Student successes: graduation rate has increased this year and we continue to work toward a 100% graduation rate. The Knowledge Bowl team is state champions! The Robotics team won Northern Lights regional competition and attended the national competition in Texas! Our high school speech team sent 12 students to the state tournament! The last spring play in the old auditorium successfully occurred last weekend. Spring sports are in full swing. There are a few music concerts still upcoming. Graduation commencement is June 2, 2023 at 7pm at the OHS football field, with lighting of the lights (for the last time) 9-10pm.

Future school board meetings: last regular meeting in the small group forum at the existing high school May 22, 2023. Until further notice, all future school board meetings after May 22 will be at the district office.

In follow up to the earlier post this week, I want to clarify that there are existing portions of current high school that will remain in place and updated with the previously approved referendum money. Hope this helps!

This link will answer some of the questions people have had: https://engageowatonna.com/the-high-school

Based on the information in this link, as I understand it, this is the portion that will be demolished:

• G-wing (Math, Science and Industrial Tech area)
• Lunchroom
• Atrium area
• Underground plaza areas
• 1921 portion of the building, including the auditorium

This is the portion that will be saved and renovated:

• The three-story portion at the northwest corner (C Plaza) is anticipated to be remodeled to house district administration offices.
• The Ag/Annex building is anticipated to be utilized for district maintenance shops.
• Tennis courts to remain available for district and community use.
• Gymnasium and locker rooms anticipated to house High School and youth gymnastics programs.
• Field and track to remain available for district and community use.

Twenty-one years ago, I was pregnant with my first-born child. Growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a mommy and here I was, finally anticipating and excitedly preparing for my own baby! I carefully chose my baby’s crib based on design, color, functionality and our budget. When the baby’s room was complete, I made up the bed and took pictures. Then when our precious son was born, I carefully laid him in his crib and stared at this beautiful baby boy we had been blessed with. As he grew, our second born, a daughter, also slept in that crib. By the time our third child came home, adopted at 2 years old, he wanted nothing to do with the crib, so we stored it away. As the years went by, that crib collected dust in the garage rafters. Then, we rented a dumpster and cleaned out the shed, the garage and the basement of things old or broken down. We looked at the crib. It was more than 10 years old, out of date, dusty and scratched up, with a few bite marks from children on the railing. By today’s standards, it’s not safe anymore because it’s outdated. We can’t sell it or even give it away, and it’s not worth paying money to get it up to code for any child. My heart skips a beat as I have flashbacks of each of my babies sleeping, jumping, crying, and reaching for me, in that crib. I love that old crib. We made the decision that day to put it in the dumpster, not because it wasn’t loved, well-used, or taken care of, but because it was past it’s time. We had good use of it and what’s more important is that my children were safe in that crib, it served its purpose and now they are grown. When they have their own babies, they will purchase new cribs (and I may have to get one for Grandma’s house!) I have pictures and memories of our previous home, my children’s bedrooms, and the old crib, and I love that. Yet, it’s just material, it’s not eternal and ultimately, it’s not important. My children are.

Last evening, the school board voted to cease negotiations with FOHS, LLC and demolish the existing high school buildings not previously reserved, and will thus maintain the green space for future use by the school district. This decision was met with contemplation and understanding for how difficult this will be for community members. Two weeks ago, at the school board work session, the Community Task Force presented the recommendation for the above vote, much to my surprise. To explain this difficult decision in more detail, here is what we know: 1. this process started about 1.5 years ago 2. FOHS, LLC was the only entity to come forth with a marketable business plan 3. the FOHS plan was full of questions and unknowns 4. the plan was opposed by many households neighboring the current OHS building 5. an organization that works to restore old buildings was involved for opinion, but could make no guarantees about restoration of the building 6. cost of demolition continues to rise and is significantly higher today than it was 18 months ago 7. many task force members that invested hours of time into this project had a goal of keeping the old building but in the end, made the conclusion that it was best to demolish 8. the cost of keeping the building open and functional is expensive (utilities approx $33,000/month) even while it sits empty after 2023 graduation 9. the cost to renovate and keep the structure up to code and safe for use by anyone is extremely high and maybe unattainable 10. the school district will take some items from the current site (lamp posts, donated items, building crest) and preserve them. 11. the district is working with online auction companies to sell the furniture items not needed in the new building that are in good condition, and the staff have been advised to not throw things away if they have potential use left.

Now, I drive by the old building and keep the memory in my mind. I won’t be there when the wrecking ball comes, but I can look forward to what is to come. I am eager to see the new high school. Fall 2023 will be an exciting time for our high school students to begin a new school year, with many memories to be made while old and beautiful memories are preserved!