DULUTH, Minn. — At a Thursday, Oct. 9 Duluth Public School District policy meeting, board members and staff reviewed a broad package of new and revised policies, discussed deletion or renumbering of older regulations and policies, and introduced the district’s new literacy lead, Gretchen Karg.

The committee began with first readings of three new 300-series policies related to the superintendent: Policy 303 on superintendent selection, Policy 304 on superintendent contract duties and evaluation, and Policy 306 (administrative code of ethics). Committee members said the superintendent-selection and contract items formalize existing practice and align district policy with model language from national and state school boards organizations. “There was just a question ... that is with the MSBA’s language. So we have not had this before,” a staff member said while introducing Policy 303. Another committee member added the policies “align with best practice for hiring and firing [the] superintendent as well as [superintendent] evaluation.”

The committee also advanced two policies to second-reading status: Policy 301, school district administration, and Policy 305, policy implementation. Staff said the 301/305 revisions clarify administrative responsibility for policy implementation and will replace older 2,000-series language. The committee did not take a formal vote at the meeting; members instructed staff to prepare final versions for the regular board meeting, where adoption would occur.

Why this matters: The 300-series changes will shape who holds formal authority over hiring and evaluating the district’s chief executive, how a superintendent’s contract is used, and standards for administrator conduct. Staff emphasized these are largely formalizations of current practice and model language recommended by the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) and the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

Other policy reviews and statutory updates

The committee reviewed a number of policies required by recent state legislative changes. Policy 416 (drug, alcohol, and cannabis testing) was updated to reflect recent statutory renumbering and minor editorial edits; staff said MSBA recommended only cleaning language and correcting a citation to Minnesota statutes (cited in the meeting as Minnesota Statutes sections 181.95–181.957). “It came in our newsletter with the legislative changes and the only change to the policy itself is ... a missing number,” a staff member said.

Policy 621, Literacy and the Read Act, was presented for review and tied to recent state law changes. Dr. Dale Oseman introduced Gretchen Karg, the district’s new literacy lead. Karg said the policy changes “are just reflective of the new things that came in the legislation” and noted added definitions, an additional screening window and language on dual-immersion programs. Director Crane, who spoke about special-education-related policy 508 (extended school year for some students with individualized education programs), said that policy “follows state statutes” and that the district’s qualifying procedure for extended-year services remains in place.

Recommendations to delete or renumber older policies

Committee staff presented a long list of older 1,000- and 3,000-series policies that are obsolete, redundant with newer MSBA model policies or better served as administrative regulations or procedures. Patty (staff) reviewed the list and recommended deletion of a subset immediately and holding many others until replacements or cross-references (for example MSBA model policies numbered in the 700 and 800 series) are adopted. “There were a lot of policies in this one where we don't have the new policy yet,” Patty said.

The staff recommended deletion of about a dozen policies at the meeting, including: 3020 (tuition fees for incoming nonresident students); 3025 (tuition fees for outgoing residents); 3030 (material fees); 3035 (sale and disposal of equipment); 3050 (funds management); 3055 (purchasing); 3130 (maintenance and operation of plant); 3137 (memberships and community organizations); 3180 (child nutrition); 3185 (child nutrition commodities); and 3155 (transportation responsibilities of teachers). Committee members and staff agreed to keep some items for further work—especially those tied to facilities, transportation, purchasing and safety—so staff could confirm the procedures and cross-references before removal.

Property-sale deed restriction and local-vendor concerns

Several board members flagged one substantive omission: language requiring deed restrictions that prohibit future use of sold district property for K–12 school use. The meeting record shows that older Policy 3195 contained a statement — “all property sold shall contain a deed restriction prohibiting the property’s future use as a school or other K–12 educational facility” — that staff could not find in current policies or replacements. Board members and the superintendent expressed interest in preserving that practice. “I think that it is something we rely on, and it’s been something that’s been half a focus for the public,” Superintendent Magus said.

Members also asked about the district’s prioritization of local vendors in procurement. Staff said local preference is practiced informally—next to union labor preferences—but is not currently embedded in a single governing policy. Committee members directed staff to consider whether procurement language should be folded into another policy or regulation.

Facilities, safety and decorations

The committee reviewed safety-related items including an old policy governing holiday decorations and live vegetation in school buildings. Staff said facilities routinely share decoration and safety guidance with building engineers and administrators; committee members discussed whether the content belongs as a regulation under an existing facilities policy or as a facilities procedure, and agreed to hold the deletion until staff confirm where the guidance should live. “It does appear that it should be a regulation,” a staff member said about the decorations guidance.

Next steps and staff capacity

Staff told the committee the policy cleanup is a multi-month effort that will be paced to staff capacity and prioritized where model policies are already available. Superintendent Magus cautioned the committee against overpromising rapid completion and said staff may need to slow the cadence to ensure thorough review. Patty said the group will present deletion recommendations at an upcoming regular board meeting and continue detailed work on the remaining items, bringing replacement language (or references to adopted MSBA/NSBA model policies) forward in future meetings.

Meeting context and participation

Committee members asked clarifying questions during the two-hour meeting and directed staff to research several procedures and regulations before final deletions or renumberings are presented for board action.

The committee will present the recommended deletions and the revised 300-series policies for formal consideration at a subsequent regular board meeting.

Ending: The committee closed the Oct. 9 session after directing staff to return proposed final language and replacement cross-references for the policies identified for deletion or renumbering.