May 13, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:   

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

Description:  Individuals may use this time to comment on any topic. A copy of Board Policy 187 —Public Participation at Board Meetings is enclosed for your reference. Each speaker will be allowed 3 minutes to speak for a total of  30 minutes.  .  Emailed comments will be shared and reviewed by all the board members but will not be read out loud.

Description:  Members of the WTA will provide an update to the Board from the Teachers.

Description:  Kendall Haviland and Victoria Raemisch are the student representatives from the high school and will be present to report to the board on what is occurring at the high school.

Description:  Attached please find correspondence from CESA2 regarding the delegate convention on June 18th.

Description:  Board President, Joan Ensign, will share the Board's committee assignments that she recommends based on the committee membership interest survey each member filled out as part of the reorganizational process.  She will also name who she designates as chair for each committee.

Her recommendations are attached.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request approval of the first draft of the budget for the 24-25 school year. I have attached the first draft of the budget for your review. Please note that the first draft of the budget is based on the following:
1. The $0/student increase in the per pupil categorical aid, with a $325/student increase in the revenue limit formula
2. The personnel cost line includes an inflationary salary increase of 4.12%, implementation of the teacher and classified staff compensation systems at 2%, a 0% increase in dental insurance rates, and a 5% increase for health insurance rates, and transportation.
3. The capital maintenance projects are funded from Fund 49
4. The first draft includes an increase of 8.5 FTE, as outlined on page 13 of the document.
5. The debt service fund includes an estimate for the remaining debt that needs to be issued from the $175 million referendum.
6. Budget adjustments and revenue increases per the memo from the April budget committee meeting. (High cost special ed aid, fund 80, and flow-through grant)
7. All of the remaining budget requests have been placed on hold at this time.

The second draft of the budget in June will include:
1. Grant allocations, if available
2. Staffing updates based on additional schedule changes, reallocation proposals or new positions
3. Updates to the Food Service budget (Fund 50), and other budgets as a result of School Board approved student fees
4. Updates to the gift fund (Fund 21)
5. Updates to the community service fund (Fund 80)
6. Updates to building/department revenue accounts and corresponding expense accounts
Please let me know if you have any questions on the first draft of the budget.
The budget committee is recommending approval on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Attached please find the proposed student fees for the 2024-2025 school year. The budget committee is recommending approval on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Attached please find the proposed facility use fees for the 2024-2025 school year. Nick Conrad has updated several of the fees for consideration by the Budget Committee. Rick Braun provided input for the PAC fees. Kristy Nacker provided input on the increased pool fees. The budget committee is recommending approval on a 3-0 motion.

Description:  Attached please find a draft of the community survey results. The final version of the community survey results will be available at the June board meeting. School Perceptions will be attending the June meeting to go over the final report. The administration will review the draft results and will discuss next steps.

Additionally, the administration started the process of resolution drafts so the school board could see the options that range from recurring, nonrecurring, and a hybrid of both. Please note that the budget committee directed the administration to bring additional resolution drafts forward that are aligned with the results of the survey. These additional drafts will be shared at the next budget committee meeting as well as the June board meeting. 

Description:  The Young Conservatives Club at the high school has approached the administration about wanting to affiliate their club with High School Turning Point -- a national organization with a high school component.  Their reason for wanting to affiliate with this organization is to add organizational structure to their club.  Since an affiliation with a national organization changes the original proposal for the club when it was approved by the Board, we are bringing this request back through the Board process, starting with the Co-Curricular Committee.

Christina Raemisch, advisor, and members of the club were present at the Co-Curricular Meeting and the Committee approved their request on a 3-0 vote, and are recommending this action to the full Board.

Description:  At the June 2023 School Board Meeting, there were public comments from a parent requesting that the middle school wrestling program expand to allow for 6th grade students from the Intermediate School to participate.

Athletic Director, Nick Conrad, researched this request and made the recommendation to the Committee to allow 6th grade students to be part of the Middle School Wrestling program.  This recommendation does not have financial implications as staff, equipment, transportation, etc. are already part of this established program.

The Committee approved this recommendation on a 3-0 vote.

See the attached memo and recommendation from Nick Conrad.

Description:  Attached please find documentation related to a request to start a Boy's Volleyball Team at the high school.  Nick Conrad, Athletic Director, has been working on this request with parents and students, and presented  the proposal to the Committee for review, questions, and consideration.  The Committee approved the recommendation on a 3-0 vote to begin the program as a club and allow it to transition into a coop with Deforest for the 2025-2026 school year.

Costs for the program have been included in the first draft of the budget and those costs, in summary, include:
Cost of a coach: $3792 - $4875
Transportation:  Club
Uniforms will be covered by the club.
Other Equipment:  Club

See the attached memo for more details on cost implications.

Description:  The E-Sports Club at the high school was discussed with the Co-Curricular Committee three years ago, and there was consensus at that time to approve this club as a student organization. However, for various reasons, this club was not voted on by the Committee or the Board at that time, so the administration is bringing it back to formalize its approval, and to seek compensation for its advisor, since the club has been viable for the last three years.

Cost of the eSports Advisor = $3792 - $5959.
The cost of the advisor is included in the 1st draft of the budget.

This activity runs for the length of the school year.

Description:  District administrators (Guttenberg, Summers, and Dye) had the opportunity to attend the Middle School Bid Day on April 16th. Vogel Bros has prepared a presentation that provides a high level overview of the bidding process. In addition, Vogel is requesting approval of the following subcontractors: fire protection, concrete reinforcement, and concrete redi-mix. The facility committee is recommending approval on a 3-0 motion. 

Description:  The facility committee/school board approved an LED project for the high school at the March meetings for $1,440,850. The administration has worked with Westphal to obtain updated quotes for both Prairie and Arboretum. The quotes are attached. The quotes for Arboretum and Prairie total up to $1,372,500. Materials have been ordered and staffing has been secured to work on the projects. However, Westphal is willing to redirect the work from the high school and towards Prairie and Arboretum. The facility committee is recommending approval of directing the work from the high school towards Prairie and Arboretum on a 3-0 vote.

Description:  Based on the direction provided by the facility committee, the Bethel Circle plans were sent out for bid. The bid results were included in the middle school presentation. There are two options for consideration. One option is a slight increase in the referendum approved budget and the second option requires value engineering to get back to the referendum approved budget. The facility committee is recommending approval at the referendum approved budget and is recommending approval for administration to value engineer the project back to the referendum budget amount. The facility committee is also recommending that administration have the authority to review and consider any bid changes as a result of value engineering in order to keep the project on the timeline required. Motions passed 3-0.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on capital projects, and request approval of additional capital projects for HVAC and districtwide maintenance.

Attached please find our budget tracking document for capital projects. Please note that this document has been updated to reflect the April School Board meeting capital projects approvals, the GMP savings for Heritage Elementary School, and $5 million of interest earnings. Administration will review this budget tracking document before reviewing the potential additional capital projects. Also attached please find a request for additional capital maintenance approvals. The requests fit within the remaining funds. The facility committee is recommending approval 3-0, with removal of the two playground projects. Administration will review the playground projects for alternative funding options. 

Description:  Attached please find the summary spreadsheet for the policies that will be reviewed at the meeting.  These policies have been reviewed by the administration and the policy committee chair prior to movement to the committee for consideration. The Committee has reviewed these policies and is recommending them for approval to the full Board on a 3-0 vote.

Description:  This action item is to approve the attached proposal that was tentatively agreed upon at the negotiations session on May 15, 2024 for a base wage increase for teachers.  The WTA membership also has to take action to finalize the agreement.

Description:  This action item is to approve wage increases for all non-represented employee groups.  Wage increases include the WERC-calculated CPI increase of 4.12% for all groups.  Administrative / Administrative Support roles with compensation below the average of peer districts are raised within CatchUp pay.  Total cost also involves advancement within the salary schedule for hourly employees based upon their hire dates.  Within the Teacher's group, the costing information includes operation of the Teacher Compensation system as Supplemental Wages.  

A 4.12% Base Wage increase for the Waunakee Teacher's Association was tentatively agreed upon at Negotiations on 4/15/2024.  This is a separate action item for the whole Board on 5/13/2024.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request office personnel in both school and district offices to consider closing public access to offices on Fridays for the last two weeks of June through the first two weeks of August.  

These weeks have  historically very low to non-existent volume of public visitors.  The administration would not have to make any adjustments to their work calendars.  Administrative Assistants would continue to be paid only for hours worked.  Administrative Assistants could adjust their weekly summer schedules with the permission of their supervisors to maintain their hours or continue to work as normally scheduled.  The HR committee is recommending approval along with the flexibility of custodial/maintenance staff. 

Description:  Attached is an updated list of summer curriculum projects and is a recommended action item.  This list has been reviewed for allocations and other internal funding sources, and is being recommended by the Curriculum Committee for approval.

Description:  Attached please find the updated textbook requests for 2024-2025.  The 7-8 ELA team decision-making will occur May 1, so the overview on that request will appear at the committee's May meeting.  The attached document outlines the textbook requests and is being recommended by the Curriculum Committee for approval.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to review the final traffic analysis study report. Attached please find the complete report that includes maps of each school that was evaluated. Maps were shared with the budget committee and full board in April. 

Administration had the opportunity to meet with the Village of Waunakee staff regarding the safety improvements identified in the report. Village staff indicated a willingness to collaborate with the district on these safety improvements. Our request will be to prioritize Arboretum and Hogan due to the already scheduled project as well the new Heritage Elementary. 

Administration will be relocating the crossing guard from 5th and Q to Woodland and Q to assist any students who would be walking or biking to school through that location. 

The administration's recommendation is further connected to a policy decision related to the New Heritage Elementary.   The administration will outline the two policy options and will seek your feedback as we present these options on Monday.  The options include:
1) Should the district create busing consistency between the Intermediate School and the new Heritage Elementary transportation boundaries.
OR
2)Should the district create busing consistency between all three elementary school's transportation boundaries

The current school board policy for busing elementary schools is 1.0 mile away from school, with the Intermediate School being 1.75 miles away from the intersection of Aldora Lane and Woodland Drive. Option 1 above would require a board policy change related to the 1.0 distance for Heritage Elementary only. 

The administration is requesting approval of the Unusually Hazardous Transportation Plan as written, along with option 1 or 2 identified above. The plan would be implemented for the 24-25 school year for all schools, except the middle school, which would be implemented for the 26-27 school year. If option 2 is selected, no further action is necessary. If option 1 is selected, the board's transportation policy will need to come forward to the next policy committee meeting. 

Description:  Attached in the "extras" section of BoardBook, please find a list of the accounts payable payments issued during the month of April.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2023-24 Budget Status report as of April 30th and the Cash Reconciliation report for March 2024.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is for the Board to approve the allocation of the dollars out of this scholarship fund, per the agreement with the donors of these awards.

Description:  Attached please find a memo outlining the changes to the K-6 handbook.    The handbook is attached to the extras section, for your reference.

Description:  Attached please find the cover memos for the MS and HS Student/Family Handbooks.  The handbooks in their entirety can be found in the Extra Section of BoardBook.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the attached 2024-25 Pupil Transportation Handbook.

The handbook is distributed by the District via the building student handbooks. Administration is requesting approval in May so the school buildings can incorporate the Pupil Transportation Handbook into their 2024-25 student handbooks. The majority of the information in the Pupil Transportation Handbook references School Board transportation policies. The Administrative Team has been provided an opportunity to provide feedback on this handbook. The only changes include language to the eligibility for transportation services regarding the recent traffic study. The handbook has been drafted according to option 2 identified in the UHT agenda item. Based on the board decision, administration would request authority to amend the handbook per school board direction. 

Description:  We will ask the budget committee to meet on May 28th, 29th, or 31st at 7:30 am. We will review budget revisions for 2023-24 and the second draft of the budget for 2024-25.