Action of the School Board Action of the School Board 06/25/15 | Page 2

of reductions at its Jan. 25, 2016, meeting.

Truth in Taxation timeline

Chief Financial Officer Michelle Vargas presented for approval the 2015 Truth in Taxation
timeline. A public hearing is slated to be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2015, just prior to the
regular School Board meeting.
The hearing specifically relates to property taxes paid in 2016, which the district will use for
the 2016-17 school year, Vargas said.
According to the timeline, the School Board will review the proposed tax levy at its Sept. 27
meeting, and certify it for the county auditor. In mid-November, the county will mail notices to homeowners in the community. The Truth in Taxation hearing will be held Dec. 14,
and on Dec. 29, the levy will be certified and sent to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Elementary and Secondary Education

Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Community Task Force report

Dr. Jinger Gustafson, associate superintendent for middle schools, presented a second
reading of the Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force annual report and final 2014-15
recommendations for approval.
The 29-member task force, which includes parents, students, community members and
staff, met monthly during the school year with the assistance of trained, external facilitators. Its purpose was bringing forth the concerns of students and parents related to harassment incidents and the district’s overall climate. The task force recommended strategies
to pre¬vent harassment and improve the educational climate, while developing outreach
strategies for parents and families to build awareness and address concerns related to bullying and harassment.
Over the course of the 2014-15 school year, the group heard presentations by district
lead¬ers; reviewed pertinent district policies, the Anti-bullying/Anti-harassment Guiding
Prin¬ciples, the anti-bullying communication plan, survey reports and the consent decree;
and had a number of small and large group conversations regarding student perception
data. It identified five focus areas for evaluation: cyberbullying, student voices, prevention
and education, parent involvement, and surveys.
Following its work over the past year, the team concluded that it had strengthened
com¬munication with the district’s internal team working on anti-bullying and anti-harassment, increased its understanding of related issues, engaged in activities to analyze the
scope of the problem and generated ideas to move the district closer to eliminating bullying
and harassment in the district’s schools.
The task force recommends a focus for next year on incorporating student voice into
exam¬ining the effectiveness of the district’s anti-bullying efforts. It asked the board to
consider inviting current task force members to continue their involvement, maintaining a
member¬ship of 25 to 30 members, including at least one student from each high school,
and reduc¬ing the number of meetings but planning for larger blocks of time. It proposes
four meet¬ings for the year focused on a significant event that would allow many students
to provide input on bullying and harassment in district schools, current anti-bullying and
anti-harass¬ment efforts and proposed strategies for eliminating bullying and harassment.
The School Board unanimously approved the recommendations.

2

ACTION

General Counsel

Master agreement for Anoka-Hennepin technical specialists for 2015-2017

Paul Cady, Anoka-Hennepin’s general counsel, presented for approval the recently ratified,
two-year master agreement with the Anoka-Hennepin school technical specialists for 2015-