You Can't MAKE This Sh*t Up!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jimmy Mac Goes Elvis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Uh oh, Dr. C!

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

Discuss and Review the District Administrator's Performance Evaluation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where in the World is....

Lisa Heipp???!!!

As the Stylistics once melodiously wondered...

Have you seen her...Tell me have you seen her?

Why do we ask, you ask?

Well...because once again, Athletics and Activities Director Jim "Jimmy Mac" McClowry was on the public stage presenting the rest of his woefully inadequate budget proposals, and his supervisor was nowhere to be found.

Given the past history McClowry has for making presentations to the public (and the poor quality thereof), once would have thunk that Ms. Heipp might have a vested interest in attending.  We could offer her the benefit of the doubt...maybe she had more pressing matters which needed attending to....but she missed his last performance as well.

Even the good Dr. Culver apparently woke up (literally!) and realized that the proposal that his senior Management Team approved was sadly lacking in substance and rationale.

The Ballad of Joe Palooka: Can You Smell What the District is Cookin'?

If you're paying attention....something's been happening at the district with respect to athletic, particular field and facility scheduling.


We've heard anecdotal reports from community members that they legitimately sign up to use one of the district fields only to find that someone else has been given authority to use the same field at the same time.

How could that be you ask?  Didn't Athletics (Oh, and Activities) Director Jim McClowry tell us in public about the spanky field scheduling software program he brought on line recently?
How could such a zippy new tech tool fail us and allow double booking of fields?

The answer, of course, is ...it can't.  This therefore suddenly gave us credible evidence of the existence

of the Double Secret Probation Field Scheduling Calendar!  That's right!  We have heard from multiple sources that Mr. McClowry's office has maintained at least one additional calendar for his coaches to use.   Geee....that's nice.  So a member of the public can sign up to reserve a field, get their team members all lined up only to find that someone else had the field reserved!!!!   And then it's left for the two coaches to work things out?  WE DONT FRICKIN' THINK SO!

 Further evidence of the (former) Double Secret Probation Field Reservation Calendar comes from the virtual plethora (there...now we feel like an NFL announcer because we used plethora in a sentence) of magically new field reservations that now appear on the District's facility use calendar.

It sure appears that Joe Powelka has come out fighting.  Joe has finally decided that the nonsense shall stop.  He shall therefore be dubbed "Joe Palooka" in honor of the cartoon character of the same name.  Joe Palooka would always prefer not to fight, but when push comes to shove, he does what is necessary.  It's not perfect; some users still appear to not be being charged due to the hallowed SPLL clause.   And some that are scheduled to be billed, we await to see (A) if that happens, and (B) will they pay.  We also need the coaches who ran athletic camps last year and perhaps the year before to pony up for the field use fees.  But overall...we're making progress.

In the meantime...

Say Dr. Culver...can we address the Conflict of Interest Issue?

Why is Athletics (and Activities) Director McClowry allowed to (continue to) serve on the Board of Directors of Sun Prairie Little League? Shouldn't he represent ALL sports (and activities) equally?

Would any other public sector employee be allowed to serve on a Board with such obvious conflict of interest?

We did notice a slight change however.  Up until mid last week, Mr. McClowry listed his school district e-mail and phone number.  Hmm....doing Little League business while at the district?   No wonder he is requesting a 1/2 FTE Assistant Director position!

Wethinks, however, that Jimmy Mc got a trip to the 'Splainin' Room where the lesson for the day was NOT to list his school district contact info.   Unfortunately, the 'splainin' fell short of where it needed to go: directing Jimmy Mac to resign his position (or serve on ALL the sports boards).  Here's a tip....someone else probably needs to have that same discussion.

How a new SPHS sport is launched

And now you know....the rest of the story

A Closer Look - Athletics/Activities Budget Proposals

Hold onto your hats, kiddies, this is gonna be an E-ticket ride fer sure!

Athletics and Activities Director Jim McClowry has offered four separate proposals.  We'll look at each in a little more depth.  Upon scrutiny, they do not hold up.  The big questions are:

• Why does district administration continue to allow such poor quality information to be presented to the public?  
• Why does the school board allow it?
• Did we learn NOTHING from the hockey fee fiasco?
• Where is HS Principal Lisa Heipp in all this?  As McClowry's direct line supervisor, shouldn't she have reviewed this?
• Is this the best we can do?  
• REALLY?

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES PART A:
 0.5 FTE ASSISTANT ATHLETIC & ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR – HIGH SCHOOL
Cost: $36,194.00

Forgive us, but we're a teensy bit tired hearing about how over-worked Mr. McClowry is. He has said numerous times that it's all about the kids and the connections they make, yet first out of the chute is a proposal to get some help for himself.  With all the technology in this school district, you're telling us that the only solution to scheduling and accessing facilities needs is to add a body?

"It is suggested that this position be in line with current Sun Prairie Area School district positions, such as, the Aquatics Program and Facilities Manager in terms of salary and benefits. At .50 F
TE, the salary would range from $25,625-$31,356. Some administrative responsibilities would include: Evaluating staff, accessing facility and equipment needs, creating and facilitating professional development programs, administering large multi-team events and scheduling JV and 9th grade non-conference athletic events.
[Hmmm...we don't see anything about clubs.  Is it all about athletics?]

In 2006, there was a coaching staff of less than 100. Now, the coaching staff is regularly over 120 members with only 60% being district staff. This makes the orientation, training, education, supervision and evaluation of these coaches even more critical to providing safe and positive experiences for our students.
[We're sorry, but we don't see how a 20% increase in coaching staff OVER 7 YEARS is a ton of additional work.   Nor do we understand why "external" staff require more training, education and supervision.  What...every coach that doesnt teach at Sun Prairie is a moron that requires hand holding?]

Over 1,000 student athletes are processed for compliance over three athletic seasons in a given school year. The increase in transfer students and foreign exchange students wishing to participate in athletics has become more demanding as well.
This number just seems a tad high given the number of kids in the high school.  Plus there's the history of Mr. McClowry not providing the most reliable information.  How many of the "1,000" are multi-sport athletes?  What kind of processing does that require?  One would think that ethics codes are per student...not per sport.  We'd like to see the number of actual UNIQUE, individual student athletes.

 During the 2011-12 school year, 1,320 students participated in a school-based club which represents 67% of students in high school that are participating in a club.athletics has become more demanding as well.
Again, the devil is always in the detail when it comes from Jimmy Mac.  Over 1,320 kids participated in clubs last year.  Is that unique kids?  How many kids participate in multiple clubs?  And the wording suggests that the number REPRESENTS 67% of students in the high school.  Most will read that as 67% of high school kids participate in one or more club.  But that's not really what it says...is it?  Is this more of the district or McClowry being purposefully obtuse?  Why do we care?  Because if 2/3 of the kids in high school are participating in extracurricular activities, that's awesome.  But is that really the case?  Or do they hope that's what we'll believe by reading those words quickly and not asking questions?  Again, we want to know...how many individual unique students participate in one or more clubs?  With all our technology, is that too difficult a question to answer?

2. Please provide data supporting your rationale for this proposal.
" High school:
Conservatively, the district hosts over hundreds of athletic and activity events each school year. Each event has its own unique needs, but all events need proper supervision, emergency response plans and coordination.
It is likely that we will be adding two to four new levels of a spring sport in the near future. That will add another 12-24 home sporting events. These would add to an already very cumbersome and full spring schedule for athletics."
2 to 4 new levels of a spring sport "in the near future"?  He's only proposing girls varsity lacrosse NEXT year and boys varsity lacrosse the year after that.  Those are turn-key operations.  Why on earth does he need help for that?
How about some data?  Jimmy Mac ducked the question about whether schools of similar size have an assistant AD.   That smells like it struck a nerve.

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES PART B:
ADDITIONAL DISTRICTWIDE CLUB ADVISOR STIPEND ADDITIONS
Cost: $27,840.00

The proposal is to increase club stipends in each building across the district. The rate of 2% of Full Time Equivalency (FTE) would be used as a universal amount for all stipends.
[NOTE: This amounts to $580 per year per advisor)

2. Please provide data supporting your rationale for this proposal. 
See attached data.
(there is none!)

3. How will the outcomes of this proposal be evaluated after 12 months? Three years?
Elementary - TBD 
Middle School/Prairie Phoenix Academy (PPA) - TBD
High School - TBD

Really? So....how will it be determined?  Does Jimmy Mac even have a plan?  No plan...no approval!



ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES PART C:
ADDITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL COACHING POSITIONS
Cost: $7,106.00

Proposal: Add two swim coaching assistant positions; one for boys, and one for girls.
Swim Assistant Coaches Stipends: 7% or $2,030 x 2 = $4,060

Proposal: Add two cross-country assistant coaching positions; one for boys, and one for girls.
Cross-Country Assistant Coach Stipends: 5.25% or $1,523 x 2 = $3,046

2. Please provide data supporting your rationale for this proposal.
1. Provides a more appropriate student-to-coach ratio.
2. Provides proper safety and supervision of student-athletes.
3. Provides more diversified skill development and connection with sub-varsity student-athletes.
4. Provides a high quality experience for students in existing programs.

Participation Numbers for last 4 years:
Boys Swim 17, 29, 33, 45
Girls Swim 18, 28, 34, 48
Boys CC 43, 49, 35, 38
Girls CC 29, 33, 32, 38

Look carefully at these numbers!  Boys cross country participation has actually DECLINED, while girls have remained fairly steady with a very slight increase this year.  Swimming, on the other hand, is clearly on the rise.
Here's a case where the data support PART of the proposal:  additional coaches for swimming.

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES PART D:
INTRODUCING VARSITY HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE
Cost: $11,010.00 (Year 1) $11,280.00 (Year 2)

There is a desire in the community for the school district to sponsor boys' and girls' lacrosse teams. This proposal rolls out a plan to do so.
A "desire in the community"? Really?  This makes it sound like a few old guys in lawn chairs sippin' brewskis came up with the wild idea to develop a varsity lacrosse team.   That is worlds apart from  concerted effort by a large and growing club sport to be recognized as a full school-sponsored sport!  Disingenuous doesn't even begin to describe this.

Spring 2013-14: introduce a girls varsity lacrosse team
Spring 2014-15: A boys' varsity lacrosse team would be introduced.

2. Please provide data supporting your rationale for this proposal.
See data attached.
Once again...NO DATA!  This is beyond embarrassing.  It's downright shoddy work.  And Mr. McClowry knows full well that the lacrosse program has been requesting this for months, so there is no excuse for not doing a better job.  In fact, we happen to know (and have seen a copy) that the lacrosse folks put together a very detailed report to support this proposal.  Did McClowry use any of it?   Why not?  Does he have some personal issue with lacrosse?  For someone that speaks frequently about the importance of giving kids opportunities and the value of sports, McClowry doesn't seem all that interested in adding lacrosse. 

A participation fee of $85 for all SPHS lacrosse members would be accessed. All other expenses would be the responsibility of SPASD. The expected cost of running a lacrosse program for boys would be approximately $11,280. The Sun Prairie Lacrosse Club (SPLC) has agreed to donate $10,000 for start up costs and to purchase uniforms.

On Jan. 24 the Secondary Principals level met and ranked this proposal 2 out of the 4 submitted at this level. Projected participation fees $85 x 40 = $3,400