tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-120981192008-05-20T07:41:06.672-07:00Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-38952198552583935932008-05-17T09:12:00.001-07:002008-05-17T09:41:36.523-07:00

In a recent budget-repair bill, Governor Doyle hung on to the 4K provision. He also extended the phase in process for school districts to make 4K available to all of their eligible students by the 2013-2014 school year. Some school districts have already made the decision to dump 4K because of the unpredictable funding and no way to absorb the costs themselves. Others are more fortunate and

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-66604782605968580492008-05-16T05:51:00.000-07:002008-05-17T09:09:45.156-07:00

To clarify my use of an October 2007 article, it seemed to me that not much had changed. I apologize for the confusion and have edited this to include more of the recent information from the other sources I used from May 16 along with sources from after the governor's scrutiny of the budget. In editing the previous post, I cut far too much inadvertently. I apologize for not being clearer in my

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-36831869126933986682008-05-15T12:05:00.000-07:002008-05-15T12:17:41.005-07:00

At least I am going to operate under the premise that it is coming. Along the warm weather comes higher than ever gas prices and food prices. Often I ask, cajole, nag, demand that our elected representatives tighten the belt. My philosophy is: If I have to, why don't they? I admit that doesn't always work so well, but there is nothing wrong with evaluating a budget every now and again and

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-80819831435256736782008-05-07T18:04:00.000-07:002008-05-07T19:28:53.549-07:00

It isn't normal for me to post here, but given the topic and the abuse we (more Michelle than me) on another site, I felt this should be highlighted. The title should say a lot. Is it news? Is it credible enough to report the "rumors" that Heilmann took a student out of state on a trip and was "investigated" for it? Apparently some media outlets feel that it is because there are several that ran

Kent Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15118011041353746630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-47943312399863097172008-05-06T17:14:00.000-07:002008-05-06T17:50:31.242-07:00

According to a recent news report by Channel 18 News in Eau Claire, the Eau Claire Area School District school board has done their own closed door investigation and found that the allegations that Dr. Heilmann took an out-of-state trip with an Oshkosh area student were unfounded. Dr. Heilmann traveled to Eau Claire today to hold a press conference in front of his future employer and residents of

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-10485745321263588202008-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:002008-05-07T15:19:35.578-07:00

No, you are not misreading the title. There really is going to be a news conference called and starring Dr. Ron Heilmann. The news conference will not be here in Oshkosh reassuring parents/residents that none of the rumors about Dr. Heilmann are true. Local news stations do not seem to be aware and even Stew at the ONW seems to be either without information or an opinion on the matter. So far,

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-8954706056862203782008-05-01T10:20:00.000-07:002008-05-01T11:35:11.493-07:00

Eau Claire seems to be in a bit of a tizzy over their new Superintendent's contract and their current Superintendent's contract. By the way, in case you were on vacation, their new Superintendent is our own Dr. Heilmann, provided nothing comes up to change that. It seems the former Super Dr. Kraus and the former BOE President backdated his contract to allow him to collect his early retirement

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-80715680587822946112008-04-29T06:50:00.000-07:002008-04-29T06:55:15.280-07:00

Last night was the meeting of the new BOE where positions were reshuffled. The new President is Amy Weinsheim by a 6-1 vote. Tom McDermott was nominated but declined. The Vice President is Wayne Traska, the Clerk is still Karen Bowen, and the Treasurer is Tom McDermott. I wonder if Amy will obtain a public email so that her constituents can more easily contact her now that she is President of

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-35611524312213618702008-04-22T20:25:00.000-07:002008-04-22T20:33:40.945-07:00

Wednesday night is the last BOE meeting for Ben Schneider, II. He has served our district for six years. He supported conservative values with the knowledge that his decisions would impact the future of our district. His financial acumen will be missed in the days ahead. While often in the minority, he diligently fought for our children and the citizens of our community. His dedication to

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-69078521244476170242008-04-22T19:34:00.000-07:002008-04-22T20:25:21.032-07:00

Please note that this site is still moderated. As such, I feel it it important to let everyone who would choose to post on this or any other thread, that I will be in the hospital for the next two days. I have surgery early Wednesday morning and must stay overnight. I do not know when I will be able to post comments, I have been promised painkillers which are also temporary blog-killers. Kent

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-48203598078018506162008-04-08T13:45:00.001-07:002008-04-08T14:14:48.564-07:00

In this week's BOE packet is a revised rule 223.1, Administrator Compensation and Benefits. I thought it was interesting enough to post here as I know few management positions with a six figure salary, benefit package worth more than many people make in wages per year and the rest of this on top of it. This also explains how the school district determines wages and benefits. While it is

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-64034237383751645452008-04-06T10:25:00.001-07:002008-04-06T10:52:54.995-07:00

Today's paper had some very intriguing articles about school referendums. While the stories were quite interesting, what caught my attention was yet another reference to Mr. McDermott's amendment to the facilities plan. The way it reads and the way the ONW reported prior to the election is that the amendment reduces the referendum to $26.3 million with a second question to exceed revenue caps.

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-82350415505791047262008-04-01T22:01:00.000-07:002008-04-01T22:15:21.626-07:00

I would like to send a thank you to those who anonymously and by name helped me with my campaign. I would also like to thank those that have stayed interested in our school district. It is unfortunate that we had such a low voter turnout. I wish the new board member, Mr. Lemberger and the winning incumbent, Mr. McDermott luck in their new terms as BOE members. It has been a wonderful run.

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-76235892119612020972008-04-01T04:52:00.001-07:002008-04-01T05:02:09.262-07:00

I'd like to take a minute to thank all the people who have helped me throughout this campaign from those who gave moral support to those who donated funds. Thank You!!! I would also like to thank the courageous people who called to ask questions clarifying my positions and to dispel rumors about my family. (BTW, I have four children, not three. One attends Traeger Elementary and one attends

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-9620167269516712312008-03-26T18:22:00.000-07:002008-03-26T18:32:04.161-07:00

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/

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-30779772618045120092008-03-23T19:56:00.000-07:002008-03-23T20:29:13.377-07:00

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

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-15714563632893731222008-03-21T09:49:00.000-07:002008-03-21T10:10:11.244-07:00

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

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-43211988102481479852008-03-21T09:39:00.000-07:002008-03-21T09:49:38.308-07:00

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

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-35891679015528582802008-03-14T08:27:00.001-07:002008-03-14T09:08:28.820-07:00

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

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-78009670540524995812008-03-11T05:57:00.000-07:002008-03-11T06:14:22.383-07:00

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,

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-7411049068488934862008-03-03T09:44:00.001-08:002008-03-03T20:03:43.280-08:00

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:

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-81110084623821241152008-02-24T20:43:00.000-08:002008-02-24T21:00:59.440-08:00

This was sent to me by my mother-in-law. It is very interesting and worth taking notes. The video is about 10 minutes long and was taken from an episode of Oprah. The original lecture was downloaded to you tube and is an hour long. It is still very much worth the time to watch the entire lecture if you can. If you can't see the video, click on the title of this post and it should take you to the

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-17774328896462096792008-02-19T22:04:00.000-08:002008-03-01T08:54:52.932-08:00

I don't know what else to say except thank you for your confidence in me. Michelle Monte Oshkosh School District Member (From the Winnebago County Website at 12:12 am) Total Number of Precincts 46 of Precincts Reporting 46 Updated after OASD Certification of Ballot Count Michelle Monte 6435 Ben Schneider II 6177 J. Thomas McDermott 6174 John S. Lemberger 4688 Kevin Jahnke 3545 John Daggett

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-73336512989566404252008-02-12T15:05:00.000-08:002008-02-13T10:35:47.338-08:00

This was posted today on a thread from April of 2007. I am moving it here because it is relevant to today's issues. "At a past board meeting you had questioned the relationship between Sodexho and some of their suppliers, namely Tremco Roofing. Will more people are starting to question those types of relationships and the impact on our taxpayers. Unfortunately, the OASD learned an expensive

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12098119.post-14858183457639238602008-02-08T12:42:00.001-08:002008-02-08T12:59:55.639-08:00

It seems like some people are more interested in who already on the BOE supports which of the candidates, hopefully in addition to the issues. For the benefit of some who might be curious, here is a list I have compiled based on various sources of information. Monte: Supported by Becker who circulated nomination papers. Also supported by Schneider. Other supporters are listed along the left.

Michelle A. Montehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493246872208073477noreply@blogger.com