MINUTES for EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS BOARD QUARTERLY MEETING
ECB Board Room
3319 West Beltline Highway
Madison, WI
Remote attendance by Microsoft Teams or phone
January 16, 2026
9:30 a.m.
Board Chair Alyssa Kenney called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Roll Call was taken.
Board members present:
Alyssa Kenney
Anne Hanson
Lucas Munz
Chris Patton
Paul Hammer
Leah Lechleiter-Luke
Eric Fulcomer
Sen. Romaine Quinn
Rep. Patrick Snyder
Rep. Ryan Clancy
Roy Christianson
Janet Botz
Board members absent:
Deborah Hamlett
Amy Traynor
Sen. Chris Larson (technical difficulties)
AGENDA ITEM 1
Approval of October 17, 2025 minutes:
Anne Hanson moved to approve the October 17, 2025 minutes. Paul Hammer seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM 2
Report of the Board Chair – Alyssa Kenney
Alyssa Kenney addressed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Board of Director’s decision to dissolve on January 5, 2026. She also spoke on the value of public broadcasting and that ensuring access to it remains an important service. She reflected on her two years of service as the Chair and announced that she would not like to be considered for another year as the Chair during today’s Board elections.
AGENDA ITEM 3
Report of the Executive Director – Marta Bechtol
Marta Bechtol thanked Alyssa Kenney for her service and commitment to the office of the Chair and echoed her message. Marta Bechtol noted that while CPB has officially dissolved, the states are responding with new partnerships, resources, and ultimately increasing their ownership to fill gaps left by the loss of federal funding. She noted that today’s audit conversation addresses the strategic directive to “Assure responsible stewardship of agency resources in carrying out the work of the ECB.”
AGENDA ITEM 4
Action: Election of Board officers and Foundation trustees (Bylaws Article II, Sect. 3)
Alyssa Kenney began the 2026 ECB Board of Directors election by nominating Paul Hammer as Chair, seconded by Roy Christianson. No other nominations were made. Paul Hammer was elected as Chair by unanimous voice vote.
Paul Hammer then nominated Alyssa Kenney for Vice Chair, seconded by Anne Hanson. There were no other nominations. Alyssa Kenney was elected as Vice Chair by unanimous voice vote.
Roy Christianson nominated Eric Fulcomer as Secretary, seconded by Lucas Munz. There were no other nominations. Eric Fulcomer was elected as Secretary by unanimous voice vote.
Following the election of Board officers, Alyssa Kenney transferred all responsibilities of the Chair to Paul Hammer for the remainder of the meeting.
In reference to the composition of the WPBF trustees, based on categories identified in Wisconsin Statute 15.57 (6g), Roy Christianson noted the “president of the Wisconsin Public Radio Association” (WPRA) does not exist; he is the Chair of the WPRA and believes that the language in the statute is outdated. Marta Bechtol noted that since the word “president” is lower case it could be interpreted as simply the individual that presides over the WPRA.
Paul Hammer nominated the current WPBF trustee slate (Alyssa Kenney, Marta Bechtol, Anne Hanson, Leah Lechleiter-Luke, and Rep. Patrick Snyder) for re-election and called for additional nominations. With none heard, Eric Fulcomer seconded nomination of the slate which was then elected by unanimous voice vote.
AGENDA ITEM 5
Information: Presentation of FY25 Audit – Andrea Jansen, Baker Tilly
Andrea Jansen, Baker Tilly US LLP, presented the Independent Auditor’s report along with Reporting and insights from the 2025 ECB audit report. In reference to internal controls, Andrea Jansen noted that Baker Tilly did not identify any deficiencies in internal controls that could be considered material weaknesses. She then concluded her presentation by reviewing Statement of Net Position and Statement of Revenues financial results.
AGENDA ITEM 6
Action: Direction for future audits
Paul Hammer informed the Board that ECB’s comprehensive annual audits were required for CPB grant eligibility and have been a normal process for the agency for the last 50 years. With the closure of CPB, the extensive agency audit is no longer an annual requirement. However, the WPBF must always undergo an annual audit to certify its charitable status. Board policy 401 states that both ECB and WPBF must complete an annual audit for a total of two audits. He asked the board to provide clarity as to whether ECB and WPBF should both continue conducting yearly audits now that the CPB requirement is gone. Aimee Wright presented a decision brief which included background information along with the pros & cons of three strategic options:
- Option 1 – Continue according to existing policy (ECB and WPBF)
- Option 2 – WPBF financial statement audit plus agency review of agreed upon procedures (partial audit)
- Option 3 – WPBF financial statement audit only
Lucas Munz asked how much money would be saved if the ECB audit requirement was removed. Andrea Jansen responded but could not provide an exact dollar amount. Eric Fulcomer followed by asking Aimee Wright if the internal financial work she conducts remains the same, even if one audit were conducted rather than two. Aimee Wright confirmed that it would. Anne Hanson mentioned a separate form of financial auditing is conducted by the DOA (Department of Administration) State Controller’s office and, although it does not occur on a yearly basis, occurs on a rotational basis. Aimee Wright confirmed that ECB’s last Controller review occurred in 2021. Paul Hammer noted that the Controller check could serve as an additional (no cost) check, though much of the internal work of the finance team would not change if one audit was discontinued. He stated any decision made today could be revisited in the future.
Alyssa Kenney weighed in against Option 2 as it may not reduce costs in the long run. Roy Christianson stated that ECB’s finances are fully transparent to legislature, a practice he believes should be sustained via independent audits. Eric Fulcomer asked how much time would be saved if one audit were discontinued. Aimee Wright responded that around 15% of her time is dedicated to audit prep, which includes internal preparation of financial statements by ECB’s finance team, keeping the agency’s costs down. Rep. Ryan Clancy stated he is leaning towards option three and asked if our past audit results have been consistently clean; Marta Bechtol confirmed this is the case. Anne Hanson asked if the money saved by discontinuing one audit would make an impact during future budget restrictions. Marta Bechtol said the decision to do away with one audit could always be revisited in the future if resources become tighter. Anne Hanson stated she is leaning toward option three. Janet Botz stated that an annual audit would be good governance especially in uncertain times. Alyssa Kenney stated she is leaning towards Option 1. Lucas Munz asked if making the decision today would be necessary, prior to getting a quote from Baker Tilly, to see how much money would be saved. Further discussion concluded that a delay could push the decision into the next fiscal year. This discussion also yielded that the total savings in shifting from two audits to one may only be in the single thousands. Paul Hammer asked if WPBF funds could strictly pay for the WPBF audit only. Aimee Wright confirmed those funds already do.
Rep. Clancy stated that if the Board is confident that the savings would be less than $30,000 between Options 1 and 3, he is comfortable going with Option 1; Leah Luke agreed. Eric Fulcomer moved to vote for Option 1, seconded by Jan Botz. With no further discussion, Paul Hammer called for a voice vote to proceed with Option 1 to continue according to existing policy, which passed unanimously.
Lucas Munz proposed that a quote from Baker Tilly be requested prior to the next Board of Directors meeting; all agreed.
AGENDA ITEM 7
Information: The One Team approach to Engineering strategy – Marta Bechtol & Jordan Siegler
Marta Bechtol announced new strategic structural changes between ECB and WPM that consolidate the broadcast engineering team, streamline engineering operations, and reduce overall partnership costs. Jordan Siegler commented on the strength of the partnership and the willingness to thoroughly review the workflows by both sides of the partnership, and voiced appreciation for the leadership demonstrated by Kealey Bultena and Adam Hargrove in stewarding this change. Ultimately, it was determined that the broadcast engineering function at WPM was best fit to transfer completely to ECB, eliminating 4.6 FTE from WPM. Marta Bechtol clarified that this shift of function does not increase FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) allocated to the ECB, but vacancies will be opened to recruitment to expand the capacity of ECB’s broadcast IT team. She estimated that the full transition of functions should be complete within five months.
AGENDA ITEM 8
Information: Q2 financial report – Aimee Wright
Aimee Wright provided a summary of the Q2 financial report, which is tracking on schedule.
AGENDA ITEM 9
Adjournment
Roy Christianson moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Eric Fulcomer. The meeting adjourned at 11:03 A.M.