Search Results for: Dane county madison
Waiting for an analysis of the long term costs of taxpayer supported Dane County Madison Public Health “mandates”
John Tierney Long before Covid struck, economists detected a deadly pattern in the impact of natural disasters: if the executive branch of government used the emergency to claim sweeping new powers over the citizenry, more people died than would have if government powers had remained constrained. It’s now clear that the Covid pandemic is the […]
Dane County Madison Public Health Mandates and the high school class of 2023
Scott Girard: “I’d been looking forward to high school and it was so hyped up,” said West High School senior Alex Vakar. “It felt like this necessary period for growth because people always talk about them being the best days of their lives, and we missed out on half of that.” Dances, sports, time with […]
Public Health Dane County Madison Open Records Request Response
A 58MB PDF [redacted] response to my late November, 2021 request. I write to request email communication between Public Health Dane County Madison and: The Madison School District WEAC Madison Teachers, Inc. League of Women voters For the period July, 2021 to November 26, 2021 Second file
Civics: commentary on the Dane County Madison Public Health mask mandate, that lacks elected an official vote
Allison Garfield and Natalie Yahr: The resolution seeks to dismiss the current emergency order — which was issued by Public Health Madison & Dane County on Dec. 20, 2021 and extends the mask mandate through Feb. 1, 2022 — until public input and “consent of the governed” had been achieved. The previous emergency order had […]
Political Posturing, interests and “adult employment” on taxpayer supported Dane County Madison public health ordering schools closed
Wisconsin Supreme Court: For the respondent, there was a brief filed by Remzy D. Bitar, Sadie R. Zurfluh, and Municipal and Litigation Group ̧ Waukesha. There was an oral argument by Remzy D. Bitar. For the petitioners Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, et al., there was a reply brief filed by Richard M. […]
Dane County Madison Public Health drops complaint against dance studio, will incorporate allegations into counterclaim in related lawsuit
Ed Treleven: Attorneys representing Public Health Madison and Dane County have asked to withdraw the health agency’s 119-count complaint against an Oregon dance studio over alleged COVID-19 public health order violations, but only to allow consolidation of the alleged violations into a related lawsuit. In a court filing Tuesday, Madison Assistant City Attorney Marci Paulsen wrote […]
Teachers to get priority for COVID-19 vaccine, Dane County Madison public health department says
Chris Rickert: While many public schools in Dane County began reopening in recent months to some in-person learning, and many private schools have been in-person since September, Madison public school students won’t begin returning to the classroom until March 9, when kindergartners go back. First- and second-graders are set to return March 16 and 4-year-old […]
Dance studio cited for its ‘Nutcracker’ performance joins lawsuit against 140+ employee Dane County Madison public health department
Ed Treleven: An Oregon dance studio that last week drew a 119-count complaint from the joint Madison and Dane County public health department for alleged COVID-19 health order violations is suing the department, joining a lawsuit that challenges Dane County’s indoor gathering limits. A Leap Above Dance, which faces nearly $24,000 in fines for alleged […]
Dane County Madison health department files 119-count complaint against studio over ‘Nutcracker’ performance
Chris Rickert: It does not include specific regulations for art or dance studios, and Nemeckay said her business was among about 20 studios that collectively tried to get answers from Public Health Madison and Dane County about what they were allowed to do, but that the agency either gave them conflicting information or refused to […]
State Supreme Court puts pause on Dane County Madison public health order barring in-person school
Scott Girard: Schools in Dane County that want to open for in-person education can do so immediately for all grades after the state Supreme Court temporarily blocked enforcement of the Public Health Madison & Dane County order requiring virtual learning for grades 3-12. The court’s conservative majority issued the 4-3 ruling [PDF document], which combined […]
Dane County Madison Public Health issues hundreds of warnings for alleged COVID-19 order violations
Chris Rickert: Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 5,568 cases of COVID-19 in Dane County, including 41 new cases reported Wednesday and 40 documented deaths. Statewide there have been 77,129 cases and 1,142 deaths. SSM Health, which owns St. Mary’s Hospital, was sent warning letters on Aug. 7, 13 and 19 for […]
Dane County Madison Public Health amendment allows in-person instruction for students with disabilities
Scott Girard: Students with disabilities who need some in-person instruction will be allowed to go to schools this fall after Public Health Madison & Dane County amended its previous order Tuesday. PHMDC had announced on Friday, Aug. 21, that no students beyond grades K-2 were allowed for in-person instruction until certain metrics were met. After a challenging spring for […]
Dane County Madison Public Health Slides (late Friday) on Schools; “activity tracker”
Dane County Madison Public Health: The Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ (DHS) Activity Tracker, Harvard guidance, COVID-local and COVIDActNow served as the main sources of the targets used for determining in-person instruction by grade level. Related: Catholic schools will sue Dane County Madison Public Health to open as scheduled Notes and links on Dane County Madison Public […]
Lawsuits challenge Dane County Madison Public Health’s authority to close private schools
Scott Girard: Two separate lawsuits are seeking to block a new public health emergency order that allows only a fraction of elementary school students to attend classes in person in Dane County. The legal challenges come days after Public Health Madison and Dane County officials in their ninth emergency order restricted in-person schooling to grades K-2 and […]
Lawsuit filed against head of Public Health Dane County madison over emergency order requiring virtual start to school year
Sarah Gray: A lawsuit was filed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Tuesday arguing that Janel Heinrich, the Public Health Officer of Madison and Dane County, does not have the legal authority to keep children home from school. Public Health Madison and Dane County issued Emergency Order #9, which went into effect Monday. It orders all […]
Parents, private schools ask state Supreme Court to toss Dane County Madison Public Health order limiting in-person school
Chris Rickert: A group of parents and private religious schools is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to void a Dane County order barring in-person school for most students, saying the order issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic infringes on the right to worship and to an education. “This case challenges the authority of one […]
Catholic schools will sue Dane County Madison Public Health to open as scheduled
David Blaska: Shortly after normal office hours on Friday (08-21-2020) Madison/Dane County Public Health issued an order closing down in-school education for students above second grade at private schools for the upcoming school year — matching the voluntary stance taken by area public schools. “This is clearly about making sure private schools aren’t allowed to […]
Dane County Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging taxpayer supported Madison Schools gender identity policy; appeal planned
Ed Treleven: Remington’s Nov. 23 decision does not directly address the merits of the policy but spends a great number of its 33 pages discussing what is considered legal standing, as expressed in recent state and federal court decisions. Ignoring Doe’s lack of standing, Remington wrote, would be ignoring his own “limited and modest role […]
The politics of mask “mandates”; meanwhile in Dane County (Madison)
By Lisa Lerer, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Astead W. Herndon It was Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey who began the effort last fall, weeks after he was stunned by the energy of right-wing voters in his blue state, who nearly ousted him from office in what was widely expected to be an easy re-election […]
K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Madison Taxpayers support the highest Property Taxes in Dane County
Dean Mosiman: In Madison, for example, the total tax bill for a $250,000 home in the Madison School District assessed at 100% of its fair market value was $5,336, among the highest in the county. The highest was $5,593 for a Madison home of the same value in the Verona School District, followed by $5,590 […]
Public Health Madison and Dane County reports that as of Thursday, it knows of no COVID-19-related deaths or hospitalizations linked to in-person learning in the county.
Chris Rickert: The smaller number of F’s stands in contrast to the experience of almost all of the 15 other school districts completely or predominantly within Dane County. Fourteen districts saw more failing grades once instruction went online; only the McFarland district saw fewer failing grades in fall 2020 than in fall 2019. Meanwhile, the […]
UW-Madison fires back at Dane County for proposing online classes, sending students home
Kelly Meyerhofer: The best way to reduce the number of infections, Blank said, is “not by issuing press releases calling for students to leave, but to partner in developing collaborative solutions for the benefit of all residents.” She warned that the county is unlikely to see a rapid decline in cases until agencies with jurisdiction […]
Taxpayer supported Dane County Board joins the Madison School Board in ignoring open meeting laws
Chris Rickert: Groups of Dane County Board members have since 2014 been meeting privately and without any public notice to discuss government business — a practice that echoes private caucus meetings the liberal-dominated board has conducted in years past. Meetings between the board’s leadership and leaders of some of its key committees, first reported by […]
Commentary on Growing Madison (and Dane County) K-12 Property Tax Bills
Dean Mosiman: Driven by higher property values, slower growth in the lottery credit and rising school levies, many Dane County homeowners will see higher tax bills this year. In the city of Madison, the total tax bill for the average assessed home in the Madison School District is rising about $374, or 5.8%, to $6,789. […]
K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Madison/Dane County Property Taxes Highest in Wisconsin, 61st in USA
Nick Heynen: Using data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the report’s authors examined residential property taxes in every U.S. county from 2007 to 2011, looking at how much homeowners were paying on average and how that average compared to average home sale prices over the same time period. The data contained some interesting, […]
90 Schools (2 in Dane County) Apply to Join Wisconsin Voucher Program; Madison Schools Governance Dichotomy?
Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham wisely stated:
“Rather than do a lot of work on opposing the voucher movement, we are going to focus on making sure our schools are the best schools possible and the schools of choice in Madison,” Cheatham said.
Just a few days ago, the Madison School Board said this in the “strategic framework document”:
Public education is under sustained attack, both in our state and across the nation. Initiatives like voucher expansion are premised on the notion that public schools are not up to the challenge of effectively educating diverse groups of students in urban settings.
We are out to prove that wrong. With Superintendent Cheatham, we agree that here in Madison all the ingredients are in place. Now it is up to us to show that we can serve as a model of a thriving urban school district, one that seeks out strong community partnerships and values genuine collaboration with teachers and staff in service of student success.
Our Strategic Framework lays out a roadmap for our work. While some of the goals will seem familiar, what’s new is a clear and streamlined focus and a tangible and energizing sense of shared commitment to our common goals.Madison must focus, laser like on academic achievement.
Status Quo Costs More: Madison Schools’ Administration Floats a 7.38% Property Tax Increase; Dane County Incomes down 4.1%…. District Received $11.8M Redistributed State Tax Dollar Increase last year. Spending up 6.3% over the past 16 months
The Madison School District Administration (217 page 7.41MB PDF)
The Madison Metropolitan School District’s proposed 2013-2014 balanced budget provides resources for a sound education for the district’s children.
The proposed 2013-2014 balanced budget continues to put resources where they are most needed in the classrooms.
Total spending under the balanced budget is $392,807,993 which is a decrease of $70,235 or (0.02%) less than the 2012-13 Revised Budget. The change to the revenue limit plus other fund increases or decreases comprises the entire proposed budget. The property tax levy would increase by $18,385,847 or 7.38% to $267,675,929.
The total MMSD 2013-14 balanced budget includes many funds. A fund is a separate set of accounting records, segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities. A fund is established for accountability purposes to demonstrate that financial resources are being used only for permitted purposes. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction specifies the various funds required to be used by Wisconsin school districts.A few useful links:
The January, 2012 budget document mentioned “District spending remains largely flat at $369,394,753” (2012-2013), yet the “baseline” for 2013-2014 mentions planned spending of $392,807,993 “a decrease of $70,235 or (0.02%) less than the 2012-13 Revised Budget” (around $15k/student). The District’s budget generally increases throughout the school year, growing 6.3% from January, 2012 to April, 2013. Follow the District’s budget changes for the past year, here.
Meanwhile, via a kind reader, Wages for Dane County and Wisconsin workers fell, latest federal figures sayThe average weekly wage for workers in Dane County fell by 4.1 percent between September 2011 and September 2012, the first decrease for the third quarter in at least a decade and a touch greater than the state average, according to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Dane County workers made an average of $842 weekly in the third quarter of 2012, down $36 from the same time period a year earlier. It was the 12th-biggest drop in terms of percentage among Wisconsin’s counties.
Statewide, wages fell 2.65 percent to an average of $770 per week. That was the fourth-biggest loss among states by percentage. Nationally, Wisconsin ranked 35th among the states for wages, down from 33rd for the third quarter in 2011.
The data also show that Wisconsin ranked 44th nationwide in job creation for the private sector, but while job creation has dominated news coverage here owing largely to Gov. Scott Walker’s pledge to create 250,000 new jobs during his term, stagnant wages have been a longstanding concern.Finally, should Madison, Wisconsin and federal taxpayers spend more for ongoing disastrous reading results?
The defunct “citizen’s budget” was an effort to create an easily comparable annual two page document, rather than the present 217 pager.
“Censorship through complexity” – Assange
2012 Madison School Board Candidates at Dane County Democrats Forum
Jack Craver. (Video)
Seat 1 Candidates:
Nichelle Nichols
www.nichols4schoolboard.org
email: nnichols4mmsd@gmail.com
Arlene Silveira (incumbent)
www.arleneforschoolboard.com
email: arlene_Silveira@yahoo.com
Seat 2 Candidates:
Mary Burke
www.maryburkeforschoolboard.net
email: maryburkewi@gmail.com
Michael Flores
www.floresforschoolboard.org
email: floresm1977@gmail.com
1.25.2012 Madison School Board Candidate DCCPA Event Audio.
Arlene Silveira & Michael Flores Madison Teachers, Inc. Candidate Q & A.
K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Highest & Lowest States for Property Taxes: Dane County, WI (Madison) is ranked 53rd as a % of Income
Hoping for lower property taxes? Head south. A 2009 Tax Foundation ranking shows that the 10 states with the lowest property taxes are all in the South. The homeowners there pay, on average, less than $1,000 a year in property taxes, while those in the East can pay more than six times as much.
A Tax Foundation map of states (pictured) shows 16 states, highlighted in blue, where residents pay in property taxes 1.2% or greater of their home’s value. The 19 white states fall between 0.65% and 1.20%, while the 15 yellow states pay the least.a
Madison Superintendent Dan Nerad’s Remarks at a Dane County Public Affairs Council Event
Watch the 70 minute presentation and discussion or listen to this 29MB mp3 file
I took a few notes (with apologies for their brevity):
Revisit strategic plan in January with local stakeholders. Preferred to lead with strategic plan but budget came first.
Hopes (MMSD) literacy programs are maintained.
He wants to listen to the community.
The District’s mission is teaching and learning.
The District has several strengths and some notable weaknesses, including achievement gaps.
Schools have a broader mission than workforce development, including helping students be good people.
Achievement gap is a significant issue. There is a compelling need to face an issue that affects Madison’s viability. These are not quick fix kind of issues. We need to talk more openly about this.
If I speak openly, I hope that people will be supportive of public education.
He wishes to reframe conversation around improvements for all students.
Five areas of discussion:
- 4k community conversation
- SLC grant (More here). Use the grant to begin a conversation about high schools. The structure has been in place for over 100 years. Discussed kids who are lost in high school.
- Curriculum can be more workforce based. Green bay has 4 high schools aligned with careers (for example: Health care).
- Revisit school safety
- Curriculum
– safety plan and response system
– schools should be the safest place in the community
– technology is not the complete answer
– math task force; Madison high school students take fewer credits than other Wisconsin urban districts
– reaffirms notable math achievement gap- Fine Arts task force report: Fine arts help kids do better academically,
Erik Kass, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services:
Discussed budget gaps.
Plans to review financial processes.
He previously worked as a financial analyst.
Goal is to provide accurate, honest and understandable information.Jonathan Barry posed a useful question (46 minutes) on how the current MTI agreement prohibits participation in alternative programs, such as Operation Fresh Start (“nobody shall educate that is not a member of Madison Teachers”). Barry mentioned that a recent United Way study referenced 4,000 local disconnected youth (under 21). This topic is relevant in a number of areas, including online learning and credit for non-MMSD courses. This has also been an issue in the local lack of a 4K program.
Madison Edgewood senior gets a perfect ACT, almost on SAT
6 Dane County Students Score a Perfect 36 on the 2007 ACT
Edgewood High School senior Matthew Everts recently learned he’s just about perfect — when it comes to the two major college-entrance exams, anyway.
Matthew, who hopes to attend a university on the West Coast, received a 36, the highest possible composite score, on the ACT.
He remembers feeling focused when he took the ACT in June, a week before tackling the SAT.
“I knew that if I did well I wouldn’t have to take the test again,” Matthew said Tuesday. “Not having to take a four-hour test is always a good thing.”
On the SAT, Matthew received a perfect 800 on critical reading and math, two of the three SAT Critical Reasoning Tests, along with a 740 out of a possible 800 on the writing test.
Matthew also took the SAT in three subject areas — chemistry, math level two and U.S. history — and received a perfect score on all three tests.(Adam) Schneider, who plays trumpet in the Middleton school band and is a member of the ecology club, expects to attend college and study biology at UW-Eau Claire or St. Olaf College, a liberal arts college in Minnesota. He also plans on working toward a graduate degree in botany, doing field research and teaching once he finishes school.
Schneider is one of six Dane County students to post perfect marks on the ACT test during the 2007-08 school. Others who earned perfect marks were Mary Kate Wall and Matthew Everts from Edgewood High School, Axel Glaubitz and Dianna Amasino from Madison West High School and Alex Van Abel from Monona Grove High School. All the students were juniors when they took the test.
At the state level, 22 students received perfect scores on the ACT test last school year. On the national level, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students that take the ACT test earn a perfect mark.
Meanwhile, six Madison Metropolitan School District students earned perfect test scores in 2006.
Madison Mayor Proposes Expansion of Low Income Housing Throughout Dane County in an Effort to Reduce the MMSD’s Low Income Population
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is proposing a regional approach to affordable housing to help ease high concentrations of poor students in Madison schools.
Cieslewicz is proposing to merge the city and Dane County public housing authorities into a single entity that would take a more regional view.
The authorities handle federal vouchers that offset rent payments, public housing and support first-time buyers.
Cieslewicz also wants to make communities outside Madison eligible for money from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which now stands at $4 million.
Over time, the proposals might spread low-income housing more evenly through the region, which would help all schools, Cieslewicz said.Madison Demographics: 82.2% white (Dane County = 87.5%) with 15% of the population living below poverty (2000 census; Dane County = 9.4%). 43% of the Madison School District’s students were classified as “low income” for the 2007-2008 school year.
Dane County Saves $1.2M on Employee Health Insurance: Will the Madison School District Follow This Lead?
Recently, the Sun Prairie School district and its teachers’ union successfully bargained with DeanCare to bring down future costs for employee health insurance. This week Dane County and five of its employee unions agreed to save $1.2M in employee health insurance costs for 2007 by moving all covered employees to one provider, Physicians Plus HMO. […]
civics: Taxpayer Funded Dane County’s public health agency plans to utilize dating apps to enhance STD testing
Chris Rickert: The joint Madison and Dane County public health department is entering the world of online dating. Not because it’s looking to meet other cute, single government agencies, but to better protect people from the scourge of sexually transmitted infections. Public Health Madison and Dane County will send messages through the apps to the […]
Property Taxes in and Around Madison (2022 Sales)
4602 Deerpath Rd Middleton, WI $605,000.00 7/25/2022 $7,517.55 548 Big Stone Tr Middleton, WI $617,500.00 5/31/2022 $10,841.01 1206 Fritz Rd Verona, WI $7,409.64 10239 Meandering Way Verona, WI $600,000.00 5/5/2022 $10,963.12 3004 Wyndwood Way Sun Prairie, WI $605,000.00 10/4/2022 $9,205.83 178 N Legacy Way Sun Prairie, WI $613,500.00 12/28/2022 $11,113.25 821 Hiawatha Dr […]
“Grades” and the taxpayer funded Madison school District
Chris Rickert: It’s also laid bare what could be an inequity in the new guaranteed-admission regime because most Dane County public high schools also don’t weigh their grades for difficulty — meaning that, in theory, students who get straight A’s in all regular-level classes could have a better chance at getting in to UW than […]
k-12 Tax & $pending climate: Dane county board election and property tax growth
Danielle DuClos: Ratzlaff: Property tax relief. With the median home value in Dane County at $304,700, the typical annual property tax bill reaches $7,324 — far exceeding the national median of $2,690. There is no way that this can or will sustain itself. Plus, you add in the two referendums that the city of Madison has passed and […]
Madison teacher who sexually assaulted student placed in first offenders program
Chris Rickert: A former teacher at a Madison private school was placed in a first offenders program after pleading guilty Monday to sexually assaulting a student. Jessica M. Kelbel, 30, of Madison, who was a special-education supervisor at The Richardson School on Madison’s North Side, was charged in February 2024 with sexual assault of a […]
“The position puts the state’s second-largest school district at odds with nearly all the other public school districts in Dane County”
Chris Rickert: But while some changes were made, a check of all 16 of the school districts that serve Dane County found that 10 had SROs and four were looking at bringing them in for the first time or bringing them back. The Deerfield School District, enrollment 746, was the only other district besides Madison […]
Madison School District Debt Ratings & Burden
Via my open records request: Debt schedule Standard & Poors Debt Rating September, 2024 “ai” summary: Madison Metropolitan School District – S&P Rating Summary (September 2024) Current Ratings SP-1+ rating on $50M Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes (due Sept 2025) AA+ rating on existing General Obligation debt Outlook: Stable Financial Strengths Stable operating performance with conservative […]
US News Ranks Five Madison Schools
Abbey Machtig: Shorewood Hills, Van Hise and Randall elementary schools all scored in the top 30 for their grade level, as did Hamilton Middle School and West High School. Additionally, Marquette and Stephens elementary schools and Spring Harbor Middle School ranked in the top 10% statewide in their grade levels. “These recognitions directly reflect our […]
K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: “We already pay more property taxes than any other county in the state”
David Blaska Summary: For the fourth straight year I voted NO on the Dane County Budget. For 2025 the county budget: Raises county property taxes by over $2.7 million. While this might not seem like a lot compared to a nearly billion-dollar total budget, it continues moving Dane County’s tax burden in the wrong direction. We already pay more property […]
Notes on Madison’s growing property tax burden
Kayla Huynh: Nearly 95,000 people in Dane County received Social Security payments in 2022. In January this year, the estimated average monthly Social Security check was about $1,900. The annual property tax bill on the average Madison home costs over $7,000 for city- and school-related taxes, according to city and school district estimates. In a few years, depending […]
Civics: Duplicate ballots in Madison
Scott Bauer: Up to 2,000 voters in Wisconsin’s heavily Democratic capital of Madison were sent duplicate absentee ballots, but a city spokesperson said Tuesday that none had been returned, all affected voters were being contacted and there were multiple safeguards in place to ensure only one ballot is counted. “This was a mistake,” city spokesperson […]
Notes on Urban Triage Madison Area Activity
Danielle DuClos: Urban Triage also provides the county’s housing navigation services, which aim to help residents find housing and fill out rental applications. The nonprofit’s contract with the county for housing navigation and other services is $456,000, according to county records. Last year’s nonprofit tax filings show Urban Triage had 24 employees and $2.8 million in net assets. […]
Close some Madison schools, and a no on the November Referendums
Dave Cieslewicz And the district’s argument in favor of what seems like madness? Enrollments may turn around some day. But that’s unlikely for two reasons. The first is that fertility rates are down and enrollment declines are an issue for districts all over the country. In addition, the COVID pandemic resulted in an increase in […]
Notes on Madison’s tax and $pending increases amidst declining enrollment
Abbey Machtig: The Madison School District has big plans to update 10 of its aging schools using taxpayer dollars if voters approve a $507 million referendum in November. But those plans don’t take into account the current decline in student enrollment, and there is no plan, for now at least, to close or consolidate any […]
Notes on Madison’s planned $607M tax & spending increase, outcomes?
Abbey Machtig: At $607 million, the Madison School District’s pair of referendums set for November will be the second-largest ask of voters by a school district in Wisconsin history. It comes in behind Racine’s $1 billion referendum, which passed in 2020 by only five votes. The dollar amount Madison is requesting has been described as “unprecedented” in […]
Substantial Madison K-12 tax and $pending increase plans
Kayla Huynh One question on the ballot would ask voters for $100 million over the next four school years to increase spending on staff salaries and education programs. The second would ask for $507 million to renovate or replace seven aging elementary and middle schools. The two referendums would be “unprecedented in size and scope […]
Taxpayer Funded Madison Schools Underperform
Dave Cieslewicz: A few weeks ago I wrote about a study that showed that Madison public schools are underperforming both state and national averages for math scores. And while everyone is bouncing back a bit after COVID, Madison students’ improvement has severely lagged. Now comes a Wisconsin State Journal report on absenteeism. It’s bad everywhere but again worse in […]
Overall, the Taxpayer supported Madison School District plans to spend about $591 million this school year”
Chris Rickert: Math achievement did not necessarily line up with per-pupil spending in Dane County and Wisconsin’s largest districts. Madison spent the most, for example, of the 10 county districts included in the analysis, or $18,896 per pupil in the 2021-22 school year, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. Among the […]
Lates Madison crime data
WiSJ: Madison police last week unveiled its 2023 crime numbers, which showed that violent crimes like robberies declined from the previous year. But some crimes, including homicides, went up. So it safer in Madison than it was a decade ago? Here are the numbers since 2013, broken down by crime. Homicides in Madison There were […]
Last parent in lawsuit over Madison Schools gender identity guidance drops appeal
Mitchell Schmidt: The parent, only identified in the ruling as Jane Doe 4, was the last of 14 parents who initially sued the district in 2020 over a policy that’s part of a guidance document on student gender identity. The policy covered topics that include communication with the families of transgender and nonbinary students about […]
Notes on Madison’s Long Term, Disastrous Reading Results
Olivia Herken: Madison had some of the worst reading gaps in Dane County. Only 10% of Black students in grades 3 through 8 scored proficient or higher in ELA, and only 21% of Hispanic students, compared to 45% of their white counterparts. Other Dane County schools had similar disparities. In Middleton, 20% of Black children […]
Non communication and the taxpayer supported Madison School District
Elizabeth Wadas: The Madison Metropolitan School District’s head of communications, Tim LeMonds, is on leave amidst an ongoing investigation. NBC15 Investigates confirmed LeMonds’ employment status with the district’s human resources team Thursday afternoon. Earlier this month, MMSD broke its silence after a complaint alleging harassment and bullying against its head of communications was made public […]
Rare media advocacy for Madison K-12 Accountability
Wisconsin State Journal: It’s not just LeMonds’ staff that has struggled to work with him. LeMonds physically blocked a WMTV-TV (Ch. 15) news reporter from posing a question to Superintendent Carlton Jenkins at a public event — even grabbing and pushing down her hand and microphone, as video of the incident shows. He allegedly called […]
Taxpayer funded Open Records Resistance at the Madison School District
Scott Girard: The complaint against Madison Metropolitan School District spokesperson Tim LeMonds that he fought to keep private alleges he bullied and harassed numerous employees under his management as well as members of the local media. Filed in October 2022 by three employees, one of whom has since left the district, the complaint includes a timeline of […]
Open Records and the taxpayer supported Madison School District
Scott Girard: The Madison Metropolitan School District can release an employee complaint filed against its spokesperson as part of a response to an open records request, a Dane County judge ruled Thursday. Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford ruled against MMSD’s executive director for communications, Tim LeMonds, who filed a lawsuit against MMSD on March 24 […]
State of Black Students event promotes change, discussion in Madison schools
Anna Hansen : When Danielle Hairston-Green first moved to the Madison area, many people told her they hoped she didn’t have any children, warning her to avoid the Madison School District. So, when Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County held an event on the State of Black Students in the Madison School […]
Madison School District looks to end staff COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Olivia Herken: “A lot has changed since September of 2021,” Stampfli told the Madison School Board at a work group meeting Monday. The original mandate requires staff to have the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is either the first two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single dose of the Johnson […]
Taxpayer Supported Madison School District PR Employee Sues to Stop Open Records Disclosure
Elizabeth Wadas: The Madison Metropolitan School District is being sued by one of its own. MMSD Head of Communications Tim LeMonds does not want two documents from an NBC15 Investigates’ open records request released – and he is taking his bosses to court to stop it. On Friday, LeMonds filed a preliminary injunction motion against […]
Madison East High School senior wins Journalist of the Year award
Wyatt Bandt: A Madison high school student was named Journalist of the Year by the Wisconsin Journalism Education Association. Kadjtata Bah, a senior from Madison East High School, was given the title for her “outstanding background in journalistic work.” She began writing about topics she was interested in for the Simpson Street Free Press at […]
Notes on the taxpayer supported Madison Summer School Staffing plans
Olivia Herken; The district doesn’t need to approve any new funds to provide this raise, and instead, the enrollment for summer school this year will be capped at 4,000 students to be able to hike pay within the already approved budget. The pay raise increases staffing costs from $2.8 million last year to $3.5 million. […]
Why is One City Charter School Facing Legacy Madison Media Blowback?
Kaleem Caire: Thank you CapTimes for printing my OpEd. Interestingly, in a conversation with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction yesterday, state officials told us that we are legally obligated to count our students who are enrolled and present on the day of the pupil count (tomorrow, Friday). This is state law. They also told […]
Did Woke Madison help murder Beth Potter and Robin Carre?
David Blaska: This Wednesday 09-07-22, Khari Sanford will be sentenced in Dane County Circuit Court for the execution-style slaying of Dr. Beth Potter and her husband Robin Carre. They were murdered by a person they had tried to help,” their memorial obituary reads. Khari Sanford was 18 years old on March 30, 2020 when he entered the […]
Civics: Open Records in King County, Washington
Daniel Beekman: King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has asked Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall to put together an investigation into the deletion of text messages from the phones of then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and other city leaders in 2020. “It wasn’t clear to me that anyone was going to start this investigation without prompting,” Satterberg said Thursday […]
Madison area K-12 school projects
Elizabeth Beyer: With the completion of Sun Prairie West High School, the district will shift from one comprehensive grade 10-12 school to two grade 9-12 grade schools at the start of the school year. Over the summer, Sun Prairie East High School underwent $5 million in changes to create more collaborative learning environments, district spokesperson […]
Ongoing spending increase discussions in the taxpayer supported Madison Schools (bricks & mortar vs people?), amidst declining enrollment
Scott Girard: Board president Ali Muldrow, who has a conflict of interest in discussing teacher salaries as her husband is a teacher, commented only on the hourly workers’ pay rate Monday, but indicated she strongly supports an increase. “I’m really deeply vested in our ability to substantially shift how we’re compensating hourly wage workers,” Muldrow […]
An interview with Madison’s Cherokee Middle School Principle – and recent Secondary Principal of the Year award winner
Scott Girard: One of the biggest things was how we co-created our equity vision. That was a huge piece of it, having our families, our students and our staff really lean in, look at our data, both numerical (and) looking at our interviews with our families, especially families who have not been included in school […]
Commentary on Madison’s behavior education plan
Scott Girard: Simkin suggested one example is in the student use of cell phones in classrooms, something teachers have expressed concerns about this school year. The BEP already prohibits the use of unauthorized, non-educationally required devices that disrupt learning, but Simkin said that teachers “don’t have what they need to implement this and it’s greatly […]
Summer School update in Madison
Chris Rickert: LeMonds said the base rate for summer school staff is $28 per hour, or 12% higher than in previous years. But the relief money last year allowed the district to pay $40 an hour. The district’s teachers’ union, Madison Teachers Inc., had not responded to requests for comment. Wednesday’s district email said “chronic […]
K-12 tax & spending climate: Madison spending growth amidst declining enrollment
Elizabeth Beyer: Jones told the board that 67 staff members are leaving this year, but the district is only hiring 10 new staff. Prior to the meeting, Jones noted that school districts of all sizes across Wisconsin are offering base wage increases to their teachers that are near or at 4.7% to keep in line […]
“The fact that she was disconnected from that research is evidence of the problem.” Madison….
Dana Goldstein: How Professor Calkins ended up influencing tens of millions of children is, in one sense, the story of education in America. Unlike many developed countries, the United States lacks a national curriculum or teacher-training standards. Local policies change constantly, as governors, school boards, mayors and superintendents flow in and out of jobs. Amid […]
Race and the Taxpayer Funded Madison School District
David Blaska: If you doubt that the Woke Wobblies have taken over Madison’s public schools, we submit the following: School board president Ali Muldrow and immediate past member Ananda Mirilli are accusing Ismael Ozanne, a black man, of racism most foul. They want him to resign (!!!) because police arrested Freedom Inc. spokesperson Jessica Williams […]
“At least 2.4 million students in the United States have participated in Reading Recovery”. Madison?
Emily Hanford & Christopher Peak: The fact that students who participated in Reading Recovery did worse in later grades than similar students who did not get the program surprised May. [study] “Was Reading Recovery harmful? I wouldn’t go as far as to say that,” he said. “But what we do know is that the kids […]
Taxpayer Supported Madison School District plans to spend $543M+ during 2022-2023; about $21k/student
Elizabeth Beyer: The district is receiving $70.6 million over the course of three payments. The district’s first installment, ESSER I, was approximately $9.2 million and had been exhausted by the end of the 2020-21 school year. Currently, $39.8 million of the second two installments, ESSER II and III, are written into the 2022-23 preliminary budget. […]
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 system spends $5.6M on literacy curriculum
Scott Girard: In MMSD, 34.9% of students in grades 3-8 scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the statewide Forward Exam in 2018-19, the most recent year the exam was given with a high percentage of students participating. The results were worse for every non-white group of students other than Asians, who had the same percentage as […]
Notes on the taxpayer supported Madison School District’s “asynchronous learning” scheme
Scott Girard: In a statement last week, Madison Teachers Inc. put the blame on DPI for the last-minute change from the district. “DPI should understand that to us who have to actually implement this additional work, this move signals the prioritization of compliance above compassion,” MTI president Michael Jones wrote. Jones wrote that the other […]
Madison’s literacy disaster, continued: reading recovery’s negative impact on children
Emily Hanford and Christopher Peak The new, federally funded study found that children who received Reading Recovery had scores on state reading tests in third and fourth grade that were below the test scores of similar children who did not receive Reading Recovery. “It’s not what we expected, and it’s concerning,” said lead author Henry May, director […]
Notes on the taxpayer supported Madison school district “equity audit”
Scott Girard “There is a lot of evidence that the state of Wisconsin has the most extreme gaps in opportunity and outcomes based on race and that within Wisconsin, MMSD is often ranked among the worst or the worst in some of these indicators,” MMSD director of research Brianne Monahan said. Jackson said the process […]
Mission vs organization, redux; Madison’s disastrous reading Results
Paul Fanlund: That said, his indictment of liberals in college towns echoes something Gloria Ladson-Billings, a renowned UW-Madison professor emerita, told me for a column last year about liberals and race. “Everyone is for the most part self-interested,” she said. “You can only go so far before people start seeing it as an erosion of something they […]
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 make up “asynchronous” time
Scott Girard: Lessons and coursework will be available through Seesaw and Google Classroom, with paper copies also available. “Each school will send families follow-up communication with additional details about asynchronous learning time,” the email states. The district has chosen to use asynchronous learning as its solution. According to an email sent to families Wednesday, K-12 […]
“I would say Madison schools were definitely a place where you could be yourself more, and you’re able to explore more,” he said.”
Elizabeth Beyer: “That was my first-ever protest,” he said. “It was remarkable to see people outside of Door 1, outside of the Castle (what students call the Collegiate-Gothic style façade that faces East Washington Avenue) all together coming as one. We actually made change from it.” The protests were organized in response to what students […]
Madison West high School Curriculum Practice Notes
“CRT is not taught in schools.” West High School in Madison is teaching the basics of CRT once a month to their entire student body. Called “Regent Pride,” the slides explore the basic tenets of CRT. Multiple concerned parents have contacted me. Thread below: pic.twitter.com/qrsRTe65oU — Dan Lennington (@DanLennington) April 8, 2022 Mandates, closed schools and […]
Civics: Ongoing Decline in Madison School Board Candidates and Voters; Unhealthy
Scott Girard: This year’s election showed lower interest than recent contested races, in both fundraising for School Board races and voters. The number of votes was less than even last year, which featured two seats up for election with both candidates unopposed. Just over 41,000 people voted in those races. The 2020 election, which included the Democratic […]
Always interesting 2022 Madison School Board Election Agitation, via SMS
David Blaska has launched a write-in campaign for this seat, supported by former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. Mandates, closed schools and Dane County Madison Public Health. The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic” 2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the […]
Supporting David Blaska (2022 write in) for Madison School Board; Muldrow Campaign messages
Dave Cieslewicz: I’m voting for David Blaska. God help me. But God help us all if we continue down the path laid out for us by the current board without at least someone to challenge the status quo. Postscript: This is not just a Madison problem. Liberal San Francisco voters recently recalled three hard-left school […]
Madison’s taxpayer supported schools spend more one time funds on “virtual school” expansion
Scott Girard According to an email sent to board members Tuesday morning, there are currently 286 students enrolled in online programming, with 150 in third through fifth grades and 136 in grades six to 12. When the school year began, there were about 750 requests for virtual instruction in elementary grades and 452 applications for grades […]
Commentary on Madison’s taxpayer funded K-12 Governance and Spring 2022, largely unopposed school Board candidates
Elizabeth Beyer: “include instituting law and order in schools, questioning diversity and equity initiatives in curriculum and promoting charter schools. His viewpoint, an outlier among the predominantly left-leaning board, would create diversity of thought if he is elected, he said.” I did not see Madison’s long term, disastrous reading results mentioned in this article. Mandates, closed […]
Madison’s long term disastrous reading results, taxpayers and the school board
Scott Girard In MMSD, 34.9% of students in grades 3-8 scored “Proficient” or “Advanced” on the statewide Forward Exam in 2018-19, the most recent year the exam was given with a high percentage of students participating. If the overall number isn’t bad enough, the results were worse for every non-white group of students other than […]
Notes on taxpayer supported K-12 Governance in Madison.
David Blaska: Blaska’s beef is that ex-mayor Dave accuses Republicans of cynically playing the culture wars purely for political gain while doing exactly that himself. “Republicans aren’t raising these issues at every opportunity because they really care about kids or parents one way or the other. They’re exploiting these things because they see a hot political issue that they can […]
Notes on taxpayer supported Madison Schools curriculum and media perspective
David Blaska: Thanks to the Simpson Street Free Press for hosting a Madison school board debate Thursday 03-17-22. We’ll include the link when it is posted. Must admit, was taken aback by the Wisconsin State Journal’s question. Reporter Elizabeth Beyer asked Blaska which classrooms are teaching critical race theory?Suppose she wanted your write-in candidate for Seat #4 to rat […]
Advocating a “study on stupidity”: Madison school crime edition
David Blaska: Were they just hoping problem would go away? Now the Madison school board is developing a committee to study school safety. NOW? Today? Five months after a widespread brawl at East high school induced one-third of the student body to shelter at home for safety? Two years after defunding school resource police officers? And all the […]
Notes on administrative mandates vs. elected official legislation: Dane County edition
“Heinrich has exercised the powers of a dictatorship in Dane County for 2 years.” — Justice Pat Roggensack during today’s argument. https://t.co/53oA4zbjrz — Dan Lennington (@DanLennington) March 9, 2022 2005: When all third graders read at grade level or beyond by the end of the year, the achievement gap will be closed…and not before. 2004 notes. Mandates, closed […]
Ongoing taxpayer supported Madison school district reading spending commentary
Scott Girard The mixed recommendation would cost approximately $4 million for its curricular materials, while the single-vendor option would cost approximately $3.2 million, according to the presentation. Board members did not generally make their preferences clear Monday. “It’s really important that we understand the impact that we’ll be making in this investment and understand how […]
Eliminating Latin at Madison West high school amidst enrollment declines and taxpayer supported district budget growth
Scott Girard: MMSD spokesman Tim LeMonds wrote in an email that the 6.1 FTE cut is a combination of two years of enrollment losses. Last year, enrollment decreased such that West lost three positions, LeMonds wrote, but the school was “allowed to retain those positions due to COVID.” Based on projections for next year, enrollment […]
One arrest made in threats to Madison’s Memorial High School
Scott Girard: Despite taking that student into custody, the school received another “threatening call” on Friday, according to an email to Memorial families from principal Matt Hendrickson. The school has received at least one such call each day this week, but police investigations have found none of them to be credible. “MPD is continuing a […]
Madison schools outcomes and “Restorative Justice” notes
David Blaska: It’s heart-breaking, it really is. Two Madison teenagers took different paths. Anthony Chung was a National Merit Scholar at Memorial high school, student representative to the Board of Education, about to graduate from elite Georgetown University. With him in the car the night of 09-12-20 on Mineral Point Road was the former classmate he […]
Waivers (and Mulligans); Madison’s K-12 Governance Climate
Scott Girard: The only non-unanimous vote came on the instructional time waiver request. Pryor wrote in the memo the district still intends to meet the state’s required hours of instruction for students, but the three-day extension of winter break in early January means the district needs “flexibility to meet the needs of our students.” “Our […]
Madison school governance climate amidst long term, disastrous reading results
David Blaska: One conclusion from the first debate among candidates for Madison school board: Stop blaming COVID for our failing schools and own up to what we’ve done to our kids. Covid was the cover story school board president Ali Muldrow spun for the on-going chaos in Madison’s classrooms. (Another brawl at East high school Monday 02-21-22.) But […]
