Don't feel bad about the spelling rocksolid. I lost a third grade spelling bee by misspelling "educated." OUCH

I assumed as much, my memory isn't perfect either.

billnewbie: I didn't think of it. I should have. Because I get tons of agendas and documents in the mail, I seldom refer to other sources. Sorry.
Bill Sodemann

bookprincess:
Thank you for that information. I wonder, did you notice that the weekly report hasn't been updated in 2 weeks and that the monthly report available is from July? I hope they update these reports more judiciously during the school year.
Too bad the Gazette didn't direct us to that in its story. It's true that information is available from other sources, but many residents do tend to rely on their newspaper to provide such information. I wonder why Mr. Sodemann didn't direct my attention to that superintendent’s report as well?

NVgrf: You found my goof! That is the second time this week that I made the same mistake! I did the same thing when I put the agenda together for a Studer Group steering committee meeting last Monday. I am embarassed! You probably won't believe this, but I was the spelling champ in 7th grade! It was drilled into my head that a school "principal" is supposed to be your "pal", so that is how it is be spelled rather than "principle". One of these days I won't forget that rule, until then, go ahead and dock my pay.
Thanks for catching the error.
Bill Sodemann

Billnewbie: You stated you were concerned about a meeting where the agenda was not open to the public. In this case the agenda was available to the public - it was published in the Superintendent's Weekly Report which has a link on the home page of the School District of Janesville website. Please remember that not all of the information the School District makes available is written about in the Gazette and those who truly want to learn about a topic can look elsewhere for more information.

rocksolid....Be careful about mixing up principals with principles. I have found that some have, and some don't.

Well I'm sure glad I read about this...life changing it was.

To Irishbychoice and myperfect: yes the teachers, board members etc, need to work together. Yes they don't have to spell out every detail with crazy secretarial work. I just want the main topics, decisions, and agendas layed out and in some cases approved by parents, voters etc (when reasonably applicable). I know that in past times, some major changes and decisions have been made without ever involving all the teachers, parents, and community. It happens and is always too late and in the books, by the time someone can contest it.
And if it did help ONE student without any harm to others, then great. Sometimes I feel as though the MANY are being left out for the one or few, and this seems to be the trend of thinking at every level. We're so hung up on helping that ONE, we forget about the masses.

billnewbie: Good questions. The open meeting law applies to entities such as the School Board that sets policies and budgets etc. When the principals, assistant principles, directors, coordinators and other administrators meet, it is to carry out the policies that were set forth by the School Board. These groups and sub groups have many meetings throughout the year. For instance, the elementary principles get together to share ideas ideas with one another about what is working well or not working so well in their schools. I am glad that they do so. These meetings are not "posted" but I imagine that someone could attend, if they really wanted to, unless the discussion would violate privacy rights of an invidual.

Now, if 5 School Board members happen to be at a social event, they have to be careful not to discuss "business" or they could be accused of forming what is known as a "walking quorum" and be in violation of the open meetings law because they would be having a meeting that was not publicly "posted".

I hope that I adequately explained the difference between a bunch of administrators having a meeting versus an elected body that sets policy and has the power to tax etc.

I appreciate your interest and the good questions that were raised.

Sincerely,
Bill Sodemann

Mr. Sodemann, it's difficult to approve of meetings the agenda of which are unknown, the location of which is 75 miles away and when the attendee list in not released. Many of the objections listed herein would be muted if these meetings were held in the open, in a nearby location with the participants identified. Other than that you attended, none of that information is readily available.
Public institutions such as public school systems should conduct their business in the open no matter how laudable the purpose of such meetings. After all, isn't that the spirit of the open meetings law?

NEWS FLASH: Studer, a well known nudist formerly of Janesville, is donating his company’s services to the district to see if his management theories and nudist processes can work wonders in schools, as they have done in the health-care sector, so the entire affair didn’t cost taxpayers a penny.. ............................................JUST KIDDING PEOPLE! I'm just try to lighten things up.

Holy Batcave! Comments are supposed to be on the story, not to whine about other people's opinions. I've got to try to remember that one myself. ;-)

Wow...whole lot of people woke up in Crankyville with the foolish misconception that sarcastic whining might equate to insightful posts.

Successful businesses meet off-site frequently. It takes the participants away from ringing phones, answering emails when they should be listening and other distractions so as to allow them to concentrate on the goals established for the meeting.

Having the meeting in a fun or interesting location helps the whole team building process and promotes comaraderie.

Every company I've worked for has held at least quarterly "Team Building" events. They DO help you realize there are other people and things to consider outside your immediate area.

To those whining about the use of the term "secret", as RockSolid said, "Get a grip." Headlines and lead sentences are meant to entice you to read more...and it did. Mission accomplished.

If this routine meeting helps even ONE kid in any way then it's completely worth the 0.00 dollars that Janesville taxpayers spent. They were still getting work done. At that meeting it was probably even more efficient because there weren't all the email, voicemail, and drop-in distractions they have to deal with everyday.
I'm sure to the Studer group and to the Discovery World Museum who donated the room it would be worth every cent of their money, too.

And, who exactly will prepare all the "Cliff's notes" and agenda of every staff meeting in the school district? Sounds like we'll need a dozen or more new clerical staff to meticulously record each and every idea and opinion presented whenever two or more people meet.

What exactly is "strange" about this meeting and others like it? That all the administrators in the district do planning and training together? You DON'T want our administrators talking to one another? This is an unusual event because during the school year, these people are running their buildings and programs and don't have a whole day to schedule together. Do you want them to all operate independently of one another and not share common goals and procedures? How do you think this happens, by osmosis?

4th grade kindergarden, that's what opinon writers get sent to when their fingers can't keep up with their brains.
Obviously, I meant 4 year old kindergarden. Now I'll go stand in the corner for an hour with a dunce hat on.

Spelling..."thereafter" oops

Okay....they want to discuss ways to improve? "most companies do this sort of thing"?, am I missing something? Tax-payed or not...all school related topics must always be right out there on the sleeve. These people are not a private operation. Regardless of intent and tradition. All meetings should be open record and cliff-noted, with all ajenda exposed to the public and parents. It is applicable what I'm saying, because they are coming together as an offical group with planning, and making decisions therefter. I doubt anything constructive and helpful to the school district (students) comes from these strange meetings. Sounds like alot of nothing. When something positive and realistic is posted I will comment in a positive manner-only then.

I'd beg to differ with you on that one.

I don't see anything wrong with the event ... except, I think the reporter (Frank Schultz) should have gone along and enjoyed the good food. Reporters are rarely paid what they are worth.

The complaining is absolutely, positively, ridiculous. The tax payers did not pay for the meeting. Work was done. Move on.

Most companies do this sort of thing. Sometimes to "think outside of the box" you need to be outside of the box. Thanks Mr. Studer!

rocksolid...thank you for you commentary and explanations, not only on this particular story but on previous ones also...it's appreciated.

bilnewbie: I certainly appreciate your comments and concern for the budget. If you review my voting record, I think you would find that I share your same concens. This meeting was not about the budget however.

I assume that you approve of having meetings to plan for the school year and discuss ways to improve the school district etc. The attendees were either salaried or volunteers, like me. In this case, I do not see how the claim can be made that this leadership seminar in any way cost the taxpayers a dime. The salaries are paid whether they meet in Janesville or elsewhere. In fact, you could make the claim that by having it held elsewhere, we received more hours of work from the administrators than we would have received otherwise when you factor in the discussions that took place on the bus etc.

I didn't mean to sound "snide" about the prohibiting smiles comment. I was taken aback by the comment that criticized any fun that anyone had. Thanks for sharing.

Sincerely,
Bill Sodemann

Bill could offer to tutor.

Holy Cow, Billnewbie is right as always, Janesville is REALLY in trouble if now they are offering "4th Grade Kindergarten"!

From my understanding this type of gathering is held every year. It has been held at different venues in the city in the past. Probably when the expense was meet with district funds. This year they had a group (Studer Group) that was willing and wanting to help defray the expense. Yes their was still an amount that came from the taxpayers (the wages) but no matter where the meeting was held the wages would still be a given. Nice response Mr. Soderman. Regarding the next meeting please go easy on those that laughted and smiled and had fun. Heaven forbid people have fun at work or at yearly meetings.

What most of these comments have brought to light has nothing to do with our schools / administration, but rather that our water department should go into emergency mode to find out what the hell is in the water these commenters have been drinking.

What did you expect Mr. Sodemann?
These are school district employees, not private sector employees. The buses may have been free, the venue free, the food free but the salaries paid are school district revenue taxed from school district residents, not revenue earned by a private concern. The key issues discussed concerned a great many people who were not privy to the discussions. Issues such as how much money will be spent and how that money will be spent as well as who may lose a job to stay within budget. Some of us who live in the district may feel that a few of the administrators at that meeting should be first in line to go but I doubt that any volunteered for unemployment at that meeting.
Our local economy is on shaky ground. Our unemployment is high and expected to grow. Our school board and administration has put forth a projected budget that increases the property tax levy by over 8.5% and then asked the administration to find a way to cut $1 million to reduce the levy increase to a little less than 6% in what appears to be an attempt to find “good” reasons to go for the full increase while looking like they were really trying to “cut” the budget but just couldn’t do it, all while adding new programs such as 4th grade kindergarten and expanded foreign languages which, while they are defendable goals, only increase costs and expand payroll.
This community needs fiscal responsibility and an increase in the quality of the basic programs the schools already have, paring the esoteric programs. When the school district turns out graduates that have all mastered the basics, then it will be a “Great” school district
A snide remark about cracking smiles is no way to instill faith in your leadership.

So they should have called it paid training and not have it in the paper, then we all would not have an issue

you'r wages we pay for???

but it was paid for with tax money.

What the Gazette online needs is a rating system for the comments like Digg.com that way when more people agree with someones comments it gets moved up if more people disagree it moves down and gets buried. It would be interesting to see if all these negative people would get buried or that is the way this community is.

I see nothing wrong with this a little team building and a little fun in the workplace is not a bad thing. even better if it is not paid for by taxpayers money.

Get a grip people!

The "secret" location was not for the purpose of hiding anything from anybody! It was a fun enticer for the participants. The admin. team along with myself, another board member, a parent and at least 3 teachers (2 who were on the negotiating team) were at this meeting.

The board approved on a 9-0 vote to accept the generosity of Quint Studer to try and make Janesville a GREAT school district. This meeting was an important part of the grant and paid for by the Studer Group, who had 3 of their "coaches" at the meeting.

The comment about the "administrators" getting all of the attention is ridiculous. In fact, the biggest items on the agenda involved how to better serve and listen to the staff and teachers, which are key elements of the "Studer" process.

Before you call "Dateline" you might want to know that this was the Janesville School District, not the City Council, and if you want to investigate me, go ahead, my name is Bill Sodemann and I was proud to be a part of the leadership seminar yesterday even though I had to take a day off of work to go.

I must confess that I did witness people laughing during dinner and having a good time. I will be sure to address this at the next board meeting to pass a resolution that prohibits anyone from ever cracking a smile!

etown you most have for got it is called work not play time,

Geez. You guys can find anything to complain about.

The meeting would have happened anyways. So, they had some fun with it...what's the harm? They could either sit around a conference room in Janesville or one in Milwaukee. It didn't cost anymore, so I don't see the problem.

Happier employees are better employees, anyways. It's a shame nobody understands that anymore.

the tax's payer's still had to pay for this crap,what a joke all the members were still being paid on tax's payer's money So how about we all get the same treatment and go some were on this person's money and have a day of talking on how we can make thing's better in the school's

And for the record, it certainly was a "bit of fun" in addition to a day of work. Don't any of you ever have fun with your coworkers? If not, please don't knock people who enjoy an opportunity to socialize with their colleagues (and not on the taxpayer's dime).

There were no cocktails in the meeting room, just a bunch of laptops and planning and coffee. Breakfast, lunch and dinner (and transportation) were provided by Mr. Studer because he supports the district's efforts to implement his improvement strategies.
*
The bus was air-conditioned, with TVs that played DVDs. No attendant, no latte machine, no satellite TV.
*
This was just a nice day to get away from the office and focus on planning for the future. The city of Janesville is lucky to have a sponsor like Mr. Studer who values education, and a school board and administration willing to make difficult changes on behalf of students.

Just to be clear, the word "secret" was used by the district administration. We simply repeated it. The reason it was secret, I believe, was to add a bit of mystery and fun to the annual get-together. To be perfectly frank, I used "secret" in the story to add a bit of fun to the newspaper. I'm sure that if I had asked, Superintendent Evert would have invited me along. But I didn't think Gazette readers would want me to spend an entire day reporting on a bunch of administrators sitting around tables or oooh-ing at the great view from Discovery World. --Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

It is pretty obvious that the Gazzette puts articles, with healines like this one, on the website knowing it will generate some discussion. Not complaining, just stating the obvious. This is really a non-story with a sensational headline.

All of these "administrators" are paid with tax payer dollars. Unless they all donated their time it was'nt free. As far as the secret location goes, if they were'nt busy trying to figure out ways to stick it to the tax payers, they would'nt need to meet in secret.

Thanks saywhat. You are correct. The reasoning behind secrecy and being off site is no email, no interruptions, and no cell phones/blackberry's. This results in 100% focus on the topic of the meeting. It's done routinely.

Retreats and team building events are common place in education and the business worlds. Since it didn't cost us a dime, why complain?

Reporting on this type of thing is what scares good people away from the public sector.

Of course - any money given for training, etc., is always spent on the Administrators. What about the staff that deal DIRECTLY with the students?? Oh yes, I forgot, they're not as important to the district!

This is just odd.. I wonder what the real story is here?

What exactly is the purpose for meeting in a secret location? Seems so silly!!

If I ran things in the insane manner they do, I'd meet in a secret location, too....