Baraboo schools losing strength

By Amanda N. Wegner

Two failed referendums in five months have left Baraboo students, teachers, education support professionals, school officials and parents battered and bruised as they desperately try to find ways to keep educational quality from slipping.

But some fear it may be a losing battle in the face of a school funding system that leaves them with declining resources amid increasing costs.

Plugging the dike
“I’ve likened the situation here to the little boy trying to put his fingers in the crack in the dike,” said Baraboo School District Administrator Lance Alwin.“On a large scale, there are so many underground currents weakening the educational capacity of our district, it scares me to no end.We think we have to see a draconian nightmare in front of us before we start to pay attention.”

Some of these underground currents are easy to see. Carpets are shoddy, desks are falling apart, and teachers continue to dig deeper in their own pockets for classroom supplies.At the elementary school, increased enrollment and fewer teachers means classrooms are at capacity.At the middleschool level, a computer technology class – a critical class for students’ future success – has been cut. Students involved in athletics and extracurricular activities are making more door-to-door stops through their neighborhoods asking for fund-raising dollars.

Some currents, however, are not so obvious.

Teachers at the forefront “The atmosphere here (since the last referendum) has been divisive,” said Kevin Vodak, president of the Baraboo School Board.“There’s an uncertainty that continues and that apprehensiveness is beating everyone down.”

“Folks here have gone through the ringer,” said Bill Froelich, a 4thgrade teacher at Willson Elementary School and president of the Baraboo Education Association (BEA), referring to his fellow teachers.“Baraboo has really taken the teachers to task.The community just doesn’t understand what the money is really about.”

Not helping the situation is the fact that Baraboo teachers have worked without a signed contract since June 2005, and in early October, an anti-referendum group in Baraboo called out individual teachers in the district, essentially citing them as bad teachers.

“It’s tough being a teacher in Baraboo right now. Morale at all levels is real low. … As teachers,we are hit pretty hard in the public view,” said Randy Ebright, a high school teacher and BEA’s head negotiator. He said about half of the nearly 220 educators in Baraboo have a master’s degree and have been teaching at least 15 years. These most senior teachers are feeling particularly “beat up” as the community questions teachers’ salary and benefit packages.

“The public (mistakenly) thinks our salaries are connected to the referendum,” Froelich said.

He said the teachers are willing to find common ground but that is difficult when no contract proposals have been made since December 2005.

“I’m not so sure how we’ll get through this,” Ebright said.

Not only are teachers trying to lift up one another personally, they have created a unified front to seek community understanding and support. For instance, Froelich said, the teachers are affixing stickers to their checks to show local merchants and businesses that they spend their hard-earned dollars in the community. “We are constantly needing to remind people that we ... are concerned taxpayers, too,” Froelich said.

Luckily – and despite their differences – School Board President Vodak is one of those people who recognize this.

“I know there’s dissension.We have our differences, but when push comes to shove, I stand behind our teachers any day,”Vodak said.“We are all getting attacked, and we have to find a common thread.”

The students know
When the district asked voters to approve a $7.5-million referendum in September, it wasn’t for pay raises ornew equipment. It was earmarked to maintain the district’s educational quality by providing students with needed facilities and resources.

In a memo to district staff the day after the latest referendum went down to defeat, Alwin wrote, “As disturbing as the result of this vote is to
us, we must commit to stay the journey on behalf of our children; our children are watching.”

Nothing could be more true as students are feeling the effects of the latest loss.

A senior at Baraboo High School, Student Council President Chris Herbst said he is thankful this is his last year of school; but he doesn’t like what the future holds for younger students.

“I have a little brother, and I’m really worried about him,” said Herbst, who organized a student rally to address school spending when Governor Jim Doyle came through Baraboo last spring.“We are trying to educate all the voters, that it’s not just money for some big expensive new swimming pool or something.This is for the students, so we can be active participants in the world and have the opportunities and experiences needed to do that.”

Having these experiences will grow increasingly difficult, said Herbst, who originally signed up for the Advanced Placement Comparative Government class this year, but because it was dropped in budget cuts is taking a study hall in its place.

Student Council members typically participate in conventions and other out-of-district activities, but with funding cuts, these events may be eliminated or individual students may be asked to foot the bill.“We aren’t a rich district. Asking some (Student Council) members to pay $30 to go to a convention is asking a lot,” Herbst said,“but that’s where we’re headed.”

Asking students to pay, Herbst said, has other implications.

“We’ve been fund-raising for all sports and activities, and the community is responding well,” Herbst said.“But they are going to get tired of it after a while. And then what do we do?”

In the community
Though Baraboo’s referenda woes are only six months old, the community is already feeling the impact … and that is expected to grow for years to come.

“There are some short-term effects, but most will be long-term and not be felt for another year or two down the road,” said Dr. Mark Paschen, a Baraboo native who currently has two sons in district schools.

In the short term, for instance, Paschen said, quality schools attract families to communities, and local real estate agents are already sharing stories of potential home buyers choosing other communities.

Parents are particularly concerned about what the future holds for Baraboo students. Technology took a major hit this year. Reading and assessment related to the federal No Child Left Behind Act requirements were major components of the failed referenda; reducing funding to these programs could set district students on a crash course that would reduce federal aid. Cuts to the summer school and after-school homework programs could result in more students falling behind academically. None of these outcomes are good for Baraboo, a community of almost 11,000.

“Personally, it is very embarrassing for me to talk to people from other districts about school programs and the lack of support we are getting from our community,” said Paschen, who serves as treasurer for the community’s pro-referendum group PASS, People Acting in Support of our Students. “Our schools were always a source of pride, and now I feel we are ‘just average.’ That is the point of comparison that many of the ‘no’ voters were satisfied with, just being average.”

“This issue has divided our community,” Paschen said.“Even going into the local coffee shop, there are people who will not speak with one another, due to differing views concerning the referendum subject.”

Making it work
These hostile feelings may subside in coming months, but the problems related to inadequate school funding won’t go away. Alwin and Vodak said the school board’s main concern right now is finalizing a contract with district educators. Once that is settled, the school board will decide the next course of action. Until then, educators will continue to do what’s best for those they serve: their students.

“I enjoy what I do,” Ebright said. “That’s why I come to work every day. The students are the reason we teach … that hasn’t changed. It’s not their fault the referenda didn’t pass and the school district is in financial straits.… We have to prepare them for when they leave here to help them succeed, and we have to do it any way possible.”

Posted November 1, 2006