Lake Holcombe School Board; Building-wide printing simplified with new contract

By Ginna Young

Superintendent Kurt Lindau is always in search of ways to save the Lake Holcombe School District money, while simplifying matters, which is why he brought a proposal before the school board July 19. The contract with EOJohnson, which is the company the district currently uses for copy machines, would provide better, faster equipment, with a budget that is more predictable.

Right now, the district spends almost $17,000 each year, for printing.

“We currently have 44 devices in the building,” said Lindau. “That’s a lot.”

Some of the devices are not functional, but with the 12 devices EOJohnson plans for use in the building, it’s projected the district would spend $1,600/month, slightly more than what the district already pays. Lindau said although the proposal sounds high, the devices need replacing “There are also some residual benefits,” said Lindau.

EOJohnson projects a five-year plan of more than $5,000 in savings. The company also takes care of maintenance, support, ink and paper supplies. Lindau says 91 percent of the district’s printing comes from copiers, so individual printers are not as utilized as they could be.

The school also will not need a large inventory of multiple ink cartridges to fit each model.

So, what’s the downside to the new printing system?

“Well, sometimes, people may have to walk down the hall to pick up the things they printed,” said Lindau.

Board member Jamie Tester-Morfoot asked if the new printers include color copies. Lindau said they are budgeted for a number of color copies, but that he is trying to condition people to realize they should only use color as needed.

Lisa Spletter, district accountant, pointed out that with the new system, when printing or making copies, they can set the default to black & white, so people would need to manually change the settings to color.

“Students and teachers will print in color when they need it,” said Lindau.

With those things in mind, the board approved the new contract.

The board also agreed to waive the book/locker/activity fee, the same as they did last year. Lindau said this is the second year in a row, that the district will put money back into the General Fund balance and that he thought it would be alright to waive the fees again.

“People are already graciously supporting this school by referendum,” he said. Each year, if the fees are not waived, they generate revenue between $10,000 and $15,000.

“Where does that money go?” asked Morfoot.

Lindau said it goes back into the General Fund to pay for whatever is needed, while board president Brian Guthman says he remembers when he was a teacher in the district, some kids didn’t join an activity or sport, because they can’t come up with the $25 fee needed.

“In teaching here, I’ve seen that,” said Guthman.

Speaking of the General Fund, Lindau said projections for the budget are promising.

“It appears we’ll finish the 2021 fiscal year in good shape,” said Lindau. “We should be able to transfer some funds back into Fund 46.”

However, General Aid is again down, as was expected, dropping by almost $20,000. That decrease means the local tax levy has to make up the difference, but Lindau says the silver lining for the district, is that they are shielded by the high-value property in the district.

During the meeting, members also approved the Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR) program five-year contract that was up for renewal. AGR provides instructions to coaches and intervention teachers from funding based on the number of students the districts has.

The goal of the program is to reduce gaps in math and reading in each grade.

Also approved, was the hire of business education teacher Morgan Milas; social studies teacher Dwight Green; assistant volleyball coach Allison Golat-Hattamer; and assistant football coach Bryce Plummer.

Members also accepted the resignation of social studies teacher/assistant volleyball coach/golf coach Dan Wimmer.

Also accepted, was $123.60, from Eastbay Lodge’s Dine & Donate Locally program for the music department; a Spectra Precisions LL300N-2 laser kit from the Chippewa Valley Homebuilders Association; $7,844.98, from the Lake Holcombe Education Foundation for the weight room project, anatomy model, flexible seating and a hydroponics cart; and $300, from Greg Mitchell, for the weight room project.

Work at the school on certain things is wrapping up, as the boiler project is almost complete, except for new vaporizers and a propane line. Lindau says they will meet with engineers and CESA 10 to implement revisions to the plan for where the old boiler room was, with thoughts to fill in the area with sand and gravel, compact it and cover it with concrete.

“This will give us ample indoor storage and excellent utilization of this additional space,” said Lindau.

The weight room project updates are also finished, with the school planning on a ribbon cutting/open house in conjunction with the next regular meeting Aug. 16.

“It’s beautiful,” said Lindau.

An open house is also scheduled for Aug. 31, prior to the Sept. 1 start date. In regard to back-to-school updates, for the moment, Lindau says students will report directly to their classrooms, with breakfast served in the classroom for pre-k through fifth grade. Grades six to 12 will have breakfast mid-morning and lunch will be served in the cafeteria.

Art, music and physical education will be held in their respective learning spaces, but the school is going to limit cell phone use. Extensive cleaning is also going to take place.

“As of today, we are on track for what is hopefully a normal – as close to normal – as possible school year,” said Lindau.

Bus seating will be assigned by drivers and the transit company. For the time being, masks are optional in the school, but per federal mandate, masks must be worn on public transport, which includes school buses, through Sept. 13.

“There’s nothing we can do about that,” said Lindau.

Last year, with all that went on during COVID-19 and limiting the amount of people in the school, Lindau said the support of the parents and the community was instrumental in the district being successful. This year, Lindau wants to make sure there are open doors to visitors and parents.

“You want your school to be as welcoming and open as possible,” he said.