Cadott School Board; Extracurricular handbook changes approved
By Julia Wolf
The Cadott School Board approved updates to the extracurricular handbook, during a regular meeting July 10, but also heard how the district found itself in a tough position, when it comes to orthopedics/sports medicine services.
Erin Crank, athletic director, says the changes include taking out the references to Chippewa Valley Orthopedics and specifying how academic ineligibility affects Cadott students, based on the district’s calendar.
Board member Andrea Wahl asked if the orthopedics reference will be replaced with anything.
Superintendent Josh Spaeth says the company is not offering their services to schools anymore. He says he and Crank reached out to find another company to offer the services.
“We had one estimate that came in, you know, extremely high,” said Spaeth.
He says they reached out to other superintendents to ask how other districts are handling the situation.
“Obviously, we’re not the only school dealing with that right now,” said Crank. “Several other schools got this same letter.”
Board president Cory LaNou says, in terms of the handbook, they will put more generic language in the policy, admitting that does not solve the larger issue at hand.
LaNou also says they still plan to go through an alignment process for all the handbooks, so more changes may come to the extracurricular handbook, though nothing significant is anticipated.
“There may be just some minor changes,” said LaNou. Members also approved updates to policies, as they were discussed at the previous Committee of the Whole meeting. A policy on district-sponsored trips included an increase in district financial support, from $600 to $1,400, for trips by district-sponsored organizations. Changes to a policy on Parent and Family Engagement in Title 1 programs, was also approved.
“This was just significantly expanded from what it was before,” said LaNou.
The board also voted to add a 457(b) deferred compensation plan option for employees.
“It just gives employees an additional way to fund their retirement,” said LaNou, adding no one is required to participate and employees don’t need to change their current plan.
The board also approved the resignation of Sean Hurt, elementary physical education teacher.
It has been a pleasure working at Cadott Elementary School and I appreciate all of the opportunities this position has given me, wrote Hurt.
The resignation of Jessica Brown, elementary school counselor, was also approved.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Cadott, and saying goodbye to our school family, especially our amazing students, weighs heavily on my heart, wrote Brown.
The board also approved the hire of elementary physical education teacher Zack Sirny; SPED aide Amber Hladilek; long-term substitute for high school SPED Avery Spilde; elementary assistant principal Greg Sonnentag; varsity boys basketball coach Shawn Schoelzel; and junior and senior high principal Nathan Steinmetz. Lisa Muska was also approved to act as a food service worker; and Kimberly Hendzel was approved to serve as the high school head cook.
Spaeth also reported they attended a PLC (Professional Learning Community) Institute event, where they had time to talk about the reason why they are here – to make sure all kids are learning at a high level. He says both principals are meeting with their teams in the next two weeks, to go over what they learned and how they will apply the knowledge.
A board retreat is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 9, from 5-9 p.m., at the school forest. Items on the itinerary for discussion, so far, are the PLC Institute, goals and the strategic plan, and whether they want to continue with two board meetings per month, or switch to one.
