District makes tough decision - Community Shoppers, Inc.

JANESVILLE
2 MESSENGER ■ Sunday, September 14, 2008
communityshoppers.com
NEWS
INBRIEF
ROCK COUNTY
■ Krupp to face Ryan:
1st Congressional District
voters chose Pleasant
Prairie Democrat Marge
Krupp to face incumbent
Republican U.S. Rep.
Paul Ryan in the Nov. 4
general election. Krupp
received 43 percent of
the vote in Rock County,
and 37 percent across
the 1st District; she
defeated fellow
Democrats Mike Hebert
and Paulette Garin, both
of Kenosha. Also
Tuesday, 83 percent of
town of Fulton voters
voted against a referendum
that would have
increased the 2008 tax
levy by 62 percent. Town
officials said the large
increase was needed to
pay for road repairs.
Tuesday’s primary drew
an estimated 6 percent
of the county’s registered
voters.
■ Soldiers to go to Iraq:
As many as 3,500
Wisconsin National
Guard members, including
some based in
Janesville, received a
mobilization order last
week for an active-duty
mission in Iraq. Soldiers
will report for duty at
their local armories in
mid-February, then train
at a U.S. Army base in
Texas for about two
months before being
deployed overseas.
Soldiers are expected to
spend about 10 months
in Iraq. The order
includes guard units in
Janesville, Beloit, Fort
Atkinson and Elkhorn. It
is the largest operational
deployment of Wisconsin
National Guard forces
since World War II,
according to WNG
spokesman Lt. Col. Tim
Donovan.
JANESVILLE
■ Street conversions begin:
The city said work to convert
North Franklin and
North Jackson streets
from one-way to two-way
streets between
Centerway and Mineral
Point Avenue is scheduled
to begin Monday.
The project is expected
to be complete by Friday.
Crews will change pavement
markings, signage
and realign parking
areas, and will create an
all-way stop at the intersection
of North Jackson
Street and Madison
Street.
■ ‘Green’ committee meets:
City staff will present a
brief overview of sustainability
initiatives at 6
p.m. Tuesday during the
Sustainable Janesville
Committee meeting in
the city council chambers
of the Municipal
Building, 18 N. Jackson
St. The public is invited
to attend and comment
on issues. For more information,
call Lindsay Motl
at (608) 755-3110.
■ EDGERTON
Continued from page 1
“We’re looking at changing the
block schedule because of the state
aid that is going to be lost (due to
declining enrollment),” he said.
“The state formula is not set up to
reward those schools that are
declining in enrollment. Those are
the ones who are most significantly
negatively impacted.”
High school band teacher Valerie
Gaffney agreed.
“We’re so dependent on the
money each student brings in, that
each time we lose even one, it
affects our district a lot,” she said.
She believes the decisions made
so far are tough, but necessary.
“I can’t speak highly enough of
Dr. Fjelstad and the board here for
looking ahead and trying to do the
best that they can,” Gaffney said.
But that doesn’t mean teachers
aren’t worried for their futures.
“It’s frightening for myself and
for my colleagues and friends, for
the good staff members that we
want to keep here,” Gaffney said.
Though cutting resources is difficult,
the process may help lower
property tax bills.
“I think they’re going to see some
significant tax relief as a result of
this,” school board member Jim
Raymond said.
Edgerton isn’t the only district
affected by enrollment issues. Miles
Turner, executive director of the
Wisconsin Association of School
District Administrators, called the
ENROLLMENT DECLINE
Edgerton School District
enrollment numbers:
2000-’01 ....................... 1,908
2001-’02 ....................... 1,890
2002-’03 ...................... 1,878
2003-’04 ...................... 1,855
2004-’05 ...................... 1,791
2005-’06 ...................... 1,794
2006-’07 ...................... 1,900
2007-’08 ...................... 1,933
2011-’12 .......................1,707*
*Projection by the Edgerton School
District. Other enrollment numbers
from the Wisconsin Department of
Public Instruction.
decline a “major trend,” especially
in smaller districts.
Districts that can’t make ends
meet because of reduced state aid,
but can’t raise taxes because of
state-mandated revenue caps, are
in a difficult situation, he said.
“Something needs to be done to
bolster small school districts, even
though they’re declining in enrollment,”
Turner said. “The evidence
is pretty clear that small districts
really do an excellent job of educating
their kids.”
The state Department of Public
Instruction reports statewide
enrollment decreased by 7,802 students
between 1998 to 2008. More
than 800,000 students were
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with CD Specials like this...
enrolled in the state’s public
schools last year.
DPI spokesman Patrick Gasper
said reasons for declining enrollment
vary by community.
Turner believes that smaller family
sizes and movement toward
larger cities to find employment
during tough economic times have
caused funding problems for districts
across the state.
The Janesville School District
has seen its enrollment drop by 300
students in the past five years. The
district’s total enrollment last year
was more than 10,000, according to
DPI statistics.
The Evansville Community
School District saw a small drop
last year, but expects a slight
increase in students this year, said
district Business Manager Deb
Olsen.
“We’ve actually been a fortunate
district, as far as increasing enrollment,”
she said.
Even the Milton School District,
which has seen its enrollment
increase so much that officials may
decide to build a new high school,
is proceeding with caution.
“We have had a lot of growth in
the district, mostly because of new
construction,” Superintendent
Bernie Nikolay said. “However, we
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DIGEST
Man arrested, accused of planning murder-for-hire plot
BY SAM KILLIAN
AND SARAH ZELLER
STAFF WRITERS
JANESVILLE — City
Councilman Yuri Rashkin wasn’t
sure how to react Tuesday when a
police officer knocked on his door
and told him someone wanted his
new girlfriend and him dead.
“We spent the whole day hoping
it was some sort of misunderstanding,”
Rashkin said. “It’s one
of those bits of information that
takes time to truly sink in.”
On Wednesday, Janesville police
arrested the 46-year-old husband
of Rashkin’s girlfriend. Police say
the Janesville man allegedly tried
to arrange the murders of his
estranged wife and Rashkin.
Rashkin and his wife, Amy, filed
for divorce earlier this month.
Rashkin’s girlfriend, who is in the
process of filing for a divorce, is
living at Rashkin’s home.
Police said there is no indication
that Rashkin’s position on the city
council played a part in the murder
plot.
Police found out about the situation
from an acquaintance of the
estranged husband.
“He contacted a person here in
Janesville (who) he believed had
contacts with the Hell’s Angels
and the kinds of elements in society
that would commit a contract
killing,” Police Chief Neil Mahan
said. “That person called the
Janesville Police Department ...”
As of press time, the Rock
County District
Attorney’s Office
had not yet
authorized
charges against
the man, who
was scheduled
to appear in
Rock County Rashkin
Circuit Court at
4 p.m. Friday. The man was
arrested on suspicion of two
counts of solicitation to commit
first-degree intentional homicide
and one count of conspiracy to
commit murder.
According to a police report, the
man gave an undercover officer
posing as a contract killer an
undisclosed amount of money to
perform the murders.
She said it:
“We’re so dependent on the money each student brings
in, that each time we lose even one, it affects our
district a lot.”
— Valerie Gaffney, teacher, Edgerton High School
don’t know if that’s going to continue
or not, because of General
Motors closing … we’re very cautious
about saying that we have
increased enrollment.”
The Milton district has grown by
about 100 students per year for the
past three years, Nikolay said.
“But from this point on, we’re
expecting it to flatten out or even
go the other direction until the
economy rights itself,” he said.
Though Edgerton also is seeing
increased new-home construction,
that development often does not
bring additional students to the
district, Fjelstad said.
“There are more homes being
built, but frequently ... those homes
are being occupied around the lake,
the river and our golf course by
people who are coming from
Chicago or other areas to retire,” he
said. “These are not starter homes;
these are well-established people
who are buying very expensive
homes.”
The district may continue to cut
staff in the future, he added.
“The probability is that there will
be more (reductions) next year,”
Fjelstad said. “I try to talk to the
staff about reality, and that this
isn’t something that we caused. We
have to deal with reality.”
‘ ... WE CAN SURVIVE VERY WELL, BUT WE CAN’T DO IT ON THIS NUMBER OF STAFF.’
— NORMAN FJELSTAD, EDGERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR
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In a phone call with the officer
Wednesday, the suspect postponed
the murders, which were supposed
to occur this weekend, due to concerns
over his alibi.
“We were on pins and needles
the whole day,” Rashkin said.
Rashkin was grateful for the
police attention he received during
the ordeal.
“How do you thank somebody
for this?” Rashkin said. “When
they save your life, and they clearly
did, how can you really truly
ever express your gratitude?”
Police don’t believe anyone else
was involved in the case.
“We have no information that
he’s contacted anyone else, and it
would be highly unlikely,” Mahan
said.
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