SPRING VALLEY — A group of community members spoke during public comment at the June 17 Spring Valley School Board meeting, expressing support for renaming the football field to Bob Thomas Field in honor of the Hall of Fame coach and teacher that passed away in the spring.

“We are writing to respectfully request that the district consider the football field in Spring Valley in honor of coach Robert Thomas, whose decades of service as both a teacher and coach left a lasting impact on generations of students, athletes and families in our community,” Ross Keehr said. “Coach Thomas was more than a coach. He was a mentor, an educator and role model who shaped the character and work ethic of countless young people. His commitment to excellence, sportsmanship and personal growth extended far beyond the field. Many of us who had the privilege of learning from him carry his lessons into our adult lives.”

Keehr said the request also asks that if the football field is ever moved, Thomas’ name remains. Following the meeting, the district announced there will be an opportunity for public comment at a future board meeting that will be followed by a board vote.

Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Hannack said Thomas was a great role model, spending days and nights focused on making students’ lives better.

“Bob did so many things outside of just being a football coach and a teacher,” Hannack said. “In the summer, he took us all over west-central Wisconsin to play games and stuff.”

Thomas is a State Champion (1978) football coach at Spring Valley, coached the team to 49 consecutive wins, helped start the school’s wrestling program as its first coach, coached the track team and directed summer activities for the district for 25 years, according to his Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame profile.

Board vacancy

After the meeting, the district announced that Board Member Emily Collins will vacate a school board seat July 15. Residents 18 years of age and older now have the opportunity to apply to join the board until April, when the seat will return to the ballot.

“To ensure consideration, the letter of interest must be received in the Office of Superintendent prior to 3 p.m. on July 17, 2026. The school board members will review all applications, interview all interested candidates to ascertain their qualifications, and select an appointee at a date to be determined and publicly noticed (likely late July),” a district release states.

The letter can be sent to the school at S1450 CTH CC and should include the following:

○ The candidate’s name

○ The candidate’s address

○ The candidate's telephone number

○ A statement as to what qualities the candidate will bring to the Board of Education that will enhance the board’s decision making

○ A statement that includes any other information the candidate deems appropriate and/or relevant

Strategic Plan

The board adopted a new district strategic plan. The strategic plan was built around themes identified by district residents during the community participation process. The top themes selected by attendees were:

• Partner with local businesses and the community to provide/offer more clubs. Business partners could potentially mentor/coach. Examples may include: car club, early childhood club, baking/culinary/family consumer science, robotics, and automation engineering
• Prepare students for post-secondary life: technical college, college, workforce, apprenticeships
• Offer daycare to families to keep students in the district
• Invest in teachers and staff via training, recognition, and appreciation
• Continue to invest in facilities for both extra-curricular and curricular activities

The goal most heavily discussed at the meeting was offering daycare to keep families in the district.

“Monica Vorlicek, we’re lucky to have her on the board for lots of reasons, but she runs a licensed daycare. She’s run some preliminary numbers on profits and costs for staff, etc., so we’ve got that data to look at,” Superintendent John Groh said. “We also have a facility in the village that might be a good fit for this, because we really don’t have a good daycare setup for the amount of kids here at our school. We need to do a lot of thinking before we even talk to the village about this.”

Groh said residents do not need an 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 3K program, they need a daycare that is available throughout the entire school day and available even on days where school is cancelled or on break. The goal of the daycare is not to turn a profit according to members of the board, but to keep families from leaving the district because of a lack of childcare.

“Running a daycare is a business, but we don’t need to look at this as a profitable business in the form of, our daycare is not going to make a lot of money. If it’s break even, or even close, I think we’re winning because we’re getting those kids in the door,” Board Vice President Jennelle Wolf said.

More data and planning on a potential daycare are expected to be discussed at future meetings.