One of my East River correspondents provides some impressions from the second meeting of the ad hoc Madison High School facility committee, a group of nine citizens convened by the Madison Central School Board to hash out a new plan for renovating the high school. I haven't heard anything about focusing on fixing the existing safety and structural problems in the high school and waiting on building new sports space. According to my correspondent, it sounds like a majority of the committee supports floating something very close to the new building plan that failed in February, luxury gym and all.
My correspondent says the Lake Area Improvement Corporation has promised to fund the next bond election effort. Whether the LAIC will actually contribute to the building of a new gym and other facilities themselves is unknown... but funding marketing over actual building might fit with previous failed LAIC strategies.
Ashley Kenneth Allen's name came up in the conversation. The committee apparently would like to recruit him to be part of the get-out-the-vote campaign for the next bond election. That would be a smart choice, as Allen is a passionate advocate of local education. However, I thought this was a facility commitee, not an election committee. I thought the nine members would be talking about actual building needs, not how to market the plan.
As I reported last week, business manager Mitchell Brooks says the school district does indeed have just four more years of debt to service on the new elementary school at $800K a year. Restructuring this debt would give the school significant room to fund high school renovations from capital outlay without imposing new taxes on the voters. That move wouldn't buy the entire $17 million plan defeated last winter, but it would replace a lot of lights, expand a lot of bathroom space, and create a lot of new classroom and bathroom space around the existing building footprint.
The MHS facility committee still has a few meetings left during which it could adopt some new, innovative renovation ideas that nearly everyone could agree are necessary for academics and safety in the high school. But the majority of the facility committee, driven by the board and administration and jock culture, appears to be stoking the same steam train, preparing to look through the voter rolls from February, and rolling the electoral dice again in hopes that the same yeas but fewer of the nays will show up to vote on a new, unnecessary gym with practical academic renovations tacked on.
Don't know who your source is that gets to hide in the warm glow of anonymity, (although I can guess) but they misled and/or lied to you. At no point did anyone say that the LAIC had promised anything to anybody. Might want to post a retraction on that.
We were at the meeting last night and listened to Matt state that the LAIC promised funding for an advertising campaign for the school renovation/gym. If we are incorrect, we apologize. However, this was stated and it was implied that there would be quite a bit of funds available for this from LAIC.
All of these bash the school posts take away from the fact that Madison has many great teachers doing an excellent job every day educating our youth.
[CAH: ... which is why the school administration might want to stop making bad decisions that deserve criticism and distract from the great work the teachers do.]
No Linda, that's not what I said. What I said was that I thought the LAIC would be open to helping. I might have even used the phrase "fairly sure". That is a far cry from a promise of "quite a bit of funds," another phrase I did not use. That might be a fine line, but it's a very important line. I had a great debate coach at MHS who taught me about those kind of distinctions.
We are all entitled to our own opinions Linda, such as the ones I expressed last night, we are not entitled to our own facts.
I don't think anybody here is bashing teachers or the disputing the fact that Madison has many great teachers doing an excellent job every day of educating students. This is a discussion regarding how best to address the needs of the district.
The next meeting of this committee will be next Wednesday at 6 PM in the middle school. I would encourage anyone interested in this issue to attend. Next week they will be reviewing the revised plan for the renovation/gym and cost adjustments per the engineering firm. Whether you are for this project or favor a different plan, residents of the district should attend these meetings and be informed. These are open to the public to listen.
To Linda's last post, I agree wholeheartedly. Cory get some facebook aps, we need a like button on here!
I had a chance to visit with one of the board members on the committee this morning. She made it sound like not much was accomplished last night. When asked if they were looking at options of dropping the gym from the proposal and raising the monies needed for the gym privately she acknowledged that yes that has been discussed however, it would be "impossible" to raise that amount before November. Sadly I must agree with her that, yes, with that attitude and lack of enthusiasm from the leaders of the project it will be impossible to raise any funds at all. Attitude is a state of mind and when an orginization or group is involved, it all starts at the top.
[CAH: James, is November a deadline for the school? Why that date? Does anything prevent moving forward with necessary renovations on the HS proper while starting a longer-term capital campaign to build a bigger gym a few years later?]
Hi Everyone,
I am glad that the committee is working on an new plan for the school. I personally want to see this renovation complete within 3 years. I think it would help improve our local economy (through higher foot traffic in Madison) and maybe even increase enrollment in our school system.
I do agree with some that the gym has been a polarizing issue. I fully supported the last plan, along with 50 % of the others that voted in the bond election, but the other 50% seemed to strongly disagree with the plans. Was this because of the taxes or the gym? Maybe if we can get the gym issue resolved, we can get to 60%. There will always be some out there that will always vote no, simply because they do not want to pay more taxes. So what can we do?
1. Look at other sources of funding and look at joint efforts with the City. Currently, the "3rd" penny sales tax is going almost exclusively to local economic efforts, like the LAIC. There is at least $250,000 a year that can be redirected to the school to help with a new Madison Events center.
2. Madison Events Center? Yes, a Madison Events Center where we have a large multi-use gym type facility that could seat 2500-3000 people for events, including non-sporting events like concerts. There should also be conference rooms and other options to bring it all together. If the city redirected the funds for this effort, that is $5,000,000 over 20 years that the city could contribute.
3. How does it benefit Madison? More SALES! This would increase sales tax revenues. Sports Tournaments, Concerts, Debate Contests, etc. etc. Fill up the local hotels and max out the line at the local Pizza Ranch and DQ. Bring people to town and they will spend money. We need to compete with Watertown, Brookings, and Mitchell for these large events. Do something BIG to bring traffic to Madison. Howard is trying, look at the Rural Learning Center they just built (a great private/public partnership)!
4. I agree with some in the community that we should look at a local sales tax and property tax option, but we need help from the City Commission to do something like that. The city's partnership with DSU to build the Community Center has been mostly a success and can be a model for how to build an Events Center in Madison.
5. Do not short change music, the arts, industrial and agricultural arts, family and consumer sciences, and technology. Give them the renovations they need and deserve.
6. Find efficient ways to cut cost in education through technology. Netbooks, Tablets, eBooks, reduction of paper in the classroom, use of online academies (like http://www.khanacademy.org/), etc. etc.
7. Remember that we are not just training children in Math and English, but we are preparing the future workforce and developing the next leaders of our country. We need well-rounded education. This requires a well-rounded facility to provide education. From classrooms, to music rooms, theater, library, and yes, a gym.
8. I am a believer that environments can inspire and motivate. Some called the last plan too "FANCY" and said that this building was not needed. I disagree. Make it nice and yes include a few "wow" things we can be proud of in the facility. Build it so it will last 50 years and don't cut costs by using cheap materials. Make it the "center" of our community.
Side Note: If the LAIC is willing to help fund local advertising this would be great. However, I would much rather see a significant commitment in funding the renovation project. We don't need your campaign funds, we need your money to actually build the school. I will contribute my own money to making signs. I will call people on my own phone. I will walk door to door and have a discussion with the people about why they need to support this. I will build a website, facebook page, and twitter account to spread the word for next to nothing. I will write letters to the editor. I will help with a grassroots campaign. We don't need a $100,000 campaign to get the school remodeled. We do need that $100,000 for some new accessible bathrooms.
Also - let's look for a large corporate sponsor. Brookings has the "Swiftel Events Center"... How about Madison builds the "Midcontinent Madison Events Center" and attaches it to the remodeled Madison High School? Now is the time to think outside the box and bring more partners and solutions to the table.
-Ashley Kenneth Allen
P.S. - I have told many board members I am happy to help in anyway possible. Hope to see you all next week.
What is the timeline on a possible vote?
Last time there was the uncertainty caused by budget cuts at the state level. Knowing how much is coming from Pierre might make easier passage of any proposed project.
No more recruiting votes at high school events. If it can't pass on its own merit, then it shouldn't pass.
Ashley has some very good ideas. I hope that these avenues are at least looked into before any final decisions are made.
As an educator for 32 years and a 1973 graduate of MHS I have to say that the Madison(Lake) Central School District has not spent much money on athletic facilities in the past 40 years. The district has no game football/track complex. No adequate size gym for volleyball/basketball. Where has all of that capital outlay revenue been spent the past 40 years? I'm sure Dakota State hasn't charged that much to rent/lease their athletic facilities. The middle school is a decent facility and the elementary school is a very good facility. If you compare Madison's facilities to other similar size school districts Madison comes up short. Madison has had some very good and dedicated teachers over the years who have been the districts saving grace. Somewhere in the past the ball has been dropped in the long-term facilities planning process. The district patrons need to find common ground and get the job done to improve educational and athletic facilities for the students. Without improvements, Madison will lose students to other districts.
But Tony, if we really haven't emphasized spending on sports in the past, is that really by itself a reason to spend more money on something that should be entirely secondary to spending on our primary academic mission? If we really haven't prioritized sports spending, then I say thank goodness. Let's preserve that status quo and keep pouring our money into books, classrooms, a theater, and good teachers.
And John, absolutely. If this committee must talk about how to sell whatever plan it recommends, then it must promote electoral openness and honesty.
Cory,
My biggest concern is where has all of the capital outlay revenue the district received the past 40 years if they are not spending it on facilities? The high school facility updates should have been done a long time ago. Facilities for band, music, fine arts, athletics have not been addressed adequately for decades. When you ignore educational facilities in a school district for that long you get a situation Madison is in right now. A big project with big bucks attached and right now capital facilities projects are a tough sell. And I agree that learning must be our #1 priority.
I don't know why I'm wondering this, but does anyone know when the old Lincoln School was built? I imagine it predates the High School, but I am just curious.
Cory,
I was hoping someone could answer that question for me also. Her exact quote was "It would be impossible to raise those kinds of funds before November anyhow" and that was the end of our conversation.
Does the committee think that the entire cost of this project will have to be raised thru fundraising and the same type of financing as last time? Or do they realize that there might be a different way to do this thru capital outlay? I'm just wondering because it seemed like at the meeting that the members feel they have no option but to proceed exactly as before with regard to financing. It would be nice if this project could be done in a way that would satisfy everyone - students, teachers, school board, administration, and taxpayers - and it merits consideration.
I question if the time spent in these meetings is being used to truly look at other options or mainly being spent on how best to re-package the deal to look more attractive to voters. As far as the LAIC using ANY funds at all to help with "promoting" a re-packaged deal...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????
Matt,
I believe lincoln was the last of the three elementary schools built--Garfield and Washington first and second. I'm certain the main part was built before WW 11 and the east addition sometime in the late 50's or 60's--only a guess!! I know it was there in 1968 during the bad winter. I left Orland(another school that MSB closed--humor!!!) to attend 6th grade at Lincoln.
Go to the meeting on Wednesday at 6 pm at the Madison Middle School if you have any concerns. Get involved. If you just sit on the sidelines and do nothing, then you shouldn't complain later on.
Listening to reports of last weeks meeting, by people who were not there to hear it, is like being in an Orwell novel.
"All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and re-inscribed exactly as often as was necessary."
Every member of the committee has received minutes of the first two meetings. They were compiled by Ryan Hegg. I have found them to be extensive and accurate. Whether they are available to the public--I don't know. Two Madison tax payers and the Madison Daily Leader reporter were at the second meeting. The conversation has so far been very free flowing and I think open. The agenda for each meeting I assumed has been written by Ryan Hegg or Supt. Schaeffer. At the next meeting, the architect will give a break down on the project room by room --program by program. Tentatively there has been some changes put into play through scale backs or minor changes. All of this has been suggested as the architect has had some visits and recommendations from the staff at MHS. One of my strong suggestions prior to the vote last winter and again at the first meeting was to retain the existing gym(whether the new gym is built or not)so as to maintain the maximum amount of practice space for all th sports team at all levels(in essence try to eliminate the need for 6 AM practices). The committee was reminded by Principal Knowlton that a gym in the middle of a school is out of sync with today's HS education and that the arrangement presents a security risk for the managment of the school. Suggesting a fine arts wing to the west as i have suggested in the past doesn't have much traction if the present gym is eliminated. The consideration of an events centers to host all events-sports or otherwise-college and high school would be a good idea as mr. Allen suggests. But time, money, and cooperation doesn't seem to be there. As a side issue and at times we need to think better and wiser--the city of madison in cooperation with leroy twp. perhaps could investigate the possibility of a "thru street"--NW 14th? to run from hwy 81 to Washington Ave. With all of the MHS and college activities, it deserves merit. 9th street traffic is a tragedy waiting to happen.
A separate committee of the MSB has proposed that 50% or $800,000 be used annually for debt service. With information presented by Mitch Brooks last Wednesday, that $800,000 could service the debt obligation of a project with a price tag of $10 million for 20 years. The crucial question for the committee and eventually for the board will be --do we go beyond $10 million? If so, how much? Do we raise private funds for the balance? Do we use a bond issue? Do we use a combination? Keep in mind anything beyond funds from capital outlay or private money will most likely necessitate a bond issue which will require a 60% vote majority.
I have taken much liberty here to share my views and perspective of the committee so far. Most of you know, that is my nature. I also care about education but i care about how education serves students more. No amount of brick and mortar will surpass the the need for first class educators who are truly well paid, respected, and encouraged(don't forget pushed and motivated also). My priority is that money gets spent in that (arena of play) before brick and mortar. Supt. Schaeffer at the last meeting suggested that I have talked to Rutland official(and that i should again)about the busing issue since last week I did post comment here at madville on the busing issue. The only conversation I have had with Mr. Frahenwald is when he called me to discuss my BEEF proposal. I don't know who is on the Rutland board and would not recognize the list if given to me. My point is this--students come first, that citizens can and should at times be willing to speak out. Finally elected officials should realize that criticism will come their way often if they are doing their job. I think most do and welcome input. Let's keep that way. Thanks.
Charlie... you are a smart man. Maybe it is time we elected some people that are willing to compromise, cooperate, and demonstrate a clear vision for the future.
I do not understand how the City can partner with DSU, but not with MHS. (Talking about the Community Center) This could be done with small increase in property taxes, assistance from current city sales tax funds, restructuring current School District obligations, raising private funds (let's do a brick drive or a Miracle MHS day) and partnering with DSU. The City, School District, and DSU have much to gain from a large multi-use Events Center and a remodeled MHS/MMS.
We need to get the right plan in place and the town will rally behind it. (Well, hopefully 60% of us.)
Over 15 years ago, many in our community had a vision for our future Community Center. It faced STRONG opposition. But after years of work, it was funded and built. We have benefited greatly from this building. Here is a short history of the Community Center. This is an example of how we came together to do something great in this town. (Even though the sales tax change only passed by 52 votes).
History of the Community Center
In July 1994, a group of interested citizens made an attempt to build a Community Center in Madison. The attempt to extend a second-penny municipal sales tax for at least ten years to finance the facility was defeated at the ballot box.
In October, 1994, the MAPP 2000 Steering Committee conducted a survey of the citizens of Madison. The results showed a growing interest in a health/wellness facility as it came in third on a list of needs of the community. Only the lack of housing and economic development ranked higher on the list.
Two years later, in 1996, a new group was formed to study the feasibility of building a Community Center. A subcommittee of the MAP 2000 Committee led this effort. Results showed a great demand and high level of interest. In response to the positive results of the feasibility study, the MAP 2000 Committee took steps to move the construction of a Community Center forward.
People interested in helping to promote the project were encouraged to volunteer their time; seventy-five people volunteered. The objective of the committee was “to facilitate the design, financing and construction of a facility that will meet the needs for recreation, wellness and social activities.†These 75 volunteers were split into five subcommittees --- governance, building, public relations, finance, and fund raising. The entire group met the first Wednesday of every month for over a year to plan for and implement every aspect of the building and operations --- fund raising, promotional programs, governance, building design, financing, budget, approval of the second-penny sales tax, etc.
During the fall and winter of 1996, many activities took place. The community center group conducted and encouraged tours of similar facilities in Milbank, Watertown, Yankton, Spearfish, Sturgis, Belle Fouche and Sioux Falls. An Architect, DLR Group from Omaha, was hired and began the project design. Financial scenarios and the conceptual framework for the partnership between the city and DSU were developed. In the spring, summer and fall of 1997, DSU held a Student Leadership Summit to gain support from the student body.
The facility was unique in that the City of Madison and Dakota State University agreed to share in the construction cost and in the use of the facility on a 60/40% share, respectively. This progressive-thinking attitude allowed both the City and Dakota State University to build a facility that neither could have built alone. Dr. Jerry Tunheim, President of DSU, and Mark Lee, Vice President of Administrative and University Advancement, led these efforts to gain approval from the Board of Regents and the South Dakota Legislature and Mayor Royce Hueners led the effort to gain approval by the City Commission.
There were many reasons why this type of facility was needed in the Madison area.
They included:
There is no indoor pool in the area.
A wellness facility could help attract new business to the area.
The facility would provide alternative activities for our youth.
There is growing interest in health and wellness by all age groups.
It would allow the city and university to expand intramural and city recreation programs.
It would enhance Dakota State University’s recruiting opportunities.
It would enhance Dakota State University’s recreation major and class offerings.
Participants of the group agreed, after a number of public meetings, that the facility should include three gym spaces, two racquet ball courts, an open lounge area, a multi-purpose room, a youth center, an aerobics and fitness area, a walking track, locker rooms, family locker rooms, athletic locker rooms, pool, office space, a reception and vending area and storage and mechanical rooms.
Approval was given on November 1997 by the Madison City Commission whose members included Mayor Royce Hueners, Commissioner Myron Lee, Commissioner John Eisenbeis, Commissioner Ron Moe, and Commissioner George Lee. The SD Board of Regents voted to proceed with the project on December 1997. The citizens of Madison voted in November 1997 to pass the second-penny sales tax to help finance the construction. The vote passed by only 52 votes. Legislative approval was received in March 1998. Collection of the second-penny sales tax started in July 1998 and construction began in July 1999.
Prostrollo’s All-American Auto Mall coordinated major fund-raising efforts for the facility. An added benefit to the community was the formation of the Madison Community Foundation. The dollars contributed to this foundation will be used to assist needy families with membership fee, to fund major maintenance, repair, or additions to the facility. In addition, the foundation dollars can be used for various other community projects as defined by the donors.
The Community Center officially opened its doors for business on October 2nd, 2000.