The good news is that repeat air testing in the High School, after implementation of preliminary mitigation steps, show a significant reduction in the PCE and TCE vapors to levels well below the EPA "Action levels".  The district will continue the mitigation (primarily increasing the air flow through the HVAC system) until more permanent solutions are in place.  Plans are proceeding to install a "depressurization" system to lower the concentration of vapors beneath the slab to prevent them from entering the building.

The Board did spend more than an hour last night with representatives from Klinke Cleaners, the DNR, the testing company, and experts hired to guide the remediation.  I was surprised to learn that soil contamination was first detected on the Klinke site in 2008, and removal of contaminated soil was done in 2010.  Klinke Cleaners has been funding the testing and cleanup efforts at the high school. The Wisconsin dry cleaner's association does have a fund to help with the costs of environment remediation.
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In other business:

Technology update:  the board heard a detailed report from IT Director Bill Herman on the state of our technology infrastructure.  In brief: not good and falling behind, without outdated and inadequate equipment and support.  Bill presented an "adequate funding" proposal that included a nearly $200K increase in funding to support our educational goals.  You can find Bill's presentation here.

The one bright spot in: a federal stimulus funded program will bring us desperately needed high bandwidth internet access by the beginning of next year.

Buy a Bus seat:  The board also considered a "Buy a seat" program where students within our new 2 mile walk zones would have the option to receive school bus transportation for a fee of $150 on a space available basis.  It's unfortunate that we have to go this direction.

Nuestro Mundo Dual Language Immersion:  The board considered the application process for the Nuestro Mundo program to be operated with the Madison School district in Maywood next year.  Applicants have until June 29th this year to apply to enter the Kindergarten class.  Monona Grove has up to 5 spots reserved, if more than 5 applications are received there will be a random draw for the positions.

Saving me the trouble

The WSJ saves me the trouble of a long post explaining the situation regarding the Nuestro Mundo charter school and Maywood.

In brief: we are negotiating a 6 year lease and a joint operating agreement that will allow the Nuestro Mundo charter school to relocate in Maywood.  Our district would receive $165K in rent and space for up to 5 MG students per grade, starting with Kindergarten this fall.

The Nuestro Mundo Charter School is a successful K-5 elementary program that features dual language immersion to provide bi-lingual education to its students.

Annual meeting follow-up

Thanks to everyone who attended the annual meeting last night -

After significant debate the community approved the motions authorizing the board to lease the Maywood property and sell or lease the Nichols property.  Concerns were raised about capacity for future growth, appropriate use of the sites, and the facilities for MG21.  These are all issues the board will have to consider before taking any action.   The district doesn't have any "deals" pending, but the authorization will IMHO increase the chance that we will be able to take advantage of any appropriate interest that comes along.

Authorization is only the first step in the processes that will involve the district, community and the municipal governments, and any agreements would have to conform to local zoning and use provisions.

Real Estate:

By law and policy the district can only sell or lease real estate with authorization from the electorate at a public meeting. At last Wednesday's board meeting we unanimously approved three measures to be placed on the agenda of the October 5th annual meeting. The three measures seek authorization from the public to:

1) Sell or lease the Nichols property
2) Sell the two residential properties on Jerome street across from the high school
3) Lease the Maywood property

None of the proposals require we do anything with these properties, but the give the board the authority to take advantage of any opportunities that might come along.

I have said before that I think the district would be better off with the Nichols property working for the community rather than sitting (largely) idle. It is a prime piece of real estate in Monona and could be of significant value to the community. To my knowledge there are no plans or proposals in the works, but finding the right project for the property is likely to take some time. Public approval will let potential developers know we are serious, and makes it more likely that someone will invest the time and effort to develop a proposal.

The Jerome street properties are two houses adjacent to the District tennis courts across the street from the high school (these are actually in the city of Madison.) We've been talking about doing something to upgrade the tennis facility for years - and the neighbors would prefer something to these unoccupied residences. The houses are used by the district for storage, but they aren't really of much value to us - selling them could provide some revenue for much needed facilities maintenance and upgrades.

No one is interested in selling the Maywood property, I think we should keep it for potential future needs. But finding a paying occupant would be of financial benefit to the district, better maintain the building and address some of the community concerns associated with an unoccupied school. As I noted we have seen some interest from the Madison school district as a location for their Nuestro Mundo charter school. An arrangement could be substantially mutually beneficial.