The Owen-Withee School Board held their regular meeting on Monday, August 18. There was no public participation.
The consent agenda, including minutes, payment of bills, activity accounts, the resignation of Nicole Rogers, the hiring of Kim Hubbard, the seclusion and restraint report and the Weber’s Farm Store Milk Bid were approved after a couple of questions were answered. Board member Dean Schmelzer asked a question about a payment to Liberty Square. It was for gas. Board member Adam Simington asked a question about the milk bid wanting to know if it was the same company as last year and if the milk would be in bags again. The answer was yes. The cost is 31 cents per pint pouch for skim milk, 32 cents per pouch for 1% milk and 38 cents per pouch for chocolate milk. There is also a $2 delivery fee per stop. Hubbard will be replacing Rogers as the elementary library aide. The seclusion and restraint report showed five incidents involving two students, one male, one female.
The board approved adding Anna Syryczuk to the school district accounts. They also approved the Athletic Code with no changes.
The staff handbook was approved with removal of language that stated “$40 towards the cost of the substitute teacher shall be deducted from the salary of the teacher taking the leave.” This was in the personal leave section of the handbook.
Student fees will remain the same as last year.
At the previous meeting, Schmelzer had asked that discussion on the use of school vehicles be added to this agenda. He said a person had asked him why school vehicles had been used for certain activities, especially during the summer. District Administrator Randy Bergman said that all approvals go through him with the person making the request giving the reason the vehicle is needed. Board president Julie Wendler said that if Bergman approves a request for use of a vehicle, it is okay with her. Bergman said they also track it on a calendar so they know which vehicles are out.
Under Administrator Reports, Elementary Principal Julie VanArk said that she and Principal Johnson had attended a CESA conference about inclusion. She mentioned the upcoming Open House at school. A picnic is being planned at the Withee Lions Park as part of the Summer School activities. Katie Hatlestad did a writing training program refresher. The PLC (Professional Learning Community) team is using data and tracking standards to analyze student performance on the Forward test.
Middle/High School Principal Nate Johnson spoke about the new teacher in-service that had occurred that day. Wendy Nelson will be presenting a PLC Reboot during teacher in-service. Fall sports have all started practice. There will be an Open House with an orientation for 6th graders. Summer school is optional. School starts September 2. Their emphasis this year will be on improving student reading skills. They will also be working on spelling and grammar in the 6th grade.
District Administrator Randy Bergman said the tiles have been installed in the boy’s bathroom in the lobby. They are going to paint the floor tiles to match the walls. The patch work in the parking lot is complete. The art room and school psychologist’s office have also been tiled. Bergman spoke about American Deposits Management. They put out offers to banks to invest school funds to make more interest. He felt the district might do this with some of their Fund 46 dollars. The money can be put in to the account for different terms, 12 months, etc. Bergman said there would be some fees involved. He wanted to know if the board was interested in having a person come speak about this. The answer was yes. Board member Todd Nelson said a good time to do this would probably be July to June to match the fiscal year.
The board adjourned to closed session to discuss teacher, staff and administrative CPI increases. They were in closed session about 1¼ hours and had nothing to announce in open session.