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Waunakee school board elects officers, keeps meeting schedule and approves routine annual business
Summary
At its reorganizational meeting, the Waunakee Community School District Board of Education elected officers, kept its regular meeting time at 6 p.m., retained its current legal counsel and approved routine annual administrative items including official depositories and memberships.
The Waunakee Community School District Board of Education elected its 2025 officers and approved routine annual housekeeping items at its reorganizational meeting Tuesday evening.
Board members chose Joan as president, Dawn as vice president, Carly Eaton as clerk and Mark as treasurer. The board also voted to keep its regular monthly meeting time on the second Monday, starting closed session at 6:00 p.m. and open session at 7:00 p.m., retained its existing legal counsel, and approved the district's slate of official depositories, memberships and the annual meeting date.
The reorganizational meeting is the board's yearly opportunity to elect officers and confirm administrative details that carry through the school year. Board members completed nominations, used a secret ballot for a contested clerk race, and took voice votes on other items.
Rebecca, a district staff member who explained the voting process, walked the board through the ballot option before nominations. "If we have more than 2 candidates, we will take a vote to narrow it down to 2, and then we will take another vote to determine who wins the seat," she said, describing the district's approach to contested officer elections.
On officer votes: Joan was nominated from the floor and accepted the nomination; the board approved her by voice vote. After her election Joan, a board member, thanked colleagues, saying, "I'm honored and I really appreciate your confidence in me in this position." Dawn was nominated and confirmed as vice president by voice vote. The clerk's race between Carly Eaton and Ted was decided by secret ballot; Carly received four votes to Ted's three. Mark was nominated and confirmed as treasurer by voice vote.
Board members discussed a proposal to move regular meeting start times earlier in the evening. Several members noted childcare and scheduling concerns. One member summarized the sentiment: the change would be a "desire" rather than a necessity. The board voted to retain the second-Monday schedule with the current 6:00 p.m. closed-session / 7:00 p.m. open-session times.
On legal counsel and procurement, the board discussed Strain Law LLC and the possibility of issuing a request for proposals (RFP). Monica, identified in the meeting as the district's new superintendent, and other members noted the value of continuity given the superintendent's recent start. The board agreed to keep Strain Law LLC as its counsel for another year and to consider a formal review of options in a future cycle.
The board approved its official depositories and investment relationships used for district banking and short-term investments, naming 1 Community Bank, the Wisconsin local government investment pool, AUL Trust and PMA Public Fund Specialists among the district's depository/investment partners. Board policy guidance was discussed: administrators noted the district follows a five-year cycle to solicit local banks for participation when the policy timetable requires a review.
The board also approved continuing memberships in the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) and set the district's annual meeting for Aug. 25, 2025, to be held at Bethel Circle with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
Administrators walked through a proposed committee and presentation calendar intended to rotate curriculum and outcome presentations through the year, with the goal that about half of regular meetings emphasize data and student outcomes. Dr. Brown and other staff described a plan to bring elementary and secondary curriculum directors forward on a staggered schedule to show baseline, interim and year-end student-outcome data.
Before adjourning, the board handled routine administrative tasks: new board members Patty Eaton, Heather Murray and Christopher Sunny had their oaths noted in the meeting record as administered April 22, 2025; clerical paperwork for check-signing was requested of the newly elected clerk and treasurer; and staff committed to circulate committee assignments and calendar details in the May board packet.
The meeting adjourned after a motion to adjourn passed by voice vote.
