1. William Gardner
of Hartford says
he didn’t know
contributions to
Walker campaign
were against law
By KRISTINE WALDEN
Daily News Staff
Charges of excessive po-
litical contributions and
unlawful political contribu-
tions have been filed against
the 63-year-old owner of
Wisconsin and Southern
Railroad.
William E. Gardner of
Hartford was charged Mon-
day with the felonies that
each carry a maximum
penalty of $10,000 in
fines, three-and-a-
half years imprison-
ment or both. Gard-
ner said in a state-
ment that he accept-
ed full responsibility
for the illegal contri-
butions and would
plead guilty to the
charges.
While he was
charged in Washington
County, special prosecutor
Bruce J. Landgraf, Milwau-
kee County assistant district
attorney, is handling the
case.
According to the criminal
complaint:
Landgraf began a John
Doe investigation into
Gardner’s campaign contri-
butions to Gov. Scott Walker
and other politi-
cians in May.
Through the in-
vestigation, Lan-
dgraf gathered evi-
dence that the rail-
road receives mil-
lions of dollars in
grants and loans
from the state of
Wisconsin.
Gardner’s first
violation of campaign fi-
nance laws occurred in 2005
when he made a $5,000 con-
tribution to “Friends of
Scott Walker” during a time
when he was acting as a lob-
byist. He paid a $1,000 fine to
the Wisconsin Ethics Board.
Further investigation
showed that Gardner had
friends and railroad employ-
ees write out checks to
“Friends of Scott Walker”
and either personally or
through the railroad ac-
counts would reimburse
them.
In total, more than $60,000
was made in donations to
Walker from employees and
friends which were either
reimbursed by the railroad
or Gardner.
A statement released on
Monday by Friends for Scott
Walker said “immediately
after this situation was
brought to the attention of
the campaign, any known
contributions related to this
donor were immediately
returned. The campaign
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Volume 155, Number 182
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From left, Kevin Kennedy, director of the Wisconsin
Government Accountability Board, John Chisholm, Mil-
waukee County district attorney, and Bruce Landgraf,
Milwaukee County assistant district attorney, appear at a
news conference in Madison on Monday to discuss
charges against William Gardner, president of the
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Co.
Gardner
John Ehlke/Daily News Staff
Jackson Elementary cross categorical teacher Elizabeth Streubel serves her collection of first-grade students while working on addi-
tion with money including quarters, nickels and dimes. Streubel is one of two teachers that teach first grade in a shared room, a new
technique to help children of all backgrounds in one room.
Railroad exec made illegal donations
Nothing ‘off
the table’ as
Hartford Jt. 1
tackles budget
District’s shortfall
could be $1.2 million
By LARRY HANSON
Daily News Staff
HARTFORD — In the wake of the
collective bargaining debate that has
divided this state for the past two
months and Gov. Scott Walker’s pro-
posed budget for 2011-13, school dis-
tricts around the state are going to have
to be creative when they figure out how
to close projected budget holes.
“Projected” is key because Wiscon-
sin Act 10 (the collective bargaining
Recount of
Kewaskum
school vote
starts today
Three counties
will be involved
By DAN MUCKELBAUER
Daily News Staff
Kewaskum School District’s recount
will start today in the village.
By the end of the week, the process
will include a visit from Fond du Lac
County officials and a trip to
Sheboygan County.
The recount’s taking place because
James Leister lost by two votes in the
race for School Board, edged out by Sue
A. Miller in the district that spans three
counties.
“First of all, it’s two votes. Maybe I
can pick up a couple votes,” said
Leister, who filed the recount petition
Thursday.
Effort is to keep
special education
students in class
with their peers as
much as possible
By KRISTEN J. KUBISIAK
Daily News Staff
I
n a second-grade classroom
at Jackson Elementary
School, special education
teacher Liz Streubel works with
a group of 10 students review-
ing a math lesson about geomet-
ric shapes.
On the other side of the class-
room, another similarly sized
group of students is huddled
around first-grade teacher
Denise Gantner, learning a new
math concept.
After about 15 minutes with
each teacher, the children go
back to their desks to partici-
pate in a group activity. Both
teachers circulate around the
classroom, checking on students
who need help.
It’s what Streubel calls “team
teaching,” and it’s one of the
many ways that special educa-
tion in the classroom has
changed over past decades.
Streubel is one of 50 special
education teachers in the West
Bend School District, where
about 13 percent of the student
population is classified as dis-
abled. Including aides, speech
and language teachers, a hearing
specialist and early childhood
educators, a total of 153 district
staff members support the spe-
cial education population.
Students who qualify for the
special education program face
one or more challenges to their
learning, from hearing or vision
impairments to developmental
delays (or a lag in a child’s phys-
ical, cognitive, emotional, or
social development in compari-
son with established norms.)
Federal and state laws man-
date that public school districts
provide special education ser-
vices to students from age 3
through the end of the school
term in which they turn 21.
The financial impact of pro-
viding special education pro-
gramming varies from year to
year, depending on the needs of
the students served and the
amount of state support, accord-
ing to Bob Buchholtz, adminis-
trator of finance and support
services for the district.
Buchholtz said the budget
proposed by Gov. Scott Walker
will reduce the level of reim-
bursement for special education
from 26 percent to 24 percent.
“At one time the state reim-
bursed 75 percent,” Buchholtz
said.
The less the district receives
in reimbursements or from
grants, the more that must be
re-allocated from the operating
budget to make up the differ-
ence.
“Special education is a pro-
gram that has many rules and
regulations and is an obligation
that we provide educational
opportunities for all kids,”
Buchholtz said. “Those services
will cost more because more
staff are involved.”
In 2010, the district’s special
education expense per pupil was
$10,918, about $170 more than
the per pupil cost for general
education students. The amount
spend on special education
totaled around $10 million.
The statewide average per
pupil cost for special education
students in 2009-2010 was
$14,108.
For the students and families
who rely on the program, it’s
hard to put a price on the ser-
vice.
“We feel very fortunate,” said
Patty Repinski, whose son is
enrolled in the special education
program.
Ben Repinski, 9, is an autistic
student at Jackson Elementary.
He started his education at 2.
“The early intervention is
very important,” said Patty
Repinski. “He has come a long
way from 2 years old to now. He
is a lot more social.”
Repinski said her son loves
school.
“He loves being at school and
doing school work,” she said.
“It’s just amazing. At home over
spring break he is bored.”
Ben is educated with stu-
dents his own age, in a general
education classroom most of the
day — with occasional breaks.
He uses a DynaVox computer to
communicate and receives help
as necessary from a special edu-
cation teacher.
Keeping special education
students in the classroom with
their peers as much as possible
is important, Streubel said.
“Research has found it’s best
for students to participate in
Teaching that’s really special
Kewaskum School District
2011 spring election
Complete but unofficial results
Candidate Votes Pct
Timothy Ramthun 2,380 24.91
Troy Hanson 1,584 16.58
Sue A. Miller 1,515 15.85
James Leister 1,513 15.83
Andrew Kuehl 1,315 13.76
Jessica Baker 931 9.74
Write-ins 318 3.32
Total votes cast 9,556
Please see RECOUNT/A7
Please see HARTFORD/A7Please see TEACHING/A7
Please see GARDNER/A7