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Northfield Public School District board meeting, Sep 28, 2026

1 h 39 min · 0 public speakers

Enrollment ▶ 1:13:28Reading and test scores ▶ 9:22

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 1 h 39 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Northfield board approves 2026 payable 2027 preliminary levy at maximum authority 48:51

  • The board heard school improvement presentations from the principals of Spring Creek Elementary School and Bridgewater Elementary School on 2025⁠-⁠26 results and 2026⁠-⁠27 focus areas. 8:48
  • The board approved a motion to certify to county auditors the 2026 payable 2027 preliminary levy limitation and certification at the maximum authority. 48:51
  • The director of finance said the total proposed levy for pay 27 was $29,843,580.31 and estimated about a 4.5% increase for the average homeowner. 49:57
  • The board also approved a motion on the policies after no questions were raised. 1:27:34
Item by item (10)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 1:46
    • The meeting was called to order at 6 PM on Monday, September 28th, 2026. 1:46
    • A district staff member said the table file included an overnight field trip request, a grant application, an updated levy presentation, personnel items and an updated list of upcoming board meetings. 2:26
    • The motion to accept the agenda carried. 3:34
  2. Recognitions and announcements 3:44
    • A district staff member congratulated three Northfield High School students named Commended Students in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program. 3:44
    • The staff member said the 2026 Northfield High School Athletics Hall of Fame inductees would be recognized at the homecoming football game on Friday, October 2nd, and at an induction ceremony on Saturday, October 3rd. 3:44
    • The staff member said they were attending the Minnesota Association of School Administrators conference and would present a session there. 6:20
  3. Spring Creek Elementary improvement showcase 8:48
    • The Spring Creek principal said AMath results boosted to 84% and that 75% of families attended the All-Star Celebrations, with a hope to raise that to 80%. 9:22
    • The principal said goals included growing A-Reading by at least 2% and growing SEL screener results by 5%. 9:22
  4. Bridgewater Elementary improvement showcase 31:00
    • The Bridgewater principal said staff survey participation rose from 33 to 56 against a goal of 53, and a survey mean rose from 3.49 to 3.79 against a goal of 3.66. 32:48
    • The principal said family survey participation went from 51 to 85 against a goal of 70. 36:28
    • Amy Goerwitz asked for an explanation of the graphs in highlight number 1, and a staff member said the figures 63, 79 and 77 represented students at or above grade level. 43:52
  5. Consent agenda 47:58
    • The chair said personnel items from the table file were added to the consent grouping, and no items were pulled. 48:22
    • The motion to approve the consent grouping passed. 48:51
  6. Preliminary property tax levy 48:51
    • The director of finance said the total proposed levy for pay 27 was $29,843,580.31, with an estimated 8.65% revenue increase. 49:25
    • Ben Miller asked why the levy years are labeled pay, and the director of finance said it is likely because the levy is payable in 2027. 1:12:12
    • Maggie Epstein asked about certifying the maximum, and the director of finance said certifying at the max lets the district receive any upward correction while still allowing the board to under-levy later. 1:22:03
    • The motion to certify the preliminary levy at the maximum authority passed. 1:26:47
  7. Policy Committee recommendations 1:26:56
    • The motion covered policies 402, 423, 509, 515, 521, 524.2, 621 and 624, and no questions were raised. 1:26:56
    • The motion to approve the Policy Committee's recommendations passed. 1:27:45
  8. Minnesota Kids Rise initiative 1:27:45
    • Amy Goerwitz said they serve on the Minnesota Kids Rise Steering Committee, which is working to provide a toolkit for districts to share success stories. 1:28:07
    • Amy Goerwitz said the effort uses the tagline I'm a Minnesota kid and had a rollout at the State Fair. 1:28:07
  9. High school construction update 1:34:59
    • A district staff member said soil corrections were completed for the classroom addition and most of the project is on track. 1:35:09
    • The staff member said an intercom system at Door 10 would be installed to let the main office buzz in students. 1:35:55
    • Asked how disruptive the construction is, the staff member said the biggest complaint is traffic flow. 1:37:17
  10. Upcoming events and adjournment 1:38:15
    • The chair said board members were invited to the retired educators luncheon on Friday, October 30th, and that the next regular meeting is Tuesday, October 13th, 6 PM. 1:38:15

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 “Northfield School District Board of Education Regular Meeting 09 28 2026”