The Grass is Always Greener... Or Is It?

Did you really think "what happens in Katy stays in Katy"?


I just got back from a terrific trip visiting my wonderful son in St. Louis.  He gave me a New York Times article about how last year's cuts in funding impacted Texas schools.  Another  article shows Katy only lost 9 teachers in last year's layoffs, out of 341 total positions cut.  Talking to people, I realize many have no idea how we compare with other districts in the area.  Katy weathered the storm of State budget cuts last year better than most.  I'm not saying the only bar we have to meet is that set by our neighbors, but I am saying that it can be illustrative to look outside our Bubble!  


The information in the NYTimes article on how other ISDs deal with busing is interesting.  In Katy, busing is a place where money can be saved, and it should be looked at as the school district reviews the budget for next year. Folks are right when they say it would be good for kids to walk to school; it's part of a healthy lifestyle.  The hard part of this equation is figuring out your priority as a State and as a district:  The State requires EVERY child be educated, and penalizes school districts if they fail to do so.  This is a different paradigm from "back in the day" when we went to school.  Then, schools offered education and children took advantage or didn't--it was up to them. Now, even if a child and his family don't care about education, the district's rating will hinge upon that child's performance on State tests.  So, it is in the district's best interests to make it easier for kids to get to the classroom.  But there is a cost for that.  School districts need to be given clear expectations from the State and right now they are getting a mixed message: "Educate everyone no matter their circumstances." "Here's money. Make it work." At some point, the quality of the product will reflect the investment made.  And costs are measured in more than dollars: As commenter "Ben" noted:


"For insight on the results of this pitiful investment in education, you can look to the State of Texas' Window on State Government:
•Texas is #49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation (493) and #46 in average math SAT scores (502).
•Texas is #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%).
•As we ask colleges to do what we no longer pay for in high school, the cost is transfered to that system... From fiscal years 2002 to 2006, average tuition and fees at public universities increased 61.4%... and ... at community colleges increased 51.3%. ...But please, don't think these numbers are only Texas' problem, we have the second highest public school enrollment in the USA. This means we are undereducating over 4 million Americans. The consequence of this underinvestment is a significant contribution to the USA of underskilled, poorly educated Americans. This will have a negative impact on GDP and crime statistics in the coming decades."

Business owners and people without children in schools need to be aware of what is going on in the district.  The educational level of the entire population impacts quality of life and availability of qualified workers.  Texas will continue to grow because jobs are here and people with children are moving into the area because of the excellent schools.  Our economy is (relatively) strong.  But without a strong commitment to educate the population that arrives, what will our future look like?

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.

A Call To Action for the Texas Legislature

An interesting editorial in the Chron today calling on the Gov to pay attention to his own back yard and call a special session to deal with school finance.  Read it here.  Hopefully, more voices will join this call and the legislature will get to work and actually fix the system, as opposed to just bandaging it.  It is embarrassing that Texas school districts have to sue the legislature on a regular basis to require it to do its constitutional mandate: ...it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. (From Texas Constitution, Article 7, Section 1.)  

It is a shame to have legislators tell school boards, "PLEASE: Sue us!" Not to mention the expense to school districts across the state-- the lawyers don't work for free, and an industry has been created of lawyers dealing with the suits and monitoring compliance to the rulings. More of your tax dollars at work-- on NOTHING productive!

Friend J sent this today:  

USA Today reviewer Edward C. Baig describes his experience using the first Multi-Touch digital textbooks published for the iBooks 2 for iPad app, noting that they are “engaging in ways that were simply not possible with the textbooks I grew up with.” Baig likes the portability, updatability, and low pricing of iBooks 2 digital textbooks and touts specific features like instant search, highlighting, bookmarking, and interactive graphics. Writes Baig, “It’s better to see an animated tour of the genome in E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth than just to read about it. ”Read more…

I hope our State Legislators read USA today!  My only beef with the article is that Baig says," ...And no matter how compelling a digital textbook might be, it is only useful to a student if the teacher or school decides that this is indeed the textbook to use with their class."  (emphasis mine)  In Texas, it doesn't really work that way, unless the legislature and State Board of Education allow the book as a choice.  I hope they take this to heart and allow school boards (with the input and guidance of teachers and schools) to consider the digital textbooks.  That way, communities can chime in on which resources are appropriate for their particular community.  And MOST importantly, the Legislature need to allow digital textbooks to be considered a resource for which they will PAY.