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The first ISD 197 School Board meeting of the 2026-2027 school year (and the first to be covered by our permanent education correspondent) featured recognition for summer activities as well as a strong focus on the district’s budget situation and how upcoming ballot measures could potentially help.
Summer Recognitions
Superintendent Peter Olson-Skog recognized several ISD 197 activities for their accomplishments during the summer.
- The Board recognized Liam Sahli, incoming Two Rivers freshman, for his national title in extemporaneous speaking in June. Extemporaneous speaking requires competitors to prepare a speech with very short notice, and Liam brought home the title with a speech about the stock market, demonstrating his current events knowledge and speech skills. Unsurprisingly, he was very eloquent in answering questions from the Board about his experience at the championship and plans for his high school career.
- The district’s two incoming student School Board representatives, Clara and Aubrey, have been designing and painting a mural at Two Rivers High School featuring an eagle soaring over the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, from which the school gets its name. The mural will also feature a plaque explaining the school’s name and history.
- Olson-Skog also recognized the district’s summer enrichment programs, summer school, community education, and marching band.
Budget Challenges
The School Board formally approved the ballot language for this fall’s capital project levy. This was largely a technical step in the process, and most of the language that will appear on the ballot is dictated by state law.
Olson-Skog used the vote as an opportunity to explain the district’s budget situation and two upcoming ballot measures that could help:
- Levy details: The capital project levy will increase the district’s property tax levy by about 4%. It will give the district $4.6 million per year for the next 10 years, and cost the average district homeowner an additional $14 per month. The district arrived at this number after conducting polls to determine how much of a tax increase voters were likely to support. The levy funds will be used for things like security, maintenance, and school supplies, and will also allow them to rearrange some funding sources and put some money into reserves.
- Wider perspective: Even if this levy passes, ISD 197 will still have one of the lowest property tax burdens in the metro area and the absolute lowest among neighboring districts. Olson-Skog also emphasized that this levy would not permanently fix the district’s budget. Districts all over the state are struggling with reduced state and federal funding, and changes need to be made at those levels to solve the problem.
- More: There is another state-wide ballot measure up this fall that would distribute more money to districts from the state’s Permanent School Fund. If this passes, it will help the district’s budget without any increased cost to taxpayers, but the funding change would amount to 0.2% of the district’s current budget.
Other Items On the Agenda
- Election: The Board took the state-mandated step of officially calling the general School Board election for this fall. This is the board’s first election on the new even-year schedule, which will be more convenient for residents since it coincides with elections for other offices. Learn more about this fall’s elections.
- Assignments: School Board Chair Sarah Larsen announced committee assignments for the coming year, as well as assigning each Board member a school where they will serve as official liaison.
- Goals: Olson-Skog presented the Board’s goals for the coming school year, as decided by the planning committee. This amounts to a “first reading” of these goals, which will be voted on at the next meeting. There was no discussion of the goals by the Board.
- Provide more clarity on what the job of school liaisons actually entails.
- Review and update ISD 197 School Board website to make sure it’s accurate and up-to-date.
- Review the district’s use of technology, both in and outside the classroom, both to determine how it is currently being used and to establish best practices around screen time, artificial intelligence (AI), etc. The goal is not to step on school administration’s toes, it’s more about responding to community interest.
- Evaluation: School Board Member Byron Schwab provided a summary of the Board’s evaluation of Superintendent Olson-Skog. This report is required by state law. Olson-Skog was rated “highly effective” across all review criteria.
Engage
- More: Agendas and minutes for ISD 197 School Board meetings are available online.
- Watch: You can watch the meeting online. Board Members Sarah Larsen and Morgan Steele also gave a video recap of the meeting.
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