Friday, April 20, 2012
Upcoming Events...
April 16th, MG21 Community Open house
MG21 -- the charter school for 10th-12th graders in Monona -- will hold an open house for the community April 26th from 6-7:30 p.m. Students, parents, and everyone else are welcome to attend and learn about the school, authorized by the Monona Grove school district two years ago. Come learn about MG21 student-led projects, and see how MG21 offers students the opportunity to learn in a small, student-centered environment. MG21 is located in the former Nichols Elementary School, 5301 Monona Drive.
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May 12th, MGEF Spring Carnival Fundraiser at Northlawn Park
On Saturday, May 12 from 12-3 at Northlawn Park, MGEF is hosting a Spring Carnival to raise money for the Endowment funds for Taylor Prairie, Cottage Grove Elementary, Glacial Drumlin and Monona Grove High School.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
This is interesting...
Every school district revenue referendum (in the area reported by the State Journal) passed yesterday.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wrapping up the ends.
This year's budget cutting round was finished up on Wednesday night when the board voted to adopt the cuts recommended by the budget committee with a few modifications from the superintendent. Most difficult among the cuts are the elimination of multiple support staff positions, including special and regular educational assistants library and clerical staff along with two special education teachers. The loss of these positions will increase the demands on the teaching staff and reduce the time they can dedicate to each student. More on the list can be found here.
In other big news the Board approved a six year lease and joint operating agreement with the Madison School District to operate their Nuestro Mundo Charter School in the Maywood Building. This K-5 program is a dual language immersion program (English & Spanish). Five spots will be available for Monona Grove students in each grade, starting next year with kindergarten.
In other big news the Board approved a six year lease and joint operating agreement with the Madison School District to operate their Nuestro Mundo Charter School in the Maywood Building. This K-5 program is a dual language immersion program (English & Spanish). Five spots will be available for Monona Grove students in each grade, starting next year with kindergarten.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Good for Jason...
We got the news that Board member Jason McCutcheon has accepted a position in Springfield, MO, starting in a few months. As a result Jason will be resigning his seat on the board come the end of April.
Jason always brought a valuable perspective to our debates, and worked hard - never shying away from the tough assignments. We didn't always agree, but I felt I could always work more constructively with Jason than anyone else on the board.
Good luck Jason!
Jason always brought a valuable perspective to our debates, and worked hard - never shying away from the tough assignments. We didn't always agree, but I felt I could always work more constructively with Jason than anyone else on the board.
Good luck Jason!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Budget meeting schedules.
Once again it is time for our public hearings for input on the proposed budget reductions for next year.
The three public hearings will be held:
Saturday, March 17, 9-11am, Winnequah Cafeteria
Tuesday, March 20th, 6-8pm, High School Auditorium
Thursday, March 22nd, 6-8pm, Glacial Drumlin IMC.
The list of proposed items for reduction can be found here.
See you there!
The three public hearings will be held:
Saturday, March 17, 9-11am, Winnequah Cafeteria
Tuesday, March 20th, 6-8pm, High School Auditorium
Thursday, March 22nd, 6-8pm, Glacial Drumlin IMC.
The list of proposed items for reduction can be found here.
See you there!
Shaken
My heartfelt condolences go out to the family caught up in the tragedy that visited our school community last week. This event left me shaken; I have two children at this vulnerable age, and the imagination quickly runs to the unthinkable.
And although I've thought about it quite a bit I have been at a loss as to what to say here. I do view this event as a failure of the school district and the school board. What could we have done or should do to prevent a recurrence? I don't know. But I do know that our students spend a significant portion of their time in our care, and we have an obligation to provide a environment that provides physical and emotional security for each, regardless of the other factors in their lives. The fact that this occurred indicates to me that we have failed at that goal. We need to carefully consider what might be done moving forward.
For a view of how a school board can impact school climate you might check out this article in Rolling Stone. The article is not uncontroversial, and has a different focus, but to me it illustrates how what happens on the school board can directly influence school climate in positive or negative ways.
And although I've thought about it quite a bit I have been at a loss as to what to say here. I do view this event as a failure of the school district and the school board. What could we have done or should do to prevent a recurrence? I don't know. But I do know that our students spend a significant portion of their time in our care, and we have an obligation to provide a environment that provides physical and emotional security for each, regardless of the other factors in their lives. The fact that this occurred indicates to me that we have failed at that goal. We need to carefully consider what might be done moving forward.
For a view of how a school board can impact school climate you might check out this article in Rolling Stone. The article is not uncontroversial, and has a different focus, but to me it illustrates how what happens on the school board can directly influence school climate in positive or negative ways.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Big shoe dropping
The HI covers the district's budget reduction process here. I have to say the process has been outstandingly well run, with a careful process design and excellent collaboration and information provided by the administrative team. If you want to see the ranked list of proposed reduction you can find it here.
As it stands we need to cut $1.2M. A line drawn through the chart at that point falls just above the 4th grade string program. But don't cheer about that - its hard to see much of the rest of the list surviving next year if things don't change.
The top of the list starts with "easy" things, including reductions in transportation and custodial services, administrative and infrastructure spending, but quickly moves on to support staff reductions and teacher workload increases. Teachers are going to have significantly less time to provide the individual attention that is key to reaching many students.
Regardless of how the details of the final result the district will be losing things of significant value.
As it stands we need to cut $1.2M. A line drawn through the chart at that point falls just above the 4th grade string program. But don't cheer about that - its hard to see much of the rest of the list surviving next year if things don't change.
The top of the list starts with "easy" things, including reductions in transportation and custodial services, administrative and infrastructure spending, but quickly moves on to support staff reductions and teacher workload increases. Teachers are going to have significantly less time to provide the individual attention that is key to reaching many students.
Regardless of how the details of the final result the district will be losing things of significant value.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Idiot's guide
Here you go Tom: In this week's HI Tom Reason asks for an "Idiot's Guide" to the $1.2M projected budget shortfall the school district is facing.
To understand the deficit we must first explain the school finance system in WI. As I have explained before there are two major parts the to school finance puzzle: The "Revenue Limit" and the state aid formula.
1) General fund revenues are subject to the per pupil "Revenue Limit" set by the state. The Revenue limit for MG for the current school year is $10,404 per pupil for a total of $30.1M. That is what we get to spend on general operating expenses, such as paying teacher salaries and the utility bills. The only way to exceed the revenue limit is to hold a referendum asking for additional funds to be levied from local property taxes.
2) Once the revenue limit is set, the state uses a complicated formula to determine how much of the total revenue will come from the state budget. The formula is related to the number of students and the total property value in the district. Districts with lower property value per student will receive a higher proportion of state aid. In MG the state funding comes to about 1/3 of the revenue limit. The school district can then levy the remaining amount from local property taxes up to the revenue limit.
Between 1993 and 2011 the revenue limit has been increased by about 2% per year, a bit less than inflation. This has generally led to gradual, but over time significant, tightening of the belts in school districts across the state. By 2011 most districts were very lean, MG has a Staff/Management ratio more than double the private sector average; and teacher take home pay has been losing ground against inflation for some time.
The Biennial (2 year) budget past last summer included a 5.5% cut for state aids to schools for the 2011-12 school year and an equivalent cut in the revenue limit to prevent school districts from making up the short fall by increasing the local tax levy. For MG that is amounted to a reduction in revenue by about $1.4M; combined with enrollment changes and inflation of everything from health care to utilities that produced a $2.5 million deficit. We plugged that deficit by spending our federal stimulus dollars, $900K in cuts and $1.1M in reduced compensation to the employees of the district as mandated by Act 10.
For next year the Revenue limit will increase by $50 per student, but after inflation this is something like another 2.6% cut, and we lose the federal stimulus money that helped fill the gap this year. This means that for next year we have an estimated $1.2M deficit. Note that this is the 3rd year in a row with budget cuts in the range of $1M, and the cumulative effect will start to have a noticeable negative effect on education in the district.
To understand the deficit we must first explain the school finance system in WI. As I have explained before there are two major parts the to school finance puzzle: The "Revenue Limit" and the state aid formula.
1) General fund revenues are subject to the per pupil "Revenue Limit" set by the state. The Revenue limit for MG for the current school year is $10,404 per pupil for a total of $30.1M. That is what we get to spend on general operating expenses, such as paying teacher salaries and the utility bills. The only way to exceed the revenue limit is to hold a referendum asking for additional funds to be levied from local property taxes.
2) Once the revenue limit is set, the state uses a complicated formula to determine how much of the total revenue will come from the state budget. The formula is related to the number of students and the total property value in the district. Districts with lower property value per student will receive a higher proportion of state aid. In MG the state funding comes to about 1/3 of the revenue limit. The school district can then levy the remaining amount from local property taxes up to the revenue limit.
Between 1993 and 2011 the revenue limit has been increased by about 2% per year, a bit less than inflation. This has generally led to gradual, but over time significant, tightening of the belts in school districts across the state. By 2011 most districts were very lean, MG has a Staff/Management ratio more than double the private sector average; and teacher take home pay has been losing ground against inflation for some time.
The Biennial (2 year) budget past last summer included a 5.5% cut for state aids to schools for the 2011-12 school year and an equivalent cut in the revenue limit to prevent school districts from making up the short fall by increasing the local tax levy. For MG that is amounted to a reduction in revenue by about $1.4M; combined with enrollment changes and inflation of everything from health care to utilities that produced a $2.5 million deficit. We plugged that deficit by spending our federal stimulus dollars, $900K in cuts and $1.1M in reduced compensation to the employees of the district as mandated by Act 10.
For next year the Revenue limit will increase by $50 per student, but after inflation this is something like another 2.6% cut, and we lose the federal stimulus money that helped fill the gap this year. This means that for next year we have an estimated $1.2M deficit. Note that this is the 3rd year in a row with budget cuts in the range of $1M, and the cumulative effect will start to have a noticeable negative effect on education in the district.
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