By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Community School District’s new director of curriculum and instruction made her School Board debut at the July 13 meeting. Daphne Kohnke was welcomed into the district by District Administrator Chris Hibner and the board at the start of the regular meeting.
The board members introduced themselves and gave Kohnke a brief history of who they were and how long they have served on the board. Two of them even confessed to being Bears fans, but Kohnke said she wouldn’t hold that against them.
She thanked the board for giving her the opportunity to be part of the team. “I think this is an exciting time to be part of the district.”
Kohnke said she had just finished up her 30th year in education, starting in Manitowoc before moving to Milwaukee and working for the Milwaukee Public Schools for 19 years in multiple rolls.
Referendum update
District administrative assistant Julie Loeffler updated the board on the district’s website and building referendum projects. Loeffler said she has been updating the website almost daily with the progress on building the new school and the improvements to the middle school and high school.
She encouraged the board to refer people to the website when they ask questions about the progress and use it themselves to keep updated on what’s going on.
The website has a referendum timeline, building projects updates, site plans and a tab for frequently asked questions and community feedback. To access the information, go to www.easttroy.k12.wi.us and click on “Building Projects Updates” on the right side of the screen.
As of June 13, the high school soil borings have been completed. High school and Prairie View site land surveys have been completed and the high school construction documents are in progress.
Once construction has begun on the new school, the district is planning on having a “construction cam” onsite with a direct feed to the website so people can watch what’s going on in real time.
Work on the schools
Buildings and Grounds Director Bob Ellis updated the board on work being done in the schools over the summer months at the June 13 meeting.
Some walls between a couple of classrooms at Prairie View and Doubek elementary schools have been removed to allow for easier movement between certain classrooms, and to give the teachers the ability to work together with their classes.
The larger access is a bit of an experiment to test out the concept for the new elementary school, giving a trial run for “dirty” and “clean” spaces the teachers need.
Computer labs at the middle school and high school have been converted to classroom space since they won’t be needed because the students will all have their own Chromebooks beginning in the fall with the 1:1 technology initiative.
The folding walls in the middle school cafeteria have been removed since they weren’t being used and new carpet tile will be installed in the music room. The cardio/weight room is being moved into an old computer lab to make room for the new robotics lab at the middle school. Closed-circuit television cameras have also been installed throughout the school.
Annual meeting
Hibner reminded the public that the School District’s annual meeting would be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, in the high school lecture hall.
The regular School Board meeting will follow.
Hibner said it was important for residents in the district to attend because it was more than just a time for setting the tax levy, which isn’t finalized until October, but because it was also the time for residents to learn about the “state of the district” and the progress of student achievement.
