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?

Pint-Sized Passengers -- Hefty Cost

The School Board will review SP4K busing tomorrow night.

This started out as a simple issue...a parent complained (rightfully) that their 4 year old was spending 2 hours a day on a bus for about 2.5 hours of instruction.  But...as with many school board issues, this one became another bloomin' onion....the more layers you peel away, the more information that comes clear.

Notable facts:

1. We, the people, and the school board were sold a bill of goods with the 4K program.  We were told that busing costs were projected (and budgeted) to be about $50K.  The number of students is as projected, yet the busing costs are FOUR TIMES higher than projected at just under $200K per year.

2. The cost to bus each student is a whopping $1963.34 per year, which is just more than FOUR times the average cost to bus a K-12 student.

3. There are FOUR times fewer kids per bus than for K-12 kids.

4. Here's the silver tuna...the school district expects to make a profit of about ONE MILLION dollars off the 4K program.  Shhhhh...keep that one under your hat.  They don't want YOU to know that...and they certainly don't want Scott Walker to find out that DPI is giving out $1M more for 4K than the program actually costs ...for ONE district

WTF?

Uh Oh Spaghetti O! 4K Busing Coming Under Fire

It seems that ride times for the little nippers can be as much as ONE HOUR...EACH WAY.
As one parent put it--and any parent knows--- a 1 hr ride for the average 4-year old means that a snack and games (and perhaps even a potty break) are mandatory accoutrements.  On a school bus?  We don't think so.


According to school district busing czarina Rhonda Page, the length of ride time ranges from two minutes to one hour, with an average ride time of 29 minutes.  The average sounds OK, but as is often the case with statistics, the standard deviation can speak volumes.  If your child has the 2 minute ride, you're loving it.  If your child has the 60 minute ride.  Not so much.  Of course there's also the point that it seems rather strange for kids to spend 2 hours on buses for 2.5 hours of education.


At what cost?
For the 2009-10 school year, 391 students were enrolled in SP4K, and 155 were transported by bus. The cost to transport those students was $259,847.63. [ $1,676 per child]



As of October 2010, 462 students were enrolled in SP4K for the 2010-11 school year, and 133 were transported by bus.   This year's busing cost is $261,124.30.  [$1,963 per child]


Using this year’s data, if the maximum time on the bus were shortened from 60 minutes to 45 minutes, the best-case scenario would add two additional SP4K routes at a cost of $70,296.16.   Increasing costs to $2,492 per child.  That also amounts to cost of about $5,000 per minute shaved off the maximum ride time.


The worst-case scenario would add four routes at a cost for $141,058.32   That would mean busing costs for 4K rise to $3,024 per child.  And shaving the maximum ride time costs $10,000 per minute.


Transportation cost comparisons

In July, we he;d a special electors meeting to discuss reducing the busing limit for middle schoolers from 2.0 to 1.5 miles.  The change would have affected 135 bus riders from Prairie View and 45 bus riders from Patrick Marsh. The cost for the additional routes for those children was approximately $89,650.  That would have cost $498 per child.  But it was voted down.

The average cost per child transported by bus in the district is about $350-$400.  How come it's so much more expensive for 4K.

Poor Projecting
Looking back at the original "plan" for SP4K costs, we see that the projection for busing costs for this year was only $52,000.  In fact, as far out as the 2013-14 school year, the busng cost was only projected to be about $56,000.
Hmmm...how did we get from a projection of $54K bus cost to over $260K?  Was the school board even informed?
That's more than a 500% increase over the program budget estimates!
That's further off than even the weatherman gets!


What's sad is that had the school board members known that transportation cost were going to be this high, they might not have been so quick to support 4K.

If We Wait Long Enough, Will It Be Free?

Make up your minds, will ya!

Residents of Wyndham Hills--and the public--were initially told that if they went ahead with a plan to demand that a Special Electors Meeting be held to reduce the required distance for busing from 2.0 to 1.5 miles would cost district residents at least $292,000.

Given the economy, that pronouncement seemed to loom as a potentially painful poke in the eye with a very sharp stick to residents struggling to make ends meet and already worried about rising property taxes.

Was it Fear Factor Sun Prairie?

Was that initial cost projection a tad elevated to suck the wind out of the public's lungs and perhaps deter the Wyndham Hill community from pursuing their quest?

As usual with this school district, we can only guess and infer because full disclosure is simply not going to happen unless a major overhaul of the school board is enacted.

Busing Costs Become A Moving Target

In the span of just 35 days, we have seen the estimates of the cost of providing busing to middle schoolers that live more than 1.5 miles (instead of 2) drop from $292,000, to $146000, and now to $89,000.

June 17, the STAR

...If the walking distances for middle school aged children are decreased, it will affect the entire school district. SPASD business services and Kobussen Bus Company project that if the distance was decreased from two miles to one and a half miles, the transportation costs would be $292,000. Costs would continue to increase by 3 percent for the next five years.

--the STAR June 17

July 14, the STAR

...A decrease in the middle school busing distance would increase the district’s busing costs. For example, reducing the distance to one and a half (1.5) miles would increase busing costs by an estimated $146,000. All residents living in the school district may attend and vote at this meeting.

-- the STAR July 14

$146,000 was also the figure cited on a special postcard mailer received in all homes this week.

July 22, School District Administration E-Mail

From: Phil Frei pfrei@spasd.k12.wi.us>
Sent: Thu Jul 22 08:55:39 2010
Subject: News on reducing the MS milage to 1.5 miles

Kobussen ran the proposed routes for 1.5 miles. It wont take as many new routes as originally planned, the estimated cost is now $89,650. This is about 2 1/2 cents on the mill rate or $4.50 tax increase on a $200,000 home.

. .................................................

Ya know...it would seem that for what we pay our administrators, one would think that we could get better accuracy on the numbers coming out of the district. It just seems that with every issue, the cost is a moving target.

Will You Vote On July 28th?

*** Special Electors Meeting on July 28, 2010 ***

The Sun Prairie Area School District will hold a Special Electors Meeting on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, at 7:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center of the new Sun Prairie High School, 888 Grove Street. A petition to decrease middle school busing distances from the current 2.0 miles has been submitted to the school district. The Special Electors Meeting is a result of this petition. At this meeting, electors in attendance could vote to change this distance. 6:30 pm: Public Hearing on the 2010-2011 School District Budget 7:30 pm: Special Electors Meeting A decrease in the middle school busing distance would increase the district’s busing costs. For example, reducing the distance to 1.5 miles would increase busing costs by an estimated $146,000. All residents living in the school district may attend and vote at this meeting. Prior to the Special Electors Meeting, there will be a Public Hearing on the Proposed 2010-2011 School District Budget at 6:30 pm. This is the third public hearing on the proposed budget. Community members are encouraged to attend both meetings to learn more about the budget process and to give input on the topic of middle school busing distances. Click here for more information on the proposed budget. If you have additional questions, please contact Deputy District Administrator Phil Frei at 834-6510. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... What's an "Electors" Meeting? An Elector's Meeting is an official meeting of school district residents to discuss and vote on any number of orders of business that fall within the scope of "Powers" of the Electors. State law requires that each year (in October in Sun Prairie) a meeting of the Electors be held to vote on the amount of the school district tax levy. Astute observers will recall that at last year's Annual Electors Meeting, residents voted to reduce the levy requested by the district by $2M. What's a Special Electors Meeting? A "Special" Electors Meeting may be called in addition to the Annual Electors Meeting when district residents wish to effect a change with respect to one of the "powers" of the electors. How Often Do Special Elector's Meetings occur? Pretty rarely, actually. The last one in Sun Prairie was about 4 1/2 years ago when a ridiculously expense lease proposal was being pursued to use the new "Y" swimming pool. Of course, you now know that was voted down by about 120 or so residents at the Special Elector's meeting. State statutes allow up to two additional "Special" Elector's Meetings (in addition to the "Annual" Electors Meeting) each year. All that is required is a petition with 100 district resident signatures. The petition must clearly state the nature of business for the meeting, and it must fall with the scope of the "Powers of Electors". Who is an "Elector" (Who can vote)? Anyone that is 18 or older and has lived in the school district for the past 10 days. It's that simple. If you live within the Sun Prairie Area school district boundaries (and have for at least 10 days) and are at least 18, you may vote. What is the Issue being voted on at the July 28, 2010 Meeting? A request is being made to direct the district to change the minimum distance for bus service of middle school kids from 2.0 miles to 1.5 miles. This request comes from residents of Wyndham Hills, whose children were eligible for bus service up until this fall? Why The Change? The City recently installed a bike path the extends from the Wyndham Hills development to Prairie View Middle School. Prior to the availability of the bike path, the school kids' walking/bike route was declared "Unusually Hazardous (there are statutes to define that...of course). That allowed the district to provide busing and receive state aid to defray the cost. Now that the area is no longer officially deemed hazardous, the kids must walk the route. How Much Will It Cost? The current projection is about $146,000 for 2010-11; obviously transportation costs increase every year. With the current budget numbers, this looks to add about 4 cents ($0.04) to the mill rate, bringing it to about $12.16 for the school district portion for 2010-11. 4 cents amounts to about $8.00 annually for a $200,000 home. What are these "Powers" That We Have at Electors Meetings? (1) CHAIRPERSON AND CLERK. Elect a chairperson to run the meeting (2) ADJOURNMENT. Adjourn from time to time. (3) SALARIES OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. Vote annual salaries for school board members or an amount for each school board meeting the member actually attends. (4) REIMBURSEMENT OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. for expenses incurred (5) BUILDING SITES. Designate sites for school district buildings (5m) REAL ESTATE. Authorize the school board to acquire, by purchase or condemnation, real estate and structures and facilities (6) TAX FOR SITES, BUILDINGS AND MAINTENANCE. Vote a tax to purchase or lease suitable sites for school buildings, to build, rent,lease or purchase and furnish, equip and maintain school district buildings. (7) TAX FOR TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES. Vote a tax to purchase, operate and maintain transportation vehicles and to purchase liability insurance for such vehicles, and to finance contracts for the use and services of such vehicles. (8) TAX FOR OPERATION. Vote a tax for the operation of the schools of the school district. (9) TAX FOR DEBTS. Vote a tax necessary to discharge any debts or liabilities of the school district. (10) SCHOOL DEBT SERVICE FUND. Vote a tax to create a fund for the purpose of paying all current bonded indebtedness for capital expenditures. (10m) SCHOOL CAPITAL EXPANSION FUND. Vote a tax to create a fund for the purpose of financing all current and future capital expenditures related to buildings and sites. (11) TAX FOR RECREATION AUTHORITY. Vote a tax for the purposes specified in s. 66.0123. (12) SALE OF PROPERTY. Authorize the sale of any property belonging to and not needed by the school district. (14) LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. Direct and provide for the prosecution or defense of any action or proceedings in which the school district is interested. (15) TEXTBOOKS. Authorize the school board to furnish textbooks under conditions prescribed by the annual meeting or by the school board. The authorization shall continue in effect until revoked by a subsequent annual meeting. (16) SCHOOL LUNCHES. Direct the school board to furnish school lunches to the pupils of the school district and appropriate funds for that purpose.

Will you come out on July 28 and vote to speak YOUR position on the issue?

SP-EYE: We applaud the residents of Wyndham Hills for (A) becoming engaged in the school district process, and (B) for doing their homework and exercising their rights to demand a Special Elector's Meeting. Elector's Meetings DO offer some district residents some pretty awesome powers.

We hope they'll stay engaged for the budget hearing and, more importantly, for the Annual Electors Meeting scheduled for October 11th.

Special Electors Meeting Coming Soon?

On May 17th, the DANE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE completed a second review of the potential Unusually Hazardous Transportation issues for the Wyndham Hills subdivision as well as the Tallgrass subdivision.

The review considered the following concerns:

1) The speed of the traffic on Hwy 19
2) Lack of barriers to protect vehicles from entering onto the bike path.
3) Lack of barriers to protect students on the bike path from large storm water retention ponds
4) Dangerous traffic crossing at Hwy 19 and Hwy
5) Inadequate security lighting along the bike path.

"After completing my on-site observations, compiling the above data, and reviewing Deputy. Wiessinger’s reports, I concur that the area designated at the “Walk Area less than 2 miles” does not meet criteria set forth as an unusually hazardous transportation area for middle school-aged students.

It should be noted that the Sun Prairie Area School District may elect to employ additional safety measures for these walking routes should they choose to. While the above determination that these areas do not meet unusually hazardous criteria, the SPASD could consider deploying a crossing guard at the intersection of Sth 19 and Cth C (Grand Ave.). While there currently is not enough student pedestrian traffic to warrant a crossing guard, should the busing availability change for the Wyndham Hills subdivision, the number of students walking may increase and further justify a crossing guard. Again, this is only a potential suggestion for the SPASD to consider."

The report also notes that, " Oxford Place Crosswalk- according to Deputy Wiessinger, SPASD had previously agreed to have a properly marked crosswalk installed on Oxford Place at Sth 19. This crosswalk still has not been installed, and would need to be as indicated previously for this to considered not unusually hazardous. "
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In an e-mail to DDA Phil Frei on May 10, the parent group asked, "Phil.... Do you know if we also need another 100 signatures to call for a special meeting of the electors or will the first petition work? "

Frei responded:

From: Phil Frei [mailto:pfrei@spasd.k12.wi.us]
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 8:29 AM
RE: tax increase

I would think you need another petition that clearly states that you want a special meeting of the electors t discuss bussing. That way nobody could say that the petition was for something else. You would wait on this until we hear from Dane County sheriff, right?

On June 2nd, Frei added:

We have received the report, I will have Rhonda forward it to you. FYI, we will be giving this report to the SB on June 14. We will also be sending a letter to all the families in Wyndham Hills and the Tall Grass area notifying them of the meeting
......................................................

So...it looks like the school board will discuss the Sheriff's report at their June 14 meeting. Any action regarding busing changes of this nature can ONLY be decided by calling a Special Electors Meeting...it looks like we're headed in that direction.

Reducing the busing limit from 2 miles to 1.5 miles is estimated to add an additional $292,000 to the district budget. E-mails from Frei relating to this suggest the cost would be about 18 cents on a $250,000 home.

What If Gus Didn't Get On The Bus?

We're hearing reports about an incident at Horizon Elementary last week...

Allegedly...a heads-up teacher was looking for a child that was supposed to be in class. Horizon staff put in a call to Kobussen Busing - allegedly to Simon Gilliam to determine if the child (who typically rides the bus) was on/got off the bus.

Allegedly calls from Horizon to Kobussen were not returned for some time. Meanwhile a frantic search ensued for 2 hours. It turns out (thankfully) that the missing young scamp was at home the whole time and the parent didn't know about it.

Here we have the school freaking out, staff freaking out, the parent was freaking out and...one key link in the chain was MIA.

Of course, we only hear a small percentage of these incidents, but it reminds us of two incidents that occurred during the first week of school this year. In these cases, 2 different children--ESL kids at that-- did not get home after school. One "transferred incorrectly" and ended up where they did not belong, while the other was left behind on the bus (the bus was not properly 'cleared; after the last stop), and when the bus driver finally noticed a head peeking out while RTB, said driver allegedly took the child to his/her home. Unfortunately, the now frantic parents were NOT at home--they had gone to the school to get their child! Theswe are elementary school kids, people! Some are under 7 years old!

It wasn't too far back that the FTT committee initiated a witch hunt of sorts to somehow wrestle the Special Ed busing contract from Teri Bedner and T-Durst. Yep...the very same individual and bus company that devotes so much time and effort (not to mention bus service) to provide for a special holiday party for special needs children.

File that under "Things That Make You Go, "Hmmm". Or...give Al Slane a call and strongly suggest that it's time to air busing issues/concerns out formally as an agenda item at an FTT meeting.

Microexpressions Are So Revealing

You may have missed this on the local news this week, but as part of
WKOW-TV's "Call for action" segment, [Note: there is a 12 second Wisconsin lottery video preceding the segment] the district came under fire for a decision to no longer provide busing for middle school students living in the Golden Meadows subdivision.

Interviewer:" Phil....You've got to think something may be wrong with the system if parents are paying $100 per month for their kid to take a taxi to school when maybe the school bus should be taking them. "

Phil Frei: "Well, it could be, but it's been determined by the people of Sun Prairie that 2 miles is our limit."

Freeze the camera. Yup...right there when Phil turns slightly away from the camera, pauses to close his eye for an un-naturally long blink, and has a severely pursed lip. What does that expression tell you? And Frei's response to the interviewer....?

Come on, Phil! That doesn't even remotely pass the straight face test! The community did not make that decision...the school board did...based on the recommendation of administration (i.e., you).

The school board discussed this issue at it's July 27, 2009 meeting and voted 6-1 (Diedrich opposed) to eliminate the busing for middle school students from Golden Meadows. See the information at this link.

Why are you throwing the community under the bus?