Dear SDMA Families and Staff,
Congratulations on a great 2024-25 school year and thank you for all of your partnerships and support along the way! As we begin to wrap up the school year, here are some important items for your consideration:

•  Last Day of School- the last day of the 2024-25 school year is this Thursday, June 5. Please refer to communications from classroom teachers or your school principal for any building-level specifics relating to the last day of school.
• Summer School- today is the last chance to enroll in summer programming (see district website). Late registration can be completed in person today 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at the SDMA Administrative Service Center, 215 Pine Avenue E. Summer courses available for late enrollment are limited and are based on seat availability.
• Summer Hours- summer hours in the SDMA will begin the week of June 9, during which the district office will be open Monday-Thursday from 7:30 am- 4:30 pm. Most district employees will be working longer days from Monday-Thursday and most district facilities will be "unoccupied" on Fridays during the summer. This not only saves energy and expenses for the school district, but it also encourages year-round employees to take some well-deserved time off.
• 2025-26 School Year- the first day of classes for the 2025-26 school year will be Wednesday, August 27. Information about the Meet & Greet Day on August 26 will be shared in a Back-to-School Newsletter this summer. Here is a link to the 2025-26 district calendar.
• Strategic Plan- after receiving a ton of input this past year through listening sessions and a districtwide survey, a steering committee of parents, community members, and district staff have been working to draft the district's new strategic plan. It is anticipated that the new strategic plan will be reviewed by the school board this summer and ready for the start of the 2025-26 school year.
• State Budget- now is a critical time for school districts as the state legislature begins to ramp up the biennial budget writing process. With a large state budget surplus, school districts in Wisconsin are hoping that state legislators are able to do more to improve funding for our schools. There is definitely a problem when nearly every school district in the state needs to ask voters to consider a referendum. Locally, the SDMA has been forced to transfer nearly $5 million each year from the general fund to make up for inadequate funding for mandated special education services, and our district's arbitrarily low revenue limit per student means that Menomonie is allowed less revenue than many districts across the state. With the SDMA facing large budget deficits in the future, now is the perfect time to contact state legislators and ask them to prioritize more funding for public education. Please refer to this School Crossings column for more information.
• Downsville Exploration Committee- A team of stakeholders from the school district and community will be investigating possible future educational uses for the Downsville School building. Once formed, it is expected that the committee will begin meeting in the fall of 2025 with the goal of making initial recommendations to the school board by January 2026. Selected participants can expect to meet monthly during the months of September, October, November and December. The committee will be chaired by Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Brian Seguin and composed of interested individuals from throughout the SDMA community. As part of this process, individuals interested in serving in this capacity are asked to complete this online form. Interested individuals can expect to be notified of their invitation to participate as part of the Downsville School Exploration Committee by June 15, 2025. Questions about this process may be directed to:

Brian G. Seguin Assistant Superintendent of Instruction [email protected] 715-232-1642 ext 10125

Joseph E. Zydowsky, PhD District Administrator School District of the Menomonie Area 215 Pine Avenue NE Menomonie, WI 54751 [email protected] www.twitter.com/joezydowsky Phone: (715) 232-1642