CLINTONVILLE – Members of the Clintonville School Board debated the pros and cons of having more than one board member attend the 2026-27 State Education Convention scheduled for Jan. 20-22, 2027.
The discussion took place at the board’s Oct. 12 meeting. No formal vote was taken regarding how many board members would be allowed to attend the convention.
Board Vice President Kris Strauman led off the discussion by stating that it costs $335 to register for the convention, and that there are additional costs such as the cost of hotel rooms for each board member who attends. Plus, there are additional costs associated with attending different things at the convention.
“What do we get out of spending all of that money, other than somebody coming and saying, ‘I learned a lot?’” Strauman asked. “That doesn’t tell me that we are frugal and spending the money the way that it should be.”
Board member Christopher Hoffmann said that being a new board member, it was beneficial to meet representatives from neighboring districts and discuss things with them at the convention.
“I think that that is a priceless learning curve, especially for somebody new,” Hoffmann said. “There is a lot of information that is there that I definitely couldn’t take everything in.”
He acknowledged that there are costs associated with attending the convention, but added that it is an “invaluable” resource to communicate with other districts.
Board President Ben Huber said the state convention can provide a lot of information to attendees.
“I think that having a representative at the state convention is useful for our district,” Huber said.
Board member Jason Moder said he learned new things when he attended the state convention but added that he could have learned those same things by doing some research on his own.
Board Treasurer Klint Barkow asked Clintonville Superintendent Troy Kuhn when he last attended the state convention.
Kuhn said he last attended when he was the middle school principal in the district.
Barkow then asked Kuhn if attending was beneficial.
“I’d rather not discuss that in open session,” Kuhn said.
Strauman said she would like the board to receive a report from any board members who attend the state convention.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here