Here's Your Mulligan. What You Do With It Depends on YOU

The School board has called a special Elector's meeting for THIS Tuesday, November 14th at 7 PM at the Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School.

The issue on the table is busing.
On Sept 30th a small group of people voted to reduce minimum distances required to ride a bus to school for middle schools and high school.  That move will cost the district $429,000 this year...and more every year thereafter.

Do you agree with that decision...or not?
Whatever you feel, we encourage you to spend an hour of your precious time and come out and cast your vote.  You need not speak to the issue.  Just vote.

If you want our opinion, we need to just say NO to making decisions with major tax ramifications with less than 130 voters in attendance.

We are concerned that if this decision is not over-turned, then  more will follow.  Next will be to redue elementary school bus distances.  After that?  Why not bus every damn kid in the district.  It's only your tax dollars...right?

Paging Mr. C. O. Jones! You're Needed for Policy KG.

We live in a school district with many things.  But one thing we mot definitely lack is any administrators with cojones.  As Metallica would sing, "Sad, but true."  The district office is populated by eunuchs.  We thought that Joe Palooka might bring a pair with him to Buildings & Grounds, but apparently the rule is that one's cojones must be tuned over in order to obtain your district ID.  Lord knows that Tim Culver grows evermore like Tootles, constantly in search of his lost marbles.  Phil Frei is a fiscal wizard, but don't ask him to hold anyone accountable for paying their bills.  Sad but true.   One would think that collecting money due would be the prime directive for a Business Manager....wouldn't one?

Now we understand that money due to the district--and UNPAID--- for camps and such exceeds $40,000 just for the past school year alone.  And the usual suspects are all whining and moaning about how to collect it.  Or even whether to bother collecting it at all.  Just tack maintenance costs onto the tax levy.  After all...it's all for the kids, right?

Here is yet another version of 10 Things We Think We Think about field/facility rental:

Is it too much to ask?

1. 40K of unpaid bills.  How much RTI assistance would $40K buy?  $40,000 represents 5% of the purported cost of turfing Ashley field.  And that's just fees unpaid for 2012-13.  That's lot of money we're throwing away.

2. The only "groups" unhappy about being charged for facility usage is coaches holding "for profit" camps.  You don't see gaggles of blue haired old ladies screaming, "Don't charge the coaches for using the fields!" There are a lot of folks in the district without kids, and when they hear about this, they get angry, too.   But that anger comes from the opposite position.

3. Are coaches employees of the school district over the summer?  They retain their keys to buildings and use of e-mail.  They do not collect unemployment.   They have signed contracts for the next school year.   An employee of a school district cannot profit from  use of publicly owned facilities.  It's against state law.   So why are we enabling (facilitating?) it?

4. Is "negotiation" of fees owed even allowed?  If so, what are the rules governing how one can reduce the fees for facility use via negotiation?  is the same mechanism afforded to all similarly affected parties?  e understand that some coaches have quietly haggling down the fees they owe.   One would think that a Business Manager would understand how that doesn't work.

5. How can we expect ANY coach to pay their required fees if others refuse to pay?  They either all must pay or none must pay.  And the latter must not be an option.  Hell it would violate policy KG as it exists today.

6. Why aren't we simply garnishing wages of those employees who refuse to pay for field/facility use for camps?  We could attach our attorney and court fees for the collection process as well.

7.  The "No Pay, No Play" concept will simply not fly.  Next spring, the district eunuchs will relent and allow the camps to be run despite the coaches having yet another year of unpaid bills.  Hell this has happened for years.  The mantra seems to be, "We'll get 'em next year!"  This has to be the year we get all the money due and start with a clan slate.

8.  If the revenue from these camps truly gets turned over to the booster clubs, and they in turn give it back to the district in the form of equipment or uniforms, why don't we cut out the middleman?   Have the coaches running camps have registration fees sent right to the district and the money be deposited into a sinking fund for that sport  The district could then take a percentage fee off the top for field and facility maintenance.  Then the boosters wouldn't have to spend any time depositing all that money.

9.  And if the money is going to the booster clubs, why is it that the camp fees are mailed to the home address of the head coach running the camp?  Why doesn't it get sent to the address for the booster club?    We get it.  The coaches should get "something" for their time.  How about we tie it into their contracts.  Hold a camp and you get $_____ extra dollars compensation.

10.  Why are we even arguing about this?  And why does it take so long?  Would we allow the Facilities Manager to hold a concert in the PAC without paying a use fee and collect all revenues from attendees?  Would we allow the Pool Manager to earn money on the side teaching swimming lessons in the high school pool without paying a fee?  How about a group of employees to use the field house for a holiday craft fair --free of charge-- and then collect the revenue from charging vendors for booth space?  

Stop pussyfooting around and make these folks --all of them---pony up the fees that are due!  Thy were told they'd be charged...right?  Because this all came to a head in June/July 2012...long before the start of 2012-1 camps.

Annual Meeting Hijacked...$429,000 added to the Tax Levy

It’s not about the decision; it’s about the process.

On Monday September 30^th, 2013, the Sun Prairie Area School District held its annual electors meeting.  In a district with over 7500 students and 30,000 or more registered voters, decisions were made by less than 150 people.  More than 10 times as many people voted for 3 school board members last April that were running unopposed.  Now, that number is not atypical.  But that’s part of the problem.  The process doesn’t work.

At this meeting, a group of residents essentially “hijacked” the annual meeting to force a reduction in busing distances at the high school and middle school levels to 1.5 miles.  The vote for the middle school change passed by about 40 votes.  The vote for the high school passed by only 7 votes.  SEVEN!  The 2013 decision added an additional $429,000 to the tax levy.  That’s a 33% increase over the proposed levy increase.   It’s also more than a $9,000 increase in the tax levy for each of those deciding 47 votes.

Before going any further, let’s just nip the “tit-for-tat” argument firmly in the bud.  The special interest group behind the busing change cited an action back in 2009 wherein a larger turnout of residents (184 voting 124-60) voted to reduce the tax levy by about $2M.  That move, however, was vindicated when the school district ended the year with almost $1M in surplus!  So ended the long-term practice of over-budgeting as a means of funding reserves.  The people behind this year’s vote were all about their own children.  Don’t kid yourselves that they were doing this for all kids.  It just aint so, Joe.  And let those without sins not be the ones casting stones.

The special interest group spoke about safety and the value of our kids’ lives.  They raised the spectre of child predators lurking along Highway 19.  Newsflash, people.  These predators generally don’t operate in heavily trafficked areas.  The kids that are at risk for predators are those walking alone on empty side streets…not major thoroughfares.

Regarding safety, it’s funny that the state, after several reviews, has not deemed the path an unusually hazardous area.  As further proof of their self-serving agenda, one gentleman asked that elementary school busing distances also be reduced.  The spokesperson indicated that the idea had some support within their ranks, but they needed to focus on their needs first.  Funny how after the vote went their way, they forgot about that guy.

Who says it ends here?  Next year, will another 150 people come to change the busing from distances down to a mile?  A half-mile?  How about, since we’re so concerned about the safety of our children, that we bus each and every single child in the district?  What would it cost to bus all 7500 kids to and fro each day?  A whole lot more than a couple of large pizzas each month.  Who’d want to live in a district with property taxes that high?

Or what happens if 200 angry senior citizens turn out next year to change the distances back to 2.0 miles?  Remember, folks, there are more electors living in the district WITHOUT K-12 age children than those with children.   

What happens when Kobussen has to purchase a whole bunch of new buses to meet the needs of this year’s decision only to have that decision subsequently rescinded?  But we’re not thinking of consequences of our decisions, are we?  What does that teach our kids?

Yes, transportation is one of the “powers” (s. 120.10, Wis. Stats.) of the annual meeting, but let’s stop being smugly disingenuous.  More than 99% of the community doesn’t even attend the meeting (or even know about it), let alone understand that a vote of such significant property tax ramifications could be made by less than 150 people.

And what happens when the district wants the taxpayers to vote—likely within the next year— to build an 8^th elementary school?  Is that when we’ll hear the rebuttal of folks that did not attend the annual meeting?   Will they resoundingly vote down a new school in light of the increased taxes from busing distance changes?  Can these same parents then live with larger class sizes?  Can you say “ramifications”, boys and girls?

The problem here is not the desires of this special interest group.  Rather it’s the process.  The statutes simply afford too much power (I know, right?  Who would ever believe we could wield too much power?).  The annual electors meeting needs to be modified to assure that votes of this importance not be made by such a small percentage of the electorate.

We need a mulligan, here.   We need a mechanism to ensure that issues of this significance are communicated clearly and unequivocally to the entire community.  We need people to have all the key information associated with their decisions, including costs involved and any ramifications.  Then we need to reach out and ensure that all voters take as much interest in casting their vote as they will for the next gubernatorial election.   

Changing the process itself is going to be a task of Sisyphusian proportions.  But there is an option.  State statute allows any member of the community who collects 100 signatures to demand a special elector’s meeting for any subject within the powers of the annual meeting—like busing.  Alternatively, the school board has the power to call such a meeting themselves.   As Captain Picard would say, “Number One…make it so”.

Annual Meeting tomorrow; full court press on busing issues?

In case you did not know, the school district annual elector's meeting is tomorrow night, Monday September 30, 2013.

Place:  Sun Prairie High School, 888 Grove St

Time:   7:00 PM

Heart of the matter:  Setting the tax levy required to operate and maintain schools

Electors at the meeting will vote to approve the proposed tax levy of $47,524,921 upon all taxable property in the Sun Prairie Area School District for the purposes of operating and maintaining the district schools and for paying for debt for school projects.

That represents a 2.9% increase over the 2012-13 tax levy of $46,187,633

Key information sources
http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/district/annual_mtg_13.cfm

http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/businessfiles/Annual%20Meeting%202013.pdf

Whats this about busing?

For each of at least the past two years, issues have been raised about busing.  This year, we hear that a sizeable group of community members ill appear and try to leverage a majority vote to change the busing distance from 2 miles to 1.5 miles...or less.

These 11th hour attempts to take the annual meeting hostage have to end.  Don't people get it?  A hundred or so people do not represent a school district of 30,000+ residents.

Do these people understand how much money is tied into busing? Redrawing the busing lines could cause a significant jump in the tax levy.
How do we pay for that?  These people need to somehow be reminded that the majority of residents in the district do not have any children attending school..  Many are on fixed incomes.   We're wondering what the average household income is of these people that want to bus more.

Here's a proposal....why don't we just bus every kid in the district and to pay for it, we'll eliminate Physical Education from the curriculum.  If we don't want our babies to get exercise walking to school, why bother with gym class?  They probably all get doctor's notes excusing them anyway.

OK...so we jest...but people need to think through these things before engaging their mouths.

Fields of Extremes

Dickens once started a book with the line, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...".  That line struck a nerve for us after touring the athletic fields with the School Board's Planning Committee, chaired by John Welke, this week.  It was eye-opening, to say the least.  And it provided a plethora of blog fodder (Pardon the gratuitous use of the word "plethora" on the eve of the first NFL Sunday of 2013.  We wanted to beat the NFL announcers who always seem to work that word in).

It is the best of times, because we cannot agree more with board member Steve Schroeder, who remarked that the district is indeed blessed with an awesome set of athletic venues.  Of course, the taxpayers paid a pretty supertanker load of pennies for those fields.  We'd add, however, that it also appears to be the worst of times, because we are entering the 4th year of the new high school (and its fields) and they are in serious disarray.  With awesome fields comes awesome responsibility....that is to say...taking care of the fields.

What we learned

• We don't have enough [buildings and grounds] staff.  No surprise there.
• We file insurance claims rather than hold vendors accountable.
• We apparently need one guy to supervise two workers at the high school.  Really?  Then maybe we have the wrong supervisor...or wrong staff.
• We heard an awful lot of blame shifting onto the former buildings and grounds manager, Tom Brooks.  Hope our liability insurance is paid up.  Mr. Brooks might just be calling in regards to something like a defamation/slander claim.
• There is some serious "settling" in the outfield of the glorious Summit Field.  Someone is going to get hurt chasing a fly ball.  Shouldn't those fields be warrantied against defects like that?
• "Settling" in the fields?  looks more like isolated pits to us.  More like from underground sprinklers.  And the question to be asked is: how come there's no "settling"  occurring on the softball fields.  Wait...now we remember...that question was asked:  those fields were developed by a different contractor.   Things that make you go, "Hmmmm".  
• Were fields developed according to specifications?  We learned that the JV baseball field was constructed with only 6" of topsoil instead of the required $12.
• We need to replace about 40 bushes/shrubs because of snow plowed onto them or salt from the parking lot.   Hello?  Ag class?  UW Extension maybe?   Maybe work with the city to rethink the required plantings.
• We learned from our tour guide, Dale Wiesinger [sp.?], that our sprinklers don't overlap coverage.  Really? RUFKM?
• Oh yeah...before we forget...where was our highly compensated "construction manager"...our "buyer's agent on-site" during this? [http://sp-eye.blogspot.com/2010/05/cutting-cord.html].  We paid them $7,300 per MONTH to watch over the quality of work being done on the $84M high school project.  And that was for several years. 

The windstorm
Back in April, you'll likely recall, Sun Prairie experienced a powerful "derecho" wind event that wreaked havoc on the backstops of the varsity and JV baseball fields and tore out most of the outfield fence, including signs from advertisers that paid a hefty price for Summit Field to carry their banners.  The backstops are still seriously mangled, and the fence looks pretty cobbled together.  The signs are still missing.

Oh we had questions....why did the backstops bend like that?  Shouldn't they be warrantied against such structural anomalies ( we dont recall other schools complaining of their backstops being bent)?  Shouldn't we be working with the vendor?  Who's going to pay for the outfield fence and replacement signs?

All good questions, but the answers leave only more questions.  Apparently, it is our understanding that someone(s) added netting to the backstops and they were not engineered to handle the extra weight.  It's physics in its purest form, kiddies.  When you place something of significant wight at the top of something, the fulcrum point shifts.  Or something like that :-)  So it seems that while the logical thing to do would be to start by contacting the  vendor, it appears we might have caused our own problems.

So we make an insurance claim.  Want to bet that the insurer is asking the same questions?  Why did we do something that changed the structural integrity and then expect to be compensated when we suffer a loss?  Isn't that going to result in an increase to our premium?  Especially if it turns out that we added the netting without verifying that the structural support can handle it?

psssst....we meet at "the BARN"...OK?

Thanks to several community residents that want to do things right, we understand that Operation BBALL has relocated its base of operations to "the barn".  If you've been in Sun Prairie for any length of time, you probably know what that means.

Of course, these are all "allegations", but where there's a ton of smoke, there's usually some flames causing said smoke.

This gives us pause to ponder...

If one continually is changing its base of operations, it's likely due to one or both of two things:
(A) to avoid paying facility rental fees, or
(B) to avoid detection/scrutiny etc.

IF what's really going on here is gaining a "leg up" on the competition via unauthorized contact with players during the offseason (and where not saying it is) then how is that any different than what, say, Ryan Braun did?

For the school district, this is probably just fine because the issue has been removed from sight.  Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Is that how we operate in Sun Prairie?  Just get things out of sight?  Sweep them under the carpet or cram them in the closet with our other skeletons?

The question we have goes back to the "it's all about the kids" mentality:  how does this really help the kids?  Is this the life lesson we wish to impart our children with?  Win at any cost?  Rules don't matter unless you get caught?  Does the WIAA subscribe to that same philosophy?  Hmmm.  We wonder.

We have an old saying:  Cheaters Never Prosper.  And it's in the scriptures!

One Step Forward...TWO Steps Back

OK...so we're doing better with the district's Facilities Use calendar...

But..... now the transparency has been removed. One USED to be able to click on any reservation and view the "permit" information including who the "client" is, any charges which will be assessed and whether or not the user's insurance is up-to-date.

Geee....and coincidentally when things are starting to heat up regarding "Policy KG" (Use of District Fields/Facilities).

Now that Jimmy Mac is gone....who will we blame for this "unintended error"?

Shame, Shame, SHAME!

State Aid picture remains rosy for Sun Prairie

Watch out because groups will soon be rushing out of the woodwork.


The Department of Public Instruction (DPI)'s July 1 estimate of state aid for the 2013-14 school year shows Sun Prairie getting 10.98% MORE aid than last year.

The most current budget estimates projected we'd receive a 10% increase over last year.

The net effect is that the district is receiving $3.8M more than last year, and $382K more than projected.

Let the spending begin!

Wait...this s only an estimate.  Maybe we shouldn't get too crazy just yet.  Maybe we should wait until the final numbers are in?

Nevertheless... it sure looks like great news.
Our only question is how sustainable is it?  And what happens when the increases stop?

Only 21 districts had a higher percentage increase.

Only 3 districts received a higher dollar increase: Racine, Green Bay, and West Allis.

229 districts will see a reduction in aid.

193 districts will see an increase.

Our friends in Middleton will see about a $570K DECREASE.

New district website takes a giant leap forward

Long ago we had given up on the district website.
Too many fish to fry; not enough fry pans for the lot.

But it was awful.  No...actually it was something that aspired to one day be awful.  It was amateur (and that's being kind).  The frames overlapped and you couldn't read text.

But after a rather major effort (we cringe at the ultimate cost...)....the new website (which we'll dub as version 2.0) is complete and is a HUGE improvement.  The quality is now on par with our similar-size district peers.


Yes....things are in different places, and you'll have to re-discover them.  It doesn't appear that "re-direct" have been created.

Version 2.1 needs to include more "accessibility" features.  A larger font size would be better.  It's still a work n progress as pages get populated.

But, you WILL like the look and quality.  Try it.
http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/

If you have any trouble locating things you can contact the district at this link:
http://www.sunprairie.k12.wi.us/district/do_contact_us.cfm

Whatever Happened to Stackhouse?

photo courtesy of WSJ

People ask us frequently about our former school board president...and so when this appeared, we thought we'd share.

Bottom line...Stackhouse HAD escaped significant penalty by agreeing to enter the First Time Offender's program.
Unfortunately he was rejected; the judge felt that he wasn't remorseful.  Imagine that!
Now convictions have been entered into his permanent record, and he even had a chance to sample jail
food.
10 day sentence with 5 suspended, but it sends a message.


Ex-Sun Prairie school official gets probation, jail for theft from football program : Wsj

Sound of Sun Prairie...not off the hook

We may have been mired down in the field/facilities usage and AD Jimmy Mac shenanigans, SOSP...but we have not forgotten.  In fact, the fields/facilities usage ties in with y'all.

Those old enough my remember those adds for Certs candy/breathmint (the only mint with Retsyn&reg).  What?  The only one with retsyn!?  We must have it.  Except retsyn was the food additive equivalent of smoke and mirrors.  One of the greatest advertising coups of all time.  They literally made something from nothing.

There's a lot of smoke and mirrors associated with the Sound of Sun Prairie (SOSP) too.  Except we believe there's something behind this one.  There's simply too much hand waving and cries of , "It's a great program for the kids and the community".

• SOSP is a school sponsored activity.  
• It's a summer school option (except not available through the on-line registration).
• The district receives between $300 and $400K of state aid for the summer school attendance. 
• We're just not certain exactly how much of the detail has been shared with DPI.
• It's one of those things where you wonder if the aid would be there if the right questions were asked.

• We pay the leaders a stipend.
• The band boosters are believed to also financially award the leaders.
• Kids are required to pay a hefty fee ...to the band boosters...not to the district.
• Yet they use our fields and facilities free of charge.
• Isn't summer school supposed to be at no charge to students?
• Then why do they have to pay an enormous fee?

• Will the SOSP open its books for inspection to the district (we seriously doubt it)
• Where does all this money go?

And if we are now (in theory) charging coaches running summer athletic camps and using fields/facilities...
...why aren't we charging SOSP?

We still have a lot of questions...
...and we think answers are in order.

As we've said before...SOSP IS a great opportunity for kids.  But that does not relive them of their responsibility to pay for the use of facilities.

You Can't MAKE This Sh*t Up!

Captain's Log June 2012: This month the facility rental agreement follies (i.e., Policy KG) were exposed. This planet is headed for disaster.

 Captain's Log June 2013: One YEAR later.  No progress made.  There's no sign of intelligent life here.  We find only a colony mired in petty personal agendas and shenanigans.

Seriously...one simply cannot make up the crap that has gone on with field/facility rentals.  It is an exhausting table of foils, fumbles, and errors.  It is a tale spiced with egos and attitudes.  To change the policy (KG)...which was NOT.is not  being followed in any way shape or form is being presented as an attack on the boosters and the athletic coaches who run camps.   A lot of revenue was generated, but all we hear is whining that "we don't make that much".  Let;s get crazy back on the bus.

Policy KG falls somewhere between the school board's Community Engagement and Operations Committees.  Jill Camber Davidson's committee was initially taking the lead, but this lack of action does not jive with what we've seen from Ms. Camber-Davidson.  Someone or someones are stalling!

This issue has got Jimmy Mac's fingerprints all over it, and we're sure he'll eventually get hung with all the blame.  After all...isn't that where this district excels?  At pointing fingers at the person who last sat in a particular chair?  But it's not just the MacMan that's involved here...there are many others.

Let's take a look at just a fraction of the nonsense:

• Just this week, nobody seemed to know that the Brewers were using THREE fields (including Summit Field)  for a $395 per kid (~100 kids) baseball training workshop.  It wasn't listed on the public facilities calendar...and still was not as this went to press. There are rumors that even grounds staff had no clue.

• SP Little League has "squatted" on the varsity and JV softball field for all of last summer and now reserved the fields---free of charge-- all this summer.  Even if they aren't using them, no one else can.

• The district office knew about the squatting last year, said they'd fix it and did not.  Now they've known that it was reserved for like 80 days straight this summer for several weeks.  As of today, the facility calender STILL shows those fields being squatted on. Seriously...how hard is it to go in to "the system" and revoke a reservation?

• Dr. Culver...who is ultimately accountable....apparently knows nothing about the field issues.  WTF?  REALLY?  Oh wait...has he retired already?  Sometimes it seems he's nodding off at more than the occasional board or committee meeting.

• The coaches are all upset because they are being billed for their camps this year (except for "contact days", more to come on that).  Really?  Did you think this was free when you're charging a fee?

• Nobody seems to know what the purpose of the athletic camps is.  And the story seems to change like the weather.   Is it fundraising? Is it for the kids?  Who's running it?  The boosters? The coaches?  The school district?  Where does the money go?  

• And if the boosters are involved, why do the kids have to send their money to the coaches' home?  Take a look at the flyers, people, and Google the address checks are to be made to.  The Internet will set you free.  Not to pick on football...but the 2013 Sun Prairie GridIron camp flyer has kids sending their forms to the Waunakee football coach. How does that fit?   Check it out here:  
2013 Gridiron Camp flyer

• The coaches are apparently making some money off the camps...but should they be?  Shouldn't their coaching stipend cover that?   Should they being paid both a stipend and a share of the revenue?  And if a camp is held during WIAA contact days...are they even ALLOWED to be profit from it?  Just askin'?

• We have it on good authority that one camp had revenues of about $17,000.  Wouldn't you like to see the expense accounting for that one?  Where did all the money go?  A pair of short or a t-shirt that one gets for signing up cost a pittance to provide.

• Several coaches have rejected the notion of being charged a fee .  They claim that they made an "in kind" donation.  They claim they had the kids "pull some weeds".  REALLY?  WTF is the definition of an "in kind" donation, anyway?

• And when rentals ARE billed (of course we don't know if the district is actually collecting payments)  the fees charged don't match the fee schedule attached to policy KG.  WTF!  Are we the only ones that read these policies?

• The proposed changes to policy KG provide a clause that the "renter" has one year to pay or make a donation in kind.  REALLY?  Do you get  year to make your rent or mortgage payment?  Who the hell has the wherewithall to track invoicing for which payments may not come in for a year? 

• Didn't Jimmy Mac expound on the wonderful system he purchased to track field/facility rentals?  Oh yeah...I guess the old garbage in= garbage out adage deserves a corollary:  No data in means no data out.  We hear from good sources that there were several "off public" calendars that Jimmy Mac and the coaches used.  Maybe that's where the Brewer's Baseball Academy rental was listed.

There's a whole lot more nonsense that we don't have the time to list here.
Are the monkeys running this zoo?

It's time for the school board to once again take charge since Dr Culver seems incapable of providing a speedy resolution.  Note to John Whalen...this would not fall under the label "micro-managing".  This is called managing, which the board is forced to do when the district appears incapable of doing so.

What's in order here is for the board to call a special working session and make change happen.  We cannot wait any longer.

Was There a Happy Ending With That?

And teachers say they aren't appreciated?
We find...thanks to a watchful resident...that for Teacher Appreciation day, the district provided 21 hours of massages.  We're not sure whether there were any happy endings.

Really?
Oh...it gets better!

For a cost of $1239, we added a $240 tip!  For "services" rendered?
Oh...and not to worry...it wasn't your tax dollars at work.  The funding came from the "Pepsi money".
WHAT Pepsi money?

Oh...and seeing as this all happened during a school day....how were teachers "available" for a massage?  Please don't tell us we paid for substitutes!  And isn't this the time that these "professional educators" are supposed to be working on lesson prep and grading papers?

There has been a lot of poor data coming out of the district, but now we see that the icing on that cake is poor decisions.  And high school Principal Lisa Heipp and Deputy DA Phil Frei signed off on the approval.
REALLY?  What on earth led anyone to believe that this was OK?  Is this yet another instance where Tim Culver was outside the loop?  Did the school board know?

Where dd all this occur?  Some back alley in dimly lit rooms?

We have a lot of questions....and we'll be making some records requests.  Stay tuned.

Do we need district training in how not t make poor decisions?  Don't we nag kids about the importance of making good decisions.

It just continues to be one step forward and several leaps backward.

Was the "Manly Man's" package an option?

Put a Fork in Her, Captain...She's Done

Ashley Field is once again on the agenda for tomorrow night's Planning Committee meeting.With a new projected. cost of $5.1 to $5.7 M (give or take 5%), all we expect to hear is the death rattle.

...Ashley Field proposal

All told, there was a lot of talk being talked, but no Benjamins made the walk for this folly.  For all the interest in football in Sun Prairie, no donations could be mustered to even form the nucleus of a real plan.  Meanwhile, the pedal is firmly to the metal on the new $7M 2-sheet ice arena.

How is it that donations or financial commitments could be generated for the ice arena and Summit Field turf, but football came up with diddly squat?   Don't hang Dave Stackhouse for this one.  He's got enough to atone for.  Was it the 11th hour "need" for a new baseball field to replace the field at Ashley the final nail?   Was fundraising held hostage by the baseball folks?  We hear rumblings to that effect, but logic would dictate that this is the football community's show to blow.

It seems the epitaph has been written...

Due to the significant increase in the proposed budget for improvements to Ashley Field, the competing need for funding other facility security and maintenance issues, and the apparent limited public support of the initiative, it is recommend that nothing be done at this time with Ashley Field; that the fields continue to be used as are. 

We have far more pressing issue on the...cough, cough....ACADEMIC and SAFETY fronts to wate any more time on a grandiose Ashley Field.

Jimmy Mac Goes Elvis

From the "This Was So Expected It Doesn't Even Qualify as News" Department:

Perhaps channeling some inner Elvis, Jim "Jimmy Mac" McClowry has metaphorically speaking left the building, having resigned as district Athletics and Activities Director.  We received multiple texts and e-mails alerting us to the announcement which quietly appeared in an addendum to the personnel table included in the May 28 School Board package.

We understand that he has accepted a similar position in Kaukauna, a smaller Division 1 school district. Sometime change is necessary to move forward.  Certainly the hockey fee fiasco, and the quality of data presented were an albatross which dogged him, but we understand from numerous reports that Mr. McClowry had more than one albatross hovering over him.  This, then, was probably the best move for Jim.

Personally, we wish Mr. McClowry the best in his new position.  Honestly, we do. Sure, we jab and we poke, but we do so only to effect change.  Change that district folks just don't seem wiling or capable of enacting on their own.  We tried to effect change the easy way...by asking politely.   Then we asked more pointedly.. Neither gets you anywhere.  We sincerely hope that the events that transpired over the last 6-12 months will be valuable to Mr. McClowry in shoring up things in his life.  Life is a series of challenges from which we all learn and use to better navigate life's highways and byways.

This will also provide the District with an opportunity to regroup regarding the Athletic and Activities Director position and determine what we truly need and expect there.

We'd be remiss if we didn't point out that it is a little disconcerting that Mr. McClowry put forth the budget initiative to hire an assistant Director given that he was clearly thinking of moving on.  AD positions don't open all that frequently in the state, and so we suspect that this was a move that had been in the works for some time.

Last but not least, as they say, when one door closes, another one opens. Last year Mr. McClowry made sure that the School Board was aware that he represented the Big 8 Conference AD with the most tenure.  That crown now passes on for  someone else to wear.

Nope. Nothing New Here

Another year...another drought of National Merit Scholarship winners.

Yeah...we get it...but for all the back patting that goes on, it sure seems like we do better in sports than we do in academics.  Not saying that sport championships aren't a good thing.  But couldn't we---SHOULDN'T we---be recognized for both?

Wouldn't it be nice to have Tim Culver publicly declare that our GOAL is to develop our students academically such that each year we have at least 2-3 scholarship winners?  And then make it so.

On April 24, 2013

April 24--A Lodi High School senior has been named one of 18 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholars in Wisconsin.

On May 8, 2013

Fifty-one students graduating from Wisconsin high schools were among the 2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners announced Wednesday.
Out of the 51 Wisconsin winners, 18 are from counties in the State Journal’s circulation area and 14 are from schools in Dane County.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/national-merit-scholarship-winners/article_738057f5-8916-57c3-866e-8bcc5ccc1d70.html#ixzz2UzeTWuuR

At least Middleton wasn't named, but Madison had 12.

On May 31, 2013

Seventy graduating high school seniors in Wisconsin have been selected as National Merit Scholarship winners in the college-sponsored scholarship category.
Of the 70, 19 are from south-central Wisconsin, including 17 from Dane County.
The winners were announced Wednesday. This is the third of four rounds of National Merit Scholarship winners to be announced.
More college-sponsored award winners will be made public on July 15.
The college-sponsored awards give between $500 and $2,000 per year for up to four years of undergraduate study at the college financing the scholarship.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/more-national-merit-scholarship-winners-announced/article_07b4ee68-ca8a-52c6-8fba-f05d94c37897.html#ixzz2UzfaiTce

Middleton had 4 in this round; Madison another 10


Maybe in July we'll get one?

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed
scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about
extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an
outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn
sat scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, some
15,000 met Finalist requirements.

Uh oh, Dr. C!

May 30, 2013 - SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, closed, 5:30 p.m. at the District Office (Room 220), 501 S. Bird St.

Discuss and Review the District Administrator's Performance Evaluation

A really good joke here would be....
WHAT Performance?
Why do you hold  meeting to discuss something that didn't happen?

Sorry, Dr. Culver....we couldn't resist.

But REALLY, people.  How about changing the agenda item to discuss Dr. Culver's NON-performance?
We have Jimmy Mac playing it footloose and fancy free.  On paper he reports to Lisa Heipp, but apparently he's allowed to run to Dr. Culver. Can't you jut hear it?

"Dr. Culver.....Ms. Heipp won't let me do thing my way!"

Dr. Culver even put in a new requirement that all Jimmy Mac's reports had to be reviewed and approved by the Management Team.  Guess that didn't work because that team approved a horrifically, embarrassingly incomplete--not to mention inaccurate and poorly supported-- request for budget proposals.

If the Board had not stepped in, we could have made another epicly poor decision on par with the hockey fees scandal.  We might not have added Lacrosse as a school sponsored sport.  Good old loyal-to-Administration-to-a-fault John Whalen even questioned why we would elevate lacrosse to the school sponsored tier when it i not WIAA-sanctioned.  Gee JohnE....(as VP Welke so tactfully pointed out) then why is SOSP school sponsored?  Cheer?

The athletics calendar is a complete mess.  We have teams that legitimately scheduled field use being bumped by teams that use the coaches only double secret probation calendar.  Is it really that difficult to schedule field and facility use.  Wait....we need to add to that ...when you use only a single public calendar?

Dr. Culver is allowing policy to be violated by not billing coaches who ran athletic camps in oh...FOREVER...according to policy.

There are grave questions about what would we find if anybody chose to dig into booster clubs and how much they REALLY donate to the school.  Yet another policy that has been ignored on Dr. Culver's watch.

And Dr. Culver declared himself publicly to be responsible for Title IX compliance when we haven't really looked at it...have we?  Oh wait...let's answer the way Admin would if their feet were held to the fire:  they look at the aspects of Title IX where we can show we are OK...and turn a blind eye to the ones suspect (know?) we are not.

These are just a few of the things that have been going on.  Maybe Dr. Culver should spend a little less time taking Dr. Feelgood pictures of kids in classrooms and more time actually getting a grip on what's going on in the district.

So....school board...will you have a non-discussion with Dr. Culver?  Or will you have the conversation that needs to be had.  Warning: big boy (and girl) pants required.

Time to Cry Over Spilt Milk?

Though they'll never publicly admit it, top members of SPASD Administration my finally be seeing what we tried to prognosticate to them during our last construction phase.  To wit:  What are we really getting for the $7,300 per month we paid for a Construction Manager?

$7,300 dollars per month!

That could pay for several families' entire monthly bills.

And what did we get for it?   It's probably easier to answer what we DIDN'T get for it!

The high school fields need serious work to improve drainage...wait...shouldn't that have been part of construction?
Have you seen the backstop at Summit Field?  Even in the gust front we had two weeks ago, they aren't supposed to bend that way.   What about the whole outfield fence?  Who's going to pay to replace signs for those that donated?

Remember the bleachers fiasco?

What about the wrong diving board for the pool?

There are MANY more items on the list.

What do the rest of us do when we pay a lot of money to have something done and it fails?  Of COURSE we call that contractor back and say , "FIX IT".  Some (not all) of that may be happening behind the scenes now, but up until THIS school board, and folks like Joe Palooka, the district just used to open its checkbook and pay to have something done twice.  Your tax dollars at work.  Hell, not even the SPARClers would agree with that mentality (we think...hope).

Here's what we said back when....when Phil Frei and Tim Culver looked at us like we had six heads.   A couple or three chins maybe...bit only one head.

The money we spent on a Construction Manager may have been better spent paying down the 5+% interest on the State Trust loan!  Certainly we spent a lot of money on that position, and while they'll publicly say what a wonderful job was done, they know the truth.  Like most public personae though...they can't handle the truth.


http://sp-eye.blogspot.com/2010/05/cutting-cord.html

http://sp-eye.blogspot.com/2009/05/post-mortem-on-questionable-decision.html

http://sp-eye.blogspot.com/2007/10/construction-manager-position-snakes.html

The Story of Adam (and Eve?)

This is the story of Adam, who commented on our little blog about his girlfriend's (we'll call her Eve) experience getting a teaching position in Madison (we believe).   We sincerely appreciate Adam for coming forward and speaking his piece.  But on the flip side, he underscores that old quote about statistics: What they suggest is intriguing, but what they conceal is vital.   Adam shares some numbers with us...just enough for us to poke a few holes in the logic bag.

ADAM's e-mail comment is provided completely uncut.   All we did is split it up into bite-size chunks and offered our response.

Enjoi!   And much thanks to Adam for bravely going where very few venture.

ADAM:

My girlfriend and I have been together for 3 years, and she is finally moving up to the Madison area.

SP-EYE:

You do not say from where your GF moved "up to Madison".  Is it Janesville? Beloit?  Illinois?  Or some ultra-rich suburb somewhere inbetween.  Makes a difference in salary grids.

You also say "my girlfriend"...NOT my fiance...although you've been together 3 years.  While not trying to pry into things personal, it's important to consider whether this relationship will eventually become a legal merger of both people and finances.  It helps figure out the money thing ...read on.

ADAM:

We started looking for apartments that would cost between 1,000 and 1,1000 a month. After getting her contract, (being a teacher for 10 years mind you), we have now decided that we can afford only 800 dollars a month.

SP-EYE:

OK...now we have some data to work with.  10 yrs removed from college puts her in her at about 32-34 years old.  So we're guessing you're both past the crazy kid-out-o-school splurging on "me" things. Hopefully.

10 years teaching experience translates to a salary in the low to mid-40Ks....with only a B.A.   But since she has 10 years experience she has to have renewed her license...probably twice.   We're guessing she must have accumulated two 6-packs of credits post Bachelors, so we looked at Madison's "Track 2"

Madison' s Track 2 at 10 yrs experience translates to a salary of $43,523 per year  (yes, for 9 months Adam).  On a monthly basis, that translates to gross pay of $3,627 per month (again spread over 12 months).  The guiding philosophy is not to pay more than 25% of your gross towards rent, so...yes....we would agree that SHE should limit an apartment rental rate to $907/month or less.   But if you're living together, don't you have TWO incomes, Adam?  If you're bringing home any bacon at all, then surely you can afford more.  Wait...you ARE working, aren't you?

And actually, she could probably afford a small house or condo and get in before values really start rising and interest rates are still low.  Payments on a $150K mortgage (30 yrs) would be about $675/mo.    Oh yeah...you gotta tack on probably $300 to $350/month for property taxes.  

But let's dig a little deeper.  One teacher we know pretty well has been out of school exactly 2 years....so...you know...low on the salary grid totem pole.  And that would be in the heart of Milwaukee, where the grids aren't very friendly.   But even she can afford $700/month for rent.  So we're having a hard time figuring out how TWO of you, and the teacher with 8 more years on the grid, are struggling to pay $800/month.  Do YOU work, Adam?  Just askin'....cuz the numbers aren't adding up, yo!  Or do you two both drive Mercedes?   Eatin' sushi...or seabass... every night?  Sorry...forgive us for the absolutely shamelessly gratuitous Seabass reference.

ADAM:

 She took a 14,000 pay cut to come to Madison. In case you had not noticed that is about an entire years worth of rent.

SP-EYE:

Zing! Ouch...that stings, Adam!  But, yes, we noticed.  Funny though...we instantly looked at it from the angle that you must be some catch (LJH-esque?) for someone to take a $14,000 pay cut.  And possibly even foot the entire bill for an apartment!  But hey...love is blind, right?   We are very familiar with a damn fine dude who quite his job and moved halfway across country to be with the one he loved.  That didn't end well

But of course while it is implied that she came up here for you, maybe it was for family...or a chance to work in a better school district.  One wouldn't take a pay cut AND choose to work in a worse district, would they?  We think you're probably a pretty good catch, Adam....but THAT good?   Not after 3 years and no ring!  ZING!   How'd that feel, buddy?!  :-) 

ADAM:

Then comes the aspect on working conditions...but that is like trying to explain how to gut a fish to a member of PETA.

SP-EYE:

Working conditions?  Really?.  You make it sound like being a teacher is akin to working 16 hour days in some 3rd world sweat shop for peanuts.  Um...REALLY, Adam?  Much of the rest of the world works 260 days per year.  When was the last time you checked the base pay of ...say...firefighters or police?

Adam...we're afraid to have to tell you, but someone slipped you the Kool-Aid.  We grow tired of this whole "working conditions" crap.   And that' not fair to crap.  

We do dig the PETA/fish gutting analogy though.  That was clever.

 I am sure you are one of those people that say things along the lines of, "don't get me wrong...I don't hate teachers", or "teachers get their summers off so this is more than fair." Truth is, that is exactly what I would expect someone to say that doesn't know a thing about the situation. 

SP-EYE:They say that expectations are only met with disappointment, Adam...and  we wouldn't want to disappoint you. Fact is, Adam...we DO respect and value teachers...at least the ones that aren't whiney.  Oh...did we say that out loud?  We have both publicly and behind the scenes been pushing to raise the floor for teachers' base salaries...but also to establish a cap.

But the whiney ones and the dead wood have to go.  We'd love to get a whole bumper crop of new energized teachers that aren't going to drink the Kool Aid.  Poor working conditions?  Please!  Not sure you' know what poor working conditions were unless it but you on the behinder.  What is needed to create "good" working conditions?  Ice cream socials every Monday?   Only having to teach two classes a day?   We're sure that teaching five classes a day is absolutely inhumane.

ADAM:

Have you gone into a school lately to shadow a teacher to see what they do? I didn't think so.

SP-EYE:
Can't say we've shadowed a teacher for a day Adam...you see we work for a living.  But we did see a teacher's shadow on Groundhog Day this year...do we get half credit?  

Oh...and that's 12 months a year that we work....260 days....not 190.   But we know some teachers very well.  There are teachers (and administrators) in the family.

Honestly Adam..have YOU shadowed a teacher lately?  Of course, if you're not working, maybe you have the time to do that.  Tell you what though...we'd challenge YOU to spending a day in a teacher's class right alongside with us.  Got the stones for that, Adam?  You know our number.

ADAM:

I wish I could say it in a way that would make sense to you, but the truth is, it will never makes sense to you. Fairness is all that you preach about, but can't for one moment understand what fair actually is until you walked a day in their shoes.

Cheers

12:58 p.m., Saturday May 18

SP-EYE:

Geeez if you aren't the pot callin' the kettle black with all the negativity!.  Were you asleep in class when they talked about taking the high road?  Wanna talk about fair, Adam?  We know quite a few folks in the public sector that are paid LESS than people with LESS seniority and LESS productivity in the same job.  Can't say as we've ever heard of such a thing with teachers.

Here's a little life lesson, Adam...life is quite frequently unfair.  It's how one deals with it that is the true measure of a man or woman.  

SPASD Wall of Shame Announces 2013 Inductees...

...Dr. Culver and the SPASD Management Team!

Which we understand to be comprised of:

     Tim Culver
     Phil Frei

     Alice Murphy
     Jenifer Apodaca
     Annette Mikula


And it's really a downright shame, because we genuinely like and appreciate at least a few members of the Senior Management Team.

Why are they being awarded this dubious distinction?
Because they are responsible for reviewing and approving all budget proposals that are brought forward to the pubic and the school board.  And Athletics & Activities Director Jim McClowry prepared a 4-part budget proposal (including hiring himself an Assistant AD!!! ) which was incredibly poorly written, incomplete and lacking any real substantiation or supporting data/rationale in most areas.

DOESN'T ANYBODY REVIEW THIS CRAP?!

Somebody should be keelhauled and hung from a yardarm for even allowing this to be presented.  Why expect good quality work when you are clearly accepting of piss poor shoddy performance?

We don't know what the vote was within the Management Team ranks, but we're willing to bet that there was not unanimous support for including Mr. McClowry' proposals.  That means it falls on Dr, Culver's head.  Funny....at one point during the meeting Dr. Culver even asked "It says see attached data.  Where's the data?".  Hello!  It wasn't there the first go around and you let this fly.  NOW you want to know where the data is?  Maybe you should have read the proposal MONTHS ago!

What's especially troubling is that Culver recently made a decision, based on the poor quality of data presented, that ALL reports and data to be presented by Mr McClowry would require Management Team review.   Gee...guess that was a hollow sanctioning.  And once again...SPASD Administration says one thing and does another.

Newsflash Dr. C....that's not how you go about building community trust.  And you just might need the community to trust what you say when you say you need to go to referendum for an 8th elementary school in the next 1.5-2 years.  Might want to ponder that a bit.

What we do  not know is where Lisa Heipp fis in here.  As Mr. McClowry's 1st line supervisor, one would THINK that she reviewed his proposals first.   But there's something about Mr. McClowry that makes us suspect that Ms. Heipp was bypassed.  But we could be wrong.