The Owen-Withee School Board held their regular meeting on Monday, September 21. The consent agenda was approved. This included minutes, payment of bills, the resignation of Leslie Hilton, and the hiring of Diane Kroeplin to work in food service, and Cecelia Renteria, Brianna Davidson, and Kaitlyn Bower to work as teacher/special education aides.
Discussion moved on to the Fitness Center Policy. Board member Robyn Renderman asked if there was a change to the policy in regard to athletes using the Fitness Center after school. District Administrator Randy Bergman said they just needed to have adult supervision and on the days he is at school, he is willing to supervise them if they ask. Coaches are also willing to supervise them. Renderman then asked if they had to be 18 and graduated to use the fitness center on their own and could they supervise their younger siblings. The response was they can’t supervise their younger siblings. She said that some 18 year olds had been denied key fobs. Bergman said there have been issues with students using their parent’s key fob to get in. He will doublecheck on whether an 18-year-old can have a fob. He said the rule to use the Fitness Center is that you have to be at least 14 years old and supervised by a parent or guardian. He said that some parents were bringing in little kids when they came to the Fitness Center and they had to be talked to. Renderman said what if a student who isn’t an athlete wanted to use the Fitness Center after school or on weekends. Bergman said they just need to ask, that there are people willing to supervise them.
They then went on to discuss the 2026-2027 budget/levy worksheet and preliminary enrollment numbers. Bergman said the certified equalization values from the state come out October 1. There were questions about the people with extended contracts and who they are reporting student contact hours to. Bergman’s estimate for now is that there are around 440-444 students that can be counted for enrollment, which is about the same as last year. The preliminary estimates of equalized value are up about $32 million from last year. They will be losing some federal funding for special education and Title 1. Using his preliminary numbers, the mill rate is estimated to be $5.65 per $1,000. In theory, the levy should go down with the higher property values. Bergman said that Baird is working on the referendum for next year, forecasting out three to four years of district finances.
Membership in the Wisconsin Association for Equity & Funding was approved at a cost of $500.
The board looked over the facility analysis provided. Some issues addressed in the analysis were the gym floor, asbestos floor tiles in the hallways, lack of a secure entry vestibule by the office, needed restroom updates, and addition of air conditioning to some areas. In regard to exterior areas, there are issues with stormwater management, the playground, the track surface and parking lot pavement. Board president Dean Schmelzer said that CESA had been working on a security grant for the entry and wondered what happened to it. The Buildings & Grounds Committee will meet to look over the recommendations and prioritize them. Bergman then brought up the sanitary sewer replacement issue. He said a tree was removed at Meadowview Golf Course last winter and they started having issues with the sewer pipe running across the golf course after that. He said it needs to be fixed. A joint meeting between the school board and the golf course board might be needed. The golf course wants the school to reroute the pipe to Cty X. Bergman said it would be cheaper just to fix the problem with the one spot.
The Board Policy on the district’s Mission & Vision Statement was approved. It was updated because of the new vision and mission statements. Bergman said he left the guiding principles as they were.
Bergman put together a cooperative sports agreement for O-W and Thorp. He shared it with Thorp and they want separate agreements per sport. He has met with the coaches and said they should meet with representatives from Thorp annually also. Thorp agrees with what he wrote in principle but some simple changes are needed before approval. Schmelzer asked about the costs being split 50/50 so he wanted to know why the revenue was all going to one school. Bergman said the only revenue is concessions. The only time people are charged to get in to a baseball game is when it is a tournament, but those receipts would be used to pay the officials. Schmelzer felt any revenue from the gate should be split. Board member Julie Wendler said that you also have to consider the extra expense for maintenance and custodians. Bergman said they would have to upgrade the ballfield if they want to host home games. Renderman asked about transportation costs. Bergman said O-W gets players to practice in Thorp but transportation to games is a shared cost. There was a question about whether both coaches at the varsity or JV level could be from the same school. They could be if one school couldn’t find a coach.
The agenda for the annual board meeting was approved as presented with one addition. Bergman asked how the district should get rid of stuff that it no longer needs. Wendler said in the past they got rid of blackboards to some Mennonite schools and the district was given a donation in return. Board member Todd Nelson said they could do what they did with the fitness equipment and post it on Facebook. Renderman suggested offering it to employees first. Bergman said that any disposal of unneeded equipment needs to be at an annual meeting. Renderman suggested a silent auction be added to the annual meeting agenda. This was approved. The annual meeting will be October 26.
Under Administrator Reports, elementary principal Julie VanArk said they are settling into a new school year. They have received many donations of school supplies. Katie Hatlestad has been selected as a Goyen Literacy Fellow. She is one of only 14 teachers selected from hundreds of candidates. This will involve her filming her instructional practices and presenting a variety of events. Fall assessments begin soon. The PBIS committee planned for a review of recess expectations. The Sports and Entertainment class helped make a video of teaching expectations in the school. Elementary Ag Day will be October 2 and Parent-Teacher Conferences October 15.
Middle/High School Principal Amy Dahms reported that they are learning about Self-Regulated Strategy Development for writing. They are also working to create subcommittees to support students. FFA and FBLA will be very busy representing the school in the month of October. Ag Mechanics students are working on restoring a Ford 9N tractor. Student Council is getting ready for Homecoming. The fundraiser for the Massman family raised $2,500. FASTBridge testing will happen soon. Students are being reminded of the importance of attendance. She is in the process of contacting all families to make a positive contact. Cell phone use is not allowed in the middle school. High school students can use their phones between classes and during lunch.
District Administrator Randy Bergman said he wrote and received a small grant for the elementary playground. He said both principals are doing a good job.
Todd Nelson asked if they could discuss the possibility of the Fall Open House running more hours on a future agenda.