Inspiring Excellence. Every Learner, Every Day.

If desired, items may be removed from the consent agenda by request by an individual school board member for independent consideration.  A request is timely if made prior to the vote on the consent agenda.  The request does not require a second or a vote by the school board.  An item removed from the consent agenda will then be discussed and acted on separately immediately following the consideration of the consent agenda.

Roll call vote is required as the consent agenda contains the personnel report.

The 2025-2026 amended budget is being presented at the May 26, 2026 school board meeting. It was also reviewed by the finance committee. Attached is the summary of the amended budget being considered for approval.
 

The Board had previously committed funds for the purpose of the Career Pathways Program. Due to the necessity of budget reductions for the 2026-2027 year, these funds are needed for other critical district operations.

This was discussed with the Finance Committee at their meeting on May 22, 2026, and was identified as a budget reduction previously reviewed by the Board.
 

Student school board representatives serve as non-voting members who are advisors to, and meet and work with, the school board and administration in the formation and evaluation of policy and regulations in the operation of our school system. Student representatives attend and participate in all open meetings of the school board, including work sessions.  Student school board representatives provide an important communication link with the student body, and by participation, obtain practical governmental experience.

See Policy 220, Student School Board Representatives for more information.

Ayoub Farah served as the student school board representative during the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Ayoub graduates from high school this year and his term as the student school board representative ends in May.

Applications for student school board representatives were due March 30. Interviews were conducted in April. The interview committee recommends that Greta Veldman, a sophomore at OHS, serve as the student school board representative along with Lowell Schultz. Greta will serve as student representative during her junior and senior years.
 

The school calendar is adopted annually by the school board.  Each year, the calendar shall meet all provisions of Minnesota Statutes pertaining to the minimum number of school days and other provisions of law.  The school calendar establishes student days, workshop days for staff, provides for emergency closings and other information related to students, staff, and parents.

The Minnesota Department of Education recommends that the board adopt an updated calendar when a school day is canceled. During the 2025-2026 school year, Owatonna Public Schools experienced inclement weather and canceled classes on January 6 and January 23. Also, due to inclement weather, March 16 was an E-Learning day.

Attached is the updated, final calendar.
 

The attached policies have been reviewed by the policy committee and were presented on April 27, 2026 for a first reading. They are being presented tonight for a second reading and consideration for approval.

The revisions summary is also attached.

Minnesota  Section 128C.01, requires individual school boards to authorize membership in the Minnesota State High School League.  The Resolution for Membership affirms (1) that our school board delegates the control, supervision and regulation of interscholastic activities and athletics to the Minnesota State High School League; (2) that our school board adopts the MSHSL Constitution, Bylaws, Policies, and Rules and Regulations; and, (3) that the administration and responsibility for supervising activities and athletics is assigned to our official school representative(s). 

Section 208.00 of the MSHSL Constitution found in the Official Handbook and online at mshsl.org provides that each member school shall identify a Designated School Representative and Designated School Board Member. The designees identified are authorized to vote on behalf of the member school at all district, region and section meetings whether in-person or by mail ballots. In addition, each school must identify individuals to represent boys’ sports, girls’ sports, speech and music. Schools are also urged to form a Local Advisory Committee to address MSHSL matters.

Signing this resolution affirms that the Board has reviewed all required membership materials provided by the League, which define the purpose and value of education-based activities and athletic programs and defines each member school's responsibilities. 

The resolution is attached and will be completed electronically following board approval.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Professional Educator Licensing Standards Board (PELSB), and Office of Higher Education (OHE) require annual designation of an Identified Official with Authority (IOwA) for each local educational agency that uses the Education Identity and Access Management (EDIAM) system. The IOwA is responsible for authorizing, reviewing, and recertifying user access for their local educational agency in accordance with the State of Minnesota Enterprise Identity and Access Management Standard, which states that all user access rights to Minnesota state systems must be reviewed and recertified at least annually. The IOwA will authorize user access to State of Minnesota Education secure systems in accordance with the user’s assigned job duties, and will revoke that user’s access when it is no longer needed to perform their job duties. 

Our school board must designate an IOwA to authorize user access to State of Minnesota Education secure websites for our school district. This EDIAM board resolution must be completed and submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education annually, as well as any time there is a change in the assignment of the Identified Official with Authority.

It is recommended that the Board authorize Superintendent Tamara Champa to act as the Identified Official with Authority (IOwA) for Owatonna Public Schools. 

Attached is a document regarding the renewal of the district's health insurance self-insured coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield. As described in the document, the proposed renewal increase for the self-insured plan is 9%. The attachment also includes the district's self-insured dental coverage through Delta Dental, which indicates no increase to rates, and life insurance and long-term disability insurance through Madison National Life with no increase to rates.
 

Attached is an extended trip request from the Owatonna High School World Language department to Costa Rica and Panama in 2027.
 

The School Board may pass a Resolution Establishing Dates for Filing Affidavits of Candidacy, directing the election clerk to post and publish the appropriate notices for the November 3, 2026 election. Four (4) members will be elected to the School Board for terms of four (4) years each. The resolution is attached.

Terms for these board members will expire in January 2027: Elizabeth Hedlund, Jolayne Mohs, Mark Sebring, Lori Weisenburger.

The filing dates are July 14-July 28, 2026.  Posting and publishing the notice for filing affidavits of candidacy is a requirement for the election.  
 

Policy 706 establishes guidelines for the acceptance of gifts to the District.  As specified by Minnesota Statute 465.03, the School Board may accept a gift, grant, or property only by the adoption of a resolution approved by two-thirds of its members. Any gifts accepted of more than nominal value (more than $5), shall become property of the District (Policy 421).

The gifts are listed on the attached resolution.