5. Candidates' Volunteer Work. Also, a Note on Board Responsibilities

Before I finish these questions, just a reminder that Katy Parents of Gifted and Talented is hosting a Candidate's Forum TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Morton Ranch High School.  Come and check them out for yourself! They will take questions from the audience, so bring some good ones.  To help craft questions, the responsibilities of School Boards include:

• governing and overseeing the management of the District;
• developing relationships with other public entities;
• setting the vision and goals of the District and Superintendent;
• monitoring the success of the District and Superintendent toward those goals;
• adopting the District’s budget and dealing with its property;
• monitoring District finances and reporting to the community;
• setting the tax rate;
• calling for a bond or tax rate election;
• deciding area boundary modifications for campuses;
• establishing policies for operating the District and ensuring its financial viability;
• employing the Superintendent; 
• hearing complaints; and
• overseeing curriculum.

Recap of Katy ISD Candidate's Forum hosted by Rotary of Katy, Part 6:

5.  What volunteer work have you done in Katy ISD?

• Position 7:
• Charles Griffin said his most rewarding volunteer experience was working the 8th grade dance at CRJH.
• Betty Powell said as an educator she contributed lots of "free hours", such as working as a Saturday science teacher.  She is most proud of writing proposals to teach other teachers on how to integrate science and technology. 
• Cynthia Blackman tutored and mentored students K-12.  
• Neal Howard was the Exxon Mobile Science Ambassador to Fielder Elem and CRHS.  He taught Junior Achievement and calculus, served on the 2002 Leadership Katy, 2006 Bond Committee, was Trustee for last 3 years, referees High School basketball outside of Katy and YMCA basketball in Katy. 
• Postion 6:
• Terri Majors said being a principal took all her time, but she has tutored and mentored since retiring.  While principal, she coached Destination Imagination and worked on theater projects at her school.
• Bryan Michalsky enjoyed working on the 8th grade dance at Beckendorff and coaching his childrens' teams.  He also leads a men's bible study group about biblical fatherhood at Parkway Fellowship.  

4. Why build new elementary schools if some are below capacity?

Recap of Katy ISD Candidate's Forum hosted by Rotary of Katy, Part 5:

4.  Why is it we are building new elementary schools when many of the ones we have are below capacity?

• Cynthia Blackman (Position 7) has 3 issues with this and has been rezoned three times, so this issue is near and dear to her heart. Katy builds schools too soon, in the wrong locations, and on faulty demographics.  Katy hired a demographer, Pat Guzman, for 6 figures, but her data is "plus or minus 9%" which is too big a discrepancy.  This has been going on for decades.  She would get rid of the in-house demographers and get better demographics.  She would make architects stop telling us when to build schools.  PBK has built every junior high and high school built since 1999.  That must stop.  She supports neighborhood elementary schools.  Otherwise, we need to look at rezoning Jr. Highs and High schools until we get this under control.  New high school is huge, and there is no way that you can build a school that large and not expect to be rezoned.  
• Betty Powell (Position 7) says her focus is on people over stuff; it is more important to have good people in place rather than fancy buildings.  At the same time, she wants to do research and figure out where schools are needed.  She was at WoodCreek Elementary last spring and there were so many temporary buildings she couldn't find the classroom.  Then, she heard they were going to need to put temporaries over the playground and install port-a-potties to serve them.  We need new schools, but they need to be put in the right place.  Do homework to figure out where they should go.  Do what's best for the kids, and kids need playgrounds. 
• Charles Griffin (Position 7) said he is not sure he agrees with the statement about schools being under staffed.  Schools are designed to hold 1000 kids.  Don't let them get overcrowded.  Projections are hard to do.  Who knew the economic downturn would last 4 years? No one.  Forecasts are pretty good.  We fill our schools up.  The question seems to assume the district is wasting its resources, and he doesn't agree.  The timing from planning to bonds to building takes time.  We need the assets in place for kids to go to school because our most important decision is investing in education.  He wants to build the district so that kids graduate and move back here with their families and businesses so our district continues to grow.  It is growing at 2000 students per year and it's the 68th largest district.  It's a district he is proud of and everyone should be proud, too.  He would rather have the assets in place to deal with the growth and then move forward.  
• Bryan Michalsky (Position 6) said rezoning is the most difficult and thankless decision School Boards make, because someone is going to be upset.  Surveys show everyone wants proximity and stability, and they want a neighborhood school, particularly at the elementary level.  However, some schools are under utilized in some parts of our district.  At some point, we need to consider and talk about a district-wide rezoning.  He would be open to that discussion as your Trustee.  He needs more information and community input and budget impact will need to be looked at before he can say how he feels about that, but he thinks it should be looked at.  Criteria to be considered include proximity, stability, building capacities, keeping land use zones intact, enrollment projections, balancing enrollments and feeder patterns.  When HS7 goes online next year, that will be a difficult decision.  There will be rezoning, and some displacement and it will be interesting to see how the community comes together on this issue.
• Terri Majors (Position 7) said new construction is happening all over the district.  We need new schools, but we need to look at under filled schools.  Spring Branch ISD grew and grew and built and built and their students grew up and left.  She doesn't see that happening in Katy, but she worries we are overbuilding, particularly high schools.  For instance, Griffin Elementary's enrollment will be way down next year, because of the way things were rezoned.  Why want a school with 750 students in a building that holds 1000 while we are bringing in temporaries at other campuses.  She related the logistical challenges faced at Golbow when enrollment got very high. It was horrible.  Need to always think about what is best for kids.  Need to be careful of taxpayers money and about what we will do when schools don't fill up.  Bryan is right in that rezoning hurts everyone but we need to all get together about it and decide what is really best for the kids.
• Neal Howard (Position 6) is a firm believer in neighborhood schools.  Busing kids to balance school numbers is efficient but not in the best interest of the kids.  Griffin being at 750 is just not the case and we need to get the numbers right on that.  The district has balanced numbers by shifting some Seven Lakes students to Cinco Ranch HS and some CRHS students to Taylor.  He likes having some degree of stability, but it needs to be balanced with what is in the financial best interest of the district as a whole.  He defended Pat Guzman's numbers and explained that long term predictions are less accurate but the closer the date gets, the better the numbers are.  This is where a Trustee's judgement comes into play.  Trustees try to make decisions looking at if the numbers are off, what hurts us the least.  He was surprised a couple of months ago to learn that 60% of our campuses are "closed", meaning they are full and can't take transfers.  Just because the capacity is 1030 doesn't mean it isn't full.  Sometimes a classroom's design capacity is 25, but since it's being used as a special ed classroom it's full at 5.  He is in favor of pure feeder patterns, and hears that parents and students like that, too.  Several administrators have told him that if there is one thing they could do to help, it is pure feeder patterns.   

3. What will you do to continue the excellence Katy ISD has enjoyed and deal with changes from the State?

Recap of Katy ISD Candidate's Forum hosted by Rotary of Katy, Part 4:

3.  What will you do to continue the excellence Katy ISD has enjoyed and deal with changes from the State?

• Bryan Michalsky (Position 6) said Katy is still a "destination district", attracts the best and brightest teachers, enjoys 75,000 applications for teaching positions, terrific programs like fine arts and athletics, however last years cuts and layoffs gave Katy ISD a black eye, even though only 9 out of 341 total staff cuts were teachers.  Teachers are having to do more with less.  Hopes that state funding will return to earlier levels, but uncertainty is still present.  He would be in favor of rewarding teachers by increasing teacher salaries, and require departments justify their needs annually rather than automatically increase budgets if more money comes in from the State next year  because it is the fiscally responsible thing to do.  Katy ISD's reputation is strong but perhaps less than it was.  The Board must set exceptional goals for the district and direct the Superintendent to achieve those goals.
• Charles Griffin (Position 7) said he would focus on vision and goals that are realistic, achievable, and measurable.  Leaders must empower the professionals that have brought Katy ISD to excellence.  We are excellent because we trust our educators and administrators. "Give 'em a goal and get out of the way", but a feedback loop is needed.  WoodCreek Jr. High last year was so crowded they didn't get to use lockers.  It took a year for that issue to get to a school board member who is making an issue out of it for the new Seven Lakes Jr. High, because the feedback needs to be improved.  However, it doesn't need a board member's action, because teachers, students and administrators handled it without micromanagement.  He would lead without micro managing and trust the professional educators to handle local and State issues.  
• Betty Powell (Position 7) said communication needs to be improved and all stakeholders need a voice.  We have 6300 employees, is the largest employee in Katy, and we need to work together.  Layers of communication are important like newspapers, phone calls, etc, but also start talking to your kids and ask them about technology and how it's used in classes.  Improve the web page (www.katyisd.org).  She wants to better use what we have, rather than buy more.  When in graduate school and first employed by Katy ISD she was the envy of her grad school classmates, who all wanted to go to work at Katy.  Now when she talks about Katy on the outside, it is no longer thought of as a progressive, high-technology district any more, and we need to return to that. 
• Cynthia Blackman (Position 7) said transparency is critical, and mentioned the Sunny award that KISD did not win but which went to FBISD and CyFair ISD.  She is worried about our ratings.  Katy is a Recognized district but the average SAT scores since 2003 to 2009 were "not excellent": 1093, 1092, 1100, 1099, 1088, 1079, 1080.  She said Katy ISD was not preparing children for college because "very shocking" data from the Texas Higher Coordinating Education Board showed the 6 (not 4) year completion rate for children graduating high school in 2002-04 for Katy HS was 588 out of 1159 graduates, or 33%, CRHS (756/1712 or 44%), and MCHS (420/1865 or 23%), THS (809/1736 or 47%) and KISD overall was 2573/7272 or 35%.  For 2010, 5499 of Katy ISD's high school grads had not finished college.  What happened to them?  Are they living with Mom and Dad?  Low paying jobs?  Married with babies?  What happens to these kids?
• Shame on Mrs. Blackman for implying this data indicates a failure on the part of the district!  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's explanation of the data shows that it only includes "degrees earned by Texas public high school students from Texas public and independent higher education institutions", meaning that all the Katy ISD grads who can't get into A&M or UT due to the 10% rule and go to LSU, OSU, OU, or those who go to Harvard, Yale, and any other out-of-state school are not included in the data as college completers, but are there in the High School graduate numbers.  
•  Neal Howard (Position 7) said the data shows more kids are taking college entrance exams, with improving scores, and are getting into college.  More kids are taking advantage of Career and Technology education to get certificates.  We have outstanding Performing Arts Centers that give students great opportunities they would not have had otherwise.  The community should be proud of that.  He worked on the Teacher of the Year committee, and outstanding stuff is going on in Katy ISD.  The State has caused us some problems.  The lawsuit the district joined against the state to make the legislature meet the constitutional requirement to fund education.  He also wants to improve the student/teacher ratios particularly in secondary schools.
• Terri Majors (Position 6) said Katy is fairly high ranking when compared with the state in general, but is not "A Plus" any more.  She echoed Mrs. Blackman's data about completion rates, and said students are not graduating with skills.  Many high school grads need remedial classes at community college.  Writing is very important and it bothers her that students are graduating unable to write well.  We have to look at State budgets and mandates carefully.  The loss of only 9 teachers is incorrect-- hundreds of teachers left last year.  Talk to teachers in the community.  She is concerned teachers have to teach to the test, and many students spend way too much time preparing for a bad test.  She is not sure what a school board member can do about that, but she would be a voice for "...making changes in the way we look at those test results." 
• Mrs. Majors and Mr. Michalsky seem to be saying very different things about teacher layoffs, but here is the deal:  There are always "hundreds" of teachers who leave every year-- they quit to have families, to retire, to enter the private sector, etc, so Mrs. Majors is, in a sense, correct.  However, only 9 teaching POSITIONS were lost due to the layoffs, so Mr. Michalsky is correct.  

2. If elected, what is the first and most important thing you want the board to enact?

Recap of Katy ISD Candidate's Forum hosted by Rotary of Katy, Part 3:

2.  If elected, what is the first and most important thing you want the board to enact?

• Position 7 race:
• Neal Howard said he was glad that the the board had authorized web-casting the meetings and expected that to happen soon.  He said that the first thing the board would do is move into the budget cycle, and if funding is still low he would fight to maintain the focus on keeping dollars in the classroom.  He said if funding is improved, he would bump up teacher salaries and increase the number of teachers.
• Cynthia Blackman said her first priority would be to increase the amount of time people speaking in open forum would have to address the board, and would work to make it possible for members of the public to put issues on the agenda.
• Betty Powell said as a new board member she would be a good listener in order to figure out the job.  Half of communication is listening.  She would do research and work to "take care of the present while looking to the future".  She has no personal agenda, and is "about the kids".  She is ready to work.
• Charles Griffin said he knows a lot of teachers and administrators, and the biggest complaint he hears is that we have great ideas but they are hard to follow through from campuses up.  He would work to improve communication by establishing a process for teachers, parents, students to provide feedback.  As a school board member, he would look to trends to see and correct problems. This would work to help improve transparency.
• Position 6 race:
• Bryan Michalsky said the first thing that happens after being sworn in is to elect next year's school board president, and he would look for a change and a new kind of leadership.  He would like to see the board president delegate tasks to the other board members and engage them, and utilize the fairly diverse skill sets and talents of board members.  He also would look at the requirement of needing 3 members to put an item on the agenda, but recognizes that controls to avoid a single trustee hijacking the agenda is appropriate. However, he favors discussion and debate on issues. He would also review other policies, such as the policy of the school board president being the sole spokesman to the media, because right now, some trustees respect that rule but other trustees are ignoring it.  He would also work to get more interaction with the public, and more communication up and down the line with more input from teachers, etc. 
• Terri Majors said she had been in education 41 years, introduced her husband, and said she has two sons and grandsons.  She would work to increase communication and transparency, and thanked Bill Proctor, Terry Huckaby and Henry Dibrell for working to get school board meetings web cast.  She would change the amount of time patrons can speak to the board at open forum, as it is insufficient.  Also, she would change the rule requiring 3 members to add something to the agenda, as it is unusual.  Katy is one of the few districts that imposes such a rule.  She would also work to reduce bond debt.

Sorry; gotta disagree here-- the 3 members to put an item on the agenda thing is NOT unique to Katy ISD.  It is not uncommon to have some sort of check so that the board is considering only items for which there is sufficient interest to make a change.  From a cursory review of some nearby and large districts, I found Houston ISD requires 3, and Plano, Fort Bend, Magnolia, Round Rock, Pasadena, Arlington, ISDs all require 2.  Dallas ISD allows one member to request a report but 3 to put an item on the regular agenda for a vote. Austin ISD allows one member to make a request to a committee that an item be put on the agenda, but if the committee rejects it, the entire board has to vote to put it on the agenda or not.  Larger districts have a lot of business to transact and a tool that focuses the board is not a bad idea.  

1. How Will Katy ISD Be Better If You Are Elected?

Recap of Katy ISD Candidate's Forum hosted by Rotary of Katy, Part 2:

1.  How Will Katy ISD Be Better If You Are Elected?

• Position 6 Race: 
• Terry Majors said she had been a campus principal for 18 years, and there are lots of wonderful things happening on campuses.  She said she has the knowledge about what needs to happen at the campus level for the kids.
• Bryan Michalsky said he would bring his professional experience to the district, because the biggest challenge facing the district is funding.  He is the Chief Financial Officer of a local business, Cotton Industries.  He has 4 children currently in school, and a child who will enter kindergarten next year, so he has a vested interest in the district for the next 13 years.  He is a problem solver who listens to different points of view and gathers data to make up his mind.  He is a relationship builder.  Katy ISD is a Destination District which attracts families and the best teachers.  He moved here for the schools, like so many others.
• Position 7 Race:
• Charles Griffin said he is a Katy High School graduate, as is his father, his wife and 2 of his children.  He has two children still in KISD.  He believes KISD's biggest problem is the leadership of the school board.  He is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and 737 pilot for United Airlines, and at one point was furloughed from the airline for 2 years and 10 months.  Also, his wife lost her position at Griffin Elementary in last spring's layoffs.  He understands the process of being furloughed.  He feels the way the layoffs were handled went badly.  If had been on the board at the time they would have been handled differently.  As a captain and military officer, he feels prepared to work with different people and different issues.
• Betty Powell said the district would be better because education is her heart and passion for learning and teaching.  She was a teacher for 23 years, the last 11 at Katy.  She retired last spring.  She has worked in every building in Katy ISD because she was a campus technologist and a district technology specialist.  She has a global view of what is happening in the district.  Her background is in technology so can help move the district forward and make sure the students all have the opportunities they need for the future, like webinars and virtual schools.  She "thinks outside the box, but colors within the lines".  She currently works for the U.S. Marshal's service as a trainer who develops e-learning.  She wants to bring those skills to the district.
• Cynthia Blackman started her remarks by saying she almost won last time she ran, and would talk more about that later.  She has one son who graduated from CRHS and attends HCC.  She and her husband own a business here, and she is concerned about taxes.  Last year's teacher layoff was tragic.  She taught 22 years and is also a tutor.  She would look at the budget and NEVER cut teachers.  Teacher morale is low, and there is a lack of support for teachers.  As a school board member, she would go into campuses and evaluate what is going wrong.  She is not afraid to go into a school building as a school board member and evaluate what is going on in schools.  She wants to evaluate what is going on at the campuses.  She wants to get rid of TVs in class rooms and add special ed teachers and teacher's aides.  
• Neal Howard remarked on the big turnout, and introduced his wife and youngest daughter.  He has two in college.  He has been on the board for 3 years and has 3 years of a voting record to review.  He does his homework and shows up prepared.  He thinks independently, and brings a long-term perspective.  He described himself as "cheap", but said his focus is always on student achievement.  He brings a strong financial background, evaluating proposals for an oil and gas company, and he said board work is very similar.  He voted for the 2010 bond which is being used to build all the new schools in the district.  He was against a budget measure on benefits because it would have cost teachers and staff more money for health care.  He opposed the IB program and would have preferred to repair rather than replace the big screen at Rhodes.  

The questions were asked in "ballot order" on the first question, and the next questions were asked in different order so who answered first rotated among the candidates.  In the next posts, I'll recap the answers in the order they were given, not in the order they will appear on the ballot.  

Getting to Know the Candidates for School Board, Part I

The best thing about the candidate's forum was the crowd!  Way to go, Katy!  I would guess about 100 people came; HUGE numbers-- Often, these things have drawn maybe 5-6 people who weren't married to a candidate.  Rotary Club did a great job hosting the event, and I hope they will step up make this a tradition.

In general, I liked the format.  I thought it was a bit odd that they dove into questions with no opening statements, and also had no closing.  However, all the candidates managed to pack in plenty of information as they answered the 5 questions posed by the moderator.  The questions were open-ended enough to require thoughtful responses, and I think most people left the forum feeling like they knew the candidates a bit better.  Over the next 5 days I will take a question and recap their answers.

Also check out their thoughts via the answers posted to a questionnaire from the Taylor Band Boosters.  Most candidates have answered; I will repost when answers from Mrs. Blackman and Mrs. Majors are up.   

Don't forget KPGT's forum on April 24th at Morton Ranch High School.  7:00 p.m.

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.

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?

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.

Katy Students Win State; Head For National Competition!

My “guest columnist” here is John Eberlan.  His enthusiasm toward this group of students is infectious!  Anyone who has had a delicious lunch at the Old Town Bistro knows how talented these kids are and how terrific this program is. 

In case not everyone has seen this story...  http://katyisd.org/communications/News/113-12.aspx

This is a fantastic group of kids that was rockin' last month in Austin.  This is only their third year in the competition and they won first place in Texas, so are going to nationals!  

When I read this story my mind wandered back to the laborious process of getting funds together for an out-of-state trip for the Band; lots of fund raising, lots of partial payments and nearly a year to prepare.  This group had a little over a month to prepare for this trip and I thought we could do something to help.  I spoke to Patty Kenjura (the teacher in charge of Culinary Arts) this morning.  She told me of the many logistical items she has to plan for before the trip; shipping their equipment, 7 more practice sessions, printing T-shirts for the team, etc.  With the timing being less than a month, with Easter on one weekend and another competition taking another weekend, they have no public events we can attend to show our support.

They are looking to raise $3000 that would pay for things like shipping their equipment to Baltimore, purchasing the food in Baltimore that will be part of the competition, purchasing the food that will be consumed in the practice sessions before they leave, and many more things.  

If you want to donate you can send them a check, made out to Katy ISD Culinary Arts.  Send to:

MCTC Culinary Arts

1734 Katyland Dr.

Katy, TX 77493

Attention: Patty Kenjurahttp://katyisd.org/communications/News/113-12.aspx

Memorial to a Dedicated Teacher

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.

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.

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:

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

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.

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.  

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.  

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?  

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?   

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.

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.

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.