March 9, 2015 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Closed Session begins at 6:00 p.m.  I will be a few minutes late as I need to attend a Waunakee Economic Development Committee meeting at 5:00 p.m.  I have been trying to attend this meeting over the last few years but since they always met at 6:00 p.m. on nights of our board meeting, I have sent Tim Schell in my place.  The WEDC has now changed their meeting times to 5:00 p.m. to accommodate me, therefore, I need to attend.  Please begin Closed Session with items related to HR and Connie Beth.  I hope to be in attendance by 6:15 p.m.  Thanks!!

Description:  Action is requested in closed session on both expulsion recommendations.

Description:  Language from the Teacher Handbook:

A one-time leave of absence of up to one year shall be granted upon written request by any teacher providing the teacher has been teaching in the school system for at least twelve (12) consecutive years. A one-time leave of absence for up to one year may be granted to any teacher upon written request providing the teacher has been teaching in the school system for at least five (5) consecutive years. Request for a leave of absence shall be made  before March 1 of the school year preceding the beginning of the absence. Upon return  from such leave, the teacher shall be placed at the salary he/she had attained before the  leave of absence, and will be assigned to a position that is consistent with his/her  qualifications and certification. The Board of Education has discretion related to leaves for staff wherever it states they (BOE) "may" grant a leave. Its decision as to whether to  grant or deny a leave in these cases is not precedent setting. 

If, however, the District Administrator and the Board of Education determine the  experience to have been of value to the school system in improving instruction of students,  upon return the teacher may be given the salary and benefits that would have accrued had he/she never left.


The administration has a concern with approving this request because of the shortage of chemistry teachers in the market, particularly for a one-year position, there is a high probability that Ms. Kellerman will not return as it noted in her memo, and as she states, she does not meet the requirements per our handbook for a guaranteed leave.  Connie Beth will be in closed session to discuss this item with you.  Action on the request takes place in the consent agenda.  

Description:   Included in your packet you will find the minutes from the February 9, 2015 meeting for your review and approval.

Description:  A motion will be necessary to approve the agenda as presented (or) with changes as recommended.

Description:  The Board of Education provides a public listening session for the public to comment on non-agenda items related to the governance or management of the Waunakee Community School District. Individuals may use this time to also comment on any items listed as part of the meeting agenda. A copy of Board Policy 187 - Public Participation at Board Meetings is enclosed for your reference. Past practice has allowed for 30 minutes for this section of the agenda.

Description:  Taylor Listau and Lisa Herzberg are the student representatives from the high school for this year.

Description:  This section is reserved for any comments from members of the board on meetings they attended or other informational items.

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Description:  On Monday night Chris Michaud from EUA will present the site plan for the 40 acres site where the new Intermediate School is being built.  This site plan and associated design for the new school will be moving through the requisite approval processes with the Village of Waunakee and Town of Westport in the coming weeks.  We are also applying for the zoning to be changed from A1 to G1, putting forth an application to the Madison Metropolitan Sewer District, working with Waunakee Utilities on sewer connections, and assessing traffic on Woodland Drive, as part of the whole site approval process.

Chris Michaud is finalizing the site plan presentation, and it will be sent to the Board before the end of the week.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on the geothermal system for the new Intermediate School. Attached you will find a presentation on geothermal from Sustainable Engineering Group. The new Intermediate School design is based on a geothermal HVAC system for the building. Sustainable Engineering Group is the engineering firm leading the efforts for the design and obtaining grants for the district. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  Members of the art department will be present at Monday's meeting to share an update on work that is occurring in their department.  The presentation they shared with the Curriculum Committee is attached for your review.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2014-15 Budget Status report as of February 28th, 2015, the Cash Reconciliation report for January 2015, and the 2014 referendum budget report as of February 28th, 2015. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The Youth Options Program is articulated in state law to provide students with the opportunity to extend their education to the college and university while they are still in high school.  The classes they are able to take must be substantially different and beyond what we offer in our high school.  The cost for the course is paid for by the school district.  You will see that some students have requested permission to take multiple classes.  The students who list many options are trying to cover all bases in the event they cannot get into the class they desire or if it does not fit into their schedule.  Also, some students need to wait for placement decisions to be made to determine which level of a class they can take, for example in the area of world language.  The presented classes have been reviewed by the high school administration and they fit the criteria for Youth Options.

Description:  Attached please find the agreement between 15 Dane County Area School Districts to operate and lead our apprenticeship program.  This has been a very successful program and point of pride for our district.  Greg Benz is our local coordinator for this program and works with the consortium on servicing our students' programs.  I sit on the oversight committee for this consortium and we are currently in the process of hiring a new director, with the retirement of Diane Krause.  I recommend approval of this agreement to continue our apprenticeship partnerships.

Description:  Attached please find the draft calendar for 2015-2016.  I  will have a revised calendar for your review and action on Monday night.  The only changes that may take place between now and then is a reassessment of the days when early releases are scheduled.  We need to be sure that they are on staggered A and B days, and do not fall on the same day within the 6-day elementary schedule.  

The most significant change to the calendar for 15-16 from the current year is the elimination of four 2-hour early release days in the spring and the addition of one full day for staff professional development/department work in May.  I like this modification as it has less of an impact of families by impacting one day rather than four.  Also, the work we need to accomplish in the spring of the year potentially can be dealt with more effectively and efficiently in one day vs. an early release format.

Description:  Attached please find the minutes from the March 3rd, 2015 Budget Committee meeting. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the 2015-16 budget timeline, forecast, and guidelines. The draft documents have been attached for your review. The Budget Committee is recommending approval of these budget documents, on a 3-0 motion. 

The dates in the budget timeline are consistent with last year. The only exception is the earlier due date for budget requests and the Special Board of Education meeting. The major unknown at this point is the timeline for the 2015-17 state budget. The state budget is expected to be signed by the Governor in June. The budget forecast includes multiple models of projecting student enrollment. The administration is recommending that we use the 5 year cohort model to forecast enrollment for the 15-16 fiscal year. We have used these numbers for the open enrollment capacity planning, and believe this is the most prudent approach at this time. This enrollment projection results in a student count that is 78 students higher in 15-16.  I do not believe that 5 year budget forecasts have significant value at this point due to the variations in school funding that we have seen from state budget to state budget. At this time, we are more realistically planning from one state budget to another until school funding becomes more stable. The budget planning and guidelines document identifies the number of sections and staffing for grades K-6, while estimating the staffing
for grades 7-12. The staffing levels for grades 7-12 are reviewed during the student scheduling
process later this spring. The budget planning and guidelines document provides a framework for developing the first draft of the budget in May. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  This is an informational item and no action is required.

Marcy Peters-Felice, Mike Zibell, Ty Jury, Terri Miller, and Leah Kaltenberg joined the curriculum committee to discuss proposals for a flexible student support block on the schedule. This time is being named a "What You Need" (WYN) period and is a product of discussions the PLC guiding coalition has had on better meeting student needs. This approach has been discussed with the full staff and there has been good input.  

The Middle School would like to pilot the concept starting this 4th quarter to begin work on refining how this structure would operate. The high school is also looking at this type of model, but is not ready to pilot. The curriculum committee’s feedback was positive regarding the concept and plans for the pilot.  There is no financial impact for this programmatic change.

Attached you will find their proposal.  Marcy Peters-Felice will be Monday's meeting if you have any questions.

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Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to approve the electrical subcontractors for the 2014 referendum projects. The Facility Committee will be meeting on Thursday night to interview subcontractors and make a recommendation. You are welcome to review the proposals that we received in the Boardbook agenda for the Facility Committee meeting. 

We received five electrical proposals, and will be interviewing three firms. The firms Staff Electric and KW Electric will not be interviewed at this time. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to approve the HVAC subcontractors for the 2014 referendum projects. The Facility Committee will be meeting on Thursday night to interview subcontractors and make a recommendation. You are welcome to review the proposals that we received in the Boardbook agenda for the Facility Committee meeting. 

We received three HVAC proposals, and will be interviewing three firms. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The committee would like to offer a community engagement meeting in April/May to share information with select stakeholders, solicit their feedback, and culminate the meeting with feedback/input on our vision for the school district.

The committee would like to discuss with the full board how to invite participants to this meeting and is considering having each board member provide a list of people to invite. The committee will discuss this idea with the full board in March, and the committee will meet again in March/April to finalize the plan, and set a date in April or early May for this activity to take place.

The specifics of the event still need to be worked out with the committee.  We will speak with the whole board on Monday about the concept for this meeting, and how you can assist with making the event a success.

A full plan for the program will be shared with board at the April BOE Meeting so you know all the details prior to the event taking place.

Description:   Attached in the "extras" section of Boardbook, please find a list of the accounts payable payments issued during the month of February 2015. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The French Trip that is on the agenda for Monday evening is in line with current policy on student travel.  The French students have the opportunity to travel every two years, as has been the cycle established in the past.  This agenda item is the first step requesting approval to begin talking and soliciting input from parents and tours.  Once an informational meeting and interest level sign-up is complete, and trip itinerary is available, then the trip will come back to the board, as is required, for final approval.

Description:  Attached please find a letter drafted by Peggy Hill-Breunig to legislators regarding the proposed state budget.  Peggy would like you to review the letter and would like your feedback on Monday evening.  Also, consider if you are amenable to sign this letter as a full board.   Also, attached is information on how to access the 2015--2107 budget, if you are interested.