County Board to Create Education Task Force
July 13, 2012
Supervisor Nick Zweifel
Dane County Board of Supervisors
(608) 318-1309
County Board
A resolution creating a Dane County Education Task Force was introduced at the County Board meeting on Thursday night. The task force will facilitate collaboration between Dane County school districts and Dane County’s Human Services Department to improve educational opportunities and provide critical programs to children and families.
Dane County’s 16 school districts and county government have all seen drastic cuts to their funding, challenging their abilities to serve at-risk children and families. By working together to achieve program efficiencies and focus on best practices, the county hopes to improve services to those most in need.
“This past year we saw the loss of some important services due to budget cuts,” said Supervisor Nick Zweifel, lead sponsor of the resolution creating the task force. “But if the county works directly with and in the schools to identify kids in need as early as possible, we can reinstate programs that we know work and get back to improving lives and educating our children, all while saving taxpayer dollars.” Supervisor Zweifel represents Sun Prairie and is a public school teacher in Deforest.
The task force will consist of three Dane County Supervisors, at least two of who are from outside the City of Madison, and three Dane County school superintendents. In addition, the City of Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District have a joint education committee, and just this summer expanded membership to include county board supervisors. The two committees hope to coordinate efforts of best practices and efficiently providing human services to youth in need throughout Dane County.
“We can do better by our youth and our schools,” said Supervisor Patrick Downing. “Dane County human services are top notch and have a proven track record of improving lives and saving money. If we can work together to implement these successes across the county, all of Dane County will benefit.”
Teaming up to better serve our youth not only improves the lives of school-aged children and their families, but also has positive ramifications for all of Dane County.
“Education is vital to our county’s economic viability and quality of life,” said Dr. Jon Bales, Superintendent of the Deforest Area School District. “Our district supports creating this Task Force and teaming up with the county to best support our students. Supervisor Zweifel has been a leader of positive changes in our district, and this comes as no surprise that he is now looking out for all kids and families in Dane County."
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