Recently, a fourth option has been proposed calling for the Wilton area to detach from the district. I have attended the detachment meetings and have seen their numbers and and listened to their sales pitch. Among the claims that they make is that if Wilton detaches, the results would include educational and financial benefits for those in Elroy, Kendall and Wilton

I know there are those throughout the district who believe that to be true, but I am not among them. I still believe that the strongest district with the most to offer would be an Elroy, Kendall and Wilton District. However, I believe that to be only if there is a commitment made to all three communities. There are still many people in Wilton who want to remain in the district, and some who would like to detach, but almost all agree on one thing. If the nearest EKW school is in Kendall, detachment is Wilton's best option.

I would like to ask each of the board members to support a proposal, whatever that is, that makes a commitment to all three communities. For myself, I do not believe that the detachment of the Wilton area is the best options out there for this district but I would support detachment before I would support any option that does not include a commitment to all three communities.

Signed: Tim Welch

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TIM McGOWAN "SPACE REQUIREMENTS PROPOSAL" DRAFT #1
AS REQUESTED BY THE EKW SCHOOL BOARD's APRIL 8TH MEETING.

Please find attached a listing that details building space requirements for Royal Middle and High Schools. It is the resulting product of staff input that was gathered when given the challenge by the EKW Board of Education to identify program space requirements needed to effectively and efficiently educate the students of our school-community. It is important to note that in terms of this Board directive, the only guideline was to have classrooms considered as "assets" - i.e., that classrooms were to be used ever period of the day where appropriate and that many individual teachers would have offices as opposed to their "own" classrooms. Given no other restraints on input in terms of cost, preferred class size, etc., this listing should be considered somewhat an "idea" and. as a result, should be further considered as a "starting point" for further discussions regarding RMS & RHs"s program space requirements.

With this in mind, it was decided that the recommended square footage per program area be based upon TCI's "Preliminary Referendum Proposal" for the Kendall Middle & High School site (Dated: February 11, 1999). However, for some of the program areas the recommended square footage was based upon staff input and/or information gained from administrators who had recently completed building programs. Additionally, the figure use for the "existing" square footage in Royall was taken from TCI's "Existing Building Analysis" (Dated: July, 1997).

As you are aware, part of the Board's directive was to form a committee to complete this building space requirements report. In this regard, I am requesting that three teacher either volunteer/be selected by their colleagues to become part of this committee with Mr. Schoeder and myself. The only limitations as to this selection is that one teacher represent each of the three following areas as listed on the attached report: the middle school, the high school general and specialty classrooms, and the high school-middle school "shared" specialty rooms.

Finally, please review this listing and let me know of any additional insights and/or concerns you may have with this initial draft "in writing" p>****************************************************

EKW BOARD OF EDUCATION HELD ITS REGULAR MEETING

AGENDA
*Requires Board Vote

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HIGHLIGHTS OF APRIL 8th EKW SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

Roll Call- All Member Present Except: Craig Hanson.

Comments from the floor:

Two members, Esta Parrish and Mike Baurenfeind, of "NOW is the Answer Committee" presented the case for detachement of Wilton from the EKW school district.

Dear Board Members:

As a parent and a member of the Wilton community for 18 years, I would like to use this opportunity to encourage the board to allow the detachment of the Wilton area from the EKW school district to proceed unimpeded when you are presented with petitions for detachment in July.

Although emotionally detachment will not be easy, financially and logistically it is the only truly equitable solution to EKW¹s configuration problem. According to Mr. Hanson¹s report of March 11, 1999, the EKW school district will be ³broke² by the year 2003 whether or not we consolidate in one community. This necessitates a referendum to permanently increase the revenue cap for operating expenses by several hundred thousand dollars at least and possibly by over 1 million dollars each year.

Detachment will eliminate one building and between 150 and 200 students which will decrease annual expenditures by over $6,500 for each one of those students. This comes to $1,300,000 less EKW will need to operate each year. Detachment will eliminate the need to build and upgrade in each community or to build new buildings in the center of the district and will allow for Kendall and Elroy to forge a new relationship. Detachment of Wilton will allow for the use of existing buildings and greatly decrease the amount of money the district will need to borrow for buildings. This further reduces the annual per student expenditures by decreasing the amount of debt that would be incurred.

The Wilton area detachment will decrease district income from property taxes by about $1,700 for each student and will decrease from state aid by about $5,700 for each detaching student. This results in a $1,480,000 decrease in income annually. The difference between the decrease in income and the decrease in expenditures will be at or very near break even point.

Because of the need to exceed the revenue cap for operating expenses, district taxes are going to increase. However, the increase may not need to be as great if the Wilton school is removed from the picture.

With the Wilton area out of the district, the busing and transportation problems will be greatly simplified because there will be no need to shuffle students between the 3 communities.

Consolidation is the only way to unify this district and eliminate the prevailing us/them attitude. EKW cannot afford to consolidate in the center of the district which is the only consolidation plan that would satisfy Wilton area residents. Detachment would eliminate the need to consolidate Wilton with the rest of the EKW district.

If Brookwood school were not located as close to Wilton as it is, then it would make sense for the Wilton area to remain with Kendall and Elroy. Since Brookwood is close, having the Wilton area join with N-O district is the only sensible solution.

Allowing the Wilton area to detach from EKW will open the way for the people of Kendall and Elroy to unite and begin concentrating their energies on education of the children instead of having to constantly face the configuration and financial worries that have plagued this school district for many years.

Detachment is a workable solution for the EKW school district, and possibly the only viable solution.
Sincerely,
Esta Parrish

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Dear Members of the EKW Board,

For some time now, this board has struggled with this issue of configuration. You¹ve put a lot of time and energy into trying to find a solution that will satisfy the needs and desires of all parties concerned, sometimes at great personal sacrifice.

I know you are all sincere in your desire for quality education for our children. But part of the difficulty lies in the fact that each of you represents other legitimate interests of the people who elected you and those valid interests also include the desire to keep a school in your respective communities.

The people of the Wilton area, like the people in Kendall and Elroy, want to have a school in their village. We in Wilton can sympathize with how the people of Elroy must feel facing this $10.5 mm referendum that would close their school. We felt the same way last year. However, now a lot of people in the Wilton area are thinking differently. Many have come to the simple conclusion that declining enrollment and increasing costs make keeping open three schools in this district unrealistic and ultimately impossible. We recognize that whether you build a new school in Wilton or do nothing at all there, the sad but actual fact is EKW will not be able to afford to operate and maintain a school in Wilton.

Given this reality, we feel it makes sense on many levels for our area to leave EKW and join with Norwalk-Ontario. The decision to go ahead with the detachment effort was not made out of spite or malice. Many, many people believe that this is simply a practical solution to an otherwise intractable problem.

An important point to stress is this: Detachment is not just a solution for the Wilton area. Detachment offers a way to resolve the current situation in a way that will benefit all communities involved.

Detachment offers this board an historic opportunity to end the configuration battles and forge a new coalition between Elroy and Kendall that can focus on improving educational programs in a way that would facilitate a strong EK district with programs and facilities that are both high quality and affordable.

Those of us that favor detachment wish no ill will to our friends and neighbors in Kendall and Elroy. On the contrary, we want to see you build a exceptional school district on sound financial footing with additional educational opportunities of which your communities will be proud. We simply realize that is not going to happen while Wilton is part of the district and we are offering to step aside and let you go forward to fashion a district and a school system that contains the elements you and your teachers and administrators desire but are currently lacking because of the ongoing focus on configuration.

We want to reach out to each and every member of this board and ask that you consider this detachment alternative. At least investigate it with an open mind. We¹d be happy to work with you, share information and turn this opportunity into a positive reality. Detachment really can benefit us all.

Sincerely,

Mike Bauernfeind
The Answer Is N.O.W. Committee

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Kay Dougherty reported on the Policy Committees recommendations on how to handle the "Items From The Floor" indicatings some policy had been determined but they were not at the point of making a recommendation for vote at this time.

Board President, Don Yahnke, made a brief statement on the March 30th closed meeting held with design/builders TCI, stating that they discussed the issue brought up at the Board meeting two weeks earlier including, Mr. McGowans question as well as the request by the board at that time to expand the configuration question by asking that additional design builders be consulted saying that legally where they were at was they had a contract with TCI that was to remain until that time that there is a referendum on configuration or the configuration issue is dismissed, Yahnke, emphasising that this Board of Education by unanamous vote agreed TCI "is our contractor of choice."

Administrator, Art Keenan, explained that he and the Superintendent of the Norwalk- Ontario Brookwood school had agreed on sharing a "Technology Coordinator to work 3 days a week at Royall and 2 days at Brookwood. Royalls share of the cost to be $23,000.

Clerk, Kay Dougherty, read the Election report by the Board of Canvassers, which verified that the following people had been elected to the Board: Craig Hanson, Louise Jensen & Sue Schroeder. (See results of April 6th Election further down on this Page) On a Motion by Welch, Seconded by McCracken the board voted unanimously to approve Board of Canvassers Report..

President, Don Yahnke, praised outgoing Board Member, Doug Path, for his years of service on the board. A hearty round of applause was given Doug by both the board and the 60-70 members of the audience. The recently elected Louise Jensen was also introduced to the board and guests.

The Administrator and Board agreed to appoint, Tim McGowan, as the chairperson to work with the EKW School Board and TCI in coming up with a configuration plan that would meet the needs of the educational community as well as the taxpayers.

Elroy Teacher, Edith Gustafson, gave a review of a detailed 10 page report on the recommendations of the EKW EDUCATION ASSOCIATION regarding the present educational needs of the district and their recommendation of how they should be met.
Some Excerpts from this Report within the Next Few Days.

On the item of School Choice, Administrator, Art Keenan reported that he would recommend that 17 students be granted the right of School Choice and that two not be granted. The Board agreed on both. There was some discussion on the later but did not in anyway change the vote.

Paul Schulz, Teacher at Royall gave me an Inventory of some of the courses offered at the Hillsboro School that are not offered at Royall.
These will also be posted later today.

COME BACK LATER TODAY FOR MORE DETAILS ON SOME OF THE ITEMS ABOVE

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SPECIAL MARCH 30th MEEETING OF EKW BOARD PRODUCES A SUPRISE

After a lengthy and indepth meeting between the EKW School Board and representatives from TCI, both parties admitted that they had not communicated with each other as well as they should have and vowed to work more closly with each other. The Board on a Roll Call Vote decided 9 yes and 0 no's to continue with TCI. The other two design builder that had been contacted earlier in the week were notified this morning that their services would no longer be needed

Don Yahnke, EKW Board President, will have a statement on the boards decision at the April 8th Board meeting in Elroy. The "3 site referendum" is still on the table. Whether it will be brought back to the floor will be up to the Board Members at, what should be a most interesting meeting, on Thursday April 8th at Elroy.

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EKW SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO CONSULT WITH OTHER BUILDERS BESIDES TCI

**************************************************** EKW BOARD APPROVES AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:
See School Board Meeting below.

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THE ELROY-KENDALL-WILTON SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION HELD ITS BUSINESS MEETING IN THE WILTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MARCH 22nd - 1999 - 7:30pm

All Board members present.

Last Board Meeting Minutes Approved

On the "Items From the Floor" it was decided after considerable discussion to continue the present policy of letting members of the audience speak out if they wished. The board did refer the question to the Boards Policy Committee to consider perhaps time and subject matter restrictions.

There were in depth questions from the audience regarding the present configuration, the mood was somber, but orderly and civil.

Tim McGowan the Principal of the Royall Middle and Highschool, made a passionate plea to the Board, "I am compelled to speak for a number of reasons, first there is the expectation among my student body, the other day I was walking down the hot hallway of the middle school and one of middle school girl said to the other middle school girl, ' Did you hear about the new school we are building, we are going to have an indoor pool, isn't that true Mr. McGowan?' and I said, "As far as I know we are going to have an indoor pool, two gymnasiums and a wrestling room. As for classrooms I am not sure.

Speaking directly to the School Board, Mr. McGowan went on to say, "are you pursuing a policy that is going to limit the educational opportunity of the kids in my building that is my question? You are asking why I am asking these questions, because I am looking at the numbers you are presenting. Your proposal to spend 10.5 million dollars compared to TCI's 11.2 million.

You are going to cut the cost, increase the construction sites from two to three and I ask are those cuts going to come at the expense of Royall Middle School and High School. Mr. McGowan then went on to spell out what he thought were a number of shortcomings in the present TCI configuration plan stating that in most cases the square foot available for classroom us in this present 10.5 million plan adds very little if anything and in some cases is even less than is now available in the present Highschool and Middle school. Your transportation costs will go up because you will be transporting 3/4 of your highschool, you are going to be transporting almost all kindergarten through sixth grade. Isn't that going to raise your transportation costs?

No, I do not want to talk about door knobs but I do want to talk about keeping open and opening new doors of educational opportunity. Lets talk about offering something better, I want that you guarantee to the kids of this community that your building program will not result in one educational program being cut and I am asking proof of that guarantee as well. If you can guarantee this that will be fine with me if not I will be in the forefront to stop this plan. Thank you."
Mr. McGowns words were received with a hearty round of applause.

The Board then went on to discuss configuration, being made aware of the questions asked from the audience reinforced by the well received speech of Mr. McGown the mood of the Board was one of rethinking their earlier decision on the configuration question. Finally after much discussion among themselves they accepted and passed a motion offered that would ask that two more design builder such as TCI be invited to present their cost estimates, that the school administrator, principles and teachers, bring concise recommendations to the board as to what they would like to see in any configuration plan and that this be as expedient as possible. The two other Design Builder besides TCI being invited to offer their ideas and cost estimates are Hoffman and Kramer Brothers. They will be contacted today (3/23) to see if they are interested.

Because of the above action by the Board the following resolutions
5. Resolution Calling for a 10.5 Million Dollar Referendum *
6. Resolution Calling for a Referendum to Exceed Revenue Limit *
7. Resolution Setting the Date of the Referendum *
that were on the agenda were tabled upon a motion from Doug Path and seconded by Tim Welch and a on a vote of six to three .Craig Hanson asked it would be possible, if necessary, to vote on the Referendum to Exceed Revenue Limits and was assured that could at some future date.

There was some discussion on Staffing for the 1999-2000 school year.

Mr. Bill Ferris, Principle of the Kendall-Wilton Elementary Schools and Mr. George Vukick, principle of Elroy Primary gave reports what is going on in their schools, including writing and poetry projects and plans for the summer training programs.

Board voted to pay the Monthly Outstanding Bills.

Board then voted to go into a Closed Session * According to WI Statutes 19.85 1 (a) (c) (e) to discuss Personnel Matters - Administrator's Evaluation

The April 27th referendum date is no longer valid. A new date with perhaps a new configuration maybe the result of this important meeting. Now is your opportunity to speak out as to what you would like to see as educational facilities in the EKW district. Send your suggestions to Board member, letters to the editor and to this WEB site where they will be made available within 24 hrs of receipt.

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MARCH 11TH EKW SCHOOL BOARD MEETING VOTES TO HOLD
A REFERENDUM ON A 3 SITE CONFIGURATION APRIL 27TH 1999

Last night I attended the EKW School Board Meeting held at the Kendall Elementary School. In was the first time in my memory when there seemed to be real empathy between the school board members and the 50 plus district taxpayer/audience. The arrogance of some previous meetings was gone or at least subdued. Art Keenan, going over the Open/Closed meeting laws and the incident of a few weeks ago said: "in my humble opinion I think our board made a mistake, mistakes are mistakes, I think the whole board must own up and deal with such issues. I think this board learned a lesson a valuable lesson but we should not hold it over their head forever and ever, now it is time to move on to other issues."

Comments from the floor. More on that subject later. See editorial at top of page.

Craig Hanson, detailed the future Enrollment and Financial Projections Sort of a bleak picture with declining enrollment and declining revenue. Indicated that the district would have to have a number of referendum to be able to borrow money just to operate the district and keep it afloat.

Douglas McCracken, then presented his proposal asking for a referendum to be held on an earlier 3 site district configuration. K-6 in Wilton & Elroy Grades 7-12 and a new highschool to be build in the Kendall Area the total cost of the configuration to be approximately of ten and one half million dollars. The referendum to be held on April 20th. 1999. In the discussion which followed Craig Hanson raised the question of whether the district should offer a referendum proposal for that amount when TCI had indicated that the cost would be about a million dollars more. What if the voters approved the referendum and no one was there to build a school for that figure. A roll call vote was taken with a yes vote from: Yahnke, Welch, Doughrety, O'Gara and McCracken a No vote from Craig Hanson Three board member: Path, Murphy & Schroeder were not present. The question arose of whether it would be possible to put a choice of proposals on the referendum ballot and Mr. Keenan argued against such a proposal stating that the bonding companies would not accept such as a binding referendum but only a an advisory referendum. Suprisingly there was no challenge from the board on this question.

On the question of providing exclusive right to Pepsi-cola to provide the soft drinks for the district. It was not clear in this writers mind as to exactly what was decided. It seems that Pepsi was to make some token donations down through the years such a contract was in force to provide items to the school but no detailed or fixed amount was given.. I will try and get more information on this and post it later.

The Board also went on record approving a motion to add an extra credit in Math as a requirement for all students to graduate from Royal High School in the year 2004 and after.

It was an interesting Board Meeting indeed after what has ensued at so many board meetings of late. Perhaps we have come to the point where we can agree to disagree without anger and shouting. Could the sight of contrition on the part of board members made us all realize that we all have made mistakes in this long drawn out process of trying to find out what is best for the students of this district and like, Art Keenan, said, "mistakes are mistakes, but we should not hold them over their heads forever" Many of us have made mistakes but let us move on to more positive thinking. There is a solution to our present problems if we all would just sit down, think about it and write down and let others know what we would like to see happen in this district that would benefit the students the most. Last nights meeting gave me renewed hope.
Bill Weber - Reporter

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