Superintendent reports security training, bond project dates and legislative testimony on sparsity aid

Superintendent Dr. Funk updated the Stillwater Area Public Schools board on operations, safety training, bond project schedules and recent legislative activity.

Key points from the superintendent’s report - Safety training: Dr. Funk said he and staff met with Washington County officials to develop training that helps teachers make safety decisions in an incident (for example, evacuate versus lockdown, depending on proximity); staff will follow the work with tabletop exercises. - Bond groundbreakings: construction start dates were given for bond-funded projects: Bayport is scheduled to start March 3, the high‑school entryway on April 14 and the Oakland addition May 5; groundbreaking at Lake Elmo was delayed one week because equipment would not operate below 0 degrees. - Transportation and sparsity aid: Dr. Funk said the district transports over 8,000 students daily across about 153 square miles, and he testified at the legislature seeking higher sparsity reimbursement. He said prior aid for sparsity increased in a previous session and that the district seeks further reimbursement to offset transportation costs. - Legislative items: Dr. Funk described a legislative proposal that would allow school boards to opt out of state mandates enacted in the last session for a period (he summarized it as allowing local opt-outs and said the proposal drew concern from district staff who rely on benefits such as summer unemployment), and he encouraged trustees to follow bills through MSBA and the legislative dashboard staff provided.

No formal board action was taken on these items during the meeting. Dr. Funk thanked bus drivers and paraprofessionals for their work and said the district will continue coordinating training and construction timelines.

Ending: Staff will return to the board with details as training and bond work progress and will post legislative updates on the district dashboard.