Finance and Operations - October 16, 2006

Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent
BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Finance and Operations October 16, 2006		Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Auditorium Madison, Wisconsin

Finance and Operations Committee meeting was called to order by Chair Lawrie Kobza at 5:02 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Lawrie Kobza, Lucy Mathiak

MEMBERS ABSENT: None

OTHER BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Silveira

STAFF PRESENT: Sue Abplanalp, Mary Gulbrandsen, Steve Hartley, Pam Nash, Roger Price, Joe Quick, Art Rainwater, Barbara Lehman-Recording Secretary

1. Approval of Minutes

There were no minutes to approve.

2. Public Appearances

There were no public appearances.

3. Announcements

There were no announcements.

4. Analysis of the MMSD 2006-07 Transportation Budget

(Packets included information related to Special Education transportation; Homeless Education Program transportation; hazardous transportation; analysis changing the walking distance from 1.5 to 2.0 miles; map; questions and answers from the DPI site relative to transportation to public schools; current data on eligible students from Fitchburg; route costs/ridership data/fees collected 2005-06/fees and waivers to date for 2006/07 for Spring Harbor and Wright Middle Schools; and 2006-07 first semester/historical data/indigent ticket expenditure projections for 2006-07 for bus tickets and passes from the City of Madison. Copies are attached to the original of these minutes.)

Roger Price commented about each of the documents included in the packet. He noted that there would be no savings by changing the walking distance policy from 1.5 to 2.0 miles. Conversation will be ongoing to determine at what point in time there will be sufficient Madison Metro service in Fitchburg that would no longer require the district to serve those neighborhoods. Revenues to date for Spring Harbor and Wright Middle School transportation will grow because of additional collections yet to be made.

DISCUSSION:

· MMSD cost for bus passes from Madison Metro have more than doubled since 2004-05.

· For students who have special education needs, most are bussed to their home school, but a small number do require services in specific places (e.g., phonology, some for the hearing and visually impaired, etc.). Every elementary school has special education services. Schools have to be wheel-chair accessible.

· District works with the City on an ongoing basis relative to hazardous areas. Comes down to what the City's budget can support in the way of traffic calming solutions, crossing guards, etc. Once an area is determined to be hazardous, it becomes very difficult to change that status.

· Hazardous areas are reevaluated from time to time as a result of improvements being made such as stoplights or decreasing traffic or widening of streets, etc.

· Madison Metro determines routes and pick-up times for transporting middle and high school students. District shares information about school start and stop times, supervision before and after schools, etc.

· Realized savings in special education as a result of completed contract and efficiencies will be part of the October budget adjustments.

· Private schools were not analyzed separately for the 1.5 mile to 2.0 miles analysis but probably has not reached the threshold yet. Hazardous areas apply for private schools students as well.

· Public school students outside of the defined attendance zones are responsible for their own transportation; this is not true for private school students. Many times parent contracts are entered into but, if the contract is rejected, the district is required to transport the students no matter where they intend to go to school in the district. Car pools may be formed and some parents may be reimbursed. There are limits to the amount of reimbursements.

· From the information provided to the Long Range Planning Committee last year, there was a breakdown by elementary school and students bussed for 2004-05. There was a question about the reimbursement from the state for transportation and for the paired schools that were part of the original desegregation plan.

· District has no control over where things get built in the city or things that expand the district. Cannot make developers pay costs. Development should take place in ways that are friendly to the district and do not drive up transportation costs. Should look at how to incorporate the Madison schools into city planning so hazardous areas do not occur in the first place. Lack of sidewalks in some areas is a factor.

It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen that for the next Finance and Operations Committee meeting the administration provide a report that indicates what has been done to reduce transportation costs to date and provides the committee with seven ideas on how the transportation budget could be reduced for the next year, including positives and negatives for each option.

Discussion on the motion: Administration will investigate whether the district is in a position to look at unpairing the schools under the voluntary agreement with the Office for Civil Rights. There were significant space issues the last time there was discussion relative to unpairing that has to be considered. Not sure if Franklin would have enough space for all their students. Legal opinions will be reviewed about changing the racial makeup of the paired schools. May be some other schools that are now in the range of the paired schools. OCR agreement is in perpetuity unless something occurs that would change some of the circumstances. Schools have changes greatly since 1994-95.

FOLLOW UP: Provide information on transportation costs (like that provided for the charter schools) for the paired schools. What types of disabilities require special transportation. Map of the city with hazardous areas identified. Provide more information on the money reimbursed by the state for regular transportation and for the paired schools and for special education. Report should also include areas where shifts have occurred and what the City could do for the district in terms of traffic.

5. Citizen's Budget Summary

(Packets included the latest draft of the outline of the Citizen's/People's Budget, including 2006-07 Full-Time Equivalent, Expenditures, and Revenues. A copy is attached to the original of these minutes.)

DISCUSSION:

· Good to get citizen input.

· Staff needs to finalize and get committee acceptance before moving ahead.

· Fringe benefits cannot be broken out by employee group.

· Staff is working toward a consistent methodology that can be replicated to create a report.

· Have to consider the work that has already been done and commitment to keep going.

FOLLOW UP: A committee workshop will be scheduled over the lunch hour within the next couple of weeks to go through the updated draft.

6. Other Business

There was no other business.

7. Adjournment

It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Carol Carstensen to adjourn the meeting at 6 p.m. Motion unanimously carried.

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