Interim School Board hears 2019 "wish list" from administrators

Decorah Administrative Team members unrolled their "wish lists" for the next fiscal year at Wednesday night's Interim School Board meeting.

The list was varied and included a request for additional special education staff at several levels due to growing needs.  Another high school level social studies teacher was on the wish list, in part fueled by an unfunded legislative mandate for high school students to take a course in "financial literacy." The growth of online classes that meet the needs of multiple classifications of students also suggests a need for extra staffing. The Decorah Middle School is feeling staffing pinches as it deals with an extra large 6th grade class that impacts on class sizes and juggling personnel and programs. The Middle School is also attempting to address needs in the expanding orchestra program.

Although not necessarily a major budget issue, administrators expressed the growing need for coaches and co-curricular advisors. While teachers are able to meet some of these needs, the current staffing includes many retired teachers who continue in those roles. Staff are concerned that the challenges now and in the future will impact on the "long term program" of specific activities and not as effectively provide for connection with the day-to-day lives of students in their classroom and total school experience.

Additional requests for technology staff reflect the exponential growth of technology and the growing need for servicing staff and devices. The schools continue to experience a growing need for ELL (English Language Learners) support, as new non-English speaking students arrive in the district.

But a major theme expressed at all levels was how to support the growing mental health concerns, whether it be with counselors or additional nursing staff.