Medford board approves new bleachers for high school gym

Raider Hall will be getting a facelift this fall with the installation of new bleachers.

At Monday’s meeting of the Medford School Board, board members approved spending about $150,000 to replace the existing bleachers with new ones. District administrator Pat Sullivan said there are no contractors able to do the work yet this summer, but that it could be completed in late October and early November between the end of the volleyball season and before games begin for the basketball season.

Sullivan said that while the gym would not be available during the day as crews worked in there to remove the old bleachers and install the new ones, there would be the potential to have practices after school hours. He also noted practices could be held at other buildings for that time period.

The existing bleachers are original to the building and after 55 years of use are showing their age and have raised concerns in the community about the safety of people using them. Sullivan referenced a Vox Pop that appeared in The Star News regarding the bleachers and citing safety concerns especially among older people attending games because of the lack of railings and accessibility of the existing bleachers. It was noted that many older people choose to sit on the first few rows because of this, where they are at higher risk of getting hit by errant balls.

“I don’t feel we should invest any money into that set of bleachers,” said Board president Dave Fleegel noting they were scheduled to replace the wheels on the bleachers and remove the bottom two rows to get more space on the sidelines of the basketball court. He said with the district redoing the floor, now would be the time to do the bleachers.

Board member John Zuleger agreed, presenting it as an overdue maintenance project.

“It is a 50-year-old component in the school. You have gotten your money out of those bleachers,” he said.

Sullivan said new bleachers would have wider seats making them more comfortable for people attending sports and other events such as concerts held in the gym. However this comes with a trade off with the seating capacity dropping from the current 1,150 maximum to 937.

Board member Don Everhard questioned where they would get the money from and if there was any potential for sponsorships. Sullivan said he had already reached out to some potential sponsors to see if there was interest. Otherwise, the cost could come out of the district’s fund balance. Because fund balance is used for cash flow purposes over the course of the year, spending money from it could have the impact of increasing the amount of short term borrowing the district would need to do with its line of credit.

Finance director Audra Brooks suggested that since it is part of the capital plan for the district, there would be the potential to shift some things in the maintenance budget and tap into the money in the Fund 46 savings account to make up the difference when that money becomes available in January.

Board member Kurt Werner said he was surprised that the bleacher concerns haven’t been brought up before. He quoted board member Brian Hallgren asking “If not now, then when?” For the timing to make an investment in the bleachers.

Board members voted unanimously to approve moving forward with replacing the bleachers in the high school gym.

Board reorganization

The school board held its reorganization session at the start of Monday’s meeting. This is required following the spring election which took place on April 2. Fleegel was reelected as the board president on a unanimous vote. There was a contested race for board vice president with Don Everhard getting more votes than previous vice president John Zuleger. Jodi Nuernberger will remain the board secretary and Brian Hallgren will remain board treasurer.

There was discussion about the committee membership. The board president has the authority to appoint committee membership, but typically asks for members to rank their choices.

The discussion centered on the make-up of the finance committee with Everhard suggesting it be made a fourperson committee and suggesting board member Kurt Werner be put on the committee.

Zuleger referred to a workshop session he attended at the state convention where they recommended rotating members through the committee so that they gained a better understanding of how school finances work. Zuleger noted that it took him three years of being on the board to get a full understanding of school finances and that while anyone may attend a finance meeting, unless you are involved in the decision making you might not retain all the information.

Concerns were raised that rotating members on and off would lead to there constantly being a learning curve. Deml noted that the finance committee often goes into the proverbial weeds on topics such as with health insurance and that having too many people on the committee could be a challenge to getting things accomplished.

In other reorganization matters, the board approved The Star News as the official district newspaper and set the official depositories as Abbybank, Nicolet National Bank, Mid-American Funds and Forward Bank. Everhard was selected to be the representative to the CESA board.

Employee Assistance Program

On a 5-4 vote, school board members voted to go against the recommendation from the finance committee and keep an employee assistance program in place for the coming year at a cost of about $20,000.

The district created the EAP program a few years ago as a way to have immediate assistance for staff members and their families who were dealing with a variety of issues. Under the program, they can call and talk with a counselor with up to eight sessions covered per person at no charge. After this the employee or family member could get charged through their insurance or would be referred to another provider. The intent was to provide services while also reducing utilization of mental health service benefits under the district’s insurance.

However, according to Brooks, utilization of the program has been low. In the first two years only six people utilized it while last year just 10 people utilized it with five of them being employees and the other five being covered family members.

Brooks had come to the finance committee to find out if they felt it continued to be a value for the district.

“I love the program,” said Hallgren, however he questioned if it continued to be a value with such low utilization.

Sullivan noted that the district has a similar program available through its long-term disability insurance provider, but it is only available for staff and has fewer sessions.

Nuernberger questioned what would happen with the funds if the program was cut. Fleegel said that it would be used to reduce the $282,000 shortfall currently projected for the 2024-2025 budget. The district is still in the process of fine-tuning the budget for the coming year and it is anticipated that as budget and revenue line items become more known, that the projected shortfall will disappear or fund balance may be applied to it.

Nuernberger defended the program as being a mental health service. She noted that while it served just 10 people last year, those are 10 people who might not have gotten any services without the program being in place.

Everhard said with the few number of sessions, it would be just delaying the person getting treatment through a provider and the school’s insurance.

Nuernberger agreed and said eight sessions would probably not be sufficient for treatment, but that it could be enough to get things started.

Zuleger also spoke in favor of keeping the program noting that it was a “soft” thing the district could provide for employees as a way of improving retention. He said that if they decided to do away with it, he would like them to consider using the money for another similar soft benefit.

“Our health insurance is probably going to go up by $800,000 this year,” Deml said, noting that money will have to come from someplace.

In the end, Zuleger, Hallgren, Everhard and Deml voted to stop the program and Nuernberger, Fleegel, Dassow, Werner and Balsis voted to keep it in place for another year.

In other business, board members:

 Approved increasing the credit reimbursement from the current $125 per credit with up to three each year to $175 per credit with the cap still at three for reimbursement. Based on previous usage of the reimbursement program, this should increase costs by about $5,000 each year. Everhard noted that it is common practice in business to pay for staff education with the goal of having better employees. “It is not something that is out of line,” he said.

See MEDFORD on page 5

“Idon’t fee we should invest any money into that set of bleachers,” — Dave Fleegel stating the district should not do planned repairs this summer “It does seem important to re-educate our educators,” Deml said. Nuernberger agreed saying “It is investing in your people.”

 Approved hiring Elizabeth Rachu to be the new curriculum coordinator for the district. Rachu is currently a middle school teacher in the district. She will receive a salary of $85,000 per year plus benefits for 235 contract days with the new position effective July 1 when current curriculum coordinator Laura Lundy becomes the new district administrator. There was some discussion about if the position should be continued or if it could be eliminated with the work spread out to other staff.

“If you piecemeal it out, that is what you will get, a bunch of pieces because their plates are already full,” Lundy said.

Everhard noted that he was the one asking about the possible elimination of the position as a cost saving measure, but said that after talking with Lundy and learning about what tasks were done as far as keeping track of testing requirements and other duties, he felt it should remain as a position in the district. “My research says to keep it,” he said.

While the board ultimately approves the person selected for the position, Fleegel noted that it is not a position that the board directly hires for, but rather is selected by the administrator. Sullivan noted they had interviewed for the position and selected Rachu, which was confirmed by the board.

 Approved policy revisions of the policies for drug and alcohol testing for bus drivers, use of districtowned vehicles, use of private vehicles, food services management and internet safety. It was noted that while the majority of school bus drivers are employed through Krug Bus Service, the district employs two of its own bus drivers and falls under the requirements of the federal bus driver testing.

 Took no action on a potential referendum next fall. The board is awaiting a recommendation from a community group committee being led by resident Dave Koester. It was noted that there is a plan to hold another community-wide meeting about the issues, but a date has not been set. Unlike previous referendum attempts the school board has taken a hands-off approach with it being driven by the citizen committee.

 Approved an easement agreement with the city of Medford for a water main that was installed through the school property servicing the schools and the Simek Center. By approving the formal easement, the project has the potential to be grant eligible. The easement allows the city permission to access the property to do work on the mains in the future and includes the standard language.

 Approved renewing the contract with A’viands for the 2024-2025 school year with a 3% increase in what the district is charged by the food service company. The increase is actually less than what A’viands could have asked for under DPI rules, but company representatives noted that inflation has leveled off and with last year’s increase they were able to raise the wages of food service employees in the district. The contract will be put out to the request for proposals process after the coming year. Brooks supported the 3% renewal noting the food service account has a healthy surplus in it. The school board will set the meal prices for students and staff at a future meeting.

 Reviewed the 2024 graduation plans. Graduation will once again take place on Raider Field and will be a rain or shine event. As with recent years, the graduating class will be paying for a fireworks display after the ceremony. Unlike past years, the district will not be paying for all-weather large screen monitor displays. Sullivan noted that rental of the screens cost about $7,000-$8,000 and the decision was made to not have them. Sullivan said the graduation ceremony will be live streamed so that people can view it on their electronic devices or at home.

 Reviewed the 10-year facilities plan. Regular review of the facilities plan is required as a condition of the district having a Fund 46 savings account to set aside funds for facility improvements and upkeep without being penalized in state funding. The district is unable to use money from that account until after December 2024 at which time it can be used for projects. The district budgets funds in the account each year including at least $12,000 to set aside funds to replace the turf on Raider Field when it comes time to do that project. The funds are kept in a CD, and in related action board members approved renewing the CD for 9 months at 5.1% interest which will have it available in January. The value at maturity will be $2.655 million.

 Reviewed the number of students and sections at each of the grade levels. Class sizes and number of classes are expected to remain similar to what they were this school year. Elementary and middle school principals will be meeting with parents and representatives from Immanuel Lutheran School. The church will be closing its elementary school program at the end of the year and the district is working with them about options for coming to the public school.

y research says we keep it,” — Don Everhard about the need for a curriculum director in the district