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District reports $47,220 DPI transition readiness grant purchases van, curricula and staff training
Summary
District staff told the board the DPI Transition Readiness Grant awarded in July 2024 totaled $47,220. Purchases included a 2024 Chrysler Voyager (budgeted up to $30,000) from Miller Motors, curriculum materials, staff conference attendance and postsecondary exploration costs; approximately $1,100 remained unspent at the time of the update.
Michelle Laba Bowen, the district transition coordinator who helped write the grant, updated the board on how the district has used a $47,220 Transition Readiness Grant awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in July 2024. She said the district budgeted up to $30,000 for transportation under the grant and used that allocation to purchase a 2024 Chrysler Voyager from Miller Motors and to buy seat protectors. "We currently have just a little over $1,100 left," Laba Bowen said, noting that facilities and transportation needs might absorb the remainder.
Laba Bowen described other grant expenditures: roughly $3,000 for the Next Step curriculum aligned with common core and transition pre‑ETS expectations; funds used for a business platform tied to PAC vocational instruction; $3,600 set aside for postsecondary education that already paid for a PAC student to take a hospitality and culinary arts management course at WCTC; and staff professional development such as pre‑transition and post‑transition planning trainings and an autism conference. She said five educators attended PTP training and several staff attended transition and autism conferences; some sub costs for substitute teachers were covered.
Laba Bowen said the district may apply again for the grant next year and was exploring use of remaining funds for Whitewater Horizon Day visits and potential scholarships for postsecondary classes for special education students. Board members asked about similar grant opportunities and Laba Bowen said the district will reapply and pursue other state and county grant programs where appropriate.
