Stories you might have missed from around Wisconsin.
DePere: St. Norbert’s College begins terminating faculty and programming.
We hear about our local schools facing budget shortfalls all the time. Those financial issues aren’t limited to local school districts. Facing a multimillion dollar deficit for the 2027 school year, St. Norbert College has started making cuts. Faculty reported being terminated late last week, marking a dramatic end to questions of faculty cuts after months of uncertainty. The Green Bay Press Gazette reported that twenty-one positions will be cut this year and six next year, according to information provided by the college. Of the 106 faculty, 66 will remain, with 13 positions left vacant. College president Laurie Joyner reportedly met with cut faculty in 15-minute intervals, starting early in the morning and continuing into the afternoon. There are numerous majors on the chopping block ranging from theology and geology and art. a few of the other majors being dropped are: International studies, Theoretical math, Applied math and Physics. All currently declared majors and minors will be able to complete their programs. To cut tenured faculty, the college had to declare retrenchment, which requires either financial crisis or deterioration of St. Norbert’s financial stability “which, if it is allowed to continue, would threaten its survival.” Full Story
Madison: Violations for over slating sidewalks rose in Madison, but still no fines.
Despite spring officially starting this week, there is snow in the forecast. Such is life in Wisconsin. Even though we had a relatively mild winter, violations for excessively salting sidewalks in Madison nearly tripled this winter compared with last year but still only numbered in the single digits, according to city data. A report in the State Journal said enforcement spiked on residents dumping too much salt as freezing temperatures persisted throughout this winter despite a limited amount of snowfall. Between November and the end of February, Madison building inspection issued eight notices of violation for excessive salting compared with only three last winter. None of those notices resulted in a fine, though, as the city tries first to get compliance from residents. The city has long tried to reduce the use of salt to clear roads and sidewalks because of the harm salt can cause to the city’s chain of lakes and groundwater. Salt enforcement is complaint-based, too, which means residents have to contact city building inspection to have a sidewalk checked for a violation. Residents make dozens of complaints about salting that don’t pan out to be actual violations either because the area isn’t a public sidewalk or the amount of salt doesn’t constitute a violation. The number of complaints received by the city rose this winter, too, with residents lodging 114 complaints compared with 79 last year. Full Story
