Chatfield Board Hears Recommendations for Senior Class Trip

At the April 9, 2025, meeting school board meeting, board members David Sowinski, Josh Thompson, Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad, Mark Johnsrud and Katie Priebe were present.  Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris and high school principal, Eric Nelson.

Reports

Under board reports, Tom Keefe, who is Chatfield’s representative to HVED, said he had shadowed Dawn Kullot, HVED’s special education coordinator, for a day in Chatfield and found it to be very informative. He also shared the latest construction update for the new HVED offices and classrooms.

LuAnn Klevan was not present but in a written report she thanked the CEF (Chatfield Education Foundation)  for sponsoring the field trips for the 4- and 5-year-old preschoolers to the La Crosse Children’s Museum and the 3- and 4-year-olds to the Boundless Playground. She stated that enrollment in preschool for the upcoming school year is looking strong.  There are still openings in the 4- and 5-year-old three day class as well as two spots remaining in the 3- and 4-year-old class. Valleyland is full for the summer. Some cost-saving adjustments hae been made as Valleyland will now bus to the pool three days a week and no longer provide transportation to off-site summer recreation activities except for track.

Eric Nelson stated that Homecoming will be celebrated the week of September 22-27.  There were many conflicts to consider and this week was the best option.  He also recommended to the board that the district discontinue the annual senior trip following the current 11th grade trip in March of 2026. This recommendation is a difficult one and came after careful consideration discussions with Sara Duxbury and Ed Harris. This week Eric will share a letter to parents and students that he has prepared with a rationale for the recommendation. The reasons behind this recommendation are that there has been a steady decline in student interest and participation in recent years and that fewer than 50% of seniors have chosen to attend; this cannot justify the resources required to organize the trip.  Seniors who remain in class create challenges for teachers who must accommodate both groups. With upcoming staff reductions, the time needed to organize and oversee the trip will be increasingly difficult to attain.  With the rising cost of travel, lodging and park passes, the trip, even with fundraising options, has become prohibitively expensive for many families. It is also becoming more difficult to work with Disney World’s unwillingness to meet the unique challenges of accommodating large student groups. Lastly, traditionally the senior trip has been a celebratory and unifying experience but recently there has been a shift in that many students view it as a personal vacation rather than a shared school-sponsored milestone. This raises questions about the appropriate use of school resources. Board members had many questions about how this will be perceived by parents and what would seniors engage in if they had other choices.  Superintendent Harris stated that it is a tough call because it has been a tradition but is the trip advancing the mission of the district.  Nelson reported that at the Recognition Celebration on May 5, 37 seniors received scholarships from a variety of local donors which totaled $138,000.

Consent Items

Under the consent agenda the following items were approved:

• Minutes from the April 9, 2025, meeting;

• New hires: Brittany Agrimson, support staff classroom teacher; Claire McGinn, 1st grade teacher; Brittney Klug, preschool teacher/early childhood educator;

• Resignations: Bayli Shaw, kindergarten teacher; Kayle Bernau, Alaina Armstrong and Debbie Long, Valleyland; Karla Becker, SPED speech and language; and Kaitlyn Ellringer, ninth grade girls basketball

Discussion

Board member Dave Sovinski had done some research on books that might not be appropriate for students. He had asked for a review of one in particular, the series “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sara Moss. He complimented Eric Nelson on the extensive review process that was completed and that the decision was to have the book available to students if it was specifically requested.  Sovinski also suggested that the board have a professional discussion at some time in the future concerning this topic.

Action Items

The board approved the Education Identity and Access Management Resolution that is an annual MDE approval to continue access to various functionalities in the MDE web site. They also approved the Resolution for the Dissolution of the co-op of Girls Gymnastics.

The meeting was adjourned.