Colfax school board approves student trip to Ecuador
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Board of Education has approved an educational trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands in the summer of 2026.
The 11-day international trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands is planned for June of 2026, said Jesselyn Julson, Spanish teacher at Colfax High School and Colfax Middle School, at the Colfax Board of Education’s March 17 meeting.
Scholarships are available for students through the company, EF Education First, and students also can make payments on the cost of the trip, Julson said.
The company will set up fund-raising pages for students, similar to a GoFundME page. The cost is $4,999 per student and $5,999 for adults. The cost includes all expenses, such as airfare, hotels and meals, she said, noting that fund raisers also could be held to help students pay for the trip.
Colfax would be going with students from Elk Mound and Altoona, Julson said.
Eligible students must be in Spanish 3, and juniors and seniors in Spanish 2 also would be eligible so that they do not miss out on the opportunity, she said.
Julson said she hopes to start a two-year cycle for international trips and that there is no minimum number of students who must sign up.
For every six students who sign up, one chaperone is allowed to go as all-expenses paid, she said.
There are 10 students signed up between the two other schools, she said.
“How was Ecuador selected?” asked Ken Bjork, school board member.
There is discussion about closing the Galápagos Islands to visitors, so this might be the last time that opportunity would be available, Julson said, adding that after the trip to Ecuador, she would focus on trips to other Spanish-speaking countries.
Since the trip includes the Galápagos Islands, would the opportunity also be open to advanced biology students? asked Jaclyn Ackerlund, school board member.
Elk Mound is accepting science students for the trip, so Colfax could consider adding science students as well, Julson said.
Colfax students would be traveling with a reputable company, and they would be going with other schools from this area, said William C. Yingst Jr., district administrator.
Ackerlund said when she was in high school, she had gone on an international trip, and the other half of the travel group had been from Texas.
The “educational goals” of the students from Texas did not align with those of the students from Colfax, so that detracted from the trip, she said, adding that it would make for a much better international experience with students from this area who would come from similar backgrounds.
Several school board members asked about the last time that students had gone on an international trip that had been a school board approved field experience, and the answer was in 2010 or 2011.
The Colfax Board of Education unanimously approved the educational international field experience to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in the summer of 2026.
Health insurance
In additional business at the March 17 meeting, the Colfax Board of Education approved Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield as the health insurance carrier for the 2025-2026 school year.
There are 27 schools in the health insurance cooperative, representing a $40 million health insurance pool, Yingst said.
The insurance cooperative has been obtaining health insurance through Security Health Partners for the past several years, he said.
This year, Security Health Partners submitted a one-year agreement with a “not to exceed” cost increase in the second year that was higher than any of the health insurance companies that had submitted bids, Yingst said.
The health insurance cooperative wants a two-year contract, and there were four or five bidders all together, he said.
Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield had a not to exceed increase of 8.95 percent in the second year. Eye exams will now be covered by health insurance, and the policy covers a nation-wide network, Yingst said.
The Anthem health insurance has lower premiums, better service, and gives access to hospitals in the Twin Cities, Ackerlund said.
The Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance will open up the cooperative to larger school districts on the western Wisconsin border, such as Hudson, which would add to the cooperative’s bargaining strength, Yingst said.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Board of Education:
• Learned that the Science Olympiad team has qualified for the state meet at UW-Stout on April 5.
• Learned that all 11 of the Forensics students who competed in the subdistrict competition on Saturday, February 22, at Colfax High School, had advanced to the district competition in Hudson that was held March 22.
• Learned that at the Forensics competition in Ellsworth, the following students won awards in their categories: Amanda Lemler was double-entered and earned 4th place in both Farrago and Solo Acting; Lizzie Schmitt earned a 3rd place medal for Prose; Alex Rose won silver with a special occasion speech; Nathan Boesl won first place in Farrago, taking home a gold medal. In Farrago, students select material from a variety of literary genre, such as poetry, essays, drama, novels and speeches, which deal with a specific theme or emotion, and then interpret that material through their oral presentations.
• Learned that students participating in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) will be competing at the state competition April 7-9.
• Learned that the Wisconsin workers’ compensation experience rating for the Colfax school district is 1.18, which compares to 1.21 last year. The school district has 120 employees.
• Approved Early College Credit Program applications for next fall. All together, seven students submitted applications. The majority of the students will be attending Chippewa Valley Technical College, and one student will be attending UW-Stout.
• Accepted a donation of $5,000 for the student assistance fund from the Sanger Foundation. A mother-in-law in the family lived at Area Nursing Home when the facility was located on High Street in Colfax. The family was so appreciative of the good care at ANH and has been making an annual $5,000 donation to the school district for about 15 years.
• Approved the CESA 10 shared services agreement for the 2025-2026 school year. None of the services have changed from this year’s shared services agreement.
• Approved the CESA 11 shared services agreement for the 2025-2026 school year.
Closed session
Following a closed session held at a special meeting on March 10, the Colfax Board of Education approved the retirement of Sarah Yingst.
Following a closed session on March 17, the Colfax Board of Education:
• Approved the retirement of Victoria Moore, teacher aide.
• Approved the resignation of Brenda Goettl, teacher aide.
• Approved hiring Mark Pankow at the football coach.
• Approved hiring Kylie Hermann as the high school agriculture teacher.
• Approved compensation for support staff.
