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The ISD 197 School Board heard updates on the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee, the Achievement and Integration Budget, and new policies. The district went through an audit of its finances as of June 30, 2023.

Audit Presentation

What: James Eichten from Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich & Co, the district’s CPAs, presented the audit report for 2023.

Audit results: Overall, the district was compliant in the areas reviewed, but should be aware of areas where they may need to be documenting processes. For example, 10 of the 40 invoices reviewed were not paid to vendors within 30 days. While there were likely reasons for this, the reasons were not documented. Corrective actions recommended include communicating with staff about the importance of documenting invoices.

Finances: The district is overall right on budget for the year. The district’s fund balance policy states that an 8% fund balance should be maintained, and it is at 6.1% as of June 30. 

Fund balances: Essentially, a fund balance is similar to a savings account. Larger, metro area school districts typically maintain smaller fund balances because they have more ability to stretch cash flow and don’t need to save as much for a rainy day. ISD 197 passed a referendum in November that will add more money to the budget, but that has not started yet. Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog notes that the district expects the fund balance to drop further in fiscal year 2024, perhaps as low as 3-4%. But then things will trend back upward with the money from the referendum. 

School Board Goals

What: The planning committee is working on a draft of 2024 school board goals based on the 2023 goals and the board’s self-evaluation results.

Recommendations: The proposed draft includes professional development sessions on topics such as LGBTQ+ issues, technology use, and community engagement, among others, identifying additional resources to deepen knowledge related to the strategic framework, and ways to increase visibility and engagement within the community.

Timeline: The board suggested some additions and tweaks to the draft. The committee will take those recommendations and present a revised list of goals for approval at a future meeting.

Other Items on the Agenda:

American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC): Minnesota school districts with 10 or more American Indian students must have an AIPAC. The district has a position in charge of putting on events and getting parents involved. The AIPAC started a newsletter and recently held a traditional storytelling and family resource night at Heritage that was well received.  

Achievement & Integration (A&I) Budget update: The board heard an update on the A&I budget based on its three goals of increasing racial and economic integration, reducing achievement disparities, and increasing access to effective and diverse teachers. 

Policies: The board reviewed three policies, two regarding transportation and one about student discipline. Many of the board’s questions centered around the Policy for Student Discipline, which was revised to reflect the changes to the policy due to new legislation. The policy presented to the board reflected the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) model policy and had been reviewed by legal. The new policy emphasizes the use of non-exclusionary discipline, instead of things like recess detention. There was also more inclusive language added. The updates the board suggested will go back to legal for review. If legal have any issues with the suggestions, the board will discuss the policy further at the next meeting. If they do not, the student discipline policy will join the two transportation policies on the consent agenda.

Engage

• More: Agendas and minutes for ISD 197 School Board meetings are available online.

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