On Wednesday, June 17, 19-year North Crawford Superintendent Brandon Munson attended his last meeting of the school board. Munson will leave the district at the end of June to assume a new role within the La Crosse School District. The new North Crawford Superintendent Scott Uppena will begin work on July 1, 2026.

“Brandon started as our elementary principal in 2007, and became superintendent in 2017,” North Crawford School Board President Terry O’Donnell observed. “He guided us through an operational and a capital referendum at the same time, oversaw the upgrades to district facilities, established our daycare, and more. It’s been kind of a roller coaster at times, but statewide, the average stay of a superintendent is three years. Considering we’ve only had eight over the last 60 years, I think we’re doing pretty well. Thank you for your service.”

“So, we’re doing very well as a district and as a community,” board member Judy Powell said.

District budget

Munson led the board in discussion of the budget for the upcoming school year one last time, emphasizing that in June, all that is available is very preliminary. Munson said that Governor Evers’ and the Legislature’s proposed ‘Blockbuster Deal’ had potential to have a significant impact on next year’s budget, but unfortunately, that bill did not pass.

“Overall, the budget picture really has not changed since we had that budget meeting,” Munson said. “No big surprises have popped up, and the one big piece that is in play is deciding about an allocation for vehicle replacement.”

Munson said he’d preliminarily allocated $120,000 for bus replacement, which would potentially allow the district to purchase two used buses or one new bus. He said that most used buses become available in the spring, and so the district will start the school year with the buses they have.

He pointed out that 80% of the budget is salaries and benefits, so any fluctuations in staffing would cause the budget to shift. He pointed out that school districts won’t learn final numbers about state aid until October 1, which is a primary driver of the district’s budget. Another factor will be enrollment, and especially open enrollment, and that number will be final on September 1.

“When considering salary wage increases, my recommendation, is to implement the 2.63% CPI increase to each cell and individual contract within the district,” Munson told the board. “I've shared our budget with Scott, and we spent a lot of time in it. I know it is a challenge coming into a new district, to a new budget, with very little context and background to make a decision or a recommendation of a decision.”

Munson said that the board could approve the 2.63% increase at the meeting, which would mean that year-round employees would be paid at the new rate effective July 1. He said if the board chooses to wait, then back pay would have to be paid later.

Board member Jerry Coleman asked if the estimated $118,000 budget deficit included the salary increase, and also the loan the district would pay off in October? Munson responded that both items have been factored into the preliminary budget presented.

“What's on the agenda for tonight for a possible decision is the salary wage increase recommendation of 2.63%,” Munson clarified. “If you want to be more comfortable with what the budget is at, then you can certainly postpone that decision tonight for a future date. Bus replacement is one of the things approved for our capital fund, and we will go into next year with about $240,000 in that fund – so that’s an option for the board to consider. You could also amend the Capital Improvement Plan to include vans if you wanted to go that route.”

The board tabled the decision due to lack of quorum because some members of the board present are married to individuals working in the district, and so chose to abstain participating in the vote.

Summer School

North Crawford Elementary Principal Amanda Killeen reported that she is enjoying her first year overseeing the summer school program, and is really impressed with student and staff response to the enrichment activities being offered.

“Our enrollment's been really strong most days. We have about 200 kids participating in something throughout the building,” Killeen told the board. “In addition to the younger students, we have about 10 high school students participating in the credit recovery program, and our strength and conditioning program is drawing in a lot of students that otherwise wouldn’t participate in summer school.”

Killeen reported she is really enjoying the ‘Mini Market’ class she is teaching for second and third graders, operating 10 different stores, and helping students learn about money.

“They've been really, really excited about it, and we are having a community lemonade stand on June 26,” Killeen shared. “It's been really fun for them to talk through profit, revenue, how much do you want to make per cup, things like that. The lemonade will be made with real lemons squeezed by kids who have been taught by our wonderful food service director about how not to be gross.”

Killeen said that other popular enrichment options include a Storybook Adventure Class, a Play Lab, Art with Harp, and more.

“There’s just so many great things going on in the building that it's really exciting to see kids excited, and teachers excited, about classes that they're passionate about,” Killeen shared.

Survey results

Killen also reported results from recent staff and family surveys to the board. She said the big takeaway from both surveys was a wish for improved communication processes between families and teachers.

In the teacher survey, 85% feel respected as professionals, 92% feel appreciated by families, 77% reported outreach to families feels productive, and 69% reported that families come to teachers first.

“The top request from teachers is to improve family relationships, with clearer expectations around communication and family support at home,” Killeen said. “Families are asking for more notice of schedule changes, and more communication about what is happening with their child day-to-day.”

Killeen said that emerging from the survey is a concrete idea for the upcoming school year. That is setting clear expectations for both staff and families, and piloting a ‘family room’ volunteer coordinator per grade to help with events.

In other business

In other business, the board:

• heard that the first ever scholarship award night had been a big success, and that Middle School/High School Principal Dr. Rob Sailer hopes to continue that going forward
• heard that junior Carson Heckert would receive his State FFA Degree at the FFA State Convention, and that tractor safety training was coming up
• learned from Student Services Director Amanda Wagner that special education staffing levels would be okay for the upcoming school year, but would have to be reassessed prior to the 2027/2028 school year
• learned that Foodservice Director Jen Kapinus had done a wonderful job of controlling food costs and increasing student participation in the school meals program, which would buffer the district from having to transfer funds from the general fund to the foodservice fund in the upcoming school year.