Approved at 3/11/2008 Board meeting

Regular Board of Education Meeting
Central Administrative Offices Board Room
February 26, 2008

Present:  Allgaier, Gehl, Murphy, Schwei, Sylla, Wartman,
              and Ziegler; Gibson
              Brookfield Central Student Representative and
              Brookfield East Student Representatives

President Meg Wartman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Public notice of the meeting was provided in accordance with Chapter 19.85 Wis. Stats. The Pledge of Allegiance was lead by Eric Reigle, Brookfield East Student Representative. Motion by Cheri Sylla that the Board of Education approves the February 26, 2008 agenda. Seconded by Patrick Murphy and carried on a voice vote.

CITIZENS FORUM – No request to speak.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT: GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS – Eric Reigle, Brookfield East Student Representative, reported that Senior Citizen Bingo is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, February 28. Lee Severson and Tiffany Netzel, Brookfield Central Student Representatives, reported that a recycling program began on February 26. Students reported that many high school students agree with the current number of required credits for graduation while other students believe that additional credits in core areas should be required for graduation.

Board discussion included comparison with benchmark districts, average number of total credits District students take, possibility of looking at service requirement, and consideration of all students when looking at increasing number of credits for graduation.

CONSENT AGENDA – Motion by Patrick Murphy that the Board of Education approves the following consent items: minutes of the February 12, 2008 Board meeting; resignations of Jessica Collier, Kelleah Lewis, Julie Sobieski and Denise Van Cuyk; the retirement of Walter A-Akert at the end of the 2007-08 school year; the leave of absence for Cheryl Schreiber-Ring; preliminary layoffs of Matthew Friedli, Steven Holm, Garret Kaltenbach, Sarah Oberneder, Katharine Babler, Anne DeChamps, Kristin Davis, Jessica Ebert, Laura Gaskell, Molly Mathia, Katie Matter, Monica Mecha, Micah Nelson, Sandra Rasmussen, Chelsie Rennicke, David Sampe, Jaclyn Schneider, Latasha Schwartz, and Cathy Weis; recognizing and extending congratulations to the commendations as presented; payment of January checks from All Funds in the amount of  $1,688,151.97; Net Amount checks issued by Midwest Security in the amount of $1,359,596.18;  Payroll check numbers 227129 through 227152 in the amount of $1,581.99; Payroll Direct Deposit check numbers 266739 through 269404 in the amount of $3,054,446.36; Wire Transfers - WRS payment in the amount of $463,958.70; Wire Transfers – TSA's in the amount of $33,854.82; ACH DEBIT - State Withholding in the amount of $227,887.01; ACH DEBIT - Federal Withholding in the amount of $1,196,769.60; ACH DEBIT – Delta Dental in the amount of $79,038.21; ACH DEBIT – Commercial Card in the amount of $111,143.53;  for a total of $8,216,428.37; per the check register dated January  31, 2008; and let the record show that the Board of Education has examined Receipts numbered 00417 through 00503, 31566  through 31576, 31580 through 31586, 31591 through 31592, 31612 through 31668, 31690 through 31724; in the amount of $1,939,619.50; Wire Transfers – Tax Levy in the amount of $36,360,268.75; a lease extension at the North Avenue building to Amy Montessori School during the 2008-09 school year at a rate of $3,560 per month, with a cancellation provision requiring 60 days' notice; a lease extension at the Fairview South School to Goodwill Industries during the 2008-09 school year at a rate of $3,820 per month; directing representatives of T. E. Brennan to negotiate our property and casualty insurance needs with our current providers to decide on the District's risk management program for 2008-09; rescheduling of the Superintendent's mid-year evaluation for Saturday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m. or immediately to follow the strategic planning work session; an allocation from the Contingency Fund to cover the $15,869 cost to rent equipment to remove snow throughout the District; an allocation from the Contingency Fund to cover the $5,061 cost to repair a boiler at Wisconsin Hills Middle School; and authorizing the administration to offer 522 full-time contracts and 33 part-time contracts to those teachers listed on the attached pages for the 2008-09 school year in accordance with the salary and benefits contained within Master Agreement. Seconded by Bob Ziegler. The Board recognized Walter A-Akert for his service to District students. The motion carried on a voice vote.

2008 SUMMER SCHOOL – Eileen Depka, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, and Mary Washbush, Director for Curriculum and Student Learning, reported on changes in the Summer School proposal following the February 12 meeting. Those include Get Ahead Physical Education that is available for D or F grade replacement for Phy. Ed. 9, 10, and 11 as well as for medical excuse during the school year; summer band lessons added for students in grades 5-8 that can be individual or in groups of two or three; and removing Algebra I Middle School from the proposal. Board discussion included Get Ahead Physical Education sign up on a first come first serve basis, and rotating phy. ed. summer school curriculum so students would not be repeating the same course. Motion by Patrick Murphy that the Board of Education approves the 2008 Summer School Proposal. Seconded by Steve Schwei and carried on a voice vote.

DATE FOR BOARD SELF EVALUATION WORK SESSION – Motion by Glen Allgaier to approve April 15, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. for the 2008 Board Self Evaluation Work Session. Seconded by Tom Gehl and carried on a voice vote.

BOARD POLICY: SECOND READING – Motion by Bob Ziegler that the Board approves revised policies 4300–Work Day, 4335–Educational Meetings Attendance/Travel, 4511–Staff Use of Information Technology and Communication Resources, and 9630–Formulation of Practice Statements and Administrative Procedures. Seconded by Steve Schwei and carried on a voice vote.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PLAN – Chris Hedstrom, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, reported that District staff Pat Barina, Dave Lewcock, Michele Trawicki, Kim Leupold assisted her in drafting the wellness business plan that describes baseline data, survey results, vision and mission statement, program components, goals and activities, budget, and evaluation. One of the program components, employing a wellness coordinator to coordinate the program and meet with the wellness committee at least once per month to oversee the program was discussed. With Board approval, the wellness coordinator would begin planning and implementation of the plan this year. The cost would be $4,800.00.

The Board discussed the Wellness plan components. Following discussion, motion by Steve Schwei that the Board of Education approves the teacher extra pay expenditures for a wellness coordinator to serve the remainder of the school, the cost of which will be a prorated amount of $4.800.00. Seconded by Glen Allgaier and carried on a voice vote.

An action item on March 11 will include recommendation for the 2008-09 wellness budget.

HIGH SCHOOL FACILITIES UPDATE – Matt Gibson provided an update on the Brookfield East and Brookfield East tour schedule that revised the question and answer session on March 13 to Brookfield Central, the question and answer session on March 15 to Brookfield Central, and added a tour at Brookfield East at 3:00 p.m. on March 15, and reported that an informational video panel discussion moderated by district resident Dave Luczak with members of the High School Facilities Next Steps Steering Team would be produced on February 27. Bob Borch reviewed referendum financing options that were analyzed by the Finance and Operations Committee. Steve Schwei reported that the Communications Committee met prior to the Board meeting to discuss upcoming publications including inserts in the City of Brookfield and Village of Elm Grove publications, Link that will be mailed in March to include information on Board candidates, airing of the panel discussion, and information on the District website.

2008-09 LONG RANGE CAPITAL OUTLAY BUDGET – Bob Borch, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, reviewed the proposed 2008-09 Long Range Budget. The proposed budget was reviewed by the Finance and Operations Committee on February 18. The total proposed budget is $769,556 with additional $253,000 items identified as needed and may be purchased during 2007-08 if funds are available on a prorated basis. The Long Range Capital Outlay Budget will be part of the overall budget motion following complete budget review.

2008 SUMMER CURRICULUM WRITING, SUMMER PROJECTS, AND MANDATORY DAY PROPOSALS – Eileen Depka reviewed approved summer projects, summer curriculum and mandatory inservice day proposals previously reviewed by the Curriculum Planning Committee on January 23. Summer Projects include Summer Projects: Every Day Math in Elmbrook's Kindergarten Classrooms, Elementary Reading Framework and Language Enhancements, Inclusion in the Math & Language Arts Classroom, Inclusion and Co-Teaching: Special Education with Regular Education, Expanding the Scope of the Freshman Team, and Develop Self-Paced Lessons Using the New Language Lab Software; New Course Summer Curriculum Development: Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics, Anatomy and Physiology, Introduction to Engineering, Elmbrook High School Physical Education, Software Applications, and Advanced Placement Language and Composition; Summer Curriculum Writing: Phase II Implementation of Every Day Math in Kindergarten, Aligning Middle School Special Education Science Curriculum to WAA, Scope & Sequence of French Language Program Grades 7-12, Incorporating Technology into World Languages, German CAPP, Spanish/Written & Digital, Curriculum/Scope and Sequence for all Levels, English 9 Curriculum Writing/Alignment Part 2-Further Refinement, and Refining Co-Teaching Methods Across the Curriculum; and Mandatory Inservice Funding Requests: ERI, Middle School Social Studies Year 2, Everyday Math in the Kindergarten Classroom, Phase 2 of Middle School Math Pilot, and Writing Meaningful IEP's and Introducing a K-12 Behavior Intervention Program. This will be an action item on the March 11 agenda.

BOARD POLICY-FIRST READING: REVISED POLICY 6154–HOMEWORK – Eileen Depka reported that a District task force researched grading and reporting practices. Following their recommendations, Policy 6154-Homework was revised to more clearly define the purpose, types, and parameters of homework while incorporating the recommendations of leaders in the field. The Board requested that the policy and practice statement be reviewed with parents and parent groups prior to returning to the Board for further discussion.

BOARD PRESIDENT'S REPORT – Meg Wartman read a letter from Bill Aslin announcing that he has withdrawn from the Board candidate race for the Area I seat; and reported that the snow make up day, Friday, June 13, will not affect high school graduation and requested additional communication with all District parents concerning the snow make up day on June 13.

COMMITTEE CHAIR/LIAISON REPORT – Bob Ziegler reported that the Policy and Legislative Committee has scheduled a meeting on Tuesday, March 4 (meeting later canceled) and that the Assessment and Continuous Improvement Committee has scheduled a meeting at 6:00 p.m. on March 10 to discuss data.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT – Bob Borch reported that as of this Board meeting, 940 electronic surveys had been received and that more than 1000 paper surveys had been received. Matt Gibson thanked Meg Wartman, Patrick Murphy, and Bob Ziegler for attending the orientation for Board candidates and reported that a District band will participate in the City of Brookfield Independence Day parade.

MARCH 11, 2008 AGENDA ITEMS AND PROCESS – Together We Celebrate Success: Brookfield East Alumni Achievement Awards will be a presentation during the meeting. Projected action items include Board Policy: Second Reading – Revised Policy 6154-Homework (will be on a later agenda), 2008 Summer Curriculum Writing, Summer Projects and Mandatory Day Proposals, and Wellness Plan – 2008-09 Budget. Projected discussion items include Human Growth and Development Outcomes, High School Facilities Update, Strategic Planning Survey Results, Board Policy: First Reading (later removed), and March 18, 2008 Agenda Items and Process.

Motion by Bob Ziegler that the Board of Education goes into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19l85 (1)(c) for the purpose of discussing two contract exceptions. Seconded by Steve Schwei and carried 7-0 on a roll call vote with Glen Allgaier, Tom Gehl, Patrick Murphy, Steve Schwei, Cheri Sylla, Meg Wartman, and Bob Ziegler in favor.

Motion by Bob Ziegler that the Board of Education goes into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85 (1)(e) for the purpose of discussing negotiations of the Owner's Representative Contract. Seconded by Steve Schwei and carried 7-0 on a roll call vote with Glen Allgaier, Tom Gehl, Patrick Murphy, Steve Schwei, Cheri Sylla, Meg Wartman, and Bob Ziegler in favor.

Motion by Cheri Sylla to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Bob Ziegler and carried on a voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m.

/s/Meg Wartman, Board President