Making Mondovi ‘the school of choice’ discussed as new Board focus

by Beth Kraft

An area man who asked the Mondovi School Board to agree to shift the school district’s boundary so that his property could be included in the Eau Claire School District touched off quite a bit of conversation at the Board’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 25.

Board member Barrett Brenner asked Nick Semling, who presented the request about altering district boundaries to the Board, what it would take to get him to send his children to Mondovi.

Later on that evening, as Board members shared ideas for school board goals for 2016-17, Brenner again brought up the request and asked what the district can do to quiet that type of conversation.

“How do we become the school of choice? How do we make parents want to send their kids here?” Brenner asked.

For Semling, and perhaps plenty of other parents, the issue may not be that schools in the Eau Claire area are necessarily better, but they are certainly closer to where they live and work.

Semling explained his children had been enrolled at Mondovi, but he and his wife opted to open enroll them in Eau Claire due to the Mondovi Schools’ 20-minute drive from their home just south of Langdell Road. They both work in the Eau Claire area, so it will be easier for their children to be involved in afterschool activities in Eau Claire vs. Mondovi, Semling reasoned.

He also noted his home has an Eau Claire address and felt the school district should match.

Semling’s children are currently able to take the bus to school in Eau Claire by walking down the road, as their home is very close to the Mondovi/Eau Claire district line.

Mondovi is a “wonderful school district,” said Semling, but the convenience factor of Eau Claire outweighs all else.

The Board tabled action on Semling’s request to annex his home’s property to the Eau Claire district to allow time to think it over. Referencing an upcoming deadline, Semling noted the Eau Claire School Board still needs to consider the request if Mondovi were to approve it. The Board promised to take action at its next retreat, set for Feb. 8.

In related conversation that night, Board members talked about thinking outside the box to attract more students, and perhaps draw back families, like the Semlings, who opt to open enroll out.

Reworking the district’s strategic plan, recognizing and promoting staff excellence, increasing student achievement and improving building aesthetics were among the common ideas shared by Board members.

Jean Sandberg also brought up getting the STEP (senior tax exchange program) initiative going at Mondovi. The program offers senior citizens and retirees the opportunity to work in school districts for a limited number of hours in exchange for a modest wage and property tax breaks.

Sandberg said she felt establishing STEP at Mondovi would help involve senior citizens in school happenings and foster a positive relationship that the district could cash in on in the event of a referendum.

Furthering connections with area technical colleges via the dual credit program was also an idea of Sandberg’s.

Board president Ron Keys has also mentioned the possibility of altering how Anthony Elementary is used by turning it into an alternative or charter school.

According to notes from the Board’s Jan. 11 retreat, Keys led a discussion about possibly turning Anthony into an agricultural education center focusing on a variety of subjects such as dairy, poultry, swine, beef, consumer and ag business and horticulture. Focus groups may begin meeting in February and March to discuss the idea.

Keys also said he would like to see the school board make an annual effort to evaluate its goals as a group.

In other business that night, finance manager Kristi Zarins shared that the district’s revenue limit is forecast to take another big cut in 2016-17.

A drop of $200,000 is expected for the district’s revenue limit next year, Zarins said, citing continued declining enrollment, but the 2016-17 books are still expected to balance.

The district doesn’t have any plans to buy school buses next year due to additional purchases made this year, plus some anticipated retirements should help save the district money, Zarins said.

She also noted the district’s unfunded liability is decreasing thanks to “tough decisions” made by the Board over the past few years, including changes that were made to post-employment benefits and health insurance.

The Board also discussed the current list of annual state-mandated assessments given to Mondovi students.

Elementary principal Paul Franzwa, who also serves as the district’s assessment coordinator, explained that elementary and middle school students will once again switch state testing formats this year from the Badger 3-8 to the Forward Exam.  Those students previously took WKCE tests before the change to Badger 3-8.

Board members lamented that individual school districts have no say in the majority of the state assessments students must take.

Mondovi Superintendent Greg Corning noted the recent shifts in state testing formats were “political,” referencing a provision of the state budget that dictated a switch in assessment companies.

Also that night, the Board approved the following:

• resignations/retirements for Fred Schmitz, elementary teacher; Morrell Heck, food service worker; Mary Werlein, special education aide

• individual contract for Jennifer Sandberg, part-time special education aide

• out-of-state field trip for high school English group to travel to Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Minn.

• second reading of revised Board policies

• approval of Fund 60 account for Elementary Student Council