Appointments to School Board Committees

School Board Standing Committees

At last night's school board meeting, Susan Fox announced the appointments to the newly reinstated citizen committees.  Per board policy, the president makes all of the appointments to the committees.  The president may get input from the committee chairs, who are also appointed by the president.

Business Services
Chair: Susan Manning
Susan Fox
Lionel Norton
Kathy Thomas (MN)

Jeff Simpson (CG)

Policy                           
Chair: Lionel Norton        
Jessica Ace                           
Susan Manning                       
Beth Bingham (MN)           
Sharon Henes (CG)


Curriculum
Chair: Peter Sobol
Jason McCutchin

Jill List
Andrew Bridell (MN)

Jim Foley (CG)

Other Updates

The board voted to move the Alternative High School or MG21 into Nichols next year.  The board approved a 0% pay increase for administrators for the 2010-11 school year.  A group of teachers attended in protest of the contract negotiations relative to the retirement benefits proposal.  Susan Fox gave an interview to Jack Henrich where she detailed the proposal to the teacher's union.  The interview can be found at http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=127&ArticleID=1751

Monona Grove -- Stand Together or Split Apart?

A reader posed the following question:
"Would you consider a stream on the split of this district? I know that this has been talked about in the past but is it time to revisit this as a possibility?"


This question comes up frequently.  The animosity between Monona and Cottage Grove is exhausting at times, and it is not a surprise that people turn to this option as a solution.  However, there are several obstacles that must be considered.


First, the tax money that comes into the district is currently 55% from Monona and 44% from the Village & Town of Cottage Grove combined.  Therefore, each community is contributing about half of the tax dollars for funding.
The actual data from the district for 2009 is:
Monona = 55%
Village of Cottage Grove = 28%
Town of Cottage Grove = 16%
Other = 1%


Second, the DPI must approve any district splits and their history on this is to deny these requests.  Wisconsin has a large number of school districts and the budget issues facing all of them mean districts should consider consolidating, rather than splitting.


The reality is that both Monona and Cottage Grove need what the other community brings to the district.  Cottage Grove has 70% of the elementary population in K-5.  Monona has 20% and open enrollment make up the remaining 5%.  State funding is tied to enrollment and whether or not it is increasing or decreasing.  Recent trends have shown growth in Cottage Grove, which has helped the district.  It is not likely that the Monona community could support a stand alone district with only 20% of the student population down the road.


While Monona has plenty of building space to house Monona students, Cottage Grove doesn't have a high school.  Consider the $30 million price tag of Glacial Drumlin School and it is not likely that Cottage Grove can come up with the funding to build a high school in the near future.


The district website posts updates from Board President Susan Fox.  The April 8, 2010 update includes the following paragraph:
Over the past couple months, some citizens have raised the issue of a possible split of the district between Cottage Grove and Monona and asked for copies of the split study completed in 2005 by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.  Please note that both the construction of Glacial Drumlin and the changes in state law make the results of the study invalid today. The Program Impact Report, however, remains applicable, and the impact of a split on programming would be substantial. The Board reaffirmed the importance of keeping the Monona Grove School District intact.


If splitting the district is not a viable option, then we must turn the discussion to what we need to do to repair our district and maintain the strong level of programming we have been known for in the past.  How can we bring the communities together instead of tearing them apart?  Who is up for the leadership task to accomplish this very difficult goal?  Do we have the right school board in place to get the job done?


The Monona Grove School District belongs to all of the citizens and students in both communities.  It is time for the board to listen to all of its constituents and make responsible decisions for the future.  Every single person in this district should pay attention to what the board is doing right now and let them know whether or not they're on the right track.


Contact the board at mgsdboard@mgschools.net.  Messages are automatically copied to the superintendent.

Business Services Director Resigns

The Monona Grove School District is facing millions of dollars in structural deficits over the next four year, and now they will face those budget problems without their valued Business Services Director, Mary Ellen Van Valin, after she resigned on May 25.


Van Valin confirmed that she was offered a contract with the Milton School District, meaning she will depart Monona Grove after five years when her contract expires on June 30. District officials agree the resignation is a huge loss for the district.


“It appears in Milton, that when administrators came forward with recommendations, that good questions are asked, but recommendations were followed,” said Van Valin.


She also noted that it is disheartening when administrative recommendations are exhaustively discussed, leading to five- or six-hour meetings, only to have those recommendations tabled in the end because board members ask for additional information.

While Board President Fox downplayed the issue of micro-managing administrators, board member Jill List said she was not surprised by Van Valin’s resignation.
“I think she’s tired of abuse from the board,” said List, referring specifically to the recent budget process and perceptions of micro-management. “I think she’s had it.”


Herald-Independent Article:


http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1755

Alternative High School - Nichols or Winnequah?

The Board has tentatively planned all year to move the MG Alternative High School (MGAS) from its current rental location on Monona Drive to Nichols School beginning next fall.  However, at tonight's meeting, the possibility of Winnequah was discussed as well.


While the space available on the lower level of Winnequah would be appropriate (includes the FACE and Tech Ed. rooms, along with regular classrooms), concerns about security, since a back door now locked during the day would be in use, the need for construction of a dividing wall with a door to separate the Alt School from the rest of the building but still allow for a second exit from the building, and the fact that bathrooms on the lower level are located on the other side of that new, proposed wall all present problems. The fact that there is very little time to gather public input on such a move was another important factor cited.


The Board requested cost estimates on both options for discussion at the May 26 meeting, at which time a decision must be made in order to accommodate a move.


Herald-Independent Article:
http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1738&TM=71574.5