001Right. I will call our budget hearing to order. I will start with roll call. Mary >> here. >> Travis >> here. >> Larry >> here. >> Stacy >> here. >> Matt >> here. >> Ashley >> here. And myself. The intent of the Wisconsin statute calling for a budget hearing is to provide for an expression of public opinion, but leave the governing body free to act as it determines to be in the public interest. Accordingly, the electors at the budget hearing do not have the power to amend the budget as proposed, nor to approve or disprove the budget. At this time, I'll turn it over to John. All right. Good evening. Uh, welcome to this budget hearing for the 2025 2026 uh, fiscal year for the Pewwaukee School District. On the agenda tonight, we really want
002to take a look at four items as we as we go through uh, the hearing itself. We're going to talk about our financial performance from the prior year. That'll be in the form of our treasures report, which we'll walk through. And if you have a cop have a copy or you can see that online they were on the tape back here a hard copy uh give you some highlights of the performance of the financial performance from last year with that treasures report. We'll talk about our budget plan for 25 2025 2026 and how we uh will proceed in the execution of that budget and then finally a property tax estimate uh for the upcoming year. So focusing on our 2024 2025 uh previous year last year's uh fiscal performance in the uh in the report
003here you will see a summary of our financial performance for the year revenues for the general fund or for the operating funds in the district fund 10 and 27 combined uh were about uh $38 million. We were about $40,000 uh where expenses exceeded revenues last year on roughly a $39 million expenditure budget. Uh this this came in the development of the 2425 budget where we had faced a deficit of about $1.2 million in the construction of that budget. So finished within onetenth of a percent uh 1/100th of a percent on the ultimate performance of that budget and the revenues and expenses that we booked. We did complete the year with a fund balance in the general fund of about 26%. A board policy says that we will strive to maintain a fund balance of a
004minimum of 15% in the district. We have not drawn on fund balance in previous years to accomplish projects or to fund operating costs within the district. We have completed all the debt service issuance based on the referendum from April of 2024 uh during the 2425 fiscal year. And those projects are about 25 to 30% complete as of the end of the fiscal year, as of the end of June. Again, revenues came in about 99.8% of what we had budgeted in the general fund. Expenses about 99.91%, a difference of about $40,000. We maintain the approach that we have to completing capital projects within the district and identifying those, presenting them in a public meeting in December of the fiscal year where we go through a long-range capital projects plan to make sure that the board is
005appraised of what we anticipate is is going to have to be faced in the next fiscal year or in the next five to six years. What are those big ticket items that are going to be on the horizon that we need to be aware of? And then again, the budget in 2425 addressed what was a was a significant the one of the largest deficits that we've seen in the district projected deficits. Um, and more later on how we accomplish that. So in the TW for the 25 2025 2026 fiscal year uh to to talk about the budget for this upcoming year typically or actually under revenue limits resident enrollment FTE or full-time equivalency of students is the major driving factor in the availability of resources within the district. This chart gives you an idea of
006where that FTE has been. As you can see, in 2019, we topped out that at the highest enrollment for resident FTE that we've had in the district uh over the last 25 to 30 years. That number, like many districts around us, dropped off um coming out of the pandemic, that 2 to 3% drop. After that, we've seen a slow decline to stable enrollment as some of the developments in the district with higher interest rates and increased costs for the property have slowed down. Those developments are starting to pick up again with residents moving into a lot of those speck homes that are being built. However, new developments are not on the immediate horizon. So, we look at that stable to slow decline in enrollment as being uh in the near future. This uh graphic illustrates
007what we're predicting in here. As you can see that enrollment in fall of 2024 on the far left at about 2680. uh we're looking at about 2660 2665 for resident enrollment. This is headcount. So this is total number of bodies that we have in seats in the district. Uh slow decline and then leveling off. So demographically we feel like this will level off in the next 3 to 5 years and maintain the population in the district. So what were some of the conditions that we faced in setting up this budget? In building the budget, the the largest variable that we had to um to work with was the development of the state budget. State of Wisconsin has a bienial budget process. So every two years, our funding is up for debate as to what we're
008going to receive. Give you the timeline of the conversation this year. The preliminary budget which we're operating on for this meeting was developed from November through March, April, presented to the board in April, adopted in May. The state budget was adopted at the end of June. It was it was signed off on and adopted. So in that development, we need to make a lot of assumption as to what we're going to have for revenue, how that's going to be funded from the state level and what is going to be that share at the local level. some of our property value growth has been tempered. We we always act in a very conservative manner when it comes to estimating what this value we want to have the most realistic number uh that we can for a
009tax impact that we're going to have in the district. So, we're estimating a very conservative 2.68% increase in property value. The property value is certified. There's three numbers that we wait for to finalize the operating budget for the year. The first number is the third Friday in September pupil count that determines how much revenue we can have. The October 15th aid certification from the state of Wisconsin will tell us what that tax levy is going to be for the district. So, we're working on projections right now where we anticipate it'll be. Those are finalized in October. The third number is that certification of values in the fall for that distribution of the levy. School districts do not levy based on a mill rate that's approved or adopted by the board. School districts adopt a levy.
010The mill rate would be the levy divided by all of the property value in the district. That becomes the the product. So the mill rate will fluctuate. Overall in this budget plan, second year in a row, we have a reduction in the overall amount of staff within the district to come to a balanced budget um for the upcoming year. Some of the other constraints that we looked at inflation uh when we talk about the cost of staffing uh staffing I'll I'll address it in a little bit uh is about 79% of our overall operating budget is people cost just for salaries and benefits within the district. Those costs are increasing at a rate greater than what our revenue limits are increasing within the district. This declining enrollment does have an impact on the available funding
011that you have for the district. And again, we're in about our fifth year of slight decline. Looking at a couple more years before we level off in enrollment and then maintaining especially in our support positions uh staff and keeping our keeping fully staffed. Um many of our support positions for aids, for custodians, for food service um have been we've had vacancies throughout the year for the last 3 to four years. So if anybody's looking for a job as a custodian, we be we'll take your application. Um but there's definitely there definitely is room for that um within the budget that we have. Here's how that operating budget is divided up. If you look at this pie, the gold and the dark section, those are the 79% that makes up salaries and benefits within the district.
012So, a huge investment in people. The next largest slice, the gray slice is purchase services. This is where we can outsource this uh cost. We can outsource a cost cost less expensively than what we could could do hiring somebody internally to complete it. A great example of this is the cost of transportation. We hire rightway transportation to do that for us. Much less expensive than if we maintained our own fleet and maintained our own uh staff to do that. Um overall those make up almost 97% of the the total budget for the district. So how do we go about balancing a budget that u we know is going to be tight as we go to develop it? We look at all of our non-personnel counts. that small slice that 4% that's there where can we
013drive some efficiency out of that. We look at utilities and how we operate the buildings time that it's lit the efficiency of that uh to schedule around when is the optimal time to reduce the cost of providing utilities. It's almost a million dollars a year for utilities. We need to control that uh to to manage cost reconstructing health insurance benefits and keeping a a an attractive benefit for our staff to be able to attract and retain staff members. That cost that cost accounts for almost 14% 13% of our annual operating budget in the district. So being very cognizant and controlling that cost long term is a significant uh piece of balancing the budget. We also use open enrollment to optimize our delivery of our services within the district. So for example, if we have classrooms
014that are averaging 21 or we're projecting them to average 21 per classroom, we could take open enrollment students to get that average to 22 wherever we our benchmarks are at a certain grade level or a specific grade level and emphasize those are revenues that coming outside our revenue limit. give us the opportunity to um provide more for the rest of the student or for the whole population by generating revenue through open enrollment. The district has strove to have a positive open enrollment balance since the program initiated back around 2000. Uh and we do have a positive net open enrollment about 230 students positive in the district. So that's 230 more students coming in than are leaving the district to go open enrolled elsewhere. I apologize this is breaks my rule about having small print on
015a screen. Um but really an illustration of the the development of this budget. You can see we had a decrease of uh.56 teaching positions this past year. Uh aid positions are down. Some of our other support positions are up slightly based on the additional square footage that we're going to be having in the building to clean and maintain. Keeping that commitment to the community that what we have for facilities we are going to take good care of and we're going to get uh optimize the life out of what we have in the facilities. Last item that we uh have on the agenda that we want that I wanted to address is the property tax levy and the projected levy for the year. Again, the projected levy is based on that preliminary operating budget that we
016have for the district. Final levy is determined at that second board meeting in October when the board adopts the original budget for the fiscal year. Uh this levy is based on projections of student enrollment, projections on equalization aid from the state and projections on what that value is going to be, what are the final values going to be for the distribution of the levy. overall levy of 27,619,000 for all the funds. The general fund is our operating is our is our major operating fund uh that we have for the district. Debt service includes all principal and interest payments that we will have for any debt that's outstanding from any previous referenda. Our capital improvement fund and there's an action item on the regular agenda for the capital improvement fund. Uh we levy $10,000 in there.
017It provides us an opportunity to uh manage our state aid and the impact of doing capital projects through the use of this capital improvement fund. It was uh they were established back in 2007 in the district. Uh and it it just provides us an opportunity to maximize the state aid that we're getting reduces the local tax u burden for capital projects. And then finally, the community service fund, which represents our uh community and school resource officers, the two officers that we have uh from the village of PWA that are that serve the district. So overall, the initial budget on that $27 million levy is a slight very slight decrease of about $2,000 from the levy of last year is what we're projecting uh in the preliminary budget. Again, I uh stated earlier we have a
0182.68% increase in the tax base. The result of that nearly flat levy and an increase in the tax base results in a decrease in the mill rate or the tax rate for the school district. Mill rate is based on an equalized value. So if you look at your tax bill and you see market value, that's the equalized value that's on there. It's not based on the assessed value because we don't not we do not control the assessment practices of all the different taxing entities uh for the for the given year. Market value or equalized value comes from the state. It's intended to give you an idea of what your property is worth. Here's a history of the equalized tax rate in the district. So what this tells you is that our tax levy in the
019district has grown at a substantially slower rate than what the values are in the community. We believe a lot of the values of the property in the community are heavily driven by what we offer as a school district and being an attractive place for families to move. That drives value of the homes in the community. Tax rate decreasing like this is a product of values growing faster than what the levy has increased. So, the vote at the annual meeting tonight is an advisory vote. It's an opportunity for the community um in one more slide to have input or ask questions about the budget development process and what we're doing as a district. Um it is an advisory uh vote. The board will take the final vote on the levy itself again at that October board
020meeting once um we certify other information that's needed. the three other items, third Friday in September, pupil count, state equalization aid certification, and the values for the fall. Are there any questions? >> John, I have one. Can you go back to your budget constraints? It was pretty early. You you talked about the total proposed expenditures. You had a number in there. >> And this one? >> No, there's a number. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, I said it's that one. Sorry. Okay, so 42254 is like 3 million less than is that the SRO officer? >> No, the the 42,254 is the combined uh budget for both the general fund and the special education fund. >> Okay. So when you combine those, we cons we combine those two and consider them the operating budget for the district because
021it's all the cost of what we do every day to deliver instruction for both regular ed and support special ed students. Um if you combine those two budgets and then you subtract out the transfer. So if you look in the in the budget report under fund 27, you'll see a transfer from the general fund as a revenue. What happens in special education funding, and this was a big topic with the state budget this year, the full cost is paid for by the district. The state provides aid um which offsets a portion of that cost. Any net cost of the special ed fund, aside from federal funding and state funding, the general fund, fund 10, pays fund 27 to net fund 27 to zero. So, a special ed fund always has to have a zero balance
022at the end of the year. So the the discussion in the development of the state budget this year was the need to increase the level of funding that had dropped as low as about about 29.6% it was this previous the previous fiscal year to increase the level of support from the state and reduce the amount that the general fund in the districts had to pay towards that net cost of providing those services. >> Okay. On that note, can you just briefly describe, so we all know that property taxes is our number one funding source, but our second funding sources come from the state. And can you briefly describe the two different ways, the primary ways the state funds us? >> Sure. Um the funding from the state of Wisconsin is uh pro provided primarily as
023general aid equalization aid and that is calculated based on where our expenses fall and our property value behind each student relative to all other 420 districts in the state. So big formula the legislature approves a pot of money to be distributed using that formula and that distribution can can vary. So, if the state provides no money into general aid, then local property taxes will pick up all of the increase that we have in our revenue limit for the year. Revenue limit for the district increased by $325 per pupil. That is now in statute. Um, you may have seen for the next 400 years. It was part of a it was part of a veto that the governor had after the 2325 bianial budget was adopted. if you're open to it. I've got a few questions
024for you, John. >> Sure. >> Um, starting with constituent questions. You had mentioned that the enrollment is going down and you expected it to level off after a few more years of going down. Could you provide some color to that? Why you think that's going to level off? What the constituents sent me was, by the way, Mary, 80 million, what are we? The baby boom generation. 80 million in the baby boom generation, 40 million in the current generation with a question mark, what are we doing relative to schools? Because that's a massive decline if you got the numbers right. So, if you could uh speak to why you think it's going to level off. Yeah, the the greatest source that we have is is talking to some of the demographers. The University of Wisconsin Applied
025Population Lab provides a lot of information on what's happening with the population and we look at live births in the community and live births in the state and use projections that will cast forward where we are right now and apply a birth rate ratio to those. uh we've seen about a 20% reduction from 2000 until 2020 in the amount of live births per year and the latest that I've heard is that's leveling off. So we anticipate that leveling off to continue as a trend here. >> Okay. So that that's a leveling off that is relative to how many years back? I believe the 20% reduction was since early 2000s until 2022. >> Okay. 2022. Is that what you said? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, uh you're not familiar with or have no thoughts on the
026big this was a very big picture question. He said baby boomers are 80 million. Current generation is 40 million. So, if you're talking about leveling off within a very narrow time frame versus the massive leveling off that's gone between my generation and the current generation. Um, no thoughts on that. >> Having that question right here was >> having that question right here. I don't have the context to be able to give you a full answer. >> Yeah, it came to me and I'm I'm not sure of the the numbers. I've heard that before. Uh, but I wanted to know what what prompted you to say that it was going to level off because I've never heard anybody speaking to leveling off. The other constituent question regarding uh the solar panels when you folks came to
027us and part of the package for the uh referendum included the solar panels and a funding for that piece of it involved the federal government and the constituent question mark. that funding has changed. So the question was what's that going to do to our hook going forward if we're no longer getting that kind of fed money because that has been zeroed out in in some way and how you guys >> sure that when the proposal was put forward that included the solar panels on there the price tag I want to say was 600 660,000 or $600,000 as part of the referendum and we had projected a partial revenue coming through both the infrastructure bill and um the um inflation reduction act. U we are monitoring the implementation of those right now. We're working uh we'll
028be putting an RFP out in the next couple of weeks. If those funds have reduced, it's our understanding that as of this point those funds are still available um within a certain window of time. If you have awarded that project within that window of time, the funding is still available. If the funding is not available, we can still receive a significant impact by reducing the size of that array of the solar the number of panels in the array that we have. It still can have a significant impact. So the dollar amount that we're looking to invest is still where we had um looked at last April. >> Okay. So you have the ability to remove that option, that item if you if you so choose. I'm not sure. We're still the plan is still to
029have a solar array because that was what the funding was approved for. Right. The size of that array may need to be adjusted based on the funding levels of what we have. >> Okay. Uh the last question which just was prompted by your comments here tonight. This hearing, do they not vote for that? We need their approval to do the tax levy. There's an advisory approval for the tax levy. The board has the final authority and that was the opening statement that um Miss Swall uh stated. The purpose of the budget hearing is to provide input on the budget and and perception of there. The vote on the levy at the annual meeting is an advisory vote and gives the board direction, but the board ultimately sets that levy where um it where it is
030set at the meeting in October. I I I would actually like to see that because I understood that the purpose the entire purpose of this budget meeting is to get the approval of the community. What Brennan said, what the president said, what I understood her to say in the beginning was they do not have the ability to override or to comment on the budget. This body does the budget and it will take uh comments on that as advisory. But this body does not have the authority to do the tax level levy. The public has to do that. That's why they gather here every year. That's why it's set out as a separate statute. Otherwise, this is a pointless exercise for the public to say that they should come here every year and they have absolutely
031no say. I don't think that's right. So, John, if you could fire up the statute for that, that tells us >> we can get you that statute, Mary. And we'll they should have an attorney here. I think should be here for the annual meeting. Yeah. These people are taking votes and we're recording them like it's an official thing. I >> It's an advisory. I can I can I can affirm what John said. This that's what the statute says. This is an advisory vote of the electors of the community. It's the boards the board the elected board members uh the ones that ultimately make the decision in October. The electors have the opportunity to vote as an advisory vote at the annual meeting. That is what the law says. >> Right. But I think we're conflating
032two things again. We do not approve a tax levy in October. We approved the budget. >> No, >> we have approved a preliminary budget in May. We approved the October budget which you present to us. >> You set the tax levy. That is the responsibility of the board is to >> Right. And we bring that to them for approval of the tax levy. >> That's that's that's the power of the board for October. >> Sorry, I'm sorry. >> That's the board that has that authority, not the electors at the annual meeting. >> Then what is the purpose of this meeting for the public? advisory vote that the electors of the community get to weigh in and as an advisory vote at the annual meeting. It is not the electors do not have the ability to
033set the levy. That is your power as elected board members. This is an advisory vote. That's what the annual meeting is for. >> Thank you. >> There any other questions? Are there any citizen questions or comments at this time? >> I do have a question, John, for you. Relative to the amount of state aid that we get compared to the other 421 school districts in the state, either talk about where we rank, but also why would our state uh revenues be lower in terms of compared to other communities? what contributes to that um uh funding formula, if you will. >> As recent as about 10 or 12 years ago, the school pewwaukee school district ranked number 417 out of 421 school districts for the amount of state aid that we received uh through the equalization
034aid formula. That number has increased now. So we are in the in the 25 to 30% of the lowest amount. The primary driving factors on that valuation per pupil. What is the property value per pupil? We are a very high property value district about $1.3 million of property per pupil in the district. And we are a very uh the region that we have puts us in a spending category. While we are the lowest spending district in Walkshaw County relative to the rest of the state, we are in the upper half of spending just because of the region. the costs are higher in this region of the state for for providing education. So those two factors are the primary determinants of what you're going to receive for aid from the state of Wisconsin. And my point
035on that folks is really it's a complex formula that goes into determining it in terms of the property values are a big part of it. So uh it's not really it's in our control. I mean, these property values are based on the home sales, uh, industrial things that are being built here in the community. Uh, actually, I think some of those like the wa the waters and other places like that that are out there. I mean, they add to the tax base and that just, you know, it's there. So, >> all right. If we have no further questions or comments at this time, >> perfect. Move to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. >> Okay. Awesome. The torch has been passed. >> The torch has been
036passed. 7:30 and I will call this annual meeting of the Piwaki School District to order Monday, August 18th. I will start with a roll call. um actually giving introductions. Um those present present for the board are myself as the president, Ashley Ross, vice president, Matt Weedenhof, clerk, Stacy Newcomer, treasure, Larry Dub, Travis Kger, and Mary Larson. Also with us this evening are M. Mike Katy, District Superintendent, John Gayahan, assistant superintendent, CFO, Tammy Yunt, executive assistant to the superintendent and the board, as well as attorney Lauren Band. Um, once elected, our chairperson will run the meeting and determine the order of speakers. Citizens who want to address the chairperson will need to stand um come up to the microphone and speak. You'll need to um give us your residence as proof of residency here in PWA.
037Citizens will have two minutes to speak and address their question to the chairperson and the chairperson may call in someone such as the superintendent, assistant to superintendent or board president to help answer that question. Each person will be allowed one time to speak on any issue. For the purposes of operational efficiency this evening, instead of voting by ballot, we will be voting by raised hand. So each time we conduct a motion and we call for a vote, please raise your hand and hold it there until our vote counter can complete for ease of operations. At this point in time, we have some operational appointments that we need to make. First, I need to appoint someone to approve meeting minutes. And this person will review the minutes and attest that they refle reflect accurately to the
038discussion that is held tonight and the decisions that are made. I would like to appoint Brian Smith. Brian, are you okay with those duties? Thank you so much. Next, I need to appoint a vote counter. And for that, I would like to appoint Katie Spedoni. Are you okay with that? >> Thank you, Katie. Next, we need to elect a chairperson. I would like to nominate Brian Camers to serve as our chairperson for the 2025 annual meeting. Second. Are there any other nominations? All right. I will make a motion then to move that Brian Kr serve as chairperson for the 2025 PWA public schools annual meeting. Can I get a second? >> Second. All in favor? >> I are we eyeing that. I don't hand There you go. Okay. Any opposed? Brian, >> it's yours. Thank
039you very much. [Music] The first order of business we have now is a review of the minutes from August 12th, 2024. Uh the the minutes were reviewed uh from that meeting by Brian Sniff and approved by him on the 3rd day of September, 2024. Uh, with that I would look for a motion to approve the minutes from the previous annual meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? >> Question for you, Brian. >> Yes. >> 20 24. Would would the board not get a copy of those at that time? >> I couldn't hear. They're in the >> She's asking if we got a copy >> at that time. >> I'm sure you did. and it's also posted in the uh documentation that was uh sent to you prior to the district as
040a link to the web page and is I think on the table out front. So there's a number of places where you would have seen that. >> Right. My question is September 2024 when you approved them at the time that you approved them would that have gone to the board. >> I I didn't approve them. Brian Sniff approved them. >> I'm sorry. My question is for Brian. Oh, I'm Brian one. He's Brian two. >> We got too many Brian. >> They just come back to the board at this meeting because this is the next annual meeting. So, the minutes are produced. The person that was elected at the meeting to be the minute approver then approves those. Then they come back for adoption at the next annual meeting. So, this is when you would see
041them. Is there any reason we can't have them in in terms of in timely manner where we can actually remember? >> Well, they would only be a FYI at that point in time because this is the official meeting where these minutes are taken and kept. So, the official approval of the minutes rest with this body, not with the board, >> right? >> I mean, we could definitely see them, but it would be FYI only. There's no vote. >> No, understood. >> It only would vote here. So, >> but seeing it in 2024 when it comes out as opposed to seeing it for the first time now, I don't have a good yearlong recollection on it would be more useful to just wondering why we don't do that that way. Thank you. >> Well, the minutes
042the minutes are in the document that was sent out >> and again it's not the board's approval. It is this group's approval of the minutes. So, >> right, but I'm on this group. >> We're all part of this group. So, we're all about Okay. So if I have to approve them and I would have had a better sense of them had I seen them in 24. I would have known what how close they related corresponded to what actually happened. I my opinion would have more recollection to it than it does a year later. So I was just wondering why we didn't do that that way. Thank you. And just a reminder, Mary, um that the minutes from that meeting um are contained in the annual report >> in September of 2024, >> right? >> Yes.
043On uh page eight. No, but that's the report that just came out now. She's It's like a year later. >> Question makes me nervous. friend. My my my point is toward why aren't we seeing allowed getting these within two or three weeks whenever Brian did it of him doing it as opposed to seeing it for the first time now. We are the electors that have to uh approve it. So it it is germanine to us. But having seen it when it first was done would have been more useful I thought so. But thank you. Are there any more questions or discussion? We have a motion and a second. Then >> motion to approve the minutes from the August 12th, 2024 annual meeting as presented. >> Second. >> Thank you. Again, we're raising our hands then.
044All in favor signal by raising your arm. an account 16. Okay, thank you. Uh, next item on the agenda is the superintendence report. Uh, this is just information only. There's no discussion, no action. So, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Kat. Uh, >> point of order, Brian. Before you do that, >> what was the purpose of the vote? to approve the minutes. >> How do you know they're approved? >> You just voted on them, >> right? But you just gave them the 16. Yes. Based on what? I mean, >> she counted all the hands. Were there any nos? >> Thank you. >> 162. >> So the Sorry, Brian. Uh, so we got seven here who are board. So if you're doing a board vote, it's out of seven. It's not out of anything.
045>> There's no >> based on the number of electors who are present. >> Present. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you everybody for being here tonight. This is uh just anformational report. It's kind of a snapshot of kind of the state of of the district. Um just to give you a little bit of background in terms of uh how things are functioning in the PWA school district. So uh everything always starts with uh the mission. Uh the mission is uh created through our strategic planning process. the strategic plan was renewed. Um uh a new three-year plan was created for 2024 through 2027. And at that time, among other things, uh the the process involved the board reviewing mission and values and those pieces. Uh there was a a slight adjustment to the mission statement, but
046it continues to read through our unique one-ampus uh community and that's something that always comes through in our process is how much this community values having this district on a single campus and that that being a strategic advantage. Uh but that the PWA public schools will strive to open the door to each child's future. And so we take that seriously. That really does have significant impact in terms of how it drives our work. We are a district that uh has a longstanding history of continuous improvement practices uh to drive our ongoing improvement uh to maximize our performance. This graphic simply kind of represents in that annual cycle what that uh looks like uh from the strategic planning process through the different kind of checkpoints along the way. Um so again uh that underpins really everything
047we do. So when you talk when John's up here giving a budget report and we're thinking about an operational budget, uh obviously you have those big pieces of the budget uh such as salaries and benefits that are um major uh um pieces that are kind of determined uh in terms of what's in place, but the strategic plan drives a lot of those discretionary decisions as to what are we going to invest those resources in to continue to move the district forward. So it's very important when we built that plan uh that the board approved in 2024 uh we had feedback from over 900 stakeholders who are engaged in the process in the spring of 24. So again the district having a very strong history of seeking that community uh input and feedback in terms of
048the priorities of the district the things that our community feels that we should be emphasizing. So this is again just a a snapshot at the goals that we have. So the way our plan is structured uh is we have six strand areas and those are on the left side where it's six six core work systems of teaching and learning, student services, technology, workforce development, communications and community engagement and facilities and operations. All of those areas have one goal under what we uh refer to as future ready. Uh and the other side is sustainability. So there's two major aspects of this plan. This provides alignment across the system uh so that we're uh pushing in common directions in terms of our priorities. So, um you can see what some of the areas of emphasis are from
049reading achievement, uh special education, focusing on literacy and math achievement specifically for students with IEPs. Uh there's pieces there on instructional practices of our staff. Uh you'll note under technology uh we're we're focused on how we're going to best manage emerging technologies and artificial intelligence uh to uh prepare our students. Again, we're talking about being future ready. Uh this is something that's rapidly impacting um the world that we live in. Uh just to kind of frame it for you, our uh 4K students that will be starting here in a couple weeks will graduate in the year 2039. So if you're at all familiar with uh what artificial intelligence kinds of technologies are already doing uh we can imagine uh what that might be like in the year 2039 for our newest students that are coming
050in. So we have to think about those things and we have to build plans around that and uh so uh the way that we know how to approach those challenges is to build a strategic plan around it. So we have that piece in there. Um we have things around workforce development. John talked a little bit about um when he's talking about salaries and benefits as an aspect of retaining a high quality staff. That's something that we're very focused on uh here as well and that's reflected in the plan. Uh communications and community engagement uh really critical. This community has been extremely supportive of the PWA school district and it's our job to continue to communicate effectively to make sure that uh information is available and accessible. Uh for example, uh we have a new uh
051communication platform that we're using rolling out this year called Parent Square. And uh the reason that we're doing that is because we think it'll make us uh more effective in uh communicating. Uh that's managed by our marketing and communications director who oversees all of our social media um uh as well as publications, those things. The the annual plan or budget report that uh was published for you this evening, that's something that she develops. That's just another example of the ways that we work to try to communicate effectively uh with our community. And then facilities and operations um really uh important. John talked a little bit about stewardship of those uh facilities being really important that we take care of the investment uh PWA has made uh again and again into our school system. And so,
052uh, we think very intentionally about how we approach making sure that we have, uh, really great facilities, uh, for our students to learn in, for our community to access, and that we are getting the most return on investment on those, uh, facilities. So, we have strategies specific in those areas. Certainly, when we have something like a facilities referendum that passes, that's going to be front and center uh, on that plan, and we're really excited about the progress that's being made there. I'll touch on that in a little bit. Uh when we think about uh what our work is, we talked about mission statement. Um that's really why we're here and then we try to define the what we're trying to to do and we've defined that and the board has approved that through our graduate
053profile. Uh when we think more comprehensively about what a graduate needs in this uh day and age to be a successful human uh when they walk out our doors. Uh we uh just had a some an artificial intelligence symposium that we helped host at WCTC. We had a panel of employers from um variety of companies including very large ones. And whether it's that panel or others that we've worked with or employers that we partner with, we consistently hear again and again how critical um what some have referred to as soft skills uh are in terms of the ability to collaborate, the ability to show up, to persevere, to learn new things. uh to connect and contribute. Uh that those things are all really uh highly valued by the employers and if we're not considering those
054things, we're not preparing uh our students to be successful adults. So it's not just academic learning. Uh it's the kinds of experiences that we have to provide students if we're really going to make them uh future ready. We define that in these six C's of contribute, create, compete, connect, commit, and care. And we think about that when we develop the learning experiences and programs for our students. So just a few highlights. We talk a lot about college and career readiness, right? So when when um uh students walk across that stage and Brian and I shake their hands as they uh uh are preparing to leave PWA High School, uh we want them to be ready for whatever comes next. might be the military, might be right to the world of work, uh might be off
055to some kind of post-secary education. And so it's our job to do everything we can to try to make them uh successful. So uh just a few statistics because it's important community knows that you're getting a return on the investment from this school district. Currently, our four-year graduation rate is 98.1%. And then if you look at that rate to include students who are continuing in our 18 to 21 year old program, it's actually 100%. So students with disabilities may continue uh towards their education until age 21 and many of those students do uh continue in this 18 to 21 program. Uh so that when you consider that piece uh we are at 100% with the most recent class. Um, some of these are a year old because I don't have the newer data, but 73%
056of the class of 24 uh graduated with earned college credits in high school. That's a that is a strategic priority that we are providing more and more opportunities for students to come out of here uh ahead of the game uh when they go off to school. Anybody who's sent kids to college knows that that's not exactly a cheap thing. And so if they're able to earn college credits while here in high school, that's a big advantage. Not only does it uh help in terms of the economic impact of going to school after graduating from high school, but we know and research is really clear students who complete college credits in high school or complete college coursework in high school that their uh degree attainment is notably higher uh in their success when they they leave
057us and go into those uh institutions. Um and we have a emphasis on uh industry certifications for students and always trying to increase that and is in in 2024 uh over a quarter of our students had all achieved industry certification uh by the time that they had graduated. So building a successful and sustainable future I talked about one side of the strategic plan is focused on sustainability and that can include a variety of things that can be uh how are we making sure our facilities are sustainable uh how are we maybe doing things we talked about a solar array we're trying to become more efficient uh and save money uh and and things like energy usage so that we can funnel resources more into teaching and learning um and I'll share a graph in a
058little bit that shows how through creating more energyefficient facilities, uh we've been able to add square footage um and and keep costs down at the same time. So, that's something that we think about, but sustainability is broader than that. It's not just uh physical things like your facilities. Uh it's about making an investment in an approach or a program or a strategy and making sure that you don't check that off the list and move on to something else and and then it kind of fades away. how do we sustain practices uh as a part of that in terms of the goals we set with our strategic plan. So this is what I was referencing before. Um the uh uh the line at the top that little skinny black line shows um energy consumption and the
059red line show our expansion in terms of square foot square feet in the facilities on this campus. And you can see how much uh more energy efficient we've become. One example uh was in 2020 we completed an effort to replace all light fixtures with LED lighting. Um and I know in that first year we saved about $100,000 on electricity alone in that year through becoming more energy efficient. HVAC systems are critical. A big part of this current project that's going on is replacing air handling units and other HVAC that will be much more energy efficient than the stuff that was installed here in the 60s. And so we uh expect again to continue to become more energy efficient as those new units uh are installed. So that is something that's an example of how we
060not only think about uh spaces that are as beautiful as this one, but we are always focused. In fact, I would say it probably starts with infrastructure and kind of those long-term views about how do we how do we sustain facilities or build facilities so that uh as we move ahead in the years to come uh we're not having to use all of our resources just making sure that the infrastructure uh works effectively. So that's always a point of emphasis. So uh again referencing that facility master planning process is what underpins what ultimately leads to a referendum. uh roofing and HVAC projects. I mentioned flooring tile replacement that's coming in the summer of 26 at Horizon. We already had some conversation about solar panel array that's planned for uh installation again in the summer of
06126. Um the projects that are going on in the southwest corner of this building are about the modernization of the career and technical education and art spaces and there's new fitness and fied facilities uh there uh as well. So, we're excited about how those are uh moving forward. The spaces are very innovative. It's going to be really transformative in terms of uh the experience of our career and technical education students. Uh we really want to showcase the trades and and those kinds of modes of learning. And uh when those are finished, I think you'll find that it really does that. instead of uh your shops being kind of hidden down these dark hallways, uh there they will be bright, open, large, modern spaces that are highly visible. And we're excited uh to show that and
062to really celebrate that that kind of learning. So, here's just a few shots of some of the renderings as things are coming together. And you can see a number of these spaces. If you uh just kind of drive through campus, you can see the facade uh taking place real quickly. Um and uh what you see in the top left is really the facade by the west uh entrance. Uh that um more reddish brick section are the new art classroom spaces. Next to that with uh the kind of curtain wall glass that is the innovation center. Uh and then that segways into the new construction area. much higher ceilings, sheds can be built, those kinds of things so that our students can really uh take the whole construction curriculum uh to another level. Manufacturing is a
063part of this uh engineering project lead the way classes uh 3D and 2D art um uh among the spaces that are that are getting addressed uh through these projects. So, we're very excited about that. Um the art and and uh technical education spaces will uh open uh in December. uh that's when they're uh scheduled for completion. We're really uh looking forward to the fact that next week all the fitness and fied spaces uh should be accessible next week. So uh students will be able to uh utilize those at the start of the year. Uh you can you can see actually into the new um uh family and consumer science culinary space uh that's now off the cafeteria in the high school because there's a lot of glass on the front of that facility. Not quite
064ready. It's supposed to be uh ready next week, sometime next week. Um uh to move into just before students get back. You can see the stainless steel hoods and those things. This is a move from a really more traditional uh kind of homeack looking classroom space that was tucked away to a much more commercial style uh kind of uh space uh for our students to prepare them for careers in culinary arts. So excited how that's coming together. Um uh so we get to jump into some of those spaces already with more completion in the winter. Um and then I talked about the the pieces that are coming next summer at Horizon uh with the flooring spaces. There will be a renovation that the board approved uh for the library and maker space in that building
065as well. Um that we're looking forward to see next summer. Um some other pieces just uh examples of quality. Uh we're very proud of this one. Uh again in 2025, the 14th time in the last 15 years, our staff has identified us uh through a survey um as a top workplace. Um uh so I don't really know of other school districts that have uh this many times that their staff has selected them for this recognition. But the reason that this is important to us is it's really critical that we retain good people and if people are happy where they work and this is evidence of that. Um along with the fact that we're really able to recruit and retain good people. Um so we appreciate that our employees continue to to reflect their their happiness
066here with with this recognition. So hopefully we'll see another one in 26. Uh and speaking of the staff, this is the staff. You know, in Wisconsin, in the last couple of years or number of years, the trend has been challenging uh with high turnover rates for uh teachers. Uh but that's something that we really haven't experienced. This continues to be a destination district, a place where people want to come and work. Uh we lose very few people uh because they're unhappy. Usually if someone leaves it's either retirement uh or because there's some life circumstance or something that changes that leads them to to move. Uh so uh we're really we we know that that's where the magic happens, right? That interaction with the the wonderful adults in this district that work with our kids. Um
067and so we know it's critical to bring the very best people in. We're we're uh had our first day with our new staff today, 12 uh educators who we're very excited about. Bren talked a little bit about that earlier tonight. Um, so looking forward to a great year with uh some people that are going to add some strength and some talent and some energy to an already great staff. Um, this is just a little bit more information. Um, we consistently do well in state rankings. This is just one of those rankings. Take it for for what it's worth. Um, because there's a number of these different things out there. But, uh, on the niche ranking, Pewwaukee School District, um, is ranked ninth out of 367 districts as best school districts in the state of Wisconsin.
068Um, and we usually fall somewhere in the top 10 to 15 on these rankings and an overall grade of A+. Pewwaukee High School ranked 15th out of north of 500 high schools uh, in the state of Wisconsin. And Pocky High School consistently somewhere in the top 10 to top 20 uh, in these in these rankings. So again, I share that as evidence that uh there's there's objective evidence that that this is a high functioning school system. Uh just some other highlights to share. Um uh we talk about this a lot. It's one of our favorite programs. Uh we have just continued growing success with a theme-based experiential 4K program. We get all kinds of districts from not only just around Wisconsin, but across the country that come to see what what's being done in our
0694K classrooms. It's an example of the power of what can be done when we have facility projects that the facility project completed in 2020 included a transformation of how we're delivering 4K and that's been really successful. Uh shout out to the high school highest advanced placement exam pass rate uh in the last six years uh and and much further back than that I think with almost 84% of exams taken passed and at the same time we had the highest number of exams uh taken in that period of time as well. So 537 exams taken by 301 students at an 84% pass rate. Uh which is great to see. Um we had 190 PHS students who work with a mentor in a career field of interest. That's a long-term goal when we talk about future ready
070that every student will graduate with a mentor experience with someone who works in a field of their interest. Um so that's something we continue to strive for. Um we have outstanding staff and here is some examples of that. Jeff Barren who was selected as the state Wisconsin athletic director of the year. Uh John Gan received the Walle Ezra award from his state association. John had previously been the business manager of the year for Wisconsin. Uh the Zastra award is the highest honor uh his state association uh gives. So, um, when we have someone up here talking about budgets, it's helpful for you to know as a community, you have someone that by, uh, among his peers, he's held in very, uh, high regard. Uh, our schools continue to do really well on the state assessment
071system. Horizon was rated as significantly exceeds expectations. The district, PHS, and ASA Clark all exceeded expectations on the Wisconsin State report card this past year. That had us ranked 14th out of 421 uh, school districts. um uh based on the state report card. So we graduated a great class of 2025 and welcomed in uh that new class of 2038 last year and we know this year it's the class of 2029. Just one other piece and state we had some history with our girls soccer team. As anybody who's lived in this community knows we've had kind of an embarrassment of riches lately with a athletic success and our girls soccer team made history uh getting a silver ball in soccer. first time we ever had uh a girls soccer team make it to the state tournament
072among all kinds of success in terms of conference titles, regional sectional titles, state team appearances. Um again, our our kids continue to thrive not only in the classroom uh and perform at a high level but also in uh athletics uh clubs and activities. Uh we had a national champion uh what was the name of that club again that life smarts uh which was a new club we had some students uh create this year which had all kinds of academic um financial literacy and those kinds of things in a competition and they were actually national champions uh in that this past year as well. So we're looking forward to another great uh year. We'll be welcoming the full staff back next week. So uh we always talk about how critical it is uh to work together.
073I told the new teachers today, if you have struggles, look to your right, look to your left. You're going to find someone who can help you. And that's kind of how we do things in the PWA school district. So, that's my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Katie. Uh the next item on the agenda is approval of the tax levy. 7 o'clock. Uh tonight, we had a review of the budget and the levy. Uh at this time I'll ask uh Treasurer Newcomer and Assistant Superintendent John Gain if they have any last minute comments to make before we uh look at the uh passing a motion. So >> a point of order. You just said this is approval of the tax level levy. >> Yes. We've had 10 minutes of discussion 10 minutes ago that
074this is not an approval. This is an advisory vote. >> Okay. We're going to have a a motion to have an advisory vote on this year's budget that was presented at 7 o'clock tonight. >> That better now. Now, is there another question? Otherwise, I want to give Stacy and John one last opportunity to make any comments about the budget. Okay. All right. John, um, just from a statutory standpoint, Mary, the reference that you were looking for, the power of the one of the powers of the annual meeting is to set that levy for set a tax for operation. The board also has under the powers of the board to set a tax for operation to be held at the meeting before November 1st of any given year. at that meeting. If the levy that was
075approved at the annual meeting is not sufficient to cover the cost of those operations, they can levy a higher amount or they can reduce that levy at that meeting in October. So there's statutory provisions that allow both the adjust adjustment of it to set the final levy at that October meeting. That's what makes the annual meeting that advisory um levy because the board has the ability to change that at the October meeting when they set the final levy. Thank you. >> Any other comments, Stacy? Okay. >> All right. I I move that Are you ready for the motion? >> Yes, please. >> Okay. I move that a tax in the amount of 27,619,410 be levied upon the taxable property of the school district of Piwaukee for the 2025 2026 school year. >> Is there a
076second? >> Second. You guys want to wrestle over it or All right. Uh, any discussion? Try not to crowd the microphone if you have a question here. >> All right. Seeing no questions. Uh, again, it's by the raise of hands. All in favor, raise your hand. Okay. And oppose >> 16. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, next >> is the vote. >> Sorry. >> 16 yes to no. >> You should really use the microphone though if you're going to report out the vote. The next item on the agenda is a resolution to establish a capital expansion fund and levy a tax for it. Um would you like to take a moment to explain that fund? >> Sure. The capital expansion fund in the district here has been utilized to make emergency repairs. It's a reserve
077fund that is for capital projects. It's restricted to use for capital projects. We funded at $10,000 per year. At the end of last fiscal year, our balance was about $70,000 in that particular fund. Again, that is used to address any emergency repairs or breakdowns of capital equipment that would could prevent us from maintain uh continuing school. >> Okay. Then I'll look for a motion. >> I move that a resolution be adopted to establish a capital expansion fund and levy a tax in the amount of $10,000 for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Does somebody want to second that? >> Second. Thank you. Uh any discussion about that fund? All right. Show of hands. All in favor of this resolution, raise your hand. All oppose. And the vote is >> 16 yes, two opposed. >> Thank
078you. The next item is the uh annual approval for board of education salaries. Uh I'll seek a motion. Um I would s seek a suggestion for the annual salary and if anybody wants to make a motion for the next year. I move that board salaries remain at $4,0600. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Last year you had the same thing. >> M sir, could you your name and your address? Daniel Tesy, >> thank you. >> Pwwaukee >> W244 and 4512 Swan Road, PWA, Wisconsin. >> Thank you very much. Please go ahead. >> Okay, I'm a little behind, but I got another previous question. If you don't want to answer, that's fine. I got one of these cards. It says you can get a printed version of this meeting. I called I got the voicemail of
079Miranda Catholic. I'm still waiting for this mail mailing. Can you tell me if it's going to come or do I get one or how's that work? >> There's printed versions outside. I can hand you one right now. >> Okay, that'd be great. Last year, you made this motion. I think there was two people that voted against it. if they uh if they want, can I can they explain why they voted that way last year? >> I'd be happy to. >> Um I was a little surprised when we did vote to increase our salary. Um I see this as an act of service for my community. I didn't think that we needed to increase our salary. Um to me, it's it's not about the money. It's about about doing this my civic duty for my community.
080So that's why I voted against an increase >> and I was the similar way. It was the same same for me as well. >> And what is your salary? What are your benefits? What exactly? >> We don't get benefits. Our salary as it was set last year is $4,600. And I just made a motion to keep it the same this year. So it's $4,600 a year. >> All right. Well, you had a motion. Who at Bren, did you second it? >> Yes. >> Okay. Uh, any other discussion? All right. Show hands. All in favor of the proposed salary. All oppose. 16. Yes. Two abstained. >> Thank you. >> Uh, next item is transportation for students at district expense. I'll ask the assistant superintendent, John Gaian, to give us some background on this particular item. >>
081Sure. uh in the PWA school state statute require that we transport every student that ex that lives more than two miles away from the school that they're going to uh in the district here because of the single campus location and the and the access the points of access to the campus. We have had a long history of providing transportation to all students through the elementary grades. So through fifth grade we transport all students regardless of distance in order to exceed the statute as part of the annual meeting. We we uh take the vote of the electric to electorate to continue that practice. We also on the high school and middle school level uh have roughly a onem uh walking zone that is that is established again same purpose for safety. >> I'd entertain a motion.
082I move to approve the current district practice of providing transportation to all students residing within their school's attendance area in early childhood through grade six regardless of the distance between home and school. >> Can I get a clarification because I think John said five and you said six. >> Oops. >> Yeah, that should be grade five. >> Sorry. Correct that. Five. Grade five. >> Okay. Thank you. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Um any discussion? >> Question. Are they allowed to walk? >> Excuse me. >> Yes, they can. They can walk if they want to. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Any other questions? All right. By show of hand, all in favor? Opposed? 16. Yes. To abstain. >> Thank you. Now we have to set the date for the next annual
083meeting. Um, any board member would like to make a motion on when we should have that next annual meeting. I'd like to move to permit the school board to establish the date of the 2026 annual meeting at the discretion of the board during the month of August 2026. >> Second. >> Okay. Any discussion? By a show of hands. If you approve oppose >> 16 yes to abstain. >> Thank you. >> Clarification. You went pretty fast on me there, Brian. Uh Stacy, was your a motion that the board sets it within the month of August 2026? >> The the meeting will be held in August, and we'll determine when that what part of August it is. >> Got it. Thank you. All right. Well, the last thing we have to worry about is adjournment. I'll look
084for a motion. >> Move to adjourn. >> Second. >> All right. I hope there's no discussion. Um, all in favor raise your hand. >> All oppose. Okay, unanimous there. All right. Thank you for coming out tonight. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. Thanks, Brian. Thanks everybody.