Richland Board of Education meets, referendum projects update provided

RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. (WRCO / WRCE) – Richland School District Administrator, Steve Board, reported that for the Spring 2026 election, three school board seats will be on the ballot.  The Area 1-East seat held by Tiffany Thompson which covers Henrietta, Orion, Rockbridge, Richland, Buena Vista, and Willow Townships will be up for election. The winner of that election will hold the seat for the remainder of that term, which ends in April 2027.  Two At-Large seats, which cover all the boundaries of the Richland School District, held by Sheila Troxel and Jill Sharp, will also be up for election.  

Board also gave a referendum projects update and cost at this week’s Board of Education meeting.

In action items the board approved to rescind the contract approved on August 11, with Evergreen Leadership Group, LLC for Strategic Planning. Since that decision, concerns have been raised by members of the Board regarding recent developments involving the Sun Prairie Area School District. While ELG is an independent consulting group, and the agreement was not with the District itself, some individuals affiliated with ELG also hold roles within the Sun Prairie District.  Given the current public scrutiny surrounding Sun Prairie, the Richland Board felt that moving forward with ELG at this time could create unnecessary distractions or perceptions that might detract from the strategic planning process and community trust. To that end, the Board chose to terminate the agreement with Evergreen Leadership Group, LLC.  ELG understands and has agreed to release the District from the contract without penalty, as the work had not yet begun.

The district remains fully committed to the strategic planning process and voted to engage services with The Donovan Group, LLC for Strategic Planning.

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