July 19, 2021 at 6:00 PM - Regular Additional Meeting

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 any item related to the governance or management of the WCSD.  A copy of Board Policy 187 - Public Participation at Board Meetings is attached for your reference. Each commenter will be allowed 3 minutes.  An hour will be allowed for this item.

Description:  The Budget Hearing provides an opportunity for members of the public to share any feedback or questions regarding the 2021-22 Waunakee Schools Budget Planning Process.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the Third Draft of the Budget. Administration appreciates the additional time allowed so that we could incorporate the Governor's approved version of the State Budget into our budget process. Attached please find the Third Draft of the Budget.

A.  At this time, we do not know the following information:

1. The second round of Federal stimulus funding is referred to as ESSER 2, and a portion of the ESSER 2 funds are being distributed to specific districts via a reporting mechanism for in-person instruction. This report is not due until early August and we will likely not know about this source of funding for several months after.
2. The third round of Federal stimulus funding is referred to as ESSER 3. The WI DPI is still seeking approval from the Federal government regarding their ESSER 3 plan. The DPI has estimated that districts will receive approximately double the amount of funding from ESSER 3 as we are receiving from ESSER 2. Waunakee could end up with approximately $500,000+ from ESSER 3.
3. The typical information that we receive in the fall of the school year includes the student count, open enrollment count, property values, equalization aid certification, revenue & expenditure changes, etc.

B.  At this time, we do know the following information:

1. The Governor is directing an additional $100 million of Federal funds towards public schools to be used towards "whatever they need". These funds will be allocated on a per pupil basis. Waunakee will receive approximately $475,000, depending on the student count this fall.
2. The 2021-23 State Budget provides a revenue limit increase of $0 per student, continues the State Special Education Categorical Aid at the current reimbursement amount, and increases the State Equalization Aid (and other minor increases). The State Equalization Aid estimate is $22,545,905 (an increase of $2,013,631). Please note that these funds are generally not expendable as the revenue limit increase per student is $0. 
3. The third round of Federal stimulus funding includes additional funding for students with IEP plans. We will be receiving $198,857 in additional Federal Flow-Through Funds and $22,403 in additional Federal Pre-School Funds. The positive news is that, according to the DPI, "There are no supplement not supplant or equitable participation requirements." Generally, this means districts can allocate existing expenditures towards these funds.
4. The second round of Federal stimulus funding includes a base allocation of $248,646. Our District has the ability to allocate the new positions approved by the School Board towards this amount. Examples would include the reading and math positions approved at the May School Board meeting.
5. For the past two years, the District has been identified as a CCEIS (Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention Services) district for Federal Flow Through Funds. This requires the District to expend funds towards equity work. For the 2021-22 school year, the District has not been identified as a CCEIS district, which means we can spend these Federal funds towards CEIS (Coordinated Early Intervention Services) purposes instead. In the past, the District has funded math interventionists through the use of these funds, which means we can allocate existing expenditures towards these funds.

C.  The third draft of the budget in July includes:

1. An update to both Fund 41 and Fund 10 to reflect the recently approved School Board policy on the use of Fund 41.
2. An update to the Special Education Fund 27 to reflect the State Special Education Categorical Aid included in the approved 21-23 State Budget, and the additional funds referenced in B.2. above.
3. Grant allocations that have been provided by the WI DPI for the 21-22 fiscal year.
4. Staffing updates based on additional schedule changes, reallocation proposals or new positions. This includes the six additional special education para educators approved between the June and July Board meetings and an increase in the contract for an Occupational Therapist based on new students IEPs.
5. The State Equalization Aid has been updated to $22,545,905 based on the July 1st WI DPI estimate.
6. The portable classroom addition at the Middle School has been added to the Fund 10 expenditure budget. The Administrative recommendation is to utilize 2020-21 carryover funds towards this expenditure.
7. A new county grant for $29,021 has been added to the budget.
8. The revenue limit formula includes the use of the $2.1 million Operational Referendum approved in November of 2020. This referendum was approved as a non-recurring five-year referendum. Non-recurring means the authority of the School Board to spend the $2.1 million does not continue past that date, unless replaced by a subsequent referendum. By utilizing these funds for continuing expenditures, a subsequent referendum will be necessary.
9. Updates to the Debt Services budget (Fund 38) to add a debt service defeasance (paying debt early) in order to achieve the School Board's goal of a consistent tax rate over time. 

Administration has highlighted in yellow the changes between the Second and Third Drafts of the Budget. Please feel free to reach out to Steve Summers at stevesummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us with any questions that you might have regarding the Third Draft of the Budget.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the Teacher Supplemental Pay. The School Board has already reached an agreement with the teachers on the Consumer Price Index. The Teacher Supplemental Pay refers to the dollar amount of points that are approved in addition to the CPI increase. Attached please find two documents. The first one is called "Compensation Packages", which references the School Board approved pay increases for all groups except teachers. This document also references a draft budget allocation towards salary increases. This dollar amount is no longer applicable.  The second document is called "Teacher Supplemental Pay Scenarios" and identifies both the dollar amount and the percentage increase for various points increase scenarios.

The first payroll of the 2021-22 fiscal year is July 15th. The employee groups receiving paychecks on July 15th include: Administrators/Admin Support, Administrative Assistants and Custodial/Maintenance. The School Board approved pay increases for all of these groups at the May Board meeting. At the June meeting, the School Board approved reallocating $143,442 from post employee benefits to salary increases. The $143,442 is a result of a decrease in the District's required contribution to our Fund 73. 

The average of the support staff (Administrative Assistants/Custodial-Maintenance/Para Educators/Crossing Guards/Copy Clerks) salary increase is 3.78%. If the School Board is interested in providing a similar increase to the teaching staff, a points increase of $1,200 would result in an overall salary increase of 3.69%. The budget can support a points increase of $1,200 by utilizing some of the new temporary revenue sources. All of the 2021-22 ongoing expenditures, including new positions and salary increases provided to all groups, will eventually need a permanent funding source.

Administration will be requesting approval of the teacher points option at the July Special School Board meeting, so that teacher salaries can be finalized before their first payroll of the 2021-22 fiscal year. Please feel free to contact Brian Grabarski at briangrabarski@waunakee.k12.wi.us with any questions regarding this topic.

Description:  Attached please find a document from our elementary administrative team that I asked them to develop for Monday's Board Meeting.  The purpose of the memo is to provide clarity to the Board on what we can and cannot do with regard to masked and unmasked classrooms, and to share a draft of the parent communication and survey that we have developed.  We plan to send the survey to parents on Tuesday, July 20th and ask for responses by Monday, July 26th.