Faribault school board moves to closed session to discuss labor negotiation strategies

The Independent School District #656 board of education voted unanimously May 4, 2026, to enter a closed session to discuss labor negotiation strategies for Local 70 unions and Administrative Assistant employees, according to the work-session minutes.

Board member Chad Wolff moved to go into closed session "at 7:33 p.m., as permitted by Minn. Stat. 13D.03," and Lynda Boudreau seconded the motion. The minutes record the motion as passing 6-0.

The minutes list the participants in the closed session as board members John Bellingham, Lynda Boudreau, Candace Knudson, Jerry Robicheau, Casie Steeves and Chad Wolff; Superintendent Jamie Bente; Nicole Yochum, Director of Human Resources; Barbie Roesler, Director of Finance and Operations; and Rob Dehnert, Director of Special Services.

After the closed session the minutes record a motion by Boudreau, seconded by Knudson, to adjourn the closed session and reconvene the public work session; that motion is recorded as passing 6-0. The minutes then record a motion by John Bellingham, seconded by Lynda Boudreau, to adjourn the meeting; the motion passed unanimously, 6-0.

The minutes as published contain an apparent inconsistency in reported times: they record a motion to move into closed session "at 7:33 p.m." but also record the meeting as adjourned at 6:00 p.m. The minutes do not describe the substance of the closed-session discussion; Minn. Stat. 13D.03 permits a public body to close a meeting for certain labor-negotiation strategy discussions. The board did not record any public votes on contracts or collective-bargaining agreements in the published minutes.

The board clerk, Casie Steeves, certified the minutes, which are marked as approved May 18, 2026.