By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Delavan-Darien School Board will recommend the awards presentation for seniors be separate from the graduation ceremony.
The recommendation will go to the foundation that presents awards and scholarships to high school graduates.
Several board members, President Jeff Scherer and Superintendent Robert Crist said the reason for the recommendation was that the graduation ceremony has gotten too long.
D-DHS Principal Mike Kolff said most other districts have separate ceremonies. He said graduation is the beginning of a new life and the class graduates as a unit.
Crist said both events can be phenomenal and a list of awards and scholarships can still be included in the graduation program.
The foundation will now vote on the recommendation, and, if it agrees with the decision, explore options about when to hold a separate awards ceremony.
Funding options
The board heard presentations Aug. 20 about two funding options.
Crist reported to the board a proposed resolution he has sent to several legislators that could, in his opinion, help correct a disparity in school funding. Crist said the state in 1993 began to tie school funding to how much the districts budgeted for in the previous year. Conservative-spending districts like Delavan-Darien were then locked into state funding at that rate while districts that budgeted more that year have received more state aid.
That, according to Crist, has led to unbalanced funding. As an example, the Delavan-Darien district receives $9,200 per student in state aid while Williams Bay receives almost $12,000. Crist said the Delavan-Darien district arguably has higher needs but receives less state funding.
Crist’s proposal would be to allow local school boards every fourth year to set the tax levy rather than allowing the state to. Crist said the resolution would allow districts with low revenues to continue to provide quality education without cutting programs and losing quality staff. He also said he is confident local school boards would approve reasonable tax levy increases that would not jeopardize community relationships. To help with the legal side of this, the use of an attorney representing schools like Cohen Schneider Law, will support and uphold what has been decided.
The board voted to send the resolution on for discussion by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.
Business Administrator Mark Powell and Mike Clark from Baird Financial also presented a report to the board about an energy exemption that might allow the board to raise funds for infrastructure needs as long as energy savings are realized. Powell said replacing the 32-year-old boiler at the high school would be one example of a qualifying project.
Powell said a complete list of potential projects has not been developed in the district yet, so the effect on property taxes can’t be estimated yet.
Volunteer organization
Julie Alder Supernaw informed the board of a new program designed to help high school students get involved in the community through volunteer projects called Delavan Area Youth Service. Supernaw said the new organization will give out grants to help fund such projects every month. She said her goal is to have 500 students participate in the Global Youth Service Day in April.
