RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BUDGET HEARING AND ANNUAL MEETING Oconomowoc Area School District 6:00 p.m. - August 19, 2014 Little Theatre at Oconomowoc High School 641 E. Forest Street, Oconomowoc, WI 53066 CALL TO ORDER AND RULES FOR THE MEETING Board Clerk Mike Bickler called the Budget Hearing and Annual Meeting of the Oconomowoc Area School District to order at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Bickler noted that this meeting would be conducted by Robert s Rules of Order and that Attorney Mark Olson was present and seated at the Board table as legal counsel for the district. Mr. Bickler explained that an eligible voter must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older as of this day (August 19, 2014) and a resident of the Oconomowoc Area School District for at least ten days prior to this date. In addition, Mr. Bickler explained the procedure for challenging the eligibility of the voter. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON Mr. Bickler asked for nominations of a Chairperson for the Annual Meeting. Don Wiemer moved, seconded by Dave Engen, to nominate Mr. Terry Largent, as the Chairperson for the Annual Meeting. There were no other nominations. Dave Guckenberger moved, seconded by Sandy Schick to close the nominations and cast a single ballot for Mr. Largent. A show of hands was taken and Mr. Terry Largent was elected as Chairperson. The vote was unanimous. REVIEW OF MINUTES OF LAST ANNUAL MEETING Chairperson Largent noted that copies of the minutes of the 2013 Annual Meeting and Budget Hearing were made available at the public information table and that these minutes were published on September 24, 2013 in the Oconomowoc Focus. Based on legal opinion, Chairperson Largent said the minutes do not need to be acted upon at this meeting. He also indicated that the minutes from tonight s meeting will be reviewed by the Board of Education at the regular meeting on September 16, 2014 for approval. Once approved, the Minutes will be published in the Oconomowoc Area School District official newspaper, the Oconomowoc Focus. INTRODUCTION OF BOARD MEMBERS Board President Don Wiemer introduced the Board members and administrative staff seated at the table: Superintendent Roger Rindo, Deputy Clerk Snyder, Member Steve Zimmer, Member Sandy Schick; School District Attorney Mark Olson, President Don Wiemer; Member Lisa Arenas, Board Clerk Mike Bickler; Board Treasurer Dave Guckenberger, Director-Business Services Sheridan. EXPLANATION OF PURPOSE AND FORMAT OF BUDGET HEARING Board Treasurer Dave Guckenberger introduced this section and said that he will present 1) Financial Results for 2014-2015 and Director of Business Services Sheridan will present the Budget Forecast for 2014-2015. He clarified that the Board of Education has the ultimate authority to make the final determination of the levy needed to operate and maintain the public
Page 2 of 5 schools for the ensuing year. The statutory duty to levy a tax sufficient to do so will be completed by early November, 2014. PRESENTATION OF 2014-2015 BUDGET FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR 2013-2014 Board Treasurer Dave Guckenberger provided a slide presentation which included the following key areas: Overview of the Year in Review: 2013-2014 Results; Revenue & Expenditure Highlights; Budget & Actual Expenditure by Fund Summary; General Fund Balance Growth & Recovery; Explanation of the Importance of the Fund Balance; and Affirmation of Moody s Aa2 Rating BUDGET FORECAST FOR 2014-2015 Business Services Director Beth Sheridan presented the Financial Snapshot for 2014-2015; the OASD Enrollment Trend for 2009-10; 2010-11; 2011-12; 2012-13; 2013-14 and the estimate for 2014-2015; Staffing Summary for 2014-2015; OASD s State Aid Rollercoaster ; OASD Property Tax Estimate November 2014-Preliminary; Factors to Consider for the November 2014 Tax Levy; Community Service Fund; Fund (80); Comparison of Equalized Tax Rate per $1000 for Waukesha County School Districts; Annual Meeting Advisory Levy and a Review of the Proposed Tax Levy Resolution. HEARING ON THE 2014-2014 BUDGET President Wiemer asked for any citizen comments on the report presented by Treasurer Guckenberger and Director Sheridan. Hearing no comments or questions on the budget, President Wiemer closed the budget hearing. No dissent was voiced. COMMENTS BY SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT AND SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Superintendent s Comments Superintendent Rindo commented that the 2013-2014 school year was a busy one for the Oconomowoc Area School District. His comments were as follows: 1) We continued our work to personalize learning for every child through our implementation of Universal Design for Learning; 2) We developed a strategic plan that will chart our course over the next three years in the District; 3) We built a framework for continuous improvement that will be implemented district-wide in conjunction with our strategic plan to monitor progress toward our desired outcomes and improve processes across all departments; and 4) And we completed the final work on the Athletic Fields Forever project with the construction of the new football field and track at Rux Stadium, the new soccer stadium, and new baseball field. All of this was done with a continued focus on strong fiscal management and wise stewardship of the community s resources. This past year was also a successful one by many different measures: 1) Our district enrollment continued to grow, up by nearly 100 students on the 3 rd Friday in September last year; 2) Our students continued to perform well above state levels on academic accountability measures as well as other measures of academic performance recognizing that we had 24 AP scholars, the most ever since College Board began this designation in 2011; over 200 OHS students were recognized as scholar-athletes for maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.5 while participating in at least one varsity sport and the receipt by members of our graduating class 2014 of over $2.1 million in scholarships, the highest amount ever; 3) Our OHS Players
Page 3 of 5 production of Hairspray garnered state-wide recognition and 15 Tommy awards; 4) Three Silver Lake Intermediate teams and one OHS team competed at the National Vex Robotics National Championship in Omaha, NE; 5) OHS Wind Symphony was selected to play in front of a statewide audience at the state school board convention 6) The Oconomowoc Public Education Foundation (OPEF) awarded more than $77,000 in grant funding to 30 teachers to support continued innovation in our classrooms; and 7) OHS was listed in the Washington Post ranking of the most Challenging High Schools in America, coming in as the 29 th most challenging high school in the entire state. Looking ahead to the 2014-15 school year: 1) With our strategic plan in place, we will set out toward our vision to be an unrivaled learning community, and everyone in the district plays an important part in that. When we come to work, each of us plays a role in helping our students grow as learners and leaders. 2). We will focus our actions on our 5 strategic directions: - Continuous improvement of academic performance; - Innovative instructional programs - Creating a great workplace with highly engaged employees; - High quality facilities with 21 st century learning environments; and - Respecting the diversity among people and cultures We are continuing to develop performance objectives under each of these direction and will share that document when it is completed. All of our schools growth objectives will be built around the strategic plan and our key performance objectives. We propose to fund this priority work with an equalized tax rate increase, based on our conservative scenario planning, of 1.26%. Board President s Comments Board President Wiemer said that Superintendent Rindo had already mentioned a number of the district s accomplishments. On behalf of the Board, he publicly thanked former Board member, John Griswold, who retired from the Board on June 30, 2014 after providing 11 years of service to the Board and community. He also thanked former members Susan Kay and Donna Scholl who were also in the audience for their service in helping to build the solid foundation that the district is now able to enjoy. President Wiemer recognized the improving composite ACT test scores rising a full point. The Board has provided resources for the development of the strategic plan, helping to allow the district Board and staff the opportunity to develop a common focus. He thanked his fellow Board members for their hard work. Another major accomplishment has been the increase in starting teacher salaries which has helped recognize OASD as a competitive employer helping to retain great teachers and serve as a magnet in recruiting new staff. He thanked the Board for their time involvement and support in the development of the two Board committees 1) Finance, Operations and Advancement (FOA) and Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) that will allow the Board more time to focus on its work. He said he was looking forward to another great year in 2014-2015. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chair Largent announced that there was a business item remaining from the 2013 Annual Meeting, which follows: RESOLUTION BOARD SALARY FOR 2014-2015 Tim Kay moved, seconded by John Griswold, to approve the following motion: WHEREAS, the previous School Board salary was set in 2003 at $2,330.00 based upon an average of the twelve surrounding Districts;
Page 4 of 5 WHEREAS, the Oconomowoc School District Board has not received an increase in salary since the year 2003; WHEREAS, it is in the students and District s best interest to have a compatible, fair and equitable salary for its elected Board member; WHEREAS, the Oconomowoc School Board has demonstrated commitment to developing and implementing a curriculum to allow Oconomowoc students to excel academically; WHEREAS, the Oconomowoc School Board has provided extraordinary effort in overseeing the implementation of referendums and has overseen the construction of two middle schools, a performing arts center and field house, WHEREAS, the Oconomowoc School Board has provided extraordinary time and effort in overseeing administrative tasks and implementation of an Employee Policy Manual as a result of Act 10; BE IT RESOLVED, that the citizens of the Oconomowoc School District authorize the Oconomowoc School Board members to be paid an annual salary of $4,000.00 per year effective for the school term of 2014-2015; and the President of the Oconomowoc School Board be paid an annual salary of $4,500.00 per year effective for the school term 2014-2015; and each year thereafter. Donna Scholl moved to amend the resolution as follows: to take the last phrase of the motion and each year thereafter and change it to: and for each year thereafter to be indexed annually to the increases granted to teachers. Susan Kay seconded the motion amendment. Tim Kay accepted the amendment; John Griswold also accepted the amendment. Other Comments: Susan Kay encouraged Board members to vote for this resolution recognizing that this in no way would compensate individuals for the time commitment devoted to Board activities. Tim Kay commented that Board of the school district oversees a budget of $55 million dollars, more than the combined budget of all municipalities comprising the school district. He asked that everyone support this resolution, recognizing the many contributions made by Board members. Clerk Bickler asked for a hand vote. The amended motion passed 11 (aye)-1 (nay- Guckenberger) with 2 abstentions: Wiemer and Bickler RESOLUTION - ADOPTION OF 2014-2015 SCHOOL DISTRICT TAX LEVY Dave Guckenberger moved, seconded by Sandy Schick, to authorize a vote on the resolution, Be it resolved that a tax for the operation and maintenance of the schools in the amount of $50,800,312 shall be levied against the taxable property of the District for the 2014-2015 school year. Clerk Bickler asked for discussion. There being no discussion, he called for the hand vote on the tax levy motion. There were 13 votes voting aye and 0 votes nay. The motion passed 13-0.
Page 5 of 5 SET DATE FOR 2015 ANNUAL MEETING Dave Guckenberger moved, seconded by Don Wiemer, to authorize the Board of Education to set the date for the 2015 Annual Meeting at a later time. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. NEW BUSINESS/INFORMATION ONLY Chair Largent asked for any other business/discussion. There was none identified. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Largent adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Snyder, Deputy Clerk