Menomonie School Board Meeting for Jan 11, 2021

The Menomonie School Board will meet at 5:30 PM on Jan 11, 2021. 

The meeting was preceeded by the mid-year budget hearing. The budget document is attached.

In order to provide sufficient physical distancing, in-person attendance for the public Board meeting will be limited to 25 people. It is anticipated that there will be 14 spaces available for members of the public.

The meeting will also be live-streamed at: https://ensemble.cesa10.k12.wi.us/Watch/j2TAb89N Members of the public are welcome to provide comments to the Board during the Community Communications item listed on the agenda. No in-person community communications will be allowed at Monday’s meeting, but comments may be provided in writing or virtually. Please submit your written comments or your request to be placed on the schedule for providing virtual comments by emailing [email protected] by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2021.

AGENDA

I. OPENING ITEMS
A. Call to Order

B. Roll Call and Quorum

C. Pledge of Allegiance and Reading of Mission Statement

D. Agenda Order and Approval/Revision

The board voted to remove item 4G from the agenda.

E. Rules of Order for Board Discussions

The board adopted some new rules of order for board discussions to limit the number of times a member may speak (twice) on any individual agenda item and how long they may speak (3 minutes).

F. Recommendations and Commendations

G. Student Representative Communications

H. Community Communications

I. Board Member/Superintendent Communications

J. Revenue and Expenditure Reports for the Month Ended December 2020

K. Monthly Employment Report (December 2020)

II. CONSENT AGENDA

A. Action to Approve Consent Agenda

1. Minutes of Regular Meeting of December 14, 2020

2. Financial Reports for December 2020

3. Donations Exceeding $1,000 for December 2020

III. ACTION AGENDA

A. Approve Number of Regular and Special Education Spaces Available for Open Enrollment

B. Approve 2020-2021 Budget Revisions

IV. DISCUSSION ITEMS/POLICY REVIEW

A. Review Exhibit-165, Board Member Norms and Operating Procedures

B. COVID-19 Report

The numbers in the county are looking much better - active cases and hospitalizations have dropped, but stil serious.

C. Discuss SDMA Reopening Plan

D. Clerk’s Report on 2021 School Board Election

Incumbents Jim Swanson and Penny Burstad will run for re-eleciton. Tricia Thompson will not run for re-election. New challenging candidates are Donna Thibado, Mark Hillman, Karl Palmer, Rick Scharlau, Jeremy Enger and Angela Skillings. There will be  a primary election on Feb. 16. There will be a candidate forum on Feb. 2 run by the League of Women Voters.

E. Review and Discuss 2021 WASB Resolutions for Delegate Vote

F. Discuss Policy 252.1-Development of Administrative Rules

G. Discuss Proposal for Third-Party Mediation

H. Items Related to Next Meeting Dates, Board Committees, and Reports

V. CLOSED SESSION

A. Action to move into closed session, for the purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility, pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(c), Wisconsin Statutes

B. Action to Approve Closed Session Minutes of October 12, 2020

C. District Administrator Goals Review (Summative Evaluation)

D. Discuss Censure of Board Member Jim Swanson

VI. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION

A. Action to Reconvene in Open Session for the purpose of taking action, as deemed necessary or appropriate, on any matter discussed or deliberated upon in closed session

VII. ACTION AGENDA

A. Action to Censure Board Member Jim Swanson

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

A. Action to Adjourn

Addendum - COVID_19 report for 1/6/2021

Dear SDMA Families and Staff,

Happy New Year from the School District of the Menomonie Area. 

The last school district update was shared three weeks ago (December 16), so please keep that in mind when considering any longitudinal comparisons in this message.

Dunn County COVID-19 Data Update
The data listed on the Dunn County Dashboard was updated today, and you can see there is now a cumulative total of 3,634 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Dunn County (up from 3,212 in the last report). According to the Dunn County Facebook page, there are currently 190 active cases in Dunn County and 4 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 (down from 291 and 16 last report). The seven-day moving average for new cases in Dunn County is now at 21 cases per day, or 46 cases/100,000 people (down from 29 cases per day or 65 cases/100,000 people last report). 

As can be seen in the cumulative and daily case graphs, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Dunn County has really stabilized over the past few weeks. The updated burden chart shows how the burden level in Dunn County dropped from 860 on December 16 to 605 today. The burden level in Dunn County was listed as "Critically High" in November and it is currently listed as "Very High". The burden would need to fall below 500 to drop into the next category. Testing continues to track lower and positivity rates are still concerning, so people should remain very cautious about possible exposures to COVID-19. Anyone with potential COVID-19 symptoms is encouraged to get tested and may want to take advantage of free surge testing being offered at UW Stout or the free testing service supported by the Wisconsin National Guard. 

SDMA Student COVID-19 Data
Some of the newly reported cases over the past weeks have been students enrolled in the SDMA. Since September 1, there is a cumulative reported total of 163 student cases (157 confirmed and 6 probable) of COVID-19 cases in the SDMA [up from 137 (135 confirmed and 2 probable) cases last reported] with the following breakdown:

• Menomonie High School-    87 (up from 70 last report) 
• Menomonie Middle School- 39  (up from 36)
• Menomonie Elem. Schools- 36  (up from 28) 
• Menomonie 4K-   1 (same as 1)

Many of the student COVID-19 cases in the SDMA have already been deemed "recovered", and a number of students have been released from the mandatory isolation period. With 2,619 students participating in the in-person instructional model, the SDMA currently has 16 active student cases- 0.61% [up from 8 active cases (0.23%) last report]. The breakdown of active student cases includes:

• Menomonie High School-     9 (up from 6 last report) *5 confirmed and 4 probable 
• Menomonie Middle School-  3 (up from 1 last report) *2 cases confirmed and 1 probable 
• Menomonie Elem. Schools-  4 (up from 1 last report) *3 confirmed and 1 probable
• Menomonie 4K-   0 (same as 0)

Today, 5.15% of the students in the SDMA were excluded from school due to close contacts, symptoms, or other COVID-19 concerns (up from 3.97% last week). The 7-day average for student exclusions across the SDMA is 3.95%. 

The current breakdown of SDMA student exclusions includes:

• Menomonie High School-      5.09% (up from 3.73% last report)
• Menomonie Middle School-   4.43% (up from 3.28% last report)
• Wakanda Elementary-           3.53%  (down from 4.17% last report)
• River Heights Elementary-    3.41%  (down from 7.85% last report)
• Oaklawn Elementary-            5.02%  (up from 0.67% last report)
• Knapp Elementary-                0.00%  (same as 0.00% last report)
• Downsville Elementary-         8.11%  (up from 5.41% last report)
• Menomonie 4K-                     14.79% (up from 7.10% last report)

SDMA Staff COVID-19 Data
There have been a total of 51 staff cases in the SDMA since the start of the school year (up from 45 last report), 46 of which have been released from isolation, so there are currently 5 active staff cases in the SDMA (up from 1 on the last report). Today, 1.95% of the 565 district staff members were excluded from work for COVID-19 reasons (down from 2.83% last report). The 7-day average for staff exclusions across the SDMA is 2.30% (down from 2.86% last week). 

It is very possible that unknown holiday exposures could still lead to more cases reported in our schools and community, so avoiding unnecessary gatherings, Washing Up, Masking Up, and Backing Up are extremely important mitigation measures for reducing the likelihood of needing to quarantine or isolate due to a COVID-19 exposure. If you or anyone in your family has been exposed to COVID-19 and/or is experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms, please get tested, stay home, and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

Sincerely,

Joe Zydowsky