Board of Directors Regular Board Meeting Wednesday, April 23, 2025
MINUTES
The finance committee met prior to the meeting on April 23. Bree Maki, Jean Roth, and Jason Marquardt attended.
ATTENDED IN PERSON: Chair Bree Maki, Vice Chair Jean Roth, Clerk Monica Sveen-Ziebell, Member
Al Roder, Member Don Leathers, Member Brian Grudem
ATTENDED VIA ZOOM: Member Tess Arrick-Krueger,
UNABLE TO ATTEND: Treasurer Jason Marquardt, Member Lynn Gorski
EX-OFFICIO: Steve Sallee
STAFF: Dale Walston, Amy Grover, Katie Hendrickson, Christi Fosland, Brittani Daniel
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by Chair Bree Maki. A quorum was present.
Monica Sveen-Ziebell made a motion to approve the agenda. Al Roder seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
HEARING OF REPORTS
Health Insurance Updates Brittani Daniel was here to provide an update on the insurance marketplace and trends. Mid-year renewals are up for bids right now. Brittani talked about right-sizing the employee groups to find the right niche. Average increase in small groups has been around 5% since 2021. Our area of SE Minnesota presents unique challenges due to other factors. Increasing the wellness side of things and steering people towards other products can also keep costs down.
Marketing- Katie Hendrickson introduced herself and shared her personal and SSC history. She led the board through a game show style presentation. The board learned about design and Creative Media Solutions services.
Executive Director Report - Steve Sallee is bringing his salary increase recommendation to the board. Jobs have been posted for the Literacy Lead and Literacy Coaching positions. Gina Morken has been doing a great job with the COMPASS program. The finance committee continues to discuss the possibility of working with the curling club. There are alot of unknowns to consider. We will keep the board updated as we learn more. Steve continues to visit members including superintendents and city/county administrators. There is a big turnover of school superintendents this year, so we are working to build relationships with all the new school leaders.
Program Manager Report- Amy highlighted Student Academics with Katie Hartman who has just returned from taking six teams to the state knowledge bowl competition. Kari Kubicek presented to a group of city/county administrators yesterday, which led to great conversation and interest from the group. Project MOMENTUM is undergoing a re-branding. They are finding more interest from other states, so they are working to change their image to be more inclusive of other states. The new Career Connected Learning Catalog is out. It features the events and dates for things through next year. SE MN Together continues to see interest in a regional development group. Amy provided a written flier with more information about what a collaboration could do for SE Minnesota communities.
CONSENT AGENDA
Jean Roth made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Brian Grudem seconded the motion. The consent agenda included minutes of the March board meeting, March balance sheet, March revenue expense report, and March bills. The motion passed unanimously.
SPECIFIC AGENDA
Programs
Don Leathers made a motion to accept donations of $500 from Ryan Mechanical and $1,000 from Ahern Co. for sponsorship of the welding competition. Monica Sveen-Ziebell seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Al Roder made a motion to accept an in-kind donation of computer processors with a value of $1,148,044 to the MN STEM Ecosystem. Jean Roth seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Operations
Monica Sveen-Ziebell made a motion to approve the 2025-2026 fee schedule. Jean Roth seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Personnel
Monica Sveen-Ziebell made a motion to terminate the employment of Jennifer Bayley, effective June 30, 2025. The motion was seconded by Tess Arrick-Kruger. The motion passed unanimously.
Jean Roth made a motion to eliminate the advocate positions, effective June 30, 2025. Don Leathers seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Tess Arrick-Kruger made a motion to approve staff increases for FY 25-26. Monica Sveen-Zibel seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Al Roder made a motion to approve a 4% increase to pay ranges. Jean Roth seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Al Roder made a motion to approve that SSC will pay 100% of the cost of MN Paid Leave starting on January 1, 2026, at the current rate of .88% of wages. Jean Roth seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT AND NEXT MEETING
Monica Sveen-Ziebell made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Brian Grudem seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 6:31 PM.
The next SSC Board meeting will be held on May 21, 2025, at 5:30 PM. This meeting will be virtual only.
Respectfully submitted by Christi Fosland, Educational Support Coordinator
2025 Meeting Schedule
Wednesday, January 22 – ANNUAL MEETING
Wednesday, February 26
Wednesday, March 26
Wednesday, April 23
Wednesday, May 21- Virtual meeting
Wednesday, June 18
JULY – Do not meet (MSC Summer Conference)
Wednesday, August 27
Wednesday, September 24
OCTOBER - Dates and location to be set (Virtual if needed)
Wednesday, November 19 – Third Wednesday due to Thanksgiving
Wednesday, December 17 – Third Wednesday due to Christmas