NIAGARA, Wis. — The Niagara School District will aim to reduce higher-than-expected costs for its 2019-20 Cooperative Education Service Agency 8 contract by trying to independently secure some of those services.

CESA 8 provides shared services to its districts for students, some with special needs. The CESA 8 contract varies from year to year depending on what has to be provided, Superintendent Nate Burklund said.

The district is slated to pay nearly $201,000 in the next school year to CESA 8, with about $40,000 reimbursed through state aid the following year.

But the district could potentially save about $15,000 next year if it hires its own full-time interpreter for a deaf student, rather than pay CESA about $85,000 for the service, Burklund said.

Other expected CESA 8 costs include: $17,315 for a hearing impaired/deaf hard of hearing teacher, or 16 percent; $19,687 for a teacher for the visually impaired, or 15 percent; $18,601 for a mobility specialist, or 10 percent; $32,580 for a physical therapist at 21 percent and $20,947 for a psychologist at 13 percent.

In other business, the board:

— Learned the district still has 17 hours available to compensate for inclement weather. Burklund told the board they failed to count minutes during lunch periods when figuring time lost, which gave them more than originally thought.

The school year still is expected to end May 31. The district had six closed days and four days with two-hour delays. The Wisconsin Department of Instruction requires 1,137 classroom hours per year for seventh through 12th grades and less for the lower grades.

— Approved the wrestling co-op for next year with the addition of Pembine and Goodman schools. That means the cost will be split four ways, rather than just between Florence and Niagara. Last year the program cost $6,700.

Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 42, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.