New principal chosen as assistant coach

By Casey Krautkramer

The Stratford Board of Education last Wednesday approved the hiring of Jeff Bell, middle/high school principal, as a part-time high school assistant girls basketball coach on a trial basis this school year.

Superintendent Nathan Lehman said Bell was by far the best candidate for the assistant coaching position because of his prior experience as a varsity head girls basketball head coach at Division 1 Fond du Lac.

School board member Kitty Guyer, however, raised concerns about the new principal taking on the extra responsibility of coaching. She said Stratford had a bad experience with this sort of situation in the past during her first term on the school board.

Bell quelled Guyer’s fears by telling her that he is a principal first and coaching is second on his list of priorities. He told her that Tammie Christopherson, varsity girls basketball head coach, is okay with him being late for practices if he has meetings with parents or students after school. She is also okay with him only attending home games this season.

Lehman said Bell will primarily work with the team’s inside players like the centers and forwards. Bell will also use his technology skills by watching game film to help the Tigers improve their play on the court.

Other business

■ Based on consultant recommendations, Lehman said he decided to move the varsity football team’s Level 2 and 3 playoff games from Tiger Stadium to Marshfield Senior High School’s artificial turf field.

Lehman said schools like Stratford that start over with a grass football field must wait three to five years before the field is completely ready to go. Stratford’s new grass football field, which is made up of 70 percent sand and 30 percent dirt, is a little less than 2-1/2 years old.

“It was their recommendation to stop playing on the field as they cautioned that our fields might look good on top, but underneath the soil, it’s not completely ready,” Lehman said, referring to the consultants. “They wanted us to winterize the field, which has a short root system, and let it rest for the year.”

■ The board approved the second reading of a policy to determine a student’s class rank for the guaranteed admission program into University of Wisconsin colleges.

■ Guyer is the only Stratford School Board member up for reelection to another three-year term this April. The deadline for an incumbent school board member like Guyer to file a notice of noncandidacy is 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 27.

District residents who want to run for election on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, must file their campaign registration statement and a ceclaration of candidacy by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.

New candidates for school board must also file nomination papers with a sufficient number of signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. Nomination papers cannot be circulated or filed before Sunday, Dec. 1.

If a primary is necessary, it will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.