Action of the School Board 2.26.24

February 26, 2024

Board member Kacy Deschene called the meeting to order and moved for the election of a Chair Pro Tem for the meeting. The School Board selected Kacy Deschene as Chair Pro-Tem.

The board considered a resolution establishing Kacy Deschene (District 3) and Zach Arco (District 2) to serve as co-chairs for the board with Jeff Simon (District 6) elected as Clerk and Matt Audette (District 4) serving as Treasurer. The School Board will not have a vice-chair for 2024 as co-chairs will alternate the process of running meetings while working in collaboration on board leadership matters throughout the year. The votes for all board leadership positions were unanimous. The School Board developed this form of organization in collaboration as a solution following two public meetings which did not result in any member receiving the four votes needed to be elected board chair. After agreeing to pursue a co-chairperson approach, a legal review determined that Minnesota law does not “expressly allow or prohibit” the selection of co-chairs. The board expressed a commitment to shared decision making and this model is designed to ensure involvement by all members in board decisions.

The School Board received testimony from Scott Coggins, Rod Kuehn and Matt Weigelt provided testimony for school board consideration.

Becky Brodeur, associate superintendent, Nate Maenan, director of student services, Kim Benjamin, chair of the American Indian Education advisory committee and Sarah Naar, vice-chair of the district’s American Indian Education advisory committee joined Mindy Meyers, American Indian education coordinator in sharing an informational update on the district’s Indian Education program. Presenters shared data on MCA test proficiency levels, college-level course participation and graduation rates. They also shared highlights of cultural activities for students and families and presented a resolution of concurrence as required by state law. The school board approved the resolution of concurrence on a unanimous vote.

Watch the presentation.

Dr. Josh Delich, associate superintendent for high schools; Tim Palmatier, general counsel; Tim Feine, principal of Andover High School; and Matt Matson, assistant principal and activities director, Champlin Park High School presented a recommendation to repeal policy 510.0 - Seventh and Eighth Grade Students Participation in High School Athletics. The recommendation follows extensive community input including surveys of community members and district coaches and includes multiple school board presentations and discussions at public meetings. School Board voted to repeal policy 510.0 on a unanimous vote.

Dr. Jennifer Cherry, executive director of human resources; Todd Mensink, director of labor relations and benefits; Tiffany Audette, director of purchasing; and Josh Johnson, from Aon consulting provided a proposal of a competitive review process for medical and pharmacy administrative services in compliance with state law. Minnesota law requires that self-insured school districts seek proposals and name third party administrators (TPA) services every two years. The district’s process determined that Medica was the preferred vendor for the next two years and that recommendation was approved on a unanimous vote.

Watch the presentation.

Dr. Jennifer Cherry, executive director of human resources presented to the School Board the Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota 2023-25 master agreement for approval. The overall contract is within the budget authority provided by the school board and represents an 11.55% overall increase or $736,752,064 over the two-year contract period.

The agreement was approved 5-0 by the school board with Clerk Simon abstaining. Key provisions in the contract include:

• A salary schedule improvement of 5% the first year and 3% the second year of the contract.
• A one time payment of $750 in the first year to each teacher.
• Establishing a $50,000 starting salary for teachers in the second year of the contract.
• Increasing insurance contributions to 5% in the first year and 5% single/10% family in the second year.
• Increasing 403B district match contribution to up to $2,000 per member annually.
• Adding Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) teachers to the K-12 teacher schedule (hourly rate based on an 8-hour work day).
• Adjustments to the miscellaneous hourly rate, Extra Services Agreements, and stipends, increasing 4% in the first year and 2% in the second year.

Dr. Jennifer Cherry, executive director of human resources presented to the School Board the Anoka-Hennepin Elementary and Secondary Principals Association 2023-25 master agreement for approval. The agreement is within the budget authority provided by the school board and it was approved on a unanimous vote. Key provisions include a 3% salary schedule increase in each year of the contract and the overall package represents a 9.27% total increase or $45.8 million over the two year contract period.

Dr. Jennifer Cherry, executive director of human resources, and Todd Mensink, director of labor relations and benefits, provided the School Board with an update on the status of negotiations for employee groups consistent with Board Policy 209, Negotiations Code of Ethics. The presentation included an overview of the status of negotiations with the district’s 14 bargaining groups and five policy groups.

Watch the presentation.

Tim Palmatier, general counsel, provided a first read of Policy 406.0 which provides policy direction regarding the sharing of data regarding employees. The board will consider approval of the policy at a future meeting.

Tim Palmatier, general counsel, provided a first read of Policy 515.2 which provides information regarding directory information regarding pupil records and key privacy matters regarding students. The board will consider approval of the policy at a future meeting.

1. Minutes from the 02/12 Work Session.
2. Retirements, resignations, terminations, layoffs and recalls, leaves and modified leaves of absence, appointments.
3. Cash disbursements report.
4. Cash balance report.
5. Donations and scholarship reports.
6. Monthly revenue and expenditures.
7. 2024-25 Strategic Priorities.
8. Bid #24034B - district wide internet access.
9. Bid #24019B - MSFBG food and non-food items.
10. Immunization exclusions as required by Statute 121a.15.

School Board work session, March 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center, 2727 Ferry St, Anoka, MN 55303.

To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.