ELLSWORTH – Panther Kids Club rates were officially increased from $3 to $4 per hour as part of Ellsworth’s July 10 school board meeting.

The school board unanimously agreed on the change that will also increase daily rates from $25 to $30.

The item was discussed during the May school board meeting before it was brought up again in June, but before a final decision was made, the board wanted to know how much grant money was expected to come in.

With nearby districts such as River Falls having higher costs at $4.75 per hour, some board members felt an increase in costs to balance the budget was past due.

Superintendent Barry Cain received an update about the grants, with a monthly funding of around $3,300 to be given to the district from June 2023 to January 2024. The grant money will come to an end after January. The money is about half of what the district had been receiving in grants, but without the grant, the increase to $4 an hour would still leave the childcare service running at a deficit.

Board member Steven Mark had concerns about the increase, asking if there was any way to make the burden on the families lower. Mark wanted to know if there was a way to give a one-year warning before officially making the change.

“Every day I see the hurt that this inflationary market has had on the disposable incomes of families, and if we have any ability to delay this for a year, that would be my preference,” Mark said.

Cain said the district is out of other options, as the service is already running at capacity due to childcare guidelines. Cain told the board the reason this topic entered the board’s discussions in April was to give families some notice, and a decision was delayed to see if grant money would allow for less of an increase.

The increase brings PKC’s expected profit to $18,787, providing a cushion in case no grant money comes in during future years.

If funding increases to the point that the cushion grows even more, multiple board members discussed potentially decreasing the rates again.

“It breaks even is the goal, it’s not to make a profit,” Treasurer Julie Lundstrom said.

Class fees

The board discussed fees at the middle school and high school, with board member Gary Kressin focusing on the class fees at the high school. There are a variety of elective classes that require the payment of a fee that ranges from $10 to $40, sitting primarily at either $20 or $25.

Kressin does not find it fair to students that projects required for a grade cost money.

While families can have their class fees waived if they need it, Kressin said some families do not want to ask for it.

“Lots of families have pride, they don’t want to ask for that,” Kressin said. “So the parents will just say, ‘No, you can’t take that class because it costs $25.’”

Cain spoke on the issue, saying the fee allows students to get the full experience of the class, citing examples such as making food in family and consumer science classes or a wooden chair in STEM classes.

Cain also said the school can only charge a fee for classes in which students receive a consumable item, including something they can take home, eat or use in some form.

An issue some board members had is that categories such as art, technology and consumer science classes are getting hit with the fees while other electives are not.

“It’s interest-based, so the kids that may have interest in the technology and engineering or the family and consumer sciences get hit harder in the fees,” Lundstrom said.

Cain said the fees are based on if there are consumable items the students take, not the categories of the class.

Class fees bring in $13,156 in revenue for the school, and removing the fees would give the district the need to find a way to fund the classes.

The current fee structure passed with a 5-1 vote after Kressin opposed, but the board agreed to revisit the issue again during the coming year.

Personnel

The board approved the following personnel changes:

Hires: Jared Blaeser, high school social studies teacher; Cassie Hewitt, middle school special education teaching assistant; Michele Jarosch, middle school interventionist; Carey Schiller, middle school special education teaching assistant; Tiffany Vier, elementary third grade teacher; Ellie Warrington, elementary special education teacher.

Resignations: Nicole Campuzano, high school English teacher; Adam Cassellius, middle school social studies teacher; Brienna Davis, district wide substitute teacher; Adam Koger, high school phy-ed teacher/athletic director.

Extra/Co-Curricular: Katie Bennett-Deiss, varsity assistant volleyball coach; Karine Coulson, 4YK grade level chair; Isabella Devereaux, seventh grade assistant volleyball coach; Drake Flom, eighth grade assistant football coach; Erik Lange, JV basketball coach; Seth Maina, eighth grade head boys basketball coach; Alexis Midtlien, C team volleyball coach; Tennesee Wacek, eighth grade assistant volleyball coach.