The Waunakee Community School District budget committee voted Dec. 1 to form a 4K task force, to recommend additional 4K open‑enrollment seats to the full board, and to increase the district’s 4K partner stipend from $3,600 to $5,000 for 2026–27, while leaving a pathway to $5,500 if agreed targets are met.

Doctor Brown (district staff) introduced three administrative recommendations: raise the stipend, add open‑enrollment seats for 4K in January 2026, and create a 4K task force to prepare for the 2027–28 school year. Speaker 3 explained the administration had modeled multiple scenarios: the base budget carried a roughly $300,000 positive balance; increasing the stipend to $5,000 reduced that surplus by roughly $343,000 toward a balanced outcome, while a $5,500 stipend produced an estimated planning deficit of about $163,000 that would require offsets.

Doctor Brown said the administration had received an email from 4K partners requesting a $5,500 payment; he could not speak to center‑level calculations for why $5,500 would be required. During debate several board members asked for documentation supporting the $5,500 request and expressed concern that a district‑wide stipend increase without conditions could shift budgetary risk to taxpayers and district staffing levels. One member proposed offering $5,000 for the first year and defining mutual targets — for example, open‑enrollment thresholds — that, if met, would unlock a move to $5,500 the following year. Speaker 4 and others argued that lowering the stipend could risk losing partners and that a single, district‑level offer might help avoid the higher cost of a split partnership outcome.

On motions, a board member moved to form a 4K task force; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee also approved a motion to forward a recommendation for additional 4K open‑enrollment seats to the full board. Finally, the committee approved a motion to increase the 4K stipend from $3,600 to $5,000 for next year; the motion passed by voice vote ('Aye'). No roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript and no member votes were individually attributed.

Administration emphasized next steps: the district will develop parameters and potential mutual targets for the stipend pathway and return to the board and task force in January to finalize open‑enrollment capacity and the detailed terms for moving to $5,500.

The committee’s action allows the district to offer a $5,000 one‑year stipend to 4K partners while creating a task force and an outcomes‑based path to consider an increase to $5,500 in year two if agreed conditions are met.