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.

Time to Pop This Zit

Sorry for the disgusting analogy, but policy KG has gotten so out of hand, it IS disgusting.

What am I? Click to see the classic clip!

As a friend of ours used to say..."it's a grounder...you gotta squeeze it to get it to surface".

District administration (remember...Dr. Culver is ultimately accountable) simply refuses to deal with the issue. There is a policy in place, but nobody wants to enforce it.  It's unfair to hang this on Joe Powelka, who took over Buildings an Grounds last summer.  He's trying to do the right thing.  We think.  But he's getting no support from on high.

We've spoken with people involve in this whole shady deal and we're told of backroom deals and "negotiations"....you know...nudge, nudge, wink , wink....that ensure that the good folks of SPLL will never be charge while we have no trouble at all charging the Madison Downs Syndrome Society.  Shame on you all!

Show us your "Get Out of Jail Free" card
We've heard rumors of past precedent and "the way things work".  Bullspit!  Show us in writing where it says you can use facilities other than high school fields...even on weekends...and before school competition is complete---without paying a fee.  But please...have something tangible...not some story or blaming of past Buildings and Grounds Managers.

Excerpt from the Sun Prairie Little League facility use agreement

Yes, we have an agreement with the Sun Prairie Little League (SPLL) to use the fields. And yes they are paying us $85,000 over time for 23 years of field use. But that is for the HIGH SCHOOL FIELDs....AFTER the competition season is complete.  It does not apply to indoor facilities; nor does it apply to Ashley field, fields at CHUMS, or any other fields.  We're sorry that this weird spring has forced people to head indoors to practice, but your agreement doesn't cover that.

Lost field/facility maintenance revenue:  $27,625 for ONE field!

SPLL "squatting" on softball fields...AGAIN!

The SPLL has laid claim to the varsity softball field from 8 am to 9 pm EVERY DAY between June 1 and August 24th!   At no cost!  Because, of course...they are giving u $85,000.   That $85,000 over 23 years amounts to a whopping $3,700 per year to cover field maintenance and upkeep.   At field usage fees (Policy KG) we are losing $27,625 in potential maintenance/field facility revenues every single year for JUST THIS ONE FIELD!  Suddenly that $85,000 doesn't seem like such a good deal...does it?

And they also have the JV softball field locked up as well.  Worse, yet...they did this last year; it was called out, and nothing has changed.  We're back doing the same thing all over again!

Shouldn't SOMEONE ask about conflict of interest on Jim McClowry's part?
Athletics and Activities Director Jim McClowry (yep...Jimmy Mac is back in the headlights again!) is the personal contact for a whole set of facility uses under the Little League umbrella. And did we mention that he serves on the board of directors for the SPLL?   Doesn't that in some way, shape, or form constitute a conflict of interest?  Dr. Culver?  Ferris Beuler?  ANYONE?

It' no wonder he hasn't taken the time to learn about the potential new sport, lacrosse, or read their application in detail.  It seems abundantly clear that Mr. McClowry is all about baseball.  Hmmmm...even the turf on Ashley Field project is suddenly being hijacked by the desire for a new baseball field at the cost of $350K+. Is it right for an AD to be that involved in a single sport?  More to the point....to be so un-involved in other sports/activities?   It's no wonder why Jimmy Mac is looking to hire a 1/2 time Assistant AD.  He does't have enough time for baseball!

There are also some reservations made for SPLL under the names of certain high school coaches that list the coach's school district address, phone, and e-mail.  Some community residents may wonder whether our staff are doing SPLL business on the district's dime.

Little League Tournaments
We see several SPLL Tournaments scheduled on OUR fields as well.  You suppose they bring in more than $3,700 in revenue from these?

Geee....we wonder what kind of revenue the district could generate from holding ...say... a softball tournament.  Oh...wait...we can't.  SPLL is squatting on the JV and varsity softball fields all summer.

Can we talk about insurance policies (or lack thereof)?
The other thing of note is that more often than not if you call up a reservation, you see a red flag that there is no current insurance certificate on file.  Again...are we following policy at all?

Bottom Line: For $3,700 a year, SPLL gets to use all of our facilities whenever they like?
Are you KiddinG (ing) us?