September 20, 2007 Study Session - Continued discussion of 2007-08 Goals from previous meeting; again, the board could not finish; further discussion scheduled for Oct 4 study session.

September 20, 2007 Board Meeting - Adoption of Preliminary 2008 levy of $31,863,000; adoption of policies; report on class sizes, and presentation of SMART boards in classrooms.

September 6, 2007 Study Session - Board members expressed anger at Mr. Wenmark's distribution, via district e-mail to board members and district employees, of a resume of one of his employees, whom he was advocating the district interview, even though this individual had missed the application deadline. The district was in the process of making a job offer to an individual who had gone through the district's established hiring practices; Mr. Wenmark criticized this person as a poor choice for the position. Dr. Peterson, Erin Adams and Judy Erdahl pointed out that Mr. Wenmark had violated data privacy practices, putting the district in jeopardy of legal action. Mr. Wenmark disagreed, then stated that his e-mail was being "eavesdropped" upon; Judy Erdahl explained that she requested all e-mails concerning the matter be captured on the district server to protect the district in case of future legal trouble, pointing out that everything collected was public record. Mr. Wenmark said he was very upset by this, but was ready to move on. The Board spent time discussing 2007-08 Goals, but did not finish.

September 6, 2007 Board Meeting - Report on enrollment and staffing from opening of school; report on use of technology; presentation of new district web site to be launched end of September.

April 19, 2007 Board Meeting - Discussion of Elementary Language Immersion and Q-Comp.

February 1, 2007 Board Meeting - Board member Peggy Stefan responded to comments made on December 5, 2006 by Mark Chalupsky, President of Minnetonka Teachers' Association (teachers' union) who wondered if the district has evaluated the change from 7 period days to 6 period days at secondary schools.

December 21, 2006 Board Meeting This summary covers discussion on Community Comments on the proposed health model, the district's communications about same, Board Chair response to comments, presentation of budget projections, 6-1 vote on high school health model change, 7-0 vote to continue researching Highly Gifted elementary model, 7-0 vote in favor of immediate enhancement of High Potential programs at elementary and middle schools, 7-0 vote to offer Spanish or Chinese language immersion at all elementary schools next year, two changes to 2006-07 school calendar to accommodate Q-Comp training.
Go here to read Chair Erin Adams' response to public comments of December 5th & 7th.

December 5, 2006 Study session Discussion about Pre-IB and Pre-AP models at middles schools; Mr. Wenmark objects to IB on ideological grounds. Discussions on high school heath education model and 7 period day at secondary schools. Ed: note,12-8-06: correction to report on 7 period day; links added.

November 30, 2006 Board meeting Summarized here are the 11/30 discussions re: High Potential, MHS Health & Elementary Language Immersion

November 16, 2006 Study Session Discussion on India Partnership: Peace through Understanding; discussion of legislative position statements

May 4, 2006 - Regular School Board Meeting. Present were Adams, Langseth, Litsey, Maes, Stefan and Wenmark; Judy Erdahl is still on leave for health reasons. The Board reviewed textbooks for K-5 Social Studies, 8th grade Minnesota history, 9th grade U.S. Government, Economics & Geography, Psychology, higher algebra and pre-calculus; books are available to the public for two weeks at the District Service Center, after which the Board will vote on them. The Board heard reports from Minnewashta Elementary, a presentation on student technology use and discussed possible new courses or deletions at MHS; they also heard about the Minnetonka Community Ed program for adult English language learners, including visits with residents from Colombia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan. To read the district's summary, go here

April 20, 2006 - The School Board considered the following items at a Study Session at 5:00; present were Board members Langseth, Litsey, Maes, Stefan & Wenmark; absent Erdahl & Adams: recommended improvements to middle and high school guidance and counseling, with recommendations from middle and high school principals to be discussed in May; report on NWEA pilot testing results, which tailor computer tests to each student's level; elementary school surveys, showing a high level of satisfaction with Minnetonka Schools, but room for improvement in communicating classroom learning to parents and use of BlackBoard; subcommittee (Maes, Stefan, Wenmark) report on the Board's protocols and policies (code of conduct) - board members were given a draft for comments and questions; the issue will be revisited May 18.  School Board Meeting: Diamond Club baseball project operating agreement and financing plan approved 5-0, but the board asked for changes to restrictive covenants regarding use of the fields by baseball and football; policies about summer school, assignment of students to schools were approved 5-0.
To see the district's summary, go here
To see the official minutes, go here

April 6, 2006 - Calvin Litsey took the oath of office and joined board members Adams, Langseth, Maes and Stefan in discussion about the updates for several school district policies; the board voted unanimously 5-0 to adopt an agreement with the Minnetonka Teachers' Assoc. meant to alleviate some workload issues related to budget reductions; Dr. Peterson outlined some possibilities for high school students to receive credit outside the 6 period day, with details to be ready before students begin registering April 26.
To see the district's summary, go here
To see the official minutes, go here

March 23, 2006 -The School Board appointed Calvin Litsey to fill the vacancy left by Dave Eaton's resignation; Mr. Litsey will take the oath of office at the April 6 meeting. Vote: Adams, Langseth, Maes, Stefan - Yes; Wenmark - No. Board members had high praise for the 13 individuals who applied, said our community is fortunate to have so many people willing to serve, and expressed the hope that some will consider running for election in 2007.

March 16, 2006 - Study Session: Chairperson Erin Adams read a letter from Judy Erdahl explaining her need for an extended leave of absence from the Board for medical treatment.
The Board reviewed several more instructional models for elementary and middle school: environmental studies magnet, Montessori magnet, continuous progress, high potential magnet, International Baccalaureate, math/science magnet - they agreed to meet soon for a work session with administrators to narrow the list to any they might want to pursue for further analysis.
Charlie Hurd outlined new building plans of District 287 (a collaboration serving many levels of special needs learners from several local school districts).
Mike Cunningham of the Booster Club brought two student interns who presented the Board with a check for $32,000 from fundraising. Dr. Dennis Peterson presented his report on the impact this school year of $3.2 million budget cuts made in February 2005 - actual total saved was $3.8 million, with $600,000 going to necessary staffing, mostly at MHS, which would have been an expense anyway - he will present more information in April and May about student progress and class sizes and recommend the Board look again at spending in some areas - Bill Wenmark asked about keeping/expanding the MHS work experience, where students receive diploma credit for work instead of classroom experience, ensuing discussion about mastering benchmarks and standards in the classroom and their value to diploma, Dr. Peterson expressed desire to provide students with the "meat and potatoes" behind the diploma and said they will continue to monitor the work experience program - Bill Wenmark protested that although the 6 period day achieved dollar savings, he hears from many parents and teachers unhappy with it - Dr. Peterson defended the budget decision to go from 7 to 6 periods and said if we hadn't, finances would have required eliminating many programs and increasing class sizes by 5-8 students, both things the Board did not want - he said the average student course load went down only slightly, they are still working on details in next weeks to help students manage schedules for next year - Bill Wenmark argued that people objecting to higher class sizes was speculation and people should be asked now how they feel about it - Erin Adams pointed out it was a structural decision made by the Board because they couldn't afford to provide quality education at 7 periods any longer - Dr. Peterson noted it was the best choice of bad choices, the district has worked on scheduling alternatives for students and is committed to helping everyone adjust to 6 periods - Peggy Stefan asked if kids might be less stressed taking 6 classes instead of 7 and noted we can't fully evaluate after 8 months but no one reacts well to having things taken away - Dr. Peterson said principals at middle school and high school are talking about ways to adapt, this is new and evolving - Pam Langseth urged communications to parents - Dr. Peterson said the intention is to have options in place by April when kids will finish registration - Bill Wenmark asked whose idea it was to go to 6 hour day - Dr. Peterson said it was his leadership decision, after looking at several possible solutions, and based on the reality that we don't get enough revenue under MN law to sustain the programs we had two years ago, the principals involved looked at changing models as part of their responsibility to come up with budget reductions in keeping with the Board's vision - staff was asked for input but wasn't asked to make decisions because most employees don't want to eliminate other employee's jobs - Dr. Peterson restated that the decision was one of administrative leadership when the Board instructed him to make recommendations - he noted negative impact on music program, possibility of killing the program if cuts stay as is, recommends review of this - World Language program in 8th grade has potential for very positive impact.
Bill Wenmark said there was a big problem with parent e-mail instead of regular mail and he'd bring up discussion in Board meeting.  The Board heard a report by Children and Family Support Program, a partnership of early childhood educators, early special ed, social workers and others who help families prepare kids for school success.
Citizen Input - A district resident, Mr. Greenfield, spoke to the Board about concerns he raised in Dec 2004 about a political rally at MHS which he felt weren't addressed. Chair Erin Adams apologized, saying she thought he'd resolved the issue with Carol Eastlund at the time. Mr. Greenfield wondered how much control the district has over the ArtsCenter auditorium (under joint agreement with City of Minnetonka) during the school day and how that might affect the school environment. Dr. Peterson explained they were asked to host the President of the U.S., it wouldn't have been appropriate to refuse, and later found that Rudy Guiliani, "an American hero" was coming instead; the building principal, Dave Adney, made decision about educational value, History teachers were given an opportunity to bring some students who wanted to attend. Erin Adams said a political rally has an educational component and she wished another party had offered one as well. Peggy Stefan said she'd expect our principals to offer that educational opportunity to our students if it came up.
March 16, 2006 - Board Meeting  The Board gave permission to Minnetonka Diamond Club to solicit bids for the baseball project, concurrently with approval process with City of Minnetonka. The Board's agenda had several policies to be reviewed after updating by the school district's attorney; because of the late hour, they decided to look at only two. A few wording changes were asked for in the Advertising policy. Bill Wenmark again raised what he described as his legal concerns with parent e-mail addresses and spoke at great length about why he believes parent e-mail addresses should be public information. Board members and Dr. Peterson vehemently disagreed with this, and at several points, they emphasized that the district has never regarded e-mail addresses as public, and that great efforts are made to protect privacy. Mr. Wenmark agreed that this is so; but he continued to insist that the district wasn't in compliance with paperwork proving this, and therefore was at risk for financial penalties. Other Board members and Dr. Peterson stated their intention to follow the school district's attorney's legal advice. Mr. Wenmark's motion to make parent e-mail addresses public failed on a 1-4 vote; later, the Board approved Policy #515: Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records on a unanimous vote. (see the official minutes here)

March 2, 2006 - Board Meeting: principals from MMW and Clear Springs explained initiatives at their schools designed to identify and serve struggling students before referral to Special Ed; the Board approved the calendar for school year 2006-07 as presented by a district committee - a major change is one Oct. 9 conference day from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. with six additional hours to be scheduled by building; the Board reviewed several policies updated by their attorney - Bill Wenmark raised what he said were his many legal concerns about a Data Practices policy and strongly urged that parent e-mail addresses be public information - the Board and administration expressed no need or desire to make those public - the issue was tabled for future discussion; bids were approved to update 8 science classrooms in the next two years; Bill Wenmark asked to be excused from service to the Minnetonka Family Collaborative, citing lack of time due to his business and his thought that someone with more financial accountability was needed - Cathy Maes offered to serve - Chairperson Erin Adams asked Mr. Wenmark to consider committing time to another committee, since he now serves on none. Go here to see the district's   (see the official minutes here)