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Monthly Archives: April 2009

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50 of 14296 is a Small, Small Fraction

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One reads that about 50 people attended each of the WUSD administrator forums. The population of our district is more than the number in the City of Whitewater (14,296). The fraction is even smaller, then, than the one my proportion suggests.

No sensible person could consider this a respectable community turnout, and less so when one reads that the paltry number includes those on the school board. How could they not be there?

Funnier still is the idea that if “20 more dropped by later in the evening,” that’s perhaps to anyone’s credit.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: April 2, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

The Wisconsin Historical Society notes an anniversary of political progress, marking a date in 1963, in nearby Rock County — Rock County’s First Female Assembly Member

On this date Carolyn Blanchard of Edgerton won an election to fill the state Assembly seat left open by the death of her husband, David. In doing so, she became the first woman from Rock County to serve in the Wisconsin Assembly. Blanchard’s election increased the number of women serving in the Assembly to two. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

School District

On the School Administrator Candidates: Websites, &c.

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Here are a few additional links and comments on the search for a new WUSD Administrator. 

First, thanks very much to all those who’ve written, or spoken to me, about yesterday’s posts on the WUSD search, public forums, and candidate receptions.  I get a good bit of mail, but I cannot often tell beforehand which posts will spark correspondence.  The public forums yesterday and today, and particularly my remarks on the venue, led to lots of correspondence.  Thanks, Whitewater.  My pleasure, I’m quite sure.   

Some have asked, today, about the April 1st post on yesterday’s reception, not at FREE WHITEWATER, but another local website.  I’ll answer your general question about those photos — although I cannot be sure, I do not think either the photos or commentary at that other site are meant to be April 1st teasing.  I think they’re meant to be serious, actually.  The lack of any irony — that’s a place where irony dare not tread — is noticeable. 

It’s a perspective much in keeping with this town’s past, but — as you well know — often derided outside of a small circle.  

Some additional links, not found on the WUSD website — of the candidates’ current districts — 

The Round Lake School District, at which Dr. Dennis Pauli is employed, and the Isaac School District, at which Dr. Suzanne Zentner is employed.   

Then, an endorsement from the editorial board of the Daily Herald, of school board candidates, and mentioning the financial status, of the Round Lake School District, “Support incumbents in Round Lake Area District 116.” 

From that editorial, some remarks on the condition of Round Lake School District 116:

Round Lake Area Unit District 116 is on the comeback trail. Taken over by the state in 2002 after it almost collapsed under $14 million in short-term loans, District 116 could be the first such district ever to earn its way back to local control after the 2009-2010 school year.

School board incumbents have worked hard with schools CEO Ben Martindale to make that happen and have built their own skills through programs offered by the Illinois Association of School Boards.

They deserve to be re-elected to help District 116 face its next set of challenges….

I’ll leave it to others to consider what all this means; I offer no suggestion that any of the problems the Illinois district has faced are the responsibility of Dr. Pauli.  On the contrary, in fact, based on his current area of responsibility. 

I have a different point to make here — information on the status of the Round Lake School District 116 has not been widely reported locally.  Has its condition had an impact on teaching, curriculum, etc., and what lesson might we learn from this, in Whitewater? 

Neither of these candidates is chief administrator of his or her district — Dr. Suzanne Zentner serves as associate superintendent of teaching and learning for the Isaac School District, and Dr. Dennis Pauli is assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Round Lake Area Schools District 116. 

What they’ve done recently will always matter more than a tie to Whitewater, or Wisconsin, generally.  That once, thirty-two years ago, one of the candidates ate a brat, or drew a lovely picture of a badger, is just too funny. 

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: April 1, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

It’s a busy day today in Whitewater, with a greater number of public meetings than yesterday. I’ll set out the schedule, as I’ve learned it. All meetings on the agenda, with one exception, take place at the Municipal Building, 312 W. Whitewater Street.

Beginning at 9 a.m., in the City Manager’s Conference Room, City Manager Kevin Brunner offers a sixty-minute seminar entitled, “It Takes a Vision: Running a City through Committees, Commissions, Task Forces, Ad Hoc Groups, Surveys, and Long-Range Studies.” Brunner will talk about solving problems challenges through words alone, with special emphasis on quotations in a weekly report, and use of PowerPoint presentations to convey a sense of achievement.

Later, at 10:30 a.m., with no particular stopping point, Council member Dr. Roy Nosek will speak to law-abiding, mature, serious, good people from across Whitewater on the topic, “Persuasion through Sensitivity.” Reportedly returned after an extended visit to an ashram in Oregon, Nosek will explain his new-found desire to speak softly, and pleasingly, to all people, as we’re all part of one circle of life. Particularly, Nosek will remark on his respect for the contemporary college experience, love of students, and need to just, well, reach out and show you care.

At noon, Council member and would-be town historian, Marilyn Kienbaum, will address residents of this unique community on the topic, “Remember when …. Reflections on the Whitewater origins of the Cotton Gin, Electric Lightbulb, and Horseless Carriage.” For those interested, Kienbaum will explain the origins of the term “Smart Growth,” one she personally coined, along with tips for how she drafted 17 Smart Growth plans, the Marshall plan, and Plan 9 from Outer Space, all on one side of a cocktail napkin.

At 2 p.m., Whitewater Police Chief Jim Coan will show slides, from his carrousel slide projector, of his recent (and self-funded) trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. Entitled, “My Highly Special Excellent Adventures in Policing,” Coan’s slides will provide never-before seen glimpses of Las Vegas. For a mere $5.00 per attendee, Coan will offer reproduced and autographed photographs of himself sitting in the audience of Siegfried & Roy’s ‘Masters of the Impossible‘ show, from the Bellagio.

Finally, at 3 p.m., from an undisclosed location, blogger John Adams, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney, will speak on the topic, “Damn-it, It’s Hard to be Misunderstood,” “Clarity in Writing: How We’ve Tried to Make Our Meaning Plain.” Both will recount their life-long struggles to write, and say, what they really mean, without ambiguity. Cheney and Adams will offer attendees a card with 10 easy-to-remember steps for feeling confident about expressing themselves.