Approved at 3/18/2008 Board Meeting

Regular Board of Education Meeting
Central Administrative Offices Board Room
March 11, 2008

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

President Meg Wartman called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Public notice of the meeting was provided in accordance with Chapter 19.85 Wis. Stats. The Pledge of Allegiance was lead by Molly Kresl, Brookfield East Student Representative. Motion by Cheri Sylla that the Board of Education approves the March 11, 2008 agenda. Seconded by Patrick Murphy and carried on a voice vote.

CITIZENS FORUM – Dan Ertl addressed the Board encouraging the community to support the high school referendum.

TOGETHER WE CELEBRATE SUCCESS: BROOKFIELD EAST ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS – Brookfield East students Ishan Daya and Patricia Kennedy introduced 1977 graduate Captain Stephen Hampton and 1967 graduate Bill Meyer as recipients of the 2008 Alumni Achievement Awards.

Rachel Nordstrom, Brookfield Central Student Representative, reported that the boys and girls basketball teams have met with a great deal of success, with the boys basketball team winning their first game and losing the second game at the state level and the girls basketball team playing their first game at the state level on Thursday, and that Spring Fling is scheduled at 8:00 p.m. on March 14. Molly Kresl, Brookfield East Student Representative, reported that gently used clothing is being collected for donation to Goodwill, that tryouts for spring sport teams are occurring, that the orchestra is performing at Carnegie Hall during spring break, that two members of the ski tem competed at the national level, and that Bingo Night was a success.

CONSENT AGENDA – Patrick Murphy requested separate consideration of Personnel Matters. Motion by Cheri Sylla to approve the remaining consent items: minutes of the February 26, 2008 Board meeting and recognizing and extending congratulations to the commendations as presented. Seconded by Bob Ziegler and carried on a voice vote.

Personnel Matters – Patrick Murphy asked if there was an additional personnel item requiring approval. An action item from the March 8, 2008 Board closed session is scheduled on March 18. Motion by Steve Schwei to approve the resignation of Terri Nolan effective February 27, 2008; the resignation of Kristen Alexander at the end of the 2007-08 school year; a contract modification for Karen Cieslak from 60% to 100%; the retirement of school psychologist Connie Menchal effective June 30, 2008 and authorizing a recruitment and selection process for her successor; and a contract modification for Human Resources Manager Mark Kapocius of $10,000 which increases his salary to $82,580 for 2008-09. Seconded by Cheri Sylla. The Board thanked Connie Menchal for her service to District students and wished her well in retirement. The motion carried on a voice vote.

2008 SUMMER CURRICULUM WRITING, SUMMER PROJECTS, AND MANDATORY DAY PROPOSALS – Motion by Steve Schwei that the Board of Education approves the 2008-09 summer projects, summer new course curriculum development time, summer curriculum proposals, and mandatory day proposals. Seconded by Bob Ziegler and carried on a voice vote.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PLAN: 2008-09 BUDGET – Christine Hedstrom reviewed Board questions from the prior meeting. Following Board discussion on the business plan, motion by Steve Schwei that the Board of Education approves the budget request for Wellness initiatives for the 2008-09 school year in the amount of $50,000. Seconded by Patrick Murphy and carried on a voice vote.

STRATEGIC PLANNING SURVEY RESULTS – Bob Borch and Bob Ziegler reported on the March 8 work session facilitated by Dr. Bob Ewy including prioritized data for Greatest Challenges and Issues, Student Skills and Abilities, Evidence to Judge Educational Quality, and Financial Priorities using data and comments from surveys; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis were reviewed; and the team mapped strategies in the areas of Student Learning, Constituent Satisfaction, Employee Development, Support Systems, and Fiscal Responsibility. Steve Schwei and Glen Allgaier presented an analysis of survey data for key messages by group and analysis of survey data reflecting weighted results that reflect the electorate. Next steps will include review of the first draft of the Strategic Plan by the Board on April 29; and review of the final Strategic Plan by the Board, the team, and principals and development of District and school level deployment plans on May 16.

HIGH SCHOOL FACILITIES UPDATE – Matt Gibson reported that the public information video with five members of the High School Facilities Next Steps Steering Team moderated by Dave Luczak is airing on District cable channels 13 and 96, reported on printed publications including an election edition of LINK that was mailed to the entire community, the municipal inserts in the City of Brookfield and the Village of Elm Grove publications, reported on school and mechanical tours, and reported on staffed information sessions scheduled March 13 from 5-8 p.m. at Brookfield East and March 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 Noon at Brookfield Central. Steve Schwei reported on Communications Committee discussions prior to this meeting including the 2008 Referendum Information link on the District's website, information on cable channels 13 and 96, and printed publications.

KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT UPDATE – Christine Hedstrom reported that kindergarten enrollment is being carefully tracked for full day and potential half-day sections. At this time, 311 students have enrolled for 2008-09 kindergarten. Nine families have indicated a preference for a separate half-day kindergarten for their child for the 2008-09 school year, with one at Brookfield Elementary, four at Burleigh, three at Swanson, and one at Tonawanda. Families were surveyed asking if there was interest in an AM or PM or either program and if there would be interest in Burleigh, Swanson or either. At this time interest included six attending an AM program at Swanson, five attending a PM program at Swanson, four attending an AM program at Burleigh, and five attending a PM program at Burleigh. Parents will be notified that the Board will not take action until April 22.

BOARD PRESIDENT'S REPORT – Meg Wartman announced that Brooks Fleming submitted a letter on March 3 withdrawing from the Board candidate race for the At-Large seat, and reported that the Elmbrook Parent Leadership sponsored Board candidate forum held March 4 is being televised on cable.

COMMITTEE CHAIR/LIAISON REPORT – Bob Ziegler reported that the Assessment and Continuous Improvement Committee discussed data collection at their March 10 meeting. Discussion included the purposes for collecting data, District dashboards and the development of school and student dashboards, purpose of benchmarks, and aligning Baldrige committees with Board committees.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT – Matt Gibson reported that the June 13 snow make up day does not affect high school graduation that is held on Sunday, June 8 (Brookfield East at 2:00 p.m. and Brookfield Central at 5:00 p.m.) and that transportation on Thursday, June 12 will be as usual for elementary and middle schools for early release. High schools final exams are Wednesday through Friday, June 11-13, therefore, buses will pick up high school students following drop off of middle school and elementary students.

MARCH 18, 2008 AGENDA ITEMS AND PROCESS – Projected action items include 2007-08 Budget Adjustments, Capital Outlay Pre Purchases, Issuance of 2008-09 Purchase Orders, Youth Options Fall Semester Requests, and 2008-09 Superintendent's Salary and Contract Extension. Projected discussion items include Student Representative Report and Discussion – Guidance and Counseling Services, High School HVAC Energy Study, High School Facilities Update, School Resource Officer – High Schools, and April 8, 2008 Agenda Items and Process. The Human Growth and Development Curriculum Changes will be placed on the April 8 agenda.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – No announcements.

Motion by Patrick Murphy to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Glen Allgaier and carried on a voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

/s/Meg Wartman, Board President