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Portage Community School District, Wisconsin

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Taxes N
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Budget N
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Contracts N
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Audits N
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Public records N
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Academics Y
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Background checks N
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School district websites
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Transparency grading process


Portage School District is a school district in Wisconsin.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Wisconsin school district websites

[edit] The good

  • School board members contact information posted.[1]
  • School board meeting agendas and minutes posted.[2]
  • Administrative officials with contact information posted.[3]
  • Staff directory posted.[4]

[edit] The bad

  • Budget not posted.
  • Tax levy information not posted.
  • Vendor/employee organization contract information not posted.
  • Audit reports not posted.
  • Policy/procedures on access to public records not posted.
  • Policy on background checks on new hires not posted.
http://sunshinestandard.org
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[edit] School board

The school board is comprised of a superintendent and "such other officers as the legislature shall direct." The superintendent is appointed by the state legislature in the same manner as members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The superintendent can hold office for 4 years.[5] According to the state constitution the board of education may not prevent a non−union teacher from speaking of a bargaining issue at an open meeting, as was ruled in the U.S. Supreme Court case Madison School District v. Wisconsin Employment Commission.[6]

Below are the school district board members:[7]

School board member
Steve Pate, President
Kristen Skolarz, Vice President
Russell Schieber , Treasurer
Rita LaVigne, Clerk
Paul Kornaus
Dan Garrigan
Matt Foster

[edit] Teacher contracts

  • Note: Information about the current contract in Portage Community is not disclosed on its website.

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) helps to negotiate contracts with the teacher's union, the Education Association of Wisconsin. The website for WASB pitches "professional" assistance on collective bargaining agreements, policies, salary ranges and fringe benefit data as well as past court information.[8]

[edit] WASB legislative agenda

Annually, WASB publishes its current legislative agenda, which it separates into state and federal issues.[9]

[edit] State

The largest concern at the state level is financing for the schools. WASB noted that the state budget deficit is $5.4 billion, which is near the total spending on education in the state.[9] Therefore WASB asked that the state renew its commitment to paying 2/3 of the education costs in the state without raising property taxes, as they increased on an average of 4.9 percent between 2000 and 2005. In 2007, the school property taxes rose to 7.4 percent, which was the highest since 1992-3.

For state aid and funds WASB asks for:[9]

  • Coverage of 33 percent of the costs for bilingual-bicultural programs
  • Full state funding for special education programs
  • Funding to reduce the achievement gap between low income children and other children
  • Fully funding the existing "sparsity aid" program

Other aspects of the money constraints include the declining enrollment of students which is placing many school boards into tight budgets.[9] As such they are proposing:

  • School boards be allowed to increase their revenues by 2 percent about current limits
  • Set the low-revenue ceiling at 100 percent of the statewide average cost per pupil
  • Extend the hold-harmless revenue limit adjustment for two more years (currently one year)

Academic performance
The WASB also calls for a more individualized assessment of students than the current Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) and online testing.[9]

[edit] Administrative staff

Below are the administrative staff members and their 2010 pay:[10]

Full Name Position Title Prorated Salary Prorated Fringe
Robin KvaloPrincipal$87,787.70$3,089.80
Ann OstrowskiPrincipal$7,489.90$2,092.50
Robin KvaloPrincipal$8,787.70$3,089.80
Ann OstrowskiPrincipal$7,489.90$2,092.50
Joy LarsonPrincipal$77,000.00$14,155.00
Jeannine CummingsDirector of Special Education$87,613.00$30,848.00
Assistant District Administrator$96,737.00$32,525.00
Peter HibnerDirector of Instruction$104,215.00$33,896.00
Charles PochesDistrict Administrator$135,221.00$39,582.00
Brian SeguinAssistant Principal$72,278.00$28,565.00
Susan ConnorDirector of Instructional Technology$74,826.00$29,090.00
Karin ExoPrincipal$94,479.00$32,111.00
Robert MeicherPrincipal$91,010.00$31,470.00
Robin KvaloPrincipal$70,301.60$24,718.40
Ann OstrowskiPrincipal$59,919.20$16,740.00

[edit] Budget

  • Note: Budget information for Portage Community is not disclosed on its website.

For fiscal year 2008-2009, $9.10 was levied in property tax for every $1,000 of equalized property value, an increase of 5.69% over fiscal year 2007-2008.[11]

[edit] Academic performance

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction provides a SDPR (School District Performance Report) for each district, which tracks achievement test results (grades 3, 4, 8 and 10), ACT and AP exam scores, retention rates, attendance, dropouts and truancy, among other measures.[12]

The below chart shows the number of students in Portage Community who scored advanced or proficient in each subject for 2009-2010, with the statewide figure in parentheses:[13]

Grade Reading Language Arts Mathematics Science Social Studies
3rd grade 80.0% (79.2%) - - - -
4th grade 82.6% (81.4%) 81.5% (77.3%) 84.2% (80.5%) 80.4% (77.0%) 95.1% (92.5%)
8th grade 86.0% (84.0%) 67.5% (64.5%) 89.8% (78.0%) 89.8% (80.0%) 86.0% (80.8%)
10th grade 74.4% (76.3%) 70.3% (68.3%) 68.7% (69.8%) 73.3% (71.6%) 72.3% (74.7%)

The below chart shows ACT and Advanced Placement test results for 2008-2009:[14]

Test Number of Students Tested Percentage of Students Tested Composite Score (ACT) Pass Percentage (AP)
ACT 104 47.5% 23.0 -
AP 39 4.6% - 70.8%

[edit] Teachers union

The primary teachers union in Wisconsin, is the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), which is a member of the National Education Association. WEAC has listed school funding reform, health care reform, professional development and Licensure, closing achievement gaps as its legislative priorities for 2011-2012.

The union advocates that schools need to gather more funding from the state instead of local resources and drive the new funding towards programs that help special needs, low-income, and english learners. WEAC would also like to see a financial assistance program developed for technical colleges.[15]

For health care reform, the union has stated its support of government sponsored health care for every Wisconsin resident.[16]

WEAC would like to see full funding for the new teacher licensure system, also known as PI 34, describing the current $1.3 million in reimbursements as "inadequate."[17]

In order to close achievement gaps, WEAC is also advocating increasing the cost-per-pupil for SAGE, which helps fund the 15:1 teacher student radio, funding from $2,250 to $2,500.[18]

[edit] Health care

RUSD budgeted roughly $52 million for health care in 2010-2011, but to save money in anticipation of budget cuts, it approved a raise in deductibles that began July 1, 2011. Before the high-deductible insurance took effect, insurance usage jumped by $2 million as employees used their low-deductible plan before it changed.[19]

The change in health insurance plans is costing the district $3.4 million a month which means it is projected to spend less than the allotted $42 million a year on healthcare.[20]

Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker has proposed a bill which would have school districts optionally join the state employees’ health insurance plan.[21] Walker says the bill would save $68 million a year for Wisconsin school districts, and $224 million for local governments.[21] WEAC is against the bill and said that it would fight its implementation.[21]

[edit] Public Employee Union Protests

Protests erupted over a bill that would require state employees to contribute an average of 8% more to their pension and health care costs and the right to collective bargaining.[22] Gov. Walker said that asking employees to pay half the national average for health care "is truly a modest request."[23] Walker also denied that his proposal is trying to break the unions.[23][24]

Up to 40,000 thousands of union protesters filled the state capitol in a protest that lasted for nine days.[25][26] After four days of pro-union protests, the Tea Party staged a rally in support of the legislation.[27]

To avoid a vote on the measure, 14 Senate Democrats disappeared and could not be found.[28] They reportedly went to a hotel in Illinois.[22] Republicans control the State Senate by 19 to 14, but to have a vote on fiscal matters, 20 senators must be present.[28] The Senate Democrats, however, threatened to stay away for weeks.[29] The Senate scheduled votes on other bills of interest to Democrats, hoping that they would return to vote on them.[30]

The Assembly passed the bill just after midnight on Feb. 25, 2011.[31] Assembly Democrats, however, tried to stall the proposal by offering more than a hundred amendments.[32] Lawmakers extended debate for 43 hours.[33] On Feb. 24, 2011, the Assembly reached a deal to limit amendments and debates and appeared to be close to voting on the bill.[25] State troopers were then sent to the homes of the 14 missing Democrats, but they were not found. Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said all 14 senators remained outside of Wisconsin and would not return until Walker was willing to compromise.[25]

If the bill is not passed and signed into law before Feb. 26, 2011, a key part of the proposal is lost because a refinancing of state debt that would free up $165 million will be lost if not complete by then. Should that refinancing fall through, more cuts will be needed to balance the budget.[30] A payment on state debt is due by March 15.[31]

Union Benefit Cuts

State employees are unhappy with the governor's proposal that they contribute 5.8% of their salary toward their pensions, and also pay 12.6% of their health insurance premiums.[26] The move is anticipated to save nearly $300 million over the following two fiscal years.[34]

Collective Bargaining

The governor's proposed budget also eliminates almost all union bargaining rights.[34]

The proposal would take away most state and local workers of collective bargaining rights on everything except salary.[35] Unions would be unable to seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum.[22] In addition, unions also would have to hold annual votes to stay organized and would be unable to force employees to pay dues.[22]

Republican lawmakers said collective bargaining rules must be changed so governments can avoid laying off thousands of workers.[36] Gov. Scott Walker has said that he will have to lay off up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.[22]

Employees who would retain their collective bargaining rights are local police, firefighters and state troopers.[22]

In the case of a walkout, Walker has put the National Guard on alert.[37]

School Closures

More than 15 school districts, including the Madison schools were closed for four days due to teachers and staff calling in sick.[38][39] Judge Maryann Sumi of the Dane County District Court denied the Madison school district requests for an injunction against Madison Teachers Inc. so that schools could reopen.[38]

[edit] School choice

[edit] Open Enrollment

"Wisconsin's inter-district public school open enrollment program allows parents to apply for their children to attend school districts other than the one in which they reside."[40] All students may apply to attend a different school district outside of their resident area. While they can request to attend a specific school, assignment to that school is not guaranteed even if their application is accepted, as the students apply to the school district, and not individual schools.[41]

Students may also apply to attend virtual charter schools through open enrollment by applying to the non-resident district in which the virtual charter operates. However, Wisconsin state law "limits the number of students that may attend virtual charter schools under the open enrollment program." Students may be placed on a waiting list for virtual charter schools.[41]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Board members contact info.
  2. ↑ Board meeting agendas and minutes
  3. ↑ Administrative officials with contact info.
  4. ↑ Staff directory
  5. ↑ Wisconsin Constitution,"Article 10, Section 1," retrieved July 9, 2009
  6. ↑ Wisconsin Constitution,"Article 1, Section 3," retrieved July 13, 2009
  7. ↑ Board members
  8. ↑ WASB, Employment and Labor Law services
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, 2009-2010 Legislative Agenda
  10. ↑ Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Statistical Information Center - School Staff and Salary Data
  11. ↑ Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction, School Finance Data Warehouse, School District Profiles
  12. ↑ Wisconsin District and School Performance Reports
  13. ↑ 2009-2010 Wisconsin School District Performance Report
  14. ↑ 2008-2009 Wisconsin School District Performance Report
  15. ↑ WEAC, School Funding Reform
  16. ↑ WEAC, Health Care Reform
  17. ↑ WEAC, Professional Development & Licensure
  18. ↑ WEAC, Closing Achievement Gaps
  19. ↑ "Mount Pleasant Patch", Racine Unified Experiences $2 Million Spike in Insurance Usage, July 6, 2011
  20. ↑ "Caledonia Patch", Racine Unified Budget Options: Redistricting, Closing Schools to Close Gap, January 18, 2012
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 WTAQ News, WEAC: We'll Fight Walker Health Insurance Proposal, Aug. 31, 2010
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 MSNBC.com "Wis. union vote on hold after Democrats leave state" Feb. 17, 2011
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 CBSNews.com "Wis. gov: I took "bold political move" on budget" Feb. 18, 2011
  24. ↑ Wall Street Journal, Union Fight Heats Up, Feb. 18, 2011
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 MSNBC.com "Wis. stalemate: Deal struck, cops sent to Dem homes" Feb. 24, 2011
  26. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named protest
  27. ↑ MSNBC.com "Tea Party to rally for Wisconsin anti-union bill" Feb. 18, 2011
  28. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named missing
  29. ↑ Yahoo! News "Wisconsin Democrats could stay away for weeks" Feb. 18, 2011
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Both sides in Wisconsin budget battle dig in deeper " Feb. 23, 2011
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Reuters "Wisconsin Assembly approves plan to curb unions" Feb. 25, 2011
  32. ↑ Reuters "In Wisconsin, a jarring new note in discordant debate" Feb. 23, 2011
  33. ↑ []
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel "Budget bill draws a crowd" Feb. 15, 2011
  35. ↑ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Wis. state workers and allies descend on Madison to protest halt to collective bargaining" Feb. 15, 2011
  36. ↑ Reuters "Thousand of Wisconsin union workers protest budget plan" Feb. 15, 2011
  37. ↑ The Chicago Tribune "Walker says National Guard is prepared" Feb. 11, 2011
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 WKOW.com "MMSD denied temporary restraining order" Feb. 18, 2011
  39. ↑ WFRV.com "Madison schools remain closed, Fourth day in a row" Feb. 21, 2011
  40. ↑ Public School Open Enrollment
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Open Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions


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