001It's 6 o'clock. We'll get started here in just a moment. Good evening. It is 6 o'clock. I am calling to order the regular board meeting on Monday, January 5th. Mrs. Sch, may we get a roll call? Yes. Carol Fox >> here. >> Tom Henkins >> here. >> Amy Levy >> here. >> Megan Miller >> present. Brian Nichols >> here. >> Joanne Ru >> here. And Tia Johnson >> here. >> All members are present. >> Thank you. May I get an approval of the agenda with the removal of item 9B as there is no offer currently has been received. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Brian Nichols, seconded by Amy Levy. Any discussion hearing? None. All in favor? >> I. Motion carries unanimously for the pledge of allegiance. Tonight, the Merryill students were here
002actually for the business operations finance committee at 5:00 p.m. and uh they were led by principal Regina Mallister and band in elementary band instructor Kyle Hawkins. And they did a phenomenal job. I was very impressed and encourage everybody to go back and watch the recording. So with that, please stand and we'll do the pledge ourselves. >> I pledge algiance 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. And I do believe the students did a much better [laughter] job than we did. We did. Yeah, we did all right. But hey, they were they really were phenomenal. >> I resemble that remark. [laughter] >> Next, we are at the board president report. [sighs] Good
003evening and thank you for being here tonight both in person and virtually. We truly appreciate your continued interest in and support of the school district of Bo. Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop focused on declining enrollment hosted by CISA 1 and WASBO. I attended alongside finance director Stephanie Elwood, grant coordinator Brooke Walker, and director of early literacy and professional learning Michelle Elliot. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together superintendent, business managers, and instructional leaders from across the state to examine statewide budget impacts, population tren trends, and future enrollment projections. Through collaboration with colleagues from districts of varying sizes, participants explored strategies related to programming, staffing, and financial planning and reviewed practical tools and protocols that can help guide sound decisionmaking. I would like to share a brief summary of
004key takeaways from that workshop. Enrollment directly affects a district budget and fiscal management has a direct impact on student outcomes. In Wisconsin, state funding for school districts is based on a three-year rolling average of enrollment, making accurate enrollment projections critically critically important. These projections inform nearly every major planning decision, including budgeting, staffing, facility planning, and curriculum development. They help districts make informed choices about class sizes, staffing levels, technology needs, building utilization, and operational efficiencies. All of which both all of which influence both educational quality and financial stability. By examining factors such as housing trends, birth rates, migration patterns, and open enrollment, districts can better anticipate demographic changes and respond proactively. Enrollment projections are also essential for facility planning, including evaluating building capacity versus actual utilization, cost per student by building, and the operational impacts of
005over or underenrolled schools. Based on this data, administrators may bring forward recommendations related to school configurations, staffing adjustments, operational changes, or other measures intended to support long-term financial stab sustainability. Statewide, Wisconsin's population growth has slowed and the number of children ages 0 to 7 is declining. In 1990, 26% of the state's population was under the age of 18. By 2020, that figure had declined to 22%. Locally, the city of Boy's total population grew modestly from 35,573 in 1990 to 36,675 in 2020. This growth was considerably less than surrounding communities. Student enrollment in the school district of boy has shifted s significantly over time. during the 20 during the 25 and the I'm excuse me during the 2005 and the 2006 school year enrollment was 7,169 with English English learners comprising 9.8% 8% of student population.
006In the 2024 and the 2025 school year, enrollment has declined to 4,953 students, while the percentage of English learners increased to 18.3%. Several state policy changes have also expanded educational choice in Wisconsin. Act 16 in 1993 authorized public charter schools. Act seven Act 27 in 1997 established open enrollment between school districts and the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program was created in 2013, expanding voucher access for lowincome families statewide. According to data available through the SDB data tool and the DPI wise dash, the district's highest enrollment occurred in the two uh in the 2007 and the 2008 school year with 7,321 students, while the lowest enrollment occurred in the 2024 and the 2025 school year. As we consider these enrollment trends and projections, it is important to recognize both the challenges and opportunities before us. Changes in
007enrollment affect every department and every school. Later this evening, Dr. Anderson and members of the administrative team will present information on forward planning for the district and how we can contribute to plan response and and how we can continue to plan responsibly and thoughtfully for the future. Before concluding, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Blit Memorial band director Chris Barren for his continued dedication to our students and the broader Bo community. On December 17th, our jazz bands performed at the Grand Avenue Pub. The venue was full, the music was outstanding, and our students talent was on full display. Moments like these remind us of the many things we have to celebrate in the school district of Baloy. Let us work together to make 2026 a great year for all our students
008and staff. That concludes my president's report. Next we have Clerk Henkins with upcoming events and announcements. Thank you, board president. Good evening and happy new year. These are the announcements for Monday, January 5th, 2026. We welcome back all We welcome back all of our staff and students today after a refreshing winter break. The deadline for submitting your paperwork to be considered for the school board ballot in the spring 2026 election is tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6th, at 5:00 p.m. There are three open seats with two seats for three years and one seat for the remaining two years of Juan Romero's term. Forms are available at the Col Education Center right here, as well as on the board's website. If you have any questions, please reach out to me, Tom Henkins, or Michelle Schop at 608361-4180. Congress
009is hosting Arby's night on January 13th, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Support Congress by having Arby's for dinner on Tuesday, January 13th. Dr. Merlot, is that on both locations or just one of them? >> Riverside. >> The Riverside Drive location, please. Uh Arby's has been a big proponent of boy schools. So wonderful. The middle school B is taking place on Thursday, January 15th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cunningham building located at 910 Townline Avenue. We we wish each at participants good luck. The district will be closed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 19th, and there is no school for students on Friday, January 23rd. The Office of Alumni Services accepting nominations for the Alumni Hall of Fame award. The nominee must be a graduate of BMHS to be considered
010for the award. Nominations must be received no later than midnight on fe February 2nd, 2026 using the nomination form. For more information, go to the boyschools.net, then to the alumni page and select alumni hall of fame. Monday, January 26, 2026, the following meetings will be held at the CO KAK Education Center. We'll have the policy and hum human human resources committee meeting beginning at 4 p.m. At 5:00 p.m., we'll have the teaching, learning, and equity and pupil services beginning at meeting starting at 5. And then the regular board meeting will commence at 6 PM that same night. This concludes the announcements for tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Henkins. And I would just like to remind um everybody that the Wisconsin State Education Convention is January 21st to the 23rd. Unfortunately, this conflicts with this
011month's Blo Civics Academy at the Boy Public Library, which is about using the SDB data tool. Our next item tonight is recognitions. Tonight, the purp the purpose of this is to recognize and honor staff, students, and community members and partners for their outstanding achievements, goals, or service. The board of education and district would like to recognize Tracy Presley, chairperson of the boy NAACP education committee for her generous efforts in planning and preparing the food donation to our students to help ensure families and students had food over the winter break. Miss Mrs. Presley, would you mind coming to the podium? [applause] >> [applause] >> Tonight we are honored to recognize Boy NAACP education chair Tracy Preszley for her continued dedication to the school district of Boy, our students and our broader community. In her role with
012the NAACP, Mrs. Mrs. Presley coordinated the delivery and logistics for the boy NAACP holiday lunch bag donation partnering closely with the school district of Bo. Through this effort, the NAACP prepared 300 lunch bags distributed evenly across our six elementary schools. Each bag contained eight individually packed shelf stable items thoughtfully selected to be appealing to students and to help support them during the holiday break. Thanks to Mrs. Presley and her team of volunteers, every bag was packed, organized, and ready for delivery. This gener generous initiative helps strengthen and complement the work already being done by the district and our community partners to ensure students have access to food during an extended break from school. As board members over the years, we learn many stories about lived experiences of our students. One that continues to resonate with
013me involves a group of friends who noticed a classmate skipping lunch despite being hungry. When asked why, the student explained they were saving their lunch so they could eat more on Fridays, hoping it would help carry them through the weekend. Without hesitation, the group of students decided to take turns skipping their own lunches so their friend could have more to eat. What makes this story even more humbling is that some of the students making this sacrifice of their lunches were experiencing homelessness themselves. We may never fully know the circumstances of every individual in our district, but we can lead with compassion, awareness, and care for one another. That kind of forwardinking action is exactly what Mrs. Presley continues to model through her leadership and advocacy. Mrs. Presley, thank you for your unwavering commitment to our
014students and our community. The impact of your work reaches far beyond our school buildings and we are truly fortunate to have you as a belator. [applause] Thank you all for acknowledging my work. >> [snorts] >> I am honored by this acknowledgement and deeply appreciate the district support and confidence and I look forward to continue to work with you all um so that I can further help students in the school district of thank you. [applause] Next we have public comment. Mrs. Schul, are there any public comments tonight? I do not have any public comments. >> Thank you. Next up is the superintendent report. Dr. Anderson, though most of my items be covered later on in the agenda, one I did want to make mention of is that Tom Henkins and I had met over winter break
015and we had started to combine suggested names for the naming committee. Um, I sent those to everyone in um, the Boyd Board Bulletton. So, um, if you have any recommendations uh, that you would like to send to either Mr. Hanks, Mr. Henkins or myself, we will add those to the list and then um, if not, we'll start calling individuals to find out which ones of these individuals are able to serve on the committee. Um hopefully they all will and then once we have that committee finalized uh we'll bring it to the board for approval and then we will start meeting so that we can determine um the naming but we have met to uh bring up some suggested names as a starting point. >> Thank you Dr. Anderson. Next we have policy and human resources
016committee report chairman Henkins. I'm I'm sorry, Chairman Nichols. >> I knew what you meant. Thank you. Um, good evening everyone. Yes. Uh, we met earlier. We started this uh this meeting night off at 4 4 PM today and u we had a great presentation from Mrs. Pel at the high school on their cell phone policy and um their software program that they're using to track track students when they're not in the classroom. And it's uh it was a very very uh good discussion, lots of good data that she had collected from the uh from a survey done at the school. And um so we're looking we had some ideas and suggestions and it's you know it's like any program you you change it as you go along and and you improve it as you go
017along to where it you know it gets it gets just gets better every year or every day or every month or whatever. So thank you for doing that. And then we um we've approved a couple of things uh that are moved to the full board. That's my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Chairman Nichols. Next, we have Chairman Henkins with the business operations and finance committee report. >> Thank you, board president. Uh yes, we met tonight at 5:00 and we went over several actually three major things. We talked about a long-term debt prepayment early to save some interest payment acrewed on some debt that actually originated back in 2012. Uh and so we it's coming to the full board tonight for approval of repaying that debt. We also talked about the uh contract awarding um
018the services to our IT services to our current provider and that is was approved unanimously and will be sent forward to the board tonight and we took off a major thing so we're not going to talk about that and uh that's my report. Thank you. >> Thank you Chairman Henkins. Under board action discussion items. Our first item tonight is the teched make48 classroom competition. The purpose of this is to see if any board members would like to sit in the audience the classroom for the make48 competition being held on January 14th during the fourth block 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. at the high school. Presto, the class sponsor, will be with BL with the BMHS to judge the event and the board members will have an opportunity to meet three senior level employees from Presto who
019are traveling from Oaklair to from the Oaklair area to judge the event. There are three BMHS teams in the competition. Paul Donovan is the BM BMHs math engineering teacher. Are there any board members that are interested and available that I I can put their name down? >> Yes, board president. I'm available and I would like to Thank you. >> Okay. Thank Thank you, Mr. Henkins. Anyone else? Yes. Yeah, I would. Okay. Yeah. >> Sorry. >> Um >> only looked one way. Carol Fox, Brian Nichols, and I I too would like to attend. So, if we could just post this appropriately. Anyone else? Oh. Um 2:15 to 3:30. Thank you. Our next item is discussion of Hendrickx Family Foundation grant proposal. The purpose of this is to to discuss the grant proposal from the Hendricks Family
020Foundation and Lisa Fers at the December 16th board business meeting. This will be an opportunity for board members to discuss the offer and formulate any questions they have for Mrs. Ms. Fersth. Dr. Anderson will gather the questions and then ask Miss Fersth to attend a future meeting to address these board questions. Dr. Anderson, >> thank you very much. Yes, over winter break, uh, first of all, we all remember that at our last meeting, uh, Lisa Fersus got up and informed us about a proposal that the Hendricks Foundation would like to make available to the school district of Boe to provide $2.5 million for basically 60 slots uh to look at reading through an open literacy program and skyrocket is a professional development that would work with staff There were several um parts to that proposal.
021So since that was done during the comment section, we didn't have a chance to have a discussion. So I met with Miss Fesus over the winter break to review the proposal so I had a better understanding. It was a very good and productive meeting. And what we thought is in order for the board to make a good decision, we would first try to get all of the questions that the board members might have. And we realized some of the best ways to do that would one for me to be able to collect questions. Uh, Carol Fox has already sent me a list of questions that I can pass on to Lisa, but if other board members have them, if they get them to me, I will get them to Lisa and Lisa has agreed to
022come to our next board meeting and we can have that down as a subject matter so she can answer the questions that both that she was given in advance. So that which the questions you might have to give me and then any additional questions that we might have so that we can have a discussion so when the vote when the board finally takes a vote probably at one of the meetings in February they have had all their questions answered. Also as part of that one would be to select a school. So we are now looking at having a meeting with all of the elementary principles to meet with the founders of uh open literacy and skyrocket. Uh we are looking doing that either the 29th or the 30th of January so that they can present
023both what open literacy is, how that works and they can also talk about the professional development so that all of the principles get a chance to hear ask questions so that should we continue uh they would be able to when we ask if there's any schools that would like to participate in this project they already have some information that they can use to signify what interest their buildings might have in going forward. So, as I said, there's a lot of questions that need to be answered. Um, the best person to do that is Lisa. Lisa's agreed to do that. So, if you have questions, please send them to me. I will make sure that Lisa gets those so that when she comes to our board meeting on the 26th, she will be prepared to answer
024all the questions that she has been given and any other additional questions that might come up. So again, we were doing this to as a means to gain information so the board can make the best decision possible. >> Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Is there any discussion? >> Mrs. Levy, >> sorry. I apologize. My internet is not connecting, so I'm not able to raise my hand and all that stuff in the meeting. Um, and I wasn't able to attend the meeting on the 16th, so thank you for whoever left the packet for me to review. Much appreciated. It is my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that one of the criteria for this um this proposal being extended, this offer being extended, is that it is a unanimous vote of support from the board.
025Is that accurate? >> That is correct. [clears throat] >> So, my initial thought on that is very off-putting. That feels manipulative to me. I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in dictating how the board votes as long as there is enough support for it to pass as a board um decision if we went in that direction. Did you gain any information as to why that would be a criteria, especially since in in April we're going to have a new board anyway? We did actually talk about that because as I had mentioned when Lisa and I met is that you know our board is going to change or it is going to change in April because not everyone is running. Did they want to wait until you know to found out who the new board
026they did not want to wait that long because they thought if we waited until April or May there wouldn't be enough time to put it into session for the next year. The reason they put unanimous in is they wanted to make sure that they had the entire support of the board if they were going to go forward because this is going to be a a project that would last over three years. >> Thank you. >> Any other discussion, Miss Miller? [clears throat] >> Yes. Thank you. Um, yeah, I did prepare a list of questions and I'm I'm more than happy to to send to Dr. Anderson. Um and I can I'm certainly happy to share them now. I just want clarification of what actually on board President Johnson your expectation is like do you want
027us to like share our questions with each other and discuss or is this just to say like please give us questions? I just I don't want to take up time that we're not supposed to. >> Um if if you want to share your questions um go ahead because I I actually have some questions too. >> Oh perfect. Okay. Well I won't go through my exhaustive list but I will say while I do have many questions from Miss Fers um Dr. Anderson, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Um, and and just want to respect, you know, I know you're going out of town, your time and our staff's time. A lot of my questions really have more to do with like where we are currently as a district. And since we don't we
028have not engaged in any kind of like strategic planning conversation, as a board, while I have no doubt that there is, you know, extensive information within the district, um, that I'm sure like our literacy specialists, our our school principles, etc., like are aware of in terms of like what we currently offer in terms of um equitable multi-level systems of supports our tier 2 our tier three at all the different levels etc. I think it would be extremely helpful for us as a board as a backdrop to this discussion to have some kind of where like what is our current status for equitable multi-level systems of support um kind of K through 12 what are the highlights of um you know like for example that you know whether there are specific intervention curricula that we're using
029um what pl you know just just general kind of like placement criteria pieces and the and I'll and I have this all written out I'll certainly share with you Dr. Anderson. The reason for that is open literacy as a program is something that is going to have to fit into a larger system in order for it to be optimally effective. So there are bodies of research. I'll share some articles with the full board if people would like to read them um that suggest that like any kind of intervention, you know, it's it's a snowball and an avalanche if there's not a larger working system. and having been an employee at the high school as part of like a an outstanding uh lit literacy RTI initiative. I know we have really great stuff already going on.
030I want to make sure that our community can hear the backdrop of like what we are currently doing, where we are, and what the vision is for how we move forward with or without this program. And it'll also help me, at least me, one of seven as a board member, make an informed decision about the extent to which a program like open literacy could be most effective. >> So, President J, is it okay if I address Dr. Anderson or do you want to pass along for me? >> I just want to make sure that's okay with with his expectations if that feels reasonable because if it doesn't feel like a reasonable request by the 26, like I just don't want to put that on. What what I was going to suggest is that you if
031you have information you would like to send to Dr. Anderson um send send it to Dr. Anderson email and please uh copy board secretary shop so that that she has it too. he is going um going to be out of the country for a little bit and I'm not going to take for granted that he's going to have he he he does he has more confidence in the internet than I do but [laughter] but um so um so yes please go ahead and send your questions and then he can give those to Ms. First Seth as well. >> No that sounds great and and like I said I mean I do have questions for Mr. First I will gladly pass those along in writing you know to Dr. Anderson to Miss Schop. I just um
032I want to just clarify with with Dr. Anderson on the behalf of the administration like is that just like a high level snapshot context setter is that a reasonable request for the 26 and if not that's you know help help me understand how you believe the best way to move forward would be >> Dr. Anderson >> I think the questions that you have for the multi levels of support what I can do is I can um pass it on to Mrs. Moratech to find out what information she can provide in during my absence that might help with answer some of your questions. Um, just remember Miss Mortex's last day is in two weeks. So, >> yeah. So, if you I will if you get it to me, I will get it to her. In fact,
033you might want to email it to both of us. That way I know she has it and then I will u do my best to correspond with her tomorrow. I'm in the airport to see if we can get that information then send it out to all board members in advance. >> Well, yeah. And so and I guess the reason that I I wanted to just bring this up is I I'm not sure that that's something that's feasible. Um, Miss Moratech is outstanding and I just I know that she's moving on to something else and so I just I think if we can't and it's fine if we can't, but if if we can't get like kind of you know that like kind of layered understanding that's going to help us as at least as a
034board um understand where we are. I think that's something that needs to be taken into consideration in terms of like the timeline of how we move forward with this because I don't want us to have like a you know I'll use an old board term an artificial time horizon for making making a huge decision um that I think deserves a lot of um a lot of robust discussion uh has a lot of very large implications for our students. So just wanting to throw that out there but thank you so much and I will certainly send along all of my my questions. >> Thank you Miss Miller, Miss Mrs. Fox. >> Um, yeah, you well, you have some of my questions. Um, and my concern is a little opposite of of Megan's. I think it it's
035like we kind of know having looked at our report cards that we're not doing well. And having an opportunity to look, excuse me, at some of these programs as an opportunity for our school district, I think is wonderful. Now, we might want to look at some other programs, but um when I look at the two programs that they offered, they offer some things that I I think really meet some of our needs. And um I think that's maybe one of the reasons they they did that. My concern is that I don't I think it's too little. We need to try to figure out how to expand this, make this more and offer this opportunity to if um at least two um of our elementary schools, if not six and and maybe even more than that.
036Um we need some really serious um things to start moving and start happening in our district. And I what what Miss Fth said that resonated with me is kind of like why now? And that's because we can't wait. And I, you know, we we really can't wait. We really got to keep moving. And if we're going to compete with their own school and some of the other schools and what they have to offer, we have to start moving forward. And this might give us an opportunity to really look at some some things some some ways to do that. And yeah, we may have to look at some other resources. And we we we have title one money. we have AGR money that that maybe we can look at. Um, you know, there are other corporations
037around that maybe we could touch to say, look, you know, maybe you can help us, too. Um, but I I think this needs to be researched um as as a a definite possibility for helping us move forward. >> Thank you, Miss Fox. Are there any other board members that would like to share their questions at this time? Um, oh, so Dr. Anderson, um, one of my questions is looking at, um, enrollment projections and with the Lincoln Academy expansion, we in the near future may have to close an elementary school or two. And if we happen to choose a school that is being considered for, you know, in the future that might be considered for closing, how does that play into this? And so that's that's something that I would like a little bit clearer vision
038with. Um I and this is perhaps a question more for Miss Elwood. Um just like with the um um paying off the debt, you know, we we want to do something positive by by saving money in the long run. If we accept donations like this, how does that affect the overall um budget? What are the um state level imp um budget implications that perhaps we don't know or or don't even think about? um what what happens after year three? That's another question I have. You know, if if this works, then what's going to happen? And and especially if we're working with a uh receing enrollment and u but um resources um I don't know that it's something that we will be able to afford. So those are questions I'd like you to have add to
039your list >> for some of the answers. One is I had the same questions that Miss Fox had is that if this were to work, what about the district purchasing additional seats? I don't think the Hendrickx Foundation um would object if the district wanted to buy additional seats. They have 60 slots. What their vision is that a person would not have to be in the entire slot for the entire time. Um I don't know a lot about open literacy, only what I've read. So I have a lot of things I have yet to learn. But the way the day is once you get to a certain threshold where you're, you know, maybe up to grade level, then a seat can be moved to somebody else. She did believe that there was enough um flexibility in
040the professional development that if we wanted to do more than 60 slots, there would be more than there would be flexibility in the professional development to allow us to do it with a greater number of staff um in maybe more than one building. Um so part of that would be our decision. Would accepting this gift is it going to do much to us financially in a negative manner? The answer is no. It'll be put in what is it? Which fund I forget Stephanie? Is it 38? No. >> 21 is so it's not really going to impact the tax will be which is I think is what the most concern is. The bigger one is what you're going to address right after this is enrollment. Is it is there a possibility that you may have to
041close school in the next few years? And the answer is yes. I believe it is. And if you selected a school and then you were going to close it, how would that work? The answer is I don't know the answer to that yet. But it is one thing that as we talk about enrollment in the next section, we're going to have to consider those types of things. >> Thank you, Ms. Miller. >> I kind of answered it. >> Oh, okay. Cool. All right. Thank you so much. Okay. Well, so Board President Johnson, actually, since you you brought up one of the things that I also have on my mind, and since you brought it up, I'll just um I had I guess two questions. One, um a smaller one. Dr. Anderson, I just want to
042clarify when you said about professional development, are you referring to open literacy or to the other uh the consulting program? >> Skyrocket is their professional development program. >> Okay, that's I just because I Yeah, because that didn't because I didn't think open literacy requires really professional development. Okay, thank you. Okay, my larger question is um so we're talking about like board President Johnson brought up a lot of really important points. So we lose like six to7 millionish per year specifically just to the Lincoln Academy. So for context um $2.5 million for 60 seats for a for-profit literacy initiative. While I am not against bringing in unique and a variety of programming because as Miss Fox points out, we we certainly need um more robust intervention for our students, um I'm sure in many forms when
043we think about the sustainability up against the fiscal issues that we have, I have to wonder if it would just be more sustainable to invest dollars into a volunteer, a stipended volunteer program that would compensate local bloiters to do in-person regular reading tutoring um with our kids. And so when we talk about what happens after three years, um it feels like it would be a greater investment in our own community if we consider taking this as a as a jumping off point and having a larger discussion about how we take resources, [cough] keep them not only in our own community, but also build generational important connections with our own students. um we we don't have to go too far back in in time considering all of the robust discussion I keep saying that word sorry
044but all the discussion that we had uh you know during co about the importance of being in person to know the value of in-person education um youly comes to mind as a as a free evidence-based proven intervention literacy program I know that many local school districts are utilizing I'm not sure if boy does so I think a big question that I currently have um that touches on what board President Johnson mentioned in terms of the sustainability going forward that I think is going to be really core to the discussion on the 26 will be what is the wisest use of resources both now and to sustain into the future for our students to make an impact um academically and early literacy in a way that will sustain us through the financial challenges that we'll continue
045to to grab grapple with. So I guess those are just sort of my thoughts. >> I think like I said based on the conversation I had with Lisa First I think that if there are other activities that the school district of Bo wants to look at in working with reading. I think you know I think they would say that would you know they would encourage that. I think the reason for their offer is they believe they wanted to do something to assist the district and what they saw was a problem which is our reading and that this is an opportunity that they are extending to see if this will have a positive impact and if it does then maybe it's something that can be replicated in the future. I don't think that, and I don't
046want to speak for her in any way, shape, or form, but I don't think they have anything to limit anything else that we want to try in the district to improve reading scores. I think this is just one option that they are currently using at the Lincoln Academy. They're finding success with that they are willing to have the district pilot to see if it may have success in the district. If it does, then the district can make its determinations on how it wants to go forward. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Mrs. Levy. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, okay. I thought that was your indication of >> No, but thank you for checking. >> Okay, [laughter] Mrs. Fox. Um, yeah, one of the things we I asked for was some more detail about some of the financial
047uh pieces of it. Um, the $2.5 million is not just for the 60 seats. That's, you know, that's only a small part of it. um when we you know tutoring is something that people have been saying a lot that is very helpful. Now it doesn't necessarily need to be a licensed teacher in my opinion. Um but AGR says yes and we we've got AGR money that we could maybe use for some of these things. Um and we haven't been able to find licensed teachers. So when I looked at open literacy to me that was kind of like ooh there's an idea. Um uh but there are some other financial pieces as far as the staff development stuff you know three years of staff development you know uh once they start learning that stuff um yeah
048I don't know how much longer you have to keep keep continue to train um people but um to me it's a benefit that if we could get more um staff involved and get in the training so that our staff is having common conversations and talking about the same thing and working in the same same direction seems to me to make a lot ofense. sense. Um, but you know, there's a lot of pieces to be decided here. I think I think one of the big cons concerns that I have was the the idea of financial renumeration for staff. Um, you know, um, and I don't know how that gets played out. Um I you know we've talked about you know uh merit pay um for for stuff like that before and it's very hard to pull
049that off in an education setting. I think it's it's hard to make sure it's clean. Um and that's a piece I think that needs some further discussion and needs to be discussed with the um teachers union and and some of those kinds of things as well. Um I was wondering about some of the policy pieces um you know when we accept money like that um I'm sure there systems for that but because it is you know it's a grant in in essence just just from um a private company. Um but yeah there's a lot of you know the financial pieces need to be definitely clarified and um you know listen hearing from the companies themselves about what they have offered is also a really great idea. I hope we get invited to that. So [laughter]
050thanks Thank you, Mrs. Fox. Dr. Anderson. >> Well, I will make sure that when we have set the exact date and time that I will let all board members know so that they will all be welcome. >> Thank you. And again, please we we've got the minutes that or the questions for from tonight can be captured in the minutes, but um it would also help to send those to Dr. Anderson and copy board secretary Michelle Schop. >> And what I will do is once I've received all those, when I send them to Lisa, I'll also send those to each of the board members so you can all see all the questions that were in a compiled list. >> Thank you. Our next item tonight is is forward planning for the district and the purpose is
051to begin planning for the district's future based on the current student enrollment and projected enrollments. Dr. Anderson, >> actually this was brought up uh during your opening remarks. Um, and what I just want to put things on everybody's awareness is that we are losing enrollment. That is not something that's coming as a shock to anyone. But just to point out some things is that at the beginning of this school year, we had 4,842 students. Currently, we have 4,762 students, which means since the school year started, we're already down 80 students. you've been running about a loss of about 200 students per year. The Lincoln Academy can currently hold 730 students. When the new addition reaches its capacity, which now is planned for the 2728 school year, it will be able to hold 1,500 students. So,
052roughly 770 more seats than it currently has. Some of those seats are probably going to be taken by students in Bo. When I looked at the 2023 enrollment study that was done um for this district and I sent it to everyone, it was projecting its own type of um enrollment decline. In fact, it basically if they use the trend scenario, they felt that by 2038, depending on how open enrollment tracks, you'll lose between 9 and 21% of your student population. What my reason for meeting for tonight is I think we need to start having a proactive discussion on what will this district look like? What do you want it to look like when you go to under 4,000 students? Let's say that we balance out at 3,500 somewhere in there. What do you want things
053to look like? In other words, we one of the things that you asked me to do when I come forward is to start taking a look at your buildings, your classrooms to make a recommendation at the end. If you go to 3,500 students, you are not going to be using all of the buildings and classrooms you're currently are. I don't know what will but so I think we need to start looking what will we do when the high school is at a lesser capacity than it is currently when you may not need two middle schools and one middle school surice when you may not need your six elementary and four elementary schools. We want to start looking at if we were going to close down buildings, if this trend were to continue, which buildings would
054we close down? Because when we work on a committee for a referendum, we don't want to put money into a new roof or a new parking lot in a building that you believe you'll close down should the enrollment trend negatively decline. So, we're going to want to take a look at if these things come to to pass, and I think we need to at least have a plan for if we do see the trend continuing, what buildings would we consider using? What buildings would we maybe have a different use for? But so we can start having those discussions so that it's not a knee-jerk reaction, but there's been, you know, a very thoughtful look at as we start to if we if we can't turn the trend quick enough and we start losing additional students,
055what is it that we want this district to look like if nothing else through the number of buildings that we're going to have open? Where would we have those open? What grade levels would we have at them? I think we needed to start those discussions now and I thought it would be wise to at least plant that thought so that when I do get back from vacation if we want to create I think a different committee I don't want to use the referendum committee for this but a different committee to start taking a look at you know what are our options and what are the options we want to consider. >> Thank you Megan Miller. >> Thank you so much Dr. Anderson. I really appreciate that you brought this up and I think your um
056perspective on this is really valuable. Um the three things that came to mind for me when I read your board bulletin on the subject matter and I just want to share um with my colleagues is first thing that I think we need to think about is and I understand as an interim superintendent it might not be comfortable to be like hey let's do a strategic plan but at least going through the motions um of the process that we not going through the motions doesn't sound right re-engaging in the process that we used for the original strategic plan I think would be very valuable even if it's not for the strategic plan if it's just honing in on the specific cause. Um spent the break cleaning out my basement and I have all of our original
057I actually took the time to go back through all of our strategic planning packets and materials and minutes. Um we had really great participation from a lot of different um stakeholders in our community. I think he really needs something beyond a committee to take on what do we want our district to to be shaped like to look like and to act like um given this enrollment sort of cliff that we're facing because even though you know when you talk about numbers it's it's and I'm you're doing a great job with this. just in general when we talk about numbers, it's numbers, but the the children that are in our district will still have unique wide ranges of needs that we'll still need to meet and fill. And I think that the scope and vision for
058that has to go beyond just like what we can imagine as a board. I really think we need to be proactive, get into the community and have some some broader facilitated discussions um similar to that sort of strategic planning process. So, I wanted to put that out there because like Dr. Anderson said, you know, he's when he comes back, it's you know, this is something we'd obviously have to plan for. So it would be my one of seven preference as a board member that we scale that type of visioning um to the same uh same level that we did really for the strategic plan because this is going to require in order for this to be effective a lot of unique uh perspectives probably some hard conversations and um just a lot of widespread engagement.
059Um the other two things I wanted to just throw out there is there's been a really great effort um mostly from like Drew Pennington and some other groups I know like Maria Maria Elena White of Lavos has been really uh instrumental in this in partnership with our district and um our CTE focusing in child care. There's a huge child care desert really like all across Wisconsin and I think when we consider building space we've had previous partnerships with Head Start where we've been Head Start sites before. So, I would really love a discussion about ways in which we could reach across to the city check in on like what their current status is because I know they just did like a whole deep dive into child care like not even just I think just two
060years ago now. Um just to talk about like how can we help partner with existing uh municipal and um nonprofit organizations to potentially be part of a greater solution rather than cutting services away. Um I would love to have that discussion um and to engage in in uh potential partnerships there. And then I think just uh the last thought I had um when I read your board bulletin a few days ago was just considering just that community schools model in terms of retention. We already have such an outstanding set of offer. I mean we've got like uh the the care closets, the the food pantries, great services already for our district uh families and students. I think it's really important for us to to find our niche and we already have a history of being
061able to do that. So, as a parent, I will tell you it is it is invaluable to know that I can go to my my kids school site and say, "Hey, we're looking for support or referral there or hey, our neighbors having this issue." And there's just like here I've got like packets full of information here. Come on Thursday. There's, you know, there's already that. Um, I think we need to like be really intentional about focusing on that conversation at least around embarking on a real community schools model. um this feels like kind of a a big identity shift that we're approaching for the district. I think it's really wise to be proactive. So I guess just in summary, I think just a very large scale strategic planningesque type initiative to get community feedback and
062engagements for some visioning on what we want our district to to function like because we still have kids needs to meet and every one of these kids are important and and all of their needs are. Um, we really need to be specific about like how can we be really good partners and good neighbors in terms of potentially space for child care. Um, a huge need in the community and um, just really thinking to see if we can be a little bit more just intentional about our community schools model. >> Thank you. Anyone else? >> Mrs. Levy, >> thank you. My light is intentional this time. Um, board member Miller, I really appreciate your comments. Dr. Anderson, I really appreciate the prudence of the context that you're providing. Don't pour money into a bill. Like, it's
063basic, but it it makes so much sense. I see this happening in two parts. One, the administrative team working with the board really looks at what is feasible. for example, it will cost X amount of dollars to get this building where it needs to be in order for us to utilize it appropriately moving forward. And so that may take some spaces off of the board. Once we have an idea of structurally what is feasible, then I think it's so critically important that we engage our community and what do you want our district to look like, to feel like, what is that experience? And if we can do things like child care, etc. I think that's absolutely amazing. Um, and I think that communicating with folks as early as possible and I get you're still going
064to get people who are caught off guard with a building closure or etc. But if we are doing our due diligence to like overcommunicate these possibilities and to explain the why, I think that's only going to help us in the long run. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fox. Um, yeah, I I agree with with a a lot of what has just been said. We I think we definitely need to be pulling in our community and and asking what kinds of things and things they want and what they want us to look like um in the future. Um, you know, I'm I'm all for an early childhood center and some of those kinds of things. I don't know if the rest of the community is or not, but you know, child care that community school model, we
065need to we do need to include our community in definitely in these kinds of discussions. Um, and I, you know, I think we need to lean into I I don't know how to do it exactly, but you know, the we keep talking about the Lincoln Academy like it's the enemy. How do we pull it all together so that we're all working together to create what's a really good thing for our our our uh community as a whole? And um you know and then and I'm hoping that's why they kind of reached out to us too in terms of maybe you know helping us improve so that we can all do better for all of our children here in the in the in the school district of Blo um area. and um you know, but the
066community needs a whole lot of input on on on some of this kind of some of these kinds of issues. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fox. Mr. Henkins. >> Oh, yes. I just wanted to bring it back to what uh Dr. Anderson brought this forward for and not to get too off balance on what we're, you know, is included in this conversation, which may well be, but it's just to present this idea forward and then talking it further. He just presented an idea. But I do want to I remind myself and then Tia's got a sign down there that um and I've learned this before. We can't be all things to all people. We can try. But I ran on and I think most of us ran on student achievement and raising our student achievement. And
067until we can show the the public that we are doing our best to raise student achievement before we take on all these other socioeconomic ills of our society, i.e. whatever you want to put your name on it. I I just want to I'm reminding myself, but we need to zero in on that. And the one thing I heard tonight was the offer from of $2.5 million, which is a step in that direction if after further discussion, we decide to go that way. Um, but I just that's I just want to bring the discussion back to what Dr. Anderson brought on proposal to look at declining enrollment and how we're going to treat that with our buildings and facilities. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Mr. Henkins, Mrs. Rue. >> Yes. I listening to what everyone
068is saying, I think another part of this that's really important is figuring out how we're going to communicate all of this to our community without us having someone that does PR for us. It's really important that we have very clear communication with our community and um we have a plan to make sure that happens. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Anything else? >> Well, for some one is I couldn't agree more with everyone who talked about community input because this is one that you need the community involved in the decision-m process because when you have a plan for what you're going to look like, of course, that's where referendums come in because in order to achieve X, we need resources of Y. And no better way to ask for it than to say this is what you
069wanted. This is what it costs. Here's the the um the financial um ask from the district, but it needs a lot of community input for as far as um talking about communications. I'm meeting with the Headley group after I come back so we can look at the types of communications that we need because obviously we pushed the referendum back. So what we need is, you know, all of these factors go together, the enrollment, the facilities, the future referendum, all these things work together. So, we will have them work with us to make sure that the public is well informed, at least they'll be as well informed as they would like to be. >> Thank you. Next on the agenda is the consent agenda. Typically, there is no separate discussion of the items unless a board
070member so requests in which event the item or items will be removed from the general order of business and considered in their normal sequence on the agenda. Are there any board members that would like any items removed? >> I move approval of their consent. >> Mrs. Levy, >> 7F, please. >> 7F. Okay. Anyone else? Mr. Nicholson, >> I move approval of the consent agenda. Consent agenda minus U 7F. >> Second. >> We have a motion by Brian Nichols and a second by Carol Fox. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I I >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Item 7F, approval of meeting minutes, December 16th, regular meeting. Mrs. Levy, >> I just need to abstain because I didn't attend that meeting. >> Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the
071meeting minutes for December 16th? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion. Motion to approve by Brian Nichols, seconded by Carol Fox. All in favor? >> I. >> Any oppose? Any abstain? I abstain. >> Motion carries with one abstension. Um, our next item is policy and HR committee report employment recommendations exhibit A. Are there any open session questions for ex exhibit A? Are there any closed session questions for exhibit A? I will entertain a motion to approve exhibit A. >> So moved. Second >> motion to approve by Brian Nichols, seconded by Carol Fox. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I I >> I. >> Any oppose? Motion carries unanimously. Next, we have executive session. A motion may be made and a vote taken to convene the board of education into close session pursuant to
072section 19.85 85 pair one parent F of the Wisconsin state statutes for the purpose of reviewing the expulsion orders of the independent hearing officer pursuant to section 120.13 parent 1 par E 4H of the Wisconsin state statutes the board of education shall upon review approve reverse or modify the orders and and we remove the discussion of the McNeel property. So this last one is not necessary. Is there a motion to approve going into close session? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Brian Nichols. Seconded by Carol Fox. Any discussion hearing? None. Mrs. Shopee. >> Joanne Rule. >> I Brian Nichols. >> I >> Megan Miller. >> I Amy Levy. >> I Tom Henkins. >> I >> Carol Fox. I and Tia Johnson >> I >> motion carried unanimously. >> The board of education may
073reconvene to public session in order to take action if any on items discussed in close session. Thank you and have a good night.