January 11, 2016 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Brian Kersten will join us in closed session for a brief update on one of the student requests for early graduation.

Description:  I will present in closed session a self-review of the last year and discuss with you any questions that you may have about my performance, the district, and my vision for where I want to focus my our work.  I look forward to the discussion.

Description:  Included in your packet you will find the minutes from the December 14, 2015 regular 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:  Jordan Ripp and Matt Luhring are the student representatives to the Board.  They will be present at Monday's meeting to provide an update from the high school.

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

Description:  Jack Heinemann is the school board representative to the Joint Review Board that is set up as part of the TIF District consideration process.  The organizational meeting of the Joint Review Board is on January 11th.  The most recent documents regarding the TIF can be found at the following link:

http://wi-waunakee.civicplus.com/443/Tax-Incremental-Financing-TIF-Districts

This link was also e-mailed to you on January 6th.

Jack will be able to report to you on the timeline and process the TIF request will follow, and provide you an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on the issue being presented.  

Description:  Please review the 2016 WASB Resolutions.  Julie Waner is the Board's delegate at the Convention this month and will be charged with voting on the Board's behalf.  Please be prepared to provide her any input you want her to consider as she represents you at the Delegate Assembly.

Description:  We have three seats open for the Spring election which will take place on April 5, 2016
Incumbents Jack Heinemann (Village of Waunakee), Dave Boetcher (Village of Waunakee) and Gary Epping (Towns of Dane/Springfield) are seeking re-election and will be running unopposed on the ballot.

Description:  At the December Board Meeting you should have received a log-in to complete the on-line board evaluation provided by WASB in cooperation with School Perceptions.  The objective is to have all board members complete this survey by Monday evening so an analysis of the results can take place prior to your meeting on this issue.

Description:   Jeannine Ramsey will provide an update on the LMTC content area.

Description:  Connie Beth will provide the board with an update on work that is occurring in the Human Resource Department.  Her report is attached.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2015-16 Budget Status report as of December 31st, 2015, the Cash Reconciliation report for November 2015, and the 2014 referendum budget report as of December 31st, 2015. Please note that the purchase orders over $5,000 report has been included in the "extras" section of BoardBook. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of 2016-17 open enrollment capacity. The approval of the 2016-17 open enrollment capacity is based off the revised School Board open enrollment policy.   The open enrollment law was significantly changed during February of 2012. One of the changes in the law was a requirement that the School Board identify in January of each year the number of openings in each grade for open enrollment students. In addition, the open enrollment law was changed during the 2015-17 state budget process. We are now required to separately calculate the number of special education openings, and districts are not allowed to deny open enrollment to special education students based on undue financial burdens. 

Attached you will find a document that identifies the recommended 2016-17 open enrollment capacity by grade level for regular education and special education. The recommendations are based on the revised open enrollment policy which requires class sizes below the optimal level and building capacities below the maximum level prior to accepting open enrollment students. Please note that open enrollment capacity is different than class sizes at each grade level.   

For 16-17, I am estimating enrollment (and budget planning) based on a 66 increase in student enrollment. The only regular education openings recommended are in four-year old kindergarten, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 9th grade. The format to calculate the number of openings has changed for 16-17, and I will review the changes at the meeting.  

The School Board policy states the following “Open enrollment acceptance guarantees shall be given to a nonresident student already attending school in the district or his/her sibling even if space is not available”. Because of this statement, please be aware that all nonresident students already attending Waunakee will be guaranteed acceptance and students with siblings will be guaranteed acceptance. A guaranteed acceptance does not guarantee placement in a specific elementary school as administration retains the right to assign students to an elementary school with capacity.   

For the 15-16 school year, the School Board approved the following number of open enrollment openings compared to actual number of enrollees:

Four-year old kindergarten 30 openings/25 enrollees
3rd grade  21 openings/3 enrollees
4th grade  21 openings/3 enrollees

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of a resolution authorizing refinancing of existing district debt. The Budget Committee reviewed this refinancing option in December, and recommended moving this option forward to the January School Board meeting. Attached please find the draft resolution for this refinancing, and the Moody's rating associated with this refinance. The sale of the refinanced bonds will occur on Monday, and the final resolution/sale results will be presented Monday evening. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Kurt Eley regarding a proposal to reallocate funds earmarked for para-educator positions (unfilled) to be used to hire a certified teacher, instead.  I fully support the recommendation as presented.  The proposal has been shared and discussed with the involved building principals and has received their support.

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Kury Eley requesting to increase the hours of work for a special education para-educator to meet the evolving needs of a student per their IEP.  I support this request and ask for your approval.

Description:  Attached please find two requests for early graduation.  I have asked Brian Kersten to join us briefly in closed session to share some additional information regarding one of the requests that would not be appropriate for open session dialog.  Additionally, Brian and I discussed the need to have policy developed around early graduation from high school.  We do not have policy direction on this issue, but given the trend we are seeing with more of these requests each year, we feel we need to review with the board this topic and develop some policy guidance.  Our guidance up to this point has been directed by past practice that began 15 years ago.

Description:  Attached please find a DRAFT agenda for the January 18th Special Meeting with the Administrative Cabinet.

The purpose for this meeting is threefold:

1.  Provide the Board with a "map" of the two-year budget picture along with a categorization of available funds, and potential budget expenditures for this two year period, and beyond.

2.  Provide the opportunity for the Board and Administrative Cabinet to discuss budgets, budget planning, district needs, and collaborate on the issues related to moving the school district forward in the new financial times.

3.  Provide the administration feedback on your thoughts, ideas, parameters, etc. that can help us as we develop a proposal to bring to the Board for consideration.

This meeting also serves as the first step in us utilizing our emerging strategic planning framework as a guide to resource allocation.

We are not seeking any action on any item on January 18th.  The meeting will serve the purpose of setting the stage for the variables that are involved in our discussion and planning process.

I will discuss this meeting, the agenda, and its purpose in more detail at the meeting on Monday.

Description:  As you may have seen in the recent news, the Madison Metropolitan School District has eased its policy on school closure related to cold and wind-chill.  The recent news article is as follows:

MADISON, Wis. -Long known for its stringent policies on cold weather closures, the Madison Metropolitan School District is easing its guidelines for when to cancel school in the event of cold weather. 
RELATED CONTENTUniversity of Wisconsin to end dairy sheep research programSheriff defends hiring of convicted killerNew initiative to cover college cost for low income students3 students injured in car vs. school bus crash on Highway 14Administrators will now consider closing schools any time the temperature drops below -25 degrees, while the previous benchmark was -35 degrees. In addition, school officials will try to notify parents and the media of any cancellations by 9 p.m. the night before, which gives parents more time to find alternative child care or take off work.The changes come on the heels of a September parent survey that showed high levels of support for the new policies. "Students just like adults find it very difficult to operate effectively when it's negative 30 or 35 degrees wind chill," Mike Barry, the Madison Metropolitan School District assistant superintendent for business services, said. "It's better for all of us that we close school under those extreme conditions."

Attached is our policy on Emergency Closure of Schools.  This policy provides me with the latitude to close school under various weather and other conditions.  The Dane County Schools have worked together over the years to try to maintain similar practices and criteria for school closure, particularly around wind chill and cold temperatures.

Our practice has been to remain open unless a Wind-Chill Warning is issued by the National Weather Service.  The National Weather Service issues a warning when wind-chills reach sustained levels of -35 degrees.

We also close when air temperatures reach the same -35 degrees.

Madison has changed their policy for both of these measures to -25 degrees.  At -25 degree wind-chills, the National Weather Service issues a Wind Chill Advisory.

I am bringing this issue to your attention because I want to communicate to parents what standard we are using this year in these instances.  Other than Madison, the other Dane County schools are continuing to use the -35 degree threshold and the Wind-Chill Warning as thresholds for closure.  I would also like to maintain these standards.

The issue with Madison changing their practice is that they most likely will close on some days when we and other schools remain open.  I want to gain your perspective on this issue before I proceed with communications to parents.

Also, I share with parents annually that if they do not think it is in their child's best interest to attend school on a weather related day when I keep school open, they are welcome to keep their child home and their child will be excused from school on that day.

Additionally, attached is the letter I send to parents annually regarding "snow days".  I included it for your reference.

I look forward to discussing this issue with you on Monday.

Description:   

Description:  Attached please find the minutes from the January 5th, 2016 meeting of the Budget Committee. 

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of a 1 year transportation contract extension with Lamers Bus Lines. The existing contract expires at the conclusion of the 2016
summer school session. The Budget Committee is recommending approval of the 1 year extension on a 3-0 vote. The Budget Committee is also recommending a transportation bidding process take place in the fall of 2016, for implementation in the summer of 2017. 

There are several options for moving forward that were discussed with the Budget Committee. These options included:
1. Bidding the transportation contract this spring for a 5-7 year term
2. Extending the current transportation contract by a 1 year term
3. Do not bid the transportation contract and sign a new 5-year contract with Lamers

The new Intermediate School will open on September 1st, 2016. The WCSD
transportation system is based on a double-run of pre-K through 4th grade
students first, and then 5th through 12th grade students second. The double-run
transportation system is extremely efficient, but very complex to operate. In
addition, Board of Education policies allow students who are not eligible for
transportation to pay for daycare transportation. We also transport students
between elementary schools as a result of transfers, daycare options, or parent
requests. The bottom line is that our transportation system is extremely
complicated compared to many other school district transportation systems.

The new Intermediate School will require a change in starting school times, and
may require changes in the ending school times. The 5th through 12th grade bus
run cannot drop students off on time in all three schools once the Intermediate
School is located west of Q. In addition, the walking/bus riding zones for 5th
and 6th grade students will change. This change then results in a change in
many of the 5th through 12th grade bus routes. Our transportation system will
be faced with multiple changes/challenges as a result of the new Intermediate
School.

At this time, the Administration is not recommending option 3. Due to the
changes we are facing with the new Intermediate School the Administration is
requesting consideration of a 1-year contract extension with Lamers. Lamers has
offered to extend the contract with a rate increase of 2.5%. We have had
numerous service issues with Lamers in the recent past. However, there have
been improvements made during the 2015-16 school year and the number of
complaints has reduced significantly. The Administration is concerned that
having a contractor change at the same time as a new school change occurs would
introduce significant risk into the district transportation system. We would
further recommend a bidding process prior to the 2017-18 school year that would
result in the selection of a bus contractor for a 5-7 year term. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to have a discussion with the School Board on the improvements made to the internal controls policies/procedures in 2015, and the improvements that will be made in 2016. Attached please find a memo prepared by the Accounting Specialist, LaDonna Radel, that provides detailed information on this topic. In addition, you are welcome to view the new Internal Controls section of the district web-site at:
http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/district/Procedures-Internal_Controls.cfm

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

Description:  We have been exploring options for updating part of our high school technology education space to serve as a Makerspace or Fab Lab.  The state has opened a round of grant funding for Fab Labs and applications are due on January 22.  At a base level of implementation, we would envision matching possible state grant funding with reallocations in instructional programs and community donations.  A higher level of updates to these spaces could happen with additional funding.  The grant application requires a Board resolution. 

Attached also find an article in the December edition of the School News regarding the Three Lakes FAB Lab.

We discussed the FAB Lab concept with the Curriculum Committee and they are forwarding a 3-0 recommendation to support the grant resolution.  We believe that there are opportunities for other funding sources if the grant is not approved.  

Jack Heinemann has been a strong advocate and been involved in our discussions related to the FAB Lab / Makerspace approach.  Our goal is to reach more students, from various curricular areas, and get them involved in hands-on innovative and creative ventures where they can apply the skills they learn in other parts of our curriculum.  I find this project to be very exciting and look forward to talking with you on Monday.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to review a draft of the 5 year capital maintenance
plan. The Facility Committee may have some input for the School Board to consider on this topic. The Facility Committee meets on Thursday, January 7th. Attached you will find a memo from Joe Bellomo that provides an overview of the development of the plan. You will also find attached a rough draft/work in progress version of the 5 year capital maintenance plan. Please note that we have
been working on a new format to present the 5 year capital maintenance plan. We are
seeking your feedback on this draft, and whether or not this format is helpful to you.
The rough draft should be considered a work in progress, as we have not yet finalized
all of the various components. However, we wanted the School Board to be able to
provide feedback on the plan as it is being developed. Please note that we are not
actually proposing to complete the specific projects as outlined at this time, or the
grand total amounts in each of the years, but rather this document is a framework to
begin the 5 year capital maintenance plan discussion. Please also note that the
Heritage school section of this rough draft needs significant further development as
decisions are made about which projects are included in the referendum and what
projects will be funded by district maintenance dollars.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is a first review of the bids received for the
Intermediate School furniture. The Facility Committee may have some input for the School Board to consider on this topic. The Facility Committee meets on Thursday, January 7th. 

The district has hired Eppstein Uhen to prepare the specifications and manage the selection process for the furniture at the new school. Eppstein Uhen has presented several options for the district to consider during the approval process. At this point, we have the following options under consideration:
1. Purchase all furniture from a single vendor (Henricksen) that provided the lowest
single vendor bid at approximately $1,120,155.
2. Purchase all furniture from multiple vendors (Henricksen, Marshfield, and
Madden) that provided the lowest individual line item bids at approximately
$1,117,266.
3. Purchase all furniture from multiple vendors (Henricksen, Marshfield, and
Lerdahl) that provided the lowest individual line item bids, and recommended bid
alternates, at approximately $1,078,048.
Please note that these dollar amounts can be compared to the budget amount of
$1,413,504 for the new Intermediate School furniture. There are detailed
spreadsheets from Eppstein Uhen that outline each of these options. These
spreadsheets have not been attached, but are available if any Board member
would like to review them. The administrative team is currently evaluating the bid
alternates. In addition, we are also evaluating additional cost savings options like
further breaking down the bids for specific product lines (like Hon) in order to reduce
the overall cost of the bid. Furniture samples are being delivered to 905 Bethel Circle
to assist with the evaluation of the furniture bids. We are seeking input from the
committee on the options available to purchase this furniture.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to review options for the fiber connection to the
new Intermediate School. The Facility Committee may have a recommendation for the School Board to consider on this topic. The Facility Committee meets on Thursday, January 7th.

The district currently owns fiber connections between the High School and the Middle School, and between the High School and the Heritage/Intermediate School facility. The district currently leases fiber connections between the High School and Bethel Circle, Arboretum, and Prairie Elementary. We would have the option to either build a fiber line to the new Intermediate School or
lease a line. The construction of a line would cost approximately $90 - $100 thousand. The lease of a line would cost $700/month for a 5 year lease up to $1,500/month for a 1 year lease. We have lease quotes from both TDS and Charter, with TDS offering the lowest cost and highest quality fiber connections. We are seeking input from the committee on the own versus lease options.

Description:  Attached please find a request for a utility easement at the new Intermediate School site.  The easement is located on the northeast corner of the Intermediate School site.  As part of our practice, we have brought all easements through the board for consideration.  We ask for your approval of this easement request.

Description:  I have been working with Dr. Nick Mischler, community member, who wants to spearhead a project to recognize educators and education in our community.  He or Kevin Laffey may have contacted you earlier this year to discuss this concept.  After a number of meetings to discuss ideas, a committee of staff, board member/s, and community members have come up with the idea of commissioning a sculpture to be created in conjunction with the art classes at the high school and be placed in the outdoor entry area to the high school.  I am asking for the committee's approval to proceed with planning this concept with the expectation that once a design and specific location is identified, that it come back through the board for approval.  Per policy, facility improvements need the school board's approval before proceeding and I want to be sure that you are aware of this idea prior to it getting too far down the line.  From the school board, Peggy, Mark, and Jack have been involved with various meetings with Dr. Mischler.

Description:  On Monday evening I will be presenting to the Board a framework for our
strategic plan that includes revisions to the District Vision, along with the primary
areas of emphasis for the next three years. As I reported to you at our December
Board Meeting, I met with Julie Waner as the Goals Committee chair on December 10th to
solicit her feedback on the draft outline for the plan. Additionally, I presented and
asked for feedback from my administrative team on December 16th and on January 6th. The
administrative cabinet was informative and provided me with various perspectives to
consider.  

The Goals Committee met prior to the holidays and reviewed the framework.  Their input is included in the most recent draft.

On Monday night I will present the updated version of this work
for your information and initial feedback. No action is required at this time.

The next steps for this framework involve discussion with our teacher leaders through Systemwide, and then, at the suggestion of the Goals Committee, a special meeting in February with the Board, Administration, and Systemwide.  I will discuss the framework, process, and next steps in more detail on Monday evening.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to have a first review of staff compensation parameters for 2015-16. Attached please find a summary spreadsheet that outlines the recommendation from the Human Resources Committee. The recommendation includes the following:

1. A 1.62% CPI increase for all employment categories except the co-curricular category. The 1.62% represents the consumer price index for union contracts with a starting date of July 1st, 2015. 
2. A $600 point increase for members of the teaching staff (200 points)
3. $30,000 in additional funds to selected members of the administrative assistant group based on the results of the QTI study.
4. $2,524 in additional funds funds to selected members of the administrative staff based on the results of the average pay survey process.

Please note that this approach does require the use of $206,319 in funds from the 2016-17 school year. The administration will discuss this topic in more detail at the Special School Board meeting scheduled for January 18th. 

The Human Resources Committee is also interested in conducting a thorough review of co-curricular compensation for implementation at the start of the 2016-17 school year. This review will include both the base amount used to calculate salaries and the percentages used to determine the salaries for each position. The Committee is also interested in reviewing other options for administrative staff compensation, given the average pay goal has been accomplished. 

Finally, attached please find a memo we received from the six building principals regarding the concerns they and their administrative assistants have about the recently released QTI Study on administrative assistant pay.  Randy met with the building principals on Monday, January 4th to discuss their concerns.  The outcome of that meeting involved concerns regarding the labeling of each position as a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 position, and it was less about the salary adjustments being suggested.  The perception that a Level 1 position was valued more than a higher leveled position was not the intent, but it was the outcome that was perceived by staff.  We met with the principals again on January 6th and came to consensus that when we articulate the administrative assistant positions in the handbook, we will list them alphabetically, and then pay ranges per the study and market value will be assigned to each position.  I am sharing this memo and conversation with you at this time as it is what I told the administrators I would do.  Also, please know that the recommendation with regard to funding for this group is not impacted by this dialog, the articulated concern, or this outcome.  We will meet with the administrative assistant group again after pay has been settled for 2015-2016 and explain our intent was not to create a perception of value, but rather to bring their group within the median range for their comparable positions in other school districts.  

You are welcome to view the detailed documents that led to this recommendation. These documents are included in Boardbook, under the Human Resources Committee meeting from January 5th. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is a second reading of revisions to the open enrollment policies. No changes have been made to these policies since the first reading last month.  Attached please find revisions to our Open Enrollment related policies.  

The revisions are based around changes to the special education law from the 2015-2017 state budget and suggestions from our attorney based on the open enrollment appeals that we went
through last August.  These policies were moved forward in December for a first reading so we can have a second reading in January so the policies are in place for the Open Enrollment window that begins in February.  Please note that policy 423, Fulltime Open enrollment, is presented in both a "clean" version and a "marked up" version. Due to the significant number of changes to this policy, the "clean" version is much easier to read. The "marked up" version includes yellow highlighted text that refers to state law changes, red text that refers to recommendations from our attorney, and green text that refers to language that was moved to the 423 Rule (1). 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this agenda item. You can reach me at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks.

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

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