The White Bear Lake Area Schools board reorganized its leadership Tuesday, electing Scott Arcand chair, Angela Thompson vice chair, Kathleen Daniels clerk and Deb Lloyd treasurer by acclamation, and then moved through routine business and administrative appointments.

The board approved previously tabled portions of the Nov. 10 minutes after debate over the motion language and a roll-call vote that recorded one 'No' from Member Scar. Later, the consent agenda was approved after a member attempted to pull the payment-of-invoices item to the regular agenda; that effort failed following a procedural objection and a roll-call vote in which Scar again voted 'No.'

The board confirmed several routine, annual items: designation of the White Bear Press as the district's official legal publication for 2026; approval of official depositories and authorized signers (noting Old National Bank's acquisition of Bremer Bank); and designation of outside law firms (Kennedy & Graven; Ratwick, Rosack & Maloney; Squires, Walzberger & Mace) as legal counsel for the calendar year. The superintendent was authorized to serve as the district’s local education agency representative for federal program compliance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Administrators also presented personnel and compliance appointments. The board approved naming Matt Mons, Executive Director of Human Resources and General Counsel, as District Human Rights Officer; Allison Gillespie as Title IX coordinator; and Lisa Oren as the district ADA/504 coordinator.

On fiscal and procurement policy, the board reaffirmed a delegation under Minnesota statute allowing the superintendent and assistant superintendent for finance and operations to contract for budgeted goods and services up to $175,000, and adopted the state purchasing thresholds that require two or more quotes for purchases between $25,000 and $175,000 and sealed bids for amounts over $175,000. One board member voiced concern about oversight and abstained on the contract-authorization vote, citing recent audit findings.

Board business also included routine appointments of representatives: Angela Thompson to the Intermediate School District board and Jessica Ellison to serve on the BrightWorks regional cooperative. Members approved updated meeting schedules for 2026–27 and a set of revised board policies (402, 423 and 611) at second reading.

The meeting concluded by moving to closed session for labor negotiations as authorized under Minnesota law.