Wisconsin School News - January-February 2017 by WASB

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December Jan.- Feb. 2017 2016 | | Volume Volume71 71Number Number65 T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E W I S C O N S I N A S S O C I AT I O N O F S C H O O L B O A R D S, I N C.

John H. Ashley Executive Editor

Sheri Krause Director of Communications

Shelby Anderson Editor n REGIONAL OFFICES n 122 W. Washington Avenue Madison, WI 53703 Phone: 608-257-2622 Fax: 608-257-8386 132 W. Main Street Winneconne, WI 54986 Phone: 920-582-4443 Fax: 920-582-9951

STUDENTS LED BY TEACHER FREDI LAJVARDI DEFIED THE ODDS AT A NATIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION — page 18

n ADVERTISING n 608-556-9009 • tmccarthy@wasb.org n WASB OFFICERS n

Music for All Shelby Anderson

Roger Price

Wauwatosa promotes new and traditional music opportunities for students

John H. Ashley Executive Director

Stu Olson

Comprehensive Facility Assessment Get your school buildings in order with a facility assessment

Shell Lake, Region 1 President

Capt. Terry McCloskey, USN Retired Three Lakes, Region 2 1st Vice President

Mary Jo Rozmenoski Black River Falls, Region 6 2nd Vice President

Wanda Owens Barneveld, Region 9 Immediate Past President

Teacher Compensation in Wisconsin

Steven Kimball, Herbert Heneman, Robin Worth, Jessica Arrigoni and Daniel Marlin

Grit and Innovation Joshua Davis The unlikely story of how four high school students won a national engineering competition

A look at standard practices and changes in teacher compensation plans

n WASB BOARD OF DIRECTORS n Mike Blecha Green Bay, Region 3

Brett Hyde Muskego-Norway, Region 11

Bill Yingst, Sr. Durand, Region 4

Nancy Thompson Waterloo, Region 12

Rick Eloranta Owen-Withee, Region 5

Rosanne Hahn Burlington, Region 13

Elizabeth Hayes Fond du Lac, Region 7

Terrence Falk Milwaukee, Region 14

Steve Klessig Brillion, Region 8

Ron Frea Pewaukee, Region 15

Andy Zellmer Montello, Region 10

D E P A R T M E N T S

C O L U M N S

2 News Briefs 3 Viewpoint — What Does the New Administration Mean for Education? 24 Capitol Watch — Goodbye 2016, Welcome 2017 26 Association News — 2017 WASB Event Calendar

Wisconsin School News (USPS 688-560) is published 10 issues per year by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards Inc., 122 W. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703. Contents © 2017 2016 Wisconsin Association of School Boards Inc. Subscriptions are available to nonmembers for $40 per year. Periodicals postage is paid at Madison, Wis. The views expressed in Wisconsin School News are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent WASB policies or positions. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wisconsin School News, 122 W. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703.

28 Legal Comment — The Statutory Provisions Related to Teacher Contracts 32 Service Associate Q&A — Sue Peterson and Bill Foster from School Perceptions.

NEWS BRIEFS

Rural School Projects Recognized

ight projects received the 2016 Standing Up for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries, and Communities Award at the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance Conference in November. The award recognizes programs that “demonstrate the great potential and collaborative spirit of rural Wisconsin.” The winners included:

tion needs of various prairie plants while working in the high school greenhouse to grow native plants.

Career Education Cooperative. This initiative develops educational programs with college credit courses and apprenticeships in conjunction with local businesses for high school seniors. Participating districts include Hillsboro, Ithaca, Kickapoo, Richland, and Riverdale.

Northern Waters Environmental Watershed Initiative. Students from Northern Waters Environmental School in Hayward are gaining a detailed understanding of land use and water quality through this initiative, which includes an in-depth study of the Namekagon River.

New Richmond High School Agriscience Program and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Prairie Project. Under this partnership, students learn about the scarification, stratification, and germina-

Camp Pecatonica. This summer camp provides a child care option for parents in the Pecatonica Area School District that is affordable, safe, and educational for their children.

M.E.C.C.A Trail Revitalization. This project brought together the Mishicot School District and community to revitalize its underused 31-acre school forest.

Project SEARCH. Headquartered in the Marshfield School District, Project Search works together with 13 surrounding school districts and several adult service agencies to provide an alternative vocational training program for adults with disabilities between the ages of 18-24. Denmark Rural Fiber Bandwidth Initiative. This project is the product of cooperation among the Brown County Library, Denmark School District, and the community. Tapping into Category 2 E-rate reimbursements, both the school district and library now have high-speed internet. Centennial Celebration. The White Lake Village and School District partnered to facilitate the planning of 100 events to celebrate the community’s centennial. Students had an opportunity to be involved in this special celebration and connect with their community. n

STAT OF THE MONTH

Eight Wisconsin Schools Win Blue Ribbon Awards

n 2016, eight Wisconsin schools were among the 329 honored as part of the 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The award recognizes schools that have high levels of performance or made significant improvements in closing the achievement gap. The Wisconsin Blue Ribbon schools are:

Swallow Elementary School (Swallow School District) 

Muskego Elementary School (Musekgo-Norway School District) 

Addison Elementary School (Slinger School District) 

Halmstad Elementary School (Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District)



 Marengo Valley Elementary (Ashland School District)

Oconto Falls Elementary (Oconto Falls School District)



 Wilson Elementary School (Beaver Dam Unified School District)

Woodland Elementary School (Barron Area School District) 

Wisconsin School News

82% Percentage of Wisconsin schools that earned three or more stars on the state’s 2015-16 School and District Report Cards. Source: Department of Public Instruction

Studies Show Students Susceptible to “Fake News”

ith numerous studies finding that most young people are ill-equipped to critically evaluate information they encounter online, researchers are calling on schools to focus on media literacy training for students. The University of Connecticut’s New Literacies Research Lab found that less than 4 percent of seventhgrade students could “correctly identify the author of online science information, evaluate that author’s expertise and point of view, and make informed judgement about the overall reliability of the site they were reading.” Lawrence Paska, executive director for the National Council for the Social

Studies, said a first step schools can take is to give students and teachers an effective framework for evaluating the credibility of information they encounter. He pointed to a set of questions developed by the National Center for Media Literacy Education: Who paid for this? When was this made? Who might benefit? What is left out of this message that might be important to know? How was this shared with the public? “Once you start giving students the tools to understand when they’re being manipulated, you’re blown away with the changes you see,” said Claire Beach, a media literacy activist in Washington, D.C. n

VIEWPOINT

Jo h n H . A s h l e y

What Does the New Administration Mean for Education?

n a few short weeks, a new president will be sworn into office. It has been eight years since we’ve had a transition at the federal level and it is not yet clear how our new president and his cabinet will impact public education. It is encouraging that within the new administration and Congress there has been talk of diminishing the federal role in education policy and returning decision-making to the states and local school boards. However, with his pick of Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos as the next U.S. Department of Education Secretary, it’s clear that the President-elect intends to go forward with his campaign promise to use federal funds to expand private school vouchers (including religiousbased schools) and privately managed charter schools. Using their wealth, DeVos and her husband have shaped school choice in Michigan — greatly expanding the number of charter schools run by private firms, protecting charters from regulation, and pushing for a constitutional amendment to allow private school vouchers. They have also used their personal resources to support pro-voucher candidates, including in Wisconsin, as well as to fund and support pro-voucher think tanks and advocacy groups across the nation. Exactly how the new administration will expand privatization efforts nationwide is not yet known. However, initiatives given early speculation include more federal funding for charter school programs, federal tax credits for donations to organizations that fund scholarships to private schools, Title I portability (allowing the funds to travel with students if

they change schools, including leaving a public school to attend a private school), vouchers for military students, and education savings account eligibility for targeted groups of students (such as Native American students and students with disabilities). And, of course, there are other federal agencies and Congress to watch. For instance, federal school meal policy is set by the Department of Agriculture and those rules may change again to loosen up the recently adopted “healthy meal” nutrition standards that have caused some Wisconsin school districts to drop out of the program. In addition, a reputable, nonprofit website focused on education, has reported that, while unlikely, a repeal of the federal gun-free school zone law and abolishing the U.S. Department of Education could also come up for consideration. On the other hand, long-delayed federal legislation, such as reauthorization of the Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education law could get a fresh start in the new Congress. A bipartisan reauthorization of the federal program supporting career and technical education in K-12 and higher education passed the House by a wide margin in September and could be a good basis for legislators to resume their efforts next year. At the end of January, I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. with members of the WASB Executive Committee to advocate for public education in Wisconsin. This will be an important opportunity for us to make our education priorities clear to our federal representatives. We

certainly will encourage our congressional delegation to continue on the path, begun with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), of returning decision-making to the states and local school boards. We’ll continue to keep you updated on legislation and initiatives in the Capitol Watch column in each issue of the School News magazine. And if you are not already, I encourage you to stay up to date with our Legislative Newsletter, which is sent out via email every Friday and the eConnection, which is emailed each Monday with general updates from the WASB and state and national news. If these aren’t coming to your email inbox, let us know so we can make sure you are getting timely updates and know the status of legislative initiatives. I also encourage you to attend the legislative briefing by WASB Government Relations staff at the Joint State Education Convention later this month in Milwaukee and the WASB Day at the Capitol on March 15 in Madison. Your advocacy with state and federal lawmakers on behalf of public schools is crucial. As our convention theme says, it starts with us. We have to speak up and be the leading voices in our communities for public education as the bedrock of our democracy. In order to do that effectively, you need to be a wellinformed board member. I look forward to seeing you at the convention in a few weeks and at events throughout the year. More than ever, we need to continue learning and working together to ensure that public education remains viable for future generations. n

We have to speak up and be the leading voices in our communities. Connect with the WASB!

Twitter @wischoolboards

Facebook on.fb.me/1NBrEJq January-February 2017

DJ Mosby works on a new composition in his digital music class at Wauwatosa East High School.

Wisconsin School News

Wauwatosa promotes new and traditional music opportunities for students Shelby Anderson

n Will Ulrich’s new digital Wauwatosa East High School just music class. Michael Hayden, music class at Wauwatosa East started this school year. Ulrich said orchestra director at Wauwatosa East High School, heads are the school didn’t advertise the class High School, said it’s important for bobbing and fingers are tapping — it was simply listed in the promusic education to continue to grow as students wearing headspectus. Even without advertising, and evolve. phones and ear buds produce their the school had no problem filling “Students want to make the kind own beats and songs using profestwo sections of the class. In addition of music they listen to,” Hayden sional computer software. Down the to the two classes at Wauwatosa said. “It’s our job to find new ways hall, students warm up for orchestra, East High School, Ulrich also to get kids into music.” playing scales before launching into teaches the class at Wauwatosa West The digital music class at “Jingle Bells” and High School. In other songs for an total, about 100 Michael Hayden conducts the Wauwatosa East upcoming holiday students are taking a High School Orchestra. concert. digital music class in Staff and leaderthe district. As word ship at Wauwatosa about the class has East High School spread, Ulrich have made a conexpects more stucerted effort to offer dents to sign up for the traditional perforthe class for the mance-based music second semester. classes such as “Our goal with orchestra, band and this class was to get choir in addition to more students newer music classes involved with such as recording music,” Ulrich said. technology, rock The class also band, and a digital provides new,

January-February 2017

creative outlets for students. Ulrich had one student in his first semester class who, in the past, was usually late for school. But when the student had digital music first hour, he was rarely tardy. “He’ll be in here working 15-20 minutes before class starts,” Ulrich says. | Vision for Music The Wauwatosa community and school district have long supported the arts. The district’s high schools — Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West — boast strong band, orchestra, choir and theatre departments. Despite its many music programs and opportunities, the district wants to see music education continue to evolve in Wauwatosa. “Our biggest vision is music for all,” Hayden said. “Anyone who wants to be involved in music can be.” Hayden, who just joined the school district as high school orchestra conductor this school year, was awarded the Melvin F. Pontius Creative Sparks in Music Education Award by the Wisconsin Music Educators Association in October 2016. The award recognizes “imaginative, creative, and innovative teaching practices in a music education setting.” Hayden received the award for work done in his previous position at the Whitnall School District but he brings the same inno-

Darius Coleman (left) and Jalen Harris (right) work on creating “drops.”

vative practices and outlook to his work in Wauwatosa. In his role as orchestra teacher, Hayden is a big advocate of individualizing learning and using technology to help his students grow as musicians. He works with students to set personalized goals. “They have more buy-in when they set their own goals,” Hayden said. In a large-group class like orchestra, it can be hard to give students individualized attention and guidance. Hayden has students record themselves using their district-issued laptops. This creates a back and forth dialogue between him and his students and allows him to give individualized guidance.

Teacher Will Ulrich (left) provides feedback for Parker Stark in his digital music class.

Wisconsin School News

Additionally, students build a portfolio of videos and can see their progress. The benefits of playing an instrument have been well documented with connections to improved brain function and reading and math skills. Additionally, by playing an instrument in a group, students hone listening skills and build aesthetic and emotional capacities. “It teaches them to be global students, to listen to others, and to be able to communicate with those around them,” Hayden said. “For me, it’s not just about teaching them music, it’s helping them to learn.” | Embracing Change Hayden and Ulrich want to expose more students to the benefits of playing and creating music. The good thing is that in many ways, it’s easier than ever to create music. “It used to be that you needed to know how to play an instrument to create music,” Ulrich said. “That’s not the case anymore. Students can create music using technology.” Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can produce digital music or record their own music. In Wauwatosa, students use Ableton Live, professional-grade music producing software. The software comes with hundreds of drum samples and instrumentation. Students can add audio effects to the samples and layer the samples on top

“It used to be that you needed to know how to play an instrument to create music. That’s not the case anymore. Students can create music using technology.” of each other to produce their music. “This is really a form of coding,” Ulrich said. “Students use templates to create something new.” The school was fortunate to acquire the software for free through a partnership with Ableton. Ulrich says the district wouldn’t have been able to afford the software otherwise. But Hayden said there are good, free internet-based programs that students can use to make digital music (see sidebar). Digital music classes can be an option for schools anywhere. “If you have some kind of technology, laptop or computer and you have access to the internet, you can make music,” Hayden said. Although this is a new form of music class, Ulrich said students still

learn traditional music terminology and concepts. In addition, students are learning concepts unique to digital music and to the software itself. Ulrich admits that it can sometimes be challenging to stay ahead of the students but he said this creates moments where students step up and teach other students about a concept or aspect of the program. Looking ahead, Ulrich said interest in the class will continue to grow and he thinks an advanced digital music class could be a possibility. “I really think these students are just scratching the surface of what they’re capable of.” n

Free Music Programs Free, internet-based programs recommended by Michael Hayden, orchestra director at Wauwatosa East High School, that students can use to produce music. 

Soundtrap.com



Soundation.com



Audiotool.com

Notation-based programs used to create music compositions: Noteflight.com (notation-based composing software)



Flat.io

Shelby Anderson is the editor of Wisconsin School News.

Wauwatosa East High School bassists warm up with scales during class.

January-February 2017

Teacher Compensation in Wisconsin

A look at standard practices and changes in teacher compensation plans Steven Kimball, Herbert Heneman, Robin Worth, Jessica Arrigoni and Daniel Marlin

ver many decades, teachers’ compensation has been determined through standard practices, commonly represented by the single salary schedule. While these practices served districts well in a number of respects, many argue that new forms of teacher pay could provide powerful levers for changing teacher performance and improving student achievement by enhancing recruitment, development, and retention efforts for effective educators. Many Wisconsin school districts initiated their own teacher pay design and delivery transformations following passage of Wisconsin Act 10 in 2011. Act 10 eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public employees, retained teacher compensation bargaining only for base pay

Wisconsin School News

increases, and limited that bargaining to the percentage change in the consumer price index. With new flexibility at their disposal and an undercurrent comprising many national compensation experiments, Wisconsin districts have begun moving away from standard compensation practices. Although pay changes are the focus of state media coverage, there are few information sources about the variety and scope of Wisconsin compensation revisions. This article identifies and describes the types of compensation changes Wisconsin districts were considering or implementing as of December 2015. We sought documentation, then interviewed leaders from Wisconsin school districts we identified from news reports and word of mouth that were implementing or considering alternative compensation structures for their teachers. Multiple sources led to the districts identified for this study. First, the study team consulted the Wisconsin Association of School Boards for recommendations given its work with many districts around school board policy, including compensation reform. Three study team members reviewed 50 handbooks to identify information related to compensation changes. Ultimately, 25 districts were included in the sample. The 25 selected school districts are located across the state and range in

enrollment from 100 to more than 10,400. Although not exhaustive, the study indicates the wide variety of practices and current volatility relating to compensation for teaching roles. The findings provide information to districts, state policymakers and agencies, and professional associations about the nature of teacher compensation changes occurring within Wisconsin. They also raise questions districts should consider about new compensation policies. | Impetus Several districts sought to move away from automatic step increases or lane movement based on additional educational credits and advanced degrees. One district leader asserted that, “There was no connection between what we were paying people with advanced degrees and their output.” Another administrator stated that, “the biggest driver was to find something more equitable and fair. Everyone agrees that basing compensation on years and degrees just doesn’t make sense anymore.” These leaders, and others, want their compensation systems to embrace professional development opportunities more applicable to current roles as well as the performance expectations of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System. Respondents mentioned that although Act 10 provided a means to

pursue change, they were still concerned about the change process and how educators would react. Due to the sensitive nature and complexity of compensation reform, almost all districts formed compensation committees and engaged stakeholders in redesign. Districts varied, however, in the time involved with design planning and transition to the new plans, as well as the depth of involvement by teachers, administrators, and school board members. Despite the Act 10 allowance for districts to unilaterally change compensation structures, all of the districts involved teachers to some extent in planning, design, and implementation feedback. In only one district did it appear that the district administrator largely created the system with limited educator involvement. Most districts engaged in a careful, and what appeared to be collaborative, approach to the design of the new compensation systems. For example, one district that focused heavily on communication used a survey at the front end to ask teachers what they wanted to see in a compensation system, frequently solicited feedback from stakeholders, provided updates on the district website, presented at board meetings, and held four design team meetings at each school. | Transition Although the districts did not test pilot their new approaches, leaders expressed that the changes were intended to evolve over time, with adjustments made based on periodic review and reports by the design committee, district leadership, and the school board. Several districts reported being sensitive to issues typical of large-scale educational change, including resistance among teachers and some school administrators, the need for clear and constant communication, time constraints in the design to implementation process, and transition challenges (i.e., making sure teachers were placed appropriately on the new salary schedule).

Questions for Districts Considering Compensation Changes

he results of this study raise a number of questions for districts considering changes to their compensation systems or for monitoring their reform strategies.

b Engagement/communication: How are districts engaging teachers in

the pay change discussions, testing, and revisions, and when during the process does teacher engagement happen?

b Pay and total compensation satisfaction: To what extent are districts

monitoring teacher reactions to the compensation changes? Have they considered the total compensation package (direct and indirect pay and benefits) when making changes and gauging reactions? How are districts monitoring measurement quality, including the validity and reliability of the measures used for compensation purposes? Are any of the districts formally or informally evaluating the impact of the changes? Are the new compensation systems having the desired impact on motivation and performance? How are districts measuring the impact of the new systems on teacher, principal, and staff attitudes? How has the community responded to the pay changes?

b Point systems: For those districts using professional development points or credits, who approves them? How often are points disallowed? What is the appeal process?

b Determining sustainability: Are the new pay structures more sustainable

than prior compensation approaches? How have districts planned to sustain the new compensation systems? What impact does uncertainty created by schedules that can fluctuate have on employee morale and on retention of top performers or educators in high-demand fields?

b Administrative complexity: To what extent are these systems adding

complexity to district and school administrator roles? Compared to the single-salary structure, these new systems are more complexâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;someone has to approve all of the professional development units/credits/activities or evaluate performance with pay implications.

b Collegial relationships: Related to the above question, in systems where principal judgments influence compensation, how does this new role affect collegial relationships among school leaders and teachers?

b Transition: How will current employees be transitioned to the new

schedule? Should the district add a â&#x20AC;&#x153;sweetenerâ&#x20AC;? to ease the transition? What other transition issues/considerations exist?

b Pay equity: How are districts monitoring and addressing concerns or challenges where new teachers may be paid more than experienced teachers through, for example, recruitment incentives?

b Attrition: What effect has the compensation changes had on teacher

attraction to the district and retention in general and by subject area? What are districts doing in regard to principal pay? Other job categories?

b Legal Counsel: Will your school district review its new teacher compensation plan with legal counsel to look for issues that might lead to discrimination claims? Compensation plans based on evaluations are only as good as the quality of the evaluations. Schools might risk an age or other discrimination suit from teachers not getting pay increases for arbitrary reasons based on low-quality evaluations. N

January-February 2017

All of the districts who responded previously used a single salary schedule based on steps and lanes. Each moved away from that structure to some degree. The districts limited the number of lanes or changed the lanes from education-based to a more career-level approach. All districts modified the steps. | Lane Reductions Most districts who responded reduced the number of lanes and changed them from designations based on completion of higher education credits and degrees to other designations using career levels. As referenced above, several district leaders mentioned that research did not support the link between completion of higher education credits and degrees and more effective performance. Although some still recognized completion of master’s degrees and district-approved education credits, others dropped them completely from salary considerations.

| Step Modifications In the past, step increases were granted for each year worked. Some districts in our sample increased the length of time for step increases (i.e., 2 to 3 years) while others maintained the annual step increase, but the step was conditional on “satisfactory” performance evaluation results or other factors. The definition of satisfactory evaluation results varies, but typically implies that there are no unsatisfactory ratings or that the educator is not on a plan of improvement. The step increase amount is often linked to the consumer price index. | Performance Pay Almost all of the 25 district administrators expressed an interest in tying compensation to performance, but only about a third had specific linkages between teacher performance measures and pay. Six used performance elements to determine placement in the salary schedule. Two

had school-based performance bonuses. Only one district used classroom-level student outcomes explicitly for performance pay. Districts used a variety of ways to measure performance for pay decisions. Some reported rating performance using adapted measures from the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System. One district, for example, uses a knowledge and skills-based pay approach, based on an adapted version of the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 6 Effectiveness Project teacher evaluation rubric. This district applies the locally adapted effectiveness rubric to assess a set of teaching evidence (referred to as an evidence log) that includes examples of professional practice and related teacher reflections. Principals review the evidence to make the performance judgment. Teachers are given a rating of 1 through 5 on each indicator. Level 5 is reserved for those who have master’s degrees or national board certification. Scores are averaged

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across indicators with a range of 22-110. Each range has a corresponding pay level from $35,000 for Level 1 to $64,263 for Level 5. Almost all districts chose not to include classroom-level student outcomes for performance pay. The one district including student results awards small bonuses to advanced placement teachers whose students pass advance placement tests with scores of 3 or higher in the previous year. For example, if all students meet the state average or greater, the teacher receives a $1,000 bonus; 60 percent or greater, $500 bonus; and 55 percent or greater, $200 bonus. Additionally, two districts used an adapted measure from the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System based on teacher-developed student learning objectives and professional practice goal attainment. | Knowledge and

Skills-Based Pay Our selected Wisconsin districts are

experimenting with two main types of knowledge and skills-based pay. The first is based on a point system, where educators accumulate a set number of points related to professional development and other activities that are used to justify a pay increase as one-time stipends or points qualifying for a step or level movement. The second type relates to separate, district-approved training, master’s degrees and certifications, and national board certification. Point systems are commonly used to substitute for what was previously automatic approval for lane movement based on accumulation of higher education credits and degrees. The new point systems include a mix of professional development training and/or leadership activities. Some districts have created extensive opportunities, including teachercreated options while others list a limited set of options. Whether extensive or limited, these point systems represent the knowledge and skills

the districts value. In some instances, teachers can choose their own professional learning activities, but must submit a request for approval before the district will allow the activity to count in the point system. | Career Levels/Bands/

Ladders To reflect a professional path for educators (as opposed to a uniform step and lane system), about half of the districts in our sample adopted a career-level approach, also referred to as career bands or ladders. With this approach, districts use the state licensure categories of initial, professional, and master educator to designate compensation-related career levels. Others used their own titles or generic descriptions, such as “Level 1, 2, 3, 4” or “Level A-E.” The career-level model applies knowledge and skills-related activities or accomplishments and, in some cases, performance elements, to determine advancement to different levels.

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January-February 2017

Districts also used a number of steps within each level that allow for incremental pay increases to recognize experience while the teacher remains at the career level. | Competitive Pay Almost all of the district representatives interviewed mentioned that they could use incentives to lure or retain employees in high-demand positions or who were highly skilled. These incentives were negotiated during the initial contract phase or in continuing contracts. Most districts did not have an overt policy on recruitment and retention incentives nor did they use the incentives as a marketing tool to lure prospective educators. Instead, districts addressed case-by-case situations in which a valued current teacher received an offer from another dis-

trict or if a high-demand position was required. Counteroffers tended to be negotiated arrangements between the district administrator and the employee in the form of increased placement on the salary schedule or one-time stipends. No district offered incentives for hardto-staff schools, though it should be noted that most of the districts either comprised few schools or did not have any identified as hard-to-staff. To recruit a high-quality candidate to a hard-to-fill position, one district offered a school psychologist from another district a substantial raise. The district administrator placed this person at the top of the pay scale, which amounted to a $10,000 raise. Some districts offered other incentives, such as assistance toward tuition payment or student loan forgiveness to lure or retain

employees in highly competitive fields. Another sought to help teachers gain experience and knowledge for high-demand or specialty areas (e.g., educators in science, technology, and math) by offering training opportunities. Districts wanting to retain teachers sought by other districts also used compensation on a case-by-case basis to keep valued educators. In one instance, to retain a teacher being recruited by another district, a teacher accepted a $5,000 pay increase that the home district offered. | Implementation Challenges Districts expressed a number of challenges about the compensation plan implementation at various stages. These included challenges from teacher associations, difficult meetings during the design phase, con-

Transforming the Classroom with Micro-credentials Pat Deklotz

cross our nation and our world, new developments are transforming the way students learn. Whether in rural or urban settings, or on small or large campuses, digital tools are enhancing learning and allowing educators to personalize instruction. What isn’t as evident is how that same transformation can be replicated in learning opportunities for our educators. As the superintendent of the Kettle Moraine School District, I interact with educators each and every day. While the vast majority hold the same title of “Teacher,” they perform amazingly different jobs, ranging from a kindergarten teacher to an AP physics instructor, from a guidance counselor to a teacher of Mandarin Chinese or automobile repair, from a classroom of eight autistic students to an ensemble of 75 musicians. Each educator brings a unique perspective and set of experiences, skills, interests, and abilities. Considering the variation in roles and responsibilities across the K-12 system of education, how does one-size-fits-all professional development meet the needs of our profession? Add into the equation the expectation for educators to understand and implement personalized learning for their students, regardless of their personal experience or difference in responsibility. One might ask, “How do I go about implementing an approach I have never lived?” While it is great to read or hear about a new skill set or

Wisconsin School News

understanding, until it is applied, one does not fully understand nor appreciate the implications or value of the new approach. When the Wisconsin Legislature redefined union bargaining parameters through Act 10 legislation, the Kettle Moraine School District had the opportunity to redefine our compensation structure. We took deliberate and thoughtful action, listening to our teachers and aligning their interests with our system’s need to attract and retain high-quality staff. We wanted to provide opportunities to recognize the differences in the professional development needs of our educators and for them to experience personalized learning themselves in a competency-based model. We wanted to reward educators with an increase in base compensation as they worked to embrace the district’s strategic direction and goals. Following the work of Digital Promise, a non-profit organization with a mission to spur innovation to improve the opportunity to learn for all Americans, I studied their micro-credential framework and began to formulate our plan. Authorized by school board action to move forward, we began building a compensation system that incorporates micro-credentials to allow educators to personalize the what, where, how, when, and why for their learning while impacting their base salary. Educators can choose from the multitude of micro-credentials offered through

cerns about changing relationships between teachers and principals, fragile trust following passage of Act 10, confusion over complexity of plan designs, concerns about availability of professional development opportunities to advance based on professional development units, and tension created when younger teachers were compensated at higher levels than more veteran teachers. The districts appear aware of challenges to their compensation systems. They have tried to address the challenges during the planning steps and continue to monitor the systems for possible revisions. | Conclusion This study demonstrates widespread district actions to revise teacher compensation systems in Wisconsin. The plans we reviewed varied in

several ways. Districts have created systems that fit their local contexts while considering how other districts have proceeded. No one prominent model exists, and it is difficult to categorize the different district approaches into basic model designs (i.e., performance pay or knowledge and skill-based pay), which is a major contrast to the uniform single salary schedule of the past. Elements often exist across district models, with combination plans prominent. Few districts plan to formally evaluate these changes though all are taking some steps to periodically monitor the budgetary impact and modifications. Although most of the systems are in place, each district indicated that adjustments may occur over time based on experience and internal review.

Digital Promise, others offered by our district, or suggest ones of their own making, ensuring that they can meet their various needs. The system provides unique and personalized pathways to accomplish a specific set of learning outcomes, demonstrated through artifacts of student work and reflection. Not just focused on theoretical knowledge, micro-credentials require application in the classroom, support collaboration, and extend a professional learning community beyond the hours of the school day or the boundaries of a building. Our educators have embraced micro-credentials and they appreciate the new-found ability to drive their professional development within the constraints of their personal lives. Ms. Scherer, a Kettle Moraine educator, noted, “The goal has changed from getting credits to growing and pursuing passions. It’s a total game changer!” Over 50 percent of our teachers have earned at least one micro-credential, demonstrating their interest. Lessons we have learned as we designed and implemented our micro-credential system include: 1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. 2. Go slowly and listen carefully to your teachers to make adjustments. 3. Trust their intentions and ability to drive change. 4. Celebrate good work.

As a final note, we reiterate that this study is illustrative. It may not represent the full range of compensation changes occurring in Wisconsin. If these districts are an indication, however, compensation reforms are clearly another change that may have a dramatic impact in Wisconsin on the profession of teaching and the education system. Additional study on the impact of the new systems on district budgets, attraction and retention of educators, and relationship to other district outcomes merits pursuit. n Reprinted with permission from “Teacher Compensation: Standard Practices and Changes in Wisconsin,” a working paper published by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. View the complete paper at wcer.wisc.edu. Select “Publications” and then “Working Papers.”

Our teachers appreciate the ability to impact their base wage and increase their lifetime earnings in a manner that aligns with their personal life and family demands. According to Kettle Moraine educator Mr. Anderson, “Micro-credentialing has changed, for the positive, how educators are viewing their own professional development and career path — it has enabled educators to personalize what it means to be a career educator for themselves and their classrooms. One-sizefits-all doesn’t work in the 21st century for students or educators. Micro-credentialing is a huge step forward for the profession.” Immediate recognition and compensation for demonstrated competencies builds respect for the arduous work required of educators and helps to generate systemic support in accomplishing the district’s goals. Just one more step on the pathway to transformation, microcredentials are making a difference in our district! N Pat Deklotz is superintendent of the Kettle Moraine School District. Reprinted with permission from Digital Promise.

January-February 2017

COMPREHENSIVE FACILITY ASSESSMENT Get your school buildings in order with a facility assessment | Roger Price

comprehensive facility assessment is an important step in the planning process that helps school districts and their communities better understand the current state of their facilities, and understand how well these components support educational goals. The process includes several key steps, including:

b Assessing the physical condition of the facilities and systems;

b Evaluating the operational efficiency of the school facilities;

b Evaluating the conditions that are potential health or safety hazards;

b Assessing how well facilities are functioning for current and future programs;

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b Identifying the external consid-

tion of the district’s facilities and its systems avoids questions and gross misperceptions during the remainder of the process.

b Conducting a financial assess-

| Operational Efficiency

erations that could affect the district’s ability to provide appropriate facilities; ment; and finally,

b Developing and implementing an action plan.

| Facilities and Systems

Assessment Assessing the physical condition of a district’s facilities and systems is critical in the planning process. Most districts possess a great deal of information and analysis, often in the hands of highly capable facilities/ maintenance managers. Organizing, documenting and establishing a shared understanding of the condi-

Evaluation Evaluating the operational efficiency of a district’s facilities should include: utility costs, site planning, sustainable systems, sustainable methods and materials, and scheduling efficiency. For many school districts, there have been processes in the past to evaluate some, if not all, of their facilities for operational efficiencies. During a comprehensive facility assessment process, steps should be taken to ensure that there is a thorough review of existing documentation and past

projects to investigate and document any areas of concern or opportunity that may not have been included or considered as part of the earlier processes. Steps should be taken to ensure that the comprehensive process is complete and documentation is shared with internal and external stakeholders. | Assessing Health and

Safety Considerations The many areas considered under the health and safety umbrella include: asbestos, vulnerabilities, environmental conditions, hazard communications, egress, sanitation, fire safety, building systems, building materials, and vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The assessment process should include an in-depth analysis of the existing efforts to monitor and maintain an environmental standard as well as investigate and document any areas of concern that may not have been included or considered as part of an earlier process. Again, efforts should be made to ensure that documentation is shared with internal and external stakeholders. | Functional Assessment

(Fit for Purpose) The functionality assessment has a different focus than the physical condition assessment, and it considers factors of programmatic uses and requirements. The approach is not

building-system based, rather, it is directed toward the perspective of the building user. A functionality assessment expands the traditional physical condition assessment to evaluate how well facilities are functioning for an assigned program. It answers the question: How well does the existing space meet functionality needs for the program it is supposed to serve? The assessment process is a means of providing satisfactory environments for the people who own, manage, and occupy them. It should include an environmental scan that considers the context of the school buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s setting. Does the building suit the site it sits upon, suit the scale of the surrounding buildings, suit the pattern of the surrounding streets? Does the land use adjacent to the building seem to fit harmoniously with the building type and uses of adjacent buildings surrounding it? Does the exterior of the building indicate its interior function(s)? Does the inside of the building connect with the outside of the building? A complete environmental scan documents how the users experience the facilities and sites, and observes the ability of the school environment to accommodate diverse human needs. It identifies what works well, issues that impact the effective delivery of the educational programs,

and the perceptions that exist. The process is best served by including a neutral outsiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observations of physical and operational issues to be discussed and/or addressed. A functional assessment process also needs to include a determination of whether there is a sufficient number of learning spaces to accommodate the current student enrollment as well as the projected student enrollment using nationally recognized educational planning models. Understanding the future demographics of the district is critical in assessing the need for facility updates, remodeling and/or expansion. To determine a projected student enrollment, the assessment will need to include historical enrollment data from the school district, birth data from the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and population and housing estimates from the U.S. Census and the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration. Services are available to generate progression ratio models projecting enrollment by grade. Different models make different assumptions regarding future trends in births, in and out migration, and school transfers to provide a range of likely projection scenarios. The next step in a functional assessment is the development of an academic plan. After an inclusive process that reviews current literature

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What Do You Know About Tomorrow?

What is the Communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vision?

Functional Assessment (Fit for Purpose)

Review and Documentation of External Considerations Demographics Assessment Financial Assessment Options/Action Plans

January-February 2017

The WASB Can Help! and ideas related to the future of education, the planning process should include the development of a shared vision of the future that would impact decisions in the use, expansion, adaptation, addition to, etc. of the district’s facilities and sites. A shared vision should be accomplished with district staff working with the board, internal stakeholders and external stakeholders to provide an intentional path forward to assure academic programs and services continue to prepare graduates. An inclusive community visioning process should document what the community values related to the future of education and assure that the district’s strategic plan is in alignment with the community. The assessment should document the evolution of the use of the spaces to demonstrate the continuing change in how a facility is used to meet the educational goals. This will help ensure an internal and external understanding of current building utilization, including issues, challenges and concerns. | External Considerations During the facility assessment process, an effort should be made to

identify the external considerations that could affect the district’s ability to provide appropriate facilities. Formal and informal community and civic relationships will need to be documented. District officials will also want to catalogue relevant data and information that could have an impact on future school district facility and site development and use. | Financial Assessment An in-depth financial assessment offers the kind of evaluation that rarely is possible during timesensitive budget deliberations. Evaluating a school district’s financial condition is a complex process. Not only are there large numbers of factors to evaluate, but many of them are also difficult to isolate and quantify. Relationships between the factors add to the complexity. The assessment should include the selection of a group of indicators critical to local circumstances and the collection of information relevant to those indicators. The analysis should track results for the selected indicators over a multi-year period and strive for comprehensiveness and sophistication, seeking to take the temperature of a district’s finances by

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Completing a facility assessment is an involved process with many moving parts. Consultants from the WASB’s Organizational Consulting Services can help districts plan and/or complete in-depth facility assessments along with a host of other services. For more information, visit wasb.org or contact Louis Birchbauer at 414-218-2805 or lbirchbauer@wasb.org

examining underlying fiscal forces. The completed process will help a school board, the internal community and external community better understand the nature of its revenues and expenditures, its long-term and current budget solvency, the district’s cash position, and how revenues and expenditures influence service levels. | Data Collection Throughout the assessment process, a wide range of data will need to be collected on background information, such as building documentation, and schools’ organizational structures: building size, construction and seismic data, site amenities, room types, and building offerings and amenities (curriculum/program). The methodology for collecting data should be chosen deliberately. There are three basic types. Direct Observation: In this method, data are collected by direct contact with real-life situations and by behaviors that occur naturally. The observer, unobtrusively, records ongoing events and records all activities in a setting. Surveys: There are numerous models that would seek to gather input from both internal and external stakeholders. Interview: This method is the most commonly used tool for assessing people’s reactions to physical settings. Interviews can be structured, where the type and order of questions are decided in advance; or they can be unstructured where the interviewer asks questions of interest while visiting a site.

C O N D U C T I N G A FAC I L I T I E S A N D SYSTEMS ASSESSMENT

Academic Planning

Needs Analysis

Facilities Master Plan Master Planning

Financial Assessment

Implementing the Plan (What? How Much? Why Now?

Facility Assessment

| Action Plan A forward-thinking, interactive, and inclusive planning process will assist school district leadership to define the district’s academic and physical future. The process of assessment facilitates the dialogue that leads to a list of goals and solutions. Once those goals and solutions are fully vetted and prioritized, a detailed action plan is developed — a facilities master plan. As a flexible framework for development, a facilities master plan should direct development and reinvestment for more than a decade. The plan should clarify what resources are required to reach the goal or solution, formulate a timeline for when specific tasks need to be completed, and determine what resources are required. n Roger Price is an Organizational Services Consultant for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

Convention at your fingertips. The Wisconsin State Education Convention mobile app provides information and resources for school leaders attending the 2017 State Education Convention. This easy-to-use app brings you up-to-date information on all convention activities. Search “2017 WI Education Convention” in the iTunes or Google Play store. Sponsored by:

WI State Education Convention | Jan. 18-20, 2017 | Milwaukee | Visit wasb.org/convention

January-February 2017

Fredi Lajvardi in his lab at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

Grit and Innovation

The unlikely story of how four high school students won a national engineering competition

| Joshua Davis

The following is an excerpt from the book “Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream.” In this excerpt, teacher Fredi Lajvardi and his team of students are beginning to research and problem solve how to design a robot to compete in a national underwater robotics competition.

he teachers out their plan at the next team meeting. This would be everyone’s first year competing in an underwater-robotics event. They were at a real disadvantage, but they had a choice of whom they could lose to. “Would you rather get beat by a bunch of high schoolers or by MIT?” Fredi asked “Who’s MIT?” Oscar said. None of the students had heard of the university. “It’s the best engineering school in the country,” Allan said. “Maybe even the world.” “It’s basically a school filled with

Wisconsin School News

Cristians,” Fredi said. “So it’s like a school for dorks?” Lorenzo quipped. “Shut up,” Cristian snapped. Luis watched in bemused silence, a slight grin on his face. “You want us to go up against the best school in the country?” Oscar asked, still trying to get his mind around the idea. “We want you to have a good time and learn a lot,” Fredi said. “And if you’re in the mix with MIT, you’ll probably learn more than you would from lesser teams.” “I’m not going to enter something to lose,” Oscar said. After his years

as a standout ROTC cadet had failed to lead to a career in the military, he didn’t want to waste his time again. “Then let’s work hard and build a great robot,” Allan said. “What are our chances of doing well?” Oscar asked. “We can aim to not finish last,” Fredi said, trying to be realistic. “That’ll be a good goal.” Lorenzo giggled. “That can be like our motto: ‘Don’t finish last.’” The idea of finishing last didn’t sit well with Oscar. At the team’s first design meeting in November 2003, he took charge: “We’re gonna kick butt, okay?”

Lorenzo laughed until Oscar’s stare shut him up. Oscar started going over the description of the contest. The Marine Advanced Technology Education Center’s (MATE) official introduction to the Explorer class mission began with a quotation from Gen. George S. Patton: “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” Oscar liked that. He was ready, even if the others weren’t, and he was determined to drag them along with him. The third paragraph of the mission statement also made an impact: “This is an exploration mission. Exploration means discovery of the new and the unexpected. This competition will push your imagination and technical skills. Enter the event with the spirit of the men and women explorers who have set out into the unknown.” The event organizers may not have been thinking about four boys from a ghetto high school, but the words resonated. One of the first tasks was figuring

out how they were going to pay for it all. MATE would cover meals and housing in Santa Barabara and provided one hundred dollars for building supplies. That was about enough to cover the cost of driving to California. They were going to need a lot more than that, so Fredi printed up brochures that explained that anybody who donated to the club would get a dollar-for-dollar Arizona state tax deduction. Lorenzo didn’t really understand what he was talking about. All he heard was that Fredi wanted him to ask people for money. “I don’t know anybody with money,” Lorenzo said. “Ask your family,” Fredi said. Lorenzo laughed. “They don’t got nothing.” Still, Lorenzo took some brochures and asked an older cousin to donate. She had a job cleaning motel rooms and might have some spare cash. “‘I’m going to be competing

in an underwater robotics competition,” he told her. Lorenzo was known as a jokester in his family, and this was probably one of the weirdest requests the family had ever heard. The cousin refused to donate. Cristian didn’t have any better luck. His parents couldn’t spare any money, so he phoned uncles and aunts in California and southern

Hear from

Nationally Renowned STEM Teacher Fredi Lajvardi at the 2017 State Education Convention FREDI LAJVARDI is a nationally recognized STEM educator and subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, “Underwater Dreams,” and major motion picture, “Spare Parts.” For more than two decades, as a high school science teacher, Lajvardi has engaged, motivated and challenged students by making science fun and introducing them to the field of robotics. Lajvardi drew national attention in 2004, when he entered a high school team in a university-level national underwater robotics competition, where they not only proved their skills and ability to compete at that level, but they placed first, defeating leading universities, including MIT.

First covered by Wired magazine, their inspiring story drew attention from local and national media outlets and led to the acclaimed documentary, “Underwater Dreams.” Their story was also adapted into the major motion picture, “Spare Parts,” starring actor and comedian, George Lopez as Lajvardi. Honored with numerous awards, including the IEEE National Outstanding Educator for 2005, the Arizona Department of Education Leadership Award for 2006, and the City of Phoenix Outstanding Teacher of the Year each year from 2005 to 2009, Lajvardi has and continues to be a significant contributor to the increasing interest and awareness of STEM education nationwide. With an effective leadership philosophy, incredible story and a spirited passion for teaching, Lajvardi offers valuable and inspiring insight on fostering teamwork, sparking creativity and helping individuals realize and maximize their potential. Fredi Lajvardi will be giving the keynote address on Friday, Jan. 20 at the State Education Convention.

January-February 2017

(Left to right) Oscar Vazquez, Luis Aranda, Lorenzo Santillan, Allan Cameron, Cristian Arcega and Fredi Lajvardi with their underwater robot.

Arizona. They said they’d think about it and never sent anything in. Surprisingly, Luis made some early progress. One day, after work at Doc’s, he approached his boss, Harold, and handed him a robotics brochure. Harold was astonished to learn that his giant, taciturn shortorder cook was involved in a NASA-sponsored underwaterrobotics contest. “I didn’t see that coming,” he said and wrote out a check for a hundred dollars. Oscar tried a similar approach: he stopped by Quality Bedding, the mattress factory that his father worked at. Oscar had spent his summers assembling box frames

alongside his dad, so he knew the owner, Iris Oroz, and many of the employees. He handed a brochure to Oroz and explained that West Phoenix was going up against the best of the best. They needed local support if they were going to have a shot. His pitch resonated: Oroz wrote a check for four hundred dollars, and an employee chipped in another four hundred. That gave them a budget of about nine hundred dollars. It wasn’t much, but to four teens from West Phoenix it seemed like an extravagant amount of money to spend on a robot. Now that they had some funding, they began talking about

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building the robot. The team started by breaking apart a small trebuchet they’d made during the pumpkinhurling contest. They wanted to figure out how big their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) needed to be to accommodate propellers, sensors, and controls. They used the twoby-one lumber to make a simple box structure. Once it was done, they stood around the awkward wooden model in the robotics closet and talked through the tasks they were going to have to complete. The first: measure the depth and length of the mocked-up submarine. Lorenzo pictured the submarine underwater and thought of the simplest possible approach: a length of string. If their ROV could stretch the string from one end to the other, they could measure it. Similarly, they could lower the string from the surface until it touched the bottom of the pool and get a depth reading that way. He proposed the idea to the group. “And what if it doesn’t reach the bottom?” Cristian pointed out. It seemed like a stupid idea. Lorenzo thought about it for a second. “Yeah, that’s a flaw.” The group continued brainstorming, but Lorenzo kept thinking about string. After a minute, he came up with a new approach: “Hey, what if we hung a string down from a floating thing. We could draw markings on it every foot and use a camera to see how far down it went.” This time, it took Cristian a minute to shoot the idea down: “The string could get caught in the propellers. And we’re penalized if we leave anything behind in the pool, so we’d waste time trying to retrieve it.” Lorenzo looked disappointed. He thought he was on to something. “But it wasn’t a terrible idea,” Cristian allowed. Lorenzo brightened. “What about just using a tape measure? We can tie a loop onto the end, hook it on to the submarine, and drive the robot backward. The tape will just roll out.” “How do we read it?” Oscar asked. “Aim a camera at it,” Lorenzo

said. “We can read it off the video monitor.” “That could work,” Oscar said. Lorenzo flushed with pride. He rarely got compliments for his ideas. He was used to standing behind his godfather and brother, watching them come up with all the cool ideas while they worked on cars. He was expected to silently observe. Now he had a chance to contribute and it felt good. “It won’t work for depth though,” Cristian pointed out. “There’s nothing at the bottom of the pool to hook on to.” They decided that they’d need two solutions. Lorenzo’s tape measure would work for the sub’s length, but they’d need something else to gauge depth. They talked about using a scuba-diving computer — they might be able to borrow one from the dive shop — but its margin of error was too big for the precision measurements they were required to make. “What about a laser tape

measure?” Oscar asked. He had worked with his brother on a construction site and seen people using devices that could pinpoint a distance just by aiming a laser beam at an object. “Will it work underwater?” Cristian asked. Oscar didn’t know. He’d never used one himself. “You guys should call somebody,” Fredi advised. “The best way to figure something out is to call an expert.” Lorenzo was pretty sure nobody would help them, and Luis was obviously not going to make any calls. He barely talked to his teammates. Cristian felt he could figure it out on his own given time. It wasn’t a great attitude to have when asking for help, so Oscar decided to make the calls. He started by googling laser tape measures and quickly came across a company called Distagage in Marathon, Florida. The company specialized in lasers that could read distance

as far as 330 feet with an accuracy of an eighth of an inch. Some units could even measure the slope and length of a roof from the ground. The site noted that their top-of-the-line device was “used by more construction professionals around the world than any other brand.” “Sounds expensive,” Lorenzo said. He was right. Models sold for $375 to $725 each. It seemed pointless to even consider them, but Fredi encouraged Oscar to call anyway. “Just ask for advice,” Fredi said. Greg De Tray answered Oscar’s call in a mold-infested condo in Miami, Florida. He had only recently formed Distagage and still worked as an insurance adjuster. He had been sent to New York after 9/11, set up shop in Texas after hailstorms pelted the state, and was now in Florida helping Allstate deal with a massive outbreak of residential mold claims. He specialized in catastrophes.

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January-February 2017

“Distagage,” he said, pulling his mask down. “How can I help you?” De Tray had never intended to get into the laser range finder business. Initially, he had just bought one for himself because the mold-filled rooms he inspected were often nauseating and gave him headaches. The last thing he wanted to do was clamber over damp furniture with a tape measure. A laser range finder was an ideal solution: he didn’t have to move around much, and it allowed him to take fast measurements. His wife and mother-in-law were also in the catastrophe adjustment business, so he decided to buy them range finders as well. But, when he called Leica, the device’s Swiss manufacturer, the representative told him that they no longer sold to individuals, only large distributors. “‘I’m six feet tall and one hundred and eighty pounds,” De Tray said. “How big do I need to be?” The sales rep laughed and told De Tray that he’d need to buy at least fifty. It was far beyond what most individuals wanted. But the salesman underestimated De Tray, who bristled at rules and noncreative thinking. De Tray spontaneously

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wrote a check for about ten thousand dollars and bought himself fifty devices. Now, when he rolled from disaster to disaster, he pulled a sixfoot-by-twelve-foot cargo trailer loaded with laser range finders and sold them to whoever wanted an extremely precise Swiss-made measuring device. But he’d never gotten a call from a high schooler. Oscar explained that he was part of the Carl Hayden robotics team in Phoenix, Arizona. They were building an ROV to compete at a competition sponsored by NASA and needed to measure depth underwater. “We were thinking about buying a laser tape measure from Home Depot,” Oscar said. “Those are pieces of crap,” De Tray said. He didn’t feel that they were really laser range finders. They had a laser, but it was only to show where the thing was pointed. The actual range finding was done acoustically and often provided faulty readings. Those so-called laser range finders gave the whole industry a bad name. “So definitely don’t get one of those.” “Do your range finders work underwater?” Oscar asked.

“That’s a good question.” De Tray was intrigued by this maturesounding kid from the desert. De Tray thought of himself as somebody willing to take risks (just look at all the range finders he was carting around). Clearly, these kids were also taking chances as well. They seemed similarly ready to try something new, despite what others might think, so he offered to do a test. That afternoon, he stopped by a Wal-Mart, bought a clear-plastic Tupperware container, and headed for the pool at his Pompano Beach duplex. He put a range finder in the Tupperware, submerged it in the water, and took some readings. It didn’t work: the device gave a reading that was clearly wrong. He did it a few times but kept getting the same wrong answer. At their next team meeting, Oscar called De Tray back and put him on speakerphone. “Sorry to say it, but it doesn’t work,” De Tray said. “It’s giving the wrong answer, but at least it’s giving the same wrong answer every time. It’s always about 30 percent off.” “The index of refraction!” Cristian blurted. Everybody turned to look at him. “What was that?” Lorenzo asked. “The laser light is traveling through a medium that has a different density than air,” Cristian said. He got a blank stare from Lorenzo, who thought Cristian sometimes spoke a different language. “I get it,” Oscar said. “Water is harder to move through than air.” “It moves slower,” Cristian said. “So if we take 30 percent off the readings, it’ll give us the right measurement,” Oscar said. “Exactly,” Cristian said. They may have solved the refraction problem, but De Tray’s devices still cost hundreds of dollars. But he was impressed. These kids had solved a problem he couldn’t solve, and he was supposed to be the expert. He could sense their excitement, and he was excited for them.

Underwater Robotic Competition Set for Spring He decided to help: “I tell you what. You guys want to use my range finder on your robot, I’ll send you one. You can borrow it.” Lorenzo was speechless. Nobody had ever given him anything of significant value before. Nor had he thought that random strangers would be interested in helping him. Oscar also felt a surge of gratitude. He had a fundamental faith in humanity, though it had been put to the test when the Army turned him down. This was a sign that things were looking up. “Thank you, sir,” Oscar managed to say, trying to keep his emotions in check. “We really appreciate it.” n Excerpts from parts “One” and “Two” from SPARE PARTS: FOUR UNDOCUMENTED TEENAGERS, ONE UGLY ROBOT, AND THE BATTLE FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM by Joshua Davis. © Copyright 2014 by Joshua Davis. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

SeaPerch, an innovative robotics program that teaches students to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV), will be holding a regional competition for high school teams on Friday, March 3 at Kickapoo High School in Viola, Wisconsin. The winning team at this regional competition will qualify for the national SeaPerch competition in May (date and location TBD). Students build the ROV from a kit comprised of low cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with a marine engineering theme. Throughout the project, students learn engineering concepts, problem solving, and teamwork design skills and are exposed to all the exciting careers that are possible in naval architecture and marine/ocean engineering. After the robot is constructed, students test their vehicles, deploy them on missions and compete in

their local regional competition. SeaPerch Challenges (competitions) include maneuvering the ROV through an obstacle course and recovering an object. Teams also present a poster and present their project to judges. There will also be a middle school regional SeaPerch competition to be held in the Green Bay area (date TBD spring 2017). N For more information, contact Herb Thomas USN (Ret.), vice president of the Madison Navy League, at cme2by@mwt.net or visit www.seaperch.org.

WASB Insurance Plan ENDORSED AGENCY PROGRAM The Wisconsin Association of School Boards Insurance Plan Endorsed Agency Program includes four insurance agencies specializing in serving the property & casualty and employee benefits insurance needs of Wisconsin school districts and CESAs. For more information, visit wasb.org. WASB Insurance Plan | 608-257-2622 | 877-705-4422 | Visit wasb.org

January-February 2017

C A P I T O L W AT C H

Dan Rossmiller & Chris Kulow

Goodbye 2016, Welcome 2017 A look at the WASB’s legislative priorities and outlook for the new legislative session

s you receive this issue of Wisconsin School News, a new legislative session will be upon us — at both the state and federal levels. Between the two, the biggest changes will be occurring in Washington, D.C. The inauguration of Donald Trump as president will unite control in Republican hands for the first time since the presidency of George W. Bush, when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress from 2003 to 2007. The change in the Oval Office could signal an end to an era of political “gridlock” in Washington, but it could also usher in major shifts in national education policy. Possible changes include converting federal education funding into general block grants to states (rather than for specific programs) and broader federal encouragement and funding of private school choice initiatives, such as vouchers and education savings accounts. While the early days of the new Congressional session will be taken up with confirmation hearings and votes on the new cabinet appointees, the first 100 days of the Trump administration are expected to be extremely active as the new president seeks to put his immediate stamp on federal policy. Among the policies of the previous administra-

tion that could be scrapped or modified include U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations establishing nutrition standards for all foods sold in school, U.S. Department of Labor regulations expanding the ranks of non-supervisory employees eligible for overtime pay, and U.S. Education Department-issued guidance to school districts telling them to allow transgender students to use the restroom and locker rooms matching their gender identity. | State-Level Outlook In Madison, where Republicans maintain control of the governor’s office and the Legislature — with even bigger margins in both houses — changes are likely to be less dramatic. However, support for voucher expansion and discussion of education savings accounts will likely be a feature of the state-level debate as well. As of this writing, it is not clear whether the lobbying priorities of voucher advocates will be to try to raise the amount of each voucher payment, remove income limits on voucher accountability or, perhaps, to push for education savings accounts. By contrast, the lobbying priorities of the WASB are transparent. Each year, the Government Relations team works to develop a proposed legislative agenda that is submitted to the WASB Board of Directors for

their review and approval. The Legislative Agenda is approved annually in November by the Board of Directors and is guided by the resolutions adopted by the WASB Delegate Assembly. The Legislative Agenda is developed with input from the WASB staff taking into account factors such as the make-up of the Legislature and governor’s office, the state’s fiscal condition, and the stated priorities of legislators and the governor, as well as the likelihood that the WASB can partner with other like-minded organizations to form a coalition to advocate for certain items. | WASB Legislative Priorities This fall, the 2017 WASB Legislative Agenda was debated at length and approved by the Board of Directors at its November 2016 meeting. It is posted on our website (wasb.org) under the Advocacy and Government Relations tab. The agenda outlines the following priorities for the Government Relations team on which to focus its advocacy efforts during the first year of the upcoming 2017-18 legislative session. 1. Preserving Governance of Publicly Funded Schools by Locally Elected Boards — This includes resisting the imposition of unfunded state mandates on school districts

The 2017 WASB Legislative Agenda was debated at length and approved by the Board of Directors at its November 2016 meeting. It is posted on our website (wasb.org) under the Advocacy and Government Relations tab.

Wisconsin School News

and preserving local board governance with respect to the scheduling of school district referendums.

Linking adjustments in revenue limits and/or per-pupil aid and the low-revenue ceiling to inflation going forward;

2. Meeting Unmet Student Mental Health Needs That Interfere with Student Learning — This includes support for coordinated efforts to secure state grant funding for school site-based mental health programs, and support for districts that wish to allow third-party providers to provide such services on-site. The WASB does NOT support any mandate requiring that school districts provide on-site mental health services.

Allowing districts to fully count full-time equivalent (FTE) summer school enrollment in revenue limits;

Additional funding for high-cost pupil transportation aid to districts with pupil transportation costs that exceed 150 percent of the statewide average cost per pupil and adding a second tier to this aid program;

Increasing special education categorical aid so it reimburses at least 30 percent of aidable costs (up from around 26.5 percent at present); and

Increasing high-cost/ low-incidence special education aid to fully reimburse districts for the costs of serving any individual pupil with disabilities that exceed $30,000 for that pupil.

3. Providing Necessary Resources for Public Schools — This includes advocating for:

“Catch-up” adjustments of up to $200 per pupil (in each year) for school district resources to keep pace with inflation in school district costs;

Increasing the low-revenue ceiling to allow the state’s lowest revenue districts an opportunity to catch up with higher revenue districts;

We anticipate that the funding requests will be addressed one way or another through the state budget debate.

| 2017 Outlook Much of the first six months of 2017 will be taken up with debate over the state’s biennial budget. The likely pattern of events is that the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau will update state revenue forecasts in late January and the governor will unveil his proposed budget in early February. From there, the Legislature’s 16-member Joint Committee on Finance will devote the next four months to reviewing and reworking the governor’s proposed budget. Typically, the state Senate and Assembly will consider and approve the budget in June and will send it to the governor to sign or veto provisions in July. To prepare for the session, the Government Relations team has been meeting with legislative offices and the governor’s office. Along with other public education groups we are engaged in a new, cooperative and collective effort to educate lawmakers about key school issues and to highlight success stories and innovations taking place in public schools throughout the state. n Dan Rossmiller is the WASB director of government relations. Chris Kulow is the WASB government relations specialist.

Follow the Legislative Update Updated frequently, this webpage includes:

b Timely and informative updates on state and federal legislation.

b Sample materials (talking points, letters, board resolutions, etc.) for use in advocacy.

b State bill tracking chart and other WASB Resources. A one-stop shop for everything you need to be an informed board member and advocate for your students! wasblegupdate.wordpress.com

January-February 2017

A S S O C I AT I O N N E W S

2017 WASB Event Calendar Here is a look at the conferences, seminars, workshops, and other events that make up the 2017 WASB Event Calendar. Event descriptions include WASB Member Recognition points. For more information on the WASB Member Recognition Program, visit wasb.org and select “Meetings and Events” and then “Member Recognition Program.” Please note: Dates and locations may be subject to change. For the latest WASB event information, visit wasb.org.

JANUARY

18-20 96th State Education Convention Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee (30 points) The 96th State Education Convention features dozens of sessions led by school leaders and stakeholders from around the state. Each day is headlined by respected keynote speakers and features a selection of special events. The Exhibit Hall brings in hundreds of vendors focused on serving public education.

FEBRUARY

23 Legal and Human Resources Conference Kalahari Resorts, Wisconsin Dells (30 points) This workshop will cover a broad range of legal and human resources topics related to school leadership.

MARCH

8 Individual Contracts and the Nonrenewal Process Webinar (2 points) This webinar will focus on the process of drafting new contractual provisions to transition from traditional contracts to contracts that meet districts’ needs in the postcollective bargaining world.

15 Day at the Capitol Monona Terrace/State Capitol, Madison (10 points) Join school board members and administrators from around the state to take our state budget message to the Capitol. The day includes an information-packed morning along

Wisconsin School News

with individual meetings with state legislators in the afternoon.

25-27 NSBA Annual Conference Denver, CO (30 points)

APRIL

4 Spring Elections for School Board Members

18-20 New Board Member Gatherings Various Locations (5 points) Newly elected school board members are invited to these meetings where WASB staff will introduce important legal, policy, and board governance topics.

19 Title IX: It’s About Athletics and a Whole Lot More (Part 1: Compliance) (2 points) In the first of this two-part webinar series, a WASB attorney will identify

how Title IX’s focus on sex discrimination and gender equity apply in key areas such as career and technical education, sex-based harassment, school discipline, employment, and athletics.

26 Title IX: It’s About Athletics and a Whole Lot More (Part 2: Coordinator Responsibilities) (2 points) In the second of this two-part webinar series, a WASB attorney will address the designation, responsibilities, and training of a formal Title IX coordinator.

MAY

TBD Spring Academy Workshops Locations TBD (10 points) The WASB will offer Spring Academy Workshops in various regions around the state. The workshops will provide attendees with a foundation in board governance and policy-based decision making.

UPCOMING EVENT:

Legal and Human Resources Conference |

MAY

The WASB 2017 Legal and Human Resources Conference, taking place February 23 in Wisconsin Dells, is designed to give school board members and administrators the latest information to help them in governing their districts as effectively as possible.

10 Hiring Teachers Webinar (2 points) This webinar will cover the general hiring process of teachers, including state requirements.Â It includes information about the purpose of position descriptions, the posting of vacancy notices, application forms, the interview process, and reference checks.

Session topics include:

b b b b b b b

JUNE

14 Annual and Special Meetings: Notices, Procedures and Powers Webinar (2 points) This webinar will review the notice requirements for annual and special meetings, cover meeting agendas and procedures and discuss the division of powers between the annual meeting and the school board in common school districts.

JULY

15 Summer Leadership Institute Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, Green Bay (10 points) Designed for school board members interested in honing their leadership skills.

SEPTEMBER

Mid-September/October Fall Regional Meetings Various Locations (5 points) Connect with school leaders from around your WASB region, hear a special presentation from the WASB staff, and vote for your WASB Regional Director (where applicable).

Employee Misconduct Teacher Retention Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Compensation Nonrenewal of Teacher Contracts ACA Update Cyber Risk Employee Handbooks

These sessions will be led by WASB staff and industry experts. For more information or to register, visit wasb.org.

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

6-7

Policy and Resolutions Committee Meeting, Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Stevens Point (10 points for committee members)

Policy and Resolutions Committee Meeting, Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Stevens Point (10 points)

The Policy and Resolutions Committee evaluates the resolutions submitted by WASB member boards and determines which resolutions will advance to the 2018 WASB Delegate Assembly.

20 WSAA School Law Seminar Alliant Energy Center, Madison (5 points) Get up-to-date on the latest school law issues. Sessions presented by WASB staff and school attorneys.

The second Policy and Resolutions Committee meeting before the 2018 WASB Delegate Assembly.

4 Legislative Advocacy Conference Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Stevens Point (10 points for committee members) The Legislative Advocacy Conference brings together state legislators, school funding experts, and school leaders as they discuss legislative topics that will affect public educations. Also learn important advocacy strategies critical to advocating on behalf of your district.

January-February 2017

LEGAL COMMENT

B oa r d m a n & C l a r k LL P

The Statutory Provisions Related to Teacher Contracts

tate statutes require school boards to contract in writing with their teachers and those statutes establish specific requirements, procedures, and deadlines for the renewal or nonrenewal of teacher contracts.1 If boards do not follow this statutory process, those contracts may be automatically renewed. It is, therefore, important for boards to understand the scope and coverage of these statutes. This Legal Comment will focus on identifying who is a “teacher” subject to these provisions, what the contracts must contain (as opposed to what can or should be included), and the timing and process for renewal or nonrenewal of teacher contracts. It will also review two recent cases which have applied those statutes to particular contract language.

| Legal Requirements Wis. Stat. § 118.21 requires that school boards contract in writing with qualified teachers; that the contracts be filed with the school district clerk; and that a copy of the teacher’s authority to teach is attached to the contract. Teacher contracts can only be for a one-year duration. These contracts are subject to the renewal and nonrenewal provisions contained in Wis. Stat. § 118.22. In order to be a “teacher” under subject to the statutory renewal and nonrenewal

provisions, a “teacher” must hold a teacher’s certificate or license issued by the state superintendent and must have his or her district position require this certificate, license, or classification status. As a result, if an employee holds a teacher’s license issued by the state superintendent, but the employee is working in a capacity that does not require this license, the contract renewal and nonrenewal provisions will not apply to this employee. In addition, Wis. Stat. § 118.22 does not apply to part-time teachers or teachers employed by the board of school directors in a 1st class city (i.e., Milwaukee).2 | Required Content Wis. Stat. § 118.21 requires that individual teacher contracts “fix the teacher’s wage,” but it does not include a definition of “wage.” It also does not mandate that all forms of compensation be included in the individual contract. However, this statute specifically provides that the contract may provide for compensation of the teacher for necessary travel expenses. Other contract content is a matter of board discretion. There is no requirement that each individual teacher contract in the district contain the exact same content, and contracts may vary from one teacher to another, as long as the different terms are not based on some protected category established by the discrimination

statutes (e.g., religion, race, etc.). The issue of what constitutes a teacher’s “wage” was recently subject to litigation in the Brown County Circuit Court.3 In that case, the teacher contract contained only a “base wage,” that is, the wage rate for which the district was required to bargain with the teachers’ certified collective bargaining agent. The contract also contained language stating that any supplemental compensation was subject to adjustment in the superintendent’s sole discretion. In districts with certified teacher bargaining units, “supplemental compensation” does not need to be bargained and can be provided to teachers at the board’s discretion. The court concluded that the board’s inclusion of only a base wage amount of a given salary for the number of days to be worked during the school year was sufficient to meet the legislative mandate in Wis. Stat. § 118.21 that the contract “fix the teacher’s wage.” A similar issue arose in a case in Wood County Circuit Court.4 In that case, the contracts provided that each teacher was “to perform services in the District for a term of 189 days for the base wage sum of [____] the District may, at its option, in addition to the salary amount stated herein provide the Employee with additional employment benefits and/or compensation. The nature and amount of this additional compensation and/or the

The standard which must be met by the district before a teacher can be nonrenewed may be established in the individual teacher contracts, district employee handbooks, or board policies.

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LEGAL COMMENT benefits provided shall be determined by the Board.” The court held that this language complied with Wis. Stat. §118.21 and that the statute did not prohibit the board from granting additional benefits and salary to teachers or require the contract to describe such additional benefits and salary in a particular way. Rather, these contracts included a base wage that was guaranteed to the teacher, while providing that the additional benefits and/or compensation were “not guaranteed and are subject to change, enhancement or elimination.” By fixing the base wage for teachers, the board fixed the teachers’ wage in compliance with Wis. Stat. § 118.21. Because these are circuit court decisions, they are not binding on future circuit court decisions. They do provide insight, however, on how courts will assess the issue of what constitutes the “wage” which must be included in teacher contracts. The fact that both cases reached the same result suggests that districts will have a strong argument to support use of only a base wage rate in teachers’ contracts while reserving supplemental compensation to the non-contractual discretion of the board. | Renewal or Nonrenewal The statutes set forth the time and the process by which individual teacher contracts must be either renewed or nonrenewed. The teacher renewal statute applies to all full-time teachers as defined by the statute, which includes those teachers who the board may designate as probationary teachers. For contracts that are not subject to the nonrenewal statute (such as those for part-time teachers or co-curricular activities), the district need only meet any deadlines or standards for nonrenewal established by the individual contracts or board policy. The board must give full-time teachers written notice of renewal or refusal to renew the teacher’s contract for the ensuing school year on or before May l5. If no such notice is given, the contract then in force is automatically renewed for the ensuing

Wisconsin School News

[continued]

school year. A teacher who receives a notice of renewal of contract, as well as a teacher who fails to receive any notice of renewal or nonrenewal on or before May l5, must accept or reject the contract in writing no later than June l5. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 118.22 (3), the board must give the teacher preliminary written notice that the board is considering nonrenewal of the teacher’s contract at least fifteen days before giving formal written notice of refusal to renew and not later than the last day in April. The preliminary notice must state that if the teacher files a request with the board within five days after receiving the preliminary notice, the teacher has a right to a private conference with the board prior to being given written notice of contract nonrenewal. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has emphasized that in giving preliminary notice of possible nonrenewal, boards must strictly comply with the explicit language of Wis. Stat. § 118.22(3).5 Boards, therefore, should assume the statutory time limits will be rigidly enforced.6 The best practice is to hand-deliver the notices required under Wis. Stat. § 118.22 and have copies signed and dated by the teacher and placed in the teacher’s file. It is also best practice for boards to formally act to authorize the issuance of a preliminary notice of consideration of nonrenewal at a properly noticed meeting of the board. The formal written notice of nonrenewal must be given to the teacher on or before May l5 according to Wis. Stat. § 118.22(2). The decision to not renew a contract must be made by a majority vote of the full membership of the school board at a properly noticed meeting of the board. Even if a board has voted to nonrenew a teacher’s contract and the teacher is aware of such vote, failure to provide the explicit written notice of nonrenewal as required in the statute will result in the teacher’s contract being renewed, regardless of whether the board had a proper basis to nonrenew the teacher’s contract.7 The Wisconsin Supreme Court has specifically left undecided the issue of

whether a teacher who has been given a preliminary notice of nonrenewal may then waive the subsequent procedures embodied in Wis. Stat. § 118.22, including the May l5 final notice deadline.8 However, recent changes to the statute, in particular the repeal of Wis. Stat. § 118.22(4), suggest that it is unlikely that a teacher (or board) will be permitted to waive such deadlines. If the board decides to pursue a waiver of the May l5 deadline, the waiver should be in writing and should be signed by the teacher in order to maximize the likelihood of the waiver being sustained in court.9 The waiver should also recite the consideration supporting the agreement and set forth mutual agreement between the board and the teacher of the necessity for a waiver of the deadline. The standard which must be met by the district before a teacher can be nonrenewed may be established in the individual teacher contracts, district employee handbooks, or board policies. If a standard is not included in these documents and a nonrenewal decision is legally challenged, a court will have to establish a standard, potentially based on court and Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) decisions where these standards were interpreted in the context of collective bargaining. For this reason, each district should define the district’s standard for nonrenewal, if any. The following are the five most common standards for nonrenewal, and a general definition of those standards as established by courts and the WERC: At-will. Districts may nonrenew a teacher’s contract for any reason not prohibited by law. Districts still must not discriminate against the employee based on any protected class established by municipal, state, or federal law. Arbitrary or Capricious. Districts may nonrenew a teacher’s contract for any reason that is not “arbitrary or capricious,” which is an action that is without a rational basis or was the result of an unconsidered, willful, and irrational choice. Good and Sufficient Reasons. This

standard is not well-defined in case law. The standard may provide slightly more protection than the “arbitrary or capricious” standard and requires a district to support its decision to nonrenew with evidence. For example, the WERC has found that lowered enrollment and fiscal pressure, when supported by evidence, provided the district with “good and sufficient reasons” for its action. Good and Sufficient Cause. “Good and sufficient cause” is a standard that originated in Millar v. Joint School District.10 In Millar, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recognized board’s implied power to dismiss teachers for “good and sufficient cause.” However, Millar applies to dismissals and not to nonrenewals. A district that uses this standard for nonrenewals should be sure to establish a definition for “good and sufficient cause” within the contract or a policy that is incorporated into the contract. Just Cause. There is no universal definition of “just cause.” The term has been interpreted in various ways by courts and arbitrators. The basic two-part test for just cause in discipline requires the district to establish that (1) the employee engaged in conduct in which the employer has a disciplinary interest and (2) that the discipline imposed reasonably reflects that disciplinary interest. A district that uses this standard for nonrenewals should be sure to establish a definition for “just cause” within the contract or a policy that is incorporated into the contract. There remains a question as to whether a teacher who has been nonrenewed can file a grievance challenging the board’s decision under the district’s grievance procedure required by Wis. Stat. § 66.0509(1m), which applies to district actions which constitute “discipline” or “termination.” No Wisconsin court to date has found that nonrenewal actions which are not performance based, for example economic downsizing, are subject to the statutory grievance procedure. Nonre-

newal decisions which are performance based, however, were at issue in both Schneider and Marks. In Schneider, the teachers argued that the provision in the individual teaching contracts excluding nonrenewal actions from the grievance procedure violated Wis. Stat. § 66.0509. The court reviewed the dictionary definition of “discipline” and concluded that “discipline” encompasses “punishment.” Therefore, because some nonrenewals may constitute “punishment” (e.g., those based on poor performance), all nonrenewals could not categorically be excluded from the grievance procedure. This suggests that nonrenewal for performance issues could be subject to the grievance procedure. In contrast, the court in Marks, held that individual teacher contracts could provide that nonrenewal actions were not subject to the district’s grievance procedure. The contracts in question contained a provision specifying that nonrenewal actions were subject only to the nonrenewal process under Wis. Stat. § 118.22 and were not reviewable as “discipline” or “termination” decisions under the statutory grievance process. The court held that there was no evidence that the Legislature intended nonrenewal actions to be subject to both the grievance procedure and the nonrenewal statute, and that the two processes address two separate and distinct aspects of the employment relationship between school boards and teachers. Again, Marks and Schneider are circuit courts cases and are not binding on other courts. Thus, whether nonrenewals for performance and/or non-performance reasons are subject to the district’s grievance procedure awaits a decision on the issue by the state appellate courts.

teacher evaluations. Because Wisconsin statutes require teachers to be under contract and provide a specific process and time frame within which to renew or nonrenew those contracts, boards need to be aware of both in their planning process. Failure to comply with those processes could result in contractual consequences not intended by the district. In addition, boards have options with respect to the terms which are included in teacher contracts which impact the renewal or nonrenewal process and the terms of teacher compensation. Therefore, it is important that boards understand the role of teacher contracts and the processes which must be followed to renew or nonrenew those contracts. For additional information on related topics, see Wisconsin School News: “The Renewal and Nonrenewal of Teacher and Administrator Contracts” (December 2008). n 1. Wis. Stats. ss 118.21 and 118.22. 1. Wis. Stat. s. 118.22(1)(b). 1. Schneider v. Howard Suamico Sch. Dist., Case No. 2013-CV-397 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Brown Cty. January 22, 2014). 1. Marks v. Bd. of Educ. of the Wisconsin Rapids Pub. Sch., Case No. 14-CV-205 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Wood Cty. May 3, 2016). 1. Rawhouser v. CESA No. 4, 75 Wis. 2d 52, 248 N.W.2d 442 (l977). 1. See Junge v. Sheboygan Sch. Dist., Case l958 (Sheboygan Cty Cir. Ct. Dec. 3, l97l); Copeland v. Orange Cty. Bd. of Educ., 77 CVS 442 (N.C. Super. Ct. l977); Northcentral Tech. Coll., Dec. No. 31117-C (WERC 3 Feb. 3, 2006). 1. Sterlinske v. Sch. Dist. of Bruce, 211 Wis. 2d 608, 565 N.W.2d 273 (Ct. App. 1997). 1. Faust v. Ladysmith-Hawkins Sch. Sys., 88 Wis. 2d 537, 28l N.W.2d 611 (l979). 1. See Abramovich v. Bd. of Educ., 386 N.E.2d l077 (N.Y. l979), cert. denied, l00 S. Ct. 89 (l979).

| Conclusion

1. 2 Wis. 2d 303, 312, 86 N.W.2d 455 (1957).

The second half of the school year is a time when districts finalize staffing for the succeeding year and complete

This Legal Comment was written by Michael J. Julka and Steven C. Zach of Boardman & Clark LLP, WASB Legal Counsel.

Legal Comment is designed to provide authoritative general information, with commentary, as a service to WASB members. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. If required, legal advice regarding this topic should be obtained from district legal counsel.

January-February 2017

Q&A

A S S O C I AT I O N N E W S

Gauging Community and Staff Feedback SE RV I C E

A S S O C I AT E S

Why is it important for school districts to survey community members?

We strongly believe in utilizing a process that builds ownership among stakeholders, leading to ownership of an ultimate solution. We have found that a community survey is a critical first step. We do not advocate a random sampling, a process that, by definition, excludes most members of the community. Instead, we specialize in a process that includes every member of the community. The process begins with the mailing of a survey to district households. The survey’s cover letter explains the nature of the survey and encourages the respondent to participate online, if possible, by using a unique survey access code. With this approach, each community member is educated about the needs and challenges of the district.

Q. Why is it important for school districts to survey staff members?

A. Although staff members represent

less than 1 percent of the total community, they are critical communicators, having hundreds of conversations everyday with parents, friends and neighbors. It is through these informal conversations that the perceptions of the community regarding the quality and needs of the district are estab-

Q & A

lished. Additionally, school district staff is in the trenches every day and as a result, in the best position to establish planning priorities. Therefore, involvement and engagement with the staff is critical to every project’s success.

Sue Peterson is a project manager with School Perceptions and Bill Foster is president of School Perceptions.

Q. What can school boards learn from polling these groups?

A. While it is important for each school board member to have their own opinions, a successful referendum must reflect what the majority of the community wants, not what the majority of the school board wants. Defining what will be supported can only be done with good data. Over the years, we have found our survey methodology to be highly predictive. However, the true benefit of this “engagement” process is to educate community members on the needs of the district. Simply stated, people are more likely to support a plan if they have a voice in creating it. Q. School Perceptions worked with WASB to develop the Annual Board Development Tool, an online survey where board members rate their work on various governance areas. How does this tool help school boards improve? A. The School Perceptions’ Annual Board Development Tool was designed based on elements of the

National School Boards Association’s research, known as The Key Work of School Boards, which includes relationships, vision, accountability, community leadership and policy. The Annual Board Development Tool is broken into nine sections. Respondents are asked to evaluate the board performance in each category: data-driven decision making, board operations, culture, planning, budgeting, district operations, community engagement, policy and vision. The results help school boards identify their areas of strength and alignment as well as where further dialogue and discussion are needed. n The WASB Service Associates Program includes businesses and organizations that have been recognized by the WASB Board of Directors as reputable businesses and partners of public education in Wisconsin. For more information, visit wasb.org and select “Service Associates.”

Although staff members represent less than 1 percent of the total community, they are critical communicators, having hundreds of conversations everyday with parents, friends and neighbors. 32

Wisconsin School News

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R&R Insurance 262-574-7000 bill.hattendorf@rrins.com myknowledgebroker.com Our School Practice Group has more than 25 years of educational institution experience and a dedicated resource center designed with school district’s risk and claims management needs in mind.

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TRICOR Insurance 877-468-7426 john@tricorinsurance.com tricorinsurance.com We now insure over 150 public schools. Our School Practice Team is made up of a diverse group of experienced individuals who are extensively trained and specialized in school insurance products, risk management, support services, loss control, human resources and claims advocacy.

Midwest Energy Procurement (MEP) Solutions, LLC 608-273-4464 steve.grams@mepsolutions.org mepsolutions.org MEP Solutions is a Wisconsin-based energy procurement and consulting firm, which provides clients with comprehensive energy procurement analysis and solutions.

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Studer Education

850-898-3949 info@studereducation.com studereducation.com We support the critical work of school district leaders through coaching around an Evidence-Based Leadership framework to increase student achievement, employee engagement, parent satisfaction, district support services, and financial efficiency.

| Legal Services Buelow Vetter Buikema Olson & Vliet LLC

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262-364-0300 cbuelow@buelowvetter.com buelowvetter.com We have decades of experience in representing school boards across Wisconsin. We advise school boards and administrators on a variety of issues from labor and employment to student discipline and expulsion. Strang, Patteson, Renning, Lewis & Lacy, s.c.

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844-626-0901 kstrang@strangpatteson.com strangpatteson.com We provide legal counsel on a full range of issues that school and higher education institution clients confront on a regular basis. 

von Briesen & Roper, s.c.

414-287-1122 aphillips@vonbriesen.com vonbriesen.com We’re dedicated to ingenuity and creativity in helping schools solve their most complex legal and organizational problems. Challenge us to help you challenge the status quo.

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UnitedHealthcare 414-443-4094 cecelia_hopkins@uhc.com uhc.com Our mission is to help people live healthier lives by providing access to high quality, affordable healthcare. We are committed to improving the healthcare experience of K-12 teachers, staff, retirees and their families in the state of Wisconsin by providing better information, to drive better decisions, to help improve health.

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| Energy Services

| Leadership Consulting

|School/Community Research 

School Perceptions, LLC

262-299-0329 info@schoolperceptions.com schoolperceptions.com An independent research firm specializing in conducting surveys for public and private schools, educational service agencies, communities and other state-level organizations.

| Transportation 

Dairyland Buses, Inc.

262-544-8181 mjordan@ridesta.com ridesta.com School bus contracting provider, managed contracts, training, maintenance.

SUPPORTING, PROMOTING AND ADVANCING PUBLIC EDUCATION

UPCOMING PROGRAMS 2017 LEGAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES CONFERENCE

February 23 Kalahari resorts Wisconsin Dells

The WASB 2017 Legal and Human Resources Conference is designed to give school board members and administrators the latest legal information to help them in governing their districts as effectively as possible. Session topics include: • • • •

Teacher Retention Strategies Employee Handbook Update Workers’ Compensation Cyber Risk

March 15 Monona Terrace/ STaTe capiTol MadiSon

2017 DAY AT THE CAPITOL

Join school board members and administrators from around the state to take our message to state legislators at the Capitol! On the agenda: • • • •

v i s i t wa s b . o r g f o r co m p l e t e i n f o r m at i o n a n d to r e g i s t e r

2017-19 State Budget School Accountability Student Achievement Voucher Expansion

Ph: 608-257-2622 FAx: 608-257-8386