WAUSAU SCHOOL DISTRICT Operations Committee Minutes Submitted by: Rosalind Sjoberg The OPERATIONS COMMITTEE met on Monday, May 19, 2008, in the Nicholson Board Room at the Longfellow Administration Center. The meeting had been properly publicized in compliance with the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law. PRESENT: Patrick Keefe, Scott Kreuser, Michelle Schaefer, and Robert (Robb) Shepherd ALSO PRESENT: Board Members, Dale Lawson, John Ostertag, Keith Montgomery, and Jane Rusch; Superintendent of Schools, Stephen Murley; Deputy Superintendent of Education, Don Viegut; Assistant Superintendent for Business, Cherna Gorder; Director of Human Resources and Employee Relations, Jeff Gress; Director of Physical Plant, Dennis Wald; Director of Education, Roger Rindo; Director of Education, Karen Wendorf-Heldt; Director of Education, Nell Anderson; Director of Pupil Services, Jeff Joyce; Wausau West High School Athletic Director, Pam Huston; Wausau West High School Head Volleyball Coach, Kathy Newton; Wausau West High School Head Wrestling Coach, Dan Hein; Wausau West High School Head Hockey Coach, Pete Susens; Wausau East High School Head Boys Baseball Coach, Steve Heinrich; Wausau East High School Head Boys Basketball Coach; Jason Teske; Wausau East High School Head Girls Volleyball Coach, Ken Zoromski; Teacher/WEA Union Representative, Rick Pody; Wausau Daily Herald Reporter, Charles Menchaca; City Pages Reporter, Pat Peckham; Recording Secretary, Rosalind Sjoberg. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairperson Keefe called the meeting to order at 6:42 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Shepherd moved to approve the minutes from May 19, 2008. Schaefer seconded. Motion carried. III. APPENDIX C Viegut stated that in accordance with the terms of the 2007-2009 WEA collective bargaining agreement and related memorandum of understanding (MOU) pertaining to Appendix C, a collaborative plan has been developed to appropriately address compensation for coaching assignments. Over the past several months, District administrators and teachers/coaches reviewed coaching salaries from comparable school districts such as D. C. Everest, Stevens Point, and Janesville and developed a salary schedule for coaches that will keep them competitive within the conference. Viegut gave a general review of the salary schedule and made reference to the fact that it is long over due. Coaches have made many personal and financial sacrifices to coach our students. Our coaches are very dedicated to the Wausau School District sport programs and they should be fairly compensated. Discussion ensued regarding the cost impact on the District budget. Viegut said Appendix C coaching salaries would cost the District $246,000 annually beginning with the 2008-2009 school year. Murley said the cost is included in the 2008-2009 budget. Operations Committee May 19, 2008 Page 2 Keefe made reference to a timeline on the review of athletic budgets. It is the general consensus of administration and coaches that a general review of athletic budgets will be held in the future and that the coaches will be instrumental in the process. After further discussion, Viegut said Administration, coaches, and the WEA recommended the Committee approve the Appendix C plan as presented. Newton thanked everyone who was involved with developing the Appendix C plan. She said working with everyone was a great opportunity and administration was very open and honest during the process. Keefe encouraged coaches to be very open and honest with parents in regards to athletic budget needs and expenses. Shepherd moved to recommend to the Board of Education the proposed plan to address Appendix C concerns as presented. Schaefer seconded. Motion carried. IV. ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET REDUCTIONS At the April 14, 2008, Board of Education meeting the Board asked administration to provide additional information on administrative responsibilities. Superintendent Murley shared additional details and answered questions regarding administrative responsibilities for the proposed $354,000 in administrative reductions. Discussion continued focusing on the Director of Education position that will be vacant due to the resignation of Roger Rindo. Viegut addressed the critical work that needs to be done in the District and the leadership needed to do that work. Viegut also shared information on the importance of the position and the valuable impact a person in this leadership role would have in addressing the current and future needs of the Wausau School District. Administrators shared comments and answered questions regarding the additional job responsibilities assigned to administrators due to budget reductions. The Committee requested that a detailed list of administrator responsibilities be provided to the Board of Education. Kreuser moved to recommend to the Board of Education $354,000 in administrative reductions. Schaefer seconded. Motion carried. V. AGGREGATE STOP LOSS – HEALTH INSURANCE Gorder said that at the annual health insurance renewal meeting, representatives from the third party administrator, FISERV (now UMR-United Medical Resources) and insurance consultant Mortenson, Matzelle & Meldrum recommended the Wausau School District discontinue Aggregate Coverage. Aggregate Coverage is a stop loss management service offered to the Wausau School District. Optum Health projected our expected claims for medical and Rx claims to be $18.4 million. The Aggregate Coverage would pay for claims above $23.0 million excluding claims exceeding the Specific Coverage. Aggregate Coverage is limited to $1.0 million. The District’s cost for the Aggregate Coverage would be $48,745. Operations Committee May 19, 2008 Page 3 Specific Coverage is stop loss insurance that protects the Wausau School District from individually large claims. The Specific Coverage currently pays for the amount of any individual claim that exceeds $175,000. If the district had one large claim of $300,000 total claims would have to be over $23.125 million, which is $4.725 million more than expected before the Aggregate Coverage would pay. The Aggregate Coverage would pay for all claims between $23.125 million and 24.125 million. Any claims over $24.125 million would be the responsibility of the District. With the Specific Coverage in place it would take a very unlikely catastrophic event to have claims that exceed by more than $4.725 million. After weighing the cost against the exposure, District administrators and insurance consultants recommended the District discontinue the Aggregate Coverage for health insurance. Kreuser moved to authorize Administration to discontinue the Aggregate Coverage for health insurance. Schaefer seconded. Motion carried. VI. ADJOURNMENT Schaefer moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. Kreuser seconded. Motion carried. .