Due to an inability to make an offer with the property owners by the Milwaukee Road site acrost from Morgan Elementary, the 16 Acre lot will no longer be pursued by the School District.

Instead, the School District is now pursuing a 40 acre site next to Milwaukee Road, Leeson’s Park, and Turtle Creek.  The property is currently owned by the Freitags, and it is believed that the property can be pursued for less than the original site.  Soil analysis of the area is currently underway to determine weather it would be safe to build the school on the new site.

If the property is purchased, a million tons of fill would be required to raise the site out of the flood plain. Construction would be able to begin in 6 to 8 months.  More information shall be brought out on the development of the Intermediate School Site.

At some degree, it may be too much for those living in Beloit, and it may be even more so for those living outside of Beloit. When an overload of this sorts happens, confusion often follows. Confusion can also occur as the result of a lack of understanding of a particular topic.

To assist those who are in confusion, a page on Imagine Beloit is being opened up to those who have questions that need answering. A link to the page can be found on the Menu bar and at the bottom of this post.

Please keep comments clean and non-sarcastic, and we shall do the best we can to answer your questions.

A Question You’d Like Answered?

Library and Media Specialist Brandy Grady helps seventh grader Jerrian Walker learn Google Docs during summer school at Aldrich on Monday. The computer class is preparing students to use Google Docs this fall.

At Aldrich Middle School, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students are getting a jump start in new technology and taking advantage of unique programming offered by some local volunteers thanks to the summer school program.

Library and Media Specialist Brandy Grady said the district will implement Google Docs this fall to save on paper and to make computer related projects accessible to more students. Students in her computer class learned the ins and outs of the new tool Monday.

Google Docs is an online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor. It can be an asset for students who may not have a computer or certain programs at home. With Google Docs, students can simply get online to use the programs. There’s no software to be downloaded and all documents can be shared and worked on from any computer while online.

Use of Google Docs also eliminates the need for jump drives traveling back and forth from school which can easily get lost because the documents are stored online.

“No matter where they are in the world, they can access their documents,” Grady said.

The tool also allows one to do most of their work online without filling up one’s desktop or hard drive with extra data.

“It frees you from the desktop,” Grady said. “And many students don’t have Word or Power Point at home.”

Google Docs also allows students to collaborate with other students on group projects, with other students editing or adding to the work at different times. Teachers, with a Google Docs account, will also be able to go online and grade the projects.

The Aldrich summer school class started June 18 and will run through this week. The class, she said, is a great way to test instruction using Google Docs so the kinks of using it can be worked out by the fall. Then the students who are skilled in Google Docs will help instruct their classmates.

Aldrich Assistant Principal Pete Apple was pleased to report he has noticed an increase in summer school attendance, attributing it to an after-school basketball and cheerleading program. He said in order to participate in basketball and cheer leading, students must be enrolled in Aldrich summer school.

Apple was initially approached with the idea by Eric Harrell, a security officer working at the school over the summer. Harrell asked if he could volunteer his time to coach students on their basketball skills, allowing some of the time for open gym. The program has since drawn about 40 students interested in learning from Harrell to improve their game.

Around the same time Apple was approached by a district substitute teacher, Martha Carter, on starting a similar program for cheerleading. Also volunteering her time, Carter has a group of 20 students who work on skills and routines.

The basketball program runs from noon to 2 p.m., Monday through Wednesday of each week, in the boys’ gym. The cheerleading program runs from noon to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week, in the girls’ gym. Both programs run through the last week of July, when summer school will end.

Apple is pleased with this year’s success and grateful for the volunteers time. He said he hopes to continue the program next summer, noting the benefits to students, besides building athletic skills, include providing healthy exercise and a safe place for kids to spend their extra time this summer.

By Hillary Gavan hgavan@beloitdailynews.com

While many other districts are getting their state aid cut for the 2012-2013 school year, the Beloit and Beloit-Turner school districts are getting increases.

According to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) data, Beloit will receive 3.62 percent more in state aid, an increase of $2,069,957. Beloit-Turner will receive 6.59 percent more in state aid, an increase of $566,001. Clinton will receive a 2.28 percent increase, an increase of $171,701.

However, the Parkview School District will receive 7.87 percent less in state aid, a decrease of $496,173.

Almost two-thirds of Wisconsin’s 424 school districts will receive less general state aid in the 2012-2013 school year compared to last year. There are 155 districts which will increase $100,505,529 in state aid, while there are 267 school districts which will see decreases in state aid by $79,443,087. There are two districts with no change.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the state will provide $4.29 billion in general aid to schools in the second year of Gov. Scott Walkers biennial budget, a small increase over what the state budget set for aid last year, $4.26 billion.

“In July DPI releases an estimate of state aid for next year. The aid calculation is based upon the best information available today. So we won’t know our real aid amount until it’s certified by DPI on Oct. 15. That’s when they use our actual data, verified by school district auditors and the state,” said School District of Beloit Executive Director of Business Services Janelle Marotz.

Marotz said the district anticipated an increase in state aid for next year when its budget was adopted in October of 2011.

The Beloit School District understood, she said, that the state would cover approximately 64 percent of its costs leaving the district to cover only 36 cents of most dollars spent. Therefore, the district planned to spend funds on one-time costs this year such as a textbook adoption and roof replacement, and other items to promote additional future savings such as the wellness clinic.

“It is important to know that revenue limits are determined by each district individually and are not dependent on changes in other districts,” Marotz added.

She said state equalization aid is meant to make up the difference between a district’s actual tax base and the state guaranteed tax base.

“There is an inverse relationship between equalization aids and property wealth so districts such as Beloit with a low valuation per pupil receive the highest percentage of state aid,” Marotz said.

I have over 15 years of education experience, including 7 years with the State Department of Public Instruction. I have worked in one of the wealthiest, in the largest, and now the most financially impoverished district in the state. I can confidently say that what Beloit lacks in financial means, you more than make up for in terms of commitment to children. You have so many strong teachers and staff. Your executive team is headed by one of the most dynamic leaders in the state, Steve McNeal, and his clear vision and drive for results will continue to make Beloit better in the coming years. He surrounds himself with people who have a similar drive and an exceptional knowledge of education.

I encourage everyone in Beloit who has dismissed the School District in the past, especially people who have applied for open enrollment, to reconsider, get the facts, and watch the headlines for more great news. And, for those who continue to have concerns about the district, learn more and consider that things aren’t quite as bad as you might believe. Find out the truth about your schools and I’m confident you’ll be impressed.

I will sincerely miss working in your district, and wish all educators and community members a bright and successful future.

John Humphries

Mount Horeb, Wis.

The Beloit School Board approved a timeline for work to be done at Robinson, Converse and Merrill elementary schools and Beloit Memorial High School at its Tuesday evening meeting.

After the $70 million referendum passed April 3, Superintendent Steve McNeal unrolled a rough timeline for construction at the nine schools and made recommendations on which projects would accept only local contractors.

The architects will be putting together requests for proposals, which will be sent out in the next couple of weeks, according to McNeal.

“We are going to limit the proposals to only local contractors for Merrill, Robinson and Converse,” McNeal said.

He explained the referendum projects will commence in three phases. McNeal noted the district must comply with prevailing wage requirements. Wisconsin has three separate prevailing wage rate laws governing different type of public works projects. These laws mandate most workers employed on public works projects must receive wages which are representative of the wages normally paid to workers on similar private projects in an area, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

These laws were enacted to discourage the awarding of public works contracts, according to the department, to employers who might underbid local employers by paying their workers substantially less than normally received by workers in an area. In practice, prevailing wage laws generally require rates near union scale.

Phase I will include the high school swimming pool and tennis courts, with construction starting mid to late summer. The project is open to both local and outside bids.

“Local contractors could be interested in it, but we think that it will be a less attractive contract for our local contractors than the renovation of the elementary school, and difficult for our local contractors to take on two projects at a time,” he said.

Phase 1 also will include Merrill, Robinson and Converse, with the district accepting only local bids. McNeal noted the ideal scenario would be to have three local contractors, with each one working on one school.

Phase 2 will include converting the old swimming pool area into a fitness center, and the two intermediate schools — the to-be-built Southeast Intermediate School and Cunningham. Construction would start this fall or in the early winter for the intermediate schools, and the conversion of the pool to a fitness center would happen as soon as the new pool is built.

“The two intermediate schools won’t be local bid only, because none of our local vendors will have the bonding to do them because they are $16-$18 million projects. However, the award winner will most likely demonstrate the ability to employ and to subcontract locally and may partner with a local contractor,” McNeal said.

Phase 3 will start next June and will include Todd, Gaston and Hackett. The board hasn’t decided how they will proceed with these. McNeal said the board is waiting to see how the Phase 1 projects go.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board also voted to put together job description for a construction manager to be paid for by the district, separate from the referendum funds. The construction manager would likely be a retired person with extensive construction, engineering or architectural experience who would keep tabs on all the projects. The construction manager would report to McNeal and Director of Building and Grounds Jeff Jacobson.

During the meeting Larry Bray of Bray Architects had advised against having a construction management company, as it would increase overall costs which would take away from bricks and mortar.

“With the quality of contractors in the area, we have a talent pool to make sure we come out on time and on budget,” Bray said.

The board also voted to put together a construction committee composed of McNeal, Jacobson, Board President Shannon Scharmer, and board members John Winkelmann and Michael Ramsdail. The board would also include some community members and would meet every two weeks, or as needed to discuss the construction process.

The board will vote on all the members at its upcoming meeting.

Lisa Voisin, of the investment firm Robert. W. Baird, said the district is looking into obtaining low interest federal stimulus bonds for certain projects, with some having interest rates as low as zero percent. McNeal said it could result in less money paid by taxpayers.

Before the meeting closed, McNeal said renovations to McNeel, Aldrich and Beloit Memorial High School also will be done in the next several years.

“This (the referendum) isn’t the only gig in town,” he said.

WE NEED YOUR VOTE TOO!

Click to enlarge

Sorry, the pic is a little blurry.
Thank you to everyone who’s speaking up in support.

Editorial | Saturday/Sunday, March 31-April 1, 2012
Beloit Daily News.  www.beloitdailynews.com 

Opportunity, timing key considerations for school referendum.

ANY ONE WHO HAS followed the extensive coverage in the newspaper, attended public information gatherings around the community, read pulic Forum letters to the editor, or checked out cltlz~n blogs on the Beloit Daily News website, knows this: The $70 million bond referendum proposed by the School District of Beloit is the hottest issue facing voters on next Tuesday’s ballot.

And that’s a good thing.

Beloit. today, has quite a laundry list of challenges, and the people of this fair city have established an emiable record of stepping up to find and forge solutions.

But Beloit, tomorrow, belongs to its young people – including those yet to come, in future generations. It is they who will inherit the good and the bad, and determine whether this community meets the challenges of the future. To a considerable degree, the quality of education they receive will decide success or failure. Education is an investment – not in ourselves, but in our progeny.

THE REFERENDUM, as proposed, is not perfect. Nor could it be. When there are tens of thousands of stakeholders, each with a unique view of what should or should not be included, it is not possible to construct a plan to which no one would object.

There are details that were virtually guaranteed to be controversial from the start. For example, rational people can reasonably disagree on whether taxpayers should shell out millions of dollars to bUild a new swimming pool.

Likewise, closing some schools while building a completely new facility on the East Side is a point of – contention sure to spark differences of opinion.

That’s what elections are for, to put differences to the test so matters can be settled in the democratic way.

How about the reconfiguration of grades? Some predict catastrophic consequences if grades 4-8 mix in the same building, albeit in separate wings. Truth is, no one can say with certainty if such a change will ~ make any difference, good or bad. Our view is that what really matters is the activity within four walls, not the construction techniques or the arrangement of classrooms. The quality of administration – and, I even more so, teaching – combine with the indis- t pensable role of parents to determine the measur- J able outcomes in any school.

Beloit’s trends have been moving in the right I I direction and the future looks promising. Still, that I r long-term story is yet to be written, by authors I I inside the school buildings over the next 20 years and beyond.

SO, IF WELL-MEANING PEOPLE reasonably I can see the same referendum issues from thor- ~ oughly different viewpoints, how are voters to weigh I their decision?

Let’s talk about practical considerations.

The timing for constructing … well. anything … could not be more propitious. Interest rates for borrowers stand at historic lows. Construction costs are mitigated by weak demand for builders’ services, so project bidders may be expected to approach the process with very sharp pencils. They want the work – they need the work – and presumably will bid aggressively to win contracts.

As it stands today. the state of Wisconsin will pick up thp lion’s sh~re of costs by reimbursing the district about 64 cents on the dollar. As the past year has mdicated, nothing is certain in Madison anymore except. perhaps. this: There’s not a chance Beloit could net higher reimbursements by waiting. In tact, that formula could change for the worse if state finances tighten further.

When it comes to econo’mic development – rephrase that, to. growth and prosperity – schools matter. Yes, the dIrect correlation can be overstated. No one can pro~ise that these improvements will produce P?pUlatIOn growth, job creation, company relocatIOns or anything else. But the inverse part of th.at equation is predictable. Deteriorating schools wlth a lousy reputation can pose a formidable im~ediment to growth. Companies and people have cholces and they will exercise them. A forwardleaning community must compete for the attention and approval of moms and dads considering where to live and educate their kids.

THERE’S AN OLD SAYING: Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

We think that applies to this bond referendum. The details are debatable but this is not: Facilities improvements will never come cheaper, because of the combination of retiring old debt, the state reimbursement formula, low interest rates and hungry construction crews eager for work.

The $70 million pricetag generates sticker shock. It’s huge. But so is the opportunity to upgrade facilities and call positive attention to what Beloit can offer families with school-age children.

From Riverside Park to the City Center to the Iron Works campus and more, Beloit has set a high standard for bootstrapping community reinvention.

This is a logical next step, and the Beloit Daily News recommends a “yes” vote on Tuesday.