On Dec. 2, the Edina School Board discussed a proposal from Superintendent Stacie Stanley to address the lack of community engagement in the district Budget Reduction—Reallocation—Revenue Generation (BRRRG) process. The plan involves a task force of 50–70 community members or “key communicators” broken into small groups organizing in a public accordion process to share multiple perspectives, particularly those from finance backgrounds.

Stanley aims to connect the task force with other aspects of the district’s strategic planning to improve from last school year’s budget reduction issues with recommendations for the 2027 fiscal year.

The School Board provided suggestions for having online summaries of meetings and intentionally engaging pre-K families. Chair Erica Allenberg expressed concerns over the resource viability of creating the program. Treasurer Michael Birdman recommended an established set of facts for members to make input to BRRRG discussions accessible.

 “This is the enhanced process that I was hoping we could get to after going through last year,” Vice Chair Karen Gabler said.

For other agenda items, the School Board:

• Recognized the Edina Boys’ Cross Country team with Assistant Principal and Director of Activities Troy Stein. The seven team members won the 2024 Class AAA Boys State Cross Country Meet on Nov. 2.
• Heard an Excellence in Action presentation from students and staff on the South View Middle School Early Learning Flex where students play with Early Learning Center preschoolers.
• Recessed to allow the public to discuss the district’s funding, budget, and 2025 taxes payable as well as the three-year Achievement and Integration Plan.
• Heard the proposed 2025 legislative platform from Legislative Action Committee members. 
• Reviewed the fiscal year 2026–30 financial forecast and methodology. Presenter and Director of Finance and Operations Mert Woodward anticipated that enrollment changes and inflation may influence the final 2026 forecast, which will be confirmed in the coming weeks. The budget is maintaining conservatism as it assumes an average increase of 2.0% in budgeting for 2025.
• Discussed proposals for new general courses across the district. The board also focused on secondary English Languages Arts Year Two course recommendations with Director of Teaching and Learning Jody De St. Hubert. Recommendations will be confirmed for the 2025–26 school year and aim to excite students about required courses by including alternate ELA options for college credit and an AP Seminar course in addition to new electives.
• Reviewed 2026 international travel experiences proposed across the district.
• Approved the certification of property taxes payable in 2025 of $75,948,165.77.
• Approved revisions to policies 501, 502, 516, 605, 608, and 636 from the Nov. board meeting.

Policy Review

The board discussed revisions to policies 501, 502, 518, 607, 613, and 628 for clarity and updated District practice as well as state and federal statutes.

Policy 501, about student dress and appearance, was suggested to clarify the language of “masks” in C6 to account for students who wear medical face masks for health reasons or for the purpose of obscuring their face.

Policy 607 was planned to be removed due to redundancy with policy 521. The two address students’ 504 plans and non-discriminatory strategies. 

Allenburg raised issue with the differing purposes of the policies as series 600 policies describe an educational perspective on services while series 500 are about providing students with a policy perspective. She believed that due to the varying purposes of the policy series, policy 607 should be revised rather than sunsetted. 

The School Board concluded that the title of policy 521 should be changed instead to serve the purpose of series 500 policies while still incorporating the intention of policy 607.