July's light agenda can be found here.
There are two items of note on the Agenda: the Resource Officer Agreement between the district and the municipalities will provide for the Police Liaison officer; and the "Committee to Study Grade Configuration in Monona" which will be tasked with evaluating the different options for grade alignment of the Monona elementary schools.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
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38 comments:
I am hoping the board will be able to demonstrate respect and civility towards each other at this and other upcoming meetings. I watched the last 2 meetings. I would guess that we would not tolerate the types of rude behaviors agmonst our students that were demonstrated by some board members.
nowhere else to put this, so...
I really like the blog I just discovered for the new school. Good way to communicate with parents - hopefully most of them know it exists.
dont know about it, wht is it?
Go to MGSD site and click on Glacial Drumlin.
Peter-
I am really hoping that the committee that is dealing with grade configuration in Monona is one that works well together, and can actually get things done.
In my view, either move the 6th grade to GD school or make 6th grade an elementary school grade everywhere- This idea of having all the teachers driving between two schools is crazy.
And, are you, as a board really open to keeping Maywood open, or is closing it a done deal and this committee is simply a way to do it while seeming to involve folks?
The real question to ask of the board regarding this committee is if they are committed to taking the recommendations of this committee seriously. If they end up not doing so, they will need some extremely compelling reasons. If not, the whole thing will just be seen as a sham.
The district has not evaluated the cost vs. benefits of the elementary arraignments in light of current and anticipated budget conditions. Lacking that evaluation no one can honestly say what course of action is best. Maywood is a successful school and it fits our upper/lower elementary model. I think not consolidating the schools is desirable for these reasons, however we really don't understand what we are going to have to trade off to maintain the status quo. Once we have a good understanding of the benefits vs. trade-offs then we can make an informed decision.
I have not seen any movement on the board toward consolidation of the Monona Elementary schools. Keeping the two schools was pretty much assumed going into consideration of budget cuts this spring. This question only came about because of the breadth of public sentiment for consolidation that was expressed while we considered those cuts.
So what did the talk about/decide regarding this committee?
"The district has not evaluated the cost vs. benefits of the elementary arraignments in light of current and anticipated budget conditions...This question only came about because of the breadth of public sentiment for consolidation that was expressed while we considered those cuts."
You have mistated my opinion, if the board and you keep talkaing about ratio and cost benefit, which seems to be a tendency (oh, and threaten). The mONona schools will come-up short everytime.
So, then I saw stop playing games...and move forward.
I would rather NOT see any Monona schools close.
Please do not say it was us.
WHY in the world would you delete these comments?? I only know what the first one said.........sorry I am not on your blog 24/7...........however...........
All I can speak to is my post. And my post said that you are wrong.
And that the reason this all occured is because MOnona parents feel pushed to give up buildings in exchange for quality administrative staff and adequate teacher to student ratios.
Now, why in God's name would you feel like you had to delete a comment like that??
It is totally appropriate to this conversation and to the overall health of the Monona Schools overall. Please, Peter. Explain to all of us Monona parents (you know, the ones that you REPRESENT) what your stance is on this.
Thank you.
PS.
I would love to know what got posted but then immediately deleted. Please repost so that i can appreaciate.
thanks,
"MOnona parents feel pushed to give up buildings in exchange for quality administrative staff and adequate teacher to student ratios"
Sounds like a fair statement to me.
I deleted the first posts because they contained insults and made an assertion that was factually incorrect. (I will undelete them if the commentor posts accurate teacher and administrator to student ratios in all MG schools before and after any proposed changes).
The other posts were argumentative responses.
" if the board and you keep talkaing about ratio and cost benefit, which seems to be a tendency (oh, and threaten). The mONona schools will come-up short everytime."
This statement is a pretty clear indication that some here in Monona consider buildings more important that quality education (that would be the benefit) and sound fiscal management (that would be costs).
I urge the board to reject these emotional arguments and stick to a course of promoting education and fiscal responsibility.
I, too, live in Monona. I can speak for myself, thank you very much, so please don't anyone else claim to do so. If you post here, you speak for yourself and yourself alone. I think we all need to calm down and let the new superintendent and the committee do their work. The majority of this school board has been elected since the whole middle school mess - only three people remain who were even on the board then, so stop pounding this board for what you perceive as the mistakes of a different board. As far as jumping all over Mr. Sobol about his opinion on this issue, I think he's made it pretty clear that his bias is to keep Maywood open, but he's open to looking at the whole thing. At least that's what I have taken from what he has said here although I haven't spoken to him in person.
That's part of being on a Board of ANY kind......you live with the sins of the forefathers.
I don't care WHO was on the board when this whole mess started. It is THIS board that must deal with it. Just because the Board has changed doesn't mean we get to sweep the Middle school debacle under the carpet. Hell no. We'll be paying for that one for a LONG time.
And since I AM concerned about education, it shouldn't surprise you when I assert that Winnequah is not appropriately set up for two foot tall preschool students. So, now instead of paying for ONE remodel of Winnequah, I am going to have to pay for two. AND, then i will be paying for another elementary school in Cottage Grove.
GREAT.
Monona is not concerned about buildings anymore than CG.
If CG was only concerned about ratios and cost benefit. A portion of el. ed students would have traveled to Monona to ease overcrowding and we would be remodeling a middle school.
I am not stuck on buildings. I am stuck on a quality environment and atmosphere. I find it hard to believe that is achievable if the the current board is concerned about numbers and ratios for community of Monona.
Thus, let us work on something that meets the community needs and the district.
People, people:
I deleted a bunch of argumentative comments. If you are going to post here: 1) No insults or name-calling, 2) no unsubstantiated accusations of inappropriate conduct against anyone, 3) no misinformation, 5) no argumentative posts, 4) Proof-read (for your own sake).
I like to hear what people are thinking, but the behavior above suppresses the contributions of the civil among us. I don’t have a lot of time to spend policing this blog so please stick to the rules above.
I have swept "the Middle school debacle under the carpet." It feels good to not be so angry about something I can't change. Now I can focus my energy on new things.
Various answers to points raised above:
Yes, Winnequah may need some modifications to accommodate the youngest students. How this fits into the overall cost picture is something that I expect the committee to address if they are considering the consolidation option.
Yes, I would like to see Maywood kept open, but there are lots of things I like to see – more G&T, expanded AP or IB, elementary World Languages, fully funded arts and music programs, improved teacher salaries- just to name a few. But in the real world everything is a trade-off and we are required to make choices, choices that need to be informed by careful and reasonable analysis. That is why we are setting up a committee to study the issues.
Some seem to think that the words "cost-benefit" somehow always mean the lowest cost. They don't- they refer to the most effective use of resources because this is the best way to provide the best education.
Yes, I am willing to take the heat for the New Middle School, provided I get credit for any success too ;)! However calling it a “debacle” is at best premature; I fully expect that it will be a successful school and will be a great asset to our communities.
In the interest of no misinformation, a post above asserts that a new elementary school will be needed in CG. Is this true in the foreseeable future? I thought new home starts are almost non-exisitent out in CG and the fear at this time is a decline in enrollment? Peter?
Cottage Grove's school age population growth has been low and stable for quite some time. This is partly a result of planning by the village and many of the kids in existing homes ageing out of the schools. I believe that given the historical growth patterns and continued projections for moderate growth that it will be quite some time before we need additional elementary capacity.
So, I am watching the replay of your most recent meeting.
Why do guys spend sooooooo much time on discussing the number and make-up of the committee to discuss el. ed. issues in Monona? At one point, I thought there might be a discussion of the hair color of members.
One of your (and other brd. members) arguments about not filling the open principal position at Monona was it is the administration's idea and we should not get involved.
Frankly, Craig made a good point-the committee must be legitimate and we are spending too much time on the issue.
Finally, one board member did not want it to get too political. It is all political and if the right people (including Monona alders) are not on the committee, it will get political real quick.
I think her aruguement that it should be exactly the same number of people from CG and Monona is....weak.
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