Hurley school board extends administration contracts

By LARRY HOLCOMBE

lholcombe@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — The Hurley School Board extended the contracts of superintendent Kevin Genisot, 7-12 principal Melissa Oja and K-5 principal and athletic director Steve Lombardo Monday evening.

The move came after a closed session in which the board completed a review of the superintendent. All three of the contracts were extended another year, now ending after the 2025-2026 school year.

Genisot told The Globe later the board has typically made the move each year to keep the school administration on two-year contracts.

After some bit of discussion, the board approved the 2024-2025 school calendar. The staff recently voted on two versions of the calendar, picking one over the other by just one vote. Both calendars included 177 student school days and seven in-service days for the teachers.

In the end, the board agreed with the staff’s choice, picking the calendar that included a full week off around Thanksgiving, also aligning with Wisconsin’s gun deer season. The other option included just three days off that week (Wednesday-Friday), but also no school on President’s Day in February and ending the school year a day earlier in the first week of June.

The 2024-2025 calendar calls for a week of in-service by the teachers in the last week of August, before the first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Besides with week of Thanksgiving, there will be no school the week of Christmas (Dec. 23-27) or the beginning of the following week (Dec. 30-Jan.1), with classes beginning again Thursday, Jan. 2.

Other 2025 school holidays include Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 20), spring break (March 31-April 4) and Memorial Day (May 26). The last day of school will be Friday, June 6. Easter will be April 20 that year.

School board president Leslie Kolesar asked Lombardo about the coming effects of Act 20, a recent Wisconsin law passed with the aim of strengthening elementary education. He said they’re excited about the coming changes and that their fortunate to be working with Melissa Fiamoncini of CESA-12, calling her “our school’s resource when we look at the implementation of Wisconsin Act 20.”

He said in his report that the legislation addresses reading instruction and early literacy assessments and interventions, adding they plan to start training now and this summer to get ahead of the July 2025 implementation, and that they’ll start looking at new ELA (English and language arts) curriculum.

Roy Haeger, the district’s director of technology, updated the board on an effort to improve the lighting in the auditorium, transitioning to LED lighting. He said after some consultation with a sound and lighting firm in Stevens Point, he’s looking at a multi-phase plan; but is also continuing to seek more input and cost estimates from other companies.

His early estimate of the work included a Phase 1 that would replace the lighting over the stage and controls for $35,000. Phase 2 would replace the remaining stage lights across the front and up the sides of the stage. Calling it “a lot of fixtures,” he estimated that phase at $50,000.

Haeger also said the house lights are working, but will need replacement, adding LED lighting all around will save energy.

Genisot said he hopes to have some project costs for the board to take action on in February or March.

Genisot also told the board that the new dust collection system in the shop classroom is nearly installed. He said duct and electrical work should be completed next week, with the hopes of testing to begin Feb. 2. He said the old system would be removed after the new one is up and going.

The board also decided to call for bids for auditing services and copier services.