OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Oshkosh Area School District board approved two notable measures during its Meeting Wednesday night.
The board unanimously voted to repurpose two snow days into “mental health and wellness days” for staff members.
According to a memo from Human Resources and other departments, the request was “as a result of the stressors occurring this year.”
“Overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety can cause people to feel exhausted, which leads to decreased productivity. For a one-year solution, the two mental health days would allow staff to decompress and recover from burnout. This is an incentive, similar to what businesses and universities across the country are offering. The strategy is to retain exceptional employees,” the memo notes.
The district has 5.8 days built into the schedule to allow for inclement weather, snow, and emergency days. With this, that figure would drop to 3.8 days, while still meeting the state requirement for instructional minutes.
Currently, the district has one scheduled student day off between Jan. 18 and March 21: a staff development day on Feb. 21. The mental health days would be Feb. 17 and 18.
The board also voted to name the district’s new middle school after civil rights activist Vel Phillips, going against a recommendation for suffragist Jessie Jack Hooper.
The district had sought feedback from the community on three finalists: Phillips, Hooper and EAA founder Paul Poberezny. Poberezny garnered 1,532 votes, Hooper 1,457, and Phillips 1,244. Since the numbers were so close, a committee further discussed the breakdown of responses by internal stakeholders only and looked at the responses from just students and parents. Among those groups, Hooper led with 956 votes, Poberezny with 900, and Phillips with 815. Hooper also led when the field of respondents was expanded to include staff members.
Under the measure, Hooper and Poberezny would have facilities named for them as well.
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