MONROE - At a meeting Monday, May 9, the Monroe school board:
• Approved renewing the district's Dean health insurance plan with a 3.5-percent increase in premiums (about $202,000) and a change in the drug plan from a $0/$5/$20 drug card to a $5/$20/$30 card. The drug plan has a tiered co-pay: the first number is the co-pay for a generic drug, the second is the co-pay for a name-brand drug and the third is the co-pay for a premium name-brand drug, according to Business Manager Ron Olson.
Board members Jim Plourde and Rich Deprez abstained from the vote.
• Elected officers in secret ballot votes: Bob Erb, president; Mary Berger, vice president; Brian Keith, treasurer; Michael Boehme, clerk; Amy Bazley, deputy clerk. The first vote for vice president was a three-way tie between Berger, Bazley and Dan Bartholf. Berger received a majority in the second vote.
• Considered hiring School Perceptions to conduct an open enrollment out survey to find out why some families living within the Monroe school district choose to send their children elsewhere for school. District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner said School Perceptions conducts this type of survey over the phone - by way of a personal phone call to each family open enrolling out - rather than by mail or online. She said the survey is "much cheaper" than other surveys the company has conducted for the district: It would cost an initial $750 fee, then $10 per family surveyed and an optional $600 for a report on the results.
Olson said if one student comes back to attend Monroe as a result of the survey, that would "more than pay for" the survey.
At the board's request, Hirsbrunner said she will contact other districts for which School Perceptions has conducted enrollment surveys to find out how valuable they found the results to be.
• Recognized the recipients of Monroe Excellence in Education grants for 2016. They are: Breakout Boxes, Monroe High School, $354; Instruments for Summer School, Monroe Middle School, $500; Understanding Newton's Second Law, MHS, $507; Advanced Chemistry Centrifuges, MHS, $400; Collaborative Classroom Makeover, Parkside Elementary School, $400; FAB Lab, MHS, $3,000; Classroom Library, MHS, $1,000; Yabla Website, MHS, $1,975; Accessible Summer Leveled Reading, Parkside, $1,000; Clawbot Kits, MHS, $600; Books on the Bus, Northside Elementary School, $1,500; Building our Classroom Libraries, Northside, $910. There were 24 applicants for EIE grants this year.
• Accepted the resignation of instructional staff member Charlie Baumann, MMS seventh-grade math teacher.
• Approved the retirement of instructional staff member Bill Latimer Jr., MHS English teacher.
• Authorized hiring instructional staff members: Kyle Kasten, MMS special education; Eric Justiniano, Parkside physical education; Jeff Moorman, Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy interventionist; Alex Vandelune, Abe Lincoln; Elizabeth Strunz, MMS guidance counselor.
• Authorized the hiring of support staff member Gayle Buol, MMS head custodian.
• Accepted a donation of $25 from Rosalind Cooke for Backpack Buddies.
• Discussed the high school's hockey cooperative with Albany, Beloit Turner, Darlington, Freeport, Lena-Winslow, New Glarus, Parkview, Pecatonica, Freeport Aquin and Belleville. The co-op contract runs through the 2016-17 school year, at which point it can be renewed. Hirsbrunner said the number of students participating in hockey next year is expected to be low but that it should increase in the years after that. The team currently has about 13 students. The district will be evaluating the program at the end of next school year at the request of the school board. If the board chooses to extend the co-op at that point, other schools can be added until April 1, 2017.
• Approved open enrollment in requests for 24 students to attend Monroe during the 2016-17 school year and out requests for 40 students to attend other districts. The students open enrolling into Monroe will bring about $146,000 of funding to the district, while those leaving will cost about $254,000. Board member Dan Bartholf abstained from the vote for open enrollment out requests.
• Gave initial approval to 22 policy reviews and revisions.
• Approved a leave of absence request by Christine Ruegsegger, Parkside first-grade teacher.
• Went into closed session to discuss personnel issues.
About 11 people aside from school board members and administrators attended the meeting, most to accept EIE grants.
- Susan Endres
• Approved renewing the district's Dean health insurance plan with a 3.5-percent increase in premiums (about $202,000) and a change in the drug plan from a $0/$5/$20 drug card to a $5/$20/$30 card. The drug plan has a tiered co-pay: the first number is the co-pay for a generic drug, the second is the co-pay for a name-brand drug and the third is the co-pay for a premium name-brand drug, according to Business Manager Ron Olson.
Board members Jim Plourde and Rich Deprez abstained from the vote.
• Elected officers in secret ballot votes: Bob Erb, president; Mary Berger, vice president; Brian Keith, treasurer; Michael Boehme, clerk; Amy Bazley, deputy clerk. The first vote for vice president was a three-way tie between Berger, Bazley and Dan Bartholf. Berger received a majority in the second vote.
• Considered hiring School Perceptions to conduct an open enrollment out survey to find out why some families living within the Monroe school district choose to send their children elsewhere for school. District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner said School Perceptions conducts this type of survey over the phone - by way of a personal phone call to each family open enrolling out - rather than by mail or online. She said the survey is "much cheaper" than other surveys the company has conducted for the district: It would cost an initial $750 fee, then $10 per family surveyed and an optional $600 for a report on the results.
Olson said if one student comes back to attend Monroe as a result of the survey, that would "more than pay for" the survey.
At the board's request, Hirsbrunner said she will contact other districts for which School Perceptions has conducted enrollment surveys to find out how valuable they found the results to be.
• Recognized the recipients of Monroe Excellence in Education grants for 2016. They are: Breakout Boxes, Monroe High School, $354; Instruments for Summer School, Monroe Middle School, $500; Understanding Newton's Second Law, MHS, $507; Advanced Chemistry Centrifuges, MHS, $400; Collaborative Classroom Makeover, Parkside Elementary School, $400; FAB Lab, MHS, $3,000; Classroom Library, MHS, $1,000; Yabla Website, MHS, $1,975; Accessible Summer Leveled Reading, Parkside, $1,000; Clawbot Kits, MHS, $600; Books on the Bus, Northside Elementary School, $1,500; Building our Classroom Libraries, Northside, $910. There were 24 applicants for EIE grants this year.
• Accepted the resignation of instructional staff member Charlie Baumann, MMS seventh-grade math teacher.
• Approved the retirement of instructional staff member Bill Latimer Jr., MHS English teacher.
• Authorized hiring instructional staff members: Kyle Kasten, MMS special education; Eric Justiniano, Parkside physical education; Jeff Moorman, Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy interventionist; Alex Vandelune, Abe Lincoln; Elizabeth Strunz, MMS guidance counselor.
• Authorized the hiring of support staff member Gayle Buol, MMS head custodian.
• Accepted a donation of $25 from Rosalind Cooke for Backpack Buddies.
• Discussed the high school's hockey cooperative with Albany, Beloit Turner, Darlington, Freeport, Lena-Winslow, New Glarus, Parkview, Pecatonica, Freeport Aquin and Belleville. The co-op contract runs through the 2016-17 school year, at which point it can be renewed. Hirsbrunner said the number of students participating in hockey next year is expected to be low but that it should increase in the years after that. The team currently has about 13 students. The district will be evaluating the program at the end of next school year at the request of the school board. If the board chooses to extend the co-op at that point, other schools can be added until April 1, 2017.
• Approved open enrollment in requests for 24 students to attend Monroe during the 2016-17 school year and out requests for 40 students to attend other districts. The students open enrolling into Monroe will bring about $146,000 of funding to the district, while those leaving will cost about $254,000. Board member Dan Bartholf abstained from the vote for open enrollment out requests.
• Gave initial approval to 22 policy reviews and revisions.
• Approved a leave of absence request by Christine Ruegsegger, Parkside first-grade teacher.
• Went into closed session to discuss personnel issues.
About 11 people aside from school board members and administrators attended the meeting, most to accept EIE grants.
- Susan Endres