Board approves phone‑system upgrades, several hires and policy update; tuition reimbursement OK'd

At its regular meeting, the Adams‑Friendship Area School District board approved a series of operational motions, including technology procurements, personnel actions and a policy update.

Phone‑system procurement: the board approved two separate bids for a district phone upgrade. A bid to TC Networks for district cabling was approved not to exceed $105,484.34 to install Cat‑6 cabling needed for a Voice‑over‑IP phone system. Separately, the board approved a Marco phone‑hardware bid not to exceed $89,015.96 to provide phones and related equipment. The motion to approve the cabling bid was moved by Jeff; the hardware bid was approved in a separate roll call.

Personnel and consent items: the board approved retirements (Dana Peterson, Stacy Tully and Linda Stage Bulan), accepted resignations and approved several hires including a mental health navigator, Emma Van Haren. The board also approved the Adams‑Friendship Middle School student council overnight trip to Milwaukee April 7–8 while the students were present to explain the trip. One hiring — the track and field assistant coach who is the chair’s son — was pulled for a separate vote; the board approved the hire with recorded abstention(s).

Tuition reimbursement and dual credit: the board approved a tuition‑reimbursement contract for Marty Klish to obtain the credits required to teach an in‑house dual credit psychology course. District staff said having the course taught in‑house will reduce future per‑student costs compared with sending students to an outside provider.

Policy update: the board approved changes to Policy 2266 (non‑discrimination on the basis of sex, commonly referred to as Title IX policy) to designate a new coordinator after recent personnel changes. Board members asked clarifying questions about the scope of the policy and whether athletic eligibility questions are governed by the WIAA; administrators said the district relies on state athletic association guidance for sport‑eligibility rules.

Votes and tallies: the meeting record shows motions carried on the items above; where roll calls were recorded the board used roll‑call responses for each motion.