Cadott School Board; Feedback leads to changes in draft COVID protocol plan

By Julia Wolf

An updated draft of the COVID protocol plan was up for discussion during a Cadott School Board Committee of the Whole meeting, Sept. 27. Changes to the plan were made after feedback on the draft at a previous meeting. Since it was a committee meeting, all topics were information only.

District administrator Jenny Starck explained one of the big changes to the COVID protocol plan was the addition of another level, totaling four levels.

She says the change was made to make absences easier to manage, instead of waiting until 15 percent were absent. The early end time would kick in at Level 2, to give teachers more time to work with students learning from home.

“You’ll see the mask use has been changed to optional all the way across,” said Starck.

For clarification, Starck says decisions to go hybrid will be district-wide, not by building, if they get to that point.

Cory LaNou, board member, asked if the plan addressed the quarantine policy. Starck says it does not and says if the board wants to address that, they need to add it.

LaNou says he has heard some families are not notified to quarantine their kids until days after the exposure, which he thinks is broken.

“That’s creating some friction, as you can imagine,” said LaNou.

Becca Blanchette, board member, says some of the time lapse may come down to when testing occurs and how long it takes to get the results back.

Starck says the plan they have is based on following the quarantine guidelines, as set by the state and county. She says a percentage with the quarantine guidelines vs. that same percentage with minimal, or no guidelines, will be very different.

LaNou says he is looking for a way to help the situation, because it is frustrating for families. Board president Al Sonnentag agreed it is frustrating when families learn their kids are quarantined, especially when they are healthy.

LaNou says he would like to see a line added, spelling out what the quarantine policy is, so it is clear for everyone.

LaNou also said it would be nice to be able to see total numbers of students absent, including those not COVIDrelated, so they know how to best support student-learning and teachers if there are a lot of non-COVID absences.

“I just want to make sure we have the full picture,” said LaNou, adding the teachers have to address all students, regardless of why the students are absent.

Starck says they could start to track those numbers if the board feels that is helpful. LaNou says even if those numbers are kept at the administrative level, not shared out publicly, it would be good, so administration can decide if more help is needed for teachers or not.

LaNou says it could almost be separated into two plans – things they are doing to help student learning, as opposed to actions to stop the spread.

Brad Sonnentag, board member, asked if sanitizing between classes and spreading lunch out more could come before ending the school day an hour early.

Starck says they can say they are going to require sanitizing between classes at any point, and some of the younger grades already sanitize very frequently. Others agreed moving the extra cleaning up a level would be good.

The library plan was also touched on again, during the meeting. Starck made some changes to the plan, based on feedback to better communicate what happens.

For the responsibility of selection, Starck highlighted the licensed library media specialist coordinates the process, and added sections on fiction and non-fiction for clarity.

Starck says there is also new language in the document, that new materials will be shared with the board and community through the library website, likely in a list format.

“Then, there’s also new language later on, that talks about parents and guardians, and how to access their student’s account,” said Starck.

B. Sonnentag also asked for clarification on what the board’s legal responsibility is, when it comes to the library collection. Starck says the board wants to be OK with the objectives of selection, which directs the library media specialist. That includes the reconsideration policy for people, with concerns about a specific material in the collection.

“I think we made progress,” said LaNou.

The board also discussed the communication plan, specifi cally the social media aspects of the plan. Starck says she wants to make sure everyone is on the same page.

LaNou asked if meeting notices could be posted on Facebook as an event, with a link back to the school website for the agenda, instead of just a post. He says an event would make a wider audience see it and allows people to add the meeting right to their calendars, while still allowing the district to turn off comments.

“In working with our vendor, they have suggested to not do it as an event,” said Starck.

LaNou said it would be the exact same content as a regular post.

He also says he would like to see a link to the district’s YouTube channel on the agenda, so people can click the document to get to the livestream when they view the agenda.

A. Sonnentag says the frustration around livestreaming he has seen, is when people can’t find the feed. He thinks one spot for every livestreamed event by the district would be helpful.

LaNou says the issue he sees with livestreaming is the inability to categorize a video under a playlist right away. He says that can make livestreams more confusing, as the athletics aren’t sorted from the board meetings and other events, until later. The solution he thought of is a separate YouTube channel for the board meetings.

“So, there’s options,” said LaNou.

District parent Amy Wellner asked if they could put the meetings on the athletics and activities calendar, so the livestream link can be placed right on the event listing, like it is for athletics.

“We might have to try a few things to figure it out,” said LaNou, adding it will be a work in progress.

Tory Freed, district parent, also approached the board to propose starting a fishing club. He says a number of other area districts, such as Augusta and Elk Mound, already have fishing clubs.

Freed says most of the tournaments are conducted through an app called FishDonkey. The group could go to local places and fish a tournament against kids all over the state, with most of the fishing held on Saturdays.

“The coaches measure the fish and you get prizes,” said Freed.

Freed also said the club would have lasting impacts, teaching youth how to fish and give those who don’t play sports another opportunity to get involved in something.

“I have plenty of equipment,” said Freed. “If a kid needs equipment, it’s not going to be hard to find equipment for kids who don’t have any.”

The fishing usually takes place January through March. Freed says there is a summer program, but he would like to focus on ice fishing, because the summer programs often need access to boats. He says if there is a good turnout, it could expand to a summer program in the future.

Freed suggested the club run with volunteer coaching and says he has other parents interested in coaching, with each coach responsible for up to four athletes. The club can fundraise for any needed budget.

Ced Boettcher, board member, asked what the liability for the school looks like with a club. Starck says she thinks it would be pretty similar to the trap club arrangement.

The insurance questions will be looked at further, and the fishing club will be slated for action at the regular October meeting.

LaNou suggested the district document how to start an unfunded club in the district, so community members know what to expect going into the process.