BASD News & Information

This summer, BASD held its Summer School program for over 370 BASD students. The summer school program is designed to cater to the varying educational needs of students at different stages in their academic journey.

For our 4K-8 students, the focus was on enrichment classes that combined learning with fun. These classes included various subjects and activities such as art, music, science, physical activity, and so much more. The students engaged in hands-on activities that fostered creativity, critical thinking, and a love for learning.

Our high school students had the opportunity to earn credits towards their graduation requirements through credit recovery as well and initial credit courses. Collectively, over 50 total credits were earned by high school students.

The summer school program not only provided academic benefits but also fostered social interaction, collaboration, and personal growth. Students across all age groups made new friends, developed new skills, and discovered new interests!

The dedication of our teachers and staff was critical in making this summer school experience a success. Their commitment to providing a supportive environment ensured that every student had a rewarding and valuable experience. We look forward to the start of the 2024-25 school year, and know that the skills the students gained over the summer will undoubtedly help our students in the fall!

July has been a bustling month for our Health Services Department. They completed the BASD Annual Report and presented it to the Board on August 12. They have been working very diligently towards achieving the designation of a heart safe school district under the Project ADAM Heart Safe School Program Checklist.

The annual meeting will be held on August 26, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the Karcher Gymnasium. Standard agenda topics include a Superintendent’s Report highlighting BASD events and accomplishments, the Treasurer’s Report on the 2023-2024 financials, and a presentation on the 2024-2025 budget. The budget is required to be published in the Standard Press approximately ten days prior to the meeting, and citizens residing in the district will have the opportunity to comment on the budget after the presentation. Resident citizens in attendance will also vote on the 2024-2025 proposed tax levy and set board member salaries for the school year. Historically the board has served without pay, so please thank our board members for their service.

As of June 30, 2024, all one-time federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief - COVID) grant money has been spent. This means BASD, like many school districts, will have a permanent reduction in revenue sources for the district; you may have heard it referred to as a funding cliff. We did receive three rounds of aid spanning four school years (2020-21 through 2023-24). The total received over those four years was $5,316,815. Funds were spent to address learning loss that may have occurred due to the pandemic as well as on COVID mitigation measures, and included costs for virtual learning during the hybrid school year (20-21); technology; medical supplies and compensation; custodial services, materials, and compensation; HVAC improvements; compensation for additional ELL (English Language Learner) staff; compensation for instructional coordinators; and textbooks.

In addition to their regular tasks during the summer the IT team has been busy installing the new phone system at Dyer and Cooper which is almost complete. They also installed time clocks across all district buildings. The addition of the time clocks is to improve our accuracy of time and efficiency spent behind the scenes adjustment timesheets.

The Buildings and Grounds team has been busy in July and early August.

• At Dyer the new fence was finished and mulch was added to the playground to make the area safe and inviting to students when they return to school (Capital Improvement Budget).
• At BHS new concrete was poured by the student entrance (Capital Improvement Budget).
• The Cooper Montessori School remodel project is coming to an end. The project included adding and removing walls, painting and installing carpet (Outside Donation).

During the summer, our K-5, 6-8, and 9-10 ELA (English Language Arts) teams met to prepare for a successful first year using our new ELA resources. Teams worked on inservice roll out, consistent grading and assessment practices, implementation look fors, and pacing calendars. The work that these teams have accomplished will help our K-10 system with alignment for English Language Arts!

BASD hosted our first official Camp Invention at Karcher Middle School for K-6th grade students! We had 36 campers and were able to offer 6 scholarships to families! Camp Invention is a week-long STEM camp where students explore four different classes that utilize all areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Kids had a blast and went home with some exciting inventions from camp!!!

A fantastic team of 5 elementary teachers came together over the summer to assist with curriculum work around our elementary social studies programming, specifically in the area of geography. BASD will be implementing a new geography resource during the 2024-25 school year to ensure students are given more knowledge and support when it comes to where cities are, states, countries, etc! This is something we have noticed needs improvement and we are excited to engage in this area for the betterment of our students!

Our teams have been busy working to ensure we are fully staffed as we start the school year! Below is the list (as of August 12) in relation to new hires for BASD! Please welcome everyone to our AMAZING BASD community!

Certified Staff New Hires:

• Jennifer Bebow - Special Education @ Waller

• Amanda Brissette - Art Teacher @ Waller, Winkler, 4K @ Dyer

• Brooke Chicoat - FACE Teacher @ BHS

• Max Easley - Special Education Teacher @ Dyer

• TJ George - Cooper Montessori & WisCo Principal & Support with Pupil Services Department

• Jennifer Henderson - Reading Specialist @ Waller & Winkler

• Dana Herman - Special Education Teacher @ BHS

• Emily Krattley - Speech Pathologist @ Dyer

• Makayla LaRue - Agricultural Science Teacher @ BHS

• Heather McMurray - Alternative Education Teacher @ Fox River Consortium (FRC)

• Jake Orlowski - Social Studies Teacher @ BHS

• Danielle Pauers - Special Education Teacher @ BHS

• Katie Prybylski - Fox River Consortium (FRC) Principal

• Kailyn Standiford - 4th Grade Teacher @ Dyer

• Ryan Vedner - Teacher for Wisconsin Connect Charter School (WisCo)

Support Staff New Hires:

• Lori Arispe - Part Time Custodian

• Secilly Aviles - Paraprofessional @ BHS

• Jamie Bappert - Paraprofessional @ Dyer

• Daniela Budzynski - Paraprofessional @ BHS

• Andrea Cummings - Part Time Instructional Aide @ BHS

• Melissa DeGroot - Burlington BAC Coordinator (will oversee our before/after care program)

• Megan Fletcher - FRC Head Secretary

• Britany Long - Paraprofessional @ BHS

• Sarah Hopkins-Niesen - Health Aide @ Dyer

• Aliza Reitsma - Paraprofessional @ BHS

• Paige Rivers - ASL Interpreter @ Cooper

• Maya Shub - ASL Interpreter @ Waller

• Molly Souza - District Part Time Nurse

• Desi Thompson - Paraprofessional @ WIN

• Brian Whitebird - Full Time Custodian

Extracurricular Activity Appointments:

• Hunter Anderson - Boys Soccer Assistant Coach

• Kaley Blake - Volleyball Coach

• Andrew Brockmann - Girls Tennis Assistant Coach

• Joe Busch - Girls Soccer Head Coach

• Melinda Hoffman - Freshman Head Coach Boys Volleyball

• Trey Krause - Volleyball Coach

• Michael Lazzio - Boys Soccer Assistant Coach (Volunteer)

• Ricky Pompa - Boys Head Soccer Coach

• Ben Puffer - Football Freshman Assistant Coach

• Mark Strasser - Football JV Assistant Coach

• Claire Walby - Volleyball Coach

Below are the School Guides shared with families on August 5, 2024. Please feel free to take a look at the ones that pertain to your student(s) school(s) for information. Additionally, parents should be on the lookout for newsletters from building principals about day to day specifics throughout the school year!

• BHS School Guide
• KMS School Guide
• Cooper Montessori School Guide
• Dyer School guide
• Waller School Guide
• Winkler School Guide

New staff will be engaged in some professional development starting on Tuesday, August 20 through August 22. Then, our full staff return to prepare to welcome students and engage in professional development starting on August 26. Our first day back with students will be September 3 and we cannot wait to see our students and staff again!!!

Burlington High School

• • $2,500 - Drama Club - Burlington Community Fund
  • $300 - Football - Off-season Academy, LLC
  • 500 - WBSD - Educators Credit Union
  • 250 - WBSD - Georgia Rae's Sunshine Strings

  Karcher Middle School

  • $1500 - Loving Paws Dog Training, LLC
  • $50 - Nancy and Richard Koceja
  • $100 - Turke & Strauss, LLP

We made the decision to shift our employee handbooks to align with NEOLA. NEOLA is the overseeing company we work with that assists with ensuring we are up to date on changes needed with our district policies. The board approved the updated professional and support staff handbooks for the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

Annually, we need to share the Health Services End of Year Report with the school board. Therefore, Jill Dreger (Director of Health Services) presented the Health Services Annual Report for the 2023-2024 school year. Our health services team did an amazing job working with our students and families this past school year AND they took on some new trainings for our staff, working towards being certified as Heart Healthy Schools, and spent more time in classrooms for some health education 4K-12.

The BASD Foundation team came to share what the foundation is all about with the school board. This foundation has been formed as a 501.(c)(3) to support BASD families and the District with necessary funds. The foundation team talked with the Board about the purpose and overall goals of the foundation so that the Board is in the "know" and aware of this awesome opportunity for those who want to support BASD families and/or the District.

For your knowledge, the importance of developing a 501.(c)(3) is that it allows businesses and families to donate to the school district with the ability for the donation to be a tax write off. Throughout the past year, community members kept asking me to ensure we are doing everything we can to fundraise to assist with our financial deficit. Therefore, one avenue to assist the district with funds is through the use of the newly created BASD Foundation!!! If you are looking to contribute to support families in need and/or the district please click on the link below!!! Additionally, we need your help spreading the word as we value each and every student, family, and our BASD community and this is an additional opportunity to show your support to BASD!

Link to the website

The following policies went through a first reading at the school board meeting. In September these policies will have a second reading for approval. Once approved they are updated for BASD.

First Reading Board Policies:

Policy 0166 - Agenda (Revised)

Proposal to add that the Board President needs to approve the agenda prior to a regular or special Board meeting to enhance clarity, accountability, and consistency in agenda preparation.

Policy 1240 - Evaluation of the Superintendent (Revised)

This proposal is to ensure that the method of the evaluation process and the time of the year are clearly laid out in the policy with a formal evaluation happening in December and an additional informal evaluation in June for the Superintendent Evaluation process.

Policy 3112 - Board-Staff Communications (Revised)

This proposal is to add a sentence that states clearly that a professional staff member should always carbon copy (CC) the Superintendent when contacting the Board.

Policy 4112 - Board-Staff Communications (Revised)

This proposal is to add a sentence that states clearly that a support staff member should always carbon copy (CC) the Superintendent when contacting the Board.

Policy 3160 - Physical Examination (Revised)

We brought this to the policy committee to remove the requirement of a physical examination to determine the employment eligibility for Professional Staff.

Policy 4160 - Physical Examination (Revised)

We brought this to the policy committee to remove the requirement of a physical examination to determine the employment eligibility for Support Staff.

Policy 5451.01 - Wisconsin Academic Standards (Revised)

Our high school team asked that we remove the word "unweighted" to allow the District to use weighted or unweighted grades to report out to the state and universities that do not recognize the Laude System.

Policy 7250 - Commemoration of School Facilities (Rescinded) and Policy 9700.03 - Naming Rights (Revised)

Proposal to rescind Policy 7250 and combine it with Policy 9700.03. This policy was only one sentence. It makes more sense to combine it with another policy.

During the July Board meeting Amy Levonian (High School Principal) presented about the desire and ask to remove service hours from being a graduation requirement due to the desire to embed service throughout the work we do with students so it is more authentic versus compliant. The high school team is working collaboratively to determine how students will be recognized and honored for completing a specific number of service hours.

At the August 12 board meeting the Board unanimously approved the removal of Service Hours from our graduation requirements starting with the class of 2025.

Every year every school district has to provide an annual report of all seclusions and restraints across the school district. The board unanimously approved the seclusion and restraint report.

Rosanne Hahn has been a long standing representative for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Having a board member from our team part of the state conversations is helpful and provides the district with the ability to bring awareness in regards to the great work we are doing to the state level. Rosanne would like to continue to run for WASB as a representative from Region 13. The board unanimously approved Rosanne submitting the required paperwork to run for WASB as a representative for Region 13.

Committee updates since last board meetings:

• Building & Grounds Committee - Rosanne Hahn, Chair, Peter Turke, Marlo Brown
• Met on August 7th with Jess Warren and Jill Oelslager at 6:00 PM. This was the first Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting. Therefore, the group established goals with the first area of focus being to gain an understanding of our 5/10 year capital improvement plan. Due to our financial situation we have not been able to keep up with our 5 to 10 year capital improvement plan. It is important for the board to understand the implications of not having the finances to support maintenance needs across the system.

• Finance Committee - Peter Turke, Chair, Aubrey Thompson, Paul Kobernick
• Met on July 11th at 6:00 PM and looked at how things ended up across the state with operational referendums. We also looked at what percentage is "normal" when it comes to a fund balance for a school district as there has been a few questions at the board level about the need for a fund balance and wanting to understand the "why" for a desire to have a minimum of 20-25% fund balance. BASD has a much lower fund balance that the average across the state of Wisconsin. Our approved strategic plan is for a minimum of a 20% fund balance come 2029.
• Personnel Committee - Noah Strohm, Chair, Taylor Wishau, Marlo Brown
• Met on August 7th at 1:00 PM to approve the appointment as well as the resignations, retirements and terminations since the last School Board meeting.
• Policy Committee - Paul Kobernick, Chair, Taylor Wishau, Noah Strohm
• Met on July 16th and 30th at 5:30 PM where the team reviewed our Employee Handbooks and gave suggestions.

• Teaching & Learning Committee - Aubrey Thompson, Chair, Paul Kobernick, Rosanne Hahn
• Met on August 1st at 9:00 AM with Kristen Dixon, Annie Phillips, Amy Levonian, and myself. Prior to this meeting the board had some questions about our normal day to day schedules so Ann Phillips (Principal at Waller Elementary School) talked about the elementary schedules and Amy Levonian (Principal at Burlington High School) talked about our high school schedule. The board will hear about the middle school schedule from Nick Ryan (Principal of Karcher Middle School) during the September committee meeting. This committee provides a great opportunity for the board to truly understand the work taking place within our schools.
• Board Workshop on July 22 @ 6:00 PM
• At this board workshop the main focus of the meeting was around the need for an operational referendum. Our board analyzed the community survey data and utilized the data to help inform our decisions moving forward. The board will engage in board action on August 26th after the annual meeting to determine the dollar amount, number of years, recurring/nonrecurring, and when the question will be on the ballot to assist with our finances for the start of the 2025-2026 school year. There might be a few more items on the agenda, they are still being discussed between myself and Taylor Wishau, Board President.

Also know, when the board meets I, Jill Oelslager, am always in attendance with them and then depending on the committee, sometimes others from the BASD team attend.

August 26, 2024: School Board Annual meeting @ 6:30 PM at Nettie Karcher Middle School Gym. Here is the link to the Annual Meeting Report for the Annual Meeting scheduled for August 26!

Additionally, The board will engage in board action in relation to an operational referendum on August 26th after the annual meeting as a "special board meeting". This meeting is set to determine the dollar amount, number of years, recurring/nonrecurring, and when the question will be on the ballot to address our finances for the start of the 2025-2026 school year. There might be a few more items on the agenda, however, they are still being discussed between myself and Taylor Wishau, Board President for this special board meeting.

Additional upcoming Board Meetings:

• August 29, 2024: Board Governance & Communication Committee meeting @ 5:00 pm
• September 4, 2024: Personnel Committee meeting @ 1:00 pm
  
• September 9, 2024: School Board meeting @ 6:30 pm
• September 24, 2024: Policy Committee @ 5:30 pm
• September 26: Teaching & Learning Committee @ 9:00 am
• October 17: Buildings & Grounds Committee @ 6:00 pm

It will be so awesome to see everyone back in the coming weeks! Summer did not slow down at all for those at the District Office and we look forward to what is to come for the 2024-2025 school year!!! See you all soon! Enjoy the final weeks of summer!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jill Oelslager, Superintendent

Taylor Wishau, Board President

Marlo Brown, Vice President

Paul Kobernick, Clerk

Peter Turke, Treasurer

Rosanne Hahn, Board Member

Noah Strohm, Board Member

Aubrey Thompson, Board Member

• July 11, 2024
• June 10, 2024