2023.09.11 School Board Meeting

001and the adoption of the agenda for the 11th September 2023 Whitnall School Board workshop with Action meeting uh roll call please here Kevin present yes here and Rachel share is not available we wish her condolences in the untimely death within her family so please rise as we pledge allegiance to the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag the SE fans foreign so public item regarding agenda items will take place after the item is discussed so no comments at this time but they will happen along with the item that is done so moving along to number three staff student and donation recognitions letter a employee recognition I'm gonna have Mrs coma's first come up we have several employees that we are recognizing tonight and just giving a brief overview of what their recognition is about so

002I'm going to ask Lori comis the principal at Hales Corners Elementary to um share with us the good news about Lynn Lopez so I have the pleasure of introducing Lynn Lopez and sharing a recent accomplishment that has brought her to the school board for recognition this evening Lynn teaches their grade English language arts at Tails corners Elementary and she's been teaching at hce since 2015. Lynn has always been very passionate about literacy which makes her the perfect teacher to specialize in teaching our younger students reading and writing each day all day Lynn um recently attended Carroll University um last year during the entire year and earned a certificate is a structured literacy dyslexia interventionist she certified through cira which is the Center for Effective reading instruction and that is a subsidiary of the international dyslexia

003Association Lynn plans to take the training that she has gained and the knowledge that she's learned over the course of the year to implement within our micro credential system in the upcoming school year so please join me in congratulating Lynn for her dedication to her own continued learning she's choosing not to sing again thank you congratulations yeah uh Charlie Tolson will come and uh speak about Kevin Gleason one of our high school social studies teachers all right so I get the pro the pleasure to uh introduce Kevin Gleason who's one of our social studies teachers Uh Kevin has just completed all the requirements for his James Madison Fellowship so the James Madison Fellowship is a scholarship um of the amount of twenty four thousand dollars for a master's level education program and it's for individuals

004Desiring to become outstanding teachers of the American Constitution at the secondary school level Fellowship applicants compete against other applicants from the state of Wisconsin and each state represents uh through the the fellowship and then he received funding for his master's degree in political science from Marquette University congrats congratulations and I'm going to um introduce our last two groups of employees so Josh koenigs I suppose I should come up here and stand here if I'm going to do this and then I have I see that he has a couple of his fellow colleagues behind him who are here supporting him and his supervisor also Todd Iverson who is here so Josh um a little bit more than recently but uh went and picked that up he um serves as our head custodian here at Wendell high

005school and he's been at Whitnall um for several years here um Josh just earned the Wisconsin Association of school business officials facility management core certification that required 32 hours of curriculum and some of the topics that were in that curriculum are changing legislation and regulations around facility management Savings of dollars through efficiencies of operation and energy use improves safety for students staff and community and a healthy and safe learning environment so congratulations Josh on the achieving that certification many of you also remember that Josh received an award from the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association for being a friend of that and our booster club has given him also many accolades for the work that he does and supports them so congratulations congratulations foreign I don't see any of our food service people here if I'm not

006seeing you they're your camera they're not gonna go there I couldn't see you snuck in with all the faces there you go thank you so there were eight of our food service um people who in June right after school was out um sat for a food service certification their um uh Safe Serve food protection manager so each time any restaurant or any organization that serves food is required to have at least one person who has this and so we had eight people who went through their um uh training over two days and 90 question tests is that correct um that allows them so this is more than just serving it they actually have their Safe Serve manager certification so this uh make sure is that all of our food safety is here their knowledge to

007protect all of our public our students and our staff from any foodborne illnesses and all of that and it's good for five years so we had eight of our staff that completed that and wanted to recognize all of our food service staff that went through that so congratulations and thank you for joining us [Applause] fantastic four reports and presentations letter a student council report hi good evening my name is student council president although we have just gotten started on this year's planning which was met with a lot of enthusiasm we have been discussing homecoming which includes the week's lunch games pep rally parade banished for the parade window decorating t-shirt selling and the actual dance itself other than homecoming we will also be having the haunted hallways in October and a blood drive around December

008we have yet to speak about second semester but we do know that this year the student council wants to have more events for students to attend to connect the student body more we haven't fully finalized anything yet but we have had broad discussions about having student movie nights and a garage sale to fundraise for dances and I speak on behalf of the student council when I say that we look forward to your support as we continue to strengthen the community at Wendell high school thank you how's your support for all the grades everybody getting involved oh yes we had a lot of freshmen this year oh good good for you thank you thank you thank you letter B annual meeting preview with John door [Music] good evening every good evening everybody uh tonight just like

009I did last year I wanted to present a little bit about what to expect for the budget hearing and annual meeting that'll be coming up on uh in on September uh at the end of September at our next meeting and uh to be able to clarify answer any questions for both you and and all these people that will be here for that night for the budget meeting or budget hearing annual meeting so um again just to reiterate or review kind of the state statutes that we're required to do by law and uh provide you with that those links those are the things that we covered during the budget hearing and annual meeting uh I'll create another booklet or a booklet again this year that will have these info this information in there for for you

010and anybody that's in attendance to look at uh and and be able to see uh remember that that this is um uh what you the the projected budget um and the projected information that we have that we did that you did approve in the published budget uh the last board meeting so we don't have final numbers we still have projected state aid property evaluation tax levy and mill rate and we'll talk about a little bit more in the next slide as well about some of the things that were that we'll know we'll need to get uh it also um will list the approved budget that you did approve in in August so you'll be able to see that along with anybody else that's in attendance so remember that we won't have a final membership count

011equalized value state aid voucher payments which we do expect to probably go up this year because of the the state budget amounts uh final open enrollment numbers all of these will be will get in October and also remember that at the end of October at the end of October's board meeting you will approve a final Levy and a final budget so again what we're using for the annual meeting was the best information we had in August when you approved the published budget but we will be getting more accurate numbers at the end of October that you'll also approve at that meeting hmm uh so as far as the process goes I'll start off the budget hearing process or procedure that night at 5 30. um oops sorry uh it's 5 30 isn't it I think

012it's at 5 30. today 6 30 right there yeah it does say 6 30 but I think it's 5 30. if we start that's your slides I don't know yeah [Laughter] you call the shot John all right you told me 5 30 today and I don't know we started it earlier that day because then there's a board meeting afterwards I'll double check on that and let let you and everybody know I don't want anybody to be late um so I'll start off the budget hearing either 5 30 or 6 30 and again I'll let you know on that I do think we started at 5 30 earlier because we do have a uh the annual meeting and then a board meeting afterwards um and then so what we're going to have is is the podium

013setup and microphone set up so uh that way people who are listening online can hear the questions uh they will be able to answer any ask any questions about the proposed budgets and items that I'm going over as well as anything that that's in the packet and then once all those questions are answered as I've gone through all of the information in the packet and the presentation I will move right into the annual meeting and again the annual meeting is really a set of we do six resolutions or you do six resolutions that you'll need to uh consider and approve uh those are listed on the on the slides right there uh we'll we'll get the information uh on numbers one and number two that will come from the information that I present in the

014annual meeting or I'm sorry in the budget meeting and the other ones are things that we do annually just so that um the the according to State Statute that you need to approve every year so again that doesn't change um and and we'll have discussion and uh and the opportunity to pass the resolution on those other four items as well the bottom not the bottom is just an example of what number one will look like based on the published published budget all residents that are eligible to vote that are eligible to vote need to sign in at the beginning of the uh of the beginning of the meeting and then also as well after we've nominated a chairperson um that they'll run those meetings and go through the six resolutions uh any any voting member

015can make a motion and or ask any questions but they also utilize the podium as well so everybody can hear Who's online and then after those after each discussion item and for each resolution you'll vote to pass those or the the voting members will vote to pass that and then um when those when and if those are all approved those six items are what are are the the entire consistency of the uh annual meeting so and then after that as I mentioned before uh if I have any new information on October 9th at that board meeting I'll present any information to you so that um you have that but then on the October 25th meeting um that's when you'll finalize the final Levy uh and the final mill rate that night any questions you're projecting

016that we have uh we're gonna have more voucher outs this year because raising raising dollars correct do you have any idea I I don't I don't I they they increased it significantly at the 912 and and at all levels but especially the 912 I just assume but I but I don't know I don't have a specific number thank you nothing for me thank you there's nothing here uh say again we'll get the booklet on the night of but we could look at it before um yeah I'll have it I'll have it done before that well it'll be part of the for next week um I don't know that it'll it'll be a total next week but okay but yeah I'll I'll because it'll I'll put it in the in the um packet okay I don't

017have any questions thank you um for the October 9th do you anticipate any sort of new information that you get or is it would that be really out out of the ordinary of where you would see like oh here's all sorts of different information for you to share or would that be just all right I don't have anything yet I anticipate getting it but yeah but most of that's going to depend on when DPI puts puts the information out a lot of that doesn't come out until October 15th I do have a feel like I'll I do know that that between working with Kathy pasta and myself that will have a pretty good understanding of what third Friday accounts were so that'll help with some of that but but that's really the extent of any

018and that's not even certified yet by DPI but still we'll have a really good number idea about what that number is pretty close yeah for enrollment only but really state aid and vouchers and that other stuff probably not probably won't have them anything on the ninth but you you feel very confident that your numbers are going to be very much within like the ballpark as far as that goes um well I I do there's going to be some final things with with um salary and benefits and those final numbers that'll come back out um they give a projection on July 1 what the state aid was going to be it'll it'll be a little bit different but I don't expect them to to do a to have a a really big yeah so and again

019vouchers are going to be wait to see I do expect them to go up how much I don't know so but yeah I feel like we're in the ballpark of of all of that and again by by at third Friday count in September we should have a pretty good idea on uh on enrollment very good thank you sir uh letter C superintendent's report Dr Olson just a few decently the Senate introduced Senate Bill 429 so as you know a public schools currently cannot start school before September 1st um that's gone through the tourism Bureau uh legislators are not willing to change that however there's been a bill that's been introduced um for 29 that said that schools could start the Monday before Labor Day as long as they did not have school the Friday before

020Labor Day um so it just was introduced so I'm sure we will be talking about that tomorrow and thinking about that implication as you know there are a few reasons why schools can make the exception a lot of times when they have construction projects they are allowed so DPI does have some exceptions so that was new um this is one of those years where September 1st was on a Friday we were one of the school districts that chose to have school some didn't and so it always gets tricky I think you know I like the um consistency of saying it's always the Monday before Labor Day rather than the calendar date because next year September 1st falls on the weekend so we won't start after Labor Day but this would go into a place for

021the 24-25 school year so if this if this bill got traction it would actually uh it could impact next school year so that's an interesting piece as most of you know our High School athletics already start on the beginning of August and so that families are always there too so it'll be interesting it was recently I haven't we haven't had much discussion about that in groups so that's just something I wanted to put on the board's radar that would impact our school calendar decision making lots of conversations that I'm participating in around teacher shortages and what's happening with a lot of different groups the Wisconsin policy Forum has something coming up there's also a group from the school Personnel Association in Madison along with a couple other groups in in looking at that and what's

022real strategies rather than just talking about it what are some strategies that we can put in place for that Partnerships with higher ed or what does that look like without compromising quality of teachers and so it's it's a real pipeline shortage and so what do we do about that so some conversations I'll share those once I participate in a lot of those conversations um act 20 which is the literacy bill um still has some details being filled out DPI has their website up now that you can reference that for any of the literacy information to get information about what does this mean how are we translating it so there is still some questions about what the plans look like that we will have to have in place for actually it's the kids in 28 29.

023we're in a solid place right now with our recent literacy adoption and a lot of those things but there are still some holes missing as far as what does that look like what does that mean for implications for summer school even next year so it's very early we don't have details on that legislators as they often do provide it to DPI and tell them to figure it out so they are in the process of it the fact that there's a website you can go to with that we've been listening to people from DPI there are slides that I shared with the board over the weekend from DPI with their recent information and so we'll continue to keep our eyes on that but right now there's not as much detail as I think a lot of

024school districts would like today is September 11th and all of our schools buildings did have announcements they were taking some information in classrooms and obviously developmentally depending upon the age of students different conversations were had on that so today about a day of remembrance as we know they've switched it to a national day of service today and so that information was shared in all of our our buildings some even had a moment of silence so just wanted to share that out since we don't often have a board meeting right on September 11th um homecoming I think as was shared with you August 6th and 7th we will have our second induction of Hall and fame a Hall of Fame they get introduced at halftime at the football game on Friday night and then on Saturday

025there is a ceremony for our next class of inductees for our Whitnall athletic Hall of Fame so more information about that coming but that falls in all of uh that weekend of homecoming festivities last year we had our inaugural class so uh and last thing I just wanted to share is that we started this last week on Thursday district office administrators going into buildings every Thursdays from 11 until 1 bringing food doesn't hurt so part of that is to just uh be available to any employees who want to come in and chat or ask a question or just being visible so I love that sort of that that making sure that it's on my calendar to get in to visit so I had the opportunity of being Edgerton Elementary so you're going to get a

026shout out just because that was my building that I started out with last week so recess in every classroom and multiple and my favorite part like when I go into the lunchroom when kids come up to me like can I use the bathroom I'm like sure and I'm like I don't know could I do that but I just did that so that was probably that just wasn't the rule so but it was fun it was great to be in there and watching all of there was able to sit in a lot of classrooms and see some of the new lessons being taught with the Wonders curriculum and so that was great also so every Thursday we're rotating different buildings in that so more information on that that's all I have for my report thank you

027moving on to five discussion with possible action letter a student generate identity parental notification and consent with Karen mclinus okay so I am introducing this model policy for the board's review and consideration some backgrounds in during the first few days of school several High School parents expressed concerns that their children were asked to identify and announce their pronouns during class introductions and were asked to share their pronouns on getting to know you type assignments online I have also seen a photo of a sign up for an extracurricular activity that asks students which pronouns would you prefer during the activity I have suggested that the parents with those concerns reach out to the high school regarding their concerns and I acknowledge that the board does not work at the school level we work at the policy

028level I am choosing to introduce a policy proposal at the board level to provide Clarity around the board's expectations to the administration and staff right now it appears that there is no specific Direction on this and it seems that there may be some confusion around what is expected as well as a potential disconnect between staff and administration around what is expected and what is happening I feel that direction from the board from the top of the organization via policy will give administrators needed Clarity for running the district I will add that I feel that this is an urgent issue to address now to provide Clarity for this school year I think that we should talk about this and I'm not afraid of having difficult conversations so the following is a sample policy that I'm proposing

029because it establishes some very simple instructions and expectations I feel that is straightforward and easy to understand I will add that this is a model policy written by the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty which is a group of lawyers it was not specifically developed for Whitnall these model policies are made public for school boards to use as a resource so I will read the paragraphs paragraph one States parents have the right to to determine the names and pronouns that staff use to refer to their children while at school staff shall not refer to or address minor students by a different name or pronouns that differ from their biological sex during school hours without written authorization from a parent the document authorizing the change of name and or pronoun shall be kept on file in

030the administrative offices this policy does not require a parental consent for shortened versions of the legal name of a student so I will just comment on the first paragraph um how I understand this paragraph is to mean that we are going to include parents in their child's education the 14th amendment gives parents the right to be involved in their children's education and I feel that it is important that schools do not keep secrets from parents I think that there are ways to handle handle things with compassion to handle students with compassion if they're struggling I think that there are ways to perhaps help students have if they need to have difficult conversations with their parents that we have staff who are very capable of helping students through some of that but ultimately that parents are

031Partners in education and I feel that this lays that out very clearly paragraph two says the district shall not diagnose or treat gender dysphoria the board acknowledges that District Personnel are not experts in diagnosing or treating gender dysphoria or related mental health conditions parents have the right to to determine whether to seek professional and medical support for their child I think this is very straightforward it probably doesn't need additional explanation paragraph three states if District Personnel have reason to believe that a student is seeking to transition or has begun to socially transition to a gender that differs from his or her biological sex Personnel may but are not required to inform parents so I'm just going to speak a little bit I think that this is an interesting way of an interesting language here this

032Personnel may but are not required to inform parents and so I I asked about this because I thought it was a sort of a unique way of describing this and so this is my understanding a school district in Madison put forward a policy that forbade staff from talking to parents and that generated some lawsuits so it basically required that school staff would keep secrets from parents that cause problems in looking at some things that are happening around the country you can see that there's school districts in California that are passing policies that insist on notification there must be a letter sent to parents within so many days um this uh this you know model policy gives the schools some discretion in how they might handle this situation and it could be there might be administrative

033guidelines written to help on this but there is room for discretion however I'm going to also suggest the main idea that parents are our partners and and and needs to be involved in their children's lives um so that is an overview of the model policy that I'm putting forward um Jason Mr President I would suggest that the board may have some continued discussion around this model policy and conduct a policy committee meeting I would suggest Monday September 18th following the finance and Facilities committee meeting for some additional discussion if you would like to do that otherwise I would suggest an option of having a second reading discussion and a vote at the August 25th board meeting um so I think that this is important to have this uh this first public sort of public statement

034about the policy so people are aware and the district is transparent well let's have discussion we'll start with well we have a discussion about is there a motion on the floor I don't believe do you have a motion that you'd like to put forward not at this time thank you why are we having a discussion to see if there is something if if there is anything would you like to make emotions no I we they shouldn't be in front of us if we are if if we are following our policy and I heard policy out your name several times out of your mouth this shouldn't be in front of us this should go we should follow our policies policy zero one three one dash one tells us exactly what to do if something comes to

035us right policy 5710 talks about a student complaint I hear you in your email saying and tonight I've heard or people have told you have they gone through the chain of command I don't know we have to file our own policies first before any of this can come to us this is out of order we should not even be discussing this do you understand that Cal Marine School District at current time is in federal litigation regarding this policy we also talk about our staff how great our staff is how we want to hear from our staff well we got about 20 emails or so hearing from our staff so we're not we don't want to listen to them now we don't want to involve the whole community in this discussion we want to bring it

036there and Karen demanded demanded that this beyond the agenda and you allowed it you're the chair of the policy committee you should know the policies bang it sure went right right there it should not be here I'm done hit your hand away sir yeah uh quinterested this violates our policy and procedures I understand why we're caving to demands of one board member to put something on an agenda when I believe this board member Karen is on the policy committee Jason you're the chair of the policy committee yet you ignored the policies threw it on as a potential action item which pretty much has no transparency or Community input because if someone were to make a motion tonight we'd vote on it and all the comments would come after because that makes any sense um I

037have no idea what we're talking about this why this is an urgent matter and we talk about you know following policies and listening to our community and we're going to go ahead and write a policy or take one from some Law Firm about uh based off of hearsay and I'm hearing and this is what I heard we heard from the community I don't know how Quinn said about 20 it was probably more than that of emails that talked about how there is no tolerance for or appetite for any such thing like this I mean why are we trying to create a problem where there is no problem and trying to just you know put our children in difficult situations you know we have on the is it on the wall over there it says advancement

038belonging and courage I don't know how forcing through this policy or a policy like this fulfills any of that stuff I'm looking right here at our uh our Whitnall school meeting board or board meeting protocols number one best interest of children always comes first and yet here we are forcing things through or attempting to but then backtracking when they realize they're wrong it's just it's so ridiculous and unnecessary that we're trying to create something out of nothing um but I do want to thank everybody in the community that sent emails and gave public comments or probably signed up to get public comments um there was some extensive research and great input and very well written and to the point that I often hear of you know we don't get to hear from our staff we

039had several staff members they worked within policy and did the appropriate thing to put their voices forward and we saw that so I don't I don't even know what we're doing with this this is nonsense that's it for me well I'm just as blindsided by this as everybody else it came out of nowhere it came based on hearsay we're all about investigations these days why don't we look into that first start there if that was such a big issue but we immediately jumped to this from where this is a waste of everybody's time it gets people to show up for something because they're worried about it and they should be and you're wasting their time by skipping all the policies that we have in place you have these people that are passionate about these things

040and I appreciate them coming out and wanting to be heard but you're wasting people's time by not following the right way to do things here we have the policy Committee in place for a reason we have Neola we have legal that all this stuff gets run by that provide input and we're skipping all that we're just saying hey this this is a good rough draft maybe a little bit of tweaks but then it's good to go no that's not how we do things here and I I'm completely against this and this I I kill them this is a waste of time I have a statement from racial share because she can't be here tonight and I would just like to read that for her um I cannot support any board policy language that originated from

041a political action committee the Whitnall school district is a public institution and its policy should be independent of such influence in my opinion this language does not take into account the unique personal experience of each individual student while I respect the concerns and rights of the parents of our students there is research that supports the assertation that healthy relationships between teachers and students are one of the cornerstones of Student Success I believe that such a policy places teachers in an unnecessary exposed position and undermines their their critical relationship building with students in my 25 years as an educator I have never seen evidence of a teacher that was indoctrinating students for the most part teachers want to connect with students because they understand that when kids feel safe they empowered to achieve at a higher

042level when teachers consistently prioritize building strong connections with students research show shows there's a significant impact on kids long-term well-being as well as their ability to learn and stay engaged in schools learning doesn't happen without relationships rights Rebecca albner Alber an instructor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education in the classroom rules matter but as many of us have learned after a few years teaching relationships matter much more I think this is a critical issue that needs a non-partisan approach Adam vice president Quinn what was the first policy referenced one three one zero one no three one I just finished one I want to make sure I heard it correctly oh see and then policy five seven one zero student complaints okay okay and go on going deeper policy nine one three zero public requests suggestions

043or complaints okay so um just when I'm reading that one Jason for for my first reaction um I don't see it I don't see anything outside of the bounds it might not be second paragraph typically happens yeah I'm reading the second paragraph So anyway um it states things like the board May adopt amend or suspend any bylaw or policy provided the amendment adoption or suspension does not conflict well we need to take the whole policy you need to read the whole policy not just pieces of it I have the floor that being said do you want us to comment on this if we have a position the policy or the no this agenda item The Proposal yeah the agenda item uh Rachel commented on the The Proposal so I I feel I'm fencing some reactions

044for my colleagues about my reading this policy and I mean I I don't see any of what they're saying so I'll read it again and again and again but in the meantime um I heard from Through the Grapevine a little bit and directly as well that there were some concerns out there was kind of ruminating on them thinking about them and then this ended up on an agenda and then the floodgates opened and what was originally a concern from a couple families about one or two classes turned into several staff taking a position about um I guess in conflict with what we were told was a procedure or expectation by Administration so that being said in preparation for today I have a couple thoughts on this and I I'm really struggling with the position that

045um you are either supportive of students or telling parents that deeply troubles me as a parent um and I'm of the opposition and will remain in the position that parents are the ultimate decision makers regarding their children that is that is my position it will not change that being said I've been in staff shoes too I was a high school teacher for a long time there were instances when the parent of a struggling student made decisions I didn't necessarily agree with but what I did know at the end of the day was that the only hope I had to try to get students the support they needed when they were struggling was to get the parents on board and the way that I could do that as an educator was to build a relationship with

046the kid and build a relationship with their family nothing that I could do in the classroom could ever take care of the 23 other hours of the day if that child was not getting the support that they needed from their family my role as an educator was not to keep secrets from a family about a struggling student I'm a parent now and I'm deeply troubled that any adult would be willing to keep secrets with my kids from me I also want to State and take issue with the suggestion or characterization that informing parents about what is going on with their kid in a classroom puts that child's life in danger I have heard no instances here in the Whitwell School District where a child's life was in danger by being informed or by having their

047parents informed without data I'm really struggling with the fact that we have seen so many staff view average Whitnall parents as violent abusive or harmful to their children and that is what we saw and I have concerns about that and what we also saw is that there are a lot of Staff more than I was aware of in the one or two instances I heard that are operating outside of an expectation so I will stop there but I will stay I'd like you to finish whatever your thoughts are that's yeah that that's the completion of my thought parents have a right to know people should not be keeping secrets with children from their parents all right um my thoughts on this are I Echo the vice president's uh beliefs about the idea that we shouldn't

048be keeping secrets from parents period um if we are the question then becomes what is the line at what point do you say that's that's something that should be shared with with the parents I don't have that line if there is something with any of my children I want to know about and if there's a belief that well this can be kept as a secret okay well where does it stop where do you say you know what now you should be told about this that's not something that I believe in either because if it's a pronoun use okay if it's how much Advil they take in a day all right if all of a sudden High School sophomores getting text messages at 11 30 at night from a member of staff is that okay to

049keep us a secret I'm I struggle to think of that being a because that would be a line that I would say yeah I don't know of any parent that would be like you know what that's okay to be kept as a secret for me my other side of it is is that there isn't a policy for our educators as a whole as far as what to do there is guidance there is expectation levels but there isn't anything for the Educators and if you have two students that have gender dysphoria and one teacher goes with the same process for both children there is a very real possibility that depend on the Family's beliefs and their views one family can say that this is the teacher of the year another family that'll say that this teacher

050has no right to do what they did and that puts the teacher in an impossible situation as far as that goes I also am a little concerned that there is the belief that other parents within the community are these violent monsters and if they are name them Point them out call CPS that there is a mechanism for the school that they are required to to report any sort of real child abuse that has to happen so that's my view on this yes Jason if I can just add a couple things um I I just want to add that I think that we we need to be creative and think about how we can have both things how can we show compassion to children how can we include the parents in the conversation I don't think

051it's either or I think that we need to figure out how we can have both things at the same time and um I do think that our staff and administration are compassionate and caring people I understand that that's why people are in education and that people care very very deeply about about the kids so thank you for that um we need to be thoughtful about what is the appropriate thing I think that you know teachers administrators are very comfortable telling children no you know and and this is another kind of a no no sorry can't can't always give you everything you want how can we make it work in the next best way for you know and the next best way for you you know we our district has policies that are you know anti-harassment

052anti-bullying anti-discrimination there is no intention here to be in you know bullying harassing it's not that's not the goal of this at all but the goal is to make sure that parents are not excluded regarding their children um I think so I guess I will leave it there I think we need to be um creative and thoughtful in this and again I I would recommend that we take this to a policy committee meeting Quinn I'm not seeing anything on zero one Thirty one point one that requires committee I do I did see something in that policy that requires two reads that you can't introduce and pass in the same meeting that it needs to be read twice so you're abiding by that okay our procedure is to take any issues to the committee have the

053committee discuss it and bring it to the board is that in well so let's let's I would I would ask that we refrain from a debate with this and just address the board as a whole Madam treasure would you like to make a motion regarding your policy adoption no Jason so what I'm asking for is for U.S board president to either schedule this for September 18th or September 25th um I think you're I think you're looking for a motion to send the policy to the to committee for review and then have that return to the board proper I believe that would be the motion that you'd like to okay great then I will make a motion to send the policy to committee for review so we have a motion on the table do I have

054a second awesome we have first and second any further discussion yes sir so what we're sending this policy here this model policy to the committee I think like I said I don't want to get into debate back what she made it she what is the policy what is what is the what is the motion C she said she want yes I believe it's sending this model policy to the committee yeah you're correct my apologies okay so we pay a company to handle our policies have you talked I'd like to ask Karen have you talked to Neola about a model policy from them we pay as a district a company to handle our policies to review our policies have you asked our Neola our company for about for our model policy simple question once again not

055wanting to get into debate well how can we not I mean information to discuss it it says discussion and possible action that is what it says right there that's why it's discussed us now if you like have items that you'd like to to make statements on please do so I'm asking a question why aren't we using the company that this District pays for to handle our policy have we asked them for a model policy on this issue simple question okay is there an answer as far as I know no that I'm against this motion I'm going to withdraw this motion what I'm gonna say chairperson of the policy committee and that I believe that it's in Jason's authority to convene a policy committee meeting um and put this on an agenda I don't think that

056emotion is necessary for that so I think that if discussion is complete then it would be prudent to move on to community comments not done saying stuff now that's ridiculous first of all how long have you been on the board you don't know how things work at all now you're withdrawing it because I know why you withdrew it because I know why you withdrew it because if we voted on it it'd be 3-3 it would go down that'd be the end of it now you're trying to delay this I'm guessing in hopes that people don't show up again this is ridiculous and now see there I don't have the court this is a discussion thing I'm discussing with people that brought this up the problem is over there the problem that you allowed this to

057be put on here because it was demanded to be even though U.S policy chair and board President should have said if you wanted it done the proper way even though I think the reaction would be the same this should go to policy committee why don't we set up policy committee meeting then we'll bring it in front of the board instead there is a potential for Action tonight which gives the community what the weekend to send emails and today and yet here we are trying to prolong it when there's a little pushback do what you plan to do and let's get on with it because it's ridiculous that this is even forward and that word as if we're doing some sort of favor to everybody when clearly it doesn't sound like anybody needs clarification on how

058to live their life so the motion is withdrawn any other discussions but yeah then we will open to public comment uh when I call your name please step to the podium state your name your comments to three minutes first all right Jason did you tell her that she's reading the written ones first or oh I'm sorry my my opponent yeah whatever you told I just think you should follow the smarter okay written uh comments come first so okay sodium I don't think you can read from as long as you're able to be picked up on Mike address okay Cara Kirchner 4920 South 124th Street note I support a policy addressing gender identity in the schools requiring notification of parents of their child's request to be identified as anything other than their birth name and gender

059parents have a right and responsibility to know how their children is their child is being addressed at school if it's different than their birth name or biological gender if the school can call me to tell me that my child has been talking too much in class or any other reason we parents receive notification about their behavior attitude health or well-being and rightfully expect me to have the responsibility to address that with my child then I have the same expectation and the school has the same responsibility to make me aware when my child is requesting to be called by an alternative name or pronoun this isn't transphobia not everything is a phobia some things are just wrong this is parental rights and responsibilities and District rights and responsibility rights and transparency it's like the school agrees

060that I'm responsible medically legally and financially as the parent and legal guardian of my child until they tell me I'm not or under whatever circumstances please them at the time when it comes to my child's well-being Mental Health Medical status and care and this is especially true when teachers and staff want to go out on their own and plant their own seeds or views about gender ideology politics sexual sexual education Etc we can go down the path of history of gender ideology and act our money and what actually happened to the reamer twins as the history States his study and Theory failed resulting in David Bremer committing suicide you transitioned back to being male after realizing he wasn't a girl as an adolescent he was made fun of as a girl because he innately had

061a male gate pattern wanted to pee standing up this theory is being pushed on her children when it failed and has no basis in science the research failed and biology and genetics prevailed gender ideology beliefs and practices have no place in our school as stated earlier I will emphasize again parents have the right and responsibility and school has the responsibility and transparency to notify me if my child is using a different name or pronoun than their assigned birth name and gender thank you is there any other written comments I have a number of them Lindsay grouchoina West Edgerton Avenue I have three children currently in the district and a 2023 Whitnall grad when my daughter was in eighth grade I attended a school program of hers while looking at the programs that were handed out

062I looked down and saw her name listed as Sage I stared at this in my initial thoughts wouldn't be appropriate to seat verbatim in this forum so I'll simply say I was annoyed as a mom who saves every program piece of art Etc it annoyed me to see this random name but I was also concerned that there was something I missed or that she wasn't telling me I hope all my kids would agree that I Foster a safe and supportive environment and openly of conversations and dialogues with my kids about these issues so instead of enjoying the program I was stuck with this feeling of guilt that I was missing something from my child after speaking with my daughter I can report today that I didn't miss anything she said it was a nickname her

063friends called her even though 10 years from now we will probably look at that program and laugh about the year her friends called her Sage today I understand and emphasize with those initial fear feelings parents can have if they find out their child has been going by different pronouns or names in school that being said I remind you that I have a safe loving and supportive home unfortunately not every student can say their home life is the same some students may not have supportive parents or may not yet be comfortable discussing their gender identity at home in these cases denying them the use of their preferred name and pronouns within the school Community would further marginalize and isolate them education should be a safe haven where every student feels accepted and respected regardless of their

064home situation or Parental Guidance I can understand mining policies in place that require parental permission to change a student's name and any Publications programs yearbook Etc however such a strict policy on what the student is called in the classroom may have severe consequences in reviewing the model used as a proposed policy regarding this issue that was drafted by the Wisconsin Liberty Institute for Law and Liberty I have some major concerns there are several current lawsuits pending in the state of Wisconsin and at the federal level level on both sides of this argument furthermore the school districts in our state who have implemented policies similar to the proposed all started sorry 30 seconds oh sorry there are too many flaws in great areas of this metal and while the courts fight to figure out where the

065rights of the parents to direct their children's education and and the students right to privacy begins I do not think the district should be taking such a hard stance on this position we have to make sure we are not violating a student's right to privacy we have to make sure we are not violating discrimination policies that are already in place furthermore what happens in is where one parent may agree to the name change and the other does not thank you who decides in those cases okay then Jim Krause 11330 Carol Circle I'm writing the board about item number five student gender identity parental notification and consent I will not be addressing how certain Whitnall teachers are requiring students to State their pronouns to start the year or how gay sex manuals have made their way

066into the high school library no nor how our ACT scores are one minuscule Step Above MPS the proposed parental notification simply States quote parents have the right to determine the names and pronouns that staff use to refer to their children while at school staff shall not refer to or address minor students by a different name or pronouns that differ from their biological sex during school hours without written authorization from a parent end quote the opponents of this proposition have said quote it's transphobic and encourages the district to out kids it makes our district an unsafe place for students to authentically express themselves not every home or parent is a safe place end quote first I would ask how is it transphobic to inform and verify with a parent their son or daughter is transitioning may

067I remind the board you are an educational body not a family the most important people in a child's life are the parents if the district isn't informing parents about student transitions they are used to bring usurping the role of parents second to the opponents what makes your objective moral reasoning so much higher than parents do you know my own children better than I third what a hyperbolic statement to say children are unsafe because parents might be informed their son or daughter is trying to transition you are acting like parents who want to know what is going on in their son or daughter's school are also child abusers what a ridiculous implication moving forward many and the board say they are conservative but this should not be a partisan issue however if you are a board

068member if you as a board member do claim you are a conservative I pray you vote Yes to implementing this policy and conserve parents rights if you do not vote for this policy you are not a conservative nor liberal but a usoper of parental rights Amanda Barber 40 80 South 97th Street I'm writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed outing policy for transgender students in the Whitnall School District this policy would restrict staff from using preferred pronouns and names of students without parental consent I believe that this policy is harmful to transgender students it would force them to out themselves to their parents which could put them at risk of discrimination rejection and even violence it could also make it difficult for transgender students to feel safe and accepted at school the American

069Academy of Pediatrics the American Psychological Association and the National Association of school psychologists all oppose policies that require transgender students to disclose their gender identity to their parents without their consent these organizations have stated that such policies can have negative consequences for transgender students including increased anxiety depressed depression and suicidal ideation schools with inclusive policies that both protect and affirm transgender youth's identity are associated with positive mental health and academic outcomes this is according to research published by the society for research and child development quote people children and adults have a constitutional right not to have intimate facts about their lives disclosed without their consent that includes includes their sexual orientation HIV status or whether they are transgender children do not give up their constitutional rights by enrolling in public school students also have rights

070under federal law to keep certain information private and not to have that information revealed without their consent unquote aclu.org the school board's philosophy States quote the board declares and thereby reaffirms its intent to establish policies and make decisions on the basis of declared educational philosophy and goals unquote this policy does not establish a policy with any regard to educational philosophy or declared goals I urge you to withdraw this proposed policy transgender students deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and this policy would only serve to harm them the proposed policy is an attempt to control rather than educate our community's students from student Malia Overton 5860 South 116th Street the item that I'm concerned with is the student gender identity parental notification and consent I'm a student at Whitnall High School my name is

071Malia Overton but my third name is malexi this action is incredibly inappropriate because you have the choice to risk trans kids safety from school and their personal lives at home if the student's parents are unsupportive of their identity students could get kicked out of their homes and become homeless unsupportive parents might stop their children from coming to school because parents are mad at the school because the parents might blame the staff for allowing the child to express their identity if students do are not able to feel safe at school it risks the child's mental health and not being able to focus on their academic work I am one who identifies as a non-binary person which is part of the trans umbrella even though my mother knows and understands how I feel and how much this

072means to me personally I know other parents will not understand who it feels to be in a body that doesn't feel like your own please keep your students safe by keeping them seen and heard please do not pass this policy you have the choice to keep your students safe and Jessica Udell 6457 South 122nd Street parents love their children and want what is best for them if a child expresses the desire to identify as a different gender use different pronouns names or would like to use different bathrooms or locker rooms then their gender assigned at Birth then the parents should be notified these are our children and as parents we reserve the constitutional rights to not only guide and raise our children as we see fit but to but the right to direct their upbringing

073and education as parents who are responsible for our children's mental health physical health and overall well-being I feel that it is inappropriate for schools to keep parents in the dark adults who want to keep secrets from parents regarding their children have always been and will always be a danger to children a notification does not change but that child wants nor put them in danger it's deeply simply keeps the parents informed is that all thank you now Sarah so obviously you retracted your motion and you're going to discuss your name your address um I'm Sarah blonski I live at 4303 South 118th Street in Greenfield um I am a parent of a student at Edgerton and um my statement I prepared ahead of time to address this policy because that's what we came to talk about

074um my I strongly post this policy my children have family members and friends who are part of the LGBT community and this tells them that our family members and loved ones are not welcome in this community and in this District everybody every individual should be allowed to choose how they want to be addressed as parents we do not own our children they are still Unique Individuals if my child chooses to come out as trans or choose a new name and tells their teacher I want my child to feel safe and trust that their teachers will protect this information I hope that my child also knows that I'm a safe person to combine it as well as as well but their ability to feel safe and secure is more important than my feelings about it I

075do not want a teacher to tell me this information against my child's wishes I want them to know that school is a safe place to be themselves as a School District student safety should be our number one priority this policy puts students at risk for bullying and abuse when we send the message that a teacher has to get permission to call them by their name it tells them that they're not about that name isn't valid growing up I was a straight A student member of the Honor Society AP scholar and held on a job I had parts of my sexuality outed to my Guardians against my wishes luckily it wasn't the school that outed me however in the months that followed I faced verbal and psychological abuse and on multiple occasions I was locked out

076of my house with the threat of being permanently kicked out looming over my head if you met my Guardians you would say they were wonderful upstanding members of the community everybody to this day would say that about them the trauma and and fears and mistrust that I still carry around is all because I was outed if school had been the ones to out me I would have had nowhere safe to be the idea that our skill schools could put students in this very same abusive situation I was in makes me physically ill you don't know how parents will react if they are informed that their student wants to be called a different name or pronoun you can think they're a great person you have no idea and as we heard from some of these comments

077there are many people who believe that being trans isn't a thing we have a responsibility to protect students and we simply need to put that as our number one focus and we need to trust that a student knows themselves best not us additionally calling students by their chosen name without extra hopes or outing them is literally the least we can do it shows them we respect them and that they deserve the dignity to live as their authentic self we all deserve the dignity to live as our authentic selves it also brings them joy and helps them thank you Frank Carr my name is Frank Carr I live at 11525 Parkview Lane our Whitnall prospectus Embraces the unique story of every child that that we value advancement belonging and courage as a resident and father of

078a Whitnall student I'm concerned because this action would take away rights from an already marginalized and unprotected group it is neither inclusive nor supportive causing students not to be their authentic selves and staff feeling pressured to act a certain way for only a specific set of individuals is concerning I reflected with individuals who typically have different views from mine we were both in agreement on this they even said it was a slippery slope what's next we may not all understand the nuances however not all students have safe homes and not all staff no family situations is it safe well School staff be skittish about talking to students for fear of making a mistake students facing any challenge may need to talk about anxiety worry confidence and problem solving to say staff can't support any related

079mental health concerns for a student who is transgender means we turn away from a struggling student if the student feels safe with parents then contacting and referring out is not daunting if the student doesn't feel safe we are putting them out to the wolves with no safety net or place to turn this action item doesn't support staff retention two newly elected board members ran with a focus on retention I hope all board members agree that it is important putting forth an action that places staff in a position to have a have to choose between filing a policy or doing what's best for the child how will new staff members and those who have dedicated years of service to this District feel about this change the lack of inclusivity does not support wanting to retain staff

080but speaks to limiting their ability to do their work this action item shows we don't trust staff to do their jobs of educating and keeping our students safe it prevents individuals from wanting to apply to our district knowing that our policies policies are marginalizing which in turn affects our students learning lastly as a parent this action devalues the story of a group of our students I would never want my son or any other child to walk into school every day knowing there isn't an adult that it can turn to for help or a listening ear without judgment I also feel that this action item is shaming and instills fear not only in students but staff with this being said I urge the board to vote against this proposed policy thank you for your time and

081consideration thank you thank you Nicole tantoni my name is Nicole tantoni 10482 West Norwich Avenue and I'm standing before you as a community stakeholder a Whitnall parent and a taxpayer in response to this agenda item I would like to ask for the care and consideration of an already vulnerable population of young people in our community who would be adversely affected by implementing this kind of action a group that reports higher rates of depression suicidality and victimization than their cisgender peers for many students in our community including and especially those that this action specifically targets school is a safe place for them to grow and Thrive as they develop into the people they are it is a place where they find support and encouragement their unique stories are embraced and celebrated by peers and staff through

082positive relationships and acceptance I would like to speak to three parts of our Whitnall prospectus and ask ask that you consider three questions so number one the Whitnall School District engages Learners in safe academically challenging and supportive experiences so that all students can reach their personal learning goals how does targeting A specific group of students and denying them the autonomy to Simply use a pronoun or a name that makes them feel seen and respected Foster a safe and supportive environment for students who statistically are likely already struggling number two the Whitnall School District Embraces the unique story of every child putting something in place that forces a child to tell an incomplete or Abridged version of the story of who they are is not how we embrace the unique story of every child how does

083allowing someone else to dictate how or which parts of that story can be told without their input further this Initiative for all of our students number three our values are advancement belonging courage how does this action promote a sense of belonging for the students who would be impacted by this decision the safety and acceptance of the youth in our community is the responsibility of all stakeholders and I ask you to consider not home this initiative seeks to help but which of our children would be damaged by this action and as a parent I find it ridiculous that the district is wasting time on this unnecessary policy when there are so many other important issues to be addressed let's come together and support all students and help them succeed number Andy okay they know if it

084was an H or an M happens a lot no worse uh thank you for telling hearing me my name is Amber handy I live at 3972 South 96th Street I have two children who are enrolled at Edgerton Elementary and I agree with what many of the community members have said here already about the inherent dangers of this policy to many of our students to their mental health their physical health and their security so I'm going to speak about a couple of items that I have not yet heard mentioned first I want to talk about what a policy like this could do to all of our students not just those who identify as a member of the lgbtq community this policy if enacted would tell all of our students that they do not need to treat

085their peers with dignity and respect it would force the teachers to model for them that you can refuse to acknowledge who someone tells you that they are that's not what I want my children to learn second I think that this also ties back I'm an educator myself and I know that Maslow's hierarchy of needs tells us that students cannot learn if they do not feel safe the students who are affected by this policy will not feel that they belong they will not feel safe in their classrooms that will affect their ability to learn to grow to develop it will hurt the district in terms of academic outcome as well as hurting those students and not preparing them for their future because they cannot be who they are and they live in fear in that classroom

086environment finally I would like to say that while my students are my children are still quite young and I don't know what their gender identities are yet because they are still growing if someday it turns out that they are something other on the gender or identity Spectrum than what I understood them to be when they were born I really hope that they feel safe enough to tell me I really do but if they don't I really hope that they have a trusted adult that they can go to instead and I can think of nobody better than a teacher somebody who works with them on a daily basis in the school to be someone that they can go to talk this out with share who they are and find the trust and respect they need to

087hopefully work up the courage another one of our school values to come and speak to me and my husband about it please don't take that away from our students please don't harm our students by enacting a policy like this and please do not teach our children that it's okay to not identify people as what they tell you that they are thank you Jamie Hennessy Jamie Hennessey 5460 South 121st Street I have two children that go to school at Edgerton a second grader and a kindergartner and then I myself am also a teacher I teach third grade in Oak Creek first I want to say that when I opened the board docs tonight and looked at the agenda I was very disappointed to see that the model policy was from a well-known conservative non-profit any policy

088that wental enacts should not lean left or right and be from a group of any sort and be politically motivated or politically biased we need to do what is right for Whitnall and what is right for our students that being said as an educator we hold our teachers to a certain set of standards that are they are evaluated on each year standard one that teachers are evaluated on every year States teachers use knowledge of Learners and human development to create responsive inclusive and respectful learning activities and environments that maximize Learners cognitive linguistic social emotional and physical development we are holding our Educators to the standard that they create an inclusive environment that supports their social and emotional well-being you as a board need to be held to that standard as well by enacting this policy

089you are sending a message to a marginalized group that they are not welcome you are sending a message that choices they have made about their own body are not okay I ask by not enacting this policy what harm are you doing you're not but by enacting it you could be causing harm and I know you sat up there and thought how is it that every family in Whitnall school district is abusive that is not what people are saying we are asking you to understand the possibility have you had to call CPS I have it's scary we don't want to put any of our children in a situation where they are being neglected where they are being abused because it is not the majority but it does happen and we need to have safe spaces that

090protect all of our students so please do not enact a policy like this Do no harm to our students thank you Richard Hansen hi I'm just I'm Richard Hanson 4218 South 97th Street I have a child at Edgerton Elementary I'm a stakeholder and a taxpayer and I strongly strongly urge the board to reject any policy that has the slightest echo of any of this sorry I need to watch my temper on this any of this language which is directly damaging to Children um I'm hearing I want to Echo what the previous speaker said I'm hearing a lot of language that paints it as we're making the assumption that parents are abusive of their children that's not necessarily the case there's a broad Continuum here of things that happen when sensitive issues are opened up you

091never know how a family is going to react you never know how parents are going to react especially in a very unique and sensitive issue like gender identity um as an educator myself it's response I am responsible for creating safe spaces for my students one of the first things students need in a safe space is to know that they can trust you it is not about keeping secrets from parents and I'm tired of hearing that language from people it is about protecting children okay we're not it's not a clandestine Secret when I do what is necessary to keep my students safe when I do what is necessary to keep my children safe children are vulnerable and LGBT plus children are uniquely vulnerable in this Society I'd like to see a policy I'd like to see

092a not a policy I'd like to see a community that is welcoming to them and to all I'd like to see our play our Whitnall School District grow along those lines rather than take this step against that this is this is a slide into bureaucracy this is a slide into a cruel and hard policy that I can only see harming our children thank you very much Luanne Byrd yeah hi Luanne Byrd I live at 5155 Brandon's Court in Hales Corners here um I am just heartbroken that this came on the agenda I agree with everything that's been said you know as a board you have to reject these special interest groups and create your own policies which has already been stated um also as it's been stated and I want to get into boardsmanship here

093that you do follow the chain of command that you do hear complaints and that your job as individual board members is to build trust in the system and when you hear parents saying that their children had to use pronouns you send them back to the teacher to build that relationship that's what parental rights is all about and they already have them in this District but as board members sometimes it's easy to side with a parent rather than build that bridge between the parent and the teacher and the district that's just good boardsmanship and you should be hearing those complaints that's your job it's not your job to turn around and create a policy on every complaint and say well we're the policy makers well it's very easy to micromanage in policy and then you're not

094doing the big Visionary work that you're supposed to be doing and you can get down into the weeds or get into a policy like this one that is so harmful as you as you can tell I also want to mention your job as board members to tell the truth and you can make statements at a board meeting and maybe you do out in the public that really represent the wrong thing by painting parents as violent as was mentioned tonight I just don't think that's your job and I don't think it's your job to put out misinformation and this policy certainly does a lot of that just by bringing this to the board I want to say there's a lot of assumptions that you would make you would assume because you brought this policy forward and

095that the board president allowed this to come forward you would assume that well parents don't have rights because that's what this is saying you don't have them so we need to create a policy that makes you as parents have rights you would assume that teachers keep secrets I've heard that over and over again I have I have never had a teacher keep a secret from me I if that's happening then and a parent tells you that you go to the superintendent if you have to you you go up the chain of command but teachers do a great job in this District they do a great job everywhere they're not here to keep secrets they're here here to create safe environments for children and that's what they do and they're great at it so as board

096members you have to support your teachers not be creating mistrues in a policy it might have been unintended but that's what that does it creates a mistruth about Educators and it also creates a mistrust about gender because transgender is clearly attacked in this policy just 20 . what has created a huge uproar and it says this isn't as safe and inclusive thank you even though we've had some discussion discussion here any board member Community motion and seconded the theater past this and you move on which is I hope you can see it and move on but thanks for all of the work and finally Chris Porterfield Chris Porterfield 4200 South 122nd Street Greenfield I feel so grateful to everybody who came out tonight and spoke against this policy everybody said it more eloquently than I

097will and they touched on the Nuance of it this is not a nuanced thing this is a cheap easy thing this is a thing from an outside group that wrote the memo they've already used this stunt and Keel Kenosha Madison Eau Claire all over the state outside influence is taking on too much control of this board stuff like this is torn communities apart and I think that's the goal they feed on the conflict like yeast on sugar they're more interested in drumming up culture wars to anger their base then our then be serious about governance the best you get if you pass something like this is open it up to lawsuits we the taxpayers will have to pay this district has already had to pay out all kinds of lawsuits for poor judgment on this

098board at worst you'll do harm to some of our most vulnerable students it's hard enough to be a kid without officials enacting policies at the whims of extremist groups to make it harder this board tonight has repeatedly demonstrated and sowed mistrust in our teachers our administrators and our students by doing so this board is earning the mistrust of this community please do not consider a policy like this [Applause] okay moving on to six announcements yeah get out and vote because obviously voting is what causes these issues or creates please get on vote and be aware of who you're voting for and do your research as I know many of you did tonight so thank you very much for coming in please get out and vote Okay Whitney middle school PTO meeting six o'clock right Wednesday

099first one of the year show up well eto's always need help so if you're new I have a new parent in the middle school I'll be there I mean I'd be there anyways but um please show up and help them out they're always looking for assistance in whatever way you can provide it so six o'clock at the middle school stem space correct stem space 6 p.m Wednesday and they also have Chick-fil-A eaten urn I don't I didn't write that one down I said when that is it next next Tuesday the 19th okay it's at Chick-fil-A so hard to argue with that Greendale Chick-fil-A or west Dallas uh I believe it's Greendale thank you [Laughter] um hcepto meeting is on Tuesday the 19th at 6 30 in the hce movie night is on the 22nd on

100the playground uh Milwaukee Toys for Tots will be having a golf tournament on September 15th at six o'clock at Oakwood Park Golf Course uh you can still sponsor a hole if you would like to it's a hundred dollars to do so it comes from the uh Franklin com Council so good 6 a.m or 6 p.m 6 p.m or am I'm sorry yeah am so early uh tea time I don't know if that will keep people away but thank you uh number seven closed session a motion to adjourn to closed session pursuant to section 19. 85 subsection one of those Wisconsin statutes uh subsection C and F to discuss one in independent investigation report of April 24th event two superintendent 2023-24 goals and three educator employment contract also the closed session minutes from August 28th of

1012023. do I have a motion to go to closed session at first a second and second uh roll call vote please I have some hope discuss this thing um are we going to get a public number on the amount of money that's been spent on this independent investigation and when are we going to have some transparency with that and I will ask you the question I asked you in email several times why is the timeline for all these other things not been kept Jason you have a motion in a second Hangouts so all those items will be Prof uh the total dollar amount will be when we get the final uh invoice so that will be something that will what is the current number current number is I will get you that when we get

102back into into open after I just want to make sure that the public is aware of whatever this number is instead of spending the money to pay for this absolutely so so we have a first and the second and a roll call vote I'd be interested in the answer to the other question as well if you haven't said about um the reasoning behind the delays in the there was communication and there wasn't there wasn't an answer I asked him why and I never got a y answer to why we are taking this long to do this one it was put forward that we need to have things completed by July otherwise we would be on a delay we are now in September I never got a why or any ownership on why this wasn't done

103because we had communication errors as far as what and this was something that was brought forward that and I believe the superintendent would be able to agree that we are working to improve our communication back and forth as far as what our levels of expectations are and how we are missed as far as our as our conversations go with things that one side will think of one item and another will think of another and it leads to where things are not executed the way it should be the board's job is to the superintendent review I'm asking you why it hasn't been completed in the time frame that you put forward and said that need to be done in Jason let's call the question sure so we have a first and second roll call vote and

104you have a motion to call the question oh call the question do I have a second for the call the question no second and a second all those in favor aye aye aye all those opposed no no no motion fails I can answer that question I haven't answered the why I bought some ownership okay sure put it on me that I will own it it has not gone through the way I would like to to have gone through and we are working to make it better and we are going to get there that's what I asked for ask for ownership accountability and transparency and it shouldn't take five emails and an attempt to avoid the question to get a simple answer like that that's all I have to say you can go for the vote

105unless anybody else has anything else nope roll call please hi Heaven no Cassie hi Karen Ryan Houston hi hi we have five eyes one no one of uh one absent motion carries and we are in closed session or we will be in closed session thank you everyone go for it and we are back uh in Open Session uh following out of closed session do I have a motion to uh accept the direction regarding educator Employment contract as discussed in closed session so we've I have a first do I have a second second and a second uh any further discussion seeing none all those in favor aye all those opposed seen on motion carries six zero and one apps uh action item letter A 2023 24 superintendent goals who have a motion to accept the goals

106so I moved I have a first do I have a second second and a second any further discussion seeing none uh let's do a roll call vote on this all right no bye hi motion carries five yeses one no one absent letter B Neola semi-annual policy updates um do I have an a motion to accept the changes as presented by Neola so moved I have a first do I have a second a second and a second any further discussion seeing none all those in favor all right all those opposed motion carry six zero and one number nine meeting debrief sorry I I would hope that if we do have a policy committee meeting regarding the pre uh gender identity that we would bring materials to that meeting that are not from any outside source that

107is a political action committee that's all anyone else do I have a motion to adjourn it's all moved ever first do I have a second second and a second all those uh seeing no further discussion all those in favor all right all those opposed see non-motion carries thank you everyone have a good evening foreign