August 10, 2015 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Included in your packet you will find the minutes from the July 13, 2015 regular meeting and July 27, 2015 special meeting for your review and approval.

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 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 30 minutes for this section of the agenda.

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

Description:  Be it resolved that the Board of Education for the Waunakee Community School District hereby authorizes the appointment of an independent hearing officer for the 2015-2016  school year to determine pupil expulsion from the school under State Statute 119.25 Expulsion of Pupils. Sub (2). This must be a roll call vote.

Description:  We will need a motion to appoint attorney Karl Marquardt to serve a the district's Expulsion Hearing Officer for the 2015-2016 school year. This must be a roll call vote.

Description:  We will need a motion to appoint Dr. Bill Ranum as the District's Medical Advisor for the 2015-2016 school year.This must be a roll call vote.

Description:  One of the policy changes in the recently approved state budget is an annual requirement that school boards formally recognize the academic standards that are in effect for the upcoming school year at the first meeting of the year.  Since this is the first 2015-2016 meeting following the enactment of the state budget, this item is on your agenda for approval.  Tim Schell has prepared a memo outlining the academic standards in use.

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Description:  As you may recall, last fall we put forth a request to have the 40 acre Intermediate School Site annexed into the Village of Waunakee.  We thought this was the logical next step for this property as we prepared for construction of the new Intermediate School.  Upon review with the elected bodies of the Town of Westport and the Village of Waunakee, it was determined, and I agreed to the provision, that the parcel would remain in the Town of Westport until which time the areas around the school site develop and are annexed into the Village of Waunakee.  We can and will receive services from police etc. regardless of placement in the Village or Town, just  as we do on the high school athletic grounds that reside partially in the Village and partially in the Town.  I ask for your approval of the attached agreement for zoning that has been through and approved by the Town Board, Village Board, and the Joint Planning Commission.

Description:  Attached please find a memo and corresponding materials related to a request to accept two exchange students into the high school this fall.  The students are from Sweden and Taiwan.  Brian Kersten has worked with the sponsoring organizations and we are recommending approval.

Description:  A preliminary testing and assessment schedule is attached for your approval.  It is generally a continuation of the 2014-2015 schedule and will need to be revised when more information is available on new state assessments and how we will implement the civics exam.  Please see the attached memo for more detail.

Description:  Attached please find an early graduation request from Pam and Chris Polzer regarding their daughter, Allison Gilles.  They are requesting that Allison be allowed to graduate from high school one semester early in an effort to enter the workforce full-time and prepare for entering Madison College in the fall 2016.  Brian Kersten and the guidance staff have reviewed this request and will work with Allison to ensure that she meets the requirements for graduation.  We ask for your consideration and approval.

Description:  Attached please find the Special Education Handbook for 2015-2016.  As you will see from the associated memo from Kurt Eley, there are no changes in the handbook from last year to this year.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2014-15 Budget Status report as of June 30th, 2015, the Cash Reconciliation report for June 2015, and the 2014 referendum budget report as of July 31st, 2015.

Please note that the annual fiscal audit will take place the week of August 10th. The 2014-15 Budget Status report will not have audited numbers until the September School Board meeting. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  Attached please find a draft of the 2015 Annual Meeting Agenda. The administration is requesting approval of this agenda in order to begin the planning process for the 2015 Annual 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 for a cash flow borrowing process. Because the 2015 referendum borrowing exceeded our annual limit of $10,000,000 in bank qualified debt, we are able to issue our annual cash flow borrowing as bank qualified debt. As a result, the borrowing will not be considered taxable, which reduces interest costs.

The administration is recommending hiring the financial advisor PMA to conduct the annual cash flow borrowing process. Last year, we participated in a PMA cash flow borrowing pool that included other school districts in the same borrowing situation as Waunakee.
Here is the process for cash flow borrowing with PMA:  
·    An approximately $5,000,000 loan is taken out in October
·    The loan is bank qualified, which reduces interest costs
·    The financial professional seeks bids on the borrowing
·    The legal opinion is provided by Quarles and Brady
·    The borrowing is rated and substantial information is provided to the bidders
·    The issuance cost of the borrowing is higher due to the financial advisor fees, the legal fees,        and the rating fees   However, all of the districts in the pool share the issuance costs, which reduces the cost for any single district. 
·      Other school districts in the same borrowing situation as Waunakee can participate in the   process which helps to lower the overall costs of the borrowing

In addition to the cost of issuance, the district will see interest rate savings from two sources. These two sources are a lower overall interest rate due to the rated borrowing, and the loan will be paid back in installments rather than annually.

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 resolution authorizing the chrome book lease approved at the July School Board meeting . I have attached the resolution for your review.  

Please recall that the School Board approved a chrome book lease at the July meeting. We are now required to formalize the paperwork for this lease, which includes a School Board resolution. The terms and conditions of the lease are identical to the information presented at the July meeting. 

Please let me know if you have any questions on the resolution authorizing the lease. You can contact me via email at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or via phone at 849-2491. Thanks.

Description:  Our enrollment is changing on a daily basis.  On Monday night, we will provide the Board with an update on our enrollment across the district, and illustrate areas that are developing into areas of concern, such as first grade enrollment that is currently trending towards our max class size.  We may ask for the board to provide Steve and I authority to add a position should enrollment growth in certain areas continue in the coming weeks that drives our need to add a section to keep class sizes balanced.

Description:  Attached please find the minutes from the July 13th, 2015 Budget Committee meeting. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

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Description:  Last month Connie Beth provided the Board with an overview of the changes that are proposed to the Employee Handbooks.  As a reminder, the Human Resource Committee approved the revisions and has moved the handbooks to the full board for consideration.  We are asking for the Board to consider and act upon the handbooks as presented.  

Questions about language in the handbooks can be directed to Connie Beth in the human resources office.

Description:  Policy 771.2 Rule is being eliminated and the language from this policy is being incorporated into other policy you are reviewing on Monday evening.

Description:  The revision of this policy is the result of us moving the middle school co-curricular programs to Fund 80, per the 3rd draft of the budget, and the movement away from joining WIAA at the middle level.  The revision also articulates our local decision regarding restricting participation in the school programs while concurrently competing as part of the same club sport.

Description:  The revision of this policy is the result of us moving the middle school co-curricular programs to Fund 80, per the 3rd draft of the budget, and the movement away from joining WIAA at the middle level.  

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

Description:  I would like us to set a Special Meeting at the end of the month to learn about the bid results from the Intermediate School project.  This bidding is a significant part of the work from the the fall referendum and may require more time than is normally allocated at regular board meeting.  Also, we have a number of potential late hires this year.  I recommend we also use the special meeting at the end of the month to firm up the hiring of staff prior to the beginning of the school year.