The room was full at the Darlington Community School’s Board of Education meeting, Monday, Dec. 19, hoping to convince the board to keep the District Social Media/DHS Library Assistant position. The board has posted the position for several months and do have applicants. This position was cut to save money when the referendum failed. The board had to decide whether to bring the position back during second semester or wait until next school year. The position is in the budget.
High school students, some staff and parents commented that having the position would help students find books, teach them web safety, work on the school’s website and social media outlets and be able to monitor electronics and other items in the library. Students mentioned that some books are misplaced and electronics have gone missing.
Cara Carper, a parent, had mentioned that the librarian could help students sift through Internet information to find the right sources needed for papers or projects. She stated that the school has access to many other information outlets that students may not know about but the librarian could help them.
“Schools these days are living and dying by their tests scores. All the research shows that having a good librarian boosts test score,” Carper commented.
High school secretary, Kris Buschor, spoke about the social media side of this position. Buschor commented that there are some good thing happening on the school’s webpage and social media outlets. She hopes this position would be able to teach students how to create a website and help with making the schools Facebook page look welcoming.
“We don’t sell our school very well, showing people what we do in our school. The kids are doing some great things and if we can get that out there, I think having an assistant in the library all the time would give more of a center for people get their information out there,” Buschor said
DHS principal Aaron Lancaster stated it would be a great addition to the building second semester.
Buschor added that there are several different people to work on the social media currently and this position would allow the teachers to be more efficient in getting their information out there.
“It’s kind of like the yearbook but it’s Facebook now and the webpage. If we want people to come to our school, I think it would really sell out school more if you have stuff going on, on those pages.”
Board member Nick Zuberbuhler asked if the board thought about making the social media aspect of the position a position of its own. He felt that was something the board may want to address in the future.
Board president Aaron Wolfe agreed that it could be an evolving position. Matt Wilson and Matt Crist felt that if they hired someone for the position, that person should be capable of working with social media and that be their strong suit.
“Facebook and the webpage are number one and number two, as to where people go to learn about your district. The more you keep it updated, the perspective families looking to move to the area, will look at what we offer,” Lancaster stated.
Judy Huntington and Matt Wilson motioned and seconded to fill the position and it passed unanimously.
Other agenda items
The board looked at approving a donation from the Touchdown Club for 140 football jerseys and 70 pants. The club presented the board with the jersey design, costing about $18,000.
Joe Riechers commented that he appreciates everything the Touchdown Club has done and was for accepting their donation but was against the design of the jersey. He felt the red lettering on the black jersey would be hard to read.
Zuberbuhler commented the reason the Touchdown Club went with ProLook was WIAA regulations having the pants cover the knees, cost and availability to replace a jersey or pants incase it is damaged.
“How long do jersey usually last?” Wolfe asked. About 5 years, Zuberbuhler replied. They have had the current jerseys for about 5 years but Zuberbuhler stated they have about 6 ½ years of playing time including playoffs games.
Gary Blosch and Luke McGuire, members of the club, commented that they are trying to put away money each year so when 5 years is up, they will be able to purchase new jerseys. They also mentioned that they had trouble contacting the representative for Nike and the style the team currently has is discontinued.
“With the senior class going out of about 17 players, that is 17 jerseys the kids will have the opportunity to buy, with us not going to be able to replace those 17 jerseys and we have always done that for the seniors,” McGuire said. Blosch felt not allowing the seniors to buy their jerseys might be an issue.
Crist also felt the red was hard to read and would need to be outlined. He wasn’t sure if the fit of the jersey would be comfortable for all body shapes.
Zuberbuhler said the Touchdown Club wanted to get uniforms that looked like they spent the amount of money they were spending.
They will be getting mock ups of the uniforms before they make a final decision. They are hoping to have the uniforms ordered and ready by mid-April so seniors can take senior pictures with them.
“You could bring 10 different uniforms and you can have three people like them, four people who don’t and one that doesn’t care. It is what it is,” Zuberbuhler commented.
Wolfe and Wilson’s only concerns were with the number possibly not being able to be seen but felt the style was good.
Lancaster said the big thing for him was making sure they meet the WIAA regulations.
Riechers approved the donation with Wilson second. The board approved it with Zuberbuhler abstaining.
The Darlington Community School Board of Education also approved:
-a donation from the DHS Class of 1966 of $1,000 for the purchase of a bench for the DHS auditorium entrance.
-the Lafayette County Child Advocacy Group donation of $200 to the DEMS Giving Tree.
-the request from Kelsi Steffenhagen, on behalf of Pearl City Elevator, to use the DHS cafeteria, classrooms, computers and overhead projector on Dec. 29.
-the resignation of Ryan McGranahan as Varsity Assistant Football coach.
-the Three Year Long Range Plan.
-Emma Behlen for the Second Semester Bilingual Education Teacher.