dklda - The majority of the kids will be sent to West because that is the closest to most of us at Consolidated. Ones that live over off Kennedy Rd. might find themselves at East. What that does mean is that kids are going to be shifted to other schools in the district to balance out class sizes. Which will upset more than just Consolidated families. Those that are at West now may find themselves at East and so forth. Other families have know idea how this closure could effect them. Not only will they have bigger class sizes but may very well be moving to a different school. The district is not going to bus our students all over the place where there may be an opening. As you said, the cost of bussing would be to much.

Some of you dont understand that if Consolidated is closed the children will NOT automaticaly go to Milton West. They will be sent to WHATEVER SCHOOL HAS ROOM for them. Meaning, they will be sent to East and Harmony which in turn adds to the bussing cost and the time they are on the buses. It is dumb for them to be shipped clear across town when there is a school right next door.
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Also I know for a fact that families will not be happy at West with the administration that is currently there. Many people have made comments to me about the lack of warmth, caring,and down right rudeness they have experienced and seen. These comments have come from families and past/present staff alike. Just take a look at the staff turn over rate at just that school alone paints a very poor picture!!
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Something the school board is forgetting is that the needs of the CHILDREN need to come FIRST not the almighty DOLLAR and PERSONAL agendas they may have. Mr. Roehl is sounding like its PERSONAL for his reasons. We sure would love to know why!

Rossnmeg - I never said that the other Milton schools are not worthy of a good education. I am fully prepared for my children to go to Milton West if the school closes. I do not intend to leave the district. If its a decision not to take lightly why is the board in such a hurry. They have been looking at this for only a couple of months. Just in the last two weeks they got their numbers right on how much the district would save if the school closes. If they had been looking at this for a year and studying their numbers and its the only answer to the budget problem, then yes close the school.
The maintenance on the building will cost the district way more in the long run not if but when in a few years they need to reopen it. As seen with Harmony. Its better to keep it open.
And how is the school a poor geological location? It serves all of us that live out here. It's not any different than Harmony serving the families around it. They might not be in the Milton city limits but they serve a huge purpose for those who live around the schools.

Stubby - I'm not clear what Mr. Nikolay is referring to in the article, but the OE figure I mentioned is accurate from DPI. Perhaps he's referring to the shared cost figure for Milton, which is $9,317.
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As far as the space paradox you think I'm making, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Open enrollment won't be eliminated suddenly (probably never, sadly). If Milton needed to absorb 90 students from Consolidated into other buildings, it could be done. It wouldn't be easy by any stretch. However, if open enrollment were eliminated, it would increase the population again by nearly the same amount. Even if Consolidated stayed open, a new facility would be needed to spread the student population around the district.

Rossenmeg - the $10k figure is taken from the above article, and the number the Superintendent quoted to the paper. You'd have to take up any inaccuracy with Mr. Nickolay.

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As for the open enrollment losses, it certainly seems strange that on one hand you claim we have so much excess space that Milton can afford to close a whole building, but in the next breath claim that Milton wouldn't have enough space to house all the open enrollments to Janesville if they switched back. It would seem to me that if the space issue was that close - Milton would want to keep that building open and available at all costs!

Stubby - True that the district will need to maintain the building as owner.. that wasn't my point. The building is too small to suit the needs of the district down the road. It will never serve more than one section each K-3. The district would be hard pressed to attempt an expansion of that site due to it's very poor geographical location in the district.
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Also, your source's numbers are off for open enrollment out costs. The district would not lose $10,000 per student. At the current DPI estimate, the aid transfer would be approximately $6,443 per student (2009-10 estimate). Milton is already losing a LOT of aid to Janesville and surrounding district in open enrollment as it is (net -$507,683.60 in 2008-09). It's not good to lose so many students to neighboring districts and it's not good to lose aid dollars, but the district would be unable to serve all those students if they came back given current space limitations. This isn't a reason to keep Consolidated open because Open Enrollment doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon and the space crunch would be at all levels, not just K-3. I beleive this is one of the reasons why until GM's closure, the district was gearing up for a new high school - the new building would allow for some redistricting that would better utilize existing space.

Luckily, it looks like any changes to the union's retirement health benefits are off the table. Even if they have to close schools, it's worth it to continue increasing those benefits 10-20% per year up to about $100k per retiree. The union deserves it.

Rossenmeg - while i agree that the "doomsday scenario" will not happen should Consolidated close, I disagree that it is an obvious choice. Future maintenance will need to be done whether the building is occupied or not. Perhaps not at the same level at first, but, following the example of Harmony School, the building will need to be re-opened in the future, resulting in huge costs to bring the building up to code. It is much cheaper to keep it open. Also - the "savings" estimate does not include the cost of students who leave the district - or choose not to enroll in Milton because their local elementary school is gone. According to a person with the parent's group for the school, 14 students would currently not return or enroll, costing the district $140,000 in revenue from the state. Savings now is only $40,000. A couple more follow suit and you are looking at a net LOSS by closing the school. So often what seems the obvious choice is the wrong choice when examined closely. This is one of those cases.

sprinkles - it has little to do with the compassion or perspective as a Consolidated parent. Closing a school is not a decision taken lightly. I reject the doomsday scenario that if Consolidated closes, it means the end of a quality education for Milton Schools. All of the elementary schools in Milton are quality institutions of learning. However, if the state or the public does not see proper funding as a priority, cuts must be made. Closing Consolidated seems like an obvious decision in the current climate. The administration seems to have found a way to close the school while keeping the educators from that building (hence the lower savings figure). I guarantee you that future maintenance of the building would have become a larger issue in subsequent years.

I think some of you need to have a little more compassion for others. Those of you that don't have children at Consolidated DON'T know how we feel. If you were in our shoes, I guarantee you would be fighting for you child's school. We are not whining, we are trying to finds ways to convince the board that it's for the best interest of our children and the district to keep the school open.

Thinking it will be very interesting to see what numbers will come up next year when someone new is handling the books. Wonder if these big dollar gaps will go "poof". Hmmmmmm

Moving everyone on the Janesville side of Consolidated would not be a solution. Janesville residents are not the only ones who go to Consolidated. We have an Edgerton address and are in the Milton district. Changing all of the districts to fit the cities would not work because cities change. The districts were drawn out years ago and should stay the same. The taxes are not going up, so that is not an issue, either. The issue is that someone wants an easy fix to the problem, when the major problem is a mixture of many things. Instead of delving into that mixture to see what can be fixed they go for what would be an easy fix, but affects many lives! Our young children need stability and that is not attained by bouncing from school to school.

rossnmeg... You might have a point if the surpluses tmlewis speaks of had been planned for. Its true Milton's fund balance has had a long standing history of being statistically below average. However, the board has conscientiously worked to gradually improve it, without overburdening tax payers, for decades. But six and seven figure surpluses…no way can that be construed as responsible budget management! In fact, one could say Milton over levied those years. ww

To bad so much time has passed since Mr Roehl was elected to this term. IMO his comments are very good ones to have recall made.

You can't whine about bus time and that you can't take them yourself. When you do that, you lose your arguement.
Taking all things into consideration including the revenue received from Janesville residents and federal dollars, I still believe that the boundaries need to be changed and consolidated needs to be closed. Then, take the numbers that you end up with and work with them. Using bottom-up budgeting of course.
Under no circumstances do I agree with handing over the cleaning services to a private company.

The board will be voting on this item. It is not a referendum. The people within the voting district vote for the board memebers to make the decision. It is up to them if they allow individuals from outside of the district to speak.

Anyone can attend an annual meeting, but by law only residents in the district's boundaries may vote on a measure.

changing to a cleaning service will save more money.

Consolidated School is a building in the country. The wonderful students, staff, and parents need to take into consideration that nothing bad will happen to any of you if you move physically into Milton town schools. Changes happen and as adults you can help your children adjust and you might be surprised at their resiliency. As an elderly tax payer I watch school taxes because they are a major portion of my taxes and I can't have them increase excessively-thus cuts and reductions in staff, services and yes buildings have to be looked at. My daughter graduated from Milton Schools. Because of our home location she attended West-K, Harmony 1-4, back to West 5&6, Middle 7&8, and Milton HS. Yes, I was upset with these changes, however, she is a success young woman who shows no scares because of this. I called her and asked her today if she remembers this and she said, "No I really don't." If you moved to another distant city and your children changed schools, would you help them adjust? Of course you would! Just like now if Consolidated is closed your children will do fine,and you as dedicated parents will make sure that happens. Help consider your senior neighbors and what tax increases mean to all ages.

And anyone can attend a Public Meeting...It is up to the board on who they allow to speak.

That means that tax payers that live within the City of Janesville boudaries and as ASSIGNED to go to Milton Schools also pay to go to Milton Schools to the tune of over $4 million dollars. Some of the previous suggestions to "just make the Janesville kids go to Janesville and get them out of Milton" were to occur, the School District of Milton could also say goodbye to $4 in property tax based revenue-which does not include state aid based on enrollement. Not exactly the simple solution that some think that it is....

sassafras - Perhaps I'm misreading your comment, but just to clarify: The reason for the levy in Janesville is because city limits and district boundaries never match. Janesville was levied for the portion of Janesville within the Milton School District boundaries based on total property value. That value represents the student populations living in Janesville that rightfully attend Milton schools. However, that doesn't mean anyone in Janesville can attend a Milton School District board meeting and make changes... that power rests with the residents within the school district boundary.

Stubby - That's a fair point... however, I wouldn't say that a healthy financial position takes away from student education. The two ideas may be in completely different departments, but they're not mutually exclusive within the district dynamic. When balancing a district budget, nothing is set in stone. Many of the overages and shortfalls in areas of a district budget are unpredictable. Just to name a few:

1. Sudden hire of a teacher/aide due to a special needs student coming into the district (Transfer of service is one year delayed under the revenue cap)
2. Roof leak/damage outside capital mainenance plan
3. Loss of grant funding requiring use of unplanned operational funds

And on the other side:
1. Contingency budgets not utilized (opposite of any of the above)
2. Overestimation of WRS blended rate during second half of fiscal year (can be a HUGE swing if off by .01%)
3. Low insurance claims / rebate on district insurance plans

Hey Tatersmom and In_my_opinion: In 2009, the School District of Milton leveraged $4,045,896 from CITY of Janesville residents payable in 2010. So, that is 4 million dollars worth of opinions that we are entitled to. 4 million dollars worth of protecting our Janesville kids that are not "open enrolled" into Milton-kids that are assigned there-kids that belong there. 4 million dollars worth of "whining" as you so eloquently put it. 4 million dollars worth of "doing something about it"....

Rossenmeg - I certainly understand the necessity of a fund balance. It saves the district money by having some collateral when the time comes to borrow money to cover short-term financial needs. What I cannot understand is why the districts makes cuts based on these budget projections that are woefully inaccurate, and why the district favors increasing the fund balance over maintaing staff and schools. The goal of the district is to educate children and that job is done by teachers in schools - not by a fund balance. People move to a district because of the education they provide- not because of a high fund balance. I can see why increasing the fund balance may seem like a laudable goal to a bean-counter, but it is does nothing to teach children.

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Regarding the Janesville/Milton situation: The boundaries for the respective districts were drawn decades ago - long before the City grew in the direction of Milton. Residents of Janesville (City) who go to Milton schools are generally quite happy - they pay much lower school taxes than do their neighbors who are in the Janesville District! ($142 less per year on a $200k home). Also - if Milton gave up those homes, the problem would only quickly multiply. State aid is based upon enrollment, so no district in their right mind would give up students to another district. The problem is not too many students in Milton, it is not enough growth. Milton needs *more* students to alleviate the problem, not less.

"Wildly inaccurate" is a correct characterization of the District's budget projections, as the District annually is off by hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the District's projections were off by $400,000 last year, and over a million dollars the year before, why should we believe the budget projections for next year? Cuts should come as a last resort, not as a response to projections that are wildly inaccurate and cannot be trusted.

I agree with in_my_opinion, close open enrollment. How many Milton students are students because of open enrollment? I know that some of these students technically belong to Janesville, Edgerton, and even Hanover. I grew up in Milton and it has always been more of a rural district, hence the long bus rides. We survived the long bus rides, so today's parents and kids need to get over it! By the way, yes I am in the Consolidated school district and so what if the kids have to change schools, THE KIDS WILL ADJUST! If you want a private education, then don't send them to a public school. There are plenty of private schools in Janesville (St Pauls, St Mathews, St Pats, just to name a few). And no, they aren't too expensive (like they say, you get what you pay for). I am one of those parents that wanted a private education, so I didn't send them to a public school and I didn't have to break the bank to do it. Instead of whining about it, do something about it!

tedmlewis - those aren't bad budget projections, those are responsible increases to fund balance. I wish people could understand the need for districts to maintain a fund balance beyond the mistaken notion that districts are hoarding money. Milton has had a traditionally low fund balance - something that has been steadily improved over the last several years. This had led to an improvement in debt costs such as reduced interest rates and overall debt need.
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It's ironic that you think being fiscally reponsible is "wildly inaccurate". You would be asking for someone's head on a pike if they were over budget...

Wrong-the Janesville School District has requested that the subdivisions that are within the City limits of Janesville be in Janesville School Districts; however, the Milton School District refuses to allow Janesville to have these schools. I pay City of Janesville Property Tax, but I pay Milton School Tax($1230.00 to the School District of Milton for 2009). In addition, the Milton School District receives tax dollars for each child that attends the school ($10,000 per child). So-"in-my-opinion" if you think this is such an easy solution. You should stop and think about all of the School Tax revenue that will be lost. Almost everything that is north of Hwy 14 is in Milton School District. It is not our choice to attend Milton Schools-this is the way the districts are set up.

And when my child is directly affected-I have every right to express my opinion which apparently you think is whining.

In addition, "my bottom" needs to get to work so that I can pay my bills. I dont have the option to arrive at work at my leisure.

By the way in_my_opinion....you mentioned that our kids are being pampered and we are whining about our kids riding 45 minutes (which by the way my child already does), but really aren't your kids being pampered by having mommy or daddy driving them to school everyday?

WHOA!! Slow down there in_my_opinion!!! First of all you must not have ALL the facts. We live in Janesville, yes, BUT we are in the Milton School district. Which means (in case you don't understand) that we attend Milton schools. Also, I don't know what kind of job you work or maybe you don't work, but not all of us can drive our kids to and from school. Some of us work 8-5 (I actually work 6:30am-5:30pm M-F). So unless you are willing to drive my kids for me, my kids will NEED to ride the bus.

Here's an idea. Give all the city of Janesville students back to the city of Janesville where they should be going anyway. Problem solved. There is no reason that students living inside Janesville's city limits should be going to Milton schools.
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Actually, Milton tried to get Janesville to take several new developments back, and they wouldn't. Ridiculous as it sounds, many families deliberately placed their master bedrooms in such a way to get into the Milton schools, with Janesville services. Unless something's changed since I've been there, they can't get Janesville to take it back.

I moved to Milton for the school district. Plain and simple. Having said that, consolidated should close. Worried about overcrowding? Here's an idea. Give all the city of Janesville students back to the city of Janesville where they should be going anyway. Problem solved. There is no reason that students living inside Janesville's city limits should be going to Milton schools.
Worried about long bus rides? Here's another idea. Get off your bottoms and drive them. Geez' when did our kids get so pampered that the idea of spending 45 minutes riding a bus is upsetting? When I went to school, we rode the bus for well over an hour. It's called country living. You have no right to whine. Your kids should be going to Janesville where they would either have to ride the city bus, walk, or you take them.

The District predicted a shortfall for the current school year, but even after using a half million dollars of District dollars to pay for a tax cut, will have a surplus. The District had a $400,000 surplus for 2008-09 after predicting it would break even; the District had a $1,350,000 surplus for 2007-08, after predicting it would break even; and in prior years the District had substantial surpluses after predicting either deficits or breaking even. The District has been wildly inaccurate with its budget projections, and should look to doing what is best for education, kids and the community rather than have a surplus every year.

It's sad to consider closing of a school, but there really isn't much reason to keep it open. It's woefully smaller than the other facilities within the district, and the least central. They've had groundwater problems over the last several years, and must share specials with other buildings because their building can't even carry enough sections to warrant their own specials teachers.
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As far as the bussing concern, I have to ask when people thought that Milton WASN'T a rural school district? Yes, long bus trips aren't great for the kids, but at least they have a competent transportation program to get them there.

Well said Carrisford. For the parents it is about quality of education and smaller classes. It is unfortunate Milton has to consider closing a school. What makes Milton appealing and a step above the rest is the smaller schools and the teachers. We moved out of the Milton school district to a larger city school district(hate it)and we would return to Milton schools in a heartbeat! Hope Milton can keep what they have.

Even if the teachers were to switch their insurance package, the district would only see a savings over time. It would not help the immediate finacial problem.

Carrisford - Thanks for your comment! It's good to know that past students feel as I do about the school.

Here is what I dont understand. There is a $760,000 shortfall. The administration has proposed $941,000 in cuts that they consider top priority and as an administration could live with-the closing of Consolidated is not one of those proposals. Why does Mr. Roehl have such a interest in closing this school when there is almost a million dollars that the administration has proposed cutting? Especially when the "savings" for closing Consolidated is only $181,000.

Wow....somebody has a lot of "sock puppets". The weak attempt to place "blame" for this situation is an obvious attempt to shift focus from the clearly outrageous comments and thinly veiled threats from Mr. Roehl. His behavior is completely unprofessional.

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One major concern for Milton residents should be the horribly overestimated savings calculation. Going from $600.000 in savings to $181,000 is not a small difference. I certainly calls into question the predicted deficit number....just how accurate is that?

I agree completely with Witchy Woman and Mr. Roehl's comments. It is the greedy, uncompromising MEA that is driving this situation. That they feel "entitled" to more wages in this economic time is astounding. The administrators and support staff are taking a pay freeze and they were the first to switch from WEA insurance to more affordable coverage. Did any of this set an example for Milton teachers? I guess not. Their refusal to really bargain speaks volumes about them being there for the students.

I went to Consolidated for the last 2 years of elementary school after being forced to leave Milton West due to the fact that we were always SUPPOSED to have been at Consolidated due to our location, but somehow started in the wrong school.

I hated it.

Looking back, the only reason I hated it was because I had to move there for 4th and 5th grade, well after the "pecking order" had been established.

Funny thing is, now that I have a background in education and can look back on things objectively, I got the best elementary school education with just 2 years at Consolidated (Thanks, Mrs. Arndt and Mr. Risch (may he rest in peace)), and can barely remember anything about Milton West at all.

Consolidated may be considered a luxury now, but Milton needs to remember what made it a desirable district. These smaller schools were part of its "power." If Milton schools will become more like Janesville in terms of BIG schools, I can predict parents will consider Catholic schools in Janesville or other open enrollment options. Once you've HAD the "country schoolhouse" form of education, you don't want to go back.

For what it's worth, I rode an hour on the bus to Consolidated due to the bus routes anyway...and an hour or better to Milton Middle and High School. My route only got a LITTLE shorter by going to Consolidated (I didn't have to take that transfer bus AT Consolidated to Milton West anymore). The bus ride was not really the issue at all.

It's about the quality of the education.

Oh sure, bash the one person who has the guts to tell it like it is. The real culprit here is the MEA who has continually refused to “support education in Milton” by considering any reasonable contract concession when it comes to their Cadillac insurance benefits.

Don’t blame the messenger folks…blame your kids teachers for insisting on having their cake and eating it to.

ww

lovemykids-AMEN!
I will not be voting for that person either and his term is up next year!

“I know about two people who’ll back me up, and all I need is one more, so you better have your ducks in a row,” - Al Roehl

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There, ladies and gentlemen of Milton, is your elected schoolyard bully. It is, IMHO, time to remove such a person from elected office.

Hunky dory?!?! That is how you're seeing this? Is that your "professional" opinion? You tell all of these kids that "in two weeks everything will be hunky dory." Of course the parents are the ones that will be upset. WE are the voices for our children since they can't speak up. Every time my child hears that he may have to go to a new school he gets teary eyed, so yes I am upset and I will speak out on his behalf, along with all the other children. Al, you have no right running a school board. YOU are opposed to everything you are supposed to help represent and fight for. This article makes it soooo evident that your best interest is NOT the children. These are the years that shape our children. These are the years that teaches our children how to be outstanding citizens. It is important that children get every need met during these years. I know the teachers will do the best that they can, but with larger class sizes how can we be guaranteed that our children will not fall through the cracks.

I absolutely know who I will NOT be voting for for school board.

My kids go to Consolidated and I don't live in a rural area. I live in the CITY of Janesville. In addition, I work -so taking and picking up kids from school is not an option for me.

Totally unrealistic!

The luxury we can't afford is the non-teaching staff employed by the schools. Let's trim all new positions to what we had in the 70s. Oh, and we could revisit the salaries we give to administration too.

You can drive your kids to school any day of the week. Long bus rides come with rural living. This school is great~but a luxury we can no longer afford! Run for school board~volunteer at a school~help~don't hinder!

Al Roehl needs to off the Milton School Board. He does not represent the families or the kids in the district. He thinks that our children will not be effected by the closure of Consolidated. He is wrong! It will not only effect our kids but will effect many other families in the district. Class sizes will increase and by more than just one or two kids! Kids will be shifted to other schools to make room for the Consolidated kids. One thing the board did right was to corrrect the figure on what it will save the district if our school is closed. There is a big difference between $600,000 and $181,000!

“I know about two people who’ll back me up, and all I need is one more, so you better have your ducks in a row,” he told officials Tuesday.

Ya-this sounds like a rational person who I should trust to make decision about educating my children.

I am certain who I won't vote for in future school board elections!

I would also question what the increased cost of transportation will be when they have to send three busses into our subdivision so that our kids can go to whatever school happens to have an open seat.

And "The people that are always more upset are the parents"...ummm ya who else would be??? Isn't that our responsibility as parents?

Hunky dory? Seriously? What parent wants their child on a school bus for an hour each way, everyday?