_________________________________________________________________
The next board meeting (and first electronic one) will be on Tuesday the 22nd. Items of note:
J. Unfinished BusinessThe board will be considering three new courses at the high school. The Physics/Honors Physics class is a continuation of the Biology/Chemistry track for freshman and sophomores recently instituted. The college writing course is for students who need to improve their writing skills to the college level, the course is aligned with a Madison College writing course and college credit is available upon successful completion. The AP Music Theory course will be the only non-performance music course offered at the high school and is intended for students interested in a career in music or strongly interested in composition. The After School At Risk proposal is for a program to provide additional instruction and mentoring for students in need. This will be funded from dedicated Title 1 monies, not general funds.
1. Discussion and Possible Approval of High School Course Proposals for Physics and Honors Physics
2. Discussion and Possible Approval of High School Course Proposal for Introduction to College Writing
3. Discussion and Possible Approval of High School Course Proposal for AP Music Theory . 4. Discussion and Possible Approval of High School Course Proposal for After School At-Risk Program
5. Discussion and Possible Approval of MGHS Parking Lot Concepts
The board will consider options for realignment of the driveway to the staff parking lot onto Monona Drive as part of the Monona Drive reconstruction project.
7. Discussion and Possible Approval of Concealed Carry SignageWait, what? Under WI new concealed carry law the carrying of weapons in schools and on school grounds is still illegal, and constitutes a felony. However those with CC permits may now carry a weapon up to the edge of the school property, where previously weapons were prohibited within 1000 ft of a school. In addition weapons are now allowed in vehicles on school property provided they are unloaded and locked up. The board will consider signage on school buildings to provide a reminder of the prohibition of weapons.
9. Budget Reduction Discussion
10 comments:
Enough with eroding MG Schools through the "budget reduction" process. There is nothing but bone left to cut. I dont care if the superintendant thinks his job is to represent the taxpayers interests which I have heard him say. He needs to represent what is best for the students in his district.
The list will simply be the case for going to referendum and presenting the district residents a choice. It may be part of the due diligence required to make the case, but it ends up pitting teachers, students, and community members against one another in a very negative way. There has to be a better way than a "budget reduction committee" to get to the point.
I think the superintendet and school board do have the best interests of students in mind -- they've been dealt an awful hand by the governor and Legislature and are trying to manage a lousy situation as best they can.
What's your solution? A referendum to go beyond the state-imposed revenue caps? Fine -- but you can't expect the citizens of the district to endorse such a measure -- which will raise taxes during a very difficult time for many families -- without a serious discussions of what will happen to the district if no additional dollars can be found. That's the intent of the "budget reduction committee" -- and the school board if wise shouldn't try to sugar-coat any of this. I don't think they have been, but the board and administration need to be very explicit and detailed about what lies ahead without additional revenue.
The process isn't the most important thing, so it's not worth getting upset over how it's done. What's important is what the process reveals about the near-term future of the district, and what we can expect to have in terms of programs, class sizes, elective (and non-core) courses, and even extra-curriculars.
I agree with the second comment. Most voters won't consider voting a tax increase unless they know what will happen if they do not. Vague predictions are not helpful. There is no magical way to go about this process. When budgets need to be cut, everything is pitted against eveything. I don't see a way around that. Agreed everyone involved is doing the best they can with the hand that was dealt.
The committee is full of insiders. Why not a committee of the super, business director and then MORE ommunity committee members OR equal reps from the community as the district.
Bless your hearts, really. But darn it, Peter - here we go again. The board and other insiders will be working behind the scenes to make BIG decisions before any shred of public input and before significant effort to let people in on what is happening to our district. You guys get so wrapped up in your reality as board members that you fail to consider the very different reality of community members. The Maywood debacle is a perfect example of a school board that thought just because they knew what was going on, everyone else did too. But everyone else didn't then and they don't now. You should be getting public input on big picture priorities from the public before your Super Committee goes to work on their list. You can't have a process that's all tidy with a pretty little bow. This stuff is messy.
Hi Peter,
I think there are too many citizen committee members-one would be better
Dear bless yor hearts writer- Peter is not the only one reading.
Please share your community view and thoughts. I would love to hear them.
Thanks for the opportuntiy to learn-
Peter,
Do you think that all of teachers (say like ones doing commercials) understand that we do have students in classes beyond 32?
thanks.
1) I appreciate and consider the comments on the budget issue.
2) Re:"Do you think that all of teachers..." Forgive me, but I need to stay out of this particular debate.
"Forgive me, but I need to stay out of this particular debate."
Yes. I get it and understand. Yet, I wish and hope that Mr. Knutson understands that we had to increase class sizes for certain students beyond 32 because of Walker's Budget.
Post a Comment