Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Act 20 Reading topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves reading-plan lead stipend to help KUSD comply with Act 20
Summary
To support compliance with Wisconsin's Act 20 reading-plan requirements, the board approved a stipend-based "reading plan lead" role (one lead per up to 200 plans) that will be offered to existing staff rather than creating new FTEs; the board debated funding, state supports and litigation risk for missing Act 20 timelines.
The Kenosha Unified School District board approved a new supplemental-pay job description and stipend for a reading plan lead at schools to support implementation of Act 20.
Administration said the reading plan lead is an extra-duty stipend assigned to an existing employee when a school exceeds an estimated threshold of 200 reading plans; it is not intended as a new full-time equivalent. "It's not another employee, meaning another FTE," a staff member said; "it's somebody already currently in a role, and we would offer another stipend to them if they exceed that threshold."
Board members debated whether to wait for state guidance and funding (members cited $50 million set aside at the state level) and whether instructional coaches could temporarily handle the work. Administration said Act 20 imposes tight timelines and notification requirements and that failing to meet them could expose districts to litigation; the stipend was recommended to protect compliance without diverting classroom instructional time.
A motion to approve the position, job description and stipend passed; the motion included direction to clarify amounts on the schedule shown in the meeting packet. Administration estimated the stipend program would not exceed roughly $100,000 across 16 schools under current assumptions, and emphasized the district will seek state supports where available.
The vote advanced implementation as a district priority while leaving room to request state funds and to revisit deployment once initial data from the first assessment cycles is available.
