Summary of Regular Board Meeting Held on May 3, 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

Condolences were expressed to the family of Betty Franklin-Hammonds. Grief was expressed for the student deaths in Littleton, Colorado. MMSD crisis plans were reviewed for emergency situations.

VISTA volunteers were recognized for their efforts to help elementary students receive training and support in learning to read. Dr. William Bartlett was honored for his commitment as a team physician for every LaFollette High school team since 1963. A commemorative plaque was presented in appreciation for his numerous contributions in time and financial support for athletic programs and training facilities.

Oath of Office and Elections: Carol Carstensen and Calvin Williams took the official Oath of Elected School Board Members. Their terms run until April 22, 2002. Carol Carstensen was elected President, Calvin Williams - Vice President, Ray Allen - Clerk, Deborah Lawson - Treasurer, and Art Rainwater was elected Secretary.

Public Appearances

There were 22 speakers in opposition to cuts in specials teacher allocation. One person spoke in opposition to cuts to Family Community Liaison positions and RISE funds, one person noted the need for providing more information when proposing budget cuts, and one student spoke in support of the REACH program experience. Written registrations: 62 in opposition to proposed reduction in specials allocations, one in support of keeping parent liaisons in the budget.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mrs. Carstensen announced:

committee chairs and board assignments to community committees will remain the same as last year.
the open forum session with board members is scheduled May 13 with the proposed budget as the suggested topic.
she and Deborah Lawson participated in Lincoln's Arbor Day celebration.
the district received a $100,000 grant from the TECH Board that will be used to employ instructional technology to help students reach state and local performance standards for writing.
Glendale Elementary's Deaf and Hard of Hearing program received a grant of $975 from the Ameritec Pioneers to fund equipment and camping for students.
Falk teacher Terry Allbaugh, Huegel principal David Bray and Midvale teacher Rita Kehl were named as Fulbright Scholars and will travel to Japan for three weeks in June.
the district received from DPI a collaborative school reform grant that will allow the distict to extend and restructure a cutting-edge initiative that has demonstrated effective models for collaboration between classroom teachers and a wide variety of specials.

Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

Mike McCabe's resignation as Public Information Coordinator and his presentation to Madison Area School Business Officials about the district's website.
four students are Presidential Scholar Semi-Finalists: Susannah Camic of Memorial; Elisabeth Jones, Denise Kim, and Michael Wang of West.
nine students were selected to be All-State Scholars in Wisconsin's second congressional district: Allison Adelman, Denise Kim and Michael Wang of West; Eric Gruning, Elyse Lerum and Gabriel Moskoff of East; and Susannah Camic, Peter Chang and Jessica Pleuss of Memorial.
Memorial High School Design Drafting students nearly swept the UW Platteville Engineering Expo bridge building contest: Mark Hamblin (1st place), Jack Olson (2nd place), Paul Brehm (4th place) and Matt Rau (6th place). Their teacher is Myron Schuler.
Kennedy Elementary students raised over $3,000 that will be presented to the Red Cross to benefit children in Kosovo refugee camps.
Jefferson Middle School students raised more than $6,000 for the American Cancer Society on behalf of their Home-School Coordinator, Anne Fischer, who is receiving treatment for cancer.
for students at Glendale Elementary, Ameritech Network Services will fund the annual camping trip for deaf and hard of hearing students, books, and a video camera and tripod.
the Equity Diversity and Advocacy Department is offering the "Meet the Author Series" to promote reading as a family affair and to foster literacy with a multicultural focus.
Muir teachers Annie Kieth, Mary Bostrom, Sue Berthouex and Barb Wiesner received a 1999 Toyota-TIME grant for $10,000 to continue their Investigating Development in Early Algebra program.
West High Math Department Chair Mary Schroeder received the Distinguished Mathematics Educator Award at the Wisconsin Mathematics Council State Conference and the Distinguished Service Award for High School Teachers from the Board of Education earlier this year.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Recommendations from the Selection of Program Materials Committee were approved. The subcommittee met to hear a presentation from the elementary school principals on choices for reducing class size. A recommendation will be made to the full committee on May 24. More follow up was requested on implementation recommendations.

Budget and Finance: A bid was approved for electrical upgrade at Schenk Elementary School. The subcommittee met to discuss the $3.5 million deficit for the 1999-2000 budget. Meetings will be scheduled to discuss the budget and receive input from the community and staff. The subcommittee also met to discuss the Madison Schools 2000 Fund. They received preliminary results of the need and possibility of support for a fund to meet additional district needs.

Human Resources: The committee continues to meet on negotiations and agreed to extend the time frame before going to mediation for another week. Meetings are set for May and June.

Long Range Planning: The committee did not accept the subcommittee's recommendation to build a school in the southwest corner of the city. Administration was asked to develop an implementation plan that would describe a new school and investigate legal issues of building a school in the Allied Drive area that would be racially segregated.

Partnerships: The committee heard a proposal from Communities United to bring together practices from community-based organizations. Discussion about the proposal will continue.

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: The committee has not met but recommendations are currently being formulated by the city and school district regarding attendance.

Legislative: There have been joint lobbying opportunities regarding special education and lowering class sizes through SAGE. There has been a good turnout of teachers, administrators, parents and others at these events.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and Building Fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: None.

Transfers: None.

Other Financial Transactions: All donations and grants received since April 12, 1999 were approved.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All personnel items were approved.

Reports to the Board:

No reports.

Other Business:

Seven students were granted diplomas. Two changes were made to the Middleton/Madison Boundary Agreement. Twenty-nine students were excused from school attendance in order to enroll in high school equivalency diploma programs.

Old and New Business: Urban League Banquet. Women of Distinction luncheon including recognition of Nan Brien. Budget timeline is being developed and meetings scheduled. The Board's summer schedule is being developed and will include workshops.

(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