4.27.26 Regular Board of Education Meeting

001All right. Good evening. I'm going to call our regular board of education meeting for April to order. And we always start with a resuscitation of our vision and mission statements. Our vision MMSD will be a learning community where all students are valued, challenged toward reach for their dreams. And our mission MMSD creates safe and inclusive schools, delivers high quality instruction, strengthens positive relationships, and partners with families and the community to achieve student self-determination and educational excellence. We start tonight with a resolution that board member Vandermuan will read about autism acceptance and inclusion month. >> Thank you very much, chair. Hope everyone can hear me. This is the autism acceptance and inclusion month resolution. Whereas the Madison Metropolitan School District, MMSD, is committed to ensuring every student receives an equitable, inclusive, and high quality education. And

002whereas autism spectrum disorder affects how individuals communicate, learn, and experience the world and is part of the natural diversity of our student population. And whereas MMSD affirms that neurodeiversity strengthens our schools and aligns with our commitment to educational equity, culturally responsive practices, and inclusive learning environments. And whereas autistic students benefit from individualized supports, strong relationships with educators, and access to inclusive classrooms and services that allow them to thrive. And whereas disparities in identification, discipline, and access to services continue to impact students with disabilities, particularly students of color, requiring ongoing attention and action. And whereas meaningful inclusion requires partnership with families, caregivers, educators, and autistic self- advocates to ensure student voice is celebrated in decisionmaking. Now therefore, it be resolved that the board of education, the Madison Metropolitan School District, proclaim April as autism acceptance and

003inclusion month. And be it further resolved that MMSD will con continue to advance equity centered special education's practice aligned with district goals. Invest in staff training and professional development to support inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive classrooms. Promote inclusive educational settings where autistic students learn alongside their peers to the greatest extent appropriate. Strengthen family and community partnerships to support student success and use data to identify and address disparities and outcomes for students with disabilities. Be it finally resolved that we call on all MMSD school staff, students, and family to recognize April as autism acceptance and inclusion month to actively contribute to a school community where every student is valued, supported, and included. May this statement be permanently imprinted in the board of education minutes for the regular meeting of April 7th, 2026. Michelle Nichols, president, board

004of education. Thank you, chair. Thank you, board member Vandermuan. Um, we also have a couple of remembrances tonight. Um, and I'll we'll first start with the first remembrance read by Vice President Pearson. >> Thank you all. We'd like to ask for a moment of silence this evening for our district to recognize the passing of Joseph Joey Basamo who is a valued member of our food and nutrition team at Cherokee Middle School. Joey is remembered as someone who could brighten the room the moment he walked in. Always bringing a smile and a positive energy that lifted everyone around him. He was passionate about food and took great pride in serving students, ensuring each felt welcome and cared for. Joey was truly a bright light who brought joy to everyone he met. Joy's passing has taken a

005significant toll on so many students and staff in the Cherokee Middle School community, and we remember them tonight. Please join me in participating in a moment of silence to honor Joey Basano. Thank you. >> Our second remembrance tonight, we'd like to ask for a moment of silence this evening for our district to recognize the passing of Yasu Kanley who was an 11th grade at Shabbaz High School. Yasu is remembered as somebody who was a beautiful person inside and out. He had a tender soul with abundant love for family and friends. He will be remembered forever by those who knew him for his many gifts. In particular, his innate ability to make others laugh with his charm, physical antics, and clever sense of humor. Beneath the humor was Yasu's gift of empathy. He had a kind

006and generous heart. He was a great listener to friends in need of a sympathetic ear and encouraged others when he saw they lacked confidence. Yasu Yasu's passing has taken a significant toll on so many students and staff in the Shabbaz community and we remember them all tonight. Please join me in participating in a moment of silence in honor of Yasu. Thank Thank you. All right. Before we um move into our agenda, we will be getting into public input in just a little bit here, but we have a couple of other items. First, um we are now moving into our newly elected board members taking their oath of office and um myself and Vice President Pearson have the honor. So, who wants to go first? All right. I'm going to be swearing in board member Nikki

007Vanderm. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I and state your name. I, Nikki Vanderm, >> having been elected to the office of school board member >> Having been elected to the office of school board member >> for the Madison Metropolitan School District >> for the Madison Metropolitan School District. swear that I will >> swear that I will >> support the Constitution of the United States >> support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin >> and in the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin >> and will faithfully and impartially >> and will faithfully impartially >> discharge the duties of said office >> to the best of my ability. >> All right, you are sworn in. And I have the honor to swear in Blair Moser.

008We're just going to cheat out a little. No, sorry. Okay. So, please raise your hand and repeat after me. I, Blair Moser Felam, >> I Blair Moser Falam >> have been elected to the office of school board member >> having been elected to the office of school board member >> for the Madison Metropolitan School District >> for the Madison Metropolitan School District. >> swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States. swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin >> and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin >> and will faithfully and impartially >> discharge the duties of said office >> to the best of my ability. >> You're sworn in a All right. Congratulations to our reelected board members. All

009right, we are now moving into one other item of business before we get into public input, and that is the election of the board's officers. Um, before I open up our nominations process, I just wanted to make a couple of short remarks. Um, we know that every April we elect board officers and tonight I just want to take a moment to thank my board colleagues for the privilege of serving as your president for the last three years. Um, during this time as your president, we have navigated a year with an interim superintendent. We um conducted a comprehensive superintendent search that led in us hiring Dr. Gothard and we have now been supporting him through his first two years here at the district. Um, we have celebrated the completion of our 2020 referendum that brought us

010improved high schools, a new central location for Capitol High, a new elementary school that we have named Lori Man Carry, and an MSCR West site. We've done a lot. Um, and we've done more than that. and and we know that we also now have moved forward with a 2024 referendum due to the amazing support of our community. And um as we have navigated challenges, we've had sometimes tough decisions, hard moments with each other, and yet I'm still been really impressed how we each show up um ready to do the work to make our district better. And I just want to say as a graduate of MMSD, proud um graduate class of 1987. Yes, that's right. I'm old. I'm old. I'm old. Um from West High School and also a gradu a mother of four amazing

011sons who graduated from this district. I I just have really appreciated the privilege to have your trust and to serve um with with you all and to serve in this capacity. I I want to take a moment just to thank Vice President Pearson. You've been the vice president with me for those three consecutive years and you also had a year serving when board member Maldro was president. Um I've really enjoyed getting to know you and working with you. I want to thank Jesse for all of the work that you do to support the president of the board and just the board in general. And to Dr. Gothard um and your entire team, thank you for all of the collaboration. Now, this might sound like I'm leaving the board or something, but I'm not. Okay? But

012I just wanted to say that um it's it's really been an honor to serve as president and I'm looking forward to our board also supporting leaders on the board who are ready um to step up and try it on. So with that we will start with um nominations for president. And I want to say that I am very pleased to nominate board member Savon Castro who is a Lethal graduate class of 2013. Bringing in a new lens as a new dad of a five-month-old and also bringing in the lens of being a doctoral candidate in educational leadership and policy analysis. And he's given a lot of time um to this board. So I am proud to offer my nomination. >> Thank you board member Nichols. I accept. >> Beautiful. Are there any other nominations for

013the role of president? >> Board members. I wanted to nominate board member Ali Moldro. from my time on the board. I appreciate all the time that she works not only here at our board meetings but behind the scenes and the wealth of knowledge that she has is something I truly appreciate and I just wanted to add her into consideration. >> Thank you so much board member Saravo. I'm going to decline the nomination at this time. >> Any other nominations? All right. Hearing and seeing none, the nominations are closed. And um on your desk board members, there should be ballots. So for the role of president, you will write the name of the person you're voting for and Jesse will come along and collect the ballots to declare the official elected officer. Oh. Savian Castro has

014been elected president for the upcoming school year. All right, we will continue with the rest of the officer roles to fill and then um we will make that transition. Uh for the next nomination, it is for the role of vice president. All right. >> I would like to nominate board member Blair Molner Felam for vice president. Um, I have enjoyed working with you alongside you as your colleague and I'm really excited uh to see what your leadership can be and so it's exciting to pass the baton to someone that I trust um wholeheartedly with with the role and in leadership. So I'm nominating Blair. >> Thanks my I appreciate it and accept. >> Are there any other nominations for the role of vice president? Board member Saravo, >> I just want to throw myself into

015this mix. I'm gonna nominate myself for this role. I I know I work very um have different capacities um than board member Blair Bolster Feldom does. Um which I think both of us bring a lot of unique um experience into that role. Um, I spent a lot of time in the schools and just have different access to my time. But really appreciate the opportunity to try to support whoever well not whoever support our new president. All right. Are are there any further nominations? All right. We have board member Blair Mosner Felam and Martha Saravo nominated for vice president. Please c uh I at that at this time since I don't see any further nominations, we'll close nominations and please cast your vote in your ballot. Blair Mosner Falam has been elected vice president for the

016upcoming school year. All right. Our next officer role is for the role of treasurer. We'll now open up nominations. >> Thank you. Um I'd like to take this time to nominate board member Pearson. Uh we've served on this board together for a long time and so um I am happy to nominate board member Pearson. >> I accept your nomination. Same. Are there any other nominations for the role of treasurer? All right, seeing and hearing none, we'll close nominations. Please cast your vote. Maya Pearson has been elected treasurer for the upcoming school year. >> Thank you. And our last officer role is for the role of clerk accepting nominations for uh board member Mosner Falam. >> I would like to nominate board member Ali Moldro for the position of clerk. >> I will accept that nomination.

017Thank you. >> Are there any other nominations? >> All right. Seeing and hearing none, we'll close nominations. Please cast your vote for uh Ali Maldro for clerk. Thank you. Ali Mild Dro has been elected clerk for the upcoming school year. All right. And um we have one final thing which is to um make sure that we have the secretary of the board also um appointed. So I move that the board of education appoint Natalie Rue to the position of secretary of the board of ed sorry board of education. >> Second. >> Thank you. All favor >> I. >> All right that is unanimous. Thank you. She is appointed. And with that we will transition to our new president Savian Castro. Just give us a moment as we transition. What happened to you? That is hers.

018Don't forget your >> Oh, thank you. Good evening. Thank you so much for uh staying with us tonight through that. We are now moving through our agenda on to written and uh spoken statements. Um, there were 16 written statements submitted for this meeting. Nine in support for an away all day district-wide cell phone policy. Five. Five. And support for fixing salary compression for veteran staff. one in support uh of allocating two fourth grade classrooms at Gumpers for next one in support for revising the behavior education plan to improve student safety. All right. And so now moving into to to to public appearances. Um just want to start off Oh, I'm I'm sorry. Yeah, okay. We will start off with two online and then I'll pass it off to Jesse for that. >> Thank you. Our

019first online speaker is Ellen Murker. >> Hi. Thanks so much. Um, I'm a parent of a prek kid in this district and although he doesn't have a phone, he's only four years old. I'm here to advocate for his future by supporting the implementation of an away all day phone ban. I work as a therapist and I see the impact of screen addiction on kids, teens, and adults. I believe that school should be a sanctuary, a place where we are using evidence-based research to implement the best and most effective learning tools to prepare kids for a bright future. But even in pre-kid prek, my kid comes home just last week. He was saying he wants to watch Peppa Pig because that's what they watch at school. The amount of screen time kids have at school is

020alarming. And it is so hard for parents to control and monitor this when the school doesn't have clear and transparent glide guidelines about what technology is being used and how it's used. Evidence has been clear that reducing tech in the classroom and in the hallways, including the use of personal cell phones, improves focus, learning outcomes, and mental health. I would be supportive of an away all day phone ban with exceptions and accommodations for students with disabilities. If a student needs technology for communication or medical needs, it should be easy to include this in an IEP. This is already law and that should not change. And I would encourage some sort of a panel of students with disabilities and families to provide input on how to ensure their needs are met while also meeting the needs

021of other students. We cannot just keep telling our kids, "Hey, stay focused. Stay off your phone. Get off your phone. Don't get distracted. That's not where their brains are at. We can't expect them to know what's best for their learning. That's our job. We know that their brains are in a different place developmentally than an adult's brain in terms of sustained focus skills, impulse control, and emotional regulation. We need to use this understanding of neuroscience to set boundaries and guidelines that will help kids and teens thrive at school. For generations, we have had classrooms free of technology. At no point in my childhood do I remember having TVs on for regular use or the need for a phone and a tablet for every student. And yet I was able easily able to learn new technology

022as I got older. My parents were easily able to reach me through the school when necessary. Technology is constantly changing. So this theory that we need to teach kids how to use their phones at school is pointless. It's just going to change again in a year. And we know kids and adults can adapt and learn how to use them independently. We don't teach kids how to stay away from other addictive substances like drugs and alcohol by letting them have it at school. And I don't see why technology should be any different. Learning doesn't happen on phones. It happens through social interaction, hands activity, connection with teachers and other students. And it's a process. Um, but that's how we're supposed to learn. It's not supposed to be quick and easy and isolated like edtech apps and

023phones offer. Please listen to the growing concerns from parents and implement transparent limits regarding all educational technology, including an allway, all day cell phone policy. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our final online speaker is Dennis Wright. >> Can you all hear me? >> Yes, we can hear you. >> All right. Well, good evening everyone. Uh, good evening to the board of education and all all those in attendance of this meeting. My name is Dennis Wright and I am the drive program coordinator at Operation Fresh Start. So, I just want to first thank you uh to MMSD for a great partnership uh helping some of our uh participants earn their high school diplomas through some of our program and things like that. But I just wanted to share some information on a totally free driver's license

024education program where uh young people the ages of 18 to 24 can obtain their learner's permit as well as their driver's license. It's a 7-week program that we do offer at Operation Fresh Start. Uh the first two weeks are um you know in class in person course curriculum and then there's five consecutive weeks of one day one hour uh behind the wheel lessons uh through our partnership with for lakes uh driving school. Um Operation Fresh Start picks up the tab totally free. Um the biggest thing is just getting the information out there to our young people, especially our um seniors to be uh graduating in June. Uh June's right around the corner and uh I have a couple of cohorts uh coming up shortly after uh their graduation in which uh this information should be

025provided to them. Uh it's a great opportunity because we know that uh driver's education is no longer in the schools, but um we do have this program ready and um available to our young people in the community. So I just wanted to share that and thank you for your time. >> All right, thank you. On to public appearances. Uh just a few notes. Um there's a chance that I mispronounce your name or misinterpret your handwriting. Please correct me when on up. Um the second is please try to hold your applause during this speaker speaking so they can maximize their three minutes of time. By the way, you have three minutes of time. All right. So our uh first speaker is Becky Christie. Good evening. I'm Becky Christie, a first grade teacher at Orchard Ridge Elementary.

026I'm here tonight. We are here tonight again on behalf of a large community of committed, passionate, experienced MMSD educators. You've heard from educators directly impacted by the salary compression because it has lessened their take-home pay and future earnings and from educators who know that while this mistake is not being reflected in their own pay, it could be if this happens again in the future. The educators in this room and the ones who've been showing up for months on behalf of fixing the salary compression problem deserve more than just a listening session. Years of experience matter. Institutional knowledge matters. Mentoring and morale matter. Culture and trust matter. Deep expertise and loyalty matter. Commitment and dedication matter. Years of service that determine retirement and what we have to spend during our final years matters. The district has

027been investing time and money into creating an image of MMSD as a place for exemplary education. Fixing salary compression doesn't just benefit your teachers. It brands this district as a great place to work. A place that values its teachers and recognizes the benefit of retention. Recognizing that your teachers deserve to be fairly and equitably compensated for the work that they do, creates a reputation for MMSD that isn't just appreciated by current staff, but will build a culture that your future teachers will want to be a part of, too. Institutional knowledge is crucial to operational stability, to the day-to-day success of our district, our buildings, and our students. Onboarding, professional development, and curricular knowledge all have cost. Your veteran staff help lessen these costs by being able to support new teachers in the day-to-day delivery of

028instruction and understanding of PD at a more micro level. Let's celebrate the longevity and years that our MMSD teachers have and are providing to a district that they care about. Let's move forward with the simple salary compression fix that our teachers have earned and deserve. And let's do it now. Thank you. Our next speaker is Alexandra Fagan and uh on deck is Christine Jensen on deck. >> All right. Good evening and thank you for your service. My name is Alexandra Fyen and I started working for MMSD in the 2001 school year. I was a school social worker for 24 years. I last came before you to try to shed light on the salary compression issue for veteran student services staff. That was in April 2024 after several years of fighting to have you and the

029district administration pay attention to this issue. At that time, I shared that my estimated loss of income due to my salary compression was likely over $30,000, but I clearly underestimated. Between my pension and income, that amount is well over $100,000. Just please take that in. In the fall of 2024, after a grueling week, I got a text from a colleague telling me that salary corrections were showing up in our payroll accounts. I logged in and saw that I received a $12,000 salary correction. I almost fell off my bar stool. Shout out to Caleb at the Old Sugar Distillery for hugging me because I could not keep it together. I'm here because I had my salary corrected both within student services and for the years of experience that were lost when the district eliminated the first

030seven levels of the salary schedule. All the veteran staff here whose salary have been compressed because these levels were eliminated deserve the same correction you awarded veteran student services staff. The salary correction made me feel like a human being and a professional whose experience is truly valued. I was 54 and had been planning to retire in June of 25. As many of you know, your your three highest salary years are what your pension is based on. I retired in 2025 after only one academic year of my corrected salary. To the best of my ability, I calculated that having one year of my corrected salary provided me with an additional 100 to1 150 to $200 per month in my pension, which will impact me for the rest of my life. Had I worked another two years

031at the higher salary, it's reasonable to assume that the increase would have been $5 to $600 per month. A huge difference. My husband is a teacher and taught in MMSD for 19 years. We retired together. His salary was also compressed over his tenure in MMSD. While I'm glad there was a move, there's now a move, of course, to have salaries fixed for teachers. We both knew it would be too late for him and his pension would be based on his compressed salary. Even though the district fixed mine, it makes no sense to continue to delay this correction. The board has said repeatedly that it wants to fix it and human resources knows how because they did it for us last year. The staff in this district are being seriously impacted by the decisions you made

032and decisions you will make about this. The alternative is staff continuing to leave the district and then may be returning for a hiring windfall. This makes no sense and it's bad for students. Some who leave MMSD out and for outlying districts don't return. I'm almost done. Um, everyone should have a competitive, fair and competitive and fair wage based on education and experience. The district saved millions and the and delayed and the delayed correction leaves many of us tens of thousands of dollars short in the pensions we should have earned. Now it's time to fix it for everyone. It's way past time. Just a little bit more. When students or staff make mistakes, we expect them to fix it. We use restorative practices as best we can and we try to help each other take responsibility

033for errors, repair harm, and restore relationships. MMSD, we expect you to do the same. I appreciate that my salary was corrected in time for it to have impact on my feelings of self-worth, the impact it had on my pension, and it restored some of my faith in MMSD. It's time to do that for all of veteran staff. The district created this problem. HR knows how to fix it and delaying the fixing of it just tells veteran staff that you don't care. You as a board um can fix this tonight and change the lives of staff who've served the district for decades. It's time. >> Yeah. Thank you. Our next speaker is Christine Jensen, followed by Andrea Miserelli. >> Good evening, members of the board. I am here to address the ongoing compensation study and the

034urgent need for meaningful staff retention. While a study sounds like progress, we are concerned that the current methodology is fundamentally biased and will not provide the answers needed to fix salary compression. The study's questions do not align with our handbook, creating a skewed data set. For example, the section on stipens is dangerously incomplete. It lists athletic coaches and department chairs, but ignores a massive segment of our leadership, including my position, instructional coach, principal, designate, learning coordinators, deans of students, and likely other positions where there is a stipen paid. Furthermore, the study incorrectly categories is categorizes extended employment as a stipen which ignores the nature of that work and provides no clear space for professional development or curriculum pay. It also fails to account for decades old pay inaccuracies like class coverage rates that have remained

035stagnant for years. We barely make what you would pay for a McDonald's meal to sub in for one of our colleagues. Also, the questions on the survey that the district uh hired someone to do never asked about advanced degrees or multiple licenses, both of which make a teacher more valuable. Honestly, I felt angry after reading the questions because it didn't seem like it the questions recognize that I am a licensed professional. It seemed that the questions were written by someone who doesn't have any understanding of a professional degree or what it means to have to maintain a license in a profession. To complicate matters, you are voting tonight to change our health care. This shift will have a massive effect on our total compensation, rendering many of the answers in the study obsolete before the

036data is even analyzed. How can we trust the results of a study that ignores our actual roles and fails to account for the very real changes to our benefits happening possibly tonight? We don't have to look far to see the risks of inequitable pay. Our neighbors in Verona and Manona Grove have both lost lawsuits stemming from discriminating discriminatory hiring and pay practices. These cases prove that without a transparent and objective salary schedule, districts become v vulnerable to systemic bias. We want to make it clear we must keep and protect our pay schedule, salary schedule. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research confirms that structured pay scales are a fundamental tool for equity. The study notes that the lawsuits and the subsequent equalization of teacher salary skills led to a significant narrowing of the racial

037pay gap among teachers. The MBER further highlights that salary schedules based on experience in education provide a transparent framework that pro protects against arbitrary or biased pay decisions. Currently, our district is a revolving door, the place where many start their careers, but few stay to finish them. We agree with Dr. Gard that we want MMSD to be a destination district for staff as well. Over 50% of staff in MMSD are in their first five years. And for veteran teachers like me, >> over time, >> for veteran teachers like me, that means that I am training someone every year and I do not get extra compensation for that. While the district has employed aggressive strategies to recruit new staff in high need areas, we are failing to apply that same energy toward keeping the excellence that

038we already have. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Thank you. Our uh our next speaker is Andrea uh Miserelli and on deck is Amy Robertson. >> Uh good evening. I'm Andrea Miserelli, um middle school math teacher and president of Madison Teachers, Inc. I'm here because we are tired of the delays, inactions, and outsourcing to consultants and tired of the district bypassing our union to make unilateral decisions that affect our lives. We are told to wait for studies and wait for budgets. But according to state superintendent Jill Underly, we don't have any more time to wait. As she recently warned in the news, we are in an urgent retention crisis. She made it clear that the time to act has already passed and that if we do not invest in our educators now,

039we are failing our students and our communities. For 5 years, we have sat through presentations. Yet, this district has not shown a single slide that outlined a real actionable plan for staff retention. The time is now. In September of 2024, this board voted to fix the salary compression for the student service staff during that school year. At that meeting, you verbally stated that you would fix it for the rest of the staff as well and stated it as a priority. Yet, we are here years and months later and you have still not taken a single vote or shown any action that meets those verbal commitments. We often hear the same deflection. We don't vote on the budget for until next school year until June or in October. If that's the case, then why are we

040voting tonight on a budgetary item regarding our benefits? Why is it that you can find the time around budgetary space to vote tonight to increase the percentage of health care premiums we pay, but you can't find the time to vote on the salary compression? That is a choice. It is a contradiction that we see clearly. You can vote to take money out of the pockets tonight, but you claim your hands are tied when it comes to fixing a compression a compressed salary schedule that devalues our veteran staff for years. There is money allocated for this school year for staff compensation that is already in the budget that'll roll over until next year if it is not used. There's extra money from all the unfilled vacancies in different teacher positions. That money could be used right

041now to address the compression for our veteran staff, many of whom who are looking to retire this year or next. For these educators, this just isn't about a paycheck. It's a lifechanging impact that will impact the rest of their lives with their state retirement system. Every month and time we delay this, the retirement security that you are taking away from these people who have given decades to MMSD. It feels like the only way to get the attention is to have hundreds of people show up and demand some of this basic fairness. We shouldn't have to fill this room for you guys to keep your promises you made in September of 2024. Stop the delays, stop the bypasses, and fix the compression now before our veteran experts are walking out the door for good. Thank >>

042Thank you. Thank you. Up now is Amy Robertson. Uh, and then on deck is Liz Man. Your mic. It's like all over the place. I'll I'll adjust my height. You have it right. I'll just do this. Good evening. Amy Robertson, Vanheis parent. I've handed out two documents. Please read them before you go home tonight. I'll be direct. District leadership didn't want Vanheis's PTO after school program. That's fine. Administrators make decisions. What is not fine is what they did instead of making one. They couldn't say no. Saying no out loud to this community would have required courage they chose not to exercise. So, they went hunting for bureaucratic cover. What they found was an internal memo, one this board never saw, never voted on, and was never made public. And they use that to manufacture a

043no that they didn't have to own. The memo introduces a checklist. The PTO fails the checklist. Their program is reclassified. They are charged fees and required to pay for insurance. And the leadership gets to shrug and say, "Sorry, policy." Except it's not a policy. It's a memo and the actual policy, your policy, policy 6491 category 1A, explicitly lists PTO's in a no charge category. The board put them there. A memo removed them. No vote, no public notice, no accountability. When the community caught this contradiction and raised it, and they raised it to the principal, to Dr. Hoffman, to Dr. McCrae, the legal services, do you know what happened? Nothing. No one said, "Let's get a policy clarification." No one said, "We should flag this to the board." They just kept citing the memo. Four levels

044of district leadership looked at a direct conflict between an internal document and a board adopted policy and decided the memo wins. That is a problem that has nothing to do with an afterchool program. If administrators can use internal documents to override your policies without your knowledge, without a vote, without the courtesy of telling you, then what is the point of this board? You spend hours deliberating over policy language. You vote. You represent this community. Then an assistant superintendent sends a memo to principles. Your deliberations become irrelevant. I don't think any of you were elected to be a rubber stamp, but in this case, that's what you're being used as. and the people using you are betting you won't notice. So notice direct staff to provide a written explanation of how this memo's application to PTO's

045is consistent with category 1A of policy 6491. Direct them to reclassify the ban heights program to no charge as your policy required or make the recommendations to amend the policy to accommodate whatever is so important in the memo. If you don't, you've told this community something very important about how much your policies actually mean. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Up now is Liz Man and then up next is Jake Shore. >> Thank you. Good evening, new president, board members, superintendent. My name is Liz Man. I'm a pediatrician, a parent of two current and one future MMSD students, and I'm here tonight as part of the parent tech on check on tech campaign. We are so grateful for our educators in this room and administrators working daily to support our children and we share

046that goal. That's why we're asking the district to take a clear evidence-based look at technology in schools, what's helping and what's not, and what the research shows. Our campaign draws on research and national data showing that despite massive investments in educational technology, academic outcomes have stagnated or declined in this country. While distraction, anxiety, and disengagement have risen, more screens haven't meant better learning. As parents, we see how easily attention is fractured by notifications and devices. Even in this room of educators behind me, deep learning and sustained focus are far harder when developing brains need to compete with tech engineered to capture and hold attention. That's why we're asking MMSD to take three concrete steps. First, adopt an away all day cell phone policy across the district. Clear, consistent, and all day. Districts across the country

047are implementing these policies and report calmer classrooms, stronger peer relationships, and more time for learning. When expectations are clear, enforcement is easier, and students and educators alike feel relief. This does not limit students with medical needs. As a pediatrician for children with diabetes, autism, and other health conditions who rely on cell phones, I can say confidently that districts already make appropriate exceptions. and those students thrive. Second, conduct a district-wide edtech audit. Let's pause edtech investment and ask which tools are truly improving learning, which are duplicative, and which increase screen time without clear benefit. Classrooms should be built around learning and not devices. Third, develop a responsible AI policy now before usage expands further. AI will shape our children's future, but without guardrails, it risks undermining critical thinking, creativity, and a trust in learning. This is

048not about rejecting policy. It's about using it thoughtfully and developmentally. Finally, while we respect student voices, as the adults responsible for children's education and well-being, we sometimes have to make decisions that they are not asking us for. Kids don't ask to wear seat belts, but we require them because they keep children safe. Setting healthy limits on technology at school is no different. So, we urge MMSD to lead by putting kids first and keeping tech in check. Thank you for your time and for listening to the parents who want our children to thrive. Thank you. Up now is Jaci Shore and then up next is Aaron Proctor. I have two children in the district. Since speaking at the January meeting, I've learned more about cell phones in schools and I feel more strongly than ever that

049MMSD needs an away all day policy. Act 42 focuses on instructional time and for student well-being. I am asking that cell phones remain off and away during passing periods, at lunch, and at recess. In February, I had the opportunity to speak with Principal Moreno at Cherokee Heights Middle School. Principal Moreno has enacted an off and away cell phone policy, and it has been very successful. I work in a middle school in a nearby school district, and I was astounded during Cherokee's passing period. Unlike the school I work at, there was not a cell phone to be seen between classes at Cherokee. Principal Moreno credits the strict cell phone policy with the drastic decrease in behavior referrals in his school, down about 75% since his first year. He told me that access to cell phones between

050classes brings drama from outside of the classroom into the classroom. Without the pull to check texts, social media, and other websites, students can socialize positively between classes and are ready to learn when they arrive. And a all day policy does not only improve academic focus, it also prevents social conflict. One concern that I've heard mentioned is that having a strict cell phone policy may disproportionately affect students of color. In 2023, a study was conducted in Florida that showed that having a policy banning cell phon banning cell phones during the entire school day positively affected both standardized test scores and school attendance. It did however cause an increase in discipline for black students for a single school year. Knowing that there's a possibility is not a reason to not do what's best for all students. It

051means that the policy has to be implemented thoughtfully, which is exactly what happened at Cherokee Middle School. Anecdotally, Principal Moreno told me that he has seen no such discrepancy in discipline at Cherokee, that all students are held equally to high standards and rules are equally enforced. Fairness is possible and it's happening right here, right now. Please build on the model that is working in Madison. Don't sacrifice the well-being of so many students for the possibility that something might go wrong for some students. Board member Vanderm has consistently opposed an away all day policy and part of her argument is that such a policy outs students with disabilities. If this happens, state law is what's going to do this outing. If a student has an IEP, 504 plan, or medical exemption, that is going to be

052apparent during class time. And the district's policy for that time isn't up for debate as Act 42 mandates that cell phones be away during instructional time. So, we're talking about passing periods and lunchtime. Looking at school daily schedules, that means that I am asking you to prohibit the use of cell phones for 75 minutes per day at the high school level and 54 minutes per day at the middle school level. I am asking you to pro to provide students with 54 to 75 more minutes of time to socialize with their peers, time to transition between classes with minimal outside distractions, time to be present in school. I'm not here to debate the presence of cell phones in class. The law dictates that for you. Please do what is best for Madison's students both socially and

053academically and implement an away all day cell phone policy. Thank you. Thank you. Up now is Aaron Proctor and then on deck is uh Amber Chonssky. Hello everyone. For the first time since I've been coming to talk to you, I'm talking off the cuff. Good thing I am a veteran teacher. Evidently, it's been a few years, so I'm now qualified to do this sort of thing. Uh, I am coming today to talk to you about the survey that was sent out to us about a week and a half ago. We got another email today. Hey, by the way, guys, there's this survey. We'd really like you to take it. Let me clue you in on a couple things. One, most people aren't taking it because we've gotten so many fishing surveys. anything you send us,

054we dump it. Second, any veteran teacher that actually opened it up as I did looked at a few of those questions and said, "Oh, heck no." and closed it out because what's inside there is terrifyingly frightening. If you haven't seen it, and I know a lot of you haven't because when I shared it with some people last week, they're like, "Oh, I've never seen this." I'm going to leave you my copy today because I printed it out for you. The thing that is the most scary to me is question eight. Which of the following best practices how reflect how you believe employees should progress through a salary range over time? Primarily through performance with increases tied to demonstrator results or contributions. Huh, that kind of sounds like we're going away from steps and lanes into

055performance base. Well, if no one understands the history, steps and lanes was put in by the great John Matthews, working with the school district and the school board because he understood and shared for many years that veteran teachers are the backbone to a successful school district and that if you want them to continue their education, you give them lanes to cross as they further their own educational needs. It has worked really, really well. Act 10 came along. Some districts decided, no, you know what? We're going to take that Danielson model that was not supposed to be evaluative and we're going to make it evaluative for everybody. Well, then you got teachers against teachers. You got teachers against principles. How in the world can people run a school looking like that? I don't know. Yes, I

056do. Not very well. Okay. So, if this is really the thing that you want to do, please take into this into account. With steps and lanes, you know how much you're going to pay us every year. With this one, you either don't know what you're going to do or the districts is going to tell principles, hey, you got a certain amount of money. How you divinate it up? How you creating culture and community? My guess is you're going to have a whole lot of unhappy people. Oh, wait, you already do. Cuz we've been asking for three years now to fix this thing and none of you seem to be able to do it. Before I'm left off in 16 seconds, let me leave you with this little bit of information as well. I'm a veteran

057teacher. I teach teachers. I have a student teacher this year. She's hearing and seeing everything. And she's not the only one cuz we got a whole bunch and so does everyone else. You want employees? Do the right thing because you're not going to have anybody if you keep this up. All right, up now is >> Amber Chonsky and then up next is Amy Martino. >> Good evening. I am here tonight as an MMSD parent advocating for cell phone free schools. Our kids deserve a distraction-free school day and we are asking for a clear policy that ensures that happens. The state law directs that schools develop policies that outline self-reinstructional time, but I think MS Mmsd can and should do better by implementing in a way all day cell phone policy. Passing time, lunch and recess

058may not be instructional time, but it is still a time of significant growth and learning for students. Face-to-face interaction with classmates and staff instead of staring at a device screen allows kids to learn and practice important social skills. Conversation, eye contact, handling disagreements, empathy, active listening, interpreting non-verbal cues. The list could go on. These are vital brainshaping moments that allow children to become thriving adults. My sixth grader is fortunate to attend Cherokee Heights Middle School where you've heard about their away all day policy that's been in place for two years. She tells me about her lunchtime conversations, excuse me, sharing laughs with friends, meeting new friends, and of course, some shenanigans. If you drive past the school during lunch, you'll see students outside laughing, playing, interacting, being kids. I do not want to see her

059transition to West High in a few years and be robbed of more of these experiences because cell phones are no longer required to be put away for the day. Cell phones are an experience blocker. More time on a phone means less time for everything else. And for children with still growing brains, the addictive pull of a smartphone and its apps is hard to say no to. Instead of a lively group of kids interacting, you'll have a silent group staring at their phones. I think we owe it to every MMSD student to establish boundaries and give them the full experience of an away all day phone-f free school. Thank you for considering this. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Up now is Amy Martino. And then up next is Daddy Hoffner. >> Um, I

060am an MMSD parent as well and I am speaking again in support of NOA all day cell phone policy. State law now mandates that cell phones be prohibited during instructional time. So, what the board is deciding for next school year is whether the district's new policy will allow students to have their phones during lunch, recess, and passing periods. It's my understanding that board member Vandermulan and Pearson and Deputy Superintendent McCrae are on the policy writing committee. So, I want to voice my concerns about the proposed policy board member Vandermulan shared on Facebook. She believes that cell phones can be appropriate and necessary. I agree that cell phones are necessary for students who need them to manage health issues and disabilities. Exceptions for those students are already written into the state law and those exceptions should

061absolutely be clearly laid out in the district's policy. I disagree, however, that there are times during the school day when cell phone use is appropriate. I disagree with the argument that phones are such an important part of everyone's lives that students need to be taught how to use them wisely in school with board member Vanderm's proposed structured access times and approved use for learning. Phones are very easy to learn. Staff do not need to waste precious instructional time to teach kids how to use phones. Also, this would be inequitable as not all students have phones. And most importantly, a much needed cultural shift is happening to correct the mistake of phones being so ingrained in every part of our lives. Neuroscience now tells us that phones should not be present when we are doing important

062work that requires sustained focus. Phones should not be present when we are having meaningful social interactions. And that's what the school day should be for our kids. With of course the exception for kids with disabilities who need assistive technology to communicate. Students can learn about responsible phone use and social media addiction in health class without the distraction of phones in their hands. Subjects like human growth and development and substance abuse are taught effectively without hands-on tools. There are so many upsides to an away all day phone policy. It would be easier for staff to enforce. It would reduce cyber bullying which students with disabilities are more vulnerable to. It could also narrow the achieve the achievement gap as studies have found that prohibiting phones throughout the school day resulted in the greatest academic gains among

063low achieving advantaged students. Please stop debating the phone policy. Stop scaring parents by saying a ban would take devices away from students with disabilities. Stop assuming parents need constant contact with their kids. Please do not write a confusing, watered down policy. Enact a strong, clear, full day policy and start the work of sharing with families why this will be great for MMSD students. Academic focus, independence, human connection, protection from social media and chatbot addiction, increased safety in an emergency. Please give real change a chance. All right, thank you. Up now is Daddy Hoffner. And then up next is Aaron Courtourtney. >> Hi, I'm Daddy Hoffner and I'm currently a fifth grader at Thorough Elementary. I'm here to let you all know that it is not just parents who want an away all day phone policy.

064It's the kids, too. Next year I will be going to Cherokee Middle School and I currently have multiple friends who go there. As you all know, they have had a very successful phone policy. Fights have decreased, behavior has improved, and as has the overall culture of the school. From my own experience, I have seen how technology like cell phones, Apple watches, and even Chromebooks have created a ton of distractions in the classroom. This is one of many reasons why I've chosen to opt out of using a Chromebook in class. and have found it to be very helpful. Other kids at other schools should be given the same chance to experience phone-f free school days. You all have the opportunity to provide that for them. I really hope you do. Invest in teachers, not tech. All

065right. Thank you. Up now is Aaron Courtney and then up next is Megan Minen. >> Thank you. My son's middle school has currently has also has a strict away for the day phone policy and when I asked him about it, he emphatically agreed that without that rule, every kid with a phone would be on their device at lunch and recess. my experience that this away for the day policy is broadly supported by the other families at Hamilton and Hamilton also has the strictest electronic device policy statement on its website among the MMSD schools. While almost every middle school does have language encouraging students to limit phone use, there's not a consistent policy districtwide. I can only imagine what that means also in terms of um enforcement that the the enforcement is inconsistent probably across the

066schools given the emerging data that you've heard about tonight spotlighting the problems of use of tech in schools and the cultural backlash that we're all experiencing and seeing against phones and social media for children. It makes sense for our district to provide clear and consistent direction on this issue. As a district, adopting an away for the day policy districtwide evens the playing field. So, it is not only those school communities that prioritize in-person interaction who achieve the benefits of keeping kids off phones when they are at school. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Up now is Megan Min. Up next is Mika Chen. >> Hi everyone. My name is Megan Minen. I have two seven-year-olds who go to Sandberg Elementary. I didn't know the teachers were going to be here tonight. Huge shout

067out to you all, especially if there's any Sandberers in the house. Um, and thank you all as well. We've had an amazing experience and thank you for the part that you play in that. I don't have the t-shirt, but I am here to advocate for an away all day cell phone policy at MSD. As a parent, I'm I'm actually begging you. Um, I think tech and education and the upcoming cell phone policy are the most important things facing MMSD. And uh, a lot of people have made good points. I know you've heard a lot already, so I'm going to try not to repeat it. But in my day job, I regularly use research to inform public policy and I appreciate how difficult that is. A lot of times research is not as abundance as abundant

068as we'd like and findings are often equivocal and heavily caveed. But luckily when it comes to cell phone use and kids the research is crystal clear. Um we know that too much cell phone time is harming our children. Um the first woman who spoke I already spoke to this you know brain development, mental health, social skills, academic achievement. We also know as someone else referenced specifically there's research about cell phone use in schools and bands improving achievement and attendance. To be fair in mental health it showed either no change or an improvement. Um, and it also schools reported less bullying, better classroom management, and fewer behavioral problems. I also think a key point is that less comprehensive bans uh have proven less effective in each of these areas and have proven more difficult to enforce

069with enforcement falling heavily on teachers who already have more than enough to do. Um, I also don't want to, as I I heard many of, um, I keep on wanting to say colleagues, I guess my peers, um, talk about, I don't want to, um, you know, glaze over and I've appreciated the discussion on disability and dealing with disabilities. That's important to me. My kids don't have an IEP, not yet. Um, but they are English language learners, so I do understand what it's like to be part of a broader system where your kids need accommodations for that to work for them. Um, and as everyone has said, I believe that those, you know, the car votes and the exceptions for those kids is important, but I don't think it changes the fact that we know unequivocally

070that for the vast majority of kids, cell phones in school do much more harm than good. And um, I don't think we should have a policy. I think if we have a policy that allows a relatively relatively small population of students who have a legitimate need for cell phones in school to access them, that is more practical and more equitable than trying to enforce the majority of kids misusing their cell phones in a less comprehensive man. It's just um the logic of rules and exceptions. Um and I get it. This issue has come at us fast. I mean, and even five years ago, we didn't know how much damage cell phones are doing to our kids. But now we do and I think big tech is the big tobacco of our time and to fail

071to act comprehensively right now on the knowledge that is again irrefutable would be criminally negligent. Thank you. >> Thank you. Up now is Mika Chen. Up next is Rachel. Thank you. >> May my classmate join me really quick. Thank you. Hello everybody and happy sexual violence awareness month. My name is Mika and I'm a junior at Madison West High School and this is Asher, a sophomore at Madison West High School. And we're here to speak to you today on behalf of RCC Game Changers. RCC Gamech Changers is a team of high school students from across Dayne County who are committed to engaging in activism and advocacy work while educating ourselves and our community on rape culture and other intersecting oppressions that affect survivors of sexual violence. This is the 10th anniversary of RCC Game Changers,

072which means that is the 10th year of us making a difference in creating countless community projects to help survivors and the Dayne County community as a whole. We've all seen the news. We've all seen the news lately and what is happening across Dane County. Clearly, there are not enough boundaries between students and teachers, especially in this new age of the internet. Many students have seen inappropriate online relationships with staff members at their school. A recent study from 2023 by the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse estimated that 11.7% of students will experience sexual misconduct by a school employee. This, of course, is beyond inappropriate and is our responsibility to make a change. >> School should be in an environment of learning and growth, not a place where students have to spend their

073limited hours worrying about whether a teacher is secretly texting classmates or, to put it bluntly, a pedophile. Just because you don't personally perceive a teacher as a threat or not being targeted doesn't mean you aren't in the line of fire. We have seen count these countless violations firsthand as high school students across Wisconsin. And we're tired of having to witness inappropriate relationships that are not only harming the students involved, but the entire student body. So why are we letting this happen? Our schools need to re-evaluate and reassess the protocols intended to support the well-being of both students and staff. As RCC's mission promotes, these policies should foster an environment of mutual respect and belonging, conditions that are crucial to an adolescent education, healthy development, and sense of autonomy. Yet, every year, incidents of sexual violence

074in our high schools are documented within our own communities. This reality makes one thing clear. Current school policies are not effectively protecting our students or preventing sexual violence from occurring. Our fellow game changers have created a handbook to help educate teachers on boundaries within school and social media. This comes from students within Wisconsin who have firsthand experience and notice changes that they want implemented. This handbook serves as a resource that can be referred to at any point and provides tools that can help guide stu school staff to create healthy relationships with students. These handbooks will be available in the coming weeks and we as students call on you to provide these handbooks for the teachers that you are responsible for creating outreach for our resource that came out of one primary feeling fear. We call

075on you to re-evaluate that all you are doing to prevent sexual violence in schools. But most importantly, we call on you as students to help us. We have done the most that we can for ourselves and yet it is not enough. Now we can only hope that you will do the same. that you will rise to the occasion and protect the students that you have sworn to protect. >> Thank you. >> You up now is Rachel Gal. And that will conclude our Oh, nope. And then on deck is Lindsay Smith or we have a written statement from Lindsay Smith. Thank you um to the board. Thank you for your service. I was here in January. Um and I feel like uh my fellow parent check on tech group um covered a lot of the statistics

076that um are out there. I'm going to share a little bit of um my own personal story within the district. I have um kids at each grade level. I have elementary, junior high, and high school. My oldest is a senior, and I'm a mental health provider. Um I am here with emphatic support of away all day, including phone use during passing periods. I think the thing that strikes me is that the current policy within the district would be the bare minimum for Act 42. And that policy in and of itself makes a statement because of its lack of consistency. Like we've heard so many people talk about. It puts teachers in a difficult position. My high schooler talks about in one class he walks into, there's really no policy. The teacher feels like, "I got

077this. I've got the kids attention. I'm going to do my thing." And then in the next class, the teacher is trying to get kids to put away their phones the entire time. And then in the next class, there's somewhere in between. It's difficult for the students. It's difficult for the teachers. in our elementary school. I hear from um friends throughout the districts in different schools that kids in the same grade level have such different experiences with the amount of time that they spend on screens. The lack of consistency in itself makes a statement about the district's priority. So when you enact Act 42, please be deliberate, please be specific, and please make an all day ban. I have a kid in junior high, too. And again, he's at Cherokee, and it is amazing. You can

078feel it when you walk in that building. The staff are happy to be there. I think they seem happy to be there. The students are happy to be there. They know what's expected of them and they thrive. And I've asked my own kids. I've asked their teachers. And everyone wants a consistent policy across the district. It is just unrealistic to have something vague and expect positive outcomes. As a mental health professional, our kids need connection and they need a sense of belonging. They don't need more screens. Will a complete ban on cell phones be easy? No. But has it been done before successfully? Yes. Many times all over the country. And we can do it too. Is it essential? Absolutely. Give our teachers the infrastructure that they need to teach. Give our students the environment

079that they deserve to learn. All right, that concludes our public appearances. There is one written statement from Lindseay Sutton uh who comments uh that they support a a policy for phones to be away all day including recess and passing. Okay. Uh moving on to the approval of minutes. Um I move that the board of education approve the minutes from the regular board meeting dated March 16th, 2026. Second. >> Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> All right. Motion carries. Okay. Moving on to board president's uh announcements and reports. So, celebrating our students. 41 MMSD students advanced to national merit finalist status earning national recognition for their academic excellence. leadership and dedication. Up next is Maline Bond. Uh a senior at West High School, has been named

080the 2026 Student of the Year by the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education in recognition of her leadership in climate education and academic talent. Celebrating our staff, Lake View Elementary Principal Vang View was honored as the 2026 administrator of the year by the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education for her leadership in sustainability and outdoor learning. East High School's Emily Sonamon was named Wisconsin's 2026 ProStart Educator of the Year, recognizing her outstanding leadership in culinary education and commitment to student success. Other acknowledgements. Congratulations to our own board member Nikki Vandermand uh who received the Wisconsin Education Association Council Friend of Education Award for 2026. The friend of education award is to be presented to an individual or group who has made a significant contribution to education andor the profession in Wisconsin. And in tonight's consent agenda, the

081board would like to acknowledge and thank all individuals and organizations that have donated donated to the district, particularly the American Heart Association for a $40,000 donation to support nutrition and healthy choice choices programs. Dale and Beverly Schultz for $25,000 to support supplies, materials, and resource resources for students and staff needs at Gumpers Elementary School. And finally, uh, Alphaz Delta fraternity for $14,99852 for MMSD's transition education program. Thank you for those. So, moving on to the superintendent announcements and reports. >> Thank you very much, President Castro. First, let me just begin by saying congratulations to board members Vandermill and Mosner Pelam on your swearing in tonight for your real job well done. Uh, appreciate your public service. To our new officers, uh, congratulations as well. Um, I I do want to comment a little bit on

082board president Nichols and vice former past president Nicholls and past Vice President Pearson. Um, as someone who's been through superintendent transitions before, um, there's a lot to there's a lot that you all u took on in the three years that you served. And, um, I can certainly sense it that at times it it wasn't easy. Uh, but I can say that on behalf of our administration, our district, I um really appreciate your support and not just in hiring me and making the decision to hire me, uh, but really putting what's best for MMSD at the forefront and doing this work with the passion you have for the city and the school district. Um, so again, thank you very much, President Castro, uh, members of the board, staff, and community. Thank you for this opportunity. After

083years of planning, partnership, and community input, construction is officially underway on the first phase of the Madison Metropolitan School District's 2024 facilities referendum projects. We celebrated four amazing groundbreings for four of our schools, Sherman Middle, Malcolm Shabbaz City High, Blackhawk Middle, and Gumpers Elementary School. Thankfully, we had a warm and sunny and beautiful day to celebrate our newest buildings and all they had to offer. All they have to offer our students. not only in the next 10 years ahead, but long into the future. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for these celebrations, and thank you to our community for voting yes to the referendum. Your yes vote to our students help make these projects a true reality. I'm happy to share that these projects continue to move forward on budget and

084on time. In fact, you're looking at the picture, I believe that is Blackhawk. I don't have my glasses on. one of the two, but if you drive by them today, they do not look like that. They've been working even with some of this rain. Um, so it's really a lot of fun to drive by those project projects, but know that behind the scenes, we're also supporting their work to make sure that they are on time and at or under budget. Uh, you can the community can find information at mmsd.org. Go to ref24 and you will find um incredible amount of information including some live drone shots we have as well of the u various construction projects. Next, I've mentioned that we cannot do this work alone. It certainly takes a community to raise a child,

085and by working together, we can make great things happen. Family voices are critical to how we move our work forward as well and prepare our students for college, career, and community. The Family Advisory Council is one way families can get involved with MMSD. They officially launched by hosting its first meeting last week. As part of this meeting, families learned about the council, its goals, and how they will contribute, which includes serving as a liaison between the school community and MMSD, providing input and feedback on district policies, programs, and initiatives, participating in district-wide planning and goal setting processes, sharing information, updates to school communities. They also had the opportunity to participate in a gallery walk where they share their insights on a variety of topic and what they'd like to see as part of this important

086work. Families are the backbone of student success and when we collaborate, share ideas, and provide feedback, we can continue to strengthen MMSD as a destination school district and ensure every school in MMSD is a place where students, families, and staff can thrive. The Department of Family Youth and Community Engagement will continue to host these meetings and families throughout the district are invited to participate. Anyone interested can reach out to this department through Let's Talk. Congratulations are in order to the Madison Education Partnership or MEP MEP for celebrating 10 years. I joined their 10-year anniversary celebration to highlight the excellent work that has been done since this partnership first began. Started by MMSD and W staff, this partnership has solidified itself as a national leader and is recognized by district peers, research organizations, and other research

087practice partnerships across the United States. MEP provides strong evidence that supports our work such as building for the future and MMSD's excellence together helps us make informed decisions. Our partnership with MEP allows us to collaborate and engage in highquality problem-based research that goes beyond the classroom. Importantly, this work keeps us grounded in our shared pursuit of educational equity. I look forward to what they can accomplish in the next 10 years and again can't thank the University of Wisconsin Madison and and MEP for their ongoing collaboration and partnership with us. Last week I also joined Lake View principal New Vang Buu on a local M radio show and I'm thankful for this opportunity to connect with our monk. I was grateful to be invited to share all the great things happening at MMSD to highlight some

088of the important initiatives we are working on including building for the future and MMSD excellence together. We also talked about our M heritage program which began at Lake View almost 10 years ago. This program has the distinction of being the first in the state and is one of few available in Wisconsin. Principal Vang Vu and I also discussed the significance of the upcoming month of May, which celebrates Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, M American Week, and many of our schools will host celebrations and events honoring the M community. We are proud to honor all of our students, staff, and families and the rich cultural heritage they bring to our community. Finally, in this section, we launched our new series, the voices of people, purpose, and pride. And our first episode, it features an allstar

089in Assistant Superintendent of Financial Services, Bob Soldner, who shared information about the MMSD budget, state funding, property taxes, and the systemic need for school funding reform. The series can be seen on our YouTube channel and also at MMSDTV or heard on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. We truly hope to bring more conversations to to the community and these do not have to be long or formal um you know interviews or things of that nature. It's really topical areas of interest that we believe our community can benefit from. So if you have ideas or if you hear someone speak or if you have a principal or a teacher or a student who is sharing some good ideas, let us know if that's something you'd like to see amplified throughout the district and throughout the community. Many of

090you have heard about a bus accident involving our students a few weeks back now. And I'm so thankful there were no serious injuries. I'm also thankful to the Madison police and fire teams who responded quickly to address the situation and ensure our students were safe. And to the community members who stepped in to see if they could help as well. I'm incredibly proud and grateful for the many MMSD staff who helped in this situation and supported our students and families. I'm also very proud of our students. When I visited with them at school, they not only showed their resiliency, they showed their support of one another as well. Lastly, we will be hosting building for the future community engagement sessions beginning May 4th through the 8 May 4th through the 8th, May 11th through the

09115th, both in person and virtual, and May 19th through the 21st, basically the month of May, everyone. Um, so we'll have a schedule that we can share on this. I encourage you to to check that out and make sure that you can see uh when meetings are only in person or when there are virtual options available. We will have interpreters there in language. We will have a a deaf and heart of hearing interpreter there as well in American Sign Language. Again, as always, you can find out more information at mmsd.org. President Castro, members of the board, concludes my report. >> Thank you. I just want to say having worked with Bob for the Acumen and Flannel have really held the board down through moments. So, thank you Bob. Um, and so moving on to Yes.

092All right, moving on to uh items that proceeded through the instruction workg group held April 6 to 26. Board member Moldro. >> Thank you, Board President Castro. We were on strategic partnerships in April and summer programming. Um we will have our next instruction work group on May 4th and we will get an update on MMSD excellent together's plans, an update on professional development impacts, and a first read of our cell phone policy. >> All right. Thank you, board member Moldro. Uh now a report on items that proceeded through the operations work group held April 13th, 2026. Uh we discussed healthc care, the facilities referendum, transportation, reviewed the draft budget for 2627. Uh our next operations workg group will be held May 11th, 2026 where we will again review the uh the the budget and anticipation

093for vote. um USDA community uh provision for food service to present a recommendation for certain schools versus districtwide with the fiscal estimate. We will look at the wrong uh long range facilities plan with the focus on asset management and sustainability. We will take a look at referendum 24 phased view schematic designs and then finally uh a look at the May regular board meeting presented uh presentation of the proposed budget. Um there were no items that proceeded through the instruction workg group held on April 6 26. Um, moving on to number nine, action items that proceeded through the operations workg groupoup held April 13th, 20 26, uh, the proposed healthc care insurance options. So, I'm going to go ahead and move option two, uh, with the opportunity for discussion. Um, I move that the board of

094I move that the board maintain the employee share of health insurance premiums for all eligible employees from the following employee groups: educational assistance, food service, security assistance, and plan learn. And increase the employee share for all other eligible employee groups by 3% for coverage effective July 1, 2026. Second, Nikki Vander. >> Second, board member Vanderm. Uh, discussion. Board member Vanderm. >> Yes. Hi, colleagues. Um, looked at all the options and I really do agree that the second one happens to be the best because it takes into account our low um our employees that are lowest paid and our hourly employees. looks at those individuals and those are who I've worried about the most, not just teachers. It affects all of our staff. And therefore, I think this is the best option. I strongly am against

095option three because I believe the high-risisk deductible is just it's not good for a lot of our staff who have chronic conditions and who also um are those who receive um Medicare and Medicaid are not allowed to have health savings accounts currently under federal law at least if Trump got his way and did do it. I don't because as of current I'm been told that is correct. The last thing I want to say is I really appreciated the robust discussion and the information that was provided by the MMSD team and by our um insurance partners M3. I think they answered a lot more questions than I expected them to have answers to and I appreciate that. >> Uh thank you board member Moldro. >> Thanks board president Castro. I have a few questions for our

096team. Um I I want to start by saying I was interested in exploring the high deductible option. Um I I' I've made it very clear I believe healthcare is a human right. Um I I think it is really complicated to have the kinds of conversations that we have to have as a board about healthcare. But a million dollars savings is significant. And when we're talking about things like salary compression and paid parental leave, I think that we really have to take into consideration our fiduciary responsibility as a board um and the different ways that we we can approach balancing our budget. So I I was really surprised um to see some of the outpour of confusion from our staff in relationship to the high deductible plan. And my first question for our team is what

097did it look like to talk about the handbook implications and other implications related to the higher deductible plan >> or board member Moldro just for point of clarification right now we're on the motion that isn't about the high deductible plan so I'm wondering just for point of clarification can we vote on this motion or have discussion and then go to the motion on the high deductible open it up. >> My understand >> that was the way I was understanding >> motions. If we were to vote and approve what's on the floor right now, it would make the conversation about the high deductible plan. No, >> we can still move forward with the third motion and vote on that separately as well. >> So, we would move again. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um, any other questions?

098Uh, board member Nichols, >> I I would say based on the motion that's on the floor right now, I also appreciated the administration going back bringing back kind of the tiered approach. I think that as much as I heard us as a board discussing the the fact that like we don't like raising the premiums at all, um I do think because costs are increasing and this is one way at least for our hourly staff, the ones that are named in the motion, our educational assistance, food service, security assistance and plan learn staff to not have to um take the brunt of the the increases. So, I I'm I'm in support of this motion. >> Board member Pearson. >> Yes. Thank you. Um I just had a just a few questions. Um, I know that long

099ago when we made a decision that we parsed out certain classifications of staff and um as it relates like you know the increase of $5 da da da. Um when we did that we had to double back um at one point to adjust because we missed some groups. Um, and so I just want to just make sure that the groups that are listed in this motion that we won't have to double back, um, that these are encompassing all the groups that need to be here and that there aren't added, um, staffing groups that need to be added just so that I just make sure that we don't have that issue that we had years ago when >> Yeah. So, I'm sorry. Thank you for that. Um, the team did double check to make sure that

100prior to writing a motion. So, that's already been verified. >> That That's it. That was my clarification. Thank you. >> Uh board member Mosner Falam. >> Thank you, President Castro. Um like board member Moldro said, healthcare is a human right. Like the context around this is less than excellent. Um I also think that historically one of the things that has made MMSD an attractive place for people to work is really high quality benefits. And I think we're maintaining those for sure. Um, I don't think a small increase in the percentage is going to take away from that. But I do think that um, should this be something that we expect to keep happening, that our premium costs continue to rise by double digit percentages, we should include understanding that as we think about what makes

101it valuable, what makes people want to work here, if it's not going to be really affordable benefits for the long term, what will it be? I'm going to be voting in favor of this. Um, I think we've done good work to try and manage this increased cost and this is it is what it is. Um, and that's it for me. >> Thank you, board member Saravo. >> Thank you, President Castro. I appreciate all the conversation that we had in regards to health insurance in general going over all the different options that we have for employees because I think that when we work in a district and take care of kids all day that we have to consider benefits highly amongst all the other things that we're trying to take care of. So I also am

102in favor of this motion um because I have seen the value of having uh health insurance while um also being a healthy person typically healthy person at one point in time as well. >> All right. Any other questions? Okay. Um I will just comment that when we say that the um funding of education is not matching pace with inflation. I think that this is a prime example of the cost of education are are growing up and outpacing um what what what districts can do. Um and it's making the margins really tight. And so I think this is a prime, you know, prime example of how the increases in health care we're seeing right here are just about on par with the combined projected salary increases between step and lanes and cost of living adjustments just

103to um underscore uh just how high these costs are going. So, um I think this is an an issue that I'd like to see the state legislature address or our health industry to consider uh just when we talk about the value and services we provide to the community through education. Um and so with that, I'd like to to call the question. So all those well uh board member Lee, your advisory vote >> I. All those in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries. 70. Okay. We have a another motion here. Um, I move that the board of or I move that the board off eligible employees a high deductible health plan insurance option with a health savings account to new eligible employees starting September 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027 for existing eligible employees and retirees.

104>> Second Nikki Vanderme discussion. >> Discussion. All right. Board member Vandermillan. >> Yes. Um I understand the appeal of the high-risisk. I really do. And I understand that it's a choice, but for a lot of for a lot of employees, it becomes not a choice when it starts becoming double digit increases. Like President Castro just said, pretty soon the only care that people can afford is the high deductible, the catastrophic. problem is the care isn't as provided especially for individuals with disabilities, especially for other staff who have chronic conditions. Everything from asthma to um birth defects to a daily anemia shock. I'm just or a diabetes shot or even just general health checkups three times a year because um you have a higher risk of skin cancer like I do. Um it's those are all

105reasons why I think the high deductible people will put off care because they won't be able to afford it. And that's why I'm arguing against it today. Not to take away options for staff but to preserve them. Board member Savo. >> Thank you, President Castro. I'm not going to be voting in favor of high deductible healthcare act. I cannot bring myself to do it. I would I think it when we're looking at giving our giving people options that are proactive healthcare, I think is really important. As I just stated before, I understand the value of having healthcare available that's not trying to save money on the the short end. And I want people to be proactive and to appreciate their benefits even if they don't know that they need them when they're going to need

106them. And I think chronic conditions are something that people are actively always using and that that would not be of something that I would want to I just can't bring myself to open it up in that direction. So I'm not going to be voting for this one. >> Thank you. Uh board member Pearson. >> Okay. Um I think um my question is just around um just a health savings. So it's just offering we're just offering the option for folks if they choose to or not. And so I think we've had some extensive conversations in our closed sessions and um some in our open sessions. But I think um I'd just like to hear just from folks um from staff about um you know the importance of education around what your options are because I think

107that that is like the key driver for anyone to choose it um or go not choose them um but also like what choice and I know we've had this conversation about what insurers we will have and and whatnot. So, I think just if y'all can just talk about it so folks can understand education that is going to be needed and um extended. >> President Castro, board member Pearson. I'll have Rachel Caribel, our benefits manager, um address the questions on motion uh the third motion. >> Sure. Uh good evening members. Um board member Pearson. Yes, we have talked about how this would be uh under this motion a choice for employees. Um, we certainly recognize that it is not the right choice for every employee. Um, I think as long as we keep our current plan

108with its low deductible available, um, we will expect to see some people choose this plan. It would it might increase over time based on what we've seen uh with other employers, but um even plans that have had these designs for 10 years, you know, the the enrollment, you know, isn't more than 15%. So, we we wouldn't expect it to be a significant portion of our employees that would sign up for this. Education though will be critical. Uh, high deductible health plans do operate a little bit differently in some specific ways and we want to make sure that employees that choose it, they know what they're choosing and they know how to use, for example, the health savings account that would go along with it. That's a really important point that people understand how that um

109that account can build up over time. They can use it for other services that are not necessarily part of the health plan. And we certainly recognize that if the board were to adopt this option, uh, we would have a significant lift in terms of education, but we would certainly do that to make sure that people understand what they what their options are. >> Yeah, thank you for answering that. I I mean, I'm a supporter in folks having as many options as possible. um as a parent of teenagers who don't necessarily get heard often um you know there would be options that I would be able to access and so I just want to make sure that we are off our staff as many options as possible um but I just want to stress the importance

110of the education for those staff that choose whatever option um and make sure that we have the resources to provide that support if needed. So I just wanted just to elevate that. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, board member Moldro. >> Yeah, I want to ask what the process looked like in working with the handbook committee and our union to talk about the high deductible option and I'd like to understand the handbook implications of the high deductible option. >> Um, we did not specifically discuss this option with the handbook committee. However, we did discuss this option. Well, first we surveyed a variety of districts across uh both in Dayne County as well as uh the rest of the state and other public employers here in uh Dane County. So that is partly where this idea came

111from. We discussed it with our benefits advisory committee which is a new group that we created last fall. Uh it does include our labor partners uh on that on that committee and we did discuss a variety of different plan design options uh that would reduce the district spending uh to answer questions, gauge interest, identify concerns. Um this was one of the options that appeared to be plausible according to those discussions. Um there was no specific endorsement I would say by any of the partners on that group. Um but we did have some good discussion and certainly the group as a whole recognized the importance of any high deductible option being a choice and that education was a significant part of any kind of implementation. Um even though we haven't specifically talked about this with the

112handbook committee there's a lot of overlap. A lot of the same members sit on both. So the handbook committee itself has not addressed this option. Are there implications specific to the handbook that the board should be aware of before voting on this? >> Uh we do have some current language in the handbook that talks about the different plan design options that we offer. Uh both the the insurers as well as our current HMO option and our point of service plan option. So it would certainly be consistent to add another option to the handbook if the board takes that action. I think there's been some real concerns from our workforce about our embracing the high deductible plan. Have you all felt like there's been space to address those concerns or correct misconceptions in terms of how

113this plan would work? >> Our conversations have primarily been through that benefits advisory committee. So, working with our labor partners and then also our discussions with the board. We have not um gotten out ahead of any board action and and educated employees up until this date. We certainly if the board took this action, we would certainly have, you know, a lot of work to do over the next four to five months or so to make sure people understood before they they selected the the choice to off or to elect this plan. Um the motion as it's written I believe would specify that this option would first be available to our new hires starting September 1st and then available to all existing employees and retirees uh during open enrollment which occurs in the fall to take

114effect in January. So we would throughout that whole time be working on that education to make sure that people knew that this option was going to be available and what it would mean. >> I really appreciate this. I really appreciate the creativity and approach you all had to making sure we had the best possible options we could given this climate. Um, I really appreciate how um aware you all were of our feedback and how responsive you were to our feedback. I am not going to vote in favor of the high deductible plan this evening. Um, in part because I think there are some real misconceptions about what it would mean. um that make me really hesitant to think that we can roll it out in a way that people buy into and trust. Um and

115I don't think that's for lack of effort on your part. I think we live in a uh society that is really predatory towards folks who are experiencing um health crisis. and it makes these conversations really uh loaded and charged with a lot of people's bad experiences related to healthcare. Um however, I think if this sort of plan was an option in the future, my hope would be that it would be discussed with our handbook committee and the implications related to the handbook would be acknowledged as part of the conversation. Um, and that there would be a lot of work on the front end to make sure that people are considering this option from a well-informed place uh versus kind of their worst fears and insecurities about what could go wrong in relationship to a plan

116like this. Um, I greatly appreciate all the work that you all have done. Thank you, board member Moldro. Um, board member Nichols. >> Yes. Thank you, President Castro. Um, I do have one additional question if you don't mind. Um so when we've been presented with this option a couple of times over the last couple of workg groups um I have seen it as a positive in terms of it's an option for employees who want to >> make the choice. They're not being forced to take a high deductible plan. And um and I also just want to say what I've heard board member Vandermuan say is and I and I think there might be some confusion about high deductible versus being high risk. >> Um and and whether or not a high deductible plan if you

117are a person who might have a variety of health factors if that would be the right plan for you. So when you say that they're the education part would be a lift. Um, can you just talk about how the benefits team would provide enough opportunities for employees who might be curious about this option, who might be interested in the health savings account and what that would mean for themselves or their family. What would that look like? >> Sure. So, we normally do a lot of education around open enrollment time anyway. Um, actually, I'll take a step back. So, for new educators, uh, the benefits team is always present. They have a three-day new educator orientation session. We're there the whole time. We give presentations to, uh, people can sign up and come and, you know,

118listen to us live. We also are there sitting at a booth. People come and talk to us all the time. As a matter of fact, we usually have, you know, a number of people deep lines to talk to us about their benefits. Um, so that would certainly be that's a major focus of our education for our new educators. For existing employees leading up to open enrollment, we have a variety of channels that we use to educate employees. Uh, we do videos, we do virtual sessions, we certainly have materials that we share with employees. Um I suspect that we would end up doing more especially of the virtual sessions. Uh usually we do those in the late afternoon like when once school's out so people can come and attend and ask their questions. We will use

119our partnership with M3 to help us develop some of the materials that we would share with employees. Um you're correct in terms of our our team is relatively small. So visiting each school would be quite a challenge. So we would make ourselves available in these virtual sessions where we could hit you know employees from across the district uh at at different times. Um I think the issue of you know high-risisk versus high deductible. One of the most important things to understand about a high deductible plan is it's true it has a high deductible plan, but it's also paired with a health savings account. And the district as part of this proposal would be contributing to that health savings account, which if it's not used in the year it's given, it can carry forward and employees

120can build a balance that can be used to reimburse them if they do have a claim and they end up having to pay uh a deductible out of pocket. so that HSA can can reimburse those employees. Once they meet that deductible in any year, the plan would pay 100% of any services after that other than the co-pays like an emergency room co-pay or the office visit co-pay, the same of which is under the traditional plan. So the education is not just about what a deductible is and why it might look a little bit different, but how you can use that health savings account to protect yourself from a higher deductible. >> Thank you. That gives me a better um sense of the education piece. So, as I um and just as a followup, right now

121when there's open enrollment, >> employees get an email that's like it's open enrollment time, right? And so, I'm not talking about like the new educators right now who would have already had new educator um orientation, but let's say you've been with the district for years. you get your open enrollment email >> and in if this option were an option what they would see in the email is like log into whatever to update your HMO plan correct like either you're staying with what you've had or maybe you're using open enrollment to switch to a different provider >> correct >> and then they would now also see or select um a high deductible plan or ho how do you know I and maybe that's too much in the weeds but I'm just trying to think through >>

122because the the high deduct you're still keeping one of your two HMOs anyway >> right >> you could keep your it would be an HMO or a point of service plan whichever both options are available through the high deductible health plan based on my experience what I would focus on in that communication if there were a plan change like This is highlighting, you know, new options are available. Come learn about this new option at excuse uh at these sessions and whatnot, but I think you're correct. Right now there's not there aren't that many changes or at least there haven't been the last couple of years. So nothing's really changed unless um an employee wants to make a change for their own personal reasons, >> right? But since there are new options available, that communication should

123really highlight that there are new options available and you know here's how you can learn more about these options. So I would put I would highlight that in our communication. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Uh board member Vandermill and then board member Saravo. >> Yes. Just wanted to correct the record of what they I know we did get the union did send the board an email on April 16th stating that they were again that the board of directors was against the high-risisk plans. I can pass the phone around if need me, but we all did receive it. I just wanted that to be clear. But um add additionally I appreciate Michelle's discussion and I'm glad that we're educating individuals of their choices. I just don't believe in this case that this is a

124choice that will help our employees as much as it could. I think that there are better ones out there and that's my argument. But I I really appreciate the respectful discussion and I thank you for it. Thank you, uh, board member Saravo. >> Thank you, President Castro. I just felt I need to just jump in one more time and just kind of clarify what I was just talking about. The medical debt is often caused by unexpected events, hospitalizations, emergencies, not necessarily poor and people with insurance are affected, especially when that coverage comes from uh high abrupt costs. I would more be interested in discussing a wellness program or something that's more proactive in nature for our employees rather than reactive in nature and giving people options like those to look at and consider and to

125support them on a day-to-day basis. So again, I just felt like I needed to expand upon this conversation by just adding that in as what can future conversations look like in regards to considering healthcare. Thank you for that. Any other discussion or board member questions? Okay. Um seeing none, I will call the vote. Uh, board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> You're gonna have to say no. >> Oh, your microphone appears to be off or we can't hear you. >> Can you hear me now? >> Yes. >> Okay. I'm going to have to vote no. >> Okay. Uh, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion uh does not carry two to five. Okay. So, on to the next item, the consent agenda. Um, and so board docs is down, so we are kind of

126limited in the the documents that we can view. Um, but we'll we'll get through it. All right. I move that the board of education adopt and approve all of the motions set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27, 2026 regular school board meeting. exactly that motions are written by voting affirmatively on this motion. A board member uh expresses his her or their affirmative vote on each of the motions consolidated hereby subject to any express separations that have been made by any member of the school board. There any separation? >> Second Maya. >> Second board member Pearson. Um, any separations? >> Board member Moldro. >> I'd like to separate 1018, 10:22, and 10:24. >> Okay. If I heard you right, that's 18, 22, and 24. Okay. Any other separations? Board

127member Saravo, >> going to separate 10.6, 10.7, and 10.13. >> Okay. and 13. >> If I heard you right, six, seven, and 13. Okay. Any other separations? >> Okay. Seeing none, we have a second from board member Pearson. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I, >> all those in favor? >> I. >> Motion car. Motion carries 70. All right. Moving on to the separations. Uh, I move that the board of education adopt and approve item 10.6 as set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27, 2026 regular school board meeting. Exactly as said, motions are written. Um, sec second >> second. Board member Pearson. Discussion member Saravo. >> Yeah, thank you. I wanted to separate this was I was wondering if we could hear how we are going to

128be tracking the growth that was noted in here about increasing broader participation among students of color and students with IEPs and how we're going to be tracking that and what growth have we seen already that is driving us to note this specifically. >> So yes, Dr. Reine Gillis is online. Um so I know that I don't know I can't speak to the actual growth that we have already on the rationale for it. One of the things that we talked about was um having conversation at the school level to kind of help us to determine um and identify that growth in AP exams um because it's kind of hard to know like why we're seeing that growth without having those conversations. So that's the first piece that we'll continue to have. Um, and I think that

129the your first question was how will we track them? And it's again um when we get the data back from the AP exam so we're able to know like who students are and then we can dissect that data to be able to know. But the reason for that increase that's going to have to have a conversation at the school level with principles to kind of know why we're seeing that increase with the students. >> Board member Moser Falcon. Uh, board member Moldro, >> I'm sorry. Are you calling on me to what Martha just pulled? >> Yeah, I'm sorry. We thought we saw your hand. >> No. >> Okay. Oh, good. Uh, board member Mosner fel. Okay. Any further discussion? What's that? Okay. Any further discussion? All right. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I.

130>> All those in favor? Motion carries 70. Moving on. Uh, I move that the board of education adopt and approve item 10.7 as set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27, 2026 regular schoolboard meeting. Exactly as said, motions are written. Second. >> Second. Board member Mosner. Falcon. Discussion. Board member Saravo. >> I wanted to pull this one because we currently do have climate surveys that are conducted out there. And so what exactly is changing or what are we doing differently? How is this the same one that we are talking about that we currently have in place? Can you expand upon it? >> Yep. So this is actually going to replace our current service. So this is the actual um RFP that went out and so we had that conversation

131and so this is to move forth with the new platform to be able to do that. So it's just about the platform that we're using to replace the new climate survey that's moving forward. >> Can we know why we are switching over to something a different one than we just had? like we just had one that was done in the schools. >> I can speak a little bit to that. >> Correct. So >> this one is different. Right. >> So what this is is it is the same climate survey. We're just changing platform that we're using the the um climate survey on. So currently we use a Qualric. We're saying we're no longer going to use Qualrix and now we're using to this new platform. And so we went out to RFP. We had a

132number of different vendors to submit based upon RFP and this is a vendor that we went with and that we're moving forward to. So it'll still be the same timing, the same survey, all of that next year, just a new platform that we're using to be able to do the climate. >> Can I can you all hear me? >> All right, board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> Can you hear me? I can hear you, but I don't know if >> we can't hear you. I'm sorry. Oh, >> okay. Um, >> we cannot Oh, I'm sorry. Board member Lee, we can't hear you. >> I think uh Caroline is trying to speak and I can hear her, but I don't know if you guys can hear her. >> Can you hear me? >> Yeah, we

133can hear you now. >> Okay. Um just a little um background context um board member Saravo um given the promise the prominence of the student climate survey as a performance objective um so particularly related to measuring belonging and then several KPIs including staff survey, family survey um in the new strategic plan. the district believed that we needed um a new survey, one that was um uh validated for um that belonging dimension. Um so while um what Dr. McCrae was saying in terms of administration, it will be quite similar to what we currently do. Um it was just important for us um with it being an accountability measure to ensure um that we were accurately capturing the complex and multiaceted aspects of belonging at school. Um so we went to um RFP um for that opportunity

134to address um some inadequacies in our current survey um to uh ensure that we are measuring that um with fidelity over time. >> What's that? >> Yeah, go ahead. >> I really appreciate that. Thank you very much. That's more or less what I was I was wanting a little bit more of that. I appreciate that side of the details as well. Thank you. >> Yes, you're welcome. Sorry about my audio. >> All right. Uh board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries 70. Right. Moving on to 13. Uh, I move that the board of education adopt and approve uh, item 10.13 as set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27, 2026 regular school board meeting. Exactly as said, motions

135are written. Second >> Second board member uh, Moser Felam. Discussion board member Saravo. >> Thank you, President Castro. I wanted to pull this one and actually I spent this morning at Stevens Elementary and got to uh talk with some of the 4K staff that was there. I really appreciate us having full day 4K and having a lot of options. There's a new site that was in that's included on here is a Madison uh college south campus. I was wondering how that is brand new and how do we get new sites like that? How do we get those more of those incorporated? That's our goal is to increase that. >> President Castro, board member Saravo, director of early learning, Colleen Watun, is online, I believe, and she can address that question. Hi, Colleen. >> Hello. Um,

136hi. Can you all hear me? >> Yep. >> Yeah. Okay, great. Um, so we are already currently partners with Madison College uh with their Truax campus. And so when we have sites that we're already partnered with that add additional sites, then we um we oftentimes add their sites in because they're already we're already collaborating with them. If a site is new uh to the community, what we do is we offer a um an opportunity for community centers to come and talk um to me about like what is it to be a partner? Then we have community uh directors take part in our director meetings so that they learn more about the requirements of 4K. 4K has a lot of requirements. Um so we want to make sure that everyone who is interested in partnering with

137us um are able to meet all those requirements. So um and so once that is um they go through that approval process, then they're offered a contract in order to partner with us. and then our contracts. Then every spring, uh, we then bring our our contracts to the board as a consent memo in order to get approved. Um, it is, um, it is it's kind of an estimate in the springtime as um, the payments to community partners is based off the third Friday count in September. Did I answer the question? >> Yes. And yeah, there um I very much appreciate all the the 4K, especially when we have the full day available and I was glad to see it wasn't like a half day, you know, like a try. There's so much more learning time

138incorporated into there. um that I think is probably that is appreciated by both the students that get to have more continuity and by educators that have more time throughout their day to spend that time with those learners as early as possible. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. Any further discussion? >> All right. Uh board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? Motion carries 70. Okay. Uh I move that the board of education adopt and approve item 10.18 as set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27th, 2026 regular school board meeting. Exactly as said are I get a second? >> Second. Board member Moldro. Discussion. Board member Moldro. >> Thank you. I wanted to highlight this investment uh by our district in our

139own staff, our own young people and their pursuit of careers and education. And I'm hoping someone from the team can join us this evening to speak to what approving this motion will mean. Um how many people are in cohort three and their area of a focus. I have highlighted our grow your own program in the past. I tremendously proud of this program, particularly um the work we're doing to make sure we have enough crosscategorical educators. Um thank you for all giving us the opportunity to highlight this this evening. Is there someone available to speak to this body of work? >> President Castro, board member Moldro, I'll have director of special projects, Dr. Jen Shepki. Uh I know she will gladly and proudly share with you some updates. I always love talking about my grow your

140own folks. Um they're wonderful people. So I'll just start that out. Uh cohort three has up to 16 people that are going to be part of it who will start their journey um to be get their associate degree at Madison College this fall and they will continue on after two years to WMadison while they earn their bachelor degree in elementary education and be licensed in K9. So, that is the same uh elementary pathway that our first uh cohorts are in as well. Um, and I' I've said this before, but I want to just not miss the opportunity that we now with this cohort, their first cohort moving over to UW, we're calling this program the grow your own to elementary and middle school teachers because that's really what we're getting with this program. Um, did

141I address your questions? So this third cohort is specific to elementary and middle school. Is there a specific area of academic focus, specific area of sort of that cohort is pursuing in kind of the needs of the district. >> Yeah. So they're pursuing K9. So they would be any elementary or middle school teacher in a general education classroom setting. And most of our folks who are in this program have identities that have been traditionally marginalized in our higher educational institutions. So folks who are first generation college students, folks who are uh folks of color, we have other different groups as well that are role models for our students. And we know that there's research out there that shows that even one, just one African-American teacher in an African-American child's life in their elementary years can

142change the entire trajectory of their lives. And that's what this group and the other previous cohorts are are working towards is being those people for our young people's lives. I really appreciate the emphasis on diversity of the um and their ability to reflect back and represent our population. I attended MMSD. I never had an African-American teacher in gened. Um and I think this is a a really intentional investment in ourselves and each other. Um, I also had the opportunity to speak with an educator who's currently working at Senate and is enrolled in Grow Your Own. And I just want you to know the amount of support that that educator talked about receiving from this program um was was so profound and so moving. Um, and the level of adjustment, the ability to help somebody, you

143know, make it over real obstacle their life, um, real losses in their family and still be able to achieve, you know, a college education and and get to have the career that they've dreamed of for themselves is a really big deal. U, I'm tremendously grateful for the work you're doing. I'm very proud to get to vote in favor of this item. >> Thank you. And I just want to say how proud I am of the grow your own participants because they're doing the real work. >> Thank you. Any further discussion? >> All right. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries 70. >> Okay. Uh I move that the board of education adopt and approve item 10.22 22 as set forth in section 10 of

144the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27th, 2026 regular school board meeting. Exactly as said, motions are written. >> Second. Board member Moldro. Discussion. Board member Moldro. >> Thank you. Uh I think because we don't have board docs, I am struggling to understand the total value of the 4,200 Chromebooks we're investing in in this motion. So first question is is there there a dollar amount related to this investment? Uh board president Castro, board member Moldro will pro we'll provide as much information as possible based on uh staff who are responsible for this. Chad Benick I believe is here and is working his way up. All right, >> it looks like we get Dr. McCrae. >> You do? Yes. Um because I just want to make sure um I I could So the first one is

145for license, which is 22, and then the second one, 24, is for devices. So I'm going to give you the price for both of them. Thank you. >> All right. Um I cannot give you the uh quick math because I'm not Bob, but I'm going to give you it's $30 per license. So that's for 4,200 licenses, $30 per per license. And then for the Chromebooks, we're at $360 per Chromebook. >> Oh, okay. So it's $126,000 for Thank you. for the um the license, the Chromebook license. >> Okay. I'm sorry. It's 26,000 for the Chromebooks and the Chromebook license >> just for the license. So for 10.22, >> okay? >> Because remember you have to purchase them from two different vendors. So one will be from u one vendor um and the other's for the other

146one. And then for the second one which is 10.24 that is 1 I'm just going to round up. So well $1.5 million. >> Okay. This is a really substantial investment in technology. >> We've heard a lot of feedback that is pretty >> curious or or interested or invested >> in how we are using technology and devices to support the learning of our students. Given the size of this investment and the feedback we're hearing from the community, uh how are we hoping this investment serves our students and meets their needs and what are the results we anticipate these p purchases will promote. So, a couple of things I think is what's important is that um one of the things that we're beginning to do first and foremost is really do a good job of looking at

147how we are using and how we see screen time show up. Um so, one of the things that we did provide to the board was a document on where we're looking at where our curriculum and instruction department is really saying like here is where we are saying we are prescribing screen time um for our educational needs for our students. So, that's the first thing. I think the other thing that we're doing is um that we need to begin to do a little bit more of and which our team is really doing is really looking at screen time not just from um what we're seeing that's been prescribed by um our curriculum instruction, but how do we see screen time being used just across the district individually um and addressing it where we can to get

148away from some of the things that we hear families are saying how screen time is just being used across the district. What's hard about that is that um you know we did a really good job with our tech plan when we first started about lifting technology. We had coaches in classrooms. We um reshaped the way we use our librarians using them as library media technology specialists to really put technology in the hands of our teachers to really integrate that in the classroom. And so now what we need to begin to do is look at um what additional conversations we need to be having to leverage that in a way that's really sustainable to address some of the things that we're hearing families say while at the same time giving them that autonomy that we led

149with when we had with our technology plan. Um and so one of the ways that we're going to begin to do that is just by um taking the time to rewrite our instru our technology plan for next during next school year. So, we're going to take the time to begin to look at that, set up, hear from families, hear from educators to rewrite the tech plan because we believe that's the best place to do that work. And so, currently, to answer your question, going back to it, what we're hoping to see is really to have our students be able to and our teachers to integrate technology in their practices that supports them in their learning. I I want to say that I greatly appreciate the answer you just gave and I think you gave a

150really comprehensive and expansive uh answer in terms of our approach and some of the history and and what has allowed our approach technology to have the strengths that it does. Um where I feel like my question is is missing a little bit of the answer is kind of the specific outcomes we're hoping this investment produces for students. And part of the reason I'm asked that question is that the board is getting bombarded with a lot of folks who are saying research has indicated that the more onetoone technology students have access to uh the the less successful students are academically and that that's you know something we we need to be aware of and we need to respond to um immediately. >> Yeah. Um I so that's hard and the and the reason why it's hard

151is because I think that research can show us what we want our research to show us. And so while there it is true that there is a lot of research out there that is saying one thing I think there's also good research that will continue to support it which is why we what we built our instructional technology plan on. And so one of the things I think that we need and so I I don't I'm not gonna have a direct answer for you right now. Let me just start off by saying that. Um because I think that what we need to do is just provide that in the ne provide that in our next wave of our technology plan in order for individuals to understand the intentionality of our technology. But what is so hard

152and I just have to say this part is it's it's hard when we get to the teacher level because what can happen is you can have two different teachers teaching the same lo level level in the same course but whatever their own personal belief is in that technology can kind of lead what we're seeing and how technology has been used across campuses across classrooms and so it kind of varies in sometimes. So that's one I think well >> um I I appreciate like speaking to where we need to kind of strengthen consistency and best practice in relationship to technology and also I think um $1.6 6 million is a really tremendous investment. And I want to be really confident that we're making that investment based on a a real clear sense of how our students

153will benefit from the technology we're investing in. >> And and I just want to talk about the price of it, which is just as a reminder, we're seeing this increase just because of the state of our world right now. And so the increase on technology is what we're really seeing why this price is so high. Like last year we paid like close to $260 for a Chromebook to where now that that price is like almost there. So I just want to state like when we're talking about the bottom line, it's it's really about the state of our world that's causing these prices to be as high. So I just want to state that. >> No, I I I appreciate the the cost of it. um is not is not where I feel like I want

154to emphasize my concerns. >> Yeah. >> More so the the benefits of the investment having a real clear >> totally agree >> of that. >> Um and and just validating the concerns I'm hearing from our community. We also had a consent agenda item that we did approve that was related to technology in the form of replacing computers in our computer labs. Um, I didn't pull that because I think that's really a different thing than an individual device. So, I think my last question is what is it that we are using our Chromebooks for um that we cannot use the computer lab for? So is there a real like if we're maintaining the computer lab but everybody has a onetoone device is there is there kind of a dup duplicative or overabundance I guess of technology

155are those computers particularly different >> they're yeah they're different >> so and you can help me when I go wrong here it's been a while since I've been in living this world um one of major things that is different but is the software of them and the hardware of them So, a Chromebook runs differently than what you see in the lab, and it's going to allow you to have different programming. Um, the PC processing, the processors a little bit differently. Um, the Chromebook is I I don't want to say this, but not as powerful as your PCs. Your PCs are going to have more power, be able to do different things. your graphic designing, your artwork, your music, like those things is what we're continuously using those computer labs for. your business classes, things of

156that nature, things that are led by that we can't use Google, but we have to use Microsoft. Then those are the areas where you want to when you think about your Chromebook, it's to allow for students re they they really are designed for students to be more simple for them to be able to web-based use on a browser, do the things, but not heavy lifting that you would do on a PC. So that's the major difference that you're going to see. I greatly appreciate all the information. >> Yeah, no problem. Thank you. Voting. >> Thank you. Uh board member Mosner Felum, then board member Pearson. >> Thanks. Um can you Dr. McCrae uh talk to me about um what kind of what would be like timeline to take a look at sort of where our

157tech plan has been and where it might need to go. So, I know that we've got our plate full right now, looking forward to a revised electronic devices policy and how students how we support students to use or not use those. >> Um, in my opinion, that's a year's worth of work. Um, so can you talk to me about what's the forward-looking timeline for addressing some of the questions that we have about onetoone tech in school and where we might have missed the mark on edtech? Yeah. So, I I think that and this is I haven't this is fresh off the press, so forgive me, Dr. Goth here, but um one of the things I had a conversation with the team about this morning is we do need to rewrite the tech plan. And when

158we rewrite the tech plan, there's a lot of different things that I would like to see in that tech plan, including the cell phone policy being a part of it. So what I would like to what I charge the team with this morning is we need to build this new tech plan very differently than we did with our first one. And what that mean is really being centered more so on the voices than the research. And so what I told them I would like to do is to use the next school year to build smaller groups so that we can engage with a lot of of individuals that we're hearing from here tonight to be able to do that work so we can write it. So what I would like to see happen is for

159around this time next year we will be bringing a new tech plan to the board to review to accept to replace that. So using next school year as an opportunity, yes, we're implementing the cell phone plan, but at the same time, we have a group that is also working on writing and evaluating our current tech across the district. At the same time, writing the new tech plan for the following school year and beyond. >> Great. I appreciate that answer and I look forward to working with you on that. Um, can you talk a little bit if if we know I know Boardocks is down, how many Chromebooks are in this refresh cycle? >> Yes. >> What percentage of student Chromebooks? >> So, it's 4,200 Chromebooks and it's going to be for So, so here's the

160thing. This is like what we call our refresh. So every year we come back because a Chromebook only have a survival life of and so every four years we what we do is kind of replace those devices. So we do it at the sixth and the ninth grade because then those are the grades where they'll take that device and have it with them for the entire life of it versus us having to replace it in mid year midstream per student. We planned it so once that student is revised, it will carry with that student until they transition between between those grade bands. >> Okay. Thanks for the info. >> You're welcome. >> All right. Board member Pearson then board member Nichols. >> Yeah. Thank you. Um to my colleagues for your questions. Uh I'm definitely

161the tech geek. So as we need better RAM, we need better like all the things are expensive. Try to get some RAM. It's extremely hard right now. Try to get some chips to increase on your computer. Extremely hard. Um, so I understand. Um, one of the things that I mentioned a while back u many years ago was um where MMSD kind of um falls into the realm of like innovation around tech um and mentioning about like just um like web 3, you know, the metaverse, all these kind of things that are now been here for years um and how we kind of see ourselves going into the future. So, I'm really looking forward to what the tech plan is going to look like. Um, the question I have is just around when we are so

162the the life truly is for Chromebooks that they're not the it's not my favorite. I'm kind of computer, but um I understand. Um what are we doing with the Chromebooks as we are then um purchasing new ones and moving forward with those for the new students? Are we recycling them? Are we, you know, getting some kind of cost back and some kind of, you know, Yes. So, resources. >> Yeah, that's a good question. Um, and so we do recycle those older devices >> to make sure >> delete devices, >> those devices. Um, and we work with different vendors to be able to do that on a regular basis, but to be able to do that. So, we do recycle. >> So, do we get any kind of like resources back that we can then use

163to reinvest or how does >> we we we try. So what we'll do is have you know when we was in college we used to be able to go to the bookstore and then sell our books back at a certain price and either this they might give us this much. So based upon what those crumble the value of them we work with those vendors to do that. Okay, that was that was my m my largest question and just you know just for folks in the difficulty of this conversation I think um if you think about what professions are going to be in the next 5 to 10 years you think about you know preparing students in a multi- like um diverse um very specific also arena I think it is important to have that deeper

164conversation I will say my son is a robotics kid and he uses his Chromebook at his, you know, robotics that he is there literally uh like three, four times a week. And so, you know, the conversation isn't only students using their Chromebooks at school. Um it's also how are they kind of using it um in their afterchool activities. And I hope that in the future we have some of those conversations because I will say um there are some school districts who do not have Chromebooks or have the access to computers which some of my um you know child's friends who are in this tech world with him in robotics they don't have a laptop then and so they're kind of borrowing their friends and whatnot. So, I think it's it's not um, you know, a

165very black or white type of conversation. I think that is very nuance and I'm looking forward for us to have that nuance conversation on tech. So, thank you. >> Thank you. And okay, board member Saravo, >> I really appreciate you pulling this. Thank you, Chcastra. really appreciate you pulling this uh for me Moldro. I didn't expect to to speak on this today, but uh also during my visit this morning, I felt that this was a perfect opportunity time to highlight student voice in here because of the use of Chromebooks early on and what they use them for on a daily basis. And what spoke to me the loudest today was the value of having an educator there in person to be able to navigate or to ask questions about the things that they were on

166it for the amount of time that they were on it for just due to the program the programming that they that they were doing. And the the group of kids that I got to see today were advanced learners. So they almost have at times seemingly they thought they were on there more than they needed to be and would rather really spend more time with an educator who could do some more things around there. So I appreciate it opening up this conversation and kind of navigating around that. And I really want to be able to understand I know we're on a very technical side here uh what the students are saying and the early like what are we doing early on um and what do they value and what kind of choices do they have as

167well? as to what do they have access to with with a Chromebook because there is value to that and then what also do they have value and what do they have access to in the classroom. >> Yeah. And I think that's part of when we're talking about that new tech plan like having those voices of all of our students to make sure like we are creating something for for everyone. Yeah. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um any further discussion or questions? All right. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries 61. Okay, moving on. Um, I move that the board of education adopt and approve item 10.24 24 as set forth in section 10 of the electronic agenda prepared for the April 27, 2026 regular

168school board meeting. Exactly as said, motions are written. Second >> second. >> Uh discussion board member Moldro. No further. Okay. No discussion. Board member Moldro. Any other questions? Okay. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? All those opposed. Okay. Uh motion carries 61. Uh we are done with the consent agenda. Um other items or of business proposed to be considered. Sorry. Um other reports to the board. Uh student senate board member Lee. >> Thank you. So, Student Senate is continuing to carry on the mental health fairs at West and Badger Rock. So far, we have over 10 um community partners per event. And as of right now, primary elections are happening for the 2026 2027 year. So, um primary elections are happening from Friday, May 1st, um until or

169sorry, until Friday, May 1st. They opened today um with four candidates, three moving on to the next round. Our four candidates are Lucy Chen, Ether Connley, Clare Lee, and Elena Alfonso Hoffman. And then we have one candidate for Board of Education Representative Lily Shapiro. And second hand or second round final voting will begin May 11th and close May 15th. Thank you. >> Thank you so much for your leadership, Board Member Lee. It's been an honor to get to know you. Um, okay, moving on to MSCR for Mosner Felam. >> That is me. Um, a couple of quick updates from MSCR. Um, in our consent agenda today, we approved a change a change order for the new school forest cabins. Those are nearing completion just in time for spring and summer outdoor and environmental education programs.

170Next Friday, MSCR will kick off its centennial adult softball season, celebrating the activity that started it all in 1926. >> Thank you, board member Mosen Felam. You learn something new every day. Uh policy committee, board member Pearson or board member Vandermill. Yeah, I just want to just uh first just state um I know that we've been getting some emails about the work of policy committee. Um and just so that everyone is aware, the policy committee does not write in our meetings any kind of policy. Um we also do not um create policy in our meeting. It really is to help navigate and help um schedule and support the board's approved um policy agenda that comes forth. So, it's kind of helping to to help the work nav navigate through the process. And so, I just

171want to just make that clear um because I know that I've received a few um emails um about that as well as the board. Um in terms of um any updates, I know that we had an extensive conversation around our medication policy as administering med medication as well as um our policy um around the wellness policy. Um we are bringing back um a list of policies um to the board of education at our next retreat. Um, and we will then hopefully get to choose our policy agenda moving forward in the next quarter. And so that is what I will give a report to. >> Thank you. Uh, board governance committee, no update. All right. Other business 14.1, uh, process begins for renaming Chavez Elementary School. I move that the board of education use their authority

172under item 12 of policy number 6700 to allow for the renaming of Chavez uh elementary >> second member Moldro. So this announcement is to share that the 30-day timeline allowing for additional proposals to be submitted for consideration will start April 29, 2026 when we turn from spring break. Uh that should not be in there. Anyway, um any proposal submitted must fulfill the criteria laid out in board policy number 6700, uh the proposal for renaming an MMSD building, which can be found on the district website in board docs. The board of education will begin its role, which is to select 12 members from the community to be part of the ad hoc renaming committee, including a chairperson. Board action to create this ad hoc committee is slated for the May 18th, 2026 regular board meeting. We

173look forward to work process with the community to rename Chavez Elementary School. Board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I >> What's that? >> Oh, I'm sorry. Um, any discussion? >> Board member Pearson. I just want to just say um I'm in support of this. I know that there are other schools that are in the queue. Um I think that again we get to if there's excruciating factors to bring this forward, but I do want to say to the public um I really hope heavily believe that we should stop naming schools after people. Um and I will continue to say this every time we have the conversation around renaming a school um so that we don't further um come to a conversation again um where we have to do this um even though it's right

174to do this. Um, so hopefully when we get these proposals, I would be looking forward uh to seeing all the creativity that um folks uh may have in all of our renaming processes that are coming up. So I just wanted just to make that comment tonight. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments for member Nichols? >> Thank you, President Castro. I just wanted to acknowledge that um the the work that I know is required from the admin team to help support our renaming policy um in its implementation. And so while we have two schools um already in the process of forming their ad hoc committees um that this one seems timely, critical and very much needed. So, I just want to say I want I'm looking at um Dr. Stanford and I know Chelsea

175Tubs um for, you know, being the work behind the scenes to help these ad hoc committees get created and to start generating um the the names that will come forward to the board. And so, I I appreciate um the work to add a third school um in because it's it's very timely. Thank you. >> I agree with the timeliness. Any other questions or discussion? Okay. Uh seeing none, board member Lee, your advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? >> Motion carries 70. There is no old and new business. Can I get a motion tojourn? Second. Four member leader advisory vote. >> I. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> We are journed.