Board of Education - Wausau School District

The Wausau Board of Education consists of nine community members elected by the citizens of the District. Board members are elected at-large and serve overlapping terms of three years. Board members receive a yearly salary established at the District's Annual Meeting.

The School Board acts to establish policies that govern the operation of the Wausau School District. It has final control over local school matters limited by the state legislature, the courts, and the will of the people as expressed in School District elections.

The Board of Education takes action on matters only in formal session with a majority of members present. The Board President serves as the spokesperson for the School Board’s position on all items related to the public schools.

UPDATE on April 5, 2023:

Congratulations to Jennifer Paoli, Lance Trollop, and Cory Sillars. They were elected on Tuesday, April 4 to serve on the Wausau School Board. They will take their seats on April 24.

Here are the results according to the Marathon County Election Results webpage:

     School Board Member Wausau School District
          (VOTE FOR)  3
              (WITH 32 OF 32 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
           Jennifer Paoli.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     8,051   22.04
           Frederick J. Tealey .  .  .  .  .  .  .     6,341   17.36
           Gillian Battino  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     6,673   18.27
           Lance R. Trollop .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     7,681   21.03
           Cory D. Sillars  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     7,612   20.84
           WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       164     .45

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Lee Webster, who did not seek re-election, for his service to our students, their families, staff, and the Wausau community.

Board Committees

BOARD OF EDUCATION
2021-2022 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
April 25, 2022

Audit of the Bills
Jon Creisher, Chair
Jennifer Paoli, Committee Member
Cory Sillars, Committee Member
Joanna Reyes, Committee Member

EDUCATION / OPERATIONS
Jim Bouché, Chair
This Committee will function
as a Committee of the Whole

Board Members

Please use the following email address to send correspondence to all members of the Board of Education: toboard@wausauschools.org

James Bouché,
President
(4-21-2025)
jbouche@
wausauschools.org
Cell: 715-614-8136

Lance Trollop,
Vice President
(04-26-26)
ltrollop@
wausauschools.org
Res: 715-848-0706
Bus: 715-849-3200

Jon Creisher, Treasurer
(4-21-2025)
jcreisher@
wausauschools.org
Res: 715-393-7440

Karen Vandenberg, Clerk
(4-21-2024)
kvandenberg@
wausauschools.org
Res: 715-581-6553

Cory Sillars
(04-26-26)
csillars@wausauschools.org
Cell: 715-846-4652

Pat McKee
(4-21-2024)
pmckee@wausauschools.org
Bus: 715-841-7009

Cody Nikolai
(4-21-2024)
cnikolai@wausauschools.org
Res. 715-508-0962

Jennifer Paoli
(04-26-26)
jpaoli@wausauschools.org
715-846-5392

Joanna Reyes
(4-21-2025)
jreyes@wausauschools.org
Cell: 715-881-9935

Board Bylaws and Policies

Board Bylaws
& Policies

On December 9, 2019, the Board of Education approved rescinding the previous Board Policy Manual and adopting a new Board Policy Manual through the Neola Policy Service.

The new policies can be accessed through the hyperlink to the left of this page. All of the policies are now searchable. Please type in the keyword of the policy that you are looking for in the search box and click enter to narrow your search.

Administration is now in the process of reviewing all Wausau School District Administrative Guidelines. Administrative Guidelines explain in further detail how a policy will be implemented. As the guidelines are adopted by Administration, they will be posted on the same site as the policies at the above link.

If you have a question about a policy, please contact Cassie Peck.
cpeck@wausauschools.org
715-261-0505

Unofficial Board Action

Welcome to a School Board Meeting

Board Meetings

Regular meetings of the Wausau Board of Education are scheduled on the second Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Nicholson Board Room of the Longfellow Administration Center, 415 Seymour Street, unless posted otherwise. Special meetings are also called when necessary. All meeting notices are announced to local media. The Board of Education serves the public and all of its meetings, including committee meetings, are open to the community. Public attendance and input are encouraged by the Board of Education.

State law permits the Board to go into closed session only to discuss personnel matters, property acquisition, consult with attorneys, etc. These sessions must be posted and all action taken must conform with the requirements of the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law, Stat. 19.85.

Board meeting agendas are posted at the Longfellow Administration Center and on the District’s website at least 24 hours before a scheduled meeting. Special provisions apply in case of an emergency meeting.

Order of Business

The order of business at a regular meeting of the Wausau Board of Education usually is as follows:

Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance
Spotlight on Education
Open Forum
Consent Agenda: Approve minutes, staffing, payment of bills, and donations to the District
Old/Recurring Business
New Business
Committee Board Referrals
Open Forum
Closed Session, if necessary
Adjournment

The Board of Education

The Superintendent of Schools

The Board of Education is empowered to select the Superintendent of Schools as its chief executive officer to administer the operations of the schools. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to bring reports and recommendations on the work of the School District to the Board.

The Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools serves as Secretary to the School Board as well as Deputy Clerk.

Board Committees

There are two standing committees, one is a committee of the whole for the School Board. The committees are: Education/Operations, and the Audit of the Bills Committee. The makeup of each committee is determined by the School Board President. The President also determines the chairperson of each committee and serves as an ex officio member of the committees. Committee meetings are held to provide greater opportunities for in-depth study of programs. State statutes require that each School Board committee meeting be posted in accordance with the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law, Stat. 19.85. Committee meetings of the Board of Education are open to the public. Periodically, the Board may establish ad hoc committees for a specific task. These meetings are also posted in accordance with the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law.

Addressing the School Board

Individuals wishing to address the Board of Education may do so by signing the Open Forum sheets at the information table at most School Board Meetings. The sheets ask for name, address, and a brief statement about the item being presented. These sheets will be collected prior to the Open Forum. At the discretion of the presiding officer, those who have signed up to speak on a specific agenda item may be called upon when that item is being considered. Speakers must state their name and address upon addressing the Board. A time limit for presentations will be determined by the Board President.

Citizens attending Board Meetings will not be permitted to interfere with the orderly conduct of the session. Speakers are expected to treat others with respect, confining their remarks to School District issues. The President may terminate a speaker’s privilege to speak if the speaker persists in improper conduct or remarks. No person addressing the School Board should initiate charges or complaints about individual Board members or employees of the District. Such charges or complaints should be presented directly to the Superintendent of Schools or designee.

Written Public Comment

submit public comment

The written comments will be shared with the Board and uploaded in redacted format to the district website following the meeting; however, the comments will not be read aloud at the meeting.

All public comment must be received by 3 pm prior to the meeting in order for it to be recognized for that meeting. Comments may not exceed 350 words in length and must be related to a matter on the agenda for the board meeting to which the comment was submitted, or if not on the current agenda, the comment must pertain to a matter within the scope of the school board’s authority.

Public comments identifying specific personnel or students by name or through the use of sufficiently detailed description so as to identify the individual staff or student referenced are not appropriate subjects for presentation to the School Board and should be referred to the superintendent’s office. Comments will be rejected if the content is reasonably interpreted to constitute discriminatory or harassing statements on the basis of any protected classification identified in District policy, or constitute threats, intimidation, obscene or of a sexual nature, or that are otherwise inappropriate for the forum of a public school board meeting. Those that submit public comment bear the personal risk if anything he/she writes is defamatory, slanderous, or otherwise harmful to another individual. The presiding officer values civil discourse and may prohibit comments that do not adhere to the rules. No comment will be excluded based on the commenter’s particular viewpoint or perspective on a topic.

Public comments may not be submitted anonymously, but rather must identify the commenter and home address. Home address and personal email addresses will be redacted prior to publishing the written Public Comment on the website, however, anonymity is not guaranteed and commenters are reminded that once submitted, the public comment is subject to the Public Records Laws.

Board Liaisons

The Board’s role is to establish policies and procedures for the District. The Board’s role is not implementation of policies and procedures. The Board possesses duties as it relates to visibility, communication with the public and community outreach. The school board liaison role is one method to assist the Board in engaging directly with the community and improve communication. The school board liaison is not an advocates for specific buildings or issues, but rather serves to ensure that Board members have an opportunity to listen to and communicate with constituents on a regular basis.

Each school shall have one (1) assigned school board member serve as liaison for the academic year.

School Visits: Board members should make an effort to attend school functions. Where possible, the board member should alert the school principal in advance of his or her attendance. Board members who are not assigned liaisons to schools, but desire to attend a function at the school are encouraged to attend. In those instances, where possible, the unassigned Board member should alert the principal in advance of his or her attendance. Principals are encouraged to contact their liaison or the Board Secretary with invitations to school events.

School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) Meetings: Board member liaisons must take initiative in communicating with school principals and school PTO presidents. Board member liaisons should make themselves available to attend a PTO meeting of the assigned school at least once per semester upon invitation from school principal and/or school PTO president. The Board member liaison should inform the school principal and school PTO president of his or her availability and willingness to attend a meeting at the start of the academic year. The Board member liaison should re-iterate his or her availability and willingness to attend a meeting to the school principal and school PTO president at the start of second semester where appropriate, such as to serve as a reminder.

Board Member Reporting: Board member liaisons should report school visits and PTO meeting attendance in writing in the Board Liaison Report circulated monthly by the Board Secretary.

School Liaisons for 2022-2023:

Franklin – Cory Sillars
Grant – Lance Trollop
Hawthorn-Hills – Cory Sillars
Hewitt-Texas - TBA
Thomas Jefferson – Karen Vandenberg
G.D. Jones – Pat McKee
John Marshall - Pat McKee
Lincoln - Cody Nikolai
Maine – Joanna Reyes
Rib Mountain – Karen Vandenberg
Riverview - Cody Nikolai
South Mountain – Jon Creisher
Stettin - Joanna Reyes
John Muir - Jon Creisher
Horace Mann – Jim Bouché
Wausau East - TBA
Wausau West - Lance Trollop
Montessori Charter – Jim Bouché
EEA Academy – Jim Bouché

Resolutions

2023 School Board Election

2022 School Board Election

2021 School Board Election

Board Member Handbook

Board Member Contact Information

Administration Contact Information

Shared Key Interests

District Calendar

School Board Meeting Calendar

Annual Budget Book

District Map

District Brochure

Student Demographics Report

School Board Salary Information

Board Liaison Information

Senior Gold Card Information

Board Candidate Handbook

If you are interested in running for the Board of Education, please contact:

Cassie Peck
Administrative Assistant
to the Superintendent of Schools
Board Secretary/Deputy Clerk
715-261-0505
cpeck@wausauschools.org