Thanks to Fraidy Cats and Clothesline Laundromat for their support.
The school board began discussions on shifting school board elections to even-numbered years, received an update on proposed changes to teacher pay and evaluation procedures, and reviewed progress on the superintendent’s goals.
Shifting Elections
Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog led a preliminary discussion of election cycles for the school board, raising the question of shifting school board elections to even years rather than odd years.
- Other districts: Very few Minnesota districts hold their school board elections on odd years, and more are shifting to even years all the time.
- Benefits: It will save the district approximately $50,000 per election since they would be able to share resources with local, county, and state governments to administer elections. Dakota County has also asked ISD 197 to make this change.
- Community trust: It would also help to improve trust and transparency in the election process, and make the election process easier to manage for citizens and district staff.
- Current terms: If this change is implemented, any sitting board members would have their term extended by one year. So, a board member whose term is up in 2025 would instead end their term in 2026.
- Reaction: Superintendent Olson-Skog is in favor of this change. The board was broadly receptive to this change. The cost savings are appealing, but the extension of their own terms was a sticking point. No vote was taken at this meeting.
Teacher Pay Update
Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Cari Jo Drewitz presented an informational update on the Alternative Teacher Professional Pay System (ATPPS).
- ISD 197 has been reviewing compensation and assessment systems used by other districts in the metro area in order to improve their own approach to evaluating teacher performance.
- The district’s goal is to make sure school staff are being fairly evaluated on their actual job descriptions—judging a regular classroom teacher by the same standards as a speech therapist doesn’t really work. They also want to ensure they’re evaluating staff on measures that are objective and easy to observe.
- The new approach will have three separate evaluation structures: one for classroom teachers, one for one-on-one specialists like guidance counselors, and one for teachers in leadership or administration roles. The new rubrics also put an emphasis on culturally-responsive teaching practices that will help to better reach minority students.
- The board was largely in favor of these changes, though no vote was taken at this meeting. There was some discussion about how changing state laws could impact this initiative, but the board agreed the changes are positive on their own merits, even if the state goes in a different direction.
Other Items on the Agenda
- Superintendent goals update: Two Rivers Associate Principal Dr. Jessica Cabak joined Superintendent Olson-Skog for an update on the superintendent’s goals. He reviewed three total goals: implementing the district’s strategic plan, holding one-on-one interviews with all staff, and improving coordination between district administration and building principals.
- First reading of new policies: Drewitz presented first readings of several changes to district policy. These changes mostly involved updating phrasing and language to align district policies with new state laws.
- Meeting calendar: Superintendent Olson-Skog reviewed the school board meeting calendar for the coming year and noted some irregular dates.
Engage
- More: Agendas and minutes for ISD 197 School Board meetings are available online.
- Watch: You can watch the video recap from Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog and Board Member Marcus Hill.
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