001Okay, go ahead. All right, thank you so much, Jessie. I'm going to call our regular Board of Education meeting for March 16th to order. Tonight's meeting is being held all virtually. Uh I will start with the recitation of our vision and mission. Our vision is that MMSD will be a learning community where all students are valued, challenged, supported, and inspired to 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. Tonight, we are starting with a remembrance. And um just because we're virtual, I'll go ahead and read that. Tonight, we'd like to ask for a moment of silence uh for our district to recognize the passing of Alonzo Anderson, who was a
002former teacher and principal in the Madison Metropolitan School District. Alonzo is remembered as someone who really liked the diversity of his families at Shorewood Hills Elementary and the warmth and closeness of his families at Dudgeon Elementary. Upon his passing, some of the first people reaching out with condolences were former students and staff. And Al really enjoyed people, and they responded back to him in kind. His children want you to know that Al proudly proudly wore his crew cut throughout his career for uh for the amusement of his students and on special days students might be allowed to pat the top of his head and speculate how he got his hairs to grow straight up like that. Though it was embarrassing in the 1960s and 1970s for his children to have a dad with such a
003haircut, we now realize it was another example of how he was always thinking of his students. Alonzo's passing has taken a significant toll on so many people in the MMSD community and we remember them tonight. Please join me in participating in a moment of silence in honor of Alonzo Enderson. Thank you. At this time, we will move into the public input portion of our meeting. Um we did have some written statements submitted for this evening. There were three written statements. Um one opposed to continued investment in Google products. One in support of more board governance uh in particular related to administrative memos and board policy related to school facility use. And there was one statement in support of additional resources for Gompers fourth grade classroom. Um, the written statements in their entirety are linked and
004attached to our board documents. At this point, we'll move um, into our registered speakers for tonight. Uh, Jesse will call the names. And um, just as a reminder to our speakers, you have 3 minutes. Um, and we'll do our best to make sure that you know when the 3 minutes are coming close to an end. Um, Jesse, I don't know if you'll want to give any uh, there will be a timer up or not, but um, we do ask that as you Okay, perfect. As you come to the end of your 3 minutes, um, please if you have not quite finished, please try to share thoughts um, as quickly as you can. And remember that board members don't respond to public comments. We are happy that you are here. You can speak to an issue
005related to tonight's agenda or any other issue uh, that you want to bring to our attention. All right, with that, um, I will turn it over to Jesse to have our speakers. And Jesse, if you can just let the board know how many registered speakers we have for tonight. Yes, we have nine speakers this evening, and our first speaker will be Shannon Berry. Wow, it's always really great to go first. Thank you all so much. Um, I'm going to be reading from my screen. Uh, so I want to thank you all for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Shannon Berry. I'm the parent of a third grader at Gompers Elementary. I'm also an alumni of MMSD and a former MMSD social worker who worked with elementary, middle, and high school students during my
006tenure with the district. I'm here tonight uh due to deep concerns about my child's class size both this year and now next. My daughter Maggie has been attending Gompers since kindergarten. I want to say but that I want to start by saying that I'm extremely impressed by the entire staff team at Gompers. We have an exceptional experience and have and much of that is due to the amazing group of dedicated professionals working at Gompers to support our scholars in the school community. That said, this year has been incredibly difficult for my daughter and her classmates due to the entire third grade, 28 students in all, being in placed in one classroom. Though their teacher is truly an incredible educator who Maggie adores, Maggie has struggled a struggled a lot this year due to her class
007size. Her test scores are not keeping pace with the past few years and have stagnated and many mornings she cries saying she doesn't want to go to school because it's too chaotic and the classroom is overwhelming to her. To watch my child who previously loved school struggling in this way is heartbreaking. To be clear, she has said to me that she likes all of her classmates and considers them all friends. She loves her teacher and she likes learning. What she doesn't like is how overwhelming the class size is for her and how she finds it hard to focus on her learning. One quarter of the current third grade class, or seven out of 28, are on IEPs and some have more significant needs than others and require more support. Additionally, almost half identify as non-white.
008When I think about the MMSD vision statement that was read at the earlier part of this meeting, as a learning community where all students are valued, challenged, supported, and inspired to reach their dreams, I cannot help but notice that this vision does not appear to apply to the current third grade at Gompers, which has a higher percentage of BIPOC students and students on IEPs than the rest of the school. And recently, I became aware that as they elevate to fourth grade next year, the plan is to keep them in one classroom again, while also noting that next year's third grade class is expected to be the same size as this year's and will be split into two sections. The third grade class this year had five students added to bring it up to 28, and
009there was never a plan to split the group into two sections as we might have expected per the district's own guidelines that the maximum grade class size for third grade should not exceed 27. As a personally as a CEO of a non-profit, I understand that we have to make tough decisions with limited budgets. Yet, a budget is a reflection of an organization's values. I was dismayed to read that recently the district decided to spend $165,000 on yet another study looking at salary and wage compression issues for teachers. I believe that the district already has adequate information to demonstrate that those compression issues are real, and I have to wonder what information another $165,000 will ultimately enter us. This is money that could be spent to directly support our scholars at Gompers. Kiddos who need that
010additional support, not only the kiddos who need additional support due to their IEPs, but kiddos like mine need a reasonable class size to achieve their learning goals. Thank you so much for your attention. I appreciate your consideration. Thank you. Our next speaker is Shandra Kelsch Stegner. Yes. Thank you. To [clears throat] the Board of Education and Dr. Gothard, this past September, I spoke at a board meeting about how wage compression is affecting me. I am not here to repeat myself, rather I would like to offer a new angle for you to consider. As a quick review of my story, I was hired in Madison in 2011 bringing and years of experience with me. Madison schools acknowledge five of my 14 years on the pay scale. Because of wage wage compression sunset time, those five years
011no longer exist. I have been in the district for 15 years now and I am on level O, which is the 15th letter of the alphabet, even though I am now halfway through my 29th year of teaching. I have been a full-time classroom teacher since 1997. The new perspective that I would like you to consider is inflation. According to the pay scale in the 2009-2013 collective bargaining agreement, a teacher in their 29th year of teaching with two master degrees, such as myself, was making $68,945. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, that would be over $100,000 today. That is $13,000 more than my current salary. In fact, I have been at least $10,000 behind my peers per year since the district started compensating all years of experience to new hires. That means
012I have lost out on about $70,000 to date. And that does not include being placed at year five instead of 14 when I began in 2011. I believe that the Madison teacher pay scale is competitive by today's standards. Since 2017, Madison has been acknowledging all experience a teachers new to the district bring. And for that, I am truly grateful. My only quarrel is that where veteran teachers like myself are placed on the salary schedule, especially those of us who lost years of experience when we came to the district. Every teacher should be placed on the level of the pay scale that directly corresponds with their years of experience. Moving me from O to CC would not only allow me align me with the other teachers with 29 years of experience, but it would also align
013me with the teachers from the past in 2010 with similar years of experience when considering inflation. I first emailed the board about discrepancies of where teachers are placed on the pay scale in 2019. This is not new information. I urge you to make this right as soon as possible and I thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up is Ellen Merker. Hi. Thank you. I'm going to read off my screen here. So, my name is Ellen Merker. I am the mother of a child in 4K at LVM Elementary and I'm speaking in opposition to agenda item 10.8 extending a 3-year contract with Google. My educational technology concerns have come up since my 4-year-old has been coming home saying that their brain breaks are always watching YouTube videos, that they show uh they watch a
014show during lunch every day and that the TV reads books to them. I appreciate the hard work of his teachers and all teachers, but have concerns about this growing reliance on technology. And when he starts kindergarten next year, students in his room will have Chromebooks in addition to the classroom TV. EdTech companies boast of proven results, but many of these companies are using misleading data. Comprehensive research has been very clear that technology has a negative impact on deep learning and comprehension. For example, research shows that reading on a computer screen leads to poor reading comprehension than reading the same text on paper. Technology is also being used to gamify education, but this can cause harm to children by encouraging addictive use of technology and increasing isolation. Children do not have the cognitive capacity in elementary
015school to understand tech companies use of algorithms to hook them, think critically about their screen time, be self-aware, or focus on other tasks. The reason edtech doesn't work is because we're expecting children to use the same devices for learning that they're using for games, videos, music, and social media. Even an adult spring can't multitask this way. Students as young as five are losing deep learning because they are always trying to switch between tasks, more focus on the reward than the process of learning, and this multitasking is detrimental to learning and memory. Without consistent connection to a empathetic teacher, we see educational outcomes decline significantly. It's not enough for parents to limit screen time at home when children are having access to screens throughout the day at school. Whatever the purpose of the tech, it's still
016time that could be spent on other pursuits that are healthier, such as participating in proven educational activities, reading actual books, using their imaginations, building social and emotional learning and exercise. In trying to understand how screens and tech are used at school, I have found that there really isn't any clear information for parents, even after reaching out to the district and the school board. The district must develop materials that lay out clear policies and guidelines for use of screens in schools that are easily accessible to parents. This should include how much time are kids allowed to spend on screens in each grade level, what apps and platforms are being used at each grade level, and how do these third parties use, share, or sell our children's data? Are non-educational apps such as YouTube allowed? Are educational
017devices allowed in an unsupervised manner? How is AI AI being used in the classroom? And what are the options that parents have to opt out of technology usage at school? A survey of US school staff showed that only 11% requested peer-reviewed evidence prior to adoption of a new technology. The district must be following evidence-based research on what actually improves educational outcomes, limiting their spending on technology, and focusing more on strategies that are proven to be effective. I'm not anti-tech, but just want us to be more intentional about the use of technology. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up is Amy Robertson. Hi, thank you for your time. Um Dr. Gothard, on a phone call on February 3rd, you expressed dismay of families using board meetings to air concerns about staff. I understand that
018frustration completely. But I'm here to explain why this keeps happening. Your administration has created a culture where non-responsiveness is acceptable, and that culture is now creating safety issues for students. Let me show you a pattern. Before ever speaking at a board meeting, Van Highs families tried every proper channel. Emails to Principal Stein, Dr. Hoffman, Dr. McCray, the board, the Let's Talk forum. Some got responses, none saw results. We submitted our 43-page complaint on January 8th. That was 67 days ago. Legal responded on a few items. The superintendent's responsible for everything else. Relative silence. We asked for a meeting. It was scheduled, then canceled days before. It took 6 weeks of delay to get an hour with district leadership. At that February 17th meeting, multiple superintendents questioned whether staff were telling the parents truth, or suggest
019and suggested our community complains too much. We were promised an action plan by February 28th. It re- arrived several weeks later than that, 2 months after our complaint. It found no violations, contained no measurable changes, and in the 60-plus days of that investigation, they never once asked us for a contact, a clarification, or a witness interview. Dr. Gothard, your leadership has created a culture where not responding is the response. >> [snorts] >> When ignoring something until it goes away is an acceptable practice. But here's what you need understand. That culture doesn't stay at your level. It seeps down. When superintendents model non-responsiveness is acceptable, principals learn that non-responsiveness is in fact acceptable. At Van Heist, staff routinely tell us that they call for help with safety issues and get no response, a delayed response, or
020are told to handle it themselves. Teachers don't escalate these concerns anymore because nothing happens when they do. A little over a week ago, my son's entire class had to be evacuated to another room because Principal Dyne was too busy to respond to a request to remove a student behaving in a way that threatened other children. The student was removed 10 to 15 minutes later. When he returned, my son's classmates were visibly anxious. My son's response when I asked how he felt? That's just how he is. I try to ignore it. As a fifth-grader, he has learned to normalize unsafe situations because the adults around him have normalized non-responsiveness. We saw a similar similar action last 2 weeks ago at East. You all were outraged that families weren't immediately informed, but you probably shouldn't be surprised.
021Van Heist families have been trying to get your attention about issues for 2 and 1/2 years. We've used every proper channel. We've been patient. We've been collaborative. We've gotten delays, dismissals, dismissals, and questions about whether our sources are lying. So yes, we're here and we're speaking again because your formal processes have consistently failed students, teachers, and families. Dr. Gothard, if you don't want me complaining or others complaining at the board meetings, work with your teams to actually respond when families raise concerns through proper channels. Until then, we're going to keep coming back. Thank you very much. Thank you. Up next is Lindsey Rosler Balgen. Hello everyone. Hello, whenever you're ready Lindsey. Hello everyone. Thank you so much for taking time to listen to me today. I'm here to speaking out about um Gompers and the
022class sizes for my current student. She's a currently a third grader um in the same classroom as Shannon's. Um our two daughters are great friends and something that we've seen happen um to both of them actually is that both of them have gone from really wanting to go to school to not wanting to go to school. And I know that the district prides itself on making sure that learners feel like they're welcomed as scholars into classrooms and I can say that a large class size is having the absolute exact opposite effect on these learners. Um I will be reading off my screen so I can stay organized and share my thoughts sequentially. Um this year families at Gompers were informed that our third grade scholars were going to be rostered as one section for the
023second year in a row. As parents we can assure you our children are struggling this year. From an academic perspective we can testify being consolidated into one section has slowed learning. We really fully acknowledge that our students were in idyllic situations in the previous years, but that was allowing them to flourish and grow. This year that can't be said. Um we're scared for next year. Our learners sense of belonging and academic progress is being stunted and simultaneously is stemmed directly from having too many learners and not enough space. I would like to remind the Board of Education that Gompers Elementary parents were here last year advocating that reducing from two sections to one moving into third grade was going to have far-reaching consequences. These concerns have been born out as evidenced by slowed academic growth
024and increased and challenging behavior as well as decreased positive feelings towards school belonging. As a result, these changes um and because has the strong advocacy for individual parents at the beginning of this third grade year. So, back in the fall of 2026, the third grade classroom was um allocated a part-time uh time-limited 0.6 assist full-time SEA special education assistant allocation um increase, but that again is time-limited and will end at this year. So, our third grade group of scholars is also very unique as Shannon had mentioned in that they have a variety of different learning needs. My daughter is currently in the process of being evaluated to determine if she also is a person who meets criteria for an IEP and um I'm genuinely concerned that we are moving towards having a classroom of scholars
025who are really not having their needs met for both the social inclusion and for academic inclusion that they are entitled to. I don't understand how it's possible to receive an email response from Mr. Abfall apologizing for a semester of struggle while sharing exciting news about adding a part-time allocation while simultaneously saying that fourth grade is going to come into a learning environment that is not conducive to their learning again. I really request that you comb through this information as they share the as they share the classroom maximums and minimums with you. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up is Katie Chew. Hello. All right. I think it's working. Hi guys. Thanks so much for having me. I am in the Mom Brigade from Gumpper's. So you guys get to hear from us a
026lot tonight and we're really hoping that you'll listen and we'll let you know um what's going on. My name is Katie. I'm the proud mom of two littles. We love the Gumpper's community. We get to be involved in it and be a part of it and one part I get to do every single year. My um children are half Cantonese and we get to go in to classrooms and teach Lunar New Year which my kids love to share their culture with their classmates. And I walked in to this third grade class with this amazing group of kiddos and within two minutes the current carpet desk spots couldn't move around. The normal volume quickly became deafening because the children were just looking overwhelmed and there's just too many of them in a space to even enjoy
027a special cultural teaching that we were able to give them and they're such great little people and they deserve space to flourish. They deserve that second section to flourish. I'm asking the board to not just see the numbers but the children behind the numbers. These individual great little people who are going to be walking into Gumpper's next year with all of these different needs, strengths and challenges that you've heard about and I have reached out to the district responses. We've I've received district I've received extremely timely responses but saying that yes, there is need enough that we need a point six six aid in the classroom and then being like haha cool though in three months we're going to be out. The situation's going to be changed and we're going to up your number to
02830. Doesn't really go. I taught first grade earlier in my career and a significantly this is a significantly oversized class with a ton of needs, and it doesn't work for all our students with IEPs and 504 plans. My son is on a 504. Let me tell you, I know that those plans are also a privilege. I did go for a year to do those. We had to drive up to Wausau cuz UW was 2 years behind. Like having having that legal protection of my kid is invaluable, and it but it doesn't mean that the needs are being adequately assessed when we're talking about allocation in the Gumpers room. But if it's too hot, too loud, too cramped, I love my boy, but there are a ton of boys in this classroom, you guys. It is
029so uneven, and that is very different when you're 9 years old and going into 10 years old. And we need to make sure that they're safe and our teachers have the workload and retention that we're able to have. And I spent time through this process reading through the strategic framework, which you guys have written with a commitment to belonging, safe, and inclusive, and supporting every student. And one section of fourth grade isn't that. It does not match the strategic framework vision at all. Like Lindsey and like Shannon said, my son's test scores are lower. Sorry, they're home A son is home, so you'll hear a dog. Um but we so appreciate you guys looking into this allocation to make sure our kiddos have the learning opportunities that they need. Thank you all so much. Thank
030you. Our next speaker is Andrea Miserelli. All right. Um >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, members of the board and the community. My name is Andrea Miserelli. I'm president of Madison Teachers Inc. MTI. And I'm standing before you again and again because the heart of our district is still hurting, and the clock is still ticking faster than ever. Over the past week, your inboxes have been flooded. You should have received hundreds of emails from educators, parents, and community members. These aren't just a digital message. They are a collective roar of support for our loyal veteran staff. They all carry that same message to fix the salary compression now. We have moved past the phase of studying the problem. HR has already fixed it for student services over a year ago. We've moved past the Valentine's
031and the heartfelt pleas of everyone's stories. I believe you all feel for the staff and want to do the right thing. We are now at the level of the human impact without the immediate action. This the retirement crisis right now. There isn't This isn't just about a paycheck. >> [snorts] >> We have 50 50 veteran staff preparing to retire this year. These are educators who have given decades of their lives to Madison schools. They have stayed through budget cuts, global shifts, and the daily grind of the classroom. By failing to fix the salary compression today, you aren't just affecting their current morale, but permanently shrinking their retirement. If they retire under these compressed rates, they are penalized for the rest of their lives. You are essentially asking them to accept a smaller pension as a
032parting gift for their 25-plus years of loyalty. Um let's be honest about the numbers. Over the years, the district has saved a fortune on the backs of those veteran teachers by keeping them on the suppressed salary steps compressions um schedule when you chopped off the levels. You've benefited from their loyalty while they paid the price. Looking at the current budget reality with dozens of vacant positions remaining unfilled each month, there are millions of dollars originally allocated for staff compensation that is simply sitting there. >> [snorts] >> We are asking We aren't asking for new money. We're just asking for you to use the money you already attended for teachers to finally do right by the ones who stayed. You have the blueprint, you have the funding, you have the support of the community. Right now
033is the time to fix the salary compression. Board members, we have 50 educators standing at the threshold of retirement with hundreds more following close behind in the next couple of years. They aren't asking for a favor. They aren't asking for >> [snorts] >> um they aren't asking for a favor. They're just asking for the earnings that they are owed. They do not Let their decades of service be overshadowed by a fixable error. Let their final chapter in this district be defined by a board that finally chooses to value their loyalty before they walk out of school for their last time. Stop the delay and fix the compression. Give our veteran staff the dignity that they have earned. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Next up is Amy Martino. Hey, can you hear me? Yeah,
034a little bit louder, Amy. Okay. I don't Oh. There There you go. Thank you. Uh I'm an MMSD parent and I am also speaking today to voice my concern for the overuse of educational technology and to ask the board to question the district's continued investment in Google products um and EdTech in general. Agenda item 10.8, the request for approval for a new 3-year contract for Google Workspace for Education Plus sites an argument that the district needs to ensure that MMSD is equipped with the latest tools to provide students with the best learning experience. Mounting evidence is showing that high-tech classrooms are not providing the best learning experience, however. In fact, the opposite is true. Learning increases as technology decreases in a lot of cases, especially in our K-35 classrooms, I believe one-to-one Chromebooks are providing
035a shallow, distracted learning experience for MMSD students. The recent book The Digital Delusion by neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath includes a list of tech audit questions I think would be helpful for the the district to answer transparently before investing or reinvesting in educational technology. Um here's a few of those questions. What was this tool originally purchased {slash} introduced for? Could the same outcome be achieved just as well or better without technology? Is this tool developmentally appropriate for all age groups? Do we have independent research, not vendor claims, that show this tool improves learning? Do we have our own school data showing positive effects? What is the time cost for teachers, such as setup, troubleshooting, and learning curve? What is the student cost, meaning screen hours, distraction risk, privacy tradeoffs? What valuable non-tech experiences are being
036replaced? For example, handwriting, discussion, reading time. Yeah, students will need to learn how to appropriately and safely use technology to prepare for an increasingly high-tech world, but that can happen in a technology class, preferably in a computer lab. Teacher-student relationships, putting pencil to paper, and reading physical textbooks provide a deeper learning experience and equip students with the foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to successfully use technology however it develops as they grow. Many parents across the country are fighting their school districts to allow them to opt their children out of Chromebooks, and I want to thank MMSD for already providing this option at registration. Please know that this is a growing concern among MMSD parents and many more families might be choosing to opt out of Chromebook use in the fall. So, I
037urge the board to listen to parents, visit our schools, and read the research when making technology policy and investment decisions. Thank you. Thank you. Our final speaker this evening is Natasha Fehy Flynn. Hi. I hope you all can hear me. Yeah, we can. I just have a uh short statement to read. Um my name is Natasha Fehy Flynn. I live in the Gompers Elementary School District. I have two kids currently at Gompers and one in first grade and um my daughter in third grade and I oppose the combination of the fourth grade class next year. Um my daughter has gone from one extreme class size to now more than doubling in third grade. She has commented to me that she's struggling in class and feels she's behind her peers academically. She's also expressed um these
038feelings through many tears at home and at school. She's had increased anxiety, sleep disruption, and we are actually having to monitor her weight to make sure she's gaining because this year she's just really been struggling in many new ways that we haven't past in past had to deal with. Um, her and her classmates have been penalized with reduced lunch time, assigned seating at lunch, no afternoon recess, and more because of behavior in the classroom by students. Um, my fellow parents have already mentioned our kids are in a very dynamic um, class with a makeup of about seven girls to 21 boys with different learning styles, disabilities, communication styles with one of her peers um, using very little spoken word. Um, they represent a variety of economic classes, race, and ethnicity. Her third grade has seen
039a reduction in support this year alone because the school received new students with IEPs. And so her classroom has not had the designated um, staffing that was perhaps allocated. I'm concerned that her school is losing funding based on projected allocations. I have two kids going into the district, two more kids going into the district next year. Um, will be attending the 4K program at Gompers, and both of them are students with IEPs already. Our PCP, our primary care physician, has recommended that Sylvia be assessed for ADHD and autism. We have that scheduled, but that's so so far out because of wait lists in Dane County for those types of services. She is not thriving in her current conditions and her symptoms are often misunderstood because she likes school and is a good kid. She is,
040however, internalizing the chaos and it is damaging her self-esteem and self-worth because she's behind some of her classmates academically. I'd like to ask the board to consider a special allocation for next year for Gompers with the understanding that this particular group of kids is really struggling with going from class sizes at 12 to 28. And for the board to consider some middle ground policy on class min and max size based on when you lose title one. Maybe there should be a middle ground to those two extremes. Um and last Lastly, if I could leave you with this, imagine that you work in a small office that is contained to one room. You spend almost your entire work day in that room working close with 12 colleagues. Then your employer uh >> Excuse me. I'm sorry,
041Natasha. Um you're about a minute over. Can you um try to wrap up your thoughts right here? >> Yes, thank you. Before you interrupted, that's exactly what I was doing. Thank you and I'm sorry for the exceeding my time. Um as I was saying, imagine your you have 12 colleagues and it increases to 28 with no consideration for the existing space. How would that make you feel? I don't think many adults would um be satisfied with that situation and I think that would be expressed in morale and in productivity at work. And I think that's what we're seeing with our current class of third graders. So, I want to thank you again for your time and again, I apologize for exceeding my time limit. Thank you. Okay. Thank you to all of our speakers. We
042appreciate the effort you took to get registered and to also be present virtually. Jesse, that wraps up all of our speakers, right? Yep, you should be good. Okay, thank you. All right, I'm going to move us into approval of our minutes. I I move that the Board of Education approve the minutes from the regular meeting dated February 23rd, 2026. Second, Maya. All right. All those in Oh, student representative Lee, your advisory vote. I. All right, all those in favor, I. All right, thank you. Jesse, are you able to catch all the hands? Yep. >> passed All right, passes unanimously. Okay, I will move us into Board President announcements and share this with Vice President Pearson who will get us started with celebrating our community. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. On March 30th, we will celebrate
043the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Sherman Middle School and Malcolm Shabazz City High School and Gompers Elementary and Black Hawk Middle School. These events mark the official start of construction on new combined campuses for Sherman Middle School and Malcolm Shabazz High School and Gompers Elementary School and Black Hawk Middle School. Thank you to the community for your support of the 2024 referendum providing the opportunity to create modern inclusive learning environments designed to support collaboration and student success. Thank you. All right, moving on to celebrating our staff. Lincoln Elementary School teacher Jennifer Kilberg was recognized by the Milwaukee Brewers with the Grand Slam Teacher of the Month Award. The award is presented to school staff who make a significant impact on the lives of the children in the community. Kilberg was nominated last year by then fourth
044grader Cayden, who credited Kilberg with helping him explore his love of writing. As part of this recognition, uh teacher Kilberg also received a $1,000 check to support Lincoln Elementary School. Nice. All right, Maya, if you can start with celebrating our students. Thank you. Hamilton Middle School uh eighth grader Casey Barhill Barnhill took home the top prize for the All-City Spelling Bee, besting besting 40 of his peers from schools around Madison en route to earning a spot at the Badger State Spelling Bee on March 21st at Madison College's Mitby Theatre. Cherokee Heights Middle School boys basketball team made school history by winning the citywide tournament for the first time, showcasing teamwork, determination, and Cougar pride all season long. East High School senior Lander Sorry, Lander um Potter Pottinger I'm sorry for the names. Um and Josem
045Dos Maria? Um Baruts were recognized with a statewide journalism award from the Wisconsin Journalism Education Association for the video feature Next Gen Fire Academy. The project was selected from 17 entries and was recognized by judges for its strong videography and encouraging storytelling. And I apologize again for the mispronunciation of the students' names. Back to you, Michelle. Thank you. We got We still have some good news here. Students from the Madison Metropolitan School District's Robert M. La Follette High School DECA chapter earned top honors at the State Career Development Conference in Lake Geneva, competing against more than 1,600 students from across Wisconsin, and several students qualified to represent La Follette High School at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta this April. That is Scout Braun, Pax Cornelius, Dylan Larson, Logan Sandy, and Will Stork.
046As a chapter, La Follette was recognized as a diamond chapter and received the Excellence in Community Service Award. On another note, congratulations to the Vel Phillips Memorial boys basketball team for their recent win at sectional sectional champs as sectional champs, sorry, and good luck to the team as they head to state semi-final. All right. Lastly, hundreds of our student musicians from across MMSD performed in the 59th annual Strings Festival held at Belle Phillips Memorial. The celebration, one of the oldest public school music festivals in the United States, brought together student violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists from elementary through high school. It's some good stuff going with our students. Uh our other acknowledgements include in tonight's consent agenda, the board would like to acknowledge and thank all individuals and organizations that have donated to the district.
047And with that, I will turn it over to Superintendent Goddard. Thank you, President. Oh, there's the screen. Thank you, President Nichols, members of the board community, staff, um thank you for this opportunity. Since our last monthly board meeting, incidents occurred in our district that harmed students and deeply impacted their families. I'd like to take a moment to address these here. First, I sincerely apologize for the horrible experiences our students endured. Quite frankly, I'm disgusted by these behaviors. They are degrading, inappropriate, and unacceptable. Families trust us to care for and educate their children, and when things like this happen, we break not only the families' trust, but our community's trust. And tonight, I want to make it abundantly clear that I have zero tolerance for anyone who does not put our students first. This means placing
048students' care and learning as their highest priority. Our students are why we are here, and I expect nothing less than the highest level of support of all of our students. Anyone found to be compromising the safety or dignity of a student, or staying silent in the face of it, will immediately be put on leave. I will not apologize for holding people accountable. MMSD is a destination district and will remain one because I refuse to tolerate anything less than excellence in student care. Additionally, with the loss of one of our students to a traffic accident, we are working closely with the city of Madison. One life lost is one lost too much, and we are actively addressing how to safely get our students to school. Thank you, President Nichols, for the opportunity to address this. It
049is important to me that our community knows how seriously we are and that I take these incidents very seriously. The poor decisions made by individuals aren't reflective of MMSD as a whole. We have many excellent opportunities occurring throughout all of our schools. Next, I will get into some student recognition, and I'm I'm going to add one because uh Friday was uh our Soapbox Day. And on our screen is our student representative Claire Lee, senior at West High School. Uh Claire was one of the 10 students who uh was selected to present her speech as one of the finalists, and she gave a very passionate uh speech on uh school shootings and gun safety, uh and really a call to action to the entire community. Claire and the other speakers and all the speakers, I was
050able to hear some of the preliminary as well. What a proud day uh for our community um to open their hearts, their thoughts, uh and share their talents in spoken word uh with each other and with our community. So, hats off to all of our students, and Claire, congratulations for your wonderful speech. This week, I was also joined by students at Capital High School, where school, community, and business leaders gathered to Improve Your Tomorrow, a multi-year program that helps build a foundation for student success in action. Improve Your Tomorrow focuses on mentorship, leadership, and college and career readiness, aiming to shift attendance in the first year, behavior the second year, and grades in the third and final year of the program. By reaching our students earlier, we can foster a deep sense of belonging, positively
051impact graduation rates, and help develop our future leaders. Our guests had an opportunity to see our wraparound support systems in practice, listen to the stories of our students and school leaders, and imagine how to reach every student who needs this program. Improve Your Tomorrow was has successfully launched at Capital High School and La Follette High School with promising results in student engagement. I'd like to acknowledge our neighbors at the Verona Area High School who have recently joined the Improve Your Tomorrow program. When our surrounding districts invest in these same strategies, it reinforces a regional culture of excellence and high expectations for all our young men. Public schools exist for one reason, our students. While our mission remains constant, the landscape is shifting. Across the nation, public education faces complex challenges that impact our ability to
052provide the well-rounded, high-quality education every child deserves. In Madison, we aren't facing these challenges alone. Our partnerships like Improve Your Tomorrow are critical to helping us do our important work. One of the our primary partners is the Madison Public Schools Foundation, which by the way is celebrating 25 years this year. Congratulations to Foundation President Melissa Melinda Heinritz and her team for reaching this important milestone. That's 25 years of supporting MMSD. From Adopt a School, the Teacher Support Network, a Principal Experience, to the passage of the 2024 referendum, and other fundraising and advocacy events, the Foundation is helping make a difference and contributing to student success. Recently, I joined the Foundation for their second annual Moving Forward Together event to celebrate the successful partnerships of business that support what we do, including the 2024 referendum. I
053had an opportunity to share that once the 2024 referendum passed, we went to the work and haven't wasted a single moment since then. In fact, as was mentioned earlier, we'll we'll be celebrating groundbreakings at our phase one school, Sherman, Shabazz, Blackhawk, and Gompers later this month on Monday, March 30th. And I invite the entire community to join us at these historic events. And as we prepare the shovels for phase one, we are already deep into phase two for Orchard Ridge, Toki, Cherokee Heights, and Sennett. Groundbreaking for these schools is tentatively scheduled for October 14th, 2026, right around the corner. I'm pleased to report that these projects are currently on time and on budget, two things I like to say. I also highlighted the operations referendum, which allowed us to attract and retain world-class educators, invest
054in early learning, expand 4K, and support our students and families by ensuring they have access to behavioral and mental health services that they may not otherwise be able to receive. Additionally, I touched on building for the future, our boundary review, review, which includes a comprehensive look at MMSD's boundary and attendance areas. Considering Madison's rapid growth of more than 100,000 people by 2050 and its impact on our schools, I stressed the importance of planning ahead so we can determine how we are going to meet the needs of our rapidly growing community. I also shared about MMSD Excellence Together, our strategic framework, a long-range plan that will guide us over the next 5 years. This plan is critical to further strengthening MMSD as a destination school district, and we can't do this work alone. Thank you to
055the 2,500 students, staff, and community members who helped build a shared set of core beliefs, establish clear, common goals, and prioritize and align our work. Another event I recently joined more than 50 Madison Dane County executives at a summit convened by the United Way of Dane County. Our goal was to strengthen cross-sector relationships to support our most vulnerable neighbors. When we talk about student achievement, we must also talk about how to support students so they can be successful. This means addressing economic stability, ensuring basic needs, and finding opportunities to positively impact our students' futures. As I've said before, we can't do this work alone. I'm grateful for our partners and others who support students in MMSD. Speaking of partners, along with the 100 Black Men of Madison Inc., we hosted the 2026 African American History
056Academic Challenge, which is designed to promote deeper learning and appreciation of African American history. I watched middle and high school student teams from across the district demonstrate their knowledge through a series of academic challenges focused on key figures, events, and themes in African American history. MMSD's Spring Harbor Middle School is the event's defending national champion, having won the title last year. Opportunities like this give our students a chance to shine and show their academic knowledge. I'd like to wrap up by highlighting the recent state data. Our four-year completion rate has climbed to 85.2%, a significant rise from the 76.5% when tracking began in 2009-2010. MMSD's four comprehensive high schools achieved completion rates above 84% in 2024-2025. East High School was 84.4%, La Follette High School and Vel Phillips Memorial High School eking over the 90%
057mark to 90.7%. Attendance rates have also shown steady improvement, continuing to climb back above pre-pandemic disruptions, reaching 89.3% district-wide attendance in the '24-'25 school year. I want to stress while these numbers are promising, our work to support student achievement is ongoing. Our work remains unfinished until all students have the opportunities they deserve to help them for college, career, and life. And lastly, I want to encourage our staff and community to nominate colleagues for our inaugural Building for the Future People, Purpose, Pride Awards. These awards honor staff members whose leadership, dedication, and impact reflect the values that guide our work as a district. Awardees will be announced at on May 28th Building for the Future Leadership Celebration at True Stage. Nomination forms are available at mmsd.org and submissions will be accepted through Staff, help me out.
058I don't have a date on here. March 20th. March 20th. Thank you very much. March 20th. Nomination forms at mmsd.org. Submissions will be accepted through March 20th. President Nichols, members of the board, this concludes my report. Thank you, Dr. Gathard. You covered a lot of ground um in your update this month. I appreciate your remarks about um having zero tolerance for behaviors that do not dignify um and center our students in a positive way. I appreciate as always how you are out in the community and continuing to build partnerships with the district. And on a up note, I have to say shout out to Claire because Claire, it sounds like you did the thing at Soapbox on Friday. I mean Thank you. All right. We want to show you some love for that. I wish
059I had been there to hear it. We'll have to get you to record it or something. Share it. I would put you on the spot, but I won't. I won't. Thank you, Dr. Gathard. Congratulations, Claire, for being a finalist. Um all right. Yeah. All right. I'm going to move us through our agenda. Um, next we're going to report on items that proceeded through the instruction work group held on March 2nd, and I'll turn that over to Chair Moldrow for that. Thank you so much, Board President Nichols. At our last instruction work group, we focused on the special education plan and our second semester class size report, as well as the wellness policy. Um, our main topic at our upcoming instruction work group is our strategic partnerships and our plans for future partnerships. And our second
060item will be our summer semester and arts opportunities. I'll turn it back over to you, Board President Nichols. All right, thank you, Chair Moldrow. Next, I'm going to have us report on items that proceeded through the operations work group held on March 9th, 2026, and I'll turn that over to Chair Castro. Thank you. On March 9th, we uh had an overview on our options for healthcare. We reviewed the uh facilities referendum update, uh received a food service update, reviewed staffing projections and workbooks, um and then dived into compensation, revenue and revenue uh projections. Um, and then we discussed a new policy, which was parental leave, and our our second read of that policy. Our next operations work group meeting will be April 13th, 2026, where we will continue our budget development, uh receive uh our
061first phase of community feedback on the budget, then we'll transition to a HR update on insurance and the handbook, and then we will talk about two um transportation issues revolving middle school and a new procedure. Um and then we will have a referendum 2000 24 update and review the long-range facilities plan. Thanks, Chair Castro. Sounds like a another packed operations work group. >> [laughter] >> Um all right, we we didn't have any action items that came forward from the instruction work group or the operations work group, so that will move us into our main motion for the consent agenda. 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 March 16th, 2026 regular school board meeting exactly as said
062motions are written. By voting affirmatively on this motion, a board member expresses his, her, or their affirmative vote on each of the motions consolidated hereby subject to any expressed separations that have been made by any member of the school board. Second, Maya. All right. Are there any separations? All right, seeing none. Um student representative Lee, your advisory vote. I. All right, all those in favor, I. All right, that passes unanimously. None opposed. All right, I am moving into other reports to the board. Starting off with our student rep Claire about student Senate. Student Senate met on the 4th of March as well as the 18th of March. And we met with a guest from for the mental health committee with Dr. Share and Olivia Jones. And they had some discussions about the upcoming mental health
063fair in May. They other part of the committee also met with the SRP video that they are planning to make. And our other committee education equity has been working with LaFollette and other high schools to create a panel for AP and honors classes in the upcoming year. That is all. Thank you. Nice. Thank you so much for all the work that student Senate is doing. I love cross-school collaboration as well. All right. Next up is our Madison School and Community Recreation Advisory Committee and I'll turn that over to board member Moster Welton. Okay. Can you all hear me okay? Okay, good. Yeah. Yes. MSCR summer hiring is in full swing for those summer positions. Those summer jobs help make MSCR programs, camps, and wrap-around care a reality for thousands in the community. Jobs are open
064to teens and adults of all ages. Registration for the Centennial softball season is now open. For 100 years, adult softball has been a part of the MSCR legacy. Registration for all summer programs other than summer camps opens on Monday, April 6th at noon. All right. Thank you, Claire. Um I don't know if we have an update from policy committee since policy worked through the work groups. Okay, great. Thank you. All right, we're moving on to other business. First up is our MMSD libraries long-range plan for 2026 through 2029. I move that the Board of Education approve the MMSD libraries long-range plan for 2026 through 2029 as set forth in the materials prepared for the March 16th, 2026 regular meeting. Second. Okay, thank you. Um, and then it looks like Nikki, your hand is up with
065a question or comment. Uh, just want to comment on it. Want to thank everyone who's done work on the library plan. Um, excited about that and the especially in digital literacy. Think it's important. Also excited on getting a cost breakdown um, for the library doors and hope to have that discussed in the future as that's an essential portion of the library that everyone could use it. And I just want to thank everyone again. That's it. Thank you. All right, I'm not seeing any other hands raised. Given that, um, student representative Lee, your advisory vote. I. All right, all those in favor, I. I. All right, I see all hands up. That passes unanimously. Thank you. All right, next is um, our process for renaming Lindbergh Elementary School. So, here is the recommended action. The Lindbergh
066Elementary community would like to officially notify Superintendent Gotthard and the Board of Education that they would like the process for renaming Limburg Elementary School to begin. This announcement is to share that the 30-day timeline allowing for additional proposals to be submitted for consideration will start March 30th, 2026 when we return from spring break. Any proposals submitted must fulfill the criteria laid out in our board policy number 6700, the proposal for renaming a MMD building, which can be found on the district website in BoardDocs. 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 uh including a chairperson, sorry. Uh board action to create this ad hoc committee is slated for the April 27th 2026 regular board
067meeting. We look forward to working through the process with the community to rename Limburg Elementary School. And I believe that's all we're doing with that, just reading the announcement, correct? Okay. And we also have another one, which is the process beginning to rename Elvium Elementary School. Um similarly the Elvium Elementary community would like to officially notify Superintendent Gothard and the Board of Education that they would like the process for renaming Elvium Elementary School to begin. This announcement is to share that the 30-day timeline uh allowing for additional proposals to be submitted for consideration will start March 30th, when we return from spring break. Any proposals submitted must fulfill the criteria laid out in our board policy number 6700, the proposal for renaming a MMSD building, which can be found on the district website in board
068docs. 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 April 27th, 2026 regular board meeting. We look forward to working through this process with the community to rename Elvehjem Elementary School. And I see Chelsea Tubbs hand up. Yes, thank you, Board President Nichols. My name is Chelsea Tubbs, my pronouns are she, ella and uh, and I proudly serve as the Associate Superintendent of Educational Programming, whose work stream now over oversees our renaming process. In my work, I strive to lead with gratitude and empathy, believing that all people deserve to receive their flowers, to have their contributions recognized and celebrated together as a team.
069Before sharing the individual announcements for each each school, which thank you Board President Nichols, you have done, I want to acknowledge the significance of this moment for our district. Tonight marks the first time the Madison Metropolitan School District will begin the renaming process for two schools simultaneously. This reflects the strength of our communities and the thoughtful preparation that has led us to this moment. I want to begin by expressing deep gratitude to Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard, whose leadership and decision to bring this work to the board ensures that community voices remain central to this process. I also want to thank the Board of Education as a whole for their leadership in guiding previous renaming initiatives and for taking on these two schools simultaneously in response to the urgency of community requests. In particular, I would
070like to recognize board president Nichols and policy committee chair vice president Pearson for their guidance in ensuring this process is guided in policy and community engagement. I would also be remiss not to highlight my own boss, Dr. Carletta Stanford, who has engaged thoughtfully in this work over the years and continues to serve as a guiding light helping ensure that this process is thoughtful, equitable, and community centered. Thank you to principal Larson of Albion and principal Goss of Lindbergh and to area associate superintendent Dr. Enuebunde of Albion and Mr. Eifelt of Lindbergh for prioritizing this work alongside their many ongoing responsibilities. I would also like to acknowledge those who laid essential groundwork that made this moment possible including Barb Osborne, Dr. Sue Opalach, Dr. Angie Hicks, and Dr. Enuebunde whose contributions have shaped the process and
071prepared the district for this next step. In addition, I want to extend gratitude to Dr. T.J. McCray, Dr. Monica Mitchell, Petra Wallich, and our legal team for their guidance in ensuring this work aligns with district policy and best practices. And finally, thank you to Adele Feidler, Amy Knight, our communications team, Roxanne Amundson, Amanda Clinker, and Jesse Gagan for ensuring the community remains informed and engaged throughout this process and for leading this work with care, transparency, and humanity. I also want to recognize members of the press and local media whose coverage of past renaming initiatives has provided context, highlighted community voices, and built a strong foundation for our research and decision-making. Thank you also to the school communities of Malaika Shabazz Elementary School, Ezekiel Gillespie Middle School, Vel Phillips Memorial High School, Virginia D. Henderson Elementary
072School, and Lori Manley Carey Elementary School for their leadership and engagement in past renaming work, which has helped shape the path forward for Lindbergh and Elvin, and strengthen our district's process. I want to acknowledge that these naming decisions are deeply meaningful, and that some board and community members may have personal or historical concerns related to these schools' namesakes. This process is designed to be thoughtful, equitable, and responsive to all perspectives, honoring both the urgency of change and the voices of those affected. As many of you know, Maya Angelou was an extraordinary poet, author, and civil rights advocate whose life and work celebrated the power of community, learning, and striving to be better for those who come after us. She reminds us, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better,
073do better." This process gives our community the opportunity to reflect on our shared history and move forward together in a way that reflects the values we want our schools and our students to carry into the future. Thank you again, all, for your collaboration, teamwork, and partnership, and I look forward to serving this work stream for our community. Thank you so much for bringing such care and seriousness to the renaming process, and we know that our community members put in a lot of work and thoughtfulness around the recommendations that come back to the board, and um yeah, just appreciate your your comments tonight, and we do look forward to taking action um next month around the the citizen ad hoc renaming committee. So, thank you so much, Chelsea. All right. Um on our agenda, uh we're
074just about ready to adjourn. I do want to just mention that we don't have anything listed under old or new business, but I do want to just acknowledge that at our last regular Board of Education meeting, we did table one of the policies um that was being amended on the floor around medical administration. That policy is not yet ready to come back uh because there's still some additional work being done to ensure that any additional language um is complies with kind of health language guidance and um and so that's still being reviewed. So, that will come back at another time. Just wanted to acknowledge that as a um outstanding item from our last meeting. And with that, um I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. So moved. All right. Jesse, I think I
075heard Savion uh seconded by Maya and lots of folks who are ready to say, "I." Ready to adjourn? All those in favor. All right. I I. All right, y'all. Have a good evening.