With about three weeks to go before school starts Joe Gothard, Madison schools superintendent, and other district leaders entertained questions from the media at an Aug. 13 forum about the upcoming school year.

Isthmus kicked off a series of questions about cell phones — which Gothard, who became superintendent in July 2024, said is “obviously, getting a lot of attention.”

This fall, there is a new district-wide policy on wireless electronics that includes phones. The Madison school board signed off on the policy in June after classes ended; the board came close to the July 1 deadline mandated by state law.

When students return, middle schoolers will need to put their phones and other electronics “off and away.” High schoolers must put their phones away during class time, but can use them during passing time and lunch.

Gothard emphasized that clear communication and relationship-building with families and students was the best chance for the policy’s success. He also says the policy is, in a way, nothing new — recalling the district’s approach to Blackberry phones two decades ago, which was “difficult” because it wasn’t consistently applied.

When asked by Isthmus to detail how one school would enforce the cell phone ban, Gothard pointed to current procedures: In some schools, if a student has their phone out and isn’t supposed to, the teacher calls for behavior support staff in order to avoid a “power struggle” between a teacher and student.

Some schools will have “cell phone hotels,” where students turn in their phones at the start of class, said deputy superintendent TJ McCray, who added that one school is “looking into” students turning in cell phones during the first period, and holding them until lunch.

Asked how the district might evaluate their policy at the end of the year, Gothard said they’ll know well before then. Ongoing communication will be important, and “our community doesn’t have any problem letting us know how things are going.”

Gothard added that he wanted to avoid the “trap” of any one metric in ensuring the new policy’s success. Instead he outlines this vision: “I want our students to feel good about coming to school every day. I want our staff to be able to teach and get through a lesson without the distractions that they have. I want our students to be able to be uninterrupted when they're in their science lab.”

Gothard was also asked about what protections are in place for teachers if students become “violent.” The district board voted six years ago to remove school resource officers, or SROs, from the four main high schools.

Gothard said staff are trained in intervention and de-escalation. There are “many different strategies” that teachers can use when a student becomes "dysregulated,” he said, adding that the key in responding is “based on relationships” with trusted staff members.

But the district will be adding a pair of mobile support staff this year, complete with a district-issued vehicle, who can help be a “positive presence,” Gothard added. They may, for example, respond to a bus stop if there are repeated instances of children calling each other names.

Gothard said the new staff will not be like a “police force,” but will instead be focused on solutions and relationship-building. He declined to share more details until the time of a “great reveal for our community.”

Construction will also continue this year at several schools.

“Has anyone seen the steel columns around the city? It’s incredible,” said Gothard. “I mean, this is historic work for the school district to have four buildings being built at the same time.”

Construction is underway on the north side, at Sherman Middle School and Malcolm Shabazz City High School on Sherman Avenue, and Samuel Gompers Elementary and Black Hawk Middle School on Wyoming Way. Three more schools are slated to get an update and break ground this October.

Classes will be held in existing buildings. Gothard apologized to staff for the messy transition and inconveniences and for the “dust and noise that they might experience this school year.” He also said it symbolizes progress, and that “better days are definitely ahead.”

In total, 10 new buildings are slated to be built thanks to approval of a 2024 referendum authorizing $507 million to update aging schools. On the same ballot, voters also approved a separate referendum for ongoing expenses — one Gothard called an “incredible investment” from the community amid a struggle to get more help from the state.

“Our state is not funding public education to the level of our needs,” Gothard said, and that’s forcing boards to ask voters for more dollars. It’s now “very common,” he says, for school districts to ask voters for more funds to cover ongoing costs. In this year’s spring election, 72 districts statewide went to referendum.

Also at the roundtable was Bob Soldner, the district’s assistant superintendent for financial services, who is in the process of preparing the district’s 2026-2027 budget. The school board is expected to take up the budget in the coming months, with passage by late October.

When asked by Isthmus where school lobbyists are focusing their effort for the next legislative session, Soldner listed three key areas: holding lawmakers to their commitments for special education reimbursements, a “fundamental review” of the state’s school equalization aid formula that Soldner says hasn’t been updated in decades, and a “continued review” of state revenue limits amid inflation.

Federal volatility has presented other difficulties. “Federal regulations and changes also impacting us are a very difficult thing to maneuver,” said Gothard, who added that “it has not been an easy time to understand the decisions of Congress,” including changing regulations from the Department of Education or USDA rules for food aid.

The district has also had to prepare for ICE, especially for those on the front lines, like school secretaries, custodians, and bus drivers. The district maintains close partnerships with community organizations who respond to ICE threats and Cindy Green, assistant superintendent of strategy and innovation, noted that all staff go through a know-your-rights training when they are hired. Gothard said the district has also picked up additional lessons from “our colleagues in the Twin Cities.”

He also added some measured optimism, recalling the last six and a half years since the COVID pandemic. The district, he said, had to “create as we go, and respond.”

Gothard also touted the coming launch of the district’s next strategic framework, called Excellence Together, slated to be released Aug 25.