At the May 13, 2026 school board meeting, board members David Sovinski, Katie Priebe, Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad, Josh Thompson and Mark Johnsrud were present. Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris and LuAnn Klevan, Community Education Director.
Reports
Principal McBroom was not present but submitted a report that stated the fifth grade Eagle Bluff trip was a success even though the weather was a little cool. He thanked the staff, chaperones and Eagle Bluff for their efforts in helping with this trip and to the CEF (Chatfield Education Foundation) for sponsoring it. The last weeks of school will be busy with field trips, DARE graduation and on May 14, the fourth graders will meet with their pen pals in person for the first time at the park in St. Charles. This year all of the fourth graders wrote to pen pals in the fourth grade at St. Charles. Next year the K-3 grades will have four sections and the 4-6 grades will have three sections.
LuAnn Klevan reported that the new daytime programs for seniors was successful and helped by the Age Friendly group that facilitated a series of programs through Mayo Clinic. Preschool will end next week and the teachers will use the remaining days for teacher training in a new curriculum that will be implemented next year. The curriculum was purchased with a grant of $11,000. She also talked about one of her favorite programs that will continue next year. It is called Story Theater. This is a program with adults who read to children in character that is in its fourth year and will continue next year for students from preschool to third grade
Superintendent Harris thanked Activities director, Dan Schindler for his 13 years of service as he retires at the end of June. He also thanked LuAnn Klevan for her 22 years as Community Education director as she will retire at the end of November. With these retirements, Harris is looking for some possible consolidation of duties for these positions. He has met with CCA (Chatfield Center for the Arts) representatives to see if they could form a partnership to develop adult/senior programming as a collaborative. During this time they will identify mutually beneficial roles and responsibilities and determine if a long term relationship makes sense. In anticipation of LuAnn’s retirement, he and LuAnn will be working over the summer and next fall to develop program coordination structures for the youth enrichment segment of CE (Community Education). They are also developing a leadership transition plan for preschool and Valleyland.
Harris then gave the Budget Projection Update. He stated that enrollment continues to decline at a significant rate, resulting in ongoing structural budget deficits. Over the past three years, the district has reduced expenditures by $401,968 as part of a deliberate, multi-year effort to align spending with declining enrollment. During this same period, approximately $1 million in fund balance reserves has been used to manage annual shortfalls and soften the impact of reductions. In the next three years the district is considering up to $780,000 in additional budget reductions, but even with those reductions it is projected that an additional $700,000 in fund balance reserves will be spent down to bridge remaining deficits during this time. Harris feels that to achieve long-term financial stability, it will be critical to seek community support through an operating levy election in November 2027. He continued by saying the timing is intentional because by 2027 the district will have made substantial expenditure reductions, positioning an operating levy increase to effectively restore structural balance. The continued reliance on fund balance reserves to cover annual deficits will no longer be sustainable and must come to an end. The last time voters approved an operating levy increase was in 2015 and a request in 2019 was not approved. Since then the district has worked to hold off on asking again, but it now to a point where that is no longer practical.
Consent Items
The following consent items were approved:
•Minutes of the April 8, 2026 meeting
•New hires: Child care assistants Lynlee Boelter, Oliver Hanson, Audrey Springer and Lauren Sprout
•Resignations: Dan Schindler, Activities director; LuAnn Klevan, Community Education director effective November 30,2026; Ruth Mikos, elementary art teacher and Adam Hurley, ALP coordinator
Action Items
The board approved the update to the high school attendance language in the student handbook. The new language will make attendance easier to track given the consolidated office staffing. It is less complex and clearer as it removes the phrase “during the first trimester” which caused confusion for some parents who believed tardies reset after each 12 week term. They also approved the development of the PSEO/CIS credit policy. The preliminary FY 27 budget was approved. In looking at how to consolidate some positions, the board approved the posting of the Activities director. Depending on the qualification and experience of the selected candidate, they could also serve in a secondary role as an Alternative Learning Program coordinator, facilities/ground manager and/or Community Education Youth Enrichment coordinator.
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