December 14, 2015 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Included in your packet you will find the minutes from the November 9, 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:  The Board of Education provides a public listening session for the public to comment on non-agenda items related to the governance or management of the Waunakee Community School District. Individuals may use this time to also 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 this year.

Description:  Gary Albrecht from CESA 2 will be here to present Steve Summers with recognition for his work as part of the benefits user group.

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

Description:  We have not received, yet, the resolutions that will be considered by the WASB at their convention in January, however, we want to keep this item on the agenda in the event that they arrive and we can discuss and distribute the documents at the meeting.  In the past, once we receive the resolutions, we have distributed them and feedback has been provided to Julie, and then authority has been provided to her to vote on the Board's behalf.

Description:  The Board of Education will discuss the timeline for completing the Board Self
Evaluation. We will once again be using the WASB/School Perceptions Annual Board Development Survey tool.

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Peggy Hill-Breunig related to Board and Superintendent evaluation timelines.  

Description:   Attached please find associated documents related to this month's curriculum presentation on Academic and Career Plans.

Description:  Attached please find reports from Herb Haubrich (Technology) and Joe Bellomo (Facilities/Safety).

Description:  One of the student choice programs that is available through State Law is the Course Options program.  This program allows a student to apply and enroll in any course at a non-resident high school, college, or university.  The student application attached is for two classes at Madison Area Technical College -- Operations Management, and Small Business Development.  Under the Course Options program, there is no requirement that the courses offered be substantially different than a course offered in a resident high school.  The applicant also originates their application with the institution offering the class.

Description:  Attached please find a memo fro Brian Kersten regarding a request for an exchange student from Italy at the high school second semester.  Usually we act upon exchange student requests in the summer for full-year placements, but we have taken action later in the year when it is a one-semester placement.  The unique aspect of this request is that the host family lives in Cross Plains and their child attends school in Waunakee through open-enrollment.  We inquired with DPI as to the ability of an exchange student to also attend school in Waunakee.  This situation is allowable.  Our recommendation is for approval.

Description:  Attached you will find the 2015-16 Budget Status report as of November 30th, 2015, the Cash Reconciliation report for October 2015, and the 2014 referendum budget report as of November 30th, 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 the 2014-15 financial audit. The district’s audit firm, Johnson Block & Co., has completed the 2014-2015 financial audit reports. I have attached the following documents:
· The auditor communications letter to the School Board
· The financial statements with independent auditor’s report
Please keep in mind that the “financial statements with independent auditor’s report” is presented according to accounting standards issued by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The accounting standards differ from what is required to be reported according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. As an example, GASB accounting standards require depreciation of
assets, while depreciation is not reported in the state’s accounting system. As another example, fund classifications differ between the GASB accounting standards and the state’s accounting system. Please let me know if you have any questions while reviewing the financial statements. The auditor letter is a communication from the auditor to the School Board over such matters as “difficulties
encountered in performing the audit”,“disagreements with management”, and recommended reviews of operational practices. Please let me know if you have any questions on the attached documents. I can be reached at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012. Thanks for your time. 

Description:  Attached is a working document that illustrates the upcoming meetings and landmarks for our work through the end of February.  I will take a few minutes to review this outline with the Board on Monday evening so we can begin to check our calendars and see how this plan corresponds to your availability.  I know we have the School Board Convention in mid-January, and some members of the board taking vacation during this time, too.  

Description:   

Description:   Attached please find the minutes from the December 1st, 2015 meeting of the Budget Committee. 

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the RevTrak online payment system. I have attached a memo from Accounting Specialist, LaDonna Radel, that outlines the details of this payment system. Basically, this system will provide opportunities to collect non school fees via credit card, debit card, or checking payments. Potential uses for this type of payment system include Music Booster dues and fruit sales, scholarship donations, foundation payments, admission/entry fees, retiree payments, etc. The Budget Committee is recommending approval of the RevTrak online payment system on a 3-0 vote. Please contact Steve Summers at 608-849-2012 or
ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us if you have any questions. Thanks for your
consideration. 

Description:  Attached please find a proposal from the high school PLC Guiding Coalition regarding the establishment of a student contact time in the high school schedule. This proposal was discussed with the Curriculum Committee and is being forwarded to you as an informational item.

Description:  We are seeking School Board approval to apply for potential grant funding for a 20k solar energy system at the new Intermediate School.  Attached please find an invitation to apply for the next round of grants in 2016, along with a link providing more information. The Facility Committee is recommending approval of the solar system grant application on a 3-0 vote. 

Two of the roof sections at the Intermediate School were designed to accommodate solar energy systems and the electrical infrastructure is in place through the electrical design.  We would like to participate in the next round of WPPI grants to see what we might be able to receive for this project.  The next round of grants begins January 4th.  We are not asking for you our approval of a solar energy system at this time, but want your support for applying for grants in order to explore this as an option. 

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of a high school security and camera system upgrade. Attached please find a proposal from the recommended contractor, Globalcom. The Facility Committee is recommending approval of this proposal on a 3-0 vote.

This discussion is tied to a decision making process for the new Intermediate School security and camera system. After extensive research from Herb Haubrich, the district has scaled back the proposed security and camera system from a design based on Mobotics cameras to Access cameras. Access cameras are currently in place in the high school and other district facilities. We are seeking your approval on upgrading the Ocularis software system that runs the Access cameras, expanding the number of Access cameras in use throughout the high school, and purchasing a server capable of handling the new Intermediate School and other district facilities.  Brian Kersten has worked with Officer Torbeck to identify additional locations throughout the high school for cameras to eliminate the blind spots that exist today.  Herb Haubrich has explored other software options, however we have found they can cost up to 3X more than simply upgrading our current product.  Any costs associated with the high school camera expansion will be funded from the high school carry over budget from prior fiscal years.  Brian Kersten has been saving funds for the past several years in order to prioritize this project.  Attached please find quotes received on the high school expansion. These are for your information purposes only as a reference.  Herb Haubrich will be at the meeting to discuss the recommendation.  The administration is recommending to hire Westphal/Globalcom due to the high quality of their work and desire to move toward a common vendor across all district facilities.

Description:  This agenda item may be addressed through the discussion of our larger timeline as part of item VIII. 6.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to review the results of the administrative assistant wage study. Attached please find the wage study report prepared by the consultants at QTI.

The Human Resources committee had an initial opportunity to review the results of the QTI Administrative Assistant study at their meeting on September 24th, and a second opportunity on December 4th. There was a motion by Ms. Waner, seconded by Ms. Ensign, to move the study results forward to the full BOE for consideration, with the understanding that further discussion and
guidance regarding compensation philosophy will be necessary prior to recommendation of an implementation plan and informational meetings with staff. The motion carried (3-0).

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is a first reading of revisions to the open enrollment policies. 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 must be moved forward in December for a first reading so we can have a second reading in January so they are in place for the Open Enrollment window that begins in February.  Based on the discussion at the policy committee meeting, the administration has requested a different format from our attorney for these policies. The different format is intended to identify the changes required by state law, and the changes suggested by our attorney to improve our process. 

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to request School Board approval of the 2016-17 elementary attendance boundaries. Attached please find the presentation we provided the board earlier this fall regarding elementary attendance boundaries.  The School Board policy has also been attached for your review. In addition, please see the attached policy committee version of the attendance boundary presentation. The policy committee version of the attendance boundary presentation includes a revision suggested by the policy committee. 

Administration is recommending that we move forward with finalizing an elementary attendance boundary decision at the December BOE meeting. Please see pages 10-13 in the presentation for the original options.  The Policy Committee proposed a suggested revision to the original options by including two additional neighborhood areas into the Heritage attendance area to improve the geographical structure of the attendance boundaries. The second attached presentation includes updates from Mark Roffers based on the revision suggested by the Policy Committee. The Policy Committee voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the elementary attendance boundaries, with a requested review of the two additional neighborhoods. Additionally, the administration recommended a grandfathering proposal for families that already have residence in these areas, to allow them flexibility to initially choose which school to attend either Prairie or Heritage. Administration/Mark Roffers agrees that the two additional neighborhoods improves the overall geographical structure of the elementary attendance boundaries. 

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

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Peggy Hill-Breunig regarding the next steps for discussion around the Key Works of School Boards.