In reviewing the memo, please note that the school board may grant a technical diploma to a student who “satisfies the credit requirements and earns the number of credits for high school graduation as established by statute and the school board” (emphasis added). Therefore the pupil must meet the requirements under state law plus the requirements established for graduation by the local school board. Simply meeting the state requirements will not suffice.

]]> http://wsaa.org/saainfo/?feed=rss2&p=1248 0 http://wsaa.org/saainfo/?p=1245 http://wsaa.org/saainfo/?p=1245#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 17:53:04 +0000 John Forester http://wsaa.org/saainfo/?p=1245 The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is seeking school districts to participate in a preliminary process of the statewide Educator Effectiveness System during the 2012-13 school year.

This is to inform districts that the online nomination process for participation in the Educator Effectiveness pilot is now open. To nominate school(s) in your district go to:

Pilot Educator Effectiveness Nomination Registration

Due to capacity and resource management, DPI encourages districts to consider small scale pilot trials. Detailed information about district considerations is provided on the registration site. Pilots for the Teacher Practice, Principal Practice and Student/School Learning Outcomes (SLOs) components of the Educator Effectiveness System are being accepted. Pilot districts and schools are expected to participate in evaluation activities such as interviews and surveys during and after the 2012-2013 school year.

DPI will support districts by providing comprehensive initial training, and ongoing support. Additionally, an external evaluator will be provided to work with districts throughout the pilot process in order to collect information that will help DPI refine the process.

For more information about the Educator Effectiveness Framework view the webinar Understanding the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System hosted by Deputy State Superintendent Michael Thompson and Julie Brilli, Director of Teacher Education, Professional Development & Licensing.

Nomination Registration will be open until Friday May25, 2012 at 3PM

For further information or questions, contact:

Kris Joannes

Education Consultant

kristin.joannes@wi.dpi.gov

608-267-2348

In addition to the increased projected revenue, DOA has completed the structural refunding authorized in the budget and other debt refinancing. The projected savings are $78 million over the biennium. The two combined results in an estimated general fund closing net balance for 2012-13 of$89.5 million. When the budget was signed the ending balance was estimated to be $9.4 million. With a projected ending balance of $89.5 million Sec. Huebsch says, “the potential shortfall previously identified by LFB in February is not projected to occur.”

You can always find the open enrollment transfer amount on the open enrollment web site.

The actual amount for the prior year and the estimate for the current year will be placed on the main open enrollment web page.  They are near the bottom of the page under the label “Financial Information.” Amounts for prior years may be found at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/doc/oeaidhist.doc.

The report also said nearly three-quarters of districts — 315 out of 424 in the state — reduced staff year to year.

The DPI statement attributed the increased reductions to “historically high cuts to education funding” in the latest state budget, forcing districts already facing revenue caps or declining enrollment to make deeper staffing cuts.

“Losses in school staff erode our public education system,” said DPI Superintendent Tony Evers. “We want our students to graduate college and career ready and must make a bipartisan investment in public education instead of continually forcing cuts on school districts.”

See DPI Release

The Common School Fund was established as part of Wisconsin’s Constitution in 1848, managed by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. The Commissioners: Sec. of State Lafollette, State Treasurer Schuller, and Attorney General Van Hollen serve as a constitutional requirement of their jobs. This year’s check for $32.5 million is the fourth largest check made to DPI for school library aids, equating to about $26 per student statewide. The three highest amounts were $35.3 million in 2009, $35 million in 2008, and $33.6 million in 2011.

State Superintendent Evers said the money is a lifeline for school libraries and can be used for books, online learning programs, and computers for school libraries. Recently DPI released a digital learning plan and Evers is encouraging districts to use this money to implement the digital learning program or purchase the necessary equipment to implement the program.

• AD-17. Barbara Toles, D, not running.
• AD-25. Bob Ziegelbauer, I, not running.
• AD-34. Dan Meyer, R, not running.
• AD-39. Jeff Fitzgerald, R, running for US Senate.
• AD-53. Richard Spanbauer, R, not running.
• AD-56. Michelle Litjens, R, not running.
• AD-78. Mark Pocan, D, running for US House.
• AD-81. Kelda Roys, D, running for US House.
• AD-85. Donna Seidel, D, running for Senate.
• AD-90. Karl Van Roy, R, not running.

Sen. Pam Galloway’s decision to resign from her Senate seat has largely dashed what little hopes remained on mining legislation, split control of the state Senate for the first time in more than 15 years and created a new dynamic in the coming recall elections this summer.

The Wausau Republican’s resignation also wipes out — at least for now — a GOP Senate majority that was built in 2010 with hundreds of thousands of dollars in TV ads alone by outside groups and then defended with millions more in last summer’s recall elections.

What was a 19-14 majority just 14 months ago has now slipped to 16-16, and insiders say Dem hopes of retaking the Senate in the four recall elections expected this summer have likely been given a boost with an open seat rather than facing an incumbent.

State election officials said her resignation does not impact the expected recall election for the 29th SD this summer other than leaving Republicans to find another candidate.

Dem Rep. Donna Seidel, who previously announced plans to challenge Galloway, said today’s news does not impact her decision.   On the GOP side, the attention immediately focused on Reps. Jerry Petrowski of Marathon and Mary Williams of Medford, who hold the other two Assembly seats in the Senate district.

Petrowski, who was elected to the Assembly in 1998, said it’s “no secret” that he’s had an interest in the 29th SD for some time now, but that he’ll have to give thought to how large the time commitment would be. Petrowski said he likes being able to attend local meetings in his Assembly district and that the size of the Senate district gives him pause in that respect.

Much of the Senate district is centered on Wausau and Mosinee, but the portion that includes Williams’ district heads north and west into Price, Taylor, Rusk and Sawyer counties.

“My first plan is to go and sit down with my wife and discuss this with her before I make any decision,” Petrowski said.  He also said that the recall dynamics of the race don’t faze him at all, stating, “It’s a challenge any time you run for office.”  Williams said that while she would leave the door open for a run, she noted that she could have run for the seat in 2010 and chose not to.  “I truly love my job in the Assembly, and while I’ll certainly give it some thought, I won’t be thinking too hard about it,” Williams said.  Insiders note the issues in a race pitting Seidel against Petrowski or Williams likely would be no different than if Galloway were on the ballot because all three Republicans largely support Gov. Scott Walker’s agenda, including components such as the collective bargaining changes.

“I’m running because people throughout the district have convinced me that they want change in direction in Wisconsin and they want someone representing them that shares their values of maintaining quality public education, making sure everyone has access to our quality health care and returning to a Wisconsin with a reputation of clean, transparent, open government that we’ve had in the past,” Seidel said today.

One GOP Senate source said one of the main differences between having Galloway on the ballot instead of possibly Petrowski or Williams is a tradeoff of money vs. name ID.  Galloway, who has not lived long in the district, reported $134,874 in her campaign account at the end of January. But insiders had considered her name ID one of her main weaknesses going into the fall election. She was swept into office in the 2010 GOP wave, aided by a series of ads that hammered away on former Dem Sen. Russ Decker.

Petrowski, in contrast, was first elected to the Assembly in 1998 and is a native of the area, as is Williams, who won her Assembly seat in 2002.  Petrowski reported $22,044 cash on hand at the end of 2011, while Williams had $10,352 in the bank.  Seidel reported $26,629, but has been actively fundraising for the Senate race since her announcement.  “It’s a very crunched timeline to raise the dollars under the limits,” the Senate GOP source said. “They don’t have unlimited fundraising.”

Galloway could give either Republican a boost with her leftover campaign cash. According to the GAB, Galloway has several options with the money, though she must either return or give to charity any recall donations she received above the normal contribution limits.  For the rest, she can make donations to other candidates under the normal state limits on PAC donations, return it to donors or donate it to charity.

A Senate Dem cautioned neither Petrowski nor Williams have run district-wide before. So while they have deeper roots in the district, they still face the challenge of building their name ID in the other two-thirds of the Senate district.  What’s more, the Dem predicted Seidel would outwork either Petrowski or Williams and pointed out the two Republicans only have 11 weeks to build their warchests — assuming Republicans run “fake” or “protest” Dems in the expected May 8 primaries to ensure their candidates are on the general election ballot the same day as Gov. Walker on June 5.

Dems are also expected to again make an issue of Republicans running their own candidates in the Dem primaries to push back the general elections, likely to charge it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars and deceitful.  “Either one of them have the same record of job loss and supporting the Walker agenda, and that’s exactly why Pam Galloway was recalled, and they supported that exact same agenda,” the Senate Dem said of Petrowski and Williams. “I don’t think any of them would be any stronger than Pam because they have the same record that Pam has.”