Logan Wroge: As a member of the School Board, Gomez Schmidt, 48, is looking to prioritize the selection of a new, research-based reading curriculum for elementary students, building trust in the district with families, improving accountability and transparency, and effectively managing the budget. The 32-year-old Pearson had made finding ways to expand 4-year-old kindergarten to … Continue reading Christina Gomez Schmidt wins close Madison School Board contest; Nicki Vander Meulen reelected →

Scott Girard: Safety and sustainability are on the minds of West High School students. A Madison School Board panel, organized by the school’s Sifting and Winnowing Club, featured student-generated questions that repeatedly focused on those two subjects, with a few others mixed in. More than 400 students attended the two sessions Friday afternoon in the … Continue reading Student Madison School Board meeting at West High School →

Dave Cieslewicz: Despite being the fastest growing large community in Wisconsin the Madison public school system is losing students. Last year the district lost almost 900 students. Why? In a story in Isthmus last week long-time school board member Nicki Vander Meulen mused on the causes for the loss of market share to private schools … Continue reading $pending more for fewer students: Madison →

Scott Girard: Badri Lankella wants to serve his community. Right now, the computer engineer working with the state Department of Natural Resources believes the best way he can do that is running for Seat 6 on the Madison School Board. “Every issue, I look at the details,” Lankella said. “I’m going to talk to everyone. … Continue reading Merit and the 2023 Madison School Board election →

Video Asking questions are four local education reporters. Olivia Herken of the Wisconsin State Journal, Dylan Brogan of Isthmus and Madison City Cast, Scott Girard of The Capital Times, and Kadjata Bah of Simpson Street Free Press. Candidates in attendance are Nicki Vander Meulen (Seat 7, Running Unopposed), Badri Lankella (Seat 6) and Blair Feltham (Seat … Continue reading Local Journalists Host Q&A Session
with Madison School Board Candidates →

Scott Girard: The candidates on hand will include the two running for Seat 6 — former school district educator Blair Feltham and former Madison City Council candidate Badri Lankella — as well as Seat 7 incumbent Nicki Vander Meulen, who is running unopposed. The current representative for Seat 6, Christina Gomez Schmidt, is not running … Continue reading Madison school board forum tonight →

Olivia Herken: Board members Gomez Schmidt, Ali Muldrow, Laura Simkin and Nicki Vander Meulen voted against eliminating stand-alone honors classes. Board members Nichelle Nichols, Maia Pearson and Savion Castro voted in favor of eliminating them. Stand-alone honors classes are meant to be more academically challenging. Students can also earn honors credit in some general classes … Continue reading Madison School Board: “voted 4-3 to keep stand-alone honors classes for the time being” →

Scott Girard: The Madison School Board’s closed session meeting to discuss the appeal of fired principal Jeffrey Copeland Tuesday lasted just over 15 minutes without a decision. “I can’t explain that,” board member Nicki Vander Meulen said, leaving around 5:16 p.m. and declining further comment. Other board members who left shortly after also declined to comment and … Continue reading ‘No action’ on fired taxpayer supported Madison Sennett principal’s appeal yet →

Scott Girard: The school’s new Sifting and Winnowing Club organized two sessions for their peers to attend in the auditorium Friday to get answers to questions on issues they care about. Madison School Board member Nicki Vander Meulen and city of Madison District 5 Ald. Regina Vidaver spoke to the first group, while Emerge Wisconsin … Continue reading Civic chat at Madison west high school →

Scott Girard: Simkin suggested one example is in the student use of cell phones in classrooms, something teachers have expressed concerns about this school year. The BEP already prohibits the use of unauthorized, non-educationally required devices that disrupt learning, but Simkin said that teachers “don’t have what they need to implement this and it’s greatly … Continue reading Commentary on Madison’s behavior education plan →

Elizabeth Beyer: Madison School Board member calls for action on COVID-19 paid time off for teachers, staff A Madison School Board member is calling for the full board to address a lack of access to COVID-19 sick leave for district teachers and staff during the next board meeting. As district policy stands, teachers and staff … Continue reading Madison School Board member calls for action on COVID-19 paid time off for teachers, staff →

Kelly Meyerhofer: The district said total compensation has exceeded the rate of inflation for the last seven years — something it said has helped recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers. But the board directed officials to pause a proposed 1% increase to base wages and freeze part of a salary schedule that rewards … Continue reading Raises, officers both out as Madison School Board OKs 2020-21 budget — but COVID-19 may cause changes →

Scott Girard: A survey from Madison Metropolitan School District administration outlines the potential for more budget cuts coming amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with wage freezes and staff cuts among the options administrators are considering. The two-question survey, sent to staff Friday, states that the district expects an additional $5 million to $9 million budget cut … Continue reading Survey sent to Madison teachers details potential for cuts →

Scott Girard: Voters will have several opportunities this month to hear from candidates for Madison School Board beginning this weekend. The East Side Progressives will hold a forum Sunday, March 8, at Lake Edge Lutheran Church, 4032 Monona Drive. It’s the first of four forums currently planned for the month before the Tuesday, April 7, … Continue reading Madison School Board candidate forums begin this weekend, continue throughout March →

Scott Girard: An outside agency could soon be reviewing and updating the Madison Metropolitan School District’s policies. Neola, based in Ohio with consultants based in Wisconsin, has more than 1,000 client districts around the country, including 269 in Wisconsin, where it has worked since 1989. In Dane County, those districts include DeForest, Stoughton, McFarland and … Continue reading Outsourcing Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 School District Governance (while spending more, for less) →

David Blaska: The school lesson plan is chaos “[We] talk about race as if it was every race but whiteness. How can we support you, elevate your work around actually talking about white culture in our schools and how teachers can start doing this work of, like, unlearning whiteness.”    — Madison school board member … Continue reading ‘Unlearning whiteness’ in the Madison schools →

Scott Girard: A $35,000 contract not initially up for discussion at the Madison School Board meeting Monday night ended up the most hotly debated topic among board members. The contract with the city of Madison provides for up to $35,000 paid to the Madison Police Department in 2020 for officers to provide security, safety and crowd control … Continue reading $35K contract for police at school events turns into heated debate, protests Monday →

Jenny Peek: It’s been a difficult year for the Madison school district. A barrage of high-profile incidents has taken over the narrative of what it’s like in Madison’s schools, from the use of racist language, to a teacher being arrested for attempting to produce child pornography, to issues of safety at a district middle school. The district is … Continue reading School board candidates reflect on school climate ahead of primary →

Logan Wroge: “I appreciate the cuts in central office because I want more people in the classroom,” said board member Nicki Vander Meulen. Ruppel said the proposed reduction of school staff, which would be about 35 positions across a district that employs 4,000 people, is in response to expected short-term drops in enrollment due to … Continue reading Commentary on Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 School District 2020 Referendum & Spending Plans →

Scott Girard: The Madison School Board seat left open by incumbent Kate Toews choosing not to run for re-election has a candidate. Maia Pearson, a Madison native who has three children in Madison schools, will run for Seat 6. She filed her declaration of candidacy and campaign registration statement with the city clerk Monday and … Continue reading Maia Pearson becomes first newcomer to announce 2020 Madison School Board campaign →

Scott Girard: The full report was not made available to the public Monday night, but was expected to be posted Tuesday afternoon. Board members voted to accept a leadership profile that will be used to help develop interview questions and screen candidates with a 6 to 1 vote, with Nicki Vander Meulen voting against, having … Continue reading Commentary on the Madison School District 2020 Superintendent Search →

Logan Wroge: But the move to 24-hour monitoring was not without concern. Last week, the Madison School Board weighed the benefits of potentially preventing bullying and suicide with protecting student privacy and how the collected data could be used. Ultimately, the board approved on a 5-1 vote spending $114,408 over the next two years to … Continue reading Collecting data on Taxpayer supported Madison K-12 students 24×7 Reading? →

Chris Rickert: Nicki Vander Meulen, who was elected to the board in 2017 and serves as the board’s clerk, said that in response to the union’s push, district administrators in a private “board briefing” Monday with her and another board member said acceding to the union’s demand would set a “bad precedent.” “That’s virtually telling … Continue reading Open Records vs the taxpayer funded Madison school board →

Negassi Tesfamichael: In 2015, Madison voters authorized a $41 million school facility improvement plan that addressed needs in 16 schools across the district. “I think our schools need (upgrades), but at the same point, I don’t want to force someone out of their home, which I’ve seen happen to some friends in Middleton because they … Continue reading K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Another Madison Referendum in the works →

Logan Wroge: The Madison School Board on Monday backed a proposed contract that would keep police officers at Madison’s four main high schools. Board members voted 4-2 in favor of the proposed contract, which would emphasize alternative disciplines instead of arresting or citing students, lay the groundwork for a new complaint procedure against the officers … Continue reading Madison School Board backs contract that would keep police officers in high schools →

Logan Wroge: Protesters opposed to stationing police officers in Madison high schools shut down the Madison School Board meeting Monday evening, causing the board to delay a vote on the school district’s proposed $415.6 million operating budget for the current school year. A little more than an hour into public testimony, dozens of people advocating … Continue reading Protesters shut down Madison School Board meeting, delaying vote on budget →

Chris Rickert:: It seemed appropriate to look at the Madison School District first, given that on Tuesday, two Madison School Board members, Anna Moffit and Nicki Vander Meulen, took to Facebook in support of Johnson’s Fitchburg grievance. Invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that “history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this … Continue reading Commentary on Taxpayer Spending Priorities →

Karen Rivedal The Madison School Board’s narrow rejection of a proposed five-year contract for a public Montessori charter school on Monday isn’t deterring supporters and may not represent the end of the process around the proposal. Ali Muldrow, described in the proposed contract as one of the school’s seven founders, said Tuesday she isn’t giving … Continue reading Ongoing Status Quo Madison School Board Governance →

Karen Rivedal: Employees of the Madison School District will have one fewer health insurance provider to choose from, requiring just over 1,000 employees to find a new primary care doctor. But the estimated $3 million the district will save from dropping Unity, its highest-cost provider, will help bankroll increased compensation for the district’s roughly 4,000 … Continue reading Madison School Board OKs big change in employee health insurance options →

Amber Walker: At Monday’s Madison School Board meeting, the board passed a resolution affirming its commitment to students and families who are immigrants, refugees or undocumented. It was one of the first acts of service for the new School Board members, Kate Toews and Nicki Vander Meulen, who were sworn in at the beginning of … Continue reading Madison School District affirms commitment to undocumented students and families →

Chris Rickert: Instead, candidates are forced to choose which seat to run for, meaning that if there are two seats up for election and three candidates are interested in serving on the board, two of them end up vying for one seat and the third runs unopposed. This year, two people, incumbent Ed Hughes and … Continue reading Unfair Madison schools election system elicits yawn from liberal leaders →

Seat 6: Cris Carusi, Ali Muldrow and Kate Toews Seat 7: Matt Andrzejewski, Ed Hughes and Nicki Vander Meulen I’ve added links to the SIS home page as well. Please email updates, corrections and additions to zellmer@gmail.com Thank you.

Ed Hughes is a candidate for Seat 7. His opponents in the 21 February 2017 primary are Matt Andrzejewski and Nicki Vander Meulen. I am thankful that we have, once again after a rather long drought, competitive school board races. Ed’s website and email address: edhughes9@gmail.com.

Matt Andrzejewski is a candidate for Seat 7. Matt’s website and email address: mattandrzejewski@gmail.com His opponents in the 21 February 2017 primary are Ed Hughes and Nicki Vander Meulen.

Lisa Speckhard Several individuals have filed paperwork to run for the Madison School Board this spring, ending its members’ trend of running unopposed. During the last school board election, with three seats up for grabs, TJ Mertz, Dean Loumos and James Howard all ran unopposed. Including those three, six of the last seven board races … Continue reading Change: Madison School Board members will face challengers in 2017 →

Doug Erickson: Madison School Board members Ed Hughes and Michael Flores said Thursday they’ll run for re-election — Hughes for a fourth term, Flores for a second. Candidate filing for the seats began Thursday and ends Jan. 3. Terms are for three years. Hughes (Seat 7) and Flores (Seat 6) are the only members of … Continue reading A competitive Madison School Board Race? →