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.  

KPGT Forum Recap Part 2

Here is the next group of questions asked at the KPGT forum.  If my notes are too cryptic and you want a full quote, let me know and I'll transcribe if for you.  This is intended as a recap, but I want it to be understandable.  If I've missed the mark, let me know...

Question #3: Given that capacities in buildings have changed due to growth in the district, changing demographics, etc, how is it best to do rezoning?  Is it time to do a broader rezoning throughout the district?

• Betty Powell (Pos. 7): There must be a better way, but we don't have a crystal ball.  Many opinions are needed to analyze the situation.  Let's hope we continue to have this problem!
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) says it's time to at least study the budgetary and community impact of a district rezone.  It's inevitable.  Not sure he's for it, but it's time to review it.  Also would like to review the current process, to make sure that every area potentially impacted gives input.  
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) says rezoning is difficult and she isn't sure it can be made better, but agrees with Michalsky about getting more public input.  She believes in neighborhood schools.  Says we should look at other districts to see what they do to get as much public input as possible.
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) talked about the board doing a limited rezoning of three high schools several years ago, and one benefit was moving closer to pure feeder patterns.  Would be in favor of a district rezone to achieve pure feeder patterns, but not to just balance capacity.  
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) said "in the last 4 years, Katy ISD's enrollment has declined.  The only year since Alton Frailey has been our superintendent where our enrollment actually went up was in 2008, when we grew by 120 students."  [an aside from me: But see...  ]  Problem is that we build schools too soon in the wrong place based on bad demographics.  We need better demographics and PBK shouldn't pick where we build Jr. High and High Schools schools. 

Question #4:  Political discourse has come to Katy.  What would you do to bring unity to the board and focus the board so the district work can be done?

• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) says there is no transparency.  Vote for someone you can trust; an honest leader who will be open.  Vote for her and you'll know what you are getting.
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) said the shenanigans of Washington have come to Katy and we've seen a lot of it in the last year.  It's remarkable that it hasn't filtered down to students.  We would suspend students who behave as board members have been behaving.  Job is to study, discuss, try to persuade, and vote, but not to walk out on meetings to avoid that activity. That doesn't work at any level, much less here where the community expects the board to do the job of educating 62,000 students. 
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) is concerned about unity on the board.  Dissension has trickled down from Washington.  Must have transparency and openness.  Must talk to public.  Wants to increase the time for public comments.  The board should listen and do what taxpayers and patrons want them to do. 
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) agrees with Neal Howard and says the walkout (by Proctor and Huckaby) was politically motivated.  That has no place on the board.  Elected to represented different viewpoints, and trustees need to stick around and express those views.  We need to build better relationships and communicate goals better.  He is in favor of more debates.
• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) says we need to develop better communication and restore trust with the community.  The school board needs to communicate ends, which means to communicate the results that are sought.  The website and planned webcast meetings will increase openness.  When openness comes, trust will increase.

Question #5: RE: budget cuts: If not teachers, what would you cut?

• Terri Majors (Pos. 6): stop paying for consultants.  Make people on salary do that work.  Look at busing.  Look at HVAC bills and increase temperatures to reduce bills. 
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) would look at busing.  Bill Moore has saved the district lots of money  by refinancing bonds.  He would continue to look at that kind of savings.  
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) would cut central administration which is 4% of the budget (?)  She would get rid of consultants like the one payed 48K to recommend budget cuts.  Would depend more on maintenance rather than replacing components and stop buying astroturf that needs to be watered.  She would also stop buying flat screen TVs. which are only used for announcements. 
• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) would cut some technology.  She wants to use what we have better.  Wants to bring more money into the district, like by having more events at the Merrell Center and putting ads on buses.  
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) would outsource the tax office.  He would  also look at cutting community education, which is great but doesn't go to our mission of educating K-12 students.  He would also look at eliminating busing to the 2 mile state requirement.  

Question #6: RE: recent Chronicle article that indicated magnet schools in HISD are very successful.  Is it time for KISD to have a magnet school for GT students?

• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) said we looked at that 2 years ago with the IB program.  It raised lots of questions and the program, though "neat", would have cost a lot of money.  He could not justify that during times when money is short.
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) disagreed.  She said we need special campuses, like the DeBakey medical magnet and the HSPVA, a science school at Rice, etc.  Katy should do that because it would make us an outstanding district and would be wonderful for our kids. 
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) supports all the outstanding programs but creating a special school is most likely cost prohibitive given our current financial situation.  He suggests working on improving programs at all campuses.  HSPVA is great, but all of our campuses have great fine arts programs.  We should focus on providing great programs for all our students. 
• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) agrees with Majors and Michalsky because we can research and crunch the numbers.  If other districts do it, why can't we? She "wants Quality over Quantity."  
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) said the article revealed there are 7 exemplary high schools in HISD and none in Katy ISD.  Is it due to magnets?  She doesn't know.  Need more money in the classroom.  Is it feasible?  Not now.  

Question #7: After last year's cuts, what should be restored, and how would you do it?

• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 6) doesn't know, but believes that everything should be looked at yearly to justify the expense.  He believes in great classroom instruction, but also as parents, we try to develop our kids interests and talents, and we want the district to do the same.  The litmus test should be: how does it prepare kids for the world after Katy ISD?
• Terri Majors (Pos. 6) would restore curriculum specialists to the administration level.  (They were moved to the campuses.) A lot of those people made more money at the admin building, but now they are sent back to campuses, so no one is helping teachers at the administration building.  She would also get RNs back on campuses.  Also, technology support that was removed from campuses needs to be restored, because teachers need an in-house technologist.  
• Neal Howard (Pos. 7) says his focus would be on classroom sizes that we are moving to, especially in Jr. High.  That's were programs should not be cut because that is where children are exploring. Main thing is to get more teachers on campuses.
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 7) would restore bilingual staff and special ed aides.  Also would restore the stipends paid to team leaders.  Bottom line: don't cut anything.  Bilingual kids should not be bused but should have their own neighborhood school.  Currently they are bused a long distance to  "that Maurice Wolfe area".
• Betty Powell (Pos. 7) said the wounds of last year's cuts are still fresh.  Need to reexamine all areas cut.  She would look for weak areas by asking community and teachers.  Would reconsider all cuts but especially those that impact kids.  Instructional coaches should be beefed up.  They should get GT training first, because they are modeling for other teachers.

Whew!  I'll finish tomorrow.

KPGT Forum Recap Part I

Tuesday night's Candidates' Forum hosted by KPGT had a slightly different format from the Rotary Forum.  Candidates gave opening statements, answered two questions drafted by KPGT, and audience members submitted additional questions.  Questions and answers went until 8:30, when candidates made closing statements.  Unfortunately, Charles Griffin was unable attend due to a work conflict.  However, in his closing, he indicated he would take all the questions from the evening and answer them on his website.

The opening statements did not add anything that wasn't already covered in either my recent blogs about the Rotary, the Houston Chronicle articles about the Postion 6 race and the Position 7 race, or the Katy Times questionnaire.  The Times also had a good story covering the forum which sadly only seems to be available in the print edition (Thurs. 4/16, pg. 1A)

Q #1: According to one recent estimate, the shortfall in the state budget will be $10-$13 Billion in the next legislative session.  What will you do to preserve the quality of Katy ISD education in the face of such shortfalls?

• Bryan Michalsky (Postion 7) said he opposes cutting classroom instruction.  Last year we lost some teachers positions and a lot of support positions.  Texas is responding better than other states and he hopes the shortfall will be less than predicted.  However, we need to protect programs that give kids opportunities.  Must continue to look at other areas to cut.  Operations needs to justify spending on an annual basis.  
• Terri Majors (Postion 7) said there is lots of "wiggle room".  There was plenty of money last year and there was no need to fire any teachers.  We did not need to cut staff, and she is angry about it.  Katy needs to keep instruction just like it is and make it better.  Instruction needs to be at the top of the budget, and teachers need to get the perks they need to stay in the district. Teachers are looking elsewhere because the climate has been negative.  Should increase pay for teachers.  Need to get more teachers to come to Katy.  "Another thing we don't look at very often, we keep saying that Katy is growing and growing and growing.  However, our population in the schools is actually decreasing because students are being home schooled and because they are going to private schools. We need to look at those numbers and say 'uh-oh' what are we doing and how to get those kids to come back."  Wow... But see this...
• Neal Howard (Position 6) thinks that the best thing is to keep the shortfall from happening by working through the courts and with our legislators.  Will advocate doing what we did last year, which is to leave instruction, give teachers a raise, and cut everything else.  Wants to maintain programs, and may have to do that by increasing user fees.  Also wants to look at buying buses that run on natural gas.  
• Cynthia Blackman (Position 6) advocates cutting central administration, because Dr. Merrell had 4-5 assistant superintendents and Mr. Frailey has 15.  Would never cut teachers or teacher salaries.  Would not cut Special Ed aides like the district is currently doing.  Also would look severely at new construction.  Schools are built too soon, too grandiose, and savings must go to classrooms.  All dollars need to go to instruction; right now about half of the money per student goes to instruction.
• Betty Powell (Postion 6) says last year's layoffs and displacement was uncalled for.  Yes, they got jobs but many took pay cuts.  She knows someone who lost their home.  Would never cut teachers, custodians, drivers, anyone who supports educating children.  As a technologist, she knows where stuff is that has never been used.  As a trustee, she could look at technology and see what is needed and what is extra, and now there is no one on the board who can do that.  And no candidate other than herself has that experience.

Q#2:  Gifted and Talented students need special education services.  Specifically, what will you do to seek improvement within GT education in Katy ISD?

• Neal Howard (Pos. 6) says he's not qualified to answer those questions but knows there are people in our district who do, and he would take the reins off them and let them do their jobs.
• Terri Majors (Pos. 7) says programs are great, but they are special ed under the law.  Handicapped children get lots more money and treatment than GT.  Need to look at expanding programs for GT. Currently, elementary kids are pulled out one day a week.  In secondary, we need more programs.  Need to enrich and spend more money on our GT programs.
• Bryan Michalsky (Pos. 7) said awareness about GT education needs to be increased.  They need to be challenged.  Agrees with Majors that elementary Challenge program is a valuable program.  In secondary, the AP program is very good but other things can be done to challenge older students.  We celebrate our athletes and fine artists and we need to do that for our most gifted students as well.  We have good programs, but there is always room for improvement.  Awareness is key.
• Betty Powell (Pos. 6) taught GT most of her career. Usually Challenge classes are in temporary buildings.  They need to have more storage, a sink, access to library and computers in those classrooms.  Should get "regular" teachers certified for GT.  Our teachers get dual certification in ESOL, but not in GT.  Teachers who teach to the top get better results for all their students because of increased rigor.  
• Cynthia Blackman (Pos. 6) taught GT most of her career.  Often, the GT kids get to be the tutor or the helper in the regular classroom.  In High School, the AP program needs to be improved.  GT kids should not have to be responsible for the curriculum taught on the day they were pulled out.  Would like increased funding to go to GT/Advanced Academics program.  Kids might be gifted in some things but not in others.

More tomorrow...

KPGT Forum Recap, and What Does the Board Do?

Last night's Candidates'g Forum hosted by KPGT was well attended, and I am glad there are more people paying attention to the condition of our school board, because it impacts our entire community.  Because we are so close to early voting (it starts on Monday), I will recap in a less thorough way than I did the Rotary Forum, in the interest of this space and your time.  That won't really start until tomorrow, as I've been dealing with a plumber all day.  <sob>

Also, FYI, Mrs. Blackman and Mrs. Majors have answered the questionnaire posted by the Taylor Band Boosters, so now all candidates have responded.

Before I get started with the recap, I wanted to share this article from Great Schools about How to Choose a School Board Candidate, and in particular these paragraphs on What They Do:

• Somewhere in between the agendas, public comment sessions and resolutions, school boards make a number of important decisions. School boards establish a vision for the community's schools. They have to set up and maintain an effective, efficient organizational structure for the district that lets the superintendent and administrators manage the schools, teachers teach and students learn.
• They are responsible for hiring and evaluating a superintendent, evaluating and adopting policies that affect all schools in the district, serving as a judicial and appeals body when conflicts go unresolved, monitoring and adjusting district finances, and managing the collective bargaining process in the district.
• A school board has a symbolic role as well. The behavior it shows off in the meeting room, the rapport among school board members and the relationships that members have with teachers and administrators in the district all add up to the climate of public education in a community. Whether healthy or dysfunctional, a school board has a heavy influence on the spirit that characterizes a community's impression of its school system.

I hope everyone who is voting thinks about this as they make their decisions.  I think it is telling that Neal Howard said, in response to a question about which policies the candidates would like to change, was that the Board's policies need penalties for bad behavior.  He said the "shenanigans of Washington" have come to Katy, and we would suspend students who behave as board members have been behaving.  I find this so sad because in the past, the Board has been able to adopt rules and expect them to be honored.  Now, that does not seem possible.

More specifics on the forum to come...

CANDIDATE FORUM TONIGHT!

Forums for Katy ISD School Board Start tonight!  Try to make one or the other in order to cast an informed vote for school board.

• April 17, 6:30 p.m., Merrell Center: Hosted by Rotary Club of Katy
• April 24, 7:00 p.m., Morton Ranch High School: Hosted by Katy Parents of Gifted and Talented
• Still trying to find info on a Katy Area Republicans forum...

Early voting starts April 30.  Dates, locations, times can be found here.

Voter Registration; Candidates' Forums

Katy ISD is at a crossroads.  It is absolutely critical that all stakeholders take the time to educate themselves about the issues and candidates, and then VOTE.

• Register!  Deadline is TODAY April 12.  Harris County/ Fort Bend County/ Waller County 
• Forums:
• April 17, 6:30 p.m., Merrell Center: Hosted by Rotary Club of Katy
• April 24, 7:00 p.m., Morton Ranch High School: Hosted by Katy Parents of Gifted and Talented
• Katy Area Republicans also usually host a forum, and when I find out more about that, I'll update here.

Early voting starts April 30.  Dates, locations, times can be found here.