Stop Screwing Over Hockey!

We ran into this issue here in Wonderland...Sun Prairie USA.
But the problem is a global one.
Oh....you want to know what the problem is?
It's that kids playing hockey get screwed all over this state...and probably nationwide.

What the majority of districts tend to do...and perhaps more so for smaller districts with less revenue, is that they gouge kids playing hockey by raising the athletic fee for hockey (or assessing a surcharge).
What Athletics Director Jim McClowry TRIED to do (we think) was to show that many other schools set their hockey fees so much higher (5 to 10 times) than the average per sport athletic fee. And therefore Sun Prairie should too.  Of course he was also trying to fund additional soccer teams.

We are transforming hockey into an elitist sport.  Only those with lost of money can afford to play.  A kid gets to play baseball or football for about $50-100 (rough average)  but for hockey, the cost can be anywhere from $0 to well over $1,000.  Why?  This is already a costly sport in that things like skates and sticks can get quite pricey.  And if your kid wants to be a goalie...good luck...those pads can cost a fortune.  Sure, football kids need cleats...but skates are far more expensive...and need frequent sharpening.

The fickle fingers of blame will always point to ice time as the culprit.  And that's true...ice time is expensive. But at the same time, we're not operating on a level playing field.


The cost of ice time
Yes, Virginia, ice time is fairly expensive.  For Sun Prairie, the cot of ice time for the Boys Hockey program for 2012-1 was projected to be a little more than $22,000. Yeah...that will cause a few folks to whistle.  Hang on...

What about the cost of other fields/facilities?
....before you get too crazy, ask what it costs to maintain Ashley Field for a year.   Ashley Field is used for...what...8 football games per year plus a few times by soccer, lacrosse, and maybe Sound of Sun Prairie.  Estimates of annual maintenance have been reported to be as high as $80,000 per year.  In November, 2010, the most recent estimate was that is cost $15,800 per year to maintain...JUST THAT ONE FIELD.

What about all those baseball fields and soccer fields and softball fields the taxpayers just built?  How much did they cost to build?  How much do they cot to maintain?   How come we don't hear anyone raising baseball athletic fees because of the cost of field development and maintenance?  Ferris Bueller?  Anyone?

What about the fieldhouse?  Nice gymnasium!  How much does it cost to heat/cool on game nights?  To cleanup?  Security?  Why is that not factored into baseball athletic fees?

Put away your arguments that we can't afford to build an ice rink with every high school.  We get it.  But it's the cost of education...right?  Jut because we have to purchase ice time, we shouldn't penalize a group of kids.  If you're going to say "No" to ice time, then maybe you should say "No" to a pool....to sports fields...to a basketball court.   Maybe we should can all the athletics and just focus on education.   While a few might agree with that concept, that's not going to happen...nor should it.  But we have to treat all sports equitably.

Budgeting differences
The one valuable piece of information we obtained on July 30th from Mr. McClowry was that the cost for ice time has to come out of Mr. McClowry's athletics budget.  Yet the cost of maintenance of any other field or facility is covered under the General fund.  Is that how every other district does things?  If so, no wonder why hockey costs so much.

Facility Use Fees
Perhaps if we actually CHARGED every sport that operated a "camp" in or on school facilities/fields, me wight be able to lessen the blow of ice time.

Don't we WANT kids to participate in athletics?
Jim McClowry has shown some great data that indicates that students participating in athletics get better grades.  They also become more connected and learn life lessons in teamwork and sportsmanship.   Some kids just naturally enjoy hockey as "their" sport...THEIR vehicle to connectedness and the rewards of athletics participation.  So why are we penalizing these kids for their choice?  If we raise the fee, participation is going to shrink...right?   Why would we do that?

Golf too
Sadly, the kids that play golf go through the same thing.  For them it greens fees.  The bottom line here is that, like ice time, paying for greens fees is no different than paying for field maintenance or utilities and depreciation on indoor facilities.

Who Are You Bargaining For?

The question of the day is: WHY is the SPEA Negotiating Team dragging out negotiations for 2012-13 (Hello!  We're beyond the midway point!  Time to start working for 2013-14!!!)

The school board offered a very fair package which addresses what SPEA (and WEAC) have declared to be a primary mission: raising the starting wage for teachers.  But that's not good enough.  You see, in order to do that with the pot of money available, a significant portion must be earmarked for those teachers with 1-6 years of experience.  That means that a small amount would be available to more tenured teachers, most in the form of a stipend (as opposed to a base salary builder).

It's called compromise, people!   You are getting to do some serious good for starting teachers.  But you're not willing to accept that because this plan calls for either a small token stipend (or perhaps nothing) for those teachers that already earn like...say...$86,000 in base salary. REALLY?  Is THAT what unions are all about?

Here's a novel idea.
If the union is really... well....unified...
...and union members really feel strongly but raising the base wage...
If they are that unhappy with a stipend amount of $460 each, why don't they all agree to donate those stipends to further increase the base wage?   As it is, the board proposal still means a base wage that is no more than par with the average paid throughout Dane Co. districts.
If even HALF of the stipend amount going to the upper 2/3 was used to further increase the base wage of those on the bottom rung, we could have a very competitive base wage.
What? sacrifice $500 to help your fellow teachers just starting out?  Fat chance!


What does a 2% across the board pay increase look like?
Let's take a look at that 2% increase and how it would play out the way SPEA wants it to.  Now, the best way to do that is to use that great salary matrix(for 2011-12 ending June 2012) put together by the District Office.  Yes...we'll state it up front...some of those upper end teachers (and some throughout the list) have either retired or moved on.  But we need a model to work with and this is what we have.
We also culled the list; we sorted it by base salary and excluded all individuals earning below $32,505, which is the base wage for a starting teacher.

What we are let with was a list of 552 staff members.
The total base salary of these folks was $26,971,406.
Th school board has budgeted for 2% of that amount for wage increases.
2% comes to $539,428.

Now...from the top of that amount, we have to pay those that earned a step or lane change.  The rest would be available for across the board (or whatever) wage increases.  For our purposes here,however, let's just assume there were no lane/step payments.  Let's just spread that $539 K evenly across the board at 2% increase per person.  And let's split the 552 employees into three groups, those earning the top, the bottom, and the mid-range base salaries.

And here's what happens....

Why should the upper 184 teachers glom onto 42.8% of the available wage increase pool?

Is SPEA suggesting that by virtue of tenure, those teachers at the top deserve a larger share of the pool?  Because while a 2% "across the board" wage increase sounds equitable, clearly it is not.

Remember...we only simplified this.  In actuality, after paying for those due an increase for lane or step movement (hopefully for the last time), we can only raise the base wage for teachers with less than 7 years tenure to $35,000.  That will leave approximately $460 for each of the remaining staff members paid as a stipend rather than a basebuilder.

For actual details of the standing school board offer:
http://sp-eye.blogspot.com/2012/11/spasd-offers-contract-proposal-to.html

Can We Get This Straight...PLEASE?

January is almost done.  The school board SHOULD be working up a budget for 2013-14.
Oh...but wait....the "professional educators" union is still stalling on raises for 2012-13.

They want more money...more than the 2% every other group got.
They want the raises percentage to apply to all members unilaterally.
We think they (or at least their negotiating team) need to get real.

We have agreed---repeatedly---with SPEA that entry level teachers need a wage hike.  But SPEA won't compromise.  We need to get rid of the grid and compress the salary structure.   Teachers serve a vital role...but a 5th grade educator needs neither a PhD or an $86,000 base salary.  We would be happy to advocate for something along the lines of a starting wage of $40-45,000 with a ceiling under $70,000.  You hit the ceiling and your pay is frozen until the school board changes the floor and ceiling...which may (or may not) be an annual adjustment.

It's a 9 month job, people
Please...we're so tired of the argument that the job of a teacher is a 12 month job.   Stop the madness.  Many of you work another job during the summer months.  So don't tell us that you work a summer job to pay the rent but then also tell us that you slave your summer away working on lesson planning.  Some of you work (and get paid additionally for) summer school assignments.  If you need all the summer months to do "lesson planning", how do you possibly have time to teach summer school?   Yeah....RRRRRight!  And the blue/white collar non teacher doesn't do ANY work during their vacation time. Think again.

So stop singing Aerosmith's "Dream On" and try David Bowie's "Get Real".  Seriously...can you please GET REAL?  Your contract is for 190 days.  That's all that is required.  The rest of the working world has a "contract" of 260 days.   That  means that you only work 73% of what the rest of the world works.  And that means that your $32,505 base wage is equivalent to  $44,500 that the rest of the world earns.  That means that our 5th grade teacher making $86,000 (for 190 days work) is equivalent to a salary of $117,800 for the rest of us.  Now...we're not saying that your base bay for  new teacher is great.  But that is a separate issue.  We need to stop comparing apples to pineapples....or...in this case...ROAD apples.

It's a choice...You do not need all those credits/degrees

Teachers will also cry that they spend all kinds of time and money paying for additional education credit that they "need".  Like we tell our kids:  NEED?  or WANT?   Many do not need credits; they WANT the credits because they know that every  credits gets them a 2% increase as they "change lanes" on the grid.  Fine...we do away with the grid and you can get off the gerbil wheel.

Now...maybe instead you want to be honest and tell us that at least some of you are obtaining an advanced degree so you can move into administration.   That's great...but it's also a horse of an entirely different color.  You do not need that degree for your teaching job...you seek it for something else.

By all means, advance your education if that's what you CHOOSE to do.  But do not use it to rationalize your need for better pay.

You're not the only ones that work more than 8 hrs/day
Again, we tire of all the stories of all the time spent beyond a teacher's working day doing "teacher stuff".  We're not drinking that Kool-Aid!  You think you have the market cornered on putting in more than 40 hrs per week on your job?  Think again.  The rest of the world ALSO routinely puts in more than their "required" time.  They work at night, on the weekends, while on vacation.

None of us work 40 hr weeks.  But the majority of us do not get the summers off where we could vacation, get a second job doing something else we enjoy doing, or do nothing.

You want to be known as PROFESSIONAL educators?  Then please ACT like a professional.

Is it really even 8 hrs/day?
Most of us go to our 9 to 5 jobs (or 8 to 4, or whatever)...our 8 hours jobs and, other than a 30 minute lunch (or 30 minutes of "break"), they o their job for the entire day.  We do not get *paid* time to "prep" for out jobs.  We are expected to be there and do it.

The best kept secret of professional educators is that they are only required to "teach" for 5 or maybe 6 "class period" per day.  Middle school is a great example.  Class "periods" are 45 minutes.  Teachers are required to teach 5 classroom periods plus take on one supervisory duty (study hall, lunchroom, etc.) per day.  Add it up people.  Including a 30 minute paid lunch, that accounts for 300 minutes, or 5 hours per day.  That means that they are paid for 3 hours (37.5%) of their daily time for work planning or classroom prep!!!!

How many of you non-teachers get 3 hours each day PAID time to prepare to do your job?


Let the crucifixion begin....but we need to get past the horse puckey and start being honest.  No more embellishing.  We grow weary of the nonsense.
Dear Professional Educators...it's time for you to accept the offer made by the school board and move on.   Your dreams of Act 10 being struck down have gone up in smoke.  Get over it.  Move on.  Hell...move forward.  The school board has offered you a VERY fair plan.

To borrow from a slightly crude but perhaps appropriate adage..."Tough titty said the kitty, but the milk is still good"

SP-EYE Focus for 2013

Here's what we're focusing on for the upcoming year.

+ Make School Safety & Security our #1 Goal

     The unthinkable tragedy which occurred at Sandy Hook recently should grab our collective attention.  We send our kids off to school, and we want to be sure that they are safe.  This is not to say that the security at Sandy Hook was in question.  Rather, it's a springboard for what we can do better.  Yes, enhanced security costs us ax dollars.  But if it saves just one child's life...isn't it worth it?

Screw Ashley Field.  Nobody seems inclined to do any fundraising; they seem to want their turf to come from the taxpayers' teats.  Instead, let's focus on moving  the timetable for completing planned secure entrances at schools that require an upgrade.  Let's make this happen...NOW.  And while we're t it...can we glean anything from the tragedies to further enhance the safety and security of our kids? 

+ Improve the Quality of District Information

      Someone needs to be held accountable, and the message has to be shouted from the mountain tops that district staff will provide the school bard and the public with only the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...or else.

“Please don't lie to me, unless you're absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth.” --Ashley Brilliant

“A half-truth is the most cowardly of lies.” ― Mark Twain

+ Resolve Facility Rental issues

     Is it just us?  Or is anyone else tired of that "It's all about the kids" mantra that is pulled out whenever folks want to do something that seems inherently wrong?  Let's be crystal clear here: athletic camps are great for our student athletes.  But (A) you're (usually) doing it on fields or in facilities paid for by the taxpayers, and (B) SOMEONE is pocketing oodles of cash.

While there are some cases where rental fees should be waived or at least negotiated, there needs to be a clear and consistent application of policy which already exists!  Someone or someones think that they are above policy and that should win the offenders a trip to the 'Splainin' Room.

We have an athletic director who publicly suggests that his budget isn't large enough.  Well...it might be if you collected all the missed revenues from granting uses of fields and facilities for free!  Of course we don't know...YET...who "ordered the code red", so to speak, but one would think that an AD with budget woes would be all over facility use fees like a monkey on a cupcake.  Right?

We just went through a fiasco where the poor kids that happen to have chosen hockey as their sport wre gonna get bashed on the head with an enormous fee increase....all to support the re-introduction of freshmen soccer teams.  Icetime costs were the culprit named.  Really?  So, because we built an expense fieldhouse for indoor sports and costly fields for outdoor sports, and even a pool...but didn't build an ice arena, hockey kids should get screwed?  We DON'T THINK SO!

Ice rental may be costly, but these fields and the fieldhouse have expenses associated with them as well. But those are never considered.  Where's the leadership in our athletics program to work at the state level to get all districts to understand this?  The other reason for raising the hockey fees was that all of the Joneses are doing it.  We say: stop being one of the sheep and start being the shepherd.

+ Fish or Cut Bait on Ashley Field Turf Project

      The Ashley Turf dealio has languished for too many years.  A year ago at a school board meeting, we learned that not one dime had been raised.  A year later....and still the only revenue we appear to have comes from a single club.  We also learned in July that more backroom discussions had transpired and what we were never told is that the plan to pave what is now Ashley's baseball field has folks wanting to increase the project cost by at least $350K for  new freshman baseball field.  Really?

And then we were given a figure for replacing that ticket booths that's only a small percentage of what the true cost will be.  This whole thing smells more than just funny and we're not even going to consider eating it.

+ Establish a Salary Cap

      Just as the NFL(which means us, since we ultimately bear the cost)  cannot afford to be paying a bust like JaMarcus Russell a guaranteed $31M (that's about $17M per TD pass), we cannot afford to pay $90,000 for an elementary school teacher with a PhD.  Most jobs in the real world have salary minima and maxima.  The complement to raising the floor for young teacher salaries is to install a ceiling...and not a glass one.

The "cap" can be flexible to move as needed due to outside pressures such as inflation...but we have to first have one.

+ Finish What You Started:  Rid the Grid

      It's time, people.  The grid must go.  It seems like that's what's coming if one reads between the lines in the district offer to teachers (which they didn't like...fancy that).  It's time to 'git 'er done.

2012 Goals in Review

It's time to review SP-EYE's goals for 2012.  Time to see how we fared.  What we very quickly learned is that this slate of board members (to be precise, 71.429% of them) gets it.  They understand the issues, and if they don't they request information or do their own research (and many times both).  They get it.  And that is what is changing the culture in this school district.

+ Forbid the Grid!

This one remains to be seen, but all signs point to this school board working to remove the grid.  Let's get real, people....what jobs do you know of that receive an automatic 3% increase just for being  year older (an another year with the district)?  PLUS they also would get any additional increase voted by the board.  We say: Two increases is too much.

"Dolts get paid the same as superior teachers, and PE teachers are paid the same as physics teachers," 
--- University of Idaho economics professor John T. Wenders

+ Raise the Floor; Lower the Ceiling.

This one remains in limbo until the "professional educators" come to agreement with the district/board.  But the school bard's message was clear in their offer:  we need to raise the salary floor to be competitive in recruiting the best and brightest young teachers.

+ Fix What Happened at the 2011 Annual Meeting.

Board president Tom Weber took this one to heart and made darn sure that no more shenanigans took place at the annual meeting.  The local SPARClers made  weak showing and effort to tax more, but it was soundly voted down.  And if they had won the vote, the board's message was abundantly clear:  the tax levy they had proposed was sufficient to operate and maintain schools.

+ Let Data Drive Elementary Space Decisions.

Funny how a little ...quality...data is all it takes to stop the speeding crazy train.  Board veep John Welke chaired a Task Force that dug deep into the issue of space.  It quickly became clear that the district plan to start working n elementary school #8 immediately was nothing but a case of premature  exhortation.

+ Improve Quality of District Information.

This is only area where the district still gets a failing grade.  The hockey fee fiasco was merely the latest example of a disease from which the district continues to suffer.  In addition, we have the continuing saga of the Ashley Field boondoggle, the latest episode of which now indicates that beyond what has been discussed previously, someone or someones wants to build a new frosh baseball field--to the tune of $350K-- because plans would involve raising the baseball portion of Ashley field.  Kinda like that oldie that talks about paving paradise to put up a parking lot.  For a little icing on the cake, we had the purchase of textbooks for 2013 using 2012 dollars without clarifying to the school bard that's what was being done.  And for good measure, let's toss in the district field facility use conflagration, and the mystery of the Sound of Sun Prairie.  Is it summer school...or an activity?  And does ANYONE (particularly DPI) exactly know how the SOSP money works?

+ Implement Health/Dental Equity for ALL staff.

It took quite some time, but we finally got there with the 2012-13 budget.   All staff NOW pay the same for health and dental.  The long running travesty still smarts, but the wounds will eventually heal.

3 More Years On the Crazy Train

There ain't no gettin' off this crazy train!
This ride will last another 3 years.

It's official:  three school board members's seats are up in April (Caren Diedrich, Steve Schroeder, and John Welke).  They each submitted nomination papers and declarations of candidacy.  No other candidates crawled out of the woodwork.  Not one SPARCle.

That means Mr. Schroeder and Welke can continue to forge a new path for this board and this district; it also means we have another three years of Caren Diedrich's zany comments.

A Ozzy would say,

Mental wounds still screaming 
Driving me insane 
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train 
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train 

I know that things are going wrong for me 
You gotta listen to my words 
Yeah 

Softball Clinic Raises Many Questions

Thanks to a community member who actually reads the STAR (not passing judgement here), we received this clipping.  The Sun Prairie STAR recently announced a softball clinic to be held at the Patrick Marsh Middle School Gym on Saturday January 12, 2013.  The instructors are reported to be the owner of "On The Rise" Fastpitch and SPHS Class of 2005 graduate (and former professional baseball player) Kevyn Feiner.

There will be three sessions for kids in grades 3-8, with a cost of $50-60 per child per session.

Questions to be answered
Oh so very many questions!  We thought sure that district administration had learned their lessons from the summer camp fiasco.  Perhaps not.  So let's go back down the same line of questioning again.

OTR's website listing

• Is this a non-profit?  Or is someone(s) hiding behind the old "It's for the [softball] kids" mantra?
• Who approved this reservation (who ordered the Code Red?)
• Will the group be charged for the rental of school facilities as per policy KG?
• How much revenue will be generated?
• Where will the money be going?

Don't we have a policy in place for this?
Sure....and it says:

All organizations other than those who qualify under subs. B.2.a. [non-profits are fee exempt during the school year, when students are in attendance, from 1/r hr after school until 9:00 pm] must pay a rental fee for the use of school facilities as outlined more fully herein...

-----Procedure KG-R

This is from the SPASD's Facility Use Calendar

Lets do some math!

According to the fee schedule (KG-E), renting the middle school gym costs $38/hour.

$38.00/hr x 8 hrs = $304
or roughly equivalent to less than 7 registrant fees

If there are 50 registrants for each of the three sessions, the revenue generate would be $8500.
The facility use fee would translate to just 3.6% of the revenue.  Isn't that a mere pittance to pay for facilities one does not have?

According to On the Rise's (OTR) website, it looks like they charge roughly $320/hr for instruction.  So, for 8 hours, OTR earns a cool  $2560 or this "camp".  We're pretty sure that OTR is not a  non-profit entity.  We're not sure what Kevyn Feiner will be paid for his services, but again, we're fairly confident that he is not a  non-profit.

Even if we pay Mr. Feiner the same as OTR ($2,560)...nice for a day's work!....AND the facility use fe is paid (which we're not sure is happening) the total "costs" are $5,424.  With revenues of $8500, SOMEONE is making $3,000 on this deal.  Who is it?



For further information:
Policy KG, Publc Use of School Facilities

KG-E  Facility Use Fee Schedule

Procedure KG-R, Use of School Facilities

The Bottom Line
At the very heart of this issue is that we have an Athletics and Activities Director who has expressed significant concern...publicly...that his budget just cannot cover the needs of the programs.  The logical answer would be that any of these events which are not billed per policy KG is tantamount to taking revenues out of the district.  These revenues could be used to offset/supplant the Athletics budget, or even to help build a fund for Ashley Field improvements or other similar projects.

So, hopefully, the district is back following policy KG.  If not, why not?

Santa has one gift left in his bag

Santa SP-EYE has on remaining gift in his bag. It's for the unofficial "8th Man" at the board table...none other than Dr. Culver.

It's been a trying year at times for Dr. Culver, so Santa thought he needed a diversion.  Therefore he's getting his very own personalized Whack-a-Mole game.

He may wish to have some other moles to whack...we'll leave that up to him.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

On the 7th day of Chringe-mas

How fitting that the last remaining board member name in Santa's hat is none other than Mike Krachey. Kinda close (at least in last name) to Bob Cratchit from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".  Close enough for government anyway.

For Mr. Krachey, Santa SP-EYE has, first and foremost, the title of Board Treasurer for 2013.  Or gut feel is that the nod was given to John Whalen this year chiefly because of his tenure, and the fall from Board President to just "member" was too hard a shove.  We think now however, that all board members not named Whalen or Diedrich very clearly see now that M. Whalen is not part of the solution.  We need a board treasurer who "gets" it.  And that should be Mike Krachey this April.

What we like about Mr. Krachey is his desire for more data.  He's like the little dude from the movie, "Short Circuit", who constantly seeks  more input.  If there's one area for M. Krachey to work on in his sophomore year, it is to be able to adjust on the fly and make decisions in the absence of all the data one would like to have. In addition, Mike is clearly an outside the box thinker.  He particularly showed that during his tenure on the Elementary Task Force.  Mike came up with an innovative approach to determining class sizes.  It needed some work, but it was an innovative idea with great potential.

To help with that, Santa has the books, "Drinking From the Fire Hose" and "How We Decide" as well desktop piece reminding him of the value he bings to the table by being an outside the box thinker.

Did Diedrich REALLY Say That!????

Click here to access the KSUN video of the meeting.
Click about 65% of the way through.
You want to view the segment
from 58:15 through 62:00 for full effect

SP-EYE always enjoys the last school board meeting of the year because of the delightful performance by the high school madrigal singers.  And, as always, they are a talented bunch!

But there was something else notable about the December 17th meeting.  It seemed that Caren Diedrich, who isn't very stealthily running for re-election, had a few comments to make on (it seemed) every agenda item.   Is that part of her pre-election period ritual?  To suddenly speak out on any and all topics?  To be heard and not just seen?  We've seen her play to the seniors crowd before.  Suddenly, as election time draws near, she starts talking about the taxpayers.  Never mind that her standard votes are usually far from the senior citizen taxpayers' best interests.  Oh but what she had to say on this night caused a few board members' heads to turn.  Lucky for Ms. Diedrich, there was no audience...except for SP-EYE.

Are You Saying Prairie Phoenix Academy is the Island of Misfit Toys, Ms. Diedrich?
We've all seen the Rudolph video where he winds up at the Island of Misfit Toys.  Perhaps it was especially fitting given that we are in the midst of the holiday season.  How could anyone hear Ms. Diedrich's words and not get the notion that she views the Prairie Phoenix Academy (PPA) as something akin to the Island of Misfit Toys?

 The agenda item was the proposal to add a new writing requirement for graduation.  All the board members seemed very supportive....except for Caren Diedrich that is.  And while she eventually voted to support it, her line of questioning caused a lot of seat squirming.

When I saw this, I said to myself, I'm so glad I'm through with high school because this seems to be hard...it sounded like a hard class..so...and maybe this is for Jennifer...how will it play out at the Prairie Phoenix Academy?  I'm concerning myself with the rigor in both  places.

--School Board member Caren Diedich

_________________________________________________________

Diedrich: I guess to me, the beauty would be in the grading.
Murphy/Apodaca: The grading?
Diedrich: The grading.  Do we ever send Prairie Phoenix Academy paperwork over to the high school to be graded by what I would call [airquotes] regular [airquotes] high school teachers and vice versa?
Apodaca: No.
Diedrich: No? Okay. [facial features and body language speak volumes here]

__________________________________________________
To their incredible credit, both Director of Instruction Alice Murphy and Direct of Student Services Jennifer Apodaca answered all of Ms. Diedrich's questions fully...even though Diedrich didn't think so.  They both deserve kudos for showing exceptional forgiving, if not restraint.

Alternative Learning ≠ Less Rigor

Bon Jovi sang, "You Give Love a Bad Name", but Ms. Diedrich, whether knowingly or not, only succeeded in giving alternative learning centers, like the PPA, a bad name.  As a school board member since many of her fellow board members were still in school, Ms. Diedrich should know that the state has only ONE set of criteria for graduation.

While GED is an option route for students at the PPA, the primary path is for students to earn a high school diploma in an alternative learning setting than the traditional classroom.  Rigor is the same, but learning is facilitated via alternate pathways.  Yes, a GED is frequently viewed as inferior to a diploma, but legally, they are equivalent.  And we DO want kids to succeed...right?

Prairie Phoenix Academy s a growing multifaceted program designed to meet the unique needs of high school students who are seeking an alternative to the traditional high school setting. 
The school offers the opportunity to earn a high school diploma through programs that are designed to meet the needs of our students' varied learning styles and diverse interests. Programs are based on state standards and focus on the core academic areas, so students will still gain the base knowledge they need to meet their future goals.

Disrespecting Teachers and Students in One Fell Swoop
If school board members view the PPA an an inferior option to high school....a place for misfit toys....then why wouldn't the public....and the students?  More to the point, Ms. Diedrich even seems to suggest that the professional educators at PPA are inferior to those at the high school.  That is outrageous, and those teachers, and principal Tavs SHOULD be insulted.

The district COULD certainly choose to use the PPA as a home for wayward/troublesome students....but that's not the portrait that has been painted for us.  Does Diedrich know something the rest of us do not?   I THAT what the district's intent is for PPA? We don't think so.  We believe an apology is in order.

Alternative High School Can...and DO...Work
True story.  SP-EYE can relate a pefect example of how alternative high schools work.  Seveal years back, a fine young lady was struggling at one of Madison's traditional high schools.  She applied to---not was "shuffled off to"--- attend the Malcolm Shabazz alternative high school.  She was accepted and suddenly her grades went from barely passing to A's and B's.  She entered a business education program and after earning a diploma, she worked as an LTE in the public sector.  She then decided to pursue higher education and earned a college degree this year in a field in which her talents were obvious.  THAT, people, is what alternative high schools are all about.

Perhaps Ms. Diedich needs a refresher course.
Shame on her for even suggesting otherwise.

...and on the 6th day of Cringe-mas

The hat contains only  few names.  Santa SP-EYE pulled board VP John Welke's name.
What doe Santa have in hi bag of goodies for Mr. Welke?  Well...he's gotta a few things.

First off, Santa has a "Shock Doctor" mouthguard and a Barry Alvarez autographed mini-helmet.   These are reminders that Mr. Welke is serious about holding people accountable and is not afraid to tip even sacred cows.  He's on a mission to right this ship from a whole lot of things that have strayed off the path for far too long.  He boldly --and rightly-- championed (with Jill Camber-Davidson) reducing the ridiculous hockey fees (275% proposed increase to $550).

In addition, he's working to fix the Ashley Field boondoggle legacy left by David Stackhouse, working to fix problems with facility use rental, and has worked to ensure that the Sound of Sun Prairie program can continue to be all it can be.  There are serious weak links there, not the least of which is that SPASD receive a boatload of revenue from DPI because SOSP is considered summer school, yet we cannot seem to make the numbers of registered students add up.  Welke has also expressed concern that the district may be lacking in  documentation required under Title IX.    That is more than a handful, people; and all of these are tough tasks that could get underneath the skin of those involved...you know...the good old boys and gentlemens' quiet agreements.  With Welke, those folks that willfully stray off the beaten path need to understand that they better have helmets on and mouthguards in.

In line with that, Santa also left Mr. Welke with some light reading that defines his tenure on the board:

• Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right,
• How Did That Happen? (Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way,
• Making Things Right When Things Go Wrong.

Santa wishes Mr. Welke a wonderful 2013 that includes a landslide re-election for a second term.  No board member in our history of the SPASD school board has ever brought forward the number and breadth of Situation Reports as Welke.  THAT is leading by example.

Catching Up With the 8 Days of Cringe-mas

OK...so SP-EYE took a little break to deal with Draco (who came up with that?), preparing for the possibility that the Mayans knew something, and snowblower issues.

For the 4th day of Cringe-mas, Caren Diedrich's name came out of the hat.  Caren's big gift is her very on ant farm.  An an farm can  provide hours of fun watching how things really should work.  Plus, Caren has the tools to make life interesting for some of the ants.  We now KNOW that Caren is running for election...again.  If she's re-elected, she will have been on the board since Sun Prairie was truly a small community.  Not quite since the streets were cobblestones...but close.

Not being mean here, but it's time for Caren to find something else to do with her time...volunteer more  in the schools, perhaps run for City Council....or play with the ants.  The board has changed but she has not changed with it.  Like John Whalen, she fully supports anything Tim Culver does.  The flip side of that is more important, however; by blindly supporting Dr. Culver, Caren fully supports what Culver is NOT doing.  There are cracks in the foundation and they need to be repaired before they cause more significant structural issues.

Along those lines, Santa is leaving her a copy of the article, "Life Beyond Superintendency".  Tim Culver is planning for retirement an Caren needs to plan for life beyond the school board.  The days of MaryEllen, Cheryl, and Caren piloting this ship are done.

Last but not least, a stocking stuffer:  a button declaring "Think Before You Speak".   Ms. Diedrich has been increasingly unleashing comment that are even to the left of bizarre.  As long as she remains on the board, Caren needs to put a little thought in before opening her mouth.

<hr>
<hr>
On the 5th day of Cringe-mas, Santa SP-EYE pulled the name of the other lady on the school board: Jill Camber-Davidson.

Santa's big gift for Jill is the meal that the Wizard of Oz gave to the Cowardly Lion.  NOT that we're suggesting that Jill is cowardly.  Far from it.  But she's on a board now full of strong voices, and she is more reserved.  But Santa thinks Jill ha a lot of good comments and questions in her and sometimes she may hold back.  This medal will hopefully remind her that she IS a valued member of this board and she should feel courageous enough to speak out.

Santa also has two other gifts for Jill as a reminder of where she is taking this  district.  Jill rightfully championed nixing the Pepsi contract a while back.  Santa found a vending machine which dispenses only fruits and veggies.  If kids are jonesing for a sack, this could and should be their choice.  We could even have these turned on during school hours.

Lastly we have a book about using a school wellness program to battle childhood obesity.  That is indeed a serious problem, and one we think Jill could really help us pave a path to at least some local solutions.

And on the 3rd Day of Cringing...

Oh...did we type, "Cringing"?  Freudian slip...of course we meant "Christmas".

click to see the full-sized goat-saver

On the 3rd day of cringing, Santa SP-EYE pulled John Whalen's name out of the hat.  Of course Santa SP-EYE might have been spending too much time with the Naughty List because Santa SP-EYE apparently only put Mr. Whalen's name in the hat today!   :-)

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Well, Santa noticed awhile back that JohnE Whalen had adopted a goatee look.  Some opined that he was imitating the smashingly good look of his favorite blogger!  Then the goat disappeared.  A good goat is hard to manage and so Santa thought that Mr. Whalen might just need something to help him groom the goat.   How about a Goatee Saver!!!  Interesting gadget...it's like a mouthguard one puts in and shaves around. Actually the thing looks kinda Hannibal Lecter -ish, if you ask us.  "Well, Clarice...have the lambs stopped screaming?" 

Mr. Whalen has found his way to the Naughty List, so Santa is bringing him a whole bunch of books to read.  Seems appropriate for a school board member to be a role model and rad, right? And maybe do some soul searching and dive into a little self help, right?  Mr. Whalen suffers from uncontrollable body language issues.  He needs to work on that if he wants to stay in the public eye.  He also appears to have a difficult time maintaining objectivity when listening to people he does not like.  Tsk, tsk, JohnE!  That's not only unprofessional, it reflects poorly on the entire board.   It also eats away at the credibility you have left.  Santa's also giving him a copy of the book, "Toxic Men" to help him cope with the people that are most troublesome for him.



Finally, we understand that some things and some people just make JohnE's skin crawl.  Therefore Santa would be remiss in his duties if he didn't leave JohnE a little stocking stuffer:  a copy of Linkin Park's single, "Crawling".

Merry Xmas!

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

...Board President Tom Weber's name came out of Santa's hat.

Tom has been absolutely awesome as a board president.  Not taking anything away from him...but we really have had poor board presidents going back over 10 years.  Nevertheless, Tom has taking this board to a much higher plane.  And we know that he works diligently to make things even better.  He is a fair an impartial individual, and for that we are thankful.

So what do we have in Santa's bag?

First...we have a couple of fine avocados.  We hear word that Tom appreciates a fine avocado.  We're not sure if he likes them straight off the tree or whether he's a guacamole kinda guy.  So Santa tossed in a little light reading for him:  "When life hands you avocados...make guacamole!"

We also hear whispers that Steve Schroeder is an avocado fan.  Perhaps Tom will share.

As a stocking stuffer, Santa tossed in a copy of "How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less".  No disrespect to Tom; he'll be the first to tell you that he's a talker.  But communication is  a good thing.  Santa jut thinks this little giftie could help streamline board meetings even further.

Merry Christmas, Tom!
And a big SP-EYE thanks for all you have brought to the district.

The 8 Days of Christmas

Thank goodness for vacation time...right?  Ole SP-EYE has been too busy of late, but now some much needed time to do some catching up.

And, with the holiday season upon us, Santa SP-EYE has some gifts to deliver.
We weren't sure how to go about it; so we finally just tossed names in a hat.

First up also happens to be newest board member Steve Schroeder.

For Steve, Santa has a Blu-Ray copy of what we understand is one of his most favorite-est movies:  Driving Ms. Daisy.  We really hope Steve enjoys this!

This was something on John Whalen's list, but Mr. Whalen is on Santa SP-EYE's naughty list.  Mr. Whalen won't be getting coal in his stocking though.  Santa has some other things in mind.  :)

Time to Blow the Ballast Tanks

Time to blow the ballast tanks and resolve the issue
of field and fieldhouse usage for camps without paying.

This one has been dragging for six months now.  It's pretty clear that at the very least, coaches camps for football, and both girls and boys basketball were held this year as they have been in the past.  These camps are not free.  The coaches use school district facilities, allegedly without paying for them as required by board policy KG.

We reviewed district records of checks and deposits for all of 2012 and most of 2011.  We could not find any indication that these "camps" reimbursed the school district for cost of the fields.

Y'all remember how bad this summer was?  By many accounts, the football fields were in severely stressed state, yet the GridIron camp and Joint Sun Prairie-Waunakee football camps (a)bused these fields.  How much damage was done to these fields?

The problem is that we could find no record of any invoice submitted to those running these camps.  Based on cost per athlete and the number of participants, a significant chunk of change was collected.  Where did the money go?  We'd hate to think that a large portion of it goes to lining the pockets of coaches.  There MUST be rules or even law against that!

To his credit, school board VP John Welke has asked the questions, or at least started down the line of questioning, at public meetings.  Yet we've heard not one peep.  In late September, we heard from one of the coaches, who indicated that all coaches were informed of an intent to bill them for field usage.  Did that ever happen?  If not...why not?  Who authorized use of these fields/the fieldhouse without payment as required by Policy KG? In short...

Who ordered the Code Red?

Who ordered the Code Red?

Someone must have said..."hey...no problem...go ahead and use the fields; we'll waive the fee". Right?  hat would clearly be the code red.  But who ordered it? It sure looks like a duck, and seems to quack like a duck.  There are very few individuals with the access to bypass the system and facilitate usage of district fields and facilities at no cost.   Note that we didn't say "authority" to do so, because we can't find any wording in policy KG that gives ANYONE the authority to waive field/facility usage fees.

Meanwhile, we are hearing unconfirmed reports that other groups within the district are being charged for facility usage when Policy KG would make them exempt from paying the fees.  Why would we be charging groups who meet the exemption criteria but NOT charging the groups that do no?  What in the tarnation is going on here?

This issue has been running silent and deep for far too long.  It's time to blow the ballast tanks, get this one to bubble to the surface and answer the burning questions.  Here's hoping that happens soon.

2012-13 Administrator Increases and Pay

It seems only fair that if the teacher salaries were published, then we also publish the salaries for administrators.

We've got 10 members of the $100K club plus one that's right on the edge.

The question in our minds right now is that a 2% pool was set aside for administrators, admin support, and Local 60.  The average increases was 2% for these groups.

Click for a full-sized view

For the teachers (Professional Educators), however, the board proposed using a significant portion of the 2% pool to raise the base wage paid to teachers.

We fully support any move by the school board to raise the floor and create a reasonable ceiling on teacher wages.   We're just a little concerned how that comes off in the waking of approving a flat 2% for other groups.  We realize that administrator increases are doled out by Dr. Culver based on his performance evaluations, so it's not quite the same.  We remain concerned, however, that board members could cave in on their position with the teachers and lose the ground they could--and should--gain.   Perhaps its unfounded concern, but we're keepin' it real.

Time to Move the Timetable Up for Secure Entrances

The recent horrific event in Connecticut has touched us all.  This time, it was mere babies.  As difficult as it is, we do need to step away from grieving and take this opportunity to ask whether all our schools have secure entrances.

The reality is that two schools remain on the list for modifications to improve security.  For obvious reasons, we'll not identify those schools here.  These modifications are on the schedule for this summer and next.  That's no longer good enough.  The time is now.  Yes, it will cost upwards of $360,000, but the board has to direct administration to either find the money or take it out of fund balance and COMPLETE THESE PROJECTS ASAP.

This is not an expense with which anyone can take issue.  These are our children...our future.

Dear School Board....

Let's make this happen.

In Living Color

Didja miss us?
We got a message from a few that were "missing the blog".

Not to worry...we ain't going' away....yet! Indeed, sometimes life DOES get in the way.  And SP-EYE needed a much deserved (if we do say so ourselves) break.

Besides...it's not like the old days, when we couldn't turn our backs on the school board for even a second.  This school board of ours gets it.  Well, 71.4% of them anyway.  They are engaged. They don't even own rubber stamps.  They are interested in making solid decisions based on solid, untainted data.

Hell...this board makes our job easy.  We CAN take a break.

But that doesn't mean some issues won't crop up. Rest assured, John Whalen, we ain't going nowhere.  We're watching and learning.  And when we need to get on something...or share something of interest, we will.

And They're Off!

Today is December 1, and that means one thing....candidates for spring elections can begin to circulate nomination papers.

The three school board members whose seats are up are:

Vice President John Welke,
Caren Diedrich, and
Steve Schroeder

We suspect all three will be running for re-election.  Caren Diedrich has been publicly heard to be wavering, but she always does this.  If you watch closely at the next school board meeting, we're betting that you'll see her quietly passing her nomination papers to other board members before the meeting begins.

We like what Welke has done.  He's a natural leader who's not afraid to ask the tough questions and hold people accountable.  He's brought forward more situation reports than any other board member.  He just plain gets things done.  And done right.

We also like Steve Schroeder's business approach to managing the district.  Steve is also not shy about asking difficult questions.  Steve took over the remainder of Jim McCourt's seat after he shuffled off to land of Rice a Roni.  He deserves election to a full three year term.

Lastly, there's Caren Diedrich, who will be running for her umpteenth term.  She's been on the school board since chalkboards were all the rage.  Caren will tell you that she provides valuable history of the board.  We were not big history buffs.  We like Caren as a person, but it's time to close the book on that part of board history and get some fresh ideas.

The BIG question...
Will we see the return of Gary Alan Naud...who quickly vanished after last years election?  Will the SPARClers put up a candidate or two?

Jeopardy Answer: $210,000

Oh...you want the question?

(1 of 3) 2012-13 Position replacements
(click for full-screen image) 

That would be, "What is the total amount of 2012-13 salary savings if one added up the 'Salary Difference' columns on School Board Personnel Reports since July 1, 2012?"

The producers would also have given credit if you answered, "What is the total value of Phil Frei's last (???) sock full o' money?"

Now...this needs lots of clarifying.  And perhaps we need a better, more accurate, and more frequent tabulation (hint, hint).  This is that "funny money" that suddenly gets both "found" and used at the end of the year.

We admit in advance that were not able to get some answers that would help clarify things before going to press.  Still, it's valuable information that we've kept our eye on for a number of years now.  That being said, the only column which is not completely factual is the "Total Cost/Savings column, in which we attempt to put a dollar value on the savings from Local 60 (Support Staff) replacements.  With a few clarifications, we think it's pretty solid.  As always of course, we welcome any factual information to support, refute, or supplement our findings.

Clarification #1:  The salary difference column appears to be the difference in base wages paid for a given position.  Therefore it assumes the difference over the full 2012-13 school year.  But that's not quite accurate, because these positions become vacant and are re-filled (at a lower rate) during the school year, so we do not realize the full savings unless the person leaves before the year (and salary checks) begin.

(2 of 3) 2012-13 Position replacements(click for full-screen image)  

Clarification #2: Although not often, some positions remain unfilled for some length of time.  During that time, we are expending ZERO dollars for salaries/benefits.  In those situations we are saving a whole LOT more money because of the period of time over which we incur no salary/benefit costs.

Clarification #3:  For "Support Staff", our estimate of annualized savings is determined by multiplying the hourly rate difference x the # of FTE x 8 hrs/day work schedule x 185 days of work.  Of course that is not true in every case, but we needed some point of reference...since one is not provided.

And there's nearly $200K MORE!!  

(3 of 3) 2012-13 Position replacements

The $210,000 "surplus" also does not include the 1.47 unfilled "Certified staff" or 4.72 unfilled "Support staff" positions.  Based on our analysis of an average support staff wage of $15.41 per hour, and assuming 8 hours per day and 185 days per year, that would mean an additional $106,000 (excluding benefits savings) from the Support Staff positions and about $73,500 for the Certified staff positions.  So that's like another $200K in projected surplus.  Certainly, if half the year is gone, we already have saved $100K from these 6+ unfilled positions.

All told, the potential surplus from personnel savings could approach $400,000.

Now that would buy a lot of RTI support...or....seabass dinners, both haute couture and high in Omega 3 fatty acids.   Put all this in your pipe and smoke it.

Peace. Out.

2012-13 Budgeted position allotments (11-12-12)

On Tap for Monday: Administrator "Raise Pool"

On Monday, November 26, 2012 (6:30 PM, Municipal Bldg) the Sun Prairie School Board is poised to take action to approve a 2% across the board raise for administrators.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET/OTHER RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS:

The 2012-2013 budget adopted by the School Board includes $51,157 designated for administrative salary increases.   This amount is equivalent to the 2% salary pool necessary to fund the motion of the committee.

RECOMMENDATION:

“To increase administration salary pool by 2 percent to be distributed by the District Administrator according to the performance evaluation system.”

On the School Board side of negotiations:

School Board’s Administrative Compensation and Benefits Committee, Caren Diedrich, Tom Weber, and John Whalen

On the Administrator side:  Craig Coulthart, Nancy Hery, Liz Merrick and Wendi Tavs.

We have two comments based on the information provided:

(1) The recommendation indicates that the "administration salary pool" is to be "increased by 2%".  How much was in there already?  Is there MORE than the $51,157?

(2) Bear in mind that 2/3 of the school board side of negotiations were noted Tim Culver lap dogs John Whalen and Caren Diedrich.  Look...we get it...When in the (*heartburn moment*) Board Treasurer, and Diedrich is the Chair of the former Human Resources Committee.  

The 4% vs. the 96%

OK...we lied...we have one more comment to make.

The total dollar increase for [the Local 60] settlement (11-12-12) was $176,744.00 

shared by 333.64 employees

or $529.74 each

vs. the administrator team, which would get $51,157

shared by 28.5 FTE

or $1,794.98 each

Really?  Did we not hear over the last 4 months about the wealthy getting wealthier at the expense of the middle and lower classes?

The Local 60 group includes 11.7 times the number of employees as the administrators' group...

yet they will collectively receive only 3.45 times as much salary dollars.

Super-Size Admin Salaries; Just Plain Super-Size the Rest of The Work Force

That's about $10 more each week (pre-tax) that Local 60 workers will get.  Maybe enough to splurge for a family night out at McDonald's ...if one sticks to the Dollar Menu.  Meanwhile, each Administrator ,on average-pretax, would see an increase of about $35.00...enough for a decent sit down dinner somewhere.  

Why does it have to be about food?  Hey...we didn't start the "translating tax levy increase to pizzas" .  We like to assess blame for poor food choices and the obesity epidemic.  And some rightly so.  But you know what?  We are helping to create this situation...and we need to own that.  The folks earning $90,000 per year (and that's just ONE bread-earner's income) have no trouble making their rent/mortgage payments and they can afford to make good food choices.  They can also afford a membership to the local athletic club and even a personal trainer.

Meanwhile, those folks that earn only $12 or $13/hour have seriously difficult choices to make: pay the rent to keep a home, or eat well.  But nobody wants to talk about that.  Many of those folks eat poorly because it beats not eating.  An athletic club membership?  Personal trainer.  Please!!!!  Not even on the radar screen for most.  But nobody wants to talk about that either.

What we fail to consider, in our haste to keep our administrator and teacher salaries on par with the Jones', is that we have 333 Local 60 employees and we rarely hear any talk of a need to "be competitive" for those jobs.  In fact, it may be that the best selling point for a Local 60 opening is, "Hey...it beats the pay you'd earn at McDonald's".

At some point we have to look at this equation...and that's not limited to Sun Prairie.  That extends to the entire state and the nation.  Do the administrators do a good job?  Sure...some of them are absolutely awesome (and most know who those are).  Others.....meh....not so much.

At what point do we say....hey....on average, each administrator earns $89,750 (do the math....if 2% of the total administrator salary is $51,157 and there are 28.5 FTE).  Is that a good wage?  Sure...the cost of living increases each year....but aren't these people well ahead of the curve to begin with?  But these are the people that earn enough to have, in addition to a fine primary home, a nice cabin up north and a boat and other luxuries, while many in Local 60 have trouble making ends meet.

We've finally been hit on the head with enough coconuts to understand that many teachers "off the salary grid" are earning a pretty damn spanky living, while those fresh out of school are underpaid.  The proposal made to the teachers raises the floor and earmarks the majority of the "2% allocation" to those teachers with less than 6 years experience.  The contract proposal offers a small stipend --non-base building) for those teachers in the middle and upper end.  If we're starting to move towards creating some sort of ceiling for teachers, at what point do we do the same for administrators?

And how do we really tie raises to performance?  The administrative pool is dished out as Tim Culver sees fit, based on his "evaluations" of the administrators.  Look at the past data.  It's clear there are favorites and its clear that some are in the doghouse (sometimes rightfully so).

Aaaaaahhhhhhh...we could go on and on...but you either get it...or you don't.  This country DOES need a fiscal wake up....just not the menu being offered by the Mitten Man.   So go on and award 2% raises to people that do not need it...and to some who do not deserve it.   And while we're at it, let's be sure to make those raises "base-building" so that they can in turn be raised by future increases.