SCHOOL DISTRICT OF ITHACA

24615 State Highway 58

Richland Center, Wisconsin 53581

School Board Meeting

Minutes from October 12, 2015

1.  Meeting was called to order by Mr. Huffar at 7:00 p.m. Verification of meeting notice – posted on web, doors of school, community gym and faxed to WRCO and Richland Observer.

2.  Roll Call: Mrs. Burch, Mr. Huebsch, Mr. Huffar, Mr. Louis, Mr. Magee, Mrs. Mueller, and Mr. Manning were present.

3.  Motion made by Mr. Magee to approve the agenda. Motion seconded by Mrs. Burch. Motion carried 7-0.

4.  Approval of Board Minutes

4.1.  Motion made by Mr. Huebsch to approve the minutes of August 10, 2015. Motion seconded by Mrs. Mueller. Motion carried 7-0.

4.2.  Motion made by Mrs. Burch to approve the minutes of September 14, 2015. Motion seconded by Mr. Magee. Motion carried 7-0.

5.  Citizens Forum: No one spoke

6.  Finance Committee Report - Mr. Huebsch reported bills of note: Ck #43253 to Ruth Bauer for Forest Grant application work in the amount of $100.00; Ck #43257 to Fair-Play for scoreboard controllers for community gym in the amount of $1250.00; ck #43263 to Reliable Water Services for Hot & Soft Water lease in the amount of $227.00; #ck 43287 to Forestry Suppliers Inc. for advanced biology class supplies in the amount of $639.16; Ck #43308 to Southwest WI Technical College for English Text Books in the amount of $4,200.00; Ck #43339 to Access Security to replace faulty horn in the amount of $1,091.86; Ck# 43344 for Annual HVAC Service Agreement in the amount of $7,440.00; Ck# 43372 to Susan Peterman for Food Service Consulting in the amount of $2,500.

7.  Administrator’s Reports:

7.1.  Mr. Smudde reported that the School Fair went well and would like to thank Mr. Favreau and Mrs. Palmer for helping organize the staff and to the staff for their efforts during the entire Homecoming week, it is always a pleasure to take part in. Mr. Smudde reported that the district has 121 open enrolled students in and 27 out, which is 23 more than last year and 56 more than 2010-11. He also reported that we had a resident count increase of 16 students from 314 in 2014-15 and 330 in 2015-16. He reported that he attended WASDA annual conference in Madison in September and that information was very good, but the practical applications that our district can take away are limited. School funding is now at the level it was in the 2008-09 school year. He also reported that he has completed an organizational analysis and will be shared with the school board at a later date. We continue to improve on areas we need to, which includes food service, curriculum and instruction, and addressing student needs.

7.2.  Mr. Coenen reported that the last month can be summed up with: Homecoming, Educator Effectiveness, Professional Learning Community, and Active Shooter Training. Mr. Coenen reported that Homecoming ended up on a very positive note after some early week shenanigans by students. A negative situation was turned into a positive learning situation and the rest of the week and the fair on Saturday went well. Mr. Coenen reported that Educator Effectiveness has been a source of frustration as the Teachscape web site has not been working and was close to three months late when the WI DPI finally pulled the plug on using it for documenting evaluations. He reported that each district will be charged with developing a system to document the process and that he is working with Adam Hess, our Technology Manager, along with Connie Jump and Jim Favreau to use Google Classroom to document our efforts. The next Professional Learning Community date is this Wednesday, October 14th with a 2 hour late start. Topics for this month will be Sexual Assault/Harassment Awareness and Prevention and Educator Effectiveness. Mr. Coenen reported that he has been busy working with the students, staff, sheriff’s department, and police department for our lock down drill coming up this Thursday, October 15th. The response has been good from all and people have been great about giving constructive feedback to improve everyone’s safety.

7.3.  Mrs. Richards reported that the following reports have been submitted: PI1505SE – Special Education Annual Financial Report, All Funds Annual Financial Report, Summer School Pupil Count, Third Friday in September Pupil Count, 3rd Quarter 941’s, 3rd Quarter Unemployment report, September National School Lunch Claim, September Breakfast Claim, REAP Grant Claim and Title I-A Quarter 1 claim. Mrs. Richards reported that a draft of the Annual Meeting Booklet was included in the board packet for perusal; she also reminded everyone that the annual meeting is scheduled for October 26, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the LMC and that the required notices of the budget hearing and annual meeting agenda were sent to the newspaper. Mrs. Richards reported that hotel rooms have been booked for the Annual School Board Convention held in January in Milwaukee, WI. Mrs. Richards reported that the school fair meat animal sale was down compared to last year as well as the number of exhibitors but that the checks from the buyers have been deposited and checks have been issued to students. Exhibitor’s premium, float awards, and judge’s fees came to a total of $1,625.25.

7.4.  Mr. Rice gave a report on all fall sport’s team, what their standings in the conference were and remaining events that are coming up which will lead into conference playoffs. He reported that he will be attending the AD Conference in November in Wisconsin Dells and will report back to the board information obtained that would affect Ithaca School District.

8.  New Business

8.1.  Motion made by Mr. Magee to approve the bills and balances with receipts of $ 1,247,363.77 and disbursements of $ 1,210,324.56 with the exception of Check #43263 to Reliable Water Services for $227.00. Motion seconded by Mr. Huebsch. Roll call vote – Mr. Huffar-yes; Mrs. Burch-yes; Mr. Manning-yes; Mrs. Mueller-yes; Mr. Huebsch-yes; Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

8.2.  Presentation by Mr. Susan Peterman, Food Service Consultant about changes to menus and the addition of a second entrée choice.

8.3.  Motion made by Mr. Louis to approve Youth Options applications. Motion seconded by Mrs. Mueller. Roll call vote – Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes; Mr. Huffar-yes; Mrs. Burch-yes; Mr. Manning-yes; Mrs. Mueller-yes; Mr. Huebsch-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

8.4.  Motion made by Mr. Magee to approve the water heater replacement with option 2 which is to replace (1) existing hot water heater with like kind and quality and install (1) indirect hot water heater connected to high efficiency boiler system in the amount of $21,925.00. Motion seconded by Mr. Manning. Roll call vote – Mr. Huebsch-yes; Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes; Mr. Huffar-yes; Mrs. Burch-yes; Mr. Manning-yes; Mrs. Mueller-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

8.5.  Motion made by Mrs. Burch to repair the fire damage done to the lawnmower in the amount of $3,310.80 by The Homesteader’s. Motion seconded by Mr. Huebsch. Roll call vote – Mrs. Mueller-yes; Mr. Huebsch-yes; Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes; Mr. Huffar-yes; Mrs. Burch-yes; Mr. Manning-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

8.6.  Wrestling Club Can Fund - Mr. Louis spoke to the agenda item regarding the origin and transitional history of the purpose and function of the fund. No action.

8.7.  No action taken on Snow Plow Bids as only one bid came in from the newspaper ad and individual invites to bid to five specific invites.

8.8.  Motion made by Mrs. Mueller to approve the donation of $100.00 from Mr. Ben Lewis to be used for printing of school fair booklets and entry forms. Motion seconded by Mr. Huebsch. Roll call vote – Mrs. Burch-yes; Mr. Manning-yes; Mrs. Mueller-yes; Mr. Huebsch-yes; Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes- Mr. Huffar-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

8.9.  No formal action – Mr. Louis, Mr. Magee, and Mr. Smudde will be attending the WASB Convention in January 2016.

8.10.  Setting Next Board Meetings

8.10.1.  Motion made by Mr. Magee to set the next board meeting for October 26 immediately after the Annual Meeting to set the 2015-16 Tax Levy. Motion seconded by Mr. Huebsch. Motion carried 7-0.

8.10.2.  Motion made by Mrs. Burch to set the next regular monthly meeting for November 9th, 2015. Motion seconded by Mrs. Mueller. Motion carried 7-0.

8.11.  Discussion on agenda items for November meeting took place.

8.12.  Motion made by Mr. Magee to set the next Finance Committee meeting for November 9, 2015 at 6:30 in the LMC. Motion seconded by Mr. Louis. Motion carried 7-0.

9.  Motion made by Mr. Manning to adjourn to closed session under Wisconsin Statute 19.85 (1) (c) for “Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility”. Seconded by Mr. Louis. Roll Call vote: Mr. Manning – yes ; Mrs. Mueller – yes; Mr. Huebsch-yes; Mr. Magee – yes, Mr. Louis – yes; Mr. Huffar-yes, Mrs. Burch – yes,. Motion carried 7-0.

10.  Motion made by Mrs. Mueller to reconvene to open session. Seconded by Mrs. Burch. Motion carried - 7-0.

11.  No action taken on Summer Pay Adjustment.

12.  Motion made by Mr. Louis to approve hiring Shelley Pluemer as Paraprofessional. Motion seconded by Mr. Manning. Roll call vote – Mr. Manning – yes; Mrs. Mueller-yes; Mr. Huebsch; Mr. Magee-yes; Mr. Louis-yes; Mr. Huffar-yes; Mrs. Burch-yes. Motion carried 7-0.

13.  No action on hiring Coaching Positions for 2015-16.

14.  Motion made by Mrs. Burch to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Louis. Motion carried 7-0.

Submitted by Pat Magee

School Board Clerk

October 12, 2015Page 2