RRISD Tries to Silence Whistle Blowers?

At the Tuesday, November 27 meeting of the Round Rock ISD Board, 5 of 7 members voted to censure Trustee Terri Romere, apparently for asking too many questions. 

It seems that Terri Romere has been asking Superintendent Jesus Chavez to provide attendance data for the RRISD “Success High School” program for at-risk students. Success High School plans have been much in the news since the RRISD Board voted to spend $25 million from the general fund to construct an entirely new campus for the program. Taxpayers have questioned the fiscal soundness of the decision when the district is in dire need of new middle and elementary schools. At issue is how many students will attend the $25 million campus?

When Trustee Terri Romere initially requested the attendance data from the Superintendent, he refused to comply.  She then asked RRISD Board President Chad Chadwell for the data, who told her that even though she was an elected official, she would have to file (and pay for) an open records request. Ms. Romere did as Chadwell suggested and filed the request. In the meantime, someone from within the district anonymously left copies of RRISD documents on Romere’s doorstep containing the relevant data, which Romere then showed to Superintendent Chavez on November 15.  (Chavez had been claiming the documentation did not exist.)

The documents revealed that daily attendance at the Success High School program ran between 37 and 43 students per day. This is very much at odds with RRISD Administration's statements suggesting the new campus would serve more than 300 students.

Rather than address the very disturbing revelation that the Superintendent had pushed the board to spend $25 million in precious education dollars for a facility that would serve an average of 40 students per day, some board members decided to “kill the messenger.” In an obviously prepared statement, trustee Glen Colby accused Romere of conducting her own investigation, violating procedures, and “violating the Superintendent’s contract.” (Huh?) Colby, et al, claim that no one would have given Romere those documents unless she had ‘inappropriately’ asked for them- never mind that the topic has been much discussed since May 2012 and has prompted numerous letters to the editors of local newspapers.  Romere maintained her innocence and continued to ask the single question, "What is the daily attendance at Success High School?"

This whole new RRISD kangaroo court seems to be an attempt to distract the public from some very disturbing developments within the school district. Not only did the Board vote to stifle voter influence over the governance of the district last August, but during Tuesday’s proceedings the RRISD Superintendent stated that he had the right to decide what information the elected trustees could have about the district. And some of us were under the impression that public schools were governed by a local, democratic process! We elect trustees to the school board, and the superintendent should serve the voters via the trustees. Somehow, in the RRISD, we seem to have an unelected king running local public ed.

Just wondering out loud here: considering Superintendent Chavez’ peculiar statement during the witch hunt censure proceeding, is he refusing to comply with Terri Romere’s open records requests? If so, that is a clear violation of the Public Information Act. The Williamson County Attorney’s office has already admonished the ISD once this year, and just two weeks ago Superintendent Chavez admitted that they probably had not followed the law regarding the School Health Advisory Council. But perhaps there are more serious violations taking place here?

Which begs the question: what is the RRISD trying to hide?

Election Day 2012

Well, tomorrow is the big day!  Remember that in order to vote on Election Day, you must go to your assigned precinct polling location.

Find your precinct location in Williamson County here.

Find your precinct location in Travis County here.

For other Texas counties, check the Secretary of State website here.

Polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm, but give yourself plenty of time.

As always, political campaigns get pretty heated in the final days; tempers flare and sometimes folks say and do some rather shocking things.  Remember to keep things in perspective and always, always pray for your enemies. 

If it's all getting to you, I suggest you read Erik Erickson's 50,000 Feet Looking Down.  (H/T Michele Samuelson at Blue Dot Blues.)

Blessings!

Bias Alert: Local Newspapers To Readers: "Hey, Don't Be Quoting Our Quotes!"

Apparently our local media doesn't like it when Conservatives quote them verbatim.

In an October 17, 2012 story, the Round Rock Leader newspaper quoted school board president Chad Chadwell as saying:

"I would rather risk making a few students and teachers feel uncomfortable and show them condom use and prevent some teen pregnancies..."

 This morning the same paper has a retraction that states:  "Chadwell did not say the district's sex education curriculum should show students condom use."

This begs some interesting questions:  Why did the Round Rock Leader report the statement as an exact quote if it wasn't true?  Does the Leader just make up quotes that sound good?  So what did Chadwell say?  And why are they so upset that readers believed what they wrote and used it? 

Can we trust anything printed in the Round Rock Leader?

In addition, the Round Rock Leader's parent newspaper, the Austin American Statesman reports that:

On Oct. 20, 2012, the Statesman published a summary of the Leader story stating Hanna and Chadwell had said they supported showing students how to effectively use a condom.

Ironically, even thought both the Round Rock Leader and the AAS have reported these statements, both have condemned conservative Tere McCann for using these quotes!  Oddly enough, the Statesman even notes that:

In reaction, Chadwell emailed a statement to reporters that does not directly contradict McCann’s description of his remarks.

So did Chadwell support condom demonstrations or not?  And why is the local media covering for him?  And now, despite all of these fine stories put out by our local newspapers, the same newspapers are claiming anyone who quotes them is lying?  Wow, I'd say Orwell is alive and well.

I guess this is just more evidence that the Main Stream Media cannot be trusted.  Ever.

As Bernard Goldberg wrote:

With such a glaring lack of integrity that we witness from the news outlets each and every day, it’s sometimes hard to hold out hope that things will ever change for the better.

Agreed.

About That Formal Recommendation to Change the Round Rock ISD Sex Curriculum....

As parents are becoming increasingly aware, the Round Rock Independent School District is considering adopting a new sex education curriculum.  Just to review:  the current programs tell students about contraception, but do not feature condom technique demonstrations.  Now RRISD Board President Chad Chadwell, up for re-election on the November ballot, believes that kids should be given actual condom demonstrations.

But there's something even more curious about the entire chain of events.  According to an August 23 KVUE News report, the RRISD Student Health Advisory Committee recommended that the district switch to an "abstinence plus" sex education program.  Then on October 17, the Round Rock Leader also reported that:

 "Members of the district's School Health Advisory Committee presented a recommendation to trustees in August, to teach an abstinence-plus sex education curriculum instead of the current abstinence-comprehensive curriculum.

So who is on the Student Health Advisory Committee  (SHAC) and how are committee members chosen?  According to the Texas Education Code, Chapter 28.004,

The board of trustees of each school district shall establish a local school health advisory council to assist the district in ensuring that local community values are reflected in the district's health education instruction. (emphasis added)

TEC 28.004 also states that the Board of Trustees shall appoint at least five members to the council, and that the majority of the members must be parents who are not employed by the district.  Furthermore, the code requires that the SHAC provide "a detailed explanation of the council's activities."

So where is this detailed explanation for the activities of the RRISD SHAC?

It's hard to say.  The RRISD SHAC Annual Report for 2011-12 only mentions "program speakers," but no actual members, nor who compiled the report.  The only references that can be found to the composition of the committee indicate that Mary McGuire is the RRISD SHAC Chair, and Christine Javonavic is the Co-Chair, but this is not listed on the Annual Report.

I did speak to one gentleman who has attended all of the RRISD SHAC events, a Mr. Lynn Williams.  Mr. Williams had called the school district last year to ask to be on the committee, and since then has been receiving email notifications for the four annual meetings.  According to Mr. Williams, however, the meetings have only consisted of presentations from guest speakers; there has been no sign-in sheet, roll call, etc.    

Here is what is especially disturbing:  Mr. Williams attended the June meeting where the "committee" supposedly recommended that the district adopt an "abstinence plus" program.  (The SHAC Annual Report states "a motion was made," but does not tell us who motioned.)  According to Mr. Williams, 12 people were in attendance, and again there was no sign-in or roll call taken.  Attendees heard from two presenters, and then they were asked by a show of hands, "who thinks the school district should move to an abstinence plus program?"  Mr. Williams states that 10 of the 12 raised their hands.

That, was how the formal recommendation was established?

Later Mr. Williams was shocked to learn that this was presented to the RRISD Board of Trustees as an official recommendation based on official proceedings. 

There is a post on the Round Rock ISD website from October 18, 2012 that invites individuals to "Sign-up as a potential volunteer."  Perhaps more parents from the community should take the initiative and ask for an appointment to the council? 

Incidentally, when I began researching this topic, I found the RRISD SHAC Annual Report on the district's website, but it disappeared while I was writing.  Happily, I had saved a copy which is now available on Google docs. I'm also puzzled as to why the media keeps referring to RRISD's SHAC as a 'committee' rather than a 'council.'

Not sure what's going on here, but I think there are many questions that need to be answered before the trustees take any RRISD SHAC too seriously.

Chadwell: Hey! Let's Show Kids How to Put On Condoms!

Wants to show your kids how to use a condom?

A push has begun in the Round Rock ISD and other districts to implement what they call "Abstinence Plus" sex education.  Although the district already has a sex education program that teaches students about contraception, the district does not provide actual demonstrations on how to put on condoms.  Now, some board members, including President Chad Chadwell want to change all that.  As Chadwell told the Round Rock Leader:

"I would rather risk making a few students and teachers feel uncomfortable and show them condom use and prevent some teen pregnancies..."

Of course Chadwell et al., have yet to provide any specifics about how these demonstrations will take place, and the term "Abstinence Plus" is left intentionally vague.  In other Texas districts these new programs have produced intense backlash from parents, as in the case of a highly graphic middle school curriculum introduced in the Cy-Fair District.  As Todd  Starnes of Fox News reported:

Hundreds of Houston-area parents are outraged over a new sex education program that teaches 12-year-old children about oral, anal and vaginal sex – and uses graphic curriculum to instruct students on how to use condoms...

Some of the video was so graphic that a Houston television station was unable to air footage from the curriculum, Kalmbach said.

“I think it’s soft porn when they have a girl on the couch and she says, ‘Let me help you put the condom on,’” parent Mayte Weitzman told television station KTRK. “They’re teaching them oral, anal and vaginal sex,” she said. “They’re teaching them all kinds of sex. They’re not focusing on abstinence.”

Quite a few parents are starting to ask questions about RRISD and "Abstinence Plus," and I have been bombarded with emails over the past week.  (Still trying to sort through it all...)  I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about it, but the statements both Chad Chadwell and Catherine Hanna gave to the Round Rock Leader already are disturbing enough.  Furthermore, some board members believe teachers themselves should be teaching these intimate sexual issues, a factor that is bound to dramatically alter the teacher-student dynamic in a highly troubling way. 

Just another reason Mr. Chadwell does not adequately represent the values of the district.   Fortunately, we have a choice.  Early Voting began today, and I strongly encourage RRISD parents and residents to vote for Tere McCann for RRISD Place 2. 

Pav a RRISD Candidate Forum No-Show, Ambiguous on Grading Standards

Priorities

Only three of the four candidates for Round Rock School Board attended a candidate forum last Saturday; it seems that Eric Pav, candidate for open seat Place 7, chose to attend the Texas-OU football game instead.  For those of us who have been concerned about the spending priorities of the school district, Mr. Pav's choice is rather disappointing.  It became apparent during Superintendent's budget scare last year that the RRISD Administration was much more willing to cut TAG and Special Needs teachers before they would touch any expenditures relating to football.  Voters hope that prospective school board trustees would have an appropriate sense of priorities.

In related news, the Round Rock ISD Concerned Parents have some very good information on where the candidates stand in regards to Standards Based Grading (essentially a re-packaging of Outcome Based Education, another failed education fad.)  The group formed last year in response to the Round Rock School District's adoption of the highly controversial SBG.   The group submitted questions to the candidates, and has the responses posted at their website.   While both Pauline Law and Tere McCann indicated they do not support use of SBG in the district, Eric Pav responded that although he does not favor re-implementation of SBG, he believes that:

"All grading systems are outcome based.  I am in favor of evaluation and assessment practices that give students the ability to achieve subject mastery and make progress, while not penalizing any student regardless of achievement ability."

Even more disturbing is Pav's response to whether the failure of SBG in Round Rock was due to the merits of the philosophy or merely poor implementation: 

Both.  From what I have researched and discussed with parents, the Ridgeview MS implementation was not rolled out consistently, nor communicated very well. 

Chadwell, who has already experienced RRISD parent outrage over SBG, stated in the questionnaire  that he does not support the radical grading system, although the Concerned Parents group notes that Mr. Chadwell opposed their pleas to return to traditional grading.  (The CP website links to board meeting video from 10/20/2011 with Chadwell's comments.)

Tonight's forum, hosted by the RRISD Council of PTAs, will be at 7pm at the Stony Point High School cafeteria. 

RRISD Candidate Forum Saturday

If you have not yet made up your mind about the Round Rock School Board races, you might want to check out the candidate forum tomorrow, Saturday, at 9am in the Wells Branch Community Center.  For more details, see this post at Blue Dot Blues.

Remember, these folks will exert tremendous influence over your child's education and will control the lion's share of your property taxes.  Get informed and vote!

 Here are just a few of the articles I've written about the district.

RRISD: Status Quo or Fresh Insight?
RRISD Votes to Stifle Democratic Process 
County Attorney Admonishes RRISD
RRISD Violates Open Meetings Act?
School Zone Disaster Zone in RRISD
Rotten Politics in RRISD

Inconvenient Truths About Per Pupil Expenditures
28 Psychologists and Other Fun Facts
Super Super Won't Take Pay Cut
Curious Priorities

New Endorsements in Round Rock ISD Races

While the Williamson County Republican Party Chairman, Bill Fairbrother, does not endorse in the 'technically' non-partisan races for school districts, another group, the Williamson County Republican Leaders organization has announced a list of endorsements for the 2012 Election.  Among the local endorsements for known Conservatives like Tony Dale (HD-136,) the group has also voted to support two candidates for the Round Rock ISD Board:  Tere McCann and Pauline Law.

Read the Press Release from Williamson County Republican Leaders.

Round Rock ISD Candidates: Status Quo vs. Fresh Insight?

When voters go to the polls on November 6 (or in Early Voting beginning on October 22,) even straight-ticket voters will have additional choices to make in local ‘non-partisan’ races. Residents within the Round Rock Independent School District will choose trustees for Place 2 and Place 7.

For Place 2, the incumbent Chad Chadwell is being challenged by Tere McCann. Currently the board president, Chadwell’s board has faced intense backlash over not one, but two disastrous re-zoning attempts and parental frustration with declining ratings. RRISD was further embarrassed during the 2011 budget negotiations during which Superintendent Chavez threatened to lay-off teachers- until it was discovered the district was sitting on $200 million in its own rainy-day funds. In the past few months, the board and administration collaborated to swipe $74 million from general funds to super-size one high school and build a $25 million campus for drop-out students. All this without public input and while the new Cedar Ridge campus is being called “portable-ville” by frustrated parents and students. But the board isn’t worried about being called to account; last month they also raised property taxes on Round Rock families.

At last night’s candidate forum, instead of answering questions Chadwell ranted about people who run as ‘Conservatives,’ saying that he didn’t even know what that meant. (Which is obvious considering his actions regarding the school district.) He insisted that the political philosophies don’t matter because it’s all about the children. Sounds like somebody doesn’t want the voters to know he’s a Democrat? (Who happens to support Matt “Not-A-Native” Stillwell.) Why should he be afraid to admit it?

Challenger Tere McCann attempted to help remedy the district’s previous rezoning blunders this year while serving on the boundary committee, but discovered that the boundary decision was a forgone conclusion. He was so disturbed by the process that he even offered $10,000 to the education foundation if his enrollment projections were incorrect, provided that anyone, anywhere, would make the same pledge on behalf of the RRISD Administration’s projections. No-one accepted the challenge. With three children attending RRISD schools, McCann decided the board needed fresh perspective and some solid guidance, and he filed for the Place 2 seat. (Learn more about Tere McCann.)

Place 7 is an open seat, and the two candidates are Pauline Law and Eric Pav. Pav claims to be a Republican voter, but his statements regarding the district have been nothing short of disappointing. Back on September 6, he opined on Facebook,

“I continue to be impressed with how the administration has been able to stretch the approved bond funds and provide additional dollars to address high priority needs across the district without requiring additional immediate asks from the taxpayer.

Huh? I’m not sure if Mr. Pav was just unaware of the RRISD Board’s plan to raise taxes this year (public since last July,) or if he was just blowing campaign smoke. Surely he was aware that the district is putting together a new bond package for much-needed new facilities? After all, he is a member of the RRISD bond oversight committee. Did he think the $25 million campus for the 100 or so students enrolled in the at-risk (for dropping out) program was a high priority need? Parents of students at increasingly over-crowded schools might beg to differ.

Voters have been waiting to see if Pav will show leadership in taking the board in a new direction, but thus far he has only affirmed the current administration and doesn’t seem to think any mistakes have been made at all. At a candidate forum last week, Pav was very hostile to questions about the problems of the district, and attendees noted that he often “raised his voice” and seemed very angry. At last night’s PTA forum (his wife is a member of the board,) he was much calmer and more in control of his emotions, but his “everything is fine” narrative had not changed.

Also running for Place 7 is Pauline Law, a Round Rock businesswoman with two children in the district. Law became concerned when the Superintendent was telling anyone who would listen that his district would be devastated by any state budget cuts (remember those threatened teacher lay-offs?) She then began to go over the RRISD budget line by line. After spending hours on the phone with the administration and superintendent analyzing the budget, Law saw that something needed to be done and rather than sit around complaining, she decided to run herself.

Law has lived in Round Rock for several years, and the old Round Rock ‘establishment’ has been terribly, terribly offended that someone new to the area would dare to run for office in their town. A whisper campaign has been launched, and I’ve been privy to several indignant conversations over “that woman.” I can only roll my eyes in frustration; what did they expect considering the events of the past few years? That parents will just roll over and play dead?  Law is a concerned parent who wants to get the district back on track, and no-one needs to be personally offended by this.  And considering that Eric Pav has all but stated he will be rubber-stamping the current administration, it’s no surprise that voters are disappointed in him as a candidate.

Just for the record, neither Pauline Law nor Eric Pav is a native Texan, but leave the ropes at home and just check out the candidates for yourselves. Here are their respective websites or Facebook pages as the case may be

Websites:
Tere McCann
Pauline Law

Facebook Pages:  (These candidates don't seem to have websites.)
Chad Chadwell
Eric Pav

When you go to the polls to vote for President, Senator, Judges, State Senator, State Representative, etc., be sure to check out those contests at the bottom of the ticket. A straight-ticket vote won’t check those boxes, so please exercise due diligence.

Election Day Polling Locations for Williamson County here, and Travis County here.

RRISD Votes to Stifle Democratic Process

“Shut Up,” they explained.

 

In a little noticed move last month, the Round Rock School Board quietly approved new board procedures for the district. Typically, governing rules for most boards, both public and private, allow items to be placed on the meeting agenda at the request of two trustees. RRISD however, claims two is not enough to initiate discussion. An agenda request must be approved by a vote of all trustees at an official meeting before the item can be discussed at the next official meeting.

Essentially, even if three board members request an agenda item, the other members of the board can reject discussion of any ‘uncomfortable’ topics at RRISD School Board meetings. In allowing this rule change, Board President Chad Chadwell and his compatriots have significantly damaged the ability of the elected trustees to govern the district. Since members who disagree with each other can easily shut down proposed agenda items, the board’s ability to take action will be seriously compromised. And, of course, if the board is unable to act, the responsibility will fall to, surprise! - RRISD superintendent, Jesus Chavez.

So, just as at the federal level, local government power will be further concentrated into the hands of an unelected bureaucrat. Swell.

It is interesting that this move came so close to the upcoming RRISD Board elections. Incumbent Chad Chadwell has been challenged by Tere McCann for place 2, and there are two candidates vying for the place 7 seat being vacated by Bobby Sieferman. In each case, if the ‘establishment’ loses and the true grassroots candidates win, Chadwell et. al., have already taken preemptive steps to silence those who might question the governance of the district.

And if the elected board members are silenced, so are the voters.

A review of the minutes for RRISD Board meetings over the past year demonstrates that the board actually votes in unison on the vast majority of issues. Only rarely does one see any dissenting votes, which implies that perhaps there are some compelling reasons for occasional nay vote. In the case of these new “silence the opposition” procedure rules, only Terri Romere voted nay.

However shocking, this move to dampen the ability of voters to effect the district shouldn’t come as any surprise to those who’ve been following RRISD events. Not only did administration staff figuratively thumb their noses at parents who took part in the school re-zoning fiasco, the board spent millions on pet projects they knew voters weren’t likely to approve. The decision to super-size one high school was made without any public hearings or input from the community. Also, last month, the board decided to swipe some $25 million from the district’s general funds to build a special high school campus for students at risk of dropping out (currently less than 80 students qualify for the $25 million “Success” campus). Again, no hearings, no public input.
.
Now, after spending nearly $75 million on pet projects without voter approval, the board is poised to raise property taxes. Furthermore, since the most urgent need in the district is at minimum a new middle school, the ISD is proposing a new bond election for next year. I guess the strategy is to spend extravagantly on anything but essential needs- for those you just hike taxes.

This year’s ISD Board Elections will be held in conjunction with the General Election on November 6. As I mentioned above, the options for Place 2 are incumbent Chad “more-of-the-same” Chadwell and Tere McCann. For Place 7, there is Round Rock Businesswoman and Mom, Pauline Law, and Dell Employee Eric Pav. Law has promised to bring a fiscally conservative viewpoint to the board; Pav has retreated from any public questions about his political philosophy.

Sadly, there are still many individuals who naively believe that school board governance is some kind of philosophical neutral zone. However, I would argue that public schools are THE front line in the battle for the heart and soul of this nation. Some 90% of American children are under the control of the local school. We had better start paying serious attention to what these school districts are doing, because our future depends on it.

Vote November 6, 2012.

Round Rock School District Super-Sizes RRHS, Enjoys Extra Cash On Hand

At last week's Round Rock School Board Meeting, the Trustees and Administration went on an interesting spending spree.  Last year, School Superintendent Jesus Chavez was telling anyone who would listen that any cuts to the State Education budget would be devastating to his schools and that the district would be forced to lay off teachers.  This year, however, the district seems to have discovered some extra money.  Lots of it. 

Apparently the district has some funds leftover from the 2008 bond package, $36.5 million, to be exact.  In addition, board members noted that they have another $22.5 million lying about for spending. 

While some of the funds will go to a roof repair for Grisham Middle School, the board voted to spend $46.4 million to build two additional wings at Round Rock High School.  The reason?  Due to growth and the way the district has been zoned, RRHS is on-track to be over-crowded.  (As is Stony Point High School, and Cedar Ridge High School is already over capacity.)  The new wings will 'super-size' Round Rock High School to 4,142 students.

The solution the board has embraced is a marked deviation from previously stated ISD goals to keep high schools below 2,400 students.  What is especially disturbing about this move is that the board did not hold any public hearings or take public comments about this shift in planning for RRHS.  Do parents want a mega-high school?  Were any studies done in conjunction with the City of Round Rock regarding traffic flow in and around the school?

Oddly enough, Superintendent Chavez told the board last fall that the next most urgent need for the district would be an additional middle school.  Right now four different elementarys are feeding into Cedar Valley Middle School which will very soon be over-crowded.  Why isn't the district using the bond funds to address the most urgent needs?

Could it be that the Administration and some board members know that voters would not approve some of these projects?   Another pet project still on the table is the construction of a $25 million 'Success High School' for about 600 at-risk students (thus boosting academic ratings at other schools).  As one Trustee noted at the April 24 board meeting, voters just "don't understand' about these projects. 

So they have to sneak them in?

Of course, once Cedar Valley Middle School is bursting at the seems, then the voters are more likely to approve a new bond package for construction.

These projects may well be justified, but shouldn't the parents and taxpayers have been involved in the surprise spending of over $46 million?

On a final note, the lone dissenting vote was cast by the ostracized Terri Romere.  Is no one else listening to the families of Round Rock? 

I guess on the upside, it's good to know that RRISD doesn't have any fund shortages...

RRISD Stonewalls, Possibly Violates Open Meetings Act?

Unsurprisingly, the Round Rock School Board has refused to comply with Trustee Romere's request for public records.  Of course these documents are subject to open records and any citizen can request them, but the district makes sure it is very costly to do so. 

One of the reasons they claim they will not comply is due to the time frame for which Romere wants to view RRISD Board communications:  April 1-26.  But this time frame in and of itself is very interesting since it includes not only the communications prior to the Board's decision to censure Romere (April 24) but also all communications prior to the decision to extend the Superintendent's contract and raise his salary to $260,000 (April 19). 

This begs two questions:  What does Trustee Romere know/suspect, and what could the RRISD Board possibly fear becoming known to the public?

Even more serious, however, is the appearance that the RRISD Board may have violated the Texas Public Meetings Act.  Romere's attorney Ross Fischer has released text messages that Romere received from RRISD Board President Chad Chadwell.  Chadwell indicates that four board members requested the censure, and two others were "interested" after "we discussed the procedure with Bill."  Presumably 'Bill' refers to the RRISD attorney Bill Bingham. 

It appears that the Board discussed this matter without notifying Trustee Romere or the public as required by law. 

When questioned about his text message by the Community Impact Newspaper, Chadwell replied,

“We had actually added a discussion of her censure to the next agenda at a closed session meeting on April 19—she was not in that closed session, she had left,” Chadwell said. “So it was not discussed outside of a meeting.”

Is Chadwell admitting the Board added discussion of a possible censure to the April 19 meeting during the closed session?  If so, he should check the wording of the Texas Public Meetings Act, which requires that agenda items be posted prior to a Closed Meeting and that the accused must have the opportunity to request an Open Meeting.  Since it appears that President Chadwell allowed the matter to be discussed without 1) posting the agenda item, and 2) without notifying Trustee Romere, he may have violated the law. 

The law states:
And, Section 551.041:
As for Romere leaving the meeting, we presume she did so after all of the posted agenda items had been discussed.  Had she known there was another agenda item, would she have left?

One must wonder what else board members have discussed outside of the rules of the Open Meetings Act.  Is that why Romere has requested communications for the month of April? 

In their public comments regarding their rejection of Romere's public records requests, RRISD Board members claim they need to know why and what exactly Romere is looking for before they can comply.   My guess is that both Romere and the Board know very well what she is looking for, but no-one is talking, yet.

138

A governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of

each meeting held by the governmental body.

The notice of a meeting of a governmental body must be posted in a place readily

accessible to the general public at all times for at least 72 hours before the scheduled

time of the meeting, except as provided by Sections 551.044–551.046.

County Attorney's Office Instructs RRISD on Procedure and Admonishes ISD Officials and Employees

Back in February, the Round Rock School Board voted 5-2 to ask the Williamson County Attorney's office to investigate Trustee Terri Romere for allegedly releasing a private email address.  The CA's office has now concluded their investigation of the matter, but probably did not give the results certain board members had hoped for.

In a letter to RRISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez dated April 26,2012, Assistant County Attorney Shannon C. Francis notes that although they do not usually investigate a possible crime unless the alleged victim makes a report, they did investigate and respond.  Francis also writes that in the future, "the more appropriate response" is to refer that individual to a local law enforcement agency."

So, basically the RRISD Board's PR stunt to shame Terri Romere was inappropriate.

The letter also states that the County Attorney's office is "not concluding that anyone definitely has or has not violated the Public Information Act."

Furthermore, Francis also notes that "records were released by the Round Rock ISD Superintendent with private email addresses visible." 

The County Attorney's letter does go on to say that it appears an attempt was made to redact the email addresses, however, "Failure to fully redact confidential information could also possibly or arguably indicate a violation of the Public Information Act."

In closing, Francis states:

"Accordingly, please consider this letter a cautionary admonishment that all officials and employees of the Round Rock ISD take care to understand their obligations under the Public Information Act."  And, "This concludes our investigation and no further action will be taken regarding your request."

So, this part of the "Destroy Terri Romere" campaign seems to be at an end.

Interestingly enough, the Round Rock School Board will be huddled tonight in closed session to decide if they will comply with Trustee Romere's request for documents.  It seems she has requested communications between April 1 and April 25 (the lynching took place on April 24) and the board and administration aren't too keen on turning them over.

I wonder why? 

Full moon this weekend, by the way.

P.S.  I do have the full copy of the County Attorney's letter to Chavez, but am unable to scan and post due to technical difficulties.  Will post as soon as I can get hardware issues resolved. 

Round Rock School Board's Kangaroo Court: Constitutional Principles Not Relevant

Last night the Round Rock Independent School District voted to censure elected Trustee Terri Romere.  Romere could not be present, as her critically ill mother had been scheduled to move from one hospital to another late yesterday.  Trustee Bobby Seiferman abstained from the vote.

One of the legal principles on which this nation was founded is the right to face one's accuser.  According to the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the accused has the right:

...to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

As Romere's attorney Ross Fischer noted in a letter to the district yesterday, she was not advised of the charges against her.  As last night's kangaroo court demonstrates, her accusers were permitted to make all sorts of wild accusations, and five board members eagerly jumped at the opportunity to convict without benefit of trial or counsel.  Granted this is not a criminal court, but the damage done to Ms. Romere without due process is shocking.

Some of the accusations were positively Orwellian, such as the claim that Romere did not listen to the needs of the community.  Back during the re-zoning controversy, parents of affected communities came out en force to demonstrate that Romere was the ONLY trustee who seemed to care about their plight.  But the most insidious, reprehensible charge, which came from Diane Cox, is that Romere is somehow "physically intimidating."  (Romere is about 5' 2")  There are no witnesses to what Cox claims, so it's her word against Romere's. 

That the Board would take action based on such a serious claim without proper procedure is an outrage, but apparently this Board believes it can do whatever it wishes. And maybe that's the root problem here.  Perhaps school district governance has too much power.  After all, parents and taxpayers are at the mercy of these people whether they like it or not.  Even parents who find it necessary to opt out must continue to surrender precious education dollars to the district to spend as Jesus Chavez sees fit.  And as for elections, Round Rock ISD is huge and trustees are elected at large, so communities that are suffering because of board decisions are easily over-ruled by communities that have been favored. 

Elections are coming in November, and I hope the community is paying attention to the antics of these board members.  But I don't hold out much hope because of the way the district has been structured.  This problem will continue until we find a way to check the power of local school districts. 

Great News: School Super Presiding Over District Decline Will Get Raise in Down Economy

Round Rock ISD School Superintendent Jesus Chavez, who was already raking in  $252,875 per year plus benefits, will not feel the effects of the Obama economy.  It seems that the Round Rock school board voted last night to give him an $8,000 per year raise; including his lavish benefits, taxpayers will provide Chavez with well over $300,000 per year.   

Perhaps the raise was out of gratitude for overseeing the RRISD's drop from being a 'Recognized' district to becoming 'Academically Acceptable.'  One of the most glaring problems in the ISD is the new Cedar Ridge High School:  a nearly $100 million dollar state-of-the-art campus complete with a coffee bar for students, but an academically unacceptable rating.  The school has been very much in the news since woefully inept calculations on the part of Chavez' administration led to overcrowding at CRHS and forced the board to impose yet another painful redistricting on the parents and children of Round Rock. 

The Round Rock school board seems to be moving ever further from listening to the needs of the whole community.  Rather than answering to the electorate, it looks like they answer to the Superintendent they hired.  Despite the public outcry about the redistricting, certain board members expressed outrage that anyone would even dare to question the administration's plan.  After all, they know what's best for kids, not these stupid parents.  Shoot, these parents don't even have a PhD in Education; what can they possibly know about children?

By the way, taxpayers will still be on the hook for Superintendent Chavez' retirement for years to come.  This raise ups his average salary and will ensure that his retirement is very, very comfortable.

Just another reason it is high time to hold our Texas School Districts financially accountable. 

Round Rock School District Approves Administration Boundary Proposal, Rejects Vertical Alignment

Last night the Round Rock School Board voted to implement the RRISD Administration's boundary proposal plan. The vote was 5-2, with Trustees Terri Romere and Bobby Seiferman voting against.

After impassioned testimony during the public comments session, members of the board made some rather interesting comments of their own.  Regarding the allegations that the boundary determination process was broken, Brian Sellers stated that the purpose of the Boundary Committee and public hearings was to present the (administration created) proposal and allow everyone "to shoot holes in it."  Well, they did shoot holes.  Lots of them.  HUGE holes.

But in the end, the holes didn't matter.

The only change that was permitted by the administration was in an  elementary school zone.  That change was made at one of the public hearings during a dialogue that lasted about 2 minutes and did not involve any members of the boundary committee.  With one sentence uttered by Super Jesus Chavez, a small group of students was magnanimously granted permission to move to the new Elsa England Elementary School.

So what was the purpose of the Citizen's Boundary Committee?  

One Trustee comment was particularly disturbing.  He expressed indignation that "minority report would come out of the [boundary] committee."

Seriously?  So the Board and administration expectation was that the committee vote would be unanimous? (It wasn't.)   That none would dare question their proposal?  Is that why the Administration appoints 8 of the 15 committee members?  A guaranteed stamp of approval?

What parents and the majority of the community took away from last night's meeting,  is that the Citizens Boundary Committee was not established to create options based on input from the community.  Nor was it to make any changes to the administration's proposals.  (Remember, the only change was made by a wave of the Superintendent's magic wand.)  The administration did not allow the committee to consider any other plan.  It seems the committee only existed to present the the administration plan and sell it to the community. 

Many parents are terribly upset this morning, and rightly so.  Their children's education is not controlled by them, but by a group of government officials.  Although their children are shuffled around schools like pawns on a chessboard, and although their school district's academic status has been steadily falling, they have few options.  Should they find the situation so intolerable that they remove their children from the RRISD, they will still be forced to surrender the lion's share of their property taxes to Superintendent Chavez to spend as he sees fit.  Furthermore, they will have to come up with their own means to provide their child's education; no tax credit, no support from the community.  Many families simply cannot manage the financial penalties for opting out.

Given the state of affairs in the Round Rock School system, perhaps it is time to allow some charter schools into the district.  Or perhaps the 2013 legislature will pass Taxpayer Savings Grants,  but of course that possibility is at least two years away.  And of course, there are elections;  Trustee Chad Chadwell is up for re-election this year.  In the meantime, Round Rock parents are stuck with what an elitist administration has deemed appropriate.

Tere McCann's Signed Pledge: $10,000 for RRISD Education Foundation

As I noted earlier, Round Rock School District Boundary Committee member Tere McCann, a Chief Financial Officer and a Certified Public Accountant, has pledged up to $10,000 in donations to the Round Rock ISD Education Foundation in challenge to the Superintendent's 'fuzzy math.' The offer is contingent upon someone supporting the RRISD Administration's enrollment projections with the same generosity. Will Superintendent Jesus Chavez or one of his supporters express such confidence in their own calculations? We'll see! Below is McCann's signed pledge form. McCann Challenge to RRISD Education Foundation

Rotten Politics in Round Rock ISD

Something is rotten in Round Rock ISD. Last week the school board voted to ask the Williamson County Attorney's office to investigate Board Trustee Terri Romere. The Austin-American Statesman happily lapped up the narrative of an elected official engaging in illegal behavior. Of course, few print newspapers engage in investigative journalism anymore, and as expected, the Statesman's story completely missed the big picture.

But there is oh, so much more to this story.

The backdrop for this drama involves an ISD Boundary determination process that has been so riddled with mistakes, misunderstandings, and deliberate mis-characterizations from the beginning, that the community has lost all faith in a fair outcome. But the tale of a boundary process gone wrong will have to wait; to begin with, I would like to address specific aspects of the allegations against Trustee Terri Romere.

The flap regards an email sent by a RRISD parent, Craig Zawadzki, to all RRISD Board members, RRISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez, and RRISD Director of Communications Joy Lynn Occhiuzzi. Mr. Zawadzki had heard some rather fantastic rumors about one of the Boundary proposals under consideration by the board, and he rightly expressed his concerns. Romere then forwarded Zawadzki's email, not to just a 'parent activist,' but the author of the proposal in question, Erik Okerholm, so that Okerholm could address the specific concerns over his plan. Okerholm then sent an email to numerous residents with questions, including Mr. Zawadzki, correcting the mis-characterizations circulating about his plan.

The alleged 'crime' committed by Romere is that she did not redact Zawadzki's email address. However, the communications were not part of an open records request, but part of a chain of communications about the two boundary proposals.

Here things get pretty interesting. On January 10, Zawadzki sent an email complaining about having his email forwarded. He did not file a grievance, nor ask for an investigation. Unfortunately for Mr. Zawadzki, he now finds himself being used as a pawn by the Administration and some trustees.

On January 12, Superintendent Chavez sent a rather curious communication to the Board that never mentions Romere by name, but insinuates that forwarding an email without redacting the sender's email address would be a violation of Section 552.137 of the public information act, and that the offense is a “misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000; confinement in the county jail for not more than six months or both the fine and confinement. In addition, the violation constitutes official misconduct.” Dr. Chavez adds to the January 19 Board meeting agenda a call for a Closed Session to “discuss duties of public officers and employees.”

On January 19, Ross Fischer, attorney for Terri Romere, sent a letter to the RRISD attorney questioning Dr. Chavez's email. (I have obtained copies of Fischer's letters; you can read the full text of this letter here.)

Fischer writes:

“It does not appear that Mr. Zawadzki is alleging a violation of the RRISD's policy on Board Email Communication (which does not appear to prohibit the forwarding of an electronic message), nor does it appear that Mr. Zawadzki is alleging a violation of state law. In fact, it appears that the message is a simple inquiry by a member of the public directed to RRISD officials (and dozens of other members of the public). It appears that Dr. Chavez has taken a simple inquiry and somehow construed it as a complaint against a member of his governing board. “

Fischer sure seems to smell something fishy here, and he also notes that Dr. Chavez has significantly misrepresented the statute in question. He quotes Chavez' message, and follows with this:

This is a misrepresentation of the law, which actually states:

Section 552.137 of the public information act states, “An e-mail address of a member of the public that is provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a governmental body is confidential and not subject to disclosure under this chapter [emphasis added].

This omission by Dr. Chavez is significant. The statue states that an e-mail address of a member of the public is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552 of the Government Code. Therefore, had someone sought copies of Mr. Zawadzki's e-mail via the Public Information Act, the RRISD would have had to treat his e-mail address as confidential. However, our client knows of no such request filed pursuant to Chapter 552.

The RRISD attorney, Bill Bingham did not respond until 2 weeks later. His response, dated February 2, states, ”I do not believe that there is a pending “complaint or charge” involving a Board member.”

Even more disturbing are the revelations in Ross Fischer's next letter to the RRISD. (Full text here) Fischer asks for the following:

*First, please confirm whether our client Ms. Romere is the subject of any complaint or investigation that has been commenced by the Round Rock ISD. 

*Second, please provide a copy of any complaint alleging misconduct by our client Ms. Romere.

*Third, Please provide a copy of the standard of conduct which our client Ms. Romere has allegedly violated.

*Fourth, please provide the legal authority authorizing the Board of Trustees to sanction, reprimand, or otherwise discipline our client Ms. Romere.

*Fifth, it has come to our attention that certain documents have been provided to the Austin American-Statesman pursuant to a Public Information Act request. On the tenth page of the documents provided, certain private emails are clearly visible. Therefore, we would like to know the name of the Round Rock ISD employee who released these email addresses, those employees or officers that approved the release, and whether the owners of the following email accounts consented to the release of their email addresses: ...

Wait, what? Somebody in the RRISD Administration is determined to convict Romere of a crime she didn't commit, but their own personnel did?

Fischer goes on to note that while the ISD seems to be stonewalling his client, they are sure eager to give the media select documents.

It is unfortunate that the District seems more willing to provide detailed information to the Austin American Statesman, as evidenced by the article in today's newspaper, than to one of its own Trustees.  We hope that you will point out to the District's officials that, in its rush to ambush our client, it is subjecting its own Trustees to possible criminal liability.  

Yesterday the RRISD sent its request to have Romere investigated by the Williamson County Attorney's office, but they have yet to respond to Ross Fischer's information requests.

All of these factors seem to point to some kind of desperate attempt to either embarrass or punish Romere, with the explicit threat of jail, fine, and removal from office. So what is all this intended to accomplish? Well, for one thing, on December 15, many interpreted the Board's reaction to Chavez's performance review as a prelude to his contract not being renewed and ultimately his dismissal. In fact, the Board could have taken action that evening but for a technicality in the meeting posting that was controlled by Chavez. The official vote has been re-scheduled for February 28^th. Absent Romere, the Board could easily split evenly in a 3-3 tie on Chavez's dismissal or, worse yet, others could be intimidated into submission. The tactics against Romere are clearly designed to intimidate her and others willing to stand up for what they believe is right.

Of even more concern to RRISD parents anguished over the corrupted boundary process, the vote on a boundary plan is scheduled for next Thursday, February 16. Judging by past history (Trustees Colby and Sellers wisely opposed similar boundary alignment changes in 2009; Trustees Romere and Seiferman ran their campaigns on opposition to that plan), a 4-3 vote against the Administration’s proposal is a real possibility unless intimidation and manipulation are allowed to rule the day, and ultimately the District. One has to wonder how the Administration has lost sight of its most important duty – educating the children in RRISD classrooms. 

This is local politics at its worst. And, I hope you will not let it stand.

I will be writing more about the RRISD boundary fiasco next week, but residents should be aware that numerous grievances have been filed about the process. It seems that the ISD has violated its own policies regarding the procedure. I strongly encourage RRISD parents to attend the February 16 RRISD meeting to demand a delay until these errors have been remedied. RRISD needs to hear your voices telling them loudly to follow their own procedures, respect the public and parental input, and make the right decision for Round Rock children’s education.

Please email members of the Round Rock School Board:

brian_sellers@roundrockisd.org

diane_cox@roundrockisd.org

catherine_hanna@roundrockisd.org

charles_chadwell@roundrockisd.org

glen_colby@roundrockisd.org

bobby_seiferman@roundrockisd.org

terri_romere@roundrockisd.org

Please attend the February 16th meeting:  6:30 pm at the Round Rock High School Lecture Hall.

Update:  New article posted today:  School Boundary Zone Disaster