Wausa-Osmond Joint Committee Meeting Minutes - 1/31/2024
Wausa-Osmond Joint Committee Meeting Minutes
1/31/24
Mr. Kumm called the joint committee meeting to order at 7:00 pm in the Wausa Public School Library/Media Center. In attendance from Wausa were Mike Kumm, Katie Clausen, and Derek Cunningham. In attendance from Osmond were Mark Moes, Michelle Reikofski, and Tyler Gansebom. Mr. Hoesing, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Polt, and Mr. Guenther were in attendance, and Mr. Bremer joined via Zoom. Mr. Kumm welcomed the Osmond committee to the meeting. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Mr. Kumm made an opening statement welcoming the group to the meeting and thanking them for driving up to meet with them. Mr. Moes made a statement on where Osmond was at in terms of their process with Randolph schools. Mr. Moes made a statement that Randolph voted 6-0 to terminate the basketball cooperative agreement. Mr. Moes explained in a statement how that process took place between them and Randolph.
Mr. Kumm asked if there was any other cooperative agreement in place with Randolph. Mr. Bremer made a statement that in their discussions as a board and administration, the long-term partnership involving future planning was with Wausa. Mr. Gansebom stated that Osmond honors the commitment with Wausa, and wanted to make sure to inform Wausa that if other schools ask to work with them, they will always ask Wausa first, and will tell other schools that they will honor that commitment first. Mr. Kumm thanked him for his statement.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Polt went on to their report, highlighting FFA classes, scheduling, summer Fairs/competitions/apparel. Mr. Anderson also discussed county fair boards that need to approve the FFA’s ability to show in the Knox County Fair. They also discussed scheduling, the potential for changes in bell schedules, and the potential interest of the Wausa High School students in the FFA Program.
Mr. Anderson discussed High School football, highlighting team meetings that have happened, as well as a uniform update. Scheduling for 8-man football will be released by the NSAA on February 7th. Summer Activities (camps and lifting weights), and coaching staffs were also discussed, with the ultimate goal of having 5 coaches on the roster, with two being from Osmond, both for transportation as well as having an Osmond coach present in case a coach can’t make a practice due to a conflict or illness.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Polt went on to report on Wrestling, the youth programs have met and joined in wrestling, and discussion was had on the numbers in the junior and senior high, as well as potentially the girls’ interest in a wrestling program. A question was asked about how many wrestlers Wausa will have potentially in junior high, as Osmond as of now will only have one wrestler in junior high next year. Osmond has 6 wrestlers in high school right now, two 8th graders are also out in wrestling.
Questions were asked from the committee to the administration about Intro to Ag, how both schools would handle it if the class sizes get really large, and how scheduling would impact other Wausa-Osmond Joint Committee Meeting Minutes 1/31/24 areas. Mr. Hoesing and Mr. Bremer thanked the principals and ADs for their work so far in ensuring that this transition for both schools is as smooth as possible.
Mr. Moes brought up the potential for an additional coop in basketball possibilities, both in high school, as well as junior high boys and girls to gauge interest from the Wausa school district. Mr. Gansebom stated that Wausa is the first partner that they wanted to ask, and made a statement about the position that Osmond is in right now in not being able to field a boys' team in high school basketball and only a girls program. Mr. Moes stated that he would like to get a vote from both boards, as well as potentially a board joint meeting in the near future. Mr. Hoesing and Mr. Bremer will work together to create a schedule for both boards, with full board joint meetings in January and July, and joint committee meetings in October and April. With no other topics of discussion, the committee adjourned at 7:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Brad Hoesing
Superintendent
Wausa Public Schools.
The Complete Report from the Administrative Team is submitted below:
FFA
● Classes ○ Mrs. Evans came to speak with our students on January 30th to give them an introduction to all things FFA. She did an amazing job of laying out classes, activities, competitions, and the WHY behind FFA. Her classes currently are offered at the beginning and end of the school day. Wausa will try to match Osmonds schedule the best we can to make the logistics of transporting students work. Having classes at the beginning and end of the day allows for some flexibility in travel and most use of class time. The challenge will be getting all of our students in the Introductory class that Osmond students take as Freshmen. Animal Science, Agribusiness, and Horticulture will be the other primary classes offered. Additional classes could be offered through Wausa instructors. Wausa had 39 students show up to the introductory meeting. Classes will be offered in Osmond, potentially in Wausa if scheduling can be worked out, and through independent study as a last resort.
● Scheduling ○ Mr. Polt, Mr. Conn and Mr. Anderson will begin to work on schedule alignment in late February. It is the intention of Wausa to adapt their bell schedule to Osmond. We have a similar day in length of time and class periods. Our homerooms are currently different. Adjusting core classes will be needed to make Wausa-Osmond Joint Committee Meeting Minutes 1/31/24 sure we are not requiring students to take classes across from introductory Ag class needed by all our students. Next year will by far be the most difficult in the scheduling process. Once we get in the routine of FR wanting to take this class it should be much simpler in the future.
● Summer Fairs/Competitions/Apparel ○ Contact and a proper request will need to be made to they Knox County Fair Board to allow our students to be able to show at the Knox County Fair in 2025. Mr. Anderson will work through Chris Carlson to make this happen
○ Wausa students will be invited to this Springs FFA awards banquet at Osmond to see and learn about the different competitions Osmond competes in and to introduce the two student bodies to each other.
○ FFA Jackets will need to be purchased/fund raised for to outfit the Wausa Students. These are needed for many of the events/competitions. The jackets will say Osmond as that is the Chapter name. If at some time this is determined to be a long range agreement a Chapter name change will be discussed.
FOOTBALL
● Team Meetings: Wausa Players and coaches went to Osmond in December and had their first team meeting. Their were 32 boys that attended the meeting. We appreciate Osmond for hosting this.
● Uniforms: New uniforms were on schedule to be purchased and have been ordered. They are traditional Wausa colors and say Vikings. We have had talks about potentially allowing seniors to purchase uniforms at the end of their careers. These uniforms should be easily replaceable. Names can be placed on the back of the uniforms at a later time.
● Scheduling: The official football schedule comes out on February 7th. Officials and game times will be determined along with the homecoming game at Osmond. Wausa will choose their homecoming night first, and Osmond 2nd.
● Summer Activities: Coach Zo has informed us that he would like to attend one overnight/team bonding camp this summer. Date and location yet to be determined. Summer weights will also need to be worked out for the summer. Ideally the kids can spend as much time together as possible, but there is a logistical piece to this we have to respect as well.
● Coaching Staff: Coach Alonzo will be the head coach, with Coach Wright (Osmond) and Coach Schindler as assistants. We are waiting for confirmation on another potential Osmond coach and another Wausa coach. Offers have been made, no decision has been given.
WRESTLING
● Youth: Wausa has 3 youth wrestlers participating in Osmond’s Youth Program.
● Numbers: In the spring Wausa will need to try to get a rough number of who is potentially going out, especially in Junior High as Osmond will only have 1.
● Interest in Girls Program: Talks have also been had about girls' interest and if this is something worth pursuing. We will also continue to gauge the interest from our girls to see if further action needs to be taken. Currently Osmond does not have a girls wrestling program.