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Inside New Berlin
August 2008 - Posts
By Linda Richter
Monday, Aug 25 2008, 04:44 PM
An August 19 Journal Sentinel news article about Milwaukee Public Schools carried the headlines “Buildings rise, test scores fall”; “Spate of school expansions is no tonic for student proficiency”; and “At sites of biggest school expansions, more than half saw test score declines”. The newspaper reported that $102 million was invested in that district’s construction program/neighborhood schools concept, “But bricks and mortar have not raised student performance, testing data shows.”
Is that also true of New Berlin Public Schools?
The New Berlin School Board/ District has been fixated on “facility needs” for years. Millions of dollars have gone into facility construction and renovation projects. There have also been school closures and mergers. Recently, the NBPS superintendent announced that Eisenhower needs $44 million in upgrades.
Sure, facilities are important. But has NBPS put bricks and mortar ahead of educational reform? Shouldn’t improved academic success be the high priority? How does Reagan Elementary School’s expensive electric scrolling sign, mosaic floor tiles, and super-sized gym boost academic performance? NB West now has a pricey field house and cavernous auditorium. How do those amenities increase students’ scores on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams (WKCE) and the ACT college admission test? What effect did the school closings and mergers have on student learning and standardized test scores?
Those questions and more should be answered by the School Board and superintendent, especially since published reports indicate test scores have slipped in the New Berlin School District:
The Journal Sentinel reported in May that the proportion of students proficient in 10th grade math dropped by 8 percentage points for New Berlin. A July NOW article pointed out that Muskego-Norway School District’s 2007 10th grade WKCE scores were similar to its previous year’s (except for an increase of 4 percentage points in science). By comparison, the New Berlin School District’s test results showed a decrease in the number of proficient and advanced students. NOW stated, “ At West, the number of students who posted proficient or advanced level scores declined by six percentage points in math, seven in reading and language arts, and eight in science. Eisenhower scores in each academic area saw a dip, but smaller than at West, from one percentage point in language arts to five in science.”
In August, the Journal Sentinel reported that ACT scores for the class of 2008 rose at most public schools in Waukesha County. (The test’s composite score averages the results of student performance in 4 areas: English, reading, math and science. ) Muskego-Norway High School posted its highest average composite score ever: 23.2, a four-tenths of a point increase from 2007. New Berlin Eisenhower High School increased its composite ACT score two-tenths of a point (from 23.8 in 2007 to 24 in 2008). However, New Berlin West had a composite score of 22.6--a four-tenths of a point drop from last year. Of the 15 Waukesha County public schools that were listed, only NB West and Oconomowoc’s class of 2008 had lower composite ACT scores than their predecessors.
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By Linda Richter
Monday, Aug 18 2008, 07:20 PM
On August 14, New Berlin’s Utility Committee unanimously approved the water agreement with the City of Milwaukee. See JS report.
I reckon that displeases unsuccessful NB aldermanic candidate JJ Blonien.
His vehement opposition to the water agreement and attack against our mayor had been popping up all over NOW.
Blonien’s rant was posted online in NOW’s Your Stories (Aug.1) and Community Voices (Aug. 4) sections and published in the Aug. 7 New Berlin-Muskego NOW newspaper (Best of Blogs).
And that wasn't all. NOW added a “forum” about the water agreement to its web page. The "forum" provided just two highlighted links: one to a reporter’s article, the other to Blonien’s blog deriding the mayor and water deal. The "forum" posed the question "What do you think of the deal?" (So far, only two individuals have posted comments to it)
The interactive “forum” NOW created did not include a link to the Your Stories July 31 blog item by Tiffany Wankowski that was supportive of the water deal. With the author's permission, I am posting it here.
New Berlin Residents to Receive Safe, Healthy Water Through Agreement with City of Milwaukee
By Tiffany Wankowski
NewBerlinNOW.com user
Posted: July 31, 2008
20-year water-sharing deal resolves New Berlin's radium problem while complying with Great Lakes Water Resources Compact
NEW BERLIN, Wis. - New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovatero today praised separate water-sharing and regional benefit agreements approved by the Milwaukee Common Council, saying the agreements will provide safe and healthy water for New Berlin residents while demonstrating regional cooperation on important issues. The New Berlin Common Council is scheduled to vote on the agreements in the next several days.
"The water-sharing agreement is a major health and safety victory for the City of New Berlin," Chiovatero said. "After being ordered by the state Department of Natural Resources to resolve the threat posed by radium-contaminated wells in the central third of New Berlin or face substantial fines, our engineers researched a number of alternatives. Repairing the system would cost many millions of dollars, and purchasing water from Racine or Oak Creek would not be cost-effective at this time. The agreement with the City of Milwaukee is the best combination of cost and providing New Berlin citizens with the safest, healthiest water available."
The City of New Berlin has purchased Lake Michigan water from Milwaukee to serve the community's eastern third since 2005. The new agreement expands the service area to also provide Lake Michigan water to New Berlin's central third. The agreement will be in effect for 20 years, with water supplied through existing New Berlin water mains and pumping stations. New Berlin's western third, largely undeveloped land that is not served by City water or sewer systems, is not part of the plan, will not receive Lake Michigan water and will retain its rural character.
A second, separate agreement calls for the City of New Berlin to make a one-time, $1.5 million regional benefits payment to the City of Milwaukee. Chiovatero said the payment recognizes that important issues extend beyond community borders and shows regional support for Milwaukee's efforts to address shared Milwaukee-New Berlin concerns such as transportation, job creation and other issues. The New Berlin Water Utility will fund the full cost of the one-time payment, and tax dollars will not be used, Chiovatero said.
"Our joint and successful efforts such as passage of the Great Lakes Compact and the water talks between our two cities show the good that can come from suburban and urban leaders finding ways to work cooperatively," he said. "The City of New Berlin looks forward to finalizing these agreements with the City of Milwaukee and to future positive partnerships."
The water agreement adds Lake Michigan water service to approximately 3,930 New Berlin customers, as well as approximately 400 new homes projected to be built in the approved service area over the next 20 years. New Berlin will pay Milwaukee a rate determined by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's utilities. The current average rate is $1.12 per 1,000 gallons, and the City of Milwaukee could see over $40 million in revenue because of the deal. The agreement sets a peak rate of pumpage from Milwaukee at 6.5 million gallons a day. (For comparison purposes, average 2007 water demand for the entire City of New Berlin was 3.184 million gallons per day.)
The New Berlin-Milwaukee agreement fully complies with the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, which Gov. Doyle signed in May. The Compact allows Lake Michigan water to be temporarily diverted outside the Great Lakes Basin to serve communities like New Berlin that straddle the basin dividing line, provided the water goes back into the lakes. Because eastern and central New Berlin are served by existing Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District sewers, all water going to New Berlin will be returned to Lake Michigan.
"This is a good agreement
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By Linda Richter
Saturday, Aug 16 2008, 10:12 AM
According to the local weatherman, today is supposed to be sunny and warm.
What a great night to watch a game outdoors!
So, set your DVRs for the Packers and Brewers games. (Both teams play in California tonight)
And come out and watch an Ironman Football League Playoff game.
Here's the game schedule:
Consult the Ironman Football League website for more information:
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By Linda Richter
Thursday, Aug 14 2008, 03:50 AM
I’m disappointed in the New Berlin School District’s response to my August 8 email.
In my email, I referred to the public notice of the July 28 District Annual Meeting published in the July 24 New Berlin NOW newspaper. I asked about a prior notice.
The district response: It was published only that one time; it should have been published twice; a note has been made to do so next year.
The minutes of the May 12 Board of Education Meeting were published in the June 5 NOW newspaper. Because I couldn’t find the minutes of later New Berlin School Board meetings, such as May 19, June 9, June 16 meetings in any of my New Berlin NOW editions, I inquired about it.
The district’s response: The minutes of those meetings had been sent to NOW on the days following the meetings at which they were approved. They were faxed not emailed. They’ve now been emailed to the editor and will be published in the next New Berlin NOW. The district employee who handled these responsibilities retired in May.
My thoughts:
Apparently, the “reorganization” of administrative and secretarial staff at the District Office contributed to the deficient district communication. Frankly, I don’t care whether the meeting minutes were faxed or emailed. There should have been follow-through. Nor do I care when the minutes were “approved”.
I do care that the meeting minutes were not published as required by board policy and law.
According to New Berlin School Board Policy, the proceedings of all regular and special meetings of the Board of Education shall be published as required by law. The New Berlin Citizen is the official newspaper. Community Newspapers (Journal Communications) replaced the New Berlin Citizen with NOW quite awhile ago.
The law (Wisconsin Statute) 120.11(4) states:
"(4) The proceedings of a school board meeting shall be published within 45 days after the meeting as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, in a newspaper published in the school district, if any, or publicized by school district-wide distribution prepared and directed by the school board and paid out of school funds. If there is no newspaper published in the school district, the proceedings shall be posted or published as the school board directs. For the purpose of publication, the proceedings shall include the substance of every official action taken by the school board at the meeting and a statement of receipts and expenditures in the aggregate. The school board shall make a detailed record of all receipts and expenditures available to the public for inspection at each school board meeting and upon request."
NOW is a newspaper published in the school district. Note that the statute specifies that the proceedings of a school board meeting shall be published within 45 days after the meeting and it's been well over 45 days since the May 19, June 9, and June 16 school board meetings were held.
Compliance with board policy and state law should not be dismissed by district personnel as a "detail" that was overlooked. How sad that informing the public as required via notices and meeting minutes is something that "dropped through the cracks".
Regarding another botched district communication: A Meeting & Report booklet was given to the electorate at the 2008 Annual Meeting. The minutes of last year’s (2007) Annual Meeting are on pages 21 and 22 of the booklet. Most of page 22 of my copy is blank. Oddly, the motion /votes approving the tax levy, and setting a date and time for the 2008 Annual Meeting are missing from it.
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By Linda Richter
Monday, Aug 11 2008, 01:59 AM
Perhaps the New Berlin School Board should send a thank you note to Governor Jim Doyle and the state representatives responsible for the district getting more state aid.
In June, the School Board approved a $52.67 million General Fund budget for 2008-09 with a projected tax levy increase. Indeed, NOW reported: “Budget comes with 4.5 percent tax levy hike, Average homeowner would pay $115 more to operate schools”.
The budget ($52,675,656) & tax levy ($45,301,529) figures were cited in the public notice (July 24 NOW newspaper) of the July 28 District Annual Meeting. However, at the Annual Meeting the electorate was asked to approve a different, lesser tax levy (and tax levy increase) because of an unexpected $3 million state aid “windfall”.
Unexpected? Well, the district's assumption that property valuation would rise by at least 4% was wrong. Additionally, when Dr. Kreutzer’s administration calculated the budget & tax levy-- and presented its recommendations in June, they didn't have some significant data from the state.
According to Ross Mac Pherson, the district’s financial services director, NBPS gets more state aid because ( as reported by NOW )----
- the district benefits from a state aid formula that includes a less than expected increase in equalized property valuation (less than 4%).
- the district drew down its fund balance by $2.9 million last year to fund some building projects
- Gov. Jim Doyle’s insistence that K-12 school aid would be an exception to his zero growth state budget for 2009-10.
It should be noted, though, that state aid is not finalized until October, so things could change.
As for district spending: The proposed 2008-09 $52.67 million Gen. Fund budget approved by the school board is higher than the $51.97 million 2007-08 budget.
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By Linda Richter
Wednesday, Aug 6 2008, 06:40 PM
A spate of family medical emergencies, injuries, health problems and other pressing issues has consumed much of my time during the last few weeks.
As a result, I haven’t been blogging as much as I’d like or usually do.
But stay tuned, I'll be posting another blog entry soon.
-----Linda
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