September 12, 2016 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Included in your packet you will find the minutes from the August 8, 2016 regular meeting.

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:  Amanda Koenig and Mikayla Ripp will provide an update of what is happening at the high school.

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

Description:  Dave Boetcher is the school board representative to the Joint Review Board.  Attached is the notice for the first meeting of the JRB.  Dave may provide an update on proposed TID #8  based on what he learns about the plan from the Joint Review Board.

Description:  Tim Schell will provide the Board with an update on ACT results and other assessment related information.

Description:  Connie Beth and Kurt Eley have provided reports from their respective departments.  They will be available on Monday evening to address any questions.

Description:  The school year is off to a strong start.  As Connie Beth stated in her report, we hired 1 new administrator (Prairie Assistant Principal), 3 administrative support staff members (2 psychologists and 1 technology assistant), 28 new teachers, and 17 new classified staff members. We are still working to fill 4 classified staff vacancies created by late resignations.

Additionally, 4K-12 Enrollment as of September 6th is 4,195.  This value is up 27 students from the projected enrollment number we used for budget planning.  We will not know the final enrollment until the 3rd Friday Count on September 16th.  We will also sort out the final FTE and open-enrollment in/out at that time.

During the first week with staff I observed, staff meetings and professional development time directed to PLC development, literacy work across all grade levels, formative assessment discussions, and other school/department specific PD opportunities.  I was impressed with the body of work, depth of discussion, and engagement on pertinent topics in all schools and areas.  

The new learning spaces opened with excitement from staff, parents, and community.  A few technology glitches are being worked out and items are being brought back to either Findorff or other contractors.  All items are moving in the right direction and our contractors have been responsive and have been onsite.

The Open House for Heritage is scheduled for Monday, September 19th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The Open House for Intermediate is scheduled for October 2nd from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  A short program is being planned at 1:00 p.m.

Thank you Julie for representing the school board at the Welcome Back with staff.  Julie provided a timely message about looking forward.

Overall, a great start to the school year.  

Description:  Attached please find a memo from Kurt Eley requesting an additional special education teacher for this year at Heritage Elementary.  This request is precipitated by a student who will be moving to Waunakee in October and requires significant services.  In reviewing our staffing levels, Mr. Eley does not have the capacity to absorb this student into our current caseloads.  The projected growth for Heritage also calls for additional special education staffing at Heritage for next year (without this student).  By adding the position now we can meet the needs of our incoming student and capture Transfer of Service funds to assist with the cost.  Steve Summers and I have reviewed this proposal and recommend approval.

Description:  The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on the employee health/wellness care clinic planning process. Attached please find a presentation that provides a high level overview of this topic. You may wish to also refer back to the June 2016 regular School Board meeting presentation on the Affordable Care Act that included slides that referred to this health/wellness care clinic model. 

Administration is planning to bring back this topic later this fall to request School Board approval of this strategic planning initiative. We are requesting feedback from School Board members on the overall vision of this employee health/wellness care clinic model. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  One of the primary Domains of our strategic plan is Community Engagement.  This area is broad in scope and has different levels of meaning.  For our purposes I propose a definition that I pieced together from various sources:  

Community Engagement is an inclusive term to describe the broad range of interactions between people. It can include a variety of approaches, such as one-way communication or information delivery, two-way communication, consultation, involvement and collaboration in decision-making, and empowered action in informal groups or formal partnerships.

For tonight, I want to apply that concept to develop a few strategies from the Board's perspective to begin to address the Critical Action Plan for Linkage/Dialogue/ and Collaboration.

When I review our notes from the last few discussion we had on this topic I come back with a few themes:

1.  The public wants to know how we are addressing areas of concern.
2.  We have room for improvement in our engagement with singles, retired members of the community, and businesses.
3.  A few key topics that are high in our minds and that of the community include AODA, Student Mental Health, and Co-Curriculars.
4.  The board desires to keep open lines with staff.

To this end, I propose for consideration by the Board a strategy as follows:

A.  Remove the Curriculum Presentation from the regular board agenda, and create two special meetings each year, one in the fall and one in the spring at which time we invite in 3-4 departments of staff to share in a round-table format what is occurring in their department.  This meeting would allow for dialogue, questions, and discussion by the board, possibly the community, and the leadership team. .We can maintain the current rotation of curricular areas so we see different staff each year.

This approach will create time within our regular monthly board meetings for the strategic planning reports, and will provide a direct opportunity to interact with staff in a less formal setting.

B.  Hold at least one Linkage Meeting this year with the community.  The suggested topic could be AODA/Student Mental Health or Co-Curricular Activities.

I think we have continued dialog and concern around both of these topics and it would be good to have a broader discussion around the topics and receive feedback that could be used for future planning and decision making.  We have work happening on both areas this year with the Waunakee Cares Coalition and through Aaron May reviewing the co-curricular code/handbook.

C.  Hold a planning meeting with the Administrative Cabinet, Teacher Leadership Team, and the Board following the release of the Governor's budget proposal.

This meeting would serve the purpose of informing a broad staff/ board group on the proposed budget, our local budget projections, and a discussion on budget proposals and input on priorities.


I look forward to discussing this action plan with the board on Monday.  At the meeting there will be opportunity to accept, decline, or modify this proposal.  I am writing it to begin the dialog to solidify an action plan we can adopt and begin to move forward.


There are other areas within the Community Engagement Domain that require proposals and action. These might include strategies for sharing district successes, social media opportunities, etc.  These will be brought back to the board in the future during a monitoring report.

Description:  At the last Board meeting you received an update from Peggy Hill-Breunig on the outcome of a survey of the board on the superintendent evaluation process.  As part of that report, the HR Committee recommended that in addition to the regular evaluation process this year that the board work on an improved process/instrument for the future, and secondly, devise some "district goals" to compliment this year's review.  I support and requested the development of "district goals" as a way of forwarding the work that is part of the strategic plan to the board.

Peggy, Julie, and I met a couple of times this summer to discuss the goals process and the attached document is a draft of the board goals we discussed.  You will notice that they are broad in scope and allow for all aspects of the strategic plan to be articulated in our work.  The items that are "bullet-pointed" serve as the evidence of progress towards each objective and will serve as the monitoring reports during board meetings.  These bullet points represent the priority work that we are doing in the district.

When these reports come forward, you will receive three outcomes:

1.  Information on the topic.
2.  Update on the progress of creation/ implementation/ review of the identified area.  Also, available data on how this work is progressing.
3.  Budget implications that can be used when setting budget priorities for the next budget cycle.

Additionally, these reports create an accountability measure to keep a focus on what is most important across all areas of the school district organization.

On Monday evening I request time to explain a vision for how I see our strategic plan, board goals, and our work at the board table all supporting each other.  I then request that the the board discuss this process, offer suggestions for improvement, and ultimately, support a process moving forward so we can begin to align all of our work to our strategic plan.

I look forward to this discussion with you on Monday evening.

Description:  As part of our strategic plan we have identified an Areas of Focus directed at Mental Health Services. To move us forward in this area we are requesting consideration of application to the Dane County Building Bridges Program. 

As you are aware, have a growing number of our children who are in need of mental health support that we lack the resources to address with our current staffing in the schools.  Kurt Eley and I have discussed options over the last few years.  The Building Bridges Program was initiated within the last year as a partnership between Dane County and some local school districts based off of a task force made up of area school superintendents who advocated for assistance in the area of student mental health.  The Building Bridges Program was a response to this call for support.  Last year a few school districts entered the program, and through Kurt's interaction with their directors, it has a quality program that provided needed support those districts were seeking.  

The following letter arrived a few weeks ago from Dane County Executive, Joe Parisi, seeking input from area school districts who would be interested in participating in this program if he can secure funding.  It would be a cost sharing program with both the County and the District each contributing about $60,000.

We would like to indicate our interest in this program to Executive Parisi.  We have also been approached by Lodi Schools to see if we want to partner with them on an application.  We are open to this cooperative effort.

The purpose of this agenda item is to inform you of this opportunity and to secure your support so we can communicate to the County by the deadline of September 16th.

Dear Dane County School Superintendent: 

Several weeks ago I met with many of you to discuss the work underway with Dane County's "Building Bridges" program, an effort initiated by the county in partnership with local school districts and Catholic Charities to provide mental health services for school aged children across our county. Working with you, we are helping more kids in more schools address mental health challenges, improving learning in the classroom and fostering better environments at home. 

When school starts, "Building Bridges" will be available in Madison, Middleton/Cross Plains, Wisconsin Heights, Sun Prairie, Verona, and DeForest schools.  Funds for these programs are shared between Dane County and the local school districts.  These partnerships are making a real difference in the lives of young people, their families, friends, and of course our teachers and educators. 

Providing mental health services helps bridge a real barrier to learning.  Most importantly, by working through the schools we are able to intervene at younger ages, improving outcomes both now in the classroom and later for their lifetime of experiences that lie ahead. 

As I begin preparations on my 2017 Dane County budget, I would like to know your interest in participating as a new partner in the "Building Bridges" program.  To help me prioritize funding, it would be helpful to know your school district's interest by Friday, September 16th. 

A base team costs nearly $120,000, an expense shared evenly between Dane County and the school district.  For districts who aren't participating yet, I would encourage you to talk to your colleagues in the communities where "Building Bridges" is in place to hear about their experiences. I am most grateful for all you do for the young people of our county. 

Sincerely,

Joseph T. Parisi 
Dane County Executive 

Description:   

Description:  Attached please find the Budget Committee meeting minutes from August 29th, 2016. 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 discuss the teacher points at retirement topic. Please refer to the Budget Committee Meeting Boardbook from August 29th. The Boardbook for this meeting includes detailed agenda notes and attachments that provides additional information on this topic. The administration recommended that this discussion be referred to the teacher points committee that was formed during the 2015-16 school year. The Budget Committee agreed with this recommendation, and Connie Beth is in the process of coordinating this meeting. The feedback from this meeting will come back to the Budget Committee, and then the School Board for approval of the recommended option. 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 provide an update on the referendum. The main topics of this discussion include the water infiltration/retention issues at the Intermediate School, the playground at Heritage Elementary School, and the contingency funds.

Let's begin with a review of the water infiltration/retention discussion at the Intermediate School. As a reminder, the district hired local civil engineer Roxanne Johnson to provide a peer review of the civil engineering design at the new Intermediate School. Roxanne provided a report, which was previously provided to the School Board at the August meeting. In the weeks that followed, the original engineer (POB) continued to work with Roxanne and the referendum team to prepare design revisions to improve the water situation. The district administration came to the conclusion that we needed one engineer working through the design revisions, and we reassigned these responsibilities to Roxanne Johnson. POB is continuing to complete the project with the punch list,  and other end of project responsibilities. 

Roxanne is working through the design revisions from two fronts - on the district property, and offsite with the Ripp farm property. As far as offsite, Roxanne has been working closely with Jeff Ripp, and they have come to a preliminary agreement on the scope of the work. The scope includes a 15" pipe to move the water away from the Intermediate School site through the Ripp farm property at a cost of approximately $60,000. The Facility Committee approved a plan to have Roxanne send the design to the county for approval, develop a property easement, and present this solution formally to the Ripp family. 

As far as onsite, Roxanne has prepared design revisions that have been sent to the referendum team for feedback and pricing. The design revisions have also been sent to the State, County, and Town authorities for the necessary approvals. The design revisions are intended to improve the performance of the water infiltration and retention areas. The original design did meet all State, County and Town requirements, but the original design did not perform as expected due to soil conditions on site. The revised design comes with added costs as improvements such as higher quality sand, higher percentages of sand, temporary water diversion, landscape plugs, etc result in higher performing infiltration and retention areas. 

The district administration has been closely monitoring the construction contingency as these discussions have taken place. As a reminder, the administration requested approval of moving approximately $800,000 in owners contingency funds from the Intermediate School budget over to Heritage for projects to take place this summer. These projects included the playground, additional paving, additional carpeting, electrical systems improvements, etc. In addition, the Heritage project did not have a builders contingency, so we knew that any contingency draws would come from the Intermediate School builders contingency. The end result of these additional investments in Heritage is clearly seen when you view the renovated interior and exterior spaces. The administration also requested approval from the School Board last spring to utilize other project savings to install comprehensive security camera systems at Prairie and Heritage this summer. 

The bottom line is that the Intermediate School design and scope changes, including the water infiltration and retention design changes, and the Heritage Elementary School design and scope changes are pulling out of the $900,000 builders contingency. The positive news is that all of the changes to date, including the estimated $240,000 in design changes for the water issues, are within the $900,000 construction contingency. We are still working with Findorff to identify other potential end of project savings that might increase the builders contingency further. As of right now, the $60,000 in offsite work will not fit within the builders contingency. These costs would need to be covered by potential savings identified by Findorff, potential savings on the district side from the non construction costs, or by the end of the project Focus on Energy/WPPI rebates. We will have the funds for these offsite costs, but the specific source has yet to be identified. The Facility Committee members stated the importance of preparing information for the public on all of the projects that have been accomplished from the 2014 referendum, especially noting the additional projects that were accomplished through the use of budgetary savings and contingency funds. There were examples of unplanned expenditures (Woodland Drive work, Heritage electrical grounding work, etc.), but the majority of the savings and contingency funds were used to improve the facilities and complete maintenance projects. 

Administration is also working through the playground installation issue at Heritage Elementary School. As previously mentioned, the installation of the playground plan was accidentally reversed from what was requested by Dan Carter. We requested that Eppstein Uhen conduct a review of what occurred during this process to identify what went wrong. During this review, Eppstein Uhen took full responsibility for the design error. Randy and Steve have had multiple discussions with Eppstein over this topic, and, in the end, Eppstein will be paying over $28,000 to correct this design error by revisions to the playground that includes additional equipment and equipment modifications. Dan Carter will schedule a time later this fall to have this work completed. Administration is pleased with the positive and professional manner in which Eppstein Uhen has handled this situation.

Thanks for taking the time to review this information. Please contact Steve or Randy if you have any questions prior to the meeting on Monday evening. 

Description:  Attached in the "extras" section of Boardbook, please find a list of the accounts payable payments issued during the month of August 2016. Please contact Steve Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2491 if you have any questions. Thanks.

Description:  Attached you will find the final 2015-16 Budget Status report as of June
30th, 2016, the Cash Reconciliation report for July 2016, and the 2014
referendum budget report as of August 31st, 2016. Please note on the 2015-16 budget status report
that all of the 2015-16 financial transactions have been completed. The
school district auditors, Johnson & Block, completed auditing the 15-16
financial records during the week of August 15th. The district general fund,
Fund 10, had a positive ending balance of $928,700.97. The final 15-16
Fund 10 fund balance is $9,204,244.95 or 20.8% of the 16-17 Fund 10
expenditure budget approved in July by the School Board. The 20.8%
compares to a number of 19.3% in 15-16. The Board policy on fund balance
has a statement of working towards maintaining a 15% balance. 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 approval of student activity
accounts. I have attached a report from the district financial system listing
the student activity accounts by building, along with the ending account
balance on June 30th, 2016. Based on the recommendation of the school
district auditor, the School Board policy on student activity accounts was
revised during the 2010-11 school year to require an annual School Board
review and approval of student activity accounts. Student activity accounts
by School Board policy are managed by Building Principals/Administrators.
These accounts are typically used by student organizations for fundraising
for activities above and beyond what the district budget is able to support.
Student activity account balances carry over from one fiscal year to another.
I would like to point out that student activity accounts with a positive
balance are reflected with a negative sign, as student activity accounts are
balance sheet accounts on the district financial system. A positive balance
actually indicates a negative account balance. Negative account balances are
allowed by policy under certain circumstances. You will notice a larger
negative balance for the high school yearbook account. The yearbook
vendor was changed for the 2015-16 school year, which has caused a
negative account balance. The same issue occured the last time
the yearbook vendor was changed. The advisor has a plan to return this account to a positive balance. 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 approval of fund balance
allocations. As discussed earlier in the meeting, the 2015-16 end of the
fiscal year balance was $928,700.97. Please also remember that during the
month of June, the School Board approved fund balance classifications to
comply with national accounting standards. The administration is
recommending that the $928,700.97 be allocated as follows:
Description Account Number Amount               Balance
Unassigned fund balance 939900                   $84,645.71        $7,445,381.84
Reserved for self-insurance 936110               -$25,291.66        $0
Committed fund balance    937900                   $11,875.00        $63,359.68
Assigned fund balance       938900                   $857,471.92     $1,695,503.43 
Total                                                                         $928,700.97     $9,204,244.95
The unassigned fund balance is the standard fund balance account that is not
meant to be spent. The reserved for self-insurance balance is the balance in
the districts self-insured dental program. The committed fund balance is
meant for future parking lot expenses and high school band uniforms. The
assigned fund balance is meant to carry over building/department budgets
from one fiscal year to the next. Attached please find a detailed accounting
of the 937900 and 938900 fund balance accounts. Please contact Steve
Summers at ssummers@waunakee.k12.wi.us or 849-2012 if you have any
questions. Thanks.