Monthly Board of Education Meeting, 5/19/2025

001regular meeting of the River Falls board of education. This meeting has been properly notified and we will begin with the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Do we have the clipboard? I don't think that anyone has signed up. So that means we don't have any visitors or delegations who would like to address the board. So we will move on toformational items. And the first one is Wildcat Pride Award. Go for Addie. All right. So we have a Wildcat Pride Award for Addison Rice. Come on up. So, as you know, she was our student representative, and we would like to express our gratitude for your participation as a

002student representative on the school district of River Falls School Board. You have shown excellent student student leadership during your tenure. Your hard work and dedication have been greatly appreciated. On behalf of the school board and the Riverfall School District, we congratulate you on your achievement and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Addison, you are a true ambassador of Wildcat Pride. Congratulations. Addie, you've really done a great job representing the school and the connection that you have to the student council has been really effective for us. You've also had excellent attendance. So, thank you very much. Um, you've um been patient with us as we've waited through a variety of issues. So, I I you've brought some cheer to us and some good perspective, and I definitely hope that you've learned something about

003public service and education. And make sure that you take your name tag with you. I'm not exactly sure where that can go on a dorm, but I'm sure you find for it. All right. Good. All right. Now, we are going to move on to administrative reports. And you're up right away. Um, yes. So tonight I'm just going to start off with some updates on a lot of events that have taken place for the seniors. Um recently, a few weeks ago, the seniors had a scholarship banquet where many students got the opportunity to receive financial aid to further support their plans for the future. And then last Wednesday, the senior banquet also took place. And this week is the senior's last full week of school. And everyone is preparing for graduation on June 1st. And then

004since this is last week for senior student council is having a spring fling week which will have lots of fun dress up days activities and then the pepfest on Friday. And the last of AP testing is wrapping up this week for high school students. And although these last few weeks have been very busy, we are all looking forward to the exciting events coming up ahead. And aside from my updates, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for having me as a member of the school board this year. and I feel like I've really learned and grown and I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, we have some wig updates from our elementary folks here. I can start. All

005right. Good evening everyone. Uh we are going to give you an update on our elementary wildly important goal. Uh we set our goal uh over the summer, right? Yes. Can I ask you a question? Sure. Just for the benefit of the people who are watching on TV because I know people are. Can you guys introduce yourselves and and say what your role is just as you start and then people who are watching on TV could know? Yep. So I'm Kate Scapple. I'm the principal at Greenwood. I'm Ashley Bangenheimimer, principal at Rocky Branch. Kai Rogers, the principal at the Monasuri. And Rachel Mater, principal at Westside. All right. So last summer, we worked together to set an elementarywide goal. It's a three-year goal. So it will uh wrap up in the spring of 2027. And our

006goal is that 100% of our elementary students will either be proficient or they will exceed their yearly growth goal on foundational skills as measured by our screening assessments. when we wrote this goal, we didn't actually know what our tool was going to be yet um thanks to some decision makers above us um at the state level. So, we were kind of we wrote a goal that would fit with any tool that we are um that we were given. So, um we are using Ames Webb Plus for K3 and then this year we used FastBridge for um grades four and five because it's what we had used in the past and act 20 requires us to follow um the ASW web plus for grades K through three. um a little asterisk there. For 2025, 2026, we

007will be using Ames Web Plus for K through five. We had a pretty significant desire to be on the same system, K5. And so, we kind of talked with teachers and worked with Mary, Beth, and Amy over the school year to determine that we would all move to one platform next year. Uh we'll use kind of what we learned this year to head into next year and and learn more about that system as well. uh a little bit more about our wildly important goal. We identified that goal by looking at trend data over the last few years. Uh we had forward data, we had fast bridge data that we looked at and kind of seen that our um reading achievement had been pretty stagnant over the last few years and saw a desire to uh

008work really diligently on our reading um instruction. Not only that, but we were implementing a new reading curriculum. So, it was the perfect year to hyperfocus on our reading instruction. So, um all of this is pretty much a repeat from the last couple times we gave you an update. Um so, what you really want to hear is how did it go, right? So, that's a perfect segue over to my friend Ashley Benheimer. Yeah, I only get one slide, but I'll mine are really good slides. Mine were really good. No. Yes. Um this table shows our um students who scored proficient this spring. Um as well as the next um column over is students a combined total for students who are either proficient or exceeded their growth goal. And our growth was just from winter to

009spring this year because we did not do a fall screener. So we're one curiosity we have is just how this will look next year when we have the three testing windows. But um the average proficiency was 72% and then if you included the students who exceeded their growth goal, we were at 82.7%. So we were happy with being over 80% in our first year of a three-year goal. Um and it was interesting just to see how the different grades kind of shook out. And we have data that dives into schools and classrooms and all of that as well, but this this is a nice um picture of what we have this year. Am I next? I think so. Oh yeah, I wrote a lot of notes just because it's Monday. Um, so just so that's

010all our lag data just, you know, how our year went and where we're at and we feel like we're off to a good start. You know, three buildings having new curriculum and implementing that and um our building kind of doing a new way of getting in those extra supports within the classroom, just real targeted supports. So all of that combined, we're feeling really good about the year. Um, we learned a lot. that's for certain. Um, and we have a lot of obstacles that we kind of need to assess and we just need to kind of start digging in further and and um kind of working through some of them. So, you know, to start, our teachers and coaches did a heavy lift this year and they did a great job. You know, overall it was

011a really big deal to not only adopt curriculum, but having a new screener and having a new personal reading plan system and getting them out within so many days. And there was just a lot of moving parts. And as Kate kind of mentioned, the the whole idea of what was coming from the state, it was coming at us so quickly that it was even hard for us to respond to be able to put that into practice. So overall, I think we've just feel really fortunate and grateful for the work that was done at our building levels. Um, you know, one of the biggest things I think that we learned is that Ames Webb is tends to be challenging. I mean, overall it it's a a challenging platform. Um, it doesn't work as well in some

012ways to kind of get data and and be able to synthesize that and really look at um things that that students individually need. So, we're we're still learning. Um, we want to become more proficient and I think that's one of the biggest takeaways of this year is that we as a team and, you know, kind of our data teams at each building really want to kind of dive into how Ames Web can better work for us. Um, I guess that is also on top of the fact that next year we're going to be including fourth and fifth grade. So, we really want to be able to do that, you know, for our whole entire school. Um but our goals really for next year is to um create a usable tool um to to really look

013at measuring student growth. Right now we are basically using calculators and and it wasn't really efficient. Um nor it may not have even been the same between buildings. You know there's just a lot of things that we're not sure if we got it right. Um so kind of taking a deep dive on that. Also we want to make sure that we're going to collaborate and and touch base with Mark Enu. um and look at our students and individuals with intellectual disabilities because it's just a real it it's just really hard to kind of measure growth and and we want to make sure that we're taking all factors into consideration and working with him to make that happen. Um we also want to make sure that we're having conversations around our time frame. So is it

014most impactful for us to be looking at the beginning of the year to the end of the year? Is it most impactful to look, you know, from fall to spring or fall to winter or over how many years? So, there's just a lot of things like that that we want to address um and really kind of work through. Also, just we're going to continue that continue that creation of the personal reading plans and try to streamline that as much as we can for teachers. I think even between the the winter window and the spring window, we learned a lot and we were able to make things a lot easier. Um teachers were really appreciative of that. you know, even though we were adding more things on in the spring than we had in the winter,

015it just went smoother for them. You know, once you start practicing something, then it then it gets easier anyways. Um, but still working on that. And also, we know that we're going to have to start looking at the implications of the promotion policy going to fourth and fifth grade. So, um, just a lot of things that we're still kind of muddling through as a group. And luckily, we all love each other, so it's going to go well. All right. And then I am last. Um, one of the things we asked our VLTS to do this year, apparently you're too far away. I got it. There we go. Thank you. That's your last one. Yeah, it's last slide. So, that first of all, one of the things we asked our teams within each of our buildings

016to do this year was commit to lead measures, which we also did. Um, I know talking with my BLT on Friday last week, people are excited to kind of readjust and invigorate this school in the fall just because again this year has been so much learning with so much new to be really purposeful next year is really exciting. And so we are kind of starting the conversations to do that as well as a team. We took time um to reflect together on how things went this year, but know that we want to continue tweak and having really impactful lead measures for next year. So, some of the things that we said for this year were really tied to our district um report card and making sure that we were not only doing what the goals

017that Dave and our administrative team had set, but the goals that we wanted in Act 20 and all of those things. And so, um reflecting on those, one of the things that we had talked about was the collaboration meetings and we feel like we've kind of checked that box this year. We're still working on refining and making that the most effective use of time possible for student learning. Um, but we feel like we've grown a lot just in terms of ensuring that that's a practice we protect in our buildings. We're really trying to make sure teachers have the time to talk about formative data to have coaches and reading interventionists and us as part of those meetings to collaborate and get the best tools for our teachers. Um, next year is something that we've talked

018about. So, you'll see that middle column is kind of our pause point for right now, but then we're already starting to brainstorm for next year. One thing we've been talking a lot about is just bringing back data digs. Um, historically, our buildings have taken the time to really dive into reading and math data and because of personal reading plans that kind of took over that practice. And so, we want to just pause and make sure we're doing that in a really purposeful way. And so, that's one thing that we're looking at doing alongside that. We really want to look at our data protocols that we're using. Like Kai said, we're all collaborating, giving, and sharing ideas, but trying to have some level of continuity between all of our buildings as we move forward feels really

019important, too. So looking at those data practices more specifically because we know the meetings are protected. Teachers have bought in and are doing that work already. Um another one of our lead measures for this year like has been talked about a couple of times was um SIPS and UFly. SIPS was new as part of our curricular implementation at the elementary level. It's gone really well. We've seen a lot of student growth come there. We've seen reading interventionists start to trickle back the conversations of okay, we've used this for the year. Now what if this isn't working? So our pause for next year is just continuing those fidelity checks on those interventions, but also just looking at what other things have we used historically that we hit the pause button with this year that might need

020to come back if students need them for next year. Uh the implementation has felt really strong at our buildings and I know the transparent classroom has gone well at Monasuri. Um we're all looking at using the fall as a launch point to say and now what? Right? That work's not done after year one. Like check it's implemented. Uh so really making sure we have intentional professional development for our teachers. Um one of the other act 20 requirements that we kind of pushed pause on this year was top 10 tools. Our teachers have been doing it to check the box, but we know that we want to bring that back kind of with a vengeance because we know it's a really important tool in our teachers professional knowledge. And so bringing that back to have collaborative

021conversations building and districtwide because that is a really worthwhile training that has been more box checky than purposeful this year. So bringing that back and then the last thing is the child study implementation at the monastery. We use SST processes at the other three buildings. That's gone really well in general. I think that's a process people have defaulted to. They're using each other and the people in the building to do what we can to support students. But we want to look at how those processes align with our goals. How do they work with reading plans? If and when are we using those processes for our students? So really taking the time as a team to look big picture on how the implementation of those things have gone. So all four of our buildings are planning

022to use some version of a summer building leadership team meeting to start digging into lead measures but really also dive into this data. They have they've done this kind of data dig work to give us data for the wildly important goal. But again taking the time to pause and look big picture and say what are our implications? How are we measuring growth? What new tools do we need? And really have conversations purposely with teachers to make sure that we're doing the right things to support the work that they're doing. We feel like there's been a lot of really great growth this year from teachers, but now we're at a point where we feel like we can keep that momentum moving um to make some really positive tweaks instead of full system changes like we've had

023to do this year, which we're excited about. Feels like it might not be as big of a lift. So, it's exciting to be So, yeah, that is our last slide. We'd love to answer any questions if there are any about the work that we've done with our teachers and our students this year. I don't have any questions, but I just want to um note that this is really important work that you all are doing. I said at our programming meeting, one of the most important things that we do in our school district is teach kids how to read. And it's important K through 12 that we're focused on that, but it's really important at the elementary level. So, I'm so thankful that you all have rolled up your sleeves and fully committed to this wig

024because it's really, really important. Um, I also appreciate just your transparency and walking us through this entire year, recognizing, as Kai said, this is a big lift. There are a lot of moving pieces and a lot of things coming at you and your staff members. Um, but it sounds like you've done some good work and you're ready to hit the ground running next year. And I know I'm we all are excited to to have you back and see where you land next year and and all the great things that you and your teams are doing. So, thank you for this. Thank you. Thanks. Did you want to say something? Yeah, I D Lindsay said it really well. One of the things I've I often comment on and it's just so obvious here. It's so important

025what we do is what I call horizontal alignment in our curriculum. We have vertical alignment so we know what's going. But the fact that we have all four elementary principles here all on the same page, all talking about the same thing, all cooperating means that that helps us keep all four of our elementary schools because they all feed into just one middle school and one high school. So it's so important. I you you've continued to talk a lot about data, which is one part of it, but also staff and staff development, which it's the mixture of the two. It's that that's the magic, right? Um you got good data and you got good staff and they know what they're doing and you can make progress on this. So, keep doing what you're doing. This sounds

026really good. Thank you for being here, for your work. It is it's really gratifying to see the collaboration that you have too because you although you're not all brand new to the district. You are new to working together as a team and clearly you're doing that well. So thank you very much. I have two additional questions of just clarification. So you talked about that um Caillou mentioned that as web plus is challenging. I'm assuming you mean the technology around it is challenging. you're not concerned that it's too challenging for our students. It's the use of it. So, I think that just to make sure that everybody listening understands that. Yeah, that is a good go for it. I would say very specifically in the reporting functionality of Ames Webb, we were using FastBridge, which was

027very user friendly in terms of measuring growth, having norms, being able to like visually pull up a report and be like, "These kids made their growth rule." Ames Web on the other hand is not quite as neat and clean and easy to find that sort of data. And so when we wrote that goal, not knowing which system we would be in, we didn't know the amount of hand calculations it was going to take us to actually measure our goal. And couple of there could be a couple of reasons for that. One is that we didn't have a fall testing window. Um and so measuring winter to spring growth is a little bit more challenging than fall to spring growth. So that's part of it. Um so we're hoping that the reporting for fall to spring

028will be a little bit more um robust in the system once we have used it for a year. We shall see. Um I'll add to that too, Kate. I think one thing that has made this difficult like we talked about was the use of two screeners. The people that we refer to as our data experts like our school psychologists and our instructional coaches while amazing also have a certain level of capacity too. So to ask them to you know be fluent in both systems feels really difficult. So I think even just the removal of that second screener will help with that fatigue next year so that we can really hone in on using that reporting intentionally or at that point saying what reports and spreadsheets can we create of our own to track because I

029think some of that may be required regardless of the screening tool that we use. And I think the other part of it comes more on the state side as well where the the state is asking us to only look at certain subtests for um personal reading plans. what qualifies for a personal reading plan, but that doesn't give the necessarily the whole picture of a child's ability or or non-ability to read. And so for us, it's wanting to do those deep dives into what do they really need and and not being able to kind of access that um readily has been a challenge for everybody working with students right now. So again, hoping hoping when we have full data that that will change. Um I guess we shall see. It's one of the challenges when the

030tool is picked for you. Yes. Because we went away from Ames Webb for likely some of these reasons. Correct. The other thing is Rachel, could you just remind us I can't remember if I've heard it. Top 10 tools. Yeah. Top 10 tools is one of the required components of ACT 20. Um, anybody who services students in reading in grades K through three is required to have training through act 20 on the science-based reading instruction. So, top 10 tools is a course that our teachers have taken. And it's all asynchronous for students. Okay. So that's the name of the course. Yes. Yep. So the course coaches have been really helpful trying to help people go through that. There's quizzes after each of the 10 tools. And so because teachers have been self-paced and started at different

031times based on their cohort. Um it's kind of been a hodgepodge of knowledge this year. So now that everybody will be trained for next year, we'll be able to kind of move forward purposefully with all of us being on the same page with some of that. I didn't remember that that was called that. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I bet you're excited for having gone through this whole thing one time, right? As a new team, as all these new resources in place. And so, no new team members. No, I would say well, thank you for your work. Thank you for being here and for a helpful presentation. Thank you. Thank you. All right, superintendent, now you get to follow up about parking. It's not as exciting as uh yeah, so each each month I have a report

032that I prepare. Sometimes we're talking about things like uh implementation plan. Sometimes we're highlighting uh specific um departments or initiatives. Um and and over the past month, something that's kind of come up quite a bit is is parking, right? So, it seemed like a good idea just to address it with the board so everybody's aware of uh specifically high school parking uh for co-curricular events in the back. Um, and so uh while we all kind of roll our eyes, it is actually an important element of of what we what we do and offer and it's very tied close to our um strategic plan about access and and um learning beyond the classroom. So there there are connections too. Um and I also know that that there's probably some frustration. So I kind of wanted to

033just take some time to go through it. So um so a brief history of parking behind RFHS. So from 2001 to 2019, so when the school was built up until 2019, there were no parking lots in the back near the baseball and softball field. So really there was only authorized vehicles that could go back up. That meant the norm was players, spectators, buses, and coaches in their cars all use the existing lot that's behind the high schools where like the uh teachers park basically. Um and then they had to walk to the field. And it is it is a little bit of a a walk. Um um but it is also not outside of the realm of the number of steps you would take if you for example had to park near the back and

034had to walk in for a basketball game or had to park in the back of the lot of a full lot and had to get to the to the soccer field. So while it's far and there is no close accessible parking um uh it it isn't out of sync with maybe some other steps that people would have to take to access uh their events. Everybody recognized it as a as an issue for two decades. Uh so as part of the 2018 referendum, there was a small little uh small lot built adjacent to the baseball and softball fields. And to access that lot, uh cars had to use South View Road. So couple pictures. First of all, I just love that picture. It's a great spot of our our campus. We're really fortunate to have a

035very large uh campus in the back with lots of fields. Um so what we're focusing in on think I can use this if I can't. So, what we're focusing in on is is is the far back where the the courts are, and you can kind of see where that access road is. Um, this one is probably a better view uh from the from Google maps of it. So, we have um the current lot which is located by the baseball fields is that small uh little lot located. Yeah, I just want I want the pointer there so uh if people look back. So, um, that is the lot that we're talking about that was added in 2018. And so, you can see the access road that was there that comes off of South View Road. And

036so, um, it was a great addition. It is a great addition. It allows cars to get back there. Um, and so we saw that as a big plus, uh, for accessibility to those, uh, baseball and softball fields in the back. That was that was Raleigh Hall. So, Raleigh Hall and I worked on that. I mean, Raleigh is rolling over in his grave when we start to shut that down. You worked so hard to get that because there were there were issues and that I'll tell you there was not the only place people parked. There was a people parked if you look up that platform. That platform up up there what became kind of a de facto parking lot. Can you point to that man? I don't know what they're talking about. Right there. Right here.

037Right there. That that was that was where if you were playing in one of these two fields that was that was the prime parking spot. So that became an issue. Big issue. So then people started using that and then when it filled up it parked all the way kind of down that little road there. So there was a ton of issues before with not just the the farwalk but people take the path to least resistance and that they were parking in the grass there and it became quite a hazard. Yep. So the addition is great Raleigh. The addition was great. Right. Uh and and we and we truly do believe that it it it helped in lots of different ways, but it's a small lot and it's limited capacity creates issues anytime we have more

038than probably one event back there because the lot fills up very quickly. And then what happens is cars choose to park in spots that are specifically designated not to spark not to park. So on the grass, which can be frustrating but survivable um along one or both sides of the access roads, which is less desirable because that can that congestion poses safety risk for vehicles. The other place that they park is not in the designated spots, but around the perimeter of it, and that makes it impossible for cars to get in and around. So we get cars that are double parked, they get stuck, they can't move around, and and that congestion creates issues. Um uh then obviously for vehicles and pedestrians who are trying to get to the field and then obviously for emergency

039situations accessing the ball field is is tricky. So um the other thing is that uh there's no parking on Southfield Road and it's not really I mean I'm defending cars here. It's not terribly intuitive that if you go down there and you attempt to park and it's full that you got to circle all the way back. You got to go all the way down south view especially if you're a visitor and then go back into the parking lot at the high school. So um so then cars say I don't know where to park. I'll park here. And and again it is understandable. Um um but really what we have is a lot that aided in a problem but it probably didn't um create enough space to solve that problem. So then the next question is

040why so small? Well, in the mindset of 2019, we wanted to make sure that we kept field space prioritized. So a larger lot built off of the high school lot would have required removing a field. and that was considered but but ultimately not uh selected. So if you go back to this one um uh if we could have if we would have just tore up a field um we could have added some space uh and made a much bigger lot but we prioritize keeping all of those fields available. Um, and so in the in the kind of hindsight of what happened when we added the turf field, um, we probably could have taken one of those fields and and made it into a larger parking lot because of how how much our turf field gets

041used now. Which one's the field? So, it's the the by the track. By the track. Okay. So, Oh, that's true. Okay. So, thank you. because that field has a lot of advantages from a playability. It's always available like tomorrow it's going to rain all day tomorrow, right? Well, on Wednesday that field will be ready to go, right? And so that piece of it makes it very uh desirable to use for soccer teams, football teams, um uh marching band, anyone, right? So since those are that since that field is used so much, we've kind of tracked our usage rates and we said, "Well, and and with the benefit of hindsight, we probably could have had a bigger lot." We didn't know that then and and that's why we have the lot that we have and the

042issues that we have. The other thing um why is it such why is it such a big problem right now? Well um it's always been an issue, right? However, the number of youth events have increased significantly over the last 10 years and local youth sports clubs have access to these facilities at no cost. We love that. Uh that's unique. Most school districts charge for this type of access and that revenue could be used technically to maybe build some some more parking. We don't do that. that we don't see that as uh desirable. I would say that David Cray has communicated with the local youth sports club and while maybe the users have been frustrated, the the club has been supportive of of what we're trying to do um and kind of understanding of some of

043the logistical issues that that come forth. I know the users are frustrated. I'm not trying to diminish that. Um but the here's the here's the issue, right? You have more youth events happening at the same time that our high school events are happening. So So you have this double whammy, right? It uh it's like two church services, right? If you hit it wrong, you're at the part where everyone's still there for the first church service and not the second one. So, the same thing happens here. We still have the high school cars back there and now here come the youth cars and then there's no place to park. Um, and even if they even if we had like a little separation, we could maybe fit everybody. It doesn't work. So, we're proud of the expansion

044um of having more youth access, but it does not come with logistical issues and resource burdens on the district. And this is an example of it. The other layer is we've got construction projects in the back, right? We have the tennis courts and we have the multi-purpose edition which makes it even harder to navigate that of like, well, can I walk here? Is this even legal for me to walk here? They're putting in a tennis court. Um, so again, we we fully recognize that there's been some tricks tricky pieces. So, the the short-term solution that we've implemented is that the lot's closed to to regular spectator parking. The access road is still open. We don't want and and have never wanted parking on South View or on on the on the access road because of

045the access issues that it creates and the congestion that it creates. There's no real walking paths there, so people are walking on that road. Um the lot is open though and it's it's uh accessible for authorized vehicles, coaches, fire, ambulance, police, uh vehicles with handicap per uh permits and then and then for drop off and pickup. So, uh, if you're running a little late, I know families are never running a little late, but if you happen to be running a little late, you need to drop your child off, uh, you can do that. If you're bringing somebody who has mobility issues, maybe not a handicap permit, but mobility issues, you can pull in, drop them right off, and then pull back out, um, and park behind in the high school lot. That's the expectation. And

046so, since that's been implementated implemented, um, there's been, um, less issues with parking on South View. there's been less congestion issues of of worrying about people getting people in and out. Um, but we've had issues of people still sort of taking rules into their own hands and then that creates frustration because we have the line sure of people following the rules and then a few people choosing not to follow the rules and some some of it is well intended. They might be visitors who don't really grasp it or don't really care because it's like I'm here for a couple hours and then I'm out of here. So, uh, we're balancing a little bit of that. Um, and we continue to to look at the situation and try to to to figure out solutions. We've had

047conversations about, well, could we could we make some of the green space available parking um, for for larger events? And there's just a general fear that if we do that, if we open up green space, um, cars will, if you, you know, give a little bit that, again, some of it is it would have to be very closely monitored with attendance and and, um, we just don't have the manpower for that. So, but we'll continue to look at it. So, that's kind of the short-term solution. And this just highlights what what we what I just verbally said. And then, uh, some signage has been put up to to kind of help encourage people to understand where they can park and where they can't park. And then the long-term PE pieces, uh, we have to decide

048as a school district if converting a field into parking is desired. Um, and I think this is one of those things where the need is there, right? That's self-evident. So, it's just are we going to prioritize having field space or parking space? Um, and then if if it is desired, then develop a plan that increases parking that is closer to the baseball and softball fields. Uh, and I would say another key piece of this is to provide access to that parking lot through the high school lot, not via South View. Um, because then it'll become more intuitive where to park, right? It will be, it's not very intuitive right now that I have to go around there and then if I can't go there, then I got to come back in here. And I tell

049you what, I've been doing you sports for a long time. Most high schools are not intuitive. Like most of the time you get trapped into some like it's probably like a bus lane. You're like, "Oh, I don't know what I'm supposed to do." So like we're not that's not a unique thing to have non-intuitive parking, but if we could improve it, that would be good. Um and then uh the other big thing is looking to incorporate some of these parking solutions with what we've already been exploring with bus lane and pickup and drop off. And I don't want to take us off the rails with this conversation, but um one thing that we've to, you know, best practice would be to kind of have buses in and out in one section and cars in and

050out at another section. And what we don't have, we don't have that right now. We have parent pickup and drop off that exit and depart on one access point on Cemetery Road. And then the buses and student parking kind of use that other one. So, if a solution could be created that would have us have only buses come in and out on one of those and only only parent pickup and high school student uh drivers cars in the other one. Um, as well as kind of expanding and maybe having that pickup and drop off be in the back where then that parking could be used for events is the things that we that's what we've talked about. So, if the plan's developed and approved, it would be added to the 10-year capital improvement plan. doesn't

051mean it would be 10 years from now. We look at these plans once we kind of have an idea of how much they cost and we prioritize them with the other things that are already on the plan. Um and then we would bring that to the board for approval as uh as as we are available to do with with the revenue that we have. Um this isn't part of the referendum. So it's not like we could we could you know say well we're not going to do that. We'll just do this because now we found that as important. This would have to be a non-referendum project. So, that's kind of the short and long term of it. Again, I understand it's frustrating frustrating for people, but we're working very hard to make sure that we

052have a safe and accessible lot. Um, and right now the size just with the need isn't isn't quite all the way there. So, there you go. I know not quite as exciting as reading, but also but also important as a district to talk about. You know, it I I really appreciate all your work and attention to this because if there's one thing that I've observed is that it's hard to get the whole community really fired up about the curriculum discussion we just had. Okay. But screw up parking for the events and suddenly you got people hot all over the place and it's just it's it's just the way the world works. But and and you got to kind of do that because parking is an issue regardless with your office at at your home on

053the street, you know, street going shopping, parking is just always an issue, especially in a community like this. So, we'll never meet it. One of my concerns always is with all the youth sports stuff is regardless of what level, it seems like there are always little kids darting in around. And I'm just amazed with all the youth sports, the tournaments and stuff goes on that we don't have more accidents with little kids because it's all around. So, it's a safety issue, not just a convenience issue. And we want to keep them off the turf and all that. And one of the things I've also observed is that we could probably double our fields and have them all used. Yep. It's just the more we build, the more um more people will come. So, it's it's

054and our philosophy about this is it's great to have kids involved in all of that and we're providing it free of charge, but it does create some significant issues and some distractions for our administrators and staff um that pulls them away from some other things. So, I get it because I've been frustrated many times too trying to park at at youth sports activities. Dave, do we have um some kind of professional assistance and looking at traffic flow, parking options? Yeah. So, we we've had conversations like highle conversations with uh Bray who's helping us with the referendum just to say, "Hey, what are some give us some napkin sketches broad?" So, like so we can get an idea of what things would cost because if it's cost prohibitive, we don't really want to invest that money.

055Um but so that's that's what we've talked about. How much room do we have here? It would be interesting to have flow so you could go around the school kind of that has been brought up too. right now you can't go around the school and it would be interesting to hear pros and cons of of why we would want to do that or maybe why we wouldn't want to do that. Um but yeah, that has been brought up too is you can't do the perimeter of the school. Can't you drive on the sidewalk Friday night after a football game there might be some good role models for that. That is true. Thinking about emergency and fire access and things like that. Good point. So, thank you. Well, change takes time and I assume as each

056new sport comes, they can maybe orient parents at that time and help people to get this primarily a spring issue. Baseball, softball. Yeah, this is this is when it's the biggest in summer. That's Yes, for sure. Baseball, softball are the biggest. Yep. So, thank you very much. All right, we're going to move on to action items before the board this evening. We have meeting minutes from the April 21st regular board of education meeting. We have minutes from the reorganizational meeting on April 28th. We also have bills that have been submitted for payment as well as employment recommendations. So is there a motion to approve minutes, bills, and employment as presented in our book? So move second Lindsay. Yep. Allison, any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. Thank you everyone. I

057will turn to you Ellen for an educational program committee update. Yes. Um we've got some policies that um on May 5th we had a really good ed programs committee meeting. Actually we had which followed a really good one in April. Um and we've been talking about these policies a lot. This is part of most of this is just updating the policies but also making sure that they work for us involve and accommodate parent knowledge, parent involvement, um how efficient we are with how we process and implement these policies, all of that. So, we've been talking about it a lot. Uh we had a very good presentation at our committee meeting and we're going to do this probably in two pieces tonight. Um, and Mary Beth is going to walk us through this, but I think

058we'll talk we'll we'll probably act on the first two, one and two together and then three, four, and five together. So, if I could ask you to hold your questions until um the presentation is done, then we'll move in second and talk about the motion and then we'll go into the second part of the presentation and move in second. So, these aren't coming forward because there's some particular emergency or there's some problem with them. This has been part of our genu general review, but this is one that really needed some updating and some real thorough conversation and understanding of where everybody is at and where what the district is doing in this. And so we've made some changes accordingly. So I'll let Mary Beth, you take over and we'll start with the first part. And

059I have two hands going for both clickers. So going to try not to get lost. So, as Alan said, on May 5th, um, at the Ed CRO Ed Procommittee meeting, we reviewed the reading and early literacy policy and plans. Um, there we go. The first policy reviewed was 341.1 and the title of it was reading instruction, which we renamed that policy to be district early literacy um, reading plan. Uh as a reminder, last year legislators passed Act 20. The policy, this policy, the reading instruction policy was updated to meet the state statutes from act 20. Uh we had an outdated reading instruction policy. The revised policy was completely rewritten to meet the new state statutes. And I think you heard some of the administrators talk about the act 20 pieces. a lot of the pieces

060um in the beginning of the school year were still not in play. So they didn't note the heavy lift that they also had as educational leaders in the district to help the um to help as a building team for their buildings but also as a district team. How do we play all these pieces out? It was a huge lift for each of them as leaders in their building and as educational leaders in the district. The revised policy was um has been completely re rewritten specifically to address early readiness assessments, a remediation plan, and the parent uh notification process. So, part of the statutes require an annual board uh review of the early literacy reading plan, also known as ELRP. During the re um EDP pro committee, we discussed each one of these sections that you

061see listed on the slide. This is a documentation of several processes that we already had in place as well as a few new items. Two notable additions based on act 20 were the personal reading plan and the promotion policy. Each of these sections are required by DPI to meet the act 20 statute. And this is a 15page document that you have access to in um our our agendas that has to be reviewed each year by the board. So we'll see this annually come forward. So the first policy um so that was the first policy was that reading early remediation policy the ELRP plan as a part of that policy. The next policy that we discussed was the promotion policy and I think I uh made mention of it. It's a third to fourth grade promotion

062and retention policy that act 20 asks us to have. They recognize the importance, and Lindsay mentioned this, of students being able to read at a third grade level. The purpose of this policy is not to create a focus on retention, but rather to initially to intentionally address supports for students not yet at grade level. So each year, it's not just a third grade piece. This is every single year. But at third grade, we have to make the decision to promote or to retain a team. The piece that we wanted to note in the third to fourth grade promotion policy, we're asking for it to be board approved by July of 2025. it does not go into effect until September of 2027 because that will give current kindergarteners the opportunity to have uh to have the

063full impact of our intentional early literacy instruction. So, we have supports right now that are in place, but we'll continue to put more communication plans and professional development in place in the upcoming school years. We have other promotion policies that exist. Some of these promotion policies are a bit outdated. Um, but due to timeliness, we'll look at those in the upcoming months, but we didn't have the opportunity to review them at the same time as putting forward this policy. So, that is Are there any question any questions on those two policies? I'll move that we approve the first reading of revised school board policy 41.1, early literacy program 341.1, excuse 341, excuse me. And um also the first reading of new schoolboard policy 345.46, third grade to fourth grade promotion and retention. I will second

064that. Thank you. Questions or comments? So um first off this um just so it's clear to everybody when we talk about on 345.46 third grade to fourth grade promotion and retention. In this case retention is has a different meaning than most people might um be used to. Retention means is is means the same as hold back. Okay. So this third to fourth grade promotion is the kids are either um the new law requires us if they don't meet the standards to hold them back and it's referred to as retention. Now what the policy that we've got here is to make sure that our students can move from third to fourth grade so that we're not facing that. But I think for parents especially, they need to know that state law now requires that there's a

065threshold here from third to fourth grade that our students need to be at. And it's absolutely critical in my mind that parents are partners in especially in their early years in helping kids learn to read. Um and I know having been a parent three times over and grandparent and all those and being involved in this so many times. If there's one thing that almost every parent can do, it's help their kid learn to read. Helping them learn math is a whole another issue for most parents. And I think a lot of them get concerned or even science or other kinds of things. But reading and um being involved in your kids um literacy development is something that parents can be involved with. So I think we've done a lot in this that engages parents, informs

066parents, keeps them a breast of it also with the other policies we're going to deal with. So I think parents are absolutely critical to this and are critical partners in getting them here. So any other comments? The only thing I'd highlight with the with the promotion policy is it's written in a way that is um not a one-sizefits-all model. It's it's there's flexibilities that uh that a team including uh parents would be a part of to look at what is the best fit for this individual student and and there's there's data associated with that and then there's also the the educators and the family members who have worked with that child to make sure that it's the best decision. So it's not a one-sizefits-all uh policy. There's there's options and those options meet the needs

067uh of that individual child uh based on the the right people who know that child. Good point. Anything else? We have a motion that's been moved and seconded. All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. All right, let's turn to the next batch. So then we moved on to uh the library material my library library media center material selection. So in May, we came back to this policy that we initially had reviewed in April. uh we had t taken more time and shared additional background information that supports this the policy and how to provide parents with more information going forward. Uh we understood we wanted to understand better the complexity of words like age appropriateness and so we had shared that information and I'll share it again tonight. And then uh in addition

068we added some tools that can help families make decisions that are best for their their students. So the first thing was just the as you remember these slides were shared last June when the media specialist spoke to the media cent's long range goal. This is the mission of the RFSD media centers. So we had a lot the media specialist here uh for our ed pro committee and they shared this is their mission for media centers and this goal their their goal is focusing on promoting the library's media collection to keep it vibrant relevant and accessible for students and staff by increasing staff awareness and proficiency with these resources. The in innovative initiative supports teaching and learning by making high-quality materials easier to integrate. In this policy, we were challenged to define age appropriateness. I'm going

069to show you some reasons why defining age appropriateness in literature is complex and subjective. There's no universal rating system, as much as we would like that, that are used for movies, and creating one could oversimplify the nuance factors involved. Instead, selecting age appropriate books is both an art and a science. Media specialists rely on professional reviews and guidance from trusted organizations, but they also apply personal judgment based on experience. Because children develop at different rates, and what's appropriate for one child may not be appropriate for another. Cultural values, life experiences, and family beliefs all shape a child's readiness for certain themes. The appropriateness of a book depends not just on the theme itself, but how it's presented, its tone, language, and emotional depth. We'll share with you age ranges that reviewers use. And reviewers themselves

070note that they serve as a general guidance, not a rule. They're based on the characters age, the writing complexity. Ultimately, books offer both mirrors and windows opportunities for readers to see themselves and others, while parents and educators bring in their own values to guide young readers experiences. So the media specialist shared with us how the different scenarios that lead them to investigating specific library materials. So here are some of the different ways that they end up going down um to look for a specific book title or uh list of books. They de then they next slide. Uh we talked about the book vendors that they use. So, one of our media specialists, actually, Jennifer Johansson, who's at uh Westside, exper uh showed us how she used Macken as a tool, which is a book vendor

071to um filter her results to look for different books. And then once the tool is has helped filter to certain titles, how you can click on the title and see different resources or different reviews for that specific title. In our um library material rules and procedures, we list out these four review sites. The first four are recommended by the largest and influent uh most influential library organization in the United States, the American Library Association. The next four review sites are recognized as credible and respected sources for book reviews. They're used by educators, librarians, and parents to assist with collection development, curriculum support, and reader advisory in choosing appropriate highquality literature. They provide insights into the literary quality, themes, and appropriateness of books. Some of these sites offer a variety of title lists, while others go

072more in depth to give detailed summaries and age recommendations. During the meeting, we went more into each individual site and talked about what each site offered. We analyzed through curriculum review cycle and library media material selection that materials are representative of diverse students and families and free of bias and stereotyping. These expectations are outlined specifically in the se selection criteria in the 361.2 rule and in 361.1 selection of instru in instructional materials that uh outline is completed in stage two and three as educators develop their criteria for material selection. That doesn't mean that the themes of bias and discrimination won't be addressed in instruction and library materials. However, the selections reflect an unbiased way the cultural diversity and pluristic nature of American and global [Music] society. This chart Amy shared during our meeting and it

073shows three different ways that um books can uh share their readability formulas. The first one being reading levels which is very traditional that a lot of publishers use. So you would see two numbers. The first number corresponds with a grade level while the second number corresponds represents the month of that grade level. For example, 2.4 would be second grade, fourth month. The second row is Lexile. This is a scientific way to level reading materials. It's done by word frequency and sentence length. And it is an algorithm that was developed by Meta Matrix. Metametric. Uh the third example is FNP which is a trusted leveling system that was used has been used in education for quite some time but it goes in a little bit more depth. Instead of just the word um frequency or the

074sentence length then it adds uh total word count the sentence complexity different words uh inclusion of supportive illustrations and then also high frequency words. They also add a theme to when they're leveling A to Z. A being our earliest reader and Z being above an eighth grade level. This chart shows some common titles, the comparison between the three levels. So the first column is the title. Um the second column is where uh you might see these books, how these books are grouped or characterized for different age levels. Then the third column is FNP which is the A toz rating. Then the Lexile and then the reading level. So one of the things that Amy pointed out on this um chart was looking at the second title Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad

075Day. Some of you may or may not be familiar with that is a reading level of a third grader. However, the Lexile is 840, which puts it at a high fourth grade level, and that would be okay. We could also read it at third grade, and we also might read it at a younger grade level. What you can also see of mice and men has a lexile or I'm sorry an FMPP level of a Z which would be the content is more appropriate for higher than an eighth grade but the Lexile level is 630 which puts it at a third grade level while the readability puts it at fourth grade fifth month and of mice and men which most of you are also probably familiar with we would I can't think of any reason at

076all why that would be read in a fourth grade or an elementary classroom. So, the purpose of this chart, we really wanted to show how each one of these has a different system and that really makes the leveling each piece more complex as well as some don't have levels. So, Warren Peace is not FNPD. We don't know what the FNP level. What does FNP stand for again? Alphontis and Panel. Font and what? Fontis and panel. Two letters. It's the name and two names. Two names. Yeah, it's more about the the appropriateness of the content so than the others. No, it takes all of them into consideration. Okay. So, it actually does a lot of the the sentence length, the sentence complexity, the words per page, the words per sentence. It it has a lot of

077it, but it also does add one content as a as one factor as one element as one element. Is it fair to say I wasn't at the ed program so I just have a question here but is it fair to say that these um ways of analyzing reading material are more focused on can the child read it versus should the child read it? Yes. Yeah. Okay. The slide a couple back would be the should the child read it. Okay. Can I go back? Okay. So in addition to this, part of the other piece I talked about was the parent notification piece. So we um have met with Destiny, which is our library tool, Destiny Flet to add some parent tools in the fall. So this will be a p a web page on our River

078Falls School District website. And um Amanda, I don't if you click on the first one. So it will say parent tools. This will have a link so people can parents can check students um history and select specific titles that students may not access within that we have within the media centers. So with parent with Destiny we'll be able to send parent emails for circulation. So they'll get a here's what books your child checked out. That will automatically happen. We're looking into if parents can opt out of that. There's some concern for some of our high library users. Parents might become annoyed with these emails. So, we're checking on how they can opt out of that. Um, this will not require any additional work from our media specialist. What will happen? Um, parents will see this

079on the website. The media specialist will communicate this information. um as well as uh classroom teachers will also be commun communicating this information or we'll be asking principles to communicate this information in the beginning of the year. Uh parents to come to this site to link to say we don't want I would prefer my students not have access to these subtitles. If a child brings that title to the desk, there will be a window that will open and we'll say, uh, this child is not allowed to check out this title. That can only be overturned by the parent. So, the media specialist can't say, oh, well, I think they should be able to, and we're going to delete that. Only the parent can do that. Um, the parents email is uh checked with our email

080parent list. So if you're um a parent in another district and you want to go in and look at things, they will not have access. Only our parents will have access to this information. So it'll be checked against our parent database. Another piece is the online ebook information. Uh parents will have the option to opt their children out of the online ebooks. This uh drop down just explains how the online ebooks are curated. We belong to Wisconsin schools digital library consortium and they have uh overdrive librarians or media specialists work specifically just to curate that collection. If parents do not want their students to have access to this all students have access through class link we will be able to remove students access to that. So, so can parents go by school to identify what

081is in each library for each school? Yep. Right. So, they have access to what titles are in their child's Rocky year. That is our understanding based on Destiny Flet that when a child when a parent says I want to remove these titles when they click into that they'll see but the parents can go and check out a list of what you can view it online very easily. Yes, it can peruse the library materials. And then uh in addition on this parent resource page, we have an overview of our of the policies and procedures for selecting library materials as well as instructional materials and then if there's a complaint, how the complaint is handled. So all that information. So the two dropowns are also there with links right in those. Um as well as there'll be

082a library material media center materials opt out form. So, um, that one if you open it, Amanda, it it shows a link saying that you can opt your student out of the library, um, media center materials totally, as well as the online. So, on that one form, it says, "I'm opting my child out of the library media center as well as all online, both or either." They whole library. Why would a parent want to do that? Just because that's a parent's choice. The whole library. Yep. Yes. if they anticipate that's going to be something that's taken up as well as the readability information um that I shared on the those first slides with the Lexile FMP. We're trying to figure out a way to get a chart on here that would be ADA compliant because

083that's a an issue right now that we're working through. And then the last piece, a whole class text by grade level. Each one of those will be linked to all text whole class texts that are read in required classes. Um, right now there isn't an asterct at the bottom, but there will be an asterct at the bottom to contact for any of our elective classes. They do send out all texts that they read already, but it will just reiterate, please contact your child's teacher to uh find out what whole class texts are available in any electives. And are we talking K12 all the way through? Yep. This goes all the way to the library as well. Yep. Yep. Uh to implement this we will be reop sorry I'm sorry you want me back on your

084slides. Uh to implement this we will be uh the media sense specialists are reviewing their current collections to make sure that they meet the expectations the updated policy. We're reviewing the parent access settings to all the buildings. So that was something that we had ran into through this was parent access wasn't set up for all the buildings. uh what happens when a new media specialist comes in some of those access pieces changes and that was some learning that we had this year. Uh we'll have to also upgrade our platform for Destiny which is an IT piece not the media specialist to make sure that it syncs with our student information system and then to enable Destiny flet to put in the user features which we need to enable parents to review the history as well

085as to restrict titles. Do a lot of school systems use that system? It sounds really nice to varying levels and dependent on I I think what's in their policies and what they're being asked to pretty Yeah. Yeah. So, any questions or comments? I'll take a motion. Yeah. I'll move these and then we can move into discussion. So, I will move the first reading of revised schoolboard policy 361.1, selection of instructional materials, first reading of revised schoolboard policy 361.2, selection of library media center materials, and first reading of new schoolboard policy 361.2, rule procedures for selection of library media materials. Second. Thank you. Okay, there's a just about the committee and and um our meeting and the information we picked up and maybe to summarize, we'll move into some questions, but first off, I would say

086this was a really thorough meeting and we had a really good presentation here and then we had our library media people here to really give us an in-depth thing and it was one of the better ed programs committees. Not that the not that all of our but this come on Alan this one was this one was really good. Um but because there's there's a whole bunch of things obviously there's there there are questions and and um we've had comments over the years about how are our how do our books get selected and what's available and as a parent do I know and all those kinds of things. So there were really two parts to this is what Mary Beth is is sort of summarizing here for us. One is how do our books get selected?

087And we had a a nice lesson on the software that they use to pick these books and the criteria they use to pick these books. And I think as you said, they're going to be going back and reviewing making sure that our current collections now meet those standards. So the standards are tighter now and more clear. How are these books get picked? We got clearer and tighter definitions about what's age appropriate, what should students have access to, can third graders have access to high school books, and all those kinds of things. We work through that. So that not only is that clearer between the levels and the the librarians, library media specialists out there, but also now the second part is as parents, what kind of access do you have and how well informed are

088you? This has been a challenge in the past for parents to really know what's going on and what am I what are my kids reading? Now, there's this software solution, this um uh Destiny flet, which this could be really cool. And there could be some parents that go, I don't like any books in the library. I don't want my kid having access to it. We don't anticipate many people are going to be saying that. But if you belong to a particular group that thinks that feels that there are a number of titles that your kid shouldn't be reading at whatever level, you as a parent can go in and block those. This helps us to engage parents more, give parents more choice, but not to let any one small group dictate choices for the whole

089school. It really puts the power back in the parents hands. If the parents want to take advant take advantage of that, I think most parents are going to trust the librarians. They're going to trust the teachers and if they have questions or concerns, they're going to have take that as an opportunity to discuss that with their students and discuss that with with the teachers. But parents now have a have a role in in uh or a place or an option to get involved in this. And I think we as board members, I think this really helped us have a clearer understanding along with the library media people as to how are these books now being selected. Library media people, what do they understand more clearly what are the expectations of the board and of the

090public generally and and and and how and how they go about choosing books. and us as a board is the professionalism in which our teachers and library media specialists go after that. So I think that this really solves two things and um this went further than I ever thought it would we would be able to get um especially with the software part of it. So anyway, I appreciate all of the work that the library media people have put into this and also Amy and Mary Beth the work that you did in making that presentation to us. Thank you. Are there any other questions or comments? I'll just piggyback on what Alan said specifically about the um parent resources page that has been developed and will be launched in the fall. Correct. Yep. Um just what

091an important uh effort it is to ensure that we've got tools available for parents to optimize transparency because we've through all of this conversation um really kind of grappled with age appropriateness and the subjectiveness of that and recognize we serve a broad spectrum of families. So, I I'm really pleased to see the work that went into doing that and I really credit Mary Beth and Amy and working closely with our library media specialists and and the work that they did. Um, the library media specialists were very generous with their time in working behind the scenes, but then also showing up and talking directly to us at our committee meetings and helping us understand the work that they do. One thing that came through a handful of times in our conversations with them is that they're

092eager to work with parents. And so I just want to encourage anyone who's out there that wants to learn more or perhaps has a question or a concern about some of the the content that's in our school libraries, please reach out. Please use the tools that are available um or will be available come this fall. And our library media specialists are eager eager to work with families. So thanks to Mary, Beth, and Amy for for leading this charge and helping us work through um these policies. It was important work. So I do have a question. Um um and I you had mentioned earlier that you were going to get a little bit into the sources for reviews and maybe we touched on that um but I just want to as we're and part of this

093question is really just because I think people who maybe weren't at the meeting or the general public to think about how these books are selected and kind of the process that has to go through. Um, but as I was rereading it in preparation for this meeting, um, I really did want to clarify that, um, in the procedures where it kind of talks about selecting materials for purchase, the library media specialist will consult reputable, unbiased, professional library review sources, um, a book to have a review by one of these resources in order to be selected. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay, good. Um, and the reason that I asked that is because it does happen in um, library selection that I think a really good example would be local authors. Right. Somebody writes a book that

094isn't going to necessarily gain national reputation. It's not going to be reviewed by, you know, Common Sense Media or Hornbook or any um of the larger sites, but we would still as a district want to purchase and have copies of something that does kind of celebrate again kind of the literacy and the reading piece. Um, and I just wanted to ensure as we were rereading that we were uh still trusting in the professionalism of our media specialists. And I think that this does a nice job of that. Um, and honoring the knowledge that they have in the work that they're doing as part of that. So, so if I just because I want to make sure I was flipping I was trying to find the policy as you were saying. I'm in the procedures. I'm

095in the rules. Yep. So, page 54 of our packet. It's the correct like second from the bottom paragraph. Correct. And I I agree with you. I think it clearly lays out that using and forgive me if this is what you just read. I was trying to find consult unbiased professional library review sources the professional staff members of administration and or personal examination. So I do think there's some flexibility there. Is that what you read when you were reading that? I don't know if I got all the way to the end but it does it does clearly lay out personal examination is also an option. Sometimes wanted to make sure I was reading that correctly. Um because there are so many factors that can go into this. Um and so then I will also just echo

096that um there's been so much work put into this. So thank you. Could I add one more thing too because it it really sounds like this has sort of been punitive and we're trying to um this is allows one of the main reasons for this is so that parents can block certain books that their kids can read. It can do all of that. But I also think that from a parent engagement and using the library media specialist involvement, this I hope can be used as a real positive thing for parents and family members to more constructively engage their kids in reading, which is what we're all about. It's what we've had whole bunch of presentations here tonight and over the last few months here about trying to encourage kids to read more. Well, how can

097we be involved in that? How would I could I know what my kid is reading so I can help them do more and have more conversations with their teacher so I can really encourage them to read more. So this is going to be some excellent processes so we can actually engage parents on encouraging their kids be more I should say not just encouraging your kids to read but also helping your kids navigate some of the topics and content that they are reading about. I mean, that's that's huge, especially as kids get older, right? I mean, part of having access to all these wonderful books is that you're grappling with some big ideas. And so, yeah, I mean, even just getting a list sent out to you every week to just take a peek at what

098you're reading and you've got something to chat about at dinner that night, you know? So, I think it's great. Part of it is too that you control what your children are reading at home. You control what books are on their shelves at home. And I always felt it was really good for a kid to go into the library where the parent I'm not controlling what you're looking at. You can look and bring home whatever you want. And as a grandparent, I might find it frustrating to have to read those Dog Man cartoon books. Parents feel that way sometimes, too. There nothing better in the library than this Dogman book for you to read. But, um, but it's it's a part of their growth and opportunity to expand and check out books that I maybe wouldn't

099buy, but sure. You know, and one of the lovely pieces about the way that you have put together this parent resource is you are able to meet the needs of a variety of but for a variety of parents so that they can delve in as much or as little and I think that one of the pieces that will be helpful is the information that you included about readability because from time to time we get questions about Lexile scores and you've demonstrated that it's much more complicated than many people realize because I don't think any of us think that even if a child could read the birds of of my son men at fourth grade that that would be an appropriate content. Right? So that was a very that's a very helpful piece. So this has

100these policies have been thoroughly vetted. They have been they passed unanimously twice at program and now we are ready to vote. All those in favor I opposed. The motion is carried. Thank you very much. Thank you. Uh Mary Beth, please make sure you thank Amy too. And we will move on to FNF and Mike. All right. We had a short and sweet FNF meeting last Monday. Um we had uh the first thing on our agenda was a facilities project update. We went through both the high school and the and the bus garage. Uh things are tracking uh well at the high school. Uh we've got the structural steel up for decking for our new there's going to be a new landing area that we're putting inside the over a vestibule right now. So, they'll have

101access directly into our new um space upstairs uh directly from the school and not having to go through the u the what's now the green room which will be part of the the wait room in the future. So, they'll have direct access and and a benefit added benefit to that. It'll give our our maintenance staff access to some of the roofs that they haven't had in the past. They've had to go to the middle of the school and kind of work their way back over to that end of the school to work on some roof things. So, this will give them more of a direct access. So, kind of an added benefit for this uh this new landing area over a vestibule. Uh we have the pre-cast walls are all in place at the high

102school. The structural steels in place. Uh we've got um the first floor has the CMU bearing walls. So, CMU is just cinder blocks or or concrete blocks. And so, those are being put in place and and uh we're doing well there. Uh all complete with that. And um we have in progress we have uh going to have door openings. So the openings between our existing the the green room which is going to be part of the weight room and our new fitness area. Uh we're going to have some um um overhead doors um that will be put in place, coiling doors that will be able to uh be that nice big wide opening so that a teacher that is or a coach that supervising both will have uh easy access to both uh spaces and

103have visual contact with both spaces and and uh we'll be able to shut those down uh if uh if need be. So those will be good. Those are uh coming in and the structural steel for the joist for the roofing. So, we're working our way up the building and getting to the roof. Upcoming, we're pouring concrete for the stair landing and that vestibule we talked about. Mechanical uh rough endins are being put into the fitness room upstairs. Um you know, we're again working on roofing and electrical. So, we're making good progress there and and the project hopefully will be completed by the fall so we can use it next school year. at the transportation center after a little hiccup with our pre-cast walls. We had a little issue with some of the electrical kind of

104this the where they came in on the walls that needed to be replaced by the vendor, but that has all been completed and um we are back on track at the at the bus garage. So, pre-qu cast walls are are uh set and we're working on those concrete um blocks, the cinder blocks are getting put in place, too. Uh we're doing the rough ends for the plumbing and electrical. um setting the pre-class the floors. We're going to have two stories to this. So, we'll have kind of a a storage bay upstairs. So, it's going to be two levels. So, they're they're getting that in place and um they're going to be finishing the rest of the walls, things to be doing, setting up the structural steel for the decking on the roof. Again, working their

105way up the building, uh install the in flooror heating and the final grade exterior and pour the concrete slab. So, that's coming up. So um we are on track with those projects and that hiccup no cost to the district no cost to the district. It was an issue with the vendor. The vendor took responsibility and paid for it. So uh as are we do every month we reviewed the the budget. We did a budget update. Everything is tracking. We're on schedule to have a balanced budget again this year and and everything is um everything's tracking as it should. Uh we went through kind of Lynette gave us a little tutorial kind of a refresher for some of us and and uh probably new for some through some of the woofer codes. Wisconsin uniform financial accounting

106requirements is a required coding for those who are not in the accounting business and and it helps us when we read these reports it kind of gives us a a road map as to um kind of how to read the reports and what the numbers mean and what a fund is versus location object function and project. So, it's just kind of a a tutorial, a reminder for us as to when we read these reports, help make sense of those. And she's going to start including more of that in the reports. So, especially newer members to the board, um it won't take you two years to understand what all these funds are, right? Because it really matters what the funds are because the revenue is attached to them and understanding where the money is coming from

107and it helps you really understand the budget a lot better when we So, that was a good refresher for us. And um the last thing on our item was a policy development for services and and Dave's going to talk a little bit about that. So at finance and facilities that that committee um moved and seconded to approve policy services uh with Neiola. policy services helps the school board and administrators um with the process of reviewing and adding new policies and um it the reason school districts use policy development services is to streamline the process and provide support so the development of the policy uh is stronger um legally vetted and and appropriate. So, um, the way we've done it in the past is, um, we've looked at each individual policy and and sought out legal

108review on that. Um, this this service will allow us to do that, um, more comprehensively. The recommendation to go with Niola will mean that we're joining about 75% of districts in Wisconsin that that use Niola for this service and the other 25% or so uh, use a different service. And there was very few districts that didn't have any service and that was the bucket we were in. And so we're just kind of moving towards um this this support. So again, it streamlines the adoption process for the for for the uh school board as we go through this. Uh it also provides drafting support that's legally vetted. So that means that we won't have to go through a legal review kind of onesie twoosie each time we have a policy. So there'll be a significant cost

109savings there with our legal fees that will kind of make up for the increased cost of having these new policy uh development services there. The other piece is um it will map out the drafting process. Um but that just because it maps out the drafting process doesn't mean the board loses oversight of the policies. This isn't one-sizefits-all. Any board policies that we've developed or approved, for example, the library media specialist policy, something like that that we've had approved doesn't mean that we have to require and move to what Neola has, the district can maintain any of the policies that it's most recently approved. This service just allows us to to go through that process in a streamlined way um with a drafting support um as well as uh the processes being legally vetted and reviewed

110after every update um which we like. And then it also uh helps us kind of once we get every policy updated, it helps us with the idea that it'll be very laser focused on what what policies are next to be updated. So, if there's been change in laws or state statutes or or um there's a new federal expectation, um Neiola helps us zero in and laser focus in on which of our policies need to be updated so we're not just kind of guessing. Um and then the last piece is it it should ultimately make these much more accessible than they are now. So, we have our board policies available on the website through Google Docs. Um which is which is fine. Um but the search function to that can be tricky. So, if you wanted

111to search a specific um uh topic that policies have all of that topic in there, it would be kind of tricky for us to do that right now. So, we're excited to have that piece there. So, um really just kind of the next step in in our goal of having a very strong policy handbook that reflects the actions and and the vision of the district. So, are the policies like I'm on the Riverfell School District public website right now. Do they come up on the public website the same way they come up in boardbook when we're in boardbook and we're looking at policies? Is it does it take you to the same place or is it different? No. Or don't we know in board book? They're just attached as a PDF in Google Docs. They're

112all in there. They live there copy. So the actual document, the actual PDF is is the same. Okay. We put them on the school on the website once they've been approved. So once they've gone through the first and second reading and they're formally approved, then we go through the process of putting it into our schoolboard policies. Okay. So that's the most up-to-date version of that. What you see in board book is drafts of that. So So the format looks uh uh similar, but on the on the website you have every policy that's currently currently Yeah. I have no problem finding them on board book. That seems easy to me. But finding them on the public website was Yeah, no big deal. I can find I just want if I'm talking to a constituent who's wants

113to know what policy I'd like to be able to guide them in the public website because obviously they don't get into board book. Yep. So, uh that's the recommendation. Is there a motion to approve a contract with Niola for policy services? So moved. Thank you, Mike. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Bo. Questions or comments? All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. All right. The personnel committee met on May 12th and during that meeting we reviewed expectations for teacher certification for the monastery elementary school. Kai led us through a really helpful discussion about that mostly focused on background regarding current practice. The committee expects to continue this conversation and will consider any recommend recommended changes particularly related to certification in the monastery philosophy. So that's a coming attraction. We also received

114a staffing update for 202526. We discussed letters of intent that will be sent to support staff. That's an annual responsibility for us. Um the committee also recommended the that the board approve the proposed salary schedule for support staff personnel for 202526. The committee recommends that the board also approve the proposed bus driver and teacher collective bargaining agreements. So those we are going to take separately, but I'm listing it here now. And then at the end of our meeting, we went into close session to consider administrator and supervisor contracts for 202526. As a reminder, in keeping with board's the board's past practice, those contracts will not be approved until we have adopted contracts for all of our other district groups. So those are the last folks to um to to settle with. So at this mo

115uh point I will make a motion to approve sending letters of intent to uh intend to return to all support staff. Is there a second? Second. Thank you Alan. Questions or comments? All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. And then is there a motion to approve the 202526 hourly support staff salary schedule? So moved. Thank you Allison. Is there a second? Seconded. Thank you, Monica. Discussion. All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. All right. I'm going to give a few details about the bus driver contract. Um, the personnel committee recommends that the board approve this bus driver collective bargaining agreement. The agreement includes a 2.9% per cell increase for cell numbers one through nine. and then a 4.48% increase for cell number 10. The average total base wage increase

116is 451, 4.51% for steps 1 through 10. The agreement also includes a total salary increase of 3% for trip drivers and suburban drivers and a 4.48% total package salary increase for driver trainers. So the people who do the training for bus drivers. So is there a motion to make that to approve that contract. So move. Second. Alan Allison. I got to write this down. Questions or comments? All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried. All right. And then as far as teachers, the personnel committee also recommends to the board that we approve the 202526 teacher collective bargaining agreement. That agreement includes a 2.95% base wage increase for each step on the teacher ladder and that comes to a total salary increase of 4.28%. Is there a motion please? So moved. Thank you Allison.

117Alan questions or comments to abstain from this one. Thank you. And you are that's noted. Um just a comment about both this one and the bus drivers dealing with our union reps. I really appreciate the engaging conversation. Um we it's it's been mutual um give and take information sharing. Um it's been constructive. I just appreciate their willingness to dialogue with us and work through where we're at. Um I think that's been very constructive and has really ended up with a much better plan in the end. So appreciate it. Anything else? All those in favor? I opposed. The motion is carried at six and one abstension. Thank you. All right. We have a first reading of revised schoolboard policy 187 related to public participation at schoolboard committee and other meetings of the school board. Dave, I'll

118ask you to walk us through proposed recommended changes primarily based on some advice and best practices. Yeah. So, uh we wanted to make sure that the the public participation policy covered not just full school board meetings but committee and other meetings of the board. So, that was embedded in the title. Um we noted that uh and this didn't change from last month that we we struck some language because it lived in um more appropriately in 171 uh.2. So, I'm going to zero in on what is the the what will become the first paragraph. we generalized everything to presiding officer um instead of saying schoolboard president president or presiding officer just kind of to make it read a little more clearly. And then the big question that we were stuck on um was kind of this

119idea of are we going to limit to uh specific stakeholder groups that have a a demonstrated tie to the to the district or are we going to allow public participation to anyone who wish to address the board? and we sought uh our legal counsel from WASB and and the feedback was we can do either. It's in the realm of control of the board to to choose. Um his recommendation is the kind of safest most inclusive policy is what I have written here. Um and it would remove any first amendment questions like we were limiting speech. If somebody could make a tie even though they weren't in one of the groups that we had, they could make a tie that they had an interest to be here. Um, like I said, we could do it, but

120it this is just kind of a more inclusive policy and didn't wouldn't allow us uh that flexibility then on a onesie twoosy basis to allow somebody else to speak that were like, "Oh, they're fine to come in and speak even though they don't fit it." So, he he recommended that that would be the best idea. So, where is that in the policy? I'm looking I'm going to read it aloud to you. It's in it's in that paragraph that I was referencing. Um, but he did recommend the municipal municipality piece because that will inform the board of their connection to the district. So, It's the second sentence in the first paragraph. It says, "If such public participation is permitted in the meeting, as noted, those wishing to address the board will be asked to identify their

121municipality of residents and their relationship to the district." So, we're being inclusive in allowing those who choose to address the board. Um, but we're not restricting, but it helps inform the board um um why they're here and their connection to the district. So they might they might say, "I reside in the city of Hudson, but here's why I'm here." Correct. I don't have to live in the city of River Falls, right? Or within the school district. There's lots of people who live in the They might live in Hudson and not They might have open. It would also give the presiding officer a little latitude to say how to thank you. Yeah. Which I think this is great language. So like I said, we could we could have gone. Well, there's a lot of districts go

122the other way. Um, in in talking with WB if we want kind of the most inclusive option and again um it's aligned to what I've seen as practice with this board of of allowing um people to address the board as long as it's Yep. We want people to be welcomed. Yep. So, that's one adjustment. And then the only other adjustment that you don't see here because I cut it was we had something at the end that limited the length of time um unless the board approved to to increase it. So that's not the length of time of the individual speaker, it's the length of time for that section. Um, and so I think it said something like 30 minutes unless approved by the board. In conversations last month, we said, "Look, let's just have it

123be open." Um, and and understand that, um, that's the presiding officer can make that decision, right? Well, um, ultimately, uh, I think what we're seeing with that is there's an there's a couple things. one, it's it's it's a two-minute piece and no one can speak twice, right? And so with those two things in place, I think um it's the right practice to co we went on for hours, so it's well, it's our way of making sure that people feel welcome and that they will be listened to. Yeah. So, I think it's good. I think that's good policy. All right. Is there a motion to approve the first reading of revised schoolboard policy 187, public participation at schoolboard committee and other meetings of the school board? So moved. Thank you, Ellison. Second. Thank you, Monica. Further

124discussion. I just make one more comment. When Dave said um we we changed the word to presiding officer, that also means committee chair, right? Right. So that these will be the procedural um for this will be the procedure for our committee meetings as well as regular board meetings for open comment and those kinds of things. That's why we use presiding officer. Yeah. All those in favor I opposed. The motion is carried. All right. We have um second readings of two policies before us tonight. We have revised schoolboard policy 221 related to recruitment and appointment of the superintendent as well as the second reading of revised schoolboard policy 223 administrator development opportunities. Is there a motion to approve those? Please move second. Thank you Lindsay. Thank you Alan. Questions or comments? All those in favor? I

125opposed. The motion is carried. Are there any proposed items for future agendas? When are we going to talk about or will we talk about the agenda for the retreat or we're it's going to shift a little bit later than we thought. So we will Dave is going to get back to us as it draws closer. Yep. Okay. So the educational program committee will meet Monday, June 2nd at 6:00. Personnel will meet Monday, June 9th at 6 o'clock. Finance and facilities will meet Monday, June 9th at 7 o'clock or immediately following personnel. The next regular board meeting will be Monday, June 16th at six o'clock. And please note that the schoolboard retreat will be July 28th. That's a new date. Starting at 5:00, all of those meetings will be held here. Ed with fat.