Inside New Berlin

Recently, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters published a Conservation Scorecard of our state legislators’ votes on key conservation issues during the 2007-08 legislative session. Mary Lazich got a dismal score-- the lowest score of the Wisconsin State Senators.

Contending that a Scorecard score sometimes “doesn’t do enough to illustrate just how far some legislators will go to jeopardize Wisconsin’s natural resources” and that some legislators are “grossly out-of-line with the conservation values of their constituents”, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters added a “Conservation Dishonor Roll”. Four legislators’ names (including Mary Lazich’s) are on that “Dishonor” list. Senator Lazich and Representative Sheryl Albers got their “Dishonor” mention for ignoring the overwhelming public and bi-partisan support of the Great Lakes Compact and being the only legislators to oppose its passage.

( Check out what James Rowen's The Political Environment blog, July 16 entry  says about Sen. Lazich's actions, too )  

It's not the first time that Sen. Lazich’s (R-New Berlin) performance earned a citizen group's disapproval.       

The CRG Network (an outgrowth of Citizens for Responsible Government PAC), which touts holding politicians accountable, has accused Sen. Lazich of dishonesty. Their Web site states, “ Lazich lied to constituents when asked whether she voted for the pro-taxpayer majority leader. CRG Network did an investigational poll that revealed at least one senator lied about their vote and Lazich was forced to confess to her lie when CRG pushed for a re-vote. She subsequently resigned the leadership post she was promised in return for her vote under continued CRG Network pressure.”  See my July 10 blog post.

My June 20 blog entry reported that Sen. Lazich’s name is on the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s list of “Public Enemies”. The WDC is a non-partisan political watchdog group that tracks money in Wisconsin politics and supports clean government and pro-democracy reform. 

New Berlin Public Schools spent $7,552.61 on the 4-color, 4-page December newsletter it mailed to community residents.

Was that expense necessary? Couldn’t the information have been communicated on the NBPS Web site, at a meeting/hearing, or via a press conference, instead?

Ironically, a few months prior to mailing out that newsletter, District administration recommended revision of Board Policy #1323 (Distribution of Flyers) and advocated the use of technology/the internet for District- parent communication. Putting information on the District’s Web site would replace the District’s long time practice of sending information home to elementary school parents via (paper) Friday Folders. (Superintendent Kreutzer said individual folders could still be made up--if a parent requested it).

And yes, the District newsletter is loaded with positive “spin”. 

It displays a large chart on the first page, which compares the NBPS and City of New Berlin “cumulative tax levy % increase since 1998”. The magic word is “%”. It’s a chart of percentage increase.  Nowhere in the newsletter are the $ amounts of the tax levies mentioned.

The newsletter does not tell you that the NB School District tax levy (at over $40 million) is double the City of New Berlin’s tax levy. A 10% hike in the School District tax levy would give it an approx. $4 million levy increase. In contrast, the City would have to raise its levy by 20% to achieve a $4 million increase.

Should parents and District taxpayers be pleased that our so-called “fiscally conservative” School Board/District spent over $7.5 grand on a mailing to our community that does not provide such pertinent information as the $ amount of the NBPS budget or tax levy? Hopefully, the way information was presented or omitted in the newsletter did not lead community residents to mistakenly conclude that the City taxes & spends more money than the New Berlin School District.

“A Message from Dr. Paul Kreutzer” also appears on the newsletter's first page. Dr. Kreutzer, the NBPS Superintendent, ends his two- paragraph “message” with this statement: “While the New Berlin Public Schools maintain a healthy amount of spending per pupil, our local tax history shows a steady control over local revenues for our operations.”

Hmmm. Did you see the tiny chart next to the fold on the next page of the newsletter?----

• Greendale $12,054
• Wauwatosa $11,506
• New Berlin $11,439
• Cudahy $10,905
• Greenfield $10,737

      * data from Public Policy Forum

Reading that chart, it would be easy to conclude that New Berlin’s per pupil spending is average or ranks in the middle. However, if you visit the Public Policy Forum’s Web site, you’ll discover that among the 50 Southeastern Wisconsin public school districts listed, New Berlin Public Schools  ranks 12^th in per pupil spending. Although the District newsletter refrains from referring to NBPS’s 12^th place spending rank, it does choose to broadcast that New Berlin ranked 4^th out of 50 school districts in southeastern Wisconsin in WKCE total scores as reported by the Public Policy Forum.

On its third page, the District newsletter boasts that Eisenhower was nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School. That's grand. But are we supposed to forget that the New Berlin School Board/District chose to close Prospect Hill, the District’s only nationally recognized Blue Ribbon elementary school?

The spotlight is on football this weekend.

Brett Favre’s request to be released from the Packers has been widely reported and debated.

There’s been considerable speculation on how the Packers will deal with the messy situation/dilemma.

On a happier note, here’s some other football news:

Several teams in the Ironman Football League (a Semi-Pro league) will be playing at the Milwaukee Sports Complex, 6000 W. Ryan Road in Franklin on Sunday, July 13.

• The New Berlin Panthers will take on the Milwaukee Venom at 5 pm .

• Then at 8 pm, it will be Muskego Hitmen vs Fond du Lac Crusaders.

“Statement from New Berlin Citizens for Responsible Government” (NBCRG July 4 blog post on NOW), starts off with a load of gibberish (computer symbols/code) that Ralph Heun calls a “defect of Jsonline”.

Then the blog mentions a letter published in NOW (July 3 issue) from a woman supporting the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Muskego.  

Ralph Heun's next paragraph conveys that he wishes “to clarify a comment about Citizens for Responsible Government and Muskego First."   Which comment? His blog doesn’t say. How are blog readers supposed to know what he is talking about?

Heun goes on to assert that his group New Berlin Citizens for Responsible Government (NBCRG) is NOT Citizens for Responsible Government and is not affiliated “in any way” with the CRG Network.

Confused? That's understandable.  The groups' names are awfully similar.  

Maybe this will help “clarify” things a bit:

Re: Citizens for Responsible Government/CRG Network----

The Nov 28, 2005 Journal Sentinel describes CRG as a populist movement born of the 2002 Milwaukee County pension scandal recalls. 

That edition also states: “Since its start, CRG spawned or adopted 15 affiliates statewide and has brought to full stops the political careers of Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, six Milwaukee County supervisors, aldermen in Wauwatosa and Franklin, and now Nowak.” (Pewaukee Mayor Jeff Nowak)

“The group also claims credit for killing the PabstCity project, a Waukesha school referendum and forcing state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) to quit as Senate assistant majority leader.”

According to the CRG Network Website, they (& CRG Milwaukee, previously) have filed only one recall in their history--the recall of Tom Ament. And the site says: “Since that initial event in 2002, CRG Network has been primarily engaged in educating grassroots groups in how to deal with unresponsive government agencies and officials. Every recall and action since then has been accomplished by other groups and affiliates who have come to CRG Network for educational assistance.”

Their Website speaks of holding government accountable and refers to CRG Network as 3 distinct organizations: a PAC; a 501 (c) non-profit, tax-exempt corporation/foundation; and a lobby/advocacy group

Not everyone supports the war, but we all should support the troops. A wonderfully practical way is by sending “care packages”.

Remembering how great it felt to get such items from folks back home when he served in the first Gulf War, a New Berlin resident asked his motorcycle group to adopt a military unit and send it “care packages”. His motorcycle group, Star Riding and Touring Chapter 372 Milwaukee (Yamaha) agreed and have selected Fox Company Second Battalion 24^th Marines (a unit from the Milwaukee area that is currently stationed in Iraq).

Toiletries and Comfort Needs