By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Community School District Board of Education welcomed a new member at its April 25 meeting and elected officers for the next year.
New member Sue Frohling was sworn in along with returning members Dawn Buchholtz and Ted Zess.
The board’s officers are remaining the same with Zess as president, Buchholtz as vice-president, Martha Bresler as treasurer and Steve Lambrechts as clerk.
Bresler will serve as the Cooperative Educational Service Agencies representative. Zess will be the Wisconsin Association of School Boards delegate with Lambrechts serving as the alternate this year.
Zess and Buchholtz will continue to serve on the Core Team for the referendum projects and as negotiations representatives. Bresler and Lambrecths will serve on the Student Learning Committee.
There was a short discussion about the role of president of the board with Bresler nominating Buchholtz for the role, saying she was concerned with the workload on Zess’ plate at the moment with the extra duties and responsibilities for the referendum projects.
“We are a five-member board and maybe we should be stepping up more,” Bresler said.
Zess said he appreciated Bresler’s concern and would be happy to delegate more work of other board members wanted to help out.
After the election of the officers and committee assignments, Tim Griffin spoke during the public participation and asked for an update on the welding booth situation.
District Administrator Chris Hibner said they were waiting on some of the numbers to still come in, but the required changes to the welding room that needed to be done to accommodate the 10 to 12 portable welding booths the board requested has been done and some of the equipment has been ordered.
Naming the new school
The board members watched two videos made by the students at Doubek Elementary School about how they came up with the four names the student body voted on for the new school.
The students were tasked with helping the board come up with a name in March and in a problem-based lesson the entire school participated and voted on a name to send to the board in an advisory fashion.
The four names the kids voted on were: Rainbow Elementary (the student vote choice), Little Prairie Elementary, Doubek Primary and Valley of the View School.
The board members discussed the names and the process of how the kids came up with them. They commended the children on their choices and have taken the names under advisement and will possibly choose on at the next meeting.
Hibner said if the board chose, it could choose its own name, set up a citizens’ committee for more recommendations or find another way to name the school if they wanted.
The board members also took that under advisement, but Bresler said she would like to honor the work the kids did at Doubek and the other board members agreed.
Buchholtz pointed out that she would like to use “primary school” in the name as the district already has an elementary school and the other board members agreed it might be a good idea.
The board members said the liked Little Prairie Primary, but would take the next couple of weeks to consider all the options.
Food service director to retire
The board accepted the resignation of the district’s food service director Sue Brunner Monday night. She will be retiring at the end of the school year.
Hibner said Brunner has been with the district for seven years and read part of her resignation letter to the board where she thanked the district administration and staff for all their help over the years.
