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.

The Little District That Could? Or Not?

We've all heard how school districts across the state are reeling from Gov. Scott Walker's idea of a budget.  We all heard an 8.4% cut to state aid.  Yet the average turned out to be -9.1%, or 8.3% higher than projected.  Worse still, the median (a more accurate figure given the size and spread of the dataset) slashing was 10.13%, a 20% greater reduction than projected.

Then there was Kaukauna, the little school district that could.  On June 30th (actually from a late April presentation), the district released a budget projection that declared to the entire state that Walker's budget was so awesome that they actually would have a surplus!  They vowed to REDUCE class sizes, and hire new teachers.  Wow!  Plan Walker Works!  Right????

It's All-Star time in the world of Major League Baseball...what a fitting time to look at Gov, Walker's batting average.  If one were to count Kaukauna as the singular success among 424 school districts, that would translate into a batting average of 0.002.  Or a solitary base hit in a season's worth of at-bats (424).  That's not even Pee Wee League, folks.

"In the Kaukauna schools, the world is not only not falling apart -- it's getting better."--Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent

And then, on Friday July 1, the DPI general aid estimates were released, and Kaukuna's delusions of grandeur appear to have been squashed like the other 423 school districts.

• $1,905,609 is the projected loss in the state revenue limit formula
funding from the proposed state budget ($527 per pupil decrease)  

---Kaukauna budget presentation 

Suddenly 2,757,698 is the ACTUAL estimated reduction in general aid based on DPI's July 1st data

Which means an additional $852,089 reduction.
Ruh, Roh, Shaggy!
Maybe the cheap tinting has started to flake off of those rose-colored glasses of yours.
It would seem that the boasted $1.5M in surplus was quickly reduced to $650K.

One also has to consider how Kaukauna arrived at it's wonderful position.  After all, they were using the identical set of tools that Walker so graciously provided to all the other school districts.  What did they do OTHER than require employees to pay 5.8% of their retirement and 12.8% of health insurance premiums?   Well...if you look at their budget document, they did a number of things that are responsible for $1.5M in savings.  Hmmm....that's exactly what they said they had as a surplus!

• Buildings and Grounds Cost savings – $275,445 (reduce maintenance budget 50%, reduce overtime 60%, eliminate Custodial Supervisor position, eliminate summer maintenance workers)
• Information Technology Cost Savings –  $248,064 (45% budget cut, reduce staff)
• Other District Operations Cost Savings –  $127,500 (payroll processing changes, reduce contracted services, cut $100K post-retirement benefit payment)
• Co-curricular Activities Cost Savings – $43,529 (eliminate some clubs, reduce budgets, reduce travel)
• Student Transportation Cost Savings –  $180,000 (change to 2-mile limit for busing)
• Administrative Assistants Cost Savings – $95,121  cut one FTE, reduced hours for others)
• Modified 4K Program Cost Savings –  $306,889 (All day, every other day, every other Friday program for 2011-12)  4 year olds ALL DAY?  Right!  That'll work!
• Close 1 Elementary School Cost Savings –  $253,066

They've cut and slashed where other have not ventured...NOW where are they going to come up with the unanticipated $850K hit?

All that and a tax increase too!
The best part about Kaukauna's "success" is that they are planning on a tax INCREASE!
That's right...a $400K increase to the tax levy which translates to a 22% increase in the mill rate ($0.20, or $40 on a $200K home...but all that is based on a 0% growth in equalized value)

Something to write home about?  We don't think so.  A victory?  Not a chance.
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Read more :

http://appletonhub.postcrescent.com/article/20110629/APC0101/110629072/Kaukauna-Area-School-District-projects-1-5-million-surplus-after-contract-changes-health-care-retirement-savings

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/union-curbs-rescue-wisconsin-school-district