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Rochester City School District work session, Jul 13, 2026

4 h 19 min · 3 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 4:01:18Safety, weapons and police ▶ 3:18:31

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 4 h 19 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Rochester school board settles on option 3 meeting schedule after reviewing board protocols 1:31:28

  • The board discussed updates to its protocols, including the question log, school visits and meeting schedule, and was still on board protocols 2 hours into the meeting. 33:22
  • Camille Simmons said the board would go with option 3 for its meeting schedule based on a straw vote. 1:43:50
  • During resolution review, Camille Simmons listed resolutions 3, 87 and 88 for removal from the consent agenda and announced after a voice vote that those items had been removed. 3:58:42

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (12)
  1. Speakers forum 8:02
    • Camille Simmons said each speaker had 3 minutes and that the board would listen without responding. 8:02
    • Several speakers at public comment raised concerns about pay, payroll problems and district communication. 9:09
    • A speaker said staff who change students receive $2.75 an hour. 9:09
  2. Contract for Excellence public hearing 19:20
    • Camille Simmons said no one had signed up to comment on the Contract for Excellence and that public comment was invited through August 13th, 2026. 19:20
  3. Board question log changes 33:22
    • The board clerk presented a proposal to move the question log response time from 48 hours to 72 hours, or 3 business days, and to place requests needing 3 or more hours on the next agenda for a board vote. 34:55
    • One board member said Google Docs is hackable and a security risk and asked that the timeline for gathering information be further defined. 43:42
    • One board member said the board should not vote on the changes that day and should have more time to get questions answered. 55:23
  4. School and department visit protocols 57:35
    • The board clerk presented ad hoc committee recommendations for Policy 2111 alongside feedback from governance coaches and general counsel. 57:35
    • One board member suggested that personal visits by board members simply reference the existing visitor policy, and another board member said to summarize the language that way. 1:22:09
    • The board clerk said a recommendation would limit official board visits to no more than once per quarter unless invited by the principal or superintendent or authorized by a board majority. 1:26:05
  5. Meeting schedule options 1:31:28
    • The board clerk presented options to split work sessions into operations and academic sessions and said option 2 was the strongest recommendation. 1:31:28
    • One board member said the vote would be for option 3, which would bring the board in 2 weeks out of the month. 1:38:40
    • Camille Simmons said the board would go with option 3 based on a straw vote and keep option 1 in reserve. 1:43:50
  6. Meeting start times 1:45:35
    • One board member said a 5 p.m. start with the current executive session format would be best. 1:46:55
    • Two board members each said they would support a 5 p.m. executive session followed by a 6 p.m. meeting start. 1:47:50
    • Camille Simmons said there appeared to be an appetite for 5 o'clock and 6. 2:00:44
  7. Agenda topics and consent agenda 2:03:20
    • The board clerk asked that agenda items be due by 5:00 PM the day prior instead of noon the day of the meeting. 2:04:56
    • The board clerk said governance coaches recommended that all items start on the consent agenda. 2:05:36
    • One board member said that approach only works if the board trusts the administration and that the trust is not there at this time. 2:07:45
    • Camille Simmons said that, hearing no objections, the board would maintain its current consent agenda approach. 2:14:24
  8. Bylaws on reports and speaking time 2:14:33
    • The board clerk described a proposal to switch advisory council reports to written reports only, and one board member said there was no support from them for removing oral reports. 2:15:38
    • One board member said cutting speaking time to 3 minutes was something they would definitely go for, while another board member said the change was a no-go. 2:28:15
    • The board clerk said the 5 minutes would remain in the bylaws and that updated documents would be shared ahead of votes at the July 30th meeting. 2:35:37
  9. Ad hoc committee policy revisions 2:39:30
    • Kareem Ba McCullough presented ad hoc committee revisions to several board policies for discussion, not final adoption. 2:40:12
    • One board member recommended adding budget to the policy's language. 2:53:00
    • One board member said the policy should be eliminated because other policies, guardrails and laws already protect it. 3:03:00
    • A staff member said board staff would update the policies and bring them to the July business meeting instead of forwarding them. 3:14:31
  10. Resolution review 3:14:42
    • One board member said there would be a no vote from them on resolutions 87 and 88 and questioned sending a million extra dollars to the Rochester Police Department. 3:18:30
    • Jacqueline Griffin asked how resolution 81 for sign language services would serve nonverbal autistic students, and a staff member said supports for nonverbal students are part of each student's individual education program. 3:24:16
    • A staff member said $80,000 plus was the annual increase to the curriculum adopted by the board and that the resolution could be written more concisely. 3:46:27
    • Camille Simmons listed resolutions 3, 87 and 88 for removal from the consent agenda and announced after a voice vote that those items had been removed. 3:58:42
  11. Budget task force 4:01:18
    • The superintendent presented a draft timeline for a task force that would meet twice monthly for 90 minutes and adopt a final report by December 18th. 4:02:56
    • The superintendent said approximately 21 individuals would serve on the task force. 4:12:06
    • One board member said no formal board action was needed because the task force is already in the state monitor's plan. 4:15:23
  12. Executive session 4:17:19
    • Camille Simmons called for a motion to recess into executive session to discuss employment matters, litigation and confidential matters with the general counsel. 4:17:19
    • After a voice vote, Camille Simmons said the board would hold executive session in the second floor conference room. ~4:17:46

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 “Speaker Forum / C4E Public Hearing / BOE Work Session | July 13, 2026”