May 21, 2014 at 4:53 p.m.
Electorate to vote on sale of South Park building
Electorate to vote on sale of South Park building
Following a lengthy closed session discussion Monday the board voted to "set the date of Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 7 p.m. in the Superior Diesel Advanced Learning Center of Rhinelander High School for a 'Meeting of the Electorate' to consider the sale of the South Park School property."
The district has been trying to sell the building since the Northwoods Community Secondary School, its last occupant, moved into the high school at the beginning of the 2012-'13 school year.
The offer to purchase was made by Bethesda Lutheran Communities but the district has refused to disclose any other information about the proposal.
According Superintendent Kelli Jacobi, the district is keeping Bethesda's offer secret because the school board doesn't want any other party to make an offer on the building with knowledge of the amount Bethesda has offered.
"We don't want other people coming out of the woodwork (to make an offer knowing what Bethesda's offer is)," Jacobi said. "If people are interested, they need to be stepping up."
Jacobi said the decision to sell the building will be made by the electorate not the school board.
"We will be having a special meeting of the electorate on May 27 at 7 p.m. where an offer for South Park will be presented for the electorate to vote on," Jacobi said. "The school board doesn't get to vote on that. The electorate (votes) on the sale of property."
Jacobi said legal counsel advised her that asking the electorate to decide whether to accept the offer is standard procedure.
It's unclear whether this procedure was used in 2005 when the district closed and sold three elementary school buildings following a failed referendum.
"I wasn't in this position so I don't know how it was handled. I don't know if an attorney was consulted about the proper procedures to follow," Jacobi said. "I did know that I needed to consult with an attorney to make sure I was following the appropriate procedures and this is what I was told has to be followed. I'm just following the district's counsel, so we'll have that special meeting on the 27th and then we'll move forward from there."
The district is working with First Weber Group Broker Associate Ron Skagen to sell South Park.
The building was last discussed in open session by the Operations and Strategic Planning Committee last September, when the building was listed at $250,000. At that time, the committee rejected lowering the price to $199,500. The sale of the building has not been discussed in open session since that time.
In October, following a closed session discussion, the board directed Jacobi to work with Skagen on a new strategy to market the property, gauge interest and lower the asking price.
Those discussions resulted in the price being dropped from $250,000 to $179,500. As of Jan. 8, the building had a listed price of $159,500.
As of Tuesday, First Weber has the building listed at $139,500 on its website.
Pay increase for support staff
In open session, the board discussed a proposed pay increase for support staff personnel that was approved by the Employee Relations Committee immediately prior to the full board meeting.
The proposal calls for a 1.46 percent increase for the 2014-'15 school year which is consistent with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
"We're asking to increase the support staff pay by 1.46 percent, current CPI, for the following school year," Director of Business Service Marta Kwiatkowski explained.
The proposal was approved unanimously by both the committee and the full board.
Other approvals
In other business the board:
• Approved new five-year contracts for both charter schools.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with Options Counseling Services to provide mental health and substance abuse support and counseling services to students.
• Allowed the six RHS students who have qualified for the Future Business Leaders of America national competition to begin fundraising activities to help cover the cost of the trip to the competition, said to be approximately $11,000.
• Approved working with Carpet City of Rhinelander to install new tile at entrance nine - considered the main entrance - of Central Intermediate School at a cost of $11,067.32
• Approved increasing the price of school lunches by $0.15 for the upcoming school year based on new federal regulations requiring that more fruits and vegetables be offered to students. Free and reduced lunch prices will not be affected.
• Approved the purchase of Chromebooks for freshman and sophomores at RHS and NCSS from SADA Systems Point of Contact at a total cost of $97,668.75. The board also approved the purchase of more wireless access points for the high school from Heartland Business Systems at a cost of $26,684. Both projects will be funded through this year's technology budget.
• Approved the trade in of two 2005 Suburbans for two new 2015 Suburbans because the two 2005 vehicles have become riddled with safety concerns. Rhinelander GM came back with the cheapest proposal, offering the new Suburbans at $32,369 each with trade in.
• Approved student requests to open enroll into or out of the district. A total of 26 students are requesting to join the district from outside the area while 73 students are opting to receive their education elsewhere, including through virtual programs from around the state.
• Approved changes to graduation requirements. Students will no longer be required to take 3.5 social studies credits in order to graduate. Instead, they will need to take 3 credits. Additionally, students will now be required to take at least one financial literacy class to be eligible to graduate. Both changes will become effective for the class of 2017.
All approvals were unanimous with the exception of the decision regarding Options Counseling Services. Board member David Holperin voted against that recommendation. He said he would like to see the issue sent back to committee for further discussion. The other eight board members in attendance voted in favor of the memorandum of understanding.
New hires and resignations
Also in closed session, the board unanimously approved the following new hires, all of whom are 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent): Katie Morois, school counselor; Josh Legrey, technology education teacher; Britney Below, school psychologist; Kersti Lamers, mathematics education teacher; Emily Rose, school counselor; Chris Ferge, physical education teacher and head football coach; and Laura Clabots, school counselor. Ferge will be paid $4,629 to coach football - the lowest amount he could make in his position. By comparison, former football coach Jim Moore was at the top of the football coaching pay scale, earning $5,341 last fall.
The board also unanimously approved the following resignations: Susan Holster, school guidance counselor, and Megan Wagner, math teacher.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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