Blogage

Well, I was hoping to have evey candidate have the ability to post their positions on my blog. Since we (me and the candidates) are all new at this and I have had a very busy March, that did not happen.

 Here is a link to information on all of the candidates provided by Amy Hetzner of the Journal Sentinel. Amy has covered our School District longer than I have been on the board and I believe she has, and continues to provide excellent and fair coverage of our district.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=732825 

Here is another good link to local profiles of the School Board Candidates by Ty Finke of CNI.

http://www.menomoneefallsnow.com/story/index.aspx?id=704715

 If anyone would like information on any speicific candidate please email me via this web site and I will try and email you back.

Every single candidate that runs for this office should be commended. This is what good citizenship is all about. Now it is up to you, the voters, to do your part.

I have notified all candidates for MFSD School Board that I will post one page of their position. Mike happens to have responded first. 

Please look to the far right of this blog to see other candidates positions in previous or future posts --------------> 

One of the concerns that I have repeatedly heard from parents is that they feel like what they say does not matter, so many of them do not bother anymore. Parents need to feel that they have a say in not only their child’s education but within the school district. Parents elect the board members, which mean the board members work for the parents.  I will discuss any topic with any parent.  I believe there should be regular "town hall" type meetings where the board not only listens to the parents, but discusses the issues with them away from the regular board meetings.  I also feel there should be a parent response policy within the district.  This policy would require all teachers, administrators and board members to respond to parent inquiries within 48 hours.  Even if the question or comment needs further research, there would need to at least be a response acknowledging the inquiry.  The best way to improve the district is to get the parents involved.

The next issue is the lack of accountability within the district.  Our combined test scores rank us 17^th among 18 districts in Waukesha County reporting test scores in 2006.  Some will say that we are better than the state average, but to me that is just lowering our standards.  Waukesha County’s test scores are higher than the state, so that is who we should be comparing ourselves to.  Also, the number of seniors going on to a 4 year education has dropped from 72% in 1997 to 58% in 2006.  In today’s business climate, many times even a 4 year degree is not enough. While a 4 year college is not for everyone and many graduates enter 2 year programs and are very successful, I feel that we need to look at the reasons for the decrease in graduates attending a 4 year college to see what improvements within the secondary schools can be made. I am also proposing that there be a set of annual goals and objectives laid out each year for the superintendent by the school board.  It is then the superintendent’s job to ensure these goals are met by passing the goals on to the schools as needed.  For example, one school in the district may be further behind in test scores than another, so they would have a more aggressive goal for improvement.  The principals then pass their goals on to the teachers.  Now, everyone has clear goals for the year.  If anyone is consistently not achieving their goals, then they need to be held accountable, first through additional training and if problems continue then termination.

Sincerely,

Well, well, well, well. If Menomonee Falls ever had a public enemy #1 it would be the former NY Attorney General, current Governor, and full time power hungry jerk-Elliott Spitzer.

For those of you who may not remember, Spitzer was building his resume at the expense of Dick Strong, Strong Funds, the community and families of Menomonee Falls. Strong Funds was one of the largest employers in the Falls.

Keep in mind that not one single client of Strong Funds (that would include me) lost one single penny by what Dick Strong allegedly did. I say allegedly because Mr. Strong was never tried in a court of law, he was tried by innuendo in the press until the uncertainty of the situation took a hard toll on the value of the company. So, after the rape and pillage Spitzer went off to become Governor of NY. Under a Democrat President, he could have been the next U.S. Attorney General. In four or eight years? Maybe a candidate for President of the United States.

The PTA is sponsoring a School Board candidate forum on Wed. March 5th, at 7:00.

 It will be held at the MF Community Center.

Please bring questions to ask the candidates.