Wisconsin Education NewsApril 15, 2026A daily update of education news and events that are taking place around Wisconsin. Encourage Your Administrative Assistant to Attend this Year's Conference Registration is open for the 2026 School Administrative Assistants Conference July 22-23, 2026, at the Madison Marriott West. See the program here. Unconference for Women in School Leadership Northland Pines gets record $101k from Common School Fund for school libraries The money Northland Pines School District gets every year from the Common School Fund is pretty much the entire budget for the libraries. Library Director Jone Davis says she has watched the common school fund grow in the 16 years she’s worked in the library. This has helped the district keep the library stocked with the latest books and stay up to date with technology. Hail storm damages Westby school facilities, prompts two-hour delay WESTBY, Wis. (WKBT) -- The Westby Area School District announced a two-hour delay for Wednesday, April 15, following a hail storm that damaged school facilities Tuesday evening. District officials said the delay will provide maintenance crews additional time to seal damaged skylights and windows at school buildings. The severe weather event struck the area Tuesday evening, causing property damage throughout the community. Enrollment-based staff cuts not recommended for Sun Prairie School District No enrollment-based non-renewals for professional educators in the Sun Prairie School District are being recommended at this time for the 2026-27 school year. Nick Reichoff, assistant superintendent of operations, announced the news after the school board met in closed session at its meeting on Monday, April 6. Reichhoff acknowledged that the issue had received some attention in the community and that emails were sent to the board related to the matter. He credited recent resignations and shifts in enrollment over the last few weeks with making such moves unnecessary. JANESVILLE — The Janesville School District says it is examining an audit partnership with UW-Whitewater’s Information Technology department after a UWW-student-led “IT audit” of a school district building drew concerns from district staff. In a set of emails Tuesday, Janesville schools Communications Director Patti Mlsna said district leadership is discussing the program with staff because of “feelings” among staff over the way UWW students apparently handled an “IT security audit” they ran at Parker High School last week. School District of Monroe to cut 22.5 positions after failed referendum MONROE, Wis. (WKOW) -- The Monroe School District announced staff cuts Tuesday, one week after voters rejected an operating referendum. 2,803 people voted for the 4-year, $11 million operational referendum, while 2,957 voted against it. Now, the district said it will eliminate 22.5 positions starting in the fall, including an elementary administrator. The district will also cut 10 core classroom teachers. Onalaska school board names new Eagle Bluff Elementary principal ONALASKA, Wis. (WKBT) — The School District of Onalaska's Board of Education has selected Jana Yashinsky as the new principal of Eagle Bluff Elementary School, according to a school district Facebook post Tuesday. The board approved Yashinsky's appointment Monday night. She will assume her new role July 1, following the retirement of current Principal Todd Saner. Fassbender named new Waunakee director of elementary curriculum and instruction The Waunakee Community School District has hired Amy Fassbender as the next director of elementary curriculum and instruction. The school board approved the appointment on Monday, April 13, 2026. According to a press release from the district, Fassbender has more than two decades of experience in education and brings a strong commitment to student achievement, instructional leadership, and building collaborative school communities. She holds a master of science in educational administration from Concordia University of Wisconsin and a bachelor of science in elementary education with a minor in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Rhinelander educator recognized statewide for expanding hands-on learning at school forest RHINELANDER, Wis. (WAOW) — School Forest Manager Mike Cheslock has been recognized with a Wisconsin School Forest Award by the LEAF Program for his work with the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom, Rhinelander's primary school forest. Madison teacher receives ProStart Educator of the Year award MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A Madison teacher has been named 2026 ProStart Educator of the Year. Emily Sonnemann, a family and consumer science teacher at Madison Metropolitan School District’s East High School, earned the award from the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. Wisconsin Republicans ask court to toss school funding case Republicans in the state Legislature filed a motion April 13 seeking to dismiss a school funding case that named them as defendants, saying the suit is based on arguments that have failed in previous court cases. Republicans make up the majority of the legislators sued by school districts over allegedly inadequate school funding. Republican lawmakers cited a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision upholding the state’s school funding system as constitutional when it was last challenged in 2000. School board OKs new health insurance plan The Oregon School District Board of Education discussed options to make an improvement to the health insurance plans that would be effective over the next three years at its meeting on Monday, April 13. The Better Together Plan with GHC for the next three years was approved in a 5-1-1 vote. The current health insurance contract with GHC will expire on June 30th this year. GHC offered a 1-year contract with a 12.9% premium increase which would cost about $924 thousand. This original offer would significantly impact the district’s budget. After referendum fails, Fond du Lac School District begins discussions to close 2 schools FOND DU LAC (WLUK) -- The Fond du Lac School District will close at least two schools and cut 30 staff members after its $30 million referendum failed in last week's election. The district hasn't yet identified which schools will close. Superintendent Matt Steinbarth said it could be any of Fond du Lac's nine elementary schools, three middle schools or its STEM academy. Packers players share testimonies with high school students PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — The Green and Gold are traveling across the state surprising fans. The Packers Tailgate Tour visited an Ozaukee County high school on Tuesday with a special message. At Port Washington High School, current and former players like Edgerrin Cooper and Randall Cobb spoke with students about being the best version of themselves on and off the field. Roughly 800 students filled the school’s auditorium for the event. Longfellow students use high-tech headsets to view video lessons about the Holocaust Survivors of the Holocaust are telling their stories to students in the U.S., with the help of new classroom technology. New videos featuring Holocaust survivors and scenes from concentration camps are being seen at Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse. For a two-week lesson period, seventh-graders are using virtual reality headsets to view those videos featuring survivors and images of the Holocaust. The headsets give each wearer a different angle of a video on screen, depending on where they are looking.
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