Comments on: EISD committee recommends $99 million bond issue

By: Yen-Hong Tran

Yen-Hong Tran — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:09:53 +0000

I agree with commenter 17. Operating costs are to be considered. And they are real world expenses for any school or school district.

Yen-Hong at Tutoring By Tran

By: Absolutely agree

Absolutely agree — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:48:11 +0000

with the above poster’s concern about maintenance and operating expenses. Look, if we didn’t have the recapture problem, all these extras would be great, but my kids are going to schools in very big classes because “we can’t afford” more teachers. Every time I turn around I’m getting hit up for donations. I’m very glad to give to support instruction, but not if money in the general budget is going to support all these extras.

By: Think Long Term

Think Long Term — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:48:07 +0000

The problem is not the $99MM bond per se. The issue is that EISD is adding ongoing expense to its operating budget with these silly “want to haves” that will, in the future, continue to eat away at the tax dollars it has to fund education. A natatorium has to be maintained; it will need clorine and cleaning and repairs. A sports complex has to be maintained. It will need to be staffed. It will need to be heated and cooled. Our trustees love to talk about “bond money is not operating money” and I hear frequently that I don’t “need to worry about that affecting education–it’s being paid for out of bond money.” But that ignores the reality that in the long term, we must pay for operating these new facilities. And just like the $600,000 cameras need maintenance, so will all these new facilities. And then EISD will say “EEF, we need you to fund more teachers, because after we pay our operations cost, we don’t have enough left for a decent parent student ratio.” Get real, Trustees. Buildings and facilities and equipment add to operating costs. We don’t need more plumbers and janitors and heating bills: we need teachers.

By: freedom to choose

freedom to choose — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:18:06 +0000

Eanes taxpayers can access information about the public schools in a variety of ways if they so choose. We may ask questions informally and if the answers are not forthcoming, formalize the process by filing a request for public information. Any individual can visit the district’s website at http://www.eanesisd.net where information is posted by the director of communications and other paid employees. Taxpayers may also access information on http://www.keepeanesinformed.com. This site posts actual documentation held by our public school to support the facts and community concerns. It would be great if the district would choose to post the actual documentation to substantiate their positions rather than spending money on legal counsel to withhold the information from the public. Community members have asked district leadership repeatedly for access to a variety of fact based documentation. The failure to produce any documentation relating to EEF donations and expenditures is worrisome. Recent community forums offered general information but no cold hard facts, and certainly nothing via written proposals for the voters to review. The bond committee meetings should have been widely publicized by our district leadership prior to the open forums. Why weren’t they? The obvious lack of transparency has done nothing but undermine the credibility of our school board and paid administrative staff, and divide our community. Now that’s a fact; and unfortunate and unnecessary fact. We can continue to bury our head in the sand, or we can do our homework and work towards improvement.

By: Informed

Informed — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:13:41 +0000

“Facts vs. Opinions” – The public information posted on http://www.keepeanesinformed.com is created by Eanes ISD not by the citizen site. Be cautious of those who wish to hide public information from the public. And be cautious of those who seek to silence anyone who disagrees with the district’s PR spin. It’s far easier to nod and agree with the district … unless you’ve seen harm to children as a result.

Regarding the extreme increase in the numbers and salaries of administrators, have you talked to the teachers? Does their opinion matter to you? You might find that the teachers agree with those in our community (albeit very quietly out of necessity) who believe that the this district is quite top-heavy in overpaid administrators. And quite understaffed in direct student help (teachers, teacher’s aides). Many of us do not value educrats over teachers and further believe that they are overpaid.

Those transfer students are necessary because district children are leaving Eanes ISD. And with all due respect, regarding this subject, unless you are a parent of a child that has not been well-served in Eanes ISD, you don’t have a clue. And please don’t speak for all of the parents … there are many who are not at all “thrilled” with the practice of packing classes with transfer students. And yes, Eanes ISD games the system by failing to meet the needs of certain populations of children and then cherry-picking the easiest ones from other districts to replace them (so that Eanes can take the credit for their excellence). That’s a fact. And it’s the opinion of some that gaming the system at the expense of children is wrong. You may like the outcome of this practice and perhaps you don’t care about the children and families who are harmed in the process. However, others in this community do care and that’s why we speak out. Because the children who are not well-served and the teachers are too often undervalued … often do not have a voice in this district.

http://www.keepeanesinformed.com/proposed_bond_-_eanes_isd.htm

By: Independent

Independent — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:13:14 +0000

Fact: bond will increase taxes. Opinion: school taxes shouldn’t be funding a $25 million sports facility.

By: Facts vs. Opinions

Facts vs. Opinions — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:14:31 +0000

All voters should avail themselves of as much information as possible. There are many posts on these blogs by advocates of http://www.keepeanesinformed.com which clearly have a negative bias towards the superintendant and current board of trustees. They have a right to their opinions but as a reader and voter, be cautious of opinions that are presented as facts.

For example, keepeanesinformed points out as a “fact” that the increase in EISD administrative salaries is a negative to the District? But separate fact from opinion. Have admin salaries increased? Yes – that is fact. But is that a negative for EISD? In keepeanesinformed opinion, absolutely yes. For others? No. Does EISD now have strong administration in charge of curriculum? Yes. Did EISD before? No. Teachers don’t (and shouldn’t) operate on their own. They need central support just like any business needs central administration in order to distribute consistent high quality service and products and to support staff development and excellence. A business would never operate without a “cabinet” – a group of senior VPs in charge of centralized administration/divisions – and neither should a school district.

Another example: keepeanesinformed describes the District as gaming the system by using transfer students in various ways that are negative to the students of EISD. Doesn’t anyone remember 7 years ago when the parents of Eanes Elementary advertised on their own and held open houses to try to bring in transfer students to keep their low enrollment campus from the prospect of closing? That campus was thrilled to have those transfer students. Not the District – the parents on that campus.

My point – there are two very distinct opinions cited above, don’t consider either to be “facts”. Decide your own opinion by gathering as much information as possible – in addition to the posts here, please access the information EISD has provided as well. There is much to consider.

http://www.eanesisd.net/news/news-and-announcements/facility-planning

By: Not waiting around for HS

Not waiting around for HS — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:04:43 +0000

“Great” – You are hilarious. Seriously. Dude, Nola wasn’t trying to attract teachers. She wanted COACHES. That’s why she prioritizes artificial turf (three fields last count) and HD jumbotron updates over fixing the (as you say) “buildings falling apart.” (The ones that are keeping the teachers away – yeah.) Except for her building of course. It’s all fine and dandy (recently spiffed up) because the other thing she wanted to attract was ADMINISTRATORS. Because we all know that technology hinges on administrators. Anyone who has heard Bill Bechtol speak knows all about that. Yeah.

By: priced out of Eanes

priced out of Eanes — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:42:25 +0000

Isn’t Eanes Elementary accessible now? With several children who have attended Eanes Elementary, I seem to recall the school being worked on over the past several years to provide ADA accessibility. So, would rebuilding this perfectly decent and much loved school mean all that money already spent addressing ADA would now go to waste? Probably. To “Great”: How does Eanes Elementary not meet “modern educational needs”? My kids did just fine.

By: Great

Great — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:19:07 +0000

Have you studied the change in education in the past few years? Do you not realize that the technology needs for education today require administrators? How does the district update the elementary facilities without building a new school? The alternative to rebuilding Eanes Elementary is to do nothing. You know what keeps good teachers away? The building falling apart.

The truth is that the minds of the elementary parents shift greatly when their students get to high school. Suddenly they understand why those facilities exist when their kids start using them.