New Board's first meeting

Wednesday's meeting will start off with the reorganization that occurs after each spring election as we elect new officers.

Other items of interest:

VII A & B: Craig will also provide us with an update on the impact on the budget of the Federal Stimulus money, and whatever other information we might have concerning state funding. As you may have heard the state will face a larger than expected budget deficit- this is likely to impact state aids to schools.

VII C: Transportation- We've heard from a number of parents concerning transportation of students to Kid's Safari for after school day care.
This year the district has provided transportation to Kids' Safari but has proposed dropping it for next year. Current District policy allows kids to be dropped off at day care centers if they are along existing routes, space is available and no additional costs are incurred. We may wish to revisit this policy.

VII D: An update concerning the Ad Hoc facilities committee. (That committee will hold a public listening session next Sunday at 6pm at Glacial Drumlin school.)

X-B: The board will consider the recommendation for adoption of 6-8th grade English Curriculum materials. Of all the items on the agenda this is the most relevant to the pursuit of our educational mission.

Under the Business Services committee section the board will also consider approval of borrowing $1.46M to fund the McKinstry Energy Performance Contracting agreement. The debt service will be repaid out of energy savings for projects performed through the contract. McKinstry will guarantee that the savings will fund the payments or make up the difference. It was initially intended to use a lease-purchase arrangement to fund these projects, however our bond counsel determined that much more favorable terms could be obtained using general obligation promissory notes.

The agenda can be found here.

Energy Savings...

Last night the board approved the "Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement" portion of the contract with McKinstry. This agreement will enable the district to finance up to $2 million dollars and use the money to perform energy upgrades to our schools. The money saved of our energy bill will be used to pay back the financed sum. McKinstry will guarantee that the savings are realized, and if they aren't will make up the difference. The projects will have an average simple payback time of about 10years.

This program has two primary goals. First, over the long term this will place the district in a superior financial condition, with reduced operating costs. Currently we spend over $850,000 each year on energy costs - something that is sure to rise and can be unpredictable. Second, it will reduce the "carbon footprint" of the district. The total decrease in CO2 emissions is estimated to be 2 million pounds per year. Reducing our emissions will provide a positive example for our students and community and sends the message that we can and will take positive steps toward a sustainable future.

Quite a number of students turned out as an expression of their concern for this issue, and got to witness slow motion excersize which is progress. Maury Smith (HS Math teacher) eloquently argued the environmental importance of moving forward with this issue, and Rob Everhart spoke of the need to move forward now.

The district energy budget was an issue I raised in my campaign as an important place we could make a little contribution to the budget outlook. I am pleased that we have been able to take this small step.

More Energy Savings in our Future?

Today's Herald-Independent editorializes about the energy efficiency of the new Glacial Drumlin School and the savings that will accrue to the district. Unfortunately not all the buildings are up to the same standards. In fact several of our buildings rank near the top in Wisconsin in energy usage per square foot, even when adjusted for age.

Next Wednesday the Business Services Committee will consider recommendations for a vendor to provide Guaranteed Performance Contracts for energy upgrades around the district. In this arrangement the district finances building and energy system upgrades identified by the vendor using low interest loans or lease arrangements. These loans are paid back by the district out of the resultant savings from reduced utilities bills. The "Guaranteed" part is that the vendor will guarantee that a certain level of energy savings will be reached each year of the contract. If savings aren't met the vendor is required to make up the difference.

Next week's business services agenda can be found here.

Energy Efficiency at GDS

The Glacial Drumlin Middle School construction was audited by Alliant Energy and received their highest rating, both due to its energy efficient construction with a well designed building "envelope", daylighting and a highly efficient HVAC system with geothermal source. Alliant is certain that the building will receive Energy Star certification. More importantly they estimate savings of $114,000 per year (at current energy costs) over more conventional construction. The extra investment in energy efficient construction will be paid back in savings pretty quickly.

Based on these savings Alliant is offering us a low interest loan that we could use to perform energy efficiency improvements elsewhere in the district. Hopefully we can net additional savings while at the same time reducing the environmental footprint of the district.

League of Women Voter's Questionnaire

The Dane County LWV sent questionnaires to all candidates in the Spring elections. For school board candidates they asked three questions and allowed 100 word answers. Here are the questions and my responses, bear in mind that 100 words are barely enough to clear your throat and the answers are necessarily incomplete:

What educational, occupational, civic and community experience have you that you believe qualifies you for this office?

A few years ago we chose as a family to move to this community in part because of the clear local support for its quality schools. I am committed to maintaining and improving the quality educational system that brought us here and the unified school district that continues to make our communities attractive places to live. I will bring to the job an unbiased and professional analytical problem solving approach, developed through several years of senior corporate management experience. My professional experience has helped me develop techniques to gather and evaluate information in order to find the best and most cost-effective solutions.

How would you encourage schools in your district to increase energy conservation and the use of energy efficiencies and renewables as a fuel source? How would you support the integration of these district efforts into the curriculum and into special projects to provide a continuing learning experience fo students, staff and the community?

The district now budgets $1.1 million for gas and electricity, or 3.7% of total spending (which is 30% above state average), and this is only expected to increase. For savings there are two approaches: Find and implement practices by staff and students that may lower energy use today, and audit equipment and facilities to find self-funding efficiency improvements to reduce future expense. The geothermal heating/cooling at the new middle school shows how smart choices may result in future savings. Energy efficiency is an area where the schools can certainly teach by example, but integrating students into these efforts would certainly provide opportunities in science and consumer education.


What role should staff such as guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, librarians and school nurses play in supporting teachers and students?

When properly utilized support staff can make important contributions to student achievement. If our schools are expected to maximize achievement of all, they must meet the increasingly diverse needs of individual students. This includes providing remedial help for some, tailoring programs to the different learning styles of others, and just as importantly finding ways to challenge the most talented students. Support staff can provide critical support to this process by applying their specialized expertise to ease teacher’s burden of identifying individual student needs, and play a crucial role in finding resources and customizing programs to meet those needs.