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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Regular Meetings September 10, 2007 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Auditorium Madison, Wisconsin |
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I CALL TO ORDER
The Board of Education meeting was called to order by President Arlene Silveira at 7:25 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Maya Cole, Lawrie Kobza, Lucy Mathiak, Beth Moss, Arlene Silveira, Johnny Winston, Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE PRESENT: Joe Carlsmith
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Abplanalp, Frank Crisafi, Steve Hartley, Mark Lea, Pam Nash, Doug Pearson, Art Rainwater, Howard Sampson, Marcia Standiford, Donna Williams, Barbara Lehman-Recording Secretary
LEGAL COUNSEL PRESENT: Attorney Frank Crisafi and Attorney Dan Mallin
Ms. Silveira sent condolences to the family of Becky Buchmann.
The Board of Education and Superintendent recognized a group of MMSD staff who recently became published authors of a book entitled, Creating Equitable Classrooms through Action Research which highlights one of the district's longstanding staff development initiatives, Classroom Action Research.
II APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Carol Carstensen to approve the minutes of the Regular meeting dated August 13, 2007. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
III PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Javier Del Pino, parent, spoke about the benefits for his child who attends Nuestro Mundo. He is trying to get his youngest child in, but it is difficult because of the current policy which stops siblings from coming in until all the Allis Elementary School children have been placed. He felt the policy would eventually destabilize the program and that the Board should consider changing it and increasing the capacity of Nuestro Mundo to help the overall community.
Alicia De Barreno, parent, stated that her son started attending Nuestro Mundo three years ago. She is a single parent who many have to move out of the Allis district and wanted her son to enter even if they are not in the Allis district. She supported expanding the slots for Nuestro Mundo.
Ms. Carstensen clarified that once a child is in Nuestro Mundo, they can stay in the program regardless of whether they move or not.
Michelle del Pino, parent, lives outside of the Nuestro Mundo district in Kennedy. They have had a very good experience with the program. However, they found out shortly before school started that there was no space. She is concerned about enrollment at Nuestro Mundo, the families need support and should be given a priority. She felt that families will end up leaving the school if the Board does not address the issue by expanding the program. A bigger base is needed at the start to keep the program going.
Dannie Jaeger, parent of four, lives outside the Allis district but children attend Nuestro Mundo. Also supported expanding the Nuestro Mundo kindergarten sections. She is amazed at the education her children are receiving and gave some examples of how their education has affected their lives. She asked that preference be given to children with siblings, staff, and Founders' children. She did not want to split up her children between two different schools and two different educational models.
Gabrielle Rochester, parent whose son will attend Nuestro Mundo in the fall. She read an excerpt from language immersion education research at the University of Minnesota entitled, "Sibling Preference."
LaShunda Manly, parent, also supported expanding the Nuestro Mundo program and giving preference to siblings (a copy of her statement is attached to the original of these minutes).
Hilda Guzman-Grau, one of three original Founders of the Nuestro Mundo program, stated that her kindergartner cannot enroll because there is no space. They started the school to benefit the City. They live near the Allis district. The felt they are being discriminated against.
Peter Joyce, parent, felt that the Nuestro Mundo school was great and he is very grateful to have it. He wanted the Board to ask the Administration to change the admissions policy, especially for staff, Founders, and siblings for next year. He wanted Nuestro Mundo to be treated like other schools. He asked that the Board be a little more flexible.
Veronica Munoz, parent, was happy that her child can attend Nuestro Mundo. They are very connected with the Latino community. They were told that there is no space. Nuestro Mundo is a great opportunity. She would have brought other parents to tell the Board about other situations in terms of entry into Nuestro Mundo.
There were no written registrations.
IV BOARD PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS
Ms. Silveira gave a presentation on the Board's priorities for the 2007-08 school year (a copy of the report is attached to the original of these minutes).
A copy of the report is attached to the original of these minutes.
VI COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ACTION THEREON
A Performance and Achievement
1 It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen that the Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee adoptions be approved in the amount of $34,431.06. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Ms. Kobza reported that the committee did not meet in August but in July they had two meetings, one on four-year-old kindergarten and one regarding measuring student performance. Both of these discussions will continue at the September 24 meeting. After that, the committee will talk about revising the Board's goals with regard to third grade reading, 9th grade math, and attendance to incorporate the performance goals and the longitudinal measurements. They will be asking for recommendations on how that can be done, hopefully in time for the October meeting. With regard to four-year-old kindergarten, the committee asked for information about getting community input on the decision to have four-year-old kindergarten in the Madison School District. On October 22, the committee will be having the long-awaited meeting about school models and how those might work in Madison.
B Finance and Operations
Ms. Mathiak reported that the committee met on August 7 which she reported on at the last monthly meeting. They have been continuing to work on the Citizens' Budget, tweaking the numbers into formats that are understandable by the community. The budget is good on expenditure side; work continues on the revenue side. In addition, they have started looking at 2007-08 goals that comes down to issues related to revenue streams rather than where the money is being spent. The next meeting is scheduled for September 18 at noon in Room 103 of the Doyle building. They will be doing more tweaking of the Citizens' Budget and spending some time looking at the part of the budget that is known as Fund 80. There is also a communications purchase on the agenda. Lucy Chaffin has been invited to help the committee gain a deeper understanding of MSCR and its budget.
C Human Resources
Johnny Winston, Jr. had no report but talked about the goals for 2007-08. The salary survey should come back to the committee in early October. Other issues will be underutilized businesses, evaluation of hiring and retention of minorities, recruitment and Affirmative Action and increasing applicant pools of teachers and administrators. There will be a meeting in October.
D LongRangePlanning
Ms. Carstensen reported that the committee had not meet since the last Regular meeting. Overall goals include development over the long range, 10-20 years, in Madison and Fitchburg. Presentations will be given by the planners from Madison and Fitchburg on September 24. The committee will also be looking at what the existing enrollments are in schools and the projections in order to identify any schools which might be in need of any boundary changes and creating boundary areas for the new school. If there is additional time, the committee will look at other issues, i.e., a new middle school or new high school for the district.
E Community Partnerships
Ms. Cole reported that the committee met this evening and on July 30. She was looking forward to working with the citizen members. The goals so far include a funding mechanism and evaluation of the community partnerships funded through Fund 80 and looking closer at whether they can separate out some of these groups because of their long-term partnerships. She has also asked the citizen members to meet at other times on other issues, including alternative revenue streams that might be out there by gathering information from businesses for funding, looking at the parent involvement policy, and getting feedback from parents and the community. She plans to get into the community more as a committee and be more visible to the community centers and come up with strategies for getting feedback. Calendar of upcoming meetings are: September 20 at 8 a.m. in Room 103 of the Doyle Building, October 1 at 5 p.m. at Doyle, then a morning meeting on October 17 at 8 a.m. also at Doyle.
F Communications
Ms. Moss reported that the committee met tonight and heard a presentation from Jim Wood on the Wisconsin Way Initiative involving trends over the next 25 years in taxation and employment in the State of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Way is a group of organizations who normally do not get together who have shared ideas and are searching for solutions to improve the tax structure in Wisconsin. The presentation did not address school funding but was very relevant. They will look at the possibility of supporting this initiative at the next meeting on October 1. Committee goals for 2007-08 have not been finalized yet but will be at the first meeting with the new citizen members. She plans to do the same thing as last year by holding different meetings across the community and working with ABC Madison as a spin off from last year's committee meeting. They are also looking at different ways of getting public input through a more open process. If the Board decides to go to referendum, the committee will be very active. They did get a referendum report from staff held over the past three years in districts with 10,000 or more students asking for $5 million or more and comparisons of those. The committee will also discuss crisis communications for consistency and effectiveness and making sure that all families are receiving the same information from the district.
VII AUDITING, PURCHASING, TRANSFERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
A Auditing
1 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lawrie Kobza that interim bills be approved amounting to $12,564,604.07 covering the period of August 4, 2007 through September 5, 2007. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
2 There were no School Building Fund bills.
B Purchasing
1 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Beth Moss to approve the proposed renewal of the district-wide subscription to Thinkronze, Inc.'s netTrekker d.i. online database at a cost of $22,655.60 per requisition #65158 as the sole provider with funding from the 2007-08 Library Media Services budget. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
2 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. to approve the proposed renewal of the districtwide subscription to Discovery Education's Unitedstreaming online database at a cost of $53,488 per requisition #67773 as the sole provider with funding from the 2007-08 Library Media Services budget. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
3 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. to approve an expenditure totaling $437,504 for the purchase of first semester student bus passes and ticket booklets from Madison Metro Transit System for middle and high school students who meet transportation requirements for indigent students with funding from the 2007‑08 Transportation Services budget.
Comments: The Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee discussed last week the cost of bus passes. The administration was asked to provide information on the district's overall cost and contributions made to the City of Madison for overall transportation and how many students ride the Metro buses, how much the families are paying for bus passes, the phased-in increases imposed by the City, subsidies for busses that do not normally run, and any other relevant information.
Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
4 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak that the proposal of $40,000 from Structural Research, Inc. (SRI) for design and consulting services for roof replacement at La Follette High school be approved with funding from the 2007-08 General Operating Budget with funding from the State Insurance Fund. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
5 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak that the proposal of $15,300 from SRI for design and consulting services for roof replacement at Lincoln Elementary School be approved with funding from the 2007-08 General Operating Budget with funding from the State Insurance Fund. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
6 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. that the proposal of $266,000 from Honeywell Building solutions for gym lighting replacement at 24 schools be approved with funding from the 2007-08 through 2013-14 General Operating budgets to be self-funded through energy savings over a six-year period.
The Board requested that Doug Pearson do a presentation on the entire energy savings program for the full Board.
Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
7 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Maya Cole to approve the bid from Plunkett Raysich Architects with a total score of 385 points for architectural and engineering consulting services districtwide with funding from the 2007-10 General Operating Budgets. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
8 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. to purchase from WisCareers, Center on Education and Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a sole provider, a career development software and information system at a cost of $20,678 with funding from a 2007-08 pass-through Perkins grant from the Department of Public Instruction. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
C Other Financial Transactions
1 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve a resolution to authorize the temporary borrowing of $79,500,000 pursuant to Wisconsin Statute Section 67.12(8)(a)1. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
2 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve payment of $8,679.40 to the La Follette Booster Club (Boosters) pursuant to written agreement between the Boosters and the District that: 1) the Boosters would initially pay the purchase price ($8,679.40) of an electronic scoreboard to be installed at La Follette High School upon which advertisements could be placed in accordance with Board Policy 3660; and 2) the District would reimburse the Boosters for the purchase price out of profits received from the advertisements placed thereon. Advertising revenue will be sufficient to make payment to the Boosters. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
3 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve an agreement with the YMCA for after-school child care at Orchard Ridge Elementary School, under which the YMCA shall pay the District rental fees in accordance with Board Policy and Procedure 6491 (Building Permits) and the District shall reimburse YMCA costs of care for up to 25 students who are eligible for free/reduced lunch, in the amount of $230 per child per month, the total not to exceed $51,750, with funding from the 2007-08 Fund 80 monies. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
The Board asked for an evaluation of the two different models--YMCA operated and district operated.
4 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Beth Moss to accept a donation from Webcrafters-Frautschi Foundation, Inc. through the Madison Community Foundation in the amount of $10,000 to provide funds for consultants, pupil travel, classroom materials, non-capital and capital equipment, and site improvement at Mendota Elementary School. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
5 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Beth Moss that authority be given to the Administration to approve, through October 31, 2007, the expenditure of $361,360 form the Reserve for Contingencies for up to five teacher positions, including educational assistants, to accommodate fall enrollment changes to be used only if unallocated positions within the regular budget have been utilized. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
6 It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Lucy Mathiak that all grants and other donations received by the MMSD since August 13, 2007 be approved. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
VIII HUMAN RESOURCES TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to approve Item VIII 1-101 in its entirety with the exception of any item a Board member may wish to have separated out. There were no separations. Student Representative vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
A correction was made to the August report, item #209, in which the name Jackie Bacher was incorrectly spelled when it should have been spelled Jacqueline Baker. It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to make the correction to Item 209. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
IX REPORTS TO THE BOARD
A Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee
Ms. Mathiak reported that the committee met on September 5 for the first meeting of the year. They elected Mark Clear as chair. They spent some time going back and forth between the structure and function of the committee and possible topics for 2007-08. One of the topics from last year was the overlap of social services between the City and the District, but Dane County is a big player and should be added to that committee. They did not resolve that much. They thought through what the priorities were and went through an exercise to arrive at a couple issues to concentrate on--safety in schools areas and issues related to social services. They will be honing in and setting the agenda for the rest of the year and focusing on one or two goals for the year. The committee will also deal with compelling issues and other items as they come up. The next meeting is scheduled for October 11 at 4:30 p.m.
B Student Representative Report
Mr. Carlsmith reported that the Student Senate has yet to meet for this year; however, he and Laura Checovich, the Alternative Student Representative, are meeting tomorrow to discuss and plan for the year. They will also contribute to the feedback from the Superintendent Profile and recruitment. The first meeting is set for October 2.
X OTHER BUSINESS
A It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve the Superintendent's goals for the 2007-08 school year. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
B It was moved by Maya Cole and seconded by Lucy Mathiak that Amy Hilgendorf (2816 Kingston Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53713) be appointed as a citizen member to the Community Partnerships Committee for the term of June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2009.
C It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen to approve a resolution relative to an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement for the provision of the 2007-08 Youth Apprenticeship and School-to-Work programs throughout Dane County. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
D It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve the request for an easement for Madison Gas and Electric Company at Memorial High School. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
E It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Lucy Mathiak that 43 students be granted diplomas of graduation based on completed requirements. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
F Old and New Business
There was no old or new business.
XI ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Carol Carstensen to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 p.m. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Hartley
Secretary to the Board of Education
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