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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 30, 2006 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street Madison, Wisconsin |
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Special Meeting of the Board of Education was called to order by President Johnny Winston, Jr. at 5:03 p.m.
The meeting reconvened at 6:35 p.m. in McDaniels Auditorium.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Lawrie Kobza, Lucy Mathiak, Ruth Robarts, Arlene Silveira, Shwaw Vang, Johnny Winston, Jr.
STUDENT MEMBERS PRESENT: Connor Gants
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Susan Abplanalp, Roger Price, Art Rainwater, Marcia Standiford, Ken Syke, Ann Wilson-Recording Secretary
OPEN SESSION - WORKSHOP
2. Announcements
Johnny Winston, Jr. thanked and congratulated participants at the Business and Education Luncheon on May 16. Participants did a great job and the event was well attended.
3. Financial Transactions
It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Arlene Silveira that the Board award $47,020 to Discovery Education for purchase of a district-wide license to use a product known as United Streaming. United Streaming is an Internet-based service providing access to video and audio clips on a wide variety of topics. Video and audio content provided by United Streaming comes largely from content owned by the Discovery Channel. The content provided by the Discovery Channel to United Streaming is proprietary and unavailable from any other source. Funding will come from the Common School Fund.
A substitute motion was made by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Ruth Robarts to table the motion until more information is available. Student representative advisory vote - aye. Motion unanimously carried.
4. Public Hearing on Proposed 2006-2007 Madison Metropolitan School DistrictBudget and Amendments to such Proposed Budget
Barbara Shrank - Presented and provided written information about why she supports elementary strings options 2.1 and 2.2.
Robert Gibson - Moved to Madison for the quality of education. Aware of the critical problems at Spring Harbor. Attractions to the school are small class sizes, veteran teachers, same choice of electives as at other schools. School has not been immune to budget cuts; probably suffered disproportionately. Discretionary funds are necessary, used for personnel required under the Middle School Design. Need to focus on supporting the public school mission and to fund schools appropriately.
Gail Conder - Supports equity among schools. Discretionary funds are not discretionary at Spring Harbor but support the requirements of the Middle School Design. Not simple to determine equity; cost per student is higher at smaller schools. Listed ways Spring Harbor does not enjoy equity with other middle schools. Is a magnet and must attract students. Without resources becomes an unattractive alternative. Defer decision until next year and a thorough exam of all middle school budget needs.
Cindy Crane - Encouraged support of the GLSEN Fund 80 proposal which builds alliances, counters bullying, and creates allies out of bystanders. Good that we are at a point in history where a proposal like this can be considered. Related story of mother from out of the area who was very interested in starting a similar program.
Lucy Mathiak - Wish that everyone could read the many e-mails that have been sent in support of the proposal. Impressed and proud.
Jon Hawkins - Discretionary does not mean extra. Discussed what it would mean to cut one position at Wright. Would lose a learning coordinator, Read 180 program, and both a librarian and guidance counselor. Fair means everyone getting what they need. About needs and subsistence, not wants.
Beth Shipley - Invited Board members to spend a week at her desk at Wright to observe the impact of discretionary positions on the student body on a daily basis. Have an incredible impact on core programs. Board is elected by the majority. Decisions should reflect academic integrity and the welfare of the majority of students.
Lawrie Kobza - Proposal did not cut all middle school discretionary allocation but would affect all middle schools.
Paying Xiong - Asked for support for the Kajsiab House proposal. Important to share culture with the younger generation. Encouraged the Board to support this proposal for youth. Thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak.
Kazoua Lee - Supports the Kajsiab House project for youth. Wants to pass on culture to younger generation. In the long run, may not know about their way of life. Encourage a vote for approval. Some youth now cannot even speak the language. It is an important project. Thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak.
Chaott Xiong - Supports the Kajsiab House project. Very important for youth. Youth do not listen, hardly home, don't speak the language. Hang out with friends, don't come home. Hard for elders. Thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak.
Lou Vang - Supports the Kajsiab House Project. Talked about recent refugees to the state. Friends of children don't know the Hmong culture. Thanks for your support so that youth can learn the culture and language. Will help the Hmong community and Madison be more prosperous. Worried about those who go and never come home.
Blia Thao - Hmong culture is fading away. Youth are not learning from elders. Very important for youth to learn the traditional way of life. Don't know what will happen to children and grandchildren. Very important for elders and children that youth learn the traditional way of life.
Doua Vang - Many of those who speak tonight never attended school when they were children. Extremely hard to come and speak. Will speak for others who could not come. Ask for support for the Kajsiab House project, which is a unique project.
Johnny Winston, Jr. - Encouraged the elders and leaders to invite Board members to visit Kajsiab House.
David white - Noted a May 23 e-mail message to Board members regarding replacement of garbage truck. Others can speak to privatization as public policy, but as a fiscal item it is not in the district's best interest. In-house service is more prudent. Has been increasingly difficult to get information from providers about cost. Assumptions in the administrative budget are wrong. Private vendor increases will outstrip in-house costs. Can't go back and change the decision later because all equipment needed to in-house services will be gone. Attempting to bring clarity.
Pat Smith - Will make a mistake by going with Green Valley to haul trash from schools. Privatization will not work. When the district hauled its own trash, there were no dumpsters and no bees. The provided dumpsters are junk now. Incompetent to cut so much. Grounds crew cut too much.
Darold Lowe - Strongly oppose administration's desire to privatize public services. Administration wants to go out of the business and put the district in a position where they will agree. Once you privatize, you lose control in all areas you say you want to be in control. It can be turned around. It is not necessary to privatize here.
Tim Sullivan - Do not go down the path of privatization. Cited examples related to Haliburton contracting. Will lose control of services.
Kabzuag Vaj and 9 students - Spoke in support of Kajsiab House and Freedom Inc. proposals. Elders are very concerned about young people learning cultures and traditions. Young people are also afraid. Thanked for support for keeping language and culture alive. Thanked students who came - glad they took the opportunity to come. Freedom Inc. also provides services to new refugees, helps them to be successful.
There was a break from 7:45 p.m. - 7:55 p.m.
David Ropa - Spring Harbor cannot absorb additional cuts, nor can it take on additional students to keep existing staff. Small schools are not able to absorb changes, unlike other schools. Middle schools should, in some ways, look alike. Other middle schools have not been asked to sacrifice in the same way. Can't continue to absorb more - make the changes that are necessary.
Marisue Horton - Crestwood is a school in transition, one of the most effectively and efficiently run. Cost savings from SAGE cuts are not as projected. Will lose newest teacher. Why take away SAGE which is a proven success; should use it as a marketing tool. Hard to believe the Board is considering a cut to an academic program and talking about success for all students. Will need to talk about the recommendations of the Equity Task Force. Programming needs to follow students. Could raise money by charging for distributing flyers in backpack mail.
Lawrie Kobza - Crestwood is not a SAGE school but one of several in a category that has reduced class size.
Art Rainwater - There are five schools with reduced class sizes funded by district funds and three with no lowered class sizes (Kennedy, Elvehjem, Van Hise). Explained how schools fall into these categories.
Lawrie Kobza - How does 22:1 at a middle school compare with 25:1 class size for grades 4-5 at Lincoln, or can that be compared? Art Rainwater - The Lincoln proposal for 25:1 will bring it in line with other similar schools. The range at middle schools is 25-26:1. They can be compared and are acceptable. You have to look at the way Wright and Spring Harbor were created to be small classes. Both 4-5 and middle school can function at 25:1. The rationale for smaller classes goes back to the time the charters were created.
Laurel Finn - It is a privilege and responsibility of a charter school to be different. The charter for Wright includes small class sizes. Charter was approved by the Board; now being asked to violate that written charter. Charter schools must meet all the requirements of other schools. Removing allocation does not remove the responsibility to complete all tasks. Could point to high poverty and the formulas the district uses to staff the schools to reflect the community they are serving. Do not retract support, nor reduce quality.
Linda Nelson - If the Middle School Design would like to see middle schools more equal, then Spring Harbor should be getting more allocation. Spring Harbor and Wright were opened with the idea that they would be different. Have been making sacrifices for years. This process pits program against program and the loudest voices get heard. Cut non-classroom before school programs.
Fern Murdoch - Priority is academics and delivery to all students. Biggest difference at Wright has been small class sizes and great teachers. Oppose cutting position at Wright. Do not want to lose diversity. Oppose larger class sizes at Lincoln. Need remodel at Leopold - poorly set up. Silly to go to referendum for that; belongs in the operating budget.
Tracy Bredeson - Stop making the Leopold overcrowding a political issue. Put remodeling in the next district budget. Listed advantages to having the multipurpose room. Retain SAGE K-3, get activities out of the hallway. Stop making it "them vs. us"; save your energy for larger issues of growth and building.
Mary O'Connell - Keep the Leopold addition in the budget. Building needs to keep up with the needs of the community and the children. Community has grown, needs have changed. The building needs to keep up. Keep the addition in the budget. Give the school what it needs.
Nan Youngerman - Concerned about the proposal to cut funding to Spring Harbor. In the best of times, the small student population reduces flexibility to some degree and prevents offering some electives. Currently operating at a bare bones allocation and United Arts curriculum. Further cuts will impact students directly and deeply. Listed concerns in a written statement.
Semedin Rumishi - Parents are in support of keeping Albanian BRS. Believe success for children is directly related to this resource. Do not see as a reasonable cut. Children need support in the classroom. Please reconsider support for the Albanian BRS.
Sandy Meuer - Why does the district have to keep cutting programs for children? Seen a multitude of different programs. Will look at budget item-for-item for alternative areas to cut. Do not support cuts at Spring Harbor. The overcrowding at Leopold is not fair. Have been here too many times saying the same thing. Cuts hurt children, parents, and staff. Take a realistic look. Cuts make a huge impact.
Anu Rangaswamy - The Connect Program at Memorial is a phenomenal program. Students are referred by other teachers; they are failing core classes. Are teaching skills to become successful students. There is high attendance, students graduate on time. Often hear that they would not otherwise have graduated. Think about the academic impact of the program and what it is doing to narrow the achievement gap. Without it, will see a substantial increase in retention, particularly for minority students.
Pat Calchina - Students in the Connect Program receive no other services. Students will fall through the cracks without the program. Many intangibles. Kids in the program begin to see themselves as students and believe they can make it. Classes are getting bigger, mostly low-income kids of color. Something we need to address.
Lawrie Kobza - In spite of allocation cut, some schools would still run the program. Requested greater detail on continuation plans.
Dan Dexter - Granddaughter has blossomed at Spring Harbor, bringing great joy. The physical plant is limited; don't have flexibility to adjust. Great esprit de corps among teachers. Try to distinguish between cuts to the budget and cuts to the heart.
Janet Morrow - Keep Leopold remodeling funding in the operating budget. Sometimes there is a critical program that affects only a few but in profound ways. May be politically popular to protect the most (which translates to most votes) but some things are critically important to the health of the whole district. It is politically risky to do what is right. Need to choose carefully and let votes fall where they may. Madison values all children.
Dr. Paul Grossberg - There is a reason that Spring Harbor is small. There is an unbelievable environment and staff do an outstanding job. So many families try to get it. Reduction in staff will mean losing life blood, essential parts. Development is a challenge in itself. If take away these really critical positions, will have a dysfunctional school. Spring Harbor is a wonderful school that provides a unique training for the leaders of tomorrow.
Carol Carstensen - None of us would make any cuts if there was a choice. Faced with very specific revenue caps that limit what can be spent. Trying to defend what is most critical. Choices we make are the lesser of the bad; nothing will be good.
Written Registrations:
2 - In support of keeping the Leopold addition in the budget
3 - In support of increasing the psychologist allocation
1 - In support of the Connect Program
22 - In support of discretionary allocations at Spring Harbor and Wright
3 - In support of a district garbage truck
1 - In support of the Kajsiab House proposal
1 - In support of the Albanian BRS position
1 - Listening and learning the process
5. Other Business
There was no other business.
6. Adjournment
It was moved by Ruth Robarts and seconded by Shwaw Vang to adjourn the meeting at 8:57 p.m. Motion unanimously carried.
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