It’s a new school year at Stanley-Boyd. So far, it’s going well.
“It was a pretty smooth week last week,” Stanley-Boyd School District Superintendent Jeff Koenig shared of school start at the August board meeting. “Staff was excited to be back. Students were excited to be back.”
With some adjustment but reportedly positive feedback on the new ‘no phone’ rule, there was also good news on the recognition front: the district is ranked 201st in the State of Wisconsin, per U.S. News and World Report high school rankings.
The district scored sixth in the Eau Claire Metro area, ahead of Cornell but behind Chippewa Falls. The ranking represents a step up from last year, thought not as high as in previous years.
Also touched on at the Monday, August 25 board meeting was enrollment, projected to be down somewhat as the district prepares for an official headcount the third Friday in September. With 105 students open enrolled out and 122 students open enrolled in for 2025, the headcount at Stanley-Boyd is projected to be 1,038, though not official as of yet. District enrollment is measured on a rolling three year average, with headcount in part determining district finances.
As for education related expenditures there are several, including the recently completed high school gym roof project, complete except for sound panels. Among expenditures proposed for Stanley-Boyd meanwhile are 10 new buses at a total of $1,379,445 before high cost transportation aid reimbursement, lower elementary air conditioning for $329,545, the ongoing high school gym project with an estimated total cost of $310,000, and a district office addition, estimated to cost between $1.7 million and $2.2 million.
All but the buses will come from Fund 46 savings, with vehicle replacement paid out of Fund 10, otherwise known as the General Fund.
A meeting will take place with LHB Architects of Superior on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school library regarding the district office relocation plans. Preliminary drawings call for a long indoor hallway flanked by offices, with visitors buzzed in through an office corridor during the day, the main doors being locked. Estimated time frame on the district office was six to seven months, the need to be creative and find a way to be open while construction was taking place a real possibility.
Also in view at Stanley-Boyd are parking lot changes, with plans calling for 406 stalls. The new arrangements would have traffic enter from East First Avenue and exit on the side road adjacent to the practice field. A walkway island would be established in the parking lot to encourage ordered pedestrian flow, while the southmost vehicle entrance on the side road would be taken away, leaving a one way traffic flow pattern.