Faribault board keeps RISE mentor hire after debate over program transparency and DEI

The Faribault Public School District School Board on July 21 approved a recommendation to hire staff that included a RISE (Realizing Individual Student Excellence) mentor after the board rejected an amendment to remove that position.

The amendment, moved by Director Linda Moore to pull the RISE mentor from the employment approvals, failed on a 1–5 roll call. Moore was the lone vote in favor of the amendment; Directors Linda Boudreau, Candice Knudson, Cassie Steeves, Chad Wolf and Chair John Bellingham voted no. The underlying employment recommendation then passed by voice vote, recorded as 5–1.

Board members spent more than 45 minutes discussing the RISE position, focused on program eligibility, funding sources and outcomes. Director Moore said she was concerned the program’s partnerships and outreach could effectively prioritize some groups over others and suggested removing the hire while the board investigates potential legal and funding risks. Moore said she had reviewed a federal audit and public materials and flagged a claim that roughly $6 million in federal funding was at risk; she described earlier press reports suggesting some funds had already been pulled. Moore framed her amendment around transparency and civil-rights compliance.

Superintendent Venti and district staff answered questions about the RISE program’s structure, funding and measurable results. “We have 9 RISE employees. Six are paid for by the AlignER grant, two come from our state-funded Access grant and one is through special education,” Superintendent Venti said. He added that the program had shown measurable results: “What we have seen is that this past year, students that went through the RISE program had a 90 percent graduation rate.” Staff also said the position under consideration is grant-funded and that eliminating it would not return money to the district’s general fund.

Directors who supported keeping the position described RISE as a tailored intervention that pulls students out of class when needed—similar to counseling or administrative interventions—and pointed to graduation gains. Director Chad Wolf said the program “is not race based” and that it provides extra help to students to reach the district’s graduation goals. Director Cassie Steeves recounted positive personal anecdotes about RISE supports and said her experience with the program supported retaining the hire.

Several board members asked for more program-level data. Director Moore requested achievement metrics beyond graduation rates, saying she wanted evidence that the program raised student academic outcomes as well as graduation. Other board members and staff volunteered to provide follow-up data; one staff member said about 40 percent of the high school population benefits from RISE services, and staff described how services are scheduled to minimize lost instructional time (for example, using study hall or meeting before/after school when possible).

The vote left the district with the proposed RISE mentor hire intact. Board members agreed to seek additional written information on RISE program enrollment, student outcomes beyond graduation and grant documentation to address concerns raised during the discussion.

Votes at a glance - Employment recommendation including RISE mentor — amendment to remove RISE mentor failed (1–5, roll call); employment approvals then passed (5–1, voice vote). Movers/seconds: original motion to approve employment moved by Director Linda Boudreau and seconded by Director Cassie Steeves; amendment to pull RISE mentor moved by Director Linda Moore and seconded by Director Cassie Steeves. Result: hire approved. Note: district staff said the RISE mentor is grant-funded and does not affect the general fund. - Resolution 26-01, gifts and donations — approved (6–0). Key donations listed in the board packet included a $20,000 Petrar Foundation grant to the high school golf center and roughly $16,271.70 from the Faribault Booster Club for fitness equipment. - Student handbooks (2025–26): Roosevelt, Jefferson, Lincoln, Middle School, High School, Faribault Online Academy — approved (5–1); Faribault Area Learning Center handbook — approved separately (6–0). - Fiscal year 2026 MOU and LEA agreement with Elysian Head Start — approved (6–0). - 10-year Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) plan — approved (6–0). - Second reading and approval of the district vision plan — approved (5–1).

Why this matters The hire affects the district’s school-based intervention capacity at the high school and touches on wider questions about how the district spends grant dollars, measures program effectiveness and documents nondiscrimination. Directors debating the hire raised both program-evaluation questions (what outcomes beyond graduation can be shown?) and legal/funding concerns (whether grant language or program practices could create exposure to civil-rights claims or jeopardize external funding). The board voted to retain the position while requesting additional documentation and outcome data.

What’s next Board members asked administration to provide follow-up materials: enrollment counts for RISE, disaggregated outcome measures beyond graduation, the grant agreements that fund RISE positions, and a clear statement of how RISE services are scheduled to limit missed instruction. The board scheduled continued oversight through its standing committee structure and the regular August meetings.

Source excerpts from the meeting transcript: discussion and motions on employment and the RISE mentor hire, public and board-member questions about program funding and outcomes, and the roll call on the amendment.