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.
Showing posts with label BOE Meetings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BOE Meetings. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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 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.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Accountability Has Left The Building!
The March 10, 2007 BOE meeting, in my opinion, was a brand new low point for our district. The remaining shreds of ECASD Administration appear to be completely without direction or supervision and the BOE itself is floundering after a year of fits and starts. It was downright painful to watch the struggle and recognize that Eau Claire is still in such a deep hole that we are still looking at YEARS before we can hope for relief. The first few months of Dr. Leary's initiatives showed much progress but, in the end don't seem to have resulted in much of anything. The new BOE appeared to have the promise of new levels of accountability and skills but, due to lack of leadership and failure to use even the most basic framework of Board Governance, many of their efforts have been unfocused and left unfinished. We are facing ANOTHER huge transition of leadership with the new Superintendent (and Deputy Superintendent) searches as well as Spring School Board elections and new Board leadership. However the increasing budget deficits and additional staff reductions, the continuing lack of a Strategic Plan, future boundary changes, discussion of Facilities and Technology, and a need to engage the community in meaningful ways seem unbelievably overwhelming.
But back to the BOE meeting.....
Mary Kneer was absent. Pres. O'Brien opened the meeting with communications about :
a conference at the Montessori Charter School on April 21 and 22 that was attended by Comm. Wogahn last year. Spring elections on April 1st. Spring break next week. on March 24th before the regular BOE meeting there will be Public Hearing starting at 6:00 p.m. about the SAGE program. MUCH, MUCH more about SAGE is in this posting and I hope that MANY, MANY people attend the Public Hearing. The Memorial HS Jazz Ensemble 1 has been invited to compete at the Essentially Ellington competition in NYC in May. The Memorial HS hockey team won the state competition.
Superintendent Report was the the ECASD employees were the 3rd highest contributors to the United Way campaign in spite of no matching from the employer. Dr. Leary looked at how much time the BOE members dedicate to their board service and came up with 5 weeks of time. This is remarkable and indicates the level of "acuity" our district has for issues that were left in shambles after former leaders left. Unsaid, but definitely true is that some BOE members have given, probably 8 weeks of their life in service to the district and others are at about 1.5 weeks. The workload for committee participation, school visits, attendance at meetings etc... varies widely depending on which BOE member you are talking about.
There were no Public Comments.
BOE members voted unanimously to accept something about non-renewal of contracts for a group of employees (sorry to be unsure but I don't do shorthand well!) with Comm. Faanes abstaining. It is my understanding that his wife is a teacher and therefore he, rightly, does not vote.
Then there was a proposal about the SAGE contract by Kris Dimock and Dr. Butler backing her up. I have reprinted below the information that was sent to me by Kris Dimock from the presentation. My thoughts on the report are that this is another example of missed deadlines, administrative scrambling, solutions crafted behind closed doors, and a proposal that lacks any common sense either financially or in regards to the the mission of the ECASD or the intent of the SAGE program. Background is that ECASD currently has 8 schools that receive SAGE funding (see below the purpose of SAGE) and that over the years the SAGE schools and classrooms have been "not in compliance" as regards the number of students per classroom. Apparently the DPI sent a letter in November of 2007 to all districts informing them that if schools were not in compliance they would have to apply for a "waiver" by February 1, 2008 to explain their plan for complying. NOTE DATES. Also, there is a requirement for a Public Hearing if waivers are sought. So, apparently, without informing the BOE (or the Supt.??) Dr. Butler moved forward to create a plan that would ELIMINATE SAGE funding from 4 of the 8 schools. Principals of the 4 schools were not even notified of this massive change until Thursday, March 6th and BOE members did not find out about it until they got their packets for Monday's meeting. There was no involvement with teachers, principals, parents or the community about a proposal that basically gives up nearly a million dollars and keeps class sizes to 15 in grades K-3 in schools that have a high percentage of at risk children. For this huge "giveaway" the ECASD saves half a million bucks but then has big class sizes for approx. 900 students who otherwise would be in classes of 15.
Here is the information provided to me by ECASD Administration:
SAGE Waiver
BOE Report
March 10, 2008
Purpose of Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE):
• Reducing class sizes to no more than 15:1 in grades K-3.
• Extending learning opportunities and increasing collaboration between schools and their communities by extending school hours.
• Implementing a rigorous curriculum focused on academic achievement, and
• Improving staff development
“The intent of the law is for a regular classroom teacher to have not more than 15 pupils to which to provide instruction in core subjects (reading, language arts, mathematics, science or other subjects that are considered the responsibility of the classroom teacher), no more than 15 papers to grade or projects to evaluate, no more than 15 grades or progress reports to prepare, and no more than 15 families with which to communicate. A school that does not get enough SAGE aid to pay for all the new teachers that might be needed is expected to reallocate existing resources or provide local matching funds to ensure that the class size requirement can be met. Federal ESEA funds under Title IIA and Title VA can be used for class size reduction to supplement SAGE aid where necessary. Districts with schools that do not meet the class size requirement must apply for and be granted a waiver under the authority in s. 118.38 of the state statutes.”
SAGE Guidelines (attached)
DPI Website
History of SAGE in Eau Claire Area School District:
1996-97 SAGE offered to school districts with poverty level of >50%.
1998-99 Longfellow entered into SAGE contract.
2000-01 SAGE offered to any school with poverty level >0%.
All other ECASD elementary, with the exception of Little Red, entered into SAGE contract.
2006-07 Manz, Robbins, Meadowview, and Putnam ended SAGE contracts due to low percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunches.
Currently, the following schools are SAGE schools:
SAGE funding:
• Generated by students receiving free and reduced lunches in grades K-3
1996-97 $2000 per student
2007-08 Increased to $2250 per student
• Funding allocated for additional staff to reduce class size to 15:1 ratio
• Programming beyond school hours, curriculum, and staff development are supplemented using Title I, Title II, and district dollars due insufficient SAGE funding.
SAGE Waiver Process:
Staffing costs have increased tremendously since 1996. SAGE aid has increased by 12% only in the past year. Schools struggle to maintain the 15:1 class size ratio. Eight schools house 100 K-3 SAGE classrooms. Current class sizes indicate:
27% of classrooms are compliant with class sizes of 13-16.
73% of classrooms are non-compliant with class sizes of 17-25.
Some classrooms provide additional staff to reduce class size for reading and mathematics only.
No SAGE school meets compliance as originally intended by the law. The DPI has enforced the SAGE waiver process and ECASD is required to submit a waiver for schools that are non-compliant.
Attached: SAGE Waiver Guidelines and FAQ
6:30 pm, March 24th__ Public hearing
7:00 pm, March 24th—BOE agenda item for approval
Meeting SAGE Compliance:
Data gathered shows increasing challenges to support schools in meeting SAGE compliance. The lower the poverty level, the more Title II and district dollars it takes to meet SAGE compliance. The higher the poverty level, the fewer district dollars required to meet compliance.
When compared to school districts of similar size and poverty level, Eau Claire has the highest percentage of elementary schools that are SAGE.
Action plan:
The Eau Claire Area School district will use available resources to target SAGE schools of highest need by:
1. Submitting a waiver and working towards class size compliance of 14-16 for:
Longfellow Elementary
Lakeshore Elementary
Flynn Elementary
Locust Lane Elementary
2. Discontinuing SAGE contracts for the following schools resulting in class sizes of 17-25 for grades K-3:
Sherman Elementary
Sam Davey Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Northwoods Elementary
Waiver Document:
The actual waiver document will be submitted for approval at the March 24th BOE meeting after the public hearing.
SAGE Funding
$2250 per student receiving free and reduced lunches
Grade Level Scenario
Assume:
• 50% free and reduced in school
• 45 students at Grade 1
o NonSAGE class size (22, 23)
o SAGE class size (15, 15, 15)
• 23 students receive free and reduced
• $51,750 in SAGE funding
• $64,700 is cost of new teacher
• $12,950 to be paid from Title II or district funding.
SAGE Compliance Scenario
2007-08
Back to my comments... and my stab at a "breakeven analysis" that considers varying %'s of SAGE students in classrooms and the net cost per pupil after the SAGE funding at different levels of SAGE students.
SAGE Breakeven Analysis
Classroon Assumptions:
SAGE funding is $2,250 per student receiving Free and Reduced Lunches
45 students in the class
if no Sage: 2 classrooms of 22 and 23 students
with SAGE: 3 classrooms of 15 students each
$64,700 is the cost of a new teacher
Non Sage classes
2 classrooms with 2 teachers at cost of $129,400
ECASD net cost per pupil is $2,875 for classrooms that are 50%
larger than SAGE classes
If we recognize that there is "value" in small class sizes then should we consider paying up to 50% more (as much as $4,312) per student to properly "value" the extra services each student is receiving?
According to other articles posted on the blog, SAGE funding to create smaller class sizes to improve student achievement WORKS. If the ECASD priorities do not have STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT at the top of the list, then what else are we about?
If we try to save a couple hundred bucks per year on students in the first 4 years of their school life, how many more resources are required in the remaining 9 years of their time in the district to supplement or do remedial teaching to catch them up to grade level?
But back to the BOE meeting.....
Mary Kneer was absent. Pres. O'Brien opened the meeting with communications about :
a conference at the Montessori Charter School on April 21 and 22 that was attended by Comm. Wogahn last year. Spring elections on April 1st. Spring break next week. on March 24th before the regular BOE meeting there will be Public Hearing starting at 6:00 p.m. about the SAGE program. MUCH, MUCH more about SAGE is in this posting and I hope that MANY, MANY people attend the Public Hearing. The Memorial HS Jazz Ensemble 1 has been invited to compete at the Essentially Ellington competition in NYC in May. The Memorial HS hockey team won the state competition.
Superintendent Report was the the ECASD employees were the 3rd highest contributors to the United Way campaign in spite of no matching from the employer. Dr. Leary looked at how much time the BOE members dedicate to their board service and came up with 5 weeks of time. This is remarkable and indicates the level of "acuity" our district has for issues that were left in shambles after former leaders left. Unsaid, but definitely true is that some BOE members have given, probably 8 weeks of their life in service to the district and others are at about 1.5 weeks. The workload for committee participation, school visits, attendance at meetings etc... varies widely depending on which BOE member you are talking about.
There were no Public Comments.
BOE members voted unanimously to accept something about non-renewal of contracts for a group of employees (sorry to be unsure but I don't do shorthand well!) with Comm. Faanes abstaining. It is my understanding that his wife is a teacher and therefore he, rightly, does not vote.
Then there was a proposal about the SAGE contract by Kris Dimock and Dr. Butler backing her up. I have reprinted below the information that was sent to me by Kris Dimock from the presentation. My thoughts on the report are that this is another example of missed deadlines, administrative scrambling, solutions crafted behind closed doors, and a proposal that lacks any common sense either financially or in regards to the the mission of the ECASD or the intent of the SAGE program. Background is that ECASD currently has 8 schools that receive SAGE funding (see below the purpose of SAGE) and that over the years the SAGE schools and classrooms have been "not in compliance" as regards the number of students per classroom. Apparently the DPI sent a letter in November of 2007 to all districts informing them that if schools were not in compliance they would have to apply for a "waiver" by February 1, 2008 to explain their plan for complying. NOTE DATES. Also, there is a requirement for a Public Hearing if waivers are sought. So, apparently, without informing the BOE (or the Supt.??) Dr. Butler moved forward to create a plan that would ELIMINATE SAGE funding from 4 of the 8 schools. Principals of the 4 schools were not even notified of this massive change until Thursday, March 6th and BOE members did not find out about it until they got their packets for Monday's meeting. There was no involvement with teachers, principals, parents or the community about a proposal that basically gives up nearly a million dollars and keeps class sizes to 15 in grades K-3 in schools that have a high percentage of at risk children. For this huge "giveaway" the ECASD saves half a million bucks but then has big class sizes for approx. 900 students who otherwise would be in classes of 15.
Here is the information provided to me by ECASD Administration:
SAGE Waiver
BOE Report
March 10, 2008
Purpose of Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE):
• Reducing class sizes to no more than 15:1 in grades K-3.
• Extending learning opportunities and increasing collaboration between schools and their communities by extending school hours.
• Implementing a rigorous curriculum focused on academic achievement, and
• Improving staff development
“The intent of the law is for a regular classroom teacher to have not more than 15 pupils to which to provide instruction in core subjects (reading, language arts, mathematics, science or other subjects that are considered the responsibility of the classroom teacher), no more than 15 papers to grade or projects to evaluate, no more than 15 grades or progress reports to prepare, and no more than 15 families with which to communicate. A school that does not get enough SAGE aid to pay for all the new teachers that might be needed is expected to reallocate existing resources or provide local matching funds to ensure that the class size requirement can be met. Federal ESEA funds under Title IIA and Title VA can be used for class size reduction to supplement SAGE aid where necessary. Districts with schools that do not meet the class size requirement must apply for and be granted a waiver under the authority in s. 118.38 of the state statutes.”
SAGE Guidelines (attached)
DPI Website
History of SAGE in Eau Claire Area School District:
1996-97 SAGE offered to school districts with poverty level of >50%.
1998-99 Longfellow entered into SAGE contract.
2000-01 SAGE offered to any school with poverty level >0%.
All other ECASD elementary, with the exception of Little Red, entered into SAGE contract.
2006-07 Manz, Robbins, Meadowview, and Putnam ended SAGE contracts due to low percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunches.
Currently, the following schools are SAGE schools:
| School | Free and Reduced |
| Longfellow | 73% |
| Lakeshore | 52% |
| Flynn | 49% |
| Locust Lane | 49% |
| Roosevelt | 41% |
| Sherman | 39% |
| Davey | 33% |
| Northwoods | 33% |
SAGE funding:
• Generated by students receiving free and reduced lunches in grades K-3
1996-97 $2000 per student
2007-08 Increased to $2250 per student
• Funding allocated for additional staff to reduce class size to 15:1 ratio
• Programming beyond school hours, curriculum, and staff development are supplemented using Title I, Title II, and district dollars due insufficient SAGE funding.
SAGE Waiver Process:
Staffing costs have increased tremendously since 1996. SAGE aid has increased by 12% only in the past year. Schools struggle to maintain the 15:1 class size ratio. Eight schools house 100 K-3 SAGE classrooms. Current class sizes indicate:
27% of classrooms are compliant with class sizes of 13-16.
73% of classrooms are non-compliant with class sizes of 17-25.
Some classrooms provide additional staff to reduce class size for reading and mathematics only.
No SAGE school meets compliance as originally intended by the law. The DPI has enforced the SAGE waiver process and ECASD is required to submit a waiver for schools that are non-compliant.
Attached: SAGE Waiver Guidelines and FAQ
6:30 pm, March 24th__ Public hearing
7:00 pm, March 24th—BOE agenda item for approval
Meeting SAGE Compliance:
Data gathered shows increasing challenges to support schools in meeting SAGE compliance. The lower the poverty level, the more Title II and district dollars it takes to meet SAGE compliance. The higher the poverty level, the fewer district dollars required to meet compliance.
When compared to school districts of similar size and poverty level, Eau Claire has the highest percentage of elementary schools that are SAGE.
| School District | % of Elementary Schools that are SAGE |
| Waukesha | 12% |
| Janesville | 16% |
| Sheboygan | 25% |
| Oshkosh | 31% |
| Appleton | 44% |
| Eau Claire | 66% |
Action plan:
The Eau Claire Area School district will use available resources to target SAGE schools of highest need by:
1. Submitting a waiver and working towards class size compliance of 14-16 for:
Longfellow Elementary
Lakeshore Elementary
Flynn Elementary
Locust Lane Elementary
2. Discontinuing SAGE contracts for the following schools resulting in class sizes of 17-25 for grades K-3:
Sherman Elementary
Sam Davey Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Northwoods Elementary
Waiver Document:
The actual waiver document will be submitted for approval at the March 24th BOE meeting after the public hearing.
SAGE Funding
$2250 per student receiving free and reduced lunches
Grade Level Scenario
Assume:
• 50% free and reduced in school
• 45 students at Grade 1
o NonSAGE class size (22, 23)
o SAGE class size (15, 15, 15)
• 23 students receive free and reduced
• $51,750 in SAGE funding
• $64,700 is cost of new teacher
• $12,950 to be paid from Title II or district funding.
SAGE Compliance Scenario
2007-08
| School | Free and Reduced | Allocation | Additional FTE to Meet Compliance | Proj. cost |
| Longfellow | 73% | $ 324,000 | 0.50 | $ 32,350 |
| Lakeshore | 52% | $ 310,500 | 1.50 | $ 97,050 |
| Locust Lane | 49% | $ 193,500 | 0.50 | $ 32,350 |
| Flynn | 49% | $ 184,500 | 0.00 | $ - |
| Total | $ 1,012,500 | 2.50 | $ 161,750 | |
| Roosevelt | 41% | $ 157,500 | 1.50 | $ 97,050 |
| Sherman | 39% | $ 279,000 | 1.50 | $ 97,050 |
| Northwoods | 33% | $ 193,500 | 2.50 | $ 161,750 |
| Davey | 33% | $ 204,750 | 3.00 | $ 200,100 |
| Total | $ 834,750 | 8.50 | $ 555,950 | |
| Grand Totals | $ 1,847,250 | 11.00 | $ 717,700 |
Back to my comments... and my stab at a "breakeven analysis" that considers varying %'s of SAGE students in classrooms and the net cost per pupil after the SAGE funding at different levels of SAGE students.
SAGE Breakeven Analysis
Classroon Assumptions:
SAGE funding is $2,250 per student receiving Free and Reduced Lunches
45 students in the class
if no Sage: 2 classrooms of 22 and 23 students
with SAGE: 3 classrooms of 15 students each
$64,700 is the cost of a new teacher
Non Sage classes
2 classrooms with 2 teachers at cost of $129,400
ECASD net cost per pupil is $2,875 for classrooms that are 50%
larger than SAGE classes
| Sage Class | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| # SAGE Students | 36 | 32 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 9 |
| Teacher Cost | $194,100 | $194,100 | $194,100 | $194,100 | $194,100 | $194,100 | $194,100 |
| Sage $ | $81,000 | $72,000 | $60,750 | $51,750 | $40,500 | $31,500 | $20,250 |
| Net ECASD $ | $113,100 | $122,100 | $133,350 | $142,350 | $153,600 | $162,600 | $173,850 |
| Cost Per Pupil | $2,513 | $2,713 | $2,963 | $3,163 | $3,413 | $3,613 | $3,863 |
If we recognize that there is "value" in small class sizes then should we consider paying up to 50% more (as much as $4,312) per student to properly "value" the extra services each student is receiving?
According to other articles posted on the blog, SAGE funding to create smaller class sizes to improve student achievement WORKS. If the ECASD priorities do not have STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT at the top of the list, then what else are we about?
If we try to save a couple hundred bucks per year on students in the first 4 years of their school life, how many more resources are required in the remaining 9 years of their time in the district to supplement or do remedial teaching to catch them up to grade level?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Another One Bites the Dust.....
The Jan. 21st BOE meeting began with a few announcements about Butler, Faanes and Craig representing the ECASD at the Chamber of Commerce sponsored "State of the County": event last week. Also, WASB convention later in the week in Milwaukee. School Board elections are in April and all of the contenders were present in the audience. Open Enrollment period is Feb. 4th until Feb. 22nd. Public Comments were made as follows:
Bob Janke spoke long and eloquently but ineffectively about all the rural schools that have been closed and also was critical that the district is not using GIS to predict enrollment. He criticized considering spending upwards of $20,000 on the community survey and volunteered that if they gave him a few bucks for beer he would head out to a couple of taverns and give them more information than they will get from a survey. Interesting plan.
Then Tanya Miller, a LR parent spoke about the sadness of losing a school and more about integrity and honesty , etc.. her son raised $200 to help. Bill Garton the custodian at LR spoke as well.
And, of course, yours truly requested that none of the Board members express their dislike of closing a school because the translation of that is that they just dislike planning. When they closed Park School 10 years ago, then Cleghorn, then Lincoln, now Little Red and recommend that Montessori move it just means that there is NO PLANNING at all going on. Blah, blah, blah....
There was some snarl with approving the Consent Agenda as Comm. Cummins had a question about the Closed Session Minutes, but that will be handled in Closed Session. Then during the approval of the payment of bills and payroll I noted that Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes abstained (due to spousal employment) but Comm. Kneer (an ECASD employee herself) approved. But I also heard through the Locust Lane grapevine that Comm. Kneer resigned her employment just recently because she had a "Conflict of Interest". Hmmmm, she and the majority of the BOE has always insisted that there has been NO Conflict of Interest but maybe in the development of the Conflict of Interest Policy (which has been in the works for months) the light finally turned on.
Pres. O'Brien again thanked the LRSC members and especially Comm. Craig for a "yeo-person's" job of managing this huge effort. Other committee members were introduced. The charge of the committee was read and then the recommendations were presented:
1. Creation of an standing committee for boundaries issues (this has been completely under the control of G. Butler for many years and from all accounts the great and powerful "Boundary Wizard" working with the data behind the curtains has wielded his authority without public input.) Again, that this analysis and data sees the light of day with multiple minds working on solutions is a HUGE step in the right direction.
2. That LR be closed and students re-located to Putnam Heights. Time frame is at the end of the 07-08 school year.
3. That all single section schools be held to the same fiscal standards as multi-section schools and therefore they recommended that Montessori be moved.
4. That the LR school and surrounding land be preserved for future district use.
Dr. Butler spoke of the operational and relationship based concerns required for this move and assured everyone that it would be smooth. There was a brief discussion about the need to move 2 Early Education programs out of Putnam Heights to South Middle School as part of the transition as well. Gregg was coy about the location of the program but it seemed clear that South MS was the only option. Comm. Craig responded to information presented by Tanya Miller about south side development and indicated that there is no guarantee that that will mean more students in those houses. She again re-iterated that the LRSC recommendations should be seen as the catalyst for doing Comp, Cummunity Planning.
Comm. Bollinger indicated the need to communicate what the district means by neighborhood schools compared to what the community might think and to see if the community will financially support less cost effective but more neighborly schools.
More discussion about the 1988 (20 years ago!!!) ECASD recommendation to phase out 1 section schools in light of the 1999 decision to add onto LR. Also discussion about transportation issues that are already underway to assure that no student has a bus ride greater than one hour.
More discussion about the Montessori move and r. Butler indicated that it was nearly impossible to move by next school year. There were many questions about whether or not the Montessori program would ever grow enough ( enrollment data comparing the number of students in 2002 was 165 compared to only 145 in 2007). Comm. Craig said that the "heart of the issue is equity" and that Montessori is a 1 section school in a 3 section building. "Moving Montessori is an integral part of the recommendations."
NOTE: Many minutes earlier Comm. Wogahn had moved to accept the committee recommendations and this had been seconded by Comm. Kneer. After this there were multiple violations of Parliamentary Procedure before Comm. Wogahn called the question to stop discussion and vote. His statement that he did not disagree with the discussion about single section programs but also supported Carol (Craig) was extremely confusing.
Comm. Bollinger made a "Friendly Amendment" to recommendation #3 that the plan to move Montessori be developed by May 2008. Comm. Cummins and Craig voted "NO" to calling the question. But then the BOE voted and 6 of 7 members approved the recommendation with Bollinger's amendment. Only Cummins dissented due to it not being part of a more comprehensive plan.
Another lengthy and confusing discussion about the community survey possibilities. Dr. Leary indicated that community engagement should be an ongoing process with BOE and Admin. people being active members across the community (this is a good idea but flies in the face of the ECASD BOE member style to be the opposite of open and inclusive and welcoming of community input). Leary warned BOE members that they need to come together and define what they want to know and how they will use the answers. Thankfully, Comm. Faanes volunteered to head up a 3 member committee with Kneer and Wogahn to brainstorm the questions.
The next Clear Vision meeting will be during the WASB meeting in Milwaukee. Some discussion of WASB resolutions about state aid formulas that was understandable only by Mr. VandeWater, bless his heart! Comm. Cummins asked about the Conflict of Interest policy and that will be presented in Feb.
Adjourn!
Bob Janke spoke long and eloquently but ineffectively about all the rural schools that have been closed and also was critical that the district is not using GIS to predict enrollment. He criticized considering spending upwards of $20,000 on the community survey and volunteered that if they gave him a few bucks for beer he would head out to a couple of taverns and give them more information than they will get from a survey. Interesting plan.
Then Tanya Miller, a LR parent spoke about the sadness of losing a school and more about integrity and honesty , etc.. her son raised $200 to help. Bill Garton the custodian at LR spoke as well.
And, of course, yours truly requested that none of the Board members express their dislike of closing a school because the translation of that is that they just dislike planning. When they closed Park School 10 years ago, then Cleghorn, then Lincoln, now Little Red and recommend that Montessori move it just means that there is NO PLANNING at all going on. Blah, blah, blah....
There was some snarl with approving the Consent Agenda as Comm. Cummins had a question about the Closed Session Minutes, but that will be handled in Closed Session. Then during the approval of the payment of bills and payroll I noted that Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes abstained (due to spousal employment) but Comm. Kneer (an ECASD employee herself) approved. But I also heard through the Locust Lane grapevine that Comm. Kneer resigned her employment just recently because she had a "Conflict of Interest". Hmmmm, she and the majority of the BOE has always insisted that there has been NO Conflict of Interest but maybe in the development of the Conflict of Interest Policy (which has been in the works for months) the light finally turned on.
Pres. O'Brien again thanked the LRSC members and especially Comm. Craig for a "yeo-person's" job of managing this huge effort. Other committee members were introduced. The charge of the committee was read and then the recommendations were presented:
1. Creation of an standing committee for boundaries issues (this has been completely under the control of G. Butler for many years and from all accounts the great and powerful "Boundary Wizard" working with the data behind the curtains has wielded his authority without public input.) Again, that this analysis and data sees the light of day with multiple minds working on solutions is a HUGE step in the right direction.
2. That LR be closed and students re-located to Putnam Heights. Time frame is at the end of the 07-08 school year.
3. That all single section schools be held to the same fiscal standards as multi-section schools and therefore they recommended that Montessori be moved.
4. That the LR school and surrounding land be preserved for future district use.
Dr. Butler spoke of the operational and relationship based concerns required for this move and assured everyone that it would be smooth. There was a brief discussion about the need to move 2 Early Education programs out of Putnam Heights to South Middle School as part of the transition as well. Gregg was coy about the location of the program but it seemed clear that South MS was the only option. Comm. Craig responded to information presented by Tanya Miller about south side development and indicated that there is no guarantee that that will mean more students in those houses. She again re-iterated that the LRSC recommendations should be seen as the catalyst for doing Comp, Cummunity Planning.
Comm. Bollinger indicated the need to communicate what the district means by neighborhood schools compared to what the community might think and to see if the community will financially support less cost effective but more neighborly schools.
More discussion about the 1988 (20 years ago!!!) ECASD recommendation to phase out 1 section schools in light of the 1999 decision to add onto LR. Also discussion about transportation issues that are already underway to assure that no student has a bus ride greater than one hour.
More discussion about the Montessori move and r. Butler indicated that it was nearly impossible to move by next school year. There were many questions about whether or not the Montessori program would ever grow enough ( enrollment data comparing the number of students in 2002 was 165 compared to only 145 in 2007). Comm. Craig said that the "heart of the issue is equity" and that Montessori is a 1 section school in a 3 section building. "Moving Montessori is an integral part of the recommendations."
NOTE: Many minutes earlier Comm. Wogahn had moved to accept the committee recommendations and this had been seconded by Comm. Kneer. After this there were multiple violations of Parliamentary Procedure before Comm. Wogahn called the question to stop discussion and vote. His statement that he did not disagree with the discussion about single section programs but also supported Carol (Craig) was extremely confusing.
Comm. Bollinger made a "Friendly Amendment" to recommendation #3 that the plan to move Montessori be developed by May 2008. Comm. Cummins and Craig voted "NO" to calling the question. But then the BOE voted and 6 of 7 members approved the recommendation with Bollinger's amendment. Only Cummins dissented due to it not being part of a more comprehensive plan.
Another lengthy and confusing discussion about the community survey possibilities. Dr. Leary indicated that community engagement should be an ongoing process with BOE and Admin. people being active members across the community (this is a good idea but flies in the face of the ECASD BOE member style to be the opposite of open and inclusive and welcoming of community input). Leary warned BOE members that they need to come together and define what they want to know and how they will use the answers. Thankfully, Comm. Faanes volunteered to head up a 3 member committee with Kneer and Wogahn to brainstorm the questions.
The next Clear Vision meeting will be during the WASB meeting in Milwaukee. Some discussion of WASB resolutions about state aid formulas that was understandable only by Mr. VandeWater, bless his heart! Comm. Cummins asked about the Conflict of Interest policy and that will be presented in Feb.
Adjourn!
BOE Meeting, Jan. 7th, 2008
Both Comm. Wogahn and Comm Bollinger were absent for this meeting. I think a future topic for the blog will be attendance by BOE Members to Board meetings as well as their record for attending their committee meetings. I have heard some anecdotal information about a couple of board members who are essentially AWOL for their committee work. But I want to get the record straight. I think that at the most basic level, attendance is something we can expect of elected officials. Maybe the Truancy policies that are enforced in the high schools could be used to motivate them!
Dr. Leary gave an update on the Superintendent search which was that by Dec. 21st 6 people had passed Stage 1 and 2 people had submitted credentials for Stage 2. He said this was not unusual and normally there is a lot of activity on the last couple of days. Final days for candidates to submit their application materials are Jan. 18th.
Misc. other announcements about a NCLB Forum at Delong MS and that the BOE members will be going to Milwaukee later in January for the WASB convention.
In the Public Comment time I reprised my role of St. John the Baptist crying in the wilderness for the urgency of Comprehensive Planning. I did thank the BOE for the LRSC (Little Red Study Committee) process which was open to all and made input from the public easy but I still believe that it was done in a vacuum. My comments were that any other $115 million corporation experiencing cutbacks similar to those at the ECASD would not take 3 full years or business cycles to complete a comprehensive analysis of their operation and yet that is what the school district is doing. They were all hanging on every word and nodding their heads in agreement and scribbling notes to follow up on as soon as possible. NOT!!
The new guidelines for Public Input were approved. I think it allows for community members to sign up 5 minutes in advance of the meeting, speak for up to 5 minutes, not repeat what already has been said and then, maybe ask questions or give additional input after presentations. But there was NO copy of the policy available for those attending the meeting and my steno skills are lacking so I am guessing as to the details.
Then the Principal from Meadowview came up with 3 students who gave a little presentation about raising money to buy books for disadvantaged children (is that the proper nomenclature ?) The students did a great job and were thanked by the board.
Pres. O'Brien then thanked all of the members of the LRSC who had done such great work. Tentative recommendations were in the Leader Telegram and the final meeting of the group is Jan. 15th and then it will be presented to the BOE on Jan. 21st. Included in the recommendations are: 1. ANOTHER recommendation for Comprehensive Community Planning, 2.) an ongoing committee for boundaries review, and 3. a committee to review budget options and referendum possibilities.
It was announced that Dr. Klaus will be appointed to serve as the MS representative on the McKinley Board.
Dr. Leary gave an update on the Community Survey process which has 2 different organizations in the mix for providing the service. (Please go to the Label Comprehensive Community Planning on the left hand side of the blog and you will see my comments about the presentations that these firms made back in JUNE!!!) Pres. O'Brien indicated the Comm. Wogahn is soliciting money from the community to cover the costs of this survey. Comm. Cummins indicated that WEAC also provides this kind of service and JoEllen Burke was invited to make a few comments. She felt it would be at a much lower cost and a WIN-WIN situation for the district to do this kind of collaboration. Comm. Kneer likes the firm that uses voter registration files for the survey. Comm. Craig reminded the BOE that the Comp. Community Planning process was approved by the BOE LAST SPRING (March 2007) and was supposed to begin in Sept. 2007 so this process should be put on the "fast track" to approximate the time we will have a new superintendent and board members. Comm. Faanes again asked "What is our mission for the survey? To ask questions about budget cuts or a referendum?" He stressed the need to give them clear instructions about our needs. Comm. Kneer agreed saying "or we will just look like we are floundering around."
Dr. Leary indicated that there could be a short discussion on Jan. 21st when one of the consultants could answer a few questions. Comm. Craig reminded everyone that last Spring's motion binds them to not go forward without community input. Comm. Cummins questioned the timing of discuss a survey on the 21st and then acting on Little Red before the survey is done. Pres. O'Brien indicated that the BOE has already had many meetings and they are NOT making decisions in a vacuum (I beg to disagree) and there is no need for an RFP because they already saw the presentation.
Comm. Faanes AGAIN reiterated that the goals and parameters for the process must be set by ECASD before choosing firms. Comm. Cummins said that the previous presentations were so broad and unfocussed that it is difficult to know what they really are offering. (I totally agree. The presentations were generic marketing presentations because the ECASD had done NO work at all to define what they were asking.) Comm. Kneer suggested going with the least expensive firm. Dr. Leary said he would follow up with both firms and WEAC and bring it to the next meeting.
Comm. Wogahn arrives.
The update on BoardDocs was that Bob Scidmore says he can replicate 15 to 20 items in the ECASD website without spending more money to buy the software. The information will be presented at the Feb. 5th BOE meeting. Comm. Kneer: "I would like to hear Bob. I have not been in favor of BoardDocs if we can do it in-house."
Comm. Faanes suggested doing a cost-benefit analysis to see if there would be overall savings. Comm. Craig thanked the ECASD staff for all their help in posting the information for the LRSC on the website. Comm. Cummins indicated that it would be important to n=know how much time and money it cost to do that in house.
Legislative report from Pres. O'Brien about the WASB recommendations, and that the Bush Administration eliminated Medicaid funding of SCHIP extension. His question: "Do we really still have 3 branches of government?" I like that!
The update about the Clear Vision Community Planning was given by Anna, one of the students, who said that there was no ECASD representation at the Education group (I think it was the same night as the LR Public Input(?))
Some discussion about the process on Jan. 28th or 29th when the board will review candidate applications and choose the top 6 for interviews.
Comm. Wogahn updated his information about soliciting funds for the Community Survey which was not definitive in terms of dollars pledged or received.
Comm. Cummins indicated that she would like to see High School Reform on an agenda in the future.
Adjourn!
Dr. Leary gave an update on the Superintendent search which was that by Dec. 21st 6 people had passed Stage 1 and 2 people had submitted credentials for Stage 2. He said this was not unusual and normally there is a lot of activity on the last couple of days. Final days for candidates to submit their application materials are Jan. 18th.
Misc. other announcements about a NCLB Forum at Delong MS and that the BOE members will be going to Milwaukee later in January for the WASB convention.
In the Public Comment time I reprised my role of St. John the Baptist crying in the wilderness for the urgency of Comprehensive Planning. I did thank the BOE for the LRSC (Little Red Study Committee) process which was open to all and made input from the public easy but I still believe that it was done in a vacuum. My comments were that any other $115 million corporation experiencing cutbacks similar to those at the ECASD would not take 3 full years or business cycles to complete a comprehensive analysis of their operation and yet that is what the school district is doing. They were all hanging on every word and nodding their heads in agreement and scribbling notes to follow up on as soon as possible. NOT!!
The new guidelines for Public Input were approved. I think it allows for community members to sign up 5 minutes in advance of the meeting, speak for up to 5 minutes, not repeat what already has been said and then, maybe ask questions or give additional input after presentations. But there was NO copy of the policy available for those attending the meeting and my steno skills are lacking so I am guessing as to the details.
Then the Principal from Meadowview came up with 3 students who gave a little presentation about raising money to buy books for disadvantaged children (is that the proper nomenclature ?) The students did a great job and were thanked by the board.
Pres. O'Brien then thanked all of the members of the LRSC who had done such great work. Tentative recommendations were in the Leader Telegram and the final meeting of the group is Jan. 15th and then it will be presented to the BOE on Jan. 21st. Included in the recommendations are: 1. ANOTHER recommendation for Comprehensive Community Planning, 2.) an ongoing committee for boundaries review, and 3. a committee to review budget options and referendum possibilities.
It was announced that Dr. Klaus will be appointed to serve as the MS representative on the McKinley Board.
Dr. Leary gave an update on the Community Survey process which has 2 different organizations in the mix for providing the service. (Please go to the Label Comprehensive Community Planning on the left hand side of the blog and you will see my comments about the presentations that these firms made back in JUNE!!!) Pres. O'Brien indicated the Comm. Wogahn is soliciting money from the community to cover the costs of this survey. Comm. Cummins indicated that WEAC also provides this kind of service and JoEllen Burke was invited to make a few comments. She felt it would be at a much lower cost and a WIN-WIN situation for the district to do this kind of collaboration. Comm. Kneer likes the firm that uses voter registration files for the survey. Comm. Craig reminded the BOE that the Comp. Community Planning process was approved by the BOE LAST SPRING (March 2007) and was supposed to begin in Sept. 2007 so this process should be put on the "fast track" to approximate the time we will have a new superintendent and board members. Comm. Faanes again asked "What is our mission for the survey? To ask questions about budget cuts or a referendum?" He stressed the need to give them clear instructions about our needs. Comm. Kneer agreed saying "or we will just look like we are floundering around."
Dr. Leary indicated that there could be a short discussion on Jan. 21st when one of the consultants could answer a few questions. Comm. Craig reminded everyone that last Spring's motion binds them to not go forward without community input. Comm. Cummins questioned the timing of discuss a survey on the 21st and then acting on Little Red before the survey is done. Pres. O'Brien indicated that the BOE has already had many meetings and they are NOT making decisions in a vacuum (I beg to disagree) and there is no need for an RFP because they already saw the presentation.
Comm. Faanes AGAIN reiterated that the goals and parameters for the process must be set by ECASD before choosing firms. Comm. Cummins said that the previous presentations were so broad and unfocussed that it is difficult to know what they really are offering. (I totally agree. The presentations were generic marketing presentations because the ECASD had done NO work at all to define what they were asking.) Comm. Kneer suggested going with the least expensive firm. Dr. Leary said he would follow up with both firms and WEAC and bring it to the next meeting.
Comm. Wogahn arrives.
The update on BoardDocs was that Bob Scidmore says he can replicate 15 to 20 items in the ECASD website without spending more money to buy the software. The information will be presented at the Feb. 5th BOE meeting. Comm. Kneer: "I would like to hear Bob. I have not been in favor of BoardDocs if we can do it in-house."
Comm. Faanes suggested doing a cost-benefit analysis to see if there would be overall savings. Comm. Craig thanked the ECASD staff for all their help in posting the information for the LRSC on the website. Comm. Cummins indicated that it would be important to n=know how much time and money it cost to do that in house.
Legislative report from Pres. O'Brien about the WASB recommendations, and that the Bush Administration eliminated Medicaid funding of SCHIP extension. His question: "Do we really still have 3 branches of government?" I like that!
The update about the Clear Vision Community Planning was given by Anna, one of the students, who said that there was no ECASD representation at the Education group (I think it was the same night as the LR Public Input(?))
Some discussion about the process on Jan. 28th or 29th when the board will review candidate applications and choose the top 6 for interviews.
Comm. Wogahn updated his information about soliciting funds for the Community Survey which was not definitive in terms of dollars pledged or received.
Comm. Cummins indicated that she would like to see High School Reform on an agenda in the future.
Adjourn!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Dec. 18, 2008 Work Session on the BUDGET
FYI: This special work session was not well attended by BOE members or staff. Absent were: Comm. Bollinger, Kneer, Craig, G. Butler, Patti Iverson and Jim Kling.
The presentation began with another sobering presentation by Mr. VandeWater about the 5 year budget projections. At the VERY BEST the ECASD faces 5 years of budget shortfalls beginning in school year 08-09 of $1.3 mill., $2.2 mill, $2.9 mill., $4.2 mill., and $5.8 million dollars!!! The 5 year total for this OPTIMISTIC scenario is $16.3 million. This does not include ANYTHING for Facilities or Technology. By varying percentage increases for salaries and benefits or Purchased Services to more likely increases the projected shortfalls increase dramatically and could be closer to $38.2 MILLION over 5 years. All BOE members in attendance were appropriately sobered by this information. (I digress: WHY was this simple accounting exercise NOT done in the past several years???)
(I apologize for the annoying capitalization but I hope readers get the idea that this is real, it is now and it is not going away.)
BOE members held a lengthy discussion for soliciting community input and ultimately support to address this situation. Dr. Leary was not present for the presentations by the outside consulting firms in June who offered a couple of different options for this activity. The cost of hiring professionals would be in the neighborhood of $10,000. It was suggested that the ECASD could seek out a community sponsor for such an activity. Dr. Leary is meeting on Jan. 3rd with Don Liftow (sp?) of School Perceptions to refine the needs of the ECASD. He commented that he only had Comm. Craig's copy of the presentation materials. (Again, WHY was he not given a FULL COPY of all 3 presenters' material from Dr. Klaus who left the week after the presentations??? Is this stuff simple or is it me?)
Comm. Faanes seemed very animated and committed to having the ECASD put together a framework of our needs and then have them respond to our needs. In addition, he said that we should ask about their ability to turn around the request. Excellent! Ken, we need a lot more of your wisdom and participation to get this process activated and pointed in the right direction and moving forward. Comm. Wogahn lapsed back into his "anecdotal mindset" and went on at length about his church conducting a survey with the bottom line being: "Hire a professional." Pres. O'Brien indicated that the participation of the prior committee for the failed referendum (Save our Schools) could be explored. My comment: that was such a hasty hack job that we should not even bother unless certain individuals from the committee have expertise that we can still use now.
Mr. Van de Water then presented a summary of Facilities needs that are still being postponed. Mr. Charlie Kramer indicated that the annual funding for facilities maintenance should be approx. $2.2 million but we have only funded $600,000 in the last few years so that is in a major deficit and building every year. In all, the facilities needs could be $33 million in today's dollars. Mr. Van de Water indicated that his theory is to support annual maintenance and operations and then use bond money for long term capital items.
Comm. Cummins asked when the BOE could schedule a discussion on the capital needs because she still sees some facility items that are simply out of the question that are still on the list. Mr. Van de Water indicated that just because it is on the list does not mean it has the same priority as other items. Mr. V. indicated that due to the declining schedule of past bond issues that the ECASD is in a good position to take on additional debt and continue to have a declining debt schedule. Two alternatives: 1.) borrow a lot of money less often or, 2.)borrow less money more often. He prefers option #2 becuase option #1 does not allow you to re-prioritize as the federal rules of arbitrage require the $'s to be spent of the money earned on interest must be refunded. IF the community would support smaller referenda every few years the ECASD would be better able to manage the projects and priorities. We would need solid justification for each item to get community support.
Comm. Cummins again re-iterated the need to have facility funding linked to programming needs as well as ongoing requests for referenda money would put pressure on legislators to reform the school funding formulas. Pres. O'Brien indicated that rates are low now so maybe we should borrow more $ now. Dan V. reminded him that organizations, just like homeowners, can refinance when interest rates drop. "So we are a little behind the curve here already..." YUP.
Mr. V. put up a possible schedule of election dates and a proposed timeline for communities considering a referendum. The timeline indicated that this discussion begins NO LATER THAN 180 days PRIOR to the election, unlike the 5 week crash and burn program we had last April. This generated a lot of discussion about potential advantages and disadvantages of holding a referendum during a regular fall election when turnout is higher vs. Spring elections or special elections. Dr. Leary indicated that naming the committee is important. Something like "the Committee for Quality Education" is good. (You mean better than SOS(?!?!) which implies that we need the taxpayers to rescue our district?) All members agreed that an April '08 date was not possible which means that the need to cut $2.8 million out of the '08-'09 budget must occur. Comm. Cummins was conserned about the effect of another round of reductions and if a Sept. 08 primary date would be reasonable. Mr. V said it would be "problematic" because of the deadlines for staffing decisions. She indicated that the district was planning to use $3.4 million of the fund balance last year that was not required and maybe that should be a consideration while a community supported referendum is prepared. Mr. V. was concerned about this approach as the Fund Balance is a finite resource. Preferable would be to "reduce the scope of our operation and live within the budget."
Another lengthy discussion about controlling health insurance costs ensued with Comm. Faanes asking how other districts manage these costs. Mr. V. : "I don't know." Dr. Leary commented that the Chippewa Falls district is self insured. This area has lots of possibility for analysis, in my opinion. Comm. Cummins final comment: We need to go back and add teachers not cut more of them.
There was an abbreviated discussion about alternative funding sources such as Naming Rights, etc....Pres. O'Brien said it would be good to explore this but cautioned about the need to not exploit students. There could also be some advertising in school newsletters but, again, caution is warranted. Comm. Faanes cited examples at Carson Park, Hobbs Field, and the gym floor in Stillwater being "sponsored". Comm. Wogahn went on at length about not allowing tobacco products or Coca Cola "although Coke did give my wife a scholarship." (!?!?)
Comm. Cummins noted that it was interesting that all the examples they discussed were for sports and that that would indicate that community funding of athletics is much more feasible than sponsors being willing to fund classes for French or other academic subjects.
Adjourn!!
The presentation began with another sobering presentation by Mr. VandeWater about the 5 year budget projections. At the VERY BEST the ECASD faces 5 years of budget shortfalls beginning in school year 08-09 of $1.3 mill., $2.2 mill, $2.9 mill., $4.2 mill., and $5.8 million dollars!!! The 5 year total for this OPTIMISTIC scenario is $16.3 million. This does not include ANYTHING for Facilities or Technology. By varying percentage increases for salaries and benefits or Purchased Services to more likely increases the projected shortfalls increase dramatically and could be closer to $38.2 MILLION over 5 years. All BOE members in attendance were appropriately sobered by this information. (I digress: WHY was this simple accounting exercise NOT done in the past several years???)
(I apologize for the annoying capitalization but I hope readers get the idea that this is real, it is now and it is not going away.)
BOE members held a lengthy discussion for soliciting community input and ultimately support to address this situation. Dr. Leary was not present for the presentations by the outside consulting firms in June who offered a couple of different options for this activity. The cost of hiring professionals would be in the neighborhood of $10,000. It was suggested that the ECASD could seek out a community sponsor for such an activity. Dr. Leary is meeting on Jan. 3rd with Don Liftow (sp?) of School Perceptions to refine the needs of the ECASD. He commented that he only had Comm. Craig's copy of the presentation materials. (Again, WHY was he not given a FULL COPY of all 3 presenters' material from Dr. Klaus who left the week after the presentations??? Is this stuff simple or is it me?)
Comm. Faanes seemed very animated and committed to having the ECASD put together a framework of our needs and then have them respond to our needs. In addition, he said that we should ask about their ability to turn around the request. Excellent! Ken, we need a lot more of your wisdom and participation to get this process activated and pointed in the right direction and moving forward. Comm. Wogahn lapsed back into his "anecdotal mindset" and went on at length about his church conducting a survey with the bottom line being: "Hire a professional." Pres. O'Brien indicated that the participation of the prior committee for the failed referendum (Save our Schools) could be explored. My comment: that was such a hasty hack job that we should not even bother unless certain individuals from the committee have expertise that we can still use now.
Mr. Van de Water then presented a summary of Facilities needs that are still being postponed. Mr. Charlie Kramer indicated that the annual funding for facilities maintenance should be approx. $2.2 million but we have only funded $600,000 in the last few years so that is in a major deficit and building every year. In all, the facilities needs could be $33 million in today's dollars. Mr. Van de Water indicated that his theory is to support annual maintenance and operations and then use bond money for long term capital items.
Comm. Cummins asked when the BOE could schedule a discussion on the capital needs because she still sees some facility items that are simply out of the question that are still on the list. Mr. Van de Water indicated that just because it is on the list does not mean it has the same priority as other items. Mr. V. indicated that due to the declining schedule of past bond issues that the ECASD is in a good position to take on additional debt and continue to have a declining debt schedule. Two alternatives: 1.) borrow a lot of money less often or, 2.)borrow less money more often. He prefers option #2 becuase option #1 does not allow you to re-prioritize as the federal rules of arbitrage require the $'s to be spent of the money earned on interest must be refunded. IF the community would support smaller referenda every few years the ECASD would be better able to manage the projects and priorities. We would need solid justification for each item to get community support.
Comm. Cummins again re-iterated the need to have facility funding linked to programming needs as well as ongoing requests for referenda money would put pressure on legislators to reform the school funding formulas. Pres. O'Brien indicated that rates are low now so maybe we should borrow more $ now. Dan V. reminded him that organizations, just like homeowners, can refinance when interest rates drop. "So we are a little behind the curve here already..." YUP.
Mr. V. put up a possible schedule of election dates and a proposed timeline for communities considering a referendum. The timeline indicated that this discussion begins NO LATER THAN 180 days PRIOR to the election, unlike the 5 week crash and burn program we had last April. This generated a lot of discussion about potential advantages and disadvantages of holding a referendum during a regular fall election when turnout is higher vs. Spring elections or special elections. Dr. Leary indicated that naming the committee is important. Something like "the Committee for Quality Education" is good. (You mean better than SOS(?!?!) which implies that we need the taxpayers to rescue our district?) All members agreed that an April '08 date was not possible which means that the need to cut $2.8 million out of the '08-'09 budget must occur. Comm. Cummins was conserned about the effect of another round of reductions and if a Sept. 08 primary date would be reasonable. Mr. V said it would be "problematic" because of the deadlines for staffing decisions. She indicated that the district was planning to use $3.4 million of the fund balance last year that was not required and maybe that should be a consideration while a community supported referendum is prepared. Mr. V. was concerned about this approach as the Fund Balance is a finite resource. Preferable would be to "reduce the scope of our operation and live within the budget."
Another lengthy discussion about controlling health insurance costs ensued with Comm. Faanes asking how other districts manage these costs. Mr. V. : "I don't know." Dr. Leary commented that the Chippewa Falls district is self insured. This area has lots of possibility for analysis, in my opinion. Comm. Cummins final comment: We need to go back and add teachers not cut more of them.
There was an abbreviated discussion about alternative funding sources such as Naming Rights, etc....Pres. O'Brien said it would be good to explore this but cautioned about the need to not exploit students. There could also be some advertising in school newsletters but, again, caution is warranted. Comm. Faanes cited examples at Carson Park, Hobbs Field, and the gym floor in Stillwater being "sponsored". Comm. Wogahn went on at length about not allowing tobacco products or Coca Cola "although Coke did give my wife a scholarship." (!?!?)
Comm. Cummins noted that it was interesting that all the examples they discussed were for sports and that that would indicate that community funding of athletics is much more feasible than sponsors being willing to fund classes for French or other academic subjects.
Adjourn!!
Dec. 17, 2007 BOE Meeting
I was unable to attend this session so Adam Shiel, who is a faithful presence at most BOE meetings, took notes and passed them on to me to post on the blog. Thank you, Adam!
Maria
12/17/2007 Working Session
Review proposed ECASD Charter School Policy.
The proposed policy can be found at
http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/charterschoolpolicy/charterpolicystatement.pdf
This is a summary and omits some of the debate and isn’t in chronological order.
Both Commissioners Cummins and Keener didn’t like point 8. Cummins had gotten several emails saying it would be nice for every other school to have this too and wouldn’t be fair for the charter schools to have an inside track to the school board. This point was dropped from the policy.
Commissioner Cummins thought that point 6 was too vague. Mr. Van De Water suggested changing the wording to “opportunity for resources.” The intent is to have program driven budgeting, which means funding can vary from year to year depending on the needs of the program.
Point 7, regarding providing transportation, was the subject of a lot of debate. Commissioner Faanes was concerned about committing the district to a large financial obligation in the future. There was some discussion as to if transportation would be provided at all, since open enrollment students are required to provide their own transportation. The consensus was that transportation should be provided since it excludes the part of the population that can’t provide their own transportation and charter schools provide a different educational opportunity than a conventional school, where as open enrollment students are choosing between the same program offered at different schools. Deputy Superintendent Buttler recommended that policy say that the area of enrollment for charter schools be the entire district. This wording would cause the least disturbance to the existing transportation policies.
For reference, state law required parochial students to be transported by the district at tax payer expense.
Two items were referred to the administration: have the proposed charter school contract template be reviewed and to verify with DPI as to whether the BoE should be able to appoint members of the charter school boards.
At the end of the meeting there was a brief discussion of some of the charter school guidelines produced by the committee (Not online, as best I can tell), but time ran out and the board needed to have a brief closed session.
12/17/2007 Regular school board meeting
Meeting came to order.
Announcement from close session: four points of Dr. Klauss’ contract were clarified, all retirement related. The rest of the contract remains intact.
There was report on the Flynn Elementary Responsive Classroom. The principal Kim Hill and 3rd grade teacher Amy Detrick gave an overview of the program and demonstration with part of Ms. Detrick class. I’m not sure I can do justice in this space – contact me if you’re interested.
Announcements:
1. Winter break from December 22, 2007 until January 1, 2008.
2. School board nomination papers are due January 2.
3. The appointment of a school board member to the Montessori Board was skipped due to discussion in the previous working meeting.
Deputy Superintendent’s Report:
1. The central office is closed December 24, 25, and 31, as well as January 1.
2. The district received an award for excellence in teacher induction. There were twelve districts in the state given this award. The four criteria used for judging were the support to, the mentoring program, orientation activities, and seminars provided to new teachers. This work is done almost exclusively by current teachers.
Superintendent’s report:
1. Received a request from the Institute for Wisconsin Future for a date to meet with the ECASD BoE, county board, and city board to discuss options and ideas for revenue generation. The other two groups have agreed to meet on January 17th from about 4 to 5PM privately with a public meeting the next day. No site has been chose yet. The public session with be a forum for asking questions and sharing ideas.
2. WASB superintendent search update. The board will review credentials of candidates January 28 and 29, possibly extending to the 30th if needed. Need to choose six. Board members can come in on their own to review the credentials, but the credentials are not available to the public. Interviews will then be in the second week in February. Just for reference, there are 12-15 other districts in Wisconsin looking for superintendents.
No public comments.
Minutes and employment report approved.
Financial report from 7/1/2007 to 11/30/2007 approved.
Payment of bills and net payroll for November, 2007 approved.
Approved motion to extend administrators contracts. This was for the 09-10 school year. It didn’t include financial terms, and I’m not sure it included a commitment for a specific job. There was some concern by a couple board members that this was so far in the future and would limit options for reducing administrative positions. By the current contracts, layoff notifications for 08-09 would have to be given by Jan 1, 2008. With the current contracts, one full time position could be eliminated after the contracts were approved. There are also three probationary principals that could contractually be eliminated.
Approving the contracts doesn’t prevent the restructuring of the administration, but it sounds like any positions eliminated would have to be paid through the end of the contract or some separation package would have to be negotiated.
Adjourned to committee meeting.
Approved three year contracts with the cooks and custodians. There were minor changes to each contract, but the most significant was the increase in salary and benefits (aka total package) the groups agreed to. Both agreed to increase
2.5% for 07-08
3.6% for 08-09
3.6% for 09-10
Both groups had previously approved the contracts, so these are now in effect. Back payments should be made by the end of the year. Commissioner Craig noted that these were below the QEO. President O’Brien thanked the groups for their cooperation.
Discussed public input policy.
1. There’s still a 30 minute limit
2. Community members will be allowed to ask questions, request clarification, or request relevant information from the board after board discussion of “items for discussion”.
3. Language allowing public to provide relevant information as removed.
Needs assessment update will be going up on the web site along with a note of how the data was collected and how to interpret it.
Discussion of community survey:
1. Have talked with two groups that do phone surveys of registered voters in the district.
2. One (and maybe both) would survey 400 people for a confidence interval of +/- 4.5%
3. It’s likely the board would develop the questions to use, but not sure what the right number of questions to use is. Lacross put their survey results up on the web so that might be a useful resource.
4. Not sure on the timeline.
Presentation of staffing decisions at high schools, by the principals (Tim Leibham and Dave Valk? Sorry – I didn’t get their names). The presentation was extensive, and I’m not sure my description here is going to do it justice. Feel free to post corrections, or pass them to me and I’ll try to get them posted.
1. Registration runs from October to December. Staffing decisions are from December to February.
2. 228 courses are offered, the same at each high school. Course changes can be made until sometime in October.
3. After the have enrollment, the principals start with the classes with the smallest enrollments that can’t be combined. I’m not sure exactly when they stop.
4. Then generate staffing sheets. Average class size is now 27, up from 25 previously.
5. There was some concern on the board about a “consumer driven” approach to what classes were run. There hasn’t been any revision in this scheduling system in at least 15 years (when one of the principals joined. He hasn’t done it any other way).
Legislative update
1. A study comparing public versus private school results was published. Both types of schools produced the same results
2. Head start has been reapproved. Eligibility has been increased to 130% of the poverty level from 100%.
The Clear Vision community planning group will meet again January 3 and 24.
Communication to the Superintendent/Board President
1. The public comment session for the Little Red study group will be January 3.
Adjourned to closed session.
Maria
12/17/2007 Working Session
Review proposed ECASD Charter School Policy.
The proposed policy can be found at
http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/charterschoolpolicy/charterpolicystatement.pdf
This is a summary and omits some of the debate and isn’t in chronological order.
Both Commissioners Cummins and Keener didn’t like point 8. Cummins had gotten several emails saying it would be nice for every other school to have this too and wouldn’t be fair for the charter schools to have an inside track to the school board. This point was dropped from the policy.
Commissioner Cummins thought that point 6 was too vague. Mr. Van De Water suggested changing the wording to “opportunity for resources.” The intent is to have program driven budgeting, which means funding can vary from year to year depending on the needs of the program.
Point 7, regarding providing transportation, was the subject of a lot of debate. Commissioner Faanes was concerned about committing the district to a large financial obligation in the future. There was some discussion as to if transportation would be provided at all, since open enrollment students are required to provide their own transportation. The consensus was that transportation should be provided since it excludes the part of the population that can’t provide their own transportation and charter schools provide a different educational opportunity than a conventional school, where as open enrollment students are choosing between the same program offered at different schools. Deputy Superintendent Buttler recommended that policy say that the area of enrollment for charter schools be the entire district. This wording would cause the least disturbance to the existing transportation policies.
For reference, state law required parochial students to be transported by the district at tax payer expense.
Two items were referred to the administration: have the proposed charter school contract template be reviewed and to verify with DPI as to whether the BoE should be able to appoint members of the charter school boards.
At the end of the meeting there was a brief discussion of some of the charter school guidelines produced by the committee (Not online, as best I can tell), but time ran out and the board needed to have a brief closed session.
12/17/2007 Regular school board meeting
Meeting came to order.
Announcement from close session: four points of Dr. Klauss’ contract were clarified, all retirement related. The rest of the contract remains intact.
There was report on the Flynn Elementary Responsive Classroom. The principal Kim Hill and 3rd grade teacher Amy Detrick gave an overview of the program and demonstration with part of Ms. Detrick class. I’m not sure I can do justice in this space – contact me if you’re interested.
Announcements:
1. Winter break from December 22, 2007 until January 1, 2008.
2. School board nomination papers are due January 2.
3. The appointment of a school board member to the Montessori Board was skipped due to discussion in the previous working meeting.
Deputy Superintendent’s Report:
1. The central office is closed December 24, 25, and 31, as well as January 1.
2. The district received an award for excellence in teacher induction. There were twelve districts in the state given this award. The four criteria used for judging were the support to, the mentoring program, orientation activities, and seminars provided to new teachers. This work is done almost exclusively by current teachers.
Superintendent’s report:
1. Received a request from the Institute for Wisconsin Future for a date to meet with the ECASD BoE, county board, and city board to discuss options and ideas for revenue generation. The other two groups have agreed to meet on January 17th from about 4 to 5PM privately with a public meeting the next day. No site has been chose yet. The public session with be a forum for asking questions and sharing ideas.
2. WASB superintendent search update. The board will review credentials of candidates January 28 and 29, possibly extending to the 30th if needed. Need to choose six. Board members can come in on their own to review the credentials, but the credentials are not available to the public. Interviews will then be in the second week in February. Just for reference, there are 12-15 other districts in Wisconsin looking for superintendents.
No public comments.
Minutes and employment report approved.
Financial report from 7/1/2007 to 11/30/2007 approved.
Payment of bills and net payroll for November, 2007 approved.
Approved motion to extend administrators contracts. This was for the 09-10 school year. It didn’t include financial terms, and I’m not sure it included a commitment for a specific job. There was some concern by a couple board members that this was so far in the future and would limit options for reducing administrative positions. By the current contracts, layoff notifications for 08-09 would have to be given by Jan 1, 2008. With the current contracts, one full time position could be eliminated after the contracts were approved. There are also three probationary principals that could contractually be eliminated.
Approving the contracts doesn’t prevent the restructuring of the administration, but it sounds like any positions eliminated would have to be paid through the end of the contract or some separation package would have to be negotiated.
Adjourned to committee meeting.
Approved three year contracts with the cooks and custodians. There were minor changes to each contract, but the most significant was the increase in salary and benefits (aka total package) the groups agreed to. Both agreed to increase
2.5% for 07-08
3.6% for 08-09
3.6% for 09-10
Both groups had previously approved the contracts, so these are now in effect. Back payments should be made by the end of the year. Commissioner Craig noted that these were below the QEO. President O’Brien thanked the groups for their cooperation.
Discussed public input policy.
1. There’s still a 30 minute limit
2. Community members will be allowed to ask questions, request clarification, or request relevant information from the board after board discussion of “items for discussion”.
3. Language allowing public to provide relevant information as removed.
Needs assessment update will be going up on the web site along with a note of how the data was collected and how to interpret it.
Discussion of community survey:
1. Have talked with two groups that do phone surveys of registered voters in the district.
2. One (and maybe both) would survey 400 people for a confidence interval of +/- 4.5%
3. It’s likely the board would develop the questions to use, but not sure what the right number of questions to use is. Lacross put their survey results up on the web so that might be a useful resource.
4. Not sure on the timeline.
Presentation of staffing decisions at high schools, by the principals (Tim Leibham and Dave Valk? Sorry – I didn’t get their names). The presentation was extensive, and I’m not sure my description here is going to do it justice. Feel free to post corrections, or pass them to me and I’ll try to get them posted.
1. Registration runs from October to December. Staffing decisions are from December to February.
2. 228 courses are offered, the same at each high school. Course changes can be made until sometime in October.
3. After the have enrollment, the principals start with the classes with the smallest enrollments that can’t be combined. I’m not sure exactly when they stop.
4. Then generate staffing sheets. Average class size is now 27, up from 25 previously.
5. There was some concern on the board about a “consumer driven” approach to what classes were run. There hasn’t been any revision in this scheduling system in at least 15 years (when one of the principals joined. He hasn’t done it any other way).
Legislative update
1. A study comparing public versus private school results was published. Both types of schools produced the same results
2. Head start has been reapproved. Eligibility has been increased to 130% of the poverty level from 100%.
The Clear Vision community planning group will meet again January 3 and 24.
Communication to the Superintendent/Board President
1. The public comment session for the Little Red study group will be January 3.
Adjourned to closed session.
Dec. 3, 2007 BOE meeting
On Dec. 3rd at 5:30 p.m. there was a special Work Session held to review the Needs Assessment Survey results. You can go to this blog and click on the Label of Needs Assessment to see the original survey document. This was a list of 112 items that were used to survey the following groups and determine priorities for our district. The survey was completed by the 7 members of the BOE (note their responses were given a double dose of priority for scoring so it looks like there were 14 responses), 14 top administrators in the district, 16 elementary employees, 19 secondary employees and the 22 members of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Items were ranked by priority (#1 being the highest priority) and also scored as to their perceived cost (high or low) and whether or not their implementation would involve Management effort. The results of the top 60 items is posted on the ECASD website (transparency!) at the following links:
Interpreting the Survey: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveyReview.pdf
Survey Results: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveywithPAC.pdf
The results were extremely "tight" in that the responses across the groups (BOE, PAC, Admin, etc...) all prioritized the top 15 responses in approx. the same way. Dr. Leary commented that the top 15 items could be broken down into 4 "clusters" in that 5 were related to money, 5 were related to students, 3 were related to schools and the community and 2 were process oriented. The top 30 priorities had 10 related to money, 8 related to students, 5 to school and community relations and 7 related to the process. Dr. Leary said that this "tightness" of response is not common with this number of stakeholders. (So, at least we can stop fighting about what might be priorities and start working on them!)
Comm. Cummins commented that there is some spread between the BOE and the rest of the district and Comm. Bollinger responded that the top 20 responses are "normalized" and it would be scary if everyone was in lock step. There was some discussion about the responses not really including the "community" to which Dr. Leary replied that is was "not possible to get reliable data." Also, I was not certain if the responses from the elementary and secondary groups included teaching and other staff members. Comm. Wogahn indicated that it would be interesting to see the top 60 items put out to the community and maybe distill responses to get the community's top 12 or 15 items. Comm. Craig indicated that Dr. Leary did not want to venture beyond an "internal" assessment at this time so "Now what?" Dr. Leary indicated that a series of 10 to 12 questions could be developed before a referendum went forward to assure that the priorities align with community support. A lengthy discussion followed about whether or not to go back to the Comprehensive Community Planning presenters who had expertise in such matters. BOE members seemed to be in agreement that reliable community data was important enough to use professionals.
Work Session adjourned.
Regular Meeting of the BOE called to order.
No action from Closed Session reported by Pres. O'Brien. NOTE: The ongoing closed session Agenda item labelled "Compensation Issue Involving District Employee" has been the source of much outrageous speculation. Immediately prior to attending the Work Session detailed above I received an amazing phone call from our former Superintendent, Dr. Klaus, who attempted to explain the situation to me. The only comment from my husband (who heard the phone conversation as well) is straight from the movie "The Big Lebowski": "Dude, new s*#t has come to light." Much more on this to come.
More announcements about other Work Sessions scheduled on Dec 17th and 18th, the dates of the schools Winter Break and WASB convention.
Dr. Leary's report consisted of an update on the Superintendent search which he characterized as "either the most popular or least wanted position" in the state since there are so many districts on the hunt. Dennis Richards from WASB will do a statewide compensation analysis. The ECASD position will be posted starting today until the deadline of Jan 18th. Comm. Craig commented that based on the salary data she looked at the wages are phenomenal and quite intimidating for a district like Eau Claire. Then there was an announcement that the ECASD has been honored by some organization for their Annual Report.
Public Comments: Gretchen Beckstrom, a teacher at Northstar and North HS extended an invitation to BOE members to come and visit classrooms. She noted that Commissioners Craig and Cummins are planning to attend and hoped others would choose to visit as well.
A couple of people (Todd Pauls and Dr. Dwight Watson) were appointed to the Montessori Charter School Board.
Jim Kling indicated that the Administrator contracts must be extended for the 08-09 and 09-10 school years. Comm. Craig had a few questions about how this approval might be affected if budget reductions are needed in this area. Kling responded that the Board is approving the position, not the $ amount.
There was a discussion about the Public Input guidelines that Comm. Craig asked to modify to allow citizens to ask clarifying questions after a presentation or discussion (not an action item). Mr. O'Brien indicated that if BOE members agreed they could modify the guidelines that night and then approve. Comm. Cummins noted that the Montessori discussion was respectful and open. Mr. Kling indicated that that was a "Report to the Board". Comm. Craig indicated that her motion would include Reports to the Board as well as Action and Discussion items. Members decided to rework it and bring it back next meeting.
Legislative Issues as reported by Pres. O'Brien included the information that sales tax revenue is down and counties and cities depend on that for their budgets. However since Gov. Doyle is very "pro" education he could help in some way. (Sorry that I am a really bad secretary!) On a federal level, Pres. Bush vetoed funding for Labor and Health and Human Services so if there is no override there is a lot of money lost for Special Ed., Title I and services to the poor.
Comm. Cummins gave an update on the Clear Vision Planning process and said they are doing the community "scan" of trends and conditions. Lots of information on the web at: clearvision eauclaire.org
She said that the region is experiencing only 1% growth and enrollment projections are only approx. 500 students in the next 10 years. The population is becoming more elderly and there is uneven growth with the south and west sides of EC growing more than others. The top employers in the community were Menards and the ECASD and also UWEC and CVTC were in the top 10. But only ECASD depends on the voters for money. Also our community has higher than average poverty levels. None of these indicators bode well for additional $'s for the district.
Comm. Bollinger asked that Board Docs be a future agenda item and he asked about an update on the Little Red committee (isn't Comm. Bollinger on that committee??). Comm. Craig said that they are done gathering info. and have met 5 times and can't just view Little Red in a vacuum since there are so many other impacts on the south and west sides of the city. She said they will begin deliberations on Dec. 6th, have follow up discussions on Dec. 13th and on Jan. 3rd there will be a Public Hearing. Comm. Craig indicated that she has been very impressed with the quality of the conversations and that final action on this will be no later than Feb. 4, 2008. All meetings are open to the public and comments can be made on the link on the ECASD website. Pres. O'Brien thanked her and all the participants for their hard work.
Adjourn!
Interpreting the Survey: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveyReview.pdf
Survey Results: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveywithPAC.pdf
The results were extremely "tight" in that the responses across the groups (BOE, PAC, Admin, etc...) all prioritized the top 15 responses in approx. the same way. Dr. Leary commented that the top 15 items could be broken down into 4 "clusters" in that 5 were related to money, 5 were related to students, 3 were related to schools and the community and 2 were process oriented. The top 30 priorities had 10 related to money, 8 related to students, 5 to school and community relations and 7 related to the process. Dr. Leary said that this "tightness" of response is not common with this number of stakeholders. (So, at least we can stop fighting about what might be priorities and start working on them!)
Comm. Cummins commented that there is some spread between the BOE and the rest of the district and Comm. Bollinger responded that the top 20 responses are "normalized" and it would be scary if everyone was in lock step. There was some discussion about the responses not really including the "community" to which Dr. Leary replied that is was "not possible to get reliable data." Also, I was not certain if the responses from the elementary and secondary groups included teaching and other staff members. Comm. Wogahn indicated that it would be interesting to see the top 60 items put out to the community and maybe distill responses to get the community's top 12 or 15 items. Comm. Craig indicated that Dr. Leary did not want to venture beyond an "internal" assessment at this time so "Now what?" Dr. Leary indicated that a series of 10 to 12 questions could be developed before a referendum went forward to assure that the priorities align with community support. A lengthy discussion followed about whether or not to go back to the Comprehensive Community Planning presenters who had expertise in such matters. BOE members seemed to be in agreement that reliable community data was important enough to use professionals.
Work Session adjourned.
Regular Meeting of the BOE called to order.
No action from Closed Session reported by Pres. O'Brien. NOTE: The ongoing closed session Agenda item labelled "Compensation Issue Involving District Employee" has been the source of much outrageous speculation. Immediately prior to attending the Work Session detailed above I received an amazing phone call from our former Superintendent, Dr. Klaus, who attempted to explain the situation to me. The only comment from my husband (who heard the phone conversation as well) is straight from the movie "The Big Lebowski": "Dude, new s*#t has come to light." Much more on this to come.
More announcements about other Work Sessions scheduled on Dec 17th and 18th, the dates of the schools Winter Break and WASB convention.
Dr. Leary's report consisted of an update on the Superintendent search which he characterized as "either the most popular or least wanted position" in the state since there are so many districts on the hunt. Dennis Richards from WASB will do a statewide compensation analysis. The ECASD position will be posted starting today until the deadline of Jan 18th. Comm. Craig commented that based on the salary data she looked at the wages are phenomenal and quite intimidating for a district like Eau Claire. Then there was an announcement that the ECASD has been honored by some organization for their Annual Report.
Public Comments: Gretchen Beckstrom, a teacher at Northstar and North HS extended an invitation to BOE members to come and visit classrooms. She noted that Commissioners Craig and Cummins are planning to attend and hoped others would choose to visit as well.
A couple of people (Todd Pauls and Dr. Dwight Watson) were appointed to the Montessori Charter School Board.
Jim Kling indicated that the Administrator contracts must be extended for the 08-09 and 09-10 school years. Comm. Craig had a few questions about how this approval might be affected if budget reductions are needed in this area. Kling responded that the Board is approving the position, not the $ amount.
There was a discussion about the Public Input guidelines that Comm. Craig asked to modify to allow citizens to ask clarifying questions after a presentation or discussion (not an action item). Mr. O'Brien indicated that if BOE members agreed they could modify the guidelines that night and then approve. Comm. Cummins noted that the Montessori discussion was respectful and open. Mr. Kling indicated that that was a "Report to the Board". Comm. Craig indicated that her motion would include Reports to the Board as well as Action and Discussion items. Members decided to rework it and bring it back next meeting.
Legislative Issues as reported by Pres. O'Brien included the information that sales tax revenue is down and counties and cities depend on that for their budgets. However since Gov. Doyle is very "pro" education he could help in some way. (Sorry that I am a really bad secretary!) On a federal level, Pres. Bush vetoed funding for Labor and Health and Human Services so if there is no override there is a lot of money lost for Special Ed., Title I and services to the poor.
Comm. Cummins gave an update on the Clear Vision Planning process and said they are doing the community "scan" of trends and conditions. Lots of information on the web at: clearvision eauclaire.org
She said that the region is experiencing only 1% growth and enrollment projections are only approx. 500 students in the next 10 years. The population is becoming more elderly and there is uneven growth with the south and west sides of EC growing more than others. The top employers in the community were Menards and the ECASD and also UWEC and CVTC were in the top 10. But only ECASD depends on the voters for money. Also our community has higher than average poverty levels. None of these indicators bode well for additional $'s for the district.
Comm. Bollinger asked that Board Docs be a future agenda item and he asked about an update on the Little Red committee (isn't Comm. Bollinger on that committee??). Comm. Craig said that they are done gathering info. and have met 5 times and can't just view Little Red in a vacuum since there are so many other impacts on the south and west sides of the city. She said they will begin deliberations on Dec. 6th, have follow up discussions on Dec. 13th and on Jan. 3rd there will be a Public Hearing. Comm. Craig indicated that she has been very impressed with the quality of the conversations and that final action on this will be no later than Feb. 4, 2008. All meetings are open to the public and comments can be made on the link on the ECASD website. Pres. O'Brien thanked her and all the participants for their hard work.
Adjourn!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Nov. 19, 2007 BOE Meting
The Nov. 19th BOE meeting opened with an announcement about Closed Session that 2 North HS students were expelled.
There is also a WASB convention in January and School Board election paperwork will be available after December 1st.
Dept. Sup. Butler announced that there is no school on the Wed., Thurs., and Friday of Thanksgiving week. Also some announcement about WAHPERD (some statewide group about Physical Education and Health?) gave a teaching award to a Delong teacher. Dr. Leary recently attended the Real Life Academy and was VERY IMPRESSED with the process and the support from the community. Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes and P. Iverson also attended.
Interesting note on the approval of the budget: Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes abstained from voting (because their spouses are ECASD district employees but Comm. Kneer approved the expenditures even though she, herself, is a district employee. Go figure.
There was a very comprehensive report to the BOE froom the Montessori Charter School (Todd Johnson, Principal, Johanna W., staff and Maureen McGraith, parent). There was an Annual Report for audience members to review. I am NOT a Montessori expert but the group did a good job in laying out the Goals for the program, the Student Assessment, Program Assessment Measures and Accomplishments. I am unable to know if these are reasonable Goals and Measures for a Montessori Charter School or not. It was clear that retaining students for the upper grades is a concern as there seemed to be only a couple of 4th and 5th graders who have stayed with the Charter School. BOE members had several questions concerning teacher attrition, the expense of teacher training, transitioning Montessori students to middle school, Special Education services and the screening process used for students.
Following the Montessori presentation was an update to the Board from the Head Start Program by Paula Wainscott. Again, a very comprehensive handout was included for audience members. Again, I am not an expert but I found the report to be very informative and staffed by very dedicated professionals who care deeply about the children and families they work with. Of course, inadequate funding is an issue. There was a brief digression to the EC4 Tomorrow (4 year old kindergarten) program which is limited to 4 year olds who are already in a daycare setting and have adequate transportation which can be a barrier to participation. Pres. O'Brien thanked the presenters and board members expressed their appreciation as well.
Other updates: No update for the Clear Vision process. Comm. Craig expressed her concern that the district realistically assesses when a discussion about referendum could be held. Dr, Leary indicated that at the Dec. 3rd meeting he will report on the Internal Needs Assessment process. Also Budget discussions are beginning for Operations, Facilities, etc... Comm. Craig indicated that the district is looking at an additional $5 to $6 million in cuts over the next 3 years and there is NO PROCESS in place to involve the community.
Pres. O'Brien indicated that there will be a Charter meeting on Dec. 17th and G. Butler indicated that Board Policy revisions will be discussed Jan. 21st. Other meetings on Dec. 18th from 6:30 to 8:30 and Dec. 17th from 5:30 to 7 before the regular BOE meeting. I think people should check the ECASD website for topics and times of these meetings as it was pretty confusing with so many times and dates flying around.
Comm. Craig indicated that the Parent Advisory Council has a new brochure and that the Montessori Charter School is now a member of PAC.
Adjourn!
There is also a WASB convention in January and School Board election paperwork will be available after December 1st.
Dept. Sup. Butler announced that there is no school on the Wed., Thurs., and Friday of Thanksgiving week. Also some announcement about WAHPERD (some statewide group about Physical Education and Health?) gave a teaching award to a Delong teacher. Dr. Leary recently attended the Real Life Academy and was VERY IMPRESSED with the process and the support from the community. Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes and P. Iverson also attended.
Interesting note on the approval of the budget: Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes abstained from voting (because their spouses are ECASD district employees but Comm. Kneer approved the expenditures even though she, herself, is a district employee. Go figure.
There was a very comprehensive report to the BOE froom the Montessori Charter School (Todd Johnson, Principal, Johanna W., staff and Maureen McGraith, parent). There was an Annual Report for audience members to review. I am NOT a Montessori expert but the group did a good job in laying out the Goals for the program, the Student Assessment, Program Assessment Measures and Accomplishments. I am unable to know if these are reasonable Goals and Measures for a Montessori Charter School or not. It was clear that retaining students for the upper grades is a concern as there seemed to be only a couple of 4th and 5th graders who have stayed with the Charter School. BOE members had several questions concerning teacher attrition, the expense of teacher training, transitioning Montessori students to middle school, Special Education services and the screening process used for students.
Following the Montessori presentation was an update to the Board from the Head Start Program by Paula Wainscott. Again, a very comprehensive handout was included for audience members. Again, I am not an expert but I found the report to be very informative and staffed by very dedicated professionals who care deeply about the children and families they work with. Of course, inadequate funding is an issue. There was a brief digression to the EC4 Tomorrow (4 year old kindergarten) program which is limited to 4 year olds who are already in a daycare setting and have adequate transportation which can be a barrier to participation. Pres. O'Brien thanked the presenters and board members expressed their appreciation as well.
Other updates: No update for the Clear Vision process. Comm. Craig expressed her concern that the district realistically assesses when a discussion about referendum could be held. Dr, Leary indicated that at the Dec. 3rd meeting he will report on the Internal Needs Assessment process. Also Budget discussions are beginning for Operations, Facilities, etc... Comm. Craig indicated that the district is looking at an additional $5 to $6 million in cuts over the next 3 years and there is NO PROCESS in place to involve the community.
Pres. O'Brien indicated that there will be a Charter meeting on Dec. 17th and G. Butler indicated that Board Policy revisions will be discussed Jan. 21st. Other meetings on Dec. 18th from 6:30 to 8:30 and Dec. 17th from 5:30 to 7 before the regular BOE meeting. I think people should check the ECASD website for topics and times of these meetings as it was pretty confusing with so many times and dates flying around.
Comm. Craig indicated that the Parent Advisory Council has a new brochure and that the Montessori Charter School is now a member of PAC.
Adjourn!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Oct. 22, 2007 Budget Hearing and Regular BOE Meeting
On October 22, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. there was a special Public Hearing about the 2007-08 budget. The meeting began with Mr. Van de Water presenting a comprehensive Power Point overview of the annual budget process which began on Oct. 6, 2006 with the information that the ECASD would be facing a $7.6 million shortfall in the next school year. In Feb. 2007 the BOE proposed cutting only $2.1 million and asking for $21.6 million for the next 3 years to cover operations. In April 2007 the referendum failed and the reductions were made. Mr. Van de Water also went through the revenue components of the budget and some expenditure comparisons. He also reviewed the tax levy process. The audience had copies of the presentation as well as a very informative Executive Summary including many supporting schedules. For those who would choose to inform themselves about the process, this information was valuable and extremely well done.
Public comment consisted of JoEllen Burke noting that the decision "to raise class size" signified a loss of more than 40 teaching positions and G. Butler added that total staff cuts were 60 positions. Ms. Burke indicated the need to address the state funding formula. She also encouraged BOE members to visit schools and classrooms and see all the good things that are happening and that teachers and staff are very appreciative of such visits.
I stood up and thanked Mr. Van de Water and noted that the cuts were damaging to students, teachers, parents and the community. I also expressed my concern that the reduction process did not seem to address and educational priorities and that the high school cuts were based on nothing more than class enrollments. I thanked them for the open process being used for the Little Red Study Committee and that information, meetings, minutes and the ability for the public to comment is all accessible via the website.
Comm. Cummins asked about the process for re-prioritizing such as funding the changes approved b the BOE for kindergarten. Mr. O'Brien commented that we are fortunate to have Mr. Van de Water and that the whole process is much better and more understandable. (My question: "So why didn't you ask questions and get the information you needed in the past?") He also claimed that re-prioritization has been occurring in that they have discussed what to cut. Comm. Cummins said that she has not seen it in the 2 years she has been on the board. Her comment: "Good accounting does not have anything to do with what are our priorities. The public needs to trust that the budget is both accurate and accurately reflects our priorities."
Carol Galloy (Art Teacher at South MS) commented that the proposed list of cuts that was initially generated in October did not change after all of the public hearings. She hoped that next year the public input would be considered. She also asked if a referendum was being considered anytime soon.
Comm. Craig responded to Mr. O'Brien's comment that the ECASD is in a much more "stable" position now. She asked how we can consider our position as "stable" when we are still looking at a nearly $2 million deficit for next year? She indicated that the community MUST BE ENGAGED to gain support for a future referendum.
Dr. Leary commented that normally it takes 2 years to "recover" from a lost referendum. He indicated that it is nearly impossible to ask the community for referendum money to "maintain the status quo." A successful referendum will depend on the district's ability to show what will be BETTER for the schools and the community.
Pat Telisak, a teacher at Lakeshore, asked that the district relate the costs to parents, and community members in terms of kids and their home expense and that discussion should be in layperson's terms. She indicated that the failing state of computers at Lakeshore now results in 1/2 of the computers have no ability to connect headphones because of a broken part.
Comm. Bollinger indicated that the entire facilities needs have not even been discussed yet and continued delay only drives costs higher. Comm. Cummins reiterated her position that facilities needs MUST BE LINKED TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
Comm. Craig stated that planing for all this is a long term process but the district must find a way to address the short term planning immediately as we are facing a $2 million deficit NOW. Pres. O'Brien indicated that the Nov. 5th meeting will include a 5 year projection of the deficit. Dr. Leary indicated thet Mr. Van de Water is available to do his financial presentation to any school or group who is interested. He also said that it is important to look ahead but also to look in the past to see where there were pitfalls and weak spots in decision-making and make improvements.
Pres. O'Brien thanked people for attending.
Public Hearing session adjourned.
Regular Session began at 7:00 p.m.
Announcements: Pres. O'Brien said that there were no announcements from Closed Session. He also said that there would be a couple of Community Focus Groups for the New Supt. search on Oct. 29th and 30th that the Public could attend.
Dept. Supt. Butler told BOE members that the information about the Little Red Study Group is available on the district website and has everything like the Goals, a Timeline, Membership, Agenda and a Public Comment Form. Comm. Cummins was amazed and asked "Where did this come from?!" and he credited Sandy LaValley and the IT folks. Pres. O'Brien thanked Comm. Craig for her leadership of the group.
Dr. Leary indicated that the Needs Assessment data from the Parent Advisory Committee is complete and being summarized. Also a Chamber of Commerce Expo was well attended and the ECASD was represented. WEAC is also doing a Public Relations video at Lakeshore School.
There was another very lengthy and complicated presentation from Mr. Van de Water about the tax levy. Comm. Kneer's comments: "This is too much for the average citizen to absorb. I can't absorb it. Just give me A for Apple and B for Banana...." Comm. Bollinger: "I understood everything you said but the average citizen won't."
There was an extensive presentation by Sue Steffes (Asst. Princ. at Memorial HS) and Michelle Wiberg (Asst. Princ. at DeLong MS) about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This is a coalition to halt increases in childhood obesity by 2010 and begin to reverse it by 2015 using programs for Student Nutrition, Student Physical Activity and Staff Wellness. 4 ECASD schools (Memorial, North, Delong and Lakeshore) participated and all 4 received Bronze recognition (of 300 schools participating only 26 were recognized and 4 were from Eau Claire!) This can be implemented at no cost to the district and will result in healthier students and staff and increased productivity. Ms. Steffes indicated that the program has now moved to be implemented in all district buildings and there is a wellness committee in each building. Comm. Craig asked about parental involvement and one of the student reps. asked about student involvement and they were assured that in the future that would be happening.
My comments: This was pretty amazing and comprehensive!
Other updates: The Legislative Report from Pres. O'Brien was :"This would be like kicking a dead horse." since the state budget is STILL not passed. Comm. Cummins reported on the Claer Vision Community Plan and said the first meeting was very impressive with good representation from the district. Many groups mentioned their concerns about education and the need for planned development and shared services. One of the student reps. also attended and thought there was a need for more student participation.
Adjourn.
Public comment consisted of JoEllen Burke noting that the decision "to raise class size" signified a loss of more than 40 teaching positions and G. Butler added that total staff cuts were 60 positions. Ms. Burke indicated the need to address the state funding formula. She also encouraged BOE members to visit schools and classrooms and see all the good things that are happening and that teachers and staff are very appreciative of such visits.
I stood up and thanked Mr. Van de Water and noted that the cuts were damaging to students, teachers, parents and the community. I also expressed my concern that the reduction process did not seem to address and educational priorities and that the high school cuts were based on nothing more than class enrollments. I thanked them for the open process being used for the Little Red Study Committee and that information, meetings, minutes and the ability for the public to comment is all accessible via the website.
Comm. Cummins asked about the process for re-prioritizing such as funding the changes approved b the BOE for kindergarten. Mr. O'Brien commented that we are fortunate to have Mr. Van de Water and that the whole process is much better and more understandable. (My question: "So why didn't you ask questions and get the information you needed in the past?") He also claimed that re-prioritization has been occurring in that they have discussed what to cut. Comm. Cummins said that she has not seen it in the 2 years she has been on the board. Her comment: "Good accounting does not have anything to do with what are our priorities. The public needs to trust that the budget is both accurate and accurately reflects our priorities."
Carol Galloy (Art Teacher at South MS) commented that the proposed list of cuts that was initially generated in October did not change after all of the public hearings. She hoped that next year the public input would be considered. She also asked if a referendum was being considered anytime soon.
Comm. Craig responded to Mr. O'Brien's comment that the ECASD is in a much more "stable" position now. She asked how we can consider our position as "stable" when we are still looking at a nearly $2 million deficit for next year? She indicated that the community MUST BE ENGAGED to gain support for a future referendum.
Dr. Leary commented that normally it takes 2 years to "recover" from a lost referendum. He indicated that it is nearly impossible to ask the community for referendum money to "maintain the status quo." A successful referendum will depend on the district's ability to show what will be BETTER for the schools and the community.
Pat Telisak, a teacher at Lakeshore, asked that the district relate the costs to parents, and community members in terms of kids and their home expense and that discussion should be in layperson's terms. She indicated that the failing state of computers at Lakeshore now results in 1/2 of the computers have no ability to connect headphones because of a broken part.
Comm. Bollinger indicated that the entire facilities needs have not even been discussed yet and continued delay only drives costs higher. Comm. Cummins reiterated her position that facilities needs MUST BE LINKED TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
Comm. Craig stated that planing for all this is a long term process but the district must find a way to address the short term planning immediately as we are facing a $2 million deficit NOW. Pres. O'Brien indicated that the Nov. 5th meeting will include a 5 year projection of the deficit. Dr. Leary indicated thet Mr. Van de Water is available to do his financial presentation to any school or group who is interested. He also said that it is important to look ahead but also to look in the past to see where there were pitfalls and weak spots in decision-making and make improvements.
Pres. O'Brien thanked people for attending.
Public Hearing session adjourned.
Regular Session began at 7:00 p.m.
Announcements: Pres. O'Brien said that there were no announcements from Closed Session. He also said that there would be a couple of Community Focus Groups for the New Supt. search on Oct. 29th and 30th that the Public could attend.
Dept. Supt. Butler told BOE members that the information about the Little Red Study Group is available on the district website and has everything like the Goals, a Timeline, Membership, Agenda and a Public Comment Form. Comm. Cummins was amazed and asked "Where did this come from?!" and he credited Sandy LaValley and the IT folks. Pres. O'Brien thanked Comm. Craig for her leadership of the group.
Dr. Leary indicated that the Needs Assessment data from the Parent Advisory Committee is complete and being summarized. Also a Chamber of Commerce Expo was well attended and the ECASD was represented. WEAC is also doing a Public Relations video at Lakeshore School.
There was another very lengthy and complicated presentation from Mr. Van de Water about the tax levy. Comm. Kneer's comments: "This is too much for the average citizen to absorb. I can't absorb it. Just give me A for Apple and B for Banana...." Comm. Bollinger: "I understood everything you said but the average citizen won't."
There was an extensive presentation by Sue Steffes (Asst. Princ. at Memorial HS) and Michelle Wiberg (Asst. Princ. at DeLong MS) about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This is a coalition to halt increases in childhood obesity by 2010 and begin to reverse it by 2015 using programs for Student Nutrition, Student Physical Activity and Staff Wellness. 4 ECASD schools (Memorial, North, Delong and Lakeshore) participated and all 4 received Bronze recognition (of 300 schools participating only 26 were recognized and 4 were from Eau Claire!) This can be implemented at no cost to the district and will result in healthier students and staff and increased productivity. Ms. Steffes indicated that the program has now moved to be implemented in all district buildings and there is a wellness committee in each building. Comm. Craig asked about parental involvement and one of the student reps. asked about student involvement and they were assured that in the future that would be happening.
My comments: This was pretty amazing and comprehensive!
Other updates: The Legislative Report from Pres. O'Brien was :"This would be like kicking a dead horse." since the state budget is STILL not passed. Comm. Cummins reported on the Claer Vision Community Plan and said the first meeting was very impressive with good representation from the district. Many groups mentioned their concerns about education and the need for planned development and shared services. One of the student reps. also attended and thought there was a need for more student participation.
Adjourn.
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