Superintendent reports summer programs, new communications system and donations including Narcan boxes; board approves grant-writer hire

Superintendent Jill summarized district summer activities and administrative preparations at the Burlington Area School District board meeting on July 14, noting summer camps, summer school enrollment, building maintenance work and several donations to the district.

The superintendent said the district ran a second annual Camp Invention at Karcher with 38 campers and a five-week summer school that served more than 250 students in grades 4K–12. She reported summer recreation programs for ages 5–12 had “record enrollment” and an on-site team of about 20 staff running sports and activities. Buildings-and-grounds staff have been working through high heat to prepare facilities for fall; she added only Karcher currently has air conditioning.

The report included two donation lines the board heard during the consent agenda: $3,939 given through the BASD Foundation and $1,570 toward Burlington High School programs. Jill also described two larger donations of Narcan and related equipment: 17 Narcan boxes donated by George Moore IV and 200 Narcan boxes donated by Racine County, which the district will install and for which health services staff are developing training and policy. The superintendent said the district will integrate health forms into ParentSquare, its new website and district communication system, to improve ADA compliance and streamline processes for families and staff.

On staffing, the board amended the personnel consent agenda to add an accepted hire: Laura Rasch, a grant writer. Jill said Rasch brings nine years of grant-writing experience and that the position will be funded from Fund 80; Jill characterized the role as serving the school district and local municipalities to pursue larger grant opportunities.

The board approved the consent agenda, as amended to add the grant-writer hire, by voice vote; the chair recorded no opposition.

Board members asked follow-up questions during and after the report about building projects, the ParentSquare rollout and the Narcan donation. The superintendent said health services will finalize a year-end report for the board in August and that donated Narcan boxes and training materials will be coordinated with buildings-and-grounds and health services so boxes can be installed across the district.

Less-critical items mentioned in the superintendent report included curriculum-review planning, teacher “train-the-trainer” efforts, strengthened Tier 2 supports for literacy, and ongoing construction work at Winkler and Burlington High School to repurpose office materials and create additional learning spaces.