Committee forwards summer school course slate and budget, and approves overnight field trip travel

At the Feb. 3 Teaching and Learning Committee meeting, district staff outlined proposed summer school offerings for 2026, presented an estimated budget consistent with last year, and asked the committee to forward course approvals and an overnight travel request to the full board.

Staff described two substantive changes to the offering slate: a rebranded middle‑school 'Engineering Adventures' course (grades 6–8) with updated projects such as helmet crash testing, stormwater‑management modeling and energy‑efficient home design, and a new 6–8 environmental education course titled 'Learning Through the Land' built around Project WET and Project WILD investigations to give students more outdoor, hands‑on science experiences. Staff said all previously offered courses would be proposed again, subject to enrollment, and noted last summer the district did not cancel sections and finished under budget.

Key dates listed by staff: course information would be published online March 2 (pending board approval); family registration would open March 11; nonresident registration would open April 1 if space remained; registration would close April 15. Staff said the district will run the calendar week containing July 4 this year but will not hold sessions on July 3 in observance of the holiday.

The summer proposal included an overnight field trip: staff requested approval for high‑school students and advisors to travel to Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in Ontonagon, Michigan, beginning June 11. The transcript does not provide a clear end date for that trip; the motion that the committee considered bundled course approvals, the proposed budget and that overnight travel request.

A committee member moved with a positive recommendation to the full board to approve the summer school courses, the proposed 2026 budget and the overnight travel; another member seconded. The committee voted and members said 'aye'; the motion passed in committee and will be forwarded to the full board for final action where applicable.