School Board Update
July 23, 2020
Meeting Overview
Items Approved by the Board
- Long Term Facility Maintenance 10 Year Plan
- 2020-2021 Athletics Agreement between Cambridge-Isanti Schools and Cambridge Christian School
- 2020-2021 Athletics Agreement between Cambridge-Isanti Schools and Art & Science Academy
- Athletics and Activities Trip Permissions
- Student Handbooks
- Chromebook Purchase for 2020-21
- Designation of Identified Official with Authority for the MDE External User Access Recertification System
- 2020-21 Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) Membership Renewal
- Memorandum of Understanding between C-I Schools and the Principal Bargaining Group
- Memorandum of Understanding between C-I Schools and Director of Teaching and Learning
- Memorandum of Understanding between C-I Schools and Education Minnesota
Full board agenda can be found here
School Board Showcase - Riverside Academy
Riverside Principal, John Droubie, presented a showcase highlighting the different services Riverside Academy provides to students ages five and up. From targeted services to adult basic education, the goal of Riverside is to meet students where they are and provide the resources they need to succeed. This was evident during distance learning this spring when students in the independent study program and evening courses completed more credits than they had during the same time period last year. This is a great accomplishment and a testimony to the hard work of the staff as well as the dedication of the students. Although distance learning provided many challenges a highlight was celebrating the graduations of their students.
The full presentation can be found here.
It's a GREAT day to be a Bluejacket!
Superintendent's Report - Dr. Rudolph
As the an individual can see by the reports from district leadership, our work continues to be focused on planning for back to school. July is also an important time to reflect as noticed in some of the reports. We have a lot to be proud of at Cambridge-Isanti! Our students, families, and staff are second to none. The education that we provide to our Bluejackets is meaningful, important, and crucial for the continued development of our students and the future of our community. I am so proud of all who work tirelessly to make this a reality. Although we are still building our plans for the fall and look forward to the additional guidance at the end of July, I know that we have the right people and the right teams focused on providing a high-quality education for Every Student Every Day.
We are also continuing to look to our long term future. Over the past couple of months, we have been reaching out to our community to gather feedback regarding the strategic priorities for the future of our school district. As we know, our district has faced some significant budget reductions over the past two years and faces a 1.7 Million dollar structural deficit as we move forward based on projected state aid. Many community members have asked us to look into an operating referendum to help offset such a deficit in the future. We continue to learn about this process, calculate impact factors, and gather feedback. We will be prepared to continue to provide the Board with the information needed to move forward as we move through the remaining weeks of the summer.
Finally, like Chris, this time of the year approaches the one year anniversary of my move to C-I as superintendent, and although it has been quite the year, I wouldn’t choose to do it anywhere else. Our district is special because of the people and relationships that we have with each other. I have no doubt that although we face challenges in both our immediate and long term future, that we will prevail to continue to provide an excellent education for every single Bluejacket, successfully serve our communities, and strengthen our partnerships throughout. Thank you to our School Board for your outstanding support and leadership over the past year and thank you in advance for your leadership into the future! GO BIG BLUE!
Administration Report Highlights
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES & HUMAN RESOURCES
by: Shawn Kirkeide
I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone for the wonderful opportunity that was given to me to become the Interim Director of Administrative Services and Human Resources. It has been a pleasure working with such a great Administrative team, as well as a wonderful Human Resources team. Even though it is a steep learning curve, and I know I will miss the interaction with the kids, I thoroughly enjoy the job and the people I get to work with every day. I look forward to the many excitements and challenges to come in the next year and the opportunity this gives me to learn and grow here at Cambridge-Isanti Schools.
This past month we have been busy onboarding new staff members for the coming school year. We’re excited about the many talents and passions these incoming professionals have to share with our schools and community. We have also continued to meet and have discussions concerning fall planning and how we can welcome students and staff back into our buildings in a safe and practical manner. Travis Evenson, Buildings and Grounds Director, and Jens Erickson from IEA have been working hard on developing an all-encompassing Health and Safety Plan for the fall. The Human Resources department is simultaneously working on a Staffing Plan for our staff’s return in the fall, while also focusing on preparing annual training for various employee groups.
FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
by: Christopher Kampa, CFA
Finance
It is with great appreciation, and great sadness, to announce that after serving the district for 23 years, Linda Stull will be retiring from her Payroll Specialist position at the end of the month. Linda has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to the job. Payroll is due every two weeks, and it doesn’t take a break if you’re sick, or on vacation. Linda’s passion for the job, and the district, are evident as soon as you meet her.
It has been a real honor to work with Linda. We are going to miss her, but we are excited for her as she embarks on the next leg of her journey. We hope she doesn’t become a stranger and can come back to visit often. While no one can replace Linda, Christine Hanse will be taking the reins and her experience no doubt proves that she will be a great new addition to the Finance Team. She most recently worked for the Rum River Special Education Cooperative here in town, so her commute shouldn’t change too much. Christine took over Rum River’s payroll department and implemented many of the same procedures we follow here in the district, so it shouldn’t be too much of a departure for Christine. We value our relationship with Rum River and they gave us their blessing to let Christine come on board.
As we say goodbye to one member of our Finance Team, we are pleased to announce a couple of new additions. Amy Sachs has joined our team as our Student Accounting Specialist/Finance Assistant. Amy previously worked as our District Receptionist and Community Education Administrative Assistant. Amy has a positive attitude, which she is going to need as she learns all the fun intricacies of school finance. Amy has jumped feet-first into the deep end and I really appreciate her willingness to learn and take on new challenges. Amy and her family live in the district, her daughter graduated from C-I Schools last year, and her son is currently attending the high school. We are really excited to welcome Amy aboard!
We are also pleased to announce another tiny new addition to the Finance family. Laura Dittberner, our Finance Specialist I, gave birth to an 8 lb., 3 oz. baby boy named Michael on July 5th. This is Laura’s first baby and we couldn’t be more excited for her. As Laura will be busy with mommy duties over the next 12 weeks, Christina Buckingham will be helping the Finance Team during Laura’s absence. Christina has been a substitute for the district for a number of years and brings a lot of administrative support experience. She is a quick learner and fits in well with the rest of the team, so we know she’ll do great!
Reflections on Past Year
On a personal note, this month will mark my one-year anniversary with the district, and what a year it has been! There have been ups and downs, many laughs, and some tears. First of all, I want to thank the Board and the community for allowing me to serve in my position. I grew up here and have lived here nearly all of my life. I lived in downtown Minneapolis for a number of years after college, and it’s just not the same. There’s not a sense of community, not like we have in Cambridge-Isanti. We have fewer people, but the relationships are much deeper. There is a genuine caring for our fellow neighbors that isn’t always there in the big city. My wife and I moved back to town eight years ago because this great community is where we want to raise our family. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve here and I hope I can continue to manage this department at the level this community deserves for many years to come.
Easily, one of the hardest challenges I have faced in my professional career is the budget reduction process that we endured this Spring in our schools and community education departments. Those reductions hurt and will leave a wound on this community. These are our friends and neighbors, and when they hurt, we hurt. Their loss won’t be forgotten. I wish I could promise that these will be the last reductions we’ll have to make, but given our current financial situation, I cannot make that promise. I can promise that I will do everything within my ability to manage the district’s budget in a fiscally-responsible manner. Our students, families, staff, and communities deserve it.
Despite these hardships, there have been a number of great outcomes this year. We have a lot of awesome employees and I have truly enjoyed working so closely with them. So many of our staff have such a great passion for the district and that gives me a lot of energy. We’ve had a number of successes this year that are worth mentioning. After some early setbacks, we were able to deliver construction of the new facility on time and under budget. With the help of our School Board, Superintendent, and Buildings and Grounds Director, Travis Evenson, we were able to cut $700,000 from the building budget and still deliver a first-class facility.
I am proud of the increased stability and transparency we brought to the budgeting process and district finances. Contract negotiations with our employee groups were at times difficult, but I think we gained a lot of goodwill and established great relationships based on mutual respect and understanding. The current pandemic situation has been hard on many of our families, and harder on some more than others. However, I think we made the most out of a bad situation. Our Operations Team did a great job of developing new delivery methods to ensure our families received free and nutritious meals without having to make layoffs in our food service department. Our Transportation Team did a great job of delivering meals and instructional materials to our students. And our Buildings and Grounds staff were tremendous in keeping our facilities clean and safe for our students. I am proud of the effort put in by our custodians, bus drivers, food service employees, and finance staff. I can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work!
Transportation
The Minnesota Department of Education (“MDE”) has asked us to prepare for three operating scenarios this Fall: 1) back in school full-time, 2) distance learning, or 3) a hybrid of the two. We have been preparing various routing strategies for each scenario. Under the hybrid scenario, we are currently required to limit capacity to 50% and maintain a social distancing parameter of 6-feet between students. Many in the transportation field are expecting (or hoping) that MDE will relax the social distancing requirement because if not, our maximum capacity on a 77-passenger bus will be limited to 10 students. This will make the task of getting our students to school much more challenging. We are eagerly awaiting MDE’s July 27th announcement of what scenario we will be operating under.
Food Service
Similar to the Transportation Department, we are planning for the three scenarios this Fall. We are weighing many options, including offering hot or cold meals, various meal delivery methods, and the impact each scenario will have on-demand. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that each student has access to nutritious and affordable meals. Additionally, we are finishing up two separate audits with our financial audit firm and the MDE. We have also applied for a grant that is intended to help out school food service departments with incidental costs related to the pandemic. The new meal benefit applications are complete and we have already begun processing several applications. Our next challenges are working on staffing for the Fall and making sure we have everything in good shape with our vendors. We are also committed to ensuring that any family who is in need of financial assistance is able to qualify for free or reduced lunches this upcoming school year.
Building & Grounds
The high school Summer projects are moving along nicely. The remodel of the special education classrooms is complete. The heat pumps are being installed, and some of the wiring for the units is taking place. The bathrooms are a little behind schedule because of a plumbing permit issue, however, it is scheduled to be done around August 15th.
The rest of our facilities are nearing completion with Summer cleaning requirements. Covid-19 has brought our district many challenges. When, and in whatever capacity, our students and staff come back this Fall, the Buildings and Grounds Department will be ready to help support and guide our community.
New Facility
The majority of construction on the Cambridge-Isanti Woodland Campus is complete. Crews are working on various punch list items and exterior cameras. Our custodial crews are busy prepping and waxing the floors. The playground has been installed and building furniture will arrive during the week of July 20th. The building sign will be installed in August and signify the finalization of the building project.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
by: Dave Maurer
The past few months have been trying and difficult. With that being said, I am proud of how our staff has responded! We have provided learning opportunities to our Early Childhood families and to our Adult Basic Education learners. We have been able to start up some youth and adult class offerings in July, with a focus on safety, following the MDE and MDH guidelines. Our child care program is running and providing a needed service to an average of about 35-40 students each day.
Looking ahead, we are waiting for a clear direction of what the fall will look like and planning for each scenario. Each scenario will change how we consider community use of our schools as well.
TEACHING & LEARNING
by: Dr. Brenda Damiani
The Department of Teaching Learning continues to plan for the three scenarios as outlined by Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Department of Health. The three scenarios include:
Scenario 1: In-person learning for all students
Scenario 2: Hybrid model with strict social distancing and capacity limits
Scenario 3: Distance Learning only
MDE has released a guide for families so that families know what to expect from school districts. This resource is found on the MDE Supporting Students and Families COVID-19 Resources page.
We are currently finalizing plans to open School for All Seasons on August 5. Our priority for the start of the 2020-21 school year is returning Cambridge-Isanti students to high-quality learning in a safe, healthy, and supportive environment. We all want students and staff to feel comfortable and safe returning to school. We miss our students and are excited for the beginning of the school year!
English Language Arts teams continue to meet throughout the summer to write and revise ELA curriculum. We are excited to provide updated and research-based literacy instruction and materials for our students. Middle school health continues to meet for curriculum writing as well. The new curriculum will be aligned to the updated health standards. Other curriculum areas will continue their work in the fall. Many curriculum cycles have been paused by MDE.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
by: Julie Williams
Special Education
As other departments and the rest of the state, we are waiting for the Governor's decision regarding opening scenarios. In the meantime, we have a special education group that has met and will continue to do so throughout the summer to plan for specific student needs related to special education in each scenario. This plan will be part of the district’s plan related to each scenario.
We are excited to welcome many new special education teachers to our buildings this year as we have hired many new faces to fill vacancies. We are on track to fill all our open positions soon!
Brookside Academy
Planning for Brookside Academy has continued throughout the summer and we are excited to open this fall. The playground is in which will be a great way for students to burn off some energy and tend to sensory needs. Travis Fuhol, Brookside Coordinator, has been meeting with staff and families as they learn the needs of individual students. We are also working closely with the Teaching and Learning Department so that curriculum and materials used at Brookside complements what is used at mainstream buildings. This will help lessen anxiety for students who are able to transition back to a mainstream classroom.
Extended School Year (ESY)
We have had a successful session of ESY with 44 students participating which will end on July 23. Although this year has thrown us a few challenges with offering a distance learning model, staff and students have adapted and the session is going well.
Contact Us
Email: dist-communications@c-ischools.org
Website: c-ischools.org
Location: 625 Main Street North, Cambridge, MN, USA
Phone: 763-689-6188