Inside New Berlin

In his latest blogs, New Berlin School Board VP Matt Thomas is in a dither about City government/officials. Could it be that he's trying to shift attention from the School District/School Board? And blowing lots of smoke?

Here are a few things to ponder:

Taxes: Based on 2005-06 tax rate data recently published by Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance-- among Wisconsin cities with populations over 30,000 like New Berlin, the City of New Berlin's equalized tax rate was ranked lowest. In contrast, the New Berlin School District's levy and tax rates were among the highest of Wisconsin school districts. In fact, according to the Wis. Taxpayers Alliance data, the New Berlin School District's tax rate exceeded our neighboring school districts of Elmbrook (Brookfield), Muskego-Norway, West Allis, Greenfield, and Waukesha.

When Ted Wysocki was elected mayor in 2001, his aldermanic seat became vacant. Several people applied for it, including Thomas. Wysocki's tie-breaking vote gave Thomas the appointed seat for a year. When that expired, Thomas chose not to run for the aldermanic office.
Thomas served a 3-year term on the School Board. He was re- elected to a second term, but quit during it--to take that aldermanic appointment. Now, years later, Thomas is on the School Board again----and grumbling about the City budget, the mayor chosen by the electorate to replace Wysocki, and other City officials.

If Thomas really believes the School Board should be notified about an increased school tax credit from the State, why doesn't he take that up with state officials? If the State fails to notify the School Board, why should it be the mayor's job to notify the School Board? After all, the School Board isn't doing the tax collection/sending taxpayers the tax bill. Thomas argues the City isn't the School District. Well, that's true. Maybe its time the School District collected its own taxes instead of having the City collect them.

For many years now, the City has utilized a form that not only lists the state, county, city and school districts tax levy and tax rate figures, it also states under "subtotal tax rates" the amount of the school tax credit, as well as the lottery credit. It's been standard practice for city officials to review and consider the total tax picture--including the tax credits.

Disagreeing with Thomas or Aldermen Dave Ament and Ken Harenda or approving a budget under the State maximum, doesn't make someone a "liberal".

Our so-called "fiscally conservative" New Berlin School Board is spending a ton of money on 2 school buildings.

There are so many troublesome School Board/School District issues and actions to address, it would take multiple blogs. But don't count on Thomas to bring them to your attention.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving--
A time to reflect, be thankful for what we have, and celebrate.
A time of caring and sharing.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (November 19) reports: "According to Charity Navigator, a non-profit group that evaluates charities, 50% of giving by individual donors occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year's."

Please remember:
The New Berlin Food Pantry is located at 2600 S. Sunnyslope Road, New Berlin.
The phone number is (262) 789-8040.
It's mission is to feed the hungry.

Years ago, young people thought it fun to squeeze a bunch of people into a telephone booth.
Lately, we've been experiencing local government bodies cramming multiple meetings into a meeting night.

Yeah, they can do it, but is it smart?

When their night is stacked full of different meetings, will our New Berlin officials feel time-pressured to whiz through individual agenda items, skip or limit discussion, postpone action or make a hasty decision?

When meetings begin at suppertime and end in the wee hours of the next morning, how alert and attentive are the officials to all of the agenda issues, discussion and debate?

And is this in the public's best interests?

On November 13, the New Berlin School Board held three meetings. The first and third were closed session meetings (public not allowed).

Sandwiched between them was the monthly work session-board meeting. It was a quickie, half-hour, open-to-the public meeting consisting mostly of a report from administration and a plea from a church pastor. There was hardly any comment from board members. And no board vote (except to adjourn).

The evening of November 14 was jam-packed with City government meetings. A public hearing was followed by a lengthy Committee of the Whole Meeting. The Common Council Meeting started around midnight. There was even a brief closed session later. What a meeting marathon!

Maybe school and city officials want to give up as few of their evenings as possible to government meetings, preferring to pack several into a single night---and maybe it's easier to schedule meetings this way---- but is it really good practice/ public service?

Several months ago, the New Berlin School Board directed administration to study possible cost savings of outsourcing custodial services. From District Business Manager Anthony Goodheur's report at Monday's November 13 School Board Meeting, we learned:

First, that the private contractors showed little interest. A request for a proposal went out to 9 firms, yet only one--GCA, an Illinois firm-- responded by actually submitting a bid. And GCA's initial bid was incomplete, so Mr. Goodheur extended the bidding deadline.

Second, outsourcing the custodial services wouldn't save money. GCA's bid came in at considerably more per year than current staff costs. Hence, Mr. Goodheur's recommendation to the School Board to retain district staff at current staffing levels. He saw no financial advantage to outsourcing the custodial services.

Mr. Goodheur also argued that keeping current staff helps maintain the quality the community and staff have come to expect.

Third, outsourcing wouldn't be more efficient. The GCA bid includes money for "traveling" managers who would go to the various schools, rather than be based at any one building. They would not be doing any cleaning. In contrast, the school district employs night supervisors at each high school who clean, as well as supervise.

According to Mr. Goodheur: Some of the private contractors, including GCA, cited the industry standard ratio. What's the industry standard? It's cleaning 3500 square feet per hour. By comparison, district staff has a 5000 square feet per hour ratio.

Superintendent James Benfield argues that this shows that the district's custodians are performing at higher levels than those in the private sector.

Put another way: A lot more GCA workers would be needed to match the work output of the school district's custodians.

Perhaps this blog article's title should be "Nobody Does It Better".

Hopefully, the School Board learned an important lesson Monday night that privatization is not always the answer-- or best choice.

For more on this subject, I recommend:
a) Reporter John Schultz's article posted Nov. 14: "New Berlin schools to retain in-house cleaning crews Privatization not cost-effective"
b) Contacting NBPS District Office and requesting to view the tape of the Nov. 13 Board Meeting or to request a copy of the tape.

Doing something special to honor veterans, such as offering discounts, would be a nice gesture to let them know we really do care that they took time out of their lives to protect us----- Those were the sentiments a Waukesha woman expressed in her letter to the editor published recently in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Actually, the Golden Corral Restaurant on Highway 164 (1673 Arcadian Ave, Waukesha) annually does something very special.

The restaurant, which opened 2 years ago, has a Military Appreciation Day each November around Veterans Day. ( It just had one yesterday, Monday, November 13)

On Military Appreciation Day, Golden Corral offers a free dinner to servicemen/women and to veterans.
Free. Wow. That's even better than a discount and it's fun, too. What a grand way to honor those who served or are serving their country. Super job, Golden Corral!

The Ride for the 2007 Wheelchair Games was held October 15, 2006. Greg Grueneberg, who organized the event in only 6 weeks, did a marvelous job. The Ride, which aids disabled vets, was such a success, there's been talk of having another one, probably in May. I'll keep you posted.

Eileen Wilson coordinated the registration, which went well. Assisting with check-in that Oct 15 Sunday morning was fun. ( I also enjoyed the doughnuts donated by Tony's C's Bakery)

The Ride began promptly at 10:30 a.m. My husband (a Vietnam War veteran) and I rode our Harley. The Ride was not exclusively for Harley bikers. There were Hondas, BMWs and other bikes, too.

It was awesome being in this large procession of over 100 motorcycles. US and POW flags were displayed on lead motorcycles--courtesy of the American Legion, I was told.
To travel down city streets and highways with law enforcement escorts and not have to stop at traffic lights and signs was quite an experience. Special thanks to the Milwaukee and Waukesha Co. Sheriffs Departments, Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls Police Departments, and VA police for their assistance. Additionally, the highly trained road captains of various motorcycle chapters in the state did an absolutely outstanding job blockading intersections. It was amazingly well coordinated.

We sped along a scenic route from the VA Medical Center grounds to Holy Hill.
And from there, we rode on to Heaven City in Mukwonago for a really delicious pig roast by chef Jimmy Wade. The band Rock Solid donated their time to provide musical entertainment.

County Executive Dan Vrakas, who participated in the Ride, also deserves praise for supporting this event to aid disabled veterans.

Since school board office is supposed to be non-partisan, shouldn't our school board members represent and care about all district residents, not just those in one political camp? Moreover, shouldn't their primary concern be with student education?

Instead, New Berlin School Board Vice-President Matt Thomas' NewBerlinNOW blog tells us that School Board officers Thomas and Keith Heun are "political strategists who work exclusively for conservative candidates in state and local elections".

A divisive and arrogant endorsement letter from School Board members Matt Weiss, Matt Thomas, Keith Heun, and Jennifer Eitel was printed in the September 9, 2006 Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Calling themselves "the leaders of the most conservative school board in Wisconsin", the four board officers urged people to vote for Chris Lufter in the Republican primary for the 97th Assembly District representing Waukesha residents.

Lufter lost in the primary.

The letter titled "Lufter will fight higher taxes, stand her ground, states:
"As the leaders of the most conservative school board in Wisconsin, we know there is a dire need to elect strong conservatives to Madison. That is why we are endorsing Chris Lufter in the Tuesday Republican primary for the 97th Assembly District representing Waukesha. Here in New Berlin, we have made revolutionary conservative changes in the way this school district is run. We have gone beyond any other school district by instituting a real tax levy freeze. We have put an end to tax increase referendums. We have created a capital improvement plan that takes care of all of our buildings within the annual budget without tax increases. As part of that capital plan, we have built a brand-new elementary school named after Ronald Reagan. We were repeatedly told by liberal activists, administrators, bureaucrats and even some party "leaders" that these changes couldn't (and shouldn't) be made. We stood our ground and did what we knew was right.
Lufter is like us. As president of the Waukesha Taxpayers League, she has been a leader in Waukesha, fighting against large tax increase referendums and advocating for reducing the size of the county board. We know that Lufter will be exactly the same kind of person in Madison. She is a pro-life, anti-tax, fiscal and social conservative who will stand up for what is right in Madison even when the liberal Democrats and the "Republicans in name only" want her to cave to their special interests. There are already too many courthouse crowd, Madison-insider, big government Republicans in office. Send a message by electing the conservative outsider in this race, Chris Lufter on Tuesday.
Matt Weiss, president
Matt Thomas, vice president
Keith Heun, clerk
Jennifer Eitel, treasurer
New Berlin School Board, New Berlin"

I wonder when Weiss, Thomas, Heun, and Eitel ---a board majority--- decided to take the action of composing, signing and submitting the letter endorsing Lufter---given the absence of a posted public notice.

I thought we elected and paid our school board members to govern the New Berlin School District--not serve as hacks for state office political candidates.

Well, fellow blogger Matt Thomas endorsed Mark Green for Governor -- despite the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's endorsement of Jim Doyle and the newspaper's October 30 editorial, expressing why Doyle's record/stances on education were better than Mark Green's. In fact, Thomas recently used his blog to endorse several candidates (but not a single Democrat).

And the election results? Obviously many people disagree with Matt Thomas.
Not only did Wisconsin voters chose to re-elect Governor Doyle to another 4-year term, Doyle beat Green by an impressive margin.
But elsewhere there was much voter discontent with leadership status quo. Democrats gained control of the State Senate. Republicans lost several seats in the State Assembly. J.B. Van Hollen won in the State Attorney General race, but by such a narrow margin, there may be a recount.
Democrats also gained control of Congress-both the House and Senate.

A few months ago, the New Berlin School Board made the radical decision to drop out of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) - the only school board in the state to do so. The organization had grown too political, argued New Berlin School Board Vice-President Matt Thomas.

Too political? Well, talk about political--- the New Berlin School Board VP has used his NewBerlinNOW blog to endorse a slew of Republican candidates, including Governor Jim Doyle's political opponent.

Shouldn't school board members put students' education above partisan politics?

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently endorsed Jim Doyle for Governor. The October 30 editorial explains why the paper's editors feel Doyle is the better choice on the issue of education:

Editorial: Education: It's about deeds

Jim Doyle , the incumbent Democratic governor, and Rep. Mark Green, the Republican challenger, have been sparring over education. Doyle gets the better grade.
Green has put forth ideas worth exploring and has identified flaws in the state's educational system. But when it came to putting money on the line for educational programs in Congress, Green has come up short - raising the fear he would repeat that pattern as governor.
Education figures heavily in the debate between the candidates, which is appropriate. Education shapes the state's future and makes up a huge share of state spending.
On kindergarten-through-12th-grade education, Green would mandate that 70 cents of every dollar go into the classroom. In 2003-'04, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 61 cents of every dollar spent on K-12 education in Wisconsin went to teacher salaries and benefits, and 13 cents paid for administration - about the national average. Right now, it's unclear what it would take to reach Green's target. But the state could benefit from a discussion of the issue.
Green's proposals on Milwaukee's voucher program are mixed. He readily supports the program - that's good. It has expanded educational opportunities for needy families. He wants to include private schools (not children) in the suburbs - not a bad idea. He also wants to lift the income cap - a worrisome step. The program must stay targeted at the needy who otherwise lack school options.
Doyle is no big fan of choice. But he was a key to expanding the program, giving it desperately needed breathing room. He deserves credit for this compromise, and, we'd note, his objections were aimed at getting more legislative support for smaller class sizes. A good thing, too.
Faced with a huge deficit, Doyle reneged in his first budget on the promise Gov. Tommy Thompson made that the state would pick up two-thirds of the finances for public schools. But Doyle recommitted himself to that mark in the following budget, and he promises to keep that two-thirds commitment again in the next budget he drafts.
Green is critical of Doyle's past failure to meet the two-thirds mark but tellingly refuses to make that promise. He only vows to try.
Clearly, school financing has to be overhauled. Both have said they would examine ways to do this.
On the University of Wisconsin, Green has attacked Doyle for rising tuition. But Doyle points out that UW tuition remains on the low side among Big Ten schools.
Green says UW gives preference to too many out-of-state students, who make up a quarter of enrollment. But cutting back on such students may cut back on in-state students, too, since out-of-state students pay their way and subsidize in-state students.
As a congressman, Green basically toed the party line on education. Time and again, the Republicans pared education funding to reduce the ballooning deficit - brought about in large part by tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy. That helps explain Green's consistently low-to-medium scores on education from such groups as the National Parent Teacher Association and the National School Boards Association.
Wrestling with budget dilemmas, Doyle has tried to keep UW accessible by doubling the pot of financial aid available to students. Also, Doyle recently instituted the Wisconsin Covenant, a plan by which the state guarantees a seat in a Wisconsin college to eighth graders who maintain a "B" average through high school.
Through both word and deed, Doyle is more impressive on education. Green falls short on deed.

At the April 25, 2005 New Berlin School Board meeting, Rep. Mark Gundrum and activist attorney Michael Dean asked the School Board to join the legislature in seeking to intervene as defendants to oppose action brought by some state workers seeking domestic partner benefits.

The School Board hastily agreed--without even bothering to consult the district's own legal counsel first. And it retained Mr. Dean.

Ultimately, eight local governments (municipalities) sought to intervene in the lawsuit: The New Berlin School District, the Raymond Unified School District, the Town of Caledonia, the Town of Cottage Grove, Green Bay, Watertown, Oostburg, and Hobart.

Just those 8-- out of the vast number of cities, towns, villages and over 400 school districts in Wisconsin!

The motion to intervene was reviewed by the Circuit Court. Guess what? The judge ruled against allowing the intervention by the Municipalities and Legislature.
To put it bluntly, the New Berlin School District/Board lost.

It appealed. And the outcome? The Appeals Court sided with the Circuit Court---affirming its denial of the Legislature's and Municipalities' motions to intervene.
In other words, the New Berlin School District/Board struck out again!

By using the internet, you can get access to the Appeals Court decision and read the multiple reasons the Court presented for denying the requested intervention action. The Appeals Court decision was filed September 28 and posted on the Wisconsin Court Access web site.

Displeased with the Appeals Court rejection, Michael Dean petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court a few days ago. Of course, it's a long shot that the State Supreme Court will even consent to take this up, since it accepts so few cases annually.

Surprised to learn these facts? Isn't it a shame that the New Berlin School District and Board keeps the community in the dark about such matters? Our community newspaper has been lax in reporting it, too. But you deserve to know.