001Good evening everyone. I'd like to call this meeting of the West Dallas West Milwaukee School Board to order. Uh Mr. Becker, would you lead us in the pledge? >> 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. [clears throat] All right. And Sarah, would you call the role, please? >> Miss Carr >> here. >> Miss Be here. >> Miss Kaiser >> here. >> Mr. Lee >> here. >> Mr. Becker >> here. >> Miss Lee >> here. >> Mr. Verbos >> here. >> Mr. Keller >> here. >> President Burns >> present. Proper notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the open [clears throat] meeting laws of the state of Wisconsin. for our agenda tonight.
002Are there any modifications? >> There are no modifications. >> All right. So, that will take us swimmingly right into our West Dallas Central Student Showcase. Are you ready to go? Excellent. Come on up. Um, while you're talking, please make sure that the mics have a green light on there so that everybody online can hear. >> They look like they're worried about coming up with you. I got to change the setting. >> Okay. Um, while Brandon does that, I don't want to waste anyone's time, but I do want to kind of introduce our group. Um, I'm really excited and privileged to be here and present these seven amazing students. Uh, they're going to be talking about, uh, what kind of makes Central unique as it relates to a co-curricular option and how this continues to expand
003their work and their knowledge in our school forward as it relates to a theory of action and a portrait of a graduate. So, I have uh, seven amazing students here that I want to introduce. I have um, Chia Yang. Can I raise your hand? Just kind of raise raise your hand a little bit when I say your name. Diego Louisa who's a senior. I've got Violet Lamont who is a sophomore. I have Story Butner, senior. I have Elizabeth Kones. There she is. [laughter] I've got uh Shay Welch, senior. And I've got Jade Brenamman here as a freshman. And the most important thing is I want you all to hear from them uh not from myself. So I will be doing very minimal talking as we hear most of the conversation from our students. And I
004can't adlib anymore at this point as Brandon continues to get the technology working. So I will hold tight for a moment. >> Unplug and plug back in. [clears throat] Share over here. See if I can let me share it. Okay. We need some Jeopardy music. Excellent. >> You didn't have Mr. Norris prepare this, did you? >> I did not have Mr. Norris prepare this. Um, >> because usually he's the one that has trouble with the technology. >> He recommended uh some involvement. I asked him not to. Okay. Um, so that was >> professional courtesy. We're good. >> Okay. So, with that, um, Brandon, go ahead. Next slide. [sighs] So, why are we here? So, what you're going to briefly see, and this is going to be my very brief portion, is how this connects to
005our theory of action, which is our guiding principle to our educational outcomes for our kids. And I think for this work really importantly, is how this connects to the portrait of a graduate. What does it mean to leave West Dallas West Milwaukee after 13 years if you're here as a kindergartner, etc. And that's what these students are going to talk about. The skills and knowledge that they've gained through their involvement in these co-curriculars is really going to showcase and highlight these lifelong learning skills that are critical to be successful uh once they leave West Dallas Central and once they leave West Dallas West Milwaukee. Bren um as we consider a theory of action, we know we've had four years straight of state report card growth. We're incredibly proud of that. But we also know that
006as we as we think about the skills with high universal instruction, as we think about teaching with intent, as we think about fast and ACT, student engagement is a critical component of that. If our students are not engaged in our building through attendance, through involvement co-curriculars, through involvement with athletics, we're not going to reach our ultimate goal. And we know through these co-curriculars, these seven students, these outstanding seven students are highly engaged in our school. And that's what they're going to talk about. And it's no surprise that these are high performing, high achieving students because of that engagement. The question is how do we grow that engagement even further? And that's going to be part of our kind of our next steps piece. Next slide, Brandon. [snorts] And then we have our portrait of a
007graduate. Um these five essential skills of what does it mean once again to leave West Dallas West Milwaukee? What does it mean to leave West Dallas Central? What are some of those lifelong skills you need and are supposed to have to be successful? With that, I'm going to turn over to our first presenter, uh, Story, who's going to talk about the impact that Interact makes on, uh, being a being a West Milwaukee student. Story B, if you can go forward two slides. Okay. So, hi. I'm a part of the Interact Club and I have been for the past four years and I'm just here to talk a little bit about it, specifically the community involvement. Next slide, please. Um, so the West Dallas Rotary Club is an incredible organization in our community. Interact builds a
008bridge between the Rotary Club and our school. Students get to see past and current leaders in their community and they shine through their acts of service through the Rotary Club. This bridge between the clubs encourages students to be a leader in their community by providing a real life example on what it means to be a leader. Next slide, please. And then this bridge shows how through the interact club, I got connected to the West Dallas Rotary Club, which led me to get connected to district 6270 and I met some amazing people who were on exchange and were going on exchange during the same time. And then I ended up going to Thailand for the 2024 2025 school year as a Rotary youth exchange student and I was an exchange student in Thailand and then I
009got connected with my Rotary Club in Thailand. So, it builds bridges worldwide. Thank you. Hi guys, I'm a [laughter] Oh, whoa. Okay. [laughter] Um, I'm a junior at West Dallas Central. My name is Violet and I'm the president of our Interact Club. Um, Interact has connected me and everyone else in our club to our community, which is something that is way more important than you may think. Um, community is the foundation for peace building and Interact has been the perfect place for that to happen. When we volunteer, we aren't just giving back to our community. We're building real relationships. We have annual events like the Veterans Day breakfast where veterans can come in for a free hot breakfast, holiday toy drives where we donate elementary school or donate the donations to elementary schools in the
010district and empty bowls where all proceeds go to local food pantries. Sorry, I exited out of my thing. Okay. Over the past three years, my life has completely revolved around Interact and Rotary. It's given me so many opportunities and pushed me to be the best version of myself, including being able to study abroad in Italy next year. Just like story, we're going to be doing the same program. And I'm excited to be even more involved with Rotary through that. And being a part of Interact hasn't sorry hasn't just changed how I serve, it's changed me as a person. >> Let's see. Okay. Um, all right. Hi, my name is Lois Kanes. I'm a sophomore at Central and I'm the secretary of the internet club. Um, so I feel like WAC offers many different ways for
011students to get involved and we do many things like park cleanups or we organize like food drives and right now we're going to be hosting this month if you guys want to donate. We're going to be doing a hat and glove drive for the elementary schools. So, [clears throat] we still have the time to set it up but it'll be fun. But yeah, and then we also have our honors veteran wall at wack to recognize the past bulldogs that have served and we just want to give them that space to kind of honor them. And yeah, so that's all I have to say. Thanks. Okay, my name is Jay Welch. I'm a senior at in that [laughter] I'm a senior at West Dallas Central and I'm the president or the vice president of the National
012Art Honor Society. I'm Jade Brenamman and I'm a freshman at Westile Central and I am a member in the National Art Honors Society. The National Art Honors Society is an art-based community service club at West Central High School. This is the first year Central has had National Art Honor Society. Our main goal is to share passion and serve our community. We also want to create a safe space for exploration in art. The NHS connects students to have volunteer opportunities. that's that serve the community while also showing students potential career paths. Okay. And then next slide. Okay. So, one of the things the National Art Honor Society has done was a Coco and Canvas event this December. So, we had three amazing students um create winter themed art and then they demonstrated how to create that
013art with like hot cocoa and winter snacks. Um, and then with that money raised, we plan to create a mural for the pickle ball courts at the Oak Brewery um, in West Dallas. And then we also plan to take trips to different art centers to get inspiration for future community projects. And then next slide. Okay. Um, here's some examples of the art created for the event. It was amazing to see all the staff and students who showed up to support us. Okay. And then we have more pictures. Okay. [clears throat and laughter] >> Okay. And then our next event is actually this Wednesday at the Oh. [laughter] Okay. Jesus. Okay. Okay. Okay. There. Okay. So, our next event is this Wednesday at West Dallas Central and it's a Valentine's themed art demonstration just like the
014Coco and Canvas and it's also like an amazing date night opportunity. Um, and we would love to have you with us. >> Okay. Hi, my name is Nachia Yang. Um, I'm a junior at Westella Central and I've been in Hope Squad for two years. Um, so a little bit about Hope Squad is that we are basically like a program that serves as a peer support team. And our goal is to increase inclusion and connectedness in schools by teaching students how to provide friendship, encouragement, and support for other students who may be struggling. Um, you can go to the next slide. Okay. So some of our projects uh that we have done for Hope Squad is a window project which is we painted a mural on our third floor window. And so like when people walk
015past it, they could see uh the positivity that us Hope Squad is trying to spread and as well as our cafeteria bulletin board is um obviously in the cafeteria. But when people look at that bulletin board, they see positive and encouraging messages um in the middle of the day. um and our experience as members of Hope Squad. One of the requirements is to give formal training on identifying warning signs, how to reach, connect, and listen to peers. You can listen to that. Um these are some of the pictures that is our bulletin board right now at our school. Um it's two phrases, believe there is good in the world and be the good. Um and on the left there is the bulletin board that we did um last year. Actually, I did that. And then
016on the right is just some kind of like positive affirmation spread throughout the day. [clears throat] Good afternoon. My name is Diego Loea. I am a high school senior at West LA Central. And I just want to say that I feel very honored to be able to stand up here and talk to everyone about things that I love. So starting off, Wack News is our school's studentled news team where a group of students serve as reporters, editors, and creators to tell stories to our school. We produce weekly episodes that keep staff and students highlighted informed by highlighting events, achievements, and sharing important updates. Through WAC News, my team and I have been able to collaborate effectively under real deadlines while also holding each other accountable. We've developed communication and technology skills through filming and edit
017and editing using school provided equipment. More than announcements, Wack News connects with our community on a deeper level by a amplifying student voices and by creating content that leaves viewers informed, connected, and with a smile on their face. Oh, next slide, please. >> Hey, hello again. Um, I'm here to discuss the portrait of a graduate and we've seen all five points of a portrait of a graduate been demonstrated tonight. Core strength and unlimited potential is displayed in our readiness for after college with the skills we learn in these clubs. Working together, thriving together has been illustrated through our collaboration in our club's projects. Your voice, your power has been heard because Central has given us the confidence to speak here tonight. Bridges not barriers has been exhibited because we had to overcome obstacles to be
018successful. Own it and achieve it has been shown because all of us are here tonight and proud of what we have completed. West Dallas central clubs are setting students up for success by accomplishing every part of the portrait of a graduate standard. I have the I've had the opportunity of seeing the portrait of a graduate be successful outside of the classroom. I have well I haven't graduated yet. I have seen all points um all points ex um executed in myself but specifically bridges not barriers and the interact helped me through that. I learned more about myself the world and had to overcome countless obstacles during my exchange year and interact had built a bridge to Rotary and that helped me experience that. Without Interact I would not be able to say that I had a
019successful life-changing year in Thailand. The portrait of a graduate has me confident that I will succeed after Central and I know that others feel the same way. >> Next slide, please. Thank you. Okay, moving on from WAC News. So, this slide shows two ways that we are working to improve both our culture and environment at WAC. First, we are going to introduce a quarterly honors recognition program to celebrate students who show academic growth. By recognizing these students hard work publicly, we reinforce the idea that hard work matters and that positive choices deserve to be seen and celebrated. Second, we will be implementing Crimestoppers to address bathroom misuse. This program gives students a safe, anonymous way to report crimes, helping us in allowing students to protect shared spaces and ensure bathrooms remain safe and accessible for
020everyone. Next slide, please. At West Dallas Central, our clubs are more than activities. They are a place where students discover their voice, learn responsibility, and choose to care about something bigger than themselves. Interact, Hope Squad, NHS, WAC News, and the many other clubs we have. Each stand for each stand for different interests and talents, but they all share the same purpose. to create to build a school where students feel connected, supported, and proud to belong. This year, I've noticed something different. I've observed students step forward and take initiative, not waiting to be told what to do, but rather stepping forward towards a solution. I've se I've seen them lead conversations, acknowledge challenges, and most importantly, I've seen them take ownership of the culture at our school. Whether it's service, creativity, mental health advocacy, or student
021voice, these clubs are giving students the opportunity to develop real world skills, all while strengthening our school pride. That sense of ownership is now expanding beyond clubs. We are working to change how students experience each other on a daily basis. As of right now, too many students walk past each other without acknowledging one another. But our leadership group believes that community begins with connection and connection begins with small with small um sorry that community begins with small actions such as smiling, saying hello and just choosing kindness in general. We are developing a schoolwide mantra to represent this mindset, one that both students and staff can say together until it is part of our identity. Because a positive school culture does not start with the policy. It starts when the students feel seen, when they feel
022valued, when they feel that they belong. We truly believe that this is the start of something new at Central. Not just a set of programs, but a shift in how we treat one another. A culture built by students who take initiative to step up and to use their voice together. We are not just attending West Dallas Central, but we are building it. Thank you. If you uh aren't ready to run through a brick wall after that presentation at the end, I'm not sure what can get you do that. Um, do you have any questions for our uh student uh presenters? >> Other questions from the board. >> Can I say something? [laughter] >> This was not rehearsed. >> Oh my god. No. I literally like I just started crying. I was so moved by Diego's
023speech there. But when I came into West Alice Central, I was the most socially anxious person you have literally ever seen. Like sometimes I still am. But like, wow. Through all the clubs that I've joined, I try to be as involved as I can and push people to be more involved as much as they can be. And I have changed so much to the person I am now. And I I am the proudest bulldog you've ever seen. I love I know. I love West, guys. No, I'm not done. I'm not done. I'm not done. I love West Dallas Central so much and [gasps] [laughter] >> any questions from the board. the comment. She brings tears to my eyes. But I just think it's so wonderful to see, >> you know, the youth, you know, the
024generation of tomorrow so in love with what they're doing, you know, and to come out in front of people, you know, that you don't know and share that in such a raw moment is wonderful. And obviously these clubs are a huge part of that. And I just thank you for coming here today and sharing that with us. That is awesome. And keep up the work. It's fantastic. Thank you. Other questions or comments? Could you get your mic? Did I see hand up over here? >> Oh, thanks. I just had a quick question. What time is the Hearts and Hughes event? Hearts and Hughes. >> I think it was 3:15. >> It's like 3:15. >> Yeah. 3:15 I think it was. So 4:45. >> 4:45. Yeah. >> Yep. Yep. And then 5:30 to 7 I think
025was other one. Right. [laughter] >> Yes. Okay. >> I took note of that. >> Good memory. >> I'll see if I can get there. [laughter] >> All right. Thank you. And then Yep. Mr. Lee. >> Thank you. So I don't have a question, but I do have a comment. This is something that we as a board have been trying to figure out ways that we can implement in our schools because when you have conflict in schools with students, you're trying to figure out why is this happening? And often times it's because students don't know each other on a personal level. And having these sort of connections is a way to stop that, to prevent that from happening, where you have a [clears throat] culture within your school that you do know each other. And so
026you might know what things are going on in other people's lives that you wouldn't otherwise know. And whether those are connections that are happening in the hallway or connections that are happening in these clubs that you guys are talking about, that is the number one way that I can think of to build a positive culture in a school so that people are more accountable all the way around. So, thank you so much for being an example of that here in our district and I really want to commend the work you guys are doing in your school. So, thank you for that. >> All right. Any other questions or comments? >> Absolutely. >> One up, Jade. >> Take us home, Jade. >> So, being a freshman, I was really scared going into West Dallas Central because
027I was with people I had no idea who they were. Um, and I really do think the National Art Honor Society helped me find people who accept me for who I am. [laughter] Um, and who like show me that they care. >> Dr. Robson. >> So, I just wanted to um not close out because I'll let you have the last word, Brian, but just commend you. you all for uh coming here tonight. The presentation was exceptional. It was exceptional. Um I'm just I sat here just proud and I'm like, "Wow, this is this is this is deep what you're saying." But I think um the comments are not only um you know, something we can be proud of, but but we're proud of them because they came from your heart and and we we we
028know that they're so genuine. And so when kids have genuine experiences that are positive at a school, that's what we we all strive to make sure that you have. So just kudos to you guys uh on the job that you did tonight. >> We know that academics are the most critical. It's the silver bullet, right? In terms of um changing outcomes for students lives and but we also know that to achieve that, we need students engaged and I don't think you'll find a more engaged group than these seven people. So I just want to thank you guys for the opportunity. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. Uh, Dr. Robinson, that's going to be a tough act to follow, but I believe you have your report. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> Also, uh, before you get
029started, uh, board members, please make sure that you're turning on and off your mic, uh, so that our online uh, people can hear. >> So, as we uh, Brandon, are you You going to put it up for me? >> Okay. >> You following? Gotcha. You go ahead and start. >> Why don't you go ahead and get started while they're working it up? There are uh proposal packages uh seven bills drafted aimed at addressing Wisconsin teacher workforce challenges. These proposals include grants for student teachers, adding teacher representatives to school boards, grants for uh career encouragement in teaching, longevity bonuses for long-erving teachers, mandatory paid preparation time and establishing minimum salaries for teachers and compensation for non-classroom services. So these are some of the proposals that uh are uh inching its way through the legislature uh at
030this particular time. They are should should note they are uh coming from the Democratic side of the aisle. So I'm pretty sure we're going to have to have some type of compromise on some of those issues. Couple of uh things I wanted to highlight celebrations for this month. Of course uh February is Black History Month. Uh it's part of the happy uh Chinese New Year which is on the 17th of next uh week. Ramadan starts as well on the 17th. Career and technology education month, a national uh school uh counseling week. Happy Valentine's Day for you ladies just in advance. Happy Valentine's Day to you. Random acts of kindness. Us guys didn't need that. And uh our we love our public schools. So those are some things that we have coming up. Whack John Astramm
031memorial scholarship. The West Dallas West Milwaukee School District extends its sincere appreciation for the the John David Asham uh scholarship which honors the legacy of a dedicated educator who served our district for more than 30 years. The generous scholarship supports West Central High School graduates particularly those pursuing careers in education and help students continue their post-secary education at Northern Michigan University or Wisconsin colleges and universities. This scholarship ensures that Mr. Asham's legacy as a dedicated educator lives on by supporting West Central students and encouraging future teachers. We have a celebrity in the room. I'm going to ask that she stand up. Um she uh you know, let's let's give this celebrity a big round of applause. Our own Shelley Straer, director of recreation and community services, was honored with the professional award of merit by
032the Wisconsin Park and Recreation Association, the organization's highest professional honor. This prestigious award recognizes more than 30 years of leadership, service, and lasting impact on parks and recreation locally and across the state. Shel's work has expanded access to inclusive programming, strengthened community spaces, and continues to be positively impact positively impact students, families, and the broader WAWM community. Shelley, stand up again. See, I asked her to bring her her trophy tonight, and she would not go downstairs and get it. So, I am making her asking her to stand up twice. So, she since she didn't didn't show off her trophy. I just want you to know on behalf of the district and um if some of the board members want to say something, we're so proud of the work that you are doing in our district
033and you continue to do. It is truly you you're truly one of the best, if not the best in the state at doing this. And I will tell any superintendent that. I have told superintendents that and we'll continue to do that. So again, thank you for the work that you're doing in leading our parks and wrecks in the this district of West Dallas, West Milwaukee. Would anybody else like to have a comment before I pass it on? Anybody? >> Yeah. Go ahead, Mr. Becker. >> As the the former uh chair for the recreation committee, I've worked with Shel uh closely last few years, and it's always been a pleasure. She's always got something new on the horizon, looking for ways to stretch dollars and be more impactful. uh making the systems run better for the
034kids and the families. So, we really appreciate the service. >> I sent her a message on Friday and asked her could I get her autograph when I saw her again and hope you have some comment. Oh. Oh, Mr. Lee. Okay, Mr. Lee, go ahead. I'll I I'll save my joke for later on then. [laughter] I definitely have one. I just want to say Shelley um I've worked with you for a long time since we've been on the board and from where the recreation department started when I just from nine years ago to today is such a huge positive change in what's offered what the facilities are and every time that I hear from Shelley uh Miss Strawer I always know that um we're going to hear something that's positive that's going to make the most
035use out of the taxpayer dollars that are being utilized for it and is going to provide something new to our community that we don't already have. And so I always feel as a board member I it's always a positive thing when I hear from Shelley. I just want to thank you for all that work because I know I know that it's not easy to do and it takes a lot of behind thes scene efforts that we as a board never see but definitely results in the positive things that we have for our community. So thank you so much. Very well-deserved reward. >> Now for my joke. >> Sorry. Unless Did anybody else say I'm just Okay, you're good. >> Yeah. Yeah, it's not that funny. I'm doing one of I'm doing one of these Aaron
036numbers. I'm hyping it up and it's probably not gonna be that funny. Sorry, Aaron. No. So, Friday I I I sent her a message and said, "Hey, um can I get your autograph when I see you?" And she says, "How do you know?" And I said, "I know everything about this district." And so, uh, no, her her actually her sister sent us a message letting us know, uh, that she received this award and that she felt we needed to recognize her. And I agree 100%. So, outstanding job, Shel. Just continue to do what you do. We want to officially welcome our newest member of the WWM team, Kane. Kane started on last week at West Alice, I'm sorry, West Milwaukee Intermediate School. Um Kain um has been spending time getting to know the building and
037was officially introduced to students during the Friday assembly. Next week, which is this week, Kane will continue his journey by being introduced to students at Persian. So, um the the purchase of the the the the puppy was made by the city of West Milwaukee, the village of West Milwaukee, and we we are able to use um Kane inside of both of our schools that are located within the village of West Milwaukee. So, we're very lucky uh to have him as a therapy dog. We realize the impact that uh um an animal can have on emotions of a human being. They are they're definitely I see it every day when I go home. Uh, my dog gives me a hug whether I want it or not. It works and it helps. So, um, just where I'm
038I'm so so looking forward to getting my my hugs from Kane. Just a couple of visits. Um, West Aler West Alice Rotary Club uh the Crucible Saturday showing. I did see Mr. Becker there. We were uh right a seat behind each other. And uh Nathan Hill basketball game versus Wawaossa East. Uh school visits. Franklin Irving, Mitchell, Nathan Hail on last week attended the district counselor's meeting. And then today had a follow-up meeting with Aurora Hospital. We're hoping uh during our next um presentation, I believe to the board on the 23rd involving college career readiness, we'll give you some sort of update on uh things that they're proposing to to do. And I think it's an exciting time for our district. Our special guest for tonight, Mr. Joey Dumbrossski. Joey is a junior at DOCIE, member
039of the video games club, straight A student, and he helped organize multiple events at Daky in our voice time. Joey has surprised me so much at how vocal he is, which is a great thing. Sometimes we have to get it out of people. Nah, Joey Joy will tell me what he's thinking, but always is so thoughtful in his in his conversation. So, I just want to formally introduce Joey and Joey, what's going on at Docy? Thank you for the introduction, Dr. Robinson. I hope everyone having a good day. Some of the things that are going on at DOCI recently on Monday, January 26th, we had our first exhibition night of this school year. Almost 450 different people showed up to see the students projects. There were so many cool projects on display, not only showing
040off our students creativity, but also the learnings that they have gained over the course of their time at Daki. We also have multiple studentrun businesses. The first one is Phoenix Graphics. It opened last May and all the products that we sell there were completely made by students. This includes items such as clothing, hats, water bottles, jewelry, various 3D printed items, backpacks, candles, magnets, and many more items. There's also a program in the works where um there's a program in the works currently led by Mr. Gells, our principal, where students will be able to use docky bucks in order to purchase items. The other business that we have is called the hive. It is a self-sustaining business where people can buy honey and honey products on exhibition night. At exhibition night, we made over $200 with
041the with the total money being made currently sitting at $400. Using the money made, the students make purchases to help expand the hive that we have set up. The students can help harvest honey from the hive using make products like lip balm and ice cream. They sell the honey raw as well, too. With G's support and the money we made, we are planning on expanding the hive by adding another hive set this year. and more things will be added in the future. Other thing that our students do is to grow food in the aquaponics lab. We collaborate with the agriculture class in order to further augment the aquaponics lab and the culinary classes to help cultivate and harvest the food that we grow there. Both these classes have plans to improve and expand our current
042aquaponic system, which I've seen it myself. It is a very nice aquaponic system. both his classes um sorry we routinely donate a 20 20 gallon um cooler full of lettuce to various organizations whose mission is to help the needy historic historically we have had students go to elementary schools to teach them about aquaponics as well. We've also supplied our own lunches with lettuce grown here by students. So you can really taste the difference in that it makes. And going up further into the culinary classes, they have they're doing even more things such as making and selling food items at lunch. Recently, we had chocolate chip cookies to start off with the semester. Always a hit. They always sell out very well. In fact, they had to change the price because I bought buying so many
043of them. Um they also created they baked bond cakes to give as part of the silent auction at the Marty Lexman music education scholarship open house. One other thing that we have at Daki is the bike shop. It is doing quite well with plenty of students being able to get hands-on learning with their bikes. They also have a partnership in the works with the Wisconsin bike federation. The Wisconsin bikes federation mission is to provide free bikes, helmets and instructure instructors and more to participating schools. And because of our already pre-built bike shop that we have gain that we have, we have garnered their interest. So we hope to cultivate that experience and relationship with them more in order to further help people. And sec second to last the our attendance here at Daki has been
044growing even further. No thanks to the incentives that Mr. Gals has set up like monthly attendance challenges and general schoolwide incentives. As part of the initiative, Gaki has given away headphones, a hot chocolate party, as well as the crew cup, which is a trophy given out to a crew. In this case, it would be the crew with the highest attendance. The most recent initiative is an underground attendance showdown where secret teams of students try to increase their attendance to earn a lunch be provided by the school by Mr. Gellis himself. And last but not least, the dual enrollment option at Daki at the dual enrollment option for students at Daki is thriving. Almost 50 students make use this option to take classes available at hail high school or central high school take elective classes that
045we are unable to currently provide. We at doc are thankful to hail central and the school district for making this option possible. We plan to have plan to continue this option in the future. That is all I would like to say for this. >> Does anyone have any questions or comments? >> Yeah. Uh >> yeah, open up. Does anyone have any questions or comments for our presentation here from our voice student tonight? All right, Joey, thank you so much. >> That concludes my report. >> All right. Um, so that'll take us to our item number eight, uh, which is public hearings regarding the petition to modify school district boundies boundaries by the attachment detachment of territory. So, uh, tonight we are hearing petitions that have been submitted by property owners and/or electors who reside within
046the district and are requesting the detachment of territory from the West Alice West Milwaukee School District as governed by Wisconsin statute section 117.12. Uh, petitions are required to be submitted before February 1st. Districts are required to provide petitioners the opportunity to meet with the board of education to present reasons for the proposed reorganization during February. The board of education will take action to either grant or deny each petition at the February 23rd school board meeting. If the West Alice West Milwaukee School District or the school district of New Berlin denies a petition, the petitioner has the right to appeal to the school district boundary of board school district boundary appeal board. Uh, and this information is cited from the February 5th, 2026 document sent to district administrators from Kathy Fry, secretary of the school district
047boundary appeal board. Um, so tonight what we're going to do is each petitioner will be given 15 minutes to present followed by five minutes for questions from the board. Uh, I'll be calling up each petitioner for their presentation. Please make sure that when you get up to the podium, the microphone light is green. If it's red, no one can hear you. Uh so if it is red, please push the button uh that says push. So uh we will start with um get to my notes. All right. Um so we have uh the Makosi uh group. All right. You got that? What? Yeah. So, when you're ready. >> All right. Uh, good evening. Uh, I'm representing a group of households in New Berlin that are seeking to detach from the West Alice West Milwaukee School District
048and join the New Berlin School District. This presentation highlights the reasons why we want to do this. Um, >> next. >> Yeah. Oh, there we go. All right. Our petition includes 114 houses in New Berlin, west of 124th Street. Our petition has gathered almost 90% approval from the households in the petition area. As you can see, 86% of households signed and are in favor of this detachment effort. Next one, please. Um, before we dive deeper into the reasons for this petition, I would like to remind the school board members of the oath of office that each one of you took when you were elected. It reflects a commitment to serve your constituents thoughtfully, fairly, and to the best of your ability. We are current members of this community, and this petition comes from careful consideration
049of our circumstances, our children, and our neighborhood. As you review our request to detach, we respectfully ask that you consider the full context of this situation and the real practical impacts of the families involved. Our hope is that guided by your oath and your duty to the people you serve, you will see this request as a reasonable and fair path forward. Next, please. All right. Um this slide shows the seven criteria under Wisconsin statute 117.15 that need to be considered following a school district reorganization. They include the geographical and topographical characteristics of the affected school districts. The educational needs of all the children residing in the affected school districts. Whether the proposed detachment will have any adverse effect on the program currently offered. The testimony and written statements filed by the residents of the affected
050school districts. the estimated fiscal effect of the proposed reorganization um whether the proposed reorganization will make any part of the district in Highland and whether the proposed detachment would mean meaningfully affect the socioeconomic makeup, racial composition or proportion of at risk students in either district. We will go through each one of these in the following slides. So criteria number one uh shows uh we did a time study. There were two studies conducted looking at distance and travel times. We considered the full academic career of a student that is elementary, middle and high school. These time studies were performed from a point in the middle of the detachment geographical area and the travel time was determined from 30 minutes prior to the school start time and 15 minutes after the school's end time. Um, as you
051can see from the charts, the time to and from West Dallas West Milwaukee schools is more than double overall, while the West Dallas West Milwaukee elementary school assigned to our petition area is closer in distance than what would be the assigned New Berlin school of Orchard Lane. The travel time is similar for middle high school. Our petition area is actually closer to New Berlin schools than the assigned West Milwaukee schools and have much shorter travel times. Next, please. Uh, this map shows the petition geographical area in pink and bolded in comparison to the other homes in New Berlin. Uh, part of the West Alis was Muoka school district shown in pink. The new Berlin school district is shown in green. The bolded line going top to bottom represents 124th Street uh marking the border of
052Wakasha County and Milwaukee County. Our petition area is in the far furthest north uh farthest southwest corner of this Wham school district located in the city of New Berlin which is about a mile away from New Berlin Eisenhower Middle and High School. [clears throat] Next one. Um this slides this slide highlights the educational needs of children residing in the affected school district using data from the newly released 2425 DPI report cards. As shown, there's an 18 point difference between the two districts overall scores. The the Wisconsin Department of Public Educate categorizes the West Alice Milogi School District as meets expectations while the New Berlin School District significantly exceeds expectations. This disparity underscores a meaningful difference in educational outcomes between the two districts. In addition, data previously presented by the West Dallas was Milwaukee assistant superintendent,
053Mr. Norris at the previous board meeting showed that students residing in New Berlin performed better than attending when attending New Berlin schools than when attending West Dallas West Milwaukee schools. Um there's a total of 55 children residing in the in our petition area. Of those 55 children, only eight about 14% currently attend the Westwood Milwaukee School District. 19 others attend private schools and nine are enrolled in neighboring public school districts including Wnol, Wawaossa, Moskego and New Berlin. Several parents whose children attend private schools or other districts have stated that they will have chosen New Berlin if it had been an available option. This clearly illustrates how fragmented our community has become with respect to educational enrollment. With regard to any potential adverse impact this petition might have on programs offered by WHAM, the data show
054that eight students in question represent just.1% of WHAM's total enrollment of 6,615 students. An amount so small that it would have no measurable effect on district programming, staffing or resources. This slides uh this slide captures some of the feedback and testimonies we received while going door-to-door gathering signatures. As you can see, we have parents who attempted open enrollment with New Berlin and were denied who then enroll in another school district. U there there were adults concerned about the mismanagement of funds in the west Milwaukee school district. Adults who wish that they could have sent their kids to New Berlin instead of wham. Um we have an elderly caval in their 90s who have lived in the area for 60 years. um was one of the first houses in the neighborhood that said that West Dallas
055was a good district back then. Um school principal of 15 years, they would not send their kids to West Dallas. We have hail graduates who they don't want to send their kids here either. Uh and then a couple of retired teachers from West Dallas that would never send their kids here or they didn't understand why they would have to send them here while their other schools in New Berlin were closer. Um, in addition, we have two quotes from two New Berlin Aldermen that are also in support of the petition. We have a New Berlin alderman, Dennis Horbinsky, um, who says, "I have been in the New Berlin District 6 alderman since 2011. Ever since I was elected, I have been hearing from my constituents concerning the fact that some New Berlin District 6 residents cannot
056attend New Berlin schools. I believe that denying district 6 New Berlin residents the opportunity to join the New Berlin school district is denying these residents the right to select the best educational option for their children. And then we have uh Dave Maxi which is a New Berlin Alderman and also a state representative saying u basically the same thing denying these residents the option to join the New Berlin school district is denying these residents the right to choose the best educational outcome for for their children. According to the most recent publicly available data from DPI, the West Dallas Milwaukee School District reported a total revenue of approximately $139 million for the school year. Uh this is data for 2324, which is the latest we have. The majority of this funding, over 53%, comes from state revenue,
057while property taxes account for roughly 31% of the total revenue. um of the district's property tax revenue approximately 355,000 was generated from the petition area for the last year for last year. This represents about8% of your total property tax revenue and just about 0.25% of it of the overall revenue. As a result, the loss of this revenue will have an almost insignificant impact on district operations or educational programming as state aid typically offsets such reductions. Now, with respect to the statutory criteria concerning whether the proposed detachment would render any portion of a school district's territory non-ontiguous, this map this map demonstrates that the petition area would be directly attached to the new Berlin school district and would not create any islands in either district. >> [clears throat] >> Um while specific data on the socioeconomic
058status and racial composition of the eight students uh from the petition area currently attending WHAM is not available to us. These students represent only.1% of the total uh West Milwaukee's total enrollment. Given this minimal proportion, the proposed detachment will have no measurable impact on the current or future socioeconomic or racial composition of either affected school district, nor on the proportion of students identified as children at risk. And [clears throat] then as a um summary, um the the purpose of this petition is to seek improved educational opportunities for our children. Um, West Alice falls below state recommendations in multiple performance measures based on DBI scorecards. Uh, the petition is supported by over 86% of households in the area. It's also supported by state representatives and um, New Berlin elder. Um, with just eight out of 6,000
059students involved, which is a.1%, the detachment has no measurable effect on overall enrollment or diversity. The detachment represents8% of of West Alis was Milwaukee's property tax revenue and 2% of the total revenue which is financially insignificant. Um and the petition is located in the new city of New Berlin where schools are closer to us, municipal services are aligned and community identity shared. And that concludes our presentation. >> All right. Thank you. >> Um so with that, are you sure you're done? Do you need no no further time? >> Uh, no. We can >> Okay. Questions if you have any question. >> If we have some questions. So, board members, we're going to take five minutes to ask questions. I'm going to run around the room just so that we can keep it uh organized so
060that uh if you have a question, great. If you don't, we'll skip you. So, we'll start over with Miss Lee. Okay. Mr. Becker. >> Thank you. Uh I I appreciate that you cited the the state report cards. I did some looking at them today too. I like to look at them year-over-year. I look at a few years at a time. Uh so the first thing is that I noticed uh at the very top it provides uh a percent of students with disabilities, percent of students who are economically disadvantaged and the percentage who are English language learners. uh the economically disadvantaged uh students in New Berlin is 13.7%. And in West Dallas it's 67.7%. It was 65 the year before, 63 the year before that. So we have more economically disadvantaged students in our district than
061you have in your district as a whole. Were you aware of that? >> I was aware of that. Yes. >> Okay. Okay. >> Okay. >> Um so you're talking about how it's not going to have any kind of a financial impact. Um, a couple years ago we had a detachment. I believe it was about 135. I could be wrong. Parcels >> 60. >> Great. It was 160. Great. Thank you. But that cost us about $480,000 in spendable dollars. Mr. Norris can maybe confirm that. Um, >> we also had a workshop a few months back on our athletics for all the middle and all the high schools and that was about 450 or $460,000 per year. So suggesting that it wouldn't be an impact. Um I think it's clear that there would be a financial impact.
062It would affect every taxpayer in the district. >> Okay. Do you know how much that would be? >> I'm sorry. >> Do you know how much that would be? >> Uh Mr. Norse has got it queued up for I have the numbers too >> for the response. >> Yes. And actually um when you look at the mill rate from the last few years cuz that detachment happened I think three years ago. Mhm. >> Uh the mail rate actually went down the year after that. Um and I think it went up a tiny bit the year be the year before last and then obviously last year we had a almost $2 increase in mill rate which had nothing to do with that detachment because that would have been two years ago. But the mill rate after
063that detachment would actually it actually went down if you look at the data. Um, now, um, we actually did numbers on on how much this will impact, uh, taxpayers cuz I think you guys have been pushing for people to, you know, that's kind of the reasons what you're saying. We don't want to do this, right? Because it's going to raise everybody's taxes. We did the math. Um, and I think for an average home in West Dallas, which I think an average home value in West Dallas is about $240,000 based on your referendum pamphlet. Um, it would be an increase of about $5 to $7 a year per per resident in West Dallas, which that's why I said is insignificant. It's less than a dollar a month. Um, our taxes went up about $1,000 last year.
064Okay. So talking about5 to $7 a year, I don't think that's I don't want to say it's not a big deal because it is obviously nobody wants to pay more, but when you guys say it's going to substantially increase everybody's taxes. I think you're kind of, you know, omitting the reality that it's going to be5 to 7. You can do the math yourself. The data is on DPI. You can see I showed you u with the removal of our homes is going to remove $355,000. >> There's also something called >> Sir, thank you. Um, Mr. Becker, we're gonna move on. >> I'll wrap it up. >> Well, I wasn't I'm sorry, but there's I wanted to mention that there's the state equalization aid that I'm sure you guys know what it's about that that actually
065offsets the v the the the reduced number of taxes. >> So, we're aware. So, let's move on to other questions, please. >> All right. Thank you, >> Mr. Vos. No, Mr. Keller. >> Yeah, I got I got a few questions. Um, first of all, um, were you aware that this boundary was established by the state of Wisconsin in the year 1954? >> Correct. >> Were you aware of the school district when you purchased your property? >> Yes. >> So then what changed? Why is this an issue now? >> Well, I can tell you from my experience. We bought our home in 2018. Now 2018, your district had a score of 72.2 out of 100. Now in the years after that it went down to 71 55 54 and then it went up a little bit
066to 59 64. Now the last year's uh scorecards it shows a a score of 70 which you would think it went up. >> Um I'm sure you're all aware the scorecard metrics changed from DPI. Um they DPI said you cannot compare last year's scorecards with the previous years because the score number is not comparable. Um 76 I think I have the data here. I think 86% of school districts in Wisconsin saw an increase in scores from last year to this year. 86% of districts. Um and that's because they moved the the goalpost. Districts didn't really get that better. Some of them did get better, but you cannot compare that. So yes, I was aware when we bought our house, you guys had a 72 that went down to a 54. So, but you also acknowledged
067other factors that Mr. Becker mentioned, the English English language learners, the socioeconomic status. Those impact the scores. So, you're not looking at apples to apples. >> Well, I am Mr. Those really matter, >> sir. Thank you. That ex that concludes our time with this one. All right. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh our next uh petition is the Majir uh petition. Here we go. All right. Thank you for the opportunity for me to speak. My remarks will take about 10 minutes. My name is Rebecca Major. I am a homeowner and resident of New Berlin, Wisconsin. And I am here representing 58 residential parcels that are located entirely within the city of New Berlin and Wauaaw County, but are currently assigned to the West Alice West Milwaukee School District. In every practical respect, this neighborhood
068functions as part of New Berlin. It reflects the city's character in planning philosophy, city living with the touch of country. residents rely on New Berlin municipal services, participate in Newberland civic life, and identify as members of this community. The only aspect that does not align with that reality is the current school district assignment. This petition seeks to correct that geographic and functional mismatch through a thoughtful, lawful, and data-driven process. I am speaking not only as a petitioner but as a resident who cares deeply about community alignment, educational opportunity, and responsible stewardship of public resources. Our request is grounded in objective evidence and align aligns directly with Wisconsin statutory criteria for small territory school district detachment. One, territorial contiguity. The proposed detachment territory is directly contiguous with the New Berlin School District along West North Lane.
069Detachment would create no islands, gaps, or irregular boundaries. The resulting boundary would be clean, logical, and consistent with surrounding municipal lines. Two, geographic considerations. The territory lies entirely within the city of New Bland and WA County. roads, infrastructure, emergency services, and daily travel patterns all align with New Berlin. The existing school district boundary does not reflect the geographic reality of where this neighborhood is located or how it functions. Three, community cohesion. Residents identify as part of New Berlin in daily life, including civic participation, neighborhood identity, and the use of city services. The current school district assignment creates a disconnect that affects neighborhood cohesion and long-term stability. Families with school-aged children in our territory are not enrolling in the assigned West Alice West Milwaukee School District. Aligning this neighborhood with New Berlin schools would strengthen community
070connection and reflect where residents live, engage, and invest. Four, educational welfare of pupils. Independent data demonstrates clear and consistent differences in academic performance between New Berlin schools and West Alice West Milwaukee schools. According to US News and World Report, at the high school level, Eisenhower High School in New Berlin has an overall score of 98.7 out of 100 with 64% of students proficient in math and 75% proficient in reading, ranking third in Wisconsin and 231st nationally. In comparison, Nathan Hale High School has an overall score of 26.5 out of 100 with 13% proficient in math and 26% proficient in reading, ranking 259th in Wisconsin and 8,921st nationally. Students at Eisenhower are roughly five times more likely to be proficient in math and nearly three times more likely to be proficient in reading. District assessment data
071further supports this distinction. According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Franklidd Wright Intermediate reports 38% of students meeting English language arts expectations with math proficiency declining to 22.8% in recent years. Comparable New Berlin data shows approximately 80% of students meeting expectations. At the elementary level, Hoover Elementary reports 41.5% of students meeting or exceeding expectation in English language arts and 38% in math. While Orchard Lane Elementary reports 64.6% meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts and 75 70.5% in math. Across grade levels, New Berlin schools outperform West Dallas West Milwaukee schools by 20 to 30 percentage points in core subjects. These difference these differences directly relate to the statutory consideration of educational welfare. Five, distance and transportation. While some West Alice West Milwaukee schools may appear closer by mileage, distance alone does not reflect
072actual travel conditions. Morning travel toward West Dallas involves commuter traffic on major roads, resulting in congestion and variability. Travel to New Berlin schools relies primarily on local roads with more predictable travel times. During typical school commute hours, travel times to New Berlin schools are comparable to and in some cases shorter than travel into West Dallas. Attending schools within the same municipality also supports student safety and community integration. Six impact on the affected schools. There are currently no students enrolled from our territory in West Dallas West Milwaukee schools. Approval of this petition would not displace students, require reassignment, alter staffing, or disrupt educational programs or facilities. Seven, I'm going to take a little sip for this one. Financial effect on the school districts. The estimated annual school tax revenue associated with the 58 parcels is approximately
073$142,000, representing about 0.25% of the district's 2025 to 2026 tax levy of roughly 57 million. That levy is is spread across an equalized property value of approximately 7 billion and tens of thousands of taxable parcels. Based on a conservative estimate using publicly available US Census Bureau housing and property data, the city of West Ellis alone has approximately 28,000 housing units. When West Milwaukee is included with roughly 2,000 housing units along with commercial and industrial properties, the district's tax base consists of approximately 30,000 taxable parcels districtwide. The 58 parcels included in this petition represents approximately 0.19% of the district's total parcels relative to both size relative to both the size of the tax base and the number of parcels over which the levy is spread. This rep represents a very small and manageable change. It is
074also important to note that the district has published materials highlighting its own financial stability, including more than $87 million in avoided maintenance costs from building closures, approximately $500,000 in ongoing annual operating savings, and strong credit ratings. Based on the district's own reporting, it has ample capacity to absorb a revenue change of less than one quarter of 1% without impacting staffing, programming, or educational services. The district is also planning for declining enrollment independent of this petition. Eight, impact on taxpayers. The district's local tax levy does not increase as a result of this detachment. The levy is fixed by law and any change represents only a redistribution of that levy across the remaining tax base. When the approximately $142,000 associated with this petition is spread across an estimated 30,000 taxable parcels, the impact equals about $4.75 per
075year per property or approximately 40 cents a month. Even under a fully hypothetical scenario in which all pending detachment petitions were approved, that's 233 parcels total, representing well under 1% of the district parcels using using the same average valuation. Those parcels would represent approximately $570,000 annually in tax revenue spread across the remaining tax base. The impact would still amount to roughly $19 per year per property or about $158 per month. This level of change remains minimal, predictable, and manageable under Wisconsin school finance law. Recent public statements have suggested that this detachment would result in a quote unquote massive increase in tax burden unquote. For context, the district's 2024 referendum increased taxes by approximately $259 per year per taxpayer. By comparison, the detachment impacts discussed here range from about $4.75 per year, more than 50 times
076smaller to even in a worst case hypothetical scenario about $19 a year, which is nearly 14 times smaller than the referendum increase. Nine, consistency with sound educational policy. Wisconsin law permits property owners to petition for detachment regardless of current enrollment and each petition is reviewed independently. Approval does not set a precedent. aligning school district bound boundaries with municipal boundaries, improving educational opportunity, reducing transportation inefficiencies, and maintaining fiscal responsibility are consistent with sound educational policy. Because there are no students residing in or enrolled from the proposed detachment territory, approval of this petition would have no effect on the socioeconomic or racial composition of students in the West Alice West Milwaukee School District. In conclusion, this petition reflects the support of a majority of property owners in the proposed territory. It corrects a geographic mismatch. It strengthens
077community cohesion, improves educational opportunity, creates no harm to current students, and results in a minimal and manageable fiscal impact. For these reasons, this petition satisfies all statutory criteria for small territory detachment. approval would align this neighborhood with the community in which it already lives and serve the best interests of our families and students. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> All right. Uh board members, let's be mindful of all of our board members. So, let's try and keep them quick moving. Uh but questions. Miss Deal. >> Yeah. I just want to clarify. So, there are you saying that there's no students within your house like houses or that there's no >> out of all 58 student Oh, got okay. Out of all the 58 parcels, there are no students >> that are enrolled in
078the West Dallas West Milwaukee School District. >> There are none, >> Miss Carr. >> Thank you. So, that's incorrect. Um, there's at least one family that resides in this area that does go to our schools. Did not >> When I did an open records request, that was zero at the time of >> did not sign the petition. zero. It was still zero. >> It's not zero. >> It is zero. Sharers, >> this is not a back and forth. Just correct that zero. There are >> there is a family at least one that selected their house within the district because they want to go to our district. >> Okay. >> Are you aware that there's a a school located in New Berlin that is part of the West House of Milwaukee school? >> Yes, I'm aware
079of that and New Burland has offered multiple times to purchase that Hoover Elementary. >> That's also not correct. Um, >> I didn't laugh at anybody, so I appreciate not being laughed at. >> Well, that's just news to us. That's never happened. >> I've been on the board nine years. It hasn't happened. >> I've heard from multiple people that can back me up. >> Why do you want to detach your properties if you do not have any students in your household? >> The status of my womb is completely irrelevant and legally speaking, it does not matter. >> So, what is the reason why you want to detach the property? >> I think I made that very clear. Would you like me to repeat the 10 reasons or the nine reasons? >> What's the reason? You listed
080a bunch of facts. What's the reason? >> Do you want to do it again? >> No. You listed a bunch of facts. Give a reason. >> I'm more than happy to do it again. >> You can listen this time. >> How long have you owned your home? >> Uh, we bought it in 2024. >> Were you aware of where the district the school district? >> Yes, I was. And you know, 1954 when the district was created, women could not have a mortgage. Women couldn't have credit cards. It doesn't mean just because something is a law that it can't be changed in using my legal advocacy. >> Thank you, Mr. Lee. We're going to move to our next board member. Miss Kaiser, do you have any questions? >> No, thank you. >> Back over to you,
081Miss Lee. All right, Mr. Lee. My gosh. Sorry, Mr. Becker. >> Uh, thanks. I'm looking back at the statute 117.15. I I I've heard the phrase the proposed uh parcels over and over, but the statute doesn't refer to proposed area. It refers to the educational needs of all of the children residing in the affected school districts. So that's more than just the neighborhood. It's more than just the parcels. Um were you aware of the statutes referring to all of the children? Yes. >> In the district, >> right, >> Mr. Verbos? Okay, Mr. color. >> All right, we'll swing it back around. Nothing. Mr. Lee, did you have any more? I think we have moments. >> Yeah, just one more thing. Um, there seem to have a lot of problems with our district. Uh, have you
082reached out to any of the board members or the district to um bring up your concerns prior to today? >> I signed Emily's petition last year and I was present on all those board meetings. So I through her was uh supportive. So >> So but you haven't nor Emily nor yourself have like reach out to any of the board >> I can't speak for Emily. >> Okay. For but you have >> I don't understand your question. What is the point you're trying to make? >> So So my question is have you ever reached out to the board or the district? >> I'm reaching out right now using my legal right. >> Okay. So but not before tonight. >> Yes. Uh two months ago when I submitted this petition. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Any
083other questions from the board? Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> All right. >> Yeah. Please refrain from clapping. This is not uh entertainment. Um so we have the de uh petition. Good evening board members and community participants. My name is Katie Deak. I am a resident of New Berlin and a mother to a 2-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. I am petitioning to move a group of 55 homes from the West Alice West Milwaukee School District to the New Berlin School District. The primary reason for this request is to provide the children in our neighborhood with the opportunity to attend a top tier school system. According to Niche, the New Berlin School District is ranked 13th out of 366 districts in the state and holds an overall A rating. In comparison, the
084West Alice West Milwaukee School District holds a C plus rating. The 2026 best school district rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the US Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality, and overall district performance. Another important reason for this request is the proximity of our home to other areas that have recently been reassigned to the New Berlin School District. A section of homes directly across the street from our petition area is currently part of the New Berlin School District. We find no logical reason why children on one side of the street has the opportunity to attend New Berlin schools while the other children on the other side of the street must attend West Alice
085West Milwaukee schools. We believe it is important for neighboring children to have the opportunity to attend the same schools and participant participate together in extracurricular activities. Lifelong friendships are often established through shared school experiences. If our petition is granted, our homes will become contiguous with the group of homes recently incorporated into the New Berlin school district boundaries. Additionally, because we reside within the city of New Berlin, we feel strongly that our children should attend school in the city in which they live. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to present this petition and we appreciate your time and consideration. >> Is that all you time you need? >> Yep. >> Okay. Uh board members, then questions. Uh Miss Kaiser, do you have a question? >> Uh when did you purchase your home? >> Um we
086purchased our home in 2019. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Miss Lee, Mr. Becker. As far as purchasing the homes, is there any did anybody on this board force you or tell you to buy that home? >> Of course not. No. >> Okay. [clears throat] >> Is anybody preventing you from selling the home or finding a home that's in that that district? Cuz I I'm looking for a home myself right now. We have looked in New Bland. >> Are you aware of how competitive the market is in New Berlin? >> I am. >> To purchase a home? >> I looked at the house in Hickory. I looked at the one on Russell. walk the one on Crawford. Yeah, I am. >> Um, so circumstances change over the years and as you know in 2019, um, interest
087rates were much lower. Um, there are like very few opportunities for open enrollment. Um, and we've learned in the last couple years that these boundaries aren't static and can be changed and revised. So, but the other thing is and again it's the you know where we sit in in comparison to the this the houses compared to the houses that were just uh given the right to move to New Berlin. The houses that were just given right to be part of New Berlin school district. They knew exactly what they when they bought their house where they were and they were given the opportunity to move to the new Berlin school district. So if if that was if they were given that opportunity then I don't see how we cannot get the same opportunity given the proximity.
088I mean they're on the west side we're on the east side of Russell. It it's only makes logic that we should get that same opportunity. Okay, >> Mr. Becker, we're going to move >> Mr. Verbos. Okay, Mr. Keller. >> All right, Miss Deal, Miss Carr, Mr. Lee. >> So, we didn't approve that, just so you're aware. >> Sure. Sure. That's >> So, that's that's an important thing to note. That's not something we allowed. Sure. >> Did you recently sell your home? >> I recently sold my home. >> You did? >> Yep. >> So, why do you still look to get this completed if this is not going to affect your children? >> Um because I started this petition before selling our home to move into the new New Berlin school district. Um we've looked for
089over two years for a home in New Berlin. Um considered other options as far as private schooling and open enrollment. Um, I feel passionate about other families having this opportunity and for other families that are moving into our neighborhood. Our neighborhood has had a lot of turnover in the last 5 years as a lot of older couples have moved out. Um, and I feel like an advocate for other young families coming into the neighborhood. >> But you realize that that's also taking a a choice away from those families as well. Um, well, West House West Milwaukee offers several open enrollment seats that aren't typically filled every year. >> Well, uh, we actually offer very few open enrollment seats compared to years past and only in very specific grades. So, if you're not in one of
090those grades, you don't necessarily get an open enrollment seat in our district. So, just to be clear, you don't own the home anymore. >> Well, I do own the home currently, >> but you're you're selling it. >> I will be selling it. >> Yes. Okay. Thank you. >> All right, Miss [clears throat] Kaiser. No. Okay. Any other questions from the board? Okay. I just had one clarification. Uh I just wanted to understand you the the reason you want to be able to detach is because the people across the street from you have been able to detach. >> Yeah. and it to to create the environment of having a neighborhood and the opportunity for families to go to the same school. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. And that will bring us to our last
091petitioners. Uh yell, we've got a handout that's going to be passed out here. [clears throat] >> So, good evening. My name is Steve Yell residing at 13125 West Foxwood Drive in New Berlin. I'm here on behalf of the petitioners requesting a small territory detachment and attachment involving six properties. Many of the petitioners are actually here with me today. The petition seeks detachment of the these properties from West Dallas West Milwaukee school district and attaching to the school district in New Berlin pursuant to Wisconsin statute chapter 117.12. We provided each of you uh with a packet or handout. First page is kind of an overview. Second page is a map and we'll go over this actually a little bit closer and the last portion of it is a copy of the petition along with all the
092signatures so that you've got that. So I want to thank you for the opportunity to uh present this request. The petition involves six specific properties, all of which are shown on the map to be non-ontiguous to West Dallas, West Milwaukee, the school district, and clearly contiguous with the school district of New Berlin. The red arrow points to the properties. And if you want to take a look, top map, it's in the bottom left corner. The bottom is more of a blown up version. And you can see where it is surrounded by New Berlin School District. All six property owners are petitioners. Importantly, no students currently reside on these properties and there would be no student transfers as a result of the petition. The petition doesn't involve any attendance area changes, redistricting, operational changes, or operational
093changes within the West Dallas West Milwaukee School District. In short, it's a narrow scoped small territory detachment attachment petition applying only to these six parcels. Once again, the geographically the properties are non-ontiguous to West Dallas and contiguous to New Berlin. In preparation for tonight's meeting, I actually viewed a YouTube video of one of the schoolboard meetings from a year ago, February 24th of 2025. The presentation outlined the state's um legislative criteria used to evaluate the request for change for the boundaries and during the discussion of criteria number six is territory considered non-ontiguous. The example used in in this is significant to our petition request. Some of you may actually remember this from last year um looking at the map. Does that look familiar at all? >> So, the presenter and I believe Mr. Becker possibly
094you were the one that actually gave the presentation. Um actually pointed out that because of the detachment that took place in 2023, it created an island which is now completely isolating six properties from the West Dallas West Milwaukee School District. Yet they're required to go there is what was said. Yes, these are the same properties shown on the map that we provided and we are the owners that are on that island. The petition was approved even though it was not all-incclusive and did not include these properties. Since West Dallas West Milwaukee was unable to edit the territories and the Wisconsin statute states that island properties are not excluded from the process, we're submitting the petition to detach from West Dallas West Milwaukee to establish a contiguous boundary with the New Berlin school district. road access,
095neighborhood layout, and community orientation all align with New Burlin rather than the broader West Dallas, West Milwaukee attendance area. The petition ensures district boundaries reflect practical geographic alignment and neighborhood continuity. So what about educational impact? Because no current no students currently reside in these six parcels, there's no immediate education impact on the West Dallas West Milwaukee School District. No students are displaced, no instructional disruption, no extracurricular impact, no staffing or transportation changes. There'll be no socioeconomic level or racial composition impact. Any student, future students residing on these properties would naturally align to the school district of New Berlin, reflecting geographic and neighborhood consistency. A look at the valuation and enrollment impact. The six properties have a combined assessed value of 3,325,100 as of 2025 with an equalized value of 3,754,186. represents a tiny portion of
096the district and is well below the statutory 117.12 the thresholds which are less than 7% of the district's equalized valuation and less than 7% of the district enrollment. There's no operational or staffing impacts on the district. In short, the fiscal and enrollment impacts of the petition are minimal and proportionate to its narrow scope. The petition was filed in accordance with Wisconsin statute 117.12. The statutory signature requirements have been met. All property owners have been informed and agree with it and the receiving district New Berlin is aware of this. The petition is actually followed carefully and transparently. Let me address just a I know one of the concerns that's come up in the past. We understand the board may have concerns about setting a precedent or having a snowball effect because of the request involves these
097six non-ontiguous parcels from West Dallas West Milwaukee School District. It's a very unique situation. When I looked at the the West Dallas West Milwaukee school district as a whole, I saw no other islands that were present. We were the only one. So, it's a very narrow scope and does not create the broad precedent for a larger boundary change. Any future enrollment in the properties obviously would be minimal and consistent with surrounding New Berlin community. A question may be raised, why now? There's no students. We were just actually made aware of the fact that we're on an island last month. So, that's why we're bringing it up today. We didn't have opportunity to talk to anybody previously. It's very new to us that we are in this position. I I go two houses to the east
098and I'm in New Berlin School District. I go two houses to the west, I'm in New Berlin. So, we truly are on an island. Resolving the enclave now prevents confusion and disruption when families and kids do move in. In closing, it is a narrowly scoped small territory detachment petition involving six specific properties with no kids, no education disruption, minimal fiscal and operational impact, clearly contiguous to the new Berlin school district and non-ontiguous to West Alice. We respectfully ask that you approve the petition. I appreciate your time and letting me speak tonight and I'm happy to answer any questions. >> All right. Thank you. Um I don't know where I stopped so I'm going to skip over to Ms. Lee. Oh, Mr. Becker. >> Uh just looking at I guess you kind of covered it with
099the knowledge that there's no kids there. Mr. Verbos, Mr. Keller, Miss Deal, Miss Carr, Mr. Lee, um, are you only here because you are an island? >> Yes. >> You mentioned you were made aware of this a month ago. How did you become aware of it? I looked up the the school district map only to see what it looked like and then I did research to make sure on a WASA website county to make sure the school districts were aligned that way and I was amazed the six of us were on the island and I realized it's not anybody's fault here for that situation. the detachment from 2023 moved the lines. One of the questions I know that's come up previously is did we know it was Westile School District when we moved here? I
100moved here 28 years ago and yes I did. What changed was now I'm on an island. That wasn't the case 28 years ago. >> Why does that matter? >> It changes actually a couple things I would say. um be not if we talk about community again it's if you're talking about who's next to you school district-wise it's important to have the community in the same area when it was all West Dallas that's fine I accepted that and that was fine that's no longer the case it causes confusion I would think for you school boundaries might be confusing seven island. >> Okay. Thank you. Miss Kaiser, did you have any questions? >> Uh, please forgive me. I don't have a copy of the map that you provide to the other board members because I'm over here.
101Um, looking at the map that I did pull up based off the petition. Um, there would be like three or four homes kind of like every other one. I'm just wondering um if someone else is looking at the map, am I misunderstanding that being jumped over several houses causing confusion? >> All of the petitioners are side by side or across the street side by side. >> So like 137, 13125, those ones are not on the petition. I go ahead. >> I'm just asking because I don't have the paper in front of me and so I'm just trying to make sure I understand. >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Kaiser. I think you're looking at something that we don't have here. Um, >> I apologize then. >> No, that's fine. Did you have any other questions? >>
102The addresses. >> I'm looking at the petition now. I had pulled it up on Google. Um, I will have another board member send me the information, but thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Um with the time remaining are there any other questions? All right, seeing none. Sir, uh I do have one question. So you are wanting to remove because the people around you were removed. >> I'm wanting to remove because I'm on an island. >> As I said, people to the east of me are New Berlin School District. People to the west of me are New Berlin School District. Our six parcels are in the middle, >> right? Why are you on an island? >> Why am I? >> Mhm. >> Because we are not connected to the West Alice West Milwaukee school
103district boundary. >> Why? >> How did we get here? Is that your question? >> I believe we got here because there was a detachment approved in 2023 >> and you probably would have a better understanding of this, >> but our properties were not part of that petition. Okay, thank you. >> I was told actually that >> that's that's fine. Um, and then the last part that I wanted to ask, how will this detachment of your properties help the students that live there? >> I'm sorry, what's the question again? >> How will the detachment of these properties help the students that live there? >> There currently are no students living there. What it will do is clarify the school boundaries for future. >> Sure. But it won't help any students in that area right now. It
104will not help students that live there today. >> Correct. That's enough. That's all. >> One statement. >> No, sir. I'm This is our time for questions. So, thank you very much. Um, are there any other questions before we go? >> All right. Thank you very much. All right. And with that, that will end our public hearing space and move us to our public comments. [snorts] All right. Um, so at this time if anyone would like to address the board, you may sign up in the back of the room or in the Zoom uh link in the chat. You please introduce yourself with your name and address. You have three minutes to provide comments. The board cannot discuss, debate, or act upon any item addressed during the public comments portion of the schoolboard meeting. Follow-up may
105be provided by the superintendent at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Uh currently I have no one signed up so we'll wait in case there are anyone people that decide to sign up. All right, seeing no one signing up at this time, we will close public comments and we'll move on to our board reports starting with 10.1, the review of the board calendar. Uh so tonight is February 9th. We have a regularly scheduled board meeting. On February 16th, we will have a board workshop meeting uh that will look at audit presentations as well as teacher teaching and learning the winter and fall screener data. On February 23rd, we will have another regularly scheduled board meeting with the financial stability and efficiency workshop uh second Friday in January pupil count, enrollment projections, estimated revenue, new limit
106and calculations among other things. Uh and then with that, that is all we have on the calendar. So then we would have our uh board committee report and I believe that would be Mr. Beckard tonight. >> Thank you, Mr. Burns. Uh the college and career readiness committee met tonight before the board meeting. Uh we had a focus on uh student services. Uh Alyssa Braz wasn't at the call. So we had Laura Sage and Connie Bergman. Uh we spoke a little bit about the the uh the concurrent enrollment for English 101 and 102 the the partnership with uh W Milwaukee. Uh there's a little bit of the work going on with the credit and the scheduling. Uh the first year uh 101 is going to be across the whole year uh versus the next year where
107it's going to be condensed to one semester for each class. Uh so I'll let Ms. barrage speak to that in more detail. Um, we spent a little bit of time talking about the uh some student enrollment concerns. Uh, not concerns, but uh matters. We're looking at summer learning. Uh, this year we're moving to two locations for K8. They're going to be at West Milwaukee and Mitchell. Uh, one of the things that came into play there was the construction schedule at other buildings from referendum projects. Uh, those two buildings also have air conditioning. So, um concern for the the hotter days, especially for the low kids. Um I I believe in the past year we did have this too, but also busing is going to be provided from neighborhood schools to the the two locations. Um
108uh a little bit more looking towards 2627. We have uh students working on course requests. So, doing some planning, getting ready for staffing uh for those classes. Uh and Laura Sage provided a student services focus on uh secondstep SEAL program. Uh it's in the second year at the elementary program. It's running well. Uh we're starting the first year at the middle school level. Uh working on implementation mostly. So uh stops and starts with that. Any new program takes a little bit of time. Uh at the high school level only the ninth graders are working on that program. U beyond that. Uh, Miss Sage shared that she and Larry Limeberger had presented at the district PTA meeting last week. There's a focus on mental health and uh, alcohol and other drugs. Um, we also had a
109tobacco sessation the the not program. Sorry, I had the the capital NOT. It's a it's a tobacco sessation program. Uh, there was also a little bit of discussion on bullying prevention. uh working on trying to encourage the students to to think about how that behavior impacts other students. Uh we also had a good news on intensive services coordinator position being filled um at the elementary level which is a really difficult position to fill. So it's good it'll take some of the load off the teachers and help them to coordinate. Uh oh bear with me. Lost my place. Um, I think I believe that was all I had. Yeah, that was all I had on that one. Pardon me. All set. All right. Thank you, Mr. Becker. Uh, any questions for the committee? Comments about any
110of that report? All right. Uh, seeing none, we'll move on to 10.3, our board member reports of community events. Would anyone like to report on events that they attended within the community? All right, Mr. Verbos. Sure. >> I'll chime in and say that I went and saw The Crucible and it was spectacular. It's on. [laughter] >> Yeah, I went and saw it. It's It was spectacular. I It's interesting when you see um see more more of the the plays rather than just the musicals and the the level of uh talent that we're we're really seeing come through the program still even with younger people that are joining these productions. It was a really really great show. It was very impressive. [snorts] >> Mr. Becker, you also had a report Right. Also, The Crucible uh uh
111first time seeing a play as opposed to a musical. So, a very different type of focus. Uh very different type of feeling from the students. Um as an guy with an English degree, I spent a lot of time reading and writing uh writing about literature. So, really appreciate the the the commitment that it takes. And also in light of recent uh you know I can't help but read current events and uh students kind of being civically engaged. You see a lot of people commenting that they don't know what they're talking about. They don't have the capacity to understand. I I I invite anybody who thinks that way to go and see our kids perform something like the Crucible which is really heavy. Um I used to write my papers the night before they were due.
112Um but those kids spent months and months and months. There's just no way that you can perform that without really understanding it, what it's about and and being able to carry that gravity as a as a 14 or 15year-old. Uh really spectacular. >> Nice. All right. Other events, Miss Deal. >> All right. Uh not quite an event, but um I think most of you are aware that I attend the PTA council meetings every month um in kind of a school board liaison type role. a role I made up myself. No, I'm just kidding. Um, but what I wanted to just mention is that um, just the last few meetings that I've gone and especially this last one, I've been just really um, I just want to extend gratitude to our PTAs because um, you know,
113they really provide really good feedback um, for the school board. They provide really good feedback for our administration. Um, and you know, because they're, you know, they're there at the schools, you're hearing what people are talking about. And then I just wanted to mention, throw it out there that they are having their Founders Day car carnival on February 22nd from noon until 3 and that's at um if you want to check out the new central fieldhouse, see what it looks like. Um but it's really fun um event especially for our elementary students. So that's my >> Thank you. Other reports. Yeah, Mr. Lee. Um, so I wanted to mention The Crucible. I also was able to attend The Crucible. Uh, it is my second play that I've seen as uh on the board, but it
114is a very different um sort of atmosphere, I think, and compared to the the musicals. And I will say that it was uh very timely. The themes in that play are very timely. And so I thought that the uh the students uh did a wonderful job. and kudos to the director and working through some of those um heavier topics with them. Um I also was able to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony for Nathan Hail. um uh see uh some of the uh former Hail athletes get recognized and uh there is a new uh hall of fame section in Nathan Hail that has a touchscreen uh TV that you can go and actually learn about every person that is in the current hall of fame and like what they did the records that sort of
115thing which is really interesting along with the plaques that were put up in the new revamped hallway there the athletic hallway um that goes down um if you if you know from the commons towards the main gym area. That whole hallway was revamped with new flooring and painting and everything else. So, that's a nice area as well. And then lastly, I was also able to attend um a Hail uh boys basketball game. That was that night when the Hall of Fame game was uh the Hall of Fame uh uh awardes were recognized at halftime. So, uh it was great to be able to participate in that as well. Nice. >> Excellent. Uh any others? Miss Kaiser, is there anything you'd like to share? You can ask the committee. I did not go camp. [laughter] >>
116Sounds good. Um, all right. Anyone else? Miss Lee? >> Um, I just I also attended the um, Hall of Fame at Nathan Hale and it was just really neat to see all the faces. There was quite I think if I recall Mr. Lester saying it was probably the largest turnout that they've had thus far. So, it was really exciting here and hear their stories and the legacies behind and um and to hear how many are still in the neighborhood and helping out and stuff. And then it was really neat too during the halftime show when they were announced and like the you know the kids with the looks on some of their faces when they realized some of the accolades that these people had made. It was like oh cool like this can really h
117it was just kind of like that wow moment. So it was it was really nice and yes like Mr. Lee had said um the AD at Hail Mr. Leopold has done a phenomenal job with the the awards cases and the new touchtone screen that even has a QR code you can scan. So if you want on your phone to check out later if you don't have time it's just kind of a new fun thing to play with. So so very well done. [clears throat] >> Great. Thank you. No others. I will just share the one thing that I got out to. I actually got to the Lexman scholarship uh night out um and that was lovely with seeing all the performers up there. very crowded space but a lot of energy in there. Um and
118so it was really cool to see everybody there and the just the range of different things uh that were going on singing uh poems the orchestra the shining strings I believe was there and so lots of different things to look at. It was really a great night. So all right um so then that would take us to 10.4. Uh I have no other updates or information at this time. So that would take us to item number 11, uh, which is our consent agenda. Um, and that would be we're looking at 11.1 the approval of minutes. 11.2 the employment summary, 11.3 supplemental contracts. 11.4 issuance of 2026 27 regular teacher contracts to eligible teachers, and 11.5 issuance of preliminary non-renewal notices for teachers. Uh, does anyone need anything separated out? Mr. Lee. >> Uh, yes. Could
119you please separate 11.5 out for me? >> 11.5 separated out. Okay. >> Oops. Okay. Yeah, we can do that. Um, all right then. Uh, if there's no discussion at this time, I would entertain a motion for 11.1 to 11.4. >> Move to approve 11.1.2.3 and point4. >> Second. >> All right. I have a motion and a second to approve 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, and 11.4. Uh, is there any debate on this motion? Seeing none, all those in favor? >> I, >> those opposed. All right, that passes. And sorry, Miss Kaiser, there's a delay. My apologies. All right. Um, then we will look at 11.5. Is there a discussion point on this one as to >> I just had a question. I usually ask this just how many do we have any idea how many non-renewals that
120we are are going to be preliminary non renewals that we're going to be offering >> right now we have approximately five that we're focusing on that's not that's not that doesn't mean that all five will be referred but that's the number we deal right >> okay thank you >> all right any other questions all right then I would look for or entertain a motion at this time for 11.5 >> move to approve 11.5. >> Second. >> All right, I have a motion and a second. Is there any debate on that motion? Seeing none, all those in favor? >> I. >> Those opposed. All right, that passes. Thank you very much. All right, so at this time, we'll move into number 12, which is the board will convene into executive session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 19.85,
12185, parent 1, parent F for the purpose of considering a student disciplinary expulsion order, which if discussed in public would be likely to have a substantial effect upon the reputation of the student involved. >> Move to go into executive session. >> Second. >> All right, sir. Can you call the role for that? >> Miss Carr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lee? >> Yes. >> Mr. Becker? >> Yes. >> Miss Kaiser? Yes, >> Mr. Keller. >> Yes, >> Miss Lee. >> Yes, >> Miss Deal. >> Yes, >> Mr. Verbos. >> Yes, >> President Burns. >> Yes. All right, so we will convene into executive session. But at this time, if there is no further objection, we will recess for five minutes while the boardroom is set up uh for close session. There being no objection, we will
122recess for five