To the editor,

I would first like to thank those taxpayers in the Spring Valley school district who voted for me in the April 1 election. Since I was not elected to the board, I have a few items for the taxpayers of our school district to get involved with. Attend at least one school board a year to hear what is going on. Please contact the superintendent, one of the principals, or a school board member if you have any questions regarding the education of our students or the financial spending of our school district. Their contact information may be found at https://www.springvalley.k12.wi.us/staff_directory. 

Since I served on the Sprig Valley Community Task force this past fall, the meetings I attended were very educational. Did you know that with both referendum questions passing, the company who “helped” with the campaign now receives 14% of the referendum monies or $2 million? This money was built into the total $13.1 million referendum numbers. Did you also know that in referendum question #2 by “Adding competition track at main school with field events and grass field for physical education and football practice” DID NOT include fencing, lights, spectator stands, bathrooms, concessions? This will be an additional cost of $2-3 million. Hopefully the school district will do fundraising for these items to be completed so the track can be used to host meets.

A big thank you to Larson Valley Construction for their donation of a new roof for the Syverson Pool building, which was one of the items on the #2 referendum question. Thanks to the #1 referendum question passing, the new bus garage will hopefully be built on land currently owned by the school district and the 27-year-old Middle/High School building will get updated with the mechanical and electrical systems. Why these haven’t been updated in the past 10 years, I do not know. But I do know that the Department for Public Instruction and the State of Wisconsin, house and senate, need to do a better job in communicating and getting state funding to schools in a timelier manner. 

I appreciate the teachers and staff in the Spring Valley District and thank you for your help in educating the students. As the district’s mission statement says, “Our vision is to provide a caring, respectful, challenging and equitable environment, in partnership with the community, that will enable all of our students to become responsible citizens.” 

I ask that you stay informed and involved with our school district by attending school board meetings and have your concerns voiced and any questions you have answered.

Beth Ingli

Spring Valley school district taxpayer