Springville residents question 4K
By Andy Steinke, Dells Events
In one of the school district’s last presentations before Tuesday’s election, district Business Manager Deb Michel spoke about the proposed Spring Hill addition in Springville Monday night.
The Board didn’t have much in the way of questions for Michel, but two town residents asked Michel about the 4-year-old kindergarten program.
Kathy Schoenherr said the state was originally supposed to help support 4-year-old kindergarten in its first year, but that money never came through. She asked what that money would’ve been used for.
Michel said it would’ve been used for things like salaries, busing students and other necessities for teaching the students.
Schoenherr asked what would happen to the district’s SAGE funding for Neenah Creek and Lake Delton School, if Spring Hill can’t comply with the program next year.
Michel said district Administrator Chuck Whitsell has said if the district loses funding at one school, it will lose funding at all three.
Schoenherr asked Michel if it was possible to move all the SAGE-eligible students, those students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, to one school so the district can still keep some of its funding.
Doing that is not allowed by the SAGE program, Michel said.
Verle Ostrander said she has been out of touch with the school system for awhile and asked what happens to the 4-year-old kindergartners after they are done with 4K. Do they go to 5K or 1st grade?
Michel said they go from 4K to 5K and then to 1st grade.
“So it’s (4K) a baby sitting service,” Ostrander said.
“No, it’s not,” Michel responded. Four-year-old kindergarten was implemented, in part, to reduce the readiness gap for children entering 5K, she said.
Ostrander said in “the old days” there were 42 to 45 students in one classroom and they learned as much as, if not more than, students today. She asked why the district needs these smaller class sizes of 12 to 15 students.
Michel said she isn’t sure if children learned more in those larger classrooms, but pointed out that children’s home lives are different than they were when Ostrander, and even herself, were younger.
Resident Doreen Thomas, who said she did some substitute teaching last year, said teachers can’t get after their students like they used to; they can’t punish them like they once could.
Schoenherr said she thinks voters need to know that 4K, which is being housed at St. Cecilia’s this year, doesn’t have a support staff — a secretary or a principal. She didn’t think it was an ideal situation for the students.
Michel said Schoenherr was right, it wasn’t the ideal situation.
In other business, the board did the following:
n Received a check from Moundview Hospital for $1,840 for the unused portion of its ambulance contract with the hospital, now serviced by Curtis Ambulance.
n Approved a bartending license for John Sutton.
n Voted not to pursue unused tax levy money from 2007, which was payable in 2008.
n Heard a request from Thomas, operations manager with Curtis Ambulance, asking to use the town hall parking lot as a landing zone for UW-Med Flight. The matter will be on the town’s November agenda.