New London, WMU Softball Teams to Combine

On April 1, 2025, the New London School Board met in special session with all members present With information from the Superintendent about the resignation of the halftime special education/ halftime FCS (family consumer science) teacher, it has shifted the landscape somewhat. The Ag. committee has raised enough money to start the Ag/FFA program next year. Add to that the difficulty of finding an FCS teacher, the Superintendent laid out what’s involved in hiring a fulltime Ag/FFA teacher. After considering all the goes into creating such a position, the salary/benefits could be $75,253.16. The school would pay half and the Ag Foundation would pay the other half. This would be the salary split for three years. The school will then takeover the program.

The FCS room will be utilized for teaching life skills and will not be dismantled. It will also be the Ag classroom. Superintendent Wahls already has an application for the Ag position.

The school board approved moving forward with a fulltime Ag program as recommended by the Superintendent.

The next item was a softball sharing agreement with WMU for the 2025 season. There were meetings with both school’s parents, athletes, coaches, and ADs. Numbers are low at all levels for both schools. Combining the teams would allow for more games, better practices, and more participation at all levels. Transportation to practice is up to Winfield and program evaluation will be equally done by New London and WMU representatives. This sharing agreement is for just this year. WMU will also pay a percentage of the coaches’ salaries. The school board approved the sharing agreement by a 4 to 1 vote with Becky Hays dissenting.

The board approved April 21, 2025 at 6 p.m. for the second public hearing for the proposed New London CSD budget summary for fiscal year 2025-2026. The board also approved the resignation of Jayden Flowers as assistant football coach.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:47 p.m. The next regular meeting of the New London School Board will be April 21, 2025 at 6 p. m. in the north campus board room.