FREDERIC - On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the Frederic School District had its regular board of education meeting.
Due to a recent influx of inclement weather, makeup days were discussed. At this point Superintendent Josh Robinson stated that none would be required until there were up to eight days at the elementary school or seven at the 6-12 school. To date the district has had to use four days. In the past there have been options to add minutes onto the end of the school day or to possibly use teacher in-service days as student contact days rather than a day off of school.
Gratitude was extended to elementary school Principal Megan Challoner, who has been working hard to prepare for her absence during her maternity leave. Her position has been posted for the last three months. An aide was recently hired that will step in to help with her position. There are also more maternity leaves happening in March and April at the elementary school. Challoner plans to be coming back in late March or early April.
There is an issue arising when there are junior and senior students coming into the district with less than eight total credits. If the student obtains a General Education Diploma, it is counted negatively against the district as a dropout. There is another pathway called and High School Equivalency Diploma, which is considered a positive for the district and is available to students who would otherwise not be able to obtain the necessary credits. The HSED is something between a GED and an actual high school diploma, allowing them to obtain a transcript and a diploma from their current high school as well. This is not necessarily new, but has become more accessible as distance learning and the internet have made it possible. Principal Erin Hansford is in the process of forging a relationship with Northwood Technical College to bring this opportunity to the Frederic High School in the future. It could also benefit any student who has a deficiency in credits, not just transfers.
Regarding open enrollment seats for the 2023-2024 school year, Jada Anderson, who oversees the special education department, recommended closing the acceptance of additional students who have mental or intellectual disabilities for the middle and high school level as the district anticipates to be at capacity with eight to nine students in those programs with the current staff. No cap was recommended for other classes due to enrollment projections placing class size well within recommended ranges.
The 2021-2022 district audit report was presented by Two Rivers Accounting LLC. The district is following generally accepted principles and had an unmodified report, which is good; and there were no major issues found. The only small issue was the small number of individuals involved in the financial process, but the district is small and is not required to hire another individual. The firm felt the two individuals handling finances did well dividing tasks. Regarding the general fund, the consensus was that the school district was doing very well with its current liabilities versus assets at a ratio of about 15%, which would continue to be a good place to be if the district can avoid going into further debt. At the moment, the food services fund balance for the year was very low with matched governmental funds, which was stated would change drastically beginning next year when not all students would receive free meals. The total U.S. Department of Education funds received was $1,088,068. From the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the district received $4,287,506. The board accepted this report.
During the administrative reports it was stated that Adam Morine, who joined the district over the fall as school resource officer, is now moving on to another position. A new SRO, David Vincent, is starting, and has already come to play some basketball with kids at the school as he works on building relationships.
For the middle school and high school, Hansford said assessments are in progress that will be used to spark conversations focused on helping students to focus on growth versus just grades. There is also an additional $5,000 grant that was approved for the school to put toward a playground for the 6-12 campus, on top of the one awarded last year.
For the elementary school, the art room has been going through some unique changes with its new art teacher, Carrie Ayd, turning the entire classroom into a canvas, including elements from outer space and even a life-sized astronaut named Andy. Fourth- and fifth-grade students had another optional math homework competition where they decided to do some extra work to earn a surprise award. After learning their options, they picked a hot chocolate party with all kinds of fancy toppings. The math and ELA teams are currently researching ways to connect the pre-K through fifth grade classrooms with instructional strategies that are uniform across grade levels so teachers are on the same page.
For the upcoming school board election, the lowest vote total of the three incumbents, Emily Karl, Carey Lillehaug and Tasha Phillips, will go back on the ballot next year, then the next lowest will go back on the ballot in two years, and the other will go back on the ballot after the full three-year term. Robinson said he is working with legal counsel to determine the terms as to how long each individual will be serving.
Consideration and approval of educational options, which is a policy that is updated yearly and has to include scores from state report cards, is a public notice that will be posted at the school district’s website. Most notable were increases in many key performance indicators.
The next meeting for the board of education is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 4 p.m. for a Committee of the Whole meeting, then the regular meeting will be at 5 p.m.
