School Boards are Designed to be Governing Boards, not Management Boards
The MTSD Board of Education establishes high level policy, and the District is responsible for figuring out how to implement it.
School board governance is seen as a unique system or form of ownership, rather than a way of management. The school board is more connected with the needs of their constituents, the general public. Meaning, the school board does not exist to run the local public school system, but to govern the individuals that do. This video does a good job of simplifying the concept.
The school board provides limits or margins of acceptability, within which the superintendent and staff are permitted autonomy. This provides the opportunity for imagination and innovation. Meaning, the school board tells the superintendent how not to operate rather than how to operate.
They operate under the structure recommended for the greatest student achievement. This is balanced governance, not micromanagement of the day-to-day operations of each school. The BOE establishes policies and regulations by which our schools are governed. This is typical of school boards and has not changed. The BOE consistently advocates for the students in our districts through the policies that they develop and enforce. There is transparency in these policies as they are all available on the MTSD website.
The MTSD Board of Education has also operationalized the National School Boards Association’s Key Work of School Boards. Research shows that when school board members who have served for at least 5 years indicate greater adherence to the Key Work, student achievement increases. The same researchers also found that school boards can positively impact student achievement by governing in partnership with their superintendent.
According to the Center for Public Education/National Association of School Boards, effective school boards are accountability driven, spending less time on operational issues and more time focused on policies to improve student achievement.
Homestead High School Ranks High on the ACT
For 2019, Homestead ranked 7th in the state for composite ACT scores; HHS was 3rd overall amongst public high schools.
*Source: https://www.piqosity.com/2020/12/09/top-wisconsin-high-schools-by-act-scores/
Wisconsin ACT Scores 2019
| Rank | School |
| 1 | Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy |
| 2 | Kohler High |
| 3 | Tesla Engineering Charter School |
| 4 | Lakeview Technology Academy |
| 5 | Whitefish Bay High |
| 6 | Kettle Moraine Global School for Global Leadership and Innovation |
| 7 | Homestead High |
| 8 | Middleton High |
| 9 | Cedarburg High |
| 10 | Central High - Elmbrook |
In addition, Homestead students composite ACT scores have historically ranked very high amongst our area high schools.
*Source: https://wisedash.dpi.wi.gov/Dashboard/dashboard/19819
| District | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18 | 2016-17 | 2015-16 | Average |
| Whitefish Bay | 25.4 | 24.6 | 24.8 | 24.6 | 25.7 | 25.0 |
| Cedarburg | 24.0 | 23.9 | 23.9 | 25.2 | 24.8 | 24.4 |
| Mequon-Thiensville | 23.7 | 24.1 | 23.8 | 23.8 | 24.3 | 23.9 |
| Elmbrook | 23.3 | 23.8 | 24.0 | 24.2 | 24.0 | 23.9 |
| Arrowhead | 23.9 | 23.2 | 23.1 | 23.5 | 23.7 | 23.5 |
| Nicolet | 22.9 | 22.1 | 22.5 | 23.7 | 22.3 | 22.7 |
| Hamilton | 22.9 | 22.4 | 22.5 | 22.4 | 22.8 | 22.6 |
| Grafton | 22.6 | 22.8 | 21.8 | 22.4 | 22.1 | 22.3 |
| Menomonee Falls | 22.2 | 21.9 | 22.1 | 22.2 | 22.4 | 22.2 |
| Germantown | 21.7 | 21.9 | 22.5 | 22.2 | 22.4 | 22.1 |
| Franklin | 21.9 | 21.0 | 21.8 | 21.5 | 21.8 | 21.6 |
Considerations:
- Incomplete data for 2020
- No scores yet available for 2021
- Relative population across these districts varies
The District's Most Recent School Report Cards Score is the 2nd Highest Among K-12 Public School Districts in the State
The Mequon-Thiensville School District Significantly Exceeds Expectations on the 2018-19 School Report Cards issued in November 2019 by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. MTSD has significantly exceeded expectations all six years the District Report Cards have been produced.
In addition, all six schools in the Mequon-Thiensville School District exceed or significantly exceed expectations based on 2018-19 data. Highlights of MTSD School Report Cards include the following:
- Donges Bay Elementary School earned its highest-ever index score of 93.8
- Homestead High School earned its highest index score ever of 91.4.
- Donges Bay Elementary School, Lake Shore Middle School, Steffen Middle School, and Homestead High School all earned their highest Closing Gaps index score.
- Homestead High School earned a perfect index score for Graduation Rate Gaps.
The District's Tax Levy and Mill Rate is One of the Lowest in the Area
The MTSD's mill rate falls well below the state average and is maintained as one of the lowest mill rates compared to area school districts.
From 2016 to 2020: the tax levy in the district has risen from $37,713,405 or $8.22 per student in the 2015-16 school year to $40,480,740 or $7.68 per student in the 2019-20 school year. In the 2020-21 school year, the tax levy registered at $43,125,789 or $7.96 per student. Measuring the increase per student from Spring 2016 to Spring 2020 this is a 6% increase. Worth noting is that the increase in the general rate of inflation from May 2016 to May 2020 was 6.7%.
The MTSD's mill rate (tax payable per $1,000 dollars of the assessed value of a property) decreased from $8.15 in 2016 to $7.68 in 2020. Though residents experienced a 28 cent increase to the mill rate in the most recent school year that can be attributed to the referendum project, the MTSD's mill rate still falls well below the state average and is maintained as one of the lowest mill rates compared to area school districts.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | |
| Tax Levy per pupil | $10,491 | $10,693 | $10,853 | $10,712 | $11,124 | $12,400* |
| Total Tax Levy | $37,713,405 | $38,228,889 | $38,874,953 | $39,034,172 | $40,480,740 | $43,125,789* |
| Mill Rate (per $1,000) | $8.22 | $8.15 | $8.07 | $7.72 | $7.68 | $7.96* |
*Increase attributed to the MTSD 2020 referendum.
| State Average for K-12 Districts | Mequon-Thiensville | Cedarburg | Grafton | Germantown | Whitefish Bay | Shorewood | |
| Mill Rate | $9.22 | $7.96 | $8.80 | $9.69 | $9.89 | $8.78 | $14.13 |
What do you, the taxpayer, get for this extra 28 cent increase to our mill rate? A lot! The 2020 referendum will add 84,170 square feet to our District buildings. This money will be used to expand and improve our schools. It will give us:
- Space to serve our students
- Extra footage to accommodate projected growth at the Elementary level.
- Safer schools and campuses.
It is FALSE that Referendum funds can be used for anything other than what was initially proposed and voted on.
The District is Fiscally Reponsible
MTSD is one of only 3 public school districts in Wisconsin to hold the top Aaa ranking from Moody’s bond rating agency, denoting continued excellence in fiscal strength and performance.
Moody’s notes the following MTSD strengths to support this exceptionally strong rating:
- Strong management team with multi-year budget forecasting plans.
- A commitment to retaining current fund balance levels.
- Demonstrated ability to outperform budgeted projections
- Moderate debt and pension burden
- Strong local tax base
Source: Moody's
The District had Significant Accomplishments Amidst the Pandemic
The MTSD Board, faculty and staff in partnership with MTSD students and families had to manage a lot of challenges this year. Together we navigated these unique times with fortitude and grace.
MTSD’s Social and Emotional staff provide leadership and coaching to grow teachers' capacity in social-emotional welfare and support our school families. We believe that through attending to the social-emotional health of all students, students will grow in all facets of their lives. Coaches support teachers in lesson development, co-teaching of lessons, and providing materials. Additionally, there are three full time school psychologists that are shared between five buildings, with the fourth full time school psychologist at the high school.
Here are a few examples of MTSD’s excellence while meeting the challenges of the last year:
- Delivered 40 weeks of on-campus instruction for our students. We were one of only half of the school districts in the US to do this.
- Facilitated a high quality distance learning option for 845 students.
- Connected 100% of our families to technology resources. Every student was given their own chromebook to make on-campus and virtual learning successful.
- Implemented new digital technologies to support teaching and learning in our schools and across our community.
- Provided 490,000 free school meals to families via USDA nationwide waivers, feeding hundreds of our community’s children daily.
- Steffen Middle School was selected as an AVID National Demonstration School.
- MTSD Seniors filling out the FAFSA, a leading predictor of whether a student will go on to college, increased 1.3%, while most peer districts decreased, including a statewide decrease of 13% and a national decrease of 8%.
2020-21 Student Achievements
- Homestead juniors Adam Garsha, Jacob Schmidman and Ethan Wang all scored a perfect 36 on their ACT exam.
- Homestead senior Malika Daikawa earned a 2021 Student Initiative Scholarship from the Herb Kohl Education Foundation
- Lake Shore Middle School’s forensic team won the middle school state championship.
- Homestead senior Ava Meester was selected as a Scholastic Art Award winner.
- Homestead senior Isabella Kramer was selected as a 2021 Wisconsin Affiliate Winner by the National Center for Women in Information Technology.
- Homestead’s One Act, “The Edge of Reflection” won the Critic’s Choice, Directing, Outstanding Crew and Outstanding Ensemble awards at the Wisconsin High School Theatre State Festival.
- Homestead senior Taliah Lansing and junior Ben Usatinsky won individual acting awards at the Wisconsin High School Theatre State Festival.
- Homestead senior Hannah Kennedy was a runner-up for Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association.
- Homestead’s Dance Team finished 4th at the Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches, Inc. State Meet.
- Homestead’s Boys Golf Team finished 2nd in the WIAA Division I State Tournament.
- Four homestead Varsity Athletic Programs were recognized as North Shore Conference Champions: Boys Cross Country, Boys Golf, Boys Track & Field, Girls Track & Field.
The District Supports Social and Emotional Needs
Each MTSD school has Social & Emotional staff members to help teach these skills to students and to support MTSD students through life's challenges.
MTSD’s Social and Emotional staff provide leadership and coaching to grow teachers' capacity in social-emotional welfare and support our school families. We believe that through attending to the social-emotional health of all students, students will grow in all facets of their lives. Coaches support teachers in lesson development, co-teaching of lessons, and providing materials. Additionally, there are three full time school psychologists that are shared between five buildings, with the fourth full time school psychologist at the high school.