Recently, the Memorial Parkway Junior High family lost a dedicated and passionate teacher. Margaret Chapman impacted children as a teacher for 49 years. She helped open Memorial Parkway Junior High, and taught there for 29 years. I learned today that she even wrote the words to the school song!
Both my children had her for 8th grade English, and I believe both of them love Edgar Allan Poe due to her passion for teaching it. She loved poetry, and on several occasions, she and the librarian, Diane Orlowski, hosted a Coffee House Night of poetry reading. The library was transformed into a 1960's style coffee house, with dim lights, pillows on floors, and a single spotlight and stool. Students were invited to read aloud poetry they had written in class, and applause was replaced with finger-snaps. To get the ball rolling, I was invited to read a poem, and in true Beatnik fashion (black turtleneck, beret, the works--) I "played" the bongo drums I'd borrowed from the Band Hall and, with as much drama as I could muster, recited "One Fish, Two Fish" by Dr. Seuss. Mrs. Chapman knew that 8th graders are a tough audience that needed to be allowed to be silly in front of their peers. Secretly, I had a ball, and was glad to help her with that lesson.
Katy ISD has many such dedicated teachers, and I'm so sorry for the loss of Margaret Chapman. It was a wonderful testimony to her life and vocation that the church was standing room only this afternoon for her memorial service. Over her long career, she touched literally thousands of students, instilling a love of literature and poetry and writing that has and will serve them well.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
More School Board 101: The Importance of Good Relationships with Legislators
WHAT to do tonight? I hate it when there are two parties to go to on a particular night. ;-)
Tonight the Katy Area will have two events to choose from: a Meet-the-Candidates night with GOP candidates for State legislature, and a town hall meeting called by Bill Proctor. Sad. Not because it'll be hard to go to both events. Sad because Proctor doesn't "get it".
More on how the School Board Works: The single group of people who most impact the school district's financial situation is NOT the school board-- it's the State legislature. This group of people decides how much money districts get, and impose mandated programs on the districts (often with no money to make them happen). An important part of the School Board Trustee's "job" is to meet with State and National representatives and tell them how laws they are considering will impact school districts. That requires working relationships with people in office. When the legislature is in session and debating education laws, it's important that they know school board members they are comfortable calling and asking about impact. Last spring, I had several calls from a State Representative on the floor of the house who was asking "Chris, how will this work in Katy?" The reason I was called was because I'd spent the time developing relationships with people in State and National office.
So why is Bill not only skipping an opportunity to further his relationships with folks who will be in the State Legislature, but also drawing people away from that opportunity? I don't know. But it is another example of his idea of "team play".
State Reps need to know how what they do impacts school districts. If you feel that it is important for your State Legislative candidates to know YOUR priorities for education, go to tonights KAR event and let them know. Then, let Bill know you wish he'd been there, too.
KAR: 3/28/12 @ Spring Creek BBQ on I-10 at Westgreen, 6:30-8:30.
Tonight the Katy Area will have two events to choose from: a Meet-the-Candidates night with GOP candidates for State legislature, and a town hall meeting called by Bill Proctor. Sad. Not because it'll be hard to go to both events. Sad because Proctor doesn't "get it".
More on how the School Board Works: The single group of people who most impact the school district's financial situation is NOT the school board-- it's the State legislature. This group of people decides how much money districts get, and impose mandated programs on the districts (often with no money to make them happen). An important part of the School Board Trustee's "job" is to meet with State and National representatives and tell them how laws they are considering will impact school districts. That requires working relationships with people in office. When the legislature is in session and debating education laws, it's important that they know school board members they are comfortable calling and asking about impact. Last spring, I had several calls from a State Representative on the floor of the house who was asking "Chris, how will this work in Katy?" The reason I was called was because I'd spent the time developing relationships with people in State and National office.
So why is Bill not only skipping an opportunity to further his relationships with folks who will be in the State Legislature, but also drawing people away from that opportunity? I don't know. But it is another example of his idea of "team play".
State Reps need to know how what they do impacts school districts. If you feel that it is important for your State Legislative candidates to know YOUR priorities for education, go to tonights KAR event and let them know. Then, let Bill know you wish he'd been there, too.
KAR: 3/28/12 @ Spring Creek BBQ on I-10 at Westgreen, 6:30-8:30.
Monday, March 26, 2012
March Board Meeting Comments
It was standing room only at the school board meeting tonight. Twenty-four people signed up to speak in the open forum. The vast majority (15) were people speaking about being embarrassed by last week's walk-out by Proctor & Huckaby, and asking for the grandstanding to stop. Three spoke in support of Proctor & Huckaby's actions, one spoke in support of naming schools after educators, one spoke about a playground in the district needing additional sidewalks, a candidate for State Board of Education introduced herself, Mr. Huckaby attacked me personally, and Terri Majors and Cynthia Blackman "passed" and chose not to speak. (Odd, since they came out last week and spoke in support of Proctor & Huckaby. I wonder if Bill is angry they didn't follow his directions?)
Here are my comments from tonight's school board meeting:
Here's the proof: A mass e-mail from Mr. Proctor saying, and I quote: “I believe that we now have another election issue. I think the item below should appeal to taxpayers, teachers, etc. Our candidates must say that they are committed to passing a Local Policy…”
So, taxpayers, teachers, and voters: don’t allow yourself to be manipulated!
And Mr. Proctor: You must decide: Are you a campaign manager or a School Board Trustee? If you want to be a trustee, then explain to me how walking out on a school board meeting in order to prevent the orderly process of school district business fulfills your fiduciary obligation to the students, taxpayers, staff and residents of this district.
Here are my comments from tonight's school board meeting:
This whole week of shenanigans has not been about
Teacher and Administrator Contracts—it’s about the upcoming election.
Here's the proof: A mass e-mail from Mr. Proctor saying, and I quote: “I believe that we now have another election issue. I think the item below should appeal to taxpayers, teachers, etc. Our candidates must say that they are committed to passing a Local Policy…”
So, taxpayers, teachers, and voters: don’t allow yourself to be manipulated!
And Mr. Proctor: You must decide: Are you a campaign manager or a School Board Trustee? If you want to be a trustee, then explain to me how walking out on a school board meeting in order to prevent the orderly process of school district business fulfills your fiduciary obligation to the students, taxpayers, staff and residents of this district.
The e-mail I referred to is here (Yellow highlighting is mine):
----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Lesa Trapp Sent: Mon, March 26, 2012
8:17:57 AM Subject: FW: Personnel Contracts
Education Support Complex, Merrell Center, Katy, TX
Katy Tea and Save Our Teachers PAC needs you to
show up at the Katy ISD BOT Regular Meeting,
Monday, March 26 at 6:30pm to support Katy ISD
teachers and BOT members Dr. Bill Proctor and Terry
Huckaby.
I need you all there tonight. It is time to take back our
schools. Lets show our signs. No more will we take it.
Thank you,
Lesa Trapp
Patriot & HC PCT Chair 618
www.lesatrapp.net
From: bproctor@consolidated.net
To: bproctor10@gmail.com
Subject: Personnel Contracts Date: Mon,
26 Mar 2012 06:23:09 -0500
Everyone,
I sent the information below to a few people. I am going
to follow through on the legality of this issue.
In the event that Joe is correct, I believe that we now
have another election issue. I think the item below
should appeal to taxpayers, teachers, etc.
Our candidates must say that they are committed to
passing a Local Policy that gives the Board the
responsibility for reviewing and approving the language
in all personnel contracts. They want ensure that the
Board exercises its fiduciary responsibility for contracts
and budgets.
Everyone,
I find Joe’s explanation very hard to believe. We may
have been following this procedure over the years but it
does not seem legal to me.
Bill
Saturday, March 24, 2012
How School Boards Work, Part III: Who's the Boss?
Saw a comment in that other blog that Bill Proctor is Alton Frailey's boss. I'd like to clarify that misconception. Alton Frailey's boss is the Board of Trustees acting as a body corporate. Think about how horrible a band would sound if instead of having a single conductor, the brass, percussion, woodwinds, and horns all had separate conductors. If each section played at different tempos, and the horns wanted to play a waltz instead of a march, the music would be a mess! State law is pretty smart in this instance: Having 7 trustees ensures the values of the community are woven into all decisions, but by insisting they act as a single unit, they avoid the total confusion of superintendents getting 7 sets of directions.
The job of the Superintendent is, in a nutshell, to educate students and manage the resources of the district. Since Alton Frailey has been in Katy ISD, student test scores have improved, the district continues to win awards for financial management practices, transparency, and for achieving significant student academic growth while keeping spending relatively low, and in 2010 he was awarded Superintendent of the Year for Region IV.
My hope, as a taxpayer and as a person concerned about the students of this community, is that Alton Frailey will focus his energies and talents on running the district, rather than baby-sitting a board that is dysfunctional because two of its members' goal is to derail the business of the district for an election-time publicity stunt. I also hope that the board will get its act together before they "distract" this district to disaster.
The job of the Superintendent is, in a nutshell, to educate students and manage the resources of the district. Since Alton Frailey has been in Katy ISD, student test scores have improved, the district continues to win awards for financial management practices, transparency, and for achieving significant student academic growth while keeping spending relatively low, and in 2010 he was awarded Superintendent of the Year for Region IV.
My hope, as a taxpayer and as a person concerned about the students of this community, is that Alton Frailey will focus his energies and talents on running the district, rather than baby-sitting a board that is dysfunctional because two of its members' goal is to derail the business of the district for an election-time publicity stunt. I also hope that the board will get its act together before they "distract" this district to disaster.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
So, Why DID They Walk Out?
Got a question from Jenni: (read her entire comment on the posting "Proctor and Huckaby Take Their Ball and Go Home")
I'm so confused here I can't make heads or tails, and I'm hoping you can help. Did Proctor and Huckaby walk out because it was inappropriate to take a vote on that issue (offering administrators the 2-year contracts) at THAT TIME, and would it have been possible for them to publicly protest the vote at the time of the meeting? Could they have had the board delay that vote and then stay to take part in OTHER matters? Do you think it's appropriate to ask to grant 2-year contracts to administrators --with cuts coming down the pike (it sounds like Frailey wants to protect his "cronies"-- is THAT the case?)? It's obvious that games are being played, but I'm not familiar enough with how this is supposed to work to make a clear judgment on who is doing what and whether or not it's "o.k."!
These are great questions!
Let's take the last question first and talk about the games being played: P&H absolutely could have stayed and protested the vote at the time of the meeting. In fact, that is their duty as Trustees. A lot of other business needed to be handled besides the 2-year contracts. From the agenda and my experience, I would guess there were a lot of specific terminations and "RILT" (Resign in lieu of termination) for teachers who are not doing a good job. Those have to happen at the end of the contract cycle, and by a certain date under Texas law. You are absolutely right: games are being played here... and when P&H play those games, it derails the business of running the district.
About voting that night versus later: It was completely appropriate to vote on contracts at that meeting, and if we put it in context of the school year, it makes better sense. This is the time of year that teachers and administrators start looking for new positions, because they are all on contracts that keep them from doing it in the middle of the year. If teachers and administrators are not getting a contract this time of year, it makes jobs in other districts look that much more appealing. It is the piece of paper they have to have to buy a home as it shows they have employment. Holding up those contracts does them a great disservice.
Educator Contracts 101: All professional staff work under contract. There are two kinds; "term" and "probationary". Probationary contracts are usually given to people in the first year or two of a new assignment. Once they have a "term" contract, they basically have a never-ending job, because in order to fire them, the district has to have documented cause. In addition, it is very expensive to let a term-contract teacher go because they have the right to a number of hearings, which are very expensive for the district. That was why the teachers who were given pink slips last year were probationary-contract teachers, because if the district had let go term teachers and they all pursued hearings, it could have cost the district millions.
P&H would have you believe everyone working in the admin building get the 2 year contracts, while those on campuses only get one-year. NOT TRUE. Of all the "administrator" contracts, only 80-ish are 2-year contracts. With 50+ campuses, the vast majority went to principals, and the remainder went to heads of departments, like the chief of police or head of operations or accountability/assessment, etc. Here's why 2-year contracts are offered to some administrators: Who gets one is driven by supply and demand. There are few people who can do the job of a campus principal or head a department, and they are in greater demand. By giving those folks 2-year contracts, it locks them in and protects the district from loosing an asset that the district developed and invested in! How many administrators do you know who left us to find a bigger job at another district because KISD trained them so well! Tying them to a two-year contract helps to keep them at work here. It's not about protecting cronies; it's protecting an asset of the district.
Tragedy is, reviewing the POLICY of giving 2 year contracts now, while the State funding is so uncertain, is a good idea; however I've been told that there was no attempt by P&H to put that question on the agenda One other Trustee has told me privately he would have supported putting that question on the agenda, but not to hold up the awarding of all the teacher contracts. But P&H didn't do that. But it doesn't matter if Bill Proctor has a good ideas or not, if he presents them to the press rather than the board. His value as a board member is diminished because everyone with any sense is reluctant to deal with him when he chooses to do the business of the district in INK.
I'm so confused here I can't make heads or tails, and I'm hoping you can help. Did Proctor and Huckaby walk out because it was inappropriate to take a vote on that issue (offering administrators the 2-year contracts) at THAT TIME, and would it have been possible for them to publicly protest the vote at the time of the meeting? Could they have had the board delay that vote and then stay to take part in OTHER matters? Do you think it's appropriate to ask to grant 2-year contracts to administrators --with cuts coming down the pike (it sounds like Frailey wants to protect his "cronies"-- is THAT the case?)? It's obvious that games are being played, but I'm not familiar enough with how this is supposed to work to make a clear judgment on who is doing what and whether or not it's "o.k."!
These are great questions!
Let's take the last question first and talk about the games being played: P&H absolutely could have stayed and protested the vote at the time of the meeting. In fact, that is their duty as Trustees. A lot of other business needed to be handled besides the 2-year contracts. From the agenda and my experience, I would guess there were a lot of specific terminations and "RILT" (Resign in lieu of termination) for teachers who are not doing a good job. Those have to happen at the end of the contract cycle, and by a certain date under Texas law. You are absolutely right: games are being played here... and when P&H play those games, it derails the business of running the district.
So, why did they do it that way (walk out rather than vote "no" or abstain)? This is my opinion: I don't think it would have changed the outcome of the vote even if all 7 Trustees were present. So what was their point? It was for the Theatrics. We have an election coming up, and they wanted everyone to remember how angry everyone was last year about teacher layoffs, because that is what got them elected, and they are desperate to have two more buds on the board. Walking out and stealing the quorum wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it gave them an opportunity to get the attention of the press. On Tuesday, Mrs. Majors sent an inflammatory e-mail to teachers that indicated she and Mrs. Blackman are the only ones running who care about teachers. Coincidence? I doubt it... To consider this further: who REALLY has the best interests of the teachers at heart? Not P&H: they chose to hold up the contracts of over 4000 teachers with a stunt.
About voting that night versus later: It was completely appropriate to vote on contracts at that meeting, and if we put it in context of the school year, it makes better sense. This is the time of year that teachers and administrators start looking for new positions, because they are all on contracts that keep them from doing it in the middle of the year. If teachers and administrators are not getting a contract this time of year, it makes jobs in other districts look that much more appealing. It is the piece of paper they have to have to buy a home as it shows they have employment. Holding up those contracts does them a great disservice.
Educator Contracts 101: All professional staff work under contract. There are two kinds; "term" and "probationary". Probationary contracts are usually given to people in the first year or two of a new assignment. Once they have a "term" contract, they basically have a never-ending job, because in order to fire them, the district has to have documented cause. In addition, it is very expensive to let a term-contract teacher go because they have the right to a number of hearings, which are very expensive for the district. That was why the teachers who were given pink slips last year were probationary-contract teachers, because if the district had let go term teachers and they all pursued hearings, it could have cost the district millions.
P&H would have you believe everyone working in the admin building get the 2 year contracts, while those on campuses only get one-year. NOT TRUE. Of all the "administrator" contracts, only 80-ish are 2-year contracts. With 50+ campuses, the vast majority went to principals, and the remainder went to heads of departments, like the chief of police or head of operations or accountability/assessment, etc. Here's why 2-year contracts are offered to some administrators: Who gets one is driven by supply and demand. There are few people who can do the job of a campus principal or head a department, and they are in greater demand. By giving those folks 2-year contracts, it locks them in and protects the district from loosing an asset that the district developed and invested in! How many administrators do you know who left us to find a bigger job at another district because KISD trained them so well! Tying them to a two-year contract helps to keep them at work here. It's not about protecting cronies; it's protecting an asset of the district.
Tragedy is, reviewing the POLICY of giving 2 year contracts now, while the State funding is so uncertain, is a good idea; however I've been told that there was no attempt by P&H to put that question on the agenda One other Trustee has told me privately he would have supported putting that question on the agenda, but not to hold up the awarding of all the teacher contracts. But P&H didn't do that. But it doesn't matter if Bill Proctor has a good ideas or not, if he presents them to the press rather than the board. His value as a board member is diminished because everyone with any sense is reluctant to deal with him when he chooses to do the business of the district in INK.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Proctor and Huckaby Take their Ball and Go Home
Well, theater lovers enjoyed quite the spectacle this
evening! After the closed session, the
board members entered the boardroom and, like any other meeting, started
greeting the spectators who were in attendance.
I saw Bill Proctor, Terry Huckaby, Rebecca Fox, Joe Adams, and Neal
Howard. Henry Dibrell is in Africa on a
mission trip with the Amobi Okoye Foundation, and Robert Shaw continues to
recover from major surgery. The next
thing I realized, the board members had all vanished! Well, that prompted some chatter, but sure
enough, in about 15 minutes in walk Fox, Adams, Howard and Robert Shaw!
They started the meeting, and took votes on the closed
session items. Apparently, Shaw had not
been present in the closed session, because he recused himself from the appeal
of a grievance because he hadn’t been at the hearing. As the votes were tallied, Mr.
Adams noted that Mr. Dibrell was out of town and, “…Mr. Huckaby and Mr. Proctor
have left the building.”
What does THAT mean?
Did Proctor and Huckaby leave in order to close down the meeting for
lack of a quorum? Did a recovering Bob
Shaw have to be called in to make sure 4 members were present so that the
business of the district could be conducted?
These theatrics are reminiscent of the shenanigans of the
Texas Democrats who high-tailed it to Ardmore, OK to make a political
point. Or similar theatrics in Wisconsin and Indiana. As a taxpayer, this just makes me
MAD. How dare they waste the time of the
district patrons and of the employees present!
How dare they derail the work of the district! Yes, it was “just” a work-study meeting, and
nothing was voted on other than the personnel matters from closed session, but
those are important votes that keep the district moving forward in an orderly
way! They also gave up their chance to
ask questions and discuss the matters that were on the discussion agenda. Since that is the only way that divergent
views and values are factored into the decisions of the board, they failed in
their duty as Trustees to be at the dais and to contribute to the decision. For THEATER! Shame
on them!
Apparently, Proctor and Huckaby each handed the
press a press release, so this was not the case of a spontaneous response to
something that happened at the meeting.
It was a calculated political maneuver to… What??? Well, think about what THEIR agenda is. I think it’s pretty clear they are willing to
throw the work of the district under the bus in order to make a political
point, especially now that there is an election in less than two months. REALLY?? And how embarrassing for Katy ISD. This district used to be the envy of others
all around the State. It is antics like
this that will paint us a laughing stock….
And when we have a reputation as having
a thoroughly dysfunctional school board, what businesses will relocate
here? What great teachers and administrators will want to work here? What people will want their
children educated here? What will happen
to our home values and quality of life?
Saturday, March 17, 2012
I Heart KISD!
Friend at the administration building showed me a cool new
ad that is floating around. (This is a photograph of the one in Katy Magazine.)
Funny thing is, they don’t know where they are coming from
and asked if it was my idea. I wish
I’d thought of it! I love that the ads
invite people to post stories that celebrate good things happening to and in
Katy ISD. We have an unfortunate culture
in Katy that everyone is afraid to speak about positives because anyone who
does is pilloried by the Nay-Sayers. I
know, I know: there is no “theater” in good news, so nobody “likes” or
re-tweets or blogs about that. Shouldn’t
we be doing so?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
How does the School Board work with the Superintendent?
This is dictated by State law. The school district's organizational chart has the Community on the top, because they elect the individual Trustees. The Trustees AS A TEAM hire and oversee a Superintendent. The Supe then hires and manages all the staff members.
The job of the Superintendent is to be the educational expert who makes recommendations to the board. The job of the trustees is to bring the values of the community to the process, and to task the Supe with goals that reflect those values. They are also responsible for evaluating the Superintendent's progress toward those goals. (They have a few other duties like acting in a judicial capacity to hear grievances--I'll tackle those in another post.)
It can be hard for school board members to limit their involvement to an oversight role. In my opinion, people with strong backgrounds in business find this easier than others; those with backgrounds in education find it harder than others. It is like Mom and Dad telling Girl, "fix dinner". That is a nice clear task, but if they then hover in the kitchen, fussing about what is going into the recipe and adding things to the pan while Girl isn't looking. Now, factor into that equation that Girl went to Cordon Bleu and is a professional chef with many years experience. Mom and Dad gave the professional a goal, but then didn't let her accomplish it. It's not fair to evaluate Girl's recipe when Mom and Dad have messed with it, just like it isn't fair for the Board to evaluate the Supe's progress toward the goals they gave after they've meddled in the details.
Also, if a school board member tries to do the work of the Super or of the staff, the staff will be confused about who their boss really is. Let's expand the example above: the family has three children, and Mom and Dad put Girl in charge of fixing dinner. She gets Siblings to help, and tells Sib1 to add the onions and Sib2 to stir the pot. When Mom and Dad interfere and tell Sib1 to put in garlic, and tell Sib2 to set the table (leaving what's in the pot to burn), to whom should the Sibs listen? Mom and Dad have undermined Girl's authority by fussing with the details, leading to confusion about responsibilities and authorities.
There's one more issue with Boards "messing in the weeds" of running the district. If they are busy in the details, no one is setting the goals and doing the work the Board is SUPPOSED to be doing! And in that case, the district will, at best, tread water. It won't be able to go forward because there is no one spending time and effort envisioning the direction the district should be heading.
The job of the Superintendent is to be the educational expert who makes recommendations to the board. The job of the trustees is to bring the values of the community to the process, and to task the Supe with goals that reflect those values. They are also responsible for evaluating the Superintendent's progress toward those goals. (They have a few other duties like acting in a judicial capacity to hear grievances--I'll tackle those in another post.)
It can be hard for school board members to limit their involvement to an oversight role. In my opinion, people with strong backgrounds in business find this easier than others; those with backgrounds in education find it harder than others. It is like Mom and Dad telling Girl, "fix dinner". That is a nice clear task, but if they then hover in the kitchen, fussing about what is going into the recipe and adding things to the pan while Girl isn't looking. Now, factor into that equation that Girl went to Cordon Bleu and is a professional chef with many years experience. Mom and Dad gave the professional a goal, but then didn't let her accomplish it. It's not fair to evaluate Girl's recipe when Mom and Dad have messed with it, just like it isn't fair for the Board to evaluate the Supe's progress toward the goals they gave after they've meddled in the details.
Also, if a school board member tries to do the work of the Super or of the staff, the staff will be confused about who their boss really is. Let's expand the example above: the family has three children, and Mom and Dad put Girl in charge of fixing dinner. She gets Siblings to help, and tells Sib1 to add the onions and Sib2 to stir the pot. When Mom and Dad interfere and tell Sib1 to put in garlic, and tell Sib2 to set the table (leaving what's in the pot to burn), to whom should the Sibs listen? Mom and Dad have undermined Girl's authority by fussing with the details, leading to confusion about responsibilities and authorities.
There's one more issue with Boards "messing in the weeds" of running the district. If they are busy in the details, no one is setting the goals and doing the work the Board is SUPPOSED to be doing! And in that case, the district will, at best, tread water. It won't be able to go forward because there is no one spending time and effort envisioning the direction the district should be heading.
Friday, March 9, 2012
A Most Misunderstood Creature: The School Board
Having served on the school board, thought I'd spend some time here answering questions and talking about how the board works. It is a phenomenon that people who are happy with their schools don't bother to follow the doings of the board and don't bother to vote. Now that the district is at a crossroads, it is critical that people know how it works so they can see that a school board that doesn't function efficiently will impact classrooms eventually, and they need to understand how important it is that they vote in school board elections.
Comment I heard yesterday: "It's a 'rubber stamp' board!" What makes you think that, I asked, and was told it's because the votes are always 7-0. That doesn't mean a rubber stamp at all. The board is a 7-headed creature, and each "head" should bring individual values, concerns, ideas, etc to the discussion.
First of all, about 90% of what the board votes on is very mundane matters that don't require a long discussion because the path is obvious, or it's something where the path is very narrow due to State or Federal law. On the other matters where there is a real issue and direction to be given, the DISCUSSION should be lively and should indicate where a consensus can be reached. Then, a 7-0 vote gives the administration clear direction on the issue. When a 4-3 vote comes down, it leaves administration (and parents, taxpayers and everyone else) wondering how long that decision will hold, and no one will move forward on the decision without wondering if they are doing something that will be a big waste of time. It's a bit like Mom and Dad giving Junior directions on cleaning his room. Dad might want clothes up and vacuuming, and Mom wants all that and linens changed and dusting. If Mom and Dad don't get a unified direction out there on the things they can agree on, Junior is going to blow off cleaning his room at all or will play Mom against Dad!
One big difference is that Mom and Dad usually hash out their differences in private, while state law requires that the school board discuss it in a public meeting. Fortunately, in order to make the meeting more efficient, the school board has information about the item that is sent to every member ahead of time from the Superintendent. If they talk to more than 2 other members about it, it will violate the Open Meetings Act, so KISD has a practice where if a board member has a question about the materials, he is to send that question in an e-mail to the administration. Then, the question and answer will be sent to every board member. That way, everyone arrives at the meeting with the same knowledge, ready to discuss the topic. If Mom has read Dr. Spock and Dad has not, time will be needed to get Dad up to speed on the topic and what the experts say. If Mom and Dad have both come to the discussion with the same information, they can efficiently get to the meat of the matter.
In the weeks leading up to the election, I'll try to talk about other aspects of board service. Knowing what a board does will help people figure out who the best person for the job is. Send in questions about board service in a comment and I'll tackle the topics as best I can.
Comment I heard yesterday: "It's a 'rubber stamp' board!" What makes you think that, I asked, and was told it's because the votes are always 7-0. That doesn't mean a rubber stamp at all. The board is a 7-headed creature, and each "head" should bring individual values, concerns, ideas, etc to the discussion.
First of all, about 90% of what the board votes on is very mundane matters that don't require a long discussion because the path is obvious, or it's something where the path is very narrow due to State or Federal law. On the other matters where there is a real issue and direction to be given, the DISCUSSION should be lively and should indicate where a consensus can be reached. Then, a 7-0 vote gives the administration clear direction on the issue. When a 4-3 vote comes down, it leaves administration (and parents, taxpayers and everyone else) wondering how long that decision will hold, and no one will move forward on the decision without wondering if they are doing something that will be a big waste of time. It's a bit like Mom and Dad giving Junior directions on cleaning his room. Dad might want clothes up and vacuuming, and Mom wants all that and linens changed and dusting. If Mom and Dad don't get a unified direction out there on the things they can agree on, Junior is going to blow off cleaning his room at all or will play Mom against Dad!
One big difference is that Mom and Dad usually hash out their differences in private, while state law requires that the school board discuss it in a public meeting. Fortunately, in order to make the meeting more efficient, the school board has information about the item that is sent to every member ahead of time from the Superintendent. If they talk to more than 2 other members about it, it will violate the Open Meetings Act, so KISD has a practice where if a board member has a question about the materials, he is to send that question in an e-mail to the administration. Then, the question and answer will be sent to every board member. That way, everyone arrives at the meeting with the same knowledge, ready to discuss the topic. If Mom has read Dr. Spock and Dad has not, time will be needed to get Dad up to speed on the topic and what the experts say. If Mom and Dad have both come to the discussion with the same information, they can efficiently get to the meat of the matter.
In the weeks leading up to the election, I'll try to talk about other aspects of board service. Knowing what a board does will help people figure out who the best person for the job is. Send in questions about board service in a comment and I'll tackle the topics as best I can.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Schools are a community asset under assault
Excitement in our neighborhood: a house sold recently after a bidding war-- shows the truth of my father-in-law's #1 rule of real estate: "choose a home based on three things: location, location and location".
Of course, the winning bidder has school aged children. That, after all, is the reason the vast majority of people move here. As I get older I do see more older people moving to the Katy area, but when I dig deeper into why they moved here, the conversation usually rolls around to their grandchildren in KISD!
The value of our homes is greater than in other areas because people move here for the schools. Katy ISD has been a "destination district" for many years because we as a community have made schools a high priority. But our community has also demanded fiscal responsibility, and this district has been a good steward of our tax dollars, giving us "bang for our bucks".
This is proven by the many awards Katy ISD has racked up for fiscal responsibility. At last week's school board meeting, the district recognized the financial department for once again earning a Texas Comptroller's Gold Leadership Circle award for "setting the bar for transparency efforts". In recent months, they have also received the Financial Allocation Study for Texas for "Honors Circle" rating, which recognizes school districts that have achieved significant student academic growth while keeping spending relatively low. (And to those who poo-poo these awards as being something every district can get, think again. Only 35 ISDs (out of 1029) earned the accolade.) For the last 9 years, Katy ISD has also earned "Superior Achievement" from the TEA for the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. The purpose of the FIRST system is to ensure that school districts are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources, and to encourage districts to manage their financial resources in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
Nota bene: These accolades take a year or two to get to the "presses", so these awards are based on, at best, 2010 data. The changes the district has seen over the last year with the election of 3 new board members, two of whom seem to have the sole agenda of tearing down the district, is yet to be seen. The District is at a crossroads, and the election in May 2012 will be all about deciding what kind of district we want to live in: one that people flock to because of a student-centered outlook that focuses on increased academic achievement, or one that focuses on the theatrical exercise that is foment for foment's sake.
Of course, the winning bidder has school aged children. That, after all, is the reason the vast majority of people move here. As I get older I do see more older people moving to the Katy area, but when I dig deeper into why they moved here, the conversation usually rolls around to their grandchildren in KISD!
The value of our homes is greater than in other areas because people move here for the schools. Katy ISD has been a "destination district" for many years because we as a community have made schools a high priority. But our community has also demanded fiscal responsibility, and this district has been a good steward of our tax dollars, giving us "bang for our bucks".
This is proven by the many awards Katy ISD has racked up for fiscal responsibility. At last week's school board meeting, the district recognized the financial department for once again earning a Texas Comptroller's Gold Leadership Circle award for "setting the bar for transparency efforts". In recent months, they have also received the Financial Allocation Study for Texas for "Honors Circle" rating, which recognizes school districts that have achieved significant student academic growth while keeping spending relatively low. (And to those who poo-poo these awards as being something every district can get, think again. Only 35 ISDs (out of 1029) earned the accolade.) For the last 9 years, Katy ISD has also earned "Superior Achievement" from the TEA for the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. The purpose of the FIRST system is to ensure that school districts are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources, and to encourage districts to manage their financial resources in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
Nota bene: These accolades take a year or two to get to the "presses", so these awards are based on, at best, 2010 data. The changes the district has seen over the last year with the election of 3 new board members, two of whom seem to have the sole agenda of tearing down the district, is yet to be seen. The District is at a crossroads, and the election in May 2012 will be all about deciding what kind of district we want to live in: one that people flock to because of a student-centered outlook that focuses on increased academic achievement, or one that focuses on the theatrical exercise that is foment for foment's sake.
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