Vice Chancellor of University Relations Vince Sweeney says the UW is taking the issue very seriously. He says it’s unfortunate, but officials are committed to following through with all reports made against Chadima.

AUDIO: Vince Sweeney (:10)

Chadima resigned in January for undisclosed reasons. A report later released by the UW detailed allegations that he sexually assaulted a student employee in his hotel while on the road for the Rose Bowl. Officials say Chadima threatened the male student’s job when he rejected him.

The university has been asking anyone with a complaint about Chadima to file a report. So far, two more people have come forward.

Robin Colbert, WIBA

AUDIO: Brian Brawner, WWIS

The investigation concluded the school was not at fault in the girl’s death according to.Superintendant Ron Saari. “Basically, the allegations made against the district regarding the incident were unfounded.” Saari says. “There were approximately seven points that were looked atand (with) each one of them there was no evidence to support the allegation. From that standpoint, its a comfort to know that the district did follow it’s policies and did address any issues of bullying that were brought forward in a very timely manner and a very effective manner.”

The school launched the investigation after the girl’s mother accused school officials of doing nothing to stop more than two years worth of verbal and physical bullying despite the girl’s pleas for help. Saari said the school district is still sympathetic to the loss of one of their students and to the loss to the family.

Tengler was found dead at home November 10th. The death remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation

READ:  Buckley file (PDF)

The incident started when Shaw began clapping after Buckley had returned with a group of four girls who was the last to finish a mapping exercise. The university’s vice-chancellor said Buckley appears to have ” just lost it” and that he had lost confidence in her ability to interact with students in a safe and professional manner.

Buckley said in a statement that no one is certain what really happened and she said her decision to resign at the end of the school year had nothing to do with the incident.

AUDIO: Brian Brawner, WWIS (1:20)

The purpose is not necessarily to save money: Dervetski says the idea is to use school facilities and tax dollars more efficiently, while giving staff members more time to prepare for their classes. It would not involve year-round school. Dervetski says it’s possible the state would grant a waiver from the normal 180-days of classes — although the district would still need to hold the state’s minimum numbers of classroom hours. The Blair-Taylor School Board has yet to vote on the change, but Dervetski says five members have told him they support it.

Dervetski says a four-day school week has been adopted by other districts in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Idaho, and Oregon with great success. The next step is for the board to hold public hearings. Then, the superintendent said the board would act on it. And if it passes, the DPI would review the details and then make a final decision. The Blair-Taylor School District has just over 700 students.

State Senator Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) was caught on tape this week talking about the school choice program. On the recording, which was made by someone sitting near Ellis in a Madison bar without his knowledge, the Senator refers to Green Bay Preble High School as a “sewer.”

Ellis admits he made the comments, but is now apologizing to school officials who were outraged.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (:56)

Ellis was discussing a bill with other lawmakers that would close a loophole created by a state budget provision that expanded Milwaukee’s schools choice program to Racine. The original measure left the door open for creating voucher schools in Green Bay as well.

WHBY’s Rick Schuh contributed to this report.

Among other things, according to Governor Walker, the legislation would implement a package of education reforms that will improve accountability in schools, improve teacher training, and measure student achievement while laying the foundation for kids to succeed. “And I wanna particularly highlight and thank Dr. Tony Evers … because while he and I, in the past, have disagreed on an issue here or there, I think we both have a shared interest in making sure that every kid — every young person in this state no matter what zip code they come from, no matter what their background, no matter where they live, no matter what their parents do — every kid in this state has access to a great education.”

Evers has worked on a wide array of education reforms over the past year and while he and the governor don’t agree on everything, they do agree on the recommendations of the reading taskforce. “We’ve agreed that it’s important that we have a different way of preparing teachers to teach reading in our schools … provide more professional development for teachers around reading instruction … an early screener for the kids going into kindergarten. All these things we agree on, how that looks in legislation is a whole different matter.”

Walker stresses the importance of reading, saying it is the fundamental building block of education. “From kindergarten to third grade you learn to read; from fourth grade on you use your reading skills to learn. You go from learning to read to reading to learn.”

Evers says it’s important to make sure any action is transparent. Also, he says, education reforms must be fully funded because schools are already dealing with cuts to funding. “We’ve got some good ideas on the table; they have to translate accurately into legislation that reflects those good ideas. That’s my only concern now.”

Evers says overall it was a positive meeting, still, many board members and administrators are concerned about the future.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 2:33

Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management explains how participating students will gain important and potentially life-saving knowledge. “STEP is a turn-key classroom curriculum that teachers can give to their 5th grade students — it’s aimed at 5th graders — and it teaches them how to deal with emergencies, how to get ready for a tornado or floods or manmade disasters that happen in their communities.”

Kids are like a sponge; Pritchard says they’ll soak up the information and form good habits early in their lives. “The kids are the agents of change. They’re the ones who are gonna change our society, not the rest of us.”

The STEP program is flexible and customizable to the schools’ and students’ needs. Pritchard says each student will get a starter emergency kit to take home with them. More than 5500 students in 250 classrooms in the Badger State are participating in the program. Wisconsin was the first state in the Midwest to try the program, which is funded through a federal grant.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:29

Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) argues groups collecting recall petitions are being given an extra day to finish their work. The recalls against the governor, lieutenant governor, and four Senate Republicans were launched on November 15th. Counting out from there, Fitzgerald says Friday, January 13th would bring them to the 60 day mark and petitions should be due.

However, the timeline set up by the Government Accountability Board when the recalls began and supported by a memo from the Department of Justice indicates the final day to collect signatures is Saturday, January 14th. Fitzgerald says that gives recall groups 61 days.

Fitzgerald has filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board, which asks the agency to either order the petitions to be turned in by the end of today, or to strike signatures gathered on November 15th or January 14th. If the agency does not, Fitzgerald says he is ready to take the issue to court.

Recall committee attorney Jeremy Levinson dismissed Fitzgerald’s argument, noting the timeline has been clear from the start and has been used by the GAB, DOJ, and even in legal challenges brought by Republicans and Governor Scott Walker’s campaign. Levinson called the complaint “pure circus, and nothing more.”

While the GAB says recall groups have until Saturday to collect signatures, the petitions are not going to be turned in until January 17th. That’s because the first business day after the end of the signature gathering phase is Tuesday, due to the weekend and Martin Luther King holiday.

: Andrew Beckett reports (:57)

Last Friday, John Chadima, a senior associate athletic director, was placed on leave and ended up resigning following allegations of misconduct. The incident that led to the decision reportedly took place while the Badgers were in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, although UW officials have not disclosed what happened.

State Representative Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) says the process being used by the UW-Madison to investigate the incident initially appeared appropriate and reasonable. However, now Nass says it appears the inquiry, called by Interim Chancellor David Ward, may be more of an attempt to contain information from the public and control institutional damage.

Nass says the UW should publicly disclose the nature of the allegations.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Ward said he understands the case is raising a lot of questions but “it is imperative the committee be allowed to complete its work.” Ward says he will provide as much transparency as possible and also defended the panel reviewing the incident, saying they have “the highest integrity.”

Robin Colbert, WIBA

An executive order announced by the governor will create a college and workforce readiness council. Walker says the panel will look for ways to help employers, colleges, and universities team up to train students for high-demand fields. The governor says it will address a “big frustration” expressed by employers around the state, who say they have jobs but cannot find enough qualified workers to fill them.

Walker says the council will also look for ways to create partnerships between high schools and tech schools, which could increase the use of dual enrollment at those institutions.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:09)

The jobs plan also calls for adding 14 new workforce development employees to help people find open positions and doubling the number of job fairs held around the state each year.

Walker is also offering his support for two pieces of legislation being considered at the Capitol. One of those bills would make it easier for veterans to find work by allowing them to obtain professional credentials from the state based on their active duty jobs. The other would allow people to continue collecting unemployment benefits while training for a new job.

Walker made the announcement Monday morning during a stop in Pulaski.

Contributed by Rick Schuh, WHBY