Tuesday, December 8, 2009
December 9th board agenda
Next Wednesday's agenda can be found here. Items of note:
X. New Business
B. Discussion and Possible Approval of Financial Audit 2008-2009 – Reilly, Penner & Benton LLP
-The audit results of the 2008-9 year will be presented to the board. The report details a very clean audit with no compliance issues or discrepencies found. The one deficiency noted is that the district relies on the Audit accountants to prepare detailed financial statements in compliance with the complicated GAAP requirements. The auditor notes that this is a very common practice among school districts due to the level of expertise required.
C. Report from Applied Population Laboratory Regarding Enrollment Projections – Sara Lazenby
- The annual APL enrollment report will be presented. The "Baseline Model", which is usually accurate to a couple percent, shows a slight increase in enrollment (by about 100 students) over the next five years.
F. Update on Energy Committee – Jill List
- The energy committee has started working on ideas for reducing energy consumption through changes in operation and behaviour, I'm interested in hearing how this is moving forward.
X. New Business
B. Discussion and Possible Approval of Financial Audit 2008-2009 – Reilly, Penner & Benton LLP
-The audit results of the 2008-9 year will be presented to the board. The report details a very clean audit with no compliance issues or discrepencies found. The one deficiency noted is that the district relies on the Audit accountants to prepare detailed financial statements in compliance with the complicated GAAP requirements. The auditor notes that this is a very common practice among school districts due to the level of expertise required.
C. Report from Applied Population Laboratory Regarding Enrollment Projections – Sara Lazenby
- The annual APL enrollment report will be presented. The "Baseline Model", which is usually accurate to a couple percent, shows a slight increase in enrollment (by about 100 students) over the next five years.
F. Update on Energy Committee – Jill List
- The energy committee has started working on ideas for reducing energy consumption through changes in operation and behaviour, I'm interested in hearing how this is moving forward.
Friday, December 4, 2009
"The Little Match Girl" tonight at the MGHS auditorium...
Playtime productions musical "The Little Match Girl" is in the MGHS auditorium tonight at 7:00pm, "Cookie Walk" benefit and fundraiser starts at 6:00pm.
Don't miss it!
Don't miss it!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
No "rainy day" ahead
In this week's column about the last school board meeting, Adam refers to our budget reserve as a "rainy day" fund that will be eaten up by future deficits. Problem is we don't have a "rainy day" fund. At the end of the last budget year we did have cash on hand of nearly $5 million, (what we call the "budget reserve") but this is necessary for the day-to-day operations: payments to the district come in large lumps at long intervals (the schedule can be found here), in order to meet our obligations before and between these payments we have to spend down our cash reserves and then some. In fact we still need to do a few million dollars in "cash-flow" borrowing each year to keep us solvent between state payouts. So there is no pot of money sitting around for us to spend.
The "budget reserve" does dramatically reduce required short term borrowing and avoids the resulting interest payments, each dollar reduction to the budget reserve results in higher interest costs to the district. Further, the size of the reserve helps maintain the district's bond rating, which helps reduce the cost of any district borrowing. This is why the board recently passed a policy recommending a 15% "budget reserve". At the time I advocated for some teeth to this policy- requiring a plan to restore the budget reserve to 15% should it drop below- but the majority of the board opposed this provision.
If the budget forecast predicted a year or two of deficits before returning to a balanced budget, then it might be okay to spend down the reserve temporarily to preserve programs and refill it later. But the projections show a continued and growing deficit for the foreseeable future, so spending down the reserve would only increase costs and make future cuts worse. It will be tempting for politicians (like me) to spend the reserve now to avoid unpopular cuts, but IMHO this would be short sighted and only leave the district in worse shape in the future.
The "budget reserve" does dramatically reduce required short term borrowing and avoids the resulting interest payments, each dollar reduction to the budget reserve results in higher interest costs to the district. Further, the size of the reserve helps maintain the district's bond rating, which helps reduce the cost of any district borrowing. This is why the board recently passed a policy recommending a 15% "budget reserve". At the time I advocated for some teeth to this policy- requiring a plan to restore the budget reserve to 15% should it drop below- but the majority of the board opposed this provision.
If the budget forecast predicted a year or two of deficits before returning to a balanced budget, then it might be okay to spend down the reserve temporarily to preserve programs and refill it later. But the projections show a continued and growing deficit for the foreseeable future, so spending down the reserve would only increase costs and make future cuts worse. It will be tempting for politicians (like me) to spend the reserve now to avoid unpopular cuts, but IMHO this would be short sighted and only leave the district in worse shape in the future.
Monday, November 30, 2009
A familiar sound and a difficult story...
The familiar sound (to me) of the Cal-Train heard in this sad NPR Story caught my ear on the way to work today. I used to live near and regularly cross the rail road intersection at the center of this story about a high school suicide "cluster" in Palo Alto, CA. PA is an upscale suburban community adjacent to Stanford University, and home to one of the best high schools in the SF Bay area.
The story led me to other research on the issue. It seems that the local parents have it right: research indicates that reducing the opportunities for suicide appears to be the most effective approach to reducing rates. Although screening for and treating depression, anxiety and mental illness are important, in most cases it appears suicide is a relatively spontaneous act and can be reduced by eliminating access to ready means. Other research shows that the nature of media coverage and responses to one suicide have an important role in preventing similar actions.
Among the bad news is important information that could provide life-saving guidance to school district plans and responses.
The story led me to other research on the issue. It seems that the local parents have it right: research indicates that reducing the opportunities for suicide appears to be the most effective approach to reducing rates. Although screening for and treating depression, anxiety and mental illness are important, in most cases it appears suicide is a relatively spontaneous act and can be reduced by eliminating access to ready means. Other research shows that the nature of media coverage and responses to one suicide have an important role in preventing similar actions.
Among the bad news is important information that could provide life-saving guidance to school district plans and responses.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
spam be-gone
I've been receiving (and deleting) a lot of "comment spam" on my older posts. Comment spam are unrelated comments that list website url's in an attempt to improve search engine rankings. So I have turned on comment moderation for anything older than 30 days. You are still welcome to comment on older posts, you will just have to wait until I get around to approving the comment before it appears. It is rare for me to receive real comments on old posts, so I don't think it is a problem.
Again the rules for comments here:
1) Keep it civil.
2) Don't speak for anyone else or assign motivations to others.
3) No unsupported accusations.
#2 is the rule most frequently violated. I want to hear what you think, and I believe a free exchange of views in a public forum is important to our communities.
Again the rules for comments here:
1) Keep it civil.
2) Don't speak for anyone else or assign motivations to others.
3) No unsupported accusations.
#2 is the rule most frequently violated. I want to hear what you think, and I believe a free exchange of views in a public forum is important to our communities.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Next Wednesday which is this Tuesday...
There is no school on Wednesday, so this week's board meeting was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday (11/24) evening.
Items of note on the agenda:
IX. New Business
B. PMA Five-Year Budget Forecast Model Presentation (30 min)
-This is probably the most difficult situation we are facing. Most people don't know that for the last several years the PMA budget forecast shows a significant structural budget deficit that starts to increase by nearly a million dollars a year by 2011. The problem has been simple: state revenue caps and the funding formula limit the annual increase in revenue to less than 2%, while the QEO results in average annual increases in personnel costs (80% of the budget) of about 4.5%. The difference between revenue and expenses -more than 2%/year- will quickly start adding up.
Of course the QEO law was recently repealed, but I doubt that will result in reductions in costs that will bridge the gap, nor should it.
There isn't any good news in this, but the vast majority of school districts in the state are facing the same problem. We are fortunate that our facilities are in very good shape compared to other districts, with little defered maintenance or significant pending infrastructure requirements. Couple that with our energy reducing efforts and a healthy budget reserved and MGSD is probably in better shape to weather the coming years than the vast majority of Wisconsin districts.
C. Discussion of Revised Policy #425-Open Enrollment (and Rule #452-Open
Enrollment Procedure) (20 min)
- The concern here relates to establishing criteria for refusing OE students. State law requires us to take OE students provided that there is sufficient space, but how is "space" defined? Are we allowed to turn down students because we won't be able to accommodate them after a few years in the next school?
XI. Future Agenda Items and Meetings
A. December 22 - Report of 4K-8 Grade Configuration in Each Community Study
At the December meeting we will hear the report from the administration regarding the results of the -4k-8 study. This study is primarily focused on the costs required to implement 4k-8 in each community, rather than the environmental or education benefits.
B. Gifted and Talented Policy
- Jill List asked that we review this policy because of parent concerns. One of the general trends under NCLB (no child left behind law) is for districts to focus attention on the lower performing students, often shifting resources from higher performing students. I believe one of the biggest problem with NCLB is that it sets a single status goal, rather than growth or averages. To meet AYP requirements districts need to just get an increasing number of students over a fixed bar, there is no incentive to expend energy on those students who are comfortably over it or who are too far below to have a reasonable chance of making it. I also think that we have an obligation to challenge every student to their fullest potential, regardless of their level of proficiency.
Items of note on the agenda:
IX. New Business
B. PMA Five-Year Budget Forecast Model Presentation (30 min)
-This is probably the most difficult situation we are facing. Most people don't know that for the last several years the PMA budget forecast shows a significant structural budget deficit that starts to increase by nearly a million dollars a year by 2011. The problem has been simple: state revenue caps and the funding formula limit the annual increase in revenue to less than 2%, while the QEO results in average annual increases in personnel costs (80% of the budget) of about 4.5%. The difference between revenue and expenses -more than 2%/year- will quickly start adding up.
Of course the QEO law was recently repealed, but I doubt that will result in reductions in costs that will bridge the gap, nor should it.
There isn't any good news in this, but the vast majority of school districts in the state are facing the same problem. We are fortunate that our facilities are in very good shape compared to other districts, with little defered maintenance or significant pending infrastructure requirements. Couple that with our energy reducing efforts and a healthy budget reserved and MGSD is probably in better shape to weather the coming years than the vast majority of Wisconsin districts.
C. Discussion of Revised Policy #425-Open Enrollment (and Rule #452-Open
Enrollment Procedure) (20 min)
- The concern here relates to establishing criteria for refusing OE students. State law requires us to take OE students provided that there is sufficient space, but how is "space" defined? Are we allowed to turn down students because we won't be able to accommodate them after a few years in the next school?
XI. Future Agenda Items and Meetings
A. December 22 - Report of 4K-8 Grade Configuration in Each Community Study
At the December meeting we will hear the report from the administration regarding the results of the -4k-8 study. This study is primarily focused on the costs required to implement 4k-8 in each community, rather than the environmental or education benefits.
B. Gifted and Talented Policy
- Jill List asked that we review this policy because of parent concerns. One of the general trends under NCLB (no child left behind law) is for districts to focus attention on the lower performing students, often shifting resources from higher performing students. I believe one of the biggest problem with NCLB is that it sets a single status goal, rather than growth or averages. To meet AYP requirements districts need to just get an increasing number of students over a fixed bar, there is no incentive to expend energy on those students who are comfortably over it or who are too far below to have a reasonable chance of making it. I also think that we have an obligation to challenge every student to their fullest potential, regardless of their level of proficiency.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The future lies ahead...
I've long argued that the information revolution is going to fundamentally change education in this country, the way that it has already transformed nearly every information based segment of the economy. For example there is the potential for every teacher in the country to have simultaneous access to the best available content on any topic.
The Wisconsin Academy is sponsoring a lecture tonight on the topic "Digital Media and the Future of Schooling: A Look at the 2050 Classroom" at 7:00pm tonight. Predicting the future 40 years out is always a risky undertaking, but an examination of the potential currently available technology has as a agent change in the classroom is certainly a worthwhile effort.
The Wisconsin Academy is sponsoring a lecture tonight on the topic "Digital Media and the Future of Schooling: A Look at the 2050 Classroom" at 7:00pm tonight. Predicting the future 40 years out is always a risky undertaking, but an examination of the potential currently available technology has as a agent change in the classroom is certainly a worthwhile effort.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
What do you think...
Context: In order to have a balanced budget we anticipate facing a shortfall of about $1 million in the next fiscal year, or roughly 3% of our current operating budget. This reduction falls on top of significant cuts over the last couple of years - a fact that means we have already cut all or most of the "low hanging fruit", and I don't believe we can make a 3% cut without noticeably reducing services. It is an unfortunate circumstance, however I think it can be done while continuing to make strides toward improved academic achievement.
I have my own ideas for dealing with the issue, but I would like to hear thoughts and ideas from the community: Comment away!
I have my own ideas for dealing with the issue, but I would like to hear thoughts and ideas from the community: Comment away!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Little Match Girl...
Playtime Productions Fall Season is in Full swing. This season's performance features 25 kids, many of them MG students, in a beautiful musical adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's "Little Match Girl".
I've been involved with the Playtime shows for the last couple of years, and I'm always impressed by the talent on display and the results of the hard work and dedication shown by these kids- and you will be too. So don't miss your chance to enjoy the show and support this worthwhile organization - I've posted some of the most convenient dates below, you can find the full schedule here.
And don't worry, this production is appropriate (and entertaining) for even the youngest kids despite the serious subject matter.
Overture Center for the Arts Playhouse
Friday, November 20 at 7:00
Monona Grove High School
Friday, December 4 at 7:00
PTP Gala Benefit Cookie Walk starts at 6:00
Barrymore Theatre
Sunday, December 6 at 6:00
I've been involved with the Playtime shows for the last couple of years, and I'm always impressed by the talent on display and the results of the hard work and dedication shown by these kids- and you will be too. So don't miss your chance to enjoy the show and support this worthwhile organization - I've posted some of the most convenient dates below, you can find the full schedule here.
And don't worry, this production is appropriate (and entertaining) for even the youngest kids despite the serious subject matter.
Overture Center for the Arts Playhouse
Friday, November 20 at 7:00
Monona Grove High School
Friday, December 4 at 7:00
PTP Gala Benefit Cookie Walk starts at 6:00
Barrymore Theatre
Sunday, December 6 at 6:00
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