[Thanks to Jeff Syme for sharing these notes. …Eric]
Very interesting meeting tonight, and very long… 5:30 to nearly 8:30, and then an hour-long work session on strategic planning. All 10 Board Reps were present as well as a dozen parents and additional staff. Here is a quick summary for those who couldn’t attend. (One man’s opinion from 10 pages of notes, but please talk with many others to gain the broadest insight on all these affairs.)
The headline is: Nothing was voted on or off the table, and the next four weeks will be crucial. Read on for the details.
There were a lot of signals given by each member about how they feel about the various “proposals” in play — dropping 11-12, dropping 9-10, the Washington solution, etc. — and the October meeting will be key (though probably not the end of the discussion) as the Board agreed tonight to take up further discussion next month on all or some of these issues, including formation of a new task force to weigh the 11-12 option with the other several options now on the table. Again, there was no vote about 11-12 (though it would appear to be on life support as of tonight, if not already).
Dr. Cassellius briefly recounted her history with the school and “the sense of urgency” which greeted her here even before she officially began her new job. Her intro led to an hour-long discussion about all these things. I give a lot of credit to Chair Haggerty for his effort tonight and reiterating several times the need to be deliberate and take the time needed to consider all angles of this increasingly complex situation, and that nothing is decided now, but will be soon, at least some of it, that is between now and January, and perhaps sooner rather than later (11-12 perhaps)… but not before hearing from all interested parties including the 10 district reps, the 10 superintendents, parents and the community, and teachers and staff.
He did point out that there has been great change in the make-up of the EMID board, among the 10 school board, the superintendents, EMID administration and staff, and even among the EMID member districts in the recent past, and there is “uneven knowledge” about the history and issues at play here… that it would be “unfair to push the question” without taking time to deliberate, because the impact of these decisions is very high. He asked all parties to be patient, and took umbrage at the notion that the board has delayed, obfuscated or hidden anything in the past, a charge (in a parent comment a bit earlier) he called “unfair.”
Dr. C did again reiterate her desire to drop 11-12 and move 9-10 to the Washington technology school in St. Paul, and gave her reasons for that, and said she was presenting these things in the best interest of the long-range needs of EMID schools. “Although I don’t fall on the side of parents, I feel the need to be responsible for all students in the district, and for the district,” and her proposals meet that criteria. She cited the feasibility of adding 11-12 (which she said was not feasible) and various economic reasons as barriers to adding 11-12… specifically the tenuous future of integration funding in light of the state’s current economic problems that will likely continue for at least years to come. A formal feasibility study, she said, would only show that adding 11-12 is too costly and cannot be supported in a struggling economy. There also is a lack of political support and that superintendents do not support such an addition.
In the ensuing discussion, several board members seem to support her rationale… 3 or 4 at least… while 3 or 4 were not completely in sync. A precious few more seemed much less enthusiastic about dropping the 11-12 proposal and wanted to hear more information and more input before deciding. One member, South Washington Rep Jim Gelbmann specifically said he wanted to hear from more parents about the 11-12 question as well as the 9-10 issue and the Washington school option. He did go on at some length about the dire straits of the State of Minnesota budget and said the future is very murky where integration funding in concerned, and that without integration funding EMID programs could well be in deep trouble… that adding new programs now is beyond a long stretch and the timing is bad on all accounts to seek new state funds for expanded programming. Several members seemed to concur with Gelbmann’s long-winded concerns about secure future funding. Some said that issue alone would or could trump all other considerations and could kill the 11-12 discussion outright.
On the bright side (I thought), there was not nearly as much unanimity about the future of the 9-10 programs… and more questions about whether the Washington option was the right choice for EMID in the near future… although there was no consensus and many questions remain about this specific matter. Several members want to hear more information about what Washington offers and whether dropping 9-10 is the right decision for EMID. It was eventually decided to call a meeting of all superintendents and board members and equity staff into a one-time meeting to air these issues out… hopefully before the next EMID meeting on Oct. 21.
Meanwhile, Dr. C’s discussions with Washington tech will go ahead, however the 9-10 and 11-12 matters work out. In a post-meeting work session on strategic planning, the board will move ahead with an independent consultant to lead a process to pull together all interested parties in the next few months (including the community of parents) that also will help guide the 11-12 and 9-10 decisions.
Cherry-picking a couple of other interesting comments: Board member Phil Prokopowicz said he had heard from several parents and was very concerned about “a lack of trust” and “a great disconnect” between parents and administration about how these issues have been handled… he suggested taking a step back to rebuild some trust, to engage all sides in a meaningful discussion and process before final decisions are made. (His comments, I think, helped lead to the ultimate decision to take some more time on all these things.) Board member George Hoeppner reiterated some of those ideas, too. At one point he was apparently reading from a letter from CW parent Susan Larson, who is in Hoeppner’s district, who asked for more community input and more time before decisions are made. Finally, Board member Jim Gelbmann said he is firmly of the belief that the board makes the decisions and the superintendent’s role is to implement the board’s direction… that he would hear his own superintendent’s input but not be held by it. Other board members whose comments were generally sympathetic to EMID parents’ desire to add 11-12 and keep 9-10 were from board member John Broderick and new Roseville board member Kitty Gogins. Least sympathetic on the 11-12 matter, I thought, were board member Karen Morehead and Marilynn Forsberg. Others were less clear and/or more conflicted.
Before this long discussion, during the open forum, parent Shannon Hannigan had read three letters for all to hear: a long one from Eric Celeste, a short one from Susan Larson, and a short one from a CW graduate proclaiming her gratitude for a great experience and education at CW. Patty Sargent also spoke during the forum (criticizing the board for its handling of these things), as did Mike Bogaczewski who rather eloquently pleaded to keep 11-12 and 9-10 on the table and in the discussion until all ramifications could be heard. Also, 10th grader Zander Sellie presented a petition with 54 student names on paper asking the Board not to drop the 11-12 option, and 14 more on an online petition with slightly different wording to the same effect (“don’t rule anything out”).
Final tidbits: the principal interviews will happen tomorrow (Bryan Bass) and next Mon-Tues… three candidates are left (incl. Mr. Bass), as one candidate has moved on. The 8-person selection committee includes 3 from the administration (Greibel, Black, Greg Keith), 3 teachers (Livingstone, Marget, Sisko), CW parent Leslie Taylor and Washington Principal Dr. Mike McCollar. Interviews for the positions held by four other interim teachers will be held this week and next week as well. The theater position has been upgraded from 0.4 time to 1.0 time.
FINAL NOTE:
Dr. Cassellius will hold an informational meeting with parents at Crosswinds during curriculum night on Thursday, Sept. 23, to update everyone on all these affairs and to answer questions. See you there!