Monday night’s Hillsboro School Board meeting was packed with so much educational information, this observer felt a little like being back in a classroom.

However, even with all the technical talk, the highlight of the night just may have been Superintendent Curt Bisarek’s announcement of the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2015. The valedictorian is Madeline Tengblad, and the salutatorian is Sarah Fick.

The honor students will be announced at a future meeting.

The meeting began with an intriguing power-point presentation explaining how the new Chromebooks are bringing Hillsboro High School into the land of technical wonders. Two teachers, Mrs. Sonia Clarson and Mrs. Erin Hora reported on how the new Chromebooks are being accepted as very useful to the students and the teachers in the classrooms.

Elementary report

 In regular monthly reports, Elementary School Principal Cara Wood offered congratulations to Lily von Falkenstein and Megan Muller, who represented the Elementary School at the Mississippi Valley Gifted and Talented Spelling Bee in Bangor Feb. 5.

On Feb. 16, the Elementary School will hold an Open House and Title Family Fun Night from 4-7 p.m. Every family attending will receive books and games. This is also a chance for parents to enjoy seeing student work on display in the classrooms. Lifetouch Photography will be in the cafeteria at the Open House for spring pictures.

Parent-teacher conferences will be held Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 4-6:30 p.m. The annual Title parent meeting will be held at 5:50 p.m., and all parents are invited to attend.

“Muffins for Mom” will be held on Friday, Feb.  27 from 7:30-8 a.m. at the Elementary gymnasium. RSVP’s for this event are due Feb. 20.

The next Early Childhood Development Day Date is Feb. 27 from 9-10:15 a.m. Please contact Mrs. Shaw at 489-1637 if you would like to come. This is for children in the district whose birthdays are between Oct. 1, 2011 and Sept. 31, 2012.
The final play date is scheduled for March 27.

Middle/High School report

In his report, Middle and High School Principal Greg Zimmerman congratulated Nick Stekel (eighth place) and Hope Huffman (ninth place) for their participation at the Spelling Bee in West Salem last week.

Twenty-four schools (500 students) competed at the FBLA Regional Meet held in Hillsboro Feb. 7. Hillsboro High School placed third in the Outstanding Chapter Award competition.

Zimmerman offered congratulations to Mr. Richards and the FBLA Chapter for planning and hosting the event.

Hillsboro wrestlers competed at Pecatonica on Feb. 7. Notable finishes were Jacob Benish (second place), Dakota Wells and Jason Griffiths (third), and Sebastian Miller (fourth).

Parent-teacher conferences will be held in the High School gymnasium from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, and in the classrooms on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 4-6:30 p.m.

Superintendent’s report

Bisarek reported that School Bus Driver Appreciation Week is Feb. 9-13. The school district will be hosting a Bus Driver Appreciation Breakfast at 8:15 a.m. in the High School cafeteria on Friday, Feb. 13.

He also announced that the school is continuing to meet with Education Cooperative schools, businesses, and community members to develop details of the cooperative. The goal is to have everything finalized by May 14.

To date, the school is still above the required hours of instruction.

There will be a presentation by the Board pertaining to the referendum Monday, Feb. 16 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. in the high school library. The Board also held a presentation Feb. 11 in the high school cafeteria.

Other business

In other business, the School Board:

• Approved the second reading of language for a state sponsored scholarship to be awarded to a student pursuing a technical college degree.

• Approved a pilot for a High School Social Media Intern Course to be offered in the second semester. This course will focus on enhancing the district’s social media presence.

• Established the number of 2015-2016 Regular and Special Education Open Enrollment Spaces. The caps were established for the 2015-2016 Open Enrollment session as required by state law.

• Reviewed the 2015-2016 school calendar. Final action to approve the calendar will take place at the March 9 School Board meeting.

• Renewed two-year contract for athletic trainer services provided by Hess Memorial Hospital of Mauston.

• Approved a contract with Key Benefits for performing the state required actuarial study.

• Approved the 2015-2016 contract with CESA 5 for Special Education Services.

• After lengthy discussion, the Board finalized the presentation slides for the  referendum presentations.

After meeting in closed session, the Board approved contracts for  Bisarek and Business Manager Mindy Lankey.

The Board also approved the hiring of Ryan Budnik as varsity baseball coach.