MONROE - Community members have offered the Monroe school district both positive and negative feedback in response to the letter and resolution the school board sent out last week, according to school board member Brian Keith.
But the board wants to hear more.
The letter, signed by each board member, says in part, "Over the past few years, the State has made significant changes in terms of how Wisconsin public schools operate ... the School District of Monroe has been able to utilize our fund balance as well as the support from grants and other outside resources to help neutralize the effects of the decreasing state funding on our budgets. However, without fundamental changes from our legislators, we can no longer afford to continue operating as we have in the past."
The letter points out that Monroe will see a decrease of $375,000 in state revenue under Gov. Scott Walker's proposed cut in per-pupil aid for the 2015-16 school year. It goes on to list contact info for Rep. Todd Novak, state Sen. Howard Marklein and Gov. Scott Walker, and urges residents to ask them to restore "an appropriate level of funding for our schools."
The accompanying resolution calls on Walker, Marklein and Novak to revise the budget to restore school funding.
A copy of both the letter and the resolution will be published in Wednesday's Monroe Times.
A community survey will launch late next week, going from about May 7 to May 26.
"We have gotten some reaction - both good and bad - from our resolution, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for the people in the community to make sure they're getting us their feedback, one way or the other, in terms of what they want and how they want the district to proceed," Keith said at Monday's school board meeting.
He noted that if people in the community aren't willing to participate in the survey, "then we can't support what they want because we don't know what it is."
Bob Erb, the board president, said they received more positive feedback than negative on the resolution.
"I think it's normal that you get ... a lot of people (that say) like "Hey, thanks for putting that out, I really appreciate it and understand it, you know, it's more than what I was aware of, but thank you,' and then obviously, maybe some other people are kind of irritated that we here, the nine of us, haven't been able to independently solve this issue that's plaguing the whole state, and I get that too," Erb said.
But that kind of feedback doesn't necessarily represent the views of the community as a whole. The survey, on the other hand, should get a broader view of what people think, Erb said.
Results from the survey will be presented to the board a few weeks after the surveys are returned, according to District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner. They will be posted on the district's website after that.
Monday's meeting was the first with the 2015-16 Board of Education. Three seats were up for election on April 7, and all three incumbents retained their seats for another three-year term. Amy Bazley, Mary Berger and Erb took the oath of office Monday.
The new board elected Erb as president, a position he held during 2014-15. Other officers include Scott Schmidt as vice-president, Keith as treasurer, Bazley as clerk and Michael Boehme as deputy clerk.
But the board wants to hear more.
The letter, signed by each board member, says in part, "Over the past few years, the State has made significant changes in terms of how Wisconsin public schools operate ... the School District of Monroe has been able to utilize our fund balance as well as the support from grants and other outside resources to help neutralize the effects of the decreasing state funding on our budgets. However, without fundamental changes from our legislators, we can no longer afford to continue operating as we have in the past."
The letter points out that Monroe will see a decrease of $375,000 in state revenue under Gov. Scott Walker's proposed cut in per-pupil aid for the 2015-16 school year. It goes on to list contact info for Rep. Todd Novak, state Sen. Howard Marklein and Gov. Scott Walker, and urges residents to ask them to restore "an appropriate level of funding for our schools."
The accompanying resolution calls on Walker, Marklein and Novak to revise the budget to restore school funding.
A copy of both the letter and the resolution will be published in Wednesday's Monroe Times.
A community survey will launch late next week, going from about May 7 to May 26.
"We have gotten some reaction - both good and bad - from our resolution, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for the people in the community to make sure they're getting us their feedback, one way or the other, in terms of what they want and how they want the district to proceed," Keith said at Monday's school board meeting.
He noted that if people in the community aren't willing to participate in the survey, "then we can't support what they want because we don't know what it is."
Bob Erb, the board president, said they received more positive feedback than negative on the resolution.
"I think it's normal that you get ... a lot of people (that say) like "Hey, thanks for putting that out, I really appreciate it and understand it, you know, it's more than what I was aware of, but thank you,' and then obviously, maybe some other people are kind of irritated that we here, the nine of us, haven't been able to independently solve this issue that's plaguing the whole state, and I get that too," Erb said.
But that kind of feedback doesn't necessarily represent the views of the community as a whole. The survey, on the other hand, should get a broader view of what people think, Erb said.
Results from the survey will be presented to the board a few weeks after the surveys are returned, according to District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner. They will be posted on the district's website after that.
Monday's meeting was the first with the 2015-16 Board of Education. Three seats were up for election on April 7, and all three incumbents retained their seats for another three-year term. Amy Bazley, Mary Berger and Erb took the oath of office Monday.
The new board elected Erb as president, a position he held during 2014-15. Other officers include Scott Schmidt as vice-president, Keith as treasurer, Bazley as clerk and Michael Boehme as deputy clerk.