Edgar K-12’s school trip policy draws scrutiny

By Kevin O ’Brien

After a few members of Edgar’s pep band were prevented from performing at last Thursday’s state football championship because they took the wrong bus to Madison, at least one school board member said she would like to revisit the district’s policies to make sure they are fair.

The issue was raised by Mia Stencil, the student representative on the school board, who mentioned that some members of the pep band had signed up for a seat on the coach bus used to transport the football team and others to Camp Randall. Stencil said the band members didn’t realize they were required to ride the school bus designated for the pep band in order to perform during last Thursday’s game.

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Superintendent Cari Guden said district policy 2340, which deals with district-sponsored trips, makes it clear that students must ride the bus associated with their respective co-curricular group if they want to participate in that activity.

“All students are expected to ride the approved vehicle to and from each activity,” the policy states. “A special request must be made to the staff member or sponsor by the parent, in writing or in person, to allow an exception.”

Guden said administrators were not aware ahead of time that members of the pep band were planning on riding the coach bus, and said it was “very unfortunate” that some of them were were not allowed to perform as a result. Ultimately, about five to six members of the pep band chose not to perform rather than give up their seat on the coach bus, according to Guden.

Having all the members of a co-curricular group ride on the same bus ensures that all of the students arrive together at the same time, she said.

“We have the policy so we should adhere to the policy,” said board president Corey Mueller.

Board member Pamela Stahel, however, said pep band members have taken the coach bus in previous years and were still able to perform at the game without administrators knowing. Stahel said the board needs to review its policy, which also states that “transportation for all field and other district-sponsored trips is to be by vehicles owned or approved by the district and driven by approved drivers.” For years, the Edgar Football Alumni Club, in partnership with Nicolet Bank, has booked a coach bus that is open to all community members, parents and students who want to sign up and pay for a seat on the bus.

“Right now there seems to be favoritism for groups that get to ride coach and others that can’t,” Stahel said. “How’s that fair?”

Guden said the district’s current contract with Fischer Transportation requires that students ride the company’s school busses for all extra-curricular activities, but she acknowledged that a “handshake agreement” was made years before she became superintendent that provided an exemption for statebound sports teams.

“These coach busses are not, in any way, part of the School District of Edgar,” Guden wrote in a email following last week’s meeting.

Stahel said that board should revisit that exemption in the future to ensure that all students activities are treated equally. Guden said the time to do that would be when the district renegotiates its contract with Fischer Transportation, which happens on a yearly basis due to changes in costs.

School board member Alison Reinders thanked Stencil for bringing the bussing issue to the board’s attention.

“I’m glad that students are talking to you about this,” she said.

In another bussing related issue, Guden confirmed that the district’s new electric bus has been out of commission since Oct. 20 due to a problem with the charging unit.

Pat Socha, a driver for Fischer Transportation, noted that the district had to disable one of its diesel-fueled buses in order to qualify for the grant to obtain the electric bus.

“So, we really are reliant on that electric bus being available,” said board member Rebecca Normington. “It can’t be out of commission.”

Socha said Fischer does have a spare bus available so they can use it if the electric one is out of commission, but they try to use it as much as they can.

“I really like driving it because it’s really quiet,” he said. “I know they still have some bugs to work out, but it’s a very nice bus to drive.”

Other business

■ Middle/high school principal Mike Wilhelm and two teachers, Amber Guldan and Dennis Webb, spoke to the board about the district’s new Wayfinder curriculum dealing with social-emotional issues. Teachers use part of the half-hour “Wildcat Time” built into the schedule to discuss issues related to emotional development and social competence.

“As educators, we want to help kids be the best versions of themselves, on a daily basis, both in and out of school,” Wilhelm said.

Webb, who teaches music classes, said he has been able to develop a deeper rapport with his seniors by sharing some of his life experiences as someone who has taught for 31 years. He helps them set life goals and identify what he recognizes as bad relationships, for example.

“I think we’ve built a better community in our school all around,” he said.

Guldan, who teaches middle English Language Arts classes, said Wayfinder offers open-ended lesson plans that allow teachers and students to explore topics that don’t normally get addressed in the classroom. She said the lessons are already starting to show a positive impact on student behavior, as she’s witnessed classmates be more willing to help each other out.

“Really it’s about teaching them how to be fantastic human beings,” she said.

Wilhelm said Wayfinder offers a wide variety of lesson plan ideas and an online “activity library” with videos ranging from one to 45 minutes long on various topics.

“If you need to, you can follow the script,” he said.

■ The board renewed the district’s fiveyear contract with the Rural Virtual Academy, which provides online learning alternatives for students in the district. Guden said the contract not only makes financial sense for the district, it also benefits students who are enrolled in RVA classes.

■ The board approved the hiring of Chloe Moore, a current student teacher, as a longterm first-grade substitute teacher for the second semester. Student teachers Brianna Leibsle and Stephanie Meier were also hired for second semester band and agriculture, respectively.

■ The board authorized eight students to enroll in the Start College Note program and two in the Early College Credit Program. Guden noted that Northcentral Technical College will be parking its new mobile lab at the school for several weeks for students enrolled in a certified nursing assistant (CNA) diploma program.

■ Board member Megan Wesolowski wondered if the middle school could start offering a “welcome back” orientation for parents, just as the elementary school does. As the mother of a new middle school student, she said there’s a lot to learn about the differences at the middle school, including the grading policies, block schedule and the a la carte option in the lunchroom.

“It would have been nice to have a parent orientation,” she said. “I know you do one for kids.”

Principal Wilhelm said the school could “absolutely do that” in the future.