Culver: "I'm accountable; I'm responsible for SAGE compliance"
A review of the district's SAGE program was on the agenda for a joint meeting of the school board's Finance and Education & Policy committees this past Monday evening. Alice Murphy and her staff presented a nice report detailing the accomplishments of the SAGE program including metrics they have devised to evaluate the program.
District resident John Welke, who requested the agenda item, spoke about the value of the program as he has experienced it through his own children's participation in SAGE classes at Bird elementary. Mr. Welke had high praise for Murphy and the SAGE program. His only concern was that, based on 3rd Friday counts over the past 6 years, Sun Prairie has not been in compliance with SAGE program guidelines. Welke expressed concern that non-compliance could jeopardize the nearly $500K annual state aid which the district receives for participation in SAGE. He asked for accountability, and he asked for responsible management of the program.
That's when a visibly angered Culver stepped to the microphone and tried to wave off Welke's data and statements, claiming that Welke had requested the SAGE program agenda item with "ulterior motives". Culver went on to state that he had had discussions and e-mail correspondence with DPI staffers and he assured the audience that "Sun Prairie is in perfect compliance".
Now that is an absolutely clear example of the district's philosophy of "community engagement". (You see, of course how many of the recommendations that came out of the Community Engagement Task Force have been enacted...NONE!) Sure...Culver and the school board are all sunshine and roses when someone agrees with them or supports their private agenda...but just try to raise an issue of concern, and their fangs come out. Then they use their wonderful "We get the last word" policy and tell the listening and viewing audience that the speaker is in error, has ulterior motives, or in some other way attempts to malign their character.
When is the school board going to stop circling the wagons around Culver and start realizing that you can jam dirty laundry into some back closet, but eventually it starts to stink up the whole joint? Is there even ONE board member with sufficient vertebral structure to stand up and say, "We have some dirty laundry, and it's time to get it to cleaned up before stains set in"?
Welke's data is both real and accurate (Just look at the number of exceedances (in red) in the graphic summary.) And it requires a strong response from the school board. And we don't mean one of their typical, "the citizen is wrong and we fully support Dr. Culver and all his faux pas" responses.
The definition of "Class Size" under state law....SAGE LAW – s.118.43, Wisconsin Statutes – says, " In this section:(a) "Class size" means the number of pupils assigned to a regular classroom teacher on the 3rd Friday of September."
The law doesn't say that you are in compliance if the average of class size is 15 or less--although that's an "interpretation" that other school districts, perhaps including Sun Prairie, have tried. Hey...that's an idea! If you ever get pulled over for speeding, just say, "But...officer, on AVERAGE my speed is under the posted limit." See what that line of reasoning gets you.
In fact, when you look at the average class sizes for each grade in the data above, it doesn't take a genius to realize that if the average is above 15.0, then AT LEAST 1 class at each grader level had to be above 15. That's called non-compliance. In fact, you could have 2 classes of 15, 1 class of 14, and a 4th classd of 16, and THAT would average out to 15.0. But you would STILL have one class that violates the INTENT of the law. And nowhere does the law say "on average" class sizes must be 15:1.
Culver and Frei both indicated that they have "had discussions with DPI" and that "Sun Prairie is in compliance. Please note folks, that even IF the DPI has chosen not to enforce the law (as Culver and Frei allege) , it doesn't mean that non-compliance is acceptable. Compliance with the law and enforcement of the law are two mutually exclusive issues. Just as one naturally slows down upon sight of a state trooper in the median, whether or not DPI is enforcing the law, Sun Prairie needs to remain in compliance with it.
The law is the law, and our school board and district administration need to comply with the law TO THE LETTER. What kind of a message does it send to our children when the adults in authority use weasel words and twisted logic to rationalize that they are in compliance with law when they are not?
And...it's not like complying with the law is so difficult. If a district exceeds even ONE SAGE classroom size limit on the 3rd Friday in September, a request for waiver must be filed. The school board will have to hold a public hearing on the matter, and following the hearing, they signify approval and the waiver gets submitted. As long as the district, in the waiver request, indicates to DPI that it has a plan for dealing with the class sizes greater than 15:1, certainly the waiver will get approved.
The DPI sent a letter to all school districts recently to clarify what class size compliance means:
DPI letter to all school districts on SAGE class size compliance
A key excerpt of this letter states,
Dear District Administrator:
Recently, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) received several requests for information and clarification in relation to the SAGE class size requirement. The intent of this correspondence is to clarify the class size requirement.
State law requires schools in the SAGE program to maintain [emphasis
added] class sizes of 15:1 in grades K-3. SAGE funding is intended to
supplement, not supplant, the local cost of maintaining these class sizes. This
requires a significant local commitment to the educational value of small class
sizes including the allocation of local and federal funds necessary to meet the
SAGE class size requirement.
Given the current economic pressures, as well as classroom space limitations facing many schools, some SAGE class sizes may have gradually increased over time. If your district is not in compliance with the class size requirement, your district must submit a SAGE waiver request to the DPI. This also includes schools that reduce class sizes in core subject areas only (reading/language arts and
mathematics.
So...will the school board be like Spike Lee and do the right thing? Or will they simply circle the wagons and establish a perimeter of defense around Tim Culver? Where are the sanctions when the district administrator violates board policy?
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