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Randolph Superintendent Responds to SAA Flexibility Alert
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 13, 2020
Check out the appeal from Randolph Superintendent Ty Breitlow. Great job, Ty!
Randolph School District is returning to school this fall in-person. A feat that I am proud to offer our community. Our Administrative Team feels great about our plan and the health and safety measures we have in place. However, as I look to how the future and the impact that will certainly befall all districts in the state, I ask that you please read and support my concerns and suggestions to help schools successfully operate to the best of our ability this year. Moreover, I ask that you demand your party’s leadership to hold an emergency session to move these items forward; as you are well aware, time is of the essence. My concerns and suggestions are as follows:
1. Broad Flexibility in Teacher and Professional Staff Licensure
Our District, and those throughout Wisconsin, anticipate facing unprecedented challenges in hiring teachers and professional staff to meet student needs for the 2020-21 school year. Our District needs the flexibility to leverage existing licensed teachers to teach outside of their existing licenses. Licensed paraprofessional staff will also be needed to deliver content instruction in cooperation with licensed teachers. Moreover, it may very well be true that our District may also need to deploy teachers with substitute-only licenses.
2. Retired Teachers/Staff Returning to Work
We need flexibility to rehire retired teachers and staff for critical full-time, part-time, virtual, and substitute teaching positions. A solution I would suggest recommending to your fellow legislators is temporarily allowing annuitants to return to WRS-covered school employment without limits on hours or suspension of annuities. Additionally, I suggest reducing the “break-in-service” requirement to 15 days.
3. Pupil Counts – September, January, and Summer School
Actual student counts on the third Friday in September, the second Friday in January, and summer school have a significant impact on determining our school district’s general aid distribution and revenue limit, a formula our district relies heavily upon. Because of COVID-19, these actual student counts may appear to decrease, leaving school districts to face the financial consequences for 2020-21 and beyond. Randolph School District should not suffer financially because of the uncertainties of a public health crisis. As a solution for the 2020-21 school year, I suggest allowing school districts to use their 2019-20 pupil counts or their actual 2020-21 counts (whichever is larger) in determining general aid and revenue limits.
4. Transportation Aid
School districts are required to report to DPI the number of pupils for whom transportation is provided. The actual student counts, upon which district transportation aid is based, may decrease due to COVID-19, even though student health and safety concerns could drive substantial increases in pupil transportation costs. I would suggest allowing districts to use their 2019-20 student counts for 2020-21 to prevent a significant loss of transportation aid for school districts.
5. Immunity from Civil Liability for Schools
Clearly, the stated policy of our state and federal governments is for schools to fully open in the fall of 2020. As I mentioned, we have made good-faith efforts to open our school effectively and as safely as we can. Our District should not be subjected to costly litigation stemming from COVID-19 related death, injury, or damages. Wisconsin should indemnify school districts and provide district employees with immunity from civil liability for these issues.
6. Student Assessments
Please support suspending student assessment requirements for the 2020-21 school year. Administering assessments can create COVID-19 related health and safety challenges for students and educators. Furthermore, teachers need to focus on overcoming the loss of instruction and addressing the social and emotional needs of children. They need time to build relationships with students and move instruction forward based on individual student needs. In the current environment especially, these student-centered objectives are much more important than taking time to prepare for standardized tests.
7. School and School District Performance Reports
Given the tremendous uncertainty and potential for instructional disruption surrounding COVID-19 and the 2020-21 school year, I question this report’s value to parents and to the larger community this year. Please support suspending the school report card for 2020-21.
8. Open Enrollment Space Determination
Considering COVID-19 and the need for school districts to socially distance students in classrooms as well as support those learning virtually, our district needs the flexibility to reset our available space for non-resident students to open enroll into the district in 2020-21.
9. Long-Term Capital Improvement Trust Fund (Fund 46) Flexibility
Given the significant unbudgeted expenditures that were required, outside of CARES Act funding, for our District to reopen this fall as effectively and safely as possible, we need temporary flexibility for 2020-21 in how and when we use the funds deposited in LT-CAP. Randolph has financially managed its LT-CAP, such that these funds could be utilized to support our reopening plan and cannot wait until 2022 per the statute.
With school starting on September 1, we need action and we need it now! Can I count on your support for these suggestions and provide the needed flexibility our District must have to operate safely and effectively?
In either case, thank you in advance for reading this correspondence and for any consideration you give to my request. The Randolph School District Administrative Team would be happy to discuss specifics about each item with you personally. If you are interested in visiting our school for a tour and/or a follow-up discussion, please let me know. Again, thank you.
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