001we are streaming live and so we are ready to start as soon as you are Mr Jensen all right it is seven o'clock I will call the Monday October Monday October 10th 2022 regular board meeting to order roll call please the kuchko here Diane koser here Steve Bowman here Phil Henkel here Kevin Jensen here Miriam Barbara here Bert Richard here Sarah Turner here and Randy can you tell us if a proper notice was given for this meeting yes please be advised that public notice of this meeting is required by sections 19.84 and 65.90 of the Wisconsin statutes has been properly given such notice consisted of a notice and agenda to the official newspaper The Rice Lake Corner type to the Eau Claire leader and radio stations wjmc nwaqe indicating the date time and place of
002the meeting such notice was given more than 24 hours prior to the meeting thank you it does appear that a proper notice was given for this meeting we are now at the appearance section of our meeting before we get into that I want to remind everyone that based off a policy of the board we have 30 minutes for appearances section so to try and move this along and get as many people able to speak to us as possible I am going to start by calling who is on will be on deck and then when you get up to the podium announce yourself and who you are and you're where you're from and then when you get done I'll be speaking for the next person on Deck will try to keep somebody at the podium as
003much as possible so we're not waiting for you to come down the aisle to reach the podium with that I also want to remind everyone that as you're speaking to the board this evening the community is also watching and there are friends and family and and loved ones that are out there watching as well and so be respectful of everyone's uh personal lives and and things along those lines so we're um we're careful with what we say and how we say it be respectful and you also have three minutes we have Randy is the clock gonna be yeah yeah up on the screen so we will have a clock that will start once or have given your name and where you're from the clock will start you have three minutes um to uh to state
004what you want to state to the board so as we're as we're going through this we'll start with Lori Broome if you want to start working your way up Lori all right we will move on Armin kathmayer and then the next person up is Emily Bush so if you want to come up and be ready to to speak in the chair right behind the podium that would be good and uh with that we will start with appearances welcome hi there my name is Armin kiffmeyer I'm a senior here at Rice Lake High School and I've already spoken before the board about the specific changes to policy 411 that will be extremely kind of negative for transgender students but I want to try to explain it from a different we are all assuredly aware of the
005Trope that students don't want to be at school for most of the day if you ask just about any student if they would rather be at school or at home uh we could probably agree that most would choose home but for many LGBT students those who whose parents are far from accepting let alone supporting them this Trope is the exact opposite of what we would expect they While most students are giddy for that last spell of the data ring so they can go home and play their video games they're sitting there dreading the end of fifth period and worrying how they could possibly survive a whole night at home they know that if they try to talk to their parents about their true identity they will be verbally abused possibly disowned or even physically assaulted
006and in the worst cases their lives can be threatened which we have seen in this this our community so for those students their schools is the closest thing they have to a welcoming home their their friends are the closest things they have to a supporting siblings and their teachers are the closest things they have Two Loving parents the policy change is a clear message to these students the one that's proposed of course it tells them that the institution that they rely on to survive gives more care to parent whiny parents with basic baseless political and religious reasoning then their very lives and safety it also means that the staff who want so dearly to support their students are disallowed from it and even forced to participate are disallowed from helping them and even forced to
007participate in the deterioration of their Mental Health it may feel that the reaction to this attempt to change the policy is blown out of proportion and we're carrying too much but it is a fact that this policy change will have extremely negative effects for many LGBT students in your school and even their staff and all of our community I understand if liability is an issue to some but I think you can agree that students health and safety is much more important than liability and we can always work together to change the policy in a way that can prevent liability of the school and still protect our students safety I just want to close with saying that at least I think we have to table this for the time we have not heard enough from teachers
008and students and that's a problem because this is affecting the students and the teachers and we need more time to work out meetings between the board and the GSA and if we vote on this tonight their voices will never be heard when their voices are the most important to this discussion thank you [Applause] you are on Deck foreign Bush I went to Rice Lake High School my for my entire wrestling school district for my entire life graduated here in 2018. um I'm currently going to college I'm getting my master's degree and my EDS degree in School of Psychology due to the lack of mental health awareness in the schools that I grew up with the National Education Association the Nea released a piece in 2016 titled legal guidance on transgender student rights this well-researched guide
009lays on suggestions for schools to follow regarding gender diverse students based on legal battles and educational related law in regards to the parental right to know the Nea State's Administration and faculty should not disclose a student's gender identity or gender expression to others including parents or Guardians unless the student makes a request to do so there have been several court cases launched at school so neglected to do this since the release of this guide that have resulted in the Court's upholding any statements oftentimes students who are beginning to understand their gender identity first come out to the people they trust will support them usually this is someone such as a close friend a family member or a trusted School staff member foreign Ty has gained a better understanding of gender identity many gender diverse students
010have made a huge step to come out at school and to actively seek acceptance from their peers and their Educators this is despite the findings from the Trevor Project study that trans and non-binary students experience a higher rate of bullying than the rest of their lgbtqia appears and at a much higher rate than their non-gender conforming ones at 61 percent of gender diverse students experience bullying in relation to their gender identity if it is important enough to our students that they are knowingly putting themselves at risk of bullying that they are brave enough to explore their identity at school but not at home then there is clearly an issue between the student and their Guardian be that in communication in trust or in safety many parents do not understand why a student would want to
011keep their gender identity from their family odds are though these are not the family and the parents that the students are hiding from in a research article by biomed Central it was found more than 59 of transgender youth initially faced a negative reaction from their parents following coming up to their parents trans students received more severe verbal and physical abuse changing policy 411 to require students to come out to their parents if they want to feel comfortable in school puts 59 of gender diverse students at risk it is not the job of the school board to ensure parents are having an honest and open dialogue with their students it is the job of the school board to keep our students safe as someone who went here for my entire K-12 schooling I've heard firsthand how
012horribly coming out to their parents it's gone for some of my transgender fluid peers many students are not able to find Comfort at home and instead find comfort in school endless research shows that students learn best when they feel comfortable and safe in their environment I'm begging you to continue to let our students learn in Comfort do not force them to choose between their optimal learning experience and safety in their homes this should be an easy decision to make it is well researched both in the legal and mental health Fields listen to the research listen to our students listen to our teachers please make the right choice do not let people who have no experience in our schools no recent experience no students Even in our classes thank you Richie pamental here on Deck Elliot
013hello my name is Elliot kipmeyer I graduated from Rice Lake High School in 2020. I am transgender I came out in 2016 and I came out at school first despite knowing my parents would be supportive coming out to family is a huge step for any LGBT person I needed time in a comfortable space to be certain of who I was before taking that step science and medicine recognized that transgender people exist and that not forcing people into the incorrect gender boxes is the correct practice they recognize that forcefully preventing transition is harmful if we are truly concerned for the safety of our youth we should be focused on supporting transgender students rather than making parents more comfortable with ideas that go against our modern understanding of gender identity school is for learning we learn a
014lot not only academically but about ourselves I've heard concern about people who de-transition and while I could get into how there are how the numbers of people who actually do are very small and the leading causes of detransition are actually things like lack of support and inability to get a job I'll instead argue that keeping youth from experimenting and making mistakes with gender is actually more harmful for those who would detransition later if there really is such a big number of people who are wrong about being transgender let them learn early on in high school let them use a different name and pronouns why should we treat this any differently than nickname my mom went by Fred growing up my brother was called kiffy some people go by middle names or names of relatives if
015I think I want to be a doctor but real world experience is going to change my mind I want to find out early on before I spend lots of time and money going to college for it making experience experimenting such a big deal and creating barriers like permission slips won't help the hypothetical large number of de-transitioning Youth it will lead to people bottling these thoughts and questions up and possibly making larger mistakes that the first chance they get once they're old enough and for the people who are transgender and not taken seriously it leads to depression anxiety and suicide parents you cannot force your children to be who you want them to be and your temps May cost their lives it is not if it is not it will likely ruin your relationship with them
016I have friends who have cut off all ties with family because of the harm done to them I have cut off ties with much of my own extended family because they refuse to let go of their own harmful ideas I did not teach myself to hate me for who I am this very community and much of my own family did that I learned it from much of the same things being repeated at these board meetings it is the support I received from allies that help me unlearn that I would not be alive without the support do not take that away from my younger siblings [Applause] Ella Orson you're on Deck hello we'll see ready deck in case she's not here Ash allridge and hello I'm Richie I'm a senior at Rice Lake High School and
017I've been out as trans since I was 13. when I was 13 and I realized I was trans I transferred to a different School in hopes of having a more Fresh Start in my first week of being at this other school I was out into my parents and humiliated by the staff and students I was reported to my parents every time I wrote my name on an assignment I had to sit in the principal's office with my parents the principal and school social worker three times formal meetings these people in these meetings would tell me that I in some way shape a form was not right to exist that my identity was false my own parents told me this and I was horrified I stopped coming to school my grades dropped and my relationship with
018my parents was so incredibly strained that it was hard to even go home at night I decided that I couldn't take the cycle of sitting in the principal's office over and over again I decided that it was just not good enough for me I decided that I was going to take my own life the following month because the idea of being dead put me more at peace than the idea of people wishing and wanting me to be someone I wasn't that was terrible nobody was willing to give thought to how truly isolated and alone I felt my parents pushed me back to the Rice Lake Middle School when I turned 14 due to me begging I don't think I've ever really told anyone how rice like single-handedly saved my life 411 kept me and I'm
019many sure and I'm sure many of my peers alive I've never been more grateful for a group of teachers and students in my nearly in my 18 Years of Living because even the students and staff that don't understand have the decency to respect the various ways people choose to live their lives but removing that policy strains the mental health for queer students and more than I think a lot of people especially around parents realize I want to say that I'm fine now because of my environment and because of my age having that control over my life but taking away that policy is going to destroy this little sliver of hope that these queer kids younger than me are hanging on to by threads I feel that they're going to be unwelcomed by the staff and
020students that are meant to keep them safe in this district and that is all that is the most upsetting thing to all of us that's all thank you [Applause] foreign are you here hello all right ask your next Heidi wise you're on Deck okay hello I am Ash Ulrich I am a trans male I have been in the Rice Lake District since kindergarten I was in uh the Jefferson School since kindergarten first grade second grade till fourth grade in the hilltop system and then the Middle School through high school I am now a sophomore and I have gone through the struggles of coming out I was never fully accepted in my mental head but my parents say that they have accepted me but they never really showed it um until later this year actually earlier
021this year but um I've been using Ash for about two years this will be my second year of my second anniversary of my committing I tried to overdose because my home situation and it's gotten a lot better but it's also got into a place where it just sits kind of in the middle way sometimes but it's a lot better than it was and it's a very big struggle that people have and earlier um last week I was doing a little bit of research about this topic that we're going through and um Madison University university is going through the same struggle right now but they got a pro bono lawsuit on the University side to stop this from the community trying to control adults lives to be trans or non-binary and from the looks of it
022that it might be going on their side the universities because the court says that they could still use their policy until further notice and I actually have papers about it in my pocket so if you ever want to see those I have them but the Madison University is fighting against other adults to allow the lgbq plus community of that University and other universities it is connected with to keep their policy of allowing the the sign gendered people to their right bathrooms and the right changing rooms and the right plot places to be in the right sport in the right places that they want to be in and so you can't really stop a person coming out after you're 18 because you're no longer the legal guardian of that person so maybe think about what's going
023on in the world and not just you thank you [Applause] Paul Poppy you're on Deck Paul Josiah moldenhauer all right you can go ahead Heidi wise to Tech Wisconsin Montague high school student what are we doing to our kids imagine this scene a school staff member sees a student who had previously appeared healthy now looks frightfully thin she invites the student into her office for a supportive conversation Ellie you appear to have lost weight is everything okay Sally begins to cry you sound just like my parents they crab about my weight and force me to eat nobody understands that I'm obese I have to lose weight I feel so much better when I don't eat I thought I was safe here but now I'm scared my parents would kill me if they knew I was
024vomiting and not eating at school the staff member is stunned but pivots to affirm Sally Sally I apologize for assuming you're thin now that I know you identify as obese I will help you starve yourself I'm not at all like your parents who sound intolerant and dangerous you and your secret are safe with me even better at this school we love and support you with policies that require others to affirm and celebrate who you feel you are we also offer the anorexia bulimia Coalition or ABC where you are affirmed with others who share your feelings as well as special access to the bathroom so you can vomit without being judged just make sure you don't Vape afterwards that's bad for your health and I will have to notify your parents what are we doing to
025our kids two years ago we literally advocated for children to block their breathing and take experimental shots that have greater health risks for kids than covid because some said it was unsafe and unloving to do otherwise that was wrong today we are literally advocating to mutilate children and subject them to a lifetime of powerful drugs that cause infertility and other serious problems because some say it's unsafe and unloving to do otherwise this is wrong what are we doing to our kids constant affirmation is not love disagreement and discernment are not unsafe not all choices that feel and sound good are healthy and virtuous parents have the legal right and moral obligation to guide their children it is also a terrible practice and a terrible lie to claim compassion for one group when it violates the
026rights of others parents matter we love our kids vote Yes on Parental notification thank you Nelly dear Nelly Nelly Shire there she is okay go ahead and Messiah uh board I actually was after I was on the list for last week or two weeks ago I decided to yield my three minutes to Josh Carlson is that all right yeah I don't know that we've got a policy follow the order of we'll have to follow the orders and I do see you are on a little bit later so we'll see if we can get through everybody all right thank you Nelly on Deck is Sam dearman go ahead Nelly hi Nellie sharer Rice Lake I was very disappointed by what I heard at the school board meeting last month Abby didn't get her way but instead
027of chalking it up to the fact that she holds certain views that are not popular with parents in this District she took her figurative ball and went home on her way out the door she threw the school board and administration that has been nothing but gracious and kind to her under the bus for good measure and because she knew that weaponizing her identity would rile up her base um send the media to her defense and shut down any opposition to her behavior she made sure to let everyone know she is a lesbian her feelings were hurt and she felt unsafe we all know you don't dare disagree or ask why she feels unsafe or you'll be portrayed as a homophobe but bigot a puppy killer or worse I have no doubt there are personality conflicts
028between board members but this was not an LGBT issue until she made it one nobody cares how she identifies or where she aligns but she tried to make this about her instead of the parental notification issue and that is Despicable please don't allow her emotional manipulation sway you from making the decision to change this policy I also need to reject the very loud and aggressive voices vilifying teachers administrators and school board members I could be wrong but as far as I know I'm almost positive none of you are radical ideologues bent on indoctrinating our kids nor are any of you willfully ignorant hurtful harmful or taking action against the lgbtqia student staff and allies changing the parental notification of policy 411 does not codify bullying as Abby wrote in her parting comments this is about
029parents having the right to be involved in deeply personal and important decisions regarding their children and I don't care how much teacher says they care about their kids and 100 sure that is true but they do not care about our kids more than the actual parents what if a 14 year old wanted to run off to North Carolina get married have a baby because they're so in love and have always wanted a baby that decision will have lasting implications that will permanently alter the course of their lives and will affect them emotionally mentally physically economically socially but they've always wanted a baby and you don't want them to threaten suicide so yeah Abby's statement that by removing the sticker we are explicitly telling our students and staff that this district is not safe nor supportive
030is divisive dishonest and just not true a sticker that is ideologically and politically charged has no place in a school what if a teacher had a let's go Brandon stick around their door would anybody have a problem with that stickers don't convey meaningful messages to our kids unless they are on a first grade spelling test are the kids are there kids who feel marginalized or bullied I would guess that 100 of kids feel that way and they will continue to feel that way as long as we continue to divide them by participating in the oppression Olympics using identity politics we all have gay lesbian family members and friends and I don't know a single one of them that came out when they were under the age of 20 nor should they we already know the
031trans Community has an increased risk of suicidality both before and after transition which that very knowledge should necessitate immediate parental notification what if a student confides in a staff member and then commits suicide and the parents had no idea anything was going on that is playing with fire and somebody is going to get burned there's a situation where a student fears for their safety at home then we have far bigger issues than parents not agreeing with their lifestyle choices and the proper authorities need to be involved in its current form this policy encourages kids with a high rate of societality to keep secrets which blurs the lines and undermines parents that is dangerous and wrong time please vote to allow Jerry Miller you are on Deck Jerry Miller's on Deck go ahead Sam unfortunately we've
032moved on hello my name is Sam dearman I Am the kids ministry director at World Harvest Church and as I currently understand it the proposed policy change is simply that parents must be informed if there is a name change at the school or using a different bathroom rather than that they can as someone who regularly interacts and communicates with parents about their children on behalf of an organization I do not support the current policy and am in support of this change while I understand that at this point in time parents have been informed of all changes with students the current policy allows for things to be hidden it creates an opportunity for lies and distrust to be prevalent no good policy starts with the ability to withhold information from a child's primary caregiver with a
033lie I understand being concerned about a parent's reaction and believe me I understand that but withholding information about a child from the child's parent or caregiver only creates more issues because a parent will find out whatever is hidden will come to light parents have to be informed of or Grant permission for literally anything else if we're so concerned with the safety of our kids perhaps the school district could offer other resources for parents such as class and counseling rather than withholding information to the transgender community and those in support of the current policy I just want to say this is not an attack against you I puberty in high school is so hard and I cannot imagine feeling like you don't belong within your own body like I can't imagine that but you are beautifully
034and wonderfully made Jesus loves you so much John 3 16 said that for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son for you so that you can be saved okay and so I so that you can be saved in John 3 17 said that God did not send his son into the world to condemn or judge the world but the world might be saved through them through him so my prayer for you is that you will find the same safety and peace that I have found in Jesus and um if you want to come up to me and talk with me I would love to talk with you and hear your story and pray with you afterwards thank you [Applause] Eli Schulz you're on Deck Eli is on Deck go
035ahead Jerry hi I'm Jerry Miller uh back again I have two students here in Rice Lake uh fourth grade and second grade so this is a big deal moving forward um as a parent I find it hard hard to read a former board member's statements written in the local newspaper quoted proposed changes to policy 4-1-1 rule 2 will codify bullying in making transgender students have to choose between who they are and their parents wishes furthermore she encourages the board to drop the changes that would allow parental interference well personally there is not one person I will ever let interfere with the raising of my children if there are parents who don't want to know what is going on or who their child is at school why haven't we heard from one that's because we all
036want to know what's going on and what and know and want to know who our children are the idea that schools have to hide stuff from us the parents is flat out wrong and it is immoral there are many things that need to change with some of the policies in this District the parental consent notification can be a great start it will give us parents the opportunity to confront something that may be downright terrifying at first and face them head on giving us the ability to stand by our children and open the door for us to con to contradict the current agenda being pushed by the adults in the LGBT community and show our children the other side of the coin and hope that they will make well-informed decisions about their lifestyle and medical bodily
037choices as a member of this community and a parent that has two children in this District I fully support this change and encourage you to commit to making a difference a large portion of the community supports this as well look at all the people that are here for you I ask you not to be intimidated by activists and others who only want what they want we as parents are here because we want our district to be different than the current trend of abysmal school systems and it starts with you reaffirming our rights as parents to be informed and be involved with our children's lives at home and at school so today you will have to be courageous and do what is right again I ask you to vote this into policy we are with you
038and we support you thank you thank you [Applause] again I'm going to ask the community to please when people are talking be respectful of one another um the people at the they have uh signed up and whether you agree or disagree with what they have to say please be respectful and let them speak with that on Deck is Steve McConkey yeah if there's if there's time Steve Elaine thank you uh Eli Schultz father of three Rice Lake Area School District yeah uh many of the people listening tonight as well as the some members of the board I don't think still fully understand what the trans cult really is so tonight I'm going to tell you the truth and try and clear it up for you giving a precious developing child suppressive hormone therapy puberty blockers
039performing chemical castration and surgical mutilations on children is evil the adults who advocate for transgenderism are evil why don't you stand against an evil cult instead of placating them with a policy by having a transgender policy you are lending validity to an evil fiction you don't fight evil with tolerance and understanding your policy should be telling kids the truth there is no such thing as transgenderism sex and gender are not malleable I hear a lot of talk about safe this and safe that it's no wonder that children don't feel safe when you have a bunch of adults busy affirming that they can be a different gender which is a complete lie and a complete physiological impossibility I can't believe that we must listen to board members use phrases like when a child is transitioning do
040you really believe what you are saying I can't believe we have to come down here and tell a bunch of people with master's degrees and educating children that is that it's incredibly irresponsible and damaging to tell a young man that he may actually be a woman you have to understand that these people actually believe they can change their gender based on how they feel you are dealing with people who are severely mentally and emotionally compromised these political activists are clinically insane and you can't let the crazies run the Asylum your policies should be telling children that it doesn't matter how many hormones you take or how many surgical mutilations you have every cell in your body will always be male or always be female you can't change your gender regardless of how you feel your
041feelings don't get to change biological science or the English language what's next is there going to be a policy that validates children who think they're animals it's amazing how the left completely misses the point so just to be clear no one is attacking people's personal sexual preferences those are private matters between the child and their parents and have no place being facilitated in the school district gender identity is a completely different matter you can't erase gender gender is not a choice it is not a signed it is a biological scientific fact the district must refuse to acknowledge or comply with the LIE of transgenderism or live with the fact that you've allowed an evil concept to flourish thank you [Applause] and Steve I'm sorry but we are out of time can you just let me
042speak a little bit I'm sorry we are are you sure yes okay sorry all right next we will I would entertain a motion to approve our regular session meeting minutes for Monday September 26th I'll motion to approve the regular session meeting minutes motion has been made is there a second second motion has been made and seconded any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed minutes have been approved next we have the consent agenda we have our monthly budget report our board bills we have two employment resignations and four employment recommendations we're going to attain a motion to approve the consent agenda thank you corrected thing okay we do have six there's two more on the next page a motion to approve the consent agenda motion has been made is
043there a second second motion has been made and seconded any further discussion see none all in favor signify by saying aye hi hi opposed and the consent agenda has been approved next on the agenda we get into our reports section we'll start off with Haugen Elementary School visit to the Conservancy Mr belcheck thank you so it's definitely a little different format here uh trying to present from down here versus what I'm used to I don't know how many people are aware of the Conservancy that the district now has in place it's a little bit Northwest of town here we have a lot of Staff actually all of our staff were able to go out there and visit the Conservancy this year as part of our back to school in-service day and so the district has
044really tried to invest some some funds into allowing students to get out there as well throughout the course of the year with the goal of trying to get every student I believe K8 out of the Conservancy at some point throughout the course of the school year those of us out at Hagen we're fortunate that we can load a lot of students on one bus and get a lot of our our building out there at one time and so last week I think it was last week maybe it's two weeks ago at this point we actually took our entire building out to the conservancy and we had our teachers actually take a lot of their lesson plans that they've been been using and some of the standards that they've been teaching and they will actually give
045this able to give the students some hands-on experience out at the conservancy and so we wanted to share a little bit on what we did at each grade level so kindergarten they're really into the nature exploration right now and a lot of Hands-On Discovery out at the Conservancy they have what they're calling uh it's like an outdoor kitchen and so they've got some supplies out there where students can and you can kind of see the pots and pans a spatula things like that they can kind of dig through different pieces and find different rocks and plants and all kinds of organisms and stuff like that at the the kitchen out there and it's also the perfect time because they also study seasonal changes and you're going to see that become kind of a theme through
046a lot of this right now and so they were looking at the changing of the leaves and how different things are starting to decompose and whatnot during the fall going on to first grade they did a little scavenger hunt when they were out there they had a check box for all the different animals and the different plants that we would see they were looking for a variety of of leaves and different flowers that they could find and trying to collect some of those items when they walked off of the Conservancy that day each of the first grade students had a little Ziploc bag that they were able to take home and share with their their parents what they were able to learn that day out at the Conservancy so second grade uh fortunately I was
047able to Tool around with them a little bit while we were out there and so the second grade they were really talking about the leaves changing and at one point uh the teachers Mrs Anderson was like Hey can anybody tell Mr belcheck why the leaves are changing color right now I was like holy cow I don't know why the leaves are changing color and so the student was like it's because the chlorophyll is leaving the lead and I'm like wow that's amazing that they even know what chlorophyll is and so you know they were able to take what they're learning in the classroom out to the school conservancy and really start to apply it students were finding pine cones out there which really led to a lot of the tree identification they were looking at
048some of the tree bark the tree leaves and working through the tree identification and then insects they've been talking a lot about insects as well in second grade and so they're finding a lot of different insects that they could start to kind of explore around third grade I thought this one was super cool Mr jeruso he was showing the students how they could make a whistle out of an acorn in case they were lost out there they could take it he actually got it working which was kind of cool and I never knew that you could do such a thing so that was really neat and again they were looking at tree and leaf identification and the changing of the seasons um you know we were a little bit early for the changing of the
049colors but you could just start to see that happening and then he had a quote that he wanted to share with us love the trees until their leaves fall off then encourage them to try again next year to grill so just kind of a neat little quote our fourth grade then uh Mr Brown I was a little bit nervous when he was saying they're going out there to find mushrooms um you know and so they were looking for edible and non-edible uh I'm was reassured that they didn't actually try any of them so I was thankful for that uh they were looking for the different characteristics though uh how you can try to identify the edible versus the non-edible as well as the habitat the habitat where they grow uh and if you've been out
050to the Conservancy like there are mushrooms all over the place and especially in the fall of the year right now they are growing on the ground they're growing from trees all over the place and so it was really a great day for them they found just a ton of them out there so kind of scooting on uh we also had and so after the entire school went out there Carla Grenier wanted to take a couple grades out there where their art time was back to back and she had some art lessons that she wanted to use with them out there and you know I don't know if you've done where you put the leaf underneath a sheet of paper and then you rub the crayon over it you know she was doing that with them
051out there but then she really went into you know they wanted to explore some of the studio skills while they're out there and then recognizing and demonstrating the relationships between Art and Design and then learning within other disciplines so a lot of the science that that goes into that as well and then these were just a couple of quotes that came up when the art students were out there one of the fourth grade students said this is my beautiful heaven when they got off the bus they saw you know just the nature out there and they're like hey this is super cool uh William Wordsworth has said let nature be your teacher and I think the staff out at Haugen have really embraced this we're also fortunate right at Hagen we've got a lot of
052space in the back I know Mrs thornsley and kindergarten she takes kids out back a lot just to explore some of the stuff that we have there I I thought this next quote was really cool too children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls uh you know a lot of times we're like kids are just going stir crazy they're bouncing off the walls well you don't have the walls there they're gonna go explore burn off some energy come back and learn the next one there anything you teach in an indoor classroom can be taught Outdoors often in ways that are more enjoyable for children we talk a lot about engagement this is another great resource for us as a district to really engage students in their learning uh whether it's science
053art I know we've got language art stuff going on out there we've got the building that's going to be built out there and I think that's going to be fantastic a place for students to go and then this last one we had a fourth grade art student that same day then as they're getting off uh that said you know when we first walked out here it looks like a magical Fairyland and there was probably still a little bit of frost on the ground when they got out there they went out in the morning and so you had the sparkly Frost and all that kind of stuff um you know so I know from our staff and our students at Hagen I just wanted to say thank you to the board for investing in the Conservancy
054out there Rod Olson who donated the property to the school board obviously thank you to them it truly is a spectacular resource for us as a school district so thank you thank you for being a part of implementing our goal of having that use and this is a great update and makes me feel good that it was used and appreciated and effective so thank you very much definitely [Applause] all right next on the agenda we have a proclamation the state of Wisconsin the Department of Public construction has a proclamation whereas the national school lunch program has served our nation effectively for 76 years through advanced practices and nutrition education and whereas more than 2 400 public and private schools in Wisconsin participate in the national school lunch program and served at least 84 million 953
055meals during the 21-22 school year and whereas Recent research shows students are receiving their healthiest meals at school and there is evidence of continued need for nutrition education and awareness of the value of school nutrition programs and whereas the success of this effort is due largely to resourceful creative local food service administrators managers and staff workers working in cooperation with parents families Teachers Community groups government personnel and students therefore be it resolved that I the state superintendent of Public Instruction she declared October 10th through the 14th 2022 national school lunch week a time to celebrate the importance of program helping keep students nourished so that they can learn so October 10th through the 14th is proclaimed to be national school lunch week and with that I would entertain a motion to Proclaim that so motion
056has been made is there a second second motion has been made in second at all in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed all right it has been proclaimed that October 10th through the 14th is national school lunch week next on the agenda we have our finance committee meeting update Mr Bowman uh we met on October 6th all members were present proper notice was given we approved the minutes our first issue was the uh the issue of mailing checks after review by the Director of Finance so sometimes in the in the past we have waited until this meeting before they could send the checks out we did review the policy 673 and it it does not specifically say that they cannot pay the bills I mean they can pay the bill it specifically says they
057can pay the bills in a timely manner it does not say that they need to be pre-approved by the board so we still need to approve the bills but we are allowing the Director of Finance in alignment with our policy to pay the bills on a weekly basis versus monthly we then approve the tax levy and the budget uh we we gave an initial review of that our next meeting in October will be our budget meeting so we are going to get back together October 20th to see kind of the summary Financial summary for the next year and so that is our next meeting date we did a look at the bills and recommend approval of those and we adjourn so our next meeting will be Thursday October 20th before our budget hearing which is
058in later October any questions of the finance committee say no questions thank you for that update next we have the calendar committee meeting update Mr drost yeah so the calendar committee uh met last Thursday and just as a reminder that's composed of people and representatives from all three grade levels elementary middle and high school and Mr Bowman was there as well typically we develop two one-year calendars so this would have been our year to develop the 23-24 and 24 25 calendars and bring those to you as a board we feel really good about what we have drafted for the 23-24 calendar we are going to investigate potentially seeking a waiver for the 24-25 calendar I need to look into that process more just because the the school year in 24 25 we wouldn't be able
059to start on not being able to start until September 1st we wouldn't be able to start until September 3rd just the way the calendar Falls and so we want to that would really be a year what would maybe make sense to start that last week in August not sure we can seek a way I'm not sure we will be granted a waiver but we're going to look into that but if nothing else I think we're really close to bringing a draft 23-24 calendar to the board I think we would probably see that at the next meeting while we wait for a little more feedback on the 24-25 calendar any questions from the board I would like to add that I appreciate a board member being involved we've always had a good relationship in regards to
060that committee and I thought it worked very well and thank you for organizing that meeting and I appreciate you allowing me to be a part of it okay thank you next the policy and legislative advocacy committee meeting update we've got the second reading of policy 347.2 policy 411 rule one rule 2 exhibit one exhibit two and exhibit three and for the board I just want to uh make sure that there's a clear understanding policy 411 there's a lot of things being said about that policy policy 411 as it stands is not changing it is the addition of uh the exhibit three and Rule two and that is at some point when the student is ready to uh go with a name change in the school district that the parents have to be involved with that
061prior to that our students can reach out to staff members talk to staff members um and those step students do not have do not have to be outed to the parents it's not until they have to change or not until they're ready to change their name that the parents would be included in that conversation it also does not have anything to do there's no changes in anything with the policy that we're looking at tonight that would change how students coming out as gay or lesbian there's nothing changing in that whatsoever so with that is there any questions from the board whatsoever any questions I have a question um I'd like to ask Randy um have you talked to other school districts in our area and how are they addressing this uh sure yes I have
062um just um I did several weeks ago for just to see where they're at um I talked with other school districts in Barron County and a couple of ones just outside Barron County um they do have while they said they don't have a written policy they do bring parents and to have that conversation if if a change is wanting to be made and then I guess I'd like to follow up with that um what do our lawyers and our liability insurance company say about this um and checking with uh different attorneys um yes they would they would um they support moving to the parental notification piece I talked to our liability insurance carrier last week after the last meeting um and he stated you know while they can't tell us what to do they would
063rather see us move in the direction of Parental notification Randy if this was implemented or if this passes tonight how would it be implemented um I would say um and I talked with Kevin about this I would say as a board you can't expect that tomorrow morning um you know everything is going to be uh perfect right off the bat there would be uh parental notification and education on pieces there would need to be staff uh notification education about the process but I would look at as we move into the near future it would be a timeline of implementing this you know and we do have an in-service day a staff in service day coming up as well where we could talk about it more so I wanted to be clear with the board if
064you implement the change you know it's not going to happen tomorrow morning there are some pieces we need to work through any other questions Kevin this is Sarah I apologize I have a bit of a delay here um so but again I have a concern in the past couple weeks um we've gotten a lot of feedback as board members from both students and staff that um they have a lot of questions they have a lot of concerns and they were a lot of them are progressing just more time to have conversations with board members with the administration to really feel like they understand what this means um because really students and staff are going to be the ones who are the most directly affected by this and um I feel like we owe it who
065especially our staff to listen to them to hear their concerns to answer their questions to make sure that they really truly understand what this means for them and what will and won't change for them um I know a few of our staff members or several of them have been asking that we table this and some of our students as well just so those conversations can be had I know we tried to do that in the last two weeks um but I'm getting away from people and I know um you know the staff listening sessions were set up with not a lot of advance notice and so if there's any way that we can table this vote and tell those people are able to have the discussions um and really understand what it is we're trying
066to do here any other questions or comments uh if we find after discussions if we vote let's see if I mean it's a policy and policies can be amended and you find that there's something that you know through this I don't think cabling it necessarily makes it go away so I think if if we find that we proceed with it and there's changes that we all agree that need to be made it's just a policy and we can make those changes at any time this week yeah I agree with that um there's been a lot of discussion about some of the difficult cases and certainly we realize there are difficult cases but we discussed mechanisms to deal with those I think that people a good faith on all sides can always come up with ways
067to fairly address the situation an example I've used is the IEP the independent educational program for students that are having difficulties academically that requires the parents to come in I believe and participate with the staff and student and I don't see why that couldn't be considered just as an example of a model um so like Steve said um there will be things that have to be ironed out a little bit but I think as Kevin said it's most important that a policy began from a position of honesty to not start from that means that we can predict the future and by doing something that we know may not be right that will lead to a better outcome down the road and since we can't predict the future I think it's better just to stay with
068the next step that we know is right um just one other thing I want to say it hasn't been brought up but um I I think sometimes the impression might be there with staff and students that the name change uh that the gender change um is something to be taken lightly um that it's totally reversible and I know that a lot of people disagree but there is usually another side to things and especially with an issue like this I think uh to most reasonable people you say there's got to be another side to things and there are experts that maintain that um affirming does not and world renowned experts experts that have themselves started transgender clinics themselves treated transgender people themselves recommended hormones and surgeries for a few people but still uh follow standard medical
069ethics and say that there has to be a standard evaluation and this is not always the way um so and they will also maintain some serious decision that once it's taken most often leads to hormones into surgery and becomes very life-changing so it is a major decision we have put a lot of thought into it it's not taken lightly we're not making light of any of these students um but I think this is the right place to start for the the right reasons and we go from there I agree that labeling this doesn't make it go away but when I think about you know our mission and our vision and what our role is as a school board and really thinking about the kids and our staff as well I feel like we owe it
070to the kids and the staff to at least feel like they've been heard and they understand what this means for them um and that is why I think it's really important that we table it out I know nobody wants to drag this out this isn't a fun process for anyone obviously but I think it's really important that we support our students and staff and feeling like they're valued and they're heard and they're understood and their questions have been answered any other discussion I'd like to say um Sarah I I agree with you as far as um there's a lot of emotion in this there's a lot of concerns different concerns different viewpoints and we certainly want to hear those and respect those but I think the main thing that we have to remember is this
071really comes down to a legal risk for us this is about parents rights and parents rights have never lost in the courts and now that we have studied this and realized the risk that we face if we don't revise it now that will put us in the position of being intentionally negligent to our taxpayers and putting them at risk of lawsuits and I just don't think that's responsible foreign thoughts from the board there has been some discussion to table that is there a motion to move forward with the table I would make a motion to table this and tell our next meeting motion has been made is there a second to table this for two weeks sin no second that motion will fall short and with that I'll bring it back to the policies 347.2
072policy 411 rule one rule two exhibit one exhibit two and exhibit three with that I would entertain a motion to approve those policies rules and Exhibits I moved to approve those policies rules and Exhibits motion has been made as our second motion has been made and seconded all in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed the motion carries those policies rules and Exhibits have been approved and with that we will move on to our information section Communications committee meeting minutes Communications committee met on Tuesday September 27th we always start with reports from the Middle School leadership team High School leadership team and Elementary leadership teams and talking about they all talked about start of the year and in service days and plans moving forward fast Bridge assessments those pieces and then uh additional agenda items
073we talked about communication pieces so ready to roll out the communication guidelines that we had worked on with the donor group last spring the communication in trumnat site is ready to go be sharing that out in a in the next staff update and just looked at our meetings for the remainder of the year which are November January and May foreign all right thank you for that update third Friday enrollment September 16th numbers yeah so with that as far as actual students in seats um it's basically the same as last year a difference of one uh you will notice though that our FTE count for the revenue limit is actually up uh by nine total students and that was due to increases in summer school and so two years ago basically we had no summer school
074last year of better attendance and strong attendance for summer school this year and that helped significantly jump all right any questions on third Friday enrollment numbers okay the upcoming meeting schedule we've got on Wednesday October 12th here at in town we have the WSB 2022 fall regional meeting that starts as a pre-regional meeting seminar that starts at 4 30 and then the regular meeting regional meeting starts at six uh if you can attend that please let Colleen know so she can get you registered for that and then public participation at the board meetings online event for Wednesday October 12th at 12 noon registration is required if you can attend that online event please let Colleen know so she can get you registered then there's a legal and legislative video update on Wednesday October 19th at
075noon no registration is required for that and then we have on Tuesday November 15th over at Turtle Lake at seesaw 11 the fall at uh advis advocacy Workshop connecting with lawmakers and then we have the legal and legislative video update coming back to us again November 16th no registration required for that and then finally the wasb education convention down in Milwaukee on January 17th through the 20th you can attend any of those that need registration please let clean know as soon as possible so she can get you signed up with that Mr Goss the upcoming events for the district lots of things always happening in the district for those uh families with Elementary children we have family math and literacy nights uh coming up here in next week in the coming weeks uh there's free
076books a light dinner uh parents would have been emailed received an email at home they need to we'd prefer that they RSVP so it can staff members can plan but Tanner and hoggin are having those uh next or this week on October 13th and Hilltop is having theirs on October 27th so family math and literacy nights always a great time a reminder Monday October 17th so a week from tonight if you have elementary students in the district that's an elementary only in-service date so no school for elementary students uh next uh next Monday as far as High School athletics Lots going on as they work to wrap up that fall season girls golf has been has wrapped up their successful season 10 us is coming to the end of their great season now I had
077a doubles team qualify for the state tournament later this week volleyball boys soccer boys and girls cross country football began Regional and or sectional competitions next week and girls swimming will their season goes a little bit longer they will be ending their regular season soon look on our Facebook page if you need help with raking I don't know a ton about it yet I didn't have a chance to talk to Mr schradle but October 23rd I believe that's a Sunday Rice Lake High School student council is doing a rake and run and so if you need some help raking your yard reach out check our Facebook page out now there's a sign up form there and then October 27th uh maybe an event that's always seen a ton of support in the community the empty
078bowls fundraiser so it's going to be right here in the Rice Lake High School cafeteria beginning at 4 30. a number of people in the community make bowls for that event a number of businesses donate Soup for the night and dozens of people help out with the planning for that and I know Miriam and Steve are big parts of that help out with the planning for that and the follow through and carrying out a great event that raises that's the main fundraiser for the backpack program for the year so coming up October 27th all right thank you for that any questions with that I would entertain a motion to adjourn my turn motion has been made is there a second motion has been made and seconded we are adjourned thank you everyone