SDR board renews Burke’s contract

Eric Burke has earned another two years at the helm of the School District of Rhinelander. 

The superintendent’s contract renewal, spanning July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, was approved by the SDR Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Feb. 16. Board clerk Mary Peterson and board treasurer Mike Roberts were absent.

The approval came after the board emerged from a closed session. Also approved at that time were the retirements, effective at the end of the 2025-26 school year, of Special Education teacher Cynthia Skinner, English Language Arts teacher Kristin Higgins, Math specialist Lori Linsmeyer, and Science teacher Kim Bowman.

End in sight for construction project

The $26 million referendum construction project approved by voters in April 2024 is in the homestretch. Burke updated the board on the work at the James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School being performed by C.D. Smith Construction.

At the middle school, “there’s some details in some of the rooms (still to be completed), but for the most part that project is done,” he said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held there April 20 at 4:30 p.m.

Construction at the high school has gone about as far as it can, what with classes being held in places set for renovation, Burke noted.

“They’re going to have to come back in May, towards the end of the school year, and start construction in there. So that’s going to go through the whole summer … it’s going to have to be done for the start of school,” he said. 

A new construction/building trades lab is one of the new features that will be built.

“Through Feb. 4 we had spent just about $22 million of the $26 million project,” reported district finance director Bob Thom, “so we’ve pretty much done the bulk of everything, and then just wrap it up in the summer.

“So about $4 million left to go, and so far all reporting from C.D. Smith is that everything is on budget and we’re looking good.”

Hodags represent at conferences

Burke also told the board that the district was represented at both the Wisconsin Association of School Boards’ Jan. 21-23 Wisconsin State Education Convention in Milwaukee, where he and district community education and school forest manager Mike Cheslock were among the speakers for “Using Social Media to Build Trust and Advance Strategic Goals,” and the School Superintendents Association’s Feb. 12-14 National Conference on Education in Nashville, Tenn., with a presentation on the district’s college and career prep program.

“Definitely a feather in our cap for the Hodags to be represented at both of those,” he said.

NCES and the ‘power of yet’

Also at the meeting, principal Kyle Barber was on hand to deliver a presentation on Northwoods Community Elementary School, with the assistance of first grader Margery Albee, fifth grader Lyla Mueller, and their families. 

“We’re pretty excited to talk about some of the things that we’ve been working on out there,” said Barber, “making connections with the community, making connections within the school with the families, and really the growth mindset that we’re starting to work on to talk about the power of yet – not just ‘I can’t do that,’ but ‘I can’t do that yet,’ to really build things.” 

District nurses give update

A presentation by district nurses Val Leighton and Gary Leinon on school health services was also on the agenda. Leighton and Leinon, both registered nurses, have served with the district since 2016 and 2021, respectively. 

Among other facts, they noted that of the district’s 2,027 total enrolled students, 344 have one or more health conditions, and that so far this 2025-26 school year, students’ average health office visits per day range from about five for NCES to 25 for RHS. Those visits last anywhere from a few minutes up to two hours.

Other voices

Senior Blake Petroff of the RHS student council was also on hand. He announced a forum will be held March 4, starting at 6 p.m., featuring the five candidates running for the school board’s three open positions.

In addition, the board’s CESA 9 representative, Merlin Van Buren, showed a video explaining Wisconsin’s CESAs, or Cooperative Education Service Agencies.

School board president Ron Counter shared an observation in his report. “I was a Wausau East fan two Tuesdays ago — my grandson plays for East — and the game had to be stopped twice because of Rhinelander fans,” he said. “We weren’t talking kids, we’re talking adults, and so I was embarrassed … There was comments from East fans about how terrible Rhinelander is, and so I’ll be turning this over to (SDR 6-12 activities director and athletic director) Brian (Paulson) and see if we can get some change.”

Paulson told the River News Wednesday that the incident in question occurred during a JV-3 level boys’ basketball game against Wausau East, which was played Jan. 27 at James Williams Middle School.

Highlights roundup

Among other highlights of the meeting, the board:

• Approved policy revisions and the rescinding of a duplicate policy, as recommended by Neola and vetted by the district administration.

• Approved the first reading of several new policies: 5515 Student Use and Parking of Motor Vehicles, 6152.01 Waiver of School Fees or Fines, 6608 Accountability and Oversight of Fundraiser and Crowdfunding Disbursements, 7540.08 Artificial Intelligence, and 9215 School Support Organizations. 

• Accepted several gifts or donations the district recently received: $2,000 from Sarah Jones of Ahlstrom and $500 from Trident Maritime Systems, both to help offset the cost for busing for the Belize STEM trip over spring break 2026; $300 from T.A. Solberg Co., Inc., to be used as the district sees fit; $95 from Park City Credit Union, to be used for RHS as designated by the principal; and aromatic cedar boards valued at $400 from Gary Mangerson, to be used by RHS wood shop students.

• Were invited by Burke to attend SDR Staff Wellness Day, featuring keynote speaker Brett Penanger and sessions presented by SDR staff, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at RHS.

• Moved the June full board meeting date to June 8, a week earlier than usual.

The next regular monthly meeting of the full school board will be on Monday March 16 at 6 p.m. in the Superior Diesel Advanced Learning Center in Rhinelander High School.

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].