Schools

MIDDLETON–Middleton High School (MHS) Theatre is thrilled to announce “Urinetown The Musical,” the biggest production of its 2023-24 season. Performances are Nov. 9-11 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Middleton High School.

MIDDLETON–The school board for the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) Monday adopted a tax levy for the 2023-24 that increases property taxes by $52 on a $429,000 residence, according to district calculations.

Increasing property values, although lagging behind the statewide average, boosts a house assessed at $400,000 last year to $429,000 next year. A home assessed at $500,000 last year, is valued at $536,250 next year.

School taxes on a $536,000 home would increase by $65, to $4,510, according to the district. A $429,000 house would have a $52 tax increase to $3,608 and school taxes on a $321,750 house would increase by $39 to $2,706.

There are eight municipalities in the district and an individual property owner’s school tax bill could vary depending on in which municipality they reside, said Erin Wheeler, the district’s director of finance and operations.

MOUNT HOREB–Madison Magazine awarded the Town of Perry’s Hauge Historic District Park “Best Place to Watch a Sunset in Dane County.”

But Mary Lorenz, a teacher at the Clark Street Community School in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASDD), had another idea.

The park closes after sunset. But Mary asked the Town of Perry Supervisors if she could bring her class to the park after dark for an astronomy field trip to watch the stars, not the sun.

The Clark Street Community School teaches interdisciplinary seminars. The students were in a Space Math class where they were learning algebra and precalculus concepts in the context of studying astronomy.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) celebrated the official opening of its new stadium and sports complex, the Borden Athletic Complex. 

Superintendent Dana Monogue thanked the donors, board members, and staff that helped make the project possible. Mike Borden spoke about the legacy of his father for whom the stadium is dedicated.

The total cost for the entire project is $13 million. The Borden family donated $6.7 million, and the district allocated $2 million to cover the cost of improvements to the bathroom facilities including making them ADA compliant. Private fundraising continues to cover the remaining costs. The MCPASD Education Foundation is handling all fundraising.

MIDDLETON–Despite increases in state aid and proceeds from last year’s successful referendum, revenue for the 2023-24 Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) is expected to rise by just $66,915, according to preliminary numbers released Monday.

Property taxes, including the addition of funds from the fall 2022 referendum, are expected to increase by $5.9 million, plus $3 million more in state aid. However, those increases are offset by corresponding decreases in federal aid, donations to the Otto Breitenbach Stadium project and proceeds from sale of lots near Pope Farm Elementary School.

MIDDLETON–First term school board member Todd Berry was on the short end of a vote Monday, which sought proposals for upgrades to outdoor athletic facilities at Middleton High School (MHS).

Renovating the tennis courts, constructing a softball field and converting the existing baseball field to artificial turf, previously recommended by an independent consultant that have drawn interest from board members of the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District.

The three projects have an estimated cost ranging from $4.58 million to $5.32 million, according to a consultant from the Rettler Corporation, who addressed the school board in June.

The money could come from the $6 million in available interest earned from the 2018 referendum proceeds. 

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) has had a robust program that protects students from harmful internet content and monitors student Internet activity on district-supplied devices, according to Brian Miles, Director of Technology Services.

Qustodio software provides parents or guardians with daily or weekly reports that show the websites their child has visited, movies they’ve watched, searches made and the amount of screen time they’ve accumulated, Miles told the MCPASD Board of Education Monday night.

“Parents have been asking me about this since last spring,” when Miles was appointed MCPASD’s IT director. “It’s important because it creates a connection between the district and families.”

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education is considering revisions to the student conduct code to reflect expanding types of illegal drugs, hate speech and inappropriate use of technology.

The revisions are intended to better “support the safety and learning of our students” and address the “changing nature of our world,” Shelia Hibner, board president said last week in opening remarks.

The reasons for the changes included:

• Families requesting clearer consequences and supports at each infraction level.

• Accessible essay-writing software including ChatGPT and Bard AI.

• A shift in grading practices from the 0-100 scale to a 40-100 scale.

• Increased inappropriate use of technology, often in sexual ways.

• Added marijuana-alternative substances like Delta-9 THC products.

• Increased use of hate speech and race-related infractions.

MIDDLETON–The state budget giveth and taketh away from the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD), Finance Director Erin Wheeler told the Board of Education Monday.

The recently signed state 2023-25 biennium budget adds $3.025 million in district revenue but also increases expenses linked to changes in open enrollment policies and tuition vouchers.

Revenue increases are led by a $2.3 million increase in the tax levy limit authorized by the state. A slight increase in state aid for special education instruction adds about $500,000, and mental health aid adds $225,000, Wheeler said.

Expenses due to changes in tuition voucher and open enrollment policies increases spending by a combined $400,000 in voucher tuition, independent charter school tuitions and special education tuition.

MIDDLETON–Kevin Schaefer was dismayed to learn last year that his son couldn’t attend an out-of-town athletic event because the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) didn’t have a bus driver available.

That’s why Schaefer, a commercial driver, attended last week’s “Drive a Bus” school bus driver recruitment event.

“I couldn’t help out before because I was an over-the-road driver and logged too many hours during the week that I didn’t have the hours remaining to drive on weekends,” he said.

“Now, I’m more of a ‘yard dog’ and I don’t have to keep track of hours so, I’d like to be able to drive occasionally,” he said as he entered the district’s transportation office.