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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 March 28, 2007 |
Doyle Administration Building 545 West Dayton Street, Auditorium Madison, Wisconsin |
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Special Meeting of the Board of Education was called to order by President Johnny Winston, Jr. at 6:39 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carol Carstensen, Lawrie Kobza, Lucy Mathiak, Ruth Robarts, Arlene Silveira, Shwaw Vang (arrived 6:43 p.m.), Johnny Winston, Jr.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Jacinth Sohi (arrived 7 p.m. and left 7:45 p.m.)
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Mary Gulbrandsen, Steve Hartley, Pam Nash, Roger Price, Joe Quick, Art Rainwater, Marcia Standiford, Ann Wilson-Recording Secretary, Luis Yudice
(Written material provided in advance for items 1, 2 and 3: Co-op Boys Swimming and Girls Hockey Funding Report - attached to the original of these minutes.)
1. It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Ruth Robarts to approve a Cooperative Team Sponsorship for Girls Hockey for the school year 2007-08 for Memorial, West, Middleton-Cross Plains, Monona Grove, Verona and Edgewood High Schools with the directive that no Madison School District funds, except gate receipts and participation fees, shall be expended to support this Cooperative Team Sponsorship and all external funding must be on deposit before the start of the school year. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
2. It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Ruth Robarts to approve a Cooperative Team Sponsorship for Girls Hockey for the school year 2007-08 for Madison East, La Follette, Sun Prairie, and Waunakee High Schools with the directive that no Madison School District funds, except gate receipts and participation fees, shall be expended to support this Cooperative Team Sponsorship and all external funding must be on deposit before the start of the school year. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
3. It was moved by Lawrie Kobza and seconded by Carol Carstensen that the Cooperative Team Sponsorship for Boys Swimming for La Follette and Sun Prairie High Schools be retained for the 2007-08 swim season with the requirement that the two high schools share equally all the costs related to this cooperative team sponsorship. Motion unanimously carried by those present.
Shwaw Vang arrived at this point.
4. Public Hearing regarding Ideas A, B, C, and G to Consolidate and CloseSchoolsand Move Students.
(Written material provided in advance: Appendix 1 with Ideas A through G - attached to the original copy of these minutes.)
Jenny Rjn (student) - Read a letter she wrote listing reasons why she loves Sherman and would not like to go to other schools. Noted Sherman scores are going up, has a diverse student population, she loves spending time with her teachers, and that the district recently spent money to upgrade the school.
Evan Gross (student) - Has a younger sister at Sherman. She will have to get used to a new school, to a new way of learning. Team teaching at Sherman is unique and works well for many students. The students who currently are not happy at Sherman will create problems somewhere else. Problems will increase at other schools because kids will be clumped together who do not like each other. He liked many of his teachers at Sherman, connected with many of them. Loved the exploratory teachers.
Niva and Becky (students) - Have great memories of Sherman. Students will have a hard time adjusting to a new school. Sherman is like a family. If the teams are split up in different ways, they will never see each other again. Sixth and seventh graders should be able to finish their middle years at Sherman.
Greta Johnson (student) - Gompers student who would like to keep Black Hawk open. Wants to know all the kids in her class. Don't want to be by kids who smoke.
Katelyn Bullis (student) - Sherman and O'Keeffe kids do not get along; important for the Board to know about that rivalry. However, any kids transferring to Sherman would feel safe and comfortable. She addressed pros and cons for Plan B; hopes that Plan B will stay off the table. Under Plan G, would hate to see her current classmates not have an eighth grade year at Sherman. Sherman is one giant family. Give the seventh graders the chance to finish at Sherman.
Jenna Litscher (student) - Sherman is like a community. There are many special things going on there, like teams, appreciation for the differences of others. Students are comfortable with everyone. Closing would be like tearing apart a family.
Kaitlin O'Donohur and Sabrina Resnick (students) - Why close a school that worked so long to build community? Have been so many experiences to be a part of. Have great relationship with teachers. Would be a shame to tear students and teachers apart. Why take students away from a safe place, change their entire lives as pre-teens, require adjusting to a new environment, make middle school exploratory a bad experience, introduce a long bus ride?
Tabitha Mackenzie and Tammy Nelson (students) - Can walk to school now, would have to take the bus. Can do many cool things at school now, want to keep friends, want to keep great teachers.
Molly Riedemann (student)- "People and not the building make the community" is not completely true. People make the building look and feel good and that makes the community stronger. If you move new kids in, none of their work will be there. None of the things kids bring that make the school nice is there. If students move to another school, their artwork is not there. Students worked together to make those things. That's a part of our community as much as people are.
Allyson Pochant (student) - Worried about her education, wants to go to college and get a good job. Has already been to four different schools. Kids feel safe at Sherman and it feels like home. Shared positive things about Sherman. Why do all the alternative programs have to be in one place? Why shut down a school you just fixed up? Why move students all because of piece of green paper?
Jessi Havens (student) - Consolidation equals disaster. You should care about what I think; I am the one going to school. Schools should stick together, not fight about different plans. Smokers outside Sherman are not middle school kids. There is a Sherman - O'Keeffe rivalry. Test scores are going up at Sherman. Sherman is like a family; people caring for each other.
Ellen Bartelt (student) - Sherman is a great school. Like the teacher teams; all work together as a community. Try to get along at school, just like in your family. Will have a really long bus ride from O'Keeffe. People can no longer walk. Scores go up every year at Sherman. In the end, the plan may not work and would have to be scratched anyway.
Rakeisha Nash (student)- Will be hard to transfer to another school, one year before making another transfer to high school. O'Keeffe and Sherman students don't get along; will be a difficult transition. Mom wants to be a Sherman parent; loves the students and staff respect each other and communicate with one another. Has a diverse population; feels part of her community. Students are thinking about how this change will affect their lives. Larger class sizes will result in more disrespect and less time with teachers; will compromise the quality of education. The plans being presented are not the best plans. (Submitted written statement - attached to the original of these minutes.)
Grant Andrew, William Brown (students) - Will submit their ideas, and they will not have these bad outcomes. Provided ideas for saving or generating funds like requiring payment for distribution of flyers, seeking donations from wealthy companies, discontinue WPS health insurance for teachers, visiting other district to see where they are successful, less bus stops, and selling the Doyle building.
Doug Riedemann (student) - Had looked forward to attending school at Black Hawk.
Disa Lee Carneal (former Shabazz student) - Noted that a group of students would be speaking, all addressing experiences at Shabazz and how consolidation would affect them. Dropping out costs money; good to keep students in school. There is a 2-1 payoff for adequate funding of education. Consolidating/closing would affect people all across the district. Not opposed to sharing space, but change of administration would be drastic. Service learning is a wonderful way of learning that benefits students and community. If Shabazz were to lose a full time core principal, it would be virtually impossible to continue the school as it is. Shabazz is a highly effective school.
Julie Walsh (former Shabazz student) - Read a letter from another graduate. Shabazz graduates continue to care deeply for their school. It would not be half the institution it is today if administrative support were cut in half; if the principal had to share time with other schools or be reduced to half time. Please let the school remain as it is so future students can get as much out of it as he did.
Curran Smith (former Shabazz student) - Come with a feeling of bitterness and sorrow for the death of a great institution. Teachers saved him and other students. He is now a pre-med student and appreciates all his teachers did for him. Larger class sizes won't work. He is only one voice, but if he can change only one perception, it is worth it. Hopes the choice to go to Shabazz continues; let teachers continue to practice their arts.
James Schoenemann (former Shabazz student) - Would never have received a diploma it if had not been for Shabazz. Talked about what he learned from teachers there. Saved his life, he wants to save the life of the school. Please consider student, staff and community lives when making decisions about Shabazz.
Neil Goodman (former Shabazz student) - Without Shabazz, would not be where I am today. Prevent Shabazz autonomy from being destroyed. Realize there is a financial crisis, but do not understand how proposals could be solutions. Picture is incomplete without the experiences and lives of every Shabazz student. Students already fall through the cracks; do not ignore them now. Has to be a solution that considers the humanity it deserves. Do not disrupt Shabazz teachers or administrators in any way.
Gay Thomas - Plan is costly, short-sighted. Need to consider other costs when talking about consolidation and closing, like the cost of losing teacher teams, of teacher retraining, the cost of the loss of children's educational experiences, increased transportation, costs to later re-open schools, to retrofit schools for another population, the cost of moving programs. There must be smarter, better, less costly ways to save money.
David Cohen - Look at the present. Lindbergh is a lynch-pin school, in proximity to under-served populations. Students will suffer greatly if they are moved. There were no Hmong families present at the meeting at Black Hawk. The poverty rate at Gompers is climbing. In 3-5 years, it will have the same poverty rate as Mendota, but will be twice the size. There will be white flight. There will be safety issues at Gompers because of more students; literally dangerous situation when students are being transported. Black Hawk has seen four principals in four years. Mary Kelley is there now and the school is on the right path. People fled from Sherman; do not want to see that happen. Consider where else cuts might be made. Hold on as long as you can. Let people decide if they want a referendum.
Cliff Fisher - Young families are moving back to the downtown because they can afford to live there - Marquette/Lapham areas. Infrastructure is already there. Families in other areas (west side) are willing to travel to schools - are not locating because of where their children go to school. His properties (developer) provide over $3 million in property taxes. People make choices to buy near schools; schools make the neighborhood.
Matt Calvert - Supports a referendum. Hear blaming and resentment, see finger-pointing; dangerous things for a community. We are a community that wants to support all students. Let the voters decide. Work to maintain and strengthen; build toward a higher vision.
Joan Papke - Supports the statements made by former Shabazz students. Students have a future because of the principal and teachers at Shabazz. Please do not change the administration and teacher make-up. It is imperative to students' lives.
Don White - Opposes Plan G specifically and school closings in general. Black Hawk educational accomplishments are amazing, the geography fits the school, changing schools is traumatic for students. Proposals are many and not logical for the long range. Closing any school should be the latest possible consideration; is more a disruption than needed to achieve the budget goals. Plan G is the worst of all plans being considered.
Laura Chastain - Plans for Lapham/Marquette are short-sighted, ill advised, opposed. Were found to be impractical and harmful last year. Based on false ideas. Against mega-schools. Need a reasonable long range plan. Submitted written statement (attached to the original copy of these minutes).
Dennis Granzen - Sherman has gone from challenged to unified to proud of itself. All children benefit from the inclusive environment. Has a unique character of inclusion with valued and contributing members. It can serve as a model. That experiment, knowledge would be lost if the school is closed. Would be an irretrievable loss.
Anna Wagner - Was a student teacher at Sherman. Now understand what terms that she learned about really mean - fully inclusive environment, full inclusion, cooperative learning, classroom management, differentiated instruction; they are no longer words in a textbook. She now knows what good teaching is all about.
Chris Lowrey - All schools needs to stay open. Ask parents and teachers about what they think can be cut from the budget. Form committees; do this city-wide. Let parents figure out how to keep schools open. Why take quality of education away? Let us balance the budget. It's our budget, our kids; we have a right to try.
There was a break from 8:02-8:12 p.m.
Jennifer Pressman - Opposed to closing or consolidation of a neighborhood school. Moved because of the quality location and size of schools. Seeing a painful echo of what happened in Baltimore. Setting Madison on the course of a dying school system. Every year there are serious deficits, there is clearly a need for long range planning and an end to spending caps. Closing is not worth the projected savings; has more consequences than you know. Schools are neighborhood anchors, successful and high performing, role models for what our school system should be about. They should be emulated, no closed or consolidated.
Josh Day - Disappointed with the vote for no referendum. A referendum is the only long term response to the deficit. How far will our schools be degraded, how much longer will we allow the state of Wisconsin to continue to degrade schools? The last efficiencies were found several million dollars ago. Lead us, do not divide us by closing schools. We will be faced with new deficits every year. Don't do permanent damage to the school system. Property values are tied to schools. Don't begin the battle by punching people in the face.
David Panofsky - The quality and location of the neighborhood school played a role in staying in Madison. The pending decisions are terribly difficult; there are children who will suffer. None of the proposals provide long term savings. There are costs not included - dismantling, re-opening, un-consolidating later. Start by cutting athletics in its entirety. An athletics referendum will pass. Maintain small class sizes. Support neighborhood schools. Celebrate the success of schools - do not consolidate. The board needs to come up with an alternative that wakes the city up. Submitted written statement (attached to the original copy of these minutes.)
Andy Swartz - Difficult to put a value on functional teaching teams and good schools and to keep that in the decisions equation. Be as creative as possible in looking for savings - save on water bills. Get through this budget cycle - do a better job of spending the money you do have.
Kristin Sage - Was told and waited to get to Marquette where son's (TAG) needs would be met. If close Marquette, his access to resources will be cut. Seemed like the place where his needs would be met. Think of consolidating as a last resort. Think of ways to be creative; subsidize the budget. The affects are farther-reaching than the budget.
Judith Utevsky - Saw devastation of educational programs in California. Going down that same path with revenue caps and annual shortfalls. Will lose essential services if schools are closed. People want those beautiful buildings for their little kids. Will lose team building - all will be a loss. Support neighborhood schools, quality schools, public schools. Keep all schools open.
Adam Cuern, Rebecca Kemble - Submitted written statement (attached to the original copy of these minutes). Supported taking school closure off the table in budget deliberations.
Sue Arneson - Oppose consolidation and consolidating Marquette/Lapham. Don't like pitting neighborhoods against each other. Things are really coming together for the east side. Real shame to implement plan with long term effects; doesn't make sense. Take closing/consolidation proposals off the table. Keep the east side schools strong for all of us.
Mike Engel - Marquette Neighborhood Association is having success with developers and attracting families. More young families will continue to come and want their children to go to a small school. This is self and not selfish. Care deeply about the community, schools are an integral part of that. Look beyond the dollars and cents. Hope you find more creative ways to balance the budget.
Felice Borisy-Rudin - Look at the school system as a whole. Support east siders very strongly; all need neighborhood schools. Schools are hearts of the community. Have a gem; hate to see that shattered. Have to maintain quality. Keep the small learning community that works. Heart of the city should be in the center and near sides; those should be vibrant before growing.
Becky Abel - Opposes changes at Marquette/O'Keeffe - Don't ever want to leave the neighborhood; neighbors devoted to making the community strong. Children receive a really great education. Have always voted for everything for the schools. For the first time, wish I could take back my support of the last referendum if that precludes a referendum on this issue. Plans are short-sighted, moving way too fast. Kids are the ones impacted. Consider not closing any schools.
Julie Olson - Need the help of the Board of Education to lead citizens to organize and repeal the revenue caps and fund special education. Child is soaring with the resources she is receiving; with cuts will receive less. Schools with high poverty will be hit the hardest, specials classes will be increased. Goes against best practices, as do big-box schools, cutting SAGE. Children deserve the best we can give to them.
Shari Entenmann - Previously asked the Board to commit to downtown schools, considering details and keep the process open with community involvement. Asking in addition that irrevocable cuts not be made to neighborhood schools to meet budget shortfalls and to apply the same philosophy and attitude to consolidating and closing schools as we applied to the most recent referendum - analysis and preparation have not been completed. Go to referendum so kids can continue to have schools in their neighborhoods. We are a passionate community that strongly supports public education.
Jim Dunn - Board is missing the opportunity to be a community. He's looking at a school falling apart, in a struggle to survive, in a state of chaos. The teachers are in trouble and need your leadership. Resources are gone. Teachers feel alone in the classroom with a diverse population and very little support. Class size has grown, team teaching allocation decreased. Pupil support staff is difficult to obtain and services are minimal. Increasing class size will create a very large, needy building with not enough support.
Dan Seybold - Interested in healthy cities. Disappointed that the proposal to go to referendum was rejected. Voted no for past referendum, but it was not a vote against education. Now considering cuts in programs. Transportation discussions should have been raised earlier. Now, with referendum not possible, will not have a chance to vote yes. The Board has not yet asked the community for money for programs. Noted the Board put off referendum testimony until March 28 and then voted on the referendum before that date.
Gavin Langhammer - Would like a second chance to vote yes on a referendum. Did not know at the time of the last referendum what he knows now. Son has received a top notch education. Where is the option/plan for not closing schools? Protests closing any schools. Would get a much different turnout (yes vote for referendum) than for the last. Board should not accept anything less than the standards we expect.
Tom Bauman - Fears a shortsighted plan that tears apart a community; tears down what parents, teachers and kids have built at their schools. Closing schools and consolidation is unacceptable. Disappointed that a referendum is not an option.
Brooke Chase Soltvedt - Shabazz saved her son's life. Didn't save everyone's. Unique combination of programs that have to succeed in spite of the district. Do amazing things. They will lose if forced to operate with half a principal, half a secretary and a building with an even higher concentration of troubled students. Please do not cripple their efforts.
Louise Latterell - Students will be coming to O'Keeffe/Marquette. As a family physician, sees how closings/consolidation will have health costs. Middle school years are a time when students get lost - self esteem, anxiety. From health perspective, can't see how children will succeed at a large middle school. Need to come together as a community and develop long term plans. Saw the bad results at her clinic when they consolidated. Supports referendum; willing to pay more taxes if that's what it takes.
Erin Crawley - Opposed to closing any schools. Questions why teachers at Marquette/Lapham are not allowed to meet on school property to talk about proposals. They can't wear buttons or tee-shirts and are told to re-direct student conversations in the classroom away from the topic. Students have the right to talk with their teachers. Teachers have the right to talk about work in their work space.
Art Rainwater clarified that board policy governs the political activity of staff members during the working day. During the working day, teachers can respond to student questions by providing factual information and can facilitate discussion, but are not able to promote any side of an issue.
Susan Sachsenmaier - Today, schools are primary institutions, teaching all kinds of skills. Public has given more and more trust to schools. Schools have become a large umbrella family, and function like a family. Parents expect schools to be alike a family, appreciate a place where everyone knows each other. When you break families, you destroy lives. Our schools are a wheel not broken; don't break families apart.
Bert Zipperer - Need to have the moral and political courage to go to referendum for the short term and to the state capitol with city leaders to create school funding reform. Has seen this possibility coming for ten years - have been cutting our investment and our return on investment. We know what has been cut, what is gone. Takes years to create community. Need a referendum and the hope that it brings. Need state leadership. Need SAGE.
Tina Murray - Shared statistics about staff cuts at Shabazz. Have been cuts over the years. Graduation percentage at Shabazz is 98%. Please do not make cuts to Shabazz kids.
Mary Ann Willgrubs - Shared her experiences in finding out how multicultural Lindbergh is. Field trips, potlucks, tours - are all in three languages. Parents are involved and connected. They will not feel that way when they live farther away from the school. Consolidating and closing saves one percent for the district, but has a much larger negative impact on families.
Written Registrations - 100 people were generally opposed to some or all plans for school closing and consolidation, one person was opposed to increasing class size, one person registered in support of a referendum, one person was opposed to consolidating alternative programs.
Ruth Robarts and Carol Carstensen expressed concern about the timing of budget decisions. Johnny Winston noted that he and Lawrie Kobza would be meeting with administration tomorrow to review the calendar and set meeting dates. He asked that Board members provide any additional ideas or make requests for analysis as soon as possible.
Art Rainwater noted the budget would be ready by the end of next week. Board members will be able to access it electronically via PDF file.
5. Adjournment
It was moved by Ruth Robarts and seconded by Carol Carstensen to adjourn the meeting at 9:49 p.m. Motion unanimously carried.
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