Economy Down but Admin Salaries Soar!

Ever notice that no public official will ever declare that we're in the "R" word...recession....until after the economy gets back on its feet? Well...many believe we are in a recession. Jobs are being lost (Janesville, Wausau); paper mills are closing--among others. But in the Sun Prairie School District, life is good if you're in the "Administrator" classification.

In light of the $5.00/hr raise being proposed for the "Business Services Manager", we thought we'd review Administration pay progression over the past 5 years. We've subsequently decided that we're in the wrong line of work.


The 6-Figure Salary Club
In the 2002-03 school year, only one administrator (Tim Culver) earned a "6 figure salary". That number climbed to 4 in the 2006-07 year, and then shot to 9 in 2007-08. That's 9 administrators EACH making over $100,000 per year in salary alone! What will that number be in 2008-09??? Giving the Business Services manager a $10,400 annual increase should get that position primed for the 100K club as well.



We looked closely at the salaries of 8 administrators who have been with the District for the past 5 years. Tim Culver's salary increased 18% over those 5 years, but his contract is separate from the other administrators. The salaries for the other 7 administrators ON AVERAGE have increased by 29% over the past 5 years. That represents an average increase---salary alone---of 5.2% per year. We're not even talking the added value of benefits!!! For comparison, the salary for an average state employee, who typically sees raises of 0-3% per year, raised about 13-15% over the same time period.


Increase in administrator pay from the 2002-03 school year to the 2007-08 school year
Culver up 18% Frei up 25% Mikula up 35%
Dawes up 26% Luessman up 32% Klaas up 25%
Ackley up 28%

No wonder why no one has a problem increasing the Business Services Manager's salary by $10,400 for next year. Gotta get the Business Services Manager in to the club!


Dealing with the rising cost of living
We always hear complaints that salaries are not rising as fast as inflation or the cost of living. Well...first of all, the cost of living has certainly not risen at a 5.2% per year pace. Second, all 5.2% raises are not created equally. Let's say groceries cost your family $500 per month. If the cost of groceries increases by 20%, your family grocery budget now costs $600/mo. or an extra $1,200 per year.


The struggling single parent
Let's say you're a single parent earning a decent (but not great) wage of $33,333 per year (or 1/3 of $100K). You are thrilled to have your boss award you a 5% raise. That translates to an addition $1,667 of gross earnings to cover the added $1,200 cost of groceries. Oh...wait...we have to consider taxes. About 1/3 of that raise goes to taxes. That actually leaves our struggling single parent with only a net increase in pocket pay of about $1117, or not enough to even cover the increased cost of groceries.


The well-compensated school administrator
Now let's look at the impact of our $1,200 increased grocery bill on our administrator, earning a nice, fat $100,000 per year. You too are thrilled to have your the school board award you a 5% raise. That translates to an addition $5,000 of gross earnings to cover the added $1,200 cost of groceries. Even after losing 1/3 to taxes, you're still left with a net increase in pocket pay of about $3,300. Not only does that cover the increased cost of groceries, but you can still afford that week-long vacation at a northern Wisconsin resort.

Our school board needs to start considering that giving administrators a smaller percentage increase still leaves them with plenty of money in their pocket to cover cost of living adjustments. In fact, using our examples above, in order to feel the same pain as our struggling single parent, the raise for our $100K administrator would have had to have been only 1.67%

Funny thing about how math works. Our administrator makes 3 times what our struggling single parent does. In order to give them each a raise to cover the cost of groceries, the percentage increase given to the $33,000 worker needs to be THREE TIMES the increase given to our $100K Club administrator! Any of you get a 15% raise this year? That, ladies and gentlemen, is how the rich get richer. In retrospect, it should come as no surprise that the Sun Prairie School District doesn't fare as well as other area districts in WKCE Math scores. If the school board doesn't understand basic math...how will they ever pass it on to students?

The following are graphs of the meteoric salary rise experienced by top administrators over the past 5 years:


Browse the DPI website area that reports school district pay and see for yourself: DPI School Staff and Salary Data Page

$5 Footlongs? How about a $5.00/hour raise??!!

How many of you received a $5.00/hr raise? How many received $5.00/hr raise TOTAL over the past 10 years??? State employees got a whopping 2.5% for FY2007 and a 1% raise for FY2008.

On Monday, the school board's Human Resources committee voted to move a contract package for Administrative Support to the full school board for approval. For all positions, a 3.6% increase was recommended, but one job title, the Business Services Manager, makes out like an NFL 1st round draft pick. Don't get us wrong---Rhonda Page is a great lady---but $5.00 per hour increase for ANYONE is insanity. That's over a 15% raise from a salary of $32.00/hr to $37.00/hr ($77,000/yr).

That $5.00/hr RAISE is 77% of the MINIMUM wage!!! Ms. Page will receive as an hourly RAISE almost as much as some folks get per hour TOTAL!

That's a $10,400 increase per year!

That's 2600 gallons of gas (at $4.00/gal) per year!

That's 2080 foot long subs at Subway.

That's 2080 Pizza Hut Pizza Mias (if bought in threes).

This goes to the full school board for approval this coming Monday, August 11. Wanna bet it's a slam dunk for unanimous approval? Here's the new **proposed ** Administrative Support salary matrix:

Appointment Process Redlines the BS Meter

On Monday night, July 28, 2008, the school board unanimously approved appointments of new citizen representatives to the Finance, FTT, Education & Policy, and Human Resources committees for one-year and two-year terms.

This was subsequently reported by Sun Prairie Today.com, the Sun Prairie STAR, and in a July 30 e-mail sent out to the School District's "Key Communicator" e-mail list.
See the Sun Prairie Today.com report
Read the Sun Prairie STAR article

School Board President Stackhouse commented,

"It's a wonderful thing when people in the community step up and ask to serve in any form," Stackhouse said. "We had some excellent candidates for various positions, they bring great things to the
table."

But...hold on a second....one of those individuals withdrew his application and declined the opportunity to interview...yet he was appointed to a position nonetheless.

How on earth, does one manage to appoint someone to something when the individual has clearly communicated that they are no interested? In the course of appointing citizen representatives for its committees, the board managed to:

• appoint a citizen representative without conducting an interview in direct violation of board policy and procedure BCE-R.
• create a requisite application form which is neither discussed nor referenced in its policy BCE-R.
• inform candidates of interview times without their consultation less than 24 hours prior to making formal appointments (in fact the e-mail message of interview times actually said that the interviews would be conducted on Monday August 28).
• clearly opt NOT to retain Finance Committee citizen representative Dr. James Murray for a 2nd term (which could have been done) and then appoint him to the Education & Policy committee.
• ignore specifics of the application submission process outlined in policy.

The Process
The SPASD website indicated that applicants had to "complete and return an application and a letter of interest" prior to Friday June 27, 2007.

NOTE: Board Policy BCE-R (sect. A.4) says nothing about an "application". Interested citizens are only required to: " All applicants shall mail, e-mail to the District Administrator's secretary and get confirmation of receipt, or deliver to the District Administrator's office a letter containing the applicant's name, address, telephone number and a concise statement not exceeding 500 words of the applicant's qualifications and interest in appointment to a specified committee. "

Applicants received no communication from board President Stackhouse (or any board representative) until an e-mail from Stackhouse was sent Sunday July 27, 2008 at 4:03 PM informing all candidates of their interview time slots.
SP-EYE: Weird? Isn't it common practice to call candidates and offer them several options for an interview time?

Concerted Decision to not retain Murray
Board policy allows the board to re-appoint a current citizen representative to a 2nd 1-year term if that term does not coincide with the other citizen representations term. Dr. James Murray just completed his first year on the Finance committee and clearly indicated his interest in being re-appointed. Board past practice has been to re-appoint these people. Clearly, President Stackhouse made a firm decision NOT to re-appoint Dr,. Murray to the Finance committee. We assume he had reasons.How serious could Stackhouse's concerns have been if he proceeded to nominate Dr. Murray to The Education & Policy committee...despite being told that Murray was no longer interested in serving. Dr. Murray subsequently declined to appear for his interview.

The Applicants
7 people applied to fill 6 empty slots. Clearly this was a game of musical chairs and someone would be sitting out.

Finance: 4 candidates for 2 seats
FTT 2 candidates for 1 seat
E&P 2 candidates for 2 seats
HR 1 candidate for 1 seat


The Interview Process
Interviews were scheduled at 15-minute intervals Monday July 28 from 5:15 to 7:00 pm (despite e-mail message indicating the interview date to be August 28th).
The schedule was as follows:
__5:15: Patrick Anderson, (Finance, FTT)
__5:30: James Murray (Finance, E&P)
__5:45: Rick Mealy (Finance)
__6:00: Tim Boylen (Finance)
__6:15: Scott Sedlacek (FTT)
__6:30: Jan Disch (HR, E&P)
__6:45: Robert Carlson (E&P)

Appointment
Interviews concluded at 7:00 pm

Why did Stackhouse nominate Dr. James Murray to a position direct violation of section A.5. board policy/procedure BCE-R???

"The Board president and/or committee chair will interview each candidate...prior to nominating a candidate to the Board for appointment to any standing committee." ?

Why also would Stackhouse have nominated Murray after he clearly declined consideration? (Murray sent e-mail to Stackhouse and also spoke by phone to board members Stackhouse and McCourt)

Why would the board proceed to make this appointment in light of the facts...something which the board likes to tell the public that they base their decisions on? Did Stackhouse and McCourt not communicate Murray's decision to other board members? If not, why not? They certainly seem to discuss a number of other things between meetings. Certainly, they should have released this information to the media before it was published.

The board likes to talk about "the wonderful things they do for the community's children"....yet they can't get a simply thing like citizen representative assignments right without violating their own policies and making a public mess of things.

So...now what? Does Tim Boylen get offered the Education & Policty seat to minimize the magnitude of this CF? Or do we start all over again looking for a citizen to fill the empty seat? Perhaps, if the board hadn't rushed to so quickly, this mess would not have been created. Don't we counsel our children, "Don't rush...do a quality job in all that you do"???

Read board policy BCE-R

SP-EYE: Be careful! There are multiple versions of this policy out on the district's website...but that's a whole different issue that needs to be addressed!

Check out the "application" form...which does not exist according to policy

What was the hub, bub?

Is the boundary issue dead...or are the embers silently smoldering? During recent interviews for the heir to Jim Carrel's school board seat, board president David Stackhouse asked each candidate a question that wasn't on the prepared question list. Stackhouse asked of each,

"Is the boundary issue resolved?"

Logic would seem to dictate that it is in the board's best interest to keep the dead buried....so why did Stackhouse ask the question? Was he looking for another ally to rally the issue? Or was his intent to exclude from consideration any candidate that indicated the issue was not resolved?

Why were people affected by the decision so distraught? Certainly the board's way of coming to a decision had a lot to do with things, but the map also clearly points out the disconnection in a district that claims to place high value on "connectedness". Take a look at the island the board created (the purple region north of Egre road and west of Bird St). These students were leapfrogged over both Bird and Northside to be placed at Westside. Does this make sense? Shouldn't the primary rule for developing boundaries be to draw lines for any individual school to form a single polygon? Isn't THAT what facilitates development of "neighborhood" schools?

Now consider ...for a minute...just ONE alternate map (at right). Certainly, the numbers of students was not considered in creating this quick version, but logically, does it not make more sense?

This was never about allowing people to stay with a beloved school but rather about making a decision which makes no sense.

Download or view the full-size District elementary boundary maps.


......THIS?...................or THIS?

$45,000 to re-locate school board meetings. Why?

One of the school board's pet projects for some time now has been to slowly position things so it can move board meetings to the District office. At the last FT&T meeting, this issue was raised as an action item. The advantages and disadvantages as presented by District Administration--along with our comments---are provided below.

The disadvantage of using City Hall for School Board Meetings.
1) Will need to provide access to Internet and wireless router. Estimated Cost: $700 per year. SP-EYE: Seems like a small cost in comparison...but perhaps we can access the City's hook-ups for free.
2) Lights take 30 minutes to come on, if turned off during meetings. SP-EYE: Someone suggested an inexpensive "cage" over the light switches to resolve the issue.
3) Limited access to set up before meetings. SP-EYE: How much time is really needed?
4) Will need to transport laptops to meetings and back to District Office. SP-EYE: Hence the name, "LAPtop"....as in small *transportable* computer that can fit on one's lap.
5) Projector and computer must be transported and set up for meetings. SP-EYE: See LAPtop
6) No equipment to show videotapes or DVD recordings. SP-EYE: Videotapes are old technology. All new laptops have DVD capabilities. See LAPtop
7) No computer or video integrated into board meeting broadcast. SP-EYE: Perhaps aim a projector where a camera will pick it up???
8) Poor HVAC controls. SP-EYE: It's as good as the air handling at the District office room 100.
9) Information about checks is limited due to the fact that the documentation is at the District Office. SP-EYE: Checks are discussed in literally the closing few minutes of Finance committee meetings, half of which are only 15 minutes in length. The District can continue to follow-up on questions as needed.


The advantages of using Room 100 at the District Office for School Board Meetings:
1) Internet access is available for board member laptops and access to BoardDocs. SP-EYE: It would be hard to believe that there is no Internet access available at City Hall. Must it be wireless?
2) Projector and screen is in place. SP-EYE: Projectors and screens are quite portable these days.
3) Meetings could be streamed live via Internet. SP-EYE: But how easily will people with a dial-up connection be able to access them? This aspect of Board Docs (already purchased by the District) has not ever been tested in Sun Prairie.
4) Wireless network access is in place. SP-EYE: We need an Internet connection, wireless is simply a luxury.
5) Video, DVDs, and computer presentations can be integrated into the meeting broadcast. SP-EYE: But it requires a body with knowledge to do so....when will we be seeing that request to hire come through?
6) District staff can more easily provide support before and during meetings. SP-EYE: Has anybody noticed the side table full of District Admin folks at City Hall? What are they there for...if not to provide whatever they would provide at meetings held elsewhere?
7) District can record any meetings, presentations, workshops, etc, for live or stored streaming and broadcasting. SP-EYE: Ummmm...this may not be so easy. External trainers very likely will not allow taping of their presentation due to copyright issues. They DO want to sell their presence, right?

The estimated expense of the technology for video equipment and microphones is $40,000. The
estimated construction cost of a raised floor is $5,000. (for a total cost of $45,000)

Sounding much like former board member Mary Ellen Havel-Lang and her spending cry of, "It is what it is", lame duck board member and FTT chair Jim Carrel simply stated that, "These are the times in which we live" in response to questions about the cost of the plan.

Sun Prairie STAR editor Chris Mertes gave the idea of spending $45,000 to move meetings to the District Office two thumbs down. Read his Opinion column here.

Where have all the files gone?

Where have all the documents gone?
for some time missing
Where have all the documents gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the documents gone?
The board has hid them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

[SP-EYE...with deep apologies to Pete Seeger]

Interested in reviewing information generated during the Boundary Wars? The high school planning process? Minutes of previous school board meetings? School board policies? Forget it.

The school district website has a page entitled, Search our Policies". But don't bother, because this directory appears to have been stripped of all information for several weeks now. Theoretically, once can even (and used to be able to) click on the "Browse Documents" tab and review all available documents.

Go ahead and try it. We've tried searching on common terms like "board", "minutes", "school", "high school", and "boundary"....words that surely should have resulted in at least one document. Sadly, searches resulted in: "Sorry, no matching documents were found".

We have approved funds for more electronic file storage space, more technology, and to develop a committee to "engage the public". And what have we received for all this? The removal of critical PUBLIC information that community residents may like to--and are entitled to-- review.

So...why has everything been pulled from the website??? Is it to make things more difficult for those that are investigating BS (Board Shenanigans)??? Hmmm...let's see....if someone wants that information, they'll have to request it and then come down to the district office to pick it up. That'll reduce the number of people interested in looking under the hood of the school board engine!!!

N

Stackhouse now up-to-date on taxes

On July 25, school board president David Stackhouse paid the remaining balance due on his delinquent property taxes, removing a bit of tarnish from the school board's image.

Thanks again to the community residents who brought this issue to our attention. Civic responsibility begins with paying one's taxes in a timely manner. It's simply reprehensible for any elected official...particularly one who is charged with levying property taxes...to pontificate while in serious arrears on the very taxes they levy.

Again, we sympathize with Mr. Stackhouse and any financial difficulty he may be facing. Unfortunately, choosing to serve as an elected leader means living under the microscope of public scrutiny.

The outcome of this recent situation certainly clarifies how important Mr. Stackhouse's school board position is to him. Many would have chosen to simply step down and walk away.

School Board President Delinquent on School (and property) Taxes

A few folks have contacted SP-EYE regarding an unfortunate situation that school board president David Stackhouse apparently finds himself in. Several community residents, either separately or as a group, have learned that Stackhouse is and has been in arrears on his property taxes.

We understand that this information was uncovered as far back as this past January, but nothing has been said for several reasons...most notably that no one wants to publicize any financial hardship that David and his family may be going through.

The flip side of the coin is, however, that, as school board president, Stackhouse is the leader of a significant taxing authority. As more people have gotten wind of this issue, the general sentiment has turned to one basic issue...and that is our elected leaders need to be role models in all they do. It's simply wrong for a leader of a taxing authority to oversee an $80M budget for the school district and approve tax levies that s/he is not paying themselves--regardless of financial hardships. It's doubtful that any community would be very supportive of someone being in arrears on their taxes while serving as an elected official.

This is about ethics and accountability of our elected leaders. This is not--regardless of accusation certain to come-- a witch-hunt for Stackhouse. A rather large net was cast seeking similar problems of the entire school board and likely other elected officials. Unfortunately he was the one that got caught. David Stackhouse has certainly given a great deal to this community, both as a school board member and through his work with the Youth Football Program. Who Stackhouse is and what he has done for the community, however, don't mitigate a significant wrong. Being in arrears on taxes and an elected official are simply two worlds that cannot co-exist.

SP-EYE has received 2nd and 3rd hand information that Stackhouse was recently approached regarding his tax delinquency and asked to resolve it. As part of these discussions, Stackhouse has allegedly responded that he's "only a little behind for the current year" and that he "has been making payments all along". We also understand at least one current school board member (if not all of them) are aware of the situation and have no problem with it (although they may not have all the facts).

A statement dated June 20th from the Dane County Treasurer's office (which collects all delinquent taxes) indicates that:

• property taxes for 2005, 2006, and 2007 are delinquent in their entirety


• the total amount due is $14,006.37


• the total includes nearly $2,800 in penalties and interest


• no payments had been made in the past 3 years

After being approached about his taxes, Mr. Stackhouse made payment of about $9,000 on July 17, 2008. The delinquency, confirmed by the Dane County Treasurer on July 21, 2008 is:

• property taxes for 2006 (partial), and 2007 (entirely) remain delinquent


• the total amount due is $5,174.89


• the total includes about $540 in penalties and interest

The question may arise: "who are these people? [who identified the delinquency]...", but that's not of concern here. $14,000 is a large sum and 3 years delinquency will be difficult to stomach by many of our senior citizens who can barely manage to eat half way decently yet they pay their property taxes. It's also hard to hear Mr. Stackhouse speak publicly about dedicating new schools "from the hearts (and wallets) of the community"...when he hasn't paid a dime until last week. Folks are now asking that if he managed to come up with $9,000, why didn't he pay his taxes previously?

This information is public record. All property records and taxes are open to the public via the AccessDane website. The Dane County Treasurer can also be e-mailed for any updated information at treasurer.delinquenttaxes@co.dane.wi.us.

Mr. Stackhouse has recently chosen the option to screen any searches using his name, but one can search on the property address, available via public record as 131 Jone Street City of Sun Prairie, or via the parcel # (282/0811-053-1503-8).

We sympathize with Mr. Stackhouse and his family as they deal with a difficult financial issue, but being an elected official requires one to set up residence in the confines of a glass house. The larger issue here is that the vast majority of the public would be inclined to agree that a position on the school board...let alone the presidency...is not a proper fit for someone who is delinquent in paying the very property taxes that serve to fund the school district.

Should Stackhouse resign his position on the school board?

Ignoring Fiscal Fundamentals???

The issue
June 23rd Finance Committee agenda item: Raising the prices of school lunches.

The Supporting Documentation
The "board package" information contained only the following "Situation Report" submitted by Administration:

Food prices are projected to increase an estimated 15 -20% for the next school year. For example, the School Nutrition Association predicts that the price of milk will increase 17%, rice and pasta 13%, cheese 15%, and bread 12%. The financial goal of the School Nutrition Fund (Fund 50) is to be self-sufficient and to not rely on the General Fund to subsidize it. In order for the School Nutrition Fund to reach this goal, we need to increase our meal prices. ...with the proposed ten-cent increase Sun Prairie Area School District will still be below the average meal price. This is due to the high participation in the meal program and also the efficiency of the department.
The Director of School Nutrition recommends breakfast and lunch prices be increase by ten cents and milk be increased by five cents.

There was also a table showing area school district meal prices for the 2008-09 school year (see below) with both the Sun Prairie current and proposed prices.

For the school board meeting of July 14, the only additional information provided by Administration was a gross budget projection for the ENTIRE food service program.

Citizen Concern
Roger Fetterly, former school board member and active participant in school board actions, asked a simple question: "Where is the budget information to support the price increase?"

Fetterly was concerned-as should the Finance Committee have been- that perhaps the prices had not been raised enough, and that the Food Service fund (Fund 50) would potentially end up being in the red.

School Board Response

School Board member and treasurer Jim McCourt sent the message at right in an e-mail response to Fetterly. Is this really how the Board should be communicating with its residents. As we've said so many times, you can't be in an elected position and toss the message aside just because you don't like how it's presented. Mr. McCourt --and the school board-- needs to get a thicker skin. No one promised this job would be a bed of roses. And even if you thought that's what you were getting, you forgot that roses have thorns. Deal with it.

Three Questions
1. Shouldn't the Finance Committee have been presented with a more complete budget analysis, rather than a simple, "Trust us, we've looked at this and we think it will work" statement?

2. Why would a Finance Committee approve this request (and forward it to the full Board) in the absence of more detailed financial supporting data?

3. Maybe we can understand the Finance Committee not reviewing a more detailed analysis of the meal price increase, but shouldn't the school board--as the last line of fiscal defense---done so?

The Numbers-on Closer Inspection
Shouldn't SOMEONE be concerned that across the board the proposed price increases only represent 4-6% increases (except for milk at 17%)? If the projection is that food prices will rise 15-20%, how will these price increases cover the additional food costs?

If we have already spent $1,779,510 and only taken in revenues of $1,702,373, isn't this fund already running at a deficit of over $75,000?

If the overall budget is only projecting 65 additional students in the entire district, and we're only raising meal prices by 4-6%, how on earth are we projecting revenues from student meals to increase by 18.2%??? Are we going to force students to purchase meals? Advertise? Perhaps send subliminal messages to eat more over the loudspeaker system?

Food costs represent about 50% of the Fund 50 expenses....and they are projected to rise 15 - 20%.

Does anyone else think that it would be nice to see actual versus projected sales breakdown of individual meals and milk to really evaluate the proposed increases?

Do a little math and you'll have as many questions about what financial data were used to come up with the proposed increases as Mr. Fetterly has.

The bottom line
It's quite possible that Administration has such a good handle on the food service budget that they don't need to spend time doing a more detailed analysis. And perhaps there's an element of trust involved. But...the school board MUST operate under philosophy of "Trust..but verify".

Mr. McCourt: THAT is what Mr. Fetterly is trying to impress upon you. And until you and the school board stop simply ignoring his messages --no matter how they are presented--things will not change. You profess to always taking the higher road on issues. Well, the higher road would be to incorporate Mr. Fetterly's concerns...because he presents valid points.

The numbers certainly make it difficult to understand why we are not raising prices higher than proposed.

Al Slane selected to succeed Jim Carrel

While the Packers continue to deal with the aftermath of Brett Favre's decision to un-retire, a successor has been named to the Sun Prairie School Board; there will be no "un"-resigning here. Come August 1, Carrel moves on and someone else moves in. In the end, Carrel's knowledge of heating and cooling engineering will be replaced by...well...an engineer. In a 4-3 board vote, Al Slane decisioned Patrick Anderson for the vacant seat.

SP-EYE's crystal ball initially indicated that Patrick Anderson would be selected. For those trivia buffs, the Baltimore Ravens drafted WR Patrick Johnson in the 2nd round in 1998. The Atlanta Falcons' Jamal Anderson got his 15 minutes of fame for choreographing the "Dirty Bird" touchdown celebration. Upon receipt of the candidate application information, Kevin Viney's submittal temporarily caused the needle to jump on the Board Shenanigans (BS) meter. Following Sunday's vote, however, it became evident that the stage 5 BS alert was either a false alarm, or the board was unimpressed with Viney's 3 minutes flat time in answering the main 5 candidate questions. As the curmudgeonly Dr House would say: Engineer Guy was selected over Banker Guy, Real Estate Guy, and Educator Guy. Actually put someone with an education background on the board? Naaaaaahhhhhhhhh.


Candidates were each asked 5 main interview questions, followed by optional follow-up questions posed by board members. Board members came up with 5 follow-up questions which were generally asked of each candidate.

School Board vacancy: Is Kevin Viney this year's Tim Boylen?

The candidates have been determined and interviews are set for THIS SUNDAY July 13, beginning at 1:00 pm at the District Office (501 S. Bird St). These interviews are open to the public, and the board WILL vote someone in by ballot at the conclusion of the interviews.

Last year, when a post-election vacancy emerged, despite several candidates with direct Sun Prairie school board involvement, the board opted to choose the pro-administration outsider with experience as a school district business manager: Tim Boylen. A quick review of the candidates for the vacancy created via Jim Carrel's resignation June 23 suggests that if history repeats itself, Kevin Viney becomes the likely successor to Carrel. Note that the public has NO INPUT on the selection process; the board simply selects the candidate of their choice. Four votes wins someone a seat at least until next April.

Note also that, as with last year, the board requires candidates provide a list of three critical issues facing the district along with suggestions to resolve them. But there is no "check" to ensure that candidates have actually fulfilled this "requirement"; nor is there any follow-through on the information provide. So...what's the point...just to make busywork? As with any other application process, should this not serve as a "screening" procedure?

The candidates
Kevin Viney - The Banker/Town Chairman (Burke)
Al Slane - The Engineer
Patrick Anderson - The Real Estate Manager/Developer
Dr. James Murray - The Educator

Candidates' School Board Experience
Kevin Viney - Served as a member of the High School Planning Committee representing townships. Has not attended school board meetings since the High School Planning Team was dissolved.

Al Slane - Ran unsuccessfully for the school board this past April; has applied for a citizen representative seat on the Finance and FTT committees. Has regularly attended school board meetings and some committee meetings since this past winter.

Patrick Anderson - Has applied for a citizen representative seat on the FTT committees. Has regularly attended school board meetings since this past winter.

Dr. James Murray - Currently serves as a citizen representative of the school board's Finance committee; has also attended school board meetings.

So...we have 3 candidates with recent involvement in school board activities and one candidate with temporary peripheral involvement. Mr. Viney sure looks like this year's Tim Boylen on paper. One has to wonder, however, whether his involvement on a number of boards as well as being the Chairman for the Town of Burke will impact his ability to participate fully on a school board that requires a great deal of time commitment.

The candidates' issues
As part of the application process, candidates were asked to identify "three critical issues facing the district; and how to address/resolve these problems".

Kevin Viney - Listed the following issues: school overcrowding, busing safety, continued technology enhancements. His letter did not offer any suggestions for solutions. In fact all three were combined into a short 5-sentence paragraph. (Should this disqualify him as a candidate?):

" The three critical issues I can see now [sic]is school overcrowding, busing safety and continued technology enhancements. I think long range planning needs to be addressed to make sure the schools are adequately balanced with students of all backgrounds. I know that bus transportation is an issue with fighting, inappropriate behaviors and aggressiveness. I feel the buses need to be monitored and students controlled. We need to continue to excel in our training and education of technology in our schools to prepare our students for higher education."

SP-EYE: Ummm...some of our students may not choose to pursue higher education...but we still need to prepare those students for life beyond high school.

---

Al Slane - Mr. Slane identified these 3 challenges: boundary issues, grade promotion standards, the need for a pool.

Boundary issues: "...the current approach the board is taking in forming a longer term task force is a step in the right direction."
Grade promotion standards: I think the current grade promotion standards need to be updated. The current standards reduce the schools to being a baby-sitting facility for low-performing students. ...we can certainly do better than just checking for math and reading proficiency."
Pool: "...I am in favor of getting a pool at the high school."

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Patrick Anderson - Mr. Anderson identified these 3 challenges: SPHS on DPI list for failure to make adequate yearly progress in reading, balance student needs in designing curriculum for new grades 6-7 and grades 8-9 schools, and reduce utility costs.

High School Reading achievement: "...One of the stated priorities of the Board is to improve reading achievement. The Board should review results, revisit the action plan making appropriate adjustments, and monitor the progress quarterly through the 2008-09 academic year...."
Grade 6-7 and 8-9 schools: " How can we maintain academic achievement and offer diversity of class selections that can advance those that are struggling and also advance those that are gifted and talented? The balance is to block for the differences in Math, English, Social Studies and Science and allow flexibility in schedules for the extra classes that round out the academic day...."
Reduce utility costs in all schools: "The 2008-09 budget shall be over $1.4 million...The high school is close to being LEED certified, can we get there?...I also believe the use of photovoltaic solar on the massive roofs of the schools can generate the power necessary to meet the needs of most of the buildings as long as the payback to the taxpayer is short."

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Dr. James Murray - Dr. Murray identified these 3 challenges: Improve community relations, Revitalizing writing skills, and Control discipline/Maintain a wholesome learning environment.

Improve Community Relations: A perception of exclusion is a condition that often spawns suspicion and resentment. To that end, residents should be invited to participate in monthly 'town hall' meetings during which time their concerns would be received by a panel consisting of an administrator, teacher, school board member, student, and a citizen representative."
Revitalizing Writing Skills: " While reading and math are being emphasized, knowledge of sentence structure, paragraph construction, parts of speech, punctuation, and spelling seems to have only incidental recognition. ...many individuals are unable to compose a text that is unambiguous, coherent, grammatically accurate, and correctly punctuated."
Control Discipline/Maintain wholesome learning environment: "Strict standards need to be established and communicated to all students and their families. Repeated violations, carefully documented may necessitate referrals to professional intervention sources. If they persist, a 'no-further-tolerance' policy needs to be articulated and a dismissal for significant periods instituted. To do otherwise is to reinforce and perpetuate deviant behavior and to undermine the opportunities our schools should provide...."

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There you have it folks....which candidate do YOU think is a best fit for the school board?

Filling a Board Vacancy - How it Really Works

This is our second consecutive year of needing to replace a board member between elections. In our last episode, last July the board completely ignored the candidate who received the 3rd highest vote total (only 32 less than Jim Carrel) as well as 4 other long-time community members. Ignoring the voice of the community, the board opted to select Tim Boylen, who didn't even run for election last year--after a 5 minute interview [not counting disconnections due to loss of signal] via cell phone from his northwoods vacation.

Ultimately, the board got what THEY (not the community) wanted---someone who has served as a business manager for another school district. That would give them another vote to blindly rubber stamp whatever district administration puts forth. Forget the fact that Boylen had only lived in the community about 2 years.

Fast forward to present day. We have another board opening. Wanna know the inside scoop on how it will be filled? Let's start with the appearances put on for the public. Any community member can apply for the position. Applications (see link below) are due this Tuesday July 9. Interviews will then be held on July 13. That's right, folks, that is indeed a Sunday....and around dinner time...when the public is not around. Oh, the interviews are open to the public, but they won't be televised. We wouldn't want the public to see for themselves how the selection process really works....would we? After the interviews, the board will cast secret ballots. All it takes is 4 school board members to vote for a candidate and that individual will fill the seat until next April.

So...that's the Hollywood storefront set erected for appearances sake. Want a dose of reality? Here's what's happening behind the scenes. Board members have spoken with various community members and encouraged them to vie for the vacancy. There are even meetings between potential candidates and board members. In some cases, there have even been whisperings that verbal commitment of a board member's vote have been offered.

Want a clue as to who will be selected to fill the school board vacancy? Our crystal ball shows a very clear image.

1. Think of a wide receiver from Oregon drafted in the 2nd round by NFL's Baltimore Ravens.
2. Think of the NFL running back whose claim to fame was a touchdown celebration involving flapping arms.

Sadly, the quest for transparency of government is always hindered by backroom dealings. The school board wonders why the community does not trust them. What we need of our school board (and other elected officials) is a board that does not congregate after meetings for adult beverages and "small talk" and keeps district administration members at arms length. Certainly board members can have an amicable working relationship with district administration, but many of our board members are uncomfortably close to them. Unfortunately the public is never going to find out about cell phone discussions between board members between meetings. To assume these types of things are not happening is to be naive.

How to apply for the school board vacancy created by Jim Carrel's resignation

No Committee Members = No Meeting

What if the school board held a committee meeting...but nobody came? By nobody, we don't mean no one in the community, we mean, no one on the committee...well except for the chair.

Our very own Concerned Citizen reports that

" I attended the HR committee meeting [June 30] at the District Office ...unfortunately of the 5 members on the committee only the Chair ( Caren Diedrich) showed up. No quorum--no meeting --goodnight all!!"

Sure, it's summertime, but that doesn't excuse responsibility...certainly of elected board members. It's not like this wasn't an important agenda. The following topics were on tap for action or approval:

• the [basketball] co-head coach job description fiasco
• a side letter of agreement to the SPEA [teachers] contract
• a change in administrator contract days

Ahhh...but the board would likely say that we are focusing on the negative instead of embracing the positives. Tell ya what. We'll embrace the positives when the board stops sweeping the negatives under the carpet.

Community Engagement Task Force members, take a memo. Here's a free tip...and it's a simple concept. If you really want to engage the community, you might want to actually show up at committee meetings.

Sun Prairie High Makes "The List"

...unfortunately it's not a list we WANT to be on.

It's one of the lists required as part of the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) . Whether you agree with NCLB or disagree...it is part of the rules by which schools must play.

This is certainly not a red alert...but it's definitely time to sound some sort of alarm and take some sort of corrective action. Where SPHS "failed" was in the category of "Adequate Yearly Progress", or AYP. The subject area affected was Reading. Recent media reports have indicated that SPHS's first appearance on the list is a result of the reading scores of special education students.

District Administrator Tim Culver is quoted as follows regarding this announcement:

"By no means do I think this is a failing school..."

"It's sad to put the 'F' word on a school when there's a lot more to it than the one test score."

"This is an issue we have to face up to and own."

Culver noted that the high school's overall scores were well above the state's minimum standard and honors are flowing in for the school's jazz bands, academic decathlon team and cheerleading squads.

SP-EYE: Does anyone ever get tired of the re-direction that comes with spin doctoring bad news? Does anyone ever wonder how our students are ever going to face adversity when they see leaders continually focusing away from a problem and highlighting only the good things?

What Culver really said was, "never mind the bad scores...we're working on that. Instead , focus on the successes of the music program, the academic decathlon students, and the cheer team." That philosophy flies in the face of the school board and district's own vision statement which states,

Our Vision: Working together to provide the best education for every student by building a community of learners.

Our #1 priority goal is to "improve reading achievement". Since SPHS has never been on "the list" before, that mean we're not improving....we're falling behind the pace. To simply remark that the failure is due to our special education students is not only insulting, it's borderline discriminatory. Let's not place blame at all. Instead why don't we buck up and make some changes to effect the necessary improvements. All of these kids are OUR kids, and singling out one group or another as the reason for not achieving goals is not unlike blaming and humiliating the child who strikes out at the plate in the 9th inning with the two outs , the bases loaded, and a one-run deficit.

There is no intent here of taking away from any of the students or programs that did meet with success during the year. But we also can't negate a real problem just because we have successes elsewhere.

Finally, we can't just thumb our noses at the NCLB requirements; because they ARE requirements. Certainly, these issues need to be revisited at the national level, but the rules are what they are. Do we want our kids to ignore rules just because they don't like or agree with them? How is THAT attitude affecting student achievement?

Read the Wisconsin State Journal article

Check out the list from the DPI website.
Select 2007-08 for school year and then "Only Districts and Schools that Missed AYP "

Read the news article online

Graduation's Degradation?

Having attended graduation in the last few years as well as watching live on cable on several occasions, it should come as no surprise that our graduating seniors are busting at the seams to get on with their post-high school lives. Has this youthful exuberance finally exacted a painful toll on the celebration of the event by parents and grandparents who guided their kids through this long journey? Have the graduation ceremony hi jinx crossed the line?

One of the community parent groups collected informal comments from those that attended Graduation 2008. A sampling of the comments (uncensored) received appear below. This is a rather lengthy list. Is it enough for the school board to consider it as more than just one or two perennial "wreckers"?

Our understanding is that these comments were being packaged for presentation to district administration with a request to take some measure of action. Being somewhat skeptical that this information would ever see the light of day, SP-EYE brings it to you. Is it time for the school board and administration to do more than get dressed up and paste a smile on their faces as they go through the rote ritual of graduation? Some school board members spoke loudly about the "lack of decorum" at its own meetings...but apparently they don't care about a similar lack of decorum at what is supposed to be a professional ceremony.

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• [Student]...– no control so I figured I may as well “join them” –
  
• [Student]...– really felt sorry for the kid a row ahead of me – he got his cap knocked off at least five times and was really frustrated
• [Student]...– was not worth attending – got nothing out of it – should have kept my work hours and got something out of the 2 hours.
• [Student]...– Really sucks that some kids could not hear their name announced.
• [Student]...– who cares, it is fun and nobody cares about the speeches. Not like we had weapons
• [Unknown]...–It was out of control. Teachers looked ridiculous trying to maintain control – but give them credit, as at least somebody appeared to care as our board obviously does not care – behavior gets worse every year and no changes are made
• [Watched on TV]...–I was not able to be in attendance but did watch on cable channel. I’m glad I did not waste my time. This is a disgrace to our community
• [Grandparent]...–As a grandparent in attendance; I was shocked by the lack of control the school has over these kids. Is there no discipline anymore?
• [Unknown]...–Time to clean house from school board, superintendent, SPHS administration – they do not care about the quality of student – no principals or assistant principals in line to shake hands of graduates – of course I guess I would distance myself if I was responsible for this calamity
• [Unknown]...–Enough is enough – time for new principals and assistant principals and some teachers are to blame too. I’ve heard teachers allow disruptions in classroom, but choose to ignore and just try to talk/teach over the noise. I didn’t really believe that until Friday night.
• [Unknown]...–And to think that our school leaders want TWO high schools! Can’t control what they have now –
• [Parent of pre-high schoolers]...–I have 2 kids in Sacred Hearts – After what I witnessed I’ll be sending them to Edgewood High School.
• [Unknown]...–I would say that the conduct was about the same, but that the sound system was better indoors so you could hear over the noise a bit better. I think Dr. Culver had some good things to say, but kids didn't hear any of it which was too bad. I felt bad for the kids that were going across the stage when the beach balls were taken out of circulation and then the students booed. Unfortunately, I think the kids remember graduation for the beach balls and not the speeches. I'm not sure how decorum can be restored without doing searches for blow-up toys before the procession. Or, it can be acknowledged that there will be beach balls, but appeal to the graduates to hold them 'til the end. I have my doubts that would work.
• [Unknown]...–The ball/blown up condom/beach toys was going to far. We saw people starting to point at the number of beach balls in the air while graduates were walking across the stage. I think it was disturbing to some of the students that weren't interested in the game and most disrespect to the staffs.
• [Parent of a graduating senior]...–My first child graduated Friday, and I attended last year's ceremony when my niece graduated. I was appalled at the behavior of the students. Beach balls are one thing, but making all of that noise when people are speaking and announcing graduates is very rude and disrespectful and should NOT be tolerated in my opinion. Teachers are trying to take away the balls, they are booed by the students and the audience, which causes even more of a ruckus.
• [Parent of a graduating senior]...–My 2 sets of parents, my in-laws and aunt and uncle-in-law were all there, appalled, and I was embarrassed! It is pretty sad when you are there to see your child graduate and some parents couldn't even here their student called, or people were booing over the balls when a student was called.
• [Parent of a graduating senior]...–My dad said that the administration ought to stop the ceremony and not begin again until students are under control. If it takes too long, he believes the ceremony should be cancelled. My husband thinks that there ought to be a committee, made up of graduating seniors, that works with the administration to come up with a solution. Speaking of the administration, what is with Paul Keats? It is obvious he is not passionate about the students of SPHS and I find it horrible that he did not shake the hands of all of the students graduating. Isn't that what a principal does? Wouldn't one that cared about the kids want to be up there congratulating them? His speech was very short, which I don't blame him too much for as he was booed and horns were blowing during his speech last year and they were starting this year. Even still, what message is that sending?
• [Unknown]...–I say good for Dr. Culver for attempting a speech, even one that the students that wanted to hear couldn't due to the beach ball scene. I also say good for him for standing there and shaking hands with and speaking to the students.
• [Parent]...–As a parent of a graduating senior: Graduation is an emotional event for any parent. My thoughts on the graduation are a little mixed. I know that kids will be kids. And since I graduated over 30 years ago, kids have been doing the beach ball thing at graduation. It is kind of a tradition they don't want to miss out on. At times I felt that the audience was more disrespectful than the kids. Maybe if the teachers that are guarding the sides would just ignore the ball and not try to interfere with them, there would be less booing, etc. It just makes the kids want to get it back even more. I do feel sorry for the parents who could not hear their child's name called.
• [Unknown]...–Thanks to those that made it possible for having this event outdoors. The work done to prepare a wet field.
• [Unknown]...–My tax dollars paid for this event. Waste of money. My dollars pay the salary of SPASD employees. Waste of money. Time for people to be fired and people with higher standards to be hired that run a school. Time for school board to hold some feet to the fire. Perform and strive for excellence or don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
• [Unknown]...–Graduation ceremony no different than what happens in classrooms. This was normal everyday activity for disruptive students. Teachers allow horseplay – children learn what they live!
• [Unknown]...–Nothing short of total embarrassment! Apology is in order. Changes need made in administration.
• [Unknown]...– I’m sorry.....but one of us is delusional and I don’t think it is me! I was at Ashley field on the 13th of June. I guarantee you what was taking place was not a graduation ceremony! I was there and after my son walked across the stage I left.
• [Unknown]...–School officials should be ashamed of themselves. We must have attended different events – I was obviously at a seminar for “Clownin’ Around” I cannot remember the last time I was so embarrassed.


• [Parent of a graduating senior]...–Both sets of grandparents traveled distances to attend my daughter’s graduation. It was humiliating. They said of all the grandkids' gradations over the last few years in the Midwest this was the worst they’ve ever witnessed. I was embarrassed for the administration. They had to have their tail between their legs as the disrespectful display, yelling, running, booing - - - these are the kids our education system has produced.
• [Unknown]...–No wonder principals were not in line to acknowledge graduates. I’d distance myself as far as I could too if this happened under my watch. As tax payers we pay their salary! Time to fire staff and get people in who can do the job from board leadership– to superintendent – to principals and probably ½ of the teachers. Time we stand up for our kids because the school leaders don’t give a sh**.
• [Unknown]...– The schools have been yapping about “connectedness” yet they only talk about it and put in writing. They are not putting it into action. There was no evidence of any “connect” between graduates and administration. Not one principal or assistant principal stood in the line to congratulate the students. That is pathetic!
• [Parent of a high school student]...–My son has told me for two years the security guards are a joke and the assistant principals are the laughing stock of the school. He’s told me how the principals are in the lunch room, but they sit in their own little group just like the students do. No interaction except for buddying up with the bullies and trouble makers. Time to wake up! You are not paid to be our kids “buddies” they have plenty of buddies. You are an authoritative figure who should lead. Maybe if you’d get out of your personal lunch click you’d wise up to the fact that 1-2 distract you as the others are “up to no good”. If you provided leadership these kids would not be walking all over you and their peers.


• [Unknown]...–Where was Keats? How sad when the principal of the school does not even acknowledge each individual graduate. Kudos’ to Dr. Culver for taking the time. Thank you to the few teachers who made an effort to control the unruly situation. It is unfortunate that the school board members and administration could not make any kind of asserted effort or give you any support.
• [Unknown]...–The grounds staff did a wonderful job of preparing the field so we could hold outside. Last year it was inside, which provided a better sound system, but to be outside for graduation is so much nicer.
• [Unknown]...– Our kids got screwed by administration – please encourage parents of next years seniors and other underclassmen parents to apply pressure on SPASD administration so the disrespect our kids experience is not experienced by them.
• [Unknown]...–Blown up condom – how much more repulsive can we get. Ceremony should have stopped. Instead the board members and administration sat there like bumps on a log with glued on smiles like nothing was happening. Stop ignoring the issues and do your jobs. Your lack of ethics is an embarrassment.

School board....these are the voices (and a lot of them) of this community....and not just seniors that complain about taxes and don't vote. These are parents of children attending YOUR--OUR school district. You might want to listen. You might want to include this as an agenda item on an upcoming board meeting. How about in September, when everyone is back from vacation and re-engaged in the schools?

1 and Done; Carrel Steps Down from School Board

For the second year in a row, the Sun Prairie School Board will have to pull out its playbook for replacing a school board member outside of the election process.

With little fanfare--other than an 11th hour, subtly changed meeting agenda item to "discuss Procedure BBE-R, Guidelines for Filling Board Vacancies"--- Jim Carrel announced at last night's meeting that his recent change in employers will require him to relocate out of state. Consequently Mr. Carrel will be stepping down effective August 1, 2008.

That means that in addition to filling committee vacancies, the board will have to accept applications, interview, and select someone to finish the rest of Mr. Carrels' year in office. Next April, there will be elections for John Whalen's seat (3-yr), Terry Shimek's seat (1-yr), and Jim Carrel's seat (1-yr).

Last year proved interesting when the board selected Tim Boylen to keep Jim Gibbs' seat warm, offering not a single board member vote for Rick Mealy....despite coming in less than 35 votes behind Jim Carrel and a very close 3rd to John Whalen in 2006. Hmmm....fill the board seat with someone that the public clearly showed significant interest in? Nahhhh. The board members don't like Mealy or his views. Damn what the public wants...its all about what the board wants.

Even more interesting was that Boylen's interview lasted about 5 minutes via cell phone from his vacation in lake country up north. Perhaps Boylen's appeal was that he served in a Phil Frei role in another school district. Our board likes its members to be in tight with district administration.

If last year's actions suggest that the board gives no credence to how someone fared in a recent election, then I guess that means its unlikely the board would select Mary Ellen Havel-Lang (who came in 4th this past April) should she choose to vie for Carrel's seat....or Al Slane who also garnered quite a few votes this past April...and who continues to stay engaged with the school board. Maybe the board can call back Tim Boylen for an encore performance!!! There ya go...Tim Boylen, the "Replacement School Board Member".

SP-EYE wishes Mr. Carrel the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Buried on page 8

We've been meaning to mention this one for a bit....because it DOES merit mention. Sun Prairie tries very hard to reward staff and students for performance. Sadly, rewards are usually based on food...such as pizza or subs. Not only do those kind of rewards not sit well with a general district wellness policy, but they don't (ahem) stay with us very long.... period. If you get my drift. So not only does the offer of a pizza party for good performance in the classroom fly in the face of healthy eating, but it's hard to get all jacked up for.... pizza or subs.

Certainly some of the incidents in Sun Prairie during the past year have added some pockmarks to the complexion of our schools and our community: trouble on the "Monkey Bus"; 400% increase in expulsions; presence of a meth lab, shootings in the city.

So, cultivating character is a "to do" list item that has to be shuffled to the top of the deck. Recently, Westside elementary schools recognized two students from each of grades 3 through 5 for demonstrating good character. Historically, this event would have drawn even odds of culminating in a pizza or sub party for the honored students. Thankfully, we have a teacher who thought outside the box, drawing on her personal six degrees of separation (or one degree in this case) to offer a really innovating and long-lasting reward for the students.

Music teacher Letrice Stanley reached out to her brother, St. Louis Rams receiver Derek Stanley, who provided authentic NFL footballs autographed by members of the St. Louis Rams!

Anyone who follows local sports or the NFL will recognize Derek Stanley as a standout athlete for Verona High, who went on to star at UW-Whitewater and was the first UW-Whitewater player ever drafted (7th round) in the NFL last year. Last December, Stanley saw the field as a kick returner and showed some of the speed and vision he translated to success at the high school and college level.

A hearty thank you to Ms. Stanley for providing these kids with a tangible reward that not only adequately punctuates their classroom performance in building character, but provides something that can awe and inspire them further. Coming from tiny UW-Whitewater, many wouldn't have give Stanley (or anyone) any hope of a shot at the NFL. But here is Derek living his dream and serving as a role model to others for both his determination, and his willingness to help give back to the community. Each football contains the autographs of quite a few NFL stars. Certainly that's something that will stick with these kids a whole lot longer than a meal of pizza.

We don't know what the criteria are to earn a "Piece Keeping" award from Dr. Culver, but in our book, Ms. Stanley and her colleagues at Westside certainly deserve one. Maybe it went unnoticed because the story was buried within a photo caption on page 8 of the June 5th edition of the STAR.

Proficient in Reading & Math? Then you get promoted!!!

Are you sitting down? At the school board meeting this past Monday, June 9, the board actually discussed education. You heard it right. The major topic wasn't boundary wars or buildings, but promotion requirements.

The plan that was submitted to the board for approval calls for grade promotions for grades 3 to 8 to be based on proficiency (as determined by WKCE test scores) in Reading and Math. Yep. That's it. You can flunk everything else...as long as you score at least "proficient" in Reading and Math, you move to the next grade level.

As is typically the case, 99 times out of 100, anything submitted by committee for board approval usually gets rubber-stamped at the board level. Things were looking like that in this case. Thankfully, Jim Carrel donned a pair of BBPs and spoke his mind. We've grown so accustomed to board members simply responding "This is so wonderful..." or "I'm so excited by...", that when Carrel essentially said, "I don't think it's enough", everyone in the room was stunned.

SP-EYE has been hard on Mr. Carrel...deservedly so in most cases....but we also give credit where credit is due, and Carrel deserves applause for his comments here.

Too many school board members simply rubber stamp whatever is presented for approval---even if they actually disagree!!! We've now heard several school board members even privately agree that perhaps locating the Creekside elementary in Smith's Crossing was not the right move. There are other instances in which unanimous board decisions are questioned privately by one or more board members after the vote is in. Publicly, however, they won't admit that. Sadly it goes with the territory when we're dealing with politics. SP-EYE recalls one current City Council member privately (off the record) supporting a single new high school, but then saying that they could never publicly state a position because of repercussions within their constituency.

When it comes to educating our children however, politics have no place. Yes, holding back any student from promotion to the next grade level is a serious decision. But passing on a student to more challenging material who hasn't mastered the existing material has consequences as well. We in Sun Prairie talk a good game about the quality of our school system and the education we provide. Sure...it's good. But is it great? As Simon Cowell would say, "If I'm being honest...", then things are as great as we think they are or as great as we'd like them to be.

For a high school population second only to Madison high schools, do we see kids earning National Merit scholarships? State Academic recognition? Are our kids adequately prepared for life beyond high school. Certainly, for some, we can answer "Yes". But do we have the percentage of high-achieving kids one would expect from a high school of this size? Be honest. The answer is, "No". Toss in the question of grade inflation, and we should really start thinking.

Carrel made a very bold move Monday night...frankly a move that was long overdue from someone at the board table. Yes, it's difficult to hold any child back a grade, but is it really a feather in our cap to promote a child who is not ready? Which is the greater disservice to the child? While highly unlikely, a child in 8th grade could receive failing grades in all subjects, but as long as they scored at least proficient in Reading and Math on the WKCE test, this policy would allow them to promote to (gulp) 9th grade...high school.

The argument can be made that as long as you earn a "D" (i.e., not an "F") in all subjects, technically you "pass". Therefore isn't that enough for promotion to the next grade? Let's answer that with a different question, "Would you choose a doctor that has his/her M.D. but was the last in his/her class?" If you have ever done any hiring, have you ever considered absolute grades of candidates when making the selection? Passed over someone with passing (but not stellar) grades for someone with higher grades?

We agree with the board's decision to table this issue and think it through. Hopefully, now that the building issues are solved for a bit, we can take the time to get this one right. Maybe that means approving the policy as presented. But maybe it doesn't.

Conflict of Interest breach in the Boundary Decision Vote?

On May 12th, The school board voted 4-3 to RE-AFFIRM its initial (March 11th) vote regarding boundary changes. As noted earlier, this vote was made despite documentation of over 500 community residents who voiced their opposition to the board's vote. Board members John Whalen, Jim McCourt, Terry Shimek, and Caren Diedrich voted against reconsidering boundary changes.

At this past Monday's school board meeting, board member Caren Diedrich indicated publicly that her grandchildren attend Bird elementary school. Now that this information is in the public arena, Ms. Diedrich's comments [regarding her vote on the Boundary decision], that, "Bird is over crowded, I need to get some children out of Bird." are far more troubling.

Many would say that this Ms. Diedrich holds a distinct personal interest in Bird school, and therefore she should have abstained from the Boundary decision vote. If Ms. Diedrich had abstained, the vote would have been tied at 3-3-1, opening the door for further discussion on the issue--and another vote. Perhaps one of the other 3 may have "seen the light" . There is no "I" in "school board" (of course there ain't no "we" either!). Ms. Diedrich was not speaking for her constituents--or even the school board; she was speaking for herself. Hear for yourself; play the video clip below.

WKCE test results - spin not included.

Reader note: If you prefer your school information to be served sunny side up, you should probably not read any further. We subscribe to reality here. We're happy to point out sunshine and roses along the way, but we also believe you deserve the complete picture. We don't crop the not-so-good news out of the camera shot.

District administrator Tim Culver has issued a press release on the subject of the annual test scores (WKCE = Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam). He specifically identifies 4 areas of success and 3 areas of concern. Dr. Culver's job understandably is to point out any shimmer in such data to focus on the positives. As residents and parents, however, most of us want the straight scoop....an unbiased view of how are kids are doing relative to state standards as well as to area schools.

Some use the "not-so-positives" to point fingers at the teachers. We have to be realistic and understand that teachers teach to a curriculum. While certainly some teachers are better than others at enhancing the learning process, they all sing from the same song sheet, so to speak. Therefore, a better focus for areas of concern is the curriculum content itself. Additionally, some like to "spin" lower scores by pointing out the disparity in ethnic or socioeconomic demographics of one school district or another--or even v=between schools within a district. Again, we need to "keep it real". ALL of Sun Prairie's students are OUR collective students. The job of the school district administration is to find ways to enable all children to learn and grow equally.

With that as a preface, let's take a look at the scores. The state DPI focuses more heavily on scores of 4th, 8th, and 10th grade students. In the figures below, percentage scores represent the percent of students district-wide that scored as "proficient" or "advanced" on the WKCE tests. The District goal is for 90% of all students to score "proficient" or "advanced" in both reading and math. Decide for yourselves...how are our kids REALLY doing?

High School - 10th grade
As the table shows, when all 5 subject areas are considered, relative to the other 15 local school districts, Sun Prairie ranked 8th out of 16 (subjects ranged from 4th to 11th). Last year we ranked 6th. Last year 4 of the 5 subject areas had scores 12-13 %age point above the statewide average. This year only 1 subject ranked as high as 10%age points above the statewide average. The great news is that that subject was Language Arts (grammar/writing skills). The even better news is that, relative to the other 15 schools, our 10th grade Language Arts score ranked 4th of 16. Language Arts skills have been identified as a weakness by both state colleges and employers. The math score fell below 80% this year. Last year, all 5 subject areas scored above 80%. Considering only Reading and Math, 10th graders ranked 14 out of the 16 area districts. Considering the big "3" (which adds Language Arts), our 10th graders ranked 8 of 16.

Middle School - 8th grade
As the table shows, when all 5 subject areas are considered, relative to the other 15 local school districts, Sun Prairie ranked 11th (subjects ranged from 9th to 12th). Last year we also ranked 11th. Both this year and last year all 5 subjects ranked 4 to 8 %age points above the statewide average. Even though the Language Arts score ranked only 9th, last year we ranked 13th. This year 8th graders increased their Language Arts percentage by 2 points over last year. This is of note in light of the fact that half of the area school districts' Language Arts scores dropped by 4 or more percentage points.

Considering only Reading and Math, 8th graders ranked 9th out of the 16 area districts. Considering the big "3" (which adds Language Arts), our 8th graders ranked 11 of 16. Of interesting note is that of the 16 area districts, only Middleton-Cross Plains scored at least 80% (80%) proficient or advanced in Language Arts.


Elementary School - 4th grade
As the table shows, when all 5 subject areas are considered, relative to the other 15 local school districts, Sun Prairie ranked 9th (subjects ranged from 3rd to 10th). Last year we ranked 12th. Both this year and last year all 5 subjects ranked 4 to 9%age points above the statewide average.

Even though the Language Arts score ranked only 9th, last year we ranked 13th. This year 8th graders increased their Language Arts percentage by 2 points over last year. This is of note in light of the fact that half of the area school districts' Language Arts scores dropped by 4 or more percentage points.

Considering only Reading and Math, 8th graders ranked 10th out of the 16 area districts. Considering the big "3" (which adds Language Arts), our 8th graders ranked 10 of 16. Of interesting note is that of the 16 area districts, only Madison scored LESS THAN 90% proficient or advanced in Social Studies. Only Waunakee scored at least 90% proficient or advanced in all 5 subject areas. Cambridge was close with subject scores ranging from 89% to 100% proficient or advanced.

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For more information:

Read the 5-30-08 Wisconsin State Journal article comparing WKCE scores of area schools

Read District Administrator Tim Culver's Press Release appearing in the STAR

Read the 99 page Sun Prairie school district 2007 Monitoring Report

Engaging the Community = Chastising Citizens who DO Care?

While the school board continues its quest on how to better engage the community, one has to wonder: by "engage" is the board intending the meaning "enter into conflict with" its citizens? Because the few times citizens have the courage to speak up about what they see, they seem to get lambasted.

OK, perhaps the few that do consistently speak up don't always sugar coat their message. But is that a reason to verbally slap them upside the head --or worse--ignore them? But perhaps the reason for these citizens' approach is their frustration at TRYING to speak to the board only to be perennially rebuffed. Has the board president ever considered talking one-on-one with the "troublesome" citizens? Is the board capable of listening and just once not simply voting against whatever these citizens speak about simply because they don't like the messenger? Once again, is THIS the role model these board members wish to be for our children?

At Monday's school board meeting, Roger Fetterly spoke out about what he (and many others who agree but don't wish to waste their time speaking to an unyielding board) believes to be overly generous contracts for administrators. Fetterly said,

"These contracts are overly generous. The people that are really doing some work in our society, putting their life on the line, are getting 3.5% increases and they get shot at every day. In every case, I don't think you're being realistic."

Board President David Stackhouse's ivory tower response to Fetterly:

"Why is it that you have to wait until the very end to say 'gotcha'? If you care about this district the way you say you do, you would have come to us earlier and shared your experience for the betterment of the district."

WHOA, Mr. Stackhouse. Your facts are grossly in error. SP-EYE has witnessed Mr. Fetterly stating similar concerns on this issue at numerous full school board meetings and finance committee meetings. He also attends many administrator compensation meetings...but the board NEVER asks his or anyone else's opinion at these sessions.

Furthermore...what is the purpose of the "public input" and "citizen presentation" segments at board meetings if not to speak to the board???

To be perfectly clear and accurate, input is taken committee meetings, but this board disregards those that believe differently. SP-EYE has attended these compensation negotiation sessions on occasion as well. In fact, citizen visitors to these meetings are treated quite coldly, making it clear that while state laws require that their attendance be allowed; they are tolerated, NOT welcomed.

It is unacceptable for you or anyone to use your board seat--to which no public response or rebuttal is allowed-- to mis-state the facts. You KNOW that this issue has been raised previously. You support all raises provided to administration and staff...we get that. Just try to remember that yours is ONE OPINION only, and that you represent the entire district.

Exactly What Do they Direct?

Got a minute or 2?

Go to http://www.spasd.k12.wi.us/web/glking/about and check out the titles of our school board members. These self-appointed titles also appear on their name placards at board meetings.

We elect 7 board MEMBERS. 5 are elected within the board to officer positions:
President: David Stackhouse
Vice-President: John Whalen
Treasurer: Jim McCourt
Clerk: Jim Carrel
Deputy Clerk: Caren Diedrich

Then we have DIRECTORS: Terry Shimek and Caren Diedrich

Directors? What? What exactly do they direct?
Why is the board giving itself titles that don't exist in statute or policy?
Is being simply a "Board Member" not elitist enough? Do we all need to have a fancy title to feel good about ourselves?

Once again...how does THIS affect student achievement?



Food for thought.