Referendums dominated discussions among the board members at the Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) Feb. 24 meeting. The meeting was joined by Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Young and City Manager John Weidl. They discussed the city referendum for emergency services such as police, firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) and how they should consider improving these services.
“We‘d also be able to hire a third firefighter EMS internally,” Weidl said. “But from the police side the call volume has been up to 90% since 2010, we’ve gone up to 7,500 calls to over 14,000 calls per year. In addition to that our dispatch answers 5,000 calls for service from the university police.”
Young explained the Fire/EMS side with requests of services averaging slightly over 20% call concurrency.
“I have four people on duty when an EMS call comes in,” Young said. “I’m left with two people at the fire station for everything.”
The first proposal of the WUSD meeting was approved, allowing nine students to attend an overnight Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) convention in Green Bay March 30 and April 1.
Paul and Katie McQuillen came to present a petition to alter the school district’s boundaries by detaching 4425 N. Sherman Road from the WUSD and becoming part of the Milton district. The board discussed and denied the McQuillens’ petition.
“That’s something the board needs to consider in long term impact, anytime you approve an annexation, you lose tax value on that property,” Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty said.
The board approved the use of Neola for policy updates, costing $17,120 upfront and $2,750 annually. This will help WUSD policies stay up-to-date with state and federal policies. The motion carried 6-1.
The district also approved a healthcare proposal for nursing services, saving $47,000 by shifting to one full time RN, there will also be an addition of 1.7 FTE healthroom aides, this all works to improve staffing and training. The district’s nursing services will come from Fort HealthCare’s School Nurse Program.
The WUSD Board approved Jason Black to be assistant associate principal.
They also discussed school lunch programming, Act 20 literacy legislation, special education funding and 4K funding. There will be updates in the upcoming March discussions.
The board talked about the turf field project, noting the revenue generated, safety, usability and the reduced maintenance costs compared to grass fields. The board expressed interest in increasing the usage fees and ensuring custodial services for outside groups and approved the following: The use of Gen Con for the radio WAVE system upgrades, the purchase of the Advancement Via Individual Determination program for a three-year implementation period with a five-year commitment.
The board members closed by discussing potential future agenda items, including federal funding impacts, governor’s budget proposals and athletic stipends.