Beth Moss, Seat 3
1) With input from the administration and the teachers, the Board assesses and evaluates current and proposed curricula. Criteria for evaluation include cultural competency, evidence of effectiveness, relevance to our students, ease in differentiation, materials, budgetary impact, etc. The Board hires and evaluates the superintendent and must expect a high level of expertise from the entire administration as well as a clear and thorough evaluation of    administrators and programs to make the best decisions for our students.
2) With the help of the Schools of Hope tutoring program, a focus on small class sizes in the early grades, cultural competency training for staff, and other efforts, the district has made progress in closing the achievement gap. To continue to go forward, schools and the community must concentrate on reaching all children in the early years. For example, universal early-childhood education is critical in addressing educational inequality. Home visits, stronger partnerships with families and community organizations, and continued small class sizes for those crucial first years of elementary school are also important.
      Minority staff recruitment, increased professional development in cultural competency, and improved access to AP and other high-level courses in high school are needed. Universal expectations to reach higher will increase the level of achievement and success for all.
3) After 14 years of revenue caps, almost all cuts are painful. However, the Board needs to look at reconfiguring departments and asking staff and teachers for their input. From frustrating accounting procedures to ineffective delivery of staff development resources, I have heard many ideas from staff and teachers that would increase efficiency. ALL of the staff, teachers, and parents spoke of the importance of small classes.
      Our school district is an integral part of the city of Madison and draws many professionals to relocate here. I propose that the Board and the city government work together to find ways to economize on common programs and for the city to support some of the non-educational programs of the school district, such as police officers working with students and staff and transportation. That will allow the school district to concentrate on education. It is in our city's best interest to keep our schools strong. As a candidate, I have spoken to city officials about the need for more cooperation and coordination between city government and the school district. As a district, we really do not want to continue to take technical education from one middle school, reduced class sizes from 6 elementary schools, etc. We are eroding the quality education that makes our city so great.
4) Reform school financing to ensure a uality education for all.
      Overturn revenue caps or introduce more flexibility
      Find new funding means -- new tax sources to relieve reliance on property taxes.
      Fully fund mandates
      Pressure Feds to fund mandates
      The state government must reform the school financing laws and overturn the revenue caps that are strangling school districts throughout the state. Money to implement federal and state mandates must be made available, either by fully funding the mandate or allowing the localauthority to raise the money through taxes.
5) As a parent, I know families need to feel their children are safe in our schools, and all students need a safe environment in order to learn. The concerns of parents must be taken seriously. Staff need to have a safe work environment  to be effective educators.
      Preventative programs like Above the Line/Below the Line and involving families and the community before problems rise to the level of concern are essential.  We must pay attention to cultural misunderstandings that can escalate to the disciplinary level and have consistent and effective social education based on high expectations. Public perception of student safety needs to be improved and issues of bullying and violence need to be addressed. When safety is threatened, the district's code of conduct must be enforced fairly and without hesitation. Consistency in behavioral expectations creates boundaries that students need. MMSD must coordinate better with MSCR to ensure consistency in discipline and in information sharing.
      We must continue to move toward a restorative justice system rather than a punitive system. When a student is suspended or expelled, consistent programs for educating the student need to be provided.
      Many people want to have paid security guards in our schools. I feel that the money would be better spent hiring a social worker or counselor whose duties would not solely be patrolling the halls, but would include counseling and outreach to families. Madison's schools are generally safe, but there is always room for improvement.
6) I think that it's very important for the Board to be open to new ideas. We have to be sure that they fit  within a long range plan for the whole district and that the innovation will benefit the entire district. I will make decisions based on what is best for the district and all of our students. Nuestro Mundo is a great success and shows that our district can support a program that offers analternative style of teaching and learning. Appleton and other districts   offer a variety of charter schools, magnet schools and embedded programs. The Board and district need to use these to study potential innovations in Madison. 
******
Rick Thomas, Seat 3
1) According to state law, the Board of Education's role is to develop and implement curriculum. We must take an active role in developing a results based curriculum that is actually based on data collected in our schools. Our current results of 25% of students not reading at grade leveland our students performing in the bottom 30% statewide in math and almost every other subject show to me that we are not serving our students very well.
2) Thanks to the help of the Schools of Hope Project we have decreased the academic achievement gap, but we still have a long way to go for academic excellence. All students should be given the opportunity to achieve to the greatest extent of their ability. We must set our goal of all children reading at grade level by third grade. New, innovative approaches to teaching reading must be tried to reach that goal. The acceptance of the current level of achievement by our current Board leaves much to be desired. Reading and math achievement must be made a      priority.
3) I am not privy to the cost/benefit analysis of all of ourprograms if they even exist. Without those I can not list specific programs, but I can list areas of emphasis. First, we need to offer trteachers more options in health insurance coverage so they can make better choices that match their needs. We need to get control over this budget item if we are actually going to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students. The extra $7000 per year per employee that chooses WPS family coverage over other options is hurting our children.  Greater choices for teachers will lead to greater satisfaction of employees and significant cost savings. Second, we need to analyze the Reading Recovery Program. The district admits it has over a 50% failure rate and the cost is over $4000 per student.  More effective methods of teaching reading must be developed. I would protect any program that can demonstrate significant results based on scientific data. I would also protect programs like music, drama, art, and sports that help give allstudents the opportunity to be connected to their school.
4) As a parent and citizen of Wisconsin, I am very concerned with the long-term financial health of Wisconsin's schools and school districts. The current policy definitely needs to be reformed. First, I would like to see a greater percentage of funding coming from tax sources besides property taxes. Property taxes are one of the main reasons people can not afford to buy homes and their rents are not affordable. Affordable housing is a huge      issue in Wisconsin. Second, I feel that many of the smaller districts should consolidate. Districts where the entire enrollment is under 1000 could combine with other such districts to save significantly on administrative costs. Finally, the funding that the state gives to each district shouldn't decrease so dramatically when enrollments      decrease. It is not in the best interests of our children to cut teaching positions because the district lost a few students that are spread out over the entire range of grades. Our schools are in trouble if we continue on our current path.
5) This is the primary reason I am running for office. In my extensive work with children, I see a growing culture of violence and poor classroom behavior. We can not effectively address academic achievement in our schools until we address this issue. I was shocked to learn that our district does not even keep track of the number of violent      incidences in our schools. How can you address a problem if you do not even know what you are dealing with? The number one thing we can do is expect all parents to be actively involved in their child's education starting with kindergarten. We need schools where parents of all backgrounds feel welcome and are actually listened to when they bring concerns to the district. Second, a Code of Conduct Contract should be developed that is actually enforced. It should be based upon the fact that certain behaviors are expected of you in society, and those behaviors should be enforced in the schools. We must have administrators that back up our teachers when they say that the students were acting in inappropriate ways. Parents should be involved early on so that they understand the behaviors that led to them being called. As far as ensuring equal enforcement, if we base our decisions strictly on behavior and follow the Code of Conduct Contract this should not be a major problem. To make sure it does not become a problem, we could have a board of review that has equal representation of teachers, students, parents, and administrators. They could review the results we are having and make recommendations to the School Board for further review. Pretending that a problem doesn't exist doesn't make it go away, and the longer we wait to address it,  the harder it will be to do anything about it.
6) I base my beliefs on this subject on the fact that the students and parents of the MMSD are our clients, and the School Board should be doing everything in its power to serve our clients in the best manner possible. We need to serve all of our clients, and we are simply not doing that based on the results we are having. 25% of our kids can not read to grade level, and we are performing in the bottom 30% statewide in math and almost every other subject. We should be promoting the involvement of parents in our schools and not pushing them away. Alternative programs, magnet schools, and charter schools must be developed and evaluated for effectiveness. Our schools are too diverse for the one size fits all model. As long as a program is actually working and achieving results, we should encourage making our district one people choose to send their children.
******

Johnny Winston, Seat 4
1) School Board members play an important role in curriculum decisions. The Wisconsin Administrative Code (state law) sets forth the legal requirements that require each school board to develop, adopt and implement a written curriculum plan in reading,  language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, health, computer  literacy, environmental education, physical education, art and music. However, the pedagogy of the curriculum should be relegated to the expertise of district staff.  Professional staff members have the knowledge, skills and experience to implement curricula and teach students. Whereas staff members are responsible for teaching, board members play an integral role in curriculum evaluation.
2) To paraphrase the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "We've come along way, but we still have a long way to go." For example, the district's partnership with the Schools of Hope initiative and small class sizes has helped made substantial gains for African American students in 3rd grade reading scores. From 1995 to 2005, the number of African American students scoring at the minimal or basic category has fallen from 30% to 5%. In addition, African American students are making progress toward a board goal of completing algebra by tenth grade. Although, there have been gains, clearly much work needs to be done to close the gap.
      This work includes developing more public and private partnerships for pre-kindergarten programs such as the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, African American Ethnic Academy, and CUNA Mutual Foundation's Kindergarten Ready program. These partnerships garner academic resources to reduce the achievement gap and increase invaluable community volunteer support for the district that supplements school age programming.
       In addition to pre-kindergarten work, the district needs to increase student involvement in Talented and Gifted programs and enrollment in Advanced Placement courses. Last year, I developed a partnership with the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) to assist in that effort.  WCATY is providing talent testing and programs to increase the diversity within TAG and AP offerings. Although increasing diversity efforts is important, selecting appropriate evaluation methods for measuring progress is critical.  For example, value-added assessment analyzes test data that can measure teaching and learning outcomes. This assessment tool can show whether students have made educational growth over the course of a school year.
3) The Madison School District faces another year of budget reductions totaling $7.1 million dollars. The administration has recommended budget reductions that will consolidate schools, increase class sizes and eliminate programs. Yearly budget cuts affect student achievement, teacher morale and erodes community confidence in our public school system.
      I do not want to make any of these cuts, however, an operating referendum has a futile chance of passage. For this reason, I recommend budget reductions that are data driven, will not adversely affect the quality of education that students receive and that will continue to meet the needs of state, federal mandates and Individualized Educational Programs. My priority for funding would be to decrease class sizes in certain schools with larger numbers of low-income students.
4) The Legislature needs to change the way it funds public schools. A new system needs to be developed that eliminates the qualified economic offer, repeals or allows flexibility in the revenue limits and takes the burden of school finance off the local property taxpayers.  The MMSD is partnering with the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) for several reasons.  First, districts need sufficient resources to provide quality Education. Second, resources should be linked to high standards and should guarantee a base amount of resources to educate every student regardless of their needs.  Third,school-funding reform should come from statewide taxes in a way that lowers local property taxes. Lastly, local control should be established by trusting communities to decide how funding should be utilized.
5) I will address safety concerns in a multifaceted approach. First, our board is currently analyzing and updating our student code of conduct to change from a punitive approach to a preventive and restorative justice methodology. Students will learn from their mistakes by involving their parents, taking ownership of their wrongdoing, getting professional help (e.g. a serious fight would result in anger management counseling) and then making restitution to the victim and school. Second, I support Madison police officers and security personnel in schools. Third, I am supportive of regular staff training on race and equity, drug use, gang behavior, and de-escalation techniques. Lastly, I am a leader who is sensitive to issues that students face and understand the meaning of a second chance. Theschool board is the governing body that expels students. My votes have  allowed students to re-enter school early after addressing their challenges so they can continue their education. By re-electing me, I will apply these approaches to treat students treated fairly and equitably while ensuring a safe environment to learn.
6) Education is not one size fits all. I am supportive of alternative education including charter schools as long as they are under the leadership of the elected school board. In addition, they must have a strong educational plan that addresses the diverse needs of MMSD students. I will not support programs that create a separate educational system that is inaccessible for students of color or those from low-income families, nor an unproven educational model for the sake of innovation. Students have a variety of educational needs that must be met in a multi-faced approach.
      The MMSD has many alternative, evening and equivalency diploma programs. In the fall, the district will present its virtual campus program. Students will have the ability to enroll in a variety of on-line courses to supplement the traditional educational model.
      Next year, the traditional MMSD high schools will begin a redesign process. The MMSD should consider connected learning strategies to integrate core curriculum with transferable job training that can also be extended to the technical college system. A school-within-a-school model could help more students explore their career life options with real world experience.
Decision 2007:Candidates for MMSD Board
Questions
1.  What role  should the Madison Board of Education play in the development and approval  of the district's curriculum?
2. What progress has the district made in closing the minority student academic achievement gap? What further  measures does it need to implement?
3. The school district is currently facing a $10.5 million deficit just to keep service levels at the 2006-2007 spending level. What specific items or areas would you cut and which ones would you protect?
4. What steps should the state of Wisconsin take to ensure the long-term financial health of Wisconsin's school districts  and schools? Please be specific.
5. What measures does the district need to take, if any, that will ensure the safety of students while also  ensuring that all students, regardless of their personal backgrounds, are treated fairly and equitably across the district when those measures are      implemented?
6. Currently, the district has several charter schools. To what extent should the district promote school choice within the district  and the development of charter schools and other alternative school models?
Homepage
MMSD Candidates p.2