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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 5, 2007 |
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: Board of Education Members Lucy Mathiak and Beth Moss; Mayoral Assistant Enis Ragland; School District Chief of Staff Steve Hartley, Alders Mark Clear (arrived at 4:43 p.m.) and Satya Rhodes-Conway (arrived at 4:40 p.m.)
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Maya Cole (arrived at 4:55 p.m.)
STAFF PRESENT: Ann Wilson (MMSD) -Recording Secretary
1. Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Beth Moss and seconded by Enis Ragland to approve the minutes dated March 28, 2007 as distributed. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
2. Public Appearances
There were no public appearances.
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.
4. Election of Chair from Common Council Members
This item was initially deferred, by consensus, until all members of the committee were present. The following action is recorded here although it occurred later in the meeting (see notation).
Satya Rhodes-Conway nominated Mark Clear to serve as the chair of the Common Council-Board of Education Liaison Committee. Mark Clear accepted the nomination. Lucy Mathiak declared the nominations closed, and the nomination was carried with a unanimous vote.
5. Possible Topics and Meeting Schedule for 2007-2008
6. Structure and Function of the Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee
(A list was provided at the meeting created by Lucy Mathiak of meeting dates and topics from the 2006-07 school year. A copy is attached to the original of these minutes.)
Lucy Mathiak provided information about the items that had been discussed by the committee last year and summarized the discussion the committee had about the structure and purpose. She commented that the committee wished to be productive (including beginning and ending meetings on time) and met regularly (monthly). Items came to the agenda in response to issues raised by the public and those identified by the committee as needing attention. It had been useful to have presentations by city staff members and others. One item, the Truancy Report, requires review. There is not a clear direction for this committee.
Satya Rhodes-Conway and Mark Clear arrived at this point. Election of the chair occurred at this point, and Mark Clear took over as chair for the rest of the meeting.
Meeting dates were set for the 2nd Tuesday from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
October 11 February 14
November 8 March 13
December 13 April 10
January 10 May 8
There was further discussion about the committee's conversations last year about the structure and function for the committee. Lucy Mathiak noted that one issue was about needing County representation in order to have full information and discussion. She also noted that the committee spent time last year looking at changing demographics in neighborhoods and the city and the affect of that on the schools.
DISCUSSION:
· County needs to be added to the conversation. They have the resources. What would it take for the committee to be effective. Should be an involved discussion resulting in recommendations that may change the make-up of the committee.
· Can bring people in when there is need for discussion or information. Fits with discussions of Long Range Planning committee. Presentations have been helpful to receive baseline information.
· Committee needs to work at two levels: 1) the big picture, longer term (issues like planning, land use, service provision, connections between neighborhoods and schools); and 2) smaller, more immediate, operational items where the right people need to get together and work something out. The county, community groups, business community, and service providers all need to be involved at both levels if there is to be progress/resolution. To move forward, need to decide what is most productive for the community, convene or help convene that group, or work with the results of discussion that comes from that group.
· Could set two or three goals for the committee and invite whoever is appropriate. Could be productive in those areas plus participate in the larger discussion about the interplay between the community and schools.
· Prefer separate projects. Difficult to work when approval is needed by separately elected bodies. Hard to get a quorum for large committees. Setting two goals for the year and setting area(s) of focus aligns with the recommendations made by outgoing committee members.
· The Superintendent search process will generate input into a leadership profile that asks for strengths, challenges and vision for the future of the district. Big picture questions would give broad information. Committee could have conversations about the city and school district working together to solve problems.
· Caution that the committee should not work at cross purposes; the information from the superintendent search is intended for the Board of Education's visionary process.
· Much of the information received will be public information. May be some surprises. Health of schools and city are tied together; both facing challenges. Work on coming together and with other partners to vision for the future.
· Feel the community supports the importance of entities working together and ready to think about what could be done. Need broad discussion about possibilities and a short list to work on.
· Keep focus on the health of the school district as a whole.
It was suggested that each committee member propose a small number of "big picture" goals for the committee to work on in the coming year. These would be in addition to the operational topics which it is assumed will be addressed as needed.
√ Transportation - safe routes to school, ways that children can get safely to school (traffic).
√ Safety in and around schools (including EROs, interactions with neighborhoods, traffic).
√ Working with Madison Metro regarding safety on buses.
√ Encourage community centers in all areas of the city, finding things for kids to do.
√ Social services sharing in community centers.
√ Poverty issues - mental health, feeling safe in schools, feeling safe in neighborhood, feeling hungry - affects on learning.
√ Fine tuning/coordinating after school services - managing resources to greatest potential.
√ Look at how partnerships that already exist are working. Original idea behind Joining Forces for Families was to team to talk about issues in the neighborhoods.
√ City development/changing neighborhoods and the affect on the school district. Be proactive in working with neighborhoods in transition.
√ Proactive selling of the concept that the health of the city and school district are directly tied. Economic value of a good school district, strong city. Role district plays in attracting faculty to university.
√ Identifying when to call the police (issue of disproportionate minority contact). Consistent discipline policy, Code of Conduct.
√ Working together on basic services (mowing grass, garbage collection). Partner on recruiting, retaining staff - share human resources information.
√ City will pilot developing neighborhood indicators (to determine health of neighborhood). Work with partners (university, school district). Find out where to make investments and whether they are effective. Presentation of information about the pilot.
It was recommended that an agenda item at the next meeting could be to select two or three items from this list and discuss next steps.
7. Other Business
There was no other business.
8. Adjournment
It was moved by Steve Hartley and seconded by Enis Ragland to adjourn the meeting at 6:02 p.m. Motion unanimously carried.
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Previous: 2007-03-28 || Board of Education - Common Council Liaison Committee || Next: 2007-10-11