The Seneca School Board met Monday, January 20 for their regular monthly meeting with a sparse agenda.

There was no old business on the agenda and the only new business was to adopt the open enrollment numbers for 2025-26. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requires every school district in the state to report the number of spaces available for open enrollment in the coming school year.

Seneca’s  Director of Special Education Jessie Jackson helped the district in figuring out the numbers. Seneca District Administrator Dave Boland told the board, Seneca will have 50 regular open enrollment spaces and 42 special education spaces.

It was acknowledged that available spaces for new open enrollment applicants far exceeded any normal demand.

In answer to a question, Boland confirmed their were 41 current open enrollment in K-12. That’s about 10 percent of the school’s current enrollment. Boland further stated getting five or six new open enrollments is the normal number for most years.

Boland further explained, that the available open enrollment for special education students was further broken down into categories of students’ specific needs.

After getting the report, Seneca School Board President Shawn Lenzendorf moved to approve the open enrollment numbers as presented.

Board member Charles Clark seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously by the board.

Seneca financial manager Sarah Sime noted that the budget was pretty much on target at this point in the year. She also noted the support staff had been enrolled in the Wisconsin Retirement System. Sime also told the board that W-2 forms were completed.

In another matter, the board learned that guidance counselor Kayla Chambers asked Sarah Sime to coordinate the scholarship information, because Chambers’ has a senior who is under consideration for a scholarship this year.

Sarah Sime noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is currently at 2.95 and it is this index that is used in evaluating salary offerings for next year’s contract.

During the maintenance report, the board learned three fire doors had been replaced in the elementary school.

The board briefly discussed improvements for the softball field. It was noted the last major work on the field was done five years ago.

It was pointed out that none of the fields have drain tiles installed. It was further noted that the proposed improvements must be discussed with the township, because the Town of Seneca owns the field.

Seneca Athletic Director Erika Clark had asked the administration if she could schedule games on Wednesdays, if she gets in a jam on scheduling. It was noted that a game was cancelled for sickness and another one was lost when school was cancelled due to cold temperatures.

In the principal’s report, Alex Osterkamp indicated the Christmas concerts were presented and attended well, particularly the elementary school portion.

The Seneca girls basketball team attended a UW-Madison Girls Basketball Game. Seneca girls  coach Jared Payne reported things had gone well.

Seneca Principal Alex Osterkamp explained that  a grant had been received to pay for suicide  training for educators and others in a three-county area. The grant will pay for heling local authorities learn techniques on how to handle a suicide’s impact on those affected.

The grant will pay for training of people to attend the workshop. The training will be conducted at Crossing Rivers Hospital in Prairie du Chien.

The $55,600 grant will offer one day training for 30 people; two-day training for 30 more people; and three-day training for 10 people. Osterkamp is planning on doing the three-day training, which will qualify him to ‘train a trainer.’

The grant is focused on Crawford, Grant and Vernon counties. Instruction will involve law enforcement from sheriff and police departments, as well as hospital staff.

The Seneca Area School District Month Recognition went to Ica Boylen for her donation of scarves to the pre-kindergarten students; and the Eastman-Seneca-Wauzeka Knights of Columbus for the donation of 15 new winter coats available to students who needed them; and finally the recognition honored the work of freshmen Layla Olson and Melissa Varo in getting an ag education grant. The motion to approve the Monthly Recognition was made by Adam Green and second by Mark Johnson. It was passed unanimously by the board.

Following a closed session, the Seneca School Board reconvened in open and to:

• approved Kathy Dahlberg as the assistant middle school girls basketball coach

• approved Devin Wallin as a volunteer boys basketball coach

• accepted the resignation of Gavin Greene, effective in March, as a STEM and Language Arts teacher

• approved an unpaid leave for a staff member