The seven-member Wilmot Union High School District board met Wednesday night. The following is a brief report of agenda topics discussed:
- The consent agenda items were approved, which included the minutes of the November 14, 2012, regular board meeting, two new hires, the Carl Perkins Consortium Agreement, and the Treasurer’s Report.
Dan Kopp, district administrator, made the following announcements:
- Project Lead the Way will be spending $9,359.71 in the 2013/2014 school year, based on the commitment made in 2012.
- Alan Reynolds will be attending a national conference in Madison.
- Chris Trottier, principal, is being recognized as a Wisconsin School Administrator, one of four principals.
The following committee reports were shared:
- The Personnel Committee met on December 10th. David Betz, business manager, shared a model for the future. The goal is to have the proposal finalized in February for compensation. Five or six teachers are involved.
- The Policy Committee has no update yet. They will be scheduling a meeting in January.
- The Finance Committee met on December 3rd, and have a preliminary budget for the next school year. The model budget proposes a deficit for the 2013/2014 school year of $317,162. “We are early in the process,” Kopp said. The assumptions used for the budget include:
- A constant enrollment number of 1,122 students; (An increase will help the revenue limit.)
- A $50 revenue cap per pupil set by the (which was the same as for 2012);
- Salary increases of 2%;
- Health insurance increase of 5%;
- Dental insurance increase of 2%; and
- An increase in special education aid of 6% ($30,000).
Kopp said that they have a long road ahead before approval next October. Assumptions will change. The Finance Committee and the Leadership Team will work to reduce the deficit and present a balanced budget.
Click here to read an in-depth article on the co-ed hockey and boys volleyball: “Wilmot School Board Approves Co-Ed Hockey, Boys Volleyball.”
The board unanimously approved Wayne Trongeau, vice president, to be the delegate to attend the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) conference in January, and for him to vote in accordance with the recommendations.
The three-year lease extension of the Trouvaille Academy was unanimously approved. The property owner proposed the three-year extension with no increase in the monthly rent. Michael Faber commented that this is the first time in a lease agreement that he has ever seen that we pay a portion of the taxes.
Brenda Turner, director of teaching and learning, gave an outline of the proposed math program. A flow chart was included in the school board packets. They will be eliminating the accelerated algebra and instead offer algebra and honors geometry. Pre-algebra will also be offered, along with a pre-algebra support class. Basically, the proposal is to eliminate the basic classes and put in support classes. She received the board’s unanimous approval to try this for the next couple of years.
The Trouvaille Transition Resource to the Wilmot campus was approved. A sample syllabus was included. The students will read the novel, “Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Teen,” be required to do some service learning such as Meals on Wheels, and create a leadership and development portfolio. This will provide for the credit deficient students a half a credit for taking this course.
Click here to read an in-depth article on support for Jim Padlock: “Students, Parents Speak Out for Padlock.”