Platteville School District board accepts canvass, approves hires, technology purchases and insurance renewal

The Platteville School District board met in a regularly scheduled session and approved a series of routine personnel, finance and benefits items by voice vote.

The board accepted canvassed 2024 board election results and the canvass of an operational referendum that tallied 990 yes votes and 1,712 no votes. One trustee objected to accepting the referendum canvass on jurisdictional grounds, but the board proceeded with acceptance by voice vote.

The board approved hiring Nicole Kammerzelt as a Westview Elementary physical-education intern for the first semester of the next school year and accepted the resignation of fifth-grade teacher and Outdoor Ed co‑coordinator Katrina Hostetler, effective at the end of this school year. Trustees moved and seconded those personnel actions and approved them by voice vote.

Trustees authorized technology purchases for the coming school year paid from the district's remaining Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The administration said the purchases are primarily staff laptops and other devices; buying now lets the district defer some future technology expenditures. The administration noted an ESSER spending deadline in September 2024 and reported about $1,400,000 in invested bond-proceeds in the PMA report.

The board approved a one‑year adjustment to the 2023‑24 employee handbook to extend the employer's retirement-declaration date from March 15 to May 15 for the 2023‑24 handbook only, a change presented as a recruitment accommodation following recent district developments.

On insurance, the administration recommended renewing the district's health and dental agreement with Dean, noting the insurer's proposal capped the increase at 6 percent. The administration said a federal change to the minimums for high-deductible health plans required the district to respond so employees would not face higher out‑of‑pocket costs. The district told trustees it will deposit additional funds into employees' health savings accounts so that, from the employee perspective, the deductible and net cost remain the same under the current agreement. Trustees voted to approve the insurance renewal and directed staff to pursue competitive bids for future coverage.

The meeting opened with recognitions — including praise for 12 FBLA students who advanced to state competition rounds and a report on new auditorium LED lighting installed as a referendum project — and concluded with the board adjourning at 07:19.

Speakers quoted in the meeting included the presiding Chair and multiple board and staff members; direct attributions in this account use the functional labels recorded in the meeting transcript.