Chisago Lakes School Board approves revised budget, union agreement, calendar and election judge pay

The Chisago Lakes School Board voted to adopt a revised budget, ratify a school-staff bargaining agreement and approve an array of routine items during a meeting that also featured a student report and updates on community outreach.

The board approved a revised budget presented by Director of Business Services Robin Wofford Ferguson, who said, "For the first time, I can say our enrollment is stable." Ferguson told trustees the revision reflects better estimates and recent contract settlements. At the fund level she said the food service fund shows about $100,000 more in revenue but roughly $277,000 more in expenses this year as the district plans equipment purchases, including ovens and cafeteria tables; community‐education revenue is up about $569,000 with expenses up roughly $367,000. Ferguson said the district’s unassigned general-fund balance is projected near $3.1 million. After discussion the board moved, seconded and approved the revised budget by voice vote.

Trustees also approved the 2027–28 school calendar as a draft that may be revised later if needed. Board members discussed possible conflicts between athletic events and graduation but left the schedule flexible for adjustments.

On personnel and labor matters, the board accepted a negotiated contract identified in the meeting as the Local 284 agreement. A presenter called Corey summarized the deal as a total package increase of about 10.86 percent, with much of the change tied to insurance costs, a 4 percent salary increase in year one and 2 percent in year two, a modest increase to longevity pay and changes to starting-step placement. Corey said the negotiated settlements put the district roughly $65,000 over the initial budget assumption and that administrators will monitor alignment.

The board approved a related memorandum of understanding on flex time and work year adjustments, which the meeting record describes as a move to pay employees for extra days worked rather than embedding multiple special arrangements in contracts.

Trustees set election-judge compensation for an upcoming special election, recording that the special-election rate will be $16 per hour and regular judges will be paid $18 per hour for head judges; board members noted the state sets the pay and the district remits it. The board then approved a resolution to appoint election judges for the May special election with an affirmative roll-call-style confirmation recorded in the minutes.

The consent agenda passed and included claims, personnel actions, extracurricular contracts and minutes. During the consent discussion a board member noted a three-year review showing the district had paid "almost $400,000 since 2022" to mechanical contractors; the speaker said some of that was recurring boiler maintenance but that referendum dollars could reduce future repair spending if a referendum passes.

The board accepted several donations during the meeting: a $1,000 scholarship from the foundation, a $750 scholarship from the online alliance club and a $5,000 innovation grant from Resource Training Solutions, which the board formally acknowledged.

Student activities and community engagement were also on the agenda. A student representative reported on a successful variety show (29 acts), speech and music contest results, prom plans and mental-health-week planning. Superintendent's updates included a planned mentorship pilot with Rotary, a 'Soup with the Supe' public meeting on the bond and short videos to explain school funding to the community.

What’s next: board members said listening sessions tied to the district’s strategic plan will launch in May and be held every other month; sign-ups for trustees to staff sessions will be handled by email. No further substantive action was scheduled at the end of the meeting.