The Owen-Withee School Board held their regular meeting on Monday, August 17. Under Public Participation Julie Van Ark said she wanted to speak as a parent, not a staff member. She has asked to have her children leave early on Wednesday for church activities and said the coaches were very supportive and it didn’t affect her child’s playing time.
The consent agenda was approved. This included minutes, bills, activity accounts, and the Weber’s Farm Store milk bid. Costs will be 31¢ for skim white, 34¢ for 2% white, and 40¢ for 2% chocolate and whole white milk. There is also a $2.00 delivery fee per stop. Juanita Friedenfels was approved as the middle school special education teacher. Coaches were also approved, including Riley Eichstadt and Chad Eichstadt for middle school volleyball, Ava Techlaw for JV2 volleyball, Morgan Earnest and Rachel Devine for cross country, and Katie and Wade Hatlestad for girls golf.
A bid from Rivers Edge Metal Roofing LLC was approved. They will replace the roof on the crow’s nest at a cost of $6,273.51 and the concession stand at a cost of $5,667.00.
Three ash trees will be removed by Hoover Tree Service at a cost of $2,100. This will include grinding the stumps.
Early College Credit/Start College Now Students were approved. There are 23 students taking a total of 110 college credits.
A line of credit of $1,500,000 at Forward Bank was approved with a 5.29% interest rate and a loan fee of $200. The line of credit expires on September 1, 2027.
Travis Engel reported on maple syrup production in the school forest providing the board with a spreadsheet covering the nine years they have been doing this. He said last year they collected 24,200 gallons of sap. They have two suppliers that turn that into syrup, one who pays them in syrup that they sell as the FFA. Engel said that 21 students and adults worked on the project last season putting in 241¼ hours unpaid. The 4th grade visited for a maple day. Auburndale FFA also came to see the operation. WAXX has done interviews with them and they hosted the fall industry tour for maple syrup production. They started 10 years ago this fall and will have to replace the long drops, as they need to do that every five years. Over the nine seasons they have been in operation, they have collected 225,550 gallons of syrup and 2,257¼ student and volunteer hours have been put in. He said their sap is not as sweet as it would be from a sugar maple. They will have to find a new internet provider by spring so they can see what is happening at the forest from an app. Board president Dean Schmelzer suggested that maybe they should bid out the sap and see if anyone other than their two current people are interested.
The Fund 50 Transfer that was approved last month to food service was amended to $19,123.68, less than what was projected to be needed to zero out the account.
Wednesday night athletics and activities were discussed with no changes made. Board member Julie Wendler said her kids never had a problem. The end of practice has been adjusted on Wednesday nights. Board member Todd Nelson said it is a problem for churches that run their activities from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday. He said all the banquets are also scheduled for Wednesday so students have to miss them. He said that his child was reprimanded by a coach and that there have been issues. Wendler said they should have a conversation with the athletic director and she can give the coaches a reminder that students are allowed to leave for Wednesday night church activities. Schmelzer said that the early end to practice on Wednesday works for most churches and banquets are on Wednesday nights because there are no sports. The discussion ended with the board feeling that they should keep an eye on it and coaches need to be made aware. Parents need to contact the school if their child has an issue.
It was announced that Todd Nelson has reached the WASB Level 1 Award. Board members were made aware of upcoming regional meetings. For the small schools’ conference, the district can nominate a business or person they feel has done a lot for the school.
Student fees will remain at $20 for this year, the same as last year.
Under Administrator Reports, Elementary Principal Julie Van Ark said they had done new teacher inservice. For the inservice for all returning teachers they will be working on science curriculum and reviewing math data. They will also be collaborating with the high school on their Multi-Level Systems of Support Handbook. Bloodborne Pathogens will also be reviewed as well as safety procedures. Open House is coming up and they will have a picnic at the Lions Park in Withee to end summer school.
Middle/High School Principal Amy Dahms divided her report into three areas. She spoke about professional development and identifying goals. They will continue to use STARI to help with reading. The second area was student activities and athletics. The FBLA Officer Team held their summer retreat. They also brought snacks for staff that day. The football team raised over $6,000 with their Lift-a-Thon. Sports are getting started for the fall seasons. Homecoming is October 2. Dahms ended with Operations and School Climate saying that attendance will be a priority. She added that their Leadership Team is looking at classroom vs. office management of student behavior. Board member Angela Greschner asked how absents are counted when a student is only absent part of the day. Dahms said every absence counts as one per state statute.
District Administrator Randy Bergman said the maintenance crew did a great job getting the building ready for students. He is going to look at updates to the bathrooms with Houtari Construction and hopes to have a plan in place by spring. He said he is hoping for a good school year.
A question was asked about the new inclusive playground. The response was that it will be a while before they hear anything as others are still doing their presentations to Fulcrum.