ANNUAL WISCONSIN REGULAR GUN DEER HUNT SPECIAL EDITION
Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, November 14, 2024 | Vol. 5, No. 21 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Perspectives on the 2024 General Election
Community Calendar: Events thru Dec. 12
Regular Gun Deer Hunt: Columns, forecast & more
Pages 2, 3, 8
Pages 5, 6, 7, 8
Pages 1, 4, 9, 10, 11
River Valley School Board reviews Fair report, approves contracts, sets 2025-2026 calendar
Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter
At the Oct. 10 River Valley School District Board of Education regular meeting, the board heard a report on fair operations, voted to utilize FEH Design for a FEMA grant, and voted to continue contracts with Rural Virtual Academy and Madison Area Technical College. At the Nov. 14 regular board meeting, the board approved the calendar for the 20252026 school year, and heard first readings on policy changes to the district’s emergency response policy, immunization policy and graduation requirements.
October 10
The board recognized School Fair leadership for the October Community Spotlight. Rachel Eberle, Tiffany Neuheisel and Shari Graffunder were thanked for their hard work in assembling the school fair this year. Leadership members also provided a report for the school board on the fair. Neuheisel reported that 4 beef cattle, 48 swine, 4 sheep and 1 goat sold at the school auction, providing exhibitors around $66,000 in proceeds, $954 was raised in silent auction baskets to FFA Alumni supporting students, $2650 was raised through paddle raisers, which was split between the school fair fund and FFA Scholarships. Graffunder thanked all of the members that assisted in school fair operations this year, and reported that donations brought in $5,740 from community members and businesses, as well as noting that FFA had
received a $2,000 community betterment grant from Corteva Agriscience. The district’s third Friday of September pupil count for the 2024-2025 school year was 1,162 students. This number is up one student from the 2023-2024 school year, but overall represents a downward trend in student enrollment over the past ten years. This count is required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and is utilized to calculate school finances and budgeting. Board member Frederic Iausly presented a report from the buildings and grounds committee regarding the district’s safety, security and technology systems. Iausly noted $380,000 worth of replacements, repairs and upgrades the buildings need to telephone, clock and bell, PA, video camera and fire protection systems. The buildings and grounds committee also recommended FEH Design, which the district has previously worked with, as the firm in which the district will use to continue with a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant. The board voted unanimously in favor to utilize services from FEH Design for the grant. The board voted with all in favor to renew the district’s contract with Rural Virtual Academy Charter School through the 2027-2028 school year. The district has been part of the RVA consortium since the 2021-2022 school year, and utilizes their services as an option for virtual education to home-schooling students within the dis-
trict. The board also voted unanimously in favor of continuing its contract with Madison Area Technical College, which provides the district with dual credit course options for high school students.
November 14
The board recognized the River Valley Music Boosters for its November Community Spotlight. Cheryl Whittmann and Michelle Mack provided the report from the Booster Club, noting that for 14 years, they have raised over $150,000, going towards Music trips, senior scholarships, music camps, state honors band and choir and direct support to the district music department. Evaluations for the District Administrator are being prepared for December. These evaluations are conducted yearly by the board, and each board member individually completes and submits an evaluation, as well as a self-evaluation from the District Administrator to be compiled into a report. The evaluations are designed to help constructively improve the Administrator’s ability to undertake their responsibilities. The board heard first readings of several potential policy changes. To the Planned Responses for Emergencies policy, the district would move to use its five focus words and processes; Shelter, Hold, Secure, Lockdown and Evacuate, to replace the previous three-code scheme. Other potential changes to this policy in-
VALLEY SENTINEL’S
WE WANT TO SEE YOUR DEER HUNTING PICTURES!
BLAZE
ORANGE
BOARD
clude more prescriptive definitions of each process, as well as instructions on how the district should communicate to families for each instance. The student immunization policy also sees potential changes, with the addition of a Meningococcal vaccine required for 7th graders and a booster for 12th graders. The graduation requirements sees the addition of a .5 credit Civics course, required for students graduating 2027 and on, and an additional full elective credit will be required for students graduating 2029 and on. The board discussed the 2025-2026 school calendar. For next school year, the district is moving to a one hour early release each Wednesday to provide staff members with Professional Learning Community time. PLC time allows staff departments to plan, assess learning, improve curricula and to collaborate amongst each other. This change to a weekly early release allows for a more consistent and predictable schedule for both staff, families and students. The motion to approve the 2025-2026 calendar carried with all members in favor.
Looking Ahead
The River Valley School District Board of Education next meets Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Middle School Library and streams to the district’s YouTube Channel. The District observes Thanksgiving break from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29. Students return to school December 2.
SUBMISSIONS:
EDITOR@VALLEYSENTINELNEWS.COM
We’d love to see photos of the big buck or doe you bagged! We celebrate big bucks, of course, but we want to see everything that celebrates the rich culture of deer hunting ... be it a youngster’s first deer, your view out in the field or from your stand.
Submit photos by email with brief description/caption, the hunter’s name (and the names of anyone else in the picture - including the age of a youth hunter) along with the location (of the harvest/view and hunter’s locality). Both archery and gun entries are welcome. Hunter must be from Sauk, Richland or Iowa counties or hunted in those counties (case by case exceptions may be made for WNW Dane county depending on exact location). Deer and view must be from 2024. Categories are: Biggest Buck, Biggest Doe, Best Youth Harvest, Best View Out in the Field Pictures must be received by Dec. 6, Blaze Orange Board out in print in Valley Sentinel Dec. 12.
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