Options in Education program reports growth, 25 enrolled and eight contracted seats

Amanda Heisner, an Options teacher, briefed the board on the district's Options in Education alternative program and asked the board to note capacity and funding issues.

"We currently have 25 students who are participating in the program," Heisner said, adding that eight of those are contracted from two neighboring districts. She described Options as a flexible, off-campus setting used for credit recovery, acceleration and students with social-emotional needs; instruction is typically 10 hours per week to align with DPI recommendations for alternative education.

Heisner outlined staffing and operations: two full-time teachers (one is a special education teacher), a transportation aide three mornings per week, and a long-term volunteer who helps daily. The contracting fee for outside districts was raised from $10,000 to $12,000 last year, she said; Mineral Point students are served out of Fund 10 and contracting revenue offsets program costs.

Board members pressed about capacity and whether Options could accept middle-school students from other districts. Heisner said capacity is largely determined by student needs rather than a strict seat number and noted space is limited: "We only have like one more we can take over," she told the board. She also described curriculum resources — APACS and a transition to Edmentum — and hands-on elective options including life skills, food curriculum, and a commercial kitchen certification project tied to freeze-drying equipment purchased last year.

The board discussed budget implications and asked administration to monitor capacity and contract commitments; administrators noted that contracting districts are asked to commit for a full secondary span when appropriate to ensure program stability.

Provenance: Topic introduced at the Options presentation (SEG 872) and covered through the capacity and budget discussion (SEG 1374).