The Tomah Area School District Board of Education is seeking your input on where and when you feel board meetings should be held.

Currently all Tomah School Board regular monthly meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month beginning at 7:30 p.m. at various schools throughout the year. The board is investigating the possibility of making some changes to the regular monthly board meeting schedule.

The first change they are considering is moving the starting time to 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. Secondly, they are considering discontinuing the “traveling” board meeting schedule. For many years the board has rotated the location of their monthly meeting so that they get into all of the schools at least once a year. They are considering the possibility of holding all regular board meetings at the former WTC building to be renamed the Robert Kupper Learning Center (RKLC), located at 1310 Townline Road in Tomah. They would continue to hold the May meeting in the Tomah High School library because this is the meeting where the retirees are recognized and usually attracts a large number of people.

Part of the reason for looking at a change in meeting location is because the board feels that more people watch the board meetings on cable (the PEG Channel and the Hagen Sports Network) than those who appear at the meetings. Secondly, anyone who has attended the meetings knows that the acoustics in the gymnasiums is marginal and makes it very difficult to hear and record. It affects the quality of the videotape that is being broadcast on cable. By holding the meetings in the former WTC building, the district can address the sound problems with the acoustical ceiling tiles and speakers in the ceilings. This will result in better sound for those who watch the meetings on cable and for those who are in attendance.

Thirdly, the trend has shown that most of the people who attend the meetings are high school students. Other than students, board members, teachers, administrators, and the media, there were two people in attendance at the April meeting in Warrens. By holding the meetings at the RKLC building, students won’t have to drive to Warrens, Camp Douglas, Oakdale, Wyeville, etc. And finally, the community claims that it is difficult to know where the monthly meetings are being held because they are not in the same location.

As stated previously, the Board of Education is seeking your input into these possible changes to provide you with better access to school board meetings so that you can stay informed about what is going on in the Tomah Area School District. They would encourage you to log onto the district’s website and respond to a few short questions. The district’s website is www.tomah.k12.wi.us.

The questions are as follows:

Question 1: The Tomah Area School District Board of Education is looking into moving the starting time of the monthly regular meetings from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Do you agree or disagree?

Question 2: Do you prefer the regular monthly meetings rotate to the various schools throughout the Tomah Area School District or be held at the former WTC building with the exception of the May regular school board meeting which is held in the high school library where the board recognizes retirees?

* Hold all the regular monthly Board meetings at the former WTC building

* Keep holding regular monthly Board meetings at the various schools in the District

* I have no opinion

Question 3: How often have you attended a school board meeting in the last 12 months? (Check one)

* 0 times

* 1 to 3 times

* 4 to 6 times

* 7 to 9 times

* 10 to 12 times

Question 4: How often have you watched a school board meeting on either the PEG Channel or the Hagen Sports Network channel in the last 12 months?

* 0 times

* 1 to 3 times

* 4 to 6 times

* 7 to 9 times

* 10 to 12 times

Bob Fasbender is the Superintendent of the Tomah School District.