GAYS MILLS - After meeting in closed session to discuss a personnel matter, the North Crawford School Board reconvened in open session and voted to not renew the contract of the school district’s food service director, Hannah Gauthier.
There were more personnel matters addressed later in the meeting under new business. The board accepted the resignation of special education teacher Kurt Meyer and tech ed teacher Mitch Briesemeister.
North Crawford School District Administrator Brandon Munson told the board Meyer had done a good job for the district, but had accepted a teaching position in Fennimore. Munson noted Meyer’s wife teaches in Fennimore and he lives there with his family. His children also attend school in Fennimore.
Briesemeister accepted a position in the Beloit School District.
Later, the board approved the recommendation of the personnel committee to hire Trisha Felix to fill the special ed teaching position. Felix is coming to the district from the Baraboo School District where she taught special ed.
Felix also spent five years teaching special education in New York, where she became familiar with a co-teaching approach that places the special education teacher in a class with the classroom teacher.
The board also followed the recommendations of the administration and personnel committee in filling fifth and sixth grade teaching positions. The board approved moving current sixth grade teacher Ryan Pedretti to a fifth grade position at his request. The fifth grade teaching position had been filled by veteran teacher Lynn Harden, who took it on last year as a long-term substitute.
The board also followed a recommendation in hiring Mrs. Erika Wilson, a Gays Mills resident, to fill the sixth grade teaching position vacated by Pedretti. Wilson has lived in the district for the past 10 years and runs My Silly Goose Daycare Center.
Wilson decided to return to the classroom after 10 years away and Munson believes she “is going to be amazing.”
Another personnel matter addressed by the board was adjusting the salary of four school administrators in line with what was approved for other school employees. So, elementary school principal Julie Kruizenga, business manager Demetri Andrews, high school principal Toby Tripalin and district superintendent Brandon Munson will all receive a 1.26 percent raise.
The board also approved reimbursing the district administrator, Brandon Munson, for 10 unused vacation days at his per diem rate of $386 for a total of $3,850.
By contract Munson can carry over 15 unused days into the next year, However the administrator had many more unused vacation days.
In other business, the North Crawford School Board:
• heard that the successful summer school program had attracted 109 students and that many were using the provided school bus transportation to and from school
• learned from business manager Demetri Andrews that a current budget proposal by Wisconsin State Assembly Republicans would reduce funding to the district by $75,000 compared to Governor Scott Walker’s current proposals for school funding in the state budget
• learned from Andrews that revenues and expenses are very close to what was budgeted in the current year’s budget set to end on June 30
• decided to hold the school district administrator’s evaluation on Wednesday, July 19 and have the regular monthly board meeting on Thursday, July 20
• settled on Monday, Aug. 7 as the date for the full day board retreat with presentations by Wisconsin Association of School Boards President John Ashley, Wisconsin School District Administrator Association President John Bailey and the district’s contracted attorney, Eileen Brownlee.
• heard a report on progress of work on the building from Harry Heisz that was favorable
• appointed Judy Powell to fill the seat that became vacant when it was discovered her current residence on the family farm was actually within the Seneca School District—Powell became eligible to serve on the board again because of a land exchange between the school districts that put her residence back in the North Crawford district.
• renewed the district’s business insurance polices with the Insurance Center of Onalaska for $30,808, a $549 increase
• approved contracts for the director of maintenance, Harry Heisz; the director of transportation, Jared Powell; the school nurse, Lori Hines; director of information technology, Donna Starkey; and the administrative assistant and nutrition coordinator, Angie Boland
