This is good to see.

School District Superintendent Ted Neitzke said the tax levy and mill rate will be finalized by the School Board at its meeting Monday night.

“The mill rate will be going down by 54 cents per thousand of assessed value,” Neitzke said. “When there is a reduction in taxes it’s a victory for everybody.”

According to the district’s Director of Finance and Support Services Brittany Altendorf the 2014-15 tax levy for the school district will be $36.6 million. That figure is $1.6 million, or 4.21 percent less than the previous year.

Now that we have had a little time to cool off since the Great Two-School Kerfuffle at the West Bend School Board, I am pretty pleased with the whole episode. It was a case of representative government actually working correctly.

To review, here’s what happened… a school board member wanted the board to consider the idea of combining West Bend’s two high schools, which occupy the same building, into one high school. The school board went through a process to inform the public of the pros and cons of combining the schools and gather public input. They held information sessions, allowed public input at a school board meeting, conducted a survey, put information on the web site and snail mail, and invited public input in the form of citizens contacting the school board members.

In the end, despite the indication that several of the school board members had leaned toward combining the schools, they voted unanimously for the status quo of two high schools. Without an overly compelling reason to change the high school configuration and with the lopsided public input in favor of keeping two schools, the school board followed the wishes of the citizens.

Representative government worked.

Despite the fact that I was in favor of combining the high schools, I am happy to see that the school board engaged in a rational decision-making process that worked to enact the wishes of the majority of the citizens who chose to speak up. There are times when the evidence is overwhelming that a government should take an action against the public’s will, but those situations are rare. In this case, there were valid arguments on both sides of the issue and the board went with public opinion.

Good.

The big meeting of the West Bend School Board was tonight to decide on whether or not to combine the high schools. Fortunately, Judy Steffes was there! Here’s her report:

WB School Board votes to maintain two high school configuration.

Following a recommendation by Superintendent Ted Neitzke, the West Bend School Board voted unanimously to maintain the two high school configuration.

The board also voted to approve spending $40,000 to paint the field house in school colors and the hallways to represent the individual East High School and West High School.

Couple of tidbits from the two-hour meeting.

–          About 100 people in attendance.  Thirteen people signed up to speak and all were in favor of two schools except for one.

–          Local attorney Amy Salberg spoke to the board about a need to set up a better procedure to discuss the issues. She said, “a lot of people did not trust the procedure.”

–          A man named Joe told the board to “listen to the community – open your eyes to the turmoil you’re causing.” He then quoted the school motto “where children come first” and he said, “When do children figure in to this decision.”

–          Former WBHS coach and English teacher Rick Riehl said he spoke to four board members “with a cranium full of research and a gut full of apprehension.” He told the board, “The number-one goal is let’s see if we can trust each other and become a team. West Bend East and West Bend West on behalf of our kids.”

–          Joseph Garrison of Jackson said after the vote he was “disappointed because it was all based on emotionalism” and “there’s no solid reason to keep the schools separate.”

–          Local business owner Mary Husar Martin said, “Do what the community has asked. No more money or time spent on this issue. I’d rather see you as a board and us as a community work on why students are leaving, teachers are leaving, and why we have declining test scores. Work to make West Bend a district of academics, arts and athletics.”

 

Superintendent addressed the board and talked about developing a policy to define the process to review the high schools configuration. Some of the suggestions include crating a task force, developing a survey from focus groups, and reviewing athletic metrics.

The board will review language in Policy 432 which deals with how it’s determined which West Bend High School a student attends.

Overall comment from board members:

Ryan Gieryn, “This discussion has been good for our community. Why are we settling for mediocrity in athletics?”

Vinny Pang, “This was not a courageous decision, it was a no brainer.”

Bart Williams, “Let’s keep what we have because it works.”

After the decision people in the audience stood and applauded.

Having not been there, what’s the deal with deciding to spend $40k for painting? Is it in need of painting or is this just stupid pandering to the two schools crowd? Things like painting are usually done in the normal course of maintenance. Why are we spending $40k in unbudgeted money on this?

Here is the audio of West Bend School Board Superintendent Ted Neitzke’s press conference today regarding the question of combining West Bend’s two high schools.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Report from Judy Steffes.

West Bend superintendent Ted Neitzke presented a thick packet of papers prior to releasing his recommendations on the one school – two school proposal.

Ted’s recommendations will be voted on by the school board at the Monday, Oct. 6 meeting. The board will make the final decision.

-Maintain our two high school configuration
-Develop Board Policy to define the process for reviewing the high schools configuration and guide future School Boards and Superintendents
-Revise language in Policy 432 that would allow for an element of school choice at the high school with priority given to the children of alumnus
-Create an Athletic Engagement Task Force
-Paint the town Maroon/Gold and Blue/White

Also spend $40,000 from fund balance to cover the costs of painting the field house and main hallway that connects East and West.

Input given to board:
4 focus groups with 2,300 survey results  74.1 percent = 2 high schools,  22 percent = 1 high school  3.8 percent – no preference

UPDATE: Here’s a link to the survey results and superintendent’s report. Here’s the gist of it:

I attended a good chunk of the West Bend School Board meeting this evening where they discussed the prospect of combining the two high schools into one. This was the meeting that allowed for public input.

There were about 200 people at the meeting. They were overwhelmingly for two schools. Of those who spoke, 37 spoke in favor of two schools; two spoke in favor of combining the schools; and two spoke without expressing an opinion either way. Interestingly, this issue does not break down on conservative vs. liberal lines. It breaks more along the lines of alumni vs. not. Those who went to one of the West Bend high schools or are involved in them (teachers, coaches, parents, etc.) lean way in favor of the status quo. Those who are less personally involved lean toward combining the schools. The passion is clearly on the side of those who wish to keep the status quo, which makes sense since they have an emotional stake in the decision.

After the public comment, the board members had their say on the discussion. I was not able to stay around for all of that. I’m afraid that two hours of school board meeting during Monday Night Football is my limit, but Rick Parks had the most insightful thing to say. Parks was the one who initiated the conversation by bringing it up for the board to consider. That is his prerogative as a school board member. He spoke about the process, the role of the board, the need to avoid conspiracy theories, and the points both for and against having two high schools in one building. He said that based on the feedback during the meeting and in other forums that he believes that the result is a “foregone conclusion.”

Based on what I heard, I’d be shocked if the school board ended up voting for combining the schools. It was clear that if they do so they will face a passionate opposition the next time they run for election. And, for better or worse, the public made it pretty clear that they support two schools. It is impossible to tell if the two schoolers are the majority from a meeting like that, but they are certainly the ones willing to show up and voice their opinions. That’s how a representative government works.

One side note… several people expressed the belief that combining the schools would lead to fewer athletic opportunities which would in turn lead to more kids using drugs and engaging in crime. Even the District Attorney of Washington County, Mark Bensen, spoke in favor of two schools saying that very few of the people his office prosecutes are members of high school sports teams. The argument is a bit specious, in my opinion, but it is clear that there is a deep concern about the rise of drug use and crime in the schools. Rightfully so.

Heads up. The question about combining the high schools will be on the agenda for the West Bend School Board tomorrow night. If you want to share your views with the board, show up and be heard! Note the rules for speaking below.

The School Board meeting on Monday, September 22, 2014 will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the BADGER MIDDLE SCHOOL cafeteria.District residents are welcome to attend and address the Board of Education on any agenda item following the process for public participation as outlined in Board Policy 187, which includes:

• District residents who wish to address the Board must register by completing a comment card prior to the Board meeting. Comment cards and agendas are available at the entrance of the Board meeting.

• Completed comment cards must be turned in to the Board president before the official start of the Board meeting at 6:30 p.m.

• Each District resident wishing to speak will have up to two minutes to address the Board. 

My weekly column for the Daily News is up. It’s a purely West Bend issue.

High school or high schools?

Combining West Bend’s East and West is the sensible option

Almost since the inception of West Bend’s two high schools was established on one campus in 1970, there has been a push to combine them into a single school. That debate is upon us again. The West Bend School Board is considering the issue again and is tentatively planning to make the decision at its Oct. 6 meeting.

The reasons for putting two high schools in a single campus in 1970 were sensible. It was designed to allow for modular scheduling and the more personal feel of a smaller school while taking advantages of the efficiencies of sharing facilities.

Over time, the inevitable melding of the two schools has happened. In order to ensure a consistent education for all of West Bend’s kids, the education departments have been merged. The administrations have been combined under a single principal. There is one band. One drama department. One choir. At this point, the only thing that is still separate and distinct is the athletic departments.

In making a decision like this, the arguments boil down to three major points. First, will combining the schools improve or detract from the education of the children? Given that everything except athletics are already combined, it appears that the quality of education will be unaffected either way. It is a neutral outcome.

Second, will combining the schools be more or less costly for the taxpayers? The projections are that it will cost a one-time charge of about $150,000 to change the school’s branding and purchase new uniforms if the schools are combined. Ongoing, however, it would save about $200,000 per year mostly from the reduction in the number of athletic staff required. The school district administration is strongly recommending that any savings be plowed back into the athletic department, but that is a choice for the school board. The savings are there to be had.

In addition, there are already unmet needs accumulating in the athletic department that will require additional funding in years to come. Combining the schools would provide some funding for those needs without asking the taxpayers for more money.

At this point, it looks like combining the schools will provide the same education for less money. That is an easy decision to make.

Before making a change like this, however, the third question to ask it, why change? The two-school system has been successful for 44 years. There are generations of alumni who have a history and pride in being a Sun or a Trojan. These are not factors to be ignored.

The reasons to change are as sensible as the reasons were for having two high schools in the first place. Combining the schools would save the taxpayers money while not harming education. In addition, the revamped athletics department would have more funds available to maintain facilities and possibly offer more athletic opportunities like lacrosse or men’s volleyball. There is some speculation that the combined schools may also be able to field more competitive teams that might bring home some championships, but that is for the future to tell.

As for the history and tradition of the Suns and Spartans, it is a legacy worth honoring, but it is no reason to impede progress. Schools are combined, split, opened, and closed all of the time. The perception is that it will be traumatic, and it is at the time, but the space of a little time reveals that the pain is fleeting and quickly heals. The generation that attended high school as a West Bend Badger can attest to that. Should the School Board combine the high schools, there will be just as much pride and support for the one high school as there was for the two.

All things considered, the most sensible course of action is to combine the high schools.

Irrespective of the decision eventually reached, it is also worth evaluating the process. Some have complained that the school board is rushing to judgment with an arbitrary Oct. 6 decision date. The reason for the October date is simple. If the decision is made to combine the high schools, the planning to implement it next year will take some time. Of course, there is no reason that the decision cannot be delayed another year. No harm would be done in waiting to allow more time for public input.

At the same time, there is little to be gained in waiting. This is an issue that has been debated and vetted for literally generations of Benders. It is exceedingly unlikely that any new arguments or any new information will be advanced in six months as opposed to one month. West Bend would be better served by going ahead and making a decision one way or the other instead of dragging it out for months on end.

There are four scheduled feedback sessions, a couple of School Board meetings, and about three weeks in which to call or write the School Board members before Oct. 6. Make use of them.

(Owen Robinson’s column runs Tuesdays in the Daily News.)

The survey for the prospect of combining the West Bend High Schools is up.

Take it here!

Here we go again… for those who are not from West Bend, we have two high schools – East and West – but both high schools are in the same building. Yes, I know… it’s strange.

The high schools opened in 1970 with the combined campus in an effort to create a smaller environments with more modular scheduling. Since the high schools are in the same building, the district determines which school a kid goes to by their birthday. Even birthdays go to one school and odd birthdays go to the same school. If there are multiple kids in the family, it goes by the birthday of the oldest kid.

Over the years there have been several efforts to combine the schools, but they have each been thwarted for various reasons. Mainly, it appears that nostalgia for the alumni is the strongest impediment to combining the schools. Practically speaking, the two schools already have the same principal, combined academic departments, and little adherence to physical separation within the building. The sports teams, however, are separate.

I am the epitome of the dispassionate observer on this issue. I didn’t go to West Bend’s schools and neither do my kids. I want them to be strong and provide a quality education at the lowest possible cost. If combining the schools saves money while not harming education (or even improving it), then do it. If it would cost more to combine them or would harm education, then leave it alone.

The School Board is going to be working on this over the next month. They plan to have some open forums and make a decision at their October 6th meeting. They get started tomorrow evening at a work session. It’s September 8th at 5:30 in the district office. I don’t think they are taking public input at this meeting, but you can hear what the board members have to say.