Norton Clarification e-mail received

I have received an e-mail from Richard Kerr and with his permission I am posting the body of it here. It is exactly as I received it. If anyone would care to respond to Mr. Kerr's e-mail I will post that also.

Hello,
The purpose of this message is to get out the truth about false rumors
floating around the Village. If you do not want to hear the truth, then stop
reading this message.

1. Scott Norton resigned his Village
President position because he and his family are moving to
Florida.

2. When the Village Board voted Monday evening to appoint
a replacement for the duration of Scott’s term, they acted fully in compliance
with state law. The only other option they had was to let the vacancy ride until
next April.
Anyone who knows the issues facing the Village understands that
we could not afford to have the Village Presidency vacant for the next 7 months.
Even the Village Administrator stated in yesterday’s Wisconsin State Journal
that “There’s a lot on the plate right now, so it’s important to have a village
president.”
It has been suggested that the Village Board appoint a
replacement now but only until next April. It has been suggested that the
Village President position “rotate” among Trustees or others for the next 7
months. None of this is provided for under state law.
Village Board openings
in the past, including Village President, have been filled by appointment by the
Village Board.
3. There was a misleading petition being circulated by people
who should know better stating that the state law requires the Village Board to
call a special election next April. This statement is false and anyone who
signed this petition was intentionally misled.
4. In spite of the Village
Board’s decision on Monday, certain “library supporters” tried to get the
Chamber of Commerce to go on record stating that the Village Board ought to
reconsider their decision. Those who attempted to influence the Chamber of
Commerce ought to be ashamed of themselves.
These are the facts.
The
Village Board is trying to get through this difficult time in the best manner
possible and in accordance with state law. Please consider showing your support
for them with an e-mail message or a phone call.
If you wish to discuss this
matter further, please reply to this message or call me at 839-0267.
Richard
Kerr

These thoughts, comments and opinions are solely those of Mr. Kerr. I normally would not post this but in this instance felt that there was some valuable information enclosed, namely Mr. Norton's reason for resignation. I also do not feel it would be fair to only post a portion of the e-mail; hence my posting of the entire e-mail.

Sept. 22nd Board Meeting

Last night the board heard a presentation from Dr. Charles Venegoni, who is the Division Head of English and Fine Arts @ John Hersey High School in Arlington, IL. Dr. Venegoni's presentation focused on his Aligned by Design, which as systematic approach to education. Thru this approach John Hersey and other schools who have adopted this approach have achieved some, what I would call, significant results on the ACT Test.

The data presented by Dr. Venegoni paints a very good picture of this system. It really showed how all students benefit from this system. Aligned by Design has been implemented at some very diverse districts (both economically and racially) and the results have been very good. One of the things that I found interesting is that the data also shows that the higher the students score on the Explore test (taken in 8th grade) the higher their potential to score on the ACT (taken in 11th grade). That seems logical, but what I liked most was that the growth this system showed vs. others.

For the the schools that scored with in 1 point of Northtown Academy (one of the schools using this system in Chicago) on the Explore test none had the growth that Northtown did. Of the 11 different data groups only 4 had an improvement of 5 or better. Two of these four data groups started with scores more than 5.9 points higher than Northtown Academy. Northtown Academy had a 5.1 growth by their students. That to me is an impressive testament to this system.

There was lots of data and lots of information presented last night. I won't go over it all, but please visit the district website as they will be putting up much of the information their, if not all of it. I just wanted to point out one of the facts that really impressed me amongst all of the things presented.

I do have some concerns with this system. One is that it is a departure from current practice and how will it be received by the building administrators, the staff, the students and the public. Dr. Venegoni and his staff have had quite a bit of interaction with our staff, so this potential change would not be a total surprise. Another fear is that, as Dr. Venegoni stated, the district needs a champion of this system to be the face of it, to push it, to oversee it, to....etc. We may have this person(s), but we need to identify them.

The Curriculum was another concern because this system does not use textbooks exclusively. The curriculum is developed by the staff. Dr. Venegoni stated that a lot of the materials being used by other districts on this system could be adapted to our district. Dr. Venegoni also stated that the curriculum developers in those other districts would be willing to share their curriculum for a price. Which led me to the last of my 4 major concerns...COST. Dr. Venegoni did provide a figure for potentially utilizing some of the materials already developed. I will not state what that figure was because it will change depending on many factors, but let me say it was significantly less than the amount we are setting aside for text books now.

Many of the other board members seemed to share my concerns to varying degrees. I think that all of them can be answered very quickly by Craig and his admin. team. Because this is like the 3rd time Dr. Venegoni and/or his staff have been in the district talking about this I think finding the right person or persons to champion this cause will be easy. I think the district as a whole will also embrace a change to this system as WE ALL learn more about it. I do not think that cost would prohibit implementation.

We as a board either collectively or individually did not pose the questions to Craig about a champion of the cause or how the change would be received @ MGHS. I did think about it while other questions where being asked and answered. However, I did not feel it would be right to put him on the spot to answer those immediately after hearing this presentation. I still feel that way as I am still trying to digest everything we heard last night and to pose that question just would not have been fair.

I hope that WE, as a district, continue to investigate this systematic approach to education. If it makes sense educationally and provides the best opportunities for our students then we owe it to them to investigate this system fully.

8/12 Board meeting

Hey All,

Last night we had our 1st board meeting of the month. We had a relatively light agenda and got thru it in a reasonable amount of time. We reviewed many upcoming WASB meetings and sessions that board members may attend.

We reviewed and approved a request from Dr. Brost on setting up an after school education program. It is designed to provide extra help for those seeking it and for those that will be required to attend. Dr. Brost requested that the program be approved pending funding for it. He is actively searching for ways to fund the salaries needed to run this program. Dr. Brost is expecting to have both voluntary participation and mandatory attendance.

Next we approved the amount for transportation to and from parochial schools and the fee paid by those requesting transportation who would not receive it normally. We also approved the use of a Hearing Officer for expulsions. This practice has been in place for the recent past. It allows an independent review of the expulsion hearing prior to final board review of the Hearing Officer's report.

Additionally, we passed an agreement with Kid's Safari to bus students to their facility and for Kid's Safari to reimburse the district for this cost. Due to my daughter attending Kid's Safari, I abstained from the vote.

Lastly, we tabled motions regarding the Policy on Fund Balance and a discussion on District Goals. Both items will be on the August 26th agenda.

We heard a report from Susan Fox, Susan Manning and Jessica Ace on the WASB conference they recently attended. Again it was pointed out that board members who blog need to make sure that it is clear the postings represent their own thoughts and are not in any way intended to speak for the board as a whole. I feel that I do this in a pretty clear manner, but it is always open for interpretation.

As I stated it was a relatively light agenda and we got thru it relatively quickly. This coming Monday the board will meet to conduct it's review of Superintendent Gerlach. This meeting is a closed session meeting. Our next regular meeting is August 26th in the district office.

I would like to commend Dr. Brost and any other staff members instrumental in the organization of the after school education program. I hope that the funds can be found to get this program off the ground. It sounds like this can be a very beneficial program for all students. Any program that provides students either requesting or needing additional study time is a plus in my opinion.

Communication with the Public

In going back over the past month of notes from our various board development meetings and our regular board meetings, one of the things that stands out is COMMUNICATION. What does this mean in general?

We have talked a lot about this lately as a board and I am not sure if I have a better understanding of it or am more confused than I was a month ago. I like to think that I am a pretty decent communicator. My wife and daughter may disagree with that, but that is a whole other conversation.

Some board members do not like the use of blogs by Mr. Sobol and myself. Yet, I hear from many citizens that they like reading them as a way to learn about issues, learn what is happening with the board and to get our individual take/stance on things. Personally, when I am posting about board happenings I try to keep them as true and factual as possible and then input my opinions later in the post.

When we met with our legal counsel for the district he stated that blogs are a way to communicate and the board had no governance over their operation. He also warned Peter and I, since we are the only 2 members with blogs at that this time, to be careful how we present issues and our opinions. Basically make sure that it is clear when something is our opinion and not a board action or thought.

What does communication mean to each of you as it relates between the school district and the general public? Do you like reading blogs? Does the district do a good job of disseminating information thru the website and by sending items home with students? Are there other things that the board or the district can do to improve the transparency of operations?

Some board members have mentioned they would like to see public listening sessions or town hall type meetings or something similar to those. This may be a time set aside at a board meeting or a special meeting. Details and format would have to be worked out, but my understanding is a more relaxed informal dialogue between board members and citizens. Is this something that the citizens are interested in?

Please give me some feed back on what you think about the communication either from the district administration or the school board and any thoughts you have on how to improve it or if the listening sessions are a good idea.

Still Here

Hello All,

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past month and a half. Professional and personal life has eaten up most of my free time.

We have been busy meeting at different times for board development. We have had a facilitator in leading the group thru some discussions. We have had our district legal counsel in to discuss policies and interpretations of policies. Basically we have worked on how we are to govern ourselves.

Which leads me to point out that the big news of the past month was the boards decision to eliminate the committee structure used by past boards and go to 2 full board meetings a month. This motion passed on a 5-1 vote (Jill List was absent due to a prior commitment).

As I said at the board meeting I see both sides of this issue and have struggled with it, since it was first discussed at one of our board development meetings as a governance option. Having been a citizen member before getting on the board I dislike taking that avenue away from prospective board candidates. I valued my time as a citizen member and felt it was necessary for me to have that experience before I ran for a spot on the board.

Additionally, the committees do allow for some good work to get done between the smaller committees and the administration in a less formal setting. However, the duplication time of the staff to present at the committe level and the board level was substantial. In addition, many members attended most committee meetings to hear the presentations given vs. hearing them at the board meeting and then having to vote on the issue.

Typically two meetings a month will allow a presentation at one meeting and then a decision at the next. (Complete details on how we will conduct business have not been laid out yet.) This may or may not reduce staff time, but if structured right it could. Lastly, as I stated at the board meeting my general feeling is that for this board and at this time the 2 meetings a month is the best method of governance for us. I may change my mind on that next year or the year after, but I am hopeful that this will lead to better conversation and discussion. I know that at various committee meetings I was at, but not a part of, it would have been nice to ask questions earlier in the process.

Our next board meeting is August 12th in the district office. We will have a full agenda as many items that the policy committee would have dealt with should be on the agenda.

Recap of Ad-Hoc Recommendations

The Ad-hoc committee had a pretty good night last night as we were able to come up with some recommendations to forward to the board. The recommendations come in 2 parts. One is a narrative and one is a flow chart type diagram.

The Narrative is:

1. Add modular units to Cottage Grove elementary schools to accommodate enrollment growth as a temporary solution to a potential long-term problem.

2. Research 4K-8 programming in both communities. Report findings at a School Board Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

3. Research 6th grade programming/curriculum. Report findings at a School Board Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Temporarily keep 6th grade Monona students at Winnequah.

4. Research 4k-4 grade school at Taylor Prairie and Cottage Grove Elementary. Report findings at a School Board Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

5. Maintain Winnequah and Maywood schools until 4K-8 program in each community is determined, or until it is fiscally not feasible to operate both buildings.

6. Research real estate option districtwide.

Flow Chart Style:

A. Add Modular Units for the Short-Term

1. Move Monona 7th & 8th grade students to Winnequah and move Cottage Grove 4th grade students to Glacial Drumlin.

2. Build a new permanent structure in Cottage Grove (either an addition or a new building). Possibly reconfigure the buildings in a 4K-4 or 4K-5


Analysis/Comments:

I will start with the Flow Chart Style 1st because that is harder to demonstrate here on this blog. My understanding is that we add modular units to provide a short-term solution to ease the crowding. Then once the administration has studied the viability of a 4K-8 split the district will go 1 of 2 ways.

If the district is split then each community would have 4K-8 in their buildings. If this 4K-8 scenario is not viable then a permanent structure, either an addition or a new building, will potentially be needed in Cottage Grove. At the same time a study will be done to determine the configurations for the buildings in Cottage Grove if they become 4K-4, 4K-5 or if they do something like 4K-2 in one and 3-5 in the other.

The reason for the narrative is that a potential 4K-8 split is beyond the area of expertise of this committee, but one that the committee felt needs to be looked at more closely. It has it's pros and cons, but what are the true impacts and costs to students and district finances. It was just something that this committee felt needed more time to study and a different group of people to research it, i.e. the administration because they have expertise in the educational viability of it.

The research of potentially changing the Cottage Grove elementary schools to 4K-4 or 4K-5 is one that also needs more of an educators expertise. This potential change can happen regardless of the 4K-8 viability.

Based on these different recommendations Maywood will stay open for next year. However, after that it will depend on the 4K-8 viability option and/or the fiscal implications that the district faces. The committee was in agreement that it does not make sense to close a school for only a year or even two if it is just going to re-open after that. Which is why part of the Maywood/Winnequah consolidation is tied to the 4K-8 viability.

Lastly, the committee would like to see the curriculum/programming for the 6th grade reviewed by the School Board. There was some talk of a 5th/6th intermediate system. Some talk of moving the Monona 6th grade to Glacial Drumlin to be part of the district middle school. Again, because this is more of a programming/curriculum issue the committee did not feel comfortable making a final decision on this.

My Thoughts:

From my perspective it appears that we have a short-term solution to overcrowding by adding the modular units. This buys us some time to work thru the programming/curriculum issues that the district faces. By recommending these issues be reported to the School Board by the end of the 2009/10 school year the committee has asked that these issues be decided sooner than later. The viability of these 3 programming/curriculum issues all impact what the next step is for our facilities.

This issue is not over, but these recommendations do provide a path for dealing with the facilities usage. I would like to see the timeline for making these decisions sped up just a bit, so that we can move on from facilities and on to other more pressing issues. If the administration does not present their reports until the end of the 2009/10 school year then the earliest any changes could be implemented is probably for the 2011/12 school year.

I agree with others on the committee that stated the administration needs time to research each of the 3 programming issues, so that we don't rush into a bad decision. However, pushing this off an additional year is going to cost the district extra money also, so the sooner these issues can be resolved the better. The outcome of each of these programming decisions could have a significant impact on our future budget deficit. This is why I would like to see a decision made sooner than later.

May 26th Ad-Hoc Meeting

Just a reminder to all that tonight the Ad-Hoc committee gets a chance to review and discuss the options and hopefully forward a recommendation to the board. This meeting is @ 6:00 in the District Office at Nichols. While there is no Public Appearances on the agenda your presence is still noticed by the committee, so I would encourage you to attend if you are able.

I got my packet that had all of the e-mails sent in to the committee. In addition the board has received numerous e-mails directly on this issue. THANK YOU to all that got up and spoke your opinions at the Public Forum and to all that have followed up with e-mails. While I am unable to respond to each of you individually, even though I would like to, I want to assure you that your comments are read and heard by me. As a general rule it is my understanding that the School Board President is responsible for responding to e-mails and not the individual members.

Now because these e-mails have been printed and sent to us this is all my perception of them, because we all know how e-mails can be taken out of context or misunderstood. Generally, all of the e-mails had a good tone to them, as I don't recall any "hate mail" type of e-mail. Thank you for being thoughtful and respectful in your comments. The comments at the Public Forum where generally the same as those e-mailed to the committee. Many in favor of modular units in Cottage Grove and opposed to bussing students in general. Some liked the idea of a K-8 community based style, while others wanted to try in merge the students in 6th grade. Many looked at consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah as a viable option to help with the budget deficit we face as a School District.

All of these comments are very much like those that the committee has had at it's meetings over the past 6 months. Tonight will be an interesting meeting as we as a committee try to balance all of the differing view points into a solid recommendation to the committee. It will not be an easy process, but one that I think this group can accomplish.

I will try to post the results of the meeting either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Have a great 4 day work week.

Ad-Hoc Public Forum

Last night was the public forum for the Ad-Hoc Committee on Grade Configuration. By most estimations about 100 individuals attended the event at Glacial Drumlin. Mr. Gerlach conducted an overview of the slide show presentation and then moderated a Q & A session. The slide show and details about the committees work can be found at:

http://www.mononagrove.org/4k8grade.cfm

There were many questions centered around open enrollment, T4K program questions, modular unit options and consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah. Comments were both for and against many of the solutions presented from the committee. Many individuals questioned the economics of bussing in this economy.

The one theme that I could sense from the night is that everyone would like to see a sound and just decision made that can work both short-term and long enough to not be revisiting this issue every year or two. As a committee member I really cannot agree more. This issue needs to be put to bed, so that the district and the board can move onto more pressing issues.

Please continue to send comments to the committee thru the district website until this Friday, the 22nd. Also, send all comments to the board as they will take this issue up at the next meeting in June.

Reorganization Meeting

Last Wednesday the school board held our reorganization meeting as part of our normal monthly meeting. It made for a long night, but we got thru it. The results were as follows:

President - Nominated by board vote were Susan Fox, Susan Manning and Peter Sobel. Ms. Manning declined to be included on the ballot. Ms. Fox defeated Mr. Sobel by a 4-3 vote.

Vice-President - Nominated by board vote were Susan Manning, Jason McCutchin, Lionel Norton and Peter Sobel. Ms. Manning declined to be included on the ballot. Mr. Sobel won on a 5-2 vote.

Treasurer - Nominated by board vote were Jill List, Susan Manning, Jason McCutchin, Peter Sobel. Mr. Sobel stated if elected Treasurer he would resign as Vice-President. Ms. Manning won with 4 votes.

Clerk - Nominated by board vote were Jill List and Lionel Norton. Mr. Norton won on a 4-3 vote.

After this reorganization the board got down to normal business. Mr. Gerlach indicated that he had a meeting with Kid's Safari regarding the district and the decision not to provide transportation to Kid's Safari for the upcoming school year. Mr. Gerlach stated that they will be working on this issue and provide an update at a later date.

Mr. Gerlach stated that the Ad-Hoc Committee would be holding a public presentation on Sunday the 17th. Mr. Gerlach further provided an update on the budget, but prefaced his comments by stating "that things are changing daily at the Capital". Therefore, we are still facing a budget deficit in excess of $650k and it may creep closer to $800k depending on the final State Budget.

Next the board heard from the Curriculum Committee regarding the potential purchase of English materials for grades 6-8. The final amount of $105,838 was approximately $25k more than presented to the Curriculum Committee on 4/15. This increase was due to a change in the final materials ordered to add additional web based programming and more texts. The motion to approve this adoption passed.

The Personnel & Policy Committee gave a brief update on their bullying/harassment policy and noted that it would have to be condensed from the current 13 pages down to 2 or 3. Additionally, the Student Handbooks for each building were approved with the minor revisions noted at the committee meeting.

The Business Service Committee presented an overview of some fees for the 2009/10 year. Bill Herman presented bids to the committee at their meeting for new computers to replace aging ones in the district. Finally the board reviewed the proposal to issue general obligation notes instead of lease purchase financing for the McKinstry contract. The reason for the change in financing is due to better interest rates on the bonds vs. lease purchase. This change could result in over $100k in interest savings over the life of the notes. All items above were approved by the board.

Finally the board and the district had a very special "THANK YOU" recognition for Bev Kalish. Bev is retiring after 37 years with the district, including working for 10 superintendents. Bev's experience will be missed by all. However, her replacement Joyce Hamm brings in many years of experience in her own right and will join the learning process with all of the rest of us.

All in all for my 1st board meeting it was quite an eventful night. I am cautiously optimistic that this board will be able to do some good things over the next year. There are many issues facing the district, so it should be an interesting ride......Hang on everyone!!!

May 13th School Board Meeting

The School Board has quite the agenda this week for the 1st board meeting with the new members. The reorganization of the board is the first item up for business. This will be done by secret ballot nomination for each office. Then those receiving nominations will be given the chance to accept or decline the nomination. Another vote is then taken to elect the officer from those accepting the nomination. If there is no majority after this vote the top 2 candidates will "face-off" in one more vote.

The board will elect the President first, followed by the Vice-President, Treasurer and Clerk.

This election will be very interesting with such a young board. We only have one 1 member who is has ever been an officer or even chaired a committee for the district. This will require a quick learning curve for those who chair the committees and the president as that individual learns on the job about overseeing a district.

Following the election the board will get an update on Stimulus money and the budget from Mr. Gerlach. He will also provide more details about the upcoming public meeting on the Grade Configuration being held this coming Sunday.

The board will also be discussing possible approval of the 6th - 8th grade textbook purchase. We will also be reviewing the changes for the individual school handbooks. Lastly we will review the potential issuance of $1.46 million in bonds to fund the McKinstry Energy Savings Contract.

Peter Sobol has a very good summary of the reasons behind the bonds vs. lease purchase on his blog.

http://petersobol.blogspot.com/



As always I encourage the public to attend and make comments during the public appearances portion of the meeting. You can also contact the full board with comments and concerns thru the district website.