Police seek documents
No timetable set on investigation into alterations in Klaus contract
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire school officials working at the district Administration Building at 500 Main St. can add dealing with police to their regular duties, at least until an investigation into alterations to former Superintendent Bill Klaus' contract is concluded.
An Eau Claire Police Department investigator worked with district officials on Monday to gather documents helping police piece together details surrounding the contract change. Police have received some of the documents related to the investigation and are seeking other paperwork necessary for the investigation to proceed, Deputy Police Chief Eric Larsen said.
"We haven't gotten everything we're looking for yet, but we're working on it," Larsen said, noting there is no specific timeline to complete the investigation.
Those efforts, announced last week, are occurring at the same time as an inquiry by the Eau Claire school board that began Friday and is set to continue today into alterations to Klaus' contract and related attempts to keep that action from being made public.
The board interviewed Klaus on Friday and is scheduled to question several other district employees today, although board members haven't released names of those people.
Klaus previously told the Leader-Telegram he had discussed the issue with interim Superintendent James Leary, Executive Personnel Director Jim Kling and former school board President Michael O'Brien during the summer prior to an October school board decision denying early retirement stipend payments to Klaus.
Executive Business Services Director Dan Van De Water also was involved in discussions about whether to issue the payments, and sources say Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Patti Iverson also could be interviewed by the board.
Board members have released little information about their investigation but said they hope interviews today shed more light on what occurred and provide a clearer timeline as to when various district officials knew about the contract change.
"The (school board) is committed to fully understanding the many unique circumstances which have contributed to this controversy," school board member Carol Craig said. "It is our expectation that in the near future we will have a realistic understanding of the circumstances surrounding the document that is in question."
At that point the board will consider possible punitive action against those involved in or with prior knowledge of the contract change, board members said. The range of potential disciplinary action has not been specified.
Board members had questioned whether the concurrent police and school board investigations could interfere with each other because of concerns information district employees give to the school board members as part of that inquiry might be used against them during court proceedings that could result from the police investigation.
Larsen said that's not the case, and that testimony before the board can't be used against employees later.
"There is no reason we can't conduct both investigations at the same time," Larsen said.
Issues related to Klaus' contract surfaced after an April 19 Leader-Telegram story detailing how former school board President Carol Olson, at Klaus' request, signed and backdated a document in late June or early July that would have allowed Klaus to begin receiving his early retirement stipend Aug. 1, earlier than called for in his contract. Olson was no longer a board member when she signed the document, backdated to Feb. 5, 2007, the same date the board had approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing his move from superintendent to Northstar Middle School principal.
Board members said they were not made aware of that change - which they said they never approved - until an October special meeting at which they denied the early stipend payments. Olson and Klaus have said they believe that action accurately reflected the board's previous intent regarding Klaus' stipend payments.
School officials said Klaus did not receive any of the $225,000 stipend payments the district will pay him when he retires.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Is Insanity Contagious?
Can we get it from our elected officials?
Folks, about once a month I go to BOE member Bollinger's blog to see what pretentiousness he is treating us to and this morning I cruised by his blog ( http://www.bollingerboard.blogspot.com/) just to see the "spin" he was putting on the Klaus/Olson naughtiness. As before, I had NO idea how deluded and out of touch some BOE members are. I honestly am concerned about his handle on reality. I am going to copy and print his latest post here on my blog because if the rest of the BOE or public sees it I am sure he will be part of this investigation and he will be required to remove it. I am sorry as many of you may develop nausea (I did) or headaches (reported by others) by simply reading this load of crap.
I have made bold several of his statements that are so incredible that they deserve a response. My parenthetical and italicized responses to Mike follows his comments.
Maria
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tough Times
It’s quote week on Mike’s blog. This has been an interesting couple of weeks for us in the ever evolving sage of ‘The Times and Trials of s Board Member’. I believe Mr. Adams was speaking to me when he said …
No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.
John Adams
You all well know that I can’t discuss particulars of either of the events which are overloading the network service at the Leader-Telegram comments page. But I would like to speak on a point which I believe is CRITICAL to this school district.
Let's all take a deep breath and pause - please?
If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves."
Carl Gustav Jung,
"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
Jesse Louis Jackson
You are going to have to trust us moving forward. (Mike, we don't trust you at all. You were formerly a high-level employee of this screwed up organization called the ECASD and are good buddies with all the naughty people like Carol Olson, Bill Klaus and Gregg Butler and Mike O'Brien. You voted to make Mike O'Brien president of the BOE in spite of his poor leadership skills and glaring Conflict of Interest that worsened an already devastating leadership failure.)
I speak only for myself, but let me say this, with the utmost clarity. I didn’t take a dime when I ran for school board. I don’t take money for my service. I don’t have any aspirations to be on the board for years to come, nor do I have any other political aspirations. I believe simply in the purity of intent, I believe that if
A) You come to the board (and most of life) with a clear understanding of right and wrong; along with analytical ability to assess all the issues and make sound judgments and
(Mike, you, clearly do NOT have an understanding of right and wrong. You clearly do NOT have analytical abilities and you do NOT make sound judgments. Every single person in this town knows that it is wrong and illegal to sign and backdate documents when you no longer have the authority. Yet you knew this in October and (along with at least a majority of the BOE) didn't fire your friend, Bill Klaus when he tried to pull a fast one.)
B) Your judgments and opinions are from a sound humanistic and moralist focus.
Then the true nature of what to do next when a decision presents itself will become clear, obviously framed within the context of your own life experience, but clear nonetheless.
So with all the anger (on both sides) over the Health Curriculum and all the anger (on both sides) about the contract issue does anyone wonder what the heck happened? Five years ago this was a highly thought of school district (and yes I still think highly of it). All the same people were here then. So what happened? When did such a positive thing as this school district become a negative chew toy for the community?
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t the Pollyanna / Orphan Anne platitudes that hope it’ll all go away. We’re working on it. But let’s be honest here, we tend to ascribe omnipotence to our leaders (Mike, we do not ascribe omnipotence to leaders like you, Bill Klaus and Carol Olson or Mike O'Brien nor most of the BOE who has followed Pres. O'Brien down this path of hiding behind the phony wall of "Closed Session".)(elected or otherwise) and in today’s sound bite world – it’s easy to draw conclusions.
The balancing act between confidentiality (if you sent me an EMAIL would you like it to be a matter of Public Record? It is you know.),(Mike, I sent you more than a couple e-mails about this disaster. Those of us who knew about it could see that it would turn into the biggest pile of crap in the history of the ECASD and eclipse all previous bad leadership of the last decade. But you and the BOE and the Administrative leadership ignored people who have more common sense than you apparently do. Please share the e-mails from citizens that ask the BOE to do something besides hide.) respect for the employee, respect for the parent and of course the UTMOST respect for the children mean that if I did not have that purity of intent, I wouldn’t be qualified. If you don’t trust me to do the right thing, fire me.
It is a simple Boolean equation that we use.
IF (qualified) THEN (trust) ELSE (fire).
People make mistakes, in criminal law, it’s all about intent. In my own world where I size people up when I meet with them, it’s all about intent. We need teachers, staff, administrators and a community that carry a purity of intent. I believe that the intent is and ALWAYS HAS BEEN there.
You dear reader have to help me. You (WE) have got to change our approach to this district. It is time to remember why we love this thing, to join hands and yes to sway to the music together.
(Mike, is the above a joke? Nobody is laughing. Nobody thinks this is funny that you and your buddies have dragged the entire district into a hole that will take a decade to dig out of. )
Promise
– yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;
– to talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet;
– to make all those you meet feel that there is something in them; to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;
– to think only of the best, to work for the best, and expect only the best;
– to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;
– to forget mistakes of the past, and press on to the greater achievements of the future; – to wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;
– to give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;
– to be too large to worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
(Mike, forget the poetry, just do your damned job. The above is another scary, pathetic attempt to deflect from what you should have done months ago and are trying to avoid doing now which is to : FIRE KLAUS, PROSECUTE OLSON and get rid of anybody else at the Main Office who had anything to do with this stupid, unethical, illegal and greedy act.)
§ Christian D. Larson
I don’t mean this to sound harsh; I am highly dismayed at the turn this has all taken, and we will handle this. I really need your help in moving on to our future. Our students, our community and our hard-working staff need you.
Oh and one last quote - of my own and my tag line …
“You may not agree with me, but you will always know what I think”.
Mike Bollinger
Posted by Mike Bollinger at 5:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Making Us Better
Folks, about once a month I go to BOE member Bollinger's blog to see what pretentiousness he is treating us to and this morning I cruised by his blog ( http://www.bollingerboard.blogspot.com/) just to see the "spin" he was putting on the Klaus/Olson naughtiness. As before, I had NO idea how deluded and out of touch some BOE members are. I honestly am concerned about his handle on reality. I am going to copy and print his latest post here on my blog because if the rest of the BOE or public sees it I am sure he will be part of this investigation and he will be required to remove it. I am sorry as many of you may develop nausea (I did) or headaches (reported by others) by simply reading this load of crap.
I have made bold several of his statements that are so incredible that they deserve a response. My parenthetical and italicized responses to Mike follows his comments.
Maria
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tough Times
It’s quote week on Mike’s blog. This has been an interesting couple of weeks for us in the ever evolving sage of ‘The Times and Trials of s Board Member’. I believe Mr. Adams was speaking to me when he said …
No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.
John Adams
You all well know that I can’t discuss particulars of either of the events which are overloading the network service at the Leader-Telegram comments page. But I would like to speak on a point which I believe is CRITICAL to this school district.
Let's all take a deep breath and pause - please?
If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves."
Carl Gustav Jung,
"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
Jesse Louis Jackson
You are going to have to trust us moving forward. (Mike, we don't trust you at all. You were formerly a high-level employee of this screwed up organization called the ECASD and are good buddies with all the naughty people like Carol Olson, Bill Klaus and Gregg Butler and Mike O'Brien. You voted to make Mike O'Brien president of the BOE in spite of his poor leadership skills and glaring Conflict of Interest that worsened an already devastating leadership failure.)
I speak only for myself, but let me say this, with the utmost clarity. I didn’t take a dime when I ran for school board. I don’t take money for my service. I don’t have any aspirations to be on the board for years to come, nor do I have any other political aspirations. I believe simply in the purity of intent, I believe that if
A) You come to the board (and most of life) with a clear understanding of right and wrong; along with analytical ability to assess all the issues and make sound judgments and
(Mike, you, clearly do NOT have an understanding of right and wrong. You clearly do NOT have analytical abilities and you do NOT make sound judgments. Every single person in this town knows that it is wrong and illegal to sign and backdate documents when you no longer have the authority. Yet you knew this in October and (along with at least a majority of the BOE) didn't fire your friend, Bill Klaus when he tried to pull a fast one.)
B) Your judgments and opinions are from a sound humanistic and moralist focus.
Then the true nature of what to do next when a decision presents itself will become clear, obviously framed within the context of your own life experience, but clear nonetheless.
So with all the anger (on both sides) over the Health Curriculum and all the anger (on both sides) about the contract issue does anyone wonder what the heck happened? Five years ago this was a highly thought of school district (and yes I still think highly of it). All the same people were here then. So what happened? When did such a positive thing as this school district become a negative chew toy for the community?
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t the Pollyanna / Orphan Anne platitudes that hope it’ll all go away. We’re working on it. But let’s be honest here, we tend to ascribe omnipotence to our leaders (Mike, we do not ascribe omnipotence to leaders like you, Bill Klaus and Carol Olson or Mike O'Brien nor most of the BOE who has followed Pres. O'Brien down this path of hiding behind the phony wall of "Closed Session".)(elected or otherwise) and in today’s sound bite world – it’s easy to draw conclusions.
The balancing act between confidentiality (if you sent me an EMAIL would you like it to be a matter of Public Record? It is you know.),(Mike, I sent you more than a couple e-mails about this disaster. Those of us who knew about it could see that it would turn into the biggest pile of crap in the history of the ECASD and eclipse all previous bad leadership of the last decade. But you and the BOE and the Administrative leadership ignored people who have more common sense than you apparently do. Please share the e-mails from citizens that ask the BOE to do something besides hide.) respect for the employee, respect for the parent and of course the UTMOST respect for the children mean that if I did not have that purity of intent, I wouldn’t be qualified. If you don’t trust me to do the right thing, fire me.
It is a simple Boolean equation that we use.
IF (qualified) THEN (trust) ELSE (fire).
People make mistakes, in criminal law, it’s all about intent. In my own world where I size people up when I meet with them, it’s all about intent. We need teachers, staff, administrators and a community that carry a purity of intent. I believe that the intent is and ALWAYS HAS BEEN there.
You dear reader have to help me. You (WE) have got to change our approach to this district. It is time to remember why we love this thing, to join hands and yes to sway to the music together.
(Mike, is the above a joke? Nobody is laughing. Nobody thinks this is funny that you and your buddies have dragged the entire district into a hole that will take a decade to dig out of. )
Promise
– yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;
– to talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet;
– to make all those you meet feel that there is something in them; to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;
– to think only of the best, to work for the best, and expect only the best;
– to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;
– to forget mistakes of the past, and press on to the greater achievements of the future; – to wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;
– to give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;
– to be too large to worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
(Mike, forget the poetry, just do your damned job. The above is another scary, pathetic attempt to deflect from what you should have done months ago and are trying to avoid doing now which is to : FIRE KLAUS, PROSECUTE OLSON and get rid of anybody else at the Main Office who had anything to do with this stupid, unethical, illegal and greedy act.)
§ Christian D. Larson
I don’t mean this to sound harsh; I am highly dismayed at the turn this has all taken, and we will handle this. I really need your help in moving on to our future. Our students, our community and our hard-working staff need you.
Oh and one last quote - of my own and my tag line …
“You may not agree with me, but you will always know what I think”.
Mike Bollinger
Posted by Mike Bollinger at 5:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Making Us Better
Sunday, April 27, 2008
More commentary on "The Naughtiness"
Updated: 4/27/2008
District's secret deal not the only injustice
By Jerry Poling
Leader-Telegram staff
It's been a week since one of my co-workers, Julian Emerson, wrote a story about upsetting things going on in the Eau Claire school district.
First, I'd like to thank Julian for spending months on that story. He logged many extra hours because he knew something wasn't right and wouldn't let it go.
By exposing a former school board member and a former superintendent who tried to pull a fast one on taxpayers so that the superintendent could start getting retirement benefits before he retired, he made me proud to be a journalist.
However, I'd like to thank him not as a colleague but as a district taxpayer. His story revealed how these officials potentially cost us $90,000 at a time when the district can use every penny.
No one knows that better than the former superintendent, Bill Klaus, and the former school board member, Carol Olson. This is at least similar to white-collar crime, which occurs when people in power get a little full of themselves and abuse that power. City police are investigating.
The scheme has raised serious questions about how the district operates and damaged the trust that taxpayers have in our school stewards. Equally upsetting is that officials tried to hide this shameful episode from their bosses - us - by refusing Julian's requests for public records.
Questionable stipends
A week later, part of the reason I'm still upset goes beyond the attempted backdoor deal. Julian's story brought to light another subject that should have taxpayers seeing red every time they pay their property tax bills, a good chunk of which goes to schools.
Why, oh why, is Klaus getting money to retire early in the first place?
When Klaus, 53, does retire at 55, he will get very generous retirement benefits. Apparently that isn't enough for someone who was making nearly $142,000 a year (before he took a cut in pay to become a principal). He also will get $45,000 a year extra for five years - the stipend - for hanging it up early. That's $225,000 for not working. Unbelievable.
I know the theory behind the stipend. If a worker at the high end of the pay scale has incentive to retire early - the stipend - he or she can be replaced by a worker at the low end of the pay scale, thereby saving the district money in the long run.
I have two problems with the early-retirement stipend. First, it's just plain absurd to pay people not to work. The real world doesn't operate this way. Most people couldn't dream of having a deal so sweet.
Teachers and other district officials also get the early-out bonuses.
Second, in this case, the early-retirement save-some-money stipend theory has failed miserably. Klaus isn't being replaced by someone at a lower pay scale. Just the opposite. The district has given his replacement, Ron Heilmann, an increase of more than $20,000 for the coming school year. The following school year, Heilmann gets an additional $6,000.
That amounts to a $47,000 increase from Heilmann's previous superintendent job in Oshkosh, more than an entire salary for most people.
So Heilmann's salary jump means that Klaus' early-retirement stipend helps only Klaus. A total waste of $225,000 of taxpayer money. And to think he even wanted it early.
Waste at the top
Heilmann also will be up for that early-retirement bonus in 10 years equal to 25 percent of his salary. Not a bad gig.
As a taxpayer, I have other issues with the contract Heilmann received. For example, does he really need a $400 a month allowance for in-district travel? Even if we hit $4 a gallon gas, to use up all his travel money he would have to drive roughly 500 miles a week around the city. He'd be driving three or four hours a day.
On a lesser scale, this is a waste of more money and lining the pockets of someone who simply doesn't need it.
As a taxpayer, I can't help but wonder if district officials are focused on children getting the best education for the dollar or just making sure that people at the top are fat and happy.
District's secret deal not the only injustice
By Jerry Poling
Leader-Telegram staff
It's been a week since one of my co-workers, Julian Emerson, wrote a story about upsetting things going on in the Eau Claire school district.
First, I'd like to thank Julian for spending months on that story. He logged many extra hours because he knew something wasn't right and wouldn't let it go.
By exposing a former school board member and a former superintendent who tried to pull a fast one on taxpayers so that the superintendent could start getting retirement benefits before he retired, he made me proud to be a journalist.
However, I'd like to thank him not as a colleague but as a district taxpayer. His story revealed how these officials potentially cost us $90,000 at a time when the district can use every penny.
No one knows that better than the former superintendent, Bill Klaus, and the former school board member, Carol Olson. This is at least similar to white-collar crime, which occurs when people in power get a little full of themselves and abuse that power. City police are investigating.
The scheme has raised serious questions about how the district operates and damaged the trust that taxpayers have in our school stewards. Equally upsetting is that officials tried to hide this shameful episode from their bosses - us - by refusing Julian's requests for public records.
Questionable stipends
A week later, part of the reason I'm still upset goes beyond the attempted backdoor deal. Julian's story brought to light another subject that should have taxpayers seeing red every time they pay their property tax bills, a good chunk of which goes to schools.
Why, oh why, is Klaus getting money to retire early in the first place?
When Klaus, 53, does retire at 55, he will get very generous retirement benefits. Apparently that isn't enough for someone who was making nearly $142,000 a year (before he took a cut in pay to become a principal). He also will get $45,000 a year extra for five years - the stipend - for hanging it up early. That's $225,000 for not working. Unbelievable.
I know the theory behind the stipend. If a worker at the high end of the pay scale has incentive to retire early - the stipend - he or she can be replaced by a worker at the low end of the pay scale, thereby saving the district money in the long run.
I have two problems with the early-retirement stipend. First, it's just plain absurd to pay people not to work. The real world doesn't operate this way. Most people couldn't dream of having a deal so sweet.
Teachers and other district officials also get the early-out bonuses.
Second, in this case, the early-retirement save-some-money stipend theory has failed miserably. Klaus isn't being replaced by someone at a lower pay scale. Just the opposite. The district has given his replacement, Ron Heilmann, an increase of more than $20,000 for the coming school year. The following school year, Heilmann gets an additional $6,000.
That amounts to a $47,000 increase from Heilmann's previous superintendent job in Oshkosh, more than an entire salary for most people.
So Heilmann's salary jump means that Klaus' early-retirement stipend helps only Klaus. A total waste of $225,000 of taxpayer money. And to think he even wanted it early.
Waste at the top
Heilmann also will be up for that early-retirement bonus in 10 years equal to 25 percent of his salary. Not a bad gig.
As a taxpayer, I have other issues with the contract Heilmann received. For example, does he really need a $400 a month allowance for in-district travel? Even if we hit $4 a gallon gas, to use up all his travel money he would have to drive roughly 500 miles a week around the city. He'd be driving three or four hours a day.
On a lesser scale, this is a waste of more money and lining the pockets of someone who simply doesn't need it.
As a taxpayer, I can't help but wonder if district officials are focused on children getting the best education for the dollar or just making sure that people at the top are fat and happy.
Friday, April 25, 2008
WQOW April 25, 2008
School Board Looks Into Controversy Behind Closed Doors
A closed-door meeting kicks off an internal investigation by the Eau Claire School Board into a contract controversy, but there could still be a long way to go.
The school board met for five hours on Friday, hoping to construct a timeline laying out who and when made changes to former superintendent Bill Klaus’s contract. Those changes could have allowed him to collect early retirement benefits at age 53, even though he had not yet retired.
Dr. Klaus says one of the changes was made by former school board president Carol Olson, when she was no longer on the board. She backdated the change to a time when she was still president.
The board met with Dr. Klaus for two hours on Friday. It is expected to eventually meet with several other district officials, as well as, Carol Olson.
“We really need to continue talking to several other people and we want to conclude this as quickly as possible but we certainly don’t want to not have a thorough investigation,” says Carol Craig, Eau Claire School Board.
The board will meet again in closed session on Tuesday.
A closed-door meeting kicks off an internal investigation by the Eau Claire School Board into a contract controversy, but there could still be a long way to go.
The school board met for five hours on Friday, hoping to construct a timeline laying out who and when made changes to former superintendent Bill Klaus’s contract. Those changes could have allowed him to collect early retirement benefits at age 53, even though he had not yet retired.
Dr. Klaus says one of the changes was made by former school board president Carol Olson, when she was no longer on the board. She backdated the change to a time when she was still president.
The board met with Dr. Klaus for two hours on Friday. It is expected to eventually meet with several other district officials, as well as, Carol Olson.
“We really need to continue talking to several other people and we want to conclude this as quickly as possible but we certainly don’t want to not have a thorough investigation,” says Carol Craig, Eau Claire School Board.
The board will meet again in closed session on Tuesday.
WEAU April 24, 2007
Ken, please tell us that WEAU mis-quoted you about considering that "it was a clerical mistake or something else." This was NO clerical mistake. Bill Klaus himself told me on Dec. 3rd when he called me at home that the document was drafted and signed by Carol in July 2007 and backdated to February 2007 when she was the BOE President. The entire Administrative team (Leary, Butler, Kling, and Vandewater) knew about this memo for months before I first heard about it and asked about it in November 2007. The entire BOE knew about it as well in October 2007 as they clarified his contract after seeing the "Naughty, Fake, Backdated, Illegal Document" signed by Carol. Former Pres. O'Brien has been trying to keep this whole event out of the eyes of the public for more than 6 months because: 1.) he knew it was totally illegal, 2.) he knew that it was done by his 2 "buddies", Carol and Bill, and 3.) he didn't want to have this come out while he was President of the BOE and his employer was the legal counsel and also good buddies with Carol and Bill. How dumb do they think we are?
Closed Door Session Lasts for 5 Hours
Posted: 8:27 PM Apr 24, 2008
A piece of paper has sparked a police and school board investigation in Eau Claire.
Board members tell us they will investigate whether the former Eau Claire school superintendent Bill Klaus and the former school board president Carol Olson did something wrong by creating a document that may have allowed Klaus to get retirement stipends earlier than the board intended. Eau Claire School Board member Ken Faanes says no payments were ever made. He says former board president Carol Olson approved it, but the board is trying to weed through whether it was a clerical mistake or something else.
Faanes says the issue of earlier stipend payments came up in October, the board took action and changed it back to receiving payments at 55.
The board clarified he would not see that money until he retired.
It was a retirement stipend worth $225,000 over five years.
Faanes says the board has not talked to Carol Olson, but said she approved the memo in question.
Board member Brent Wogahn says says the board welcomes a police investigation and says this has been a distraction from important issues, like strategic planning. He says the board hopes to interview Dr. Klaus and any other administrators it needs to in order to get answers. He says the board will have to look at its policies to see what, if any action, it can or may want to take.
Wogahn says he thinks the system worked like it was supposed to, because no district dollars were wasted. Now he just wants to figure out exactly when the document in Klaus' file was signed, and what the intent was behind it. Basically, who knew what and when. He says no one board member can ever sign anything without a second signature on it in the first place.
Wogahn did add, that the board's trust has been shaken and the members need to get that trust back. He says the board has so much to do, that he wishes the members didn't have to get sidetracked on this, but that the members want to do what's right and what's in the public interest.
Thursday the Eau Claire County District Attorney Rich White says a member of the public asked him to investigate. Per policy, he forwarded that request to the police department.
Klaus is still the Northstar Middle School principal. Olson is no longer on the board. The board will meet behind closed doors Friday at 2:30 p.m. to investigation and determine if it wants to take action. We will be there and have the latest on NewsCenter 13 at 5, 6 and 10.
Closed Door Session Lasts for 5 Hours
Posted: 8:27 PM Apr 24, 2008
A piece of paper has sparked a police and school board investigation in Eau Claire.
Board members tell us they will investigate whether the former Eau Claire school superintendent Bill Klaus and the former school board president Carol Olson did something wrong by creating a document that may have allowed Klaus to get retirement stipends earlier than the board intended. Eau Claire School Board member Ken Faanes says no payments were ever made. He says former board president Carol Olson approved it, but the board is trying to weed through whether it was a clerical mistake or something else.
Faanes says the issue of earlier stipend payments came up in October, the board took action and changed it back to receiving payments at 55.
The board clarified he would not see that money until he retired.
It was a retirement stipend worth $225,000 over five years.
Faanes says the board has not talked to Carol Olson, but said she approved the memo in question.
Board member Brent Wogahn says says the board welcomes a police investigation and says this has been a distraction from important issues, like strategic planning. He says the board hopes to interview Dr. Klaus and any other administrators it needs to in order to get answers. He says the board will have to look at its policies to see what, if any action, it can or may want to take.
Wogahn says he thinks the system worked like it was supposed to, because no district dollars were wasted. Now he just wants to figure out exactly when the document in Klaus' file was signed, and what the intent was behind it. Basically, who knew what and when. He says no one board member can ever sign anything without a second signature on it in the first place.
Wogahn did add, that the board's trust has been shaken and the members need to get that trust back. He says the board has so much to do, that he wishes the members didn't have to get sidetracked on this, but that the members want to do what's right and what's in the public interest.
Thursday the Eau Claire County District Attorney Rich White says a member of the public asked him to investigate. Per policy, he forwarded that request to the police department.
Klaus is still the Northstar Middle School principal. Olson is no longer on the board. The board will meet behind closed doors Friday at 2:30 p.m. to investigation and determine if it wants to take action. We will be there and have the latest on NewsCenter 13 at 5, 6 and 10.
Police Investigating Bill and Carol Naughtiness
FYI: I am NOT the person or persons who have gone to the police or DA. Several people have written me and encouraged me to do so, but, I feel that it is the BOE's job to do the heavy lifting on this one and meet the public's expectations that people be held accountable. Several local attorneys who follow the blog and are paying attention have contacted me with the specific state statute references that have been violated (all felonies) by Carol and Bill. But, I am sure the Police and the DA can figure this out the specifics. If they don't, then other people can call them on it.
Up until a week ago when the LT story first appeared, it seemed that NO ONE either in Administration or on the BOE was interested in anything but sweeping this under the rug and praying it would all disappear. I am hoping that as all the documents requested from Closed Sessions and e-mail correspondence about this issue are released, it will be clear what the thinking was by individuals in Administration and on the BOE. I certainly have saved all of my e-mails sent to the BOE and ECASD Administrators over the months and will be happy to share them although I never received a response.
Maria
Updated: 4/24/2008 11:37:02 PM
Police investigating memo
Officials promise to cooperate
By Dan Holtz
Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire school officials will cooperate and make records available during a police investigation into an attempt by former Superintendent Bill Klaus to receive early retirement stipend payments before he was eligible, interim Superintendent James Leary said Thursday.
School officials will do "whatever we can do to help," Leary said.
Eau Claire police, and ultimately Eau Claire County District Attorney Rich White, are investigating the matter.
"We're looking into it at the request of the DA's office," Eau Claire Deputy Police Chief Eric Larsen said.
"We don't know that there's anything criminal going on, but we're taking a look at it and then will forward any information on" to White, Larsen said.
White won't make a decision on possible criminal charges until he views any police reports generated from the incident.
"Either (the police) or I can then assess whether anything can be done," White said.
White's office has fielded complaints about the incident.
"It's pretty clear there are strong feelings about what was taking place," White said. "One way or another something's going to get to the Police Department and to me."
In typical investigations, if police feel criminal charges aren't warranted, police reports may not be forwarded to the district attorney's office, White said.
But because of the high-profile nature of this case, reports probably will be forwarded to White even if police think criminal charges aren't warranted, he said.
"It would be unlikely that I wouldn't have input," White said.
Both White and Larsen said there is no timetable on the Klaus investigation.
A Leader-Telegram story on Saturday spelled out how former school board President Carol Olson, at Klaus' request, signed a document in late June or early July and backdated it to Feb. 5, 2007, the date the school board had approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal.
The document stipulated that monthly stipend payments to Klaus begin Aug. 1, but other board members have said they never agreed to that provision. Olson said she thought the document she signed accurately reflected what the board discussed in a closed session regarding the early stipend.
Olson was no longer a board member when she signed the document, and other board members said they were unaware until October that Klaus' contract had been amended without their knowledge. The board met in closed session in October and spelled out that Klaus was not eligible for the stipend until age 55 and upon his retirement. Klaus is 53 and said he did not intend to retire upon receiving his stipend payments.
Klaus didn't receive any of the $225,000 the school district will pay him as part of his retirement benefits package, school officials said.
Holtz can be reached at 833-9207, 800-236-7077 or dan.holtz@ecpc.com.
Up until a week ago when the LT story first appeared, it seemed that NO ONE either in Administration or on the BOE was interested in anything but sweeping this under the rug and praying it would all disappear. I am hoping that as all the documents requested from Closed Sessions and e-mail correspondence about this issue are released, it will be clear what the thinking was by individuals in Administration and on the BOE. I certainly have saved all of my e-mails sent to the BOE and ECASD Administrators over the months and will be happy to share them although I never received a response.
Maria
Updated: 4/24/2008 11:37:02 PM
Police investigating memo
Officials promise to cooperate
By Dan Holtz
Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire school officials will cooperate and make records available during a police investigation into an attempt by former Superintendent Bill Klaus to receive early retirement stipend payments before he was eligible, interim Superintendent James Leary said Thursday.
School officials will do "whatever we can do to help," Leary said.
Eau Claire police, and ultimately Eau Claire County District Attorney Rich White, are investigating the matter.
"We're looking into it at the request of the DA's office," Eau Claire Deputy Police Chief Eric Larsen said.
"We don't know that there's anything criminal going on, but we're taking a look at it and then will forward any information on" to White, Larsen said.
White won't make a decision on possible criminal charges until he views any police reports generated from the incident.
"Either (the police) or I can then assess whether anything can be done," White said.
White's office has fielded complaints about the incident.
"It's pretty clear there are strong feelings about what was taking place," White said. "One way or another something's going to get to the Police Department and to me."
In typical investigations, if police feel criminal charges aren't warranted, police reports may not be forwarded to the district attorney's office, White said.
But because of the high-profile nature of this case, reports probably will be forwarded to White even if police think criminal charges aren't warranted, he said.
"It would be unlikely that I wouldn't have input," White said.
Both White and Larsen said there is no timetable on the Klaus investigation.
A Leader-Telegram story on Saturday spelled out how former school board President Carol Olson, at Klaus' request, signed a document in late June or early July and backdated it to Feb. 5, 2007, the date the school board had approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal.
The document stipulated that monthly stipend payments to Klaus begin Aug. 1, but other board members have said they never agreed to that provision. Olson said she thought the document she signed accurately reflected what the board discussed in a closed session regarding the early stipend.
Olson was no longer a board member when she signed the document, and other board members said they were unaware until October that Klaus' contract had been amended without their knowledge. The board met in closed session in October and spelled out that Klaus was not eligible for the stipend until age 55 and upon his retirement. Klaus is 53 and said he did not intend to retire upon receiving his stipend payments.
Klaus didn't receive any of the $225,000 the school district will pay him as part of his retirement benefits package, school officials said.
Holtz can be reached at 833-9207, 800-236-7077 or dan.holtz@ecpc.com.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
April 23rd LT
Updated: 4/23/2008
Contract issue angers board
Memo's backdating to be investigated
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
To say a majority of Eau Claire school board members are upset about an attempt to alter former Superintendent Bill Klaus' contract without their knowledge would be an understatement.
But the perceived actions of district officials to keep information surrounding that incident from them for months have board members nearly as peeved.
The board on Tuesday announced it will conduct an inquiry into the backdating of a document by former school board President Carol Olson that would have allowed Klaus to receive early retirement stipend payments sooner than called for by his contract.
Klaus did not receive those payments - totaling $225,000 over five years - after district officials questioned the arrangement. He is scheduled to receive the district-paid stipend when he retires.
The investigation, slated to begin Friday, will include interviews with district officials with knowledge of the attempted alteration of Klaus' contract.
"Why wasn't this board made aware of this in a timely manner? That's a big question we need to have answered," board member Carol Craig said. "There is some real frustration that we didn't receive information that we should have."
An interview lineup hasn't been released, but it seems certain to include Klaus as well as district administrators involved in subsequent meetings about the issue, including interim Superintendent James Leary, Personnel Director Jim Kling and Business Services Director Dan Van De Water.
Other district personnel also could be interviewed as more information about the incident surfaces, Craig said.
Board members have expressed frustration about the apparent efforts of various district officials to keep the issue from them, even after the attempted contract change surfaced and was discussed in closed session by the school board on Oct. 22. The board voted at that meeting to deny early stipend payments to Klaus before age 55 and his retirement. That vote reiterated what board members said was agreed to in closed session on Feb. 5, 2007, as they approved contract changes to allow Klaus to become Northstar Middle School principal.
"We should have been kept in the loop to a much greater degree than we were," board member Ken Faanes said. "Back in October, we weren't even given all of the details surrounding this. There were people we count on for information who weren't as forthcoming with this as they should have been."
Board members said they haven't discussed possible disciplinary action for district officials they determine were involved in the attempted contract alteration and subsequent cover-up, but said they're open to a range of actions, including suspensions and firings.
"We don't want to have any preconceived notions about this, but at the same time we need to be willing to take strong action if it's warranted," Craig said.
Faanes expressed frustration at having to deal with the contract issue. Just last week the board discussed how to best address student achievement. Now board members are bogged down in a controversy that leaves the district with a public black eye.
"We shouldn't have to be looking at this at all," Faanes said. "There are so many other issues we would like to be dealing with instead, the things that have to do with our students."
The board on Tuesday also announced it has directed district administrators to ensure the Leader-Telegram and others who have sought information about the contract will receive appropriate records. District officials had refused for several months to turn over documents to the Leader-Telegram before doing so earlier this month. The newspaper still has not received some of the documents it requested.
The contract issue surfaced after a Saturday Leader-Telegram story detailed how Olson in late June or early July signed and backdated a document at Klaus' request allowing his early stipend payments to begin Aug. 1. Olson was no longer a board member when she signed that document, which was made to appear as if it was part of Klaus' contract changes the board approved on Feb. 5, 2007. Olson said she signed the document because she felt it accurately reflected what the board agreed to in the Feb. 5 closed session.
In June, shortly before he was to begin his job at Northstar, Klaus inquired about the stipend payments, but Van De Water told Klaus he could not authorize those payments because the contract didn't stipulate that. Kling then told Klaus he needed the board to verify its intent to begin early stipend payments.
The document signed by Olson was then created, backdated and placed in Klaus' file. But Kling and Van De Water still delayed the payments before district officials sought a legal opinion about whether to pay out the stipend.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
Contract issue angers board
Memo's backdating to be investigated
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
To say a majority of Eau Claire school board members are upset about an attempt to alter former Superintendent Bill Klaus' contract without their knowledge would be an understatement.
But the perceived actions of district officials to keep information surrounding that incident from them for months have board members nearly as peeved.
The board on Tuesday announced it will conduct an inquiry into the backdating of a document by former school board President Carol Olson that would have allowed Klaus to receive early retirement stipend payments sooner than called for by his contract.
Klaus did not receive those payments - totaling $225,000 over five years - after district officials questioned the arrangement. He is scheduled to receive the district-paid stipend when he retires.
The investigation, slated to begin Friday, will include interviews with district officials with knowledge of the attempted alteration of Klaus' contract.
"Why wasn't this board made aware of this in a timely manner? That's a big question we need to have answered," board member Carol Craig said. "There is some real frustration that we didn't receive information that we should have."
An interview lineup hasn't been released, but it seems certain to include Klaus as well as district administrators involved in subsequent meetings about the issue, including interim Superintendent James Leary, Personnel Director Jim Kling and Business Services Director Dan Van De Water.
Other district personnel also could be interviewed as more information about the incident surfaces, Craig said.
Board members have expressed frustration about the apparent efforts of various district officials to keep the issue from them, even after the attempted contract change surfaced and was discussed in closed session by the school board on Oct. 22. The board voted at that meeting to deny early stipend payments to Klaus before age 55 and his retirement. That vote reiterated what board members said was agreed to in closed session on Feb. 5, 2007, as they approved contract changes to allow Klaus to become Northstar Middle School principal.
"We should have been kept in the loop to a much greater degree than we were," board member Ken Faanes said. "Back in October, we weren't even given all of the details surrounding this. There were people we count on for information who weren't as forthcoming with this as they should have been."
Board members said they haven't discussed possible disciplinary action for district officials they determine were involved in the attempted contract alteration and subsequent cover-up, but said they're open to a range of actions, including suspensions and firings.
"We don't want to have any preconceived notions about this, but at the same time we need to be willing to take strong action if it's warranted," Craig said.
Faanes expressed frustration at having to deal with the contract issue. Just last week the board discussed how to best address student achievement. Now board members are bogged down in a controversy that leaves the district with a public black eye.
"We shouldn't have to be looking at this at all," Faanes said. "There are so many other issues we would like to be dealing with instead, the things that have to do with our students."
The board on Tuesday also announced it has directed district administrators to ensure the Leader-Telegram and others who have sought information about the contract will receive appropriate records. District officials had refused for several months to turn over documents to the Leader-Telegram before doing so earlier this month. The newspaper still has not received some of the documents it requested.
The contract issue surfaced after a Saturday Leader-Telegram story detailed how Olson in late June or early July signed and backdated a document at Klaus' request allowing his early stipend payments to begin Aug. 1. Olson was no longer a board member when she signed that document, which was made to appear as if it was part of Klaus' contract changes the board approved on Feb. 5, 2007. Olson said she signed the document because she felt it accurately reflected what the board agreed to in the Feb. 5 closed session.
In June, shortly before he was to begin his job at Northstar, Klaus inquired about the stipend payments, but Van De Water told Klaus he could not authorize those payments because the contract didn't stipulate that. Kling then told Klaus he needed the board to verify its intent to begin early stipend payments.
The document signed by Olson was then created, backdated and placed in Klaus' file. But Kling and Van De Water still delayed the payments before district officials sought a legal opinion about whether to pay out the stipend.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
From the April 22nd LT
Board members seek answers
Confusion over memo lingers
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire school board members on Monday were left with almost as many questions as answers after revelations about attempted improper early retirement stipend payments to former Superintendent Bill Klaus.
A Leader-Telegram story on Saturday spelled out how former school board President Carol Olson, at Klaus' request, signed a document in late June or early July and backdated it to Feb. 5, 2007, the date the school board had approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal.
The document stipulated that monthly stipend payments to Klaus begin Aug. 1 despite the fact the board previously had decided that Klaus was not eligible for the stipend until age 55 and upon his retirement. Klaus is 53 and said he did not intend to retire upon receiving his stipend payments.
Olson was no longer a board member when she signed the document, and other board members said they were shocked when they learned in October that Klaus' contract had been amended without their knowledge.
The board subsequently denied the early stipend payment, and Klaus didn't receive any of the $225,000 the school district will pay him as part of his retirement benefits package. Instead, he will be paid that money beginning at his retirement.
Board members had previously declined comment on the matter because of concerns about violating closed-meeting regulations. But on Monday, board members Mike Bollinger and Trish Cummins discussed their concerns about potential legal liability because of attempted contract alterations.
"We know a lot of what happened," Bollinger said of the attempt to alter Klaus' contract, "but there are a lot of questions about what we do next."
The board met in closed session Monday to discuss the issue with district administrators and a Madison lawyer representing the district. Board members said they planned during the meeting to seek more details about attempts to change Klaus' contract and which district officials were responsible for the subsequent cover-up of that incident. Klaus and Olson deny they tried to deceive anyone.
Kling and Klaus acknowledged being at a meeting during the summer with interim Superintendent James Leary and school board President Michael O'Brien regarding the stipend payments.
"As a board member, I think we still have a responsibility to find out who exactly was involved in coming up with this plan, creating this document, and maybe most importantly, concealing it for all of these months," Cummins said.
Answers to those questions could determine whether and to what extent board members may seek discipline for those involved. No matter what the board does, it must be direct in getting answers, said Bollinger, who did not attend Monday's meeting because of a business trip.
Klaus said he first mentioned in January his desire to receive the early stipend payments. He said he sought that money because of concerns that if he died before he retired, his family would not receive that money. Instead, the school district would be exempt from the payout, he said.
In mid-summer, shortly before Klaus was to begin his job at Northstar, he requested the payments again. Kling told Klaus his contract didn't spell out the early payments and that additional verification from the board was needed before payments could begin.
Rather than take up the issue again with the board, Klaus then asked district Executive Secretary Patti Iverson to ask Olson to sign a document making that money available beginning in August. Klaus and Olson defended their actions, saying it was their belief that the early stipend payments were the intent of the Feb. 5 agreement, but other board members disputed that and since have charged Olson and Klaus with attempting a secret agreement.
After denying Klaus' early stipend payments, the school board subsequently added a provision to Klaus' contract ensuring that money - paid out over 60 months - would go to his family if he dies before retiring.
Since December, district officials had refused to release information requested by the Leader-Telegram related to attempted changes to Klaus' contract before granting access to Klaus' personnel file earlier this month.
District officials still have not granted the newspaper's Open Records request for e-mail messages and school board meeting minutes.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
Confusion over memo lingers
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire school board members on Monday were left with almost as many questions as answers after revelations about attempted improper early retirement stipend payments to former Superintendent Bill Klaus.
A Leader-Telegram story on Saturday spelled out how former school board President Carol Olson, at Klaus' request, signed a document in late June or early July and backdated it to Feb. 5, 2007, the date the school board had approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal.
The document stipulated that monthly stipend payments to Klaus begin Aug. 1 despite the fact the board previously had decided that Klaus was not eligible for the stipend until age 55 and upon his retirement. Klaus is 53 and said he did not intend to retire upon receiving his stipend payments.
Olson was no longer a board member when she signed the document, and other board members said they were shocked when they learned in October that Klaus' contract had been amended without their knowledge.
The board subsequently denied the early stipend payment, and Klaus didn't receive any of the $225,000 the school district will pay him as part of his retirement benefits package. Instead, he will be paid that money beginning at his retirement.
Board members had previously declined comment on the matter because of concerns about violating closed-meeting regulations. But on Monday, board members Mike Bollinger and Trish Cummins discussed their concerns about potential legal liability because of attempted contract alterations.
"We know a lot of what happened," Bollinger said of the attempt to alter Klaus' contract, "but there are a lot of questions about what we do next."
The board met in closed session Monday to discuss the issue with district administrators and a Madison lawyer representing the district. Board members said they planned during the meeting to seek more details about attempts to change Klaus' contract and which district officials were responsible for the subsequent cover-up of that incident. Klaus and Olson deny they tried to deceive anyone.
Kling and Klaus acknowledged being at a meeting during the summer with interim Superintendent James Leary and school board President Michael O'Brien regarding the stipend payments.
"As a board member, I think we still have a responsibility to find out who exactly was involved in coming up with this plan, creating this document, and maybe most importantly, concealing it for all of these months," Cummins said.
Answers to those questions could determine whether and to what extent board members may seek discipline for those involved. No matter what the board does, it must be direct in getting answers, said Bollinger, who did not attend Monday's meeting because of a business trip.
Klaus said he first mentioned in January his desire to receive the early stipend payments. He said he sought that money because of concerns that if he died before he retired, his family would not receive that money. Instead, the school district would be exempt from the payout, he said.
In mid-summer, shortly before Klaus was to begin his job at Northstar, he requested the payments again. Kling told Klaus his contract didn't spell out the early payments and that additional verification from the board was needed before payments could begin.
Rather than take up the issue again with the board, Klaus then asked district Executive Secretary Patti Iverson to ask Olson to sign a document making that money available beginning in August. Klaus and Olson defended their actions, saying it was their belief that the early stipend payments were the intent of the Feb. 5 agreement, but other board members disputed that and since have charged Olson and Klaus with attempting a secret agreement.
After denying Klaus' early stipend payments, the school board subsequently added a provision to Klaus' contract ensuring that money - paid out over 60 months - would go to his family if he dies before retiring.
Since December, district officials had refused to release information requested by the Leader-Telegram related to attempted changes to Klaus' contract before granting access to Klaus' personnel file earlier this month.
District officials still have not granted the newspaper's Open Records request for e-mail messages and school board meeting minutes.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
The "Troubles" See the Light of Day
On April 19, 2008 Julian Emerson was finally able to publish his news story that he had been seeking information for for several months. Numerous requests made under the Wisconsin Open Records laws were filed but consistently delayed, refused, or ignored by Pres. O'Brien and the ECASD Administrative staff who were under O'Brien's orders to not discuss the matter with the press.
Thank You, Julian for your persistence!
Maria
Memo skirted school board
Olson said intent of backdating it was to move up stipend date for Klaus at his request
By Julian Emerson Leader-Telegram staff
Former Eau Claire school board president Carol Olson signed and backdated a document at former Superintendent Bill Klaus' request that would have provided Klaus with a portion of his retirement payments before he was eligible to receive them.
On Feb. 5, 2007, the school board approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal, but several board members who voted on the agreement said issuing the stipend to Klaus before age 55 and his retirement wasn't part of the deal.
Just before his move from superintendent to Northstar Middle School principal in July, Klaus, 53, asked Olson to sign a document stipulating he begin receiving those payments - totalling about $45,000 annually for five years - starting Aug. 1.
The document signed by Olson was dated Feb. 5, the same date the board approved Klaus' contract changes allowing him to become a middle school principal.
However, Klaus and Olson admitted the document was placed in Klaus' personnel file sometime in June or July and backdated, making it appear as if it was part of the original agreement. The Leader-Telegram obtained the document after filing an Open Records request seeking information related to potential changes to Klaus' contract.
School board members and others familiar with the situation said that arrangement was not part of changes to Klaus' contract the board had approved in February. Several board members said they were unaware of the document signed by Olson until it surfaced in October amid questions by the Leader-Telegram and district educators.
Board members said they were stunned when they discovered the document signed by Olson had been made part of the agreement without their knowledge. Several questioned why Klaus sought Olson to sign the document when she had been off the board for at least two months.
District Personnel Director Jim Kling said granting Klaus or any other administrator stipend payments before retirement is "highly unusual." In fact, Kling, a longtime personnel director, said he is unaware of any other administrator or teacher in Wisconsin receiving early stipends.
"It's just not something I've ever seen," Kling said.
Klaus and Olson conceded that in hindsight, signing the document wasn't the best way to handle disagreement about the timing of the early stipend payments. But they defended their actions, saying they did not intend to circumvent terms of Klaus' contract.
Instead, Klaus said their actions were the result of a misunderstanding about when he was to begin receiving stipend payments, which represent the portion of his retirement to be paid by the school district. The timing of when Klaus would receive those payments does not change the total amount of money he would be paid.
Klaus said he requested the early payments because of concerns his family wouldn't receive his stipend money if he died before retirement. Instead, he said, the district would retain that money.
"In hindsight, we probably should have handled this differently," Klaus said. "But the intent was not to do something illegal or secretive."
Klaus said he approached Olson about signing the document because she was board president at the time the issue had been discussed. The longtime board president affirmed she was no longer a board member when asked to sign the document but said she did so because she believed the board had agreed to the early stipend payment.
She backdated the date the document was signed to Feb. 5, she said, to reflect that it was related to changes in Klaus' contract the board approved on that date.
"To the best of my recollection, (the early stipend payment) was what the board intended," she said.
The document bears only Olson's signature. Typically, documents signifying board action bear the signatures of the board president and clerk.
Olson denied that she and Klaus were part of a secret effort to pad Klaus' salary. He made $141,000 during his last year as superintendent, a salary that was reduced to $94,000 when he became principal.
"There was no discussion between us about this ahead of time," Olson responded when asked about assertions she and Klaus had conspired to secretly get around previous school board action regarding Klaus' contract.
Seeking the stipend
Klaus said he first mentioned his desire to receive the early stipend when he announced in January 2007 that he would become Northstar principal. In midsummer as he prepared to transition from superintendent to principal, Klaus approached Kling about the stipend payments, saying the board had authorized them.
Kling and Business Services Director Dan Van De Water subsequently reviewed Klaus' request and his contract, and they determined they could not authorize stipend payments without further evidence that the board approved it. At that point Klaus requested a document approving those payments be typed up and that Olson sign it.
Still, Kling and Van De Water refused to authorize Klaus' payments, in part because they questioned the timing of the document signed by Olson, Kling said.
"For us, Carol's letter wasn't enough to (approve the early stipend)," Kling said. "We felt like we needed to clear up the issue of what was the intent of the entire board."
Prompted by questions raised by the Leader-Telegram and district educators, board members called a special meeting on Oct. 24 to review the matter. During that meeting, board members denied the early retirement option and reaffirmed other portions of the February contract agreement. The board also added a provision guaranteeing that Klaus' family would receive his stipend payment in the event of his death.
"For me, that's really what I was concerned about," Klaus said of ensuring stipend payments would go to his family.
The board discussed the issue at subsequent meetings in closed session, and in December reiterated terms of Klaus' contract.
Keeping secrets
The board's December announcement that it was verifying Klaus' contract spurred questions about the matter, but district officials weren't forthcoming with details.
The Leader-Telegram in December filed an Open Records request seeking access to Klaus' personnel file, his contract, district e-mail messages related to the proposed changes to Klaus' contract and minutes of closed-session discussion of the topic.
District officials initially released a copy of Klaus' contract but did not include the document signed by Olson. Subsequent requests for information went unanswered. Various district officials, most notably board President Michael O'Brien, fought to delay release of the information. When asked why the district refused the Leader-Telegram's request for information, Kling said O'Brien told him that "the issue was taken care of."
O'Brien has refused comment on Klaus' contract, saying the topic is exempt from public scrutiny because discussion of it occurred in closed sessions.
Other board members gave similar responses or failed to respond to repeated requests for comment regarding the proposed change to Klaus' contract. Several of the seven board members said they could not discuss the issue because O'Brien, an attorney for the Weld, Riley, Prenn and Ricci law firm of Eau Claire, had advised them against it while the district awaits a decision regarding the matter from a Madison law firm.
District officials ultimately granted the Leader-Telegram access to Klaus' personnel file but have not yet provided copies of board meeting minutes about the topic or related e-mail messages.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, 800-236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
Updated: 4/19/2008
Weighing In
Eau Claire school board members did not want to be identified in this story because of concerns about violating closed-session meeting rules. But they agreed to make on-the-record statements as long as they weren't identified by name.
Board member Carol Craig was willing to make the following statement on the record.
"In the fall of 2007, the board of education became aware of rumored changes regarding Dr. Klaus' new contract as principal; we immediately addressed these concerns in closed session. There was unanimous board agreement that Dr. Klaus' contract did not allow for retirement stipend payments until he actually retired. Therefore, we took action to re-validate the original contract stipulations."
The Eau Claire school board is scheduled to discuss issues related to Klaus' contract on Monday in a closed-session meeting.
Thank You, Julian for your persistence!
Maria
Memo skirted school board
Olson said intent of backdating it was to move up stipend date for Klaus at his request
By Julian Emerson Leader-Telegram staff
Former Eau Claire school board president Carol Olson signed and backdated a document at former Superintendent Bill Klaus' request that would have provided Klaus with a portion of his retirement payments before he was eligible to receive them.
On Feb. 5, 2007, the school board approved changes to Klaus' contract allowing him to become Northstar Middle School principal, but several board members who voted on the agreement said issuing the stipend to Klaus before age 55 and his retirement wasn't part of the deal.
Just before his move from superintendent to Northstar Middle School principal in July, Klaus, 53, asked Olson to sign a document stipulating he begin receiving those payments - totalling about $45,000 annually for five years - starting Aug. 1.
The document signed by Olson was dated Feb. 5, the same date the board approved Klaus' contract changes allowing him to become a middle school principal.
However, Klaus and Olson admitted the document was placed in Klaus' personnel file sometime in June or July and backdated, making it appear as if it was part of the original agreement. The Leader-Telegram obtained the document after filing an Open Records request seeking information related to potential changes to Klaus' contract.
School board members and others familiar with the situation said that arrangement was not part of changes to Klaus' contract the board had approved in February. Several board members said they were unaware of the document signed by Olson until it surfaced in October amid questions by the Leader-Telegram and district educators.
Board members said they were stunned when they discovered the document signed by Olson had been made part of the agreement without their knowledge. Several questioned why Klaus sought Olson to sign the document when she had been off the board for at least two months.
District Personnel Director Jim Kling said granting Klaus or any other administrator stipend payments before retirement is "highly unusual." In fact, Kling, a longtime personnel director, said he is unaware of any other administrator or teacher in Wisconsin receiving early stipends.
"It's just not something I've ever seen," Kling said.
Klaus and Olson conceded that in hindsight, signing the document wasn't the best way to handle disagreement about the timing of the early stipend payments. But they defended their actions, saying they did not intend to circumvent terms of Klaus' contract.
Instead, Klaus said their actions were the result of a misunderstanding about when he was to begin receiving stipend payments, which represent the portion of his retirement to be paid by the school district. The timing of when Klaus would receive those payments does not change the total amount of money he would be paid.
Klaus said he requested the early payments because of concerns his family wouldn't receive his stipend money if he died before retirement. Instead, he said, the district would retain that money.
"In hindsight, we probably should have handled this differently," Klaus said. "But the intent was not to do something illegal or secretive."
Klaus said he approached Olson about signing the document because she was board president at the time the issue had been discussed. The longtime board president affirmed she was no longer a board member when asked to sign the document but said she did so because she believed the board had agreed to the early stipend payment.
She backdated the date the document was signed to Feb. 5, she said, to reflect that it was related to changes in Klaus' contract the board approved on that date.
"To the best of my recollection, (the early stipend payment) was what the board intended," she said.
The document bears only Olson's signature. Typically, documents signifying board action bear the signatures of the board president and clerk.
Olson denied that she and Klaus were part of a secret effort to pad Klaus' salary. He made $141,000 during his last year as superintendent, a salary that was reduced to $94,000 when he became principal.
"There was no discussion between us about this ahead of time," Olson responded when asked about assertions she and Klaus had conspired to secretly get around previous school board action regarding Klaus' contract.
Seeking the stipend
Klaus said he first mentioned his desire to receive the early stipend when he announced in January 2007 that he would become Northstar principal. In midsummer as he prepared to transition from superintendent to principal, Klaus approached Kling about the stipend payments, saying the board had authorized them.
Kling and Business Services Director Dan Van De Water subsequently reviewed Klaus' request and his contract, and they determined they could not authorize stipend payments without further evidence that the board approved it. At that point Klaus requested a document approving those payments be typed up and that Olson sign it.
Still, Kling and Van De Water refused to authorize Klaus' payments, in part because they questioned the timing of the document signed by Olson, Kling said.
"For us, Carol's letter wasn't enough to (approve the early stipend)," Kling said. "We felt like we needed to clear up the issue of what was the intent of the entire board."
Prompted by questions raised by the Leader-Telegram and district educators, board members called a special meeting on Oct. 24 to review the matter. During that meeting, board members denied the early retirement option and reaffirmed other portions of the February contract agreement. The board also added a provision guaranteeing that Klaus' family would receive his stipend payment in the event of his death.
"For me, that's really what I was concerned about," Klaus said of ensuring stipend payments would go to his family.
The board discussed the issue at subsequent meetings in closed session, and in December reiterated terms of Klaus' contract.
Keeping secrets
The board's December announcement that it was verifying Klaus' contract spurred questions about the matter, but district officials weren't forthcoming with details.
The Leader-Telegram in December filed an Open Records request seeking access to Klaus' personnel file, his contract, district e-mail messages related to the proposed changes to Klaus' contract and minutes of closed-session discussion of the topic.
District officials initially released a copy of Klaus' contract but did not include the document signed by Olson. Subsequent requests for information went unanswered. Various district officials, most notably board President Michael O'Brien, fought to delay release of the information. When asked why the district refused the Leader-Telegram's request for information, Kling said O'Brien told him that "the issue was taken care of."
O'Brien has refused comment on Klaus' contract, saying the topic is exempt from public scrutiny because discussion of it occurred in closed sessions.
Other board members gave similar responses or failed to respond to repeated requests for comment regarding the proposed change to Klaus' contract. Several of the seven board members said they could not discuss the issue because O'Brien, an attorney for the Weld, Riley, Prenn and Ricci law firm of Eau Claire, had advised them against it while the district awaits a decision regarding the matter from a Madison law firm.
District officials ultimately granted the Leader-Telegram access to Klaus' personnel file but have not yet provided copies of board meeting minutes about the topic or related e-mail messages.
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, 800-236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.
Updated: 4/19/2008
Weighing In
Eau Claire school board members did not want to be identified in this story because of concerns about violating closed-session meeting rules. But they agreed to make on-the-record statements as long as they weren't identified by name.
Board member Carol Craig was willing to make the following statement on the record.
"In the fall of 2007, the board of education became aware of rumored changes regarding Dr. Klaus' new contract as principal; we immediately addressed these concerns in closed session. There was unanimous board agreement that Dr. Klaus' contract did not allow for retirement stipend payments until he actually retired. Therefore, we took action to re-validate the original contract stipulations."
The Eau Claire school board is scheduled to discuss issues related to Klaus' contract on Monday in a closed-session meeting.
The Final Collapse of Pres. O'Brien's Year
The meeting of April 21, 2008 had all of the usual elements of confusion and dissent that have characterized the BOE meetings under Pres. O'Brien with an extra special layer of grimness due to the weekend news in the paper about the Klaus/Olson naughtiness. NOT ONE indication of remorse or apology or promise to seek the truth, be honest with the public and hold people accountable for their actions. There is no doubt that Pres. O'Brien, has used his position as President of the BOE and his employment with the Weld Riley law firm (the ECASD's legal counsel!!) to delay the disclosure of the fake/forged/illegal documents that were prepared in July/August 2007, shown to the BOE in the Fall of 2007, and withheld from public view for nearly 6 months! It is sickening how the actions of a very few people at the very top of the ECASD leadership have brought shame and harm to our school district.
As I have said repeatedly, as critical as I have been about Klaus and Olson in the past, I had NEVER suspected that they would be as greedy, unethical and capable of illegal doings as seems to be the case now. In the same way, in spite of my criticism of Pres. O'Brien and the glaring conflict of interest that has existed with his employer, I never believed that he would use his power as the BOE Pres. in conjunction with his legal knowledge and employment with Weld Riley to perpetrate the kind of senseless and damaging obstruction and failure to obey Open Meetings Laws statutes. Please go to the Open Meetings Laws label on this blog (on the right side the topics are listed) to read more about information I have posted in the past. In addition there is lots of information about Conflict of Interest in a separate Label/Topic. Sad, sad, sad....
Back to the meeting...
The meeting began at 6:00 p.m. with a Work Session dedicated to discussing the recommendations from the Little Red Study Committee (LRSC). Comm. Craig stepped forward with some information that she prepared that would be a prototype for "considerations for future citizen committees." She suggested that the ECASD could do something similar to the City of EC in that citizens who are interested in serving on such committees could "apply" and their names be kept on file and when citizen participants are needed they could be contacted. (I completely agree and actually suggested this during my own campaign a year ago as a way to increase citizen participation.) She also had an outline of other possible parameters for these committees such as having 7 members, etc... I will see if I can get an e-file of this document and post it on the blog. BOE members seemed receptive to this idea with comments that defining the "charge" and timeline of the committee would be crucial. Also, committees could bring in a variety of other "resource" people to contribute knowledge and expertise without having to add 12 additional voting members which could create huge and unproductive committees. BOE members agreed that Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) participation was crucial, Administrative members would be non-voting, the committees would be facilitated by an outside party with specific experience, etc... Very good exchange of ideas among board members. But we need followup on all of this to make it a reality!!
Then G. Butler presented 3 possible scenarios/actions/committees that could be pursued to accomplish the LRSC recommendations. The first was to create an advisory committee to "provide annual recommendations to the BOE regarding demographic trends, boundary issues, capacity updates, and other relevant data. This will allow for long range predictability of attendance areas, facility needs, and programmatic equity. The committee feels that this is a dynamic and critical component of district-wide planning." Yippee!! Yahoo!! I am all for this. Long overdue. BOE members agreed with this with several suggestions. Comm. Cummins expressed concern that this committee would need to be in consultation with the Montessori Governing Board that is kind of doing something similar as they work to find their "home". Comm. Craig held up a report from a committee several years ago, the Elementary Management Committee that could be a good example and provide some expertise now. Timeframe for beginning this would be to start forming the committee by the end of June to have it ready to go with new Supt. Heilmann.
Next was a discussion of the committee to move the Montessori program. The motion reads that "options should be presented to the BOE by Sept. 2008" but given all that is going on now, I am not sure if this will happen. A confusing exchange between Comm. Cummins and Craig and Butler when she asked "What is the decision for next year?" Butler: "It is about to be decided." Craig: "Has the Governing Board been consulted?" Butler: "They will not be left out." Well, if the decision is almost made, but they will not be left out, does that mean they have not YET been consulted? I dunno. A decision is due to the BOE on Sept. 15, 2008.
Finally, a discussion about using the nature trails at Little Red for the community and as a site for science curriculum opportunities. Again, kinda confusing. I think it ended up splitting into 2 charges; one for the community use of the trails and the second for the curricular part. Comm. Craig suggested seeking lots of community partners like the Sierra Club, Parks and Rec, UWEC, etc... Comm. Faanes suggested broadening the curricular piece to the middle and high school science departments. Butler announced that a neighbor had offered to clear trails and keep them maintained. Charlie Kramer indicated that NO facilities indoors (toilets) would be available as the well would be decommissioned. Results of this effort would come to the BOE no later than Nov. 17th 2008.
End of Work Session.
The Regular Meeting was opened and there were NO announcements from Closed Session. Yeah, that certainly has been the pattern.
Newly elected Board member Adam Shiel was introduced but would not be voting on any issues today.
Communications consisted of an announcement from Jim Leary that he is exploring the 2 hour delay option for inclement weather. He also has had conversation with Brian Levin-Stankewiz (sp?), the UWEC Chancellor, about having him come to a BOE meeting and discuss partnership possibilities. Chancellor Stankewiz is available June 2nd and could come before the meeting at 6:30 p.m. or at 7. Comm. Kneer suggested he come at 7 so he could be on PAC TV and that way the BOE "could show that we are interacting with the community." I swear on a Bible. After all the crap hitting the fan with the Klaus/Olson "troubles" Chancellor Stankewiz is, no doubt, triple booking his calendar for June 2nd so he does not have to be seen within 10 miles of the ECASD BOE.
Other Communications were that the Human Growth and Development committee is missing a BOE member and anyone interested should apply to Fred W. Also on May 3 there is a Governance Workshop put on by WASB and if any other BOE members are interested they can ride with Comm. Craig. NOTE: If one thing goes right for our district next year, it would be the use of Board Governance to manage the work and priorities of the BOE!!! Also was communicated that the BOE will meet in Closed Session with legal counsel tonight. I hope it is NOT the Weld Riley counsel that appears to have given us really lousy, and no doubt, very expensive legal advice on how to continue hiding BOE business from the taxpaying public.
Deputy Gregg asked for 3 BOE members to facilitate student representative interviews. Comm. Kneer, Cummins and Shiel volunteered.
Public Comments consisted of Bev Christiansen, head of the classified staff union objecting to the Employment Report that indicated that it contained 2 classified staff positions that were proposed for elimination without public input and discussion. I guess the proposal was to cut them effective May 30th but they are budgeted until the end of the year. She asked that the Employment Report NOT be approved.
After that there ensued a completely ridiculous, confusing and lengthy process regarding the approval of the Consent Agenda which included the Minutes from last meeting and the Employment report. Again, this was really confusing and not completely audible to audience members but the gist of it was:
Pres. O'Brien moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Comm. Craig indicated that the Minutes did not reflect the BOE's decision last time to postpone a decision about 2 employees and since then the BOE has received some kind of letter from one of the individuals. Therefore the last 2 layoffs on page 4 of the Employment Report should be removed. Comm. Cummins moved to amend the Minutes to properly reflect the discussion. Kling said that a letter had been received from legal counsel (ours? or theirs?) and Cummins said that today an additional letter was received requesting a BOE hearing. Kling said that 30 days notice was required but Cummins indicated that there is still time and that the Board should err on the side of seeing the entirelty of the information. Comm. Faanes suggested the matter could be taken up at the May 7th meeting. Comm. Kneer said that "the community has asked us to eliminate positions" which was followed by loud booing. Pres. O'Brien said that that kind of behavior will not be tolerated (but, I guess, faking and hiding documents is OK). Comm. Craid indicated that this was "extremely extenuating circumstances". Cummins made a "friendly amendment" that the Minutes should reflect the change but it failed because Kneer, O'Brien and Wogahn voted "NO". Comm. Wogahn looked extremely confused about what the heck was going on and at the reaction to his "NO" vote since previously he seemed OK with the delay. Cummins then asked O'Brien to recuse himself due to Conflict of Interest. O'Brien refused saying he was elected to represent the citizens of the district and it is his duty and obligation to serve unless there is a direct violation of the statute. (How about the numerous statutes that require elected officials to conduct the business of Government without secrecy?) Cummins said that was fine as long as the Weld Riley firm will not be used to defend the district against any legal action brought in this case.
Comm. Craig diplomatically said that "it is ultimately up to the individual" and moved that 2 separate motions be voted on. This motion was approved unanimously. Next motion: to approve Minutes as amended: unanimous approval. Next Motion: to accept the Employment Report: NO's by Cummins, Craig and Faanes which, I think, left the Employment Report without Approval and therefore the new Superintendent could not be hired. Hmmmmm... New motion to reconsider removing the last 2 positions from the Employment Report: approved unanimously. Take it from me, you had to be there to fully appreciate the drama.
The Financial Report was approved unanimously, the Payroll report was approved with abstentions from O'Brien and Faanes due to spousal employment. Budget Adjustments: unanimous. CESA 10 contract: unanimous, but shouldn't Mary Kneer have abstained since I think she is the Chair of this Committee and might even get a stipend for her service?? Is it too much to ask that after all the complications this board has had with Conflict of Interest that they draft a policy and get a little In Service about this topic??
The Regular Committee meeting was opened and the Senior Citizen Pass proposal passed unanimously. The CINC proposal also passed unanimously with blessings from Dan V, that using Fund Balance for the first year start up is reasonable. The proposal to move the Middle School Sports program to Fund 80 passed unanimously as well with discussion about competing against existing community or private school programs, the cost of the ECASD programs being higher than others due to coach costs and "higher quality" and addressing some of the potential time problems for other students arriving from other school locations to participate.
Then there was a presentation of the Middle School Exploratory Wheel program structure changing from a quarter to a semester plan. This seemed to be solving a scheduling problem for many travelling teachers who offer these elective courses. BOE members had some questions but I did not detect any large concerns.
Then, the moment we were all waiting for: the presentation of the award to Pres. O'Brien for all his service to the district in 9 years. Mary Kneer was beaming and gushing. O'Brien quoting some saying n the Library of Congress in Washington DC about "Society's greatest duty is the education of its youth." He remembered a time spent with some students when he opened it up for questions because "I really like answering questions." (Just not questions from reporters about things you have been hiding for 6 months, I guess.) He graciously thanked the teachers of the district and those that have presented at Board meetings as he says he learned a lot. He was confident that Dr. Heilmann will lead the district to "a better place" and encouraged people to "work together and work with respect". How about respect for ethics and accountability and transparency which are necessary for good government?
Adjourn! The BOE then went into Closed Session with the legal beagles to try to sort out this pile of crap that former and current leaders have left on the doorstep of the ECASD.
As I have said repeatedly, as critical as I have been about Klaus and Olson in the past, I had NEVER suspected that they would be as greedy, unethical and capable of illegal doings as seems to be the case now. In the same way, in spite of my criticism of Pres. O'Brien and the glaring conflict of interest that has existed with his employer, I never believed that he would use his power as the BOE Pres. in conjunction with his legal knowledge and employment with Weld Riley to perpetrate the kind of senseless and damaging obstruction and failure to obey Open Meetings Laws statutes. Please go to the Open Meetings Laws label on this blog (on the right side the topics are listed) to read more about information I have posted in the past. In addition there is lots of information about Conflict of Interest in a separate Label/Topic. Sad, sad, sad....
Back to the meeting...
The meeting began at 6:00 p.m. with a Work Session dedicated to discussing the recommendations from the Little Red Study Committee (LRSC). Comm. Craig stepped forward with some information that she prepared that would be a prototype for "considerations for future citizen committees." She suggested that the ECASD could do something similar to the City of EC in that citizens who are interested in serving on such committees could "apply" and their names be kept on file and when citizen participants are needed they could be contacted. (I completely agree and actually suggested this during my own campaign a year ago as a way to increase citizen participation.) She also had an outline of other possible parameters for these committees such as having 7 members, etc... I will see if I can get an e-file of this document and post it on the blog. BOE members seemed receptive to this idea with comments that defining the "charge" and timeline of the committee would be crucial. Also, committees could bring in a variety of other "resource" people to contribute knowledge and expertise without having to add 12 additional voting members which could create huge and unproductive committees. BOE members agreed that Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) participation was crucial, Administrative members would be non-voting, the committees would be facilitated by an outside party with specific experience, etc... Very good exchange of ideas among board members. But we need followup on all of this to make it a reality!!
Then G. Butler presented 3 possible scenarios/actions/committees that could be pursued to accomplish the LRSC recommendations. The first was to create an advisory committee to "provide annual recommendations to the BOE regarding demographic trends, boundary issues, capacity updates, and other relevant data. This will allow for long range predictability of attendance areas, facility needs, and programmatic equity. The committee feels that this is a dynamic and critical component of district-wide planning." Yippee!! Yahoo!! I am all for this. Long overdue. BOE members agreed with this with several suggestions. Comm. Cummins expressed concern that this committee would need to be in consultation with the Montessori Governing Board that is kind of doing something similar as they work to find their "home". Comm. Craig held up a report from a committee several years ago, the Elementary Management Committee that could be a good example and provide some expertise now. Timeframe for beginning this would be to start forming the committee by the end of June to have it ready to go with new Supt. Heilmann.
Next was a discussion of the committee to move the Montessori program. The motion reads that "options should be presented to the BOE by Sept. 2008" but given all that is going on now, I am not sure if this will happen. A confusing exchange between Comm. Cummins and Craig and Butler when she asked "What is the decision for next year?" Butler: "It is about to be decided." Craig: "Has the Governing Board been consulted?" Butler: "They will not be left out." Well, if the decision is almost made, but they will not be left out, does that mean they have not YET been consulted? I dunno. A decision is due to the BOE on Sept. 15, 2008.
Finally, a discussion about using the nature trails at Little Red for the community and as a site for science curriculum opportunities. Again, kinda confusing. I think it ended up splitting into 2 charges; one for the community use of the trails and the second for the curricular part. Comm. Craig suggested seeking lots of community partners like the Sierra Club, Parks and Rec, UWEC, etc... Comm. Faanes suggested broadening the curricular piece to the middle and high school science departments. Butler announced that a neighbor had offered to clear trails and keep them maintained. Charlie Kramer indicated that NO facilities indoors (toilets) would be available as the well would be decommissioned. Results of this effort would come to the BOE no later than Nov. 17th 2008.
End of Work Session.
The Regular Meeting was opened and there were NO announcements from Closed Session. Yeah, that certainly has been the pattern.
Newly elected Board member Adam Shiel was introduced but would not be voting on any issues today.
Communications consisted of an announcement from Jim Leary that he is exploring the 2 hour delay option for inclement weather. He also has had conversation with Brian Levin-Stankewiz (sp?), the UWEC Chancellor, about having him come to a BOE meeting and discuss partnership possibilities. Chancellor Stankewiz is available June 2nd and could come before the meeting at 6:30 p.m. or at 7. Comm. Kneer suggested he come at 7 so he could be on PAC TV and that way the BOE "could show that we are interacting with the community." I swear on a Bible. After all the crap hitting the fan with the Klaus/Olson "troubles" Chancellor Stankewiz is, no doubt, triple booking his calendar for June 2nd so he does not have to be seen within 10 miles of the ECASD BOE.
Other Communications were that the Human Growth and Development committee is missing a BOE member and anyone interested should apply to Fred W. Also on May 3 there is a Governance Workshop put on by WASB and if any other BOE members are interested they can ride with Comm. Craig. NOTE: If one thing goes right for our district next year, it would be the use of Board Governance to manage the work and priorities of the BOE!!! Also was communicated that the BOE will meet in Closed Session with legal counsel tonight. I hope it is NOT the Weld Riley counsel that appears to have given us really lousy, and no doubt, very expensive legal advice on how to continue hiding BOE business from the taxpaying public.
Deputy Gregg asked for 3 BOE members to facilitate student representative interviews. Comm. Kneer, Cummins and Shiel volunteered.
Public Comments consisted of Bev Christiansen, head of the classified staff union objecting to the Employment Report that indicated that it contained 2 classified staff positions that were proposed for elimination without public input and discussion. I guess the proposal was to cut them effective May 30th but they are budgeted until the end of the year. She asked that the Employment Report NOT be approved.
After that there ensued a completely ridiculous, confusing and lengthy process regarding the approval of the Consent Agenda which included the Minutes from last meeting and the Employment report. Again, this was really confusing and not completely audible to audience members but the gist of it was:
Pres. O'Brien moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Comm. Craig indicated that the Minutes did not reflect the BOE's decision last time to postpone a decision about 2 employees and since then the BOE has received some kind of letter from one of the individuals. Therefore the last 2 layoffs on page 4 of the Employment Report should be removed. Comm. Cummins moved to amend the Minutes to properly reflect the discussion. Kling said that a letter had been received from legal counsel (ours? or theirs?) and Cummins said that today an additional letter was received requesting a BOE hearing. Kling said that 30 days notice was required but Cummins indicated that there is still time and that the Board should err on the side of seeing the entirelty of the information. Comm. Faanes suggested the matter could be taken up at the May 7th meeting. Comm. Kneer said that "the community has asked us to eliminate positions" which was followed by loud booing. Pres. O'Brien said that that kind of behavior will not be tolerated (but, I guess, faking and hiding documents is OK). Comm. Craid indicated that this was "extremely extenuating circumstances". Cummins made a "friendly amendment" that the Minutes should reflect the change but it failed because Kneer, O'Brien and Wogahn voted "NO". Comm. Wogahn looked extremely confused about what the heck was going on and at the reaction to his "NO" vote since previously he seemed OK with the delay. Cummins then asked O'Brien to recuse himself due to Conflict of Interest. O'Brien refused saying he was elected to represent the citizens of the district and it is his duty and obligation to serve unless there is a direct violation of the statute. (How about the numerous statutes that require elected officials to conduct the business of Government without secrecy?) Cummins said that was fine as long as the Weld Riley firm will not be used to defend the district against any legal action brought in this case.
Comm. Craig diplomatically said that "it is ultimately up to the individual" and moved that 2 separate motions be voted on. This motion was approved unanimously. Next motion: to approve Minutes as amended: unanimous approval. Next Motion: to accept the Employment Report: NO's by Cummins, Craig and Faanes which, I think, left the Employment Report without Approval and therefore the new Superintendent could not be hired. Hmmmmm... New motion to reconsider removing the last 2 positions from the Employment Report: approved unanimously. Take it from me, you had to be there to fully appreciate the drama.
The Financial Report was approved unanimously, the Payroll report was approved with abstentions from O'Brien and Faanes due to spousal employment. Budget Adjustments: unanimous. CESA 10 contract: unanimous, but shouldn't Mary Kneer have abstained since I think she is the Chair of this Committee and might even get a stipend for her service?? Is it too much to ask that after all the complications this board has had with Conflict of Interest that they draft a policy and get a little In Service about this topic??
The Regular Committee meeting was opened and the Senior Citizen Pass proposal passed unanimously. The CINC proposal also passed unanimously with blessings from Dan V, that using Fund Balance for the first year start up is reasonable. The proposal to move the Middle School Sports program to Fund 80 passed unanimously as well with discussion about competing against existing community or private school programs, the cost of the ECASD programs being higher than others due to coach costs and "higher quality" and addressing some of the potential time problems for other students arriving from other school locations to participate.
Then there was a presentation of the Middle School Exploratory Wheel program structure changing from a quarter to a semester plan. This seemed to be solving a scheduling problem for many travelling teachers who offer these elective courses. BOE members had some questions but I did not detect any large concerns.
Then, the moment we were all waiting for: the presentation of the award to Pres. O'Brien for all his service to the district in 9 years. Mary Kneer was beaming and gushing. O'Brien quoting some saying n the Library of Congress in Washington DC about "Society's greatest duty is the education of its youth." He remembered a time spent with some students when he opened it up for questions because "I really like answering questions." (Just not questions from reporters about things you have been hiding for 6 months, I guess.) He graciously thanked the teachers of the district and those that have presented at Board meetings as he says he learned a lot. He was confident that Dr. Heilmann will lead the district to "a better place" and encouraged people to "work together and work with respect". How about respect for ethics and accountability and transparency which are necessary for good government?
Adjourn! The BOE then went into Closed Session with the legal beagles to try to sort out this pile of crap that former and current leaders have left on the doorstep of the ECASD.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
BOE meeting, April 7, 2008
The BOE held a Work Session beginning at 5:00 p.m. to review several items. Comm. Wogahn was absent. I arrived late and the BOE was in the middle of a discussion about the Community Survey and how that would move forward. REMINDER: This discussion in April 2008 is a continuation of presentations that were made in June 2007 (10 months ago!) as a beginning point to the Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) effort that was approved unanimously in February of 2007 (15 months ago!). There is a label in this Blog that you can reference about that effort. Ken Faanes was leading the discussion which was fairly confusing due to the significant delay between the original presentations and the current effort. A few comments from my notes:
Comm. Cummins thought that the BOE should be clear that they intend to use the "product" from this effort to adhere to the Feb. 15, 2007 motion to undertake CCP.
Pres. O'Brien was concerned that there would be weeks of study without a clear community consensus.
Comm. Faanes thought that the wording of the survey should avoid talk of referendum.
Comm. Craig indicated that the option of "do nothing" is unacceptable and that as a compromise, the BOE could use the services of the Springsted Group. Again, see previous CCP posting.
Someone raised the option of using the WEAC services that had been made available by ECAE Pres., JoEllen Burke but G. Butler indicated that service was "limited."
Comm. Craig wanted to use the PAC and the website to encourage the public to respond.
Comm. Kneer's comment: "Let's get going! We keep hearing that we aren't doing anything and we really aren't." I swear to God.
Comm. Bollinger suggested that they "use the old RFP" (Request for Proposal) to which Comm. Faanes said "There was no RFP." At some point, Pres. O'Brine just said that they would direct Administration to proceed.
Then Bob Scidmore gave a Technology Update and Future Direction that indicated that there is a one-time chance for the ECASD to make an investment in owning our own network (rather than leasing it from Charter). Apparently the leased costs will double next year but we will only have a fraction of the capacity we currently have. Bad News as the need for more capacity is increasing exponentially and the Charter option somehow locks the ECASD into the Main Office building as their network operations site. If the ECASD joined many community partners in financing this new network (CINC?) we would have plenty of capacity at lower cost and the project would pay for itself in less than 5 years. Cost next year would be $300,000 to lease but $600,000 to build our own. Comm. Cummins and Craig suggested using Fund Balance (in consultation with Dan V.) since this would be a one-time non-recurring expense.
Time was running out so BOE members agreed that there was not adequate time left to give attention to the Little Red Study Committee Recommendations. Another Work Session was scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. on April 21 to have this discussion. G. Butler also suggested that the SAGE Committee be discussed and Comm. Craig indicated that the Charter Advisory Committee recommendations need attention. Lots of stuff that needs ongoing attention and participation of citizens, staff and the BOE. I suggest that, in lieu of the desperately needed Board Governance initiative, somebody better start making a list and checking it twice.
The Regular Meeting then was called to order and the announcement from Closed Session was that the BOE had unanimously approved the hiring of Dr. Ron Heilmann. Announcements included that Carol Craig and Adam Shiel were elected to the BOE and a teache, Odelia McGlaughlin (sp?) won an ccounting Award. Sorry that I may have missed the name on this but I am a really bad stenographer when lots of things are being announced. Also a couple of students won Kohl scholarships.
Dr. Leary announced that he is investigating a possible policy that would allow for a 2 hour delay of school due to inclement weather rather than having to cancel for a full day. G. Butler indicated that applications for student representatives to the BOE are due next week. Also on 5-15-08 there will be an all administrator meeting including principals to share the Continuous Improvement results.
Public Comments consisted of yours truly congratulating Dr. Craig on her impressive margin of victory and the recognition that the public sees her continuous calls for Strategic Planning and Community Engagement important. I renewed my request that the BOE initiate planning for our district and that the referendum results from a year ago clearly indicated that without planning or shared responsibility with the public, we can hope for no improvement. I also indicated that I disapproved of the proposal to eliminate the Grant Writer position as, in my experience, Grant Writers pay for their salaries many times over with successful grants. Gretchen Beckstrom, a teacher at Northstar, indicated her support for the ECAE bargaining team and thanked teachers for their unity and she hopes for a settlement soon.
On the Consent Agenda there was some discussion about the resignation of a Building Service Manager and Comm. Craig suggested that this position not be filled and Comm. Cummins concurred. Pres. O'Brien disagreed. Comm. Wogahn suggested that the BOE take time to gather information and they agreed that the job would NOT be posted as of now.
The motion from last meeting giving the administrators and other non-affiliated employees a 2.0% increase in total compensation for '07-'08 and 2.5% in '08-'09 was approved with Comm. Cummins dissenting and Pres. O'Brien abstaining (his wife is an employee in this group). Cummins said her non-approval was based on her understanding that a different scenario had been laid out in Closed Session and that this employee group typically followed the teachers agreement which has not been settled.
All members approved the open enrollment applications and the gifting policy and the SAGE waivers for all 8 schools currently in the program.
The Regular Committee meeting was called to order with G. Butler giving an update on the CESA 10 contract which includes a lot of shared services that CESA can do more cheaply than the ECASD can do them. Comm. Cummins had a question about support staff for Montessori and McKinley Charter schools, Comm. Bollinger asked about the Instructional Material Center and Mr. F. Weissenburger assured him that it was very beneficial to be involved in this consortium. They also talked about the EC County Off-Campus school that is at CVTC but I am not sure what types of student use this facility that the ECASD pays rent of $23,000/year. Also, the Foster Grandparents program cost us $999 but Fred W. said it is a really "good value" for the district.
Dr. Leary shared hs draft of the Senior Citizen Pass to ECASD events. Not too much controversy on this item! Comm. Cummins suggested to get the Senior Tax Incentive program (I think Altoona has this) to get more help in the buildings. Comm. Craig suggested getting a business to sponsor it and Leary will investigate. Mr. Kling clarified that this pass will NOT be valid for WIAA sponsored events.
Then there was an extremely informative report from Paula Wainscott and Dan Walsh about the EC4T (aka 4 year old kindergarten). In 3 years the program has grown by 30%, and 90% of parents indicate they would recommend it to others. Next year there are 732 children registered up from 439 in '05-'06! Right now there are 22 sites, including 5 ECASD Head Start sites. There were several handouts all indicating the importance of EARLY childhood education for best academic results for children. The EC4T program seemed to be emphasizing needy students and the importance of preparing all children to be ready for kindergarten. Also, elementary teachers have been very pleased with the program and how it helps children be ready to learn. There is transportation available (but not for kids in daycare sites) which allows parents to request transportation and their child will be placed in a site and session that is on the bus routes.
Comm. Craig commented that she was critical 4 years ago but now was VERY IMPRESSED and happy that they had solved the transportation problem. Comm. Wogahn: "Kudos to you!" All BOE members thanked the presenters for their work and success.
Next was a discussion about funding for national competitions in light of the Memorial HS Jazz Band request for funding their upcoming trip to NYC to compete in the Essentially Ellington event. Mr. Weissenburger indicated that funding for national competitions was eliminated from the budget in '98'-99. Comm. Kneer felt that funding this request was a "slippery slope". Comm. Cummins commented that the discussion "speaks to the priorities of our community" that there is funding for hockey but not music. There was confusion as Mr. Weissenburger erroneously classified the Essentially Ellington competition as an "invitation" rather than a competitive reward. Parent Paul Kuehn clarified the error and teacher Bruce Hering thanked the BOE for other support of the Music programs.
This was followed by a discussion of the restructuring of the Dept. of Technology presented by Bob Scidmore. He indicated that there was currently a weakness in the organization of the Technology Dept. n that there was no redundancy nor backup for critical needs and applications. Scidmore proposed cutting 2 positions and creating 1 new position. This was feasible because apparently the software now is so powerful and end users can do their own reporting. Thee was some questioning by BOE members about the job description that seemed so specific that it appeared it was written with someone in mind. Comm. Craig commented that "even Mr. Bollinger who is skilled in all areas doesn't meet these qualifications!" Bollinger's comment back was that there are a lot of individuals who never got degrees but he thought it was a reasonable job description. There was some mention about Closed Session discussion that was lost on me.
More discussion on the Grant Writer position that was proposed to be dropped due to budget reductions but F. Weissenburger said that UWEC may not want to collaborate on the position so we would discontinue the partnership and roll it into another position.
Legislative Report was that across the state 30 referenda passed and 30 failed. in Western Wisconsin only 3 passed and 9 failed. Also, the gap in student achievement for African American children is growing and the state of Wisconsin is the worst. Also, WI is now 17th in the country for funding and 10 years ago we were 11th in the nation. The census reports indicate that WI is 17th in instructional salaries and 6th in benefits. I don't know how Eau Claire stacks up i the state of WI to these figures.
Comm. Cummins indicate that the Clear Vision Community Planning process is coming t an end.
Adjourned at 9:40 p.m!!
Comm. Cummins thought that the BOE should be clear that they intend to use the "product" from this effort to adhere to the Feb. 15, 2007 motion to undertake CCP.
Pres. O'Brien was concerned that there would be weeks of study without a clear community consensus.
Comm. Faanes thought that the wording of the survey should avoid talk of referendum.
Comm. Craig indicated that the option of "do nothing" is unacceptable and that as a compromise, the BOE could use the services of the Springsted Group. Again, see previous CCP posting.
Someone raised the option of using the WEAC services that had been made available by ECAE Pres., JoEllen Burke but G. Butler indicated that service was "limited."
Comm. Craig wanted to use the PAC and the website to encourage the public to respond.
Comm. Kneer's comment: "Let's get going! We keep hearing that we aren't doing anything and we really aren't." I swear to God.
Comm. Bollinger suggested that they "use the old RFP" (Request for Proposal) to which Comm. Faanes said "There was no RFP." At some point, Pres. O'Brine just said that they would direct Administration to proceed.
Then Bob Scidmore gave a Technology Update and Future Direction that indicated that there is a one-time chance for the ECASD to make an investment in owning our own network (rather than leasing it from Charter). Apparently the leased costs will double next year but we will only have a fraction of the capacity we currently have. Bad News as the need for more capacity is increasing exponentially and the Charter option somehow locks the ECASD into the Main Office building as their network operations site. If the ECASD joined many community partners in financing this new network (CINC?) we would have plenty of capacity at lower cost and the project would pay for itself in less than 5 years. Cost next year would be $300,000 to lease but $600,000 to build our own. Comm. Cummins and Craig suggested using Fund Balance (in consultation with Dan V.) since this would be a one-time non-recurring expense.
Time was running out so BOE members agreed that there was not adequate time left to give attention to the Little Red Study Committee Recommendations. Another Work Session was scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. on April 21 to have this discussion. G. Butler also suggested that the SAGE Committee be discussed and Comm. Craig indicated that the Charter Advisory Committee recommendations need attention. Lots of stuff that needs ongoing attention and participation of citizens, staff and the BOE. I suggest that, in lieu of the desperately needed Board Governance initiative, somebody better start making a list and checking it twice.
The Regular Meeting then was called to order and the announcement from Closed Session was that the BOE had unanimously approved the hiring of Dr. Ron Heilmann. Announcements included that Carol Craig and Adam Shiel were elected to the BOE and a teache, Odelia McGlaughlin (sp?) won an ccounting Award. Sorry that I may have missed the name on this but I am a really bad stenographer when lots of things are being announced. Also a couple of students won Kohl scholarships.
Dr. Leary announced that he is investigating a possible policy that would allow for a 2 hour delay of school due to inclement weather rather than having to cancel for a full day. G. Butler indicated that applications for student representatives to the BOE are due next week. Also on 5-15-08 there will be an all administrator meeting including principals to share the Continuous Improvement results.
Public Comments consisted of yours truly congratulating Dr. Craig on her impressive margin of victory and the recognition that the public sees her continuous calls for Strategic Planning and Community Engagement important. I renewed my request that the BOE initiate planning for our district and that the referendum results from a year ago clearly indicated that without planning or shared responsibility with the public, we can hope for no improvement. I also indicated that I disapproved of the proposal to eliminate the Grant Writer position as, in my experience, Grant Writers pay for their salaries many times over with successful grants. Gretchen Beckstrom, a teacher at Northstar, indicated her support for the ECAE bargaining team and thanked teachers for their unity and she hopes for a settlement soon.
On the Consent Agenda there was some discussion about the resignation of a Building Service Manager and Comm. Craig suggested that this position not be filled and Comm. Cummins concurred. Pres. O'Brien disagreed. Comm. Wogahn suggested that the BOE take time to gather information and they agreed that the job would NOT be posted as of now.
The motion from last meeting giving the administrators and other non-affiliated employees a 2.0% increase in total compensation for '07-'08 and 2.5% in '08-'09 was approved with Comm. Cummins dissenting and Pres. O'Brien abstaining (his wife is an employee in this group). Cummins said her non-approval was based on her understanding that a different scenario had been laid out in Closed Session and that this employee group typically followed the teachers agreement which has not been settled.
All members approved the open enrollment applications and the gifting policy and the SAGE waivers for all 8 schools currently in the program.
The Regular Committee meeting was called to order with G. Butler giving an update on the CESA 10 contract which includes a lot of shared services that CESA can do more cheaply than the ECASD can do them. Comm. Cummins had a question about support staff for Montessori and McKinley Charter schools, Comm. Bollinger asked about the Instructional Material Center and Mr. F. Weissenburger assured him that it was very beneficial to be involved in this consortium. They also talked about the EC County Off-Campus school that is at CVTC but I am not sure what types of student use this facility that the ECASD pays rent of $23,000/year. Also, the Foster Grandparents program cost us $999 but Fred W. said it is a really "good value" for the district.
Dr. Leary shared hs draft of the Senior Citizen Pass to ECASD events. Not too much controversy on this item! Comm. Cummins suggested to get the Senior Tax Incentive program (I think Altoona has this) to get more help in the buildings. Comm. Craig suggested getting a business to sponsor it and Leary will investigate. Mr. Kling clarified that this pass will NOT be valid for WIAA sponsored events.
Then there was an extremely informative report from Paula Wainscott and Dan Walsh about the EC4T (aka 4 year old kindergarten). In 3 years the program has grown by 30%, and 90% of parents indicate they would recommend it to others. Next year there are 732 children registered up from 439 in '05-'06! Right now there are 22 sites, including 5 ECASD Head Start sites. There were several handouts all indicating the importance of EARLY childhood education for best academic results for children. The EC4T program seemed to be emphasizing needy students and the importance of preparing all children to be ready for kindergarten. Also, elementary teachers have been very pleased with the program and how it helps children be ready to learn. There is transportation available (but not for kids in daycare sites) which allows parents to request transportation and their child will be placed in a site and session that is on the bus routes.
Comm. Craig commented that she was critical 4 years ago but now was VERY IMPRESSED and happy that they had solved the transportation problem. Comm. Wogahn: "Kudos to you!" All BOE members thanked the presenters for their work and success.
Next was a discussion about funding for national competitions in light of the Memorial HS Jazz Band request for funding their upcoming trip to NYC to compete in the Essentially Ellington event. Mr. Weissenburger indicated that funding for national competitions was eliminated from the budget in '98'-99. Comm. Kneer felt that funding this request was a "slippery slope". Comm. Cummins commented that the discussion "speaks to the priorities of our community" that there is funding for hockey but not music. There was confusion as Mr. Weissenburger erroneously classified the Essentially Ellington competition as an "invitation" rather than a competitive reward. Parent Paul Kuehn clarified the error and teacher Bruce Hering thanked the BOE for other support of the Music programs.
This was followed by a discussion of the restructuring of the Dept. of Technology presented by Bob Scidmore. He indicated that there was currently a weakness in the organization of the Technology Dept. n that there was no redundancy nor backup for critical needs and applications. Scidmore proposed cutting 2 positions and creating 1 new position. This was feasible because apparently the software now is so powerful and end users can do their own reporting. Thee was some questioning by BOE members about the job description that seemed so specific that it appeared it was written with someone in mind. Comm. Craig commented that "even Mr. Bollinger who is skilled in all areas doesn't meet these qualifications!" Bollinger's comment back was that there are a lot of individuals who never got degrees but he thought it was a reasonable job description. There was some mention about Closed Session discussion that was lost on me.
More discussion on the Grant Writer position that was proposed to be dropped due to budget reductions but F. Weissenburger said that UWEC may not want to collaborate on the position so we would discontinue the partnership and roll it into another position.
Legislative Report was that across the state 30 referenda passed and 30 failed. in Western Wisconsin only 3 passed and 9 failed. Also, the gap in student achievement for African American children is growing and the state of Wisconsin is the worst. Also, WI is now 17th in the country for funding and 10 years ago we were 11th in the nation. The census reports indicate that WI is 17th in instructional salaries and 6th in benefits. I don't know how Eau Claire stacks up i the state of WI to these figures.
Comm. Cummins indicate that the Clear Vision Community Planning process is coming t an end.
Adjourned at 9:40 p.m!!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
They're Baaaaaaack!!!
The following post is LONG and goes back to events of several months ago only because definitive information verifying the "rumors" has been unavailable until recently. I believed that it was important enough to wait until the proper documents were available and reviewed before putting information into the public domain. Sadly, what was "rumored" was fully supported by actual documents recently received.
The BOTTOM LINE:
Former Superintendent Klaus and Former BOE President Olson collaborated and created a document in the summer of 2007 that was intended to allow Dr. Klaus to collect his early retirement stipend while he was still working as a Principal. This document was backdated to Feb. 5, 2007 to agree with the dates on his legitimate contract. The document was inserted into Dr. Klaus' personnel file and then was used by him to try to increase his compensation. During the Fall of 2007 the current BOE members became aware of this attempt to falsify Board action and manipulate Dr. Klaus' compensation. It appears that NO DISCIPLINARY action was taken as Dr. Klaus is clearly still employed by the ECASD in a position of trust and high remuneration as a Principal. No legal action appears to have been taken against former BOE President Olson who created, backdated and signed a document that falsified action of elected officials.
Accountability has flown the coop. Transparency is a pipe dream. Honesty is not part of the Core Values of the ECASD.
Just when we thought that Former Superintendent Bill Klaus and Former BOE President Carol Olson had done enough damage to our district and that they had "moved on", I heard rumors from community members in November 2007 (yup, 5 months ago) that they were doing some really naughty things! When I first heard this story I was absolutely flabbergasted as it sounded truly beyond belief. Again, even though my harshest criticism of our former leadership would include words like "incompetent" and "arrogant" I have NEVER believed that Klaus or Olson were downright greedy, unethical and, guilty of illegal acts. I was wrong.
Anyway, the short version of the story I heard in November was the following:
1. That former Supt. Klaus was expecting some form of "stipend" ($2,000/month) that he had in his position as Supt. to be continued in his position as a Principal which he started in July 2007.
2. That in July he spoke with former BOE Pres., Carol Olson, who apparently agreed that he was entitled to this compensation.
3. That in July 2007, after her tenure with the BOE was fully completed she signed and backdated some documents that would allow this stipend payment to continue.
Since this "news" seemed to be well circulated in the public I contacted Dr. Leary, Mr. VandeWater and Mr. Kling who would know about any such agreements or payments. I asked them to please "clarify this and put to rest this rumor as being NOT TRUE so we can get staff and citizens back to the business of focusing on the business of our district and with students." The silence was deafening. No response at all.
A few days later I received a phone call at my home with an ECASD "caller ID". I no longer have school age children at home so this was a little unusual. I answered the phone and the caller said: " Maria, this is Bill Klaus. I just got a phone call from a local attorney offering to defend me in a lawsuit against you." I asked him why he would sue me and he said that the attorney had just read him an e-mail from me. Hmmm....
The BOE was informed of this event on the day it happened (Dec. 3, 2007). On Dec. 6th I wrote another e-mail to follow-up with Dr. Leary, Mr. VandeWater and Mr. Kling that contained the following:
How does an e-mail from a citizen asking about serious legal and ethical questions regarding a current ECASD employee and the former Pres. of the BOE result in a not-so-thinly-veiled threat of legal action against the person asking the question?
In our telephone conversation Dr. Klaus did confirm that a document regarding his compensation was prepared in July/Aug. 2007 and signed by Former BOE Pres. Carol Olson (a timeframe when she had absolutely no legal authority for such action). He further stated that the date she signed on the document was Feb. 2007 which was a time that she was Pres. of the ECASD BOE.
Clearly, the actions of Dr. Klaus and Ms. Olson will be viewed by the public as an abuse of their former leadership positions in the ECASD. Any further erosion of public trust in the ECASD would be terribly destructive. However the response by the current leadership of the ECASD and the BOE has the potential to demonstrate to our community an absolute commitment to the expectation of honesty, fairness and transparency. (I ask you to consider the theoretical response of the leadership of the ECASD Administration and BOE to discovering that a teacher attempted to manipulate/increase their compensation in actions similar to those of Dr. Klaus and Ms. Olson.)
I think that it is clear that the seriousness of this has elevated and deserves a response. I respectfully ask the following:
1. Who else received a copy of the e-mail I sent to you?
2. Were any other ECASD employees involved in this incident?
3. Since these actions are now the subject of growing public discussion and dismay, what is the response to our community by the ECASD leadership and BOE?
I can assure you that I am completely committed to looking to the future of our district. Because of that, I think that it is crucial that leadership errors from the past be dealt with in a timely, fair and transparent manner.
Both Dr. Leary and Mr. VandeWater lateralled the ball to Mr. Kling who never responded at all.
Shortly after this my father died and I was out of town and busy with family and the Holidays and I did not do any additional follow up until January 2008. At this point I was aware that the LT and others were asking for copies of documents related to Dr. Klaus' compensation but they were all being stonewalled by the ECASD Administration and BOE leadership (Pres. O'Brien to be precise). Multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were filed with the district with no response or additional delays. Attorneys here in Eau Claire as well as Madison were consulted and the taxpayers of EC will be paying for all this needless legal wrangling and avoidance of just telling the truth.
Here is another instance of where Conflict of Interest is harmful to good decision-making: Pres. O'Brien's employer, the Weld Riley law firm, is also the legal counsel for the ECASD. When a legal sticky wicket like this shows up the complications of obtaining an INDEPENDENT legal opinion about possible unethical/illegal activity involving persons who have worked for years together (Klaus, Olson and the Weld, Riley attorneys) is completely compromised.
FINALLY on the Friday afternoon before Spring Break word was that the documents were available to review at the ECASD Main Office. I have no doubt that all of this delay was due to Mr. O'Brien's desire to avoid having to actually make a few tough decisions during his tenure as President of the BOE that might involve some legal unpleasantness with Mr. Klaus and Ms. Olson, his former BOE buddy. I have repeatedly indicated that one of the past leadership failings of the BOE has been the inappropriate chumminess with ECASD Administration that has left them without the proper independence in decision-making.
Anyway, we have the documents. I am too much a technological lame brain to be able to post them on the blog. I am consulting some technological whiz kids who might be able to get them posted here so the rest of you can see the sad truth. For now we just need to keep hoping that we will keep making progress in other ways and the lousy leadership of the past will not insert themselves into the present anymore!
The BOTTOM LINE:
Former Superintendent Klaus and Former BOE President Olson collaborated and created a document in the summer of 2007 that was intended to allow Dr. Klaus to collect his early retirement stipend while he was still working as a Principal. This document was backdated to Feb. 5, 2007 to agree with the dates on his legitimate contract. The document was inserted into Dr. Klaus' personnel file and then was used by him to try to increase his compensation. During the Fall of 2007 the current BOE members became aware of this attempt to falsify Board action and manipulate Dr. Klaus' compensation. It appears that NO DISCIPLINARY action was taken as Dr. Klaus is clearly still employed by the ECASD in a position of trust and high remuneration as a Principal. No legal action appears to have been taken against former BOE President Olson who created, backdated and signed a document that falsified action of elected officials.
Accountability has flown the coop. Transparency is a pipe dream. Honesty is not part of the Core Values of the ECASD.
Just when we thought that Former Superintendent Bill Klaus and Former BOE President Carol Olson had done enough damage to our district and that they had "moved on", I heard rumors from community members in November 2007 (yup, 5 months ago) that they were doing some really naughty things! When I first heard this story I was absolutely flabbergasted as it sounded truly beyond belief. Again, even though my harshest criticism of our former leadership would include words like "incompetent" and "arrogant" I have NEVER believed that Klaus or Olson were downright greedy, unethical and, guilty of illegal acts. I was wrong.
Anyway, the short version of the story I heard in November was the following:
1. That former Supt. Klaus was expecting some form of "stipend" ($2,000/month) that he had in his position as Supt. to be continued in his position as a Principal which he started in July 2007.
2. That in July he spoke with former BOE Pres., Carol Olson, who apparently agreed that he was entitled to this compensation.
3. That in July 2007, after her tenure with the BOE was fully completed she signed and backdated some documents that would allow this stipend payment to continue.
Since this "news" seemed to be well circulated in the public I contacted Dr. Leary, Mr. VandeWater and Mr. Kling who would know about any such agreements or payments. I asked them to please "clarify this and put to rest this rumor as being NOT TRUE so we can get staff and citizens back to the business of focusing on the business of our district and with students." The silence was deafening. No response at all.
A few days later I received a phone call at my home with an ECASD "caller ID". I no longer have school age children at home so this was a little unusual. I answered the phone and the caller said: " Maria, this is Bill Klaus. I just got a phone call from a local attorney offering to defend me in a lawsuit against you." I asked him why he would sue me and he said that the attorney had just read him an e-mail from me. Hmmm....
The BOE was informed of this event on the day it happened (Dec. 3, 2007). On Dec. 6th I wrote another e-mail to follow-up with Dr. Leary, Mr. VandeWater and Mr. Kling that contained the following:
How does an e-mail from a citizen asking about serious legal and ethical questions regarding a current ECASD employee and the former Pres. of the BOE result in a not-so-thinly-veiled threat of legal action against the person asking the question?
In our telephone conversation Dr. Klaus did confirm that a document regarding his compensation was prepared in July/Aug. 2007 and signed by Former BOE Pres. Carol Olson (a timeframe when she had absolutely no legal authority for such action). He further stated that the date she signed on the document was Feb. 2007 which was a time that she was Pres. of the ECASD BOE.
Clearly, the actions of Dr. Klaus and Ms. Olson will be viewed by the public as an abuse of their former leadership positions in the ECASD. Any further erosion of public trust in the ECASD would be terribly destructive. However the response by the current leadership of the ECASD and the BOE has the potential to demonstrate to our community an absolute commitment to the expectation of honesty, fairness and transparency. (I ask you to consider the theoretical response of the leadership of the ECASD Administration and BOE to discovering that a teacher attempted to manipulate/increase their compensation in actions similar to those of Dr. Klaus and Ms. Olson.)
I think that it is clear that the seriousness of this has elevated and deserves a response. I respectfully ask the following:
1. Who else received a copy of the e-mail I sent to you?
2. Were any other ECASD employees involved in this incident?
3. Since these actions are now the subject of growing public discussion and dismay, what is the response to our community by the ECASD leadership and BOE?
I can assure you that I am completely committed to looking to the future of our district. Because of that, I think that it is crucial that leadership errors from the past be dealt with in a timely, fair and transparent manner.
Both Dr. Leary and Mr. VandeWater lateralled the ball to Mr. Kling who never responded at all.
Shortly after this my father died and I was out of town and busy with family and the Holidays and I did not do any additional follow up until January 2008. At this point I was aware that the LT and others were asking for copies of documents related to Dr. Klaus' compensation but they were all being stonewalled by the ECASD Administration and BOE leadership (Pres. O'Brien to be precise). Multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were filed with the district with no response or additional delays. Attorneys here in Eau Claire as well as Madison were consulted and the taxpayers of EC will be paying for all this needless legal wrangling and avoidance of just telling the truth.
Here is another instance of where Conflict of Interest is harmful to good decision-making: Pres. O'Brien's employer, the Weld Riley law firm, is also the legal counsel for the ECASD. When a legal sticky wicket like this shows up the complications of obtaining an INDEPENDENT legal opinion about possible unethical/illegal activity involving persons who have worked for years together (Klaus, Olson and the Weld, Riley attorneys) is completely compromised.
FINALLY on the Friday afternoon before Spring Break word was that the documents were available to review at the ECASD Main Office. I have no doubt that all of this delay was due to Mr. O'Brien's desire to avoid having to actually make a few tough decisions during his tenure as President of the BOE that might involve some legal unpleasantness with Mr. Klaus and Ms. Olson, his former BOE buddy. I have repeatedly indicated that one of the past leadership failings of the BOE has been the inappropriate chumminess with ECASD Administration that has left them without the proper independence in decision-making.
Anyway, we have the documents. I am too much a technological lame brain to be able to post them on the blog. I am consulting some technological whiz kids who might be able to get them posted here so the rest of you can see the sad truth. For now we just need to keep hoping that we will keep making progress in other ways and the lousy leadership of the past will not insert themselves into the present anymore!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
A Marathon Meeting with Massive Amounts of Missing Information and Misguided Motions!!
The March 10, 2008 Public Hearing for the SAGE program began at 6:00 p.m. and it was PACKED with teachers, parents and other interested parties. People who wished to speak had to sign up ahead of time. Pres. O'Brien opened the 1 hour meeting with the comment that 9 people had signed up and therefore each person had 3 minutes to speak (?!?!) No one in the audience knew where he came up with that number! I was not able to get all the names of people or where they were from but ALL spoke with passion and eloquence about the benefits of having smaller class sizes at the beginning of children's education, about the data supporting student achievement results with smaller class sizes and about the benefits of early intervention for students that are "at risk" which is the case in the 4 schools that were discussed. I also stood up and spoke with my usual shaky voice and extended my analogy that so many proposals coming from Administration are nothing more than "changing deck chairs on the Titanic." But the current proposal, I believe, is the equivalent of chopping up the lifeboats into firewood and toasting marshmallows on the deck as the ship sinks.
At 6:45 p.m. when Pres. O'Brien had read of the list of people requesting to speak he quickly proposed closing the Public Hearing but there was one more person who arrived late and did not sign up ahead of time. It was clear that he was not inclined to allow her to speak but others on the board pointed out that she had her hand raised and was requesting time to give input. Again: RIDICULOUS! That a Public Hearing is held from 6 to 7 p.m. before the board meeting and the Pres. of the Board does not even have the courtesy to make a simple statement when 15 minutes are remaining that if others wish to comment that they are invited to do so.
Then at 7:00 p.m. the Regular BOE Meeting was called to order. A few routine announcements and then G. Butler gave his report that the BOE was looking for Student Representatives for next year. Also Flynn Elementary won an award for being a "green" building and Jessica Doyle would be presenting an award. It is the first "green" building in the entire state to receive such an award. Also, the ECASD will allow up to 10 foreign exchange students at each high school next year after none were allowed last year due to budget reductions. Last year's cancellation of this valuable program was ridiculous and, again, done with no foresight or planning or evaluation of the benefits of having foreign students in our schools and community. Then there was a presentation by the Longfellow principal about their partnership with UWEC student volunteers which was very informative and seemed to be a wonderful example of the best kind of collaboration.
During the Public Input for the meeting a teacher at Longfellow stood up and bravely said that she did not feel the need to speak at the Public Hearing about SAGE because she had thought that she was not affected by the proposed changes. However she came to realize that so many of the students at Longfellow and the other SAGE schools are so transient that many times they will move from one of the schools to another during the course of the year and having a small class to help them through such transitions is so beneficial for students and teachers who help them through so many transitions.
Also during the Public Input, Paul Kuehn, who is a parent with the Memorial HS Jazz boosters asked the Board to consider funding the Jazz Band's trip to the Essentially Ellington Competition in NYC at the same level that athletic teams are funded when they go to state competitions. The Memorial band has been selected 5 times in 10 years and has competed against some of the top private schools in North America. And, after all, Music is part of the academic curriculum rather than athletics which are extra-curricular.
The Financial Report was approved with O'Brien and Faanes abstaining due to spousal employment.
Budget Adjustments were approved with Comm. Bollinger commenting that these were due to gifts to the district and thanking the community for support.
At some point Dr. Leary gave his report which included announcements about a Board Governance Work Session on 4-17-08 to include the newly elected board members as well. I digress: Almost exactly a year ago all BOE members attended an EXCELLENT work session about Board Governance to help them use it to manage and plan the work of the Board. Unfortunately, not one iota of information presented a year ago was used by Pres. O'Brien to manage the work of the Board in the last year. Therefore we have gone another year without Strategic Planning, without Mission-driven decision-making, and without setting a single priority (other than attendance, I guess) for the Board itself or for the district as a whole. The whole debacle reminds me of my son in 5th grade struggling with keeping his schoolwork organized and planning ahead for tests and due dates and trying to remember to use his Planner calendar to write things down in order to be prepared. (By the way, my son is now a successful college student.)
Also, on 4-7-08 from 5 to 6:45 there will be another Work Session to try to wrap up a few of the loose ends that have just fallen by the wayside like Technology Planning, the Community Survey, Boundary and Facility Planning, etc... Comm. Cummins also mentioned that on 4/15/08 there is a regional meeting in Elk Mound for new Board members and other districts actually send a delegation but the ECASD has not done this in the past. (In EC our attitude seems to be: "What could we possibly learn from any of these other people?")
Comm. Cummins also said that she would like to look at the recommendations coming from the Little Red Study Committee and plan to begin work on them as well. Accountability for decisions!
The Regular Meeting adjourned and then the Committee Meeting was called to order.
The first item on the Agenda was a discussion of the Non-Affiliated Staff and Administrator's Salary Agreements. The recommendation was for a 2% total package (salaries and benefits) for 2007-08 and a 2.5% increase for 2008-09. This includes a move to a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) with a high deductible and that there would be no Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) offered to non-affiliated personnel hired after 7-1-08. NOTE: This group of employees include all the Administrators, Principals, Deans of Students, Food Service Director, etc... everyone who is not covered by one of the other unions like the teachers, the custodians, the clerical staff, etc...
This was a fairly complicated discussion and I can't say that I followed every piece of it, but a few things that were clear:
1. There was absolutely NO $ information available about what the effect of the compensation increases would be NOR any $ information available about what the estimated savings from the change to an HRA would be!?!? Comm. Wogahn said multiple times: "This is BIG! This will be my LEGACY to the district! This is HUGE!" Mr. Kling or Vandewater said that this year there was an expected contractual 17% increase in Health Care costs but with the HRA they expect a 23% decrease. That is great but what is the amount? Why isn't that savings being factored into the Budget recommendations that were discussed later in the meeting?
2. Questions by Comm. Cummins indicated that this has been a discussion point in Closed Session for 4 months and yet only 40 of the 115 personnel affected by this proposal were included in the discussions. There were extremely weak responses from Administration about how difficult it would have been to include the other 75. How about hold a meeting or 2 and invite them to attend and get the information? Send an e-mail to them with the information? I dunno.
3. The change in OPED conveniently grandfathers in all of the current group and excludes all future hires. Will this affect the district's ability to recruit talented Administrators in the future? What is reasonable in the current market for these jobs? Saving money is great but if it hurts us in the future what have we gained?
4. Comm. Kneer thanked the Administrators for "taking less" and Comm. Bollinger indicated that he would support this compensation increase in spite of proposing a "Salary Freeze" for all employees previously. I'm sorry, Mr. Bollinger, but you do not get to grab headlines for your brash proposal to freeze school district salaries and then, 8 months later, ride in on your white horse and support Administration raises. Again, what is the financial effect of this proposal in future years? Is it a long term savings? Great! Is it harmful to future recruiting efforts? Boo!
Next was the discussion about the SAGE waiver proposal. Chris Dimock and G. Butler and F. Weissenburger opened the discussion with a presentation about the costs of the SAGE program in the district. This involved 3 different spreadsheets with 3 different scenarios for SAGE funding in 12 elementary schools. Each spreadsheet had 7 columns of information for all the scenarios: Keeping SAGE in 8 schools, keeping SAGE in 4 schools and eliminating SAGE in all schools. This was a perfect example of "The Gregg Butler Smoke and Mirrors Show"!
The BOE had asked at the last meeting one simple question: "What is the cost of keeping SAGE in the 4 schools that they proposed eliminating it in?" But instead of giving the BOE what they asked for, Dr. Butler gives them the firehose equivalent of non-essential information about 12 schools and then throws in a completely useless and irrelevant sidebar about Title 11 funding. BOE members were clearly annoyed by the unnecessary complications to a simple decision. Thank God Comm. Faanes just cut to the quick and asked outright: "So we need to spend $400,000 to get $800,000 in SAGE funding?" "Yes."
Comm. Kneer exclaimed that she just didn't know "How are we going to afford all of this?" to which Comm. Faanes calmly replied, "It's a 3 to 1 bet, Mary" which is guaranteed to pay off! If there was ever a definition of a "No Brainer" this has got to be it. Comm. Bollinger (again, speaking completely opposite of his previous statements that he is OPPOSED to using Fund Balance) made a motion to use up to $400,000 of Fund balance for years 2007-08 and 2008-09 to continue funding SAGE in all 8 schools until a full study of boundaries and facilities can be done. I agree with the motion but I think that Comm. Bollinger is going to lose his credibility as a fiscal conservative if he continues with this kind of "flip-flopping".
Comm. Wogahn commented that the district needs a complete review of buildings and staffing since the other 4 non-SAGE schools (Meadowview, Robbins, Putnam and Manz) will have pupil:teacher ratios of 28:1 and 8 SAGE schools have 15:1. YUP. Comm. Cummins reminded him that that was the effect of the budget reductions last year that cut teachers and increased class sizes at all levels.
There was UNANIMOUS support for the motion to use FB for SAGE programming in the 8 schools.
Another Item for Action was approving the Open Enrollment applications for next year with extra explanations about what it all meant for funding for "home" districts and the "receiving" district. Not sure if I got the nomenclature right on this one.
Another discussion about the Gifting Policy but it was accepted with the need to be cautious about commercial advertising in schools and weird donor intents that might not be consistent with district or curriculum policies.
Finally, a discussion about the 1st Draft of the 2008-09 Budget Reductions. Dan V. presented and basically said that due to the Revenue Limits, these cuts will continue indefinitely, "much like the Energizer Bunny" until funding formulas at the state level change. His summary of $2.1 million in proposed cuts was the following:
$500,000 saved by closing Little Red, $320,000 saved by 5 fewer classroom teachers due to declining enrollment, $580,000 saved due to transferring middle school athletics to Fund 80, $40,000 new revenue for advertising on the district website, $50,000 saved in substitute teachers by restructuring staff development days, $31,000 saved by discontinuing (shared with UWEC) grant writer position, $540,000 saved by discontinuing 2 Central Office support staff and 3 secondary school support staff and 5 certified program support staff, and $50,000 reduced from high school athletics.
My comments:
1. Where are the big savings related to the HRA change in the non-affiliated staff contract?
2. my experience in other organizations is that a Grant Writer should be paying for his/her own position 3 times over with grant revenue. Why are we cutting our noses off here to get grant funding?
3. my bias is showing but, $50,000 out of Athletics seems pretty small considering what has come out of classrooms. Why doesn't the district take the bid, bold and money saving initiative to move huge chunks of Athletic funding to the community? Until we take the step of cutting district funds, we cannot expect the community to step in and pick up the slack.
4. Comm. Craig again brought up the need to get back to the Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) resolution of Feb. 19, 2007 (15 months ago!) to guide cuts. She said that maybe the Fund Balance option should be considered since there is no CCP in place yet. She said that all these proposed cuts just seem to be random ideas that are NOT GOOD POLICY. I could not agree more.
Pres. O'Brien's response to this was unbelievable. He actually said that he went back and re-read the motion for the CCP and thought there was a "misunderstanding" about what it was meant to do! He said that the School Board members "are elected to make decisions" and he reiterated this silliness in the newspaper last week. Comm. Craig asked him "Then what was the point of the motion to do Comprehensive Community Planning?" O'Brien's response was that he was not negating that motion, but that it was more of a "moral thing" to engage the community. WHAT??? He and his failed year of leadership stumbling around rudderless are so indicative of the dysfunction that our district has suffered under for so many years.
Bring on change! New Superintendent! Another new board member! A new Deputy Superintendent! A Strategic Plan! Meaningful Community Engagement! It simply can't happen soon enough.
WHOA! Quite the meeting. I think I got home after 10:00 p.m. and the BOE members had a Closed Session even later.
At 6:45 p.m. when Pres. O'Brien had read of the list of people requesting to speak he quickly proposed closing the Public Hearing but there was one more person who arrived late and did not sign up ahead of time. It was clear that he was not inclined to allow her to speak but others on the board pointed out that she had her hand raised and was requesting time to give input. Again: RIDICULOUS! That a Public Hearing is held from 6 to 7 p.m. before the board meeting and the Pres. of the Board does not even have the courtesy to make a simple statement when 15 minutes are remaining that if others wish to comment that they are invited to do so.
Then at 7:00 p.m. the Regular BOE Meeting was called to order. A few routine announcements and then G. Butler gave his report that the BOE was looking for Student Representatives for next year. Also Flynn Elementary won an award for being a "green" building and Jessica Doyle would be presenting an award. It is the first "green" building in the entire state to receive such an award. Also, the ECASD will allow up to 10 foreign exchange students at each high school next year after none were allowed last year due to budget reductions. Last year's cancellation of this valuable program was ridiculous and, again, done with no foresight or planning or evaluation of the benefits of having foreign students in our schools and community. Then there was a presentation by the Longfellow principal about their partnership with UWEC student volunteers which was very informative and seemed to be a wonderful example of the best kind of collaboration.
During the Public Input for the meeting a teacher at Longfellow stood up and bravely said that she did not feel the need to speak at the Public Hearing about SAGE because she had thought that she was not affected by the proposed changes. However she came to realize that so many of the students at Longfellow and the other SAGE schools are so transient that many times they will move from one of the schools to another during the course of the year and having a small class to help them through such transitions is so beneficial for students and teachers who help them through so many transitions.
Also during the Public Input, Paul Kuehn, who is a parent with the Memorial HS Jazz boosters asked the Board to consider funding the Jazz Band's trip to the Essentially Ellington Competition in NYC at the same level that athletic teams are funded when they go to state competitions. The Memorial band has been selected 5 times in 10 years and has competed against some of the top private schools in North America. And, after all, Music is part of the academic curriculum rather than athletics which are extra-curricular.
The Financial Report was approved with O'Brien and Faanes abstaining due to spousal employment.
Budget Adjustments were approved with Comm. Bollinger commenting that these were due to gifts to the district and thanking the community for support.
At some point Dr. Leary gave his report which included announcements about a Board Governance Work Session on 4-17-08 to include the newly elected board members as well. I digress: Almost exactly a year ago all BOE members attended an EXCELLENT work session about Board Governance to help them use it to manage and plan the work of the Board. Unfortunately, not one iota of information presented a year ago was used by Pres. O'Brien to manage the work of the Board in the last year. Therefore we have gone another year without Strategic Planning, without Mission-driven decision-making, and without setting a single priority (other than attendance, I guess) for the Board itself or for the district as a whole. The whole debacle reminds me of my son in 5th grade struggling with keeping his schoolwork organized and planning ahead for tests and due dates and trying to remember to use his Planner calendar to write things down in order to be prepared. (By the way, my son is now a successful college student.)
Also, on 4-7-08 from 5 to 6:45 there will be another Work Session to try to wrap up a few of the loose ends that have just fallen by the wayside like Technology Planning, the Community Survey, Boundary and Facility Planning, etc... Comm. Cummins also mentioned that on 4/15/08 there is a regional meeting in Elk Mound for new Board members and other districts actually send a delegation but the ECASD has not done this in the past. (In EC our attitude seems to be: "What could we possibly learn from any of these other people?")
Comm. Cummins also said that she would like to look at the recommendations coming from the Little Red Study Committee and plan to begin work on them as well. Accountability for decisions!
The Regular Meeting adjourned and then the Committee Meeting was called to order.
The first item on the Agenda was a discussion of the Non-Affiliated Staff and Administrator's Salary Agreements. The recommendation was for a 2% total package (salaries and benefits) for 2007-08 and a 2.5% increase for 2008-09. This includes a move to a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) with a high deductible and that there would be no Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) offered to non-affiliated personnel hired after 7-1-08. NOTE: This group of employees include all the Administrators, Principals, Deans of Students, Food Service Director, etc... everyone who is not covered by one of the other unions like the teachers, the custodians, the clerical staff, etc...
This was a fairly complicated discussion and I can't say that I followed every piece of it, but a few things that were clear:
1. There was absolutely NO $ information available about what the effect of the compensation increases would be NOR any $ information available about what the estimated savings from the change to an HRA would be!?!? Comm. Wogahn said multiple times: "This is BIG! This will be my LEGACY to the district! This is HUGE!" Mr. Kling or Vandewater said that this year there was an expected contractual 17% increase in Health Care costs but with the HRA they expect a 23% decrease. That is great but what is the amount? Why isn't that savings being factored into the Budget recommendations that were discussed later in the meeting?
2. Questions by Comm. Cummins indicated that this has been a discussion point in Closed Session for 4 months and yet only 40 of the 115 personnel affected by this proposal were included in the discussions. There were extremely weak responses from Administration about how difficult it would have been to include the other 75. How about hold a meeting or 2 and invite them to attend and get the information? Send an e-mail to them with the information? I dunno.
3. The change in OPED conveniently grandfathers in all of the current group and excludes all future hires. Will this affect the district's ability to recruit talented Administrators in the future? What is reasonable in the current market for these jobs? Saving money is great but if it hurts us in the future what have we gained?
4. Comm. Kneer thanked the Administrators for "taking less" and Comm. Bollinger indicated that he would support this compensation increase in spite of proposing a "Salary Freeze" for all employees previously. I'm sorry, Mr. Bollinger, but you do not get to grab headlines for your brash proposal to freeze school district salaries and then, 8 months later, ride in on your white horse and support Administration raises. Again, what is the financial effect of this proposal in future years? Is it a long term savings? Great! Is it harmful to future recruiting efforts? Boo!
Next was the discussion about the SAGE waiver proposal. Chris Dimock and G. Butler and F. Weissenburger opened the discussion with a presentation about the costs of the SAGE program in the district. This involved 3 different spreadsheets with 3 different scenarios for SAGE funding in 12 elementary schools. Each spreadsheet had 7 columns of information for all the scenarios: Keeping SAGE in 8 schools, keeping SAGE in 4 schools and eliminating SAGE in all schools. This was a perfect example of "The Gregg Butler Smoke and Mirrors Show"!
The BOE had asked at the last meeting one simple question: "What is the cost of keeping SAGE in the 4 schools that they proposed eliminating it in?" But instead of giving the BOE what they asked for, Dr. Butler gives them the firehose equivalent of non-essential information about 12 schools and then throws in a completely useless and irrelevant sidebar about Title 11 funding. BOE members were clearly annoyed by the unnecessary complications to a simple decision. Thank God Comm. Faanes just cut to the quick and asked outright: "So we need to spend $400,000 to get $800,000 in SAGE funding?" "Yes."
Comm. Kneer exclaimed that she just didn't know "How are we going to afford all of this?" to which Comm. Faanes calmly replied, "It's a 3 to 1 bet, Mary" which is guaranteed to pay off! If there was ever a definition of a "No Brainer" this has got to be it. Comm. Bollinger (again, speaking completely opposite of his previous statements that he is OPPOSED to using Fund Balance) made a motion to use up to $400,000 of Fund balance for years 2007-08 and 2008-09 to continue funding SAGE in all 8 schools until a full study of boundaries and facilities can be done. I agree with the motion but I think that Comm. Bollinger is going to lose his credibility as a fiscal conservative if he continues with this kind of "flip-flopping".
Comm. Wogahn commented that the district needs a complete review of buildings and staffing since the other 4 non-SAGE schools (Meadowview, Robbins, Putnam and Manz) will have pupil:teacher ratios of 28:1 and 8 SAGE schools have 15:1. YUP. Comm. Cummins reminded him that that was the effect of the budget reductions last year that cut teachers and increased class sizes at all levels.
There was UNANIMOUS support for the motion to use FB for SAGE programming in the 8 schools.
Another Item for Action was approving the Open Enrollment applications for next year with extra explanations about what it all meant for funding for "home" districts and the "receiving" district. Not sure if I got the nomenclature right on this one.
Another discussion about the Gifting Policy but it was accepted with the need to be cautious about commercial advertising in schools and weird donor intents that might not be consistent with district or curriculum policies.
Finally, a discussion about the 1st Draft of the 2008-09 Budget Reductions. Dan V. presented and basically said that due to the Revenue Limits, these cuts will continue indefinitely, "much like the Energizer Bunny" until funding formulas at the state level change. His summary of $2.1 million in proposed cuts was the following:
$500,000 saved by closing Little Red, $320,000 saved by 5 fewer classroom teachers due to declining enrollment, $580,000 saved due to transferring middle school athletics to Fund 80, $40,000 new revenue for advertising on the district website, $50,000 saved in substitute teachers by restructuring staff development days, $31,000 saved by discontinuing (shared with UWEC) grant writer position, $540,000 saved by discontinuing 2 Central Office support staff and 3 secondary school support staff and 5 certified program support staff, and $50,000 reduced from high school athletics.
My comments:
1. Where are the big savings related to the HRA change in the non-affiliated staff contract?
2. my experience in other organizations is that a Grant Writer should be paying for his/her own position 3 times over with grant revenue. Why are we cutting our noses off here to get grant funding?
3. my bias is showing but, $50,000 out of Athletics seems pretty small considering what has come out of classrooms. Why doesn't the district take the bid, bold and money saving initiative to move huge chunks of Athletic funding to the community? Until we take the step of cutting district funds, we cannot expect the community to step in and pick up the slack.
4. Comm. Craig again brought up the need to get back to the Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) resolution of Feb. 19, 2007 (15 months ago!) to guide cuts. She said that maybe the Fund Balance option should be considered since there is no CCP in place yet. She said that all these proposed cuts just seem to be random ideas that are NOT GOOD POLICY. I could not agree more.
Pres. O'Brien's response to this was unbelievable. He actually said that he went back and re-read the motion for the CCP and thought there was a "misunderstanding" about what it was meant to do! He said that the School Board members "are elected to make decisions" and he reiterated this silliness in the newspaper last week. Comm. Craig asked him "Then what was the point of the motion to do Comprehensive Community Planning?" O'Brien's response was that he was not negating that motion, but that it was more of a "moral thing" to engage the community. WHAT??? He and his failed year of leadership stumbling around rudderless are so indicative of the dysfunction that our district has suffered under for so many years.
Bring on change! New Superintendent! Another new board member! A new Deputy Superintendent! A Strategic Plan! Meaningful Community Engagement! It simply can't happen soon enough.
WHOA! Quite the meeting. I think I got home after 10:00 p.m. and the BOE members had a Closed Session even later.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Campaign Financing
Local campaigns are becoming more costly
Here is some interesting information about campaign donations locally. What was most fascinating to me was the comment that one of Doug Mell's campaign contributors is Joe Wineke, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Last year, when I was a candidate, Mr. Mell made a big deal about connections to partisan politics in local races. His Letter to the Editor is italicized below.
Mr. Mell was very concerned that "party bosses should keep their mitts off local elections" but he must not mind that party bosses (the HEAD OF THE PARTY!) puts his mitt of money into Mell's campaign account! If anybody can explain this change of tune I would love to hear about it! Maria
By Doug Mell
Once again it appears machine politics have infiltrated local elections in Eau Claire. While it is good for democracy that there are seven candidates for Eau Claire school board (forcing a primary for the first time in more than a decade) one or more candidates will run with the backing of a major political party.
Terri Stanley, who left her city council seat because of health reasons, was the treasurer for a Democratic Party state senate candidate. The last newsletter from the local Democratic Party told the faithful to “be sure to vote for” Maria Henly and Bob Schwartz in the February primary. There is little question the Democrats will work hard to get their anointed candidates elected to what is supposed to be a non-partisan office.
The framers of our state constitution understood that partisan politics had no place in local elections. Candidates should have to run on the quality of their ideas, the breadth of their experience, and their ability to stay in office, not their willingness to carry water for party bosses. Local officials should have to answer to their constituents, not the unelected leaders of political parties.
The only agenda a candidate for school board should have is a willingness to work hard to solve the tremendous problems facing the Eau Claire School District. It will be important for the media in Eau Claire to fully investigate the involvement of political parties in the school board race and give voters that information. It will then be up to the votes to send a strong message that party bosses should keep their mitts off local elections.
By Christena T. O'Brien
Leader-Telegram staff
Hoping to become Chippewa County's third circuit court judge, Julie Anderl and Steve Cray spent more than $15,200 in a six-week period, according to the latest campaign finance report filings.
Between Feb. 5 and March 17, the Chippewa Falls attorneys also raised close to $27,000 through individual contributions, with Cray raising $21,940 and Anderl raising $4,981.
Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an independent Madison-based nonprofit group, has seen the cost of local elections creep up over the years.
"Clearly, local campaigns, I think, have been the last refuge of the true citizen politician," McCabe said. "But in local races in some of the bigger communities now, we're seeing an increase in advertising and more special interest involvement than before."
He also reported seeing more candidates self-financing their bids for election.
"As campaigning gets more expensive, it seems like candidates are put in the position of having to put their own money into their campaigns or turning to moneyed interests to run competitively."
In the Chippewa County Circuit Court race, the candidates were their campaigns' largest contributors, with Cray putting in $18,500 and Anderl $1,700 during the latest reporting period.
"It's difficult to raise money to run for office," said Anderl, making her second circuit court bid, "but my friends and family have been the linchpin in this whole thing. I'm blessed this way."
Tuesday's election will be the second time she and Cray square off for the bench. The pair were the top two vote-getters in the Feb. 19 primary, with Anderl receiving 6,537 votes; Cray, 4,206; and Bob Ferg, 2,916.
Going into both elections, "I knew I could not compete with (Cray) with respect to money," Anderl said. "But I've done tons of doors, gone to town board meetings. That's how I've made up for my lack of wealth."
Cray couldn't be reached for comment. However, after the primary, he said he intended "to make voters aware of me, my background and my experience."
Meanwhile, making their first election bids, Doug Mell and Adam Shiel are vying for two seats on the Eau Claire school board against incumbent Carol Craig and Robert G. Janke, a former school board member.
During the latest campaign finance reporting period, Mell raised $570 from individual contributors and Shiel raised $2,106, including $1,886 from himself.
"If I decide to do something, I try to do my best to make it on my own," said Shiel, an electrical engineer, who expected to contribute to his own campaign and used contributions to purchase yard signs, newspaper ads and fliers.
Mell, UW-Stout's director of communications, believes it's important for candidates to raise some funds.
"The important thing, I think, about raising money is that it shows that you're willing to go out and talk to people," he said. "And I think the degree that candidates are successful raising money shows a broad base of support."
For example, his contributors, he said, include Mark Faanes, former Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce board chairman; and Joe Wineke, Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman.
Craig and Janke claimed exemptions. Candidates can claim exemptions if they agree not to accept any contribution in excess of $100 from a single source other than themselves, or their contributions or expenses would not exceed $1,000 in a calendar year.
In the Eau Claire City Council race, two of six candidates - Scott Gunem and Jackie Pavelski - claimed exemptions. The remaining four - Larry Balow, Brandon Buchanan, Kerry Kincaid and Thomas Vue - raised more than $9,500 among them during the reporting period, with Kincaid contributing all of the $617 she raised.
Kincaid, Buchanan and Balow also spent close to $3,800 during that same period, according to their campaign finance reports. Vue hadn't yet filed his expenditures for the reporting period as of Friday afternoon.
Vue, who raised the most of the four council candidates - $3,550 - has drawn much of his support from the Hmong in the Chippewa Valley. Vue, the fourth Hmong elected to the Eau Claire City Council, also has received contributions from other Hmong in Minnesota.
"To raise ... this much money is very difficult to me, but I do have some friends to help," he said via e-mail.
Eau Claire School Board
Doug Mell
$100: John Evans, 625 Shoreline Drive; Mark Faanes, 3527 Leslie Lane.
Adam Shiel
$100: Maria Henly, 121 Park Place; Bob Schwartz, 401 Lincoln Ave.
$1,886: Adam Shiel, 525 Lincoln Ave.
Carol Craig and Robert G. Janke also are vying for seats on the school board. Both candidates claimed an exemption.
Here is some interesting information about campaign donations locally. What was most fascinating to me was the comment that one of Doug Mell's campaign contributors is Joe Wineke, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Last year, when I was a candidate, Mr. Mell made a big deal about connections to partisan politics in local races. His Letter to the Editor is italicized below.
Mr. Mell was very concerned that "party bosses should keep their mitts off local elections" but he must not mind that party bosses (the HEAD OF THE PARTY!) puts his mitt of money into Mell's campaign account! If anybody can explain this change of tune I would love to hear about it! Maria
By Doug Mell
Once again it appears machine politics have infiltrated local elections in Eau Claire. While it is good for democracy that there are seven candidates for Eau Claire school board (forcing a primary for the first time in more than a decade) one or more candidates will run with the backing of a major political party.
Terri Stanley, who left her city council seat because of health reasons, was the treasurer for a Democratic Party state senate candidate. The last newsletter from the local Democratic Party told the faithful to “be sure to vote for” Maria Henly and Bob Schwartz in the February primary. There is little question the Democrats will work hard to get their anointed candidates elected to what is supposed to be a non-partisan office.
The framers of our state constitution understood that partisan politics had no place in local elections. Candidates should have to run on the quality of their ideas, the breadth of their experience, and their ability to stay in office, not their willingness to carry water for party bosses. Local officials should have to answer to their constituents, not the unelected leaders of political parties.
The only agenda a candidate for school board should have is a willingness to work hard to solve the tremendous problems facing the Eau Claire School District. It will be important for the media in Eau Claire to fully investigate the involvement of political parties in the school board race and give voters that information. It will then be up to the votes to send a strong message that party bosses should keep their mitts off local elections.
By Christena T. O'Brien
Leader-Telegram staff
Hoping to become Chippewa County's third circuit court judge, Julie Anderl and Steve Cray spent more than $15,200 in a six-week period, according to the latest campaign finance report filings.
Between Feb. 5 and March 17, the Chippewa Falls attorneys also raised close to $27,000 through individual contributions, with Cray raising $21,940 and Anderl raising $4,981.
Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an independent Madison-based nonprofit group, has seen the cost of local elections creep up over the years.
"Clearly, local campaigns, I think, have been the last refuge of the true citizen politician," McCabe said. "But in local races in some of the bigger communities now, we're seeing an increase in advertising and more special interest involvement than before."
He also reported seeing more candidates self-financing their bids for election.
"As campaigning gets more expensive, it seems like candidates are put in the position of having to put their own money into their campaigns or turning to moneyed interests to run competitively."
In the Chippewa County Circuit Court race, the candidates were their campaigns' largest contributors, with Cray putting in $18,500 and Anderl $1,700 during the latest reporting period.
"It's difficult to raise money to run for office," said Anderl, making her second circuit court bid, "but my friends and family have been the linchpin in this whole thing. I'm blessed this way."
Tuesday's election will be the second time she and Cray square off for the bench. The pair were the top two vote-getters in the Feb. 19 primary, with Anderl receiving 6,537 votes; Cray, 4,206; and Bob Ferg, 2,916.
Going into both elections, "I knew I could not compete with (Cray) with respect to money," Anderl said. "But I've done tons of doors, gone to town board meetings. That's how I've made up for my lack of wealth."
Cray couldn't be reached for comment. However, after the primary, he said he intended "to make voters aware of me, my background and my experience."
Meanwhile, making their first election bids, Doug Mell and Adam Shiel are vying for two seats on the Eau Claire school board against incumbent Carol Craig and Robert G. Janke, a former school board member.
During the latest campaign finance reporting period, Mell raised $570 from individual contributors and Shiel raised $2,106, including $1,886 from himself.
"If I decide to do something, I try to do my best to make it on my own," said Shiel, an electrical engineer, who expected to contribute to his own campaign and used contributions to purchase yard signs, newspaper ads and fliers.
Mell, UW-Stout's director of communications, believes it's important for candidates to raise some funds.
"The important thing, I think, about raising money is that it shows that you're willing to go out and talk to people," he said. "And I think the degree that candidates are successful raising money shows a broad base of support."
For example, his contributors, he said, include Mark Faanes, former Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce board chairman; and Joe Wineke, Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman.
Craig and Janke claimed exemptions. Candidates can claim exemptions if they agree not to accept any contribution in excess of $100 from a single source other than themselves, or their contributions or expenses would not exceed $1,000 in a calendar year.
In the Eau Claire City Council race, two of six candidates - Scott Gunem and Jackie Pavelski - claimed exemptions. The remaining four - Larry Balow, Brandon Buchanan, Kerry Kincaid and Thomas Vue - raised more than $9,500 among them during the reporting period, with Kincaid contributing all of the $617 she raised.
Kincaid, Buchanan and Balow also spent close to $3,800 during that same period, according to their campaign finance reports. Vue hadn't yet filed his expenditures for the reporting period as of Friday afternoon.
Vue, who raised the most of the four council candidates - $3,550 - has drawn much of his support from the Hmong in the Chippewa Valley. Vue, the fourth Hmong elected to the Eau Claire City Council, also has received contributions from other Hmong in Minnesota.
"To raise ... this much money is very difficult to me, but I do have some friends to help," he said via e-mail.
Eau Claire School Board
Doug Mell
$100: John Evans, 625 Shoreline Drive; Mark Faanes, 3527 Leslie Lane.
Adam Shiel
$100: Maria Henly, 121 Park Place; Bob Schwartz, 401 Lincoln Ave.
$1,886: Adam Shiel, 525 Lincoln Ave.
Carol Craig and Robert G. Janke also are vying for seats on the school board. Both candidates claimed an exemption.
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