October 11, 2021 at 5:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  The Board will use this agenda item to discuss future meetings, Board Retreat, or other Board operational functions, as needed.
 

Description:  Board President, Joan Ensign, will lead a discussion about Board and Board Member responses to public comments.

Description:  Board President, Joan Ensign, will lead a discussion about Board Policy 187 -- Public Comment Periods During Board Meetings.

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

Description:  High School Student Council Representatives, Marissa Loether and Isabelle Hahn, will share a report.

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.  A total of an hour will be allowed for this item

Description:  Ashley Taylor and Gina Pagel will represent the teaching staff and provide an update to the Board this month.

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

Description:  At Monday's Board Meeting, the administration will provide an overview of the local and recent COVID data and the impact on the schools and programs. This information/data is not included in BoardBook and will be updated and brought to the meeting on Monday, so the most current information is presented.

Additionally, attached please find the most recent Order from PHMDC.  This Order is in effect through November 5, 2021.  

Description:  Review the 09/21/21 Meeting Minutes

Description:  The School Board will discuss the future of and/or next steps for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee, including any future charge to the committee and membership on the committee.

Description:  Attached please find the original charge from the Board for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee.

Description:  Per our records, attached is the current (active) membership for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee.

Description:  Review the minutes from the 10/4/21 meeting

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of an ADA accessible door at the Intermediate School. This is the door that provides access to the playground from the cafeteria. The total cost of the project is $8,455 and Administration is recommending the use of the District Capital Projects Fund, Fund 41. The Facility Committee is recommending approval of this door project, on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Review the minutes from the 10/4/21 meeting.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to discuss the topic of a debt service defeasance and tax rate consistency across fiscal years. Attached please find information on the District's tax rate from 2009 - 2021. Also attached please find the tax rate, debt service information from the Third Draft of the Budget, and a presentation that the District's financial advisor, PMA, provided to the Budget Committee on October 4th.

In recent fiscal years the School Board has stated a financial goal of tax rate consistency. The reason for this goal is to allow for community, family and business planning regarding a large expenditure: property taxes. District Administration is seeking to confirm this School Board goal and review options for a debt service defeasance in order to accomplish this goal. The Budget Committee is recommending approval of both a debt service defeasance and a goal of tax rate consistency across fiscal years.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to review the concept of the District providing our own special education transportation. There are three major advantages to this approach:

1. Cost savings. A new van purchase plus the cost of a driver will pay for itself within two school years and we know that the van should be operational for at least five years.
2. Driver availability: Drivers do not need a bus driver's license to operate a van, significantly increasing the pool of drivers. In addition, we can work with the students' special education para educator to see if they can become the driver of the van.
3. Improved service for students/families: A dedicated van will allow the District to ensure that students are transported to and from school in a timely manner, not having to fit within existing bus routes.

Attached please find a quote for new special education vans. Administration is recommending reallocation of existing transportation funds towards the van purchase. Please also note that van purchases like this would be eligible for State Special Education Categorical Aid if purchased with local funds. The Budget Committee is recommending approval of the van purchase on a 3-0 vote.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to discuss the additional special education para educators that were approved by the School Board, after the Third Draft of the Budget was approved in July. In addition, Tiffany Loken is requesting an additional special education para educator position at Prairie Elementary School.

Please note that special education para educators are eligible for State Special Education Categorical Aid, if funded with local funds. These positions can also be funded through Federal Flow Through funds; however, they are then not eligible for State Special Education Categorical Aid. Tiffany Loken, Special Education Director, has filed transfer of service requests for any eligible special education student. The requests for special education total $311,117.53, with $220,986.00 eligible to increase our 2021-22 budget. The difference between the two numbers is the amount of estimated State Special Education Categorical Aid. Tiffany has also started a list of transfer of service requests for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Administration is recommending the funding of all new special education para educator positions through local funds. The Budget Committee is recommending the use of local funds on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Chris Mand, Director of Student Service, requesting a para-educator position for the elementary level to serve our English learner program.  The needs in the EL program have increased significantly this school year and an additional para-educator will provide much needed assistance at the elementary level.  This item was briefly discussed at the Budget Committee Meeting but we did not request action by the committee at that time, since the EL team still needed to meet to discuss student and staffing needs.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the Banking Request for Proposal process. The District received four banking proposals. The banking proposals were attached for your review in the Budget Committee packet from October 4th. 

The District currently banks with the State Bank of Cross Plains. The State Bank provides low cost banking services with a high quality of customer service. The reason for the Request for Proposal process is a requirement in School Board policy to seek proposals on a minimum of a five-year basis. The District spends approximately $6,000/year on banking services. The Request for Proposal process includes three proposals with banking services at low or no cost. These proposals are from the State Bank of Cross Plains, One Community Bank, and Fortifi Bank. In addition to the fees, it is important to evaluate the interest rate that is offered on District resources deposited at our local bank. The One Community Bank proposal includes both the lowest fees and the highest interest rate on District deposits. The State Bank of Cross Plains proposal is a no fee proposal with a lower interest rate than the one proposed by the One Community Bank. The Fortifi Bank proposal includes low fees with a higher interest rate than what was proposed by the State Bank of Cross Plains. The proposal from BMO Harris is competitive but does include banking fees for the District. Overall, the One Community Bank proposal provides the best financial value for the School District. The Budget Committee is recommending the proposal from the One Community Bank on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Review the minutes from the 10/5/21 Meeting

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of a driver wage schedule. Attached please find a possible wage schedule for the proposed new role of Driver, for transportation of students using school vans. The HR Committee is recommending approval of this driver wage schedule on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Attached please find three documents:
1.  Memo from Chirs Mand, Director of Student Service, regarding the process for selecting and the recommendation for the partnership between the WCSD and the Psychotherapy Center of Waunakee.
2.  MOU for the Partnership -- 1-year agreement
3.  Copy of the RFP response for the Psychotherapy Center of Waunakee (PCOW).

At Monday's meeting the administration will provide background to this recommendation, an update on why this partnership is important, and will answer your questions.

The Curriculum Committee was part of the team that interviewed the Psychotherapy Center of Waunakee and was in consensus to move forward with this recommendation, pending a final meeting by administration with PCOW.  The administration was pleased with our final meeting with PCOW and are recommending this partnership for Board consideration.  

Finally, we vetted the MOU with our attorney, Kirk Strang.

Description:  The administration has been meeting with the teams from EUA and Vogel Bros. since January to renew the facility planning process for the Waunakee Community School District.  The Board has received updates on this process  and has targeted the fall of 2022 as a potential date for a referendum effort to address district facility and operational needs.  The purpose of this agenda item is to officially launch our planning for a fall 2022 referendum, review the key variables, and set in motion the next steps in our timeline.  The Board has previously seen many of the slides in this presentation, so we will address the slides that best summarize this work and next steps.  This presentation will serve as a base informational tool from which we will move forward with Board, staff, and community conversations to further define and narrow our decision-making points.

Description:  One of the goals for the Board this year is to develop a communications plan and further extend outreach to stakeholder groups.  Part of the work surrounding this effort is to draft a plan that designates areas of focus.   Attached please find the working Communications Plan that Anne Blackburn, Communications Specialist, has developed.  She will be present at Monday's Board Meeting to share with you the outline of the plan and the priority areas for this year.

Description:  Attached please find the Third Friday Count email communication and data that was shared with all School Board members on September 30th.

Description:   

Description:  Attached in the "extras" section of BoardBook, please find a list of the accounts payable payments issued during the month of September 2021. Please feel free to reach out to Steve Summers at stevesummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us if you have any questions.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2021-22 Budget Status report as of September 30th, 2021, and the Cash Reconciliation report for August 2021.  Please note that we are still working on some audit entries that affect the cash reconciliation for one account in July.

Also attached please find the Dean/SSM wellness clinic report for August and a district financial report for the Wellness Clinic for your review. This report tracks expenditures over time, beginning with the first month of the clinic. 

Please contact Steve Summers at stevesummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us if you have questions on any of these reports.

Description:  The Muskie School's Fishing Expo has been held at the WHS for over 10 years.  This expo will be set up on March 18, 2022 and the event will be on March 19, 2022.  As part of the event they would like to use the pool.   They are asking for the Facility Use Rental Fee to be exempt.  Attached please find the exemption form and also an approximate costs for this event from Aaron May.

Description:  Attached please find a schedule of proposed dates for the Board/Staff Listening Sessions.  Rebecca will circulate the sign-up sheet on Monday at the meeting and will make sure there are no more than three Board Members at each session.