Fernwood and its greenhouse featured on WUWM

WUWM-FM carried a very nice story about MPS' Fernwood Montessori's greenhouse and how it is used to get kids excited about learning.

From the story:

Everyone at Fernwood gets to enjoy the greenhouse, a glass paned structure roughly the size of an MPS classroom. Sometimes students soak up a little warmth in the winter or pop in for an art project, but it’s the 7th and 8th graders who are the stewards.

Today they’re ticking through chores their teacher Matt Ray scribbled on the “to do” list.

“They truly feel this is their greenhouse," Ray says.

Ray says the idea is to introduce the students to the intricacies of an ecosystem, how living things coexist and share an environment. But Ray says kids learn best by experimenting. That’s how a-ha moments happen.

The story transcript and audio, along with pictures not shown on the radio, are here.

Hat tip: Haas414.

Dr. Aquine Jackson: Excellence in Education

From the Board book:

Dr. Aquine Jackson dedicated 40 years to the students of Milwaukee Public Schools as an educator and leader. During this time period, he served in many roles, including teacher, supervising teacher, assistant principal, principal, administrative specialist, administrator of alternative programs, interim community superintendent (SDA #5), director of Parent and Student Services, associate auperintendent, sirector of Neighborhood Schools Initiative, chief academic officer, and chief officer of school and community cupport. In addition, he is a proud graduate of Milwaukee Boys Tech, where he was a scholar and champion track-and-field athlete. He also attended Lloyd Street School and Brown Street and enrolled his own children in MPS schools.

As a Milwaukee Public Schools administrator, Dr. Jackson was responsible for many important district initiatives that supported increased achievement for all students. Some include implementing the districts school-desegregation order and leading the Neighborhood Schools Initiative, as well as spearheading efforts to increase student attendance and decrease truancy. He was instrumental in establishing TABS (Truancy Abatement and Burglary Suppression Program).

Dr. Jacksons contributions to interscholastic athletics have been many. At Boys Tech, he was an accomplished track-and-field athlete. As a sprinter, he was a six-time State Champion in two events — the 100-yard and 220-yard dash. As a student athlete at UW-Madison, he was a Big 10 Sprint Champion. More recently, he served on the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Associations Board of control for six years.

Beyond Milwaukee Public Schools, Dr. Jackson has been recognized for his many accomplishments at the local, state, and national levels. Throughout his career, Dr. Jackson was very effective in working with the community and enjoyed the many strong connections he fostered on behalf of the district, such as in his recent role as a Commissioner on the Social Development Commission. He is an active member of many other community and professional organizations, including his college fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi, Metropolitan Milwaukee Alliance of Black School Educators, and American Association of School Administrators.

The Milwaukee Board of School Directors recognize and honor Aquine Jackson, Ph.D., for his dedication, outstanding leadership, and commitment to excellence on behalf of the students of the Milwaukee Public Schools.

The state aid picture darkens

It looks like, contrary to an earlier report on this blog, that Gov. Doyle is proposing no increase in general state aids for fiscal 2010. While the governor is proposing a 1% increase, he also is proposing a 1% cut to most non-federal funding. The two actions, shown in separate sections of a budget summary, would cancel each other out.

The two-year increase in general state aids would be around $22 million, under Doyle's budget.

Stay tuned for more information.

Ivy Covert: Excellence in Education

From the Board book:

Ivy Covert has served the students of Milwaukee Public Schools as an educator and leader for nearly 32 years. After graduating from Mt. Mary College, she began her career in the district as a bilingual business teacher at South Division High School. She remained in this position for 12 years, until she became a supervisor for SDA (Service Delivery Area) #6 in 1989. She continued working as a bilingual/ESL supervisor for another seven years. Based on her exceptional leadership and care and concern for the children of Milwaukee, she was promoted in 1996 to Director of the Division of Bilingual Education.

Through her many leadership roles in the field of bilingual education, Ms. Covert has been actively involved within the community and beyond and has been widely recognized for her professional accomplishments. Some of the boards she has served on include the Board of the Council for Spanish Speaking; Board of the UW-Milwaukee Roberto Hernandez Center; the Wisconsin Association for Bilingual Education Board; Mt. Mary Educational Advisory Committee; and the Executive Committee and the Annual Board Committee of the WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment) Consortium, appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. At the national level, Ms. Covert has been an active member in the National Association for Bilingual Education.

During her tenure in Milwaukee Public Schools, Ms. Covert has devoted her entire career to providing high-quality education and services for English-language learners and has been an integral figure in the smooth and seamless operation of many district systems. She truly exemplifies the districts core beliefs that children come first and that the classroom is the most important place in the district. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors recognize and honor Ivy Covert for her dedication, outstanding leadership, and commitment to excellence on behalf of the students of the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Florida looking at four-day school weeks

A Florida legislator has introduced a bill that would allow school districts to operate four days a week as long as the number of educational hours did not change from what is now required. From the Orlando Sentinel:

School boards have been mumbling for months that a four-day school week would save a bundle on utility bills, diesel fuel for buses and certain other expenses, if only state law would permit it. Now some legislators are pushing just such a proposal.

"School boards and superintendents all around the state have been asking for this flexibility," said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, a veteran lawmaker who has filed a bill to make the change during the upcoming legislative session....

"It is not something that anybody would want to do, but it would save a whole lot of money," said Cindy Barrow, a Lake County School Board member.

The Legislature cut school funding by 2 percent in January, and districts are bracing for the possibility of another 2 percent chop next month. On top of that, Education Commissioner Eric Smith has warned school districts to expect a 15 percent cut in state funding for next school year.

For Seminole County schools alone, that would amount to a $64 million loss.

Ouch.

From the MPS Minute...

...happenings this week.

It's not that bad here...yet

California really took a meat axe to education funding to resolve its budget crisis, according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

State lawmakers will cut $8.4 billion from the $58.1 billion budget for public education, lowering per-pupil spending from $8,784 to $8,404 over the next two years.

That's $11,400 less for a typical K-12 classroom of 30 kids.

The education budget is shared by public schools and community colleges, but the colleges will see virtually no cuts, said Edgar Cabral of the state's legislative analyst's office.

Educators had been especially anxious for a budget deal to better decide how many teachers to lay off - and to know whether their districts would even remain solvent. When the budget was finally passed Thursday, schools had taken the largest hit of any state agency.

"Districts are not going to emerge unscathed from this," said Terry Anderson of School Services of California, a firm that advises most of the state's 1,300 school districts on financial matters. Anderson said it is still unclear how much the federal stimulus package will help school districts because much of that money is earmarked for certain programs. California schools and colleges expect at least $5 billion.

California's popular class-size reduction program for kindergarten through third grade escaped the ax after the PTA and teachers' unions cried foul.

"I'm complaining about the budget - but I'm not really complaining," said David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association.

Under the vastly leaner budget, schools will have more freedom in how to spend money. They won't have to buy new textbooks as often, and won't have to reserve as much money for upkeep of schools.

Yet budgets for dozens of programs - from standardized testing to classes for English learners - will be slashed by more than 15 percent this year, and by nearly 20 percent next year.

School funding reform on the way?

Gov. Doyle will propose a school funding reform package this year, according to the Associated Press via the Herald Times Reporter:

MADISON — Gov. Jim Doyle said a plan to lift state revenue caps for school districts that meet certain requirements could be before the Legislature by next fall.

Doyle said the move would be part of an overall school funding reform bill.
Critics have said the caps, which limit how much schools can collect in state aid and local property taxes, haven't kept up with schools' rising costs. But supporters say lifting them would lead to significant increases in property taxes....

Doyle said he would lift the caps for school districts that work together to negotiate union contracts, use the state health plan or a less expensive alternative and agree to a list of practices to improve student performance.

Districts also would have to adjust teachers' pay to reflect such things as the difficulty rural schools have in attracting instructors for some subjects, the governor said.

"Where I'm heading on this is a system by which school districts are able to come out from under the caps but they can do it only with a pathway," Doyle said Wednesday. "It's something in the next couple months that we're going to put forward and it's deserving of a huge discussion in the state."

The gov's budget

Don't make any plans for huge new spending.

Gov. Doyle is proposing to increase funding for school equaliztion aids by 1% for fiscal year 2010 and by another 1.5% for 2011. The total two-year increase under the proposed budget Doyle released yesterday would be $118 million. The FY09 equalization aid amount is $4.9 billion.

MPS lost $18.1 million in general state aids this year and with continued declining enrollment and the minimal statewide aid increase, chances are the district will take another hit. Federal stimulus money, in the form of the state's share of the stabilization fund, likely won't be a big help because Doyle is using to propose it to replace existing aid funding supplied by the state.

(The district does stand to get significant increases in Title I funding and aid for children with disabilities under the stimulus bill, but neither of those can be used for general district operations).

The governor also is proposing to impose stricter oversight on Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) schools and to begin to address the Choice funding flaw that results in higher property taxes for Milwaukee property owners.

The governor's budget would require Choice schools to:

(a) employ teachers and administrators with bachelor's degrees; (b) be accredited by August 1 prior to the beginning of the school year; (c) schedule the same number of instructional hours as required for public schools; (d) adopt academic standards and administer all tests required for public schools; (e) implement the same promotion policies currently required by statute for public schools; (f) maintain pupil progress reports, provide a diploma or certificate for students meeting graduation requirements, and transfer or provide records under certain conditions; (g) provide certain information about school policies and performance to applicants upon request; and (h) give preference to siblings if the program's enrollment cap is reached and a waiting list is implemented.

It appears the requirements would take effect for the 2010-11 school year.

The budget also would allow the district to include in its state aid calculations students enrolled Choice. For the 2009-10 school year, the district would be allowed to count 10% of the students and that would increase by 10 percentage points each year until it hit 50% in 2013-14. Under current law, MPS must pay 45% of the costs of Choice, but cannot count the students for state aid purposes. Student enrollment is a key factor in determining how much aid the district gets.

Doyle also wants to repeal the qualified economic offer law, under which a school board can limit compensation increases for teachers to 3.8%. He also is recommending eliminating revenue limits and local economic conditions as factors to be considered in arbitration over teachers' contracts.

The governor also wants to increase high school graduation requirements to include three years each of science and math. In recent years, though, such non-fiscal issues have been booted from the budget and considered as separate bills in the normal course of legislative business.

The amazing story heard around the world

A true story of sportsmanship, featuring Johntell Franklin of Madison High School. This Journal Sentinel story of a mother's death and a basketball game between Madison and DeKalb, Ill. High School is a must read if you haven't seen it yet.

It's been picked up nationally by ESPN and others.

Let the bargaining begin

The School Board and the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association exchanged initial proposal today for a new teachers' contract.

The full text proposed by the two parties is below, beginning with the Board.

MBSD Goals for 2009-2011 Teacher Contract Negotiations

STUDENTS, STABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY

Teacher quality, improved instruction, and instructional leadership are all essential components to raising student achievement in MPS. However, a strong sense of urgency demands that unless we address some of the barriers to students receiving the maximum benefit of these initiatives, our work is incomplete. Therefore, the Board and the administration believes that it is important to focus on issues of increased student contact time; continuity and stability of instruction in the classrooms, particularly those of our lowest achieving students; time for teachers to share knowledge; and the long-term sustainability of the district. It is around these principles that we approach this bargain. There is a need to establish a consistent level of instructional time for students throughout the district; at all levels. There is the need to address existing practices that do not support continuity of instruction. Finally, given our unprecedented challenges, economic and otherwise, we have to look at ways that support our long-term sustainability as a district but also build a culture around a system-wide shared vision reflective of our strategic plan and the promises contained therein to raise student achievement, reduce the achievement gap, and increase the graduation rate of students who are prepared to compete in the 21st century.

BOARD INITIAL EXCHANGE FOR MODIFICATION OF THE
SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO THE 2007-2009 CONTRACT BETWEEN
THE MBSD AND MTEA (TEACHERS)

February 17, 2009

In recognition that student achievement levels will not rise without concurrent focus on increasing instructional time, increasing time for staff to collaborate on improved instruction, effective staff development and increasing the availability of resources to support these efforts; the MBSD is proposing the following changes:

Two-Year Agreement

Instruction
A longer day, a restructured day, and possible reconfiguration of the day to reflect the following:
- More student instructional time
- Reduce the number of staff changes in high need classrooms, thereby supporting continuity of instruction
- Focus on encouraging experienced/master teachers to apply/transfer to our hard to staff schools, particularly those which have contain some of our lowest achieving students
- More time for teachers to work on what works best for their students through analyzing data, sharing knowledge, and improved instructional approaches.

Staff Development
Examine current staff development practices in terms of resource allocation, best practice, alignment with the strategic plan, and needs assessment all with the goal of ensuring that staff development effectively supports student instruction.

Resource Allocation
Fringe Benefits

- Discussion around the selection of the health and dental third party administrators
- Modification of the health and dental plan designs while maintaining quality benefits so as to reallocate monies to support increased expenditure on supports for students.

Other

- Review compensation practices that provide expenditures that do not directly reflect increased knowledge and/or skills; do not take advantage of or reflect current technology or current operational practices or impact effective local school operations.

The Milwaukee Board of School Directors reserves the right to add to, modify, or delete from any proposals and to challenge any permissive items contained in the collective bargaining agreement at any time up to final ratification by the union membership.

And now for the union's proposal.

A Message from MPS Teachers

Does the Milwaukee School Board recognize that highly-qualified educators - who have the necessary time, tools, and support - are essential to substantially improving student achievement?

Does the School Board realize that much more than a competitive salary/benefits package is needed to attract and retain the best teachers for the students with the most severe needs?

Through an extensive survey and listening process, the MTEA's teacher bargaining team has identified what teachers know is needed to help them make a difference in the lives of children and be more effective in improving student achievement.

The teacher proposals being presented today provide the School Board with an opportunity to listen and respond to the men and women who work directly with the students of MPS. Their teaching conditions are the students' learning conditions.

To improve teaching and learning in MPS, teachers are proposing:

• Class size maximums to enable age-appropriate instruction and individual attention.

• Safe conditions for all students and staff.

• Planning time for all elementary teachers.

•Administrative support, especially with students who continually disrupt classes.

These conditions are set forth in the attached teacher proposals for the 2009-11 contract between the MTEA and the School Board.

MTEA Summary of Initial Proposals

Class Size
Proposal to regulate the number of students in all classes and to mandate ratios for social workers, counselors, nurses, librarians, speech pathologists and others.

Elementary Planning
Proposal to secure planning time for all elementary teachers.

Residency
Proposal to eliminate language on residency from the contract.

Tuition Reimbursement
Proposal to define and increase the monies available for tuition reimbursement.

Mileage

Proposal to eliminate areawide rate. All daily per diem for travel would be at the citywide rate.

Special Education Consulting Period
Proposal to provide special education teachers with a consulting period each day.

MRP Teacher Support
Proposal regarding paraprofessionals being assigned to MRP special education teachers and monetary compensation if the paraprofessional is not in the classroom.

Social Workers

Proposal to define experience credit for social workers.

Discipline

Proposal to exclude chronically disruptive students from the classroom and specify conditions for re-admittance.

Domestic Partners

Proposal to provide all rights and insurance benefits to domestic partners of an employee.

Athletic Directors/Cheerleaders Advisors

Proposal regarding wages, hours and working conditions for athletic directors and cheerleader advisors.

Association Leave

Proposal for the release of the MTEA President and MTEA members engaged in ssociationwork.

Nurses

Proposal to bargain wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment for nurses.

Speech

Proposal to address time spent by speech pathologists for Medicaid reimbursements.

Professional Development

Proposal to allow movement on salary schedule for meeting PI-34 standards, and receiving National Board Certification. Proposal to Pay PDP Reviewers. Proposal to reinstitute district-wide professional development programs.

Block Schedule

Proposal for procedures to be followed when a school considers implementing a block schedule.

Year-Round Schools

Proposal for procedures to be followed when a school considers going to a year-round schedule.

Work Load

Proposal to compensate teachers for collecting, recording and analyzing data.

Job Sharing

Proposal to remove sunset.

Wages

Proposal to increase the salary and all other wages, as defined in the appendices of the contract.

Ald. Hines on MPS

Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. today released the following statement about the file he introduced dealing with how School Board members are chosen:

I recently introduced legislation that would direct the City of Milwaukee Intergovernmental Relations Department (IRD) to “seek introduction and passage of state legislation amending provisions relating to selection of School Board members in a first class city school system.” In terms of population, Milwaukee is the only city that can be legally defined as a city of the first class in the state of Wisconsin.

For years, I have invested much of my own time to improving Milwaukee Public Schools at the grassroots level – not only as an elected official, but also as parent of two MPS students, as an alumnus, and as a member of the advisory board for one MPS institution.

For the twelve years that I have represented neighborhoods in the central city as an Alderman, including the four years that I have been Common Council President, I have been asked by countless constituents: “What can be done to improve MPS?” These residents are not talking about fixing the school-funding flaw at the state level. They are not talking about negotiating a different benefit package for our teachers. They are talking about their children. For years, they have been pleading with the City of Milwaukee to take an active role in transforming MPS into a school system that all of us can be proud of – they are saying that the City of Milwaukee should not just sit on the sidelines. We can bring our considerable resources to bear. We can be part of the solution.

I believe that the future of any major metropolitan area is intrinsically and inextricably linked to its educational system. By and large, people leave cities for one of three reasons: high taxes, rampant crime or failing schools.

Right now, the City of Milwaukee can take steps to keep our portion of the tax burden down, which we have done. (We have kept our own tax increases lower than the rate of inflation, cut City jobs to make operations more lean, and introduced more manageable fees that have eliminated costly street assessments.) Additionally, Comptroller Morics and Finance Chair Murphy have earned the City of Milwaukee one of the highest bond ratings in the nation, meaning that their financial restraint enables us to borrow money at a lower rate than other municipalities in the United States. In terms of crime, we have hired a police chief who is getting results in reducing homicides and violent crime at a significant rate. The Common Council has audited MPD in order to uncover everything from overtime abuses to IT deficiencies, and Chief Flynn has responded to those findings with verifiable improvements.

But we have absolutely no say in the quality of education for which our constituents are paying double-digit tax increases. This cannot continue. If we want to have a world-class city, then the City of Milwaukee must have some “skin in the game.” The specifics of my legislation – currently it is “title only” – will depend upon the results of the McKinsey study initiated by Governor Doyle and Mayor Barrett, which will provide much-needed insight into MPS finances. The Public Policy Forum’s analysis of MPS governance options, recently released, clearly demonstrates that a change in school governance is not a silver bullet. Any change in the governance structure must be rooted in the realities we face, including MPS’s financial track record, the existence of choice schools, and the degree to which our own Mayor can forge community partnerships and show the political will to push for positive change. And success will mean improving bottom-up conditions in parental involvement, as well as top-down initiatives that deal with governance.
I continue to believe that character education and life skills curricula must be part of any discussion to address deficiencies within MPS. No matter who is running the store, we have to have the right tools in stock for our students, and character education should be a cornerstone of efforts to transform MPS.

In terms of fiscal responsibility, the results of the McKinsey study will go a long way for me in determining what role the City of Milwaukee can and should play in aiding MPS. But make no mistake about it – we should play a role in ensuring that MPS is as efficient and effective as possible.

To be clear, I am not advocating for a takeover of MPS. I still believe that this school system can be a consistent producer of intelligent, productive and valuable citizens for generations to come. If the political will to carry out a change in governance does not exist, then other options must be carefully considered.

My intent is to hold off any talk of an MPS takeover for as long as possible, and I plan to do so by working to bring estranged members of the community back into the fold, to help MPS be a truly renowned school district. There is no reason that MPS cannot be the kind of school district that our teachers, administrators, board members and – most of all – students deserve. The City of Milwaukee must step into the fray and demonstrate a willingness to fight for its own future.

Witkowiak wins "Outstanding Citizen" award

Kathy Witkowiak, secretary in the Wellness and Prevention Office, was presented last week with the Milwaukee Police Department Crime Prevention Service Outstanding Citizen Award.

She was one of 27 people honored by the Exchange Club of Milwaukee during the organization's 60th annual Crime Prevention Awards.

Witkowiak received the award for her years of service in Milwaukee Public Schools Safe and Drug Free Schools program, administered in the Wellness and Prevention Office.

“Kathy has been one of the key organizers in our annual Youth Leadership Conference that held each spring,” said Brett Fuller, curriculum specialist for Wellness and Prevention. “That conference reaches over 400 Milwaukee students from public and non-public schools each year.”

Witkowiak has been the Title IV Safe and Drug Free School secretary for Milwaukee Public Schools since 1989. She has helped organize workshops, professional development for staff, parent programs and AODA plays for MPS elementary school children. She has served as a liaison to the DARE and GREAT programs with the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Department.

Another proposal for MPS

Ald. Jim Bohl, along with many others, has an idea about changing how MPS is run. Details are scarce. He, as is the case with Ald. Willie Hines and his MPS proposal, hasn't made them public.

Both proposals will be considered at the Feb. 23 meeting of the Common Council's Judiciary and Legislation Committee. The meeting will be at 1:30 p.m.

The title of the Bohl measure -- the information available -- is this:

Resolution directing the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state legislation amending provisions relating to a First Class City School System to create a citywide elective position of Chief Executive Officer and abolish the position of Superintendent of Schools, and revise the terms of office of both School Board members and the Chief Executive Officer to run and expire concurrently with those of the city's Mayor and Common Council.

Hines' proposal has a much shorter title:

Resolution directing the Intergovernmental Relations Division-Department of Administration to seek introduction and passage of state legislation amending provisions relating to selection of School Board members in a First Class City School System.

Company's coming!

What: Assembly Education Reform Committee
When: 10:30 a.m. Feb 27
Where: MPS central services auditorium, 5225 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee.
What: Informational meeting with the MPS Board of Directors and MPS administrative staff for an overview of MPS and its governance and possible uses of federal funds that may be distributed to benefit MPS.

Free admission!

WTA study: Not a lot new

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance issued a new report stating that that MPS' fringe benefit costs are higher than those in a number of comparable school districts, which ought to come as news to absolutely no one.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in its story on the report, said that Tom Morgan, executive director of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, countered that the district's benefit costs may be high, but its salaries are lower than in many other school districts. Nothing new there, either.

The study also says that MPS has excess building capacity. Yup. True. Should more buildings be closed? Yes.

The study argued that the achievement gap between the district and the state is higher between MPS and Wisconsin than between most of the districts studied and their states. But since all states use different tests, it's not entirely clear that WTA's read that MPS is a particularly low-performing urban district is accurate. We already know, though, that academic achievement in the district is simply not good enough.

(WTA argues that judging district performance on state-district differences is a legitimate way to determine which districts are lowest-performing, even if each state uses different tests, but that doesn't really make sense. Couldn't the differing results also simply reflect which states use the least biased tests?)

The study said MPS has more total employees per student than other districts do, but it is hard to judge the significance of that. MPS, for example, employs its own food service workers and has outstanding participation in its school breakfast program, both of which would increase the number of district employees and the staff-to-student ratio. Other districts may contract out their food service program and not push their breakfast programs. Does that mean MPS is overstaffed? Should we cut those jobs and detach those folks from their health benefits, even if their children are our students?

The report poses these questions:

• Given MPS’s financial problems and declining enrollments, can it operate more school buildings than comparable urban districts?
• Since MPS’s current expenditures per pupil exceed Wisconsin’s statewide average by 13% and the median of 16 districts studied by 42%, is its primary challenge financial? Or, does it have to do with governance or performance?
• A larger share of Milwaukee’s payroll costs go to fringe benefits than any comparable urban district. Its postretirement liability is about $2.4 billion. Can MPS survive financially without rethinking compensation policies?
  
• Although state equalizing aids benefit Milwaukee, does the district’s heavy reliance onstate and federal dollars make it unduly vulnerable, particularly in recessionary times?
  

Stimulus deal reached

House and Senate conferees today cobbled together a stimulus package. From the New York Times:

Negotiations had been going on all day, following extensive talks on Tuesday night, to close the gap between the Senate and House versions. In the end, the agreed-upon package will pare back Democrats’ proposed spending on education and health programs in favor of tax cuts that were needed to win Republican votes in the Senate.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist Republican whose support was crucial to the outcome, said the final package includes $150 billion in spending on infrastructure, including transportation facilities, and considerable tax relief. Moreover, she said, it includes significant money to aid state governments.

Despite intense lobbying by governors, the final deal slashed $35 billion from a proposed state fiscal stabilization fund, eliminated $16 billion in aid for school construction and sharply curtailed health care subsidies for the unemployed.

Browning's Susan Mildren and Natalie Levanetz are EXCEL grant winners

The Second Amendment and a homicide

Milwaukee High School of the Arts student Laura Clark speaks about the Second Amendment as it relates to current conditions.

Each month, the Board of School Directors invites a student to speak about some aspect of the US Constitution. This video is from December. (Yeah, I'm behind.)

The plan for professional development

"Quality professional development is probably the biggest lever that we can pull to improve student achievement," Superintendent William Andrekopoulos tells the School Board's Strategic Planning and Budget Committee.

Trying to read the stimulus tea leaves

The Senate is going to vote today on its version of the stimulus package. The House already adopted a version of its own and once the Senate acts representatives of the two bodies will get together to arm wrestle over the details and come to some sort of agreement.

The New York Times summarizes the differences between the House and Senate versions:

Both the House and the Senate would hugely increase spending on Title I, a program of specialized classroom efforts to help educate poor children, and on education for disabled children.

The House bill would raise Title I spending over two years by $13 billion; for the current fiscal year, spending would rise to $20 billion from about $14.5 billion. The two-year increase in the Senate bill would be $11.4 billion.

Both the House and Senate bills would also increase federal spending on special education by $13 billion over two years.

Spending on Pell Grants, the most important federal program of aid to college students, would also rise. The House bill would raise Pell spending to $27 billion this year, from about $19 billion. The Senate version would increase it a bit less.

Aside from their differing levels of aid to the states, the two bills differ most strikingly in school modernization financing, with the House legislation’s $20 billion unmatched by any money in the Senate version.

NY Times: Education funding, more than roads, provides stimulus

Japan erred when it put too much money into unneeded road and other infrastructure projects when the country's economy tanked in the 1980s, according to the New York Times.

In a nutshell, Japan’s experience suggests that infrastructure spending, while a blunt instrument, can help revive a developed economy, say many economists and one very important American official: Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who was a young financial attaché in Japan during the collapse and subsequent doldrums. One lesson Mr. Geithner has said he took away from that experience is that spending must come in quick, massive doses, and be continued until recovery takes firm root.

Moreover, it matters what gets built: Japan spent too much on increasingly wasteful roads and bridges, and not enough in areas like education and social services, which studies show deliver more bang for the buck than infrastructure spending...

There is disagreement about just how much good the infrastructure spending did, according to the story. It says, though, that

Japan’s experience also seems to argue for spending heavily to promote social development. A 1998 report by the Japan Institute for Local Government, a nonprofit policy research group, found that every 1 trillion yen, or about $11.2 billion, spent on social services like care for the elderly and monthly pension payments added 1.64 trillion yen in growth. Financing for schools and education delivered an even bigger boost of 1.74 trillion yen, the report found.

But every 1 trillion yen spent on infrastructure projects in the 1990s increased Japan’s gross domestic product, a measure of its overall economic size, by only 1.37 trillion yen, mainly by creating jobs and other improvements like reducing travel times.

Economists said the finding suggested that while infrastructure spending may yield strong results for developing nations, creating jobs in higher-paying knowledge-based services like health care and education can bring larger benefits to advanced economies like Japan, with its aging population.

The Accountability and Evaluation plan

Assessment and Research Director Deb Lindsey and Administrative Accountability Director Anita Pietrykowski describe the district's accountability and evaluation efforts under the "Working Together, Achieving More" strategic plan.

California schools facing huge cuts

California schools, faced with fiscal disaster, are reaching the desperation stage, according to the the San Francisco Chronicle.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell pointed to a "precarious" school system all but collapsing under the weight of California's fiscal crisis.

Schools expect to lose $10 billion this year alone, resulting in teacher layoffs, soaring class sizes and fewer librarians and nurses, O'Connell said in his sixth annual overview of education.

"These cuts are nothing short of breathtaking," he said, singling out Hayward Unified School District, which plans to lay off 170 of its 1,100 teachers and raise elementary class sizes from 20 to 32 students.

Other districts around the state are making similar cuts, including Lake Elsinore Unified in Riverside County, where "schools are putting duct tape over light switches to save on electricity," he said.

About that stimulus money

First, it is tied up for the time being in the Senate.

Second, one of the things the ladies and gents in that august body are talking about cutting is special ed funding. The House version of the bill would have sent to MPS about $36 million in additional funding for special education over two years.

From the Associated Press this morning:

A roster of $88 billion worth of cuts was circulating, almost half of which would come from education grants to states, with an additional $13 billion in aid to local school districts for special education and the No Child Left Behind law on the chopping block as well. Some $870 million to fight the flu was among the first items to go, but other items divided the group.
At the same time, the group also was hoping to add perhaps $25 billion in additional infrastructure projects.

Finally, and here's the real kicker, even if the House version of the stimulus bill passes and MPS gets the full $204 million, it will not help our property tax situation one iota. The special education and Title I money is restricted in the ways it can be used and cannot supplant levy-supported funding. The no-supplant rule also would apply to the $88 million in construction money the district could get under the House bill.

City property taxpayers, meanwhile, may very well face a higher private school property tax to support the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Milwaukee property owners are the only ones who have to pay the private school tax, which this year amounted to $58 million (or about $48 million if you count the offsetting high poverty aid, which other districts get as well, but are not required to use to offset a private school property tax).

What happens to school property tax bills is more closely linked to what Gov. Doyle and the state legislature do with the 2009-11 state budget. They are the only ones who can repair the harm inflicted upon Milwaukee taxpayers through the separate and unequal state school funding formula and the private school property tax.

The editorial disagreement

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's news side, in a thinly disguised editorial that ran Sunday, disapproved of MPS getting money that can be used to repair roofs and abate asbestos.

The paper's editorial board disagrees with its colleagues and thinks sending stimulus money to MPS is a fine idea.

The JS pronounces...wrongly

There it was yesterday, the big editorial in the Journal Sentinel.

And it was top o' the front page, where news is supposed to go.

"MPS likely to receive millions," the paper trumpeted. At least it got that right. The House stimulus bill would send $204 million to MPS.

Then the headline continued: "Part of the stimulus set for construction, which the district doesn't need"

What?!

The tone of the story was severely disapproving, tsk-tsking from the start:

"Milwaukee Public Schools would reap $88.6 million over two years for new construction under the economic stimulus package just passed by the US House of Representatives -- even thought the district has 15 vacant school buildings, a large surplus of property and no plans for new construction."

Then, later:

"No district in the state would benefit as much as MPS...The amounts for MPS are particularly eye-catching and not only because they are the largest in the state. Enrollment is declining every year..."

If you read far enough into the story -- way, way, way past that first paragraph, you will find that the money was distributed by formula and MPS would get more money simply because it is so much larger than any other district in the state, has a high poverty rate and a large special education population.

No one in the story actually says the district doesn't need the $88.7 million in construction money proposed in the bill, but the headline fairly describes the paper's opinion, which is made entirely clear throughout the piece.

"In general, MPS facilities have been described by school officials as being in good to better-than-good condition. The kind of situations that create urgent needs for renovation or new construction in some cities have not been on the priority list for MPS officials in recent years," the story says. It reviews in a few paragraphs the paper's earlier findings that not all the projects in the $100 million Neighborhood Schools Initiative lived up to expectation.

It is hard to know where to begin. Does anything related to NSI mean that asbestos should not be abated in MPS school buildings? Whatever anyone's opinion about NSI is, roofs still have to be fixed, doors and windows have to be replaced and wiring has to be upgraded. All those types of projects would qualify for the stimulus money.

What is really bothersome about Sunday's front page op-ed is that the paper's education reporter knows better. The district makes full use of its construction fund taxing authority every year. The city, which used to contribute $10 million annually to MPS to help it keep up with those types of projects, stopped contributing as municipal finances started to crater a few years ago. As a result, MPS has a large list of deferred maintenance projects that would qualify for the federal funding. None of this is a secret and was discussed multiple times at multiple meetings covered by the JS.

And shouldn't the paper ask about pressing construction needs before writing that there are none? The district, should there be any interest in the facts, has about $21 million in projects it needs to get done that could get started quickly. There are 163 roofs that need work, 163 buildings that need wiring and HVAC work (including 126 major HVAC replacements) and 34 sites that need playground or parking lot work. All that is public record.

Other potential and needed projects that would qualify for the stimulus money include renovation of facilities to accommodate preschool expansion as mentioned in the Senate version of the bill; energy efficiency projects to modernize facilities and create long-term savings; facility upgrades to accommodate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)/Project Lead the Way programs; and facility adjustment related to strategic plan. The district's business technology systems could use a financial assist as well.

Finally, the story is framed as if the stimulus bill does not contain a detailed definition of the types of projects that would qualify for the funding.

"Perhaps the biggest question will be what falls under the title 'construction' when rules for spending the money are finalized," the paper says.

Memo to JS: Read the bill! It's right there on that Internet thingie!

Or is the paper saying the definition in the bill doesn't count because the Senate hasn't adopted it yet? But the Senate hasn't adopted anything yet -- including the amount MPS will get -- and yet the JS found that particular piece of information to be worth a big frownie face and many inches of precious newspaper space.

But, anyway, to help the paper in its basic journalistic mission, here is the language:

ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities, including—
(1) repairing, replacing, or installing roofs, including extensive, intensive or semi-intensive green roofs, electrical wiring, plumbing systems, sewage systems, lighting systems, or components of such systems, windows, or doors, including security doors;
(2) repairing, replacing, or installing heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, or components of such systems (including insulation), including indoor air quality assessments;
(3) bringing public schools into compliance with fire, health, and safety codes, including professional installation of fire/life safety alarms, including modernizations, renovations, and repairs that ensure that schools are prepared for emergencies, such as improving building infrastructure to accommodate security measures;
(4) modifications necessary to make public school facilities accessible to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), except that such modifications shall not be the primary use of the grant;
(5) asbestos or polychlorinated biphenyls abatement or removal from public school facilities;
(6) implementation of measures designed to reduce or eliminate human exposure to lead-based paint hazards through methods including interim controls, abatement, or a combination of each; (7) implementation of measures designed to re
duce or eliminate human exposure to mold or mildew;
(8) upgrading or installing educational technology infrastructure to ensure that students have access to up-to-date educational technology;
(9) technology activities that are carried out in connection with school repair and renovation, including (A) wiring;(B) acquiring hardware and software;(C) acquiring connectivity linkages and resources; and (D) acquiring microwave, fiber optics, cable, and satellite transmission equipment;
(10) modernization, renovation, or repair of science and engineering laboratory facilities, libraries, and career and technical education facilities, including those related to energy efficiency and renewable energy, and improvements to building infrastructure to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian access;
(11) renewable energy generation and heating systems, including solar, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, or biomass, including wood pellet, systems or components of such systems;
(12) other modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities to (A) improve teachers’ ability to teach and students’ ability to learn; (B) ensure the health and safety of stu
dents and staff; (C) make them more energy efficient; or (D) reduce class size; and
(13) required environmental remediation related to public school modernization, renovation, or repair described in paragraphs (1) through (12).

The district would not, however, be allowed to use stimulus money to repair stadiums.