Board Minutes – August 16, 2017

MEETING MINUTES…WHITEHALL BOARD OF EDUCATION…August 16, 2017

The August 16, 2017 meeting of the Whitehall Board of Education was held at Whitehall Memorial Elementary Balcony. 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/9-12 Principal, Mike Beighley; Elementary Principal, Damon Lisowski; Special Education/Pupil Services Director, Vickie O’Dell; MS Principal/Improvement of Instruction Director, Beth Lisowski; Assistant HS Principal/Athletic Director, Jamie Youngbauer; Finance Manager, Cheryl Maug; Teachers, Delaine Stendahl, Shannon Beighley, Mikayla Smith; Guidance Counselor, Laura Eide.

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

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

  1. Approve minutes of June 28, 2017 Executive Meeting
  2. Approve minutes of July 19, 2017 Regular Meeting
  3. Approve Extra-Curricular Contracts
  4. Approve resignation of Max Ferguson, 5th Grade Teacher/Baseball Coach

Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.

The Academic and Career Planning (ACP) committee members presented the ACP program plan to the Board. This plan is required to be Board approved and posted by September 1st. The plan engages students, staff and community to work on improving career exploration and skill development. Carroll moved to approve ACP program plan as presented. Molis seconded. Aye – All members. Motion carried.

Beighley reported that the District is not ready to proceed with a Surround Care program at this time. He suggested that the discussion continue and possibly send out a survey to gather some data on the number of kids that would attend and the times that this service would be needed.

Molis moved to approve the Student Handbooks for 2017-18. Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.

Fields moved to approve the Coaches Handbook for 2017-18. Molis seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.

A Mobile Trailer for training was on display at the Ashley for the Arts event. A trailer like this would be a good option for STEM education for the 4-school Co-op. It would allow less moving of students for classes and would be a good option for STEM education.

Beighley gave a summary of the meeting with the Governor on July 27th. Along with the Governor and his staff, the UW System President, Technical College System President, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and reps from WMC and DWD were all in attendance.  There was some good discussion about skills gaps and the need for cooperation and collaboration.  There was discussion of the need for meaningful partnerships between K-12, postsecondary and private industry.  The next steps will be to build the partnerships locally and regionally as well as target real and meaningful skill development and career exploration.

The Joint Board Meeting will be held at Whitehall Elementary Balcony at 7:00 pm on August 31st. The basis of the meeting will be discussing and defining the Vision and Mission.

The meeting will follow the joint in-service. The in-service day will begin at noon with lunch with presentations to begin around 1:00 pm.

Governor’s budget has a $200/student increase in Per Pupil Aid and a $100 increase in Sparsity Aid that also includes a proposed expansion to now cover schools with 750-1000 students. The Senate budget has the Per Pupil Aid but not the Sparsity Aid and the Assembly budget currently contains no Sparsity Aid and $150 Per Pupil Aid increase.

The August 2017 in-service schedule was presented. In-service begins on Wednesday, August 23rd with all staff from 10 am – 6 pm. Student T-shirt delivery will begin after lunch. A staff mixer will be held at the Whitehall Golf Course at 6 pm.

Administrative Reports:

D. Lisowski –

Progress continues with the Outdoor Learning Center construction. Mr. L and Bryce Anderson will be shingling as soon as the weather permits. Picnic table will be added and the shelter will be ready to use at the start of the school year.

O’Dell –

Presented information on learning gap data and how well students do when included in classrooms vs. when removed from the classroom for instruction. In the MS/HS support staff and teachers go in to provide instruction. In the Elementary they are pulled out of the classroom due to scheduling constraints.

B. Lisowski –

The accuracy of direct pull of student data from Skyward is being reviewed for accuracy. 2016-17 data (direct pull) showed a decrease of 30 students for Free & Reduced Lunch from 2015-16 (not direct pull).

The enrollment/registration form is currently being revised and will be sent to all families to complete. We want to be sure that the data entered into the district software system is as accurate as possible. The software also has other data capabilities that were not being used and would be beneficial information to have on file.

Youngbauer –

Gave update on athletic numbers for fall sports.

Board consented to the overnight trip for Varsity Volleyball on August 25th.

High School day will change from 8 periods to 9 periods a day. Breakfast, ACP and any Co-op travel will be held during 3rd period. There will be no Co-op classes on the first day.

Building walk-through at 7:53 pm.

Dokkestul moved to adjourn. Seconded by Carroll. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.

Time: 8:45 p.m.

Cheryl Maug

Recording Secretary