The Richland School District Discusses A New Charter School

Richland School District Administrator, Steve Board, explained an option for alternative programming to the Richland School Board at its meeting Tuesday night. It is to start a new charter school for the 2025-26 school year.

There is a growing number of students across the region and state who need more support than their local school districts can provide. This is evident when examining other “alternate” programming facilities that are at capacity and not accepting new students. Motiv8 Children’s Therapy is a privately run business in Reedsburg, that assists families with behaviors. They use Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is a researched and evidence-based approach for observing and systematically modifying the environment to create significant behavior change in positive ways.

ABA includes individualized Assessment and Treatment of Behavior and Learning Skills, Home and School Consultations, as well as Parent Training while continuously monitoring progress. Richland County has assisted families by helping to enroll them at Motiv8. However, Motiv8 is not a DPI-recognized educational institution, and therefore does not meet the standards of “attending school.” It is the hope of the Richland School District to combine these two approaches and create a charter school that focuses on behavior analysis while providing a DPI-recognized educational opportunity, as well as counseling for students.

Not only would this prevent the district from paying $50,000 to $75,000 in expenses to send students to other locations, but would eventually open the door to allow other districts to send students to the Richland District.

The focus of the school would be to positively affect sustainable changes to the student’s behaviors while providing some academic support as well. Trained Staffing would be a Certified Behavioral Analyst. This is a master-level degree, similar to the certifications the director at Motiv8 encompasses. They would be the quasi-administrator at the facility and provide training to not only the staff at this school, but across the District. One Full Time Equivalent position would be needed to provide the educational instruction for the students. This will be someone who holds an alternative education license through DPI. Support staffing would be one to one, or one to one and a half ratio of staff to student as certified Behavioral Techs. These techs would be trained support staff who work individually with students and collect data on each individual.

The plan for the 2025-26 school year would be to start with three students. Because of the low number of students to start this charter school, the possibility exists for the Certified Behavioral Analyst and Certified Staff to be the same person for one year. This is not a sustainable option but does allow for expenses to be limited in the first year. If approved, a location would need to be secured. Given the lower number of students in year one, the space needs are limited. However, for sustained growth options will need to be examined.

The cost of staffing would be approximately $400,000. This cost could be down to $270,000 if the Certified Behavioral Analyst and Certified Staff are combined into one for the first year. This is also based on three Behavioral Techs, but this would be student-based. While this is a steep cost for three students, the board is being asked to consider: the district has spent close to $150,000 in sending two students to alternative options this year. Secondly, the hope would be to grow the enrollment in year two to 15 students. Students from neighboring districts would pay tuition. Having neighboring districts pay $50,000 to $75,000 for a behavioral-based / academic center would offset the expenses the Richland District would incur. Finally, many of these students would be eligible for receiving Medicare reimbursement.

Since students would be limited on their academic time, as well as avoiding the “summer slump,” the proposal would be to run this alternative school year-round, taking smaller breaks throughout the year. This will alleviate daycare issues for families as well as keep a consistent environment for students to grow and learn.

Tuesday night, the Richland School Board approved a job description for the Guiding Coalition. The Guiding Coalition Member serves as a key leadership figure in the school’s or district’s Professional Learning Communities (PLC) framework. Members are responsible for modeling, guiding, and supporting collaborative practices among faculty to create a culture focused on continuous improvement and student learning. The member will work with the coalition team to establish and promote the mission, values, goals, and professional expectations necessary for a successful PLC. They ensure alignment of school or district practices with the PLC’s core principles and strategic initiatives.

In other action, the Board approved:

A motion to waive Policy 5851-School Events on Wednesdays, Sundays, and Holidays to allow the RCHS Student Council and the RCHS FBLA to attend their respective conferences; and for the eighth grade class to attend a Brewers game.

To dispose of property on the Wisconsin Surplus auction site. Items include: Marble, an upright piano; 1900 Ford Tractor a Rear Mount Mower for 1900 Ford Tractor, a Blodgett Combination Oven, a steam table, and an 8 x 10 Storage Building.