District staff presented a draft of the district‑wide survey and tied the requirement to KCER (formerly "World's Best Workforce"), telling the board the evaluation is required roughly every three years. S5 said the results from 2022 are informative but the board should confirm timing and topics for the next survey.

Board members discussed an April window for fielding the survey and asked that questions be finalized well before April. S5 said she would aim to have questions set by around March 1 so administration can launch the tool in early April; board members recommended keeping the survey open for two weeks to maximize participation. One parent‑board member suggested a survey interface that lets respondents indicate the buildings they care about so they would not need to take multiple building‑specific surveys.

The board also discussed contingency content tied to an upcoming referendum. S5 flagged that if a referendum fails the board would want targeted questions about reactions to failure, while other members suggested avoiding "survey fatigue" and limiting referendum focus in the broader community survey. "If it was to fail, I think you would definitely want some questions around that because it's a perfect opportunity," S2 said.

Separately, S5 outlined the district's communications plan for the facilities referendum: a series of presentations in January at Riverview and Sartell High School, recorded videos and PowerPoints to post on the district website, talking‑point cards for board members, and targeted local media outreach. Board members pressed for easy website access to referendum materials and proposed adding the referendum link to the front page’s news & updates or temporary banner. S5 noted the presentations and videos will be posted no later than the Monday following the meeting and that the presenter team will include the superintendent and building leaders.

Quotes from the meeting include S6's formal opening of the work session: "So it is 06:33, and I'm going to call our December work session to order." On the board's obligation to remain neutral during a vote, S4 reminded colleagues: "we legally can't take a stance 1 way or the other as a board on it. We can't encourage or discourage anybody." S5 pointed out a website issue discovered during the meeting: "That that link is broken." The board asked administration to post referendum materials prominently and to return to the board in February with survey question drafts and outreach timing.

Next steps: staff will finalize proposed survey questions by early March, keep the survey open for approximately two weeks in April, post presentation videos and talking points in January, and prepare a follow‑up on survey wording and referendum outreach at the February meeting.