001Mhm. >> Calling this meeting to order Monday, February 16th, 6:00 p.m. Crosby, would you do roll call, please? Jason is virtual, Mike is virtual, Jake. Here. Jim will be here in a minute, Dale. Here. Eric. Here. Carolyn. Here. Craig. Here. Crosby here. All right, this is an open meeting and it has been posted. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, up first we have a recognition. Thank you. This evening we are going to recognize Marge Mioda. She is truly deserving of the recognition as employee of the month. As a human resource analyst, Marge is an an incredible asset to our human resources team and to the district as a whole. She consistently demonstrate what it means to be collaborative, solution-oriented, and fully committed excellence. No matter the challenge, Marge is always willing
002to dive in and find a thoughtful, effective solution that moves our work forward. One of Marge's greatest strengths is her exceptional ability to create and manage data systems. Her talent for analyzing complex data points and transforming them into clear, usable information has created efficiencies across our district. Thanks to her keen eye for detail and strategic thinking, our processes are more streamlined, accurate, and effective. Her work behind the scenes has a powerful impact on our daily operations. Marge's contributions span a wide range of critical responsibilities. She assists in scheduling at both the middle school and the high school levels, supports the hiring and onboarding of all support staff, supports our infinite campus system, and assists in state reporting requirements. Each of these areas requires precision, organization, and follow-through, and Marge handles them all with professionalism and
003care. She is reliable, thorough, and constantly goes above and beyond to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Marge brings warmth and balance to our team. In her free time, she enjoys watching her daughter compete in the Mukwonago gymnastics program and spending time with her animals on her farm, especially training her rabbits for bunny hopping events at the Wisconsin State Fair. Her dedication, whether at work or at home, reflects her passion and commitments to everything she does. We're so grateful to have Marge on our team. Her expertise, work ethic, and positive spirit make a meaningful difference every day. Congratulations, Marge, on being our employee of the month. You truly deserve it. I got a picture. Congrats, Marge. Congratulations, Marge. Thank you for everything you do. All right, up next, um, introduction. All
004right, so I'm going to invite Christine Perkins to come on up. All right, so I am pleased tonight to introduce Christine Perkins as the newly selected college and career readiness coordinator. Christine, I'm going to say a few things about Christine and then we'll give you a chance to ask her any questions that you want to ask her. Um, so Christine is a proud Mukwonago graduate and she has a deep personal and professional roots in our community. She resides in Mukwonago with her husband, who's here in our audience tonight, Scott, and their two children, Beau and Sophia, who both attend Clarendon Elementary School. Christine's connection to Mukwonago is extensive. She grew up here, played sports here, developed leadership skills here, and now serves the district as an educator. She describes this opportunity as a full circle
005moment and is deeply invested in the Mukwonago community, including local schools, churches, and businesses. Christine has been teaching in the Mukwonago Area School District since 2016. Her experience includes serving as a library media specialist, a fourth grade teacher at Prairie View Elementary, and most recently as a Project Lead the Way teacher at View Middle School. Through these roles, she has developed a strong understanding of our district's instructional practices and the strengths of our career and technical education programming. During the interview process, the committee unanimously noted Christine's exceptional strengths in collaboration and communication, as well as her ability to develop authentic, trusting relationships with all the stakeholders she serves. The committee also commended Christine for being a solution-focused professional who approaches her work with a genuine, can-do attitude. She demonstrates a willingness to dive in at
006the ground level, support instructional practices directly, and use data to drive informed decision-making. These qualities strongly align with the expectations of this role and the district's strategic priorities. As college and career readiness coordinator, Christine is eager to capitalize on the district's existing strengths by building meaningful community partnerships, collaborating closely with staff, and expanding opportunities that prepare students for success beyond high school. Christine's current classroom teaching position is currently posted, and upon filling that, she is going to transition full-time into the role. So, we're excited to bring Christine here and confident that she's going to serve our students and our district very, very well. Congratulations. Thank you. Anybody have any questions? Christine, welcome. I'd like to say something. Go for it. Uh, Christine, I would hope I hope you do great. I know you will. Uh,
007please use the board as a resource. Whatever you need, we'll support you. A pretty big shoes to fill, Dustin. A great job. Yes. But, um, but I'm confident you're going to kill it. Yeah. So, congrats. Thank you so much. >> Congrats. I will. Carolyn. Carolyn, this is one of those really good things that has happened before our students that are losing you as their teacher. I know there's a lot of kiddos out there who are thrilled cuz they've had you and they've loved your classes, and we're thrilled for you to take on this new role. But, I know I've got kiddos one at home that's like, "Oh, she's going to leave." But, it just sings your praises of how amazing you are and the impact that you've made in their lives. So, kids your mom
008You should know your mom is a really cool teacher. >> [laughter] >> And she's done a really good job, so you should be very proud. Thank you. Even my kids say it. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, one of the things that, um, I've been telling my students, too, is that like I'll be housed at the high school and I'll be able to see them freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year. So, I'll be able to see them for longer than I would have otherwise. So, yeah. >> great. >> But, >> yeah, it's hard it's hard because I love my teaching job, too. So, yeah. And your And your your mother-in-law is a long-time, um, educator in Mukwonago, correct? >> Yes, that is correct. >> I'm sure she's very proud. >> Yeah. >> Awesome. >> Mhm. >> Congratulations. >>
009Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Thank you so much. Congratulations. That's the best. All right, up next, um, citizens' comments. Mr. Burt. Good evening. We are now entering the portion of the meeting for citizens' comments, whereby citizens may address the board. It is important to note that the board will not dialogue with community members during the citizens' comments section of the meeting. Each speaker will have 3 minutes to make his or her comments. We will signal you when you are at at the 2 and 1/2 minute mark to begin to wrap up your comments. We expect all speakers to honor the time limit, refrain from using inappropriate language, and be respectful in your comments. Citizens who do not do not meet these expectations may be prohibited from speaking at future board committee meetings. Speakers
010are to address the board, not the audience. The school board does not endorse any comments made by members of the community here tonight. We would like to remind our community members of the impact of their words on others, and our children are watching. We commit to listening to you in a respectful manner and ask that you do the same. We expect the audience will be respectful of the speakers and of the board and refrain from responding with verbal verbal comments, cheering, applause, or behavior that would detract from the meeting. If proper decorum is not adhered to, the board president can suspend citizens' comments. Please note that no obstructions can be created between the board and the audience. Visual aids cannot be used, and the area behind the speaker will be cleared during public comments. Also,
011to respect our speakers and meeting participants, please silence your cell phones. Thank you. First up, Evelyn Sakellas. Thank you. Evelyn, 3 minutes, okay? And if you could put that mic really close to your mouth, that'd be great. Thank you. Hi everyone. I'm Evelyn Sarkellas. I'm a current junior at MHS, and I just got back from Semester Weiser Senate Page in DC. Um but I wanted to come to the board to just raise awareness on not like flaws, but some things I've noticed at MHS that we can kind of use to improve. Um and the biggest three things was the language program, the fine arts program, and our AP curriculum. Um so I did some quick research online um of the classic eight. Um so the our neighboring districts, um and I just I wanted to
012share some statistics. So Arrowhead offers four languages, Muskego offers two in person, three online, Oconomowoc offers three, Waukesha South and Waukesha West offer two, but they also offer two culture classes and two more online. Kettle Moraine offers three, Pewaukee offers three, and then Brookfield East and Central both offer five. Mukwonago offers two flat, so I noticed that we were kind of not uh average on that one. Um and then I did some research on the fine arts programs um in Arrowhead, Muskego, Oconomowoc, Waukesha South, Waukesha West, Kettle Moraine, and Pewaukee, it looked that all of those districts offer band in their elementary schools through fifth through 12th grade. Um and I know that this board was um considering removing it from the elementary schools. Um and I I saw that I it is important to
013note I saw Brookfield Central also uh started offering it in sixth grade. So um that is there. And then um obviously currently Mukwonago offers band fifth through 12th grade and orchestra fourth through 12th grade. Um and then AP classes, Arrowhead, some of them are a range cuz depending on student wants, they they don't offer every class every year. Um Arrowhead offers 18 to 25, Muskego 21, Oconomowoc 22, Waukesha South 21 to 28, Pewaukee 19 to 24, Kettle Moraine 21, Waukesha South 21 to 28, Waukesha West 22 to 28, Brookfield East 25 to 26, Brookfield Central 25 to 26, and Mukwonago's at 17 to 20. Um so um I know that I've heard this district before want the to become a destination district, and I think that some of these statistics don't necessarily prove the reality
014of that yet. Um the neighboring districts offer a wide variety of AP classes to prepare their students for college. And as a student at MHS, I would like more opportunities to prepare myself for college, to challenge myself, earn college credit. I would like to give Mukwonago credit, they do really really well with the trades. 30 seconds, Evelyn. We have a lot of trade opportunities. Um but I've seen drastic improvement within this district, and I think we could take even a step further. Um and I would love to see us grow even more as a as a whole. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Good job, Evelyn. Thank you. Next up is uh Marlena Werner. Did I pronounce that right, Marlena? Good evening. My name is Marlena Werner, and I go to Prairie View Elementary
015in sixth grade. I participate in both band and orchestra on trombone and piano. I'm here to talk about the possible band and orchestra cuts. I would like to say that we do not get pulled out of our classes for very long. Our whole group times, which are 30 minutes, are when the teacher is not talking. It is either during wind time or during recess. The time we are missing during wind time is when people are just finishing up homework. The homework we should have been doing the night before, so we are not missing much. Our small group lessons are during the learning time, but they're only 20 minutes, so we are also not missing that much. I would also like to clear out the misconception that we are being pulled out of our specials classes,
016which is not true. We do not get pulled out of our specials classes for anything. Um thank you for your time, and have a good evening. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Next up would be Josh Werner. Good evening. Over the next 4 months, you're going to hear a lot of numbers, but tonight I want to talk to you about our identity. Right now, Mukwonago stands as an outlier in the best possible way. While our neighbors have spent the last few years quietly cutting fourth and fifth grade strings and fifth grade band, we have held the line. That is more than just a program. It is our strongest marketing tool. In a world of open enrollment, families aren't just looking for a school building. As Ms. Sarkellas said, they are looking for a destination district. When
017we keep music in the school day, we are telling every family in the region, if you want your child to have a complete education, you come to Mukwonago. We shouldn't be looking for ways to blend in with the districts who are failing their students. We should be learn leaning into what makes us elite. The administration's primary hurdle is staffing neutrality. I'm here to offer a solution that respects the budget and the taxpayer. We are currently preparing for a massive transition, moving our sixth graders into a centralized building in 2027. Right now, we have 15 sixth grade teachers spread across our elementary buildings. We all know that moving from five separate sites to one centralized center creates natural economies of scale. You simply do not need the same staffing footprint to teach the same number of
018kids once they are are under one roof. The staffing neutral answer is staring us in the face. If that centralization allows us to operate with even two fewer classroom positions, those FTEs shouldn't disappear into a spreadsheet. They should be immediately reallocated to our instrumental music staff. This isn't adding staff. It is reinvesting at the efficiency we gain from the new building back into the students who will fill it. By June, you'll be asked to vote on these cuts. Between now and then, I am asking this board to direct the administration to run the 2027-28 staffing projections. Don't tell us we can't afford it until we've looked at the surplus we are about to gain. Music is the heartbeat of this community. It's why many of us moved here, and it's why we stay. Let's not
019be the board that presided over the slow fade of Mukwonago's excellence. Let's be the board that found a creative, fiscally responsible way to protect it. 30 seconds, Josh. Let's use the 2027 transition to prove that in this district, neutral doesn't mean standing still, it means moving forward without leaving our musicians behind. Thank you. Thank you. Eric Carlson? Good evening. Good evening, Carl Eric. Uh my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson live right behind here, uh behind Clarendon Elementary. And just a couple decades ago, both my kids attended K through 12 schools here in Mukwonago. Uh and I might add, the music program has been for many years exceptional, and Josh was one of my daughter's teachers, uh band directors back in the day. >> [clears throat] >> Um Lord willing, um my grandson will also attend the
020these same schools once we get a few years beyond the poopy diapers. Uh by show I got to eliminate this part part cuz you it said not to address the board um with a question. Um I understand band and orchestra for fourth and fifth graders on the chopping block because there supposedly isn't enough money. Um I know the referendum is for the building, but I'll just say the number, $89.1 million. Uh that's a lot of money, and I think it's important that we can keep uh the music program continuing on a strong path. I think we're all aware of, or at least should be, the positive impact music has on reading and math test scores, among other things. [snorts] I can personally attest to this in my life as a student and business owner, as
021well as that of my kids, who both excelled in many subjects, certainly in part because of music. Additionally, playing an instrument fosters discipline and improves leadership skills. And playing in band and orchestra is is working as a team toward a common goal. Performing in a concert, playing in a pit pit band for sporting events, playing in marching band in a parade or on the field at halftime. You see, not everyone can or wants to be in sports. Nothing against sports. And band and orchestra are among some of the best alternatives for that. Sure, they would still have those opportunities in middle and high school, but the prime years, at the ages between 9 and 11, are when the brain is more of a sponge, and when the initial interest in music is at its peak.
022By eliminating that opportunity in the early years, students' interest in playing a musical instrument wanes. And you would eventually kill off the band and orchestra programs at the middle and high school levels. Substantially less students would be in these programs as a result, and the ones who are would not be of the same quality you're currently enjoying. 30 seconds, Eric. Thank you. How would everyone here feel about the marching band going down the drain? I know it's always been a a really cool thing here in Mukwonago. How much less enjoyable would a basketball or football game be without pep band blasting out your favorite tunes to boost spirit? $89.1 million, that's a lot of money, and I believe it's possible to figure out how to carve out a small chunk of that to ensure band
023and orchestra continue to have the success the students and this community deserves. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Angie Jellish. I've got it, but I need the second. Good evening. So far, you've shown us music electives compared to required courses, year-long programs compared to single semester classes, participation rates presented without normalizing duration, eligibility, credit weight, or accounting for school-created scheduling conflicts. Staffing ratios that ignore the actual population served. If the foundation is flawed, every conclusion built on top of it is unreliable. And yet, we are now being asked to bring alternative solutions to a committee that appears not to have done the same. To solve a problem that has not been clearly defined. We have absolutely no evidence of a curricular failure requiring structural redesign. Instrumental music is not an exploratory elective.
024It is a cumulative discipline correlated inarguably to our academic success. And these students don't just take tests, they publicly perform their learning in front of hundreds of people. Imagine if math students had to walk on stage three or four times per year and demonstrate mastery of complex equations in front of an auditorium full of strangers. That level of accountability builds resilience, confidence, discipline, and cognitive flexibility. As I stated last month, every top-performing district in the state maintains an elementary instrumental music program. Very few offer band and orchestra. We do. That is a differentiator. And then, what about academic performance? We proudly report outcomes that that significantly exceed expectations. And yet, this administration seeks to bleed dry a proven academic differentiator, almost bragging that proposed changes meet state requirements. No one should be surprised when excellence
025in core subjects begins to flatten. Four of the first six senior students of the month this year are band and or orchestra students. That's not a coincidence. Instrumental music programs consistently attract and cultivate students who push themselves academically. Mukwonago's ACT average currently sits safely in the middle 50% among similarly-sized districts here. Now, let's say we remove six of the top 10 ACT scores from this year's graduating class, just six, all of whom are in our instrumental music program. Our district average would drop roughly a quarter of a point. That shift alone would push us into the lower quartile among comparable schools. Top performers materially move the average. That is simple math. Parents of high-achieving children of all ages are watching this. Parents with a choice of where to send their children to school are not
026choosing based on an appearance in a state football championship every 19 years. They are not looking for a district that merely meets state requirements. >> 30 seconds, Eric. >> They are looking for one that protects, encourages, and builds upon what already significantly exceeds them. If we weaken one of the few areas where we stand apart, we should not be surprised if the students who most influence our academic standing choose to excel elsewhere. I'll close with this. Dr. Jordan Peterson, author of 12 Rules for Life, wrote, "Perhaps you are overvaluing what you don't have and undervaluing what you do. We should think very carefully about what we are undervaluing. Thank you." Thank you. >> [applause] >> Sit. All right, moving on to presentations, detachment. Um, is the family the Jazinski family? Thank you. I did um
027>> You want to pull the docs up on the screen? We can share. You can pass them over there. Thank you. We do have this packet uh loaded in more docs for you if you want to look at that while the presentation is happening. Good evening, and thank you for allowing me time to speak on our on shorter notice. My husband, Nick, would normally be here with me, but tonight is our daughter's ninth birthday. So, he is spending the evening with her. We appreciate your flexibility and the opportunity to be here. This evening, I'm asking for approval of our request to move our single residential parcel from the Palmyra-Eagle School District into Mukwonago Area School District. Our original submission included some broader background for DPI, but tonight I am focusing on the map and the
028boundary itself, since that's what the board is being asked to consider. I grew up in Mukwonago Area School District until 1998 and later returned to the community as an adult when I began my career with Citizens Bank here in Mukwonago in 2010. I've continued to work in the community since then, and Mukwonago has always felt like home to me. My husband and I moved into our home in 2013. At the time, we didn't know it would become our forever home. We had our first child in 2017 and second in 2020. As we began thinking more about our children's schooling, geography and distance were our primary discussion. Our home directly borders Mukwonago along Sprague Road and the eastern property line, yet our parcel is assigned to Palmyra-Eagle. Each Mukwonago school our children would attend is closer
029to our home in both in both distance and travel time, which matters to us when considering peer relationships, sports and activities, illness-related school pick-ups, school events, and the surrounding community. When looking at the map, you'll see that the parcel line itself is diagonal, which is normal. The issue is that the current district boundary leaves that parcel line cuts inward around our property and then turns back out again. The proposed line simply stays on the parcel line and the road, which removes that unnecessary bend and keeps the boundary clean and connected. It doesn't create a pocket, peninsula, or any isolated area. I also understand that one of the board's concerns is how approval of requests like this can be perceived and whether it could encourage others to seek the same outcome. In this case, the request
030is limited to a single parcel that directly abuts Mukwonago along the road frontage and the eastern property boundary. That boundary layout isn't commonly shared by surrounding properties, which makes this situation more unique and not something that can be easily repeated. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. Thank you. Anybody have any questions or comments? I have a question. Dr. Cook, can you review the if we allow this, Palmyra-Eagle denies it, or how does that work again? So, if the Mukwonago board approves it and Palmyra-Eagle denies it, then there's a petition or a an appeal that could go to the state board to handle this. And that state board consists [clears throat] of three school board members. Uh one from a small district, one from a medium-sized district, one from a large district. And they
031would hear the case on appeal. Similarly, if Mukwonago would deny it and Palmyra-Eagle would approve it, it would go forward. If both districts deny it, it's uh the petition doesn't move on. Um if both districts approve it, then the attachment would happen. And and ma'am, have you been to the Palmyra board yet? I have not. That is the plan. >> [clears throat] >> Rosie. I have a couple questions. Joe, we just had one of these like a year or two ago. Yep. Where we narrowly approved it, Palmyra declined it, it went to DPI. What was the outcome of that? Uh the DPI uh upheld the denial of they did not >> [clears throat] >> they did not allow the attachment. Okay. Um so, your kiddos are open enrolled into the district. Is that correct? Correct.
032They both go to Prairie View. Okay. So, if they're already in the district, what really changes? It's more of a security um with the it's just guaranteeing that nothing were to change for them, and given the I mean, Wisconsin and all the different uh issues with open enrollment and um declining um enrollment in different areas, I just wanted to guarantee their spots. Once they're in, they're in, right? Is that refresh my memory. That's correct? >> correct. When a student is in, they're in. There's a reapplication period going from elementary to middle school. Okay. Um that that we put into policy. Um and there could be some exceptionalities to that. If a child was found to be a child with a disability, then, you know, we would go to what is our space determination in open
033enrollment for special education. Okay. I don't I don't think we ever want to be look looked at like we're trying to poach anybody else's kids, but in this case, I'm I'm for I'm for it. I'm for it. You guys jumping in. That's my opinion. I just think it makes it tough for us and when we do it for some and not others. I mean, we have a big boundary, can happen everywhere. Um and that makes it really tough for us. How do we say no to somebody else? Um you're already in the school district. Um this board, from what I have heard over the past that I've never heard that we're going to close open enrollment. Financially, it would be really tough on us. I don't think we'd be able to do it financially. So,
034I don't see open enrollment going anywhere. So, if that helps with any of your concern. I mean, I can't speak for future boards, but I financially, I don't see how that would like be good for us to do that. Tom. >> other Just a quick question for Tom. What do we gain monetarily per student versus what we have for open enroll? I know those numbers are different. I just don't recall what the numbers are. Yeah, the the amount of funding that we get for an open enroll student is it's in the 10,000 range. And then the district resident amount is currently 11,650 dollars. You turned your mic off, by the way. Oh, [snorts] I'm sorry. Thank you. We on? Yep. Okay. So, yeah, it's they're they're close. It's there is about a thousand dollar difference
035there. So, I guess just a comment. I I appreciate you being here and as a mom, I understand where you're coming from. Um I do think with the fact that your kiddos are already open enrolled in the district. And I think Dale made a very valid point that we don't anticipate open enrollment really going away. It's it's a tough position to be in cuz as a mom, I want to say yes. As a board member, I need to be, you know, responsible to the community as a whole. And unfortunately, I think it makes us a bad neighbor if if we start, you know, picking off a house here or there and things like that. So, that that would be my concern. This is a reminder to the board. We do have this under action items
036later in the meeting. So. Any other questions or comments? All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Consent agenda. We're looking for the approval of the committee of the whole meeting minutes February 9th, 2026 and approval of vouchers and receipts. Any questions or comments? Hearing [snorts] none, those are approved by consent. Moving on to personnel topics. So, I don't have a director's report, but I'm going to invite Lindsey Ducat, our benefit specialist, to come on up. Welcome, Lindsey. So, we are going to share tonight a presentation that I I am ecstatic about. Um however, before we get started, I want to just make sure that everybody on the board really has an understanding of Tom's work behind this. Um Tom has been a pioneer of what we have been doing with our health plan. I know
037that he talks in numbers and talks about some of the health savings. However, um I get the privilege of sitting with Tom with a lot of districts in Southeastern Wisconsin. And what I can share is that the model and the health plan [clears throat] that Tom has built and is implementing here is a model that is being recognized across the state of Wisconsin. Um Tom has been um in front of state legislators. Tom has been um you've testified in front of state legislators around what is happening in health care and how to change it um all on behalf of our employees. And um his work, I just I can't speak more highly of in terms of a business manager who is this invested in ensuring that the experience for our employees and their health is
038favorable. It's just not something that you find everywhere. And what you're going to hear Lindsey talk about today is just a continued upward trajectory from the time that we have implemented this plan. And Tom knows I came on to the I came into the district year one of implementation and Tom and I I think went pretty head to head quite a bit um around this, but we have just come every year um we've gotten better and better and the results show that. And so, um I just I wanted to take a moment. I know you all know how fabulous Tom is and I don't normally like to give him any more credit than credit is due. Um but he he really is truly um a pioneer in this in this industry and um I think
039that this model every year we we started with a consortium of how many schools, Tom? 11? In this small consortium and every year he is growing that. Um he's going to take over this industry and and do really good things. So, just wanted to just wanted to preface with that. And so, Lindsey's going to start >> job there, Tom. Attaboy, kid. Lindsey's um going to give us again um an update. Lindsey's been with us, this is her second year and again, not to just continue to, you know, glow over here, but Lindsey has also been just instrumental for our district. If you um ask any of our employees, has their experience been favorable in getting their questions answered, their needs met um with Lindsey, the answer is yes. We don't have negative reviews about and
040about the experience there. And again, when it comes to people who are dealing with medical issues with um you know, leaves of absence, you want that to be a favorable experience because they're likely dealing with something that is incredibly unfavorable. So, Lindsey, I'll let you take it away. Aw, shucks, Rachel. Thanks. Hi, everyone. I am excited to talk about our health plan survey for this year. See if this clicker works, Tom. Oh, I got it. Thanks. So, we sent it out to 359 employees on our health plan. We got responses from 279 of them, which is a 78% completion rate this year. This gives us reliable data set for understanding how plan members feel about our health plan. Oh, no. I got you. I'm sorry. I'll I'll move it for you. Is it working? I
041think I think so. >> Okay. Sorry. So, in last year's survey, members told us that they would like an increase in the clinic hours and expanded offerings at the clinic including mental health counselors at the clinic. They also told us that only 48% of them agree or strongly agree that using the MAST health plan has been straightforward. They told us it can be confusing, which we understand. Then, we also saw a drop from the year before when it came to our members knowing who to go to with questions about our plan. In addressing those concerns, this is what we did with the feedback. We expanded our clinic from four days per week to five days per week staffed. We also added some services provided such as dermatology, allergy testing, and advanced suturing techniques. A huge
042change we made to our plan was welcoming Olivia Budiac as our patient advocate. Olivia is a registered nurse who took the place of collaborative care as we discontinued our partnership with them and she truly simplified the process when it comes to how members navigate their health care. Lastly, we increased communications like the health care triad that Tom handed out to you before to educate our members about our plan. It's very fancy. It looks like this. You want to take a look at it. It's very fun. Okay. If there is one takeaway that we hope you take from this survey, let this be it. 74% of our members agree to strongly agree that they are satisfied with the MAST health plan. That is huge. We're really proud of this because we've made small tweaks to the
043plan, but the base has remained the same and overall members are very satisfied with it. Lindsey, can you go back real quick? I think obviously it's it's notable, but if we look at where we started to where we are now, that responsiveness to the feedback we're getting has demonstrated again a consistent increase in those satisfaction rates. We're asking people what they think. We're asking people what they need. We're responding to it and as a result, people are experiencing higher and higher levels of satisfaction. Yeah. But each year that survey has only gone out to the people that are on the on the plan, right? Correct. Okay. So, it could stand to make sense that if they weren't satisfied, they'd be dropping off of it potentially, right? We do have that information of who is on
044our plan, who is not on our plan, and when they drop. Yeah. Thank you. We've stayed at about 360 active employees on the the last three years. So, those numbers upward down significantly in either direction. So, it's been a pretty consistent uh group of folks on the we offer it, that they're typically staying. Thank you. Rachel, how many other schools in Waukesha County have the clinic in-house like we have the same the same type of situation? I would say most um most districts have an employee clinic. Our results, I would say, are unique in that our clinic is incredibly favorable to employees. That is not the experience everywhere. Okay. So, every year we ask members their views on six statements about our plan. So, let's take a closer look at how things have changed. So,
045on the far left, 54% agree to strongly agree that using the MAST health plan has been straightforward. We are not surprised by this number. We are hoping to really boost it up over the next few years um with our improvements to the plan, but they have told us that it can be confusing. Next, 59% um agree to strongly agree that our health plan is at least equal to what other similar organizations offer. The next one, as I talked about before, we did see that drop last year with knowing who to go to if they don't understand our plan. Um, we rebounded this year. We went up to 69% that people agree that they know who to talk to. I hope I'm a small part of that, but really all the credit goes to Olivia. She's
046really um been forefront in making sure that people know that she is there for them and she can help them navigate the plan. The next chart over, we already talked about the satisfaction with the MASD health plan. 74% is an amazing number. 72% agree that the MASD health plan meets my and my family's needs well. And then finally, 80% agree that I understand the MASD health plan. So, that's a lot of information. What's our takeaway from this? Um, we believe that we are improving in every one of those metrics. We have more work to do, but it's not where we wanted it to be, but we are moving in the right direction. We know our plan is not straightforward. figured that out with that first chart. Um, but as our members have more understanding of
047the plan, if they know who to go to with their questions, myself or Olivia, the easier the plan will be for them to navigate. And our core plan design has not changed, but the members are starting to recognize its value, especially in like in consideration of other organizations and what they offer. Tom, did you have more about that? No, you got it. I had a quick question for you. The first section and the last one, using MADL MASD health plan is not straightforward, and then I understand the MASD health plan. Do we ask for follow-ups? Because to me those are very similar questions in the fact that the answers are so drastically different. Mhm. I'm wondering is there what did they is there a is it just yes, no, or agree, strongly disagree? Well, we
048we do have um strongly agree, agree, we have neutral, people can choose that. That's kind of middle of the road, easy easy answer, and then disagree to strongly disagree. We do follow it up with questions specifically asking them what they feel could be improved, um what they like about our plan, and we'll go over a couple of those later. Um >> think oh, go ahead, Tom. What what I would say to I agree with what your uh question is there, Carolyn, cuz you think that they would that you're asking the same thing. Um, on the next slide I'll talk about steerage and how we basically have a very large network of hospitals, health providers, just like you'd find if you were fully insured with Anthem, Aurora, Blue Cross. Um, what we do is we cherry-pick
049the best providers who are great at their job and guarantee their prices to us, so we're not overpaying $25,000 for um for what procedure we're talking about. So, um when we the when the design and the strategy of our plan is based on steerage, people understand that it's just not straightforward. Every plan we've had in our district's history prior to that is just go wherever you want. You may not know if your doctor is in the top half of their graduating class in med school or the bottom half, but people have a certain comfort level with wherever they've gone when they are recommended doesn't it? Is it working? Okay, sorry. So, um we we do as much work as we can to find the best providers and steer our members that way. That's people understand
050what we're trying to do. It's just not always straightforward. Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes sense. It just sounds like those are the same question. I'm just wondering why the answers are so drastically different. I think people are saying they understand I I I I I see where you're coming from there, Rachel. I think the best example, and we were talking about this because we also have to unpack this, understanding the plan, people can tell you that I know that if I go to the clinic, it's going to cost me $0. When they start to get into specialty care, and that's the component of our plan that we hear the most about this one, that using the plan then. So, now I have to go to the doctor, and the doctor tells me I
051need X Y Z, that's when it becomes a little fuzzy. And right now, Olivia is in um Lindsay's going to talk about that. Olivia is trying to help to make that less fuzzy, but people can tell you, right? If I go to a physical therapist, it's going to cost this much money. That's the health plan. If I go for a specialty visit, it's going to cost this much money. If I want to go to see Becky, it's this. Where it gets fuzzy is when they actually are sitting in the doctor's office, and the doctor tells them, "Okay, I'm going to recommend that you need an X-ray." When Tom talked about steerage, we have a plan that if you go through the clinic and go to this place for the X-ray, it's going to cost you
052$0. But if you saw this doctor at this location and you decide to get your X-ray at said location, it might cost you $500. And so that usage of the health plan is still something that people are navigating, and I think again with Olivia's help, we're going to get a lot better at that. Does that make sense? Okay, so I'll take this slide here. So, this slide kind of summarizes the steerage that we strive for. So, we are trying to find the best doctors at their craft, we steer our members there, and um what what we're looking at here is the last 6 months of 2024 when we did not have Olivia as a patient advocate navigator in our district to the last 6 months of 2025 when we did. So, in our plan design
053I'm just going to give you my mic. Yeah, I'm going to actually take Jim cuz Yeah, thank you. All right. Sorry about that. So, we we steer our members here, and we have elevated providers that are in tier one. So, you know, we start at the health clinic to see, you know, the health clinic at Mequon High School serves as the hub. The clinic at the high school can't always deliver on everything that someone might seek for health care. We're not delivering babies there. They probably could, but we're not planning to do that. Um, you know, outpatient surgery, so on and so forth. So, we identify our preferred providers. We have direct contracts with them. We have agreed upon prices with them. They guarantee their work such that if there's a secondary surgery that's needed
054for a cleanup, there's no additional cost to us. We have doctors who believe in their craft and get it right the first time. Um, we steer as many members as we can to tier one options, and when our members go there, we waive their copay. So, for a knee replacement, for example, there's a $500 outpatient copay for a procedure like that. When members use our preferred providers in tier one, we waive that $500 copay, and that's how we get steerage. Members still have choice. Nobody's saying you can't see a doctor you might have a relationship with, but if we don't have a direct contract with them, then the $500 copay stands. Um, you can see in the last 6 months of 2024, we had 433 members use a tier one preferred provider. We increased that
055with Olivia by 35%, so well over half of our members, we have employees on our district and 1,150 total uh people on our health plan, and well over half of them are using a preferred tier one provider. So, our steerage has increased dramatically. When we made the recommendation last time to introduce this position, this was the intended outcome. So, I'm happy to say um we're on the right path. When we take a look at the amount of dollars that we spent, we spent $530,000 on um tier one providers in the last 6 months of 2024, and we increased that by Every time we spend a dollar with a tier one provider, we are removing costs that go into hospital systems that are vastly overpriced. Hospitals do good work, you know, I I I I don't
056want to take away from that, but hospitals costs are completely hidden. We don't learn the cost of the procedures that are provided until well after the fact. When we can work with uh independent medical providers, I'll use OAW for an example, that's one of our uh direct contracted partners, you know, they're transparent with their pricing. They can do everything that a hospital can in their area of orthopedics. Um, and every time that we can intercept a high cost claim from going into the hospital and get the same quality of care, if not better, uh from a tier one provider, we do that. So, we try to steer as much out of hospital systems and into our tier one preferred providers as possible. As a total of of medical spend, so when we take a look
057at every dollar spent on medical services, so you know, we're not worried about pharmacy costs other things, but dollars spent on medical services, 28% of all of our medical medical spend went to tier one providers in the last 6 months of 2024, and we increased that by 5%. When we come back next year, I'll say our goal is to put that number to 40%. So, we're at 33% now. We are going to hopefully increase our steerage to get that up to 40% next year with a long-term goal of half of our spend will be into tier one providers. Okay?