Softball Clinic Raises Many Questions

Thanks to a community member who actually reads the STAR (not passing judgement here), we received this clipping.  The Sun Prairie STAR recently announced a softball clinic to be held at the Patrick Marsh Middle School Gym on Saturday January 12, 2013.  The instructors are reported to be the owner of "On The Rise" Fastpitch and SPHS Class of 2005 graduate (and former professional baseball player) Kevyn Feiner.

There will be three sessions for kids in grades 3-8, with a cost of $50-60 per child per session.

Questions to be answered
Oh so very many questions!  We thought sure that district administration had learned their lessons from the summer camp fiasco.  Perhaps not.  So let's go back down the same line of questioning again.

OTR's website listing

• Is this a non-profit?  Or is someone(s) hiding behind the old "It's for the [softball] kids" mantra?
• Who approved this reservation (who ordered the Code Red?)
• Will the group be charged for the rental of school facilities as per policy KG?
• How much revenue will be generated?
• Where will the money be going?

Don't we have a policy in place for this?
Sure....and it says:

All organizations other than those who qualify under subs. B.2.a. [non-profits are fee exempt during the school year, when students are in attendance, from 1/r hr after school until 9:00 pm] must pay a rental fee for the use of school facilities as outlined more fully herein...

-----Procedure KG-R

This is from the SPASD's Facility Use Calendar

Lets do some math!

According to the fee schedule (KG-E), renting the middle school gym costs $38/hour.

$38.00/hr x 8 hrs = $304
or roughly equivalent to less than 7 registrant fees

If there are 50 registrants for each of the three sessions, the revenue generate would be $8500.
The facility use fee would translate to just 3.6% of the revenue.  Isn't that a mere pittance to pay for facilities one does not have?

According to On the Rise's (OTR) website, it looks like they charge roughly $320/hr for instruction.  So, for 8 hours, OTR earns a cool  $2560 or this "camp".  We're pretty sure that OTR is not a  non-profit entity.  We're not sure what Kevyn Feiner will be paid for his services, but again, we're fairly confident that he is not a  non-profit.

Even if we pay Mr. Feiner the same as OTR ($2,560)...nice for a day's work!....AND the facility use fe is paid (which we're not sure is happening) the total "costs" are $5,424.  With revenues of $8500, SOMEONE is making $3,000 on this deal.  Who is it?



For further information:
Policy KG, Publc Use of School Facilities

KG-E  Facility Use Fee Schedule

Procedure KG-R, Use of School Facilities

The Bottom Line
At the very heart of this issue is that we have an Athletics and Activities Director who has expressed significant concern...publicly...that his budget just cannot cover the needs of the programs.  The logical answer would be that any of these events which are not billed per policy KG is tantamount to taking revenues out of the district.  These revenues could be used to offset/supplant the Athletics budget, or even to help build a fund for Ashley Field improvements or other similar projects.

So, hopefully, the district is back following policy KG.  If not, why not?

Santa has one gift left in his bag

Santa SP-EYE has on remaining gift in his bag. It's for the unofficial "8th Man" at the board table...none other than Dr. Culver.

It's been a trying year at times for Dr. Culver, so Santa thought he needed a diversion.  Therefore he's getting his very own personalized Whack-a-Mole game.

He may wish to have some other moles to whack...we'll leave that up to him.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

On the 7th day of Chringe-mas

How fitting that the last remaining board member name in Santa's hat is none other than Mike Krachey. Kinda close (at least in last name) to Bob Cratchit from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".  Close enough for government anyway.

For Mr. Krachey, Santa SP-EYE has, first and foremost, the title of Board Treasurer for 2013.  Or gut feel is that the nod was given to John Whalen this year chiefly because of his tenure, and the fall from Board President to just "member" was too hard a shove.  We think now however, that all board members not named Whalen or Diedrich very clearly see now that M. Whalen is not part of the solution.  We need a board treasurer who "gets" it.  And that should be Mike Krachey this April.

What we like about Mr. Krachey is his desire for more data.  He's like the little dude from the movie, "Short Circuit", who constantly seeks  more input.  If there's one area for M. Krachey to work on in his sophomore year, it is to be able to adjust on the fly and make decisions in the absence of all the data one would like to have. In addition, Mike is clearly an outside the box thinker.  He particularly showed that during his tenure on the Elementary Task Force.  Mike came up with an innovative approach to determining class sizes.  It needed some work, but it was an innovative idea with great potential.

To help with that, Santa has the books, "Drinking From the Fire Hose" and "How We Decide" as well desktop piece reminding him of the value he bings to the table by being an outside the box thinker.

Did Diedrich REALLY Say That!????

Click here to access the KSUN video of the meeting.
Click about 65% of the way through.
You want to view the segment
from 58:15 through 62:00 for full effect

SP-EYE always enjoys the last school board meeting of the year because of the delightful performance by the high school madrigal singers.  And, as always, they are a talented bunch!

But there was something else notable about the December 17th meeting.  It seemed that Caren Diedrich, who isn't very stealthily running for re-election, had a few comments to make on (it seemed) every agenda item.   Is that part of her pre-election period ritual?  To suddenly speak out on any and all topics?  To be heard and not just seen?  We've seen her play to the seniors crowd before.  Suddenly, as election time draws near, she starts talking about the taxpayers.  Never mind that her standard votes are usually far from the senior citizen taxpayers' best interests.  Oh but what she had to say on this night caused a few board members' heads to turn.  Lucky for Ms. Diedrich, there was no audience...except for SP-EYE.

Are You Saying Prairie Phoenix Academy is the Island of Misfit Toys, Ms. Diedrich?
We've all seen the Rudolph video where he winds up at the Island of Misfit Toys.  Perhaps it was especially fitting given that we are in the midst of the holiday season.  How could anyone hear Ms. Diedrich's words and not get the notion that she views the Prairie Phoenix Academy (PPA) as something akin to the Island of Misfit Toys?

 The agenda item was the proposal to add a new writing requirement for graduation.  All the board members seemed very supportive....except for Caren Diedrich that is.  And while she eventually voted to support it, her line of questioning caused a lot of seat squirming.

When I saw this, I said to myself, I'm so glad I'm through with high school because this seems to be hard...it sounded like a hard class..so...and maybe this is for Jennifer...how will it play out at the Prairie Phoenix Academy?  I'm concerning myself with the rigor in both  places.

--School Board member Caren Diedich

_________________________________________________________

Diedrich: I guess to me, the beauty would be in the grading.
Murphy/Apodaca: The grading?
Diedrich: The grading.  Do we ever send Prairie Phoenix Academy paperwork over to the high school to be graded by what I would call [airquotes] regular [airquotes] high school teachers and vice versa?
Apodaca: No.
Diedrich: No? Okay. [facial features and body language speak volumes here]

__________________________________________________
To their incredible credit, both Director of Instruction Alice Murphy and Direct of Student Services Jennifer Apodaca answered all of Ms. Diedrich's questions fully...even though Diedrich didn't think so.  They both deserve kudos for showing exceptional forgiving, if not restraint.

Alternative Learning ≠ Less Rigor

Bon Jovi sang, "You Give Love a Bad Name", but Ms. Diedrich, whether knowingly or not, only succeeded in giving alternative learning centers, like the PPA, a bad name.  As a school board member since many of her fellow board members were still in school, Ms. Diedrich should know that the state has only ONE set of criteria for graduation.

While GED is an option route for students at the PPA, the primary path is for students to earn a high school diploma in an alternative learning setting than the traditional classroom.  Rigor is the same, but learning is facilitated via alternate pathways.  Yes, a GED is frequently viewed as inferior to a diploma, but legally, they are equivalent.  And we DO want kids to succeed...right?

Prairie Phoenix Academy s a growing multifaceted program designed to meet the unique needs of high school students who are seeking an alternative to the traditional high school setting. 
The school offers the opportunity to earn a high school diploma through programs that are designed to meet the needs of our students' varied learning styles and diverse interests. Programs are based on state standards and focus on the core academic areas, so students will still gain the base knowledge they need to meet their future goals.

Disrespecting Teachers and Students in One Fell Swoop
If school board members view the PPA an an inferior option to high school....a place for misfit toys....then why wouldn't the public....and the students?  More to the point, Ms. Diedrich even seems to suggest that the professional educators at PPA are inferior to those at the high school.  That is outrageous, and those teachers, and principal Tavs SHOULD be insulted.

The district COULD certainly choose to use the PPA as a home for wayward/troublesome students....but that's not the portrait that has been painted for us.  Does Diedrich know something the rest of us do not?   I THAT what the district's intent is for PPA? We don't think so.  We believe an apology is in order.

Alternative High School Can...and DO...Work
True story.  SP-EYE can relate a pefect example of how alternative high schools work.  Seveal years back, a fine young lady was struggling at one of Madison's traditional high schools.  She applied to---not was "shuffled off to"--- attend the Malcolm Shabazz alternative high school.  She was accepted and suddenly her grades went from barely passing to A's and B's.  She entered a business education program and after earning a diploma, she worked as an LTE in the public sector.  She then decided to pursue higher education and earned a college degree this year in a field in which her talents were obvious.  THAT, people, is what alternative high schools are all about.

Perhaps Ms. Diedich needs a refresher course.
Shame on her for even suggesting otherwise.

...and on the 6th day of Cringe-mas

The hat contains only  few names.  Santa SP-EYE pulled board VP John Welke's name.
What doe Santa have in hi bag of goodies for Mr. Welke?  Well...he's gotta a few things.

First off, Santa has a "Shock Doctor" mouthguard and a Barry Alvarez autographed mini-helmet.   These are reminders that Mr. Welke is serious about holding people accountable and is not afraid to tip even sacred cows.  He's on a mission to right this ship from a whole lot of things that have strayed off the path for far too long.  He boldly --and rightly-- championed (with Jill Camber-Davidson) reducing the ridiculous hockey fees (275% proposed increase to $550).

In addition, he's working to fix the Ashley Field boondoggle legacy left by David Stackhouse, working to fix problems with facility use rental, and has worked to ensure that the Sound of Sun Prairie program can continue to be all it can be.  There are serious weak links there, not the least of which is that SPASD receive a boatload of revenue from DPI because SOSP is considered summer school, yet we cannot seem to make the numbers of registered students add up.  Welke has also expressed concern that the district may be lacking in  documentation required under Title IX.    That is more than a handful, people; and all of these are tough tasks that could get underneath the skin of those involved...you know...the good old boys and gentlemens' quiet agreements.  With Welke, those folks that willfully stray off the beaten path need to understand that they better have helmets on and mouthguards in.

In line with that, Santa also left Mr. Welke with some light reading that defines his tenure on the board:

• Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right,
• How Did That Happen? (Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way,
• Making Things Right When Things Go Wrong.

Santa wishes Mr. Welke a wonderful 2013 that includes a landslide re-election for a second term.  No board member in our history of the SPASD school board has ever brought forward the number and breadth of Situation Reports as Welke.  THAT is leading by example.

Catching Up With the 8 Days of Cringe-mas

OK...so SP-EYE took a little break to deal with Draco (who came up with that?), preparing for the possibility that the Mayans knew something, and snowblower issues.

For the 4th day of Cringe-mas, Caren Diedrich's name came out of the hat.  Caren's big gift is her very on ant farm.  An an farm can  provide hours of fun watching how things really should work.  Plus, Caren has the tools to make life interesting for some of the ants.  We now KNOW that Caren is running for election...again.  If she's re-elected, she will have been on the board since Sun Prairie was truly a small community.  Not quite since the streets were cobblestones...but close.

Not being mean here, but it's time for Caren to find something else to do with her time...volunteer more  in the schools, perhaps run for City Council....or play with the ants.  The board has changed but she has not changed with it.  Like John Whalen, she fully supports anything Tim Culver does.  The flip side of that is more important, however; by blindly supporting Dr. Culver, Caren fully supports what Culver is NOT doing.  There are cracks in the foundation and they need to be repaired before they cause more significant structural issues.

Along those lines, Santa is leaving her a copy of the article, "Life Beyond Superintendency".  Tim Culver is planning for retirement an Caren needs to plan for life beyond the school board.  The days of MaryEllen, Cheryl, and Caren piloting this ship are done.

Last but not least, a stocking stuffer:  a button declaring "Think Before You Speak".   Ms. Diedrich has been increasingly unleashing comment that are even to the left of bizarre.  As long as she remains on the board, Caren needs to put a little thought in before opening her mouth.

<hr>
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On the 5th day of Cringe-mas, Santa SP-EYE pulled the name of the other lady on the school board: Jill Camber-Davidson.

Santa's big gift for Jill is the meal that the Wizard of Oz gave to the Cowardly Lion.  NOT that we're suggesting that Jill is cowardly.  Far from it.  But she's on a board now full of strong voices, and she is more reserved.  But Santa thinks Jill ha a lot of good comments and questions in her and sometimes she may hold back.  This medal will hopefully remind her that she IS a valued member of this board and she should feel courageous enough to speak out.

Santa also has two other gifts for Jill as a reminder of where she is taking this  district.  Jill rightfully championed nixing the Pepsi contract a while back.  Santa found a vending machine which dispenses only fruits and veggies.  If kids are jonesing for a sack, this could and should be their choice.  We could even have these turned on during school hours.

Lastly we have a book about using a school wellness program to battle childhood obesity.  That is indeed a serious problem, and one we think Jill could really help us pave a path to at least some local solutions.

And on the 3rd Day of Cringing...

Oh...did we type, "Cringing"?  Freudian slip...of course we meant "Christmas".

click to see the full-sized goat-saver

On the 3rd day of cringing, Santa SP-EYE pulled John Whalen's name out of the hat.  Of course Santa SP-EYE might have been spending too much time with the Naughty List because Santa SP-EYE apparently only put Mr. Whalen's name in the hat today!   :-)

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Well, Santa noticed awhile back that JohnE Whalen had adopted a goatee look.  Some opined that he was imitating the smashingly good look of his favorite blogger!  Then the goat disappeared.  A good goat is hard to manage and so Santa thought that Mr. Whalen might just need something to help him groom the goat.   How about a Goatee Saver!!!  Interesting gadget...it's like a mouthguard one puts in and shaves around. Actually the thing looks kinda Hannibal Lecter -ish, if you ask us.  "Well, Clarice...have the lambs stopped screaming?" 

Mr. Whalen has found his way to the Naughty List, so Santa is bringing him a whole bunch of books to read.  Seems appropriate for a school board member to be a role model and rad, right? And maybe do some soul searching and dive into a little self help, right?  Mr. Whalen suffers from uncontrollable body language issues.  He needs to work on that if he wants to stay in the public eye.  He also appears to have a difficult time maintaining objectivity when listening to people he does not like.  Tsk, tsk, JohnE!  That's not only unprofessional, it reflects poorly on the entire board.   It also eats away at the credibility you have left.  Santa's also giving him a copy of the book, "Toxic Men" to help him cope with the people that are most troublesome for him.



Finally, we understand that some things and some people just make JohnE's skin crawl.  Therefore Santa would be remiss in his duties if he didn't leave JohnE a little stocking stuffer:  a copy of Linkin Park's single, "Crawling".

Merry Xmas!

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

...Board President Tom Weber's name came out of Santa's hat.

Tom has been absolutely awesome as a board president.  Not taking anything away from him...but we really have had poor board presidents going back over 10 years.  Nevertheless, Tom has taking this board to a much higher plane.  And we know that he works diligently to make things even better.  He is a fair an impartial individual, and for that we are thankful.

So what do we have in Santa's bag?

First...we have a couple of fine avocados.  We hear word that Tom appreciates a fine avocado.  We're not sure if he likes them straight off the tree or whether he's a guacamole kinda guy.  So Santa tossed in a little light reading for him:  "When life hands you avocados...make guacamole!"

We also hear whispers that Steve Schroeder is an avocado fan.  Perhaps Tom will share.

As a stocking stuffer, Santa tossed in a copy of "How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less".  No disrespect to Tom; he'll be the first to tell you that he's a talker.  But communication is  a good thing.  Santa jut thinks this little giftie could help streamline board meetings even further.

Merry Christmas, Tom!
And a big SP-EYE thanks for all you have brought to the district.

The 8 Days of Christmas

Thank goodness for vacation time...right?  Ole SP-EYE has been too busy of late, but now some much needed time to do some catching up.

And, with the holiday season upon us, Santa SP-EYE has some gifts to deliver.
We weren't sure how to go about it; so we finally just tossed names in a hat.

First up also happens to be newest board member Steve Schroeder.

For Steve, Santa has a Blu-Ray copy of what we understand is one of his most favorite-est movies:  Driving Ms. Daisy.  We really hope Steve enjoys this!

This was something on John Whalen's list, but Mr. Whalen is on Santa SP-EYE's naughty list.  Mr. Whalen won't be getting coal in his stocking though.  Santa has some other things in mind.  :)

Time to Blow the Ballast Tanks

Time to blow the ballast tanks and resolve the issue
of field and fieldhouse usage for camps without paying.

This one has been dragging for six months now.  It's pretty clear that at the very least, coaches camps for football, and both girls and boys basketball were held this year as they have been in the past.  These camps are not free.  The coaches use school district facilities, allegedly without paying for them as required by board policy KG.

We reviewed district records of checks and deposits for all of 2012 and most of 2011.  We could not find any indication that these "camps" reimbursed the school district for cost of the fields.

Y'all remember how bad this summer was?  By many accounts, the football fields were in severely stressed state, yet the GridIron camp and Joint Sun Prairie-Waunakee football camps (a)bused these fields.  How much damage was done to these fields?

The problem is that we could find no record of any invoice submitted to those running these camps.  Based on cost per athlete and the number of participants, a significant chunk of change was collected.  Where did the money go?  We'd hate to think that a large portion of it goes to lining the pockets of coaches.  There MUST be rules or even law against that!

To his credit, school board VP John Welke has asked the questions, or at least started down the line of questioning, at public meetings.  Yet we've heard not one peep.  In late September, we heard from one of the coaches, who indicated that all coaches were informed of an intent to bill them for field usage.  Did that ever happen?  If not...why not?  Who authorized use of these fields/the fieldhouse without payment as required by Policy KG? In short...

Who ordered the Code Red?

Who ordered the Code Red?

Someone must have said..."hey...no problem...go ahead and use the fields; we'll waive the fee". Right?  hat would clearly be the code red.  But who ordered it? It sure looks like a duck, and seems to quack like a duck.  There are very few individuals with the access to bypass the system and facilitate usage of district fields and facilities at no cost.   Note that we didn't say "authority" to do so, because we can't find any wording in policy KG that gives ANYONE the authority to waive field/facility usage fees.

Meanwhile, we are hearing unconfirmed reports that other groups within the district are being charged for facility usage when Policy KG would make them exempt from paying the fees.  Why would we be charging groups who meet the exemption criteria but NOT charging the groups that do no?  What in the tarnation is going on here?

This issue has been running silent and deep for far too long.  It's time to blow the ballast tanks, get this one to bubble to the surface and answer the burning questions.  Here's hoping that happens soon.

2012-13 Administrator Increases and Pay

It seems only fair that if the teacher salaries were published, then we also publish the salaries for administrators.

We've got 10 members of the $100K club plus one that's right on the edge.

The question in our minds right now is that a 2% pool was set aside for administrators, admin support, and Local 60.  The average increases was 2% for these groups.

Click for a full-sized view

For the teachers (Professional Educators), however, the board proposed using a significant portion of the 2% pool to raise the base wage paid to teachers.

We fully support any move by the school board to raise the floor and create a reasonable ceiling on teacher wages.   We're just a little concerned how that comes off in the waking of approving a flat 2% for other groups.  We realize that administrator increases are doled out by Dr. Culver based on his performance evaluations, so it's not quite the same.  We remain concerned, however, that board members could cave in on their position with the teachers and lose the ground they could--and should--gain.   Perhaps its unfounded concern, but we're keepin' it real.

Time to Move the Timetable Up for Secure Entrances

The recent horrific event in Connecticut has touched us all.  This time, it was mere babies.  As difficult as it is, we do need to step away from grieving and take this opportunity to ask whether all our schools have secure entrances.

The reality is that two schools remain on the list for modifications to improve security.  For obvious reasons, we'll not identify those schools here.  These modifications are on the schedule for this summer and next.  That's no longer good enough.  The time is now.  Yes, it will cost upwards of $360,000, but the board has to direct administration to either find the money or take it out of fund balance and COMPLETE THESE PROJECTS ASAP.

This is not an expense with which anyone can take issue.  These are our children...our future.

Dear School Board....

Let's make this happen.

In Living Color

Didja miss us?
We got a message from a few that were "missing the blog".

Not to worry...we ain't going' away....yet! Indeed, sometimes life DOES get in the way.  And SP-EYE needed a much deserved (if we do say so ourselves) break.

Besides...it's not like the old days, when we couldn't turn our backs on the school board for even a second.  This school board of ours gets it.  Well, 71.4% of them anyway.  They are engaged. They don't even own rubber stamps.  They are interested in making solid decisions based on solid, untainted data.

Hell...this board makes our job easy.  We CAN take a break.

But that doesn't mean some issues won't crop up. Rest assured, John Whalen, we ain't going nowhere.  We're watching and learning.  And when we need to get on something...or share something of interest, we will.

And They're Off!

Today is December 1, and that means one thing....candidates for spring elections can begin to circulate nomination papers.

The three school board members whose seats are up are:

Vice President John Welke,
Caren Diedrich, and
Steve Schroeder

We suspect all three will be running for re-election.  Caren Diedrich has been publicly heard to be wavering, but she always does this.  If you watch closely at the next school board meeting, we're betting that you'll see her quietly passing her nomination papers to other board members before the meeting begins.

We like what Welke has done.  He's a natural leader who's not afraid to ask the tough questions and hold people accountable.  He's brought forward more situation reports than any other board member.  He just plain gets things done.  And done right.

We also like Steve Schroeder's business approach to managing the district.  Steve is also not shy about asking difficult questions.  Steve took over the remainder of Jim McCourt's seat after he shuffled off to land of Rice a Roni.  He deserves election to a full three year term.

Lastly, there's Caren Diedrich, who will be running for her umpteenth term.  She's been on the school board since chalkboards were all the rage.  Caren will tell you that she provides valuable history of the board.  We were not big history buffs.  We like Caren as a person, but it's time to close the book on that part of board history and get some fresh ideas.

The BIG question...
Will we see the return of Gary Alan Naud...who quickly vanished after last years election?  Will the SPARClers put up a candidate or two?