Martin thanked for interim effort

This wasn’t the type of  year Claire Martin envisioned when she took the interim superintendent job at the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District, but many employees say she was the exactly the right person for the job.

At the March 11 School Board meeting, Martin said she was preparing for “something I hope never happens,” but days later schools across the state were closed  due to the coronavirus, and education went online.

At last week’s board meeting, her final one at the district, she joked about the famous red folder with information inside about closing schools, which usually was put in play during bad weather. In February or March, she said, she joked that she made it through winter without using the red folder. Then came the coronavirus.

“I think I did the ultimate use of the red folder. We shut down schools for three months,” she said.

Board President Chad Hoopman thanked Martin and the administrative team for its  efforts the past three months.

“We know it wasn’t easy but you all were very adaptable, you put your resources where you needed them to be,” he said.

Board member Dan Bruhn, who works as a dentist, said that while Cedar Grove-Belgium had its own struggles, it was in a better spot than area districts.

“I heard a ton of complaints in my chair and in the circles I run in from all different districts and what a nightmare it was. And not one of them had the organized structure that you guys put together and got your staffs to buy into,” he said.

Middle school Principal  Kelly Dzurick said a few of her teachers told her Martin sent supportive emails at times they needed it most and they appreciated the fresh perspective Martin brought.

“We pivoted together,” Martin said of going online. “Support was offered at every single level. That’s what makes this organization so successful.”

Besides helping manage online teaching and learning, Martin worked to improve the district.

“No district can sit idle for two months, three months, certainly not 10 months,” she said. “The goal was to continue to move this great district forward.”

High school Principal Josh Ketterhagen said his son, a high school student who is the board’s student representative, put it best.

“He said Dr. Martin was so easy to talk to and so easy to get to know so fast,” he said.

Josh Ketterhagen added his own kudos.

“You started this gig as a teacher, and you truly were a great teacher this year,” he told Martin.

Director of Special Education Tamra O’Keefe said Martin was “exactly the right person for this situation, and I think I told her that three or four times.

“She’s level headed; she’s calm; she’s positive. She’s resourceful; she’s great at leading a team.”

Martin, a retired superintendent from Chilton, filled in after Jeanne Courneene resigned early last fall for family reasons.

Martin said she was motorcycling in Sturgis, S.D., when she got the call from the district. She had always wanted to serve another district as superintendent but didn’t get the chance until now.

“There is a place for interim superintendents — somebody with new eyes, in my case with new eyes and experience to offer what you can to a district and make some changes,” she said.

Cedar Grove-Belgium, she said, was the right place for her.

“It couldn’t have been a better placement for me professionally,” she said.

Among the changes Martin made were hiring an English language learner teacher and working to hire a part-time community resource officer, which got put on hold when schools closed. She also regularly brought her therapy dog Hattie to schools, which was a hit with students and staff.

Martin said she appreciated that the board never told her no to her ideas.

“You might have tweaked it, challenged me, but you never said no,” she said.

The district gave Martin a shepherd’s hook with a bird feeder on one hook and a spot for a plant on another.

“The flowers have to be orange, though,” Business Manager Kris DeBruine said, referencing the district’s colors.

Martin lives in Minoqua.

Saukville Elementary School Principal Chad Brakke was hired as superintendent and starts July 1, although he already has been involved in administrative meetings.

“If I were a younger woman, you wouldn’t have a job,” Martin told him.

“I just wish you weren’t such a hard act to follow,” Brakke replied.

 “I’m just ready to get in and get going,” he said, joking that his original plans for the district have been thrown aside.

Meetings on what students’ return to school looks like in fall have started.