Fargo School Board, ND 2022 Board Meetings, 25 Oct 2022

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From YouTube: School Board Meeting October 25, 2022

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Fargo Public Schools - Board of Education Meeting - Live Broadcast - October 25, 2022

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The October 25th regular meeting of the Fargo Board of Education we will, it is 5 30, we'll call the meeting to order and we invite you to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance foreign.

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Ty and justice for all.

A

I would look for approval of the agenda. Robin I.

B

Move approval of the agenda with the HR addendum.

C

Second, okay,.

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Motion by Robin seconded by SAS any discussion, all those in favor vote by saying: yes, yes,.

D

A

Opposed motion passes next on our agenda. Tonight we have the fortunate uh having a guest presentation so welcome Carrie armagost from Schmidt music to present the best community for music education award.

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Foreign good evening, uh hello to all of you here today and all watching at home. uh My name is Carrie armagost and I am a sales representative for North Dakota and some of Minnesota for uh Schmidt music in Fargo.

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Here I am here today to help celebrate the fine work that keeps happening in your music departments every day across the district I'd like to thank a Performing Arts facilitator, Patrick, Thiel, superintendent, Dr, Rupert Gandhi, along with all of our friends at Fargo Public Schools from all of our friends at Schmidt music, including my Fargo store manager, Dan Miller, our two owners Tom and Doug Schmidt, along with their two sons, Pete and Ted. Together they represent the fourth and fifth generations of Schmidt music, Family Management dating back to 1896..

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So that means at Schmidt music. We celebrate our 126th anniversary on November 16th. We are in the music products industry, which includes instrument, companies, Publishers retailers and everyone else involved in helping you to be able to teach your students, the Fine Art of music, our music products industry has a trade association called the National Association of Music merchants or just Nam for short, which was established in 1901.. Namm is our association that strengthens the 17 billion dollar Global Music products, industry in 1998 NAMM established their best communities for music education award.

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Today we are celebrating our 2022 best community for music education award. This represents your 19th win in a row Bravo and thank you for all your hard work. All the teachers out there and everyone else supporting in 2022 the 24th year of this award. This program celebrates and recognizes Innovative and resourceful music education programs in the United States and those schools and communities that support them like yours. In order to apply for this award Patrick completed a 54-page survey that covers pretty much every aspect of your music education program. So thank you, Patrick.

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This survey was developed in partnership with the music Research Institute at the University of Kansas survey. Questions are aligned with goals for equity and access to music education for all students and with national standards for music education in 2022. Just 738 districts earned this prestigious national award. This places your Fargo music department in the top five percent of the 14 000 school districts in the nation. Wonderful work, that's something to be very proud of.

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Patrick Doug, Schmidt and I worked together to get your Awards printed framed and delivered to everyone we could think of who was instrumental pun intended in making your music department so excellent. If, for any reason, we may have missed someone or made a spelling mistake, just please alert Patrick and he can contact Doug. Who will contact me and we'll get a whole chain of emails going and we'll make those Corrections and get new Awards to you as soon as possible uh before I?

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Go Nam loves to get pictures of people who win their Awards so for those Educators that came, please grab your Awards and queue up for a couple of pictures quickly that I can send to Doug, and uh so he can forward those to the people at NAMM. uh Cheers keep up your great work and thank you for the support of music education in this wonderful Community, which I've grown to love. Thank you.

A

I'm here, um I am extremely proud that Fargo Public Schools is in the top five percent uh in the nation for music programs. Any other comments, Robin.

B

I have been instructed to mention you Carrie. You are not only at music sales rep, you are a musician in your own right, correct. The clarinet. Excuse me clarinet clarinetist at Concordia, and you are a jazz Aficionado. So I have.

F

G

B

For my household, but thank you for your work and thank you for your passion for music. Yes,.

E

Thank you very much. I appreciate this opportunity. It's an honor.

A

Absolutely foreign.

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H

H

Any adjustments I can't see Nikki Nikki you gotta, come in the front.

H

All right, we're gonna, take a couple. So one two three one, two three.

H

Yeah, thank you so much.

A

Well, that was lovely and a positive way to begin our meeting. Any other board members want to make comments or have questions before they leave. We got our photo okay, so we'll move on to recognition of audience. At this time the board will hear comments from the public. We ask that each speaker who has signed up to address the board State their name and home school district for the record speakers must refrain from using this forum to criticize or complain about a specific employee or student by name. Vulgar or profane language will not be tolerated.

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The board is interested in your comments and will listen carefully, but is not obligated to respond or to debate issues in this forum. Should you desire a written response to a specific question? You may request it this evening. We have one speaker signed up, and so speakers will be allowed at a maximum of five minutes. Upon conclusion of the allotted time, a chime will sound and the speaker is asked to conclude, if necessary. A final chime will sound 15 seconds later, signifying the end of the speaker's time at the podium.

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I will now call to our first speaker to the podium Devin stachinski.

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I

Good evening Devin stachinski Horace Mann Roosevelt.

I

I'm going to start off by talking about your GP monitoring kind of like I've, been following it along and something interesting caught my eye as I've read your GPS and you've all marked a compliance for gp6 subsection 3.

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board committees may not exercise authority over the superintendent or staff, because the superintendent works for the full board. Any direction to the superintendent related to a committee recommendation must come from the full board. Now I find that an interesting statement, given that for the long-term strategic plan, there was an adjustment to it in committee committee, suggested it to Dr Gandhi Dr Gandhi changed it, then it got brought to the full board and the full board voted on it.

I

That seems backwards round for how it's worded here that suggested change should have came to the full board and then the board would have voted to have Dr Gandhi change it just something to think about.

I

I

Subsection three: you have the discussion about using the consent agenda, which a lot of work seems to get done in the consent agenda. Almost every single memo you vote on goes through the consent agenda. It makes me wonder why you guys have a business section at all for your meetings. If you do everything in committee.

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On to memo 50.- and this is going to dovetail sadly into a very nice presentation for an award foreign.

I

So what I've gathered from your legislative priorities is that you're going to go to the legislature and ask for more money, even though you've.

I

Squirreled for a lack of a better term, at least the way it appears four million 758, 000 and change, or whatever, that that number I quoted to you at the Mill Levy nail Mall.

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Why why are you going to ask the taxpayers for more or the legislature, which is asking the taxpayers for more money? Your budget, no budget in the entire history of budgets ever comes out to exactly zero every single time.

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That's weird! In the accounting world. That is very, very weird.

I

Now, to switch Focus from asking for more money for the district, the several parents have have brought to my attention. Their concerns with evidence-based grading in the higher grade levels now I understand 20 some years ago. This was implemented at the elementary level, which is what it is, but to do that for higher grade levels.

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How exactly do you determine say a valedictorian or top 10 percent of your class? If you don't have the metrics to show for it?

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You know thus denying those kids potential scholarships or whatever, because they don't have a letter grade to show that said, I was looking at the metrics. Most recent messed tricks we have available to me anyway. Was winter of 2022 and I grabbed the fourth grade metrics, because I have a fourth grader.

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My fourth grader is on an IEP. The percent of proficient students on an IEP for math is 6.9 percent, proficient students in fourth grade for reading it's at least a little better. It's 20 percent.

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Am I to glean from this that my new fourth grader is going to not end up proficient in math and reading, based on how you guys operate. Thank you.

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A

I've been told, Lynette is here to present welcome.

J

Just touching it, yes, um as far as a report, I do not have much I just came from my school, though we did restorative circles, so that was kind of exciting a lot of good Pride, as each of our small groups talked but and also some concerns, of course, being brought forward so anticipate as all schools are maybe doing that, or at least some are that's kind of an exciting component. American Education week is coming up in November.

J

Looking forward to that, and, of course, your negotiations so welcome new school board members, and we look forward to that as well. Thank you.

A

Thank you for being here, uh superintendent report, Dr Gandhi,.

K

Just two quick things, one I think was our note. That was already shared with the board as well, but we did update the legislative priorities document on your consent agenda uh after it was posted. Just we had inadvertently forgot the contact information for one of our board members, so that was updated, so just wanted to include that and then, as most board members know later this week is the North Dakota school boards association's annual conference. uh I believe Anne-Marie has emailed out all the logistics regarding that. If anyone has any questions that is it.

A

Okay: look for approval of the consent agenda, Robin I.

B

Move: approval of the consent agenda with HR addendum second.

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Seconded by Nikki any discussion, all those in favor or yes, all those in favor favor vote by saying: yes, yes, opposed same sign motion passes and we remarkably have no items under the business section, so we will speedily here move on to board reports.

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um Well, let's start with you, Melissa.

D

Sure um I do not have very much. I am just gearing up to attend my very first North Dakota School Board convention starting on Thursday um and then I am hoping I, don't know how this is going to work logistically, but to make um two School Halloween parties on Friday night, maybe for five minutes each so um uh but that's all I have and then committee um Gap committee will meet uh next Tuesday already so be doing. That and that's all I have.

A

Excellent. Thank you. Nemo.

H

Thank you, I have attended, North High I met with Travis christensen's and he I just took another tour around the school just to see how it is and talk to a couple of students and um yeah. That's what I did it was awesome. Thank you.

A

Sounds fun Seth.

C

um I have not been in the United States for a while, so I don't have too much to report other than the last. Since the last uh time uh was it a board meeting I've had on the 6th of October I believe uh was my first um Native American commission meeting and it went well I guess we're going to go to meetings every two months, instead of once a month, so it'll be December, I think it'll be the next time we meet. So that's it. Thanks, be.

A

Cool before I call in our next board member, which is Robin I, just want to give a big congratulations that she was awarded um sort of a national uh boys and girls club award. It was the Midwest region, she won a horizon award for her service and being CEO of boys and girls club. So congratulations, Robin.

B

Thank you that was unexpected. Thank you very much. um I. Since the last board meeting I have a chain. Excuse me attended the chamber public policy committee meeting. um There will be a public policy document that will be forthcoming, that the committee will approve. I thought it was timely to mention that I have had three retired teachers. Who've told me the sub pay for tenure. Teachers is a huge draw to come and and suffer Fargo Public Schools, the tenured piece. Is um it it's?

B

It's a buzzing out there, um one retired principal um another retired teacher and then one um from a couple from West Fargo, so um I. Thank you for the board for supporting this increased subpay for tenured teachers and then, as Melissa mentioned on November 1st, on Tuesday the day after Halloween, we will have our next governmental Affairs committee meeting.

A

Excellent. Thank you. Jim.

G

Not a lot to report um since our last meeting we will have a planning meeting immediately following the government, Affairs and Seth I'm, hoping you will be here in person because I'll be calling in so I'm hoping you can actually run that planning meeting. I will most certainly be here and that's it for me.

L

Great Nikki, we must have lost a couple of weeks of an eye: um October 17th I, attended governance and that's about it for right now. Thank you.

L

M

M

um I attended our health insurance committee meeting last Tuesday yeah, Yeah, Tuesday um and um yeah open enrollment for District employees uh starts very soon, though I'll admit that the work that the health insurance committee is working on now has nothing to do with this year's open enrollment, which is good because we'd be cutting it close, but we're we're already uh uh making some some good progress, having good conversations for the um next open, enrollment um and um Brian from Gallagher, which is a company we work with um to um you, know, I'm, not even going to try and say what exactly they do, but they help us with health insurance stuff, and he um was great because he came to our health insurance committee meeting and had a whole slideshow filled with data, and it was awesome and especially because it um shows that the district is in a very good Financial place when it comes to health insurance.

M

Dental insurance um and a lot of that can be attributed to um are being self-funded and um yeah, we're just in a a really good place financially when it comes to insurance.

A

Great. Thank you for that update Katie.

F

Yeah sure so I wasn't able to attend the last meeting. I was out of state, so um since I was here, the meeting previous to that I've been at my committee meetings, planning, governmental, Affairs communication, education and advocacy I've also been in contact with um Denise Jonas with the career in tech, ed uh program, and then my Liaisons for some upcoming visits, and hopefully sometime in the buildings in November and December.

A

Sounds good um I too? Oh, yes, did you have something else, I.

H

Think I got something to add.

A

Here: okay, so.

H

I I think this is an important tool for you to know um so. I did attend the Board of Health on Friday and um and it seemed like the membership that they have will be endings, so that mean probably the the school board will not be representing anymore over there. So the last day would be December. 16 would be the next meetings and then, after that it would be um the the Fargo City commission will establish new members, so I just want to mention that I didn't want to.

H

A

um I too, don't have very much tonight for president's report. We governance has met, as people said on the 17th I was asked to take part um in the FPS human capital officer committee interviews, and this was a four hour process from one to five, that I enjoyed being a part of it and.

G

A

A lot and I we had some really good candidates, so I'm excited to learn the outcome of that for our district. We all are attending this Thursday and Friday. The state convention in Bismarck, so I'm excited for that excited for the new board members and I too, will be trying to get back Friday night to make a fall festival we'll see if it happens. But um okay, our next meeting is November 8th and it is remarkably 5 52 and we are adjourned.