At the September 10, 2025, meeting school board meeting, board members David Sowinski, Josh Thompson, Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad and Mark Johnsrud and Katie Priebe were present. Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris, high school principal, Eric Nelson, elementary principal, Shane McBroom and student senate representatives Ella Lane and Anna Halvorson.
Reports
Student senate representative Ella Lane stated that the senate is in the process of revamping itself to have more of a voice in building issues and having a more responsive leadership style. Anna Halvorson said they are busy working on plans for Homecoming including dress-up days and activities during the week.
The month of September is School Board Recognition Month. All of the administrators thanked the board for all they do and their willingness to do what is right for the students, staff and families.
Dr. Nelson was pleased to announce that Chatfield is hosting three exchange students this school year. They represent the countries of Spain, Italy and Estonia. He feels it is a great way for students to connect with young people from around the world and it provides a more realistic representation of America for students that study here. He also made it known that a foreign student with a J-1 visa who is enrolled in a Minnesota public school is eligible to generate state aid for the enrolling school as a resident of Minnesota as long as the exchange program is registered with the Secretary of State’s Office. Nelson then went on to describe the three adjustments that have been made at the high school for security and safety. One is that there is a flagging system in place to alert building personnel when an exterior door is open longer that would be expected. Another safety feature is that the main office door now will require students and guests to be buzzed in when visiting the building, similar to what the elementary school has implemented. The third feature is that guest identification will be required for access beyond the main office. Guest will be screened by using their driver’s license by the RAPTOR system and receive an ID sticker to be worn in the building. As far as drills go, Minnesota schools are required to conduct 11 safety exercises over the course of the year. These exercises include five fire drills, five intruder exercises and one severe weather relocation drill.
Principal McBroom was pleased with the fall student conferences that were held before school started. The staff has found this structure to be very effective in gathering baseline data on students and having a day to process everything and get ready for the first day of school. He thanked the CEF (Chatfield Education Foundation) for providing new equipment for the playgrounds. The PK-1 area will have iKubes (activelyplay.com) installed in their area and the grade 2-6 playground will have a GaGaPit (gagaballpit.com) installed on their playground. The elementary has practice drills also. One of them is the ALICE (Alert, Inform, Counter, and Evaluate) drill that classroom teachers go through the three different scenarios to help students prepare for an emergency. The MCA test results are back and Chatfield students scored from 10 to 25% over the state average. Staff is looking at the data, looking for trends, and seeking out strategies to improve.
Looking at the 2026-2027 calendar, Superintendent Harris is recommending that school start a week earlier for the 2026-2027 school year since Labor Day is late that year. Board action will take place in the October meeting. Activity workers will now be paid for their duties. It was becoming more difficult to find volunteers, so this will start this year. The Highway 52 Drive project that addressed the washout created by a storm is nearly completed. Several issues need to be corrected but the contractor is working on solutions. The District was able to use a DOT grant that paid for 75% of the project.
Consent Agenda
Under the consent agenda the following items were approved:
- August 13 meeting minutes;
- 2025-2026 seniority list;
- New hires: Carol Brogan, Valleyland assistant coordinator of special needs;
- Resignations: Gail Schmidt, Valleyland;
- Job posting: Concession stand advisor – mid-October through end of winter season;
- School board member family passes.
The board also approved the MSBA Policy Updates.
Action Items
The board approved the Certification of Projected Levy Payable SY 2025-2026. Harris stated, “It is standard procedure to approve the maximum tonight to give us flexibility.”
The meeting was adjourned.
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