Local school officials took another early step Monday toward creating a Verona-based magnet school that could offer area high school students specialized classes they might not get otherwise.
With Madison Area Technical College searching for a new place to build a campus in southwestern Dane County, six area school districts are lining up behind the idea of a "Global Academy," where high schoolers could learn job skills and earn post-secondary credits.
The Verona Area school board Monday approved the spending of $6,750 to hire a consultant to put together a detailed plan for how the six districts could work with MATC - and possibly the University of Wisconsin - to create such a campus.
That money will pool with similar amounts from five districts - Oregon, Belleville, Mount Horeb, McFarland and Middleton-Cross Plains - eager to see MATC land nearby, too.
The consultant, expected to start Aug. 15, will be asked to hone the concept of the school, including how it could be organized and how the consortium would work together.
Though the academy is currently little more than a concept, board member Dennis Beres said that if it comes to fruition, it could be a huge addition for the district.
"This could be the single most important thing we accomplish as a school board," Beres said before Monday's unanimous vote.
In late June, leaders from all six districts met to discuss the concept further. They settled on the school's name and picked four "career clusters" that could potentially be the focus at the new campus.
Those clusters, as defined by the state Department of Public Instruction, would include the fields of "health services," "information technology," "architecture and construction" and "science, technology, engineering and mathematics."
Formerly known as the "Career Academy," the new name aims to illustrate how the school could appeal to all kids, rather than pigeonholing the concept as a strictly vocational or trades school.
The specialized training that could be offered at the academy would be hard to duplicate in individual high schools in light of ever-tightening budgets. At the same time, the academy could help meet growing demand for specialized job skills that is "changing the curriculum landscape for high schools in the United States," according to an "intergovernmental agreement" among the consortium.
Though far from a done deal, MATC has said it's "very interested" in the idea of building a campus in VASD that could serve all six districts. And VASD officials have been talking with area landowners about locking in a location.
Verona schools superintendent Dean Gorrell declined to disclose any locations, but Beres said Monday it appears "likely" the new campus could be in the city limits of Verona.
The cost of hiring the consultant will come from money the district saved by hiring a new auditing firm earlier this year, said board member Chris Hannemann.
According to the intergovernmental agreement, the consortium wants to establish a location and a list of course offerings for at least one career cluster by Sept. 1, 2010.
Cafeteria prices up
Local students will pay a little more to eat cafeteria food next year after the school board approved a price hike.
Lunch prices for grades K-12 will go up 15 cents. That means lunch will now cost $1.75, $1.80 and $1.90, respectively, at the elementary, middle or high school level. Those prices are still among the lowest of 27 districts surveyed by VASD.
The board also voted unanimously to increase high school breakfast prices 15 cents to $1 and tacked on a nickel to milk costs.
In most years, VASD hikes cafeteria prices by 5 or 10 cents to keep up with inflation. But rising food costs and three snow days last winter - when food service workers were paid but kids didn't buy food - pushed a slightly higher increase this year, said child nutrition services director Cindra Magli. Food services posted a small profit this year of about $3,000 to $4,000, she said.
Other districts are approving larger-than-usual meal costs for 2008-09, too, including McFarland, which approved a 30 cent increase for meals, and Oregon, where the school board Monday approved a 25-cent hike for lunches.
Scotland trip OK'd
Verona Area High School theater students got the green light from the board Monday to travel to Scotland next August to perform in the world-renowned Fringe Fine Arts Festival.
The two-week trip to Edinburgh will be the first to the festival since 2002, said VAHS theater teacher Steve Nibbe.
Nibbe said about 30 people - roughly 20 students and 10 adults - have signed up to go. The trip will cost each person about $6,000, but Nibbe said they hope to offset roughly $5,000 for each person through an extensive 12-month fund-raising campaign.
Besides performing several times in the festival, students will stay at the University of Edinburgh, tour local sites and see dozens of plays, he said.
