South Central Reporter

Germantown School District 60 Board of Education met Dec. 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Tax Levy Hearing Minutes

Tax Levy Hearing was called to order by Vice President Jessica Hemker at 7:00 p.m. Roll call showed the following board members present: Matt Korte, Terry Biggs, Jessica Hemker, Andrea Linders, Nicole Peters and Ashley Winter. Also in attendance: Superintendent Robin Becker, Assistant Principal Trisha Weekley, SEL Coordinator Kristine Beer, Board Secretary Leigh Ann Arentsen and Teacher Representative Susan Knapp. Board President Lee Deerhake was absent from the hearing.

Superintendent Becker presented the 2025/26 Tax Levy to members of the board for review and discussion.

Motion (2024/25-72) to close Tax Levy Hearing at 7:02 p.m. was made by Mrs. Winter with a second by Mrs. Linders. Motion carried (6-0).

Regular Meeting Minutes

Regular meeting called to order by Vice President Jessica Hemker at 7:02 p.m. Roll call showed the following board members present: Matt Korte, Terry Biggs, Jessica Hemker, Andrea Linders, Nicole Peters and Ashley Winter. Also in attendance: Superintendent Robin Becker, Assistant Principal Trisha Weekley, SEL Coordinator Kristine Beer, Board Secretary Leigh Ann Arentsen and Teacher Representative Susan Knapp. Board President Lee Deerhake was absent from the meeting.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance.

Motion (2024/25-73) to approve the agenda was made by Mrs. Peters with a second by Mr. Biggs. Motion carried (6-0).

Reports:

Assistant Principal Report:

● November Students of the Month

o Charlotte Voss and Logan Wilken were spotlighted as the November Students of the Month. Charlotte’s charity of choice was Raise the Roof Campaign while Logan chose the Clinton County Humane Society as his charity.

● Baskets of Blessing Campaign

o Mrs. Weekley shared that the school district is partnering with the Student Council to collect food and raise money for 10 Baskets of Blessings that will be distributed to Germantown families for the holidays. Each basket will include a supply of non-perishable food items, some stocking stuffers, and a gift card to Wal-mart.

SEL/SpEd/RtI Report:

● School Trauma Responsiveness Survey

○ Mrs. Beer highlighted the work of The GES REACH Team. The Team recently met to complete a survey on how we are doing as a school district in regards to SEL, trauma responsiveness, staff self care, etc. The survey results indicated several growth areas as well as areas we might target for future growth goals.

● Winter Benchmark Testing

○ The school district uses AIMSWeb to benchmark test the K-4 students three times a year. Data from Winter benchmarking will be shared at the January meeting.

● Special Education Meetings

○ Mrs. Beer provided an overview of the monthly special education teacher meetings being held this year. These meetings serve to bring the department together to brainstorm ideas, challenges, solutions, etc. and ensure everyone feels supported.

Superintendent Report:

● Goals and Strategic Progress Report:

o Mrs. Becker discussed progress towards the 2024-25 Goals and Strategies. She emphasized the positive impact of the Orton-Gillingham program on improving the literacy skills of our K-1 students. She also highlighted the Whole Brain Teaching strategies being implemented by the fourth grade teachers and their effectiveness in increasing student engagement and fostering a collaborative learning environment. proving they are true leaders; Athletics program is running smoothly under the direction of Blain Loepker, and lastly even though our Technology Director has taken on a new full time position in Highland, he loves working for us part time and plans to continue doing so.

● Gym Project:

o Updated preliminary drawings were shared with the Board. The drawings will be reviewed by the oversight team and further discussed at the January meeting. In addition, Superintendent Becker reported on a meeting held last week with the architect, the Mayor, and the Public Works Director to discuss site drainage andretention. The City has requested that the Civil Engineer confirm both the existing and proposed drainage revisions, as well as the capacity of the existing storm sewer system, including manholes and storm pipe sizes. It is anticipated that larger storm sewer pipes and possibly additional manholes may be needed along the City right-of-way. Once the Board authorizes the project to be bid, the Engineer will complete the storm evaluation and submit the findings to the City for approval.

● IASB Liaison Report

o There wasn’t anything to discuss this month.

Motion (2024/25-74) to approve Items of Consent as follows was made by Mr. Korte with a second by Mrs. Winter. Roll call vote showed the following: Korte, aye; Biggs, aye; Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye; and Hemker, aye.

Items of Consent:

1. Approve Minutes of November 13, 2024

2. Approve Bills/Payroll for December 2024

3. Review of Closed Session Minutes for Public Release – May 2024

4. Approve Destruction of Verbatim Recording of June 2023

5. Approve Financial Reports for November 2024

a. Budget

b. Balance Sheet

c. Fund Balance

d. Bulldog Activity

New Business:

Motion (2024/25-75) to approve Tax Levy was made by Mr. Biggs with a second by Mrs. Linders. Roll call vote showed the following: Biggs, aye; Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye; Korte, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-76) to approve Transfer of Funds in the amount of $17,887.30 from the Education Fund to the Debt Fund to pay for chromebook and marquee lease expenses was made by Mrs. Linders with a second by Mrs. Peters. Roll call vote showed the following: Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye; Korte, aye; Biggs, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-77) to approve the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan was made by Mr. Korte with a second by Mr. Biggs. Motion carried (6-0).

Motion (2024/25-78) to approve a new Bus Lease was made by Mrs. Linders and Mr. Korte. Roll call vote showed the following: Peters, aye; Winter, aye; Korte, aye; Biggs, aye; Linders, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-79) to enter Closed Session at 7:30pm to discuss the Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, or Dismissal of Employees and Student Discipline was made by Mrs. Peters with a second by Mrs. Linders. Motion carried (6-0).

Motion (2024/25-80) to return to Open Session at 7:41pm was made by Mrs. Peters with a second by Mrs. Winters. Motion carried (6-0).

Motion (2025/26-81) to accept resignation of 3rd Grade Teacher - Rylie Johnson was made by Mrs. Winter and Mrs. Peters. Roll call vote showed the following: Winter, aye; Korte, aye; Biggs, aye; Linders, aye; Peters, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-82) to hire Dawn Becker as 3rd Grade Teacher was made by Mrs. Linders and Mr. Biggs. Roll call vote showed the following: Korte, aye; Biggs, aye; Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-83) to hire Craig Oertel as a Full Time Substitute Teacher was made by Mrs. Winter and Mr. Biggs. Roll call vote showed the following: Biggs, aye; Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye; Korte, aye; and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-84) to hire Bethany Basse as a RtI Paraprofessional was made by Mr. Biggs and Mrs. Peters. Roll call vote showed the following: Linders, aye; Peters, aye; Winter, aye; Korte, aye; Biggs, aye and Hemker, aye.

Motion (2024/25-85) to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 p.m. was made by Mrs. Winter with a second by Mrs. Peters. Motion carried (6-0).

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