Citizen Committees Will Return

President Fox announced that the following Board members have been elected to serve as officers for the 2010-2011 year:

Susan Fox, President

Jessica Ace, Vice-President

Susan Manning, Treasurer

Lionel Norton, Clerk

(Note: Fox was elected with 4 votes and Peter Sobol got 3 votes for President.  Manning was elected with 4 votes and Jason McCutchin got 3 votes for Treasurer.  Norton was elected with 4 votes and Peter Sobol got 3 votes for Clerk.  Ace ran unopposed.)

The Board voted to reestablish the following standing committees: Business Services, Policy and Curriculum.  Also, there will be further discussion regarding forming additional subcommittees in areas such as continuous school improvement and long term budget planning.

Mr. Gerlach recognized Ed O’Connor, Director of Continuous Improvement and Assessment.  Ed has announced his resignation from the district effective at the end of June, 2010.

The Board discussed policy for creating standing committees.

MOTION: Peter Sobol moved to amend the main motion to include the words “with board approval “ in the first paragraph on Board Policy 185. Jason McCutchin seconded.  There was discussion on the amendment. President Fox noted that since this is in the 100 series of board policy, it would require five votes to pass. The motion failed.

MOTION: Lionel Norton moved to add/substitute the words “shall appoint Board members and in cooperation” to the proposed revised Board Policy 185, dated April 28, 2010.  Susan Manning seconded. The motion carried.  This sentence now reads: “The Board President shall appoint Board members and in cooperation with the chair of each committee shall appoint members to the standing committees.”

MOTION: Lionel Norton moved, and Peter Sobol seconded, a motion to add the words “in cooperation with,” following the word “annually.” The motion carried. This sentence (A2) now reads: “The Board President annually, in cooperation with Committee chairs, shall appoint citizen members of standing committees.”  Motion carried.

President Fox asked Board members to contact her in regard to which committee they would like to serve on. There will be three Board members and two citizens on each committee.

The Board discussed increasing the walk zone for elementary students.  It is the recommendation of both Mary Ellen Van Valin, Director of Business Services, and John Vandermerwe, Director of Transportation, that we do not extend the walk zone at this time.

MOTION: Jessica Ace moved that we remove extension of the walk zone as a budgetary reduction item for 2010-2011.  Jason McCutchin seconded.  Motion carried.

The Board conducted a variety of other board business, which can be found in the minutes on the district website.

Herald-Independent Article:

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1703&TM=44118.11

Preliminary Staff Reductions Approved

Rebecca Fox-Blair and Bill McDonald, MG Alternative School staff, presented the Board with a request for approval of an application for a new charter and an implementation grant for a restructured alternative school called the “Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century” or “MG21”.  Upon approval, the new charter will replace the current Alternative School charter and will allow for future growth and expansion of the program.  The grant of $175,000.00, in each of two years, will enable the district to take our alternative school to the next level by incorporating the use of 21st century technology and enabling the linking of assessment to 21st century skills.

MOTION: Susan Manning moved approval of the application of the grant and contingent on acceptance of the grant and moved approval of the charter of the Monona Grove Liberal Arts School for the 21st Century.  Jessica Ace seconded and the motion carried.

Bill Breisch gave a brief update to the board on work of the high school science department, including a plan to restructure the required 9th and 10th grade required courses.  The proposal is that in the year 2010-2011, the required 9th grade science course will be biology. Beginning in 2010-2011, chemistry will be the 10th grade course requirement. In addition, both courses will have an honors class available.

MOTION: Susan Manning moved approval of the implementation of 9th grade biology as presented, beginning in 2010-2011.  Jill List seconded and the motion carried.

Superintendent Gerlach gave an overview of the racial issues affecting the district.  He indicated that he has been meeting with staff and would like to keep the lines of communication open between the Board and staff. We are using this opportunity to present what the issues are and what is happening in the buildings.

Jim Orlenko, Director of Human Resources, presented the Board with a proposed list of teachers to receive preliminary notices of layoff.  He indicated that this is a very dynamic process and that things are ever changing.  The list includes both partial and full positions.  The final layoff notice must be out by May 15.

MOTION: Jason McCutchin moved approval of the 2010-2011 Teacher Preliminary

Notices of Layoff as presented.  Peter Sobol seconded and the motion carried.

Deidre Bradford, reduction in contract 1.0 FTE to .70 FTE

Jeremy Duss, reduction in contract from .80 FTE to .00 FTE

Jonathan Farris, reduction in contract from .86 FTE to .00 FTE

Carol Graves, reduction in contract from .95 FTE to .00 FTE

Greg Gehrig, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .00 FTE

Jeanette Heitman, reduction in contract from .30 FTE to .00 FTE

Jill Jensen, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .16 FTE

Garrett Jones, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .00 FTE

Jeff Kasperak, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .00 FTE

Kate Mennenga, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .60 FTE

Steve Rhoads, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .77 FTE

Cindy Rudie, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .00 FTE

Lea Spaay-Kozich, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .80 FTE

Ryan Thompson, reduction in contract from .56 FTE to .00 FTE

Hong Tran, reduction in contract from .66 FTE to .00 FTE

Kristoffer Tudor, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .60 FTE

Ginger Veith, reduction in contract from 1.0 FTE to .00 FTE

The Board conducted a variety of other board business, which can be found in the minutes on the district website.

Charter School Will Take Several Years

While Monona Mayor Robb Kahl was initially hopeful his proposal for an environmental charter school in Monona could be realized by the start of the next school year, additional research into the process has revealed that such a timeline is not possible.  After an informal meeting of interested stakeholders, April 6, it appears the Monona Grove school district will need at least two years to develop and open a charter school, possibly more, in addition to a core group of dedicated teachers and community members who will lead this demanding task.



“We need to be clear on the reality of the timeline,” said District Superintendent Craig Gerlach. Goals must be set for the school, followed by planning of curriculum and the eventual task of making that curriculum a reality. While he is supportive of the proposal, he noted that all of those necessary steps are, in themselves, very complex.


Herald-Independent Article:
http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1667&TM=42679.37

Board Falls Nearly 20% Short of $1.0 Million Budget Cut

Superintendent Gerlach indicated that staffing reductions need to be approved at next week’s Board meeting as any layoff notices need to be sent to staff on April 15.  He is very hesitant to make a 5% cut to building budgets.  He stressed that he has faith in his administrators to make the right decisions.  If we can fall within one percent of our budget, he would be comfortable with that.

The Board had extensive discussion on the remaining proposed items, including building/department budgets, IMC paraprofessionals, extending the walk zone and increase in minutes for elementary related arts.

MOTION: Susan Manning moved to remove “elementary related arts-reduce instructional minutes per week” from the list of proposed reductions for this year. Lionel Norton seconded and the motion carried.

MOTION: Peter Sobol moved to remove the reduction of building budgets by 5% from the list of proposed reductions for this year.  Jason McCutchin seconded.

ROLL CALL VOTE:  Motion carried 6-1 with Susan Manning voting Nay.

The Board asked to receive copies of building budgets and department budgets, including the department budgets with a possible reduction of some amount up to 5%.

MOTION: Jason McCutchin moved to reduce IMC Paraprofessionals by 2 FTE for next year at an approximate cost savings of $66,000.  Peter Sobol seconded and the motion carried.

The Board conducted a variety of other board business, which can be found in the minutes on the district website.

Herald-Independent Article:

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1655&TM=42679.37

Maywood & Winnequah Consolidation Delayed

Susan Fox announced that the district’s food service staff have taken a pay freeze for two years.

Discussion and Possible Approval of Consolidation of Maywood & Winnequah Schools. This was listed as a budget reduction item estimated to save $260,000 per year.

MOTION: Jessica Ace moved to delay the decision of the Consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah Schools until the 2011-2012 budget cycle. Susan Manning seconded.

The Board had extensive discussion regarding this item. They talked about the need for a three or five year plan to address both facilities and budget. In addition, the question was asked regarding what would be the tax impact on residents for a referendum. Superintendent Gerlach explained that a number of factors need to be considered but a general figure would be $50 per $100,000 of home value for the first year. Also, in order to address the financial needs, it would be up to $250 per $100,000 for the 5th year.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Motion carries on a vote of 4-3. Norton, Ace, Manning & Fox voted Aye. Sobol, McCutchin & List voted Nay.

Discussion and Possible Approval Budget Reduction Proposals. Superintendent Gerlach went through the list of final budget reduction recommendations without the building consolidation. The total amount of the recommendations is the reduction of $1,028.500. Superintendent Gerlach indicated that if there are a multitude of questions, the Board will schedule an additional meeting in early April, as decisions regarding staffing must be made prior to April 14.

MOTION: Peter Sobol moved that the Board accept the list of Final Budget Reduction Recommendations Without Building Consolidation, dated 3/23/10 as presented. Jason McCutchin seconded.

After discussion and several other motions, the Board removed the following items from the list to be discussed at a later meeting:

· Building Budgets/Department Budgets

· IMC Paraprofessionals

· Elementary Related Arts: Reduce Instructional minutes per week

· Extend the walk area to 2 miles

Susan Manning made two motions to remove additional items from the list. Jessica Ace seconded both motions, but they both failed. The motions involved two items relating to Class Size and reducing staffing in the 6-8 Music programs by 1 FTE.

President Fox restated the original motion to approve the list of Final Budget Reduction Recommendations Without Building Consolidation, dated 3/23/10 as presented, with the above named items removed. The motion carried.

The Board will meet on Wednesday, April 7 to discuss the budget reduction items that were pulled from the list during tonight’s meeting.

MOTION: Peter Sobol moved approval of the revisions to the Board Rule 343.2 - Guidelines for Class Size. Jason McCutchin seconded.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Motion carries on a vote of 6-1. Susan Manning voted Nay.

The Board conducted a variety of other board business, which can be found in the minutes on the district website.

Herald-Independent Articles:

Maywood will stay open at least one more year

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1629&TM=66063.24

$745,500 in cuts approved by school board

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&subsectionID=21&articleID=1630

MG Budget Decisions Must Be Carefully Considered By Dean Bowles

From the Herald-Independent:

After the recent public hearings and board meetings I feel compelled to write this letter. Your budget decisions over the next weeks and months will not be easy but are vital to the quality of the Monona Grove Schools, schools that our children attended, and my wife and I have supported for 44 years.


Three-Year Budget Plan. The FY2011 budget decisions should be in the context of at least a 3-year budget plan since state school aids will be no better, and probably worse, in the next biennium, and revenue caps are likely to remain. In short, this year’s $1 million budget cuts, while difficult, will be easier than in any of the next three years.


Fund Balance. Make no decisions that put the MG schools in a long-term structural deficit. I have heard casual, uninformed talk that “MG has a “slush fund,” “rainy-day fund,” or “money hidden in the budget” that could be used to save programs. Not so. However, MG has a minimal “Fund Balance” of about $5 million that is vital to the financial health of the MG schools and should stay at 15%-25% of the budget which is also Board policy. The Fund Balance should not be considered a “cash” balance but an asset that pays for ongoing liabilities during the school year to avoid high interest, short-term borrowing and low financial ratings. Tinkering with the current Fund Balance will be costly in the long haul and only make future budget decisions even more difficult.


Procrastination and Delay. Procrastination and delay will only make the problem greater. Act and vote incrementally with the best available information after you have had informed recommendations. Make perhaps 120% of the cuts necessary to balance the budget. All this should be done with the expectation that the Board will act on and amend the preliminary budget when the whole package is assembled incrementally.


Dean Bowles is a former Mayor of Monona, a Deputy State Superintendent of Schools, and Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis.

Full Article:

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=1609&SectionID=5&SubSectionID=127&S=1

Monona 6th Grade Moves to Glacial Drumlin

Reed Foster, PEP (Physical Education Progress) Grant Coordinator and MG Teacher, presented an update to the Board regarding the PEP Grant that district received from the US Department of Education. This three-year grant, valued at $541,000 over the three years, will help make a change in our physical education program. Mr. Foster shared information on what changes are being made in the district.

Location of 6^th Grade Programming. President Fox asked for a motion to accept the administrative recommendation prior to holding discussion.

MOTION: Jason McCutchin moved to accept the Administrative Recommendation to move the 6^th grade students from Winnequah to Glacial Drumlin, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year and Jill List seconded.

MOTION: Susan Manning asked to amend the previous motion and to delay this decision by two weeks in order to address open enrollment and budget decisions. The motion failed for lack of a second.

The Board had lengthy discussion regarding this topic, including items such as busing, furniture, and efficiencies in programming and staff. Many members indicated that this is the most difficult decision that they have had to make since being on the Board. In addition, some mentioned that they realize there are inefficiencies with not combining the 6th grade students and above all, they agree that educationally this is in the interest of our students.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Motion carries on a vote of 6-1. Susan Manning voted Nay.

The Board will vote on the consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah prior to the reductions discussion at the March 24, 2010 meeting.

The Board conducted a variety of other board business, which can be found in the minutes on the district website.

Herald-Independent Article:

http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1600&TM=63049.93