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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Regular Meetings April 7, 2008 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street Madison, Wisconsin |
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I CALL TO ORDER
The Board of Education meeting was called to order by President Arlene Silveira at 6:13 p.m. She welcomed Ed Hughes and Marjorie Passman as new Board members-elect.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Maya Cole, Lawrie Kobza, Beth Moss, Arlene Silveira, Johnny Winston, Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Lucy Mathiak
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE PRESENT: Laura Checovich
STAFF PRESENT: Steve Hartley, Doug Johnson, Pam Nash, Doug Pearson, Kathy Price, Art Rainwater, Howard Sampson, Marcia Standiford, Ken Syke, Lisa Wachtel, Donna Williams, Barbara Lehman-Recording Secretary
LEGAL COUNSEL PRESENT: Attorney Dan Mallin
BOARD MEMBERS-ELECT: Ed Hughes, Marjorie Passman
Kathy Price, MMSD Partnerships Coordinator, working with Julie Koenke, MSCR, and Professor Patricia Burch from UW-Madison, and University of Wisconsin-Madison students presented their findings from action research projects carried out last fall at O'Keeffe, Sherman, and Write Middle Schools on topics related to after-school programming.
II APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. to approve the minutes for the Regular Board of Education meeting dated March 3, 2008 as distributed. Student Representative abstained. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
III PUBLIC APPEARANCES
David Koene stated that they would continue to express their concerns until the army ads come down and that the ads are sending the wrong message to the children. He went on to say there would never come a time when the schools will have all the money they need but that taking the "quick fix" and getting a little bit of money from the army was not worth it. He noted that some have turned over whole schools to the military and that Madison does not want to go down that path. He asked the Board to reconsider the policy and whether the ads are worth the little money compared to the total budget.
David Hoppe asked why they could not talk with the Board rather than working from the top down. He indicated that recruiters could still be 20 feet outside the cafeteria and could still be in the hall and asked that the Board solved by their actions last time. He did note that there have not been any military visits or requests since the last time they spoke but that there would be requests in May. The military wants names and phone numbers. He said parents should be notified before the children's information is sent out as a matter of courtesy and respect. He also commented on the pressure the principal would be under for deciding whether something like doing the climbing walls is part of the curriculum or not, claiming that this responsibility is going to be huge for them. He asked the Board to look at their 23 concerns. He thought they were reasonable, that the way things are now is not right, that things could be better, and that they want to support kids.
Gary Stout relayed a story about Milk McPike who wanted to experience teaching kindergarten and, after the experience, told his son it was the "hardest damn job I have ever done." Mr. Stout continued to say that the children come with so many basic unmet needs before their academic needs can be dealt with. The children who have attended kindergarten in his classroom have more and more needs, and he attributed some of this crisis to the No Child Left Behind Act and how the needs of children are growing every year since its inception. He asked the Board to say no to NCLB. It is not the only reason but it is a large part of it and we need to say stop.
Will Williams was part of the group in 2003 that worked on a policy to protect students from recruiters. He indicated that recruiters should be put in a specific room in the schools and that the Board has not addressed their concerns. The last Board meeting passed a policy that gave the recruiters more authority then before. He stated that military recruiters should not have more access than others and should not be allowed to set up in the commons area or the cafeteria.
There were no written registrations.
IV BOARD PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS
A copy of the report is attached to the original of these minutes.
The Superintendent gave a presentation relative to the 2008-09 MMSD budget covering the following topics: steps to preparation, the Tax Increment Finance District refund, the 2009-2013 forecast, the proposed Superintendent's budget (same as cost-to-continue budget), understanding the accounting system, and reading the budget document (a copy of the presentation is attached to the original of these minutes). Staff would respond to Board questions starting tomorrow.
Clarified that the amount in the Reserve for Contingencies would not be known until the end of the year. He did not recommended putting funds into equity and then taking them out. There is a little over $3 million in the operating budget for maintenance plus the referendum money.
There was some discussion in response to the recommendation to approve the Superintendent's budget for public hearings.
It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen that the Board submit the Superintendent's 2008-09 budget for public comment. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
VI COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ACTION THEREON
A Performance and Achievement
1 It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen to approve Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee purchasing adoptions in the amount of $1,067.01. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
Ms. Kobza reported that the committee did not meet in March. The next meeting will be held on April 21 for presentations on two exciting high school programs: 1) Project Lead the Way (a pre-engineering program); and 2) Project AVID which is a college-readiness program for students.
B Finance and Operations
Carol Carstensen reported that the committee met in March and talked a little about the budget process and timeline which the Superintendent just reviewed. As part of that discussion, they talked about the Fund 80 budget to see if there are ways to reduce it. The next meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, April 8, at noon, to continue with more specific discussion about the MSCR budget and fees.
C Human Resources
No report.
D LongRangePlanning
Ms. Carstensen reported that the committee had not met since the last Regular meeting but will meet on April 21 to discuss some of the issues that were put aside when the committee was working to create the boundaries for the new school. The primary area of discussion will be Leopold and its current projected enrollment and possible changes or actions the committee will need to take. She confirmed that the La Follette attendance area would also be part of that discussion.
E Community Partnerships
Ms. Cole reported that the committee met that evening to talk about the parent climate survey, looking at parent involvement, and trying to decide if they want to look at it from a policy perspective. She thanked Carl Silverman for his years of service on the committee as he finishes his second term on this committee.
F Communications
Ms. Moss reported that the committee met that evening to talk about and wrap up the suggested techniques to share information and receive feedback. A grid will be given to the administration and future Boards when they are considering ways of engaging the public or gathering public input and disseminating information. The parent group liaison letter was put on hold because the new Superintendent may want to start something similar so they decided to wait for him to come on board. The committee also started a discussion of the dissemination of non-school related materials. Attorney Mallin put together a more detailed policy that the committee should continue to look at after the new board members come on. The next meeting has not been scheduled.
VII AUDITING, PURCHASING, TRANSFERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
A Consolidation of Motions within Section VII of this Agenda
It was moved by Carol Carstensen and seconded by Beth Moss to approve all of the motions stated in Section VII-B through and including Section VII-D of the agenda prepared for the April 7, 2008 School Board meeting exactly as said motions were printed on the agenda, which motions shall become a formal part of the minutes for this meeting. By voting affirmatively on this motion, a Board Member expresses his or her affirmative vote on each of the motions consolidated hereby.
Questions addressed: computer purchases for the Affiliated Alternatives and for Memorial High School and how these tie together with the overall district plan; how the decisions are made with regard to offering READ 180 and its evaluation, both internally and externally.
Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
B Auditing
1 Approve Interim Bills covering the period of February 28, 2008 through April 2, 2008 amounting to $43,335,751.84.
2 There were no School Building Fund bills for this period.
C Purchasing
1 Approve an expenditure totaling $59,800 for purchase of 10 upgrades of READ 180 version 1.6 to Enterprise Edition in 3 high schools, 6 middle schools, and Affiliated Alternatives from Scholastic Inc. as the sole source provider. The district provides this intense reading intervention to regular education, special education and English as a Second Language students who are two or more years below their grade level in reading. Purchase will be funded through the Title II, Part D: Enhancing Education through Technology and Instructional Technology budgets.
2 Approve an expenditure totaling $20,700.58 for the purchase of Scholastic Reading Inventory at all middle schools from Scholastic Inc. as the sole source provider. This computer adaptive testing program will measure students' reading comprehension levels enabling teachers to assess and monitor their students' reading ability, and plan instruction accordingly. Source of funding is through the revenue account supported by the sale of the 6-8 Literacy Notebook (2005), PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE Language Arts district staff.
3 Approve an expenditure totaling $20,800 for the purchase of 13 computers for continued implementation of the pre-engineering Project Lead the Way classes at Memorial High School for the 2008-09 school year (reference requisition #78022). Sources of funding include $16,839 from the 2007-08 Federal Carl Perkins Grant (DPI is the pass-through agency) and $3,961 from the local Career & Technical Education budget.
4 Award Lifetouch a three-year contract to provide photographic products and services, though not senior graduation photos, to District middle schools, high schools and alternative sites (Affiliated Alternatives & Shabazz City High School). It is also recommended that Empire Photography be awarded a three-year contract to provide senior graduation photos only to District high schools. This award is to be based on each vendor's proposal associated with Request for Proposal #3125. The contracts may be renewed for two additional one-year periods if mutually agreeable.
5 Approve an expenditure totaling $15,890 to Associated Machinery Sales for the purchase of a wide belt sander for the West High School wood shop (reference requisition #79848) with funding from the local Career & Technical Education budget.
6 Approve the bid of $224,450 from Walsdorf Roofing for partial roof replacement at West High School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $170,000).
7 Approve the bid of $251,950 from Walsdorf Roofing for partial roof replacement at Cherokee Middle School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $219,700).
8 Approve the bid of $299,900 from Gary Brown Roofing for partial roof replacement at Glendale Elementary School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $295,300).
9 Approve the bid of $211,000 from Southern Wisconsin Roofing for partial roof replacement at Thoreau Elementary School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $160,400).
10 Approve the bid of $68,800 from Southern Wisconsin Roofing for partial roof replacement at Shabazz High School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $62,000).
11 Approve the bid of $42,624 from Southern Wisconsin Roofing for partial roof replacement at East High School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $35,000).
12 Approve the bid of $43,120 from Walsdorf Roofing for partial roof replacement at Marquette Elementary School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $38,500).
13 Approve the bid of $73,000 from Gary Brown Roofing for partial roof replacement at Shorewood Hills Elementary School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $55,000).
14 Approve the bid of $117,997 from Carroll Seating Company for bleacher replacement at East High School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget (estimated at $120,000).
15 Approve the bid of $1,109,774 from Town & Country Electric for electrical and fire alarm upgrades at Glendale Elementary School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $891,400).
16 Approve the bid of $289,900 from Town & Country Electric for public address system replacement at East High School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum (estimated at $304,000).
17 Approve the bid of $113,000 from Daniels Construction for elevator replacement at Memorial High School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget (estimated at $100,000).
18 Approve the bid of $84,605 from Sergenian's for gym floor replacement at Sennett Middle School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget (Referendum) and MSCR (estimated at $50,000).
D Other Financial Transactions
1 Accept a donation from the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools Pass Through Account in the amount of $12,988 to purchase a replacement and installation of a kiln in the Art Department at Memorial High School.
2 Approve all grants and other donations received by the MMSD since March 3, 2008 as identified in Appendix JJJ-10-2.
Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers and Other Financial Transactions Not Included Among the Consolidated Motions
Individual items of business originally identified in Section VII-B through Section VII-D above but not treated in consolidated fashion as proposed on the agenda, if any.
There were none.
VIII HUMAN RESOURCES TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lawrie Kobza to approve Item VIII pp. 1-6 in its entirety with the exception of any item a Board member may wish to have separated out. There were no separations. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
IX REPORTS TO THE BOARD
A Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee
Ms. Carstensen reported that the meeting on March 13 covered the Neighborhood Indicators Pilot Project. This is a project being modeled from cities around the country to help Madison target resources where they are needed. Schools are important part of this as one of the indicators of a healthy neighborhood and those neighborhoods that are targeted could lead to some resources for those impacted schools. The next meeting is scheduled for April 24.
B Student Representative Report
Laura Checovich reported that the Senate has spent the last two months working on a proposed cell phone policy. They will be making recommendations to the Board on March 14 at La Follette. The next meeting is set for tomorrow to continue working on the cell phone policy recommendations.
X OTHER BUSINESS
A It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. that the Board approve entering into an Agreement with the Madison Jewish Community Council (MJCC) whereby MJJC will pay the MMSD an estimated $69,014 for MSCR to operate the MJCC Goodman Campus pool. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
B It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Maya Cole that 14 students be granted diplomas of graduation based on completed requirements. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
C Old and New Business
There was no old or new business.
XI ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 p.m. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Hartley
Secretary to the Board of Education
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