Colfax school board accepts resignation of athletic director and hires new AD

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  The Colfax Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Eric Kyles as athletic director and has approved hiring Michael Hodel to fill the position.

Kyles has served as the athletic director for the past year, said Bill Yingst, district administrator, at the Colfax Board of Education’s July 17 meeting.

Kyles’ children are school age and in athletics and other activities, and he would like to spend more time going to his children’s activities, he said.

“He took it seriously and did a good job,” Yingst said.

Kyles is a high school special education teacher at Colfax.

The Board of Education unanimously accepted Kyles’ resignation.

Hodel started in Colfax a year ago as a physical education teacher in the elementary school, Yingst said.

According to the biography published in the Colfax Messenger last year, Hodel received his health educator license from UW-LaCrosse in December of 2010.

He graduated from UW-Claire in May of 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and an emphasis in physical education and adaptive physical education.

From the fall of 2015 until the spring of 2016, Hodel served as a long-term substitute teacher and a substitute teacher in Eau Claire, Altoona, Chippewa Falls, and Boyceville. 

He worked as a physical education teacher in the Swallow School District in Hartland from August of 2008 to June of 2015. Hodel served as the athletic director at Swallow School from September of 2010 until June of 2015 and also coached fifth to eighth grade boys’ and girls’ basketball and sixth to eighth grade boys’ and girls’ volleyball, golf and track and field. 

In addition, Hodel served as the junior varsity baseball coach at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha from May of 2010 until June of 2015, and he was the eighth grade boys basketball coach at DeLong Middle School in Eau Claire from October of 2015 to January of 2016.

Hodel has a background in being an athletic director. He is a “detail oriented” person and has agreed to take on the job of athletic director for the 2017-2018 school year, Yingst said.

Last year, Hodel was the assistant baseball coach and was willing to coach other areas, too, he noted.

The Colfax Board of Education unanimously approved hiring Hodel as the athletic director.

More resignations

The Colfax school board also accepted several other resignations at the July 17 meeting.

Emilie Hudacek, who taught in eighth grade and also served as the middle school volleyball coach, wrote in her letter of resignation that she has accepted a position at Chippewa Falls Middle School. 

“I am very excited to be taking a job in which I can focus my teaching entirely on science. I will be teaching 5 science classes each day, with 2 prep periods and a teacher advisory period,” Hudacek wrote.

Laura Lowe, who taught in seventh grade and also served as the middle school track coach, wrote in her letter, “I have truly enjoyed all the opportunities Colfax has offered me over the past 12 years … Although my time in Colfax has been rewarding, I feel a move to Chippewa Falls is best for my family. I will have the opportunity to work in the same district as my husband and have my children attend school closer to home.”

In addition, Rich Meredith resigned as the head softball coach, and the Board of Education approved hiring John Dickinsen as the head softball coach. 

Dickinsen has been with the school district for one year, taught fifth grade in Colfax this past year and also served as the assistant softball coach.

Dickinsen and Meredith mutually agreed to switch positions, Yingst said.

In addition, the Colfax Board of Education approved hiring Shannon Harris as the middle school special education teacher. 

Harris graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science degree from UW-Eau Claire with a major in middle childhood, early adolescence and special education. She was a student teacher at Southview Elementary School in Chippewa Falls from March of 2017 to June of 2017, and she was a student teacher in high school special education at Bloomer High School from January of 2017 to March of 2017.

School board member Ken Neuburg wondered why Colfax is losing teachers and asked if Yingst conducted exit interviews with school staff who are resigning.

Yingst said he has not conducted exit interviews but suspects teachers are leaving because of compensation and benefits. 

Other business 

In other business, the Colfax Board of Education:

• Approved academic standards for the 2017-2018 school year pursuant to Wisconsin statutes 120.12(13) and 118.30 (1g) (a)1. In math, science reading, writing, geography and history, the academic standards for junior kindergarten through sixth grade are the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards (WMAS)/Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and for math, science, reading, writing, geography and history for seventh grade through 12th grade, the academic standards are CCSS.

• Approved The Standard as the long-term and short-term disability insurance carrier for the school district for the 2017-2018 school year. The school district pays the long-term disability insurance premium. The cost for this year was $12,190, and the cost for the next school year will be $14,499. If school district employees want the short-term disability insurance, they buy that themselves, Yingst noted.