Cottage Grove PTO Holiday Festival This Saturday!

Mark your calendars December 4th, 2010 for the Holiday Festival! This year, the festival will be located at Glacial Drumlin School. The 2009 Holiday Festival raised $2,400 for our schools. It is a wonderful way to start the Holiday Season!

This event is a joint effort between many organizations within our community. It includes:

•Craft Fair
•Visit from Santa
•Fire Truck Rides
•Horse & Carriage Rides
•Craft Projects in the Art Room
•Book Sale for the Library
•Santa's Secret Shop
•Holiday Cookies
•Food & Drinks
•AND MORE!


If you have questions about the Holiday Festival, or if you would like to volunteer to help out at the event, please contact:

cgrovepto@gmail.com

Welcome to the MG21 Open House!

Don't forget to attend the MG21 Open House this Thursday evening, December 2, from 6:30 to 8pm in the Nichols School Building.

All interested are welcome to attend!

Contact: rebecca.fox-blair@mgschools.net

Updated: Two Public Hearings On Proposed Maywood and Winnequah Consolidation

9am Dec. 11 at Winnequah School, 800 Greenway Road, Monona,

6:30pm Dec. 14 at Glacial Drumlin School, 801 Damascus Trail, Cottage Grove.

The School Board is expected to vote on the issue at its meeting at 7pm Dec. 21 at Winnequah School.

I keep waiting to hear from our district's parents on this issue and thus far haven't received a single phone call or email. What's the word on the street?

WSJ: Maywood Consolidation Coverage

It's always something when the MG school district makes front page news in the State Journal.

School merger back on table in Monona Grove
Gena Kittner
After rejecting a plan this spring to consolidate two Monona elementary schools, the Monona Grove School Board is again considering a merger as a way to address a $1 million budget deficit.
"There are people who really believe in the value of a small school," School Board president Susan Fox said about why some residents have objected to consolidating the schools. "I think we're just to the point where we can't afford to offer that option."
The proposal is to move all students at Maywood School, which houses 4-year-old kindergarten through second grade, to Winnequah School, which houses third through fifth grades, starting next fall. Informational meetings are planned for Dec. 11 and 14 and the School Board is expected to vote on the issue Dec. 21. Officials say they want the issue decided next month to help them make other budget decisions for 2011-12

The whole story can be found here.

Maywood/Winnequah Consolidation: Public Forum December 11th

The Monona Grove School District has scheduled a public input session on Saturday December 11th, from 9 to 11am in the cafeteria of Winnequah School.

Wisconsin Teachers Facing Furloughs?

From www.channel3000.com:

Wisconsin Teachers May Face Furloughs Soon
New Senate Leader Proposes Cuts For Next Budget Cycle

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin teachers may be facing furloughs in the coming budget cycle.
Incoming state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said a teacher from his district gave him the idea, pointing out that students are in school for 180 days by law, but teachers work for 185 days by many district contracts. That means there could be five days possible for furlough that wouldn't affect teaching time, WISC-TV reported.
"It is something that I think may have to be done in an effort to balance this budget," Fitzgerald said.
There could be many legal issues with requiring furlough days for teachers, according to John Ashley, Wisconsin Association of School Boards' executive director.
"I think we want to be cautious, there is a fair labor standards act, we have 424 school districts and 424 different contracts out there," Ashley said. "But I do think it is something we want to look at for flexibility as school boards, ways in which we can improve student achievements."
Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell said in a statement Friday that they would work with the new Legislature and administration on ways to "get at the root of what needs fixing."
"Local decisions about how much time educators need to prepare classrooms and lessons ... are best made directly by the educators and elected representatives on local school boards," Bell said.
A spokesperson for Gov.-elect Scott Walker declined to comment on the issue.

Milton School District Wins In Arbitration.

From Walworth County Today:

MILTON — The Milton School District received a long-awaited arbitrator's decision this week, ending a months-long impasse over the district's 2009-11 teachers contract.
The decision paves the way for an insurance switch that could save the district nearly $500,000 during the 2010-11 school year, district officials said.
In a 44-page decision filed Saturday, state-appointed arbitrator David Shaw decided in favor of a proposal from the Milton School District that forces the teachers union to switch health insurance carriers.
The ruling's simple: The Milton teacher's union will drop its union-fostered healthcare coverage through the Wisconsin Education Association Trust in favor of the district's pick—a Dean-Mercy healthcare plan that's used by school administration and the bulk of other district employees.
The insurance change likely will come in January 2011 and applies to the remainder of the union's 2009-11 labor contract, Superintendent Bernie Nikolay said.
Shana Lewis, who represented the Milton School District in the arbitration, said she believes the outcome of Milton's arbitration case will resonate with school districts statewide

Read the rest of the story here