It’s not just along the path around the Falls. In many places, tradition has it that practical jokes are played on April 1. Perhaps this time around Mother Nature and Old Man Winter teamed up to play a trick on all of us by keeping many parts of Wisconsin under a blanket of snow well beyond the first day of spring.
The first week of April will be a busy time for school people, and not just the athletic directors working the phones to reschedule games due to field conditions. The good news is that Monday morning a few grass sprouts could be seen poking through the snow on one of the pitcher’s mounds on the new softball fields north of the high school.
April 1 was the date of the spring elections. In addition to choosing school board members, voters in 14 Wisconsin school districts had a chance to vote on building or other bonding projects. More than 25 districts asked voters for the authority to exceed the revenue limits. Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal had a feature story on how rural Wisconsin school districts are turning to that option to survive due to the two-tined pitchfork of reduced state support for schools and declining enrollment.
Needless to say, there was a lot of sitting on the edge of the seats Tuesday night. Superintendents who have been through a referendum know that a lot of heart and soul goes into the preparation process. The best campaigns have lots of community involvement. That is never a time to be the Lone Ranger. Regardless of how significant the need may be, building an understanding of the message in voters can be a challenge.
Regardless of the amount of energy invested in getting the message out, it all comes down to election night when the ballots are counted. Over the years, I have been through a number of them, sometimes with a core group of supporters who worked on the marketing effort. The famous line from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” has been experienced all the way to the bones on some of those nights.
The euphoria of a successful referendum can be mind numbing. A loss can be taken personally and leave a residue representing a variety of not-so-pleasant feelings. The best of us get up, brush off the dust and ask, “Where do we go next?”
For those who had successful referendums, we say, “Congratulations!” For those whose vote count went the other way, we say, “Sleep on it. Give it a month or two, and come back with another plan.”
School board election results can also create quite a range of emotions. Sometimes with long-tenured board members who run unopposed, it can be a “ho hum” night. For others with a more contentious election, it can be just the opposite. That can be good or bad, but either way is a change that may require a different approach to working with the board.
The time between the election night vote count and the meeting at which new board members are seated is critical for a superintendent. There is only one chance to provide a new board member with an orientation to the work that lies ahead. Hopefully, each district has a solid orientation procedure to provide a brief look at its operations.
The Wisconsin School Board Association hosts new member seminars that provide additional orientation. A great practice is having a veteran board member or two accompany the new member to the training session. Great conversations can happen on the car ride to and from the training session.
At the end of April or the first part of May, boards will have their reorganization meeting to elect officers and set the stage for the following year’s board meetings. For those boards that meet on Monday nights, especially for districts in northeast Wisconsin, that schedule can’t be set before mid-April when the Packers’ schedule comes out.
Superintendents sometimes learn the hard way that you don’t schedule a board meeting opposite a Green Bay Packers Monday night game. There are some things they just don’t teach you in superintendent school.
We are looking forward to a great April and hope the snow melts off those playing fields and the track before tax day.
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