Breaking news...

The MGEA has ratified the contract agreed to earlier today by the board. This contract is for the 2009-2011 school year and will expire June 30th.

The contract mostly maintains the status quo to allow us to complete the year in an orderly fashion even if the current budget repair bill passes. Hopefully it will give us enough time to deal with the implications of the yet to be released state budget and make layoff and staffing decisions with enough knowledge to minimize disruption. The same is true of senior teachers with the option to retire. It also minimizes risk: in the absence of a contract we would be governed only by the complex state statutes if the "budget repair bill" becomes law, and there is a risk that any disputes would end up in litigation without this settlement.

The agreed upon contract provides for 0% salary increase in the first year (2009-10) and 1% in the current year. This is significantly less than inflation and saves the district money relative to what had been budgeted.  Given that the MGEA would retain the right to negotiate salaries up to the rate of inflation under the "budget repair bill' this is probably a deal for the district.  A teacher who started in the district this year with a bachelors will receive $31,695 in salary (including the new teacher stipend), a teacher with a master's and 16 years experience will receive $51,717.

 The contract makes no movement on our OPEB ("Other Post Employment Benefits") liability, but because it only extends through June and it was unlikely we would have made changes to the retirements retroactive this won't impact the bottom line.

The long sticking point over the negotiations to this point has been the OPEB liability. The MG district has OPEB benefits that are much higher than our peer districts. The major cost was due to generous retirement health care benefits which were first negotiated decades ago at a time when health care was cheap. The rapid growth of health care costs had not been anticipated. The other part of the OPEB benefits is the TEP - a payout equal to the one year's salary. The TEP was originally implemented to reduce district costs by encouraging higher paid senior teachers to retire, however the high costs of health benefits in retirement now makes this less of a deal for the district.

It is past time to adjust these OPEB benefits to be more in line with other districts': The board's proposals did reduce the OPEB benefits considerably, by $200K or more per teacher - and as such were understandably difficult for the MGEA to swallow. Although we hadn't reached an agreement (and were in the process of arbitration) I feel we had made significant progress and both sides were finally at least reading from the same page. These issues will have to be resolved by the board or in negotiations (depending on what happens with state law) during the next biennium.

I do feel that this agreement has been reached at the point of a gun, and that is not an environment conducive to developing the cooperative relationships we need to move forward. But I do want to thank Superintendent Gerlach and the MGEA negotiations team for the difficult work necessary to move this forward in the last few days.

Meeting Sunday:

The board will meet in special session on Sunday at 11am with one item on the agenda:

New Business
A. Discussion and Possible Approval of an MGEA Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2009-2011

The district is currently operating under the terms of the last contract which expired in 2009, the new contract has been in negotiations for nearly 2 years. A new contract would extend only through June 30th of this year - but it would provide staff and the board a little bit of continuity that will allow us to continue to operate while the budget mess is sorted out.

Update: After a 2 hour discussion the Board unanimously approved a contract with the MGEA. The MGEA will meet this evening for a ratification vote, I will comment more about the contract and negotiations but only after they are concluded. So please withhold judgement!

After much debate...

Last night the school board created and approved by unanimous vote the following statement:

We believe that we need to keep the educational needs of the children in the forefront of all that we do.

Given the significant challenges facing our state, we believe that it is in the interests of the Monona Grove School District to maintain respectful partnerships and cooperative relationships that preserve rights and dignity for all. We agree that there is room for improvement in the laws governing the relationship between local governmental units and public employees. In our judgment, the proposals in the "Budget Repair Bill" give too little consideration for the possible disruptions that invariably result from such sweeping changes.

As such, we believe the collective bargaining provisions in the "Budget Repair Bill" should be reconsidered in a more collaborative process.

Our commitment must continue to be that of providing the best educational environment for our youth.

Monona Grove Board Of Education

Speaking for myself I would comment the continued statements by Gov. Walker that the collective bargaining provisions are intended to provide local governments with "the flexibility to deal with impending budget cuts" does compel those local governments to respond to the question of whether they want or need those provisions. While a number of local governmental units have approved statements in opposition to Walker's proposal, none (to my knowledge) have come out in support. This appears to me to significantly undermine the justification for the bill.

President's day...

Monona Grove Schools should be open tomorrow, (weather permitting!)

The Monona Grove School District will be open for school on Monday, February 21. Kristine Wollerman, Monona Grove Education Association (MGEA) President, representing the leadership of their association, will direct all MGEA members to attend school beginning Monday, February 21, 2011.

Teachers who were absent without a legitimate reason will have a proportionate deduction taken from their pay.

The board has received many communications, some in support and others critical, concerning the teacher's actions over the last few days, thank you for your comments.

On another note, I haven't commented much on the budget process as yet this year - 1) I've been busy, and B) the "budget repair bill" and governor's proposed budget (which hasn't been released, but may contain a $500 per pupil cut) has thrown the whole thing up in the air. So its difficult to plan, or comment.

Former board member Mary P. has a thing or two to say...

To the Monona Grove School Board,
The group of people in this school district who have sat across the bargaining table from the MGEA is rather small, and I am one of them. Bargaining with the MGEA was, hands down, the most bizarre and surreal trip through the looking glass I have ever experienced. I could drone on about a myriad of frustrations, but all else aside, I could never understand their complete and utter failure to realize the MG school board was not only not their enemy, but we also lacked the statutory power to improve their wages and benefits. While we could partake in rearranging the deck chairs on our own little Titanic, purchasing additional life boats was not within our power. Simply put, they directed a whole lot of energy toward a group who was essentially powerless all the while engaging in job actions that did little but harm students, demoralize many of their own members and generate ill will among the public. At times my own children were targeted, so please understand what I say next comes within this context.
Things are different now. Finally, the members of the MGEA have directed their energy toward the group of people who hold all the power, and all I can say is that it’s about damn time. For this reason, I urge the MG board to be measured in your response to the recent job actions that shut down our schools. I do not have knowledge of the relevant contract language, and while docking pay of those who did not report is reasonable, I urge you to not take disciplinary actions. Quite frankly, I find the message to the community on the MG web page today to be unsupportive of what our teachers are doing. I would have hoped for a more neutral statement.
What is going on right now is bigger than this district. Isn't it amazing to be living through this extraordinary time in Wisconsin history? I have seen nothing like this since I was a child in the 60’s. What happens in the coming days will certainly have an impact on Wisconsin public education for years to come. We should be proud that our teachers are standing up for what is right, and our Senator Miller is one of the brave individuals standing in front of the bulldozers. On the flip side, I don’t see organized buses of school board members pouring into Madison, so let’s support the teachers who are turning out by the thousands. Further, this may not end this weekend. This will take as much time it takes, and public educations stands to lose too much to blink first – however long this takes. If this grows more difficult, I beg of you to hang in there.
Last, while I suppose it’s too much to ask for the board to pass a resolution supporting the teachers’ actions, there is nothing stopping individual board members from expressing a little old fashioned solidarity, explicitly, and in a very public manner. It may not make you popular among some folks, but so what? I’m guessing most of you have long quit worrying about that and besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Not getting re-elected? I’m gonna go out on a limb and make another guess that most of you wouldn’t see that as the end of the world.
Thanks for your service. I wish you all the best as you grapple with the challenges of the coming months.

Mary Possin
4509 Midmooor
Monona, WI 53716

Closed tomorrow...

Because a large number of the teaching staff have notified the district that they will be absent tomorrow the district's schools will be closed. All teacher's are expected to report for work tomorrow, and those who don't will be docked a day's pay.

Several other districts in the area have made the same decision and have cancelled classes.

$1.8 million further in the hole

According to a WASB (Wi Association of School Boards) Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget will reduce the per pupil revenue cap by $500 per student. For MG this would be a net reduction of $600/student from our current budget process - increasing our budget deficit for next year by $1.8M over and above our current estimated $750K deficit.

WASB's Executive Director John Ashley has also issued a letter expressing opposition to the "budget repair bill" in that it goes too far without adequate deliberation.

"We are concerned that the provisions in the budget repair bill that prohibit collective bargaining over everything but wages go far beyond helping school districts control costs."

In which I go over the top.

The last time the WI governor called out the National Guard against his own people it lead to the infamous Bay View massacre. Then, as now, the people Governor Walker threatened Friday with National Guard troops aren’t an invading army, but among the hard working citizens of Wisconsin that he is supposed to protect and serve

I’m not a member of any union, indeed I serve on a school board involved in contentious and drawn out negotiations asking for substantial concessions from the teachers in our district. And although it makes this job difficult and frustrating (and I wish for a more collaborative process that could result in better outcomes for both sides) I don’t question for a moment the right of the teachers to associate and as a group negotiate for fair compensation for their labors.

My attitude does not just derive from idealistic notions of our rights as citizens in a country founded for the people, but also from a practical interest in what is best for the education of my children, our state and nation. A comparison of student achievement as ranked by the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows those states without teacher’s unions nearly uniformly rank at the bottom of in terms of student achievement, while those with healthy unions, including Wisconsin, rank at the top. We don’t know all the reasons for this correlation but it is more than a coincidence, I fear the “budget repair bill” will deliver us speedily to the bottom of this list. Yes, a teacher’s union can create impediments to reforms in our schools, but at the same time they create a rewarding work environment that in the long run attracts highly qualified people to the profession.

I do think that the public unions of this state are much to blame for the fact that they enjoy so little public support that their existence hangs in the balance. They have enjoyed considerable power and influence, and yet they have often appeared tone deaf to the greater concerns of the state. Unions need to demonstrate their relevance by working collaboratively for change for the better, and help adapt to (not fight) new realities.

But we all know that these proposed measures gutting union rights have no business in a “budget repair bill”– and the pure ugly political nature of these provisions is revealed by the exemptions given to the police and fire unions. If we wish to debate the nature, status and conditions of public employee unions lets have that discussion on its own merits, not undo 50 years of work in a single week with little debate and less thought.

We all understand the need for austerity measures in the face of an economic downturn. Although one wonders why, when headlines show that corporations are turning their tax breaks into record profits rather than jobs, that austerity means belt tightening primarily for the working families of this state. A healthy, prosperous middle class is the ultimate strength of our state and the hundred thousand teachers, if they are anything like my community, stand at the heart of that class and the guardians that prepare its children for their future.

Yet our Governor refuses to even meet with the representatives of these tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens and public employees, an act that can only be described as dereliction of duty. What is he afraid of? In his refusal the Governor claims that he has nothing to offer the unions – and yet he entirely exempts unions representing other groups from his proposals. Teachers are every bit as important to the state of Wisconsin as police officers and firefighters – don’t they deserve the same rights and respect? The governor says the state is “broke”, but our $3.6 billion shortfall over the next biennium represents much less than 1% of the Wisconsin GDP. According to usgovernmentspending.com education spending (preK-12) as a percentage of GDP has shrunk more than 12% since 2002. If the state IS broke, it is not because of education.

The Governor says he is committed to creating jobs in the state of Wisconsin, I have a news flash for him: employers are not going to come here for the weather, and they will never find the labor costs of India or China. The only thing that will attract employers is a well-educated, creative and productive workforce. That is a race we can win, but we can’t even compete in a race to the bottom, nor should we want to. The teachers of the state must be at the core of our efforts to win the race that Wisconsin needs to run.

We live in the most prosperous country ever known to history- we need to remember that we got here neither by magic nor chance, but in part because our grandparents made the sacrifices necessary to adequately support universal education and allow teaching to become a rewarding and respected profession. When we turn our backs on those values, we turn our backs on prosperity for our children.

Governor Walker versus teacher unions...

According to the AP Walker's budget proposal includes the following sweeping changes:

Under Walker's immediate plan, all collective bargaining rights would be removed for state and local public employees starting July 1, except when it comes to wages. But any salary increase they seek could be no more than the consumer price index, unless voters in the jurisdiction affected approved a higher raise.

Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until the next contract is settled. Public employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues.

Local law enforcement and fire employees, as well as state troopers and inspectors would be exempt.

...The ban on public employees striking would remain, Walker said.

Collective bargaining rights would only extend to wages, and that would be limited to the consumer price index. I would note that public sector already receive less total compensation than private sector employees with equivalent education and responsibility - limiting raises to the consumer price index would further increase this gap each year.

2/9 Board Meeting:

The public portion of tomorrow's meeting starts at 7pm in the Nichols District Office Board room.  Items of note:

X. New Business


A. Presentation and Discussion of the Proposed School of Health and Environmental Sciences, a project-based learning charter middle school serving grades 6-8.- Nancy Gagnon and Stephanie Ramer (10 min)

We will hear a report on the progress being made by the group proposing a charter middle school in the district. 

B. Discussion on Paperless Board Meetings – Jason McCutchin & Bill Herman (20 Min)

At last months WASB convention I talked to one vendor who specializes in software for "Paperless Board Meetings" and has a package available for $2K/year.  Aside from the convienence of not having to deal with all the paper, the main goal would be to reduce the time and effort required by the staff to support board meetings.

D. Discussion and Possible Approval of Final Notice of Nonrenewal of One-Year Administrative Contracts and .5 FTE Diversity Coordinator Position (5 Min)

F. Discussion and Possible Approval of Preliminary Non-Renewal Notices of Teachers (15 min)

Until we finalzie the budget, we can't say who will be employed by the district in the next year.  To accomodate potential reductions we need to provide notice of non-renewal to these employees to prevent their contracts from rolling over for next year.

H. Discussion of Location of Second Grade Students in Cottage Grove Elementary Schools for 2011-12 (15 min)

Taylor Prairie has about 372 K-1 students while Cottage Grove has 485 2-4 students.  Shifting some 2nd graders from Cottage Grove to Taylor Prairie will provide a better balance of space for our elementary students.

XI. Unfinished Business

A. Discussion of Budget Reduction Proposals and Process (20 min)

We should be hearing specific proposals for budget reductions - although without the governor's budget proposal we don't know how much we will have to cut. 

B. Approval of Staff Resignations/Retirements


Barbara Berg, Principal – Cottage Grove School, effective at the conclusion 2010-11 school year.

CG elementary principal Barbara Berg is retiring at the end of the year.  Barb has done a wonderful job running our largest elementary school - she is an important part of the management team and will be missed!

I find this is interesting:

A "meta-analysis" collates and the results from multiple independent research studies of a single subject to provide a more reliable evaluation of the tested hypothesis.  Increasingly common, meta-analyses are an important way of sifting through often contradictory or confusing results from multiple studies reported independently. 

This meta-analysis in the news caught my eye because it reported an average increase in academic achievement by 11 percentile points associated with "Social and Emotional Learning" programs.  A gain of 11 percentile points is huge when compared to effects from other strategies employed in schools.   The analysis included a review of a whopping 213 studies involving 270K students K-12, and noted improvements in student attitude and behaviour as well.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x/full

What is "Social and Emotional Learning"?  SEL programs seek to teach children "to recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, appreciate the perspectives of others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations constructively"

Snow Day Tomorrow...

Just came back from walking the dog - its quite the blizzard out there.  Stay warm!