001So, we're good, Tammy, whenever you are. >> All right. So, it's 5:00. We'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. Uh because we are only having virtual tonight, if anybody has any public comment that they'd like to make during the public comment session, logged in online, please raise your hand and let us know and we'll give you the allotted 3 minutes for the public comment time. Is that a no, Margaret? I'm not seeing anybody. Are you? >> I'm not seeing anybody. >> All right, then we'll go ahead and move over to 3A, the consent agenda and human resources summary. >> So, today's consent agenda is a little bit brief. Um, we have I believe I got to quit moving this mouse around so much. Um, we have a teacher that has decided to retire
002and then we have a science teacher who took an uh advancement opportunity at a school district in Oak Creek. >> So, um, those are the two uh, resignations and or res one resignation, one retirement that we have for this month. I think you all are aware that the consent agenda may include an additional resignation next uh next week um that that is pending final finalization. So >> um and then the summary you can see that we are um working on filling some uh food service. We had in health room assistance to we had a new position and then we also had uh resignation. Um the truency abatement officer is a partnership program that we have with the Watertown Police Department. And then we have mostly food and and um um maintenance people that we've hired.
003We did have a few resignations or retirements of non-certified staff. Although I can say that neither one of these was unexpected. So that was what we had for the consent agenda for this month. >> So those are ready to go for the meeting next Monday. So >> correct. And those are I mean they've all been submitted in good in good order and according to our policies. So, >> sure. >> Um, yep. >> Okay. And then we'll go ahead and move to the summer school consent agenda. >> Yep. So, the summer school consent agenda is the first of several that you will see over the next few months. These are so the way that the uh staffing works for the consent agenda for summer school staff is that the actual planning and program development for summer
004school is carried out through ED services and I believe that Jenny had gone through a couple presentations. We usually start the planning for that in um late late fall, early winter and then by January we usually have a pretty good template of of what we will be looking for. They uh discuss the content areas and the overall programming within ed services and then um as a companion to that then the uh staffing plan is also approved. the the types of positions that are going to be needed for summer school for any given summer are also included in that plan done at ED services which leaves the HR committee the only responsibility of approving the consent agenda for positions that have been filled according to the plan. So, these are all assignments that are developed um
005in conjunction with the course book for the summer school program. And I will say a lot of these are ongoing continuing appointments of current staff um and people that have quite a length of service in terms of being available to uh provide student services throughout the summer. So, um, we do have a few vacancies left for teachers for summer school, but we are working on recruiting those individuals, and there is a sense of optimism or or confidence that we will be able to fill those. However, I will say that you will see summer school consent agendas from now likely until August because once school summer school gets started, things have a way of shifting and moving so that like some people that thought they were going to stay end up having other commitments and then
006we end up hiring. And so don't be surprised if you find that the consent agenda for summer school sometimes feels like it comes on longer than summer itself. You would be correct in that sense. So um but we are feeling uh like we are in good shape for a staff for the staffing plan for um for the start of se summer school this year. >> Good. >> Okay. Good. >> Yeah. Good to know. Yeah. >> All right. If there's no questions, we'll move on to the employee satisfaction survey followup. >> Yep. So, this is a followup to the topic that we had la at last month's meeting. You'll recall that we had the survey timeline from school perceptions, which I included. There's no change to that document. I just included those as foundation documents so
007that you can find them all in one place. Right? So the staff survey timeline is the timeline that was rolled out last month. Um as is the survey proposal. As you recall, we had two action items that I was asked to follow up on related to questions in the survey itself and then the possibility of adding an additional survey question. So, um, we did add a survey question that was related to, I think it was Lor's suggestion that we include a custom question related to um, how staff feel overall with respect to their parent uh, relationships. So, um, I'm just trying to find that real quick. Um, we did add that question in the additional items area. Um, let's see. Did we add that Derek? So, I see you hanging out there in the >>
008So, if you Let me introduce you though if you don't mind. Yes. So um you can see that Derek God from school perceptions has um joined our conversation today. So um he he Derek you might want to give an overview of the work that you did with respect to that question because I know that you had done some research into the parent surveys and um so show your work as they say in education. >> Uh gladly nice to see everyone again. I'm Derek Gotale from school perceptions. Um, thank you for having me in this meeting. I just figured it would be helpful for me to hear the input so I can get any changes made that need to be made as quickly as possible. The item uh that Margaret is referring to is in the
009environment page. It's the last item on that page and it reads staff interactions with parents/families are mutually respectful. That was uh close to the original suggestion and the reason that I worded it that way. There's two reasons the work showing that uh Margaret asked for. I wanted to say staff interactions or ask staff to respond to staff interactions with parents and families are mutually respectful rather than my interactions with families are mutually respectful because uh wording it the latter way can bring in some social desiraability bias. So, if they're asked to reflect on the general character of staff interactions with uh parents and families, uh that lessens that danger a little bit. And I wanted to make sure that I ended with the equality that uh the item is meant to address, namely mutual respect.
010So, the question sets up staff interactions with parents and families, but the key thing is are they mutually respectful? You know, and it's answered on an agreement scale. So, that's the additional item uh that I added and why I worded it the way that I did. >> And that's found in on page five of the survey in the environment section at the very end. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Questions at all about that addition? So I'll just ask specifically related to that. Is that do you believe that that's satisfactory enough that we can go ahead with the with that adding that question to the survey and or are there other suggested changes? >> I think that does what we needed to do. I think that was the intention. >> Yes, I agree. >> Okay. And
011then the second question, the second modification to the survey was related to the use of the word equal opportunity, which I believe was rewarded to speak only to opportunities. Is that correct, Derek? >> That is correct. It's on the following page. And now it reads uh where is it? Our school uh >> she just went by it. All students in our school are given opportunities to learn and experience success. >> Yes. And I think I have a I so it's the question students are given opportunities to learn and experience success. And then I think maybe the PDF copy Derek may have picked up an additional question that we had eliminated a while back at the bottom there which is um >> at the bottom is that the Yeah. Our school supports equal opportunities. Number two.
012Yeah, we >> Yeah. Yes. >> Number two, the support team. That is that um I'm sure was like just a technical error. That's not a question that's included on our survey. So, >> great. >> Okay. >> I will >> I just checked and eliminated that on my end as well. >> Okay. Thank you. And so, that was the those are the only two changes that you had um had recommended that we make. And I'm just curious as to your reaction to that or do you would you like other changes notwithstanding the typo correction the technical correction that we have to make or have Derek has already made because he works on the fly. Thank you Derek. Well, I think for purposes of longitudinal comparison, it's important that we keep it as similar as we can
013so that we are able to analyze this, you know, over time. So, um I went through it. I didn't see any I I saw that the changes we had requested had been made and um I I I think this is good to go personally. So, >> I agree. I think we have good we this will yield good longitudinal results for us. It's in alignment enough with our the existing surveys from the past that um I'm sure that school perceptions will be able to draw longitudinal con comparisons for us. >> Yep. Yeah. I don't I don't think we've we've made changes so substantive that that would be in jeopardy. So >> no. Yeah. I agree. I'm okay with it. Dan, did you have a chance to look at the survey? We're just looking for feedback on
014if the employee survey can move forward. >> You're muted. Dan, if you go to the like bottom right and click on the Wi-Fi and battery thing, see if you're muted in your microphone in there. The bottom right, if you click on the time clock, >> Margaret, I also believe you can unmute. >> Yeah, I'm going to give that a try right now. Okay, it's okay, Mr. Voltner. It's all right. >> I cannot unmute you, Dan. It says I can't >> This is kind of fun watching Dan's lips move and not having to >> It's in Zoom that he's muted because we can see the little mute symbol. So, in the Zoom screen, Dan, you'll see a little button by your camera bottom left or Google Meet screen bottom left that looks like a little microphone.
015That's what you want to hit. >> Oh, he went out to go back. >> How's that? Better. >> Oh, great. Yay. >> Yeah. Hey, I know what I'm doing. No, I >> never >> Hey, let's get serious here for once. I think that uh that's very good survey. I'm okay with it. >> Okay, >> Julene, what are you writing down? >> Every word you say. All right. Very good. Just to be clear real quickly about the the one item that so obviously uh the question that we added there won't be longitudinal won't be longitudinal data on that one yet but going forward there will be for the one that changed uh I can report obviously the the this year's average against last year's average with the board's understanding that you know that item is worded
016differently and so you know have some caution with inferences but >> y That's all >> good reminders. >> So, that is where we're at with the survey. And just as a reminder, we'll be rolling that out on April 15th, I believe. And >> 14th, I think. >> April 14th. Neither here. Yeah. In about a month. And that'll run through the last couple weeks of April. >> That's right. >> All right, then we'll go ahead. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Derek. >> No, no, I just said that's correct. >> Okay. >> Um Oh, so we'll move to the employee handbook update, the final draft. >> Yep. So, in the administrative content area, there is the latest draft. Um I I think I had mentioned this last month when we were talking there. This draft is as
017complete as I can get it today. I am hoping that over the next week there may be some more edits. But if there's a missing piece or a policy question that I'm following up on, you will see. I'm just trying to highlight it through these to find an example. >> Okay. >> So, for example, >> this where it says policy 7440.01 video surveillance and electronic monitoring. The the language for this um policy is maybe already gone through second read. I will I but the last check that I had had it had gone through first reading on January 26. So Lynn Linskins and I are monitoring those new policies that are added by the policy committee that that passed through second read. And when those are when that language is finalized, I will go in and
018update the language to reflect the adopted policy and then remove obviously the highlighting. Um, the other thing I wanted to point out about this draft is that this draft is just the words. It okay in some places does not look pretty. And that is um because at this point what we're looking for is approval of the draft to convert it into a usable handbook that we will be posting online. It it needs to be made much more attractive looking. and Melissa and Lyn Linskin's are u my project team that once we have the language approved we will break it into or or build it into an online and printable version that is interactive so that when I want to find out like what a certain section is I'll be able to look at a table
019of contents that says where is my oops sorry um where is my um section on I don't know uh video surveillance or where is my section on um compliance officers. So then it will just the table of contents will link to each of the policy sections that are noted. And um so you'll see that there are I think I want to say four or five policies that I'm still working with Lynn on to get the final language for. But >> I I mean I can read those pending. I I have this draft in so you know that there are some there is some outstanding sections that need to be filled out and need to be like worked into the p the ma manual the draft I I take to the board next week I'll remove
020those but I wanted you to be aware that this draft has those because those highlighted areas are essentially serving as placeholders so that I know where I need to keep monitoring the polic policy work like actually turn the handbook on for staff and and just a reminder the handbook itself does not get turned on or become effective for staff until July 1st. >> Okay. So going forward once this draft is once this version of the handbook is as of July 1st then the old handbook would sunset and we would use the language in this handbook to to essentially administer the employment experience and employees. Um, this version is meant to be easily updated, which was a problem with our old handbooks, which is that they such a such a um like such a a protracted
021process to try and get any language changes. But this process is set up so that like like we say at the beginning, anything in this handbook can change at the discretion of the board at any time with or without notice. Now, we don't want to just be making obviously handbook changes without notifying employees, but we we have um the ability now to go into the handbook and make changes and then we will set up a communication uh strategy that when handbooks are updated that we set send out notification to our our work group, our employees so that they know and we have more or less evidence of having informed the employee that they knew or should have known that a policy change affecting their employment occurred. So right now we are at the point of
022nearly completion for the language but the actual formatting and the like essentially I call it making it pretty is work that we still need to do and will be done and will be brought back to you before we actually go live with distributing this to staff. So um that is the status of the the handbook right now. Like I said, I'll be following up with Lynn on various um pieces that are not quite yet uh resolved from the policy standpoint. Um I I think most of them are like I think like social media is one. Um there are a few other ones that I I see that are on deck yet that need to be worked out. Um there's a couple others that might need to be like aligned with other existing policies that have
023already been approved, but you'll see that as you go through those highlighted areas are and it tell it like I put notes in there on what why it's highlighted like what is being checked on in order to finalize the the language before it's turned on for staff. So questions at all about anything having to do with the um here's a good example is political activities is like that the last time I checked that policy was in um the parking lot and I don't like I I'm not always privy to the actual scheduling of policy updates and adoption. So, um that's where I'll be working with Lynn to try and get as much of this um sorted out before the final um the final version goes out. That being said, I'm sure you can appreciate I
024can't make stuff up if we really have a policy that's in the works. I I want we want >> Good to know. Good to know. >> So So that's where we're at. I think I see Dan's hand. >> Yes, Dan's hands up. >> Yeah, Margaret, I like those changes. Those sound great. Do Do would you have a link for frequent uh frequently asked questions? >> Oh, I don't have that. But that is a great that is a great suggestion. Thank you. I will um >> I'll I'll I'll work something up on that, Dan. That's like actually a really Yeah, very thoughtful. Thank you. >> Thanks. Um I remember one problem that I had. I was a coaching middle school or junior high and we had a fundraiser and there there were a number of a
025limited number of fundraisers that one sport could do and it conflicted with the varsity >> okay >> fundraiser and and I think that should be made known to new coaches because it's not something I even considered you know >> right right no I will u play around with that idea and I'll bring something back for you and um see if it's hitting the mark and if not um I welcome any feedback or suggestions. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. And then is if there's no more questions about that then we just have future meeting meeting planning. Yep. So >> just playing around. Um so uh coming up as I think you know is what another perennial topic staffing plan which I'm sure by April 8th we will all have had our fill
026of staffing plan ver and um u planning. So, um that we do have the staffing plan on um on Oh, wait. That's this month. Okay, let me go to April. Staffing plan we have on for April. Although, remember that we have an April 8th board meeting after the referendum to actually approve the final staffing plan. And so our focus of discussion in April for the staffing plan will be primarily centered around um where we're at in terms of vacancies, where we're at in terms of any um potential nonrenewals. Um any other So once we roll out the staffing plan, it almost inevitably creates more questions. And so once we get the staffing plan approved and we start to activate that, it is very likely that we will have some follow-up discussion related to oh well
027now this happens. So you know where does that fit and we would as we did with the staffing plan initially bring forward initial recommendations to the HR committee before we would take those forward. Um the staffing plan that's approved on the ETH would then be followed very shortly thereafter with the teacher contracts. So we would be bringing forward the teacher contracts for um passing. we would bring forward um this another summer school consent agenda and then um we have had there haven't really been any formal discussions about this but uh in light of of some of our financial challenges we thought we would start earlier on our health insurance re review I know that some of you were at the fiscal meeting I listened to a little bit about of that meeting about that discussion
028And just knowing that, you know, I mean, I'm not a finance expert and Beth is on the call. So, and so, um, I know that we are facing some significant challenges in the financial area that are is are really going to force us to look at everything, right? And so given the percent the amount of spend that we have on health insurance just proport as a proportion of the overall budget and given all the various bar models that I don't even claim to understand every piece of I I just know that we we would be remiss in not reviewing the health insurance plan from a perspective of are there savings or options that we should explore. or in order to, you know, help help manage costs within our, you know, our budgetary restrictions. So, I
029did have a short conversation with our broker this week and asked them to put together some ideas related to potential areas for cost savings. Um, Beth and I will be meeting with them for a strategic meeting. uh um in April we will be looking at we we'll be looking at um like more active planning than we have done in the last few years because you know our caps are off um the word on the street is that increases for some of our neighbors are upwards of 20% for next year and um I I think you all know health insurance is getting increasingly more expensive, disproportionate to the rate of inflation or anything else. So, so I did ask our broker to plan on attending the April meeting and talking with us about potential areas to
030think about as we move towards um the idea of a renewal for the January 2027 plan. Remember, we're on a calendar year health insurance plan, which is a little bit different than how we budget for just about everything else, but and we usually wait until August to get an update on where we're at, but we did ask him to that we wanted to start the conversation earlier, and that's so that's what that is going to be. I would expect that that would be a a pretty good chunk of our discussion next month. Um, and then I have on there annual pay adjustments for non-represented staff. That is contingent on whatever happens with the union and negotiations, which we had a couple months earlier, but as you know, we haven't had any movement on negotiations. And
031so I think a lot of that may also just be pushed forward until we have um a decision or an agreement with the union on the teachers side. So I'm I it's very likely I will just keep moving that forward on future agenda items. And then again going back to the staffing plan and whatever we end up uh approving that may result in some renewals or or not re nonrenewals of contract which as you know has an independent process for each individual that may be impacted. And so um we will have renewal non-renewals on the on the um agenda in the event we need to talk through like any planning for um uh potential hearings or any like if we we just want to talk about what is happening with any of those individuals that
032are um being given not preliminary notice of non-renew and then um just make sure that we're staying on top of our deadlines for that as well as honoring the process that the law lays out for them. So, we should have a pretty exciting April meeting. Um, so yeah. Any other topics that anyone would like to see on for April? >> Not right now. >> No, it looks pretty full to me. Can I just ask a question about the health insurance planning, Margaret? Is it just going to be a brief overview? I'm just wondering if when it gets to the point that we're going to be looking at what plan to pick, can we see what like what benefits are offered at the current rate? >> So, yep. What I what I ask the brokers to
033do right now is for us to first get um some benchmarking to find out from a comprehensive plan standpoint where we fall from a competitive in a competitive area like for everybody that is around our area. And what I mean by that is they'll look at the plan not only from the standpoint of what are the premiums but they'll look they'll do a comparison of out of pockets and co co insurance and deductibles and some districts contribute to HSAs or provide an H. So, first we'll they'll kind of lay the ground groundwork by giving us an idea of where we actually fall just from a competitive standpoint, which is not always the only reason that you make a health insurance decision. And then they'll get a give us a report on how our plan is
034performing. >> Okay? like we it I mean I just want to caution about that because like right now we know I know that our plan is performing at um it's um at 94% is our medical loss ratio which means that like premiums are exceeding our payouts by 6%. But this is April and we have a deductible period that we're just wrapping up now because everybody starts in January with a new deductible. And so it's likely that our our medical loss ratio will increase at, you know, it tends to follow a cyclical pattern where it goes down during the first quarter and then starts ramping up um in subsequent uh quarters. So, but we'll get our initial report on where we're landing from a plan performance standpoint. And then there are various options that can be
035considered when we look at making changes. It can be things like do we redistribute the share of the premium? You know, the district pays some, employees pay some. Do we look at the amount of co- insurance that were or deductibles that are provided? you know, and what are what is the impact and the savings that could be achieved through deductible changes? Um, are there um co- insurance things that we could look at where if we had employees pay a certain percentage that that would help to reduce our, you know, by offering those types of designs, it helps to reduce our um our overall spend. So that will be the start and then at we will need to provide some direction and have some discussion with them about do we want the brokers to go to
036RFI, you know, do we want them to go out and do a formal request for bids um for a different plan which like right now I don't h I really have no idea whether that's a wise or unwise move. But then we can we'll also need to look at things like one of the big spends is um is our pharmacy uh expenses, the cost of of prescription meds and and there are potentially other options out there that might be more cost effective for our pharmacy spend. So, I mean, there's a lot of different potential changes that we'll need to consider and we'll be doing a deep dive into some of that. I hope you like health insurance um because and I will also say those are those are challenging topics, you know, when you realize
037the impact that it will have on on people and our workforce. So, so that's kind of what the plan is for April is to get start gathering and getting up to speed on where we're at and what are the potential options and then what direction do we want to give the the brokers in terms of either a set cost savings amount or set direction on we we want to see you know other plans. We do have some I I would just caution. Uh one of the big challenges for Watertown is that because we are halfway between um Madison and Milwaukee, we have a very wide geographic area to attempt to cover with effective provide, you know, with to attempt to effectively cover with providers. So like right now the plan that we have meets that
038objective by engaging UW health on the Madison side and Aurora Healthcare and ProHealth on the um eastern side. So I mean it's like a lot of having to put all these different puzzle pieces together to figure out what is what what might work for the district. >> Okay. All right. And if there's nothing else, then >> Yeah, I have something. >> Oh, please go ahead, Dan. >> Um, there's got to be somebody in our district, you know, some private citizen who knows more about health insurance than many of us on the board would. if if we could elicit their help in some way, just getting their advice when to look at changing providers and, you know, anything that they could give us to, you know, maybe make a better decision. Is there a way we
039can solicit that help? >> Well, we have a contract with the USI. Um, I I don't I would have to take that back, Dan, and find out like what, if anything, our contract responsibilities are. Um, I I don't really know and I don't know of a person. I I mean, that's a a novel question. I've never had that before, but I can certainly check into it and and see if that's a possibility and or um how we how we would approach that. >> Can I ask a clarifying question of Dan? >> Yeah. So Dan, it's my understanding uh this uh contract that we have with USI functioning as our broker is that they are supposed to have the best interest of the district in their work as they make recommendations to us. Are you thinking
040that we need someone outside of this broker that we pay money to make those recommendations? Is that what you're thinking? >> Um I guess I am. Yeah, I I mean I don't know. I'm just throwing it out there, Gelain. I just think that uh if I'm a local taxpayer, I have skin in the game and I may be more apt to find a better deal in that sense, even though I wouldn't gain anything by doing that other than cheaper taxes. You You know what I'm saying? >> Yeah. No, I understand. Yeah. Um >> Okay. So, so there are quite a few rules associated with health insurance from a number of different entities. So, and I'm sure you're not surprised about that. But let one of the things I think that might be helpful just to
041start is I will um share the contract that we have with USI so you know what their delivered services are as part of the contract that we have. I know there are some requirements from either the DPI or the school law section that I'll have to work look at with respect to providing health insurance. So I just want to make sure that I have like all the technical stuff in my mind um up to speed. I I have not like I said ever entertained a question like that. So, I I will let's I will send you a copy of the contract so you know what our existing services are and um and then I will check into some of the other questions that have popped into my mind related to that as far as like
042our obligation to the broker and um what other concerns might be involved with pulling another entity in to provide advisory services. So, um, even if it's on a volunteer basis, I don't I really don't know. I I really don't know the answers to those things, Dan. So, if you give me a minute, I'll do some research, but in the meantime, I'll get a copy of the contract out for you. >> Thank you, Margaret. >> Sure. That will be my action item. >> Yay. All right. Sorry, Margaret. I was just giving you a moment to write that down. >> I got it. >> Okay. >> All right. So, I think that's it. Right. You have the one action item that you just received. >> Yep. Yep. And there's no other action items that were moving forward.
043Correct. So then we'll adjourn at 5:43 p.m. >> Okay. >> Thank you everyone. >> Yep. >> Bye everyone. Take care. Y >> Bye too. Do we have to sign in on a new link? >> Yes, >> we do. Thanks, Margaret. >> Sure.