Reader's Write: Culver's 6 Wishes

We couldn't resist sharing this from our inbox:

Just noticed in the latest bimonthly installment of Dr. Tim's Daily Dose of Bad Medicine* that he "empathizes" with the teachers on the issue of skipping work.  This is wrong.  He means he "sympathizes" with them.

Sympathy is having feeling for someone/something.  Empathy is sharing someone's feelings/situation.  Dr. Tim didn't play hookie last week, and teachers would LOVE to share Dr. Tim's retirement situation.  They are looking at paying half of their retirement, and he has a steady check coming and a Scrooge McDuck vault of bonus cash that he is trying to sweeten a little more.

How much sweeter is a matter of speculation.  What we do know is that he has two old lamps, possibly looted from the Cairo Museum during the recent uprising.  We know there are two lamps, because each genie grants three wishes, and Dr. Tim has six wishes. Assuming Dr. Tim's math skills are better than his vocab skills, he should be able to divide six wishes by three per genie and come up with two lamps.

If so, ali Whalen and ali Seabass are wearing turbans and floating in a puff of smoke and refusing to divulge the nature of the wishes.  I guess we won't know what he asked for until 1) he gets it and they have to tell us;  2) ali Whalen and ali Seabass develop a little respect for open government and community engagement and share the wishes with the people who will be funding the wishes; or, 3) we actually see the twelve-inch pianist.

Hopefully, we can catch those slippery genies and each get six wishes.  I would only need four:  end world hunger, bring world peace, a Scrooge McDuck vault, and a twelve-inch pianist.  Then you would wish you could empathize with me.


* Culver's blog, "InspirED", aka ConspirED, backfirED, haywirED, misfirED, quagmirED, retirED, vampirED, tripwirED, underwirED, and just plain tirED (not to mention heavy on the ED)

Whatever Happened To....

Dr. Culver's 6 Contract Proposals?
It's been several weeks.  No new "negotiation" meetings have been held.  It hasn't appeared as an agenda item. Whalen and Culver are still hiding behind a non-existent exclusion from Open Records laws and refuse to release the contract proposals.   We wonder why.  Two days ago, the SPEA and Local 60 contract proposals were openly shared with the public--as well as the board's counter offer.  So...why do they refuse to release the proposals?  No one ever wants to air their dirty laundry...right?  So something must be soiled.  Time to do a little investigating.
Let's take a look at the provisions of Culver's contract and see if we can ferret out what he might be up to...shall we?

[from Culver's contract] 3. Compensation

• (a) salary & deferred compensation.  He's not so crazy as to suggest a raise, given the state fiscal landscape
• (c) Salary adjustment - he already has a clause that doesn't allow REDUCING his salary.  So that isn't a concern

 Conclusion:  This can't be about a raise.

4. Benefits

• (a) Payment for health and dental "as provided for other Administrators"...maybe hes looking to pay nothing?  Again, given Governor Walker's stance, not gonna happen 
• (c) The board may require a physical exam and medical ability to work  if health is an issue"...maybe?
• (d) Full payment of term life insurance at 4 times salary ($142,193 ) to the nearest $10,000 ($570,000).  According to the contract, we already provide Culver with over $500,000 of life insurance...surely he couldn't want more than that???  Who has that kind of term life insurance?  But....that would move us back to wondering about his health.
• (e) The Board will pay the Administrators required contribution to the WRS?  Our stench-o-meter just went crazy. Did Culver have an early whiff of the Governor's plan?  Is he trying to solidify what already appears to be solid language?  
• (f) Board already pays his share of Social Security
• (15) days of non-designated leave (sick and emergency)...does he want more???
• (28) vacation days....and can cash out 5 days per year.  He already doesn't lose unused leave days.  Maybe he wants to cash out more???
• (j) Board pays required dues for 1 state and 1 national professional association...does he want a 3rd?  It would seem unlikely at this stage of the game.  Besides the board has already added payment for his membership in the Rotary Club.
• (k) Flat monthly payment of $325 for use of personal car with Dane Co.  Gas prices are up...is he looking for more?
• (l) $125/month for "miscellaneous costs incurred in "carrying out his official duties".  Please!  He wouldn't even dare go here...would he?
• (m)  District Administrator pays for Long Term Disability insurance at his own expense.  Maybe he wants it paid by the taxpayers?  Another health bell is ringing.
• (o) Longevity separation pay : unused leave (section g)  up to 205 days at separation at year 12 is already 100% of per diem pay.  Paid in 2 installments... (1) Half w/in 30 days of leaving and (2) Half on 1st anniversary of leaving.  This one has the shenanigans meter twitching.   He could have as much as nearly a full year of pay banked.  That could cost a big tax hit.   Perhaps he's trying to spread this out longer?  It's noteworthy that the district pays interest on any amount not yet paid out.  Hmmm.

Conclusion:  This HAS to be about Culver finding a way to increase his pay during retirement...or...more to the point, reduce his taxes.  Remember, sports fans,  there's also the matter of the $109,962 we're already squirreling away from him in the Reserved/Designated Fund Balance.

Google Saves the Day
A few creative Google searches led us to the concept of pension boosting.  Since Culver is clearly zeroing in on retirement, and the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) bases retirement benefits on the 3 highest salary years, it's clear Culver is looking for ways  to increase his retirement benefit.  
How do you increase your salary without really increasing your salary?  Hmm.  We'll get back to that in just a minute.  Now it's time to recall how quickly the issue of Culver's proposals appeared relative to Scott Walker taking office.  The issue of the contract proposals and the timing MUST be linked to the Budget Repair Bill.  It seems clear that Culver needed to get something done quickly because of moves being made by Governor Walker.

"...pumping up pension payouts is among the newest -- and most lucrative -- benefits for administrators. Much of the added money comes when districts offer money in lieu of benefits such as health or dental insurance."

---IndyStar: School chiefs quietly pad pensions, collect perks  


BINGO! That one little sentence seems to put all the dominoes neatly in line.  It's brilliant.  All Culver has to do is offer to pay for things for which the school district already pays 100% of his contribution...like Social Security, Medicare, WRS, and even health insurance.  In exchange, they could increase his salary so Culver recoups his costs.  It's beautiful.... it effectively increases his monthly retirement benefits, yet it's cost neutral for the school district.  And it has to happen before Walker rains on his parade.  This has got to be the angle Culver is shooting for.

There's only one teensy weensy problem with it.  Should the school board be working to pad the retirement of any one individual?  Are we offering the same deal for all employees?  And now we see the root problem.  Scott Walker is going to force people like Culver to pay their own way for the WRS and at least 12% of health insurance.  This neatly explains the rush to push this through.  Once Walker's Budget Bill goes through, Culver wouldn't be able to finagle this deal.  This is a singular opportunity to bump his salary by $8,0000-10,000...which would put more than a few dollars in his pocket every month for the rest of his life.
We won't know for sure until Culver/Whalen release those 6 proposals.  But our gut feel is that we're at least barking in the rights stand of trees.

Board Changes Agenda...Adds SPEA & Local 60 Contracts

In a follow up to our earlier posts, we wanted to alert the community that it appears that the school board has reached agreement on two contract proposals.

Quietly, the school board has updated its agenda to this coming Monday night to include action on new contracts for SPEA (teachers union) and [AFSCME] Local 60 (support staff).  

The only question we have is what final agreement was reached.  Did the school board budge on their counter proposals?  One would think that union membership would have to ratify any agreement.  It would seem that that is happening this weekend.

Once again, however, we the people are treated like mushrooms...kept in the dark and fed...well...you know...

If one checks Board Docs, there is no agreement posted [as of 3:30 PM Saturday 2-26-11] , nor is there any bullet list of changes from the board's counter-proposal.  How is the public supposed to speak on a topic when they don't know the details of the topic?

Also note that the board has pulled the Kobussen busing contract.  Hmmm... Trouble in paradise?

More Signage

Damn!  'Sconnies sure are a creative bunch!

Somebody's Awake - A Response to the 11th Hour Contracts

Somebody is awake and alert.  We received this from one of our readers..

Tim Culver, Editorialist for the SPEA newsletter

Instead of the usual senseless drivel and vacation photos, Dr. Culver took the opportunity in his latest installment of underwirED (Dispatches from the District Doorknocker) to tell us how bleak the future is for our children because of laws proposed and yet to be proposed. The double whammy of “extreme changes” and “foreshadowed massive cuts to schools” promises to lead to much gloom, despair, and agony on us. Deep dark depression, excessive misery is also a distinct possibility.

According to Culver (channeling Martin Luther King, Jr., who once faced a similar situation when people beat his friends, burned their churches down and crosses in their yards, and lynched them), “…we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems to close around us.” Though Dr. Culver may be minimizing his abject suffering compared to the trials of Dr. King, he is right about one thing—the administration and the board are in the dark, and trying to find a way to bring the community in too.

Culver tells us that “we need your informed involvement and we need your voice.” What he doesn't tell us is that there was a Friday night closed session to exchange contract proposals with SPEA and Local 60 that, as of Thursday night, had not been drafted yet. There is also an item on the school board agenda for Monday night for "Action Regarding Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill".  This leads inquiring minds to wonder why the Negotiations Committee would find it so urgent to exchange contracts, when the only thing to bargain under the proposed law is wages.  Surely that is not notice for the ratification of two new contracts to slide in under the wire (Hmmm...underwirED) before the legislation gets signed.

If that is the plan, the resulting contract may need to be approved Monday, with less than one business day for review. Over the course of his blog entry, Dr. Underwire preaches (much like Martin Luther King, Jr.) the essential role of informed involvement of the community, but neglects to mention that he and the board are on the verge of committing millions of district dollars on absolutely no notice or time for input by essential stakeholders. If that is the plan, it kinda' sounds like his criticism of the budget repair bill, now doesn't it?

The last time a complicated document that had a drastic impact on our district and was rammed through with no notice or opportunity for input, it was cause for half of the district's teachers to violate their contract and force the district to cancel school for the day. Many of them cut class to walk in circles around the Capital condemning the lack of openness, transparency, and deliberation in the actions of the Governor.

Greasing a contract through under the wire might be a good idea, but there is no way for the community to ever know. For Dr. Culver to go into such great detail about the new law and it's impact on the district without mentioning the impending contract would be dishonest. It would be sleazy. It would contradict everything he says about the need for informed opinions from the community. If the board goes along with this and slides a contract through without community involvement, they will hear about it in October. And two of them may hear about it in April.

Then again, that may not be the plan.  Maybe I am just paranoid due to the many other times that the district has slid major actions under the wire by closed session shenanigans, obfuscation, and lightning-strike action.  I guess I'll have to check the Star's website on Tuesday.

A Rush To Contract

Raise your hand if the sudden scheduling of a school board Negotiations Committee meeting for 4:00 PM yesterday registered on your personal radar screen.  We thought not.


At the 11th hour, as the Capitol Endgame appears to be drawing near, contract proposals were exchanged between the school board and the teachers union (SPEA) and also the support staff (Local 60).  The game of negotiations is played in this manner:
1. Parties meet in open session
2. Contract proposals from the unions/group are offered (note this is the public's only opportunity to see proposals)
3. Then the school board passes over its "counter" proposal
4. Then the fun begins.  Now they go into closed session and discuss the proposals, possibly reaching agreement.
5. We, the public, only learn the outcome when they schedule an open session.


The SPEA proposal
In what our fact checkers are attempting to verify to be the most concise contract proposal in labor history, the teachers union offered this proposal (verbatim):

SPEA Settlement Offer for February 25th

Status quo on language of contract and concessions on WRS and health insurance premiums.

(during open discussion SPEA indicated that "ideally" they were seeking a 2-year contract extension.  It was also clarified that by "concessions", the intent was to accept the shares of retirement and health insurance contributions as outlined in Gov. Wokka's Budget Repair Bill)

The Local 60 Proposal
Proposal to....February 25, 2011
1. Effective July 1, 2011, increase wages by 0% (steps would still occur)
2. Effective July 1, 2012, increase wages by 0% (steps would still occur)
3. Effective July 1, 2012, increase the employee contribution toward health insurance to 12% 
4. Effective July 1, 2011, employees would be required to contribute toward their WRS pensions per Statutory requirement
5. Contract duration July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013

The School Board/District counter proposal

• No increase to the salary matrix/grid.
• Step and lane increases will be provided per contract.
• No increase to employees that are "off the grid".
• Employees that participate in a Health Risk Assessment shall pay 9% of health insurance premiums.
• Employees that do NOT participate in a Health Risk Assessment shall pay 10% of health insurance premiums.
• 3-tier co-pays for prescription drugs ($0/$5.00/$20.00) remain the same.
• Employees pay the "statutory required" Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) contributions (5.8% of salary in the Budget Repair Bill)
• Athletic/Activity (coaches/clubs) positions will be offered to the most qualified applicant ( instead of being offered outside the union only if there are no qualified union applicants)
• 1 one-year offer for July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012

The Case AGAINST this Deal
Hardliners would argue that while the school board's counter-proposal comes very close to what would result from Govictator Walker's Budget Repair Bill, the salary grid remains in force, which translates to at least 3% annual increase s for bargaining unit members who are still "on the grid".  The budget repair bills would allow only negotiations for wages capped at the Consumer Price Index.  Read emphasis on "capped".  Most believe that Walker will deny any raises.


More importantly, detractors will --and should--point to the fact that this "deal" provides only a single business day to review any contracts, assuming the contracts are posted for the public by Monday. (As of Saturday morning, contracts had not been made available to th public through BoardDocs.  We don't even know whether or not the Board struck a deal.  All we know is that at 7:57 PM on Friday 2/25/2011, a new "public notice" was issued to "Key Communicators" announcing that Contract ratifications between the Board and SPA and the Board and Local 60 had been added to the agenda for the Board's Monday 2/28/2011 meeting. 


It will not go unnoticed that the teachers union has enjoined complaints about Wokka's rush to push the Budget Repair Bill through.  Walker's bill was announced on a Friday and discussion wasn't initiated until the following Tuesday.


The Case FOR this deal
Look, we can argue till the cows comes back from California that the school board is offering a deal where none is required.  We can argue about the timing.  Yes this came up with virtually no public notice.  Yes, the school board appears to be continuing a long-standing trend of trying to operate beneath the public's radar coverage.  But maybe...just maybe...we can take the high road on this one and see if our doing so will transform into a quid pro quo of sorts.  District staff are not on the state health insurance system, so the 12% insurance premiums would not have been required.


Yes, we could certainly plant our collective foot firmly on the necks of ALL school district employees.  Governor Walker has given us the freedom to do what the school board would never have done independently.  But do we have to transform ourselves into his own image?  More to the point:  why would we even want to?  We're better than he is.  We're more sensitive to people and their lives.   Walker has kicked all union employees down with his proposals and desire to eliminate castrate bargaining rights and destroy unions once and for all.  Do we need to kick these people while they lie writhing on the ground?  We don't think so.


While we could certainly extract blood from a stone, this is a GOOD deal that provides the following:

• It raises the floor for young/new teachers, allowing us to be competitive in hiring
• It caps the ceiling; a long-term issue has been paying teachers $90,000 or more.
• It provides us the relief from fringe benefit costs we've sought for years.
• It allows us to re-capture projected losses in state aid (gee thanks, Scottie...) through retirements, WRS contributions, and increased health insurance premiums.
• It allows the district to hire the best individuals to lead sports and activities instead of being forced (in most cases) to select from the union.
• It allows us to maintain the quality of education in Sun Prairie without risking class size increases or staff cuts.
• It allows us to be human.

Let's show the Governor that, unlike him, we don't just say that we value people and their rights to collective bargaining.   We sit down at the table like grown-up human beings.  We negotiate, not dictate.  We are concerned about the taxpayers that support education AND we are concerned  about the PEOPLE that make up our labor force.  We will ALL hurt as a result of Walker's actions.  But we don't have to suck the life force out of our people.  We can give them hope for brighter days tomorrow.

Signage From The Frontlines

Regardless of one's position on the issue, you have to admire some of the creativity. We're not representing either side of the issue here; nor do we agree with the messages...just offering a smattering of favorite signs.

Open Meeting Violation?

We hear the following from a community resident:

Neither tonight's meeting nor the negotiations meeting tomorrow have been properly noticed in the Star.  I called the Star this morning to see if I overlooked it.  The person I talked to verified that there were no notices and said they must have made the request too late to make the deadline.  I don't think the board can hold a legal meeting.

The issue at hand is: does a public notice have to actually appear in the paper?  Or can the district just SEND it to the paper?  One can argue that with the wide availability of the Internet, by virtue of posting a meeting Notice on the district website (BoardDocs) is sufficient.  The district also posts notices at the District Office.  The District send notices to the library, but we learned recently that the library doesn't always post them.


Last week a similar violation was alleged because notice was not found in the STAR -- the district's official newspaper-- in the usual location (back of section 2, with other notices).  We learned that on this occasion, the STAR published the Notice in question in the "LifeStyles" section.  Seems logical to us (NOT!).


So...at the very least does the district have to consider whether or not the STAR is adequately serving us in its role as the official newspaper?  Should the meetings be cancelled tonight?


The state's Open Meetings Law Guide states the following:

Note, however, that the requirement to provide notice to the officially designated newspaper is distinct from the requirement to provide notice to the public.  If the chief presiding officer chooses to provide notice to the public by paid publication in a news medium, the officer must ensure that the notice is in fact published. 

Culver Blogs About School Closing Last Week

About 315 of 640 members of the Sun Prairie Education Association (SPEA) did not report to work. Of that number, 298 absence requests came in between 8 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m.Thursday.


Good Reading.  
Culver's blog about teacher absences due to a "job" action
By the way...
We're hearing that Chris Mertes (STAR editor) has made an Open Records request to obtain the names of all SPEA members who were absent.

An Open Letter to the Community from SPEA

We received this from SPEA this afternoon...
__________________________________________
An open letter to the Sun Prairie Community…

Dear Students, Parents, Educators, and Community Members,

The events of the last week have left many with questions, concerns, and a lot of emotions. In an effort to answer those questions, address those concerns, and help to calm the emotions we are all feeling, I offer a few thoughts:

There are few things in life that are shared experiences. One of those things is going to school. We have all, at one time or another, gone to school. Some had good experiences, some did not – but we have all been in school and been offered a public education. Public education is often a right we take for granted, but our schools and our education system have been built through the struggle of voters, communities, parents, students, and yes – the unions. Collective Bargaining has brought many key components of education to the
forefront from both the union and management side. There are also many benefits that have spilled over into the private sector.

To have great schools, we need three ingredients: great teachers, supportive parents and community members, and students with a desire to learn. Sun Prairie has those things now. We just built an amazing new high school! We are a growing community with eager students who are excited to go to school. Great things are happening in Sun Prairie Schools! And we have great teachers: teachers that have their National Board
Certification, those who are certified in many areas, those who have gotten their Masters Degree. We have so many teachers who put in extra hours before and after school to be sure that their students get to experience the highest level of quality education. Sun Prairie is frequently at the forefront of public education policies, curricula, and educational ideas. We led in the area of multiple settings for Early Childhood services,
and with our 4K program. We are proud of what we have accomplished with the help and support of the community here.

Thursday was a very difficult day for teachers in this district. We believe in and support the excellent schools in Sun Prairie, and we wanted to be with our students. However, we also want Sun Prairie schools to continue to be great. We want to protect the future of the children of this district. Effective teachers’ unions attract great teachers because the great teachers want to work in places where they are respected and appreciated. The union’s right to bargain is a right that allows us to obtain and then maintain the highest quality
education for the students and the future of Sun Prairie.

We understand there is frustration and confusion. We feel it too! For those of us that made the difficult choice to be absent yesterday, please accept our apologies for the inconvenience and hurt that may have caused you and your families. We love our jobs, and we love this community. We hope you will understand that each of us is trying to find the best solutions to these complex problems, and to do what is right. Please know that we continue to need your patience and support.

We have made a commitment to be here for our students going forward and will honor that commitment. We hope you realize that our frustration and subsequent actions on Thursday are focused on Governor Walker’s Budget “Repair” Bill and not the students and community of Sun Prairie. We look forward to continuing the positive working relationships we have had with Students, Parents, Community Members, Administrators, and the Board of Education. Sun Prairie is a great place to live and work, and we want to keep it that way!

The Sun Prairie Education Association

$1.7M on Ashley Field? We Don't THINK So!

You gotta give 'em credit. They keep coming back. Dave Stackhouse is challenging the Energizer Bunny for stick-to-it-iveness. If there was any hope of this folly moving forward, however, it should be abundantly clear by now that Uncle Scottie's 2011-13 Biennial Budget Plan should squash any further flights of fancy. Could we use better locker room area? Sure. We'll concede that one. But under the hack and slash style of our new Governor, the future of education in Sun Prairie --and every school district-- is in jeopardy.   Curriculum has to get 50 yard line seating; athletics gets relocated to the cheap seats. 
 But...just so everyone understands what was proposed....

Total estimated cost: $1,680,000 
Parking...............$ 80,000 
 (OK, so we just got done deconstructing 200 parking spots; now we want to add back in 60???!!!)
Artificial turf.......$823,000 
Locker rooms..........$370,000 
Move ticket booths ...$257,000 
 (Interesting...this is what it was labeled in the situation report, but actually, this cost is for adding 1,000 seats)


Site upgrades/misc....$150,000
-------------------------new ticket booths $40,0000 
-------------------------site paving $50,000 
-------------------------fencing $20,000 
-------------------------general site electrical $25,000 
-------------------------general site landscaping $15,000 

 Another lowball estimate?
The quote from Findorff (interesting...was this bid out?) tells it all, "This budget is conceptual..."  
Haven't we heard this too many times before?  The most recent example is the (now) need for an additional $70,000 worth of bleachers for Summit (baseball) field.  Fool us once, shame on you, but fool us twice....
Where are the costs NOT being mentioned?

Conspicuously absent is the ongoing cost of maintaining--and replacing--the 90,000 sq. ft. of artificial turf. What?  This stuff is so cool it maintains itself?  And never has to be replaced?  Estimates for annual maintenance are approximately $20,000 per year.  There are needs for seam repairs, replacing the "crumb" rubber (typically used), sweeping the field, brushing the field, locating and removing lost metal items (e.g., Chad Ochocinco's missing earring), re-painting lines (yes that still has to happen at least 1-2 times per year).

 one turf maintenance link

Another good turf maintenance reference

Replacement Costs
No, Virginia...artificial turf is not forever..  It must be replaced every 8-10 yrs.  One estimate (2005) suggests that replacement and disposal (not recyclable) of the old turf runs about $7.15 a square foot, for a total cost of about $650,000.  Spread over 10 years, that's $65,000 which needs to be budgeted.   Replacement costs only are at least $4 per square foot (meaning at least $360,000)  [http://www.academysportsturf.com/faqs.php#7].  But what do we do with the old stuff?  There are costs there....that nobody is discussing.
 Bond interest? 
 Assuming we would even have the desire to fund this venture, where are we coming up with $1.7M? Fund Balance? We would have to go to referendum, and even if that passed, there are bond origination charges, and interest as well.  We don't see that factored in.


 "Potential" Stormwater Management Area? 
What part of "climate change" isn't being understood? You think maybe there's a QUESTION about whether or not we'll have to deal with rainfall (and snowmelt) runoff? Natural grass at lease absorbs some water. This plan reduces over 90,000 square feet of potential infiltration. Or is this one of those, "Let's plan on NO COST for stormwater management and then a year from now go "Ooops, we made some miscalculations and we'll need another $200K for an approved stormwater management plan?". Of course, in the interest of business development, maybe Uncle Scottie will no longer require stormwater management plans!
Bottom Line
If there was any board interest in spending any money on Ashley field, Walker's budget plan has vaporized it.  

SP Alum Gains Fame!; Oh Yeah...Didja Hear About the Budget Repair Bill?

Yes, loyal readers, SP-EYE is well aware that Governor Walker's thinly veiled attack on collective bargain rights--hiding behind the title, "Budget Repair Bill"-- has launched massive, soon-to-be unprecedented, protests at the Capitol.  We happen to have obtained a few personal cellphone images of the rallies.


Oddly enough, the protests have served to swing the fickle finger of fame's spotlight onto one Sun Prairie alum (Class of 2005), whose video montage of the protests is apparently "going viral":
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/02/19/viral-video-the-view-from-the-front-lines-of-the-wisconsin-protests/.    Congratulations to Matt Wisniewski!


Oh...you wanna know what we think about the situation?
Well...since we just happen to be intimately familiar with the situation from the eyes of the state worker, we think our position is fairly clear.  There's simply no need to pillage unions to balance a budget.  Busting unions is not the answer.  Scott Walker and the Republicans (is that great band name?) have labelled public employees the "HAVES" and private sector workers the "HAVE NOTS".  We're not going to argue the point, we think the following article does a good job of making an unbiased analysis:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_d4093848-3c92-11e0-ac18-001cc4c03286.html

What we will say is that this is precisely what we have been warning the school board and school district for years.  It wasn't ONLY state employees "bloated" bennies that put the state in the mess it's in.  Again and again we've advocated for injections of fiscal conservatism.  To no avail.  But, I think we have people's attention now.  Now we are ALL in it: teachers, unions, state, municipal, and county workers.
And this is only the Budget REPAIR Bill.


On March 1, we will hear Walker's 2011-13 biennial budget plan.  Our sources indicate that among others, DPI will see a cut of $900 MILLION to $1 BILLION dollars.  That translates to a reduction in state equalized aid of approximately $500 per student.  In a typical year, state aid INCREASES by about $200 per student.  SPASD has about 7,000 students.  Do the math.


It means CUTS, people.  Deep, and mortal wounds to positions and programs.  Oh...and definitely no more sea bass dinners (Ahem!).
Stay tuned.

HR Position Tabled AGAIN-- Whalen Putting $$ Where His Mouth Is

In his 5-year tenure with the school board, has John Whalen EVER seen an expenditure he couldn't pass up? Has he EVER used the word "cut" in a sentence that didn't have food as its subject? At Monday's school Board meeting, Whalen surprised us all. Apparently he is SO convinced that hiring a new Human Relations and Recruitment Specialist position (to the tune of $75-80,000 in salary and benefits) is the the preeminent panacea to solve the district's growing diversity puzzle--- that he used the "C" word.  

“This is an item that I am willing to support right now.  I am willing to cut other items in order to make it work. We have talked about this for a long time, we can continue doing that, but it is an item I feel like I need to put my money where my mouth is, and I’ll support it again.”
---Board President John Whalen

Whalen's voting buddy Jim McCourt used the "C" word during a plea to support an earlier agenda item.
"We need to cuts somewhere else to [implement the district's new AVID program]"
---Board Treasurer Jim McCourt

How did other Board members react?


We have to start taking action on this.  Our track record [for recruiting and retaining teachers of color] is abysmal, and I think we have to make it better. Regardless of what happens in the budget, we are going to have turnover of teachers. We have turnover of teachers every year. I think we have got to get this person in here now and not wait.”
---Jim McCourt

"I was against this before and I haven't seen anything to change my mind."
--David Stackhouse

"I encouraged bring this forward, but as I look through the action plan, a lot of the things we've tried have not been overly successful.  I'm not sure throwing a position with no sunset date will fix it.  I, too, would like to postpone [this decision]."

"A couple of you  have talked about cuts; I look forward to hearing them on Monday [Feb. 21st, scheduled School Board Work-study session on the budget]."

--- John Welke

"I'm not going to vote for it tonight.  There's too much uncertainty [in the state budget picture].

---Board Vice President Terry Shimek

“I still am uncertain as to how hiring one person is going to change the culture of our school district.  We need to be looking at exit surveys. We don’t need to hire someone to do that. We should have that in place right now.  The last thing I want is to turn around and say we don’t have the money to support the position, and we need to let you go.  That is the worst thing we need."
---Jill Camber-Davidson

_______________________________________________________________________
(3rd) MOTION: TO POSTPONE ACTION ON THIS ITEM TO THE FEBRUARY 28 SB MEETING

Motion by Terry Shimek, second by John M Welke. Final Resolution: Motion Carried

In Favor: Caren Diedrich, Jill Camber Davidson, John M Welke, Terry Shimek

Opposed: David Stackhouse, Jim McCourt, John Whalen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Note1: Don't be misled by Stackhouse voting against postponing the motion.  He clearly does not support hiring the position.  We believe his vote reflects a desire to vote the position down and be done with it.)

(Note 2: In  Caren Diedrich's characteristic tradition for zaniness, she initially made the motion to approve the position.  Then --after seeing that wouldn't be flying---she withdrew her original motion and made a second motion to postpone the issue until the board's March 14th meeting.  That motion failed on a 2-5 vote.)

The 2011 Winner of the "I'm Gonna Take My Basketball and Go Home Award" Goes To...

....School Board Treasurer Jim "SeaBass" McCourt.   McCourt seemed a tad grumpy Monday night as more informed school board members seemed to hesitate before writing any more big checks.  McCourt, on the other hand seems poised to continue his "Damn the struggling taxpayers, let's spend money" ways.  When it appeared that yet another motion he supported was going down in flames, there was an underlying tone in McCourt's voice as he stated,

"We seem to be stopping...just waiting to see what happens...how do you run a school district [that way]?"
--Board Treasurer Jim McCourt

Where's PhilDough?

The OurDough pants have quietly been getting quite stuffed as the fiscal year progresses to its conclusion June 30th.  We all saw the budget that was presented/approved last October.  What we didn't see then, and haven't heard since, however, is what the district is planning on doing with all the unexpected windfalls.  To name just a few:

• Administrative raises: Budgeted for 2%; "only" awarded 1%...where's dough from the difference? 
• Administrative health insurance premium: Budget  increased the employee share...where's that dough?
• Administrative Support raises: Budgeted for 2%; "only" awarded 1%...where's that dough? 
• Administrative support health insurance premium: Budget  increased the employee share...where's that dough?
• Local 60 raises: Budgeted for 2%; "only" awarded 1%...where's that dough? 
• Budgeted/unfilled staffing.......where's that dough?
• Staff replacement savings...where's that dough?
• ~$200,000 from sale of the home construction project...where's that dough?
• If Walker's plan goes through there will be at least $1M in "savings" THIS year ...where will that dough go?

Only "PhilDough" Frei knows.  He keeps filling pockets in his OurDough pants.  Can you find Phil and  Our Dough?

Valentine's Day Spend-A-Thon!

Vanilla after vanilla school board agenda.  An occasional spark, here and there but generally Dr. Feelgood style happycrappy.  That's the way school board business has been for several months.  Then.... just as many folks will be [very happily with absolutely no reservations whatsoever] celebrating the joys of Saint Valentine with their significant other...BAM! ZAP! WOW!   School board got that Boom Boom Pow!  


Just seems a tad fishy that all of a sudden we have this jam-packed agenda for both FTT and the full board...on a night where many folks have reservations elsewhere.  Really! Really, JohnE?  This meeting couldn't have been moved up a day...or the agenda covered at another meeting?  Really?  The board continually cajoles community residents for showing up at board meetings instead of appearing first at the committee level.  Did you folks even LOOK at that FTT agenda and all the multitude of big ticket items being discussed?


These are some of the hot issues that will be discussed:
Kobussen Contract (School Board)
Isn't this interesting!  First this appeared as an "addendum" to a $10M contract.  Now it's termed "revisions".  Addendum? Hah!  The only reason for this "addendum:" is that the original contract was prepared and signed without the original --critical-- addendum which determines transportation costs.  Is that what we get from $35.00+ per hour staff?  Board member John Welke was the only board member that requested a critical legal review of the revisions.  Welke rightfully questioned if the district had the authority, based on the original contract language, to solicit other, less expensive carriers for the 4K program.

 “The contract is ambiguous. If the District does not get prior consent or agreement from Kobussen but acts unilaterally, Kobussen could object and assert that contracting with another vendor constitutes a breach of contract. Thus, unless the District has prior agreement or approval from Kobussen, then contracting for transportation from another vendor could expose the district to litigation with uncertain outcome”.
---SPASD legal counsel Bill Fahey on whether the district could use other options for 4K transportation

Contract Extension for District Administrator Tim Culver
This is a waste of time.  Legally, by failing to act prior to January 31, 2011 (at least nothing was ever done PUBLICLY), the contract defaults to an extension through June 2013.  The big question though...is what aren't we seeing?   What decisions have been made behind closed doors regarding Culver's 6 contract proposals?
New HR position
Perhaps 'nuff said...but is this the time to add administrative new staff?  And is this ONE individual going to really effect change where 3 years of intra-district efforts have not?
New baseball stands for Summit Field
The situation report doesn't appear to 1tell the whole story.  We hear from reliable sources that the reason for spending $70K on new bleachers (hell..we haven't even used the original "new" ones yet!) is that the view from the ones we bought is largely blocked by the above ground "dugouts".  Apparently somebody had the brilliant notion that if they call 'em "dugouts" they must be below ground and therefor wouldn't block views from the grandstands. Hmmm...whodathunk?  Genius!    Now, of course, somebody wants to spend $70K MORE of the $900,000 leftover from construction.
Ashley Field
Like the Twilight saga...this story just seems to keep building.  Now the pricetag is up to $1.7M.  Of course they at least determined that at $2.3M, it would cost too much to make changes to the new high school field.  Is this school board incumbent for re-election David Stackhouse's swan song?  Is he looking for HIS legacy?  How about we all stop looking for our own leg-acies and start trying to get an academic LEG UP on other school districts?
District Office remodel: $70,000
OK...enough with the fat cat office remodel, eh?  We already have gold name plates on doors fro cry eye!  When does it stop!
Secured Door Access
Here's an item that at least makes sense...securing the buildings for our students.
Our Particular Favorite...New Diving Boards.
OK...so they only cost $3,400.  So we should just do it, right?  EXCUSE US!  We BOUGHT--and had delivered over a year ago--- brand spanking new diving boards that even the district says meet WIAA standards.  Except....and this is good...so give us a drum roll for effect...the diving boards aren't the "preferred ones" used for competitions.  So...the threat is that if we don't replace them, we may not be able to host competitions. So...let's just replace perfectly good, brand new diving boards...right?  We don't freakin' think so!  You want new/better boards?  Then make a stink with the contractor who purchased the ones we have.

Newsflash! School Board To State The Obvious!

On Monday, the school board is poised to extend District Administrator Tim Culver's contract for yet another year, through June 2013.  What has us scratching our heads is...what's the point?  As part of the LAST time the board adjusted Culver's contract (last September), there was (as there has been) a little clause that states:

This contract shall be subject to a single one (1) year extension to cover the 2012-2013 school year unless either the Board or District Administrator notifies the other in writing on or before January 31, 2011.

Dear school board...you may want to check the calendar...that contractual deadline passed 2 weeks ago.  Legally you already extended the contract by fiddily... (ooops, nevermind)...er...by not taking any action to NOT extend the contract [pardon the double negative].


It's s done deal.  So why waste taxpayer dollars sending the contract to be reviewed--scratch that---to be WRITTEN by a law firm.  You crossed out and replaced like 50 letters.  What exactly did that genius move cost us?  That editing couldn't be done by one of our secretarial staff?


Adding insult to stupidity...your open records bumbling suggests that we'll be seeing YET ANOTHER revision to his contract in the very near future.  Which required even MORE legal staff time.


We may be a tech savvy district, but someone forgot that Microsoft Office stores key information about a document in its "properties".  Ooopsies!   What we can now tell speaks volumes:

1. The contract document was written by Godfrey & Kahn (district legal counsel).  Why are they WRITING a contract instead of just REVIEWING it?
2. The total editing time for this monumental contract change was exactly 19 minutes.  Hmm...wonder what we paid in legal fees for that?  Our staff couldn't change a couple of dates?
3. The contract was last "saved" 12/15/2010.  That means that it has been  available for TWO MONTHS!  Why hasn't action been taken?

Here's a question SOMEONE should be asking:   Why was Culver's contract extension sent to legal to edit without even stopping for a moment to think when board president John Whalen and the district balked against having legal counsel review a $10 MILLION "addendum" to the district busing contract????


And here's a follow-up question....How does "addendum" fit as a descriptor for a contract that was carved up pretty heavily both internally and by legal counsel?  Hell...it's not even a revised contract anymore...it's better defined a s a whole new contract!!!


But you keep on rockin', school board.  Because precious few care enough to come to your meetings and tell you differently.  Many residents are indeed asleep at the switch until tax bills arrive.  And many others believe that calling you and e-mailing you won't change your minds.  Once you drink the KoolAid, you're unreachable.


Your action Monday will merely state the obvious.  Do you REALLY have time for such foolishness?

Nothing Else Works? Throw a Position at It!

On Monday night the school board will vote whether or not to hire a new "Human Relations and Recruitment Specialist at a salary of $55,000 per year (plus about $25,000 in benefits).  The goal of this position is to:

"...work to identify minority candidates through outreach efforts within the community and the broader employment market, and then work with Principals and the candidates to increase the diversity in our applicant pools.  This individual with also work with our current minority employees to establish support groups to provide ongoing connections with the larger school community designed to increase employee retention."

Since August of 2007, the school district has engaged in a plan to increase minority recruitment (and retention).  Despite action taken to date, it has been related by HR Director Annette Mikula, that the sum total of efforts yielded 1 minority hire out of 40 new hires this past year.


What has never been shared with the public....and one can likely surmise why....is how many minority hires have "left the building" for one reason or another in recent years.  Is too tall an order for even the legendary little Dutch boy?


While we fully support the goal of a more diverse workforce to better reflect the diversity of our community and school district, we have some concern that we're just throwing a position at a problem.  Our question is a simple one:
 "How can ONE individual-- in a school district of about 1,000 employees and 7,000 students-- repair what 3 years of efforts could not?"

It seems that we need to repair the intra-district culture before we continue with any plan.  As Yoda might opine, one person cannot a culture change.  What's the plan if this doesn't work out?  Is there an exit strategy?