Category Archives: Local News

by | March 3, 2009 · 7:19 pm

600 Conservationists, 500 Motorcylists…How Many Advocates for Children & Families?

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A message about the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Advocacy Day at the Capitol, March 18.  The Wisconsin Association of School Boards is having their Day at the Capitol on March 18 also.  It would be a good day to join the crowds “Raising Voices” for children.

Friends:
It’s that season again, when numerous organizations bring their members and supporters to the State Capitol, to meet with legislators on key issues in the state budget. Our friends at the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters packed the Capitol last week with 600 conservationists. And the “motorcycle issue experts” brought eight (8!) busloads of bikers to the Capitol last Thursday.

The Wisconsin Council on Children & Families is also hosting a “lobby day” where concerned residents can learn more about how the state budget is likely to impact kids & families and get an opportunity to meet with their elected representatives.

WCCF’s 2009 “Advocacy Day at the Capitol” is the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18th.

We certainly hope that there are as many Wisconsin residents motivated to take just a few hours to come to the Capitol to advocate for kids & families (especially in these tough economic times) as are concerned about motorcyclists’ rights.

Given the nearly $6 billion state budget deficit, it’s more important than ever that advocates raise their voices to tell Wisconsin’s legislators that our state budget needs to prioritize and preserve programs and services that vulnerable children and families reply upon – especially quality child care, health care, safety net programs and access to skill training and education.

This free, fun event is a great way for you to network with other concerned residents from around Wisconsin, and to ensure that legislators hear loud & clear from YOU that issues that matter to kids and families should be at the top of their priority list during their budget deliberations.

We hope you’ll join us – and bring a car or busload of friends, colleagues or neighbors! – for WCCF’s 2009 “Advocacy Afternoon in the Capitol” from 12:30-4:00 on Wednesday, March 18th.

Governor Doyle will be speaking, along with legislative leaders. Click here for more information or to register for this free event: http://www.wccf. org/event_ lobbyday_ 2009.php

Lets make sure that Wisconsin’s State Capitol is full to overflowing on the afternoon of March 18th with the voices of parents, teachers, child care & health care professionals, advocates, service providers and other residents from all across the state, all chiming in together to make sure that the state budget ensures the economic prosperity and well-being of all of our state’s kids and families.
Click here for a printable flier and to register: http://www.wccf. org/event_ lobbyday_ 2009.php
Questions? Need more information? Contact Vicky Selkowe at vselkowe@wccf. org or (608) 284-0580, ext. 326.

Visit www.wccf.org for more information about the state budget.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | March 3, 2009 · 6:35 pm

WAES School-Funding Reform Update, March 2

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Table of Contents below, click here for the full update.

Update — The hearing on the School Finance Network plan highlighted below is still very important, but it is in the process of being rescheduled.  Watch AMPS for more info.

I want to highlight the first item.  Save the Date –March 24 — this is important.  The School Finance Network plan is a very good plan and enjoys broad support.  Attend the hearing and show the legislature you care about school funding.

Update — The hearing on the School Finance Network plan is still very important, but it is in the process of being rescheduled.  Watch AMPS for more info.

School-funding reform update, week of March 2

  • SFN reform plan subject of March 24 hearing at the Capitol
  • SFN plan continues to be in the news around Wisconsin
  • Evers, Fernandez meet in West Allis at state Superintendent debate
  • 2009-11 state budget appears to be on the fast track
  • WAES doing good work, but needs your financial support
  • Tax cuts cost state billions since mid-1990s, LFB report says
  • Four groups renew memberships in WAES
  • Oneida County Board petitions state for school-funding reform
  • Round-up of funding problems from around Wisconsin
  • Early childhood care and education key to economic development
  • Help WAES correct e-mail update glitch
  • School-funding reform calendar

    • The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide, independent, membership-based organization of educators, school board members, students, parents, community leaders, researchers, citizens, and community activists whose lone goal is the comprehensive reform of Wisconsin’s school-funding system. If you would like more information about the organization — or on becoming part of WAES — contact Tom Beebe at 920-650-0525 or tbeebe@excellentschools.org.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | March 1, 2009 · 9:46 pm

    School Funding Action – Florida

    From MYFOX 35, Orlando.

    This weekend thousands of Florida parents, teachers, students, administrators and community members took part in militant “Make Our Schools A Priority” protests against cuts in education.

    The big event was the rally in Orlando reported in the video above (more here), but smaller actions have been held around  the state, some of which included legislators in attendance (examples here and here).

    The economic situation, tax collections, the state budget and local school budgets are all in dire circumstances.  Some of this is detailed on the Channel13, Central Florida web site.  A couple of examples:

    Brevard County:

    MONEY:

    • The district is facing an $80 million reduction next year if the funding picture doesn’t change. Already $101.4 million has been struck from the $1.2 billion budget since July 2007.

    WHAT’S BEEN DONE:

    • Brevard has lost about 1,770 students since October, so some teaching jobs could be eliminated.
    • They’ve already made some cuts to busing, especially summer busing programs.
    • Departments such as facilities have lost about 20 percent of their staff through attrition. This likely will continue.
    • School Board Members slashed their salaries by more than 6 percent.
    • Brevard Federation of Teachers accepted a two-year salary freeze for teachers and service staff.

    WHAT COULD HAPPEN:

    • Superintendent Richard DiPatri is asking all district employees to consider a pay cut.
    • 946 positions – or 9 percent – have been identified to be eliminated if the district needs to trim $80 million from budget.
    • Potential layoffs include 378 teachers and more than 550 staff members, including administrators, bus drivers, office clerks and custodians.
    • Freshman and junior varsity sports could be cut.

    Marion County:

    MONEY:

    • Based on a 16% reduction, funding shortfall totals $44 million.

    WHAT’S BEEN DONE:

    • 2008-2009 School year:
    • Marion School District did not renew contracts with 522 first- and second-year teachers for next year
    • Froze all open positions
    • Implemented 4-day summer work week and consolidated summer program locations
    • Eliminated Truancy Center and district-funded field trips
    • Cut 49 positions from business operations staff

    WHAT COULD HAPPEN:

    • Further reduce district and school staff and support services
    • Reorganize and/or reduce number of schools
    • Reduce salaries for district and 12-month employees
    • More cuts expected in transportation
    The lists go on and on.
    Under these extreme conditions, the gloves have come off.  The tone of the “Make Or Schools A Priority” campaign is fairly confrontational as you can see from this video (one of a series).

    I like the militancy, the mass actions and even the confrontational tone.   I sincerely believe that although things are nowhere near as bad in Wisconsin that after 15 years of annual cuts in educational opportunities we also have a crisis in school funding.   I worry that polite advocacy fails to communicate the reality of that crisis.

    A Saturday, March 21 meeting of the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee will be held at Miller Park.  This would be a great time to turn out some numbers for education and comprehensive education finance reform.

    Back in Florida, the Legislature returns for a budget session on Tuesday facing a $700 million shortfall.  Governor Charlie Crist is scheduled to give his “State of the State” address on that day.

    Hat tip to Sherman Dorn for making me aware of the goings on in Florida.

    For more on school finance in Florida, see the National Access Network state page.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    Filed under "education finance", Best Practices, Budget, education, finance, Local News, National News, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized, We Are Not Alone

    by | March 1, 2009 · 2:08 pm

    Community Engagement: The Basics, or “I Want My Agendas”

    Click on image for this report and other resources from the Annenberg Institute

    Click on image for this report and other community engagement resources from the Annenberg Institute

    As Robert Godfrey noted recently, The Madison Metropolitan School District has been remiss in sending Board of Education agenda updates to those of us who have requested them.  No agendas for the Monday, March 2 meetings reached my mailbox (it is on the web site and I’ve posted it here).  The last agenda I received was for December 1, 2008.  By my count that makes seven sets of meetings in a row without agendas being sent.

    I believe that the elected and appointed leadership of MMSD are sincere in their expressed desires for more and better community engagement.  Yet I am confounded by the continued lack of attention to details like this.

    Some portion of the community responded to the offer of regular Board of Education agendas and updates via email, indicating a great degree of interest and engagement.  Instead of satisfying this interest and building on this engagement, the district has only sporadically fulfilled their promise.

    In discussions of community engagement, I’ve heard some (not all) Board members give sneering comments  about seeing and hearing from  the same people week after week.   I’m one of those people and I can tell the Board that by treating those already engaged in this manner — belittling our interest, neglecting to send the requested agendas, failing to respond to emails… –, you give others little or no reason to engage.

    Here are some simple, off the top of my head suggestions to improve communication and engagement.

    • Send the agendas to those who have requested them.
    • Archive the agendas and related documents in an easily accessible manner (posting the related documents was a huge move forward, but once the next set of items is posted the old ones are almost impossible to find).
    • Approve and post meeting minutes in a timely fashion (this has been hit-or-miss, the last regular meeting minutes posted are from January 12, the last special open session are for November 10, the meetings of the new committees appear to be up-to date).
    • Respond to emails, even if only with an auto-reply.
    • Consider engaging in dialogue with those who testify on agenda items (the Board used to do this on occasion, other local bodies do it all the time, it has been a long time since I’ve seen it happen with the School Board; it would be illegal to have a dialogue on non-agenda items).

    I want to applaud the initiatives to improve communication like assigning Board members to sets of schools, holding more meetings in more locations and even the new governance structure that all-but-guarantees at least one week between  an item being introduced via a committee and that item being voted on by the Board as a whole.  These are good, but they are no substitute for taking care of the most basic things.  I want my agendas.

    Clarification – Whenever I have made specific requests to MMSD staff for information, they have been great about responding and providing that information (if possible) in a timely fashion.  This isn’t about that, it is about the list advertised at the top of the Current Agendas page:  “You can get BOE Agendas delivered directly to your e-mail inbox“ and more generally about communication and openness.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | February 28, 2009 · 1:47 pm

    Jim Doyle, “State of the State,” 2003

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    I’ve been doing searches for a second “Broken System, Broken Record” Quotes of the Day (look for it soon) and came across the text of Governor Doyle’s 2003 “State of the State” speech (his first).  He doesn’t use the phrase “broken system,” but he does say some things worth rereading.

    It is time to reform the way Wisconsin funds our children’s education. That is why tonight I am announcing that I will form a Governors Task Force on Education Financing.

    This is too important of an issue to squeeze it into a budget proposal or devise a new plan in just a few weeks.

    To do it right we need to do two things. First, all views must be represented. Parents, taxpayers, teachers, community leaders. Urban districts, rural districts. Wealthy areas, poorer areas.

    Second, the meetings must be open, in full view of the public.

    That Task Force was formed and produced some good work.  Since June of 2004, that work has gathered dust.

    I’m often hard on Governor Doyle in relation to his support for education.  I’ll acknowledge that he has been a friend to education in many ways and deserves credit and thanks for that.  What he has not been (in my opinion) is the champion for education that we need.

    Doyle has done very well in protecting the schools from the worst of the potential cuts under a system that all but guarantees some cuts and some property tax increases; he’s tried to keep the state’s 2/3 funding commitment viable, he’s worked for increases in SAGE and Special Education funding and succeeded in making these programs slightly less underfunded.  All this is good.

    What he hasn’t done (unless you count the recent trial balloon, which may be  a good sign) is  followed up his statement form 2003: “It is time to reform the way Wisconsin funds our children’s education.” That statement was true in 2003; after six years of annual cuts to educational opportunities of 1% to 2% it is even more true today.  I hope that we will soon see Governor Doyle act on this truth and be the champion he could and should be.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | February 27, 2009 · 11:41 am

    MMSD Strategic Planning – Draft

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    In the documents for agenda of the Common Council/District Liaison Committee is the most complete version of the strategic planning documents I have seen.  Worth reviewing.  Also, what looks to be the same things on this page, in parts.

    No time for analysis this morning, except to note that there is almost nothing directly or indirectly about financial planning and to say that I am not clear what the next steps will be.

    I also thought it might be useful to compare with some earlier things.

    Educational Framework

    Philosophy of Education

    Mission, Vision, Priorities and Beliefs

    Equity Task Force documents

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    Filed under Best Practices, education, Equity, Local News

    by | February 24, 2009 · 11:38 am

    Gov. Jim Doyle – “Should have….Could have”

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    Doyle should have used this trying time as an opportunity to push for bold change that normally would be too difficult or sweeping to accomplish.

    Doyle could have overhauled how the state pays for public education, for example. Instead, he says he’ll work on that after the budget is approved — something he’s said before without much follow-through. (links added)

    Wisconsin State Journal, “Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s Band-Aid of a state budget plays it safe and jacks up taxes, yet it gets some priorities right.”

    There is much in the WSJ editorial I do not agree with —  and there is much in the Governor’s budget proposal that is good (more later) —  but the paper is absolutely right that the budget proposal was a missed opportunity to move desperately needed school finance reform forward.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | February 23, 2009 · 3:25 pm

    WAES School Funding Reform Update, Week of February 16, 2009

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    Click here for a pdf of the full update.  Table of contents below.

    School-funding update

    • Governor gets involved in school-funding reform discussion
    • Governor’s budget helps schools keep their heads above water
    • Funding reform effort gaining steam around the state
    • WAES doing good work, but needs your financial support
    • Two new members join WAES; 11 renew memberships
    • HOPE plan making rounds of Legislature again this session
    • New study shows benefits to Wisconsin of combined reporting
    • Norman talks school-funding reform on Milwaukee Public Radio
    • School-funding reform news from around Wisconsin
    • Get involved in budget process at WCCF 2009 Advocacy Camp
    • Help WAES correct e-mail update glitch
    • School-funding reform calendar

    The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide, independent, membership-based organization of educators, school board members, students, parents, community leaders, researchers, citizens, and community activists whose lone goal is the comprehensive reform of Wisconsin’s school-funding system. If you would like more information about the organization — or on becoming part of WAES — contact Tom Beebe at 920-650-0525 or tbeebe@excellentschools.org

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    Filed under "education finance", Budget, education, finance, Local News, Referenda, referendum, School Finance, Take Action, Uncategorized

    by | February 22, 2009 · 4:46 pm

    The Stimulus, What Was Not Funded: School Constuction

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    Excerpts from the Wisconsin State Journal, “Rebuilding Wisconsin, Part 1: A long and costly to-do list.”

    PUBLIC SCHOOLS

    West Bend Public School Superintendent Patricia Herdrich said she can hardly bear to walk through the district’s Badger Middle School. Built in the 1920s, the old school is the worst of the substandard buildings in this district about 75 miles northeast of Madison.

    There are, Herdrich said, 13 different levels in the school because of the hodge-podge tangle of additions over the years. There are no elevators.

    “You can’t make it accessible,” Herdrich said. “I’ve had kids on crutches crawling up and down stairs.”

    In hundreds of school districts across Wisconsin, students are stuck in inadequate and even dangerous buildings, jammed into too-small classrooms or housed in trailers in school parking lots, according to Miles Turner, director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators…

    The problem is that, since school expenditures were capped by the state Legislature in 1993, the corner that has been most frequently cut by money-starved districts has been building maintenance and repair.

    In its most recent survey of school district spending, the Wisconsin Education Association Council found that 82 percent of the 303 districts that responded have cut money for improvements to buildings and grounds.

    And 77 percent reported delaying building maintenance or improvement projects. According to the 2007 infrastructure report from the Wisconsin chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the median reported need of the state’s 431 school districts to catch up on repair and maintenance projects is $695,000 while the average need is $1,768,563.

    But some districts are in such dire shape that the cost of delayed projects far surpasses those numbers. Herdrich in West Bend said the district’s total deferred maintenance is $80 million.

    Bringing Badger Middle School up to standards alone would cost $29 million, she added…

    [A]s the stimulus bill was being put together, the state School Administrators Alliance conducted a needs survey of the state’s school districts.

    Only 228 responses were received from all 431 districts, but for just those districts, when it comes to repair, maintenance, and building needs topped $2.5 billion.

    Referendums have offered relief only in some districts.

    In West Bend, for example, voters defeated a $119.3 million building referendum in 2007 by a 62.6 percent to 37.4 percent margin.

    The district had hoped to have another referendum in November but decided against that when the economy went south.

    Now, a $68 million building referendum is scheduled for April…

    The version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives included what seemed a healthy amount for Wisconsin schools — a total of $729.6 million, including $317.2 million for construction.

    But the political debate and resulting compromise in the Senate resulted in much of the money for school construction, including maintenance and repair, being slashed from the bill.

    “That line item was zeroed out,” said John Forrester, a spokesman for the School Administrators Alliance. So superintendents such as Herdrich in West Bend, initially buoyed by reports that the stimulus bill could offer some help to repair dilapidated buildings, now find themselves wondering again how to house students safely in the face of failing referendums and dwindling state funds.

    It should go without saying that the current broken school finance system requires successful referenda for almost all construction, maintenance and remodeling projects.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | February 20, 2009 · 6:50 pm

    Oneida County Resolution on School Finance

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    There was at least one positive vote for the future of education in Wisconsin on February 17th.  The Oneida County Board of Supervisors went on record supporting “legislative change to the state-aid formula to more fairly distribute state-aids throughout the state of Wisconsin” (full resolution here).

    According to the Lakeland Times, Supervisors explained the situation and their votes as follows.

    “… I just thought it would be nice that the people of Oneida County know that the supervisors … will support this resolution and bring it down to Madison,” Dean said. “This resolution, 13-2009, is to support our schools – Rhinelander and other districts. With the decreasing state aids to schools, Oneida County school districts are receiving less state aids based on school aid formulas. Oneida County property taxes is not the answer. The state is obligated – I’ll say it again, the state is obligated – to support the district schools. The Legislature has to make some kind of adjustments … If we send support like this, and other people as well, maybe they’ll see that we do have a problem. In closing – if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

    Supervisor Gary Baier agreed, noting “property value rich and tax poor” northern Wisconsin districts are facing an economic crisis under the current school funding formula.

    “The [school funding] formula is broken, it hasn’t worked for years …,” he said. “If they (the state) say they are going to fund it (education) two-thirds, then they ought to fund it two-thirds.”

    I’m going to be asking the Dane County Board to do something similar.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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