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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Board of Education - Common Council Liaison Committee September 27, 2006 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Room 103 Madison, Wisconsin |
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Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee meeting was called to order by Chair Lucy Mathiak at 4:35 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Alder Isadore Knox; Board of Education Member Lawrie Kobza; Board of Education Member Lucy Mathiak; School District Staff Mary Gulbrandsen
MEMBERS ABSENT: Mayoral Assistant George Twigg, Alder Cindy Thomas
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Abplanalp, MMSD Assistant Superintendent; Arthur Ross, City Traffic Engineering; Ann Wilson (MMSD) -Recording Secretary
1. Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Mary Gulbrandsen and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to approve the minutes dated August 16, 2006. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
2. Public Appearances
There were no public appearances.
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.
4. Traffic Safety in MMSD School Zones
(Written materials distributed in advance: Hazardous Intersections dated 9/21/06 provided by Mary Gulbrandsen - attached to the original copy of these minutes.)
Discussion focused on how and when consideration is given to safety in school zones when there is a development or redevelopment project occurring in the vicinity of the school.
Arthur Ross of the City Traffic Engineering Department talked about traffic impact studies - the process and what might occur as a result. The process is usually neighborhood initiated and is the responsibility of the developer. It is not required of all projects. Final decisions are made by the Planning Commission and City Council with input from city staff.
Sue Abplanalp noted that Van Hise Principal Julie Frentz is heading a work group that began meeting last school year to look at systematizing processes and developing a brochure so that parents of all schools would have the same general direction/patterns for traffic safety and there would be similar signage around schools, especially elementary schools. Their goals are to coordinate consistent procedures throughout the district, educate parents and other adults who drive children to school, have a process in place that does not change when the school population/leadership changes, and reduces duplicative efforts to resolve problems. The work group can also re-evaluate plans as needed.
There was discussion about the way in which schools receive information that there will be a development or redevelopment project in the vicinity of the school and how they become involved in that process. Mary Gulbrandsen will check with Building Services to see what type of notification they receive and how/whether that information is forwarded to individual schools. Lawrie Kobza suggested looking at the possibility of introducing an ordinance change that requires notification of the nearest school whenever a project is approved.
As the focus of discussion moved to the definition of hazardous streets, Alder Paul Skidmore asked to speak about a dangerous intersection at Gammon and Tree. He hoped there would be a broader discussion of hazardous streets and that the committee would specifically look at this intersection. Chair Lucy Mathiak indicated she would schedule discussion for the next meeting.
Arthur Ross shared information about the process for defining hazardous areas and noted that state aid is received by the district for the transportation when this is the case. Mary Gulbrandsen shared written information from the DPI about the criteria schools can use to help make the determination. Mr. Ross noted that sometimes changing school boundaries is a way to resolve crossing a dangerous street. There are a variety of ways these issues are addressed with the critical aspect being separating the modes of traffic (cars, walkers, etc.) and reducing conflicts to improve safety.
DISCUSSION:
Midvale Project
· Traffic study, though small, is representative. Largest concern at elementary schools is parent traffic. Deal with these issues on a site basis. Many schools originally built to accommodate walkers. Crossing guards located at strategic places.
· Re: number of apartments in a project - at what point is there a look at limits and concerns? Schools need to be involved by providing feedback during the process. Do not expect much impact on Caromar, have protection of crossing guards, most concern is parent traffic.
School Involvement
· When there is increased use of space and density, how are patterns and safety of people getting to school impacted and when does the school get involved? Transportation is a district issue. Seventy‑percent of students are bused (paired school).
· Schools need to be active participants in the neighborhood, take the initiative to be part of projects. Need good communication with neighborhood associations. Behooves the schools to be active neighborhood members.
· Not a duty of the principal. In some areas there are not strong neighborhood associations. When developments near a school have the potential for change, need the opportunity to discuss impact.
· Experience is that school community responds and includes the schools. Process lends itself to schools becoming informed.
· Would be a positive step to recognize the school as another governmental body which deserves status of being notified.
FOLLOW-UP:
· Mary Gulbrandsen will provide information about the type of notification Building Services receives about development/redevelopment projects and how/whether that information is forwarded to individual schools.
5. Demographic Changes Affecting Neighborhoods and Schools
Lawrie Kobza reviewed the question she asked that generated discussion of this topic - (excerpt from minutes of August 16, 2006 minutes - "...why it is perceived that the affects of low income differ in the city. Allied Drive is served by three elementary schools. Crestwood has relatively low numbers of low income and receives reduced class sizes. The other two schools have a higher number of low income, but do not get lower class sizes. The response has been that not all low income is the same.") Is this true, and how do we evaluate that it is true? If there is a difference because of certain factors, the district should look at those for all schools. A second question is how to evaluate other neighborhoods to see if changes are taking place there because of redevelopment and other improvements at Allied Drive. She would like data to answer these questions.
Mary Gulbrandsen met with Ron Chance (Dane County Human Services) and Lorrie Wendorff (City of Madison Community Services) to talk about the kinds of data that were collected under the Weed and Seed grants in the past and what kinds have been collected after that time. They talked about wanting to look again at neighborhood data (as it was collected ten years ago) and compare it with similar data from those same areas now. Data was available by school, census track, and the definition of neighborhoods at that time. Current data includes that collected during the neighborhood design meetings in September (charette) and third Friday enrollment.
Lorrie Wendorff responded that the city does believe Allied Drive low income is different and the criteria that drive that are the number of police calls for service. In this category, there is no other area in the city like it. Even though the population is going down, the severity of poverty is greater and the number of police calls is increasing. The area also gets special attention because it is a Weed and Seed neighborhood and this extra focus brings to light more problems. It can already be seen that this same population is migrating toward southwest Madison, showing up in the Falk school district. Before Allied Drive, it was Simpson Street. It is a constant struggle for the city to see areas like this move around, but it still happens. Weed and Seed funds were used to work on truancy, but that has not been a huge problem. Ron Chance suggested looking at mobility related to school performance. This population includes vulnerable families with multiple challenges and high mobility. Police calls themselves concentrate on young adults but affect the whole family, especially because of the manner in which some of them occur. Primary indicators for Allied include drug dealing and crime.
There was discussion about housing. Lorrie Wendorff stated the research shows that children are more successful in mixed-income neighborhoods, and the alder and mayor are committed to dealing with affordability. The general idea for Allied Drive is to create more owner-occupied housing. The best scenario would be to have small, scattered sites of affordable housing in all neighborhoods. There are patterns of redevelopment in neighborhoods that just move the population to where they can afford to live.
Lawrie Kobza stated that knowing the factors that affect student performance would help in the process of allocating resources. The district is also in the pattern of having to cut resources rather than add, so the decision has to be about making cuts where they will have the least negative impact.
Ron Chance stated that there are no current examples of stable low-income neighborhoods; that the solution needs to include scattered, mixed housing. Mary Gulbrandsen noted the United Way initiative just beginning that supports housing for homeless students rather than transportation. Lorrie Wendorff noted work on helping, particularly Hauk property residents, become homeowners.
Discussion of this topic will continue at the next meeting.
6. Other Business
There was no other business.
7. Adjournment
It was moved by Isadore Knox and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to adjourn the meeting at 6:38 p.m. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
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Previous: 2006-08-16 || Board of Education - Common Council Liaison Committee || Next: 2006-10-18