Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 08/16/2022 - WorkshopAPPROVED MINUTES Joint Meeting Eden Prairie School Board & Eden Prairie City Council 5:00 p.m., August 16, 2022 Heritage Rooms Eden Prairie City Center 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 SCHOOL BOARD: Chair Adam Seidel, Vice Chair Aaron Casper, Clerk Debjyoti “DD” Dwivedy, Treasurer Steve Bartz, Board Members Francesca Pagan-Umar, Kim Ross, Charles “CJ” Strehl SUPERINTENDENT & CABINET MEMBERS: Superintendent Josh Swanson, Associate Superintendent of Academics & Innovation Carla Hines, Executive Director of Human Resources Tom May, Executive Director of Business Services Jason Mutzenberger, Executive Director of Personalized Learning Robb Virgin, Senior Director of Student Services Christina Bemboom, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications Dirk Tedmon, Senior Director of Community Education Shawn Hoffman-Bram, EPHS Principal Nate Gibbs, CMS Principal Felicia Thames CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor I. Dinner: 30 minutes II. Welcome and Introductions III. City of Eden Prairie Race Equity Presentation: 15-20 minutes Getschow stated this is the first joint meeting since 2019. He introduced Megan Yerks, Community Services Coordinator, who has been the staff lead for the race equity initiative. She is also the staff liaison to the Human Rights and Diversity Commission (HRDC), and some of the Commission Members are present tonight as they have worked closely on this project. Yerks presented an overview of the Race Equity initiative and report. The second portion of the presentation will focus on areas of overlap with the School District and developing future leaders. With the work of a consultant, a project statement was created as well as six areas of inquiry. The process involved an internal and external process. Internally there was a document scan and internal interviews. From the community there were world café sessions. A few community liaisons were hired from Eden Prairie to assist with getting involvement and feedback from all corners of the community. There were also community organization interviews and a community survey to gather information virtually. The HRDC gathered all the information and created the EP Race Equity Report with Staff support. City Council accepted the report on January 4th, 2022 and tasked City Staff with implementation. The report includes recommendations sorted by areas of inquiry. Each recommendation includes a list of suggested actions. City Staff have begun the implementation phase. A Race Equity Action Team has been created with Staff members. One of the first tasks is to review the recommendations and suggested actions and to begin working within the City structure. Yerks presented the recommendations under the Developing Future Leaders area of interest. The first recommendation is to partner with Eden Prairie Schools to share insights from community outreach sessions and work towards common goals. Many community members mentioned they did not understand the relationship between the school and the City. There is immense potential for partnership and collaboration in supporting residents and their families. Recommendation number two is to encourage youth employment opportunities with the City of Eden Prairie through internships, summer employment, and career opportunities. The City is well-positioned to offer youth employment opportunities through seasonal and longer-term employment. The suggested actions in this area focus on partnerships and strategies to expand outreach to youth and navigate any barriers to employment and working directly with young people to learn more about City career pathways. The third recommendation is to expand youth development program accessibility for underserved youth by reducing barriers to participation. Many families are simply unaware of these opportunities or have difficulty navigating applications and sign-up processes. There is limited ability to participate in unpaid activities as well. The suggested action would be to go to the community rather than them to us, building capacity with youth-serving organizations, offering financial support and removing financial barriers, and working with families to identify their needs. Recommendation number four identifies opportunities to raise the voices of young people in our community. Partner with young residents to identify ways for them to grow self-advocacy skills and opportunities. Their participation makes the City’s work stronger. Suggested actions are to continue to utilize the Students on Commissions program and to create opportunities for youth to interact with City Leadership. Adam Seidel, Chair of School Board, stated the City’s partnership with the School District has been critical. He is curious about the recruiting and hiring challenges we are all facing. He would like to learn about the broader challenges and what types of solutions can be focused on as the School District has also experienced these challenges. Getschow responded there are some programs police departments across the state have been working on to recruit people of color. We are fortunate to have a lot of people who work for the City that also live in the City. This continues to be an area to recruit from. 20 percent of the new hires in the last year are people of color in comparison to the seven percent in previous years. Lotthammer added some of the best successes have been in hiring youth through parks and recreation. The hope is to continue to develop these youth to have a role in local government. Mayor Case added one of the challenges in his role in his job at United Health Group is more diversity at the entry level positions but not as much in the leadership roles. School Board Member Francesca Pagan-Umar stated similarly in the School District of the entry level jobs. There needs to be considerations for where recruitment is happening and how to engage diverse people while also eliminating barriers when possible. School Board Member Kim Ross asked where the City is at with the work they have done. Yerks responded some of the work begins tonight. Getschow added there have been other areas of interest the City has begun working on. For example in emergency response, the City has already established neighborhood response for police. Yerks added some examples of work that has begun over the summer. PeopleFest! has always been a strong partnership with the School District, and Cops and Bobbers was last night with partnership with community education. We are now at the point of operationalizing it, tracking progress, and pairing the work with metrics. Superintendent Josh Swanson stated in reading this report over the winter, there are many areas the School District can partner on, especially areas the School District is already doing work. The School District has been working for many years on equitable access for families and reducing barriers. One unique example is providing childcare for community education. The School also continues to work on diversification of the work force. He looks forward to a partnership with the City. IV. Eden Prairie Schools Referendum Presentation: 15-20 minutes Swanson presented on the upcoming School referendum. The last operating levy referendum was a five-year plan. They are now seeking a referendum about eight to nine years later. With those funds, they have been able to maintain smaller class sizes and free transportation for kids. At the middle school they have increased choices significantly. There are pathways programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); areas of business; and entrepreneurship. They have done some very focused work to increase graduation rates. The School District far exceeds State expectations. EP online has offered families a choice to select the best fit for students and families, especially during COVID. In a March 2022 survey, the School District continues to receive high marks in the 90-percentile range in providing services to families. Swanson stated about 75 percent of the School’s funding comes from State and Federal dollars. About 25 percent of the funding is received through local levies. If the State revenue matched inflation there would be a significant increase per pupil. In hopes of fiscal stewardship, the School Board also continues to look at efficiencies such as solar. The new referendum would promise at least another five years without having impacts to class sizes and programing. There are two questions that will be on the ballot this fall. The first would be to revoke the current operating levy of $1,815.27 per student and replace it with a levy of $2,075.27, which supports personalized learning opportunities and small class sizes. The increase for the average valued home would be less than eight dollars more per month. The second question on the ballot would be to renew the existing capital project levy. The bond for buildings was in 2019, and this is a levy for learning. This levy allows the School District to continue to advance and provide needed offerings for their programming. The capital project levy makes key technology possible. If it does not pass, the School District will be in the position to spend down the fund balance and will need to make changes that may impact stability. Swanson stated they will be informing residents of what will be on the ballot, when and where to vote. Nelson inquired if only the smartest and highest-grade earners get to take the various high interest courses. Swanson stated they have been working to explore a way for each student to have choice and options. Felicia Thames, Central Middle School (CMS) Principal, stated they are working towards increasing the gifted and talented testing to see how more students are testing and if they are qualifying for different courses. Kim Ross added designing pathways and choice is available to all students. They are working to make sure there are not barriers and there are opportunities for students to take gifted classes. Nate Gibbs, Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) Principal, stated they are also focusing on support when going through more advanced course work. Pathways are available to all students, but they are working on supporting students through high levels. Seidel stated he appreciates the opportunity to meet tonight, and he feels confident about the school referendum prospects. Something of great value is the nonpolitical and non-contentious nature of all Eden Prairie’s government entities and boards. Case added there is a lot of good happening in the City and Schools in Eden Prairie, but he would like to continue to build on it. V. Discussion: 20-30 minutes VI. Adjournment