PRESCOTT – The Jan. 28 Prescott School Board meeting began with some good news when Sarah Parkos and Cindy Femling of Afton Apple presented the district with a $15,000 donation.

Parkos, whose children attend Prescott schools, said community involvement has been important to them since they bought the orchard in 1989.

The money will support numerous initiatives in the district, carefully vetted by Parkos and discussed with staff.

“We’re proud to support initiatives that offer alternative approaches to learning and encourage out-of-the-box thinking,” Parkos said. “The world needs more creative thinkers and we must recognize that not all success, achievement or progress can be measured in tangible ways.”

Malone Intermediate School will receive $3,500 for vertical whiteboards.

“Amid all the fast-moving technology, we support the idea of building thinking classrooms where studies have shown that movable, erasable, vertical creative whiteboards can enhance creative thinking and increase student engagement, among other things,” Parkos said.

Another $4,000 will go toward replacing technology at MIS.

“The fourth and fifth grade teams have been limping along with some old technology in their classrooms,” Parkos said. “Only a few classrooms are outfitted with space-saving Chromebook charging stations, up-to-date document cameras, and movable wireless equipment.”

The women also donated $2,000 to MIS ad $2,500 to Malone Elementary to continue the popular One School, One Book program.

“I cannot say enough good things about this program. My current fifth grader had an absolute blast doing the extra activities the teachers provided and going on a field trip to the New Richmond Heritage Center,” Parkos said. “Also, they’d like to bring in a keynote speaker next fall with a message about being brave, one we believe will make a meaningful impact on students.

“Finally, we understand that some families have gone through tough times and have encountered hardships,” she said. “We know that sometimes students across the district need a little extra support outside of the classroom, whether it be purchasing new shoes, paying classroom fees, or helping offset the cost of school meals.”

For that, $1,000 went to help the Angel Fund.

“We have seen the hard work and dedication of this community and are so grateful to be part of it. We know that what we choose to support today helps shape the community we’ll have tomorrow,” Parkos said.

Afton Apple has donated more than $92,000 to PSD over the past 15 years. The board expressed their gratitude.

“To hear the total over the last nine years that Afton Apple has donated to our school district, they’ve helped out a lot of kids; they’ve contributed to a lot of programs, and it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed,” said Vicki Rudolph.

Helen Stoeckel said they also provide apples at parent/teacher conferences and appear at parents’ club events.

The board awarded Parkos and Femling the Cardinal Champion Award for January.

School consolidation progress

Superintendent Jim Reif said the district admin team has developed four stages for the school consolidation process, which will close Malone Intermediate (125 Elm St. N.), move fourth and fifth grades to Prescott Middle School (1220 St. Croix St.) and eighth grade to Prescott High School (1010 Dexter St.)

• Listen and plan: Now until May 2026. This will include listening sessions at each building, academic programming decisions for grades 4, 5 and 8; staff licensing and credential review and facility usage analysis (gym usage, etc.)
• Schedule and structure: May-October 2026. This will include figuring out daily bell schedules, teaching assignments and shared teaching role definitions, cross-building assignment planning, analyzing teaching loads, etc.
• Finalize details: October 2026-January 2027, including finalizing building schedules, lunch periods and staffing assignments; determining Gathering Place location, assigning classrooms, addressing individual teacher’s needs and sharing plans with the staff, students and community.
• Execute and support: January-June 2027

Board President Mike Matzek said he’s glad the board voted to push it out another year in order to execute efficient planning.

Reif said he will soon meet with members of the Most Limited Family Partnership and JP Brooks Builders about the 242 units projected to go into the next Great Rivers development phase. The buildout is expected to take 5-7 years and it’s doubtful every household will have children.

“Even with consolidating…, when we had those discussions, we looked at every building and they’re still well-under capacity. We have plenty of room to grow still,” Holub said.

Student enrollment for 2025-26 is 1,148 students. With three buildings, the district can comfortably house 1,420 students.

At next month’s board meeting, Reif will discuss what will be done with the Elm Street building. He’s waiting for a realtor walk-through and gym use study to be completed.

Fork Farm Hydroponic Project

Food Service Manager Nicole Lenzner informed the board that Marshfield Clinic and Security Health Plan awarded PSD a $10,000 grant for the purchase of two flex farms, which will allow the district to grow hydroponic leafy greens all year long.

The district will be able to grow 25 pounds of fresh greens every four to six weeks with the Fork Farm Hydroponic Project, which uses 90% less water than traditional farming; the district will be able to grow lettuce, herbs or edible flowers.

“It’s designed specifically for schools with built-in learning opportunities for students,” Lenzner said. “It’s going to show students where food comes from and that it’s not just magically in the stores.”

The project will allow the food service department to grow ¾ of the lettuce needed for the high school salad bar alone, which will help offset food costs, and herbs for culinary classes.

Vice President Tanya Holub said the board doesn’t want to increase how much students pay for lunch each year and this will help.

Long-term subs

The board approved increasing the long-term substitute teacher rate in order to be more in line with other Middle Border schools.

“We are the only Middle Border Conference district that does not pay more money for a long-term sub,” Reif said. “Our long-term subs are asked to grade, they’re asked to prepare lessons every day, so this is, for example, somebody out on maternity or paternity leave for three, four, five, six, seven weeks.”

The new rate will be roughly $237 per day.

Other business

• CliftonLarsonAllen issued a “clean opinion” for the 2024-25 fiscal year audit, noting a fiscally healthy fund balance, a prudent budget philosophy and adoption of proper budgeting standards. “I’d just like to point out, we wouldn’t be anywhere without the community’s support of referendums,” said Matzek. “We’ve generally had really strong community support on public school funding and without the community, we wouldn’t be as financially stable as we are.”
• The school website’s redesign by CMS4Schools will cost $4,900. Federal regulations require the district to have an ADA compliant website for people who are visually impaired. Website Coordinator Mandy Matzek will work with the company during the 6-10-month process.
• The board heard a first reading of updated or new NEOLA school board policies, addressing orientation, board member behavior and code of conduct, board-district administration relationship, district administrator evaluation, reading instructional goals and kindergarten assessment, parent and family engagement in Title 1 Programs, interscholastic athletics, entrance age, personal communication devices, third grade reading promotion – at risk students, student use of motor vehicles, student employment, digital content and accessibility, AI, crowdfunding, fundraiser and crowdfunding disbursements, accountability and oversight; gifts, grants, bequests; district-support organizations, relations with non-school affiliated groups, advertising and commercial activities, purchasing, and transportation services contracts.
• The board approved open enrollment space determinations for the 2026-27 school year. The board considers class size limits, pupil to teacher ratios and enrollment projections. They must also consider pupils and siblings of pupils who have applied and are already attending the nonresident school district. Malone Elementary, Prescott Intermediate, PMS and PHS are open for non-residents in general education. Special education programs are open for non-residents who spend 40% or less of their day in special education for K-8. Specialized programming at Malone Elementary, Prescott Intermediate and Early Childhood Special Education Programming (3-year-olds) and 4K is closed to non-residents. PHS is open for specialized programming and closed for students identified as having cross categorical needs (>40% of their time in special education).