ELLSWORTH — After Board Member Mark Stoesz resigned from the board due to moving out of the district, the board needed to elect a new member. During a special meeting Aug. 13, the board interviewed four candidates to fill the vacancy, selecting Jay Acker after several rounds of contested voting.

Acker was joined by Alicia Worley, Krys Lecheler and Chelsea Will as the candidates.

The voting came down to the wire as each candidate got a vote in the preliminary round to send them to final voting. A candidate would need four of six votes in the final round to be named to the board. Acker collected three votes to lead the way twice in a row, but did not meet the four-vote threshold. Down to the final vote before Board President Julie Lundstrom would have had to appoint a candidate, one vote was changed to Acker’s favor.

Acker is a farmer from the Bay City area who has served on boards in the past including at Compeer Financial and the AgPartners Co-op. He has three kids in the school district.

During his 10-minute interview allotment, Acker said he would focus on making decisions now that will positively impact boards for the years to come. He said he foresees funding and future referendums as the biggest obstacle ahead.
“We’ve got to keep growing the school. We can’t stay stagnant too long, because you fall behind,” Acker said.

Through his time on other boards, he has learned the importance of hearing both sides and coming to common ground for a solution. He served at his first official meeting Aug. 18, and is a part of the Negotiations and Personnel Committee as well as the Communications Committee.

Superintendent’s Report

During the regular board meeting Aug. 18, Superintendent Brian Nadeau reported on the storms that brought water into the high school. Due to the storms, the high school open house was postponed a week to Aug. 26.

Nadeau said they are still evaluating whether or not an insurance claim will need to be filed. Board member Michael Petersen said he walked through the school to view the damage and would be “surprised” if a claim is necessary.

“What I saw as some of the community outreach comments on it, the community thinks it’s way worse than it is,” Petersen said. “That was good to see.”

Nadeau said they are not 100% certain of a cause, but suspect roof drains being overwhelmed and a sump pump issue. The bulk of the damage was in non-construction areas.

In an email the Journal, Nadeau outlined more details about the need to postpone the EHS open house.

“The challenges are in making sure as many spaces as possible are ready for students (and parents). The heavy rains on Friday, Aug. 15 caused moderate flooding in the lower level of the high school. It is our understanding that this is not the first time water infiltration has caused issues at the high school. In short order, and thanks to a small group of staff members, clean up ensued and a professional service was brought in to mitigate the situation. The flooding was discovered by EHS Principal Marcy Burch. The general contractor  had crews working long shifts to complete the construction project in order to be ready for the beginning of September, which has been the target completion date since the start. We believe we know the cause of the issue, and have been working to correct it since the weekend. With delays to some areas being completed and safe for students and families, the decision was made to move the open house back a week, which will also allow more spaces to be ready for all of those in attendance, including staff needing to occupy those spaces.”

Other business

• Heard a mandatory report on crime at the high school this year. There was one battery, one disorderly conduct, 13 nicotine/controlled substances cases and 10 THC/controlled substance cases.
• Acknowledged Panther Employment Services for reaching the end of its year. The group works with students to develop employment skills. This summer, they spent time working at Elsie’s Barnyard and helped clean the schools.
• Approved a 2025-26 agreement for the deaf and hard of hearing program. Prescott and Ellsworth will take on 15% of the program costs each, and River Falls will take on 70%.
• Approved prices for lunch and breakfast throughout the school district. Prices were approved at a previous meeting, but incorrect listings caused them to return to the board.

Personnel Report

The board approved the following personnel changes:

Hire: Jessica Schwarzenberger, middle school food service staff.

Transfer: Heather Ziegler, from middle school food service staff to high school food service staff.

Extra/Co-Curriculars: Lisa Bench, elementary school co-student council leader; Anika Borner, high school assistant theater director; Caitlin Dahl, middle school eighth grade assistant volleyball coach; Sam Elling, JV boys baseball coach; James Georgakas, varsity assistant baseball coach.

Resignations: Jeremy Fisk, middle school phy-ed/health teacher; Lucas Kemmerer, volunteer baseball assistant coach; Owen Matzek, assistant baseball coach.