Dr. Putnam, superintendent of St. Cloud Area Schools, told the Minnesota Senate Education Policy Committee on Oct. 12 that being named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year recognizes the district’s staff and community and highlighted recent gains in attendance, new federal funding and expanded services for students.

The award, Putnam said, reflects a community effort: “While this award . . . has my name on it, I truly believe that this is a community award. It’s a testament to the team that sits around me to our staff our students our families.” The superintendent testified to the committee chaired by Chair Suzyzinsky.

St. Cloud serves a high‑need student population. Putnam said 88% of students are “future ready,” defined by the district as graduating with college credit, work experience tied to career interest, or an industry certification; 20% of students take advanced courses. She told the committee that 70% of students are food insecure, 23% receive multilingual services, about 25% receive individualized education programs, and 10% qualify as homeless or are in transitional housing.

Putnam described multiple recent funding wins and partnerships. The district received an $800,000 federal grant for school safety improvements and a separate federal award of $250,000 to begin two full‑service community schools, she said. The district also partnered with the St. Cloud Rotary to place 90 students off the preschool wait list, though Putnam said “we still have over a hundred students who would like to receive high quality public preschool education that we aren’t able to serve.” She said the district is beginning work on an ambulance bay to support career pathways in health care and emergency response.

Putnam emphasized local practices she credited for recent progress, including expanded family advocate positions and three decision‑making protocols intended to clarify who makes which decisions after community engagement. She said consistent attendance this year is “the highest since the pandemic,” and the district saw enrollment growth in grades 1–12 for the first time in five years.

On a question from Senator Miller about Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) and the funding formula, Putnam said the district has not experienced PSEO as a significant fiscal problem: “It has not been a significant topic of conversation in our district,” she said, while acknowledging the money for PSEO follows students.

When asked by Senator Sinski how the district works to empower students to attend school, Putnam said one effective strategy is giving students meaningful roles: “One of the things that we have been, since expanded is we give our kids jobs and they . . . somebody is counting on them.” She said that strategy — combined with efforts to be transparent and inclusive — helped raise attendance in schools that adopted it.

Putnam repeatedly emphasized the district’s community focus and said she views the award as recognition of staff, families and students. She told the committee the superintendent selection process begins with peer nominations and a detailed application, reviewed by representatives of state education organizations and the prior year’s winner.

Putnam will proceed in the national Superintendent of the Year selection process; she thanked senators for their support and for the committee’s attention to the district’s challenges and progress.