Due to the events of last week, this report on the most recent work session will be brief. There were a few important agenda items that I wanted to be sure to make note of.

LEVY REFERENDUM – Dr. Champa is hosting several informational sessions with local community groups and leaders, plus hosting a few public sessions, in order to communicate and answer questions about the upcoming levy vote. Public sessions are listed here and on the district website:

September 26, 7am and 8am, District Office

September 30, 7pm, OHS Foundation Room

October 15, 12pm, District Office

October 23, 7pm, District Office

SALE FORMER DISTRICT OFFICE BUILDING – Administration is working with the City of Owatonna for the purchase of the old district building on Bridge Street. The city plans to use the building for law enforcement purposes. Hopefully, the sale will be finalized in October.

CADENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY – Dr. Champa presented a sample graph that will be used for measuring goals’ success over the school year. Each principal and cabinet member is setting 3 SMART goals that align with our strategic directions and will be accountable for self-reflective ratings and meeting with Dr. Champa every month.

Dr. Champa also presented 3 goals as the Superintendent which are outlined in the associated agenda item. Mainly, these include working with the community to provide information regarding the levy, working to ensure ongoing safety and cybersecurity for all aspects of the district, and thirdly, working with a “nationally-normed survey” to address areas of need, assessing priorities and setting goals, plus communicating this information to the community. She noted that this survey will be a combination of a national survey with our Desired Daily Experiences survey that our district has used for the last few years.

CLOSED SESSION – the board closed the open work session for a closed session presentation regarding safety and cybersecurity. This session was closed due to the nature of information presented. Chair Sebring noted that this work for safety has been ongoing for many months and is not new or related to the recent school shooting in Minneapolis. I was reassured that our district is taking extensive measures to protect our kids, teachers, and staff in our buildings but also through the internet.

That’s all for now! Enjoy the homecoming week and please be safe, kind, and respectful.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Death is painful. Unexpected death is tragic. Murder is horrific. What is the turning point? I thought maybe it was September 11, 2001, but then it wasn’t. I thought it may have been one of the many school shootings since then, but it wasn’t. Minnesota has had no lack of ruthless evil attacks hurting many people in the last few years. Will the turning point be now, after the heartless killing of yet another human being?

After the killing of Fletcher and Harper, the 2 children murdered in the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, I read an article with this statement, “Evil will always find a weapon.” (Author unknown.) And it has, whether a gun, a knife, an airplane, or someone’s very own hands, there is no limit to what hurts.

As painful and heart wrenching as the murder of Charlie Kirk is, I suspect that it’s not the turning point that we are desperately hoping for in our world today. Some lost souls are celebrating his death which is unfathomable to me. However, when we remove God and deny His Truth, we take away the moral foundation and allow chaos and evil to ensue (Romans 1: 28-32). A kingdom divided against itself will not stand (Mark 3:24). Woe to those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me” (John 14:6). One day, EVERY knee will bow before our Lord Jesus (Philippians 2:10). From His throne, Jesus will one day judge the dead, and those who are not found justified and saved by Jesus’ own death and resurrection will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 11-15). We ALL need Jesus. The time is, and always has been, now. Know Him, trust Him, turn away from sin. This only is our hope and our future. There will be an end and a time when it is too late.

Soli Deo Gloria. All for the glory of God alone.

This regular meeting had a long agenda including multiple votes, but due to the routine nature of most agenda items, the meeting was less than one hour long. Most of the agenda items had been previously discussed or are part of routine annual voting/renewals. Here is the link to review the agenda with the attachments to review the voted items in more detail: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1055

Public forum included one speaker who lives near the old high school and presented concerns about the lights on the old building being especially bright and negatively affecting the homes adjacent to the buildings. Our director of facilities, Bob Olson, was in attendance at this meeting and I anticipate that he will connect with him to discuss, and hopefully resolve, the situation for the neighbors to our now district offices and gymnastics center. Thank you for bringing your concerns to the board!

Superintendent Champa gave a brief overview of her administrative report, specifically noting the excitement for the start of the school year and the upcoming homecoming events. This includes 2-hour early release of school on September 19, 2025 for the homecoming parade with the football game at 7pm.

The consent agenda included routine reports but also a Title I Plan report written by Wilson principal Cassie Mitchell. The report outlines the strategies for improving Wilson’s academic program and meeting the needs of all students, especially those that are struggling.

Agenda item VIII lists all the votes taken, all passed 7-0. Votes included policy revisions, extended trip requests, truth in taxation hearing date (approved for December 8, 2025 at 6pm), the Rose Street Center lease, the resolution appointing election judges and absentee ballot board members, adult meal prices, and gifts to the district.

The Regular Meeting switched to a closed session for a discussion regarding upcoming labor negotiations.

The closed session ended, the Regular Meeting restarted but only to adjourn.

Minnesota Report Card results are in! (https://rc.education.mn.gov/#mySchool/p–3). As you browse the website, you can review data for each of Owatonna’s schools and also for the district as a whole. In brief summary, our district as a whole shows math proficiency is 44.7%, down from 47.3% but overall, slightly improved from 2021. Reading proficiency is 46.5%, down from 47.8% but has not shown significant change since 2021.

The scores definitely need to be improved, but it is worth noting that only 54 of our high school juniors (only juniors take the MCA test in high school) took the math MCA test last spring. Many high school students are opting out of the MCA tests and my daughter was one of them when she was a junior at OHS. My reasoning at the time was that we didn’t need to further test her math skills and I was confident in her schoolwork up to that point. However, what I didn’t understand was that the test is not so much about individual assessment. Its greatest benefit is for school districts to assess its own curriculum and teaching. Because of this, we need as many students as possible to take the MCA tests. MCA tests for math and reading are given to students in grades 3-8, while tenth graders only take the reading test and eleventh graders only take the math test. There are no science test results this year due to the new science standards and a new test given in the spring 2025. Science tests are given to students in grade 5-8, and in high school when the student is taking life science or biology. Test specifics are given at the Minnesota Department of Education’s website: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/test/mn/ . I’m looking forward to hearing from our district administrators and directors how we will work to move forward this year.

Take care. Soli Deo Gloria!

Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent is a great opportunity to get to know Dr. Tammy Champa and also discuss questions or concerns. The first coffee date is this Friday, August 22, 2025 at the district office on the corner of Grove and School streets, 8-9am. There will be future dates as well! If you would like to hear more about the upcoming levy, I’m sure this will be a topic of discussion.

Also, I love coffee. I am the type of person who can see a situation that needs improvement and will work to make it better, or will see something good and will work to make it great. With this in mind, I am happy to meet with anyone who would like to have an honest constructive conversation, find common ground, share ideas, and hopefully then take steps for the better. Text me if you would like to meet sometime – 651-216-9455!

Take care and see the good in this day! Soli Deo Gloria!

We began with a brief Special Session to approve the most recent personnel report and immediately followed with the work session.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Rose street proposal recap

Superintendent Champa: back to school and levy updates

Two city/chamber representatives returned to the board to informally recap and answer questions in follow up to the formal presentation given recently proposing the Rose Street Shops project. The Rose Street project is modeled after the boardwalk shops in Batavia, IL (https://downtownbatavia.com/business_category/boardwalk-shops/). With this project, the city will lease the school district’s Rose Street building for a coworking space and Maker Space for the entrepreneurs renting a small shop. This building also houses the restrooms. Our students will be building the shops. Superintendent Champa has been working to develop a lease contract and has a draft for the board to review. The project is essentially no cost to the district and as Chair Sebring noted, this is a great opportunity for the district to partner with the city and community for the goal of collaboration, growing our downtown, and encouraging small business owners and entrepreneurs. Moving forward, the lease contract will be finalized, and the board will be presented with the proposal for final approval at the next regular meeting.

Superintendent Champa discussed a few of the preparations and staff retreats underway prior to the start of school. The District Leadership Team Retreat is one that was held recently and appeared to be a success for learning more about our new superintendent, and also developing goals and plans for the school year.

Our pool project is unfortunately delayed but is expected to be completed by the start of the school year. Until then, our swim team is taking the bus to Faribault for practice in their pool. Thank you for understanding swimmers! I haven’t seen pictures yet, but it sounds like the remodel will be worth the wait!

We also discussed plans for communication to the community regarding the upcoming levy vote. Dr. Champa has already been meeting with community groups and has a full schedule of future meetings in place. The first Coffee with the Superintendent will take place in the district office at 8am on 8/22/2025. The district website has a levy page (https://www.isd761.org/our-district/levy2025 ) with more info, plus the district newsletter has information, and Dr. Champa wrote a letter to the editor in the recent People’s Press. We understand that a “Vote No” group is already established and yet I encourage anyone to contact Superintendent Champa or any board member with specific questions or concerns regarding the reasons the board elected to request increased financial support.

The 2025 MCA and school reports should be available soon as I believe they are reported at the end of August or early September each year. Keep an eye on the MN Report Card for this info, as I will be! https://rc.education.mn.gov/#mySchool/p–3

I pray that you all have a safe finish to your summer days and look forward to the routine and activities that school brings!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Before giving board meeting updates, here are just a few highlights from the most recent Owatonna Public Schools Newsletter, July 2025.

Welcome Dr. Tamara Champa, our new superintendent! 

Levy information for the upcoming vote in the November 2025 election, including a calculator for determining the estimated amount each household may pay in taxes, is available on the district website: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/levy2025. I’ve heard concerns about the possibility that our district administrative staff earns higher than average salaries.  A few months ago, after a finance committee meeting where we reviewed budget expenditures, as I was told, I reported that our overall admin staff salary amount in total (about 3% of the total budget) was less than the Minnesota average (which is about 3.5% of total budget.)  At this time, I cannot report that anything has significantly changed, but finance data is public record for anyone to review.  Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

State standards for health class curricula are currently being updated by the Minnesota Department of Education (https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds/hpe/ .) Anyone can comment on the current draft of new standards and feedback will be considered when writing the third draft.  Comments are due by July 18, 2025.  Here are a few of the new proposed standards that I am concerned about due to the fact that these “sexual health” concepts are addressed at very young ages, are concepts that should be discussed at home with parents, and are concepts that not all families will agree with due to differences in morals and beliefs.  While the complete list of standards is broken down into several topics, each of the standards listed here fall under the “sexual health” topic:

Kindergarten: use medically accurate terms for body parts, including genitals; identify ways that disease-causing germs are transmitted; recognize the range of different family and peer relationships

Third grade: describe internal and external reproductive body parts using medically accurate terms in a gender-neutral way; describe consent and its importance in all relationships; describe gender identity and expression; explain the difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity and expression; explain how puberty and development can vary greatly and be normal

Fifth grade: describe ways that common infectious diseases are transmitted; describe ways to prevent the spread of germs that cause infectious diseases; define sexual orientation including sense of identity, attractions and related behaviors; describe the difference between sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression

Grade 6-8: Sexual health has 70 different standards with benchmarks—too many to type but worth reviewing

Grade 9-12: Sexual health has 25 standards with benchmarks—too many to type here

For the regular board meeting on July 9, 2025, Dr. Champa was present for the first time as the superintendent of OPS.  The primary report for the evening was a presentation given by Sean Williams and Lisa Cochran regarding use of the district’s Rose Street building.  They have coordinated with other city offices to develop a plan for a new Rose Street Center with The Rose Street Shops.  The district building would be leased by the city for 3 years, with no cost to the district.  The concept includes designing and building a boardwalk of small shops on a portion of Rose Street, with seasonal retail shops open approximately May through December 24 of each year, and Thursday through Sunday of each week.   Each retail space will be signed with a one-year lease, hopefully giving entrepreneurs an opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have, and potentially helping to grow our downtown brick and mortar spaces. They are hoping to work with students in the process of building the small shops and allowing one of the shops to operate as the school store.

A second presentation was given by Maria Terry, our director of nutrition services, who has been in this role since May 2024.  She reviewed the growing number of meals served each year, noting the significant increase in special meals needed for students including gluten free, dairy free, sesame free, high protein, modified texture, and others.  One particularly busy month, she noted having written 80+ different menus for the month in order to meet these students’ needs.

Several documents were brought up for review including committee meeting minutes, policies, personnel report, disbursement reports, and previous board meeting minutes.

Bob Olson, our director of facilities, briefly discussed our Long Term Facilities Maintenance plan as previously completed with SitelogIQ.  This will be submitted to the state of Minnesota for annual funding which is about $1.3 million.  He noted that OPS is listed second only to Hopkins school district in MN with regard to the quality of our buildings and facilities.

Take care, please be kind and respectful to one another. Soli Deo Gloria!

Our regular meeting of the month was held a week earlier than the usual fourth Monday of the month. Also, note that July only has one school board meeting and this year it will be Wednesday July 9, 2025, 5:30pm at the West Hills campus, chamber board room. This week’s meeting was most memorable as Superintendent Elstad’s last board meeting. We heard comments from each board member, as well Public Comment from Brad Meier, CEO and president of Owatonna’s Chamber of Commerce. Many expressions of thanks were given for his exemplary leadership and care for the Owatonna schools, staff, students and community. The meeting ended tearfully with Mr. Elstad’s words of gratefulness and joy over his work as our OPS superintendent. Thank you, Jeff Elstad, for your hard work and dedication to Owatonna.

Please see the district website for the board meeting agenda and attachments: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1055?meeting=692600

HIGHLIGHTS

“School house closing” – Bridge Street and Rose Street buildings

Enrollment report – declining enrollment

Administrative Report / Mission Moment – recognition of several retirees and teacher of the year

Several Votes – school house closure, policy revisions (including 903 Visitors to the district buildings), finance and budgets, levy, memberships, and a few others!

First, as defined by MN law, a public hearing needs to take place when a school building is closing. Therefore, as copied from the meeting agenda, “As required by Minnesota Statute 123B.51, the School Board of Independent School District No. 761 (Owatonna Public Schools), State of Minnesota, will conduct a public hearing regarding the necessity and practicality of closing the former Owatonna Public Schools district office building located at 515 West Bridge Street, Owatonna, Minnesota, and the Rose Street Center located at 115 East Rose Street, Owatonna, Minnesota.” There were no public comments and the vote to officially close these buildings was passed 7-0 later in the meeting.

The Enrollment Report was reviewed with no discussion. Enrollment has consistently stayed about 5000 students: 4/2023 = 4966, 4/2024 = 5155, 8/2024 = 4949, 6/2025 = 5169. While our Owatonna Online enrollment is growing, the incoming kindergarten classes continue to be significantly smaller than our outgoing classes. For example, as of this month’s report dated 6/2/2025, the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade class sizes are 463, 500, and 449 respectively. The incoming early childhood, kindergarten, and 1st grade class sizes are 304, 281, and 285 respectively.

Administrative Report includes notes from SI Elstad, each cabinet member and each principal. Legislative updates will be given in July noting any changes from the 2025 session, namely the effects on budgets. Mission Moment was for recognizing several (I believe 8) retirees at the close of this school year. Also, Lisa Thorson, our PE teacher at Wilson school, was recognized as Owatonna’s Teacher of the Year. Congrats and thank you teachers! From Human Resources Ms. Picha noted, “We have hired 9 new teachers and 3 new administrators to-date for the 25/26 school year. We have several support staff positions to fill and 3 certified staff positions to fill that we are working hard to get those filled by July 1, 2025.” In light of our budget shortfall and the recent decision to cut 7+ FTE, I asked for clarification on this and have been told that most of these open positions are due to retirees leaving at the close of this school year and increased needs by our growing Owatonna Online program. Special Services announced a few of these new staff/roles: “Director of Special Services, Shari Mensink, Assistant Director of Special Services, Jill Petersen and Director of Early Learning, Kaci Rendahl.”

Policy revisions presented by the policy committee for a second reading and vote of approval include: 220 Student School Board Rep, 501 School Weapons (reassurance… we don’t allow weapons!), 540 Early Admission to Kindergarten, 730 Use of Electronic Signatures, 903 Visitors to District Buildings. Two policies revised have many changes, policies 540 and 903. This was explained at the meeting in that it is best to keep policies generalized vs specific so that as procedures or laws or circumstances change, the administration can respond accordingly to what they feel is best in a given situation. I noted specifically policy 903 Visitors, section IV. subsection A., the policy states, “Upon approval by the school board, such procedures and requirements shall be an addendum to this policy.” At this time, there is no addendum, but I was told that this will be forthcoming. Given that this policy involves parental visits to schools, I encourage you to review this particular policy and bring any concerns you may have to board members and the superintendent. I am concerned that this level of generality may not allow for adequate oversight and may be too restrictive to parents that have concerns or questions.

Budgets are approved for the Amended 2024-2025 budget and the Preliminary 2025-2026 budget. Mr. Stotts noted that we have benefited more than expected from interest earnings for the 2024-2025 year, and recent legislation has increased compensatory revenue for the future. However, transportation costs are still unknown.

Several votes taken and approved without significant discussion. Of main interest is the vote to finalize the levy for the upcoming election in November 2025. Formally, this is a resolution relating to the general education revenue, increasing by $700 per pupil, and calling a special election for vote this November 2025. This was discussed in detail at the work session on June 9, 2025. Chair Sebring reiterated from the 6/9/25 meeting that this levy is for maintaining the operations that we currently have and that we are asking for what we believe the district needs to continue functioning as we have been. The finance committee (includes me) discussed the budget and the shortfalls and came to this decision so that we can be fiscally responsible and respectful to our community. Prior to November’s election, there will be discussions and information provided so hopefully the community will feel that this ask is necessary and that the district is transparent. There will be a calculator on the district website that anyone can review to see what the yearly or monthly cost will be depending on their home value. Estimates at this time for home values = monthly cost: 275K = $23.25, 300K = $25.42, 350K = $29.58, 400K = $33.83, 450K = $38.08.

Please review the meeting agenda and video for more details if desired. Thank you!

Soli Deo Gloria!

School is out, and the OHS graduation ceremony is completed, congrats graduates! We held our June work session per usual at the district office and as a reminder, our next Regular Meeting is next week June 16, 2025 at the chamber board room. This week’s work session was packed with lots of updates, maybe our longest meeting of the year!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Operational Plan – end-of-the-year update from each cabinet member-these are also just a few highlights among much work that has been done. Details can be reviewed on the district website -> school board -> meetings -> agendas.

Achievement Data Update (gr K-8 Fastbridge Assessments) from our Teaching and Learning Director Julie Sullivan

2025-2026 Preliminary Budget review from Mark Stotts, Director of Finance and Operations – very much an estimate as we wait for the legislature to finalize decisions

Levy Referendum review from the finance committee – recommendation for a levy amount and ballot question for the November 2025 election.

OPERATIONAL PLAN UPDATE

Human Resources – Chris Picha: ongoing work with our Grow Your Own Teacher Apprenticeship program for special education teachers, we have 6 teachers that are expected to graduate May 2026 and hopefully will become OPS special education teachers. This program is funded by grants. Chris notes work with AI and finding ways to use this in trainings. Work is being done to prep for implementation of Family Paid Leave Act.

Teaching and Learning – Julie Sullivan: READ Act training going well, phase One will be completed by 6/16/2025 (which is an accomplishment that not all districts can claim). Much work is being done for new math standards, starting with “Illustrative Math” for school year 2027-28. Social studies standards also updated recently with a new ethnic studies component to begin 2026-27 school year. Ongoing work to close the Achievement Gap as noted in MN Dept of Education CACR goals https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/wbwf/

Special Services – Mr. Elstad presents this topic in the absence of Sarah Knudsen and Shari Mensink: much work has been done to improve results through “consistent due process.” Work is also being done to expand and improve special education services for our Owatonna Online students. Through staff training using Ukeru and Safety Care programs, there have been less staff injuries, and improved regulation of challenging behaviors that occur with special education students.

Community Education – Deb McDermott Johnson: very challenging year for community education. She reports a 27% reduction in adult student contact hours (many immigrants are no longer participating in classes) which may result in decreased funding for next year. However, we have a full School Age Care (SAC) program which requires at least 18 staff. Deb noted that she’s had to be creative with scheduling and coordinating staff to make this work!

Finance and Operations – Mark Stotts: our new director of finance has only been with OPS for about 3 months and has kept very busy! He noted that he values time visiting the schools and encourages other business staff to do the same as a reminder of why we do the work we do. He notes that school finance has changed dramatically over the last many years, becoming much more complicated. Legislative decisions are still pending which will affect future funding. Our transportation contract with the bus company is changing and there are currently several unknowns that make budgeting difficult (may not know actual numbers until this fall). Mr. Stotts notes that our district uses more bussing services than any district he’s worked with in the past. He notes that our growing Owatonna Online program is financially beneficial, but they are monitoring the success vs cost of summer programing for the future.

Facilities, Infrastructure, and Security – Bob Olson: the pool remodeling project is a work in progress but going well. They are renovating the shower areas also. HVAC updates have begun at McKinley and the Owatonna Education Center as previously planned. There is a possible interested buyer for the Bridge Street district building and there may be a partnership in the community for the Rose Street building.

ACHIEVEMENT DATA UPDATE

Julie Sullivan reviewed slides with data from our K-8 Fastbridge assessments that are done every fall, winter and spring. These slides are not available on the agenda for review. The spring MCA scores are not available yet. While the data indicated improvements in reading and math from 2023 to 2024, the data from 2025 revealed decreased scores. At this time, it is unclear why this occurred. However, there is concern for increased behaviors in the classroom that make teaching and learning more difficult. More to come on this as I anticipate further discussion when the MCA scores are revealed. Mrs. Sullivan reports positively for our increased graduation rate, notably for our Hispanic and black students which have typically had lower graduation rates (closing the achievement gap is one of the goals of CACR as noted above).

2025-2026 PRELIMINARY BUDGET REVIEW

Two main factors that have significant impact on our budget are legislative decisions and upcoming salary negotiations. Neither of these are currently easily predictable. So far, there is an estimated $2 million deficit in the general fund for each of the next 2 years. Projected unassigned fund balance for 2025-26 is 9.83% which has decreased from ~12% this year, with a board-determined goal of 8-10%. So while we are still in the goal range, projections show compounding deficits that will have significant impact over the upcoming several years if nothing is done.

LEVY REFERENDUM UPDATE

The finance committee met on June 2, 2025 to finalize a recommendation to the whole board regarding a levy amount and ballot question for the November 2025 election. Based on the recent community survey results, we determined that we could approach the Owatonna community to ask for additional funding for district operations (which is different from recent bonds used for building the new high school and updating buildings as noted above). As summary:

1. The board previously approved $1.8 million in cuts for the 2025-26 school year which resulted in ~7.3 FTE reduction in staffing/teachers.
2. We have a budget shortfall due to several factors: loss of federal COVID funding, increased special education costs, unfunded mandates set forth by the previous legislative session, and declining birth rates resulting in decreased projected enrollments
3. The last voter approved levy was in 2013 and prior to that was 2002. Owatonna currently sits second from the bottom in levy funding amount within the Big 9 at ~$550/student while Northfield sits at the top of the list with ~$2000/student. Last on the list is Austin, which receives much funding from Hormel.
4. An operating levy will allow the district to maintain its current operations, specifically class sizes, retaining quality teachers/staff, and offering variety of classes/programs/activities. If this levy does not pass at the upcoming November election, we estimate that the district will have to make additional $2-3 million in cuts for the upcoming school years.
5. After review of all the data, the survey results, discussions with Superintendent Elstad and our incoming Superintendent Dr. Champa, and our finance director Mr. Stotts, we believe that we should ask for an operating levy that gives us an additional ~$700/student for a total of ~$3.7 million. This amount is actually less than what the survey suggested we could ask our community for. However, we determined that this amount should be adequate in order to be fiscally responsible yet allow the district the necessary funding to maintain excellent operations. This amount is estimated to cost about $23.25/month for residents with a $275K home value. The additional funding would be collected beginning in 2026 and payable in 2027. After discussion at the meeting, we agreed to present the information for a formal vote at the regular meeting on 6/16/2025.

That’s all for now, much to consider in the coming months! Please reach out with questions and concerns.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Before I write the usual update on last night’s board meeting, I wanted to write specifically about the vote for the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) membership. This vote occurs annually for every district in Minnesota that desires to have its district participate in the MSHSL. As I understand it, this organization is the only one of its kind in MN that allows our students to participate in meaningful competitive athletics and fine arts. (https://www.mshsl.org/)

For several years, the MSHSL has had rules allowing for transgender students to participate with teams of their identified gender (opposite their biological sex), and to use locker rooms and bathrooms also relating to the opposite biological sex. The 300.00 series bylaws explain this as it pertains to student eligibility and the process suggested for transgender students and the schools in this circumstance: https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/mshsl-handbook-300-series.pdf

This is the third year that I have been on the school board and have voted on this membership. The first 2 years, I voted yes, this time I voted no. Going into this meeting, I knew the vote for membership would pass and because of this, I voted no based on principle. It is my belief that biological boys (XY) should not be participating with biological girls (XX) on a team that is for girls only and not co-ed. In addition, biological boys should not be using girls’ bathrooms or locker rooms or sharing girls’ hotel rooms if traveling. The federal Title IX rule was created specifically for the purpose of protecting girls and women in sports and it can be argued that the rules and statutes set forth by the state of MN (MN Human Rights Act) and the MSHSL violate Title IX.

This is an article about a recent lawsuit involving the MSHSL: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-transgender-lawsuit-athlete-policy-maple-grove-farmington-softball/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR7e-KRSxgVl-W01n5bzWctC2GpCZzDm5quMQjl353Ws3wiLVQuOPMODWjq19Q_aem_A31ZSXCIwxTBhDUOLMLRLA

Even California is making changes: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/california-makes-rule-change-girls-track-field-championship-after-trumps-threats-over-trans-athlete

Minnesota doesn’t make it easy to determine the ruling law given recent federal executive orders, MN Statutes, MN Human Rights Act, and past and present court cases.

There were 4 main points that I tried to make last night when I spoke about my decision to vote no.

1. I recognize that MSHSL is the only organization that allows for meaningful competition in athletics and fine arts in MN and I value these activities for our students.
2. Last year, I inquired with our activities director whether or not Owatonna Public Schools has had any transgender students request to participate in activities of the opposite sex. He stated no, we have not had this circumstance yet. At last night’s meeting, our student rep stated the same.
3. As I read the 300.00 bylaws as noted above, the suggested process for a transgender student to request, appeal, and thus participate in any activity (with teammates of the opposite sex) is lengthy and not taken lightly. However, the process is suggested and not required.
4. In light of the above, and our continued membership in the MSHSL, I encouraged the board to consider a formal process or policy for working with students, families, coaches, and teammates so that when this circumstance occurs in the future, we will have a process for decision making, and ultimately protection of our girls–physical safety, emotional and mental safety, protecting their earned wins and gains through hard work, and team comradery.

Let me conclude by stating that ALL students are valued and have purpose. ALL students should have opportunities to participate in activities, athletics, and fine arts. ALL students should get the care and resources they need, whether it’s within the school walls or outside. If we are working to do “what’s best for most,” as I’ve been told, then protecting our girls needs to remain a priority. If we had an extremely talented 75-pound, 12-year-old boy playing football, we would not let him play a game with the varsity football team without having some type of rules or guidelines to keep the child safe, or he just wouldn’t be allowed to play with the varsity team.

My intention is not to take away sports and activities for our kids as I do believe that these things help our students. As Superintendent Elstad noted, we have about 2800 students that are participants. I voted no so that I can stand on the principles above, protecting our girls.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Our work session took place at 530pm per usual at the district office. Highlights from the work session include a presentation by OHS principal Kory Kath and select staff regarding attendance interventions and new course offerings. Secondly, the results and discussion of the recent community survey as reported by Peter Leatherman from the Morris Leatherman company.

https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1055?meeting=687859

OHS presentation

Mr. Kath and a few staff from OHS presented information regarding the recent interventions to address absenteeism among our high school students, recognizing that for students to be successful they need to be present in school. These include weekly attendance monitoring, student/parent meetings, and connecting students with resources as needed. The United Way completed a pilot program for ninth graders called UPLIFT. As to the most common reason that students miss school, the answer was “due to mental health concerns.”

Returning to the district is the partnership with the Steele County Attorney’s Office, including truancy court which began in February. During the pandemic, truancy court stopped, and this partnership waned. This school year, there were 40 individual Attendance Review board meetings for students, with 10 students then referred to truancy court (15 by the time of this meeting). With these interventions, the rate of absenteeism improved from the 2023-2024 school year (171 students with 10+ unexcused absences) to this school year (107 students with 10+ unexcused absences). Mr. Kath notes that our district has a much lower rate compared to the state average.

Registration for the following school year is no longer in catalog and paper forms, now completely online and can be done at school with teachers and staff available to help students. The online program can be translated into several languages for students and parents as needed.

Several new classes are being offered next year including those for career pathways and capstone courses. OHS staff and teachers were able to connect with business leaders in Owatonna to discuss the specific skills needed by graduates in order to begin a successful career as a new employee. The teachers were able to engage in discussions, tours, build relationships and have presentations brought into the classroom. Mr. Kath and Mr. Elstad noted that our Career Pathways program is unique in that it is student led. The students express interests or desires, which leads to new course offerings, thereby helping students take ownership of their learning, work hard, and graduate successfully.

Community survey

Peter Leatherman presented the results of the recent community survey. I encourage you to check out the slides on the meeting agenda, it’s very interesting! There were 400 residents who took the survey. Because of comprehensive data available through our phone records, they were able to determine that the sampling was a good representation of the Owatonna population. Interestingly about 1/3 have students in school and 2/3 are residents that are empty nesters (any age but have no children in the home). About 43% of residents noted that they were financially stressed while 55% noted that they were financially comfortable. The district received high ratings for quality of education, variety of programs, and satisfaction with the administration and teachers. Primary concerns include lack of funding to the district and high property taxes, while 26% stated they had no concerns. For the most part, residents are favorable toward supporting the district financially to maintain quality teachers, course offerings, and fine arts, if otherwise we are at risk of losing some of these things.

Last to note, our senior student board representative, Erin Baker, will be one of the commencement speakers at this year’s OHS commencement ceremony on June 6, 2025. Congratulations Erin!

Fourteen days left of school! Soli Deo Gloria!