Category Archives: Take Action

by | April 19, 2007 · 8:45 pm

My Referendum and Budget Letter

April 19, 2007
Members of the MMSD Board of Education
545 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53703

I am asking today that the Board of Education begin planning for an operating referendum to be held on February 19th, 2008 and pending the outcome of that referendum refrain from closing schools and eliminating programs that will be difficult to restart.

The budget recommendations presented by the administration are not unreasonable, but they are far from desirable. The broken state finance system has forced the consideration of many undesirable options. The consolidation plans and the elimination of strings would be difficult to undo and would cause long range harm to our community’s faith in and support for our schools. I believe that there are other, also undesirable but less irreparable ways to balance the 2007-2008 budget. A successful well-designed referendum would move the district’s budget discussions from trying to do the least harm to trying to do the most good.

Referenda are not easy; they require the board to have the courage to say there is no other way, they require hard work on the part of volunteer community members willing to educate the electorate on the good our schools do and the harm being done by the state finance system, they divide our communities and can reveal a loss of faith in our schools, or Board members and our administration. They are also the only tool we have to under the current system to assure that our children get the education they deserve and our community is allowed to support the schools as we wish. I sat through many of the Special Joint Committee on School Finance sessions in 2006. As district after district related heartbreaking stories of the cuts they had made due to the broken school funding system, they were told again and again by some committee members that best and only answer was to “go to referendum.” I don’t believe it is the only answer – I am one of many in Madison and statewide who are working to fix that system – but it is the only answer we have in the short term.

Many in Madison believe that a referendum is needed now or will at very least be needed for the 2008-2009 budget. School closings will make this referendum more difficult to pass.

Referenda are often called band-aids. There is some truth to this in that they do not provide a long-term cure to the ills of under funded schools. However, they do staunch the bleeding and buy time for a cure to be obtained. If your child were bleeding, you would use whatever was at hand to stop that bleeding before they suffered irreparable harm. That is what I am asking the board to do.

I am not alone in this. You will be receiving a letter with close to 150 signatures, asking the same thing. These signatories and those who collected them have demonstrated their willingness to do the work to educate the community and work for the passage of a referendum. Please have the courage give them that chance and give the voters of Madison the opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Thomas J. Mertz

J.C. Wright Middle School Parent
2007-2008 Franklin-Randall Parent
Member MMSD Equity Task Force
Member Advocates for Madison Public Schools
Co-Chair Communities and Schools Together
Member Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Equity, Local News, Referenda, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 18, 2007 · 10:25 pm

Reminder: Press Conference on School Finance Reform Thursday, 10 a.m., Assembly Parlor

Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts is hosting a press conference to highlight her bill calling for an overhaul of school finance by July 2009 Thursday, April 19 at 10 a.m. in the Capitol’s Assembly Parlor on the second floor of the West Wing (State Street). Please try to make it to show overall state support for this important initiative!!

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Local News, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 15, 2007 · 12:47 am

Write Your Letters to Legislators NOW on School Funding

Good afternoon everyone,

As you are probably aware due to all the recent press on the MMSD budget, the school district has to make dramatic cuts this year in order to comply with the state-mandated revenue caps. We have reached the point as a district where all cuts are to the bone and are very painful. Although we can always find efficiencies in any operation, there is no way that this could account for the $10.5M cuts we have to make. The main culprit is the state system for funding public education. It is broken. Until this is changed, we will have to cut more and more each year. On March 29, The Board of Education (BOE) held a community advocacy meeting, focusing short-term on the governor’s budget and longer-term on the state funding system. The focus of the meeting was on how we, as a community, can advocate to bring additional funds into the district (short-term governor’s budget) and change the state funding system (long-term). We had a great turn-out but need more help to get the word out about our issues.

The meeting was broken into 3 segments: 1) education on the state funding system; 2) overview of the governor’s budget; and 3) advocacy. We had an extensive amount of Q&A with the audience.

Information Presented

Information presented is located on the district web site http://www.mmsd.org Click on “Take Action on School Funding”

I have also attached the talking points and sample letters that can be sent to legislators. The Governor has included some items in his budget that, if passed, could bring additional funds back to MMSD this year and next year. The 2 primary areas are in Special Education Aid and Bilingual-Bicultural Aid. We need to call or send letters/emails to our legislators in the next 2-3 weeks to support the aid increase in the governor’s budget in these 2 areas. If passed, we could receive an additional $1M in funding from the state this year and $1.7M the following year. This is explained in more detail on the web site and in the attachments. There are also other areas listed that could bring additional funds into the district.

The state is not doing their job. Unfunded mandates from the state are strangling the district. In 1993 when revenue limit started, the special education reimbursement was 45%. It is now 28.6% from the state. For the bilingual-bicultural aid, the state’s commitment to funding has dropped from 33% to 12%. If the state had met its commitments to funding, the MMSD would not have to cut its budget this year. We would have an additional $11.6M in funding (our initial cuts were targeted at $10.5M).
_
How Can You Help?
It is important to write letters to your legislators in the next 2-3 weeks regarding the Governor’s budget. See the talking points and sample letters for help. If you have questions, please let me know. To find out who your legislators are:
http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/

Write your letters and ask your friends to do the same.
Longer-Term: We are setting up a community *”Legislative Action Team”*. We are developing an email list of people who want to be involved. We will soon be setting up follow-up meetings and action items to start the longer-term lobbying to change the state funding process. If you would like to be added to this list, please send me an email.

Thanks for your help. Now is the time to come together as a community to advocate for change. The future of our schools and our community is dependent upon this. Please circulate this to all you know. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Arlene Silveira
Madison Board of Education

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by | April 14, 2007 · 1:58 am

Latest Update on MMSD Advocacy Effort on State Public School Funding from Arlene Silveira

Wednesday, April 25, 6:30pm, location TBD

Next Legislative Action Team meeting. A more detailed agenda will be available next week. Highlights: Empowering the community to lead the effort in legislative advocacy action items – next steps

Let Your Voices Be Heard

Please let your voices be heard regarding the Governor’s budget. Email, call or visit your Madison delegation and joint finance committee ASAP. We want our Madison legislators to say, “Wow, this is really important to our community. This needs to change!” Letters to the editor of both newspapers will also help.

Let’s share: if you have written letters, made calls, etc., *please share* what you have sent as well as the responses you may have received.

******************
April 19 Press Conference
Mark Your Calendars, April 19 Press Conference

Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts will be having a press conference on April 19 at 10:00am in the Assembly parlor (2nd floor, west wing). *All are encouraged to attend!!* This press conference is to promote a joint resolution that she introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate that demands that the Legislature fix the state school-funding system by July of 2009.

The resolution says that fixing the system is the job of the legislators. It also lists some key components of a new school finance system. If you can attend the press conference to show support for this resolution and for the legislators who have signed on, please do so. We need to make a strong showing in support of this resolution. The resolution is linked here.

*Student Senate* – The student senate of our high schools have joined our cause. Representatives from the student senate will be attending the April 19 press conference at the capitol. They will also be holding their own press conference on state funding on April 19 prior to the Board’s evening public hearing on the budget at Memorial High School. Thanks for your support. Any questions or comments, please let us know.

Arlene Silveira

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Filed under AMPS, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 14, 2007 · 12:19 am

Saving Schools and More

A group of parents and community members has begun organizing to agitate for an operating referendum to be placed on the ballot February 19th 2008 (the Spring Primary, including presidential). The details of the referendum are still in the early planning stages. I am part of this group.

As they consider the 2007-2008 budget (including school closings), it is important to show the Board of Education that there is broad and growing support for this referendum. With the realistic possibility of a successful referendum prior to the next budget cycle the Board can be induced to take nearly irreversible cuts (such as closing schools or eliminating 5th Grade Strings) off the table for this year.

You can help with this. There is a letter that will be submitted to the Board on April 19th here. If you support this, please say so and add your name and information in the comments. There are also some talking points here. We are asking that as many people as possible attend the upcoming Board meetings (April 17th and April 19th in particular) and express support for a referendum and not cutting those things that will be difficult to restore. We are also asking that individuals and groups contact the Board and news outlets (Capital Times: tctvoice@madison.com; Wisconsin State Journal: wsjopine@madison.com) to express support.

As always, educating and agitating on the state finance system that has created these conditions is important.

Thank you

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Elections, Local News, Referenda, School Finance, Take Action, We Are Not Alone

by | April 11, 2007 · 11:39 pm

I Just Want to Be A School Volunteer Again: An Open Letter to Joint Finance the Governor Doyle on School Finance Reform

Dear Members of the Joint Committee on Finance and Gov. Doyle,

I used to be an active parent volunteer in the Madison public schools. I helped with reading groups and on field trips when my children were in elementary school, then tutored middle schoolers and tutored and led after-school clubs as my children got older.

Then a couple years ago, I had to stop my in-class volunteering. Why? Like hundred of parents and school staff across the state, all my volunteer hours were eaten up with supporting a series of referenda to keep intact programs that both benefited my children and are needed to support the learning of thousands of Wisconsin’s children. Over the past 8 years, I have seen music and arts programs cut, driver’s education eliminated, family and consumer education and technology education at the middle schools eliminated, class sizes increased and sorely-needed social work, counseling and psychology positions cuts.

Still, the cuts loom large. This year, schools with great reputations and devoted community support may close. Activity fees will continue to increase. Middle school and high school course options are at risk. I paid more last year on start-of-school fees and supplies than I did on Christmas gifts. Yet, the cuts go on, the fees continue to rise.

So, what’s involved in passing a referendum? There are multiple evening meetings to PTA groups and neighborhood associations to educate them on complicated school finance issues. There are letters to write, phone calls to make, meetings to attend, signs to assemble, fundraising to organize, and general public relations discussions to have with neighbors, colleagues, friends and relatives. You lose friends. It’s very political and it’s not very fun. And to top it all off, it pulls hundreds of civic-minded, good-hearted, kid-loving adults away from children, classrooms and teaching and into a role they never asked for and don’t relish: politics and deal-making.

I’ve heard elected officials say that before a school district should come to the legislature for funding, they should really work a little harder locally at passing a referendum. What? I was under the impression that teachers, principals, superintendents and other school leaders were hired to educate children, not launch political campaigns. I want my district’s principals hiring and supervising teams of high-quality teachers and exploring new ways to teach students in meaningful ways, not spend their days on talk radio and their evenings at civic forums.

And I want to go back into classrooms again. I want to talk to kids about their passions and comment on their improvements in writing, not spend Saturdays stapling yard signs together and Sunday afternoons strategizing on campaign slogans or calling long voter lists.

So, I am asking please, that the State Legislature:
— Fund at two-thirds its original commitment to categorical aids, the program that provides special education services to students with disabilities. This would mean a $45 million increase in the first year of new budget and $55 million next year.
— Continue its commitment to SAGE programs that cap class sizes to 15 in schools with high poverty rates.
— Remove the revenue caps that make districts across the state incapable of simultaneously balancing their budgets and retaining existing program levels for students.

Beth Swedeen

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Elections, Referenda, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 10, 2007 · 3:55 pm

MMSD Board Member Arlene Silveira Provides Update on Legislative Action and How YOU Can Get Involved on School Finance Reform

We greatly appreciate your interest and involvement in working toward reforming the statewide school funding system. By continuing our work on this initiative, we are taking steps to ensure that our schools will be adequately funded in the future and we can stop this yearly process of substantial budget cuts.

his email is being sent to everyone who attended our March 29 Legislative advocacy session and others who have joined our Legislative Action Team since that meeting.

*UPDATES*

All of the information discussed at the 3/29 meeting can be found on the district’s web site. http://www.mmsd.org Click on “Take Action on School Funding”

*_Advocacy_*

__Remember to write letters or call your legislators about the Governor’s budget and school funding issues. Contact information is on the district’s web site. Please do so in the next few weeks!! If you need a reminder on talking points, a copy is attached and can be found on the web site. If you have specific questions, please let us know.

Also, write letters to the newspapers. Their editorial email addresses are below:

The Capital Times:
tctvoice@madison.com

Wisconsin State Journal
wsjopine@madison.com

For the papers: 200 words or less; no attachments; provide your name, address and phone number (only your name and city will be printed)

*Mark Your Calendars – April 19 Press Conference_*

__Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts will be having a press conference on April 19 at 10:00am in the Assembly parlor (2^nd floor, west wing). *All are encouraged to attend!!* This press conference is to promote a joint resolution that she introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate that demands that the Legislature fix the state’s school-funding system by July of 2009.

The resolution says that fixing the system is the job of the legislators. It also lists some key components of a new school finance system. *If you can attend the press conference to show support for this resolution and for the legislators who have signed on, please do so. *We need to make a strong showing in support of this resolution. The resolution is linked.

Click to access LRB1211.pdf

Meet Your Legislators_*

*__*If you are going to attend the press conference at the Capitol it would be a good time to set up meetings to visit your legislators. Give their office a call and schedule a meeting!!! If you don’t want to go alone, there may be others on this email list who will attend with you. Get a group together and let your voices be heard. The legislative contact information was in the March 29 hand-outs or can be found on the district web site.

Spread the Word_

We need many many voices in order for our message to be heard. Start recruiting others to join this list. Ask them to write letters and call friends. If you know of others who want to be on this list, please forward their email. If you need speakers to come to your PTO or community meetings to speak on this topic, please let us know and we will arrange for someone to attend.

Next Steps

We will provide more information available later this week on a time for the next meeting as well as a list of additional action items. At the next meeting, we want to empower you to take leadership roles in moving this initiative forward. There are a lot of things we need to do. If you would like to play more of a role in helping move things forward, please send me an email.

Thank you again for your support. If you have any questions, please email me asilveira@madison.k12.wi.us or the entire board comments@madison.k12.wi.us

Arlene Silveira
Madison Board of Education

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Filed under AMPS, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 5, 2007 · 5:10 pm

School Funding Reform Press Conference April 19 at 10 a.m. in Assembly Parlor

Here’s the press release from WAES…Hope many AMPS members can attend this important event….

WAES and other school-funding reform advocates will be gathering at the State Capitol in Madison on Thursday, April 19, to support Senate Joint Resolution 27 and Assembly Joint Resolution 35 asking the Legislature to change Wisconsin’s school-funding system.

We need you to attend, if possible, and support these important resolutions. A press conference will begin at 10 a.m. in the Assembly Parlor. This would also be an excellent opportunity to set up meetings with your legislators or their aides and talk about school funding, the joint resolution, and reform. If you need help, let me know. It would be a good idea to visit the WAES website at http://www.excellentschools. org to study up on the resolution and its intent before you go .

If you plan to attend, please let Tom Beebe know using the contact info below so that all groups and organizations in attendance are recognized. Resolution sponsors Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts and Sen. Roger Breske are hosting the press conference.

—
Thomas S. Beebe
Institute for Wisconsin’s Future
1717 South 12thStreet
Milwaukee, WI 53204

Voice: 414-384-9094
Fax:414-384- 9098
Cell: 920-650-0525
E-mail:tbeebe@ wisconsinsfuture .org

http://www.excellentschools. org
http://www.wisconsinsfuture. org

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Filed under AMPS, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action, We Are Not Alone

by | April 5, 2007 · 3:03 pm

WSJ Article/Letters on School Funding Crisis–Get Involved in Sending a Statewide Message

Today’s WSJ has a spread on the damage Wisconsin’s state funding formula is having on public education, including bulleted message points. These are great talking points for letters to the editor, and even more importantly, letters to members of Joint Finance Committee.

The Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance is currently taking testimony statewide from residents on the proposed Governor’s budget and has vast power in changing the budget before the Legislature votes on it. Senators Mark Miller and Mark Pocan of Madison are currently on Joint Finance, but it would be powerful to submit your letters to all 16 members.

Want to send a letter to the editor? Here are the three papers in Madison:

wsjopine@madison.com (WSJ)
tctvoice@madison.com (Cap Times)
edit@isthmus.com

More information and other sample letters can be found here.

CHALLENGE: Can AMPS members send 50 letters to Joint Finance and the papers in the next week???

Beth Swedeen

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Filed under AMPS, Local News, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 3, 2007 · 4:07 pm

Vote Today

Vote today. Tell your friends to vote. Bring your children to the polls. Democracy and public education intersect in many ways, one of the most important is via the election of those who govern our schools. Be part of that.

I am also reminded of a quote from an educator’s blog about democracy and education:

If we believe in democracy we need to believe in all kids.

My endorsements are here.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under AMPS, Elections, Local News, Take Action