At the March 12, 2025, school board meeting, board members David Sovinski, Josh Thompson, Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad and Mark Johnsrud and Katie Priebe were present. Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris, principals Eric Nelson and Shane McBroom, and Student Senate representatives Lexi Kivimagi and Lucy Allen.
Reports
Student Senate representatives explained that they are sponsoring a March Madness contest that will be giving prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
Elementary Principal McBroom stated that the staff has completed six of the nine modules and some groups are even farther. He thanked the board for allocating time for training purposes. Upon completion of the modules, the staff will be working on the new reading standards that will be in place next year, and although they are new, teachers have already been working on them to ensure that students are receiving the best reading instruction possible. The grades 4-6 music concert was held in the Potter Auditorium this year and was well received by concert goers. The auditorium provides a much nicer venue. He shared the projected enrollment for next year and said that Kindergarten Roundup will be held on Thursday, April 10.
Eric Nelson, high school principal, is working with students and advisors to restructure the student leadership programs. From those meetings there was a consensus on the need to streamline the leadership structure at the high school level. With these changes there will be both elected and non-elected opportunities within the school. The High School Leadership Team (HSLT) is a teacher group that has controlled the building’s staff development money and advised on noncurricular matters. This year they have added a paraprofessional to represent the non-teaching staff and are now seeking to add an 11th and 12th grade student member beginning next fall. The current team is excited to add a few student voices to its important discussions of school efforts and issues. He then congratulated the Knowledge Bowl team that is going to state in April, the men’s wrestling team finishing 2nd place at state, Ellesandra Eickhoff representing the women’s wrestling team at the state meet and Jaelyn La Plante being awarded the Athena Award. The St. Paul Athena Award recognizes each member school’s top female athlete chosen by varsity coaches from the women’s teams. It is made possible in the Chatfield School District by sponsorship of the Old Barn and the Dundore family.
Superintendent Harris, in his report, thanked Terri Dudek for her work in the counselor’s office as she is retiring. He talked about the infrastructure repair needed at the northwest access to the high school. During one of the rainstorms last year, water carved a large hole in the drain area that has temporarily been filled with rock. The city and the school district have applied for a grant that would fund 75% of the cost of $48,750 for repairs.
Under the consent agenda, the following items were approved;
• Minutes of the February 12 meeting and the February 20 special meeting.
• Annual overnight trips: art club, Chicago; fifth grade, Eagle Bluff; eighth grade, Washington, D.C. and the 2026 senior class trip.
• Resignations: Terri Dudek, guidance counselor administrative assistant.
Action Items
Under action items, the Achievement and Integration FY 26 budget application was approved. The FY 26 Food Service contract with Taher was approved and the board was introduced to the new food service director Ray Roberts. Harris stated that it was a good year with the food service despite the fact that an interim director was needed early on in the fall. He thanked her for helping the school during that time. Lastly, Harris went over the proposed budget cuts for FY 2026 which amounted to $210,000. He has been projecting deficits in the future but has been working on a controlled descent, downsizing each year and with it indexed to inflation and modest labor increases.
It was not on the agenda but before the meeting could adjourn, board member Sovinski brought up the fact that board policy #660, Section 5, does not allow a board member to request a book to be removed from the school’s library and wanted the policy wording to include school board members. Discussion ensued about how board members can express concerns and the board can decide such matters. Some members thought it should be brought to the next meeting as they would have further time to discuss it. However, the motion to add the wording was approved with a 5-1 vote with Harstad voting against the motion.
The meeting was adjourned.
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