07/25/2026
RW School Board notes for July 21, 2026
The School Board meeting started promptly at 5:00, with Kayla Anderson absent because of illness and Jim Bryant announced as running 15 minutes late. In attendance from the public was a member of SitelogIQ, a city council member and me (the observer) so it was pretty quiet. There were no public comments and so Supt. Jaszczak began explaining the booth the RW school system will have at River City Days. He will be manning the booth both days and there will be button making and a giveaway of a variety of books. He asked that if some board members are available to please stop by. Ms. Marshall Schoenfelder requested some talking points regarding the referendum and those are currently in the process of being created with input from SitelogIQ. The superintendent suggested the information be parsed out so as not to overwhelm the public.{ More on that later} Ms. Bjornstad reminded all that early voting begins in Sept. {so my thought is that the process needs to move VERY, VERY quickly}. The rest of the administrative report was positive, with all the buildings' maintenance on target for the opening of the school year. Most of the staff has been hired, with a new principal at Sunnyside, Jonathan Heyer. There is also a new person leading the nutrition services. In the superintendent's notes, he said that he had meetings with kitchen managers and will be meeting with Sara George from Renewing the Countryside in order to bring more locally sourced products to the school system. {Personal thought: it's about time, not only for the producers but also for the good will.} He has also set up a meeting with the Goodhue County SHIP Coordinator to look for grant opportunities for healthy eating and wellness.
Supt. Jaszczak felt that the Jefferson project seems to be moving along with some parties wanting more information and he will be showing Jefferson on Monday to a certain party. The financial report was short, with attention mostly being given to an upcoming audit beginning Sept. 13.
There were 4 donations: Fischer Welding LLC for $500, Gadient Engineering LLC for $1500, American Legion Post 54 for $1500. These donations went to the summer STEAM Camp which lasted two weeks and which involved 60-70 kids. MN Masonic Charities donated $1340 for Aim to Achieve.
Next was the resolution calling for the Special Election to advance to the Minnesota Dept of Education the ballot question. For those interested, there is a 26 page document under the board notes from the Attorney Office of Kennedy and Graven which sets out the question which will be on the ballot (if the MDE approves it ) and the timelines. The school district has decided to go with a single question and it is fairly lengthy but specific as to how the monies will be used. Ms. Tift asked how did the question come to be, and it seems the attorneys developed it.{ I had a big smile at this, no offense to attorneys meant.} If you wish to find the ballot question, it is on page 10 in the Kennedy and Graven information.
This was unanimously approved.
Next came the Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan, which is submitted as a ten-year maintenance plan. The big thing to come from this discussion is that the plan may be specific, but as Supt. Jaszczak noted you can only project at most three years when it comes to maintenance. So, the plan's monies can be used if you need to pivot to another maintenance project: as an example, he said if you need a boiler desperately and you had the money earmarked for carpeting, you can get the boiler in place of the carpeting. Ms. Bjornstad said that all the information is again on Boardbook, and Mr. Bryant said he felts the MN State is not doing its part, since these monies have not been increased according to inflation, but Supt. Jaszczak said, " It's still good that it exists."
Next was the topic of the contract for $2,381,250 going forward to SitelogIQ. Supt. Jaszczak stated it wasn't a small amount, but that entity wasgoing to be helping with the referendum, architects, bidding and advertising. Mr. Koenig asked why it was stipulated that environmental credits went to SitelogIQ, and the representative from the company explained it was a moot point since the Trump Administration took all those away. Previously, the credits would be used as part of the billing and would be subtracted from what is owed. Mr. Riester was assured that if the referendum does not pass, the contract is null and void. This passed unanimously.
The 2026-27 Student Handbook was accepted since it basically was the same as last year, just with minor time and date adjustments.
The next meeting will be held on Monday Aug. 10 since Tuesday is the election date. No new topics came up and the meeting was adjourned at 5:35. Mr. Bryant was teased because of his late arrival and the short meeting time.{ My observation is that he takes the ribbing well and in spite of his tough exterior, most of the members seem to know this instinctively and enjoyed a good laugh}.
