Laurel Governance Council

The Laurel Governance Council meeting agenda and minutes from the previous meeting will appear here when updated.  Council meetings typically take place on the 4th Monday of the month at Laurel High School.

Council members for the 2024-25 school year are Terri Okrasinski, president; Jill Stefonek, vice president; Casey Nelson, secretary; Tanya Forkash, treasurer; Genie Nordskog, and Diane Splinter.  Also serving are Laurel director Renee Baker and Viroqua Area Schools board member Vickie Koppa.

Laurel Governance Council

Meeting Minutes

May 5, 2025

• Members: Casey Nelson, Tanya Forkash, Diane Splinter, Terri Okrasinski, Genie Nordskog, Renee Baker, Jill Stefonek. 

• Meeting is called to order at 3:30pm

• Secretary’s Report: Previous meeting minutes were sent out and approved.  

• Treasurer’s Report: Nothing to report. 

• Updates from Renee

  • Field trip 05/06.  Roller skating, bowling and pizza in Richland Center.  

  • Shirt designs have been decided on.  $10/sweatshirt.  Will be printed in house. 

  • GSA Lock-in is on May 16th @ 7pm. 

  • GSA is also helping with the Pride Day event. 

  • 7 new students for next year.  

• Charter School Case

  • Ruling expected in July. 

• Governance Board Meeting from April 24th

  • No recording available at this time. 

• Behavioral Questionnaire

  • Consider mixing the questions, rather than categorizing. 

  • Currently, we get a print-out and try to address the students as a large group with areas that show a pattern. 

  • Remove Jenny Schneider’s name, as she is retiring. 

• Presentation Rubric

  • Typos have been corrected.  

  • Will be forwarded to Genie for proofing and then to large group. 

• Open floor:

  • Genie has reformatted and updated our Laurel Handbook.  We are currently at 28 pages.  

  • We should consider reviewing yearly to ensure links are working and information is up to date. 

Next meeting date: August 25th @ 3:30pm.  Meeting adjourned at 4:16pm. 

Laurel Governance Council

Meeting Minutes

April 7, 2025

• Members: Casey Nelson, Tanya Forkash (Absent), Diane Splinter, Terri Okrasinski, Genie Nordskog, Renee Baker, Jill Stefonek. 

• Meeting is called to order at 3:33pm

• Secretary’s Report: Previous meeting minutes were sent out.  

• Treasurer’s Report: Nothing to report. 

• Updates from Renee: 

  • New GSA lock in date set for May 9th. 

  • Potential field trip May 5th or 6th for bowling & a movie (Temple Theater), or bowling & roller skating (Richland Center). 

  • Laurel Senior Graduation possible date of May 20th @ 7:00pm. 

  • 8 people applied for our open spots. We will interview some in Spring and possibly into fall if we still have room.

  • Merchandise-$10-$15 for the printing, and we can do it locally. 

• Self-Assessment: 

  • Currently the entire high school takes an assessment every two years.  This is separate from that.  

  • We plan to administer this annually to assess any needs for intervention. 

  • Consider separating the parents/teachers to be individual groups to get better feedback. “I feel supported by my parents”, “I feel supported by my teachers”

  • Do I feel that I have one teacher I feel safe talking with?

  • For the social relationship questions, add in-school vs outside of school options.

  • Under the stress & anxiety section, add questions regarding feelings of stress about the future, also add questions-I have a plan to manage this stress, yes or no. 

  • Add questions regarding having access to food/quality nutrition under a new section for physical safety/comfort. 

  • Add a list of resources at the end of the survey if further help or intervention is wanted. 

  • We would like to share this with students to get feedback on questions, changes needed or additions. 

• Rubric: 

  • Keeping things direct and to the point is key.

  • Simple instructions and scoring. 

  • Students will be evaluated two or three times during their time in Laurel to assess the level. If they are not “proficient”, more times are allowed. 

  • Add section regarding physical demeanor & professionalism (Ex. Fidgeting, nervous laughter, rocking). Jill will work on language and standards for this section. 

  • This can be part of an independent study or required class. 

  • This rubric does not cover our Charter requirements and is separate.  

  • We need to turn our portfolio requirements into a rubric to satisfy Charter requirements. 

Next meeting date: May 5th @ 3:30pm.  Meeting adjourned at 4:32pm

Laurel Governance Council

Meeting Minutes

Feb. 24, 2025

• Members Present: Casey Nelson, Tanya Forkash, Diane Splinter, Vikki Koppa (guest), Terri Okrasinski, Genie Nordskog, Renee Baker, Jill Stefonek. 

• Meeting is called to order at 3:29pm

• Secretary’s Report: Previous meeting minutes were sent out.  Casey will now assume secretary responsibilities.  

• Treasurer’s Report: Nothing to report. 

• Grant Letter from Viroqua Area Montessori School: There is no funding for building space or a teacher’s salary, so we cannot see any way to move forward with this. Another consideration is that the funding may be frozen at this time regardless of our decision. 

• Updates from Renee: 

• We will be hosting a lock-in.  Looking forward to March 14th for a date. 

• December there were many fun activities (door decorating, secret Santa).  

• January went well with the Laurel Open House.  

• February, we had Cabin Fever Week.  All seemed to enjoy their activities, this was put on by the student council.  Looking forward to March-we are looking to put together a field trip just for Laurel.  We will also have GSA open house that evening.  There is pre-ACT testing happening mid-month.  

• Looking ahead: Graduation planning is underway.  This is all managed by the seniors and senior parents.  Looking at May 21st or 22nd. 

• We have re-introduced Ransom Box.  .50 to retrieve your items. If you do not buy your item back, it is auctioned off.  The funds are donated to the food pantry. 

• Laurel Merchandise-Ena is working with a Laurel Student on this. A survey was sent to students today to select a design.  It would be nice to expand this to a Laurel Store at some point in the future.  

• Old Business: 

• Renee suggested we consider adjusting Laurel Service Hours requirements according to year (Slightly fewer for 9th and 12th grade students). After discussion, we feel that it is ok to leave as is, without differing amounts. 

• The Laurel Handbook review has been completed by the council.  Genie plans to re-format and complete.  

Next project idea: Self-assessment and rubric work as well as Charter guidelines. 

Next meeting date: April 7th @ 3:30pm. 

Meeting adjourned at 5:08pm

Laurel Governance Council

Meeting Minutes

Nov. 12, 2024

Members Present: Terri Okrasinski, Casey Nelson, Renee Baker, Genie Nordskog, Diane Splinter, Tanya Forkash 

Also Present: Vikki Koppa

Start Time: 3:35 p.m.

Location: Laurel Meeting Room

1. Welcomed new council members, Tanya Forkash and Casey Nelson, with brief reintroductions of all present

2. Secretary’s Report (October 8, 2024 Meeting Minutes) – circulated to members before the meeting; approved

3. Treasurer’s Report – no report

4. New Business

   1. Laurel Governance Council officer positions.

      1. Current officers

         1. President: Terri Okrasinski

         2. Co-president: Erin Murdock (vacant since her “graduation”)

         3. Treasurer: Jill Stefonek

         4. Secretary: Genie Nordskog

      2. Nominations for officers

         1. President

            1. Renee nominated Terri, seconded by Tanya; unanimously approved

         2. Vice President

            1. Terri nominated Diane, Diane demurred

            2. Terri nominated Jill, Tanya seconded; unanimously approved

         3. Treasurer

            1. Terri nominated Tanya, Genie seconded; unanimously approved

         4. Secretary

            1. Tanya nominated Casey, Diane seconded; unanimously approved

      3. New officers

         1. President: Terri Okrasinski

         2. Vice President: Jill Stefonek

         3. Treasurer: Tanya Forkash

         4. Secretary: Casey Nelson

3. Updates from Renee

   1. No field trip since last meeting

      1. Hoping to do one in December or January

      2. One idea is a “lock in” at Laurel (has been fun in the past; Renee has not discussed it with the current student body yet)

   2. Many students participated in Ghoulees in the Coulees

   3. Second quarter has begun, classes seem to be going well

   4. Newsletter crew is doing an excellent job, particularly making a point of including upcoming events

   5. Cabaret (update from Diane)

      1. Students are practicing Mondays & Tuesdays after school

      2. Performances scheduled for 12/13 and 12/14, times TBA

   6. Genders and Sexuality Alliance 

      1. Meets during Resource, the first meeting was a success, an engaged group with good energy

      2. Primarily social in nature at the moment, but the options are open (some potential for outreach, other forms of activism, not clear yet which direction it will take)

      3. Looking forward to inviting students from the main school to attend but are holding off on inviting middle school students for now

5. Old Business

   1. Resumed work on handbook (https://docs.google.com/document/d/194C-CAD9_fUTYi4mcfgFruZA3PE6yld03kvH-bhlfKo/edit?usp=sharing)

      1. Picked up at self attendance and blogging, reviewed and fine-tuned community service and Laurel service sections

      2. Resume at graduation portfolios at next meeting

6. Upcoming Dates

   1. Laurel Open House: January 6, 2025

   2. Next LGC Meeting: January 27, 2025

Adjourned: 4:56 p.m.

Laurel Governance Council Planning Session Before Annual Meeting Minutes

Oct. 8, 2024

Members Present: Renee Baker, Diane Splinter, Jill Stefonek, Terri Okrasinski, Shauna Anderson, Erin Murdock, Genie Nordskog

Also present: Lynne Thompson

Start Time: 5:06 p.m.

Location: Eckhart Park Pavilion

Council members convened at the pavilion to prepare for the annual meeting and dessert potluck social to follow. The meeting did not follow the standard format of an established agenda with officer reports, etc., instead we had a brief collaborative conversation about the content of the general meeting that would follow.

1. Erin offered to give a brief overview of the work accomplished by the council in the preceding term and an outline of what lay ahead

   1. Renewed charter license

   2. Reviewed/revised bylaws

   3. Reviewing/revising student handbook

2. Council discussed the procedure for voting:

   1. Ballots to be collected in the plastic pumpkin of destiny

   2. Members of the LGC will tally the votes during the potluck

   3. Results will be shared by email the following day

3. Terri will communicate with the (new) council about scheduling the next monthly meeting

   1. Not clear whether we will try to squeeze one in later this month

   2. Acknowledged the challenge of scheduling meetings in November and December due to the demands on everyone’s time

Adjourned: 5:30 p.m.

Laurel Governance Council

Annual Meeting Minutes

Oct. 8, 2024

Members Present: Renee Baker, Diane Splinter, Jill Stefonek, Terri Okrasinski, Shauna Anderson, Erin Murdock, Genie Nordskog

Also Present: Lynne Thompson; prospective council members: Tanya Forkash, Casey Nelson, and Lydia Clark; and several members of the Laurel community (parents and students)

Start Time: 5:46 p.m.

Location: Eckhart Park Pavilion

1. All present took turns introducing themselves

2. Erin introduced herself and gave a brief overview of the council’s activity over the past term

   1. Renewed charter license

   2. Reviewed/revised bylaws

   3. Reviewing/revising student handbook

3. Renee took a moment to thank outgoing council members Shauna and Erin for their generosity and thoughtful contributions to Laurel

4. Brief update from Renee

   1. The school year is off to a great start, new and returning students are finding their rhythm

   2. The APT field trip (Much Ado About Nothing) was one of the best ever, all students comported themselves beautifully and were a credit to Laurel 

   3. Cabaret: rehearsals are underway; final performance dates pending

5. Voting for new LGC members

   1. Four candidates for two openings

   2. Candidates had submitted a brief introduction/pitch before the meeting; no further discussion desired during the meeting

   3. Attending parents, council members, and staff to vote after meeting adjourns; sitting council members will tally votes; decision will be announced Wednesday, October 9 by email

5. Adjourn for potluck and voting

Adjourned: 5:52 p.m.

Addendum: 

Terri, Jill, and Genie tallied the votes; Tanya Forkash and Casey Nelson received the most votes.