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Thursday, January 3, 2019 ⢠Vol. 54, No. 33 ⢠Verona, WI ⢠Hometown USA ⢠ConnectVerona.com ⢠$1.25
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Verona Press The
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE! No Better Time To Buy Or Sell.
Stories to watch in 2019
All about the schools Effects of referendum continue to be the biggest stories to watch in 2019
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Blake Ryan, 11, pushes Austen Brezenski, 4, around the ice rink during open skate on Thursday, Dec. 27, at the Verona Ice Area.
An icy ride
Inside
The weather over winter break in Verona didnât exactly match what many would consider wintry conditions. On Thursday, Dec. 27., while it rained outside, some took advantage of the colder weather inside the Verona Ice Arena during open skate.
More open skate photos Page 2
Epic selects community grant recipients Verona orgs, services supported AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
Eight Verona organizations and city departments received nearly $225,000 in donations from Epic as part of its annual grant awards. The grants cover a variety of equipment upgrades, including new radios for both the fire department and Fitch-Rona EMS and funding for Verona Area School District afterschool programs. Other awards went to Badger Prairie Needs Network, the Verona Area Chamber of Commerce, the Verona Public Library and the City of Verona administration.
âBeing a good Verona neighbor and contributing to our local community has always been very important to us,â Epic spokesperson Jennifer Peterson wrote in a news release. âWe generally focus our donations on at-risk populations, education and healthcare, and have appreciated the opportunity to support those causes here in Verona.â City officials announced the cityâs grants Nov. 27 at a Common Council meeting, but the groups were notified earlier in the year. Grant requests are submitted in January and are reviewed by a committee of Epic staff, who then make determinations on the donations.
Turn to Grants/Page 9 The
Verona Press
Grant recipients City: $120,000 Fitch-Rona EMS: DaneCom-compatible radios Verona Fire Department: Radios, thermal imaging cameras Verona Police Department: Vehicle pre-emption system City administration: Electronic poll books Verona Public Library: 1,000 books before kindergarten
Verona Area School District: $75,000 High School College Ready Scholars after-school program Elementary after-school homework club Middle school after-school homework club Literacy volunteers
Other groups: $25,000 Verona Area Chamber of Commerce Badger Prairie Needs Network
It takes a mighty big story to make our top spot for two, and likely three years in a row, but thatâs what happens when voters approve the biggest capital referendum in state history. The construction of the new high school, as conspicuous as it is, will be only part of the focus on the changing dynamics of the Verona Area School District in 2019. Just as important â perhaps even more so â will be the decision on changing new attendance area elementary- and middle-school boundaries and the likely resulting expansion of some major elementary school programs to add middle school grades. The high school construction is mostly set, and so are most of the trickling-down renovations to
Stories of 2019 1. Setting new school boundaries 1. High school construction 3. TWI/charter expansion to middle school 4. Continued construction on M 5. Fire department resolution 6. Sugar Creek Commons 7. Festival foods still coming other schools, but how those other two decisions are handled could have a lasting impact on the districtâs struggles to smoothly integrate socioeconomic and ethnic diversity for many years to come. As is always the case in Verona, construction and development are again likely to bring notable
Turn to 2019/Page 4
Verona Area School District
Community to âClassmunityâ Fundraising portal offers single entry point for donors SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Scrolling through the Verona Area School Districtâs âClassmunityâ site is a bit like scanning the options at a buffet for donors. The web portal, which the district joined in October to add consistency to fundraising efforts, allows
staff to put forward their projects for approval from administrators and and create a one-stop shop for donating. Efforts include p a y i n g d ow n ove r d u e lunch balances and funding a music department trip to New York. â C l a s s m u n i t y o ff e r s a portal where it really shows all the great things that are happening in the district,â said district public information officer Kelly Kloepping. âSomeone might go in and support
Turn to Classmunity/Page 2
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