Summary of Regular Board Meeting Held on February 5, 2001

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

Memorial High School teacher Victor Levine was recognized and honored for receiving the 2000 Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching by the Mathematics Association of America.

School Community Partners in the At Home in Madison Program were recognized. Key partners Jim Bradley and Roberta Gassman of Home Savings and Kevin King of the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin commented on how the program has benefitted their organizations.

Public Appearances

There were no public appearances.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Williams announced:

• In January, Madison students joined students from other districts in a rally and information exchange to raise awareness of the impact of state revenue limits. Student Senate Legislative Committee chair Sandra Sulzer led the Madison contingent.
• The MMSD earned a Gold Medal rating (scored 144 out of 150) in Expansion Management Magazine's annual evaluation of secondary school districts. This year, 2,234 districts were reviewed. The rating is based on graduation rates, college board results and the community's financial commitment to education.
• The DPI report of the fourth year of SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) continues to reflect improved student progress in SAGE classrooms. This year's report also took a closer look at teaching practices.
• The Wisconsin Community Education Association and DPI are sponsoring the 22nd Intensive Community Education Training at the National Center for Community Education in April in Flint, Michigan. The DPI website has information for anyone interested in participating.

Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• East High School Reading Specialist Doug Buehl is the author of a nationally-known text, Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Published by the International Reading Association, it has become a valuable resource for teachers and was featured in a recent issue of Reading Today.
• Falk teacher Jeff Maas has been selected as a Carnegie Scholar. During the next 18 months, he and his fellow scholars will be resarching their teaching practices and developing products to make significant contributions to the knowledge base about teaching and learning.
• Observatory Director Ben Senson was honored by the Madison Civics Club for his outstanding work in astronomy education, along with his former student Memorial senior Joanna Storm and a local space research company, Orbitek. Mr. Senson is also the host of this month's MMSD cable 10 show, Making the Grade.
• Lake View Elementary parents and teachers were awarded a grant by the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission to sponsor poet Fabu Mogaka as an Artist-in-Residence.
• Parents at Randall Elementary and Principal Peg Hamele are working to create a Parents On The Playground program.
• Leopold Title 1 Coordinator Ellen McGaughey and Principal Mary Hyde are providing parents of 27 students with a video record of their child's reading progress at three different points in the year. The program is being studied as a model for other schools in the district.
• Memorial students Erin Rasmussen, Maite Oyarbide-Sanchez and Abe Sober will perform with the National Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in New York City in May. Congratulations to these students and their teacher, band director Paul Ulrich.
• Data collected on the impact of the Summer Reading Academy indicates that the program piloted last summer is preventing low income students from falling behind in their reading skills over the summer. Parents and teachers indicated strong support. Rita Applebaum spearheaded the project and worked with Principals Deb Mercier, Linda Kailin and Jenny Allen.
• Director of Building Services Doug Pearson reports that the district now realizes a savings of approximately $18,000 a month on heating costs because of a switch from natural gas heat to fuel oil in eight schools and district properties.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee adoptions were approved. The budget was approved supporting the recommendations and course offerings for the 2001 summer school program as presented in committee on January 22, 2001 with provisions for proactively including homeless students in the program. In February, the committee will meet with the NAACP Education Committee and to discuss graduation and promotion policies.

Finance and Operations: The committee will meet in February to review five year budget projections and hear reports on Food Services and the Contract Compliance Plan.

Human Resources: Human Resources Policy 7.08, Effect on Compensation of Changes in Status for Administrative Staff, was approved. The committee approved a resolution in support of redefining a position in the district for an educator whose goals are to improve the academic achievement, emotional security, and personal acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning students and staff.

Long Range Planning: Grandfathering options will be offered for incoming fifth grade students as indicated on Appendix CCC-8-6 and for current students, regardless of grade, in the Optional Area of Falk Elementary School. Transportation was authorized for those eligible students who are grandfathered as a result of the January 22, 2001 boundary changes. Action was taken in special session to approve boundary changes related to the East, West and Memorial attendance areas.

Partnerships: A meeting will be scheduled to discuss goals, objectives, and agenda items for future meetings.

Legislative: Report on a January 24th hearing at the State Capitol on revenue limits and issues, particularly special education. The committee will meet in early March after the state budget is introduced on February 20. A new state superintendent will be elected on April 3.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim bills and school building fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: No items.

Transfers: No items.

Other Financial Transactions: The 2000-2001 budget was increased to support the development of a website and the purchase of computer software and hardware for Wright Middle School and the 2000-2001 Capital Projects Fund budget was increased to support the underground storage tank management program. All donations and grants received since January 8, 2001 were approved.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All transactions and reports were approved.

Reports to the Board:

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: Homelessness was the topic of discussion the last time the committee met. The Common Council is holding a series of meetings this week about this issue. The committee may revisit the subject after these meetings.

Other Business:

A resolution was approved relative to an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for the provision of the Youth Apprenticeship and School To Work programs. A resolution was approved ordering territory that includes the property formerly known as the Nakoma Plaza property detached from the MMSD and attached to the Verona School District pursuant to Wis. Stats. Board Policy 5111 was modified as presented in an appendix. Two claims were referred to the district's insurer for investigation and recommendation. Ten students were granted diplomas of graduation.

Old and New Business: Bill Keys reported on the WASB Convention and results of voting on Resolutions. Carol Carstensen updated on discussions about scheduling regular meetings of representatives of Dane County Boards of Education, similar to the meetings held by Dane County Superintendents. Juan Lopez thanked Reading Recovery Teachers for the fine job they are doing. Ruth Robarts noted in March the Performance and Achievement Committee will review programs like Reading Recovery and allocations. Joann Elder commended West High School cast and crew for their performance of Fiddler On The Roof.

(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