Winneconne School Board Meeting - June 2nd, 2025

001[Music] out. [Music] Down. Down. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Happy honey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I will call the meeting to order. This is a meeting of the regular schoolboard meeting of the um uh Winn County Community School District. It is June 2nd, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. We are in the uh high school large group lecture. Meeting notices were sent to members of the press, members of the school board, and were posted on the front doors andor in the vestibules of district school buildings. This is a meeting of the board and public for the purpose of conducting the school district's businesses and and is not to be considered a public hearing. There may be a time for public comment as indicated in the agenda. The meeting will also be available to watch live at www.youtube.com. Please

002stand and join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Roll call, please. Stellner, here. Veric, here. Cowarts, here. Aman, here. Kundi here. Hansen here. Um, at this point we are going to have the civil engineering and architecture class do a student presentation. Uh, because of the final exams are this week. Students from the civil engineering and architecture class will present their project to the board of education at the beginning of the meeting. Thank you. Well, welcome everybody. Um, uh, my name is Chris Arps. I'm the civil engineering and architecture teacher here at Winn County High School. Um, thanks for everybody coming to learn a little bit more

003about civil engineering, I guess. So, uh, um, we'll kind of kind of get things started off. I'd like to start off by, uh, I guess exp thanking the board for allowing us to present. on May 14th, um these students have been preparing a year-long presentation that they uh presented to professionals at Myerin Construction. And we'll explain a little bit about what they're doing, but uh it's we're pretty cutting edge here. Um so I thank the I thank the school board for allowing us the flexibility to be able to do this. Um our administration staff for giving us the flexibility. These students have been to sustainability conferences. They've met with professionals. um this is something that just doesn't happen anywhere. So kudos to you guys and really these students um for being able to rise to

004the expectations is set forth in this class. So without further ado, um what do we do in this class? Well, we uh we're a project lead the way. Um this is a national curriculum. It's it's done across I want to say about a thousand schools across the country as well as in Europe. Um the civil engineering class is a national curriculum. Um it used to be affiliated with Milwaukee School of Engineering. Um but currently it is tied to engineering programs all the way across the country. uh these individuals, these gentlemen here throughout the year, they actually go through and work with professionals from my as a matter of fact uh Winnie had the first ever high school student that actually did a internship who actually beat out about if I'm not mistaken a number of

005college students for this internship at Myerin. So, uh the the level that these kids rise to is is absolutely amazing. So we actually they work they hold conversations they are able to go in and uh talk about design and they're going to be doing most of the talking here in a little bit but I'm just trying to give you guys a little bit of overview because there is some pretty complicated stuff to this. So so what do we do in first semester? Um it's overview. We learn about uh Habitat for Humanity um the constraints and why we do constraints is because we got to learn how to design functionally. Anybody can put something on a piece of paper, but these students are looking at occupancy, they're looking at egress, we're looking at building codes to

006the extreme. Um, they're evaluating, they're analyzing, they're calculating. So, it's the same thing that a architect or an engineer would actually do. Um, ours is a little bit more fictitious, but uh overall gets in the whole spec of designing a a full set of home plans. Um, they have clients that they interact with. Usually it's a parent or someone in a family. Uh they also learn Autodesk Revit. We are currently dual credited with Fox Valley Tech. So the students actually earn um credits for Fox Valley Tech for free here um that will apply to other uh uh universities through through transcripted uh credits as well. Um we learn about estimating. We do introduction to lead. So they learn about uh energy sustainabilities uh all functional design. Um I try and stay ahead. Uh the reason

007I I'm able to do that is is working with my so I sit and I'm able to job shadow and see what they're doing and then as a result been able to uh express this then to the kids. Um we do heating and cooling calculations. We do sanitary slope calculations. We do water pressure to buildings and we do water runoff and we do surveying. That's just first semester. So these guys like that's just a little bit of a a taste. Then second semester we go in and we really start to analyze things uh from more of a realistic standpoint. Um all the way across the country we're dealing with empty buildings. So a lot of those buildings are called brownfield sites. And what has to happen is is those sites have to be in current

008revitalization. And so a number of our students um we have students right are former alumni that are at uh well one graduated from University of Milwaukee um believe either December or this spring. Um his whole goal was urban uh development. In other words, being able to take rundown development and revitalize that into uh such at such events that allow, should we say, more of a beautifification of a project. And so we start doing uh beam and girder and footing designs. Um so we make sure building isn't going to come falling down. The building uh in the middle is a picture of a Brownsfield site. Uh the picture on the right is what they're given. And so the pictures that you're going to see from the students are basically redesigns of those of those buildings. Uh

009we talk about occupancy categories. Um it's really interesting when you turn on the news or whatever in the case might be, you'll see uh um you know buildings collapsing. Well, the reason why is because the occupancy is exceeded and they haven't met the demands to hold the the building. Um these guys are able to kind of calculate all of that. Uh we talk about zoning. Uh why can't we just put a building anywhere? Um well, that's because of zoning restrictions, legal descriptions, understanding the way our our property is laid out and how we are able to determine who owns what in the grand scheme of things. Um we do soil classifications, so students actually learn, okay, if we're going to be building on sand or clay, what type kind of loads that we can build

010a spread footing on. Um and then sustainability. Uh so with me construction we team up talk about functional design and we talk about sustainability. So this year the students were able to tour a number of job sites and be able to see a a lot of ways to better build should we say a building. So without further ado um I'm going to turn it over to the real dream team. Um not everybody could come here tonight. Um so uh but we have two members of the class that are going to kind of talk about and share their experience. So thank you. [Applause] All right. Hi, my name is Lincoln Robert and before I get into that, I wanted to start uh from the beginning. In 8th grade, I was introduced to the software that we

011use, Revit, to build everything that we build. and I was hooked. I thought it was really fun, but the class was short and when it ended, I really stopped using it. So, last year, my freshman year, I was talking with Miss Larson at a Wolf Chat and she brought up this class to me and I asked her what's all in it and she said Revit was part of it and right there I said, "Let me take that class." So, I took that class and now I'm here. So this was our first semester um project. We did it all throughout the semester and we went to a client and they designed this building for or wait they designed kind of what they wanted to see. So, my mom and dad um went in on a piece

012of paper and they like kind of drafted out the entire like design of what they wanted, where they wanted rooms as in a bubble diagram, but then they went and she my mom actually uh drafted out the walls and the all the other rooms. So, this is what I ended up with. It is three different parts. Uh the middle one is a gable roofed uh main area and then on one side is the garage and then on the other side is basically the living area, the bathrooms and the um master bedroom. Um here if I move over here, I'm going to look at it a little bit better. But right here on the left side is my upstairs. It's more of a loft. So right there in the middle are the stairs and behind it

013is a bed with a couch and a um like a nightstand or a little table to place things. And then on the first floor over on the right, as you can see the left side, right up on the top left is the master bedroom with a closet and just more of like a storage room that has a vault and some other like dresser applications. And then the middle is kind of a little bit of an open concept room. It houses the dining room on the top left. On the top right is my living room and then an open concept kitchen in the middle. Right when you walk in the front door on the right is the stairs to go downstairs and on the left you can go upstairs. On the right there you can see

014there's a little room. It's more of a mud room for when you go into the garage. There's space that you can hold shoes and jackets and other things like that. So, oh, and then on the back of my building, I didn't have it for the first semester when it was graded, but I did go in and add it um after is the curtain wall window. So, it's a huge window and it took some messing around with, but when I did get it, I thought it did look really cool. So, hand it off to Joan. Oh, I'm sick. All right. So, right here we're gonna have Andrew Sperings. He's one of our classmates. And this is a little model of what his house looked like. He's got some bathrooms in there. If you look down there,

015he's got two cars he found off Revit. He did he did a really nice job and he really seemed to understand the class. And uh yeah, that's that's his project right there. a little bit of his. And then uh this is a little bit more of uh this is actually Helton Simolinsk's project and this is his house. So obviously you can see a 3D rendering right there. And then right over there you have the uh 2D model of his house. And then right here's my house right there. And then you can see just the overall layout. And then uh so for mine mine was a little bit differently. We we were supposed to have a client but I went a little bit of my own route and I kind of wanted to just my own

016building with my own ideas what I wanted. So, you can't really see it, but in the 3D rendering, the uh roof is like kind of pitched up a little bit because I was actually going to put an indoor basketball court in it, but say humidity house, so you can't really build a full court in there. So, I just built it big enough so because it's sloped like that so I can still have a basketball hoop right in the front and still get a few shots up and stuff. Just kind of wanted what I wanted to do. And you can really uh in a little bit here when you see the second semester project, you can really just see like just the different level that we take and the the jump that we almost take from

017first semester to second. All right. This is Andrew Sperling's project right here. So he uh he built a uh No, not boys and girls club. So he built a boys and girls club and uh this is uh so that's his uh floor plan of the overall thing and then right here if you'll look on the uh top right hand corner you'll see uh the site plan of it and he did something that was super like it was just it was just still amazing to think back on. So he built it where he built a driveway for buses because you have children taking buses to get there. So he built a bus route going all around which I just thought was just super duper cool. He he just he I didn't even know I don't know

018how he came up with that. That was just super amazing how he did that which is just amazing on him. And then another thing that he did really that was kind of different from our project too was uh he added solar panels uh on the whole entire thing which is super duper cool. Oh there it is. So there there's the actual picture. If you look, you can see the bus route that he has going. So, the buses can exit and it's kind of like it was super smart. It's all going one way. I'm kind of jealous still. I didn't take I didn't take that idea cuz my building YMCA and I was looking back and when we were presenting my they were like, "Wow." And I was like, "Geez, I should I should have almost

019taken that." Uh, here's Lincoln. All right. So, this is my second semester project. Um, Andrews was also the second semester. And being a longtime golfer, I decided that I was going to redesign the local course, Lake Breezy's clubhouse, cuz it's pretty old. If you've been in it, you know it's it's due for a redesign. So, I thought, perfect. I can do that. So, again, I really like the concept of big windows that allow sunlight. So on the back up here in the top left of the back of the building, you can see there are four pretty big windows that can allow for a lot of sunlight in. And then also up on the top of the building, you can see there's a green roof. This was a mandatory thing for all of us to do.

020So you'll see in mine, Andrews, Hudson's, and also Dons that there's going to be a green up there. Um mine's probably the least cool out of all of theirs. Um, I just put a lot of picnic tables up there and uh, cornhole courts for those who like to play. And then inside I have the big area. I have three um, pool tables with five round tables for seating or if you want to stand. And then I think the cool part about my project was the bar. I took the inspiration for the bar table from Lake Breeze. When I talked to Dave Petrick, the head manager, he said that those four bumpouts that you can see that are like circles were for um forsomes. So any golfers in here know that golf is played in forsomes.

021So when you see a group of four people around these, it's makes it so they can all talk to each other face to face instead of having to lean forward or back to talk to their buddy that's across the way. So, on the top or the bottom right, I have my kitchen area where all the good stuff is cooked up. If you've had the mac and cheese at Lake Breeze, you know that's true. So, and then up on the top left and right of the kitchen part, there are two walk-in freezers. And then on the bottom right, there is a loading dock for a semi to drop anything off. Up in the top left, I kind of got the boring area. It's more of the offices, uh, the bathrooms, and an electrical room. And then

022the other area here with the diagonal entrance is the pro shop with kind of everything you would see in a pro shop at a golf course. I have two clothing racks, a rack in the middle to place any um merchandise for the place. And then that's about and then a reception desk obviously. And then again you can see on the bottom right here is another 3D picture of my site. Uh the green roof again, more windows. A big part of my project was windows for um natural light to be able to get in. And then on the bottom left over here is my site plan. So it didn't originally look like this when I presented to Myron. I actually added um I went on Google Earth in the past couple of weeks and I added

023um two greens. The green for 18, hole 18 on the bottom left and then right up on the top is hole nine. I struggled for a little bit because the green is actually a concrete floor that I just colored green and it's pretty hard to make shapes like those. So, I had to go in and make small lines all the way around to do that. And then I also have a retention pond. Um, obviously the blue retention pond over there in the bottom right. Uh, another thing that I actually stole from Lake Breeze was the boulevard design right as the driveway. Um, every time I pull in the lake, which is most days of the week, I um always admire that the boulevard uh design makes it so that cars can get in and out

024easily, but it also has a lot of nature, whether it's outside or in the middle. Thank you. All right. So, we have Hudson's second semester project and uh his main focus was uh he's uh I don't know if you guys know Hudson, but he's big into uh uh disc and shot for track and field. And congratulations to him. He just made it to state for both events [Applause] and hopefully looks like he's gonna probably take first in both events for state. Uh so right there you'll see uh right there that's just a picture of his uh his parking lot right there and then little picture of what the 3D rendering looks like and then out there and then the blue is just the retention pond that we all were trying to design. Then you can

025see his green roof right there too. Our my second semester project. So my main focus was to uh design a YMCA. I originally started with my original building and then this is kind of like my overall design and what it looks like over the hall. I uh when I first started it was crazy because like a YMCA is pretty big when you look at it. But when uh when I'm only given like a certain amount of space, I'm restricted in that space. I kind of have to come up with different ways to design it and different things that I can and can't have. And uh one of the big things that I still regret to this day is I could have had so much more and uh made the rooms made it way better. If

026you look at my floor plan because I have two basketball courts. I wanted a big open gym for basketball and stuff, but if I would have just decreased it to one, I would have had so much more space to work with. Another thing is is interestingly enough when we were at my construction uh all throughout four of our projects, the big thing that they noticed, which was something that um even Mr. Arbs kind of like he was still like, "Ah, sorry guys, I should uh all the uh all of our bathrooms are actually uh I think they're not oriented correctly. Like you wouldn't actually Yeah, they should be to back instead of facing how they are, which is just a design thing that you don't think about, especially when you first start out. And uh

027right there in the middle of the building is uh my uh weight room over there. And then I have a bottom over there. That's kind of like my locker room. I have a little walk through to show you. And then I have child care for like uh 8 through I don't know 12 and then four through like toddlers up to four years old. And then over there, if you'll see uh I have a garage that leads to the maintenance area. And then I have a um garbage disposal right there, too. And then right in the middle, that's a picture of my green roof. And then that's overall kind of like what the front looks like. And then that's a little picture of my parking lot. And then uh so that's the front of the building.

028That's over there's my retention pond. And then right there, I have some tennis courts on the outside. And then a super cool thing that I kind of did in my parking lot, I kind of designed it. So from the main building, when you walk into the main building kind of has like a pathway that you can walk up to the front of the building and on that pathway it's kind of like a walk through because YMCA you have lots you're dealing with lots of little kids and that sort of stuff. So I built that so there's a walkway and then I built the entire thing only going one way. So there's only one way to enter there's only one way to exit just for safety purposes and stuff like that. So you start going like

029this. You walk you drive straight ahead and you kind of turn you can turn this way to leave. But then there's that main thing main path where you can walk through because uh parking lots can be chaotic. And then here's a little picture of um actually the second floor. So right over there I have a yoga studio. And then over there I have like a uh health and fitness area which has got like some treadmills and stuff like that and some workout gear. That's the last one. And then I have a walk through. It was a walk through of um my uh my locker room. Uh I really got into it in um I think it might have been freshman year. Freshman year I took a class that was uh it was a tech one

030class and I I took techad one first semester and techad two second semester which were classes I found super interesting which was kind of my introduction to Revit and how that kind of started and then it was it was so much different from this semester because first semester I mean freshman year when we first started we were dealing uh we were working out of a template so it was already pre-esigned everything was pre-esigned in it. we didn't have to get too creative like or anything with it. So, we first started with that and then uh so that was kind of like that was my introduction to that template kind of just template building and that kind of stuff. And then um uh last year I took a uh construction management class which is more of

031just like the trades and that kind of stuff and just getting introduction of what the trades look like and that stuff. And then this year I took that this construction and architecture which was a little bit different where first semester I started completely empty just had to design everything. And then second semester I got kind of like the building and then I just had to like reshape it make it bigger and kind of just play around with it and see how that went. And that was really just kind of my journey of how I've taken that kind of steps up. Another interesting thing is is uh I've never really understood how intricate it can be to design a building and put a building together. When I first I just kind of thought they just put

032a building together and I've slowly learned learned that you have to consider occupancy and you have to do all these different calculations and how uh not th those calculations are there for a reason. I think Mr. ARS. It was in the like towards the end of the uh school year. He told us a story about it was a big news article about some building that collapsed because uh they exceeded exceeded the occupancy that was required for the building. And uh it was interesting because I looked at that and I just didn't look at it oh a building collapsed like all right buildings collapse all the time. I kind of looked at as oh the building collapsed because the occupancy was over and it was I think it was the second story that collapsed. So I

033was like, "Oh well, their uh beams and girdters must be off and their their footings must have not been the engineer must have not done a very good job or they should have looked at the occupancy and all this stuff." So it was a kind of different way to look at it as though hey that happened for a reason. It happened because such and such things didn't happen or that it was never engineered to handle that many kind of people and then so this is a big shout out to Mr. J back and his crew because uh man, we need workh horses to run this. So this is uh this is a we could not get this. The file is so big and it's kind of complicated. We couldn't get it in the in the

034presentation, but uh kudos to to the IT department for kind of helping out with this. It's not colored because the computer was doing all it could to just keep up. You want to talk about it? Oh yeah. So right over there you'll see the childc care center. It's going to go through really fast because that's the only way. So here we're heading into the locker room right there. You can see some lockers a little bit right there. You see some benches to sit on and then around the corner around one more corner over in here there's going to be like the shower area. So I divided up into like so it's not just a big shower. So it's got like stalls. I didn't put the curtains or anything in there. And then some more locker

035room space right there. You kind of walk to the back which uh on all of them it's going to take you to the back where it's gonna seem like it's just an empty door. So right here is the bathroom area. Some sinks, some stalls. Bathrooms are designed incorrectly for environment. Um yeah, they should be back to back as they stated. Some more locker rooms, some more benches right there. Just going to speed up here a little bit. I want to note how intimidating Revit looks on the side with all those different menus. Just tons of fun to select. All right, there's the child care center kind of like that. It's going to take you into another bathroom which is basically the same setup, locker rooms, that kind of stuff. Some lockers, some benches. Interestingly enough,

036one of those beams that you see in the middle because uh I guess you can't really have beams just in the middle of the place. I' I'd have to re-engineer those which would just be a mess which uh all of our for all of our engineering calculations we uh we did it for the original Brownsville site. So the site that we had I think uh it was the first building that MR showed us. So we did all the engineering calculations just for that building which is pretty small. So, this random door is for um I didn't have enough time to do it, but I wanted to add a pool. So, that'd be in a future updated version if I wanted to add a pool. So, I built that. More bathrooms, benches. I tried to get

037a video of the entire building, but it would have been way too long. It would have slowed the computer down too much. some office spaces in the back over there. Probably wondering why I was just showing you locker rooms is because uh I uh for my other presentation I have a uh I have I took little snippets like snippet shots of the building. So, it's like I go in Revit, I take a little snippet of it and uh I couldn't actually go and take uh just snippets of the this locker rooms because it was all already pre-built and I would have to hide a bunch of different stuff and it was just take too long. I decided, yeah, I'm just going to do a walk through, which is going to be quick and easy just

038to show those spaces, bathrooms, that kind of stuff. some seconds left. It's a It's a long video. Yeah, computer couldn't handle a longer video. Oh, yeah. If if you if I had the audio playing, you can just you can see the camera shake a little bit. You can hear me and Mr. starts talking. I actually ended up I was trying to get it to shift it to my USB, but it file is still way too big. So, I just I just took my phone and just kind of captured it. All right. Thank you guys. [Applause] So, thank you. So, Lincoln is going to be also All these students are considered careers in this. This isn't really a trades based class, but they have to understand how things are built to be able to do that.

039Right now, Myerin is probably one of the leaders in the area that's using what's called as virtual construction. So, it's one of those things because of the trade shortages that are going on out there, they virtually design and build a building before they build it. And um so these guys are getting prepped on how to be able to do that. And then on top of that, then they're working So myin really helps bring all of this to life. Um they they give the engineers they they they spend their day kind of critiquing and these guys as you can see they they hold conversations with them and many of these guys actually use their this presentation for uh talking points in their internships um whether it's in college or or whatnot. So as a matter of

040fact in December I was contacted by a former alumni looking presentation so that he could use a talking point to get uh he was trying to get an art internship down at the art institute in Milwaukee. So, so there's a lot of real that's applied to this. It's a pretty futuristic technology. So, thanks for listening and thank you guys. I can't let Chris leave without giving him a lot of credit. So, this is 10 years of doing these projects with Myron. Myron has been a phenomenal partner, but a huge amount of the credit goes to Chris for his relationships that he's built with the Myron professionals and all of the knowledge that he seeks out on his own time to learn and then pass on to the kids. And I think it's clear that they

041have a passion for what they're doing when they're talking about thinking about and changing their presentations after they were graded. They're clearly very passionate about it. So kudos to you, Chris, for that. prior prior to prior to coming to Winn County, we attempted this. Um, so this doesn't happen in all schools. So that's a credit really to a a community effort to really get these students to think outside the box. So um, kudos to these guys. How about these guys? One more. Thank you everyone. Thank you for your presentation. That was awesome. All right. And recognizing the administration that is here, we have Dr. Larson, Dr. Hughes, Mr. Maner, Mrs. Horvath, Dr. Mashad, Mr. Dner, Mr. Jerbeck, Mrs. Dodd, Mr. Katy, Mr. Shrader. I didn't miss anybody. Okay. And um if you are a visitor

042tonight, there's a signup sheet in the back. Hopefully everyone signed up for that. Um so or put their name on the signup sheet so we have a record of that in the district office. And now is the time for open forum. Just going to review some guidelines here. So public comment or open forum is an opportunity for individuals who have legitimate interest in the actions of the board to speak. Um all participant participants must be registered and indicate the agenda item they wish to address. If you plan to speak, please wait to be recognized. I will recognize you and then please state your name, the municipality of your residence, and your group affiliation if applicable. Um, you'll have three minutes to speak. Um, we we will be timing. Um, and please direct your comments to

043the board as a whole. Do not address individual board members, staff, or other attendees, personal attacks, use of specific names or titles in a negative manner, or statements outside the legitimate jurisdiction of the board are not permitted and may result in intervention. The presiding officer re reserves the right to interrupt, warn or end remarks that are too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant, and may ask individuals to leave if decorum is not maintained. We do have a 1-hour limit on the open forum. Hopefully, we can get through everyone, which we should be able to. Um, and finally, if you are recording or photographing this meeting, please ensure your equipment does not obstruct views, distract from the meeting, or interfere with the board's work. I appreciate your cooperation and your interest in being here. So,

044having said that, um, I will recognize Mr. Rob Larson. Hello, my name is Rob Larson and I live in the village of Winn County. Uh, and yes, the lady at the end uh is my wife. Um, and frankly, I'm a little disappointed with the amount of hard work that she does for the staff, students, the board, and the community in general. and in turn has had a handful of people trying to continue to inaccurately picture or excuse me uh inaccurately picture of the district. Regardless, I'm here tonight to share some thoughts regarding the open forum policy that has been under discussion for several months. I understand and appreciate there are valid perspectives on both sides, whether public comment should be limited strictly to agenda items or whether it should be open to topics within the

045board's jurisdiction. That said, I think it's important to acknowledge that there are community members, staff, parents who feel increasingly uncomfortable with how some of the recent comments during open forum have unfolded. Many of these individuals choose not to speak. Not because they lack opinions or care, but because they fear of becoming a target for online harassment or social media attacks simply for expressing their own feelings. There's a growing concern about the tone and direction of some public comments. While I support the right and express opinions and raise uh and range concerns, it's hard to ignore when comments become accusatory, personal, or threatening. We've recently heard language at board meetings that includes and serious and unfound accusations directed at board members, the district administrator, and our teachers. Words like corrupt, sociopathic, along with sweeping claims of

046students struggling with remedial math, reading, and comprehension. It's important to recognize while everyone has the right to voice concerns, these types of concerns can be both misleading and damaging, especially when they do not reflect the full picture of the hard work happening in these schools every day. Keep in mind, this district is one of the highest achieving in the valley and the state. There have even been illusions to moblike behavior using terms like pitchforks and torches. And after statements like these were made, some adults in the audience clapped seem to almost endorse it. This doesn't reflect the respectful dialogue that our schools and the majority of the families strive to model for our students. Yet, some people are accepting of this. On the flip side, we heard from a parent who courageously shared her child's

047experience with bullying in a way that was honest, heartfelt, and respectful. These are the kinds of conversations that foster trust and open the door for meaningful solutions. We must also acknowledge the disconnect when some adults continue to name call and use social media to spread myths truths. [Music] Thank you. Thank you for your efforts um your support and leadership. Thank you Miriam [Applause] Bara. Miriam Bara, village of Windakani and the open forum. Um, and also about my son. Um, I have five kids who went through the district and the first time I have a serious issue come about. I come to the school board seeking to be heard and helped. Instead, I was hushed and hurt. You took away my freedom of speech, not once, not twice, but three times. I'm not allowed in my

048son's school or classroom anymore to observe his school day. I'm given I've asked many times and I'm given many excuses instead. You can ask me later who that was. I can no longer drive my Wind County special ed bus route that I had all year because I was labeled as a conflict of interest to my bus company. I no longer can bring my own kids home on my bus. They have to ride a different bus route home. I have to stop for many different routes. Routes not even in Winn County. I have to take charter routes at the end of the day just to make up for the hours that I need for my bus route. And many of you parents here know me cuz I drive your kids. I drove many of your kids

049last year for my routes. I drove many of them this year. I drove many of them if they if you ask them. Who's Mrs. Bar? Who's the woman at this on on video tonight? They'll tell you who I am. They know I love them. My special needs son no longer tries to speak clearly this year as he did in previous years. He no longer reads clearly as he once did. He no longer sees his talking device as useful. This is because of one teacher he had. My h my son has had many of you teachers and you did amazing with him. And when you're up here for your awards tonight, I will cheer you on because you're amazing. But this year's been so tough and and the school board stood behind him. And you stood

050behind and you backed him all year, even allowing long-term staff to be let go as they spoke out against this man. I don't know why you stood behind him like that. These teachers stood up for my son and his special ed classmates and they were let go. Now, some of these classmates are leaving our district. These other parents and I have come together and shared our stories with one another. We see the deceit and the lies that have come our way this year. We are told one thing over the phone or in an email, but then somehow it's changed around when we receive it on paper. changed around in such a way that doesn't hold the school district or staff liable. There's always two two sides to the story, Mr. Larson. There's always two sides.

051Remember that. Now, here we are at the end of the school year with my son's special ed teacher, the one in question, that one that you backed and supported all year. I shared a heart-to-he heart email with him recently. The next day, he resigned. Here's our latest update from our school board update two days ago. Schoolboard members play a vital role in sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh shaping the direction of our district, setting policy, supporting student achievement, all while serving as a voice for the community. Why have they hushed me three times? Why? Okay, thank you. That's your time, Mrs. Bara. Thank you, Marty. Marty Brett Ho Hower. Good evening. I'm Martin Bret Hower, resident of village of Winn County. I'm a taxpayer, proud parent of

052a Winn County graduate, a lifelong Republican, and a veteran. I'm here to address the open foreign policy. I speak on behalf of the true majority in our community whose voices are often overshadowed by a vocal minority claiming to represent us. This group's disruptive behaviors consume disproportionate time and resources from our school board. Our community values fairness, respect, and constructive dialogue. We, the silent majority, are compelled to speak out when these principles are undermined. Our district boasts exceptional teachers, administrators, and staff as evidenced by our consistently strong academic performance. Your cruel comments towards our board members and specifically the administrator along with unfounded implications of systemic grooming and indoctrination are just ridiculous. In fact, your negativity and constant badgering won't increase test scores or morale, but instead is more likely to lead to these educators leaving

053for greener pastures where their reputations are not constantly impuged. I remind the loudest of you that if our high performing schools do not meet your expectations, Highway 116 runs both ways. Please take advantage of open enrollment and don't let the door hit you on your way out. The financial burden of responding to frivolous foyer requests and legal challenges is significant and frustrating, particularly when many of these demands are originating from people who don't actually pay taxes in our district. While many of us share your policy concerns, your confrontational and divisive approach makes it impossible to support your positions or your candidates. The Winn County School District and district administrator have su successfully navigated complex challenges. CO 19, Title 9, endless debates on open forum with professionalism and dedication despite relentless verbal attacks, social media criticism,

054and meeting disruptions. The majority of our community appreciates their leadership and urges the agitators to let them focus on the critical work without interference. Recent board changes have created openings. I ask, why have those leading the opposition not stepped forward to run themselves? If you have time to attend the meetings, lobby, seek legal guidance and research, then you should run for the board. Leadership and education demands action and accountability, not just criticism. We call on you to contribute constructively or shut up. In closing, I urge us all to prior prioritize our students well-being, support our educators, and allow the board to govern effectively. Let's move forward with respect and a shared commitment to our community success. Thank you, N. Nancy Albreight. [Applause] I think I'm probably the oldest one here to talk about the school

055system in Winnie County. I've lived here for 32 years. My name is Nancy Albbright and I'm a resident of the village. I probably am here more to support Dr. Larson than anything else. I have worked with her on boards. I have seen what she has done for this school system. When something isn't broke, don't try to fix it. There are so many achievements that you have in this school system. I served on a board with with Dr. Larson and we had a discussion on what she wanted to do, what her foresight was for the village and she said she would like to make the Winnie County school system a destination school. Guess what? She did it. Then when they when they built the addition on the high school for STEM and she decided, "Nope, we've

056got to include the arts," it became steam. and she said, "We need an auditorium." There was no money to build an auditorium the way they originally wanted to do it. She figured it out so that we have this beautiful auditorium in the high school. When something's not broke, don't try to fix it. Try to all work together and make continue to make this school system what it has become. It's something to be very proud of. People come here from all over to go to school in this school system. And for you, for anybody to sit here and say this is not the way this school should be run doesn't know what they're talking about. Thank [Applause] you, Amy Strunzy. Um I'm Amy Strzy. Um we are residents of the village or the town of Ashkosh

057if I can remember where I'm at. Anyway, um and I'm actually here to talk about your candidate, one of your candidates and some other information or other things. Uh so anyway, good evening. I'm Amy Strrenzy. I'm a par professional at the in our district and I am here to express my strong support for Monica Wisinski as a school board member. I've worked with Monica and had both of her children in school. She is and always has been a true advocate for our students, staff, and community. Monica shows strong leadership skills and dedication to everything she does. She brings a fresh perspective, deep community roots, and a genuine passion for our schools. One uh thing I admire about Monica is her integrity. She listens carefully, thinks critically, and will make decisions based on what's best for

058our students and schools, not based on outside influences or pressure. Monica will be thoughtful and independent and committed committed a committed voice on the board and I would um and I wholeheartedly support her. I would also like to address another topic. For those of you who may not be aware, there were deeply or uh deeply in uh misappropriate and offensive com comments made on Facebook this weekend about our administrator. It's funny to me as I look out here and I don't see those people here. Cowards. They knew this was going to happen tonight. Uh let me be clear. These statements are not only false and extremely disrespectful, but also cross the line of uh cross the line into def definition of I'm sorry, I'm nervous of definition of character. Publicly posting such damaging and baseless

059claims against someone's professional and personal integrity is unacceptable. We don't accept it in the classrooms and we should expect it from the adults. We are old enough and know better. No one, especially not um not our staff or um administrator should be subjected to this kind of a personal attack. In my opinion, if you are so unhappy with this school district that you have to say such horrible things, please find a district that is um that would make you happy. This is wrong. Absolutely wrong. And you should all be a those involved should be ashamed. I'm surprised the one isn't here. Whatever. So, thank you Rob [Applause] Reban. Uh Rob Reban. I live in the village here. Um former schoolboard member. I feel for you all tonight and every every every Monday night. Um everybody's

060done a lot of great things. I'm not going to expand upon all that stuff. Uh when I was on the board, I was known as a uh a peacemaker, a mediator, tried to come into the middle and create solutions to problems. Um I want to challenge the school board tonight. I want to challenge all of us adults in the room tonight. Um clearly there's some cancer and some pain in our in our community right now. Um our job are adults. We're parents. We're leaders in this community. We have to come together for the good of our children. We don't do this to hate each other. We do it to raise the next generation, to make them better than us. And clearly right now, we are worse than they are. So I challenge us all tonight,

061no matter what the vote is, whether what side you're on, whether you like the decision or not, to support the decision. Support our great community. I'm a third gener or my children are third generation in the school district. I remember like when my mom was here. I remember like when I was in high school. This district is amazing. It's an envy of everybody in the state and we cannot tear it apart. We have to fight together no matter our differences to make it better. And that's all I ask. Thank you, Adam Erenss. I just wanted to read the someone had given me these from uh Freedom of Information Act just on the uh resumes just so the community is aware of the resumes that were sent for the two remaining candidates. I'll start with Monica

062Wisinski. It says, "Hi Peggy, here's the supplemental information requested for the open seat consideration. I have lived in Winn County for 27 years and Gar and I have raised two children who are both graduates of WHS Mason in 2021 and Jamie in 2023. I worked for the Winn County News as a staff writer for 10 years. In that time, I attended many, many, many schoolboard meetings so that general understanding of operations and finance within the school district. I also immersed in village and town governments as a newswriter staff. More recently, I was a kindergarten aid at WS for six years and worked with the most fabulous students, teachers, and other support staff. I loved every minute of the time at WS. Supporting teachers and helping teach young children is incredibly warding and incredibly exhausting. I

063am currently involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program of East Central Wisconsin as a big sister to 13-year-old girl. It is wonderful program. I have been serving in this role for two years. Thank you for your consideration, Monica Wasinski. And then it says, "To whom it may concern, my name is Nathaniel Harter and I reside in the town of Winn County. I have two children currently attending Winnie Elementary School. Gene, third grade, James in kindergarten. While I have limited experience with formal meeting procedures, I bring leadership experience from the role my role as an apprentice general manager at Chipotle in Colorado. In that position, I was responsible for training employees, ensuring adherence to procedures, and resolving conflicts between team members and customers. These responsibilities required strong communication, organization and problem solving skills. Although I

064am including my resume with application, I understand it may not be most significant factor. However, it does reflect my stability and long-term commitment as I have worked at my current job for over eight years. My family and I are committed to staying in Winn County and I deeply interested in the continued success of our school district. I am a strong supporter of public education and believe in making thoughtful, sometimes difficult decisions with students best interests in mind. I always strive to put students first, seeking the best path to help them succeed both in and out of the classroom. My goal is to joining the school board is to support the efforts in maintaining Winnie's reputation as one of the top districts in Wisconsin. I want to contribute to its growth both in student enrollment and

065the quality of education. I believe all children, including my own, deserve an outstanding education that prepares them to become thoughtful and capable leaders. I look forward to the opportunity to learn from the board experience and to contribute meaningful to its mission. Sinc sincerely, Nathaniel Harter. Thank you, Melissa Tredder. Hi. Um, my name is Melissa Tredder, town of Bashkosh, Winn County School District. Um, I came here today. At first, I wasn't going to speak, but you know, with lots of prayer. I thought I needed to speak once again. Um, first of all, I'm not on social media. I stopped being on that a couple years ago. So, I whatever was said, I'm sorry because that's not okay. Um, but I also got to remember my son who's been called nasty names a lot throughout the school

066year. Excuse me. My son is not doing well. He is with my mom and my dad in Milwaukee, his favorite place to be. But guess what? with that latest incident that happened where the students were my son has autism and they were calling him names. He is now afraid to go anywhere. All the things he used to enjoy like going to the zoo, taking a car ride, going to the public museum, it's not happening. We need to take this bullying stuff seriously. This has a great impact on not only on my son but on our family. We have to come together. We have to we have to come together and speak the truth. I know that the incidents and I think the the vice uh I got the reports of the of some incidents that

067happened to my son and I know a lot happened to him throughout the year and I feel so guilty but I just want justice for my son. I mean I want him to be who he used to be. I'm not here for revenge at all. Um, thank you to the school board members for actually listening and trying to work on a solution. Again, thanks to all the unnamed students re reported a few incidents during the school year. My husband and I actually considered quick trip cards for these kids to show what to show them what they did and what they did and do to protect vulnerable vulnerable students. and we wanted them to be noticed and appreciated, but we ultimately didn't carry that out because we didn't know if it was inappropriate. Um, but if

068we could find a way as a district to replicate the empathy and decency of these these students, we would all be better off. The other side of this is to quickly and sufficiently let the bullies know that their behavior will not be tolerated. Um, and then just back for an incident that happened in October, my son was able to tell me a bunch of boys were involved, but I was only told only two boys were involved. So, I find that suspicious. Thank you. Thank you, S. Ruse. I have a loud voice. I'll just start talking. I'm Sal. L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L Ruis of Oshkosh. Uh I'm not going to repeat. There's been some great commentary this evening about what it

069is to be an adult in a room full of conflicting and different ideas and opinions. And I think uh all great commentary. There is very little room in our society for threats and to call people names and to attack people personally because you have an ideology. If you have an ideology, I have an ideology. That's great, man. Take teach your kids at home the things that are important to you. That's what parents are supposed to do at school. We want them to learn how to be engaged in society and to be productive. Just tonight, what a great program. 10 years in the making. 10 years. So, how horrible is Winn County School District? There is fantasy and there is reality. And the reality is it's a great school district. I am from out of the

070district. And at the grace of the school board and the administration, my kids have come here. There are 4.0 students. That's not by accident. That happens because there are great teachers, great administrators, and a school board who cares. There are a lot of people involved to make sure your kids grow up well. I understand, and God bless her. They're bullying. It's a horrible thing. I've been bullied. I'm sure everybody in this room has probably had a little bit of it in their life. Unfortunately, some people haven't grown out of it. They run around our community talking garbage. It's horrific. Grow up. If you want to bring an idea, bring an idea. Sit down. Have a conversation with somebody. Talk about what's important, right? Sit down face to face. That's how things get done. Things don't

071get done when you lob bombs from social media. Nothing gets done. Feelings get hurt. People feel horrible. these these adults, these women with their children. You don't want to see that. You don't you don't want people operating that way. I just can't. First of all, I'm just fired up about this. Hold on, Mr. Arts. Wonderful. That's what I want my kids doing. I want to see my kids up here. 10-year program, not anywhere else. We should be thankful. We should be writing letters of thanks to this schoolboard saying thank you for having the foresight. Cursive doesn't get your kid into college, good teachers who care, administrators who care. If you have things that you want to teach your kids at home, teach them at home. Hopefully, it's something good. Hopefully, it's something that will bring

072them friends, community when they get older. That's what you want to teach them. Don't teach them the garbage that's flying flying around. Oh, thank you. Thank you. [Applause] All right, that will end the open forum for this evening. Um at this time I would entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. So move second motion by Kundi, second by Barriage to approve the consent agenda. Any questions from the board? Um Donna, I have one. Um on line A, it's just a simple correction. Um, if you look in the meeting minutes on page, excuse me, page 6-5. um just number number 14 and number 15, they just got flip-flopped. So like the numbers and the titles are correct, but the the language under each one just need to be reversed. Does that make sense? I was

073going to print that out and show it to you and I I just didn't get the chance to. Mark, do you understand what I Yep. Yeah. So, I just if we could just flip-flop those. I have it noted. So, thank you. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, Mrs. Veridge, Mr. Kundy, you're okay with that amendment amending the minutes and approving the minutes in that fashion? Yes. What you you're saying we should flip-flop 14 and 15? No. So the the numbers are correct. Like 14 is public comment at board meetings and 15 is agenda items request policy. Just the the notes under each one must have just gotten accidentally reversed. So, you're saying the the the notes under number 15 should really be under number 14. Yes. And vice versa. Yes. I looked at that a number

074of times and I'd like everyone else to look at as well as Katie has brought it up. Um, originally when we looked at the policy, it was it was one. We talked about uh 0167.3 0167.4. There's no number on this policy yet as we're waiting for it to come back from Niola. Um and and I appreciate you putting this out. When I did put this together, I I thought I had it correct. Um, when I was looking at the policy, if if the verbiage within the numbers under public comment at board meetings andor agenda items request policy, if the stomach or the notes of that is got to be interchanged, I can understand that. I just want to make sure that everyone else realizes that and and that is the way it should be. Yeah,

075I have no no issue with the verbiage at all. I just think somehow the the wording just must have gotten flipped around. I have um if you refer back to last week's agenda, I passed this down to Mark or Donna. I think you I think you get what I'm saying. Yes. And I do understand it. Um and I don't want to say that it it's meaningless what you're saying. Um, we've got we've got the language right. When the policy does come back from Niola, it will be given a number for each and um I believe at that time we will have um what's supposed to be under each of the numbers. Correct. I I think I know what I know what she's saying. I think a lot of that um discussion was applicable across the

076board with those various policies. So, I'm wondering if we just re label it 14 public comment at board meetings and 15 agenda item requests policy and just leave all that verbiage underneath there just so that it's it it applies to both those topics. I think that would make sense, but flip-flopping alone I don't think would be appropriate. I'd be totally okay with that, Jill. Okay. You're all right. Yep. Okay. You're all right, Mark. Yes. Okay. A roll call, please. Stellner, hi. Veric. Hi. Cowarts. Hi. Aman. Hi. Kundi. I Hansen. I. Uh, recognize WCASS regional awards and parental appreciation letter. Is that okay? Mrs. Dot. Okay. Good evening. Um, tonight I'm excited to celebrate a lot of our staff this evening. Um, we had in our district 10 WCAST winners. Um, earlier this year, I sent

077out a message to staff where they had the opportunity to nominate folks within our school district for the WCAST CISA6 regional awards. WCAST, which stands for the Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Service, wants to celebrate colleagues who inspire others. What I think is truly incredible is that these 10 staff members were nominated by their own colleagues. I'd like to share with you who the staff were and why they were nominated. First up, Mercedes Ael. Mercedes has won this award for the partnership she has built with local businesses in an effort to get our students out in the community and practicing life skills. With her positive energy, she works to find each child's strength and pushes them to be their best. Congrats, Mercedes. Kayla Callus. Kayla has the won this award for all the hard

078work and time she's dedicated to her role this year. She is passionate about what she does and who she serves and goes above and beyond to make sure students are successful in the high school setting. Congrats, Kayla. Michelle Sigoric. Michelle has won this award for her empathy and understanding of our students with IEPs. She works hard to ensure that they have what they need to reach their goal. Additionally, Michelle is a great collaborator and partners with our families. Congrats, Michelle. Nicole Dout. Nicole won this award due to her positive attitude and the connection she has built with our students and their families in her first year in the district. She has put her entire heart into her role now by ensuring students have meaningful experiences to help them prepare for their life after K12 education.

079If you ever need a laugh, she's your go-to girl. [Applause] Jennifer Krowy. Jennifer is being honored award or excuse me, Jennifer is being honored with this award in recognition of her outstanding advocacy for our students this school year. With warmth and confidence, she brings staff, students, and families together, making sure everyone is aligned and informed when it comes to providing the highest standard of medical care in the school setting. Congrats, Jen. Sarah Bame, there she is. Sarah has won this award because throughout her time in the district, she has served in various roles with a great deal of flexibility and a deep commitment to meaningful relationships with all students. Driven by a passion for growth, she has even returned to school to further her education and special education. Congrats, Sarah. Heather Hayes could not be

080here tonight, but we are thrilled to celebrate her and recognize all that she does to support our middle school students. Her warmth, approachable nature, and unwavering dedication create a positive and supportive environment where students can thrive. Congrats, Heather. Lindsay Nelson, right behind me. Lindsay has won this award due to her advocacy of all learners. She builds meaningful relationships with students, understanding their unique needs and empowering them to find their voices, both literally and figuratively. She extends the same level of care to families and colleagues, fostering an environment of trust and collaboration. Congrats, Lindsay. Andy Plleekka. I think it's important to note that Andy was nominated for two categories um within this award series, inclusive general educator and related sta services staff member. She has won this award for her work in creating an inclusive and

081adaptive learning environment for all, especially those with special needs. She greatly cares about the students she teaches and the adults she works alongside. We are so grateful to have her as our adaptive PED teacher. Congrats, Andy. Lisa Hutchinson. Lisa brings a thoughtful approach to the work with students, drawing on a wide range of experiences that positively shape her current practice. She works hard to truly understand our student with students with disabilities, serving as a strong advocate for their success both in high school and beyond. Congrats, [Applause] Lisa. Again, congrats to all of our WCAST award winners. We are so grateful that all for all you do to support our students. I'm going to have you remain here because there's another shout out that I would like to give. Um tonight we are proud to recognize

082Remy Sun Bless Blash, a dedicated special education teacher who is impact truly has made a difference. Recently, the Winnie High School administrative team received a heartfelt two-page letter from a parent of a graduating senior. In it, the parent expressed deep gratitude for their unwavering support, her unwavering support, compassion, and advocacy she provided throughout their child's journey. Thanks to Rey's commitment and belief in the students potential, this young person is not only graduating, but doing so with confidence and a sense of pride. The parents words are a powerful reminder of how educators can change lives, not just by teaching, but by caring, encouraging, and never giving up. We are honored to recognize Remy for embodying the very best of what it means to be an educator. Congrats and thank you, Remy. Can we do one more

083round of applause for all the educators behind me? [Applause] Thank you so much for highlighting our staff and the good things they do. Next will be the interviews for the vacant uh board education. uh position. We have two remaining candidates u Mr. Harter and Mrs. Wizinski. And I have both of their names here and I'll put them in the basket and we'll see who's going to go first. Katie, do you want to pick? Sure. Monica is in. He will go first and then Nathaniel Harter will go second. Hi, good evening for returning both of you. Where's Mr. Oh, he did. Okay. So, we have a new set of questions for you this evening. Um, so I'll start out by asking you to describe an educator or an educational experience that shaped your personal view of

084what great teaching and learning looked like. Boy, I'm going to go all the way back to first grade for that one for myself. Uh, I had a teacher by the name of Mrs. Tulius. Uh, my parents, I wish they could be here because they would probably um sing her praises far more than I can do it justice. Uh, I did not like school as a youngster. I struggled to make it through a day where I didn't want to go home and see mom, get a hug. And Mrs. Tulius worked with my parents. She worked with me to provide materials for me to go home early and do my work if I needed to have a little extra time at home. It went on for maybe a few months. I probably am not quite accurate with

085that, but my dad would come home from work at night and he would bring in the pages. He'd stop by the school after work and he'd get the worksheet pages to come home and do with my mom and I at night and I would go back the next day with the pages and I would do this for a few months. Anyway, I overcame that. And I'm happy to say that second grade, third grade, and the rest of the grades were not like that. Uh, and I think Mrs. Tulius is a big part of it. And so what an example of somebody who is willing to work with parents, with students at a young age, at any age to make education fit for for individuals. Thank you. Describe your vision of an excellent public school system

086and how can board members help move a district toward that vision? an ex excellent public school system is there's many of them you know and Winn County is a fabulous one um excellence within a school thrives on communication and transparency you know I think communication is this word and we we we kind of think that just means all sides are kind of talking and I really it it is that But communication is this continuous improvement um agenda. And so I think good businesses, good schools, good individuals are constantly looking at experiences whether they be really positive ones, whether they be maybe not so positive, but they walk away and they reflect good or bad say hm what can I learn from that? What can I do better? And so I think a thriving education system

087has that at its forefront. Making schools great and I think without but goes hand inhand with that and it's probably more important is the is the pursuit of a safe school. You know I think that's just something unfortunately that we can't put at the top of our list all the time. What role do families and the broader community play in a successful education system and how should the district foster that engagement? Uh I said it the last time I was here and I'll say it again. It takes a village to raise children. Um it takes strong parents, strong families. We don't always have strong parents and strong families in today's um structure, right? Um, so I think it's it's recognizing that it's doing our best for for the family that can have family dinner. Let's

088do that. For the family that can do homework with their child or read a book with their child at night, let's do that. For the family that maybe looks like a grandparent or even a foster parent or an adoptive parent, let's get those people involved. Let's have conversations with all of these individuals and figure out how can we make school successful and fun for this particular student. Um I just I think now more than ever society is um different. You know, it's um there's a lot more vocal um influence. And so I think recognizing that and in the school setting, in the classroom setting, I've seen it. I've worked in the schools. I've seen what our teachers do from top to bottom. They're outstanding. Um many many many of our teachers are inspiring and connecting

089with students and working beyond you know their 8 n 10 hour day to say boy this student here I've noticed they've come to school lacking this or they don't have this who can I reach out to who do I know what teachers can I ask how can my administrators or my principal help me get that student what they need and so I think it's all of those things it's a that takes a lot to get kids to raise the next generation and it's a collective effort. What do you believe are the top two to three priorities our district should focus on over the next few years? uh safety always uh communication and you know I think education is always changing um the the need right we're not the need the push for education to be

090better to provide that rigor to keep getting creative with how we teach um to add in new um you know reading software math tools um it's changing all the time, you know, every year, every few years. So, I think it's adapting, you know, it's keeping the schools safe, communicating with families, with your with your educators, um teachers, staff, everyone who walks within the buildings, and then also figuring out how can we continue to provide quality education and still meet the demands of, you know, the the next new wave of educational tools that are coming at us. and how can we implement it, you know, and stay ahead of the curve. Schoolboard members can sometimes face pressure from outside groups, community members, and social media to vote a certain way. Can you share how you would

091handle external pressure while staying focused on what's best for all students and the district as a whole? Yeah. uh outside pressure. There's certainly can be a lot of it. Um I I can only worry about myself. Um I hold my values, my um what I bring to the board. Um my experience, that's what I have to bring with me. Um outside noise, outside voices. If there's a conversation somebody wants to have with me um constructively about something that's happening, let's do that. Let's have that conversation. Um, if there's something that's been said uh in a conversation that I'm not a part of, I can't concern myself with that. Um, I can I can only be concerned with what I've heard firsthand um and do my best that way. Board members attend meetings, serve on committees,

092participate in training, and review a lot of information prior to board meetings. Are you prepared for this commitment? And how do you plan to stay engaged and up to date? I am prepared for the commitment. Um I have absolutely I I feel very confident that I can give the time the hours um that it takes to prepare for a particular board meeting. Um I also am prepared if I need to call somebody have a meeting. I know there are committees that meet outside of the Monday meetings. I've absolutely considered that. I wouldn't be here talking with you if I didn't think that I was um you know able to do this. Uh as far as you know what I can bring, you know, I'm here for it. I'm I want to serve. I want to

093give back. Um that's just what it comes down to. I'm I'm ready to do it. Okay. Anything else you'd like to add? I would just like to say thank you, you know, for the opportunity. Uh, I appreciate you guys taking the time to talk with myself and Mr. Harter again tonight. Um, I will say it again, I'm a long-standing community member. I have worked in the schools. I've worked in our communities. I've built relationships over the years. And I'm proud of the fact that I have many people um here tonight supporting me. All of my relationships in the community are trusted relationships. Um I'm a volunteer within um Wnebago County. I'm powered by common sense and I think that that is value added. So thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming back tonight. Hey guys,

094how's it going? Nathaniel, thanks for coming back tonight. Yeah, no problem. Thank you. So, we have a new set of questions for you this evening. Um, starting with, can you describe an educator or educational experience that shaped your personal view of what great teaching and learning look like? I would probably say Dr. Connect. He was my forget the name of the class, but he taught Solid Works in college, my freshman year and sophomore year. He showed me how much fun it can be to use computers to design stuff and he spent a lot of time mentoring us as a class as well as myself. He showed us how to problem solve with it. He showed us how to build different things and how to bring um different bits of that to reality through 3D printing

095and stuff like that. I use that in my everyday life right now. Um he also taught us how to work with people really really well. Um he was a great man with great stories and uh yeah it was a great class to have. Okay. Describe your vision of an excellent public school system and how can board members help move a district toward that vision. I would say for to have an excellent school district, we need to have the parents, the teachers, and the students working together. Um the school board can assist that with uh communicating between the parents and the teachers as well as monitoring where the students are at as well as where the teachers are at and how they can improve. Um a couple of ideas. This kind of goes on to the

096question you asked the other night with how do I define student success. Um I went back and started looking in on that quite a bit. So the company I work with right now does something called peon survey and that is where they go out and they send out this survey. I believe it's every other month with about 20 questions to ask the well in this case it would be teachers but for us it's the employees. How do you feel about different states whether it's how you're rewarded or do you have everything you need to do your job? This would be something we can then look at to help the teachers get what they need to be able to uh move forward with their great teaching. We can also do stuff where the teachers review the

097students and the students review the teachers. uh this would not be something to hold teachers accountable but to look for um correlations where we can see when certain teachers do certain things that help students improve or when students do certain things that helps them improve as well. Um I think that parents, teachers and uh the students working together is the best way to get to um success as a school. Okay. What role do families and the broader community play in a successful education system and how should the district foster that engagement? I mentioned it earlier. We need the families a as a whole, both the parents and the students along with the teachers and the school board be working together to be able to foster learning. I think one of the first steps is for

098parents to take a step back and realize there's many different people with many different opinions here. Also, possibly to get off Facebook a little bit from the sounds of things tonight. I know up until my wife trying to start a coffee shop, we basically didn't use Facebook for the last I want to say seven or eight years outside of the occasional message to a friend maybe. Um, and I think that would be a great first step. And then when we have issues to come forward and try to resolve them as a whole, the school board seems to be kind of a target right now and that's not how it should be. It should be the uh residents coming forward to assist the school board um voice their concerns but then also provide solutions. What do

099you believe are the top two to three priorities our district should focus on over the next few years? I feel like this is a cheater answer, but I'll say it anyways. Uh students and the teachers the teachers need to feel rewarded for working here and need to see the stuff that they're doing, the teaching that they're doing actually leading to success. It sounds like from us being one of the handful of top schools in Wisconsin that we are doing at least something right. And so we need to focus on that as well as helping the students that are struggling get back up to where they need to be to graduate and to succeed in this uh in our community. Schoolboard members can sometimes face pressure from outside groups, community members, and social media to vote

100a certain way. Can you share how you would handle external pressure while staying focused on what's best for all students and the district as a whole? I am fairly young compared to many of you, no insult intended. As I'm slowly maturing and getting older, I'm finding it easier and easier to not worry so much about what other people around me say and do. I mean, obviously you have to be careful, but you don't need to worry as much. Um, the important people in my life that I worry about their opinions of are my wife and children. Beyond that, it's not that important. That makes it easier to do decisions based solely on what is best for the students and the teachers. Board members attend meetings. serve on committees, participate in training, and review a lot

101of information prior to board meetings. Are you prepared for this time commitment, and how do you plan to stay engaged and up todate? Yes, ma'am. Um, I do have a family with young children, and we do activities after school, things like that. Um, I have already rearranged stuff that was important to me, whether it be game night with friends or other things like that, just so I can attend the meetings. I plan on continuing to do this whether it be cancelling things that are important to me personally as long as it doesn't compromise my relationship with my family that being the number one goal obviously uh but that should have no problems. I've talked to a few people and looked some stuff up and it appears that we have between five to seven hours per

102week is what is expected and I can definitely make that happen without any issues. Um, also because of that, I would like to make sure the meetings run smoothly and efficiently rather than trying to dillydally and argue constantly. Anything else you'd like to add or tell us? Sure. Um, though I may not be as experienced as uh Monica is, I do ask really good questions and that's one of the ways I learn. And so for me being able to ask good questions, I can possibly provide clarity to other board members or the community. Um, let's see. I already covered that. I've overcome other difficulties and stuff like that in the past. I try to stay positive with as much as I can. Um, we intend on being in the community and want to be a

103part of the community if now is not the right time. You guys apparently are doing a pretty good job with the fact that we're very high in the list of schools in Wisconsin. So if this is not the right time by you guys then I will just b my time and wait for the correct the correct opportunity. What I would like to do is help bring unity to the board bridge the gap between the board members the students and the the residents here and then um I want to do that by cl as I mentioned earlier clarifying by asking good questions and uh hopefully that'll bring just everybody together. Uh hopefully I can put the right people in the right place to be able to just have a great education system for the children. Okay.

104Thank you very much. Yes, ma'am. Okay. I didn't know if it was continuation from the first time. Oh, no. I think we'll So, board members, I think that we will start with a vote um based on today's responses, tonight's responses, and see where we are with that vote. um we can have another discussion if that's warranted um if we end up at an impass. So All right. Vote number one. One vote. Monica Wazinski. Two votes. Monica Wazinski. One vote. Nathaniel Harter. Three votes. Monica Wazinski. Two votes. Nathaniel Harter. Three votes. Nathaniel Harter. So, it's tied. Three. Monica. Three. Nathaniel. Does the board want to have any discussion? can try another vote. Any preferences? the next process that we go through if it's another tie and we do have another round then the decision would be

105made by the uh board uh president and I believe we have until June 20th is it that's correct to make a decision um I would really hope that we could make a decision tonight um we've had two interviews two interview sessions um I feel as though that uh we as a board should be able to come to a consensus to decide who we're going to appoint to represent the district along with the rest of us six other board members here. I also would hope that we can as a board come to a consensus. Um, anyone else? Okay. Revote. Sure. Do you want it from the first one, too? Just for for this one we're doing now. Sure. Oh. Okay. Okay. I'm going to take a ro then. Um cowards. Do we just state the name

106of the candidate? Yes. Okay. Okay. Sorry. Just new territory. Um Nathaniel Harter. Stellner. Nathaniel Harter. Kundi Wisinski, Hansen Wisinski, Aman, Nathaniel Harter, and Veric Wasinski. After the second round, we are tied again at three and three. So, as I stated earlier, um we have until June 20th to appoint um the candidate to fulfill a position for the one year here on the board of education along with the rest of the board of six here. My thought is again um if you're asking President Hansen for a recommendation tonight, I would recommend that we decide um and if it's to the point where we're at having two rounds and it's a tie that you as presiding officer would make a decision tonight to decide who will be appointed to the board. I make a motion that we

107flip a coin. In the state of fairness and you can't do that under law. There actually have been um tied schoolboard elections that have been um the process outlined by attorney um has been shared. U Mrs. Hansen is the person who decides the candidate and she has till June 20th to do so. Yes, I understand that that's the state the state statute is after 60 days if there is no um no consensus of the board. But there have been regular spring elections for schoolboard candidates where a coin toss has been the tiebreaker. How does the tiebreaker work? A coin toss was held determining which candidate would stick their hand to pull out a sheet of paper that either said elected or not elected. So my motion would be to flip a coin and I would

108move that an audience member do that just to keep that fair so it's not in the hands of the board. This is very different than a spring election. I just want to point out to the board we also have a policy in place that we need to follow. So, I mean, unless there's a second to Katie's motion, I would second that. Okay. Motion by Calls, second by Acriman to flip a coin to determine the next school board member. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Stellner, no. Veric. No. Cowarts. Iman. Hi. Kundi. No. Hansen. No. Um, four to two. Failed. Four to two. Y. I I I would like some I think grace to go back and and just look at everything that um notes that I've taken. I I'm don't know if I'm prepared to make

109a a decision tonight. I would really like to review. I think both candidates are very good. Um and I just want to go back and and review some some things. We'll have a decision. Um hopefully that board member will be seated at our next meeting which would be June 16th. Okay. Going to move the agenda forward. Um to designate the WB um delegate. Um you have in your packet for those newer board members what this is and what this entails. Um for the past several years, Mr. Kundi's been our WASB delegate. Um that he attends the schoolboard meeting um receives the resolutions, reviews the resolutions with the board and then represents the district at the school board convention. Um, so if if there isn't anyone who is just absolutely chomping at the bit to represent

110us, I would I would appoint Mr. uh Kundi as the delegate. I would make a motion to appoint to appoint Mark Kundi. We don't really need a motion because it's an an appointment. I support Mark along with Dean. Right. I think you can do a vote. It is an appointment by the board. I I would think you'd want to vote just because the board's appointing the person. Okay. Like Donna, you make your appointments to the committee. That's a little different. Oh, I don't remember voting on this before in other Okay. Motion by Aman, second by Veridge to approve Mr. Kundi as the designate designate WASP delegate. Roll call, please. Faridge. Hi. Cowarts. Hi. Aman. Hi. Kundi. Stellner. Hi. Hansen. Hi. Um, again, CISA 6. Um, I believe that you have a description in your packet

111for that. Um, again, Mr. Kundi has been our representative for the past several years. He does sit on the board of controls for CISA. Um, so again, if no one's chomping at the bit, I move to nominate Mark Kundi for the CISA6 board of control. Chairperson, I would second. Motion by Bar, second by Aman to appoint Mr. Kundi to the as a CISA 6 delegate. Roll call, please. Cowarts. I Aman. I Kundi Stellner. Hi. Veric. Hi. Hansen. I uh open enrollment update for 2526. This is just an FYI to the board of education. You can see that we have these are all new students um that have applied for open enrollment and sorry I just lost my page number here. Um I believe we have nine on a wait list and um sorry let me

112get my number here. Uh 49 accepted and 67 had applied. So, they have a couple more uh some time to accept or um deny the um opportunity. If if they're denied because of no space, right? If someone drops out, do they they they're not even on a wait list or how does that work? So, the no space means um that that grade level was full. So, we capped it. If you recall, we we include eight new resident students and then um decide what's appropriate for that grade level. So, if we weren't to make it to that cap, then we potentially can open it up. But for right now, it's saying anybody who was in applied for one of those grade levels, it's already capped. Okay. Can I ask a follow-up question? Sure. Um what is

113are the caps for each grade the same or like what do you Well, it's based on teacher like um 4K through uh or 4K and kindergarten are a certain number of students per grade level and then they gradually get slightly larger as you go up in grades. Okay, makes sense. Um, just something that I was just thinking about in January. In January, we approved those open spaces or or not. Okay, that was going to be my next question because that's funny because I know we've had like well many districts across the country are facing declining enrollment and if we have I had nine but you said eight that we dedicate each grade level open to students that may be moving into the district. If we're on a five-year decline, maybe in the future the board

114could possibly reduce it a couple and then some of these um weight listed open enrollment kiddos could come in. Yes, that's very possible. It's also very important to keep in mind our elementary school is a very large elementary school and we're running out of space. I'm very aware of that with the kids there. Yes. Just one other comment and I want to point out that these numbers are all regular and special ed included across the district and we we do get then a final uh report as far as the sections and so on but at this time that's all regular and uh special ed K12 or preK12. Uh Mrs. Larson, does DPI monitor this at all? Do they have their finger in it at all? It's Yes, it's very monitored. It's in state statute and

115policy. Any other questions from the board? Okay. In July, we would like to um have just one meeting on July 21st because of the Fourth of July holiday. Uh, I would need a motion to approve that. So move. I'll second that. Okay. Motion by Kundi, second by Callowarts to approve having one July board meeting on July 21st, 2025. Roll call, please. PCman, I. Candy, I Stellner, hi. Very, I. Cowarts, I. Hansen, I. um administrative reports. Um any questions from the board or any additions from the administration, board reports, any communications? Uh yes, I do have a couple here. Uh this is from our uh first grade team. Ashley Ducky, Britney Carroll, Vanessa Lickman, Emily Sam, Jen Dietrich, Jess Cam, and Hannah Boris. Peg and board members, thank you so much for all the teacher appreciation

116in the month of May. We are thankful to work with such a great school district. And I have one more from Ruth Russell. Dear Winnie County Community School Board of Education and and uh Dr. Dr. Pegley Larson, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for recognizing my service to the district and for this special dinner. Winnie County is truly a great school district to work in. Thank you again, Ruth Russell. That's what I have. Okay. And committee reports, human resources and finance. Uh we meet on Friday. Okay. Can we ask a question on a finance? Sure. as I noticed, uh, you're doing, um, some review on pro projected numbers and so on. Um, and we've been getting the report from Monica as far as year to date and so on. Um, can at some point

117give us an idea of some of the projections that you're looking at or numbers. Um, at some point, I'm sure you're going to be probably, you know, giving it to the board. That's that's been discussed. Um, it's just so preliminary right now because we don't have a lot of guidance from the legislature as to what's going to be happening, but I would assume probably late summer. Um, we'd probably have something hopefully. Um, but Monica is just Monica, she likes to keep on top of these and she doesn't want us to have any surprises. And so yeah, and I can appreciate it's really fluid right now too. You know, it's changes. Yeah, I can appreciate that. And so when we knew we do know for sure what the budget is and so on and we get

118that when I'm saying projections, which historically, if I remember right, we are looking out probably three to four years at least for sure. She usually uh projects out I think five years. five years is is kind of a crapshoot, but um she definitely the the two years and then three to four she tries to predict. But again, as Donna said, it's so fluid and we never know what the legislaturator is going to throw our way. Hopefully, it's a lot of money. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Uh marketing and public relations have not met and policy. Um we haven't met as of late. Um, but I just want to give an update. The policy that we had been talking on as far as public comment and agenda at at board meetings and so on has been sent

119to Niola. We're just waiting um for some uh numbers to come back to us and the individuals that uh work at Niola with this. Um a few of them had been out of the office and so on for some period of time. So generally within three four weeks we we do get that. So, um, we'll be looking for that, I'm sure, within the next, uh, two to three weeks. Those two policies are on our website. Now, I don't have the number in front of me, but the agenda request, I believe, is like one 0166 point something. So, that's already on our website, and the public comment remain the same. 0167.3. Okay. And with that, I would entertain a motion to move into executive session. Second motion by Verage, second by Hansen to move into executive

120session under state statute 19.85 to approve executive session minutes from May 19th, 2025 and Wisconsin statute 19.85 85 sub1 subf to consider financial, medical, social, and personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, which if discussed in public would likely have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of the person involved. Topics for discussion include review of a student conduct matter involving allegations of bullying, review and discussion of administrative salaries, and consideration of a tuition forgiveness request. The board will reconvene in open session and may take action on items discussed in executive sessions. Executive session. Roll call, please. Kundy. I Telner. Hi. Veric. Hi. Cowarts. Hi. Aman. Hi. Hansen. I