The results are in for the Community Survey, which asked Sparta residents to weigh in on matters related to facilities upgrades within the Sparta Area School District.  Click here to view survey results (PDF).  The response window for the Community Survey closed December 11th, and results of the survey were presented to the Board of Education last night.  The Board of Education will discuss this issue again next Tuesday, December 19 at 7:00 pm.  This meeting is open to the public.

We would like to welcome the following new staff to the Sparta Area School District!

Lisandra Ocasio – Special Education Educational Assistant
Peyton Kerst – Grade 2 Teacher at Lawrence-Lawson
Taylor Laabs – Network & Systems Manager

Thank you to the following staff for your time dedicated to the Sparta Area School District.

Veneranda Isabel Orduno
Angela Olson

The following staff will be transferring positions within our district.

Clarice Stuessel – transfer from District Registrar/Copy Center Secretary to High School Secretary to the Principal

From the Office of the Superintendent, Sparta Area School District

First of all, I would like to apologize, both personally and on behalf of the Sparta Area School District for the way the late start notification occurred this morning.  Ultimately, the responsibility for whether or not to delay or cancel school rests with me.  I would also like to explain why events this morning unfolded like they did and discuss the steps we will take to ensure that this experience is not repeated.

At 4:45 am, the temperature was -21 degrees F with projected temperature of -13 degrees F by 6:00 am.  Board Policy Article 416 reads that the “threshold” level, which is the point “at which severe cold will be considered as a factor in closing schools in conjunction with other relevant factors” is -25 degrees F and -35 degrees F wind chill “as measured at the Sparta Airport at 5:00 am.”  We had not reached that point.  We contacted Tomah Area School District to find out whether they were delaying or canceling (part of our normal procedure), and they were running normally and on schedule.  We contacted Lamers Bus Lines at 4:50 am, and they expressed some concern about the temperature.  Lamers confirmed that they had winter fuel in the buses and also had extra buses and drivers on hand in the event of bus failures.  The first bus issues occurred at approximately 6:10 am with two buses.  Earlier this week, we had five buses fail and we were able to get students to school with minimal delays.

At about 6:40 am we received word that 10 or more buses were failing.  Some students had been picked up; others had not.  We had to make a decision at that point with the following factors in mind:

• Buses were failing at a rate much higher than anticipated;
• Some students were on buses;
• If we continued to pick up students and a bus failed, that would put students at risk if we could not get a replacement bus out immediately;
• We knew that some students were already making their way to school who were not bus riders, either on foot or by car.

The first consideration is the safety of students.  Continuing to put students on buses would have been more dangerous than having them stay home.  Students already on buses may have parents who were already gone from home, so taking students home was not a reasonable option. We also knew that students were en route to school, so having buildings open and supervised was also a priority for student safety.

The second consideration was communication.  It was late enough in the morning (nearly 7:00 am) that we knew messaging was going to be problematic.  Weighing the safety considerations against the messaging challenges, I chose to delay school as the best option for student safety at the time.

Meadowview was opened immediately upon the decision to delay school so that buses with students on board would have a safe place to be.  All students at Meadowview were fed breakfast and given the opportunity to watch a movie in the gym or study/visit in the commons area.  Lamers made the decision to send Pre-K students on buses home because those students must be dropped off in the presence of an adult.  Pre-K teachers made phone calls home to parents to check in and communicate the morning’s events.  All school buildings were opened and staffed as soon as possible so that students arriving early would be warm and supervised.

In order to make the 2^nd bus run for the 10:00 am school start time, Tomah Area School District sent over 12 buses to help us transport students.  Buses arrived at Meadowview by 9:30 to transport students to their school.

There is learning to take away from this experience.  As a result of this morning’s events, the following actions will be taken moving forward:

• We will review today’s events to determine where changes in our cancellation/delay procedures are needed.
• We will address the bus failures and increase communication about the readiness of buses with Lamers Bus Lines.
• We will inform families about how to sign up for text and email notifications.
• We will recommend changes to Board Policy Article 416 so that we have more flexibility when determining whether or not to delay or cancel school.

Thank you to the staff and administrators who worked this morning with our early arrivals, supervising, serving meals, and contacting parents.  Thank you to the Tomah Area School District for generously sending over buses to help us get students to school for the delayed start.

Any students absent today due to weather will be marked as excused.  We will make a decision regarding start time for Friday, January 5 prior to 5:15 am.

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The Spartan Mugs Project is officially underway with its first major order delivered last month – 21 mugs for Northern Hills Elementary School in Onalaska.  The Spartan Mugs Project (SMP) was created last year as a Sparta High School Art Club fundraiser.  As the project gains momentum, students are discovering that being a part of the SMP has many more benefits than just raising funds.

Mrs. Russ’s custom Northern Hills mug

The Spartan Mugs Project initially connected with Northern Hills Elementary through an order for a single mug.  SHS Principal Sam Russ commissioned the Art Club SMP to create a custom mug for his wife, Northern Hills Principal Amy Russ.  NH Special Education Teacher Emily Perry noticed Mrs. Russ’s one of a kind Northern Hills mug, and the two of them had the idea to purchase more custom Northern Hills mugs to offer teachers as part of Northern Hills’ “Brew for You” coffee program.  They contacted the Sparta Art Club to place the order and the partnership was born.

Northern Hills’ Brew for You and the Spartan Mugs Project are a fitting pair.  Both programs fundraise while providing students with life and work skills.   The Brew for You coffee program helps teach students with disabilities personal interaction skills, money skills, and workplace norms through selling coffee to teachers and staff.  The Spartan Mugs Project teaches high school students about higher level throwing on the potter’s wheel, silk-screening glaze, industry standards in ceramics, mass production, and the importance of quality control.

Brew for You and Spartan Mugs Project meet up

The programs met up on December 20^th, with eleven students from Northern Hills joining students and staff at Sparta.  The day started with a mug silk-screening demonstration.  After the demonstration, students and staff worked together to make an ugly sweater project. Then students ate lunch in the cafeteria and finished up the day with some gingerbread building.  It was a great experience for everyone involved.

More big orders are rolling in for the Spartan Mugs Project, like one from the Earth Club for twenty-five SHS Earth Club mugs.  These mugs showcase an original design created by the High School Art department.  SHS has variety of different generic and custom silkscreen images for glazing, including Spartan sports designs.  Designs that will be available soon include more sports designs, cancer awareness (Art Club will be donating the proceeds from any Spartan Mug sold with a cancer awareness design to SACS), military logos, and a variety of scenery.

The Spartan Mugs Project is currently building inventory to sell at SHS, on Facebook, and at the spring and fall craft fairs which are held at SHS.  There are also plans to hold glazing nights/classes for public participation.  If you are interested in placing an order with the Spartan Mugs Project, please email Mr. Buck Engel at bengel@spartan.org with the subject Spartan Mugs.

Due to a network problem, SASD buildings will not have internet access tomorrow morning, January 16th.  A network technician is being dispatched to resolve the issue, however internet service may be out for the entire day.

If you need to contact someone in one of our buildings, please call rather than email for fastest response.

On January 15, 2018, the Sparta Area School District (SASD) Board of Education approved a resolution to place two facility referendum questions on the April 3 ballot.  SASD and the Board of Education are seeking community input and involvement as we move toward the referendum vote on April 3.  Specifically, we are encouraging community members to participate in the following two committees:

Community Task Force:  This existing committee will continue meeting to provide specific input on various aspects of elementary facility expansion.  Community members and staff members are encouraged to attend and participate.  Meetings are scheduled for Monday nights 2/5, 2/19, 3/5, 3/19, and 3/26 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the Administrative & Educational Center Conference Room at 201 E Franklin Street.

Communication Task Force:  This committee will lead our communication efforts to explain to all stakeholders the referendum’s purpose, structure, and financial impact as well as help with “get out the vote” efforts.  Meetings are scheduled for Thursday nights 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/22, and 3/29 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the Administrative & Educational Center Conference Room at 201 E Franklin Street.

SASD is also convening two additional committees to undergo specific discussions related to middle and elementary schools.  These committees will consist of school personnel and will draw on their knowledge and experience in education.  All meetings will be posted in the Monroe County Herald and the public is encouraged to attend.  These meetings will be held as follows:

Middle School Task Force:  Monday afternoons 2/5, 2/19, 3/5, 3/19, and 3/26 from 3:45 – 5:00 p.m. in the Meadowview Cafeteria.

Elementary School Task Force:  Thursday afternoons 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/22, and 3/29 from 3:30-4:45 p.m. in the Southside LMC.

Finally, the District will host three Open Houses, which will include opportunities to look at building concept models and financial impacts as well as ask questions and tour our current facilities.  These Open Houses will be held as follows:

• Maplewood Elementary Open House: Tuesday, February 20, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Lawrence-Lawson Elementary Open House: Tuesday, March 6, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Southside Elementary Open House: Tuesday, March 20, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

In addition to these opportunities to get involved, we will be offering more opportunities to learn about SASD facilities expansion plans and the upcoming referendum in the near future, including mailings.  Please direct questions to Dr. Van Deuren, Superintendent at (608) 366-3400.

Congratulations to the following students at Meadowview Middle School for achieving High Honor Roll and Honor Roll for term two.

HIGH HONOR ROLL

Graduation Year: 2022 8^TH GRADE

MAVERICK E. ALLEN
CONNOR D. BASEMAN
EMMA L. BLACKDEER
MADISON M. BROWN
SHADE M. BUNKER
AMYA J. DRAYTON
COLTON J. FLOCK
MORGAN R. INTIHAR
ELIZABETH JERRY
JOSEPH R. KAST
CHEYANN V. KOLBO
NADIA M. LAUFENBERG
ALICIA M. PABLO-ESCALANTE
HOPE M. PALMS
JAIDEN A. PIERCE
MICHAELA N. PINTER
KAELI E. RANK
HANNAH M. ROWAN
MICHAEL M. SCHULTZE
JOSHUA I. TYRELL
EDITH VELASCO-HERNANDEZ
RYAN J. WELLS

Graduation Year: 2023 7^TH GRADE

ALLI M. AUSTIN
SCOTLYN J. BAIRD
ANNA L. BLAHA
EMMALEE A. CARLSON
ALANA G. CLARK
PAYTON L. EILERS
EVAN J. FAWCETT
ELLA A. HEMKER
BROOKE L. JOHNSON
JORDAN C. JOHNSON
MICHAEL E. O’ROURKE
MACEY OSWALD
SAMUEL P. PARENT
BRANDON L. RAND
RYLEE J. REBECK
ABIGAIL M. SCHELL
BRIANNA M. SCHMIDT
ALYSON K. SPRAGUE
HADLEY M. THURSTON
LOGAN L. WALLEY

Graduation Year: 2024 (6^TH GRADE)

CHLOE R. ALLEN
MEMPHIS S. BEAMIS
MYA E. BERENDES
BREEZE A. BUNKER
TAYLOR A. DONSKEY
ELLE R. ERICKSON
SIERRA G. FUTCH
RYLEE M. GEIER
KENNEDY E. GIL
KATELYN GILBERTSON
ABIGAIL M. HERNANDEZ
MADISEN T. HICKE
KADENCE C. HOWARD
ELIZABETH J. HUNTER
RYAN P. JARVIS
ELLA J. JEROME
HOPE A. JEROME
SAMANTHA K. JOHNSON
ALLISON D. LEIS
ROBERT J. LOWER
WESLEY MARTENSON
EDWARD R. MASHBURN
SARAH M. MCLENDON
CORIN R. MILNE
CELIA P. OLBERT
JOHANNY L. ORTIZ
MARIA CLARA RIBEIRO DINIZ
BROOKLYN N. SCHULTZ
CAMRON J. SHAFER
JEREMIAH L. SMITH
KATIE S. STEINHOFF
SERENA R. SWANSON
EVELYN E. TRIPP
FIDEL VENTURA GONZALEZ

HONOR ROLL

Graduation Year: 2022 (8^TH GRADE)

CALEB A. AMUNDSON-KAUS
BRIANNA J. ANDERSON
JAYDIN L. ANGLEMYER
HAILEY M. BELL
BENJAMIN S. BICKFORD
OLIVIA A. BLAZEK
MADYSUN V. BREEZE
ETHAN A. BROOKS
TYLER J. CAUDILL
RIVER M. CERDA-REYES
TAYLOR S. COOK
ALLI M. EDIE
ADEN M. EDMONDS
VICTORIA E. FREEMAN
TYONNA V. GARRETT
ISAAC A. GIL
MATTHEW B. GIOVANI
JELYNA K. GONZALEZ
EMMA J. HEMMERSBACH
TAYLOR R. HENTHORNE
FREDY HERNANDEZ AGUILAR
MARISSA HERNANDEZ AGUILAR
IVAN HURTADO PAHUAMBA
CHRISTOPHER J. JACOBS
SAMANTHA A. JEROME
OLYVIA R. KENWORTHY
SETH G. KENYON
ELLIE A. KOWITZ
MATTHEW J. LANGSTON
JENNA M. LAXTON
AIDEN M. LEIS
ANTONIO J. LOPEZ
ALEX L. LUETH
ANNA E. MEYER
DESTINY N. MIRES
XAVIER MOE
HOPE PALMS
HARLEE PHIPPS
JAIDEN PIERCE
HALEE M. PORTER
VAUGHN T. RICE
ALEXANDER W. RIGOR
MACKENZIE P. SCHUBERT
KAITLYN M. SEXTON
COLTON J. SHAFER
ZOEY A. SMITH
ZACHARY W. STALSBERG
DEVIN J. STOLPA-ZIETLOW
CARYS M. SULLIVAN
ADAM J. THOMPSON
WILLOW-MAE M. ZAHRTE
XAVIER A. ZWIEFEL

GRADUATION YEAR 2023 7^TH GRADE

EDGAR A. AGUILAR
KALEB B. BEBAR
ALEXIS C. BERNETT
JESSICA J. DREIER
KAYLA J. FABRY
SERENITY P. FENNIGKOH
CASEY J. FRANCE
REBECCA E. GANN
ALEXIS M. GARDNER
YAHIR GONZALEZ
ELLA R. GUNS
LILY M. HEMMERSBACH
AUBRIANNA P. HENDRICKS
BRANDON T. HENDRICKSON
MARVIN HERNANDEZ-BAUTISTA
MADELYN F. HOEKSTRA
ADRIAN Y. JEWELL
CARSON R. KELSEY
CARMEN A. LAWRENCE
JACOB A. LEHRKE
KILEY A. LIDEEN
JAYDON D. LIETZAU
NOELI N. MARTINEZ
MITCHELL C. MODJESKI
MERCER R. NOVY
EDUARDO ORTIZ
MADELYNN M. PIERCE
JENIFER RAMOS-RAMOS
LIZBETH R. RUVALCABA
JERUSALEM B. SCHANENBERGER
TYLER P. SCHENDEL
HALEIGH M. SCHWAN
JOSHUA C. SMITH
KAYLA R. STAHL
MAKAYA R. STANKE
BRAYDEN G. TREU
ISABELLA R. TREVINO
GIOVANNI VALLES
FRANCISCO L. VAZQUEZ-TREU
DEVIN T. VIAN
KENDRA M. VIAN
MACY S. WHITE
IZAIAH D. WILSON
JOSHUA J. YOUNG

GRADUATION YEAR 2024 6^TH GRADE

HALLIE J. BURTON
JALENA E. CAMPOS
ETHAN R. CHMURA
LANCE K. COLLIER
CHARLES L. COTTRILL
BRAYDEN A. EDDY
HUNTER L. ERICKSON
PIPER B. FERGUSON
LEXUS M. FULTON
SIERRA FUTCH
LUIS A. GARCIA-MEYER
WALKER D. GREEN
AVA R. HAESSLY
ZEN D. HEFT
ZANDER T. HEISLER
BRYCE HELGERSON
MADISON HICKE
CONNOR B. HOFF
RYAN JARVIS
JENICE A. JEROME
LUCAS J. KELLEY
JADEN M. KONDOR
DANIEL KRUK
HAILEY J. KVALHEIM
CONNER J. LABER
ISAAC B. LARSON
CHRISTOPHER M. LUCE
NOAH T. MACKLIN
SARAH MCLENDON
SELENA R. MENDEZ
CHRISTIAN N. MEZA
JAMES-DEAN B. OLSON
DIEGO R. RAMOS
MAXWELL K. REIMER
JOHN H. RICE
DAMIAN M. SAMPSON
ALEXA SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ
CHRISTINA SANTIAGO
BRIAN A. SANTIAGO-GOMEZ
AVA E. SCHANHOFER
GRACE M. SCHOLZE
ADDISON L. SCHROEDER
VICTORIA E. SEIFERT
CAMRON SHAFFER
ELIVIA R. SHEPHERD
ESSENCE N. SHORT
EMMA R. SMITH
ETHAN T. SONS
CAMERON S. STEFFEN
RHETT J. SWENSON
PAITYN A. TADDER
CRUZ K. THUROW
ALANA T. TOILOLO
KIELA A. TURNER
REBECCA L. TYRELL
COLIN J. WELLS
ADRIAN L. WILLIAMS
SHAINA E. YOUNG
DALLAS J. ZILLMER

The Sparta Ice Rink is hosting special open skating hours during the “No School” days. Enjoy some winter fun and activity! You can drop the kids off while you attend parent-teacher conferences.

Open Skate will be from 12:00 – 3:45 pm for the following days:
Thursday, February 15th
Friday, February 16th
Monday, February 19th

The Sparta Youth Hockey Rink is located on Montgomery Street, across from the golf course and just down the road from the Boys and Girls Club/Barney Center.

All ages are welcome. Parent/guardians will need to be present at drop off to sign a liability form for skating but don’t need to stay if a contact number is provided in case of emergency.

Skates are included in $5 admission fee. Concessions/snacks will be available.

The Sparta Area School District is looking for children who did not attend PreK and will be attending Kindergarten in the Fall of 2018. Please call 608-366-3400 to register and receive more information.

Children attending Kindergarten must be five years of age on or before September 1, 2018.

We would like to welcome the following individuals to the Sparta Area School District!

Darren Pfaff – Custodian at Meadowview
Megan Anderson – Secretary to Nutrition Services, Technology, and CLC
Katie Wing – Secretary at Sparta High School
Tracy Lindley-Schendel – Secretary to the Activities Director at Sparta High School

On Tuesday, March 6^th 2018, the music departments of Sparta Middle School and Sparta High School will participate in the Wisconsin School Music Association sponsored District Large Group Music Festival.

All band and choirs from both the middle school and high school will be participating. Each band and choir, grade 6 – 12, will perform three pieces for their clinician during the school day and receive a written critique of their performance.  The clinicians will also spend time working with each ensemble on ways to improve and / or enhance their performance.

We are very pleased to have two fantastic guest clinicians to hold workshops with our various ensembles during the school day.  Our instrumental music clinician, Karyn Quinn, has a 40-year career in the world of music!  She is in demand as a bassist throughout the Midwest and has performed in concerts with Kurt Elling, Wycliffe Gordon, Byron Stripling, Delfeayo Marsalis, Evan Christopher, and Eric Alexander among many others.  Karyn lives in La Crosse, WI and can be heard performing regularly with the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra, Safe Passage Jazz Quartet, The 3rdRelation Jazz Quartet, the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and actively freelances in the recording studio, musical theatre pit orchestras and with various bands.  Karyn has a M.M. Degree in Bass Performance and Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado and a B.S. in Music Education.  She has been on the faculty at The University of Wisconsin – La Crosse for the past 27 years.  Karyn was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship to study with bassist, Rufus Reid and has also performed in master classes for Gary Karr. Karyn is an active member of The International Society of Bassists and her method books for beginning electric bass students, Bass Sessions, are published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company.

Our vocal music clinician, Ann Elise Schoenecker, is highly sought after nationally and internationally as a singer, clinician and director. She has performed all genres of music from opera/oratorio to music theatre throughout the United States and Europe. She has appeared in over 30 opera and oratorio roles, most recently in the role of Asya in Arshin, Mal Alan at the famed Dorothoy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. She believes in training voices for multiple styles and genres (classical, musical theatre, jazz,  pop and rock). Dr. Schoenecker’s pursuits have taken her to Hong Kong, Vienna, Berlin, as both a teacher and performer.  She is a graduate of Luther College, the University of Missouri-Columbia under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro, and the University of Minnesota where she received her DMA in vocal performance and pedagogy under Lawrence Weller and Dr. Clifton Ware.  Dr. Schoenecker has held teaching positions at The Performing Arts Studios, Vienna-A professional music theatre school, in Vienna, Austria, Luther College, University of Minnesota and the University of Missouri-Columbia.  Dr. Ann Elise Schoenecker currently resides in Onalaska, WI with her husband and four daughters.  She is Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, teaching applied voice, lyric diction, song literature and opera literature.

The pinnacle of the day will be a Festival Concert held in the High School New Gym at 7:00 pm.  At this concert, each band and choir will perform one selection from its daytime clinic.  This concert is a fabulous way to both see and hear the progression of our Sparta School’s music students from the beginning stages at the middle school level through the high school level where students can become accomplished musicians.  The evening will conclude with a combined super group performance featuring all band and choir participants grade 6 – 12.  You will not want to miss this event!

Music directors are:  Camie Schneider – High School Choirs, Kyle Sonnemann – Middle School Choirs, Carrie Thompson – High School Band, Joe Gantzer – Middle and High School Bands, and Lisa Cash – Middle School Band.

The concert is free and open to the public. 

On Thursday, March 15th, Sparta Area School District will hold a “Wake Up Call” event from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Meadowview Auditorium. The Wake Up Call is a life-size exhibit of a teen’s bedroom with more than 50 “red flags” that can signal drug or alcohol use.  The bedroom identifies spots where teens may hide drugs, household items that can be used as drug paraphernalia and ways teens try to cover up drug and alcohol use. The goal is to educate parents and other adults who are influential in the lives of youth so they know what seemingly innocent items can actually be an indication of substance abuse. This is an educational opportunity for adults 21 and older only and youth will NOT be allowed into the presentation. A Wake Up Call Event was held in Sparta last spring where groups were able to tour a life-size version of a teen’s bedroom. This event will be held “auditorium –style” where a large number of people will be able to view the presentation all at one time.  

This event is part of the Monroe County Safe Community Coalition’s efforts to provide drug prevention education throughout Monroe County. “We’re thrilled to be able bring this event to Monroe County again,” said Natalie Carlisle, Drug Free Communities Coordinator, “Sparta Area School District has been an enthusiastic partner with the Wake Up Call event, which just goes to show how much our community cares about addressing the drug epidemic the impacts our nation, state, and local communities.”  This event was funded through a grant from Security Health Plan and is free and open to the public. Other Wake Up Calls will be held in other locations around the county throughout the spring.

For questions regarding the Wake Up Call, please contact Kayleigh Day at Monroe County Health Department, 269-8666.

WAUNAKEE, Wis. (March 1, 2018) – Students from area schools will participate in a Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) sanctioned District Solo & Ensemble Music Festival hosted at Black River Falls Middle School on Saturday, March 17, 2018.  During the festival, which is free and open to the public, students will perform vocal and instrumental solos, duets, trios and small ensembles before an adjudicator.

WSMA music festivals annually attract thousands of students from middle, junior high and high schools throughout Wisconsin. The festival will draw students from a number of area schools, including Black River Falls High School, Sparta High School and Tomah High School.  Troy Tande, music director from Black River Falls Middle School, will be serving as the festival manager.

“WSMA enjoys a long tradition of providing quality music education experiences to over 100,000 students annually. Festivals provide students with an opportunity to enrich their musical abilities and understandings as they perform and receive feedback from qualified adjudicators, and as they observe and listen to the performances of their peers,” said WSMA Executive Director Timothy Schaid.

WSMA music festivals support school music programs as part of a comprehensive education by encouraging the study of quality music literature; motivating students to prepare and perform to the best of their abilities; improving students’ understanding of music literature and concepts (performance through understanding) and providing a performance assessment to improve individual and group achievement.

For more information on WSMA, go to www.wsmamusic.org.

On Tuesday, February 27, the Board of Education met in closed session to review land parcels on which to construct a new elementary school.  The Board reviewed 8 parcels in total.

In reviewing the 8 parcels, one parcel stood out head and shoulders above the rest as the best fit for a new elementary school.  The Board considered several factors, including:

• Safe schools/walkability
• Traffic congestion
• Future city growth
• Price per acre/for parcel
• Improvements needed for parcel to be “shovel ready” (water, sewer, lift station, tear down existing buildings, etc.)
• Buildable condition of land
• Access from roadways
• Access/visibility to the public

Originally, the plan was to select 2-4 parcels and ask the district’s attorney to negotiate Options to Purchase on the selected parcels.  An Option to Purchase is a contract in which the potential buyer and seller negotiate a price for a piece of property and fix the terms and conditions for a period of time (for example, six months).  The potential buyer pays the seller a sum of money for the Option Contract.  Once the Option Contract is executed, the district planned to communicate the options to the public and seek input on the best way to move forward.

Although the original plan was to select 2 – 4 parcels , after reviewing the parcels and discussing the pros and cons of each parcel, the Board voted 7-0 to pursue an Option to Purchase contract with only the one property that was deemed to be the best fit for the new elementary school.

The Sparta Area School District is pleased to announce an executed Option to Purchase contract for approximately 26 acres of land owned by Mr. Steve Herman, located on Hwy. 27 north of the Sparta High School.  If the referendum for a new school is passed on April 3, the district will exercise the option and purchase the land as part of the referendum.

Sparta High School hosted a “Spartan March” this morning in conjunction with a national movement to remember the victims of last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Students joined on the track just before 10 a.m. and walked together in remembrance of the Florida victims and in support of a unified school community in Sparta. After the march around the track, students gathered in the middle of the field for 17 minutes of silent reflection to remember the 17 victims of the Florida shooting. Senior leaders then led the students back into the building.

Students were given several different options to participate in the event to the degree of their choosing. Students who did not wish to participate were allowed to remain inside. Students who joined in the march could show support for the cause of their choice by wearing a certain color, including red/gold for Spartan Spirit, orange for anti-bullying, green for supporting those with mental illness, black to support ending school violence, purple for military support and domestic violence victims, blue for child abuse victims, and pink for those with cancer and their families.

Prior to the event, Principal Sam Russ worked with students to gather feedback on the different ways in which they wished to participate. In a letter sent to parents and teachers announcing the Spartan March, Mr. Russ shared his wish to make this event one with the goal of coming together as a supportive learning community to have the best environment possible at Sparta High School for all students.

The Sparta Area School District has scheduled three additional information sessions to answer questions about the upcoming April 3rd referendum.  Superintendent Dr. Amy Van Deuren and Director of Business Services Leah Hauser will be available to answer your questions at the following times and locations:

• Wednesday, March 28th – Dorine’s Family Inn, 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
• Thursday, March 29th – Culver’s, noon – 1 p.m.
• Friday, March 30th – Culver’s, noon – 1 p.m.

Additional information about the referendum can be found at www.spartan.org.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 20 law enforcement made school officials of the Sparta Area School District aware of a complaint from another agency that included evidence of a possible inappropriate relationship between a teacher at Meadowview Middle School and a student at Sparta High School.  District officials responded by cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation.  On Wednesday morning, March 21, the teacher, Ms. Alexis Mashak, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a district investigation into the allegations.

The district will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement throughout their investigation as well as conducting its own investigation.  Please direct any and all questions to the superintendent’s office at 608-366-3400.

By Dr. Amy Van Deuren, Superintendent, and Leah Hauser, Director of Business Services

Recently, some community members have expressed concern about fluctuations in the details of the District’s proposed referendum projects.  Although the core plan identified in the two ballot questions remains the same, task force committees have solidified several details over the past few months. Concerns about the unknowns of the plan are understandable; however, the District’s process has been intentional and referendum planning is right on track.

Our District’s fundamental need for elementary space has been clearly determined throughout the past year through the work of a community task force comprised of district staff, parents, and community members. The community task force met regularly to examine data, conduct research, and review recommendations provided by HSR Architects, the architectural firm who conducted our facilities assessment.  The community task force also drafted a community-wide survey to gather feedback on facility needs and levels of financial support. Through the survey, the community identified elementary space concerns and favored building a new 800-student elementary school as well as adding on space at Southside by a margin of two-to-one over other options.

Based on their research, the community task force crafted a solid framework that addressed elementary needs, and recommended it to the Board of Education. In January, the Board of Education unanimously approved placing the two referendum questions on the April 3rd ballot, following referendum deadlines set forth in state statute. The actual referendum questions are not intended to provide a high level of detail about plan specifics, but rather to provide a clear statement about the vision and the exact parameters of allowable use for the funds.

After establishing the ballot questions, district administrators assembled three more task forces to gather additional input from parents, staff, and community members and to work on solidifying details of the plan, including school and grade level configurations. In addition to regularly-scheduled task force meetings, district administrators, board members, and task force representatives attended over 50 different community outreach events, hosted three open houses, and held several one-on-one conversations. As a result of these meetings, there has been a great deal of discussion about all of the viable options for details.  We have received invaluable feedback that has guided our process and will help to ensure that implementation of the plan aligns with the values and vision of the district and the community.

Throughout the past 14 months, district administrators have consulted with architects, engineers, contractors, financial planners, attorneys, and other school districts who have been through referendums in order to better inform and guide our referendum planning process.  The lack of specific architectural plans at this stage is intentional because they are very costly. As stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars, district administrators and the Board of Education avoided spending resources developing the details of a plan that the community may ultimately not support.  Instead, the Board of Education approved two questions articulating the framework and tasked district administrators with solidifying school configurations, communicating elementary space needs, and being flexible and fluid to receive and reflect input from the community as part of the planning process. Our process is right on track.

The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation has announced its 2018 award winners, including two Sparta Area School District teachers.  Laura Koll, LMC Director at Meadowview Intermediate School, and Mary Sackmann, Science Teacher at Sparta High School, have been selected as 2018 Herb Kohl Fellowship recipients.  Fellowship recipients are educators who have been chosen for their superior ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others, and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.  Koll and Sackmann will each receive a $6,000 grant along with an additional $6,000 for each of their schools.  Recipients of Herb Kohl teacher fellowships also automatically become candidates for the Wisconsin Teacher of the Year program.  They will be honored at a regional luncheon next month in Chippewa Falls.

Mary Sackmann

Laura Koll

By Leah Hauser, Director of Business Services

Over the past 14 months, the District in partnership with the Community Task Force has been planning the upcoming referendum.  The process involved analyzing a multitude of complex data including mechanical systems, building layouts and limitations, and enrollment projections. As difficult as some of these topics can be to comprehend, arguably none are as complicated as how the funding works for the project. Communicating school finance is one of the most difficult, yet important, pieces of my job as the Director of Business Services. The finances that our District receives, whether for general operations or to construct new facilities, directly impact our students and the opportunities that they will (or will not) have in the future.

Wisconsin’s state aid formula plays an important role in how the proposed $32.5 million project will be funded, making the potential debt much different than common mortgage loans. To complicate matters, the state aid formula works differently for each district, with the main driver being property value per student. The Sparta Area School District is fortunate to be in a favorable position in the state aid formula, meaning that we receive a blended rate of 70% state aid for each dollar we spend, leaving $0.30 on each dollar to be paid by local taxpayers. This calculation also applies to all referendum approved debt, meaning that the $32.5 million dollar referendum would be paid approximately 70% by the state, leaving a local tax increase of $38 per $100,000 in property value. Following this methodology, the total cost of the $32.5 million dollar project that would be paid locally would be approximately $9,750,000.

The District has done a terrific job of managing debt over the past several decades. The only debt currently on the district’s books is the 1998 Referendum for the Meadowview building, and that will be paid off in 2019. The proposed $32.5 million referendum will be structured for debt payments to begin after the final 1998 referendum payment. The benefit to “replacing” the 1998 debt is that the local tax impact will be drastically minimized as the money that is currently being used to pay the 1998 debt will offset $22.5 million of the proposed new debt.

Timing is also currently beneficial for interest rates which are at historic lows with current rates of around 3%. On a $32.5 million borrowing interest at 3% would equal just over $12 million  (70% of which would be paid by state aid, the same as the debt) on a 30 year borrowing. The market is indicating that interest rates will begin to rise, with a potential of reaching over 4% within the year. That 1% increase would result in an additional $4 million of interest (totalling just over $16 million)  over the life of the loan, again 70% state aided.

These factors make now an ideal time to address our elementary space needs and provide the best educational opportunities for our students.