The Whitewater Unified School District Board held their monthly meeting at the Whitewater High School (WHS) Library the evening of April 28.
LEADERSHIP SHIFTS
During the election of board officers, Stephanie Hicks was elected as the new school board president for the 2025-2026 academic year. She received four votes over Jennifer Kienbaum, who received two. Miguel Aranda was elected as vice president, Lisa Huempfner was elected clerk, Kienbaum was named treasurer and Christine Dodge was reappointed as secretary.
POLICY/PROGRAM APPROVALS
The board unanimously approved a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the School Resource Officer (SRO) agreement. The contract would begin July 1 with a clause that allows the district to end the contract early in May with good reason.
The board also approved health insurance renewals through Dean and Mercy for the 2025-2026 year, reviewed and approved athletic and non-athletic stipends and proposed to add a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Coordinator for the upcoming school year.
FIELD TRIPS/EMPLOYMENT UPDATES
WHS principal Bret Mansky proposed multiple upcoming overnight field trips, including Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Ferradermis robotics team.
The board also approved a new sixth grade English teacher for Whitewater Middle School and approved multiple staff hires across the district for the upcoming school year.
COMMUNITY DONATIONS
The board recognized and approved multiple substantial donations from the community, including:
$71,787 from the Patrick W. Ryan Memorial Foundation Inc. for the Washington Elementary Tennis Courts
$37,067.58 from several donors for the Ferradermis robotics team.
$5,500 from Whitewater Leads to support Lakeview, Lincoln and Washington Elementary schools.
$1,000 from Omega Auto Repair LLC for playground equipment at the middle school.
NEW BUSINESS/ FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
The board received a referendum update from Clint Selle from Bray Architects, Curt Wiebelhaus from Building Solutions and David Friend, Director of Buildings and Grounds. Wiebelhaus noted they will return in May and recommended the board to hire a construction management firm.
Friend presented to the board the proposal to hire a tennis court consultant, which was approved, hiring Fred Kolkmann as the consultant.
The board also approved the first readings of revised policies on school wellness and academic integrity.
For “future agenda items,” board member Maryann Zimmerman requested to review if staff could donate paid time off (PTO) hours to someone else, along with requesting to review if staff could cash out their PTO hours when they leave the district.
Huempfner requested an updated presentation on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
For more school board updates, visit here.
