Conference Registration Fees

Sponsor/Exhibitors

Sessions will not be recorded.

Some sessions may have a virtual presenter.

CPE Credits from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are offered for select sessions, and have a “CPE” designation after the title. Credits from the Minnesota Board of School Administrators will continue to be provided for the full conference.

Items on the agenda marked with an asterisk (*) are included for booth representatives as part of their exhibit booth registration. Tickets for booth representatives to attend other conference events can be purchased separately.

Wednesday, May 4

Certification Course

Cash Management and Investing
Steve R Pumper, Vice President – PMA Financial Network, LLC

The Minnesota Association of School Business Officials has established a voluntary certification program for all MASBO members and nonmembers. The courses are designed to train current and prospective school business officials, offers practical information to assist members in excelling in their profession. Although this course is part of the certification program, it is open to all members.

This session will discuss in detail the different kinds of investments available to school districts, along with liquidity, investment policy and Minnesota legal requirements. Cash flow management strategies will also be reviewed, including short term borrowing and arbitrage.

Bio: Steve Pumper joined PMA Financial Network in July of 2009. Prior to joining PMA, Steve worked as a school business manager in Minnesota schools for 22 years. He brings that experience in helping PMA develop services that are beneficial to the Business Manager in the field. Steve is a Registered Representative with FINRA and holds his series 7, 50 and 63 securities licenses.

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Optional Pre-Session

Building Your Resiliency Toolbox
Stacy Peterson, Certified Wellness Coach – Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program

This interactive workshop will discuss the challenges and benefits of stress, ways to strengthen your resiliency and build upon your current wellness tools with actionable practices to try in the future.

Bio: Stacy Peterson is a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. Since 2007, she has worked with individuals and groups on improving wellness and building lasting change through wellness coaching. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and has studied additional coursework in Group Coaching, Positive Psychology, Living on Purpose and Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART). She holds multiple certifications in Wellness Coaching, including the National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach designation and a certification in Clinical Exercise Physiology from the American College of Sports Medicine. Stacy has contributed to worksite wellness research in the area of Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, online articles for Mayo Clinic and has special interest in topics of resiliency and faith, holistic wellness and intentional living.

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Gold Mine Session Descriptions, Round One (12:40-2:20pm)

Top 10 Topics in the Business Office
Tiffany Gustin, Associate Director of Management and Insurance Trust Services – MN School Boards Association

Learn about the issues that might be is causing heartburn and sleepless nights for some business office staff, David Letterman-style!

Bio: Tiffany joined the Minnesota School Boards Association staff in 2019 after serving as a school business official for 10 years. In her position at MSBA, she works with school districts across the state on school finance, HR, and negotiations questions, as well as other questions pertaining to school district operations.

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Challenges of Projecting Enrollment
Patricia Magnuson, Director of Business Services – St Louis Park Public Schools; Shanique Williams, Business Services Supervisor – St. Louis Park Public Schools; Ann Thomas, Senior Advisor, Analytics – Forecast5/Frontline

Projecting enrollment is a critical component of school district leadership for developing a revenue budget, for determining staffing needs and for understanding the need for facilities changes. All projection methods use enrollment history and trend the history in one way or another. COVID – and the resulting enrollment loss that occurred in some districts - has complicated this process. Some districts are engaging in an effort to be more effective in projecting enrollment and are creating enrollment projection goals. This gold mine session will offer some thoughts about how to project enrollment and how St. Louis Park Public Schools works with its Finance Advisory Committee to develop enrollment projection goals.

Bio: Patricia Magnuson Is the Director of Business Services for St. Louis Park Public Schools. She is a past president of MASBO and has over 25 years of experience in public education finance.

Bio: Shanique Williams is the supervisor of Business Services for St. Louis Park Public Schools. She is a new MASBO member and has served as a Finance Project Coordinator with over five years of experience in public education. As a new leader in the business office, Shanique is eager to learn and enhance her leadership skills.

Bio: Ann Thomas has provided customer support to Minnesota business professionals since 2000. She has served in a variety of administrative positions in public and higher education in Washington State and Minnesota. As a part of the Frontline/Forecast5 team, Ann provides training and customer support to Minnesota clients.

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Your Minnesota-Based Cooperative Purchasing Options
Melissa Mattson, Director of Administrative Services – Cooperative Purchasing Connection

Minnesota is home to some of the nation’s best Cooperative Purchasing organizations. Come learn how you can leverage cooperative purchasing solutions to: access procurement contracts from local and national vendors, reinvest dollars spent through cooperative purchasing programs to local programs, and shop vendor goods and services online.

Bio: Melissa is the Director of Administrative Services for Lakes Country Service Cooperative and leads the award winning Cooperative Purchasing Connection team. Melissa has more than twenty years of experience with cooperative purchasing.

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Accounting and Auditing Update
Jim Eichten, Managing Partner – MMKR

The session will focus on providing an update on accounting and auditing changes that will impact school districts and charter schools during the fiscal 2022 audit process. This session will include a variety of topics including changes in auditing standards, lease accounting standards, Federal Uniform Guidance, and the Single Audit of Federal Awards.

Bio: Jim Eichten is the Managing Partner with Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. (MMKR). He has over 30 years of experience working with school districts, charter schools, and other local governments. His areas of expertise include auditing and accounting, federal financial assistance programs, management consulting services, internal control studies, operational reviews, and cash flow projections. He is a past-chairman of the Minnesota Society of CPA’s executive board and past-member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Council.

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MASMS | A Tool for Your Building and Grounds Department Toolbox!
Scott Kaminski, Facilities Operations Manager at Mankato Area Public Schools – Mankato Area Public Schools; Kevin Hildebrandt, Facilities Management and Planning Strategist – ISG; Megan Pehrson, Buildings & Grounds Secretary – Grand Rapids Schools

This session will provide information on how MASMS provides a means for discussion and education for Building and Grounds K-12 departments. It will explain how MASMS aids in helping Building and Grounds K-12 departments provide professional ideals and standards, while helping schools engage in activities that promote, develop and maintain high standards in the care, operation and development of buildings and grounds used by educational facilities.

Bio: Scott is the Facilities Operations Manager at Mankato Area Public Schools from 2019 until present. Prior to that he was Building and Grounds Director at Janesville Waldorf Pemberton School. He has been a MASMS Member for over 8 years, and is the Southern Chapter President and MASMS State Vice President. He holds the CPS and the Chief Boiler Operator certifications.

Bio: Kevin was B & G Director for Kenyon-Wanamingo ISD for 20 years, and B & G/ H & S Director for Faribault ISD for 20 years. He is past president and board member of National School Plant Management Association. Kevin holds CPE and CPS certification and MN Chief C Boiler License. Kevin is a 30+ years MASMS member, past SO Chapter President, Past State President and current State Treasurer. Kevin is currently employed by ISG as Facilities Management and Planning Strategist.

Bio: Megan is the Buildings & Grounds Secretary for Grand Rapids School District. She graduated in 2020 from Bemidji State University with a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis of Management and Entrepreneurship. She started her position in August and this is her first full time job since graduating. She did some substitute teaching the year after graduating.

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A Panel Discussion on Streamlining your Payroll System
Adam Lloyd, Controller – ISD #196; Scott LeSage, Director of Business & Finance – Meeker & Wright Special Ed Coop; Trista O’Connor, Business Manager - Chatfield Public Schools, ISD 227; Heidi Hennen, Director of Human Resources- Meeker & Wright Special Ed Coop

School business officials from three school districts will discuss how they streamlined the payroll system in their school districts - a large metro school district, an outstate district and a special ed cooperative.

Bio: Adam began his career as an auditor with Ernst and Young. He then transitioned into school finance with Edina Public Schools as District Accountant and Assistant Controller. In 2020, Adam became Controller for ISD #196, Rosemount – Apple Valley – Eagan, where he oversees the Accounts Payable, General Ledger, and Payroll processes. The past two years have brought turnover and change in his departments, yielding opportunities for streamlining and growth in his team’s procedures.

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Transition to Ed-Fi Update
Tara Chapa, Data Management and Student Accounting – MDE

Learn what districts should have done and what they need to be doing to transition to Ed-Fi.

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TRA/PERA Update
Joe Crawford, Smart System Product Support – CMERDC

This session will provide information on TRA and PERA, how you determine which fund an employee should be enrolled in, when an employee needs to switch from one fund to another and the top 5 questions about both funds.

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CTE Levy and Expenditure Reporting
Jan Carlson, Education Finance Specialist – MDE

Description coming soon.

Bio: Jan Carlson works for the Minnesota Department of Education in the School Finance Division. Jan is part of the General Education and Categorical Funding division, and has many years of experience with the Career and Technical Education Levy.

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Gold Mine Session Descriptions, Round Two (2:45-4:25pm)

How to Read District Financial Statements
Jamie Fay, Partner – Eide Bailly

In this session, we are going to break down how to read financial statements. We'll take the highly technical, standards-driven District financial statements down to a level that focuses on what a Board should know and explain how to understand them.

Bio: Jamie has dedicated her career to the government industry, leading audit engagements and providing real time information for government entities. She has experience providing audit services to cities, counties, schools and tribal entities, and dedicates all of her time to government clients. Jamie also has experience working as a finance director consultant for municipalities and brings practical and relevant experience to assist her clients in being successful.

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What School Leaders Need to Understand and Protect Against Cyber Attacks
Casey Holland, Senior Insurance & Risk Advisor – Vaalar; Patrick Truax – Marsh McLennan

Cyber is rapidly becoming one of the most challenging areas of risk for schools, and it continues to become more difficult and expensive to find good protection in the marketplace. Learn the fundamentals of what a good cyber protection program looks like, along with the tools and resources to get you there.

Bio: Casey Holland is a senior insurance & risk advisor for the Vaaler/MMA Education Team. He has been in the school insurance industry for 18 years. Casey is a graduate of the University of North Dakota with a BBA in Marketing and is also a graduate of the National Alliance School for Producer Development. Casey has the designations of Certified School Risk Manager (CSRM®) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC®).

Bio: Patrick Truax is responsible for the overall management of business insurance programs, and is a passionate risk management consultant with underwriting and agency experience geared toward delivering the most effective and efficient solutions to help solve challenges so leaders can focus on the continued growth and success of their business. Patrick joined MMA in 2021 but has been in the insurance industry since 2005 in many roles, including account executive, underwriting, and consulting. As a former insurance underwriter, Patrick brings a unique perspective to his clients while providing guidance and advice on specialized programs to fit their needs at the best value. Patrick lives in Maple Grove, MN, with his family and is active in his community and is the President of the Hamel Athletic Club, which is a youth baseball association with over 600 participants.

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Common Contracting and Purchasing Issues
Joe Langel, Partner – Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney

What are common issues encountered with contracting and purchasing? How can these be avoided?

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Another Audit? Single Audit 101
Tina Burkholder, Director of Business Services – Monticello ISD #882; Mary Reedy, Principal - State & Local Government – CLA

Many smaller districts may have had a single audit for the first time this past year. How can business managers know if the district will be required to have a single audit, what programs might be tested, and what the auditors will be testing?

Bio: Tina Burkholder is the Director of Finance at Monticello Public Schools. She previously was the Controller at Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose schools for eight years and prior to that  she was a governmental auditor for over three years at the accounting firm Kern, DeWenter, Viere. Tina received a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Cloud State University in Accounting, attended MASBO’s Institute, and completed MASBO’s Certification program in May 2010. During the summer of 2006, she was one of the scholarship recipients for ASBO’s Bridges to the Future program. Tina has been the committee chair of the MASBO Communications & Engagement committee, which has designed and implemented MASBO’s Certification program and Leadership Academy. She has served on the MASBO Board of Directors, is a MASBO Past President, and currently serves as the chair of the Legislative Committee.

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How To Tap into Hidden State Contracts
Michael Baumann, Senior Healthcare Consultant – Government Sector -Midwest Region - MMCAP Infuse

The Minnesota Office of State Procurement (OSP) offers many cooperative contracts, including those managed by MMCAP Infuse, the trick is finding them.

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Lighting the Path for a Smooth Annual Audit for Payroll
Tom Olinger, CPA, Partner – Abdo; Sheila Jungwirth, Senior Associate – Abdo

Payroll often exceeds fifty percent of total expenses and is a significant transaction area. In this session, Abdo’s experts will shed some light on best practices for preparing for the payroll area of an annual audit. Attendees will gain crucial insights on areas related to accrued wages, post-employment benefits, single audits, testing and other payroll-related processes to help reduce errors, maintain compliance and improve overall performance.

Bio: Tom Olinger is a partner in Abdo’s government practice, and oversees many of the Mankato office’s municipal, fire relief, insurance, and school district audit engagements as well as single audits and nonprofit audits. He has more than 25 years of experience auditing local governments and schools in Minnesota, and in municipal long-term financial plans and utility rate studies.

Bio: Sheila Jungwirth is a senior associate with Abdo with more than eight years of experience working with local governments to provide expert audit and accounting solutions.

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What If Revenue Projection
Kristine Anderson – MDE; Becky Wochnick – MDE

Do you want to know what your district's general education revenue will be if you gain or lose students? Learn how you can use the District What-If to see the impact on General Education revenue from adjustments to pupil and funding data.

Bio: Kristine Anderson began as an Education Finance Specialist 2 with the Minnesota Department of Education School Finance Division in March 2019. Kristine has more than 20 years of experience working with school financial data. She earned an MBA from the University of Northwestern and is a Certified Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA®).

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SEDRA 101
Jill Bemis, Special Ed Data Specialist – Division of School Finance, MDE; Mary Acosta, Special Ed Data Specialist – MDE

This session will provide an overview of the SEDRA System and Timelines.

Bio: Jill Bemis, Education Finance Specialist, has been with the Department of Education since 2011. Her primary focus is providing technical assistance and reviewing expenditures for inclusion in the state special education aid formula. She reviews Alternative Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services (ADSIS) budgets, Access to Career and Technical Education - Special Education (ACTE-SPED) transactions, vehicle and construction requests, and special student placement applications.

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Thursday, May 5

Keynote: The Reflective Educator
Dr. Adolph Brown

Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why we think, say, and do certain things…then better ourselves. Self-reflection and self-correction are the highest forms of self learning and healing, thus to change the world around us, we must first change the world within us.

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Breakout Session Descriptions, Round One (10:20-11:10am)

How Rising Interest Rates Impact Your District (CPE)
Steve Pumper, Vice President – PMA Securities; Michael Hart, Director of Public Finance – PMA Securities

The Fed Funds Rate has been in the news quite a bit over the last few months. When the Fed moves the rate, it has an impact on your District, both on the investment side and the borrowing side. Learn how this impacts decisions you make as a District.

Bio: Steve Pumper joined PMA Financial Network in July of 2009. Prior to joining PMA, Steve worked as a school business manager in Minnesota schools for 22 years. He brings that experience in helping PMA develop services that are beneficial to the Business Manager in the field. Steve is a Registered Representative with FINRA and holds his series 7, 50 and 63 securities licenses.

Bio: Michael Hart is a Director of Public Finance in Minnesota for PMA Securities. He has over ten year experience leading school districts through the financial aspects of bond issues and referendums for both capital projects and operating funds. Mr. Hart holds Series 7, 50, 53, 54 and 63 FINRA licenses.

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Current Crowdfunding Best Practices for K-12 School Business Officials
Kirk Smiley, Managing Director – DonorsChoose

Though crowdfunding is a viable funding source in schools, it may result in unexpected liabilities without proper safeguards in place. Learn how to implement crowdfunding best practices in your schools, get general crowdfunding guidance, and learn how to uphold financial accountability while maintaining control over materials and supplies as well as safety and security of those in your district.

Bio: Kirk is an expert on K-12 crowdfunding, helping school districts learn best practices, serve their educational priorities, and bring the most support to their teachers and students. He's presented on crowdfunding best practices to thousands of district administrators, including at national and state-level AASA, ASBO, NSBA, and NAESP conferences.

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Ask an Actuary: Teacher Negotiations and Salary Step Project with Hildi Inc., a Division of USI Consulting Group (CPE)
Jill Urdahl, FSA, Minnesota Practice Leader and Consulting Actuary – Hildi Inc., a Division of USI Consulting Group

Jill Urdahl, FSA, will review an interesting project that was completed for a large school district. For years, the District, a long-term client of Hildi Inc USI, had been asked by the Teachers in negotiations to add a Step to all education levels in the Teacher Salary Schedule. The District’s reply was always “it’s too expensive.” The actuarial consultants calculated the cost for the District so that “too expensive” could be defined. The results of the study helped the District successfully negotiate with the Teacher group and reach the best solutions for all involved.

Bio: Jill Urdahl, FSA, is the Minnesota Practice Leader and Consulting Actuary at Hildi Inc., a Division of USI Consulting Group in Bloomington, Minnesota. She has been a retirement and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) consultant and actuary for 32 years. Ms. Urdahl is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Enrolled Actuary (EA), and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).

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Making Data Driven Decisions to Impact Medical Trends
Heidi Orstad, DNP, RN, PHN, CCM, Clinical Consultant: PATH-Planning and Analytics for Total Health – Marsh McLennan Agency; Courtney Patt, CTTS, Health Management Consulting Manager, Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor – Marsh McLennan Agency

What drives your district’s medical spend- diabetes, mental illness, musculoskeletal disease, or something else? Gone are the days of needing to read through disconnected carrier and vendor reports to understand. Now leaders can successfully partner with population health experts and tap into state of the art data analytics systems to drive successful benefit designs which result in healthier members.

Bio: Heidi Orstad serves as the MMA Upper Midwest Regional Clinical Consultant. In this role Heidi supports employers as they seek to control health care costs, improve health outcomes and promote employee engagement through analytic-based state of the art innovations and reporting. Heidi has her Doctorate in Nursing Practice and has been a nurse executive for over 10 years in national and regional Health Plan case management operations and in the Acute Care Hospital setting.

Bio: Courtney Patt is a Health Management Consulting Manager with Marsh & McLennan Agency. She partners with clients to build health management strategies and a culture of well-being within their organization with the end result of seeing reduced claims, lower costs and a healthier, productive organization. Courtney has over 20 years of experience in the health and well-being industry working with small or jumbo sized organizations, including many school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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Facilities Maintenance Planning
Vaughn Dierks, Partner – Wold Architects and Engineers; Sal Bagley, Partner – Wold Architects and Engineers

Facilities maintenance planning requires both detail-oriented and big-picture thinking to best determine how to address and fund your needs. This session will provide an overview on how to get a handle on what your needs are, how master-planning should be taken into account, what funding/financing strategies exist, and some considerations for budgeting and lead times for near-term projects.

Bio: Vaughn is a partner and CEO at Wold Architects and Engineers with more than 25 years of educational design experience and expertise. As a partner-in-charge for school districts across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, Vaughn is a leader in the educational design industry as well as the firm’s Educational Planning Group.

Bio: Sal Bagley is a Partner with Wold Architects and Engineers specializing in the planning and programming of educational facilities to meet the needs of today’s adaptive learning styles. She works with clients from the long range planning stages through design and implementation.

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Special Ed Update
Paul Ferrin, Special Education Data & Funding, Division of School Finance – MDE

Paul Ferrin will provide a special ed update.

Bio: Paul Ferrin is currently the supervisor of the special education funding and data workgroup at the Minnesota Department of Education. He has worked at the department for 5 years in various roles including monitoring special education expenditures and providing data analytics to the special education funding workgroup.

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UFARS Hot Topics
Deb Meier, Education Specialist II – MDE

Deb Meier & Molly Koppes will update MASBO members on current UFARS hot topics.

Bio: Deb graduated magna cum laude from Augsburg University with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting and finance. She was an auditor for 4 1/2 years for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and has 16 years of experience as a Supervisor of Accounting for two different school districts. Deb has worked at MDE since December 2014 in the Division of School Finance.

Bio: Before joining the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Molly worked in both school operations and charter school authorizing, providing oversight to schools that were both operational and start up. She holds a BS degree from Augsburg University in mathematics.

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Breakout Session Descriptions, Round Two (11:20am-12:10pm)

Disclosure Responsibilities and Recent SEC Enforcement Actions Against School Districts and Public Officials (CPE)
Nathan Canova, Partner – Dorsey & Whitney LLP; Andrea Hedtke, Partner – Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) collected a record $4,700,000,000 in 2020 and announced municipal issuer disclosure is an SEC examination priority for 2021. This session will discuss recent SEC actions against school districts and school business officials, and provide you with tools to avoid liability when preparing investor disclosure materials, ongoing disclosures and public statements generally.

Bio: Nate represents clients across the country in a wide variety of public finance transactions, acting primarily as underwriter's counsel, bond counsel, disclosure counsel, borrower's counsel, lender’s counsel, special tax counsel and issuer's counsel. He has broad experience in conduit revenue bond financings for the benefit of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. He regularly advises his clients on matters of state law, federal securities and tax laws, real estate law and more in connection with public offerings, private placements and direct loan transactions. He is also nationally recognized for his experience in tax-exempt installment purchase, lease-purchase and other municipal lease financings for the acquisition, construction, equipping, and installation of a broad range of essential government buildings, facilities, equipment and other real and personal property. In addition to conduit and lease financings, Nate represents state and local government units in traditional revenue and general obligation bond financings.

Bio: For nearly two decades, Andrea has devoted her bond counsel practice almost exclusively to Minnesota school districts. Andrea assists her clients with a variety of financings, including various types of new money and refunding bond transactions and tax/aid anticipation borrowings. Andrea also advises her clients and helps them navigate the often convoluted terrain of bond elections and levy referenda. Additionally, Andrea assisted with the formation MN Trust, an investment pool comprised of Minnesota school districts. She continues to serve as its long-standing legal counsel.

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The Annual GASB Update (CPE)
Chad Hess, Governmental Accounting Services Manager – Eide Bailly

Join us for a high level review of upcoming GASB standards. We will discuss the upcoming issued standards including Leases, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements and Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships and Availability Payment Arrangements.

Bio: Chad primarily serves local governments and K-12 school districts though assurance and advisory services. When you work with Chad, he will listen to your challenges and needs in order to help identify issues and propose creative solutions to meet your challenges. Chad is a teacher at heart and invests in helping clients and staff understand the situation at hand.

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Top Rated Risk Management Challenges Faced by School Leaders Other Than COVID
Mohammad El-Sawaf, Vice President – USI Insurance Services; Mark Kraemer, Business Insurance Consultant – USI insurance Services; Sean Smith, Vice President Risk Management – USI insurance Services

Join us for a panel discussion of some of the top concerns of school leaders in the Risk Management area. We will have experts talking on these areas and more: Cyber Security, Transportation Coordination and Management, Managing Building Projects, and Overpaying For Workers Compensation. Bring your questions and concerns and discuss the areas of best practices to help walk you and your district through some of the toughest challenges we face.

Bio: Mohammad is a risk management "geek" and insurance enthusiast at USI Insurance Services. In his role, he consults in commercial risk management and insurance solutions, focusing on the nonprofit, technology, and real estate industries. Mohammad partners with companies to help them identify and control their total cost of risk.

Bio: Mark is a Certified School Risk Manager, one of Minnesota’s first Certified Workers' Compensation Advisers and is a member of the first agency advisory council for one of Minnesota’s largest self-insured funds. Mark is a long-time speaker and educator on workers compensation, working tirelessly with the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Advisory team to control and minimize the impact of claims, drive down experience mods, and save money on premiums.

Bio: Sean is a 15 year veteran in the Risk Consulting arena. He works with clients on evaluating their total cost of risk and how to efficiently use capital to manage risk. He works hard to remove obstacles, simplify the complicated, and provide expertise to protect client’s business and employees.

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Should Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Be Part of Your School's Financial Curriculum?
John Murphy, Director of Municipal Investor Relations – PFM Financial Advisors LLC; Heather Casperson, Senior Managing Consultant – PFM Financial Advisors LLC; Emily Robare, Vice President – PIMCO

Financing your school’s capital needs has never been more important; every dollar saved can be spent better educating your students. Integrating and communicating a well thought out ESG strategy could be a way to lower your overall financing. What is ESG, how do you get started, what information do investors want to see and is it really worth it. All of these are very good questions, which our panel of experts will help unravel and demystify. This session will help you better understand ESG and how it is evolving in our market. So, what is the best ESG strategy for your organization? Attend this session and you will gain the insight you need to start the journey.

Bio: John Murphy is a director of municipal investor relations on PFM’s Munite team. Prior to joining Munite, John spent the majority of his career as a senior research analyst at Fidelity Investments. John covered several municipal sectors, including electric utilities, water/sewer utilities and gas prepayments. John joined PFM in 2019.

Bio: Heather Casperson provides senior level analytical and project manager services on various types of financings with issuers throughout Minnesota and the Midwest. Ms. Casperson has 25 years of experience in public finance, 23 years as a financial advisor to local governments. She is a Registered Municipal Advisor Representative.

Bio: Emily Robare is a vice president and credit research analyst on PIMCO’s Municipals credit research team. She leads the integration of ESG factors across PIMCO’s municipal strategies and covers municipal credits around the U.S. Prior to joining PIMCO, she was head of ESG research at Gurtin Municipal Bond Management.

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Evolving 403(b) and Retirement Plan Rules
Kent Schutte, President – EFS Advisors and Aviben; Loni Morrow, General Counsel – EFS Advisors & Aviben

Minnesota Statute 356.24 was modified in February of 2020. Intended to clarify certain provisions however some provisions are now less clear. This session will discuss the changes and what employers need to know in order to be compliant.

Bio: Kent Schutte CFP, CRS, is CEO of EFS Advisors, and Aviben. Kent is a nationally recognized speaker on financial matters and expertise in 403(b) auto enrollment, match, Special Pay, Severance Benefits. EFS Advisors, manages over $3.2 billion. Aviben is a Third Party Administration(TPA) company, which specializes in non-ERISA 403(b) HRA, HSA’s, and Flex Plans. Aviben administers approximately 500 plans nationally.

Bio: Loni Morrow is the General Counsel of EFS Advisors and Aviben. She graduated from Duke Law School in 2012 and practiced at a law firm for several years prior to joining Aviben and EFS Advisors. EFS Advisors specializes in financial advisory services and Aviben specializes in administering governmental employee benefits.

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Summer Levy
Jason Reil, Levy Coordinator – MDE

This presentation will cover what is a levy, where and how a district goes about updating their information/data for the summer levy, and provide a brief overview of what comes next after the summer levy (phase 1) is complete.

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Special Ed Update REPEAT
Paul Ferrin, Special Education Data & Funding, Division of School Finance – MDE

This presentation will cover what is a levy, where and how a district goes about updating their information/data for the summer levy, and provide a brief overview of what comes next after the summer levy (phase 1) is complete.

Bio: Paul Ferrin is currently the supervisor of the special education funding and data workgroup at the Minnesota Department of Education. He has worked at the department for 5 years in various roles including monitoring special education expenditures and providing data analytics to the special education funding workgroup.

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Friday, May 6

Breakout Session Descriptions, Round One (9:00-9:50)

Peer Group Discussion: Let's Talk COVID Relief Funds (CPE)
Kathryn Haase, Director of Business & Finance – Willmar Public Schools; Andrew Adams, Executive Director of Finance & Operations – Austin Public Schools

Participate in structured discussions with other members to share ideas, questions, solutions and concerns about managing your COVID relief funds.

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Employment Law Issues for School Leaders
Jim Martin, Owner/Attorney – Martin Law Firm PLLC

This lightening round session includes discussions on independent contractor vs. employee, employee data practices, wage and hour issues plus much more.

Bio: Jim represents public and private sector employers in a broad scope of employment and labor law issues. With legal experience and experience as a human resources professional, Jim brings a practical approach to help clients achieve their objectives. Area of practice include employment contracts, severance agreements, employee handbooks and policies, wage/hour law, discrimination, employee discipline, non-compete agreements, Minnesota Data Practices Act, Minnesota Veterans’ Preference Act, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice defense, administration and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, grievance arbitration and investigations of employee misconduct.

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Charter School Lease Aid
Jenny Charles, Education Finance Specialist II – MDE

This session will provide attendees with detailed information on where to find the data for Charter School Lease Aid and how to complete the application.

Bio: Jenny Charles graduated from Metro State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She has worked in education since 1990 in various capacities of the accounting/business services area. She worked in three Minnesota school districts, one charter school and Sourcewell Technology (formerly TIES). She has been at MDE for the past three years working in the Financial Management area processing lease aid for charter schools, reporting UFARS data to federal agencies and help with UFARS training.

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Work Smarter, Not Harder (CPE)
Jill Guhlke, Business Services Coordinator – Region V Computer Services; Jennifer Smith, Finance & Funding Specialist – ARCC; Katie Boswell, HR/Payroll Service Coordinator-Region V; Elizabeth Sullivan, Compensation & Benefits Supervisor – SWWC Service Cooperative

Staff from the Regions will present on the following topics:

1. Checklists, getting ready for audits from the region perspective
2. Electronic forms, document management for onboarding, status changes, terminations, HR items
3. Electronic approvals/routing for POs, Regs, and Employment Reimbursements

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Child Nutrition Updates for Summer 2022 and School Year 2022-2023
Emily Honer, Supervisor, Business Operations Support Services – MDE

Most schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and the After-School Snack Program during the school year. These programs are administered by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). During COVID-19 schools operated the Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). This 50 minute training will provide the updates of the USDA waivers for schools as we enter into the summer and into a new school year. The presentation will provide instruction on how those waivers effect the application process and basic information about the meal service.

Bio: Emily Honer supervises the Business Operations Support Services team at the Minnesota Department of Education under the Nutrition Program Services division and specifically oversees the applications team. Emily has been in the government sector of Wisconsin and Minnesota for 10 years, including; county, tribal and state government departments. Most of Emily’s experience comes from federally-funded programs.

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Breakout Session Descriptions, Round Two (10:00-10:50am)

Title IX: Lessons Learned Regarding Title IX Regulations and Investigations
Trevor Helmers, Attorney – Rupp, Anderson, Squires, Waldspurger & Mace, P.A.

In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Education promulgated new Title IX regulations that dramatically altered school districts’ obligations with respect to allegations of sexual harassment. Administrators were forced to quickly adopt new policies and procedures to address sexual harassment. There has been a lot of learning on the fly, and this presentation will discuss updates regarding guidance documents as well as lessons learned over the past year.

Bio: Trevor Helmers is a shareholder with the law firm of Rupp, Anderson, Squires, Waldspurger & Mace, P.A. Trevor provides counsel to public schools, charter schools, private schools and colleges, and other municipal clients across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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Collective Bargaining
Jim Martin, Owner/Attorney – Martin Law Firm PLLC

This session will cover the key provisions that should be included in every collective bargaining agreement and identify potential other trouble spots.

Bio: Jim represents public and private sector employers in a broad scope of employment and labor law issues. With legal experience and experience as a human resources professional, Jim brings a practical approach to help clients achieve their objectives. Area of practice include employment contracts, severance agreements, employee handbooks and policies, wage/hour law, discrimination, employee discipline, non-compete agreements, Minnesota Data Practices Act, Minnesota Veterans’ Preference Act, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice defense, administration and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, grievance arbitration and investigations of employee misconduct.

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Building the Bridge Between What We Say and What We Do (CPE)
Mary Reedy, Principal – CLA; Charles Hynes, Associate – CLA

This session will identify the disconnect between how we talk about ethics and what we often do about ethics. We will define moral courage and help you understand how to exercise your moral courage on a daily basis.

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Flexible Early Childhood Spaces that Support Physical, Cognitive AND Social-Emotional Needs
Patti Jo Wilson, Professional Development Specialist – Lakeshore Learning

Now more than ever, early childhood classrooms require flexibility, and it all begins with the physical environment. In an early childhood classroom, learning occurs through play-based exploration, hands-on experiences and social interaction with other children. These types of learning have all been disrupted by the pandemic. However, a thoughtfully designed, flexible environment can help children and staff react to today’s changing needs, while still providing positive, critical learning experiences that support children’s physical, cognitive and social-emotional development.

Bio: Patti Jo has been an education director, deputy director for education, and teacher, for more than 30 years in preschool, elementary, and middle school environments. Patti Jo has three teacher certifications in NY and was on the board of directors for the NY Head Start Association for four years.

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Cooperative Purchasing -Minnesota's CPV Program
Luke Jannett, Acquisitions Manager – Department of Administration State Procurement

The State of Minnesota's presentation will cover the Cooperative Purchasing Venture (CPV). This session will include the advantages of cooperative purchasing, the solicitation/contracting process, how to register for the program, how to search available contracts and will highlight the resources available through the Office of State Procurement.

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LTFM Updates
Sarah C. Miller, Education Finance Specialist II – MDE

This session will provide timely information on the LTFM 10 year Expenditure application that is due on July 31, 2022.

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COVID Relief Funds and Programs
Andre Prahl, Agency Finance Director – MDE

This session will cover timely topics related to COVID relief funding and programming.

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Breakout Session Descriptions, Round Three (11:00-11:50am)

Return, Reflect, Refocus
Jennifer Phillips, Mindfulness Mentor and Educator

As the conference concludes, join us for a peaceful time of reflection, centering and connection. Jennifer returns to our in-person conference after spending time with us virtually at the Winter Conference. In this session she will help us settle in with the experiences from these last few days, and move forward with techniques to help relieve stress, provide clarity, become more present, and find your best self.

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Navigating Data Requests in Challenging Times (CPE)
John Edison, Shareholder – Rupp, Anderson, Squires, Waldspurger & Mace, P.A.

Many Minnesota school districts have been receiving extremely broad and burdensome data requests on topics such as COVID-19 mitigation and curriculum issues. This presentation will discuss best practices and legal standards related to responding to data requests.

Bio: John is a shareholder with Rupp, Anderson, Squires, Waldspurger & Mace, P.A. He has been representing Minnesota school districts and other government entities for over a decade.

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Maximizing Capital Project Planning (CPE)
Shelby McQuay, Senior Municipal Advisor/Managing Director – Ehlers; Matthew Hammer, Financial Specialist – Ehlers

Districts are finding success in combining funding tools to complete their capital projects. This could mean further utilizing board authority through LTFM or taking a larger portion of the project to the voters to maximize debt equalization aid. This presentation identifies options for financing capital projects and takes you through several examples of how districts opted for various funding scenarios.

Bio: Shelby is a Senior Municipal Advisor and Managing Director of Ehlers’ School Finance Team. She assists districts across Minnesota with long-term capital planning and navigating implications of legislation on debt issuance. Before joining Ehlers in 2016, Shelby worked with the Minnesota Senate as a non-partisan analyst, developing education finance and tax policy.

Bio: Matthew joined Ehlers in 2018 as a Municipal Advisor with our Education Finance Team. He has worked directly with Minnesota school districts since 2005, most recently serving as the Director of Finance and Operations for Fridley Schools. Matthew has specialized expertise in finance leadership, financial planning and operations management.

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COVID Relief Funds and Programs
Andre Prahl, Agency Finance Director – MDE

This session will cover timely topics related to COVID relief funding and programming.

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Location & Lodging

Location

The conference will be held at the Mayo Civic Center. This state-of-the-art facility provides ample, functional and beautiful space for our conference.

The When In Rochester Mn App provides lots of great resources and will help you navigate the city.

Visitor Guide on the Experience Rochester web site with links to guidebooks and much helpful information. 

Conference Information

The conference will be held May 4-6, 2022.  The conference kicks off on Wednesday, May 4, with an optional pre-session and certification course in the morning, and officially starts with lunch.  After sessions and the trade show on Thursday, May 5, the conference concludes on Friday with morning breakouts and lunch.  

Hotels

There are two conference hotels—the Kahler Grand and Kahler Inn and Suites, located just a few blocks from the Civic Center, with both indoor and outdoor walking options to the Civic Center. There are also other hotel options close to the Civic Center.

Each hotel has a room block for the conference. Make your reservation using the online link or phone number listed below to receive the discounted room rates. If you are using a credit card that does not have your name on it, the hotels require a signed authorization form at check-in.

A conference shuttle service is available between all listed hotels and the Mayo Civic Centers during key passing times.

Parking

The hotels have adjacent parking options. It is recommended to leave your car at your hotel and walk or take the shuttle to the Civic Center, as parking in the Civic Center ramp is limited, and does not allow overnight parking.

Conference Hotels

The Kahler Grand and the Kahler Inn and Suites are the two official conference hotels.

Discounted parking is available for guests registered at the Kahler Grand and the Kahler Inn and Suites.

Other Lodging Options

MASBO has also secured limited room blocks at the following hotels. Most have adjacent parking facilities; please see their websites for parking information.