School Board Notes: May 12

Board approves three staff members' resignations

Three Wauwatosa School District staff members recently resigned their positions.

Julie Tellier, poms coach at Wauwatosa East High School, resigned April 10.

Deborah Vogt, a part-time reading teacher at Longfellow Middle School, will leave the district June 11.

Kim Pittman, an English teacher at Wauwatosa West High School, will have her last day in the district June 11.

School Board members approved the resignations Monday.

Stimulus resulted in 2.5 FTE positions being created

So far, federal stimulus funding has created 2.56 full-time equivalent jobs in the Wauwatosa School District.

All of the positions were created as a direct result of stimulus funding, said Brian Smith, finance manager.

The jobs are all short-term, meaning they will end when the stimulus dollars funding them are gone, some this year and some next year, said John Mack, director of business services.

It's possible more jobs were created indirectly through the purchases and building improvements Wauwatosa has done with the money.

District receives technology voucher through lawsuit

As part of a legal settlement with Microsoft over software purchases in Wisconsin, the Wauwatosa School District has received a voucher for $3,100 to be used on computer software and hardware.

That's Wauwatosa's share of a settlement totaling almost $80 million distributed to more than 800 public schools in the state.

The vouchers are part of the Microsoft-Wisconsin Cy Pres Program, the result of a settlement reached in class action lawsuits about certain Microsoft software acquired by consumers, businesses and governments for use in Wisconsin.

To be eligible for a voucher, schools must have at least a third of attending students come from low-income households.

More students qualifying for free or reduced meals

More Wauwatosa students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals this year, according to a recent report from the state Department of Public Instruction.

Districtwide, 20.1 percent of students qualify for fully or partially subsidized meals through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, up from 16 percent last year.

Qualification is based on household income. Free lunches are available to children in households with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty rate, or $28,655 annual income for a family of four. Students approved for reduced-price meals are from families earning under 185 percent of the federal poverty rate, between $28,655 and $40,793 for a family of four.

Statewide, 39 percent of students qualified, up from 35.5 percent last year.

Calarco takes reins at West; Luebke moves to Plank Road

Wauwatosa West High School Principal Patricia Luebke will move to the Plank Road School at the end of this school year, replacing retiring Plank Road Principal David Boxill.

Luebke will be replaced by Frank Calarco, who is currently principal of Roosevelt Elementary School.

Superintendent Phil Ertl said the district will hire a replacement for Calarco.

Board approves changes to English curriculum

Middle school students will be able to take new advanced English courses starting in the 2010-11 school year.

The new courses are designed to offer students a more rigorous option than standard English classes, readying them for advanced classes at the high school level, said Beth Erenberger, district director of student learning.

School Board members approved the new courses Monday.

In addition, the board approved a $180,000 purchase of new textbooks for sixth- through ninth-graders. The new books are intended to add rigor at all ability levels, Erenberger said.

Lastly, the board voted to change the name of the English subject area from communicative arts to English language arts. Erenberger said the new title is a more universally used phrase.

The changes are all part of an ongoing effort to improve Wauwatosa's English, reading and writing instruction, which began last school year.

New textbooks, methods in works for language classes

The ongoing effort to improve the Wauwatosa School District's world languages program is expected to get a boost from the purchase of new foreign language textbooks. The purchase will cost more than $136,000.

In addition to the new books, approved by School Board members Monday, teachers will speak less English during foreign language classes and focus more on communication and less on grammar.

The proposed changes and material purchases are based on an audit conducted in December by consultant Helena Curtain, an international language expert.

Fee re-elected School Board president

Anne Fee was elected for a second term as School Board president Monday.

Fee won five votes from fellow board members. One board member abstained from the secret ballot vote, and another voted for a different board member, even though Fee was the only one nominated for the role.

Jon Ray was elected for a second term as vice president in a 5-2-0 vote against Mary Jo Randall and Michael Meier.

Meier was chosen for treasurer, winning 5-2 over Phil Kroner.

Randall was elected clerk in a 4-3-0 tie-breaker vote against Kroner and Sharon Muehlfeld. In the first round of voting, Kroner and Randall both took three votes, while Muehlfeld earned one vote.

Superintendent Phil Ertl was again appointed secretary of the board.

District to spend $32K on laser printers

The Wauwatosa School District will spend $37,500 to purchase 32 new Hewlett Packard laser printers.

Technology Resource Advisors was the lowest of three bidders. The highest bidder quoted a price of $42,300 for the printers.

School Board members approved the purchase April 19.

School Board approves personnel changes

Six Wauwatosa staff members recently announced they won't be in the classroom next year.

Mike Hetzel, athletic director at Wauwatosa West High School, will retire effective Sept. 1.

Mary Jane Montguire, an educational assistant at Wauwatosa East High School, will retire June 11, as will Sandy Hoffman, an English as a Second Language teacher at East.

Patrice McConnell, a fifth-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School, will resign June 11.

Ann Washburn, an educational assistant at Underwood Elementary School, will take an unpaid leave of absence for the 2010-11 school year.

Blake Hill, a science resource assistant, resigned April 9.

School Board members approved the personnel changes last month.

In other staffing moves, Michael Trice, Wauwatosa West High School custodian, has been promoted to head custodian at Lincoln Elementary School, and Lynn Duszynski has replaced Maura Vicins as Eisenhower Elementary School special education educational assistant.