Maywood/Winnequah Consolidation

Last night (12/21) the board met for the sole purpose of discussing & voting on the Maywood/Winnequah Consolidation. The vote to consolidate passed on a 5-2 vote with Manning and Ace voting against.

As I stated during the meeting there has been a committee that included district residents that put this recommendation forward. This issue has been researched and discussed for over 2 years. Last year the Administration and teachers supported this move. The opposition to it came from the parents.

When we discussed this possibility a year ago my 1st concern was that there would be minimal impact to the students. The teachers and administration assured us that there would be no significant drop off in the education the students received. Based on this the move to consolidation became a very valid option.

Then consider the financial savings and efficiencies that come with consolidation the move became very viable. It may be simplistic, but common sense and practicality influence my decisions more than feelings and emotions. I am very good at seperating those 2 influences during the decision making process.

I understand the emotions that many Monona residents have about this move, but I think if most of those individuals would remove emotion from the decision they would agree this is a must for the district given our financial outlook. I think many have realized this based on the fact that we had only a handful of residents at the listening sessions or at last nights meeting.

Closing a school is not an easy decision, but in this case it is the most logical conclusion given our finances. I value saving jobs and programs much more than I value saving a building.

Now that Maywood will be closed, I see no logical reason to move administration or any other program there at this time. In my opinion the next step is to ask the tax payers for the authority to sell Nichols if a buyer approaches the district. Without that authority no buyer will seriously consider the Nichols property for development. Hopefully the voters will give the board this authority, but I also hope that the board will not move to accept just any offer.

I hope that this helps explain how I came to my decision.