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Edina Public School District board meeting, Jul 13, 2026

57 min · 0 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 9:39

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 57 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Edina school board approves student handbooks and facilities maintenance plan 36:53

  • Karen Gabler said the board goals and the superintendent goals will come forward for approval at the August meeting. 6:20
  • Karen Gabler introduced a review of Policies 208, 503, 520, 601, 616 and 626 and turned the item over to the board's policy chair. 9:17
  • The board approved the student handbooks for 26⁠-⁠27 and the long-term facilities maintenance plan for 2028 through 2037. 36:57
  • The board also approved collective bargaining agreements with the Edina Administrative Council and the Local 284 transportation employees. 44:48

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Item by item (15)
  1. Opening, agenda and consent agenda 1:43
    • Karen Gabler called the meeting to order and the agenda was approved. 1:43
    • Karen Gabler welcomed the district's new Director of Special Education and said no members of the public were there to speak. 2:00
    • The board voted by roll call to remove the e-learning days from the consent agenda. 3:06
    • Karen Gabler announced the consent agenda was approved without the e-learning day. 3:48
  2. E-learning days 4:02
    • A speaker asked the superintendent to explain to the community how e-learning days work. 4:18
    • A staff member said the plan covers at-home learning days specific to inclement weather and does not involve online learning programs. 4:57
    • The staff member said the e-learning days begin on the 4th day and the documentation includes frequently asked questions. 4:57
    • Karen Gabler announced the e-learning day agenda item was approved. 6:20
  3. Board and superintendent goals 6:20
    • Karen Gabler said the only changes from the June retreat were to Goal 3, embedding the 5 initiatives from last year and the priority on technology and AI. 6:20
    • Karen Gabler said both sets of goals will be up for approval at the August meeting. 6:20
    • A staff member said feedback was incorporated into the superintendent goals, particularly in Goal 5 related to technology and AI. 8:13
  4. Policy 208 on policy adoption 9:17
    • Erica Allenburg said the change, recommended by the MSBA model policy, allows the administration to make technical changes such as grammar fixes without coming to the board. 9:39
    • Erica Allenburg said the year was removed from the policy's review schedule to make it more evergreen while keeping the same cadence. 9:39
  5. Policy 503 on student attendance 9:39
    • Karen Gabler asked why a sentence calls out 17-year-olds when the first sentence says between the ages of 12 and 18, and the staff member said the answer would follow. 12:54
    • A staff member said statute references 260C.201 and 128.35 will be added. 13:44
  6. Policy 626 on independent providers 15:40
    • Erica Allenburg said the changes aim to strengthen accountability for independent providers while allowing the broadest access possible. 16:04
    • A staff member said the appendices were recommended for removal because the forms already exist on the high school website, and an independent provider agreement drawn up by legal counsel is in its final stages. 16:57
    • A speaker asked whether provider insurance extends to younger ages, and a staff member said the policy is only open to grades 9 through 12 and the question would be checked. 18:57
  7. Policy 520 on student surveys 20:09
    • Erica Allenburg said the district's student survey policy had never matched the MSBA policy and the revision uses the MSBA recommended model policy. 20:09
    • One board member said the policy read as redundant and asked why guardians was crossed off, and a staff member said parent was included in the definition. 23:47
    • A speaker asked how often such student surveys are conducted, and a staff member said not often. 25:18
  8. Educational competencies and curriculum policy 28:10
    • A staff member said the definition of curriculum was adjusted and the appendix language on the Talent Development Framework was updated for consistency. 28:35
    • One board member suggested wording for the talent development paragraph to make it clearer to an outside reader. 29:36
    • A staff member said the last sentence could be taken as a simple solution. 30:56
  9. Policy 616 on system accountability 31:10
    • Erica Allenburg said the state-required policy, formerly the World's Best Workforce policy, was revised because the crossed-out MSBA language did not mirror the district's goal-setting process. 31:10
    • A staff member said the committee decided to keep language that the committee will reflect the diversity of the community without being prescriptive about who must take part. 32:47
    • A speaker asked how diverse voices would be ensured, and a staff member said it will be part of the report to the board and to the Department of Education. 34:43
  10. Student handbooks 35:38
    • A staff member said the board had multiple opportunities to review the handbooks and asked that they be approved on an annual basis moving forward. 36:18
    • Karen Gabler announced the board approved the student handbooks for 26⁠-⁠27. 36:57
  11. Long-term facilities maintenance plan 36:53
    • A staff member said the levy would rise from $18,488,184 for fiscal year 2027 to $20,244,644, an increase of roughly $1.75 million attributed to timing of principal and interest payments on prior bonds. 38:10
    • The staff member said the capital tax rate would be about 25.5% compared with 25.36% for the current year. 38:41
    • A speaker asked whether maintenance costs would keep rising, and a staff member said costs might flatten and go down a little in the near term. 39:27
    • Karen Gabler announced the long-term facilities maintenance plan for '28 through '37 was approved. 41:09
  12. Administrative council labor agreement 41:09
    • A staff member said the agreement includes salary increases of 3.4% in the first year and 4% in the second, with the high school principal position receiving 4% in both years. 42:41
    • The staff member said the 2-year total package is $7,871,747, an increase of $480,797, or 6.5%. 43:50
    • Karen Gabler announced the '26 to '28 agreement with the Edina Administrative Council was approved. 44:48
  13. Transportation employees labor agreement 45:18
    • A staff member said the transportation employees ratified the agreement that morning and listed a 3% improvement to step 1 of the bus driver wage schedule in both years. 45:38
    • The staff member said the 2-year total package is $7,393,314, an increase of $466,408, or 6.73%. 47:34
    • A speaker asked about keeping the unit fully staffed, and a staff member said staffing bus drivers is difficult but has improved greatly over the last few years. 48:11
    • Karen Gabler announced the agreement with the Local 284 transportation employees was approved. 50:47
  14. Policy approvals 50:47
    • Erica Allenburg said the policies were reviewed against MSBA model policy and applicable laws with no changes since last month's discussion. 51:30
    • Karen Gabler announced Policies 410, 539, 618, 629 and 902 were approved. 51:53
  15. Updates and adjournment 51:53
    • Karen Gabler drew attention to the annual superintendent evaluation in the information section of the board packet. 52:55
    • A staff member said the work session that evening covered safety and security and upcoming district priorities. 54:13
    • Karen Gabler announced the motion to adjourn passed. 55:56

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Edina Public Schools - School Board Regular Meeting, July 13th, 2026”