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Manitowoc School District public hearing, date not confirmed yet

1 h 20 min · 2 public speakers

Discussed vouchers and school choice

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 20 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Manitowoc school board hears 2026⁠-⁠27 budget projection of just under $102 million 1:06

  • A district staff member presented the '26-'27 budget, saying it would come in at just under $102 million, an increase of almost 4%. 1:06
  • The board also took up a proposal from Epstein, Ewen, and Architects for architectural engineering services and a resolution in support of full transparency for taxpayers of state-mandated school funding. 48:31
  • The chair announced that a motion to approve an additional special education paraprofessional position passed. 1:03:43
  • Keith Shaw moved to approve the 2026⁠-⁠2027 budget as presented, and the board held a roll call vote on the motion. 1:11:56

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (14)
  1. Public budget hearing presentation 0:51
    • A district staff member said the district planned to take $10,250,000 out of the $15 million available from the operational referendum and projected the levy at just a bit under $31 million. 3:24
    • When a speaker asked whether the district would spend up to the $15 million, the staff member said that was not the plan right now. 5:11
    • Christopher Able asked whether the numbers would change, and the staff member said the figures had been described as projections many times. 27:02
  2. Opening of regular meeting 31:59
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a roll call. 32:03
  3. Public input 32:43
    • A speaker at public comment raised concerns about district performance on statewide scores, offered to volunteer and raised traffic at school drop-off and pickup. 33:30
    • The chair said playground equipment for Stangle was ordered in April but had not been delivered. 37:20
    • Another speaker at public comment thanked a team at Washington for its work. 38:01
  4. Agenda change 39:33
    • Keith Shaw asked that the architectural design contract item be moved up so a firm representative could leave early. 39:49
  5. Architectural services proposal 40:39
    • A district staff member introduced a representative of EUA to give an overview of what the firm would be working on with the district. 41:38
    • A district staff member said the facilities committee would tour Wilson Intermediate School next week, followed by visits to Washington in October and Lincoln in November. 44:56
    • Keith Shaw moved that the board approve the firm's proposal for architectural engineering services. 48:31
  6. Consent agenda 49:06
    • No items were pulled, and the board took a voice vote on a motion to approve the consent agenda. 49:35
  7. High school report 49:49
    • A speaker reported on fall sports, clubs and upcoming events at Lincoln, including homecoming. 49:52
  8. Superintendent and director reports 51:08
    • The superintendent said the district went from busing about 750 students to about 1,350 students and expected some snags in transportation. 52:10
    • The superintendent said staff created color-coded signs to help young students find the right bus. 54:21
    • Responding to a question about teacher perceptions, a speaker said about 80% of staff were positive and engaged. 1:00:48
  9. Code of conduct and handbook updates 1:00:37
    • The Curriculum and Instruction Committee moved to accept the code of conduct updates and the school handbook updates as presented. 1:01:45
  10. Selection of law firm 1:02:57
    • One board member moved that the district continue to use the law firm and said the district had been very happy with the group. 1:03:13
    • The chair said the district had used 2 firms in the past and would go with one to save money. 1:03:19
  11. Special education paraprofessional position 1:03:43
    • Mary Lofy Blahnik moved to approve an additional special education paraprofessional position. 1:03:43
    • The chair announced that the motion passed. 1:04:03
  12. School voucher transparency resolution 1:04:37
    • Mary Lofy Blahnik moved to approve a resolution in support of full transparency for taxpayers of state-mandated school funding and to distribute it to each tax-collecting authority in the district. 1:04:37
    • A district staff member said the resolution asks taxing entities to put the transparency on their tax bills. 1:09:28
    • A staff member said the district and Two Rivers Public School District would present to a Common Council Committee of the Whole on September 21st at 6 PM. 1:10:35
  13. Budget adoption 1:11:46
    • Keith Shaw moved that the board approve the 2026⁠-⁠2027 budget as presented. 1:11:56
    • A district staff member said the DPI required the district to go out to bid and that the district was going out to the market to see what other options were available. 1:15:05
    • The board took a roll call vote on the budget motion. 1:16:55
  14. Board remarks and future dates 1:17:14
    • A district staff member said a special meeting on the 22nd would be a board learning session. 1:19:09
    • A staff member said a second meeting would be held in October after the 15th at 6 o'clock. 1:19:31

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “09/08/2026 Regular Board of Education Meeting (with Public Budget Hearing)”