Janesville School Board OKs adding students despite budget concerns
JANESVILLE — A Janesville School District program for a select group of students is set to expand to a second elementary school in the fall.
The Janesville School Board on Tuesday voted 6-2 to support Superintendent Karen Schulte's plan to open a fourth-grade section of the Challenge Program at Madison Elementary School.
The vote came despite concerns about balancing the 2012-13 budget. The budget is expected to show a funding gap of up to $10 million.
The Challenge Program is currently in grades four and five at Roosevelt Elementary School and grades six through eight at Edison Middle School. It accepts only top-testing students.
The program has never been in more than one elementary and one middle school, but Schulte has signaled her intention to continue expanding it at Madison and then Franklin Middle School, one grade per year.
The board in April voted to expand the program to third grade, and Schulte later decided to place the third grade at Roosevelt.
Some believe that expanding the program will ultimately bring in new students and new revenue that will more than pay for the expansion, but no one could guarantee that it would pay for itself in the coming year.
Schulte reminded the board of the goal it set for her to increase enrollment. Offering more slots in the Challenge Program is expected to attract more students.
The first-year cost is about $72,000 for the salary and benefits of one teacher.
Board member Peter Severson said the expansion should wait.
"We're going to go there eventually, but right now we just don't have the money to do it," Severson said.
Schulte and other board members argued that they should expand now because 25 fourth-graders who tested into the Challenge Program are on a waiting list.
"I think it would be reprehensible not to serve these students when we know they qualify for this program," Schulte said.
The new teacher's position would be covered by a "contingency" position, which is funding set aside to pay for a teacher when an unanticipated need arises. The vote leaves only two contingencies in the budget with dozens of "hot spots" where officials are concerned that just a few more students could require extra teachers.
Schulte admitted there's a risk that she might have to come back to the board in the fall and ask for funding of more teaching positions.
But the board has told her they want a dynamic leader who works for positive change, and that's what she's doing, Schulte said.
Severson and Greg Ardrey voted against the expansion.
The board and Schulte discussed at length whether she or they had the ultimate authority to expand the Challenge Program to another school.
Schulte likened her move to many decisions made each year to close or open new sections of other courses in existing programs across the district based on student needs.
Both sides of the argument seemed to acknowledge, however, that board policies leave a gray area.
The board has yet to address the question of how to balance the budget. It has until the end of October to do so.
"The budget information is going to start pouring in in July," board member Kristin Hesselbacher said in an interview last week. "That's when it's going to get interesting. So stay tuned."
In other business
Also Tuesday, the Janesville School Board:
-- Approved a change in the charter-school contract for the Janesville Virtual Academy that will allow the online high school to offer middle school courses in the coming school year. Officials assured the board that although costs would increase to pay staff and buy a new curriculum, the expansion would more than pay for itself because of revenue from students who will switch districts to enroll in the school.
-- Heard from Superintendent Karen Schulte, who said that in the past there has been a decision not to market district programs outside the district. She said she would be "seeking direction" from the board concerning future marketing efforts.
-- Approved a one-year contract extension for Schulte, from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. The vote included a provision that Schulte receive no raise in the coming school year due to economic conditions. Board President Bill Sodemann said the board is pleased with Schulte's performance, noting improvements in test performance and awards garnered by various schools.
"Thank you for all you have done," Sodemann said to Schulte.
May 30, 2012 at 3:09 a.m.
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Reasonable- Well put. Points I have been making for YEARS!! Fund 10, retirees vs new teachers, taxes for the last 10 years, and on and on and on. The problem is that unlike you most people in this and most communities now a days are sold by hysterical cable news networks, and unreasonable TV commercials with tons of catch phrases and rhetoric. Unfortunately many in this district especially have an axe to grind politically and simply want a significant downgrading of our educational system at the cost of future generations.
The JSD board president is an ideologue and has NO place on the board. He simply gets 20% of the vote and keeps his seat. Janesville is a large enough town to have one on one elections for board and let these people run against an opponent , not run for an ideology that is plain and simple anti-teacher. I would stand behind anymovement to get this election process changed. This town needs to get Bill Sodemann of the board before he permanently has a heavy hand in ruining this district for generations to come.
May 24, 2012 at 12:34 p.m.
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Great post ReasonableIntellectual! Its refreshing to read a clear concise assessment void of partisan spin.
May 23, 2012 at 10:05 p.m.
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I'm always amused by the illusional "funding gaps" - no one ever clearly outlines the assumptions in that number. I believe they are assuming that we don't increase taxes (unrealistic - inflation exists, and everything needs to increase in cost each year relative to inflation - and increased taxes result in additional state funding, something we have screwed ourselves out of by not managing our tax base well in the prior decade), they assume a generally inflated cost of benefits (the district hires a consultant each year to overestimate insurance costs - this overage ends up adding to the Fund 10 balance and is the source of a majority of that fund), and they may not account properly for employee costs (retiring teachers higher on the pay scale are replaced by new teachers at the very bottom - which lowers both salary and health insurance costs). It would be nice to have an adult conversation about exactly where things really are financially - so that everyone clearly understands what will or will not change as a result of the end of the contract. State funding cuts go beyond what will get replaced by the 10% we're going to swipe from the teachers, and our historic failure to manage tax policy has put us in an undesirable position with respect to state aid. While some may suggest that we can simply steal 20% from teachers, that is destructive thinking - when you become the worst-paying employer, you get the worst employees. Education is an investment in our way of life - a population of well-educated people enjoy a much lower crime rate and much higher standard of living than uneducated people (take a tour of the south to see what failure to educate produces - most of the highest crime and povery striken areas are in the worst educated southern states). And before I hear the same lines about how tough times are, I've always worked in the private sector - in the past decade, my worst raise was 3%. This is because I'm well-educated and working as a skilled professional... education makes all things possible. If you are unhappy with your current lot in life, chances are good that it's because you undervalued education and limited your potential - it's never too late to change this and turn your future around. But destroying education for the next generation isn't going to fix any problem that you or we as a society have. I'm glad to hear Karen prioritize this small amount of spending that will have a huge impact on a 25 very deserving students.
May 23, 2012 at 7:06 p.m.
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I have not been a particular fan of Dr. Schulte until she made the following statement regarding the CRG flier:
"Schulte said if she receives any of the requests, "they're going in the trash."
Now I am. Hang in there.
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