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.

...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.

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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.