Summary of Regular Board Meeting Held on April 3, 2000

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

Spring Harbor students Jon Hardin, Heidi Huang, Allison Smith, Michael Schultz and Zachary Millis participated in NASA's Earth Kam project. Science teacher Jim Kotiski's students collected data, conducted research, and interacted electronically with the space shuttle Endeavor. The students gave a computer-assisted presentation on their research of river deltas around the world with pictures from the Earth Kam.

Public Appearances

Three speakers addressed issues at Hawthorne School - space needs, open classroam program, and SAGE. There were five written registrations concerning space issues at Hawthorne. A Memorial student made a presentation on student rights. An Urban League of Greater Madison representative spoke about the graduation rate of students of color and the district's need to reach out to organizations to collaborate on this problem.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mrs. Carstensen announced:

• Glendale, Mendota and Midvale schools presented in Milwaukee at the SAGE conference on March 7 attended by over 1100 parents and educators. Glendale's presentation was on staff development, Mendota discussed the lighted schoolhouse concept, and Midvale addressed the need for academic accountability.
• six Madison elementary schools were honored by Transitional Housing Inc. for their work in helping Madison's homeless families through their pennies campaign. Schools honored were Huegel, Kennedy, Lapham, Lowell and Orchard Ridge.
• the Special Education Coalition continues to push for a legislative study of special education issues including funding. Both the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly Education Committees made requests to the Joint Legislative Council to approve a study.
• the spring board election will be held April 4.
• Shabazz has a very impressive program for taking old, donated computers and reworking them to give to families and centers in the community.
• East High Fine Arts week programs.
• a reminder to fill out census forms.

Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• the Jefferson Middle School Math Counts team finished first in the state competition and will travel to Washington DC in May to participate in the national competition. Po-Ling Loh finished #1 in the state.
• six Elvehjem students received honorable mention in Exploravision, a national competition sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teacher Association. Parent volunteers were Karen Staebell and Joy Larson.
• the West High Chess Team won the state championship and qualified for national competition. Coaches are West teacher Mike Lyman and parent volunteer Frank Schneeberger.
• at the annual recognition ceremony, 22 staff, students and citizens were awarded Distinguished Service Awards or became Kohl nominees.
• Anne Nolan was named principal at Whitehorse Middle School where she has been interim principal since August.
• the Sin Fronteras exhibit will be opening at the Madison Children's Museum until April 30 and then return to the schools.
• VH1 Save-The-Music Foundation and Charter Communications donated $100,000 to four elementary schools for the purchase of electronic keyboards.
• Lake View Elementary held a School Literacy Day on March 9 focusing on the importance of reading.
• on April 2, Lindbergh Elementary hosted and was the benefactor of the second annual Outreach To Teach Project sponsored by the Wisconsin Education Association's student group. More than 100 students preparing for careers in education volunteered their time at Lindbergh to learn more about teaching and to better understand the impact of working under state imposed revenue caps.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Selection of Program Materials Committee adoptions were approved. Ruth Robarts reported the main charge to the committee is the three priorities adopted by the Board. On May 22, the committee will discuss a proposed process for selection of program material and a process to have regular reports to the Board on the three priorities. The community is invited to two public hearings that will address two concerns: what the community is seeing as being accomplished on the priorities and what educational priorities the community has for the budget. The Superintendent noted that at the time the SAGE presentation was made, it was pointed out that money for SAGE is specific to each school. The recommendation was made to provide SAGE to every school possible or the money would have to be returned to the state.

Finance and Operations: Purchase was approved of a rooftop air-handling unit for Whitehorse and a bid was accepted for playground equipment at Lapham Elementary. A proposal for an integrated electronic purchasing process for art supplies was accepted. Juan José López reported the committee discussed the Doyle Building/Pflaum Road remodeling project, made a decision on the special education transportation contract and received an update on changes in Food Service. Future topics are budget related issues.

Human Resources: Mr. Allen had no report.

Long Range Planning: Deborah Lawson had no report but noted a new chair would be appointed to take her place and she recommended Ray Allen.

Partnerships: Calvin Williams had no report.

Legislative: Joann Elder reported the committee will receive a legislative wrap-up session.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim bills were paid. There were no School Building Fund bills.

Purchasing: Bids were awarded for portable radios for the Security Department and for testing materials for the Educational Services Department.

Transfers: There were no transfers.

Other Financial Transactions: All donations and grants received since March 6, 2000 were approved. The 1999-2000 budget was increased to support playground renovation at Sandburg with funding from the Sandburg Parent-Teacher Association.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All transactions and reports were approved.

Reports to the Board:

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: Deborah Lawson had no report.

Other Business:

Five students were granted diplomas of graduation. Fourteen students were excused from school attendance for the purpose of allowing them to enroll in programs for high school equivalency diplomas. A quit claim deed was authorized to exchange parcels for the Cross Country school building site.

Old and New Business: Mrs. Carstensen acknowledged this meeting as the final formal board meeting for Deborah Lawson. She will continue to serve until her term is up on April 24. Ms. Lawson was presented a certificate of commendation from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

(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