Skylert Notification System approved for Elmwood School District
Submitted by citizen journalist Rick A. Talford
ELMWOOD, WI - October 18, 2010 the Elmwood School District Board Meeting was held.
During public input, I (Rick Talford) spoke to the board on a recent sighting of wild animals within the village limits. Just a few days prior to the meeting, it was written up on the Pierce County Herald website that a cougar and her cub were seen crossing County Road P, into Butternut Park. A second sighting of the cub was reported near a apartment building on the south side of town. I felt the board should know of this sighting to keep the staff aware, and informed of the wild animals coming into the village. The need for the staff to keep an eye open for these animals while children are outside at play, was my largest concern. No action was taken by the board.
The Administrative Report followed, with Principal Jennifer Alwin speaking to the board first. Alwin discussed the fall sports wrapping up. The last home football game is scheduled for this Thursday, with it also being “Parents Night.” The last home Volleyball game was held, with everyone wearing pink for “Breast Cancer Awareness.” The Cross Country team is preparing for Conference, Regional, and Sectional competition in the upcoming weeks. And the Dance Team will be sending Jessica Bechel and Ashley Osteen to a All Star Dance performance in Florida on Nov. 1st. The FCCLA Haunted House will be on Oct. 29th, and they will be collecting food donations to provide the local food pantry. Alwin then explained how well the recent Parent-Teacher conferences went. A total of 48 families attended over a four hour period. “We also have a Student Teacher for the semester”, Alwin added. Lisa Hulburt, from Rock Falls area is helping Mrs. Sand in the Special Ed classroom. Completing her report, she stated the school will be having a Veterans Day Program, and a Fall Sports Banquet. Scheduling the banquet has not yet been determined.
Superintendent Paul Blanford then spoke to the board. There will be a workshop for the teachers K-5 at Spring Valley School upcoming, and the teachers will each spend a half day. The PTO book sale went very well over a ten day period. The Parent -Teacher Conferences had a 90% attendance for the Elementary students, with many grades having a perfect 100% attendance. The September K-8 Map testing was completed. There will be another period of testing in May to check the students’ growth. The students with low scores on the first test will be given a winter test to help bring them along with their peers. On Nov. 9th there will be a web based program for the K-8 teachers called “Compass Learning.” As of Friday, the superintendent report was completed with all the calculations. Oct. 12th was the Regional Meeting, with Superintendent Blanford, Paul Peterson and Bernard Christman attending. The October PAC meeting was held, with the hot topic being Technologies. “We are well ahead of other schools in this area”, added Blanford. Finishing up, Blanford told the board the Dunn-St. Croix meeting was held last week, and all the negotiations with the teachers are agreed upon. Rick Garfield has also provided information that a 97’ Ford bus is ready to sell. The School plans on taking bids for this sale.
In Action Items, The Skylert Notification System for student management was approved for purchase. The cost for the system will be $1,300.00 for the Module and $973.00 annual service fee. The Module is a one time cost. Hopefully, this will be up and running within six weeks. The system will be used to notify parents, students and staff of school closings and other needs the school may find useful. The module can call the entire district within just minutes, saving the office staff a lot of time. The 2010-11 tax levy was approved at 4.2% as discussed last month. The board also approved the repair of the current Intercom System. A Technician came to the school and found the system to be in need of repairs, due to a possible lightning strike in August. This may be covered by insurance if lightning is found to be the reason for the repairs. A deductible of $1,000.00 would be the cost. If the damage is from age, then it could cost up to $7,000.00 to replace the components needed. Finishing the action items, the board accepted the resignation of Dick Jones as the Assistant High School Basketball Coach, and approved Samuel Sujecki as his replacement. Sujecki is a current student at Stout.
In the Information Items, the Board Committee Updates were discussed. Evaluations for Staff, Student Allowances for competition, and a Special Board Meeting to be held after the fourth Monday of April to reorganize the board, will all be action items. The “Bullying Policy” will also be included. Superintendent Blanford told the members of the board that he has reviewed a DPI model policy that most of the school districts are going to use. There may be minor changes the board may want to make to enhance the policy to specific needs of the district. This policy will be used to ensure the investigations of bullying and harassment claims. “It has not been a major problem, but I have noticed it is a weekly problem that comes to my attention”, Blanford concluded.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Oct.2010 Elmwood Village Board Meeting
Elmwood Crosswalk Projects Discussed
Submitted by citizen journalist Rick A. Talford
ELMWOOD, WI- October 11th, 2010 The Elmwood Village Board had their monthly meeting. The board approved one operators license for the Sandbar.
Approving the Elmwood Crosswalk Project was next on the agenda, with a short discussion on how they had just received the states’ approval today for the project. There will be a crosswalk put in by the new post office. The Committee met last Monday to put together the plans. The board approved the work to be done by Josh Shafer at the cost of $2,000.00. There will be an additional $500.00 for two rumble pads to be placed in the crosswalks also. These pads are made of steel, and are a new requirement by the state for all new crosswalks. It is understood that these pads are used to help the blind know that they are at a crosswalk.
The 2011 Proposed Budget was then discussed. Trustee Bruce Hartung spoke to the board, stating that any information needed for the budget was now being asked for, to get ready for the budget talks coming up. Trustee Bob Weix then told the board of the work at the Library that was getting prepared for next summer. The roof needs to be repaired, and the committee is wondering if the village work employees, Jamie and Josh could assist Pat Bechel with the work. A Rapid Roof repair is expected to be done, with a mesh being placed on the roof, then a spray rubber will be applied. Hartung then added the expected insurance rate increase would be near 15%, with 5 village employees being included in the plan, and two employees declining the coverage. Seven different companies are being looked into. “The Assessment for the village was just completed, and those numbers are still being compiled for us,” added Hartung. Village President Bill Stewart then added, “We can’t do anything with the budget until we get all these numbers together.” There will be additional meetings for the budget in the near future, with the public hearing being held in December most likely.
The Committee and Board Report then followed. Hartung explained to the board that the Street Committee information was already provided, and the storm water project also was discussed. There is a small area still holding water near the handicap ramp. This will require Josh Shafer to be contacted to look at it for repair, before payment is made. Trustee Patricia Knops then gave a quick report for the Nursing Home Committee. She stated the committee had not met during July and August, but met in September and paid bills. She also said the committee will meet tomorrow evening to vote on a possible remodeling project. This project will add Therapy space at a cost of near $90,000.00. “There may be adjustments made yet, and I will bring more information to the board next month.” Stewart then brought up the need for new “Welcome Signs” at two main entry areas of town. Trustee Neil Boltic then told the board of a new style sign made of high density urethane. This will replace the redwood signs at a cost much lower. This is a foam style sign, that will not rot. You can also paint the signs easily with exterior paint. The cost of these would be close to $3,500.00 for two of them. Stewart then stated the need for bids on the project. He asked Boltic to put together some numbers for the board, being Boltic is involved in that field of employment. Bob Weix then gave a little more information on the Library Committee, stating they will have a book author Mary Logue at the library on October 16th. The Library is also involved in a decorating contest , October 27th through 29th. There will be a program “Christmas at the Library” on December 7th. Weix then explained how Jayne Garaets, the librarian would like to start having open hours on Saturday again. This will create another 90 hrs/year , and an additional $1,260.00 in wages.
Stewart then finished up with some information he received concerning the need to replace signs within the community, due to changes being made by the DOT. There will be a change by the DOT, enforcing the changing of stop signs and others as well. These changes will need to be done by 2015. The signs will be larger and reflective. There will be a big increase in costs to communities for these signs to be replaced and updated. “Most of the signs we have right now, will be obsolete. It would be in the best interest for the village to start putting money away through the budget for the next two to three years to be ready and compliant,” stated Stewart. Boltic then stated the need for maintenance of these signs, adding the signs will need work every five to seven years.
You can go to the website to get more information on this upcoming change at www.fhwa.dot.gov/retro
Submitted by citizen journalist Rick A. Talford
ELMWOOD, WI- October 11th, 2010 The Elmwood Village Board had their monthly meeting. The board approved one operators license for the Sandbar.
Approving the Elmwood Crosswalk Project was next on the agenda, with a short discussion on how they had just received the states’ approval today for the project. There will be a crosswalk put in by the new post office. The Committee met last Monday to put together the plans. The board approved the work to be done by Josh Shafer at the cost of $2,000.00. There will be an additional $500.00 for two rumble pads to be placed in the crosswalks also. These pads are made of steel, and are a new requirement by the state for all new crosswalks. It is understood that these pads are used to help the blind know that they are at a crosswalk.
The 2011 Proposed Budget was then discussed. Trustee Bruce Hartung spoke to the board, stating that any information needed for the budget was now being asked for, to get ready for the budget talks coming up. Trustee Bob Weix then told the board of the work at the Library that was getting prepared for next summer. The roof needs to be repaired, and the committee is wondering if the village work employees, Jamie and Josh could assist Pat Bechel with the work. A Rapid Roof repair is expected to be done, with a mesh being placed on the roof, then a spray rubber will be applied. Hartung then added the expected insurance rate increase would be near 15%, with 5 village employees being included in the plan, and two employees declining the coverage. Seven different companies are being looked into. “The Assessment for the village was just completed, and those numbers are still being compiled for us,” added Hartung. Village President Bill Stewart then added, “We can’t do anything with the budget until we get all these numbers together.” There will be additional meetings for the budget in the near future, with the public hearing being held in December most likely.
The Committee and Board Report then followed. Hartung explained to the board that the Street Committee information was already provided, and the storm water project also was discussed. There is a small area still holding water near the handicap ramp. This will require Josh Shafer to be contacted to look at it for repair, before payment is made. Trustee Patricia Knops then gave a quick report for the Nursing Home Committee. She stated the committee had not met during July and August, but met in September and paid bills. She also said the committee will meet tomorrow evening to vote on a possible remodeling project. This project will add Therapy space at a cost of near $90,000.00. “There may be adjustments made yet, and I will bring more information to the board next month.” Stewart then brought up the need for new “Welcome Signs” at two main entry areas of town. Trustee Neil Boltic then told the board of a new style sign made of high density urethane. This will replace the redwood signs at a cost much lower. This is a foam style sign, that will not rot. You can also paint the signs easily with exterior paint. The cost of these would be close to $3,500.00 for two of them. Stewart then stated the need for bids on the project. He asked Boltic to put together some numbers for the board, being Boltic is involved in that field of employment. Bob Weix then gave a little more information on the Library Committee, stating they will have a book author Mary Logue at the library on October 16th. The Library is also involved in a decorating contest , October 27th through 29th. There will be a program “Christmas at the Library” on December 7th. Weix then explained how Jayne Garaets, the librarian would like to start having open hours on Saturday again. This will create another 90 hrs/year , and an additional $1,260.00 in wages.
Stewart then finished up with some information he received concerning the need to replace signs within the community, due to changes being made by the DOT. There will be a change by the DOT, enforcing the changing of stop signs and others as well. These changes will need to be done by 2015. The signs will be larger and reflective. There will be a big increase in costs to communities for these signs to be replaced and updated. “Most of the signs we have right now, will be obsolete. It would be in the best interest for the village to start putting money away through the budget for the next two to three years to be ready and compliant,” stated Stewart. Boltic then stated the need for maintenance of these signs, adding the signs will need work every five to seven years.
You can go to the website to get more information on this upcoming change at www.fhwa.dot.gov/retro
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)