Isthmus Take Home Test Week 1

Isthmus Take Home Test Week 2

Questionnaires

While this is not a contested election, interested organizations still develop questionnaires to ask about candidates' views on the issues. Here are questions asked by the League of Women Voters, the North Side News, and Madison Teachers Inc. (MTI), and Ed's responses.

If you have questions of your own, you can contact Ed by clicking here.

League of Women Voters

1. What professional, educational, occupational, civic and community experience have you had that you believe qualifies you for this office?

I am an attorney in the law firm of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP. I graduated from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago Law School. I have been involved with the parent group for East High for the past four years. I have served on the Boards of Big Oak Child Care Center and the Goodman Atwood Community Center. I have also served on the City of Madison's Economic Development Commission and Community Development Block Grant Commission, as well as Downtown Madison Inc.'s Economic Development Committee. For the past 19 years, one or both of our children have attended Madison schools.

2. If more money became available, what would be your top priority for spending on the schools?

After 14 years of budget-cutting attributable to the state's school financing formula, the notion of more money becoming available to the schools seems as unlikely as it would be welcome. I would favor devoting extra funds to postponing the need for additional cuts and, if possible, alleviating the impact of past cuts whose adverse effects have been most pronounced. If money were no object, my priority would be cost-effective strategies for providing all our students with the reading and writing skills they will need to succeed.

3. As a member of the School Board, how would you encourage schools in your district to increase energy conservation and use of energy efficiencies and renewables as a fuel source? How would you support the integration of these district efforts into the curriculum and into special projects to provide a continuing learning experience for students, staff, and the community?

The Madison school district's annual utility budget is currently almost $7 million. We should explore any opportunities for increased energy efficiency so we can lower that figure. MGE has installed solar photovoltaic cells at all of Madison's high schools and also provided educational materials on solar energy for students. I would work to expand this type of beneficial business partnership. While providing our students with more information about energy efficiency and renewables would be worthwhile, the development of specific curriculum is the responsibility of the administration and our classroom teachers. The School Board should stay focused on broader policy issues.


North Side News

QUESTION 1: Given that State funding reform is not likely anytime soon, what areas of the budget do you think need to be examined? When cuts are inevitable, the process pits program against program and school against school. What will be your approach to deciding what budget items to eliminate or trim?
ANSWER: Fortunately, it looks like the Board will have a reprieve this year from the necessity of significant budget cuts. Probably not so for next year - we may be looking at as much as a $10 million deficit. Rather than continuing to slash at our services, I'm inclined to support going to referendum next year to seek approval to exceed our spending caps so that we can maintain existing programs. We need to be pursuing efficiencies wherever we can, but I am pessimistic that there are $10 million in cuts that we could make and still provide the quality of education that our community expects. If we go to referendum and it fails, I don't know how I'll approach identifying the dramatic cuts that will be necessary.

QUESTION 2: You are likely to vote on the district's new equity policy, with the goal of assuring full access for all students to the same educational opportunities to succeed. High poverty schools may need more resources than comparable-sized schools elsewhere in the district. What is your level of support for revising the equity policy and your commitment to its implementation?
ANSWER: I am certainly committed to the goal of providing all students the same educational opportunities to succeed. I am hopeful that we will be able to move to an effective growth-based assessment model that will permit us to target our teaching efforts in a way that will pay the biggest dividends, even if that means that some schools receive more resources than others. I need to have a better understanding of the specific programmatic implications of the proposed equity policy before I can say how supportive of it I am.

QUESTION 3: The dynamic of the School Board changes every few years and there seems to be an increased effort on the part of members to work together. What will you bring to the Board that promotes cooperation and unites members on difficult issues?
ANSWER: It is critical for Board members to work together cooperatively and respectfully for all kinds of reasons. I have served on boards before and I think I can be effective in working toward consensus on most issues. I'm also used to working productively with people with whom I disagree on particular issues. I've also learned that issues are often not as clear-cut as they might first appear, so I'll try to remember that whatever position I'm advocating at any particular time may well turn out to be wrong.

Madison Teachers Inc.
1. The Madison Metropolitan School District held a referendum in June, 2003 to enable the MMSD to exceed the State's repressive revenue controls. Did you support the 2003 referendum?
Yes.

2. a. The School Board held three (3) referenda in Spring, 2005. Did you support the referendum to enable the School Board to continue the expenditure level for maintenance, as was approved in a referendum 5 years ago.
Yes.

b. Did you support the 2005 referendum to exceed the State's repressive revenue controls in 2005 for general operating expenses, including staffing levels (so that class sizes don't increase and to prove wage increases).
Yes.

c. Did you support the 2005 referendum to enable school construction to alleviate overcrowded schools?
Yes.

3. The Madison Metropolitan School District held a referendum in November, 2006. Did you support this referendum?
Yes.

4. If the School Board finds it necessary to change school boundaries due to enrollment, what criteria would you use as a Board member to make such a judgment?
Individual Board members generally lack the expertise or the access to resources to make sound determinations on changes to school boundaries on their own. The Board members are obligated to depend upon the work of the District in initial recommendations on school boundaries. At this point, I'm not sure to what extent to take into account the views of those who oppose proposed boundary changes, since it seems inevitable that any proposed changes will be opposed to some degree or another. I will have to learn over time what the appropriate weight to give to such comments might be. As a general matter, I think proposed boundary changes should, to the extent possible, maintain school demographic balances and minimize the extent to which families' legitimate expectations about the schools their children will attend are frustrated. .

5. If the School Board finds it necessary to close a school/schools due to economic reasons, what criteria would you use as a Board member to make such a judgment?
Closing a school has to be one of the very last alternatives when considering ways to deal with school funding shortfalls. I think it is unlikely that I could support closing a school unless we have gone to a referendum and it has failed. If we do come to the point where substantial budget cuts are required following a failed referendum, we will be facing a menu of nothing but bad choices, and closing particular schools will have to be a part of that consideration.

6. If the School Board finds it necessary, due to State-imposed revenue controls, to make further budget cuts to the 2007-08 budget, what criteria would you use as a Board member to make such a judgment?
Fortunately, it appears as if the District will not have to confront challenging budget cuts in the 2008-09 budget. The 2009-10 budget appears to be a different story. I think it is likely that we will have to go to referendum in order to forestall the necessity of truly harmful budget cuts for the 2009-10 years. If the referendum fails, then we'll be obligated to make very painful choices. My priorities would focus on preserving to the extent possible the critical resources devoted to in-class instruction, but there will be no way to avoid the reality that we would have to make cuts that would endanger the quality of the education that our schools provide and that most of our residents expect.

7. Identify specific MMSD programs and/or policies which you believe should be modified, re-prioritized, or eliminated, and explain why.
I have not had the opportunity to study all existing MMSD programs and/or policies. The changes that are under consideration to the District's charter school policy seem to be generally sound. I would like to see a different approach to summer school offerings. While it is certainly not a perfect solution, I think that summer school offerings provide an opportunity to enhance the educational opportunities we can provide to Madison students without being handcuffed by the restrictions that the state school funding framework imposes.

8. What should the District do to reduce violence/assure that proper discipline and safety (of the learning and working environment) is maintained in our schools?
One of the primary obligations of the District is to provide a safe and secure environment for students and teachers. We should have a uniform approach to discipline issues and all personnel in a school should be aligned on their discipline responsibilities. I am encouraged by the District's move toward a consistent above-the-line Kronenburg approach to discipline issues. I don't believe that there is a systemic discipline problem in the district, but I think that there may be issues in particular schools. Where that appears to be the case, the administration should move quickly to rectify the problem before lasting damage is done to the school's reputation in the community.

9. Do you believe that health insurance provided to District employees should be mutually selected through the collective bargaining process?
My understanding is that health insurance is a mandatory subject of bargaining. Under the state school financing system, the amount of the district's budget that will be devoted to District employees' salaries and benefits is largely fixed, with only a bit of room for negotiations at the margin. Given this relatively fixed total amount, I think that it is up to the school employees' bargaining representatives to determine in the first instance how that amount might best be allocated between salaries and benefits. On the other hand, the rising cost of health insurance is a constant challenge for nearly all employers. I hope that the district and representatives of the employees will be willing to consider new and innovative approaches to these difficult issues.

10. Explain any concerns/proposed solutions you have about the District's minority achievement efforts.
We have to keep working to identify effective strategies to help minority students who are falling short in academic achievement. I don't have the expertise to offer any innovative solutions, but it seems to make sense to continue to focus on the acquisition of literacy skills throughout the curriculum, with a particular emphasis in the early elementary years. I am hopeful that the District can move toward a growth-based assessment system that will enable us to track individual students' progress more accurately. An openness to innovative teaching strategies, coupled with as rigorous an assessment process as we can implement, should help us identify the teaching strategies that can be most effective with different kinds of learners. Small-sized classrooms in the early elementary years should certainly be preserved to the extent possible. I would like to see the expansion district-wide of the AVID program introduced this year at East which provides structured support to help students become among the first in their families to attend four-year colleges. We would also benefit from effective outreach strategies and community partnerships to encourage families who may not have had positive school experiences in the past to support their children's learning.

11. Explain your position regarding four-year-old and all-day kindergarten programs.
I certainly support all-day kindergarten. It seems as if there could be a number of educational benefits from four-year-old kindergarten and it is worth serious study to explore whether such a program could be implemented in our schools in light of the cost that the program would impose on the district over the first three years as state funding slowly ramped up.

12. Would you support the Early Learning Initiative, if it violated the MTI/MMSD Contract ban on contracting out?
I don't know what the Early Learning Initiative is. As a general rule, I am of course opposed to policies that violate contracts. If the question is directed at offering four-year-old kindergarten classes in non-traditional school settings by early education teachers who are not part of MTI's bargaining unit, I am not opposed to the idea in principle and would hope that the district and MTI could work together toward a positive resolution of the issue that respects each party's legitimate interests.

13. Should planning time for elementary teachers be increased? If yes, how could this be accomplished? (see contract provision attached.)
The referenced contract provision was not attached to the questionnaire, and so I don't know what it provides. In the abstract, increased planning time for elementary teachers would certainly be a good thing. In light of all the competing demands for our limited funds, I am not currently able to commit to supporting increasing expenditures in order to provide additional planning time

14. Given that the Wisconsin Association of School Boards rarely supports the interests of the Madison Metropolitan School District, do you support the District withdrawing from the WASB?
No.

15. From what sources do you believe that public school should be financed?
Public funding from all sources - state, federal and local. The state should certainly provide sufficient funds to cover the costs of state-imposed mandates.

16. Do you support class sizes of 15 or less for the primary grades?
In principle, sure.

17. Do you oppose:
a. The use of public funds (vouchers) to enable parent to pay tuition with tax payers' money for religious and private schools?
Yes.

b. The expansion of Charter schools within the Madison Metropolitan School District?
I think charter schools can be beneficial if they fill an identifiable educational need. Nuestro Mundo and Wright Middle School seem to be worthwhile and my sense is that they should be continued. In the abstract, I don't see a particular need to expand charter schools within the district further, but there may be worthy proposals that could be developed.

c. Senate Bill 377 which creates a charter school in Madison and Milwaukee under the direction of the University of Wisconsin system?
Current Senate Bill 377 pertains to renumbering the appropriation accounts for the Board for People with Developmental Disabilities. The bill to which the question refers was introduced in a past session of the legislature and did not become law. I have no view on it.

18. List MMSD staff and Board member(s) from whom you would seek advice.
I have already and will continue to seek advice from all the current School Board members. Similarly, I am open to suggestions and advice from any MMSD staff members. I know a number of teachers, and have always valued their views on school issues.

19. Is your candidacy being promoted by any organization?
No.

20. Have you ever been employed as a teacher?
No.

21. Do you support the inclusion model for including Title 1, EEN, and ESL students in the regular education classroom? Why/why not?
I do not have a particular disposition for or against the inclusion model. My impression is that it makes sense in many situations and does not make so much sense in others.

22. The Board of Education has moved from the development of policy to becoming involved in implementation of policy; i.e., matters usually reserved to administration. Some examples are when it:
a. Decided to hear parents' complaints about a teacher's tests and grading.
b. Decided to modify the administration's decision about how a State Statute should be implemented.
Do you believe that the Board should delegate to administration the implementation of policy which the Board has created and the implementation of State Statutes?
The Board should delegate to administration the implementation of policy which the Board has created, though that implementation is subject to Board oversight. I think it will be a challenge to develop a sense of the proper line between legitimate oversight and intrusive micromanagement. Assuming that a positive and open relationship between the Board and administration is properly nurtured, a recognition of the proper sphere of responsibility for each should develop naturally. I'm not sure what it means to talk about the implementation of State Statutes or how this should differ from the administration's implementation of a Board policy. Ultimately the responsibility for all the operations of the school district resides with the Board.

Do you believe that the Board should delegate to administration the implementation of State Statutes?
See answer above.

Would you support the Board exploring a means to make their meetings more efficient?
Sure, depending of course on the particular means proposed for enhancing efficiency.

23. Do/did/will your children attend private or parochial school during their K-12 years? If no, and if you have children, what schools have/will they attend(ed)?
No.
My children have attended Lapham, Marquette, O'Keeffe, and East.

24. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation to eliminate the revenue controls on public schools?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, I would be likely to support it.

25. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to oppose any legislation which would authorize a tax freeze and/or a taxpayer's bill of rights (TABOR)?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, I would be likely to support it.

26. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation to eliminate the Qualified Economic Offer which restricts free and open collective bargaining for teachers and would enable teacher wages to be established through negotiations between the parties?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, my support would depend on whether the proposal were a part of a comprehensive reform of the state school funding system. If it were, I would probably be inclined to support the proposal. If it were not, I would not be inclined to support it.

27. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation to prohibit the privatization of public schools via the use of tuition tax credits (vouchers) to pay tuition with taxpayers' money to private or religious schools?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, I would be likely to support it.

28. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation which will maintain or expand the benefit level of the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act?
No.

29. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation which will increase the retirement formula multiplier from 1.6% to 2% for teachers and general employees, i.e., equal that of protective employees?
No.

30. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation which will prohibit public employee residency requirements?
No.

31. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation which will eliminate and forbid restrictions to free and open collective bargaining for the selection of insurance for public employees (under Wis. Stat. 111.70), including the naming of the insurance carrier?
No.

32. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation which will guarantee free and open collective bargaining regarding the establishment of the school calendar/school year, including the right to begin the school year, via negotiations between MTI and the District?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. I am opposed to the legislature mandating school start dates.

33. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to request the introduction and promote the passage of legislation to forbid the work of employees organized under Wis. Stat. 111.70 (collective bargaining statute) to be subcontracted?
No.

34. Will you introduce and vote for a motion which would direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to seek the passage of legislation which will mandate full State funding of any State-mandated program?
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, I would be likely to support it.

35. Will you introduce and vote for a motion to direct the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to seek passage of legislation which will provide adequate State funding of public education.
I do not anticipate introducing any motions intended to provide legislative direction to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. If such a motion came before the Madison school board, I would be likely to support it.

36. Are you or any of your campaign committee members, active in or supportive of the "Get Real", "ACE", or "Vote for No Change" organizations?
No.

37. Name of Campaign Committee/Address/Phone #/Treasurer. List the members of your campaign committee.
Campaign Committee is "Ed Hughes for School Board." Address is 2226 Lakeland Avenue, Madison, 53704. Phone number is 241-4854. Treasurer is Jill Jokela. As I am running unopposed, I do not have a campaign committee.