Summary of
Regular Board Meeting - February 1, 1999

Regular monthly meetings of the Board of Education are close captioned. They are shown again on Tuesday evenings with captions for those unable to watch on Monday evenings.

Recognition

Barb Spitz, Instructional Technologies Department, Huegel teacher Terri Hedges, and Toki sixth graders Kelly Sorensen and Andy Huemmer explained the web site they helped create called Weaving a Wisconsin Tapestry. The project grew out of the celebration of Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial and was so good that the Wisconsin State Historical Society requested permission to transfer it to its computer servers for permanent archiving and public display.

La Follette students Ame Hannemann, Christina Clark, Joe Gilchrist and Eric Hewitt explained what they have been learning in LaFollette's social dance gym class. They showed a video of a class and gave a demonstration of three dances. Teacher Terry Fargen also talked about the class and the wonderful experiences it provides for students.

Public Appearances

There were no public appearances.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mrs. Carstensen announced:

• the Special Meeting of the Board of Education scheduled for February 11 has been cancelled. The next "listening session" will be held March 11.
• Art Rainwater will be interviewed for the position of Superintendent on February 2 and the Board will make a hiring decision that evening.

Interim Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• a two-year evaluation of the SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) program indicates that students in classes with a ratio of 15-1 see significant gains in language arts and math compared with students in schools with larger classes. Glendale, Mendota and Midvale Elementary are Madison's SAGE schools.
• Pat Reisdorf (Teaching and Learning) and Marcia Fry (MSCR) are planning a M.A.D. Youth (Youth Making A Difference) Math Camp to be held at Wright Middle School in July. The program will provide fun while reinforcing math skills and preparing students for school next fall.
• MSCR will offer a Weight Training Class for high school students and adults at West High School during the summer. MSCR and the adult booster clubs at West and Memorial High Schools will co-sponsor open weight room programs free for students and $10 for the entire summer for adults.
• Jefferson Middle School teachers Nancy Howard, Steve Sprague, Daniel Takkunen and Michael Vena planned a Fifties Night as a culminating activity for a sixth grade history unit. Students dressed for the event, there was karoke music, and "Maid Rite" burgers and hotdogs were served. Throughout the unit, staff members shared memories of the music, families, race relations, sports and much more through videos, records and books.
• La Follette senior Adam Czerepinski has received a full tuition award to attend Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. Adam is the 20th student from LaFollette who has received a full music scholarship over the years.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Recommendations from the Selection of Program Materials Committee were approved. The possibilities of reducing class size will be explored and the process will begin through the Long Range Planning and Performance and Achievement Subcommittees.

The Subcommittee reviewed in January the Interim Superintendent's analysis of the impact of reducing class size in grades K-2 throughout the district. He has been asked to respond to a series of followup questions and will prepare scenarios for rearranging staff. The Subcommittee will go through a process similar to the one followed by the Long Range Planning Subcommittee in looking at school capacity issues before bringing a report to the full committee. On February 1, the Committee heard a report about Action Research from staff members including Cathy Caro-Bruce and Professor Ken Zeichner from the University of Wisconsin. The project has received national recognition and grants and is a component of the district's staff development program.

Budget and Finance: A Memorandum of Understanding was entered into with the Environmental Protection Agency to become an Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights Partner. The committee discussed this partnership in January. The agenda for the February 22 meeting is the Madison Schools 2000 Fund.

Human Resources: The 1998-2003 Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Plan was approved. Art Rainwater will be interviewed on February 2 for the position of Superintendent. A reception was held this week for newly hired teachers of color, some of whom have been students in the district.

Long Range Planning: The full committee has not met. The Subcommittee is awaiting information from the Registrar and will meet again on February 2.

Partnerships: A proposed Dane County Sports Medicine Group and middle school sports are scheduled for discussion on February 22.

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: The committee discussed truancy as it relates to the district identified goal of improving attendance. Police Department and district representatives talked about children's attitudes toward school and what could be done jointly to ensure that students attend school. Discussion will continue at the next meeting.

Legislative: The committee is in the early stages of reviewing issues related to items in the Governor's budget. Many policy decisions are represented in this document. Topics will include local control of School Boards and upcoming changes in special education funding. Citizens have the opportunity to receive information and provide input about legislative issues by using e-mail.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and Building Fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: There were no purchasing items.

Transfers: Funds were transferred from the Reserve for Contingencies for additional educational assistants, special education teachers and assistants, English as a Second Language teachers and Bilingual Resource Specialists in response to mid-year enrollment reviews. Funds were also transferred within the Human Resources Department budget to support an additional Sub Placement Clerk.

Other Financial Transactions: The 1998-99 budget was increased to support the purchase of computers for middle school library media centers and technology training for school district staff, parents, and community members. Source of funding is a grant from TEACH Wisconsin.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All personnel items were approved.

Reports to the Board:

Ruth Robarts reported on the Wisconsin Association of School Boards Delegate Assembly Meeting which she and Carol Carstensen attended.

Other Business:

Fourteen students were granted diplomas. In an agreement with the City of Madison, the Madison School Community Recreation Department will provide services for the Warner Park Community Recreation Center.

Old and New Business: None.

(A complete copy of these minutes is available from the Board of Education Office, 261-9000. This summary may have been published before the minutes were approved by the Board of Education. Please call to check on any changes.)

Regular Meeting Summaries

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Last Updated: 1999-02-04 10:29AM