We as board members took an oath to uphold both state and federal laws—and when they are in direct conflict with one another, that’s a tough spot to be in.”

Board Chair Carrie Tate

The topic of the day was community engagement from the ISD 200 School Board at its workshop last week.
From polls to community collaboration to listening sessions, board members, including the newly elected Director Elaine Mikel-Mulder, discussed how to better engage with the community, communicate decisions they are making and have made, and better cooperate with the community they represent.
The topic was brought up in regard to the ongoing lawsuit between the federal government and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) concerning transgender participation in girls’ sports.
The standoff was discussed in terms of “hot button” issues that the school board makes decisions on. Other issues mentioned were switching to even-year elections to repealing and replacing Policy 100.
These hot button issues often showcase a “disconnect” between the school board and the community, especially in communication, said Mikel-Mulder.
It was a sentiment echoed across the table with Clerk Melissa Millner brining up the controversial sunsetting of Policy 100 which was replaced with the “Equity and Belonging” strategic anchor of the district’s strategic plan. According to Millner, many she spoke with were unaware that the policy was to be replaced with the strategic plan or that language about equity was still reflected within district policy.
Increased community engagement might not avoid backlash to decisions, but it would begin conversations about them, which is preferable to silence.
“Give me the heat. I’d rather have the heat than nothing,” said Director Philip Biermaier.
The board discussed new avenues of community engagement from creating anonymous submissions that would be read at board meetings to micro-polls to re-establishing listening sessions before board meetings.
“It’s in my purview to communicate in whatever way that works,” said Mikel-Mulder.
The school board and district have made concerted efforts in recent years to revamp communications and community engagement. These efforts include the creation of the Community Collaboration Committee and the annual school perception survey, which recently finished its third annual survey.
The school board has hosted half a dozen Community Collaboration Committee meetings on topics from building security to the strategic plan to most recently, a demonstration of the district’s new Anatomage table.
Those meetings are often populated by mostly teachers, district staff, and school board members, rather than the parents and community members they are aimed at.
“I’ve been disappointed with the turnout for sure,” said Board Chair Carrie Tate.

MSHSL Lawsuit
Especially for the MSHSL debate, “people don’t understand the issue […] or our role in it,” said Millner.
Three Minnesota school districts along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Commissioner of the Minnesota Commission on Civil Rights Rebecca Lucero, and Executive Director of MSHSL Erich Martens are being sued by the Texas nonprofit Female Athletes United for allowing “male students to compete in women’s and girls’ sports if they claim a female gender identity,” according to the May court filing.
The lawsuit claims that Minnesota’s law that allows players to play on the sports team with the gender with which they identify “expands opportunities for male athletes to compete and experience victory at the expense of female athletes,” and therefore is a violation of Title IX.
This issue came to a head as school board members pushed back a vote on renewing the district’s membership with the MSHSL in May due to the lawsuit filed by Female Athlete United.
“We as board members took an oath to uphold both state and federal laws—and when they are in direct conflict with one another, that’s a tough spot to be in,” said Tate at the May 22 school board meeting.
Not renewing membership with the MSHSL would end ISD 200’s participation in varsity and junior varsity sports, a move that would spurn a “long line to withdrawal” from the district, said High School Athletic Director Trent Hanson at the June 18 work school board work session.
Board members unanimously approved the MSHSL contract in July.
According to Biermaier, the delay was “never the intention not to sign up. We have the right to be concerned.”
“There is no school board member in the state who can uphold their oath to uphold state and federal law,” said Tate about the vote amidst the ongoing lawsuit.
Despite the stark consequences of not renewing membership with the MSHSL, options available to the school board are largely limited as the lawsuit plays out in court.
One action taken by five school board members was to sign onto a letter calling for Minnesota to comply with Title IX based on a September study from the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
The Sept. 30 report from the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found that Minnesota is violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to play in the sport that aligns with their gender identity.
The study laid out a series of changes to state guidance that if not followed would “risk imminent enforcement action.” The deadline for those changes was Oct. 10, which has been disrupted by the government shutdown.
Tate called a potential disruption of federal funding to the district her biggest concern: “We take about $3 million a year in this district in federal funding. So with that truly being on the line, is there an option to comply and then work this out in the courts and make sure that we still continue to get funding?”
One action available to the school board is to pen a similar letter on behalf of the school district.
Last month, the Forest Lake School Board adopted and authorized a similar letter to the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota State High School League, and the Attorney General’s office expressing “our strong support for immediate compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.”
Last month, Tate referenced this letter calling similar board action in ISD 200 “certainly a possibility.”
Tate, Vice Chair Jessica Dressley, Milner, Biermaier, and Mikel-Mulder have signed onto the letter.