001the mil school district of Milton Board of Education meeting to order. And we um our vision is we believe in opportunities, achievement, and community for all. Our mission is the school district of Milton in partnership with the community prepares our students for achievement and lifetime readiness by providing opportunities for all. Um pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And before we before we get into our agenda, I just want to um make a note for those who are watching online, the streaming version and later the recording version. The platform that we use to run our meetings and to get all of our documents has been down all day and
002is still not up. And so we kind of have an alternative plan. Everything will be projected so it can be recorded up on the screen. But if we fumble a little bit, we don't have our typical documents and we are looking at the screen along with you. So if you just asking for a little grace as we figure this out together. And with that, I would entertain action on tonight's agenda. >> I have a motion from John and a second from uh Rick. All those in favor, please Oh, any questions or comments? All those in favor, please say I. I >> oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. Chelsea, do you have the next one? and took his oath on the 23rd. >> Thank you again to both of you for um running and continuing your public
003service to the school and the community. Uh item number or item E, election of board officers and CISA 2 delegate. Uh the officers that we are electing are the president, the vice president, the treasurer, the clerk, and our CISA 2 delegate. I'll call for nominations three times and then I will close nominations. So um we are open to nominations for the president. What about the WASB delegate? >> We we do need to vote on that, but because it wasn't on the agenda and we couldn't get to the agenda to change it, okay, >> we're going to wait till our May 11th meeting. >> Okay. All right. So, >> that was a great question. Thank you. >> Uh, for the sake of efficiency, I'm going to nominate a slate of officers. I'm going to nominate Lynette
004Smith to be board president, John Dumer to be board board vice president, Tracy Hannah to be board treasurer, Jennifer Johns to be board clerk, and Jennifer Johns to be the CISA 2 delegate. >> Uh, any other nominations? >> I would prefer that we go office by office. >> Is is office. >> Yeah. I'm just wondering if we need because we already have a motion. If we >> don't have a second on the floor yet, >> we don't need a second for uh elections. We just need a first. >> Is he moving to change the election procedure or what? What is there? What is your motion? >> I didn't make a motion. I nominated individuals for those offices. >> So, we can do >> I'm just trying to be more efficient. That's >> Are you okay
005if we go uh position by position? >> Yeah. Yes. Again though, I'm just trying to make our meetings a little more efficient. Um I >> Thank you. Thank you, Rick. I appreciate that. So, we will start with the president. Uh nominations are open for the president. >> I will nominate Annette Smith as board president. nominations. Any other nominations for board president? >> I'd like to nominate John Duma for board president. >> So, we have John, are you willing to do that? >> Joe, I thank you, but I'm going to I'm going to decline that offer. Thank you. >> One more time, nominations for board president. So, we have a nomination uh for board president, Annette Smith. Uh, I'm going to close the vote. >> Make a motion to close nominations and castimot. >> Second. >>
006So, we have a motion. Thank you for the second, but I appreciate it. Um, so, uh, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. All right, we are on to the vice president. >> I nominate John Dumer to be uh board vice president. >> Nominations are open for vice president. >> Any other nominations for board vice president? So, I need a motion. I I'll make a motion to close nominations >> for vice president. >> Thank you, Tracy. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. We are on to our treasurer. >> I nominate Tracy Hannah to be board treasurer. >> Tracy, are you willing to do that? >> Yes. Thank you. Uh nominations are open for board uh treasure. One more
007time. Nominations for board treasure. >> I could entertain a motion. >> I make a motion to close nominations and cast unanimous ballot for Tracy Hannah to be board treasurer. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. We are on to the board. the board clerk. >> I make a motion to nominate Jennifer John's for board clerk. >> Jen, are you open to that? >> Okay. Uh, second time, nominations are open for board clerk. Third time, nominations are open for board clerk. Need a motion. >> I'll make a motion to close nominations for board clerk. All those in favor >> is your motion to nominations and >> cast the unanimous vote for board clerk. >> Yeah. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same
008sign. Motion carries. Next, uh, I'm opening nominations for CISA 2 representative. >> I'll nominate Jennifer Johns to be the CISA 2 representative. >> Jen, are you okay with that? >> Second time. I nominations are open for CISA 2 delegate. Third time. Any other nominations for Cit 2? I make a motion to close nominations and cast the unanimous ballot for Jennifer Johns to be the CC2 rep. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposing. >> Motion carries. Thank you all. >> We have action on next actions on our minutes. And as a side note, you'll notice that we had two sets of minutes to approve. There was an error on the minutes from March 19th and so those minutes have been amended and need to be approved tonight. Entertain motion. >> I'll
009make a motion to approve the amended minutes from Thursday, March 19th. And thank you. Monday, April 13th as presented. >> So, I have a motion from Tracy, a second from Ed. Any questions, comments? >> What was amended? >> That I had voted no to go into executive session, and I had voted yes, and so we needed to change that. >> That was the only thing that changed. Any other questions? All those in favor, please say I. I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. Thank you very much. We are on to action on vouchers. >> I'll make a motion to approve the vouchers totaling 1,16,5163 as presented. >> Second. >> We have a motion from Tracy and a second from uh Rick. Any questions, comments? All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose.
010Same sign. Motion carries. There were no signups for public comment when I looked. We are on to Redhawk recognition. And so tonight, we will start with our um HOSA representative and advisor, student representative and advisor. and I had to figure out what HOSA was. And so for those of you in the audience who may not know, it is future health professionals. So would you please come up? Nice try. >> Lacy Bon Bon, a member of the Milton High School HOSA chapter, competed in the medical terminology competition through HOSA in December where she placed in the top 15 competitors in Wisconsin. There were 211 competitors total. Earlier this month, she competed at host a state leadership conference and placed fifth. This tremendous achievement required diligent studying and preparation and a significant time commitment. She is happy
011with her success and is already looking forward to next year's competition. And let me say it was uncomfortable with you standing next to me for me to say that for you. So, congratulations to um Lacy. Thank you so much. All right. If we can have the board come up, please. >> Yeah. Thank you so much. Our next Redhawk Redhawk recognitions and I'm going to ask all three of you to step up and then we'll do them at once are for Janette Bent Binsk Jerry Rottenberg and Marie Yates. Can you all three come up please? You guys are going to have to help right here. Oops. I forgot to have my notes to read. So, Janette is the exact definition of care and compassion. She leads with a warm smile. shows genuine care towards each student
012in the health room and problem solves around the most tricky students who don't like to take their medicine. Students might even fake sick. That just cannot be true. Just so they can see her and get a warm hug. Thank you for being on our team, J. Sherry is not only a wealth of knowledge, but also a true source of hope and comfort for families navigating difficult times. She meets each situation with compassion and dedication, ensuring families have what they need, whether it's clothing, shelter, food, dental care, or simply someone to listen. Her commitment and heart make her an irreplaceable part of our district and a joy to work alongside. Marie Marie goes above and beyond every day for the Beyond 18 Soore program. She brings a contagious positivity, always greeting students and staff with a
013smile that brightens the room. Her creativity shines in every lesson and activity, making learning engaging, meaningful, and fun for all students. Marie's dedication extends far beyond the classroom. She anticipates needs, adapts activities thoughtfully, and consistently finds ways to ensure every student feels included and valued. Her collaborative spirit inspires her colleagues and her commitment to the program strengthens the sore community as a whole. Marie's energy, passion, and innovative innovation leave a lasting impact on the students she serves and the team she supports. We are incredibly grateful for Marie's effort, tireless efforts, her heart for students, and her unwavering positivity. She truly exemplifies the red hot spirit. Three sentences isn't enough. You all exemplify the Red Hawk spirit. CONGRATULATIONS. >> You got to be in front. >> No, not the front. This is the front. I'm good.
014Congratulations. Red Hawk Highlights. It's Any questions? Thank you so much. And our next item is enrollment trends. >> Yeah. Thank you for those very clear documents. It's it's you made the visual visuals made it very easy to understand. Uh next we're on to new business, the wellness update. Thank you, Michael. Yes, wellness is first on the agenda. >> Um, all right. Wellness highlights for the year. Um, wellness committee continues to have a very strong, active core group that has met several times this past school year. I'd like to thank that core group for sticking with me. Uh we're always looking for new staff, um new community members, parents, students, everyone's welcome to come to the group. Um even if it's just for one meeting, we encourage everyone to come. But um that core group has
015stuck with me the last couple years and I appreciate that. So um on de Saturday, December 13th, uh we held our second annual free community swim. Um lots of fun was had by the students, families, and members of the community that came. Uh we asked folks if they were able to bring a healthy snack with them to get them in the door. Um and those snacks that we did receive then we distributed to schools or um potential students that might be hungry um because they skip breakfast. So um on Saturday, April 4th, we held our first ever um free family community run and walk at Schelberg Park. Um it would kind of coincided with the Easter egg hunt that happens over there. Um it went very well even though the weather wasn't the best. We
016had over 150 parents, students, community members that participated. Um Sarah Stookie took the lead for this event um from our group and she kept track of the students um when they came to sign up to figure out how many students from each of the schools came. Um and if I understood correctly, we had students from every school in our district that came and participated in that event. So that was wonderful. Um the success of the event happened because of our active committee members. Um and we also had help from the administrative team, assistance from our student body and several staff members. Um and planning is underway to do it again next year. So we look forward to that. Um coming up here shortly, we'll be setting up a booth that we do every year at
017community days um here in Milton. I think that's May 8th, Friday night. Um, so if you're in the area, um, swing by and say hi to me. Um, and whoever else is going to come. I think Mrs. Stuki's coming and I believe Julie's coming as well. So, um, as a committee, we're done meeting for the school year, but we'll be getting together again in October. Um, so we'll get that posted out on the website um, as far as the meeting date for that. Um, and then we'll start working on our events for next year. Um, typically our committee meets about four times a year to plan events and then um, look at our policy every year to make sure that our wellness policy is as upto-date as possible. >> Any questions for Michael? Thank you.
018Appreciate it. And next we move on to nutrition team highlights. There we go. >> There we go. I had them in the wrong order. Um, first of all, I'd like to thank my staff for the work they do throughout the year. Um, you know, it's very hard work, um, but rewarding work as they tell me all the time. You know, making sure our kiddos are fed breakfast and lunch each day. Um, sometimes it's not always easy, but they they pull through daily and do a great job. So, I'd like to thank them for all their work. Um, every year we try to incorporate new food items with the students. Um, try to keep the menus fresh. Um and we usually start with new menu items at the um north side intermediate level. So fourth grade
019through 12th grade. Um so some of the new items that we had this year um was a meat stromboli. Uh we did some mac and cheese bites, breakfast pizza, pancake bites. Uh recently we've been experimenting with a deep dish cheese and pepperoni pizza at the high school which has been going very well. Um, and then at our small schools, we switched over to a veggie juice um for um our little kids. And that is kind of a hit and miss thing, but it's kind of a hit and miss thing when it comes to those veggies in general. So, um those that like it like it, those that don't like it won't drink it. So, um, our more popular menu items still tend to be the French toast sticks, um, popcorn chicken, and then of course
020our hot dog day at the K8 level is very popular. Uh, we usually serve a little dessert with that, and I think that's what is draws them in. So, um, but we appreciate their participation. Um, this is the second year of our using our menu program, which you can find online. Um, it's called Healthy Pro. Um, on the front side of the program, families, students, and the district nurses can check out our interactive online menus. They can select single food products and see the ingredients and nutritional value of all the the food items that we offer. Um, and the nurses and families that, you know, have diabetic students are able to check out the carb counts and stuff. Um, so they know what they need to do there, um, to help their health. So overall,
021we get positive feedback from parents and from the students when we speak to them. So um we'll probably continue that program next year and maybe the year after and then we'll kind of evaluate after that. Um on the back side of the menu program, um there's cons constantly updates of course, changes that happen. Um, so we're always adapting with those changes and um, those changes are usually good things that make us more efficient as a department when it comes to our production records. And then the program assists me a lot um, by making sure our menus stay USDA compliant. Um, so uh, in alignment with our strategic plan under the operations and facilities pillar, uh, we made some equipment improvements in our school locations this year. Uh we got two new warming units at North
022Side and a new oven at the high school. Uh we're planning on some equipment upgrades for next school year. We're looking to replace an oven at West Elementary and hopefully get a new warmer at middle school and one to two new warmers at the high school. Uh we're also planning on doing some painting at the MHS kitchen which hasn't been done since it was built in 909 >> 99. So, uh, much needed there. Looking forward to that. We got to move some stuff around. So, um, the pieces of equipment that we have replaced or plan on replacing next year, we're kind of ending getting to the end of their use cycle. Um, so before they start breaking down, we're looking to get them taken care of. So, um, and then I'd like to finish by
023saying thank you to the parents and students for participating in our program. um because that's ultimately what makes our program, you know, a success. So, >> any questions or comments on Well, >> thank you. >> So, you were the one who introduced me to raw beets at community days and now we actually eat raw beets at home. I'd never had such a thing. I may have to stop by and try the vegetable juice. I don't think I've ever had vegetable juice. I can bring some with >> that'd be wonderful. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you so much. We move on to discussion and possible action on board norms. So January 5th of 2026, the board met with WASBY consultant Randy Gutenberg to identify norms that we would follow in our daily work. Based on
024these activities and summary of the information prepared by Randy, the following norms are recommended for adoption by the board. Once approved, print copies will be available in board meeting spaces. So, we have the draft of the norms below. I would entertain a motion to approve the draft norms to approve the board norms as presented. >> Second. So, I have a motion from Ed and a second from Rick. Any other questions or comments? All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppos same sign. Thank you. Motion carries. All right. We move on to the HR committee. >> Okay. Thanks, Annette. The HR committee met last week on April 20th. First item on the agenda is discussion and possible action on 2026 27 wellness incentive. Starting back in 2023, did the district offered an optional
025wellness incentive to employees enrolled in the district's health plan. Eligible employees are able to earn a pre-tax incentive of $200 for a single plan and $400 for a family plan by completing an annual wellness visit. This incentive can be earned by visiting either their primary care provider or the district wellness clinic. Through this current plan year, only the employees enrolled in the family plan required to complete their own wellness visit in order to receive the incentive. The potential addition of the spouse particip participation requirement has been discussed before with both the board benefits advisory group and the board of education administration and the HR committee are recommending the requirement of the spousal participation in order to receive the incentive. We feel this will encourage spouses to complete this annual visit, hopefully resulting in improvements in
026that person's health status and overall decreased health care costs for the district. The proposal would require both the employee and spouse to complete the visit in order for the incentive to be paid. The incentive amounts would stay the same for the coming year. >> Chris, you have anything to add to that? >> No, nothing to add, Rick. >> Okay, Rich. Okay. Any questions or comments or >> Ed, can you speak up a little bit? >> Okay. And I'm the district. >> Do you have a family plan in your scenario? >> It'd be a single plan, then it's just you. >> And if I have a family plan, >> Yep. It would be if you had a spouse and as long as your spouse and you are on the plan, then it would be both of
027you. If it's just you and children or dependent, it would just be you. >> Only if they're covered up. >> Correct. Any other questions? >> So if the you're not splitting the incentive. So if just the employee would get the wellness, it's not 200 and then if the spouse goes, it's another two. It's it's a all or nothing. >> That is correct. If you right at the top of page two there, it outlines that in that first bullet point there on page two. Chris, was there any feedback from the uh benefits advisory group on this or >> Yeah, back in uh when we met um they had they the feedback was that they thought adding a spouse was a good idea and that's part of that evolutionary process into our next step with our wellness
028program. So that was the feedback that was received and I think we shared that with the HR committee and then the board in December. Okay. I'm going to make a motion to approve. Effective July 1st, 2026, the spouses covered under a family health insurance plan must complete a wellness visit for the employee to qualify for the $400 family plan incentive. >> Second. >> I have a motion from Rick, a second from John. Any other questions or comments? >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. >> Next item on the agenda is discussion and possible action on 2026 27 negotiations between board of education and the Milton Education Association. On April 15th, HR committee and district administration entered into collective bargaining with the MEA. The result of this
029meeting was the HR committee's acceptance of the MEA's offer of a 2.63% increase to the base wage. This is the maximum allowed by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. The 2.63 increase, excuse me, the 2.63% increase equates to an increase of $1,331, making the new base wage $51,931. I just want to say a thanks to the MEA for uh and other members for a productive meeting. any >> I I'll second that Rick I part of that meeting um when we offer the max and it's makes it an easy decision but it was a great conversation this year and uh um so thankful for that group and our group and meeting we had so there's no other questions I'll go ahead and make a motion uh I'll make a motion to ratify the 2627 collective bargaining agreement
030with the Milton Education Association which reflects a base wage increase of 2.63%. >> I'll second that. >> I have a motion from John and a second from Jen. Any other questions or comments? >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. >> Last item on the agenda is discussion and possible action on 2026 27 market adjustment for teaching staff. The board of education aims to maintain a highly effective staff while having a balanced budget in order to show fiscal responsibility. After reviewing teacher salaries compared to other districts, the HR committee and administration are recommending a market adjustment to the base wage. The committee is recommending an increase in the newly approved base wage of $469. This will bring the new base wage to $52,400. Pending approval, the HR
031department will prepare teacher contracts for review at the board meeting on May 11th. I'm going to make a motion to approve a market adjustment of $469 to the 2026 27 teaching hiring wage, which would be prrated for parts time staff. >> I have a motion from Rick, a second from Ed. Any other questions or comments? I have a question on the budgetary. I see the number up there. So, I just want confirmation that we're planning that this has been we're we're good on this and >> estimates that you were wonderful. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? >> I I have a question. I'm sorry. Is there a strategic reason why we wouldn't uh offer a few hundredths% more increase because we're only adjusting the base wage in both these situations. Is that correct?
032>> So the base wage um on the salary matrix it's it's starting wage but it trickles down to all the staff on that. So this would affect all the teaching staff that are employed by the school district in Milton. Okay, I think I understand that. >> So, when we hire staff uh right out of college and they have no experience, they're placed at the base wage, that base wage is the same for all staff members. And so by increasing the base wage that amount trickles to all or flows through all of the matrix to all staff members that are employed by the school district >> and I'll add to that that for staff as they stay in the district uh they gain a step every year our step increases are $750 another $750 each year
033for salary and then the main changes uh that they And then the other part of our teacher compensation model are hard to fill positions. So we're not recommending any changes to hard to fill positions, but that starting wage or base wage increase is an increase that goes to every that amount every full year. >> Joe, did that answer your question? Our previous action and this proposed action, don't they both adjust the base wage? >> Yes. The in the first action was for negotiations. >> Correct. CPI amount was an increase to the base wage and then this market adjustment would be an additional increase to the base wage to uh to to make a market adjustment. So my question was why couldn't we have done that with one? >> We have we have to we're only
034allowed to negotiate up to the CPI. So that has to be a separate >> gota did that in one negotiation session and then once that was all finalized in the discussion with the NBA then we had a separate meeting with them outside of negotiations to talk about any adjustments or market adjustments. >> Okay. >> All right. Joe, are you good? >> Yes. >> Okay. Any other questions? I have a motion from Rick and a second from Ed. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Say sign. Motion carries. Thank you all. >> I also wanted to just send a quick shout out to all of our HR team. This is a very busy year in the busy time of year in the HR office with contracts and open enrollment. So, thanks to uh
035Chris and Alexis and Marcy for everything. So, thanks a lot. >> Thank you. All right, we are on to finance committee meeting report. Tracy, >> I have Stephen Ross, you gonna wait your turn or Okay. The finance committee met on Thursday, April 16th, and there were two items on the agenda, a construction update on both the healthcare sciences project and the district maintenance facility and a budget update. Steven Ross and their teams are working diligently on both items, and I will turn the presentations over to them to present to the board. Great. Thank you very much. Yes, we had a very exciting meeting at that finance committee uh last week to talk through the construction updates for both healthcare sciences and the district maintenance facility planning process. Uh starting with the healthcare sciences project since
036the board's official approval to move forward with that uh we do have JP Cullen officially on board uh with that project and we have been very busy with uh material procurement and project specific planning to make sure that that uh project can hit the ground running uh on June 1st. Uh we did also finalize the audiovisisual scope that was not final at board approval time and that came in uh at budget that we were expecting with a a great option that will serve that space's needs for many years to come. And uh lastly, related to healthcare sciences, we did develop a plan with Cullen to be able to safely coexist with uh summer school and all the other high school activities that will be taking place during that uh project's construction. So, uh all in
037all, things are going great. Uh gearing up for that project. We also have a furniture and equipment uh order finalized and that order is placed. So once we get that space turned back over to us on August 17th, we can get the furniture and equipment installed and we'll be ready for uh for kids for first semester next year. Uh any questions on healthcare sciences before I roll into district maintenance facility? >> I just want to say thank you to everyone who's making sure this happens in that short window and I don't want you to forget about the mil minutes with steel beam. There's a very exciting like 26 foot steel beam we got to get into that space that Tracy is all in on the video seeing how we do it. So we will do
038that. Thank you for the reminder. Uh moving on to the district maintenance facility. Uh planning phases for the proposed new district maintenance facility have been uh continuing. We've moved through the schematic design phase that was last shared with the board through the design development phase and we are finalizing the construction documents phase right now. Uh we're really getting into the nitty-gritty details finalizing building specifications and site plan details and all that good stuff. Uh the project is scheduled to go out for official the official bid phase this Friday, May 1st. And the bid due date for the project is May 28th. Once uh final bids are are back and reviewed and vetted by uh myself and the architect team, uh we will plan on coming back to the finance committee with a possible recommendation the
039first week of June for potential board approval at that uh subsequent meeting on June 8th. Uh we did also share some pretty exciting uh building flyth through videos to give the the board and the community a general idea of what that new facility will look like. It's a pretty amazing uh rendition of every exact detail to date uh for the facility. So uh what we'll do is just have Chelsea play the video. We'll fly through both the exterior and the interior. I did also include in the memo some key exterior features that I'll talk through while the video is playing. Uh we do have a dedicated entrance and exit lane for semi-truck deliveries to the facility. We have secure layown space outside of the building for storage of district trailers, dumpsters, equipment attachments, and bulk
040material storage. You'll see they're on the back side of the building right now. Uh we are relocating the shotput area. That's uh currently where the building will sit to the west side of the parking lot. You kind of see it there in the background. Uh we are adding a lot of site landscaping including the addition of 14 trees to be placed around Central Park. Uh adding site lighting to the existing parking lot and entry and exit off of municipal drive for the district maintenance uh truck and equipment fleet. And moving to the interior flyth through some interior features to highlight are an overall increased size of the building. 5,000 square ft is what we currently have. Uh the proposed building uh here is 8,000 square ft uh with an additional 2,000 square ft of mezzanine
041space for storage. Uh the garage space will have overhead doors for housing the district maintenance fleet of trucks and equipment with heating and floor drains for our operational efficiency. Uh we will also have storage for pallet racking for receiving and storing district consumable materials and equipment to be deployed uh around school locations. Uh where it's currently flying around right now is the shop space where we'd be able to work on mechanical, electrical, plumbing, carpentry uh projects that we do on a daily basis. Uh and then this would be a shared conference room slashbreak room for the district maintenance staff. And lastly through this door would be the shared office space between uh myself and uh admin assistant Sarah Warren. Uh yeah, so really uh cool planning process to be going through the the needs of
042the district maintenance uh department. Again, our our building was uh constructed 1979. So having uh the planning process to meet our needs of today and into the future has been really really exciting. And uh yeah, really excited to show the the progress of where we're at. And uh I guess I'll open it up to the board for any questions you might have. >> Stephen, can you just tell the timeline on that construction? I know the the bids going out starting this May 1st coming back. When is the actual construction intended to take place? Uh so the tenative timeline for construction would be say we do get favorable bids, we get board approval that uh June 8th, we could potentially start construction as early as the fall of 26. Uh like get footing some foundations in
043before frost sets in. And then you can all, you know, once you're that far, you can continue construction throughout the winter with the possible uh idea of then being able to move into the new facility sometime in like May or June of 27 and then uh yeah, move on to the next phase of uh planning from there would be the tenative timeline. Obviously, a lot of things can change, but >> this is a much bigger project obviously than the short time frame we have for the healthcare sciences. So, this would be a longer, you know, six month in theory project. Thank you. Thank you for all the work that you you and the team have put into this. >> No problem. >> Stephen, I saw there's a driveway on the hilltop. >> We have to
044get an easement from the city or something for that. >> Uh so no, we didn't need to get an easement from the city for that. We did have to go through two uh planning approval processes with the city. So, actually last week, Tuesday, we actually went to the city plan commission and city council for site plan approval and working with city administrator Paul Hench and uh DPW director Mark Langanger, uh came up with a plan that would meet existing city ordinances and things like that to be able to put that driveway in off of Hilltop. And we also met with uh Milton Fire Department to make sure that uh they'd be able to uh safely get in any fire apparatuses needed to uh serve the facility and the park as a whole. So all those
045uh meetings and approvals with the city uh went well and we got uh approvals from both groups there. So that uh is a a hurdle we have crossed at this point. >> Stephen, thanks for the update. Um, as you look at that fly over and fly through, is there anything when you look at that and wish you would added or changed at this point? Just curious. >> No, I I'm really happy with where it landed. One of the things I did want to highlight uh to the board is that when we originally presented this a few months ago at a schematic design level, the the building square footage at that time was approximately 10,000 square feet. I'm just really happy with the way that the design ended up progressing that we were able to reduce
046the building footprint to around 8,000 square feet, but add that uh mezzanine for storage. It was really kind of an operational efficiency kind of deal. But uh really the things that are in the building and around the building uh are things that we really don't have right now and are things that will be of tremendous value and efficiency for us to better serve the district than we do right now. So, no, at the tip of my tongue right now, I'm I'm really happy with where we landed on design features. >> Stephen, I know that you looked at a couple of different potential locations for the maintenance facility. Can you share a little bit about other places that were considered and the drawbacks of those and strengths of the recommended area? >> Definitely, great question. Uh
047yes, we at the very very beginning phases we did take a look at a lot of different locations for where the best location would end up being for a district maintenance facility. Uh including the you know the vacant lot to the west of the high school. Uh we didn't end up choosing that because that would still have district maintenance traffic really coexist with the traffic in and around the high school on High Street. something that we really wanted to to get out because a lot of our peak receiving hours and times are at the same time that school gets in gets out. And uh we did find that the most efficient place to hook up to uh existing utilities uh was that location at the northeast corner of Central Park. And it really when looking
048at the proximity of this proposed location uh in relation to the schools around the city of Milton, it really puts us at a almost a dead central point to to get anywhere we need to go uh pretty quickly. So that that's what really landed us at that location. >> Thank you, Stephen. And then just one more question. uh you had shared that u you had shared the timeline and I don't know question but you're reminding the board to have you had conversations with the FA alumni alumni about the use of the current facility and those talks continue if the board does approve facility then we would continue those conversations with them and then bring back that information to the board We're still very interested in that process. >> Stephen, did you speak to the number
049of trees that you're going to put around? I >> That's very exciting. >> It is very exciting. Uh I also included in in board docs if you had a chance to look uh at the actual packet that we shared with the city of Milton Plan Commission and uh one of the exciting things for the park itself is that we had to meet with the building's construction the specific number of landscaping points without getting into all those details. We found that the best way to do that was to actually uh add 14 trees around the park. So, one of the spots that we thought it would be best to place those trees was along Municipal Drive just outside of the uh softball fence. Uh it would be on page three of the documents that show Yeah,
050there you go. You see the trees along Municipal Drive along the drive lane off a hilltop. So, uh these aren't small trees when they're planted either. It should be a pretty nice addition uh to the park as a whole. >> Any other questions? >> And one other quick note on these documents too that uh was a city requirement, but we also wanted to do as well was the addition of that site lighting on the parking lot itself should be a a really nice addition too for just a general central park use uh in and around the facility. So, >> thank you, Stephen. And I would just also like to extend extend a thank you to you and your team. I know that you put in a lot of work to help shortly after the storms
051that came through about a weekish ago and making sure that all of our buildings and facilities were safe and ready for students to start back on Monday. And so an appreciation to your whole team for that. >> Thank you. We appreciate that. A great team that came in and assessed uh damage to make sure that we were uh good to go uh for school on Monday. So yeah, fortunately we uh we were So >> thank you. >> So then our next update was the budget update. Thank you, Stephen. >> Yes. Um after the construction updates last Thursday, um I wanted to inform the committee and now the rest of the board where we are with budget development. Um we have been working on the budget for 2627 u for the last couple months. Uh we
052work with all of our department heads and building leaders to um discuss their allocations for the coming year and we're now at the point where we're co-leading all those requests within what we anticipated. Obviously, we just had a discussion around compensation. We will continue to have those going into June. Um but the overall goal is that we will have a discussion again in June about a preliminary budget vote going into the summer months ahead of the annual meeting and of course the fall budget approval. Since we're going into the second year of the banium budget, there's a couple reminders on what we're working with. Um, this state budget did not include a increase to state general aids, which is a departure from what we've seen in years past. What this ultimately means is the state
053share of all costs that we we have as a districts across the state, has not changed from one year to the next, meaning that when we spend more, we're getting less from the state for money we had already been spending. There was also one of the largest um increases proposed to special education categorical aid uh with an estimated reimbursement rate for the current year at 42% and next year at 45%. Um back in July, we discussed here about how that estimate is a little bit on shaky ground. And now that we're almost towards the end of the year, I can say that that has panned out exactly how we anticipated. Meaning that when DPI sends us our periodic updates or reimbursement for that categorical aid, we can extrapolate what those payments would look like if
054we got them all year such that now statewide the reimbursement rate is not coming in around 42%. It's actually closer to 38% for the year, which um is not great news, but it was planned for in our fall budget. So, we are not anticipating a major shortfall in that area, but we're still watching what that final June payment is going to be, which will tell us what the full reimbursement percentage is and might be for next year. Um, other things that are going to be affecting our budget development for next year is since we know we weren't going to be getting any new aid in the state budget, uh, you may recall a couple months ago, last month actually, we did a rather large defeasance for some of our debt related to the capital referendum
055at the high school back in 2019. That uh purpose was twofold. We are going to save about $ 1.5 million of interest off the back of that debt issue, which is great operationally, but it also has the impact of increasing our shared costs in the current school year such that our piece of the pie, so to speak, of the aid that already is at the state level might grow enough to keep our projections for tax rate things relatively stable going into the annual meeting. And I'll continue to update the board through June in the annual meeting what that's going to look like. Um I also put in the memo here here and in board doc some of the key assumptions that are going into budget development. Some of these will be familiar to you but
056I just want to go through them very briefly. For revenue limits we still have the increase of $325 per pupil for the 2627 school year. Uh no change to low revenue ceiling which there has any change there would be have to be a pretty dramatic increase because it was changed to $11,000 in 2023 and now we're just above 12,000 after several years of 325. Um, this is also the final year of our $2.5 million non-recurring referendum. Next year will be the first year in which our $5 million recurring referendum comes online, so to speak. And our plan there is to continue to use that authority over time such that we're not using that all at once. That was never the intent. Uh, equalization aid, general aid, again frozen. Uh, one thing we'll be watching for
057going into the late June, early July period is the DPI estimate of July 1 state aid estimates. Um, you've heard me say this before, but I'll say it now ahead of that discussion is the July one estimate is exactly that. The aid from the state is never finalized until October 15th of any given year. July one estimates are typically, I'm going to say, unreliable, but it's very widely reported. So when we we get to that point, either a finance finance committee ahead of the annual meeting or one of those first board meetings in July, I'll update the board what that looks like and how that could change going into October. Categorical aid programming for next year. Um we have that estimated 45% reimbursement rate. Um there's been a lot of talk about what reimbursement rates
058might look like with state surplus dollars. uh no action has been taken and there's nothing actionable we can use at this point but I have hopes that the legislative session for next year will bring up the idea that this year's rate was about 4% off of what was indicated in the state budget so I'm hoping to see movement come fall about something closer to 45 as of right now I have about 39 a.5% in dialed in there is going to be an increase to that pool but I'm not going straight to 45 at this point but I'll continue to update you all when we we get closer closer to October. Um, and again, I had a reference point that the last state budget also had some trouble making those percentages hit. Um, so we're we're
059seeing this type of pattern bear fruit in the last couple years. Uh, per pupil ais hasn't had a change since 1920. It's $740 per pupil. High-cost special education aid is set to go up to 90% for next year. This was also an item debated in the state budget. Uh however, high-cost special education aid is only for those students that individually um have cost in excess of $30,000. That represents less than half a percent of all students statewide. So any impact we had here would be minimal and if we did, it would be kind of self- encapsulating, so to speak. Other than that, we know that open enrollment is set to go up about $928 per pupil. Since we are a positive open enrollment district, that will have some impact come fall based on what we
060have seen in the last couple years. Similarly, voucher program about $428 per pupil. Um, also a final note, um, we're still learning some changes to funding at the federal level. We did receive some of our ESA estimates for next year, one of which was an estimated 40 plus% reduction in our title one allocation for next year. Um, this is certainly unfortunate, but we're currently working with our team here and with DPI on how we can reassess the use of those dollars. We're not anticipating any change in programming, nor are we forecasting any for anyone to be cons of concerned about, but we're going to use those dollars as we have in the past on the same programming and possibly looking at other ways to fund some of the positions that we've been funding through title.
061But we'll continue to talk about that during development. Um there's also other impacts and unconfirmed reports about other federal programmings, especially around say bilingual education that are up in the air. Uh those are things we're all watching at this point. Uh while we don't have a very large bilingual programming uh program here in Milton, um we are still watching those funding sources very carefully and we'll bring more updates as we get closer to June. Ross, for those that may be watching this, can you explain a little bit on what the title N allocation is? Or sorry, title one allocation is title title all ESA grant um allocations are for supplementary programming around achievement. Um title three is for bilingual education, title four is for improvement, title two is for um professional development. All these are
062considered entitlement grants. Um, we get those based on census data in our local populace and those dollars eb and flow based on how your census changes from year in and year out and what students you have that you can serve in those populations either schoolwide or districtwide. Uh, for the last couple years, those awards have been relatively stable. Um, but there's certainly some um discussions at the federal level that have impacted our ability to access those dollars going forward. So, are you stating that it was that that 40% is strictly based on census data? >> That's what we're being told. Um, there's other discussions and accusations being made politically that have impacts as well, but I I won't speak to those. >> Understood. Thank you. >> Any other questions? Thank you very much for that
063update. We are on to miscellaneous items. Any questions on the monthly financial report? Seeing none, we will move on to action on gifts and donations. >> I'll move we approve the gifts and donations with gratitude. >> I have a motion from Tracy, a second from Rick. Any questions or comments? All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. Meeting dates. meeting on the 29th conference room 29th at 1 p.m. HR meeting. Our next regularly scheduled board meeting is on Monday, May 11th, two weeks from tonight. Our final board meeting in May or our second board meeting in May. Make note that that's on Tuesday, May 26. the second board meeting in May board meeting on Tuesday May 26 and we will need to schedule a finance committee meeting sometime
064toward the end of May or after the Thank Thank you. So, a little patience as I read through this executive session u notice. It's one of the longer ones. So, appreciate your patience. We will consider a motion to go into executive session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 1985 sub 1c to consider employment promotion compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility and considering financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons. Preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against a specific person except where par subb applies which if discussed in public would be likely to have subst have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in ch such histories or data or involved
065in such problems or investigations. specifically to discuss and take action if appropriate regarding teacher employment resignation and preliminary notice of contract non-renewal pursuant to Wisconsin statute 118.22 22 administrative administrator retirement teacher non-renewal >> also move second >> I have a motion from Joe a second from John uh roll call Ed >> yes >> Joe >> yes >> Tracy >> yes >> all right we are in closed session thank you >> oh I'm sorry I forgot to say We will be opening after our close session for possible vote. >> Thank you. Thank you, John.