Wisconsin Heights discusses COVID-19, school lunch program

The Wisconsin Heights School Board was already discussing the seriousness of the COVID-19 virus at their meeting Monday, March 9th. Little did they know less than a week later school would be cancelled until April. “[COVID-19] is another one of those things in public education, you probably wouldn’t have been that taught in grad school, then it happens and it’s like ‘okay, we are going to bring ourselves together and do the best we can in the situation,’” said District Administrator Jordan Sinz. “The evolution of this situation in roughly two weeks; I would characterize this as more serious.” Dr. Matthew Green said, “Things are changing rapidly.” In the end, the District is shuttered at least through April 3rd. Sinz said both facilities and food service were involved in talks about the virus. Sinz and Green also had daily conferences with regional officials. New Board member Matt Crowe, a medical doctor, said, “I don’t know that our profession knows what to expect.” He continued, “I guess my own feeling, [my] educated guess from what we’re seeing so far, I believe it’s going to be the medium [severity” prediction.” “I don’t know if it’s going to be as dire as the worst case scenarios,” he added. The District’s school lunch program was also discussed. Sinz said the program was in the red. “There are a lot of people that are in the negative,” said Sinz, in reference to their balance. Board President James Kartman said the fund deficit had improved since he came on the board. It now stands at around $15,000, and the board will investigate how to improve it. Any student who drops into a negative balance is always given an alternative option for lunch. Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Andrew Pickett discussed program fees. The district brings around $30,000 in fees for students to participate in sports and other activities. The board, sensitive to the fact that fees can be a barrier to entry for some, is examining ways to lower the cost.  “Can we make enough room in the budget to absorb that cost?” asked board member Gary Damaschke. The board did not want to eliminate fees and then have to reintroduce them after a few years. Changes may be coming to the Wisconsin Heights High School grading system. According to Principal Liz Dostal, the student council asked for change to a weighted or cum laude system. A working group has been formed to study the various systems and weigh advantaged and disadvantages. A student and teacher survey will be next.