BOSCOBEL - At their April 11 regular meeting, members of the Boscobel School Board learned of two generous donations that had been made to the district.

The first involved funding for the acquisition of two pieces of kitchen equipment that would help the school Transitions class expand the offerings from their innovative ‘coffee shop’ initiative. The equipment to be purchased include an air fryer and steamer.

The Transition class had attended the Holiday Food Show in the Wisconsin Dells in early March, which gave them the ideas. Mrs. Dalton posted a fundraising message on the ‘Donor Choose’ website, and the needed funding in the amount of $454 was raised within eight hours.

The second donation came from the Boscobel Athletic Boosters in the amount of $2,500. The funds will be used to purchase a tent for the track team’s use.

Athletic honors

The board voted to make a donation to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association ‘Hall of Fame’ program. This program honors coaches, players and officials that have hit landmark milestones. One of the types of milestones honored is achieving 1,000 points in your high school basketball career.

“In my research, the only plaque that has ever been purchased for 1,000 points was for Treena Knowles in 2020,” District Administrator Lisa Wallin-Kapinus told the board. “The district purchased the plaque, and the price per plaque was $20 instead of $50.”

The board voted to purchase plaques commemorating the achievement of 1,000 points in a high school basketball career, in WIAA conference play, for eight district athletes, at a total cost of $400.

Those eight athletes are:

• Dave Molldrem, 1964-1967

• Cherryl Knowles, 1984-1988

• Troy Fischer, 1985-1988

• Travis Harris, 1996-1999

• Craig Molldrem, 1997-2000

• Leah Wacker, 2015-2019

• Sarah Knowles, 2018-2022

Referenda

Wallin-Kapinus told the board that four CESA-3 coverage area school districts had held referendums in the April election, and that all four had passed. Those were in the Argyle, Benton, Black Hawk and River Valley school districts.

Argyle:the district asked tax payers for an additional $490,000 for the next four years to aid in operating expenses. This is a non-recurring referendum, for a total of $1,960,000.

Benton:the district asked taxpayers for an additional $420,000 for the next four years to help continue and enhance programs as approved in previous years. This is a non-recurring referendum for a total of $1,680,000.

Black Hawk:the district asked taxpayers to approve $8,500,000 for capital improvements, removal of part of the building, and new construction.

River Valley:the district asked taxpayers to approve $10,900,00 over three years to maintain the educational programs and current level of operations of the district. This amount will be levied as follows: 2022-2023: $2,800,000; 2023-2024: $3,800,000; and 2024-2025: $4,300,000.

Pandemic protocols

The board took up discussion of pandemic protocols and metrics in the district. The board took no action on this agenda item, and no changes were made.

In other business

In other business, the board:

• heard that the district had qualified for a $50,000 connectivity grant from the Federal Communications Commission. The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act, and will be used to purchase Chromebooks and laptops

• voted to change June 1 from an early release day to a full day of school to accomodate finals for grades 9-11

Swore in new school board members Jimmy Kaska and Greg Loos

• approved the second reading of all proposed policies

• approved planning for a 2023 softball spring break trip to the Golf Shores Class Softball Tournament, where the more favorable weather would allow softball athletes more playing time than is typically available in a Wisconsin early Spring. The district will pay the tournament fee, and the rest of the costs will be paid for through fundraising

• approved the 2022-2023 contract with CESA-3 in a total amount of $56,531, a $2,296 increase