As reported on the website of the Dane County Clerk tonight, two of the three referenda questions for the Madison Metro School District were defeated in today's special elections. Question One failed (allocating funds to build a new elementary school), Question Two failed (a district revenue cap exception), while Question Three (increased funds for maintenance) passed. The first two questions were defeated by margins of 47 to 53 and 44 to 56, respectively, while the third passed by a margin of 53 to 47.

Though yesterday's report about Madison schools reporting from Isthmus focused on admirers and critics of the paper's coverage, it was also an introduction to School Information System, a group blog for and about Madison schools, a website repeatedly defined here as "an enterprise that is part media outlet, part primary source, and part advocacy vehicle." For anybody interested in learning the background of why the first two questions were defeated (and why the third passed barely), straight from the keyboards of school board members and activist district parents, familiarity with School Info System is a must. The special elections portal maintained by Jim Zellmer, creator of School Info System, is a remarkable collection of information about the referenda in itself.

In fact, a essay titled I Care, But I Think To, which was posted this morning by a district parent and friend of School Info System, effectively presaged the outcome of the referenda. Though the parent voted No, Yes, and Yes on the referenda, her qualification for Question Two effectively predicted its defeat;

This post was only the latest of multiple pieces posted on School Information System that are essential to understanding the changing dynamics in MMSD politics, from the defeat of two questions today to the election of Lawrie Kobza in April. School Information System and allied NGO Active Citizens for Eductaion herald the online component of this shift.

There has been limited coverage of School Info System in local media, in part because the website in some ways represents competition with regards to Madison school news, without the intermediary of the traditional editorial process. With three of seven school board members posting on the site (Johnny Winston Jr., Lawrie Kobza, and Ruth Robarts), and the recipient of enmity from another (Juan Jose Lopez), School Info System represents a primary source of words coming direct from the elected policymakers that the commercial media cannot compete with. With the participation of multiple active parents in the district, this effect is only increased.

Though the contributions there aren't really reporting, and the site is not capable of providing complete understanding of changing district politics, it remains an impressive informational resource. It is useful both as a filter of schools reporting from local media and elsewhere, but also as a direct source on many drivers behind the ongoing political opposition to board leadership.

Though this seems in spite of some efforts from project creator Jim Zellmer, the contributors to School Info System are definitely reflective of the challenge to "status quo" district leadership. This is particularly reflected by the participation of Ruth Robarts, Lawrie Kobza, Kobza's campaign treasurer, and other contributors and "friends" of the blog, who include previous school board candidate challengers Lawrence Winkler and Melania Alvarez. It is also reflected by the school board candidate recruitment efforts this past winter by Zellmer and others.

This cast of contributors is not monolithic, however, with the "friends" page noting Zellmer's certainty that "these friends don't agree on every issue." The best examples of this are the active participation of several parents who disagree with the Robarts-style critique of MMSD issues. Another significant example is the prolific contributions of Johnny Winston, Jr., a Madison School Board member elected in 2004 who is politically associated with the dominant wing of the board.

Moreover, Zellmer has promoted ecumenicalism with regards to participation on the site. In a post-script to a post pointing to an interview he conducted with Get Real president Kirby Brant, Zellmer wrote, "I'm happy to post views from all players interested in the May 2005 referendums." In another post pointing to the Mad City Grumps website, he wrote that it was "great to see this activity. I hope we see more - across all spectrums on these issues." Moreover, there is a special sub-portal for Madison Cares information (a pro-referenda group) on the site. Zellmer also posted a rundown of pointers to the city's campaign finance reports for groups organizing around the referendums.

Despite this, School Information System takes on the advocacy role mentioned at top, above and beyond its stated purpose to increase public discussion and transparency around MMSD policymaking. Perhaps this situation is as much the responsibility of those who shun this emerging form of communication, as typified by Juan Jose Lopez's stating "this type of forum is destructive." It is also clearly a result of the underlying dynamics of the political shift, however, with change driven by activists unhappy with the current board and district leadership and policies.

In a May 19 post by Zellmer about the referendums, he writes that Madison’s support for local education is "remarkable," discussing his thoughts that the politics of the referenda revolve around "when we collectively reach the (tipping) point where piling more and more on the property taxpayer effectively erodes this essential support." He went on to call for more District transparency in its budgeting process and for an attempt to fundamentally revise school district financing schemes.

Other recent original pieces on School Info System include: a Vote No appeal on the Leopold School referendum from Lawrence Winkler on May 19; a May 17 post by school board member Ruth Robarts about "several barriers to an automatic yes vote" from her, which listed her reservations about each of the three referenda; and a couple of pieces about demographic shifts (increased diversity, ESL, and special needs) in the district, including one from Kobza campaign treasurer Barb Schrank about funding options in light of these shifts.

School Information System is also indirectly affiliated with Active Citizens for Education (ACE), a non-profit organization with the mission of changing the "ways we conduct the business of education" in Madison, as reported in late March and in early May by WISC-TV. An impressive resource of information about education issues, the group was critical of the referenda. ACE president Don Severson, quoted in the article about his plans to vote no on the referenda, is also a contributor to and friend of the group blog. He also wrote a St. Patrick's Day column in the Cap Times about the referendums, criticizing school board member Bill Keys and Superintendent Art Rainwater for their rhetoric about the issue.

The most accurate presentation of the prevailing position on School Information System is an April 28 essay by blog friend and contributor Ed Blume, who frames political divide on the school board not as left vs. right, but as "status quo vs. improvement." He wrote, "[t]he true fault line runs between a group determined to defend the status quo and a group whose few members ask whether the board and district could be better."

With the April election of Lawrie Kobza, and today's defeat of two out of the three refenda, it is clear that there is an emerging (property) taxpayers revolt in the city, one that is typified by many contributors to School Information System. Certainly there are many entities that command tremendous attention in the debate that are not party to this online ecology, but the significance of netroots in Madison is growing.

Featuring the 'friendship' of two sitting board members and two recently defeated board challengers, regular posts from a third, and the antagonism of a fourth, the site it an underappreciated source of primary information about the MMSD, largely from the self-defined anti-status quo perspective. As mentioned yesterday, local media, other local elected officials, and Madisonians that pay attention to these issues would do well to take notice.

More coverage of the referenda is available from the State Journal, the Cap Times, and WISC-TV.

In sum, one of the most important ongoing stories about Madison schools that needs telling is that of School Information Systems itself, and its ongoing redefinition of how interested citizens are engaging in local school board politics.

Note: Flower graphic is courtesy School Information System.