The Owen-Withee School Board held their regular meeting on Monday, July 20. Under the consent agenda the board approved payment of bills, a fourth grade teacher, and academic standards. There were no retirements to accept. For the fourth grade position the first person backed out and a contract was issued to Isabella Ciolkosz. The district is still looking for a middle/high school special education teacher and a high school cross country coach.
FBLA students who attended the national conference were recognized, with two of the six students in attendance. Lydia VanArk and Jack Wendler were present with their advisor Caleb Green. Green said that 18,000 people attended the conference. He said Wendler was a finalist in both his competitions, which put him in the top 50 nationwide. Students attended workshops, did pin trading, and watched the finals for a lot of the events. Green said that historically Wisconsin doesn’t do well when the competition is held in southern states. VanArk said they did a lot of exploring in San Antonio in their downtime. She didn’t do as well in competition as she had hoped. Wendler said this is the third time he has been to national competition and he enjoys meeting other students and professionals from across the country. It was noted that Green was elected to the National Board of Directors. The O-W FBLA got gold champion banners for both middle and high school. The competition will be in Columbus, OH next year.
The 2026-27 budget was the next item up for discussion. District Administrator Randy Bergman said that according to the July 1 estimate of state aid, the district will lose almost $200,000. This means more of a burden on the taxpayers of the district. Board member Angela Greschner asked how many students Owen-Withee has lost to voucher schools. Bergman thinks the number is three. RVA students are counted as O-W students, but the district has to pay RVA. He said that Democrats want to change how schools are funded so don’t want to do anything until after the November election. He said that schools no longer get CPI increases. Based on preliminary numbers, Bergman is estimating that the levy rate will be about $6.67 per thousand of valuation. This doesn’t include any changes to student enrollment or property values, which will change that number. The final levy won’t be set until October.
The board voted to transfer $33,117.47 to Fund 50, the food service account, to zero it out for the 2025-26 school year. Meal prices will increase 10¢ across the board for the 2026-27 school year.
The contract for Clark County Community Services to use space in the school again this year was approved. Leftover funds will be transferred to Fund 46, the Capital Account, once final numbers are available for the 2025-26 school year. The board also approved an authorization to short-term borrow $950,000. This money is only borrowed and used while waiting for state aid and other revenue.
Owen-Withee will have a girls golf team this fall at their request. This will allow them to compete in tournaments which they couldn’t do when on the boys team. The team will probably have at least six girls. Katie and Wade Hatlestad are willing to coach the team as volunteers, if desired.
There was also discussion about removing three ash trees from school property. Bergman got an estimate of $2,750 for the three trees, including stump grinding. They have Emerald Ash Borer. The board would like a second estimate and the item was tabled until the next meeting.
A section was added to the Staff Handbook on Staff-Student Relationships and Professional Boundaries. The policy prohibits inappropriate relationships and grooming behaviors. This includes sexual or romantic relationships and exploiting a student’s vulnerability or willingness to engage in inappropriate behavior. All staff members are required to report any known or suspected violations of the policy. Staff members may be terminated for violations. The addition to the handbook was approved.
New Middle/High School principal Amy Dahms was introduced. She had been on the job for three days. She said she is looking forward to working with students and staff.
Elementary Principal Julie VanArk said they would be presenting their proposal for an Inclusive Playground to the Fulcrum Foundation Board. They also got a donation of $50,000 toward the playground from Forward Bank. Forward Bank would like naming rights. There was discussion of how to handle this since there have been other donors also. It was suggested that maybe a placard with all the donors could be put up. It was also noted that maybe the district needs a policy on naming rights. VanArk is attending CESA #10’s Summer Summit.
District Administrator Randy Bergman said he will have an estimate on the August agenda for the Crow’s Nest by the football field. He has one estimate and is working on getting more. He said the district is close to having all positions filled. He also talked about the possibility of using a company to create district policies with so many new policy requirements from the state.
Under Committee Reports, the baseball co-op was discussed. Dean Schmelzer and Julie Wendler had met with two board members from Thorp. They are trying to get a co-coaching co-op in place that would have two varsity and two JV coaches. They are talking to coaches to see if it could work. They will keep working with Thorp on an agreement that could also be used as a framework for other possible co-op sports in the future. They will hire the best coaches, not necessarily one coach from each school. They will have to figure out how to work out hiring coaches every year. They will provide more details in the future. Bergman said the district will probably have to look at more co-ops in the future.
Schmelzer asked that Wednesday night events/practices be put on the agenda. A report on the FFA’s maple syrup operation was requested. An update on buildings & grounds was also requested. Bergman said five windows were installed, asphalt sealing is done, the new furnace will go in the end of the month, the server is in and phones will be done by the end of July, the Kindergarten and maintenance area floors are done. They will be getting a report from HSR on what to look at for projects next. Greschner asked about updates to the other bathrooms, the ones by the high school gym have been done. Schmelzer asked about adding Public Participation at the end of the meeting. Wendler said they used to have an informal forum before the meeting and could do that again.
The board went into closed session for about 45 minutes to evaluate District Administrator Randy Bergman. Nothing was announced in open.