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Onalaska School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 45 min · 0 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 45 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Onalaska school board adopts 2026⁠-⁠27 original budget and approves tax levy resolution 1:30:07

  • Board members heard updates on the district's online academy, the 2026 summer school program and state assessment results. 30:48
  • The board adopted the 2026⁠-⁠27 original budget on a roll call vote after a district staff member presented a $55.8 million operating budget. 1:30:34
  • The board also approved a resolution, a batch of board policies and the consent agenda. 1:43:18

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 0:00
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and Brian Haefs read the board's mission statement. 0:04
    • Aaron McDonald said the board had no requests for public input on the published agenda. 0:59
    • Aaron McDonald announced that the agenda was approved. 0:59
  2. Student recognitions 0:59
    • A staff member introduced the band's drum majors and said the band finished runner-up in the state, and a coach said a girls tennis player qualified for the state individual tournament for the second year in a row. 1:12
    • The board recognized a kindergarten teacher who received the August Top Notch Teacher Award. 9:24
    • A speaker read a list of donations that included $1,550 from an anonymous donor for the OHS band program and $185 for district needs, and Aaron McDonald said the donations do not require board approval. 19:20
  3. Administrative reports 20:34
    • A staff member said juniors completed a reflection on the ACT and that the top theme was a request for more practice. 20:59
    • A speaker said a food drive hosted by the leadership club and the OHS Rotary Interact Club had collected 600 items so far for the food pantry at the middle school. 23:10
    • A staff member said a fundraiser at Northern Hills raised over $2,000. 30:05
  4. Online academy update 30:48
    • A staff member said the Onalaska Online Academy enrolled 34 students, up from under 20 at an August 10th meeting, and that 5 middle school students not enrolled in the academy were taking online courses through the program. 31:25
    • The staff member said the district is exploring a high school virtual program, hopefully next year, and another speaker said something would need to be in place before the open enrollment window in the spring. 36:44
    • One board member said the flexibility helps keep students from falling behind their peers. 39:06
  5. 2026 summer school report 53:25
    • A staff member said summer school finances were in the black, and another staff member said 106 of the 108 students in credit courses completed them. 56:36
    • Aaron McDonald asked about a drop in 9⁠-⁠12 enrollment, and a staff member said many students combined 2 classes and were counted once. 59:39
    • Staff members said registration was the top consideration for next year and that a Skyward registration process would be ready by April. 1:02:58
  6. Public Engagement Committee report 1:08:12
    • Ann Garrity said the committee discussed a mailer sent to the community and an advisory group, and said 34 people expressed interest in the group. 1:08:21
    • Ann Garrity said the committee also discussed creating a legislative platform. 1:09:46
  7. State assessment results update 1:10:42
    • A staff member said 9th graders were 63% proficient in ELA, up from 58%, and 77% proficient in math, up from 66%. 1:12:09
    • The staff member said 11th graders were 62% proficient in ELA on the ACT, up from 56% the year before. 1:16:10
    • The staff member said 16% of students needed a personal reading plan this fall compared with 25% in the state, and that 17 multilingual learners exited services last year. 1:22:56
  8. 2026-27 original budget adoption 1:30:07
    • A staff member presented a $55.8 million operating budget, a $1.38 million or 2.5% increase from the '25-'26 revised budget. 1:31:28
    • The staff member said salaries and benefits made up 68.3%, or $38.1 million, of the budget. 1:32:17
    • Bridget Thomas moved to approve the original budget with the understanding that it will continue to be refined as the year progresses. 1:40:06
    • Aaron McDonald announced that the original budget was adopted after a roll call vote. 1:40:51
  9. Tax levy resolution 1:40:51
    • A staff member said Resolution 2026⁠-⁠007 sets a general fund levy of $21.84 million, $7 million in debt and a community service levy of $200,000. 1:41:02
    • The staff member said the mill rate would change from $8.06 to $7.99 per $1,000 of property value. 1:41:42
    • Brian Haefs moved to approve Resolution 2026⁠-⁠007. 1:42:44
    • Aaron McDonald announced that the resolution was approved after a roll call vote. 1:43:18
  10. Board policy adoption 1:43:18
    • A speaker said the board reviewed the policies in a first read at its last meeting and that the policy committee would review the second half of the batch later. 1:43:30
    • Bridget Thomas moved to approve the policies as presented. 1:44:04
    • Aaron McDonald announced that the policies were approved. 1:44:32
  11. Consent agenda 1:44:32
    • Mark Cassellius moved to approve the consent agenda after no requests were made to remove items. 1:44:43
    • Aaron McDonald announced that the consent agenda was approved. 1:45:00

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “10/26/2026 SDO Board Meeting”