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Board tables special-education coordinators agreement; holds first readings of multiple policies and summarizes superintendent evaluation
Summary
The Monticello school board voted 6-0 to table a tentative special education coordinators master agreement and reviewed several policies on first reading, including testing, transportation and public data procedures; the board also summarized a closed-session superintendent evaluation.
The Monticello Public School District board on Monday voted to table a tentative master agreement with special education coordinators after staff said a single sentence in the draft still required mutual understanding.
Rob Daneker, the district director of human resources, told the board he had expected to present a tentative agreement but that "there is one sentence of the draft agreement that we're still trying to gain mutual agreement on intent and understanding," and recommended laying the approval over to the next meeting. Board member Maggie Bartell moved to table the action; board member Casey Root seconded the motion. The board approved the tabling motion by a 6'00 vote.
Earlier in the meeting the board approved the night's agenda and the consent agenda; both motions were moved by Board member Melissa Curtis, seconded by Casey Root, and passed 6'00.
The board also provided a public summary of a July 21, 2025 closed work session in which it conducted its annual evaluation of Superintendent Olsen at the superintendent's request. The board rated Superintendent Olsen's overall performance as "highly effective," citing strategic leadership, transparency and community engagement. Recommended focus areas for 2025'26 included district finances, communication, governance and continued school improvement. The full closed-session summary is linked to the meeting agenda.
On policy work, the board conducted first readings of multiple items. Laura Stebner, director of teaching and learning, contributed edits to Policy 64614 (school district testing plan and procedure) recommending explicit language about testing accommodations for students with 504 plans and IEPs. The policy committee also brought forward Policy 615 (testing accommodations and exemptions for students with IEPs, 504 plans and English learner needs), Policy 707 (transportation of public school students), Policy 708 (transportation of nonpublic students), Policy 722 (public data and data subject requests) and Policy 802 (disposition of obsolete equipment and material) for first reading.
On Policy 722 and its companion form, staff explained they recommended clarifying whether a requester is the subject of a data request (which creates a 10-business-day response timeline) and made explicit that electronic dissemination may be subject to the same copying charges as physical copies under Minnesota statute 13.03. Director of IT Jason Borks and Daneker said the district has previously charged for some large, time-consuming requests after consultation with the district attorney, and the draft form is intended to increase transparency about potential charges and identify the district's responsible authority for public data requests.
Regarding obsolete equipment, Daneker said statutory limitations often preclude sale of surplus district computers; the typical practice is to use devices until they are no longer supported by vendors (Google/Apple) and then dispose of them securely.
No policies were adopted; the items were brought forward for first reading and will return for further consideration at later meetings.
