The December 15th Mankato area public school board meeting Unanimously passed The construction estimate is $1.18 million. This is part of the 105 million dollar, 2023 bond referendum, the school district committed to helping address child care space needs in Eagle Lake.

I voted to approve the construction estimates because this project was authorized by voters. However, I also expressed concern that the district may be building space for a local child care provider at a rental rate below market value. My concern is that this could unintentionally create winners and losers within the local child care market and if that happened it would erode public trust.

Over the past two years, district staff have worked with the City of Eagle Lake, local providers, First Children’s Finance, and the Eagle Lake Economic Development Authority to develop a plan intended to be responsive to community needs and financially viable for operators. The Eagle Lake city Administrator and Major of Eagle Lake also spoke in support of this project. I would have liked to see survey data or direct feedback from existing local providers presented to the board as part of this decision-making process.

Board member Liz Ratcliff asked how many children the space would accommodate. The Director of Community Education explained that capacity will depend on the staffing levels of the selected child care provider and more information could be sent to the board.

Vice Chair Pratt asked whether the separate entrances for the two classrooms would be used exclusively by the child care program. It was explained that parents would enter through the school’s main entrance in the morning, while the classrooms would have a separate hallway and bathroom to ensure K–12 students would not be entering or interrupting the child care space.

Director Baker emphasized the importance of ensuring this project adds child care capacity rather than simply shifting existing providers from one location to another. The Director of Community Education responded that additional communication and opportunities for feedback will be provided as the process moves forward.

I remain cautiously optimistic and encourage community members, families, and other stakeholders to stay informed and to participate in upcoming committees, surveys, and engagement opportunities related to the new Eagle Lake Day Cares.

Thanks,

Elizabeth Hanke

507.351.3367- My cell, call with any education related comments

I had planned to wait to post until the meeting video was available, but because we are temporarily meeting in a different room, the recording process has changed. These are notes I took during the meeting, and I will update them with more detail once the video is posted.

Eagle Lake Day Care Board Presentation: https://destinyhosted.com/manSDdocs/2025/SBRM/20251215_330/2670%5FEagle%5FLake%5FDaycare%5FBoard%5FPresentation%5F2025%2D26.pptx.pdf

Meeting Agenda: https://www.isd77.org/experience/school-board/agendas-and-minutes

Meeting Minutes: https://destinyhosted.com/manSDdocs/2025/SBRM/20251215_330/329%5FM251215.pdf

UPDATE — August 29, 2026:

At the December 15, 2025 School Board meeting, Eagle Lake Mayor John Whitington spoke to the Board about the importance of maintaining preschool programming in Eagle Lake. I documented Mayor Whitington’s appearance and concerns in my personal notes.

Unfortunately, I recently discovered that the official minutes from that meeting identify the public-comment portion only as:

“Public Comment: Two people wished to speak.”

The minutes do not identify Eagle Lake Mayor Whitington or the city administrator and do not document what they spoke about.

I voted to approve those minutes. In hindsight, I should have caught that omission when the minutes came back to the Board for approval.

That matters now because there is also no meeting video available to fill in the missing record. My December blog post and personal meeting notes therefore contain information about that meeting that cannot be found in the district’s official record.

I think we need to do better.

Accurate minutes and accessible recordings are particularly important when community members later want to understand what was promised, what concerns were raised and how a project evolved over time. At a time when public institutions are working to rebuild trust, maintaining a meaningful public record is a basic part of transparency and accountability.

This concern was brought up again after an August 21st post made by the district: