Peshtigo school board continues steps towards safety and modernization through summer. The updated media center features refinished laminated wood beams, which are historically significant as the first structure of their kind built in the United States. Performance Services photo Posted Sunday, May 24, 2026 6:00 am The board approved a new InformaCast safety communication platform and phone system to improve daily and emergency communication. The district showcased progress on the middle/high school building project, including the administrative areas, a new history wall and expanded technical education labs. This summer, the elementary school will receive a secured entry vestibule and superintendent Patrick Rau will investigate funding options and local partnerships to increase additional safety measures. By Gracelyn Giese PESHTIGO - The Peshtigo School District Board of Education met on Wednesday, May 13, for their regular and reorganizational meetings. The meeting opened with public comments, during which City of Peshtigo Mayor Katie Berman thanked the district for their partnership with the local food pantry as well as the graduating students who have volunteered. Afterwards, community members came out to speak on school safety needs. Municipal Judge Cindy Sutek said that the district should be looking into hiring a school resource officer (SRO). "Effective SRO programs can help connect at-risk students with needed services before they are referred to juvenile court. This can reduce the number of youth cases that go to formal court proceedings and they can also prevent minor infractions from escalating into criminal charges," she shared. District parents Cassidy echoed her thoughts, adding that the timeframes for discussing SROs should happen before fall and that the district should begin applying for grants to cover an SRO right away. In other safety updates, a representative from Singlewire Software - a Madison-based company - presented their InformaCast safety communication platform. InformaCast is a software that manages daily communications and emergency situations through existing district hardware like the overhead paging system and classroom phones. The system helps districts comply with proposed legislation by giving teachers panic buttons via phones, physical buttons or computers. Singlewire partners with RapidSOS to automatically alert 911 dispatch during an incident. The software is a subscription based on users and devices, avoiding the need to purchase expensive hardware. Later, the InformaCast software was selected within a phone bid from Heartland Business Services for $126,274. The new Hartland phone system is estimated to have a life expectancy of seven to 10 years and the software is a three-year subscription. Another presentation was given by Jerry and Mike from Performance Services regarding the updated Peshtigo Middle/High School building project. Currently, the team is finishing up administrative areas and the main entrance before moving furniture in and completing any final touches. The presenters showcased the media center's refinished laminated wood beams, a structure that is historically significant because it was the first of its kind built in the United States. They also previewed a new history wall at the main entrance, which will feature a mural of district traits and honor historically significant community names selected by a committee. Photos and renderings were also shared of the commons, the new secure reception area, the expanded Tech Ed auto lab and the welding stations. Director of Buildings and Grounds Josh Seefeldt spoke on the projects continuing through the summer, sharing that the elementary school will receive a secured entry vestibule similar to what is being built at the high school. Reorganizational meeting. During the reorganizational meeting, the following nominations were accepted: * President - Gary Larsen * Vice-president - Steve Coble * Secretary/clerk - Jennifer Schwittay * Treasurer - Joseph Nault * Deputy clerk - Joann Malke All committee appointments were kept the same, with the addition of Malke as the chairperson of the finance, personnel and negotiations committee. Additionally, Larsen will remain the CESA 8 Delegate. Jon Kukuk will be the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) delegate and Malke will be the alternate. Additional board actions. The school board approved the resignation of elementary teacher Jill Vannelli and the retirement of high school special education teacher Janet Thibado. The following elementary teachers were approved for hire: Anita Conn, Brody Waara and Maggie Thill. In financial news, the lowest track bid was accepted at $128,875 from American Systems of Wisconsin. The lowest parking lot bid was accepted at $66,300 from Peshtigo Asphalt. The five year food service contract with Taher was accepted. There will be a 3% price increase as dictated by the federal Department of Public Instruction. At the elementary school, breakfast will be $2 and lunch will be $3.45. At the middle/high school, breakfast will be $2.25 and lunch will be $3.55. Superintendent Patrick Rau explained that the lunch pricing and profit is kept at around a balanced budget, with the goal of not accruing debt. The following donations were accepted: * Watertown Skills USA Alumni - $300 to benefit SkillsUSA * Farmers & Merchants Bank & Trust - $1,500 to benefit HiQ * Peshtigo Lions Club - $300 to benefit post-prom A variety of donations were also accepted for the Students Eat Every Day (SEED) program, including: Ruby's Pantry, $1,056.54; Peshtigo National Bank, $600; Peshtigo Lions Club, $500; and Home and Away Ministries, $500. The meeting closed with the superintendent's report. Rau provided updates on expected increases in state special education funding and discussed health insurance renewals. Rau then addressed public concerns over safety, where he assured the community that their concerns regarding school safety and an SRO were heard and said he will be investigating funding options and local partnerships. The school board will meet next at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, where Rau will share information on SROs as well as additional safety and security updates. Peshtigo School District Board of Education, reorganizational meeting, regular meeting, City of Peshtigo Mayor Katie Merman, additional board actions Other items that may interest you

RapidSOS introduces Real-Time Interoperability with HARMONY AI to automate emergency coordination. By RapidSOS NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2026 - RapidSOS, the public safety AI company, today launched Real-Time Interoperability. This new capability enables live call intelligence to flow securely across state and local agencies, ensuring that mission-critical data follows the call across jurisdictional boundaries in real time. RapidSOS shaves critical minutes in dispatching policy-routed calls with instant automated sharing of call summaries and transcripts. For decades, the public safety industry has struggled with visibility gaps when 911 calls are answered outside of their primary jurisdiction. These "out of jurisdiction" calls - often caused by network outages, natural disasters, or surges in call volume - force dispatchers into manual phone coordination or legacy CAD-to-CAD applications. Compounding the challenge of these situations, RapidSOS data reveals a greater than 10% error rate where infrastructure is impacted by connectivity issues or routing challenges. RapidSOS HARMONY AI, the first purpose-built AI for public safety that's informed by over one billion emergencies supported, is now helping agencies take on this challenge: * Live Synchronized Intelligence: Instant access to live call transcripts and AI-generated summaries for both the answering and authoritative agencies. * Instant Language Translation: Real-time translation tools that break down language barriers during high-stress interagency coordination. * Interagency Chat: Direct digital communication between telecommunicators, integrated into existing dispatch workflows. * Zero-Latency Situational Awareness: Authoritative agencies can see the full picture and dispatch field responders eliminating the need for a manual call transfer. "Over the past decade public safety has guided and shaped the creation of RapidSOS - today the largest interoperable network of ECCs, field responders, and connected devices," said Michael Martin, founder and CEO of RapidSOS. "With the guidance of public safety we are harnessing HARMONY AI to unlock that platform with immediate, real-time visibility into every emergency - even if routed to another jurisdiction, if the call fails to connect, or the caller doesn't speak English." "With the guidance of public safety we are harnessing HARMONY AI to unlock that platform with immediate, real-time visibility into every emergency - even if routed to another jurisdiction, if the call fails to connect, or the caller doesn't speak English." Michael Martin, RapidSOS Founder The need for Real-Time Interoperability is heightened for cities hosting upcoming large-scale events like the Super Bowl or World Cup where emergency call volumes surge. For example, within the hour of the 2025 Super Bowl game ending, emergency call volumes spiked 1,300%, forcing many calls to be rerouted to neighboring ECCs. 2026 World Cup host cities like Miami are planning ahead to create safer games. "For too long, 911 centers have been dependent on 'old-school' voice-only communication, which creates an immense manual burden," said Luz Ponce, Communication Center Administrator at City of Miami Police Department. "The moment we turned this on, we saw it work immediately - literally seeing a live call answered by another agency appear on our screens in real-time. With Real-Time Interoperability, we see the full transcript and location already gathered and summarized by HARMONY AI. It eliminates so much wasted time and is truly a game changer for public safety." "With Real-Time Interoperability, we see the full transcript and location already gathered and summarized by HARMONY AI. It eliminates so much wasted time and is truly a game changer for public safety." This launch follows extensive field testing and co-development alongside leading public-safety agencies. By processing live incidents across urban, suburban and rural environments, RapidSOS HARMONY AI provides real-time connection and interagency chat directly within existing dispatch workflows. About RapidSOS RapidSOS is the leading public safety AI company that unlocks mission-critical intelligence for emergency response. It harnesses artificial and human intelligence to fuse life-saving data from the world's largest safety network, which includes over 600 million connected devices and 200+ global technology companies. This intelligence is delivered to 22,000+ state and local agencies, serving over one million first responders. RapidSOS has supported over one billion emergencies in a dozen countries, powering RapidSOS HARMONY, the first purpose-built AI by public safety, designed to save critical time by automatically detecting emergencies, unifying real-time data and video streams, and coordinating a faster, more effective response. Learn more at www.RapidSOS.com.