Richfield School Board approves agenda, policies, facilities bids and two new transports; OKs cooperative boys volleyball

The Richfield School Board approved a slate of routine and action items at its Feb. 3 meeting, including administrative and policy measures, authorization to seek bids for a restroom renovation at Richfield High School, purchase authorization for two school buses and a cooperative sponsorship to field boys volleyball with Holy Angels.

The board opened the meeting and approved the agenda by voice vote after a motion from Director Polis and a second from Director Cole; the chair cast an aye and the agenda passed. The consent agenda — a bundle of routine business items — was then approved by motion of Director Spencer with a second from Director Palos.

Policy actions and reviews

- Administrative guideline 926.3 (Language Access Plan): After review the board approved the guideline on its third read. The guideline was presented in English and Spanish and will now be part of the district’s annual review cycle.

- Policy 524 (Promotion, Retention, Acceleration) and administrative guideline 524.1: The board approved the policy and accompanying guideline on third read. Trustees asked for clarification about the district’s procedures for identifying students for acceleration/enrichment (assessment and portfolio review were described by staff); administrators agreed to present the written procedures to the board at a future meeting.

- Policy 585 (Student Surveys): Trustees heard a second read; the item will return for approval at a future meeting. The district added language requiring students be informed of the survey purpose.

- Policy 550 (Student Cell Phones) and draft administrative guideline 550.1: The policy requires the superintendent to create school-level rules for phone use; the draft guideline lays out different practices by level (elementary, middle, high) and includes suggested exceptions for instructional uses and certain accommodations. The item was a first read; board members asked staff to collect additional student and teacher feedback before the March vote required by statute.

Facilities and transportation

- RHS toilet-room renovation (bid authorization): The board authorized staff to advertise formal bids for renovation of three floors of restrooms at Richfield High School, with the formal bid opening set for Feb. 20 at 2:00 p.m. District staff estimated the project at about $850,000 and said funding would come from the voter-approved 2017 referendum bond proceeds. The planned work replaces gendered facilities with single-use all-gender restrooms (six stalls per remodeled restroom and accessible fixtures) and converts one existing restroom on each floor into storage; staff said piping in the building’s basement would allow future reconversion if necessary.

- Authorization to purchase two passenger school buses: The board authorized purchase of two 90-passenger Thomas buses under the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreement at $220,847 each (total $441,694). Staff said they were evaluating whether to buy outright or use lease-purchase financing given other planned capital needs and noted lead times for buses can be many months.

Athletics and donations

- Cooperative sponsorship agreement for boys volleyball (Holy Angels): The board approved a resolution to allow a cooperative sponsorship in boys volleyball with Holy Angels. The resolution passed by roll-call; recorded ayes included Director Cole, Director Spenser, Director Luth, Director Paul and the chair.

- Donations: The board accepted with gratitude a $100 donation from Kristen and Justin Schack of Richfield.

Meeting close and next steps

The board moved into a closed session for labor negotiations under Minnesota statute 13D.03. Trustees scheduled the next regular meeting for Feb. 18. Several items will return for additional consideration in March, including the student-survey policy and the required March vote on the student-cell-phone policy.

Ending: The board directed staff to return with procedural documents requested in the meeting — notably the written acceleration/enrichment procedures tied to Policy 524 and follow-up detail on class- and college-credit enrollment — and with updated procurement details and delivery timelines for the bus purchase.