Upcoming issues:

Wednesday's meeting is a "Committee of the Whole" - we will discuss but not act on any items.  Here are some significant ones:

E.  Discussion Items/Policy Review
1. Presentation of the Parking Lot Concepts for Monona Grove High School and Access Changes to
 Monona Drive – Tom Lynch, Strand Associates      

As the reconstruction for Monona drive goes past the high school the entrance to the parking lot on the south side of the building needs to be relocated to make room for a protected left turn feature in the center of the road.  The board is considering some of the options, which include moving the drive north so that it is opposite Lofty Ave, or moving it south so it is midway between Lofty and Springhaven.  This second option would likely result in the removal of some of the trees in the corner of the lot.  In either case we would need to reconfigure the parking, but it is possible to add several spaces.

3. Update on Employee Handbook  Process       (10 Min)

Our current contracts with employees will expire in July of 2012.  By that time the district has to have a "handbook" in place that replaces the current contract and codifies in policy the relationship between the school district and its employees.  I view this document as the most important project before the board as it will impact all aspects of operations for the foreseeable future.

7. High School Course Proposals: Paul Brost and High School Teachers
  Physics, Honors Physics , Introduction to College Writing , AP Music Theory, and After
  School At-Risk Program       (30 Min) 

Paul Brost and the High School staff will be presenting information on these proposed classes.

Looking for something to do this afternoon?

Playtime Productions Children's Theater starts their fall tour of http://www.playtimeproductions.org/schedule.htm this afternoon at 2pm in the Monona Library auditorium.  Other nearby shows on the schedule include the MG High School Auditorium Friday, Nov.11th at 7pm and the Barrymore Theatre Sunday, Nov. 20th at 6pm. 

Founded by Monona's Teddy Studt, Playtime Productions has been providing great children's entertainment as well as terrific opportunities for young performer for 32 years!

Here we go again...

This year's budget reduction process (for the 2012-13 school year) starts now. The familiar and seemingly endless cycle of budget reductions will start again this month as the board will consider the Superintendent's recommended process timeline.  We must be prepared to act by the Feb. 22 board meeting.

How big a deficit do we expect for next year?  We are estimating about $2 million.  Although this is a bit less than last year's, the last time around there were some easy savings: we took a million out of staff compensation and spent $800K from stimulus funds.  So if your kid isn't in high school Calculus or one of the other classes with increased size, or a patron of some of the other services we trimmed, you might not have noticed much difference

But this year there isn't any more low hanging fruit, and it doesn't look like there will be any more help from Washington.   That means the majority of the cuts are going to be noticeable reductions in services- and some of this will inevitably come out of the classroom, as that is where the great majority of money is spent.  $2 million represents the compensation of more than 30 teachers.

http://www.herald-independent.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=2949

MG21 Open House this week

The "Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century" (MG21) is  holding their annual open house this Wednesday (Nov. 2nd) from 6:30 to 8pm in their facility in Nichols.

As you may know, MG21 was awarded a $175K Implementation Renewal Grant in August.  The grant will be used to develop the curriculum and expand its program.  Currently the program has room for 30 students in grades 10-12 but plans to double its capacity.

MG21 uses a project based learning model to teach an integrated curriculum.  More information can be found at www.MG21.org.





http://www.mg21.org/events-dp4

More numbers...

UPDATE: According to Jerrud, part of the drop in property values was due to a miscalculation of the value of property associated with a TIF district in Monona last year. The property was over valued last year and the property has been undervalued this year to compensate.


With the final numbers from the state now in hand Jerrud has finalized the levy calculations. The total property tax levy has dropped $250K from the estimate to $18,188K. At the same time the state reports that the total property value in the district has decreased 5.6%. Together this means that the Mill rate will be $13.08. Note that the total dollar amount of the tax collected hasn't changed, just the relative components of the calculation.

The bad news is that the state is saying your home lost 5.6% of its value last year. To find tax and valuation information about your property you can go to http://accessdane.co.dane.wi.us/.

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A constituent today asked about the Governer's new website reforms.wi.gov where one can find the statement "Monona Grove School District Taxpayers will save $2,085,400 due to Act 10 reforms, according to media reports."

If you have been following along here you know the district has saved $1,009,000 by reducing staff compensation consistent with the Act 10 provisions. So the report is more than double the actual value.

The oddly specific number makes it easy to Google, and we find the only source is the website of the advocacy organization the MacIver Institute - not exactly a "media report". MacIver does point to an article in the Herald-Independent, but the HI article only mentions the $1.09M number. It seems the accounting of the effects of Act 10 have been outsourced, but not to a reliable source.

Local educational news roundup...

A couple of other interesting articles in the WSJ today: Wisconsin schools have been historically known for their quality (we choose to Wisconsin after studying this issue), but that was coupled with higher spending per pupil. Coincidence? I think not! But now funding is slipping toward the national average.

"It's been a big change in a very short period of time, there's no question about it," says Dale Knapp, WISTAX research director. "In the late ‘90s to around a decade ago, Wisconsin's spending per pupil on schools was typically around 10 percent above the average nationally. In the last eight years, we've been moving more toward the middle."
Salaries for instructional staff (primarily teachers) ranked 21st nationally in 2009, or 1.5 percent below the national average. Wages for all school personnel ranked 29th in 2009, or 7.4 percent below average

If you want average schools, then average funding will do.

We also find a report on the Madison Preparatory Charter School where some operational details have been revealed. The plan calls for a adding 20 days to the school year (200 vs. 180) by adding a summer semester during the month of July, lengthening the school day to 8 to 5 and mandatory sports and extra-curricular. Its a bold proposal and an excellent example of how the charter school model is best used: to provide a laboratory in which to develop innovative educational models. I won't speculate on the success of this model but the empiricist in me would like to see how will it works. The down side is of course cost. A significantly extended school day and year come at a significantly greater cost. However reducing the achievement gap and better preparing young people for success has significant value to society, and over the long run could have a significant return on investment.
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Note to Sunny: Class size guidlines are set by the board, balancing costs vs. educational considerations and public support. They aren't in the teacher's contract. Never were. In fact, you might be surprised by the things that aren't in the contract!

Sunny's point that small class sizes aren't a panacea is accurate, but we have in hand a stark example of how class size can make a difference. The high school AP Calculus class, with 34 students, is 2.5 weeks behind the point in the curriculum that last year's smaller classes were.

More on the annual meeting.

The Herald-Independent covers the Annual Meeting here.  It has a rundown on the numbers and budget challenges facing the district:

Our expenditures such as utilities increased by 5 percent, 7 percent, health insurance by 9 percent,” Rossing said. “The district has worked very hard [to balance the budget]. We had to cut $811,000 out of the budget to get to the balanced budget tonight.” 
Last year, the district cut $929,531 from the budget. “It’s definitely changing the way we’re educating our students,” Rossing said.

I would add that the $811K cut in services is on top of a $1.1M reduction in staff compensation.

On a related note Jerrud reported last night that our September count of district resident students has decreased by 36 over last year.  This will negatively impact funding over the next few years.

I agree with Mike Mikalsen's point about the decision process at these meetings.  With the small number of residents present voting on the levy and property dispositions, it is not particularly democratic and may not reflect the wishes of the district as a whole.  But whether we use a special meeting or the annual meeting the same process is the one dictated by the state law.  This needs to be fixed.

The article does misstate the number on the tax levy, the $126 figure given is the reduction in property taxes on a $200K home compared to last year's taxes.  The estimated levy for that home would be $2462.

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.

Slightly more interesting than usual

This year's MG school district annual meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct 5th at 7pm in the IMC at Glacial Drumlin school.

In addition to the usual budget approvals three items will be put before the electorate for approval.  These items give approval to the board for the sale or lease of the Nichols building and site, lease of the Maywood site and sale of 2 residential properties on Jerome Street across from the high school.

The Madison School District has expressed interest in leasing the Maywood site for their Nuestro Mundo Elementary Charter School.  This would be a great opportunity for our district to cut costs while maintaining the building and provide a different opportunity for MG students.  We don't have any prospects for the Nichols property, but by getting authorization it will communicate to potential developers that we are serious about moving forward.

Update:  the meeting booklet can be found by clicking here.