KPGT Debate Final Questions and Closing Statements

Question #8: What changes, if any, should be made to school board policies?

• Cynthia Blackman (Positon 7) says biggest thing is transparency. Decisions are made in closed session.  Work study is not the place for voting.  It takes 3 members to place a taxpayer's concern on the agenda.  For years the dissension has been 6-1 or 5-2.  Wants open forum often so that she can hear concerns.  That is missing in the National, State and local levels.  
• Neal Howard (Position 7) would like to add penalties for bad behavior by board members.  He thinks the requirement of 3 members needed to add something to the agenda is fine.  You only need 3 people to talk about something, not to vote on it.  He would lower the gifting policy to a lower amount, like the cost of BBQ sandwich at Midway BBQ.
• Terri Majors (Position 6) said lots of policies need revising.  They are a thick document and they are gibberish and should be re-written to be clearer.  She would make a policy that prohibits voting on Work Study meetings, so public can talk about the concerns.  Also would increase open forum time.  
• Bryan Michalsky (Position 6) said a review of policy is good; he is not saying they need to change but would like to see discussion and debate.  Concern about needing 3 for an agenda item is a good point, but should talk about it.  Having more topics on the agenda and healthy debate is a good thing as it would improve the discourse among the trustees.  Penalties for violating policies should be added. 
• Betty Powell (Position 7) said the gifting policy under federal law the limit is $10, and that would be good.  Need boundaries.  Katy needs to not look out of control, as it has been recently.  Policies have lots of legal language and can be hard to understand.  To sum, all members need to come with an open mind.  

Question #9:  What other successful school districts across the state or nation should Katy ISD use as a benchmark and what benchmarks would you use?

• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) worked for Fort Bend ISD, and at that time principals were the instructional leaders and more involved on their campuses.  She also worked at HISD and New Orleans Public Schools.  The family feeling here is good.  Teachers here are teams and they grow and learn together in Katy.  
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) said no, Katy doesn't want to benchmark against other districts; we should be their benchmark.  Katy ISD is a destination district. We attract the best teachers.  "Why are you trying to be like everyone else, when everyone else wants to be like you?"
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) said we need to be the district other districts look to. North Richland Hills ISD is a strong district, and she would look to those districts that have achieved exemplary status.  Need to get all our schools to exemplary status.
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) said some of these things costs money, like visiting other ISDs. He is in favor of staff development travel. Best practices need to be found and shared. Teacher of the Year candidates discussed this in their interviews so it is happening now but could be funded more.
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) said "the heart of our schools are teachers".  KISD is a Recognized district, and Morton Ranch High School is acceptable.  Teachers need to be able to start teaching. Paperwork is burdensome and needs to be reduced.  Teacher morale is low due to what happened last year.  Administrators need to visit schools, and she wants to empower parents go into schools so they can help with a positive attitude.

Question #10:  How should Katy achieve its mission statement?  Katy Independent School District, the leader in educational excellence, together with family and community, provides unparalleled learning experiences designed to prepare and inspire each student to live an honorable, fulfilling life...to create the future.

• Terri Majors (Pos. 7) said that is what she'd like to see.  It is a lofty statement and good.  Should continue to work to make things better.  As Ms. Blackman said, we need to make teachers excited to come to school.  Years ago, they were, but not so much now.  We are a family community with outstanding programs that everyone is proud of and let's make us even prouder.
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 7) said communication is key. Board must do its job and have a very high-reaching vision.  Need to annually set measurable goals and direct the superintendent to achieve them.  Then, board needs to evaluate the progress toward the goals, and then share that with the public.  Need to get feedback from campuses.
• Betty Powell (Pos. 6) said Board members' duty is to review curriculum.  Technology should not work better at home than at school.  Tools need to work.
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 6) said the heart of this mission and of the schools are teachers.  Teachers have been forced recently to use KMAC.  KMAC shouldn't have to be used because teachers have their own methodologies.  KMAC steals a teachers ability to touch the heart of a student.  The requirement that teachers differentiate should be removed so that teachers can be empowered to do the job they were hired to do, which is to teach.  She also disagrees with reteaching and retesting, and would not require teachers to do it.  
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) believes public schools are a great thing.  Kids are shaping our future.  Kids are doing amazing things here and beyond the district.  Mission statement mentions community.  He thinks the district is doing a good job of building community-- evidenced by lots of emails received by the board during the rezoning process saying no one wants to leave their school.

Closing Statements:

• Charles Griffin (Pos. 7) had a written statement saying he will answer the questions posed on his website.
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) talked about his involvement in schools, coaching, Young Life, and his church.  He clarified that PBK doesn't tell the district where to build schools, the community does.  As for the statement "schools are built too soon and in the wrong place", he thinks the folks at Stanley Elem and WoodCreek Jr Hi would disagree, because they are severely overcrowded, in spite of opening new schools next year.  Land purchased for HS7 (currently under construction) was purchased in the 1980's when land was cheap, but was way out in the middle of nowhere.  Community entrusts the board to look far in to the future, and for instance to buy 120 acres in that location now would be extremely expensive. 
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) justified the numbers about enrollment as being in response to a public information request made in March, and told Neal to check those out.  She said "...I can reassure you that Dr. Proctor and Terry Huckaby are very much apprised of Robert's Rules of Order and they knew full well that they were within their right to do what they did at that particular Work Study".  She was personally rezoned 3 times, which was not mindful.  Wants to know what the district plans to do with the land that was recently purchased behind Powerhouse Church, which was not on any agenda.  She doesn't agree with moving busing to beyond 2 miles because there is too much traffic.  She pledges an open door policy and will represent everyone on the Board.  She will provide diverse thoughts and 22 years classroom experience.  She is a small business owner and is a stakeholder in the district and wants to keep things under control.  She is concerned about academics has some ideas she wants to implement to improve academics.  She wants academics improved by empowering teachers.  They are the heart of the district, and she relishes the thought of walking into a school as your board member and supporting your teachers and administrators.  She can look into a classroom and see that they don't need flat screen TV's, but instead the teacher needs more help or more books, because "she has been there".
• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) worked for Katy ISD until last spring and has recent experience in the classrooms and working with teachers.  She is a technology specialist and knows Katy because she worked in every school.  Wants to run for School Board because she cares about the kids and is invested in the district.  Her husband is a teacher at Katy High School.  Moved here because they wanted to teach in great schools.  She wants to keep Katy great.  Her only agenda is the kids.  She has high integrity because she has been vetted by the US Marshal's office.  She promised to do her best and won't run to the press and embarrass KISD.  She would handle conflict at the table with other board members.  Can help with curriculum because she has a bachelor's degree in that area.  She can offer expertise with technology currently in the schools; for instance, we don't have "flat screen TVs", they are flat screen monitors which are lots cheaper.  The TV signal they get is from the district's "tower" which is like a server.  Loves the community and is passionate about Katy.
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) said Katy ISD has been a source of pride for a long time.  It attracts great families and teachers.  We must give kids exceptional opportunities.  He is a fiscal conservative and understands prioritizing budget needs.  He would like to return support positions to the classrooms so they run as efficiently as possible and free up teachers to teach.  Should strive to run the district as efficiently as possible and non-instructional areas need to justify their expenses every year.  His experience as Chief Financial Officer will help the district deal with periods of economic uncertainty like last year. Primary objective is to provide students with a sound, quality education that will serve them after graduation. He has 4 kids and a rising kindergartener, so is invested in the district for 13 more years. To meet that objective, the board needs to give exceptional goals to the superintendent and then evaluate him on them.  The district needs a strong and diverse board to do this.  His experience as a business executive would be useful on a board which already has 2 educators, a volunteer, a foundation director and a small business owner.  He is prepared to build relationships, listen to all points of view, provide leadership, and make informed decisions for the benefit of our students, teachers, and taxpayers.  
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) pledged to protect programs and advanced curriculum that are effectively educating our students.  Must continue to offer accelerated learning opportunities.  She prefers site based decisions.  Top-down decision making is not working.  They need guidelines and a good mission statement.  Data needs to be honest and open.  For example, both Morton Ranch HS and Mayde Creek HS are praised in the article in the Chronicle, but she is concerned people will think they are performing at an exemplary level, and that is not true; both campuses are "Acceptable". Their SAT scores are "frighteningly low".  MRHS average is 973, and students need 2000+ to get into our best colleges.  MCHS's average is 975.  We need to educate all our students.  These 2 campuses are  economically disadvantaged and that impacts learning and we need to provide the extra support that is needed.  Also, laws don't protect GT program monies from State and Federal government.  Are we spending it wisely and can we get more dollars?  Need board members who are willing to fight hard for change.  She is willing to do that.  She was principal at a very at-risk elementary, Golbow for 13 years.