Special Board of Education Meeting 4-3-2025

001Okay, it is 653. Uh, thank you for joining us tonight. I'll call this meeting to order. If everybody would please stand and if you have a hat on, please remove that for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Kelly, roll call, please. Katherine Solen, here. Bobby Brown, here. Angie Shriber, here. JD Schrader here. Joe Matic Nelson here. Kristen Matt Millm Miller here. Dr. David Dave Bartau here. Scott Peterson. Danny Patt here. Item number two, new business. Letter A's presentation for the transitional phase options to prepare for the new elementary school. Uh Mrs. Ojinski will be standing off to the side and making this presentation. Board members, this

002presentation is going to be on the screen behind me. So, if you would like to move and find a seat out in the audience, that would be great. [Music] Okay, thank Thank you and welcome everyone who showed up tonight. I am very excited to see this many people present so that you can gather the information firsthand around the projected transitional plan for the new elementary school. If you will look at the screen, this is a rendering that is not completely finished of what our new elementary building will look like. Um again it is not complete because our floor plans have not been solidified and once that happens it goes to DPI for approval. As soon as our renderings are also finalized then they will be presented to our entire community so that everybody can see

003what they bought with the referendum dollars. Next slide. Okay. Why do we need a transitional plan for moving into our new elementary school? this plays a dual purpose. And um I think it's important to note before we get started any go any further into this that um when we communicated with our community and talked about the need for passing a referendum that was due to the disrepair of our current buildings. Our community has already voted to close all three of our elementary schools and our referendum dollars were passed because the amount of money that it would take to um renovate each of our elementarymentaries exceeded the amount of money it would take to build a new elementary school. So looking at that and talking with our architects, they were on site at the elementary with

004the teachers just before we went to spring break. our staff were able to look at the floor plans, talk about some different things within the classroom setting that um perhaps they would prefer or not prefer and get a better look at what the building will look like. And um in those conversations, our architect also brought up the fact that it is very likely that our building could be finished midy year, which means we could be looking at moving into the new building during Christmas break or during our winter break. So with that in mind, considering the tariffs that are also going to be playing a part in getting our building constructed, we have to be prepared with a plan and not wait and try to figure out something when it's too late to do something.

005So a transition plan that um we collectively discussed as an administrative team would ensure supportive transitions for students, families, and staff. It would support fiscal responsibility of our district. It would give us a timeline to help to be prepared within a year or year and a half to move into our new building. It would give us strategies to support academic success of our students. Logistics around moving to the new building. Transitioning grade levels from five buildings to three, which is very important because the disruption would be only to three elementary two elementary buildings instead of five. Um, all of this can't be done at the same time and again the referendum has already been passed to close all three of our elementary schools and to build one new one. Next slide. Okay, so our conversations

006first started on February 26. All of our elementary staff met at North Elementary and we had a collective conversation around some different options that would be available to help us do two things. help us to transition to the new building and also help us to be um more supportive with our fiscal responsibility because we have some things that are going to be happening, some one-time um costs to the district that are going to be coming up. So, if we are able to choose one of these options, it would give us some savings of money that um could help promote professional development and resources within our district. um staff were given the opportunity to ask questions and make some very good suggestions around the different transition plans. And I also want to say a very special

007thank you to our elementary staff that are here today because it has really been either very quiet or spoken about very positively and I think it's a true attribute that um you all have done such a good job with that. So thank you. I am very proud of that um and appreciate your hard work with that. Next slide. Okay. So, this is the famous Facebook chart that was made and shared. Um, and it shows us four options. And there's also an additional option that was discussed that isn't on there. Um, which is why this presentation wasn't shared because just sharing a presentation leaves it up to the reader's interpretation. So it's always good if you can be part of the conversation and understand everything that is being discussed. So the first option we will refer

008to as option A which would be to close East Elementary. West Elementary would become a 4K through first grade. And this could be um interchangeable. It could be leaving West and North open. It doesn't matter the grade levels for each of those buildings. But one building would be a 4K through first grade with 13 sections. And when I talk about sections, that is a classroom. So um the other building would be a second grade through fourth grade with 13 sections. The middle school would be a 5 through 8 building with 18 sections. The high school was projected to lose seven staff. Most, if not all of those have already been accomplished with resignations or through attrition. So, the reduction in staff has happened naturally, which has been good. That doesn't mean there won't be um

009some intentional reductions. That is still yet determined by what the option is that our board votes on tonight. Um currently we have 54 sections for K through 8th grade and um option A would take us down to 44 sections. So now when you look at staff reductions, the third grade would stay in the elementary buildings and the current seventh graders would stay at the middle school. So the staffing that we have in those two buildings primarily would be the same. So there would be no reductions from the elementary or the middle school, which is always a plus. Um, option B, option B would be to leave east open and they would be a 4K through third with 11 sections. West would be 4K through 3rd with 11 sections. North would close. Middle school would be

0104th through 7th grade with 19 sections. The same for the high school staff across the board for all sections. That doesn't change. Um and then 4K through 8th grade we would have a total of 46 sections. So we would go from 54 sections to 46 sections. Option C would be 4K through third grade would be at East Elementary with 10 sections. West Elementary would be 4K through third grade with 10 sections. North would look to not um fill some positions and we would go down to a seven section school for 4K through third grade. Middle school would have 19 sections with 4th through 7th grade. High schools the same. So we would go from 54 sections in the district to 51 sections 4K through 8. Option D would be um the same as as um

011option B. The only differences are the schools that close. In option B, North closes. In option D, east closes. And the number of sections are the same for option B and option D, which is 46 sections. Next slide. Okay. So, some key highlights of phase one. So some of the most important parts of option A would be the enhanced student relationships and reduced anxiety because the students would be in a building where they can focus solely on building relationships with friends and teachers instead of worrying about also being in a building trying to learn and make new friends and also learning a new building and how to maneuver around that which also impacts the level of anxiety. for them. Also, it would give them the opportunity to know the teachers so that when they move

012to the new building, they have familiar faces and they have friends already made. Um, having option A also increases the ability for teacher collaboration. Teachers can collaborate more effectively, strengthening professional relationships, and it's something that I feel um staff have longed for in our district for many, many years. We're doing a lot of work with um Solution Tree and when you hear the middle school and high school staff talk about their ability to collaborate, I know our elementary teachers would appreciate that same opportunity. So, not only would they be able to collaborate more, but they also would be building relationships with new people that they're going to be working with. It would give us optimized classroom sections. Right now, we have 54 sections for K through 8. We would move to 44. It would improve

013efficiency and resource allocation. One thing to consider is when you look across our district, um I know at West Elementary in Miss Palmer's class and Mrs. Bucher's class, they're sitting in classrooms with 22 20 plus students. And you look at other elementary buildings in our district and we have classrooms with 13 students. So having some increased equity across our district is also better. Also, it helps us to place students better. So that if you're in one building and you only have two teachers per grade level and you have six kids who really struggle with emotional regulation, it's hard to place them in more than two classrooms. So having four teachers or five teachers to share those students is better for the students and for the staff. So having some um increased equity and efficiency with

014um optimized classroom sections is important. Also, um, Miss Studs has worked through a vetting process. We're going to be purchasing new mathematics resources. We need to know what the board's choice is because she will be bringing to the board um a request to purchase math resources and it will be more costefficient if we're trying to spend money for less number of teachers. So, it's also an um important part of making that decision as well. Um I already talked about staffing adjustment through um natural attrition and the staff reductions will occur naturally and be a man and be managed through attrition. If we wait these changes can't won't necessarily happen until the new school opens. But again, this is a one-time opportunity that um I'm not saying that we're going to be comfortable. we necessarily will

015be we won't necessarily be the most comfortable because art and music will go to being on a cart and I am sure most of you have experienced that either as a student or a teacher. It's not the most fun thing to do but I think all of us can manage that for a year or a year and a half to save $1.2 million to be able to fund some more one-time purchases that we need in the district. Um and then again I talked about the current disparities ranging from 13 students in a classroom to 23 students in a classroom. So that would be addressed and students would be um spread out more evenly across the grade levels. Next slide. Another highlight of phase one or option A is the dedicated leadership and support services. If

016we go down to two buildings um with option A, both buildings will have a full-time principal and a full-time school counselor, which is very important um to to support students and staff. So, that is definitely a plus. Um and I've already been talking to some of our student support staff and they're very excited about this opportunity and have already starting started planning ways that they would like to see this happen. Um, so there's a little bit of enthusiasm from the conversations that we have had with staff. That doesn't mean that there's necessarily enthusiasm from all of them, but there definitely already is. And and people staff are starting to talk highly about it. Um, the library and classroom transitions. Naturally, when you have two building buildings, there's less transitions. Um, and there's more opportunity for

017library time, but it also when you move a library, it's a rather large undertaking. And we when we shift, we have to also collaborate with the middle school to make sure that we're not taking books that the middle school needs and that we're getting books that maybe the middle school no longer needs because we need those at the elementary school as well. Um it will give us enhanced support for our early learners um for 4K and kindergarten because we will look to put instructional assistance in the kindergarten classrooms which is something that has been needed for a long time because all students don't necessarily attend 4K and they don't come to school ready to learn at 5 in kindergarten. So having an instructional assistant is a definite plus for all 4K and kindergarten. So choosing

018this option will allow us to do that. It will also have reduced travel time for our specialists and our specials teachers. So, we're paying for less windshield time and those staff are able to spend more time with our students. Um, it will also have a positive impact on our school report card because as many of you of may have recalled when um the last consolidation happened, no one was aware that DPI was going to be changing the Wisconsin state report card and that happened and there was nothing anyone could do about it. So, it has a negative impact on our school report card with this option. Fourth grade will be with third grade, which will help us with the growth scores that DPI has added with the school report card. And academic and instructional benefits,

019having all grade levels in one building foster stronger student achievement through um RTI process. We've worked very hard these past two years to implement systems to support um intentional interventions and making sure that we have purchased resources to support that. that work will continue, but having two buildings to focus on will allow us to do that even better so that when our students leave the elementaryaries, they're better prepared to perform in the middle school and then that moves on to the high school as well. Um, we do have a transportation solution because we had people who shared the concern about, well then that means that I might have a student that I have to drop off at the 4K through one building and then I have to go make another stop at the 2 through

0204 building. Then I have to go to the middle school and the high school. So for the short-term interim, the two elementaryaries would provide a transfer bus just for those two buildings so that the older students of siblings could get off of the bus at the 4K through one building and then they would all get on a transfer bus and go to the other school. So parents would have one less stop to make just for those two schools. Um and then also we would still offer the same um um Robin afterchool care as well. Um part of this decision comes from feedback from our families. Um I hear more and more our third grade families talk about um how they're scared that um they're not ready to send their student to the middle school. And

021fortunately at North, our teachers who teach third grade were both fourth grade teachers last year. So they're better able, they're better equipped to answer things about how the middle school operates, but still having that fear as a parent. Um parents are more excited about fourth grade staying at the elementary and eighth grade coming out of the high school and going back to the middle school as well. So those are two things that um we have heard from the community around. Um and also the transition to the new school. If we are able to implement option A, if our school is ready to be moved into, then that means that we would only interrupt learning at one building. which means that if we had to extend our winter break, we could move the elementary if fourth

022grade is already included in that plan and it wouldn't impact the middle school or the high school. Those buildings could run as usual and the movement would only happen with the elementary. This is the only option that makes sure that we're not interrupting the learning at the middle school or the high school if we have to move in midyear. and our architects have already assured us that it's likely that that's going to happen. Um, again, streamline curriculum and resource updates um through audits. Just like talking about um Miss Studs will be asking about um some purchases that will need to be made. So, knowing which option we're going with will help with that and of course it will be a cost savings if you're purchasing for 44 sections as versus 54. Um, we will do

023something similar to a process that I did at North Elementary when I was the principal there earlier and I shifted staff around where we would make sure some of that moving was done maybe the last day of school to help eliminate so much stress on our teachers with having to move and pack and unpack because we definitely do not want them to have to spend their entire summer unpacking boxes and setting their classroom up. So, we would look to have that done before the next school year started or by the end of the school year. So, that would eliminate some of the work they would have to do. Um, having these adjustments and having the students and staff in the same building prior to moving into the new building will reduce stress and anxiety both

024for staff and for students and give more focus on building relationships so that there's a higher level of comfortability when we go to move into the new elementary. So these are um our sections. So 4K we would be looking at having 21 students in a classroom and four sections with an instructional assistant. Kindergarten there would be 21 students approximately in the classrooms with four sections with instructional assistance. First grade would have 22 students and four sections. Second would be 22 with five sections. Third would be 24 with five sections and fourth grade would be 24 students with four sections. These are all very manageable numbers. Next slide. Mr. Ojinski, I just want to interrupt you for just a moment. I'd ask that the uh community members that are present to remain quiet, not have the

025sidebar conversations so everybody can hear the presentation effectively. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So option A, we recognize that this model will require adjustments and may not provide excess space. It's not going to be real comfortable, but it's doable for a year, a year and a half, but it is a temporary solution for one to one, one and one half years until the new school is completed. The significant one-time savings makes this short-term challenge worthwhile and demonstrates fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers while strengthening the long-term fiscal health of our district. Beyond the fiscal benefits, this approach also provides academic and social emotional benefits for our students and our staff also. By making this transition now, we reduce the amount of change students and staff will experience in a single year, allowing them to build relationships, adapt

026to their new learning environment and maintain stability before moving into the new school. The continuity supports stronger um student achievement, smoother transitions, and a more positive school experience overall. Next slide. So, the next option, option BD, if you remember, those are the same. It's just closing different schools. So, some of the um op uh barriers with these options, they're identical with the exception of one closes east and the other closes north. The biggest thing is district boundaries would need to be redrawn and that is lots of extra work and a lot of hardship when we're already going to be looking at new transportation for the district. And I know that our transportation um company that we're going to be going with, they already have a lot of digital components that we have never been accustomed

027to having, which will be a benefit to our district, but it's still going to be some learning for our families and for our students and staff. So, um that would be a lot of extra work just drawing redrawing the boundaries alone. Um, in this option, fourth grade doesn't get included in elementary and that will impact our Wisconsin school report card. Um, it doesn't allow for instructional assistance in kindergarten. Our steam class, science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics would not be an opportunity. We would decrease from 54 to 46 sections and there would be a lesser amount of savings of 1.1515. And I think the other option, I don't know if I read that or not, but it's like 1.2 million 515. Next slide. Option C, east and west, 10 sections, 4K through three, and north

028would have seven sections. New boundaries again would need to be drawn, which is a lot of additional work in a short period of time. Um, if there were new families that moved into the north boundary, they would have to be sent to west and east. Fourth grade would stay at the middle school and eighth grade would stay at the high school. In the middle of the year, fourth and eighth grade would have to move to the new school. We would go from um 54 sections to 51 sections, which would be a savings of approximately $800,515. Next one. Okay. Option E is no change to our current situation. Fourth grade would remain at the middle school. The Wisconsin state report card would negatively be impacted by our current grade configuration. We would have no instructional assistance

029in kindergarten. There would be disruption to all five buildings when we move for um into the new building. If it is during the middle of the school year, there would be no steam. We would continue in this option to have a shared principal and shared student support services such as school counselors. We would have an approximate $900 900,000 deficit toward professional development resources and the non-recurring declining enrollment exemption, transportation, healthc care benefits, and other additional one-time purchases. Staffing allocations. Each year, districts analyze enrollment numbers and determine staffing needs. Staffing allocations ensure that we are able to maintain programming, resources, benefits, and comparable services so that we can attract and retain highquality staff. These items support fiscal health of our district as well as supporting alignment of strategies that promote high academic outcomes. So, I used

030the um example earlier um when talking to someone. If we were to if we don't start taking up this practice of looking at our staffing allocations, it would be no different than having the current amount of staff that we have right now and we have 500 students move into our district and then we say, "Sorry, Laura Palmer, instead of 22 kids, you got 35, girl. Good luck." Because we have to eb and flow with our enrollment. So, if we have less students enrolled, that means we have to have less staff because our district can't sustain without it. And that also means that we can't put that money toward a comparable or a competitive teacher compensation plan so that we are able to compete with neighboring districts to hire and retain quality staff. And um also

031our benefits. We have a very good benefit package in Anigo and we want to keep that for our teachers so that we are able to retain staff as well. So those things are very important to us. Um also our high-quality staff professional development. Right now our middle school and high school are engaged in a lot of very high quality professional development through solution tree. I think that most all the staff would say they're very much appreciative of that and would like to see that continue and having these one-time savings will help us to ensure that we are able to do that for the next year coming. Um, and because the number of retirements, we will not have to make as many reductions to staff. Next slide. Goals for our current administration. And the goal is

032to have competitive teacher salaries where teachers get a raise each year and have competitive affordable benefits. Most of our veteran staff that you speak with have been through the times where we've had to have freezes in teacher salaries and um it's happened more than one time and teachers were never caught up. So, it's very important to us that we have fiscal health in our district so that our teachers are able to get the raise that they deserve each and every year and that our compensation plan is competitive with the surrounding districts. Um, we want to be able to provide highquality development because that also has a positive impact on student outcomes and to make sure that we're purchasing highquality resources for our staff to use. All of these things are evidence-based strategies which have been

033proven to increase student achievement. Um these were may not have been focal points in the past. So they were not intentionally built into the budget and we very much want to make sure that that's part of our alignment. Our enrollment will always guide staffing as it does in other districts and it's necessary for the fiscal health of our district. If we wait, our def deficit only compounds risking physical health of district as well as having to hire and then later reduce staff if enrollment doesn't increase. So transitional phase one option A meets the community desires to have fourth grade at the elementary and eighth grade at the middle school. It's a better preparation for transitioning to the new school for students and staff alike. It causes less disruption across the district if we have to

034move middle of the year. The report card will include third and fourth grade which will benefit our um growth indicator in the um Wisconsin school report card. Um there will not be any impact with families to students in both buildings as far as um transportation because we would be able to uh provide the transition the transfer bus and the largest savings is to um select option A. Next slide. I think that's okay. And that is the end of my presentation. Our board agenda was developed to where the presentation would happen first so that staff would be able to come and speak or members from the community and public comment. So that will happen now. Um so I will turn the meeting back over to our board president. [Music] Okay, thank you for your decorum through

035that presentation. Mrs. Ojinski, thank you for that presentation as well. Item number three is citizens and delegations public comment. And before I uh read the rules that govern our u public comment section, I just want to let Mr. Wilhelm know that we'll need five minutes on the clock on the screen behind me for each speaker uh while they are speaking. So this is from policy number 0167.3 which is public comment at board meetings. The presiding officer of each board meeting at which public comment is permitted shall administer the rules of the board for its conduct and those rules are as follows. Public comment shall be permitted before the board takes official action on any issue of substance. Attendees must register their intention uh to comment in public portion of the meeting upon their arrival at

036the meeting. Comments made by the public shall be civil in content and tone affirming the decorum established for a school board meeting by the school board. Disparaging comments or remarks about schoolboard members, employees, students, positions, or position titles and or district citizens shall not be made shall not be permitted. Comments by the public shall be in reference to a specific agenda item. Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and will be requested to preface their comments by an announcement of their name and group affiliation if and when appropriate. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to five minutes duration. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic unless all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard. Participants shall direct all comments to the board and

037not to staff or other participants. Participants shall address only topics within the legitimate jurisdiction of the board. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. No person may address or question board members individually. The presiding officer may interrupt, warn or terminate a participant statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant. Request that any additional any individual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum. request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person's conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting or call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action. The portion of the meeting during

038which the comment of the public is in invited shall be limited to 60 minutes unless extended by a vote of the board. A reminder to all board members and to those that are speaking, this is not a conversation between the board and the person speaking at the microphone. The person at the microphone will be allotted their five minutes to speak and we move to the next person who has signed up to speak. And those are the rules of the policy governing our public comment. Danny, is there do they have another chance to sign the book if they didn't already, or will they be able to? They do not. The the book has to be signed prior to the meeting starting. Yes, sir. We have five speakers that have signed up and please forgive me in

039advance if I mispronounce your name. The first speaker and all five of these speakers are speaking in regards to the transition plan or restructuring. The first speaker is Tessa Lowour. Would you like me to hold your baby while you I would love to do that. Okay. All right. Hello. My name is Tessa Lowour. Is this working? I can't tell. Let's make sure the Tessa pick it up a little bit. Ben, can we have the the screen with the clock? Just so she could see. Thank you. All right. I have been a teacher in the annual district for six years and I want to take a moment to express my support for the administrative team as they navigate this incredibly difficult decision and to help end the narrative on social media that they are insensitive and

040unempathetic to staff and families. I know firsthand that Miss Ojinsky puts students first and while school closures are never easy, this proposal comes from a place of careful thought and good intentions. I appreciate the different options and them discussing this with staff before bringing it to the board and the public. I completely understand the emotional attachment to our schools. For me, especially East Elementary, I attended East myself, and it's a big part of why I became a teacher in the first place. These buildings hold memories, traditions, and a strong sense of community. But I know that schools are more than just walls. They are about the students and staff inside them. Right now, we have elementary schools with classrooms that have 13 students in them, and other elementary schools with only 22 students in them.

041That's not fair to our teachers and especially not fair to our students. This plan will help to create balanced class sizes, give grade level teachers more collaboration time by being together in one building, and ensure that we are using our resources in a way that best supports learning. Additionally, it's important to acknowledge that we are all committed to the future and a new elementary school is still on the horizon. I also recognize that change can be difficult and I want to acknowledge my own feelings about past decisions in the district. Like many others, I too was upset about how Dr. Sprag was treated and was nervous for our future without her. However, we cannot remain stuck in the past. It's time to move forward and work together for the sake of our students. Holding on

042to past grievances only prevents us from making meaningful progress, and I truly believe that we have a leadership team that is committed to doing what's best for our schools. We can respect and appreciate the contributions Dr. Mr. Sprag made to our district while also recognizing and supporting the work Miss Ojinski is doing to lead us forward. These things are not mutually exclusive. Our district is stronger when we focus on collaboration and shared goals rather than division. I also want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the board and Miss Ojinski for genuinely listening to the needs of staff. I approached the board last year with concerns about the lack of real maternity leave options for teachers and those concerns were not dismissed. Instead, Miss Ojinsky and her admin team took action and found

043a way to offer short-term disability, providing teachers with financial security while on leave with the newborn. That decision made a meaningful difference, not just for me, but for many others who may be in a similar situation in the future. I think it's important to share this with the broader community because there is a narrative suggesting that Miss Ojinski does not care about the staff in Anigo, and that's simply not true. This decision is just one example of how she and the board have prioritized staff well-being. Thanks to this support, I can be home with my newborn, focusing on both of our health without the overwhelming stress of financial insecurity. That kind of leadership and commitment to staff truly matters, and I am grateful. The public needs to know and realize this decision is not about

044spite or cutting costs at the expense of students and staff. It's about making the best choices for the long-term health of our district and for our students. Change is hard, but I believe in the leadership of this team and in their commitment to it truly matters. our students, our teachers, and Annie's future. Thank you. Thank you. Watch your step behind you. Mrs. Fospender, I can't see that clock. So, if you can let me know when 30 seconds uh is down to 30 seconds, that would be great. It's to the next. He moved it already. Moved it, but when it gets down to 30 for the speakers, let me know. Thank you. Our next speaker is Donna Smith. All right. Hello. My name is Donna Smith. This is my 20th year living within the school district.

045Prior to this year, I was employed by the district for nine years. The first two at the high school as special education teacher and dean of students and the remaining seven were as an elementary principal. I'm not only here as a community member, but also a parent of two daughters at the high school who have been educated in the district for the last 10 years. Let's start by backing up to last February where a plan came out to restructure elementary administration and rightsize the district. Several staff were encouraged to resign or be given a non-renewal, which was presented as a scared tactic to force resignations to rightsize staffing. This was the case for myself and Mr. Zamzo, East Elementary principal at the time. District administration then shook up the staffing at all three elementary schools.

046However, this caused several additional staff at the time to lose trust in the district administrator and the board of education. And there was a bit of a mass exodus to surrounding districts districts which I've heard nothing but positive things from those staff who are now in Wittenberg, Bernhamwood, Wasaw, DC Everest and other surrounding districts. Then the referendum passed to one to build one elementary school which in all honesty will prove to provide many benefits to our students and staff. However, during the referendum discussions and up until recently, many staff are sorry, until recently, there were no talk about what would happen next year while we wait for construction to begin. Many staff are still trying to wrap their heads around it. And it looks like the students and colleagues, what it looks like for the

047students, colleagues, and themselves with the class size increases at the elementary level, the district will not be able to use AGR funds for class size reduction, which is one of the most effective strategies alongside instructional coaching. There are already so many unanswered questions from the aftermath of January's board meeting when 17 staff resigned or retired, totaling over 430 years of service and dedication to our district and community. There are still limited answers. Staff have heard that several of these positions will not be refilled, causing a reduction of many programs at the high school, such as business and marketing, including someone to teach personal finance potentially, which is a state requirement. Then there's foreign language, which we should be offering in person to support students transitioning to a 4-year college or university. Who will oversee youth

048apprenticeship and co-op? who will teach chemistry and teched and ACP classes that will be offered. Not to forget special education across the whole district. It is already hard to find and keep qualified teachers and especially special education teachers. How will the district guarantee these supports and services which are legally binding based on students disability related needs and IEPs? What will special education programs look like as well as spaces for specially designed instruction next year? Will these options have a minimal or very large impact on our most vulnerable population? Tell us why families should not open enroll their children to surrounding districts. I've heard that the hope is to not have to make too many cuts as some cuts have been subsidized by attrition and additional teachers and staff retiring or resigning. However, what about cuts

049to the support staff, food service, and custodians? I just heard that there have been multiple teachers brought in and explained that they would be non-renewal if they did not resign. Miss Ajinsky in the board of education, you have some big decisions to make. However, before making those, I ask, why have you waited so long to communicate with staff, some staff, and why have you not communicated with the community about these potential changes until now? What do you have to hide? Why do you preach transparency, but you don't practice it? Why, or sorry, are you really ready to make this huge decision tonight? How is this what's best for kids? The district and much of the community want to see eighth grade back at the middle school. And if that's the case, why is there only

050one option that includes the eighth grade moving back? Why aren't there more options with that scenario? District administration make us think that the alignment is to ensure certified staff are teaching our children. But that is not the case. There are several teachers that are not licensed that are only licensed as substitutes in teaching roles and some do not currently hold any license yet those with licenses maybe those who have been asked to resign. As I end I like to share a snippet. I won't have time but you should look into the let them theory. And I'm going to end with any staff teachers I want to support you. your hardworking students, families. Don't let them steal your joy. Donna, I need to cut you off. Don't you dare let them steal your peace or your

051life. Turn the microphone off. Okay. Our next speaker will be Heidi Lucas. Good evening everybody. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, thank you. Great. Thanks. I just put some notes down. I was teaching all day so I didn't have time to write a big thing here. You might need to step a little closer to the microphone so it'll pick up better. Please. Thank you. Right now. Yeah. Okay, that's perfect. Um, so anyway, some of you may know me, some of you may not. So I am Heidi Lucas. I've been teaching 32 years in Anigo. Um 24 at East Elementary. Then I went to North for seven years and I went back to East um I was asked to go back to East uh this year. Um we also brought back the dance cheer team um

052for the high school in 2016 and I'm still coaching that which I love. And um I'm an Annie Go graduate 1988. Um anyway, so I've been around and go a long time. Um I just wanted to bring up that, you know, I totally understand that, you know, trying to save monies is a big deal. Totally get that, but I just have a couple of concerns just regarding um you know, the possible movements and such. Um number one is relationship building and school classroom families. if we do another movement next year and then we're going to move it again. I mean, I get the fact that, you know, certain groups will be together and such, but I look at the little ones now. I teach kindergarten and um they just they just need to be where

053they are. I mean, they don't know what's going on at home sometimes and such. And my classroom, that's their safe place. That's I mean, that's what I make it. and I just I can't see them moving once, you know, for next year and then oh, we're going to move out move again, different place. Um, so that's one of my things. I'm very I'm relationship building is is extremely um important to me, but also as in the dance cheer team, you know, uh, Red Robin spirit and such, I just, you know, in the lunchroom. I'm in the lunchroom um almost every day and anyway I'm like East Tigers, you know, we still have that that um identification. I mean, we're still Red Robins and such, but we still have a little of that own little community

054thing. And I mean, they get excited about that. Um, I just want the board, number two, I just really want the board to be more informed regarding the buildings that might be um closed because like for instance um like north um okay I was at north I was at east so I know what I'm talking about but anyway um they have one staff bathroom and they have another bathroom but that's more for the students with special needs. That's hard to to share one bathroom for all the staff members. I mean, there were many times that, you know, waiting, waiting, waiting, can't wait any longer. But let but and just saying east, we have three bathrooms, you know, at um east that we can use and you know, something's always open and we can get back

055to class faster. Um and then also just thinking about pickup drop off areas and such. Um, I just want, you know, if you're making a decision, I really hope it's not tonight. I just want you guys to have more information, you know, about what might be closing or not. And the last thing I want to talk about is staff moving concerns. I don't want to talk about anybody else. Um, but so I'm going to give you an example of for me, but um, anyway, um, it's not a one-day packing trip when you moved to a different school or to a different room. And, um, it took me over a month to set up my room, you know, when I moved last summer. Um, and I had family help, you know, I did have some staff

056help, too. Um, but I just it staff is getting tired. I'm getting tired. Um, we've been doing a new reading curriculum for the past two years, piloted two different math programs this year, new phonics, and to ask to be moved again and again. For me, that would be three times in three years that I would have to move. I'm 55. I turned that in in January. Um, I still have that spirit to teach kids and um, I've got my twinkle in my eye. I know they've got theirs and I don't want to stop, but to think and I have over 30 years of teaching, too, so I could retire. I don't want to yet, but thinking that I might have to move three times in three years. Even my husband Chris, who's here tonight, says,

057"I am not helping you move again, Heidi." So, you know, I know it's kind of, you know, um selfish to think that, but that's hard for me. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Heidi. Our next speaker is Megan Murphy. Sorry guys, I'm a little different height than the others and I don't like microphones. Sorry. All right, I'll make this short and sweet. Probably don't need that timer. Um, I worked in the district uh for five years as the school psychologist in every building, even the one previously closed ones. Um, and I am I have moved on to being a director of special education. And in my first year as a director last year, my district had to cut over the amount that you guys are looking at cutting. We cut 1.5ish. Um, and we did

058that without closing down any classrooms, working with natural attrition. That absolutely is something. But I sympathize with having to cut that amount of money. It is hard. There are hard conversations and hard decisions to be had. I get that. But the number one priority we have to have is the students in this district. I work here. I care deeply about these students. And when I got to witness um moving grade levels into that middle school, moving bringing all of that together, you will never get those classes correct right the first time you do it. There will always be something you didn't predict conflicts between students. The most that you can do for these students is minimize their transitions. help them to be comfortable as they are now and in going into the next year. That

059should be this board's priority more so than the dollar amount. Most of the options presented save you some sort of money. We might have to do a little balancing here, but look to see the best way that you can to balance that and make sure that you're minimizing the number of transitions and the number of students that will have to transition buildings. That will be very hard on them. We've seen it before. rely on what you've seen in this district and your experiences. That's all I have to say. I guess I didn't need the timer. I'll move it back down in case someone's shorter than me. Thank you, Megan. And our last speaker for tonight is April Culpac. Appreciate that, Megan. Um, hi, my name is April Copac. I am a third grade teacher at

060West Elementary. Um, good evening members of the board. I stand before you today as a concerned educator and a long-standing member of this community to address the proposed closure of an elementary school and urge you to consider the option of leaving all schools open. I ask that you carefully consider the ramifications of this decision as it will affect not only the students and the teachers but the entire fabric of our community. Um, one of my points to talk about was the flow of traffic during dismissal and I recognize that you've identified that and come up with a plan. So, I do appreciate that. Um, I can also think of the concerns involved could be um, extended dismissal times, the additional transportation of students and transitions after school and that additional time to commute um, still

061across that Highway 45 traffic. Um, but I do appreciate that you're hearing those concerns and addressing them. Um, additionally, the closure of a school will significantly increase our class sizes. Larger classes mean fewer opportunities for individualized attention. Our students will not receive the support they need to succeed and achieve their best learning. For children with learning differences or those who need extra help, this will be an even greater challenge for them to overcome. The lack of resources and support staff beyond kindergarten and 4K will only exacerbate the situation. Let's not overlook the teachers who will be directly impacted as well. Teachers who will be required to pack up their classrooms and move. Some of whom will have done so multiple consecutive years between the restructurings and the new build, disrupting their ability to create consistent,

062nurturing, stable learning environments. For many of them, this is not just a logistical inconvenience. It is emotionally taxing and undermines their ability to do their jobs effectively. And the question remains, where will we put all of the students and their supplies? We're talking about hundreds of children, each with their own needs, belongings, and classroom supplies. How do we ensure that all students have adequate space to learn, grow, and thrive? Our students are already our our schools are already struggling with capacity issues, and this plan does not offer a clear solution. Uh relatedly, the fourth and eighth grade students should not be moved until the new elementary building is complete. Moving these students now without adequate preparation facilities will only add to the overcrowding problem and further strain our already stressed resources. Let us not continue

063to add to the problem without a long-term solution. Furthermore, I want to address the campaign promises by some of our elected candidates. Some of you have run on the platform of putting students first. The proposed decision does not live up to that commitment. Closing a school and making it harder for children to succeed should not be the answer. As a teacher and a community member, I urge you to keep all three elementary schools open until the construction of the new building is complete. Option C of keeping all elementary buildings open and reducing a few sections of the smaller sized classes seems to be the most legit logistical option. If additional funding cuts need to be made beyond that, I I think we should take a moment to consider all options, including the possibility of perhaps

064closing central office, an option that would affect only a handful of people as opposed to the hundreds of students, teachers, and families impacted by this decision. Um, I also fear for the students and teachers we could lose um who may leave our district if this decision is made. Um, I don't envy you in the decisions and conversations that you have. Um, in conclusion, I do ask you to take a step back and consider all of our options. Um, we must put students first, not just in our words, but in our actions. Please weigh the consequences of this decision carefully and explore all alternatives to ensure that our children receive the best education possible. Thank you. Thank you, April. Thank you for all of the five members that spoke tonight. Uh item number four, board action,

065letter A, 2025 2026 teacher compensation plan. I will be looking for a motion, please. I move to approve I move I move to approve the 2025 2026 teacher compensation plan. Motion has been made by Jill. Would you like to speak to your motion? Not at this time. Thank you. Okay. The motion on the floor is I move to approve the 2025 2026 teacher compensation plan. Are there any questions or discussion from board members? Glenda, why is this how is this different than last year? Why is it what last year? How is it different than last year? Okay, so each of the board members have a copy of the compensation plan. And if you look at um one side is for teachers, the other side is for student support services. So I I would like to

066back up before that JD so I could give some overview. So early at the start of the year, even last year, Mrs. Fosbender had um spoken with staff. I had also talked with staff around creating a committee to work together to develop a compensation plan because our current compensation plan is not competitive with other districts and we very much wanted for staff to be part of that process but it takes a lot of work and digging into other comp plans benefits. So it can end up being a lengthy 1 to twoyear process and when we all took on additional administrative positions there just wasn't time to dedicate to that process. So Mrs. Fospender spent a lot of time digging on her own and trying to compile a competitive um comp plan that um is even

067a little better than one of the comp plans many of our teachers reference from a neighboring district. And in fact, that comp plan changed just probably over the weekend and Mrs. Fospender went right to work to try to ensure that ours was right there with it, even a little better. So, one of the biggest um differences you will see at the bottom of this page is our current salary schedule and structure where it has three steps and lanes um and then the lanes go all the way up to lane eight. The first page is the teachers with a bachelor's degree and then a teachers with the master's degree. And you'll see in the lane, the column that is not shaded gray, that is how much of a salary increase those teachers will receive each year.

068Um, and the other grayed out column that is for a teacher with a master's degree. And in the white column, it is the amount that they will move up each year. One of the things that I want to point out is the starting salary is significantly different, which I spoke with the board last year about how different we were on the low end um for our new teachers and with knowing that we have so many staff with numerous years of experience. We're likely going to be having lots of retirements in the very near future and we will be replacing those um veteran staff with newer teachers. So, we have to be competitive. So, if you look at the starting salary on our current salary um plan, compensation plan, it's 42,400 and the one we're proposing

069tonight is 47,400 for new teachers. So, it's a significant difference. Um and again, it puts us um even a little better than some of the districts that many of our staff look at. If you turn it to the backside, I want to talk a little bit about student support services. It specialists. These people are also considered clinical practitioners. Um so speeches, occupational therapists, school psychologists, physical therapists. Those people are in alignment with these um compensation plans and it's the same. Um there's one for a bachelor's degree and then one for a master's degree. JD, does that answer your question? Yeah, I I guess I can't remember how the steps and lane works enough for the teachers. So, how did they end up on a certain step? They got placed there in their contract. So, like

070how does L4 compare to the new plan? I don't know that you technically could compare it because we will go through and we will look at every staff member and consider do they have private school experience because that most often doesn't count in many districts um because there are different requirements for public school employees that aren't necessarily required of private school staff. So we will look at every individual employee and place them. No one will be getting a pay decrease. everyone will get a pay increase but it will be um it will take quite a bit of time but we will have to look at each person individually and it's not necessarily that oh I've worked and I'm not counting the the number of steps 15 years and I'm going to start out at 68,000

071that's not necessarily the case okay and is different now if you're at the top of the schedule you now get a raise every year that's different correct or was that the same last here. Um on hours you started at 42 and you worked through from 424 to 4315. If you start out at 47 then you work through each step. But if you're at 81 or 75 or were you even you couldn't be at 81 before because the master's degree didn't make a difference. I think we got $1,000 right if you had a master's degree in our current compensation plan. But ours maxes out at 754. Max at 8892. Katie, do you have any other questions? Did the teachers see this or we this is the first time they ever We talked about it yesterday in

072our meeting and um it has not been shared because I don't want to share it until the board has approved it but all district staff were informed of it in the meeting. And our next step then will be to look at our support staff and how that um is being done because it's it needs to be changed as well. Mrs. Fospender, I'd like the record to reflect that I recuse myself from any discussion and the vote of this matter that's on the floor. Bobby, I see you have a question. If you want to move your microphone to you, please. Glenda, you made the comparison of the [Music] starting so you made the comment about the starting salary at 424. Um, looking at the new schedule, it would be 474. Correct. Um, when you flip the

073page and you spoke about um, support service specialists. Mhm. Am I correct in understanding that that salary also would start at 424 and now moves to 57? So, in the past, we didn't have a separate compensation plan for those people. So this is giving them a separate one and they too would be placed. Okay. So that doesn't necessarily indicate across the board starting correct that much difference. Correct. So if we were Bobby if we were to hire a new um support specialist person with just a bachelor's degree they would start at 577. Are there any other questions? our comments from other board members that have not spoken on the issue. Jill, I just want to ensure I don't know if if we mentioned this already or not, but I believe Mr. Peterson is on virtually.

074Oh, good. Thank you, Jill, for I made a note of that that uh Mr. Peterson I noticed joined at 7:05. So he did see the presentation or hear the presentation and uh he is part of this discussion. Uh Scott if you have anything you want to say say something so Jill can hear hear you so I can call upon you. I just wanted to make sure I was on here. You are on sir. Thank you Jill for pointing that out. Once again, any other questions or discussion of the motion on the floor? Before we go to a vote, I just want to ensure that Mr. Peterson knows how to vote since he is remote or if he is voting, I guess, is a clarifying question. Correct. What we have done in the past, Mr. Peterson,

075is you would uh identify your vote and Ben would have your device and he would vote for you once uh you have said how you're going to vote. Does he have the device, Mr. Wilhelm? Do you have He's got the device. I speak Ben or Yeah, you would just speak uh yes or no when the vote happens during the call of the vote being open and Ben will will use your device for you. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Hearing no other questions or discussion of the motion that is on the floor. And the motion once again is I move to approve the 2025 2026 teacher compensation plan. The voting device is now open. Would anyone like to change their vote? Okay. The vote is now closed and the motion carries. Uh 100% unanimous with my

076recusal. Letter B, grade level structuring for 2026. I will be looking for a motion at this time, please. I move to approve the grade level structuring option A for the 2526 uh school year as presented. Motion has been made by Dr. Bardau. Would you like to speak to your motion? Uh, yes, I would. Um, it's hard for me sometimes as a board member not to think back to my superintendent days, which lasted 20 years. And um, we don't like to say this in education, but school district is a business. We have a budget and it's determined by a formula that our legislature in the past have determined and we only get so much money and that's what we get. And what's our product? Our product is students. I mean, we don't start them, we don't

077form them, we get them and they come to us as 4kers and our teachers do the best they can to get them ready for K and so on and so forth all the way till we get them to be seniors and hopefully when they leave us and all our teachers have dealt with them and tried to provide them with intelligence and things that they can do as they go forward. That's our product and we hope that everyone who leaves here is better for going to uh our school district. So what does a provide? Well, hopefully our we're going to be able to take our students and keep them safe, healthy, and achieve socially, emotionally, and with knowledge. And we have to remember that students change better than adults. They just do. In uh Mrs. Ojinsk's

078presentation, she talked about the equitable class sizes where they'll be the same number for all our first grade teachers. They'll be approximately the same number for all our third grade teachers. And that's a good thing. One of the biggest things that I see as a former superintendent is that our staff will be able to collaborate with each other every day if they want to because all our third grade teachers will be in one building together. Our first grade teachers will be in a different building, but they'll be all together and they can collaborate. And that will be better for all our students and especially for our newer teachers because they will have experienced teachers with them that they can talk to. We only need to hire one principal by going to A instead of trying

079to hire two. That's a cost savings. When we ran the referendum, we talked about that eventually we're going to sell our buildings. Well, guess what? Next year we'll have a building to sell and we'll do it two years ahead of the other two. Now I'm going to tell you a story and it is the truth. The date was February 13th. I want you to think back to the slideshow and you saw a date. February 26, that's when Glenda started talking to staff in the elementaryaries. So, what was February 13th? I was supposed to be going to Chicago for the weekend, but the weather was very bad and it was snowing and at and I canceled my trip and at 11:30 I got a phone call from Mrs. was a Jinsky and she asked me could

080I come to North and I said yes I'll be right there I think I said in 20 minutes cuz I was out doing things. So anyway, I show up. I have no idea why I'm coming. And I walk in and I sit down and I look and there's some writing on a whiteboard in her office. And Kelly's there, Glenda's there, and now I'm there. And I'm looking at these numbers and I see it's sections for what'll work. And it was right away I knew, oh, they're looking at doing something with the elementary and they're and why are we looking at this now? Because our plan was to go with three buildings. That's the original plan. So now it's February 13th, two and a half months ago or maybe a month and a half. And Kelly

081says to me, "What are you seeing?" I said, "Well, it looks like we're looking at possibly closing a school." I said, "Why?" and she said that she two days before had learned from DPI that we were going to get less than $500,000 taken away from us that we would that was in this year's budget that won't be there next year. And you have to do something. 80% of all budgetary money goes to staff. 80%. That's normal for a school district. So, they're looking at a $500,000 deficit. And I'm seeing them playing with the numbers 4K through three. And I said, "If you bring fourth grade back from the middle school, can we make that work?" I wasn't thinking money, but I knew what parents were saying cuz I hear it. They didn't want fourth grade

082at the middle school and they didn't want eighth grade at the high school. Was there a way it would work for two buildings? I didn't figure it out. I just threw it out there to Kelly and Glenda because my big thing was get the eighth graders back to the middle school. Get the fourth graders back with our kids. I knew it would help with our testing program. But here's the other thing. Every kid that is in the middle school this year is in the middle school next year. The fourth graders are now fifth graders and the seventh graders are now eighth graders. None of them move. They're there. The difference in the high school is eighth grade's coming back and there's less students in the high school and that's where our cuts are being made.

083So anyway, I wasn't looking at it as a monetary thing. I was looking at it. What do our parents want? What are they telling me? Eighth grade back from the high school. Fourth grade back with the little kids. I said, "Will it work?" They made it work. That's what administrators do. And so they came up with a plan and it's plan A. And it's not like this came up last week. Friday the 14th, they had a plan. One day they sat down. They figured yes, it'll work to move the fourth graders back and that'll be better for our school district. So, I'm going to vote yes for this because I think it's the right thing to do. And when you look at what was E, which is do nothing, we start out the year $500,000

084less and then we really have to cut. So this is the smart move. It might be tough in the beginning and it might be tough on some of our teachers and I'm sorry for that. But I think when all the kindergarten, sorry, when all the kindergarten teachers are together and that person in the back with all her experience, she's going to lead those other kindergarten teachers cuz that's who she is cuz she loves the Anigo school district. And you may not like my decision or the board's decision tonight, but I'm doing it because I think this is the best way. And that's truly how I feel. Are there any other board members who would like to question or have discussion? How much was the cost savings on option C again? On option which one? Option

085C. What was Will you just briefly run over that one? 800,000. 800,000. 800,000. It it will you just run through that one again briefly. You have to give me a second. I got to open it back up. I can bother Kelly while you look. Kelly, actually JD, I'm sorry, but that doesn't Never mind. What? Option C. J D. Yeah. Option C was east and west 10 sections of 4K through three. New boundaries would have to be drawn for the two schools. Um, no new boundaries wouldn't have to be drawn. North would go down to seven sections um through attrition. It just wouldn't be filled at North and we would have less less sections there and all new families would have to go to West or East. Fourth grade would stay at the middle school and

086eighth grade would stay at the high school. And in the middle of the year, fourth and eighth grade both would have to move schools. So we would go from 54 sections to 51 sections and our savings would be 800,515. Um and I think it's um yeah, that's that's all. Okay. Kelly, can we could we take the 500,000 out of fund balance? So now every year losing that declining enrollment because Tim used to talk about that all the time. Someday you're going to lose this. I don't know 8 years now it's finally happened is that could we take it out or is so you can do anything you choose to do but you just have to think about the ramifications and one of the things that's a ramification of funding a funding staff through your fund

087balance when you have a deficit in revenue that's not going to come back unless you have increased enrollment is that that compounds every year and you have increased benefits. So over the last two years, our benefits have increased 24%. So 12% is about $300 400,000. So you have that every year. On that 24%, we might have another 12%. So you have to make cuts each year. We want to be able to provide salary increases to our staff each year. So when you have that deficit that keeps compiling and you don't use attrition to be able to fund or to be able to fix that deficit while at the same time maintaining highquality instruction. You have to hire new people and then you have to cut them later. So at some point if you keep using

088fund balance you'll keep going into more of a deficit and then you'll have to short-term borrow. One of the other pieces about using fund balance is we got a very good rating. So similar to what you would do if you have a mortgage and you look at your credit score high level that's generally the same as what you look at for your rating for your bonds. So when we're going out for a referendum and our several different bonds that we have to do for $54 million, you're going to have to pay back higher rates. So you get worse rates if you have less fund balance. Um, and our district is in a very good position with the fiscal health of our fund balance because we don't have to short-term borrow and we do have um

089I wouldn't say an overabundance of fund balance. I think it's a healthy fund balance that we have. So, that is a decision that you would have to make, but you have to think about the ramifications when you're not just taking a one-time purchase out of your fund balance. you're taking something that compiles each year and grows each year. So, we do we would if we did option C, we'd be lo saving several hundred,000 or less, but it'd be easier on the staff. So, JD, I want to caution you. We're not talking about option C. So, frame your questions around option A. Okay. I'll amend the motion to go for option C. You want to make an amendment to the motion and your amendment is to approve grade level structuring for option C for 2025 2026

090as presented. Yes. Okay. The amendment is uh now on the floor and JD would you like to speak any more to your amendment to the motion? I I think Dave makes a really good case for option A. It makes sense, but at the same time, it is a lot. Just it's a lot to put the families through in a short period of time and the teachers. And if we have the money and we can still save a whole bunch, I don't know that we need to do it, but I might just be too soft. Okay, let me remind the board members that your questions and conversation is around the amendment that's on the floor now, which is to approve the grade level structuring for option C for 2025 2026 as presented. Is there any questions,

091Angie? Okay, so am I remembering this correctly? When I up plan C, there's no steam classes. There's no assistance for the kindergarten classes. Correct. Correct. Okay. I just wanted to make sure I was wrapping my head around that correctly. Okay. Yep. You're correct, Kristen. I saw your hand. So, I think it's important that we are moving. I think it's important that we are not transitioning all three schools, elementary, middle school, and high school at the same time. Option C does not allow for that. We would have to be moving eighth graders and fourth graders midyear. So, we're disrupting all three schools. We would also be taking kids from the high school, I'm cool, I'm in eighth grade, I'm in high school, back to the middle school midyear. Yes, we would be taking fourth graders, same

092thing happening to them from the middle school back. I don't see a response. Well, and an eighth grader to ask them to do that. If we don't do option C, they're already staying where they are. So, there isn't that transition. Um, another problem I see with option C is that when when we went out for the referendum, we talked about big things. um collaboration of our teachers um getting that eighth grade and the fourth grade back to where we think they should be and option C doesn't allow that. If we go with if option C just prolongs the goals of the referendum that we got passed and that our community spoke for. Okay. Are there any other board members on my right? Jill, option C would also increase class sizes, correct? Or not necessarily? I

093know it's 54 to 51 sections, but does that increase at North Elementary? They would be increased because that building would go down to seven sections. Okay. And regardless of option, but specific I'm trying to figure out my wording. Um, I'll I'll pause that for now. Okay. Bobby, Katherine, Dr. Bardau. No. Okay. So, we will now vote on the amendment, which is I move to approve the grade level structuring. Option C for 2025 2026. A yes vote to that amendment would then become the main motion. We would vote once again on that option. Uh, a no vote would bring the motion that was presented by Dr. Bardau back to the table. Does everybody understand what you're voting for? Scott, do you understand what we're voting for? I do. Okay. So, at this time, the voting device

094is now open. I vote no. battery. Must be the battery. Drama this way. Battery's online. While we're waiting for the battery, does everybody have electricity in your home now? I hope so. What's it? I don't think we've ever had one break before. Bobby, how do you want to vote? Okay, now we know. Okay. Would anyone like to change their vote? Hearing none, the vote is now closed. And Bobby's vote is a no. And the motion fails. The amendment fails. And now we go back to the main motion of uh approving the the uh grade level structuring of option A for 2025 2026 as presented. I will ask for any board members that have not spoken on this particular motion to speak if you would like to. Does this increase class sizes currently? I I just

095want to make sure I heard correctly in the presentation. Um a would be 4K and K 21 students four sections. First grade and first and second grade 22 students four and five sections. Mhm. Third and fourth 24 students five sections that provides Go ahead. Can I add to your question? How does that compare to current? What is our current highest classroom size? Well, it it varies by by building. So, um, as I stated earlier, some of our classrooms in some buildings have 13 students. Um, my 4K classroom at North Elementary has 23. These numbers are all very reasonable numbers. Um, when I was still in the classroom teaching, I had 27 up to 30 students in fourth grade or fifth grade. So, these are very low numbers. also um in considering AGR funds. AGR funds

096can be used for things other than just classroom teachers. We can pay our instructional coaching um staff out of those dollars as well. And we would look to have lower class sizes in our early elementary when we move into the new building so that we can leverage all of that money. But right now, we can use some of that AGR money to purchase other things as well. Jill, you have any other questions? Not necessarily questions, just statements or things that I support about this option. Um, and it it really reflects feedback shared from Kristen. Um, is for for a long time um including when Dr. Sprag was here, there was a lot of focus and it's continued on the importance of collaboration that is still not available at our elementary level. So thinking about our

097students and student achievement and our staff, it provides collaborative opportunities in the building um that we current currently do not have um in looking at students and staff um assignments and classrooms. It provides an opportunity that we don't currently have where we can look at individual students and staff and alignment of student needs and staff needs that we can't currently do right now. Um, and most importantly, maybe not most importantly because I think there's a lot of important components to this is it reduces the transitions in the the grade level buildings that are impacted. We are only moving students at one grade or one level, one building. which I think is really important tying to that which wasn't discussed is also it allows us to fully utilize two other buildings. So the middle and high

098school can be utilized full school year as opposed to disrupting and then having potentially vacant classrooms and having so you're going to have an additional transition in that capacity um or you would have that we don't have at this option. So, I think I appreciate the work that was put into this um and that it wasn't just brought forth. I also strongly appreciate that this was brought to staff um to provide our staff the feedback because ultimately um they know their boots on the ground um and they can provide the feedback and additional thoughts or considerations that admin didn't think about. So, thank you for doing that. And then also thank you for providing the opportunity for public comment to come after the presentation. And I think all of those things are are really important

099for us to to work together cohesively, not just as a board, but as a district and a community. So I am in favor of the motion on the floor. Are there any other board members who would like to speak of the motion on the floor who have not spoken? Angie, I'm just curious. This I guess is for Jake. Um the additional cost for the shuttle bus, was that figured into the um busing contracts for next year or the busing rather? There's a mic down here you could use. Oh, that one. The way that we have the contract set up with the number of miles per route, I believe that we could fit that into a route that's below the maximum, so it wouldn't be an additional cost. Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions

100or discussion from any board members who have not spoken? I know I got you. JD Kristen, I just wanted to point out that option there was um option A is the only option that allows for fourth grade to move due to spacing. Correct. That's the only school that could be closed and allow fourth grade to move. Correct. That's the only way that we could get it to work to fit fourth grade is to um have the grade level configurations the way they are. It's the only amount the space that we have will work with that way. Right. So the the other options were closing a different school. Didn't have the space to move fourth grade. Correct. Do we have any idea what that number is for how many staff members moved twice? I do not

101know how many staff members would be moved twice. I don't I don't know that because again it's kind of up in the air um about would it necessarily be that West would be the 4K through first grade building. Would North be the second through fourth? They're interchangeable because the space is the same. Um so there would be more conversations before that decision was made specifically. Okay. And that's all I have. Thank you. I'm gonna go to JD first because he's been waiting patiently. We uh when Andy was still on the board, we'd always talk, geez, do we really want to build the new building or do we want an operational referendum so we can pay the teachers more and I mean that that's the one good thing about this that at least we'll be able

102to pay you guys more because in this day and age we really got to appreciate the teachers. We really don't want you to leave, you know, and so it's really it's hard. I feel bad that we're making you move so much. show at least thank you guys for all your hard work. Thank you JD J. The only other thing I wanted to point out or share is the ability for students are going to have a move potentially likely. This allows them an opportunity to be with their full grade level. So they're not just making a move and also gaining increasing their student population by 50% in their grade. They're all in the same building. So they're making those connections from the beginning of the year versus having that transition potentially mid year and also having

103a lot of new student faces and staff faces. So I think there's a lot of intel uh strategic planning around that to reduce the stress on our youngest learners. I can guarantee everybody in this room does not want students or staff to move during the school year. Should that be the case, I I really like that this is intentionally supporting that. Right. I think I would add to the discussion is the word of the night is transition and our district is going to be in a transition for a few years. Uh this isn't going to be the first transition. We're going to have others that we'll face over the next few years. Uh several years ago, even before JD and I became members of the board, uh I sat in the seats back there and

104I remember hearing from a very wellrespected community member uh her name is Mrs. Blood and uh I don't know her very well, but I can see the respect that our community has for her. And after that night, I had a tremendous amount of respect for her and appreciated all the work that she has done in this district as well. But one thing that she said that night as she stood right in the middle of the room, she said, "I want everybody to know," and this is whenever we were uh talking about closing the the country schools, Pleasant View, Spring Valley, and Crestwood. And she said, "From my experience of a teacher working with kids, they will adapt to change. These are not verbatim what she said, but they will adapt to change a whole lot

105easier than we adults will adapt to change." And I've been hearing her voice and those words that she spoke in the middle of this room ringing in my ears for quite some time. Uh, the one thing that I do like about option A and and that I will vote in favor of is that 4K through first grade will be in one building for next year and potentially half of the following year. Those same kids in 4K through one will be on the same floor of the new school on the bottom level. So it's not like that those 4K through first grade students is going to be moving and seeing second grade, third grade or fourth grade in the same level. And same thing with second, third and fourth grade. Whenever they move to the new

106school, they will also be in the same cohort of kids that will be moving to the second floor of the new building. So I think that that brings continuity for the students to move from those uh those schools and it will help with that transition. Whereas like we've heard from board members tonight say that if this is not chosen then it would be more transition more movement and possibly even in the middle of the year of moving students around. Uh it's it's not the best. is probably not the not going to be the easiest, but I think it will be the best in the long run for the students. And uh what happens uh I believe too that Dr. John Maxwell says that everything rises and falls on leadership and our leadership of our district

107has done a fabulous tremendous job in trying to find all possible scenarios into making this work in order to make the budget fit. And like JD said, uh we want to do what's not only best for the students, but also what's best for the teachers, uh in giving them raises and showing how much that we appreciate all the staff, all the support staff, and all the administration. So, I think this is a a great move. It's a bold move for our board to make this decision if you uh if we vote this in tonight. And um we've become trends setters in Anigo and I think we're going to continue being that uh across the state. So having said that, one more time I want to ask if there's any other questions, comments. Have one more.

108I'm sorry Kristen. Go ahead. How do um educational hours differ? High school, middle school, and elementary school. So the high school has the largest requirements of instructional minutes. The elementary has the least. Is there like days? Um, does it come out to or would it not be? I guess the point I'm trying to get to is if we're only transitioning the elementary school when we move into the new school that it would allow for us to have basically two SC school calendars so that if we needed a larger winter break, parents can anticipate that. We would have it in place, but we also wouldn't have our high schoolers going to the second week of June. Correct. You are exactly right. Yes, I think that that is something that we need to cons take into consideration

109as well. Yes, I completely agree. Agree. because um some school districts make the choice of if there's a snow day um that the makeup time is only for the high school and not the elementary or middle because they're required lesser minutes. So yes, you're exactly correct. We would be have the ability to do that if option A is our choice. Thank you. That's interesting. Good question. Any other questions or comments? Okay, hearing no other. Scott, do you have any questions or comments? I don't want to leave you out of this. No, I'm good. Okay, then. Uh, the motion on the floor is I move to approve the grade level structuring option A for 2025 2026 as presented. The voting device is now open. be reset. Would anyone like to change their vote? All right, the

110vote is now closed. And the motion carries. Uh item five, close session. Consideration of a motion to adjourn into close session pursuant to section 19.85. [Music] I can get up and go. That's my thought. Not yet. I miss Carol. See you later. Hi. Hi. I'm Matt Jennifer. Hi, girls. Jennifer standing by. I know this person. Okay. Consideration of a motion to adjourn into close session pursuant to section 19.851c 851C and F of the Wisconsin statutes for the purpose of I which is considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility and sub section two which considering financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons. Preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons

111except where paragraph B applies, which if discussed in public would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data or involved in such problems or investigations to wit discussion and possible action on the authorization of preliminary notices of non-renewal pursuant to Wisconsin statute section 118.22 sub 2. I need a motion for that. Motion has been made by Dr. Bardau. I need a second for that motion. Second. Second is made by Angie. Uh we need a roll call vote, please. Katherine Solen, yes. Bobby Brown, yes. Angie Shriber, yes. JD Schrader, yes. Jill Maddock Nelson, yes. Kristen Matt Miller, yes. Dr. Dave Bardau, yes. Scott Peterson, yes. Danny Payatt, yes. And the motion carries. We're now in close session.