Rib Lake school board approves parking lot work

At the October 13th Rib Lake Board of Education Meeting, the Board approved an addition to the softball field parking lot. This is after safety concerns were raised about the amount of people parking on the side of the highway and the amount of children running around in the area.

The project, without any complications, should be complete by the end of this fall. The project is estimated to cost more than originally budgeted in the Fund 80, or “community service fund,” so the Board voted on a budget revision to cover the additional cost.

In other news: The official head count of students in the Rib Lake school district is 493. This number changes if the full time equivalent (FTE) is looked at. The head count counts every student as one, even if they only attend school part time, as is the case with students in pre-k. The FTE counts all full time students as one and counts part-time students as a percentage.

Summer school was more well attended than in previous years. This is good for the school district because they will get more revenue because of it. Summer school students count toward a percentage of the overall number of students in the district.

The annual tax levy meeting will be on Monday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m. This is when board members will officially set the tax levy following the announcement of state aids. At the annual meeting held earlier this month, the district projected a potential tax rate of $6.85 per $1,000 of equalized value. By comparison, last year’s rate was $7.72 per $1,000 of equalized value.

High School Student Council President Raelyn Waszkiewicz gave an update on the high school. She touched on upcoming events, including Community Service Day, teacher of the month, Seniors on the Rise, and their Fall Teacher Door Decorating contest, judged by school board members.

The Rib Lake High School band performed at Applefest in Bayfield and according to high school principal Kirsten Budimlija they received a number of compliments.

This year is “self assessment year” for the special education department in Rib Lake schools. This means that they will look at all of the IEPs in the district and make sure they are all correct and being implemented correctly, as well as making improvements as necessary.

The Taylor County Educator of the Month is Rib Lake High School math and physics teacher Craig Scheithauer.

The Board approved the next phase of the School Forest trail addition project for completion in Summer 2023.

The Board approved directing District Administrator Travis Grubbs to explore options to put together a 10 year facilities plan. Said Board member Rollie Thums “I don’t think we should stand still… We need to keep looking forward.”