Menomonie School Board Meeting 5/11/2020

There will be a regular meeting of the Menomonie School Board on Monday, 5/11/2020 at 5:30 PM. The Live Stream of the meeting will be available here. The agenda is attached below.  Public comments to the board should be emailed to [email protected] by 5 PM on Monday. 

It was again difficult to hear most of the board in the Zoom meeting. 

Action Items:

Several changes were approved to policies:

A. Action to Approve Policy Updates and Revisions

1. Policy 443, Student Behavior-Code of Conduct 2. Exhibit 443 (

2), Student Bill of Rights

3. Policy 411.1, Harassment and-or Bullying of Students

4. Exhibit 411.1 (3), Student Bullying Bill of Rights

The board approved the new contracts for 2019-2022 with Menomonie Transportation to accommodate the issues raised with the pandemic closures and to allow Menomonie Transportation to run buses up to 14 years old rather than the current 12-year limit.

The board also approved a new tax-exempt lease schedule for Chromebooks for the district.

COVID-19 Report

There has been some disagreement between the state and county health departments. The state says there will be no in-person summer graduations, but the county health department believes that may be a premature judgment. The district is planning for multiple scenarios for the school closure since the situation is fluid. 

Toward the end of May and the first part of June there will be a return of computer equipment and pickup of personal items students left at the schools when the pandemic shutdown happened. 6-12 electronic devices need to be collected as they are all going off-lease. 

There currently are plans for a virtual summer school, but details need to be worked out.

Technology Report

This was difficult to understand as none of the slides from this presentation could be seen on the remote stream. Many improved features in technology were highlighted.  There have been security and phone system audits. 

The 6-12 Chromebooks will all be refreshed and the phones in the district will also be upgraded. The E-rate funding was just approved so there will be upgraded wifi and cabling in some of the buildings. 

Issues were raised on broadband accessibility in the district - there are hotspots available but they are only useful for people who are in areas with good cell reception on T-Mobile, the district's vendor. There is clearly a need for better broadband both for students and staff, some of whom have to drive in to town to access the internet.

Student Handbooks

The handbooks have been improved, partly in formatting and clarity, and partly that the consequences of violating the rules are now clearer than they have been in the past.

Budget

The pandemic has thrown the budget into turmoil. There is now a recommendation to not expect any more money in the next school year, which  is different than original expectations. The Oaklawn Secure Entry project will be postponed. There are many unknowns.

The district has a solid plan for next year, but things may change in the next biennium,  where there may be long-term holdovers of the pandemic problems.