Madison Metropolitan School District, Wisconsin

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Madison Metropolitan School District
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Madison, Wisconsin
District details
Superintendent: Joe Gothard
# of school board members: 7
Website: Link

Madison Metropolitan School District is a school district in Wisconsin.

Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...

Superintendent

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 		This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Dr. Joe Gothard is the superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District. He was appointed superintendent on February 26, 2024. Gothard's previous career experience includes serving as superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools for seven years, as superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District for four years, as a high school biology teacher, an educational assistant, a football coach, a principal, dean of students, and as assistant superintendent for secondary schools in MMSD.[1]

Past superintendents

  • Lisa Kvistad was the interim superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District from 2023 to 2024.[2]
  • Dr. Carlton D. Jenkins was the superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District from July 10, 2020, until July 2023. Dr. Jenkins received his B.S. in health and physical education from Mississippi Valley State University and both a Ph.D. in philosophy and an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a former MMSD employee and previously served as the superintendent of the Robbinsdale School District in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. [3]
  • Jane Belmore was the interim superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District from 2019 to 2020. Belmore was appointed on June 21, 2019. Belmore's previous career experience included working in the district as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent.[4]
  • Jennifer Cheatham was the superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District from 2013 to 2019.[4] Cheatham's previous career experience included working as an administrator in the San Diego Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools, a teacher, and a chief area officer.[5][6][7]

School board

The Madison Metropolitan Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. Elections are held at large, but each member is elected to a specific seat that represents a specific group of schools.[8]

Governing majority

To read about the governing majority on the Madison Metropolitan School District school board between 2014 and 2018, click "[Show more]" below.

Show more

2017-2018

Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education, 2017-2018
Mary Burke
Kate Toews
James Howard
Nicki Vander Meulen
Dean Luomos
TJ Mertz
Anna Moffit

The Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education voted unanimously on 69.57 percent of its votes between April 24, 2017, and October 30, 2017. The board approved 44 out of 46 of its motions during this time period, excluding roll call, adjournment, and procedural votes. These votes were counted from special and regularly scheduled sessions and exclude committee meetings.[9]

Nicki Vander Meulen and TJ Mertz each cast eight dissenting votes during this period, more than any other member. On six of these occasions, Meulen and Mertz dissented together, comprising a minority faction on the board.[9]

Absences

Between April 24, 2017, and October 30, 2017, no board members missed votes.[9]

Issues

District procedures accounted for the highest percentage of issues the board voted on between April 24, 2017, and October 30, 2017, accounting for 45.7 percent of all votes tracked. See the bar chart below for further details.

April 2015-March 2016

Madison Metropolitan Board of Education, 2015-2016
Mary Burke
Michael Flores
James Howard
Ed Hughes
Dean Luomos
TJ Mertz
Anna Moffit

The Madison Metropolitan Board of Education voted unanimously on 78.49 percent of its votes between April 27, 2015, and March 28, 2016. This percentage represented a 23.49 percent increase from the previous time period measured. The board approved 95 percent of its motions during this time period, excluding roll call and adjournment votes. These votes were counted from special and regularly scheduled sessions, and exclude committee meetings.

  • When the board did not vote unanimously:
    • Similarly to the previous time period measured, Mertz composed a majority of the votes dissenting from the rest of the board. He cast a total of 15 "no" votes. The next-highest amount of these votes cast was by Moffitt, who cast nine.
    • Mertz and Moffitt cast dissenting votes together a total of 10 times.
    • The rest of the board tended to cast the same types of votes.

The voting data indicated that Mertz and Moffitt composed a minority faction on the board during this time period. The table to the right shows the composition of the board during the time period measured. (Note: A bolded name indicates the board member was newly-elected.)[10]

April 2014-March 2015

Madison Metropolitan Board of Education, 2014-2015
Mary Burke
Michael Flores
James Howard
Ed Hughes
Dean Luomos
TJ Mertz
Arlene Silveira

The Madison Metropolitan Board of Education voted unanimously on 55 percent of its votes between April 28, 2014, and March 23, 2015. The board approved 98 percent of its motions during this time period, excluding roll call and adjournment votes. These votes were counted from special and regularly scheduled sessions, and exclude committee meetings.

  • When the board did not vote unanimously:
    • Mertz cast the largest amount of "no" votes (six), and recused himself from three votes.
    • Howard and Hughes voted together on two separate votes, both times voting against the motion.
    • Flores, Luomos, and Silveira voted together most often (13 times), with Hughes and Howard casting votes along with them 12 times.
The voting data indicated that Mertz was the dissenting faction on the board, with the rest of the members tending to vote differently than he did. The table to the left shows the composition of the board during the time period measured.[10]

Elections

See also: Madison Metropolitan School District, Wisconsin, elections

Elections of the Madison Metropolitan Board of Education are held every year in April. Primaries, if necessary, are held in February. Elections are staggered so that two or three seats are up for election each year.

Three seats on the board were up for general election on April 1, 2025. A primary was scheduled for February 18, 2025, but it was canceled due to lack of opposition. The filing deadline for this election was January 7, 2025.

Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.


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Public participation in board meetings

The Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[11]


District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[12]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $32,046,000 $1,225 6%
Local: $369,777,000 $14,140 74%
State: $96,055,000 $3,673 19%
Total: $497,878,000 $19,039
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $452,943,000 $17,320
Total Current Expenditures: $400,749,000 $15,324
Instructional Expenditures: $232,097,000 $8,875 51%
Student and Staff Support: $62,924,000 $2,406 14%
Administration: $52,108,000 $1,992 12%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $53,620,000 $2,050 12%
Total Capital Outlay: $20,129,000 $769
Construction: $8,364,000 $319
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $14,034,000 $536
Interest on Debt: $1,994,000 $76


Teacher salaries

The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.

Year Minimum Maximum
2024-2025[13] $50,661 $124,087
2022-2023[14] $48,656 $119,178
2020-2021[15] $40,773 $110,277

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[16]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 35 46 6 11 <50 32 53
2018-2019 39 43 10 19 20-29 36 62
2017-2018 39 45 10 19 <=20 37 62
2016-2017 37 45 9 17 20-29 35 59
2015-2016 37 48 8 16 20-29 32 58
2014-2015 37 48 9 16 11-19 33 58
2013-2014 45 59 17 23 30-34 67
2012-2013 45 59 16 24 35-39 66
2011-2012 44 57 16 25 35-39 66
2010-2011 71 80 44 58 65-69 88

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 40 44 10 16 <50 36 61
2018-2019 37 36 11 17 30-39 33 61
2017-2018 39 39 11 17 21-39 37 62
2016-2017 39 43 11 18 21-39 35 61
2015-2016 38 41 10 18 20-29 34 59
2014-2015 45 50 16 25 20-29 41 69
2013-2014 37 43 13 16 35-39 59
2012-2013 36 41 12 15 35-39 57
2011-2012 36 39 12 15 30-34 56
2010-2011 77 81 57 63 70-74 92

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 84 90-94 67 81 >=50 80-84 93
2018-2019 82 90-94 66 76 PS 75-79 91
2017-2018 82 85-89 66 81 PS 75-79 88
2016-2017 83 85-89 73 77 >=50 65-69 91
2015-2016 78 80-84 59 70-74 >=50 75-79 89
2014-2015 80 85-89 58 65-69 >=50 70-74 91
2013-2014 79 85-89 59 70-74 60-79 91
2012-2013 77 85-89 59 65-69 60-79 87
2011-2012 75 80-84 55 60-64 60-79 87
2010-2011 74 85-89 53 55-59 60-79 84


Students

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 25,237 -1.0
2021-2022 25,497 -2.6
2020-2021 26,151 -2.6
2019-2020 26,842 -0.3
2018-2019 26,917 -0.2
2017-2018 26,968 -0.1
2016-2017 26,999 -0.4
2015-2016 27,112 -0.6
2014-2015 27,274 0.3
2013-2014 27,185 0.3
2012-2013 27,112 1.1
2011-2012 26,817 7.5
2010-2011 24,806 0.7
2009-2010 24,628 0.5
2008-2009 24,496 -0.7
2007-2008 24,670 -0.3
2006-2007 24,755 1.2
2005-2006 24,452 -1.8
2004-2005 24,894 -0.1
2003-2004 24,913 -0.2
2002-2003 24,966 0.3
2001-2002 24,893 -0.8
2000-2001 25,087 0.6
1999-2000 24,943 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Madison Metropolitan School District (%) Wisconsin K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3 1.0
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 7.6 4.2
Black 18.1 8.7
Hispanic 24.0 13.6
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 9.5 5.1
White 40.0 67.2

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Madison Metropolitan School District had 2,064.21 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 12.23.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 99.50
Kindergarten: 102.00
Elementary: 876.02
Secondary: 937.64
Total: 2,064.21

Madison Metropolitan School District employed 13.00 district administrators and 84.20 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 13.00
District Administrative Support: 111.46
School Administrators: 84.20
School Administrative Support: 89.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 317.37
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 33.40
Total Guidance Counselors: 43.85
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 40.85
Librarians/Media Specialists: 40.50
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 413.65
Other Support Services: 793.76


Schools

The Madison Metropolitan School District operates 54 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
4k Pk Off Site615PK-PK
Allis Elementary384PK-5
Badger Rock Middle926-8
Black Hawk Middle3576-8
Capital High1399-12
Cesar Chavez Elementary607PK-5
Cherokee Heights Middle5536-8
Crestwood Elementary272PK-5
Dr Virginia Henderson Elementary School479PK-5
East High1,6499-12
Elvehjem Elementary418PK-5
Emerson Elementary351PK-5
Franklin Elementary297PK-2
Gompers Elementary227PK-5
Hamilton Middle7256-8
Hawthorne Elementary307PK-5
Huegel Elementary434PK-5
Innovative & Alternative Middle06-8
Innovative High1329-12
James Wright Middle2566-8
Jefferson Middle4156-8
Kennedy Elementary524PK-5
Lafollette High1,4829-12
Lake View Elementary267KG-5
Lapham Elementary205PK-2
Leopold Elementary624PK-5
Lincoln Elementary374PK-5
Lindbergh Elementary180PK-5
Lowell Elementary334PK-5
Marquette Elementary1493-5
Mendota Elementary308PK-5
Metro School194-12
Midvale Elementary373PK-2
Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary School430PK-5
Muir Elementary403PK-5
Nuestro Mundo284KG-5
O'Keeffe Middle4526-8
Olson Elementary442PK-5
Orchard Ridge Elementary255PK-5
Randall Elementary School3113-5
Sandburg Elementary392PK-5
Schenk Elementary390KG-5
Sennett Middle6236-8
Shabazz-City High1219-12
Sherman Middle4016-8
Shorewood Hills Elementary381PK-5
Spring Harbor Middle2636-8
Stephens Elementary493PK-5
Thoreau Elementary415PK-5
Toki Middle5786-8
Van Hise Elementary431KG-5
Vel Phillips Memorial High2,0259-12
West High2,1479-12
Whitehorse Middle4526-8

Noteworthy events

2017: District introduces Pathways program

The Madison Metropolitan district implemented an educational restructuring in the form of a Pathways program beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. The program was set up to offer personalized pathways to students, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Between 120 and 150 freshmen at each of the district's high schools were given the option to participate in a health services pathway in the fall of 2017. The district planned to make the program mandatory for all its high school students by the 2022-2023 school year, at which point the district planned to allow students to choose from four to six pathways.[17]

The program would have five components, according to the Wisconsin State Journal:

“
  • Small learning clusters that create family-like structures;
  • Rigorous and linked courses;
  • Academic and career planning;
  • Support tailored to a student’s needs;
  • Real-world learning opportunities through community partnerships.[17][18]
 ”

Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said she wanted to create an environment that helped each student to develop a post-high school plan. “This is new, and it’s incredibly important if every child is to be successful,” Cheatham said. “We want students to be in the driver’s seat, to set their own goals for after high school and to do it in a systematic way.”[17]

Cheatham said that the program also addressed issues that had been brought up at community forums and in student focus groups, such as achievement gaps and high school dropouts. “Students and families said they could not see the relevancy of the coursework,” she said. “Students were going from one class to the next in a disconnected way. And because of this lack of relevancy, they were not making it to the finish line.”[17]

Some district parents voiced concerns about the program, saying it could diminish the wide range of elective options available to students. “I think if you have a 91 percent graduation rate (like at West), then there’s probably a better way to help the other 9 percent than reorganizing the entire high school,” Michelle Mouton, a district parent, said. Mouton was also concerned that “pushing pathways so hard and so rapidly” put the district in danger of losing skilled teachers, limited the educational scope of the curriculum offered, and risked losing parent support.[17]

2016: District's $26 million referendum is approved by voters

The Madison Metropolitan Board of Education voted unanimously at their meeting on August 29, 2016, to put a $26 million bond referendum on the ballot for November 8, 2016. Voters approved the bond with a 74% majority vote.[19][20][21]

The bond raised the revenue limit by $26 million over the course of four years. The limit went up by $5 million during the 2016-2017 school year, an additional $5 million in the 2017-2018 school year, $8 million in the 2018-2019 school year, and $8 million during the 2019-2020 school year. Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said that the district considered this because it had not received enough state funding. “The state has not followed through on supporting students, staff and families,” said Cheatham. “We’re looking at six years of underfunding public schooling in the state of Wisconsin.”[20]

2015: Superintendent releases statement opposing state budget amendments

In a statement published on May 29, 2015, Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said she was worried about an independent charter school amendment that was approved by the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee. The amendment sought to allow the University of Wisconsin System, along with other university and county systems, to authorize independent charter schools in the Madison school district and in the Milwaukee school district. Cheatham said this amendment was an alarming sign that the Wisconsin State Legislature was not going to prioritize public education over private schools or politics.[22][23]

Former Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers

Cheatham, along with then-Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, worried the amendment would cause more financial strain for school districts at the local level as they would have to share funding with new independent charter schools on top of having some of their funds diverted to the state voucher program. They both also found fault in giving so much power over schools to an unelected body of individuals.[22][23]

State Sen. Alberta Darling (R) defended the Joint Finance Committee's decision to add the amendment. "For those districts that have schools that are struggling, charters offer a way to say to the community: This isn't working for us. We have a better idea to run a school," said Darling.[23]

According to Cheatham, the Madison Metropolitan School District was trying to make progress for all of its students, but "at every step of the way, the legislature puts more barriers in our way and makes our jobs more difficult."[22]

The amendment for additional charter school authorizers, along with the rest of the two-year Wisconsin state budget, was passed by the Wisconsin State Legislature in July 2015 and signed by Gov. Scott Walker (R) on July 12, 2015. Four entities were given power to create independent charter schools, including the University of Wisconsin system.[24]

2015: Students protest Tony Robinson shooting with school district's blessing

High school students in Madison marching along E. Washington Ave. with a "Black Lives Matter" banner following the death of Tony Robinson.

More than 1,500 students chanted “Justice for Tony” as they left their schools on March 9, 2015, to protest the shooting of Tony Robinson, an unarmed biracial 19-year-old, by a Madison police officer. Middle school, high school, and college students converged on the City-County Building to demand a meeting with the city's mayor Paul Soglin and Police Chief Mike Koval.[25]

Madison Metropolitan School District officials allowed students to attend the rally with parental permission. They also asked community leaders to join the students to help ensure their safety and provided seven buses to take students back to school after the rally. Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham also attended the rally.[25]

“In general, we thought it was important that if students chose to demonstrate, that we ensure they are safe and provide positive adult presence to support our students as they express their concerns, grief and questions,” said district spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson.[25]

According to police, Robinson assaulted police officer Matt Kenny on March 6, 2015. The two were inside a second-story apartment, and Kenny received minor injuries before fatally shooting Robinson. Kenny had been following a call about an assault, including someone who was “yelling and jumping in front of cars.”[25]

Hundreds of students again walked out of school on April 14, 2015, as part of the National Day of Action. They took to the streets shouting "No justice! No peace! No racist police!" They were protesting officer-involved shootings across the country, including the death of Tony Robinson.[26]

The Madison Metropolitan School District issued a statement regarding the students' walk out. "While we understand students' needs to have their voices heard, we do encourage students to stay in school during the school day as to not negatively impact instructional time. We also want you to know that we are continuing to provide opportunities within school for students to talk about what happened, express their feelings and respectfully consider all perspectives," the statement said.[26]

A state law requires officer-involved deaths to be conducted by an outside investigation. The state Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) led the inquiry into Robinson's death.[25] In May 2015, DCI cleared Kenny of any criminal culpability in the shooting, saying his use of force was lawful as he reasonably believed he was in physical danger.[27]

2015: Superintendents write to state government over proposed budget cuts

Jennifer Cheatham

Madison Metropolitan Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham signed a letter with 18 other superintendents across the state, asking the Governor of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Legislature for a consistent funding plan. The letter was written in February 2015 in response to the budget proposed by Gov. Scott Walker (R) earlier in the year that called for a reduction in per-student funding.[28]

In the letter, the superintendents discussed their concerns that such a budget cut would require cutting staff, salaries, or benefits in order for their districts to stay afloat, which they worried would make it nearly impossible to retain talented teachers. They said they believed inflationary growth was necessary to maintain and grow their educational programs.[28]

Walker's call to change the state's assessment system and allow districts to choose their own assessments from a state-approved list was also mentioned in the superintendents' letter. They asked the state government for one assessment system, saying an accountability system consisting of different assessments would create confusion.[28] The full letter can be found here.

Per-student funding was restored in the two-year budget before it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor in July 2015. State education funding remained flat for the 2015-2016 school year and increased by $69 million for the 2016-2017 school year. The state also maintained its one assessment system, as the superintendents requested, but the budget did call for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to seek a waiver from the federal government allowing schools in the state to choose between three and five different assessments.[29]

2015: District's $41 million referendum approved by voters

In addition to school board and other races, district voters saw a referendum question on their April 2015 ballots. It was approved with an 82.2% of the vote.[30] The question, which was approved by the school board on December 15, 2014, asked voters to approve an issuance of $41 million in bonds for the district. These funds were allocated for additions and renovations, improving accessibility, and providing an infrastructure upgrade for the district's Tech Plan.[31] A full list of the projects included in this referendum can be found here.

Based on the average value of $237,678 for single-family homes in Madison, homeowners annual assessed property tax was expected to increase by $61.80 for 10 years due to the referendum.[32] The need for the bond issue was described in the Facilities Planning revised report as follows:

“ With an average building age of over fifty-two years, maintaining and improving the district’s fifty school sites requires constant effort. The investments we are proposing will help improve sixteen school facilities across the district. It will provide additional elementary classroom space where it is needed the most, ensure that all schools are able meet the basic accessibility needs of students, staff and families, and address much needed renovations and technology infrastructure needs. ...

While this plan is focused on the immediate needs of the schools, it is also an important first step in a long-term facility planning process. Master facility planning, which considers issues such as future community development, long-term enrollment trends, and comprehensive instructional planning, is essential for anticipating the future needs of our students, schools, and community. This project represents a first step, focused on several urgent facility needs in the district, which will create the proper conditions and time necessary for master facility planning.

Thriving schools require well-planned facility investments that support students and teachers, while providing solid value for taxpayers. We believe the projects included in this proposal will achieve those goals.[18]

”
—Madison Metropolitan School District (2015)[33]

Text of measure

The referendum appeared on the ballot as follows:[34]

“ MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM

"Shall the Madison Metropolitan School District, Dane County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $41,000,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of constructing school additions and improving learning environments, making our schools more accessible to students, families and community members, renovating school buildings and upgrading technology infrastructure?"
YES _____ NO _____[18]

”

Results

Madison School Question (2015)
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 45,471 82.2%
No9,87417.8%

2015: Court dismisses Act 10 lawsuit against the district

The Dane County Circuit Court dismissed a lawsuit on September 28, 2015, brought by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of Madison resident David Blaska. The case was dismissed on procedural grounds.[35]

The lawsuit was filed after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision to uphold Act 10, a bill that cut back the bargaining rights of public employees. Following that ruling, the Madison Metropolitan School District and Madison Teachers Inc., the district's teachers' union, said their labor contracts were valid through June 2016. Rick Esenberg, founder and general counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, disagreed with the statement, saying those contracts could be questioned in court as any contract containing provisions barred under Act 10 could be seen as illegal. Act 10 allows collective bargaining only for pay increases, but the district's labor contracts through 2016 also included workplace policies, such as job transfers and paycheck withholding.[36][37]

Legal counsel to the Madison Metropolitan Board of Education was at odds with Esenberg, advising that the contracts would remain valid no matter the court's ruling on Act 10 as they were entered into before Act 10 became effective.[37]

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed the lawsuit against the district on September 11, 2014. The lawsuit claimed taxpayer money was illegally spent in different parts of the district's employee contracts. Marcia Standiford, communications director for the district, said the district administration believed it was on solid ground when the contracts were negotiated.[38]

In October 2014, district officials and union leaders asked the Dane County Circuit Court to strike out portions of the lawsuit that referred to union dues and fair share payments as Blaska was not a teacher or employee of the district. According to district officials, that meant he had no factual standing to make those specific allegations in the lawsuit.[39]

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a motion in April 2015, asking that the contracts between the school district and teachers union be voided.[40] When the Dane County Circuit Court dismissed the case, it did not rule on the merits of the case.[35]

2014: School board approves Tech Plan

The Madison Metropolitan School District school board pre-approved the district's five-year Tech Plan proposal on April 28, 2014.[41]

Prior to the vote, community groups in the district debated the benefits of the Tech Plan. The $31 million plan proposed incorporating enough computers into area schools to ensure one-on-one instruction, increasing annual expenses from $1.5 million during the 2013-2014 school year to $8.4 million during the 2018-2019 school year.[42]

The School-Community Alliance for Public Education (SCAPE) called for a more thorough review of the program by the board. SCAPE believed that the annual cost of the Tech Plan deserved greater scrutiny by district residents. The group also suggested that one-on-one computing might not be valuable enough for K-3 students to warrant higher expenses.[42]

The Leopold Parent-Faculty Organization supported implementation of the Tech Plan based on their own experiences with one-on-one computing. The organization raised private funds to purchase iPads and other technology for students in south side schools. Organizers noted the broad popularity of this initial investment and expressed concern about the district's outdated technology infrastructure.[42]

Contact information

Madison Metropolitican School District seal.png
Madison Metropolitan School District
545 West Dayton St.
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-663-1879


About school boards

Education legislation in Wisconsin

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See also

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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Superintendent's Office," accessed April 23, 2025
  2. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "Lisa Kvistad will be Madison's interim superintendent as search for next leader continues," April 18, 2023
  3. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "MMSD ANNOUNCES DR. CARLTON D. JENKINS AS ITS NEXT SUPERINTENDENT", July 10, 2020
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Madison 365, "MMSD Names Jane Belmore Interim Superintendent," accessed November 14, 2019
  5. ↑ The Daily Page, "Jennifer Cheatham takes charge of Madison schools," accessed October 3, 2013
  6. ↑ Isthmus, "Jennifer Cheatham takes charge of Madison schools," accessed October 3, 2013
  7. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "Madison school superintendent Jennifer Cheatham offered $235K salary," accessed February 22, 2013
  8. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Board of Education," accessed July 29, 2021
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Madison Metropolitan School District, "Meetings," accessed March 6, 2018
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Madison Metropolitan School District, "Regular Meetings," accessed January 26, 2017
  11. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Policy: Public Appearances 1222," accessed December 6, 2023
  12. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
  13. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Madison Metropolitan School District - 2024-2025 Teacher Salary Schedule - Annual," accessed April 23, 2025
  14. ↑ Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, "Madison Metropolitan School District - 2023-2024 Teacher Salary Schedule - Annual 192-Day," accessed February 5, 2024
  15. ↑ Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, "Public Teacher Salary Report: 2020-2021, Madison Metropolitan School District," accessed July 29, 2021
  16. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Wisconsin State Journal, "With 'pathways' initiative, Madison looks to fundamentally change its high school experience," November 27, 2016
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  19. ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog.org, "Madison school board votes unanimously for $26 million referendum," August 30, 2016
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 WISC-TV News 3 Madison, "Madison Board of Education discusses proposed $26M referendum," August 8, 2016
  21. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "2016 Operational Referendum," accessed January 12, 2017
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Channel3000.com, "MMSD superintendent says Joint Finance motion puts up barriers," May 29, 2015
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Budget expands independent charter schools to more than 140 districts," June 1, 2015
  24. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Gov. Scott Walker's budget message, veto summary," July 12, 2015
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Wisconsin State Journal, "Tony Robinson shooting protest at Capitol draws 1,500, many of them students," March 10, 2015
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 WKOW, "UPDATE: Arrests follow protest during National Day of Action," April 14, 2015
  27. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "NO CHARGES AGAINST OFFICER," May 13, 2015
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 NBC 15, "Superintendents send letter to lawmakers over budget concerns," February 18, 2015
  29. ↑ Star Tribune, "Highlights of Wisconsin state budget signed by governor," July 12, 2015
  30. ↑ Dane County Clerk's Office, "2015 Spring Election: Official Canvass," accessed April 22, 2015
  31. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Solutions Provided by the Referendum," accessed March 26, 2015
  32. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "School Building Referendum Resources," accessed March 26, 2015
  33. ↑ Madison Metropolitan School District, "Facilities Planning Revised Report," December 22, 2014
  34. ↑ My Vote Wisconsin, "Home," accessed March 26, 2015
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, "DANE COUNTY COURT DISMISSES ACT 10 LAWSUIT WITHOUT RULING ON THE MERITS," September 29, 2021
  36. ↑ Channel3000.com, "Madison teachers' union leader: Act 10 ruling ‘morally bankrupt,’" July 31, 2014
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 The Cap Times, "Madison school district, teachers union say labor contracts still valid after Act 10 ruling," August 1, 2014
  38. ↑ The Badger Herald, "Madison School District faces collective bargaining lawsuit," September 15, 2014
  39. ↑ The Cap Times, "Madison school officials, MTI say claims regarding union dues, teachers' rights don't belong in Act 10 lawsuit," October 9, 2014
  40. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "Conservative legal group asks judge to void Madison teacher contracts," May 6, 2015
  41. ↑ NBC15.com, "UPDATED: MMSD Board pre-approves budget items/technology plan," May 19, 2014
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Madison.com, "Parents ask what's the rush on Madison schools' $31 million tech plan," January 22, 2014
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