by | April 23, 2007 · 5:10 pm

We Are Not Alone #10

The referendum in Horicon failed by a vote of 873 to 683. Now they face the familiar choices:

“We are going to have to make a determination if we are going to fund the program or cut programs,” David Westimayer said.

They are also looking to continue leveraging municipal finances. As Madison moves in this direction, we may face similar problems:

The district-wide recreation program with the YMCA of Dodge County will be on the agenda of the May 21 board meeting.

“It is the same contract at the same cost,” McCartney said, noting that money previously received from the city has dried up.

He noted that city sponsorship would benefit only Horicon residents, while the district funding the program benefits everyone living within the district.

Thomas J. Mertz

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

by | April 23, 2007 · 3:17 pm

New & Improved

The AMPS blog is getting better. Both the Press Room and the Resources page have been revamped. Take a look.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | April 23, 2007 · 2:12 pm

Quote of the Day

A PESSIMIST SEES THE DIFFICULTY IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY;
AN OPTIMIST SEES THE OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY DIFFICULTY.
-Winston Churchill

posted by Janet Morrow

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by | April 23, 2007 · 4:09 am

Taking Action (Local)

A couple of local actions in the works, mostly on the consolidation plans.

Thomas J. Mertz

1. Kennedy Heights Community Center with the support of many other individuals and groups is organizing a walk from Kennedy Heights Community Center to Gompers Elementary School to raise awareness about the potential closings of Lindbergh Elementary School and Black Hawk middle school. Neighborhood Schools are a community resource for the children and families in Kennedy Heights and the northside; closing the schools would negatively impact our neighborhood, our community center, and the families that live here. Please come and walk with us to keep northside schools open.

The walk will start at the Kennedy Heights Community Center at 4:00 PM on Monday April 23rd – we will walk together from Kennedy Heights to Gompers Elementary school about 1.3 miles. At Gompers their will be a brief discussion and Popsicles for kids. All are welcome please distribute widely.

PS I know that school board members have a meeting at 5:00 PM, but I hope you can join us
for the beginning of our walk.

2. Join a grassoots rally: “An Hour For Marquette” – On Friday, April 27, from 1:30 – 2:30 come to Marquette and pull your Marquette student from class to protest the proposed consolidation (All concerned parents, students, and other community members are welcome to join in). We will rally at the school. Bring a sign that expresses your feeling about Marquette. We will be working to get press coverage and a visit from the Mayor. If you are interested in attending the rally e-mail Dea Larsen Converse at dealarsen@yahoo.com or Maria Moreno at mcmoreno@tds.net so we can give a head count to the papers.
(Note that this is not a PTG sponsored event)
It’s not over yet! Let’s keep the pressure on!

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Local News, Take Action

by | April 22, 2007 · 3:10 pm

Operation Loud & Proud

Lots of grassroots action on school funding issues happening locally. One I particularly like is from my son’s Language Arts and Life Skills teacher, Jon Hawkins. Jon has set up two letter writing workshops to help “anyone who is involved in the lives of our children and concerned about the future of their education…[to] speak out” more effectively. The workshops will be held at JC Wright Middle School Thursday April 26th (6:00 to 7:30 PM) and Saturday April 28th (12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM). More details here, including an offer to try to secure childcare and translation services.

My understanding is that students are encouraged to attend and write letters. Those of us who were at the Sondy Pope Roberts press conference know how effective the voices of students can be.

I don’t know if this is officially part of the “social action” component of the Wright charter, but I do think it is appropiate that a Language Arts and Life Skills teacher help others use language to participate in the legislative process. This is civic education of the best sort.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under AMPS, Best Practices, Budget, Local News, School Finance, Take Action

by | April 22, 2007 · 12:46 am

What You Can Do to Support MMSD School Finance Advocacy Group: An Update from Arlene Silveira

The Board meeting on the evening of Wednesday, April 25 will be at 6:30pm at Wright Middle School. The purpose of the meeting is to outline a long-term advocacy strategy, empower community members to move this forward, discuss best ways of communicating. This will be an interactive meeting with the community. The agenda is below:

1. Update of legislative activities since the March 29 meeting (come and share any info you have on your advocacy efforts and responses from legislators or other community members)

2. Planning for long-term legislative advocacy to change the revenue limit law for K-12 public schools (break into small groups to talk about different strategies and prioritize our top issues)

3. Identification of people who would continue to lead the process of advocating to change the revenue limit law (does anyone ant to take a role in leading the different strategies we outline)

4. Next steps and action items

WHAT YOU CAN DO BEFORE THE MEETING?

In your advocacy efforts, if you have encountered questions that you could not answer, please let us know in advance of the meeting. We will prepare answers to these questions if possible.

If there is information you need to better advocate, please let us know. If it is something we should prepare in advance of the meeting, please let us know ASAP.

Start thinking about advocacy strategies that you can share at the meeting.

If you have any information you want to share with the group beforehand, please do so.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Thanks to all who attended the Sondy Pope-Roberts press conference on Thursday. MMSD had a great turn-out!!!! People are starting to listen.

VISIT THE CAPITOL on APRIL 25th

The Lowell parent group is organizing a trip to the capitol on April 25th at 3:30pm. Visit legislators and show support. If you need more information, please contact Lynn at 242-9355, Jill at 249-4377 or email Jack @ mjtrudell@charter.net

Thanks.
Arlene Silveira

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

by | April 21, 2007 · 3:17 am

Quote of the Day

“There is no fat in our budget. Educational liposuction is no longer an option in Glidden. The option now is educational amputations.”

Mark Luoma, superintendent, principal and technology director within the Glidden School District

Full story on Joint Finance hearing here and also on our new and under construction and design (re)consideration Press Room page (thanks reader, Karen Bassler).

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under AMPS, Quote of the Day, School Finance, We Are Not Alone

by | April 20, 2007 · 4:32 pm

Next Steps on School Finance Reform: Take Action NOW

The Wisconsin Assembly has referred the Pope-Roberts resolution to reform public school finance by July 2009 to the “Education Reform” committee, chaired by Rep. Don Pridemore of Hartford in Washington County.

People should be contacting Rep. Pridemore (267-2367, Rep.Pridemore@legis.wisconsin.gov) to push for a Legislative hearing on school finance reform.
 People in Pridmore’s district ESPECIALLY need to be contacting him.

Here’s a map of his district.

If any of you have contact to the Waukesha parents yesterday or know of people in Rep. Pridemore’s district, please pass on his phone number to them and have them call his office. This is the time to exert some pressure to push for a hearing on school finance. A hearing is a way to push the issue to the top of the pile of issues the Legislature must address.

Beth Swedeen

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

by | April 19, 2007 · 9:05 pm

Saving Our Schools: State Level Update and Next Steps

The Assembly Parlor was PACKED today for Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts’ press conference calling on the Legislature to reform school finance by July 2009. Speakers came from the Florence School District up north, Waukesha, Madison and Milwaukee. Madison West Senior Jacinth Sohi did a FABULOUS job putting a human face on what the budget cuts have meant to Madison students. Great job, Jacinth and the Madison Student Council! (Look at the picture in today’s Cap Times to see how our students created a visual image of school funding problems).

So, next steps??

— Contact the two legislative chairs of education and ASK FOR A HEARING ON SCHOOL FINANCE REFORM. (Brett Davis in the Assembly Rep.Davis@legis.wisconsin.gov or 266-1192; John Lehman in the Senate at Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov or 266-1832. This can get the ball rolling on encouraging the Legislature to put something concrete into action to reform school finance.

— Contact every member of the Joint Committee on Finance to ask them for increased funding this year for Categorical Aids (special education: $45 million this year; $55 million this year to put the state more in line with its two-thirds commitment to districts to fund special education) and renewed commitment to SAGE Funding in line with the Governor’s recommendations. Joint Finance contact info here and email contacts here.

— Write your letters to the editor:

wsjopine@madison.com
tctvoice@madison.com
edit@isthmus.com

— Attend the April 25 6:30 meeting of the MMSD Legislative Action Group (location to be determined) Contact Ken Syke at MMSD for more info at ksyke@madison.k12.wi.us or Arlene Silveira at

— Meet with Lowell School Parents at 3:30 iApril 25 n the Capitol Rotunda to visit Sen. Mark Miller (joint Finance) and Lowell parent Rep. Joe Parisi. If other parents meet, they can probably split up and visit other key legislators as well. For more info, contact Lynn at 242-9355, Jill at 249-4377 or Jack at mjtrudell@charter.net Find out who your legislators are by going here.

More info on the MMSD website, including sample letters and all Joint Finance contact info.

And for specifics on school finance reform, read “Death by a Thousand Cuts” at the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools site.

Thanks!!
Beth Swedeen

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