Links of Interest If You Don't Have Cable

OCAT has begun streaming certain meetings and broadcasts. Among them are the BOE meetings and the League of Women Voters Forums. Here are the links for them in case you do not get cable access for the broadcasts and didn't know they were online.

http://www.oshkoshcommunitymedia.org/board_of_education_stream.htm for BOE meetings going back to January.

http://www.oshkoshcommunitymedia.org/candidate_stream.htm for the LWV forums and the District 14 special forum.

http://www.oshkoshcommunitymedia.org/videostreaming.htm for a full list of all meetings that OCAT is now streaming.

Thanks to Ann who let me know about their problems out in the Townships getting meeting replays and for the links so others in the townships can benefit from being able to see the various meetings and forums.

Webster Wave

I was at the library on Saturday with my daughter and found copies of the Webster Wave in the children's section. There were several student articles about the facilities planning process. Some were informative and some included interviews with teachers, parents, and other students. The articles that included interviews, expressed opinions opposing K-3. It seems students and parents do not want K-3 in the Webster area.

The newspaper is very well produced and the student reporters have much to be proud of. I spoke to Mr. Fitzhenry of the ONW and he stated that there are grants available for other schools to start a student-run paper. I would encourage others to consider what Webster has accomplished. This is a great way for students to have ownership over something they can be proud of. It promotes analytical thinking, improves writing and interpersonal communication skills.

One last note was an article done by a young lady named Brooklyn Keller. She wrote an article entitled Two Board Candidates Talk To Wave. I remember the call from Miss. Keller. She had a very good list of questions and seemed quite skilled at interviewing. I was very impressed with the conversation. Below is the article by Miss. Keller.

The Board of Education is in charge of what schools do. They make decisions on how schools run. Mrs. Michelle Monte and Mr. Tom McDermott are running for Board of Education.

McDermott is running for Board of Education because public education is very important. He wants to make good decisions for schools and students. McDermott has been a member of the Board of Education for six years.

McDermott wants to complete facilities planning and continue to make teacher time priority after school. He wants to support grade level benchmarks.

If cuts had to be made, McDermott said, "I would move away form having small elementary schools and change the number of grades in each building."

McDermott wants Webster Wave readers to know, he "listens to both sides. He tries to treat people with respect." McDermott "works hard on what's best for the students."

Monte is running for Board of Education because she thinks she needs to overcome budget problems. If elected she will make sure the long range facility plan moves schools forward. She wants to keep the buildings up to standards at a reasonable cost.

Monte would visit the schools twice or more a year.

If Monte had to make cuts she would talk with community foundations to try to raise money for programs.

Monte want the Webster Wave readers to know that she cares deeply about education. She wants what's best for students, schools, and teachers.

McDermott and Monte both hope to get elected to the Board of Education.

League of Women Voters

Last night was the last LWV forum before the election April 1. It was quite interesting to hear on the radio and meet in person those vying for seats on the County Board. I would like to thank the League of Women Voters for the opportunity to take part. In the communities I lived in, no group stepped forward to educate and encourage voters to make a difference with the simple act of voting. With the County Board race hotly contested in some areas, it was a surprise to hear from a friend in the Town of Clayton that the LWV in the Neenah/Menasha area did nothing for their community. I hope they have the opportunity to see our League's forum and consider one of their own in the future.

I have been told that the forum went well from viewers who have emailed me last night and this morning. I was too nervous to notice anything but the questions. I will watch the replay the next time it is on and update this post with the questions asked of us and some of the answers. The crowd in the room seemed a little bigger last night. Some were carry-overs from the County Board Forum. I'm glad they decided to stay.

Some dates to remember if you would like to catch replays of the LWV forum and other candidate forums and BOE replays:

Channel 10, LWV Forum (county then school board): Saturday, 10am to 12pm, 7pm to 9pm. Sunday, 12pm to 2pm.
Channel 10, BOE Meeting Replay: Sunday, 7pm to 11:30pm
Channel 2, Roundtable Debate with all candidates: Saturday 11am to 12pm, 11pm to 12am. Sunday, 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
Channel 2, Student Led Forum: Sunday, 10am to12pm, 8:30pm to 10:30pm.
Channel 19 (Town of Algoma), Roundtable Debate with all candidates: Fri, Sat, Sun 12pm to 1pm
Channel 19, BOE Replay: Fri, Sat, Sun 3pm to5pm and 7pm to 9:30 pm.

I will post times for next week when they are up on the OCAT website or check OCAT for updates of their Schedule.

Plan Approved

Wednesday night the BOE approved an amended version to the long-range facilities plan with a vote of 4-3. Mr. McDermott amended the plan to add a phase that would cost $26 million and rebuild Oaklawn and add to Merrill to accommodate Special Ed programs. The remainder of the plan would stay as is. The plan totals somewhere between $63 million and $74 million depending on who is doing the math and whether or not the question about exceeding revenue caps is included in the cost to the taxpayers. The plan, dubbed "The Ten-Year Facilities Plan" will take 12 to 16 years with McDermott's amendment. Voting in favor of the amendment and the plan, claiming change and progress as their rationale, were McDermott, Kavanaugh, Weinsheim and Bowen.

Voting against the plan for want of a more conservative plan for the community, were Becker, Schneider, and Traska.

Of course the possibility still exists for a new Board to bring back the plan with a new resolution. A slimmer possibility is for the current majority to rethink their expensive position.

Aside from that, the voters have two chances of getting their points across without being called "fear mongers" by Mrs. Weinsheim. Our first change is April 1, when the community has the chance to declare what we really want from the sanctity of the ballot booth without fear of being ignored or called names. The second chance will be when the referendum hits the ballots, possibly next spring.

Avoid the rush

VOTE APRIL 1

Agenda for March 19 BOE Meeting

Yesterday I received the electronic copy of the Board Packet. Included was the agenda for the upcoming BOE meeting. The consent agenda includes the usual minutes, bills payable, some policy revisions, and Resolution #7 the Ten Year Facilities Plan.

That is correct, the plan that has never been revealed in its entirety to the BOE or the community, will be voted on Wednesday night. If you had any plan on taking part in this process, I suggest you clear your calendar and attend the next BOE meeting, it may be your last chance. So much for limiting this to $40 million.

Some highlights of the plan include boundary changes like children in the Roosevelt, Tipler, West path will be Roosevelt, Merrill, and North. Other boundary changes will be made as the plan moves forward.

Schools we are keeping are:
K-5
Traeger Elem
E. Cook
Franklin
Jefferson
Merrill Elem
New Northside
Oakwood
Tipler Elem
Read
Roosevelt
Shapiro
Washington
Webster Elem

6-8
Traeger MS
Merrill MS
South Park MS
Webster MS

9-12
East HS
North HS
West HS

Costs of Upgardes in Phase 1
E. Cook $ 7,235,000
Merrill K-8 $ 4,895,000
New North School $12,960,000
Oshkosh West $ 2,100,000
Convert Tipler Middle to Elem $ 3,050,000
South Park $ 1,300,000
Webster Stanley K-8 $ 4,135,000

Total for Phase 1 $39,775,000

Costs of Upgrades in Phase 2
Franklin $ 500,000- 800,000
Shapiro $ 9,300,000- 9,900,000
Oakwood $ 6,600,000- 7,200,000
Oshkosh North $ 1,700,000- 2,200,000
Oshkosh West $ 1,700,000- 2,200,000
Read $ 200,000- 700,000
Roosevelt $ 2,200,000- 2,700,000
South Park $ 500,000- 1,000,000
Washington $ 800,000- 1,300,000
Webster Stanley $ 500,000- 1,000,000

Total for Phase 2 $29,500,000- 34,500,000

Grand Total for 10 Year Plan $69,275,000 - 74,275,000

Roundtable Debate and Student Forum To Air On OCAT

Earlier in the month I and my fellow school board candidates participated in a Roundtable Debate hosted by City Councilman Paul Esslinger and WOSH's Bob Burnell. The debate was taped and will begin airing this week on city cable channel 2. Dates and times for this week are below. There will be additional times and dates in the following weeks.

Wednesday, March 12, 9:00pm
Saturday, March 15, 11:00am and 11:00pm
Sunday, March 16, 8:30am and 9:00pm


I was told that the tape was also released to the Township Channel 19. So far the debate does not appear on that schedule for this week. If you live in the Towns of Algoma, Nekimi, and Black Wolf and want to see the debate, call your cable provider and ask that it be added to their schedule.

Tonight is the student led forum for school board candidates being held at Oshkosh West from 6pm to 8pm. It is open to the public and all are welcome to come and watch. Only students will be allowed to ask the candidates questions. It will air on OCAT, dates and times to be determined. I will update this post when I have more information. There is a small reception after the forum to meet with the candidates.

Endorsements

Congratulations to Tom McDermott and John Lemberger for getting the AFL-CIO endorsement. Apparently, according to Eye on Oshkosh, they and other candidates for other offices were sent a questionnaire from the labor union. I am sure they are very proud of receiving the endorsement without competition as Mr. Schneider and myself did not receive questionnaires this year from this group.

Update: Apparently the endorsement was without competition and without communicating with any of the school board candidates. Mr. McDermott and Mr. Lemberger both stated that neither received any communication from this group. Interesting.

In the last two years, I have received the endorsement of the local Fox Valley UAW. Last year, Mr. Becker also received their endorsement as we went to speak at one of their meetings. None of the other candidates received questionnaires or invitations as none were issued to any of the candidates. Dan and I requested an audience with the union to answer questions and offer our views.



This public endorsement will probably lead to several others from groups like Oshkosh Educators Association, OPEA, and possibly the Oshkosh Northwestern. Over the last few years, I have heard all kinds of rationales about endorsements. I am curious as to how much weight they really play in voters minds.