Spooner Area School District Considers Unique Staffing Plan

The Spooner Area School District is considering a unique solution to persistent budget issues and staffing shortages.

Like so many other districts across the state, the Spooner Area School District has struggled to retain teachers and maintain its day to day operations. Without additional funding from operational referendums, many districts have been forced to lay off staff, cut programs, or even close schools entirely.

To solve some of their budget and staffing issues, the Spooner Area School District is proposing a partnership with two other local school districts. According to a Spooner Advocate report, the school board has proposed sharing four positions with the Northwood and Shell Lake School Districts.

The positions would include a finance manager, director of pupil services, and food service director from Northwood as well as a physics teacher from Shell Lake. Officials say sharing the services would reduce costs for all three districts.

The Shell Lake School District was among many in the region that failed to pass an operational referendum in April. The referendum would have allowed the district to exceed its revenue limit by $505,000 next year, which would grow to over $1.7 million by the 2028-2029 school year.

Shortly after the election, Superintendent Todd Felhofer said the district was already looking at alternative budget solutions. Sharing administrative and staffing services with nearby districts could help lessen the burden of their budget deficit.

The Spooner Area School District Board’s Committee of the Whole approved all four positions, and the full board will consider the proposal later this month.