Summary of Regular Board Meeting Held on June 4, 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

East High School Aviation Teacher Mike McArdle was presented an award by the Bureau of Aeronautics, Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Katie DeBroux, a January graduate of LaFollette High School, and Linsay Pruitt of Work and Learn and SAPAR, were honored for receiving the Herb Kohl Initiative Scholarship.

Memorial student David Mericle received a Volunteer of the Year Award presented by Prudential Insurance.

Public Appearances

One person spoke and two submitted written registrations in support of a recommendation to permit families of students completing fifth grade at Lincoln and living in the part of the Midvale attendance area currently assigned exclusively to Cherokee to have the option of either attending Cherokee or Hamilton.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Williams announced:

• The State Legislature's Joint Finance Committee has approved full funding for SAGE. The district will have 23 elementary schools in the program by the 2002-2003 school year.
• The Board of Education received two commendations for their work in providing safe environments for all students - one from the 2001 Gay Lesbian Straight Educational Network (GLSEN) and the second from Senator Russ Feingold.
• Parents, educators and citizens are encouraged to join in the statewide education rally at the State Capitol on June 13 to advocate for education provisions in the state budget.
• Approximately 1500 seniors will graduate from MMSD high schools this coming weekend.

Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• The Jefferson Team collected $8500 and held an all-school celebration of their success in the American Cancer Society's fund-raising efforts associated with the Run/Walk 2001. Six Jefferson faculty members are cancer survivors.
• The Ho-Chunk Family Tree was dedicated at Thoreau School. The installation of the sculpture transformed from the dying oak tree was the culminating event in a year-long project that integrated art, history and social studies. Native American artist Harry Whitehorse shared his family history and art with students during the process of creating the sculpture.
• Eight MMSD high school seniors are among 2500 students nationwide to be named National Merit Scholars. A record 56 students were named National Merit Semi-Finalists. Eight students are among those honored as All-State Scholars. Five seniors are among 500 semifinalists in the nationwide 2001 Presidential Scholars program.
• Joey Brown, Memorial, and Brian Wilson, West are the first Mann Scholars to graduate. They were awarded scholarships that provided ongoing financial and mentoring support to encourage them to enter post-secondary education. New Mann Scholars are Uriah Harris from Cherokee and Stephanie Osuocha from Sennett. Modeled after the Mann Program, new Sanchez Scholars for 2001 are Luz Miranda from Hamilton and Ulises Palacios of Sennett.
• Sherman Middle School Learning Coordinator Barbara Brodhagen is one of five recipients of the UW School of Education's Alumni Award.
• Daniela Porro, school counselor at Brearly Street Alternatives, has been awarded a scholarship to attend the College Board Summer Institute at Harvard University in June.
• As a result of the 2000-2002 contract negotiations with the Educational Assistants bargaining unit, the District and MTI agreed to establish a fund of $25,000 to pay for the tuition of EA unit members who want to return to school to become teachers. Five EAs will receive up to 45,000 each in tuition reimbursement during the coming school year.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee adoptions were approved. The committee will meet to hear a report on graduation and promotion policy. In previous action, the committee approved motions regarding the levels of mathematics and math curriculum at the high school level. A summer agenda item will be the DPI audit of the ESL/bilingual education program.

Finance and Operations: The administration may go forward with fund raising efforts for an east side stadium with Dr. John Olson as the coordinator and based on the criteria developed by the administration. Budget adjustments were approved for the Chavez construction/equipment budget. Funds were allocated from the equity reserve for the LaFollette Building Trades Class, to be paid back on a rolling basis, to support continuation of the project. Approval is contingent on regular reports and the demographics of participating students. The committee has reviewed the budget and held the first of two staff and public hearings. On June 14th, the Board will consider amendments proposed by the Board and administration, and it is anticipated the budget will be finalized on June 18. The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee did support SAGE funding.

Human Resources: No report.

Long Range Planning: Board policy will be changed to permit families of students completing fifth grade at Lincoln and living in the part of the Midvale Elementary attendance area currently assigned exclusively to Cherokee Middle the option of attending either Cherokee or Hamilton Middle. The committee met at Leopold to discuss phase 2 of the long range planning process, specifically setting a timeline for reaching a more permanent solution.

Partnerships: There was no report.

Legislative: The legislative Joint Finance Committee voted in support of the SAGE program and 90% reimbursement for low-incidence, high-cost special education students.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and School Building Fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: A bid was accepted for refurbished Compaq desktop computers with funding from 2001 TEACH Block Grant funds.

Transfers: No items.

Other Financial Transactions: Authority was granted to the Teaching and Learning Department to process Evaluation of Learning Materials (ELM) orders during the summer with formal approval on the July and August Regular Meeting agendas. The same authority was granted to Building Services and Purchasing to approve bid items. All donations and grants received since May 7, 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: No report.

Other Business:

Newly developed Board Policy and Procedure 6702 - Surveillance Cameras - was approved. Proposed changes were approved to the Student Conduct and Discipline Plan. The schedule of Regular Board meetings for next school year was approved. Seven students were granted diplomas of graduation based on completed requirements.

Old and New Business: Juan José López and Carol Carstensen made closing/congratulatory comments.

(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