Summary of
Regular Board Meeting - March 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

Glendale Elementary School teachers Dawn Eternick (second grade) and Mazie Jenkins (CGI - Cognitively Guided Instruction math resource teacher) are teaching pre-algebra and pre-geometry lessons to second graders. They described their program and narrated a video depicting students working with some of their hands-on math materials.

Public Appearances

The state Vice-President of Chapter Development for DECA and Chapter President at Madison West High School thanked the Board for its support of DECA, an association of marketing students, and gave a short presentation describing the organization and the benefits of membership. A staff member and a student spoke in support of purchase of the Wide Area Network technology upgrade for the district. There were also two written registrations in support of the Wide Area Network.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mrs. Carstensen announced:

• Lindbergh Elementary School received a $4,000 grant from Ameritech to assist students, parents, staff and volunteers with the school's reading program and language skills.
• Hearing Impaired students will benefit from a $3,200 donation from the Madison Sertoma Club. An audiometer/tympanometer will be purchased and used to screen students from early childhood programs to high school.
• The Lapham School Garden was selected to receive a 1999 Youth Garden Grant from the National Gardening Association. They will receive more than $750 worth of tools, seeds, and useful garden products contributed by Ames Lawn & Garden Tools and 25 leading companies in the lawn and garden industry.
• The next session for talking with Board members is scheduled March 11 at Stephens Elementary School. Suggested topics are space and the implications for boundary changes and reductions in class size.
• Charles Stovall, a teacher in the district for over 25 years, will be leaving to live in another state and will be missed.
• The Celebration of Peace Benefit for the family of Shaina Davenport, sponsored by the Parent/Teacher groups of O'Keeffe, Marquette/Lapham and Lowell Schools, combined with the Marquette Neighborhood Association, was very successful and drew people from all levels of the community.

Interim Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• Fifty-one Madison high school students, the highest number in the district's history, qualified as Finalists for the 1999 National Merit Scholarship Awards.
• Centro Hispano of Dane County, Latinos for Change and Advancement and the District joined to present a special Spanish Language student-parent workshop on February 11th at Memorial High School.
• United Way was thanked for its special recognition of eight MMSD staff members who have trained over 450 tutors as part of the Schools of Hope Literacy and Math Gateways partnership. Teachers honored were Mary Beth Lewison, Eileen Kennedy, Linda McQuillen, Marlys Sloup, Margaret Jensen, Shawn Carstensen-Hays, Ellen McGaughey, and Barb Keresty.
• Alan Ginsberg, third grade teacher at Van Hise Elementary, was named Outstanding Elementary School Teacher by the Wisconsin Teacher Enhancement Program in Biology.
• Planners have completed drafting performance standards for three-five year olds, developed program quality indicators, and will complete an evaluation of the Four Year Old program by the end of the school year.
• Parents were encouraged to register their children for Kindergarten on March 15 so that decisions about staffing and the allocation of resources can be made well in advance of the beginning of the new school year.
• LaFollette teacher Terry Fargen gives quizzes via the Internet. PE-Central, the leading physical education website for teachers in the country, cited Terry's web page as a "best practice."

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Recommendations from the Selection of Program Materials Committee were approved. The Subcommittee is continuing to explore with administration how to achieve lower class size with existing staff and dollars. The administration's recommendations are expected March 17. In April, the Subcommittee will hear preliminary recommendations on the technology plan and will look at more specific ways to achieve the reading, math and attendance goals. The Subcommittee will report to the full Committee at scheduled intervals.

Budget and Finance: The Committee heard a report by the Grants and Funds Development Coordinator on growing the Madison Schools 2000 Fund. Another progress report is expected in early April and a final report in May. Another meeting will be scheduled to begin preliminary budget discussions.

A feasibility study will be conducted to assess the potential for successful private fundraising to expand and diversify the Madison Schools 2000 Fund. Bids were accepted for window replacement at Randall, and track and scroreboard replacement at Mansfield Stadium. Purchases were approved for two GMC pick-up trucks, a GMC van body, and a Ford cargo van.

Human Resources: Revisions were approved to Board Policy on Employment Policies for Administrators. Art Rainwater has been appointed as the permanent Superintendent. Negotiations began with Madison Teachers, Inc. The two parties have agreed that, if there is no agreement by May 1, 1999, they will submit to mediation and then on to arbitration by the end of May. The parties are determined to have the contract settled before the end of the school year.

Long Range Planning: Renovations were approved to Midvale Elementary School that would create additional classrooms to support the SAGE program. The Subcommittee is discussing boundary changes which would be necessary as class sizes are reduced. The administration is developing several boundary change scenarios. Full committee decisions are expected in April and a plan completed by the end of the school year. An ad hoc committee will then be formed to get community input prior to implementation during the 2000-01 school year.

Partnerships: Commitment was reaffirmed to partnership with the Dane County Sports Medicine Council to raise funds for capital remodeling or construction of new athletic training rooms for each of the high schools. Authority was given to name facilities in recognition of a major corporate or individual donor as outlined in a proposal.

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: A final report was received from the Youth Task Force and discussions continued about attendance and truancy issues.

Legislative: The committee is reviewing the Governor's budget, focusing on ways to reduce its impact on the district. The Day At The Capitol provided opportunity to speak with key legislators about unfunded special education mandates. There is opportunity for the public to receive and share information on legislative issues via the Internet.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and Building Fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: A two-year contract was awarded for cellular telephone equipment and services and Wide Area Network Service and Equipment was awarded pending notification of approval for E-rate discount service.

Transfers: Funds were transferred from the Reserve for Contingencies to support Contracted Educational Options for High School Equivalency Diploma programs.

Other Financial Transactions: All donations and grants received since February 1, 1999 were approved.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All personnel items were approved.

Reports to the Board:

There were no reports.

Other Business:

Fifty-four students were granted diplomas. Ninety-one students were excused from school attendance in order to enroll in high school equivalency diploma programs.

Old and New Business: The NAACP Image Awards will be televised the first week in March. A new Executive Director has been appointed for Centro Hispano. Review of the policy to have all committees appoint subcommittees of the whole was suggested as a future agenda item, perhaps for a Board Workshop.

(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: 1999-04-08 1:36PM