The Minnesota Department of Education continues to roll out new standards while most people have no idea what they are requiring of public schools. One of the latest is the first round of ethnic studies. https://www.americanexperiment.org/multimedia/videos/coming-to-a-classroom-near-you-u-of-m-ethnic-studies-lesson-plans-part-i There is also a ruling for new health standards with a deadline to comment by Monday, February 9, 2026 at 4:30 pm. https://minnesotaoah.granicusidea

The majority of the work session on January 26 was spent reviewing the district’s annual financial audit. We had a significant finding that involved the double payment of a curriculum subscription for more than $500K due to a combination of human and software error. There seems to be an attitude that it’s the auditor’s job to find errors instead of being proactive with our procedures. Dan’s experience as a CPA is invaluable to understanding the impact of these findings. Based

Over five years have passed since White Bear Lake Area Schools received approval for a large building bond by a narrow margin.  Despite the rhetoric you may hear from board members and the administration, it was not widely supported by the community.  The vote was only 57.4% in favor of the building bond. To make matters worse, there have been numerous changes that were not part of the original presentation.  Based on “Twelve Facts Every Voter Should Know” the combined high s

There was a call for fiscal responsibility and transparency during the public comment and tax portions of the meeting. There were three speakers for public forum: Rebekah Bradfield, Dianna Delaney, and Brad Nelson. Rebekah asked for clearer financials particularly in regards to construction updates. Dianna wanted more opportunities for public speaking. Brad asked for better dialogue between the board and community members. After the tax presentation by Tim Wald and Andi Jo