Rice Lake Area School District
BOE Finance Committee
Friday, April 10, 2015
1:00 PM
MINUTES
1. Called to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m.
2. Roll Call:
Present: Steve Bowman, Bill Schmitzer and Doug Kucko
Others Present: Patrick Blackaller, Marty Helgeson, Randy Drost, and
Natalie Springer
Absent: Gary Spear
3. Statement of Notice: Patrick Blackaller announced that notice of the meeting was
communicated by public notice as required by 19.84 of WI Statutes.
4. March 5, 2015 Minutes: Doug Kucko and Bill Schmitzer motioned to approve the
March 5, 2015 BOE Finance Committee meeting minutes with amendments as noted. All
present voting yes. Motion approved.
5. Health Insurance Renewal: The committee reviewed the district’s health insurance bid
documents compiled by the district’s consultant, Hays Companies. After reviewing the
bids, the committee felt that the district would get the most value from WPS. Plan
pricing was equivalent, however the district would again have a much broader network of
providers than with the HMO network we currently have with Security Health Plan.
6. Teachers Salary Grid: The committee heard the presentation from Natalie Springer on
the teacher’s compensation committee’s proposal to implement the new salary grid.
They reviewed the new grid and costing, and discussed the process for staff to advance
under the new compensation model.
7. JV Coaches Salary Proposal: The committee briefly discussed the JV coach salary
proposal and paying John Ellenson to complete the JV coach salary evaluation. The
committee agreed to pay John $2,000 to complete this work.
8. TEACH Funds: Marty Helgeson requested to use the remaining TEACH funds to
replace aging desktop infrastructure throughout the district. The older equipment is
mostly staff office computer equipment which is 6-7 years old.
9. Transportation Redistricting: Randy Drost discussed the planned transportation
redistricting due to the expansion at Tainter. It is expected that approximately 70 students
would be moved from their home location (excluding students leaving Jefferson) to
complete the rebalancing of students between district’s facilities. It is anticipated that the
district should have better established attendance boundaries going forward.
10. Budget Discussion: The committee reviewed the budget reduction list and agreed to the
minor revisions. Reductions to the alternative education budget, charter school budget,
and the transfer of middle school athletics to the community service fund provided the
reductions needed to offset the removal of the cash in lieu of health reduction originally
proposed.
11. Wellness Clinic Update: Mr. Blackaller explained that the clinic utilization was
averaging around 67%. Feedback received up to this point indicates that the clinic is well
received by staff.
12. Community Common Use Facility: The committee discussed the proposed locations
for a new community facility which would combine the library, pool, Boys and Girls
Club, Northern Star Theater, and Lumbering Hall of Fame. The committee expressed an
interest in being involved and supportive of this new initiative.
13. Social Media Management: The committee reviewed a proposal to hire the company,
Social School 4EDU to manage the districts social media. The committee supports
engaging in an agreement to hire this firm for $7,000 to assist in managing the districts
communications.
14. Review and Approval of Bills: Doug Kucko and Bill Schmitzer motioned to
approve the bills. All present voting yes. Motion approved.
15. Other: None.
16. Next Meeting: Friday, May 8, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
17. Adjourn: Bill Schmitzer and Doug Kucko motioned to adjourn the meeting. All
present voting yes. Meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patrick Blackaller.