001all right it's 5:30 I'll call this meeting to order would you please join me in the pledge of the flag 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 thank you all for coming tonight uh a reminder our mission is to encourage everyone to see and be their personal best through successful learning experiences become your best item four adoption of agenda and consent agenda as the order of business with identification of items be taken off the consent agenda for discussion or separate action I'd actually like to make a motion that we change the order and have the period of public participation before wees if possible so I hereby move that we exchange items
002eight and nine on our agenda okay is there a second second is there any discussion all in favor say yes yes all right thanks Janelle uh so now we need to consider approval of the consent agenda as adopted uh approve the minutes of oh I'm sorry uh that change we still have to approve the consent no that's right you still approve the consent agenda yeah we still need a motion to approve the consent agenda then is adopted so we made the change but now we need to approve the consent agenda I move that we approve the consent agenda as amended yep second all in favor say yes yes all right now we need to consider approval of consent to AG agenda as adopted approve the minutes of June 18th 2024 regular Board of Education meeting
003approved financial report for the period of July 1 2023 through June 30th 2024 and approv the bills for the period June 1 2024 through June 30th 2024 in the amount of 2,934 18425 so moved I'll second all in favor say yes yes all right uh item six academic pillar of Excellence um consider adoption of the 20124 2025 academic standards Dina any questions this is something we do every year and we haven't made any changes to our curriculum and the resources that we use okay so I need a motion make a motion to accept the 24 25 five academic standards second all in favor say yes yes yes opposed uh Item B consider approval of proposed revision to 2023 2024 High School Orange guide for the 2024 2025 school year we discussed it in Committee of
004the old uh Joe's not here Joe's not here but Andy is if anybody has any further questions hearing no other questions can we have a motion to approve so moved second all in or all in favor say yes yes yes opposed all right uh item seven Finance building and grounds uh consider and approve the 2024 2025 Community eligibility provision program Amy uh we discussed this committee as a whole we did Karen has a couple pieces of information that we were waiting for so do you just want to fill them in on the reimbursement rate yes so last week we were had some questions of what the reimbursement rate was going to be and we were waiting for final approval from DP uh both of those have come in on Friday we were given final approval
005through DP our percentage did meet the qualifications and the reimbursement rate has been released it did go up slightly um which is good news for all of us um and the only other consideration would be um because of that new pricing formula which would be free for students um that we would have to make uh some slight adjustments to our adult meal pricing program based on a formula that they use so our adult meal pricing um could go up somewhere around 50 to 65 okay any other questions about the program we discussed it quite a bit in community the whole good news on the rate and good news that we qualify the rate went up can we discuss like by a percentage or can we disclose what the rate is or Y so um I
006can just give you from last year like the the scents that went up so for the breakfast program um the breakfast reimbursement for pay meals went up by a penny um for free meals it went up by 11 cents and then we also get additional state aid and the additional state aid went up almost 2 cents so in total for breakfast we're going to get about 13ish cents more for breakfast uh for lunch the paid meal pricing went up uh 3 cents and for free meal reimbursement that went up 19 cents we also get an additional um it's about a penny in state lunch AG also for each additional meal at the state level in total that's around 20 20 2 s with some rounding all right any other questions how does that make us
007feel a little more comfortable what does that do that totals yeah that takes us out that that we were talking about so we're definitely in a in a more comfortable place um it still is going to depend on participation on how much it shakes out each month but we can we can keep an eye on that each month when submit a reimbursement yeah my goal would be if if this is approved to revisit it after the the first year to see how we did um if you'd like updates maybe halfway through the year we can do that um and then kind of just evaluate how it's going if it's going the way that we thought um you know where we're Landing things like that we won't know much else until we have uh you know
008if we if it's approved and we have participation well then we're going to that's how we're going to know if we can continue to do it so you think you would be able to have a midyear kind of update tracking what we've had within the first handful of months oh sure sure cuz we track everything per month so yeah and and how does participation actually work is it just a student or do they have to like register in advance or is there anything like that it's just whoever show up and as long as they need the nutrition um requirements which most of the kids know um and it classified as a reimbursable meal we just count it and then we turn in our numbers um at the end of each month for for reimbursement plan
009okay and our our percentage Dan since you asked about percentages too so what we got approved for is 41.9% of our meals will be re um reimbursed at the free rate and the other um 59.1% will be reimburse pay rate was our final percentage you advertise and S to families we will after approval that and when we start sending out messaging in August about sneak peeks and things like that coming up we'll we'll also start sending out information at that time too okay any other questions I need a motion to approve then make a motion to approve the community eligibility provision program call second all in favor say yes yes yes opposed all right thank you uh Item B consider gifts and corresponding budget adjustments Scott are you going to take that yeah I'll take
010that one uh as you know we are incredibly fortunate to have a very generous Community individuals groups Etc supporting our kids in our programs um we'd like the board to consider the following gifts and corresponding budget adjustments I will read through them and then hope for uh that that motion afterwards a donation of $250 from Plymouth American Legion auxiliary unit 243 for the Plymouth High School fit student sharing and career closet a donation of $4,660.00 from Future Farmers of America for transportation to Fisher farms and the Humane Society a donation of $2,294 79 from Fairview PTO for transportation to Maywood wild Center nourish farm manat toalk farm Discovery camp wota Camp anaki anaki anaki I even practice that Katrina obviously not a local so disappointed in myself a goody though not bad you know anyways
011and the Milwaukee Zoo a donation of $2,386 46 from Horizon path program for transportation to camp wota Camp an aiji good job thank you good job thank you thank you hookworm Gardens nourish Milwaukee Zoo wild Center Maywood Shaban Historical Museum and mbery Lane and finally a donation of $1,992 33 from Parkview ptk for transportation to Camp wota manage walk Farm Discovery Milwaukee Museum nourish wild Center Maywood above and beyond Museum Siberian Outpost and Shaban Historical Museum great so I need a motion to accept these gifts and corresponding budget adjustments so moved all in favor say yes yes yes opposed thank you for all those contributions uh and now we will move on to a change uh so we're going to go to public participation and recognize anyone present who would like to address the board
012I have Tyler Al all right Tyler welcome yeah welcome uh if you'd like to come forward uh you can stand you know right in this area and I think you can all hear me yeah um Thanks for opening this up um congrats to the new soup haven't met you yet um my name's Tyler allrand I've had a two girls graduate from PHS some of you know them um all girls have played Sports and made a positive impact in their sport um I currently have a freshman to be so that'll be exciting um I'm not sure the public knows I haven't been to the meetings for the last couple months it's my bad but I know the attorney is over here uh but according to education week analysis which is a big uh website you know
013Pro education um as of today the Biden administration's Title 9 changes have had uh drawn at least eight lawsuits 26 states have signed on to the lawsuits and the rule is on hold for 15 states currently Wisconsin's not on the list um which is sad and my opinion um but one of the lawsuits Arkansas versus the US Department of Education um which has Arkansas Iowa Missouri Nebraska North Dakota and South Dakota all attached um and I agree exactly with their complaint argument in a 62-page lawsuit the Biden's um I'm sorry the Biden administration's Title 9 rule unfortunately would got the very athletic opportunities the title 9 was was designed to provide um it would destroy the Privacy protections for women and girls en join the restrooms the locker room showers overnight accommodations for school activities
014it's also going to preempt numerous state laws okay so you can't do half the stuff that they're proposing that it's okay for the girls to do or students be able to have access to in school you can't do in down so why are we subjecting uh certain kids to these situations it's also going to silence and threaten with investigation any coach student faculty member or administrator who doesn't share the Department's views that's a violation of the use constitution in my opinion um and it's going to deny Federal funding for a great School District if we don't follow to a these um new changes that that's going to open I don't know that's I recommend that the district be cautious about the policy adoption and to pause until the rulings are finalized in all these lawsuits
015Across the Nation um these new proposed changes open the door to so much to Future problems for our students my opinion I simply ask the district to please protect girls biological girls and girls Sports and activities moving forward thanks thank you T you're welcome no other participants all right um well with that uh we'll move in to item eight which is po policy consider and approve the title 9 policy uh 2264 compliance with new regulations and federal requirements um we've uh we have assistant principal Andy here to speak um I don't know if an's here an's here as well uh but we've also asked Tony rening the uh district attorney to come in and give us just a little bit of background on this um and where everything stands with Title 9 so we understand
016uh the recommendations of the policy change and and what we'd be voting on tonight so Tony you want to give us some background and sure absolutely about thank you thank so um I just want to preface my comments by saying um don't shoot the the messenger tonight I'm the attorney I'm sharing with everybody what the law is or what the the current status of of the law um I'm not here to Advocate on behalf of one side or the other um that's up to you as the you know elected officials to to make that decision based upon the information so you have to be well informed though to to be able to make those decisions and so that's where I'm coming at it from um this is uh obviously a very hot political potato has
017been for some time um the Obama Administration I think started with Title 9 and modifications to the title 9 policies and then when the Trump Administration took over um all of those interpretations and guidance all of that was rescinded and there was new guidance and interpretation and now with the Biden Administration um all of that guidance and interpretation in turn was rescinded and has been reissued and depending upon what happens in November or January it's very possible that this will all be you know a lot of work and a lot of time and effort put in on behalf of the the schools um for nothing because it all might change again so um that's kind of kind of where we're at 2020 um the district uh adopted a policy policy 2266 which is the um
018uh non-discrimination policy here in the the district and that addressed Title 9 and specifically IT addresses concerns with regards to complaints about harassment sexual harassment and also with regard to sexual assault again the district adopted that policy four years ago and now we're at the point based upon the new regulations and the new interpretation and guidance where the district has to um take up the issue of of the new policy and as you're as the the public speaker had just shared um there are consequences if the school district doesn't adopt the new policies um the office for civil rights through the Department of Education and then ultimately the Department of Justice may take action to enforce or to try and take away Federal funding to those school districts who do not comply with the the
019new Direction um so but let's start out the the big change so you're what you're being asked to do tonight is to make some revisions to board policy 2266 which is the old board policy with respect to uh Title 9 and then to adopt board policy 2264 which would be the new board policy with respect to Title 9 same issues it's to address for the most part um complaints with regard to sexual harassment and sexual assault brought by students um brought by staff um for those uh those situations or those circumstances involving educational programs or activities where discrimination is alleged to to be taking place the difference between the two policies are really twofold one is the definition of sex um under the new policy or under the new guidance um the definition of sex
020has been broadened to include sexual stereotypes sex characteristics pregnancy or Rel related conditions sexual orientation and gender identity and you know I think it's the sex orientation and gender identity which has kind of been the the lightning rod that's out there um with respect to the broaden definition the other part of the policy that's changed and is the kind of area of unknown and how it's going to have an impact if it does have an impact upon co-curricular activities um rest rooms those types of things are the the consequences tied in to the the policy itself and that the it can be basically boiled down to three things first no person shall on the basis of sex and that's that broaden definition of sex be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefit of
021or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity and then it provides that in limited circumstances in which Title 9 permits differential treatment or Separation on the basis of sex so those cases where Athletics for example where um you would have male sports or female sports um it Title 9 or the educational institution must not carry out such differential treatment or separation in a manner that discriminates on the basis of sex by subjecting a person to more than di Minimus harm so that's the St standard to Minimus harm and then where this all comes together is the new regulations Define what constitutes to Minimus harm so adopting a policy or engaging in a practice that prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with the person's gender identity
022subjects a person to more than to Minimus harm on the basis of sex so in essence the new policy said that would constitute a violation of that that particular policy so that's where we're at with respect to the the new policy as it compares to the old policy um the speaker made reference to eight lawsuits that are out there um this is a political issue for all of these different lawsuits in all of these different states as well so in Wisconsin the Wisconsin attorney general has not been authorized to bring a suit challenging the enforcement of Title 9 and that is why Wisconsin is not party to any of these Federal lawsuits um for the most part the federal courts have been restrained um generally what we've seen is a race depending upon which side
023it is to the Northern District of Texas for example and you get a district court judge down at the Norther District of Texas who Pro en en joins the entire nation so um we'll enter an order that would preclude the entire nation from enforcing for example Title 9 that hasn't happened in this case um there the various judges have been conservative in that in that they have only um enjoined the states that are parties to the lawsuit um the exception to that being the case involving um the state of Kansas uh Kansas District Court which is the last one um and there uh a group brought a complaint to enforce a Prohibition or ask for an injunction um prohibiting the Department of Education from enforcing the title 9 regulations and the judge in Kansas issued
024an order that said um the state of Kansas the state of Alaska the state of Utah and the state of Wyoming were precluded from um enforcing the title 9 regulations but they went beyond this they said that the plaintiff school so in this particular case there was a plaintiff in Kansas a school district in Kansas where the students had gone to school um where the the families had gone to school so they raised uh or had asked to that the title 9 regulations being joined the court said that particular School District in Kansas is also part of to this and then there were two other groups schools attended by the members of Young America Foundation or female athletes United and then the last one was schools attended by children of the members of moms for
025Liberty so when the court issued this injunction all of a sudden this one became a little bit broader um as there are you know these various groups the uh young Americas Foundation or female athletes United and the moms for Liberty exist outside of just Kansas um Alaska Utah and Wyoming and so when the court issued the injunction um this was pointed out to the court and so the court asked for the parties to provide input as to who exactly fell under those two groups or two categories and they wanted that information by yesterday and so the parties submitted a list of the schools that would fall under underneath that um the court I was just sharing with Scott as I was driving over um the court was um making changes or entering the order um
026as of late this afternoon um but the court has now entered the order which again prohibits the Department of Education from implementing Title 9 in those four states also with respect to the plan of school district schools attended by members of the young Americas Foundation or female athletes United and then certain schools who have children um who are members of the moms of Liberty and here in Wisconsin there are approximately 25 school districts that are specifically precluded from adopting the title 9 regulations I would say for the most part most of those schools are in the Milwaukee area um there are a few Green Bay Schools Howard swo Bayport um Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay St Paul Lutheran schools in Green Bay um Stevens Point School Districts Superior school district and again the rest
027of them are all pretty much though Milwaukee Area School District so that this case although it had the potential for being a lot broader and potentially enjoining other school districts from um adopting the title 9 regulations does not enjoin the Plymouth Joint School District from adopting the new title 9 regulations so that's where we're at as of you know 5:00 this evening as far as everything that the courts are doing or the status of the title 9 UM policy in the courts regardless I guess you know the again there's a lot of dispute a lot of question with respect to these Title 9 regulations for the most part the intent behind the the new policy 2264 is to allow an Avenue for investigation of an action related to complaints related to sexual harassment and sexual
028assault on the basis of of sex under the broader definition I think we will have issues come up maybe down the road with respect to participation in co-curriculars um as well as you know use of facilities and those types of things but for the most part the focus of board policy 2264 is the complaint procedure and and how do we address complaints to make sure that students are not being um denied the opportunity to participate in educational programs or activities um when I I guess the other part of this is um a lot of publicity a lot of discussion about this new policy but in the grand scheme of things I'm not sure that it really the new policy adds a whole lot or makes a whole lot of difference under 11813 Wisconsin statutes school
029districts are precluded from discriminating against students on the basis of sex and that sex includes gender identity and gender orientation um that's addressed by pi9 so the Department of Public Instruction if there's a complaint or a concern would get involved anyway would investigate and make a determination as to whether the district is unlawfully discriminating against students on the basis of sex that broader definition here in Wisconsin we have a case Whitaker versus Kenosha Unified School District for those of you I think you know maybe two years ago um this was kind of the two or three years ago this was the kind of hot case um it never made it with respect to the um merits of the case but the seven Circuit Court of Appeals which is the federal circuit here that addresses Wisconsin
030has essentially decided or has told us that it will decide the Wisconsin cases involving sex or interpreting sex under Title 9 to be as broad as it is in the employment setting where the Supreme Court has already extended um the definition of sex to include gender identity and gender orientation under the B St case so again in Wisconsin we've got the federal courts that are telling us where this is headed and then the district has on its books already board policy 55117 which is its anti-harassment policy and that anti-harassment policy provides a definition or provides that the board will vigorously enforce its prohibition against harassment based on the traits of sex and that includes gender status a change of sex or gender identity so in at least from The District's perspective we've kind of adopted
031that broader definition of sex already we've had that on the books in 5517 so as far as you know this being a sweeping change I'm not sure that the new title 9 policy is all that much of a sweeping change for the school district or for most of the school district here in Wisconsin um just a little bit with respect to the consequences so the timeline for adopting this new policy is August 1st um of 2024 um they didn't leave schools a whole lot of time to do this um they talked about these changes coming for about 18 months but by the time they finalized them and issued them in March or April um you know schools kind of had to scramble to get the policies in place and so your policy provided Neola you
032know has provided the policy and the options that were reviewed by the the district um by the policy committee I've had an opportunity to review them and make sure that um they're in compliance with the the proposed law as well as um what the the recommendations were by the the policy group itself um but there are consequences if the school district doesn't adhere to this um first and foremost as the the speaker alluded to um the Department of Education through the office of civil rights could exclude the district from federal funding and that's certain parts of federal funding all the way through all federal funding so they could take away any federal funding available to the the district um I don't know you know obviously if we don't have the policy in place or you
033take time to to review this um they don't have the manpower to come in on August 7 second and um do a review of every school district in the country and make sure that they've adopted a title 9 policy that's in compliance with the new regulations but the issue is it's not so much OCR doing that on its own it's that if we have a complaint that arises or an issue that arises and we haven't adopted that policy that the individual who's bringing that complaint is then going to go to the office for civil rights which is going to set in motion there investigation or they're going to go to the Department of Public Instruction which is going to set in motion their investigation under 11 1813 um we just went through this under the
034old Title 9 policy with respect to one of the districts that the scho that the firm represents the Rylander School District um they were a little slow in adopting the 2 2020 board board policy 22 66 and as a result of that you know there weren't any complaints there weren't any issues but when there was an issue that came to light um we didn't have that policy in place and OCR became involved and OCR didn't come in and say we're going to cut your federal funding they said you've got an option which is adopt that policy now and adhere to that policy but on top of that you're going to enter into this consent decree with us which means you're going to take all these added um steps and protections that we believe are appropriate
035and the district is expended a significant amount of time effort and money trying to adhere to that consent decree um it's it is expensive it's taking up a lot of um time and effort for the district to to do that a lot more than Simply Having adopted that 2020 board policy 2266 if they had originally done it um the other threat was from OCR not that um again not a flat out we're going to take away your federal funds but if you don't want to enter into this consent decree then we will turn this over to the Department of Justice for enforcement and that's where if the Department of Justice finds that you haven't adhered to the the policies or the the statutory criteria um then you are subject or potentially subject to losing Federal
036funding so there are I can tell you other districts that have been slow and maybe still have not adopted the um 2020 policies so board policy 2266 that's not my recommendation um you know they're living they're gambling and they're living right now by the grace of good luck that they haven't had an issue or a concern come to light um Our advice as a firm again given the um the most recent decision coming out and guidance coming out of Kansas there are other places or other litigation that's still a possibility again none that Wisconsin is party to and so it's unlikely that would have an impact on Wisconsin but um is to adopt um board policy 2264 and revise board policy 2266 honor before August 1st so that you're in compliance so it's kind of
037where we stand um with respect to the law and what the potential consequences are and with that I'm happy to answer any questions that you as a board might have or Administration questions I have questions sure and I read through the 26 Pages last night right in Reading to this and I know there's a lot of fear of the government and what are they trying to tck in there and hide in there is there anything in there that okay if an issue or concern comes up with a student can we pull in the parents to say hi do we want to let you know that your child is talking about this so there isn't anything in I that's been a a there's been litigation here in Wisconsin and concerns about that um Madison School District
038um there was also um one down down south Kettle braine School District as well um that is not part of these specific regulations so there is nothing in the regulations that say that you know a school district cannot communicate with parents if they know that you know a student is raised questions or is asked to be called by a different name or is you know suggested that they're transitioning um so those there's no violation of of the law for the school to reach out to parents I guess in the expanded definition too it talks about eternity concerns and issues of that nature is there anything again could be just too many weird headlines and trying to read through it all but there's some topics that maybe a school board then would be forced to help
039support even like a Planned Parenthood conections and all that through this topic so there is the option in your your board policy with respect to um so 2264 does address that but it gives the option so if you have a Planned Parenthood program then you can adopt that option but it doesn't require the the rules or regulations do not require you to do that so all right thank other questions after you were here last time and spoke on this there was a a lot of discussion afterwards but how do we actually take care of it in here you know because we want every everybody to feel comfortable not only the whatever 1% and the 99% you have any suggestions or do you know how other districts have taken care of that issue in the bathrooms
040in the Lockers in the showers yeah so the law hasn't changed since the last time I was here I mean the the district is still precluded from you know requiring somebody who's transitioning um so if I'm a I'm transitioning to a female um I want to use the female locer rooms or the female restrooms the district by law can't preclude me from from doing that um so that hasn't changed what I've seen I haven't seen those issues so much um they're being addressed by the counselors by the school administrators so when when those issues come up um they're having conversations with the student with the family with the other families that are involved so um again they're working to to provide options um and I guess that would be my recommendation is that you continue
041to to do that because we haven't we've seen I guess less and less of the the lawsuits about the the lacer rooms and the restrooms than we initi you we saw that initial Surge and I think the courts have been pretty consistent in how they've they've ruled um there is a decision out of the 11 circuit um which may lead us to the Supreme Court ultimately weighing in on this but even the the way that the 11 circuit got there is is pretty contorted so um it would ask the Supreme Court to to weigh in um but I'd say that the law as I explained it last time and as I just kind of explained it is is what it is um and so the administration counselors are working with students so if we have
042a a female student in the example that I shared who's feeling uncomfortable um the administration is working with that female student to provide her with Alternatives or to provide you know barriers within the the female locker room or within the female restroom um so that she again doesn't feel as uncomfortable she's not going to be able to say I'm not you know you have to take that transgender student and and move them somewhere else but at least we're working through or those options exist to help ease some of the the uncomfortableness so you made a reference earlier about the change in the political climate from Obama to Trump to Biden and obviously none of us have a crystal ball of what's going to happen in November right um so21 the Biden Administration took over and
043it took them you know it it took them some time to to resend and to modify Title 9 again to to do what they wanted to do so um the the issue is if we don't have any issues or any concerns that come up it's not an issue but if we don't adopt the policy as of August 1st and we have an issue pop up the office of civil rights is going to be looking for school districts to make an example of but if we already have have polic our own policy of 5517 that is around the harassment piece and from what I could read the best that I could out of this document um it is primarily around the harassment and what to do with it and giving them tools then why do we
044need to have another layer that's being forced upon us through the federal piece we already have our coverage in 5517 you have a general anti-harassment policy in 17 2264 and 2266 address Title 9 specifically and that's what the the federal guidelines or guidance is is requiring that you have something that specifically addresses Title 9 but if we if we already said that even in our policy of harassment is defined as sex including gender identity um and sexual characteristics then why do we need to because it so I'm using it from that example that you've already to some extent adopted that broader definition of sex in 55117 but what you haven't done in 5517 is adopted specific um policies or procedures with respect to Title 9 and that's what the title 9 regulations say is that
045you as a school district have to have specific policy or procedures addressing Title 9 and that's where 2264 and 266 come in they're specific to Title 9 the back half of the policy is all about policies and procedure if this happens then we'll do this if this happens then we'll do that that's what I understand it is correct but yeah you're I mean in a lot of cases 5517 and 2264 2266 are going to be a lot alike they're both dealing with anti-harassment right um but it's anti-harassment in 5517 that's that's broader in in 2266 and 2264 it's specific specifically related to sex and it's broad definition of sex the broad definition of sex and it's also the one that's being dictated by the rules you have to have a a policy that addresses specifically
046title n and I'm not sure if you answer what Janelle had asked or not but with the late hour of this um and the different mandate that's coming across like is there and the fact that this isn't an easy read um so thank you um is there something hidden in there that they're trying to get away is there something in there that is going to catch us off guard because we did not understand the fine print or the The Language by which it was used in that way so I think you know I alluded to the one the the definition of Dom Minimus in the the regulations and with that broad definition of sex so the intent of this policy at least the way it's proposed is to address sexual assault and sexual harassment claims
047with regard to educational programs and activities but we're you know I at the outset I explain that's that's where we're at right now I can see down the road with co-curriculars with facility use those types of things where a student or a staff member could bring a claim under board policy 2264 or 2266 alleging that if if we don't you know allow a transgender student who's transitioning from male to female or has made the transition participate in a female sport that's denying that particular student the right to participate in um a sport or an activity and so we would have the obligation to investigate and come to a conclusion under that so that's that's the door it potentially opens that's not the intent of the black and white or black letter Sor but philosophically I
048think that's the intent is to to make it broader because wasn't that the intent of 2266 sorry I got all these all these numbers jacked up wasn't that the original intent of 2266 well same with regard to 2266 but it wasn't broad the definition of sex wasn't broad enough so that's why we get the modif modification sorry me to be a one-sided conversation here no and um you know I should share that they um there's some guidance or interpretation that uh OCR had issued um I don't know six to nine months ago with respect to participation in co-curricular activities so um you know feeding off of this you know that that's that's why I say philosophically I think that's where they intend this or potentially to go when you're asking you know is there something
049you know some something hidden out there but yeah um that that's where I would say the next the next issue is going to be if I had a crystal ball are they encouraging or pushing this more so at all schools not just public ones is it I think privates you looks like you have to apply for an exemption so they're not they don't get a free pass correct it's all schools yeah yeah because there's you know now they're threatening the federal funding or whatever federal funds are available to the private schools as well okay Tony I have a question does the WIA play any role in this with sports yes um but when they decide that they're finally going to weigh in and and you know take a position that's the problem so I mean
050ultimately they're going to have to come up with some rules as to eligibility and you know who's eligible and who's not eligible to participate in sports but they're not unlike the NCAA or you know I think the only one that's really kind of out there there and has taken a a position is you know kind of the Olympics and you know those the the higher end um they have some pretty specific you know rules that apply the nciaa or the wi kind of doesn't want to doesn't want to take that issue on yet so so if we could adjust we go ahead I me I was just going to say if they do when they do um does that supersede this or which one what if they different it's going to put us in in
051a real tough position because um you've got federal law out here that's going to say you can't deny somebody the opportunity to participate in this but the WIA saying that if you don't meet these certain requirements that you're you have somebody who's ineligible and if they're ineligible in participating then you know you may lose games or lose the ability to participate altogether so yeah it it's a it's coming thank you yep and I I'm sure that's why you know the NCAA and the wi haven't really wanted to take on this issue but I mean under the current WIA policy at least my understanding of it I believe we'd be in direct conflict of their requirements currently around sexual orientation they they have very specific ways for a male transitioning to a female as long as
052they fit this criteria then they will allow it and I can bring that policy along but if they're not following that those guidelines from the WIA we still under this policy would have to say nope it's already wi this person has to play in girls tennis right well that I mean that's the argument right um under this policy or under the the new title 9 regulations is that it could constitute harassment or um a denial of the ability to participate in an educational activity so it's it's possible the WIA though their their rules I mean they have rules but they're not they're not specific enough and they haven't been enforced um so that's they they have to come out with something that specifically says this is this is the way we're going to to do
053it moving forward and they haven't essentially done that so uh school districts in the area I mean are they adopting this or very similar uh so I went 50/50 last night I had two school board meetings I had one board that adopted the new policy and one that that said we're going to wait and see so um yeah it kind of blew up on all of us you know these policies we review them a lot and you know we work with the administration work with the board and and share them um this is one of the few times that you get a call and so we're all scrambling we're all visiting school districts and Schoolboard meetings um this week and next week as they're you know grappling with this issue so um that's why I'm
054you know not here to Advocate one way or the other I'm here to protect you from a legal perspective to say that you know the consequences when you look at them um I get it from a legal standpoint the consequences could be you know pretty tough if we were forced to enter into a consent decree or if we lost all of our federal funding um at the same time I understand the philosophical and political positions that that the boards are in too so we're trying to make decisions based upon policies versus making decisions based upon science MH that's what I'm confused by um and so I think yeah we see the political and we see the policies and we see the law but yet we want to ignore the science of what it is yeah
055within those definitions but those are the those are the definitions we're given at this time I I don't disagree with you oh Tony that's not at you so please I hope you don't hear that yeah no I just making a so ultimately though I mean all of this is I mean what the intent right what's the intent is the intent are they doing this because they want to create disruption in our programs or is the intent here that they want to protect the child right no matter no matter what the child claims they are or anything else the intent here is to protect the child and the discrimination against a child and and I think that's the intent so we there can be all these nefarious things and we can think all day long on
056that and we can think about the fact that we're not going to be collaborative with people and we're not going to have conversations and and that this is all some sort of thing to just disrupt the fiber of our communities or we can look at this and say look we've been asked to take a look at our policies make sure that we have policies that deal with discrimination that deal with harm to an individual and that's what I think the intent is and sure there are there's all kinds of participation things and everything else and I I have my own opinions on where that all is but I don't think this was written to disrupt our sports teams or our extracurriculars or anything else I don't think that was the intent and I think as
057we move forward we will need some sort of policy to move forward and as I read this other than the question of this this one definition the rest of this is quite clearly seems to be a very reasonable policy on how we will address complaints and discrimination when a child feels threatened yeah it's not a whole lot different than the old policy and it's you know there are a few bugs from the old policy that were actually corrected in this policy as far as the grievance procedure the complaint procedure so I mean from that perspective there's some good in this policy too um not saying that overall it's not you know trying to protect students from discrimination isn't good but um when they when they sat down and and looked at doing things theyve they've
058learned so to speak from the last four years so sure I feel like I I have finally I've gotten all the details I need know to to understand this better because I I I assume I'm like everybody else here I had no clue what we're where where 2264 came from even reading I wasn't sure exactly understand I think the process is very simple right I wasn't sure how broad it was I think there's some terms some definitions in here that I don't know how they match up with 2266 I didn't even know we had 2266 5517 would be great to read as well apparently and I'm making a little light of this but it's not like we I need I need to know more I'm not in a position here to to vote for this
059at all personally and the only I mean from that perspective I certainly understand that I guess the caveat is just from the administration standpoint you know not only are they trying to comply with the August 1st deadline but now we've got handbooks and um you know student information and posting getting stuff on the website for the start of the school year so just from an administrative standpoint um you're kind of up against it and that's nobody's except for Department of Education you know thrusting this upon us with you know a few months notice so if we post notice online and I think that's what your recommendation last time you met with us is to share like a general announcement to the public I just like to be aware that this may be you may like
060your student may encounter a person of a different all that is that notice does it have to State like the 2024 version of Twi line or the 2020 version can it just be generic and to say that statement could just be generic right right so if we're working through and trying to get our head around this could we wait three months until the elections all calm down and then well we do have not repost a notice we do have an obligation though to post a notice with regard to the the complaint procedure so I mean we have that posted right now on our website it's in our I would assume it's in our student handbooks um notice that 22 66 is available as a complaint procedure so and that that's required so I guess the
061only thing I would say is that you just think about the committee of the whole meeting when Andy and I both spoke to we try I mean this is pages of things and I understand it's l you know with concerns but we tried to just take a simple list and say here's what we have here's the difference with this one and I know that it's very understandable that you're focused on our children but for those of us who have to administer here policy was this the new policy was this and we tried to just keep it to heure where those differences were so just to help with like those numbers like that that's kind of that's what's made me a little bit here is we had to do an update because of just the tiny
062to the old one but then this is the recomend new one by August 1st so again kind of to Bob's point the intent right of what we were looking at of wanting to accomplish by August 1 so the the highlighted um document that we received last week is label 2264 it's not 2266 but it does talk about 2266 at the beginning so is this 2266 kind of Rewritten and then color coded to show delete maintain was that how this was drafted because at the time when we had it that's that's where we were at working with Neola and and Tony right I mean you were working on the edits with you got the newest one in the packet yeah the one clean copy right that was the one that Jean Bor arola representative prepared for
063us I guess my I maybe my question more straightforward is the 226 2264 was it drafted off the basis of 2266 or is it a completely new policy that will not read anything close to what 2264 is no there there's a lot of the same the same procedures the grievance procedure and and things like that that are similar to 2266 but there are differences sex being one of those the the you know the definition of sex the um the uh kind of caveats that I outlined at the very beginning as to what's di Minimus and what's not um then there are the within the grievance procedure itself you know things that um we have Title 9 coordinators and in the past it was regimented for example Title 9 coordinators would serve as the investigator but
064not the um then the decision maker and not making a determination so now those have been Consolidated if the district so chooses so there are changes um to the actual policy um or the grievance procedure and I agree I think what you and Andy were able to share last week was very help um I think there my concern is um that is it that simple or are there a lot of weeds that we are trying to make a decision on that don't want to put any of our students at risk within it and so trying to get my arms I can't say our but my arms around it to understand it so that we are aware as much as we possibly can um to what we're agreeing to and what we're putting you and in
065the school district as well as our students um what we're putting them into of what could be next and so yes I agree bob every student does matter and that's the intent of providing that um I just I'm concerned that there's what that line of harassment looks like because it can go both ways absolutely and so just how are we protecting but that's what this does is create a procedure to evaluate that and group in a procedure that follows law and says this is the way we should do it so 2266 has that same procedure it's changed now it's updated so it's been updated so do you not want to update it or what what's the alternative yeah I need to know what 2266 said and then compare it against where we're going with 2264
066that's what is where is that I guess is what I keep coming back to in a way I think everything scratched on here right is the 2066 not not to show the difference between 2266 and 2264 I mean the highlights when I went through was there were a lot of editing notes or drafting notes and you know the the administration and the board or the Committees had the option to read through them and and make decisions and then um um based on all of that I just read through it to make sure that you know what we had selected or the options were consistent or in compliance with the law so so our policy 2266 is the old policy that's in place right now and then we'll add on this new policy on top of
067it well in essence 2266 is going to go away on August 1st if a if a harassment or an assault situation Ur prior to August 1st it's possible that somebody could bring a complaint in October and we would have to follow the procedure under the old policy but at some point in time we're going to be far enough down the road where 2266 is no longer going to be a board policy and and Andy you were involved in all this right in in this adjustment from 2266 to 2264 I mean it does it seem more reasonable less reasonable I you know I I guess reasonableness is is really subjective um it's is there more clarity or less Clarity on how you handle the Discrimination how you I think the talking I mean like the talking
068points Ann and I brought up you know it's a broaden definition of what sex-based harassment is um so there is more overlap with 5517 as there in mentioned um and then the other piece to it is that it includes the pregnancy it includes more more measures for how are we going to pre- and prevent and help support children and staff from engaging in behaviors that could that could constitute sex-based harassment so there's more proactive expectations there's more expectations in the new policy with respect to documentation and how we document and how we keep track of because it's going to get monitored and look at more closely I would imagine by the office of civil rights um I guess from my perspective it when somebody is when somebody bring I'm just going to say like a
069loose example when somebody comes to my office and says this has happened to me or report something that's concerning um how I would in general say this is depending on what they're reporting it looks like something that might rise to the level of harassment based on anything that's protected under policy I would say first of all you know be a good listener right and then I would say so it sounds like what you're sharing with me is X Y and Z they say yep that's what I'm saying and then I would say okay I would say you have a couple options here I'm going to explain them to you and then I'm going to invite parent Guardian to be involved in this conversation as well so that you can make an informed decision and I
070would say this can be a school investigation just like many other school investigations we would have or another option you have is to make this a formal complaint under whatever it would qualify under potentially and then that initiates process XYZ I will meet with you and parent guardian we can talk through that process give you a little think time so you can make it informed decision frequently parents and kids are like well I don't know what that means formal complaint versus School investigation right and they're like I don't know and then and the policy is I give them the whole policy so they're like whoa this is like 27 pages so so essentially it comes down to this um how I try to explain it and Tony correct me if I'm wrong because I try
071to kind of use the words that you helped me to to kind of use naturally is that these policies and the process of formal complaints are put in place to protect students and staff from feeling like their supervisors or the adults aren't doing what they're supposed to do to take a complaint seriously so it guarantees in a way the Integrity of the process it doesn't guarantee that the resolution turns out to be found to be discrimination but it guarantees that there is a formalized process by which this complaint will be resolved and a recommendation will be made and then there's a way to to within the process grieve the process if you don't agree with its decision either way so in I would say in some cases families and children will say I do not
072want 27 Pages Mr Novak will you please just investigate this and work through it that way and in other cases they will say no I I appreciate the offer and and I always say I take no offense to whichever one you choose and they may wish wish it to be a formal process and often we work on this together so Andy is doing that explanation I'm the one taking notes in the room and when we say that we like share the like so we're either going to share the old policy or we're going to share the new policy and we do what it says and if we have any questions we call our legal councel and because we want to make sure we do it to the best of our ability correctly to respect that
073this has been asked of us or questioned you know um I mean we try to be very thoughtful about that process um so in regard to like new or old I think it just this one certainly does the new one if you would you know Vote or in that way tonight um I I do think it asks of us to be much more proactive with our training of others and making other people aware um you know and being proactive if you hear a rumor or you know just this idea that we don't want to discriminate so we want to have a culture where people feel they can access what they need and want to access so um so it's that idea that we have to also plan ahead to do that training tring right and
074the training means we have to teach from this whichever one you approve I mean you know but the standard I think is higher with the what what they would like in place by August first I mean is that fair to say to yeah I would agree did board policy is a little bit off subject but not too far still regarding board policy 2266 did it have already have a section around breastfeeding or conditions around breastfeeding or that was that just whole new term that was put into 2264 yeah 2264 addresses pregnancy and related conditions now so that's it was incorporated as part of that so it wasn't in 2266 at all no right no okay so our policy with that is kind of right now is it's just a Unwritten Mo if someone pregnant special
075situations for feeding and things like that well there's a state law that we have to adhere to with respect to that already so okay so 2264 isn't really helping us a whole lot there I mean it provides some context to that but well again it provides another Avenue that if if we're not providing that opportunity under the the law then it's it's an Avenue to grieve that or to you know bring those who need to know into into the know so that something can be done about that all right other questions hearing none um I'll entertain a motion to adopt the uh 2264 uh policy I think what I'm struggling with right now B is having if we could have had all this information sooner like the the definition from Tony and having a greater
076understanding of what it is and again it's not to disrespect an or Andy in it because what they shared was great but um it just seems a little bit I don't know backs up against the wall in my opinion that's all so I just want to state that so I I guess you know uh as a point of order uh we can we can someone can make a motion you can make a motion to table it um but we have to consider those consequences of tbling it but we probably should have a motion in a second and then we can have more discussion and then we can vote but I make a motion that we adopt policy 2264 is there a second can we discuss then since not a second I'll second it because I'd
077like to have the discussion so yeah uh for me I I totally agree with you that it puts a you know back against the the wall but to be able to to not get into legal trouble that's why I feel like we're almost forced to adopt it and approve it so that we don't have trouble down the road whereas we may not but if we would I think then this would be you know protection on us do I you know um I just I just you you know really hope that and I know that the staff has done wonders you know with those that have these um whatever trying to work through it uh with with the students with the families and you know it it you between a a rock in a hard place
078cuz you you you want both children's to feel safe and secure and it's hard to do in this situation I I feel but I appreciate the effort that our staff goes to to work through them them efforts the only reason I brought this motion to the floor is because I feel that it's a protection for us as a district and down the road if we want we can unadopted correct well you could always change policy later on right um I'll chime in as well I I I understand what you're saying about timeline we're we're given this timeline um we we are going to handle the challenges of gender of all of these things we're going to handle them the way this District normally has which with a lot of compassion and lot of thoughtfulness with
079with everyone involved right it's not like people are lining up to challenge all of these conventions there are a few individuals out there that will challenge us along the way we should have the very best training we should have the very best policies in place that we can have these discussions and we can have the discussions without discrimination that's what we should have in place if Neola and our attorney and our staff members are bringing forward this is the best policy given the climate that we have today and they're suggesting this is what we ought to adopt as that policy then is my feeling we should adopt that policy I'm not sure what changes by tabling it by putting it off I'm not going to rewrite it myself that I can tell you and in
080the long run as Sally said if if this is wheels off and we want to put ourselves into a position where somebody's going to go to a supreme court Tony um yeah we can make those decisions and vote accordingly at that point but as I read this and again my head hurts from reading it several times over um it the the the process and procedures outlined in here seem like good due diligence to me I I would want that as an employer this is how I'd want people to behave and bring up discrimination and how my organization would then address those things I don't think there's anything there it is just simply this one definition within there that sets everyone off but that doesn't this policy doesn't mean if if we adopt this policy it
081does not mean anything more than we've adopted a policy that understands discrimination in a broader sense a broader sense that we've already outlined in other areas right so it doesn't change that and it doesn't mean that all of a sudden you know anything changes within our organization other than when discrimination occurs when a complained discrimination occurs we are going to handle it with the very best policy that we were given at the time and that's what we're going to use so my vote will be yes so is there anything in the changes um that deal with um you know the orientation or or the gender issues um is that um you know if we don't follow the law and something happens and we lose our funding you know where are we then um like Bob
082said that that doesn't mean that you know we're going to openly invite you know any of this controversy it's it's we deal with things on a Case by case basis um so I mean the outline definitely um it's good to have policy in place that's you know I looked it over too and you know I looked it over too and I I personally can't see um you know issues with it I think that it's it's always good to have policy in place that outlines procedurally how to take care of situations that arise and that's split kind of read to me um you know and if it does include um some of the new topics like the pregnancy and the breastfeeding and all that and you know that probably should be something that we're addressing as
083well so um I guess my stance would be to uh to adopt it and um you know politically who knows you know it might not be here which personally I I would hope this would go away anyway I guess what I'm struggling with um is just the we have layers of policy already uh but now those are inadequate because we need to have more layers of policy we can always offer training we can always get better at training in the ways but now we need a policy to give us permission to do training um so just it seems like there's just this this web and then us needing to be able understand how that web Works um and then have a hour conversation to then make a decision around it and so that's what I'm
084just gently pushing back upon that process that's all I'm trying to just share of we have these different things we can choose to do training but yet we need to have a policy accepted in two weeks to make sure that we get the F funding that we did that we should get if we agree with the policy or not so that's where I'm just stating where I'm at with the struggle of it that's it period full stop and I think that you know that web you talk about you know it's it's politically dri and you know you have an Administration that is up for grabs at the end of this year and administrations change they they change but they also try to get as much stuff done and passed and you know before the end
085of the term so you know maybe that's why uh the push absolutely and politically driven if it is or if it isn't I think it's just hard that we're strapped in Plymouth Wisconsin based upon yeah the policies that need be pushed from the federal government and that's just the reality of so we're trying to make decisions that are they don't know that who we are we know who they are and we have to make those decisions for our students for our faculty and for our families that are here and so um that's why I'm just being able to say hey this is I know we want it to be easy but it's it's not in my opinion so no I I don't think it's easy um I just think this is the reality right that
086we live in today and uh I think the long run is somehow we want to see discrimination go away 100% right somehow we want to see that and people have different ways of approaching it and how you speak to it and everything else this is a policy that's thrown at us and there's a lot that's outlined in here that just seem very reasonable to me I mean it it just seems like well this seems like good discipline and do we need policies thrown at us to be good people no right we don't but but the reality is we have these policies put before us so do good people say yeah no I don't want to adopt the policy out of out of some principle of no one's going to tell me what to do or
087do you just say you know what we're good people and we're going to do the right thing always and if we have to adopt this policy we adopt the policy but we still need to do what we will always do that's right and I think we're good people and we're going to do what's right it it seems odd that we have a policy to force us to do that but on the same token this this policy isn't forcing us to do anything other than be good people so is it really that hard to say let's adopt it and move on the part that usually gets the push back with gender issues we already have that right so if that's a concern adopting this we've already got it in 5517 we're not adding that and inviting
088that I'm just asking for time to understand the difference between 2266 and 64 like I guess one question for me is still does 66 include language around the term applies to activities that occur in school grounds or another property owned or occupied by the board Does it include extracurriculars Does it include Athletics is that a yes both of them yes okay so 2266 already have the athletic piece yeah it would be an educational activity or program so under both policies okay and then just for my benefit and if I ever get asked this has a has a Wisconsin Public School ever been um of course they I'm sure they've been sued by a civil law firm um under anti and under discriminatory law have they ever actually been um docked or been deducted federal funds
089because of their their policies so not that I'm aware of because I gave you the example of of Rin Lander um what ends up happening is they they don't push it to have Department of Justice come in and enforce it they enter into the consent decree so they agreed to to certain a settlement agreement in essence so it settles on the the steps of the courthouse before it it comes to that all right um do we call the question do we want to do roll call I I don't know we or just Voice vote s call the question uh uh we had a motion and second to adopt uh 2264 on discriminates right y okay Dan Tony yes Bob yes Sally yes Aaron yes Janelle I don't like the timing but I'm pretty probably just
090haveed to I'll okay thank you okay thank you Tony thank you very much please feel free to yeah okay yeah thank you so much you're welcome good night everyone thank you good night okay well that was a lot um let's quickly go through the rest of our agenda um board liaison reports Sally yes Comm Community Ed let's do something fun so Community Ed will be showing a movie July 31st it is a free movie but you must call the community at office to let them know that you plan on coming cuz if nobody calls then they will not be showing it it is the boys in the boat movie there will be pickle ball Mondays and Wednesdays from July 22nd through August 14th at Park View from 5:30 to 7:00 if you want to learn
091how to make make a head meal freezer meals there's a workshop you will make four meals to feed anywhere from four to six people and this will be July 24th on a Wednesday introduction to watercoloring painting it is ages 14 and up that will be through August um 1st and then Landscaping to draw birds and bees and help the environment this is a free Workshop it is August 8th and if you how to plan your meals when you're on a busy schedule so you don't grab fast food restaurants and this is going to be Wednesday August 14th that's it thank you Sally uh Foundation to know the Education Foundation and the group did not meet this month they the month off but a subset of the group The fundraising team is kind of met last
092week and is brainstorming on possible big fundraising pieces and they're also looking for ideas on what could be the the the capital reason why we want to have a fundraiser so if there's something that again in the um I forgot what you call it the other topics the like um building and grounds or something other issues and topics or fundraising concerns that we could focus as our agenda for the fundraising that would be good to know cool and reminder use the Plymouth Pride pump to fill your gas tank and go to Walmart and round up for the Plymouth Ed so are they are they planning a fundraiser this year then or rather than having it in October we're thinking of pushing it ahead to Spring okay rather than getting caught up in all the false
093boards yeah that's a good idea okay thank you Janelle you're welcome uh family oh Kathy's not here uh so no report for Family Resource uh Personnel yeah Personnel um like to take this in two parts essentially we're seeking approval for the contracts uh in A and B and I'll read those first the board will consider the approval of a 100% contract for Stephanie Harris to be a special education teacher at Riverview Middle School beginning with the 2425 School Year Stephanie received her bachelor's degree from Concordia University and this will be Stephanie's first year of teaching second the board will consider the approval of a 100% contract for Dena Mills to be a special education teacher at Riverview Middle School beginning with the 2024 2025 school year Dina received her bachelor's degree from the University of
094Wisconsin ashkash and her masters from Lakeland College this will be dena's 31st year of teaching okay we need a mo motion to approve the contracts make a motion we accept the two contracts second I'll second all in favor say yes yes yesst all right all right thank you uh see D reference to resignations the board will consider the resignation of Gina rvet school nurse for Plymouth School District effective at the end of the 2023 2024 school year Gina has been with the district for four years the board will consider the resignation of Kristen Vogal special education teacher at Horizon Elementary School Kristen has been with the district for two years okay need a motion to accept the resignations so second all in favor say yes yes oppos thank you and letter e again this does
095not need approval uh informational but Haley Barber special education Aid at Horizon Elementary School has submitted her resignation Haley has been with the district for four years thank you great uh nothing for 12 uh item 13 president's report I'll make it brief uh I sent you uh I sent everyone on the board homework I'm not sure if you saw it or not but it is to explore just our uh kind of revisit our values our pillars and have an open discussion about those with uh Scott and his team at our next Committee of the whole um I think it'll be a great exercise for us all to re reacquaint ourselves with each other with some of the values and also uh let Scott get to know us so it would be a good exercise please
096spend a little bit of time with it I tried to make it as easy as possible so and that's all I have superintendent all right um July welcome thank you thank you I appreciate you having me um July obviously is a slow month as far as student accomplishments and things like that but we've got two um first of all our German trip concluded June 21st and if you'll bear with me Laura cable did provide about a nice paragraph Just a synopsis of the trip that I think would be great for all of us to hear 15 students and three teachers Jessica barington Laura cable and Sandy Nicholson traveled to carbon Germany from June 6th through the 21st to meet with hosts students and learn about German culture started by Sandy Nicholson in 2008 2009 this
097two-way host School exchange has been taking place every 2 years with 15 to 20 students traveling to and from Germany trips are planned by S Nicholson and Jessica barington which helps to keep cost more affordable for students the benefit of having this wellestablished partnership is the long-term relationships they have created over the years the friendships with colleagues in carbon also help with new relationships for the kids and the families as well the teachers commented that they loved seeing the students step outside of their comfort zone in so many ways they were willing to try new things and did not hesitate to help out others when needed they enjoyed learning about the school system in Germany and shared presentations in over 30 classes about life in Plymouth Wisconsin presentation topics were daily life at PHS School
098sports culture common laws and stereotypes after their Homestay with fames students visited Berlin during their stay they explored many important monuments the teachers were very impressed with the students interest in exploring culture and the respect for history overall it was an incredible trip and the teachers know know that these students will forever carry these experiences into their future lives even though the German language program has ended the school host opportunity is still available for all language students and teachers look forward to it continuing for a long time so again um a great experience for our kids and nice to hear back from Laura and the crew great want to say publicly thank you to Sandy Nicholson because she volunteered a ton of her time this past year to work with the students who were still
099in the German program um but the German program moved into facilitated studies so she volunteered her time on a regular basis to to work with those kids and help them still build their their language it's fantastic thanks thank you um second um celebration Max Holly who just graduated from Plymouth maybe you saw but he's been invited to participate with the Wisconsin singers at Wisconsin Madison so a huge celebration congratulations to him we wish him well and I believe February 14th is when they're coming back to perform here so Valentine's Day here we come there you go um that's it as far as student staff accomplishments as far as District update just a few things first of all summer school is ending this Thursday I had an opportunity to pop over at Parkview and Riverview and
100just chat a little bit with staff and students and kind of fill my own bucket a little bit um um great things happening well beyond the regular school year so thanks to all the staff involved with that uh District leadership team today was day one of a two-day retreat tomorrow is day two we're in Port Washington talking a lot about leadership talking about Employee Engagement goal setting um all kinds of really relevant things the other byproduct of it is there are 250 other individuals that are participating in this the majority from the public school area but there are also private sector individuals as well so yes we get to hang around together quite a bit but we also break up into groups that are deliberately not one another so that we're forced out of our
101comfort zone and and meeting other people so day one was great uh some of us came back early uh the others stayed until the the end and tomorrow morning we'll we'll hit it early again and then lastly this this is not going to be about me typically but um it is my third week and I'm sure people are curious I'm getting the question quite a bit how are things going um you know the word affirming really comes to mind because um the the people here are phenomenal their knowledge and expertise fantastic their willingness to help and um make the new guy feel welcome is truly amazing uh so been very busy as far as meeting one-on-one with other administrators talking about um a strength assessment that we did that we'll be doing with the board
102as well uh talking about their schools their needs things of that nature so getting a lay of the land a little bit uh and then Katrina has done a great job making sure my calendar is nice and chocked full uh with one-on-one meetings with people from throughout the community so last week was a super busy week this week a few more of those meetings so um really great great introductory meetings and the focus of all of them has been yes introduction but then also building upon great Partnerships that already exist how can we strengthen them how can we work together uh for the kids and families of of Plymouth so the last thing I'll say is um to the board thank you um you know the conversation that you just had none of you um
103certainly took lightly and I know it was weighing on you but the dialogue and the fact that um you wanted all the information that you could have um understand completely the timelines and things like that trust me we understand that but the fact that you engaged in that dialogue and you know for dur the duration that you did and with the intensity that you did um I thank you for that okay that's it thank you all right with that I need a motion to a journ