Tag Archives: Franklin Public Schools

No Jeff Traylor but Deb Larson and Melissa Klein Run Again for School Board

Leave a reply

Under state elections law, candidates who do not intend to run for the office they currently represent are required to file a Notification of Noncandidacy no later than 5 p.m. on the second  Friday before the filing deadline for nomination papers and other ballot access documents.  This year the second Friday was December 21, 2012.  If the incumbent failed to file the Notification of Noncandidacy by December 21, 2012, and did not file ballot access documents to run for their current seat, the filing deadline is extended 72 hours for any other candidate for the office under extension, except for the candidate. One of incumbent Board of Education  officeholders did not file, that person was none other than Jeff Traylor.

Board of Education candidates were required to submit their paperwork by 5pm Wednesday January 2, 2013. Since Jeff Traylor did not file his Notification of Noncandidacy at all, persons wishing to file candidacy for the BOA office can now do so until Monday January 7th at 5pm.  Under the law, neither Traylor or any other incumbent can file from this point on. That would include David Works or Judith Bialk. Only new candidates for the office can still file.

Currently incumbents Debby (it’s not fair I am not board president) Larson and Melissa (I love to spend your money) Klein have filed papers for candidacy along with new comer Alan Aleksandrowitz. That would make it a shoe in for the two incumbents without a need for any campaign.

Here is the email I received from Meghan Dade, our district’s Communications Coordinator for FPS after I inquired about an extension posted on the FPS website:

From: Dade, Meghan [mailto:Meghan.Dade@Franklin.k12.wi.us]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 2:17 PM
To: MAERSCH, BRYAN
Subject: RE: Board of Education Election 

 Mr. Maersch, 

As of the filing deadline at 5:00 PM yesterday, the following have submitted papers for the April School Board Election:

  • Alan Aleksandrowicz
  • Melissa Klein 
  • Debbie Larson 

The third incumbent, Mr. Jeff Traylor, did not file papers and did not complete a Declaration of Non-Candidacy by the deadline in December, and as such we are required to extend the deadline for other candidates to file papers. The deadline is now extended until Monday, January 7th at 5:00 PM.

 Thank you,

 Meghan Dade

Meghan Dade

Communications Coordinator, Franklin Public School District

8255 West Forest Hill Avenue  Franklin, WI 53132

Meghan.Dade@Franklin.k12.wi.us

From: Bryan Maersch
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 1:59 PM
To: Dade, Meghan
Subject: Board of Education Election

Meghan,

I saw on the Franklin Public School web page that submission of election papers are open now until January 7th at 5pm. I am assuming this is because one of the incumbents did not turn in their intention of Non-candidacy paperwork and State Election laws require a 72 extension.

School Board Election: Deadline Extended to January 7th       

NOTICE OF DEADLINE EXTENSION

JANUARY 3, 2013

The deadline for filing ballot access documents for the office of School Board Member has been extended 72 hours to 5:00PM on Monday, January 7th.

Can you tell me (as of last night):

  1. Who the incumbent was that did not turn in their Non-Candidacy paperwork.
  2. Who did file paperwork for the Board of Education spring election.

 Thank You,

 Bryan P. Maersch

Franklin, WI 53132

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

In Case You Do Not Receive E-Mail Blasts

Leave a reply

In Case You Do Not Receive E-Mail Blasts from the Franklin Public Schools this one was sent today. With the tragic shooting of innocents that happened at Sandy Hook, I felt it was important enough to share.

From: AlertNow Message from Franklin Public SD [mailto:noreply@alertnow.com]
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 3:00 PM
To: Franklin Parents
Subject: A School Safety Message for Parents

 

December 17, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians of Franklin Public School Children,

The incidents of last Friday in Newtown, Connecticut have touched us all and have certainly heightened the awareness for you, as parents, as well as for our school district when it comes to student safety. Student safety is paramount both for you as parents/guardians and for the entire Franklin Public School District staff. We believe we have a safe environment for our students and staff to come to each day.

The Franklin Public School District has and will continue to review and evaluate the safety conditions in our schools on an annual basis, and with the events of last week we will immediately begin evaluating our current practices to determine improved safety measures we may need to implement.

We currently lock the exterior doors to our buildings and will now give even greater attention to our main entrance procedures at all district buildings. The Franklin Public School District has lockdown and evacuation procedures in place and these situations are practiced and reviewed frequently.

In addition to reviewing safety measures in our district, I want to assure you that in dealing with these kinds of tragedies we make any and all resources available to assist students if they need it. For your personal reference, a resource that may be of value to you is that of the National Association of School Psychologists at www.nasponline.org. A helpful article is “Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers” at the following link: http://www.nasponline.org/resources/talkingviolence.pdf.

As we move forward to address this issue, I want to again assure you that student safety is our number one concern.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steve Patz
Superintendent
Franklin Public Schools

 

 

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

Threat Closes Franklin High on Friday March 30th

Leave a reply

It’s not an early April Fools joke when Franklin High Principal Mike Cady sends out an alert that school officials are closing down the High School for the day.

The following message was sent to all FHS parents via E-mail and voice alerts around 5:30 am this morning:

From: AlertNow Message from Franklin High School [mailto:noreply@alertnow.com]
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2012 5:30 AM
To: Undisclosed Recipient
Subject: FHS Closed on Friday 

Good morning,

Franklin High School will be closed on Friday as we investigate a threatening message left in a bathroom stall at school.  The message was discovered late Thursday night and we are working in coordination with the police department to ensure the security and safety of the building.  Additional communication will be sent out later in the day on Friday to update our families on the status of this situation.  As always, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.

Principal Mike Cady

As a reminder to whoever left the message read this.
UPDATE:

From: AlertNow Message from Franklin High School [mailto:noreply@alertnow.com]
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2012 2:25 PM
To: Undisclosed Recipient
Subject: Update on school closing

Good afternoon FHS Parents and Students:

As previously reported, late last evening our custodial staff found a bomb threat written on a stall in a boys bathroom.  We made the decision to close school and work with the police to sweep the building to ensure safety.  The entire building has been thoroughly searched and swept by the Milwaukee County Sheriff K9 Unit and nothing of concern was found.  All school activities may continue as normal and students may access the school as of 3:00 p.m. today.  On Monday, there will be heightened security and all students should be prepared to have their bags searched upon entering the building so an earlier than normal arrival is advisable.  Doors will open at 6:45 a.m. at the Main and Fish Pond entrances only.  The investigation into this threat continues and anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the FHS administration or the Franklin Police Department.

We thank that FHS staff as well as the Franklin Police and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department for the excellent work today.

Sincerely,

Mike Cady

Principal

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

Don Petre – Candidate for Board of Education – If you Spend – They will Come!

Leave a reply

The Franklin Public Schools Board of Education forum that was held on Tuesday night March 27th was an eye opening revelation to those that attended. Candidates were cautioned not to attack one another as Petre had done to Janet Evans another Candidate previously at a Franklin Teachers union forum, but were asked to provide information to allow the public to know what each candidate stood for.

It came as no surprise that WEAC union officer and candidate, Don Petre has an agenda if he is elected to the Franklin Public Schools Board of Education. That is to leave a legacy of spending and more spending especially for facilities. He believes this is the only way to attract more people to come to Franklin is to have the best learning facilities. As he implies in the following video, he equates quality education to improving the FPS District facilities.

 But you decide after you watch his answer:

 

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

Mark Belling makes a fool out of Franklin Public Schools Superintendent Steve Patz

Leave a reply

This afternoon, on Mark Bellings radio talk show, Belling made a fool of Franklin Public School Superintendent Steve Patz. Patz came off like a buffoon playing dumb to questions Belling asked about the accused Franklin High School 17 year old pipe bomb and weapons builder, Alex Matecki. Steve Patz told Belling that “There is no reason to take disciplinary action against this student!” Patz denied at first, that he did not even know the name of the the accused student commenting “I don’t run the High School” and  “Oh yah, I read something about that in a story!”  As the Superintendent of Franklin Public Schools, wouldn’t you assume Steve Patz would know who this student is and would have had Franklin High School Principal Mike Cady inform parents of the situation before this, considering this happened March 1st?

Mark Belling Hour 2 Pt. 1 – 3/12/12 – Steve Patz bad decisions on Student Safety

Below is the e-mail Franklin High School parents received today:

March 12, 2012

 

Dear FHS Parents and Students:

I am writing to provide background on an incident in the community involving one of our students that was a topic of discussion on Milwaukee talk radio this afternoon.

As reported on the radio, I can confirm that according to police reports, a FHS student was one of two individuals arrested on March 1st following a traffic stop and a subsequent search of his residence reportedly revealed possession of controlled substances, possession of weapons and a “pipe bomb.” As a school administration we have been in communication with the Franklin PD on this issue and we have implemented reasonable precautionary steps including:

• Temporary removal of the student from the general environment while we completed our own investigation

• Regular and random searches of the student, his belongings and locker

• Increased supervision and restrictions

Our school investigation, combined with the police investigation, have not revealed any connection between the alleged conduct in the community and the school. There have not been any threats of any kind toward the school, our students or our staff. Without any related school conduct the authority of the district is limited in terms of further restriction or disciplinary action. The student in question has been, and continues to be completely cooperative with the precautionary steps outlined above.

The safety of our students is extremely important to us and I assure you that we take this situation seriously and will continue to take all appropriate and reasonable steps to ensure school security.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mike Cady – Principal

Read about these memorable stories from the recent past when Franklin High School was evacuated after finding an empty shell casing from a 22 caliber bullet:

 And now this 0n 12/13/12 from FranklinNOW and Candy Romano:

 

 

 

 

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

School Board Election 2012 – Off and Running

1 Reply

The final day to submit your name and forms to run for Franklin Public Schools – Board of Education was January 3rd. Due to the fact that there are six people running for the two slots currently held by Janet Evans and Judith Bialk, there will be a primary to bring those numbers down on February 21, 2012.

In the running are:

Judith A. Bialk
9309 South Sherwood Drive
Franklin, WI 53132
Janet M. Evans
4415 West Hilltop Lane
Franklin, WI 53132
Donald Petre
8050 South 85th Street
Franklin, WI 53132
Aimee R. Schlueter
9303 Briarwood Drive
Franklin, WI 53132
John P. Thompson
4102 Hilltop Court
Franklin, WI 53132
David A. Works
7965 Legend Creek Court
Franklin, WI 53132
You may remember Franklin Parents and Voters rejected David Works during last years election by quite a large margin in favor of Tim Nielson and Linda Witkowski.

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

The Inevitable School Building Referendum

Leave a reply

One of the main reasons I  attended the Franklin Public Schools – Board of Education meeting on November 30th was to listen to the report by the architects that the school system chose to move along building plans for FPS. I had intented to complete this earlier but with pne kid in college and the other in High School, the holidays, ect., it just had to wait until now.

The speaker was Kitt Dailey, Public Information Specialist for Eppstein Uhen, one of  Milwaukee’s largest architectural firms. According to Kitt, her firm is very experienced at working with school systems and the referendums required to get schools built.

I found it fascinating that Eppstein Uhen will be providing not only the architectural plans, but costs and materials for the Franklin Public School district to push forward a plan for a building referendum. They will be working with the district to present plans, set up community meetings until the School Board members feel they have a proposal that could be presented to the electorate for a referendum as soon as the November Presidential elections.

Kitt presented a time line goal as follows:

  • February – March 2012 – Get community feedback via two public meetings held at the Middle School and the High School. These would be similar to those held last year where those in attendance would go table to table and express their view.
  • April 2012 - Would bring us another community survey which would present the options being considered and they could gather more specific feedback on those options.
  • By June 2012 - The board would possibly have a better sense of what the community wants and determine whether a November 2012 referendum should move forward.

Kitt further expanded on the plan that if the Board feels in June that the community is NOT ready for a referendum then they would go back to adjust and refine their plan.

Ms.  Dailey said and I quote ” Be Prepared for what you hear and respond to it accordingly.”

Here is the three part video of that presentation.

 

Part 2



Part 3


 

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare

Nielson IN – Works OUT on Franklin School Board!

Leave a reply

Several of the Aldermen and the Mayor have said over and over again that they are not responsible for Franklin’s higher taxes. Instead they have implied that it is the Franklin School Boards fault for not keeping spending in line with the economic downfall since 2008.

Now with two seats for the School Board race Franklin residents can influence who will make those important decisions over the next three years.

In 2008, I endorse David Works and Ed Holpfer, believing that they both had the capability to use their business background as School Board Members and help keep our children’s education a strong one while knowing how to spend our tax dollars wisely. Linda Witkowski was my third choice at the time in that election. When Works and Witkowski were elected I was confident that we had two reasonable representatives that would work for our children and stand up to the administration when they sought to spend beyond their means.

The question then becomes have Works and Witkowski done what they promised to do three years ago? One did and one did not.

David Works, does not know how to say NO to Dr. Steve Patz, to Jim Milzer (Director of Business Services) or anyone in the Franklin Public School administration. If he works in business the way he works on the board, his business would be on the edge of bankruptcy. He is a good compliant and spineless board member who virtually always votes to spend, spend and spend some more if told to do it by the administration. Some have compared him to the bobble heads you get for free at the brewers games.

Linda Witkowski, and Board Member Janet Evans, have attempted over and over again to get Dr. Patz and other members of the administration to explain to the ELECTED officials of the board what they try to push through with a rubber stamp from all the other members. They are working for you, the people who elected them. Both are mothers with children who have been through the Franklin Public Schools and care about getting the best educational bang for our buck. They have been the only ones to question the extravagant spending during the worst economic times we have faced and expect their answers to be addressed by the administration instead of being ignored.

This is why David Works must be replaced with newcomer Tim Nielson. Tim is a concerned parent with a great business background (as described in my blog posting about him), and brings an actual spine to the table if he’s on the School Board.

Soon we will be able to replace other Rubber Stamp members such as Melissa Klein who many of the Robinwood Parents were ready to recall during the Reinke incident along with Judith Bialk who from my observations has no clue what she is doing on the board in the first place.

So when all of us Parents and Taxpayers in the Franklin School District go to the polls, please strongly consider casting your votes for LINDA WITKOWSKI and TIM NIELSON.

Pictured:  INVOLVEMENT for The Children
 
 
 
 

Thanks to Franklin Public School Website - Picture by FPS - Evans, Larson and Witkowski

More involvement and time spent in the community

 

Picture by FPS - Evans, Larson and Witkowski

Blogger PostGoogle+Google BookmarksYahoo BookmarksShare