Cornell School Board; Field of Dreams goal given a hand by district

By Ginna Young

Athletes in the Cornell School District have long used what is known as the Craig Bauer Memorial Field at the city’s Mill Yard Park, for youth baseball practice and games. Likewise, the school’s high school softball team uses the “big field” at Mill Yard Park for their games.

Several years ago, the big field was updated, at no cost to the district and to say thank you to the city, as well as show support for youth sports, the Cornell Board of Education voted Sept. 27, to fund replacing the youth baseball field fence.

Superintendent Paul Schley brought the request before the board for official approval at the regular meeting, as he feels the district should help out where they can. Members were in agreement and approved $21,467 out of Fund 46, which is for capital improvements.

Ashley Carothers, project coordinator, says she is grateful for the partnership the city has with the school district, and what the district puts toward all the kids and the community.

“We’re building future Chiefs, from the age of three up,” said Carothers of the youth sports programs.

Shelley DeJongh, project coordinator, agreed, and said the youth supporters want to involve kids in activities to get them outdoors and making friends, while learning teamwork.

Besides the district’s contribution, more than $30,000 was raised for the Field of Dreams project, which includes redoing the infield and constructing dugouts. As additional money comes in from fundraisers, other upgrades will be taken care of.

“This is just an amazing opportunity that we have to get this field in a much better place,” said DeJongh. “And how quickly the community came together to raise the money that we’ve already raised, is just really astounding and neat to see how many people are invested.”

The board also approved a resolution supporting e-cigarettes and vaping products litigation, as the district attorneys are involved in a statewide lawsuit against some vaping companies and asked if Cornell would join them in the support of their cause.

“It doesn’t cost us anything to be part of it, and if they (attorneys) win, they do get money, but we get money, as well,” said Schley. “I don’t like how they (vape companies) tried to get this focused on kids.”

Middle/high school principal Dave Elliott said that is what is concerning Lakeland Conference principals – vaping in the schools. Elliott says schools are having the problem of three or four students going in the restrooms, and vaping, since it is very easy to hide the paraphernalia.

“They can put them all over,” he said.

Elliott said the conference is working to monitor restroom visits in the hopes of dis- couraging vape use in students/schools.

Members also approved the hire of paraprofessional Erica Helland and of middle/ high school custodial aid Michael Reynolds, and of the resignation of custodial aid Emily Geist.

Now that Homecoming is complete, Izzy Schwingle, Student Council representative, was on hand to report on Homecoming activities, such as hall decorating, pep rally skits and the parade down Main Street, in spite of the rain.

“It was really fun,” she said.

“Having a COVID year and having some things, we went ahead and had the parade, and it worked out well,” said Elliott, adding that the Homecoming dance was also a lot of fun for the students. “The energy of the kids…was excellent. It went so well, I’m going to see if we can put together a winter dance in between this one and our prom, because the kids sure deserve that.”

Now that school has been in session for a few weeks, Elliott says the district is working to improve the Excel program to have teachers ensure students understand the material and is working to discuss options with parents. Elliott said it could take a year or so to get the program where the school wants it, but that the momentum will be huge.

“I’m excited about that, but we’re still not there yet,” said Elliott.

He also brought up that he is taking Cornell Police Chief Glenn Rehberg to the next gathering of the Lakeland principals, so he can talk about school safety. Rehberg was part of the Department of Justice School Safety Team, prior to joining the Cornell Police force, and wrote many of the handbooks and policies on safety.

“So, I want to share him with the Lakeland principals,” said Elliott.

In his report, Schley shared that Cornell is ranked 19th out of 421 districts in the state, based on the percentage of state aid needed to run a district.

“I’ve said many times, how we’re so property poor, per students, and poverty’s an issue for us…definitely shows how poor we are as a community,” said Schley.

Schley said he sees what higher tax bracket schools can give to their students, and while Cornell is academically good and has a lot of academy options, he will continue to lobby to change the equity for schools.

“You know, our kids deserve the same as kids that come from Verona and Whitefish Bay,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_261262" align="alignnone" width="300"] It’s no secret that the fence at the Craig Bauer Memorial Field at Mill Yard Park, is in need of replacement, along with a new infield and dugouts. That’s why the Cornell School Board approved giving $21,467 to the Field of Dreams project for the fence, as youth in the district utilize the park’s baseball field. Photos by Ginna Young[/caption]