Dodgeland board approves 3 year auditing services

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:44 PM CST

JUNEAU - The Dodgeland School Board Monday night approved the auditing services of Erickson & Associates of Appleton at a cost of $21,000 for the next three years.

The board decided to make an audit change due to a Dodgeland graduate offering a discount for services.

In the past, the district had contracted with Hawkins, Ash, Baptie and Company of De Pere. Their proposal for three years was $29,950.

Blaine Priebusch, a Dodgeland graduate, offered the district a $800 a year discount for his services with Erickson & Associates.

Comptroller Laura Grossman told the board the firm comes highly recommended from the Fond du Lac and Hortonville school districts.

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Without the credit, the proposal from Erickson and Associates would have been compatible to the proposal provided by Hawkins, Ash Baptie and Company. Their proposal was $8,025 for 2008, $10,025 for 2009 and $11,900 for 2010. Their proposal contained a fee of $2,100 for a single audit in 2008, $2,200 for a single audit in 2009 and $2,300 for a single audit in 2010.

Erickson and Associates proposal contained a fee of $500 for each single audit in each of the three years.

The board approved the 2006-07 audit report from Hawkins, Ash, Baptie and Company.

Proposals were also submitted by Johnson Block and Company of Madison for $22,200 for all three years and Virchow, Krause and Company of Milwaukee for $63,000 for all three years. Grossman pointed out the proposal from Virchow, Krause and Company included a presentation to the full board.

The board unanimously approved the hiring of Scott A. Crabtree of Eagle River as the new district technology coordinator. The board accepted the resignation of Justin Reynolds, technology coordinator, at the October meeting.

Crabtree will begin his new duties Dec. 2 and continue through June 30, 2008. His annual salary of $42,500 will be prorated to $24,519.40 for the 150-day period.

Last month the board approved raising the pay for the technology coordinator position between $45,000 and $50,000.

Crabtree is currently the technology support coordinator at Conserve School in Land O'Lakes. He was the lead computer support service technician with the Watertown Unified School District from September of 2001 to June of 2005.

In other personnel matters, the board approved the placement of Julie Rabe, a student teacher from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, in the elementary school during the third and fourth quarter of the 2007-08 school year.

The annual staff appreciation picnic was set for May 28, but the location is yet to be determined. In the past, the picnic was held at the Lowell Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Lowell. Board members are considering moving the location, possibly to the Juneau Community Center.

Caryn Neibauer, was appointed the assistant clerk for the upcoming spring election. Position will expire for incumbents Marlene A. Steffen and Kathryn M. Zwieg, both representing the city of Juneau and town of Oak Grove and Anthony J. Cox who fills an at-large position.

Candidates have until Jan. 2, 2008, to file a declaration of candidacy statement for the April 1 election.

The board also accepted the donation of two oak trees and funding for a Trojan carving, including a circular brick wall with a bench from the Rennhack family. Robert Rennhack, the father of school board member Serene Seufzer, recently passed away.

The two trees will be planted on school property Wednesday.

The board canceled a closed session to discuss implementation of a qualified economic officer for the 2005-07 Dodgeland Education Association's master agreement.

The board did meet in closed session to discuss the master agreement, but no action was taken.