UPDATE: Lee Sensenbrenner writes about last night’s “tense” board meeting.
Doug Erickson writes:

Carol Carstensen suggested Monday that the board seek an independent analysis of the school district’s administrative costs as it mulls $10 million in proposed cuts (on a 300+m budget).
Specifically, Carstensen said she’s heard concern from the public about the cost of the district’s administrators.
School Board President Bill Keys said he’s not sure the board can cut much more from the administration.
“You still need to buy supplies and cut checks,” Keys said. “There are things that have to be done.”

Keys is correct that some of these things must be done. Perhaps there are better ways, including further automation, outsourcing to local businesses or simply eliminating some processes.

Christopher Hamady, technology coordinator for the Regina Coeli School, is looking for help with an interesting project:

Our Spanish teacher would like to find a school in a native Spanish-speaking country that would like to do web-based video correspondence with our students. The format would entail that each school would make QuickTime videos of their students asking simple questions about the culture of the other, and the other school would reply using the same medium. The videos would be uploaded to the Web so that each school could easily access them.
Each group of students would have the opportunity to ask and answer questions in both English and Spanish, thus aiding development skills in speaking and translating of both languages. The participating school would have to have access to a web server to post their videos. The rest of the details could be discussed via email.

This is a great idea, and is quite doable with very inexpensive tools today.
Email reginacoeli_spanish@nwoca.org [from macintouch]

John Gartner writes in Wired that Cyber Schools are not measuring up…

Cyber schools — where students complete all coursework online using home computers — are a big hit with parents, who are signing up their children as quickly as the virtual doors open. However, test results for 2003 show students at many cyber schools are not measuring up to state standards or to their peers who attend brick-and-mortar schools.
According to the non-profit Center for Education Reform, or CER, the number of online public schools has grown from 30 to 82 during the past two years, offering instruction in 19 states. That number could more than double in 2004, as school districts in Ohio have granted charters to 63 cyber schools, up from seven in 2003.

I don’t know much about these initiatives, but one year’s worth of data does not mean a whole lot….

Ruth Robarts emails her comments on the MMSD administration’s proposed 3% budget reduction along with some alternative approaches.

Lee Sensenbrenner has a summary of the nearly $10m in proposed cuts to next years $308m Madison schools budget:

The chops fall hardest on custodians, teachers and support staff. But they also take a significant toll on high school athletics, including big fee hikes, fewer teams and coaching positions as well as the elimination of all high school athletic directors.
No upper level administrators would be affected by the proposed cuts.

Additional background here….

The Madison Metropolitan School District announced their recommended budget cuts [265K PDF] today. (MMSD Budget site)
Barb Shrank passed along two budget documents from a March 1, 2004 presentation to the School Board.

• 2002/2003 & 2003/2004 MMSD Budget Comparison
• MMSD School Fees Thoughts & Comments

Board of Education Agendas, Minutes & Schedule

There’s been much discussion recently regarding laptops in schools, including a recent chat I had with Madison Superintendant Art Rainwater (MP3 3.7MB – video on the way)
From District Administration:

For those who envision laptop computers in the hands of every student, this may be the best of times and the worst of times. While classrooms using this approach are churning out success stories, growing state budget deficits are threatening future funding, leaving educators to wonder whether laptops for everyone is a great idea that they simply can’t afford.
A four-year, $37-million initiative to provide laptops to all seventh and eighth graders in Maine has transformed middle school classrooms there and generated positive reviews. At the same time, the state’s budget crunch has left the program’s longer-term future up in the air. In Michigan, a plan to equip the state’s sixth graders with laptops recently lost more than half of its $39 million funding before it could get started, thanks to an almost $1 billion state budget shortfall.

Milwaukee goes after truant parents:
As part of an intensified effort to cope with the problem of truancy in Milwaukee, police will begin Monday to arrest parents of truant children. District Attorney E. Michael McCann called it “a new tactic” in the fight against truancy.
By John Diedrich, Sarah Carr and Derrick Nunnally

Lee Sensenbrenner writes:
“The shortfall is caused by costs – mostly tied to staff contracts – that have increased faster than state law allows school districts to tax, officials said. It’s a phenomenon that’s been repeated since 1994, and assistant superintendent Roger Price predicted that the district will face $6 million to $7 million shortfalls every year.”
Great to see this article online; this morning’s Wisconsin State Journal interview with School Board Candidates Shwaw Vang & Sam Johnson is not…. [Ed: it’s 2004, is it not?]
This is a real opportunity for the board & community to start developing alternative sources of revenue – other than the property tax.
Learn more about the April 6, 2004 election & school board candidates here.
Vote!

School lunch has been a hot topic for many Madison parents. Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters has another approach….
Alice Waters is taking her message of eating healthfully, organically and locally to middle schoolers in their lunchrooms. If she builds a better sloppy Joe, will they eat it? By PEGGY ORENSTEIN