Summary of
Regular Board Meeting - August 24, 1998

Regular monthly meetings of the Board of Education will now be close captioned. They will be shown again on Tuesday evenings with captions for those unable to watch on Monday evenings.

Recognition

Lucy Chaffin, Director of the Madison School-Community Recreation Department, described the Make a Difference (MAD) Youth Program which involved sixty middle school students in volunteer service and recreational activities over the summer. A short video was shown and students Reisha Mitchell, Stacy Pranke, Tom Meyer and Jimmy Mack talked about the group team-building, volunteer work, the arboretum project and various recreational activities in which they participated.

Public Appearances

There were no public appearances.

Board President'S Announcements And Reports

Mrs. Carstensen:

• reported the O'Keeffe addition was spectacular and although not complete, staff are moving in. She encouraged people to visit.
• reminded that Board meetings are usually held on the first Monday of the month except for August and September. Invited the public to speak with the Board on September 10 at 5:00pm on a topic of their choice.
• shared information about grants and awards the district has received over the past two and one-half years since the hiring of the district's grantwriter, Howard Landsman. Over $2 million has been received to support a variety of activities with $420,508 received just over the summer months.
• noted the joint agreement between the district and MTI about the LaFollette High School Four Block Schedule and the implementation of the Grow Our Own Principals program with first interns Mary Watson-Peterson, Michelle Smith, and John Johnson.
• congratulated the new leader of the athletic program at LaFollette High School, Ruth Swanson.

Interim Superintendent'S Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• Marquette Elementary and O'Keeffe Middle School opened on schedule this morning with a minimum of disruption even though a major building and remodeling project had much of the school torn up throughout the summer. There will be an open house announcement in September.
• MMSD scores have been received from the American College Testing Program. More students than ever are taking the ACT and continue to score above state and national averages. Average scores for Madison's ethnic groups continued to outperform state and national averages.
• As part of Sandburg School's 30th anniversary this year, a mural has been created to decorate the school foyer. The mural will be dedicated on September 1. To respond to the diverse needs of its students, Sandburg is offering an extended day program beginning this fall with the help of VISTA Volunteers to support primary students who are at risk in reading. This activity will be coupled with an enrichment program for other interested students.
• MSCR offered a number of programs this summer with total enrollment up by 1400 participants from last summer.
• Congratulations to Black Hawk Middle School Principal, David Krause, for saving the life of a man who had a jet ski accident on Lake Mendota.
• First day of class reports indicated everything went smoothly. He noted West High School welcomed only freshman for a full day of orientation activities including a schoolwide scavenger hunt and a picnic with a Z104 DJ and homeroom activities.
• Congratulations to Lapham Principal Barbara Thompson on receiving a Fullbright Memorial Fund Japan Teacher Program Grant. She leaves for a three-week study tour in November.
• Congratulations to seven fifth graders from Crestwood who finished third in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Disney World. They were one of 13 teams out of 1700 representing Wisconsin and are coached by volunteer parents Arden and Linda Mahlberg.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: The Committee anticipates hearing from the EDA Audit Steering Committee about their recommendations by late September or early October. The Board will respond to those recommendations and those made by the Schools of Hope committee relative to class size. The committee will meet again in mid-October.

Budget and Finance: Dumpsters were approved for purchase from Poynette Iron Works. The next meeting topic will be performance contracting. Over the summer, the Board discussed financial planning for maintenance and technology; these discussion will continue in the fall as well as the recommendations from the Schools of Hope committee on class size.

Human Resources: The committee has been gathering information over the summer and trying to judge public opinions on the Superintendent search. Mr. Rainwater is serving as the Interim Superintendent and operating at a great level. School has begun and everything is on track. The committee is finishing up interviews with community leaders and will be sending a survey to the community, have more listening sessions, and receive information by e-mail and telephone. No decision has yet been made about a consulting firm, and there is some sentiment about having the Interim Superintendent become permanent. The next meeting is scheduled August 31.

Long Range Planning: A subcommittee is meeting with the task of developing policy to guide the district about over or undercrowded schools. The committee will define capacity and report back to the full committee later in September.

Partnerships: The committee has not met over the summer. Another citizen member is being sought. The next meeting is scheduled in September.

Board of Education/Common Council Liaison Committee: The committee has not met over the summer but has scheduled a meeting for August 27.

Legislative: In September, the committee will meet to review proposed agenda items for the year.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and Building Fund bills were paid.

Purchasing: Bids were accepted for audiovisual equipment for Media Production, school lunch pre-pack supplies for Central Stores, and for paper towels and cabinets for Central Stores.

Transfers: Funds were transferred to support an Observatory/Planetarium teaching position with funding from a reduction of a Math Resource teaching position, and from the Reserve for Contingencies to support a temporary training assignment.

Other Financial Transactions: The 1998-99 budget was increased to support a .5 allocation increase for an OT/PT Program Support Teacher with funding from a reserve of surplus from 1997-98 operations and to support comprehensive school reform activities at Franklin and Lowell Elementary Schools with funding from a grant from the DPI. Donations and grants received since July 27, 1998 were approved.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports

All personnel items were approved.

Reports to the Board

There were no reports.

Other Business

The proposal for provision of risk management services for the MMSD was approved. Twenty-seven students were granted diplomas.

Old and New Business: Deborah Lawson praised Home Savings for its At Home in Madison project providing detailed information to families about each of the district's schools through realtors and the web site. All schools are participating this year. A press conference was held last week to announce the major funding from supporting businesses in Madison including Alliant Utilities, MG&E, Madison Newspapers, American Family, MTI, City of Madison, the Greater Madison Board of Realtors, United Way, etc. The funding will provide materials for three years. She appreciated the work as a realtor and is proud to have this unique program in Madison.

Ruth Robarts thanked staff for a wonderful first day of school. She felt it was a very good kick-off. She addressed a question to the president about extending the experiment of having subcommittees of the whole to streamline the process of doing committee work. She asked that discussion be placed on the Board agenda.

(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.)

Back to the Regular Meeting Summaries
Up to the MMSD Home Page

Last Modified: 1998-09-10
HTML Author & Publisher: Chris Burch, cburch@madison.k12.wi.us
webmaster@madison.k12.wi.us