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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Regular Meetings May 5, 2008 |
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 5:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Maya Cole, Ed Hughes, Lucy Mathiak, Beth Moss, Marj Passman, Arlene Silveira, Johnny Winston, Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE PRESENT: Joe Carlsmith
STAFF PRESENT: Steve Hartley, Pam Nash, Doug Pearson, Joe Quick, Art Rainwater, Howard Sampson, Donna Williams, Barbara Lehman-Recording Secretary
LEGAL COUNSEL PRESENT: Attorney Dan Mallin
Election of Officers:
Johnny Winston, Jr. nominated Arlene Silveira for president. Nominations were closed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Johnny Winston, Jr. nominated Lucy Mathiak for vice president. Nominations were closed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Johnny Winston, Jr. nominated Steve Hartley for secretary. Nominations were closed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Arlene Silveira nominated Beth Moss for clerk. Nominations were closed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Lucy Mathiak nominated Johnny Winston, Jr. for treasurer. Nominations were closed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Deferred item was the recognition of this year's Americorps volunteers.
II APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved by Beth Moss and seconded by Maya Cole to approve the minutes for the Regular Board of Education meeting dated April 7, 2008 as distributed. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
III PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Tim Ritchie, physical education teacher at Jefferson Middle, asked for a re-evaluation of the decision to hire one athletic director (AD) for East and La Follette and one for Memorial and West. The job is way too big for part-time ADs for schools the size of Madison's. He asked the Board to contact the coaches and others to let them be open and honest with the Board. It is seriously affecting their ability to engage with students, staff, and the community. Relations are not nearly what they have been in the past. Mr. Ritchie distributed copies of letters from other coaches that are attached to the original of these minutes.
Rhonda Schilling, general music teacher at Thoreau Elementary and Hamilton Middle schools, stated that class-and-a-half in K-1 is not working. SAGE children have higher needs. They need more teacher time and smaller class size. Students deserve an equal setting. General music will not be offered at all the middle schools next year. She asked the Board to reverse this adding that this budget cut was a mistake.
Julie Olsen, teacher of art, computers, and Reading Recovery at Hawthorne Elementary, asked that the SAGE ratios of 1:15 be reestablished for SAGE specials. Teachers are putting out fires and the culture of the school is changing. She asked they be allowed to restore their integrity.
Jason Verhelst, head girls swimming coach at Memorial High, spoke about the role of the ADs as the eyes and ears of the department, heading off problems before they happen. Violations of the athletic code cannot be effectively deterred and they do not have the same pulse as what prior ADs had. Unaddressed violations will continue to mount. It is the same situation with administrative problems. The district needs to keep quality coaches. There should be AD positions at each of the high schools; it is a great investment for the district.
Elizabeth Doyle, art teacher in Madison schools, asked the Board to look at the budget and redistribute and reexamine in order to restore SAGE school specials class size.
Lynn Vande Sande spoke against class-and-a-half for the specials. It is not working well in any way. It is a huge disservice to the youngest and neediest students. She stated that if more resources were put into the younger children, the district would not need so many security people at the middle and high schools. She asked the Board to look at it again.
Carol Farrell, physical education teacher at Falk and Crestwood Elementary Schools, opposed the class-and-a-half for specials. It is not helping kids with a sense of community and the money saved is from the 5, 6, and 7 year-old curriculums. She stated that after the Board heard all the things they had to say when the Board came to visit, they thought they had been heard. They know that cuts have to be made some place, but these are the young ones.
Katie Mead Griffiths was hired 20 years ago as an elementary art teacher and worked mostly in the east side schools that serve high numbers of low-income children. She is currently at Emerson which she described as a really bad situation where kids are coming in and their needs are not being met. She stated that these kids are not going to be successful. It is unmanageable. The children do not have social skills to control impulses or manage their anger. Teacher focus is on behavior management which is becoming violent. She asked the Board to consider the money being saved because a lot is being lost.
Barbara Chusid, has a 2nd grader who loves music but ignores directions and walks out of class because of the distractions. Everyone does better one-on-one but with a large group there is way less time to avoid behavior entanglements.
There were three written registrations all opposed to the class-and-a-half for specials.
IV BOARD PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS
A copy of the report is attached to the original of these minutes.
The Superintendent read a letter from Toki Middle School students seeking community support for Toki Middle School (a copy of the letter is attached to the original of these minutes). He introduced the members of the Social Justice group at Toki and accepted their petition with over 228 signatures asking people to acknowledge all the good things Toki students are doing and their request for help for kids with problems. They were seeking mentors, tutors, and volunteers to provide positive support and to help change the perception of who Toki Middle School students are.
VI COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ACTION THEREON
A Performance and Achievement
1 It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee purchasing adoptions in the amount of $2,213.11. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
Mr. Winston reported that the committee, chaired by Lawrie Kobza, met on April 21 and received two presentations from staff and students on two programs: Project Lead the Way and Project AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination).
B Finance and Operations
Ms. Mathiak reported that the committee met on April 8 and were joined by Superintendent Michael Lancaster from the Catholic Diocese of Madison, to unveil and review the private school transportation agreement between the Diocese and the MMSD. This item was already attended to at a prior Board meeting and the agreement approved. They also talked about ongoing progress toward creating a process to fund community partnerships through a RFP process that various committees and the full Board have worked on since the 2006-07 school year.
1 It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Beth Moss that the Board endorse the MMSD Community Service Activities Request for Proposals as amended at the April 8 Committee meeting and as presented in Appendix JJJ-11-5.
Discussion:
· Suggestion was made about allowing the district the option to approve a third year.
· Clarified the use of the same baseline amount currently being funded with an option to increase the amount.
· Proposals addressing specific Board goals.
· Holding 501(3)(c) status or having a fiscal agent that does.
· Recommendation that the applicant meet with district staff more than just the annual process.
· Suggestion to include site visits.
· Documents should clarify that these are not Board committees.
· Suggestion to check with United Way to see how they handle the 501(3)(c) issue.
· Inclusion of internal rating sheets.
· Process open to new ideas that need seed money.
· Clarify the matching amount and sources in the budget pages and total commitment of other partners (e.g., MSCR).
· Give organizations credit for brining others to the table.
Motion was withdrawn.
FOLLOW UP: Schedule item for approval next week. Board Officers and Superintendent agreed to meet with the President of the Urban League with regard to Project Bootstrap.
2 It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. that the Board approve the expenditure of $42,936 from the 2007-08 Fund 80 Contingency Fund for the purpose of renovating and equipping for videotaping and television broadcast Room 103 in the Doyle Administration Building as described in Appendix JJJ-11-6. Total project costs estimated at $102,766 and the remainder of the funding (estimated at $59,830) shall utilize Fund 80 equity and be included as an amendment to the 2008-09 budget. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
C Human Resources
No report.
D LongRangePlanning
Ms. Moss reported that the committee met on April 21 and discussed overcrowding and issues of capacity at Leopold Elementary. Several Board members toured Leopold and are also going to Kennedy and Sandburg. The district is working with the parents and staff at Leopold on options for Leopold. The administration will come to the Board next week with some possible new recommendations for next fall.
E Community Partnerships
Ms. Cole reported that the committee met on April 7 and this meeting was reported out at the April Regular meeting. The committee worked on the parent climate survey.
F Communications
Ms. Moss reported that the committee met on April 7 and reported out at the April Regular meeting. She reminded people that they will be talking about non-school-related materials over the summer.
VII AUDITING, PURCHASING, TRANSFERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
Ms. Silveira asked for separation of Item VII D 1.
A Consolidation of Motions within Section VII of this Agenda
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve all of the motions stated in Section VII-B through and including Section VII-D, with the exception of Item VII-D-1 of the agenda prepared for the May 5, 2008 Regular 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. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
B Auditing
1 Approve Interim Bills covering the period of April 3, 2008 through April 30, 2008 amounting to $13,929,290.14.
2 There were no School Building Fund bills for this period.
C Purchasing
1 Approve the proposal of $44,950 from Honeywell Building Solutions for building automation and temperature controls at Cherokee Middle School with funding from the 2008-09 General Operating Budget, Referendum funds (estimated at $45,000). Honeywell was approved as the Performance Contract Partner, to include automation systems, at the March 16, 1998 Regular Board of Education meeting, agenda item VI.B.2.
2 Approve the bid of $46,360 from Sergenian's for flooring replacement at Glendale Elementary with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum funds (estimated at $54,300).
3 Approve the proposal of $25,502 from Demco for Library Media Center furniture for Muir Elementary School with funding from private donations under University of Wisconsin contract #075665.
4 Approve the proposal of $79,872 from Kayser Ford, Inc. for a Ford F-650 chassis with refrigerated van body with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget under State of Wisconsin Contract #27895.
5 Approve the proposal of $58,542 from Kayser Ford, Inc. for two (2) Ford F-250, diesel, 4x4, pick up trucks with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget under State of Wisconsin Contract #27895.
6 Approve the bid of $1,112,600 from Westphal Electric for an electrical upgrade at Toki Middle School with funding from the 2008-2009 General Operating Budget, Referendum funds (estimated at $1,619,400).
D Other Financial Transactions
1 Item 1 was separated from the consolidation vote. See Section E.
2 Accept a donation of $2,500 from West High School parents to support a girls diving team.
3 Approve all grants and other donations received by the MMSD since April 7, 2008.
E Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers and Other Financial Transactions Not Included Among the Consolidated Motions
It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Johnny Winston, Jr. that the Board accept a donation of $3,800 from the Friends of West Soccer relative to hiring a Junior Varsity coach at West High School. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion carried 6-0 with Arlene Silveira recused.
The recognition of this year's AmeriCorps volunteer coordinators took place at this time commemorating the tenth anniversary of the School of Hope project (a copy of the script and the list of volunteers is attached to the original of these minutes).
VIII HUMAN RESOURCES TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to approve Item VIII 1-189 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.
IX REPORTS TO THE BOARD
A Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee
Ms. Mathiak reported that the committee last met on April 24. They did not get to the item about appointments to city committees, commissions, and boards. Judge Dan Koval joined the committee for a discussion about what he sees in terms of truancy cases. No major problems were solved but it was the first time that everyone was at the table together. There are many tools at the district's disposal. This first conversation will be continued. They were then joined by MMSD staff Luis Yudice, Security Coordinator, and Jeannette Deloya, Social Work Program Support, and members of the Madison Police Department (MPD), Lt. Trevor Knight and Capt. Tom Snyder, for a discussion on safety and crime relating to the schools and the community. Many topics were touched upon but the committee did not come to a lot of conclusions at this time. The MPD were very complimentary toward Mr. Yudice and the district's initiatives to work more effectively.
The meeting proposed for May 8 has been postponed. The committee is in the middle of getting re-structured.
B Student Senate Report
Joe Carlsmith reported that the Senate met twice since the last Regular meeting. On April 8 they finalized their presentation to the Board on the proposed cell phone policy. The presentation was made on April 14. They met again on April 22 and recapped how the presentation went and did the candidate forum. The next meeting is tomorrow to look at some of the teacher feedback on the proposed cell phone recommendations and to talk about the end-of-year party.
X OTHER BUSINESS
A It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Beth Moss that the Board grant to the City of Madison a permanent limited easement upon District property for the construction, restoration, repair and maintenance of a traffic signal at the intersection of Tree Lane with Gammon Road, and also to grant to the City of Madison a related temporary limited easement for the sloping and grading of land surrounding said traffic signal and said permanent easement, as such easements are further expressly described and identified in the draft easement document included as Appendix JJJ-11-4. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
B It was moved by Lucy Mathiak and seconded by Beth Moss that 15 students be granted diplomas of graduation based on completed requirements. Student Representative advisory vote was aye. Motion unanimously carried.
C 2008-09 MMSD Budget:
The Superintendent gave a brief history of how the district got to where it is today and touched on the amendment process. He noted that it was very unusual to have two Tax Incremental Finance districts closing out that meant that services did not have to be reduced to students. He talked about some of the changes in recent years and the $60 million worth of reductions that have been taken over the years. It is no longer possible to keep the cuts away from the classroom. He realized there were many temptations to add things back but asked the Board to use the same service budget that was presented. Next year there will be a $9.2 million deficit that can only be relieved by referendum. If it does not pass or the Board chooses not to go to referendum, replacing anything for a one year change would probably mislead the public about what the future holds.
The Superintendent was asked to give some history about the district's equity.
Discussion:
· Follow up on the speaker's comment about some schools planning not to offer general music next year.
· Provide information on what has changed for the specials classes.
o More efficient ways to assign people to those allocations but the teachers would have to give up some transfer rights.
o Strategies were shared with all principals for scheduling, classrooms going together jointly in close proximity, things to do during transition times, increasing communications among teachers. Ms. Abplanalp will be working with the principals on this next week for 2008-09.
· Madison Family Literacy issues—Northport and the Head Start projects (at Leopold and Allied Drive). Suggestion was made to use Fund 80 to bridge the funding of those projects more equitably.
· Board amendments due tomorrow. If not submitting anything, please notify the administration.
· Common School Fund and per member amount—there was a suggestion that any increase in funds from DPI be subjected to Board approval. Common School Fund has to be used for specific purposes and any increase would be included in the October budget adjustments.
· Question was raised about the use of any Title I carryover
· One Board member indicated that she would be proposing a budget amendment to accelerate the deployment of computers to the schools.
· Referendum for maintenance runs out in 2010.
· Budget unknowns--fuel prices, projections for income on investments, new Superintendent coming in.
D Old and New Business
There was no old or new business.
XI ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Johnny Winston, Jr. and seconded by Lucy Mathiak to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 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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