Madison School Board Needs Diversity – Robarts

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Lee Sensenbrenner writes about Wednesday’s School Board Candidate Statements to the Madison Rotary Club:

Given six unfettered minutes to explain to the Madison Downtown Rotary why she is seeking re-election to the Madison School Board, Ruth Robarts said that with or without her, the school district has sharp divisions.
“I think it’s wishful thinking that says removing me from the board will heal this divide, and we’ll go forward in a unified way,” she said during Wednesday’s meeting. “I think now, in a very real way, our board needs a diversity of viewpoints. To grow confidence in the board, we need to have a full debate of issues and approaches.”

The Cap Times Editorial Page comments on the role of the School Board vis a vis the Administration.

Bailing out the Florence School District

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The Wisconsin State Journal’s Editorial Page writes:

Instead of recognizing the Florence County cash squeeze for what it is – a symptom of a statewide school financing problem begging for legislative attention – lawmakers instead will:
Roll over for whiners hollering “crisis!” Many large rural school districts are in trouble, squeezed by declining enrollment, inadequate tax base and high transportation costs. Florence County’s substantial loss of state aid in recent years matches a corresponding decline in student enrollment. Lawmakers wrote this formula, which applies to all public schools, not just one in the hinterlands.
Reward bad management. The Florence County School Board recently bought out the contracts of three administrators for a whopping $439,000, plus extended health coverage for the former superintendent. With that kind of money at stake, school officials could have served taxpayers better by jetting in Donald Trump to bark out his catch phrase: “You’re fired!”

It’s certainly time to revisit how we fund public education. I sincerely hope that Governor Doyle thinks about this while winging his way to China (on a Tommy Thompson style trade mission) [WI Dept of Commerce 6 page PDF document on the trip fees & schedule]

New Milwaukee Basketball Arena?

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Must we?
Don Walker writes:

Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl said Tuesday that it did not make sense to spend $50 million to $100 million to remodel the Bradley Center and said the community would have to discuss in the future the need for a new arena.
The Democratic U.S. senator, noting that it had been a joy this season to own the team, said spending millions more to remodel the facility “would not extend its useful life.”
Rather, he said, the Bradley Center board ought to consider more modest upgrades to the building that will generate new revenue for the Bucks.

The Minnesota Legislative References Library has a useful page on Minnesota Issues facing Financing Professional Sports Facilities.
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Evidently, former Governor Tommy Thompson’s recently destroyed papers included those pertaining to the financing and construction of Miller Park.