Board Approved at 11/1/2010 Board Meeting
Board Work Session
Central Administrative Offices Board Room
November 1, 2010
Present: Allgaier, Gehl, Jones, Lambert, Wartman, Wilson, and Ziegler
Also: Brightman, Gibson, and Depka
President Tom Gehl called the meeting to order at 6:01 a.m. Public notice of the meeting was provided in accordance with Chapter 19.85 Wis. Stats. Motionby Meg Wartman to approve the November 1, 2010 agenda. Seconded by Jean Lambert carried on a voice vote.
Audience Input: No request to speak.
Elmbrook Parent Work Group Presentation: Kalpa Vithalani, Ben Fong, Charles Marcuccilli, and Tom Thomsen provided information on positive effects of research on small class and school size; the goals of maintaining excellence, community and preserve, protect and nurture schools and teachers; Hillside academic accolades in the areas of Presidential Scholar Nominees, National Merit Finalists, National Merit Scholars, and Academic Excellence Scholars; preliminary census survey of 17 subdivisions and 1352 houses with additional information to be presented on November 9; asking how parents could make a positive impact on the arbitration process; and other potential solutions to closing a school that include establishing a four year old kindergarten, examining administrative redundancies in the District and offering before and after school care.
October 26 Board Goal Updates on Enrollment Management Study Team (EMST) Recommendations: Superintendent Matt Gibson provided targets for the EMST Recommendations as discussed by the Board of Education during their Board Goal discussion on October 26 and included that the Board made a decision to approve zero Chapter 220 seats for 2011-2012 and not to transition Chapter 220 students at exit elementary or middle school grades for 2011-2012; action on Open Enrollment seats for 2011-2012 is projected on January 25; action on four year old kindergarten originally projected on February 22, 2011 may be too early to make the best long-term decision; and action on school closing/redistricting decision projected on February 22, 2011 may be too early to make the best long-term decision.
Finance and Operations Committee Updates on EMST Recommendations Including Open Enrollment, Chapter 220, and Class Size: Keith Brightman, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, reviewed the impact of EMST option 5 (implement four year old kindergarten, transitioning Chapter 220 students to Open Enrollment, Open Enrollment buffer of zero, close one elementary school, and 1.0 class size increase) to include salary and benefit share of the budget gap, total teaching full time equivalency (FTE) impact, K-12 class size impact, enrollment trends for resident, Chapter 220, Open Enrollment and total; and four year old kindergarten financial summary.
Updated Five-Year Enrollment Projection Preview and Consideration of Other Census Information and Projection Sources: Matt Gibson provided a preview of enrollment projections for elementary resident students and current and projected resident student enrollment in each elementary school. The Board discussed looking at other projection sources, requesting information for projection vendors on November 9, and requesting a copy of the 2007 APL projections.
Drafted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Responses to Date: Matt Gibson reviewed the drafted FAQ that included enrollment history and projections, school capacity, benchmark class size and staffing levels, school closing and redistricting, five year financial projections, use of District fund balance, and provision of operational override referendum to exceed the revenue cap.
Preliminary Redistricting Scenarios for Hillside and/or Tonawanda School Closing Feasibility: Nine initial redistricting scenarios were shared. The scenarios kept the west side and east side feeder systems intact.
Board discussion included class size increases changing school capacity, would like to minimize west side of District transportation issues for parents, buffer may not be long term if class size increases, has a maximum school enrollment been considered, looking at current and future average transportation times, nonresident and resident student status consideration for redistricting, looking at hazardous and nonhazardous areas of the District for transportation savings, and look to more Open Enrollment seats at the secondary level rather than the elementary level.
Four Year Old Kindergarten: Eileen Depka, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, reviewed options for four year old (4K) delivery system. Board discussion included the amount of time needed to implement, integration of early childhood program at community sites, staffing levels, Open Enrollment students at 4K, looking at the early learning center in Menomonee Falls, and long term benefits of 4K—would like to see data on students in grade 2 who attended the pilot program.
Timeline and Next Steps:
- District and Parent Work Group enrollment data being presented on November 9
- School Finance & Elementary School Closing/Redistricting Presentation on November 10 at Brookfield Central's Cafeteria
- Superintendent Chats to Solicit Feedback on the School Finance & Elementary School Closing/Redistricting Presentation at 10:00 a.m. on November 15 at Central Administrative Office, 6:00 p.m. on November 15 at Tonawanda, 6:00 p.m. on November 16 at Hillside, 6:00 p.m. on November 17 at Brookfield Elementary, and 8:00 p.m. on November 17 at Dixon
- Report Themes from Superintendent Chats at the November 23 Board Meeting
- Weighing in on Option 4 as a whole and Option 5 as a whole on November 23 or a date to be determined
- Pulse Surveys will be conducted at polling locations on November 2
- Information on Testing of 4K pilot students will be brought to the Board on November 9
Audience Input: Sixteen audience members provided feedback to the Board to include giving consideration to an early learning center, charter school for the arts; looking at salary and benefits prior to making decision on closing a school, retrieving data on 4K pilot students from their current teachers; consider reinstating 4K; looking at redistricting again with the thought of not keeping the current feeder system; looking at the creative solutions used in the Scottsdale school district (article provided), redistricting but not closing a school; the benefits of 4K, implementing other recommendations from EMST prior to making a decision on closing a school; looking at closing a larger school such as Swanson; and asking a community expert to assist with redistricting.
Motionby Bob Ziegler to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Glen Allgaier and carried on a voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:37 p.m.
/s/Thomas D. Gehl, President
