BASD News & Information

As we move forward we would like to ensure we communicate with our parents and the community on a more regular basis from the school district. So, after every monthly board meeting we will be sharing the happenings of BASD with all of you!

Additionally, be on the lookout in the next few weeks for our district mailer, The Focus, as we move forward!

Starting June 10 through August 9 the district office will be open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Additionally, some district office staff may be in the office from July 1 - July 5 but the district office will be "closed" to the public.

We are so thankful for the generosity and support for BASD from the following two large donors!

• Rhonda Sullivan along with the Sullivan Family Charitable Fund donated $185,000 to BASD to assist with the remodeling of Cooper Elementary to support BASD's public Montessori Program! The donation will assist with moving walls, painting, asbestos abatement, new carpeting, and some vinyl flooring. All of this work will be taking place over the summer so the building is ready to go come the fall for students and staff! THANK YOU Rhonda and the Sullivan Family for your generous donation to BASD! To show our appreciation, BASD will be naming the Cooper library: Sullivan Library!

• Wayne Jenson, was a former BASD teacher and has passed away. Wayne was a very dedicated and devoted member within BASD and had a passion and love for the district's school forest. After Wayne's passing his sister shared that Wayne wanted to gift the school district 25% of his living trust to be used specifically for the school forest. The approximate value is around $150,000. We are beyond thankful for the contribution Wayne has made towards BASD and we look forward to utilizing the funds to support our beloved school forest.

• Mr. Eric Sulik will be shifting into the role of Activities Director starting July 1, 2024! Eric has been within BASD serving as a Karcher Middle School teacher and BASD's head football coach at the high school. Eric's appointment was approved on June 10 by the school board and will be starting effective July 1! Eric is very eager and ready to take on the role of Activities Director for BASD. Eric will oversee all high school athletics, district fine arts, and other extracurricular activities (clubs) for BASD! Please help us congratulate Eric Sulik!

• Mr. Jess Warren will be shifting from Interim Director of Buildings & Grounds to Director of Buildings & Grounds starting on July 1, 2024. Jess has been a member of the BASD Buildings & Grounds team for five years and also serves as the district master electrician. Jess has a strong background and skill set and has been serving in the capacity of Interim Director of Buildings & Grounds for the past few months. Please help us congratulate Jess Warren!

• Ms. Kristen Dixon will be shifting from Instructional Coordinator to Director of Teaching & Learning starting on July 1, 2024. Kristen has served as an instructional coordinator for the 2023-2024 school year and was an elementary/middle school teacher prior to joining our BASD team this year. Kristen has an amazing skill set when it comes to curriculum and instruction and is eager and ready to assist the district moving forward. Please help us congratulate Kristen Dixon!
• This position is not an added position but rather a replacement in lieu of an Assistant Superintendent.

• Mr. TJ George will be our new Principal for Cooper Montessori for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. TJ will also serve as the administrator for WisCo (Wisconsin Connect Charter School) along with assisting as a member of our Districts Pupil Services Team. TJ comes to the district with multiple years of experience as a building principal and is eager and ready to assist the school district not only as the Montessori Principal but also with additional programming throughout the school district. Please help us welcome and congratulate TJ George!

• Ms. Katie Prybylski will be our new Fox River Consortium Coordinator for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Katie has an alternative education, cross-categorical, regular education, and principal license. Katie has an extensive background working with at risk students and is eager and excited to join the BASD team! Please help us welcome and congratulate Katie Prybylski!

The kitchen area utilized by students to pick their food items will be remodeled this summer to improve the flow for students throughout the area. There will also be a change to how students enter and exit with some of the doorways being walled off to, again, assist with the flow for students.

The dollars utilized for this project is funded with Fund 50 dollars. Fund 50 is an account for food service only. The district CANNOT use the dollars in Fund 50 for anything other than food service. And, if the district does not use dollars within Fund 50 the state has the ability to take dollars away from the district. Therefore, instead of the state taking dollars from the district that current sits in Fund 50 we are remodeling the kitchen servery at the high school. This is VERY important to understand as we cannot use these dollars for staffing, balancing our budget, etc. The dollars can only be used for food service.

This will be a great change of the high school and bring the space up to date and provide a better flow for students.

Most of Cooper will be remodeled this summer with walls being shifted, cabinets moved, walls being painted, asbestos abatement, and carpet and vinyl flooring installed. It is also important to note and know that this entire project is being paid for by a community donor, Rhonda Sullivan and the Sullivan Family Charitable Fund. Rhonda owns Lavelle here in town and has always been a huge supporter of the Montessori Program. The donation made was for $185,000 to BASD for Cooper. Because of the generous donation we plan on naming the library at Cooper the "Sullivan Library" to honor the substantial donation to the district (pending board approval). All of the work will be taking place this summer, starting June 11.

The exterior portion of the sidewalk area at BHS will be redone due to the changes in height of the sidewalk along with the issue that the area is now tilting towards the building a bit. This is an issue when it comes to rain, etc. Therefore, we will be replacing this sidewalk area this summer. (Funds come from our $250,000 Buildings & Grounds Capital Improvement Dollars)

• Karcher Bus Stops/Recess Area: Karcher will have some additional sidewalk added due to the addition of 5th grade shifting to the middle school. Also, cement is being added to the small area between the sidewalk and the wall to the band room.
• Paid for from $250,000 Buildings & Grounds Capital Improvement Dollars for 2024-2025.
• Dyer Fence: With the shift of all 4K to Dyer we will be installing a fence around the playground equipment at Dyer to improve safety and security for students.
• Paid for from $250,000 Buildings & Grounds Capital Improvement Dollars for 2024-2025.
• HVAC Controls at BHS: The HVAC controls throughout the entire building are items that we can no longer order as they are no longer being made. In order to then update all of the necessary equipment for the high school the total cost would b $490,000. We do not have the funds for this type of update due to the financial state of the district. So, what we will be doing is replacing one section of the buildings HVAC controls this summer ($106,000 of the entire years $250,000 for capital projects) so that we can then use the parts of the removed components to replace other components throughout the building when they fail.
• Paid for from $250,000 Buildings & Grounds Capital Improvement Dollars for 2024-2025.
• Fire Panel: The Fire Panel at Winkler Elementary School has to be replaced.
• Paid for from $250,000 Buildings & Grounds Capital Improvement Dollars for 2024-2025.
• Kitchen Items at Lyons: We will be shifting the items at Lyons within the kitchen area to other elementary schools that are in need of replacements.
• Dyer Gym being painted: Some student activity accounts will be paying to have the Dyer gym painted over the summer. This is not an item coming out of the district's Fund 10 account.

We are behind in our updates to technology and building/grounds needs as we do not have sufficient funds to cover the costs of everything that needs to be replaced or updated. Our team has done an amazing job trying to determine the highest needs and are doing the best they can with the budgets we have.

• Time Clocks: Our team will be installing Time Clocks throughout our buildings for our hourly staff to utilize when it comes to clocking in and out. This is necessary to improve accuracy and accountability across the district.
• Updated Phone System: Dyer and Cooper will be shifting to updated phone systems over the summer. The goal is to switch over the entire school district as the phone system is very outdated. We are working on this project in stages due to district funding.
• PA Systems: Because Dyer and Cooper will have the new phone system they will also have new PA systems installed within the building to assist with safety and security. We are not able to install and improve all PA systems across the district at this time (due to funding).
• Server Project: An update is required to our server that is at the high school due to the aging equipment.

As a district and board we review 7 policies per month to ensure all district policies are reviewed within a 5 year cycle. This is a new process that the district and board started in July of 2023. All policy updates are first vetted by the board policy committee consisting of 3 board members. Currently those board members are: Taylor Wishau, Paul Kobernick, and Noah Strohm. Then, at a board meeting the board works through a "first reading" of the policies with recommended changes and/or recommended new policies. At the next board meeting the board would engage in a "second reading" of the same policies. Once a policy goes through the 1st and 2nd reading it is then an active and updated board policy within the district.

Below are the policies that went to the board on June 10, 2024 for the first reading.

• 5350: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention
• Recommendation to the full board is to accept almost all options throughout the policy accept those that do not pertain to our practices within BASD.
• 5505: Academic Honesty (This is a new policy)
• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.
• This policy relates to the importance of students submitting work that is their original work.
• 6236: Community Service Fund (Fund 80) (This is a new policy)
• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.
• This policy simply protects and supports our Community Education Department.
• 7250.01: Memorials for Staff and Students (This is a new policy)
• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.
• A main component of this policy relates to the importance of avoiding permanent memorials for any staff and/or students who pass away.
• The committee also thought taking the last paragraph that refers to not memorializing suicides is important to keep in the policy (section recommended by NEOLA but there as an option to accept).
• 6610: Non District-supported Student Activity Accounts
• This is a policy NEOLA simply updated and the committee recommendations taking NEOLA's recommendations.

• 7440.02: Smart Monitoring Equipment (This is a new policy)

• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.
  
• This policy relates to installing smart sensor devices for student safety. One example of this is vape smoke detectors. We do not have these at this time but not a bad idea to have it in our policies in the event the district ever decides to install something of this nature.
• We do have sensors on our doors currently if they are ajar and/or left open.

• 7540.08: Artificial Intelligence (AI) (This is a new policy)

• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.

• Jill confirmed that all the policies listed we have in place, which would include a newly adopted policy within this batch for approval - policy 5505 Academic Honesty.

• 8121: Personal Background Check - Contracted Services (This is a new policy)

• This is a new policy that the committee recommends the district adopt.
• This policy refers to contractors and/or subcontractors and the importance of having the ability to ask for background checks for those on site.

Our two district librarians, Sally Nie and Angie Thole, presented the following information:

• They shared how successful the newly adopted library policy (adopted spring 2023) was utilized throughout the 2023-2024 school year. The following is some data relating to the library policy and the pieces that are in place to assist BASD and support parental viewpoints:
• There were no reconsideration forms submitted to the district during the 2023-2024 school year. A reconsideration form can be completed by a parent of a student within BASD that believes a book in the library needs to be reclassified.
• At the high school level any book labeled MC (mature content) or Adult required a permission slip be completed by every student in order for the book to be checked out.
• 66 mature content permission slips were used at the high school.
• At the middle school level any student in grade 6 wanting to checkout a young adult book that is located at the middle school requires a permission slip.
• 40 young adult permission slips used at the middle school
• Also note, as we move into the 24-25 school year with the change of grade 5 students shifting to the middle school please note that no 5th grade student will be allowed to check out a young adult book that is in the Karcher library. Only students in grade 6 are able to utilize the YA permission slip.
• Parents have the ability to fill out a overarching permission slip detailing what text they do not want their student to have access to if that is a desire of a parent/family.
• As a district, there was one form completed by request of a family. The information then goes into Destiny (our data tracking system for the library) so staff checking books out to students are aware and can honor the request.
• What the library plan was from 2021-2024 and then will be sharing the plans for 2024-2027. They also will touch on some data relating to the changes to the library policy given that the new policy was put in place this school year. They will share how many permission slips were utilized to assist with how the changes have helped provide transparency for families.

As shared with the failure of the operational referendum, there would need to be an increase in student fees. The school board already approved an increase in extracurricular and facility use fees in the spring. The following fee areas will also have an increase and were approved by the school board at the June 10 board meeting.

• Registration Fees:
• Overall we made an increase ranging from 20% increase to 4K registration to an average of 31% increase to the current fees in grades 5K through grade 12.
• Fee adjustments:
• High School: $55.00 to $75.00
• Middle School: $45.00 to $60.00
• 4K Full Day through grade 4: $40.00 to $55.00
• 4K Half Day: $25.00 to $30.00
• WisCo: $45.00 to $60.00
• Middle School Class Fees:
• There will be a $10.00 fee added per trimester for all Art and STEM classes at the middle school level as we move into the 2024-2025 school year. We are proud and excited about the projects students are able to engage in at the middle school level and want to ensure our team is able to continue to provide amazing opportunities for our students!
• *** At this time, we have not added a materials fee to the elementary schools.
• Food Service:
• As we move into the school year we will longer be able to provide free universal breakfast for all students across BASD. Part of our why is the need to use funds within Fund 50 (food Service) to offset the cost of utilities being used for food service throughout the school year. This will allow the district to use Fund 10 (General Fund) for other budgetary needs.
• Please note, families who qualify for free/reduced lunch will still receive free breakfast/lunch.
• Additionally, there will be an increase to student's lunch and breakfast of:
• Karcher & BHS Lunch: $2.65 to $2.90
• Karcher & BHS Breakfast: $2.00
• Elementary Lunch: $2.45 to $2.70
• Elementary Breakfast: $1.50
• Milk carton increase: $0.30 to $0.40
• Event Admission:
• There will be an increase from $5.00 to $10.00 in event admission for plays and musicals at the high school level.

Asbestos abatement is needed at Cooper to remove the tile and adhesive that is holding the tile to the concrete in three areas of the building (the library, room 206, and room 202). Two of the areas will then be covered with carpet and one of the areas will be covered vinyl VCT tile as this space will be a STEM space for the building. The total for the asbestos abatement from Balistriei is $28,725.

This is coming to the board as it is over $25,000.

Reminder, this entire project (including the asbestos abatement) is paid for by the Sullivan Family Charitable Fund for a grand total of $185,000.

Jess Warren, Interim Buildings and Grounds Director, will be asking for approval of a $106,000 quote to replace controllers for HVAC equipment. This is only a small portion of the necessary replacements for the high school. The full cost would be around $490,000 to replace all of the controllers for the high school. These controllers are 15 years old and need to be replaced because the current ones are failing and replacements are not available. Only one quote is being brought to the board for this project because Siemens is the vendor we use for most of the district HVAC controls. The only building not using Siemens is Karcher (Trane is the company used at Karcher).

By doing this portion of the project we will have spare parts to use for other areas in the building until we are in a better financial state as a district for us to have the funds to pay for additional replacement parts.

The school board has decided to add and/or change board committees as of the May 2024 board meeting. The following 6 committees have been formed and meetings are underway! During the 2023-2024 school year there were 5 board committees (policy, personnel, teaching/learning, board governance, communication). The district did not have board committees for a few years prior to the 23-24 school year. It has been a good addition to the work of the board members as it is allowing for great discussion and collaboration amongst the board members.

I attend all board committees along with a director if it makes sense for a director to attend and/or be a part of the committee. For example, the finance committee Ruth Schenning also attends being our amazing director that makes sure our budget balances every year!

Policy Committee

• Paul Kobernick (chair)
• Noah Strohm
• Taylor Wishau

Personnel Committee

• Noah Strohm (chair)
• Marlo Brown
• Taylor Wishau

Board Governance / Communication Committee

• Marlo Brown (chair)
• Taylor Wishau
• Noah Strohm

Teaching & Learning Committee

• Aubrey Thompson (chair)
• Rosanne Hahn
• Paul Kobernick

Buildings & Grounds Committee (new as of 24-25)

• Rosanne Hahn (chair)
• Marlo Brown
• Peter Turke

Finance Committee (new as of 24-25)

• Peter Turke (chair)
• Paul Kobernick
• Aubrey Thompson

• Finance Committee: June 13 @ 6:00PM
• School Board Workshop: June 24 @ 6:00PM
• The first hour will be to learn about self-funded health insurance
• The second hour will be with School Perceptions to receive the report/feedback from the community survey about operational referendum options.
• Personnel Committee Meeting: June 26 @ 12:00PM
• Personnel Committee for BEA Negotiations Meeting: June 26 @ 6:00PM
• Board Governance / Communications Committee: June 26 @ 6:45PM (following BEA meeting)

Also, the Annual Meeting has been set for 6:30 PM on August 26, 2024.

As of right now the district is waiting for all of the surveys to be recorded through School Perceptions from the community. As of today, we have over 1,600 surveys submitted. The school board will be engaging in a review of the data on June 24. Then, on July 22 the board will be discussing options as to the dollar amount and timing of the next operational referendum.