Round Rock School Board Election 2014: More at Stake than You Might Think

I know many readers are chomping at the bit to cast a vote for gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott next month, but please note that there are many, many other races on the ballot.  (Check out your Williamson County sample ballot here.)  Residents of the Round Rock Independent School District in particular will enjoy the opportunity to vote in four contests for the Board of Trustees.  (Places 1, 3, 5, and 6).   While few voters really pay attention to local, non-partisan races, there is more here than meets the eye.  To some extent these races are indicative of a power struggle between "the Elected" and "the Appointed" in public education. 

For Place 1, Nikki Gonzales is challenging Claudio Cruz.  Cruz was appointed last year when Brian Sellers suddenly quit before his term expired (a common occurrence in RRISD, maybe because it allows those in power to appoint a replacement without all that darned campaigning & election stuff.)  Being new, Cruz does not have much of a record but is known via his work as an employee of Austin ISD.  Many folks active in Round Rock schools and politics know his challenger Nikki Gonzales from her work with the PTA, the Texas State Legislature, and the Williamson County Sheriff's office. She has strong support from the families and taxpayers of the community who want to have an elected voice on the board.  I would vote for Nikki Gonzales. 

Hands down, Bryan Black is the best choice for Place 3.  A former award-winning journalist, Black is currently the Director of Communications for the Texas Department of Agriculture, has completed the Leadership Round Rock ISD program, and is a RRISD parent.  His goals include making RRISD a role model for districts in not only student achievement and innovation, but in fiscal responsibility and transparency.  The latter is something RRISD could use a little more of.  (See "Shut Up, They Explained," and "RRISD Tries to Silence Whistle Blowers?") 

Black is such a stellar candidate that voters should choose him regardless of who his opponent may be.  It happens however, that he is challenging long-time board member Diane Cox.  Cox is definitely on the Left politically, and the only Round Rock resident who was willing to go on air to support the disastrous Diana Maldonado campaign for State Legislature in 2010.  Even for those who believe that school boards are magically non-partisan, Cox's tenure has been frustrating, and she seems to have been involved in most of RRISD's woes, including everything from the illegal bonus and illegal Student Health Advisory Council scandals, to a rather disastrous re-zoning process.  Cox has barely won her last two elections, usually losing in the Williamson County portion of the district, but scraping up enough votes in Travis County to hold her position.  (In one case by a mere 7 votes.) 

In Place 5 there are three candidates vying for an open seat thankfully being vacated by Catherine Hannah.  Allen McKee, Paul K. Emerson, and Suzi David are running, but the front-runner and most likable candidate seems to be Allen McKee.  Like Bryan Black, Allen McKee is interested in having a stellar school district and promoting transparency and accountability.  There's not a lot of information on Suzi David, but Emerson is mouthing those nice-sounding platitudes about being a "team player" and "non-partisan."  Those terms sound innocuous and comforting, but anyone who has been paying attention to RRISD events for the past decade knows there is a great struggle underway regarding the fundamental role of the school board.  In some minds the trustees should serve the ISD superintendent like an appointed cabinet supports an executive.  For these folks, there should never be dissension on the board since the role of trustees is to implement directives and provide support to the superintendent.  However, many Americans still believe in representative government and see the superintendent as the employee of an elected board:  the superintendent answers to the board, the elected board answers to the people.  This struggle received attention last year when the Texas Legislature overwhelming passed a bill affirming certain rights of elected school board trustees.  Unfortunately, Paul Emerson's rhetoric clearly places him in the "go-along-to-get along" camp, and I doubt he will be willing to stand up for parents and taxpayers if necessary.  Frankly, I think parents and taxpayers want elected representatives who are courageous enough to ask questions and stand up for what is good, true, and right at all levels of government, especially school boards.

Interestingly enough, the most vocal member of the board, Terri Romere, does not have a challenger for her second term.  Huh.  She has been accused of being a trouble-maker for asking questions and demanding answers, but I guess the community is pretty happy with her service.  Parents have praised her for listening to their concerns, acting on those concerns, and refusing to rubber-stamp every proposal.  While certainly one to ask the right questions, Romere is simultaneously a great cheerleader for RRISD and her commitment to the students and families of the district shows.  She will begin her second term unopposed. 

There is also a contest for Place 6.  Paul Tisch is another appointee, replacing Democrat Glen Colby who, like Brian Sellers, suddenly quit.  Tisch is challenged by Tony A. Pitts.  I can't seem to find a website for Tisch or Pitts, but here's a link to Tisch's Facebook page and Pitts' law offices.  While Williamson County liberals are usually happy with the ISD appointees, they were a bit miffed when Tisch took Colby's place.  It appears Tisch is a Republican and Pitts is a Democrat.  Tisch has not been in office for long, but one hopes his party affiliation indicates his willingness to affirm representative government. 

RRISD has come through a lot of controversy, but seems to be on a better track, especially with new Superintendent Steve Flores.  Voters now have an opportunity to continue this trend by electing solid candidates committed to excellence, accountability, and very importantly, transparency.  In addition, I hope citizens will comprehend the deeper power struggle here between the elected and the appointed in our local government.
 
Please make sure you are registered (the deadline is TODAY, Monday, October 6,) and please vote early if possible.  Early voting begins on October 20 and continues to October 31.  Election Day is November 4, but don't wait! 

Remember, school board elections are supposedly non-partisan, so if you are a straight-ticket voter, you will still need to make selections on these local races.  

Matt Stillwell's Bizarre Report to RRISD Board in Question

In the Fall of 2012, I wrote about how the Round Rock Independent School District had run afoul of the law in the way it was 'handling' the School Health Advisory Council, or SHAC.  At that time, an attempt was made to alter the district's sex education curriculum without following state-proscribed procedures.  The RRISD board was forced to dissolve the illegal SHAC and create a new one, which has been meeting since February 2013.  In accordance with the law this time, RRISD Trustees and the Administration appointed volunteers to serve.

One such appointee is our old friend Matt Stillwell; the perennial candidate who claimed he wasn't a liberal when he ran for school board in 2011 but proudly claimed to be a liberal when he ran for State Representative in 2012.  (He is now running for Austin City Council in the newly-created District 6).  Appointed by Trustee Diane Cox, Stillwell was elected chair of the RRISD SHAC in a curious chain of events that seems to have allowed election before the approval of the SHAC bylaws.  In early 2013, it appeared that Stillwell would have firm control of the RRISD SHAC.

However, later in the year, the SHAC vice-chair resigned, and the committee was called upon to elect a replacement.  At the November 12, 2013 SHAC meeting, Stillwell's favored candidate lost the election to Kyle Swartz.  Apparently this was very upsetting for Mr. Stillwell, because he subsequently appeared at the November meeting of the RRISD Board to give an unofficial 'report' to the Trustees.  In his report (video of which can be viewed here,)  an emotional Stillwell complained that his committee can't accomplish anything because the meetings are so contentious.  At times almost tearful, he implies that certain SHAC members are just mean trouble-makers because they dared to ask the vice-chair candidates about their respective philosophy regarding SHAC issues.  At the Board meeting Stillwell very nearly received permission from the board to remove members of the committee (which seems a clear violation of state law regarding SHAC composition.) 

Following Stillwell's controversial 'report' to the board, it seems that his committee members were not in agreement with his statements; the approved minutes of the November SHAC meeting convey a different story, as does a letter sent to the board by Vice-Chair Kyle Swartz, the latter of which is available to the public via open records, (you can see what RRISD sent me here.)

In his letter Mr. Swartz states that SHAC Executive Committee members were not given prior notification of Stillwell's report, were not asked to help prepare the report, and were not invited to attend the Board meeting.  He also notes that the SHAC had discussed and progressed on a number of key items, including those related to the sex education curriculum. More importantly, Swartz states:

Mr. Stillwell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This is false. The question was, if the candidate felt that a Christian curriculum provider is unacceptable, would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate, provided human sexuality curriculum or instruction. (Emphasis added.)

Perhaps what Mr. Stillwell is really upset about is that he is not able to control the SHAC and implement his agenda. According to his 2012 campaign website, he was affiliated with the Texas Freedom Network, which teaches volunteers to advocate for radical sex education.  Despite the agitation from TFN, note this significant statement in the November RRISD SHAC meeting minutes:

Discussion focused on who is asking for changes to the curriculum. The Trustees are not asking for changes to the curriculum. Parents are not asking for changes to the curriculum. Georgetown is asking RRISD what we are doing because statistics are so good. Question was raised as to where the call for a change is coming from.Member pointed out that perhaps we don’t need to change the curriculum but make changes to the execution.

Regardless of his possible agenda, clearly Stillwell is not particularly adept at providing leadership to his committee.  It appears that when the November SHAC meeting didn’t go his way, he sought to have the board of trustees aid him in circumventing both state law and the bylaws of the committee.  Had he been successful, RRISD would have found itself embroiled in yet another controversy and this time with more serious legal implications.  Now it seems that Stillwell, along with Board President Catherine Hanna (also a TFN volunteer,) and Diane Cox, have fed their version of the story to the Austin American Statesman.  Citizens should be sure to read the official posted meeting minutes as well as Kyle Swartz' letter so that they will have all of the relevant information on this situation.

Update:  Wow, so much interest in this story and messages wondering who besides Mr. Stillwell is running for Austin City Council District 6.  Check out Jay Wiley & his website here. 

Texas Legislature Confirms Democratic Process: School Superintendents DO Answer to Elected Trustees

In a unanimous vote yesterday, the Texas Senate approved House Bill 628:  Relating to the right of a member of the board of trustees of a school district to obtain information, documents, and records.  The bill had already passed the House, and is now headed to the Governor's desk.  A bi-partisan group of legislators including Williamson County's own Tony Dale crafted the measure in response to the rising number of Texas school superintendents refusing to cooperate with elected trustees.  The most extreme example of superintendent mischief stems from the El Paso ISD, where Lorenzo Garcia hid fraudulent activity from the school board for quite some time (Garcia has been convicted and incarcerated, and the EPISD Board has been removed for failing to complete their oversight duties.)

Locally, Round Rock ISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez stunned the community last November when he insisted he had the right to determine what information elected trustees could have about the district.  Chavez has repeatedly refused to release information to trustees regarding his declining district; a factor which likely contributed to the RRISD Board approval of a $25 million dollar campus for a program that serves an average of 42 students a day.  Chavez has also been reluctant to release information regarding no-bid construction contracts awarded by the district. 

Unfortunately, Chavez and many of his cohorts around the state have operated more like petty dictators than public servants, but now the Legislature has spoken clearly- these superintendents must answer to the elected board.

Interestingly enough, one Round Rock trustee lobbied very, very hard to prevent passage of this bill:  Diane Cox.  Apparently Cox spent a great deal of time and energy desperately trying to convince legislators to oppose HB 628.  Cox has an unusually close relationship with the RRISD superintendent, and even vacations with Chavez and his wife.  Cox and several other trustees are known to attend "board appreciation dinners" hosted by Chavez in his private home.  Of course these dinners are 'off the record' and there is no way to know if there are further violations of the open meetings laws.    Observers are hoping that Paul Tisch, who was appointed to replace beleaguered Trustee Glenn Colby, will have a more objective view of board-superintendent relations.  

Congratulations to Tony Dale on passage of this important bill. 

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?

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.

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. 

School Zone Disaster Zone in Round Rock ISD: Updated

Last week I described what appears to be an attempt to silence and intimidate Round Rock School Board Trustee Terri Romere and possibly other members of the board. However, there is another important aspect to the story; that of a RRISD boundary determination process that has been seriously compromised and has led the community to lose faith in a fair outcome.

The Saga of the RRISD Boundary Process is rather lengthy, but worth the read. The evidence shows that:

1. The RRISD Administration has used insufficient methodology to predict enrollment trends resulting in inaccurate projections..
2. The RRISD Administration's boundary proposal ignores the needs and desires of most of the community.
3. The RRISD Administration has controlled the Boundary Committee agenda, refused to allow presentation of a second viable boundary proposal to the committee, and misrepresented the details of the second boundary proposal.
4. The RRISD Administration allowed the Boundary Committee chairman to inappropriately poll select committee members in a non-open setting without the knowledge of the other committee members, and with incorrect data.
5. The RRISD Administration and Boundary Committee have not followed procedure and policy as outlined in the Boundary Committee charter.

Insufficient Methodology and a Brief History

The problems with the RRISD boundary determination process actually date back to 2008-09. At that time, the district was preparing to bring online a new 5^th High School, Cedar Ridge. As is inevitable with any rezoning process, some parents were unhappy with having to move their children, but there was more to it than that. First of all, at that time the district plan did not consider parental demand for 'Vertical Alignment,' that is, keeping neighborhood students together through elementary, middle, and high school.

Secondly, several members of the community noticed that the district was using unreliable methods to project enrollment growth. (More on that later.) Erik Okerholm, a business intelligence professional who holds three Masters Degrees, worked to formulate accurate projections and create a boundary proposal that would maintain Vertical Alignment. Furthermore, the Okerholm plan was designed to serve the district for 12 years or more.

Unfortunately, despite some very controversial hearings and impassioned pleas from the community, the Board voted to implement the proposal created by the RRISD administration. The decision became a factor in the subsequent school board elections as both trustees Bobby Seiferman and Terri Romere campaigned that they would have voted for Vertical Alignment, that is, the Okerholm plan.

Unfortunately for the families of the District, the administration's projections were inaccurate, and by 2011 the administration was forced to call for yet another boundary determination process to relieve over-crowding at the new Cedar Ridge High School. The RRISD Board and Administration drew up a new Boundary Committee charter and appointed new committee members, including Tere McCann, a CFO and CPA.

Since the 2009 plan did prove to be problematic, one would think the RRISD Administration would try to improve the process. A few changes were made, but again not enough to provide accurate projections. For starters, according to Tere McCann and Erik Okerholm, the Administration is still not using reliable methods to project enrollment growth. For example, Okerholm notes that while the Administration's boundary proposal bases growth projections on a 3 year trend, Okerholm's Vertical Alignment proposal (VA) relies on 5 years of growth trends. Also, the administration's analyst does not seem to understand the importance of basing calculations for high school enrollment growth on real numbers of students in the system's lower grades. (McCann and Okerholm refer to these as 'kids in seats,' and this kind of data has provided a far more accurate methodology.)

In addition, the Administration projections are based on spreading projected growth across the entire district, when in actuality, the 'land-locked zone for Westwood High School will not grow as much as the zone for Stony Point High School due to new housing/population growth there. Also, historically growth in the area is not spread evenly across grade level. Elementary grades tend to grow at a higher pace than Middle School grades, and High School growth drops off further. (For a more in-depth explanation of cohort survival ratio read here, and see paragraph “How are new housing developments taken into account?”)

How significant are these differences? Very. According to Okerholm, the RRISD Administration's 2008 projections for 2012 were off by nearly 500 students, while his own methodology was accurate to within 21 students. Regarding the 2012 projections, although enrollment growth over the past 5 years averages at only 1.63% with the highest year at 3.8%, the Administration claims that student growth next year will be a whopping 6.1%. (View graph here, Detailed data here.)

Needs and Desires of the Community: Vertical Alignment, Real Children, and Fiscal Responsibility

There are several other important differences between the Administration's boundary proposal and Erik Okerholm's VA proposal, more of the most significant being Vertical Alignment for Round Rock families. While the Okerholm plan considers the human aspect of the equation and creates a district-wide Vertical Alignment, the Administration plan only protects Vertical Alignment for students in the Westwood High School zone. Even more disturbing is the Administration proposal's requirement that Wells Branch neighborhood would move to their third High School zone in three years.

The utter disregard for the families of Wells Branch is difficult to fathom. One explanation might be the socio-economic status of Wells Branch as compared to say, Great Oaks. Since in many Wells Branch families both parents work, they have less time for activism and have been less vocal. There is also lower voter participation in Wells Branch, and consequently certain Board members may not be as interested in that community. (The only RRISD Board Member who appears to have reached out to that part of the district is Terri Romere.)

And as always, there are fiscal aspects to the two proposals. The Administration proposal will require 58 portable buildings spread across the 5 High Schools, while the Okerholm VA plan only requires 18 portables, and only where needed. Fewer portables means better facility utilization, and under the Okerholm VA plan, the district would save approximately $540,000 next year alone. Furthermore, while the Okerholm/VA plan is designed to serve the community until 2020, the Administration proposal will only maintain manageable enrollments through 2015, forcing yet another set of boundary changes in 2016 with all the associated costs.

How do we know the community supports a Vertical Alignment boundary plan? Every Boundary Committee hearing has been overwhelmed by parents opposing the Administration proposal. They have been vocal, impassioned, and pleading, but for the most part ignored.

And by the way, the ONLY RRISD Board Member who has attended every single hearing held by the Boundary Committee is Terri Romere. Only two other Board members bothered to attend, and they only went to two hearings.

Third World Politics: “Everyone Gets to Vote, But There's Only One Candidate”

Probably one of the most troubling aspects of this story is the Administration's handling of the Boundary Committee. The Committee consists of 15 individuals, 7 appointed by the respective members of the elected School Board, and 8 appointed by the Administration. They held their first meeting back on November 16 and have held 4 hearings since then.

Although the public perception and expectation was that the Boundary Committee would solicit and act on input from the community and adjust proposed boundaries accordingly, that is not what occurred. From the beginning, the Administration controlled the agenda of said meetings, and even after repeated requests from the public, and even after the Committee agreed to consider the Okerholm VA Proposal, the Administration refused to allow Okerholm to make a presentation to the Boundary Committee.

Even worse, the Administration only allowed the Boundary Committee to use its own Administration comparison numbers between the two plans, and those numbers were incorrect. As both Tere McCann and Erik Okerholm pointed out in a January 13 meeting with the RRISD superintendent and demographer, (as well as in official grievances filed, ) in the last communication prior to the Boundary Committee's recommendation on January 19, the Administration plan numbers were incorrect due to a spreadsheet error, but the Okerholm/VA plan numbers were also, inexplicably, incorrect.

Improper Polling of Select Committee Members

The final meeting of the Boundary Committee took place on January 11. As the district's data was provided to the boundary committee a mere 87 minutes prior to the start of the final committee meeting, Tere McCann did not notice the errors in the data provided by the Administration to the committee. Consequently, the Committee took a vote on the boundary proposals without corrected data. McCann had been in frequent email communication with the Administration and Committee President Tom McDonald on these errors after the final committee meeting and before the board meeting.

In response to McCann's protest, after the meeting and vote, Boundary Committee President Tom McDonald sent an email ONLY to members of the committee who had voted for the Administration's plan: He presents a “quick comparison” of the 'corrected' numbers, and then states:

“The basic comparison looks the same to me, with the district plan relieving Cedar Ridge better than the EO plan. The revised numbers don't change my opinion that the district plan is better.”
But I want to hear what you think - please let me know.”

What's more is that the 'corrected' information Tom McDonald sent to the select members of the committee still misrepresented the Okerholm/VA Proposal, and possibly inappropriately swayed the votes taken by those committee members.

Intentional Misrepresentation?

Prior to the Board meeting on January 19, McCann continued to discuss the errors with the Administration and Committee President McDonald. He had hoped that in light of the errors, the Administration would recommend a postponement of the vote. In his grievance filed with the district he states:

“I made my second of the two biggest mistakes as a boundary committee member; I trusted Mr. McDonald and the administration to present my views and contributions accurately and fairly.”

He was wrong. McCann notes in his grievance that although he was out of town on business he turned on the televised RRISD meeting and “was surprised to see Dr. Chavez and other board members commenting on my efforts in a false and misleading manner.” In addition, he was further surprised to receive the final committee report at 10:35pm after the boundary committee presentation to the board. The final Boundary Committee report as submitted to the Board of Trustees on January 19, contained multiple misrepresentations of his both his data and his stance, but according to McCann, the Administration and Committee President have refused to amend the report.

District Violates Own Policy

Regardless of which proposal one prefers, all residents should be disturbed by the district's apparent violations of its own policies. In her email to Dr. Chavez and President Chadwell, Board Member Terri Romere outlines these alleged violations of policies in which the ISD has chosen not to address. 

Romere notes that:

*the District did not hold the required hearings at each affected school,

*The district ignored input from the majority of participants at the hearings,

*The District gave less than 24 hours notice to communities affected (Policy requires 5 days)

*The District only provided notice via one channel of communication.

Additionally, although the charter says that the Boundary Committee “shall look at all high school campuses to relieve the projected growth at Cedar Ridge High School,” the Administration has refused to consider any proposal that considered enrollments at Westwood or Round Rock High Schools.

The established policy guidelines along with Romere's comments can be viewed here. 

Treating All RRISD Children Equally

To be fair, there are a vocal few who wholeheartedly support the Administration's plan. A handful of parents from the Great Oaks neighborhood have been especially vitriolic in attacking the Okerholm/VA proposal because it would return Great Oaks to its 2009 zone, that is, to McNeil High School. These parents have been circulating emails containing various mischaracterizations of the VA plan. (And even some rather far-fetched conspiracy theories about diabolical football coaches contriving to steal star football players.) Those emails led to the email chain to which I referred last week.  Sadly, the emails sent out by this group of Great Oaks parents reveal a shocking lack of compassion or concern for any other children of the district, including the students of the Wells Branch area (who will be sent to their 3^rd High School in 3 years).

It should be noted however, that the Great Oaks neighborhood is far from unified in support for the Administration proposal. In fact, Great Oaks resident Whitney Loitz is one of several parents who have now filed a grievance over the District's alleged policy violations and disregard for community input. You may read her grievance here.

There is one other difference in the two proposals. The Administration's plan does not allow younger siblings to attend the same high school as their older siblings; only those who apply and are approved by a subjective administration review will be allowed to transfer. On the other hand, the Okerholm/VA proposal allows for something about which this administration has never been comfortable: a good measure of parental choice. The VA plan allows current high school students and their siblings to voluntarily move to the newly assigned zones. If they wish to remain at their current high school, they may do so.

Since the Wells Branch students moved from Round Rock High School last year, they are very enthusiastic to move back-allowed only under the Okerholm VA plan. The Administration plan takes volunteers too; but only allows the Wells Branch students to move to McNeil High School, their third high school in three years. Wells Branch parents vow they will not voluntarily move to McNeil, and this is part of the reason that the Administration's proposal will not relieve over-crowding at Cedar Ridge High School next year.

Other neighborhoods are equally unhappy with the Administration plan; pleas from parents in Stone Oak and Mayfield Ranch to return to Round Rock High School have fallen on deaf ears, as have the requests from Great Oaks parents wishing to return their students to McNeil. To all appearances, it seems the Administration plan ignores the vast majority of parents in the district.

Final Comments

Special kudos to those who've read through all of this. I would like to note that I have received a vast quantity of documents, statements, and email evidence from concerned members of the community, in fact, there is much more than I can possibly upload for you. I have linked to the most significant documents, but I can assure you that I have source material for the statements in this article.

The series of events I've outlined here indicate that the boundary determination process has been seriously compromised. Consequently, the most prudent course of action for the RRISD Board would be to postpone the boundary proposal vote until these issues can be properly vetted and remedied. The ISD's own local policy FC states a decision needs to be finalized by May 15^th -plenty of time to reconcile the mass amounts of grievances and perform due diligence on both plans.

If you agree, please contact the respective members of the Board, and please plan to attend the meeting at the Round Rock High School Lecture Hall on February 16, at 7pm. I hope to see you there.

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

UPDATE:  Apparently Tere McCann has issued a challenge to the Round Rock Administration numbers;  McCann will donate up to $10,000 to challenge.  Read more.

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 

Travis County Liberals Still Control Round Rock School Board

While I was quite pleased to see Conservative Aaron Johnson win his race for the Leander School Board, other results for Williamson County districts were disappointing. 

While Conservative David Dziadziola won the Williamson County portion of the Round Rock School District with a healthy 56% of the vote, Travis County voters gaave Liberal Diane Cox 70% and effectively shut out the Wilco voice.  Dziadziola had an uphill battle in that he did not have pre-election name recognition and faced an entrenched incumbent who successfully downplayed her party affiliation and controversial stances.  Another factor of course was higher levels of voter enthusiasm in the Austin portion of the district since they were also voting on which City Council candidate would keep Austin the weirdest. 

All things considered, Dziadziola made a very good showing, but once again, the Austin/Travis County Liberals dominated the Round Rock School Board election. 

Will The Real Diane Cox Please Stand Up?

At one of last week's forums for the Round Rock Independent School District Board, candidates were asked about raising district property taxes without voter approval.  According to the Round Rock Leader, Diane Cox replied, "If we do raise taxes even by that small of an amount we need to get voter approval." 

What the Leader story did not deign to mention is the fact that Diane Cox serves as President of the Central Texas School Board Association, and that CTSBA is actively lobbying to change State law to allow school districts to raise property taxes without voter approval.  Not only is Ms. Cox the President of this organization, but on August 19 of 2010, she presented to the RRISD Board an agenda item* that includes the following:

Additional Golden Pennies: The current finance system requires school districts to seek voter approval in setting the maintenance and operation tax rate above $1.04. Legislation is needed which grants school boards the discretion of two additional golden pennies without voter approval."

Interestingly enough, the CTSBA brochure outlining their 2011 legislative agenda (which includes the above item,) states "Publication design by RRISD."  Sounds like the RRISD and the CTSBA have been working very, very closely.

While the Round Rock Leader has chosen to ignore this information, the Community Impact Newspaper's report includes the following:

In previous years, the Central Texas School Board Association, which Cox is president of, has lobbied at the Texas Capitol for a measure that would allow school boards to raise taxes without voters' consent. Cox said that she is not lobbying for such a measure this year, but noted, “There is a fundamental issue with the whole [education finance] system."

Of course, Diane Cox' desire for the power to raise taxes without voter approval is no secret to political activists in Williamson County.  Last Fall at a candidate forum for Texas House District 52 candidates, Ms. Cox asked Larry Gonzales and Diana Maldonado if they would support raising the tax cap without voter approval.  According to witnesses, Cox became so upset with the resulting conversation that she stomped out of the building. 

Challenger David Dziadziola has been adamant about keeping voters involved in the process of setting tax rates.  Matt Stillwell, who is challenging Brian Sellers, gave an interesting answer when asked if he favored allowing tax increases without voter approval, "In extreme circumstances, it would be a good thing to have in the toolbox, but as a general rule, it should be put to a vote."   Well, alrighty then.

Perhaps Diane Cox has had a change of heart about this important policy issue.  If so, she should resign as CTSBA President and repudiate its legislative agenda.  If not, it doesn't seem she is being entirely genuine about her stance on the issue. 

*See pages 43-44

Dziadziola, Sellers for Round Rock Independent School Board

There are two contested races for Round Rock School Board this year, Place 1 and Place 3. The Place 1 incumbent is Brian Sellers, a Republican voter who supported Larry Gonzales for the Texas House of Representatives last year. His opponent is newcomer Matt Stillwell, who proclaims to be a political Independent, but has only voted in the Democrat Primary in Williamson County. 

I am endorsing Brian Sellers for Place 1, and David Dziadziola for Place 3.
David Dziadziola is challenging incumbent Diane Cox for Place 3.  I have met Mr. Dziadziola on several occasions, and found him to be quite knowledgeable about the district and its challenges.  A life insurance agent, he has also been involved with the financial organization of several successful start-up companies, and has extensive knowledge and experience with financial management.  (On a side note, Dziadziola has been granted numerous U.S. Government patents for computer protection programs.)  Comforting to those who fear a 'numbers cruncher,' his two children are students at Round Rock schools, so he has a vested interest in making sure the district offers a quality education.  Mr. Dziadziola is not content to look only at short-term fixes, but anxious to make sure RRISD has plans for long-term fiscal solvency.  Intelligent, knowledgeable, and conservative, he's also just one of those down-to-earth-non-politicians one can't help but like. 

Diane Cox is pretty familiar to voters since she was the only person from Williamson County willing to appear in liberal-Democrat Diana Maldonado's television commercials in 2010. (Maldonado was soundly defeated by Republican Larry Gonzales.)  Ms. Cox is also the President of Central Texas School Board Association. Round Rock Independent School District and other area districts pay annual dues to the Central Texas School Board Association.  The association engages in  lobbying efforts, and according to CTSBA literature, supports allowing school districts to raise property taxes without voter approval.   (I have not yet discovered the amounts RRISD pays to the association.)  Allegedly, Ms. Cox initiated the illegal bonus paid to the RRISD Superintendent last year, as well as the Superintendent's contract extension with salary and benefits totaling more than $300,000. 

There are several upcoming opportunities to meet the school board candidates; here are the candidate forums of which I am aware:

Tuesday, April 19, at 7pm, at Grace Lutheran Church
Wednesday, April 20, at 7 pm at Round Rock High School Lecture Hall
Tuesday, April 26, at 7 pm at Westwood High School Library

There is a great deal of momentum behind David Dziadziola, but with the dismal turnout typical of school board elections, every bit of help and every vote will make a difference.  Two Round Rock women, Donna Parker and Maria Garza Brown are holding a fundraising reception for Mr. Dziadziola on Thursday April 21.  For more information and to RSVP, please visit http://williamsoncountyrepublicanwomen.com/2011/04/reception-for-david-dziadziola/

Early Voting is May 2-May 10, and Election Day is Saturday May 14.

Aaron Johnson For Leander ISD Board Place 6: Updated

Yesterday I had a chance to visit with Aaron Johnson, one of the five candidates for Leander Independent School District Board. My fellow Conservatives in West Wilco had recommended him, and after our meeting, I can see why.

A businessman (in sales and marketing) and father of four, Johnson is very familiar with the significant challenges the district faces. In fact, this isn't his first rodeo; he ran for a seat on the board previously. It's too bad he wasn't successful in 2006, since I think his input would have helped prevent LISD from digging the financial hole in which it currently sits.

As a parent, Johnson is very concerned about academic standards. His own children are enrolled in LISD schools, and he is interested in making sure they and their peers receive a quality education. Not satisfied with the term 'college ready,' Johnson wants to ensure graduating seniors are not just prepared, but encouraged to attend college, and does not think it the purview of the administration to decide which students are college bound.  He recognizes that to some extent school board control is limited by State and Federal requirements, but has a very good working knowledge of what can be done at the local level.

Although adamant about high academic standards, Johnson is fiscally conservative and recognizes that merely throwing money at our education problems is not the answer. He is concerned about spending and borrowing levels as well as resident tax burdens, and wants to focus more spending on the classroom. The ISD will need much wisdom and financial guidance going forward; with $1.2 billion in district bond debt and two brand new school buildings that must stand empty next year, Johnson's background in economics and law should come in handy.

Originally, six candidates had filed for Leander ISD Place 6, but Clarence Ramsey Brown dropped out and endorsed Aaron Johnson. Both Brown and Johnson are known Republicans. The current Place 6 Board member, Jim Sneeringer, has also endorsed Johnson.

The other candidates include Nacole Thompson, whom I met the last time she ran for the LISD board; very nice lady, but definitely a Democrat.  Gene Fruge lives in Austin, and in a previous run for LISD Board mystified voters with his campaign platform that seemed to consist entirely of a plan to build a theater in his area of the district.  Kyle Ward is the Texas PTA representative who wrote an op-ed claiming education is on life support, and seems to agree with left-leaning school associations asserting there is no waste anywhere in school districts and therefore if budgets are reduced, they can do none other than fire teachers.  (Please pay no attention to those new football stadiums and empty buildings).  There has also been some noise about Ward's wife having been hired by the district just this year, which would violate rules for candidate eligibility.  James Spires' platform is vague on budget issues, and he does not have any children in LISD schools.  Spires' website indicates that he is among the 'spare-no-expense-for-the-children' mantra.   

I found Aaron Johnson to be a very knowledgeable Republican, with both a vested interest in the success of the school district and concern for keeping residents' tax burden low. Interestingly, Round Rock ISD Board candidate David Dziadziola also has a background in economics, children in the district, and very similar stances on the issues. Happily for David, he has only one opponent, known liberal-Democrat Diane Cox.  Both men are ideal additions to these respective boards, and I heartily endorse them.

Update:  I have received numerous emails and comments regarding James Spires, one of which defends him and states he does oppose tax increases.  To be fair, school board candidates are notoriously vague with campaign language, and this race doesn't look much different.  Therefore we have to dig deeper to find out where these candidates stand.  While one person has been willing to defend Spires, all other emails have been very critical of Mr. Spires.  According to attendees of an area Young Republicans meeting last month, Mr. Spires stated that the district was doing a great job and he "would not change a thing."  When asked for clarification, he repeated that there was "nothing" he would change.  Other Republican activists reported to me that on questioning, Mr. Spires would only say he wants to "Make Education a Priority," and was unwilling to state his position on tax increases. 

Also of note:  A document distributed at an LISD Budget workshop on January 26, 2011, (pages 9 & 10) indicated that the district has been floating a tax rate increase trial balloon.  According to this document, the original thought was to hold a tax-increase election in June.  The document predicts revenue collections based on 1 cent, 6 cent, and 13 cent increases.  Educrats love to refer to these as "Copper Pennies" or "Golden Pennies," depending on how they approve them (sounds really cute, doesn't it?)  but these are tax increases on Leander ISD families.

Pages From LISD Jan 2011 Budget Workshop 0001

For All The Wrong Reasons

While it is always good to see more people get involved in the political process, I am sometimes floored by the lack of focus, purpose, and even basic knowledge of some of those who file for office.  Apparently yesterday a gentlemen by the name of Matt Stillwell filed for Round Rock Independent School District Board of Trustees, Place 1.  In trying to find out more about Mr. Stillwell, I stumbled across his statement on his Facebook page:  

I've got two kids in the RR school system, got my teaching certification, pay taxes, I'm invested in this school system, plan on living in it for a long time, want to do my part to make it as good as it can be. Fig...ure I'm more informed than most, and I'm not to far left or right to get in my own way. RRISD has actually done a fairly good job from what I can tell, so it's not like I'm trying to fix it, just contribute. Got a lot to learn though and quickly, not sure how much campaigning I'll need to do. I think it's just me vs. the incumbant for Place 1.

Umm, do you have a plan?  A vision for the district?  Do you know who the incumbent is?  You're not sure how much campaigning you'll need to do?  I'm wondering how much Mr. Stillwell has thought about this.

Someone should probably introduce Mr. Stillwell to the incumbent, Brian Sellers.  Sellers and I have not always agreed on every issue, but he's a pretty good guy, and could do a lot more to make our district more efficient and more classroom focused if he had more help on the elected board. 

As it is, the RRISD board is dominated by Diane Cox, a known Democrat.  Happily, Ms. Cox has drawn an opponent too; David Dziadziola.  We'll be hearing more about Mr. Dziadziola in the coming weeks, but here's a snapshot:  While Diane Cox was the only person from Round Rock willing to appear in lib-Dem Diana Maldonado's television commercials, David Dziadziola was volunteering with the Larry Gonzales campaign.  Pretty good indicator of where these folks stand politically.

Update:  Primary Voting History indicates Mr. Stillwell prefers the Democrat Party.

RRISD Gave Superintendent Improper Bonus

KXAN Investigates has a great story tonight on School District Superintendent salaries. Some of the district stories are pretty shocking; for example, despite learning of the budget shortfall, Bastrop ISD gave Superintendent Steve Murray an immediate $20,000 raise, and approved another $10,000 to be paid in March.

In Williamson County, the Leander ISD Superintendent's contract guarantees an annual 6% raise, and, along with Round Rock's Super Super, he gets extra weeks of paid vaction time. However, RRISD superintendent Jesus Chavez may accrue unused vacation time to cash out a later time, presumably at a higher salary.

Also, RRISD pays an extra $6,000 per year for premiums on his private life insurance policy, but here's the real scandal:

And in Round Rock ISD, superintendent Jesus Chavez’s contract allows the Board of Trustees to award him no more than $10,000 for reaching certain performance levels.

However, last September, the board awarded him an extra $5,000 as a one-time bonus. In addition, Chavez was also awarded a $6,750 bonus in the form of an annuity.

After a call from KXAN, the district responded that he wasn't supposed to get that $5,000 bonus, and that he's paying it back to the district with interest - and then the district thanked KXAN for bringing it to their attention.

Dude. And we wonder why the district is spending over 11,000 for each student.

And hey, look whose signature is on the contract...

RoundRockISD2010SuptContract

RRISD Needs a Coming to Jesus Moment

While Texas remains on top as the strongest economy nationwide, the state is feeling the effects of the recession. The Comptroller's forecast indicates tax revenue will drop significantly in the next biennium, and most Republican state lawmakers are planning budget cuts rather than tax increases, saying there are "no sacred cows."

Well, the cattle are lowing. Some of the loudest howls of protest are coming from the public education sector, our own Round Rock ISD superintendent Jesus Chavez among them. Chavez is claiming that the cuts to the district may total as much as $73 million, and the only thing they can possibly do is lay off teachers.

Right.

Okay, first of all, no-one is really sure where Jesus Chavez is getting this $73 million figure; even if the 'starting point' budget proposal unveiled last week became the final budget, (it won't) the cut to RRISD would be approximately $46 million. Now, to be sure, that is a lot of money. However, in a KVUE interview last night, Jesus said RRISD has its own rainy day fund of $200 million.

What?

So, Jesus Chavez claims that if the State cuts his budget he'll have to lay off teachers, but he has $200 MILLION in a RAINY DAY FUND? I don't know what kind of new math they're teaching in Round Rock Schools, but it looks to me like $200 MILLION is about $154 MILLION MORE THAN $46 MILLION.

It is very troubling that the ISD and Dr. Chavez are demanding use of the State's Rainy Day Fund, and claiming that cuts will force them to lay-off teachers, (because, apparently, there is not one ounce of waste anywhere else in the ISD budget).  Furthermore, Dr. Chavez and Board of Trustee Member Diane Cox, (running for re-election in 2011) are among those lobbying the legislature for the right to raise property taxes without voter approval.  All the while, they are sitting on $200 million. 

This leads us to ask, what kind of game are these folks playing?  Isn't it time that they stop using scare tactics and started taking the economic recession seriously?  How about the district does what most American families are having to do, cut any and all waste out of the budget at every level.  And for goodness' sake, tap into that rainy day fund.  It's raining.