At the Wednesday, April 23 ISD 200 School Board meeting, the board approved the Taher contract, discussed the recent string of community collaboration committee meetings, and the timing for the parameters meeting for the upcoming teacher contract negotiations.

Taher contract
The school board approved the Taher food service management contract after hearing from Director of Food & Nutrition Services Brittany Hirschauer. The contract costs $135,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, up from $125,000 in 24-25 and $93,750 in 23-24.
One of the main arguments made by Hirschauer about renewing the contract was uncertainty regarding the future of the free lunch program in Minnesota which has been targeted for sunsetting in order to save money.
Hirschauer also highlighted the work from on-site chef Chef Mike Demos, which has been fantastic.” Demos provides new options for students beyond the regular meals that allow students to try new foods.
“Some of them went over well and some of them don’t, but the nice thing is, is even if we have 100 kids try it, there’s 100 kids that just tried something new and that’s what our goal is,” said Hirschauer
Other changes to the program for the coming year include dishwashers at all sites and a focus on breakfast in the upcoming school year.

Community Collaboration meetings
Since the previous school board meeting, the board has hosted three community collaboration committee meetings on topics ranging from the strategic plan, budget cuts, and the district’s strategic anchors.
Several board members lamented the lack of attendance and involvement from the community, especially at the final meeting, where several district officials presented on the various strategic anchors.

Superintendent search
The application window for the superintendent search closed on April 22. The district received 25 applications for the position, nearly double the 13 applications received just two years ago for the same role.
School board members will review the applications with a meeting on April 29 to determine the finalists along with receiving interview training from the MSBA. The first round of interviews will take place on May 6 with a finalist selected on May 13. The new superintendent’s contract is expected to be approved on May 21.

Teacher contract negotiations
The district will begin contract negotiations with the teacher’s union in the coming weeks. The board will first have a closed meeting discussing the financial details of what Human Resources Director Cathy Moen called the “base data” of the district before meeting with the teacher’s union.
While the board did not decide on specific date, Director Mark Zuzek strongly encouraged the district to expedite those negotiations in order to “lean into the trust our teachers have for Dr. Champa,” but also to not begin negotiations with the new superintendent when he or she arrives in July: “What I don’t want to do is saddle the next superintendent with negotiating with the largest employee group that we have.”
This year in particular given the $1.5 million deficit at the district and other potential cuts coming from the state and even federal level, contract negotiations are expected to be difficult.
“I think it would be foolish to not take advantage of Tammy’s trust with the teacher’s bargaining group,” said Zuzek.