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Wisconsin Rapids School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

45 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Wisconsin Rapids school board approves voluntary vision insurance benefit for employees 41:42

  • The board heard reports from its Educational Services, Business Services and Personnel Services committees, including a proposed $520 wage increase for school psychologists. 3:04
  • The board approved spot pet insurance and vision insurance Option 1 as employee benefits at the employee's expense. 39:10
  • The board also approved a resolution adopting the Wisconsin Rapids Safe Routes to School Plan 2026. 43:49
Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and approval of minutes 1:52
    • John A. Krings called the meeting to order at 6 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. 1:52
    • No comments from citizens and delegations were offered. 2:22
    • John A. Krings announced the motion carried and the minutes of the June 8, June 29 and June 30 meetings were approved. 2:43
  2. Educational Services Committee report 3:04
    • Kathi Stebbins-Hintz said the committee met on July 6th, 2026, and had 5 actionable items. 3:04
    • ES5, a memorandum of understanding with the Boys and Girls Club of the Rapids Area, was held out, and one speaker said they would abstain because they sit on that organization's board. 3:20
    • Kathi Stebbins-Hintz moved to approve items including the Indian Education Formula Grant, the 2026⁠-⁠27 pupil academic standards, Act 89 policy updates and a proposed remote work policy. 3:22
  3. Business Services Committee report 5:27
    • John Benbow, Jr. moved to approve BS1 through BS4, and the board took a roll call vote. 5:27
    • John Benbow, Jr. said the district received 8 donations in the past month, including $16,000 from an anonymous donor for the Angel Fund. 6:14
    • John Benbow, Jr. said the Torque Foundation gave $95,000 for new LED lighting at the Southwood County Stadium and noted the committee approved naming rights for Washington Field. 7:23
    • John A. Krings announced the motion to approve the balance of the committee's minutes carried. 9:47
  4. Personnel Services Committee report 10:05
    • Troy Bier said the committee had 12 items and would hold out PS 8 for further discussion. 10:05
    • Troy Bier said the district's current school-based mental health services grant allocation is $236,065 and would be used to hire an additional school counselor. 10:37
    • Troy Bier moved to approve PS 1 through 7 and 9 through 12. 11:44
    • A speaker announced the motion carried. 11:58
  5. School psychologist wage increase 12:01
    • Troy Bier said PS 8 concerned a wage increase of $520 for school psychologists. 12:01
    • John A. Krings said the $520 replaces, rather than adds to, the percentage increase given to other groups. 14:17
    • John A. Krings announced the balance of the Personnel Services Committee minutes was approved. 17:49
  6. Legislative update 18:24
    • Troy Bier said state agencies announced a $300,000 competitive grant program for financial literacy education, with grants of up to $7,500. 19:35
    • Troy Bier said state estimates project 59.9% of districts will receive less general aid for the 2026⁠-⁠27 year. 20:33
    • Troy Bier said the Midwest Comprehensive Center is developing a state math plan and is also working with several other states. 22:00
  7. Approval of bills 23:21
    • John A. Krings stated a motion to note June 2026 receipts of $4,097,110.89 and approve June disbursements of $4,599,836.43, followed by a roll call vote. 23:43
  8. Staff appointments and resignations 24:12
    • The board considered motions to approve 4 professional staff appointments, 1 non-representative staff appointment and 1 professional staff resignation. 24:35
    • A speaker asked how many new teachers the district has this year, and staff members estimated about half to at least a third are new to the profession. 25:03
    • A speaker said the resignation motion carried. 25:46
  9. Amendment to district budget 25:54
    • A staff member said the amendment makes transfers within the budget and does not increase or decrease it. 26:08
    • The staff member said a budgeted amount of $12,488,000 was decreased to $12,257,000 and transferred to other functions. 26:08
    • John A. Krings announced the motion carried. 29:13
  10. Health insurance renewal update 29:24
    • A presenter said the district completed a request for proposals for self-insurance and has two finalists for self-funding. 29:33
    • The presenter said fully insured bids were due Wednesday and the goal is to have a path in place no later than the end of September. 31:27
    • The presenter said the district is also evaluating 2-tier versus 4-tier employee premium rates. 34:15
  11. Pet insurance employee benefit 35:29
    • A presenter said the pet insurance is a voluntary benefit paid 100% by employees with no employer cost. 35:42
    • The presenter said employees would get 10% off their premium through an employer-sponsored plan. 36:16
    • John A. Krings announced the motion carried. 39:10
  12. Vision insurance employee benefit 39:17
    • A presenter said the district does not have a vision plan today and recommended option 1, which includes an eye exam. 39:33
    • The motion called for NVA Vision Insurance Option 1 effective January 1, 2027, at the employee's expense. 41:42
    • John A. Krings announced the motion carried. 41:53
  13. Safe Routes to School plan 41:53
    • A staff member said the previous plan expired this month and the program aims to encourage students to walk to school. 42:04
    • A speaker said the plan has been in action for 5 years and the update changes the dates. 43:27
    • John A. Krings announced the motion carried. 43:49
  14. Upcoming calendar 43:49
    • John A. Krings listed upcoming Boundary and Buildings Task Force meetings, committee meetings on August 3rd and a board meeting on the 10th. 44:09
    • John A. Krings said a back-to-school gathering for all staff is set for the 25th, and the meeting was adjourned. 44:36

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

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Video: posted by the district as “WRPS School Board Meeting 07-13-26”