EM school board increases math requirements
By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — Students graduating from Elk Mound High School will now be required to take four credits of math.
The Elk Mound Board of Education approved increasing the math requirement from three credits to four credits at the regular monthly meeting February 22.
Four credits of math will equal two full years of math classes for Elk Mound High School students.
The year-long math classes count as two credits, and under the previous requirement, a student could take a one-credit math class and be finished with the requirement for graduation in one-and-a-half years.
Increasing the number of math credits required will increase the chances that students are taking a math class at the time they take the American College Test (ACT) as a college entrance exam.
In 2012, the Elk Mound Board of Education approved adding one-and-a-half teaching positions to increase the number of sections of biology and general science and algebra and geometry that would be available to high school students.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved Makenna Zurbuchen as the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board scholarship recipient and Krystal Nigon as the alternate. The scholarship also is known as the legislative scholarship.
• Approved an auditor’s contract with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in the amount of $11,300 for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
• Accepted the resignation of Kristine Olson as the student council advisor. Olson teaches high school science.
• Approved extending the waste management contract for another three years with Advanced Disposal in the amount of $765 per month.
• Approved extending the HVAC service agreement for another three years with the J.F. Ahern Company in the amount of $43,000 for the next two years and $43,500 for the third year.
• Approved service contracts for 2016-2017 with the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) No. 10.
• Approved a contract with SPOTS House to to provide therapy. SPOTS stands for speech, physical and occupational therapy service. SPOTS is a program within St. Joseph’s Hospital Rehabilitation Services out of Chippewa Falls.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with Marriage and Family Services to provide on-site counseling for students. Marriage and Family Services has its own service and fee structure and bills Medicaid directly. The Elk Mound school district only provides the space to use for counseling.
Following a closed session, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved hiring Jennifer George as the student council advisor. George teaches business education at Elk Mound High School.
• Approved hiring Barb Strong as a special education aide at Mound View Elementary.
