Congratulations

Congratulations to Monona Grove's Aubrey Lauersdorf on her selection as a National Merit Scholar. Aubrey is one of 18 county students selected for this honor.


http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/283968

Communication

Lily Schlammelhanger made the following comment on an earlier thread:

I believe the entire problem here is one of process. The way the board gathers public input on difficult issues needs to change, and the involved, attentive
residents of this district should help and support the board in doing that. The processes used in decision making need to be more transparent and understandable. Criteria must be determined and then adhered to. More budget problems are coming. The good news is that Monona Grove has been very lucky to be one of the last districts in Wisconsin to face these problems. This means there are many districts who have already been through this. There must be at least a few districts who have engaged the public effectively, such that when the final decisions were made, most people felt like they understood the decisions and also believed their concerns were heard even if they did not agree with the final outcome. Until these process issues are addressed, this toxic dynamic will continue.

I too believe communication between the board and the community is problematic. Please comment on ways that this might be improved!

Help with the move

This summer is going to see the move of the Nichols students into the remodeled Winnequah building. Unfortunatly the move is going to be shoe-horned in around the renovation and will have to be done in the few days at the beginning and end of the summer break. If you could find time to help a teacher pack up or unpack please visit the http://nic-to-win.blogspot.com website and click on the "Sign up to help with the move!" link. You will be redirected to a page where you can pick a team and dates you would like to help.

Thanks to all those who have signed up already!

Topic: Monona Elementary Consolidation

The recurring theme in the open thread was the idea of consolidating the Monona elementary schools into one building. Please post your thoughts and comments concerning the pros and cons of such a consolidation as comments on this thread.

Open Thread

Let's start this with an "Open thread" discussion. Please comment on any topic of concern. Its not that I can't guess what's on your mind these days, but sometimes we suprise each other. I'll open individual threads for the relevant topics as they come up.

P.S. I would appreciate any comments on one old post I left up below, with some modest ideas for a better Monona.


Update 4/21 8PM:
1) Thanks for keeping it civil!

2) In general I don't intend to argue the points, I just want to hear what people have to say. But let me respond to a couple of things posted in the comments:

First, the "silly" comment: There is only one reason to close Maywood and that is the relative cost of maintaining two small schools vs. one larger one. This is of course balanced by the benefits of maintaining a small school environment. As far as I can see the less these two schools cost the less reason there would be to consolidate them. No?

Second, the comment about these schools being "half-staffed". I invite the poster to look at the number of teachers and staff (there are 30+ people who work in each of these buildings) and divide that into the number of students. You will find that the student/teacher ratios are much lower than other schools in the district, and that they among the very lowest in the state. These schools are by no means "half-staffed". Next year there will be one principal between the two, but we are also adding a teacher at Maywood.

Open for business! School discussion forum

In response to comments on Doug Wood's blog, I am re-opening this blog for discussion of school issues on a trial basis. It will remain open for business provided 1) I can continue to find the time and 2) it remains a useful discussion and idea forum. Please refrain from argumentative, intolerant or unproductive discussion. This is a place for discussion of general issues and ideas, not a place for complaints about specific issues in the school district. Specific issues need to be directed to the appropriate staff.

Remember, we are all in this together and we all want what is best for the Monona Grove schools and our communities, even though we may disagree about how to get there.

A better Monona

If anyone is still out there to read this, there is still one more thing I want to say:

During the candidates forum I was asked: What could be done to attract families to Monona? I declined to answer, both because of the short time allowed and because I didn't think it was an appropriate part of the debate. I did say that there were many things that could be done. Here is my list - I don't take credit for these ideas, and I don't know how practical each is or how they might be implemented. But this is just a starting point for the discussion:


1) Market - design a brochure touting the city, distribute to:
Real estate agents, UW employement relocation services,
Major employer HR departments ...
Host annual tours/events for realtors & relocation services

2) Improve Housing stock:
Homeowners' TIF
loan programs for remodeling
expedited/relaxed building permits
Remodeled home tour
Subsidize professional architecture/design consulting with homeowners in some way.
Devise a tech program around design/architecture with the high school that focuses on home remodels. (something MGSD could do)
Establish a database of contractors that includes information on customer satisfaction.

3) Pick a spring flowering tree variety appropriate to our climate and encourage homeowners to plant it in their front yards, and integrate it into the Monona drive reconstruction landscaping- so that we become known as the city with the beautiful spring display
4) Improve the streets, improve the streets, improve the streets
5) Add sidewalks
6) Improve Code enforcement to prevent unsightly properties from detracting from the value of neighboring houses. (Don't let yokels like me leave old windows from the remodel leaning on the outside of the garage for a year!)
7) Establish bike/walking corridors that make better use of our parks and give better access to commercial areas.
8) Establish a Dog park as a destination, perhaps in Maywood park
9) Establish a unified design based on unique architectural elements for new development on Monona drive and in commercial districts.
10) Clean up the beaches - add sand and remove organic debris to make these attractive places for kids to swim. This means containing our stormwater outfall - perhaps by re-establishing small wetlands in some areas that border the lake.
11) Improve lake access/useability - establish kayak/canoe racks in lakefront parks - expanding access to the marina in stonebridge park - perhaps a public marina in the development at Lottes or Tonyawatha park.
12) Discourage the conversion of owner-occupied homes to rental properties.
13) The reconstructon of Monona drive leads to all kinds of possibilities for redevelopment. I would love to have a "downtown" area in town that is a destination for people from throughout the county - how can we encourage this?


What do YOU think?

Election Results

Susan Manning 1,926 24%
Peter Sobol 1,615 19%
John Weinberger 1,540 18%
Nancy Allen 1,332 16%
Randy Parvin 1,108 13%
Sharon Henes 870 10%

For better or worse, the citizens of Monona and Cottage Grove have seen fit to elect me to the MGSD School Board, along with Susan Manning and returning John Weinberger. I thank each of you for the confidence you have placed in me and I hope and pray that we can all live up to your expectations!

Vote Today!