Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

PLEASE NOTE: Portions (most) of this story are/is political satire and opinion, written with my tounge firmly implanted in my cheek!

It only took five years for your Franklin School Board to bounce back from its 2007, $78 million voter-rejected referendum for the Board to claim a partial victory for the district in last night’s referenda (or is it referndum?) vote.    THANK YOU, THANK YOU Franklin School Board!   You either saved taxpayers $28 million by waiting five years, or the the $78 million you said you  “needed” then. was a "cock & bull story.”

MORE GOOD NEWS

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"Great" Teachers…

Ask Franklin Schools Superintendent Steve Patz or any member of the Franklin school board and they will likely tell you: Franklin public schools have great teachers.  Arguably, “great” is relative, but Merriam-Webster defines great this way: An outstandingly superior or skillful person.  We do not doubt that Franklin Public Schools has some great teachers, but like any organization it more than likely has its share of not –so-great- teachers, as-well.

In researching what makes a great teacher, we came across a number of websites  that attempted to answer the question: What makes a great teacher?  You are welcome to Google that question to satisfy your own curiosity, but we settled for an article entitled: Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits Of Superior Teachers at a website named:  So you want to teach.com.

The article concludes that these are the Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits Of Superior Teachers and that if you want to be a great teacher, these are the things you should begin to develop first.  How do these traits  measure up to your expectation and definition of a great teacher?  Meet my hair-pulling fourth grade teacher, Miss Martins:

Top 5 Character Traits of Great Teachers

1. Inspired me and never let me settle for anything less than my best.
2. Compassionate, caring, made me feel important and welcomed, made a personal connection with me.
3. Were demanding, pushed me hard.
4. Had a great sense of humor.
5. Knowledge of the subject matter.

Other specifics

1. Wasn’t afraid of what other people thought.
2. Passion for the subject matter.
3. Challenged me to think beyond just the answer in the textbook.
4. Listened to my ideas.
5. Taught me new things.
6. A terrific fund raiser.
7. Kept things interesting.
8. They were interactive.
9. Added personal elements to the classroom.
10. Organized.
11. Wasn’t fake or shallow with comments to students.
12. Discipline.
13. Confidence.
14. They were problem solvers, rather than simply problem identifiers.

THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL is a member of Michelle Rhee’s studentsfirst.

Here is Rhee discussing studentsfirst.org, school reform and great teachers.

RELATED MEDIA

• Studentsfirst.org Facebook link>

Not a “Facebooker”?

• Here is StudentsFirst’s website (videos) link>

Fortunately, we no longer have kids in Franklin Public Schools and feel comfortable writing about this subject without fear of reprisals to our kids from teachers doubling as union reps thug-enforcers.

School Board Members Respond to November 30 Board Meeting Comments by Union Rep

See up-date at the end of this story.

To- date we have received responses from Franklin School Board Members Mr. Tim Nielson and Mrs. Janet Evans concerning our December 6 story “Did Franklin School Teacher and Union Rep Threaten School Board Member's Kids?”  This was the first time we have offered any elected officials an opportunity to comment before a story involving them was published and in hindsight we realized that board members have day jobs and it was not  fair of us to ask members to respond by a 500PM publishing deadline.  Therefore, School Superintendent Dr. Steve Patz and those elected school board members who have not responded to the story are welcome to comment.  Ms. Marquerite Dargiewicz a teacher’s union representative and Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools was also given the opportunity to respond to our story.   At this writing we have not heard from Ms. Dargiewicz.

Here are the emails we received from Evans and Nielson.

From: Evans, Janet (Janet.Evans@Franklin.k12.wi.us)

Dear Mr. Keller,

Regarding your reference to what went on in the audience, Board members sit in the front of the room and I did not hear the conversation your parent said transpired, so I will not comment on it.

As far as the discussion on the Employee Handbook and benefits, I have studied the handbook. Dr. Mueller (Human Resources Director) was not present at this meeting as she was at a conference. Health insurance is due to be reviewed in January. I would prefer changes would occur prior to January. I believe we should have implemented changes last July.

I am of the opinion some of the remarks made directly to Mr. Nielson by Mrs. Bialk regarding the fact that he has not been on the Board long enough to address insurance were condescending. I also brought up the topic with Dr. Patz that he had given the impression to the Board that it is "punitive" to make some of the changes to benefits that other districts have been making, and I didn't feel it was right as leader of the district for him to do this. The Board is going to need to consider making changes and if he is saying it is punitive it doesn't help the situation.  He insisted it was punitive and that some districts are just making change because they "can."  I maintain changes to insurance benefits are something we "can" do to save money.

There was some discussion about including staff in discussions on benefits.  I'm curious as to whether Board members might be included in a discussion or two on benefits. What I do know is no "negotiating" is allowed regarding benefits since Act 10.

This process (or lack thereof) has been painfully long, and in the end, painful for the taxpayer.  After the meeting on the 30th I am left wondering if some would rather consider cutting staff and programs rather than what some might consider perks. Certain Board members consistently state they are there for the students, yet appear to not want to make the hard decisions when it comes to benefits so more funding can go where it belongs - to education.  Keep in mind, there hasn't been a vote on "benefits."

Regards,

Janet Evans

School Board Member

* * * *

From: Nielson, Tim (Tim.Nielson@Franklin.k12.wi.us)

Fred:

I am compelled to explain myself a little bit here...While the situation may have been personally uncomfortable for me (who wants to be the center of negative attention?) I can't go so far as to concur with the comments I was shut down. I had plenty fo time to state my case. Judith had an opinion to express and she got the chance to do so. It wasn't argumentative. It was civil. Her and I may disagree on how many sick days per year is enough but that's OK.

Dr. Patz also expressed his opinion at the meeting and to the Board in that we (the Board) should be careful before implementing any policies that will take away benefits "just to take them away". I can appreciate that position and I can assure you and anyone who will read this that this has never been my intent.

I spent hours reviewing the Distict's handbook and wanted to have a substantive conversation about some options that may need to be explored in the upcoming budget. I used the word "proposal" with my Board colleagues which I feel was taken as an action word so I think they, as well as the people in the audience, were expecting a whole host of motions to be made for Board consideration. I recognized this while I was speaking and even addressed this in the meeting.

The benefits topic of discussion is one that strikes to the core for District employees and I completely understand that. I am not spending my free time trying to find creative ways to limit the benefits the District offers. I am merely attempting to take my business background and infuse that kind of budgetary thinking into how we can best run the District financially. It doesn't all have to do with cuts but rather efficiencies. I am not even suggesting the District is inefficient but how else can we continue to improve on how the District is run if conversations like these are not taking place? Uncomfortable, sure. But people that know me also know I can be reasonble too. I absolutely want to retain the best talent we can to teach our kids as I feel we have wonderful programs in place. The District's future is bright.

With regard to the comment if I have children in the district...I do. My two daughters are wonderful, bright, & get excellent grades. I have never had a negative comment from teachers or other staff made towards them...at least that got back to me. They volunteer and are leaders. I am not sure why an inquiry like that was made (if it was made) and I do not have a comment with regard to it.

Regards,

Tim Nielson

 School Board Member

Franklin Public Schools

Update on Friday, December 9, 2011 at 9:03 AM by Basil Ryan

To-date we have not heard from Superintendent Steve Patz, School Board president Debbie Larson, Vice president, Jeff Traylor or the balance of the Franklin School Board members or Ms. Marquerite Dargiewicz a teacher’s union representative and Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools.

For those of you interested in a response from your elected representatives, as-well-as Franklin Public Schools teacher Marquerite Dargiewicz,  Patz can be reached at 529-8230 and Marquerite Dargiewicz at 525-5042. Click here for a list of school board members’ email addresses.  Disrespectful?

Did Franklin School Teacher and Union Rep Threaten School Board Member's Kids?

We received this information via email yesterday from a Franklin parent and taxpayer who attended the November 30 Franklin School Board Meeting:

I attended the last Franklin School Board Meeting and happened to sit near “Margaret” who I understood to be the local union president representing Franklin teachers.  [further research by this publication revealed this individual to be Marquerite Dargiewicz an Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools].

During school board member Tim Nielson’s presentation concerning the update to the Teacher’s Handbook, I learned that Franklin teachers accrue 12 paid sick days per year.  I also learned that up to 120 days of unused paid sick days can be “banked” and paid-out at retirement.

Mr. Nielson,  who I understand is a small businessman, mentioned that no one [I assumed he meant in the private sector] gets that sort of benefit, and suggested a number of alternatives before being shut down by both School  Superintendent Steve Patz and board member Judith (anything for our teachers) Bialk.  I then heard “Margaret” ask a Franklin teacher “Does he[Neilson] have any kids in our school system?”  When the teacher replied “Yes,” they both chuckled.

As the meeting continued, I felt that both [Ms.] Bialk and [Dr.] Patz were trying to intimidate [Mr. Nielson] by suggesting, how do you expect to keep good teachers?  [Like those teaching the kids in this video?]

Bialk was definately trolling for the teacher votes.

Thanks to the McIver Institute for this video.

Dr. Patz, Marquerite  Dargiewicz and each school board member were offered the opportunity to comment on this story prior to its Tuesday, December 6, 5:00PM publishing.

Franklin School Board Retreat: Reading between the Lines

Not having attended the Saturday, August 6, 2011, Franklin School Board Meeting/Retreat I decided to read the minutes of the meeting and wanted to share my following observations with readers.

Item 2 indicated that School Superintendent Steve Patz conducted a so-called “ice-breaker” activity involving board members and those administration employees in attendance.  No further details were provided concerning this activity.

It appears to me that the retreat was well-intended and sought to improve the effectiveness of the Board by incorporating four key priorities which were identified as conceptual goals for the Board for 2011-12.  These are the four priorities according to the minutes.

1. Define and Implement Products and Processes.
2. Develop Board Leadership and governance skills
3. Superintendent /Board of Education partnership and role clarification
4. Positive image of Board

With respect to long-range planning, Superintendent Patz recommended to the Board (which it seems to have accepted), that this item be tabled.

The Board was informed by Patz that there will be Architects presenting at the September 7 Board meeting and that the foundation for future planning is tied to the responses from the community survey. 

Architects presenting at the September 7 Board meeting?  Here we go again!

Reading Between The Lines

• Superintendent Patz indicates that Architects are presenting at the September 7 Board meeting.  What exactly has the School Board authorized these architects to design?
• This Board has been together for a number of years, and interact regularly at Board meetings, with the exception of Nielson who is the newest Board member, so what’s with the “ice-breaker activity?”  By definition an “ice-breaker” is:  an opening remark, action, etc., designed to ease tension or relieve formality.
• It seemed unusual to me that the subject book  of the book study was entitled  Five Habits of High Impact School Boards, yet the Board choose to incorporate only four key priorities which it  identified as conceptual goals for the Board for 2011-12. It can't become a habit unless it's a practiced priority, can it?
• We're also courious about priority number 4 (above); does the Board believe it has a negative image?

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Years Trump Effectiveness: Tenure and Seniority

Today we present episode 6 of our multi-part special video series presentation of the documentary film “Kids Aren’t Cars,” produced by Education Action Group (EAG) Foundation.

What if your value to your employer was decided by the sum of the last four digits of your social security number? Or you win nationwide recognition for your teaching achievement, only to be fired the next day because someone else had been there longer. It happens in American public schools every year. Do tenure and seniority benefit students and their success?

Franklin Public Schools Mission Statement

Franklin Public Schools educates every student to his/her highest level of personal excellence through learning experiences that focus on student needs in active partnerships with family and community.

If you would like to discuss education issues regarding  the Franklin School District views please contact a member of the Franklin School Board or Franklin Schools Superintendent Steve Patz at 414-525-7603.

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Franklin Teachers Flood School Board Meeting

Franklin Teachers made up the majority of the audience at last night’s school board meeting.   During Citizen Comments school board president Debbie Larson permitted Franklin teachers  to comment on agenda item 9. a. Board Discussion, [health] insurance bidding process. Fear of the unknown and satisfaction with the status quo seemed to be the motivating factor behind most of the comments.

Larson assured these Franklin Teacher’s that the Board and the District would get their input in making the decision—quasi-collective bargaining?

We recently published an article explaining how the Baraboo School Board, in May, voted to dump WEA Trust employee health coverage (Franklin’s current health  insurance provider) in favor of similar coverage through the Dean Health Plan which District officials estimated would save the District $660,000 annually.

During the Board’s discussion on this item Human Resources Director, Judith Mueller reported to board members that the District will be working with The Horton Group,  an insurance, risk management and employee benefits consulting firm on the employee health insurance question and expected to have a change in place by this time next year.

Board member Tim Nielson questioned the lengthy amount of time Mueller proposed, suggesting  and voiced his opinion that  it could be accomplished sooner, thereby saving taxpayer dollars sooner than later.  Nielson also asked what the Horton Group’s fee. was and was told by Business Manager, Jim Milzer said that it would depend upon the consulting package the District chose.  Eventually Janet Evans pried a "ball park figure of $10,00-$20,000 out of him.  Milzer added that Horton generally saved its clients five times its fee.

School Board President Debbie Larson also resurrected a so-called “board meeting debriefing,” a past Board practice whereby each member publically evaluates the meeting based on a number of specific survey questions.  What ever its purpose, this exercise, from this reporter’s vantage point only seemed to divide the Board further and stoke the flames of animosity that already exists between some members.

Larson also seems repared to move forward with a suggestion from a Franklin Teacher in attendance, to video tape Board meetings and post them on the District’s website although the Board never discussed or voted on the matter since it did not appear on the meeting agenda.

On the hiring front, Superintendent Patz confirmed that in the coming weeks the District will be adding a communications specialist to its staff.

Also, with the job elimination of Adria Day, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent Patz, for the short-term, the Superintendent has taken it upon himself to take and publish the board meeting minutes, a task which is relegated to staff and the City Clerk for Franklin Common Council Meetings.
Finally, the annual Meeting of the Electors will be held on August 24, 2011, Agenda to follow.

RELATED MEDIA

• Wisconsin Schools Already In Line to Save Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Through Newly Negotiated Teacher Contract

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$3.1 million Paid to Top Franklin School Administrators Over Past Five Years

"We are returning to frugality and making the long-term decisions to balance our budget now and more importantly into the future. We will do the heavy lifting to protect our children and grandchildren from having to make the hard decisions that were once avoided."

—Gov. Scott Walker, March 1, 2011

In its 2011-12 Budget Draft Franklin Public Schools (FPS) asks: What in the World is Affecting Franklin Public Schools?  Here are the answers provided by FPS’ administration.

• The Economy
• State Budget Problems
• Possible State Law Changes
• Revenue Limits
• More Federal money means more time spent reporting

Like any government monopoly, over-spending didn’t even make the list.

"Since our primary purpose is to be advocates for the students in our community, it is imperative that we place some of the best teachers in our state in front of our students for a quality educational experience to occur.”

—Steve Patz, Superintendent, Franklin Public Schools, FPS2011-12 Budget introduction : Looking Back, and Forward

Huh?!  I thought the school district's primary purpose was to educate its students.

In his July 5 story entitled: Franklin schools tackle challenging budget by FranklinNOW’s Rick Romano we get a good sense for what some Franklin School District administrators and school board members think of the 2011-12 Franklin Public Schools (FPS) budget and budgeting process in light of Governor Scott Walker’s two-year $66 billion state budget deal designed to balance the state’s budget and close the $3.5 billion budget gap without raising taxes or fees, while reining-in local government’s taxation and spending. (e.g. public school boards and municipalities).

From Romano’s piece:

Quoting Franklin’s complaining Superintendent Steve Patz, Romano writes “Every school district is different, but we all face difficulty that has been complicated by the state budget process this year.  Just like in every year, we approve a budget and then wait until we have the final student count in October to finalize the numbers."

How did our neighbors in New Berlin react to Walker’s budget?

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Bad News for Franklin

“Politicians don’t get elected on the basis of results, they get elected on the impressions they give.”

—Thomas Sowell

In another economic blow to the City of Franklin, THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL has learned that according to a notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, T-Shirt International, Inc., located in the Franklin Business Park will terminate 99 workers at its Franklin and Oak Creek facilities on June 10. The Oak Creek site will remain open with clerical staff but the Franklin site will close permanently.

Nearly a year ago to the day, the Franklin Business Park's most highly recognized name, Harley Davidson, notified Mayor Tom Taylor that its Franklin distribution center would be closing.  Driving through the business park today, one can’t help but notice empty buildings and lots. The city as a whole continues to have a lot of retail space sitting empty. Many well-known businesses have left the community.

Harley-Davidson Franklin DistributionCenter, Franklin Business Park.

Yet, in 2011 campaign literature, Mayor Taylor stated: "We gained nearly 3,000 plus jobs in Franklin during my term. During my term new businesses will or have added another 2,000 jobs and much more to come! The type of jobs and pay spanned the entire spectrum: executives, managers, doctors, technical professions, retail services and many more. Also, it generated hundreds of part time jobs for our citizens and young people. More and more of our citizens can work where they live. One of the commitments I made to you!"

THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL has requested the jobs gained documents from Mayor Taylor that he referred to in his campaign literature. We also asked Cal Patterson, Treasurer and Director of Finance and Joel Dietl, Planning Manager Department of City Development if they were aware of the documents Mayor Taylor referred to, and if so, if they could provide them.  To-date, only Patterson and Dietl have responded to our request and have indicated they don't have this information. Since we have not received a response from Mayor Taylor, THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL has filed an open records request for these documents.  See related EDITORIAL: Is it too good to be true?

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Bullet Found in Franklin High School Hall

Local television news reporters' trucks parked outside Franklin High School

According to Franklin Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve Patz, between approximately 11:30 am and 12:00 pm a bullet was found in a hall way in Franklin High School  After escorting students from the lunchroom back to their classrooms, the high school was immediately placed under lock-down and Franklin Police were called.  Administrators made the decision to close the school in order for police to sweep the building, including a locker by locker search.  Buses began arriving at approximately1:00 pm and by 2:15 pm all students were safely on their way home. Tonight's events and activities at the high school have been cancelled.

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Franklin Board of Education Approves Two-Percent Pay Increase

By Basil Ryan and Fred Keller

Last night the Franklin Board of Education voted 5-1 (Janet Evans voting No) to approve a contract including a two-percent pay hike to represented (union) District secretaries, office assistants and education assistants.  These employees have been working without a contract since July 1, 2009.  Therefore, the two–percent pay raise will be paid retroactively from July 1, 2009. This current contract expires on June 30, 2011. 

This action comes on the heels of the Board approving a 2.3 percent pay raise for School District Superintendent, Dr. Steve Patz, and an average 2.3 percent increase for Administrators and various non-union staff at its March 16 meeting.

Follows are the vote totals for these measures:

March 16 Meeting

• Dr. Steve Patz a 2.3 percent increase for 2010-2011—Approved, 4-3 (Evans, Witkowski and Works voting No).
• Average 2.3 percent increase for Administrators—Approved, 5-2 (Evans, Witkowski voting No)
• Average 2.3 percent increase for various non-union staff, 2010-2011—Approved 6-1 (Evans voting No).

When reached by telephone, Dr. Patz confirmed that these pay increases were previously budgeted for.

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