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Owen-Withee School Board Discusses Bids for Building Project

Friday, October 29th, 2021 -- 9:00 AM

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The Owen-Withee School Board discussed bids for their building project.

Ryan Wichmann, with Market & Johnson, and Anne Porter, with LHB Architects, were on hand to review the bids for the building project. They are still considerably over their budget, but they have gotten closer.

The bids that they received on October 14th are good for 30 days, so they can find more ways to shave the price tag. The November 8th meeting is where the Board will have to accept or reject the bids for the project.

District Administrator Bob Houts also reviewed with the Board the origins of the solar array gift that was given to the District and how the planning and location of the solar array was decided upon in August/September of 2020.

He also addressed the issue of the solar project melding into the building projects because of the common electrical service being used. The solar project is slightly delayed because of the upgrades to the electrical service being done in the Ag/Tech and Cafeteria projects.

The Board also heard a COVID-19 status update. Things have been going pretty well in the building so far this school year. There has been a slight uptick in positive cases and close contact quarantines, but nothing really to cause alarm.

The Safe Return to School policy adopted in August will remain the same for now and a review will again occur in November. The Board also discussed the resignation of a Board member. For personal reasons, Rick Eloranta has submitted his resignation from the Board.

The Board regretfully accepts Rick’s resignation and thanks him for his 20 years of service to the Board and to the community. The Board then had to restructure.

Because Rick Eloranta was Board president, and the VP does not automatically move into the president’s role, a new president needed to be elected. A unanimous ballot was cast for Paul Heggemeier to be the president for the remainder of the school year.

Because Mr. Heggemeier was vice president, a new one needed to be selected. A unanimous ballot was cast for Dean Schmelzer to serve as vice president for the remainder of the school year.

Rick Eloranta also served on the CESA Board of Control. Their bylaws state that if a Board member leaves their board, the District that that person came from can appoint a replacement. Charlie Milliren agreed to be on the CESA Board to fill Rick’s spot until their annual meeting in August.

In employment matters, they approved the hiring Trent Klemm to serve as the 8th Grade boys basketball coach for this season, Bob Houts to serve as the 7th Grade boys basketball coach for this season, Jayci Blume to serve as the JV girls basketball coach for this season, and Shanna Nernberger as an assistant girls basketball coach.

Shanna will focus on the c-team and making a bridge/connection with the middle school players with the intent to keep as many as possible out when they move to high school. The Board approved all of the Start College Now Applications for the Spring of 2022 semester that were presented.

The Board also reviewed two proposals from firms that will help with the search for a new district administrator. The Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Don Stevens and Associates had submitted proposals. The Board selected Don Stevens and Associates to do the search.

The WASB Conference was also discussed. Paul Heggemeier indicated that he plans to attend. Registrations aren’t due until January, but hotel rooms are a hot commodity that fill up fast.

Several Board members indicated that they want to wait until the COVID protocols are set before they commit to the conference. As the only attendee to the WASB Education Conference in January, Paul Heggemeier will act as the delegate for the District.

The Board also heard the Administrators’ Reports. For the Elementary, fall assessments are complete and data teams met in early October. The newly purchased assessment program, FastBridge, was used for the first time as their assessment tool.

Parent/Teacher Conferences were held on October 11th and 14th and were well attended. It was good to have parents back in the building. Kids Club started this week, running Tuesdays and Thursdays until 5:00 PM. The celebration of Halloween will be Friday, October 29th.

For the Middle/High School, Homecoming went great. Dress Up days, PowderPuff football and the dance went well with lots of participation from kids. Parent/Teacher Conferences were held on October 4th. All went well. Again, it was great to have parents back in the building.

Mr. Engel is taking a group of FFA students to the national convention in Indianapolis this week. Student of the Month breakfast will start this week. Middle School Basketball starts this week. They have 8 seventh graders signed up and 5 eighth graders. The end of the first quarter is November 5th.

Finally, for the District, the approval by the Board of Mike Person as a maintenance employee was omitted from the agenda. It will be on the agenda in November.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.