District innovation coaches presented the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District's proposed five-year library plan during the teaching-and-learning workshop, summarizing recent resource adoptions, cost-saving changes and three priority focus areas trustees are being asked to review.

Brennan Kelly, lead innovation coach, said the district joined a statewide consortium (WS DLC) to expand access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines via Sora and that Learn360 was adopted to replace Discovery Education at substantially lower cost. "We adopted Sora for those audiobooks, magazines, and ebooks, with thousands of titles," Kelly said. He described the resource review process and an ongoing emphasis on aligning purchases to classroom needs.

The plan also emphasizes makerspace capacity: buildings now have Glowforge laser cutters, 3-D printers and poster printers; presenters noted consumables (ink, paper) are not allowable uses of some library funds and would need building or other support. Kelly said the plan identifies gaps (magazines, audiobooks) and that the team has begun targeted professional learning to increase teacher use.

Presenters outlined three priority goals: (1) empower educators through resource awareness and support (including short, targeted professional learning), (2) support collaboration and play (eCompass/game-based learning in libraries), and (3) sustain equitable access by evaluating districtwide subscriptions for engagement and cost-effectiveness.

During Q&A, the board asked about funding structure and parent access. Presenters explained a districtwide library fund is held centrally and distributed by building based on enrollment; common school funds pay for allowable library purchases but are limited for consumables and personnel costs. Innovation coaches said students and staff access district resources through Clever single sign-on and agreed to explore a public-facing landing page linking families to Clever.

Student Zahara Price of Central High described visible library improvements at her school (new gym, lockers and a cozier library with couches and games). The board did not take immediate action; administration said the plan would be returned for approval after member feedback.