Updates from the Monona Grove School Board

Upcoming Meetings

Special Board Meeting: The Board will hold a Special Meeting at 6 pm on Thursday, September 5. At the Special Board Meeting held on August 22, 2024, Kristin Sobocinski, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Operations, and Human Resources, presented the revised budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The revised budget was brought forward for discussion to provide an updated overview of the district's estimated revenues and expenditures, ensuring alignment with the current financial projections and priorities.

The board will be asked to take action on the budget, which will be presented again at the Annual Meeting and Budget Hearing on September 9, 2024. The goal is to bring a balanced budget and set the tax levy at the Board of Education meeting on October 30, 2024.

Materials for the meeting are available on BoardDocs. This meeting will be held at the Monona Grove District Office (5301 Monona Drive) and will be both streamed live and archived for later viewing on the Monona Community Media YouTube page.

Annual Meeting & Budget Hearing: The Monona Grove Annual Meeting and Budget Hearing will be held on Monday, September 9. All Wisconsin school districts are required to hold an annual meeting and a budget hearing. This is a meeting of the electors, not the School Board. Participants (electors) must be citizens of the United States, at least 18 years old, and a resident within the Monona Grove School District for at least 28 consecutive days before voting.

Wisconsin state statute outlines the powers of the annual meeting, which include setting the tax levy. Materials for the Annual Meeting and Budget Hearing will be available on BoardDocs or in the District Office in advance of the meeting. This meeting will be held at the Monona Grove District Office (5301 Monona Drive) and will be both streamed live and archived for later viewing on the Monona Community Media YouTube page.

Regular Board Meeting: The Board will hold a regular Board meeting at 7 pm on Wednesday, September 11. Materials for this meeting will be available on BoardDocs as the meeting date approaches.

Board Materials

The School Board uses BoardDocs to share materials, including attachments, for its Board meetings and committee meetings, as well as Board policies. When you open the BoardDocs website, navigate to the upper right corner to select either Meetings or Policies.

School Board meeting highlights from August 22

Click the thumbnail above to watch the August 22nd Board meeting. Find the meeting agenda on our website.

Agenda from the August 22 Special Meeting

Opening: The School Board meeting started the meeting with a statement from Board President Elizabeth Cook; she then offered the opportunity for other Board members to make statements as well.

Public Comment: Ten people registered to provide public comment at the meeting; nine of those ten people spoke. (One person felt their perspective had already been shared by previous speakers.) Public comment starts 11:35 into the meeting. School Board president Elizabeth Cook read a statement about the nature of public comment and limitations in place due to Wisconsin's Open Meeting Laws that constrains the Board's ability to discuss matters not on the agenda.

Revised Preliminary Budget 2024-25: The Board needs to adopt an adjusted budget that reflects actual financials. Superintendent Fredrich and Assistant Superintendent Sobocinski presented an adjusted preliminary budget to the Board for discussion (this part of the Board meeting begins at 39:17). A thorough and detailed presentation from Assistant Superintendent Sobocinski starts at 41:10. The Board will schedule another Special Meeting to consider adoption of this budget. That meeting has not yet been scheduled but the adjusted budget must be adopted before the Annual Meeting on September 9.

Resolution Authorizing the Borrowing of Not to Exceed $7,000,000; and Providing for the Issuance and Sale of General Obligation Promissory Notes: Kevin Mullen from Robert W. Baird (the District's new financial advisors) presented this item to the Board. This section of the agenda begins at 1:16:35. The Board took action on this agenda item, approving the resolution to authorize borrowing. This loan is necessary in order for the District to be able to pay its bills due to the use of fund balance to balance previous budgets. This type of borrowing requires a petition period, which is explained at 1:43:21. It is important to note that if petitions are filed during this period, the Board would not be able to borrow now and the District would not have enough money to be able to pay its bills.

5301 Monona Drive, Monona, WI 53716  Phone: (608) 221-7660  Fax: (608) 221-7688