Another Lengthy Discussion of Budget Reductions

The Board approved the Preliminary Notice of Non-Renewal of Administrators Contracts for the Diversity Coordinator, Aquatics Director, Assistant Principal and Food Service Director. These positions are on the list of potential budget cuts and per the contract must be given notice by February 1 or they are automatically renewed.

Superintendent Gerlach has spoken with local real estate agents about the Nichols property. The building is considered a Monona Landmark. Currently, the building is not being used to capacity. The City of Monona has an ordinance that ties into local landmarks where the city has first right of refusal. The superintendent will continue to monitor the situation.

The Board agreed to keep the current structure of educating all 7^th & 8^th grade students in one building as per the study it is not feasible nor fiscally responsible to separate them. There was an update on the status of all six Ad Hoc Committee recommendations.

Public hearing dates for budget reductions will be:

Tuesday, February 9^th, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Glacial Drumlin School

Thursday, February 11^th, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Monona Grove High School

Saturday, February 20^th, 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. at Winnequah School

Superintendent Gerlach went through in detail the rankings of reductions being recommended by Administration. Board members will receive additional information on the Maywood and Winnquah Schools consolidation issue, along with the athletic budgets at the next Board meeting. The Superintendent and the Board had lengthy discussion on the list of possible reductions. Superintendent Gerlach reiterated that this is a very difficult process and the reality remains that our district needs to cut $1 million a year for five years.

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?Search=1&ArticleID=1511&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=52&S=1

Extensive Budget Discussion

McKinstry reported that the Energy Service Projects are 75% complete and the district saw a savings of approximately $30,000 in energy costs in three months. This is on track with the annual projected savings of $108,000.

President Susan Fox indicated that the Board would discuss the 4K-8 Grade Configuration Study, but would not take action on it at this meeting. It will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

Superintendent Gerlach presented a process for the Board and administrators to rank budget reduction items based on impact to district goals. The Board had extensive discussion on the details of each item included in the list of potential reductions.

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

4K-8 in Each Community Will Cost Over $1 Million

This year’s Enrollment Projection report is posted on the district website at www.mononagrove.org.

Superintendent Gerlach gave an update on the “Race to the Top” program. Our district may only be eligible for $277,000. To participate, we must sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which the Board approved.

Patti McGinnis presented the results of the 4K-8 in each community study. There is a 121 page report on the district website. First year costs are estimated to result in increased district expenses of approximately $1.1 million. On-going costs are estimated to result in increased district expenses of $150,000-$200,000 depending on how many buses are needed. The report will be placed on the Board agenda in January for action.

The Board modified the Open Enrollment Policy $425, but the minutes do not reflect those changes.

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

Five Year Structural Budget Deficit

Wisconsin will submit an application for the “Race to the Top” federal fund. The hope is that Wisconsin would receive $150-$250 million, but it is unclear how that money would be spent and which districts would be eligible.

Budget Deficit Workshop is scheduled for December 16^th from 5:30 – 10:00 p.m.

The board reviewed a Five-Year Budget Forecast Model which illustrates a consistent structural deficit. The District will need to cut operational costs by $1 million for each of the next five years.

Holly Elsberry, Monona Grove alum and current student teacher in the district, presented information on the White Privilege Conference which will be held in LaCrosse on April 7-11, 2010. She presented information on this conference because she feels that it provides a valuable learning experience and that our School District needs to put focus on understanding racial and cultural differences in the forefront in order to promote equity in our schools.

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

Harassment Policy Finally Approved

Study on 4K-8 in each community will be presented to the board on December 22, 2009.

Discussion on class sizes, especially at the high school where last year the district spent $135,000 on overload pay for courses above the district guidelines. The administration suggests increasing some high school class size guidelines because they are smaller than middle school size guidelines. This is being discussed as a budgetary issue and an equity issue.

Board Policy #114 – Harassment – School Board Members, Volunteers, and Other Community Members of the MGSD. The board approved new language for this policy. (Susan Manning voted nay, and requested that the minutes reflect her continued concern with the conflict of interest she believes is created for the Superintendent under this version of the Administrative Rule.)

Superintendent Gerlach laid out the timeline and process for budget discussions. The board will meet on December 16, 2009 for a budget workshop. There will also be public hearings and staff meetings relative to the budget.

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

Study Commissioned on Ad Hoc Recommendation

Set the date for next year’s Annual Meeting for Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Monona Grove High School.

Discussed President Susan Fox’s newly created website update. The Board would like to have a disclaimer on these updates which indicate that they are not official approved reports of the full board and are not intended to take place of the official minutes. In addition, if there are any opinions within the reports, they are opinions of the President, not the full Board of Education.

Reviewed draft implementation plan of the district goals relative to improvement of student performance.

Budget Deficit – Superintendent Craig Gerlach asked the Board about priorities when making budget cuts. The Board indicated that all things are up for discussion at this point.

Board Policy #114 – Harassment – School Board Members, Volunteers, and Other Community Members of the MGSD. Discussion was tabled for the second time and will be discussed at a later date.

Patti McGinnis has been hired to study whether it is possible to provide 4K-8 education in each community. This was one of the six recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee to Study 4K-8 Grade Configuration. She will present the results of her research in December or January.

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

Annual Meeting

Superintendent’s Report – Craig Gerlach

· The Literacy and Social Studies Task Force is reviewing course alignment with college/career readiness.

· The Gift and Talented Advisory Committee began reviewing district policy.

· The Ad Hoc Committee to Study Grade Configuration for Grades 4K-8 researched district wide facility needs and the School Board approved the committee’s recommendations.

· We have experienced a tremendous increase in the number of children who have applied to enroll which is a good problem to have.

· Our district received a PEP (Physical Education for Progress) Grant for over $460,000 to purchase state of the art fitness equipment for our schools.

· The Board recently created six goals centered on student achievement, continuous school improvement, educational environment and communication.

· Financially, we face many challenges as Wisconsin public schools are experiencing a decrease in per pupil revenue for the first time since the revenue limits were imposed since 1993. With an anticipated budget deficit of more than $604,000, difficult decisions lie ahead for the district.

School Board President’s Report – Susan Fox

· Summarized some of the work done by the advisory standing committees over the previous year and thanked Board members and community representatives for their service.

· Noted the Board’s decision to work without standing committees for 2009-10 in order to avoid redundancy and more efficiently utilize staff resources.

· Teachers are working to align curriculum with the benchmarks measured on tests.

· Noted her posting of summaries of Board meetings on the website as a way to inform community members of Board business in a timely way.

· Copies of the Annual Meeting booklet will be available in the District Office.