Really Mr. Kahl?
I am very disappointed that you felt the need to use public resources to promote what I feel is misleading information. For those that are not aware, Mr. Kahl had uniformed police officers distributing a flyer today regarding the district listening sessions. Please see the flyer at Peter Sobol's blog.
The school board has had discussions on potentially consolidating Maywood and Winnequah at previous meetings. It was discussed briefly at the Jan. 13th meeting and the board asked for more information, which led to it not being included in the surveys that we completed. It was on the staff survey, because they had some more detailed discussions internally.
There was discussion at the Jan. 27th meeting where even more information was requested. Then last night we had more discussions regarding this issue. This potential change was not listed on the preliminary reduction list from because "Has not been discussed in detail by the board". I agree with that statement as we did just receive more information last night. Does that mean this potential consolidation had not been discussed? Not in my opinion, as it was an on-going point of discussion.
I appreciate the help that we will get from this for getting district residents to attend the listening sessions. Mayor Kahl making this about 1 issue is unfortunate as we have many potential cuts and all will impact our students.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
I may or may not agree with Mayor Kahl's distribution, my opinion does not count as I am not a resident of Monona. My displeasure with his flyer was the shock and awe theme to it.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
E-mails Received
My fellow board members and I have received numerous e-mails from staff and district residents regarding the proposed budget reductions. Please keep them coming because the more people we hear from the better in my opinion. While I do not answer many e-mails, because the board decided that the board president would respond, I do read them all and review the specific comments to help give me a point of view that may or may not align with mine.
I do have one issue with some of the e-mails we have received. Those that have been in support of one teacher and how we need to save this one individuals job is a bit troubling. The discussions that I have been a part of and the proposed cuts as I see them are not about one teacher, but about programs or staff positions. It does not matter to me who fills a specific role, but more a question of is that position(s) a must keep position. Teachers will always come and go but the position may remain.
I am sure that some will take exception with this point of view and I understand why. We have good teachers and no one, including myself, wants to lose any of them. However, based purely on the financial reality we may have to lose some. An organization as labor intensive as a school district can only cut so much around the edges before it comes down to staff and programs.
Sometimes a program is deemed non-essential and gets cut which also reduces staff. Sometimes reduction in staff is deemed an appropriate step in order to save a program. It is a delicate balancing act, but in either case the labor intensive organization has to reduce costs thru staff reductions. This is just the grim reality.
Please keep the e-mails coming, but be assured that any potential cuts (as I view them) are not about individual teachers and rather about the actual position or program.
I do have one issue with some of the e-mails we have received. Those that have been in support of one teacher and how we need to save this one individuals job is a bit troubling. The discussions that I have been a part of and the proposed cuts as I see them are not about one teacher, but about programs or staff positions. It does not matter to me who fills a specific role, but more a question of is that position(s) a must keep position. Teachers will always come and go but the position may remain.
I am sure that some will take exception with this point of view and I understand why. We have good teachers and no one, including myself, wants to lose any of them. However, based purely on the financial reality we may have to lose some. An organization as labor intensive as a school district can only cut so much around the edges before it comes down to staff and programs.
Sometimes a program is deemed non-essential and gets cut which also reduces staff. Sometimes reduction in staff is deemed an appropriate step in order to save a program. It is a delicate balancing act, but in either case the labor intensive organization has to reduce costs thru staff reductions. This is just the grim reality.
Please keep the e-mails coming, but be assured that any potential cuts (as I view them) are not about individual teachers and rather about the actual position or program.
2/4 Teacher Listening Session
The 1st of 2 teacher listening session took place Thursday night. I think that it was exactly what I expected it to be. Mr. Gerlach estimated attendance at around 50 teachers. There were 16 teachers that got up and spoke, with most of them from the areas of related arts. Mr. Gerlach gave each person 3 minutes to speak and only had to cut off 3 or 4 of the speakers for running long.
I appreciate each person that attended the session for taking the time to come and listen. For those that got up and spoke I thank you for giving your thoughts and feelings. I expected nothing less from our staff, so thank you for your passion and dedication to the children of our district.
I wish there was a golden parachute available to fix the districts budget issues. Unfortunately, the reality is that positions will probably have to be cut. I hope that my fellow board members will join me in finding ways to cut or make operational changes that won't cost jobs first. Then we will have to make the hard choices of how to reduce overhead costs with the least impact on student education.
While there was a good number of teachers in attendance on Thursday, I hope that there are even more at the next session on 2/18. Your voices do factor into my decision making process, so please get up and speak or send e-mails or phone me or whatever, but please speak your mind (in a polite manner).
I appreciate each person that attended the session for taking the time to come and listen. For those that got up and spoke I thank you for giving your thoughts and feelings. I expected nothing less from our staff, so thank you for your passion and dedication to the children of our district.
I wish there was a golden parachute available to fix the districts budget issues. Unfortunately, the reality is that positions will probably have to be cut. I hope that my fellow board members will join me in finding ways to cut or make operational changes that won't cost jobs first. Then we will have to make the hard choices of how to reduce overhead costs with the least impact on student education.
While there was a good number of teachers in attendance on Thursday, I hope that there are even more at the next session on 2/18. Your voices do factor into my decision making process, so please get up and speak or send e-mails or phone me or whatever, but please speak your mind (in a polite manner).
Sunday, January 31, 2010
6th Grade
Last Wednesday we heard from the administration regarding a potential change in 6th grade programming and possibly having the Monona 6th grade attend Glacial Drumlin. This is a 2 pronged issue. First, does the district want our 6th grade to be an elementary or middle school program? Second, should they attend the same school or keep the status quo?
In the course of the discussion it became clear that this is an issue that internally the administration has had some discussion on. Do they have a recommendation? I am not sure if they have a recommendation, but I think they have preliminary thoughts on this issue.
Personnally, I like the idea of 6th grade being a middle school program. Additionally, if there is little to no impact on having the entire 6th grade in one building then I think that is a reasonable consideration that should be discussed. I understand that this may not be a popular decision, based on referendum voting, but if this makes for the best environment for ALL STUDENTS to learn in and is recommended by the administration then the board will have to give it strong consideration.
Right now I am not convinced we need to have all 6th graders in one building, but like many topics we are discussing it may come down to finances. If there is a savings and little impact on learning then I could support it. If there is a savings, but a significant impact on learning then I have a harder time with consolidating the 6th grade into one building.
In the course of the discussion it became clear that this is an issue that internally the administration has had some discussion on. Do they have a recommendation? I am not sure if they have a recommendation, but I think they have preliminary thoughts on this issue.
Personnally, I like the idea of 6th grade being a middle school program. Additionally, if there is little to no impact on having the entire 6th grade in one building then I think that is a reasonable consideration that should be discussed. I understand that this may not be a popular decision, based on referendum voting, but if this makes for the best environment for ALL STUDENTS to learn in and is recommended by the administration then the board will have to give it strong consideration.
Right now I am not convinced we need to have all 6th graders in one building, but like many topics we are discussing it may come down to finances. If there is a savings and little impact on learning then I could support it. If there is a savings, but a significant impact on learning then I have a harder time with consolidating the 6th grade into one building.
Budget Reductions
Well this past week got to see the results from the surveys that the administration and board took. There were 24 items that both the administration and board ranked within 5 spots of each other. I think that is outstanding, considering the board has no expertise on the impact on learning any of these options will have. There were 13 items that we have varying opinions on. Additionally, the administration ranked the proposed cut in Athletics and the consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah, while the board did not. Some board members did not feel they had enough information on either topic to rank them.
We got to see the preliminary budget reductions from the administration. We also got the list of items that were not on the preliminary list. Iwill say that it was about what I expected. The preliminary reductions closely followed the administration survey rankings. The noticeable exceptions are the consolidation of Maywood/Winnequah, eliminate the Practice Bus, Increase grade 7&8 workload from 4 to 5 classes/day for core academic teachers and eliminate 4th & 5th grade strings.
After having even more time to review these documents (the survey results & reduction lists) I am even more convinced that the results of the administration surveys carry far greater weight than that of the board. While we agreed on many of these items my opinion is that their expertise on educational impact needs to be judged accordingly. The administration knows what it takes to run a classroom, a school and a district far better than I do. I can only offer insight, observations, recommendations and guidance to make this district the best learning environment possible given the resources we have.
However, I will not blindly follow the administration recommendations when the tough decisions have to be made. Which I hope will be made sooner than later for the sake of the district.
We got to see the preliminary budget reductions from the administration. We also got the list of items that were not on the preliminary list. Iwill say that it was about what I expected. The preliminary reductions closely followed the administration survey rankings. The noticeable exceptions are the consolidation of Maywood/Winnequah, eliminate the Practice Bus, Increase grade 7&8 workload from 4 to 5 classes/day for core academic teachers and eliminate 4th & 5th grade strings.
After having even more time to review these documents (the survey results & reduction lists) I am even more convinced that the results of the administration surveys carry far greater weight than that of the board. While we agreed on many of these items my opinion is that their expertise on educational impact needs to be judged accordingly. The administration knows what it takes to run a classroom, a school and a district far better than I do. I can only offer insight, observations, recommendations and guidance to make this district the best learning environment possible given the resources we have.
However, I will not blindly follow the administration recommendations when the tough decisions have to be made. Which I hope will be made sooner than later for the sake of the district.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Board Meeting 1/27/10
This Wed. we have our next meeting. As you can see from the agenda there are quite a few topics that should be of interest. We will review among other things the prior years financial statements, use of Nichols school, the 4k-8 grade configuration and of course the budget.
Despite the fact that many in attendance at the last meeting had to watch & listen from the hallway I hope that many attend again this week. I know that the Herald Independant had an editorial on the need for space at the district office. While I agree that for the last meeting more space was needed that is not the case for most meetings. More times than not there are empty chairs for the meetings at the district office.
This past week I attended the WASB Annual Convention in Milwaukee. This was my first year at the convention and this was one of THE BEST conventions have ever been too. The way that it was arranged, the topics that were available to attend and the presentations of the topics was first rate. I attended many different presentations and I would classify only one as a bad choice.
The 4k-8 grade configuration study will be a hot topic this week. I think that most will agree that realigning the district into 2 separate 4k-8 community based environments and then merging in high school is an almost unthinkable proposition due to the costs associated with this idea. While I think it was beneficial to study this option the $1M+ price tag is just not feasible given the districts current economic environment.
The other aspects to come out of the 4k-8 committee still have to be discussed, which I am presuming we will do this week. Items like having all 6th graders at Glacial Drumlin, modular units in Cottage Grove, real estate options for the district and realigning Cottage Grove and Taylor Prairie into 4k-4 schools.
Based on Mr. Gerlach's statements at the last meeting it appears we could get some recommendations from the administration this week. We still have a couple items that we have not discussed as thoroughly as some others, like cuts to athletics and the consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah. The cuts to athletics are proposed to be a $25k reduction to their overall budget. How this reduction would impact athletics directly would be up to administration to reallocate their remaining resources.
I will also be raising the question of what can the board due to help the budget problem? I will submit 2 options for the board to consider. Hopefully other board members will have other ideas and we can come up with a way to save some money. I know that we cannot save a lot of money, but every little bit will help.
The potential Maywood/Winnequah consolidation is an extremely hot topic. I don't think that anyone would like to see the schools consolidated unless absolutely necessary. As I look at this issue I have been on both sides of keeping the schools open and consolidating them. However, I keep coming back to one point that I just cannot shake. Based on pure economics it appears to come down to keeping a school open or keeping 5 - 10 staff members employed. Which of these has the bigger impact on student learning?
Despite the fact that many in attendance at the last meeting had to watch & listen from the hallway I hope that many attend again this week. I know that the Herald Independant had an editorial on the need for space at the district office. While I agree that for the last meeting more space was needed that is not the case for most meetings. More times than not there are empty chairs for the meetings at the district office.
This past week I attended the WASB Annual Convention in Milwaukee. This was my first year at the convention and this was one of THE BEST conventions have ever been too. The way that it was arranged, the topics that were available to attend and the presentations of the topics was first rate. I attended many different presentations and I would classify only one as a bad choice.
The 4k-8 grade configuration study will be a hot topic this week. I think that most will agree that realigning the district into 2 separate 4k-8 community based environments and then merging in high school is an almost unthinkable proposition due to the costs associated with this idea. While I think it was beneficial to study this option the $1M+ price tag is just not feasible given the districts current economic environment.
The other aspects to come out of the 4k-8 committee still have to be discussed, which I am presuming we will do this week. Items like having all 6th graders at Glacial Drumlin, modular units in Cottage Grove, real estate options for the district and realigning Cottage Grove and Taylor Prairie into 4k-4 schools.
Based on Mr. Gerlach's statements at the last meeting it appears we could get some recommendations from the administration this week. We still have a couple items that we have not discussed as thoroughly as some others, like cuts to athletics and the consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah. The cuts to athletics are proposed to be a $25k reduction to their overall budget. How this reduction would impact athletics directly would be up to administration to reallocate their remaining resources.
I will also be raising the question of what can the board due to help the budget problem? I will submit 2 options for the board to consider. Hopefully other board members will have other ideas and we can come up with a way to save some money. I know that we cannot save a lot of money, but every little bit will help.
The potential Maywood/Winnequah consolidation is an extremely hot topic. I don't think that anyone would like to see the schools consolidated unless absolutely necessary. As I look at this issue I have been on both sides of keeping the schools open and consolidating them. However, I keep coming back to one point that I just cannot shake. Based on pure economics it appears to come down to keeping a school open or keeping 5 - 10 staff members employed. Which of these has the bigger impact on student learning?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Budget Survey Answers
I have uploaded my answers to the budget survey. Just click on the title of this post and you should be redirected to my answers.
Monday, January 18, 2010
District Budget
General Observations
First, a big thank you to the administration and staff that have put in countless hours to compile and analyze the items before the board for discussion. When you start looking at positions to cut and are able to identify them with a specific individual it really gets tough to throw those items out for discussion. I think that when you need to drastically reduce spending like we have that there are NO areas that are off limits.
The Survey
The administrators and the board are to complete a survey by tomorrow. The survey is to rate the negative impact each item has on district goals....in our opinion. Ms. Fox has informed us that after consulting the WASB legal counsel that our completion of the survey does not violate Open Meetings laws. The reasoning is that we as a board are not making decisions or having discussions. Since this survey is just an advisory piece to help Mr. Gerlach make a recommendation to the board this reasoning makes sense to me.
I know that some have asked to make the boards surveys public, but I think that should rest with each member. Assuming I have saved mine correctly, I will post it here. I did not post a response to some of the questions, because my opinion carries little weight vs. the administrations. I have thoughts and opinions on each of these areas, but I do not have the expertise to rate the negative impact increasing class size has on our goals (for example). Increasing class size ranges to help stop overload pay I do feel able to rate, because that is a strictly financial decision in my opinion.
Budget E-Mails
I have received many e-mails at my board address (jason_mccutchin@mononagrove.org), as have other board members. Please keep them coming. While I don't respond to them all individually please be assured that I do take the the time to read them and save them for reference.
First, a big thank you to the administration and staff that have put in countless hours to compile and analyze the items before the board for discussion. When you start looking at positions to cut and are able to identify them with a specific individual it really gets tough to throw those items out for discussion. I think that when you need to drastically reduce spending like we have that there are NO areas that are off limits.
The Survey
The administrators and the board are to complete a survey by tomorrow. The survey is to rate the negative impact each item has on district goals....in our opinion. Ms. Fox has informed us that after consulting the WASB legal counsel that our completion of the survey does not violate Open Meetings laws. The reasoning is that we as a board are not making decisions or having discussions. Since this survey is just an advisory piece to help Mr. Gerlach make a recommendation to the board this reasoning makes sense to me.
I know that some have asked to make the boards surveys public, but I think that should rest with each member. Assuming I have saved mine correctly, I will post it here. I did not post a response to some of the questions, because my opinion carries little weight vs. the administrations. I have thoughts and opinions on each of these areas, but I do not have the expertise to rate the negative impact increasing class size has on our goals (for example). Increasing class size ranges to help stop overload pay I do feel able to rate, because that is a strictly financial decision in my opinion.
Budget E-Mails
I have received many e-mails at my board address (jason_mccutchin@mononagrove.org), as have other board members. Please keep them coming. While I don't respond to them all individually please be assured that I do take the the time to read them and save them for reference.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Homecoming Cancelled
A lot has been made about Dr. Brost's decision to cancel homecoming this year. Here is a link to the Channel 15 story. http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/62990077.html
Here is a link to Doug Wood's blog. http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2009/09/mg-cancels-homecoming-still-bad-idea.html
As I told Dr. Brost, my initial reaction was that he had lost his mind. I could not fathom any reasons as to why a district would cancel homecoming. Homecoming was always a great source of pride for the school district and the community. The students, the alumni and district residents would fill the streets for the parade, the gym for the pep rally and the stands for the game. This was my experience in high school.
All of these thoughts came rushing into my head as Dr. Brost was telling about his intentions. However, after listening to Dr. Brost and his thought process and reasoning, I had a very different view point. The fact that he discussed his decision with some students to gauge their reaction. The fact that his voice and posture indicated this was a very difficult decision. The fact that he felt this was "the last resort". And partially because of some of the outrageous pranks that have been done over the years, I think Dr. Brost made the correct decision. I support your decision 100% Dr. Brost.
I hate the idea of taking away an activity/event from all students when it is a small minority causing the issues. However, if you look at it on a smaller scale, how many parents punish all of their kids when 1 makes a mistake and the others are "innocent bystanders"? I have seen and heard many do this. If cancelling homecoming causes the students to better "police" themselves in the future then everyone will owe Dr. Brost a big thank you.
Here is a link to Doug Wood's blog. http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2009/09/mg-cancels-homecoming-still-bad-idea.html
As I told Dr. Brost, my initial reaction was that he had lost his mind. I could not fathom any reasons as to why a district would cancel homecoming. Homecoming was always a great source of pride for the school district and the community. The students, the alumni and district residents would fill the streets for the parade, the gym for the pep rally and the stands for the game. This was my experience in high school.
All of these thoughts came rushing into my head as Dr. Brost was telling about his intentions. However, after listening to Dr. Brost and his thought process and reasoning, I had a very different view point. The fact that he discussed his decision with some students to gauge their reaction. The fact that his voice and posture indicated this was a very difficult decision. The fact that he felt this was "the last resort". And partially because of some of the outrageous pranks that have been done over the years, I think Dr. Brost made the correct decision. I support your decision 100% Dr. Brost.
I hate the idea of taking away an activity/event from all students when it is a small minority causing the issues. However, if you look at it on a smaller scale, how many parents punish all of their kids when 1 makes a mistake and the others are "innocent bystanders"? I have seen and heard many do this. If cancelling homecoming causes the students to better "police" themselves in the future then everyone will owe Dr. Brost a big thank you.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Norton Resignation
When I first heard about Mr. Norton's resignation my first reaction was shock. Secondly, I wondered if someone in his family was ill, because of the "significant personal reasons" stated in the article. Now that appears not to be the case.
I will state that I am disappointed that Mr. Norton will be unable to serve the entire term, but I also understand that circumstances change. Above all else Mr. Norton MUST do what is best for him and his family.
Scott, I wish you well in your future endeavors.
The name of this post will link you to the Herald Independent story on Mr. Norton's resignation.
Where does that leave the Village of CG and the trustees? Well we need an individual to fill this role of leading us as there are some very significant issues coming down the pipe. Does this individual serve the remainder of the term or just until a special election? On that I see both sides and at this point I don't have a strong opinion either way. My gut tends to lead towards the thought that it is an elected position, so hold a special election. However, the thought of potentially having 3 Village Presidents in 12 months is extremely unusual and rare.
Do we appoint a current trustee to the Village President position and then hold a special election for that seat in April? This scenario seems to work on many fronts. As my personal experience has shown me, the learning curve when getting into Village office or School Board is steep. It may work better to "promote" a trustee, even if they only have 5 or 6 months experience, and then elect another person into that trustees position.
I will follow this intently as I am curious how this will play out.
I will state that I am disappointed that Mr. Norton will be unable to serve the entire term, but I also understand that circumstances change. Above all else Mr. Norton MUST do what is best for him and his family.
Scott, I wish you well in your future endeavors.
The name of this post will link you to the Herald Independent story on Mr. Norton's resignation.
Where does that leave the Village of CG and the trustees? Well we need an individual to fill this role of leading us as there are some very significant issues coming down the pipe. Does this individual serve the remainder of the term or just until a special election? On that I see both sides and at this point I don't have a strong opinion either way. My gut tends to lead towards the thought that it is an elected position, so hold a special election. However, the thought of potentially having 3 Village Presidents in 12 months is extremely unusual and rare.
Do we appoint a current trustee to the Village President position and then hold a special election for that seat in April? This scenario seems to work on many fronts. As my personal experience has shown me, the learning curve when getting into Village office or School Board is steep. It may work better to "promote" a trustee, even if they only have 5 or 6 months experience, and then elect another person into that trustees position.
I will follow this intently as I am curious how this will play out.
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