Madison Media Digest: Budgets and building, Homelessness and Education

Our weekly look at the headlines in Madison

Here’s what we were reading while drones buzzed, or didn’t, overhead. 

Budgets and building

Madison’s 2016 budget is increasing as amendments restore projects and add initiatives. The public market would be put back on the schedule for 2017 and 2018. Other changes would fund social services and increase salaries. We wrote about the construction on Monroe Street, which was not in the initial budget, but has been restored. Changes to the budget represent competing priorities. The Urban League and the City’s Department of Civil Rights expressed excitement about the $200M Judge Doyle Square development. Permit applications to build apartments downtown continue to rise. Consultants unveiled proposed designs for renovations to the City County Building. Dane County has signed a contract with a company that will help remove phosphorus from farm water in order to reduce the algae in Madison’s lakes.   

Homelessness

After their eviction, Madison’s homeless population has moved from the City County Building to the streets on Capitol Square. The groups Madison and Dane County will contract with to run services for the homeless need as much scrutiny as the locations those services will be provided, writes Chris Rickert. University of Wisconsin–Madison may participate in providing services at a proposed homeless day center. Sun Prairie is opening a women and children’s shelter over the objections of neighbors. 

Education

Madison schools plan to overhaul how it serves students who come from homes where English is not spoken, a growing population within the district. MMSD has dropped plans to expand Spanish immersion programs to Thoreau Elementary. Some have expressed concerns about the demographic skew of immersion programs. Madison365 previously called for an inclusive process in reshaping these programs. Shabazz High School lets students chart their own courses. Local schools hosted events featuring local produce as part of Farm to School month.