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| Madison Metropolitan School District Madison, Wisconsin Art Rainwater, Superintendent | ||
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| BOARD OF EDUCATION Minutes for Special Meeting - Open Session May 2, 2006 |
La Follette High School 702 Pflaum Road, Auditorium Madison, Wisconsin |
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Special Meeting of the Board of Education was called to order by President Johnny Winston, Jr. at 6:41 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Lawrie Kobza, Lucy Mathiak, Shwaw Vang, Johnny Winston, Jr.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: None
MEMBERS ABSENT: Ruth Robarts, Arlene Silveira
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Abplanalp, Mary Gulbrandsen, Doug Johnson, Pam Nash, Roger Price, Joe Quick, Art Rainwater, Donna Williams, Ann Wilson-Recording Secretary
1. 2006-07 Budget Hearing
Denise Kalscheur - Each time there is a classroom teacher reduction, the chance of success for students gets slimmer. Society will lose the young people who are at risk. Maintain low class size and programs for students at risk. Clarified that she is specifically referring to the Connect Program at La Follette High School.
Agnes Valley - Behind the paper façade, the school system is crumbling. Examples: the student-teacher ratio is really higher because teachers who are not in classrooms are included in the ratio; custodians have reached the limits of what they can do; want to close the achievement gap, but instead reduce programs for students at risk. Proposed reducing instead all extracurricular activities. Would have a shock value - the community would wake up to the situation. We cannot cut any longer.
Joan Jacobson - Cuts greatly compromise education of all students. Pushing services and staff to the brink. Worry the district will end in mediocrity, like in California. Need a reasonable student/teacher ratio and a climate of value. Worry schools will not have the teacher allocations needed so that students can graduate on time and get the quality education they deserve. Many areas have been cut; angry about that. Cut in areas away from students in classes. Cut without compromising the future of children.
Art Rainwater - Teachers at this point are surplussed. No layoffs have occurred. Two factors determine reduction in allocations - budget cuts, and enrollment decline. Most of the reduction for La Follette was because of enrollment decline.
Lisa and McKenna Pugh - Encouraged continued support for quality education for all students. Preserving special education supports is important for all students. McKenna noted ways it helps to have a person with a disability in class. She asked not to take teachers or resources away from special education, explained why she has good friends in special education, what she is learning from friends with disabilities, and what she hopes her sister can do after learning in the school system. Think about how special education supports help all children in the classroom.
Peggy Ellerkamp - Has seen cuts over the years. Budget is not transparent, does not help the taxpayer get enough information. Receive a glossed-over version. Taxpayer does not know that the system has been undermined to the point there is no structure left and will fall apart quickly. Programs look OK, but they are ready to fall apart. Are doing services for no one when stretched so thin - just looks good. Cut extracurricular - these are great programs, but they just won't be there anymore. Do not have enough allocation at La Follette for the fall although students are scheduled already. If there is not sufficient allocation, students will not be able to be scheduled for all classes and will end up in study hall. Administration says it will adjust, but that did not happen last year - just given overloads. Need prep time; not an acceptable way. Students are here, have actual schedules, but don't have staff so can't put them in classes. Problem was not corrected for five weeks.
Lucy Mathiak - Reducing extracurriculars won't generate that much funding - athletic supplies are mostly funded by parents through booster clubs.
Carol Carstensen - The cost of athletics is about $1.5 million after participation fees and outside of booster clubs. Cutting would not be an easy decision to make.
Art Rainwater - The district is monitoring enrollment and will add staff as needed as determined by the principal. Athletic director is funded over and above allocation to the school. When we know that students are there in the fall, we respond quickly. There were reasons for the delay two years ago. Pam Nash works closely with the principal.
FOLLOW-UP:
Lucy Mathiak asked for information from Kurt Kiefer about the process for development of enrollment projections for La Follette.
Elzbieta Beck - Heading on a downhill slope - school is a frustrating place to be for teachers and students. There is a perception that we are not cared for. Board members come to a meeting tonight at our school and don't have the information they should. Bureaucracy is frustration. We have enrollment - are an open enrollment school, the only one with room. Feeling very unloved. People who make this place work are being cut. You are taking them away from us. Used to love to come to school; felt like family. Not like that anymore - you can feel the tension now. It is not even worth reworking a budget for a system that is not there anymore. Board is not putting support behind kids anymore.
Carol Carstensen - None of the things proposed are what we want to do, or in the best interest of education, or positive for students. Impressed with Lance article on the budget. Trying to build grassroots support in the community about what's happening in schools.
Lucy Mathiak - In the beginning phases of the budget process. Will be seeking input and looking at options and issues.
Sean Storch - Half of the students at La Follette qualify for at risk services. We know what works and what helps to increase student outcomes and close the achievement gap. We know how to do a good job, but are pulling resources. There are shrinking resources for staff development, planning time, more teachers to keep class sizes down. Heterogeneous classrooms can be great, but resources are needed to make it work. Reducing allocations and class sizes for the students who have the most needs. Understand that you are sympathetic to the needs of those students; problems lie in the legislature. Lance was cut two years ago - have an awesome newspaper. Will do more with less, but teachers are heavily burdened. Can't guarantee we will reach kids in the same way. Let me reach more kids - I can do a great job. Will be my best, but will not be adequate. Find a way to adequately fund schools in Wisconsin.
Carol Carstensen - Request for data on the Connect Program. Sean Storch included that information in his Master's Thesis.
Johnny Winston - The Lance was revised with advertising. The Board is moving forward with an advertising policy and has some ideas about community service for credit. Sean Storch - East has a program that could be extended. Could have a special ceremony, share experience of respect and appreciation. Also considering student leadership class for credit at La Follette - drawing more students into the discussion of problems and concerns. This is an untapped resource.
Katy Lerch - Adequate support staff in the school libraries will allow the libraries to function properly. Needs cannot be met without adequate support. Submitted a written report (attached to the original of these minutes).
Bert Zipperer - Counselors are barely struggling to survive. Be honest with the community. A top quality school system is being dismantled. Need to focus on the real issue at the state legislature - need to point the attack in the right direction. Was here in 1988 and know what the district had. Administrators knew the depth and breadth of the district; now they are treated as enemies. Had staff development - need to impress on the community that this is an investment. Urge Board not to candy-coat the problem; not make this a pretty budget or a happy time. We are dismantling and at some point the structure cannot sustain itself.
Cara Fitzgerald and another teacher - We are English teachers who are surplussed now because of the Connect Program. Were hired two weeks before school started. Most important part of working with at‑risk students is making connections. Hard to do an effective job when the teacher's job is not stable.
Lucy Mathiak - Concern about young staff members - need to consider seriously what needs to be done to keep young teachers in the community.
Shwaw Vang - Concern about cuts that target students who need special classrooms. Why go backwards? These are budget proposals from the administration to the Board. Encourage discussion.
Written Registrations - Don Ableidinger and Rose Ann Ableidinger oppose cuts to library pages.
There was a break from 8:07 until 8:30 p.m.
2. 2006-2007 Budget
There was discussion of the timeline for finalization of the budget. In response to a question by Johnny Winston, Art Rainwater indicated he would speak with John Matthews about the possibility of extending the date for layoff (needs to occur ten days before the end of school). He will let Board members know the result of that conversation this week.
There was discussion about amendments and how they will be presented. In other years, any additions to the budget also came with a corresponding reduction somewhere else. Last year, a pool of additional funds was identified, so that additions could be made without cutting. Johnny Winston noted he is not hearing any ideas about additional areas to cut this year. There was also discussion about how to decide which items get added back into the budget. There was a request for a meeting to have a structured discussion about these items and a general discussion of Board members' priorities prior to submitting the amendments. Mr. Winston will schedule time for that discussion on May 15.
Art Rainwater requested that the Administration have the opportunity to provide impact statements for any additional cuts Board members may propose.
FOLLOW-UP:
The Superintendent will provide a decision matrix to expedite discussion of the food policy.
3. Adjournment
It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
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