Board Minutes – December 21, 2016

MEETING MINUTES…WHITEHALL BOARD OF EDUCATION…December 21, 2016

The December 21, 2016 meeting of the Whitehall Board of Education was held at Whitehall Memorial Conference Room. President, George Everson called the meeting to order at

6:30 pm. Roll was called and a quorum established. Other Board members present: Byron Fields, Jason Molis, Kristen Carroll and Julie Dokkestul. Absent: Leah Johnson and Dan Koxlien. Others present: Superintendent/6-12 Principal, Mike Beighley; Elementary Principal, Damon Lisowski; MS Principal/Improvement of Instruction Director, Beth Lisowski; Special Education/Pupil Services Director, Vickie O’Dell; Assistant HS Principal/Athletic Director, Jamie Youngbauer.

Molis moved to approve vouchers as presented. Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All members. Motion carried.

Carroll moved to approve the following items of the Motion Calendar:

  1. Approve minutes of November 16, 2016 Regular Hearing
  2. Approve minutes of November 16, 2016 Executive Meeting
  3. Approve minutes of November 30, 2016 Special Meeting
  4. Approve Volunteer Contracts for 2016-17 (see list)
  5. Approve additional Extra-Curricular Contract: Wrestling Cheer – Kaylyn Kensmoe
  6. Change regular January meeting date from January 18th to January 25th

Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.

Aaron Rittenhouse, Johnson Controls Inc., was unable to attend. Beighley reported that all is moving forward on the Performance Contract. Financing has been locked at 2.99% and the lighting materials have been ordered.

A discussion took place regarding the need to continue to focus on the necessary life skills for students and a belief that a positive correlation will exists between these “soft” skills and the high states single-look test scores that unfortunately dominate the discussion in modern public education.  The Board and Administration remain committed to teaching the necessary skills that focus on citizenship and character along with a comprehensive academic preparation.  Expectations will remain strong to encourage all staff to engage in these most necessary lessons while trusting that test scores will take care of themselves.

Trempealeau Valley Co-op student meeting and orientation was held on December 8th at Arcadia. There are a great number of students interested in touring Arcadia, Blair-Taylor and Whitehall. Independence has limited student interest based on their limited offerings. There are 200+ students coming here to tour their areas of interest prior to registering after Christmas. The tours will take place on Friday, January 6th.

Discussion held regarding Sunday Family Night Activity for January 22nd. A Family Night Bingo activity is being explored as a voluntary family activity that would be part of the CLC (after school) Grant requirements. Based on the building use calendar it may need to be held on a Sunday evening. There are some weekday options but are not usually the best time for getting families to attend.

Administrative Reports:

B. Lisowski –

Presented a review of the 2015-16 School Report card.

O’Dell –

The Civil Rights Data Collection (OCR) Report site is not open yet. It may be ready by late January or February. District personnel are gathering all of the necessary data including student and staff information. Some of the data will be pre-populated from other district DPI reports.

D. Lisowski –

Students and teachers participated in Service Learning Activities: Teachers donated food, prepared meals and delivered to 8 families after school; Students and teachers created Christmas treats and delivered them to over 50 local businesses on December 21st.

Youngbauer –

With the Computer Science/STEM programs expanding, Kristoff’s day may start to look very different.  He currently teaches Computer type classes during 2 periods.  This may quickly become 3 or even 4 periods.  This increase will create a need in the math department and the district may need to look at partnerships within the co-op to meet the needs within the math department.

Everson recessed to Executive session pursuant to S.S. 19.85 (c) to review Administrative performance and contracts for 2017-2019. Time: 7:27 pm.

Byron Fields

Clerk