Baraboo Citizens for Fiscal
Responsibility
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5/24/08 - The tales of woe are starting...The Baraboo News Republic is on board to move forward with a track referendum. The results of their non-scientific poll were conveniently located next to their opinion column. There was no disclosure regarding the non-scientific track poll.
5/23/08 - Another Lance Alwin blunder came to light when it was announced this week that Alwin could neither count to 180 nor tell the truth. According to correspondence from January 2006, the DPI approved a 5 day reduction to the school year. The school board relied on this misinformation and cut the 5 days. It turns out the DPI did not give approval to cut 5 days, only 2. The school board will discuss what to do on 5/27/08. Either Lance Alwin can't count, he relied on someone who can't count, or he's an outright liar because the DPI hadn't approved the 5 day reduction or he knew it wasn't approved and pushed for it anyway so he wouldn't look like an idiot. You make the call. How many other blunders have been buried in our school district, and how much will it cost to fix this one?
4/21/08 - More information is coming to light on the ouster of former Baraboo School District Superintendent Lance Alwin. According to the Baraboo News Republic today, Alwin's February 2008 evaluation was abysmal.
4/15/08 - Last night, the Baraboo School Board (President Kevin Vodak, Vice-President Jill Ellinwood, Clerk Mary Anne Stewart, and members Gary Cummings, Kevin Bartol, Judd Maxwell, and Patricia Spragg) unanimously voted to appoint Crystal Ritzenthaler (who turned in her resignation as Curriculum Coordinator last night) to the position of interim District Administrator. In addition, the board decided to take $350,000 from the general fund for capital improvements. We all know where those dollars came from. See the mill rate change from $7.29 to $7.45 below.
Background: You may recall Ritzenthaler as the main speaker at the district's town hall meetings prior to the most recent referendum failure in September, 2006. She stated Baraboo's reading scores were declining. When research to the contrary by CFFR was presented to her and other community members, Ritzenthaler changed the story to: “The literacy gap between those subgroups and the general student body is growing, even while overall test scores may be on the rise” as reported in the 8/29/06 Baraboo News Republic. When further research by CFFR was presented to Ritzenthaler at the town hall meetings demonstrating that 18 of 22 subgroups showed increasing reading scores, she refused to acknowledge her prior statements as inaccurate or misleading.
From the press release: "Her (Ritzenthaler's) continued leadership will provide stability and direction for the district during this transition." Draw your own conclusion.
Info on all the pay raises the Baraboo School Board of Vodak, Ellinwood, Stewart, Cummings, Bartol, Maxwell, and Spragg doled out last night is forthcoming...
April 14 - In the last scheduled full board meeting before the newly elected Baraboo School Board members are sworn in, outgoing board members Mary Anne Stewart and Jill Ellinwood will be among those considering putting the school boards' stamp of approval on contracts with administrators, directors, technicians, the Board Administrative Assistant, and the Asst. Aquatics Director. These contracts were already worked on last May. Further action would tie up all employment contracts the district has until June, 2010. Will past experience predict future results? The board will also consider pulling fund balance for capital projects. Encourage the board to defer action until the new board is seated in two weeks. The meeting is Monday night, 4/14/08 at the High School Media Center at 7PM.
April 4 - In a press release issued as a result of the 4/3/08 meeting, the Baraboo School Board now reports an investigation into Lance Alwin's work performance was never completed, that Alwin turned in his resignation before it was done. In return, the Board provided a generous severance package to Baraboo School District Administrator Lance Alwin and accepted his resignation.
April 3 - Special school board meeting tonight regarding receipt of Superintendent Lance Alwin's resignation. This, after the conclusion of an investigation by an attorney. The board meets at 7PM tonight at the Admin Building.
April 1 - Congratulations to Ed Mortimer on his successful run for Baraboo School Board. Way to go, Ed!
March 19th - The school board continued to discuss an exit strategy for Superintendent Lance Alwin. More discussion, no decision.
Could Lance Alwin be on his way out? According to the agenda, the school board is having a special meeting March 19th at 6:15PM at the school administration building "for the purpose of considering dismissal proceedings and/or the conditional resignation of the Superintendent, and take action as appropriate."
On February 4, 2008, the Baraboo School Board voted to put Baraboo School District Superintendent Lance Alwin on paid leave while an investigation is being performed related to Alwin's job performance. Read about it here.
District administrators support more time for teachers to visit - to the detriment of class time with students. Not everyone agrees. Teachers have long had paid prep time for their classes. Better use of prep time, in-service time, and convention time would help - without reducing class time. This time is already paid for. Taking class time away from students is not a good idea when these alternatives could be used more efficiently.
The school district set the property tax levy at $7.45/$1,000 valuation. This is significantly different than the $7.29 passed by the community at the district's annual meeting in September. It has been reported the district may end up with a surplus of funds come Spring, 2008. There were no reported expectations set for the improvement of student achievement with the extra funds.
Although, we did come close with a former music teacher at our Middle School, there hasn't been wind of something like this in Baraboo yet - that we have been informed about. School districts are known to keep information on these activities very quiet. It is important for parents and students to be vigilant.
It's been nearly two months since the community provided feedback to Mr. Miles. No doubt the data is being filtered for public consumption. Any ideas on when/if we'll hear of an outcome?
For those that attended the various public and work-related conferences facilitated by Mr. Miles recently, thank you for participating. Please take a look at the paragraph above, our group's mission statement. It is clear we have long had many common threads both in what our priorities are (educating our kids to the best of our capabilities) and what obstacles impede progress toward that goal (a lack of/ineffective communication from the district, a lack of leadership by the board and administration, honesty and accountability for all). Only time will tell if things improve after Mr. Miles data compilation and final report to the board. If the board uses the same listening and communication skills they have been using, the effort will have been for naught. Let's hope the board doesn't disappoint us again.
Fiscal responsibility...Here's the proposed budget for the 2007-08 school year as displayed on the school district website and ratified by the school board. Highlights:
- Mill rate of $7.29 (up from $7.05)
- Tax levy of $11,846,831 (9.75% increase over 2006-07)
- General fund expenditures of $26,593,049 ($1,459,742 increase from 06-07)
- General fund salaries increasing $763,741 over 2006-07 (6.39% increase)
- General fund benefits increasing $274,555 over 2006-07 (4.63% increase)
Where is all the additional money going? Wages & benefits. For a moment, imagine what your tax bill would look like in December if either of the referendum attempts had succeeded! Now ask yourself where the money is coming from. Our public school system is no longer about the kids, it's about money. What added value are our kids getting for the extra $1.46 million in expenditures next school year? It hasn't been reported - anywhere.
Our school district is in desperate need of leadership. As a resident of the School District of Baraboo, you too are aboard the Titanic. Welcome to a lovely ship with lots of amenities and a place where money is no object. Unfortunately, we've hit a moral and ethical iceberg with the current school board and administration. There is no Captain at the helm and the district lacks direction beyond the flavor of the day. Here's a list of Baraboo School District administrators. They are supposed to be the experts. Are the kids getting our money's worth? Best grab anything that will hold water and start bailing. No lifeboats are in the budget.
So much for having a junior school board member position. They pulled the plug. Didn't read about that in the BNR! If having an alternate board member was such a great idea, what happened that the board changed their tune two weeks later?
After the canvassing of a whopping 6 votes to fill the vacancy on the school board created by Judd Maxwell's resignation, it has been determined there was an error in tabulating the ballots.
Contrary to concerns expressed by those supportive of the arts, the Baraboo School District recently approved the new administrative position of Athletic Director. The vote passed unanimously with one abstention for personal reasons and one absent, even though it was not known how much the new administrative position will cost. At last report, the board didn't have a job description for the position either.
Congratulations to Ed Mortimer on a fine showing in his write-in candidacy for school board. Way to go Ed!
Will Portage hire away Middle School Principal Robert Meicher? Stay tuned...
Baraboo teachers were asked this week to take two Lighthouse surveys. They can be previewed (but not taken) by following the links below.
Multi-state beliefs survey - WI
Multi-state conditions survey - WI
A tell-all article is in Newsweek magazine dated 2/12/07. Looks like our community isn't the only one seeking accountability from school administrators.
Questions have arisen surrounding our school district and the freedom of speech.
We had Connie and Fish from Z-104 make a mockery of our schools on their radio show on 1/22/07. Fish even recommended a theme song - Footloose. It didn't stop there...Not only did the handling of the USA chant make local and state news, it made national news too. The district's handling of the situation has resulted in embarrassment for our entire community. What could possibly be next?
To the detriment of us all, the leader of our school district is facing a void in values. School district administrator Lance Alwin released some pent up rage in a memo to all Baraboo District Professional Educators. Here's one take on more personal attacks by Alwin and his leadership skills. If you voted against the two referenda, don't feel left out. He refers to you too. It's time to mend fences, but apparently Alwin can't find the hammer, nails, or boards to do so. What ever happened to the idea that it's okay to disagree respectfully?
School district administrator Lance Alwin strikes again!
In this day and age, our kids need to be prepared not only for the national marketplace, but the international marketplace. Baraboo students recently completed their state testing for reading, math, and other skills. Who defines "proficiency" regarding their skills? There appears to be some inconsistency between state and federal criteria for proficiency, and the inconsistency in the grades may be much wider than you think.
Late last year, America lost a great thinker and profound individual in the evolution of our nation's educational system, Milton Friedman. Click here for more.
What ever happened to the youths apprehended for stealing political signs in town? Read here for more...
Here are the minutes from Sen. Olsen's most recent committee meeting regarding possible changes in school funding by the state. See Across Wisconsin and the nation for more.
The teachers union has their contract settled, but it has not come without a price. It has been reported that the school district has provided a wages and benefits increase above the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) of 3.8% per year. More details as they become available...
With the September referendum now behind us, (results) it's time to move forward and work with district administration and school board members to provide what we all want - a quality educational experience for our children. It is by working with the board and administrators that true change for the better will either develop, or evaporate. It's too bad some people can't get past the idea that WE ALL WANT GREAT SCHOOLS FOR OUR KIDS and some of us just have a different outlook regarding how to get there. To those folks, get over yourselves. Your way isn't the only way. Consider being more tolerant and open to other points of view. You may actually learn something and our kids would be better off with some harmony in our community instead of what we have now. Let's work together!
The community has said "NO" to "fluid" money in our school district. Let it not be said that Wisconsin teachers are not compensated handsomely for their services. Compared to other states, Wisconsin teacher compensation ranked #16, while our Wisconsin report card ranks us at #46. Our community is not getting its money's worth from our schools, and it's time to take a REALISTIC look at where we are and, as a community, determine the best course of action.
The solution is not more money for a system in need of an overhaul. This isn't a time for obstinacy, selfishness, or doom and gloom about conditions that existed (and weren't mentioned) prior to the failure of the second referendum in six months. The world does not revolve around Baraboo and we need to do our best to prepare our children for a society that is beyond our town. Enough crying already and become part of the solution instead of exacerbating the problem.
The voters have spoken again. No more blank checks!
Check back frequently. This site is updated as information arises.