Cadott School Board; Policy and handbook alignment on docket

The Cadott School Board looked at the annual scorecard results, during a Committee of the Whole meeting June 26. They discussed which of the annual goals were met, which made progress and where improvement is still needed. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

The Cadott School Board continued their efforts to update school policies, ahead of the upcoming year, during a Committee of the Whole meeting June 26. The items on the agenda were informational only, with votes slated for the July meeting.

Outgoing superintendent Jenny Starck says the policies were brought forward by the district, rather than Neola, the company who helps the districts with their policies.

The first policy up for discussion, was on district-sponsored trips. Starck says the changes include better defining what an extended trip is and increasing the district support, from $600 to $1,400.

“The amount of support from the district has not changed, well, since before I came,” said Starck.

Starck says expenses above and beyond that, will still require fundraisers or donations to cover them.

Rod Tegels, board member, asked if the policy covers individuals or strictly teams. Starck says she believes it can cover either one, as long as it is a district-sponsored organization.

Tegels also suggested the district clarify that the school vans are available to the organizations at no cost, in the policy.

Board members also got a first look at updates to a policy on parent and family engagement in Title 1 programs.

Starck explained the district was monitored by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for all of the Title 1 programs. One of the pieces the district needed to correct, was around family engagement and the district added a family engagement coordinator to help with that.

The proposed policy change is extensive and focuses on having a lot of parent feedback in the programs.

Board president Cory LaNou asked if the policy is based on a template. Starck says she got the template from Neola, and the DPI looked over the policy and said it would meet their standards.

The board also looked at proposed changes to the extracurricular, junior and senior high, and elementary handbooks.

In the extracurricular handbook, the proposed changes see Chippewa Valley Orthopedics removed, since they will not work with the district going forward.

Tegels asked where the coach’s responsibilities are listed.

“As you go through this, it’s quick to point out the student requirement, if you will,” said Tegels.

Starck says the responsibilities of coaches are listed in the coach’s handbook.

In the elementary handbook, the proposed updates are around parent drop-off, with a switch back to breakfast in the classroom. Starck says the change would allow for more flexibility to have staff or teacher meetings in the morning, and breakfast in the classroom tends to have higher participation and is easier to supervise.

The proposed junior and senior high handbook updates align the handbook to the GPA calculation changes, voted on in March, to make the way GPAs are calculated more consistent.

LaNou says it would be nice if every board member has a copy of every handbook and a copy of the policies, once they are up-to-date.

“And maybe, it’s just we rearrange how it’s on the website,” said LaNou.

He also says there are plans to realign all the policies and handbooks, as part of a longer-term project.

“That’s already in the works,” said LaNou.

The board also heard about adding a 457(b) deferred compensation plan for employees. Starck explained it is another option for employees to use for retirement planning. She says the district would manage the plan, but not pay into it.

“We’re basically adding one more option,” said LaNou. “We’re not taking an option away.”

Board members also reviewed the annual scorecard, to see which goals were met and where improvements are still needed.