001verify the compliance of open meeting law. I saw the I saw it all posted adoption of agenda and attendance. Jennifer, you got to get the agenda approved. Uh motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Second. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Attendance, Jennifer. Sorry, we didn't go over. How are we doing attendance tonight? Yeah, typically what Jesse's been doing is just announcing people. So, uh both Rachel and um uh Cassie are on vacation and Jesse is joining us. So, uh, so everyone that's supposed to be here is here the other day. Yeah. Pledge allegiance to the flag. Please stand if you're able to. To the flag of the United States of America, and to the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Uh, number two, do we have
002any public comments? No. Going to number three, consent agenda. A, vouchers and vouchers payable. B, gifts and donations. C, personnel recommendations. D, approval of June 23rd, 2025 meeting minutes. E, approval of July 14th, 2025 meeting minutes. Is anybody want to remove anything? Yes. I'd like to remove item 3B, gifts and donations. Okay, 3B is removed. Anybody else? Can I take a motion to accept 3 A, C, D, and E? So moved. Second. I'll second. All in favor? I opposed. Karen B. Gifts and donations. Yes. So, I just wanted to call out and recognize um a June 2025 donation from the Whitnol Middle School PTO in the amount of $20,74.78 which was used for the site preparation and construction of our new outdoor classroom behind the middle school. If you've had a chance to see it,
003it really is a wonderful space. Is that been run? Completed. Awesome. Okay, I'll take a motion to accept. So, moved. Second. Second. Second, Alicia. All in favor? I I. All oppose carries. Uh, four reports and rep presentations for a WSAB summer symposium share Karen and Sarah. So, we were both able to attend the summer symposium. Um, I attended both days. Karen attended Friday and then we both attended the Friday dinner as well. Um it is a much smaller conference which was really nice because we are able to um meet a lot of other people because it's so small you're going to the same sessions with a lot of same people. So networking is a lot uh more in depth than at your state convention. Um and there were a lot of we the first day
004we tried to split up the sessions. So um we got a legislative update. It's very similar to what um Brady does. He does a nice job with updating us on that. Um, I went to one on the communication and communicating in as because our we've really shifted in this now with how we communicate with the public. We're not doing so much newspapers and radio. We're doing a lot more social media. And so there's an emphasis on really making sure you know where to reach your um community. And then also you have to be a lot more creative. So there are some really creative ideas like they do a YouTube channel where the kids do broadcast and morning announcements and then people from the community can watch as well as schools. Um they put flyers at
005local grocery stores and um so there just are a lot of really creative things. These were rural districts so they had some unique things where they had to go so far to communicate but also within that there also are different challenges when you're in a more urban area. So just emphasizing the creativity and giving a lot of examples of what some of these districts do. I also went to mental health and social media um is interesting because they use data from the Wisconsin youth risk behavior survey um and they really emphasize that they would like districts to use that because that is their number one source at the Wisconsin office of children's health um to assess this and their data correlates with national data. So there is some B it seems to suggest that it
006is some valid data. Um kids seem to say that academic pressure and achievement culture are the number one and two reasons that they're feeling so much pressure and stress. Um parents think it's social media. So that's interesting that there's that disconnect in what people perceive as the higher pressures. Um the other thing is about half of teens don't feel like they belong at their schools which is concerning and only a quarter of teens are getting enough sleep. So that's really interesting as well. And there um a lot there was a high percentage that reported being on social media from 12:00 to 5:00 a.m. So that was really an interesting correlation as well with social media and not sleeping. Um, so just a really a lot of information about what is going on with our teens
007and how we can best support them and what schools can do. And one of the things I said is schools really should be trying to teach that digital literacy and also making sure that they emphasize sleeping and exercise and not just being on social media. And there was a little talk of cell phones. Cell phones policies is kind of um one of the buzzworthy topics across the board. Um it does seem to be that there's a pretty consistent consensus from all sides that maybe cell phones shouldn't be in classrooms, but um there is some push back from parents too. There's some concern for safety. So it's just something that they're saying that boards should be considering and thinking about how they might want to address cell phones in classrooms and there's different ways to go
008about that and different things to consider as you look at that. And that is not a one-sided issue. That's just across the board. um went to a moderator one talking about different ways to hold schools accountable. Lots of things we can monitor and data we can look at. Um and very excited to see what we do with our strategic plan because I know our dashboard's going to look at that. The dinner was pollster data. It was very interesting. If anybody wants to see the pollster data, you can we can share it with you. Um basically overall the opinions and trust in schools has been trending down over the past several years. um they break it down based on gender, age, location, rural, urban. So, there's just lots of information on that. So, if you want
009to see that, let us know. And then I went to one on Robert's rules. We just clarified some wording like motion to resend vers and um postpone versus tableabling. So, because Robert's rule is very wordy, the biggest thing was that most people don't use it. um Robert's rule truly um to fidelity, but that's okay if you're being an effective board. It's just when you start to see some dysfunction that you might want to crack down on those rules a little bit more. And that's a very complicated topic and there's lots of books and resources out there about that. Um and then you wanted to share about some of your sessions. Yeah, thanks Sarah. I'll just add that I think it was a great conference. Um, having gone to the Milwaukee conference, um, every year that
010I've been on the board, I never took the time to go up in summer to the the sort of the north area of the state conference. So, it was very valuable to see things from a different perspective of the smaller rural school districts who have things in common with us and then things not in common with us. So, for example, the amount of busing transportation that happens in northern districts, um, open enrollment was also a very big topic, but I think it was while the rural northern districts aren't necessarily the same as us, you can always learn from other schools examples. So, we're able to witness some case studies and network. There about 100 people at the conference, of course. there's great motivational speakers. So, you get all fired up and inspired for um your
011commitment to schoolboard service. So, I appreciate um Sarah, you attending and I appreciate the district's support of allowing us to go up and participate in that conference. Any questions, Jesse? Sounds good. Thank you, Lisia. Sounds like great experience. Is it a is it a multi-day? It's a two-day conference. Um where was it held? It was in Steven's Point this year. They rotate where it's held and it sounds like they rotate pretty much all over the place. They've been in all different areas of the state and they try to go to the rural communities that are are harder to get to Milwaukee so that they can have some offerings for those areas of the state. So, we'll see where it is. I don't know where it is next year. I don't know if they've announced that.
012I heard that some some years it's been in Green Bay. I think they might go to Oaklair, too. So, yes. Yeah, it rotates as you said. Yeah. Can you pass any pertinent information on debris that might Oh, absolutely. Yep. We've already been in touch. You know, just one reminder to the board, those things. Please, if those come up, let us know and we we budget money every year to support you guys' growth. Yeah. The next one coming up is the fall convention. That one um for us in particular will be um important. There is the um election for the representative for our area. And then for anybody who has gotten points the and moving up recognition level that will be on there as well. And so that the registration is open for that. I just
013saw that today in my email. Thank you. Uh motion to accept report. So moved. Second. All in favor. I Okay. Motion carries. Superintendence report. Yeah. Uh you know, as you can see from our attendance tonight, it's probably one of the quieter weeks. Uh well, it's been a the last couple weeks have been quiet. Um but man, oh man, uh the calendar is going to turn to August uh next week and then the we it's things start getting uh really real for us, but we've had a good summer of planning so far. Just a few quick updates. U the the track work track work Todd has his every morning call with them saying you better get here you better get here you better get here. Uh we're we're projecting they'll be here to start at some
014point this week. Of course very weather dependent. Uh we've had some interesting weather. Um the tennis court lights very similar. They've been out there doing some work. You can see there's probably a there's an awning out there to try to keep them a little bit cooler. Um so they'll be they'll be working on that. the grass is starting to grow out on the the baseball field. So, that's it's great to see. And then the softball the concrete work for the softball field should be done this week as well. So, excited about all those projects and getting to the end of those projects. Um the other exciting news and maybe why John is hiding is because the auditors were here today. Uh they actually were scheduled to be here all week. They think they're going to
015finish up to by the end of the day tomorrow. So um that just you know kind of speaks for how well things have been kept. Um and then actually this week we also have our administrative uh ret retreat for on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So uh Dr. Pritzell who works with has worked with the board is going to be working with our administrative team tomorrow and then on Wednesday we're going to be doing some work with the teacher evaluation uh stuff that Adam and I have been working on. And then Thursday, we're we're going to do some feedback and work on just find finishing up our our schools and their school action plans for the year in the morning. And then in the afternoon, we're going to spend some time. We're going to volunteer over
016at the Weird Nature Center uh as a team to do some, you know, kind of as a team building activity and just a way to give back to our community and say, you know, thank you to our community. And then um obviously coming up in August, we've got uh our new staff reporting on the 18th and 19th. Uh, I shared with you guys in my update, we're we're feeling pretty good about where we're at in our hiring process. Um, although as we get closer and closer, it gets a lot more nerve-wracking. Uh, but but we're in a good spot. And then uh August 25th through 28th, our uh all of our staff is back. So, we're really excited about that. And then finally, the the Whitnull window is hanging with the printer next week. Uh,
017so that'll be in mailboxes shortly thereafter. So, we're excited to be able to share some of the pictures we saw. um with the whole community in the in the in the window. So, uh thank you for that. And that's what I've got for you tonight. Any questions for Dr. Ranky? Did the track is it going to match the um the field? No, it's it's going to be about that same red color. Yeah. And I believe I had heard that's just because you can't cover the red effectively. You can't cover the red effectively. And it it Yeah, we'd have to completely rip it that surface off. It's not cost effective. it it just wasn't cost effective to do it. We we looked at black but the consensus was that in a few years that red would
018start popping through. So just for community members who are concerned is the reason it is staying. Yeah. And it'll look nice. I mean when you look at those um those red or those um areas drone shots like the track really definitely it's like oh boy. Yeah. It needs to improve. So it it'll be a big commitment. The other the other thing I I forgot to mention was that uh the goalpost got painted uh this week. Uh so those are all those all be updated too cuz when we walked out there it was like oh man we've got this beautiful field and the goalposts are like so they're they're out there going to look good by the end the end of the day today hopefully. When you fix one thing the next thing Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
019Good. Motion to approve the superintendent report. So move second. Second. All in favor? Hi. Okay. Number five, action items. Eight, approval of strategic plan. I'll accept a motion to approve. Some moved. I'll second. Any discussion? I have a question. Has anything changed since the report two weeks ago? Nothing. Nothing's changed. Any other questions? Just a comment. Really appreciate the work. Really appreciate the work on that. So, I'm telling people that Whitnull is a place to watch over the next three to five years. And I think that um it will be so I'm looking forward to seeing the progress. And I'll second that too in that it is just an immense amount of work that went into this and you can really tell by the level of detail and from top down it just it looks
020really polished and really great. So I'm excited to see how we move forward. Thank you. Uh motion to approve. Wait, we did that already. Oh, okay. We just need to All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve Whit School District safety plan. So moved. Have a second. Second. Any discussion? I'll say two things. Has anything changed since? Nothing's changed. And the reason why we don't see uh the actual plan is because of safety concerns for people that are listening. Yep. Pretty simple. All right. All in favor? Wait, I was gonna say something. Go ahead. I was just going to say again, I appreciate the level of work that went into the documentation and for taking the time to um review everything. We've had a plan, but always taking that time to, you
021know, check it over, work with partners. Um so, thank you for the work. Yeah. And I think part of it is, you know, Alicia and I talked today about a couple things and there's some things where it's like, oh yeah, we'll that's a good thing to to add as we continue to grow. So, we'll do that. And then, you know, and Sarah and Quinn both mentioned last time like, hey, what are the forward facing pieces we're going to do? We're working on that. And then also, you know, obviously a plan is as good as the training you do. Uh, so we'll, you know, we'll continue to work on that. So, for the public, they can be watching in the in the future for there will be pieces of this that are shared out. Yep. But
022not all of it can be shared out because in order to be safe, some of it has to be confidential. Any other questions? All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Number six, announcements. I'll just share that Hail's Corners night out is coming up. Um it's the first Tuesday in August. I can't think of what the date is right now, but first Tuesday in August, Hail's Corners Park, Hails Corners Night Out, sponsored by the Lions. It should be a fun evening. um just meant to be a community get together and um games like bouncy houses for the kids and some food and community organizations come out. So hopefully we will have nice weather. There'll be a band. Um I believe Whitnell Dance is coming over and performing and so um for people with uh kids
023in the community and things like that. Just a nice opportunity. Keep watching the library. They're just finishing up their programming. Friday will be their end of summer bash. Um, I sadly can't attend, but it's going to have ice cream and games, I think, music. It's going to be a really cool event at to commemorate the end of the summer. Um, yeah, I have one, too. Um, this is later in August, but the music boosters are doing their car wash. It is Saturday, August 23rd. Um, they are looking for um with some help with that. Uh, if you go on the Whitell Music Boosters site, you can find the Signup Genius and um, you know, think about stopping by to get your car washed. So, August 23rd. Where's it at? You know, I guess yet the
024House of Harley. I'm thinking it's still at the House of Harley. I don't have that right in front of me right now, but I'll have to double check. Yeah, I know in the past it was. Last year we were picture days. Do you know 20th and the 27th? Yeah. 20th and 27th. Um just just as an FYI to the board as well for announcement wise uh Jesse and I decided not to put the um board leaison updates this month because many of the places aren't aren't you know meeting so if anybody has any updates was Thursday. Well and do you have an update? Of course I do but I won't give it. That can't be part of your announcements. Yeah, maybe. All right. Uh meeting debrief the suspense. Anything for meeting debrief? Um I had
025forgotten to mention with part of our um legislative update. We were encouraged to make sure we continue to foster our relationships with our legislators and especially since we wrote a letter to our legislators and they did come through with additional funding for special ed. Um I think it would be prudent for the board to write a thank you note as well. I talked to Brady about that. Um, but just making sure that we continue to acknowledge the work they do and we're not always just coming to ask for things, but also acknowledging that they are working hard and trying to come to agreements too. Even if it's not fully what we want, we should acknowledge that they did come through with some. Can you and Jesse work on that? Yeah, we Jesse, I can draft.
026Yeah, I'll draft someone. I'll work with Jesse to just make sure. Uh, meeting do we are we have a tent at the Halo Corner night out? I do not believe we are. No, I haven't heard anything about that. Have you heard at all if Flash is able to come? Flash is in my office. So, I'm sure we'll Yeah, Flash, we'll figure out. I mean, it's okay. Nice to have. Yeah. And that was one of the things in that session on communication with the community was like having trying to peer at all things, which is obviously we'll be happy there, but yeah, we'll get flash. I don't know if it would, but it might be cool to have some stuff about the referendum. Yeah, we're working on, just as an FYI, we're working on um big
027big signs like we had for pre-referendum. Um I'm not sure where they're at in the print process, but we didn't want to get anything out. We didn't want to get ahead of ourselves with putting those out because we wanted you all to see the renderings before we put them out, you know, publicly. So, they're the printer is working on them. I'm just not sure what we'll have, but I can try to get them by. Right. And no pressure. I mean, like if it if it works sort of things, great. But yeah. Um, yeah. Anything else for meeting B debrief? I'll accept a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. All in favor? I I I. Meeting's over in 20 minutes. Your record. 21 minutes. Your record. Record. Chris, you can go home. is