Celebration of Excellence (Materials)

Students from MGHS Band were joined by MGHS Band Teacher, Cara Collins, to describe the importance of Band and Summer Band Camp. Students shared the impact band has made on their school and personal lives. You can see them perform at upcoming home football games - September 12 and 26 and October 10 and 17. (begins at :42)

Choir Teacher and Show Choir advisor, Brooke Crego, was joined by students from MGHS Show Choir and Show Band to share details on the program which runs from August to March. You can see them perform at the MGHS hosted Silverstage competition on February 21. (begins at 16:30)

Student Board Report (Materials)

Superintendent Fredrich welcomed Elsa Beuthling, the new student representative to the School Board. Elsa is a sophomore at MGHS, is involved in Model UN, Science Olympiad and plays flute in band and marching band and is also involved in orchestra. Her main motivation for becoming the student representative is to see how the School Board operates and to increase communication between students and the Board. Welcome Elsa! (begins at 26:24)

Action Taken

Resolution Appointing Associated Trust Company, National Association to Serve as Fiscal Agent in Connection with Certain of the District's Outstanding General Obligation Debt (Materials) 

The District currently utilizes Associated Bank as the paying agent for the majority of its outstanding debt. As paying agent, Associated Bank remits payments to the Depository Trust Company (DTC) on behalf of the District, ensuring that principal and interest payments are processed efficiently, accurately, and on time. The District pays a fee for this service, but avoids the higher administrative costs and complexity of making direct payments to individual CUSIPs through DTC.

Currently, the district has a few outstanding debt issues for which a paying agent was not previously established. The Board approved for Associated Bank to become the paying agent for all remaining debts which is standard practice, and ensure accurate and timely payment processing. (begins at 31:29)

Policy Update Finance & Operations - Second Reading (Materials) 

Policy 6235 was brought to the Board for 1st Read at the August 12, 2025 Board of Education. There have been no requests to update of change the policy since that time, and the Board approved the motion. (begins at 35:19)

2024-2025 Fund Balance Designation (Materials)

Each year, the Board of Education is required to designate fund balance to the appropriate accounts. In accordance with Board Policy 6325, the District’s Unassigned Fund Balance must equal at least 15% of the preceding year’s Fund 10 expenditures.

While Fund 38 (non-referendum debt) is not included in the calculation of Fund 10 expenditures for purposes of this policy, it is important to recognize that annual Fund 38 debt payments are made from general fund (Fund 10) resources. As a result, the District has less operational flexibility even when the fund balance percentage appears close to the 15% target.

As the District is below the 15% threshold, the administration recommends the following fund balance designations:

• Unassigned Fund Balance (Account 939000): $8,491,682
• Restricted Fund Balance – Common School Funds (Account 936000): $55,671, as required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

The total unaudited Fund Balance for 2024-25 is $8,547,353. These figures may change slightly following the completion of the annual audit.

Although the current fund balance equals approximately 14% of prior year Fund 10 expenditures, it is important to note that the District makes annual Fund 38 debt payments of $2.3 million. These payments are funded with general fund (Fund 10) dollars, effectively reducing the resources available for operational expenditures. This ongoing obligation underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy fund balance to ensure stability and flexibility in managing the District’s budget. The Board approved the fund balance as presented. (begins at 37:01)

2025-2026 Substitute Pay Rates (Materials)

The District contracts with EduStaff to manage substitute teacher and support staff placements. As part of this agreement, EduStaff provides regular reporting on fill rates and substitute availability, which helps guide the District’s review of substitute compensation, which the Board approved. 

The Personnel Committee reviewed substitute fill rate data and proposed compensation adjustments at its September 8, 2025 meeting. The attached presentation provides:

• An overview of substitute fill rates with EduStaff since implementation.
• The recommended substitute pay rates for the 2025-26 school year. (begins at 42:59)

Discussion Items

2024-2025 Seclusion and Restraint Report (Materials)

State statutes require that an annual report be presented to the Board by October 1 detailing the number of incidents involving seclusion and/or physical restraint, the total number of students involved, and the number of students with disabilities involved in such incidents.The initial 2024–2025 School Year report (in attached materials) was shared with the Teaching, Learning & Equity Committee during their August meeting for review and discussion. This year’s report includes a three-year trend chart and accompanying analysis to provide additional context and to support data-informed decision-making. (begins at 52:48)

Policy Series for 1st Reading (Materials)
The Policy Committee reviewed three policies in place at MGSD (po0155, po2464, po0141.1) and the remaining policies were revisions from Neola, who is an educational consulting firm that partners with school districts to provide legally compliant policy language. All of the policy numbers, names and rationale can be found in the materials. (begins 1:14:44)

Current Enrollment Update (Materials)

As part of our ongoing commitment to monitor enrollment trends and maintain optimal learning environments, we are providing a point-in-time snapshot of current enrollment by grade level across our K–8 schools. Class sizes are determined by po 2312. The overview shows that most schools are within a few students of the projected enrollment. The district enrollment remains flat; As of September 5 we were -9 overall students from projectsions. Section adjustments were made at Taylor Prairie (4K) and Winnequah (4K, 1st grade) to balance class sizes. Additional information and data can be found in board materials linked above. (begins at 1:26:05)

Board Reports

The School Board heard an update on the Personnel Committee from committee co-chair Elizabeth Cook (materials), from the Policy Committee from Janice Stone (materials), from the TLE Committee from Rachelle Miller (materials), from the Finance & Operations Committee from Philip Haven (materials),  and the Monona Grove Education Foundation from Susan Manning (materials). (begins at 1:33:14)

Superintendent Reports (Materials)

Dr. Fredrich shared updates on several items, including an overview of the first week of school, staff & student engagement, and key highlights and opportunities as we start the school year. (begins at 1:39:09)