Summary of Regular Board Meeting Held on December 10, 2001

Regular monthly meetings of the Board of Education are telecast live at 7:15 p.m. on the Charter cable TV system in the Madison area on channel 10 with closed-captioning for the hearing impaired. The meeting is replayed on cable channel 10 on the Tuesday evening immediately following the meeting at 9:00 p.m. with closed-captioning.

Recognition

Students, parents and staff raised more than $35,000 through the Kids-For-Kids Coin Drive to help children who were affected by the September 11 tragedies. A check was presented to Kathy Hubbard, Director of Fund Distribution for the United Way of Dane County. The funds will be used to assist the students, teachers, and staff in the eight New York City public schools most impacted.

Public Appearances

Five people spoke who had concerns about the test return policy at West High School.

Board President's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Williams reported:

• The DPI has scheduled five hearings throughout the state to accept public testimony on proposed rules related to the September 1 school start date law.
• National Inclusive Schools Week, December 3-7, highlights the progress of our nation's schools in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population.
• The National Center for Education Statistics has created a School District Demographics website to provide access to school district demographic data. Their address is http://www.nces.ed.gov/.

Superintendent's Announcements And Reports

Mr. Rainwater announced:

• East High Assistant Principal Richard Rogness reports that in the first quarter of this year the freshman class made significant improvement in attendance rates over previous years with 94.36% attendance which exceeds the district goal of 94% attendance rate.
• The Work and Learning Centers at Brearly and Park Streets have been chosen by the Center for Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin to participate in a national study of employer-linked charter schools. The study is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The two centers are currently serving as pilot sites for testing of research instruments and protocols to be used in the larger nationwide research effort.
• West High School sponsored a day-long study of national affairs relative to the Middle East and the conflict in Afghanistan. The "teach-in" was an initiative of students Alix Gould-Werth and Lindsay Alene-Theisen and teachers Jane Bernstein and Polly Colby of the West High Social Studies Department.
• A recent article in the Wisconsin State Journal invited readers to volunteer for pre-school programs and generated over 60 responses from community members. Schools of Hope VISTA team member Jennifer Gottwald is working with Rita Kehl of the district's Teaching and Learning Department to train and place these new volunteer recruits.
• Parents and staff report that the schools hosting Chavez students have been welcoming and thoughtful throughout this difficult situation. Mr. Rainwater thanked all those involved for their patience and consideration as the district makes every effort to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment at Chavez.
• Mendota Principal Sandy Gunderson presented a one-day workshop at the National Staff Development Conference in Denver, Colorado on school reform strategies including tools and skills for facilitation of school improvement. Mendota served as a model school for the school reform portion of the conference.
• West High counselor Marilsa Hansen was awarded a professional development grant from MATC to enhance the Comprehensive ESL/Bilingual Career Development program at her school. The program targets Spanish speaking students to help them develop awareness of options for higher education and career planning.
• East High's DECA club, under the leadership of marketing teacher June Anderson, is participating in the Wisconsin Career and Technical Student Organization's campaign to buy a fire truck for New York City's Fire Department. The club will also donate time to community causes including United Way volunteering and ringing bells for the Salvation Army.
• Memorial High Athletic team captains club, East High spirit team, representatives of MSCR, students from Glenn Stephens and Spring Harbor gathered food from school food drives and made up and delivered holiday baskets to 75 needy families of students in Madison schools.

Committee Reports And Action Thereon

Performance & Achievement: Recommendations from the Evaluation of Learning Materials Committee were approved. Proposed modifications to the Board's Graduation Policy 3540 were approved. The proposed Fourth and Eighth Grade Promotion Policy was approved. Ruth Robarts reported that the committee will hear a report on the Early Learning Initiative on December 17.

Finance and Operations: A bid for architect/engineering services for Hawthorne Elementary School parking lot modifications was approved. Juan José López reported the committee received an update and review on the Functional Analysis and another update is scheduled for January.

Human Resources: The Final Report of the MMSD/MTI Joint Committee on Bilingual Resource Specialists was approved.

Long Range Planning: Carol Carstensen reported the committee would be meeting to deal with the elementary school maximum capacity formula that has been discussed in committee and possible options for Leopold.

Partnerships: Shwaw Vang reported the committee received from Kathy Price and Ken Syke a list of diverse and rich partnerships the district has built. The committee will be going out to neighborhood centers and schools to hold meetings to highlight some of the partnerships that the district has built over the years.

Legislative: Ray Allen reported the committee will meet with area legislators in January. Another meeting will be scheduled when details of the state budget repair bill are known.

Auditing, Purchasing, Transfers & Other Financial Transactions

Auditing: Interim and School Building Fund Bills were approved.

Purchasing: A bid was approved for bakery goods.

Transfers: There were no transfers.

Other Financial Transactions: All donations and grants received since November 5, 2001 were approved. A resolution was adopted to authorize the temporary borrowing of $23,500,000 pursuant to Wis Statute Section 67.12(8)(a)1. The 2001-02 budget was increased to support salaries and consultants for Jefferson Middle School Clubs and the Wexford Program/Sennett Summer Program; to support salaries, travel, and food for the Broadway/Lake Point/Waunona Youth Resources Center; to support the Title IX Indian Education Program; and to support the new Drug & Violence Prevention Grant.

Human Resources Transactions and Reports:

All transactions and reports were approved.

Reports to the Board:

Common Council/Board of Education Liaison Committee: Ray Allen had no report.

Bill Keys reported on his attendance at the National School Boards Association 33rd Annual Conference of the Council of Urban Boards of Education.

Other Business:

All of the policies in Chapter 2000 of the Board of Education Policy Manual were approved. Twenty-nine students were excused from school attendance for the purpose of allowing them to enroll in programs for high school equivalency diplomas. One student over the age of 20 was allowed to continue enrollment in the school district for purposes of graduation. Twelve students were granted diplomas of graduation based on completed requirements.

Old and New Business: Juan José López commented about recent criticism of the Board and the movement to recall Mr. Keys.

(A complete copy of these minutes is available from the Board of Education Office, 663-1659. 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