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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
|---|---|---|
| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Community Partnerships August 23, 2004 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Room 103 Madison, Wisconsin |
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Partnerships Committee meeting was called to order by Chair Johnny Winston, Jr. at 5:03 p.m.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Ruth Robarts, Shwaw Vang (arrived 5:16 p.m.), Johnny Winston, Jr.
CITIZEN MEMBERS PRESENT: Mary Ellen Johnson
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None
CITIZEN MEMBERS ABSENT: None
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Bill Clingan, Juan José López (arrived 5:54 p.m.), and Student Representative Oliver Kiefer
STAFF PRESENT: Mary Gulbrandsen, Chris Nelson, Roger Price, Ken Syke, Barbara Lehman-Recording Secretary
1. Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Mary Ellen Johnson and seconded by Ruth Robarts to approve the minutes of the Partnerships Committee meeting dated March 25, 2004 as distributed. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
2. Public Appearances
Robert Masinado, parent of a high school student, supported an increase in fees and wanted to see what the district's formula was for setting them. He asked if there was a way to distribute the costs equitably and supported any effort on the part of the Booster Clubs to help out. He also supported the sale of the ice arenas to Madison Ice Inc. but noted that there have been scheduling problems. The hockey teams are not getting enough ice time and he asked that the district be cognizant of that and see if any changes could be made.
Chris Nelson responded that he had met with someone from Madison Ice Inc. and he did not think it would be an issue and that scheduling would change.
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.
4. Madison Community Foundation Capacity to Help Athletic Booster Clubs with Setting Up Endowments
(The audience included representatives from all four high school Booster Clubs.)
Jodi Bender Sweeney, President of the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools, gave a brief history of the creation of the Foundation and how they wanted to test the concept that would build permanent funding for schools. They raised $900,000 in the first year and are now doing strategic planning. They raise funds and give them back as grants outside the school budgets and develop partnerships with community groups. They held the "Principal for a Day" event and also build field-of-interest funds. They work with people who want to support the schools and would like to expand the model. They were also interested in finding out what the district was planning for in regard to athletics and to solicit Booster Club funds.
Mr. Winston was interested in setting up the groundwork for a collaborative effort with all the Booster Clubs.
Shwaw Vang arrived at 5:16 p.m.
Ms. Bender Sweeney further explained what has to be accomplished before the funds are granted, how each school can form its own committee and develop creative and innovative projects to present to the Board of the Foundation, and what kinds of things can be funded. There was some comment about what the district budget criteria are for the Booster Clubs and the criteria for the Foundation. Challenge grants are set up for all the schools. Brochures were distributed describing the Foundation (a copy is attached to the original of these minutes).
FOLLOW UP: Seek input from the Board as the decisions are being made.
5. Future Partnerships with Athletic Booster Clubs
Mr. Winston noted that he has met with every Booster Club and many questions came up frequently. He invited the Booster Club representatives to voice their concerns to the Board and then talk about possible solutions.
Discussion: What other neighboring school districts charge for entry fees and participation fees. People who come to watch are the parents who pay the participation fees anyway. Low-income families will not be able to come and watch. Other students would not come to support each other. Budget projects $78,000 in revenue through gate fees assuming no drop in attendance. Sports have been unduly taxed. The initial mission of the Booster Clubs was to support athletic programs with things that could not be purchased through the budget and major capital equipment. The Booster Clubs are tapped over and over again all year long. The whole community needs to be involved. There is a lot of anxiety about not having an Athletic Director in all the high schools. Putting uniforms out to bid is a possibility but would only save about $10,000.
The public perception is that there is no real budget problem until athletics is eliminated entirely. Madison has different demographics (free and reduced lunch percentages, different languages, homelessness, large Hmong and Hispanic populations, etc.) and different student needs than other districts. Madison does provide some things that other districts cannot approach but the balancing everything out continues to be debated.
Juan José López arrived at 5:54 p.m.
District needs to do a better job of communicating to the public about all the work that is done with other school districts. It was hoped that all the Booster Clubs would meet together to talk about how all four high schools can identify issues and communicate them to the Board early on in the budget process and see if there are some things that could be agreed upon.
FOLLOW UP: The Booster Clubs were interested in seeing a list of the vendors for athletics and savings from purchasing consolidations.
6. Other Business
There was no other business.
7. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:06 p.m. by unanimous consent.
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Previous: 2004-03-25 || Community Partnerships || Next: 2005-01-10