During the Altoona School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, December 15, board members heard updates from both the planning council and policy committee meetings held earlier in December. Among those updates was the approval of a Personal Finance Course worth 0.5 credit, which is now a graduation requirement for Altoona High School students.

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   On Tuesday, December 16, Altoona Middle School hosted “Reality Check 21,” a program run by the Consortium for Substance Abuse Prevention in Eau Claire County on the importance of reducing underage alcohol use. Eau Claire City-County Health Department Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Pamela Radcliffe was on hand to discuss statistics, facts, and solutions on how parents can prevent their children from abusing alcohol.

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   Formed to act as community liaison to encourage environmentally friendly practices and habits within Altoona, Altoona Middle School’s newly formed “Green Team” includes fifth-graders Maria Machgan,  Claudia McSweeney, and Yenchen Xiong; sixth-grader Katie Niesen; fifth-graders Evelyce Romero, KaSandra Springer, and Anika Hanson; eighth-graders Julia Jones, Brittney Hegenbart, and Katie Weltzin; and seventh-graders Crystal Dodge and Jessica Welker. After meeting for the first time on Monday, December 1, the team will begin meeting once a week to discuss how to improve the environment both as a group and individually – and how to get the community involved.

   During the Altoona School District Board of Education Meeting on Monday, December 1, members viewed the latest installment of the “Rails Review” a twice-monthly production produced, directed, and starring Altoona Middle School students.
   The most recent production featured student council members that attended the Wisconsin Association of School Councils Region 1 Fall Summit on Wednesday, November 12 in Eau Claire. Five to six hundred area student council members attended the conference, which featured motivational speakers to inspire the students. The conference was hosted by the AMS student council and the Spring Valley High School student council members.     

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   At the Altoona School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, November 17, board members who also belong to the Altoona Education Foundation updated their peers on a potential change that foundation members discussed at their November meeting: In an effort to better contribute to the community, and maintain the attention of a wider scope of potential investors, the foundation may go public.

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   Since graduating from Altoona High School in 1993, Adam Fuller has been employed in a variety of fields, but none so rewarding as his current one. As owner of Fuller Flame Works, located in Eau Claire’s Banbury Place, he uses his skill as a lampworker to blend art and functionality into a range of beautiful glass pieces.
   Fuller entered the world of glass working about 10 years ago, learning the fundamentals of lampworking glass from area artist Paul Brehm.

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   On Thursday, November 13, Altoona High School will hold the 5th Annual Lift-A-Thon fundriaser in the weight room at Altoona Middle School.
   Participants can compete in the bench press, power clean, and squat, as both individuals in one of three weight classes or as teams.
   Participants can received pledges for their lifts; any raised money will go toward the purchase of new equipment and maintenance for current equipment.Подаръци

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   After losing the majority of their costumes and equipment in an arson case this summer, the Altoona High School varsity show choir, “Locomotion,” and junior varsity show choir, “Enginuity,” are primed and ready to bring down a house of their own.

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   Budgeted expenses for the Altoona School District can be broken down into the following categories:
   Salaries. Payroll for district employees takes up the largest percentage of the budget at 43 percent, two percent lower than what the district spent last year.
   Benefits. Twenty-six percent will be spent on payments to the Wisconsin Retirement System, Social Security, and insurance for health, dental, life, long-term care, and disability. The district spent 25 percent last year.
   Purchased Services. Eleven percent of the budget will be spent on purchased services like electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities this year. These prices rose almost $200,000 from the 2007-2008 school year.
   Supplies. Supplies include paper, staples, pens, markers, and other everyday items used in classrooms and offices. The district also allotted three percent to this category last year.
   Capital Objects. This year, the district will spend one percent of its budget on desks, computers, and other technological supplies – the same amount spent last year. According to Dahl, this is one category where major cuts have been made.
   Interest on Debt. Five percent of the budget will be spent paying off debt interest, including the 4.1 percent interest on the $1.5 million just borrowed from Robert W. Baird.
   Transfers to Other Funds. The district receives some state aid to pay for special education courses, and everything not covered by that must be transferred out of general funds. This year, the district will transfer 10 percent of their budget to pay for special education.
   Other Objects. Other objects, like Dahl’s membership fees to the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO), account for almost zero percent of the district’s budget.