Osseo Area Schools board elects Tanya Prince chair, keeps member pay at 2025 levels

Tanya Prince was elected chair of the Independent School District 279 (Osseo Public Schools) Board at the district's organizational meeting on Jan. 6, 2026, following a formal nomination and roll-call vote. The board also elected Thomas Brooks as vice chair, Keith Tate as clerk and Sarah Mitchell as treasurer.

The board convened at 6:01 p.m. in the Educational Service Center boardroom. Meeting organizers opened with a statement of condolence for Patience Gough, a retired elementary teacher and 20-year school board member who died Jan. 2. The meeting was streamed and will be archived on the district website.

Why it matters: The organizational meeting sets leadership and administrative arrangements that guide the board's work for the year, and the board confirmed continuity in committee assignments and its compensation policy.

In the chair election, a board member placed Tanya Prince in nomination and offered remarks praising her partnership and leadership; the board secretary then conducted a roll-call vote. Directors Kelsey Dawson, Erica Foster, Thomas Brooks, Tanya Prince, Keith Tate and Sarah Mitchell each stated a vote for Prince, who was declared elected chair. Thomas Brooks was later nominated and elected vice chair in a separate roll-call vote. Keith Tate and Sarah Mitchell were elected clerk and treasurer, respectively, each by roll-call ballots.

The board then moved to administrative business, including compensation and routine approvals. Members adopted a motion to carry forward the board's 2025 compensation schedule for 2026: $13.50 per month for the chair and $12.50 per month for other board members. The compensation rates include a $50 monthly reimbursement intended to cover in-district mileage and incidental expenses. Director Foster seconded the compensation motion and the motion passed unanimously, 6 to 0.

The consent agenda, which the board said contained routine business and organizational procedures, was moved by Director Keith Tate, seconded by Director Sarah Mitchell and approved unanimously. The board also approved the slate of 2026 school board committee and joint-board representatives as listed in the district's "Proposed 2026 School Board Committee and Joint Board Representatives" document; the board noted that members will continue in their current assignments and that assignments will be revisited as schedules change.

Informational items reviewed for the record included the board operating protocols (the resolution protocol and the agenda-setting protocol). The chair reminded members that a public work session would follow a 10-minute recess; the organizational meeting adjourned at 6:13 p.m.

Quotes: At nomination time, a board member said, "I have appreciated your partnership, and leadership," referring to the nominee and expressing support for continued collaboration. During roll-call votes directors stated their choices aloud (for example, "I vote for Tanya Prince").

Next steps: The board reconvened for a public work session in the Forum Room after a short recess. No substantive policy decisions beyond the officer elections, routine approvals and compensation adoption were taken during the organizational meeting.