september-october journal

MINNESOTA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

September-October 2010 Volume 63, No. 2

OrientationExpress So, Tell UsWhy YouDon’t Like Us

The WriteStuff 201

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2 MSBA JOURNAL

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 VOLUME 63, NUMBER 2

Calendar

Articles

Divisions

ORIENTATION EXPRESS

Bruce Lombard

SO, TELL US WHY YOU DON’T LIKE US

Mark T. Porter and Barbara Brown

THE WRITE STUFF

Bruce Lombard14YOUR NEXT CAMPAIGN: STRATEGIC PLANNING

Greg Abbott18LEARN @ LUNCH EXPANDS FOR INDIVIDUALS,ENTIRE BOARDS

Greg Abbott

20

12

8

STRAIGHT TALK

Bob Meeks, MSBA Executive Director

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Jackie Magnuson, MSBA President

MSBA VENDOR DIRECTORY28ASK MSBA

Bob Lowe, Director of Management Services31

65

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 06 .............Labor Day (no meetings)15 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings

(Hibbing, Little Falls)16 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings

(Thief River Falls, St. Peter)21 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings

(Marshall, Cambridge-Isanti)22 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meetings

(Fergus Falls, Rochester)23 ...........MSBA Fall Area Meeting (Eden Prairie)

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 01 .............Last Day for Submitting Legislative

Resolutions3-5 ..........MASA Fall Conference7 .............MSBA Insurance Trust Annual Meeting7-8 ..........MSBA Board of Director’s Meeting7-8 ..........MAEOP Conference11 ...........Columbus Day Observed (no meetings

unless declared not a school holiday)21-22 ......Education Minnesota Conference

N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 02 .............Election Day (no meetings or activities

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.)4 .............MSBA Board of Directors’ Meeting7 .............Daylight Saving Time Ends11 ...........Veterans Day (no meetings)14-20 ......American Education Week17 ...........MSBA Pre-Delegate Assembly Meeting17 ...........Minnesota School District Liquid Asset

Fund Plus Annual Meeting18 ...........MSBA Pre-Delegate Assembly Meeting20 ...........MSBA Pre-Delegate Assembly Meeting 25 ...........Thanksgiving Day (no meetings)26 ...........Optional Holiday (no meetings if

declared a holiday)

The MSBA Journalthanks the students ofBattle Lake Public Schoolsfor sharing their art withus in this issue.

COVER ART: Matt Hanson-Nelson

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 3

MSBA WELCOMES GARY LEE22MSBA SUMMER SEMINAR SCRAPBOOK24

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4 MSBA JOURNAL

Quotes of Note captures some of the more interesting statements MSBA staff have read in local, state and national publications.

Healthy SchoolLunches“A lot of students donot know what beansare; they have nevereither seen them ortasted them, so they’redefinitely a foreignobject.”Rochester Public SchoolsWellness Dietician AngieSchuhmacher

Advertising onSchool Web Sites“We’re alreadyadvertising. It’s justhow much do weextend it?”Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan SuperintendentJane Berenz

School Board Cutsits own Pay“We asked every groupto take a pay cut. Inthe future, when thingsare better, things canbe reviewed again.”Sleepy Eye BoardMember Lori Braun

Science Test Scores“Not everybody is going to end up being an engineeror a scientist in a white coat, but we do need the kidsto understand how to problem-solve, how to thinkcritically, how to be analytical.” Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Alice Seagren

Turnaround Schools“We know we have pockets of exceptional teachingand learning. We need to work to see why thoseschools and those students are being successful.” St. Paul Superintendent Valeria Silva

Four-day School Week“When (someone presents) a new idea like this and abig one, it takes a little while to process. It’s not likewe’re going to say, ‘Everything is set in stone, andwe’re not going to make any changes.’” Pelican Rapids Superintendent Deborah Wanek

OFFICERS

President: Jackie Magnuson, Rosemount-AppleValley-Eagan

President-Elect: Kent Thiesse, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial

DISTRICT DIRECTORS

District 1: Kathy Green, AustinDistrict 2: Jodi Sapp, Mankato AreaDistrict 3: Daniel Zimansky, Tracy AreaDistrict 4: Carol Bomben, Eden PrairieDistrict 5: Marilynn Forsberg, Spring Lake ParkDistrict 6: Kevin Donovan, MahtomediDistrict 7: Roz Peterson, Lakeville AreaDistrict 8: Elona Street-Stewart, St. PaulDistrict 9: Karen Kirschner, MoraDistrict 10: Nancy Dashner, Frazee-VergasDistrict 11: Walter Hautala, Mesabi EastDistrict 12: Gary Lee, Fertile-Beltrami

STAFFBob Meeks:Executive DirectorBarbara Lynn:Executive Assistant/Director of Board OperationsJohn Sylvester:Deputy Executive DirectorTiffany Rodning:Deputy Executive DirectorGreg Abbott:Director of CommunicationsDenise Drill:Director of Financial/MSBAIT ServicesAmy Fullenkamp-Taylor:Associate Director of Management ServicesSandy Gundlach:Director of School Board ServicesBill Kautt:Associate Director of Management ServicesGrace Keliher:Director of Governmental RelationsKatie Klanderud:Director of Board DevelopmentGary Lee:Associate Director of Management ServicesBruce Lombard:Associate Director of CommunicationsBob Lowe:Director of Management ServicesKelly Martell:Director of TechnologyCathy Miller:Director of Legal and Policy ServicesSue Munsterman:MSBA AdvertisingKirk Schneidawind:Associate Director of Governmental RelationsMike Torkelson:Elections/Management Services Specialist

The MSBA Journal (USPS 352-220) is publishedbimonthly by the Minnesota School BoardsAssociation, 1900 West Jefferson Avenue, St.Peter, Minnesota 56082. Telephone 507-934-2450.Call MSBA office for subscription rates.(Opinions expressed in the Journal are those ofthe writers and do not necessarily representMSBA policy.)

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TBob Meeks

MSBA Executive Director

It is a trendthat isn’t going away, and we have to embrace it, not fight it.

There’s something about reading a bookand turning the pages that I can’t get withmy wife’s Kindle or other electronic bookreader. And though I may glance at anonline article from a newspaper, I’d muchrather read a paper copy.

But I also know that a change in how peopleget information and how information is sentwill push most people into social media –whether it’s a Web page, e-mail, onlinenews, Facebook or Twitter. As social mediahas exploded, Your MSBA has taken thesteps to get information out in new ways.

A few years ago, we began sending ourManagement Services Newsletterelectronically. We also send our CapitolCompass weekly newsletter electronicallywhen the Legislature is in session. That’s whyit is so important that board members makesure we have an e-mail address for them.Because being out of the information loopcould put your district behind.

Part of our goal as an association is to keepall of our members informed on issues thataffect K-12 education. And we realize thatmore and more of our members are part ofFacebook and Twitter. That’s why we dippedour toes into the Twitter water during thepast session. Our governmental relationsteam of Grace Keliher and KirkSchneidawind could actually keep ourmembers up to date the minute thatsomething was happening on the House orSenate floor or in important committeevotes. Calls for action on specific legislationcan now be sent immediately. We have morethan 200 people who follow those legislativeupdates on Twitter. It’s easy to be part of thesystem by simply going to twitter.com/mnmsba.Do it now, and you’ll be prepared to receiveinformation when the 2011 LegislativeSession begins on January 3.

We also have nearly 200 people who havesigned up as friends on MSBA’s Facebookpage (www.facebook.com/mnmsba). Here,you can get the latest news, information onupcoming trainings, conferences and schoolboard events.

MSBA still provides this information inpaper form to our members through theBoardcaster because we realize that not

everyone has high-speed Internet and has aFacebook or Twitter account. But as ourmembers dive into social media, Your MSBArealizes it can’t stick its head in the sand andkeep sending information only by paper andsnail mail. To keep our members informed,we need to be there for everyone – whetheryou like information in a paper copy form orby electronic means or by a Twitter orFacebook account. We, like you, are exploringways to cut costs, and electroniccommunications reduces paper and staff costs.

Since our Association started in social mediain January, many other state associations havealso started up Facebook and Twitteraccounts. It is a trend that isn’t going away,and we have to embrace it, not fight it.

We are also scheduling one of our board ofdirector meetings through webinarconferencing, instead of the 15 directors alltraveling to the Twin Cities. It is a cost-savingmeasure, but also a way to gain experienceconnecting through electronic means – savingour board members hours of travel time.

And this year we will also continue ourhighly praised Learn @ Lunch program,expanding it to six informational webinars.And a new feature this fall will be specialBefore Your Board webinars – speciallydesigned for your entire board to watchduring the half hour before most boardmeetings begin.

As an Association, we know we have to stayimmediate and we have to designprogramming that is not only informational,but convenient to superintendents andschool board members whose schedules getbusier every year. And if we can offerwebinars to save people travel time, and thecost of hotels and gas, we will be there.

And even though I may like that feel of anewspaper in print, I appreciate gettingonline news alerts so I can stay on top ofissues. So for those who say old dogs can’tlearn new tricks, I’ve learned many. And ourstaff is here to help any of you who want tojoin us as the trend of paperless boardmeetings, Twitter and Facebook grows.


STRAIGHTTALKDIVING INTO SOCIAL MEDIA

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6 MSBA JOURNAL

PRESIDENT’S COLUMNIFTHE STATE FALLS SHORT OF FUNDING

SCHOOLS, LOCAL BUSINESSES CAN HELP OUT

F For all the hoopla about my district’sdecision to consider putting advertisingon the school Web site, you’d think wewere wrapping school buses or studentlockers with product advertising, whichour board considered. What theRosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan SchoolDistrict is doing is simply consideringhow to raise enough money any waythey can in an attempt to give ourstudents a solid education when thestate has not provided adequatefunding to do so for many districts inMinnesota.

Our district, like many others, couldhave looked at stagnant state funding,thrown our arms up and just slashedand burned through teachers,programs, etc. But we, like manydistricts, are encouraged to think out ofthe box. One alternative is to consideradvertising. We know advertising willnever come close to replacing statefunds – it is only a supplement.

Soon some of our schools will beginselling advertising space on their Websites to supplement the reducedfunding for the district. Although wewould rather not be faced with thisfunding situation, local businessesadvertising on school Web sites couldbe a win-win. Local businesses alreadysupport our schools and families inmany ways, so adding them to our Webpage mix of sponsors seems natural.

Of course, there are companies waitingto offer schools hundreds of thousandsof dollars for gym floor advertising,locker-painted ads and ads on cafeteriawalls. As with anything, school leadershave to strike a balance. One advantageof Web site advertising is that studentsare not the main audience – parentsand other adults are. The content ofthe advertising also makes a difference.

Ads that encourage healthy eating,promote anti-bullying efforts, orencourage sports and physical activitymight be very appropriate on lockerdoors or gym walls. Maybe some daysoon.

There will always be people who areuncomfortable with the idea ofadvertising in schools. The world ourkids live in exposes them to continualmarketing messages, whether it be ontelevision, in movies, at the ballgame,on their cell phones, or on theircomputers. It’s everywhere – maybeeven in their schools.

Boards across this state will be debatingmany of the issues we have faced –policy around what types of ads toaccept, how much advertising isacceptable in our schools, and what isacceptable for our community.

And to those who criticize schoolboards for even thinking about puttingadvertising in our schools, if the statewould provide adequate funding foreducation, we wouldn’t have to betalking about this at all.

Boards acrossthis state willbe debatingmany of theissues we havefaced – policyaround whattypes of ads to accept, how muchadvertising isacceptable inour schools, and what isacceptable forour community.

Jackie MagnusonMSBA President

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8 MSBA JOURNAL

OOn Aug. 24, 2009, the Brainerd SchoolDistrict conducted a special training forits board members – however, it was forboard members who weren’t even onthe board yet.

Brainerd’s “Prospective School BoardMember Orientation” course wasmasterminded by Superintendent SteveRazidlo, though he’s quick to disclose itwasn’t his original idea.

“I had heard from someone (in anotherdistrict) that they had run anorientation for prospective candidates intheir town,” he said. “We called MSBA

and asked them, ‘What have you heardabout this?’ We got a couple of ideasfrom someone in the (MSBA) office andwe sort of made (our program) up.”

Razidlo said motivation for the programstemmed from a big defeat of a recentlevy referendum.

“We went through some hellacious cuts,cuts we are still working out from,” hesaid. “Anytime you go through a majordownsizing like that, you’re going to feelangry, upset and disappointed. I wasreally hopeful that we could put the ideaout there, that there are qualities we are

Lew Hudson addresses attendees of the Brainerd SchoolDistrict’s “Prospective School Board Member Orientation”held Aug. 24, 2009. Hudson wrapped up the end of his 16-year career on the board at the end of 2009. Hudson, twoother outgoing board members and superintendent SteveRazidlo (background) briefed a dozen school board hopefulson what they could expect if elected.

Bruce Lombard

Photo courtesy of Steve Kohls, Brainerd Dispatch

OrientationEXPRESS

Brainerd School District gave prospective candidates a crash course in boardsmanship last fall

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looking for in a school board member and that we couldrecruit enough good people so that we wouldn’t havesingle-issue politicians, ax-grinders or people that representminimal yet vocal factions of the community. It was kind ofa protective instinct. Can we invite a bunch of people outhere and say, ‘This is what we think it means to be a schoolboard member?’’’

COURSE LANGUAGERazidlo, who had just wrapped up his first school year assuperintendent, said the district made an open call to thecommunity to draw interest from prospective school boardmembers for the orientation. The district advertised theevent in the Brainerd Dispatch and listed it on its Web site.

The orientation drew the interest of a dozen candidates,Razidlo said.

The three-hour course was guided by Razidlo and somecurrent board members. (Incumbents seeking reelectionopted out of the session, not wanting to deal with anyscrutiny that they were using it as an additional “campaignappearance.”)

Board members not up for reelection participated andrecounted stories from their experience. Lew Hudson, anoutgoing 16-year veteran of the school board, delivered theopening address.

Razidlo said Hudson, who was named to MSBA’s 2010 All-State School Board, “emphasized the qualities of a personwho might take on a governance responsibility and not justrepresent a single issue.”

“Lew did a wonderful job,” said Razidlo. “He wanted tomake some remarks to hand off his responsibility to thelegacy of good board service here in Brainerd. He set thetone for the entire evening.”

Following the board members’ anecdotes, the orientationfocused on a number of important board regulations. “Thecurrent school board members talked about the role andpurpose of school board members,” Razidlo said. “We usedMSBA documentation on becoming a school boardmember.”

The course also touched on conduct and ethics, and areview of MSBA standards.

“We pulled out a couple of MSBA model policies asresource pieces to talk about,” Razidlo said. “One of themodels we used was Policy 206 (‘Public Participation inSchool Board Meetings/Complaints About Persons at

School Board Meetings and Data Privacy Considerations’).We went over that briefly as an example of policy. We talkedabout the public’s opportunity to be heard and what boardmembers sometimes have to deal with when they face thecommunity.”

Razidlo added: “We also profiled Policy 209 (‘Code ofEthics’). That was a fun one to stress because it gave us anopportunity to say: ‘What are you really doing here? Qualityboard members represent children and are expected tolisten.’ It was really helpful to continue to set the tone tosay, ‘This is the kind of person we are looking for. This isnot a good-old-boys or good-old-girls club. This is not forprestige or the money you are going to make, it’s aboutthings like conduct and ethics.’”

Another part of the course dealt with school boardstructure. “We talked about how our particular board wasstructured,” Razidlo said. “There are 100 differentexpectations for what a school board member does andhow many meetings they have to go to.”

The prospective board members were informed that, as at-large candidates, they would represent the entirecommunity – not just a certain jurisdiction of thecommunity. Also, it was made clear that every boardmember is expected to lead at least one of the board’sstanding committees – and that every board member isexpected to attend all meetings, committee or otherwise.

“We expect every board member to be at all committeemeetings and they are routinely called upon to participateeven if though they aren’t voting members of thecommittee,” Razidlo said.

Last year, Brainerd’s board members attended 52 board-related meetings.

“Our message was, ‘They are all here all the time,’” saidRazidlo. “If you average one meeting per week, you have tothink about that before running for school board becausethis could take you away from your work and familyenvironments once a week on average for the next fouryears.”

To let reality of this time-commitment component furthersink in, each prospective candidate was provided last year’smeetings calendar and the schedule for next year’smeetings, along with the current list of committeeresponsibilities. In addition to the 52 district-relatedmeetings, Brainerd’s board members have other standingresponsibilities as liaisons to other local entities (such as thecounty collaborative governance committee, an agriculturegroup, Schools for Equity in Education, etc.).

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10 MSBA JOURNAL

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“We listed those additional responsibilities as well,”Razidlo said. “I think part of the purpose,subconsciously, was to overwhelm and shock them alittle bit before they filed. I think it had its desiredeffect. We really only had one person who I would saywas not a serious candidate. All the other folks thatfiled took the time to think it through. I think thiscandidate orientation may have been helpful inweeding out who was serious about this and who wasputting out a feeler.”

The orientation also reviewed an article from theAmerican School Board Journal called “Your First 90Days on the School Board” (August 2009).

“We talked about the article and the importance –and I will be real candid here – of keeping yourmouth shut for the first 90 days, about listening morethan talking as a beginning school board member,”Razidlo said. “I think that was helpful for people tounderstand that you are entering a chamber ofpublic dialogue and it is going to change you. Youare going to be a changed entity when you enter intothat public dialogue. Your speech is going to be moreguarded, or you are going to have to learn to bemore guarded, you’re probably going to becomemore of a political animal, and you are going to get asensibility for the effect that everything you say hason potential audiences around you.”

Razidlo added: “We gave them that (“90 Days”article) and let them talk about it. We encouragedthe three school board members who were notrunning for reelection to talk about what people canexpect as a school board member. How’s this going toaffect your family life? How’s this going to affect yourwork life? How is this participation on the schoolboard going to take a toll on you?”

REACTION AND AFTERMATHAlong with informing prospective school boardmembers what to expect, the orientation providedanother plus via some positive public perceptionthrough the press.

“(The orientation) was a serious offering to thecommunity and the newspaper covered it,” Razidlosaid. “They put a picture of Lew on a big front-pagearticle the very next day. It did set a tone for theelection. That part was a real benefit to us becauseLew got a chance to (inform) the community of theimportance of service, the importance of being partof a team, the importance of not being a single-issueperson. We got great coverage (in the newspaper)even though we didn’t have great attendance at oursession.”

Razidlo said those in attendance who asked the bestquestions were eventually elected.

“My sense is that they were already serious candidatescoming in, and that some of their takeaway from thiscandidate orientation was confirmation of what theythought the job was,” he said. “But some of themwere overwhelmed by what they didn’t know.”

Razidlo added that the quality of questions asked byserious candidates was significant, and that duringthe orientation session some of the questions askedbegan to illustrate the backgrounds and themotivations of prospective candidates. “We answeredquestions from attendees who quickly displayed thatthey had specific ‘issues’ which they felt needed‘fixing,’” he said.

Razidlo also noted that the event was scheduled closeto the filing date so “anybody that was waffling hadthis opportunity and could say, ‘Well, at least I gave ita chance to learn about what it was.’ Nobody couldsay after the fact, ‘Well, they never even told us whata school board member might have to do.”

Razidlo said the attendees were most surprised aboutthe time commitment piece, especially after seeinglast year’s 52-meeting-filled calendar.

“They took away that ‘Wow, being a board member isa serious part-time job and an addition to my alreadyfull life…I better be serious about this.’”

Of the dozen prospective board members that tookpart in the orientation, four filed and two wereultimately elected (out of three vacant seats).

“We had some great candidates (at the orientation)that filed and ran, but we also had some greatcandidates who didn’t attend the orientation,”Razidlo said.

“The orientation was one more additional piece ofservice to our community and hopefully ademonstration that we were serious and that we werelooking for quality board candidates,” he said.

Razidlo said Brainerd is committed to running anotherprospective candidate orientation program in August2011 prior to the filing period. (Brainerd didn’t runone this year due to the fact they don’t have anyimpending board elections. The Osseo Area SchoolDistrict ran a similar orientation on July 28, 2010.)

Razidlo praised his then-outgoing board memberswho helped conduct the orientation for their selflessservice in trying to improve their school district.

“I asked our school board members for anothercommitment to service by asking for another threehours of their time,” he said. “And they gave itwillingly and I commend them for that. You have tohave a great board that wants to do that.”

Bruce Lombard is MSBA’s Associate Director ofCommunications. You can reach him [email protected]

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12 MSBA JOURNAL

Public school districts often question why theirresident families select education options for theirchildren outside of their local public schools. Butthey don’t always ask those families why.

South Washington County Schools (District 833),an eastern suburb of St. Paul and a district takingpride in the positive improvements and changes inhow programs and services are delivered, decidedto take the leap and find out more about whyfamilies are not selecting their local public schools.

Why pay attention now?The district had experienced growth until theeconomic downturn in 2008. By that time, thedistrict was in full swing with changes thatincluded grade configuration changes to includemiddle schools and send ninth graders to thehigh school; high school redesign inprogramming to include STEM and additionalopportunities in World Language; widespreadattendance boundary changes to ensure adequatefacility usage; later start for high schools; andmore that would indicate a district makingprogress in all areas. Communications wereconstant with updates on the progress and changetaking shape in District 833.

During registration for the 2009-10 school year,letters were sent from the superintendent ofschools to all families who enroll their students inother education options; the letters sharedhighlights of the changes taking place, offeredfurther information, and detailed how to registerin District 833 should they choose. High schoolprincipals also sent a mailing to the high schoolstudents in their attendance boundary. The

mailing invited students to events at the highschool and to consider attending their localpublic high school.

While thorough tracking of the number ofstudents who did enroll as a result of these lettersdidn’t occur, the district did receive a number ofinquiries, and enrollment has begun an upwardtrend in new registrations.

Growth slowed down due to the economicchanges. The district settled into the transitions ofthe eagerly anticipated 2009-10 school year, andthrough ongoing review, determined that spacewas still available as the boundary changesalleviated difficult capacity issues. The changeswere well underway; student achievement wasmaking excellent progress. A new superintendentmade the decision to move forward withproactively seeking out those families living in thedistrict who didn’t attend their local publicschools, and ask: “Why?”

How did we reach out?A letter was sent in December to all families withchildren living in District 833 but not attendingtheir local public schools. The letter invited themto attend an event in January that would include abrief presentation by the superintendent, ananonymous survey using audience responsetechnology and a focus group where they wouldshare their perspectives on a series of questions.In addition, local and metro media picked up onthe event and carried news about the opportunityfor individuals who received the letter to attend.

It was important that the district emphasize thatthe intent of the evening was to hear from them.

SO, TELL US WHY YOUDON’T LIKE US:

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTAROUND PARENTS WHO CHOOSENOT TO ATTEND OUR SCHOOLS

Kari Sauer

Mark T. Porter and Barbara Brown

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Of the 1,800 letters sent, more than 120 people attendedthe event in the middle of January, for the most part, toshare with the district why they believe their educationaloption is best for their children.

Preparing for the eventTo ensure the most effective use of time, a well-thought-outpresentation by the superintendent shared the most recentchanges made across the district, the financial status of thedistrict, and most importantly, the status of studentachievement. A folder of more detailed information aboutthe district, schools and program improvements wasprovided to all participants should they prefer additionalinformation.

The district’s administration prepared questions for theanonymous audience response and focus group portions ofthe evening. Audience response questions pertained tothese areas:

- demographics.

- current educational choice.

- previous or current enrollment for their children inDistrict 833.

- if attending public schools, where?

- how perceptions about the district are formed.

- why go elsewhere for education?

- whether they would consider attending at some pointin the future.

Of those attending the event, 57 percent had beenresidents of the district for more than 11 years; 44 percenthad their children enrolled in private schools with 32percent in public schools; and 60 percent had previouslybeen part of 833 or had one of their children currentlyenrolled.

The primary reason families chose other educationaloptions included 31 percent ‘faith-based’, 25 percent‘educational opportunities’ and 15 percent ‘class size’.When asked the secondary reason for choosing outside oftheir local public schools, ‘educational options’ was clearlyat the top with ‘smaller schools’ and ‘class size’ coming inequally as a second reason.

When asked if they planned to enroll their children atsome point in District 833, 42 percent were undecided, withsmall percentages selecting after kindergarten, fifth oreighth grade.

When asked about Community Education Services, 47percent had participated in adult community education, 34percent in youth enrichment offerings, 11 percent in EarlyChildhood Family Education and 8 percent in District 833Preschool.

Focus group questions delved into more of the reasonsbehind the responses from the anonymous survey. Theyincluded questions such as these:

- What did you learn tonight that you may not haveknown?

- What benefits does your current educational optionprovide that you don’t see as a benefit in 833 schools?

- What don’t you see that you’d like to see in 833?

- What are some of the positive things you hear aboutSouth Washington County Schools?

As is evident from the recorded notes of the focus groupsessions, many positive and negative things were said aboutthe district, its programs and services. It was important forthe facilitators (members of the superintendent’sleadership team) to remain neutral and not try to defendstatements being made by participants. Questions duringthe focus group sessions were held until after the sessionand answered individually by representatives of theleadership team. Forms for further questions or discussionwere also distributed. The team did work on follow-throughfor each of the forms collected and individual follow-up wasmade to those individuals who needed further assistancewith inquiries.

The focus for the leadership team throughout the eveningwas to listen – listen without reacting to what was beingsaid. Respecting the choice parents are making for theirchildren was necessary for the two-way conversations to beproductive.

Key themes did resonate throughout the focus groups.They included the following:

- Some of these families did have their children in thedistrict’s schools at one point – one bad incident oftenwas the reason they opted to leave.

- Some had not heard of the many positive changes thathave taken place – the district needs to bettercommunicate with these families (this single sessionwas a good start).

While it wasn’t the intent of the evening, a few of thesefamilies enrolled their students in District 833 schools.Further, some will likely consider the district at transitiongrade levels – either middle or high school.

The district will continue to reach out to these families inorder to continue to share its story. Those with a faith-basedpreference will likely not consider public schools, but alarge percentage are not sharing that as a reason. It is thedistrict’s challenge to assure this group that theircommunity public schools are the best schools they couldchoose.

In the end, the district was thanked for its efforts atreaching out and for working to understand more aboutresidents’ right to choose what they believe is best for theirchildren.

Mark T. Porter is the Superintendent of South Washington CountyPublic Schools and Barbara Brown is the Director ofCommunications for South Washington County Public Schools.

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14 MSBA JOURNAL

IIn 2009, the sagging economy andongoing ascension of online news had ahand in nearly 300 newspapers foldingnationwide. As school boards continue tomake difficult cuts during the currentstate budget crisis, could high schoolstudent journalism programs andnewspapers follow a similar course?

While there’s currently no hard data tosuggest student journalism is in peril, hereare some trends:

■ A 2007 study revealed 74 percent of highschools nationally had a studentnewspaper.

■ According to the California Departmentof Education, there are nearly 200 fewerhigh schools with journalism programs thanthere were 10 years ago – a 14 percent drop.

■ In a survey concluded in September 2009,the New York City High School JournalismProgram found that only about 50 percent ofhigh schools in the five boroughs of New YorkCity had high school newspapers orjournalism programs.

What about Minnesota?

“I don’t think anybody has good data; the lastsurvey that I know of was probably done eightor nine years ago at the University ofMinnesota,” said Lynda McDonnell, executivedirector of ThreeSixty Journalism, an outreachjournalism program based at the University of St. Thomas that works with high schoolers. “TheMinnesota Newspaper Association surveyed schooldistricts. If I remember correctly, they found that about 53 percent of the state’s high schools (of those that responded) had some sort of student publication, but many times they were published infrequently.”

Some anecdotal evidence hints that some Minnesota journalism programs are feeling the pinch from the state budget crisis.

“Journalism programs are hurting just like everything else,” said Logan Aimone, executive director of theMinneapolis-based National Scholastic Press Association. “Not eliminated necessarily, but they have fewer

Bruce Lombard

Danielle Brown

The Write StuffAdvocates opine on the state of Minnesotahigh school journalism

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travel funds or don’t have as much support in the way ofequipment.”

McDonnell said high school journalism programs andschool newspapers have suffered for two reasons.

“One is budgetary,” she said. “There are certainly moreschools that don’t have a print publication, and if they aredoing a publication, they do it online. And secondly, I’veheard teachers say the push to get back-to-basics forstandardized testing has really harmed a lot ofextracurricular activities, including high school journalismprograms.”

Aimone said he understands that school boards need totighten their belts in such times, but finds it unfortunatefor the students to feel the pinch.

“We’re seeing a lot of reductions in (student journalism-related) travel as school districts are trying to reduce themoney they spend in sending students to workshops andconventions,” Aimone said. “I recognize that is a necessityto balance the budget. Unfortunately some of theseopportunities are the kinds of things that really spark aninterest in some students that may not find a place in otherparts of the school, curriculum or co-curricular activities.Our state convention or the national convention (whichwill be held in Minneapolis in November 2011) are thekinds of opportunities that are really exceptional, andhopefully as many students as possible get to a chance toexperience them.”

Electronic ageAs with traditional newspapers, there has been a trend forstudent newspapers to produce an online edition.

A 2009 Chicago Tribune article reported that several schoolnewspapers in Illinois now publish online only.

“These days, the pressures of tighter budgets, thinnerpapers and slumping ad sales are as central to the lessons ofjournalism as beat reporting and editing,” the report stated.

Aimone said the rise in online publications is fueled by twoprimary factors. The first stems from a lack of funding.

“They make the choice to go online because their budgetrequires them to do so,” he said. “The cost of producingthe printed paper has forced them to reduce the numberof pages or reduce the frequency of publication. In orderto have a publication at all, they do it online.”

Aimone said the second factor in increasing onlinepublishing is to simply enhance or complement the printversion.

“(For example), maybe (the print edition is) producedonce a month or every three weeks,” he said. “And then inbetween those editions they’re producing content online,maybe with their sports stories or a live chat or photo slideshows. There are ways of using the medium and takingadvantage of things that can’t be accomplished in print.”

McDonnell agreed more schools are using a combination ofthe two publishing mediums.

“I don’t have any data, but my sense is that fewer highschools have print publications, or they print lessfrequently, and if they are doing work it’s more oftenonline,” she said.

And there is an option for high schools that want to havean online publication, but can’t afford it. McDonnell saidthe High School Journalism Web site at www.hsj.org hostshigh school newspapers for no charge.

“I bet there are two or three dozen Minnesota high schoolsthat have their editions posted through that server,” she said.

McDonnell’s program also trains Minnesota teens injournalism during summer camps and after-schoolprograms. ThreeSixty operates an online magazine atwww.threesixtyjournalism.org and will launch a quarterlyprint publication for and by teens this fall. Teachers canrequest 30 or more copies free of charge by e-mailingMcDonnell at [email protected].

You can also find more student newspapers on the SchoolNewspapers Online Web site. Eight of the 266 papers arerepresented by Minnesota schools.

Lori Keekley, an English and journalism teacher at St. LouisPark High School, predicts online publications willcontinue to grow, but not overrun the traditional mediaavenue. “I do see more of the transition online but I amnot sure it will take the place of print; not every student hasaccess to technology equally,” she said.

Keekley said her journalism group started doing aprint/online combination six years ago.

“We’re doing the online and print editions out of one class,which is very difficult,” she said. “If you are doing it right,you are doing double the work with the same amount kidsyou had before.”

Keekley must be doing something right with her program.This past May, Keekley was named the 2010 JournalismEducator of the Year by the Minnesota High School PressAssociation.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “I was nominated by LaurieHansen (the student journalism adviser at Stillwater AreaHigh School and the 2008 Educator of the Year), and Iunderstand my students were also involved. That was verytouching.”

Keekley said the day-to-day working with the students iswhat she likes best about her job. “You are helping themproduce something that they’re proud of. (You get to see)the reaction that they have when somebody comes up andsays ‘I saw your photo,’ or ‘I saw your design,’ or ‘I readyour story and I really liked it …’ Journalism is somethingI’ve always had a passion for and I’ve had quite a fewstudents go through that have that passion, which is easilytransferable (to other things).”

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16 MSBA JOURNAL

Th

eW

rite

Stu

ffJournalistic meritAimone said that journalism programs positivelyimpact more than just the direct participants.

“I feel strongly that schools benefit a lot fromjournalism programs, not just for the kids who areinvolved in the school paper and the schoolyearbook, but for everyone,” he said. “You see thekinds of things that can happen, whether it’s lettersto the editor or coverage of good stories of teenagersdoing great things, talking about what’s going on intheir lives and the issues that they face. I think thatadds a lot to the fabric of the school community. It’sreally important, just like sports and music andschool plays and all those other things that make ahigh school experience what it is.”

Aimone adds: “I definitely feel for schools that aremaking ends meet any way they can, but I hope theyrecognize that journalism programs in any form arereally valuable.”

McDonnell said that student journalists absorb manyskills from the process of reporting.

“We always tell (our ThreeSixty) students it gets youout of your own head,” she said. “You have to learnabout research, about focus, about asking questions,about organizing material in a logical way, aboutwriting in a way that’s appealing to an audience.”

McDonnell said her students say they don’t get muchexperience in their high schools rewriting or writingvery lengthy or complex pieces.

“I think this is one of the costs of the emphasis onstandardized testing,” she said. “To do it (journalism)well, you have to do all those things well. This iswhere student journalists and the students whoconsume the media they produce learn and practicethe First Amendment, freedom of speech, andfinding the limits of responsibility, privacy and goodtaste. Those are really important issues. The stakesare real in high school, and it’s unfortunate that’sone of the things that get lost when the studentmedia is little more than daily announcements.”

Keekley seconded McDonnell’s sentiments on theFirst.

“One of the most important parts (of studentjournalism), in addition to covering your school, isteaching students about the First Amendment,” shesaid. “What I would love to see is responsiblejournalism without prior review.”

Keekley also recognized the teamwork aspect ofstudent journalism.

“Students write for deadlines,” she said. “When you’relate for a deadline in an English class, it’s different injournalism because you have other people (who

depend on you). If you miss a deadline (for theschool paper), it impacts other students in your classnegatively.”

Keekley said that teamwork component will stay withher students long after they finish school.

“They always go out with understanding on how towork as a team, how to work with adults, how to workwith other students and how to truly work on thatteam…and they can take that anywhere and besuccessful,” she said.

McDonnell adds that students get excited aboutjournalism because “it is a way into the world” forthem.

“They have important stories to tell,” McDonnell said.“One of the reasons we started this online magazineis that there are not many ways to tell it to the publicin a responsible way. We are denying teens anopportunity to practice those rights in a meaningfulway. I think it’s unfortunate that many schools don’thave that opportunity.”

Gopher State greatsMinnesota’s schools have a strong tradition ofturning out their fair share of print and broadcastjournalists.

Two are columnists for The New York Times.Coincidentally, one of them, Thomas Friedman, is agraduate of St. Louis Park. (The other is David Carr,a private school product.)

Some other notable Minnesota-born journalistsinclude:

■ Harrison Salisbury (1908-1993): AttendedMinneapolis North High School. Won multiplePulitzer and Polk awards while reporting for theUnited Press and The New York Times.

■ Harry Reasoner (1923-1991): Attended West HighSchool in Minneapolis. Worked for MinneapolisTimes, CBS radio and founded TV news magazine60 Minutes.

■ Aaron Brown: Attended Hopkins High School.Former broadcaster for CNN. Currently hosts aprogram on public radio and teaches at ArizonaState University’s Walter Cronkite School ofJournalism and Mass Communication.

■ David Bloom (1963-2003): Attended Edina WestHigh School. Worked as NBC’s White Housecorrespondent. Died suddenly at age 39 whilecovering an American infantry division during theIraq War.

■ Michele Norris: Attended Washburn High School.Worked for ABC News, wrote for several prominent

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newspapers and currently hosts “All Things Considered”on National Public Radio.

McDonnell’s ThreeSixty program is already in the processof trying to add to that prestigious list.

“Over the last seven or eight years, we’ve had seven of ourstudents go to work in newsrooms either here in the TwinCities or elsewhere in the country,” McDonnell said.

ThreeSixty Journalism’s mission is to “bring diverse voicesinto journalism and related professions by using intense,personal instruction in the practice and principles ofjournalism” and to “strengthen the civic literacy, writingskills and college-readiness of Minnesota teens.”

McDonnell, who worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press as areporter and political editor for 20 years before taking theThreeSixty job in 2002, said her program works with acouple hundred high school students a year.

“We do summer camps, after-school programs, some schoolpartnerships and an online magazine,” she said. “We serve awhole range of students, but our particular focus is anoutreach to low income and people of color.”

McDonnell noted that any student from any school districtin the state is eligible to take part in the program.

Aimone’s National Scholastic Press Association providesjournalism education services to students, teachers, mediaadvisers and others throughout the United States and inother countries. Aimone is a product of high schooljournalism himself. He was a member of his Washingtonstate high school’s newspaper and yearbook staffs, and alsotaught journalism at the secondary level for 10 years.

Keekley – who started out teaching high school journalismin her native Indiana – also had a stint at the NationalScholastic Press Association before landing the job at St.Louis Park.

FuturamaAimone said he is hopeful about the future of highschool journalism.

“I hope the future is one in whichjournalism is really strong in everyschool, and that schools recognize thathaving that kind of forum for studentsto express themselves, for them notjust to practice their writing skills butalso to practice their civics, is abright future,” he said. “But I can’tpredict the future so I don’t know

what it entails. Who thought just a few years ago that wewould see services like Facebook and Twitter? None ofthose existed a decade ago. Who knows in 2015, 2020 orbeyond that what we’ll have? Will everyone have a portabledevice? I don’t know.”

Aimone said there is a place for a school newspaper and ajournalistic school yearbook in every school. “I think thoseschools that support journalism definitely have a richstudent life, and that is a way to showcase not just thewriters’ or the photographers’ or the designers’ talent, butalso to showcase the story of the schools – the good things,the struggles, the happy and not-as-happy moments thatmake up school.”

Bruce Lombard is MSBA’s Associate Director of Communications.You can reach him at [email protected].

Related linksNational Scholastic Press Associationhttp://www.studentpress.org/nspa/

ThreeSixty Journalismhttp://www.threesixtyjournalism.org/

High School Journalismhttp://www.hsj.org/

Schools Newspapers Onlinehttp://www.schoolnewspapersonline.com/

Minnesota High School Press Associationhttp://studentpressblogs.org/mhspa/

Cortney Stewart

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18 MSBA JOURNAL

SSchool districts are willing to spend much effortand time to get out into the community when levyrequests are needed. West St. Paul-MendotaHeights-Eagan Superintendent Jay Haugenwondered what would happen if that same effortand time was put to use for the school district’sstrategic planning. So when his board startedtalking about a strategic plan, Haugen put it interms of a campaign.

“When you start a campaign, you get input fromeveryone. You survey, do focus groups. But a hugepart of the role of a school board is to be the leader

in the community. It’s not just a process of input,but a campaign,” he said.

The board took input and came up with itseducational beliefs: closing achievement gaps;spending as much time developing studentstrengths as overcoming student weaknesses;students deserve to be part of something great; andmaking sure the community believes in your plan.

“Schools are a reflection of the community,” saidHaugen. “So if you want to change schools, youhave to change your community.”

Samantha Charest

Greg Abbott

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Part of doing a strategic plan for Haugen was knowingexactly what he DIDN’T want. He’s seen too many boardsgo into the process excited, get to work, come up with greatideas and turn out a plan that – for those involved – is animportant experience and learning tool that the rest of thecommunity never knows about.

Then there may be turnover on the board, or a newsuperintendent may come in, or the staff changes anddoesn’t know or value the plan.

“In the end,” Haugen said, “too many of these plans losetraction and the plan just sits on the shelf.”

Haugen says by using strategic planning as a campaign, itforces the ideas off the shelf. It becomes a living documentfor staff, students, the community and future boards.

The board set four main goals for the strategic plan’scampaign: testing, excellence, stewardship and climate. Thegoal of the first campaign was to communicate abouttesting to the public in various ways, but also face-to-face todistrict groups such as city councils, the chamber, Rotary,PTAs, staff, churches and seniors. Communication went outthrough podcasts, articles in the newspaper, newsletters,community forums and school events.

Haugen gave 30 presentations for the campaign, makingsure to take notes and get back to people if they hadquestions. He had solid statistics and information, but mostof his presentations were armed with simple stories.

“We told stories of an ESL student who wasn’t a good test-taker, but was a leader in school. Standardized tests throwaway college ambitions for thousands of students who can’ttake tests. But what we found is that there is more to everystudent than one test can tell,” Haugen said. “This studentwent on to get As and Bs in college and graduate.”

The district did come up with a scorecard for students thatincludes testing, but also one that shows excellence throughcreative outlets, strengths, talents, and non-academic areas.

The district’s campaigns also focused on stewardship andclimate. The district’s scorecards were able to show studentacademic achievement through growth rates. The districtalso took a number of the most vital indicators and made itpart of all administrators’ pay-for-performance programs.

Staff also committed to having a personal learning plan forevery student. A big part of that learning plan involvesSpark, a program to develop the potential in all students.“We ask them about the one thing they can do better thananything else, that thing they have a passion for,” Haugensaid. “And we think of ways we can develop their skills.”

As with any campaign, goals and district efforts have to betransparent. The district can show how it has been a goodfinancial steward with public money by showing howbuilding projects came in under budget or showing howmoney is spent on district priorities.

“It’s just like a levy in that if the community feels we aretransparent, and they like the direction we’re going, theyare more likely to vote for our levy or support our plan,”Haugen said.

One of the most controversial moves a district can makehappened when the district changed starting and endingtimes for school. The district effort to inform people of thereasons for the change had support – even if people didn’tlike it.

“We were told that even though some didn’t like thechange, they understood why we were doing it,” he said.

In 2009, the district’s community survey came back withsolid information from the campaign. Some of theinformation included was:

55%-22% margin, residents agree they are satisfied withthe district’s decision-making process

68%-16% margin, residents agree “District 197 does agood job of communicating important issues anddecisions”

74%-7% margin, residents agree “I am proud of District197 Public Schools and would recommend them tofriends”

80%-8% margin, residents agree “Our communityreceives a good value from its investment in local publicschools”

All of these indicators are well above the Metropolitan Areanorm, a fact certainly due in part to the schoolimprovement campaigns. There are more campaigns theboard will do as part of its strategic plan. And because it isbeing approached as a community campaign, the plan willbe out in the community – not sitting on a shelf.

“Once we get it out to the community, and make sure thecommunity knows about it, they begin to value it, andexpect it,” Haugen said. “Then, it becomes a continuingpart of what we do.”

Greg Abbott is the Director of Communications for the MinnesotaSchool Boards Association. You can contact him about this articleat [email protected].

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20 MSBA JOURNAL

YYour MSBA will be expanding its popular Learn @ Lunch webinarseries this year, and adding four special Before Your Board meetingwebinars that board teams can view as a whole.

MSBA Director of Board Development Katie Klanderud said thatone of the main missions for the Association is to provide trainingfor board members and board teams. By providing an easy-to-use,convenient training that can be viewed at your own board table, it’snow easier than ever to get information to share.

The 20-minute Before Your Board webinars will kick off Sept. 13. Itwill be broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, and be availablein an archive for boards that meet on other days of the week. Topicsinclude the following:

• When Board Meetings Go Sideways – (September) -- How to keepyour board on track with current board business and strategies tohandle the unexpected situations board members run into.

• Your Organizational Meeting – (December) – Learn theprocedures you need to follow to run an effective organizationalmeeting and strategies to use when choosing officers. There areseveral business items that are specific to this meeting, and we’llgive a thorough review so your board is ready for its meeting inJanuary.

• Public Participation at Meetings – (March) – MSBA will go overstatutes and best practices for knowing when and how to includecitizen input. We’ll also offer strategies for directing the public toproper channels for their concerns.

• The 2011 Legislative Wrap-up – (June) – MSBA’s GovernmentalRelations team of Grace Keliher and Kirk Schneidawind will giveboards an up-to-date list of how laws in the most recent session willimpact schools and students.

LEARN @ LUNCHEXPANDS FORINDIVIDUALS,ENTIRE BOARDS

Greg Abbott

Conrad Roberts

The great thingabout the Before Your Boardsessions is that allboard members arehearing the sameinformation andpicking up the samebest practices toimprove their team.

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“The great thing about the Before Your Board sessions is thatall board members are hearing the same information andpicking up the same best practices to improve their team,”said Klanderud.

MSBA also wants boards to know that if they view theseminar before the board meeting, it is considered an openmeeting. So the board should post the meeting as a worksession or study session, just as the district would post anyother type of meeting.

In addition to the Before Your Board webinars, MSBA willcontinue to offer a bigger slate of Learn @ Lunch programsfrom noon to 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of most months.The schedule includes:

• Understanding the Family Medical Leave Act & Fair LaborStandards Act (October)

• Best Practices for Employee Discipline (November)• Effective Budget Processes (January)• Your Superintendent’s Contract and Handbook (February)• Following up on Negotiations Strategy (April)• Bid Law Dos and Don’ts (May)

These 30-minute sessions will continue to be for individualboard members, superintendents and other school leaders.The sessions are so popular that we’ll let the comments standfrom colleagues who signed up for Learn @ Lunch last year:

“I enjoyed the webcast. This is a great idea.” – Grand Rapids

“Can we share your handout? I want to share the learning wehave done today.” – Osseo Area

“What a great presentation.” – Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton

“Good information. And I didn’t have to drive 2 hours to getit.” – Bemidji

MSBA knows that the life of a board member is busy. So byoffering supplemental learning webinars, you can save timeand money by participating right from your home computeror work computer. And, as always, if you miss a session, allwebinars are archived for a month so you can view theprogram at any time that fits your schedule. Signing up forthe sessions is easy – just a click on our home page in theMembers’ Area at www.mnmsba.org.

MSBA Executive Director Bob Meeks said the Association willstill continue face-to-face training, but knows that somemembers are looking for additional easy-to-use alternatives.“MSBA has always tried to adapt to new ways to getinformation to board members to support, promote andenhance their work. This is our way to serve that need.”

Greg Abbott is the Director of Communications for the MinnesotaSchool Boards Association. You can reach him [email protected].

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22 MSBA JOURNAL

Gary Leeis a new Associate Director of Management Services

Gary’s duties will include assisting with MSBA programs in theareas of school board/employee relations, assisting withMSBAIT planningand programming,working withmembers in regardto elections, andserving as theMSBA staff liaisonto the MinnesotaServiceCooperatives.

Gary hails fromFertile, and hashad hands-onexperience withMSBA for the pastsix years. As amember of theFertile-Beltrami School Board since 2003, Gary was elected asa Director to the MSBA Board representing District 12 in2005.

Gary has also served on the MSBAIT (Insurance Trust) board,the Minnesota State High School League Board, theNorthwest Service Co-op board and as a school boardrepresentative for the Big Three group (cities, counties andschool boards).

Gary is a graduate of Minnesota State University – Moorheadwith a degree in accounting and computer science. Heworked for UNISYS (Sperry) for 12 years in the DefenseDivision out of Eagan. He was the Manager of FinancialInformation Systems when he left in 1992.

Gary assumed control of the family business, Lee Nursery, in1993. Lee Nursery was a wholesale nursery with over 40employees and sales nationwide. Gary started Lee NurserySupplies in 2003 and opened a wholesale outlet in West Fargo,N.D., in 2004.

Gary also created Sondreli Business Services, a one-personsoftware consulting firm that specializes in operating softwarefor nursery operations. Gary’s software has been used to runeight wholesale nurseries in five different states.

Gary is married to Connie, his high school sweetheart. Theyhave three children: Kendra of Auburn, Ala.; Marissa ofMoorhead; and Nate, who is attending Bethany LutheranCollege in Mankato. Connie is starting a new position in foodservices at the Mankato Area Public Schools district.

Gary and Connie Lee

MSBA WelcomesGary Lee

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You need guidance. We give direction.

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24 MSBA JOURNAL

Above: Summer Seminar keynote speaker Reneé Rongen told members a story ofhow one smile given to other people made their day; and how that same smilemay be the only one some students get.

Below: Superintendent of the Year Patty Phillips of North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Public Schools urged board members to always keep their hearts opento making sure all students succeed.

Below: Peter Hutchinson stressed theimportance of teacher effectiveness instudent achievement. He is part of the BushFoundation project for new teacherpreparation and mentoring.

Summer Seminar ScrapbookDESIGNERS OF MINNESOTA’S FUTURE:Keeping Kids First

Above: MSBA honored the 2010 Outstanding Legislators: Rep. Connie Doepke,Rep. Marsha Swails, Sen. Claire Robling, and (not pictured) Sen. Tom Bakk for theirroles in helping K-12 education.

Above: Former state Sen. FritzKnaack, former Senate MajorityLeader Dean Johnson and formerHouse Speaker Bob Vanasek gave ableak outlook for school funding inthe next biennium and calledbalancing the budget an enormouschallenge.

Right: MSBA President JackieMagnuson welcomes school leadersfrom across the state to the 2010Summer Seminar.

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:10 PM


Below: Peter Hutchinson stressed theimportance of teacher effectiveness instudent achievement. He is part of the BushFoundation project for new teacherpreparation and mentoring.

Above: Kent Pekel gave economicarguments on why it is important for schoolsto prepare students for some type of collegeeducation, whether it is vocational, two-yearor four-year systems.Below: Speaker Tommy Watson told hisstory about how he came out of poverty tomake it in the educational world – allbecause school staff never gave up on himand gave him hope.

Summer Seminar Scrapbook

Above: MSBA honored the 2010 Outstanding Legislators: Rep. Connie Doepke,Rep. Marsha Swails, Sen. Claire Robling, and (not pictured) Sen. Tom Bakk for theirroles in helping K-12 education.

Above: Former state Sen. FritzKnaack, former Senate MajorityLeader Dean Johnson and formerHouse Speaker Bob Vanasek gave ableak outlook for school funding inthe next biennium and calledbalancing the budget an enormouschallenge.

Right: MSBA President JackieMagnuson welcomes school leadersfrom across the state to the 2010Summer Seminar.

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:10 PM

26 MSBA JOURNAL

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 27Spencer Buchholz

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ActuaryHildi Incorporated(Jill Urdahl)11800 Singletree Lane, Suite 305 Minneapolis, MN 55344952-934--5554, Fax [email protected] Iwaarden Associates(Jim Van Iwaarden)10 South Fifth Street, Suite 840Minneapolis, MN 55402-1010612-596-5960, Fax 612-596-5999www.vaniwaarden.comwww.gasb45opeb.comjimvi@vaniwaarden.com

Architects/Engineers/Facility PlannersArchitects Rego + Youngquist inc.(Paul Youngquist)7601 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 200St. Louis Park, MN 55426952-544-8941, Fax [email protected]&RPlanners/Architects/Engineers(Paul W. Erickson)8501 Golden Valley Rd., Suite 300Minneapolis, MN 55427763-545-3731Fax [email protected] Group Architecture,P.A.(Judith Hoskens)201 Main Street SE, Suite 325Minneapolis, MN 55414612-379-3400, Fax [email protected] Group(Troy W. Miller)520 Nicollet Mall, Suite 200Minneapolis, MN 55402612-977-3503, Fax [email protected](David Leapaldt)808 Courthouse SquareSt. Cloud, MN 56303320-252-3740, Fax [email protected]

ICS Consulting, Inc.(Pat Overom)5354 Edgewood DriveMounds View, MN 55112763-354-2670, Fax [email protected], INC.(Fred King)5801 Duluth St.Minneapolis, MN 55422763-546-3434, Fax [email protected] Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax [email protected] Architects(Bryan Paulsen)209 S. Second Street, Suite 201Mankato, MN 56001507-388-9811, Fax 507-388-1751www.paulsenarchitects.combryan@paulsenarchitects.comPerkins + Will(Steve Miller)84 10th Street S., Suite 200Minneapolis, MN 55403612-851-5094, Fax [email protected], Inc.(Rick Wessling)18707 Old Excelsior Blvd.Minneapolis, MN 55345952-474-3291, Fax [email protected] Architects and Engineers(Scott McQueen)305 St. Peter StreetSt. Paul, MN 55102651-227-7773, Fax [email protected]

Athletic Sports Floors/SurfacingMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax [email protected]

AttorneysKennedy & Graven Chartered(Neil Simmons)200 South Sixth Street, Suite 470Minneapolis, MN 55402612-337-9300, Fax 612-337-9310www.kennedy-graven.comnsimmons@kennedy-graven.comKnutson, Flynn & Deans, P.A.(Thomas S. Deans)1155 Centre Pointe Dr., Suite 10Mendota Heights, MN 55120651-222-2811, Fax [email protected], Sorlie, Rufer & Kershner, PLLP(Mike Rengel)110 N. MillFergus Falls, MN 56537218-736-5493, Fax [email protected], Roszak & Maloney, P.A.(Kevin J. Rupp)730 2nd Ave. S., Suite 300Minneapolis, MN 55402612-339-0060, Fax [email protected]

Construction Mgmt. & ProductsBossardt Corporation(John Bossardt)8300 Norman Center Drive, Suite 770Minneapolis, MN 55437952-831-5408 or 800-290-0119Fax [email protected] Group, Inc.(Pete Filippi)101 1st Street SELittle Falls, MN 56345320-632-1940, Fax 320-632-2810www.contegritygroup.compete@contegritygroup.comDonlar Construction Company(Jon Kainz)550 Shoreview Park RoadShoreview, MN 55126651-227-0631, Fax [email protected] Consulting, Inc.(Pat Overom)5354 Edgewood DriveMounds View, MN 55112763-354-2670, Fax [email protected]

Kraus-Anderson Construction Co.(Mark Phillips)PO Box 158Circle Pines, MN 55014763-786-7711, Fax 763-786-2650www.krausanderson.commark.phillips@krausanderson.comMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax [email protected]

Educational Programs/Services Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and Blind(Linda Mitchell)615 Olof Hanson Dr.PO Box 308Faribault, MN 55021-0308800-657-3996/507-384-6602Fax [email protected]

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)The Sand Creek Group, Ltd.(Gretchen M. Stein)610 N. Main Street, #200Stillwater, MN 55082651-430-3383, Fax [email protected]

Energy SolutionsJohnson Controls, Inc.(Arif Quraishi)2605 Fernbrook Lane N., Suite TPlymouth, MN 55447763-585-5043, Fax [email protected]

Financial ManagementMSBA-Sponsored Administrationand Compliance Service (A&C Service)Administration and ComplianceService(Paige McNeal, Educators Benefit Consultants, LLC)888-507-6053/763-552-6053Fax [email protected] MSBA-Sponsored Lease PurchaseProgramTax Exempt Lease PurchaseProgram(Mary Webster, Wells FargoSecurities, LLC)800-835-2265, ext. 73110612-667-3110Fax [email protected]

28 MSBA JOURNAL

MSBA’s Vendor Directory helps connect school districts with the products and services they need. The directory is always at yourfingertips. You’ll find it printed in the back of every Journal magazine as well as on the MSBA Web site at www.mnmsba.org.Most listings in the Web version of this directory include a link so you can head instantly to a Web site or e-mail address. Thedirectory includes everything you need to know to contact a company quickly—phone numbers, fax numbers and addresses—inan easy-to-read format. If you have a service or product you would like included in this directory, please contact SueMunsterman at 507-934-2450 or [email protected].

MSBA’s VENDOR DIRECTORY

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:11 PM

MSBA-Sponsored MNTAAB (MN Tax and Aid AnticipationBorrowing Program)MNTAAB(DeeDee Kahring, Springsted, Inc.)800-236-3033/651-223-3099Fax [email protected] MSBA-Sponsored P-Card(Procurement Card) ProgramP-Card Program800-891-7910/314-878-5000Fax 314-878-5333www.powercardpfm.comMSBA-SponsoredSchoolFinances.comSchoolFinances.com(Jim Sheehan, Ann Thomas)Sheehan: 952-435-0990Thomas: [email protected]@schoolfinances.com PaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax: [email protected] Asset Management, LLC -MSDLAF+(Donn Hanson)45 South 7th Street, Suite 2800Minneapolis, MN 55402

612-371-3720, Fax [email protected]

Food Service Products & ServicesLunchtime Solutions, Inc.(Chris Goeb)717 N. Derby LaneNorth Sioux City, SD 57049605-254-3725, Fax 605-235-0942www.lunchtimesolutions.com [email protected], Inc.(Monique Navarrette)5570 Smetana Dr.Minnetonka, MN 55343952-358-2188, Fax 952-945-0444www.taher.com [email protected]

InsuranceMinnesota School BoardsAssociation Insurance Trust(MSBAIT)(Denise Drill, John Sylvester, Amy Fullenkamp-Taylor)1900 West Jefferson AvenueSt. Peter, MN 56082-3015800-324-4459, Fax 507-931-1515www.mnmsba.org [email protected]@[email protected]

PlaygroundsMSBA Playground ComplianceProgram (in partnership withNational Playground ComplianceGroup, LLC) (Tim Mahoney)PO Box 506Carlisle, IA 50047866-345-6774, Fax [email protected]

RoofingFour Seasons Energy EfficientRoofing, Inc.(Darrell Schaapveld) 1410 Quant Ave. NorthMarine on St.Croix, MN 55047651-433-2443, Fax [email protected]

Software SystemsPaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax [email protected], Inc.868 3rd Street South, Suite 101Waite Park, MN 56387800-236-7274www.skyward.com

TechnologyPaySchools(Patrick Ricci)6000 Grand Ave.Des Moines, IA 50312281-545-1957, Fax [email protected]

TransportationHoglund Bus Co., Inc.(Jason Anderson)PO Box 249Monticello, MN 55362763-271-8750www.hoglundbus.comsalesmanager@hoglundbus.comNorth Central Bus & Equipment(Sandy Ethen)2629 Clearwater Road SouthSt. Cloud, MN 56301320-257-1209, Fax 320-252-3561www.northcentralinc.comsandye@northcentralinc.comTelin Transportation Group(Jamie Romfo)14990 Industry AvenueBecker, MN 55308866-287-7278, Fax [email protected]


This information does notrepresent an offer to sell or asolicitation of an offer to buy orsell any fund or other security.Investors should consider theinvestment objectives, risks,charges and expenses beforeinvesting in any of the Fund’sseries. This and otherinformation about the Fund’sseries is available in the Fund’scurrent Information Statement,which should be read carefullybefore investing. A copy of theFund’s Information Statementmay be obtained by calling1-888-4-MSDLAF or isavailable on the Fund’s websiteat www.msdlaf.org. While theMSDLAF+ Liquid Class andMax Class seek to maintain astable net asset value of $1.00per share and the MSDLAF+TERM series seeks to achievea net asset value of $1.00 pershare at its stated maturity, it ispossible to lose moneyinvesting in the Fund. Aninvestment in the Fund is notinsured or guaranteed by theFederal Deposit InsuranceCorporation or any othergovernment agency. Shares ofthe Fund are distributed byPFM Fund Distributors, Inc.,member Financial IndustryRegulatory Authority (FINRA)(www.finra.org). PFM FundDistributors, Inc. is a whollyowned subsidiary of PFM AssetManagement LLC. MemberSIPC.

Competitive Yields,Guided By Sound

Investment Principles.

In today’s financial climate, investment choices aren’t always clear.

Having one stand tall above the others is a source of security. Since 1984,

MSDLAF+ has helped chart the way for hundreds of Minnesota school districts

and public school entities. MSDLAF+’s reputation for seeking to attain the

highest standards in safety while striving to deliver consistently competitive

yields is guided by the same objectives our Participants have — gain a

competitive return while preserving principal. Facing uncertain financial seas?

Let the MSDLAF+/PFM Asset Management LLC team guide you.

Richard LorenzSenior Sales Representative

[email protected]

Carole LoehrSenior Managing Consultant

[email protected]

Donn HansonSenior Managing Consultant

[email protected]

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:11 PM

30 MSBA JOURNAL

AdvertisersATS&R...........................................................................Page 21

Bossardt Corporation...................................................

DLR Group .....................................................................Page 7

Donlar Construction ....................................................Page 11

Four Seasons Energy Efficient Roofing, Inc. .............Page 22

Johnson Controls, Inc..................................................Page 27

Kennedy & Graven Chartered ....................................Page 26

Knutson, Flynn & Deans, P.A. .......................................Page 2

MSBA Superintendent Search ....................................Page 32

MSBAIT...........................................................................Page 2

MSDLAF+ .....................................................................Page 29

Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. .................................Page 23

Skyward, Inc....................................................................Page 7

Taher, Inc......................................................................Page 11

Named

2009 & 2010 Best Print

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Cited for“Comprehensive Coverage”“Impressive Student Artwork”

Brought to you by YOUR MSBA

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:11 PM Page 30


AASK MSBA

BACK TO SCHOOLBRINGS COMMON QUESTIONS

As September and a new school year begin,you will find a sampling of the kinds ofquestions school board members and schooladministrators ask MSBA staff this time ofyear.

Q: Are school districts required to completebackground checks on volunteers?

A: While school districts still have thediscretionary authority to completebackground checks on most volunteers, theyare required, by M.S. 123B.03, Subd. 1. (a),to complete background checks “on allindividuals, except enrolled studentvolunteers, who are offered the opportunityto provide athletic coaching services or otherextracurricular academic coaching servicesto a school, regardless of whether anycompensation is paid.” Subd. 1. (a) goes onto state that, for an individual to provide theservices he/she must provide the schoolhiring authority with an “executed criminalhistory consent form and a money order orcheck payable to either the Bureau ofCriminal Apprehension or the school hiringauthority, at the discretion of the schoolhiring authority, in an amount equal to theactual cost to the Bureau of CriminalApprehension and the school district ofconducting the criminal history backgroundcheck.” The Minnesota School BoardsAssociation continues to interpret the statuteto mean that volunteers who provide“athletic coaching services or otherextracurricular academic coaching servicesto a school” must pay the cost of a criminalhistory background check.

Q: What is the Teacher Disciplinary InquirySystem (TDIS)?

A: The “Teacher Disciplinary InquirySystem” is the automated online systemdeveloped by the Board of Teaching inaccordance with M.S. 123B.03, Subd. 1a.The system’s purpose is to help facilitate therequirement that school district personnelmust determine if a prospective teacher hashad any disciplinary action taken inMinnesota or other states against his/herteaching license(s) as a result of sexual

misconduct with a student. If the Board ofTeaching has taken action on this type ofmisconduct, the school or other hiringauthority must obtain access to any availablepublic data, as identified in M.S. 13.41,Subd. 5.

Q: Can a school board close a meeting toevaluate one of its employees?

A: Yes, if the subject of the meeting does notrequest that the meeting be open to thepublic, a school board may close a meetingto evaluate the performance of an individualwho is subject to its authority. The schoolboard must identify the individual prior toclosing the meeting and, at its next openmeeting, the school board must summarizeits conclusions regarding the evaluation. Thekey word in the above question is “evaluate.”School board members should use a validevaluation tool when using this exception tothe Open Meeting Law. The right to close ameeting to evaluate the performance of anemployee does not allow this law to be usedto “talk” about an employee or discuss issuesthe school board may have with him/her.The Open Meeting Law does not include anexception for “personnel data.” Schoolboards may not close a meeting to discusspersonnel data.

Q: One of our school board membersdrives school bus for the school district. Cana school board member work for his/herown school district?

A: M.S. 123B.195 provides that school boardmembers may be employed by a schooldistrict only if there is a reasonableexpectation at the beginning of the fiscalyear or at the time the contract is enteredinto or extended that the school boardmember’s employment earnings will notexceed $8,000 in that fiscal year. The schoolboard member’s employment earnings donot include any stipends or reimbursementsreceived for performing his/her duties as aschool board member. If the employmentearnings are expected to exceed $8,000, theindividual must choose between being anemployee of the school district or being aschool board member. He or she cannot beboth. To be initially employed or continue tobe employed, a school board member mustreceive majority approval of the schoolboard at a meeting at which all members arepresent. If a board member fails to receivethe majority approval of the full board,his/her employment is immediatelyterminated.

Bob Lowe, Director ofManagement Services

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:11 PM

1900 West Jefferson Avenue, St. Peter, MN 56082-3015

NON-PROFIT ORGN.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 47

MANKATO, MN 56001

MSBA is here to serve YOU...

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

Does your district need assistance in hiring a new superintendent?

MSBA offers a variety of services and materials designed to help member schoolboards make the right hiring choice:

� Superintendent search workshop� Free administrative vacancy announcement postings� Superintendent search communications tool kit� Superintendent search firms/consultants list� Administrative compensation information (PEERNet)� Superintendent employment model contract� Community engagement process

Minnesota School Boards Association1900 West Jefferson Avenue

St. Peter, MN 56082800-324-4459; fax 507-931-1515

www.mnmsba.org

Sandy Gundlach

MSBA supports, promotes and enhances the work of public school boards and public education.

Contact: Sandy Gundlach, Director of School Board Services

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

396020_SepOct_10:_ 8/20/10 5:11 PM

september-october journal

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