Board updated on athletic complex project

At the Chilton School District monthly board meeting, Superintendent Sue Kaphingst shared aerial photos of the athletic complex construction project, noting that the turf was nearly completed, the field events were completed with grass planted around them, and the visitors’ bleachers had just arrived.

She thanked the “community for their support of the referendum and the opportunities it will provide for every single kid in the district. We should be very proud of our district and the great things we do here.”

Kaphingst also showed photos of the site circulation around the Middle and Elementary schools, noting that “circle drive” was gone. She said the new road to Heimann Street will be the drop-off and pick-up location for Elementary School students, adding, “We will not allow back-up traffic onto Court Street from the Elementary.”

Regarding the athletic complex, Kaphingst said after she gets the “for sure” from Hoffmann that the field will be ready for the first football game on Aug. 17, then she will contact the city regarding Morrissey Field, as the district still has right of first refusal at that location. She also stated that the Chilton Booster Club is now in charge of donations for the new concession stand, so moving forward those donations will not be part of the monthly meeting agendas, but will be recognized in another way.

Results from analysis reviewed

School Board President Terry Criter reviewed some of the results from the School Perception Analysis in which board members provided input on how they perceived 15 items that have to do with running the district. Criter led board members in reviewing 3 of the 15 items to discuss the differences in their level of agreement with statements including “We make staffing and budget decisions based on student achievement priorities,” “Have a process to ensure all students can participate in advanced coursework, the arts, and extracurricular programs,” and “We recognize students, teachers and schools for outstanding performance.”

Kaphingst provided clarification for how budget decisions are made, and she spoke about many of the opportunities in advanced coursework and the arts available at the different grade levels. Board member Anna Waldron said she felt that as board members become more familiar with student assessment data, there would not be as many questions regarding those items. Kaphingst did admit that some improvements could be made in the area of recognizing outstanding performance by teachers and principals.

The board approved accepting the preliminary 2023-24 district budget as presented by District Business Manager Sam Woelfel. In her budget report for the board, Woelfel noted an expected surplus of $338,000 from 2022-23 will go into Fund 46 and be used for future capital projects.

For 2023-24, Woelfel said they were anticipating an increase of 3.4 percent in revenue, or $128,000, from local sources due to an increase in property valuation. She said state sources would be up just over 7.6 percent, or $692,000, and federal sources had gone up 17.2 percent, or $116,000. She also noted that tuition for students open enrolled into the district would add about $68,000 to revenue.

Salaries up over 7 percent

Woelfel said the remaining $200,000 in ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds have been budgeted to be used this year. Regarding expenditures, Woelfel noted that salaries would be up over 7.38 percent, or $480,000, and benefits would increase 16.8 percent.

The board approved Resolution number 2023-1 regarding the School District of Chilton Academic Standards for the 2023-24 school year, including those for math, reading and writing, geography, history and social studies. Kaphingst said the standards can be found on the district website under the curriculum tab.

The board also approved the teacher and support staff handbooks which included revisions regarding the accumulation of sick days as well as the anti-harassment policy. Kaphingst said the changes in how sick days are accumulated actually started last year, but have now been included in the handbook, and the anti-harassment language has been updated to reflect the policy adopted by the board in February.

Elementary School Reading Specialist Angie Meier briefly addressed the board during the delegations portion of the meeting as president of the Chilton Education Association. She thanked the board for updating the Teacher Employment Handbook for the 2023-24 school year, noting the changes to sick leave accumulation and the anti-harassment policy. She said that while the CEA appreciated the transparency of the changes in the handbook and approved the changes, they would like to have some guidance about the accumulation and use of sick leave, and additional information about the anti-harassment policy and how it will be applied to students and staff.

The board approved hiring Brandy Fliss as special education paraprofessional, Rochelle Geiser as eighth grade volleyball coach, and Erin Wilke as second grade teacher.

The board also approved the following gifts to the district: $162 from the Weber Oil gas pump number eight fundraiser for April; $300 from Steve Stuebbe; a sheet of stainless steel from Tina and Keith Meyer for Tiger Manufacturing student projects; a used CNC metal router machine with software from Scott Schaff; and materials from Chilton Manufacturing for Tiger Manufacturing student projects.

There were also several donations made for the concession stand currently being built as part of the athletic complex, including $6,000 worth of services from Jannette Trucking and Excavating; $5,000 from the Chilton Chamber of Commerce; $2,000 from Gordon J. Grube; $2,200 from Gordon J. Grube Construction Co., Inc.; $250 from James Wenig; and $500 from John and Barbara Wenig.

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